Lemon Curd

I bought a bunch of lemons the other day and didn't end of needing them for what I had planned on so I made this instead. It is so easy to make. One recipe filled 2 half-pint canning jars.

Lemon Curd
3/4 C freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 Tbsp grated lemon zest
3/4 C sugar
3 eggs
1/2 C unsalted butter

Directions:In a saucepan, combine all ingredients and cook over medium-low heat*. Cook 6-10 minutes, and occasionally whisk until thick enough to hold marks from the whisk (about the consistency of pudding.) Store in the refrigerator. *If the heat is turned up too high, the eggs will curdle.

Minestrone Soup

This is what we had for dinner tonight and everyone liked it. I didn't use celery (just because I didn't have any) and threw in some summer squash also. It would be great in the summer (for most locales) when you can get all the produce fresh at the farmers market.

Minestrone Soup
1 Tbsp Olive Oil
I large onion, finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic, miced
8 cups of vegetable or chicken stock
28 oz can of tomato sauce (or crushed tomato's)
2 celery stalks, diced
2 med-sized carrots, sliced
2 potato's, cut into cubes
2 med-sized zucchini, diced
1/2 C fresh parsley, chopped (or you can use 1 Tbsp dried)
1 C small pasta (shells, macaroni, etc.,)
1/2 C Parmesan Cheese
2 tsp. dried basil leaves
1 tsp. dried marjoram
1/2 tsp. dried thyme leaves
1/4 tsp. ground celery seed
Dash of cayenne pepper
Directions:Over medium heat, in a sautee pan combine olive oil, onions & garlic and 3 Tbsp of stock. Sautee until onions are translucent, about 5-7 minutes. Add the remaining stock, tomato sauce, celery, carrot, potato, zucchini and all spices (do not add pasta or parmesan). Mix and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce to simmer and simmer for 15 mintues. Bring to a boil again and add pasta & parmesan. Reduce to a simmer for an additional 20 minutes. I usually sprinkle some more parmesan on top once it's served. Enjoy!

Vegan Brownies

To continue my baking kick I thought I'd try brownies. It was my intention to use flax as an egg replacement. I googled "Vegan Brownies" in hopes of finding a recipe with flax, but I couldn't find one. Apparently eggs (though included in lots of brownie mixes in powdered form) are actually not a necessity for brownies after-all. Plus, since there are no eggs, you can make them really gooey without fear. The final reason I like the recipe so much is because it's all (besides the chocolate) pantry staples, and everyone else probablly has a Sam's bag of chocolate chips anyway.

2 c. Flour
2 c. Sugar
3/4 c. Cocoa
1 t. Baking Powder
1 t. Salt
1 c. Water
1 c. Vegtable Oil (or butter)
1 t. vanilla

Preheat 350. Mix all. Pour into 9x13" pan. Bake 45 minutes.

Tyler's Biscotti

I don't know why but I've had a real hankering for biscotti lately. I figured it was a pretty simple cookie, and could be veganized easily. I was right. After doing some research on the internet I cobbled together this recipe on my own. Much to my surprise they turned out great. And you should have everything you need on hand. Though there are a bunch of steps, making these is dirt simple. A few notes: Instead of eggs in this recipe I used ground flax seed and water at a ratio of 1:3 teaspoons per egg replaced. It's a little nutty and works great in this recipe, but I'm sure eggs will do nicely too. Omitted from the ingredient list and directions are flavoring agents. I used dried apricots and slivered almonds—a handful of each. Anything could be good (chocolate chips and marshmallows, say), kneed it in when the dough is finished.

1 c. sugar

2 c. flour

2 t. baking soda

½ c. butter softened

1 t. vanilla

½ t. almond extract (optional)

2 eggs

½ c. water (as needed)

Preheat oven to 350. Mix dry ingredients, add wet, blend. Add water as needed; dough should be very thick. Butter and flour cookie sheet. Form into two long flat loaves, bake for 25 minutes. Take out and let cool on rack. With good serrated knife cut into 1" wide biscotti. Lower oven to 300, bake for additional 20 minutes.

Ice Cream Cake

I don't know if you can really call this a recipe, but here it is. Cody was assigned the job of making the FHE treat for tonight and he wanted to make ice cream sandwiches. I generally let the kids make whatever they want (within reason) and figure we could do this. I check out Allrecipes and found some good ideas. Before I knew it the afternoon had slipped away and it we hadn't made the cookies yet. I checked back on Allrecipes and decided to go with this idea instead. Cathy had suggested it to me a long time ago. Braden and the kids LOVED it!

Ice Cream Sandwich Cake

24 ice cream sandwiches
1 container of cool-whip
1 jar hot fudge
peanuts, toffee chips, sprinkles, whatever you like

Cover the bottom of a 9x13 pan with ice cream sandwiches. Cover sandwich layer with cool whip, then hot fudge, then peanuts (or whatever.) Repeat layers. Cover with plastic wrap and stick in freezer until its set. Cut and serve!

Honey Wheat Bread

INGREDIENTS

• 2 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
• 4 cups whole wheat flour
• 1 tablespoon active dry yeast
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2/3 cup honey
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 3 cups all-purpose flour

DIRECTIONS

1. Dissolve yeast in warm water. Add honey, and stir well. Mix in whole wheat flour, salt, and vegetable oil. Work all-purpose flour in gradually. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface, and knead for at least 10 to 15 minutes. When dough is smooth and elastic, place it in a well oiled bowl. Turn it several times in the bowl to coat the surface of the dough, and cover with a damp cloth. Let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, about 45 minutes.
2. Punch down the dough. Shape into two loaves, and place into two well greased 9 x 5 inch loaf pans. Allow to rise until dough is 1 to 1 1/2 inches above pans.
3. Bake at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) for 25 to 30 minutes.

French Bread

1/2 c warm water
2 c hot water
3 T sugar
1/3 c oil
2 pkgs. yeast
6 c flour
1 T salt

Dissolve yeast in warm water. Combine remaining ingredients using only 3 cups of flour. Mix well. Add yeast and beat well. Add remaining flour to make soft dough that still can be mixed with a spoon. Leave spoon in dough and allow to rest for 10 minutes. Stir down dough every ten minutes for 1 hour. Divide into 2 parts. Roll up each like a jelly roll or make 2 dozen rolls. Put on a greased cookie sheet. Brush with egg white and slash diagonally. Let rise until double in size. Bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes.