Would you call them tacos? I don't know...I call them my new favorite dinner. Simple & quick, I've been craving these lovely little things several times a month and with the warmer weather here, I bbq the sirloin and just quickly warm the corn tortillas in a large fry pan on the stove. After that, I'm ready to just assemble a few and follow them with an icy cold beer! This version you see here was assembled on little 4 inch corn tortillas with bbq'd beef sirloin, spicy corn and tomato relish, a little sauteed Swiss chard sits underneath along with a sprinkle of cheddar cheese. Super good, super yummy and super quick after a long day at work. These will be showing up at my house quite often this summer, I'm sure!
Build a better biscuit and the world is your oyster....or biscuit...however you want to look at it. A biscuit can take you many places sweet or savory. Today we made homemade biscuits with sausage gravy and for a snack later we split open the leftover biscuits and spread them with sweet butter and organic strawberry jam. 
If I had some fresh berries, of any kind, on hand, these biscuits would serve as the shortcake. Topped with plain yogurt or whipped cream, you won't miss the overly sweet Angel Food cake or Twinkie -like sponge cake cups traditionally used for this dessert. Keep this recipe on hand for any time you need a flaky, buttery, tender counterpart to your sweet or savory inspiration! My twist on these biscuits is that they are one third whole wheat pastry flour, and I use a food processor to make these in the blink of an eye. I start with frozen butter and cut it into cubes and let it thaw slightly while I assemble the ingredients. If you don't have frozen butter just put a stick in the freezer for a few minutes. I also sour my milk with a tsp of vinegar in place of having to make a special trip to the store for buttermilk when I'm in the mood to make these!This recipe makes 8 large or 12 small biscuits. Flaky Wheat Biscuits2 cups all-purpose flour1 cup whole wheat pastry flour2 1/2 tsp baking powder1/2 tsp baking soda1 tsp sea salt 1/2 cup (1 stick) salted butter- frozen1 cup milk (2%)1 tsp vinegarPreheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.Cube butter into about 8 pieces. Mix the teaspoon of vinegar into milk and let stand for about 5 minutes, stirring once or twice.In a food processor bowl fitted with blade, place all dry ingredients. Pulse a few times to blend. Add the cubed butter and pulse about 8-10 times to incorporate butter. Pour milk in all at once, pulse 2-3 times only until dough barely comes together. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured board, gently pat dough together to make one mass.Gently flatten the dough, squaring the edges with your hands until dough is about 3/4" thick. Using a very sharp knife cut dough into 8 or 12 somewhat equal squares.Arrange on baking sheet and bake 12-15 minutes or until bottoms are golden brown. Check the bottoms for color, the tops will stay pale. These biscuits rise to about 2 inches tall.If you want taller biscuits, pat dough out to about 1- 1/4" thick and bake slightly longer.Split and Serve!
....with homemade sausage and tarragon gravy!
"Man! I love Granola" he keeps saying. "I'll eat it on yogurt, with milk, by itself"....OK! I'll make granola! My own combination of my favorite things, we've been eating it everyday for a week, and it tastes better now (a week later) than when I made it. 3 cups (old fashioned)rolled oats 1 cup walnut pieces1 cup raisins1 cup dried apples (chopped) 1/2 tsp salt2 tsp cinnamon1/3 cup real maple syrup
1/3 cup honey
1/3 cup canola oil Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare a cookie sheet or jelly roll pan with parchment paper. Combine all of the ingredients in a large bowl, except for the syrup, honey and oil.Warm the syrup, honey and oil in a saucepan or in a glass bowl in the microwave until just warm. Pour over dry mixture and stir to coat evenly. Spread out on the pan and bake for 15- 25 minutes (depending on how crispy you like your granola). Stir every 5-7 minutes to bake evenly. Cool and store in airtight containers. Makes about 8 cups.
All I can say is....it was delicious....seared Ahi Tuna with freshly picked local asparagus....
