recipe – Page 6 – a hippie with a minivan

Pickled beets…

I love pickled beets… especially the ones that my great grandma used to make… and my grandmother… and my mom… and well.. now me…

I asked my grandma for her mom’s recipe when she was here last and this week beets were cheap at .99 for 5lbs… so today I decided to make them…

10 lbs of beets In the pot…

boil for about 2 hours…

all cooked and ready to be peeled and sliced…

all peeled…

sliced… (aren’t they beautiful)

6 cups Vinegar, 3 cups Beet Juice and 4 cups sugar…

jars ready

All filled up…

processed for 30min in boiling water…

a dozen jars of pickled beets…

It's alive!!!

I have been missing making sourdough bread for a while now… my starter died when I was pregnant with Khéna… so I have been trying to make some sourdough starter again…

The first attempt…. failed… just failed… no idea what happened…

The second attempt… put too much water by accident while feeding it and didn’t catch my mistake… no go…

Third… I decided to try cheating and starting with a bit of yeast… foam… looking good… then flat… dead…

Fourth… mixed some flour and water and just let it sit… fed it and slowly I saw bubbles… after about a week I wasn’t getting more but I knew there was potential… so I added about 1/4 tsp of sugar and it doubled within the hour…fed it again the next day with flour and water and it foamed again… and it is perfect!!!

So I have been making sourdough again…

I cup starter
1 cup warm water
1 tsp salt
3 1/2 cup flour

Knead and let rise until doubled…

yummy!!!!

Cauliflower "popcorn"

I found this Recipe somewhere on the net a while back but I don’t remember where…

It is really simple though and the result is a great snack (or side dish) that my kids seem to love!

1 Head Cauliflower cut in small peices

3-4 tsp of oil

sprinkle of salt

In a bowl toss it all together and then spread on a baking sheet and place in a preheated 400 degree oven for about an hour…. toss it a bit about every 15 min…

That’s it!!

the cauliflower browns beautifully and the more it browns the sweeter it is…it is so tasty!!

Blueberry Muffins

These are perfect!!

Everytime I have made muffins they have a springy texture to them that I don’t like… I rather them be light and fluffy and a bit cake like… and these are it!!!
1/2 cup Coconut oil (or butter… or a bit of both)
1 cup brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 cups blueberries
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup milk

– Heat oven to 375°.
– Grease or line 12 large size muffin cups
– In bowl, mix butter until creamy. Add sugar and beat until pale and fluffy.
– Add eggs one at a time, beating after each.
– Beat in vanilla, baking powder and salt.
– With wooden spoon, fold in half of flour then half of milk into batter; repeat.
– Fold in blueberries
– Spoon into muffin cups
– Bake 20 to 30 minutes

Of course you could make any kind of muffin with this base… I am going to make some strawberry ones next….

Thai Coconut Curry soup

Saute 2 chopped stalks of Lemongrass, 2 cloves Garlic, about an inch of Ginger and a large onion…

once the onions are translucent add a few tbsp of Curry paste and Miso and a bit Chile sauce…

Add whatever veggie (I have carrot and Cauliflower in this one) and some cut up tofu… saute for a few more minutes…

Add about 6 cups of veggie stock, 2 cans of coconut milk and a bit of sugar to even the taste out and let simmer…. then add the juice of 1 1/2 limes… simmer again and add rice noodles…