Preserved Lemons

I have a little break from doctor visits this month since I've finished my chemo and still have about a month until my surgery. This means I am feeling better and have a little bit of time to work on experimental kitchen projects. Preserved lemons are a big deal in Middle Eastern and Moroccan cuisine. I've always wanted to try making them but the last time I started a batch they totally failed because I used a container that wasn't totally air tight, oops...

This time around I have my act together a bit more and I'm hoping these will turn out to be delicious! They are still fermenting right now so I haven't actually gotten to try them yet but they sure look pretty and they couldn't be easier to make. First you have to sanitize the lemons and jars with boiling water. Next cut each lemon as if you are cutting them in to quarters but stop at the last second so they still stay attached. After that you pack each lemon with kosher salt and stuff them in the jar. Use a wooden spoon to much them around a bit and get the juices of the lemons flowing. If you have any extra lemons you can squeeze some extra juice on top too, the idea is to have the lemons completely covered in brine. Then all you have to do is wait 3 to 4 weeks and after that pop them in the fridge. When you are ready to use them just rinse them off and chop them up to add to salads, chicken or fish dishes. I'm really eager to try them out, I love Middle Eastern food so I have high hopes. I will try to post a recipe using them when the finish, yum!

Asparagus and Corn Pizza

Since getting the book Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day for Christmas it has been really easy to make all our bread from scratch and this include pizza dough! I love this book so much because it has you make up a huge batch of dough and store it in your fridge, then you can cut off a chunk and use it whenever you want. I've started getting more experimental with my pizza lately and this is a light and lovely springtime pizza recipe I threw together.

Ingredients

Premade pizza dough (you can buy it at the store or use any recipe you like. I love the Artisan Bread's olive oil dough for this though)

1 cup shredded parmesan cheese

3/4 cup crumbled feta cheese

1 small bunch asparagus

1 cup fresh or frozen corn kernels

1 cup chopped kale

1/2 onion sliced thin

4 garlic cloves, chopped

1 tbs olive oil plus more for drizzling

1 tbs butter

fresh ground black pepper to taste

Make sure to heat your pizza stone for at least 20 minutes before baking to get a nice crispy crust. I also find it helps to bake the crust on it's own for 3 to 5 minutes before adding toppings to keep it from getting soggy. While the oven and stone are heating sauté the onions, garlic, corn and kale in olive oil and butter.

Spread the corn mixture evenly over the rolled out pizza dough and sprinkle with fresh ground black pepper. Top with as much asparagus as you like and/or can fit on your pizza. Sprinkle the top with feta and parmesan cheeses and drizzle with olive oil.

Bake at 450 degrees for about 15 minutes or until crust is golden brown and cheese is just starting to brown in places.

I imagine this would be lovely with a white wine while sitting on a patio but it's pretty tasty no matter where you eat it. This was such a hit with me and Eric that I'm looking forward to trying out new and creative pizza recipes soon!

Brunswick Stew

Being the good Southern girl that I am I love me some brunswick stew! I had actually never had this until I moved to Georgia, I think it must be a South Eastern thing. If you've never had it you are missing out. Traditionally it is made with a variety of meats including squirrel and sometimes rabbit but nowadays most people make it with chicken and pork which is what I did. I'm pretty proud of this recipe since I pretty much made it up on my own (with a tiny bit of help from the internet). i think it rivals any brunswick stew I've had at restaurants. It has the perfect combination of sweet, smokey and spicy, perfect for this cold weather we're having!

Ingredients

1 Tbs butter

1 onion, diced

2 stalks celery, diced

1 cup chopped green beans ( you can also use lima beans or edamame which is what I did since it's all I had on hand)

2 cups pulled pork

2 cups shredded chicken ( I used leftover chicken from broth I made earlier in the week)

1 cup frozen corn

4 cups chicken broth

1/3 cup sweet BBQ sauce

1/3 cup apple cider vinegar

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

1 Tsp black pepper

2 Tbs Worcestershire sauce

1 can diced tomatoes

2 Tbs tomato paste

In a large Dutch oven, saute the onion and celery in butter until tender. Toss in all the other ingredients and simmer for one hour. Optional: top with sour cream, grated cheese or hot sauce. 

3 Cheese Potato Pizza

This recipe is so gloriously full of carbs I could just die. I love carbs, mmmm...

