Thai Curry Soup

3 c. chicken broth
1 c. bottled clam juice
1 to 2 T. fish sauce
2 cloves minced garlic
2 t. minced fresh ginger
2 1/2 t. red curry paste
1 (8 oz). Cremini mushrooms, sliced
1/2 lb. peeled and deveined large shrimp
1/2 lb. boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into 1-inch pcs.
1 (3 oz.) pkg trimmed snow peas
1/3 c. fresh lime juice
2 T. sugar
4 T. sliced green onion tops
4 T. chopped fresh cilantro
1 (13.5 oz) can coconut milk

Combine first 6 ingredients in a large Dutch oven, stirring with a whisk. Add mushrooms; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 4 minutes. Add the shrimp, chicken, and snow peas; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat and simmer 3 minutes. Stir in lime juice and remaining ingredients. Cook 2 minutes until heated.

**My notes: I had to change a few things, mostly because of Lack of Ingredients. I couldn't find clam juice, so I substituted some oyster sauce and a bit more water. I used about 2 Tbsp of ginger and a whole can of curry paste. I didn't use shrimp or green onion tops. Let me say that this was so, so good. Thanks and blessings to cousin Michelle for sharing it with me.

Twice-Baked Potatoes

4 or 5 large baking potatoes
6-8 slices bacon
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup milk
4 tablespoons butter
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese, divided
8 green onions, sliced, divided (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 F. Bake potatoes for 1 hour. Meanwhile, cook bacon. Drain, crumble and set aside.
When potatoes are done allow them to cool for 10 minutes. Slice potatoes in half lengthwise and scoop the flesh into a large bowl; save skins. To the potato flesh add sour cream, milk, butter, salt, pepper, 1/2 cup cheese and 1/2 the green onions. Mix with a hand mixer until well blended and creamy. Spoon the mixture into the potato skins. Top each with remaining cheese, green onions and bacon. Bake for another 15 minutes.

Fattening and totally delicious. Again, I got it from allrecipes.com.

Gnocchi

4 medium potatoes
salt, to taste
3 Tbsp butter
1 egg
1 1/2 cups flour

Peel and chop potatoes. Boil until soft. Mash with butter and salt until smooth or mostly smooth. Add egg and mix well. Add flour, a little at a time, just until you have a dough you can work with. Roll into 1/2-inch ropes on lightly floured surface; cut into 1/2-inch pieces, and drop into salted boiling water. When the gnocchi floats, it's done.

This is adapted from an allrecipes.com recipe. I got the basic instructions and then just went from there. We ate it with alfredo sauce, but I wasn't crazy about the recipe we used. It was decent, but there are better recipes. What I was crazy about was that we added chopped, fresh spinach at the end and sundried tomatoes (to the sauce).

Easy Slow Cooker French Dip

4 lbs. beef roast
1 (10.5 oz.) can beef broth
1 (10.5 oz.) can condensed French onion soup
1/2 can or bottle beer
Worcestershire sauce
Salt
Pepper
Garlic powder
Onion powder, all to taste

6 French rolls
Butter
Cheese

Cook the first nine ingredients in the slow cooker on low for 7 hours. Remove roast from the slow cooker and slice thinly. Return meat to slow cooker and continue to cook for at least a half hour. Split rolls, spread with butter, and toast under the broiler. Place cheese on buns immediately and pile the meat on. Use the sauce for dipping, of course.

You might need to add spices at the end to get it tasty enough, but once you make it into a sandwich, it becomes pretty darn good. This is a slightly adjusted recipe from allrecipes.com. The original recipe is here http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Easy-Slow-Cooker-French-Dip/Detail.aspx

Apple Pie Bars

Crust:

2 c. flour

1/2 c. sugar

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. vanilla

1 egg

1 c. butter

Mix together and press into a greased 9x13 pan. Chill in refrigerator until you have the other parts ready.

Filling:

5 c. apples, peeled and diced

1 Tbsp. lemon juice

1/4 c. flour

2/3 c. sugar

1 1/4 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 tsp. nutmeg

1/4 tsp. salt

Sprinkle apples with lemon juice. Add remaining ingredients and toss gently. Spread apples evenly over crust.

Topping:

1/2 c. flour

1/2 c. quick oats

1/4 tsp. salt

1/2 c. butter or margarine

Mix dry ingredients together, then cut in butter until crumbs form. Sprinkle crumbs evenly over apple mixture.

