Perfect Corn on the Cob

It's corn season again!  How do you cook fresh corn on the cob?  Usually I boil it, but I've also experimented with cooking it on the grill, in the microwave, and in the crockpot.  We like it all.

Today, however, I decided to look up boiling times so I wouldn't overcook our corn.  I stumbled upon a new technique:  put the corn into boiling water (unsalted), let the water return to boiling, then remove the pan from the heat, cover, and wait for 10-15 minutes.  The results were amazing.

Brian said, "This corn tastes so fresh--did you just buy it today?  It's a lot better than the corn you bought last week."  I said, "This IS the corn I bought last week.  I still had some left, but I cooked it differently."  He said, "You should always make it like this--it tastes like different corn!  Last time it was good, but it was really chewy and got stuck in your teeth."

Did you know that is a sign of overcooked corn--that it sticks in your teeth?  I didn't realize that until today.  Maybe the rest of you never overcook your corn, but in case you need a refresher like I did, try it this way and see if you notice a difference, too!

My Favorite Chocolate Cake

Normally I’m not a cake person—I have no problem turning it down and I rarely ever make it because most of my kids feel the same way.   Most cakes seem dry and flavorless to me.  Until this one.   A good friend made chocolate cake for a girls’ luncheon.  Knowing she ate a gluten-free diet, I had to ask, “Maren, how come you made a cake you can’t even eat?”  She assured me it was gluten free, so I wondered what kind of flour she used.  “Oh, there’s no flour in the recipe—and no butter or oil, either.  The secret ingredient is garbanzo beans.”  I was intrigued.  I had to taste it.  And then I devoured the whole piece.  It’s moist and fudgy, rich and delicious.  So much for my take-it-or-leave-it attitude about cake.  When I make this cake, it takes all my will-power to stop at one piece.   At least I’m getting some protein and fiber along with my chocolate fix!

Chocolate Garbanzo Cake

1 1/2 c. chocolate chips (I use 60% cacao)
2 cans garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
6 eggs
1 1/2 c. sugar
2 T. cocoa powder
1 T. lemon juice
1 1/2 t. baking powder
3/4 t. baking soda
1 t. vanilla

In a small bowl, melt the chocolate in the microwave for about 2 minutes on 50% power, stirring frequently until smooth.  In a blender, blend the beans and  eggs until creamy.  Add remaining ingredients, including the melted chocolate and blend well.  If your blender is not big enough, pour into a bowl to mix.  Put batter into a greased and floured 13x9 pan and bake at 350 for about 40-45 minutes, until a toothpick in center comes out with moist crumbs—don’t overbake.  Frost with your favorite frosting when cool.
Chocolate Frosting:

1/4 c. butter
4 c. powdered sugar
1/4 c. cocoa powder
1/4 c. milk
1 1/2 t. vanilla

Beat until creamy and spreadable.

Frozen Yogurt…made from powdered milk!

This yogurt is amazing—it tastes like the yogurt served at Red Mango, or other similar yogurt chains.  I found the recipe on this blog.   She insists upon using whole milk yogurt.  However, I made homemade yogurt from powdered milk (recipe found on this site), strained it, and then made the recipe as directed.  (Yes, it takes a few steps but it’s not hard.  You just have to plan ahead—that’s the hard part for me sometimes!)  We loved it!  It tastes creamy and rich—you won’t believe you started with nonfat dry milk.  I’m planning to make this recipe lots this summer!

Vanilla Frozen Yogurt

3 cups strained yogurt (see below) or Greek-style yogurt
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Mix together the yogurt, sugar, and vanilla. Stir until the sugar is completely dissolved. Refrigerate 1 hour.
Freeze in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions.  Serve immediately or place in freezer to ripen.
Variation:  Lime or Lemon Frozen Yogurt—add 1 t. grated lime (or lemon) zest and ½ c. lime (or lemon) juice and increase the sugar to 1 cup (add more if you like it sweeter, but I love it a little tart)

Note:  To make 1 cup of strained yogurt, line a mesh strainer with a few layers of cheese cloth. then scrape 16 ounces or 2 cups of plain whole-milk yogurt into the cheesecloth. Gather the ends and fold them over the yogurt, then refrigerate for at least 6 hours. So, for the above recipe start with and strain 6 cups of yogurt.
Makes about 1 quart.

Homemade Yogurt

Why make your own yogurt? It tastes great, it's better for you (no preservatives or artificial thickeners, etc.), you can make it your way, it's less expensive than store-bought, and there is no packaging waste. And you can use the powdered milk from your food storage! The cultures in yogurt aid in digestion and help the body absorb protein, calcium, and iron.

