Carrot - Scallion - Snow Pea Salad

Using up shoestring carrots from Carrot Fries a few days ago. Got this idea from FoodNetwork...

Ingredients
10 oz bag shredded carrots
2 C snow peas (or sugar snap peas)
4 scallions
Asian sesame dressing (¼ - ½ cup)
2 C crisp/dry chow mein noodles
1 T sesame seeds

Directions
Julienne the peas; slice the scallions very thinly (on the bias). Toss carrots, peas and scallions with dressing. Add chow mein noodles and toss just before serving. Garnish with sesame seeds.

This was crisp and fresh and, depending on the dressing you use...delicious! I think the same combination of veggies and crunchy noodles would be great with a honey-soy-rice vinegar dressing. And maybe some julienned red pepper for color and flavor...

Shoestring Carrot Fries

Ingredients

oil for frying (about 2 cups)

10 oz bag shoestring carrots

1 T apple cider vinegar

1 T fresh orange juice

1 T orange zest

2 T finely chopped fresh mint leaves

salt to taste

Directions

Lay paper towels (a couple layers) in a 9x13" pan or a over large plate. Spread shoestring carrots evenly over paper towels; allow them to dry and come to room temp (about ½ hour*).

* water/moisture makes the oil spatter, so letting the carrots dry first is helpful to reduce that; also, cold carrots quickly drop the temperature of the oil...which means they'll absorb more oil rather than fry up nice and crispy

While carrots are drying and coming to room temp...

Finely chop mint leaves; zest orange and squeeze enough of orange to produce 1 tablespoon juice. Mix cider vinegar and orange juice in a food-safe (clean!) spray bottle.

Place the oil in a deep pot/saucepan over medium high heat until it reaches 350° F. Add a handful of carrots; stir occasionally, frying about 3 minutes or until crispy. (Work in batches -- don't try to fry them all at once; the temperature will drop below 325° F, and your oil may boil up...or up and over the top of your pot!) Thicker cut carrots will take a little longer to fry...  Remove with a slotted spoon onto paper towel lined plate (or back into the 9x13" pan). Make sure temperature of oil returns to 350° F between batches. 

Spray carrots with vinegar & orange juice; sprinkle with salt, orange zest and mint leaves.

Watermelon Salad - 2 ways

Summer means watermelon! I like it...but just plain watermelon gets boring fast. (At least it does to me...) Here are a couple quick and easy ways to bring some extra flavor to fresh watermelon.

Watermelon with Feta & Seeds/Nuts

Ingredients
4 C watermelon, small diced
½ C crumbled feta
¼ C sunflower seeds*
3 C torn/chopped lettuce

Optional: lemon poppyseed vinaigrette

* Walnuts are often used here, but I'm allergic. Sunflower seeds are great, but I've also used toasted pine nuts. Walnuts or another nut will do -- anything that adds a crunch and a little nutty-umami flavor.

Directions
Make a bed of the lettuce on serving dishes (or one large platter). If desired, gently toss diced watermelon with vinaigrette. (It adds extra zing for sure, but with the feta and seeds, this salad is delicious without any dressing!) Scoop diced watermelon onto bed of lettuce; top with feta and sunflower seeds.

Watermelon with Lime Dressing

Ingredients
4 C watermelon, small diced
1 lime
¼ C sugar

Directions
Zest the lime, then juice it. Place lime juice, about half the zest, sugar, and ¼ cup water in a small saucepan. Bring to boil; reduce heat but continue boiling until liquid is thickened and reduced about ¼ cup. Let cool.

Gently toss watermelon in lime dressing. Divide into serving dishes (or serve from one large bowl); garnish with remaining zest.

Sea Glass Candy

Heading to Lincoln City on the Oregon Coast for a family vacation...so, just for fun, I made some "sea glass candy" to take for everyone to share.

Ingredients
2 C sugar
¾ C water
½ C light corn syrup
1-2 tsp flavored extract*
few drops food coloring, if desired
2-3 T powdered sugar

* I used mint in my green candy, and raspberry in the blue...but any flavor will work.

Directions
Combine the sugar, water and corn syrup in a saucepan; heat over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, to 300° F. While it's heating line a baking sheet (or pizza pan or 9x13" baking pan) with parchment, lightly coat with non-sick cooking spray.

