Homemade Thinmints.

I love girlscout cookies, but $3.50 a box?


Homemade Thin Mints

Homemade Thin Mints
2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1/4 cup cornstarch
6 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup white sugar
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1/3 cup milk
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 tsp peppermint extract

In a small bowl mix flour, cornstarch, cocoa powder and salt.
In a large bowl cream sugar and butter and milk with a hand mixer, then add in the extracts. Mix in the flour mixture until fully blended. Dough will be very stiff and dry.
Shape into two logs, about the diameter of a thin mint, and seal in seran wrap. Freeze for at least thirty minutes before slicing very thin (1/6 inch). Place slices on wax-paper lined baking sheet, and bake at 375 F for 13-15 minutes until edges are firm. Cool cookies completely before coating.


Dark Chocolate Coating
10-oz dark or semisweet chocolate
1/2 cup butter, room temperature

Melt chocolate and butter in a double boiler until smooth.
Dip cookies in coating, then return to wax paper to harden and cool in the fridge or freezer.

I got this recipe from bakingbites.com Pin It Now!

Mama Lilee's Bungo Yogurt

I don't consider myself particularly "granola" by nature, but living in Africa has thrust a certain green-ness on me out of necessity. Along with carrying all our produce from the market in a woven basket, and bringing things like margarine and eggs home in a piece of newspaper, where we then scoop them into a worn out old plastic tub or place them, feathers and all, in a beat up, well used carton... I also now make yogurt (and butter, and cheese.) I actually used to make yogurt in Sudan, but with fresh fruit a-PLENTY here, this time around the yogurt is certifiably delicious.

And easy!

Here's how:

Mama Lilee's Bungo* Yogurt

You will need to buy one small container of plain yogurt from the supermarket (but you will only need this ONCE, as long as you remember to cut a 1/2 cup from each batch to use as a starter for the batch to follow.)

ingredients:
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1/2 gallon milk
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup bungo (*or, here's the beautiful part, ANY type of concentrate you'd like to add, homemade or store bought)

Heat the milk to about 160 degrees F, then place in a large glass jar and allow to cool to about 110 degrees. You don't need to use a thermometer for this - just know that the milk has to go from hot to warm. Once the milk has cooled to about 110 degrees, add the plain yogurt. Now you need to keep the milk warm (at about 110 degrees) for the next 4 hours. I (thanks to my mom-in-law's recollecting that another lady she used to know did it this way...) use a thermos (the big kind for ice-water) and fill it with warm water. Place the jar of milk (lid off) into the water so that it is surrounded by, but not submerged in the water, then replace the thermos lid and let sit for four hours. Pop the lid, and there you have it. Yogurt.

It is a bit bitter to taste, but can be used in curries and marinades plain, or sweeten it by shaking in the sugar and concentrate as a treat. I've also blended up a banana to add as a puree, and would have done the same with strawberries or peaches or blueberries, if only... and imagine it would be delicious with the concentrate omitted and just a little sugar and vanilla to taste. Whatever it may be - it cuts down on the numerous containers we plough through when buying yogurt by the six-pack (which we can't get here anyhow) and it just feels good!

Note: This is "drinking yogurt" as it is called in Kenya. Probably much less thick than you're used to in the US. So, no - you didn't do it wrong - it's supposed to be that thin. Pin It Now!

Mimi's Banana Muffins (with chocolate chips)

Pretty sure there must have been a predecessor to The Mimi for this recipe, but since it's mom's banana bread I remember, she gets all the props... even though I don't think she ever made it as muffins. Or with chocolate chips.

Anywho...

I give you:
Mimi's Banana Muffins (with chocolate chips)

1/2 cup margarine

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

3 bananas mashed*

2 cups flour

1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. baking powder

3/4 cup chocolate chips

Sift together dry ingredients. Cream margarine and sugar, mix in eggs and mashed bananas. Add dry ingredients and mix through. Stir in chocolate chips. Spoon equal portions into a greased 12 cup muffin tin. Bake at 350 for 25 min.

*I think the muffins are more delicious when the bananas are pureed by food processor. But then there's more dishes to clean. It's a toss-up...

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Pumpkin and Tomato Soup with Rice

Pumpkin and Tomato Soup with Rice

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 lbs. ripe pumpkin, peeled, seeded and chopped
3 tbsp. butter
1 lg. onion, peeled and chopped
3 lg. tomatoes, skinned and chopped
1 inch fresh ground ginger
1 tsp. salt
1 carrot, peeled and chopped
4 cups chicken broth
1 tbsp. vinegar
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1 1/2 cups half and half milk
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup cooked rice


Place chopped pumpkin in a pot filled with enough water to cover. Cook pumpkin til tender (about 30 min.) in 450 degree oven.
Saute onion, tomato, carrot and ginger in butter and salt 'til soft and liquified.
When pumpkin is cooked, add to tomato mixture in a large soup pot.
Add broth, vinegar and spices
Cover and simmer about 30 minutes, then, working in batches, puree soup in a blender or food processor. Reserve some of the chunks of pumpkin til the end and only add in to puree if you want to thicken the broth.
Return to stove-top and stir in half n' half and salt and pepper to taste
Add 1 cup cooked rice.
Serve hot and garnish with fresh cilantro and chopped tomato.

This is crazy yummy, but maybe you should wait 'til october to try it out in style...

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Lime 'n Chili Sweet Potatoes

Mihogo is a life-force here on the island. One of the carpenters once told me that we wouldn't have so many freckles if we ate more cassava... freckles being a sign of an inferior culture, obviously. We also would only have to sleep about 3 hours a night.

I wanted to try out a new flavor I had in mind of Grilled mihogo (cassava) with lime and chilies. However, I accidentally wrote Sweet Potatoes in stead of Cassava on my shopping list when Reid was going down to the market... but I was so infatuated with the idea that I couldn't wait, and rolled the sweet potatoes in the lime and chili themselves. Presto! Our new favorite dish.

I guess I've given away the recipe already, but for those of you who weren't paying attention during that captivating anecdote, here it is spelled out:

Lime 'n Chili Sweet potatoes.

Preheat oven to high/broil

Ingredients:
8 small sweet potatoes, peeled
1/2 lime seeded and squeezed (or equivalent of 1 1/2 tsp. lime juice)
I small red chili or thai bird, seeded and chopped, very fine.
1 1/2 tsp. salt

Boil the sweet potatoes 30 min. until tender
Prepare the rub by mixing the lime, chili and salt in a large bowl.
When the sweet potatoes are cooked through, remove from water and cut into one inch slices. Throw all the pieces in the bowl and toss to coat. Dump the coated sweet potatoes into an oven-proof pan and broil for about 5 minutes.



You'll want to be sure you don't over do it on the lime. I've made this mistake. Pin It Now!