Summer Vegetable Potato Salad

My sister in law makes this recipe every fourth! I'm stealing it this year!
1 lb small yellow or red new potatoes
2 fresh ears of corn, cooked
4 Roma tomatoes sliced into thin wedges
1/4 cup fresh basil leaves, torn
1/4 cup olive oil
3 tbls. Balsamic vinegar
2 tbls finely chopped shallot
/2 tsp. Dijon style mustard
1/4 tsp. sugar
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese

In a medium saucepan cook potatoes covered in water for 5 minutes or until tender. Drain and cool.
Cut corn off cob and place on large serving platter. Arrange the potatoes and tomatoes. Sprinkle with corn and 1/4 cup basil.

For dressing, in a screw top jar combine oil, vinegar, shallot, mustard, sugar and salt. Pour over potato mixture. Sprinkle feta and basil over salad and serve!

Mile High Apple Pie

I received this pie from our dear friends the Searle's after the birth of Charlie. Funny enough, my two favorite pie recipes are pies that I received after having babies! Maybe that makes them sentimental, but we love this pie so much, even I like to make and eat it! (And that is saying something!)

Crust:

In one bowl, mix 11/2 cups flour, 1 1/2 tsp.sugar and 1 tsp. salt. 

In a second bowl, mix 1/2 cup vegetable oil, and 2 Tbls. Cold milk. (I make this recipe 1 and 1/2 times because I have a Pampered Chef deep dish pan.)

Press mixture in a 9" pie pan with a fork and your fingers. 

Apple filling: 

Peel and slice apples. (8 Granny Smith- I use 9 or 10)

Mix 4 Tbsp. Flour, 1 cup sugar, and 1 Tbsp. Cinnamon in a bowl until it looks like sand. 

Mix apples and dry mixture until the apples are fully covered. (Again, I use 1 and 1/2 times because of the depth of my pan.) 

Topping:

Mix 1/2 cup flour and 1/2 cup sugar in a bowl.

Melt 1/2 cup butter and stir into bowl. 

Drop this mixture on to the top. (I make this mixture 1 1/2 times because I loooove it! However, I don't increase the butter because I feel like it doesn't home up as well. 

Put apples in pie crust with topping on top. Place pan in brown paper bag and staple closed across the front. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 1/2 hours! The most delicious apple pie ever! 

Aunt Judith's Whole Wheat Pie Crust

 This recipe makes enough for 2 - 3 single pie crusts.

1.  Sift together: 

• 3 C regular flour
• 1/2 C whole wheat flour
• 1 tsp salt

2.  Cut in:

• 1+1/4 C shortening
• 1/4 C butter (half cube)

3.  Whip together in a bowl:

• 1 egg
• 2 tsp vinegar
• 5-6 Tbl ice water

4.  Do not chill the dough before rolling out into a round pie shell (but you can freeze remaining dough.)

5.  If baking the shell, use a fork to gently poke holes on the sides and bottom of shell.  Bake at 425 degrees for 8 - 10 minutes.

Aunt Judith's Southern Pecan Pie

Aunt Judith’s Southern Pecan Pie

 

1.   Prepare a 9" pie shell (see Judith's Whole Wheat pie crust recipe)

2.   In a medium bowl, use a mixer to beat 4 eggs well

3.   In a glass bowl, melt 1/4 C butter

4.   Mix into butter:  1 C sugar, 1 C light corn syrup, 1/2 Tbl flour

5.   Blend in the eggs, 1 tsp vanilla, 1/4 tsp salt

6.   Add 2 C pecan halves

7.   Pour mixture into pie shell

8.  Bake at 350* for about 50-60 minutes. (In my oven, it took at least 60 minutes so I put the tin foil over to keep the pecans from burning.)  The middle should jiggle SLIGHTLY.

9.   Let cool for one hour until the filling has set

10.  For an extra touch, melt chocolate chips with some Canola oil and stir it until it's thin.  Drizzle back and forth over the top. (I put the melted chocolate into a little plastic baggy, snipped off a corner, and used that as a pastry bag to drizzle the chocolate.  But be careful, the chocolate is hot.)

