Almond Cookies

I've been down-and-out with the flu for at least one month now, which seemed to have gone after finally 3 weeks, and I was so glad that I finally got a little relief from the sneezing and coughing...then one week ago, I woke up with my throat on fire, sneezing and coughing once more again, this time even worse. I finally gave in and went to see my doctor, and he prescribed antibiotic this time. Finally, I'm getting better now...well enough, that I just had to make something sweet, but not too sweet, so my perfect stand-by Almond Cookies always come to my rescue!

I practically have this simple recipe memorized, but could not find my handwritten recipe from over 20yrs ago, so I had to consult online, only to find the exact recipe that I used to have. Funny...even if I would have found my recipe, there wouldn't be a source on it, which we did not include in the past when we copied recipes by hand.

These lovely light as a "feather" cookies, do not even need baking powder, or baking soda, a light crispiness on the outside, and soft as a "pillow" on the inside. You really do not need to buy a large bag of whole almonds, just get the sliced ones which you can grind in a small processor, and use some sliced ones...I generously sprinkled the top of my cookies just before I baked them.

Almond Cookies
adapted from all recipes.com

1/2 cup unsalted butter softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup ground almonds
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon pure almond extract
(you can use 2 teaspoons Amaretto liqueur
 instead of the vanilla, and the almond extract)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C)

In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar. Beat in the extracts, or if you're using Amaretto beat that into the mixture. Beat in half the amount of the ground almond. Gradually mix in the flour and the rest of the ground almonds.

Drop by teaspoonfuls 2 inches apart, on parchment lined baking pan. Bake 5-8 minutes in the preheated oven, or until cookies are lightly colored. Do not bake longer than 8 minutes...they brown very quickly.
Point value: 2 pr. cookie

Serves about 24 cookies. An extremely easy recipe...if you love almonds, you will love these perfect little cookies!

Farfalle Pasta with Cream, Salmon, and Peas

I've been making this delicious pasta since the nineties but cannot remember the original source...I just know that it's absolutely divine! The only difference is, that I cut down on the butter and the heavy cream used in this dish to lighten it up a bit. There are other similar pasta dishes out there but with the smoked salmon, instead of the fresh and they don't use the petite frozen peas, or garnish it with dill. The fresh salmon gives it a lighter taste where you don't get that "smoky" aftertaste from the smoked salmon.

This beautiful dish represent Spring, it is also linked to #greenslove @ Mis Pensamientos and will be honoring St. Patrick's Day...although it's far from being an Irish dish, but at least it's green!

Farfalle Pasta with Cream, Salmon, and Peas
my own creation

12 ounces  (1 1/2 pound) Farfalle Pasta
1 Tbsp. unsalted butter
1 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1 shallot chopped
1/4 cup dry white wine
3/4 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
juice of one fresh lemon
1/2 pound fresh salmon with skin on
2 Tbsp. sliced thin scallions (green part only)
2 Tbsp. fresh dill snipped with kitchen shears
sea salt, and freshly ground pepper

Boil pasta in a large pot, less than al-dente. Drain pasta, reserving 1/2 cup. In a large wok or skillet, saute shallots till soft and wilted. Add the wine and cook down until almost evaporated. Add cream, and bring to a boil.Add the peas, and just let it cook for a minute or two in the cream. In the meantime bake, or cook in a skillet the salmon piece adding the 1 Tbsp olive oil and sprinkle a little sea salt, and freshly ground pepper.Cook for about 8 minutes (will be cooking for an addition 2 minutes combined in the pasta)

Add pasta to cream mixture, along with the lemon juice, lemon zest. With a fork flake the salmon in small pieces off from the skin, and add to the pasta mixture. Add the scallions, 1 Tbsp. of the fresh dill, and add the reserved pasta water, if needed. Adjust the seasoning with sea salt and pepper.You can also drizzle a little bit of the extra virgin olive oil on top.
Serves 4

May you always have walls for the winds,
a roof for the rain, tea beside the fire,
laughter to cheer you, those you love near you,
and all your heart might desire.

`Irish Blessing

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

My Haphazard Weight Watchers Challah

My attempt at making Challah bread would be best if I could call out for my deceased female members of my family on my mother's side. Each and every member of my family made the best Challah bread, not just for the Sabbath on Friday...which was never really explained to me when I was a young child, but for other Jewish holiday traditions as well.

