This is not a long-term storage recipe. But it freezes well in flexible containers like freezer bags or plastic. Using glass is risky due to possible expansion during freezing. But if you only need a few months it stores well in sterilized glass jars in the fridge well.

Ingredients

2 pounds fresh strawberries, hulled
4 cups white sugar
1/4 cup lemon juice

Directions

In a wide bowl, crush strawberries in batches until you have 4 cups of mashed berry. In a heavy bottomed saucepan (3qt should be big enough but if you have bigger use it), mix together the strawberries, sugar, and lemon juice. Stir over low heat until the sugar is dissolved. Increase heat to high, and bring the mixture to a full rolling boil. Boil, stirring often, until the mixture reaches 220 degrees F (105 degrees C). Transfer to hot sterile jars, leaving 1/4 to 1/2 inch headspace, and seal. Process in a water bath. If the jam is going to be eaten right away, don’t bother with processing, and just refrigerate.

To test for jelling…

Place three plates in a freezer… after about 10 minutes of boiling place a tsp of the liquid of the jam onto the cold plate. Return to freezer for a minute. Run your finger through the jam on the plate… if it doesn’t try to run back together (if you can make a line through it with your finger) it’s ready to be canned!

These Rainbow Cookies are my dedication & appreciation for everyone who has the heart to fearlessly love themselves and their partners. Have a cookie and radiate some joy. Happy Pride!

Rainbow Cookies

recipe inspired by Cook’s Illustrated
yield: about 40 cookies

INGREDIENTS

2 large egg
2/3 cup plus 2 tablespoon granulated sugar (5-1/2 ounces)
2 teaspoons lemon zest, from 1 lemon, freshly grated
2-1/2 sticks (10 ounces) unsalted butter, softened
1/2 teaspoon table salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (15 ounces)
1 teaspoon large egg white , lightly beaten
food coloring: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple

DIRECTIONS

1. Place eggs in small saucepan, cover with 1 inch water, and bring to boil over high heat. Remove pan from heat, cover, and let sit 10 minutes. Meanwhile, fill small bowl with ice water. Using slotted spoon, transfer eggs to ice water and let stand 5 minutes. Crack eggs and peel shell. Separate yolks from white; discard white. Press yolks through fine-mesh strainer into small bowl.

2. Add sugar and lemon zest to a bowl. Use finger tips and rub the mixture until in resemble pale yellow wet sand.

3. In bowl of stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, beat butter, sugar mixture, salt, and cooked egg yolk on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes, scraping down sides of bowl and beater with rubber spatula. Turn mixer to low, add vanilla, and mix until incorporated, about 30 seconds. Stop mixer; add flour and mix on low speed until just combined, about 1 minute. Using rubber spatula, press dough into cohesive mass.

4. Divide dough in six equal portions; add food coloring to each piece and mix to achieve desire color. Roll each portion, on a piece of plastic wrap, into a long strip about 3 x 11 inches, 1/4 inch thick.Wrap each strip with the plastic wrap and chill until firm, about an hour.

5. Adjust oven racks to upper-middle and lower-middle positions and heat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper. Place purple dough on a cutting board and brush with egg white. Place blue dough on top of purple and brush with egg white. Repeat with remaining dough in the order of green, yellow, orange and red (see photos). Using chef’s knife, trim edges and slice dough into 1/4-inch-thick rectangles. Place cookies 1 inch apart on baking sheets. (If dough is too soft when slicing, chill it for an additional 20-30 minutes.)

6. Bake cookies for 14-16 minutes, rotating baking sheets front to back and top to bottom halfway through baking. Cool cookies on baking sheet 5 minutes; using thin metal spatula, transfer cookies to wire rack and cool to room temperature.

This is a really easy ice cream to make in your food processor.

You’ll want to use frozen pineapple. The best way to freeze pineapple, is to layer it between wax paper in a sealed Tupperware container. Make sure the pieces aren’t touching and they will be easier to remove when you want to use them.

Lea’s Easy Creamy Coconut Pineapple Ice Cream

Remove the frozen pineapple from the freezer and let set on your counter for about 5 minutes.

Then place about 1 cup frozen pineapple in your food processor and process until smooth.

Add 1/2 cup coconut cream/milk and continue to process until well mixed.

Makes 2 servings.

You can double for more servings.

See? Told you it was easy!

