Yogurt, Fruit and Oatmeal Parfait

Update: 3/5/16, changed picture (while it looks similar, the ingredients used varies slightly, one difference, I used plain greek yogurt which is more solid.)

This is one of my favorite recipes so far.

It is a meal in a glass. I find it filling. It can be a breakfast dish or a dessert.

Another reason I like this recipe is that it’s hard to make a mistake with it.

Yogurt, Fruit and Oatmeal Parfait

(Adapted from: http://www.bestbonesforever.gov/recipes_main/Breakfast/breakfast.html)

Ingredients

1 tall glass

 3 oz yogurt, plain or fruit flavored

1/8 teaspoon vanilla flavoring (optional)

2 tablespoons oatmeal (or cereal)

1+ tablespoon pineapple chunks (canned)

1+ tablespoon peach halves, diced (canned)

1 banana, sliced

4 tspns mixed nuts and raisins, crushed

honey

Process

Stir vanilla into plain yogurt or use fruit flavored yogurt.

In the glass, layer yogurt, oatmeal, fruit, banana, nut mix, then start a new layer. Add layers to fill the glass.

Top off with nut mix, banana slices and a drizzle of honey.

Optional: Use any fruit you like.

Notes

Most of the yogurt in Mexico where I live is a drink, not an semi-solid from a container, so I do not really get a yogurt layer.

I make a peanuts, raisins, fried plantain chips, sunflower seed, and soy nut mix for snacks. I put 4 tablespoons of the mix in a plastic bag and crushed/smashed the mix with my solid wood cutting board. No damage to board or me.

I had tried this before with fruit flavored yogurt but I like the plain yogurt mixed with vanilla flavoring better.

Basic Potato Soup and a Shirley Temple Mocktail

Whew, a success. I needed a success.

Basic Potato Soup

2 medium white potatoes, quartered

1 medium red onion, diced

1.5 tbspn olive oil

3 tbspn flour

4 cups milk

salt and pepper to taste

In a pan, add potatoes and onions. Cover with water.

Bring to a boil, then lower heat to simmer.

Cook 10-20 minutes until potatoes and onions are soft.

Drain potato and onion mixture.

In a separate pot, add oil and flour. Stir until smooth.

Add 1 cup of milk.

Stir. Heat to thicken while stirring.

Add remaining milk and stir.

Add potato and onion mixture.

Season to taste.

Heat until hot.

This was my first potato soup. I even used the flour thickening trick.

The end result was a pleasant surprise.

Note:

Now, one thing I do consistently is I do NOT cut up my potatoes or onions into tiny pieces. Often they are not even bite-sized. Cutting up things is not my forte.

I celebrated with a Shirley Temple with my modifications.

Leftover Chicken & Dumplings and Cuchulainn Sheehan Mocktail

Bad Start Ends with a Good Recipe, Mocktail and More

My internet is so SLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOW, I have to have three projects in the works, so I can use the downtime for another project while I wait for internet access or a webpage to load. And that is just one of my technology problems.

So, I get frustrated.

I am working on two cookbooks. One is an enlarged version of Recipes from the Kitchen of a Frugal Non-Cook and the other is about mock cocktails.

One thing I have learned about cocktails is you can add a shot of liquor to just about anything and call it a cocktail.

I wanted to try a recipe called “Easy Chicken and Dumplings” because I love recipes that have “easy” in the title.

But, it calls for “cooked chicken”, so now I have to cook two dishes.

I need to cook chicken, so I can dice it for the recipe. So, how do you cook chicken?

Simple question, try an internet search and you end up with things like “Margarita Chicken”, not what I wanted to see.

So, I guessed. I added about 1 inch of water to a pan. I put my chicken legs in the pan on the electric stovetop and cooked them on medium high (low boil) for 20+ minutes. It worked, I got cooked chicken. Plus, some chicken stock.

Try pouring hot chicken stock into a jar; it can get messy if you aren’t careful. I firmly believe the kitchen is a dangerous place.

I put the chicken in the frig to cool, to dice later for the recipe. Now, I have lots of dirty dishes and I haven’t even started on the recipe.

This is perfect example of why I hate to cook and why I admire good cooks like my mom, who made it all look so easy. After doing five sinkfuls of dishes over the last three days, I could not help but appreciate my mom more. Plus, I am daydreaming about going out to eat. No dirty dishes in my daydreams.

Anyway, the dishes are washed and chicken has cooled.

After pulling the meat off the bones, I diced up a small bowl of chicken, more than the recipe called for.

While I made a few adjustments to the recipe, I wondered, “How do you know when dumplings are done?”

I don’t know. I was too tired to research it. All I could remember about dumplings was I liked them. I think they came out ok. They were hmmm, how to describe dumplings? Cooked dough in a chicken sauce. Not doughy, but dough-like, a bit like a biscuit.

The dish survived and so did I.

Also, I made a Mocktail I created and named “Cuchulainn Sheehan.” It turned out nicely -- refreshing, light and a bit tart.

At the end of the day, the computer technician came to provide me with an ethernet cable, so I could access the internet directly with the hope it would speed things up a bit.

So, a day that started badly ended successfully.

Now, I will call this recipe “Leftover Chicken and Dumplings”, so I will only use it when I have leftover cooked chicken.

Leftover Chicken and Dumplings (In Two Steps)

Step One

Chicken Mixture

2 cups cooked chicken, diced

2 tablespoons flour

2 tablespoons water

1 cup chicken broth (or 1/2 chicken bullion and 1 cup water)

salt

pepper

Add flour to pan. Add water.

Stir to make smooth. Add more water if necessary.

Add broth. Stir.

Cook at medium heat until mixture thickens.

Add chicken.

Season to taste.

