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Hot chocolate with a twist

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Try these tasty twists on hot chocolate –

Put ½ packet of hot cocoa mix into a mug. Add a small amount of coffee and stir. Fill up the rest of the mug with coffee, stirring again.

Or – put the ½ packet of cocoa in a mug, mix with a little bit of hot water, put in a chai tea bag, fill the rest of the way with hot water, let steep.

For both – Add sugar and or milk (regular or soy) to taste if desired.

If you are feeling really wild, use the whole packet of hot cocoa.

It is up to you if the coffee or the tea are caffeinated or not.

Fabulous meatballs

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Ingredients –
10 oz of ground turkey

Three large slices of week-old Italian bread

fresh basil – about two cups’ worth once processed

salt, pepper, dried rosemary, and cumin to taste.

Olive oil (for cooking) – enough to cover the bottom of the pan.

one egg – preferably free-range

How-to

Process the bread and the basil in a food processor until everything is in small pieces. Add the seasonings and blend them in with the processor.

In a separate container, scramble one egg and then add the ground turkey. Mix it up thoroughly with one hand. Then pour in the bread/basil/seasoning mixture from the processor and mix it all up thoroughly, using that hand.

Form the meat into meatballs. (I made about 10 fairly large ones with this mixture)

Pan-fry the meatballs in olive oil on a medium-low heat. It is better to cook them slowly over a low heat than quickly. This will keep the meatballs tender and ensure the meat is cooked thoroughly. Turn frequently.

You are done when they are slightly golden-brown on the outside and there is no pink on the inside.

Zucchini bread

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zucchini bread

1 & 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 & 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice (or cinnamon)
1/8 teaspoon baking powder
1 egg
1 cup turbinado sugar
1 & 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 & 1/2 cups grated zucchini

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C)

2. Sift together flour, salt, soda, pumpkin pie spice, baking powder.

3. In a separate bowl, beat the egg. Add and mix well the sugar, vanilla, and oil. Add zucchini to this mixture.

4. Add dry ingredients, mixing well. Pour into a loaf pan (grease it first with butter)

5. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 1 hour.

6. Let it cool in the pan on a wire rack for at least ten minutes, then remove from pan.

(Modified from the “Allrecipies” website recipe called “Mom’s zucchini bread”)

Lemon pepper basil fish

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tilapia

This works well with tilapia, because it has a mild flavor and is firm. One filet is two servings. One serving of protein is the size of a deck of cards.

Get a large non-stick pan and heat it to medium. Then add your oil, just enough to lightly coat the bottom. I use Newman’s extra virgin organic olive oil.

Then add a tilapia filet.

Sprinkle with lemon-pepper seasoning (Mrs. Dash brand has no salt and is very tasty) and basil. An option is to add some powdered ginger.

Let it cook for a few minutes, until the edges of the fish start to turn opaque. If the oil starts to bubble, turn the heat down a notch.

Carefully turn it over – you’ll want to use a spatula underneath and a fork on top. Otherwise, the fish will slide around and you’ll either not get it turned over or you’ll break the fish into two parts in the middle, or worse, you’ll splash hot oil.

Sprinkle more lemon-pepper and basil (and ginger) on the fish. Let it cook a few more minutes, until it all goes opaque and the fish flakes easily with a fork.

Let the fish cool and de-oil a bit on some paper towels on top of newspaper.

Serve on top of brown rice, with steamed vegetables.

Shells and cheese

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Two cups of pasta shells
Half a cup of havarti-dill cheese, grated
Quarter of a cup of parmesan cheese – grated or shredded
Knob of butter
Splash of milk
seasoned salt to taste

Boil the pasta per the package directions. Make it “al dente.” Take the pot off the heat. Pour the pasta into a colander. Put the butter (slice it up to make it melt faster) into the pot. Put the pasta back into the pot. Put the cheese into the pot. Stir. Add milk to get the consistency you want –but add it slowly. You can always add more but you can’t undo it if you have too much. Do this all quickly – you are working with the heat of the pasta, not the stovetop.

Serve immediately. Makes four servings.

Shrimp Italian-ish

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italian shrimp

Ingredients –

1 tablespoon butter

1 tablespoon minced garlic

1/2 tablespoon ground mustard

3 tablespoons dried Italian seasoning blend

3 tablespoons dried parsley

Pinch of salt

A pound of shrimp, no shell or tail.

1 large “ugly ripe” tomato or similar meaty tomato.

1/2 bunch fresh cilantro.

