Rice pudding courtesy of Joel :-)

Rice Pudding recipe (from Mops):

2 qt. milk
3/4 C rice (I often use 1 C)
Rinse rice and bring these to boil then lower to a simmer (stirring from time to time so it doesn't stick) for about 1 hour, until most of milk is
consumed. If you have it, I often add a piece(about 2 in long) of cinnamon
to the milk-rice as it simmers.
3 eggs
1 C sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
Blend these together in a small dish and pour into rice mixture. Cook, stirring often (so it doesn't stick) for about 10 minutes more on very low heat (so it doesn't splatter). Cool and serve with raisins, cinnamon (if not simmered with milk), whatever else you like.

Jalapeño-Cheddar Scones

This weekend is our big camping trip and we've been assigned breakfast. I've been dying to test out these savory scones that I saw online a while back (http://nymag.com/listings/recipe/jalapeno-cheddar-scones/). Finally I'll get to use up some of those jalapeno's that are collecting on my plant out back. Here is the recipe with some notes in paren from my trial.

Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tbs. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
8 tbs. cold butter, diced (separated)
½ cup heavy cream (I used half and half)
2 eggs
¼ lb. sharp Cheddar cheese, diced
2 small jalapeño pepper, minced (could have used more)
Egg wash (1 egg beaten with 1 tsp. water)

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 400. Sauté jalapeños in a skillet on v. low heat w/.5 T butter until soft, 2 minutes. Place in a bowl w/Cheddar cheese and coat with 1 T of flour. In another bowl, combine the rest of the flour with baking powder & salt. Cut in remaining butter with a fork until the butter is pea-size.

Lightly whip eggs and cream (put them in a bowl &whisk until they're pretty bubbly on top) and add to the flour-and-butter mixture. Fold into flour mixture until it begins to come together. Add Cheddar-and-jalapeño mixture to the dough & mix until everything is incorporated. Turn out the dough onto a well-floured surface and knead gently for less than one minute. Roll dough ¾-1-inch thick and cut into 8 triangles. Brush w/egg wash & place on well-oiled baking sheet (I used parchment).
Bake for 25 minutes or until golden brown. (I made mine smaller and baked for only 15 minutes.)

Follow-up to lemon curd!

As you already know, I have a new found love and its name is Lemony Deliciousness. I made my first batch last weekend, served up parfait style with blueberries on top.

This weekend we have a party to attend and I thought it might make a tasty summer treat. So I decided a lemon blueberry tart would be a good thing to try.

Having never made a tart before I had no idea what to expect (or what to do). But I must say that I am VERY pleased with the results. Below is the link to the recipe I followed, be warned... It's very unusual.

http://www.davidlebovitz.com/archives/2009/05/french_tart_dough_a_la_francaise.html

I had my doubts. But I was shocked at how easy it was and how good it turned out. I'm thinking of trying it again soon, but instead filling it with some homemade chocolate mint pudding. Mmmmm.

Homemade lemon curd

One word. Amazing.

Aside from taking the time to squeeze and zest the lemons, it basically took care of itself. At 10 minutes it still looked like soup and then voila at 11 minutes it was lemon curd.

Seriously, take the time to do it. Maybe 30 minutes total. Pop it in the fridge and then serve with fresh blueberries.

http://www.joyofbaking.com/LemonCurd.html

Bocce & summer sangria

Nothing goes with a night of glow in the dark bocce like summer sangria.

Mix it all in a pitcher (or a bowl as I was forced to use last year) and refrigerate for at least a few hours...

1.5 bottles of cheap white wine
1/2c grappa
1/2c vodka
1/4 can frozen OJ concentrate
1c water
1/3c lemon juice
Cut up fruit: 1 to 2 apples, 2-3 peaches, handful frozen strawberries, 1/2 bag frozen mangoes

Drink with bocce.

Mexican grilled corn

I'm fairly certain Mom's told us about this before. It's really just fresh corn slathered with a bit of mayo and sprinkled with paprika and then grilled. Then when I took it off the heat I sprinkled it in some fresh grated romano cheese and squeezed some lime all over it. Insane. If you have any Tajin it's even better.

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Chocolate Mint Pudding

First of all, let me just say that this stuff is amazing. The recipe say it yields 6 servings, but I would say it's more like 4 generous servings.

3 cups fat-free milk (I used 1%)
1/2 cup packed fresh mint leaves
2/3 cup sugar (you might be able to get away with just 1/2 cup, but I'm not sure)
1/4 cup cornstarch
3 T unsweetened cocoa
1/8 t salt
3 large egg yolks, lightly beaten
1/2 t vanilla extract
2 ounces semi sweet chocolate, chopped

*heat milk over medium-high heat in a small, heavy saucepan to 180 degrees or until tiny bubbles form around edge (do not boil)
*remove from heat, add mint. Let stand for 15 minutes; strain milk mixture through a sieve into a bowl, reserving. Discard solids.
*return milk to pan; stir in sugar, cornstarch, cocoa, and salt. Return pan to medium heat; bring to a boil, stirring constantly with a whisk until mixture thickens
*Place egg yolks in bowl; gradually add half of hot mixture, stirring constantly with whisk.
*add egg mixture to pan; bring to boil, stirring constantly. Cook 1 minute or until thick.
*remove from heat; add vanilla and chopped chocolate, stir until chocolate melts.
*pour into serving bowl and cover surface with plastic wrap.
*Chill (but it tastes pretty darn good hot too)
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Homemade Tabbouleh yum yum yum

Here's a pic of the super delicious tabbouleh salad I made for dinner.

