Total Smartie

I am in a bookclub.  That means I can read.  And, that means, I can talk.  That also means that I am very smart.  See, the women in my bookclub are very smart.  And smart people like to associate with other smart people.  So, by default, I'm smart too.

Last night we had bookclub meeting at my house.  Since it was at my house, I got to chose the book we were to have read.  The book was The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks.  This book is about the decades of scientific research done on the HeLa line of cells, which were taken unknowingly from a poor tobacco farmer.

I told you we were smart.  There are no cheesy romance novels on our book list.

Since I got to host bookclub last night, I got to prepare snacks and dessert.  Because my greek hummus dip was such a hit on Easter, I made it again.  It went over really well with the smart bookclubbers.

7-Layer Greek Dip

• 1 8-oz. package cream cheese, softened (I used low-fat)
• 1 tsp. dill weed or Greek seasoning (salt free–go for a mix that just has herbs)
• 3 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
• 2 tsp. lemon juice
• 1 1/2 c. hummus
• 1 c. seeded, diced cucumbers
• 1 c. seeded, diced tomatoes
• 1/2 c. chopped Kalamata olives
• 1/3 c. chopped green onions (about 3 green onions completely chopped)
• 1/2 c. crumbled Feta cheese
• 1/8-1/4 c. minced fresh parsley

1.  With an electric mixer, combine the cream cheese, seasoning, garlic, and lemon juice until light and fluffy. 

2.  Spread in the bottom of a pie plate or a small, shallow baking dish. 

3.  Then spread a layer of hummus. 

4.  In order, create layers by sprinkling the cucumbers, tomatoes, olives, onions, Feta cheese, and parsley. 

5.  Cover with plastic wrap and chill for at least 2 hours. Serve with pita chips, fresh vegetables, and/or flatbread.  

I also made a sundried tomato basil and brie spread.  This was very easy to make.  I am not a fan of brie at all, so I did not love this spread.  However, the bowl was empty, so I think the smart bookclubbers must have a much more sophisticated palate than I do because they seemed to enjoy it.

Sun Dried Tomato, Basil, & Brie Spread

• 5 ounces brie cheese, room temperature 
• 1/4 cup sun dried tomatoes, finely chopped 
• 1 sprig (4-5 large leaves) fresh basil 
• Coarse sea salt & freshly ground pepper, to taste

1.  Remove as much of the rind from the brie as possible.  (Easier said than done!)

2.  In a small mixing bowl, stir together brie, sun dried tomatoes, basil, and salt and pepper. Transfer to a serving dish. To store, chill in an airtight container.

3.  Serve at room temperature with crackers.

The final dish I made was a citrus salad with mint.  This was so delicious, I had three servings, which everybody knows is very rude to do at your own party.  I couldn't stop myself, this was amazing!

Mixed Citrus Salad with Feta, Onion and Mint

• 3 to 4 tablespoons red onion, cut into tiny bits
• 4 pieces of citrus, preferably a mix of grapefruits and oranges (I used minneola orange, clementine orange, and grapefruit.  In a perfect world, I would have found blood oranges and used those too.)
• 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar 
• 1 teaspoon smooth Dijon mustard
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• alt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
• 3 to 4 tablespoons (1.5 ounces) feta cheese, chopped or crumbled
• 1 tablespoon fresh mint, chopped or cut into tiny slivers

1.  Place your red onion in the bottom of a medium bowl. Nest a strainer over the bowl.

2.  Prepare your citrus fruits by beveling the stem end of one, cutting enough off that you reveal the pith-free flesh of the fruit. Repeat on the other end. Rest your fruit on one of its now-flat surface and begin cutting the peel and pith off in large, vertical pieces. You want the fruit’s exterior to be “white”-free.  (Don't have a clue what that means?  Yeah, me neither!  Basically, use a knife to cut all the peel off of the fruits.)

3.  Turn the fruit back on its side and cut it into 1/4-inch thick wheels, removing any seeds and thick white stem as you do. 

4.  Place the wheels and any collected juices from the cutting board in the strainer over the bowl with onion. Repeat with remaining citrus fruits. (As the extra juices drip over the bowl, it will soften the raw onion bite.)  

5.  Spread the fruit slices out on a platter. Scoop out the onion bits (a slotted spoon or fork does the trick) and sprinkle them over, leaving the juice in the bowl. 

6.  Whisk one tablespoon of juice (this is all I had accumulated) with red wine vinegar, Dijon and olive oil. Season with salt and freshly cracked black pepper. Drizzle the dressing over the citrus, sprinkle with feta and mint, adjust salt and pepper to taste.  Serve immediately.

SIDENOTE:  I cut my fruit up ahead of time and stored them fruit slices in a bowl in the fridge.  So, when I made my dressing I had several tbsp of fruit juice.  I put the fruit slices, onion, mint, and cheese on a platter on the table.  Right before we ate, I drizzled the dressing over the salad.

Dessert last night was a huge hit and perhaps the easiest dessert ever.....chocolate mangoes.  I came up with this idea after a long day at gardening class a few weeks ago.  

Chocolate Mangoes

• dried mangoes (HIGHLY recommend finding real fresh dried mangos)
• dark chocolate
• kosher (or sea) salt

1.  Melt dark chocolate in double broiler (or microwave).
2.  Dip mango in melted chocolate.
3.  Lay on sheet of parchment paper.
4.  Let sit for 10 minutes and then sprinkle with salt.

It was a great night!  Looking forward to our next meeting!


