Pea Avocado Dip not totally unlike Guacamole

My sister posted these cute cranberry heart shaped cookies today. I couldn't let her one up me, so I decided to actually get this post done. What's that you say? Heart shaped cookies beat veggie guacamole any day. Well this is true. Next time...

This is an Everyday Foods recipe. I'm not sure what the original title was, but I'm sure it had guacamole in it. My Texas brother in law says it is good, but you shouldn't call it guacamole. It is good. But it is not guacamole. If you expect it to be guacamole, you won't like it. I agree. The taste is reminiscent of guacamole mixed with a fresh taste that comes from the peas. This recipe is good if you are trying to get a few extra veggies into your diet. It is also good if it is the time of year that avocados are quite expensive. I'm not one of those cooks that routinely hides veggies in food. I don't put spinach in my brownies and tell you it tastes the same. I've never tried it, but I"m pretty sure spinach brownies do not taste "just like regular brownies". This recipe is good in it's own right.

I suggest reading the recipe correctly. I chopped 2 jalapenos before I realized that the recipe called for 2 teaspoons. I hadn't mixed yet and could still pick out the excess. Good thing, because it would have been spi-cay.

PEA AVOCADO DIP NOT TOTALLY UNLIKE GUACAMOLE

yield 2 c

INGREDIENTS

1 package (10oz) frozen peas, thawed

1 ripe avocado

1/3 c cilantro

1/4 c minced red onion

2 T lime juice

2 tsp minced jalapeno chili

coarse salt

1. In a food processor, puree peas until smooth. In a medium bowl, coarsely mash avocado. Stir in cilantro, onion, lime juice, jalapeno, salt and purred peas. To store, place a piece of plastic directly on the guacamole, refrigerate overnight.

Cheese Ball Variations

Here are a few variations on cheese balls. The one one the top is a cheese ball snowman. I made a cheese ball from my recipe. then I shaped two balls and held them together with a toothpick to secure. I frosted the snowman with whipped cream cheese. He has a pretzel and chex mix top hat, olive eyes, a carrot nose, pretzel smile, celery arms and raisin buttons. I was inspired by this post.
The one on the right is a football cheese ball for the super bowl. It is has whipped cream cheese stripes and stitching and is covered with walnuts.

Where have I been?

Well, I kind of lost my mojo. It's a three pronged problem. First, I have a chronic illness that has left me exhausted lately and unable to do much cooking. Second, I had been taking a medication that left me sick to my stomach much of last year. This seems to be getting better. Third, the medication seems to have effected my interest in food. For the first time in my life I don't spend much of the day obsessed with food. It's totally weird. Hopefully all three of these things will turn around soon. Once they do, I'll start cooking and posting on a regular basis.

Halloween Spider Egg

My sister asked if I wanted eggs for breakfast on Halloween. "Sure" I said. She made me this cute spider egg with a cheese mouth and peppercorn eyes. My four year old niece had the same breakfast with cheese eyes. My sister can flips eggs by just holding onto the handle of the skillet and flipping them in the air. She's talented.

Fine Living Review Article

I finally picked up a copy of the Fine Living Review. I waited an entire day before I made a special trip to Bismarck to pick up a copy. Here I am, being a big ole dork and reading the article about my blog in the Fine Living Review in the parking lot of Dan's Supermarket. Actually it's dorkier then that. I'm taking a picture of myself reading an article about my blog for my blog in the parking lot. I confused people walking past my car. If you would like to read the article, you can pick up a free copy on your way out of Dan's Supermarket or at other local businesses.
I'd like to thank Tiffany who brought my blog to the attention of the Fine Living Review and Tiffany Bailey (different Tiffany) who wrote such a nice article about my blog in the magazine.

Here are a few links mentioned in the article you might be interested in:
The hot sauce popcorn in the article is a recipe I got from my neighbor Sue. Here is a link to my post about the cooking competition she was in. The Tomato Soup from Canned Tomatoes is my most popular post.
Date-Spice Chiffon Cake
Pisole (The spelling might be wrong, I don't speak Spanish)
Bulgur and Mushroom Pilaf
Hungarian Potato Salad
Popcorn recipes
The Bacon Fun Series (unusual bacon recipes)
My hat from a sweater on my other blog, I Know Other Stuff.
The Gorgonzola Steak pictured in the article was not as rare as it looked in my picture. I'm not sure why my picture made it look so rare.

