Lemon Squares

Ingredients
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• ½ cup butter or margarine
• ¼ cup confectioners' sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• ½ tsp. baking powder
• ¼ tsp. salt
• from 3 to 4 lemons:
```• 2 tsp lemon juice
```• thin round lemon slices
```• zest (peel grated)

Preparation
• Heat oven to 350°.
• Measure flour by sifting. Blend flour, butter, and confectioners' sugar thoroughly.
• Press evenly in square pan, 8x8x12". Bake 20 minutes.
• Beat eggs, granulated sugar, baking powder, salt, lemon juice, and zest together.
• Pour over crust and add slices on top.
• Bake 20 to 25 minutes more. Do not overbake.
• Cool and sprinkle lightly with confectioners' sugar before serving.

Makes 16 squares.

Cinnamon Crêpes

These cinnamon crêpes were an extremely tasty dessert. We used vanilla soy ice cream (Trader Joe's Soy Creamy) instead of the frozen yogurt. Using just the batter without the filling makes a great breakfast as well.

Ingredients
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tbsp. light brown sugar
• 3 tbsp. ground cinnamon
• 1½ cups low fat milk
• 2 tbsp. canola oil
• ¾ cup all-purpose flour
• ¾ cup whole wheat flour
• Cooking spray
• 1 cup low fat vanilla frozen yogurt
• 1½ cups frozen unsweetened berries, thawed
• Powdered Sugar (optional)

Preparation
• Blend eggs, brown sugar, cinnamon, milk, and oil on low.
• Slowly add flours ½ cup at a time.
• When the batter is the consistency of heavy cream, pour into a bowl.
• Refrigerate for at least 45 minutes.
• Coat an 8-inch nonstick skillet with cooking spray. Place over medium heat.
• Pour ¼ cup batter in the pan and spread with a spatula into a 6-inch circle.
• Cook crêpe until lightly browned and crispy on the edges (about 30 sec.)
• Flip with spatula and cook until second side is light brown (about 30 sec.)
• Repeat with the remaining batter, respraying between each crêpe.
• Spread 2 tablespoons frozen yogurt on each crêpe.
• Add about 3 tablespoons of berries.
• Roll up and serve with powdered sugar if desired.

Makes about 4 servings.

Baked Shrimp Scampi with Rice

Our Thanksgiving main course was this baked shrimp casserole with white rice.

Ingredients
• 3 tbsp. olive oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 cups rice
• 4 tbsp. unsalted butter
• 3½ to 4 cups vegetable broth
• ¾ tsp. salt
• ¾ tsp. pepper
• 1¼ pounds large shrimp, shelled
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• ½ cup dry white wine
• 2 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
• 3 tbsp. chopped parsley
• 3 tbsp. fine unseasoned dry bread crumbs
• 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• Cooking spray

Preparation
• In a large saucepan, warm 1 tablespoon of the oil over medium-high heat. Add the onion and sauté until golden, about 5 minutes.
• Stir in the rice, 2 tablespoons of the butter, 3½ cups of the broth, and ½ teaspoon each of the salt and pepper.
• Reduce the heat to low, cover, and cook, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes.
• Uncover the rice and allow any excess broth to boil off, and add some water if the rice seems dry.
• Cover and cook until the rice is tender and all the liquid is absorbed, 5 to 10 minutes.
• Remove the pan from the heat and keep covered.
• In a large nonstick skilled, warm the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and sauté, stirring, until golden, about 3 minutes.
• Add the remaining 2 tablespoons butter, the wine, lemon juice, and remaining ¼ teaspoon each salt and pepper. Cook until the shrimp are just opaque, about 5 minutes.
• Sprinkle the shrimp with the parsley and bread crumbs, and cook for 1 minute.
• Pour mixture into a casserole dish and top with Parmesan and bread crumbs. Spray top lightly with cooking spray to prevent burning.
• Cook at 450º until lightly browned on top, for about 6 to 8 minutes. Serve hot.

Makes 4 to 6 servings.

Tomato and Eggplant Bulgur Wheat Salad

This was our appetizer for our Thanksgiving dinner this year.

Ingredients
• 1 cup bulgur wheat
• 1 eggplant, thinly sliced
• 5 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 pound cherry tomatoes, cut in half
• 1 tbsp. red wine vinegar
• Salt and Pepper
• ½ cup basil leaves, torn

Preparation
• Heat broiler.
• Cook the bulgur according to package directions.
• Arrange eggplant slices on 2 baking sheets. Brush both sides with a total of 3 tablespoons of the oil.
• Broil the eggplant 1 pan at a time until brown, 2-3 min. per side.
• Transfer into a large bowl. Stir in tomatoes, vinegar, remaining oil, ½ tsp. salt, and ¼ tsp. pepper. Fold in the basil.
• Transfer the bulgur into a large bowl and top with the mixture.

Makes about 4 servings.

Orange Julius

This is one of the simplest and most refreshing drinks for a hot day. We got the idea from a taste testing stand at Trader Joe's a couple of months ago. They called it an Orange Julius and it consists of about one third orange juice and two thirds vanilla soy milk. More complicated variations include crushed ice, cream, and sugar, but the soy milk is a healthier substitute for the sugar and cream. According to Wikipedia, these are sold at fairs and at special Orange Julius outlets. Yummy.

Horchata

A horchata is a thick, creamy, and sweet rice cinnamon drink found at most Mexican restaurants that is similar to rice milk. It is simple and inexpensive to prepare and makes for a refreshing drink in the summer.

