While you might think spicy things are taboo during the hotter months, that seems to be one of the times when you will find folks at all the Mexican restaurants of an evening or at home on the patio dipping chips in hot salsa. Salsa is one of my personal favorite foods, so when a friend gave me this deluxe salsa recipe, I was excited. It is delicious!

Black Bean Chile Dip

2 cans black beans, drained (save juice till the end for thinning)
1 avocado
1/2 cup green or sweet onions
1/2  bunch cilantro (for those like me who do not care for cilantro, this is barely noticeable, but adds something to the final taste)
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp lemon or lime juice
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp salt and pepper
1 tsp chipotle chile pepper
2 tsp Tony Chachere’s seasoning (optional)

Put all the ingredients together in a food processor and blend. If it is too dry or clumpy for you, add back in some of the bean juice. Serve with tortilla chips or cut vegetables. YUM!

Tomato Cherry Beans

1 and a half pounds fresh green beans

1 1/2 Cups water

1/4 Cup butter

1 Tablespoon honey

3/4 Teaspoon garlic salt

1/8 Teaspoon salt

1/4 Teaspoon pepper

1 1/2 Teaspoon fresh basil or 1/2 Teaspoon dried

2 and one half Cups fresh cherry tomatoes cut in quarters

Fresh basil

Clean and string beans and cut in thirds. Combine beans and water in saucepan. Bring to a boil. Cover. Reduce heat and simmer 20 minutes and drain. Melt butter in skillet, stir in honey and all salt and spices.  Add in the cherry tomatoes and cook for only a minute or 2 until soft and warm. Pour tomatoes and sauce over beans and stir the contents very gently. Serve in salad bowls with basil or other garnish on top. This should make 6 servings.

Chinese Beets

Ingredients:

3 fresh beets chopped and cooked

1 Cup honey

1 Cup apple cider vinegar

2 Tablespoons cornstarch

20  cloves

3 Tablespoons ketchup

3 Tablespoons olive or coconut oil

1 Teaspoon vanilla

1 1/2 Cups beet juice

Pinch of salt

Mix the above ingredients in a cooking pot and heat over medium setting for about 4 minutes (until it gets thick). Let the beets cool  in the frig and serve when ready. These beets are great in salads or by themselves. They can also be added as garnish to other dishes.

Whole Wheat Banana Bread 
  
      2 c  Whole wheat flour
      1 t  Baking powder
      1 t  Baking soda
    1/4 t  Salt
    1/2 c  Butter (applesauce)
    3/4 c  Evaporated Cane Juice Crystals
      1  Egg 
  1 1/4 c  Mashed bananas (about 3)
    1/4 c  Plain low fat yogurt
 
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9×5 inch loaf pan. 
 Sift flour, baking powder, soda and salt. 
 Cream butter and sugar. 
 Beat in egg. Add bananas and yogurt and beat.
Add flour mixture and mix just until well blended.
 
Turn into pan and bake below oven center about 55 minutes. 
Let stand in pan 10 minutes, then turn out to cool on wire rack.
Makes one loaf.

Blueberry-Banana Sorbet 
    
  1 3/4 c  blueberries
      2  sliced bananas
      1 T  honey
    1/2 t  lemon juice
 
Place all ingredients in food processor or blender and
blend until smooth.
 
Place in plastic container and freeze at least 2 hours. 
Take out partially frozen fruit and stir well to break
up ice crystals. Return to freezer to completely freeze. 
Let fruit sorbet stand 15 minutes at room temperature
before serving.

Raw foods are termed “living food” because they contains some of the most important building blocks of life, enzymes. Enzymes perform a myriad of different functions in the body, such as breaking down food, preventing gas and bloating, tissue repair and alleviating inflammation, just to name a few.

There are many actors, actresses, artists and other famous folks who have given up dead food (as all cooked food is called) to adopt a raw, living diet. Many of these people claim their cancers, arthritis, tendonitis, eczema, intestinal diseases and hundreds of other ailments have gradually gone away as they converted their intake of food from cooked/baked/fried etc. to a raw, fresh way of life and eating.

I said all that just to preface one of my personal favorite raw recipes that is great as a breakfast food.

You take the following ingredients and mix them in a bowl and keep them in the frig until you are ready to use them for a meal:

3/4 cup organic raw almonds, sliced or shredded (and soaked overnight if desired)
1/2 cup organic raw sunflower seeds
1/2 cup organic raw cashews
1/2 cup organic raisins
1/4 cup chopped dried figs
1/2 cup organic, unsweetened, shredded coconut (if desired)

When ready to serve:

Put 1/3 cup ground flax seeds (flax seed meal) into a medium sized bowl. Warm 1/2 cup water (but not above 100 degrees) and one tablespoon raw honey or raw agave syrup, and mix this with the flax. Stir and allow to sit for a minute or two. Take 1/2 cup of your muesli mix from the frig and add to the flax meal. Then top with fresh fruit (such as raspberries, strawberries, blackberries, bananas, blueberries, etc.).

