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.
3 cups of luke warm water approximately 100℉ place in a large bowl
add 2 tablespoons of olive oil with 1 tablespoon of sugar with 1 tablespoon of kosher salt with 1 1/2 tablespoon of granulated yeast
mix these ingredients with a wooden spoon once mixed add the flour in stages for this dough makes 4 thin crust large pizza and the dough gets heavy if you add all the flour at once.
add 1 cup of whole wheat flour mix and then we will be adding 5 1/2 cups of unbleached flour at least 2 cups at a time or until alls is mixed well.
once you have mixed it all well, you will gather the dough in the same dish and lightly cover it, let it sit in a cool area to rest for approximately an hour and then you will notice that it has increased in size, after that hour you may use it or let it rest over night in the fridge, you may use this dough for pizza over several nights, just take a grape fruit size dough amount for each pizza.
once you have let your pizza rest and are ready to use it, reshape the whole dough with floured hands and then you can cut into quarters, each quarter will be the size of a grapefruit, prepare the counter with flour to roll out, preheat oven to 425℉ while you prepare the dough, place the dough on a pizza sheet that has been dusted with corn meal so that the pizza can slid off onto a pizza stone that has been pre heating in the oven.
Add your favorite toppings, tomato sauce with cheese, mushrooms, onions and hamburger meat, the hamburger meat should be prepared on a pan until cooked through and cooled prior to topping the pizza, slide the pizza onto the heated pan and cook for about 12-15 minutes or until edges are golden brown and center is bubbling hot.
have a home made pie crust, found at cocinarista cook on you tube or on blogger, pre heat oven to 325℉
in a 9 inch pie plate place your pie crust in it and crimp,
beat 2 large eggs with 1/2 cup of granulated sugar and 1/2 cup of brown sugar, packed, with a 1/2 cup of unbleached flour, a pinch of kosher salt and 3/4 cups of softened unsalted butter, beat in a mixer, add 1 cup or so of chocolate chips with 1 cup of walnuts.
place mixed ingredients in the prepared pie crust pan and place in oven, make sure to protect the crimped edges of the pie crust for 1/2 of the baking time, remove tin foil from edges after this to get the edges browned,
you will bake for 55 to 60 minutes or until a thin knife comes out clean from center,
serve warm with whip cream, ice cream or my favorite by itself.
ENJOY
Sunday, February 8, 2015
Paella
chicken and pork recipe
1 package of chicken thighs deboned and cut into cubes, with a pound of cut up pork loin, 1 and half medium size onion, 3 cups of rice and 6 cups of chicken broth.
2 ripe bananas, 1 egg, (1/4 cup of yogurt optional), 1/3 cup of milk, 1/4 cup of oil 1 tsp of salt and 1 tbspn of baking powder,
mix all these items together
add 1 or 3/4 cups of sugar, mix, fold in 2 cups of unbleached flour, after this you have a base of banana bread, you can add any type of chip or nut or dried fruit and fold in,
if you want you can add a crumble in the middle of your batter, when you add your batter to a prepared oiled bread pan, add half batter, lay a mix of brown sugar, chocolate chips or cinnamon chips with nuts or died fruit, add the rest of the batter on top and add a little bit of the brown sugar/chip/nut on top.
bake at a well heated oven of 350 for approx. an 45 min to an hour or until a cake tester, knife or toothpick comes out clean. cool pop out of pan and
ENJOY
Sunday, January 18, 2015
chocolat pie dough
in a food processor, or by hand with a pie crust hand blade as well, add 1/4 cup of unsweetened cocoa powder 3 1/2 cups of granulated sugar 1 tsp of kosher salt and 1 1/4 cups plus 1 tbspn of flour, i use unbleached, and blend, add 6 tbspns of unsalted butter and 2 tbspns of shortening pulse mixture until it is a coarse meal (pea size flour dough)
let it rest in a bowl mix 1 large egg yolk and 1/2 tsp of apple vinegar with a 1/4 cup of ice water and add to the processor until combined.
before wrapping up the dough, mix the dough by hand for at times you will see shortening or butter so make it into a ball cut it 4 ways and place each layer one on top of the other and hand blend it well, wrap it up and chill it in the fridge, use this dough for my chocolate chip cookie pie or for any pie you would like, such as pumpkin or pecan etcccc..
