The PB&J Campaign

Peanut butter and grape jelly sandwiches made it into Emily's lunch box and my brown-bag today. You might want to make them for lunch soon too! Want PB&J inspiration? Read about The PB&J Campaign. Here's what they say about eating a PB&J:

"Each time you have a PB& J you shrink your carbon footprint, 

you reduce greenhouse gas emissions and water pollution,

you cut back on habitat destruction, and you conserve water"

I was like "Really? Nu-uh! How?" See what you think.

Apple Banana Cupcakes

It's been rainy and cool all week and the trees love it! While the mountains look like they have been dusted with confectioner's sugar, the leaves are starting to come out and the valley is beginning to turn green. Speaking of "green" here's how "Earth Day" week went...

Tuesday: My work asked me to talk about Earth Day and "going green" at a meeting. We watched some eco-friendly business videos (Starbucks Big Picture, McDonald's "Fresh Salad" Billboard, and Mario's Green Wall), I ran through a PowerPoint, we handed out "earth-friendly ideas" then our CEO led a project where we each planted herbs to grow at our desks.

Wednesday: I watched Food Inc. It's an important movie to see even though it was not an easy film to watch. Recommendations if your'e going to watch it? Go "sans" snacks. Have a tissue box handy.

Thursday: The Squirrel and I went to the kitchen where I grated apples, and mashed bananas (Squirrely was really only there for tastes of the fruit). The resulting cupcakes were really good! I hope you had a Happy Earth Day whatever you were doing!

Apple Banana Cupcakes
Note: I didn't tweak the recipe at all. It was perfect. Everybody liked these!

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg (I used fresh grated)
2/3 cup shortening
1 1/4 cups white sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup buttermilk
1 cup ripe bananas, mashed
2 apples - peeled, cored and shredded

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease and flour 24 muffin cups, or use paper liners. Sift together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl, cream together the shortening and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the vanilla and buttermilk. Beat in the flour mixture, mixing just until incorporated. Fold in the mashed bananas and shredded apples. Fill each muffin cup half full.
3. Bake in the preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Allow to cool.

Recipe Source: All Recipes, Apple Banana Cupcakes, by Barbara
MacGourmet Deluxe: 24 Servings | Carbs: 18.61 | calories 137

Dog Treats: Cheese & Beef Bouillon

The Squirrel is a good dog, and it's time he had some homemade goodness to call his very own.  Dog Treats I on All Recipes by "DoughMama" were just the thing, bringing him cheese, beef bouillon, milk, cornmeal, oats, egg... plus these treats were made at home, not shipped in from over seas. The Squirrel was a big fan, his tail was going like crazy when he had his first taste.

Dog Treats I  (*with my notes)

Recipe Source: All Recipes: "Dog Treats I" by DoughMamma

1 cup rolled oats
1/3 cup *butter
1 cup boiling water
3/4 cup cornmeal
2 teaspoons white sugar
2 teaspoons beef bouillon granules
1/2 cup milk
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
1 egg, beaten
3 cups whole wheat flour

1.  Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).  In a large bowl, combine rolled oats, butter, and boiling water. Let stand 10 minutes. Grease cookie sheets.
2. Thoroughly stir in cornmeal, sugar, bouillon, milk, Cheddar cheese, and egg. Mix in flour, 1 cup at a time, until a stiff dough has formed.
3. Knead dough on a lightly floured surface, mixing in additional flour as necessary until dough is smooth and no longer sticky. Roll or pat out dough to 1/2" thickness. Cut with cookie cutter (I prefer bone shaped), and place 1 inch apart onto the prepared cookie sheets. (*I had a small gingerbread man cookie cutter, so that's what I used.)
4. Bake 35 to 45 minutes in the preheated oven, until golden brown. Cool before serving. Store in a loosely covered container. (*I turned it up to 350 to finish baking)

Dog Treats

I bet you could turn these into peanut butter treats by omitting the bouillon and adding a couple of tablespoons of PB. Maybe I'll try that next time.

