Ingredients:
1 package mini marshmallows
1/4 cup butter
13 oz (a little less than a box) Golden Graham cereal
100g chocolate
1. Pour the cereal into a large pan.
2. Melt the butter on medium heat in saucepan.
3. Add the marshmallows, stir until creamy.
4. Pour the marshmallow cream onto the cereal and stir until the cereal sticks together and the marshmallows are evenly spread.
5. In a small saucepan, slowly heat the chocolate until melted, then drizzle over cereal.
This recipe is obviously based off of Rice Krispies Treats, but I thought it might be interesting to try to make s'mores (fire-toasted marshmallow, chocolate and graham cracker sandwich) into a similar treat. The result is delicious!
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Patriotic Pie!
For the filling:
30 oz. red pitted cherries in juice
15 oz. blueberries in juice
3 tablespoons gelling agent (tapioca, corn starch, etc.)
3/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon margarine or butter
dash salt
For the crust:
1 1/4 cup flour
1/2 butter/margarine/shortening
dash salt
3 tablespoons ice water
1. Mix the flour and salt for the crust, slowly work in the shortening. Once shortening is mixed OK, add the three tablespoons ice water and continue to mix with hands. Once it is smooth and dough-like, set it aside in the refrigerator for later.
2. Preheat the oven to 375 F.
3. Drain the cherries and blueberries, but save 1/2 cup of each juice!
4. Combine the juices (1 cup), the gelling agent, sugar, margarine and salt in a pot and cook over medium heat. Once thick and bubbly, let cook for one minute more. Remove from heat and separate out 1/4 of the mixture.
5. In the 1/4 of the mixture, add the blueberries; in the 3/4 of the mixture, add the cherries. Stir and let cool.
6. Roll the pie crust out and place in pie-pan, leaving a little bit for decorating the top. With the remaining crust, use your best artistic skills to create some stars and stripes.
7. Once the mixtures are cooled, try to place the blueberries in 1/4 of the pie and the cherries in the other 3/4. Then, add the stars to the blueberries and the stripes to the cherries.
8. Bake for 35-45 minutes until crust is brown.
[My first pie before cooking]
I'll admit that this recipe is not quite perfected, since when I did the blueberries and cherries separately, the blueberries did not congeal properly. In the second pie, when I completely mixed them, it did congeal, but didn't give a good distinction between the stars and the stripes.
[The first pie, half cherry half blueberry after baking.]
But, the stripes should also reach all the way out to the edges, perhaps just for aesthetics sake.
[The second pie, more stars and stripes like, but the stripes are a little strange]
All in all, both the pies were well-received. I really would like to perfect the recipe, but I'm not sure there is any other holiday where this pie is appropriate! If improvements are made, there will be updates.
[Me with the final product!]
30 oz. red pitted cherries in juice
15 oz. blueberries in juice
3 tablespoons gelling agent (tapioca, corn starch, etc.)
3/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon margarine or butter
dash salt
For the crust:
1 1/4 cup flour
1/2 butter/margarine/shortening
dash salt
3 tablespoons ice water
1. Mix the flour and salt for the crust, slowly work in the shortening. Once shortening is mixed OK, add the three tablespoons ice water and continue to mix with hands. Once it is smooth and dough-like, set it aside in the refrigerator for later.
2. Preheat the oven to 375 F.
3. Drain the cherries and blueberries, but save 1/2 cup of each juice!
4. Combine the juices (1 cup), the gelling agent, sugar, margarine and salt in a pot and cook over medium heat. Once thick and bubbly, let cook for one minute more. Remove from heat and separate out 1/4 of the mixture.
5. In the 1/4 of the mixture, add the blueberries; in the 3/4 of the mixture, add the cherries. Stir and let cool.
6. Roll the pie crust out and place in pie-pan, leaving a little bit for decorating the top. With the remaining crust, use your best artistic skills to create some stars and stripes.
7. Once the mixtures are cooled, try to place the blueberries in 1/4 of the pie and the cherries in the other 3/4. Then, add the stars to the blueberries and the stripes to the cherries.
8. Bake for 35-45 minutes until crust is brown.
[My first pie before cooking]
I'll admit that this recipe is not quite perfected, since when I did the blueberries and cherries separately, the blueberries did not congeal properly. In the second pie, when I completely mixed them, it did congeal, but didn't give a good distinction between the stars and the stripes.
[The first pie, half cherry half blueberry after baking.]
But, the stripes should also reach all the way out to the edges, perhaps just for aesthetics sake.