ONE QUICK ANNOUNCEMENT:  I have gotten lots of emails that people can't comment on the blog.  I have changed the security settings and everyone should be able to comment now.  Let me know if it doesn't work!

Easter Sell Out

Lately, I've been really aware of how quickly time is passing and how fast my minis are growing up.  Every day I am having moments of "when did she get so old" and "is he really big enough to be doing that" and "wow, he doesn't need me to do that for him anymore."  And it's sending me into this panic of trying to make memories.  And, why am I telling you this?

Because I am a sell out.  And I am blaming it on my current sentiment.  I already told you about the jelly beans.  And several of you were gracious enough to send me links to all natural jelly beans, even after I asked you not too.  So, thanks!  Unfortunately, you can't order something on Good Friday and have it delivered by Easter, so my minis are stuck with these toxic mixtures of food color and high fructose corn syrup.  I thought I couldn't stoop any lower, and then my tiny mini flipped her Katniss Everdeen braid and batted her blue eyes and said, "mama, pwease make me rainbow jello on Easter."  And I realized, it's only a matter of years before she's asking for a skimpy rainbow bedazzled bikini for Easter, so I said yes.

And my "go big or go go home" attitude kicked in found this recipe on pinterest.  I went to the store and came home with these.  I didn't read the ingredients, but I am pretty certain it reads INGREDIENTS: food coloring and unmentionable animal parts.

And this is the reaction that I got.

She was thrilled.  I was thrilled.  We literally spent hours together in the kitchen and I taught my 3 year old mini all about ROY G BIV.  Success despite all the toxicity.

Rainbow Jello

• small packages of Jell-O, any colors
• plain yogurt (I was REALLY bad and bought vanilla-flavored yogurt to make it really sweet and creamy)

1.  Mix one package of Jell-O with 1 cup boiling water, stirring to dissolve completely. 

2.  Pour 2/3 cup of the jello into an 8″x8″ pan that has been rubbed lightly with vegetable oil. 

3.  Refrigerate until set. 

4.  While it is chilling, stir enough 1/3 cup of yogurt into the remaining Jell-O.

5.  Once jello layer has set,  pour jello-yogurt layer over the chilled first layer.

6.  Continue in the same manner to make clear and opaque layers and chilling each before adding the next. Once finished, cover and chill for a few hours, then cut into squares with a sharp knife.

First layer is purple jello.

Here you can see purple jello layer, purple jello/yogurt layer, blue jello layer, blue jello/yogurt layer, green jello layer, and green jello/yogurt layer.

Here you can see me pouring the orange jello layer onto the purple/blue/green layers.  MAKE SURE YOU CHILL AND SET BETWEEN EACH LAYER!!!!  And yes, I realize, I made a ROY G BIV error and put orange orange on before yellow.  And yes, I considered throwing this out and starting all over again.  But, I didn't, so I will be forced to eat RYO G BIV jello tomorrow.  I consider that punishment enough.

Here's the orange jello/yogurt layer.

Finished product.  So. Much.Fun.

So, I apologize for selling out.  It was worth it because my mini told me I was the best mama ever and she had an I-can't-stop-hugging-you moment.  But, if you are disappointed, I will try to make it up to you with a couple more recipes.

Tomorrow is Easter.  To me, Easter means two things....Jesus and deviled eggs.

Bacon Cheddar Deviled Eggs

• 12 Hard boiled eggs
• 4 slices Bacon (cooked & crumbled)
• 2 tablespoons Cheese, finely shredded
• 1 Green Onion (finely chopped)
• 1 cup Mayonnaise (make your own, it's so easy!)
• 1 tablespoon Mustard
• ¼ teaspoon black pepper

Instructions

1. Cook bacon {we like to cook bacon in the oven}
2. Slice hard boiled eggs length-wise and scoop out yolks, place yolks in a mixing bowl.
3. Mash yolks and mix in the bacon,green onion,mayonnaise, mustard and black pepper.
4. Spoon or pipe the mixture into the egg whites.
5. Refrigerate until serving.

I forgot to take pictures of the finished products, but they were delish!!!!  

I am also bringing this dip tomorrow to Easter brunch.  You can eat this dip with pita chips or veggies.  I prefer veggies, especially cucumber slices.

7-Layer Greek Dip

• 1 8-oz. package cream cheese, softened (I used low-fat)
• 1 tsp. dill weed or Greek seasoning (salt free–go for a mix that just has herbs)
• 3 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
• 2 tsp. lemon juice
• 1 1/2 c. hummus
• 1 c. seeded, diced cucumbers
• 1 c. seeded, diced tomatoes
• 1/2 c. chopped Kalamata olives
• 1/3 c. chopped green onions (about 3 green onions completely chopped)
• 1/2 c. crumbled Feta cheese
• 1/8-1/4 c. minced fresh parsley

1.  With an electric mixer, combine the cream cheese, seasoning, garlic, and lemon juice until light and fluffy. 

2.  Spread in the bottom of a pie plate or a small, shallow baking dish. 

3.  Then spread a layer of hummus. 

4.  In order, create layers by sprinkling the cucumbers, tomatoes, olives, onions, Feta cheese, and parsley. 

5.  Cover with plastic wrap and chill for at least 2 hours. Serve with pita chips, fresh vegetables, and/or flatbread.  

I hope you can all find it in your hearts to forgive me for selling out.  I would like to point out that tomorrow is Easter, and Easter is the season of forgiveness.  So, have a blessed day and come back and visit me soon!