Summer Memories - Ratatouille

For any of you who've seen the movie, "Ratatouille," you'll know that a big theme for this silly little movie is the power of a favorite dish to take you back to your childhood. I was subjected to the whole movie in Greek on a flight a couple of years back! Anyway… I guess that explains why, when my kids asked me to make some ratatouille, I actually had no idea what it was, even after supposedly having seen the movie.

I looked it up and made my own version, all the while thinking it was beautifully reminiscent of years gone by. My first few bites made me realize that perhaps this is a gardener's favorite everywhere, though by different names, as I had never heard the name until I was an adult. It's something I've had many times during the overabundance-of-veggies-harvest time that lasts a few weeks every (garden) summer. I hope that you decide that you want to revive or create memories with this lovely recipe!

Ratatouille

1 small eggplant, sliced
1 large tomato, sliced
1 large zucchini , sliced
1 large onion, sliced
2 medium yellow squash, sliced
⅓ cup soy cheese, shredded
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons oil

1. Preheat oven to 400 and oil a 9x13" casserole dish well on the bottom and sides with 2 tablespoons oil.

2. Layer veggies in order listed, standing part way up, making as many rows as fit nicely, until all are gone. If you have extra of one veggie or another, cut these into small pieces and sprinkle them in the "blank spots" in the pan.

3. Sprinkle salt and then "cheese" evenly over the top of the veggies and then bake until top begins to turn golden brown, about 40 minutes.

Gluten free and not fattening!

Rescued Scones

 Sabbath morning tradition: Scones - you might have already gotten this idea from previous posts.  :-)

I enjoy "rescuing" recipes or even mixes - taking them and making them more body-friendly. So here's today's rescue recipe. Enjoy!

Healthy Rescued Scones

1 - 6 muffin package Muffin Mix (yes, just from the store)
1 cup whole wheat flour
¼ cup oil
⅓ cup water
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
colored sugar, optional

1. Preheat oven to 425.

2. Mix ingredients (all but colored sugar) together and form into a ball. Place ball on a greased cookie sheet and push into a circle about 1" thick. Cut into eight wedges, with a large knife pushing them away from each other with the knife blade (about 1/2 apart).

3. Wet wedges slightly and sprinkle colored sugar over the tops.

4. Bake at 425 until golden brown, about 20 minutes.

Better than Butter

So lately, coconut oil is all the rage... It's previously been given a bad rap because of it's saturated fats, but lately has been back in the spotlight because of all the wholesome goodness in it. So let me warn you - this recipe is a condiment - it's fattening. So use it sparingly, but it's more natural than any "butter" you can buy (except the not-so-healthy kind you make from your pet Jersey) and the fat and calories hover somewhere between "Smart Balance" and "Smart Balance Light." I'll see if I can get it lighter at some point, but this is so full of rich, buttery goodness!

Better than Butter!

½ cup coconut oil
1 tablespoon lecithin, liquid
½ teaspoon salt
1 pinch sugar
½ cup water
1 teaspoon butter flavor

Warm ingredients to a liquid state. Blend all with a stick blender or mixer on medium low until thoroughly mixed. Chill and serve. (Looks wonderful in a pretty mold!)

Have a delicious and Happy Sabbath!

Easy Oat Sausages

Here's breakfast this morning... Easy and great to bake half way, freeze, and finish baking (and eating) later!

Oat Sausages

2 cups water
2 tablespoons soy sauce or liquid aminos
1 teaspoon sage
2 teaspoons onion powder
1 teaspoon crushed garlic
¼ teaspoons Italian Seasoning
¼ cup nutrional yeast flakes
2 cups quick oats

1. Combine all ingredients except the oats and bring to a boil.

2. Combine all and stir well. Allow to set for 10+ minutes.

3. Oil hands and then form patties and place on oiled baking sheet. Bake at 400 for 15 minutes. Flip and bake 10 more minutes.

Loving People Differently

Okay, so I'm not eating these... I've had the privilege of being out of town and a bit pampered for the last few days at a summer camp for Mike's work. I love cooking, but a break (especially a tasty one) is always nice. The point of all this is that you don't get what I don't cook - so it's philosophical stuff for you until I can get back to busy in my kitchen...

