Wednesday, July 4, 2012

July 4th Cookies!

If decorating gingerbread houses are for Christmastime, then these cookies are for Independence Day!

I saw these fireworks cookies in a Martha Stewart magazine from a few years ago and I knew I had to try this!  So today Chantelle, Asher, Heidi and I tried it out and had a lot of fun.

Bake sugar cookies and use royal icing. Put about a half cup of white icing into two ziploc bags, then add food coloring.  Snip a very small piece off the corner of the bag and use to make dots and designs! The toothpicks help swirl and make hearts.  After awhile the icing hardens.



Tuesday, July 3, 2012

Fennel Rosemary Potato Salad

I don't know about you, but I get stuck making the same good recipes over and over.  Luckily, it's just me I'm cooking for! This is one that gets repeated.

I decided to plant fennel and leeks in my garden just to make this recipe, which I tasted for the first time when I was visiting Jenny at the CSA where she was working.  She found the recipe here.  Here's my version:

Fennel Rosemary Potato Salad
1 fennel bulb
1 tablespoon fresh chopped rosemary
pinch of salt
5 potatoes
1 tablespoon dijon mustard
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
4 tablespoons greek yogurt
2 tablespoons almond oil
1 teaspoon honey
1 small leek
1.  Slice the fennel and place in a smaller sized baking dish.  Sprinkle with chopped rosemary and salt.  Put in a 350 degree oven for 20 minutes.

2.  Peel the potatoes and cut them into smaller pieces, then boil until they are soft (about 15 minutes).

3.  Mix the remaining ingredients (except leek) to make the dressing, then put the roasted fennel, potatoes, dressing and leek together in bowl.  Enjoy!




Don't be afraid to substitute and change the recipe yourself!  I've used cream or regular yogurt, regular onions, different kinds of vinegars, mustards and oils.  Use what you have or what is convenient.

Saturday, June 16, 2012

to Paraguay and back again

In April, my parents and I went to visit my sister Chantelle where she was living in Asuncion, Paraguay! 
 Dad outside of Chantelle's home... a lot of roads were stone like this one, but not main roads
saw this a few times - a tree in the middle of the road!
the children's home where Chantelle works every day
playing basketball some of the kids
walking around Asuncion

the view of the city
public transportation
a too-friendly lemur - Iguazu Falls, Brazil
another sign somewhere read: "don't overtake the boundaries"

still beautiful, even for a dry day

Chantelle and her friend Andrea, who lived in Lancaster for a semester last year
Andrea's mom took us to a beautiful park where we spent some time drinking terere, a traditional drink that everyone in Paraguay drinks.  The cup (guampa) is filled with the dry tea and a straw with a filter (bombilla) is placed inside.  Then cold water is poured into the cup and passed to the first person, who drinks then passes it back.
she also took us to the town where pottery is painted and sold.  The pottery is made in a town close by.




Chantelle just came home late Thursday night, and it's so good to have her back after nearly a year!

Monday, February 13, 2012

Valentine Fortune Cookies

 This is a really fun idea for Valentine's day!  I took a basic fortune cookie recipe from youtube (click here for the GREAT tutorial) and only added red food coloring and Valentine messages.
Make your fortunes first!  You don't want to be stuck with cookies ready to be folded and no notes ready.
Mix these ingredients together until frothy, but not stiff:
2 egg whites
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
3 Tablespoon oil


Next, add these ingredients and blend:
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup flour
1 1/2 teaspoon cornstarch
pinch of salt
3 teaspoons water


Finally add red food coloring for pink valentines!  I added 15 drops and they were very bright.
Spoon just one tablespoon onto a greased cookie sheet and spread out until the batter is a 3 or 4 inch circle.  The first time you do this, only bake two cookies until you get faster at folding them. Tip:  if you're using spray cooking oil, be sure to rub it in with a paper towel or the cookie may not bake in a perfect circle.
Put the cookie sheet in a 300 degree oven for 10 minutes. The edges will just start to brown.

When they come out, place your secret message in the middle of the baked circle and fold in half.
Note: the picture below is the bright pink you get with 15 drops of food coloring - the paler pictures are from a batch with only 3 or 4 drops.
Next, fold the half over the side of a mug...
...and place them in cupcake tins until they are cool (so they won't expand).
Finish and deliver by packaging your fortunes in carry-out boxes... I found fun ones at Michaels!
Check out this great video tutorial to see the process in action!