Reposted from our friends at nourishingtreasures.com

Reposted from our friends at artisanbreadinfive.com

When I moved to the midwest I was introduced to Crock Pot cooking. I had never even seen a slow cooker before and had no idea the range of foods that could be created in a plug-in cooking pot. Since then I have had everything from No-Peek-Chicken, Swedish Meatballs and Peach cobbler, done in one of these magic devices. When my husband was an art director Aveda they had “crock pot parties,” which meant everyone plugged in their slow cookers at their desks and made a dish to share.  Brilliant! Maybe kids should bring crock pots to school and have healthy food cooking at their desks.

But, bread in a crock pot? Over the years we have gotten requests from readers to develop a method of baking our dough in a crock pot. I had my doubts, lots of them. I didn’t think the slow cooker could get hot enough, I thought it would take too long, I didn’t think it would bake through or have a nice crust and I resisted trying it. I was so convinced it would be a fail. Oh, how wrong I was. The crock pot does indeed get hot enough, and it takes less time than using  your oven, because the rising time is included in the baking. The only thing I got right was the crust, it is very soft and quite pale when it comes out of the slow cooker, but just a few minutes under a broiler and I got a gorgeous loaf. I am a convert and it is just perfect for summer baking when you don’t want to heat up your oven. You could even amaze your friends at work by baking a loaf under your desk!

1 pound of pre-made, refrigerated dough (I used the Peasant Bread on page 46 of Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day, but the recipes from Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day would also work.)

Form the dough into a ball and place it on a sheet of parchment. Lower the dough into the Crock-Pot (Slow Cooker).

Turn the temperature to high and put on the cover. (Not all crock pots behave the same, so you should keep an eye on the loaf after about 45 minutes to make sure it is not over browning on the bottom or not browning at all. You may need to adjust the time according to your machine.)

Bake for 1 hour (this will depend on your crock pot, you may need to increase or decrease the time. If you are using a 100% whole grain dough, you may want to go for a bit longer as well). You will have a fully baked loaf of bread, but the crust is very soft, almost like a steamed bun.

The bottom crust should be nice and crisp, but the top of the loaf will be quite soft. Some folks desire a softer crust, so you will love this loaf. If you want a darker or crisper crust…

Stick the bread under the broiler for 5 minutes or until it is the color you like, with the rack positioned in the middle of the oven.

Let the loaf cool completely before slicing.

It is fantastic with butter or as a sandwich. I love this method!

We are all aware that many people struggle to lose weight because they can’t bear the thought of giving up their favorite foods, such as pizza, chocolate or ice cream. Fortunately, there is no need to give up the ice cream because there is a very easy way to make a really healthy ice cream substitute at home.

If you haven’t yet heard of frozen banana ice cream, you are going to be amazed. This is a recipe that can change your life. It is a one-ingredient ice cream that has no added fat, no weird chemicals or preservatives and contains only the natural sugar of the bananas.

The really amazing part is that this healthy dessert has a smooth, creamy texture that very successfully mimics real full-fat ice cream. This is very important when you are trying to eat healthy because you can fool yourself into thinking it is a real ice cream. This is also a great way to make kids that don’t like eating fruit to get part of their daily intake.

Here is a step-by-step of how to do it:

Magic ingredient: BANANAS

Directions:

1. You can use as many bananas as you want. They should be very ripe. The best bananas for the ice cream are those that have a spotty peel but the inside is not brown. If the bananas are under-ripe the ice cream will have a bitter taste.
2. Peel the bananas.
3. Slice up the bananas into bottle cap-sized pieces.
4. Arrange the pieces in a single layer on a plate or in a plastic bag and freeze for about 2 hours.
5. Once frozen, put the pieces in a food processor and puree until creamy. Depending on the amount of bananas, how frozen they are and the size of the food processor, you may have to stop the blending a few times and scrape the mixture from the sides of the processor.
6. After the blending, the consistency of the bananas will be of soft serve ice cream. Serve immediately.
7. Use healthy toppings like strawberries, blueberries, honey or nuts.
8. If you like firmer ice cream, return to the freezer for about 30 minutes.

Benefits of Bananas

Bananas are high in potassium, magnesium, Vitamin B6, Vitamin C and dietary fiber. They are free of sodium, cholesterol, almost free of fat and have fairly low glycemic index. The potassium helps to lower blood pressure, build muscles and promote bone health. Vitamin C and B6 are terrific for the immune system. The magnesium helps recover from fatigue, the iron helps combat anemia and the fiber helps keep bowel function normal. Put it all together and you have got a perfect, healthy dessert.

Reposted from our friends at izeko.hubpages.com