Ingredients
• ¾ cup basmati rice
• ⅓ cup peeled (often come slivered) almonds
• Seeds from 6 cardamom pods, coarsely crushed
• 5 cups water
• ¼ cup sugar
• 1-2 teaspoons cinnamon

Preparation
• Grind dry rice to a fine texture in a blender. Add crushed cardamom and cinnamon and set aside.
• Grind almonds with about ⅓ cup water in blender.
• Combine rice mixture and almond mixture in a large pitcher. Add about 4 cups of water and mix. Keep mixture covered overnight.
• The next morning, place the mixture and the sugar in a blender. Gradually adding ⅔ cup of water, blend until smooth.
• Pour the rice mixture through cheesecloth or clean paint filter into a separate container. Gently squeezing and stirring, extract the milk.
• Refrigerate the horchata (milk) for about 15 minutes before serving.

Makes about 4 glasses

Eggplant Panini Sandwiches

These warm Italian sandwiches are great for lunch or dinner.

Ingredients
• 1 medium loaf of selected french bread
(we used an asagio cheese loaf)
• 1 small eggplant, sliced
• ½ cup egg whites (Egg-Beaters brand)
• 1 cup italian bread crumbs
• Shredded Italian cheese
(we used Trader Joe's Quattro Formaggio, a mixture of provolone, fontina, asagio, and parmesan.)
• 1 large tomato, sliced
• 1 bunch fresh basil
• Butter or cooking spray for broiling

Preparation
• Pour egg whites into a small bowl, and bread crumbs into a second small bowl.
• Bread the eggplant slices by dipping both sides in egg, then in bread crumbs.
• Broil on high on both sides until the bread crumbs are a golden brown.
• Slice the bread into 12 slices and place on a cookie sheet. Spray with cooking spray or spread on butter.
• Add a slice of breaded eggplant to each slice. Sprinkle cheese on top of the eggplant slices.
• Broil on high until bread is toasted but not burnt.
• Add a tomato slice and basil leaves to every other slice, and make the ones without these additions the lids of the sandwiches. Serve while still warm.

Makes 6 sandwiches.

Lemon Delight Cookies

Last night, we made some cookies to sell at the bake sale at tonight's concert. They were very easy to make, and tasted really good with fresh lemons. Use the juice from a lemon you used for the grated peel.

Ingredients
• 4 ounces unsalted butter, chilled
• 1¼ cups sugar
• from 2 lemons:
```• 1 tbsp lemon juice
```• zest (peel grated)
• 1 large egg
• 1½ cups flour
• ¼ teaspoon baking soda
• ¼ teaspoon salt

Preparation
• Preheat the oven to 350ºF.
• Line 3 large cookie sheets with parchment paper; set aside.
• Using an electric mixer, combine the butter, 1 cup sugar, the lemon zest and juice until fluffy.
• Mix in the egg. add the flour, baking soda and salt and combine.
• Place the remaining ¼ cup sugar in a small bowl. Roll heaping teaspoons of dough into balls, then roll in the sugar.
• Place on the prepared cookie sheets a few inches apart. Bake until golden around the edges, about 15 minutes.
• Transfer the cookie sheets to racks to cool completely.

Strawberry Crêpe Rollups

To try something new (instead of the usual cereal, egg, or oatmeal) for breakfast, we made some delicious Strawberry Crêpe Rollups, loosely based off of a recipe on Yahoo! food.

Ingredients
• 1½ cup milk
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• ½ tsp. salt
• 1 tbsp. melted butter or margarine
• Strawberry jam
• Confectioner's (powdered) sugar

Preparation
• In a blender, combine the milk, eggs, flour and salt. Cover and process until smooth.
• Heat a lightly greased nonstick 6-in. skillet.
• Add ¼ cup of batter. Lift and tilt pan to evenly coat bottom.
• Cook on each side until golden. Repeat with remaining batter.
• Spread one side of each crêpe with strawberry jam. Roll up and slice the roll in half. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve.

Chile Rellenos

We just made tasty Chile Rellenos from scratch, based on the dish at Papá Chano's in Monterey.
Below is the recipe followed by some photos...

Ingredients
• 2 Pasilla (or Poblano) chile peppers per serving
• shredded cheddar and jack cheese
• 1 or more eggs beaten with a little water
• corn masa flour
• oil for frying

Preparation
• Roast peppers under broiler on all sides, then place the peppers in a plastic bag in the refrigerator until cooled. (This process "sweats" the pepper and makes the peeling process very easy).
To remove seeds: Slice down one side of the pepper, trying to keep the original shape (and the stem). Remove the seeds and drain on a paper towel.
• Place 2 to 3 slices of cheese in each pepper, secure with toothpicks.
• Dip stuffed peppers in flour, then egg mixture, then flour.
• Place each floured pepper on waxed paper until all are stuffed and floured.
• Heat oil for frying in large fry pan.
• Fry peppers on all sides until golden brown in color.

Mmm... Bagel...

This is by far my favorite bagel to get at the Bagel Bakery. It is based on the New Yorker but differs slightly. It also tastes very good on the Jalapeño Cheddar or Poppy Seed bagels.



» Sesame Seed Bagel, Toasted
» Cream Cheese
» Smoked Salmon Lox
» Sliced Tomato

Taco Soup

Freshly made taco soup. Here's the original recipe:
http://www.kerimarion.com/km/blog/kitch/2007/09/taco-soup-adapted.html