Pepper Paints

Thursday’s Recipe … Mini Stuffed Leaf Pies

You start with pie crust for these and because I don’t make pie crust I bought some from the refrigerated section of my grocery. That right there makes this recipe a little easier to tackle!

Roll out pie crust on a floured surface. You have to roll these rather thin.  Use leaf shape cutters to cut out leaf pairs.

Fill one side of your leaves with any of the following: chocolate chips, marshmallows, peanut butter, nuts, cream cheese and jam or a combination of any of these.

Brush the edges of the leaves that hold the stuffing with an egg wash (1 egg scrambled with 1 teaspoon of water). Put matching leaf cover on top and pinch the edges together–like a pie crust.

Brush the egg wash on the tops of each mini pie and sprinkle with colored sugar and regular sugar.

Bake at 375 degrees for about 12 minutes or until edges are brown.

It  is hard to tell what is hiding inside each little pie so if some little people … I am not naming names…. have an issue with some of the contents of the leaves you may want to use certain shapes for certain inards …. or risk most of the little pies either torn in half or left with bites taken out of them to see if they picked the right one! Or maybe that’s just my picky family.

Thursday’s Recipe ….. Raw Pad Thai With Kelp Noodles

Kelp noodles=heaven! Oh my, I can’t believe how good these are. Excellent texture! If you are local you can buy them at the Clintonville Community Market on Crestview.

I know every week I rave about how good my recipes are—and I am biased because I really do like to eat—but this Pad Thai is awesome!!!

For 1 package of kelp noodles

4 to 5 Tablespoons  nut butter

1 Tablespoon hot sauce

1 Tablespoon honey

1 Tablespoon tamari1 teaspoon vinegar

2 teaspoons seseme oil

1/4 cup of water

juice of 1 lime

I rinsed my kelp noodles and put them in a bowl then I  put all the above  ingredients in my vita-mix and poured it over my noodles.

Next I cut up lots of veggies and tons of cilantro. You can use any veggies you choose-I used red cabbage, scallions, pea pods, chard, shiitake mushrooms. Sprinkle a few cashews on top. Let the pad thai sit for ten or so  minutes to soften the noodles.

I have been participating in the green smoothie challenge this week.  I often drink green smoothies but not daily. I must admit I don’t really love green smoothies. But I wanted to see if I would see any benefits to drinking them daily for 2 weeks. I will let you know!

Thursday’s Recipe …… Gado-Gado (only it’s friday)

This recipe is from Moosewood Cookbook

Sauce Ingredients:

2 T butter

1 cup chopped onion

2 medium garlic cloves

1 bay leaf

1 to 2 t freshly grated gingerroot

1/2 to 1 teaspoon salt

1 cup good peanut butter (although any nut butter would work)

juice of 1 lemon

1 T honey

1 T cider vinegar

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper or to taste

dash of tamari

Other ingredients:

shredded cabbage steamed or raw

carrots

broccoli

mung bean sprouts

tofu-raw or sauteed with sesame seeds

hard cooked egg quarters

fresh spinach leaves

Heat butter-add onions, garlic, bay leaf, ginger and salt. Cook until onions are tender. Stir in 3 cups of water and remaining sauce ingredients. Simmer on lowest heat 30 minutes-stir occasionally. Pour sauce over veggies.

My 2 cents—-decrease the water by at least a cup. I wished the sauce was a bit thicker. As I said above any nut butter can be used.  I used all raw veggies and included kale and chard but no cabbage or spinach this time. This is good cold too! It travels well-always a good addition to a pot luck. I have had this over noodles too-yummy!