Archive for September, 2007

September 30th, 2007 - Benedict Bars recipe

adapted from a recipe for Special K Bars from the College of St. Benedict (hence the name), my absolute all-time favorite food from the college cafeteria. They are pretty unhealthy, so I adapted to be a bit healthier, using as little sugar and syrup as possible.

3/4 c white sugar
3/4 c corn syrup

Stir together nd bring to a boil using medium heat. Doesn’t take long. Remove immediately and stir in

1 c peanut butter

Grease 9×13 pan. Put in

8 c cereal such as Special K, puffed cereal, Cheerios, etc.

Pour syrup over and mix with a spoon. Appears impossible but it isn’t! After well-mixed, spread flat with hand in waxed paper (or cereal bag).

Melt in microwave 1.5 - 2 minutes, stirring every 30 seconds

11 oz chocolate and butterscotch chips (I like more choc than b’scotch)

Spread over bars and let cool. Cut and enjoy!

To make a better tasting batch, use 1 cup each sugar and syrup and 16 ounces of chips. I like to use Kashi’s puffed cereal, adding to the health side of the equation. I don’t like chunky pb, so I always use creamy. My latest pb, however, is freshly ground so it’s not quite smooth. I’m not sure what that will do to the recipe as I haven’t made it since using this pb. But now I want to. Need to buy some Special K or similar cereal first. Time to hit the Bargain Bin! It’s fine to use slightly stale cereal for this, I think.

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September 30th, 2007 - Granola recipe

Haven’t made this in a while, but after losing the salsa recipe, I want to be sure to get my favorite recipes in here! I’ve only not made it because of being sick so much. Which, by the way, I am again. I don’t know if it’s a cold, allergies, or bronchitis again. I feel better if I don’t talk at all. :(

Mom made granola when I was a kid. I’m not sure if I used info from her recipe in this one, but surely I did? I loved granola as a kid, but my recollection is that it was expensive to make, which I don’t understand. It seems pretty cheap to me but I haven’t actually priced it out.

Granola, adapted from Alton Brown Good Eats

Put in a 9×13 pan

3 cups oatmeal and other flaked grains
1-2 cups nuts and seeds
1/2 cup coconut
1/2 cup wheat germ
1/4 c sesame seeds and/or flax seeds
pinch of salt (unless nuts/seeds were salted)

Toss to mix well, using your hand. Pour on top

1/4 cup vegetable oil
<3 Tbsp molasses (scant 1/3c for 2x)
>3 Tbsp honey (scant 1/3c for 2x)

Mix well using your hand. Hands work far better than a spoon for this.

250 oven for 1 hour 15 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes and moving around the overn. Add dry fruit when cool.

Notes: 2x or 3x fits in 2 pans. I’m pretty loose on the dry ingredients, going for generally 5-7 cups. Maggie can’t have tree nuts, so I skip the nuts when she’s to eat it. Same for sesame. I use flax seeds only because we bought some accidentally. If I don’t have sunflower seeds, nuts/seeds are skipped. I’ve used a number of different flaked/rolled grains. The barley was a bit chewy so I’d only use 1/2c of it. If you like chunky granola, use less dry and more wet. I do, but I prefer to keep the oil and sugars down so I don’t worry about it. It won’t be dry when it’s done cooking. If you don’t stir it right away and wait for it to be cool, it may stay chunkier. I add all sorts of dried fruit, basically whatever I have on hand. I like lots of fruits, but they are expensive so I usually don’t have as much as would be nice. I also have added dried orange for a lovely cranberry-orange and walnut-orange. Dried orange peel would also work.

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September 26th, 2007 - Laurie’s Salsa recipe

7# peeled Roma tomatoes (I don’t peel mine and use whatever I have)
2 large onions
4 large peppers (colorful ones are nice)
10 jalepenos (I made a mild salsa by skipping these.)
2 Poblanos
1 box of garlic (I use 2 bulbs or so, depending on size)
3 stalks of celery (I skip because Eric hates celery)
1 Tbsp dried cilantro – or chop some fresh
¾ cup white vinegar
¾ cup apple cider vinegar
4 Tbsp canning salt
4 Tbsp sugar

Simmer for 3 – 4 hours (until foaming). Makes 12 pints. It’s okay to can it; follow directions from a canning book for other salsas. (I overcooked it when I did it over 3 hours once. Be careful about canning if you make modifications to the basic recipe.)