You can serve this as is, with fresh raw milk from a cow or goat, or if you prefer, raw almond milk, rice milk etc. Enjoy!

The fact that what you eat and expose your body to can determine how well it functions, can be a powerful motivator. So here are some healthy snack ideas for when we require alternatives that are more nutritious.

If you are a carb and sugar addict, it may take a little time to re-educate your taste buds, but don’t give up. You will soon find yourself craving the healthier snacks instead. It is just a matter of relearning what real food tastes like.

- Raisins and dried fruit that are not sulfured or soaked in sugar can be a quick energy fix that also contain an abundance of vitamins and minerals.- Sunflower seeds, pecans, cashews, brazils, walnuts, etc. make a healthy snack. Raw, nuts do not contain hydrogenated oils, excess salt, etc. They do however contain essential fatty acids, fiber, vitamins, minerals and protein.

- Fresh raw fruit, berries and vegetables of all kinds are an excellent way to build up your immune system as well as fill a hungry belly.

- Smoothies are another fun way to take the edge off. Some raw honey and your favorite fruit mixed with almond, soy or rice milk is a tasty treat.

- Air-popped popcorn is a popular standby snack food. You can put some salt, olive oil and seasonings on after it is popped to please your personal taste buds.

- One of our personal favorites is to fill celery with unsweetened peanut butter or cover sliced apples with raw almond butter.

Hope you all have a healthy and blessed Christmas!

Scented Christmas Ornaments

4 oz. can (about 1 c.) cinnamon
1 tbsp. cloves
1 tbsp. nutmeg
3/4 c. applesauce
2 tbsp. white glue

In medium bowl, combine cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg. Add applesauce and glue; stir to combine. Work mixture with hands 2 to 3 minutes or until dough is smooth and ingredients are thoroughly mixed. Divide into 4 portions. Roll out each dough portion to 1/4 inch thickness. Cut dough with cookie cutters. Using straw or toothpick, make small hole in top of ornament. Place cut out ornaments on wire rack to dry. Allow several days to dry, turning ornaments over once each day. Use these ornaments to decorate gifts, hang on tree, etc.

Clay Ornaments Recipe

2 c. baking soda
1 c. cornstarch
1 1/4 c. cold water

Mix soda and cornstarch together, blending well. Add the cold water and mix well until mixture is smooth. Boil for one minute until it has consistency of mashed potatoes. Stir constantly. Spoon out on a plate. Cover with a damp cloth and allow to cool. Knead dough and roll out on waxed paper. Cut out designs with a cookie cutter or shape by hand. Let dry until hardened, about 1 to 2 days. Paint ornaments with tempra or water colors. Dry well and coat with shellac or clear nail polish. Hangers may be mounted on back with glue, or pressed into dough before it dries.

Edible Ornaments

Use a basic sugar cookie recipe, after rolling it out, use glass or can to cut large circles. Use a wide straw to cut a hole near the top. After baking the cookies, paint  family names on each one. You can also give them to teachers, friends, and family as gifts. On Christmas Day everyone gets to eat the cookie with their name on it.

It is a great time for outdoor activities, taking drives to enjoy the fall leaves, hiking, day trips and even weekend camp-outs. Nothing is quite so wonderful as a bowl of tasty hot soup when you have worked up an appetite and come in from the cold. This might be one recipe you have not tried, but if you like pumpkin, give it a try. You may like one of them as much as my family did.

Oriental Pumpkin Soup

Heat olive oil on med. heat  in large saucepan with curry for 5 minutes.
Add diced onion and cook for another 5 minutes.
Add the pumpkin, carrot and veggie base, bring to the boil and cook for 15 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender.
When all is soupy, add the coconut cream and mix well.
Serve immediately.

Pumpkin/Cinnamon Soup

- 1 cup chopped onion
- 1 cup chopped celery
- 1/2 cup chopped onions
- 1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
- 1/2 cup water
- 7 cups vegetable stock
- 1 stick cinnamon
- 1 cup soft tofu
- 1 cup soy milk
- 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1- 1/2 teaspoons sea salt 
- 1/3 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 4 cups fresh chopped pumpkin

Heat the olive oil in a large pot over a medium heat. Add the onion, celery and onions and simmer for 5 minutes. Whisk the flour into the water then add it to the pot along with the vegetable stock, pumpkin, and cinnamon stick and allow to simmer for 15 minutes. Puree the tofu and soy milk for 3 to 4 minutes and then whisk it into the soup using a hand whisk. Stir in the salt, parsley, garlic and nutmeg and simmer for a further 10 minutes. Stir occasionally and serve warm.

For those of you who feel the need for some fresh baking ideas for the coming season this 3 part demonstration/course being offered at Mariners Landing Resort Community and Conference Center, may be exciting news.

The first part in the series is called, Holiday Baking: Gourmet Made Easy. It will take place on October 17, 2009 from 2:00 - 3:00pm and is part of Friends and Couples Weekend. Join Pastry Chef Susan, Mama Sue, McGehee for Holiday Baking: Gourmet Made Easy.

