Category: Recipes

The Holiday Dash...

12/15/2020

As sparkles glitter in the cold air with the crisp scent of Magic just slightly tickling her nose, Meen knows that it is almost that time again. This is her favorite month of each year and she does love going all out to deck the halls. Well, maybe not her halls, but the Shadow King does love seeing the finery around the palace too. Normally Meen took her time decorating, but not this year. She was in a rush. The little Pyksee was excited and wanted to head on over to Granny Flare's cottage to find out more about this new Pee-C Granny just received. The Twitter Birds have been chirping all day long about this new magic and it sounded like a lot of fun!

While Meen was hopping around the palace, Griselda was digging through the books in her library at the mansion. The colorful glo-bug lights and decorated tree certainly were putting her in the mood to curl up in front of the fireplace with a good book. What better place to read the stories of old and enjoy a nice cup of tea?

She too had heard of this wonderful magical toy that Parsley and Granny Flare were playing with. Maybe she would drop by and check it out herself later, but first that cup of tea.

As the Dowager continued looking through some of her books, out dropped a letter from an old friend that lived in a magical place called the North Pole. Now Griselda hadn't been able to stay in touch as much as she liked because the Twitter Birds didn't really like flying that north if they didn't have too. Plus the Mushroom Line wasn't reliable for popping up when the ground was covered in snow and ice. Somehow, they always seemed to get lost and always headed for warmer climates.

"Maybe there was something to this zooming stuff that the others were gossiping about," she thought. Griselda gathered up her letter from Mrs. Claus with the Coffee Cake Muffin Recipe and decided that a visit to Parsley just might be the thing to do. "Nothing like reaching out to friends far and near... or was that dear (*smiling*) for the holidays".

Cooking with a PEE - C!

12/8/2020

"Yep! The holidays are going to be soon here so I had better get busy with my cooking," thought Granny Flare. There is nothing better that this special little house Brownie enjoyed more than cooking for the holidays - other than maybe cooking with friends. But this year was different and Granny couldn't get together like she would have in the past. "I wish the gang and I were doing this together. There must be someway that could happen," she grumbled to herself.

That is when a message was delivered by a Bee G. It was Bee Glad who had showed up with a message from Parsley. Granny listened with interest as how the little Bee G explained that Parsley had found a new "Outie" tool called a PEE-C that was faster than the Mushroom Line and almost like opening a magical portal. Parsley was going to send one over today as she picked up a few for her friends. Now this was interesting!!!

As Granny continued to listen she found that when her PEE-C arrived, she was going to need to connect to something called a Zoom. There she would find a portal where she could cook and talk with Parsley just like she was in her kitchen.

After the PEE-C arrived Granny was glad she had listened to the instructions that Bee Glad had given her as she was soon connecting to this Zoom portal. Before you could say "Twitter Bird", Parsley was talking to Granny just like magic.

They were both so excited that they had this new toy to play with that they almost forgot that they had things to bake. That was until Sprout walked into Parsley's kitchen asking what was for dinner.

So, as Granny and Parsley dive into their cook books and herbs, let me share a recipe or two from them for this holiday season.

And if you haven't tried the gluten and dairy free pumpkin pies... click on this link to go there -
GLUTEN & DAIRY FREE PUMPKIN PIE RECIPIE (oops - Recipe)

What is Parsley...

9/17/2019

If Efem and Cornelia are coming over to Parsley's, then she better wake up and get her face on. As I am working with her face, I do feel like I paint in clay rather than sculpt in clay. Just like applying makeup to a face, it is all about the layering process.

Starting out with the foundation, then on to the eye shadows, then maybe a little contouring with the cheeks by adding some depth with another color - or in my case, by adding a little more clay.

As I continue to work on her face, what else does she reveal about herself? After all, our personality shines through our face. When she told me her name, I knew she was going to have a talent (or mis-talent *smiling*) in the kitchen. A fae who likes hanging around the kitchen or dabbling with the soup.