ENJOY
chocolate
chip cooke pie
have a home made pie crust, found at cocinarista cook on you tube or on blogger, pre heat oven to 325℉
in a 9 inch pie plate place your pie crust in it and crimp,
beat 2 large eggs with 1/2 cup of granulated sugar and 1/2 cup of brown sugar, packed, with a 1/2 cup of unbleached flour, a pinch of kosher salt and 3/4 cups of softened unsalted butter, beat in a mixer, add 1 cup or so of chocolate chips with 1 cup of walnuts.
place mixed ingredients in the prepared pie crust pan and place in oven, make sure to protect the crimped edges of the pie crust for 1/2 of the baking time, remove tin foil from edges after this to get the edges browned,
you will bake for 55 to 60 minutes or until a thin knife comes out clean from center,
serve warm with whip cream, ice cream or my favorite by itself.
ENJOY
Chocolate Chip cookies (chewy)
sift 2 1/4 cups of unbleached flour, or all purpose flour, with 1 teaspoon or each salt baking powder, and baking soda.
sift these ingredients into a seperate bowl.
in a mixer bowl beat 2 1/2 sticks of butter, or use butter flavored shortening,
(2 1/2 sticks = 1 and a 1/4 cups of butter).
in the bowl mix the butter with 1 3/4 cups of dark brown sugar, 1/4 cups of granulated sugar and beat until the butter and sugar are a pale yellow, approximately 4 minutes on a high speed.
once this is beaten add the 2 large eggs, that were in room temperature with 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract.
once the wet mixture is well blended on a lower speed, or the flour will go everywhere, add the flour mixture, once well incoporated add 2 cups of chocolate chips.
once done, remove from mixer and with a spatula make sure bowl is well mixed and clean from sides, have the batter rest in the fridge for approximately one hour or over night.
pre heat oven to 375℉ place a tablespoon of batter on pan you should be able to place 12 on one pan and bake for 11-12 minutes you will see the edges golden brown let the cookies rest for 10 minutes and repeat with the rest of the batter
2.5 lbs of tomatoes diced up with 6 cloves of chopped garlic and 2 medium onions chopped
place in an oven proof pan and pre heat oven to 450℉, while oven is heating up on stove medium heat, use approximately 1/2 cup of olive oil and heat up add the onions garlic and tomatoes and toss on pan with one chopped red pepper and yellow pepper,
you may want to add either a carrot finely chopped or potato to add thickness to soup, but this is optional,
after 5-10 minutes place pan in pre heated oven and roast for 20 to 30 minutes to have them completely roasted, season during all this time with kosher salt and pepper.
once roasted move to a deep pot and add 3 cups of chicken stock either fresh or boxed but use low sodium, add two bay leaves and 4 tblspns of butter, bring to a boil, and then simmer for 15 to 20 minutes to reduce stock, remove bay leaves add some fresh chopped basil 1/2 cup, and use an immersion blender or if using a stand blender do it in batches if doing this since it is hot, and blend until smooth, add another cup of stock and 3/4 cups of cream, season with salt and pepper and cook for another 10 minutes, serve with grilled cheese or crusty bread.
8 heaping tablespoons cocoa, plus more for dusting
4 cups all-purpose flour
4 cups sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups boiling water
1 cup buttermilk
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
4 whole eggs, beaten
Frosting:
3 cups heavy cream
24 ounces semisweet chocolate, broken into pieces
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Directions
For the cake: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Heavily grease and dust with cocoa four 9-inch round cake pans.
In a mixing bowl, combine the flour, sugar and salt.
In a saucepan, melt the butter. Add the cocoa. Stir together. Add the boiling water, allow the mixture to boil for 30 seconds and then turn off the heat. Pour over the flour mixture and stir lightly to cool.
Combine the buttermilk, baking soda, vanilla and beaten eggs. Stir the buttermilk mixture into the butter/chocolate mixture.
Divide the batter among the prepared cake pans and bake for 20 minutes.
Cool completely before icing. Refrigerate the layers after cooling for best results.
For the frosting: Heat the cream until very hot, and then pour over the chocolate pieces. Stir to completely melt, and then pour into the bowl of an electric mixer. Refrigerate to cool.
Once completely cooled, add the vanilla and beat with an electric mixer until light and airy.
