Pomegranate Lime Gin

This week I did an infusion for a party. I decided to make this infusion because last year I had made a pomegranate gin infusion that was good, but I felt it was missing something to liven it up. I would say that most people that drink gin like it with either lemon or lime. I personally like it with lime more than I do with lemon as the lime flavor is sharper and more sour which I like as a counter balance to the pine flavor from the juniper berries.

Pomegranate Lime Gin

Ingredients:
750 ml London dry gin
1 pomegranate
Juice of 1/2 lime
1 tsp lime zest

Directions:
seed the pomegranate
zest lime
squeeze lime juice into a empty 750 ml bottle (I used a wine bottle that was washed and dried)
add crush pomegranate seed pods in a funnel to allow for the juices to better mix with the gin and lime zest to the bottle.
add gin until full
shake every day for 1 week followed by once a week after that
after 2-4 weeks strain the pomegranate seeds and lime zest out and enjoy
store in a cool dry place
serve chilled.

Suggestions:
make a gin and tonic with this and garnish with a lime wedge.
combine with soda water and pomegranate juice and garnish with a lime wedge.

Pomegranate Gin I made last year

Everything all together

Before straining out the seeds

Strained and ready for drinking

I just stored it back in its bottle as a plastic container seemed like a bad idea

Puppy Chow Cookies

This week I made Puppy Chow Cookies because what is a better way to start in on holiday cookies than with a sugar overload. This turned out to have an intense peanut butter flavor with a lesser chocolate flavor in the the cookies. This is essentially a combination of Chex (TM) Muddy Buddies (TM) with a modified version of Hy-Vee peanut butter chocolate chip cookies to form a different type of cookie. Also at the end you will have some of the puppy chow left over.

Puppy Chow Cookies so be prepared.

Ingredients:

Puppy chow

9 cups rice chex (TM)

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1/2 cup peanut butter

1/2 cup butter

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

Cookies:

3/4 cup dark brown sugar

1 cup white granulated sugar

1 cup butter (Soften)

1/2 cup peanut butter

1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

2 large eggs

2 1/4 cups all purpose flour

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

1 TBSP cocoa powder

5 cups puppy chow

Directions:

Puppy chow

Combine semi-sweet chocolate chips, 1/2 cup peanut butter, and 1/2 cup butter in microwave safe quart container and microwave on High for 1 minute add in 1/2 tsp vanilla extract. If not fully melted continue to microwave on high for 30 seconds and stirring the mixture until fully melted.
Pour the chocolate mixture over the Chex and stir with the powdered sugar until everything is coated.
set aside.

Cookies 

Cream the 1 cup butter, 1 cup granulated white sugar, and 3/4 cup brown sugar together.

Stir in 1/2 cup peanut butter

Add 2 eggs and 1 tsp vanilla extract and mix

In a separate bowl combine the 2 1/4 cups all purpose flour with the 1/2 tsp salt, 1 tsp baking soda, and 1 TBSP cocoa powder.

Slowly mix in the flour mixture into the wet mixture

Once all of the flour mixture is combined with the wet mixture fold in 5 cups of puppy chow

Roll into 1 1/2 inch balls and place on a greased cookie sheet

bake at 350 degrees F for 11-13 minutes.
remove from oven and let stand for 1-2 minutes on the baking pan before moving to a cooling rack to fully cool.

Here is some puppy chow

Folding the puppy chow into the dough

I have created a MONSTER!

Balls placed and pressed

Here are some fresh out of the oven

This is two layers of cooling racks in action

Store for later in an airtight container

Sweet Potato Latkes

This week I made Sweet Potato Latkas as it is getting close to Hanukkah and I am reminded of delicious potato pancakes around this time of year. I am not sure if this does constitute a Kosher meal as it does have eggs and is served with cottage cheese. It should given that eggs without blood spots are considered Pareve but I am not an expert in this matter.

Sweet Potato Latkes

Something a little different this year

Ingredients:
1 large sweet potato (shredded )
1/4 cup yellow onion  (minced)
1 large egg
1 tsp all purpose flour
Black pepper to taste
Garlic powder 1/4 tsp
Seasoning salt to taste
cooking oil (for frying)

served with:
2 TBSP cottage cheese
1 TBSP Salsa

Directions:
Wash, Peel, and Shred 1 sweet potato
squeeze as much water out of the shredded sweet potato as possible an place in a 1 quart container for mixing
Mince 1/4 cup of yellow onion and add to the shredded sweet potato
add 1 egg 1 tsp flour garlic black pepper and seasoning salt to the shredded sweet potato and onion mixture.
mix until thoroughly combined
Heat a medium nonstick skillet over medium heat
add cooking oil and cook 2-3 TBSP of the mixture at a time flattening it to make a pancake shape.
Cook for 3-5 minutes on each side or until the edges are crispy
Serve with 2 TBSP cottage cheese and 1 TBSP salsa

Suggestions:
Serve with sausage and scrambled eggs
try deep frying flattened cakes for a crispier version.
if you don't like cottage cheese and salsa try olive oil, rosemary and other herbs as garnishes.

