fun lunch all wrapped up

I discovered a fun lunch item this morning when my neighbor brought over a cucumber from her garden. When you're growing cucumbers, the first one is fantastic; the next 5 are pretty cool; after that, it's a bit overwhelming- so I was happy to accept! Also a word on the burrito-size tortillas: I love whole wheat tortillas, but I can't find them in the grocery big enough to support a healthy sized burrito or wrap. The "soft taco" size just doesn't cut it - so I just buy the white ones. You can have a smaller sized whole wheat wrap if you prefer.

Place 1 burrito size tortilla on a plate
Spread 1/4 cup hummus in a line down the center of the tortilla
With a handheld grater, grate about 1/4 cup cucumber directly on top of the hummus
Grate one small carrot directly on top of the cucumber
Thinly slice (or just cut with scissors) some lettuce/spinach (about 1/4 cup) on top of the carrot
Grate a sprinking of cheese (I like cheddar) on top of the greens,
Then roll it up, cut in in half, and put in in your lunchbox!

A tasty, vegetarian sandwich alternative!

Tortellini Soup

Soup is one of my favorite dishes to make in the winter - it is warm, comforting, and can simmer on the stove for as long as I need (all the while warming the kitchen of my very drafty house!) One of my favorite recipes, Tortellini Soup, is from my husband's family.  Pesto makes this soup one of the best!  It's a taste of summer in the dead of winter.

Tortellini Soup

about 2 cups of chopped onions, celery, and carrots (whatever you have)

4 -6 cups of any clear broth or stock

2 cups of water

1 package of frozen cheese tortellini (roughly a pound)

handful of chopped spinach

salt and pepper to taste

1/2 cup basil pesto

1/2 cup grated fresh parmesan

Saute the veggies in a little oil in a large soup pot for 5-7 minutes.  Add broth and water and bring to a boil.  Add frozen tortellini, cook until done.  Add spinach, cook a few minutes more, then add salt and pepper to taste.  Serve this soup with generous spoonfuls of pesto and parmesan mixed in each bowl.

Whole Wheat Blueberry Muffins

I received the America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook for Christmas - I love it! Since we don't have cable (that is, we don't get Food Network), I enjoy PBS's version - America's Test Kitchen. The cookbook is fantastic, with really beautiful pictures. We tried the muffin recipe, and it was just fabulous; I used whole wheat flour and added blueberries. I particularly like "white whole wheat flour"; I can find King Arthur's brand pretty readily in stores. It has a much milder taste, and worked really well in these muffins. Here's the recipe:

Big Beautiful Muffins:
Makes 12
Oven 375'

3 cups flour (I used the whole wheat)
1 cup sugar
1 TBLS baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups plain yogurt
2 large eggs
1 stick unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 cup frozen blueberries

Preheat oven. Line muffin tin with paperliners. Spray liners with cooking spray.

Mix flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. Whisk yogurt and eggs together in small bowl. Fold yogurt mixture into dry mixture with rubber spatula until just combined. Fold in melted butter. Gently fold in blueberries, if using.

Fill muffin cups evenly with batter. Bake until golden, 25-30 minutes.

Let muffins cool in pan for 5 minutes, then flip out to wire rack. Cool 10 minutes before serving.

Yogurt Dripping in the Fridge

YOGURT CHEESE! It is so easy, and so good. If you have plain yogurt in your house, you can make delicious yogurt cheese! Place a colander over a bowl. Line the colander with 2 thicknesses of cheesecloth. Pour a cup of yogurt into the cheesecloth lined colander, cover with plastic wrap, and place in your fridge. In just a few short hours (or overnight) you will have a deletable, spreadable cheese. Scrape the solids from the cheesecloth and you can stir in garlic, dill, or berries for fun! You can discard the whey leftover in the bowl, or use it for some type of Wild Fermentation project! Yummy on bread. My kids love it...yours will, too.

If you're really feeling wild, you can also make butter. Just shake or whip heavy cream past the whipped cream stage, and it will turn to butter and the leftover buttermilk. Lovely!

Leftover Turkey

We defrosted some leftover Gorman Heritage Farm chopped turkey from the freezer last night....it was staring at me menacingly when I opened the fridge today for my breakfast yogurt, so I had to think of a plan, and fast! Here's what we came up with. I think either recipe would accept as little or as much leftover turkey as you had available.

