Easy Cole Slaw

Shred one head of cabbage and two or three carrots (peeled) into a bowl and mix.

In a separate bowl, mix 1 cup mayo, 4 Tablespoons sugar, and 2 Tablespoons white vinegar.  Add to cabbage mixture and stir until combined.  If it doesn't look goopy enough for your taste, mix up some more dressing.  You can also adjust the vinegar to taste. 

It's always nice to let it marinate in the fridge for a little bit, but not necessary.  I sometimes make it and just stick it in the fridge while I make the rest of dinner.

Super easy (especially if you have a food processor or shredding attachment to your mixer) and very yummy!


EDIT:
If you want a yummy twist on this favorite, add to the dressing: the juice of one or two limes (to taste) and cilantro (one bunch, chopped). BAM! Yummy cilantro lime Cole slaw

Cherry Pomegranate Frozen Margarita

I thought I had posted this here before but apparently not.
So ... here you go !!
The fabulous cherry margarita !

Here's what you need ...

1 tablespoon Tequilla
1 tablespoon Triple Sec
2 tablespoons Pomegranate Juice
A handful of Frozen Fruit
Ice
Sugar, for rim



Yeah, that's blueberries not cherries.
The cherries weren't in a box anymore.
The box looked better for the photo !

Ok ...
Here's what you do.
Put all the ingredients into a blender.
Blend.
Done.
If it's not thick enough, add more fruit.
If it's too thick, add more pom juice.



When Rory makes mine, he rubs lime around the rim and dips it in sugar.
But, usually he's making himself a normal margarita so already has limes cut open.
When I made it the other night, I didn't want to cut a lime just for that so I just used water.

Mmmmmm ... might have one tonight ...

Cinnamon Sugar Donut Muffins

I posted this recipe in 2008 but thought it was time for a repost.  If you haven't tried these yet, it is time.   I found the recipe here and have basically followed her recipe but over the years have adapted it just a little bit.  I use greek yoghurt, a specific amount of oil, and I use canola ... oh,  and more topping ... but anyway, I'll give you my method below ...

Dry Ingredients:
2 cups plain flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt

Wet Ingredients:
2 large eggs
1 cup greek yoghurt
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
6 tablspoons canola oil
1 tsp vanilla

Topping:
1/2 stick butter, melted (about 55g)
1/2 cup sugar
1teaspoon cinnamon

Preheat oven to 200c/400f.  Line muffin pan with paper or silicon cups.

Mix dry ingredients in a bowl.

In a different bowl, whisk wet ingredients.  I start with the eggs, whisk.  Add yoghurt, whisk.  Add sugar, whisk ... you getting the picture? 

When the wet ingredients are combined, add the dry ingredients.  Mix gently until just mixed.  Don't over mix; batters should not be smooth.  BUT ... DO make sure the baking powder is mixed in!  The first couple of times I made these I found little lumps of baking powder when I was eating my muffin.  It was quite unpleasant!

Divide batter among the muffin cups and bake until a toothpick inserted comes out clean, 12-15 minutes.

While the muffins are baking, melt butter in a small, shallow bowl. Combine sugar and cinnamon in a different small, shallow bowl. As soon as the muffing are done, dip them one at a time in the butter and then in the cinnamon sugar. Set on a rack to cool ... or just eat straight away like we do!

Makes 12 standard muffins.

Lemon Thyme Ricotta Gnocchi

 

I've made gnocchi with ricotta before but this gnocchi was a case of 'use up ingredients in the fridge and don't go buy more' so I didn't do the one I usually do!  I was really happy with how this one turned out though.  I'm not sure on the exact measurements as I was sort of adding a bit here and there but it seems to be pretty forgiving!  So, if you are comfortable with that sort of cooking, here's where you could start ... 

This recipe didn't make a whole lot.  For our family of four, we were all full but we also had a veggie and some garlic bread.  There were no seconds ... and we were all wishing there were!  Next time, I'll double the recipe!

250g ricotta (I didn't have quite 250g as I was using up an open ricotta!) 

1 cup of flour, or more

fresh thyme, leaves picked off ... as little or as much as you like.

rind of one lemon

30g finely grated Parmesan cheese

1 egg

I read somewhere that it's good to get as much moisture out of the ricotta as possible when using it for gnocchi so I spooned it all into a small colander/strainer and put that in a bowl in the fridge for about 1/2 an hour before I started making the gnocchi.  Don't know if it was necessary but a fair bit of liquid did drain out so I'd probably do it again next time.

Mix the flour, thyme, Parmesan cheese and lemon rind in a large bowl.  Make a well in the centre and add the ricotta and egg.  I used my fingers to mix everything together until it became a dough.  I did add a little bit more flour as I went because it was really really sticky!  Make sure you don't overwork the dough or it will become tough and no one wants tough gnocchi!

Put the dough onto a well floured surface and form into a square ... well, mine was more like a rectangle, but I was aiming for square!  (Add flour as needed so the dough doesn't stick to your hands or your work space!)  Cut that into four segments.  Roll each segment into a long snake ... you know, like you used to do with playdough?! Cut each snake into small pieces which can be boiled just like that or rolled out on a gnocchi board or back of a fork. 

Add gnocchi to boiling water and cook until they float.  Normally, we'd stop there but last night I tried frying them in garlic butter as well.  YUM!  I drained them in a little colander and then popped them straight into a fry pan with butter and three smashed but whole garlic cloves.  I shook the pan around and coated them in the butter.  It gave them a little extra flavor and a bit of a crispy coating!  So good.  I did half the gnocchi that way, half just boiled.  We liked them both ways. 

 

Top with your favorite sauce.  We love Craig's Bacon Mushroom Sauce and Winter Veg Sauce as two options!  YUM.  The one pictured above is a creamy roasted tomato sauce.