Diy Apple cider vinegar

There are a host of health benefits from using apple cider vinegar. It can get expensive in some stores and  recently a close friend said she was making her own. Not to be undone, I wanted to give it a whirl.

5 large organic apples (cores and stems also)
filtered water
1/2 cup honey
2 half gallon mason jars

• Wash the apples and coursely chop them up no smaller than 1inch.
• Fill apple chunks halfway in 2 half gallon mason jars or 1 gallon jar .
• Pour filtered water until almost filled leaving a 2 inches at the top
• Stir in honey until dissolved.
• Cover with paper towel, cheesecloth, linen, dishtowel and hold it in place with a rubber band.
• leave in a warm, dark place. Gently mix by rotating a couple times.
• Once bubbles start to ferment into alcohol, stop mixing.
• When apples sink to bottom it usually a sign that hard cider has been formed.
• Leave on counter for another 4 week.
• Taste after 4 weeks. If it is strong enough, remove apples and put in fridge. If not ready continue to leave out. Keep out of direct sunlight. When ready it will keep indefinitely.

I have just started this, so I cannot tell you much else until the acv is completed.

Carrot cake

Carrot cake

4 eggs
1 1/4 cups vegetable oil
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp ground cinamon
3 cups grated carrots
1 cup chopped pecans

• Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease and flour 3   6" pans. You can also use a 9 x 13 pan. I wanted the cake to be small so I used the 6" pans.
• In  large bowl or mixer, beat together eggs, oil, sugar and vanilla
• Bake in oven for 40-50 minutes. Do the toothpick test in center of cake to check for doneness.
• Let cool 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack and cool completely before frosting.

Cream cheese frosting

1 lb confectioners sugar sifted
8 oz cream cheese softened
3/4 c butter softened
1 t vanilla

Beat cream cheese and butter on medium speed in mixer  until smooth.
Add 1 lb confectioners sugar and vanilla to cream cheese mix. I add the sugar one cup at a time so that it doesn't spray the powder everywhere.

After cakes have cooled and have been leveled, spread frosting on top of first layer of cake. Place second layer of cake on  top and frost again. I had made 3 layers but found that 3 was too much, so I only made the cake 2 layers as my layers were thick. I then spread frosting on just the top, not the sides. There have been times when I do the whole cake, but my  husband didn't want so much frosting. As it turns out the way I did it was just the right about of frosting, because the frosting is really sweet.  On top of the frosting I placed pecans in a circular spiral all around.

Water kefir

I have lots of experience making dairy kefir from grains. I love the taste of kefir, but it does take a little getting use to it. I like to blend it with frozen bananas. Yum.

I wanted to try water kefir. I have tried making kombucha and really found it too sour for my liking. As a result I have giant scobies in their scoby hotel. 

Kefir water

1/4 cup kefir grains

1/4 cup sugar (white, brown, rapadura )

4 cup glass measuring cup

3-4 cups spring water. (if your water has flouride in it you will have to boil the water to get it out)

quart size mason jar

 Kefir grains are finicky. Do not use metal spoons, bowls or metal strainer with  kefir grains. Gently rinse kefir grains with spring water. {If you are using tap water, make sure your water is not chlorinated. If so, you will have to boil the water and let it cool completely before using.}I can use my tap water because it comes from a well.

Place1/4 cup grains in mason jar. Boil 1/4 cup water for dissolving sugar. Transfer the water to a measuring cup and add sugar. Stir until completely dissolved. Add 3 cups cool water to sugar mixture and then pour over grains in mason jar. Place plastic lid or coffee filter with rubber band around it over mason jar and let on counter or dark warm place away from sunlight.

After 48 hours taste to see if it is at desired sourness. Sometimes my water is done after 24 hours...It just depends how hot your house is and  what season it is.

Two  bowls ( non metal)
One plastic strainer to fit on top of bowl
plastic spoon

Get your bowl and strainer that fits over bowl to catch the grains..the bowl will catch the water kefir.
Slowly pour from the jar the water and grains. Place grains to the side over another bowl whilte working on the 2nd ferment of the kefir water.