The cost is $10 per person or $15 per couple and reservations are required, so contact them soon to save your place. Call (540) 297-4900 or email info@marinerslanding.com. Visit http://www.marinerslanding.com/calendar for more information.

Cooking does not interest everyone of course, but those who are caught in it’s grip, are true admirers. The nice thing about the Culinary Courses at Virginia Western is that you can go all the way and get a culinary certification, or you can just take a class and impress the heck out of your next dinner guests.

The course offerings this fall cost $40 each and are as follows:

Going, Going, Gone! Meals in Minutes – Thursday, September 17   Come learn how easy it is to plan a week of meals by pre-prepping foods. 

Sassy Sushi – Thursday, October 1   Not your ordinary fish and rice. This class will reveal the simplicity of sushi preparation.

Authentic  Italian – Thursday, October 8  With family roots in Italy, Chef Berardi knows authentic Italian cuisine.

Diabetic/Gluten Free Treats – Thursday, October 22  Liven up recipes that won’t wreak havoc on your blood sugar or aggravate food allergies.

Holiday Pie Party – Thursday, November 12  Pie dough made easy, real fruit fillings, and peaks of whipped goodness prevail in this class.

 Party Panache – Thursday, December 3 At your next holiday gathering or New Year’s Eve bash enjoy fun finger foods you never thought could be so easy to prepare.

You can get all the details for yourself  by calling 540-857-6210 or at  http://www.virginiawestern.edu/bet/culinary/.

I was talking with my friend Carrie the other day (both of us being among the ice-cream addicted) and as the conversation meandered we spoke of how ingenious the invention of ice-cream was. That led to wondering about it’s origins, and thus to this post. As it turns out, ice-cream has a rather fascinating history.

It seems that as early as man had begun to discover how to harvest and store ice, there have been mentions of iced desserts. The Chinese were known to have been doing so since 1100 or 1200 BC. It took many centuries to become anything similar to what we know as ice-cream today however.

Alexander the Great was known to eat snow and ice flavored with honey. King Solomon in the Bible was mentioned to have had iced drinks during harvest time. Nero Claudius Caesar (A.D. 54-86), a Roman Emporer, often sent servants to collect snow from the nearby mountains, which was then combined with fresh fruit and nuts. In the fifth century BC, ancient Greeks sold some sort of snow cones mixed with honey and fruit in the markets of Athens.

The possible jump from history to something more familiar to us as ice-cream, may have been when Marco Polo returned to Italy from the Far East with a recipe that closely resembled what is now called sherbet. Sometime during the 16th or 17th century Europe, this concoction developed into what was know as “Cream Ice” or “Iced Cream”.

According to Wikipedia, Ice cream recipes first appear in 18th century England and America. A recipe for ice cream was published in Mrs. Mary Eales’s Receipts in London 1718:

To ice CREAM. Take Tin Ice-Pots, fill them with any Sort of Cream you like, either plain or sweeten’d, or Fruit in it; shut your Pots very close; to six Pots you must allow eighteen or twenty Pound of Ice, breaking the Ice very small; there will be some great Pieces, which lay at the Bottom and Top: You must have a Pail, and lay some Straw at the Bottom; then lay in your Ice, and put in amongst it a Pound of Bay-Salt; set in your Pots of Cream, and lay Ice and Salt between every Pot, that they may not touch; but the Ice must lie round them on every Side; lay a good deal of Ice on the Top, cover the Pail with Straw, set it in a Cellar where no Sun or Light comes, it will be froze in four Hours, but it may stand longer; than take it out just as you use it; hold it in your Hand and it will slip out. When you wou’d freeze any Sort of Fruit, either Cherries, Rasberries, Currants, or Strawberries, fill your Tin-Pots with the Fruit, but as hollow as you can; put to them Lemmonade, made with Spring-Water and Lemmon-Juice sweeten’d; put enough in the Pots to make the Fruit hang together, and put them in Ice as you do Cream.

The first official account of ice cream in the New World comes from a letter written in 1744 by a guest of Maryland Governor William Bladen. The first advertisement for ice cream in this country appeared in the New York Gazette on May 12, 1777.

More from Wikipedia: Ice cream was introduced to the United States by Quaker colonists who brought their ice cream recipes with them. Confectioners sold ice cream at their shops in New York and other cities during the colonial era. Ben Franklin, George Washington, and Thomas Jefferson were known to have regularly eaten and served ice cream. First Lady Dolley Madison is also closely associated with the early history of ice cream in the United States. One respected history of ice cream states that, as the wife of U.S. President James Madison, she served ice cream at her husband’s Inaugural Ball in 1813.

Around 1832, Augustus Jackson, an African American confectioner, not only created multiple ice cream recipes, but he also invented a superior technique to manufacture ice cream.

And there are many, many more details to uncover if you care to do more reading. As you can see, a very interesting evolution from ice to ice-cream. No one knows for sure exactly what transpired during those centuries of it’s early development, but one thing is for sure: Ice-cream has become America’s favorite treat during warm months. And I for one am immensely thankful for all my ancestors who contributed to the fact that it exists in my lifetime.