Apple Fritters

Once again taken from allrecipes.com, Apple Fritters I

Here are my changes:

Only 2 apples peeled, cored, and diced small. I have also used pears with great results.

To soften the fruit microwave them for 2 minutes before adding to the batter.

I omitted the nutmeg.

I used half whole wheat flour.

Batter will be gloopy, it's supposed to be, but they fry up very airy, I found it best the use a cup and pour the batter into the hot oil in a more oval shape.

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup milk
• 2 quarts oil for deep frying
• 4 large apples, peeled and cored
• 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar for dusting

1. In a medium bowl, mix together flour, sugar, baking powder, nutmeg and salt. In a separate bowl, beat together eggs and milk. Stir milk mixture into flour mixture until smooth.
2. Heat oil to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) in a deep fryer or heavy bottomed deep pot or skillet.
3. Slice apples into 1/2 inch rings. Dip apple slices in batter and fry, a few at a time, turning once, until golden. Drain on paper towels and dust with confectioners' sugar.

Naan

• This recipe is the exact copy from "naan" on allrecipes.com, however these are my changes.
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If you are not using cake flour (I didn't ) add 1 tsp of baking soda, if not there will not be tiny little bubbles.

I skipped the garlic and butter step altogether because I forgot, it was still excellent, next time I will try it. Make sure to roll out dough very very thin, it shrinks up when placed on the grill. I used olive oil so the dough didn't stick to my rolling pin or surface.

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• 1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast (2 1/4 tsp)
• 1 cup warm water
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 3 tablespoons milk
• 1 egg, beaten
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 4 1/2 cups bread flour
• 2 teaspoons minced garlic (optional)
• 1/4 cup butter, melted

1. In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Let stand about 10 minutes, until frothy. Stir in sugar, milk, egg, salt, and enough flour to make a soft dough. Knead for 6 to 8 minutes on a lightly floured surface, or until smooth. Place dough in a well oiled bowl, cover with a damp cloth, and set aside to rise. Let it rise 1 hour, until the dough has doubled in volume.
2. Punch down dough, and knead in garlic. Pinch off small handfuls of dough about the size of a golf ball. Roll into balls, and place on a tray. Cover with a towel, and allow to rise until doubled in size, about 30 minutes.
3. During the second rising, preheat grill to high heat.
4. At grill side, roll one ball of dough out into a thin circle. Lightly oil grill. Place dough on grill, and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, or until puffy and lightly browned. Brush uncooked side with butter, and turn over. Brush cooked side with butter, and cook until browned, another 2 to 4 minutes. Remove from grill, and continue the process until all the naan has been prepared.

Papaya salsa

This recipe works great with seafood!

1 small papaya - peeled, seeded and chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1/2 red onion, chopped
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro
1 teaspoon minced jalapeno peppers
1 teaspoon salt

I used more jalapeno, a whole one, and it was just the right amount of spice for us. If you don't have lime juice substitute with lemon. I think this recipe would also work well with mango's if papayas aren't your thing.

Whole Wheat Pita Pockets

Soft whole wheat round breads with a pocket inside!
Yield:
8 whole pita pockets (or 16 halves)
Ingredients:
1 1/4 cup warm water (110-115 degrees)
1 tablespoon oil
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons sugar
2 3/4 cups whole wheat flour
1/3 cup gluten*
1 1/2 teaspoons dry yeast
Instructions:
1. In a large bowl, combine first 4 ingredients. Add the gluten and 1 cup of the flour, along with the yeast, and stir to mix. Add remaining flour and knead to make a soft dough. (Add additional flour if necessary during kneading.)
Alternately, if you have a bread machine, you can put the ingredients in the pan in the order listed and use the dough cycle. Skip to step 3 if using your bread machine! :)
2. Put your dough into a bowl, lightly oil the top, and cover. Set in a warm place to rise, until almost double (about an hour). I like to turn my oven on for a minute or two, then turn it off, and let the dough rise in there, since our house is cool.
3. Punch dough down and turn onto a lightly floured surface. Using a sharp knife, cut dough into 8 equal pieces. Form each piece into a ball. On a lightly floured surface, roll each ball into a 6- or 7-inch circle.
4. As you roll the rounds, set them aside on a lightly floured countertop or table, and cover loosely with a towel. Let rise for about 25-35 minutes, until slightly puffy. (The rounds will still be thin though! :D)
5. Preheat oven to 500 degrees. Place 2 rounds, side-by-side, onto a wire rack, such as is used for cooling things. Place rack in the middle of the oven. Bake for 4-5 minutes, until puffy and just slightly browned. (If bread is too browned, it will be dry and not pliable.)
6. Remove rack from oven and immediately wrap/layer pita breads in a damp towel, to soften. Continue baking the remaining breads, layering them between damp towels as soon as they're baked. Allow breads to completely cool.
7. Cut pita breads in half, or split the top edge, and fill as desired. :)
8. Store pitas in a plastic zipper bag in the fridge for a few days, or place in the freezer for longer storage. To re-warm pitas, wrap them in a damp towel and then wrap in foil. Place in a warm (200-250 degree) oven for about 20 minutes.

I got this recipe from a friend and made a few adjustments. First, I didn't have any gluten and I didn't want them 100% whole wheat so I just used half white flour, (1.5 cups white/1.5 cups wheat). At first I made the mistake of just glancing over the recipe and thought I was supposed to put the baking rack on a sheet pan. My first batch took twice as long as it said so I re-read and realized that you only put them on the baking rack, and do this carefully or they won't puff and make a pocket.
They turned out awesome. Very light and really did have a pocket in them, I will definitely make them again. Oh, and I did double the recipe and now I have bunch left over, yay!

Roasted Veggies

Salt
Pepper
Garlic, fresh or powdered
Onion powder
Curry powder (optional)
Olive oil

Assortment of vegetables, our favorites are asparagus, broccoli, cauliflower, grey zucchini.

Chop vegetable into 1-2 inch pieces and arrange on baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and toss to coat. Add as much seasoning as you like, but it takes more than you think.
Bake at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes, it varies with each vegetable. You know they're done when they are sizzling and slightly browned.

Colored Popcorn Balls

Super easy recipe!

1 cup light corn syrup
1/2 white sugar
1 pkg. (3 oz.) jell-o, whatever flavor you want. Sugar free works fine.
3-4 quarts popped popcorn (unflavored)

Bring to rolling boil you can stir down and boil 1 minute.
Remove from heat and add jell-o, mix well. Pour over popcorn and mix well.
As soon as you can start forming balls, once it cools off it keeps its shape.

Mini Apple Pie Pastires

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup cold butter, cubed
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
1/2 cup milk

FILLING:

3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
5 tablespoons cold butter, divided
6 small tart apples, peeled and cored
1/4 cup sugar

Directions

In a large bowl, combine flour and salt. Cut in butter until crumbly. Sprinkle with vinegar. Gradually add milk, tossing with a fork until dough forms a ball. Cover and refrigerate for 20 minutes or until easy to handle.

Meanwhile, in another bowl, combine the brown sugar, flour and cinnamon. Cut in 2 tablespoons butter until crumbly; set aside. Melt the remaining butter. Cut apples into 1/2-in. rings.
Shape dough into sixteen 1-1/2-in. balls. Roll each into a 5-in. circle. Brush with 2 tablespoons melted butter.

Place one apple ring in the center of each circle. Top each with 2 teaspoons brown sugar mixture. Fold edges of dough over apple rings, leaving centers uncovered; crimp edges. Brush dough with remaining melted butter; sprinkle with sugar.

Place 1 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 375° for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown and apples are tender. Serve warm. Yield: 16 servings.