Thank You

Even though my goal was reached last month, I have continued to bake and cook new recipes. It's too exciting to stop. But, before I post more Autumn flavoured recipes, I wanted to write a post about the 50 recipes over the Summer. 

I know, I know, this post is a month after I finished. I've been busy and haven't found time to sit down and type. But alas, better late than never, right? 

Having a cooking/baking goal for the Summer was exciting for me. I love to cook and bake and adding an element of newness and a rush to finish a goal was an exciting addition. However, it would not have been near as exciting or fun and there is no way I would have finished if it wasn't for all the wonderful friends who came over at least once a week (sometimes more) for meals. Some meals were terrible, others were... different, and some turned out pretty tasty if I do say so myself. 

But the thing I enjoyed most about the 50 Summer Recipes, were the times when my friends gathered around our kitchen table and laughed, talked, told stories, and enjoyed one another. I loved fellowshipping with my friends and being reminded every week of how much God has blessed me in giving me every single one of those people as friends. I truly am blessed. 

And so, to the friends who willingly ate everything I invited them to eat – Damarise, Faith, Megan, Sonya, Matt, Jimmy, Micah, Davey, Janessa, and others who came over – THANK YOU! Thank you for being the best dinner company ever and for always being so appreciative of even the weird meals. You guys are wonderful and I'm so blessed!

Lamb Gyros (Recipes 47, 48, 48, & 50)

Summer is coming to a close and Autumn is in the air. I wanted to make 50 recipes before Summer came to an end and I have reached that goal! It was exciting. I've broadened my cooking and baking horizons, tried things that I would have never dreamed of (squirrel comes to mind), and found delicious recipes to make again.

I decided to end Summer's goal by making something I have wanted to make since recipe one. Lamb. Lamb is my favourite meat and lamb gyros... oh! There is nothing better. And so, I set to work.

After grocery shopping for all the special ingredients I set to work on making the pita bread. 

The Recipe:

• 2 1/4 teaspoons of dry yeast
• 1/2 cup warm water 
• 2 teaspoon granulated sugar 
• 4-4 1\2 cups all-purpose flour 
• 1 teaspoon salt 
• 3 tablespoons milk 
• 1 1\2 cup lukewarm water 
• 2 tablespoon olive oil

Mix together the yeast, sugar, and water. Let it proof before mixing in the rest of the ingredients. After kneading let it rise for 15 minutes. Then pinch dough into 12 balls. Allow these to rise for 10 minutes. After rising, roll out and let rise for an hour. 

Preheat oven to 500ºF and bake for two minutes before flipping the pitas and baking the other side for two minutes. 

Then came the tatziki sauce. It was fairly simple... though it took time. 

The Recipe:

• 1 large container of Greek Yogurt
• Lemon Juice
• Salt and Pepper to taste
• 1 Tablespoon Dried Dill
• 3 Cucumbers (minced)
• Garlic to taste

Place the yogurt in a coffee filter in a spaghetti strainer. Let the liquid drain out of it for an hour or two. This thickens the yogurt. When the yogurt has become thicker mix in some minced cucumbers. Stir around and then add the rest of the ingredients. Add enough Lemon Juice to taste. 

I'm so sorry for the blurry picture. However, those this is possibly the easiest recipe in the world, it is time consuming and something I have wanted to make since recipe one. Carmelized Onions. They become sweet and crispy.

The Recipe:

• Onions
• Olive Oil

Two ingredients. That's it! Simply pour Olive Oil in a skillet. Heat up. Then place sliced onions in and cook for 40 minutes. The result- beautiful, tasty onions. 

Then came the lamb. Mmm. There is no meat that tastes better.

The Recipe:

• 1/4 cup olive oil 
• 1/4 cup lemon juice 
• 1 tablespoon dried oregano
• 1/2 tablespoon dried rosemary 
• 1/2 teaspoon salt 
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper

Chop up the lamb into strips. Then whip together this marinade and soak the lamb in it for 2 hours. When the lamb is done soaking, mix together the dry seasoning to apply. 

The Recipe: 

• 2 teaspoons paprika 
• 1 teaspoon salt 
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder 
• 2 teaspoons onion powder 
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano 
• 2 teaspoons dried thyme 
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper 
• dash cayenne pepper

Apply this to each piece of lamb before grilling it. It takes about 3-5 minutes each side for grilling the meat. 

The eaters for this meal were: Sarah, Janessa, Davey, Damarise, and Micah. It was so fun to have them over, especially Sarah. I love having another sister around.

All in all, I think the last set of recipes wrapped up my Summertime goal perfectly. And yes, I did reach my goal before Autumn arrived.

Hummus (Recipe 46)

Hummus is one of those foods that blends together healthiness and tastiness. It can also be paired with countless delicious foods – from vegetables to breads. 

I've made hummus before, but it has never turned out quite right. Sometimes not the right thickness, sometimes too bitter or too garlicky... so I wanted to find a recipe that would turn out great. And I think I found it. 