So much of hearth and home has to do with loving people. When's the last time that you thought about people's needs? Sometimes it's easy to think we're "okay" and to not give much thought to how we love people. It seems obvious if you think about it that people express love through the things that they appreciate. Many people express love and affection with flowers or kind words or home made cookies or doing the laundry or fixing the car or setting aside special time together. You can learn all about this at http://www.5lovelanguages.com - a great source of relationship information.

So did you know that there is a sixth love language? BUGs. My number two child has always had a passion for all things creepy and crawly and today, with great joy, he came bounding in, "Close your eyes! Close your eyes!" (as I was sitting on the couch) I said, "No, I will not open my mouth!" He laughed and said I didn't have to. So I closed my eyes and screamed a tiny one when I opened my eyes to locust skins on my belly! But (not a chicken), I smoothed my voice and had a talk with him about locusts and other things that were on his heart.

Even though there are locusts on my belly, this post isn't really about what's in my belly. But it is about how you love the bellies that you are filling. I could've rejected the silly gift in revulsion, but I chose to engage my boy instead on something that he cares about deeply (though I do not). How can you seek to enter into the world of those that you love? Watch them carefully, love them individually, brace yourself and "stomach" the oddities of other people - and watch your relationships blossom!

The Desires of Your Heart

Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. Psalm 37:4

When Mike was in seminary and our two older boys were small, we were definitely there by faith! Many times couples in seminary have to tighten their belts on the tiny stipend provided by their sponsoring conference - but we went their unsponsored and were both unable to find consistent work in that slightly flooded market.

Thankfully, many years before a kind man had started the "married food program," where local businesses donated expiring or damaged products to help the temporarily needy families. This program was a source of many new friends and of the food that kept us during the first of our stay there.

Because we were unable to find permanent employment and I was quite sick but recovering from a longterm illness, eventually we got onto food stamps and WIC for a short time. So we now had an abundance of food, but I still volunteered with the food program that had been so helpful to us and enjoyed blessing especially the families that didn't qualify to work or receive any other benefits because they were foreign - talk about there by faith!

One day as we were driving past the many grape vineyards with the smell of ripe grapes wafting through the window, Mike (a country-hearted boy who adores home-canned grape juice) sighed, "I AM so thankful that we have all this food, but what a pity that we are in the heart of grape territory and we can't afford ANY fresh grapes for grape juice!"

Would you believe that the very next day at the food program they made the announcement that a local grape farmer had a large vineyard that he wanted to use as an offering, so he offered for the married pastoral student families to come and harvest as much as they wanted - it wasn't even true "gleaning," as this field hadn't yet been touched!

So, not only were our needs, but even our unnecessary little preferences were filled by a loving God (and a friend or two - isn't that his favorite way to answer prayer?!). We ended up with 125 quarts of the finest grape juice money can't buy, as well as all the grapes we could eat for a couple of weeks!

What is the desire of your heart? Have you been sacrificing and seeking to be content with the little you have? Know that a loving Jesus delights in giving gifts to you. He promises to care for your needs, but know that sometimes, like a charmed lover, he delights in fulfilling the longings of your heart, too - just because he can!


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Location:Ridge Pkwy,Alexander City,United States

Cross-Over Naan and a Expanding Your Hospitality

Many of you may know that my all time favorite food is Indian food, so it shouldn't surprising that my favorite bread is probably naan, the warm, chewy inspiration of Indian Cuisine. I'm also very into hybrid or cross-over foods. What's more interesting than Greek Chow Mein or African Ice Cream? I'm not sure what this naan is - Indian crossed with...? You'll have to give me your opinion. Maybe Indian Greek? :-)

By the way - this dish is a tantalizing company food. It's pretty easy to impress with naan. Maybe this conversation will tempt you to pull out your old hospitality hat and invite someone over this weekend! See what you can do for peace, love, and the kingdom of God - by having a "cross-over" meal. Invite someone who's not like you, and see how much you can enjoy their company!

