Ice Cream and Sourdough ebooks

I recently bought 2 ebooks which I am loving.
The first was Sourdough from A to Z it was written as part of the GNOWFGLINS ecourse on sourdough. I did not want to do the ecourse so I just bought the book which I have been reading through and making recipes from. It is really the best resource I have found for sourdough, or at least for nourishing wholegrain sourdough. It is wonderful to have a whole book where I do not have to tweak the recipes to use more nourishing ingredients.

We love to make ice cream and the book Just Making Ice Cream is a perfect fit for our family. The recipes are full of nourishing ingredients and we can not wait to make our way through them all.

Tomato Salsa

This is my go to quick and fresh salsa recipe when ever tomatoes are in season. During the rest of the year we will pull out a jar of salsa but when tomatoes are fresh this is the one I prefer. It is wonderful right away and even better the next day.

Tomato Salsa

1 Tomato

½ tsp salt

¼ cup frozen or fresh corn

½ tbs lime juice

1 clove garlic

1 tbs cilantro

1 tsp olive oil

Chop tomato, add salt and drain for 10 min. If using frozen corn, rinse the corn and let drain. Mix all ingredients and let sit for 10 min.

Cheese Sauce

Cheese sauce is great for dipping veggies in and for nachos.

Cheese Sauce

2 tbs butter

2 tbs flour

1 cup Milk

1 cup Cheese

½ cup Cream Cheese

On low heat melt the butter add flour and stir till mixed together. Add the milk all at once and continue stirring until sauce thickens. Add the cream cheese and the shredded cheeses and stir till smooth.

Make the cheese sauce as mild or as spicy as you like adding chopped jalapenos or hot sauce depending on your tastes.

Guacamole

 More often then not we just cut up an avocado and use it in slices or simply mashed. Sometimes though I will through together this supper simple guacamole. Adding chopped tomatoes when they are in season makes this recipe even better.

Guacamole

1 Avocado

1 clove Garlic diced

½ tablespoon Lime juice

1 tablespoon Cilantro

½ tablespoon Olive Oil

Cut and scoop out the avocado. Place avocado, garlic, lime juice, cilantro, and olive oil in food processor and mix together until smooth.

You can also mix the guacamole by hand or with a hand blender if you do not have a food processor.

Refried Beans

My kids love refried beans and Spanish "orange" rice. Well I have not perfected the orange rice but after much trial and error they like my beans.

Refried Beans   

4 cups cooked Pinto Beans

2 cups veggie broth

1 onion

2 cloves garlic

⅛ tsp chili powder

¼ tsp cumin

¼ tsp salt

2 cups water -as needed

Chop the onion and garlic to desired size. Place all the ingredients, except the water in a large pot with a lid. Bring to a boil then reduce heat to a simmer and cover. Cook for 20-30 min checking to be sure it does not get overly dry adding water as needed. Mash the beans or puree, I like to use my hand blender, to the desired consistency if they seem dry add more water. 

These beans can also be cooked in a crock pot. Just place the beans and all ingredients in the crock pot and cook on low for 3-4 hours. Then mash or puree to desired consistency.

Some of our favorite bean toppings

Cheddar Cheese

Feta Cheese

Olives

Salsa

Cream Cheese Frosting

Sometimes I like to add a little cream cheese frosting to my veggie drops or my veggie bread. It makes them seem like a decadent treat! Leftover cream cheese frosting is delicious on graham crackers. This could also be used to top a carrot cake you just would have to increase the recipe.

Cream Cheese Frosting
¼ cup cream cheese
¼ cup powdered sugar
¼ tsp vanilla.
Mix all ingredients together until well blended using a stand or hand mixer. Beat until the frosting is smooth and a bit fluffy.

Valentines Conversation Hearts

Here is another special holiday recipe. Just like candy corn at Halloween growing up conversation hearts were Valentines Day. These hearts are vegan if you use the agar and agave, unlike the store bought ones which contain gelatin and by using natural food dyes and organic flavorings they are chemical free! They also taste so much better then the chalky hearts you find at the store.

Candy Hearts

2 tbs agar flakes or 2 tsp agar powder*

3/4 cup water

2 tsp agave or honey
9 cups powdered sugar

Flavor extracts*

Food Colors

Extra Powdered Sugar

Heat water, agar, and honey in a pan over low heat till agar is dissolved. Be sure to watch closely and stir constantly add extra water 2-3 tbs at a time if needed. Be sure to stir the mixture close to constantly you do not want it to burn. Beat together the agar mixture and 1 cup powdered sugar in a stand mixer. Add another cup of sugar mix until incorporated. Continue adding sugar 1 cup at a time mixing well after each addition and periodically scraping the sides and bottom of the bowl. Continue to add sugar until a stiff dough forms you may not need all of the 9 cups of sugar before the stiff dough forms but you should use most of it. If the dough stiffens up too soon you may need to add up to 1/4 cup more water in order to incorporate more sugar into the dough.

Dust a work surface with sugar. Place the dough on the work surface and knead dough until satiny and not sticky anymore. Divide the dough and add colors and flavors. About ⅛ -¼ tsp flavoring and 4-5 drops of color for each section of dough. Knead in the color until evenly distributed, this takes quite a bit of work since the dough is very stiff. I knead, roll, and rub the dough until the color is even. If the dough feels very dry dip your fingertips in water and place a few drops at a time on the dough. It will get sticky very easily if it gets too sticky add more powdered sugar.

Dust the work surface with more sugar and roll out to desired thickness between ¼ -1 inch. For smaller hearts the dough should be rolled thick for bigger hearts roll the dough thinner. Cut out desired shapes and place on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper. Cover with a towel and let dry for at least 24 hrs.I like the flip my hearts about halfway though drying time to evenly dry out both sides.If you can wait even longer they get more crunchy each day. I think they were completely dry all the way through by day 4 but then there was only a few left by then!

Messages can be written on the hearts with a little bit of food coloring and a toothpick. Be sure to wait until the hearts are completely dry before writing on them or else the dye will run.

*Flavors we used in our hearts
Lemon
Orange
Vanilla
Almond
Peppermint

If you would rather use gelatin replace the agar with 2 tsp gelatin, decrease the water to 1/2 cup and increase the sugar to 11 cups.