The Recipe: 

• 1 Can of Chickpeas (use half the juice in the can)
• 2 Cloves of Garlic (unless you like more)
• 4 Tablespoons Lemon Juice
• Salt and Pepper to taste

I know it's not much, but it turned out delicious! And a great thickness too. Just blend it together and gather some pita bread, carrots, tomatoes, spinach leaves, and anything else that sounds good. 

Steak (Recipe 45)

I love to try new foods. I love to expand my tastebuds horizons and go out on a limb to try crazy things (like cow tongue... or squirrel... or caterpillars). But no matter how many new foods I try there has always been one food that I am not crazy about. This one food usually has many people raving over it, but alas, I have never been a huge fan. That food is steak.

After our dinner of pork chops it came up that I am not a huge fan of steak. I love the flavour, but I usually can't chew the meat. Micah and Davey said that they would cook up the best steak I'd ever eaten and turn my dislike into a huge like. Well, how could I resist someone offering to buy food.

They came over the following weekend and Micah and I seasoned up the steak (hence why I'm counting it as a new recipe). I rubbed some Olive Oil on it and spread on some steak seasoning. I rubbed it in so that the steak had plenty of flavour.

Davey lit one of the many grills that we have in the park across from us and cooked the steaks to perfection.

They were phenomenal. I have never enjoy steak so much. The meat was tender and full of flavour. And I had to admit after the first bite, that I now enjoy steak. It really is amazing.

Crepes (Recipe 44)

Sonya spent a few weeks house sitting for professors at Covenant. The house was very quaint and clean. It was filled with big windows, plants, and books. And the couple also gave her free access to all their food.

Damarise and I went to visit Sonya one Saturday afternoon and after talking about food for sometime decided to whip up some crepes for dinner.

I love crepes. They are thin and delectable. Anything tastes good on them – from the sweet to the savory. There are endless possibilities for what to put on a crepe.

That being said, here is the recipe:

• 1 Cup Flour 
• 1 Teaspoon White Sugar 
• 1/4 Teaspoon Salt 
• 3 Eggs 
•  2 Cups Milk 
•  2 Tablespoons Butter, melted

Mix it up. Pour a little bit onto a skillet. Cook until it bubbles, flip, and cook the other side until done. 

Serve with anything. We found some cheeses of all different types in the fridge. Yum! I love cheese. I had one crepe with a fancy cheese and blueberries. It was amazing. I had another one with Nutella and banana slices. We were all content with happy stomachs after the meals was done. 

Pork Chop Meal (Recipes 40, 41, 42, & 43)

I've gone and done it. I knew it would happen eventually, and it has happened several times, but there are always leftovers to make up for it. But not this time.

I forgot to take pictures of the meal.

Words can only go so far, and pictures complement the words in a complete way. And this time, there are no images to complement. And there are no leftovers to make up for it.

Oops.

I'll try and make this a quick post because who wants to read a lot with no pictures.

I decided to try a new meat and when I was shopping at Aldi the Pork Chops almost jumped out at me. Growing up I remember having Pork Chops quite often. No offense to Mom, but I remember them always being a little dry. We had them with applesauce and I would always smother mine in Apple Sauce in the hopes that it would give it some juice.

So, when I decided to attempt Pork Chops I wanted them to be moist and flavourful. I found a recipe that required three ingredients and I was sold.

The recipe:

• Pork Chops
• 2 Cans Cream of Chicken 
• 2 Cans Water
• 2 Packets Italian Dressing Mix (or Ranch)

Mix it up in the crock pot and cook for 4-6 hours and vwala. Easiest meal, perfectly tender. 

The next new dish was the Apple Sauce. Damarise actually put most of it together (which I am SO thankful for!) 

The Recipe:

• Apples
• Water
• Sugar
• Lemon Juice
• Cinnamon

Boil the chopped and peeled apples until soft. Blend together to get the apple sauce texture. Flavour to your heart's content and serve. 

I served the pork chops with sides of green beans (just from a can, nothing special) and hassle back potatoes. 

The Recipe:

• Potatoes
• Cheese
• Italian Seasoning
• Butter
• Sour Cream

Slice the potatoes down multiple times without cutting through. In each slice stick some butter. Then sprinkle seasonings and cheese over it. Cook at 400ºF for 20-30 minutes. For the last 5 minutes put a dollup of sour cream on top and let it bake into the potato.

The last new recipe was a roll recipe. 

The Recipe: 

• 1 cup Milk 
• 1/2 cup Water 
• 1/4 cup Butter 
• 4 1/2 – 5 1/2 cups Flour 
• 2 1/4 teaspoons Yeast 
• 2 tablespoons white Sugar 
• 1 1/2 teaspoons Salt
• 1 Egg

Mix together the warm milk, sugar, and yeast to proof. After proofing mix together with the other ingredients. Knead well. Let rest in a greased bowl for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes roll three little balls and stick them in a muffin tin. This makes them look pretty and they are easy to pull apart. 

Bake at 400ºF for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown. 

The eaters for this meal were Micah, Matt, Caroline, Faith, Aaron, Davey, and Damarise. Seeing as I have no leftovers to take pictures of, I'd say it was a hit. It was fun having everyone over and fellowshipping together around food. 

