Monster Cookies!

These could also be called everything-but-the-kitchen-sink-cookies. Adapted from Pioneer Woman's recipe.

Yield: approx 2 1/2 dozen cookies
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 15 min

Monster Cookies

2 sticks soft butter
1/2 c sugar
1 c brown sugar (if you only have white sugar, just use that plus 1-2 tsp molasses)
2 eggs
1 T vanilla
1 1/2 c flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 c oats
1/2 c M & M's or Reese's pieces candies
1/2 c toasted pecans or almonds or walnuts
1/2 c chocolate chips
1/2 c toasted unsweetened coconut
2 1/2 c corn flakes (or any other neutral tasting cereal you have on hand)

Preheat oven to 375. Cream butter and sugars, add eggs, vanilla, mix. Add baking soda, baking powder, salt and mix well, blend in flour. You'll need to stir the rest of the ingredients in as this batter gets pretty thick. No need to overmix - just make sure everything is well incorporated. Scoop about 2 Tblsp of dough onto cookie sheet and bake for 14-18 min. (less time for a chewier cookie). These are a great crowd pleaser! Trust me. 

Winter Citrus Salad

Oranges and tangerines are so good right now, but if you don't have any on hand, you can easily substitute a tart apple or ripe pear in this salad. You can also substitute some other soft cheese for the goat cheese - I just had that in the fridge!

Yield: approx. 1 1/2 c dressing
Prep time: 10 minutes, tops!

Ingredients:

Dressing:
4 T peach preserves 
2 T water
1/4 c apple cider vinegar
1/2 tsp EACH salt / pepper
1 T fresh lemon juice
1 small garlic clove
1/3 c - 1/2 c olive oil

Place everything in a blender except for the oil....or use an immersion blender and place all these ingredients in a mason jar. I won't go on and on (again) about the wonders of the immersion blender...but once again it proves it's usefulness in this recipe! Blend all the ingredients except for the oil. Then slowly pour oil into mixture as motor is running. The amt of oil is arbitrary in this recipe because it depends on how thick you like your dressing. Taste it as you go and adjust to your preference. 

Mix the dressing with the following:

greens - any kind, I used a mixture of spinach and mixed greens
red onion - very thinly sliced
goat cheese, crumbled
tangerines, sliced
croutons, optional

This recipe can easily be doubled if you are entertaining! Enjoy!

CCC!

Chewy Carrot Cookies!!!

Adapted from The Natural Health Cookbook by Dana Jacobi

1/2 c whole wheat flour
1/2 c white flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 c oats (toasted)
1/2 c chopped pecans (toasted)
1 c shredded carrots
1/4 c canola oil
1/4 c coconut oil*
1/2 c maple syrup
1/2 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 375. To toast oats and pecans: place in cast iron skillet over med/low heat, stir every couple minutes. Cook until oats and nuts smell fragrant and look toasty.

Combine flours, baking powder, salt, oats. Stir in toasted nuts, oats, and carrots. In a separate bowl whisk oils*, maple syrup, and vanilla. Add to dry ingredients and stir just until combined. 

Bake for 14-18 minutes until just browned around the edges. Let cool on the cookie sheet for a couple minutes - this will help the cookies to set up.

*Depending on what time of year it is, your coconut oil may be solid as a rock, which makes it a little difficult to measure. If this is the case, just scoop some into a bowl and microwave until the coconut oil is liquefied and then measure it out. This will also make whisking the wet ingredients easier. 

Homemade Egg Nog

Eggnog. Either you love it or you don't...I love it! And here is a healthier version - sans the white sugar!

Yield: Approx. 1 quart 
Prep time: ~ 10 min.
Cook time: ~ 30 min.

4 c whole milk
1/2 c heavy cream
2 eggs 
3 egg yolks
1/4 c honey
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp each: rum extract, ground nutmeg

Slowly heat the milk and heavy cream over medium heat. Stir it with a whisk every minute or so - but don't leave it for long - you'll burn it if you do. In the meantime, crack the eggs into a heatproof bowl and whisk. 

When milk is steaming (not boiling), lower the temperature on the stove and slowly temper the egg mixture by adding about 1/4 c of hot milk at a time to the bowl. Whisk as you do this. When you've added about 2 c of the hot milk mixture to the eggs, slowly pour this back into the milk mixture, whisking the entire time. Return the pot to medium heat and continue whisking until it begins to bubble and thicken. This took about 15 minutes for me. When thick, remove mixture from the heat and add honey, salt, extract and nutmeg. 

Allow mixture to cool until it's slightly warm. Use an immersion blender or regular blender and blend until smooth and refrigerate.

Enjoy!

Granola!

Granola is a great breakfast alternative to my usual egg sandwich. I adapted this one from The Kind Diet by Alicia Silverstone. 

Yield: Approx. 9 c granola
Prep time: ~ 15 min.
Cook time: ~ 50 min.