I've been toying with the idea of a potato pizza for a while now but couldn't commit to a recipe. I ended up kind of making this one up and it turned out tasting amazing! I guess you can't go wrong with potatoes on a  pizza huh? Unfortunately I didn't write down exactly what I did to make this so this recipe is an approximation. My advice is to do what I do and just fiddle with it until it tastes good.

For the Dough you can use store bought or any recipe you prefer. I used the recipe for pizza dough that came with my stand mixer, it was easy and delicious.

For the the toppings you need..

3 new potatoes sliced extra thin (I used a mandoline slicer)
Salt and pepper to taste
3 tbs goat cheese, crumbled
3/4 shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese (the good stuff, not the Kraft kind)
A handful of chopped fresh herbs ( I used thyme, rosemary and oregano)
2 tbs olive oil

For the sauce you need..
1 tbs butter
one medium onion, sliced
1/2 cup dry white wine

Start by roasting your potatoes at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes. Before you roast you should brush them with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. You'll also need to arrange them on a single layer on a cookie sheet, I had to do mine in two batches. Once the potatoes are softened set them aside to cool and make your sauce. To do this you just need to sauté the onions in butter until the start to get tender. Add your white wine and reduce liquid by half, remove from heat.

Stretch your pizza dough in to the desired shape and begin heating your oven to as hot as it will go (usually 500 degrees) with the pizza stone inside. To avoid a soggy crust you must preheat your pizza stone, I learned this the hard way. Spread your sauce over the pizza dough and arrange the potatoes on top in a single layer. Sprinkle with all three cheeses and chopped fresh herbs. Brush the edges of your crust with olive oil.

Carefully transfer your pizza to the hot pizza stone (this is so tricky! If you find an easy way to do this let me know!) and bake for 10 to 12 minutes.

This recipe was really fantastic I must say, especially for a potato lover like me. It is however a bit of work so I probably will save it for when I'm trying to impress someone :-)

My Favorite Way to Eat Sweet Potatoes

Fall is officially upon us as of this weekend and I am really digging the fall flavors already. Somehow I am the only person in my family that loves sweet potatoes (I know, crazy right?) so whenever I eat them it feels like a special treat just for me. I always used to have them baked with brown sugar, cinnamon and butter but this year I have been trying a new combination of flavors and really loving it. This is a photo of my baked sweet potato with goat cheese and fresh sage and thyme. It's so yummy and the flavors go so well together. Any other sweet potato lovers out there? How do you like to eat them?

Creamy Tomato Basil Soup

I love love love tomato soup! Especially of the creamy variety. I got some lovely tomatoes at the farmers market a few weeks ago and decided to make up a tomato soup recipe using some fresh basil from my garden. After some experimentation I came up with this recipe and I think it turned out pretty well. It would probably be even better with cream instead of milk but I just used what i had on hand.

Ingredients
4 Large tomatoes
2 Tbs olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
1/3 cup whole milk
1 Chicken bullion cube
1 Tbs onion powder
1 Handful fresh basil

Chop tomatoes in to large chunks. Arrange on a cookie sheet and drizzle with olive oil. Season with salt and pepper and bake at 400 degrees for 40 minutes. Remove tomatoes from oven and transfer to a large saucepan. Use an emersion blender to blend tomatoes until smooth, then add milk, basil, onion powder (and more salt and pepper if you like) and blend again until smooth. Add chicken bullion cube and simmer over medium heat until it dissolves.

This makes a fairly small amount, maybe 2 or 3 servings but Eric doesn't like tomato soup so it was the perfect amount for me. I think it would be even better with some grilled cheese or homemade croutons, maybe next time :-)

Living Walls 2013

Living Walls is a really awesome public art event hosted in Atlanta every year. I usually try to go to it but missed last year due to being very tired and pregnant :-) This year I was back with baby in tow! 

Living Walls consists primarily of a great many murals painted around the Atlanta area, generally clustered in a certain are each year. This series of events and art displays also includes lectures, gallery shows and block parties each year to celebrate and raise awareness of public art and urban renewal.  This is a very picture heavy post but there is so much amazing art to be seen at these events! Here is just a small sampling of the work featured in Living Walls this year. 

These first photos are of us going to the main event party which included gallery shows by the featured artists and lectures on urban renewal, Echo was a trooper to tag along!

