Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Clusters

These little gems are delish! And they're good for ya, right?!

Smucker's Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Clusters

1/2 cup dark chocolate chips

1/4 cup Smucker's natural creamy peanut butter

1/2 cup chopped whole almonds

1/3 cup sweetened dried cranberries

1/8 teaspoon almond extract

Melt chocolate chips, stir in p.b. Stir in remaining ingredients. Divide into mini baking cups (mini muffin liners). Chill 1 hour or until firm. Sneak them out of the fridge one by one while kids are distracted.

Easter desserts

Hiya Folks! Hope everyone had a blessed Easter. This Easter has been the richest of my life. Reading the Bible story to my children this year opened my eyes and my soul just a little more. I am being saved through my child-bearing, and it makes me feel excited and tingly all over. I wanted to share the recipes from our Easter lunch. Well, really just the dessert recipes because of my identifying with the children and all, I'm feeling like that was the most important part of the meal.

Here is the super delicious cake my sister made, Put the Lime in the Coconut Cake.
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/put-the-lime-in-the-coconut-cake-recipe.html
These are her tips:
1. Most recipes call for waaaayyyyy too much sugar. I usually use less. The cake calls for 2 cups sugar. I used 1 1/2. The glaze calls for 1 cup sugar. I used 3/4 cup. You could probably do 1/2 cup and not be able to tell.
2. The frosting calls for 1/2 cup butter and 1/2 cup shortening. I don't use shortening much, so I used 3/4 cup butter. I used less fat than it called for because so much butter may have made the icing slide off the cake in warm weather.
3. Topping cake with white coconut gives you a pretty white cake, but for a splash of color, toast the coconut first. You can toast on a cookie sheet in the oven or on the stove top. I used the stove top method. Stir the coconut constantly over medium high heat to prevent burning. Toast until it reaches desired color. 

Make it for your next get-together. Your family will thank you.

The dessert I made, Creme Egg Brownies, appealed to me right away because of my weakness for the yearly one or two Cadbury Creme Eggs that I look forward to at Easter time.

 

The recipe is pretty flawless: http://themerrythought.com/recipes/creme-egg-brownies/
Make this. You will experience an instant rise in popularity. 

He is Risen!

ginger cake

This has become one of our family's favorites. The fresh ginger makes you wanna slap yo mama! & the cake is so moist. This cake achieves the perfect hue being neither too dark nor too light.

Ginger Cake

ingredients:

• 1 cup butter (You could sub. some olive oil if you wish.)
  
• 1/2 cup - 3/4 cup any combination of the following: brown sugar, honey, +/or molasses
  
• 4 eggs
• 1/3 cup grated fresh ginger root (After peeling, I use my food processor to do the grating.)
  
• 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste or extract
• 1 cup milk (I like to use some plain yogurt.)
  
• 2 1/2 cups any combination of the following: all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, oat flour, ground flax, wheat bran, wheat germ, or whatever you like
  
  
• 4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 tablespoon ground ginger
  
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt (decrease some if using salted butter)
  
• 2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar for dusting
  

directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 9 inch Bundt pan. Mix together the flours, etc., baking powder, ground ginger, cinnamon and salt. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and brown sugar, etc. until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the grated ginger root and vanilla. Beat in the flour mixture alternately with the milk, mixing just until incorporated. Pour batter into prepared pan. 
3. 
   Bake in the preheated oven (If your Bundt pan is dark-coated you may want to place it on a cookie sheet while baking so that the top - which is on the bottom - doesn't over-brown.) for 45 to 50 minutes. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a serving plate. Dust lightly with confectioners' sugar before serving; This makes it feel really pretty.

Easy Yogurt

Delectable Homemade Yogurt

• 2 qts (8 cups) milk (put the 2% back, you know you want the whole)

• 2 pkgs (10 g) yogurt starter (or 1/2 cup plain yogurt, such as Dannon)

1. Bring milk to boiling point, stirring occasionally if you feel like it (I never do).
2. When it looks frothy and starts to rise up it's ready to be taken off the heat (you can use a thermometer, 180F/82C).
3. Let it cool until you can put your finger into the milk and hold it there comfortably (or if you like to be precise about these things 108-112F/42-44C).
4. Place your starter or yogurt into a small cup or bowl and mix in about 1 cup of milk until well combined. Add this mixture to the rest of the milk, stir to combine.
5.  Place in a covered container or glass jar(s) until it magically becomes yogurt (about 5 hours, depending on the temp. of your kitchen). You will know when it's ready when you tilt your container and it doesn't act liquid like plain old milk anymore. Place in fridge (it will continue to thicken as it cools).

