It
has been a long 5 months since the Make & Take Gals gathered to
share in our shared passion of learning and creating. Lives are changing
and we all seem to be on the move into a new phase of life where jobs,
reinvention, travel, and weddings are pulling us from the steady hummm
of growing families to reengaging with husbands and life in new ways.
When we gathered around Jean's table this month, it was sweet and
inspiring. Catching up on life events and telling stories of dreams and
hopes. Life is on the move for the 4 of us but when we are together, the
magic still unfolds in our support and care of each other.
This
month Jean hosted a wonderful outdoor lunch on a 70+ degree day here in
Portland. We sipped Strawberry Honey Lime Spritzers while the scent of
wisteria and lilacs enveloped our gathering. Jean made a stunning Quinoa
Salad, Cucumber Salad and nan that had all of us demanding recipes.
Each unique and guaranteed bring satisfaction to your family table. She
then unveiled her, from scratch and gluten free, Almond Joy Brownies,
Buckeye Brownies and Rhubarb Crumble Bars. Sated we made our best effort
to wrap up our work on the Ball Jar Candles and darling cards we were
making.
RECIPES
Crunchy
Cashew Thai Quinoa Salad with Ginger Peanut Dressing {vegan, gluten-free
Ingredients
¾ cup uncooked quinoa
1-2 cups shredded red
cabbage, depending on how much crunch you like
1 red bell pepper, diced
½ red onion, diced
1 cup shredded carrots
½ cup chopped cilantro
¼ cup diced green onions
½ cup cashew halves or
peanuts (honey-roasted is good)
Optional: 1 cup edamame or
chickpeas
Fresh lime, for a bit of
tang
For the dressing:
¼ cup all natural peanut
butter
2 teaspoons freshly grated
ginger
3 tablespoon soy sauce,
gluten-free if desired
1 tablespoon honey (use
agave if vegan)
1 tablespoon red wine
vinegar
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon olive oil
Water to thin, if necessary
Instructions
1. To cook quinoa: Rinse quinoa with cold
water in mesh strainer. In a medium saucepan, bring 1 ½ cups of water to a
boil. Add in quinoa and bring mixture to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to low and
let simmer for 15 minutes or until quinoa has absorbed all of the water. Remove
from heat and fluff quinoa with fork; place in large bowl and set aside to cool
for about 10 minutes. You should have a little over 2 cups of quinoa.
2. To make dressing: Add peanut butter and
honey or agave to a medium microwave safe bowl; heat in microwave for 20
seconds. Add in ginger, soy sauce, vinegar, and both sesame and olive oil and
stir until mixture is smooth and creamy. If you want a thinner dressing, simply
stir in a teaspoon or two of water or olive oil.
3. Add as much or as little dressing as you’d
like to the quinoa. I always start out with a little bit of dressing and
usually add more to suit my taste preferences. Alternatively you can save the
dressing for later and add when you are ready to eat; however the flavors of
the dressing usually soak into the salad so I love adding it to the quinoa
first.
4. Next fold in red pepper, onion, cabbage,
carrots, and cilantro into the quinoa. Garnish with cashews and green onions.
Serve chilled or at room temperature with lime wedges if desired.
Nutrition Information
Serving
size: 1/6th of recipe Calories: 260 Fat: 13.5g
Carbohydrates: 27.7g Sugar: 7g Fiber: 4.3g Protein: 8.6g
Sweet and Sour Cucumber Salad
INGREDIENTS
2 English (or regular) cucumbers (1 1/2
pounds total), unpeeled, very thinly sliced
1 tablespoon coarse kosher salt
1/2
cup distilled white vinegar
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh dill
3 tablespoons
sugar
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
DIRECTIONS
Makes 6 to 8 servings.
1.Place
cucumber slices in colander. Sprinkle with salt; toss to coat. Let stand 15
minutes, stirring occasionally.
2.Meanwhile,
for dressing, stir vinegar, dill, sugar, and pepper in large bowl until sugar
is dissolved.
Drain cucumbers well; pat dry. Add cucumbers to dressing and
stir to blend.
Strawberry, Honey & Lime
Spritzer
Ingredients
Strawberry
Honey & Lime Puree
1
lb of ripe strawberries, washed and chopped
1/4
cup of raw honey
Zest
from 1 lime
Strawberry
Honey & Lime Sptrizer
1/4
cup Strawberry Honey & Lime Puree (more if you like your drink sweet!)
Juice
from 1/2 a lime (optional)
Sparkling
water
Ice
Lime
wedge to garnish
Instructions
1. Wash
and chop all of your strawberries, then set them aside in a heatproof bowl.
2. Measure
out your raw honey and add it to a small sauce pan with your lime zest. Heat
your honey over low heat until the mixture starts to bubble. Allow it to bubble
for 1 to 2 minutes while stirring and then remove it from the heat.
3. Pour
the hot honey and lime syrup over your strawberries and stir together until all
of your strawberries are coated. Allow this mixture to sit for at least 20
minutes. Your strawberries will start to absorb the liquid and become soft and syrupy.
4. Once
the strawberries are done, you can add them to a blender. Blend together until
a puree forms. This will only take 30 seconds or so.
5. To
assemble your cocktail you will need a glass full of ice, half of a lime and
your shot of vodka. You will also need your sparkling water. I simply used
water made with my soda stream, but you can use tonic water if that is what you
have on hand. Pour your puree into the bottom of the glass over your ice cubes.
Now add your shot of vodka. If you like your drink to be a little on the tart
side you can add the juice from 1/2 of a lime. Fill the remainder of your glass
with sparkling water and stir.
6. If
you are planning on making these non-alcoholic, omit the vodka, but repeat all
of the other steps.( I suspect that this would also we very good with a little
bit of lemonade in the mix.)
Garnish with a fresh lime wedge and enjoy!
Buckeye
Brownies
Ingredients:
• Brownies (see recipe below)
• 2 c. powdered sugar
• 1/2 c. plus 6 T. butter, softened and
divided
• 8-oz. jar creamy peanut butter
Instructions:
Prepare and bake brownie recipe below.
Let cool. Mix powdered sugar, 1/2 cup butter and peanut butter. Mix well and
spread over cooled brownies. Chill for one hour. Melt together chocolate chips
and remaining butter in a saucepan over low heat, stirring occasionally. Spread
over brownies. Let cool; cut into squares. Makes 2 to 3 dozen.
Almond Joy Brownies
Prepare and bake brownie recipe (below) and allow to
cool. Mix all ingredients for filling
except almonds. Spread on top of cooled
brownies. Chill until coconut is
firm. Melt chocolate chips and butter in
a saucepan over low heat. Allow to cool
slightly . Cut brownies into squares and
top with a whole almond. Cover each
brownie with chocolate sauce, allowing it to drip over the sides. Cool.
Ingredients for filling and
Chocolate Sauce:
• 5 fl oz sweetened condensed milk
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 14 ounces shredded sweetened coconut
• 3/4 cup whole toasted almonds
Chocoate Sauce:
• 9 oz semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 9 Tbsp butter
Brownies – modified
from Good Housekeeping
4 oz unsweetened chocolate
2 sticks (1 cup) butter
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
1 cup flour
1 tsp vanilla
½ tsp salt
1 package (12 oz) dark chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 350, grease a 9 x 13 pan. In a saucepan over
low heat, melt chocolate and butter, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and add sugar. Let cool slightly. Add eggs, one at a time, whisking until
blended after each egg. Add flour,
vanilla, and salt. Add in chocolate
chips. Pour into pan, bake 30 minutes.
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