Have you ever made bulgar? It's so easy and good. You don't even have to cook it! You just soak one cup of bulgar in one cup of water for 30 minutes.

Then I added...
3 cups chopped fresh parsley
1/4 plus cup chopped fresh mint
One green bell peper finely chopped
On medium cucumber peeled and chopped
Some chopped tomatoes
Three chopped green onions
Juice of two lemons
Some cumin
Salt & pepper to taste

Seriously, you should try making it. I'm thinking that the next time I make it I'm going to make some sweet potato falafel with wheat naan. Mmmm.

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Cheesy grits

So good with biscuits and eggs of various sorts. Got this from the vegetarian's bible...How to Cook Everything Vegetarian book (by Mark Bittman):

Heat two cups water and a half cup of milk until it's about to boil, then slowly add 1c. of corn meal while whisking. Heat on low and simmer and whisk frequently until thick, about 10 minutes.

Add 1T butter, salt/pepper to taste, and a small hunk of cheddar (maybe 3 slices worth), mix until all is melted. Pour the mixture into a buttered 8x8 baking dish. Top with about a cup of shredded cheese (we used a mix of parmisan and asiago) and throw it under the broiler until the cheese melts and browns slightly. Serve in squares with breakfast!

Mushroom and Peas in a cardamom cream sauce

I admit, the picture doesn't look like much. But if you like cardamom you'll really enjoy this.

It's a bit of a take on a recipe that Julie Bares (yes, that Julie Bares from the old 'hood) sent me.

Here's what I did...
*make some sort of wild rice (I use wild pecan something, it's awesome... And also the only rice I seem to not screw up)

While the rice is cooking...
* Saute one pint of mushrooms (and some chopped onions if you like) in a Tablespoon of butter
* Saute one pint of fresh peas in about a cup or so of organic broth of some kind (veggie or chicken would probably work best). It takes a while for the peas to soften if they're fresh, but once they're al dente...
*Add the mushrooms (and onions) to the pea mixture along with about a half cup of light organic cream, some salt and pepper, and 2 teaspoons of ground cardamom.
*let it simmer for maybe five minutes then sprinkle the top with white flour (to thicken). let simmer again for a couple of minutes (repeat if you like it thicker, but know that it will thicken on it's own a bit when you let it sit for a few minute)
*turn off the heat and let mixture sit for 2 minutes
*serve large scoop of wild rice with 2 scoops of veggies in cardamom sauce.

Eat.

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Baked sweet potato falafel

Make this recipe http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/baked-sweet-potato-falafel-recipe.html

Stuff a tasty pita with lettuce, feta, hummus, avo, and two sweet potato falafels. Insane good.
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Pozole Salad

Here's what I was able to get at the grocery store... 2 cans hominy, some carrots, a head of iceberg lettuce, 2 lemons (juiced) and some feta cheese. Threw in some spices, a little tajin, and voila Pozole salad. It was actually really good.
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Butternut Squash Soup with Sizzled Sage

1/4 c olive oil

2 or 3 small butternut squash (abt 3 lbs)

6 unpeeled garlic cloves

2 large spanish onions, peeled and quartered

1/4 c water

3 c apple juice or veggie stock

1/2 tsp dried thyme

1/4 tsp ground or freshly grated nutmeg

1 tsp salt, or more to taste

ground black pepper to taste

2 tsp butter

20 fresh sage leaves, sliced on the diagonal

brush the bottom of large baking pan w/ 2 T oil

cut squash through stem ends into halves, prick skin in several places with knife, and scoop out seeds

brush cut surfaces with 1 T oil, nest garlic inside where seeds were, and place squash halves in the oiled pan with the cut side down

add the onions to the pan and brush with remaining olive oil

pour the water into the bottom of the pan, cover with aluminum foil, and bake for 50 min

uncover, bake 5-10 min more

When squash is cool enough to handle, scoop out flesh, squeez garlic cloves out of their skins (discard skins)

in batches in a blender or food processer, combine baked veggies, apple juice/stock, thyme, nutmeg, salt, and pepper and puree until smooth

heat this soup gently in a pot (stir constantly or cover with top to prevent splattering)

in a small skillet, melt butter and saute the sage leaves until dark and curled

garnish each bowl of soup with sage leaves

praise the lord for butternut squash

Chickpea salad

Just ate this tasty salad at Firehook. I'm thinking I might make it at home.

Ingredients:
Chick peas
Chopped red, green, and orange peppers
Diced Red onion
Parsley
Lemon juice
Olive oil
Dijon mustard
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