7 cups milk (skim, 2%, whole, or made from powdered--that's what I do)

1/2 cup dry milk powder (this adds more nutrition and makes it thicker)

1/3 cup honey or sugar, optional

1 tablespoon vanilla, optional

1/2 cup plain yogurt, room temperature

1. Combine the milk, powder, sugar, and vanilla in a saucepan. Place a candy thermometer in the pan and heat over medium until 180 degrees, stirring frequently to prevent scorching. This kills the bacteria in the milk so the yogurt cultures can grow. (Note: If using only powdered milk, you can skip this first step and just heat the milk to 100-120 degrees. This can be done by mixing the powdered milk with very hot tap water. The powdered milk makes it easier and it doesn't taste like powdered milk when the yogurt is done.)

2. Cool milk to between 100 and 120 degrees before adding the yogurt starter--you don't want to kill those active cultures! Stir well and then pour into glass jars or other containers.

3. Place jars into a cooler that is lined with a fleece blanket or thick towel. Wrap jars securely and add another blanket or towel if necessary to fill up the space. The goal is to maintain a warm temperature for the cultures to grow. Cover the cooler and leave for 8-12 hours. Check after 8 hours to see if it's thick enough. If not, re-wrap and let sit longer.

4. Remove yogurt from cooler and place in refrigerator for several hours to chill before serving. The yogurt will thicken a bit more as it chills. You will see a little yellowish liquid on top. This is whey and you can pour it off or stir it into the yogurt.

Tips

• You can speed up the cooling process in step 2 by placing pan into a sink of ice water (don't let any water get into the pan!) and stirring until 100-120 degrees.
• When making your next batch, use starter from your first batch. However, it works best if you use it in the first 2-5 days while the cultures are fresh. If you won't be making more that soon, freeze your yogurt in ice cube trays and thaw enough cubes to start your next batch.
• Other methods of incubating yogurt: pour yogurt into a large thermos, in your crockpot on warm (some have great success with this but I think my crock pot is too warm--it scorches around the edges); with a heating pad; using the pilot light in the oven; outside in the bright sun, etc. The goal is to maintain a warm temperature of the milk throughout the process. Look on the internet for more information about some of these other methods.
• Yogurt will keep for 2-3 weeks in the fridge.
• Ways to enjoy your yogurt: for breakfast with granola or fruit, stir in jam for flavor, make smoothies, drain over cheesecloth (unsweetened) and use as a sour cream substitute, make frozen yogurt in your ice cream freezer

Whole Wheat Bread

Sorry, but you must have a big mixer (like a Bosch) for this recipe. If not, cut the recipe to 1/3 and make two loaves--that amount could be mixed and kneaded by hand.

7 c. hot water

½ c. powdered milk

½ c. canola oil

1 c. mashed potatoes (1 c. boiling water + ½ c. potato pearls)

½ c. sugar or 2/3 c. honey

3 T. instant yeast

2 T. salt

2 T. Vital Wheat Gluten (optional--makes a softer loaf)

2 T. Dough Enhancer (optional--keeps bread fresh longer)

15-17 cups whole wheat flour (I use hard white wheat)

Put all ingredients except flour into mixing bowl and pulse until combined. Add 8 c. flour and mix well. Let this mixture stand for 5-10 minutes. (this step helps the flour absorb more water so you don’t need to add as much flour--makes for lighter bread--not dense and dry.) Add enough remaining flour until dough does not stick to a floured finger. Set mixer to speed 2 and knead for 10 minutes. This step develops the gluten and eliminates the need for the first rise.

Form dough into loaves (makes about 6) and place into greased pans. Cover with a thin towel and let rise about 1 hour or until doubled. (if it rises in a warm place, 30 minutes may be enough.) Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes on center rack of oven. Immediately spray tops of loaves with water if you want a softer crust. Let cool 5 minutes then place on wire rack to cool completely. Put in plastic bags to store. If bread won’t be eaten in the next two days, put in freezer to keep fresh and thaw before using.

If you like texture in your bread, try adding ½-1 c. millet, cracked wheat, sunflower seeds, chopped nuts, etc., or any combination of the above. Millet is my favorite.

Giardino Burgers

This recipe was a hit with the whole family—do you know how rare that is in a family of 8? Yes, you probably do. I can’t be the only one who has given up trying to please everyone at every meal. Well, these burgers got compliments from all, especially my two toughest critics: Corinne (5) said, “Mom, I like this even better than pizza!” and Evan (14), my meat-loving son who wishes his mom would buy red meat, said, “These are actually really good—definitely make them again!” Need I say more?

