A CUP AND SOME EXTRA MILK, YOU MAY USE SKIM OR WHOLE
PUT IT IN A BLENDER AND RUN ON LIQUIFY
POUR INTO YOUR FAVORITE GLASS AND ENJOY
YOU MAY DO A FEW VARIATIONS
1 A FROZEN BANANA, MAKE SURE BEFORE YOU FREEZE THE BANANA YOU CUT IT INTO ICE CUBE, SQUARE SHAPE, AND FREEZE THIS WILL MAKE THE SMOOTHIE EXTRA THICK, LIKE A MILK SHAKE, THEN ADD YOUR HAZELNUT CHOCOLATE, A FEW FROZEN OR FRESH STRAWBERRIES, MILK AND RUN THRU THE BLENDER AS WELL AND ENJOY
PS. FOR EXTRA CHOCOLATE TASTE ADD A FEW TABLESPOONS OF PURE COCOA, GIVES IT A RICH TASTE, 2 TABLESPOONS SEEMS TO WORK BEST.
OUR FAMILY ENJOYS THESE DRINKS AS A QUICK PROTEIN, NATURAL, SMOOTHIE AFTER A HARD WORK OUT.
Thursday, January 12, 2017
Lemon Bars
streusel topping
3/4 cup of unbleached flour, mixed with 1/2 cup of sugar 1/4 teaspoon of salt, i use kosher even in baking, 4 tablespoons of unsalted butter, use a pastry cutter or your hands and mix until pea size crumble.
this will be used half way through baking as a topping.
crust, also known as shortbread crust,
2 cups of unbleached flour, 3/4 cups of confection sugar, (you may use 3 tablespoons of regular sugar instead)
pinch of salt
2 sticks of butter room temperature.
using a pastry cutter or forks or your hands or in a food processor combine until smooth clumps, or a ball of dough, press mixture on bottom of a 9 by 13 inch pan with 2 inch overhang, and make sure your oven is preheated to 350℉.
press dough in pan, and bake for 20 minutes or until LIGHTLY browned, golden color is what you are trying to obtain, you do not want to dry this out.
let it cool for 5 min, but while it is cooking make the filling which consists of
first whisk 5 large eggs, with 1 1/2 cups of sugar once the sugar and eggs are well mixed add the 1 cup of lemon juice and 1/3 cup of flour until smooth. Pour of crust that has been cooled for only 5 minutes do not let it cool completely. bake for another 20 - 25 minutes until filling is set.
sprinkle topping over hot lemon bars and continue baking, you should lower the temperature to 325℉ for the second part of baking and bake for 20 - 25 minutes until just golden. cool completely dust with some extra powder sugar, cut into squares and
1 3/4 cups of warm water placed in a deep bowl with 1 1/2 tablespoons of kosher salt and 1 1/2 tablespoons of yeast let it sit to activate the yeast.
beat 4 large eggs and set aside
1/2 cup of melted butter, you may use canola oil, i use the butter.
mix in the melted butter to the yeast and slowly temper in the eggs, tempering would be that you slowly pour in the eggs down the edge of the bowl while you are stirring in the eggs with the yeast.
1/2 cup of honey
once you wet mixture is well incorporated slowly add in your 7 cups of unbleached flour in two batches.
you will not need to knead the dough just make sure that the mixture is well blended and that the flour and wet mixture are well incorporated and is not to wet or dry.
cover not airtight and let it rise for 2 hours in a cool place, you may use it after two hours or after two hours place in refrigerator and use the next day, will last for a week in fridge.
you will use a grapefruit size dough for each braided Roscon bread,
on the day you use is use a grapefruit size dough and roll between hands
cut dough into thirds
roll out each third into a 15 inch rope do this for each third.
braid the three ropes and make into a wreath let it sit for 20 minutes and then with some egg wash, which is one egg beaten brush the dough on top.
sprinkle some slivered almonds or dry fruit on top.
use a stone tray and if no stone tray use a regular cookie sheet with parchment paper.
place dough on tray and cook in a pre heated 350℉ for approximately 20 -25 minutes, until golden brown, this is a sweet bread and not a crusty bread like a french baguette.
while it is baking take some confectioner sugar 1/2 cup and add a tablespoon of cream and a tablespoon of orange juice with a teaspoon of orange liqueur
mix so that is thick and not runny for when you take the bread out of the oven and while it is cooling you will pour some icing on top so make sure it is a little bit thicker than runny for the heat of the bread will smooth it down.
