Sweet Garbanzo Beans

Although Garbanzo Beans or Chickpeas can be a challenge to grow in the garden, they are readily available in the grocery store either canned or dried.   I think the main problem I had with my success in growing the beans last summer was the location I picked to grow them.   It wasn’t a good choice – very heat intensive and it was a HOT one down south!   I did manage to produce about a handful for harvest so at this point I won’t be growing them again any time soon.   They sent up a long stem and only one or two pods (with one bean each) grew on each stem.   Regardless of my not so successful harvest … I absolutely love Garbanzo Beans!

I could eat them right out of the can in a salad or toasted in the oven nice and crispy crunchy!   I thought for a nice snack I would add a little sweetness and they came out pretty good!

Sweet Garbanzo Beans

• 1 can 15.5 oz. Garbanzo Beans
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon powdered chai mix

Rinse and drain the beans – toss them with the olive oil and sugar and then spread out on a cookie sheet.   Toast them in the oven at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes stirring a few times so they will not burn.

Once roasted, remove from the oven and toss with the other dry ingredients.   If you don’t have chai mixture or there is some other combination you would like to try … nutmeg, allspice – give it a try!

Enjoy a Healthy Snack!!

Head on over to Munchie Monday and share a recipe and browse through recipes added by others.    Stay healthy!

Easy Blueberry Muffins

Happy Munchie Monday!   Make sure to head on over and share your recipe here!

Blueberry Muffins

• 1 cup fresh blueberries
• 1 cup milk
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 egg or 1 tablespoon flaxseed + 3 tablespoons water
• 2 cups whole wheat flour
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Mix all ingredients and carefully stir in the blueberries.  Spoon the batter into a greased muffin tin or cupcake baking cups.   Bake 20-25 minutes at 350 degrees.

How to Make Graham Crackers

I have always wondered how to make Graham Crackers and finally came across a recipe and guess what……they taste just like store-bought graham crackers!   Once again I left the topping off, but if you want the total graham cracker experience, sprinkle on the topping!

Graham Crackers

• 2 1/2 cups plus 2 TB all-purpose flour (I used 1 cup whole wheat as a substitute for 1 cup all-purpose)
• 1 cup dark brown sugar, lightly packed
• 1 tspn baking soda
• 3/4 tspn coarse sea salt or kosher
• 7 TB unsalted butter, cut into 1″ cubes and frozen
• 1/3 cup clover honey
• 5 TB milk
• 2 TB vanilla extract

Topping – 3 TB granulated sugar and 1 tspn ground cinnamon

Combine flour, brown sugar, baking soda and salt in bowl of mixer.  Mix to incorporate.  Add butter and mix on low until consistency of coarse meal.

In a small bowl, whisk together the honey, milk and vanilla extract.  Add to the flour mixture until dough barely comes together.   It will be quite sticky.   Lay on large piece of plastic wrap, dust with flour, form into rectangle 1″ thick.  Wrap and chill for 2 hours or overnight.

When ready to make crackers – roll out half the dough; returning other half to chill.   Layer down the flour (very sticky to work with until you get the flour integrated in).  Roll dough 1/8″ thick.   Cut the dough into squares and place on baking sheets.  Chill again for 30-45 minutes.   You can use the knife and make line indents to resemble the graham cracker look (see pictures).

Bake 20-25 minutes on 350 degrees depending on thickness.   Watch carefully so they don’t burn!  I created some shapes with cookie cutters.

Head on over to Munchie Monday to see more recipes or add one of your own!   Enjoy!!

 

Featuring FoodPress

How’s this for a switcharoo … instead of FoodPress doing the featuring – my Friday Feature is …

FoodPress

Serving up the hottest dishes on WordPress just about sums up the mission of the FoodPress blog.   A relatively new blog featuring some fantastic food bloggers from WordPress updated regularly and well worth a visit.   I have been checking in on a steady basis and have found some talented cooks and food photographers on the site.   Here are a few from the last few days …

Janae Monir = pizza dough - everyone needs to know this!

Party Pretties from Erin - perk up that party…neat website!

Tomatoes in Love <—love the name of the blog

Beautiful Chocolate and we know how I love this!

Seasonal Kitchen - an organic and natural food blog  ..  right up my alley ..

First Look, Then Cook - another cool name and great recipes!

Treshop’s recipe for Scarlet Barley …can we say – healthy!

 A groovy granola recipe from  Somethin Yummy … snack on this!

If you are looking for some good food recipes, stop by the blog and have a look around.   If you write a good food blog, here are a few tips if you would like to be featured on FoodPress Five ways to get featured on FoodPress.

Happy Feature Friday …. if you have a good idea for a Friday feature, let me know!   Do make sure to round up a good recipe to share this coming Monday on the newest blog I have created Munchie Monday!   Who knows maybe one day FoodPress will feature all the recipes shared there!

I Created a Poll and Need your Input!

