Herbalrog - Hello Delicious!

Vegetable Tian

Ingredients:
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 medium yellow onion
1 tsp. minced garlic
1 medium zucchini
1 medium yellow squash
1 medium potato
1 medium tomato
1 tsp. dried thyme
to taste salt & pepper
1 cup shredded Italian cheese

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 180 (400 degrees f) Finely dice the onion and mince the garlic. Sauté both in a skillet with olive oil until softened (about five minutes).

While the onion and garlic are sautéing, thinly slice the rest of the vegetables.

Spray the inside of an 8x8 square or round baking dish with non-stick spray. Spread the softened onion and garlic in the bottom of the dish. Place the thinly sliced vegetables in the baking dish vertically, in an alternating pattern. Sprinkle generously with salt, pepper, and thyme.

Cover the dish with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the foil, top with cheese and bake for another 15-20 minutes or until the cheese is golden brown

simfoniadesigns:

Art copyright Sandra “Raiin” Glenn of Simfonia Designs, 2013
Personal product logo for my Adagio tea blends. DO NOT STEAL.

Huntwitch Inspired

• “Forest Floor”
• “Woodland Smoke”
• “The Meadow” 
• “Spring Green”
• “Moon’s Gaze”
• “Moonlit Night”
• “Sun’s Warmth”
• “Sunny Afternoon”
• “Lover’s Embrace”

House Tumblr Witches

• “House Inglenook” (khalheyokha)
• “House Crooked Crown” (thiscrookedcrown)
• “House Wolf” (syristones)
• “House Balrog” (balrogtheherbasaurusrex)
• “House Huntress” (stagkingswife)
• “House Cannibal” (cannibalcoalition)
• “House Landwalker” (breelandwalker)
• “House Candied Condom” (candybarsandcondoms)
• “House Raehex” (raehex)
• “House Smiles” (rainingsmilesnow)
• “House Sexy Thing” (yousexything-tardis)
• “House Goop” (d-whiney)
• “House Boneshaker” (littleboneshaker)
• “House Beewitch” (beewitch)
• “House Jupiter” (thechubbygoth)
• “House Deshret” (satdeshret)
• “House Catfox” (catsteaandtentacles)
• “House Deercat” (Ow-Deer)
• “House Honeycake” (wildlingoreiad)
• “House Autumn” (kiasyd)
• “House Rose” (brynja-storm)
• “House Dytiern” (dytiern)

Asparagus Filled Phyllo Pastries

Ingredients:
1 package phyllo dough, defrosted
1 stick unsalted butter, melted
1 bunch green asparagus, trimmed
1/2 cup parmesan cheese, grated
Coarse ground pepper
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 tbsp grated horseradish
1 tsp capers, mined
2 tsp whole seed mustard
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
If making immediately, preheat your oven to 350F.

In a small bowl, combine the mayo, horseradish, capers and mustard. Taste and adjust seasonings. Reserve until ready to serve.

Bring a large pot of heavily salted water to a boil. Toss in the trimmed asparagus and blanch for 2 minutes, or until bright green. Drain into a colander and shock in a large bowl of ice water. Pat with paper towels and set aside. (This can be done a day ahead)

Remove phyllo from package and place a barely damp towel over it to keep it from drying out. (If the towel is sopping the phyllo will get mushy. And that is no good.).

Remove one sheet and lay it out on your work surface. Brush with a thin layer of melted butter, then sprinkle on some parmesan and then pepper. Place another layer on top and repeat with the butter and cheese, until you have 3 layers.

Divide the phyllo into 5 equal strips and then down the center so you have 10 rectangles.

Position a stalk of the asparagus on the bottom edge of a rectangle and roll it up. Brush the tips and outside with more butter and place on a lined sheet pan, seam side down.

When ready, bake until golden brown, approx. 15 minutes. Serve hot with dipping sauce.

(Source: what2cook)

Tomato and Watermelon Salad

Ingredients:
3 or 4 small to medium heirloom tomatoes, in assorted colors, cored and cut into 3/4-inch chunks
1 small English or regular cucumber, peeled, seeded, and cut into 3/4-inch cubes
1 cup 3/4-inch-cubed yellow or red seedless watermelon flesh
1 Hass avocado, halved, pitted, peeled, and cut into 3/4-inch cubes
1 tablespoon chopped mixed fresh herbs, in any combination: basil, tarragon, chives, and cilantro
1/4 teaspoon coriander seed
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons aged balsamic vinegar
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions:
In a bowl, combine the tomatoes, cucumber, watermelon, avocado, and herbs. In a spice grinder, grind the coriander seeds to a fine powder. Add the ground coriander to the tomato mixture and toss gently.