Step Two

Dumplings

1/3 cup flour

1/2 teaspoon Baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder (optional)

2 tablespoons milk

In a bowl, add flour, baking powder, salt and garlic powder.

Stir to mix.

Add milk.

Stir to form dough. Add more milk if necessary.

Form small mounds of dough with a tablespoon and drop into chicken mixture.

Cover pan. Reduce heat.

Cook on simmer 15 minutes.

Note: this post was done while using the ethernet cable and there were no drops in service!!!

Mocktail Passion

Opps, I think I have ventured into a passion.

While researching non-alcoholic drinks for my next cookbook, I became intrigued with making a variety of mock cocktails, or Mocktails.

Soon, this intrigue turned into a passion.

In a decidedly non-tightwad fashion, I went out and bought goo gobs of ingredients to make at least 15 mock cocktails.

In researching various non-alcoholic drink recipes, I did revert back to adapting various recipes to suit my budget, pantry, kitchen, and tastes.

Of course, I immersed myself in the lore and technique of making cocktails and their mock counterparts.

I discovered that a trend may be developing for dry bars as discussed The Guardian article "Dry bars: will they be the next big thing?"

Also, while researching the differences between mineral water, carbonated water, club soda and seltzer water, I found an interesting bit on Wikipedia on "Two-cents Plain" carbonated water, the cheapest beverage served at luncheon counters during the Depression.

But, it was the IBA (International Bartenders Association) Cosmopolitan cocktail recipe on Wikipedia and the Virgin Manhattan mocktail I found at: Convivial.org that clicked with me regarding how the right proportion of ingredients and combination of ingredients can produce a unique flavor.

In particular, it was interesting to see how various mock cocktails recipes used other ingredients like brewed tea or various juices to try and create flavors that mimicked the original cocktail.

I am proud of my frugal recipe for a Boyhattan Mocktail.

If you try this recipe, don't forget, you can adjust the ingredients to your taste and even experiment with other ingredients including the garnishes.

So, now I am working on two cookbooks. One -- an enlarged version of my Recipes from the Kitchen of a Frugal Non-Cook and two -- a collection of mock cocktail recipes.

Researching mock cocktail recipes has made me appreciate the judicious use of various ingredients in all types of recipes.

Enjoy!

Note: Not all the groceries in the grocery picture are for mock cocktails nor are all the mock cocktail ingredients shown.

Darwin's Lost Theory by David Loye

Becoming an author has opened a new world of connections for me.

I heard an interview on the "radio" with Dr. David Loye regarding his latest book, Darwin's Lost Theory.

The topic grabbed my attention. Loye was promoting the same idea I expressed in my eBook, Gina's Dream.

I had raised concerns about how our society has adopted the so-called theory of "survival of the fittest" and now uses it to support rampant selfishness to the point of theft, lies, and brutality.

The theory of "survival of the fittest" has been credited to Charles Darwin in his book, The Origin of Species, when in reality, Darwin's research supported another theory, the theory of "cooperation."

Dr. Loye is a prolific author. He has written over sixteen books and several on the topic of Charles Darwin.

You can find Dr. Loye's book at: http://davidloye.com/DLTpromo.html

Also, Dr. Loye is affiliated with several organizations that promote Darwin's theories and other perspectives such as The Darwin Project: http://thedarwinproject.com/library/library4.htm

Because I have not read or studied any of Dr. Loye's books or projects, I can not offer any recommendations.

While Dr. Loye approaches the topic of Darwin's theories from a scientific point of view, I feel that the idea of cooperation in society also needs to be expressed in different genres and on different levels of understanding.

Mocktails

The best parts of a cocktail are a beautiful chilled glass and the garnishes.

 

But, you can make Mocktails and enjoy a beautiful drink without the hangover.

These are simple Mocktail recipes, so treat yourself!

Faux Sparkling Rose Champagne

Regular 8 oz glass

Champagne glass

1/2  cup cranberry juice, chilled

1/2 cup club soda or carbonated water, chilled

Pour ingredients into a regular glass.

Stir and pour into champagne glass.

^^^^^^^^^^

Cremesicle

Regular 8 oz glass

Champagne glass

1/2 cup orange juice, chilled

1/4 cup plain yogurt, chilled

1/4 cup ginger ale, chilled

a dash of vanilla

Pour ingredients into a regular glass.

Stir vigorously.

Pour into champagne glass

^^^^^^^^^^^

Shirley Temple

Regular 8 oz glass

water

sugar

small bowl

small plate

Champagne glass

6 oz lemon-lime carbonated beverage, chilled

a dash concentrated jamaica juice or cherry juice, chilled

1 slice of lime

First, dip rim of Champagne glass into shallow bowl of water.

Then, dip rim into a small plate of sugar and set aside.

In regular glass, mix ingredients.

Stir well.

Pour into champagne glass.

Garnish with a slice of lime.

^^^^^^^^^^^^

Virgin Mary

8 oz tall glass

Tomato juice

dash of salt

dash of black pepper

1-2 dashes of tabasco sauce

2-4 dashes Worcestershire sauce

dash of lime juice

ice

garnish: celery stick

Add 6 oz of tomato juice to glass.

Add salt, pepper, tabasco Worcestershire sauce, season to taste.

Add dash of lime juice.

Stir.

Add ice.

Garnish with celery stick.

^^^^^^^^^^^^

Sunset Cooler

Fancy 8 oz glass

5 oz orange juice, chilled

Ginger ale, chilled

juice from slice of lime

a dollop of cranberry juice concentrate (or grenadine, or jamaica concentrate), chilled

Pour orange juice into glass.

Pour in ginger ale.

Run lime slice around rim of glass.

Squeeze juice from lime slice into glass.

Stir.

Add  dollop of jamica concentrate.

Do not stir.

Option: add ice

^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Notes

I am currently short on garnishes. Look for updates.