The main event party was hosted at the Goat Farm again this year (I'm told it was held elsewhere last year). The Goat Farm is such an amazing space, I'm always in awe of it! I particularly love the the way the design events, especially the lighting. Everything took on a really magical feel thanks to the way this was handled. 

Above you can see the stage where the lectures took place and bellow is a painting by one of the featured artists.

The main event party really left us wanting more and we couldn't wait to see the murals around town. Today was my mom's Birthday so we decided to take the morning to do a tour of Living Walls murals and then grab some lunch, here is some of what we saw.

Most of this years murals were in the Grant Park and East Atlanta area (some of the ones I have pictured are from previous years as well though. For more info on Living Walls or for a map of the murals check out their website http://livingwallsatl.com/.

After all that sightseeing we worked up quite an appetite and headed over to East Atlanta's Delia's Chicken Sausage Stand. This place is fantastic but that should come as no surprise as it was opened by restauranteurs of The Porter in Little 5 Points and The Flying Biscuit, both Atlanta staples.

I enjoyed a chicken chorizo taco plate and an ice cold Coke and Echo enjoyed playing with the salt and pepper shakers :-) My mom and dad got a chili cheese sausage called the Hot Mess and a Philly cheese sausage respectively and everyone loved their meal. You can check out the menu on their website here http://www.thesausagestand.com/. I will definitely be going back when I can take Eric :-)

What a fun way to be a tourist in your own city, I love that Atlanta is such a big supporter of public art and that we can host such an exciting even as Living Walls every year.

Peach Pecan Muffins

We have been getting great peaches at the farmers market all Summer and as a money saving technique we usually go for the "scratch and dent" peaches which are discounted. Usually this means they will just have a little brown spot or the skin is scratched up but they still taste great and are perfect for baking! I got this recipe from mrbreakfast.com and man is it ever good! I think it is like a cross between muffins and coffee cake, definitely had to struggle not to eat the whole batch at once. Here is the recipe.

Peach Pecan Muffins

1 and 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup butter - melted

1/4 cup milk plus 2 tablespoons

1 large egg

2 medium peaches, diced

For The Topping:

1/2 cup pecans - chopped

1/3 cup brown sugar - packed

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 Tablespoons butter - melted

To make the muffins combine all ingredients from the topping list in a small bowl and set aside. Next mix sugar, flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt and in a separate bowl mix egg and milk, whisking until combined.  Gradually stir the wet ingredients in to the dry ingredients until just combined and stir in the peaches. Fill a greases muffin tin with muffin mixture and sprinkle pecan topping on each one. Bake at 400 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes.

Black Bean and Sweet Potato Skillet Enchiladas

Sorry I didn't get a better picture of this, I was impatient to eat and it was getting dark!

As a Texan (born if not raised) I love Mexican food almost more than anything! Unfortunately it seems like I don't cook much of it at home. This is because a lot of authentic mexican food can be kind of labor intensive and I have no time to mess with it. For example, I love enchiladas but traditional enchiladas require you to lightly fry each tortilla to make it pliable before rolling it. This has long kept me from making enchiladas since I hate frying but I recently became inspired by some recipes I was browsing online to make skillet enchiladas. Not only do I get to use my beloved cast iron skillet (one of my favorite cooking tools of all time) but I get easy, tasty Mexican food! It's a win win. I also got the chance to make my first ever homemade enchilada sauce, yum! Here is the recipe I came up with.


Ingredients

For the enchiladas
2 tbs olive oil
3 cups diced sweet potatoes
1 onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 jalapeno, diced
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp chili powder
1 can black beans
8 corn tortillas cut in to thick strips
1 cup shredded cheese
1 avacado, chopped to serve
2 cups enchilada sauce

For the sauce
1 8 oz can tomato sauce
1 cup water
1 chicken bullion cube
1 tbs cumin
1 tbs chili powder
1 tbs all purpose flour

Directions
Saute onion, garlic, jalapeno and sweet potatoes in a large cast iron skillet until sweet potatoes are tender, about 10 minutes. It the mean time whisk all ingredients for sauce together over low heat until smooth. Add black beans, tortillas, spices and sauce to sweet potatoes and stir to combine. Remove from heat and stir in half shredded cheese, sprinkling the rest of the cheese on top. Place skillet in broiler on high for 3 to 5 minutes or until cheese is melted and bubbly.

