Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Creamed Peas and New Potatoes



Ingredients

1 pound baby red potatoes, quartered
1 cup shelled English peas
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup milk
Directions

Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. Boil potatoes for 15 to 20 minutes, or until tender. Drain.
In a medium saucepan, bring 1 cup water to a boil. Simmer peas in boiling water for 6 to 7 minutes, or until tender (do NOT overcook). Drain.
Using the same saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Stir in flour to make a thick paste; gradually whisk in milk, stirring constantly until slightly thickened. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Now add potatoes and peas to the sauce; simmer for about 5 minutes, stirring often. Serve immediately.

Ginger Glazed Mahi Mahi


Ingredients

3 tablespoons honey
3 tablespoons soy sauce
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger root
1 clove garlic, crushed or to taste
2 teaspoons olive oil
4 (6 ounce) mahi mahi fillets
salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
Directions

In a shallow glass dish, stir together the honey, soy sauce, balsamic vinegar, ginger, garlic and olive oil. Season fish fillets with salt and pepper, and place them into the dish. If the fillets have skin on them, place them skin side down. Cover, and refrigerate for 20 minutes to marinate.
Heat vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Remove fish from the dish, and reserve marinade. Fry fish for 4 to 6 minutes on each side, turning only once, until fish flakes easily with a fork. Remove fillets to a serving platter and keep warm.
Pour reserved marinade into the skillet, and heat over medium heat until the mixture reduces to a glaze consistently. Spoon glaze over fish, and serve immediately.

Sunday, July 24, 2011

Brazilian Lemonade


This is soooo delicious and refreshing. You will have to understand that not everything in the world is healthy and tasty so unfortunately this falls in only one one of the categories........Yummy!

4 juicy limes (try and find ones with thin, smooth skins; they’re the juiciest and the thin skin cuts down on the chance of your drink being bitter)
1 c. sugar
6 c. cold water
6 Tbsp. sweetened condensed milk

Mix cold water and sugar very well and chill until ready to use. This step can be done ahead of time.

Wash limes thoroughly with soap (I just use hand-dishwashing soap or regular hand soap); you need the soap to get the wax and pesticides off of the limes because you’re using the WHOLE lime, baby. Cut the ends off the limes and then cut each lime into 8ths.

Place 1/2 of the limes in your blender.

Add 1/2 of the sugar water, place the lid on your blender, and pulse 5 times. Place a fine-mesh strainer over a pitcher (the one you’ll serve the lemonade in) and pour the blended mixture through the strainer and into the pitcher. Use a spoon to press the rest of the liquid into the pitcher. Dump the pulp and stuff in the strainer into the trash. Repeat with remaining limes and sugar water. Add sweetened condensed milk; DO NOT leave this step out unless you will die of a horrible sweetened condensed milk allergy because this is the secret ingredient! You may want to taste test it at this point; I used giant, thick-skinned limes tonight and didn’t test it and it came out a little bitter. If it’s bitter, just add some more sugar and maybe a little more milk.
Serve immediately over lots of ice. This does not keep well, so don’t make this in advance (although you can cut the limes, mix the sugar water, and measure the sweetened condensed milk in advance). Serves 4, although I can pretty much guarantee you that people will want more; I usually plan on 1 1/2 servings at LEAST per person.

Monday, July 11, 2011

lemony yogurt muffins

*from Sweet Basil*

Yorgurt Muffins
Recipe From Some Magazine long ago
(use the yogurt flavor and fruit of choice)

1 3/4 cup flour
1/2 cup sugar (I only used a bit over a 1/4 cup)
2 teaspoon finely shredded orange peel (i used lemon)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 beaten egg
1 8-ounce carton orange yogurt (I used vanilla)
1/3 cup cooking oil
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup sifted powdered sugar
1-2 teaspoon orange juice ( i used fresh lemon juice)

Heat oven to 400

Grease 12 muffin cups or line with paper bake cups
In a medium mixing bowl combine flour, sugar, orange peel, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

In another bowl combine egg, yogurt, oil, and vanilla. Add mixture all at once to the dry mixture. Stir just until moistened (batter should be lumpy).

Spoon batter into the prepared muffin cups, filling each 2/3 full.

Bake for 18-20 minutes or until golden.
Remove from oven.

Meanwhile, stir together powdered sugar and enough orange juice to make a glaze that is easy enough to drizzle. Drizzle over warm muffins, serve warm.

Sunday, July 3, 2011

Rhubarb Cobbler


Prep Time: 15 Minutes | Cook Time: 35 Minutes | Difficulty: Easy | Servings: 12
Ingredients
4 cups Chopped Rhubarb
1-1/2 cup Sugar (I use half of the amount of sugar)
1/4 teaspoon Salt
2 Tablespoons Lemon Juice
1/2 teaspoon Almond Extract (optional)
2 cups All-purpose Flour
2 Tablespoons Sugar
1/4 teaspoon Salt
1 Tablespoon Baking Powder
1/4 cup Vegetable Shortening Or Lard
1/4 cup Butter
1/2 cup Whole Milk
1 whole Egg
Preparation Instructions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
In a bowl, combine rhubarb, sugar, 1/4 teaspoon salt, lemon juice, and almond extract if using. Stir and set aside.
In a separate bowl, combine flour, 2 tablespoons sugar, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and baking powder. Stir together. Add shortening and butter, then cut together with a pastry cutter.
Beat egg and milk together. Pour into flour mixture and stir with a fork until just combined.
Pour rhubarb into a buttered baking dish. Tear off pinches of dough and drop it onto the surface of the fruit, creating a "cobbled" texture. Sprinkle additional sugar over the top.
Bake for 35 to 45 minutes, or until golden brown and bubbly. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream or fresh whipped cream.