Grapefruit Marmalade

I ahd a few Grapefruits left over from my Fair Food site this week and decided to try this. It turned out so great. Amazing taste. There are a lot of steps, but I found that this recipe does not mind waiting on your schedule. So cut your fruit  while you watch TV, then boil it and put it in the fridge to rest while you rest, and when you have time the next day take an hour to boil it with the sugar and process it. Enjoy...it is delicious!!

Recipe for grapefruit marmalade which makes 4 half pints.

Ingredients:

• 2 large grapefruits, thick skinned
• 1 large lemon, thick skinned
• 2 cups water
• 4 cups granulated sugar

Preparation:

Peel grapefruit and lemon; cut away inner white part of peel, leaving rind and white pith. Cut rind into slivers 3/4 inch long and 1/8 inch wide. Chop fruit coarsely, reserving juice.(This recipe thinks that you have to be precise...I really don't think so, slice your rinds thin and chop the fruit. not such a big deal. also...make sure you squeeze out your inner pith and get all that juice out!!)

In an 8-quart nonreactive heavy kettle over moderately high heat, simmer rind, chopped fruit, reserved juice and water, uncovered, 10 minutes. Pour into a large heatproof glass bowl and let stand, covered, in a cool place overnight.

Return mixture to kettle. Add sugar and set over moderate heat. Insert a candy thermometer and bring to a boil, stirring until sugar dissolves. Continue boiling, stirring occasionally, until thermometer registers 218 degrees F to 220 degrees F. I put my canning water on when I start this so that when the marmalade reaches the 220 degree mark I am all ready to process. (p.s. don't forget to sterilize your jars and prepare you lids while this is boiling)

Remove from heat, skim off foam and ladle into sterilized half-pint canning jars, leaving 1/4-inch head space. Wipe rims, seal jars and process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes (15 minutes for altitudes above 6000 feet). Remove jars from water bath, let cool for 12 hours and test for airtight seals. Label and store in a cool, dark place. If you decide not to sterilize and process jars, refrigerate marmalade and serve within three weeks.
Makes 4 half-pints

Pumpkin Scones with Cranberry Butter

This scone recipe rocks and it is so nice on a cold fall morning. Enjoy!!

Cranberry Butter:
2 Tablespoons Dried Cranberries
1/2 cup boiling water
1/2 cup butter, softened
3 tablespoons confectioners' sugar

Dough:
2 1/4 cups flour
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice (or just mix your own sweet spices)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon of baking soda
1/2 cup cold butter
1 egg
1/2 cup canned (or home pureed) pumpkin
1/3 cup whole milk

Place cranberries ina small bowl; add boiling water. Let stand for five minutes, drain and chop. In a small mixing bowl beat butter until light and fluffy. Add confectioners' sugar and cranberries; mix well. Cover and refrigerate.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a large bowl combine flour, sugar, baking powder, spices, salt and baking soda. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. In a small bowl whisk together egg, pumpkin and milk; add to dry mixture and stir together with a fork until just combined.

Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead 10 times. Pat into an 8-inch circle. Cut into eight wedges. Place wedges on a greased or wax papered cookie sheet and bake for 12-15 minutes

Greek Barley Salad

This is an easy grain salad that goes well with any chicken or fish, or add chick peas to make it veggie.

Greek Barley Salad

1 cup pearl barley
1/2 cucumber diced
2 roma tomatoes diced
1/4 cup diced fennel
1/2 cup chopped dill
1/2 cup crumbled feta
1/2 lemon juiced
3 tablespoons olive oil
salt and pepper

Boil one quart of water and add barley. Cover and reduce heat to low, cook until barley is soft 20- 25 min. Drain and set aside in a medium bowl. Add cucumbers, tomatoes, fennel, dill, feta, lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper. Toss and refrigerate until you are ready to eat.

Zucchini Bran Muffins

When you run out of ideas.....Great recipe to use up some of that huge crop of zucchini from your garden this summer.

 Zucchini Bran Muffins

2/3 cup all-purpose flour
2/3 cup whole wheat flour
1/3 cup oats
1/3 cup flax bran (or wheat germ, or miller's bran)
3/4 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 stick butter
2/3 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup almond milk (you can use reg milk if you want)
2/3 cup rasins
2 cups grated zucchini


Preheat oven to 375. In a bowl whisk the flours, bran and oats, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg. In a large bowl with an electric mixer cream butter with sugar until it is light and fluffy, add eggs one at a time, then beat in the vanilla. Beat the dry ingredients into the wet, beat in the milk and stir in the raisins and zucchini. Divide the batter among 12 well buttered or paper lined muffin tins. *(I found that I had to fill the tins pretty full. the batter does not rise as much as cupcakes or regular muffins, and i had more batter than i needed, it made 3 more)* Bake muffins for 25 - 30 minutes until tester comes out clean. Turn muffins out onto a rack and let them cool.

