Zucchini "Noodles" with Pesto

Zucchini "Noodles" with Pesto

Pesto
2 C tightly packed basil leaves
1/2 C olive oil
3 T pine nuts
2 medium cloves garlic, minced
1/2 t salt
1/2 C grated parmigiano-reggiano

Zucchini Noodles
3 medium zucchini
1 T olive oil
3/4 lb dried spaghetti
shaved parmigiano-reggiano for serving

First make the pesto.  Put all the ingredients, except the parmigiano-reggiano into a food processor or good blender.  Process to a smooth, creamy consistency, stopping once or twice to scrape down the sides.  Transfer to a bowl and stir in the grated parmigiano-reggiano. Set aside.
Put a large pot of salted water over high heat.
Using a mandoline, or a sharp knife, cut zucchini into long skinny "noodles." Warm the oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  Add the zucchini and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender but not mushy. 5-8 minutes. 

When the pot of water boils, drop in the spaghetti.  Cook until al dente.  Using a pair of long handled tongs scoop the pasta directly from the pot into the skillet of cooked zucchini.  Add 1/2 cup of the pesto and toss the mixture well to ensure that each noodle-zucchini and spaghetti alike-has a thin, even coat of sauce.  Serve immediately, with additional salt and lots of grated Parmigiano-Reggiano.

**From A Homemade Life by Molly Wizenberg
**Such a fantastic summer side dish and adding the garden cherry tomatoes makes it divine!
**Before I had a mandolin, I would just make the zucchini, as a side dish, so good!

Peaches and Cream Pie

 Peaches and Cream Pie

Crust
1/2 C unsalted butter, softened
3 T sugar
1 lg egg yolk (room temp)
3 T heavy cream
1 1/2 C flour
1/4 t salt

Filling
1 pound (2 - 8oz pkg) cream cheese, softened
1 1/2 C powdered sugar
1/2 C heavy cream
2 t vanilla

Topping
2 1/2 C sliced ripe peaches

Crust: In mixer, cream butter and sugar until smooth.  Add the egg yolk and cream, and mix well.  Add the flour and salt, beat until just combined.  Gather the dough into a ball and roll it out on a lightly floured surface to fit a 9 inch pie plate. Fold the edges under all around the rim and crimp.  Prick the bottom and sides all over with the tines of a fork (to prevent crust from puffing up). Cover the edge of the pie crust with aluminum foil. place on a baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes at 375.  Carefully remove foil and continue baking 10-15 more minutes, or until crust is crisp and golden.  Remove from the oven and allow to cool.
Filling: In mixer, beat together the cream cheese and sugar until smooth and creamy.  Add the heavy cream and vanilla.  Beat on low until well combined. Refrigerate the filling until crust is completely cool. When crust is cool, spread the filling evenly in the crust with a rubber spatula.  Arrange the sliced peaches on top of the filling.  Refrigerate pie for at least 8 hours for filling to set.

**From Magnolia Bakery
**I refrigerated the filling after putting it in the pie shell, but just added the peaches before I served to prevent browning.  The peaches slid all over when I served the slices, but they were fresh and yummy!

Granola Cookie

Granola Cookie

3/4 C butter
1/2 C sugar
1/2 C brown sugar
1/4 C honey
1 egg
1 T vanilla
1 t cinnamon
1 t salt
1 T baking soda
1 3/4 C flour
2 1/4 C oats
1/2 C coconut
1/2 C chopped pecans (toasted if you like)
1/2 C chopped almonds (toasted or sliced if you like)
1/2 C golden raisins
1/2 C chopped dried apricots
1/2 C chopped white chocolate (or chips)

In a mixer, cream together butter, sugars and honey.  Add egg, vanilla, cinnamon and salt.  Mix well.  Add soda and flour. Mix well.  Add oats and coconut.  Mix until just incorporated.   Remove bowl from mixer, add coconut, pecans, almonds, raisins, apricots and white chocolate and then mix by hand with a heavy wood spoon.  It's a very stiff dough and you might actually need to use your hands.  I do.  Measure 1/4 C of dough, roll into a ball and flatten to an inch thick on the parchment or silpat lined baking sheet.  Bake at 350 for 9-10 minutes or until golden and toasty around the edges and a bit on top.

