Vanilla Frozen Yogurt

This is kinda amazing. Tangy and sweet and addictive. If you have ever sat and wondered "Could I eat an entire 24 oz. container of plain yogurt in 2 days?" the answer is an emphatic "YES!"

1 24 oz. container of plain Greek Yogurt (non-fat works fine, but whole is creamier)
3/4 C sugar
1 tsp vanilla paste (or 1 scraped vanilla bean)

Mix all ingredients until sugar is dissolved. Make sure batter is chilled before freezing in an ice cream maker.

Serve with blackberries and mango chunks.

So good. I can't even tell you how good.

I love a good soup. Like, a lot. And this one, my friends, is gooooooooooooood.

I got this recipe when reading an article about this Utah woman who did a crock pot recipe every day for a year-- you know, one of the many cooking bloggers-- and ended up making a cookbook and all that jazz.

So yeah, this is a crock pot recipe. And I happen to love crock pot meals. They are so easy to make and your house smells all good and stuff. If you don't have a crock pot or you don't like that style, I'm certain this would work just as well on the stove top if you just simmer it at the end until the vegetables are tender to your liking.

Here we go:

Tomato Basil Parmesan Soup

Combine in crock pot:

2 cans (14 oz ea) diced tomatoes

1 c. diced celery

1 c. diced carrots

1 c. diced onions

4 c. chicken broth

1 bay leaf

1 t. dried oregano

1 T. dried basil

Set on low heat, timer for 5-7 hours, depending on how tender you want your veggies to be.

One hour before finish, prepare a roux in a saucepan with 1/2 c. butter and 1/2 c. flour. Stir with a whisk for a few minutes over low-med heat.

Take 1 c. of soup out of the crock pot and slowly stir it into the (still heating) roux until smooth. Add another 1-2 c. of soup and stir to combine. You should get a fairly thick pasty mixture.

Add this roux mixture into the crock pot, stirring to combine.

Then, add 1 c. grated Parmesan cheese, 2 c. half and half, 1 t. salt, and 1/4 t. pepper. Stir to combine.

Let it cook for the remaining hour.

Enjoy with crusty French bread. DELICIOUS, I tell you! (I'm going to go get another bowl of it right now...)

Whole Wheat Apple Pancakes

Ingredients:
1 1/2 c. whole wheat flour
1/2 c. all-purpose flour
1 tsp. cinnamon (freshly ground if you can manage)
4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
2 c. cold skim milk
2 eggs

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 Tbsp. honey
1 Tbsp. olive oil
2 small apples, peeled, cored, and finely chopped

Directions:
1) Combine dry ingredients. Whisk dry ingredients together. Make a well in the center.
2) Add in wet ingredients and stir until just combined.
3) Fold in chopped apples.
4) Pour 1/3 c. onto griddle well-sprayed with nonstick cooking spray.
5) We ate them with apple butter or 100% maple syrup.

Happy eating!

Yumm Bowls

For those familiar with the Oregonian restaurant Café Yumm, you know the mythic wonder that is Yumm Sauce. Not having been able to obtain such delight since visiting Oregon in August, I vowed to make a knock-off.

I found this recipe, and it's a decent approximation. It has a distinct lemony and garlic tang. The recipe makes quite a bit, and it keeps well in the fridge for at least a month.

Yumm Sauce:

Original Yumm Sauce:
1/2 cup oil (I used a olive oil, but I imagine other light oils like safflower or canola would work, too)
1/2 cup almonds
1/3 cup nutritional yeast (NOT active yeast! This is available in the bulk foods section usually)
1/3 cup canned garbonzo beans - drained (I used closer to 1/2 cup)
1/4 cup canned soybeans (available at Good Earth here in Utah and likely at Whole Foods and probably Harmons)
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup lemon juice
2 garlic cloves
1/2 tsp salt

A few grinds of white pepper
1 tsp curry powder

1/2 tsp. dried basil

Dump the ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth and creamy.

Serve over rice. My favorite is short-grain brown rice with this. An ancillary benefit of using brown rice is that brown rice leftovers keep better refrigerated. See best way to cook brown rice here.

Spoon a couple of tablespoons over rice and serve with:

Diced fresh tomatoes

Sliced avocado

Canned black beans

Sliced black olives

Sour cream or creme fraiche

Shredded cheddar cheese

This last time, I sliced up baby zucchini from our food co-up, tossed them in olive oil and salt and pepper and lime juice in a skillet, and sautéed them for about eight minutes and served them warm with the other ingredients. Very tasty with this, too.

By far my best granola

As I indicated the first time I posted a granola recipe, I have been experimenting with granola. But I haven't been posting those experiments. Probably because I'm lazy. The recipe I am posting today is by far my favorite. I've done several variations of it and it just keeps getting better. This last time, I let it bake for a bit longer, so it ended up crunchier and WOW. It's awesome. But I have to say it was good softer, too. I just love homemade granola.

