Creamy Fajitas

These are satisfying, yet low fat and so tasty!

Creamy Fajitas

8 ounces water 1 sweet onion, sliced 2 jalepenos, deseeded and sliced 1 small zuchinni, halved and thinly sliced 6 small red potatoes, halved and sliced ¼ cup cilantro, chopped 1 cup asparagus, chopped, optional 1 cup broccoli florets, chopped ⅓ cup white cashew cream 1 teaspoon paprika 1 teaspoon onion powder ½ teaspoon garlic powder 1 teaspoon cumin 1 teaspoon salt, or to taste

Serve with warm tortillas, beans, and salsa. 1.In a large, covered pan, “sauté” onions and jalepenos in water until soft and clearish. 2.Before slicing, microwave potatoes for about 4 minutes or until soft. 3.To the covered pan, add all but cilantro and cashew sauce and cook, covered, stirring occasionally, until broccoli, zucchini and asparagus soften slightly. 4.Quickly mix in cashew sauce and cilantro and stir well.

Peanut Butter Apple Dip

Here's a quick, yummy dip as an alternative to carmel dip for sour green apples - fun!

Peanut Butter Apple Dip

• 1 cup dates, (pitted!)
• 1 cup natural peanut butter
• 1 cup hot water
• 1 tablespoon vanilla
• 1 pinch cinnamon, optional

1.Place all ingredients in a blender and allow to soak for 10 to 20 minutes.

2.Blend all until very smooth. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Cabbage and Noodles - Because Winter Still Holdeth On!

Cabbage and Noodles - Because Winter Still Holdeth On!

Thought this makes great picnic food, too, as it holds up well and tastes fine cold.

1 head cabbage, sliced 1 large onion, sliced 2 tablespoons vegetable oil 2 cups water 1 teaspoon salt, or to taste 12 ounces whole grain noodles 2 quarts water

I used white, double fiber in this picture, but prefer a mild-tasting whole wheat or whole rice noodle. 1.In a large (6 - 7 quart) pot, “fry” onions and cabbage in water and oil, stirring every 5 minutes or so, until cabbage softens, about 20 minutes. Keep covered to maintain moisture and nutrients and to cook more quickly. You may have to add a bit more water to prevent burning. 2.In a separate pot, bring 2 quarts water to a rolling boil and add noodles. Cook 7 + minutes until “al dente” - done but still slightly firm. 3.Drain noodles and com

Breakfast Rice Pudding

Something warm for a morning that forgot to be spring. :-)

Breakfast Rice Pudding

4 cups Brown Rice, cooked 3 tablespoons cornstarch 2 cups water 2 cups soy milk 1 teaspoon vanilla ½ teaspoon cinnamon, optional 2-4 tablespoon sugar, to taste ¼ teaspoon salt, optional

1.Mix cornstarch in with a little bit of the water until smooth. 2.Combine all ingredients and bring to a boil. Turn heat down to low and and simmer, stirring occasionally for another 5-10 minutes. 3.Serve with pistachios and coconut flakes or raisins.

Peanut Butter Carob Milkshake

This is what happens when you let a man loose in the kitchen. Heehee...

Mike's Peanut Butter Carob Milkshake

1 cups soy milk (Silk?)
2 frozen bananas (peeled!:-)
1 teaspoons vanilla flavoring
1 pinch cinnamon
3 teaspoons carob powder
1/2 c peanut butter (no wonder the boys thought this was so wonderful, lol!)
1 - 1 1/4 cups vanilla ice cream (I love tofutti best for this recipe.)

Combine ingredients in a strong blender and blend until smooth. Yummy!

The picture is something he found online that he thought looked like his final project. (Thanks for the loan, "Superwoman. ;-)

Tarragon Pizza Dough - Unusual and Delicious

Introducing a new herb that many of you may not of have tried: I always enjoy experimenting with new things. Tarragon is one that a friend shared a few years back that is quite unique from other herbs. This is a very mature, unique taste, great for guests or little ones with a wide palette. It's worth your time!!

Tarragon Pizza Dough 

Recipe By: Melanie Troxell 
Serving Size: 12 

Ingredients: 
- 1 1/4 cup hot water 
- 2 teaspoons yeast 
- 2 Tablespoons sugar 
- 2 cups whole wheat flour 
- 1 1/2 cups unbleached wheat flour 
- 2 tablespoons oil 
- 1 tablespoon tarragon flakes 
- 1 tablespoon parsley flakes 
- 1 tablespoon chives 
- 1-2 teaspoons salt 

Directions: 
Preheat oven to 350. 

