Quentin's White Sauce

My husband makes an amazing tzatziki sauce. He has made this for me three times now and every time we eat it, I can't stop telling him how delicious it is. He has named it "Quentin's white sauce" because we are both notoriously bad spellers and tzatziki is just a cruel spelling joke. Anyway, I love Quentin's white sauce and am always happy when he makes it. 

3/4 cup sour cream

1/4 cup mayo or Greek yogurt 

1/3 cup cucumber (peeled and diced) 

2 Tbs tahini sauce

1 Tbs lemon juice 

2 Tbs fresh chopped dill

5 fresh mint leaves chopped (optional)

1 small clove garlic minced 

Salt and pepper to taste 

You simply mix all the ingredients together and then there are a variety of ways you can serve it. It's best if you can make this a few hours in advance and let the flavors marry in the fridge for a bit. I love anything that's make ahead (nap time productivity baby)! 

Tonight we covered toasted bread in hummus, roasted chicken, and then topped it with the white sauce. 

I love to mix leftover white sauce into some rice for a lovely Greek tasting pilaf. You could also use your remaining cucumber, add tomatoes, and make a wonderful little salad. 

You could put this over any type of grilled meat inside of a pita or flatbread, add tomatoes and white sauce and its bomb. 

This would be wonderful over falafel, kabobs, fish, couscous, etc. Really any type of bland anything that would marry well with Greek flavors, this should be your go to sauce. So good. You won't be sorry. 

Bon appetite! 

Where you can find me...

Hi there!

I recently started handling the social media for my in-laws company, The Lavender Apple. They own a lavender farm and sell over 40 hand crafted natural products. They live on a beautiful piece of land nestled at the mouth of a canyon and it is idealic at times. You can follow along on instagram at the.lavender.apple.com. I will also be publishing recipes I try that are more suited for their "lavender farm audience" over on their blog at http://thepurpleapple-lavender.blogspot.com

You can see me actually making an effort on my blog photos over there. 

I will still be posting all of my favorite recipes here on Joyful Bellies. These ones are the recipes I love so much that I plan on putting them in my usual rotation. I just thought some of you might also be interested in following The Lavender Apple as well. 

Bon Appetite! 

Nelson Cake

Sorry I've been a little M.I.A. on the good old blog lately. With the holidays my husband has been home and he's been manning the kitchen recently. Well his break is over tomorrow, so I guess I'm back in the saddle as they would say. 

To finish off his break, we get to celebrate  with his birthday. It's tradition in our family to make the birthday person a cake called "Nelson Cake". It is glorious. It's chocolatey, moist, sweet, and satisfying. There are never leftover pieces of this after a birthday party. In fact, you better grab a fork right now. 

Cake:

1 cup water

1 stick butter 

1/4 cup shortening

4 tbs cocoa powder (Dutch processed)

2 cup sugar

2 cups flower

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup buttermilk

2 eggs

Combine water, butter, shortening and cocoa in a sauce pan and bring to a boil. Add to a bowl with sugar and flour. Add remaining ingredients and mix.  We normally make two 9 inch round cakes that bake at 350F for 18-20 minutes.

Buttercream frosting:

1 stick room temp butter

4 tbs cocoa powder 

2 tsp vanilla 

8 oz of powdered sugar

2-4 tbs milk

I like to add butter, vanilla, milk and a few tablespoons of powdered sugar and mix slowly at first, then on high for about a minute to get it light and fluffy. Add the remaining cocoa and powdered sugar and whip until light.  

Whipped cream:

1 cup heavy cream

1/4 cup powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla

Assemble in layers from ground to ceiling: cake then frosting then whipped cream then cake then frosting then whipped cream on top

*if you put cool whip on this instead of homemade whipped cream my husband will track you down and haunt your dreams

** my mother in-law is holding out on the real recipe. This is as close as we can get. Maybe she will tell us the whole recipe on her deathbed someday. 

Moroccan Chicken Drumstick Soup

I debated naming this "holy hell this is good" soup, but I figured it wasn't specific enough. I stumbled on this recipe by accident because I had some chicken drumsticks I needed to use in my freezer. This was the perfect application for them. The bones and extra fat add so much flavor to the soup, and since drumsticks are so affordable this is a very inexpensive meal. It's tastes spicy (in a cinnamon way, not a pepper way) and is just a very unique take on a traditional chicken soup. 

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon olive oil 

2 pounds chicken drumsticks bone in 

Water

4 carrots peeled and chopped 

5 celery stalks chopped 

1 large onion diced 

2 cloves garlic minced 

1 tsp red pepper flakes 

1 lemon 

1 bunch fresh Tyme 

1 tsp cinnamon 

1/4 tsp fresh grated nutmeg 

3 bay leaves 

Salt & pepper 

Optional add ins: 

1 can navy beans 

1 cup Acine de pepe or orchiette pasta 

Few sprigs fresh Cilantro for garnish 

Add olive oil to large medium heat pot, then add onions, carrots, and celery. Season with salt and pepper. Cook until onions are translucent and carrots are soft, about 8 minutes. Add the garlic, red pepper and thyme and cook for 2 minutes. Add the chicken and bay leaves and fill the pot with enough water to cover the chicken plus about 2-3 extra inches of water depending on how much broth you like. Bring to boil then simmer for 30 minutes.

