Homemade Bagels

Homemade Bagels:

I just LOVE bagels! I have made them before using this recipe (http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/emeril-lagasse/homemade-bagels-recipe/index.html) and they turned out awesome! I decided to make them again, and they were delicious. I love making them from scratch because you can make whatever bagels you want. I made cheese/onion bagels and cinnamon raisin bagels this time. Next time I plan on making pizza bagels (covering bagels with pizza sauce and cheese and then popping them in the oven). They take a bit of time, but if you plan it out right you can get stuff done, or have some fun while the dough rises. :)

If you want to add ingredients (raisins, onion, cheese) to your bagels, do it when you add the 4 cups of flour and salt to the yeast.

Colombian style rice with green onions and carrots

I recently went to a Colombian cooking night and learned how to make some awesome dishes. This is a new favorite of mine. I have never made rice this way and I love it!
I contributed my own flair to the recipe and added green onions and carrots into the mix.

Recipe:
1 cup rice (I used medium grain)
3-4 Tbsp oil
2 tsp salt
1-2 minced cloves of garlic
2 green onions, thinly sliced
2 medium carrots, sliced and cooked Al Dente

You can make this recipe in a rice cooker, or in a stock pot. Here are the different versions.

Rice cooker: Add minced garlic, and oil to the bottom of the rice cooker. Add rice, and water. Then add salt and sliced green onions. Stir, and then turn on to cook.

Pot: Add oil to the bottom of the pan, then add minced garlic. Brown garlic. Add the water you will need for your rice. Bring it to a boil and then add your salt. Stir. When it is at a full boil, add your rice and green onions. Turn heat down to simmer. When the rice is almost fully cooked, and most of the water has either been incorporated in the rice or evaporated, cover pot with aluminum foil and then a lid. Turn stove to low and leave for 10 minutes.

Serve with carrots boiled in water til Al Dente.


Comments:
This rice is sooo delicious! I can't get enough of it. And it is easy and fast to prepare too! You can put whatever you want into the pot or rice cooker. I added green onions, but you could put in broccoli, carrots,whatever. I prefer to use the rice cooker because I can just start it and forget it.

Bananas!!!!

I have a few random thoughts to share...

1.) I really wanted to make banana muffins but had not planned things too well, and so I only had bananas that were not ripe yet. I figured there must be some way to make them ripen faster. After I did some digging online I decided to follow one piece of advice that kept coming up over and over....put your not ripe bananas in a brown paper bag with apples. I guess the apples give off ethylene gases which make your bananas ripen faster. So when I bought the bananas Saturday morning they looked like this:


I left them in a bag all day long with apples and when I looked at them Saturday night they had totally browned. They looked like this:


So, happy news! I could make my banana muffins. They were sure yummy! They probably would have been even more perfect if I had left the bananas in with the apples for a day longer. Awesome.

2.) I have a new favorite food site. It is called foodgawker.com. Every time I pull it up I just want to cook cook cook because it has such amazing recipes on it. It is sooo amazing, trust me!

Delicious Salsa!

I am an assistant for a cooking class and we recently made this recipe for one of our meals. It was absolutely delicious!

Recipe:
1 Can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can corn, drained
2 avocados, chopped
2 green onions, sliced (use white and green)
1-2 Tablespoons chopped cilantro
2 Tomatoes, seeded and chopped
1 package dry Italian salad dressing mix
Ingredients to prepare dressing mix (usually olive oil, vinegar)
Tortilla Chips

Combine first 6 ingredients in a medium bowl. Prepare dressing according to package directions and once made, pour over ingredients. Stir well. Refrigerate. Serve with chips.

Mozzarella, Garlic, and Basil Bread sticks

I was looking on one of my favorite blogs (http://fortheloveofcooking-recipes.blogspot.com/) today and found a delicious looking recipe. It was for: Parmesan, Roasted Garlic, and Basil Bread sticks. I am a bread LOVER! I decided to try to make this recipe without a Bread Machine, and adapting some of the ingredients. It turned out DELICIOUS!

Recipe:
Bread dough:
1 1/8 cups of warm water
2 tbsp sugar
1 1/2 tsp salt
3 cups of flour
2 tsp active dry yeast

Once risen add:
3 T Mozzarella cheese
2 T fresh (chopped) or dry basil
1 and 1/2 T minced garlic

1 T butter
2 T olive oil

This recipe originally called for dough made in a Bread Machine. I do not own a Bread Machine, so I just made the dough by hand.

First combine salt, yeast, sugar, and water in a bowl. Stir. Let rest 5-10 minutes or until small bubbles form. Then combine yeast mixture with flour in a larger bowl. Knead 5 minutes and form into a ball. Let rise on a heating pad or in a proofing oven until it almost doubles in size. Then, add garlic, basil, and Parmesan cheese. Knead until ingredients are well combined. Separate dough into five inch long snakes about an inch thick. Place on greased cooking sheet (2 T olive oil). Again, let rise on a heating pad or in a proofing oven until double in size. Cook at 375 degrees until golden brown. Brush bread sticks with butter once they come out of the oven.

Comments:
I absolutely loved this recipe because it was so adaptable. I did not have fresh garlic, basil, Parmesan, or a Bread Maker. So, I just made it with what I had. I used minced garlic, Mozzarella, and dry basil and it turned out just great! Also, the cooking times on this recipe may vary. The original recipe says it will take anywhere from 18-22 minutes to cook. In my quick cooking oven, it only took around 9 minutes to fully cook.

Spinach and Romaine salad with cranberries, candied almonds, and Raspberry Vinaigrette Dressing

This is one of my all time favorite green salads. I honestly cannot get enough of it. It is like candy to me! YUM!

Recipe:
Salad:
Romaine lettuce
spinach leaves
cranberries
almonds
Ken's Raspberry Vinaigrette Salad dressing



Combine lettuce, spinach, and cranberries in a large salad bowl. Top with Ken's Raspberry Vinaigrette Salad dressing.

Comments:
I really think Ken's dressing makes the salad! It is my favorite dressing for this salad by far, and I have tried many others.

Strawberries and Creme

Since it is strawberry season, I thought I would tell you all about the amazingness of strawberries and creme. It is an AMAZING combination. It can be the perfect breakfast, or small treat!

Recipe:
1 package creme cheese
1 T vanilla
4 T milk, whipping creme, or Vanilla Silk
2 cups of powdered sugar
1/4 cup butter

Bring cheese and butter to room temperature. Combine all ingredients in a bowl. Beat with hand held mixer until light and fluffy, and the ingredients are well incorporated. Refrigerate until cold. Wash and cut strawberries. Eat!

Comments:
I make this recipe by sight. You can change the ratios of butter, milk, and cream cheese, depending on how you would like your creme to be. I like to use a whole package of creme cheese because I LOVE creme cheese. But, you could use more butter and less creme cheese if you prefer buttercreme frostings.