Nappa cabbage salad with Chicken

This salad is AWESOME!!! We all loved it, and this cabbage is way high on the Nutrient Density Index. Nappa cabbage is much less rubbery than regular cabbage. The white parts are similar to bok choy but the leafy parts are much more like a lettuce. Very refreshing for a summer day.

Nappa Cabbage Salad

1/2 large head of Nappa Cabbage chopped
3 scallions chopped
2 carrots julienned
1 cup slivered almonds
2 tablespoons sesame seeds
1 cup fresh bean sprouts
1 cup snow pea pods ends trimmed and cut into thirds
2 chicken breasts
1 tablespoon Chinese 5 spice
raman or soba noodles

Dressing:
1 tablespoon sugar
4 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon lime juice
3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil

Bring one quart of water to a boil. Add Chinese 5 spice and chicken. While chicken cooks prepare veggies. Mix all veggie ingredients in a large deep bowl. Combine Dressing ingredients in a smaller bowl and set aside. Remove chicken from the water to a small bowl after 20 min or until chicken is cooked through. Add raman or soba noodles to the seasoned water and cook to taste. When you are ready to serve, toss salad with dressing. Serve salad with some of the noodles and chicken on top.

Bible Study Lunch

This is from June, I thought I had worked on in and lost it, but I found it today, and figured I would finish it and post it for posterity sake :)

Ladies Community Bible study at Calvary Baptist Church is an anchor for me. I need to have these ladies in my life. They are a wonderful mix of ages, races and experiences, and the study provides a place for us all to seek God through His word, and share and encourage each other. In honor of the last week of our Spring study I made lunch for us all, and successfully pulled it off with redistributed Fair Foods produce. The food was good, but the fellowship was better. Ladies...I will miss you this summer.

Our Menu:


Potato Leek Soup

Butternut Squash Soup


Spinach Salad with walnuts, cranberries and pears

Italian Salad


Fresh fruit


i am sure you can see the baked goods ;)

Here is the recipe for the Butternut Squash soup:


Butternut Squash soup


1 butternut squash peeled, seeded, diced

2 carrots diced

2 stalks of cellery diced

1 onion diced

2 cloves garlic minced

1 inch fresh ginger grated
 4 cups stock
cinnamon
Salt and Pepper
2 cups milk

heat 1 tbsp butter in the bottom of a large stockpot. saute onion, garlic, ginger, celery and carrot. Cook until onion is opaque. Add squash and stock. Bring to a boil, cover and cook for about 20 min or until the squash is soft. Either by pureeing in a blender in batches or with an immersion blender puree the soup. Add up to 2cups of milk, you may need less if you like your soup to be thicker. Season with salt and pepper and cinnamon to taste.

Eggplant Roulades

This Saturday my parents were visiting and I made them dinner. Mom wanted the recipe (which I made up, so I needed to write it anyway) so I am posting it here.  :) Enjoy!

Eggplant Roulades

1 Eggplant
1 large tomato diced
1/2 onion diced
2 cloves garlic diced
1 medium zucchini diced
1/4 cup roasted red peppers diced
1 tablespoon pesto
1 cup cooked white rice
1/4 cup white wine
1 carrot grated
2 chicken fillets
crumbled feta cheese
tomato sauce

Set oven at 350. First poach the chicken fillets in white wine with salt and pepper. (Poaching is easy...just heat about 1/2 inch of liquid in a frying pan to boiling, add the meat, cover, reduce the heat and cook until the meat is done)

Next: Saute the onion, add garlic, and 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes. Add the rest of the diced veggies until they are starting to get soft. Add the wine, rice, pesto and roasted peppers. Season with salt and pepper as needed. Turn off the heat. Shred the chicken and add it to the pan. Remove the top and bottom rounded ends of the eggplant. Cut it lengthwise into thin sheets. When you are ready to roll the roulades add 3/4 cup crumbled feta cheese to the veggie/rice mix. Prepare a 9x13 pan by coating the bottom with tomato sauce. Take one sheet of eggplant place about 3/4 cup of filling in the middle of the eggplant and gently fold the ends into the middle to make a roll. Place the roll crease side down in the pan. Continue until you run out of filling. Spoon sauce on top of the roulades, and sprinkle with some feta. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 min or until the eggplant is soft.