Basil Broccoli-Cauliflower Salad

Want a little different vegie salad?  This is a great fresh, crisp salad with a wonderful flavor.

In a large salad bowl, mix together the mayo (I use Best Foods Real Mayonaisse - or Helamanns east of the Rockies.  I'm a food snob with certain ingredients and mayo is one of them.  No other brand tastes as good!) sugar, basil and salt.

Cut broccoli and cauliflower.  You can used the pre-cut pieces, but you will need to cut them smaller into bite size pieces.  Stir into the dressing.

If you have never used jicama before, you are in for a pleasant surprise.  It is nice and crispy with a mild flavor.  Try adding them to your veggie trays!  Pick a medium size that is firm and relatively smooth.  Cut in half.

Peeling it can be a little tricky.  Pull back an edge with a small paring knife till you can grab it, then slowly pull.  Sometimes the peel breaks.  Just grab another edge and pull.  Cut off any parts that won't peel.

 

 

                    Julienne the jicima, chop the red onion and add to the salad.

Stir well, cover and refrigerate for a few hours till well chilled.

Cook bacon till crisp.  Cut into small pieces.  Don't stir in until just before serving.

When ready to serve, stir in bacon.  Serve from the bowl, or on individual plates lines with a few leaves of lettuce.  Enjoy!
 

Broccoli Cauliflower Basil Salad

5 c bite-size broccoli florets                               1-1/3 c mayonnaise

3 c bite-size cauliflower florets                           1/4 c sugar

1/2 medium jicama, julienned                            1-1/2 tsp dried sweet basil

1/2 medium red onion, julieened                        1/2 tsp salt

8 slices bacon, crisply cooked & crumbled

In large salad bowl, mix together mayo, sugar, basil & salt.  Add vegetables.  Refrigerate several hours to blend flavors.  Just before serving, add bacon.  Serves 8-10.

White Chocolate Cream with Raspberries

Fresh raspberries are my favorite fruit and when they came on sale, I had to buy a case.  I wanted to make something delicious and creamy with the raspberries.  After looking through my recipes, I just couldn't find quite what I was looking for so I set out to combine four recipes:  White Chocolate Truffles, Bavarian Creme, Nanaimo Bars (you Canucks know what those are) and raspberry sauce.  Okay...it wasn't as easy as I thought it would be.  Five tries later, I think this combination finally worked.  (Yup, I had to go buy some more raspberries, especially since my husband was eating them as fast as I could rinse them.)  Thanks to my brother and his family for their taste testing and feedback.  Unfortunately, they didn't get to try the final product.  As I was taking the plate out of the frig to run over to them, the frig door hit my arm and kersplat!  It ended up all over the floor.  Sorry bro.  Aren't some days just like that?  Let me know what you think!

 White Chocolate Cream with Raspberries

18 oz raspberries (3 cups)                                          3 c whipping cream

Crust:                                                                        2 Tbsp butter

4 Tbsp butter, melted                                                  2 tsp light corn syrup

1/8 c sugar                                                                2 c (12 oz pkg) white chocolate chips

2 Tbsp cocoa                                                             1/2 tsp vanilla (mexican pure is best)

3/4 c graham cracker crumbs                                    Raspberry topping:

1/2 c slivered almonds, slightly crushed                     1/2 c sugar 

1/2 c sweetened & flaked coconut                              1 Tbsp cornstarch

Cream Filling:                                                          1/4 c water

3 tsp Knox unflavored gelatin                                      2 of the 3 c of raspberries

1/4 c cold water 

Carefully rinse raspberries and lay on clean towel or paper towel to dry.  Meantime, mix sugar and cocoa together in small bowl.  Add melted butter and rest of crust ingredients.  Stir to combine and press in bottom of 8" x 8" pan.   Put in frig while making cream filling.

In small bowl, sprinkle gelatin over cold water.  Let sit while combining whipping cream, butter and corn syrup in medium saucepan over medium heat.  After butter melts, add gelatin mixture and bring to a full boil.  Remove from heat and pour in white chocolate chips.  Gently cover with cream but don't stir.  Let sit for 5 minutes.  Whisk the mixture till smooth.  Whisk in vanilla.  Put in frig or ice bath until cool.  Carefully spoon over crust and refrigerate 2 - 3 hours until set. 

In small saucepan stir together sugar and cornstarch.  Add water and 2 of the 3 cups of raspberries.  Crush the raspberries and stir over medium heat until sauce thickens.  You can strain the seeds out in a fine mesh strainer if you would like.  I don't mind the seeds, so I left them.  Cool.  Place the 1 cup of fresh raspberries over the top of the set cream filling.  Carefully spoon sauce over raspberries.  Refrigerate until ready to serve.  Cut into pieces to serve.   Enjoy!

