Grilled Jalapenos

When you're in the mood to bring on the heat, go ahead and grill up a batch of jalapenos to have ready for spicing up your other recipes.

Start with two skewers, wood or metal is up to you.  With the two skewers parallel to each other, push the pepper onto both skewers so there's a skewer on each end of the pepper. Continue adding one pepper at a time until the skewer is full.  Spray the peppers with a little oil and they're ready to go on the grill.

On a gas grill, turn one burner on medium high and place the skewered peppers directly over the heat. Close the lid and check on them every 3 to 5 minutes.

Continue grilling until the pepper skins are blistery and black, then remove from heat.  Allow to cool before handling.

Using latex gloves, remove most of the blacken skins, but leave some for a smokey flavor later on.  Remove stems and seeds, and discard.  You should be left with soft, smokey pepper flesh.  Store in an airtight container until ready to use.  Good for 7 t0 10 days in the refrigerator.

Simple Peach Smoothies

With all the sweet Texas Peaches coming into season, I helped myself to a few frozen peach smoothies.

THERE'S NOTHING TO IT

• 6 ripe peaches
• 1/4 to 1/2 cup orange juice or water

Peel peaches and cut into 1 inch pieces.  Place in a 1-quart freezer bag and freeze for at least 1 to 2 hours.

Transfer frozen peach pieces to a drink blender, start with 1/4 cup of orange juice or water, blend on high until smooth.  You may need to add the other 1/4 cup of juice or water if the consistency is too thick.

Pour into serving glasses and you're ready for a treat!

If you have popsicle molds, this recipe would be good for making peachy popsicles.  If you don't have popsicle molds, well then, IMPROVISE!

Get a small plastic cup, a spoon, and a little aluminum foil, enough to make a lid for the cup.  Fill the plastic cup with about 1/2 cup of peach smoothie.  Put the spoon down into the smoothie.  Push the foil down over the spoon handle so that the handle is in the center of the cup.  The foil keeps the spoon handle upright.  Place the cup in the freezer and freeze for at least one hour.  The homemade popsicle smoothie should pop right out with a little twist.  If it doesn't budge right away, then run the bottom of the cup under cold water to set it free.

Mango Salsa

Someone passed this recipe to me.  I haven't tried it yet, but I will soon.  If you've tried this recipe or have a similar one, let me know about it.

Mango Salsa
1-1/2 cups finely diced fresh mango
2 T. green onion, minced
1 T. fresh lime juice
1 T. fresh cilantro, minced
1 red serrano or jalapeno pepper, seeded, finely chopped

Combine all the ingredients; wait 30 minutes or so for the flavors to get busy with each other, then chow down.

It's suppose to be wonderful with grilled chicken, fish tacos, fajita condiment, or always with tortilla chips.

Simple Blackberry Cobbler

I apologize that there's not a photograph for this recipe.  You'll have to trust me that it makes a beautiful dessert and it's absolutely worth the time to bake it up.  I served this recipe in a cooking demonstration at our Main Street Farmers' Market and the crowd went ga-ga for it.  It helps to make sure the blackberries are sweet on their own without the need to add sugar.  If you happen to buy tart blackberries, wait a day, they'll sweeten up on their own.

HERE'S ALL IT TAKES

To make 6 servings

• 4 cups fresh blackberries
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 1 large egg
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 6 tablespoons melted butter

HEAT oven to 375ºF.
Grease 8-inch square pan.  Layer berries in pan and sprinkle with fresh lemon juice.  In a medium bowl, stir together egg, sugar and flour until it resembles a course meal.  Sprinkle over fruit.  Drizzle butter over the top.
BAKE 35 minutes, until lightly brown & bubbly.  Allow to cool 10 minutes then serve warm with whipped cream.

TEXAS SIZE BLACKBERRY COBBLER

To make 24 servings

• 16 cups fresh blackberries
• 4 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 4 large egg
• 4 cup sugar
• 4 cup all purpose flour
• 3 sticks or 1 1/2 cups melted butter

HEAT oven to 375ºF.
Grease 12-inch by 17-inch half sheet pan.  Layer berries in pan and sprinkle with fresh lemon juice.  In a large bowl, stir together egg, sugar and flour until it resembles a course meal.  Sprinkle over fruit.  Drizzle butter over the top.
BAKE 35 minutes, until lightly brown & bubbly.  Allow to cool 10 minutes then serve warm with whipped cream.

