Cowboy Caviar for Memorial Day BBQ

Always a winner for a BBQ and the boys from Calgary, "Lumpy", "Custom", "Moose" and Joey, joined us after golf.

This time I eliminated the dressing because the avocado was already mashed into a spicy guacamole. It became a more robust dip, easier to keep on the tortilla chip. Below is the original recipe.

COWBOY CAVIAR page 180 Tastes & Treasures
Ingredients:
1 15oz can corn, drained, or 1 ½ cups frozen corn, defrosted
1 14oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 14oz can black eyed peas, drained and rinsed
2/3 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
2/3 cup green onion, chopped
2 large avocados, chopped
1 14oz can diced tomatoes, drained
Tortilla chips

Dressing:
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
¼ cup red wine vinegar
1-2 cloves fresh garlic, minced
1 t salt
½ tsp fresh ground black pepper
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
¼ tsp chipotle chili powder, or to taste


In a colander, drain and rinse the corn and beans. In a separate colander, drain the tomatoes.

Chop the cilantro and the green onions. Peel and chop the avocado.

Make the dressing: mince the garlic. In a small bowl, pour the olive oil and red wine vinegar- whisk to combine.

Add to the dressing the minced garlic, salt, pepper, cumin, coriander and chipotle chili powder. Whisk to combine.

Into a large bowl combine the corn, beans, cilantro, green onions, avocados and tomato. Gently toss with a large spatula.

Pour the dressing over the caviar mixture and gently toss to combine. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Cover and chill until serving time. Can be made several hours in advance. Serve with your favorite tortilla chips.

Makes 6-8 cups

German Sweet Chocolate Cake

If you are a chocolate lover, this is one of the best desserts. My neighbor is known for her baking and she shared this recipe.

German Sweet Chocolate Pudding Cake

Ingredients
1 package (2 layer size) yellow cake mix –Duncan Hines
1 package (4 serving size) Jello Vanilla Instant Pudding
4 ounce Baker’s German Sweet Chocolate, melted
4 eggs
1 ¼ cup buttermilk
¼ cup vegetable oil
Instructions
Combine all ingredients in large mixer bowl. Blend. Beat 4 minutes at medium speed. Pour into 3 greased and floured 9 inch layer pans – cut out wax paper to fit pan and grease and flour paper in pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until cake springs back when lightly pressed. Cool in pans 15 minutes. Remove and finish cooling on racks. Fill with coconut filling on top of each layer. Do not ice sides of cake just on top of each layer.
Coconut Filling:
Combine 1 cup evaporated milk, 1 cup sugar, 3 egg yolks, slightly beaten, ½ cup butter or margarine and 1 teaspoon vanilla in saucepan. Cook and stir constantly over medium heat until thickened, about 12 minutes. Remove from heat/ and add 1 1/3 cup bakers angel flake coconut and 1 cup chopped pecans. Cool, beating occasionally, until of spreading consistence. Makes 2 ½ cups.



Note: Everyone loves the coconut filling so she usually doubles the recipe for this cake to make it extra yummy.

Memorial Day BBQ

Remembering those loved ones is an important part of this day. Flags are flying, speeches are being made and flowers freshen up the gravesites.

We also enjoy getting together with family and friends around a BBQ and salad. Try this fresh salad from The Cottage Place Restaurant in Flagstaff.

Exotic Greens with Strawberry Vinaigrette in Tastes & Treasures. page 21.

Strawberry Vinaigrette
8 ounces frozen strawberries
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon rice wine vinegar
1/3 cup olive oil
1/3 cup soybean oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon white pepper

Salad
8 cups baby salad greens
1 cup chopped tomato
1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted
6 whole strawberries, fanned
2 ounces goat cheese

For the vinaigrette, process the strawberries in a blender until pureed. Add the sugar, balsamic vinegar, rice wine vinegar, olive oil, soybean oil, salt and white pepper and process until blended.
For the salad, toss the salad greens and tomato with the vinaigrette in a salad bowl to coat. Place on six chilled salad plates. Top with the pine nuts, strawberries and goat cheese. (I made it in a big bowl instead and got rave reviews from guests.)

