Roasted Cabbage with Lemon

From KalynsKitchen.com
Makes 3-4 servings as a side dish

1 medium-sized heat of green cabbage
2 T olive oil
2-3 T fresh squeezed lemon juice
generous amount of sea salt
fresh ground pepper

Preheat oven to 450 F.  Spray a roasting pan with non-stick spray or olive oil.

Cut the head of cabbage into 8 same-sized wedges, cutting through the core and stem end.  Then carefully trim the core strip and stem from each wedge and arrange wedges in a single layer on the roasting pan (leave some space around them as much as you can).

Whist together the olive oil and lemon juice.  Then use a pastry brush to brush the top sides of each cabbage wedge with the mixture and season generously with salt and fresh ground black pepper.  Turn cabbage wedges carefully, then brush the second side with the olive oil/lemon juice mixture and season with salt and pepper.

Roast cabbage for about 15 minutes, or until the side touching the pan is nicely browned. Then turn each wedge carefully and roast 10-15 minutes more, until the cabbage is nicely browned and cooked through with a bit of chewiness remaining.  Serve hot, with additional lemon slices to squeeze lemon juice on at the table, if desired.

Dad's Waffles

My dad is famous for his waffles, at least in our family anyway. He'd make them fairly often on Sunday mornings, and we'd gorge ourselves on their slightly nutty, soft, fluffy wonderfulness. Sometimes we'd even add Mom's strawberry freezer jam, and we'd experience a mouthful of pure heaven. He doesn't measure, so this is what he thinks he does. I've tried it out a couple of times, and it's never quite the same, but still fantastic.

DAD'S WAFFLES

2 eggs, separated
1/3 C whole wheat flour
2/3 C white flour
1 can evaporated milk
1/2 t salt
1 1/4 t baking powder
2 T cooking oil

Whip egg whites until stiff peaks form, set aside.

Mix all remaining ingredients together until well combined. Gently fold in egg whites. Cook in your waffle iron until golden brown.

Grilled Corn, Avocado and Tomato Salad with Honey Lime Dressing

From fortheloveofcooking.net
serves 6-8

1 pint grape tomatoes, halved
1 ripe avocado, diced
2 ears fresh sweet corn
2 T fresh cilantro, chopped

Dressing:
Juice of 1 lime
3 T vegetable oil
1 T honey
Salt and pepper
1 clove garlic, minced
Dash of cayenne pepper

Remove husks from corn and grill over medium heat for 10 minutes.  The corn shouldhave some brown spots and be tender and not mushy.  Cut the corn off the cob then scrape the cob with the back of your knife to get the juices.  Set aside and let cool.  Slice the tomatoes in half.  Dice the avocado and chop the cilantro.

Add all the dressing ingredients in a small bowl and whisk to combine.  Set aside.

Combine the sliced tomatoes, avocado, cilantro and grilled corn and honey lime dressing and mix gently so everything is evenly coated.  Be careful not to mash the avocados.  Let the salad sit for 10-15 minutes to let flavors mingle.  Enjoy.

Lentil Curry

From Martha Stewart
Serves 4

1 T olive oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 T curry powder
1 lb sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
1 head cauliflower, stemmed and separated into florets
1 C brown lentils, pciked over, well rinsed, and drained
2 cans (14.5 oz each) diced tomatoes with juice
Coarse salt
Plain low-fat yogurt, for serving (optional)



In a nonstick Dutch oven (5-quart pot with a tight-fitting lid), heat oil over medium heat. Add onion, and cook, stirring frequently, until softened, about 7 minutes.

Add curry powder, cook, stirring constantly, 1 minute. Stir in sweet potatoes, cauliflower, lentils, tomatoes and their juice, and 1 1/2 C water; season with salt.

Bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer, cover, and cook until lentils and sweet potatoes are tender, about 30 minutes. Serve immediately, with yogurt if desired.

**Notes from Em**
It took more like 45-50 min for my lentils to be done. I also think it needs some garlic. I'll do probably 3-5 cloves next time I make this.

