Apple Sauce

I often recommend Jonagold Apples for my tart, pie or crisp recipes. I was researching the best Apples for Apple Sauce and the list of best Apples for various recipes including eating them fresh off the tree, Pies, Apple Sauce. Tarts, etc.... every list included Jonagold. I think it was the only variety on every list.

Here's my favorite recipe for Jonagold Apple Sauce:

12 Jonagold Apples, peeled, cored and chopped into 1/2" pieces
1/2 C Organic Apple Juice
1 TBS Irish Butter
1 tsp Cinnamon
1 TBS Raw Honey or Pure Maple Syrup ( Grade B or Grade A Dark Amber are the best Maple Syrups)

In a saucepan:
Melt butter on low
Add apple juice, apples , cinnamon
Cover and simmer on low for 20 minutes, stir occasionally
Add honey or maple syrup and mix well
Remove from heat
Mash with a potato masher to retain some chunks or use a stick blender ( immersion blender) and puree.

Enjoy!
Peace in the Kitchen!

Warm Barley Salad with Green Beans, Corn and Mint

As I was getting rid of some old magazines today, I saved some interesting recipes. This is another recipe from Cucina Italiana from 2001.
I've altered the recipe based on cooking instructions.

Barley is nutritious and full of vitamins. It's also a great source of protein, fiber and complex carbohydrates. It has no cholesterol and is low in fat.
It can be used in Casseroles, Soups, Salads, Curries, Stews and
even Desserts.

Warm Barley Salad with Green Beans , Corn and Mint:

2 TBS Olive oil + 1TBS
1/2 C each of Onion, Carrots, Celery ( chopped)
1/2 pound of fresh Green Beans, cut into 1" pieces
1/2 pound of Pearl Barley
3 C Vegetable Broth ( canned or from Bouillon Cubes)
A splash of White Wine
10 fresh Mint Leaves, chopped
1/2 C of  canned Corn, drained
Salt and Pepper to taste

Heat 2 TBS of Olive Oil in a Sauté Pan, on medium heat, cook until softened:
Onion
Carrot
Celery
Add Green Beans and continue to cook for 3 minutes.

Rinse and drain the Barley

In a large Saucepan, ( if using Vegetable Bouillon) bring 3 C of Water to a Boil with the Bouillon Cubes, according to Bouillon instructions)
Otherwise, heat the Vegetable Broth.

Toss Barley in with the Vegetable Mixture.and stir to mix well.
Add a Splash of Red Wine.
Add the Barley/Vegetable Mixture into the Saucepan with the Broth.
Cover the Pan and Simmer on Low for 45 minutes, or until the Barley is tender.

Remove from Heat, Stir in the Mint and Corn.
Salt and pepper to taste.
Place in a Serving Bowl and Drizzle with Remaining 1 TBS of Olive Oil.

Serve Warm

Enjoy!
Peace in the Kitchen.

Grilled Zucchini Rolls with Lemon Ricotta

I have a copy of Cucina Italiana from 2001. I was getting rid of some magazines today and I found this interesting Vegetarian recipe using grilled zucchini , ricotta cheese and lemon zest.

Ingredients

• One 3-pound container fresh ricotta
• Zest of 2 lemons, finely chopped
• Pinch of red pepper flakes
• 2½ tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra
• Salt and freshly ground pepper
• 2 large zucchini
• Baby arugula for garnish (or if unavailable, substitute regular arugula, julienned)

Instructions

To make the lemon ricotta: In a large mixing bowl, mix the ricotta with the zest, red pepper flakes, and olive oil and add salt and pepper to taste. Mix until well blended.

Heat a grill or grill pan. Using a mandoline or Y-shaped vegetable peeler, make 12 thin, lengthwise slices of zucchini about 1/8-inch thick. Brush slices lightly with olive oil and grill for approximately 30 seconds or until zucchini is soft and grill-marked. Remove to a rack and let cool.

Lay grilled zucchini strips on a flat work surface. Add approximately 1 tablespoon of the ricotta mixture to one end of the strip and roll. Garnish with baby arugula.

