Crock Pot Breakfast

A friend shared this recipe with me.
This is an adaptation.
I don't know the origin of it, but I think it's a great Fall and Winter recipe.

2 apples, peeled and roughly chopped.( I recommend Jonagold Apples)
1/4 C brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp salt
Don't Mix the ingredients
Place in a Slow Cooker in order listed

Add 2 C oatmeal
2 C milk
2 C water
Do not stir
Cook on low for 8-9 hours

Enjoy!
Peace in the Kitchen!

Fried Plantains (Memories of days spent on the Island of St. Lucia)

St. Lucia:

I spent some time in the West Indies on the Island of St. Lucia back in the 70's. I was growing out of my Hippy stage. Maybe it was the end of that era in my life, or maybe not. We were quite carefree on the island. Anyway, I experienced the culture and the food of the West Indies and a few memories have remained with me.
I stayed in a house on the side of the mountain. There were no actual windows in the house. It was an amazing view of the Caribbean Sea.
Just off the opened living area were many Cashew trees. It was the first time I had ever seen them. We had a cook that would arrive everyday and plan meals for us. It was the first time I had experienced fried Cashew Nuts. He would cook them in coconut oil , salt them and serve them hot. The taste was incredible.
He taught me how to climb a coconut tree and I have a picture of that experience somewhere in my thousands of photographs of my worldly travels. I may have to post that someday so that my grandchildren will know that I wasn't just telling them a crazy story.
The chef would shave strips of fresh coconut and fry them in coconut oil. They were an afternoon snack served with a traditional St. Lucian cocktail.
The last food that I experienced for the first time was a fried Plantain.
Prior to that trip, I had never even seen a Plantain.
He would slice them, fry them, smash them and refry them, salt them and serve them as a chip for another afternoon snack.
I absolutely loved all of the new foods that I experienced.
I continued to make these items when I returned home from the island.
I never really had a recipe for the Plantains but I had my memories of watching the chef prepare them.
My children and grandchildren recently took a trip to Puerto Rico. It's another island that loves Plantains. As they were describing the foods that they experienced on the island, it brought back memories of St. Lucia. I was especially interested that they had eaten Fried Plantains and liked them.

Here is my recipe for Fried Plantains as I remember them:
I hope some of my readers will make this recipe and create a new food memory.

4 green plantains
vegetable oil ( on the island it was always coconut oil)
salt

Peel and slice the Plantains on an angle 1/4" to 1/2"
Preheat the oil in a cast iron skillet
In small batches, fry the slices for 2 - 3 minutes on each side
Remove, drain on paper towels ( they drained them on pieces of brown paper bags)
Use a meat mallet ( or whatever you have on hand that would smash a Plantain ) I use a stainless steel measuring cup, smash them to 1/8"thick
Place them back in the oil and fry 2 minutes per side, until golden brown and crispy.
Drain again and sprinkle them with sea salt
I've included a dipping sauce recipe, but you can just eat them without it if you choose.

Mojo Sauce :

1/4 C olive oil
5 cloves of garlic, minced
1 TBS finely chopped cilantro, parsley or rosemary... etc. ( whatever herb you have available).
Salt to taste

Combine oil and garlic in a saucepan
Heat on low for about 5 minutes
Remove from heat
Place in a serving bowl
Add herbs and salt
Dip the crispy Fried Plantains in the sauce


Here's another sauce that can be used as a dipping sauce ;
This one comes from Bhutan, a country in the Himalayan Mountains.

1/3 C olive oil 
2/3 C sour orange juice (or half and half regular orange juice and lime juice)
6 cloves garlic, finely chopped 
1/2 tsp cumin, ground 
1/2 tsp salt 
1/2 tsp pepper 

Prepare the same as the previous sauce.



Enjoy!
Peace in the Kitchen!

Vintage slides
of St. Lucia:

the rough side of the island

this may be the island of Filicudi off the coast of Sicily.
Oh Well, another story , another time!
That was definitely a Hippy experience during
my many travels!

one of the grand pitons

the view from the opened living space in the house

I salted them with my Rosemary infused Sea Salt

Vegetable Tian

• I hesitated to post this recipe. When I discovered that it was shared from another blog, I researched it and found two other blogs that had posted the same picture, the exact picture. I do not post photographs other than my own. In this case I am not going to list the 3 blogs that posted the same recipe and the same photograph. Instead, I will simply say that this is not an original recipe and I will not post a photograph unless it's my own.
  I liked the recipe so much that I felt  I should share it with my readers. I could have adapted it, changed it and made it my own, but I chose not to do that. I hope this covers all Food Blogging etiquette, otherwise I will gladly pull it from my blog.
  
  
  A Tian is a layered, baked vegetable dish that originated in Provence. It is traditionally served for Bastille Day. It was made at this time because the Summer Vegetables used in the recipe were in season. Unlike a gratin, a Tian does not include bread crumbs or cheese, which allows the juices in the vegetables to evaporate in the oven's dry heat, concentrating their flavors.
  
  This recipe does include a bit of cheese, a traditional Tian doesn't.
  
  1 TBS. olive oil
  1 medium yellow onion, finely diced
  1 tsp. minced garlic
  1 medium zucchini, thinly sliced
  1 medium yellow squash, thinly sliced
  1 medium potato, thinly sliced
  1 medium tomato, thinly sliced
  1 tsp. dried thyme
  salt & pepper, to taste
  1 cup shredded Italian cheese ( I used Organic Paragon Cheese from The Van Huizen's Dairy in Texas) It's very comparable to an Italian Hard Cheese.
  I bought the Cheese at a very cool shop on Mesquite St. in Arlington.
  
