Home Made Mayo, totally full of good fat and loving it!

OK, I know dieters are extremely freaked out by mayo, and we cut carbs and fat and calories until we are basically eating chemically made cardboard cookies and granola bars (all which are sooooo bad for us in truth!) Today I was inspired to look up Julia Child's mayonnaise recipe and I carefully read it because it is something of a chemistry project in the kitchen but felt confident enough with my years of experience in the kitchen to tackle it and let me tell you something my friends, this was like a culinary orgasm in my mouth!!!! I know that is probably a bad choice of words for those easily offended, but try it for yourself. You will think this stuff is almost better than sex from time to time!
I will admit, being the first time it took a whole hour of beating with a mixer and standing there slowly letting the oil drizzle into the bowl but the flavor that rewarded me after was something I just can't even explain! I used olive oil instead of vegetable or any other simply because it is very good for you and I love that olive based flavor to begin with. I simply spread it on some french bread and melted into my couch as I called my mother to tell her that the French are by far my favorite people now. (mayo is from France lol) Sooooo that being said, I copy and pasted the recipe I found online, compliments of... http://www.thenibble.com/REVIEWS/main/condiments/mayonnaise/mayonnaise-recipe.asp apologies for this not being my own, but it was too good not to share. Experiment, share with friends and later I will post the sandwich I am making for dinner with it.

The following directions are for a hand-beaten sauce (using a wire whisk). For electric beaters, use the large bowl and the “moderately fast” speed for whipping cream
. Continually push the sauce into the beater blades with a rubber scraper.

Ingredients

* Round-bottomed, 2½ to 3-quart glazed pottery, glass or stainless steel mixing bowl
. Set it in a heavy casserole or saucepan to keep it from slipping.
* 3 egg yolks
* Large wire whisk
* 1 tablespoon wine vinegar
or lemon juice (more drops as needed)
* ½ teaspoon salt
* ¼ teaspoon dry or prepared mustard
* 1½ to 2¼ cups of olive oil, salad oil or a mixture of each. If the oil is cold, heat it to tepid; and if you are a novice, use the minimum amount (I only used one cup and did fine)
* 2 tablespoons boiling water

Directions

1. Warm the bowl in hot water; dry it. Add the egg yolks and beat for 1 to 2 minutes until they are thick and sticky.
2. Add the vinegar or lemon juice, salt and mustard. Beat for 30 seconds more.
3. The egg yolks are now ready to receive the oil. While it goes in, drop by drop, you must not stop beating until the sauce has thickened. A speed of 2 strokes per second is fast enough. You can switch hands or switch directions, as long as you beat constantly.
4. Add the drops of oil with a teaspoon, or rest the lip of the bottle on the edge of the bowl. Keep your eye on the oil rather than on the sauce. Stop pouring and continue beating every 10 seconds or so, to be sure the egg yolks are absorbing the oil.
5. After 1/3 to 1/2 cup of oil has been incorporated, the sauce will thicken into a very heavy cream and the crisis of potential curdling is over. The beating arm may rest a moment. Then, beat in the remaining oil by 1 to 2 tablespoon dollops, blending it thoroughly after each addition.
6. When the sauce becomes too thick and stiff, beat in drops of vinegar or lemon juice to thin it out. Then continue with the oil.
7. Beat the boiling water into the sauce. This is an anti-curdling insurance. Season to taste.
8. If the sauce is not used immediately, scrape it into a small bowl and cover it tightly so a skin will not form on its surface.

Tips For Making Mayonnaise

Julia Child’s tips for homemade mayonnaise:

* Room Temperature: Have all ingredients at room temperature. If they aren’t, warm the mixing bowl in hot water to take the chill off the egg yolks; heat the oil to tepid if it is cold.
* Egg Yolks: Always beat the yolks for a minute or two before adding anything to them. When they are thick and sticky, they are ready to absorb the oil.
* Adding The Oil: The oil must be added very slowly at first, in droplets, until the emulsion process begins and the sauce thickens into a heavy cream. Then, the oil may be incorporated more rapidly.
* Proportions: The maximum amount of oil one large egg yolk can absorb is six ounces, or ¾ cup. When this maximum is exceeded, the binding properties of the egg yolks break down, and the sauce thins out or curdles. If you have never made mayonnaise before, it is safest not to exceed ½ cup of oil per egg yolk. Here is a table giving proportions for varying amounts of sauce:

Number Yolks Cups Of Oil Vinegar Or Lemon Juice Finished Sauce
2 1 to 1½ cups 2 to 3 tablespoons 1¼ to 1¾ cups
3 1½ to 2¼ cups 3 to 5 tablespoons 2 to 2¾ cups
4 2 to 3 cups 4 to 6 tablespoons 2½ to 3-2/3 cups

6


3 to 4½ cups
6 to 10 tablespoons 3¾ to 5½ cups

Detox Shake (use to detox or just to drink as a supplimental meal)

Ok, so with the holidays nearing, lets face it, our dieting goes right out the window. My dear friend Jamie inspired me to come up with this insanely healthy shake when she left me a bottle of organic celery juice. When I asked her what she did with it, she said she did a two week detox in the spring and had an extra she couldn't take with her. It will cost about 35 dollars to get started and a trip to the health food store. NOT GNC or other stores like that, go to a whole foods store.