Laurie’s comment via Krysa: Yes she cans her salsa - she says it takes about 4 hours of cooking, she usually does a double batch (cause if she’s taking the time to do it, she’s going to do it!) and to make sure that it says sharp after cooking and sitting she leaves the seeds in three of the jalapenos. Plus she uses a food processor to help her chop all the vegetables.

*****
I was going to make salsa last Saturday. But I can’t find my recipe card back! Luckily, Laurie is the friend of a friend, and Krysa was able to get it for me again on Monday. I sure wish I’d gotten it into here the previous weekend when I meant to. I’ve search the entire recipe box and much of the kitchen to no avail. It had good notes about what we’ve tried.

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September 25th, 2007 - New Solar Panels Produced at Less Than $1 Per Watt (TreeHugger)

I’m drooling over this news! New Solar Panels Produced at Less Than $1 Per Watt (TreeHugger)

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September 18th, 2007 - Drying herbs

Doing something new–drying herbs! Actually, I did dry some last summer, but in the dehydrator. This time, I’m doing it without electricity.

1. A lavendar wand. I cut a 9 stems (about half the plant), tied them together half way up the stem, then folded the stems down over the heads and tied them again. (I was going to give a link for an idea what these look like, but I didn’t do it the way I find everyone else is doing it so never mind. The websites all strip off most of the leaves and then use lots of ribbon. Mine is much wilder looking!) I plan to bring it to the Solstice celebration for the raffle (folks are encouraged to bring things for the raffle). It smells lovely and is the reason I planted lavender. It was an idea from Sunflower Houses. I hung it up by the ribbon in the guest room. There are some hangars left above the window from old window shades–perfect for hanging ribbons! I wish I could save some more lavender and make a sachet or two, but that will have to wait for next year. (Had I seen the online pictures of the wands, maybe I would have taken off some of the leaves for a sachet. Oh well.)

2. Mint. These, I chopped all the way off. I called Mom and Dad first to make sure it was okay. (Mom advised cutting only about half the lavender since it’s the first year.) I have a pepperming and a chocolate peppermint plant, both gifts from Ruth. She bought the chocolate mint at the Paine garden sale and gave me a very small piece of it. I am surprised at how well it grew! Throughout the summer, I could definitely smell the chocolate, but upon tasting an actual leaf, I was disappointed at how little it tasted of chocolate. It was Maggie’s idea to taste it–she asked for a piece as I was moving them from washing/drying to the bags. I gave her one, then decided to try one myself. (Surprisingly, she liked it! But then, she’s liked almost everything we give her while cooking.) I put the mints in large brown paper bags, taped them closed, and tied a ribbon through a hole in a corner. These went up in the guest room as well. Not the warmest place in the house in the summer time, but the only logical place to hang them. The back entry would be a great place–except it gets really cold. Maybe I’ll try some there next fall just to test it out. There’s some pegboard on two walls, so all I’d need are a couple hangers.

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September 15th, 2007 - Italian Sauce recipe

adapted from Mary Ann Paulukonis (my Mom) adapted from Mangiamo by Silvia Sebastiani. My adaptations are *.

1 lb ground beef (optional)
4 Tbsp olive oil (I use about 2*)
4 stalks celery, chopped (I skip this)
4 onions, chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped fine
1 cup shredded carrots and/or zucchini (helps cut acidity)*
1/4 tsp thyme
1/4 tsp rosemary
½ C parsley, chopped fine
1 C mushrooms, chopped
1 gallon canned tomatoes w/ liquid (about 20 fresh)
1 or more 8 oz cans tomato paste (I use 4, but we like really thick sauce)
1 C white wine (optional) (I skip this)
salt (1 tsp*), pepper (8 twists*) to taste
sugar to taste (I’ve used up to 2 T when using less carrots)*

If using meat, brown in olive oil. Add celery, onions, garlic to meat or to hot olive oil; saute until tender and brown. Add spices, mushrooms, tomatoes (broken up), veggies, and wine. Cook at least 3 hr over low heat, stirring occasionally. Add tomato paste as needed to thicken. Makes about 9 quarts for freezing. Do not know if it is suitable for canning.

Note to self: Double recipe is hard to saute in skillet. Consider wok. Double recipes fits perfectly in stock pot.