1 onion diced, chopped, 3 cloves of garlic chopped and diced
1 package of bacon, i use turkey bacon, diced up as well
with onions and garlic and bacon season your pot with 2 tablespoons of olive oil run on medium high heat and saute until onions are golden and bacon is cooking approximately 5 minutes add a pinch of kosher salt and pepper
chop up two large potatoes or one bag of small potatoes cubed
saute the potatoes in the cooked onion mixture, bacon is optional
add the lentils
1 cup of lentils need 3 cups of broth, if you do not have broth use a bouillon cube to your 6 cups of water, and if you have made broth or purchased broth use always low sodium
so add your two cups of lentils saute and then add your liquid
once all in shut your pressure cooker or your pot and with the pressure cooker on a high medium heat bring up to pressure and reduce heat by a little a medium high heat and let sit for 10 minutes if in a pot bring the soup to a boil
once your pressure has built and on medium high heat and the 10 minutes have passed shut it off and let it sit for 10 minutes, if you are pressed for time or just want to move up time run coolwater under sink around the pot to bring down the pressure and then you are able to open up the pot,
in a non pressure cooker way bring to a boil and once boiling bring down temperature to a medium high and let it simmer for a half hour
once these steps are done add your last cup of broth and stir no need to worry about the temperature for it is very hot and your last cup of broth will heat up quickly.
let is simmer or sit for a few minutes prior to serving
you may top off your soup with either crispy bacon, serve with a salad, grill cheese or by itself and you have a quick healthy dinner
6 lemons, you will squeeze out to produce 1 1/2 cups of juice
2 oranges to obtain 1 cup of juice, or you can use 1 cup of store bought orange juice
approximately 1 cup of sugar, i usually use less, for this is usually tart and if you use orange juice it has enough sugar as well
3 cups of wate
some lemon rind as well
put all in a pot over medium heat and boil for approximately 5 minutes
let it cool completely, distribute in ice trays and freeze over night or during the day
place ice cubes in glasses with lemon aid to assist you in dissolving the cubes so you can crush them with a spoon so it will be like a slushie
you may also do this in a blender, remember do not put too much lemon aid enough to aide you crush the ice, as if you were going to make a slushie or a frozen margarita
olive oil you will use approximately 8 tablespoons in the duration of the cooking process
4 large potatoes, i have them pre cooked, par boiled, but you can have them raw, takes a little longer to do the whole process
6 large egges beaten with skim milk, well beatened so the yolk and whites are a smooth yellow mixture.
1 large onion diced well
heat up a pan approximately 6 to 8 inches in diameter
heat up with 2 tablespoons of olive oil
add the onion and potatoe mixture in layers start first with onions and alternate with the potatoes, use kosher salt, a pinch in between layers
you can add optional, diced peppers or cured spanish salami or herbs.
suatee until potatoes are soft if using raw potatoes and golden brown, you will mix during the whole time.
you may want to add another 2 tablespoons of olive oil for it will be absorbed by the potatoe during the whole process
once the onion and potatoe are cooked and golden brown add another tablespoon or two of olive oil prior to adding the egg mixture.
add the egg mixture stir with a spatula and make sure the omelet is covered, no potatoe should be seen, let it cook,
you will be cooking the whole time on a medium high heat
once you see that the egg is settled, the center will still have a jiggle, not fully cooked look to it, and you will be able to run a spatula around the diameter of the pan and see that the egg is set, once you see this it is ready to flip
flip on a wider plate than the pan, after you flip add another 2 tablespoon to the pan and drain the liquid onto the pan prior to sliding the rest of the omlet.
once you add the omlet let it settle and cook until set on medium heat for another 5 to 8 minutes.
in a bowl have 2 ounces, (1/4 cup) of semi/bitter sweet chocolate, that is chopped or in chips
1/4 cup of light brown sugar and 1/4 cup of dutch unsweetened cocoa powder mix these ingredients with 1/4 cup of hot brewed coffee.
whisk until chocolate is made smooth, you may need to add mixture to microwave for 15 seconds if you see that the chips have not melted and smoothed out, set aside to cool to room temp
whisk 1/2 cup of unbleached flour and 1/2 cup of granulated sugar, with 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda and 1/4 teaspoon of salt.
in another bowl whisk an egg with an egg yolk 1/4 cup of vegetable oil 1/4 of low fat yogurt or you may use buttermilk, and 1 teaspoon of you flavored liqour or vanilla extract,
whisk the two wet ingredients until smooth and add the flour mixture, using a 1 to 2 tablespoon scoop place in a prepared 24 cup mini cup cake pan that has been lined with cup cake paper
once filled cook in the preheated oven for 15 minutes or until cake tester comes out clean, let them cool completely while you make the frosting.
make the frosting while they bake place 2 tablespoon, of unsalted butter, 2 tablespoons of light corn syrup, 1 cup of heavy cream, bring to a simmer almot boiling point and add the 8 ounces of semi sweet chopped chocolate chips approximately 1 cup, remove from heat and whisk till smooth, once smooth place bowl in a bowl that is prepared with ice water, and in the 15 minutes this is resting whisk so that the sides do not get hard, whisk from time to time until the ganache is smooth like frosting so you can decorate the cupcakes that are cooled.
