food isn't any good unless you have some fun!

come on in and enjoy!

Monday, February 27, 2012

Sourdough Waffles

Hello again! I made these sourdough waffles with my mom's sourdough starter, and they were absolutely phenomenal. Such a tender crunch when you bit into the waffles, and so good you almost don't need syrup! Try making some sourdough starter sometime (google it!) and make some waffles out of it, you'll enjoy them!


Here's the sourdough starter- my mom keeps some going almost all the time!

Here's the first mixture of ingredients...

And the finished batter!


Sourdough Waffles
-2 cups flour
-2 tablespoons sugar
-2 cups buttermilk
-1 cup sourdough starter
-2 eggs
-1/4 cup veggie oil or melted butter
-1 teaspoon vanilla
-1/2 teaspoon salt
-1 teaspoon baking soda
Mix together the flour, sugar, milk, and starter. Then add all other ingredients and mix well.
Make in your waffle iron of choice!


Here's the batter in the waffle iron, heating up already!

And here are the finished waffles! Aren't they lovely?

Savor it!
love, rue

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Please sign this petition: Recognize the Armenian Genocide!

Hi,

Tell the US government to lead the way in affirming the truth of history. Beginning in 1915, the Young Turk leaders of the Ottoman Empire ensured the deaths of around 1 million Armenians. Government authorized forces drove Armenians from their homes and forced them on death marches which caused the majority of the Armenian population to die. Historians and scholars all over the world recognize these events as genocide against the Armenian people, but the Turkish government denies it to this day, denying the Armenian survivors recognition of their grief. Tell Congress and President Obama to lead the way and not let Turkey white-wash history for its own benefit.

That's why I created a petition to The United States House of Representatives, The United States Senate, and President Barack Obama, which says:

"Acknowledge the truth of history and recognize the Armenian genocide of 1915 by the Young Turk government of the Ottoman Empire. Don't let the Turkish government white-wash history any longer."

Will you sign my petition? Click here to add your name:

http://signon.org/sign/us-govt-recognize-the?source=c.fwd&r_by=1732627

Thanks!
Rue Oseas

Monday, February 20, 2012

Healthy (but delicious!) Banana Bread

I love this banana bread. I love it. I modified one of my favorite recipes to be a lot healthier, and it's just fabulous, you can't even tell the difference! I'll just get on to sharing it with you.


Here are the ingredients, I just left out the vanilla that I added!

Here's the batter all mixed up- I did use walnuts.


Healthy Banana Bread
-1/4 cup veggie oil
-3/4 cup applesauce
-1 1/2 cups sugar
-4 eggs
-1 teaspoon vanilla
-4-5 bananas
-2 cups white flour
-1 cup white whole wheat flour
-1 teaspoon salt
-2 teaspoons baking soda
-1 teaspoon cinnamon
-1 teaspoon nutmeg
-walnuts, optional
Mix together the veggie oil and applesauce, then add the sugar in. Beat in the eggs, then smoosh in the bananas with a potato masher or similar implement. Stir in the dry ingredients.
Put the batter into greased muffin tins, loaf pans, whatever you like.
Bake at 350 F until golden brown and a toothpick (or knife) inserted in the middle comes out clean.


Here's the banana bread in the oven- I used loaf pans and got three.

And the finished banana bread! It is so delicious we've just been gobbling it up!

Also feel free to add in anything you like- I like walnuts, but you could use different nuts, dried fruit, chocolate chips if you're feeling naught, etc. Have fun with it!

Savor it!
love, rue

Monday, February 13, 2012

Cheese Polenta

Hi again! Today I'm writing about a recipe that we had for dinner the other night and it was just delicious. You're probably familiar with cheese grits (well, if you're from the right part of the country!), but this is cheese polenta. Polenta is another corn-derived product like grits, but they have a slightly different texture and act a little different though you can often use them interchangeably, if you're aware of the taste difference.

So let's get on to the pictures and recipe!


Cheese Polenta
-1 tablespoon butter
-6 cups milk
-1 1/2 teaspoons salt
-1/4 teaspoon cayenne
-2 cups polenta
-2 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese
Grease a 9 x 13'' pan or two smaller pans. Preheat oven to 350 F.
Bring milk, butter, salt, and cayenne to a boil in a saucepan. Add the polenta and reduce heat to medium. Stir briefly, then add 1 cup of cheese and stir until melted. Cook polenta for 6-8 minutes, stirring constantly.
Pour polenta into prepared pan(s) and sprinkle with remaining cheese.
Bake for 20-25 minutes at 350 F.