Dallas Morning News Taste Section 9/9/2013 Moosewood Restaurant and Cookbook! Vegetarian / Vegan Recipes

Moosewood Cookbook recipes:

Vegetable Barley Soup
Stovetop Almond Oatmeal
Falafel Burgers
Autumn Smoothie
Vegan Chocolate Cake
Vegan Orange Chocolate Glaze


The first recipe I thought about posting was Chocolate Buttermilk Pie. I actually love Chocolate and I love Buttermilk Pie. Wouldn't that be a win win recipe to blog about? But, I decided to pass on that one.
Actually I'm not posting a recipe from the paper today, but I will choose some favorites from my Moosewood Cookbook.  I've chosen to blog about a Cook Book and a Restaurant.
The headline read, "Moosewood keeps pace with the ideal it inspired"
I happen to be a fan of the Moosewood and their cookbooks. Moosewood began as a vegetarian restaurant and has evolved over the years.
"In the bearded, Birkenstocked 70's, the Moosewood Restaurant in upstate New York was more than a vegetarian eatery. It was the standard bearer of a movement, representative of a lifestyle, an ethic and an ideal".
"Quite simply, today's Moosewood is not the vegetarian menu of four decades ago". "Recipes for dukkah-crusted fish and Turkish borekas extend the restaurant's reputation for introducing international concepts and lighten the load on the obligatory tofu recipes; brown rice has been joined by grains and quinoa".
"The original Moosewood Cookbook, published in 1977 was the point of entry for many of today's older vegetarians  (though not all of the restaurant's dishes were vegetarian)".


Vegetable Barley Soup :

1/2 C raw hulled barley ( it's best to get the barley cooking first and then prepare the rest of the ingredients for the soup. You can even cook it the day before, then the soup can be made in about an hour)
7 C water
3 TBS olive oil
2 C chopped onions
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 C cubed white potatoes
1/2 C diced celery
1 C diced red bell peppers
1 c peeled and diced carrots
1 C cut green beans ( 1" pieces)
1 C cubed yellow summer squash ( or zucchini)
1 C chopped mushrooms
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/4 tsp dried marjoram
2 TBS dry sherry
2 TBS barley miso
pepper to taste
1/3 C chopped fresh parsley
chopped scallions

Rinse Barley , place in a saucepan with 3 C of the water.
Bring to a boil, cover and simmer on low until tender, about 1 1/4C to 1 1/2 C hours, drain

Warm oil in a large soup pot.
Add onion and salt, cook on medium high , stirring occasionally, about 8 minutes

Heat and simmer the remaining 4 C of the water in a separate saucepan

Stir in potatoes, celery, bell pepper, carrots, green beans, squash and mushrooms into the onions until well coated with oil. Add marjoram, thyme and sherry. Cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly.

Pour the simmering water into the soup pot.
Ladle out 1/2 C of the water and combine with the miso to form a smooth paste. Return it to the pot.
Add pepper to taste, cover and simmer until the vegetables are tender, about 15 minutes.
Add the drained barley to the soup and stir in the parsley and cook for 5 minutes more.

Serve topped with scallions.

Enjoy!
Peace in the Kitchen!



Oatmeal was such a common food for Hippy Communes.I though I'd choose one of the recipes from the Cook Book.

Stovetop Almond Oatmeal:

2 C rolled oats ( Old Fashioned Oats) , not quick cooking oats.

4 C water

1 tsp salt

1 C whole, un blanched almonds ( In Texas, we would use toasted pecans)

3 TBS raspberry or apricot preserves

Brown sugar or additional preserves as a topping.

In a saucepan with a lid, bring to a boil:

water

salt
lower heat to medium low and simmer for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Meanwhile, toast the almonds in a single layer on an un greased cookie sheet pan at 350 degrees for 5 - 10 minutes, until fragrant and golden brown.
Finely chop them in a coffee grinder or a food processor.

While the almonds are toasting:
Add preserves to oatmeal and cook for an additional 5 minutes, stirring.
Oatmeal should begin to be sooth and thickened.

Remove from heat, cool for 2 -3 minutes and serve immediately.
As an option, add additional nuts, preserves or brown sugar to top the oatmeal.

Enjoy!
Peace in the Kitchen!



Autumn Smoothie:

1 ripe pear ( use a really ripe and juicy pear), peeled, cored, chopped
1/2 C unsweetened apple juice
1/2 C soy or almond milk
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 drops pure almond extract
a pinch of cinnamon

Puree all ingredients in a blender.
Serve over ice

Enjoy!
Peace in the Kitchen!


Vegan Chocolate Cake:

1 1/2 C unbleached white flour
1/3 C unsweetened cocoa powder ( I use a good Dutch Processed Cocoa)
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 C sugar
1/2 C vegetable oil
1 C chilled brewed coffee
2 tsp vanilla
2 TBS cider vinegar

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees
Oil an 8" square or round baking pan and dust with a little sifted cocoa  \or line with parchment paper, or use my foolproof Pan Release Recipe found on the blog under Tips, Hints and More.

In a medium bowl, sift together:
flour
cocoa
soda
salt
sugar

In another bowl combine:
oil
coffee
vanilla

Pour liquid ingredients into dry ingredients and combine until smooth.
Add vinegar and stir briefly
The baking soda will begin to react with the vinegar immediately, leaving pale swirls in the batter.
Without wasting time, pour the batter into the prepared pan.

