Ube cookies

From Jenna’s compilation Christmas Cookie Adventure(bc each cookie felt like an Adventure she had on it!) the crunchy sugar coating on the outside was so good.  She found it on instagram constellationinspiration.  

Ube Cookies

vanilla dough:
85g unsalted butter, room temp
43g powdered sugar
2 tsp vanilla
90g all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt 

ube dough:
85g unsalted butter, room temp
43g powdered sugar
90g all-purpose flour
1 tbsp ube extract
1/4 tsp salt

1 egg white
coarse sanding sugar

for the vanilla dough, combine butter and powdered sugar in a bowl. mix until smooth. add vanilla. add flour and salt and mix until no dry streaks remain. do the same for the ube dough in a separate bowl

place one portion of the dough between two pieces of parchment paper and roll into a 5 x 9-inch rectangle that is about 1/4-inch thick. slide rolled out dough onto a baking sheet and freeze for 10 min until firm. repeat this step with the other portion of dough

remove the top piece of parchment from each slab and stack the vanilla and ube dough layers. press on them gently. cut the slab down the middle the long way to form two 2.5 x 9-inch rectangles and stack the halves. press the layers gently to adhere them. return the stacked dough to the freezer for another 10min

using a sharpe knife, cut it the long way into six slices. arrange the first three into a checkerboard log, flipping two of the slices over so the opposite flavour is on top. repeat step to form the second checkerboard log. stack the two logs, making sure the alternating flavours are stacked on each other. return to the freezer for another 10min

preheat oven to 350f. line a large baking sheet with parchment paper

in a small bowl, whisk egg white. using a pastry brush, brush log with a thin coat of egg white and roll in sanding sugar. slice sugar-coated log into 1/4-inch-thick cookies, and arrange on lined baking sheet with 1-inch space between them

bake for 12 - 14 min, or until golden brown underneath and around edges. let cookies rest on tray for 5 min, before transfer to a cooling rack to finish cooling

Green Salad

 I went to a Christmas Party and this salads made me happy.  From Carolann Holmes

Spinach/Green Salad

 

1 lb bacon fried and crumbled (or bacon bits can also be used)

1 pkg fresh spinach

1 head leafy red lettuce

1 head green leaf lettuce

1 – 16 oz carton cottage cheese (rinse and drain)

½ lb mushrooms sliced

¾ lb. swiss cheese grated

 

Tear spinach and lettuce in bite size pieces. Toss above ingredients together. Pour salad dressing over. Toss and serve.

 

 

Salad dressing

 

¾ c. white vinegar

¾ c. sugar

¾ c. oil

1 ½ tsp salt

¾ tsp dry mustard

1 ½ Tbsp green onions chopped fine

1 ½ Tbsp poppy seeds

 

Mix ingredients and heat over very low hear for 10 mins (just enough to war nicely and dissolve sugar). Cool. Pour over one thinly sliced purple onion. Let sit over

Pie crust

RS Activity-tried several pie crusts, this one is my favorite, super flaky!  Yum.

Sur la Table All-Purpose Pie Dough from Teresa Duffy

1 ¼ cups (6 ¼ ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour

1 ½ tsp granulated sugar

½ tsp fine sea salt

4 oz. (1 stick) cold, unsalted butter, cut into ½ inch cubes

3 to 4 tbsp ice water

Place flour, sugar, and salt in the bowl of a food processor or large mixing bowl. By pulsing or using a

pastry blender, cut the butter into the flour until the butter is the size of small peas.

Sprinkle ice water, a tablespoon at a time, over the flour mixture. Pulse or stir mixture until large clumps

form. When enough water has been added to allow the dough to hold together, transfer to a lightly

floured work surface. Gather the dough together to form a ball. Flatten the dough into a disk about 6

inches wide, cover in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 30 minutes before using. Makes one 9 or 10 inch

pie crust (double this recipe!)

Asparagus Soup

Asparagus Soup, adapted by Skinny Taste.  I had a bunch of Asparagus from Costco and found this, it was surprisingly delish!  Make sure to blend well, or else it will still have some stringy asparagus left.

PREP TIME: 5minutes mins

COOK TIME: 20minutes mins

TOTAL TIME: 25minutes mins

YIELD: 6 servings

Ingredients

• 2 lbs asparagus (from 2 bunches, tough ends snapped off)
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 medium onion (chopped)
• 6 cups reduced sodium chicken broth
• kosher salt and fresh pepper (to taste)

Instructions

• Melt butter over low heat in a large pot. Add the onion and sauté until soft, about 2 minutes.
• Cut the asparagus in half and add to the pot along with chicken broth and black pepper, to taste. Bring to a boil, cover and cook low about 20 minutes or until asparagus is very tender.
• Remove from heat, you can add sour cream and using your hand held blender, puree until smooth (or in two batches in a large blender).

Nutrition

Serving: 11/4 cups, Calories: 81kcal, Carbohydrates: 10g, Protein: 6g, Fat: 3g, Saturated Fat: 2g, Cholesterol: 7mg, Sodium: 576mg, Fiber: 4g, Sugar: 1g

 - WW Points: 1

Balsamic Vinaigrette

 Adena’s Recipe!  So yummy, had at Marilyn’s funeral- spring mix, mushrooms cooked asparagus…

Balsamic vinaigrette recipe:

Combine in blender:

1/2 c balsamic vinegar

1/2 c red wine vinegar

8 garlic cloves 

1 c oil (i use avocado)

1/2 c sugar (i use monk fruit)

1/2 red onion

2 tsp salt

2 tsp pepper

2 tsp worchester sauce

 

Blend together til smooth and then store in fridge. Lasts for weeks! And it makes a lot so you may want to cut recipe in half. 

Pau bhaji recipe

From my neighbor Ruchi.  Kids loved it.

Vegetables to use (mostly equal proportions) - cabbage, cauliflower, egg plant, carrots, green peas, green pepper (half proportion), potatoes

I use pressure cooker to boil all veggies, remove excess water and mash them once it cools down

Take oil enough to sauté tomatoes, purple onions, green onions, once oil separates add mashed vegetable mixture. 

Add salt to taste, turmeric powder (1 tb spoon), red chilli powder (1 tb spoon), pau bhaji masala (1 tb spoon, can add more to make it more spicy) and two tb spoon Indian butter. Mix and let everything cook for 10-15 minutes. Keep stirring so it doesn’t stick on the bottom. 

Add on top lemon juice, cilantro and some onions when serving. 

Served with Hawaiian rolls or hamburger buns toasted a little with butter on a skillet 

Potato Wedge

 

Megan made for me after surgery.  YUM.

1/2 t. Cumin

1 T. Chili Powder

1 t. kosher salt

1/2 t. black pepper

2 T. olive oil

4 medium potatoes

400 degrees

30-35 min

(crumble foil and spray to keep from sticking)

Fry Sauce

1/4 c. mayo

2-3 t. dill pickle relish

1/4 c. ketchup