Nuts & Bolts

Cheryl served these treats at the family reunion in August. Amazingly, she was able to make them in advance and have loitering family members stay out until serving time. Could YOU resist that cute Austrian smile?!

NUTS N’ BOLTS

1 pkg. chocolate chips
1 pkg. butterscotch chips
2 T. peanut butter
2 c. Rice Crispies
2 c. peanuts
2 c. crunchy Chinese noodles (La Choy)

Melt the chips together in a sauce pan on low heat. Stir until melted. Add the peanut butter and stir until melted. Turn off the heat and stir in the rice crispes, peanuts and crunchy noodles. Mix until all ingredients are well coated. Drop by the spoonful on wax paper. Let cool and serve. 

And what could be more fun than the Ayers at Halloween!

by Cheryl, Barbara's daughter

Food Day

Today is a day many are talking about eating real...as opposed to the Standard American Diet (SAD) of fast food, etc. Go here to read more. I think there is much we can do to move in that direction without being an extremist. Check it out. (Yes, I doubled-posted; this is also on our family blog today. Since this blog is food related, it is actually a better fit here!)

Pupusas

Remember my friend who taught us how to make homemade enchilada sauce and refried beans? The amazing Sandra invited Ian and I, and another mom and son over for lunch and a playdate. This was just before she was leaving with her husband and four children for a weekend in Seattle! She made these oh-so-good pupusas while talking with us, and directing kids in and out of the water play going on. She also made the homemade tortilla making look so easy. I've tried it and mine look like roadkill. Though she demonstraded this in the summer, decided to wait until fall weather to give these a try. She made it look so easy, but I struggle just with the tortillas! She put this recipe on her blog, along with others.

Pupusas: A Delicious Salvadorian Dish

1. Obtain tortilla instant corn flour such as Maseca and mix with water until its consistency is such that the 'masa' (dough) does not stick to your hands.

2. Use refried beans and mix with 'quesillo' (you can buy this at a mexican supermarket or replace with soft cheese. Mix until the consistency is similar to the 'masa' prepared in step 1).

3. Take the 'masa' in your hands and make a ball about two inches in diameter. Once you finish, make a hole with your fingers, take some refriend beans and cheese mix (from step 2) and fill the hole with it.

4. Cover the hole with the masa and flatten by using your hands in a clapping motion. This takes practice but the goal is to make a disc.

5. Once you are done, place the pupusa on a preheated flat iron skillet. Leave it there until each side is cooked by noticing the dark spots (you need to flip the pupusa).


Variations
Pupusas de Queso: With a cheese filling. Use grated quesillo, queso fresco, farmer's cheese, mozzarella, or a combination. Add some minced green chile if you like.

Pupusas de Chicharrones: With a filling of fried chopped pork that is made on a daily basis and found in Latino Grocery stores.

Pupusas de Frijoles Refritos: With a refried bean filling.

Pupusas Revueltas: Use a mixture of chicharrones, cheese and refried beans.

Pupusas de Queso y Loroco: With a cheese and tropical vine flower filling. Loroco can be found in jars at many Latin markets.

Pupusas de Arroz: A variety of pupusa that uses rice flour instead of corn masa.

Other Fillings: Cooked potatoes or finely minced, sautéed jalapeño peppers are also tasty fillings. Try a mixture of different fillings.

Baked Stuffed French Toast

Kirsten and Cheryl revised this recipe from Mansion on Main B&B  for the family reunion. 
It was very delicious! We collectively decided that we want to simply meals at the next reunion. Though we had a very organized team approach this time (go teams Grizzly, Salmon and Moose!), we spent more time in prep than we'd like. Especially the team that had a dinner and breakfast (this one!) back to back. We just want to all be together! 
Hmm, catering next time?!  haha! East Coast Reunion 2014, here we come!

Baked Stuffed deliciousness in progress!

Barbara serving cobbler. I don't think there was a meal this lady didn't help with!

Cheryl, Kirsten, Brenda and Stephanie working on a meal. Was this Cafe Rio Salad?

Baked Filled French Toast

Spray a 9x13" baking pan or dish with non-stick butter spray. Line bottom of pan with 1" thick slices of French or Italian bread - day-old really works best!

Add small dollops or slices of cold cream cheese over bread, liberally. For a variation also spread a fruit preserve (we used raspberry jam), or other cooked fruits (peaches, baked cinnamon apples, pears, etc.) Add second layer of bread.

(We tried this original recipe and it was VERY custardy… so we cut the ingredients below by about ½ & then dipped the entire ‘stuffed French toast’ creation into the egg mixture & put back into the pan)

Beat together 6 large eggs

1-1/2 c. half and half

1-1/2 c. milk

1 t. vanilla

1/8 t. cinnamon

1/8 t. nutmeg

You may substitute some of the liquid for 1/4 c. maple syrup.