  The shop is called Potager's Other Stuff, it's part of the Potager Cafe on Mesquite St. just south of the store.  http://www.potagercafe.com/
  The owner is Cynthia and the restaurant is amazing.
  If you're ever in the area, I highly recommend it.
  You'll love the food, the atmosphere, the staff and especially the proprietor.
  The concept of the restaurant is very clever. Look it up and let me know if you ever eat there or shop at the store!
  
  
   Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
   Sauté onion and garlic in a skillet with olive oil until softened (about five minutes).
  
  Spray the inside of an 8x8 square baking dish with non-stick spray. Spread the softened onion and garlic in the bottom of the dish. Place the thinly sliced vegetables in the baking dish vertically, in an alternating pattern. Sprinkle generously with salt, pepper, and thyme.
  
  Cover the dish with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the foil, top with cheese and bake for another 15-20 minutes or until the cheese is golden brown
  
  Enjoy!
  Peace in the Kitchen!
  
  
  
  

  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  

Crunchy Roasted Peanut Butter

This is so appropriate for the Hippy in The Kitchen Blog.
In the 60's, we made our own peanut butter.
I happen to prefer crunchy, but you can alway add additional oil and honey to create a creamy consistency. Begin by processing the peanuts before adding additional ingredients to get a creamier butter.

This is so simple and fast that I find it worth the effort. Good peanut butter can be a bit expensive.

1 C dry roasted, salted , extra large peanuts.
2 TBS olive oil
1 TBS honey
1/8 tsp salt

You'll need a small food processor for this recipe
The recipe can be made larger so use the appropriate sized processor.

Add peanuts and salt to the processor.
Drizzle the honey over the peanuts.
Begin pulsing for about a minute, scraping the sides as needed. At the end you should have started to see a crunchy consistency.
Slowly drizzle in the oil.
Continue pulsing for about a minute or two. Continue processing until you reach the consistency you like.
Scraping when needed.

The process is simple and you can create your own consistency. Creamier, add  more oil or honey, or a combination of both.
This is not an exact recipe, the options are yours.
Additional honey will result in a sweeter butter.
No salt, less salt depending on the amount of salt in the peanuts you choose.

Store in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.

Enjoy!
Peace in the Kitchen!

Cranberry Salad

I know it may seem early for some to start thinking about the Holidays and planning a menu. For me, it's never too early. I am constantly researching recipes and I am sure I will be posting many of them in September.

Here's just another version of Cranberry Salad for Thanksgiving. This is definitely a vintage All American Holiday Recipe.

1 package of fresh cranberries ( you know the bag that's available just prior to Thanksgiving)
1 2/3 C sugar
1 C chopped pecans
1 C halved red grapes
1 container of Frozen Whipped Topping, thawed

Grind the cranberries. ( I thought the same thing you're thinking..... what? when was the last time you saw a grinder. I know my grandmother used one for meat and ... cranberries. Since most of us don't have them, we use a food processor and pulse them until they reach the stage of being "ground")

Place the cranberries in a colander over a bowl and cover with the sugar.( no need to stir)
Let them drain in the colander for 8 hours
Discard the juice or reserve it for cocktails ( mixed with Vodka), but you don't need it for this recipe.

Mix remaining ingredients in a bowl , add the cranberries and refrigerate for several hours before serving.

Enjoy!
Peace in the Kitchen!

Instant Cappuccino Mix

Instant Cappuccino Mix

This makes a hot, instant, homemade Cappuccino drink.

2 C non dairy coffee creamer
1 C instant dry milk
1 1/2 TBS Chocolate Nesquik
2/3 C instant coffee ( I use Medaglia D'Oro instant espresso) ( Folger's or Nescafe)
3/4 C sugar
3/4 C Confectioner's sugar
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp nutmeg
a dash of vanilla

Mix all but the vanilla
Store in a sealed container

Use 3 rounded TBS of the mix per cup of hot water
Add a dash of Vanilla to each cup of Cappuccino.

Enjoy!
Peace in the Kitchen!

Grilled Corn, Avocado and Tomato Salad

This recipe was shared by a niece and it became our favorite summer salad.
Thanks Heather...... we enjoy the recipes the family shares!


Grilled Corn, Avocado and Tomato Salad:

1 pint grape tomatoes, cut in half
1 ripe avocado, sliced
2 ears of fresh sweet corn
2 TBS chopped fresh cilantro

Dressing:

Juice of 1 lime
3 TBS vegetable oil
1 TBS honey
Sea salt and fresh cracked black pepper, to taste
1 clove garlic, minced
1/8 tsp of cayenne pepper


Remove husks from corn and grill over medium heat for 10 minutes. I have a tip for husking corn in my Tips, Hints and More post.
Cut the corn off the cob and scrape the cob with the back of a knife to get the liquid.
Set aside and cool.


Honey Lime Dressing:

Add all the dressing ingredients in a small bowl and whisk to combine. Set aside.

Combine  tomatoes, avocado, cilantro, corn and dressing , mix well
Let it sit for 10-15 minutes before serving.

Enjoy!
Peace in the Kitchen!