food blog

Lavender Rosemary Freezer Cookies

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img_8449These Lavender Rosemary Freezer Cookies are not like eating soap, promise. My children can testify! This is a classic butter cookie recipe with simple ingredients, made special by adding a little fresh lavender and rosemary from our garden. I use my home made yogurt fresh from the dairy- store bought regular or greek yogurt is fine! This is my new go too butter cookie recipe, perfect for up coming holiday. You can get creative and add your own spin; maybe mint, lemon or almond? A little pumpkin and maple for fall? Experiment and enjoy. I tried to put detailed instructions for a no fail cookie!

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Ingredients:

  • 2 Sticks Butter (at room temperature)
  • 1 1/2 C Sugar
  • 1 Tbsp Yogurt 
  • 2 Eggs (at room temperature)
  • 2 Tsp Vanilla
  • 4 C Flour ( sifted)
  • 3 Tsp Salt
  • 2 Tbsp Minced Rosemary
  • 1 Tbsp Minced Lavender Flowers
  • Directions:

In large bowl (not the mixing stand bowl) sift flour. Stir in salt, rosemary and lavender.

In mixing bowl cream butter and sugar at high-speed until light and airy, (see pictured).

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Beat in 1 egg as a time on low, add vanilla. Add 1/4 dry mixture and mix on medium, stop, scrape sides, and repeat for remaining dry ingredients. Do not over mix; (leads to tougher cookie). Chill 30 minutes. Place 1/3 chilled mixture on parchment paper and roll into log.

Place in bag or cover in plastic wrap. Repeat with remaining dough. Store in freezer for up to 4 months. Thaw a little before using (approx 10 minutes), then slice in 1/4″ rounds and bake on parchment lined baking sheet for 10 -15 minutes at 350 F. Enjoy your beautiful cookies, they make a great gift in special tin as well!

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Lilly’s favorite part! 

Yogurt Bread Calzones

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img_8102This recipe was inspired by a traditional Georgian  bread called “Cheese Bread” I came across the recipe for “Cheese Bread” in my favorite cook book “Feast” by Nigella Lawson. I adapted it based on what I had. I had left over Pasta sauce and hamburger thawed out in my fridge I decided to add them to the cheesy filling in this bread. The filling is a mixture of feta, mozzarella and ricotta. The dough is made with yogurt, butter and flour. A dairy lovers dream! I also had my yogurt and ricotta made fresh from our dairy farm on hand. You can of course use store-bought, but look for best quality ingredients, or try my recipes for home-made yogurt and ricotta. If you are not a fan of the Feta tang, you can always substitute more mozzarella and less feta. This recipe creates either one large monster calzone to bring to a large table a feast, or individuals,  it’s up to you!

img_8104Ingredients:

Dough:

  • 3 1/2 C Flour
  • 1 C Yogurt
  • 2 Eggs
  • 1/2 C Butter at room temperature
  • 1 tsp Baking Soda
  • 1 tsp Salt

Filling:

  • 2 C Feta
  • 7 Oz Mozzarella chopped ( 2 C shredded )
  • 1 C Ricotta Cheese
  • 1/2 Lb Ground Beef
  • 1/2 C Pasta Sauce

img_8106Directions:

Pre heat oven to 350 F Cook ground beef until browned through and leave to cool. In large bowl combine butter, yogurt and eggs with hands. Add flour to mix, 1/2 C at a time. Add baking soda and salt. Knead dough until pulling away from sides of bowl. Cover and let rest in refrigerator for 30 minutes. May leave for up to 3 days before using. In a separate bowl combine feta, mozzarella, ricotta, ground beef, and sauce. Cut dough into fourths. Place on greased baking sheets. Pat into disks approx 3/4″ thick. Pur 1/4 beef mixture on one half and fold remaining half over top, creating a half circle. Crimp edges with a fork. You can also make mini cheese balls as I did for my kiddos! Bake in oven until golden brown. approx 30- 40 minutes.

