Recipe for Family Fun

Here is something I did for family home evening tonight. I read about it in my book called The Potentially Sane Mother's Guide to Raising Young Children by Tamara A. Fackrell. The first section is about the family team. We read Matthew 12:25 and discussed being united as a family team and working together. The family teaching activity was called: Homemade Ice Cream Team. Here is the recipe (if it wasn't healthy for our bodies it was healthy for family unity!):

Ice Cream Ingredients:
1 quart whole milk
1 quart half and half (I only bought half the amount by accident, but it still worked)
2 cups sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Other items:
Ice (tons!!!!)
Rock Salt (Lots!)
1 gallon-sized zipper bag
1 pint-sized zipper bag for every two people

Mix the ice cream ingredients together and pour the mixture back into the containers.
Have family members pair up or rotate bags (that's what we did).
One partner takes a large bag, and the other takes a small bag.
Fill the large bag half full of ice and sprinkle in plenty of rock salt (two adults handfuls, 3-4 small child handfuls).
Pour the milk mixture into the small bag until it's half full. Press all the air out of the small bag and place it inside the large one. Press all the air out of the large bag.
To make ice cream, the bag needs constant movement. Work in teams to keep it constantly moving until you reach your goal. The process takes about fifteen minutes--ten if you prefer a milkshake!
Add toppings to make your treat even more delicious.
Talk about how this activity involved teamwork. Sometimes the team members' hands got cold--sometimes teamwork can be uncomfortable--but it is nice to share the burden with another person. Explain that working together is sometimes hard, but sweet is the reward. Matthew 12:25.

This was a great activity even for my young family. I have never had all my kids attention at family home evening and not one of them left to do something else! They all wanted to help, and we did have cold hands afterwards. We also ran out of ice, so my hubby ran outside to get some!!! Thanks goodness it's winter time. The ice from outside worked like a charm. Hopefully you can all do this activity sometime. I'll never buy an ice cream maker now that I know all you need it are a couple of plastic bags!!!

Sour Chick-Peas

Here's one more Indian recipe that our friends made for us.

2 1/4 cups chick-peas, washed and drained
7 1/2 cups water
3 medium onions
2 1/2 teaspoons salt (yikes)
1 fresh, hot green chili, finely chopped
1 tablespoon peeled, very finely, grated ginger
4 tablespoons lemon juice
2 medium tomatoes, finely chopped
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
2 teaspoons garam masala
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Soak the chick-peas in the water for 20 hours. Put the chick-peas and their soaking liquid into a large pot and bring to a boil. Cover, lower heat, and simmer gently for 1 1/2 hours or until the chick-peas are tender. Strain the chick-peas and save the cooking liquid.

Put 2 tablespoons of the copped onions, 1/2 teaspoon of the salt and the green chili, ginger, and lemon juice into a small cup. Mix well and set aside.

Put a little oil in a heavy, wide pot and set over medium-high heat. When hot, put tin the remaining copped onions. Stir and saute for about 8-10 minutes or until the onion bits develop reddish brown spots. Add the tomatoes. Continue to stir and saute for another 5-6 minutes, mashing the tomato pieces with the back of a slotted spoon. Put in the coriander, cumin, and turmeric. Stir and cook for about 30 seconds. Now put in the drained chick-peas and 1 3/4 cups of their cooking liquid, the remaining salt, garam masala, and cayenne. Stir to mix and bring to a simmer. Cover, turn heat to low, and cook very gently for 20 minutes. Stir a few times during this period. Add the mixture in the cup. Stir again to mix. Serve hot or lukewarm.

Mixed Vegetables in a Mustard and Cumin Sauce

This past Friday our neighbors had us over from some Indian food. It was really, really good so I'm posting the recipes before I forget and have to return his book!

1 lb. potatoes, boiled, cooled, and peeled
1 medium-sized cauliflower, broken into fairly chunky florets
8 cloves garlic
3 inch piece of ginger, peeled and coarsely chopped
4 tablespoons plus 2 1/2 cups water
1 teaspoon black mustard seeds (If only I could find these here!!!)
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1/4 teaspoon kalonji (I have no idea what this is and our friend admitted to leaving it out)
1/4 teaspoon fennel seeds
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon ground cumin
2 teaspoons ground coriander
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 1/4-1 1/2 teaspoons salt (I would probably not use this much. It's a little to much for my piece of mind!)
2 cups finely chopped tomatoes
2 medium-sized carrots, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch thick rounds
1/2 teaspoon garam masala (this is a spice blend)
2 cup peas, fresh, or frozen and defrosted


Cut the potatoes into thick "chips" about 1 1/2 inches long. Put a little oil in a wok or frying pan and saute until golden. Remove and place on a plate lined with paper towels. Repeat with cauliflower. Remove.

Put the ginger and garlic into the a food processor or blender with 4 tablespoons of water and blend until you have a smooth paste, pushing down with a rubber spatula when necessary.