Holy cow, these are SOOOOOOO GOOOOOOD!!!!!(BTW- I would have pics of the cookies....but I ate them all) First of all I have to admit that my King Arthur Whole Grain Baking Book is the ultimate "healthy" baking book with all of the recipes being good and good for you. Finding myself with no less than 4 jars of Peanut Butter on hand, I thought a nice peanut butter cookie would hit the spot. I have a go-to recipe that I love, but it has the usual suspects, lots of butter, sugar, and white flour. It was then that I spotted this delicious recipe for Peanut Butter Chews. As usual, I tweaked this recipe to suit my tastes. A delicious cookie with a chewy texture that lasts even after it is cooled....oh and I added Chocolate chips too....just had to! Peanut Butter Chews (adapted from King Arthur Flour- Whole Grain Baking)1 cup organic crunchy Peanut Butter (I used Trader Joe's)1/2 cup dark brown sugar - packed 1/2 cup granulated white sugar 1 large egg1/4 cup water 2 tblsp dark corn syrup or honey 1 tsp vanilla extract 1 tsp baking soda1 scant tsp sea salt (1/2 tsp if you are using standard table salt)1 1/2 cups Whole wheat pastry flour1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a stand mixer, combine all of the ingredients, except the flour. When thoroughly combined, add flour and mix until it just pulls together. Add the chocolate chips.The dough will be quite stiff and the chocolate chips may want to keep falling out. Work the chips in by kneading the dough several times. On a piece of parchment paper roll the dough into a log about 2 inches in diameter and 18-20 inches long. Cut dough with a very sharp knife into about 28 even pieces. Arrange on a parchment lined cookie sheet (I fit 12 per pan) and flatten with the tines of a fork to give the cookies a traditional peanut butter cookie design. Replace any chocolate chips that try to escape!Bake about 12 minutes, reversing the pans front to back, top to bottom if necessary to ensure even baking. Don't over bake or you'll lose the chewy texture, they should be very pale and underdone "looking" on top, even though they should be a delicate golden brown on the bottom. Cool (or not) and enjoy. Keep tightly wrapped for several days and they stay very chewy.
Broccoli is a tough sell in my house, I love it...no one else does. So what do I do when I have a big bag of organic broccoli from a late fall Farmer's Market that I stowed several months ago in the freezer? Make them eat broccoli soup! This recipe is easy, and not too caloric, because it's not "Broccoli Cheese" soup...now that's a artery hardener if you go the traditional route with heavy cream and cheddar cheese. Although you could add a cup or two of shredded sharp cheddar to this and you would have a really decadent bowl of soup!Cream of Broccoli Soup1 medium sized sweet onion - minced2 tblsp butter 1 tsp granulated sugar2 tsp aged balsamic vinegar 2 tblsp minced garlic2 lbs fresh or frozen broccoli pieces (add peeled, chopped stems, they have lots of flavor!) 4 cups chicken broth or stock (use vegetable broth for vegetarian soup)1 cup 2 % milk1 1/2 cups sour cream (light is fine)2 tblsp sea salt 2 tsp freshly ground black pepper1/2 tsp celery salt2 tsp honey 3 drops Tabasco sauce1 tsp soy sauceIn a large stockpot (at least 4 quarts) saute minced onion in butter over med- high heat.When onion is softened, add sugar, balsamic vinegar and garlic, cook over low- med heat until onions are dark golden brown about 15 minutes.Add broccoli pieces and broth. Simmer until broccoli is tender about 10-15 minutes. Turn off heat and add milk and sour cream.Blend soup in batches, filling the blender only 1/3 full and blend until smooth. Be careful when blending hot soup, keep a towel handy to hold the cover of the blender jar on tightly. Exploding hot soup is very dangerous. Keep blended soup in a big bowl to return to stockpot when finished blending.Return blended soup to a clean stockpot (I just wash the one I used) and season. Cool completely and refrigerate (Soup always tastes better the next day!) To serve immediately, reheat over low- med heat briefly to desired serving temperature.Makes approx. 2 1/2 quarts or enough for 8-10 people.