Here's the finished polenta! Sorry I don't have more pictures, I forgot!

Savor it!
love, rue

Monday, February 6, 2012

Lora Brody's Rugelach

Hello! Here is a recipe that is most certainly not my own, and comes from a newspaper cutout that we have downstairs in our recipe files- it's torn and stained and has clearly been read from a thousand times. Rugelach is an absolutely divine Jewish cookie that's flaky and ahh, just amazing! They are possibly my favorite cookie of all time, and that would be saying something. I only have one picture this week, as I forgot to take pictures of the process as it was happening. However, the recipe is thorough and gives you instructions for everything, and I'll reprint the recipe below.

The finished Rugelach!! Fantastic.



Lora Brody’s Rugelach
-dough ingredients
            -1 8-oz package cream cheese
            -1 cup unsalted butter
            -1/4 cup sugar
            -1 teaspoon vanilla
            -2 cups flour
            -1/4 teaspoon salt
-filling ingredients- (go light, there is always extra of this!)
            -1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons sugar
            -1/4 cup light brown sugar
            -1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
            -3/4 cup golden raisins
            -1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts
            -1/2 cup apricot preserves (well stirred)
-topping ingredients
            -1/4 cup milk
            -2 tablespoons sugar
            -1 teaspoons cinnamon
-dough process
Food Processor Method: Into a food processor with the metal blade, place the cream cheese. Cut the butter into a few pieces and add it with the motor running. Process until smooth and creamy. Add the sugar and vanilla extract and process until incorporated, scraping the sides of the bowl. Add the flour and the optional salt and pulse in just until the dough starts to clump together.
Electric Mixer Method: soften the cream cheese and butter. In a mixing bowl, cream the cream cheese and butter until blended. Beat in the sugar and vanilla extract. On low speed, beat in the flour and the optional salt until incorporated.
For both methods: scrape the dough onto a piece of plastic wrap and press it together to form a ball. Divide the dough into 4 portions and cover each with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for two hours or overnight.
-filling process
   In a medium bowl, combine the sugars, cinnamon, raisins, and walnuts and stir with a spatula or fork until well mixed.
-putting it all together
      Remove the dough from the refrigerator and allow it to sit on the counter for about 15 minutes or until it is malleable enough to roll. Place 2 oven racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and preheat it to 350o.
      Using a floured rolling pin, on a lightly floured board, roll out each dough portion, one at a time to a 1/8-inch thickness, rotating the dough often to be sure that it isn’t sticking. Using the back of a tablespoon, spread the dough evenly with 2 tablespoons of the apricot preserves. Sprinkle about ½ cup of the raisin-walnut filling over the preserves. (Do not put topping on the outer edge or right in the middle or it will fall out and be difficult to handle) Press the filling firmly and evenly over the dough. Using a sharp knife, cut the dough circle into 12 triangles or pieces of “pie”.
      Use a thin knife, if necessary, to loosen the triangles from the board. Starting at the wide end, roll up the triangle and bend the ends around to form a slight crescent shape. Place the rugelach, point underneath, about 1 ½ inches apart on buttered baking sheets (or baking sheets with parchment paper on them). Refrigerate, covered with plastic wrap, for at least 30 minutes, or until firm. (optional! we just bake them)
      Clean the work surface of excess filling before rolling out each batch.
      For the topping, brush the rugelach with milk. In a small bowl, stir together the sugar and cinnamon, and sprinkle the rugelach with it.
      Bake for 16-18 minutes or until lightly browned. For even baking, rotate the cookie sheets from top to bottom and front to back halfway through the baking period.
      Use a small, angled metal spatula or pancake turner to transfer the cookies to wire racks to cool completely. Store in an airtight container at room temperature (or in the refrigerator or freezer).


Though this recipe is long, it just has several steps which are really not hard to accomplish if you take it one step at a time. I hope you try these- you really will be delighted.

Savor it!
love, rue

Friday, February 3, 2012

Cool Craft Blog

Hi everyone, I just thought I'd give you a link today to show you some other stuff that I'm interested in. Along with baking and cooking, I love crafting, sewing, and making things out of all kinds of materials.
Thirty Handmade Days has all kinds of projects and tutorials, as well as links to other crafty blogs. Check it out!
http://thirtyhandmadedays.com/

Thanks and enjoy!