Watermelon Lime Popsicles

For Eric's Birthday I got him a Zoku quick pop maker. For those of you that don't know, my husband is a popsicle fanatic, he can go through the things like crazy! I had gotten him some traditional popsicle molds in the past but none of them really worked out well for us and we had problems with the sticks coming out of the pops and everything sticking to the mold. Since we go through pops so fast in our house I thought a quick freeze pop maker was a great idea and I had heard good things about Zoku so I decided to give this one a try. We took some tips from my friend Emily at One Trailing Spouse  who has the same pop maker and let them freeze for about half an hour instead of the advertised 7 minutes just to make sure they froze well. They came out fantastic! We really feel that they are gourmet quality (similar to King of Pops) and were so easy to make. Here is the recipe we used for our first pop, we are looking forward to lots more experimentation in the near future.

Ingredients
3 to 4 cups chopped seedless watermelon
juice and zest of one lime
6 tbs sugar

Blend all ingredients with an emersion blender until smooth. Use a liquid measuring cup to pour mixture in to your pop mold (be careful not to overfill, we kept doing this and it go messy). Freeze until solid and enjoy!

Carrot Cake Muffins for Baby

We are getting ready to go on a road trip for my Birthday (yay!) and I have had a busy day with pre Birthday celebrating and preparing for our 8 hour drive to Charlottesville, VA tomorrow. One surefire way to keep Echo happy in the car is to keep her well fed so I have been stocking up on snacks for her. In addition to some store bought baby crackers and fresh fruit I baked up a batch of these pint sized muffins that are just perfect for Echo to munch on. I adapted the recipe from Hello Bee but used carrots in my muffins instead of spinach as well as making some other changes. Who doesn't love carrot cake right? Here is the recipe as I used it.

Ingredients
1/2 cup unsweetened apple sauce
1 large egg
1 cup grated carrots
1/4 cup sugar
2 tbs canola oil
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

Mix first 5 ingredients in a bowl and blend well with an emersion blender. Mix remainder of ingredients in a separate bowl until well combined. Gradually stir wet ingredients in to dry ingredient mixture. Scoop batter in to mini muffin tin filling 3/4 of the way in each cup. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes.

These are the perfect size for babies that like to feed themselves like Echo and so far she seems to be a fan. I'll let you know how the road trip goes, hopefully these will help keep her happy!

Whole Grain Banana Bread

I don't really like to eat bananas by themselves but I love having them on hand because they are great for making smoothies, ice cream and my personal favorite banana bread! Here is a whole grain take on the classic using half whole wheat flour and half oat flour. I thought it tasted fantastic and really couldn't tell much a difference from the white flour versions I've used in the past. 

Ingredients

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 cup oat flour

3/4 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

4 tbs butter, melted

1 cup brown sugar

2 eggs, beaten

3 ripe bananas

1/3 cup plain greek yogurt

Mash bananas with a wooden spoon in a large bowl, add butter, eggs, yogurt and sugar mixing well to combine. Mix all other ingredients in a separate bowl and slowly add to banana mixture, stirring as you go. Pour batter in to a greased loaf pan and bake at 350 degrees for  1 hour. Enjoy hot with lots of butter and a cup of tea!

Stretching Your Coffee Dollar With Iced Coffee

Is there anything more beautiful than that moment when the dream hits the coffee?

 I have a new addiction this Summer, iced coffee. I used to be opposed to cold coffee beverages but the Southern Summer heat combined with my ever growing need for caffeine has driven me to be a huge iced coffee fan. It kind started as a way to make our coffee money go a little further. You see, one of the things we don't skimp on in this house is good coffee. It has to be whole bean and it must be freshly ground before each time we brew. We have a fantastic cone filter coffee machine that I am just in love with but the problem was we would always have some left over in each pot and would end up trowing some out. I absolutely HATE wasting things, it's something that really bothers me. I could just see our good coffee money going down the drain and was killing me! I started saving our extra coffee in a stopper bottle we got at Ikea  (seriously these things are great, we use them for everything) and putting it in the fridge. Now every afternoon I can pour myself a delicious cold coffee treat. My perfect recipe is to fill the glass about two thirds with coffee, then the last third with milk, then I add just a touch of chocolate syrup and a few ice cubes, pure perfection!

