Bubbly!

My soda maker is really cool, and also fantastically economical and healthy. I have two reusable bottles that I fill with tap water, refrigerate until cold, and then carbonate. I make tons of flavors but today I am going to give you a two-fer. If you have a juicer, this is the time to use it.Juice a bundle of big cucumbers, maybe 6, then juice 6 key limes as well. Mix that up (remove any froth) that is a delicious juice right there. Now we have sweetening options. Grape juice (green grapes are best) or apple juice (green are preferable, again) straight from your juicer is your best option. I was out of both, so I used some simple syrup (ratio of 1 cup water to 1 cup sugar) that I keep in the fridge. Simple syrup is simple, you just heat up some boiling water and then stir in an equal amount of sugar, I do it in the microwave (just be careful not to overheat once the sugar is in there or you start making candy and whatnot). So sweeten your cucumber lime juice until it suits your tastes, then fill some popsicle molds with the juice. They are delicious and green! BUT!!!! Don't use all the juice, take an amount (maybe half, maybe a cup, whatever you're into) and add an equal part of carbonated water from your soda machine or just from the store. You may need to add a bit more of your sweetener here, but it is a light, grassy, citrusy, barely sweet soda that is so much better then that can of whatever you were probably going to drink before (unless it was one of those canned juice spritzers, which are acceptable but still not as healthy or tasty). There you go, popsicles and cucumber-lime soda. They will be gone soon because they taste like spring!

Vanilla Sugar, and Banana Yum

Vanilla Sugar is a real thing that you can make. 1 1/2 cups white sugar, 1 vanilla bean split on one end and also sliced in half width wise. Scrape the black beans from inside the bean and massage them into the sugar with clean fingers. Then rub sugar into the inside of the bean until you slough out most of the extra beans and oils. Put the beans and sugar in a jar and give it a shake now and then (the bean pods continue to add to the flavor). Use this sugar in whatever way you feel it should be used, like a
Banana Licuado:
1 1/2- 2 bananas, peeled
3/4- 1 1/2 cups milk or more (I use whole, you can use soy or whatever you want)
1- 3 tablespoons vanilla sugar
dash of cinnamon
1-3 ice cubes (optional)

Blend it in a blender or use an immersion blender, whatever you have will work. The recipe will vary based on the ripeness of the bananas and your prefrences, so try it with the minimum amounts of everything and decide how you want to alter it. I like a thinner licuado so I usually use the 1 1/2 bananas and a good bit of milk and vanilla sugar. I use ice in the summer because I like the ice crystals, my husband never uses ice in his personal licuados. It's your choice, but it is a delicious drink either way!

Exposions, Bad Things, and Love

1 Explosion: Tried to roast Chestnuts after slicing Xs onto the flat sides to keep them from exploding. Now I have never roasted a chestnut, but I am pretty sure that mine definitely turned out wrong because they taste like raw, muddy, potatoes. Also, they exploded in the oven, and a few exploded in my kitchen (luckily I was terrified after the oven explosions so I opened the oven door, pulled out the oven rack and ran and hid for half an hour in another room). I am not 100% positive I had the right kind of chestnuts at all. I just need to try some profesionally made and then give this a second, less explosive, try.

1 Bad Thing: I love rustling about the Asian market looking for new foods and old favorites, so an old woman's insistance that candied lotus seeds were AMAZING gave me enough reasn to buy a bag. WHen I opened the bag, the smell was unpleasant, and when I ate the seed it first tasted like sugar and then like a rancid meat. I do not want to insult candied lotus seed lovers, but it was not my cup of tea. Is this how they are supposed to taste?

1 Love: I love making bread and my husband loves eating it, and it is fun. To compinsate for my initial lack of powdered milk, my first bread was a plain white bread that resembled a french bread in flavor. From what I understand, fats are interchangeable with one another and sugars are as well. So, oil became room temperature butter and sugar became honey, and man do I love this bread:
White Bread Love:
1 cup warm water
3 tablespoons room temp butter
3 cups of bread flour
3 tablespoons of honey
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
2 1/4 teaspoons Bread Machine Yeast

Add in the order that your bread machine calls for and bake on white bread, light crust, 1 1/2 pound loaf setting. We eat it hot out of the bread machine with a bit of butter or honey butter or jam or turkey, or whatever sounds good and is laying around. Delicious!

Cauliflower Smash

Twice over the holidays I was forced into making my infamous cauliflower smash. Originally, I ate some cauliflower augratin at Whole Foods, and then I decided to make it super delicious!

1 Head Cauliflower (steamed)
1/4 to 1/2 cup of your favorite cheese(s) feel free to use more, sometimes I use 1/2 cup extra sharp cheddar and 1/2 cup munster) plus an extra 1/4 cup
1/4 to 1/2 cup cream or milk
1/4 to 1/2 cup sour cream
salt and pepper to taste

So you put everything in a blender, or you mash it with an immersion blender, make it smooth and velvety. then throw it in a pan and top it with that last 1/4 cup of cheese, bake at 350 until it is hot and melty all the way through.

You may notice that there are a lot of options in this recipe and that is because I guesstimate everything and make it differently all of the time. Like mashed potatoes only healthier, these mashers can be whatever you want them to be! Add bacon, I don't care, it will be delicous! Play areound with it, and give me some of your ideas.

Holly Jolly Days

I have been busy, busy, busy since the holidays. I have tried and made so many new things that my brain is exploding. A few gift highlights that are blog relevant:
A Bread Machine
A Soda Making Machine
Some Rockin' Popsicle Molds

So what to start with? Well, my most recent creation is Blackberry Jam! You see, breadmakers also make jam, which is pretty awesome! I had a pound of frozen blackberries and a lot of experimental zeal!

1 lb blackberries (crushed)
3/4 cup white sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 tsp lemon juice
2 tsp brandy

Place in bread machine pan and set on 'jam' setting.

This jam does not contain pectin, so it makes a very spreadable jam (I add 3 tablespoons to 1 - 1 1/2 cups plain or vanilla yogurt for an amazing treat). If you are as confused about the jam jelly preserve situation a I am then here's a bit of help:

Jelly: Clear, or clearish. Easily spreadable. Some people say it is 'sparkling' which doesn't help me. Like a sweet jellied fruit juice.

Jam: Mashed fruit. Easily spreadably. basically sugar and whole fruit mashed about and cooked down.

Preserves: Like Jam but with big fruit pieces. Not as easy to spread. Chunky.

My jam ratio should be compatible with other fruits, I'll let you know if I come across a disaster!