Garden Fresh Italian Marinara Sauce

When my brother and his family lived in Italy, their Italian neighbor taught my sister-in-law how to make real marinara sauce from scratch.  I didn't care much for marinara sauce until I tasted the real stuff!  It was not an exact recipe - the neighbor taught her to just pour olive oil to cover the bottom of the pan, add onions, etc.  and that is how my sister-in-law has made it ever since - just throwing in the amount of ingredients that look right.  With a lot of help from her, I have tried to come up with some measurements.  This recipe is very versatile and you can change some ingredients to meet your tastes.

Pour a good quality olive oil into the bottom of a heavy saucepan.  I doubled this recipe, so I used a big pot and froze the extra.  Turn heat onto medium high.  Chop onion into small pieces (I use a food processor).  When oil is hot, add onion and cook till light golden brown.  (5 to 10 minutes)  You can also add minced garlic and/or green peppers at this point.  Or you could leave out the onions and just use garlic if you want. (Garlic cooks faster than onions, so don't cook as long.) 

Add tomatoes, basil and salt.  Don't puree the tomatoes - leave them a little chunky.  You can use any tomatoes you would like, though the preferred tomato is the Roma because it has a lower water content than other tomatoes.  If you use a different kind of tomato or a combination, just let it simmer longer to reduce the water.  Bring the sauce to a simmer and turn the heat down to keep the sauce at a slow simmer for about 30 minutes or until sauce is reduced to the thickness you want.  (It will not be a paste type sauce.)  You may need to simmer for up to 2-3 hours depending on the tomatoes and how thick you like it.   Stir occasionally.  You could also add oregano if you like. 

Your house will smell so good!  Spoon over your favorite pasta or use as a dipping sauce for bread sticks or rolls.  Mmmm.....delizioso!  Enjoy!

Garden Fresh Italian Marinara Sauce

          1/3 c olive oil                                              1 Tbsp salt

          1/2 onion                                                    4-5 basil leaves, chopped

          6 c Roma tomatoes, cut in chunks

Pour oil in heavy medium size pan.  Turn heat to medium high.  Chop onion by hand or in food processor and add to oil when oil is hot.  Cook for 5-10 minutes until onions  are light golden brown.   Put tomatoes in food processor.  Pulse a few times until they are in small pieces.  Don't puree.  Pour into pan.  Add salt and chopped basil leaves.   Bring to a simmer.  Reduce heat to keep at a low simmer.  Simmer, stirring occasionally,  for 30 minutes or until reduced to thickness you like.  Can add garlic and/or green pepper with/or instead of onions.  Can also add oregano if desired.  Any tomato can be used, but simmer longer to reduce the higher water content.

Fresh Tomato Salsa

This is a classic red salsa with a delicious fresh taste.  I prefer a hand food processor so the salsa is still a little chunky.  It is much easier to control the cutting when using a hand food processor.  They sometimes are hard to find in stores, but you can easily find them at Amazon.com.  Try to get one with a curved blade - they cut more easily.

Fresh Tomato Salsa

          1/2 orange, juiced                                 1/2 Tbsp salt

          1/4 lime, juiced                                     1/2 small jalapeno, sliced (remove seeds for mild)

          2 cloves garlic, minced                          1/4 med onion, cut into chunks

          10 sprigs of cilantro                               4 med roma tomatoes, cut in chunks

Place all ingredients except tomatoes in food processor and cut into fine pieces.  Add tomatoes and process until tomatoes are in small pieces, but still chunky.  (If using electric food processor, be careful to just pulse a few short times.)  Serve immediately or refrigerate until  serving.  Also delicious with avocado.  Just cut an avocado into small pieces and stir into salsa by hand.  Enjoy!

                                        

         

         

         

Fresh Peach Pie

There is nothing like fresh peach pie!  In this recipe, since only the sauce is cooked and not the peaches, you get a wonderful fresh peach taste.  Add whipped cream or vanilla ice cream and the "peaches and cream" taste is amazing!  You can use a store bought crust or the pie crust recipe below which is easy (and inexpensive) to make and nice and flaky.

Fresh Peach Pie

                    1 - 9" pie crust, cooked                   2 large peaches, mashed
                    1 c sugar                                          1/2 tsp pure almond flavoring
                    4 Tbsp cornstarch                            2 Tbsp butter
                    1/3 c water                                       3-4 large peaches, sliced

In large saucepan, mix together sugar and cornstarch.  Add water and peaches.  (Peaches can be easily peeled if you first submerge them in simmering water for 15-20 seconds.)  Cook at medium heat stirring until sauce thickens and looses opaque look.  Remove from heat and stir in almond flavoring and butter.  Cool.  (Can use ice bath to hurry process.)  Spread a small amount of sauce to cover bottom of pie crust.  Fill crust with sliced peaches.  Spoon rest of sauce over peaches, covering to edges to seal.  Place wax paper over top and refrigerate for 2-3 hours until chilled and set.  Serve with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.  Enjoy!