Cranberry Muffins

From Allrecipes.com
Makes 18 muffins

2 C all-purpose flour
1 C white sugar
1 1/2 t baking powder
1/2 t baking soda
2 t orange zest
1 1/2 t ground nutmeg
1 t ground cinnamon
1/2 t ground ginger
1/2 C shortening
3/4 C orange juice
1 t vanilla extract
2 eggs, beaten
1 1/2 C chopped cranberries
1 1/2 C chopped walnuts

1 (8 ounce) can whole cranberry sauce
2 T brown sugar, packed
1/4 C margarine

Preheat oven to 350 F. Spray or grease a 12 cup and a 6 cup muffin tin.

Mix together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, orange peel, nutmeg, cinnamon and ginger.

Cut in shortening; stir in juice, vanilla, eggs, cranberries and nuts. Pour into muffin cups and bake for 25 minutes or until brown.

Prepare the topping in a saucepan over low heat by whisking together the cranberry sauce, brown sugar and margarine. Cook until heated and smooth. Reomve from heat and serve as a spread for the muffins.

**Notes from Em**
-Honestly I didn't even bother with the sauce. It sounds like it would be good though.
-I added about 1/4 t of salt. It didn't feel right to be baking without any salt.
-I found it a little heavy on the nutmeg. I'll cut back a little on it next time.

French Toast

From Williams-Sonoma
Makes 3-4 servings

6 slices sturdy French or sourdough bread, about 3/4 inch thick
1 1/2 C whole milk
4 large eggs
1 T vanilla extract
1 T Grand Marnier (optional)
1/4 C granulated sugar
1 t grated orange zest
1/4 t freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 t fine sea salt
2 T unsalted butter
Confectioners' sugar for dusting
Pure maple syrup, warmed, for serving

In a large baking dish, place the bread slices in a single layer.

In a large glass measuring pitcher, thoroughly whisk together the milk, eggs, vanilla, Grand Marnier (if using), granulated sugar, orange zest, nutmeg, and salt. Pour evenly over the bread and let stand for 1 minute, then turn the bread over. cover the dish with plastic wrap and let stand for at least 10 minutes or for up to 30 minutes.

Place an ovenproof platter in the oven and preheat to 200F. In a large frying pan over medium heat, melt 1T of the butter. When the butter has foamed and the foam begins t o subside, add as many slices of bread as will fit in the pan without overlapping. When the slices are golden brown on the bottom, after about 3 minutes, carefully turn them over and cook until golden brown on the second side, about 2 minutes longer for custardy French toast, or about 3 minutes longer for drier French toast. Transfer the finished slices to the platter in the oven. Melt the remaining 1T butter and repeat with the remaining bread slices. Transfer the French toast to individual plates, dust the tops with confections' sugar, and serve at once, with warm maple syrup.

Ruth's Sourdough Bread

You'll probably want to be at least somewhat familiar with sourdough and bread making before you tackle this one. I'm reasonably good with both, but I still found myself calling my mom on pretty much every step to make sure I was doing things correctly. After having done it the first time, this is a very EASY recipe.


24 Hours Ahead:
-1 C sourdough mixed with 1 C water and 1 C flour
-Leave at room temperature

12 Hours Ahead:
-Add2 1/2 C flour and 2 1/2 C water to above mixture
-Leave out at room temperature

Next Day:
-Beat sourdough mixture 1-2 minutes
-Add 2-3 C flour and beat 4-5 minutes
-Let stand for 30 minutes
-Add 1 T salt
-Change mixer to a dough hook
-Add 2-3 C flour and knead until no longer sticky - add additional flour if needed
-Raise until doubled
-Turn out onto counter. Let rest 10 minutes
-Form into two loaves, raise until doubled
-Slash loaves and brush with 1 egg white mixed with 1 T water
-Bake 425 F in steamy oven for 10 minutes (place pan of boiling water on rack below bread plus spray sides of oven every 3 minutes for the 10 minutes)
-Reduce heat to 375 and bake for 25 minutes longer

**Don't be afraid to turn up the speed on your mixer when you're beating the dough for 4-5 minutes. It'll be lumpy and gross when you put it in, and beating it like this will make it nice and smooth, and create lots of wonderful strings of gluten.