Maybe Parsley isn't necessarily a main ingredient to a meal, but it does add it's own flavor. Plus, I am enjoying discovering it's healing properties along the way, all which make for an interesting adventure.

In the meantime, Parsley is going to offer some recipes and cooking tips she hopes you enjoy while she is getting ready. Her first hint is... did you know that you can freeze avocados? I was reminded this summer that not everyone knew this - so here is her tip.

Simply peal and pit the avocados and then slice them to whatever size you like to work with. When I make something, I tend to use 1/2 of an avocado at a time, so my slices are more liked halves. Also keep in mind the ripeness of the avocado because whatever level of ripeness it is frozen at, is what it is when thawed.

After slicing, place the pieces on a cookie sheet. Sprinkle with a little lemon juice which helps them from not turning brown. Place the cookie sheet with the avocado slices in the freezer for about 10 minutes to freeze. Take them back out and bag them for long term freezing. That's all there is to it. Now you can have avocados all year around for cooking or making your favorite spreads.

My little "Honey Bee"

6/24/2019

So while Cornelia is away and Nemmer has his nose buried in the latest issue of "Arrows are Us - The Golden Guild Guide Book"... let's take a peek at a special secret recipe of hers.

Once the chocolate sauce is melted and the vanilla is added... spoon a small amount into the mini-muffin/candy pan. Note to self -- line pan with liners. Then set the pan into the freezer for about 10 minutes.

In the meantime, mix up the ingredients for the peanut butter center. No cooking involved there... just mixing it up in a bowl.

Pull the pan out of the freezer and then place a layer of the peanut butter mixture over the chocolate.

A few minutes in the freezer might help keep the chocolate that is the top layer from blending with the peanut butter level or leave a bigger space to add more chocolate to top it off with. Either way, place the final layer of the chocolate sauce on top and then place in the freezer for a good hour (I did mine overnight).

The buzz is that they are pretty easy to make. Plus they are gluten free and dairy free (though they do have peanuts). Almond butter could be substituted. Also I did put a pinch of vanilla in with the peanut butter mixture just because I always do *smiling*... Enjoy this little honey sweet.

The Nut Log Cookie - Dairy and Gluten Free!

12/13/2018

This recipe is going to be in two sections. First is the recipe for making dairy free condensed milk which is required for the Nut Log recipe.

The ingredients are so simple I couldn't believe why I never did this before. Add 2 3/4 cups of soy milk to 1/2 cup of white granulated sugar. Stir in the sugar while heating the milk on the stove top. The stove's setting should be set rather high.

The goal is to get it to start boiling. I kept stirring as to not let it burn. It still takes about 30 to 40 minutes before it starts to boil. Once it starts to boil, the heat can be turned down to a medium or lower.

Continue to stir and let it boil until the milk caramelizes. By the time it has caramelized, the milk should have reduced to just 1 cup of condensed milk. Try not to over-boil it, as it should be creamy and not pudding like (though mine was somewhere in-between). Add 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla.

Now on to MY version of Nut Logs. The ingredients are:

3/4 cup of chopped walnuts or sliced almonds
2 teaspoons of baking powder
1/2 cup of margarine
2/3 cup of condensed milk (I used my whole cup as it was thicker than normal store bought condensed milk)
1/2 cup of packed brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon of vanilla
2 1/4 cups of flour (I used Pamela's Gluten Free/Dairy Free)

Mix the flour and baking powder in a bowl. Add the margarine and condensed milk, brown sugar, and egg. Mix well and add vanilla and nuts. Take about a teaspoon of dough and roll out in hands (if wanting a log shape). Place on a greased pan and bake at 375 degrees for about 10 minutes. These cookies don't really expand or melt, so several can be placed on a cookie sheet. When they are lightly brown remove from oven and roll in powdered sugar. Enjoy!

Scarlet says "Haystacks Taste Delicious"...

11/30/2018

These are the brand names of the products I used (see picture). The Enjoy Life dark chocolate morsels are dairy, nut and soy free. If you want the cookies to be gluten free (because oatmeal may have some gluten) then substitute Rice Krispies cereal as a suggestion. Also coconut can be added if so desired.

