Tomato Salsa (for canning)

This is a less spicy recipe that does not use much cilantro. Adjust the seasonings and peppers to create a spicier salsa if preferred. Just remember that the total of all the combined peppers should be between 4-5 cups, no matter what type used. Also, if desired, add a little hot sauce or extra ground chipotle to spice it up a little more.

Depending on the tomatoes used, this can be a very sweet salsa. Add a little additional vinegar if too sweet. Lastly, feel free to use lemon or lime juice instead of the apple cider vinegar for variety.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

August 4th is National chocolate chip cookie day.

For some reason, I did not bring a chocoate chip cookie recipe when we moved to Slovakia.  My friend, Joan Britton, gave me this recipe and told me the dough was really thick (her recipe called for one egg), but was the best recipe.  I could not find chocolate chips there, so I just cut up chocolate bars.

We took them to work to share and I often left out the chocolate for our friend who was allergic to it.  The cookies are still very good without chocolate!

When we moved overseas again, the eggs were smaller and we discovered two eggs worked very well.  We also could not find brown sugar, so we started using molasses instead.  Even though we can get brown sugar here, we prefer being able to adjust the molasses to our own personal tastes.

Grandma Bea’s String Bean Soup

Grandma wrote this recipe for me years ago. I like fresh from the garden raw string beans. This is my favorite way to eat them cooked and I make it often in the summer.

While I kept Grandma’s original recipe, I put my changes in parenthesis. When we make this, I often use more potatoes, sometimes as much as half potatoes and half string beans, though I prefer it closer to 1:4. This is good as a soup or with less liquid as a stew.

We often garnish with cheese and bacon with tortilla chips on the side.

Chocolate Cake with Zucchini and Chocolate Chips

This is a moist, light chocolate cake. It is simple to make and tastes great plain or with whipped cream on top. While we usually serve it for dessert, the kids often ask for it for breakfast also.

The zucchini is well hidden in the cake and is a great way to use up some extra zucchini from your garden. We have been enjoying this recipe since Mom M. discovered it 2012.

Oyster Crackers (Ranch Flavored)

Mom used to make these crackers in the fall and winter to snack on. I am not sure how long it has been since I wrote this recipe down for myself. They are good as croutons or just for eating.

Custard Based Vanilla Ice Cream

Just before Father’s Day, we discovered whipping cream was on sale for almost 50% off. Mom had given me a coupon for a free 2 dozen eggs. So we decided that we should make homemade ice cream to share.

Making homemade ice cream is a special treat! Be sure to start it early, because the custard base needs to cool down before adding the final ingredients. It is not very difficult to make, but do not rush or use high heat. It is often more expensive than store bought, but you can control how many “strange” ingredients you are eating. Plus, I think it tastes a lot better!

Lady Fingers (Savoiardi)

I do not think I ever had a ladyfinger cookie until Mark was teething. We could not find “normal” teething biscuits, so we bought ladyfingers instead. They were also good with tea.

Years later, I discovered they were also a main ingredient in tiramisu. They are available at stores, but not often easy to find. So we learned how to make our own.

Pizza

This is probably the best recipe for pizza that we have found. It is also very easy. Years ago, Andrea wrote the recipe down from memory. For the longest time we just mixed everything and used the dough immediately, but Andrea learned in culinary class to let the dough sit overnight and the crust is much better.

Chocolate Chip, Cherry, Walnut Bagels

While living in Slovakia, Allan was gone many nights. Often I would go to the office with him, play on the computer a little and just be lazy while he worked in the other room. I found a few bagel recipes that were good, but this is my favorite.

Bagels (New York Style)

Mark decided to surprise us with bagels. He and Megan made them with shredded white cheddar cheese and they were wonderful.