Frost the cake in between each layer, on the top and around the sides.
12 tblspns of butter flavored shortening or butter
1/4 cup of ice water
whisk the dry ingredients then add the vinegar and veg. shortening, cut with a pie cutter or pulse in a food processor, add the 12 tblspn of butter/butter flavor shortening with the hand cutter or food processor, add the 1/4 cup of ice water, we will only pulse until we see the mixture is well incorporated, do not over pulse or mix, you will use flour dusted hands to make into a dough and cut dough in half and wrap in plastic wrap.
over worked dough makes it tough and not flakey.
place in fridge for an hour or over night or even 1 week ahead or up in freezer for 2 months.
i usually make this dough a week before thanksgiving or a few days ahead
melt 3/4 cups of butter in a medium pan, melt till the butter starts foaming almost browning itself for about 5 - 8 min.
this is browned butter which gives the batter a rich flavor
let it cool
whisk wet ingredients: 2 cups of warm whole milk, with 1/2 cup of buttermilk, you may use yogurt instead which i do, 2 tsp sugar, 2 1/4 tsp of active yeast and whisk all of this in a large bowl,
add 2 cups of flour 1 1/4 tsp of kosher salt in the wet ingredients and fold away the batter will be thick and sticky, add the brown butter and blend.
this mixture will now need to rest cover with plastic wrap and let it sit over night in a cool dry area, such as a basement or even in the fridge for 12 hours.
the next morning beat 2 eggs with 1/2 tsp of baking soda whisk and then add to the rested mixture and fold away,
heat up your waffle iron you may need to spray the pan prior to adding your fist waffle mixture
once the iron is completely hot add 1/4 cup of batter or two big scoops of batter in you waffle iron and cover, cook for about 3.30 to 4 mins or until golden brown
serve with your favorite toppings, butter, syrup fruit and
2 ripe bananas, 1 egg, 1/4 cup of yogurt, 1/3 cup of milk, 1/4 cup of oil 1 tsp of salt and 1 tbspn of baking powder,
mix all these items together
add 1 or 3/4 cups of sugar, mix, fold in 2 cups of unbleached flour, after this you have a base of banana bread, you can add any type of chip or nut or dried fruit and fold in,
if you want you can add a crumble in the middle of your batter, when you add your batter to a prepared oiled bread pan, add half batter, lay a mix of brown sugar, chocolate chips or cinnamon chips with nuts or died fruit, add the rest of the batter on top and add a little bit of the brown sugar/chip/nut on top.
bake at a well heated oven of 350 for approx. an 45 min to an hour or until a cake tester, knife or toothpick comes out clean. cool pop out of pan and
3/4 cups of flour mixed and set aside with 1/4 tsp of baking soda
3/4 cups of sugar with 1/3 cup of butter, or you can use butter flavored shortening, put in a pot over medium heat and stir in 2 tblspns of coffee or you may use water heat up till sugar dissolves once heated and sugar gone add 1 tsp of vanilla extract or your favorite coffee liqour
add 1 cup of chocolate semi sweet chips to the heated mixture and mix till the chocolate is melted and smooth
let the chocolate mixture cool to room temp or slightly above.
once the chocolate mixture is cooled beat in 2 eggs one at a time once mixed add the mixture to the flour and fold until all dry ingredients are well incorporated.
add another cup of chocolate chips and you may add 1/2 cup of your favorite nuts.
pre heat oven to 325℉
pour brownie mixture in an 8x8 pan that was greased and add parchement paper to pan pour in mixture and even out and bake for 30 - 35 min or until toothpick comes out clean
the brownies will have a nice crust on top and soft chocolately center.
1 lb of small potatoes or a couple of large potatoes diced up
some salt and pepper and thyme
saffron 1/2 tsp
1/2 cup of cream
1.5 lbs of cod cut into 5 pieces
saute bacon and onion/leeks in a deep pot
remove bacon and save for later
add broth and wine and thyme w/ salt and pepper with potatoes and saffron and cook until it begins to boil reduce heat and cover for about 10 mins or until potatoes are almost completely tender
stir in cream and bacon, season a little more with salt and pepper, i use kosher salt always, and turkey bacon
once it is completely tender potatoes add the cod on top and cook for 10 - 15 min
after potatoes and fish are done put the fish in center of deep serving soup bowl and then add the soup and top