Pour over bread in pan, cover and refrigerate overnight or at least 4 hours. (We deleted this step because we just dipped the French toast and did it in the morning)

Take out 1/2 hour before baking to warm - then prepare and add topping (YUM!):

1/2 c. melted butter or margarine

2 T. dark corn syrup

1 c. brown sugar

1 c. chopped pecans

Spread over top of soaked bread. Bake at 350 degrees about 40 minutes, or until clearly set in middle - it will puff up - put a cookie sheet underneath to avoid spills in oven.

Take out of oven and allow to rest for 5 minutes or so before slicing and serving to aid in preserving shape of slice. Keeps well on hot serving plate. This will serve six easily, especially with other foods for breakfast. It is very tasty! It also works as a dessert with ice cream with the leftovers!

by Cheryl & Kirsten, Barbara's daughters 

snacking?

William grilling

lunching?

William, Cheryl, Scott B., Dad, Max, Brenda and others dining alfresco

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Just for fun: the B&B is in Texarkana, Texas/Arkansas

Summer Succotash Quesadillas

In August I read an article in our local paper about a local mom/writer/blogger who just put out a vegetarian cookbook. Because I needed to make a vegan meal for a friend, I thought this recipe sounded good. After trying it, I'm hooked! It was delicious. If you'd like step-by-step instructions—along with nice photography—go to her post here. The only thing I changed on the recipe was the cheese. I saved the non-dairy cheese for the friend, and put Tillamook on ours. It looked time-intensive, but went quickly. While the veggies are cooking, you can make the sauce. Give this a try, especially if you have garden-fresh corn, zucchini, peppers and homemake salsa. 

Summer Succotash Quesadillas with Nacho Mmmm Sauce

Ingredients
8 whole grain tortillas
1 c. non-dairy (i.e. Daiya pepper jack) or organic cheese

For the Succotash Filling:
1 sweet onion, sliced
1 ear of corn, kernels shaved from cob
1 red bell pepper, seeded and diced
1 zucchini, cut into half moons
1 clove of garlic, minced
1/4 c. water
2 t. lemon or lime juice
1/2 t. maple syrup or agave
1/2 t. cumin
salt and pepper, to taste

For the Nacho Mmmm Sauce:
2/3 c. salsa
1/3 c. water
1/4 c. raw almonds
1/4 c. garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
1/4 c. nutritional yeast
2 T. lemon juice
1 t. minced garlic
1/4 t. salt
1 t. chili powder
1 t. cumin
1 t. dried cilantro or 1 –2 T. fresh cilantro


Instructions For the Succotash Filling:
Place a large skillet sprayed with cooking spray or lightly coated with oil over medium high heat. Add onion and cook for 7-8 minutes, until softened and starting to brown.
Meanwhile, slice your veggies and strip that corn on the cob of all self-respect.
Add corn, red pepper and zucchini to the pan with the onion, along with garlic, water, lemon juice, maple syrup or agave and cumin.
Cook the succotash down for an additional 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

For the Nacho Mmmm Sauce:
Combine salsa, water, almonds, garbanzo beans, nutritional yeast, lemon juice, garlic, salt, chili powder, cumin and cilantro in a food processor or high speed blender.
Blend until smooth.
Refrigerate until serving,
Place another large skillet sprayed with cooking spray or lightly coated with oil over medium high heat and add one tortilla to the pan. Top with 2 T. of grated cheese.
Add about 1/3 c. of succotash filling,
Top with another 2 T. of cheese and another tortilla.
Cook for several minutes on each side, until tortilla is crisp and cheese is melty.
Repeat with remaining tortillas, cheese and filling.
Serve with Nacho Mmmm Sauce.

[Dee note: This makes a lot of sauce. You may want to make half a recipe…or twice as many quesadillas.]

Prep Time: 10 min.

Cook Time: 30 min.

Dunk, dip or drizzle. Just don’t forget about the sauce. Serves 4-6

[Chocolate] Beet Cake

beet cake from tiger in a jar on Vimeo.

I saw this video here, and wanted to try sharing it via the blog. I'm also going to make it for the missionaries (and us!) this week, as we have beets ready in our garden. Ian said he didn't want to try it when I asked him, but after watching the video, he said he'd like it. Power in advertising! He said it was ready when the flower was on top : )It was amazing to me that the cook didn't sample the chocolate! Let me know if you try it. I put my changes in brackets. I tested in on our family, the missionaries who came for dinner, and my book group. Everyone liked it!

Beet Cake

2 c. beets [I didn't have quite enough, so filled in with applesauce]

2 c. flour
1 1/2 c. dark brown sugar
4 oz. semi-sweet chocolate, melted [Ian ate some of my measured chips—before melting—so I added a couple tablespoons of cocoa to make sure we had adequate chocolate!]
2 t. baking soda
1/4 t. salt
1 t. vanilla
1 c. butter
3 eggs

Bake at 375 degrees. [I used two 9"(?) cake rounds, and baked about 30 min.] Sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Breakfast in a Cup + Coconut Oil

We tried this for breakfast. It was quick, easy and great!

