Amazing Basil Salt

So excited to share this post.  Yesterday, my friend Kim N. brought me something she whipped up in her kitchen.  We both love basil but I specially like Thai Basil for it's licorice notes.  She used regular basil for this seasoned salt but it was simply amazing, specially with vine-ripened tomatoes!!  

Kim took basil and mixed it with Kosher salt and blended it in the food processor. Then, she spread  out the mix in the oven and baked it at low temperature till the salt dried. After baking, she ran it through the food processor a second time.  That's it. What a brilliant idea to make your own basil salt!  

Thanks, Kim.  I always learn so much from you.

My Foodie Pen Pal

My foodie pen pal is Cheryl from Texas and she is wonderful! Fun-loving and very energetic, she's a real foodie who loves to tinker in the kitchen and enjoys gardening, working, exploring the farmers market and even has time to take care of six dogs! Did I tell you she's also so kind and thoughtful? Earlier she emailed me to ask if I had any dietary restrictions so she could send me things I could enjoy.  Because I'm recovering from metastatic adenocarcinoma or the dreaded "C", she went out of her way to get me healthy goodies from a local farmers market.  She packed organic unsweetened cinnamon apple, vanilla almond granola, gluten-free grain mix, crunchy chili-honey roasted nuts and amazing pickle chips from the Great State of Texas!  It was a real treat to finally have delicious gluten-free muffins made from organic grains and snack on all these yummy treats.  Both my son and hubby love spicy/hot foods so the pickle chips and chili nuts were gone in no time! Thank you Cheryl and specially to Lindsay for hosting this fun event!

Today is Reveal day for my Foodie Pen Pal

Peach Ice Cream Sandwich

Yesterday, school started so my sister is back at her Univeristy apartment.  While she stayed with us during the summer, we experimented in the kitchen.  One day we made our own ice cream sandwich using the waffle cone maker I got from 22BHealthy.  We thought blending the pulp of a ripe peach to vanilla yogurt or vanilla ice cream would make a healthy treat.  I'm enjoying the versatility of my waffle cone maker as it lets me make various snacks, my own waffle cone and waffle sundae dishes.  I've made wraps and crackers with mine. Do you have a waffle cone maker?   Have you found other uses your waffle cone maker? Please share your ideas/ experiences.

Peach Ice Cream Sandwich
Waffle Cookies
   2 eggs
   6 Tbsp turbinado sugar
   1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
   1 Tbsp vanilla extract
   1/2 cup flour
   1/2 tsp baking powder

Filling
   1 ripe peach pulp blended into
   2 c vanilla yogurt

To make the waffle cookies:
Beat eggs, adding sugar gradually.  Beat until smooth.  Add melted butter and vanilla.
Sift flour and baking powder and blend into egg mixture until smooth.  The dough will be sticky.
Drop 1 heaping tablespoon on the nonstick surface of the waffle cone maker.  Close the lid and
hold down lid firmly for 20 seconds.  After 20-30 seconds lift up lid to check color.  If it is too light, close the lid and bake for another 10 seconds.  Follow directions for your waffle cone maker.  Usually, waffle cookies are done when steam stops escaping from the waffle cone maker (total of 30-40 seconds when you first close the lid).  Don't lift lid while waffle cookies are steaming as this might cause them to stick or split.

To make the ice cream sandwiches:
Make waffle cookies. Place 1-2 inches of the filling on top of one cookie and place second cookie on top, pressing gently.  You may add sprinkles on the exposed surfaces of the filling. Freeze the ice cream sandwich. Enjoy!

Zucchini Bread

We harvested a lot of monster zucchini from our garden this summer.  There were only two plants but they had so many fruits we could not keep up.  We tried cooking zucchini many ways--baked, boiled, grilled, dried, stir-fried and even pickled.  My sister came up with a zucchini bread recipe that was a hit at home. It was very moist but a little on the sweet side so you can reduce the sugar if you wish.

 Zucchini bread
1-1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
2 eggs
1 cup brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup oil
1/2 cup shredded zucchini
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350 F
In a bowl combine flour, cinnamon, salt, baking soda and set aside. Beat eggs and sugar till light and fluffy, add vanilla and oil and mix till well blended. Add the flour mixture, then the zucchini and nuts. Make sure everything is blended thoroughly. Place batter in a loaf pan and bake for about 1 hour or until done. To test for doneness, insert a wooden skewer at the center of the loaf then take it out.  If it comes out clean, then it's fully cooked.  If partly cooked batter clings to the skewer then it needs to bake a little longer. Cool zucchini bread in the loaf pan for 30 minutes or so then cut and serve.