 

 

Simple Cheese Making: Ricotta from our Farm

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img_8103Feel like doing a science experiment? This is such a fun thing to do and with kids or a partner even better! Such a simple cheese to learn.  You can get the hang of this after a couple of times and always have fresh ricotta on hand. Use ricotta similarly as you would use yogurt, in baked goods, and of course lasagna. Try with my Cheese Bread Recipe also. I love the process of making cheese, it really takes you back to a simpler time. I use raw milk fresh from our dairy farm, but you can also use store-bought pasteurized as well, just stay away from ultra pasteurized! Some grocers are carrying raw milk or non homogenized, low pasteurized milk which gives a much better flavor and texture for cheese making. I’ve included  a link below for ordering liquid animal rennet online.

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Ingredients:

  • 1/4 Tsp Liquid Rennet 
  • 1 1/2 Tsp Lemon Juice
  • 1 Gal. Fresh Milk
  • Tsp Salt (Cheese Salt is ideal)

Directions:

Place milk in sterile 5 qt. pot. Slowly heat milk until milk is too hot to touch, (or 200 F on candy thermometer). Remove from heat. Slowly add rennet, lemon juice and salt. Stir gently. Leave pot to sit for 10 minutes. Check to see if whey (liquid) is separating from curds. Add more lemon juice if separation has not occurred and wait a few minutes. Scoop curds out with slotted spoon into strainer lined with tea cloth. See photograph for example. Strain for 60 minutes and place in air tight container. Store in refrigerator and use within one week. Enjoy the rewards of you experiment and try different recipes!

Fresh Breakfast Lasagna

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img_7969If you think this does not sound good for breakfast,  I promise it is perfect for brunch and even for dinner! Yummy fresh layers of cheese, eggs, hash browns all with a light marinara. I found myself making two, a smaller one for dinner and a larger one for a brunch the next day. This is  a great make ahead dish, pop it in the oven the next day. I used my home-made pasta sauce, with lots of mushrooms and egg-plant which lightened up the sauce, and my raw yogurt, which I think gives it a fluffier texture than most egg dishes. You could use store bough marinara and yogurt as well. Experiment with diffrent sauces, maybe even a pesto with sausage instead of bacon! Pictured here in my “Holstein Plate” Available at Art to Feed website, portion of proceeds donated to support your local food bank!

Ingredients

  • 2 C Cubed  Sourdough Bread ( I found a jalapeno bread for a kick, but use any bread you have on hand)
  • 2 C Hash Browns (thawed)
  • 8 Slices of Bacon Crumbled
  • 10 Eggs
  • 1/2 C Yogurt
  • 1/4 C Milk
  • 1/2 C Marinara Sauce
  • 1 Tsp Nutmeg
  • 2 Tsp Salt and Pepper
  • 2 C Cheddar Cheese
  • 2 C Parmesan Cheese
  • Olive Oil

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 350 F. Lightly coat bottom of 9″ x 13″ Dish. Spread half marinara on bottom of dish. Place Hash Browns and top with cubed bread.

This is where my kids have fun, its like a puzzle trying to get them all to fit. Mid home work break! img_7963

Whisk Eggs, remainder of tomato sauce, yogurt, milk, salt, pepper and nutmeg. Pour gently over bread and hash browns. Layer Parmesan and then Cheddar. Place in oven or store in fridge overnight. Bake 40-55 minutes and golden brown and bubbly! Enjoy, and serve for dinner if desired!

Super Moist Pumpkin Muffins…made with yogurt and almond Butter

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img_7839I painted this pumpkin platter and made these pumpkin muffins in hopes that fall will come early! A portion of proceeds from this platter goes towards your local food bank and can be purcahsed at ART to FEED website.

I hope to try this recipe with fresh pumpkin from our cousins Pumpkin Patch, but you can also use canned pumpkin as well! My muffin recipes are no fuss, use one bowl and make your life easier please and have fun cooking!  Muffins give so much room for creativity to add you own twist as well. I added my Raw Yogurt and some almond butter that give these muffins a super moist texture. For a healthier muffin you can omit the topping. Purchase almonds for a good cause through Farm to Kids and make your own almond butter as well! These freeze well for busy mornings and this recipe makes enough to share with neighbors and spread the love for all things pumpkin! Makes approx 24 muffins.