Bake at 375 degrees for 25 - 30 minutes
Cool on a wire rack
When completely cooled, transfer to a serving platter.

Dust the cake with powdered sugar or the following Vegan Orange Chocolate Glaze.

Vegan Orange Chocolate Glaze:

1 1/2 C semi chocolate chips
3 TBS fresh orange juice
1 tsp freshly grated orange peel.

In a double boiler or a small heavy saucepan:
melt the chocolate chips with the orange juice and orange peel on medium heat, blending thoroughly.
Spread the glaze over the cooled cake and allow to cool before cutting and serving.

Enjoy!
Peace in the Kitchen!

Pumpkin Baked Oatmeal

I had almost given up on Oatmeal recipes. I have given up on the concept of making it in a crock - pot and I haven't really found a great baked oatmeal recipe. I think this may be the one!

I have to give credit to someone for this recipe, it's not my own. I am constantly researching  recipes and I'm not sure the route I took to discover this one. So, I'll start with giving credit to Melissa's Southern Style Kitchen and then to Barefeet in the Kitchen....Maybe these are the ones where I found it.
I don't want to take credit for it, but if I've missed the origin and someone reads this, please let me know.

3 C Old Fashioned Rolled Oats
1/2 C brown sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 C raisins
3 eggs
1/2 C pumpkin puree ( not pumpkin pies filling)
1/4 C vegetable oil ( I changed this from Olive Oil, I'm not a fan of adding olive oil to a recipe like this. the flavor is too strong. I have theory that you cook with vegetable and "eat " Olive Oil.
1 1/2 C whole milk
1/2 tsp vanilla extract ( get the best you can afford)

Pre heat the oven to 350 degrees.
Grease an 8"X8" baking dish or a 2 quart casserole dish.
You can  grease it with butter or the Pan Release Recipe that I use.

Pour the batter into the prepared baking dish and bake  for 30 - 40 minutes.

Enjoy!
Peace in the Kitchen!

Harvesting Rosemary Today!

We grow a lot of Rosemary and we cook with Rosemary.
I have many recipes utilizing Fresh Rosemary and we have it available all year.
I cut branches during the summer and bundle them together with twine and hang the bunches in the garage, to dry.
When they're completely dry, I squeeze, twist and strip the needles from the branches. I compost the branches and process the dried needles in a coffee grinder that I only use for dried herbs.
I combine the crushed Rosemary with French Sea Salt and put some of it in a Clay Shaker that we bought in London. The remainder is put in my Herb Box.
I use the Rosemary infused Salt in many dishes that I cook.
I love the taste of Herb infused Sea Salt.
I also dry Basil and Oregano from our Herb Garden.
Even if you don't have the space for a large Herb Garden, you can grow Herbs indoors in Terra Cotta Pots.
I hope you take the time to grow and use your own Fresh and Dried Herbs.

I posted some pictures of the process.

Enjoy!
Peace in the Kitchen!

Some of the branches before they're stripped

These are the needles after they're stripped

This is the Coffee Grinder that I only use for dried herbs
and the clay shaker that we bought in London

This is my Herb Box, it contains,
Herbed Sea Salt
Salt Free Seasoning
Plain Sea Salt
Herbes de Provence
Lemon Pepper
Pepper Corns ( in the well you can't see)
The lid swings around to expose the wells

Fruit Cheesecake Shooters from The Pioneer Woman / Ree Drummond

I just saw this crazy, simple, sort of amazing dessert on The Pioneer Woman.
There really isn't a recipe for these, it's just so simple.
She calls them shooters based on the small wine glasses she used. You could use what ever size glass you have.

Here are the basic ingredients and the amounts of each would depend on how many guests you're serving and how large the glasses are.

Graham Crackers, place them in a zip lock bag and roughly crush with a rolling pin, ( they'll become the crust )

1 8oz. package of cream cheese to 1 can of sweetened condensed milk, beaten well in a stand mixer or by hand until it becomes creamy smooth, ( this becomes the "cheesecake filling").

Canned Pie Filling, your favorite flavor..... Cherry, Blueberry, Apple , Peach , Lemon, Strawberry... etc.( this becomes the topping)

Slivered Almonds, roughly chopped.

Begin layering the glasses in the following order:

1. Some Graham Cracker Crumbs
2. Some Cheese Cake Filling , place it in a pastry bag or( ziplock, with a small cut in one corner), and pipe it into the glasses)
3. Some Pie Filling
4. Sprinkle with some Almonds

That's It!
It doesn't get much easier than that and they are delicious!

Enjoy!
Peace in the Kitchen!