In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and salt and pepper to taste. Pour over the tomato mixture and toss to coat evenly. Taste and adjust the seasoning before serving.

(Source: what2cook)

Milk Oolong Tea Cookies

Ingredients:
2 cups flour
6 T milk oolong
2 pinches salt
1 cup butter, softened (just leave it out overnight)
1/2 cup confectioner’s sugar
1 dash almond extract (I bet vanilla would do brilliantly as well)
 Halved almonds or halved walnuts for Garnish

Directions:
Grind the milk oolong with a mortar and pestle. Sift the twigs and stems and larger pieces away from the powder and dispose of. Repeat process until you have something akin to a Matcha powder, only with Oolong.

Mix the faux matcha, flour, and salt in the smaller mixing bowl.
Mix butter, sugar, and splash of almond extract in the larger bowl. Now mix them more. And more. Make this as soft and homogeneous as you can.

Add the flour mix to the butter mix, bit by bit. Divide in two.

Place one half on the wax paper. Holding the ends of the paper up, roll the dough around a bit to convince it to look like a vaguely-cylindrical log, aiming for a log about 2” in diameter.

Fold the paper over the log and close the ends, kinda like a candy wrapper. Repeat process for other half of the dough batch.

Place the logs on a small tray and freeze for about an hour (no longer).

Preheat your oven to 350F.

Take the logs out of the freezer, cut them into slices between 1/4in and 1/2in. Lay them out on an ungreased pan (or two), about 1/2in to 1in apart. If you want to put halved almonds or something atop them before baking, now’s your time!

Bake for 10-15 minutes. Watch them closely! You don’t want them to actually change color, only to get kinda golden around the edges.

Remove from oven, allow to cool, then eat.

Lemon Honey Chamomile Cookies

Ingredients:
2¾ cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon baking powder
5 chamomile tea bags or 4 tablespoons loose leaf tea
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 large egg
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Zest of 2 large lemons
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
6 tablespoons honey
½ cup sugar for rolling cookies

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350ºF.

If using loose leaf tea bags, food process the chamomile tea until it is fine. I also sifted it through a strainer to get rid of any larger pieces that wouldn’t grind.

Combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, finely ground tea, and salt in a medium bowl.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat together butter and sugar until light and fluffy.

Beat in egg, vanilla, lemon zest, lemon juice, and honey.

Slowly add the dry ingredients, and mix until just combined.

Drop teaspoon-sized balls of dough onto a parchment-lined baking sheet about an inch apart.

Bake 10-12 minutes, until lightly browned.

Makes about 50 cookies

Green Tea Cream Puffs

Ingredients:

Choux paste:
8 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup water
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1 tablespoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup all-purpose flour, sifted
5 large eggs

egg wash: 1 yolk mixed with 1 tbs milk or cream

Green tea pastry cream:
1 ½ teaspoons unflavored gelatin
2 tablespoons water
2 cups whole milk
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 tablespoons Matcha (green tea) powder
4 tablespoons cornstarch
1/2 cup + 2 tbsp sugar
2 large eggs
4 tbsp unsalted butter
1 cup heavy cream

Directions:

Choux paste:
In a medium saucepan, bring the butter, milk, water, salt, and sugar to a gentle boil. Remove from the heat and add the sifted flour and baking powder all at once. Stir energetically with a wooden spoon and return to the heat. Cook, stirring constantly, until a dough forms and the excess moisture evaporates, about 2 to 3 minutes.

Transfer the mixture to the bowl of a Kitchenaid equipped with the paddle. Beat the mixture on medium for 15 seconds and start adding the eggs one by one. Mix until the dough (paste) is smooth and shiny.

Spoon the batter into a pastry bag with a large round tip, pipe into mounds that are about 2 inches across onto a lightly greased baking sheet or a silpat. Leave about a 2-inch space between mounds. Brush the tops with egg wash and make them even with the back of a spoon or fork.

Bake at 350°F for 30 to 35 minutes, until puffed and golden-brown.

