Cobbler-Strawberry

2 ½- cup strawberries diced(if you increase this to three it won’t be a big deal in this recipe, roughly this is just one container of fresh strawberries from the store though sometimes it does vary roughly half a cup sometimes when diced up)

1- banana peeled and diced

1- Orange juiced(optional, you could also choose to use the lil wedges in the orange instead as wholes instead of juicing the orange itself as well, both are just fine and very tasty variants of this recipe)

1 teaspoon orange zest(basically grate a lil bit off the orange while its still whole after you have made sure to have washed it in cold water with a drop of soap to make sure insecticides and anything else possibly harmful to you and your family are removed-since different grown foods have different ways they need to be cleaned I will link some ways to do so for the required items in this recipe entry the end to make things easier for those of you who may like to try it, if you prefer not to use it, you can do this without zest and use 2 tablespoons of orange juice from the store, not recommended but you can do so if that is the way that is best for you and your family, I myself have in the past done it when I was very busy and unable to do so for some reason or another, or we just had orange juice and all other ingredients but no fresh orange, also a good substitute is using frozen fruits and using orange juice during the off season so while not the best option, it is an option)

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 ½ teaspoons baking powder

¼ teaspoon nutmeg

1 teaspoon cinnamon

2 cups flour

1 dash salt

½ cup sugar(separated by ¼ cup each-keep this in mind as ¼ cup goes in the topping and ¼ in with the fruit.

2 cups milk

Casserole dish(recommended size between nine and twelve inches, nine works just fine but if you need to use a bigger dish you will need to check it more often as well)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease your casserole dish in your chosen manner(some people use spray and some people use shortening or butter so whatever your method, just make sure its thoroughly greased so it can’t stick to the sides so much-if you forget its not the end of the world… not until you have to wash it anyway-lol-plus it comes out much cleaner when you grease it as well and not so much a mess). Now you want to make sure to place your strawberries, your banana, and your orange(juice or wedges whichever you chose to do) in your chosen casserole dish. Sprinkle your ¼ cup sugar reserved for the fruit in the bowl(this is done because in some areas the fruits don’t produce as much pectin or natural sugar or simply come out a lil more bitter though pollution can also do that as well so this is my personal method to drown out that and bring back more of the natural flavors before all the denizens of humanities mistakes). Now mix, in a separate bowl, the rest of your ingredients and stir, get out as many of the clumps as you can but if you can’t get them all its ok, just make sure the biggest are taken care of(a few little ones won’t hurt). Next mix in a small portion of the batter into the casserole dish: enough to cover the fruits. Lastly, pour the rest on top before putting it in the oven to bake for 30-45 minutes.

Be sure to check it roughly about every ten minutes until the end, a light in the oven is easiest to do this with as just peaking in is usually enough to see how it is progressing. This is useful in two ways. One, every oven is different and some factors such as altitude effect many baking times for many things. Two, if you have children old enough to help you this is also a learning experience(just make sure they aren’t in the kitchen without you because I know I was that kid… ‘don’t touch’ is sometimes overridden by pure childhood curiosity a natural urge to touch and explore everything in the different developmental stages, especially in younger children, as long as they are supervised and your simply taking them in to look and keep them from touching, it is a great tool for building young minds. Just be prepared as they will ask plenty of questions like “why does it rise” and you have to simplify the answer for smaller children more so than for older children, unless you go with the story my mom told me about the cooking fairies and how they hated her no matter what she did. Lol It was a story like santa clause in our house and it wasn’t exactly a lie. No matter how closely she followed the directions my mother burned everything as if it was divine intervention; accept tuna casserole and especially birthday cakes- for some reason my grandmother was the same with gardening without acceptions as she even killed cactus no matter how closely she followed how to do it while my mother on the other hand gardened as effortlessly as my grandmother cooked so… it evened out I suppose… though I can never explain how my mom could bring back plants so close to death when I’ve never met anyone since then who could and… I certainly can’t).

So… anyway back to cooking and off of memory lane.

When its been in about half an hour check it with a tooth pick or a fork or even a butter knife by sticking such in the center and putting it halfway or all the way or somewhere in between, down into it. When you bring it back up, if its ‘clean’ and not all doughy then your good to go. If it has some dough on it, then put it back in for another ten minutes checking it again. If its especially close to being done you can check in five instead, just a reminder… the more times you open the oven the longer it can take having to replace the heat that has been let out of it. This is a note for those of you with children, as this is both true and I know you may forget right then in that moment while looking at their pouting faces… the explanation so they will in some way kind of understand why.