It is peeled but still has eyes

All shredded and squeezed

Here is everything before it is mixed

Heating up the oil

Here is the first side being cooked

When I flipped it I did not get it perfect
...forgive me

Good ones cover the derpy ones

Lazy Garden Chile

Well it has become cold in most of the US so what better way to warm up than with chili. I always think of chili being fantastic for cold days when you want something hot and filling that does not need a lot of work. I actually made this recipe in a crock pot for a dinner party on a Friday. Everyone said they really enjoyed it and it was mild enough that one friend was able to eat it without crying. (she does not handle spice very well)

Lazy garden chili

For those that have day jobs

Ingredients:
2 lbs beef
1-30 oz can pinto beans (drained and rinsed)
1-15 oz can black beans (drained and rinsed)
1-15 oz light red kidney beans (drained and rinsed)
1-15 oz can red beans (drained and rinsed)
1-15 oz can corn
2-14.5 oz cans fire roasted tomatoes
1 can chipote peppers in adobe sauce
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp chili powder
1 green pepper (chopped)
1 yellow pepper (chopped)
1 red pepper (chopped)
1/2 each medium yellow (chopped)
1/2 red onion (chopped)
3 cloves garlic (minced)

Serve with
Suggestions:
sour cream, cottage cheese, or Greek yogurt
shredded cheese
bread
crackers

Directions:
brown beef in the bottom of the crock pot on high heat and add garlic powder, cumin, salt, and chili powder.
Add all other ingredients to the crock pot and cook on low for 10 hours
serve and enjoy.

Suggestions:
you can use fresh tomatoes and corn if you have the time or frozen corn if you are worried about salt intake
substitute ground turkey, bison, or venison for a less fatty version.

I cut my peppers in half vertically then remove the stems, seeds, and membranes

I cut the fresh vegetables the night before to save some time in the morning

If you want a milder garlic taste wait to cut the garlic until the morning of

Let's brown some beef!

Here are the spices I used. Other brands are available.

I put the beans on top of the beef as they are the most hardy

Next tomatoes, corn, and chipotle peppers

Finally the fresh vegetables

Oh Look! A Melody of Brown.

Spinach Artichoke Heart Ravioli

This week I made homemade pasta. This is a time consuming process especially if you do not have specialized equipment. The pasta specifically was ravioli with a spinach artichoke heart filling. I also made chicken thighs with a white wine pan sauce and herb garlic bread and served it with a ceasar salad.

As an update for news about the blog. I will most likely be taking a break from the blog for about a week or two to focus on other work. If I do post it will be quick recipes. Anyway now on to the recipe

Spinach Artichoke Heart Ravioli

A nice vegetarian-ish dish ("ish" due to eggs)

Ingredients:
Pasta recipe found HERE just doubled and run through a pasta machine and cut into about 1.5 inch squares

Filling:
1/3 cup Mozzarella cheese
1/3 cup Parmesan cheese
1/3 cup onion minced
3 cloves garlic minced
1/2 cup artichoke hearts
1/4 cup spinach (torn into small pieces)
1/2 cup mushrooms minced (I used portobello)

Instructions:
Prepare the pasta Dough as directed then run dough through pasta machine twice on each setting until about 1.5 millimeter thick (mine is a 7 setting model with 7 as the largest I went 7 through 5)
Cut pasta into 1.5 inch squares.

1. take one square and place a small amount of the filling in the center of the square (about 1/2 tsp) 
2. place a second square of pasta on top and seal the edges
3. crimp edges with a fork 
4. Repeat until out of pasta pieces

Refrigerate pasta (at least 20 minutes) to ensure that they have sealed and to allow flavors to meld in the filling
boil in salted water for 7 minutes
drain then place on a baking sheet that has been greased spread remaining filling on top and bake at 400 degrees F for 6-10 minutes until Cheese has melted

Suggestions:
put all of the filling ingredients into a food processor and grind it up very fine for an easier time filling
Serve with a parmesan cheese sauce, vodka sauce, mushroom cream sauce or an artichoke spinach cheese dip.
Instead of baking the Ravioli toss it in bread crumbs and fry it to get a nice crispy outside

