Trisha's Sweet Chili Sauce

TRISHA'S SWEET CHILI SAUCE

Trisha and I were toying around with the idea of Vietnamese spring rolls. So one evening we got together and did it.  I took charge of the rolls and she the sauce.  And I have to admit that her sauce pulled it all together.  Luckily she wrote it down and let me blog it.

In a saucepan bring to a boil:

• 1 2/3 cup of water
• 1/3 cup of vinegar (white vinegar, apple cider vinegar, or rice vinegar are fine)

Stir in:

• 1 3/4 cup of sugar
• 1/2 tsp. of ginger powder
• 2 cloves of garlic minced
• 2 tsp. of garlic powder
• 1/2 - 2 tsp. of red pepper flakes (or to taste)
• 2 TBS. of ketchup
• 2 TBS. of soy sauce
• 3 TBS. of lemon juice

Mix:

• 1/4 cup of cornstarch
• 1/2 cup of cold water

And whisk in with rest of the ingredients stirring frequently until thick.

Serve hot or cold.

Millie's Granola

Millie's Granola

 Mix together:

• 1/2 cup of raw honey
• 1 Tbsp. of vanilla (optional if you replace honey with agave or if honey isn't solidified)
• 2 1/2 Tbsp. of warm (liquid) extra virgin coconut oil

Then mix in:

• 6 cups of Whole rolled oats
• 4 pinches of salt
• 1 tsp. of cinnamon 

(If you rather have raw fruits & nuts  with your granola, the following can be added after baking the oats. If not add them now.)

• 2 cups of chopped dates
• 2 cups of raisins
• 1 cup of chopped almonds
• 1 cup of chopped walnuts
• 1 cup of pumpkin seeds
• 1 cup of sunflower seeds

Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 10 minutes or until golden brown.

Now I'm no expert when it comes to food spoilage however, at room temperature it "should" keep in a sealed glass jar for a good three weeks... but refrigerating is always safer.

The Difference Between Fruit Butters, Jams, Conserves, Jellies, Marmalades, & Preserves

In our modern age I've come to find out that there are people who've never heard of fruit preserves & conserves.  I've even been asked from time to time what the difference is between jam & jelly.  So here are the definitions... 

Fruit Butters

Fruit Butter is made by cooking fruit pulp and sugar to a thick consistency that will spread easily.  Butters are cooked slowly until thick enough to round up on a spoon.

Jelly

Juice strained from fruit is used to make jelly. It is usually crystal clear and shimmering. Jelly is gelatinized enough to hold its shape when removed from the jar, yet soft enough to spread easily.  Flowers that can be made into juice (Sorrel) or tea (Rose-Hip pods & Hibiscus) can be made into jelly by themselves or combined with fruit juice.

Jams

Jams are jellies with crushed or chopped fruit.

Conserves

Conserves are jam-like products made with a combination of two or more fruits, nuts and raisins.  If nuts are used, they can be added during the last five minutes of cooking.

Marmalade

Marmalade is made from the peel & juice of citrus fruits boiled with sugar and water.  It contains pieces of fruit and peel in the transparent jelly.  It can be made from lemons, limes, grapefruits, mandarins, sweet oranges, bergamots and other citrus fruits, or any combination thereof.  Marmalades are similar in structure to jam. 

(On a personal note I recommend that you google a marmalade recipe & make your own marmalade before buying it because I've heard that the marmalade in stores are flavorless & just bad.  People who've only had store bought marmalade claimed to hate it but loved mine.)

Preserves

Fruit is preserved with sugar so it retains its shape, is transparent, shiny, tender and plump. The syrup varies from the thickness of honey to that of soft jelly. A true preserve does not hold its shape when spooned from the jar.

Cast Iron Vegan Cornbread

Granted this recipe doesn't have the buttermilk & all the a lot of the other traditional ingredients normally found in cornbread but it's very easy & very good.

Cast Iron Vegan Cornbread

EVERYONE who had some fell in love with it.

• 3 cups of cornmeal
• 3 1/2 cups soft flour
• 1/8 cup baking powder
• 1/4 Tbsp salt

• 2 cups margarine
• 2 ½ cups sugar
• 3 ½ cups of water

1, Mix first 4 ingredients well.

2, In a separate bowl, cream margarine & sugar, then add the water.

3, Combine wet & dry ingredients.

Pour into 2 greased cast iron skillets or equivalent cake pan.

Bake convection oven at 250 degrees for 30 minutes, then turn up to 325 degrees until golden.

Gas oven at 425 degrees for 45 minutes

Cast Iron cooking is the absolute best.

Yea I went a little crazy with the camera but what can I say, I've wanted to try a cast iron cornbread for a very long time now.

I'll save you the last piece.

Sorrel Juice

What can I say except that I've been converted to sorrel.  Its good and good for you.  It reduces high blood pressure and acts like an air conditioner whether you're suffering from a fever or even if it's just an unbearably hot day, it will cool you down.  Usually sorrel packages come with instructions in the back but if it doesn't here's a very simple & basic recipe.

Sorrel steeping with a stick of
cinnamon.  (No, I'm not canning
it.  I just like steeping in glass as
opposed to plastic.)

Sorrel Juice
ingredients:

• 1/4 cup of dried sorrel blooms
• 4 cups of water
• 1 cinnamon stick
• sugar or honey to taste 

1, Boil the water and steep the sorrel blooms & cinnamon stick for at least 4 hours.  (Some like to steep overnight.)

2, Strain out the blooms & cinnamon stick, sweeten  and enjoy. Now seriously, how easy is that?