When its done, let it cool down and enjoy. It can be eaten chilled, hot, or warm. Keep the leftovers refrigerated and don’t leave out more than an hour(less if you have pets-lol-or children who will try and get it no matter how far back you put it, in which case id suggest a lock of the refrigerator and a spot you can sit something hot, not on plastic, so it can chill without being catalyst of accidents). 

As promised here are the links on washing the fruits involved. 

 http://localfoods.about.com/od/strawberries/qt/Washing-Strawberries.htm--- strawberries specifically

http://napavalleyregister.com/lifestyles/food-and-cooking/wine/wash-your-bananas-and-other-lessons-in-cleaning-produce/article_38a7f88f-027a-519c-bdf9-979f89ce6b27.html bananas and in general-yes bannana's, you should wash those as well. 

when looking for a link about washing oranges i was shocked to only find a YouTube video and countless questions as to why washing them was important. because if its on the skin and your touching it, its on whatever you touch after you touch it, including the part you peeled free. geez... its one of the ways to get sick or get others in your home sick if your not careful. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7b9rqm6a7xY anyway, here is a video of someone washing oranges if my explanation of how to do it with oranges doesn't help. The middle link that i got for bandannas also has a couple tips for different things as well.

Have fun and Enjoy

Luna 

Veal Burgers

So with veal burgers first off, I prefer not to use veal and dislike veal and do not support veal or how its made out of baby cows. Those are baby cows… however I also dislike wasting food and my beloved does like it so we have a friend who sometimes gives us a pound of it in a package…

So I came up with this recipe for veal burgers. As I view it, the animal was slain and I am not buying it and if we don’t use it, it was going to go bad anyway which is just disrespectful to the sacrifice of the creature itself. To let the meat rot or otherwise go bad would just be worse than slaughtering a baby cow.  Then you’re just piling it up.  I dislike wasting and I can cook with just about anything so…

Anyway, for this you will need.

A cup and a half of bread crumbs,

Half a cup chopped onions

Three eggs medium

Two tablespoons balsamic vinegar

A fourth a cup garlic powder

Sprinkling of meat seasoning blend

Now, first off while your making the veal patties keep in mind. They don’t reduce like regular ground beef because they don’t have as much fat. This also means they need more help not to stick.

For this I used vegetable oil however olive and sunflower oil are also really good with this recipe.

For me they are pan fried, with just enough oil to keep them from sticking in the pan. They can however be grilled in which case I recommend going light on the bbq sauce if you use it.

This will be a lil more squishy than a regular ground beef. Regular ground beef has a different consistency when mixed. As my grandmother had me hand mixing meat loafs and making hamburger patties for the grill im gonna lay it to you straight. They pack easier and veal is much more malleable.

You have to keep this in mind while using veal.

Veal has a delicate under tone to its taste. Its like normal beef but not quite like it at the same time. This is why I added the vinegar. This brings out the natural flavors in meat and compliments this particular one well.  What can I say, if I don’t do this right there is no point in me respecting the animal who died to make this lil pound of ground veal.

Veal is considered a delicacy to some people because of the qualities it has. Traditionally they originally only made veal from animals who were born with some sort of leg crippling defect. Nursed them for awhile and let them get some meat on their bones and then killed them because their lives would be a cruel fate and they would die a horrible death if they were not killed. I do not like nor do I support neither how modern veal is done nor how the animals are treated.  Veal  got its start as mercy killing and as the belief of waste of any parts(from bone to teeth to meat and even the brain and organs) was a horrible disrespect it was done reverently and with much respect that the animal be partaken of as nourishment.  Some hunters today still abide these rules though I hear its very few which is saddening, when it comes to animals. Pick off the weak and let the rest breed and waste nothing.

In this case I’m also gonna let you know, veal cooks a lil faster than regular ground beef.

When you get the light to mid brown outside of it after cooking it on mid heat, on both sides, its ready.

Dress and place on bun and you have a veal burger.

cheese is a good topping on it just like a regular beef burger and when you add a vegetable to the side you have a meal, though in my family we never just had the burger and the veggies. lol I leave that part up to you. it goes well enough with just about anything. I may not like how the farms do it but i believe when you do something you should do it right and meat, like any ingredient should be treated with the utmost respect. :)

Be blessed

-Luna 

Candy Bread Pudding

For this i used a large two and a half qt corning-ware dish which i love to use for such things. :)

I am putting this up for a friend of mine from a game we play together online, who might want to try it but lives far and needs it all in one spot to make is even easier. :)

Ingredients needed:

1 pound container of Greek yogurt

2 stale donuts

1/2 (use the liquids cup not the solids cup, meaning the one you would use for water not the one you would use for flour or sugar as the support different volumes) of unwrapped mint hard candies,

1 cup flour

1/2 cup sugar

1 tablespoon baking powder

Don't forget your oven mitts, it may be best to use two with this one. I say this because I sometimes need to remind myself to have it withing reach and not on the other side of the kitchen where Ive forgotten i put it. lololol

If you measure everything before you begin it makes things easier. :) Your oven needs to be at 350 degrees, and it is best to preheat.