I guess you would ideally have fresh coffee for you iced brew or even better do a cold brew, but for a busy (and exhausted!) mom of a 9 month old this is a great solution. It also helps me not waste coffee which makes me feel a lot more justified in buying the good stuff :-)

Paneer Masala For Cheaters

Indian food is one of my very favorite types of cuisine, right up there after Mexican (can you tell I love spicy food?) but until recently I haven't done much cooking of Indian food at home. It always seemed too time consuming and difficult and who has enough forethought to marinate things overnight anyway? Well lately I have been taking on my fear of Indian cooking and trying some simple recipes at home (it's not as hard as I thought it would be). At Easter Eric and I had our first experience making Paneer, an Indian cottage cheese, and loved it! We also love masala sauce but I never remember to marinate my protein over night. I came up with this adapted version that doesn't require marinating and has a pretty authentic taste in my opinion. It may not be the most authentic in terms of process but it's delicious nonetheless! * Caution, this is very spicy!

Ingredients
2 Tbs Sunflower oil or ghee
2 cups cubed paneer cheese (see my tutorial here)
1 small onion, qaurtered
1 yellow bell pepper, cut in to 1 inch pieces
2 cloves garlic diced
1 Jalapeno pepper diced
1 Tbs lemon juice
1 Tbs Garhm Masala
2 Tsp cayenne pepper
1 1/2 Tbs cumin
2 Tsp black pepper
1 Tbs ginger
2 Tsp salt
2 Tsp paprika
1 8 oz can tomato sauce
1 cup whole milk

Saute the paneer in sunflower oil until browned on all sides, remove from pan and set aside. Add onion, peppers and garlic to the pan and saute until tender. Add tomato sauce and spices to the pan and stir until well combined. Add milk to the pan and heat through. Add cooked Paneer to the pan last and stir until coated. Serve with basmati rice.

Healthy(ish) Peach Crumble

We have had to take a break from the farmers market for a few weeks due to having too many weekend plans but we were finally able to return this weekend. Lo and behold, peach season had arrived! We were able to score a huge bag of scratch and dent peaches for cheap and needed to find a way to use them up before they went bad. We make apple crisp all the time in the fall and love it for it's simplicity and deliciousness. Here is a slightly healthier version using peaches, whole grain flour and reduced sugar. It tastes nice and light for Summer!

Ingredients
6 Tbs brown sugar
1/2 cup almond butter
3 Tbs butter
2 Tbs whole grain flour
3 Tbs quick cook oats
1/4 Tsp vanilla
Dash of salt
Dash of cinnamon
10 ripe peaches

Combine all ingredients in except peaches in a medium bowl, cutting in butter and almond butter to dry ingredients until crumbly. Set aside. Slice peaces and arrange in an 8"x8" baking dish (I didn't bother to peel them but if you don't like peels feel free to get rid of them). Sprinkle crumble topping on peaches and bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes. It doesn't get any easier than that! I couldn't help but think this would be great as an ice cream topping too, mmm....

Brown Butter Sage and Sausage Penne

My herb window box that I planted on the back deck has exploded this Spring. It's worked out great because it is so near the kitchen and gives me a ready supply of oregano, parsley, sage and thyme. I use most of those herbs regularly but I can't say I cook much with sage (although I do enjoy the flavor) so I was racking my brain to come up with something to use it in. Most recipes I recall using sage in are very Fall oriented and I was looking for something good to make for Spring. Luckily I recalled that sage and butter are a match made in heaven and I came up with this tasty pasta dish! It is fantastic with a glass of wine, yum!

Ingredients

1 stick plus two tablespoons butter

1 teaspoon brown sugar

1/2 onion sliced

1/4 cup sage chopped

2 links Italian sausage

Goat cheese crumbles to top

1 pound cooked penne

Melt butter in a sauce pan over medium heat. Stir in brown sugar and onions and cook until the solids in the butter separate and start to turn brown (the onions will also start to caramelize and brown). Add the chopped sage and cook 2 to 3 more minutes, remove from heat. In the mean time, remove sausage from casing and brown in a skillet. Stir the cooked sausage in to the butter sauce and toss with the pasta. Top with crumbled goat cheese or grated parmesan. 