Ask your health food clerk for a green powder that has Chlorella and Spirulina in it. If you have a hard time eating things that are unfamiliar, a brand called "Green Rich" created a Natural Blueberry flavored powder called Enriching Greens, superfood concentrate. I just tried it and I have to admit I love it over my usual Barleans Green mixture and it was on sale for 21 dollars compared to the usual 32 that I pay, so it was a win win!

Anyway, get any kinds of frozen or fresh berries if in season (go organic if possible too) Today I used:

Celery Juice (thanks Jamie lol)
Blueberries
Black berries
Black Cherries
1/2 banana
1/4 tbs organic Cayenne Pepper (only if you are brave and don't mind the heat)

The truth is, you get to play around with any combo and can even mix vegetables with berries or just go one way or the other.

Starter shake:
Measure out 8 oz water
4 oz celery juice
1/4 cup of each berry
1/2 banana
2 scoops or tsps of your greens powder
Only add cayenne pepper if you can handle the spicy character of it, or if you have guests, let them experiment with it. This stuff packs some heat, so be careful!

Blend and serve in a fancy bar glass and share with friends. Instead of wine nights, start detox smoothie nights, garnish and serve, everyone will be impressed!

This is a great way to detox the body, get fiber, minerals and all sorts of vitamins and believe it or not, the spice from the hot pepper actually goes really well with the sweetness of the berries. Most people never try to mix hot peppers with something desert like. And if you are feeling bored, check out why you need Chlorella and Spirulina! They are basically THEE Super food of life! Then look up why Cayenne pepper is so good for us and hopefully it will inspire some of your own research, detoxing and living healthy.

Stuffed Squash Casserol

Grocery list:
1 butternut squash
1/2 medium onion, red or yellow
1 apple
1/4 c. craisisn or raisins
barley
brown rice
wild rice
Stuffing
cream cheese
mushrooms
butter
cheese (your choice, I like smoked Gouda)
salt and pepper

Half, clean a butternut squash. Yes you can roast the seeds.
Peel and core one apple, dice and place in the cupped out parts of squash evenly
Add a hand full of craisins or raisins
Put two TBS butter on each half, salt and pepper it to taste. I prefer lots of pepper.
Fill baking dish 1/4 with water, cover with foil and bake on 350 until squash is soft (about 40 minutes)
Remove foil last 15 minutes, when done, drain water and let cool so you can handle it.

While baking, get a pot with a lid,
put 1&1/2 cup water in
1/4 cup brown and wild rice mix
1/4 cup barley
cook on low heat, right before water has cooked out completely shut off burner and let water soak into the rice combo with lid on

In frying pan:
place 3 tbs butter and melt on low to medium heat
chop 1/2 onion
chop one container fresh mushrooms (any kind of mushroom should work)
Chop 2 cups baby leaf spinach, try to use fresh. If using frozen, make sure it is thawed and drained completely

Start with the onions, cook them down for about 2 minutes, salt them to make them sweat, place mushrooms on top and cook down, then stir and cover for about 8 minutes.

Once it looks like they have been cooked down and a slight broth has been created, add the chopped spinach, dont stir it in, just cover and let it wilt, you can add more salt to taste.

Cook this on low heat for five minutes. Turn burner off and let it sit until squash and rice is all done.

Once everything is done, dump rice in large mixing bowl, add 4 tbs cream cheese, stir until it is melted and smooth
add sauted mushrooms, onions and spinach. Stir
Either used left over home made stuffing or prepare boxed stuffing, when cooked, dump into mixture and then scoop out the squash into the bowl.

Mix well, place in clean casserole dish, sprinkle with cheese ( a smoked cheese is best but any will work)

cover and bake on 350 for about 10 minutes

this dish tastes better every day it sits, so don't worry if you have a lot left over and its a sure hit with even those who hate squash! Its a little bolder dish that takes an open mind to try but I have yet to find anyone who didn't like it.

Sorry for being gone

Well, it has been some time since I added anything in here, I found out I was pregnant and then lost the baby a few months in so I have not really felt like doing much with food at all. But I am recovering and coming back. I will have some new recipes to add and hope everyone likes them. Ciao

Awesome Granolo mix

I love to make this because it is so versatile and you can add it to what ever you want or just eat it as is.