To finish: Dig a hole at the bottom with a chopstick. Fill another pastry bag with a small round tip with the green tea cream and pipe the cream inside the puffs. Dust with powdered sugar.

Green tea pastry cream:
In a small dish, sprinkle the gelatin over the water to soften and set aside.

Pour the milk into a heavy saucepan. Add the salt, place over medium-high heat, and bring to just under a boil. Whisk in the green tea powder.

Meanwhile, in a mixing bowl, whisk together the cornstarch and sugar. Add the eggs and whisk until smooth.

When the milk is just under a boil, add about 1/3 of the milk mixture into the egg mixture, whisking constantly. Pour the egg-milk mixture back into the hot milk and continue whisking over medium heat until the custard thickens and start bubbling, about 2 minutes.

Remove from heat and immediately pour through a sieve into the bowl. Add the gelatin mixture and whisk until incorporated. Let cool for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Cut the butter into chunks. Whisk the butter into the pastry cream 1 tablespoon at a time. Cool the green tea cream completely.

Whip the heavy cream to soft peaks. When the green tea cream is cold, gently fold the whipped cream into it until fully incorporated.

Fill the puffs with the green tea cream.

Serves: 6

Stuffed Mushrooms

Ingredients:
6 medium portobellos or about 20 smaller crimini/baby bella mushrooms.
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar (optional)
1 bell pepper (you’ll use half in the mix and the other half chopped fine as a garnish)
1 1/2 cups raw spinach
1/2 c. walnuts
2 cloves garlic
1/2 of a small onion
1/2 tsp olive oil
1/2 tsp salt

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

In a food processor or blender, combine all ingredients except mushrooms and balsamic vinegar and blend until smooth.

Wash mushrooms, carefully remove stems to create a pocket for the filling, and brush with balsamic vinegar.

Evenly divide filling amongst mushrooms. Place stuffed mushrooms on a cookie sheet and bake for 10-15 minutes, until mushrooms have softened and released their moisture.

Remove from oven, carefully use tongs or a spatula to transfer mushrooms to serving dish, and top with chopped bell pepper.

Source

(via gfhealthyliving)

Guinness and Cranberry Oat Bread
A Hello-Delicious! Original Recipe

Ingredients:
1/2 cup Warm water (110 degrees Fahrenheit- no hotter)
4 Tbsps + 1 Tbsp packed Dark Brown sugar (divided)
1/2 Tsp  granulated white sugar
3 tbsp active dry yeast
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup white flour
1 and 1/2 cup bread flour
1 12 fl. oz bottle of Guinness Extra Stout beer in glass
1 tbsp cinnamon
1 tbsp Ground Ginger
1 tbsp Allspice
A Handfull or two of Ocean Spray dried cranberries
1/3 cup organic quick oats

Directions:
In a small bowl, combine the warm water, tbsp packed dark brown sugar, and 1/2 tsp of granulated white sugar. Mix, and add the 3tbsp of yeast. Let sit 10 minutes to proof.

Sift the white flour and bread flour into a bowl, add cinnamon, ginger, and all spice. Mix and add the oats, cranberries, and olive oil, plus the remainder of the brown sugar. Mix thoroughly.

Once yeast is wholly activated, add to mixture and mix in. Open the Guinness, and poor in about half the bottle at first. Knead bread and add more Guinness as necessary until the dough is a very wet, sticky consistency. Alternate adding small amounts of white flour and Guinness until almost all of the Guinness is gone (when mine reached the consistency I wanted, I had about from the tip of my finger to the first knuckle’s amount left of Guinness in the bottom of the bottle) and the dough has taken on a still stick and moist, yet elastic consistency.

Flour a cutting board and roughly flatten the dough. Roll it up on itself until you have a tube.

Spray the inside of a glass bread or loaf pan generously with Pam or another cooking spray. Place the tube loaf in the pan (you may have to readjust it a couple times until you roll it into a size that fits properly. Don’t stick the bread IN the pan with the spray though until you’ve rolled it into a size that fits).

Cover and allow to rise for 3-5 hours or until the dough has completely filled the bread pan and has a nice top on it.

Preheat oven to 200 degrees farenheit towards the last 20 minutes of rising. Once bread is fully risen, bake it in the over at 200 degrees for about 45 minutes. When the bread is done, the outter crust should be a nice deep golden brown, and the bread should sound hollow when tapped.