__________________________________________

I've been coming across the medical benefits of this delicious juice.  If you're interested, click on one of the links below...

http://doctorschar.com/features/jamacian-sorrel/

http://health.wikinut.com/Health-Benefits-of-Sorrel-Roselle/12f7l1qa/

http://www.ageless.co.za/rosella.htm 

http://caribrock.blogspot.com/2008/12/health-benefits-of-jamaican-sorrel.html

Juice Jelly

Sorrel Jelly made with this Juice Jelly recipe

Granted I did play around with the original recipe a little, I used golden brown sugar instead of white and I made my own juice from dried sorrel flowers instead of just using fruit juice.  But still I recommend that you give this a try because you can make it in any flavor you like.  It's for that reason that I'm giving just the basic recipe for juice jelly.  I found this recipe at cooks.com, here's the link.  It was originally a raspberry juice jelly. 


Juice Jelly

• 2 cups of fruit juice

• 4 cups of golden brown sugar

• 2 (3 oz.) pkg.s liquid fruit pectin

In an *oversized pot, combine juice and sugar. Stirring constantly, cook over medium heat until sugar dissolves. Increase heat to high and bring to a rolling boil.

Stir in pectin. Stirring constantly, bring to a rolling boil again and boil 1 minute longer.

Remove from heat, skim off foam. Store in sealed jars. If you're not familiar with canning, here's a link to a good site that shows you how.

Yield: 2 pints.

I used Certo pectin.

*I specified an oversized pot because in order to activate pectin, you HAVE to let it boil in a good hard rolling boil for a minute or it won't set right.  In an oversized pot the boiling liquid won't overflow into a mess.

Carrot Pineapple Muffins

Again this came from an industrial kitchen so if you don't want to make 120 muffins, cut back on the ingredients.  Also, these muffins are a little on the greasy side so you might want to cut back on the oil a little more.

Carrot Pineapple Muffins
dry ingredients:

• 15 cups of soft flour
• 9 cups of sugar (unpacked)
• 1/2 cup of baking powder
• 3 Tbsp +1 tsp of cinnamon
• 1 Tbsp +1 tsp of salt

wet ingredients:

• 5 cups of water
• 3 Tbsp + 1 tsp of vanilla
• 6 2/3 cups of oil
• 10 cups of grated carrots
• 5 cups of crushed pineapple with juice

1, Sift dry ingredients together in a bowl.
2, Beat together the water, oil & vanilla.
3, Blend the crushed pineapple in a blender or food processor.
4, Mix well all the ingredients together.
5, Use 1/3 cup ice cream scoop to fill muffin cups.
6, Bake in convection oven at 325 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes.

Crunchy Granola

Mind you I'm not partial to granolas so this one HAS to be real good to make it into my blog.  Also, I got this recipe from an industrial kitchen so it's written to make 66 cups, so if you just want to make  it for yourself you'll have to cut the ingredients down.

Crunchy Granola

I've always hated granolas until I tried this one.

Dry ingredients:

• 28 cups of quick oats
• 6 cups of wheat germ
• 6 cups of coconut
• 3 cups of sunflower seeds
• 3 cups of sesame seeds
• 4 cups of chopped walnuts
• 4 cups of chopped almonds
• 4 cups of carob chips (optional)

Blend:

• 6 cups of brown sugar
• 1 1/2 Tbsp. of salt
• 2 Tbsp. of vanilla
• 2 cups of water
• 2 cups of oil

1, Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl.
2, Blend brown sugar, salt, vanilla, water & oil in a blender.
3, Combine wet & dry ingredients together.
4, Bake for one hour or until golden brown. (convection oven - 250 degrees/gas oven - 275 degrees)  Turn over every 15 - 20 minutes to expose areas not yet browned.
5, Take out of the oven & mix in the carob chips while the granola is still hot.  
Note: Freeze when not in use.

French Toast

This is the best vegan French Toast recipe I've come across.  To be honest when I first saw the recipe I didn't think I would like it but I tried it anyway & man it's good. Try it, I'll bet you'll like it.

French Toast

French Toast with whole wheat bread.

Ingredients:

• 1 Tbsp. of flour
• 1Tbsp. of sugar
• 1 Tbsp. of brewers yeast flakes
• 1/2 tsp. of cinnamon
• 1 cups of milk
• margarine or butter for frying
• about 4-5 slices of bread

1, Mix the first 5 ingredients together.
2, Preheat a skillet & put the margarine in it.
3, When the margarine is melted quickly dip a slice of bread in the mix and place in the skillet. 4, Flip when the bottom is golden brown.
5, Repeat steps 3 & 4 with the rest of the bread.

Banana Ice Cream

Now here's a very delicious & very healthy alternative to fattening ice cream.

Banana Ice Cream

It only get better with your
favorite toppings on it.

• 5-6 spotty  bananas

• 1/8 cup of milk or juice (more if the bananas are huge, less if they're small)

• toppings (of your choice)

 1. Peel & string the bananas.  Cut them in little pieces, wrap them in plastic wrap to make sure they don't get freezer burn and put them in a freezer until they are thoroughly frozen.

Note: Don't take the bananas out of the freezer until you are ready to work with them as they will thaw.  When you do take the bananas out, work quickly.

2. Take the bananas out of the freezer and put them in a blender or food processor with just the tiniest bit of milk and blend.  Add only so much milk at a time because if you put to much, you'll get a smoothie instead.  Blend until the bananas turn into a firm & smooth cream.

3. If you want to mix things like chips into the ice cream stop the blender, add the chips & blend for about 5 to 10 seconds.  Serve with toppings or in between two cookies as an ice cream sandwich.

Note:  It can be refrozen but remember that there are no additives or preservatives so don't leave it in the freezer for to long.