When sugar, water and corn syrup reach 300° F, remove from heat. Working quickly while candy is still very liquid, add flavor and color -- carefully, it may spatter a bit as the candy syrup is so hot. Stir to incorporate. Pour onto prepared pan. Let cool completely (15-20 minutes).

Use a clean meat mallet to crack the cooled candy into bite sized pieces (or gently drop it on the counter). Place powdered sugar in plastic bag and gently toss candy pieces to coat. Rub off excess sugar.

Bread Pudding ...with berries

The original recipe called for blueberries, but acknowledged other berries or chopped fruit would work; without berries you'd have a perfectly good plain/basic bread pudding recipe -- which, honestly, I might prefer; but I had blueberries I wanted to use up, so this was perfect! My first choice would be blackberries. Raisins are the most traditional. Use what appeals to you...or whatever you have on hand!

Ingredients
6 C cubed bread*
1½ C whole milk
¼ C butter
1 C sugar
¼ t salt
5 eggs
1 T vanilla extract
½ t cinnamon
Optional:  2 C fresh berries or chopped fruit; turbinado or other coarse sugar

* Any bread will do, but if you have brioche or french bread or even croissants it's a bonus!

Directions
Preheat oven to 325° F.

Lightly coat a 2 qt casserole dish with butter or non-stick cooking spray.
Place cubed bread in baking dish.

Heat milk, butter, sugar and salt in saucepan just until butter melts and sugar is dissolved. Cool slightly. (Or temper in the egg mixture...)

In a separate bowl, beat eggs with vanilla and cinnamon. Whisk in milk mixture. Pour over cubed bread and let stand 12-15 minutes. Gently fold in berries (if desired), turning bread in baking dish so all cubes are soaked. Top, if desired, with coarse sugar.

Bake 45-50 minutes until golden brown on top and knife inserted in center comes out clean.

Delicious as is, or...serve with blueberry syrup or crème Anglaise.

Easy Peach Hand Pies (or..."Peach Pie-lets")

My friend Teresa has asked me (...'encouraged me') more than once when I am going to start teaching cooking classes. I think she just wants to get more experience and learn some new recipes and tips! :) (Besides...though it could be fun to teach cooking classes occasionally, I already have a full time job, and a second part-time -- VERY part-time -- side hustle. I don't need a 3rd job!) Last time she mentioned it, I invited her out to bake and told her we'd call it a "pilot" class. She's been experimenting with baking pies; we decided try a hand-pie recipe and call it our "pie-let pilot" baking day! 

We used a Cooking Light recipe as a guide. It called for store bought dough, but I had some of my own in the freezer -- whole wheat even, which is what was recommended. Whole wheat is not as pliable, however, and produced more cracks in these folded over half-moon pies. I'd play with the recipe or use less whole wheat. And the fruit-to-crust ratio is slight on the fruit side, in my opinion. That's probably inevitable with this style and size, but again, this was our first try with "pie-let" hand pies.

Teresa had saved something on Pinterest that showed glazed pies...so I whipped up some powdered sugar vanilla glaze we drizzled over our pies to dress them up a bit (and hide some of the cracks). Fun day! :)

Ingredients (for 8 hand pies)
1 9-inch frozen whole wheat piecrust, thawed*
¾ C chopped peaches
3 T light brown sugar
1 T unslated butter
¼ t ground cinnamon
1 egg
turbinado or other coarse sugar

* I used my own dough, made with this recipe but using 2 C whole wheat and 1 C all purpose flour

Directions
Preheat oven to 400° F.

Peel, pit and chop peaches. In a medium bowl, mix chopped peaches with brown sugar, butter and cinnamon.

Roll out pie dough; use a 4" round cookie cutter to cut circles; gather scraps and re-roll as needed to cut 8 circles. (Or...divide dough into 8 equal portions; roll each into a 4" circle.)

Spoon about a tablespoon of chopped peach mixture onto each dough circle. Moisten dough edges with water; fold circle in half over peach mixture. crimpe edges with a fork to seal securely.

Place pies on parchment lined baking sheets. Pierce with a fork (or make a small slit with a sharp knife).