And I promise, next time there will be pictures! This post is so lifeless without any. 

An Asian Meal of Sorts (Recipes 36, 37, 38, & 39)

It began on a weekend to St. Louis.

Correction, it began long before that. It began at the beginning of the summer when someone on Pinterest pinned a picture of a California Sushi Roll. The beauty in the deep, rich forest green of the seaweed fading into the blinding white of the rice, with the pop of colour in the oranges, lime greens, yellows, and pinks of the food in the middle, oh, it was enough to make me want to frame it. Except, I didn't really want that hanging on my wall. I really just wanted to see it in person. This took place in the early days of my "I wanna make 50 new recipes this Summer" spree. I went down to Walmart and bought sushi and chopsticks. And they sat in the cupboard for days. The days turned into weeks, and the weeks into a month. And before I knew it they seaweed and chopsticks were just features in the cupboard. Not something to be eaten, but something seen every day, and yet forgotten.

Until the weekend in St. Louis. It was the weekend we went to Kevin and Virginia's wedding. (My old RA married another RA, precious!). It was during that weekend that Sonya's family graciously welcomed us into their home for the night. Sometimes, I am blown away by people's hospitality to complete strangers. The Spence family not only gave up their beds for us, but also fed us the most delectable foods you could imagine after a road trip. We showed up at their house and were greeted with the smell of something delicious cooking (and many warm hugs!). The smell was a tasty chicken dish and homemade cinnamon rolls for dessert. Oh! It was too amazing.

The chicken was an Asian chicken dish and it was so good that I wanted to try it. When I thought of what sides I would serve with the chicken I thought about the seaweed sitting forlorn in the corner of the cupboard and decided to just whip up an Asian type meal. Complete with fortune cookies at the end.

I made the fortune cookies first. In making them I found out that our oven had decided to stop working. Lovely. Fortunately, I have very generous friends who let me use their oven. Fortune cookies, unfortunately, are not easy to make. My cookies turned out like Unfortunate Globs. Here is the recipe... though I would recommend a different strategy.

Recipe:

• 1 Egg White 
• 1/8 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract 
• 1 Pinch Salt 
• 1/4 Cup Flour 
• 1/4 Cup White Sugar

Whip it together. Pour a little (enough for two at a time to cook) onto a well greased cookie sheet. Bake for 5-7 minutes at 400ºF. When they come out lay your fortune in the middle and bend into shape. This is easier said than done. I watched several YouTube videos on it... and well, you can see how mine turned out. (I would call this recipe quite the flop...)

The next part of the meal to prepare was the chicken. This recipe is so simple. I got home from work at 5:30 and had it ready by 6:00 (thanks to help too!). 

The Recipe:

• 1 pound chicken breast, skinned, boned, cut into 1”cubes 
• 1 Egg, beaten 
• 1 Teaspoon Salt
• 1 Tablespoon Cornstarch 
• 1/4 cup Flour 
•  2 Cups Oil for deep-frying 

Sauce:

• 1/4 Cup Ketchup 
• 1 Teaspoon Tabasco   
• 2 Tablespoon Sugar 
• 1/4 Cup Chicken Stock 
• 1 Teaspoon Cornstarch 

Combine chicken, egg, salt, and cornstarch. Mix well with hand. Coat chicken evenly with flour. Discard leftover flour. Set aside. In a small bowl, blend sauce ingredients. Heat oil to 400 degrees in wok. Deep-fry chicken a few pieces at a time until golden brown and crispy, about 2 minutes. Drain through strainer.

Combine ingredients for sauce in a sauce pan and pour on chicken (I doubled it).

This chicken turned out moist and flavourful.

The cabbage mix was a side dish that I made up and threw together as a side for the chicken.

The Recipe:

• 1/2 of a Cabbage (grated)
• 1 Onion diced
• 3 Carrots (grated)
• Salt and Pepper to taste

After the chicken was done cooking I used a little bit of the leftover oil and fried the cabbage and veggies in it. Add salt and pepper to taste and vwala, an easy, but good side dish. 

Last, but not least, the Sushi. Alas, I didn't feel gutsy enough to experiment with raw fish, so we kept it at fishless sushi. Maybe that's not a thing, but we made it one. Sonya cut up cucumbers, carrots, and avocados in perfectly thin slices. Next we lay out the seaweed sheet, piled on some sticky rice, and layered it with veggies before rolling it up in a perfect cylinder. 

The seaweed broke, and it didn't look perfect, but it tasted good. And sometimes the taste makes up for the poor visual display. 

I also served this meal with a quick and easy fruit salad thanks to a made a recipe from Dona Rosa in Mozambique. She always made it best, but I'm trying to get it the same. It's just papaya, bananas, lemon juice and sugar. It complimented the meal well. 

The eaters for this meal were the lovely Megan, Faith, Sonya, Matt, Jimmy, and Damarise. They were generous in not making fun of my sad fortune cookies. And had several helpings of the chicken (which is always a nice sign). I would definitely make the chicken again as well as the cabbage side. It was a fun night and a good filling meal.