Pfeffernusse Cookies (Germany), by Cheryl

I was going to make some kind of sausage or other meat thing for this post, but just wasn't feeling it. So I decided to go the dessert route. These taste just like the gingerbread cookies! The only difference is that they are a lot harder. Like I might break a tooth harder. But I also left the cookies in 10 minutes too long (oops!). These are a good snack or dessert, but I think I'll stick with Diane's gingerbread recipe!

Ingredients (makes about 18 cookies):

1/2 cup molasses
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup shortening (I used butter)
1/4 cup margarine (I used butter)
2 eggs
4 cups flour
3/4 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1.5 teaspoons ground cardamom
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon ground ginger
2 teaspoons anise extract (I used vanilla)
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1.5 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup confectioners' sugar for dusting

Directions:

1) Stir together the molasses, honey, shortening, and margarine in a saucepan over medium-high heat; cook and stir until creamy. Remove from the heat and allow to cool to room temperature. Stir in the eggs.

2) Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl and mix. Add the molasses mixture and stir until thoroughly combined. Refrigerate at least two hours.

3) Preheat oven to 325. Roll the dough into acorn sized balls. Arrange on baking sheets an inch apart.

4) Bake in preheated oven for 10-15 minutes. Move to a rack to cool. Dust cooled cookies with confectioners' sugar.

Honey Mustard Dressing, by Cheryl

I bought this awesome salad dressing bottle. It has the recipes of multiple dressings on the side of it that use real ingredients and are very tasty! Now I don't have exact measurements for every ingredient (the spices and mustard are exact) because the bottle just has lines indicating where to stop, so I've estimated for the blog. I was actually very surprised at how much I like my first homemade dressing and don't think I'll ever be buying dressing from the store again. Yum!

Ingredients:

1/2 cup honey (estimate)
1/3 cup olive oil (estimate)
1/4 cup lemon juice or vinegar (estimate)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
4 tablespoons Dijon Mustard

Directions:

1) Mix all ingredients together in a closed jar or bottle and shake until thoroughly mixed.

(Mock) Foie de Gras (France), by Cheryl

My absolute favorite dish in the world is foie gras. I will order it any time I'm in a French restaurant and each time I went to France I tried to seek out restaurants that would have it since it's one of my favorite things about the country. My local butcher sells goose liver for foie gras by the pound, but it's pretty pricey and I didn't want to spend that much on a dish that 1) doesn't make a lot, 2) would only be an appetizer, and 3) that I've never made before (and risk messing it up). So I went to the internet and looked up mock foie gras dishes using chicken liver, which I also like to eat. I came across this recipe and it was pretty easy to make! The only thing is that I didn't read the directions all the way through and it requires the foie gras to chill in the refrigerator for at least 24 hours before serving. So I was pretty disappointed that I couldn't taste my finished product until it was, well you know, FINISHED! This is a budget friendly option that is sure to impress. It was sooooooo good and surprisingly tasted like the real deal. I will definitely be making this again, maybe as an appetizer for a dinner party. I served it with a fig jam and soft toasted bread. Yum!

Ingredients:

1/2 pound chicken livers, trimmed
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
2 teaspoons Worchester sauce
1 teaspoon mustard
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon cloves
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 tablespoons onion juice (I didn't use this)

Directions:

1) In a small saucepan cover livers with water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat immediately and simmer for about 15 minutes. Add salt and simmer another 5 minutes until tender. Cool to room temperature in the stock.

2) Place all ingredients in a food processor. Process, adding enough of the reserved cooking liquid to make a smooth paste. Taste and adjust seasonings.

3) Scrape into a greased crock and cover with plastic wrap, letting the wrap touch the surface of the pate. Refrigerate for at least 24 hours before serving. It may be stored in the refrigerator for up to 4 weeks.

Pannu Kakku (Finland), by Cheryl

We had two main dishes when we went to Finland: Salmon Chowder and Reindeer anything. I've already posted a Salmon Chowder  recipe here on the blog (inspired by our time there), and I don't think I'll be buying reindeer anytime soon. I went to my Finnish friend Niina for some advice on an easy and quick recipe that would represent this country. The answer was Pannu Kakku, which is like a mix of a custard, french toast, pancake, type thingy. After eating it, Jon and I looked at each other and said, "Oh yeah!" We had had pannu kakku one night with some locals in an igloo after our snowmobile ride. It's very popular in Finland and is a traditional dish. Yum!