Last week I thought to create a day on my blog to share recipes with my readers.   Instead of reading only recipes I post, I decided to take it a step further and create a weekly tradition on Mondays where everyone can share a recipe of their own or one they like.   Installing a feature from inlinkz.com makes this easy.   As Piglet in Portugal suggested the name “Munchie Monday”, I also had another suggestion for “Menu Monday”.   Undecided on what to name this weekly event, I created a poll and ask you…my readers to help decide.

Once the name is decided by popular vote, I will install the link each Monday and all you have to do is click and add the information where your recipe is – either on your website, blog or if you use a recipe site.   This will be a nice way to share with others and gain exposure for your blog or website.   Depending on how this concept takes off, we may even have themes each week such as appetizers or using a specific food.   For Monday next week…any type of recipe you wish to share, be it appetizer, main course, dessert is welcome.  Thanks in advance and I look forward to all the great sharing fun ahead!

Let me know your thoughts by leaving a comment and please do take a moment and cast a vote for the name you prefer.   Happy Monday to you all!

I would also like to Thank Kim at DragonflyScrolls for the wonderful award she has bestowed on myself and fellow bloggers who are undertaking the Challenge at WordPress to create a blog post daily or weekly.   It definitely has been a challenge and I will say the benefits from participating in this challenge are remarkable.  

To step outside our comfort zone and take on challenges in life can only build a stronger character and open our eyes to the many wonderful people, places and customs in the world around us.  -Debbie

I Love to Bake!

I could bake all day long, day after day, and never get bored!   I try to bake healthy using whole wheat flour and adding flaxseed or applesauce as substitutes for higher calorie ingredients.   With our current empty-nester status it is not as common to find me baking away in the kitchen these days, but you can bet I am always searching for a new recipe or two to try out.   This weekend I have a family birthday to celebrate and I plan to bake up a bunch of goodies.   The main attraction will be the birthday cake of course and chocolate candies which has been my latest fascination.

I do have some different flavors I will be experimenting with this week – these are filled with a peppermint ganache and melt in your mouth!   I have also decided to explore decorating the candies and cake with a bit more fancy details.   In the past, I normally would just use store-bought frosting mix and tube icing to decorate.   Researching a bit I have discovered two different homemade frosting or icing I am anxious to try.   Having often wondered about the two but falling short of actually looking into them I would just grab the store-bought can of mix.   Buttercream frosting and Royal icing are the star players I am referring to here.   Buttercream is more creamy and has more flavor whereas the royal icing dries hard and can be used to make flowers and other decorations.

You want to keep the Buttercream Frosting in the refrigerator when not using and it will keep for 2 weeks but must be whipped again before using.   The Royal Icing sets quickly, so keep the bowl covered with a damp cloth at all times to prevent drying.

                                                    and Speaking of Snow……

Here is a cute recipe that is perfect for this time of year.    I am sure young and old alike would enjoy it!

Candy in the Snow - Only one ingredient and a generous snowfall needed.   Gently boil 1/2 cup of maple syrup until it has thickened, for about 5 minutes.   Fill a bowl with clean snow and drizzle the hot syrup over it.  The syrup will harden into “candy” you can eat with your fingers.

Monday is Food Day!

Good Monday Morning!   Let’s start the first week of the New Year with my Monday topic pick which is “Food”!   You would think I had enough food over the holidays, especially sweets, to tide me over for at least a month…but nooooo.   I was going to start with the healthy route since I am a huge fan of eating healthy except for the fact that I had these two recipes which I never “got to” over the holidays – so I baked them up yesterday.

Cranberry Orange Biscotti

Lemon Lavender Cookies

I have to mention once again Chef Paul over at The Pantry Blogger and the fantastic giveaway he held recently which I won!   I used several of the great goodies making the above cookies and I am now blessed to have a food grater that I can successfully use without grating my fingers!

My fingers will be forever grateful (nice play on words….I know, I know…corny!)  

Thank you and I look forward to many more of Chef Paul’s wonderful recipes in the coming year!

Over the holiday season I discovered The Spice House which is right in my own neck of the woods.   I was searching on the internet for orris root to use in the potpourri I am making and found them listed.    

I found the shop stocked with all types of herbs and spices, gift sets and even recipes – the above Lemon Lavender Cookies I picked up from them.   I received personal attention as each purchase I made was taken from the jar and bottled up for me.   I can’t wait to head on back there!

I can honestly say that since I have been baking with the fresh chicken eggs there is a definite difference in taste.   The chicks are still laying eggs even in this brutal cold weather but not as many as during the warmer months.  

I must also mention a spectacular email I received yesterday from Sea Willow Herbs informing me that I had won their giveaway!   Thank YOU Jennifer …… I await my gifts with much excitement!!   I am feeling quite fortunate and happy as I bring in the Year 2011 ….

Chocolate Candy Making is No Easy Task!

For years I have made homemade chocolate candies for the holidays!   I would simply buy the candy wafers at the hobby store, melt them down and pour them into the candy molds.   I have been creative at different times and added swirls or peanut butter inside and even made turtles one year with pecans and caramel.   Everyone  loved the creations and I was always proud!  

I rarely indulged in the creations since I found the candy wafers too sweet for my liking.   So this year I got to thinking ….. maybe I should make some good “gourmet” chocolate and I started researching.