Top view of the filling prior to spinach and mixing

Filling mixed together

Pasta sheets

Part way through making the ravioli

Filling on a pasta square

Boiling away

All set to bake

The complete meal

Bonus recipe
Chicken thighs and mushrooms
4 chicken thighs (if very large butterfly to ensure complete cooking)
3/4 cup mushrooms sliced (I used portobello)
1/2 cup White Wine (I used pinot grigio)
1/4 cup onion sliced
2 cloves garlic minced
2 TBSP olive oil
1/2 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp basil
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp sage
Salt and pepper to taste

Harvest Pie

This week I thought I would make a pie to celebrate fall. Now most people usually think of apples and pumpkin everything in the fall leading to thanksgiving in which they are joined by pecans in a trinity of pies that is fairly common across the U.S. While I enjoy each of these very much I also think of pears as a fall fruit. I also love pears in combination with earthy foods. So I wanted to make a pie that had both apples and pears after deeming that pumpkin would be too much for this. The only problem was that if I were to just do a pie with apples and pears something would be missing. Then I thought of dates as a third fruit to add and voila we have the Harvest Pie.

Harvest Pie
Celebrate with pie, how American.

Ingredients:
3 Pears (I believe I used 2 Bosc and 1 Bartlett)
3 granny smith apples
1/4 cup chopped pitted dates
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp nutmeg
2 of your favorite pie crusts (I felt lazy and started this fairly late so I used store bought this time but if you have motivation, skill, and time for it make your own)

Instructions:
Prepare Crust as needed
peel and slice pears and apples
combine sliced pears and apples with the 1/4 cup chopped dates nutmeg and 1/8 tsp cinnamon
pour filling into bottom half of the pie crust top with the remaining 1/8 tsp cinnamon.
place top crust seal and crimp the edges cut slits  and poke a center hole in the top crust
Bake at 425°F for 40 minutes putting on foil around the edges after 15-20 minutes (I did 16 min) to prevent the edges from burning. It will look golden brown when finished.
Wait 20 minutes before serving.

Suggestions:
If you like very sweet pie add up to a 1/3 cup of sugar to when combining the pears apples and spices.
Make a crumble top instead of a top layer of pie crust using 1/3 cup all purpose flour, 2/3 cup oats, 1/2 stick butter, 1/4 cup white sugar, 1/4 cup brown sugar, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, and 1/4 tsp nutmeg.
Add 1 tsp fresh orange juice,1 tsp Vanilla extract or Rum extract when combining the fruit and spices.

Pears and apples pre-spices

Pie Crust

filling in the crust

I cannot cut things in a straight line.

Out of the Oven

Having a slice for science.

Pumpkin Curry Soup

This week I made Pumpkin Curry Soup as a celebration of fall. Basically I wanted to have a pumpkin soup that tastes good available to me (I had a bad experience with a different pumpkin soup when I was very young). Seeing how real pumpkins in the states are basically only used as decorations I feel they can be better used. This recipe has a savory and slightly spicy flavor to it.

Pumpkin curry soup

see you can eat them.

Ingredients:
1/2 medium pumpkin cubed with the skin, seeds, and "guts" removed (the slimy feeling insides)
4 Jalapeno peppers
1/2 red onion
2 sausages (I used a homemade sausage)
2 TBSP olive oil
1 1/2 TBSP curry powder (I used a homemade orange curry blend [red and yellow with some oregano thrown in])
4 cups water
Optional mini pumpkins used for bowls.


Instructions:
cube pumpkin after removing seeds and "guts"
Boil pumpkin for 15-20 minutes until tender (here you have a choice of either blending the pumpkin to make a smoother soup or mashing the pumpkin  for a chunkier soup)
While the pumpkin is boiling Chop the onion and jalapenos (after removing the seeds and membranes from the peppers to reduce the amount of heat from the peppers [if you want it hotter keep the membranes and don't forget to wear gloves])
saute onion and Jalapeno peppers for 5 minutes over medium heat remove let rest
slice sausage into bite-size pieces and saute for 5 minutes over medium heat
add in the onion and Jalapenos to the sausage along with the olive oil saute for an additional 3 minutes
add the Sausage , onion, and jalapeno mixture to the (blended or mashed) pumpkin
add in the curry powder
simmer for 20 minutes
serve in mini pumpkins

Suggestions:
for extra flavor use chicken stock instead of water
for more color add in red bell peppers

I was not in my kitchen so this took a while

some pumpkin in the pot

Boiling hot

The membrane is the very light green stuff that the seeds are connected to

I first added the onion because I wanted a slight texture change between the two

Sausage cooking away

Everything is in place 

cleaning and cutting these was harder than the large pumpkin

Soup is on