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Sacred Earth => Food [Public] => Topic started by: nichi on December 21, 2008, 06:57:53 AM

Title: A Cozy Recipe
Post by: nichi on December 21, 2008, 06:57:53 AM
Since many of us are in the freezin' cold, thought an unusual recipe for hot chocolate was called for....

(Warning -- this is not fat-free.)


Ingredients

    * 1 cup white chocolate chips
    * 1 cup heavy cream
    * 4 cups half-and-half
    * 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
    * Vanilla whipped topping and white chocolate shavings, for garnish
    * Mint leaf, for garnish

Directions

In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine white chocolate chips and heavy cream. Stir continuously until white chocolate chips have completely melted. Stir in the half-and-half, and vanilla extract. Stir occasionally until heated through. Pour into mugs and top with a dollop of vanilla whipped topping and garnish with mint leaf.
~Paula Deen

**I want to add cinnamon to this recipe.
And I'll bet ... a dash of Kalhua would be nice.
Title: Re: A Cozy Recipe
Post by: tangerine dream on December 21, 2008, 08:13:52 AM
Mmmmm.. white chocolate!!  Sounds Yummy.  And  fat free Hot chocolate?  Who ever heard of such a thing?!!

I have a delicious hot choco that a friend in New Zealand sent me last Winter.
 They call it Xocolatl, and its a blend of unsweeetened chocolate, chilies and cinnamon!  So yummy.  It is said to be based on the traditional cocoa drink that the Aztecs regarded as 'liqiuid gold'.  These drinks played an important part in meso-American rituals and festivities.  In fact, in Mayan tradition, the bride and groom would sip hot cocoa from a golden goblet to secure their vows.

There is even a special suggested way to stir this mixture.  Stir in a cockwise circle eleven times and then stire counterclockwise eleven times.  Continue until the vapors begin to rise.

Title: Re: A Cozy Recipe
Post by: nichi on December 21, 2008, 03:01:42 PM
I have a delicious hot choco that a friend in New Zealand sent me last Winter.
 They call it Xocolatl,

That sounds yummy, and how interesting that it comes from New Zealand!
Title: Love in A Can of Beans
Post by: nichi on January 11, 2009, 08:12:22 AM
This is something I make sometimes .. and there's something in it which is very ennervating. Seeing what Jahn said about quality in a can of beans inspired me to share it.  It's all about the prana, and dare I say, attention and love.

(Again, not low fat here...)

~Slice up about 4 potatoes, leanly. I don't have a mandolin, so this is a bit painstaking.
~Start the skillet with olive oil and butter.
~Potatoes in -- they take a good 25 minutes to cook to golden brown, so here's when I do the rest of the prep.  Season with salt and pepper, and maybe basil or oregano, if I have some.   I'll eventually add a few flakes of red pepper, but save that til the end-ish.
~Dice up a small onion or half of a big one. Dice up a red pepper -- though a green one will do. Add them to the skillet about 15 minutes in ... because if the onion cooks too long, it'll go black.
~Likewise mince a couple of garlic cloves, who go in with the onions and pepper.
~Dice some cheddar cheese.
~When the potatoes are golden, I strain and rinse off a can of black beans, and a can of corn.  Add it to the mixture, along with the cheese and red pepper.
~As it all melts down, it becomes almost like a goulash mixture, and I then add an egg to bring it together.

Anyway, this may sound unappealing, but it's really good.  Comfort food.
Title: Re: Love in A Can of Beans
Post by: tangerine dream on January 11, 2009, 08:27:04 AM

 It's all about the prana, and dare I say, attention and love.


Yeah, the love is definitely key.  When I was cooking customers and staff would often comment how good my food was.  And they'd often wonder what made mine different than other chef's or my bosses, same recipes (mostly) same ingredients etc.  So I'd always say that I added extra love.  And it was a kind of running joke around the cafe.  Customers would say to me "Don't forget to add the love" and silly stuff like that.  So it was fun to play around and joke with, but I was also very serious.  I always add an extra dash of love to any recipe, and that is what makes it so darned yummy.


V,
I love any kind of beans, except Lima beans, so this recipe sounds delicious.
 :P

Quote
~Slice up about 4 potatoes, leanly. I don't have a mandolin, so this is a bit painstaking.
~Start the skillet with olive oil and butter.
~Potatoes in -- they take a good 25 minutes to cook to golden brown, so here's when I do the rest of the prep.  Season with salt and pepper, and maybe basil or oregano, if I have some.   I'll eventually add a few flakes of red pepper, but save that til the end-ish.
~Dice up a small onion or half of a big one. Dice up a red pepper -- though a green one will do. Add them to the skillet about 15 minutes in ... because if the onion cooks too long, it'll go black.
~Likewise mince a couple of garlic cloves, who go in with the onions and pepper.
~Dice some cheddar cheese.
~When the potatoes are golden, I strain and rinse off a can of black beans, and a can of corn.  Add it to the mixture, along with the cheese and red pepper.
~As it all melts down, it becomes almost like a goulash mixture, and I then add an egg to bring it together.

Title: Re: Love in A Can of Beans
Post by: daphne on January 11, 2009, 08:29:18 AM

Anyway, this may sound unappealing, but it's really good.  Comfort food.

Sounds like a wonderful winter warmer!

I'm a bit confused.. what do you do with the egg?
Title: Re: A Cozy Recipe
Post by: tangerine dream on January 11, 2009, 08:33:15 AM
Question:

When you strain the beans, do you keep the liquid?  For soup etc?
Title: Re: Love in A Can of Beans
Post by: nichi on January 11, 2009, 08:42:46 AM
Yeah, the love is definitely key.  When I was cooking customers and staff would often comment how good my food was.  And they'd often wonder what made mine different than other chef's or my bosses, same recipes (mostly) same ingredients etc.  So I'd always say that I added extra love.  And it was a kind of running joke around the cafe.  Customers would say to me "Don't forget to add the love" and silly stuff like that.  So it was fun to play around and joke with, but I was also very serious.  I always add an extra dash of love to any recipe, and that is what makes it so darned yummy.