Garlic Chive Naan

2 teaspoons active dry yeast
2 cup warm water
¼ cup sugar
2 tablespoons Vegannaise
2 teaspoons salt
4 ½ cups whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons minced garlic, optional
¼ cup chives
oil

1. Mix all but chives, garlic and oil. Mix in food processor or dough machine for 2-3 minutes, then allow to rise, covered, for 1-2 hours.

2. Preheat oven to 500 and grease a large cookie sheet. Mix in chives and garlic and tear into 6 balls. With oiled hands, stretch and push each ball into a large flattened piece. It doesn't need to be real even or smooth, but try to avoid many holes.

3. Place on oiled cookie sheet and bake for 3-4 minutes, then flip and bake for another 3-4 minutes.

Sweet and Cold!

The summer doesn't seem to be cooling off any around here, so it's time to get out of spicy mode and get on to things refreshing!

This didn't firm up as much for me as my usual recipes, but it's delicious just like its soft-served-self! It's very pretty, too.

Sweet Cherry Ice Cream

1 cup raw cashews
1 can coconut milk
1/2 cup Maraschino cherry juice
1/2 cup water
2 cup ice
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon almond flavoring
10-15 Maraschino cherries
Carob bar, shaved, for garnish (opt.)

1. Blend cashews and coconut milk until very, very smooth. You may need to add the 1/2 cup of water a bit at a time.

2. Add all but cherries and blend until smooth, then add cherries and pulse blend for a couple of seconds.

3. Prepare in ice cream maker according to manufacturer's directions.

It is gluten free, a bit fattening, but full of healthful things!!


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Location:Lake Pointe Cir,Pensacola,United States

Frosty Carob Milk

Are familiar with carob? Many people have never heard of this wonderful, interesting food! You can find out more about it online, but I'll tell you here what I love about carob.

You've probably already seen it - the long black-brown bean pods that your kids have picked up at a city park, and maybe even save to shake like a rattle? That's a carob tree! Those fake chocolate cookies and candies that they sell in dog bakeries? That's carob!

I love it because it tastes wonderful (if made right) and is healthy for you. It also is a delicious replacement for chocolate, but doesn't have caffeine or theobromine and is naturally much sweeter. Don't get me wrong - it doesn't taste like chocolate. It's its own (non-fruity) flavor, like vanilla or caramel or chocolate. It's a natural "regulator" and is full of vitamins and minerals. You'll find it at your local health food store or cheaper (especially in bulk) online. Try it!


Frosty Carob Milk

2 quarts Soy milk
⅓ cup carob powder
2 large candy canes

Place a quart of milk into the blender and break candy canes into pieces into milk. Blend carob powder in as well. Blend until smooth. Combine all and enjoy, frosty and cold!

This is so easy, and is also excellent served hot on  cold winter night.

Chunky Black Bean Salsa

What a beautiful summer afternoon! I'm not sure why, but I'm still on a spicy roll. Hope you keep enjoying. I was very pleased because this one is definitely a favorite here with all my guys. Frequently I'll have one or two that really like a recipe, but everyone stuffed themselves on this one.

Chunky Black Bean Salsa

2 tablespoons oil
1 onion, chopped
1 can sweet corn, drained
⅓ cup water
2 large jalapeno peppers, chopped
1 can black beans, drained
1 15 ounce can tomato sauce
½ cup cilantro, chopped

1. Heat oil on high heat and sauté onion until slightly brown. Stir in corn and 1/3 cup of water and cook, stirring, until water is mostly gone. Add in jalapenos and stir briefly.

2. Combine all and serve cold or hot.

Serve hot or cold with warm tortilla chips!

Baklava, Anyone?

This recipe takes forever, so it's a once in a blue moon kind of recipe, but with a team (of kids or friends) it's really a lot of fun! Also, it's super fattening, but it's a great alternative for those of you that are vegan, anyway. And it's time consuming enough that you'll probably not have it too often. :-)

Baklava

1 package Filo dough, thaw
1 ½ cups honey
1 cup walnuts , crushed
vegetable oil
1 teaspoon cinnamon, optional

Can use pistachios instead for a more "authentic" recipe!

1. Put oil in a bowl and arrange the baklava in a 9 x 13 inch casserole dish (slightly larger would be ideal if you have one). With a pastry brush, lightly brush oil over bottom and sides of pan.