Beat egg in a small bowl; brush on pies. Sprinkle generously wiht coarse sugar.

Bake at 400° F until golden brown (about 14 minutes). Let cool slightly before serving...or glazing.

Simple Powdered Sugar Glaze: ½ C powdered sugar, pinch salt, ½ t vanilla and just enough milk to achieve a drizzling consistency.

Plum-Nectarine Crumble

The original recipe (from Food Network, here) called for hazelnuts in the crumble topping, and no oats. I like the heartiness of oats in a crumble or crisp topping, so I adjusted the recipe a tiny bit and added some to my topping. And since tree nuts and I are not on friendly terms, I always make substitutions depending on the recipe and what I have on hand...peanuts, pine nuts, sunflower seeds, etc. I used chopped honey-rosted peanuts with this recipe.

Fruit Filling Ingredients
2 lb nectarines (about 5)
1 lb plums (about 4)
¾ C sugar
2 T flour
1 T lemon juice
¾ t salt

Crumble Topping Ingredients
½ C flour
½ C whole wheat flour
¾ C packed brown sugar
1 C oats
1 t cinnamon
¾ t salt
¾ C roughly chopped nuts
¾ C very soft butter

Directions
Preheat oven to 375° F. Lightly coat 9x13" baking dish with butter or non-stick cooking spray (or equivalent sized baking dishes -- I use 3 smaller sized baking dishes to make separate servings so I could enjoy some NOW and freeze some for later).

Thinly slice plums & nectarines (½" slices). In a large bowl, combine sliced fruits with remaining filling ingredients and toss gently to coat evenly. Spread filling -- with all the juice! -- in baking dish(es).

In a medium bowl, combine all topping ingredients except butter, stirring until evenly mixed. Add butter, working it in with your fingers, until the topping begins to clump and is crumbly. Distribute evenly over top of fruit filling.

Bake until the topping begins to brown and filling is bubbley (40-50 minutes).

I plan to serve this with what's left of the honey ice cream I made a couple days ago. But vanilla ice cream or whipped cream would be fine too. Or caramel ice cream...

Honey Ice Cream

Ingredients
1¾ C heavy cream
¾ C milk (1%)
¼ C honey
¼ tsp salt
5 egg yolks

Directions

Place yolks in a medium bowl; set aside. (Reserve egg whites for another use.)
In a medium saucepan, heat cream, milk, honey and salt until just simmering, stirring continually.
Temper yolks: SLOWLY add the hot cream mixture into the bowl of yolks, whisking constantly. Once all ceam mixture is incorporated, return all to sauce pan.
Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens and barely begins to simmer.
Strain through a sieve into a clean bowl. Cover with plastic wrap set directly on the surface of the cream mixture; chill at least 2 hours or overnight.
Process in ice cream maker according to manufacturer's instructions. If a firmer texture is desired, freeze for an additional 3-5 hours.

Mint Juleps

My mint plant is growing like crazy lately. So...I made some minted simple syrup and threw together a mint julep!

For each Mint Julep...

Ingredients
2-3 fresh mint leaves
1 T minted simple syrup*
1 (or 2) T bourbon
crushed ice
1 fresh mint sprig

* Simple syrup is simply equal parts sugar and water, heated enough to dissolve all the sugar. For minted simple syrup I used 1 cup each of sugar and water, brought it to boiling, then threw in 4 generous mint sprigs (muddling and crushing them to release the mint oils) and let them steep while it cooled. 

Directions
Muddle 2-3 fresh mint leaves in the bottom of a glass with the minted simple syrup. Add bourbon and crushed ice, stirring to mix well. Garnish with a fresh mint sprig and a straw (next to the mint so you smell it while drinking the julep!).

Raised Doughnuts

 National Doughnut Day (the first Friday in June) is coming right up. My students -- our Trojan Cafe cooking club -- have elected to celebrate by making our own. So, of course, I had to test out the recipe in advance. Really, the sacrifices I make for my students... ;)

Ingredients

2 t yeast

2 T warm water (105-115°F)

¾ cup milk

¼ cup sugar

½ t salt

1 egg

2 T + 2 T butter or shortening

2½ cups flour

oil for frying

powdered sugar, sugar & cinnamon, icing(s), sprinkles, etc.