I never had to make my own Challah bread all theses years, up until the late nineties after my last aunt passed away...then, the tradition was broken. I was way too busy working days, at an affluent Jewish Country Club and 3 nights a week working for a mega wealthy household in Palm Beach as a Private Chef. Good thing I didn't have to do any bread baking...that would require a "separate position!"...end of that story!
If any one should doubt what this bread is all about, here's a little history behind it!

The braided challah, which is made with eggs, is the Jewish Sabbath‑and‑holiday bread. It is surrounded by folklore and tradition and loaded with symbolism. On festive occasions a blessing is said over two loaves, symbolizing the two portions of the manna that was distributed on Fridays to the children of Israel during their Exodus from Egypt. The breads are covered on the table by a decorative challah cover or a white napkin, which represents the dew that collected on the manna in the morning. Poppy and sesame seeds sprinkled on the bread also symbolize the manna that fell from heaven. 

Challah is made in various sizes and shapes, all of which have a meaning.
 
Braided ones, which may have three, four, or six strands, are the most common, and because they look like arms intertwined, symbolize love.

 Three braids symbolize truth, peace, and justice.

 Twelve humps from two small or one large braided bread recall the miracle of the 12 loaves for the 12 tribes of Israel. Round loaves, “where there is no beginning and no end,” are baked for Rosh Hashanah to symbolize continuity. Ladder and hand shapes are served at the meal before the fast of Yom Kippur—the ladder signifying that we should ascend to great heights, the hand that we may be inscribed for a good year. On Purim, small triangular loaves symbolize Haman’s ears; at Shavuot, two oblongs side by side represent the Tablets of the Law. The bulkah is a segmented rectangular challah.

Sweet challahs with honey or raisins are baked during the festive season to bring joy and happiness.

The name “challah” is derived from the Hebrew word used for “portion” in the Biblical commandment “of the first of your dough you shall give unto the Lord a portion for a gift throughout your generations.

Linking to: Full Plate Thursday @ Miz Helen's Country Cottage 

Challah
from the Weight Watchers New Complete Cookbook


1/2 cup lukewarm water
1 1/2 cups + 2 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
1 envelope active dry yeast
1 large egg, beaten
2 teaspoon corn oil
2 teaspoon sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 egg white, beaten with 1 Tbsp. water
(I used one whole egg, beaten with ! Tbsp. water)
1/2 teaspoon poppy seeds

In a small bowl, combine the water and 1 Tbsp. of the flour; sprinkle with the yeast. Let stand until foamy, about 10 minutes. Stir in the egg and oil.

In a food processor, combine the remaining flour, the sugar, and salt. With the machine running, scrape the yeast mixture through the feed tube until the dough just forms a ball. Knead the dough by pulsing until it is smooth and elastic, about 30 times.

Spray a large bow with nonstick spray: place dough in the bowl. Cover loosely with plastic wrap or a damp towel and let the dough rise in a warm draft free place
until it double in volume, about 1 hour. Punch down the
dough; lightly sprinkle a work surface with flour.

 Divide into 3 equal pieces. Roll each piece between your palms.

Roll into an 18-inch rope between the palm of your hands.

Pinch ropes together at one end, and braid loosely.

Be sure to braid the three ropes loosely to allow room for the dough to rise the second time.
Cover loosely with a plastic wrap and let it rise in a warm, draft-free place until double in volume, about 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. 175 C. Brush the loaf with half of the egg white. Bake about 20 minutes...as seen in the photo...after 20 minutes. Brush with remaining egg white, and sprinkle with the poppy seeds, if you're using poppy seeds.

Bake until loaf sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom 10-15 minutes longer. Remove fro the baking sheet and cool completely on a rack.
Points value: 2

Note: this is an excellent small loaf of bread to bake, if you're not planning to make 2 loaves. 1 1/2 cups of flour, is such a small amount, compared to 3 to 5 cups used when baking breads. Simple and easy, just need practice with the braiding!






Not much to say about my weekend indulges...I practically ate the entire little loaf of bread by myself, before I got to share it with my family. Although, I did manage to lose 1 more pound...Total: 14lbs, and still going!

Two Black Bean Dishes..."kill two birds with one stone"

 

I'm so sorry to disappoint all of you with my simple dishes and not making ooey-gooey cupcakes, cakes, and super rich dishes, so I decided at least the things that I do make are healthy, and delicious...that is if you like black beans!
The one thing, or maybe two things you might have noticed since I started my Weight Watchers diet program, is that I'm concentrating more on making things look attractive, and improve on my photos, as well!

Remember that huge container of black beans? well, I made another big pot of black beans from dried black beans.
This first one is a delicious CUBAN BLACK BEANS, and the second one coming up, is my BLACK BEANS PAPAYA SALSA...I decided to "kill two birds with one stone"...I'm sure you've heard the meaning before!