Put a little oil in a pan and when hot add mustard seeds and cumin seeds. As soon as the mustard seeds begin to pop put in the kalonji and 2 seconds later the fennel seeds. Give one quick stir and add the paste from the blender. Stir and saute for 2 minutes. Put in the turmeric, ground cumin, ground coriander, and cayenne. Stir once or twice and put in the salt and tomatoes. Stir and cook until most of the liquid has evaporated and the tomatoes are soft. Add 2 1/2 water and bring to a simmer. Cover, turn heat to low, and simmer for about 7 minutes. Put in the carrots, cover again, and simmer for 3 minutes. Now put in the garam masala, peas, potatoes, and cauliflower. Mix gently and bring to a simmer. Cover and continue to simmer on low heat for 6-7 minutes, stirring gently now and then.

Sweet Potato, coconut and shrimp soup

My friend has this soup on her blog. It was really really good. I didn't add the shrimp but I can imagine how yummy it would be with shrimp in it. Our soup was exciting because the sweet potatoes here are purple at the moment! My oldest thought it was the greatest idea to have purple soup!

smidge of olive oil
1 c. chopped onion
1 c. chopped red bell pepper
3/4 c. chopped celery
2 cloves minced garlic
4 c. peeled, cubed sweet potatoes
1 T grated ginger root
3/4 tsp cumin
3/4 tsp coriander
3/4 tsp curry
1/4 tsp cinnamon
2 cups chicken broth
1 can light coconut milk
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
3 T cilantro
3 T basil leaves, fresh, chopped
2 T peanut butter
1 T brown sugar
1 T lime juice
1 lb cooked medium shrimp, tails removed

In soup pot, cook onions, pepper, celery and garlic until soft. Stir in sweet potatoes, ginger root, and bottled spices. Cook for 30 seconds. Add broth, coconut milk, and pepper. Bring soup to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 10 minutes, just until sweet potatoes are tender.
Transfer half the soup to a blender and puree until smooth. Return pureed soup to pot with remaining soup. Stir in cilantro, basil, peanut butter, brown sugar, and lime juice. Mix well. Add shrimp and heat for about 2 more minutes, just until shrimp is hot.

Brownie Fruit Pizza

1 cup whole wheat pastry flour

1 cup sweetener (I've used maple syrup, date sugar, and pureed dates into the tofu)

1/4 cup cocoa powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 12.3 oz. package Mori-Nu Lite Silken Tofu, firm or extra firm (I've used other types of tofu and it is fine)

1/2 cup fortified soy milk or rice milk

1 1/2 teaspoons cider vinegar

1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

 

Preheat over to 350. Stir flour, sweetener (if dry), cocoa, baking soda, and salt together in a large mixing bowl.  Puree tofu in a food processor or blender until completely smooth, then blend in milk, vinegar, and vanilla. Add tofu mixture to dry ingredients and stir just enough to mix. Spread batter on a cookie sheet. Bake for about 10-15 minutes. Cool. I spread a macadamia nut cream on the brownie. (Macadamia nut cream: 2/3 cup dates, 1 1/3 cup macadamias, 1 cup soymilk) You could try spreading a low sugar jam on it as well or whatever you want. Then add fruit of choice. I added apple, banana, pineapple, kiwi, mandarin, oranges and a little coconut on mine.

Crispy Caribbean Veggie Wraps

These are so good. My youngest daughter kept eating these and wouldn't stop! Be sure to double the recipe. You'll be glad you did.

 

1 medium sweet potato

1/2 cup canned black beans, rinsed and drained (I actually added the whole can of beans)

1/4 cup red onion

2 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro

1 tablespoon lime juice

1 teaspoon each ground cumin and chopped jalapeno

1 garlic clove

1/4 cup water

22 wonton wrappers (I couldn't find them so I used lumpia wrappers cut into fourths)

1 1/2 cups salsa

 

Bake or microwave the sweet potato until tender. Cool. Slit potato and scoop pulp into a small bowl.  Mash pulp; stir in the next eight ingredients. Lightly brush water over all four edges of one wonton wrapper.  (Keep wrappers covered with a damp paper towel until ready to use.) Spread 1 tablespoon filling along one edge of the wrapper; roll up tightly.  Repeat with remaining wrappers and filling.  Place on a baking sheet coated with nonstick cooking spray. Lightly spray wraps with nonstick cooking spray. Bake at 375 for 15 minutes or until golden brown.  Serve with salsa.

Veggie Turkey Roast

8 oz. cashew nuts, raw, whole and ground

4 oz. whole wheat bread crumbs

1 egg, beaten (optional)

1 onion, small and finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, crushed

3 parsnips, medium-sized, coarsely chopped (or any other white root vegetable, parsnips, potatoes etc.)

1 teaspoon rosemary, fresh or 1/2 teaspoon dried

1 teaspoon thyme, fresh, or 1/2 teaspoon dried

pinch of sage (I put in  more)

1 teaspoon miso (Asian food section)

1/2 cup water, hot

3 tablespoons olive oil

8 oz. mushrooms, chopped

 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix ground cashews with breadcrumbs. If using egg, add to dry ingredients. Steam parsnips until soft and then mash. Add parsnips and herbs to nut mixture. Water saute onion, garlic and mushrooms and then add to the nut mixture. Dissolve miso in 1/2 cup hot water, then add to mixture and mix thoroughly. Grease baking tray with olive oil and shape mixture to look like a turkey or place in a loaf pan, or shape like a loaf on a baking tray. Bake for 1 hour covered, last 15 minutes uncovered. Check earlier as sometimes it is done before an hour.