Strawberry Lemonade

It is the beginning of strawberry season and the end of lemon season. What better time to make strawberry lemonade? I made enough concentrate for 3 gallons of strawberry lemonade and I'm sure it is not nearly enough to get me through the summer! Seriously, I'm a sucker for strawberry lemonade. And it is so deliciously tasty made fresh. Addictingly delicious. No joke.



Ingredients
3 cups lemon juice (About 8 lemons)
3 lbs strawberries
1 cup sugar
Water (about 9 cups)



1. In a small saucepan over medium heat create a simple syrup by dissolving 1 cup sugar in 1 cup water. Remove from heat as soon as it turns clear.

2. In a blender combine lemon juice, strawberries and syrup. At this point it is strawberry lemonade concentrate. You can freeze it for later use or use it immediately.

3. Put strawberry lemonade concentrate mixture in a large pitcher. Add water to taste. About 8 cups.

Oatmeal Tortillas

So many healthy things can be placed inside a tortilla to create something delicious, but then you ruin the healthiness by serving it on a tortilla. I hate that. Try using these oatmeal tortillas. There's a bit of white flour, sure, but are still sneaking in some whole grains! My kids were fighting over these. Granted the little one will eat just about anything.

3/4 cup oats (grind into a powder using a food processor or blender)
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 - 1 cup white flour
1/2 tablespoon salt
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 cup cold water


1. Place ground oats, wheat flour, 1/2 cup white flour, and salt into a stand mixer using a dough hook.

2. Add olive oil and water and knead for 5 minutes. Add more white flour as needed to form a firm dough.

3. Allow dough to rest for at least 20 minutes.

4. Using a tortilla press, press golf ball size portions between parchment paper. On a dry griddle over medium-high heat, cook tortillas until lightly browned.

Fruit Leather

I've been overwhelmed by peaches and nectarines lately that all come ripe at once and mold quickly. Instead of letting all that ripe food go bad, I've been trying to utilize preserving methods. Fruit leather has been one of the answers that my family loves. Fruit leather is one of those things where you don't need are a recipe, just a how-to. I used peaches for this batch of leather, but you can use almost any fruit, or combination of fruit using the same basic steps.

First, I pitted the peaches and threw them in a big pot skins and all. You could skin the peaches for a smoother texture if you are willing to take the time.



I put on the lid and boiled them down in their own juices, stirring occasionally. You can add sugar if you want, but I chose not to. Once the fruit is soft you can use a stick blender to puree it, or puree it in a blender or food processor in batches.



Line a jelly roll pan with parchment paper. Preheat your oven to its lowest setting. Mine is 200 degrees.

Spread out the pureed fruit on the prepared parchment paper very thinly. If it is too thick it will take forever to dry. Also, if you spread it terribly uneven then you are going to be kicking yourself during the drying process because the thinnest spots will get crispy waiting for the thick spots to dry making for a weird fruit roll up.



Pop them in the oven and TURN OFF THE OVEN. Walk away and leave it for an hour. Come back and turn on the oven again, then turn it off immediately when it reaches temperature (the lowest setting). Walk away for another hour. Check it this time to see how it is drying. It is done when it just sticky to the touch instead of wet. It may take 2 hours it may take upwards of 6 or 8 hours. It all depends on the humidity that day. Just keep turning the oven on and off every hour until it dries.

Then, just cut it into strips, roll it if you'd like, and store it in an air tight container. It should stay good for about a month.

Zucchini Pasta

I feel like the incredible shrinking woman lately. I'm losing all my baby weight fairly quickly. I wasn't able to get the breastfeeding boost. It's all due to diet and exercise. One of the things I have been missing is pasta. So, when I came across the idea of zucchini pasta I jumped on it. My husband had been repeatedly requesting to have Cajun Chicken Pasta. I kept turning him down because I couldn't afford to eat the calories in the sauce AND the pasta! So, I made my zucchini pastas and made a dish out of that instead. Delicious! It totally fulfilled my craving for "pasta" and didn't scream zucchini either. I bet if you mastered the art of shaving off the "noodles" you could trick kids into eating a green veggie.