4 cups old fashioned oats
1/4 cup raw, unsalted sunflower seeds
1/4 cup raw pumpkin seeds
1/4 cup craisins (you can use yogurt covered ones too)
(you can add what ever you want really, just keep it low fat, high fiber and healthy lol)

YOu can either use one whole banana or a cup of peanut butter here

3 tbs honey
3 tbs real maple syrup. DO NOT USE THE FAKE SYRUP, that stuff is so bad for you!
1 1/2 tbs almond or canola oil
1/2 cup wheat germ

Blend the banana or peanut butter with the honey and syrup
dump all ingredients but the wheat germ into a large enough bowl, mix well and then spray a deep cookie sheet or cake pan and spread the mix out evenly

Bake on 275 mix every 15 minutes for about 35 or 40 minutes. ON the last 10 minutes sprinkle the wheat germ over, bake the remaining time and then remove and cool.

Once it is totally cooled off I mix it up good so it is crumbly and store in a glass jar. It goes great with yogurt and other deserts like the baked apple or peanut butter apples etc.

Enjoy.

Simple Grilled Lime & garlic shrimp fiesta

My husband HATES sea food and loves this shrimp. I almost fell over when he told me he liked it because he is so anti shrimp it's almost obnoxious. Sooo I share this with you all and hope you love it just as much as we do and just so you know, only marinade this shrimp no more than an hour, otherwise it will be VERY tart.

Take 1-2 whole limes and juice them. I picked up a cheap juicer at walmart for like 3 bucks. Pour the juice in a medium sized bowl.

add two tablespoons of organic soy sauce

and one teaspoon of olive oil

chop three garlic cloves

finely chop 1/2 cup parsley

Set aside

Either buy precooked large to jumbo shrimp or do the work like I do and cook it and peal it yourself.

Side note about shrimp for beginners: DO NOT THAW SHRIMP IF IT IS RAW. First, read the bag, it will tell you if it is precooked, the easiest way to tell if it doesn't is if the shrimp is pink it is cooked, if it is gray you need to boil it. Fill a pot full enough with water to boil the shrimp, add some salt, a good amount, probably a tablespoon or more. Dump the frozen shrimp into the pot, it will sink to the bottom. When it floats to the top, it is cooked! Remove from water, let cold water run over it and peal if needed.)

Once your shrimp is ready, add to the lime marinade, cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes, you really don't want to go over an hour, but no less than the 30 minutes.

You can skew the shrimp on a skewer or use a veggie grilling basket, which I prefer (it's so much easier) You don't even have to grease it! ( I got mine for a few bucks from Pampered chef and use it more for shrimp than I do veggies haha)

Grill for just a few minutes on medium heat, if you cook shrimp too long it gets smaller and rubbery. You can flip it if you want, but it's not needed. Remove from grill and either eat alone or serve with other things. I often like to put the shrimp back into the marinade and let it sit a minute before I serve, it is perfectly safe because your shrimp should be fully cooked before you even begin to marinade.

IDEAS TO SERVE WITH:
Rice
the roasted corn salsa
make a tortilla with it
I like to add it into the tomato chili pepper soup
the ideas can be endless, get creative and enjoy!

Summer Kitchen Must Haves!

With it being summer, I notice I cook quite a bit with tomatoes and chili peppers of different assortments so here are my kitchen must haves this summer...

Jalapeno peppers... I enjoy them so much I went and bought an almost totally mature patio plant so I don't have to buy them.

Tomatoes... same thing, bought a patio assortment of them

Limes... I love to use them in soups and salsas for a very clean taste but also in drinks like cranberry ginger ale cocktails, fresh lemon-lime aid etc.

Lemons- I often just use the lemons for the zest but again, we all love lemonade in the house, I like to make lemon drink with soda water, lemons and honey

tortilla shells- for wraps and semi home made chips

Parsley... I LOVE this herb so much that I also am growing it, I garnish with it, cook with it, add it to raw dishes etc. It adds a great color and taste to almost all dishes. I have even been known to add it to home made mac and cheese

Low fat cream cheese... you would be amazed at what you can use this with and it gives your non diet side a creamy solution with a low fat appeal. Once in a while I just want something extra and I garnish a lot of soups and salsas with it.

Celery- I can't stand to eat celery as is, just like tomatoes but I do love to cook with it, especially in soups. Throughout my blogging here you will probably find a ton of soup recipes by winter because I could literally live on it! I use celery always in my soups. so it is more of a annual must have.

Apples... Apples are great for the kids to snack on and to make last minute meals that aren't fattening but sure do taste it. My kids love it when I bake apple slices and though I use butter, I only use a little bit and we don't have to feel guilty.

Other than that, I just wing it for the most part. Go with what you feel, what do you find yourself buying a lot in the summer? Hopefully you will start to be buying a lot more fresh produce and annoying the poor cashiers with all your buys :)