Must share recipes!

Want to get these great recipes up for all to see!

No Tahini Low-Fat Hummus

1 teaspoon curry

dash of pepper

1/2 Tablespoon sesame oil

1 Tablespoon lemon juice

2 cloves of garlic

1 can chickpeas – reserve liquid

Blend the above in a food processor adding the reserved liquid to thin.

makes 10 servings

serving size is 2 Tablespoons

Sesame Chicken and Noodles

1/3 cup rice vinegar

2 Tablespoons honey

1 Tablespoon soy sauce

1 Tablespoon grated ginger

2 teaspoons Asian garlic-chili sauce

2 6-oz. packages of cooked grilled chicken strips

12- oz. spaghetti

3 Tablespoons toasted sesame oil

2 medium yellow, red or orange sweet peppers

Stir together the first 5 ingredients.

Add chicken and stir to coat. Set aside.

Cook noodles and drain.

Return noodles to pot. Drizzle with sesame oil and toss to coat.

Add chicken mixture and toss to combine.

Top each serving with pepper strips.

Makes 6 servings.

Quick meal!

Spicy Peanut Sauce

1/2 cup peanut butter – low fat

2 garlic cloves, quartered

1 Tablespoon chopped ginger

1 small hot pepper, cleaned and diced

1/4 cup peanut oil

2 Tablespoons soy sauce

2 Tablespoons Splenda granulated several drops of Stevia

2 Tablespoons rice vinegar

1 Tablespoon sesame oil

1/4 cup strong black tea.

Puree in food processor.

Serve over noodles or chicken.

Makes 1 1/2 cup sauce.

White Beans and Brown Rice

1 1/2 cup chopped onions

1 3/4 cup water

1 1/2 cup uncooked Instant Brown rice

1 16-0z. can not-salt navy beans, rinsed and drained

1 cup grape tomatoes, halved

1/2 cup fresh parsley

1 Tablespoon dried basil

1 medium clove garlic, minced

1/4 teaspoon salt

3-oz. fat-free feta cheese

Heat 12″ nonstick skillet on medium high.

Remove and spray with Pam.

Cook onions until soft.

Add water. Boil. Stir in rice. Reduce heat and simmer, covered for 10 min. Remove.

Stir in tomatoes and remaining ingredients except feta into rice.

Let stand for 5 min.

Stir in feta.

Serves 4

Very quick!

cooking

Well, I just finished my second summer reading book Julie and Julia by Julie Powell. I hear there is a moving coming with Meryl Streep as Julia Child. I don’t know about that. I still think Dan Ackeroyd was the perfect Julia! (For those of us old enough to remember when Saturday Night Live was funny.) I read My Life In France first since that is the autobiography of Julia Child. It was wonderful and I so would have loved to have been her friend! Julie and Julia is about one women’s year of cooking everything in Julia Child’s How to Master the Art of French Cooking and her epiphany concerning herself and her life. Not a big fan of this book but I’m done with it. In honor of completing the book I have added my Red Velvet Cake recipe as well as my Brownie recipe to the side bar. Both are simple to make. I said Simple, not Fast. I like to cook from scratch – tastes better. It may not be French cooking, but it is Southern Cooking!

Feeling groovy!

Yep, knitting lowers my BP! Of course, I only did 40 minutes today of uninterrupted knitting but my BP started at 137/67 and ended at 122/73. I really need an hour or more to get it down to what I want. Must try to find a way to get paid to lower my BP! Now that’s what I call a perfect job!

I spent a lovely morning at The Dinner A’Fare making my dinners for the next month. You must try this place! The food is wonderful and it is fun to show up and make these meals with no clean up!! And cooking the food leaves very little clean up as well. Perfect. Ah, tonight I made Vegas Chicken with Crab succatash. A salad, green beans and brown rice rounded it out. The rice took the longest to make. Delicious. And cost effective! Since we are a family of three now, I do the half size. Just the right amount per serving with no leftovers. Yum, yum.

As far as knitting goes, I started a pair of Pedicure socks from Knitty.com. DD in college wears flip-flops year round and these are for those chilly nights. I am using hot pink Paton’s Classic Wool. It is basically socks without toes. Kind of like fingerless gloves, just for the feet. I am using #7 needles so they will go quickly. I read on the label this yarn felts. I love felting stuff! I must try needle felting sometime. Has anyone tried needle felting? It was new to the spinning guild I attended years ago. I just never tried it.

Well, that’s it for tonight. I must read tonight and get caught up in The Mist’s of Avalon. I worked several hours on the scarf last night. On to the sofa!

Red velvet cake

Here is my first attempt at a southern classic. It is an easy recipe. Not quick, but easy.

The recipe is on the side bar. Too good!!!

Valentine stuff

Well, yes, I’m a day behind. But yesterdays valentine’s dinner took most of the day. I am also fighting a cold so please be kind.

I have been going to this great place called A Dinner A’Fare to prepare meals in advance. I love this place! Twelve meals for a great price and they are not casseroles. Last night was the Italian Braciole Stuffed flank Steak. Beautiful flank steak with prosciutto, parmesan cheese and bread crumbs. Rolled tight and cooked in a red wine broth. Served with mashed potatoes, green beans and salad. Wonderful! But the work of the day was a red velvet cake. I have never tried one before and thought “what the heck”. It was beautiful and delicious! (If only my new battery for my camera would come, I’d show off!) Then the husband, and daughter and I sat before a fire and watched a Mystery Science Theater movie. Ah, and they say romance is dead!

And so today, daughter is doing algebra, husband is helping and I am planning our week in the mountains. I always like to complete some project when we go somewhere, and so I am scratching my head as to what that could be. I am curious to make a market bag from plastic grocery bags. Crochet and quick. The prep work takes longer than the item itself. I want to make a rug, but our insane cats are allergic to plastic and would kill themselves licking and chewing the rug! I figure a bag could be hidden from feline eyes. As soon as I can take pictures, I’ll post the process and pattern. It takes 50 or more bags, but a couple of trips to Wallmart and your’e good to go.

I’m also thinking about joining a knit-a-long that will be reading The Mists of Avalon and then creating a knitted or crochet piece that is inspired by the book. I have read the book but was thinking of rereading it. I have some beautiful moss green llama wool and could rework a leaf motif for a scarf. I gave away my book, so today will be about finding a new copy. I like the idea of a book club and knitting circle rolled into one. I would LOVE to find a book club that reads cook books and then meets to discuss the book over a meal created from that book. Maybe I’ll start one.

Must scoot!