Garlic Aioli

This recipe goes great with falafel, or even just as a sandwich spread.

Ingredients:

3 cloves garlic

1 c mayonnaise

1/2 T lemon juice

1/4 t salt

Directions:

Crush the garlic cloves with the flat of a knife, and remove the skin. Then mince the garlic very fine. Add a pinch of salt, and using the flat of the knife again, scrap and press the garlic against the cutting surface to make a very smooth paste. It's making this paste from the fresh garlic that gives aioli its intense garlic flavor.

Add garlic to small bowl and whisk with remaining ingredients. Chill in refrigerator at least 30 min prior to serving.

Pita Bread: Bread Machine

Since we're back in the States I am thoroughly enjoying having access once again to my bread machine. Except lately I'm only using the dough cycle. It seems to be a good compromise: perfect, well-risen, easy, convenient dough, but the desired shape that comes from baking in the oven. I have also found lately that the "secret" (for me anyway) for getting the second rise seems to be covering the dough with cling wrap, then a clean dish towel, and putting it on top of the warm oven.

I found a pretty good pita dough recipe adapted from Tyler Florence's recipe for the dough cycle of the machine.

Makes 8 pitas.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 c warm water
1 t olive oil
3 1/2 c bread flour
1 t sugar
1 t salt
2 1/4 t bread machine yeast

Directions:

Place ingredients in order given (or order instructed by your bread machine manual!) in bread machine pan. Select dough cycle (2 lb).

Toward end of dough cycle, preheat oven to 500 F, and place pizza stone in oven.

When dough is ready, punch it down and divide into 8 balls, keeping all lightly floured and covered.
Rest covered balls for 15 minutes.

Roll the rested dough balls into flat, 8 inch, smooth rounds. Keep covered and do not stack.

Put 2 pita rounds on pizza stone for 4-5 minutes and watch carefully, until they're puffed and a pale golden color. They cook quickly.

Cool on rack. They will naturally deflate, leaving a pocket in the center.

Wrap in a clean kitchen towel to keep them soft.

I have used these for falafel as well as for pizza crusts. I like to brush the top with some olive oil, salt, and pepper and heat right before serving.

Basic Spaghetti Sauce

I love Simply Recipes.  Follow this link for their basic spaghetti sauce recipe.
For mine, I used a can of crushed tomatoes with basil, grated onion and grated carrot, garlic powder, basil, and some tomato sauce. Really simple, easy, and didn't require many ingredients!

Heat olive oil in large skillet. Add grated onion (1/2 onion) and carrot (1) and saute. Then add one chopped clove garlic, cook about 30 more seconds. Add 28 oz can crushed tomatoes (mine had added basil, yum!), extra dried basil, garlic powder, and a little tomato sauce or paste. Add salt and pepper to taste and simmer.

Garlic Sweet Potato Mash

So, so good. Andy doesn't like that most sweet potato recipes are sweet. I found this recipe, which has no sugar or maple added, and it is delicious! I love sugar and maple in my sweet potatoes, but I love this one too. We added the chicken stock and it gives it so much more flavor!

Garlic Sweet Potato Mash: (serves 4)

Ingredients:

4 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
3 T butter
3 cloves garlic, crushed
salt and pepper
chicken stock

Directions:

Boil the sweet potato cubes until soft. Drain. In pan, add butter and saute garlic until lightly browned. Return sweet potatoes to the pan with the butter and mash. Add salt and pepper to taste. To get a nice puree, mash in blender, adding chicken stock for the liquid. Add to taste!

Dehydrator Homemade Granola

Oh my goodness. My mom gave us her old dehydrator, and we have already used it in the past couple days to make 2 delicious batches of homemade granola. It is so easy that way! Found a recipe on Amateur Gourmet, and adapted it for us. If you want the original recipe (that uses the oven) just click the link.

Ingredients:

2 cups oats (I like using the quick oats)
1 t cinnamon
1/2 t salt
3 T plus 1 t vegetable oil
1/4 c honey
1/4 c brown sugar
1 t vanilla extract
1/3 c slivered almonds
1/3 c shredded coconut

(You can add dried fruit or other nuts as you want!)

Directions:

So simple with the dehydrator. Just mix the oats, cinnamon, and salt in a bowl. In a separate bowl mix the wet ingredients. Pour the honey mixture over the oats mixture and use your hands to combine them: Gather up some of the mixture in each hand and make a fist. Repeat until all of the oat mixture is combined with the honey mixture. Now add your additional toppings like almonds and coconut, mix in as well.

Spread evenly on the dehydrator sheets. We leave it in overnight or longer, till it seems dried and crunchy. So delicious with natural vanilla yogurt and fresh strawberries!