Lavender Bath Salt

The last 2 days I have been busy making stuff for the Christmas Fair at the Norwegian Seamen Church in December so I have not been blogging because I have not been cooking. I realized though that even though my recipe for Bath Salt can not be eaten, it is still a recipe so here it is;

Ingredients;

6 parts coarse sea salt
3 part epsom salt (soothes tired and sore muscles and reduce inflammation)
1 part baking soda (softens water and alleviate skin)
6 drops of lavender essential oil
1/4 cup lavender

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl. Put in containers and label. Perfect as christmas gifts, stocking stuffers, hostess gifts etc.

Honey, Balsamic Chicken

This recipe I got from a close friend back in Norway (she's Swedish though), Gisela. We seem to have the similar tastes so if she says that something is good, I know it is.

Ingredients;

Chicken (I use organic and calculate 1 breast piece per person)

Salt/pepper

Olive oil

Honey

Balsamic Vinegar

Garlic

Sun dried tomatoes in oil (I use the chopped)

Black olives

Italian spice

Parmesan

Arugula

As you can see I have not indicated any quantities in my recipe. To me it all depends on what you like. Do you like a lot of sauce or do you like it more dry. Do you like olives or not.

The thing you might wonder is the honey/balsamic part and you can start with that. The sauce is supposed to be sweet so I use a lot of honey. Try first 1 part balsamic and 3 parts honey. If you think its to sweet add more balsamic, if you think it's to acidic add more honey. 

I would use 1/4 cup balsamic and then 3/4 cup honey and then add 4 choppedcloves garlic. Mix all this in a bowl and set aside. Remember you can use more garlic if you want, this is just a starting point.

After that pat dry the chicken, cut into cubes and fry in a pan with some olive oil. Add salt and pepper to taste. It only needs to get brown but not cooked all the way through. you will need to do this in batches if frying more than 2-3 breast pieces.

Put the chicken in an ovenproof dish and put in the oven (350F) until almost cooked through (10min). 

Take out the dish,  cover with sun dried tomatoes (I use the whole glass with the oil and all), olives, as many as you like, italian spice and the honey/balsamic sauce. Sprinkle with some parmesan and put the dish back in the oven. 

Raise the temperature to 400F and leave the dish in the oven until chicken is cooked and its warm. You should see the sauce bubbly, the cheese melted and the chicken/cheese getting some color without being burned. 

When the dish is out of the oven, put a big heap of arugula on the top, sprinkle with more parmesan and eat. I just eat it like this but you can add rice and/or bread.

Moussaka

When I make Moussaka I have a more "you take what you have" than keeping strict to the recipe approach. I have used lamb, beef or chicken. I have used Mozzarella instead of Feta-cheese and if I don't have enough ricotta I replace some with milk or greek yoghurt. This means that it's never the same but to this date it has always tasted good if not totally authentic. I will give you my basic recipe and then you can use it as you please. Don't be afraid to improvise, it will most likely turn out good anyway.

Ingredients;


2 eggplants
1 squash (if very small use 2)
1 onion, chopped (red, white, yellow, use what you have)
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 pound ground lamb (or beef or chicken..)
olive oil
salt/pepper/cinnamon/oregano/parsley
1 can chopped tomatoes
3 tbs tomato paste

16 oz ricotta cheese
1 cup crumbled feta cheese
1 egg
nutmeg

Cheese for sprinkling on the top (optional)

Preheat oven to 450 F. On a baking sheet toss slices of eggplant and squash (cut lengthwise) with olive oil, salt and pepper. Spread in a single layer and roast until soft.

In a large saucepan warm some olive oil and then add onion, garlic and ground meat. Cook until meat is browned stirring to prevent it from sticking. Add the spices, tomatoes and tomato paste. Simmer for 10-15 minutes. Taste it and if you want add some more spices. When it comes to the oregano and parsley you can use either fresh or dry. If you use dry add from the start, if you use fresh add at the end. I really like the cinnamon taste so I use at least 1 tsp or more, some use less. Taste is very much a matter of preference, you have to use enough spice for the dish not to be dull but then it's all up to you. Some find a specific taste to be to overpowering others just love that  (remember taking into account that it's not healthy to eat to much salt, I tend sometimes to forget that)

For the ricotta mixture just stir the ricotta, feta and egg then add some nutmeg, at least a good pinch, until blended.

To assemble the Moussaka use an ovenproof dish and start with a layer of eggplant/squash, then add the sauce and some cheese mixture. Repeat the process ending it with a layer of cheese mixture on the top and, if you want, sprinkle some extra cheese on top of that.

Bake at 400F for 45-60 minutes until top is golden and dish is warm and set all the way through.

I hope you like it.

Cranberry Jelly

Last week I went to Costco and found that they had gotten big bags of cranberries. Since Thanksgiving is coming up I decided to make Cranberry Jelly. My recipe is a recipe found at  Mat på bordet a Norwegian food-blog that I love. The recipe is for "tyttebær" our Norwegian version (sort of) of cranberries, I just replace them with cranberries.