2nd Ferment

Transfer the kefir water to a clean mason jar. At this point you can add whatever flavoring and fruit that you want. I have tried different things and I like adding pineapple chunks to mine. So I cut the pineapple into small chunks and add it to the water. I put a lid on it again. In the picture I tried strawberries. I will let you know how that tastes. I have a pickle it lid on mine that I ordered from Amazon for fermenting uses.




 Let it sit for 24 more hours. Taste and if you like it...transfer it to the fridge until ready to drink.

Sprouting

         

Broccoli sprouts

   I have wanted to try sprouting again. I use to do alfalpha sprouts on and off. I have heard a lot lately about broccoli sprouts. I tried doing them once a long time ago and didn't like the taste. I heard somebody on the radio just recently explaining that broccoli sprouts taste like radishes, so I decided to try again with a new batch of seeds.
            I placed a 1/4 cup of seeds in a clean quart sized mason jar. I covered the seeds with clean filtered water and let them sit overnight.
              Next morning I drained the water out of the mason jar leaving the seeds in the  jar. I placed a mesh top over the mason jar and screwed on a mason ring. I flipped it upside down and sat it an angle so it could drain for 12 hours away from sunlight. At night before bed, I rinsed, drained and flipped again and let it sit undisturbed until morning. I repeated the same process for the next 6 days. By the third day little sprouts began showing up. By the 6th day...they were longer and ready to harvest.
             I got a large bowl of water ready and put the sprouts in the water. I swirled them around until the seeds collected on the sides of the bowl. I then used a spoon to gather the seeds to throw away. I drained the water again and transferred the seeds to a clean mason jar. I let them dry in sunlight which helped them turn green. I then put a regular lid on the mason jar and placed them in the fridge, They are quite tasty and tangy in salads.

Lentil sprouts

          I also tried sprouting  lentils because my cholesterol is very high and I read that lentils can help bring your numbers down. I used a cup of lentils to begin with and it produced way too much sprouts for me. I used a half gallon mason jar and the whole jar was crammed with sprouts by the time i finished sprouting. Next time I will only use a 1/4 cup lentils. You sprout the lentils just like the broccoli sprouts. Once they are finished sprouting they are delicious on salads. They produce a little tail...not as long as alfalpha sprouts. They are crunchy...eating the lentils and the little sprouts.
   Because we had an abundance of the sprouts I tried making lentil burgers with them. I dehydrated them with some other ingredients. I personally did not like the way they taste so I will try other recipes until i find one I like.

Making coconut milk and flour and a smoothie

My recent love is making coconut milk. I am not a big fan of coconut milk in a can. I have tried to make coconut yogurt and didn't like the taste of it at all..it tasted rancid to me...But, I have perfected coconut milk to my liking. I like to add it to my smoothies or teas as a creamer. Delicious.

You will need
2 hairy brown coconuts
a coconut knife
screwdriver and hammer
large measuring cup or bowl
strainer to fit on top of cup or bowl
oven

I have wrestled with coconuts before trying to open them. I am not a strong person, so I needed a way to get the water and meat out.

Extracting the Coconut Water

Using a mature (the brown hairy ones) coconut, I first find the 3 hole like marks at the top of the coconut. One of them is usually softer than the others. This is the one to tap into. I personally use a hammer and a screwdriver. I position the screwdriver over the hole and pound with the hammer at the top of the screwdriver. This usually gets me in the coconut. I then use my coconut knife ( not easy to find...got mine from amazon) to widen the whole. I then take a large measuring up and put a strainer on top of it and put the coconut in the strainer upside down so it drains and strains at the same time. Once the coconut has drained i put the coconut water in a clean container and put in fridge. I repeat this again on the second coconut.

Opening a coconut

Next, I put the coconuts on a baking sheet and bake on 450 for  7-10 minutes until the coconut cracks. Then I place them in the freezer to  cool quickly. Once cooled, I wrap one in a towel and take it outside to crack open with a hammer. Tap on the coconut to crack and open. The meat should separate from the shell. If not keep on hitting until it does.

Now you have coconut meat with brown skin on it. Use a peeler to get the brown skin off.