Pickled Radishes

My radishes are all getting ready to harvest which is very exciting because it will make room in my garden for other things. As usual I have way more radishes than I know what to do with. As I learned last year from my bumper crop of cucumbers, pickling is a great solution to this problem. I didn't really follow a recipe this time, just experimented until I got a solution I liked. The results were fantastic, I'm seriously hooked on these little guys. They would be great on sandwiches but I am loving eating them right out of the jar. Here is my recipe for tangy, spicy, crunchy pickled radishes.

Ingredients
1 cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 tbs sugar
1/2 tbs salt
about 15 radishes (depending on how big they are)
1/2 jalapeno pepper
3 cloves garlic

Boil vinegar, salt and sugar until salt and sugar dissolve completely. In the mean time slice radishes, jalapeno and garlic in to thin, round slices and place in a small mason jar or any other lidded jar you have handy. Pour the liquid mixture over the sliced veggies and refrigerate for 2 days. This will keep in you refrigerator for several weeks.

Easy Apple Crisp

This is another nostalgic post relating to the time when Echo was born. Really this apple crisp should be added to your new mom survival kit.

Echo was born in late September and the weather was spectacular. The days were warm and the nights were just starting to get nice and cool. We had planned for a Fall birthday for our fist child, not only is it my favorit season but no one else in our families has a Fall birthday so she will have it all to herself.

After we brought Echo home from the hospital our families were nice enough to bring us all kinds of food so we wouldn't have to cook on top of taking care of a new baby. My mom started bringing us seasonal and delicious apple crisp, what could be more comforting than apples, cinnamon, suger and oats? Soon enough we got the recipe from her and have been making it ever since. Every time we whip up this recipe it makes me think of sitting on the back deck with our newborn baby. This is one recipe that will definitely always hold a special place in our hearts.

Ingredients
10 cups apples, peeled and sliced
1 cup white sugar
1 tbs all purpose flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup water

topping
1 cup quick cook oats
1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup brown sugar
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup melted butter

Mix white sugar, 1 tbs flour, and cinnamon in a small bowl. Place apple slices in a 9 by 12 baking dish and sprinkle with sugar mixture. Pour water on top of apples and sugar. In a separate bowl mix together  remaining ingredients and crumble on top of apple dish. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.

Key Lime Cookies

It's been really fun going to the farmers market every week (especially when it's not ridiculously cold!) and partaking of all the local produce. I try to always make myself try something new when I'm there and the last time I went they had some great looking key limes for sale. I bought them because they looked so fresh and yummy but I ad no idea what I'd do with them. Luckily I stumbled across a recipe for key lime cookies and the problem was solved!

Here is the recipe, originally from Honest Fare.

Ingredients
1 stick of butter softened
1 1/4 cup sugar
1 egg plus one yolk
1/4 cup key lime juice
2 tsp lime zest
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
powdered sugar for topping

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cream butter and sugar in a large bowl until smooth, add egg and yolk and beat until combined. Add lime juice, lime zest, baking powder and salt and stir to combine. Gradually add flour and stir until dough is smooth. Shape dough in to 1 inch balls and transfer to cookie sheet. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until golden. Remove from oven and allow to cool. Add powdered sugar topping using a sifter (this was so fun, I'd never done it before!).

I made these while my husband had people over for games and it was all I could do to save them all from being gobbled up on the spot! Luckily I had enough limes left to make a second batch :-)

Sprouting Lentils

Here is a little something green for St. Patrick's Day! This was my first experience sprouting anything and I was delighted by how easy it was. I love fresh sprouts, especially on sandwiches and salads, but they are expensive to buy at the store. It's incredibly cheap and easy to make on your own and adds a delightful crunch to all kinds of dishes.

Place your lentils in a sunny widow in a clear container with cheese cloth on top.

After several days of sprouting

yummy, crunchy sprouts!

 To sprout you own lentils, just put about 3/4 cups of dry lentils (any kind is fine but not split, they must be whole) in water to soak over night. After they are soaked, place them in a clear container in a sunny window with a piece of cheese cloth on top. Make sure you have plenty of extra room in whatever container you use because they will grow quite a bit. Rinse the lentils in cold water twice a day, making sure that no puddles collect in the bottom of the jar. In just a few days the lentils will have sprouted and when you see green leaves they are ready to eat. You can then take them out of the jar and store them in the fridge.

I loved watching these guys sprout, it was awesome to see green things growing from my dried lentils that have been in my pantry for months. What a perfect project for spring!