If you are interested in other North Dakota food blogs, check out:
Rhubarb and Venison (Bismarck)
Busy Nothings (Fargo)
Busy Nothings hasn't posted too many recipes since they had their adorable baby last year. You can click on Recipe index on the navigation bar to view the recipes.

I'd like to thank all my regular blog readers and welcome any new ones. I started this blog as an easy way to share my recipes with friends and family. I didn't think anyone would really read it. Now I have followers from all over the world. It's surreal.

On an entirely separate note, I've borrowed my Dad's power cord for my computer. I ordered a cord and it should be here any day. Power is good.

Welcome Fine Living Review Readers

My blog, Lora's Recipes, was featured in the recent Fine Living Review. It's a local publication for the Bismarck, North Dakota area. It should be released Saturday and is available at Dan's Supermarket in the newsstand section and at other area businesses. I plan on writing a more complete post after I pick up a copy. If I don't post again soon, I've died of electrocution. My power cord for my computer, currently held together with electrical tape and toothpicks, is no longer charging my computer. I'll probably be offline until I get the problem fixed. Thanks for coming to check out my blog. Now, I have to use the power left in my computer to search for new power cords. Hopefully I'll update soon. :)

Grilled Pizza with Roquefort and Grilled Peaches

I made this a while ago, and have been slow in posting it. Sorry, I didn't write down amounts. I think you can get the idea. Peaches and bleu cheese on pizza? Where ever did I get that idea? Well, I was inspired by this post on A Good Appetite. I love the bleu cheese flavor of the Roquefort playing against the sweetness of the peaches. I wasn't sure if I wanted sage or not. I did a test section on the pizza. I think I liked it, but my sage test section wasn't large enough to really tell for sure. Follow the basic directions for pizza on the grill, then use these toppings

Grilled Pizza with Roquefort and Grilled peaches
INGREDIENTS
Sauce:
pizza sauce

Toppings:
1 peach
onion
green pepper
mushrooms
meat from one grilled chicken thigh

Cheese:
Swiss cheese
Parmesan cheese
Mozzarella cheese
Roquefort

Herbs:
thyme
parsley
chives
sage

Bacon Fun part Nine

Can you believe I'm on #9? I can't. I've never done a search for bacon recipes. I just find these.
Bacon Candy. A twist on the classic baked bacon and brown sugar recipe. This one adds chili powder. This is one I should make.
If you've made brown sugar bacon, try adding some to your waffles for Brown Sugar Bacon Waffles. Do you prefer pancakes? No problem.
Bacon Pancakes. Bacon pancakes still not enough? I've got that covered too.
Remember Elvis's fools gold sandwich discussed at the tail end of Bacon fun part Seven? Well, here is is in a pancake stack version.
Peanut Butter and Bacon Sandwiches. 'Cause jelly is for losers.
A Bacon Potato. Peal a potato and slice it almost through every 1/4 inch. Put a piece of bacon between every slice and bake. How can something seem so right and so wrong at the same time?
Onion, Apple and Bacon Tart. Uncredited players include Parmesan, Gruyere, and smoked paprika.
Want something sweet? How about a Buttermilk Bacon Praline?
And lastly, I know you're not supposed to be inspired by This Is Why You're Fat, but I kind of want a Bacon Onion Ring.

Orange Julius

There is nothing special about my recipe. I'm just posting it so I can find the recipe easily. Love me a Julius on a hot day.

Orange Julius
Yield 2 drinks on one giant one.

INGREDIENTS
3 0z OJ concentrate
1/2 c water
1/2 c milk
1/4 c powdered sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
6-7 ice cubes

Add all ingredients in the blender. Blend. Add ice cubes one at a time with the motor running. Blend until smooth.

Is Deep Fried the new Bacon?

