Thursday, September 20, 2007

Harvest Cookies

3 sticks butter
2 cups brown sugar
2 eggs
1 15oz can pumpkin
1/4 cup molasses
2 3/4 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp nutmeg
1tsp cinnamon
1 1/4 tsp baking powder
1 1/4 tsp baking soda
5 1/4 cups oatmeal
2 1/3 cups dried cranberries and/or raisins
1 cup walnuts, chopped

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. (Where is the little degree thingee on the keyboard)?
Cream wet ingredients together and add dry. Drop onto cookie sheet and flatten a little. Bake for 15 minutes.
**
These would be great with some white chocolate chips. Do yourself a favor and buy a good brand that doesn't use hydrogenated oil. Sunspire makes a good one.

Monday, September 10, 2007

Steak Marinade


1 cup oil*
1/2 cup tamari
1/3 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons Dijon-style prepared mustard
2 cloves garlic, minced

*I always use Bertolli Extra Light Tasting Olive Oil when vegetable oil is called for. It's still refined but it's not GMO and it's a better-for-you oil.

Tuesday, September 4, 2007

Hobo

On our recent camping (cabin-ing) trip we discovered that our dear friends had never had hobo. This is a staple of our summer fare and I was quite shocked. Could it be there are others out there who have no idea?? There are many ways you can do this wonderful meal. If Evan didn't have an aversion to mushrooms I think a mushroom and Swiss packet would be fabulous. I do something like this:

1 pound ground beef
1 sweet yellow onion, sliced
few sliced potatoes
lots of sliced carrots (or baby ones if you're lazy)
fresh garlic, minced
Lawry's
fresh ground pepper
sharp cheddar cheese
tinfoil


Lay out two big sheets of tinfoil overlapping horizontally a few inches. Crumble the ground beef in the center. Top with a generous sprinkle of Lawry's and then add a little more. Add garlic, onions, potatoes, carrots and fresh ground pepper. Wrap up into a packet and throw on the grill for 45 minutes or so. Open the foil and dump on lots of cheese and wrap up again so the heat can melt it. Eat.

Saturday, September 1, 2007

Butter Tarts


Yesterday's For Better or for Worse comic mentioned butter tarts. I immediately googled it and decided I must make them. Amazing. These should be cut in half to let the calories out. Probably even quarters. I dare you to eat just one.

Crust:
1 1/4 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 cup butter, chilled, and cut into pieces
1/4 cup cold water
Butter Tart Filling:
2 large eggs
1/3 cup butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup half-and-half
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup raisins and/or
1/2 cup pecans or walnuts (toasted and chopped)

Crust: In a food processor, place the flour, salt, and sugar and process until combined. Add the butter and process until the mixture resembles coarse meal (about 15 seconds). Pour 1/4 cup water in a slow, steady stream, through the feed tube until the dough just holds together when pinched. Do not process more than 30 seconds. Turn the dough onto your work surface and gather into a ball. Flatten into a disk, cover, and refrigerate for about one hour before using. This will chill the butter and relax the gluten in the flour. After the dough has chilled sufficiently, place on a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough and cut into 12 - 4 inch (10 cm) rounds. Gently place the rounds into greased muffin tins. Cover and place in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes to firm up the dough. Next, make the filling.
Butter Tart Filling: In a medium sized saucepan lightly whisk the eggs. Whisk in the butter, sugar, and cream. Place on medium heat and, stirring constantly, bring this mixture just to a boil. Immediately remove from heat and stir in the vanilla extract. If using nuts and/or raisins, place about a teaspoon into the bottom of each tart shell and then fill the unbaked tart shells with the filling. Bake at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) for about 15 - 20 minutes or until the pastry has nicely browned and the filling is set. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool. Serve at room temperature or chilled.
Makes 12 - 4 inch tarts.