Curried Turkey Apple Pitas

1 tbsp. oil
1/2 of an onion, sliced in half moons
2 tbsp. lemon juice
1 cup cooked, chopped turkey
1 apple, cored and sliced thinly
1 tsp. curry powder
1 tsp. salt
4 pita breads
plain yogurt

Saute the onion in the oil for a few minutes, then add the lemon juice and stir.
Add turkey, apple, and spices, and saute for a few minutes more.
Fill pitas with turkey mixture and top with plain yogurt.

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Turkey Chickpea Millet Chili

1 1/2 cups chick peas or white beans

(or about 2 cans of 15 oz. beans)
1 cup cooked, chopped turkey
1/4 cup millet
4 chopped tomatoes (or one can)
1 tsp. cumin
2 tsp. salt

(adjust if using canned beans or tomatoes)
2 tsp. paprika
3 dried chili peppers

(or a sprinkle of red pepper flakes)
1/2 of an onion, chopped
1 celery rib, chopped
1 bell pepper, chopped

Sort, rinse, and soak chickpeas or white beans. Cook beans until tender in only water (no salt!) in a large soup pot.

When beans are tender, stir in turkey, millet, extra water if needed, and bring back to a boil. Add chopped tomatoes, spices, and chili peppers.

Meanwhile, in a small skillet, saute onion, pepper, and celery in oil until tender. Add veggie mixture to chili pot.

Simmer chili for 15 minutes or more, adding water as necessary to keep it from sticking. Remove chili peppers if you used dried whole ones.

Tons of good protein!

The Everything Cookie

A couple of days ago, I was listening to NPR and there was a interview with a cookie chemist. I found her fascinating; baking truly is a science!

From the cookie chemist, I learned:
1. to prevent spreading, refrigerate your cookie dough
2. to prevent crumbs, add a tsp. of water to your flour
3. to prevent sticking, use parchment

Employing all of these tips, I made some wonderful cherry chocolate chip cookies. I use a fantastic, nutritious "base" cookie from Better Homes and Gardens that accepts any mix-in well. Try chocolate chips, white chocolate chunks, walnuts, pecans, macadamia nuts, peanut butter chips, dried cherries, cranberries, or raisins. Or a combo.

The cookies did not spread, crumb, or stick....thank you, cookie chemist!!






Peanut Butter Oatmeal "Base" Cookie

Yield: 60 cookies
Oven: 375 F

3/4 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup peanut butter
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
2 cups rolled oats
about 2 cups total of your mix-ins

1. In a mixing bowl beat butter and peanut butter with an electric mixer on med-high speed for 20 seconds. Add sugar, brown sugar, baking powder, and baking soda. Beat until combined, scraping sides of bowl. Beat in eggs and vanilla until combined. Stir in flour, oats, and your mix-ins. Refrigerate dough for at least 30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven and prepare cookie sheets with parchment.

2. Roll about a tablespoon of dough into a ball-like shape. Place about 2 inches apart on parchment lined cookie sheet. Bake in a 375 degree oven for about 10 minutes until edges are lightly browned. Transfer cookies to wire rack and cool.

Christmas Beer Bread

I am dedicating my first blog post to the ability of good holiday beer to take the edge off. My husband just recently made home brew with some friends, and subsequently we are are saving all of our non-screw top beer bottles in which his beer can be bottled. They were lined up on my kitchen windowsill for quite sometime and the other night while doing dishes, I noticed that Great Lakes Brewery Christmas Ale has quite a bit more alcohol than Great Lakes other beers (which, by the way, are fantastic.) In fact, nearly 8% alcohol! Which made me also look at the other holiday in my fridge: Sierra Nevada's Celebration Ale. It has 6.8%. Why do holiday beers contain more alcohol? Evidently, you need more bang for your buck around Christmas.

Just for fun, here's my family's very simple recipe for beer bread. It works with non-holiday beers as well...

BEER BREAD

3 cups self rising flour 2 TBSP sugar
1 bottle beer

Mix all ingredients. Pour into greased loaf pan. Bake @ 350 for 20 min. Brush with butter. Bake an additional 25 min.

I really like this bread with soup. It is denser than other breads, which makes it nice for dunking in soups or chili, and it has plenty of flavor.