The Sweet Tooth Fairy

A little bakery called The Sweet Tooth Fairy opened recently in Draper. The shop is clean, the baked goods are pretty, and the service is good. I've tried the frosted sugar cookie which is yummy! It tastes like they use Vanilla from Mexico (which is good) but I haven't asked them. If you're in the area (the same parking lot as the Draper In-N-Out Burger) you might want to stop in and see this little shop for yourself!

101 East 12300 South, #100

Strawberry Shortcake Cupcakes

Take Care, 

Suz

Crackered Eggs

I spotted an interesting looking recipe in The Breakfast Book by Marion Cunningham, which is delightful cookbook to browse. I decided to try the "Crackered Eggs" which use saltines, or in my case Zesta crackers.

Crackered Eggs
2 eggs
1 C milk
20 saltines
3 T butter
Pepper to taste

"Whisk the eggs and milk together thoroughly. Crumble the crackers and stir them into the mixture. let this sit for about 10 minutes. Melt the butter in a 10-inch skillet over medium-low heat. Pour mixture into the skillet, distributing the bits of cracker evenly over the bottom of the pan with a fork. Cook slowly for about 2 or 2 minutes or until the bottom of the  mixture is lightly browned. Using a large spatula, cut the round in two and turn over first one half and then the other. Allow to cook for another minute or two, until the other side has browned lightly. Sprinkle with pepper and cut into wedges."

Read Before Serving:

"...Serve the wedges with syrup, or spread lightly with preserves or have them plain with bacon or ham." --from the book

It's kind of like using crackers to stretch the amount of eggs used, like you would use crackers when making meatloaf. The texture was good, but the flavor was a little plain. We didn't use syrup or jam which was mentioned, and could have made a big difference. There's a piece leftover that I'll try with some jam with for lunch. I think I'd use a little less milk next time, maybe it's an altitude thing, to help it set up a little more.  Everybody agreed this would be good with omelet or quiche ingredients. 

Pg. 151, Crackered Eggs, The Breakfast Book, by Marion Cunningham

Update: April 21 - I made the Crackered Eggs again. I scrambled them this time and that worked out really well! I served it with syrup which turned out to be another step in the right direction! The consistency was like a German Pancake.

Macerated Strawberries

These strawberries are really, really good and preparing them doesn't involve turning on the stove. "Macerated" is the process of softening the strawberries by soaking them in liquid.

Macerated Strawberries (My version)

1-2 packages of strawberries (about 3 1/2 - 4 C strawberries)
1/4 C sugar
1/4 C orange juice (Approximately 1/2 fresh squeezed orange.)

Wash and remove stems from strawberries and half or quarter the berries depending on the berry size. You're looking for bite-size pieces. Add the sugar and 1/4 C fresh orange juice. Stir gently to combine. (I bet 1 t of orange zest would really be good too! I was hoping they would have a little more of an orange kick.) Cover and let stand in fridge for up to 4 hours (stir occasionally). The orange juice and sugar turns into a strawberry syrup.

Original Recipe Source: MarthaStewart.com

Suzanne
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Fruits & Vegetables

Macerated Strawberries (orange/sugar/syrup great on strawberry shortcakes) 

FRUITS & VEGETABLES

Save the summer blush of the apricots in freezer jam or enjoy the historic 1905 Salad. Exploring fruits and veggies.

FRUITS

Apricot Freezer Jam (Yum!)
The apricots just shine through even though there's a bit of pineapple. It's bright, summery and yummy!

Macerated Strawberries (Yum!)
This is a handy no-cook solution to preparing fresh strawberries in a light syrup.

Lemon Granita
It smelled like a lemon drop had arrived and moved into the kitchen. If you like sweet summer lemonade chances are you'll like Lemon Granita.