Not my own photo...courtesy of National Geography

Realistically speaking...who would want to kill these beautiful Rainbow bee-eaters? The term killing two birds with one stone is "performing two tasks at the same time" has been mentioned that it originated from the Japanese, the Chinese, the Romans, and from a Greek Mythology! Well, they all can call it their own, but this famous Idiom Definition is referred by Hobbes, in 1841, in England. According to Hobbes, it was to "satisfy two arguments with one answer." It is almost impossible to kill two birds with one stone, unless they are sitting close together as these lovely birds!

My second bean dish is BLACK BEAN PAPAYA SALSA...a very nice, refreshing salsa that is perfect as a side dish with BBQ or just have around as a great snack to satisfy the in-between meals hunger!

Love this refreshing salsa, and so easy to make. I will post both recipes for you, and for the next post I will try to keep it on the sweet side by making a yummy dessert of some sorts!

Cuban Black Beans
adapted slightly from: Everyday Food from the
Kitchens of Martha Stewart Living

1 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium yellow onion diced
2 celery stalks diced
2 garlic cloves smashed, and peeled
2 carrots, diced  
1 1/4 teaspoons ground cumin
coarse salt, and ground black pepper
2 lbs dried black beans, soaked according
to package instructions
1 dried bay leaf
1 small bunch cilantro, stems and leaves separated, stems tied together with kitchen twine and leaves reserved

In a large Dutch oven, or a large heavy pot, heat oil over medium. Add onion, celery, and garlic, and cook until onion is softened, about 6 minutes. Add carrots and cumin, and cook until fragrant, 1 minute. Season with salt and pepper.

Add black beans, 8 cups water, bay leaf and cilantro stems and bring to a boil over high. Reduce heat and simmer until beans are tender and liquid is slightly thickened, about 1 1/2 hours. Season with salt and pepper. Remove bay leaf and cilantro stems. (To store, refrigerate up to 5 days or freeze up to 6 months. You will be able to use these beans to make other recipes with it. Makes 7 cups
Points value: 6

Black Bean Papaya Salsa
adapted by: All Recipes.com

2 cups cooked, or canned black beans
2 small, or 1 large papayas peeled seeded
 and diced small
1/2 red bell pepper diced small
3/4 cup pineapple juice
 ( I used 7 1/2 oz can crushed pineapple)
!/2 cup lime juice (4 limes)
(I used 2 limes)
2 Tbsp minced green chile peppers of your choice
( I also used 1/2 of a medium purple onion, diced)

Dice the papaya in small pieces

If your onion is large, just cut in half, wrap the other half and save for next time. Peel and dice in small pieces.

I used green chiles, sliced them with the seeds. You can slice in half, scrape the seeds out, and dice them if you don't want it too spicy.

Clean and slice half of the red bell pepper in thin long slice, and dice the pepper in small pieces.

 Rinse the black bean in cold running water, in a colander.

Chop a handful of fresh cilantro.

Layer all your ingredient in a big bowl. I also used about 2 teaspoon of jalapeno sauce...you can use red hot sauce if you can't get jalapeno sauce.

With a fork squeeze the lime into the bowl and just turn the fork well with one hand and squeeze with the other to get all the juices in there.

Sprinkle with the chopped cilantro, and stir together gently, and serve...Enjoy!
Points value: 6

Vegan Avocado-Tomato Toasts...for #greenslove

Not too long ago, my 5 year old grandson Luca, asked me what my favorite color is...and I answered "green." He immediately answered back, "no, you can't have that for your favorite color; that's my favorite color!"...well, I just laughed about that, which he did not think it was funny, and told him...then we must have the same "likes"...since he would translate "taste" if I would have said that, to FOOD!

"Green is the color of nature, fertility, life. Grass green is the most restful color. Green symbolizes self-respect and well being. Green is the color of balance. It also means learning, growth and harmony. Green is a safe color, if you don't know what color to use anywhere use green.

Green is favored by well balanced people. Green symbolizes the master healer and the life force. It often symbolizes money. It was believed green was healing for the eyes. Egyptians wore green eyeliner. Green eye shades are still used. You should eat raw green foods for good health. Friday is the day of green. Green jade is a sacred stone of Asia."

