Cheese Pockets with Wanton Wrappers

I was making Wantons with Okara as part of ingredients for the stuffing. The end result was horrible, we had to go out to eat that night.... I think I have to change the ratio of Okara...

Anyway, I had some left over Wanton Wrappers from it, and decided to wrap some mozzarella sticks and toast them in a toaster oven. (for about 10 minutes) It turned out pretty good. My daughter enjoyed them as her afternoon snack!

French Baguettes!

I was so happy with my pizzas and pita breads; now, I'm trying French baguettes! My wholewheat flour run out, so I used about 1/2 wholewheat 1/2 white flour. It turned out great! I'm getting really into baking now!

Best Homemade Soymilk!

Soymilk Recipe! I finally did it. I've been thinking about trying for a long time, but wasn't sure if it was worth it to actually make homemade soymilk. It turned out to be pretty easy, and the end result was AMAZING! Try it out!

You will need:

• 1/2 cup Soy Beans
• 2 tablespoons Brown Rice
• 2 tablespoons Steel Cut Oat
• 2 cups Water
• 64 ounces Water
• 1/8 teaspoon Cinnamon
  
• a pinch of Clove
  
• a pinch of Nutmeg
  
• 2 tablespoons Brown Sugar
  
• 1/4 teaspoon Salt
• 1/4 teaspoon Vanilla Essence

1. Mix Soy Beans, Brown Rice, and Steel Cut Oat in a small bowl. Wash & drain. Add 2 cups of water and soak them overnight.

2. Put the mixture in a food processor and blend till it becomes creamy.

3. Boil 64 oz of water in a big pot and put the creamy soy mix in, let it simmer for 30 to 40 minutes.

4. Add rest of the ingredients and strain.

You now have 64 oz of Homemade Soymilk!

Believe me, it does not taste like eggnog. If you want "easy" soymilk, you can just use soy and water. Just experiment. The spices just lightly musk the beany taste. I tried cheesecloth to strain the milk, but it didn't work so well. If you don't mind some soy bits in your milk, you can just use a fine metal strainer and it works fine. It is a lot cheaper than store bought soymilk even with all organic ingredients and I think it taste better! Let me know what you think!

* I had to update the amount of sugar after many complaints from my daughter and husband. I guess not everybody likes to taste the beans....

Hummus with Olives!

Hummus Recipe! I love hummus! I went to Egypt last year and ate hummus for breakfast, lunch, and for dinner for 10 days and still didn't get tired of them. Actually, I started making my own after the trip. Here is my basic hummus recipe. Please enjoy!

You will need:

• 1 can of garbanzo beans (or 1/2 cup of dried garbanzo beans soaked overnight and cooked for 1 1/2 hour)
• 3 to 4 gloves of garlic
• 10 to 12 olives (Spanish olives, kalamata olives, garlic stuffed olives, any type of olives!)
• 2 tablespoons of olive oil
• 2 tablespoons of lemon juice
• 1/4 teaspoon of cumin
• 1/8 teaspoon of paprika
• 1/8 teaspoon of salt

1. Put all the ingredients in a food processor and blend them until they are creamy!

That's it!

You can add more olives if you like Tapenade; add more cumin and paprika if you like spicy hummus. Experiment and have fun! Check out my Pita Bread Recipe also. Homemade hummus with homemade pita breads....yum!

Baking Pita Bread!

Pita Bread Recipe to try out! I am baking Pita Breads today. They are so easy to make and taste a lot better than store bought! The bread qualify for a frugal item in my book, since you can use all organic ingredients and it still costs about the same as regular Pita Bread. Here is the recipe if you want to try!

You will need:

• 1 package of yeast
• 1/2 cup of warm water
• 1 teaspoon of granulated sugar
• 3 cups of all purpose flour (I use whole wheat flour)
  
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• 1 cup of warm water

1. Dissolve yeast & sugar in 1/2 cup water. Let it rise for 10 to 15 minutes. It is ready when it looks frothy.

2. Combine flour & salt in a large bowl and pour the yeast mixture. Mix it with a spatula. Add 1 cup of water gradually and keep mixing. Once all the ingredients are mixed, knead the dough for 10 to 15 minutes. The dough will be less sticky and becomes easy to manage when it's done.

3. Coat large bowl w/oil. Put the dough and let it rise for 3 hours or till the size of the dough doubles. I use clock pot for this in "warm" setting. It works pretty well!

4. Roll out in a rope, cut them with knife into 10 to 12 small pieces. Roll them into balls and let them rest covered for 10 minutes.

5. Heat oven to 500 F. Place a rack at the bottom and pre-heat baking sheet at the same time. You are trying to recreate a middle eastern style brick oven!

6. Roll out the doughs and make thin circles. Place them on the pre-heated baking sheet 2 to 3 at a time. Bake one side 3 to 4 minutes or until the dough puffs up, turn it over and bake a couple of minutes more. Put the bread immediately in a storage bag once baked.


I like really thin Pita Breads, but my husband likes thicker chewier Pitas better... By storing them right away, you keep them soft and moist! Check out my Hummus Recipe and enjoy them together!