Greek Style Garbanzo Salad

1.5 cups cooked garbanzo beans (1 can), drained
1/2 cup thinly sliced red onion
1/2 cup chopped tomato
1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper
3 Tbs rice vinegar or ceider vinegar
2 Tbs lemon juice
2 tsp olive oil
2 Tbs minced garlic
2 Tbs chopped fresh parsley
Salt and Pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients. Let marinate at room temperature or several hours, then refrigerate.

5 servings
130 cal (35 cal from fat)

4g fat
1g saturated fat
0g trans fat
0mg cholesterol
65mg sodium
19g carbohydrates
4g fiber
4g sugar
5g protein

6% vit A
35% vit C
4% calcium
10% iron

Grilled Lamb Chops

1/4 cup distilled white vinegar
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 onion, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 pounds lamb chops

1.Mix together the vinegar, salt, pepper, garlic, onion, and olive oil in a large resealable bag until the salt has dissolved. Add lamb, toss until coated, and marinate in refrigerator for at least 2 hours.

2.Preheat an outdoor grill for medium-high heat.

3.Remove lamb from the marinade and leave any onions on that stick to the meat. Discard any remaining marinade. Wrap the exposed ends of the bones with aluminum foil to keep them from burning. Grill to desired doneness, about 3 minutes per side for medium. The chops may also be broiled in the oven about 5 minutes per side for medium.

Serves 6

Chocolate Chip Cookies with Sea Salt

8 ½ oz. cake flour (2 cups minus 2 Tbsp.)
8 ½ oz. bread flour (1 2/3 cups)
1 ¼ tsp. baking soda
1 ½ tsp. baking powder
1 ½ tsp. coarse salt, such as kosher
10 oz. unsalted butter, softened (2 ½ sticks; 1 ¼ cups)
10 oz. light brown sugar (1 ¼ cups)
8 oz. granulated sugar (1 cup plus 2 Tbsp.)
2 large eggs
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 ¼ pounds bittersweet chocolate chips or chunks, preferably about 60% cacao content, such as Ghirardelli
Sea salt

Combine flours, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. Whisk well; then set aside.

Using a mixer fitted with paddle attachment, cream butter and sugars until very light and fluffy, about 3 to 5 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Mix in the vanilla. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. Reduce the mixer speed to low; then add dry ingredients, and mix until just combined. (Unless you have a plastic guard that sits around the rim of the bowl, this will make a big mess at first, with flour flying everywhere. I found that carefully holding a dish towel around the top of the bowl helped a lot.) Add the chocolate chips, and mix briefly to incorporate. Press plastic wrap against the dough, and refrigerate for 24 to 36 hours. The dough may be used in batches, and can be refrigerated for up to 72 hours.

When you’re ready to bake, preheat oven to 350°F. Remove the bowl of dough from the refrigerator, and allow it to soften slightly (about half an hour on the counter). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a nonstick baking mat.

Using a standard-size ice cream scoop, scoop six mounds of dough onto the baking sheet, making sure to space them evenly. Sprinkle lightly with sea salt, and bake until golden brown but still soft, 15 to 20 minutes. Transfer the baking sheet to a wire rack for 10 minutes, then transfer the cookies onto the rack to cool a bit more.

Repeat with remaining dough.

Yield: About 24 (5-inch) cookies.

Note: Smaller cookies taste good, too, but are not soft like the big cookies. I made them with a medium-sized cookie scoop and baked them for 11 minutes. This yielded 167 1.5" cookies.

Biscuits

from The National Honey Board

3-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 Tablespoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter
1 cup milk
2 Tablespoons honey

Mix dry ingredients in large bowl. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse meal. In a small bowl, combine milk and 2 Tablespoons honey. Add milk mixture all at once to dry ingredients and stir 20 to 30 strokes with a fork. Form into ball on a lightly floured surface. Gently knead dough 15 times. Divide dough in half. Roll out to 3/4-inch thickness. Using a bench knife, cut each round into 4 pieces (or cut out using a 3.5" biscuit cutter) and place on an ungreased baking sheet. Bake at 425°F 10to 12 minutes or until tops brown. Makes 8.

These also work well for strawberry shortcake.

Favorite Chocolate Chip Cookies

makes 3 dozen

1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1.5 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
1.25 cups all purpose flour
1 standard bag of chocolate chips


Preheat oven to 375.

Cram butter and sugar until fluffy. Add egg and vanilla. Add salt and soda. Mix in flour. Stir in chocolate chips. Drop by tablespoon-fuls onto ungreased baking sheets. Bake for 8 minutes, or until just turning golden brown around the edges.

Quick and Spicy Tomato Soup

3 T olive oil
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 C (32 oz) marinara sauce
28oz chicken or vegetable broth
1 (15 oz) can cannellini or other white beans
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
2 C small pasta
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

Warm olive oil over medium heat. Add carrot, onion and garlic. Cook until soft, about 2-5 min. Add marinara sauce, broth, beans, red pepper flakes, pasta, salt and pepper. Simmer for 10 min, or until pasta is tender.

West African Chicken & Peanut Soup

This recipe is a combination of contributions from several people and cultures. With so many of the ingredients strong in nature, it is a perfect soup to customize to your taste! Add or subtract at will.

1.5 cups cooked chicken, cubed (or 1 or 2 large cans—it’s super easy that way!)
1 cup sweet onion diced in ½ inch pieces
1 Tbsp. finely chopped fresh garlic
1/4 cup sesame oil
2 tsp. curry powder
1 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes (more or less to taste)
4.5 cups chicken stock
1.5 cups diced canned tomato (feel free to use varieties w/ roasted garlic, caramelized onion, Cajun spice, etc.—they all work very well for this dish)
1/2 cup peanut butter (chunky or not, it’s up to you)
1 Tbsp. lemon juice (or more to taste)
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro (more or less to taste)
Freshly ground pepper and salt to taste

In a large saucepan over medium-high heat, place the sesame oil, onions and garlic. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is translucent, about 5 minutes.

Add the curry powder and red pepper flakes, stir for about 1 minute. Then add the chicken stock and tomatoes. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to simmer for about 20 minutes.

Add the peanut butter and cilantro and whisk until smooth and heated thoroughly.

Add chicken, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Turn off heat and let rest for about five minutes, then adjust the seasonings and serve. Tastes even better the next day!

Serves 4-6