From Raw to Roasted Shelled Pumpkin Seeds

Have you ever picked something new at the grocery store that was too interesting to pass up, then after you got home, you thought, "Now how do I cook it?"

Last week, I couldn't resist buying a scoop of raw pumpkin seeds from the nearest foodie mart dry bulk bin section. (I always save money in that section.)  It wasn't until I was ready to mix them into a batch of Fresh N Fruity Oatmeal Bread that I realized the seeds had to be toasted first.  Uh, and at what temperature and for how long?  I had to go blind on this one and just take a good guess.  After 7 minutes in the oven, SUCCESS was MINE, ALL MINE!  Bwa-Hahaha!

HERE'S ALL THERE'S TO IT
Heat the oven to 375ºF.  Spread the raw pumpkin seeds flat on a cookie sheet.  Bake for 5 to 7 minutes, until lightly golden.  If the seeds start popping like popcorn, turn down the oven temperature by 25 degrees.

Their toasty taste doesn't ask for any seasonings, not even salt.  I couldn't help eat a few handfuls before adding them into my bread dough.  I thought they tasted better than sunflower seeds.  And I wouldn't hesitate to buy them again just to have around for snacking.  Give them a try and see what you think.

Ruth Macy’s Apple Butter

For anyone has met my friend Ruth Macy, check out this video.  She's known as the Apple Butter Lady during the annual Heritage Folk Festival, here in Sulphur Springs.  Her recipe is easy to bring together and it's wonderful on hot biscuits or whole wheat toast.  This recipe is for making a large batch to share and put up.

HERE'S ALL IT TAKES

• 1 gallon apple sauce
• 1 quart of sugar
• 1 tablespoon nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon allspice
• 1/2 teaspoon cloves

Combine all ingredients in a large kettle and cook over medium heat, stirring frequently till thickened and it will be translucent.

Sugar may be varied to taste and depending on the tartness of apple sauce.  If too sweet, add a little lemon juice.

To can, process in  boiling water bath, using new flat jar lids, about 20 minutes.

Grilled Tropical Salsa

Sweet and Spicy plays it up in this salsa.  So simple to throw together an 8 year old kid can do it.  In fact, a cool 8 year old DID MAKE THIS.

This is the second recipe I wanted to highlight from the Hopkins County 4-H Food Show.  In case you missed my last post about the show, read the Peanut Butter Cocoa Balls recipe.

Grilled Tropical Salsa would be perfect with tortilla chips, inside a quesodilla, or right on top of chicken or beef fajitas.

HERE'S ALL IT TAKES

• 2 fresh pineapple slices, 1/2 inch thick
• 2 roma tomatoes, seeded and diced
• 1/4 cup purple onion, chopped
• 1 jalapeno, cleaned and minced
• 2 tablespoons oil
• 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• salt to taste

Grill the pineapple on medium high heat for approximately 2 minutes on each side.  Remove form heat; cool and cut into bite-sized pieces.  Combine the pineapple with remaining ingredients.  Add salt to taste.  Makes 2 cups of salsa.

How to Cook Spaghetti Squash

If you've NEVER eaten spaghetti squash, well, you're not missing anything.  To be quite honest.  It's not gross, but it's not genetically swimming in depths of flavor either.  To be REALLY HONEST, I don't know why farmers keep growing it.  Compared to all the fruits that come from the squash family, this one has the least amount of flavor.  anyhoo

Last week, the grocer had spaghetti squash on sale.  I thought that since I'm trying to be a well rounded food blogger and all, I ought to give'em a whirl.  Silly me, a half hour before dinner I started wondering how I was suppose to cook it.  I gave my friends in Twitterland and Facebookville a shout out for directions.  I got back instructions for baking up to an hour.  That wouldn't do.  I decided to go with the directions on the sticker stuck onto the squash.  Talk about BASIC and FAST.