Half a cup of wine (I used white Zinfandel)

Instructions –

Slice up the tomato so it will fit in the food processor. Remove the leaves from the cilantro, discarding the stems. Process the tomato and cilantro leaves in the processor until puréed. Set aside.

Put the butter in a large covered sauté pan over medium-low heat. When that has melted, add the garlic. Then add the shrimp and the dry seasonings. Stir to evenly distribute the seasonings.

Let this cook for a few minutes, then add the wine. Cook a little longer, then turn over the shrimp to cook the other side. Add the tomato-cilantro purée, stir, and cover.

Lower the heat if the mixture starts to bubble.

Allow to simmer for about five minutes or until the shrimp is done (when it turns opaque). Do not overcook the shrimp or it will be tough.

Serve over shell pasta with a glug of olive oil. Makes four servings.

OMG Blondies

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blondie

First ingredients –

1/2 cup of butter, melted (one stick)

1 cup of turbinado sugar (I use “Sugar in the Raw” brand)

1 egg, lightly beaten

1 teaspoon of vanilla

Dry ingredients –

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/8 teaspoon of baking soda

Pinch of salt

1 cup of all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice blend

Mix-ins –

1/3 cup of butterscotch chips

1/3 cup of pine nuts (option – toast them first)

Instructions –
1 Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly butter and flour an 8X8 pan. Whisk together the melted butter and sugar in a bowl.

2 Add the egg and vanilla extract and whisk.

3 In a separate bowl, blend together dry ingredients – flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and pumpkin pie spice.

4 Pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, stirring together with a fork. When blended, stir in the butterscotch chips and pine nuts.

5 Pour into the pan and spread evenly. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool. Cut into squares and serve.

Notes –
Modified from the Simply Recipes website. I added the pine nuts and the pumpkin pie spice, and substituted turbinado sugar for “tightly packed brown sugar”. I also changed it so that the dry ingredients are mixed separately.

A little poem I wrote in honor of the first batch of blondies I made –

Welcome.

You smell of warmth, and love.
You smell of home, and old school buildings.
You smell of mornings and mysteries solved.

Welcome.

Lemon delight

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lemon

Combine together –

1 stick of butter, melted
1 cup of flour
¼ cup xxxx (confectioner’s) sugar

Press into a greased 8 x 8 inch pan, and bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes.

While that is baking, mix together-

1 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 tablespoons flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
2 tablespoons lemon juice – plus the rind (I used the zest instead)

And pour it over the crust once it is baked. Then bake this all together for 25 more minutes at 350 degrees. Let it cool on a wire rack.

This was from one of my Mom’s friends. She got it from her in 1966. I liked this so much I asked for it often for my birthday instead of cake. I never cooked it with her. She never taught me how to cook. Today was the first time I made this. It was hard. And it was amazing.

Goat-cheese and basil scallops

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Ingredients

1 pound scallops, washed.
a knob of butter (about half an inch thick)
2 tablespoons dried basil
I heaping tablespoon mild goat cheese.
Half a tablespoon salt

scallops1

Instructions

Put a knob of butter in a large sauté pan over low heat. When the butter is melted, add the scallops.

Cook gently until the scallops have released some of their liquid. Then add the salt, basil, and goat cheese. Stir, distributing the cheese equally. Turn the scallops over to cook the other side once the bottom side has gone from translucent to opaque.

Scallops are done when they turn opaque. Do not overcook – they will be tough.

I served this with quinoa and steamed vegetables. I served it the next day as leftovers, mixing it all together with the liquid the scallops cooked in and it was even better.

scallops2

Makes four servings.

Holy Mole-y

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1 avocado
1/4 tbsp turmeric
1/4 tbsp galingale
1/4 tbsp sumac
1 tbsp cilantro
1 tbsp lime juice
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Use as many organic ingredients as possible.

Put the flesh of the avocado in a cereal bowl, discarding the skin and the seed. Slice it up with a knife into small bits. Add the dry ingredients first, mixing well with a fork. Then add the lime juice and olive oil, mixing it all together and smashing it up into a smooth-ish consistency. It won’t be pretty, but it will be tasty.

This is better created in a bowl instead of a blender. You’ll be able to eat all of it this way.

Makes two servings. Eat immediately, as it will not keep.

I created this because I like guacamole for the avocado but not for the raw onions and the green and red peppers that are often included. This has a lot of flavor and no salt added. If you can’t find those dry ingredients, try basil and cumin. A little black pepper is nice too.