Nota bene: I have a small side oven, and I like (when the milk is a cooled and ready to go into incubation) to turn it on to 100 degrees for 2-3 minutes, turn it off (don't forget that part!), and then place the mixture into the warm, friendly environment, and shut the door till ready. If you're slightly mentally negligible like me, do yourself a favor and tape a note on the oven knob so you don't accidentally turn it on for something else and ruin your luscious yogurt. Also, don't let anybody tell you that you have to babysit this; just go about your day while it cools and incubates. (If you need to leave it to incubate overnight that's fine too, it may be a little tangier.) No micromanager required. But do keep an eye out while it's on the stove, I frequently let it boil over. :(

This is so good plain or with honey (a sprinkling of flax seed is also acceptable). The combination of yogurt and honey Has been referred to as "the food of the gods", just so you know. Now don't you feel regal.

To make Greek yogurt simply place chilled yogurt into a cheesecloth, place cheesecloth into a strainer, place strainer over a bowl (to catch the liquid called whey), and place in fridge until desired thickness is achieved (about 6 hours). See below.

Now for recipe No. 2: One of my favorite things to do with my yogurt...

Lemon Yogurt Sorbet

2 qts (32oz) plain yogurt
1/2 freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 cup chopped crystallized ginger, optional
1-2 teaspoons lemon zest
1/2 cup honey
Mix everything together and freeze in an ice cream freezer (or if you don't have one, freeze in your home freezer about 3 hours, stir really well, freeze some more).

And recipe No. 3: My favorite thing to make with Greek yogurt...

Vietnamese (but really originated in France) Yogurt

3 cups plain Greek-style yogurt
9-14oz sweetened condensed milk (depending on how sweet you like it)

Whisk together. (Stir in any remaining sweetened condensed milk into iced coffee.:)) This yogurt could possibly be the best thing you have ever tasted.

Yogurt is so versatile, use it to make dips, shakes, dollops on your soup or in your fajita, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera (as King Mongkut of Siam says). 

A bit of trivia:
I always wondered why the milk must be heated, well, now I know. It is heated to kill any undesirable bacteria and to denature the milk proteins so that they set together rather than form curds. Who knew? For more interesting info. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yoghurt

Rice Noodles w/ Gingery Vegetables & Peanut Sauce

 This dish is packed with flavor and is oh, so easy. (Serves 6)

Rice Noodles with Gingery Vegetables and Peanut Sauce

Peanut Sauce:
1/2 cup natural peanut butter
2 T. soy sauce
4 cloves garlic, minced
2/3 cup hot water
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
2 T. brown sugar
1 T. rice vinegar
1 T. red curry paste
Whisk together first 3 ingredients in a bowl. Whisk in hot water. Add remaining ingredients and whisk to blend. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside (for up to one hour).

Noodles and Vegetables:
6.75-8oz rice noodles (also called 'rice sticks')
2 T. olive oil
2T. sesame oil, divided
3 T. fresh ginger, peeled and minced
3 cloves garlic, minced
2-3 cups fresh broccoli florets, cut into strips
3 large carrots, cut onto matchstick size strips
5 green onions, white parts cut into matchstick size strips and green parts chopped
1 cup frozen green peas
1 red bell pepper, cut into strips
2 T. dry Sherry
chopped, roasted peanuts for garnish, if desired
sesame seeds for garnish, if desired

Bring a saucepan of water to a boil, remove from heat. Add noodles and cover for at least 10 minutes or until soft. Meanwhile, heat olive oil and 1 T. sesame oil in an extra-large skillet. Add ginger and garlic, stir for 30 seconds. Add broccoli and carrots, saute 3 minutes. Add green onions, peas, and bell pepper, saute 3 more minutes. Add Sherry and saute until vegetables are crisp-tender. Season with salt and pepper. Remove from heat. Drain noodles well and toss with the remaining 1 T. of sesame oil.

Arrange a pile of noodles on each plate. Arrange vegetable on top of noodles, but off-center. Top with peanut sauce on and around noodles and vegetable, but don't soak everything. (The idea is to have some bites positively drenched in sauce and other with practically no sauce at all.) Serve extra sauce at the table. Garnish with chopped peanuts, if desired. (This is my creation, but the original idea for this recipe came from bon appetit.)

créme fraîche

Créme Fraîche
1 cup heavy cream
2 Tablespoons buttermilk
Combine ingredients in a glass jar or bowl. Cover and let sit at room temperature for 24 hours (Eight hours may be sufficient.), or until thick and creamy. Stir and use or refrigerate.