Oh, yes...FOOD...who would want to turn down glorious fresh, and green vegetables, especially when you have a "hum drum" just everyday kind of dish, wouldn't a nice bright green salad brighten up a dreary, or otherwise too rich of a dish, yearning for something fresh, and green? That's my kind of dish, anytime. a nice dish of fresh baby green spinach salad with red onions, sliced mushrooms and topped with a simple red wine vinaigrette...a side of fresh cucumber salad with cherry tomatoes, and a simple extra virgin olive oil, and fresh lime topping, or fresh green beans, steamed to perfection, still crunchy and to preserve the bright green color, just rinse it in cold water and throw some ice cubes on it!

The list goes on-and-on, and I'm not even mentioning the health benefits of the GREENS. We can probably all hear our mothers saying: "eat your vegetables!"...as boring as it seemed in our childhood days, we all benefited from that in our adulthood...so, may I remind you to EAT YOUR VEGETABLES?...It's so good for you...the fresher, the greener; the better!
I was so inspired by this healthy, simple, and totally delicious vegan open-face sandwich, and after a short trip to my local Whole Foods market I got some specialty items, and a few organic vegetables. I wanted to make a salad with avocado, and organic sprouts, organic tomatoes, but instead, I decided to try this sandwich from the fresh ingredients only because I bought a loaf of their amazing San Francisco Sourdough bread...get this; a whole entire beautiful round loaf of bread for only $3.99. I could not have baked a better loaf of sourdough bread myself. So here's the recipe!

Linking to: #greenslove @ cake duchess

Full Plate Thursday @ Miz Helen's Country Cottage
Thursday Favorite Things @ Katherines Corner


Vegan Avocado-Tomato Toasts
inspired, and adapted from: WholeLiving.com

4 slices Rustic bread toasted
2 avocados peeled and sliced
1 ripe tomato cut into slices
(I used 2 slices, saved the rest for salad)
a handful of organic sprouts
(I used organic clover sprouts)
1 lime cut into wedges
freshly ground black pepper
sea salt
extra virgin olive oil, for drizzle

Top toasted bread with avocado slices, some sprouts
salt and pepper and squeeze with some lime, and drizzle some extra virgin olive oil on it, lightly. Top with the tomato slice and some more salt and pepper, and drizzle some additional extra virgin olive oil on it, and top it with some extra sprouts. Have some extra slices, or wedges of lime!
This is a very satisfying sandwich, high in high in calories, carbs, protein, low in cholesterol, and and you get the "good" fats; also, I did the math with my WW calculator, and it came to a high point: 12

note: not to worry for the high point of a single slice of a very healthy and delicious sandwich, it is very filling, highly satisfying, and is a well accepted Weight Watchers choice,  from my vegan choice addition!

...and now, click over to some more interesting facts, and #greenslove photos...and for the winner of the LENOX candy dish giveaway!

You may think I'm "crazy"...actually it's the name of a song, which I can't remember who sang it...just the title!
You may think I'm a "nerd" or a "geek"...not even a "hopeless romantic"...but I do like to buy myself flowers of a nice combination of choice! This two combination bouquet, I bought at Whole Foods...love, love, green and pink, especially for spring, and just LOVE, WHOLE FOODS MARKET!

My chocolate mousse, topped with kiwi slices from exactly one year ago...just check out the amazing dessert/martini glass, a "thrift find"...no doubt from the seventies, brown, and green! It's actually on my blog, just not linking it, didn't have enough "raves" about it!

Aren't these glasses gorgeous? They are hand painted with pretty green petals...cost, $1.99 each, have not used them since last year...a set of 4.

I was so proud of my beautiful fresh, crunchy, organic, asparagus, grilled in my large cast iron skillet...priceless!

...or, this gorgeous healthy, and bright green basil plant planted in an "ugly generic" huge plastic bucket in Lora's back yard

OK...so don't laugh, this was also exactly one year ago, at a local little Tea House...I happened to wear my "Irish" lucky green shirt for St. Patrick's Day, and they had all kinds of hats at this charming place for you to try on...of course, I chose the GREEN!







Now, do you get the total picture how much I love green?...actually, I even have green eyes, but you can't see it cause I always "squint" when I smile!


Finally...for the winner of the LENOX candy dish giveaway...Jane, from Jane's Jewels is the winner!...which came out to # 15 on Random.Org. Could someone explain how to be able to copy and paste the actual widget showing the number...without having to register? I did have to widget on my side-bar, but it's useless, the  number doesn't stay on, and frankly it does not do any favor, so I removed it!

Congratulations Jane, I know you will love this little gem of a candy dish. LENOX is such a beautiful and exquisite American made product, and has been for decades...maybe even longer!
I will contact you on your blog as well, to e-mail me your address to ship it to!

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