I was happy about how quick these were to make, and how well the patties held together after baking. I "once and a halved" this recipe to make 9 burgers and they disappeared. Next time I'll double it. I served the burgers with these homemade potato/sweet potato chips and they were great!
Giardino Burgers
1-15 oz. can garbonzo beans, drained (I used 1-3/4 cup cooked dry beans)
3 eggs
1 cup bread crumbs (I put a couple of slices of homemade wheat bread in the blender)
1 cup shredded carrots (the recipe says to add your favorite vegetable)
salt, pepper, and garlic powder to taste
ketchup, mustard, pickles, lettuce, tomatoes, red onion, cheese, avocado, etc.
Rolls or buns
Preheat oven to 350. Put the garbanzos and eggs into a bowl and mash them together with a potato masher. (Corinne loved doing this for me). You want the mixture to be well combined, but a little chunky. Add the bread crumbs, carrots (or any other vegetables you’d like), and seasonings.
Form the mixture into 6 patties. I divided the mixture into mounds on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper and then formed them into round patties, about 3/4 inch thick.
Bake for about 25 minutes until lightly browned. Serve on buns with your favorite toppings.

A Night in Bethlehem

Here are the recipes from our Relief Society Christmas Dinner. That was such a beautiful evening. It was one of the highlights of the Christmas season for me this year. I’ve delayed posting because I’ve been waiting for the pictures, but it looks like I don’t have those after all, so here are the recipes you’ve been requesting. We wanted to serve the type of food that could have been eaten in a Bethlehem inn. This would be a fun dinner to serve your family before Christmas.
Middle-Eastern Lentil Soup

• 1 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 large diced carrot
• 2 stalks finely diced celery
• 6 cups water
• 1 1/2 cups red or brown lentils
• 1 (15 ounce) can garbanzo beans, undrained
• 1 (19 ounce) can cannellini beans, undrained
• 1 (14.5 ounce) can petite diced tomatoes
• 1 T. chicken bouillon powder
• 1/2 tablespoon curry powder
• 3/4 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ginger
• 1 teaspoon lemon pepper
• 1/2 tablespoon ground cumin
• cayenne pepper to taste (I didn’t use any because I used a hot curry powder)

Directions
1. In large pot saute the onions, garlic, carrots, and celery in a little olive oil for about 5 minutes.
2. Add the water, lentils, garbonzos, cannellini beans, diced tomatoes, and seasonings. Bring to a boil for a few minutes then simmer for 1 to 1 1/2 hours or longer, until the lentils are soft.
3. Puree half the soup in a food processor or blender (this step is important to achieve the right texture). Return the pureed soup to the pot, stir and enjoy!
*This can also be made in the crockpot. Skip the sauté step and put everything into the crockpot at once. Cook for 5-6 hours on high or 10-12 on low, and then puree half the soup as directed.

Flatbread (makes 6 rounds)

• 2 cups of All Purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon active dry yeast
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 tablespoons of oil
• 2 tablespoons yogurt
• 3/4 cup warm water

1. Mix all ingredients into a soft dough. Don’t add too much flour—just enough to keep the dough from being too sticky.
2. Knead until the dough is smooth. Cover the dough and keep in a warm place for 3-4 hours. The dough should almost be double in volume.
3. Heat the oven to 500 degrees with pizza stone for at least thirty minutes so stone is hot.
4. Knead the dough for about two to three minutes and divide the dough into six equal parts.
5. Take each piece of dough, one at a time, and roll into 8-inch circle shape. Dust lightly with dry flour to help with the rolling.
6. You can place about 2 breads on the baking/pizza stone at a time. Bake about 2 to 3 minutes, depending upon your oven. Bread should be golden brown.
7. Take bread out of the oven and brush lightly with butter and sprinkle with garlic powder or garlic salt on one side.

NOTE: Some of the bread was baked in the oven, as explained above. The rest was cooked on my pancake griddle, about 2 minutes per side, and then brushed with butter and sprinkled with garlic salt. I thought the pancake griddle was easier than the oven and I didn’t notice a difference in taste.
NOTE 2: The bread can be made ahead and warmed in the oven before serving.

Salad

• Romaine lettuce
• Baby Spinach
• Feta cheese
• grape tomatoes
• red onions
• olives
• sliced cucumbers
• Bernstein’s Light Fantastic Cheese Fantastico dressing