The finished product... off to the freezer it goes. Holiday cooking is sooo much fun! Hope you enjoy the dairy free almost totally gluten free cookie recipe.

Gluten Free Pumpkin Pie Just In Time For The Holidays!!!

11/21/2017

Pumpkin Pie...
Gluten Free and Dairy Free

Ingredients for the Crust

1 ¾ cup of Pamela’s Bread Mix (gluten free)
¼ cup of margarine
¼ cup of shortening

Stir with a fork until crumbly.

You want the mix to stick together if you press it with your fingers.

Spray tart pans with PAM no-stick spray. Then divide the crust among four tart pans (I purchased mine from JoAnn’s Fabrics) and hand press the crust out.

Ingredients for Pie Filling

1 (15 ounce) can of Libby’s Pumpkin
¾ cup of Raw Sugar
1 tsp of cinnamon

½ tsp of ground ginger
¼ tsp of ground cloves
2 large eggs
12 ounces of Soy Milk

Mix together your ingredients and pour into your tart pans.

Now keep in mind that I like a lot more spice... so my individual pies do have at least twice as much spice as what is normally suggested. Also, with the amount of pie crust I made above, I could have possibility made 5 pie shells. You can freeze what you don’t use.

After filling the uncooked pie shells with the pie filling, I then place them in the oven at 350 degrees for approximately 45-50 minutes.

All that is left now is to figure out how to make the soy whipping cream...

Coffee Cake Muffins... hmmm...

11/16/2017

Jingle, jingle, jangle

12/3/2016

Jingle, jingle, jangle... It's my favorite time of year. I love all the lights, the smells, and the good cheer that floats in the air making everything feel magical. I have been hanging out with Mrs. C all day. I helped taste-test the sugar cookies and of course the hot coco (with 6 marshmallows) goes excellent with them. I even made sure there was just enough sprinkles on each of the cookies.

Now I am helping with the packages. Ribbons and bows, tags and mistletoe, what fun I am having now. If you would like to join in, I think I can get you a copy of Mrs. C's Sugar Cookie Recipe. Check below...jingle, jingle... off I go.

Dam Good Sugar Cookies

Cream together: 1 pound of butter (four cubes)
1 cup of powder sugar
1 cup of white granulated sugar

Add: 2 eggs and beat
4 cups of flour
1 teaspoon of cream of tartar
1 teaspoon of baking soda
1 teaspoon of vanilla (*optional..can also add ½ of teaspoon of almond with the vanilla - that's what I like to do.)

Chill for an hour then roll into balls. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes or until light brown. The dough can also be rolled out flat and cut into shapes.

Starting off the Holiday Cheer!

11/27/2016

I associate so many memories to smell or taste and the best tasting memories are from Christmas. So I thought I would go bug Mrs. C and see what she might suggest to start off our Holiday Cheer.

Here is one of her's and my favorite recipes - the
Three Layer Fudge Cookie Bar

Ingredients:
1 - cup of butter
2 - eggs
2 - cups of brown sugar
1 - teaspoon of baking soda
2 - teaspoons of vanilla
1 - teaspoon of salt (I never used)
2 ½ - cups of flour
3 - cups of oatmeal

Mix all together and divide in half. Place one of the halves of filling in a greased 9x9 inch pan. The other half will be crumbled over the top. I like the base a little baked... so I put it in the oven for about 5 minutes before adding the other layers.

Filling: 2 - cups of semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 - 14 ounce can of Eagle Brand Sweetened Condensed Milk
2 - tablespoons of butter
2 - teaspoons of vanilla

Melt together the chocolate chips and butter. This can be done in the microwave and the length of time depends on your microwave oven. I did mine for about 1 minute. Next, add the milk and vanilla and stir until smooth. Spread the mixture on top of the first layer. Then top off with the remaining second half of the oatmeal mixture.

Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes... or until lite brown, and then watch them disappear!!!