I'll bet yer food is some great stuff! I admire that you could do that, too.

It's really only in these trips to California that I've had to cook for anyone else. There were brief periods in the marriage, but our lives were so unconventional that it wasn't routine.  So my cooking comes in intuitive "patches".  And I take so long!! I'd get fired immediately if it was a restaurant. I like to pour over it all, and think, and wonder... and taste, and rework it.

Sometimes I bomb! My mother only rarely has liked what I cook, which was sort of traumatic, really. My step-father and brother do, on the other hand. Very weird.
Title: Re: A Cozy Recipe
Post by: nichi on January 11, 2009, 08:45:55 AM
Question:

When you strain the beans, do you keep the liquid?  For soup etc?

I haven't, because my kitchen is far from equipped. But I think it's an excellent idea!
Same deal for bacon grease/etc.
Tasty bits!
Title: Re: Love in A Can of Beans
Post by: nichi on January 11, 2009, 08:54:28 AM
Sounds like a wonderful winter warmer!

I'm a bit confused.. what do you do with the egg?

I break it over the concoction in the skillet, stir it all up while it cooks in. It's like a binder.
If it all gets just the right amount of crispy, you could break it into pieces and eat by hand.
Title: Re: A Cozy Recipe
Post by: tangerine dream on January 11, 2009, 08:59:18 AM
I'm thinking of getting a P/T job in the Spring, cooking at a neighourhood restaurant on the weekends.  I miss it soooo much!
 :(
Title: Re: Love in A Can of Beans
Post by: daphne on January 11, 2009, 09:05:39 AM
I break it over the concoction in the skillet, stir it all up while it cooks in. It's like a binder.
If it all gets just the right amount of crispy, you could break it into pieces and eat by hand.

Ahh.. got it!   :)
Title: Re: A Cozy Recipe
Post by: nichi on January 11, 2009, 09:06:32 AM
I can't wait to get a working oven again. I'm dying to bake.
Nothing like that crunchy exterior!
Title: Re: A Cozy Recipe
Post by: nichi on January 11, 2009, 09:10:26 AM
I'm thinking of getting a P/T job in the Spring, cooking at a neighourhood restaurant on the weekends.  I miss it soooo much!
 :(

Yeah! Sounds good!
Title: Re: A Cozy Recipe
Post by: daphne on January 11, 2009, 09:10:58 AM
I can't wait to get a working oven again. I'm dying to bake.
Nothing like that crunchy exterior!


I love the smell that permeates through the house when baking.. especially bread!!
Title: Re: A Cozy Recipe
Post by: nichi on January 11, 2009, 09:16:24 AM
I love the smell that permeates through the house when baking.. especially bread!!

Oh yeah!!
This is all making me very hungry!
Title: Re: A Cozy Recipe
Post by: daphne on January 11, 2009, 09:17:58 AM
Oh yeah!!
This is all making me very hungry!

 :D
Title: Re: A Cozy Recipe
Post by: Firestarter on January 11, 2009, 09:27:59 AM

**I want to add cinnamon to this recipe.
And I'll bet ... a dash of Kalhua would be nice.


Kahlua = makes good brownies too. Thats my fav liquor if I have it. Kahlua and milk. :) Goes good with white chocolate recipes too.
Title: Re: A Cozy Recipe
Post by: nichi on January 11, 2009, 09:35:17 AM
Quote from: ♀♥Lady Urania♥♀ on January 11, 2009, 09:27:59 AM
Quote from: ♀♥Lady Urania♥♀ on January 11, 2009, 09:27:59 AM
Kahlua = makes good brownies too. Thats my fav liquor if I have it. Kahlua and milk. :) Goes good with white chocolate recipes too.

Mmmmm ... sounds very good!
Title: Re: A Cozy Recipe
Post by: nichi on January 11, 2009, 09:47:39 AM
(When I drank, I tended to like the "girlie" drinks -- white russians, speaking of Kahlua, pink squirrels, irish coffees. Bailey's Irish Creme, yum.  But then I figured it out, that what I really wanted was a tasty milk shake.)
Title: Re: A Cozy Recipe
Post by: Firestarter on January 11, 2009, 09:50:13 AM
(When I drank, I tended to like the "girlie" drinks -- white russians, speaking of Kahlua, pink squirrels, irish coffees. Bailey's Irish Creme, yum.  But then I figured it out, that what I really wanted was a tasty milk shake.)

LOL me too. I never was a JD kinda girl - just not in me, or tequila shots, all that. Though when younger I did have a long island fix for a bit - last time though, when I downed four big ones at the Devil House out in Tempe, AZ, found myself in a parking lot laying next to my vomit, saying 'never again' to my friends, as my best buddy was holding back my hair, after dancing and downing those four? I stuck to kahlua and milk, hehe! Devil House - ah good old college days :D
Title: Re: A Cozy Recipe
Post by: nichi on January 11, 2009, 09:54:29 AM
Although .. JD is good with cranberry juice!
But then again, what I really wanted was the cranberry juice!
Title: Re: A Cozy Recipe
Post by: Firestarter on January 11, 2009, 10:13:00 AM
Although .. JD is good with cranberry juice!
But then again, what I really wanted was the cranberry juice!

LOL! Do you have jack daniels in a bottle? Well you need it let him out, cause he cant breathe, hehe!

Yeah some drinks taste good and you cannot taste the alcohol - and actually, that can be a dangerous thing lol!