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

My sister just sent me this link from the today show. O.K. I know I should be appalled, but I'm intrigued. Deep fried butter, deep fried coke, deep fried latte, deep fried cookie dough, deep fried peanut cups, deep fried peaches & cream with butter cream dip, and spiral cut sweet potatoes deep fried with butter & cinnamon sugar. There is even more listed in the link. These are all entries in the Texas State fair deep fried food competition. Now that the bacon craze is dying down, is a deep frying craze about to start?
Dang that zucchini bread in the oven is smelling good. I hope it tastes as good as it smells. The recipe says it has to cool for an hour and 10 minutes after it comes out of the oven. I hope I can make it.

grocery STORe WARS

Featuring Cuke Skywalker, Tofu D2, and Darth Tater.



Check out this and other Star Wars foods at Geek Tyrant. Via Cake Wreck's Twitter.

August 5th was National S'mores Day!!

To celebrate national s'mores day we tried a new s'mores recipe. We added peanut butter. It's a good way to change things up a bit. If you are interested, check out my other s'mores variations. Hope your s'mores day celebration was great.

Breakfast Pizza on the Grill

Follow the instructions in my post for pizza on the grill. I only used two eggs, but I think there should be more. The original recipe formed a well in the other topping and cracked two eggs on top and cooked them until over easy. I'm scared of uncooked egg whites and I think scrambles sounds better anyway. I had a grill brunch party last year where I served breakfast pizza. I also brought my waffle iron outside and served waffles with grilled fruit. Next time I'll have a friend bring a waffle iron. Two waffle irons would have worked better.

Breakfast Pizza on the Grill

1 dough ball for crust (see pizza on the grill instructions)
pizza sauce
3-4 eggs, scrambled and cooked until 3/4 done
spinach, either fresh or frozen with the water squeezed out
tomatoes, chopped
chopped Canadian bacon or fried bacon, chopped
shredded sharp cheddar cheese, grated or in slices and laid like tiles

cilantro chutney

You know how you go to an Indian restaurant and they bring you bread (usually naan) with three dips. You eat all of them, but you mostly eat the green dip. Well, this is my sister Kristy's recipe for cilantro chutney (the green one). Since it is all pureed anyway, you can feel free to use the cilantro stems. It saves time. I also made naan on the grill. It was one part horrible, one part awesome, one part burned. If I decide to perfect the recipe for grilled naan and actually do manage to get it perfected, I'll post it.

Cilantro Chutney

1 cup fresh cilantro sprigs

1 to 2 jalapeño chilies, seeded and coarsely chopped

2 tablespoons water

2 teaspoons packed brown sugar

2 teaspoons fresh lime juice

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons well-stirred plain yogurt (preferably whole-milk, but 1% fat yogurt is still fine)

Purée the cilantro in a blender with jalapeño(s), water, brown sugar, lime juice, and salt. Transfer to a bowl and stir in yogurt. The chutney may be made 1 day ahead and chilled, covered. Bring
to room temperature before serving.

Hungarian Potato Salad

About 20 years ago I made a Hungarian meal made from a library cookbook. An amazing Hungarian meal. That summer we sat on my patio and indulged in Hungarian potato salad and several stews swimming in paprika (and potatoes). It was the kind of meal where you know you are full, but everything tastes so good. Maybe just a little more of this. Maybe just a touch more of that. In Hungary I feel certain that they don't serve that many potato dishes at once and certainly not when it is humid and above 90 degrees and they don't have air conditioning. I can also vividly remember laying on the floor with my sisters in a bedroom watching the ceiling fan go around and trying to ignore the queasy feeling. We lay there for hours without moving. We discussed the amazingness of the meal and how we weren't sure that we would ever want to eat it again.

I wasn't ready to eat that Hungarian food for several years. When I was ready, it was after the great recipe loss of '92 (see my profile). I went to the library to find the cookbook, only to discover it wasn't there. I've tried a few times to make chicken paprikash or goulash. I haven't made anything I would crave yet. If anyone knows of good paprika based recipes, please point me towards them.

I searched the web about a week ago for my Hungarian Potato Salad. There was nothing like it posted anywhere. I did find a sour cream dill sauce that sounded like what was in the original the potato salad. I cobbled this recipe together from my remnants of the old one. I think it's pretty close, if not almost exactly it. In the end, it is really good, but it's probably not worthy of a 20 year quest.