Making Coconut milk

coconut meat
nut bag with draw string ( bag big enough to hold 32 oz) ( mine is made out of linen)
bowl
strainer to fit on bowl
food processor or high power blender

• Place bag in bowl. 
• Pour coconut meat and 3 cups of water in food processor. Process till smooth...it will not smooth all the way down. Don't worry.  
• Carefully pour the  the coconut mixture into the bag over the bowl. Tie up the bag and squeeze milk out of bag into bowl. Keep squeezing until all liquid is out of the bag.
• Transfer coconut milk to clean bottle and place in fridge to drink or use.

Making Coconut flour

leftover coconut meat from making milk
dehydrator
parchment paper
cookie sheeet
grain grinder or nutribullet with grain blade

• Line a dehydrator sheet with parchment paper, tearing a hole near center for air to go through.
• Remove the leftover coconut meat from bag
• Spread coconut meat on parchment paper.
• Dehydrate at 115 for 4 hours or until dry.
• Remove from dehydrator and place in nutribullet with grain blade. Grind until flour like.
• Store in clean, dry container.

FYI There are a lot of videos on utube on how to open coconuts, making coconut milk and flour.

Coconut Pineapple smoothie

1 cup fresh or frozen pineapple
1 banana
1 cup coconut milk
1/2 cup pineapple juice or pineapple kefir water
3 mint leaves

Blend all ingredients in blender. Enjoy

Baked caprise eggs

I love it when i make caprise, so when i saw this recipe i knew i was gonna like it. I find this simple to make when i know i will be in the kitchen cooking or doing other things like washing dishes etc...It's easy to put together and throw in the oven and tastes sublime.

For 2 servings

4 eggs
a handful of grape tomatoes slice in half
4 oz mozzarella cheese
8 basil leaves
2 oz milk
salt and pepper
soft butter for ramekins

Butter each oven safe ramekin.

• Divide tomatoes, cheese and basil and place in each ramekin. Reserve some for top layer. 
• Crack 2 eggs in each ramekin and season with salt and pepper. 
• Add 1/2 tsp of cream or milk to each egg. 
• Add a  few more tomatoes, cheese, and basil on top of the eggs
•  Bake at 350 for 5-8 minutes.
• Turn on broiler and bake for 5 more minutes. 
• Monitor eggs carefully for desired softness or hardness.

adapted from http://www.howsweeteats.com/2011/07/caprese-baked-egg-cups/

Creamsicle cupcakes

If you like creamsicles like I did as a kid, you will love these cupcakes. The first time I made this I used a cake box mix by Pillsbury called orangesicle. It was fast and tasted delicious. I followed the directions on the box to make cupcakes..Very easy and fast.

For the frosting I used:


1 8 oz cream cheese package
1/2 butter
6 c powdered sugar
1 tsp orange extract
1 tsp vanilla extract
orange food coloring


Soften cream cheese and butter to room temperature. Beat cream cheese, butter, orange and vanilla extract in large mixing bowl. Slowly add powdered sugar. Mix well. Divide frosting into 2 bowls..one will be white and the other will become tangerine color. Add orange icing color to one bowl and mix to desired color strength.

Next take the white icing and place in a clear icing bag. Use another icing bag for the orange frosting. Snip the ends off and place both side by side in another frosting bag. Snip the outer bag tip. Twist close the other end and gently squeeze the frosting to make sure both colors are coming out at the same rate. The first time I did it my frosting was not soft enough, so I had to take it all apart and start again.

Starting at outer edge of cupcake squeeze bag in a circular motion.Continue all around and swirling until coming to center. I love the two tone color frosting look.

Adapted from 

http://birdonacake.blogspot.com/2012/03/orange-creamsicle-cupcakes.html

Turkey and rice soup

Over the weekend our son and daughter  in law came to Florida from Atlanta. In Atlanta, there was an ice storm which kicked off their power for 3 days. They were anxious to get to Florida for 2 baby showers for Anne. On saturday night they came over for a Thanksgiving dinner, since they were not here in November for it. My husband roasted a 22 pound turkey, so needless to say we have a lot of turkey left over. One of the things I always make when I have a huge turkey like that is turkey and rice soup.