Orange Smoothie (Yum!)
Real orange goodness-homemade.

SALADS

1905 Salad (The Columbia Restaurant) (Yum!)
This salad is tied up with so much history from the Lea & Perrins President  trying the salad to the use of this salad to fight the salad bar craze of the 70's. It's just a fascinating story the more you read. Very savory and fresh salad!

Cucumber Salad

...the best Cucumber Salad is made by my mom-in-law. So in a typical move, I created a hybrid.

Mom's Potato Salad (Yum!)
Are you a dill pickle fan? Do you enjoy the crunch of fresh onion and celery? I bring you my mom's potato salad!

VEGETABLES

Creamed Spinach
...while a little on the "cooked spinach" side of things (like the stuff hanging off the Creature from the Black Lagoon-I'm just kidding!) it was pretty good!

Garlic Baked Potatoes
These baked potatoes are so savory and good! They're healthy and make your whole house smell good.

Greek Style Oven Roasted Potatoes:
No salt, plenty of potatoes, lots of flavor

Champignons Sautes au Beurre on Toast (Yum!)
Sauteed Mushrooms on toast. Good comfort food!

Pineapple Dr. Pepper Beans
I had never seen so many Dutch ovens going at once...

Pumpkin Butter
It turned out very autumn-y, and was better the second day.

Snacks & Appetizers

SNACKS & APPETIZERS

Black Olive & Colby Jack Garlic Bread (Yum!)

I decided to merge our family favorite Garlic Bread with black olives and Colby Jack cheese.

Champignons Sautes au Beurre on Toast (Yum!)
Have you ever had "Mushroom Toast?" It's seriously wonderful. Pan toasted bread, sautéed mushrooms from and a recipe from two great resources The Breakfast Book by Marion Cunningham and the Art of French Cooking.

Chocolate Granola (Yum!)
...Nutella--who can resist?) The resulting granola stayed crunchy and gives you that chocolate milk at the end of your cereal bowl like Cocoa Krispies.

Easy Pain au Chocolat

Great for a quick grab-and-go breakfast or make-ahead snack.

Macerated Strawberries (Yum!)
These strawberries are really, really good and preparing them doesn't involve turning on the stove. "Macerated" is the process of softening the strawberries by soaking them in liquid.

Peanut Butter Crackers

A good way to get your energy back.

Thyme Tea (Hot Lemonade)

So, cold remedies? This one's old school: thyme tea. Plain thyme tea is gross, so I addded fresh lemons and some local honey.

Main Dishes

Egg salad roll up with baby spinach.

MAIN DISHES

SOUPS

Baked Potato Soup
A good hearty soup with all the fixin's: green onions, bacon, cheddar cheese, sour cream...

Bratten's Clam Chowder
As I talked about Bratten's to my mom, it came out that there was a story about her, my dad, and "Bratten's."

Broccoli & Cheese Soup (Yum!)
...came home to hear all about how good the soup was.

Busy Day Soup (Yum!)
I'm sure Hannah would have made this for Nancy and her dad if only she had the recipe! This soup is a family favorite and it's easy to make.

Chicken & Dumplings (Yum!)
Comfort food.

Taco Soup (Yum!)
On a chilly rainy night we went to El Torito's restaurant. Their Tortilla Soup is serious comfort food! The following recipe seems to be as close as I can come.

Vegetable Beef Stew
Eric started cooking dinner, Vegetable Beef Stew, this morning in the crock pot. He found the camera and took a picture so I could show you how it turned out. Hearty and good!

SALADS

1905 Salad (The Columbia Restaurant) (Yum!)

This salad is tied up with so much history from the Lea & Perrins President  trying the salad to the use of this salad to fight the salad bar craze of the 70's. It's just a fascinating story the more you read. Very savory and fresh salad!

SANDWICHES

Egg Salad
I learned how to make the perfect hardboiled egg. Hopefully nobody was meaning to dye those eggs... luckily there are still some left.