I forgot the parsley, so I estimated the amount. I used 2 T butter and 2 T flour for the roux. It made a sauce that was too thick. I'm guessing 1 T flour should work. Then you should be able to decrease the butter to I tablespoon, unless you need more to fry the onions. Adding a clove or two of garlic might be good as well.

HUNGARIAN POTATO SALAD

INGREDIENTS

2 lbs potatoes

1-2 T butter

1/2 onion, finely chopped (or more)

1 T flour

1/2 c beef stock

1/4 c chopped fresh dill, or maybe even more if you dare

2 T chopped fresh parsley

1/2 c pickles

1/2 c sour cream

FOR THE SALAD:

1. Cover the whole, unpeeled potatoes with 1 inch of water in a stockpot or dutch oven. Bring to a simmer over medium high heat. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer, stirring once or twice to ensure even cooking, until the potatoes are tender (a thin-bladed paring knife or metal cake tester can be slipped into and out of the center of the potatoes with no resistance), 25-30 minutes for medium potatoes, 15-20 minutes for small potatoes.

2. Drain and cool the potatoes, slightly and peel if you like. Cut the potatoes into 3/4-inch cubes (or smaller) Use a serrated knife if they have skins. Cut the potatoes while still warm and rinse the knife as needed.

3. Mix the potatoes, pickles, and sauce together. This salad is meant to be served hot. I prefer it cold the next day. This salad may need extra salt.

FOR THE SAUCE

1. Saute the onions in the butter. It is best to do this very slowly to caramelize them. However a quick saute works too. Whisk in the flour with a silicone coated whisk. Cook somewhat to make a roux. Begin slowly whisking in the beef broth. Add a little broth whisk until smooth, repeat. Do this until you've added all the broth. Whisk in the sour cream. Heat through, but do not boil. Stir in the parsley and dill. Now it is ready for the potato salad.

The not quite Ultimate Butterbeer

If you are a fan of Harry Potter, you know what butterbeer is. I had this plan to have a recipe posted for the ultimate butterbeer before the new movie came out. (which was yesterday) Why? I love Harry Potter and I love butterscotch. I didn't come up with the ultimate butterbeer. It would take lots of tinkering to get this recipe just right. I honestly don't have the patience for that. Also, I'm getting a bit sick of this recipe. What have I learned so far? It takes way more butterscotch then you think it should. Once I started adding more, the recipe got better. It might be even better with even more butterscotch. Frankly, at this point I'm sick of this recipe. I bored with butterscotch. I have thus far failed to produce the butterscotch soda float of my dreams. It's good like this, but that's about all I can say for it.

Butterbeer
1/4 c butterscotch sauce (0r possibly a bit more)
1/2 c milk (or maybe a bit less)
dash of nutmeg
dash of cinnamon
1- 2 scoops burnt sugar ice cream
Club soda

Warm up the butterscotch until it is very runny in the microwave. Measure 1/4 c butterscotch sauce into a glass. Pour an equal amount of milk into the glass with the butterscotch and stir vigorously. If the butterscotch does not dissolve, you may need to heat the milk/butterscotch mixture slightly in the microwave. Pour in enough milk to reach halfway (or less) up the side of your glass. Stir in the nutmeg and cinnamon. Add your scoops of ice cream. With a spoon that reaches to the bottom of the glass, stir vigorously while adding the club soda. Do this for the first part of the club soda. Then pour in the remaining club soda. Stirring insures that the club soda gets incorporated. If you do not do this, the top of the drinks tastes only like oddly flavored club soda.
This can also be served warm. Heat the butterscotch and milk together until warm. Then continue with the rest of the recipe the same as with cold butterbeer.

I haven't tried it, but you could add butterscotch schnapps for the adults.

Burnt Sugar Ice Cream

This is almost caramel ice cream, but not quite. I'm not in the mood to write an intro right now. I might com back and write one later.