Mix the slightly hot water with yeast and sugar. Allow this to set for five or so minutes to ensure that the yeast is active. Allow dough to rise in a warm place for at least a half an hour, or up two hours.

Combine all ingredients and mix together very well. Knead for about two minutes or and dough is smooth and slightly rubbery. You may need to add a little bit of flour if it sticks to your hands too badly.

On a well floured surface, roll dough out, and press with fingers as necessary, until it is large enough for a 15 inch pizza stone or large cookie sheet.  Spray the stone or cookie sheet with nonstick cooking spray. Make sure the bottom of the dough is well floured and place on baking surface.

Spread half of a small jar of pizza sauce evenly over the pizza dough. Then top with favorite toppings of your choice. In this picture, we used sautéed onions, chopped olives, sliced mushrooms, and a nondairy cheese. Place in oven and bake for 20 minutes, or until edges are golden brown. 

Coconut Yogurt - By Request!

At last, the Coconut Yogurt!

Coconut Yogurt 

• 1 can coconut milk (NOT light)
• 1 cup cornstarch
• ½ cup soy yogurt, (it has to have live, active cultures)
• 6 cans water

• 1.Stir the cornstarch into a small part of the milk until smooth. Then add all the milk. Boil for 1-2 minutes, until thickened. Allow to cool to 105-112 degrees.

  2.Mix in the yogurt. Keep it around 105 degrees in a covered container overnight (or about 8 hours) to culture.

If you don't have a yogurt maker, yogurt can be kept warm in a dehydrator, or in a gas oven with just a pilot light on. In the summertime it can be kept warm in a hot car (not in the window!) or on a windowsill in your home.
Yogurt can be used in salad dressings or smoothies, or flavored with all-fruit jelly and/or fruit. It can also be sweetened with various flavors of pie filling.
If the yogurt looks lumpy, you can blend it lightly in a blender or food processor before adding flavorings.

Please forgive, the above picture is NOT mine, as I have misplace my picture. I'll work to either get a new one or find the few that I have (or I may use yours if you send me one). Thanks!

Naughty, but Less So (Brownies!)

Peanut Butter Swirl Brownies

These are very important for snowed in days. :-)

They're pretty intense, so a small recipe is good, here.

• 3 tablespoons Carob powder
• ½ teaspoon Roma powder
• 5 teaspoons oil
• 2 tablespoons boiling water
• ½ cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon flax seeds
• ¼ cup boiling water
• 6 tablespoons flour
• ½ teaspoon vanilla flavoring
• ⅛ teaspoon salt
• Peanut Butter Swirl
• 3 teaspoons margarine
• 3 tablespoons smooth peanut butter
• 3 tablespoons confectioners sugar
• ¼ teaspoon vanilla

1.Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray an 8 inch round baking pan with nonstick cooking spray.

2.Bring a small pan of water to a rolling boil. In a small, heat resistant bowl, place flax seed and pour 1/4 c of boiling water over them and stir. Set aside.

3.In a bowl, mix carob powder and Roma, then stir in boiling water and oil, stirring mixture into a paste. Stir boiling flax water again and allow to settle briefly for a couple of tablespoons of this sign into the carob paste. Mix in sugar.

4.Finally, add the flour, vanilla, and salt and fold until flour is just Inc., taking care not to overmix.

5.Mix peanut butter, margarine, affectionate sugar and vanilla until smooth.

6.Pour carob batter into the prepared pan and spread evenly. Then drop peanut butter mixture in blobs onto the top of this and smear out in swirls with a knife.

7.Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until like toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Pumpkin Pie Smoothie

Now that everyone is over being sick of Holiday food, I'd like to share a recipe that is reminiscent of Pumpkin Pie but healthier and lighter! Enjoy...

Pumpkin Pie Smoothie

1/2 cup Pumpkin Pie Mix (from a can)
1 large frozen (very ripe) banana
1/2 cup water
6 ice cubs
1/4 cup Better than Milk powder (or powdered milk of your choice)

Blend all until very smooth in a blender, about 1-3 minutes.

Orange "Chicken" Rice for Potluck Today

Orange "Chicken" and Rice

2 1/4 cups brown rice, dry (Uncle Ben's?)

