Applemint Tea May 3, 2013

Several people have asked for my recipe for applemint tea so I figured posting it here and sending the link would be easier than separately messaging everyone.  Without further ado, Applemint Tea.

Method One (Hot Steep)

Gather up a bowl full of applemint sprigs.

Fill a pan with about 2 quarts of water and bring it to a boil.  Bruise and rip the leaves and stems.  Turn off the heat and add the applemint.  Steep until the water turns a beautiful light greenish tan.

Before straining if you would like to sweeten the tea, add your desired sweetener.  Depending on who I am fixing it for, I usually use stevia or honey and just sweeten to taste.  You want to add the sweetener before it chills over ice because you want the sugar particles or honey or whatever to dissolve well.  While the tea is steeping, I prepare two quart mason jars by filling them with ice cubes and placing a filter over the mouth of the jar. I use cheese cloth or even cone coffee filters depending on what I have on hand.  Then I tighten the jar band to hold it in place and pour the tea through to strain out any leaves and stems.

Cap it, shake it up and enjoy!

Method Two (Cold Water Steeping)

Sorry, I don’t have any pictures for this one but I did find a you tube link to the video where I first learned about applemint tea and how to cold steep it.  This method is fun to do with children but I do think the hot steeping method provides a stronger flavor!  In this video, the recipe starts at 20 minutes and 3 seconds in so you can skip to that section if you like but the whole video is great fun!

I hope you grow to love the summer tradition of applemint tea as much as I do!

What’s Cookin’ Wednesdays January 11, 2012

Jen’s Coconut Muesli

Mix in a bowl a handful or two of oats, a handful of chopped raw walnuts, a handful of raisins or chopped dates, 1/3 banana torn into chunks, and sprinkle with coconut flakes.

You could toast these and drizzle with honey if you wanted more of a dessert but for breakfast, I just toss a handful of coconut flakes on top.

Serve with cold milk of choice. Great with nut milks and coconut milks as well!

What’s Cookin’ Wednesday March 11, 2009

picture courtesy of allposters.com

This week I wanted to do a blast from the past as soon as I saw how pretty the peppers I was cooking looked.  I LOVE the colors.  So, at our house this evening we had Chicken Jambalaya.  The recipe is as follows.

Boil 2 chicken breasts in water (with pepper and Cajun seasoning) for one hour.

Then remove and plate the breasts and stick them in the freezer to cool.  Set aside the broth.

It took me about an hour to cut up all the fruit for the fruit salad and the peppers and onions for the Jambalaya, so at about five minutes before the chicken was done, I started sautéing  the vegetables (one red pepper, one yellow pepper, one green pepper, and one onion) in a skillet.

Aren’t peppers pretty?

Add Cajun seasoning to the peppers/onions as they cook and when the onions are translucent, add them to the set aside broth.  Pull the cooled chicken out of the freezer and tear into pieces, adding them to the broth as well.  Then add about 4 cups of brown rice.

Cover and simmer for 30 minutes and you have Chicken Jambalaya to serve approx. 7-8 people.

Served with fruit salad and a young coconut drink.  Yum!

Ara approved.

Note: New Recipe Tab November 20, 2008

In lieu of “What’s Cookin’ Wednesdays”, I have added a new recipe tab in the upper right corner of my blog.  I will do my best to rotate these recipes seasonally so check back often 🙂

-Jen

What’s Cookin’ Wednesday November 5, 2008

Well, I really need to go grocery shopping, so tonight is pretty boring.  We are going to have Spaghetti and I’ll make garlic bread for Paul and Ara and a side salad for me.

Tonight feels like it should be a comfort food night.  If I had the groceries, I would make turkey meatloaf and mashed potatoes.  Sigh.

What’s for dinner at your house?