1 shallot diced finely

2 garlic cloves chopped 

2 carrots

2 celery diced finely

1/4 green pepper diced

1 T olive oil

1/2 cup cooked rice

1/4 cup fresh parsely

1 tsp  Mrs. Dash

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1 T dried basil

1/2 lb cooked turkey 

3 cups turkey or chicken stock

In a cuisinart food processor grind turkey until finely ground using the metal blade. Set aside. In stockpot on medium heat, saute shallot, carrots, celery, green pepper until tender. Add ground turkey, turkey stock, rice, seasonings and herbs. Bring to a boil....and then simmer for 30 minutes. 

BABY SHOWER CAKE

Over the weekend there was a baby shower for my daughter in law, Anne.She asked for a coconut cake with rasberry filling in between the layers. She also asked for a peoni on top, which I tried to do, but wasn't satisfied with the way it looked, so I just bought flowers from Joann fabrics and worked with that. I used Publix's rasberry donut filling. You have to ask for it from the deli. It does not have seeds in it and it is delicious.  I covered the cake with pink vanilla buttercream. I added pearl like candies all around the cake.

Leftover meatoaf gyros

My husband loves meatloaf. When I make it, there is always leftovers. I found a tasty way to use the meatloaf in a different way. I have made gyros before and used pita bread, but I have noticed when I go to a restaurant that serves gyros the bread looks more like naan bread. Lamb is not easy to come by here, so I opted to use meatloaf. It is definitely  not the same taste as a lamb gyro, but still tasty. If you  would like to make your own naan bread, a recipe follows after the gyro.

You will need:

• Naan bread (store bought or homemade)
• garlic oil 
• 1 tomato sliced thinly
• 1/2 onion sliced into thin rings
• 1 cup of shredded lettuce
• tzatziki sauce
• leftover meatloaf
• tin foil to hold the gyro together while eating (otherwise you have a big mess)

TZATZIKI SAUCE

• 1 cup (8 ounces) plain yogurt
• 1 medium cucumber, peeled, seeded and chopped
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper

1. For sauce, in a small bowl, combine the yogurt, cucumber, lemon juice, garlic, salt and pepper. 
2. Cover and refrigerate until serving.

THE GYRO

Naan bread

1. Brush naan bread with 1 tablespoon garlic oil; heat on a lightly greased griddle for 1 minute on each side. Keep warm. 

Meatloaf

1. Cut meat loaf into very thin slices.
2.  In a large skillet, fry meat loaf in remaining oil in batches until crisp. Tear off a sheet of tin foil large enough to encase the naan bread. 

Assembly

1. Lay the tin foil down and place the naan bread in the center of the tin foil.
2. On each pita bread, layer the tomato, lettuce,onion and meat loaf slices;
3. top with  tzatziki sauce. 
4. Carefully fold naan bread in half. 
   
   
5. Serve with remaining sauce

 How to make Naan bread 

           
     

• 1½ cups warm milk
• ½ tsp yeast
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• 3½-4 cups of all-purpose flour
• 4-5 tbsp melted butter
• ¼ tsp garlic powder (optional)
• salt (optional)

1. add yeast and sugar to warm milk, let stand 3-5 minutes
2. add salt and 3½ cups flour to milk mixture and mix in mixer with dough hook for 3-5 minutes or about 8-10 minutes if mixing by hand, Sprinkle additional flour as needed to keep dough from sticking to the sides. Do not exceed 4¼ cups.
3. Let rise for 2 hours or do the quick oven rising method described above in step 3
4. Punch dough down and divide into 12 equal pieces.
5. Form pieces into balls and let rest for 30 minutes (cover with plastic wrap or clean dish towel)
6. Put your stone(s) in oven and preheat oven to 500 degrees
7. Roll out dough balls to desired thickness (about the size of a small tortilla)
8. Cook rolled out dough on stone for 2-4 minutes
9. Stack cooked Naan on top of each other and brush each side with butter
10. (If you desire you can add ¼ tsp garlic powder and a couple shakes of salt to your melted butter)

Here is the link that I got the recipe from.

http://reallifedinner.com/how-to-make-naan-bread-step-by-step-instructions-and-pictures/