2 1/2 cups water

2 cups Light colored TVP

2 1/2 cups hot water

2 Tablespoon oil

1 cup cashews (raw is best!)

1/2 cup shredded coconut

Sauce

1 cup orange marmalade

1/2 teaspoon ginger

1/3 cup water

2 tablespoons soy sauce

1 T chicken-style seasoning

Put rice and water in a covered pot and bring to a boil, then lower temperature to low-medium. Leaving covered, cook for another 20-25 minutes or until steam lessens significantly and rice is soft. 

Mix TVP and water and allow to set until moisture is soaked up.

While rice is cooking, "fry" cashews in oil until they brown slightly. Add TVP and coconut and stir well. Set aside.

Mix sauce ingredients thoroughly. 

Combine all ingredients and serve warm.

Blessings!

(Are you Weird??) and Raspberry Millet Breakfast

Raspberry Millet Breakfast - and Are You Weird?

Please forgive my lengthy absence. Trying to get computer troubles fixed over the next couple of days!!! :-)
 
Take a minute to read through my ramblings, and you'll be rewarded with a recipe at the end. :-)

Anyone who knows me knows that I am quite open and not political. You are "different." You already know it anyway, so why not just talk about it and see if we can learn together how to succeed despite our differences? (That can be understood in more than one way, I guess.) People are so touchy and ridiculous and changeable. We all have these things that we know about other people that are impolite to talk about, so they just hang between even close friends like a stink in the air. That’s one thing I think I learned from all my Korean friends. Just say it! They freely ask and share each others’ ages and incomes, and whatever. They’ll tell you if they think you’re fat or even ugly. Why not? No fat person will be surprised. In America, we try to wear clothes to hide our fat or just never mention it, and hope no one notices. REALLY? In Korea, they told me that I have a witches’ nose (in contrast to small and flat!). They didn’t show any disdain, though, just thought it was less attractive. I think that was a great lesson for me. I don’t have some gorgeous nose, but my nose is just fine by American standards. AND THEY WEREN’T HATEFUL or “superior” about it. It was just a fact that people all noticed and that set me apart. They also freely joked about my size - I am about twice the size of many Korean women, lol.

I’m passionate about this concept, and it’s part of what makes me socially different - and threatening. This is isn’t to say that I don’t struggle with what people think about me, especially when I’m tired or ill. It’s not to say that I don’t look in the mirror (at my THIN) self and see a huge butt or a crooked smile just like others do. But I know that the reality is often very different than what we tell ourselves.

Different can have many advantages, but one of them is that the pain of isolation can cause us to stand back and evaluate who we are and why we’re here. If we come to terms with our uniqueness - even our “flaws,” we can evaluate each one on it’s own. If my “different” is a short temper, it’s something that Jesus can overcome in me. If my “different” is ratty, big hair, I can come to terms that God allowed me to have a Brillo Pad for some reason. I should seek to be as beautiful as God made me to be and learn to properly care for what I have. It may be VERY different - I do not ever comb and almost never brush my hair. I keep it clean and style it with my fingers (gasp!!). Funny thing is, it took me THIRTY years to embrace my hair and stop fighting it. Now I get compliments on it continually, even though it’s certainly not “normal,” and not “fashionable.”

WHY do we fight what God made us? I mean the physical, the personality, etc. God loves a rainbow. He INTENTIONALLY made you what he made you, and I think he just shakes his head in sadness at all we do to fight what we have and be what we think others expect. Be your own beautiful self and embrace it!

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I'm not that into millet - it's "different." ;-)  But I believe in encouraging tastes to expand for the sake of variety and nutrition. Here's a yummy breakfast for a cool winter morning!

Raspberry Millet Breakfast

1 cup millet (a dry cereal in the cereal section at your grocery or health food store - birdfood. :-)
3 cups milk (I like almond milk best.)
1 cup water
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt

plain yogurt (your favorite kind - love homemade coconut yogurt)
raspberry preserves (yummy!)

Blend millet in a blender or food processor until grainy, but not fine flour, about a minute or less in a powerful blender like a Vitamix.
Over medium-high heat, in a sauce pot, bring millet, milk, water, sugar and salt to a boil, stirring well, to prevent lumps.
When it reaches a boil, cover it and turn to low. Simmer until thickened, 20-30 minutes.
Serve with yogurt and raspberry preserves.