[The second pie, more stars and stripes like, but the stripes are a little strange]
All in all, both the pies were well-received. I really would like to perfect the recipe, but I'm not sure there is any other holiday where this pie is appropriate! If improvements are made, there will be updates.
[Me with the final product!]
Friday, July 4, 2008
Cole Slaw
Ingredients
1 medium head cabbage, shredded
1 carrot, shredded
2 cups mayonnaise
1 cup cider vinegar
1/2 cup white sugar
3 tablespoons dried minced onion
salt and pepper to taste
Directions
1. In a large bowl, combine shredded cabbage and carrot.
2. Add the 2 cups mayonnaise, vinegar, sugar and dry onion flakes. Blend well with shredded cabbage and carrot. Add salt and pepper to taste, as well as extra of any of the ingredients if needed.
This pretty simply recipe was a huge hit at Midsummer 2008. Because we forgot the recipe, and only knew the ingredients, I made it based on taste. I suggest you do the same. It was so crispy and delicious!
1 medium head cabbage, shredded
1 carrot, shredded
2 cups mayonnaise
1 cup cider vinegar
1/2 cup white sugar
3 tablespoons dried minced onion
salt and pepper to taste
Directions
1. In a large bowl, combine shredded cabbage and carrot.
2. Add the 2 cups mayonnaise, vinegar, sugar and dry onion flakes. Blend well with shredded cabbage and carrot. Add salt and pepper to taste, as well as extra of any of the ingredients if needed.
This pretty simply recipe was a huge hit at Midsummer 2008. Because we forgot the recipe, and only knew the ingredients, I made it based on taste. I suggest you do the same. It was so crispy and delicious!
Monday, June 9, 2008
Banana Bread
1 3/4 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup sugar
2 tbs. honey
1 egg
1 1/2 cups (overripe) mashed bananas
1. Preheat oven to 350 F or 175 C
2. Mix the flour, baking soda and salt together in a large bowl.
3. Slightly melt the butter in the microwave, add it along with the egg, honey and sugar to the flour mixture. Mix until consistent.
4. Add the bananas and slowly mix until all the banana is mixed in.
5. Grease and flour a bread-baking pan and bake for about an hour.
This recipe is perfect for bananas that have become just too ripe to eat. It also doesn't take a lot of ingredients and is very quick and easy to make. The end product is moist and delicious. Next time, I am thinking of adding a little cinnamon to the batter.
[Close-up of the banana deliciousness]
Saturday, May 10, 2008
Chocolate Birthday Cake
A very chocolately birthday cake.
2 cups white sugar
1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cup cocoa
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 margarine
2 tsp Vanilla extract
1 cup boiling water
1. Preheat the oven to 350 F or 175 C.
2. Combine the sugar, flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Mix until consistent.
3. Add the eggs, milk, margarine, and vanilla extract. Mix until consistent.
4. Add the boiling water, work it in slowly to the batter. The batter will be thin.
5. Pour the batter into whatever cake form you like and bake for 35 min. if 1.5 to 2 inches thick, up to an hour if thicker.
Chocolate Butter Cream Icing
1/4 cup butter
2 cups confectioners sugar
3 tbs. cocoa powder
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 tbs. milk
1. Mix all the ingredients together. Add very small amounts of milk if it needs to be more spreadable.
Unfortunately you cannot substitute margarine for butter in this recipe. I tried and got chocolate soup...
Make sure the cake is completely cold before you ice it, otherwise the butter in the icing melts.
Really delicious treat to make for someone's birthday or other special occasion!
2 cups white sugar
1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cup cocoa
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 margarine
2 tsp Vanilla extract
1 cup boiling water
1. Preheat the oven to 350 F or 175 C.
2. Combine the sugar, flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Mix until consistent.
3. Add the eggs, milk, margarine, and vanilla extract. Mix until consistent.
4. Add the boiling water, work it in slowly to the batter. The batter will be thin.
5. Pour the batter into whatever cake form you like and bake for 35 min. if 1.5 to 2 inches thick, up to an hour if thicker.
Chocolate Butter Cream Icing
1/4 cup butter
2 cups confectioners sugar
3 tbs. cocoa powder
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 tbs. milk
1. Mix all the ingredients together. Add very small amounts of milk if it needs to be more spreadable.
Unfortunately you cannot substitute margarine for butter in this recipe. I tried and got chocolate soup...
Make sure the cake is completely cold before you ice it, otherwise the butter in the icing melts.
Really delicious treat to make for someone's birthday or other special occasion!