Cut your lemon in half and juice it into the pot. Then throw in your lemon halves. Add cinnamon and nutmeg and salt and pepper. Simmer for an additional 2 hours.

Pull your chicken, lemons, and bay leaves out. Take the skin off the chicken and remove the bones and excess fat. Return just the good meat to the soup. Then depending on how much your broth has reduced, you can add your drained beans, or your cooked pasta. Season again with salt and pepper if needed. Serve with cilantro as a garnish. 

I would say this soup serves 4 people. It is delish and a one you should really try. 

Original recipe inspiration: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/anne-burrell/chicken-noodle-soup-recipe.html

Lentil Soup

This lentil soup has been a go to fall and winter recipe for us for years. It's easy enough to make on a weeknight, makes plenty of leftovers, and is satisfying without being fattening. And it's affordable! It's a real winner winner not chicken dinner.  

4 strips of bacon

3 medium carrots

1 yellow onion

1 1/2 cup dry lentils

2 tsp dried Tyme 

Salt/pepper 

2 cans chicken broth 

1/2 cup water 

3 garlic cloves 

2 tablespoons tomato paste 

1 tsp red wine vinegar

Chop your bacon into lentil sized peices. In a heavy soup pan crisp your bacon on medium heat. (Non crisp peices will be gross in the soup later, so be patient). Then chop your onion and carrots into lentil sized peices and add them into the pot. Cook until onions are clear. Add salt and pepper. Then add minced garlic and tomato paste and cook for another minute. Then add your lentils, cans of stock, Tyme, and salt and pepper again. 

Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer and cook covered for 45 minutes. If you cook out all the stock you can add 1/2 cup of water later on. Add your vinegar at the end. Salt and pepper again as needed. You can top with Parmesan shavings if you want, but it really doesn't need it. Enjoy!

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

I recently made these chocolate chip pumpkin cookies from Sally's Baking Addiction. http://sallysbakingaddiction.com/2013/09/04/pumpkin-chocolate-chip-cookies/  I fed them to my friends and they ranted and raved. My husband said they were the best pumpkin cookies he's ever eaten. High praise. I wasn't madly in love, but I did eat the entire batch in one day. So I guess I am being forced to save my version of this recipe for use next fall. (As you can see my cookies look nothing like Sally's. I didn't flatten mine as she suggested.)  

Mix together:

-1/2 cup MELTED butter (melted es muy importante) 

-1/4 cup packed brown sugar

-1/2 cup white sugar

-1 generous tsp vanilla

-7 tablespoons pumpkin purée 

Mix until smooth.

Then add on top of the pumpkin mixture without stiring yet:

-1.5 cups of flour 

-1/4 tsp baking soda

-1/4 tsp baking powder 

-1/2 tsp salt 

-1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg 

-1/4 tsp cloves 

-1 tsp cinnamon 

-1 cup chocolate chips 

Once everything is sitting in a big pile on your pumpkin mixture, fluff all the dry ingredients to disperse them. Then mix them into the pumpkin mixture. Do not over mix. 

Because of the melted butter you MUST chill the dough for 30 minutes before baking. 

Bake at 350 for 8-9 minutes. Makes about 2 dozen cookies. 

Tico Black Beans

During our many visits to Costa Rica, one of my favorite things to eat was what they called a "tico breakfast". A tico is someone who is native to Costa Rica, so their tico breakfast is what all the natives preferred to have each morning. 

I've been on the hunt for a healthier breakfast routine for awhile. Something low in fat, full of protein, that won't have me hungry before lunch time. A tico breakfast is black beans mixed with white  rice to make a dirty rice, served with tortillas and a fried egg. Yum. 

Below is a combination of like 3 of my favorite black bean recipes. Perfect for my tico breakfast. 

2 cans black beans

1 bell pepper chopped

1 SMALL onion

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 bay leaves

2 garlic cloves

2 tsp dried cilantro

1/4 tsp red pepper

1/2 tsp dried oregano

1 tsp cumin 

1 tsp sugar

2 tsp white wine vinegar 

Salt 

Pepper

Heat olive oil in large skillet. Chop your onion and bell pepper and add to skillet. Once the onions are translucent add your garlic (minced). Then add your beans and all your spices. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 20 minutes. Use a potato masher to break up the beans just a bit. Let beans simmer until they reach desired thickness. Salt and pepper to taste. Would be great topped with a Latin queso fresco. 

Yum! Pura Vida!