What’s Cookin’ Wednesday October 22, 2008

Good Morning!  Around noon I am throwing together some beef stew in the crock pot and then cooking up some sweet potatoes about 60 minutes before dinner.  Here is the recipe I pulled from Allrecipes.com:

Candied Sweet Potatoes

• 2 large sweet potatoes
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/4 cup orange juice

1. In a frying pan, melt the butter and brown sugar together until bubbly. Add the orange juice and stir until smooth. Add the cut-up sweet potatoes and cook slowly, turning occasionally until the sweet potatoes are caramelized, about 20 minutes. If syrup is too thin, add a bit more brown sugar.

Serves 5

What’s cookin’ at your house?

What’s Cookin’ Wednesday October 8, 2008

picture courtesy of allposters.com

Harvest Pie with Apple, Pears and Cranberries

from The Earthbound Farm Organic Cookbook, “Food to Live By”.

For the Pie-

Crust for a single crust pie (for those gluten free Mama’s like myself use a gluten free pie crust)

1 ripe Earthbound Farm organic pear, peeled and sliced (1/4 in. thick)

3 crisp Earthbound Farm organic apples, peeled and sliced (1/4 in. thick)

11/2 c. coarsely chopped fresh or frozen (thawed) cranberries

1 tsp. finely grated lemon or orange zest or combination

2 Tbs. flour (or gf substitute)

1Tbs. cornstarch

2/3 c. sugar

1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg

Streusel Topping-

1/2 c. rolled oats

1/3 c. flour (or gf substitute)

1/3 c. (packed) brown sugar

1/3 c. chopped walnuts

1/2 tsp. ground ginger

1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg

1/4 c. unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

1. Roll pastry dough into an 11 in. circle and place in a 9 in. pie plate, patting to fit. Trim or flute the crust around the edge of the pie plate. Transfer the crust to the refrigerator for 30 min.

2. Position a rack in the lower third of the oven, and preheat to 375 F. Place a rimmed baking sheet on the rack.

3. To make the filling: place the apples, pears, cranberries, lemon zest, and orange zest into a large bowl and stir to combine.

4. Place the flour, cornstarch, sugar and nutmeg into a small bowl and stir to combine. Sprinkle this mix on the fruit and toss to combine.

5. To make the topping: place the oats, flour, brown sugar, walnuts, ginger and nutmeg in a medium size bowl. Using your fingers, blend the butter into the mixture until it resembles coarse meal.

6. Place the fruit filling in the pie crust and cover the filling with the struesel topping. Do not pack down the toppin.

7. Place the pie on the baking sheet in the oven. Bake the pie until the juices start to seep and bubble along the edges and the topping is golden brown, 50-60 min. Allow the pie to cool on a wire rack before serving, at least 20 min.

Serves 8

Great with Ice Cream!

What’s Cookin’ Wednesday October 1, 2008

Picture Courtesy of Allposters.com

Monday night we had a rotisserie chicken and the leftover meat was shredded for tonight’s Pomegranate Chicken Salad.  I’ve made chicken salad with cranberries before so tonight we will see if it is just as good with pomegranate. I am also going to throw in some crushed almonds.  I haven’t decided on the side dish yet.  It is a cooler day so I am leaning towards soup or grilled veggies but I had originally bought a cantelope for tonight so I may do that too.

What’s for dinner at your house?

What’s Cookin’ Wednesday September 24, 2008

picture courtesy of allposters.com

Tonight I am making chicken and wild rice with grilled squash.  I tried this recipe for grilled squash last Sunday for small group and it was fantastic.  I hesitate to even call this a recipe because it only has two ingredients: sliced squash and Italian dressing.  Soak the squash in the dressing for about 5 minutes and then toss into a large skillet to cook until tender.  Yum!

What’s Cookin’ Wednesday September 17, 2008

picture courtesy of allprints.com

I am at a dilemma this morning.  I can’t decide between two dishes.  One is roasted garlic chicken with baked potatoes and carrots and the other is spicy shrimp pasta.  I am not positive the chicken will be thawed in time for dinner this evening since I just transfered it from the freezer so I may default to the shrimp pasta even though we had pasta (spaghetti with meatballs) last night.   Hmm… anyone know a great way to defrost a whole chicken without using a microwave or letting it just sit out?