Burnt Sugar Ice Cream

INGREDIENTS
3/4 c sugar (more sugar)
2 T water
2 c milk
4 egg yolks
1 c cream
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 tsp vanilla


or 3 yolks and 1 1/2 c cream and 1 1/2 c milk

1. In a medium sauce pan, add the sugar and water. Stir with a silicone spatula over medium heat until sugar is dissolved. Continue cooking over medium heat until the mixture becomes dark brown. The darker the better without burning it. When it is ready, off heat, SLOWLY pour in the milk drop by drop (at first). It will bubble furiously. After you've added all the milk, return to the heat until all the sugar is dissolved.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk the egg yolks until a pale yellow and slightly increased in volume. Pour some (maybe 1/2) of the burnt sugar-milk mixture into the bowl while whisking. When combined, return the egg mixture to the saucepan and stir to combine. Continue to cook, stirring with a silicone spatula, until it is thickened slightly and coats the back of a spoon. This happens at 170 degrees on a candy thermometer. Off heat, stir in the cream and the salt. Cool in the refrigerator several hours or overnight.
3. When the mixture is cold, stir in the vanilla. Freeze as directed in your ice cream maker

Watermelon Slushy (with a little vodka)

Rain came at dinner time and my grilling plans changed to enchiladas. If you make mexican food, you "need" a fruity drink. I was inspired by this post about a blender killing frozen watermelon experiment at Rhubarb and Venison. I loved the idea of freezing watermelon. If you have a normal sized family you can make it through a whole watermelon pretty easily. This is epically true if you, like my sister, have a year old baby who is currently in love with watermelon. No watermelon eatin' baby? No problem. Just dice up your watermelon. Place in a single layer on a cookie sheet and stash in the freezer. Once it's frozen, move to a Ziploc bag in your freezer. Here is my first experiment with frozen watermelon. In a blender combine:

Frozen watermelon (I didn't measure)
Shot of Vodka
tablespoon-ish of lime juice
1 tsp sugar (or to taste)
a fair amount of water. I added maybe as much as 1/2 c.

You'll need lots of water to get the blender moving. You can use tequila or rum or no alcohol if you prefer. Beth at R & V also recommends freezing any fruit you have that is about to go bad. You can turn it into a smoothie later. I need to start doing this. I can be a grown up and admit my fruit will go bad next day and that I'm actually not going to get it eaten in that time.

Crunch Salad (Carrot, Radish, Lime and Cilantro)

When I found this recipe from Kristen at the Kitchen Sink, I knew I'd have to try it. It sounded so wonderfully crunchy. In fact, I've dubbed it Crunch Salad. I made a few changes from the original. I replaced the scallions with less thinly sliced onion. I had onions in the house and not scallions. I also increased the proportion of radishes. Much to my surprise, the first time I made this (pictured) I wanted more radishes. Note: My cilantro is overgrown, that is why it looks like dill.
Crunch Salad
INGREDIENTS
2 1/2 c carrots, sliced thin
1 1/2 c radish, sliced thin
1/2 c scallions, or less thinly sliced onions
1/4 c cilantro, chopped
Juice of one lime
1 T olive oil
salt

Combine carrots, radish, onion, cilantro, and lime zest in a large bowl. Whisk together the lime juice, salt, and olive oil. Toss with the rest of the ingredients. Allow to sit for at least 10 minutes before serving.

Coffee Toffee Twisted Frosty

Here's my short review:
Coffee- Great coffee flavor.
Toffee -Great, probably a heath bar.
Frosty-O.K. Here's where it gets complicated. If you like basic soft serve flavor, you'll think it's awesome. I don't like soft serve flavor anymore. I haven't had soft serve for a while, because it makes me sick. However, the frosty style soft serve does not make me sick for some reason. Maybe my taste has changed, or it might just be my brains association with upset stomach. I don't know. Regular soft serve and cold stone creamery give my stomach the "icks". I wonder what the magic "ick" ingredient is? But I digress...
It only comes with a spoon, so it's bad for driving. It only comes in one size, which should serve two nicely. I'm only one and don't need a challenge. It has a name that's really fun to say and great commercials. To sum up, I wanted to like this. It seemed like something fun to get on hot afternoons. But in the end, it's just not for me.