Here is the basic recipe (with parentheticals explaining exactly how I made it this time), but feel free to modify by putting in different nuts or dried fruits.

Preheat oven: 300.

In a really big bowl, combine:

5 c. rolled oats (old fashioned, not quick)

2-3 c. raw nuts (I put in about 1 3/4 c. chopped walnuts)

1 c. raw sunflower nuts

3/4 c. flax seed (some use sesame seeds here)

In a saucepan, over low-medium heat, combine:

3/4 c. applesauce

1/3 c. maple syrup (or brown rice syrup, or barley malt syrup)

1/4 c. honey

2 T. canola oil

3/4 c. brown sugar

2 t. cinnamon

1 t. ginger

1 t. salt

I let this sauce mixture simmer for a little, while stirring continuously.

Pour the sauce over the oat mixture and stir well.

Spread granola mixture over large cookie sheet. If you don't want to have to do two separate batches, you can use two baking sheets and just rotate them when you take them out to stir the granola. I have done it both ways.

I usually set a timer initially for 10-15 minutes before I take out the pan to stir the mixture for the first time. You can do whatever time allotments you want, as long as your total baking time is about 30-40 minutes-- depending on how brown/crunchy you want yours to be.

After it's done, I put in a bag of dried cranberries.

Store in a big airtight container and enjoy it every morning. My guilty pleasure is putting a little half and half in after I fill my bowl with milk. Creamy goodness.

Pumpkin Spice Bagels and Maple Nut Spread

I love pumpkin. I love bagels. And what better combination could you have?

Note: This recipe is also available for those have a bread machine. I do not, and so did it the good old fashioned way. If you do and want me to send you the other version, let me know!

Pumpkin Spice Bagels

2/3 water (110-115 degrees)

1 pkg. (1/4 oz.) active dry yeast

1/2 c. canned pumpkin

1/3 c. packed brown sugar

1 t. salt

1 1/2 t. cinnamon

3/4 t. nutmeg

1/2 t. allspice

1/2 t. ground cloves

3 c. bread flour

1 egg white

2 T. water

1 T. cornmeal

In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in water.

Add pumpkin, brown sugar, salt, and spices; mix well.

Stir in enough flour to form a soft dough. (For me, this was just under 3 c.)

Turn onto a lightly floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes.

Place in a bowl coated with cooking spray, turning once to coat top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hr.

Punch down dough. Turn onto a lightly floured surface.

Shape into 9 balls. Push thumb through centers to form a 1 inch hole.

Stretch and shape dough to form an even ring. Cover and let rest for 10 minutes.

After 10 minutes, flatten rings slightly. Fill a pot with water and bring to boil. Drop bagels, two or four at a time, into boiling water. Cook 45 seconds per side.

Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels.

Whisk egg white and water. Brush over bagels.

Coat a baking sheet with cooking spray and a dusting of cornmeal. Place bagels 2" apart on prepared pan.

Bake at 400 for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on wire racks.

Maple Nut Spread

1 carton (8 oz) spreadable cream cheese

3-4 T. maple syrup (I say 3-4 because 3 definitely wasn't enough for my taste)

1/8 t. cinnamon

1/4 c. finely chopped walnuts, perhaps toasted

Beat it all up. Serve with delicious pumpkin spice bagels. Swoon.

Ginger Spice Cookies

There are some recipes that are nearly perfect and you have to make them several times a year because they're that good. This is one of those recipes--it is the perfect fall cookie--tastes like a ginger snap, but it's soft and chewy and buttery. It's really to die for. The original recipe was from Bon Appetit. I modified the recipe to include a little less shorting and a little more butter, and less cloves. Enjoy!

Ingredients
• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 2 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground cloves
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup chopped crystallized ginger (optional, but it's really good)
• 1 cup (packed) dark brown sugar
• 1/4 cup vegetable shortening, room temperature
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 large egg
• 1/4 cup mild-flavored (light) molasses
• Sugar for rolling

Preparation
Combine first 6 ingredients in medium bowl; whisk to blend. Mix in crystallized ginger. Using electric mixer, beat brown sugar, shortening and butter in large bowl until fluffy. Add egg and molasses and beat until blended. Add flour mixture and mix just until blended. Cover and refrigerate 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly butter 2 baking sheets. Spoon sugar in thick layer onto small plate. Form dough into 1 1/4-inch balls; roll in sugar to coat completely. Place balls on prepared sheets, spacing 2 inches apart.
Bake cookies until cracked on top but still soft to touch, about 12 minutes. Cool on sheets 1 minute. Carefully transfer to racks and cool. (Can be made 5 days ahead. Store airtight at room temperature.)