sorbet

We like having sweets after dinner.  I actually really like ice cream but my tummy does not agree with my taste buds all the time.  It gets back to that egg thing and maybe even a little bit of lactose sensitivity.  I have ended up making sorbets.

Why do I make sorbets?  Because I make better then you can by and they are cheaper for the organic bit.  Just ask Russell about the flavor!

Fruit Sorbet

1 10 ounce frozen berries, any kind

1 cup water

1 cup sugar

Put the sugar and the water in a pan.  Bring to a boil and let boil one minute.

Put the fruit and syrup in a blender.  And blend for a couple of minutes.  I really mean a couple of minutes.  It will help.  I then pour the berry syrup mixture into a large pyrex and put it in the freezer.  

Two or three hours later, I pull it out and stir it.  I break up all the frozen bit and make it smooth.  I then put it in the freezer again.

Two to three hours after that, I pull out the sorbet and mix it up again.  I break it all up.  It then goes into the freezer until it is solid and we eat it.  

I did not get a picture of that.  We ate this pyrex in three sittings, twice without bowls.  This is better then ANYTHING you can buy out.  Russell said, "Oh, yeah!"

Now I think I am going to try some of the New York Times recipes.  They ran ice cream recipes without egg but a tablespoon or two of alcohol to keep it soft.  Do not be surprised if those with my alterations come this way.  Yummy in the tummy!

roasted garlic butter

When we had dinner with friends, I made french bread to go with the lasagna.  I soon realized that I was craving garlic bread.  To be honest, we do not have any of the easy foods to create this wonderful comfort food.  So, I went about making roasted garlic butter.

Roasted Garlic Butter

1 head of garlic

1 teaspoon of good olive oil

1/2 cup of butter, room temperature

Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

Slice the top of the garlic off, exposing the cloves.  Drizzle the olive oil in there.  Bake for 30 minutes or until soft.  I just usually call it good at 30 minutes, turn the oven off, and let it sit longer.  I also use a toaster oven for this step and put the temperature at 300 or 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

When the garlic is cool enough to touch, put the butter in a bowl.  Squish out all the garlic from the paper around it.  This is messy!  Take a fork and mix it well.

I do believe the four of us ate almost all of this on warm sourdough french bread.  Simple decadence!

dinner with friends

We had dinner with friends this week.  I made dinner and we took it to their home.

I made bread:

And garlic butter:

And lasagne.  Lasagne is one of those things that is easy but time consuming that I make.  I may laugh here and say what else is new!

Lasagne

1 pound homemade pasta noodles (2 eggs, 2 cups of flour, two pinches of salt, water)

1 batch of spaghetti sauce (four to six cups)

1 batch of béchamel sauce (made with four cups of milk)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.   In your baking dish, spread béchamel sauce on the bottom.  Put a layer on noodles (I do not cook, just use a lot of sauce).  Add a layer of pasta sauce.  Add a layer of bechamel sauce.  Repeat until your pan is full, ending with sauce.  I try to make sure all the noodles are covered.

Bake for one and half hour.

You can add other things to the lasagna.  I added spinach to the pasta sauce and mozzarella cheese between the layers.  I have served this just plain with noodles and sauces.  I know when I put this on the table in front of a group of friends I should just not expect to have anything leftover.  Unless of course, it is the roasting pan!  We had no leftovers from this dish and everyone was trying to save room for our friends FABULOUS chocolate chip cookies.  Good intentions and such you know!

after the potluck

We had a potluck at work today.  My usual reaction to a potluck is this will be interesting and wonder if there will be anything I am willing to eat.  The people on the floor I work on can cook!  This questions are no longer a concern other then what will we have the pleasure of eating this time!  

I actually had a request to bring my black bean soup.  It is scrumptious.  Here is the recipe.

Black Bean Soup

1 pound dry black beans

water

5 cloves garlic or to your taste, minced

1 fist size onion or to your taste, chopped fine

2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon black pepper

1/4 teaspoon ancho chili pepper ground

1/4 teaspoon chipolte chili pepper ground

1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika

In a large bowl or your crockpot insert, place the beans.  Wash them and pick them for stones.  Cover with water and let soak about eight hours.

 

Once the beans are soaked, rinse and place in a pot or crockpot.  My preference is a crockpot.  Cover them with water and about an inch higher.  Cook them until they are soft.  There are two choices here:  1) throw the onion and garlic in with them while they are cooking or 2) place onions and garlic in a frying pan with a bit of olive oil and caramelize, then add them to the cooked beans.  Each tastes a bit different both are good.

I sometimes add a whole head of garlic or a whole onion caramelized.

Add the spices.  Then blend with an immersion blender, regular blender, or smashing against the side of the pan/insert.  All work and give different textures.  This batch I blended until smooth because I just threw the onion and garlic in without chopping.

 

Make sure it is the thickness you want.  I usually have to add some water or broth.  EAT!

This is lovely in my tummy, both at the potluck (yes, I ate my own dish) and for dinner tonight.  Yes, I eat black bean soup in summer.  There is NOT a bad time of year for black bean soup!

all the testers agree: this is it!

I tweaked my chocolate peanut butter brownie again.  Something that Russell thought was perfect.  He thinks this is better.  Actually, everyone who tried it agreed with him.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Brownie

1/3 cup olive oil

3 ounces semi-sweet choclate

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup peanut butter  (I used Laura Scudder's smooth this time)

1/3 cup plain hempmilk

1 tablespoon tapioca starch

2 teaspoons vanilla

3/4 cup flour

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

3 tablespoons cocoa

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahenheit.  Line an 8 x 8 inch pan with parchment paper.

 

In a pan over medium heat, place the oil and chocolate.  Stir until the chocolate is melted.  Turn off the heat. Add everything in order down the list, stirring as you go.

Pour into the prepared pan and use a spatula to spread it out.  It will be thick.  Bake 22 minutes.  You want a little bit of crumb on a knife if you stick it in the middle of the brownie.  

Try to wait until it has cooled before cutting.

 

These are very rich.  Be warned but to die for!

But to my family:  Notice no pinch, dab, handful.  Everything is measured.  So you just miss the lady touch if it does not turn out like mine!