2. Open and unroll filo dough. Keep dough covered with plastic wrap throughout process to keep it moist enough to warm with as it dries and crumbles very quickly. Also, work as fast as possible. Lay one sheet evenly over the bottom of the casserole dish and lightly smooth out bubbles. Brush as lightly as possible with oil. Lay down another sheet, brush with oil and repeat.

3. After about 10 layers, smooth over honey and cinnamon and all but a couple tablespoons of the crushed nuts. Then spread down another sheet of dough, oil and smooth out as much as possible. Continue this until the filo sheets are gone. Sprinkle remaining nuts on top.

4. Heat oven to 325. Cut baklava in triangles (before you bake!). Bake until the top becomes a golden brown, about 35-45 minutes.

Spicy Rice & "Chicken"

I guess I'm in a spicy mood, everyone! Bear with me. :-) This is a wonderful dish and is great take-it-with-you lunch, as well.



Spicy Rice & "Chicken"
2 cups brown rice
5 cups water
1 Tablespoons chicken-style seasoning
1 Tablespoons olive oil
1 cups spaghetti sauce
½ cup Vegennaise (or your choice of healthy "Mayo"
⅛ teaspoon butter flavor
½ cup water
½ teaspoon salt
1 box vegetarian Buffalo Wings (in the freezer section!)
dash cayenne (opt)

1. Prepare brown rice with chicken-style seasoning, oil and water.
2. Mix spaghetti sauce, Vegennaise, butter flavor, salt, cayenne and water and drizzle over rice. Place buffalo wings decoratively on top. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes.

Spicy Summer Treat

I managed to find fresh field peas and accidentally stumbled onto super-mild habeneros for this wonderful summer treat! These are both available at many farmers' markets in the summer, but you can also find them both at your local grocer. The field peas are in the frozen vegetable section.


1 pound field peas
1-3 habeneros, mild
1 large sweet onion, chopped
1 ½ teaspoons salt
4 cups water
1 tablespoon oil

1. With gloves on, carefully remove stem and seeds of habenero peppers and chop into small pieces. Chop onions and quickly fry both veggies in oil (on high heat) until soft. Set aside.
2. Boil field peas and salt in water until they soften, about 20 minutes.
3. Combine all and heat through.

Habaneros?? Not as Hot as You Thought!

These peppers are delicious and filling and actually healthy! You can't get much more amazing than that! They can also easily be made gluten free (use gluten free bread) and are wonderful prepared a day ahead and baked before eating - so great company food. They are even rather yummy as leftovers.

I browned them too much on top the other day, so didn't get a picture, but I found some habaneros at the farmers' market near hear and they made a great stand in! I can't normally tolerate habaneros, but these are sweet and meaty and wonderful. They were still a bit hot, but edible and the flavor was outstanding! I just used the filling below for habaneros and switched out white soy cheese for cheddar - everything else was the same.


Stuffed Poblano Peppers

4 large Poblano Peppers
½ small sweet onion, chopped
1 ½ cups whole grain bread, chopped
2 tablespoons Fresh Basil, chopped
2 tablespoons oil
½ cup almonds
3 tablespoons nutrional yeast flakes
½ teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons lemon juice
2 cups Water
1 package soy cheese, mozzarella, sliced

1. Preheat oven to 400. Wash and slice peppers in half lengthwise. Remove seeds.
2. Fry onion in oil until slightly browned. Add bread and basil and sauté slightly.
3. Blend almonds, yeast flakes, garlic, salt and lemon juice and water and all but 4 slices of the soy cheese until very smooth. Mix all but peppers and the four cheese slices and fill each pepper half with mixture. Cut strips of the cheese slices and arrange on top.
4. Bake until top is slightly brown and peppers soften, about 45 minutes.

Sabbath Morning Scones!

Sabbath morning usually consists of scones, a smoothie and fruit around here - so that I have just 3 or 4 minutes to mix and 13-15 minutes in the oven. Easy and delicious and portable for the pokey ones. These are great ones inspired by Noah's donation of orange slices that he got on a recent trip. He was so excited about how they turned out!