I did read a thorough "how to" article from About.com that was worth bookmarking. It covers the pro and cons of all the methods of cooking this squash.

HERE'S WHAT I DID

First, I cut the squash open and scooped out the seeds with a melon ball tool.  A melon ball tool is THE BEST tool for this job.  It's practically effortless.
I saved the seeds and baked them the same way as I did the roasted pumpkin seeds.

Next, I found a microwaveable dish that would hold the cut squash and covered the bottom with water.  I nuked the squash for 12 minutes on HIGH power.

Ever so carefully, I removed the dish from the microwave and allowed it cool down for 5 to 10 minutes.  I still needed an oven mitt when it came time to scrap the squash.  These babies really know how to hold their heat.

Because I cut the squash lengthwise, the strands were actually cut in half and shorter.  I instantly figured out that for a longer strand, I would have to cut across the equator.  I didn't make that up, I got that term somewhere else.

All it takes is a fork to scrap perpendicular to the strands and they come out so easily.

I HIGHLY, HIGHLY Recommend transferring the strands to a strainer or sieve before plating.  The strands release water after being removed.  This would probably be a good time to season them with salt & pepper, drizzle with a tasty flavored oil, something.

I had already cooked up what's becoming my family's FAY VOR RIGHT homemade tomato sauce.  Poured the sauce over the squash, topped with fresh parmesan cheese and we were chowing down!

Now, it's your turn.  You tell me how I could have made this spaghetti squash have more flavor.  I'm willing to try it again, if someone has a real recipe they love to make ALL THE TIME.  I want to hear from folks that eat this spaghetti squash on a regular basis.

Sweet Butternut Squash

After roasting a couple of butternut squash in the oven, I got the idea to finally try out that old squash recipe.  You know the one.  When someone tries to pass off an unknown gourd to you and says,

"All you have to do is cut it open, take the seeds out, sprinkle it with a little brown sugar & cinnamon on top, then bake it until it tender." Oh, ok.

Actually, this recipe didn't cross my mind until AFTER I had the squash tender, but I went for it anyway.  It turned out alright.  It was simple and not much different than eating candied sweet potatoes.  In fact, I'll go so far as to say that if tasted in a blind food tasting, I wouldn't know the difference.

I did like keeping the shape of the butternut squash in tact and sweetening it as shown above.  I have seen baby butternut squash and thought this would be a fun way to serve them for Thanksgiving dinner.  Yes, it would be extra work, but if you employed someone else to do the job, than it would be a piece of cake or gourd.

HERE'S ALL IT TAKES

• 1 small butternut squash
• nonstick spray
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• handful of marshmallows for topping

Preheat oven to 400ºF.

Cut squash in half, scoop out seeds with a melon baller (SAVE THE SEEDS) and place cut side down on a cookie sheet coated with nonstick spray.  Bake for 25 to 30 minutes until fork tender, but not so far as mushy.

Remove from oven and allow to cool just a few minutes.  The skin will pull apart from the flesh and is super easy to remove.  Carefully, flip the squash over to show the cut side.

In a pyrex bowl or measuring cup, melt the butter and dissolve the brown sugar together in the microwave.  Start on 80% power, 1 minute at a time until sugar is dissolved.  Pour over squash and top with marshmallows.

Return to the oven for 5 minutes or so, until marshmallow tops have turned lightly golden.

You're ready to eat!

Toasted Butternut Squash Seeds

I was prepping a butternut squash and couldn’t bare to toss the seeds.  Especially after the experience of toasting the pumpkin seeds, I couldn’t help wonder if the butternut seeds would be any different or the same. I also wondered why we don’t already eat butternut squash seeds.

So I followed the Roasted Pumpkin Seeds recipe.  I did the same cleaning steps, baking temperature, salted the heck out of them, but only baked them for 5 minutes.

Be warned, they POP!  I think my temperature was a little high. I’m going to knock it back to 300º with this next batch.

To answer my own questions:
Is there any difference?
YES OH YES they ARE tastier than pumpkin seeds! Way better.

Why is it that we don’t eat them all the time already?
I'm guessing it's because we don’t get that many to eat from one squash.

