Tuesday, July 14, 2009

A Few Good Recipes

There are a few food items I've been trying to make and I'm not in love with the recipes I've been using. If you can help me out, feel free to send me a recipe at whatsformeat@gmail.com and let me know if I can share it on this blog.

#1 - Homemade granola bars. I want to make these without white flour or sugar and the last version I made with honey and peanut butter was yummy but crumbly and dry.

#2 - Chai tea or Green tea Ice Cream. I had ambitions of having an ice cream contest this summer but I'm not sure if it will materialize. In the meantime, these are the two types of ice cream that I want to learn to make.

#3 - Gazpacho. Lisa suggested this to me awhile ago. Again, I have a mediocre recipe that I'm a little tired of (I go back an forth about whether it tastes like soupy salsa or gazpacho) so if you have something great, please share!

8 comments:

  1. Did I hear "Ice Cream contest?" I'll volunteer my services as a judge.

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  2. I was just getting over the fact I don't have a crockpot.

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  3. That's exactly the problem with gazpacho, I don't want soupy salsa!

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  4. P.S. I have a cornbread recipe on my blog that is not homemade but fantastic. And you can opt out of the packaged mix part. I just haven't worked on it enough.

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  5. I'm interested in fantastic cornbread, L! Most of the cornbread they sell is just bland.

    And, Soupy Salsa is what I think of gazpacho. But it can be made very good.

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  6. AH: I saw one at Target the other day for $25 :) If only crockpots made ice cream too!

    CO: Would you or the dog do the judging??

    Lisa: I'm not above a package - I have one in my cupboard right now and I heard rave reviews about your 4th of July cornbread

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  7. I'm interested in granola bars, too. I just haven't been brave enough to try any of the recipes I have. Maybe I'll give them a go sometime soon and let you know how they turn out. But if someone else has a tried and true recipe, I'm all ears... er, eyes.

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  8. Just made the yummiest granola bars today and thought of you. These are "raw" in the sense that you don't bake them. They would be truly raw if all your ingredients were. Mine were mostly. This recipe comes from the Holistic Moms Cookbook, "Growing Healthy Families". They need to be refrigerated to be firm enough to remain bar-like.

    2 c. rolled oats
    1/2 c. dried cranberries
    1/4 c. raw pumpkin seeds
    1/4 c. raw sunflower seeds
    1/2 c. cacao nibs
    1 tsp cinnamon
    1/2 c. almond butter
    1/3 c. agave nectar
    1/4 c. brown rice syrup
    1 tsp. vanilla extract

    Combine dry ingredients in large bowl. Combine wet ingredients in another bowl, stir into dry ingredients. Either roll into balls and refrigerate, or press into 8" square pan and refrigerate. Cut into bars.

    My version was pretty different. I used oats, cranberries, flax meal, almond meal, semi-sweet chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, shredded coconut, cinnamon, unsweetened peanut butter, agave nectar, raw honey, vanilla extract. I did the bars and made sure to press them tightly. I put mine in the freezer for about 10 minutes to speed the chilling, then I scored them and put them in the refrigerator to firm up completely. Also, it helps to insert a spatula between the oat mixture and the pan while it's still soft. They were amazing--like dessert. I would reduce the agave and increase the honey next time to bring down the sweetness--and maybe add a pinch of salt for a sweet/salty treat. I'll definitely add nuts next time.

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