This candy book I had picked up some time ago and never really looked at it.   Now I find it listed as a collector item ….. and it has my attention!   I also ordered these books recently and realized that working with chocolate is an art and takes quite a bit of skill!!

The chocolate wafers I have been using are actually a coating and not the real stuff.   The good gourmet chocolate can be purchased over the internet and does cost quite a bit more than the wafer coatings.   I also learned a very important major difference ….. a process called tempering.   This is where you melt down the good chocolate to a specific temperature, let it cool to a specific temperature and then heat it back up slightly in order to work with it and give it that gloss and crunch that goes along with a good chocolate bar.   There are also various fillings and caramels and techniques that need to be mastered and I fully realize that Chocolate Candy Making is No Easy Task!

There are truffles and fudge and candy molds to fill ….. but to be very honest, I think if I have even one more tiny teeny piece of any kind of sweet stuff right now I will lapse into a shivering blob of sugar.   What I really, really want to do is create the ultimate healthy gourmet candy and infuse it with basils, lavenders and all things that remind me of the flavors from gardening!   I do miss my garden once again ………..

Hoping everyone enjoyed the first round of holiday festivities and Wishing you all a  ………  Happy New Year!!!

Flaxseed in the Garden

Flaxseed seems so mysterious, right?   I seem to find myself drawn to unusual plants and the discovery of  how they grow;  luffa, ginseng, gourds, cotton, so flaxseed seemed to fit right in.   We have been purchasing flaxseed and adding it here and there to our recipes.   The cost is quite high but we figured our health is well worth it.   It lowers cholesterol and is a healthy addition to most any recipe; it does have a strong flavor though.   The flaxseed flower is small, purple in color and grows into swaying stems adding a beautiful scene for your garden landscape.   The flower then goes to seed at the end of the season and each seed head contains several seeds.   Harvesting the seed when they are dry is rather easy, but cleaning for the flaxseed is very, very time-consuming.

Would I recommend growing flaxseed in your garden?   Only if you are looking for an easy flower to add to your garden or if you have the proper cleaning equipment which is a huge investment then yes – Grow Flaxseed.   The seed can be ground up into powder which can be accomplished with a coffee grinder, but the time to get to this point is like I said … very time-consuming.  

I am always looking for the ultimate healthy (sweet) snack so I decided to create another cookie recipe using flaxseed and they are pretty Good!   I named them Oatmeal Apple Flaxseed Cookies and posted the recipe at Mixing Bowl in the new group Garden Dish I recently created.   As with all recipes, ingredients can be added or eliminated depending on your tastes.   I wanted to use the Sage I had just harvested also (another strong flavor) – surprisingly it’s flavor is somewhat faint….maybe more next time.

The batter was somewhat dry so I ended up adding 1 tablespoon of oil – that’s all it needed!

Oatmeal Apple Flaxseed Cookies

On my way to creating the Ultimate Healthy Sweet Snack!

I decided to start some herb seeds now under my grow lights.   I already miss my gardens and the snow hasn’t even started to fall yet!   I have a nice setup with lights to start seeds so I planted a few trays; mostly herbs with a few flower seeds.  

 

This past summer I ordered and planted Stevia seeds.   When I received the seeds there were very few in the package – about 5.   I thought this must be an expensive, unique plant so I saved seed from my own plants and this is one I just planted under the lights.

Stevia seed – I didn’t really do much with the stevia as far as cooking, but I made sure to taste the leaves and they taste just like sweet sugar!   I hope to create some healthy food this coming season – I already see there are a few cookbooks using Stevia out there!

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Lovely Lavender

My quest to grow lavender started about 3 years ago when we purchased our place down south.   I wanted to fill the acres of land with wonderful smelling lavender and create crafts and sell some great products.   Lavender comes in many varieties and has different purposes and some are better for dried arrangements or making oils or even for cooking.    It takes about 3 years to get a good harvest and I witnessed that this past year.    I planted many tiny seeds way back 3 years ago and after the transplant shock and the drastic heat experienced in the new land … the harvest this past spring  was actually very encouraging.

The majority of lavender I have growing is Lavender Vera while I also grew a few Grosso and Munstead.  

Lavender is very easy to dry and I have noticed the Grosso is more fragrant than the Vera when dried.   The Grosso grows taller and is typically easier to use in making lavender wands.  While the Vera can be started by seeds the Grosso cannot – it has to be started from clippings or bought as a plant already started.

Dried lavender and sweet william above – both can be used to create crafts; wreaths, flower arrangements and little bundles to decorate gifts.

I save many seeds and dry many herbs and usually I am very good about labeling everything I save.   I had some dried (what I thought was lavender) in the cabinet and had plans to add some to the Ricotta Cakes I wanted to try.  

When I opened the baggie, I realized the dried herb was anise hyssop not lavender.   I did use the anise hyssop and reminded myself to always label everything I save! 

Ricotta cakes with anise hyssop and chocolate chips

I created a Group on Mixing Bowl called GardenDish to share recipes that we create from our garden harvest.  If you have some good recipes, please do share!