6 c oats (not quick)
1/2 c canola oil or coconut oil (coconut oil has more flavor, I think!)
1/3 c table syrup or maple syrup (this amount is flexible, 1/3 c will make a sweet granola)
1/4 c maple sugar (or just plain ole' white sugar) opt. depending on how sweet you want it!
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp EACH salt, cinnamon
1/2 c flaxmeal (ground up flaxseeds)
1/2 c lightly toasted, unsweetened coconut
1/2 c sunflower seeds
1/2 c chopped walnuts
3/4 c chopped almonds
opt. 1/4 c flaxseeds
1/2 c EACH craisins (or raisins), chopped dates

Preheat oven to 350. Place oats on large cookie sheet, bake 20 minutes (this toasts them and brings out their natural nutty flavor). Whisk the oil, syrup, sugar, vanilla, salt, cinnamon in one bowl, then pour over the rest of the ingredients EXCEPT for the dried fruit. Add oats, stir well, spread in one layer on 1-2 cookie sheets and bake for 30 (ish) minutes total. Stir after 15 minutes. Add fruit after removing from oven. Cool and put in air tight container. Enjoy with yogurt or milk or over vanilla ice cream. 

Black-eyed Pea Croquettes

This recipe was adapted from Alicia Silverstone's book The Kind Diet. I've recently made some vegan friends and they are challenging my assumption that all good food must include two of my favorite ingredients: butter and cheese. 

So...here goes!

Yield: ~ 30 croquettes, depending on how large you make them
Prep time: ~ 30 min, plus overnight for soaking the peas
Cook time: ~ 30 min for frying

Croquettes:
3 c black eyed peas (soaked overnight)
1/2 c fresh (if possible) herbs (combo of basil, thyme, cilantro, parsley)
2-3 T lemon juice (depending on how lemony you like things)
1 round tsp garlic powder
1 round tsp salt
1 round tsp cumin
1 T soy sauce or Braggs
Canola oil for frying

Dipping sauce:
1/2 c maple syrup, brown rice syrup, or table syrup (or a combo!)
1/4 c apple cider vinegar (or to taste, you may like it thinner, or thicker, so adjust this as you see fit)
1/4 - 1/2 tsp chili flakes (or to taste)
2 T spicy brown mustard, not the yellow stuff...
1/4 - 1/2 c chopped green onions (or to taste)

Drain the peas, put them in Cuisinart  and blend. You may need to blend in batches. With the last batch of peas, add the fresh herbs (this will save you from having to chop them!). In a large bowl, combine all the croquette ingredients. With wet hands, shape filling into egg-shaped balls. I shaped a whole cookie sheet full of them, so I could just fry them all at once. 

When you have shaped the croquettes, heat about 1/4 inch canola oil in a cast iron or nonstick skillet, when the oil is hot (but not smoking), place croquettes in pan. Keep a close eye on them and flip when browned (approx 3-5 min). 

When croquettes are browned on all sides, place them on paper towels or wire rack to drain. You will need to add more oil to the pan as you cook batches of these. 

For sauce:
Whisk all the ingredients together. As I mentioned, you can modify these tastes...like spicy? add more chilis. Like sweet? add less vinegar...you get the picture.   

Blueberry Muffins

These muffins were made using a combination of two different recipes: the muffins came from Gourmet and the topping came from Food and Wine. 

Yield: 12 muffins
Prep time: ~ 20 min
Cook time: ~ 30 min

Dry Ingredients:

1 3/4 c whole wheat pastry flour (if you don't have pastry flour, you can just use regular whole wheat flour, and whiz it in the blender for 30 seconds or so....this works just fine)
1/2 c sugar
2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
1 tsp lemon zest

Wet Ingredients:
1 egg
1/4 c milk (any kind, I used soymilk)
1/4 c heavy cream or half n' half
1/4 c yogurt (plain or vanilla)
5 T butter, melted
1 1/2 c blueberries

Topping:

2 T melted butter
1/2 c flour (white will be more crumbly...but you can use whole wheat)
1/2 tsp baking powder
2 T sugar
1-2 T brown sugar (depending on how sweet you want it)
pinch of salt

Line 12 muffin tins with muffin liners, and spray them with nonstick spray or lightly brush with butter. Preheat oven to 375.

Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl, mix well. In another bowl, whisk egg, milk, cream, yogurt together, add butter. Pour wet mixture into dry mixture, add blueberries and stir until just barely incorporated. This will be a fairly dense mixture, but don't panic...these muffins will be delicious!

Using the bowl that the wet ingredients were mixed in, combine all the topping ingredients, mix with a fork or your fingers. The mixture should resemble peas and be crumbly. If it seems too wet, sprinkle in a little more flour and sugar. 

Fill muffin liners with batter and top with topping mixture. Bake 30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Enjoy!

FOR MUFFINS

• 1 3/4 cups whole-wheat pastry flour
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 cup whole milk
• 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• 1 1/2 cups blueberries (about 7 ounces)

FOR TOPPING

• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

• EQUIPMENT:

   
  a muffin pan (preferably nonstick) with 12 (1/3- to 1/2-cup) muffin cups

MAKE MUFFIN BATTER:

• Preheat oven to 375°F with rack in middle. Butter muffin pan.
• Whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl, then whisk in zest.
• Whisk egg in another bowl, then whisk in milk and butter. Add to dry ingredients and stir with a rubber spatula until just combined (batter will be dense). Fold i