Gyros (Yum!)
A couple of years ago I decided to make gyros. When combined with classic movies like Jason & the Argonauts, with stop-motion special effects by the talented Ray Harryhausen you can't go wrong!

Pear, Brie & Sliced Almond Grilled Sandwich
A couple of weeks ago I bought a wedge of brie with the intent to make some lovely, melty brie and pear sandwiches

OTHER MAIN DISHES

Chicken Strips
Great for a homemade tv-dinner night.

Chile Verde
...we serve the Chile Verde as single servings in a bowl, as a hot dip with corn chips.

Haystacks
Haystacks were something my mom made when I was growing up. They're very good on a cold autumn evening and they're supremely easy to pull together.

Macaroni & Cheese
I've been on this forever-quest looking for the perfect Mac & Cheese and now that I seem to have found it I need to seriously lighten it up. I'm glad that I have a starting point to work from.

Meatloaf
A good, savory meatloaf recipe made without any eggs.

Nutella & Banana Sandwiches (Yum!)
This homemade sandwich is so much better than take-out! "Yum"

Oyster Stew
A creamy soup for a cold winter night.

PB&J Campaign
It's not just good for you... it's good for the environment too.

Simple Sesame Noodles
Like garlic? Toasted Sesame? Easy cooking? I made this on Sunday and it was sooo good! It's turned out to be a very good make ahead lunch too!

Spam Fried Rice (Yum!)
I suppose I could have pulled out a cereal box and some milk, but well, you know... I pulled out an old recipe instead.

Teriyaki Chicken (Yum!)
It is possible to make a decent Teriyaki sauce at home. Much, much better than any I've found pre-made in a bottle.

Baking & Desserts

Blackberry Cobbler, just the right mix of biscuit meets berries.

BAKING & DESSERTS

Think of homemade baked goodness, fresh from the oven... for some that might mean the rich scent of chocolate mingling with toasted nuts, the exotic warming aroma of banana bread, or the crusty rolls that only make appearances at the holiday dinner table. If you ask me, nothing replaces the sights, smells, and experience of baking at home. Flavor, scent and a tactile experience that can't be bought at the grocery store (organic or not). Fresh baked is irreplaceable. And let's face it, we're not actually using every dish in the kitchen when we bake. ;)

BARS

Blackberry Jam Almond Bars  (Yum!)

These blackberry cookie bars are great for lunch boxes!

Brownies: Bonneville Junior High
A soft brownie with a soft frosting. Very good!

Brownies
Even picky eater's like these.

Brownies Waffle Maker
The secret to waffle brownies? It takes time.


BREAD

Arepas
My friends in Oregon taught me how to make arepas which are Venezuelan biscuits that are crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside. (Gluten free)

Banana Bread 1940s
Good tasting banana bread with a bit of crunch to the crust.

Banana Bread (Yum!)
While the banana bread was baking, I went to work on the cover art for an ABC book I've been working on with Matt Smith. The book is called "B" is for Bigfoot, an ABC Book of Wonderful Creatures

Banana Bread
A short story about baking with bananas... and the top recipes I've found.

Crescent Rolls (Yum!)
 I used this dough to make cinnamon rolls on Christmas morning and these rolls show up regularly over the holidays.

Leftover Bread  (Yum!)
This particular recipe has the approval of the whole family. It's been made many times. It's yummy, and I don't vary the recipe to the relief of everyone!

Orange Nut Bread (Yum!)
I decided to make apple bread, but when I went to reach for the apples, they were gone. They'd headed out to pasture. Eric suggested I make some "orange bread." We did have a bowl of oranges... this was divine!

CAKES,  COBBLERS & DESSERTS

Blackberry Cobbler (Yum!)
A couple of memories about picking blackberries and a really good cobbler with blueberries too.