Ingredients; 


Cranberries
Water
Sugar

For every 2 pounds of cleaned cranberries you use 1 cup of water. Bring the cranberries and water to a boil in a big pot and let it simmer for 20-30 minutes until the cranberries burst. Pour the cranberries and juice in a jelly bag or a cheesecloth lined colander (three layers) and let drip undisturbed  preferably over night. Discard the berries (or not, you can perhaps make cranberry sauce with it) and measure the liquid. Pour the liquid in a pot and heat. For every 4 cups of liquid add 1,35 pounds of sugar while stirring until sugar has dissolved. Bring to a boil and continue boiling for 10 minutes. Do the spoon test;


Spoon or Sheet Test – Dip a cool metal spoon into the boiling jelly mixture and lift the spoon out of the steam so the syrup runs off the side. When the mixture first starts to boil, the drops will be light and syrupy. As the syrup continues to boil, the drops will become heavier and will drop off the spoon two at a time. When the two drops form together and "sheet" off the spoon, the jellying point has been reached.


If the liquid pass the spoon test it's done. If not continue boiling but not more than 20 minutes.


Pour the jelly into warm sterilized jars leaving 1/4 inch headspace. To sterilize my jars i arranged them in a preheated oven (225F) on a kitchen towel for 20 minutes. I'm not sure if thats the best way. They get sterilized but this is what my towel looked like after.

Wipe the sealing surface of the jars with a clean paper towel, dampened with hot water and adjust the lids. Cool jars completely while vacuum seal is drawn and the jelly sets. If the lids give in when poked there is no vacuum and you will have to keep them in the refrigerator. They should be good for a while anyway, just keep them cold.

  

SnickerDoodle Cupcakes

This week-end Elsa our youngest made these delicious Cupcakes. I'm not a big fan of all the chocolate this and chocolate that (the only person on the earth I know...) so these were perfect for me.

Ingredients;


1 1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 1/2 cup cake flour
1 tbs baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbs ground cinnamon 
1 cup unsalted butter (room temperature)
1 3/4 cups sugar 
4 large eggs (room temperature)
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups milk 


Preheat oven to 350F and line muffin tins with paper liners.


Sift the flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon in a bowl.
In another bowl cream butter and sugar until fluffy (white). Add the eggs, one at a time, while beating until each one is incorporated. Scrape the sides if needed. Beat in the vanilla. Add the flour and milk alternating on low speed (three or four batches). Make sure its thoroughly combined between each batch.Pour the batter in the already prepared muffin tins, filling 3/4 full. Bake about 20 minutes until tester in the middle comes out clean. 


Transfer the tins to wire rack and let cool completely before removing the cupcakes. 

The cupcakes cam be eaten as is (my favorite), dusted with sugar and cinnamon or with some type of frosting like this one;


Frosting;


8 oz. cream cheese (250g)

1 tsp. vanilla extract (or 2 tsp vanilla powder)
1 cup powdered sugar
2 tbsp. soft butter

Mix, I use my kitchen aid with the flat beater at medium to high speed until light and fluffy. Sometimes if it doesn't have the right consistency (the one I like...) I just add more powdered sugar.

Use a pastry bag with a large plain tip to pipe frosting on the cupcakes. 

Elsa also dusted them with cinnamon. Looks yummy don't they.

Pumpkin seeds

Yesterday I shoved you how to use your pumpkin flesh, today I'm going to show you how to use your pumpkin seeds.

Ingredients;


2 cups pumpkin seeds
2 tbs light olive oil
1-2 tsp salt (depends on how salty you like them)


First you need to rinse the seeds in cold water. You have to make sure you get rid of all the strings that are attached to the seeds and after pat dry thoroughly. (At one time I put them on a paper towel with another paper towel on the top and let them sit for a while...that was not a smart move. The paper sticked to the seeds and was almost impossible to remove. Now I always use a kitchen towel and perhaps you should too.)


In a large bowl mix the seeds, olive oil and salt making sure all the seeds are covered with the oil and the salt. Transfer to a baking sheet in a single layer.
Bake until crisp and golden, + - 15 min. If you had to little salt you can add more at this time. 

The seeds should be eaten asap, at least with the humidity here i South Florida they go moist pretty fast.
By the way...That shouldn't be a problem, they are pretty addictive. 

Pumpkin Bread

After pumpkin carving for Halloween I now have pumpkin seeds and pumpkin flesh waiting to be used.
Todays recipe is Pumpkin Bread. I used the same recipe i used for Banana Bread , replacing the mushed banana with pumpkin flesh.

Ingredients;


2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup whole-wheat flour
3/4 cup all-purpose Flour
1/4 cup ground flaxseed
3/4 teaspoon coarse salt (I'm sure it works well with regular salt also..)
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 large whole egg, plus 1 large egg white
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar  (I used a little less)
1 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup pumpkin flesh
1 tsp pumpkin spice

First preheat the oven to 350F and spray a 9 by 5 by 3 inch loaf pan or brush with butter or oil.


To prepare the pumpkin flesh; when carving the pumpkin save the flesh and then bake it in the oven (350F) until tender and transfer to a blender. Puree until smooth. If this makes more than 1 cup you can freeze the rest and use for your thanksgiving pumpkin pie...

In a bowl whisk flours, flaxseed, salt, pumpkin spice, baking powder and baking soda.

In another bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the egg and egg white until combined then add melted butter, sugar, vanilla and the pumpkin puree. Mix until just combined. Add the flour mixture and mix on low speed until incorporated. 

Pour the batter into the pan and bake until golden brown and tester comes out clean. I baked for 30 minutes. Let  cool slightly in the pan then turn onto rack. Cool completely, top side up. Best if eaten same day.

Hope you all had a wonderful Halloween yesterday.