But you know what?  From here on out, I’m taking the extra steps.  It only takes a couple of minutes to heat up the oven and it only takes a minute to rinse them off and salt them down.  AND, And it only takes 5 minutes to toast up this very delicious, overlooked snack!

We have been missing out folks! Well, I.  I've been missing out.

Maybe you’ve known this all along and you were just keeping this secret to yourself.
Is that it?  Is that how you like to play? Oh, I see how it is.  ; )

Apple Pear and Cranberry Crisp

This is a very good dessert to throw together, especially with apples and pears being on sale right now.
The recipe makes a big batch, but once you've shared it with your babysitter and your friends, it only lasts about 36 hours in the frig.  Sigh.  Oh the memories.

I pretty much followed Ina Garten's Pear, Apple and Cranberry Crisp recipe.  Naturally, I was missing an ingredient or two, so improvised.  Nobody noticed.

HERE'S ALL IT TAKES

• 5 Gala apples
• 4 Bosc pears
• 3/4 cup dried cranberries
• 1/2 cup golden raisins
• 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
• 2 tablespoon lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons orange juice (I used what we drink)

• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

For the crisp topping

• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 3/4 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup old-fashioned oats
• 1/2 cup toasted pecans
• 2 sticks cold unsalted butter, diced

Preheat the oven to 350F degrees.
Peel and core the apples and pears and cut them into large chunks.  Place the fruit in a large bowl.  Toss with the cranberries, zest, juices.

Mix the next four dry ingredients together first, then pour over the apples and pears, toss again until they're evenly coated.  Pour into a buttered 9 by 12 by 2 inch baking dish.

As for the topping

Use your electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment to combine the flour, sugars, salt, oatmeal, pecans and cold butter. Mix until the mixture is in large crumbles.  Sprinkle evenly over the fruit, covering it completely.

If you like crunchy edges, get extra crumble into the sides and corners.
MMM, mmm!

BAKE FOR 50 minutes to 1 hour, until the top is brown and the fruit is bubbly. Serve warm or cold, both ways taste wonderful.  Always better the second day.

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

First I want to thank my dear friends, without them this post would not be here.

To Kim, for text messaging me and putting me up to the challenge of roasting pumpkin seeds.  To Kelly of Sass & Veracity and Judy of No Fear Entertaining for answering my call for help on Twitter.

Kelly, your EXTREMELY SIMPLE technique was SPOT ON! Thank you, thank you.

So, let's get down to thrashing a pumpkin for its seeds.

First, cut out the top of pumpkin.  Look at the stringy, web-like action going on in there.  This is where I discover another place God is so COOL! Look at that beautiful creamy orange color. The center mass looks like an explosion and the seeds are just hangin' out on the sides.  There are so many hidden places where God tucks His coolest artwork.

Next, get a couple of cool kids that drive you crazy from time to time.  Tell them you've got something REALLY COOL to show them, but first! they have to close their eyes.  Guide their arms over the pumpkin opening, then tell them "Dig down for the surprise!" (Be sure to have your camera ready, teeheehee)

After you have them scrape the seeds out into a bowl on the side, then let them go to town carving it up. Don't try to tell them how to do it, they "KNOW ALREADY."

As for the seeds, fill a large bowl with water and give the seeds a good swishin' around.  The stringy stuff sinks to the bottom and the seeds float.  Proceed to skim the seeds off the top with your hands and move them to a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.  Allow them to dry just a bit and they'll get sticky.

Now in Kelly's words, "Salt the heck out of them." I used table salt.

Heat the oven to 350F degrees.
Kelly's directions: "Bake, stir, bake, stir - golden, done. Eat."

Simple and very accurate.  It doesn't sound like enough information, but it doesn't take any time at all to roast pumpkin seeds.  It might have taken 7 to 10 minutes and 10 minutes is pushing it.  I set the timer for 5 minutes, then came back to stir them.  They were already tanning up very well.  I gave them one stir with a spatula and stood there a couple of minutes and they were done.

I immediately moved the seeds off the sheet and allowed them to cool.

Just beautiful.  They even tasted brown.

Next Page »