Carrot Cake (Yum!)
TLC you can taste. Hand grated carrots, fresh chopped walnuts, and orange juice squeezed the minute you need it. Everything as fresh as possible.

Chocolate Sheet Cake (Yum!)
This is the yummiest chocolate cake I have ever made. Love the buttermilk in it! Kind of fluffy like the cake at my elementary school!

Cinnamon Roll Cake (Yum!)
This recipe has three parts - the batter, the streusel that goes on top before baking, then the glaze that goes on after cake is finished baking. (Very good! Like a soft cinnamon roll.)

Flan
I walked out of the room and came back to find that she had already caramelized the sugar and poured it into the ramekins. "Ka-pow!"

Kheer/Indian Rice Pudding
This rice pudding gives you all sorts of flavors; rich crunchy roasted nuts, sun-ripened sweetness of golden raisins, and reducing the milk makes the dairy flavor pop.

COOKIES

Chocolate Chip Pan Cookies (Guttiard) (Yum!)
Just the right amount of buttery-brown sugar flavor, not overwhelmed by the chocolate.

Chocolate Chip Cookies (Brown Butter & Oatmeal, Low GI) (Yum!)
the Brown Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies give the Guittard cookies a run for the money, the same chocolate chips are in both recipes...

Chocolate Chip Cookies (Gluten Free)
...have a cup of milk when you eat them, they're kind of dry - but if you like a "crisp" chocolate chip cookie, you'll probably like these.

Chocolate Chip Cookies (Alice's)
A strange thing happened, when Alice said to whip the butter for 5 minutes, and I followed her instructions, my butter and sugar mystically changed to the "whipped" butter a lighter fluffier consistency...

Chocolate Chip & Walnut Welsh Cakes (Griddle Cookies) (Yum!)
They seemed more like a little scone and made a perfect tea cake. They're a sweet, soft biscuit.

Chocolate Chip Coconut Cookies (Mini)
... I think they turned out to be a good, solid oatmeal cookie-made without butter.

Chocolate Mint Cookies
These turned out very chocolatey. You can't go wrong with chocolate mint sandwiches, but the cookies I made didn't turn out very presentable. Hmmm.

Cocoa Fudge Cookies (Yum!)
...they're pretty tasty, in a devils-food kind of way.

Compost Cookies
They have a light texture and taste kind of like corn flakes, and malt. Got milk?

Dog Treats
Don't forget that the dog likes fresh baked goodness too!

Norwegian Butter Cookies
Danish stories suggest leaving out porridge with butter for the nisse. Would a nisse like butter cookies? After reading the stories, would anybody chance it?

Oatmeal Cookies
The recipe is not top secret. The cookies might even be so "common" that they're overlooked... this is my go-to recipe.

Peanut Butter Cookies
Mix and bake in quarter size rounds until crackles appear. (I scooped mine out with a melon ball-er with a release, then I pressed them down with a fork.)

Pop Tarts (Homemade) (Yum!)
I used a leftover pie shell and some Ikea blueberry jam to make a few really happy "pop tarts." I've heard this kind of delightful snack referred to as a "smackerel."

Snickerdoodles (Yum!)
This recipe has been my go-to for a long time and the cookies are really good. They're a soft buttery cookie rolled in cinnamon-sugar, so they're very much in the "comfort-food" category.

MUFFINS & CUPCAKES

Apple Banana Cupcakes (Yum!)
What did you do on Earth Day? I grated apples and fresh nutmeg, mashed bananas, and baked... with great results!

Blueberry Muffins
 So, what's a nice blueberry muffin recipe doing in a cupcake calendar? No clue, but I saved the recipe. Me and blueberries, we're old friends.

Blueberry Muffins (Jordan Marsh) (Yum!)
I was looking for the Turbinado Sugar for that yummy, crunchy pastry topping, but I couldn't remember what it was called... "Tarantino" sugar?

Blueberry Muffins (Sour Cream) (Yum!)