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1 cup all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
4 eggs, beaten
2 cups milk
topping (optional): chocolate, jam, maple syrup, ice cream

Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 400. Melt the butter in a 9x13 pan.

2) In a medium bowl stir together sugar, flour, baking powder, and salt. Add the beaten eggs and milk; mix well. Tilt the baking pan to coat all of the sides with butter, then pour the excess butter into the mixture, and mix well until combined. Pour the batter into the prepared pan.

3) Bake for 20 minutes. Serve hot. Eat plain or with a topping.

Spicy Tropics Juice, by Diane

This juice is super hydrating, energizing, and provides an amazing kick midday that will keep you going! The fresh pineapple is amazing for inflammation and pain as well. If you want it sweeter, you can either add more pineapple or a sweetener. This one is a keeper!


Ingredients:

6 cubes fresh pineapple
1/2-1 inch ginger
1 inch slice jalepeno, seeds and ribs removed
1 large handful cilantro
1 large handful parsley
3 large leaves/stems kale
1/2 lime, peel removed
1 orange, peel removed
1/2 cucumber, peeled if not organic
1/2 cup coconut water

Directions:

1. Juice all ingredients in the order above and enjoy!

Kitchari, by Diane

Kitchari is an Ayervedic dish that is designed to help detox and cleanse. After several weeks straight of traveling and eating out, I was looking for just this and tried it out this week. It tastes a lot like traditional Indian food (both the dish and Ayerveda come from India) and is really warm and comforting. For my vegetables, I added mushrooms and carrots. It's very easy to make and I'll definitely make it again!

Note: Asafoetida or hing can be found in asian supermarkets. If you're going for a detox/cleanse effect, you can't skip this one!! It is incredibly pungent or fetid (hence the name!) but when cooked has the flavors of garlic and onions. It's known for it's stomach soothing properties like reducing gas and constipation, but it's also antimicrobial and antiviral (it was used as flu medicine in the 19th century!) and anti-inflammatory making it incredibly good for you. I'm really glad this spice is in my cabinet! Make sure you store it in an airtight container, though, because the smell will come straight through the spice jar and infuse your pantry!

Note: This recipe makes only four servings, so I doubled it for this photo.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup basmati rice
1 cup mung dal (split yellow peas)
2 cups vegetables (I used carrots and mushrooms)
2 tsp. ghee or coconut oil
1/2 tsp each coriander powder, cumin powder, whole cumin seeds, mustard seeds, turmeric powder
1 pinch hing (asafoetida)
1/2 inch ginger, grated
1 handful chopped cilantro leaves
2 tsp pink sea salt/mineral salt

Recipe from: https://www.ayurveda.com/online_resource/kitchari_recipe.html


Directions:

1. Soak peas for a minimum of 2 hours, I usually do this overnight to ensure they are soft.

2. Carefully pick over rice and dal to remove any stones. Wash each separately in at least 2 changes of water. Add the 6 cups of water to the rice and dal and cook covered until it becomes soft, about 20 minutes.

3. While that is cooking, prepare your vegetables and add the vegetables to the cooked rice and dal mixture and cook 10 minutes longer.

4. In a separate saucepan, sauté the seeds in the coconut oli or ghee until they pop, watching to ensure they don't burn. Then add the ginger and other spices. Stir together to release the flavors. Stir the sautéed spices into the cooked dal, rice, and vegetable mixture.

5. Add the mineral salt and chopped fresh cilantro and serve.

Banana Oat Cookies, by Cheryl

It's very soft and gooey! 

I saw this recipe while I was scouring pinterest for ideas. These are a very healthy treat if you want a snack or dessert and they are oh so good! No added sugar, no flour, and delicious! They're super easy to make and I even won Jon over with them :) The only substitution I made was swapping the apple sauce for coconut oil. I really thought I had apple sauce in the house, but of course I was in the middle of making the cookies and realized I didn't have it. Apple sauce is generally a good substitution for oil if you want to make something lighter so I just went the other way around. I will be making these again! Yum!

Ingredients:

3 bananas, mashed
2 cups oats
1/3 cup apple sauce
1/4 cup almond milk
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 350.

2) Mix all ingredients together in a bowl. Drop little balls of batter onto a greased cookie sheet. Cook for 15-20 minutes. Serve warm.