Chocolate Covered Love

This was the first time I'd made latkes, although I've always wanted to make them since they seemed pretty easy. And sure enough, very easy. Very few ingredients. I used a recipe from my December 2012 issue of Everyday with Rachael Ray magazine. I bought a subscription for myself for Christmas last year. 

Latkes

- one large baking potato [about ten oz.], peeled and quartered

- half an onion, peeled and quartered

- 1/4 cup flour

- one egg

- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

- salt and pepper

- oil for frying

Using a food processor or a hand grater, like I did, grate the potato and onion, discarding any large end pieces. Transfer the potato and onion to a sieve and let it drain. 

Wring out the potato/onion mixture in a kitchen towel to remove any excess moisture and transfer to a medium bowl. Stir in the flour, egg, baking powder, 1/4 tsp. salt and 1/4 tsp. pepper. 

In a cast iron skillet, heat 1/4 inch of oil over medium-high heat until hot but not smoking.

Working in batches, drop 2 tablespoon-sized scoops of batter into the pan a couple inches apart. 

Using a spatula, flatten the batter into disks. 

Cook, turning once, until browned and crisp, about 5 minutes.

Drain on paper towels.

I also sauteed some asparagus spears in lemon-pepper seasoning salt to serve alongside the latkes.

Enjoy.

 Chai is commonly referred to as Chai tea, although this is incorrect seeing as "Chai" translated literally means "tea". So when you say Chai tea, you're actually saying "tea tea". There are many other countries that call their tea "chai". And in each of those countries, every person who makes it, makes it slightly differently with their own spin on the spices and flavors. This recipe is based off of India's Masala Chai. 

My father grew up in India so as kids we grew up eating and drinking a lot of Indian food, and we even visited India as a family for a couple weeks when I was about 16 years old. My whole family loves Indian culture and food. I grew up with my mom making this in big batches about once a week, and my friend's mom makes it just as often. My friend, Nanda, is adopted from India and her mom makes really good Masala Chai. I actually got this recipe from her because she uses stronger flavors than my mom uses and I really like the accent of the ginger flavor in this Chai.

- four cups of water
- four cups of milk
- one teaspoon ground cloves [or about 10 whole cloves]
- one cinnamon stick
- two inch piece of peeled ginger cut into slices*
- 20-25 green cardamom pods
- eight rounded teaspoons sugar
- eight rounded teaspoons of Tea India [loose leaf]

 

First you must lightly crush the cardamom pods to release their flavor. If you have a mortar and pestle you may use that. I use a ziploc bag and a hammer. :] I place the cardamom pods in the bag, zip it shut, place it on the floor and lightly smash the bag with the hammer until the pods look like this:


In a large pot combine the milk, water, ground cloves, cinnamon stick, ginger, and crushed cardamom pods.
Bring the mixture to a boil and then lower it to a simmer. Let it simmer for five minutes.


Turn off the heat and add in the sugar and Tea India. Stir to combine.
Let it steep for ten minutes.



Strain and serve.



*I like lots of ginger, you can change the spices to your liking. My mom makes Chai without cinnamon because my dad doesn't like it, so feel free to change it up. Cardamom is a must though, it's what gives the Chai it's special flavor.

I'm sorry I haven't been posting too regularly. It's not because I haven't been taking photos or making food, it's because I keep forgetting or don't have the time to post. I am about a month behind in my posts, I made these truffles about a week before Christmas, so that should tell you something... I am not the most organized person, as anyone who knows me can tell you as well.

I had truffles like these at a birthday party I went to with my daughter. Her friend Andrew was having his 2nd birthday party and his mom is a great baker and cook as well. She made a rich and delicious chocolate cake along with these truffles for dessert. I especially liked these because they taste so light and chocolate-y. Like you can keep eating them and the chocolate flavor doesn't become overwhelming.

This is probably the easiest recipe ever. Does not require a lot of skill and it has simple ingredients. Although I do not feel that the mint flavor was strong enough for my tastes, so I'm going to make them again and add some peppermint extract - I'll let you know how it goes after I make them again.

Mint Oreo Truffles

- eight ounces softened cream cheese

- one package of mint oreos

- semi-sweet chocolate chips, about a cup and a half

- white chocolate, or candy melts

- sprinkles [optional]

To start making the truffles, crumble up the oreo cookies and crumb them in either a blender or food processor. If you use a blender, like me, you may have to do it in batches. Pour the oreo crumbs into a medium sized bowl and add in the softened cream cheese, with a mixer on medium mix until well combined. 