Breakfast In A Cup
Servings: 2

Preparation Time: 5 minutes
2 frozen bananas
1/2 cup rolled oats
1 cup milk (use more or less to adjust to desired consistency) or use kefir
1/2 cup coconut peanut butter or peanut butter
1-2 tablespoons coconut oil*, melted
dash cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup spinach (optional)

Place all ingredients in a good blender. Blend until smooth and well mixed. Pour into 2 glasses and drink immediately. [We used kefir, added about 1 T. of agave, and didn't put in spinach. Next time I want to try it with less peanut butter.]

got the recipe here

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Popcorn with Coconut Oil

1/2 c. popcorn kernels

1/4 c. coconut oil

Put in kettle over medium heat on stovetop. When the oil is melted, shake the pan back and forth over the burner so the popcorn won't burn. Don't turn up the heat. When the popcorn is popped, remove from heat and add salt to taste. (We have been using 1/2 of this recipe and it is just right for three of us.)

Coconut Oil

I am in a preparedness group that does group buys on healthy foods, etc. I'm pasting in an email from a couple of the group members. The claims for coconut oil sound pretty amazing, which always makes me skeptical. The best advice we have is 'moderation in all things.' I was introduced to the product (and the group) by my healthy friend Debbie. I've been using it in cooking, and having it on toast for a few months now. Also, Debbie's husband Stan likes making popcorn with it, so I've included his recipe above. We've been enjoying the popcorn too!

Here are some of the claims about coconut oil:

"If you have looked around your grocery store and especially any health food store you will probably have noticed a lot of products that are now available containing coconut, i.e. coconut water, coconut oil, coconut ice cream and coconut milk. There are also lots of skin care products that contain coconut oil.

If you pick up any food item and read the labels (which I always urge that you do) you probably noticed that coconut products are high in fat and high in calories. You may have decided to put it back on the shelf especially if you are counting calories and trying to avoid fat. Well stop, don’t do that, because here is the good news about coconut oil.

Coconut oil will help you lose weight, will keep your joints, hair, thyroid and almost every cell in your body healthy and happy. Coconut oil is healthy for your heart because it contains about 50% lauric acid, which helps in preventing various heart problems including high cholesterol and high blood pressure.

Coconut oil has the ability to kill viruses that cause influenza, measles, hepatitis, herpes, SARS, etc. It also kills bacteria that cause ulcers, throat infections, urinary tract infections and pneumonia, etc. Coconut oil is also effective on fungi and yeast that cause candidiasis, ringworm, athlete’s food, thrust, diaper rash, etc.

If your joints hurt, you feel sluggish, have allergies, can’t lose weight no matter what you do, then you probably have candidiasis (yeast) overgrowth and coconut oil can rid your body of these nasty little invaders. Start by adding 1 teaspoon a day to your diet and work up to 1 tablespoon. I add my coconut oil to my morning smoothie. You will have some die-off and may have a feeling of flu symptoms or a feeling of unwellness, so don’t go too fast. Drink plenty of water and avoid sugar and sugar products such as juice. (Sugar is what keeps the nasties growing.) As the candida die off you will start to improve your health and you will get your energy back, and be able to shed the pounds.

Coconut oil is great for cooking and if you don’t like the taste then add part organic coconut oil and part organic olive oil to your pan. It can stand higher temperatures than most oil, but if it starts to smoke remove it from the heat, so the high heat doesn’t destroy all the benefits.

Coconut oil helps prevent liver diseases and kidney and gall bladder disease and helps to dissolve kidney stones. It is even believed to be useful in treating pancreatitis.

Coconut oil helps control blood sugar and is effective in utilization of blood glucose, thereby preventing and treating diabetes. It is great for bones and teeth as it helps your body to absorb important minerals such as calcium and magnesium.

Coconut oil breaks down the bad fat and is easily converted into energy. Best of all it does not lead to an accumulation of fat in the heart and arteries. Athletes love it because it helps to boost their energy and endurance and enhances their performance.

Coconut oil contains Vitamin E, Vitamin K and minerals such as iron.

If your hair tends to be dry then melt some of the oil in your microwave, wait for it to cool down a bit, then pour it on your scalp and work through your hair. Leave it on for 30 minutes for a real treatment. Just shampoo as you normally do, but notice how much healthier and shinier your hair is.

Wow, now that you know it is so healthy, please don’t avoid it. Find the best and most organic coconut oil that you can and add it to your diet."

"We do order Tropical Traditions Virgin coconut oil which is hand made. ALL other coconut oil is expeller expressed, even the virgin stuff. Tropical Traditions is the only coconut oil company in the US that has it own farms. they know everything about their oil. ALL others buy from huge importers who get it from everywhere and repackage, that is why they have so little information to share about their oil. They don't know where it came from. With Tropical Traditions you know your coconut oil farmer!"