Flaky Pie Crust

                    2 c flour                                            1 c Crisco shortening

                    1 tsp salt                                           1/2 c cold water

Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees F.  Mix flour and salt together in medium bowl.  Cut in shortening with a fork or pastry blender until the shortening is broken up into small pea size pieces.  Add water and gently combine until it starts to stick together.  Do not over mix or knead!  Cover and let rest for 20 minutes.  Roll into a ball and divide in half.  Flour surface and roll into circle big enough to hang over pie pan.  Fold in half, then half again and gently pick up and place in pie pan.  Unfold gently.  The crust will tend to shrink as it cooks, so make sure not to stretch the crust in the pie pan.  Prick the bottom and sides generously with a fork to prevent bubbles while cooking.  Cook for 10-12 minutes until light golden brown.  Cool.  Makes 2 pie shells. (For cooked pies, fill pie shells before cooking and follow pie instructions for baking.)

Springville Art Museum Quilt Show - 2012

I'm lucky to live in a city that is nicknamed "Art City".   We have an amazing Art Museum that has a quilt exhibition every year.  Here is just a sampling of some of the amazing quilts!

This is "Tree of Life" by Laura Delis.

The details are intricate and beautiful.

 This is a fun quilt called "Busy Bees" by Shauna Mooney Kawasaki using lace t-shirts, drawn & colored insects, crocheted flowers and beads.

What creativity!

I love traditional quilts.  This one, called "Modern Pine Burr" was made by Konda Luckau and Machelle Hansen and quilted by Kaylene Parry.

Detail of the amazing quilting.

Xenia Driggs Stirland made this award winning quilt called "No Place Like Home".

Isn't this a creative use of yo-yo's?

"My Favorite Town Square" by Judy S. Fitzgerald, quilted by Xenia Stirland.

Look at the fun details in this quilt.

Kathy Ann Porter made this collage quilt named "Blue Fish".  Love the ocean wave border.

She used transparent Setacolor paints, Shiva paint sticks, crystals and beads for the embellishments.

A beautiful quilt titled "Celtic Twilight: by Kristen White Webb.  Love the graphic movement.

   Another quilt by Kathy Ann Porter called "Tree of Life Doodle".

Look at all the amazing embellishments!

This was made by Marian E. Eason for a quilt challenge about a play on words.  Can you guess what play on words she used for this incredible quilt?  "Bird Brain".  How clever!

"Jane's Garden" by Lisa M. Schetselaar.  These Jane quilts are fantastic - but I don't think I'm crazy enough to try one yet.

This embroidery quilt is by Charlene Nelson titled "Bats Surrounding Hocuspocusville".  This picture doesn't show the amazing embroidery unfortunately.   Aren't the wacky flyinggeese great?!

Every embroidery block has such fun details.  What a great Halloween quilt!

"Autumn's Glory" by Lisa J. Tucker.  Wonderful use of color and technique.

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Jacqueline Thomas made this "Dancing Among the Dutch" Baltimore Album quilt using the hand needle turn method.  Quilted by Denae Hansen.

Perfect choice of fabrics for this look and wonderful quilting.

Another applique quilt with a totally different look.  This one is LuAnn Carlson's "My Whimiscal Quilt Garden" quilted by Carmen Geddes.  LuAnn used the machine applique method.

Don't you just love how quilts are all so different?

A striking quilt by Megan C. Legas titled "Amalgamation".  

Even though machine quilting can be amazing, there is just something about hand-quilting.

This pictorial quilt is by Susan McBride Gilgen and is named "Emma's Vigil at Cumorah II" using hand dyed & batik fabrics.  Wow!  Too bad these pictures don't do the quilts justice.

The quilting detail is amazing!

Another beautiful traditional quilt titled "French Nosegay" by Marilyn Landry Toone.

Close up of the wonderful hand quilting.

Lisa Brothman made this "Black Medallion" quilt using only black fabric.  All of the color in this quilt comes from the thread!

She uses her home machine for all of the quilting and couched cording to separate the medallion rounds.

Here is the quilt that won Best of Show.  Sorry the lighting isn't the best, but it is an incredible quilt with beautiful colors.  It was made by Helen Butler and is named "Millie's Quilt".   Can you see the block that looks like the truffala trees in the Dr. Suess books?

She used the needle turn hand applique method.  

She also does her quilting on her home machine (yes, even this big quilt) and used metallic thread and 100% poly invisible thread.

A look at the back where the quilting really shows up.  Notice that cute label?

There were so many wonderful quilts - too many to put here, but I hope you enjoy the sampling of the many different techniques and the wonderful creativity of these quilters.  If you are a quilter, try something new and stretch your abilities.  You'll be surprised at what you can achieve!