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Ingredients

  • 3 C Flour
  • 1 tsp Salt
  • 1 1/4 tsp Baking Powder
  • 1 1/4 tsp Baking Soda
  • 1 tsp Cinnamon
  • 1 3/4 C Sugar
  • 1 tbsp Maple Syrup
  • 1/2  C  Butter
  • 1/4 C Yogurt
  • 1/4 C Almond Butter
  • 1 15 oz Can Pumpkin or 2 C Fresh Pumpkin Puree

Topping

  • 1 tbsp Pumpkin Puree
  • 1 tbsp Vanilla
  • 2 c Oats
  • 1 tsp Salt
  • 1/2 C butter
  • 1 C Sugar
  • 1/2 C flour

Directions:

PreHeat oven to 350 F. Grease muffins Tins. In large bowl combine dry ingredients. Melt the 2 sticks of butter in microwave or pan. Make well in dry ingredients and in this order add; melted  butter and sugar. Stir to combine only the wet ingredients without scraping sides. Add eggs and beat into wet ingredients one at a time. Add yogurt, maple syrup and pumpkin (reserve 1 tbs for topping). Fold gently until just incorporated. Do not over mix. Over mixing you eggs will lead to a tougher muffin. In general with baking the less you handle the better. Batter will be lumpy and this is ok!  Spoon into muffin tins.

Prepare topping; Melt butter and add remaining ingredients. Stir until mixture resembles a loose crumble. Add more flour or oats if needed. Place a large spoonful on top of each filled muffin tin. Bake for 30-4o minutes or until golden brown.

 

Raw Butter With Yogurt

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Is this  a new dairy product? Probably not, there is probably another name for this but I don’t know what it is, let me know if you do! I add my raw yogurt to this butter which gives the butter a nice tang. It may be too strong in flavor for some, and if so feel free to omit the yogurt. Butter is easy to make at home, only problem is it takes alot of heavy cream. I create our butter with milk from the dairy. I allow the milk to separate from the cream by letting it sit for 24 hours. I then carefully skim the cream off the top. Using a wide mouth container helps. By adgetating the butter in a blender, food processor or other means, it begins to form butter that you them pat into a desired shape and place in serving dish. I created this Holstein Butter Dish  to benefit Art to Feed and your local food bank.

Making your own butter is worth the work and time, fresh butter really tastes amazing. I plan on using if for my Cultured Chocolate Chip Cookies, try it out! Get creative, add things to butter like garlic or other seasonings to make a very special treat!

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Ingredients:

  • 2 C or more of Heavy Cream
  • 1 tsp Yogurt
  • 2 tsp Salt or to taste.
  • I Bowl of Ice Water

Directions:

Place Heavy Cream in bowl of blender or food processor. Blend until milk starts to form little clumps.(Approx 3 -5 Minutes)

Strain the “clumps” from the whey. Press the clumps together and place in ice bath. Slowly begin to pat and shape encouraging any excess whey to drain. If butter gets too soft place back in ice bath and repeat until all whey has been removed. Place on parchment paper and roll into log shape. Or place in desired container and refrigerate until firm. Enjoy!

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Wild Black Berry Cobbler

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I love a cobbler because it is as simple a dessert as you can get. Using wild hand picked blackberries makes this all the better. Wild blackberries were everywhere at the knights ferry Maino ranch, a treasured spot by my grandfathers family. img_7246We loaded up the kids to visit the ranch and do some berry picking. Was made all the more exciting as this is rattle snake season- Yikes! Safe to say dad did most the picking! When visiting my parents on the coast we made black berry pie with black berries picked behind pops gallery. That was little more leisurely experience! Either way, using your fresh picked blackberries in this simple dessert the whole family will love! I use my raw yogurt in the batter of course, you can use store-bought as well.

Lilly loves this recipe from start
…To finish

Ingredients:

  • 1/4 C Butter, Melted
  • 1/4 C Raw Yogurtimg_7265
  • 1 C Sugar
  • 1 1/2 C Flour
  • 1 1/2 Tsp Baking Powder
  • 1 Tsp Salt
  • 2-3 Cups Fresh Black Berries
  • 2 tbsp Sugar for dusting

Pre-Heat oven to 350 F. Grease 3 Qt Baking dish with butter. In bowl mix yogurt, sugar and melted butter. Add Flour and mix until just incorporated. Lumps are ok! Pat Blackberries dry after rinsing. Pour batter into prepared dish. Sprinkle blackberries on top. Sprinkle with the 2 tbsp of sugar. Pour 1/4 C boiling water over top and place in oven for 45-50 min or until golden brown and cooked through in center.