You can get as creative as you want, here! I'm sure at school we'll have a lot more colorful icings; I just used what I had on hand here at home!

Directions

Combine lukewarm water and yeast in bowl of stand mixer. Let it sit until dissolved (about 5 min).

Meanwhile in glass bowl, heat milk until very warm, but not boiling; let cool slightly while yeast is blooming (bubbling, producing a froth).

Add milk, sugar, salt, egg, butter and 1 cup of flour to bowl with yeast. Mix for 2 minutes at medium speed. Add remaining flour, continue mixing dough. Scrape down sides. Dough will be very sticky.

Transfer dough to large bowl coated lightly with oil. Cover loosely with cling wrap; let rise in a warm place until doubled (1-2 hours).

Roll dough out on a floured surface to about ½” thickness. Cut using a donut cutter or large & small round cookie cutters. Let stand for 10-15 minutes.

Fill electric skillet approx. 1” deep with vegetable oil; heat oil to 375°F.

Carefully place doughnuts in hot oil, a few at a time; do not crowd doughnuts. Do not let oil temperature drop below 350°F.  Fry, turning once, until golden brown. Drain on cooling rack positioned over paper towel covered tray.

Glaze doughnuts with your favorite frosting, thinned with milk or water. If desired, top with nuts, sprinkles, etc.

Slow-cooker Mu Shu Chicken Wraps

(This photo isn't mine...it's borrowed off the internet until I take one of my own.) The recipe is inspired by one in Better Homes & Gardens I think. To my taste it was too salty; I reduced the salt and added a little honey to balance the flavors. And BH&G's version called for broccoli instead of cabbage, but I wanted the extra crunch.

Ingredients
2 lbs boneless chicken thighs (or 2-3 lbs with bones)
½ C water
2 T soy sauce
2 t sesame oil
1 t ground ginger or 1 T fresh grated
½ C honey
2 t corn starch
'cole slaw' cabbage mix
8 flour tortillas
hoisin sauce
sliced green onions
salt & pepper to taste

Directions
Place chicken thighs in slow cooker; season with salt and pepper. Combine water, soy sauce, sesame oil, ginger and honey in a small bowl; pour over chicken pieces. COver. Cook on low 6-7 hours, or on high about 3 hours.

Remove chicken pieces onto a cutting board. If necessary, remove bones. Using two forks, pull chicken into shreds.

Add just enough cold water to corn starch to make a slurry; whisk into juices in slow cooker to thicken. Return shredded chicken to slow cooker; heat through.

While chicken is reheating. Warm tortillas - ideally, toast them over an open flame. Spread hoison on each tortilla, then layer with cabbage shreds; top with Mu Shu chicken and a few green onions.

Caribbean Jerk Wraps with Lime Mayo (Dressing)

Ingredients
1½ lb boneless pork, chicken or beef
      bone-in cuts work too, just account for the weight of
      the bones; you want 1½ lbs of meat
1½ T jerk seasoning
1 C water
juice of 1 lime (at least 2 T)
s & p
8  10" tortillas
2 C torn or shredded lettuce
1 red bell pepper, small diced
1 C diced mango, or pineapple
½ C mayonnaise or salad dressing (Miracle Whip)
¼ C minced shallot
½ t lime zest
1 clove garlic, minced

Directions
In a small bowl, combine mayonnaise (or salad dressing), minced shallot, lime zest, 1 T lime juice and minced garlic. Cover and refrigerate until ready to prepare wraps.

Sprinkle mean with jerk seasoning, massaging it with your fingertips. Place meat pieces in a 3 - 4 quart crock pot (slow-cooker); add water. Cover and cook on low-heat 8-10 hours, or high heat 4-5 hours until meat is tender enough to pull apart with forks (and falls off the bone easily, if bone-in cut is used).

Remove meat from crock pot; pull into shreds using forks. Place in a bowl and sprinkle with remaining lime juice (at least 1 T). Season to taste with salt and pepper, if needed.

Toast tortillas briefly on stovetop, if desired.

Prep each wrap: line with lettuce, add approximately ¼ lb shredded meat, diced pepper and mango (or pineapple), top with lime mayo. Roll up securely.

Delicious warm or cold.