Remove the loaf from the dish, and allow to cool.

Note: This is a slightly stickier and certainly a more dense bread than most of my other recipes. 1. It may take longer than 3-4 hours to rise. 2. You cannot judge whether or not it’s wholly done by sticking a knife in it until it comes out clean. The best thing to do it bake the bread for 20 minutes the first time, and then in 10 minute intervals after that until you notice the crust getting hard and turning a deep golden brown like shown in the picture.

Ethiopian Injera (flat bread)

Traditional Injera ferments for seven days before cooking. This recipe contains two versions: a two hour version and a two day version. 

Ingredients for quick Injera

1/2 cup 100% Teff flour
3/4 cup warm water
3/4 teaspoon active yeast
1/4 teaspoon raw sugar 
1/4 teaspoon salt
a pinch of salt
1 teaspoon vinegar 
1/4 teaspoon baking powder

Ingredients for 1-2 day Injera

1/2 cup Teff flour
3/4 cup warm water
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon active yeast

(via gfhealthyliving)

New Mexico Red Chili Sauce

Ingredients:
40 dried red chile pods
6 cups water
1 small onion, chopped
6 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon dried oregano leaves, I use Mexican oregano
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon cumin

Optional: plastic gloves

Directions:
Over a large mixing bowl, break the stems off the pods and shake out the seeds. Break the pods into smaller pieces and drop the pieces into a waiting strainer. Once all the pods are broken, rinse with water and then place in a large pot. Add the water, the onion, garlic, oregano and salt.

Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer. Simmer for 10-20 minutes, until the pods are softened. Remove from the heat and let sit, covered, for an additional 10 minutes. Puree using an immersion blender, a food processor or a blender. If you are using a blender, puree in batches, until the consistency is smooth. Transfer to a waiting bowl and puree the next batch.

For a smoother texture, blend the sauce again after it sits for half an hour or so. As an alternative, you can press the sauce through a sieve for the smoothest texture possible. If I am using the sauce immediately, for enchiladas or burritos, I don’t bother with the sieve. If I am freezing it for use as a topping or for an undecided future use, the sieve is my preferred option. It takes a little longer, but it is worth the effort.

Divide into 1-2 cup portions and freeze what you won’t be using in the next few days. Enjoy!

Creates 6 cups

(Source: findvegan)

Strawberry Apple Cooler

Ingredients:

1 ½ apple, peeled, cored and roughly chopped
Juice of 3 oranges
1 cup strawberries, hulled
Slices of apple for garnish

(via gfhealthyliving)

Apple Spice Breakfast Soup

Ingredients:
1 1/2 quarts water
4 large tart apples, like Pink Lady, unpeeled, cored and diced (about 2 1/2 pounds)
2/3 cup dark or golden raisins
1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
Pinch of salt
1/4 cup honey
4 slices whole-wheat or multigrain bread (about 6 ounces), diced (3 cups tightly packed)
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/2 to 1 cup plain yogurt, to taste, plus additional for garnish
Thin lemon slices for garnish

Directions:
Combine the water, apples, raisins, spices, salt and honey in a large soup pot. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat and stir in the bread. Cover and simmer one hour. The bread will fall apart and thicken the soup.

Remove from the heat, and stir in the lemon juice and yogurt. Serve hot or warm, or chill and serve cold. Garnish each serving with a dollop of yogurt and a thin slice of lemon.

Serves six to eight.

(Source: findvegan)

Upside Down Blackberry Peach Pecan Cake with Pecan Kreme

Ingredients:
1 cup margarine
1 cup raw sugar
4 eggs
3 cups cake flour, sifted
1 heaping teaspoon baking powder
3/4 pound pecans, chopped medium
1 peach, sliced
1 cup blackberries
1/2 cup brown sugar
3 tbsp real butter 

Directions:
Arrange the peaches and blackberries in a cake pan, sprinkle with brown sugar and then the margarine.

Mix the dry ingredients together.

Beat the margarine, sugar and then add the egg substitute. Incorporate the dry ingredients,then fold in the pecans.

Pour the cake batter over the fruit and bake at 375 degrees for 40 minutes.

Allow cake to cool. Remove from pan and slice cake in half- fill with the nut kreme and replace the layer. Serve.

(Source: what2cook)