This recipe was very good (fluffy muffins, crunchy Turbinado, and of course blueberries) and easy to make.

Cranberry Clementine Almond Muffins
 the clementine juice, cranberries and white chocolate chips might have undone my efforts of adding fiber

The Cupcake Tree (About My Book)
The sweet and magical cupcake tree, branches loaded with ripe cupcakes, is one of the silly poems in this delightful collection to read with your children. Colorful illustrations of lollipop flowers...

Heirloom Pumpkin Walnut Muffins
They baked perfectly and popped right out of the muffin cups. Just the right amount of spice to compliment the pumpkin.

Strawberry Shortcake
I was asked to not lose this recipe. It's old school--Betty Crocker. The dough makes a sweet biscuit that soaks up the magic strawberry goodness.

Breakfast & Brunch

German Pancake, fluffy and golden.

BREAKFAST & BRUNCH

The sun is fresh up and part of the valley is still in the shadow of the Wasatch mountains. Eggs, fried in butter on hot skillets, and homemade goods like oven-baked chocolate granola and pumpkin pancakes with melting whipped cream welcome the day. (Looking for something to drink with breakfast? Take a gander at the hot chocolate, tea, smoothie and juice recipes.)

CEREAL

Almond Granola
A de-lish, solid recipe for granola. It got great reviews from the family so I wanted to make sure I saved the recipe.

Amish Baked Oatmeal (Yum!)
This is really good. It's oatmeal, but it's not mushy. I added blueberries and walnuts. Yep, you'll be detecting nuttiness and warm breakfast goodness! I served this warm with milk over it.

Chocolate Granola  (Yum!)
The resulting granola stayed crunchy and gives you chocolate milk at the end of your cereal bowl.

Muesli
It took me a while to wrap my brain around Muesli, a breakfast cereal developed over a century ago by a Swiss physician...

Muesli & Yogurt
I combined muesli (raw oats etc) with greek honey yogurt (healthy goodness + cultures and pro biotics) for a good breakfast.

Oatmeal with Peanut Butter & Banana (Yum!)
Seems to be a good breakfast for sustained energy.

Steel Cut Oats
Add cinnamon and brown sugar to taste and drizzle with some of the remaining buttermilk. The bowl above got clobbered with all 3. "Bam!" - to quote Emeril

EGGS

2 Cheese Frittata
Bake this in a black skillet for that "homey" feel when serving it at the table. The heat distribution in the skillet cooks the frittata to a really nice texture.

Breakfast Bowls
Book club:The Pioneer Woman Cooks ...a homespun collection of photography, rural stories, and scrumptious recipes..." Breakfast Bowls? Cheesy egg and potato goodness!

ON THE GRIDDLE

Blueberry Pancakes (Yum!)
Something other than syrup? My mom taught me to butter the pancake then sprinkle white sugar over the top. If the pancake is thin, roll it up and eat, if not, just use a fork. Happy eating!

Buttermilk Pumpkin Pancakes (Yum!)
These were divine little pancakes of yumminess. Light, melt-in-your mouth and the white chocolate chips were so very good in this.

Elinor's Peanut Butter Waffles
These were good, but would be made I think even "peanut butter-ier" by using chunky peanut butter, so there's a kick of "nuttiness." Served with options like sliced bananas and jam.

Pancakes (Yum!)
Plain, simple, good - with just a touch of vanilla.

Whole Wheat Waffles & Blueberry Compote
These waffles were hearty and filling.

BAKED BREAKFASTS 

German Pancake (Yum!)
Quick dinner, with an impressive poof. See for yourself!

Omelets with Garden Peppers
I learned to make omelets from my Betty Crocker cookbook and watching Julia Child. Great teachers!

Day-Old-Doughnuts Bread Pudding
What to do with those day-old, starting-to-go-stale doughnuts.

SPREADS

Pumpkin Butter
It turned out very autumn-y, and was better the second day.