To Thine Own Self, Be Food

On a whim, I tried a recipe for "Jello Cookies", found in The Sensible Cook's 52 Weeks of Healthy Cooking .  Well, not really on a whim...I had a wayward box of blueberry jello hidden in the back of my pantry that really needed to be used. ...and was I super-surprised!  Easy and tasty.  I've made them several times since, experimenting with different flavors of Jell-O (think about how many batches are possible!).  My eleven-year-old daughter can actually make these by herself, without any assistance from me.  Now, that's a testament! 2/3 cup butter 1/3 cup sugar 1/2 tsp baking powder 1 pkg (3 oz) of sugar-free Jell-O mix 1 egg white 1/2 tsp vanilla 1 3/4 cups flour Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Beat butter and sugar until well-blended.  Stir in baking powder, jello, egg white, and vanilla.  Gradually add in flour until blended.  Dough will be soft. Shape dough into a two-inch balls (I use a small cookie scoop), and place on ungr...

No kidding! There are days when I dream of preparing a lavishly laid out table...several colorful foods crowding the table, tendrils of steam rising from the tureens and crocks, succulent platters of savory meats, tender-crisp vegetables, and not to mention a wonderful variety of breads and sweets. And then there's reality.  And that's when I make dishes like this: Let me describe what you're looking at.  Mixed vegetables and canned vegetarian chili atop a dense cornbread bottom.  If you make this dish, know what else you'll be looking at?  An empty dinner table!  An empty dishwasher!  Because you've got everything you need in one casserole! Cornbread-Chili Bake 1 1/4 cups yellow cornmeal 1/2 tsp salt 4 cups boiling water 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese 3 cans (15 oz) fat-free vegetarian chili 1 pkg (16 oz) frozen mixed veg, thawed and drained Preheat oven to 350.  Bring water to a boil, then gradually whisk in cornmeal and salt....

Just a little change of scenery here at "Be Food".  Pink is an especially favorite color of mine.  And it makes me think of frosting and cakes and watermelon and jelly beans. Not good things, I know...but still...

April 18.  Supposedly, that's when the vanilla yogurt in my refrigerator "expires". Yogurt, being a versatile dairy product, makes a great addition to muffins.  And nothing goes with vanilla yogurt better than blueberries, right? That's what I thought too! So, courtesy of www.joyofbaking.com, I give you Blueberry Muffins.  Way easy and delicious.  I look forward to reporting on how they taste in the morning. Blueberry Muffins: 1 cup yogurt (regular or low fat) 1 large egg , lightly beaten 1/4 cup canola or corn oil 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 2 cups all-purpose flour 1/2 cup granulated white sugar 1 teaspoon baking powder 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/4 teaspoon salt 1 1/4 cups fresh or frozen blueberries *Note: If using frozen blueberries, do not thaw before adding them to the batter. Preheat ove...

Okay, so I've been chipping around with a new bread recipe, which you can find at Jenn's Eat Cake For Dinner ( Great Harvest Honey Whole Wheat Bread ).  This bread does not call for sourdough...so that begs the question: to keep my sourdough from getting old, what other recipes can I use it in? Chocolate cake.  Of course.  When I think of one, I naturally think of the other. Enter this recipe from (where else?) www.allrecipes.com: Sourdough Chocolate Cake .  It was a decent enough jumping-off place.  The end result was a bit dry, and reading through the comments included with the recipe, I discovered certain substitutions that would render a moister cake...I sure wish I'd read the reviews before baking. But, then, it occurs to me, I have a perfectly good chocolate cake recipe.  An awesome one, in fact.  I found it on the back of a container of Hershey's baking cocoa (but for you, it's here ).  The only thing missing is sourdough...but why co...

I really had no intention of doing anything special, food-wise, for today's holiday.  However, after an excellent night of sleep and two hours of invigorating yard work, I was suddenly compelled to whip up an Easter feast. The 2.5 lb ham was at attention, defrosted, in my fridge.  An allrecipes.com recipe for "Apricot Brown Sugar Ham" saluted me from in my inbox this morning.  Two elderly, valorous zucchini cried out to be used.  A bag of frozen green beans waited at the ready to march into culinary battle. Okay, enough with the military metaphor.  You get it.  I was able to piece together the following meal: Apricot Brown Sugar Ham Green Beans Amandine Mashed Potatoes Zucchini Cake with Vanilla Glaze I confess, the potatoes were instant.  I don't feel guilty - everything else was from scratch. For the green beans, the almonds were to be toasted.  Now, I've never toasted nuts.  It daunted me.  What if I toasted them...wrong...