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September 15th, 2007 - It’s easier to post now

It’s easier to post now becuase I’m sitting in the living room with a laptop. My own laptop that is. Yeah, we bought new computers. Terribly non-frugal, but one aspect of frugality is doing that in areas you can so that you can spend where you want to. We bought two computers, an iMac for Eric in the den and a MacBook for me where ever. I also use the den one all the time. No point turning on the laptop to check the weather when no one is using the iMac, of course. It’s nice for evenings; I’m sure as winter comes on, I’ll hang out online more in the evenings. I usually watch a lot more TV and this is much better than that!

So, garden update: There was a threat of frost last night, so I picked a few things throughout the day (stayed home a half day) including the first scarlet runner beans and covered up the tomatoes and peppers overnight. Made spaghetti sauce (the other I thing I can do is post the recipes now) with most of the 19# I had picked Thursday. Today, I picked up goodies at the farmer’s market, including peppers, carrots, red cabbage, winter squash, and cilantro. The first ones are for soup stock and to dry. I’ve used so many peppers in sauces that I have few to dry! My carrots didn’t do well, and the few I have I want to eat fresh so the market ones will go for drying.

On Thursday, I started sauerkraut. Today, I remembered that you should add brine if the liquid doesn’t cover the shreds right away. I don’t have much in there–but let’s see this time if it works and we like it. If so, next year I can make an entire 5 gallon bucket of it!

Today I dried peppers and cabbage. I couldn’t believe how much room the cabbage takes up initially; I could only fit half as the other half of the trays had peppers on them. The other half–tomorrow or eat fresh?

It’s great fun to do this work with Maggie. She had lunch while I cut up things for the spag sauce–nibbling on pieces of tomato at first (she kept asking for them, even though she rarely touches them on a plate), then for onion, meat, and garlic. She got everything raw but the meat. Today, she had a couple pieces of cabbage, and although she asked for pepper, she didn’t eat it. She really like the cabbage! That makes me wonder if I should try coleslaw tomorrow.

I also picked all the remaining basil. I think I have enough for another 8 batches! But I looked at my notes from last time and discovered it took me nearly 3 hours. I so don’t look forward to 3 hours on my feet in the kitchen. Ugg. So I haven’t done anything with them yet–they are wilting in the fridge. :( Maybe I can just do half of them ad dry the other half? Yes, that would work…..

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September 12th, 2007 - Once again, happy we keep things simple

Two weeks ago, I started getting sick–a horrendous sore throat due to allergies I figure. By Sunday, I couldn’t talk above a whisper–laryngitis. Tues and Wed I went to work for a total of 5 hours–and only went in because school started up again and I couldn’t imagine not going in. On Wed I finally went to the doctor and was diagnosed with bronchitis, and possibly a recurrence of the strep throat we had 3 weeks before. I stayed home the rest of the week. On Saturday, I was finally able to talk again, but not much. It’s Wednesday and I’m still coughing when I talk. :(

After working a full day Monday, all I wanted to do was curl up on the sofa with a book, or even to fall asleep. As I said to Eric, I’m so glad our lives aren’t cluttered with a ton of committments. I could curl up on the sofa without any concerns.

(Except the garden. It’s so neglected right now and the tomatoes and beans are so ready for picking. But now that I’m starting to feel better, the weather is damp and cold and I have no desire in my still weak state to subject my lungs to that. Perhaps this evening….)

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September 7th, 2007 - NRDC: A Shopper’s Guide to Home Tissue Products Made with Recycled Paper

NRDC: A Shopper’s Guide to Home Tissue Products Made with Recycled Paper I was looking for this a while back and someone at the Fool found it for me!

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My Adventures in Simple Living

Archive for September, 2007

September 30th, 2007 - Benedict Bars recipe

September 30th, 2007 - Granola recipe

September 26th, 2007 - Laurie’s Salsa recipe

September 25th, 2007 - New Solar Panels Produced at Less Than $1 Per Watt (TreeHugger)

September 18th, 2007 - Drying herbs

September 15th, 2007 - Italian Sauce recipe

September 15th, 2007 - It’s easier to post now

September 12th, 2007 - Once again, happy we keep things simple

September 7th, 2007 - NRDC: A Shopper’s Guide to Home Tissue Products Made with Recycled Paper

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