 

Creamy Sweet Potato Garden Pasta Sauce

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img_7455This is my favorite way to cook. Letting creativity and spontaneity come together, using everything I have from the garden or extra vegetables after a trip to the farmers market. Easy, simple and never again to be replicated. This is true joy, you will find me in no happier state. A warm pan simmering, smiles and nourished bellies, all feels right and my heart is full. Perhaps it is my yearning for fall, as the kids gear up to go back to school, and sweet potatoes are on my mind! It is time to thin my carrots in garden, and this is an excellent way to use those tiny carrots. Not much prep involved, just cut roughly and throw in what you’ve got! Try and keep tomatoes the main ingredient, sweet potatoes second and after that use to your heart’s content. Carrots, peppers, herbs, celery, onion, garlic all make great choices. I then add my raw yogurt, Parmesan cheese, a little maple syrup and nutmeg to further bring out the creamy texture and warmth of the sweet potatoes. This sauce is amazing for lasagna, or your favorite pasta dish.  This recipe also freezes and preserves well if you choose to make a large batch out of your extra summer tomatoes.

Ingerdients:

  • 8 Garden Fresh Tomatoes
  • 3 cups Pear Tomatoes
  • 2 large Sweet Potatoes (cooked through, and cut into fourths)
  • 2 Bell Peppers
  • 4 Mild Wax Peppers
  • 2 Medium Carrots or 5-10 Baby Carrots
  • 3 Cloves of Garlic
  • 1/2 Yellow Onion
  • 1 Spring Basil
  • 1 c Raw Yogurt
  • 1 C Parmesan Cheese
  • Salt and Pepper to taste
  • 3 Tbs Olive Oil
  • 2 Tbs Maple Syrup
  • 2 Tsp Nutmeg

Cut all vegetables into coarse chunks. Place in sauce pan with olive oil, salt and pepper. Simmer with lid on unit vegetables are soft approx. 30 -40 min. Let mixture cool.

Realized I had a couple bell peppers in fridge; threw those in too! img_7435Place in blender and blend until smooth. Pour the now smooth mixture into pan and heat. Add yogurt and cheese, stir over medium heat to incorporate. img_7438Add maple syrup and nutmeg to taste, as well as salt and pepper as desired. Serve over favorite pasta and enjoy! img_7439

 

 

 

 

Slow and Low Crunchy Almonds

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This recipe is was a revelation to me! I learned about this through the “Nourishing Traditions Cookbook” Almonds lose their heart healthy fats when roasted at high temperatures. This recipe requires soaking the almonds in water for 6- 12 hours. This process is also known as “sprouting.” By doing this you unlock the foods nutrition potential as your body is more able to break down and absorb nutrients. By placing these soaked or “sprouted” almonds in oven at very low temp for long period you are also preserving their heart healthy fats. I love the taste and crunch of these almonds more than those that are roasted and seasoned. This is a standby snack for myself and our family. It helps keep the body satisfied by providing the right balance of fat, protein, fiber and nutrients. I am fortunate to live in the central valley where almonds are prevalent and I have neighbors and family almond ranchers! My lovely sister and brother in law bring me a 25 lb box of fresh almonds from their ranches. If you are looking for a good cause along with your purchase of almonds visit Farm to Kids online to purchase! Art to Feed supports all local farmers and needs, so blessed to tie in local farmers with our recipes!

Ingredients:

  • 4 C Raw Almonds
  • Filtered Water to Cover
  • 1 tbs Salt (non iodized)

Directions:

Place almonds in bowl and cover with water until covered with 1 inch of water above almonds. Soak for 6- 12 hours. Drain water, place on baking sheet and pat dry. Sprinkle with salt if desired. Place in oven at 135- 150 F for 12- 24 hours. Place in air tight container and enjoy!