One of the simplest and most delicious things in life is créme fraîche. It can be used as a substitution for yogurt, sour cream, or whipped cream. It is divine as a garnish for soups, fresh berries, pie, or combined with heat or seasonings and herbs to create a dipping sauce. I recently made a lemon-raspberry pie that called for sweetened condensed milk. By using créme fraîche in place of some of the sweetened condensed milk, I made the pie really worth something! I'm still discovering uses for this (besides just eating it off the spoon), so if you have any to add please do so!

Pesto!

If you are lucky enough to live down South and you were a good little gardener and planted your herbs, chances are you have TONS of basil right now. Well, here's what you're going to do with it. This is just the thing for using up great big quantities. I always double this recipe.

Pesto
2c. fresh basil leaves (1 large bunch)
1/4c. chopped walnuts
1/4c. olive oil
2t. lemon juice
2 cloves garlic
1/4t. salt
1/4c. freshly grated Parmesan cheese
2T. freshly grated Romano cheese (if you have it)
Process first 6 ingredients in a food processor or blender 2 min. or until smooth. (Scrape down sides, if necessary.) Stir in cheese.
You can toss this with pasta, eat with toasted French bread or crackers, or place in ice cube trays and freeze up to 3 months. Replacing the basil with half Italian parsley and half fresh mint leaves is equally delish- just leave out the cheese.

And speaking of mint! If you have tons of mint, use it to make mint syrup.

Mint Syrup
3c. coarsely chopped fresh mint
2c. sugar
2c. water
Combine all ingredients in a large saucepan; bring to a boil. Cook, stirring constantly, until sugar dissolves. Remove from heat; cover and cool completely. Pour mixture through a wire mesh strainer. Use to make Mint Juleps (2-4T. bourbon to 1T. mint syrup) or to sweeten tea or give away to a friend. With your used mint leaves place them on a paper towel lined plate and sprinkle liberally with sugar. Place in a slightly warmed oven. When the leaves are dry (a few hours?) you have candied mint!

Pharisäer

Matthew made this delicious drink for us. You simply must try it!

Pharisaer
1/2 litre water
4 spoons powdered coffee (no instant)
80 ml brown rum
sugar
200g whipped cream
Boil water and brew a strong coffee. Place 2t. sugar into 4 mugs (2t. each mug). Warm rum, pour 20ml into each mug. Pour hot coffee into each mug. Top with lots of whipped cream.


Learn more about this national drink of Nordstrand.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A30465984

The Pharisäer got its name, according to legend, like this:

A peasant by the name of Peter Georg Johannsen celebrated the baptism of his seventh child in 1872. Amongst the guests was the reverend Bleyer, who had strictly forbidden that his fold should imbibe alcohol. No true baptism was complete without some alcohol to celebrate the baptised, however, so the cheeky farmer had an idea: he mixed rum with sugar, poured hot coffee on the mixture and put whipped cream on top, thus preventing the rum from evaporating and giving this neat trick away through its aromatic smell. The reverend just got plain coffee with the whipped cream on top. The guests got merrier and merrier by the minute, and a good deal noisier, too. Fate took its due course, and eventually the reverend got hold of a 'wrong' cup. On realising what had been going on, he exclaimed:

Oh ihr Pharisäer!

salted caramel ice cream

This recipe is delish! It was almost worth the horrid burn I got on my finger from the cooked sugar which decided just to sit there and not shake off!

Salted Caramel Ice Cream
2c heavy cream
1c whole milk
3/4-1c sugar
1 egg plus 2 yolks
11/2t vanilla
1/2t kosher salt
Combine the eggs and 1/4c sugar in a small bowl. Place the remaining sugar in a med. saucepan and cook it until it becomes mahogany-colored. Add salt. Deglaze the caramel with the milk and cream being careful as the sugar is very hot. (Just a note here: it will seem like it is never going to incorporate. The sugar gets hard as a rock when the liquid is first poured in, but just be patient.) Once the sugar and milk are combined and hot, add a small amount of the liquid to the egg mixture while whisking vigorously. Add another small amount of liquid while whisking until the eggs have warmed. Add the egg mixture to the cream mixture in the pot. Replace the pot over med heat, and cook until the mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. (When you run your finger down the back of the spoon, it should leave a trail.) Don't overcook. Place in an ice bath and chill thoroughly. It's now ready for your ice cream maker!:)
(This recipe was printed in the 4 States Living Mag. It is from Brandon Thrash.)