Take all your ingredients and dump them into your dish you will be baking it in. Mix well, i used a wooden spoon but really as long as it isn't metal(which scratches most dishes and makes a terrible sound when it grates on certain surfaces), you should be fine. Mix well and don't worry about the clumps, those are your candy. :)

Next put in the oven for an hour stiring every10-15 minutes, don't wait longer than fifteen but if you stir it a few minutes early it won't hurt it.

It makes a pudding that is thick, and really good both cold or hot. You can eat it right out of the oven or after its been chilled over night. Its a really awesome desert item and it fits a lil healthy in their. Its also good for immune system health. As all sweet things i would not recommend it often. This is however a wonderful treat for any occasion you choose. I think ill make it this winter because its great for that time of year when mint candy is everywhere and in just about everything. :) but really its great for any time of year. This year i made it in summer.



I have a picture of it but due to technical difficulties ill be adding it later, when i figure out how to make this work like it did before the virus and the factory reset. i have the pictures im just figuring out how to get them off my phone. lol ill add it here when im done fixing that. its rather irksome and now i have to fix software... -.- ... evidently the virus played some havoc that was left residual even with a factory re set. i am not the best but ive learned a few things watching the best and know a few tricks. nothing as fancy as re programming it, but i can do the software equivalent to smacking some sense into the areas involved. xp lol Looks like that's what ill have to do. otherwise their will be no point in putting my contacts back on my phone. ill just end up starting another factory re set and starting all over with fixing it. -.- anyway, back to the candy pudding.


Now some great ways to tweak presentation are to add a lil food coloring(keeping in mind the base color with the mint candies ends up being pinkish or peach colored), a lil festivity never hurt anyone. just keep in mind what the color your using makes when mixed with it. its a soft color though so it should be easily overcome if you want it a different color. :) Another great presentation idea for serving if to add a couple mint leaves on the side or put a mint candy on top of it for a lil bit of flare in how it looks(not for lil kids mind you, don't want them choking on it).

-Luna

Under the sea hot dog creatures

2/3^rd cup all purpose baking mix, 6 eggs, 6oz mixed veggies cut small, 1/8^th cup baking powder, and 1/4^th cup rice already cooked(I used some leftover Mexican fried rice leftover from the day before).

Put in GT express 101 or similar kitchen gadget, and let cook for 10-15 minutes checking often.

Makes 4-5 (great if you often utilize leftovers or have a big family-I just pack some for my beloved lunch in this case: he gets a yummy lunch and its two birds and one stone)

This is a neat way to get veggies in the meal in a creative way, and is lactose free.  

As always remember to grease the machinery so it doesn’t stick.  we used margarine and it even gave it a nice taste on the surface as well as a good color. Comes out light and flaky. 

With this I made octopus hot dogs, which you make 4-8 slits in depending on your desire, then boil for ten minutes before pan frying as desired, with fried tomatoes, all fried in a roasted garlic and margarine, however oils like bacon oil or olive oil are also good to use.

The end result is… 

Some great ways to put it on the plate are with the octopus on the tomatoes, or the tomatoes on the lactose free veggie bread(great for cases of kids who can still taste the veggies and it tastes great, a great way to get a kid who eats ketchup on everything and present them with an alternative(if that still doesn’t work it also works under a light coating of spaghetti sauce, or ketchup).

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I was watching "food network" star and have been thinking of putting my recipes online for awhile, have even gone through many many possibilities of themes. to be honest i just figured id just be me and put things i knew. this is a recipe i made though it was inspired by a the food you see in bento boxes in anime.  this was also inspired a little by "meat on the side" however i think the lady doing that theme as her expertise forgot a lil love needs to go into every part, meat included. You can't go half assed just cuz its meat or an ingredient you don't like. and rice, isn't filling. at all.

this dish is a good appetizer or a light meal for those of us who don't eat full course meals but like to combine it into one dish and keep it simpler that way.

I have a whole book of recipes ive recorded when i did them and were success that i will share. 

be blessed

-Luna

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for whatever reason i can no longer view the pictures, if you cannot view the pictures leave a comment and ill link the pictures to you if you so desire. I took them on my phone and back up all photos in multiple areas and post them in an area where they can be linked from.