Zucchini
Olive Oil

1. Use a vegetable peeler to shave off strips/noodles of zucchini. Peel down the zucchini until you get to the core (that's the part with the seeds). Discard the core.

2. Saute the "noodles" in a little olive oil over medium-high heat for a few minutes until they begin to get translucent.

3. Serve with whatever sauce you'd like.

Homemade Sweet and Sour Sauce

Homemade sweet and sour sauce. You heard me right. Nothing wrong with the store bought stuff, but it's nice to know you can make it yourself when you get the craving. Throw it on some chicken, use it for some egg rolls, etc. It's one of those recipes that can come in handy.


¾ cup white sugar
⅓ cup white vinegar
⅔ cup water
¼ cup soy sauce
1 tablespoon ketchup
2 tablespoons cornstarch


Place the sugar, vinegar, water, soy sauce, ketchup and cornstarch in a medium saucepan, and bring to a boil. Stir continuously until the mixture has thickened.

Cheese Crackers

Why make your own crackers? #1 It is ridiculously easy. #2 It is cheaper. #3 You control what goes in: no preservatives, no unknown chemicals, you can make them truly whole grain. #4 They taste pretty darn good. Tip: If you roll them nice and thin you'll really get a nice crisp cracker, but I suggest trying them on the thicker, softer side sometime. It is almost like eating a cheesy pie crust.

1 cup grated cheddar cheese
1 cup flour (you could use white or fresh ground wheat for whole grain)
4 Tbl butter or margarine
1/2 tsp salt, plus more to sprinkle on top
1/4 tsp paprika
1 dash cayenne pepper
1/4 c water


1. Grate cheese in food processor. Switch food processor from the grate to the blade.
2. Add flour, butter, salt, paprika, cayenne to cheese in food processor. Process until everything is mixed/crumbled (maybe 10 seconds?)
3. Add water and process for another 10 seconds.
4. Roll the mixture out onto a greased cookie sheet. Get it as flat as possible.
5. Sprinkle on your desired *seasonings and then cut into your desired shape. You can just use a pizza roller or a knife. I used a pastry wheel for mine.
6. Bake at 425 degrees for about 10 minutes, watching carefully.
7. Cool and enjoy. Once entirely cooled, store in an airtight container (if there are any left to store).


Seasoning Ideas
- sea salt
- garlic salt
- garlic powder
- onion powder
- cajun seasoning
- italian seasoning
- rosemary
- curry powder
- get creative! almost any spice will work!

Homemade Tortillas

That's right my friends, homemade tortillas. They are much tastier and cheaper than store bought. I will admit that it takes some muscle to roll them out. Once you realize how delicious they are, the effort makes it worth it every once in a while. Then you'll hate using store bought tortillas. You'll start to covet a tortilla press. Once you get one you'll pop out tortillas like crazy with hardly any effort involved. A tortilla press really isn't all that expensive ($20) and you'll save money in the long run. No more store bought tortillas!


2 1/2 c flour
3 T butter, shortening, or margarine
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup hot water (make it as hot as you can stand to touch with your hand)

1. Mix together the flour, baking powder, and salt in large bowl. Cut in shortening to resemble cornmeal. Add water slowly, mixing with your hands to make a soft dough. You may not need all the water.


2. Divide into small balls the size of golf balls. Cover with damp towel to keep balls moist. One by one roll out into size and thickness you prefer. This is where a tortilla press can come in and make life easier. Cover waiting dough balls with damp towel to prevent from drying out.

3. Cook on top of stove over medium-high heat using a cast iron grill or heavy skillet until top is slightly bubbly then turning on opposite side for a minute or two. If you over cook them they will become hard. A very thin tortilla will take less than a minute on each side.

4. Keep stacked and warm inside a clean, lightly damp dish towel. This will help keep them soft.


Store in plastic bag. Heat in microwave for 5-10 seconds to soften tortilla when ready for use.