**This is my first ever invented recipe.  It is a collaboration of several cookie recipes as well as a few favorite granola recipes.  I worked on it last year for a bit and couldn't get it right, so I walked away for a bit.  I decided to try it again and I'm closer than ever.  I may still tweak it a bit, but I need to walk away from ALL the granola cookies.  Test batches are killing me, I can't stop eating them. 
 **This recipe doesn't produce a huge batch, because this particular cookie is only eaten by me, Hans and Chloe.  So I don't like having a ton around.  However, it's super easy to double! And they are great frozen.
**A variation that I played with that is super good is substituting the 1/2 C of almonds and pecans for 1 C salted cashews. Yummy too.  You could sub anything you want for the last 5 ingredients and still have a great cookie. 
**PS. This wasn't the prettiest cookie of the batch, Chloe ate that one.... :)

Richest Ever Chocolate Chip Cookies

Richest Ever Chocolate Chip Cookies

2 C butter
3 eggs
2 C sugar
2 C brown sugar
2 t vanilla
7 C flour
2 t salt
2 t baking soda
2 t baking powder
3 C chocolate chips

In heavy mixer, mix cold butter and sugar until combined. Add eggs.  Add in vanilla, salt, soda, powder and then flour.  Add chocolate chips.  Bake at 375. 1 T cookies 6-7 min, 1/4 C 10-11 min.

**This was one of the first recipes I ever asked for, probably when I was 16.  My amazing sister in law has always been the best cook!  I changed it just a bit, and I don't know if it's better, but I'm lazy and I like measuring 2 t instead of 1 1/2! This makes a huge batch, hense the heavy mixer.  I've halved it before and just added 2 eggs.
**PS, best dough EVER to just eat out of the bowl.  We make it sometimes and just skip the eggs to eat the dough....and when I say we, I mean me and Chloe!

Clotted Cream

Clotted Cream

4 C heavy cream (NOT ultra-pasteurized)

Place 4 C cream in a glass 9x13 pan and cover with tin foil.  Place in 160-180 degree oven overnight or 8-10 hours.  Cream is clotted when you can see the two layers. Remove from oven.  If there is a brown film on top, remove with a fork while still warm.  Replace foil and place in fridge until set, 4-6 hours.  Spoon clotted cream off top, or pour liquid out from underneath, which ever comes first.  Mix clotted cream until smooth.  Serve at room temperature. Can be stored in the fridge for a few days. Should yield 2 C clotted cream.  Serve on English Scones!

**Seriously delightfully reminiscent and yummy!
** If you've never had it, it taste like a mix between unsalted butter and whipped cream....a touch sweeter.

English Scones

English Scones

Chocolate Chip & Cranberry Orange

2 C flour
1/4 C sugar
1 1/4 t baking powder
1/4 t baking soda
1/4 t salt
1/2 C unsalted butter, cold and cut into pieces
1 t vanilla extract
2/3-3/4 C buttermilk

For Chocolate Chip Scones
1 C chocolate chips (if large chips, do a rough chop)

For Cranberry Orange Scones
1 C craisins (I prefer rough chopped)
1 T orange zest
1/4 C fresh squeezed orange juice

In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, powder, soda and salt.  Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs (I seem to have best luck with my fingers). Add chocolate chips or craisins, zest and juice.  Add vanilla to buttermilk, using 3/4 C for chocolate chip and 2/3 C or a bit less for cranberry.  Mix until just combined and soft and sticky dough has formed.  Flour counter and form dough into two 6 inch by 1 inch disks, flouring both sides.  Cut each disk into 8 wedges.  Place on parchment lined cookie sheet.  Brush with buttermilk and sprinkle with sugar.  Bake at 400 for 15-20 minutes.  Serve with Clotted Cream, or unsalted european butter.  And any scone is delish with lemon curd!

**I love these scones.  The wetter the dough, the softer the scone, but be careful, they start to lose their shape.
**Adapted from joyofbaking.com

Liege Belgian Waffles

Liege Belgian Waffles

2 T sugar
3/4 C lukewarm milk
3 eggs
1 C melted butter
2 t vanilla
3 C flour
1 T instant yeast
1/2 t salt
1 1/2 C Belgian Pearl Sugar (Lars' Own - Pirate O's in Sandy)

Whisk sugar, milk, eggs, butter and vanilla until blended.  In a separate bowl, mix flour, yeast and salt.  Add egg mixture to flour mixture. Mix until soft dough forms.  Cover with a light cloth and let rise in a warm place (80-95 degrees) until doubled in volume.  About 30-45 minutes.  Preheat waffle iron. Gently mix in pearled sugar.  Place approximately a 1/3 C of dough on preheated waffle iron and cook until crisp, approximately 2 minutes.  Be careful taking waffles out of iron, the sugar gets scalding hot and can easily burn the fingers.  Delicious alone, but divine served with fruit and cream or biscoff spread.

**Thanks to a trip to a farmer's market and the "waffle love" truck, I was introduced to the Liege waffle.  The pearled sugar makes these waffles, truly outstanding!
**May try to reduce the amount of butter the next time I make them.  The butter was running all over the waffle iron!
**Recipe adapted from allrecipes.com