Shawarma

• 1/4 cup ground black pepper
• 1/4 cup ground allspice
• 1/4 cup garlic powder
• 2 tablespoons ground cloves
• 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
• 2 tablespoons ground nutmeg
• 2 tablespoons ground cardamom
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1 tablespoons dried oregano
• 1 tablespoon salt 

To marinate the shawarma meat you'll need 2 tablespoons olive oil + 1 tablespoon white vinegar + 1/2 teaspoon salt. Allow chicken to marinate for 10-20 minutes and 1 hour to 24 hours for beef.  This is enough spice mixture for 20 lb of meat. Scale accordingly.

 

Bird seed ornament

3/4 to 1 cup birdseed

1 packet of gelatin (unflavored—I use Knox)

1/4 cup boiling water

Cookie cutters, lightly greased*

Twine and/or ribbon

Parchment or waxed paper

Combine the gelatin and the water in a small saucepan and bring to a simmer, stirring constantly. Keep stirring until the gelatin is completely dissolved. Remove the pan from heat and allow the mixture to cool for one minute. Stir in 3/4 cup birdseed, adding extra as needed until all the liquid is absorbed. (You won't want to add much more than 1 cup, otherwise there won't be enough "glue" to bind the birdseed once dried.)

Place the cookie cutters on a parchment or waxed paper on a baking sheet. (You can make the ornaments right on the counter, but a baking sheet allows for them to be easily moved aside later.) Fill each ornament halfway with the birdseed mixture. Lay a piece of twine down the length of the cookie cutter. Fill the cookie cutter to the top with remaining birdseed mixture, making sure to pack it down firmly. Allow the ornaments to dry for several hours or overnight. Once completely dried, gently press the ornaments out of the cookie cutters. If desired, add a decorative ribbon and hang on a tree branch for the birds to enjoy!

1 cup of water, 4 little packets of gelatin (one whole box) made 10 ornaments.

Wedding Soup

1 lb ground turkey

Large onion

4 cloves of garlic, minced

1 C. celery, sliced

2 15 oz cans of beans (I used red beans and white kidney beans)

1 lg can diced tomatoes

2 boxes vegetable broth

parsley, chopped

Italian seasoning

box of small pasta shapes

Brown the turkey with onions and garlic. Season with Italian seasoning, black pepper, and parsley. Add celery and allow to cook a bit. Add tomatoes and broth, and allow to come to a boil. You can let it be until you are ready for dinner, then add less than 1/2 box of pasta, if you add too much pasta it absorbs all your liquid. 5-6 minutes to cook pastas and you are done.

Mushroom chicken risoto

•  2 tablespoons butter
• ½ pound mushrooms (cut into thin slices)
• ⅔ pound chicken breasts (about 2 boneless, skinless, cut into 1/2-inch pieces)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon fresh-ground black pepper 
• 5 ½ cups (boxed) low-sodium chicken broth or homemade stock (more if needed)
• 1 tablespoon cooking oil ½ cup onion (chopped) 
• 1 ½ cups arborio rice 
• ½ cup dry white wine
• ½ cup Parmesan cheese (grated, plus more for serving) 
• 2 tablespoons fresh parsley (chopped) 

 

In a large pot, heat the butter over moderate heat. Add the mushrooms. Cook, stirring frequently, until the mushrooms are browned, about 5 minutes. Add the chicken, 1/4 teaspoon of the salt, and the pepper. Cook until the chicken is just done, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove the mixture from the pan. In a medium saucepan, bring the broth to a simmer. In the large pot, heat the oil over moderately low heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the rice and stir until it begins to turn opaque, about 2 minutes. Add the wine and the remaining 3/4 teaspoon salt to the rice. Cook, stirring frequently, until all of the wine has been absorbed. Add about 1/2 cup of the simmering broth and cook, stirring frequently, until it has been absorbed. The rice and broth should bubble gently; adjust the heat as needed. Continue cooking the rice, adding broth 1/2 cup at a time and allowing the rice to absorb it before adding the next 1/2 cup. Cook the rice in this way until tender, 25 to 30 minutes in all. The broth that hasn't been absorbed should be thickened by the starch from the rice. You may not need to use all the liquid, or you may need more broth or some water. Stir in the chicken and mushrooms, the Parmesan, and the parsley and heat through. Serve the risotto with additional Parmesan.

Miso salmon

It wasn't bad, it just wasn't what I was in the mood for. Also, I just happened to have all these ingredients already (minus the edamame, which I bought because they are cheap) so it wasn't a "special meal project", but if it was I probably would be a bit disappointed.

• 2 Tb. low-sodium soy sauce
• 1 Tb. minced peeled fresh ginger
• 1 Tb. seasoned rice vinegar
• 1 tsp. hoisin sauce 
• 1 tsp. packed light brown sugar 
• 1 pound salmon, skinned and cut crosswise into 4 equal pieces 
• 2 tsp. yellow or white miso 
• 4 tsp. mirin (sweet rice wine) 
• 2 Tb. fresh orange juice 
• 1 ⅓ cups frozen shelled edamame 
• ¼ teaspoon salt

 Arrange an oven rack and preheat broiler. Place a layer of aluminum foil on a baking sheet or broiler pan, and coat with cooking spray. Combine the first 5 ingredients (through brown sugar) in a bowl. Place salmon on foil, and brush with half the soy glaze. Broil 3 minutes; remove from oven, and brush with remaining glaze. Broil 3 minutes more or until salmon is flaky. (This step took me closer to 15 minutes, and gave me plenty of time to make the edamame, but I only cut the salmon into 2 pieces 1/2 lb each) Combine miso, mirin, and orange juice in a blender. Boil edamame in lightly salted water for 3–4 minutes or until tender; drain, reserving 4 tablespoons cooking liquid. Add edamame, reserved water, and salt to blender; pulse. (I used steam in a bag edamame, microwaved it, and dumped the bag's contents - with water in the blender and it worked just fine) Arrange 1/3 cup purée on each of 4 plates. Top with 1 piece of salmon, and drizzle with 1/4 teaspoon soy glaze from baking sheet. Served with a box of Uncle Ben's wild rice pilaf.

Shrimp Gumbo

My favorite gumbo recipe.

Snowflake Hat

Snowflake patterns are not hard to find. I customized this pattern by using multi colored yarn on the snowflake, and adding a colored stripe to end half way through the snowflake. If I redid this pattern I would not use yarn colors so close together because a bit a detail was lost in the ble.nd.