Pita bread, by Cheryl

This post goes along with my falafel post. It's not hard to make these at all, but make sure you have a few hours in order to let the dough rise. The recipe says to let it sit for three hours, but I found that it takes about 1.5 hours. Heat control is important when cooking them. My oven isn't completely accurate so the first time I made the pita bread a lot of them came out too hard. The second time I made them I only kept them in for 3 minutes on one side and then one minute on the other instead of what the recipe calls for and they came out much better. It just depends on the oven and it takes practice to see what works best. This is where I found the recipe: http://mideastfood.about.com/od/tipsandtechniques/ss/howtomakepita.htm. It has step by step pictures with directions, which made it much easier. They are very good!!! Yum!

Ingredients:

• 1 package of yeast, or quick rising yeast
• 1/2 cup warm water
• 3 cups all purpose flour
• 1 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
• 1 cup lukewarm water

Directions:

1) Dissolve yeast in 1/2 cup of warm water. Add sugar and stir until dissolved. Let sit for 10-15 minutes until water is frothy.

2) Combine flour and salt in large bowl.

3) Make a small depression in the middle of flour and pour yeast water in depression.

4) Slowly add 1 cup of warm water, and stir with wooden spoon or rubber spatula until elastic.

5) Place dough on floured surface and knead for 10-15 minutes. When the dough is no longer sticky and is smooth and elastic, it has been successfully kneaded.

6) Coat large bowl with vegetable oil and place dough in bowl. Turn dough upside down so all of the dough is coated.

7) Allow to sit in a warm place for about 3 hours, or until it has doubled in size.

8) Once doubled, roll out in a rope, and pinch off 10-12 small pieces. Place balls on floured surface. Let sit covered for 10 minutes. Preheat oven to 500 deg F. and make sure rack is at the very bottom of oven. Be sure to also preheat your baking sheet.

9) Roll out each ball of dough with a rolling pin into circles. Each should be about 5-6 inches across and 1/4 inch thick.

10) Bake each circle for 4 minutes until the bread puffs up. Turn over and bake for 2 minutes.

11) Remove each pita with a spatula from the baking sheet and add additional pitas for baking.

12) Take spatula and gently push down puff. Immediately place in storage bags.

Falafels, by Cheryl

When I went to the mall with my friend we stopped for lunch in the food court. 8 out of 10 of the places served either pizza or pasta. We were in the mood for something else so we stopped at the Greek place. Ever since eating there I've had a strong craving for Greek food, which I would then have to make myself since there are no Greek restaurants here. I can't even find pita bread to buy! I decided to make these falafels with homemade pita bread (another post). These falafels were spectacular and I've already made them three times! If you like falafels then you have to try this recipe. Even if you're not sure if you like falafels or not, this recipe will convert you. The recipe is from allrecipes.com. Combined with pita bread, tomatoes, cucumbers, hummus, and tzaziki sauce (cucumber sauce - directions below) and you've got yourself quite a meal! Yum!

Falafel ingredients:

• 1 (15 ounce) can chickpeas (garbanzo beans), drained
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1/2 cup fresh parsley
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 egg
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 dash pepper
• 1 pinch cayenne pepper
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 cup dry bread crumbs
• oil for frying

Falafel directions:

1. In a large bowl mash chickpeas until thick and pasty; don't use a blender, as the consistency will be too thin. In a blender, process onion, parsley and garlic until smooth. Stir into mashed chickpeas.
2. In a small bowl combine egg, cumin, coriander, salt, pepper, cayenne, lemon juice and baking powder. Stir into chickpea mixture along with olive oil. Slowly add bread crumbs until mixture is not sticky but will hold together; add more or less bread crumbs, as needed. Form 8 balls and then flatten into patties.
3. Heat 1 inch of oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Fry patties in hot oil until brown on both sides.

 Cucumber sauce ingredients:

• 1 (6 ounce) container plain yogurt
• 1/2 cucumber - peeled, seeded, and finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon dried dill weed
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 tablespoon mayonnaise

Cucumber sauce directions: 

1) In a small bowl combine yogurt, cucumber, dill, salt, pepper and mayonnaise. Chill for at least 30 minutes.

Real Italian Lasagna, by Cheryl

Ok, so we've all made some form of lasagna before. But when Jon and I visited a winery in San Gimignano we were served the most amazing, melt in your mouth lasagna that we have ever tasted. The fresh Italian ingredients definitely contribute to this, as well as another special ingredient: homemade ragu. Ragu is the basis for many dishes in Italy and when it hit our mouths with this lasagna we could see why. We went back to this winery last month and had a cooking class with them. They taught us how to make this lasagna as well as the ragu that goes with it. The next weekend at home we attempted to make it and it was almost just as good as what they served us! Of course, we are amateurs when it comes to real homemade Italian cooking, but what came out was pretty close to what was served. Hint: It's definitely the ingredients... I've never seen the type of lasagna pasta that you're supposed to use in the States, nor do they have the same sauces or fresh tomatoes. But, we plan to stock up on all of these ingredients before we leave in order to take them back with us. Also, Italian don't layer their lasagna 9-10 layers up. 3-4 layers is pretty standard. They also don't use a lot of cheese. A white sauce called "bechamel" is a mix of milk, flour, and butter, and serves as some of the creaminess of the dish. Yum!

Ingredient:

1 large onion
1 carrot
garlic
parsley
celery
1/2 kilogram ground beef
1/2 liter of milk
50 grams butter
1 1/2 tablespoon flour
egg lasagna noodles
red wine
tomato sauce (the good stuff!)
salt/pepper
olive oil
fresh shredded parmesian cheese
white truffle oil

Directions:

1) In a food processor, process the onion, carrot, and garlic. Heat a heavily oiled pan, add salt, pepper, and mixture. Process celery and parsley and then add to pan. Mix around for about 5 minutes.