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Homemade Hummus
Ingredients
2 cups chickpeas (Garbanzo beans)
2-3 garlic cloves
1-2 tbsp olive oil
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/3 tahini (seasame sauce, can be found in Middle Eastern markets)
water
salt
1. Finely mix the chickpeas and garlic cloves in a food processor until they reach a smooth consistency.
2. Add the olive oil and lemon juice, mix them in well. If the lemon juice is not mixed in well, it reacts strangely with the tahini.
3. Add the tahini, mix again. If the hummus is getting too thick, add water to thin it out.
4. Add salt to flavor. If the hummus is not bitter enough, add more tahini.
This recipe comes from Annie, and is absolutely spectacular. Making it here in Germany, we got most of the ingredients from a Turkish market, where the owner was very surprised that we would be making hummus from scratch. But it was definitely worth it and wasn't too hard. Actually, you can even make it as we did, without a food processor by mashing the chickpeas with spoons. But, as you can guess, that takes a lot longer, but is no less delicious!
2 cups chickpeas (Garbanzo beans)
2-3 garlic cloves
1-2 tbsp olive oil
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/3 tahini (seasame sauce, can be found in Middle Eastern markets)
water
salt
1. Finely mix the chickpeas and garlic cloves in a food processor until they reach a smooth consistency.
2. Add the olive oil and lemon juice, mix them in well. If the lemon juice is not mixed in well, it reacts strangely with the tahini.
3. Add the tahini, mix again. If the hummus is getting too thick, add water to thin it out.
4. Add salt to flavor. If the hummus is not bitter enough, add more tahini.
This recipe comes from Annie, and is absolutely spectacular. Making it here in Germany, we got most of the ingredients from a Turkish market, where the owner was very surprised that we would be making hummus from scratch. But it was definitely worth it and wasn't too hard. Actually, you can even make it as we did, without a food processor by mashing the chickpeas with spoons. But, as you can guess, that takes a lot longer, but is no less delicious!
Monday, February 11, 2008
Fried: Chicken, Mushrooms, Cheese, Whatever
Ingredients:
(for the batter)
1 egg
1/4 liter condensed milk (any milk works fine, but the condensed milk helps it stick better)
Spices (anything you want really...)
3 cups flour
4-6 cups vegetable oil
Chicken breasts, mushrooms, onions, cheeses (mozzarella, camembert, etc), zucchini, any other food you may want to fry...
1. Cut any larger cheeses or vegetables into bite-size pieces.
2. Mix the egg, milk, and spices in a large bowl.
3. Dip the "item" in the batter, then in the flour, into the batter again, and a final time in the flour.
4. Place the "item" in the heated oil in a frying pan. Wait to flip the "item" until it is golden brown on one side. The less you move the things you are frying, the better it is.
5. Flip it, making sure both sides cook evenly and are both a golden brown to brown color.
6. Place it on a napkin on a plate to remove excess oil.
Two new friends of mine here in Germany, Sean and John, love making fried chicken on Fridays. My vegetarianism isn't so keen on chicken, so Annie and I decided to fry other things. Among them, cheese, mushrooms and onions and we are planning on trying lots of other veggies in the future. It's a great recipe, since it is pretty easy, and super flexible. All the food turned out great when we had it, Sean/John being so good at cooking/breading the items.
Although the title of this blog states "my attempts to make them healthier," sometimes it's nice just to be a glutton. :)
(for the batter)
1 egg
1/4 liter condensed milk (any milk works fine, but the condensed milk helps it stick better)
Spices (anything you want really...)
3 cups flour
4-6 cups vegetable oil
Chicken breasts, mushrooms, onions, cheeses (mozzarella, camembert, etc), zucchini, any other food you may want to fry...
1. Cut any larger cheeses or vegetables into bite-size pieces.
2. Mix the egg, milk, and spices in a large bowl.
3. Dip the "item" in the batter, then in the flour, into the batter again, and a final time in the flour.
4. Place the "item" in the heated oil in a frying pan. Wait to flip the "item" until it is golden brown on one side. The less you move the things you are frying, the better it is.
5. Flip it, making sure both sides cook evenly and are both a golden brown to brown color.
6. Place it on a napkin on a plate to remove excess oil.
Two new friends of mine here in Germany, Sean and John, love making fried chicken on Fridays. My vegetarianism isn't so keen on chicken, so Annie and I decided to fry other things. Among them, cheese, mushrooms and onions and we are planning on trying lots of other veggies in the future. It's a great recipe, since it is pretty easy, and super flexible. All the food turned out great when we had it, Sean/John being so good at cooking/breading the items.
Although the title of this blog states "my attempts to make them healthier," sometimes it's nice just to be a glutton. :)
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