Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Cinnamon sugar butternut squash seeds (vegan, easy, frugal, gluten free)




I used a butternut squash for a recipe I made tonight- look out for it to be featured soon and didn't want to waste the seeds, so I took a tip from hangrypants and roasted my seeds. All I did was clean off the seeds, sprinkle then in cinnamon and sugar until they were lightly coated, put them in a pan that was lightly greased, and baked in the oven at 375 until they were done- they were good and soft inside after 15 minutes, and crispy inside the shells after 25.

Super simple, super delish, and no waste!

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Mimi's Silky Vegetable Soup



4 cups water
1/2 onion
3 cloves garlic
1/2 tbsp salt
1 tsp pepper
2 zuchini
1 carrot
1 stalk celery
2 baby sweey potatos(or a half of a large one)
1 medium red potato
Enough oil to cover botom of pan, or water to saute veggies in

Chop the garlic, onion, carrots, and celery until soft
Add in the water, zuchini, salt, pepper, sweet potato, and red potato
Cook until soft and falling apart(30 minutes to an hour)
Puree with a hand blender or regular blender
ENJOY!

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Gluten free Bagels( Vegan, Gluten Free, Freezable)



I recieved this recipe from recipezaar, and just edited it so that it makes moist gluten free bagels

Quick and simple bagel recipe. Be sure to use instant, not active, dry yeast. Using instant yeast lets you cut down the cooking time.
SERVES 6 (change servings and units)

Ingredients
2 1/2 cups bread flour ( I used my gluten free flour blend)
1/2 teaspoon instant dry yeast
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup lukewarm water (varies depending on type of flour and weather) - I ended up needing to use an extra 1/4-1/2 a cup of water to get the right texture.

Directions

1.Put flour, sugar, and salt into large bowl and mix lightly. Add yeast and water, then knead together ingredients with hands. The dough will be sticky at first.

2.Once you have combined the ingredients into a manageable dough, take out the dough onto a flat kneading surface. Knead dough firmly with your hands until the dough is no longer lumpy and powdery, approximately 15min. Add sprinkles of water or flour as necessary to keep the dough manageable -- it will get elastic but pretty stiff.

3. Cut dough into 6 pieces. Shape each piece into a ball. Cover with plastic wrap or a damp paper towel to prevent drying.

4.Shape the dough. You can either poke a hole in the middle with your finger and stretch out into a bagel shape or roll out the dough into a rope and tie the ends together. The dough will expand, so leave a nice big hole in the middle.

5.Cover the bagels with plastic wrap and let rest for about 15 minutes (in a warm place, like an oven turned on to 200, and then shut off once it reached that temperature).

6.In the meantime, fill a large pot with water and a teaspoon of sugar or honey and bring to a simmer. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

7.When the dough is ready, carefully drop them into the water and let them simmer for about 15 seconds on each side, flipping them only once. The bagels should float. Keeping the water boiling too hard or flipping too much will cause the surface of the bagels to crinkle later. I usually boil two at a time.

8.Take the bagels out with a slotted spoon and blot excess water. If you would like to add toppings, do so now. For small or crumbly toppings such as sesame and poppyseed, dump out the toppings on a small plate and gently press the top of the bagel into the topping.

9.Put the bagels onto a baking sheet and let bake until brown, approximately 15 minute.

Sunday, November 9, 2008

Schwarma sole fillets, lightly curried jasmine rice and spicy sweet potato fries


So I'm blogging from Israel! They sell some really great spice mixes here, and I bought a schwarma packet to try out. I used it on sole fillets, but really you could use any white fish or chicken or meat. We have a great recipe for schwarma chicken right on this very blog! We've eaten out a few times but it's much cheaper to cook at home in the apartment we're staying at, plus it gives me a chance to explore the supermarkets and try new things. Look forward to new recipes soon and enjoy!

Schwarma sole

1. Place 6 small sole fillets in a well-oiled pan.
2. Sprinkle both sides with schwarma seasoning and a little bit of oil.
3. Slice onions on top of the fillets.
4. Grill/broil in oven until onions and edges of fillets crisp.

Curried jasmine rice

1. Boil 2 cups of water in a pot.
2. Add one cup of jasmine rice.
3. Add salt, black pepper and a small amount of curry powder (barely enough to color the water).
4. Simmer until the rice is light and fluffy.
5. Add a little more curry and some granulated garlic.

Spicy sweet potato fries

1. Slice one large or several small sweet potatoes.
2. Place in frying pan with oil over low to medium heat.
3. Season with spicy paprika or chili powder, granulated garlic, salt and pepper.
4. Saute until the sweet potato slices soften in the middle and brown on the outside.

Saturday, November 8, 2008

Singapoor noodles (Vegetarian- can be made vegan, gluten free, nut free)


This dish may look ugly, but I swear it is delish! I had to fight my 7 month old for this! She gobbled it up!

Singapore Noodles
Ingredients
1 cup lite unsweetened coconut milk
1 1/2 cup vegetable broth
6 tablespoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon Curry Powder
2 teaspoon honey or sugar
1/2 teaspoon Ground Cumin
1/4 teaspoon Ground Red Pepper
1 pound angle hair pasta, cooked and drained

Preparation
1. Stir coconut milk, vegetable broth, soy sauce, Curry Powder, honey, Ground Cumin and Ground Red Pepper in small saucepan over medium heat.
2. Place hot pasta in serving bowl.
3. Add sauce to pasta and toss to coat. Serve hot.
You can also add all sort of veggies- next time I am going to put in diced cucumbers and peppers!
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 5 minutes, plus pasta cooking time

Sunday, November 2, 2008

Vegan French Bread Rolls and Pumpkin Apple Butter





Vegan Easy French Bread
* 1 Tablespoon quick rise dry yeast
* 1 cup warm water (110 degrees to 115 degrees)- you may need to add up to 2 to get the right texture with the gluten free flour- The dough should be very sticky and tacky.
* 2 tablespoons sugar
* 2 tablespoons vegetable oil/olive oil
* 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
* 3 cups all-purpose gluten free flour



DIRECTIONS

1. In a large mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Add the sugar, oil, salt and 3 cups flour. Beat until blended. Stir in enough water to form a sticky dough.
2. Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour. Punch dough down; return to bowl. Cover and let rise for 30 minutes.
3. Punch dough down. Roll into 12 small rolls, Cover and let rise until doubled, about 25 minutes.
4. Bake at 375 until the outside of the rolls get crispy, yet still soft on the inside.

Ingredients:

* 1 can (15 ounces) 100% Pure Pumpkin
* 1 medium apple, peeled and grated ( I sliced it thinly with a vegetable peeler
* 1 cup Apple Juice
* 1/2 cup sugar
* 1/2 teaspoon each of ginger, cinnamon, and cloves (this is very spiced- you can half the spices if you prefer)

Directions:
COMBINE pumpkin, apple, Juicy Juice, sugar and pumpkin pie spice in medium, heavy-duty saucepan. Bring to a boil; reduce heat to low. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 1 1/2 hours. Serve with buttermilk biscuits, breads, corn muffins or hot cereal. Store in airtight container in refrigerator for up to 2 months.

Recipe makes 3 cups.

New Header!

I hope you guys enjoy the new header. Zestycook designed it for me, and I love the flair it adds to my blog!