2) Add the ground beef and cook until brown. Add a cup or two of red wine and cook for 5-10 minutes. Add the tomato sauce. The ragu should simmer for 2-3 hours on low heat, but I cooked it for an hour and it was fine. Don't forget to stir occasionally.

3) Preheat the oven to 180 Celsius (350 F).

3) For the bechamel, heat 1/2 liter of milk in a pot. Add the butter and the flour and mix until melted. Remove from the heat and let cool. It should thicken when it's cooling.

4) Start to layer a pan in this order: pasta, ragu, bechemel, light layer of parmesian cheese, and only layer about 3-4 layers. Cook for 30 minutes in the oven.

5) Top with white truffle oil and enjoy!

Mole Sauce, by Diane

I fell in love with Mole Sauce (pronounced mol-AY) at a Mexican restaurant in Southern California when I had it over cactus, believe it or not! It's a sauce made from chiles and chocolate, which sounds a little funny to think about chicken/beef/veggies and chocolate, but the chocolate is not sweet and just gives the sauce an unbelievable richness! Mole also contains a long list of other ingredients that typically requires a lot of steps to make, but the flavors come together in layers so you can taste each one. The cooking process and amount of ingredients is what stopped me from making it before now, but I came across a relatively easy recipe that someone learned from a Mexican cook while on vacation. I tweaked it a bit in order to add in some ingredients I knew made the dish famous but seemed to be missing- and came up with this creation. Of course, just like many amazing things tried while away on travel, my own sauce did not do justice to the mole's of Mexico and Southern California but it was a close enough attempt that I was pretty happy.

This recipe makes a lot so you can either cut it in half or freeze it in small batches like I did to use for later. All you have to do is reheat it up with shredded chicken, ground beef, or even grilled veggies and eat it alone or wrapped in a tortilla for a perfect meal.

I used it on healthy enchiladas made with ground turkey, black beans, and corn tortillas (if you dip the tortillas into steaming water for about 5-10 seconds until they bubble they won't break when you fill and roll them!)

Here is the website I adapted the recipe from: http://www.theperfectpantry.com/2008/07/almonds.html


Ingredients:

4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
2 Tbsp canola oil
10 ancho chiles (smoked dried poblanos)
2 Tbsp raisins
1/4 cup sliced almonds
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp fresh ground black pepper, or to taste
1 tsp oregano
3 whole cloves
2 tsp dried thyme
1/4 cup lightly toasted sesame seeds
1/4 cup lightly toasted pumpkin seeds (pepitas)
1/3 cup crushed oyster crackers (or soda crackers -- something with low salt content)
1 cup canned ground tomato (or tomato puree, or fresh peeled, seeded chopped tomato)
A 3" x 1/2" piece of semi-sweet chocolate (Ibarra or other Mexican or Oaxacan chocolate is best, because has sugar mixed in)
2 cups or more chicken broth

Directions:

1. Soak the ancho chiles in warm water to soften, then remove stems and seeds (unless you like it SPICY- keep seeds and remove just the stems only). Drain and chop roughly, and set aside.

2. In a small dry frying pan, toast the sesame and pumpkin seeds until they turn light brown, 2-3 minutes. Remove from pan and set aside.

3. In a deep stock pot (6-8 quart size), sauté the onion and garlic in canola oil until the onions are translucent. Add the chiles and sauté for 2-3 minutes.

4. Add raisins, almonds, spices, sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds, and crackers. Stir constantly over low-medium heat for a few minutes, until all ingredients are cooked through.

5. Add tomatoes and a 2 cups chicken broth, puree with an immersion blender. Add chocolate, stir until melted and add enough chicken broth (if needed) to make a smooth sauce.

6. Stirring occasionally, simmer on low until sauce thickens a bit and has the desired consistency.

The Perfect Breakfast Drink, by Diane

It's hard to make a picture of a drink look exciting, but this recipe is the work of 2 weeks worth of research. After a month's worth of celebrating (i.e. crazy meals loaded with carbs and sugar) I have been trying to get my eating habits back to normal. But when it comes time to make green veggie juice for breakfast, my heart isn't in it anymore. Add to that a serious coffee addiction developed over the last few months that I have been trying to quit unsuccessfully.

It occurred to me that perhaps I could make an easy breakfast out of the tastes I was craving without a carb/sugar/caffiene overload, and even sneak in some healthy ingredients to balance it out. Thus, this drink was created.

It contains almond milk (dairy-free so it's less inflammatory + lots of natural filling protein and a bonus of being a thicker consistency and significantly less calories and sugar than regular milk), frozen bananas (packed with potassium and a natural source of sugar, plus when they are frozen they create an ice cream consistency = this drink tastes like a milkshake = it will trick your brain!), espresso powder (coffee taste without loads of caffeine of 1+ cups), cinnamon (a great anti-inflammatory and fantastic for the immune system), wellness hot cocoa (no sugar added cocoa powder loaded with vitamins and minerals and all kinds of immune boosting properties).

This drink is the perfect balance between the sugary, chocolately, coffee-ey taste I wake up wanting and the nutrients and protein I need to keep healthy and go about my day. It literally tastes like an awesome milkshake, but comes in at 195 calories and about 3 grams of fat. It is quite literally the perfect breakfast drink!!!


Ingredients:

1 cup almond milk, unsweetened
1 frozen banana (I freeze them in quarters so they blend easier)
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tbsp espresso powder
1 packet wellness cocoa mix


Directions: Blend and enjoy :)