Serves 6

Warm Apple Crepes from Corbins

Biking to burn off the calories is our motto as we often ride to food destinations. Great incentive. Pam and Don Fischer joined us for a 22 mile ride with breakfast at First Watch. Don had wonderful berry crepes.

After breakfast we continued on along the canal paths to Corbins to share a Warm Apple Crepe. The filling is made with cottage cheese, mascarpone cheese and topped with candied walnuts, it was melt in your mouth good. Now I want to try Tastes & Treasures recipe for flavorful apple treats.

Apple Streusel Pie pg 163

Streusel Topping
½ cup packed brown sugar
1/3 cup all purpose flour
¼ cup (1/2 stick) butter
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ cup chopped pecans

Apple Pie
¼ cup chopped pecans
1 unbaked (9 inch) pie shell
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons all purpose flour
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
6 cups thinly sliced tart apples
2 tablespoons butter

For the topping, combine the brown sugar, flour, butter and cinnamon in a bowl and stir with a fork until crumbly. Stir in the pecans.

For the pie, preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Sprinkle the pecans over the bottom of the pie shell. Mix the sugar, flour,m cinnamon and nutmeg in a bowl. Add the apples to the sugar mixture and toss to coat. Mound the apple mixture in the prepared pie shell and dot with the butter. Spread the topping evenly over the top of the pie and bake for 10 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees and bake for 40 minutes longer, checking after 30 minutes and covering with foil if needed to prevent the topping from overbrowning.

Serves 6 to 8

Betsy Davis brings Berry Fruit Salad

Berry Fruit Salad with Mint Sugar pg 118, Tastes & Treasures is a refreshing easy summer salad. One of the wonderful recipes from Rancho de La Osa, Betsy made it for a Historical League meeting. This dude ranches has a lot more to offer than just horse back riding. The food served there is very good.

1/2 cup loosely packed fresh mint
6 tablespoons sugar
3 cups sliced strawberries
3 cups blackberries
3 cups blueberries

Pulse the mint and sugar in a food processor until finely ground. Sprinkle over the strawberries, blackberries and blueberries in a large bowl and toss gently to combine. Let stand for 5 minutes before serving.

Serves 8.

AZ Highways Travel Show photos

Vacation in Arizona was the theme at the Travel Show. With so many venues represented it is easy to stay in the state for all your travel needs. We shared a booth with AHS promoting the museum in Papago Park and the cookbook. The granola sampling was very popular. I think everyone came to the event hungry. Kay North and Jackie Berkowitz worked with Dr Peter Welsh. Even some 1880's dressed shoppers visited the booth. Thanks also to Margaret Pogue, Lindy Isacksen, Pat Faur and Tobe Daum who volunteered in the booth.

Helpful hints for Luscious Lemon Loaf

Got Lemons? Many of us in Arizona do in May when the trees are loaded with fruit and they are so-o-o big. But how to still have them in August? Try juicing the lemons, pouring the concentrate into ice cube trays and freezing. Put the ice cubes in zip loc bags for future baking, cooking and sipping.












Luscious Lemon Loaf pg 198 Tastes & Treasures cookbook
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup grated lemon zest
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1 cup walnuts, chopped
1 tsp lemon extract
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease or line a 5 X 8 " loaf pan with baking parchment paper. Sift the flour (who does this anymore??), baking powder, and salt together. Combine the sugar, butter and eggs in a mixing bowl. Beat using a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment until light and fluffy, scraping the bowl occasionally. Add the flour mixture alternately with the milk, mixing well after each addition. Stir in the lemon zest, lemon juice, walnuts and flavoring.
Spoon the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 55-60 minutes or until the loaf tests done. Cool in the pan for 5 minutes. Remove to a wire rack to cool completely.
Note: Put the loaf back in the cooled baking pan and poke holes in the top with a fork. Drizzle with a mixture of 1/4 cup confectioners' sugar, 1 tsp half and half and 1 tsp lemon juice. Then remove to a serving dish. This makes it so-o-o moist and lemony. Makes 1 loaf.