recipe for quinoa vegetable bake

1 c dried quinoa
2 c water
1T oil

Place in large sauce pot and bring to boil. Lower heat and simmer, covered for 20 min, stirring occasionally.

1 small onion - finely chopped
2 small carrots - grated (I have also used a 1 parsnip and 1 carrot)
1 small zucchini - grated
10 oz frozen spinach or cooked greens
1/8c flour (I used potato starch to be gluten-free)
1/2t baking powder
1/8c tahini - (I have used up to 1/4cup)
2t salt
1/8c fresh dill - chopped or 1-2t dried dill (optional)
2t fresh lemon juice

Bake 20 min at 400 degrees.

I found this recipe in the Whole Foods Market Cookbook (p.214) and have made it several times - it's supposed to be made into cakes, but when I omitted the 1T yogurt, they ended up crumbly. So I decided to try an easier way and tossed it all in a dish. Tasted the same and was so much easier!

This one's for you, Amylynn!

make your own cleaning products party!

One of my good friends had a little party a few weekends ago, and it was so much fun! We made our own cleaning supplies using simple ingredients - baking soda, borax, castille soap, vinegar, dish soap and some essential oils.

Stirring up the laundry detergent. I love that I can add my own essential oils! When I got home, I made some dryer balls out of yarn. I saw it on a blog somewhere and can't find it now... At any rate, you wind balls of yarn (a great way to use old acrylic) and then wind some nice wool yarn to cover it up. Put in a stocking, tie a loose knot and wash in hot, put in dryer. Works great, uses old stuff that nobody wants and it's fast!

I found some plain spray bottles at the store and filled them up! To keep myself from getting confused, I added a drop or two of food coloring to each one, orange for all-purpose and blue for window cleaner. There's a shaker too, which I didn't show. It's a large mouth mason jar and the top has holes which were made with a hammer and nail (on a block of wood). I added a few drops of essential oil to the baking soda and stirred it up. Now I can use it on my stainless sink, bathtub and those tough spots on the tile floor.

Now, the question is, keep the cleaning lady or enjoy it all to myself? (Just kidding, Julie, we love you too much to let you go, but we will share our cleaners and recipes with you!)

recipes for homemade cleaning products

Here they are!

All purpose cleaner
1 quart warm water
1 t liquid soap (dish soap or castille soap)
1 t borax (powder)
1/4 c vinegar
5-10 drops essential oil (tea tree is good disinfectant)
1-2  drops food color
Mix and put in spray bottle. Good for walls, countertops, carpet, upholstery, tile floors and more.

Glass cleaner
1 quart warm water
1/4c vinegar
5-10 drops essential oil
1-2 drops food color
Mix and put in spray bottle.

Laundry soap
Grate 4oz castille soap into 4c hot water - stir to dissolve.
Fill 5 gallon bucket 1/2 full with hot water, add melted soap.
Add 1c washing soda (baking soda works too) and 1/2 c borax - stir to dissolve.
Fill bucket full of hot water and let sit for 24 hours.
Fill soap container 1/2 full and add more water.
Add essential oil (10-15 drops).
Use 1/2c per load.

sweet potato fries

I've been trying to replicate a recipe I thought I remembered. Finally, I looked in my recipe box and found the scrap on paper on which I had the recipe scribbled. Why didn't I think of that sooner? At any rate, you can see that they are quite tasty and irresistable!

Baked Sweet Potato Fries

Preheat oven to 500.
Slice sweet potatoes into 1/3" slices and again into fries.
Toss in a few tablespoons of olive oil, salt and pepper.
Spread in single layer on baking pan.
Place near bottom of oven.
Bake 15 min.
Turn and bake 10 more min.

Enjoy!

fresh gingerbread

Based on Mollie Katzen's Spicy Gingerbread, this great recipe has been modified a bit to be non-dairy. It was a big success at the halloween potluck!

a little butter for the pan
6 T soy margarine (willow run or earth balance) or canola oil
3 T grated fresh ginger
1/2 c light colored honey
1/2 c light molasses
3/4 c canned pears
1 egg
2 c unbleached flour
1 1/2 t baking soda
1/4 t salt
1 t dry mustard
1/2 t ground cloves
1/2 t cinnamon
1/4 t nutmeg

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Grease an 8" square pan.

2. Melt the butter or heat the oil in a small skillet. Add the ginger and saute together over medium heat for about 3 minutes, or until fragrant. Remove from heat.

3. Combine honey and molasses in a small mixing bowl, and beat at high speed with an electric mixer for 2-3 minutes. Add the ginger mixture, pears and egg and beat for a minute more. Set aside.

4. Sift the dry ingredients together into a large mixing bowl. Make a well in the center, and pour in the wet mixture. Mix and spread into prepared pan.

5. Bake 30-35 minutes or until the top surface is springy to the touch. Cool at least 15 minutes before slicing.

I tried this the second time in a glass pan, reducing the oven temp to 325, and I don't recommend it! Stick with a metal pan if you can.

Tastes great even days later when kept in the refrigerator.

scalloped corn recipe

Mostly, this is for everyone who has eaten this corn casserole and loved it. It shows up every year at Thanksgiving, and it's also good with chili. My sister even made it for our wedding celebration!
Please adapt as you would like, but if you need more than one pan, make two!

Scalloped Corn
1/2 stick butter - melt in glass 8x8 pan
Add:
1 small package Jiffy cornbread mix
1 egg
1 can corn - drain about half of the liquid
1 can cream corn
8 oz sour cream
Mix and bake 45-60 min at 325 degrees until golden brown.
It might even take longer than that...
Works well if you make it ahead, keep in fridge, and put in oven as it's preheating to warm it up.