Orange Scones

3 cups whole wheat flour
¾ cup sugar
3 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon cinnamon
8-10 orange slice chewy candies
½ cup walnuts, chopped, optional
½ cup oil
¾ cup orange juice

1. Preheat oven to 400.
2. Mix all the dry ingredients and then chop orange slices into this powdery mixture (so they don't stick together!). Mix all ingredients well. You may need to add a bit of orange juice to have a "formable" dough.
3. Shape into one large round, about 8" diameter and, using an oiled knife, cut into wedges, separating slightly. OR shape into individual biscuit-sized rounds and place on greased cookie sheet. Bake until golden brown, about 20-25 minutes for the wedges or 14 minutes for the individual biscuits.

Amazing Stuffed Poblanos!!

These peppers are delicious and filling and actually healthy! You can't get much more amazing than that! They can also easily be made gluten free (use gluten free bread) and are wonderful prepared a day ahead and baked before eating - so great company food. They are even rather yummy as leftovers.

Stuffed Poblano Peppers

4 large Poblano Peppers
½ small sweet onion, chopped
1 ½ cups whole grain bread, chopped
2 tablespoons Fresh Basil, chopped
2 tablespoons oil
½ cup almonds
3 tablespoons nutrional yeast flakes
½ teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons lemon juice
2 cups Water
1 package soy cheese, mozzarella, sliced

Servings/Yield: Servings: --
1. Preheat oven to 400. Wash and slice peppers in half lengthwise. Remove seeds.
2. Fry onion in oil until slightly browned. Add bread and basil and sauté slightly.
3. Blend almonds, yeast flakes, garlic, salt and lemon juice and water and all but 4 slices of the soy cheese until very smooth. Mix all but peppers and the four cheese slices and fill each pepper half with mixture. Cut strips of the cheese slices and arrange on top.
4. Bake until top is slightly brown and peppers soften, about 45 minutes.

This picture isn't an original - sorry. But they look quite similar. I'll try to post a picture when I make them again. :-)

Something light and delicious for your Fourth of July Picnic! This pie is easy and delicious. It could be made gluten free if you used your own crust. Before you ask - The stars on the pie are purely Photoshopped, lol! Don't ask me how I got those pretty stars on.

Happy Fourth! Thank God for the freedoms we still have!

Tropical Pie

1 large Graham Cracker Crust, (or 2 small)
½ c. macadamia or cashew nuts, chopped
½ c. coconut
1 can crushed pineapple, drained
1 package banana smoothie mix
1 small Cool Whip
8 ounces cream cheese (we use "Tofutti" brand)

Very light and not too sweet.

1. Mix cream cheese and smoothie powder together. Add Cool Whip. Add everything else.

2. Pour into the crust. This recipe is really too big for 1 crust, unless you want huge slices. It would be the right size for 2 shallow crusts, if you can find them. Refrigerate.

Sarada's Eggplant Curry

When my family and I moved to Majuro, in the Marshall Islands we quickly made friends with a great family from Sri Lanka, the Franceses. The mother, Sarada introduced to the wonderful world of Indian food - our family favorite to this day! I remember her making meals for us that she tamed down in heat so we could tolerate it. My mom and little sister couldn't touch it. My dad and older sister about cried through most of this food, and I thoroughly enjoyed the two bites I could handle without blisters! My silly boys will eat delicious Indian food with tears streaming down their face - enjoying every minute.

Of course, spicy food "ain't the best," as it's its over stimulating and harsh on your digestion, so my mother and I (and others) seek to re-create these amazing flavors without the heat! Please enjoy this recipe - it's our transcription of one of our favorite dishes of Sarada's (since she didn't know her own recipes - which made her even more amazing!).

Sri Lankan Eggplant Curry

2 large eggplant, Fry until very soft/drain
½ large onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, chopped
3 or 4 Roma tomatoes, chopped
½ t. chili powder
2 t. curry powder
dash mustard seed
dash cumin
1 c. coconut milk

Put onion, garlic, mustard seed, cumin in a pan and simmer. When soft, add tomatoes, curry, chili powder and milk. Cook until very soft. Add Eggplant. Salt to taste. May add another cup of milk if needed. Simmer about 15 minutes, to mingle flavors. Serve over rice.