Place the bowl in the fridge for an hour to chill.

While the oreo mixture is chilling, melt your semi-sweet chocolate chips. I used a microwave-safe bowl and put in for fifteen seconds at a time, taking it out and stirring it between each one until it was smooth.

Take out the oreo mixture after the hour is up and roll into one-inch balls.

Place them on parchment paper lined pans as you roll them. 

Put the pans in the freezer for a quick chill, about thirty minutes.

Take out the pans and dip the balls into the melted chocolate and place back onto the parchment paper.

If you want to decorate your truffles with melted white chocolate, melt a small amount in the microwave like you did with the semi-sweet chips. Scoop the melted white chocolate [or green white chocolate] into a ziploc bag and snip the tip off. I had to hold the bag with a pot holder since it was pretty hot, but squeeze zig-zags of the chocolate onto the truffles. Sprinkle with sprinkles quickly after, if the chocolate cools before you get the sprinkles on there they won't stick.

I used green and red since Christmas was coming up, but feel free to use whatever colors you want.

I had always seen the coconut oil on the shelf at my grocery store and so I actually went looking for recipes in which to use it. My next coconut oil recipe will be Coconut-Almond Granola. 

I will say that my kitchen smelled absolutely fabulous while these muffins were baking. It nearly made my whole house smell of coconut. Delicious.

We had some friends over the same day I made these and they disappeared in a flash. Be careful who you make these for. They may not want to leave... :]

I love checking out the thrift store on half-off Mondays  I always find the best stuff. I mostly find shoes and kitchen supplies, but I do get the occasional clothing item, toy or DVD.  I have found and bought THREE Pyrex glass baking dishes [on separate occasions] for under five dollars a piece. As well as a Pyrex glass pie  pan. This time I found a small, white ceramic pitcher and a tiny handled jar with a screw-on top with holes. 

I went to the thrift store to looking for plain white mugs so I could do this project. The mugs I got didn't match but I think I like them better this way. As they said in their instructions, some people had problems with the marker washing off. I didn't have that problem until I accidentally left one of the mugs sitting in some soapy water that had bleach in it.. oops. It only slightly faded the marker, which I was able to correct by re-writing on the words and baking the mug again. Presto. All fixed.

We are tea drinkers for the most part, the only coffee either of us consumes is the occasional Starbucks. And I'm really the only steady tea-drinker. My fiance really only drinks tea when he's sick. I love tea. I have collected a great amount of tea, all varieties, although my supply is starting to get low. I've already requested my father buy me some Jasmine tea pearls in China when he goes there next for work, but I won't be getting that until the summer. Otherwise we have a variety of herbal and fruit teas, Indian loose leaf black tea, and from China, lychee and rose tea. And then of course honey/lemon tea and Chai are made from scratch. 

Chai recipe coming soon.

The original recipe for this is actually "Honey Baked Chicken", which is equally delicious and I grew up eating that, cooked by my mom. I got the recipe from her a couple years ago and my fiance and I put our own spin on it. My fiance likes to have lots of extra sauce which is what happens when you make it this way. 

The crayon artwork is courtesy of Aria, who had gotten a hold of the notebook when I wasn't looking.

I have fallen in love with this orange blossom honey. I found it at our grocery store and thought I'd try it, as opposed to the regular clover honey. I'm never going back to clover honey. This orange blossom honey has a much lighter, fruitier, floral flavor. Delicious. If any of you get the chance to try some, I highly recommend it.

Honey-Mustard Pork

- two to three pounds pork chops, boneless

- salt and pepper

- 1/3 cup butter, melted

- 1/3 cup honey

- two tablespoons mustard

- one teaspoon salt

- one teaspoon curry powder

Season pork chops with salt and pepper and brown in a hot pan on both sides. Brown in batches, setting browned pork chops on a plate as they are finished.

While the pork chops are browning combine butter, honey, mustard, salt and curry powder in a bowl and whisk together.

Once all the chops are browned, put them all back in the pan and pour the honey-mustard sauce over the top. Continue to cook until the pork chops are cooked through.

Serve with rice.

Enjoy.