Onion Strings

I made these babies for dinner last week and served them with a side of hamburgers. They are absolutely delicious. You're welcome.

Blueberry Pie Filling

This one's a winner. It was a little sweet for me, but just right for Chris. Perfect stirred into oatmeal. So perfect in fact, that I don't think we have enough for an actual pie.

BASIC BLUEBERRY PIE FILLING
4 c. fresh or frozen blueberries
1 c. sugar
3 tbsp. cornstarch or 6 tbsp. flour
1/2 tsp. grated lemon peel
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. grated nutmeg
1 c. water
2 tbsp. lemon juice
Mix dry ingredients in saucepan. Add water gradually. Bring to a boil, add blueberries and cook 3 or 4 minutes until clear and thickened, stirring constantly but carefully to prevent berries from crushing. Remove from heat, add lemon juice. Use in recipes calling for blueberry pie filling.

from Cooks.com

Tomatillo Salsa

This is Kim's recipe for Tomatillo Salsa and I could eat my weight in it at a single sitting.

In a food processor, combine 1/2 lb tomatillos (peeled and washed), half a bunch of cilantro, and 1/2 onion into a coarse blend (you can also add as much jalepeno as you like here. I don't usually add jalepeno). Season with salt (1/2 tsp?) and lime juice (1 TBS) and stir in 2 sliced green onions and a chopped avocado. You can also add a chopped mango if you want. Serve on everything. ;)

Why my finger nails turned pink

Borscht:

1 1/2 lbs beets, scrubbed and trimmed.

1 T butter or oil

1 cup chopped onions

1 tsp caraway seeds (I have a TON of these if you don't want to go buy any. I'm not sure what I'll use them for)

2 cups beef broth

1 1/2 lbs pork shoulder, trimmed and cut into 1/2 inch chunks

3/4 lb green cabbage, coarsely chopped (6-7 cups)

3-4 Tbs red wine vinegar

1/2-1 tsp salt

2 large bay eaves

1 lb Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 2 inch chunks

1 28 oz can petite diced tomatoes with liquid.

1-2 T sugar.

1 cup sour cream mixed with 1 tsp dried dill

Grate half the beets, using the coarse side of a box grater or a food processor. Cut the remaining beets into 1/2 inch dice.

Heat the butter in a 6 quart pressure cooker Add the onions and caraway seeds and cook over high heat for a minute or two. Stir in all other ingredients through the tomatoes and stir. Pour tomatoes on top and don't stir after adding tomatoes.

Lock the lid of the pressure cooker in place. Over high heat bring to high pressure. Reduce heat to aintain high pressure and cook for 10 minutes. Turn off the heat. Allow the pressure to come down naturally fo 10 minutes, then quick release any remaining pressure. (Alternately, I'm sure you could cook it for 6-8 hours on low in a slow cooker or simmer 2-3 hours on the stove top).

Remove the bay leaves, and taste for salt and/or more sugar or vinegar, if needed. Serve with sour cream-dill topping.

Ciabatta

I love artisan breads, especially long, flat Italian Cibatta bread. I've been experimenting with a few recipes over the last year and finally came up with the following. It tastes just as good as an expensive bakery. In fact, I fooled my family last Sunday when I brought two lhomemade oaves to dinner and they asked where I bought it.

Cibatta bread
(makes two large loaves)

1 1/2 TBS yeast
1 1/2 TBS salt
3 cups lukewarm water
6 1/2 cups flour

Combine all in a HUGE bowl to make a very loose dough. Cover and let rise 2-5 hours at room temperature. Punch down the dough , recover, and refrigerate overnight or up to two weeks.

2-5 hours before you are ready to bake the dough, spread two kitchen towels on a smooth surface and generously dust them with flour. Divide the loose dough in half and form one half into an 18 inch long loaf along one side of the towel. Flour the loaf again and then cover it loosely with the other half of the towel. Repeat with other half of the dough.

Preheat your oven to 450 degrees and lightly grease two cookie sheets. Immediately before baking, unwrap the loaf, invert the kitchen towel onto the sheet and coax the loaf off the towel. Expect it to stick a little.

Bake 20-25 minutes until the loaf has good color. Let cool to allow the crust to get chewy.

Speedy Pizza

We have pizza at least every other week at our house and thanks to this recipe, it's usually one of those fall back meals, for nights when I've been too involved in whatever to think about dinner until everyone's starving. We usually cook it in the oven, but now that the weather's warmer, I wanted to try it on the grill (and it was great!) Stephanie asked me for the recipe ages ago and I'm just barely getting around to typing it up (sorry, Steph).

For the crust:
3/4 cup warm water combined with 1 tbsp yeast
1 tsp sugar
3/4 tsp salt
1 T oil or shortening (optional. I confess, I usually leave this out and the crust is still good)
1 1/2 - 2 cups flour (1:1 ratio of whole wheat and all purpose flour works well, or use all white)

Combine together to make a smooth dough, then set aside for as long as it takes you to prepare your toppings. It's just as good if it sits for 5 minutes as when it sits for an hour.

When you're ready to make the pizza, stretch and pat out the dough, top and then bake at 450 for 12-15 minutes. Or, stretch and pat out the dough, then spread it on a HOT grill for 2 1/2- 3 minutes, close the lid. Flip the bread and top the cooked side, then close the grill, turn off the heat and let sit until the cheese is melted. Yum.