11.   Serve with fresh whipped cream, or vanilla ice cream

Low Sugar Chocolate Chip Cookies

Low Sugar Chocolate Chip Cookies

Made with Xylitol and Coconut Palm Sugar

By Kimberley Stewart

Makes 3 dozen

 

Beat together:

·         1+1/3 cup butter

·         1+1/2 cup Xylitol sweetener

·         1/2 cup Coconut Palm Sugar

·         1/2 cup brown sugar (I cut back the CPS because it had a strong flavor, but it didn’t taste strong once it was mixed into the batter, so you may want to try a full 1 cup of CPS and omit brown sugar.)

Mix in:

·         2 eggs

·         2 tsp vanilla

·         1 tsp baking soda

·         1/2 tsp salt

Stir in:

·         1+1/2 cups whole wheat flour

·         2 cups white unbleached flour

Mix in:

·         2+1/3 cups chocolate chips (more or less)

Pre-heat oven to 350 d.  Once dough is ready,  spoon drops of dough (small golf ball size) onto greased cookie sheets.  Bake for 10-11 minutes.  The bottoms and sides of cookies will brown, but the top will stay soft and moist, not crunchy on top.  Let cool on cookie sheet for 10 minutes, then transfer to a rack…or into your stomach!  I think they taste the same as a regular soft chocolate chip cookie – I would never know the difference, and I am EXTREMELY picky about my chocolate chip cookies!

Info on Xylitol and Coconut Palm Sugar:

Xylitol is a sweetener naturally produced by your body.  Manufactured Xylitol is used in sugar-free gum, mints, and other similar foods.  It has 40% less calories than sugar, is low-glycemic and gluten-free, and can be replaced 1:1 with regular granulated sugar.  It can be used in cooking and baking, but not for any yeast product.  As an added benefit, numerous peer-reviewed studies have shown that regular consumption of Xylitol helps fight tooth decay and reduced cavities over time.  Many dentists are starting to promote Xylitol products to their patients to help protect their teeth.

I am always skeptical of sweeteners that claim to “taste just like sugar” and be as sweet.  Usually, it is too sweet and has a weird aftertaste.  But upon recommendation by my dentist, I ordered a 1 lb bag of Xylitol to see if I could actually bake with it, and make really delicious chocolate chip cookies without sacrificing texture or taste.  When I opened the bag and sampled the Xylitol crystals, I really liked the taste!  No aftertaste at all for me, although some people online have reported a “cooling” sensation as the crystals melt.  And they actually do melt in your mouth – sort of like eating cotton candy.  So, I was hopeful!

Next I opened the bag of Coconut Palm Sugar (CPS) I had also ordered.  CPS is also a sugar substitute, made from the nectar of coconut palm blossoms.  The nectar is dried and then crushed into granules. CPS is preferable to brown sugar because it is not refined sugar cane, but a natural sweetener that retains its nutrients, incl. potassium, magnesium, zinc, iron, vitamin C, and vitamins B1, B2, B3, and B6.  It has a low glycemic rating of 35 so it slowly absorbs in your bloodstream.  It looks like coarse brown sugar, and the taste is a little strong (to me), like burnt caramel.  I was hesitant to switch it 1:1 with brown sugar in my recipe.

The brands I bought were made by XyloBurst:  http://www.xyloburst.com/index.php

However, I found the same XyloBurst sweeteners for a cheaper price at: http://hudsonhealthfood.com/categories/Xylitol-Sweeteners-/

Christmas Persimmon Bread

This recipe comes courtesy of the Salt Lake City Junior League cookbook from years ago.  Persimmons are a winter fruit, so this is the perfect holiday bread for eating and gift giving!

 

    ~ Kimberley Stewart

Christmas Persimmon Bread

Yield:  Two loaves

Combine:

·         2 C chopped persimmons (3 persimmons.  Should be soft.  Do not peel.)

·         1-1/2 tsp baking soda

Pour into a bowl and slightly stir:

·         2-1/2 C flour

·         2 C granulated sugar

·         1-1/4 tsp salt

·         1 tsp cinnamon

·         1 tsp nutmeg

Barely blend in:

·         3 eggs, slightly beaten

·         3/4 C vegetable oil

·         1/2 C raisins (optional)

·         1/2 C chopped walnuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Butter and flour two 4.5” x 8.5” bread pans.  Distribute the mixture evenly between the two pans.  Bake for 45 – 60 minutes.  Cool completely before cutting.  Refrigerate if not eating immediately.