Bake at 375 F for 40 minutes, or until apples are soft and the bottom of the crust looks golden. Cut into 24 squares

That last line is just a complete guess, because I don't know how long I baked them. I started them at 375 and then was in a hurry and cranked it up to 400 F...just bake them.

I was dreaming up these bars for awhile, and I couldn't find any recipes that looked like what I was dreaming of. Out of pure desperation, I pulled from two different recipes and made adjustments and OH MY WORD they turned out soooooooooooooooo good! Kirk and I were quite blown away by them and I think they might be the best dessert I've had in a good long while. Please make them and tell me if you love them the way I do.

Date Muffins

Combine the following and let stand 15 minutes (then mash them up):
2 C coarsely chopped dates
3/4 C boiling water

In a separate bowl, combine and set aside:
2 C flour (I use whole wheat)
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

In another bowl, cream the following together:
1/4 C unsalted butter
1/2 C brown sugar (dark brown if you can)
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla

In the bowl that has the butter mixture, add mashed up dates alternately with the flour mixture. Mix together well but don't over mix! Divide between 12 muffin cups and top with streusel:
2 tablespoons flour
3 tablespoons rolled oats
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup chopped toasted pecans
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

Bake at 375F about 20 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

Summertime Orzo & Chicken

3/4 c. uncooked orzo pasta

1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-in. pieces

1 medium cucumber, chopped

1 small red onion, chopped

1/4 c. minced fresh parsley

2 Tbsp. lemon juice

1 Tbsp. olive oil

1 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

1/4 c. crumbled feta cheese

Cook pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a large skillet coated with cooking spray, cook chicken over medium heat for 6-8 minutes or until no longer pink. (I seasoned with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and a little cayenne)

In a large bowl, combine the cucumber, onion, parsley and chicken. Drain pasta; stir into chicken mixture. In a small bowl, whisk the lemon juice, oil, salt and pepper. Pour over chicken mixture; toss to coat. Serve warm or cold. Just before serving, sprinkle with cheese.

This was great warm the first day and cold the second... we really, really liked it. I was thinking it would be a great cold side if you left out the chicken. Yum.

Shrimp Pad Thai

8 oz. uncooked wide rice noodles

1 lb. small shrimp, peeled and deveined

1 Tbsp. canola oil

1 large onion, thinly sliced

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 eggs, beaten

3 c. coleslaw mix

4 green onions, thinly sliced

1/3 c. rice vinegar

1/8 c. sugar

4-5 Tbsp. soy sauce

3 Tbsp. fish sauce

1 Tbsp. chili sauce

2 Tbsp. chopped salted peanuts, plus more for garnish

Chopped fresh cilantro leaves

2 limes, cut in wedges

Soak noodles in hot water until soft, about 30 minutes. In a large nonstick wok, stir-fry shrimp in oil until shrimp turn pink; remove and set aside. Add onion and garlic to the pan, stir fry for 2-3 minutes. Make a well in the center of the onion mixture; add eggs. Stir fry for 2-3 minutes until eggs are completely set. Add the coleslaw mix, green onions, vinegar, sugar, soy sauce, fish sauce, chili sauce and peanuts; heat through. Return shrimp to the pan; heat through. Drain noodles; toss with shrimp mixture. Garnish with cilantro and peanuts.

This is from Taste of Home, with a few small changes. We thought it tasted pretty darn close to the real thing.

Cracker Spread

Mix together:
8 oz (250g) cream cheese
1 tsp dried rosemary
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 - 1/2 tsp black pepper
1/4 cup sour cream, creme fraiche or plain yogurt

Combine and refrigerate until serving. Serve with an assortment of crackers.

Easy Homemade Play-Doh

Put 1/2 cup salt and 2 Tbsp alum (or cream of tartar) in a bowl. Pour 1 1/2 cup boiling water over and stir for a minute or so, until most of the salt is dissolved. Mix in 1 Tbsp oil, 2 cups flour and your choice of food colouring. Mix and then add enough flour to make a soft dough. Knead until all of the flour and food colouring is mixed in. Store the play-doh in a plastic container or a Ziploc bag.

This is a nasty tasting play-doh, but it is completely safe for curious pre-schoolers who feel the need to sample such things. :)

Spinach Quiche

1 pkg (8oz) light cream cheese
6 large eggs
1 pkg (20 oz) frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
1 C grated sharp Cheddar cheese
2 C sliced fresh mushrooms
1/2 C chopped green onion
1 tsp salt (I like seasoning salt)
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1 C skim evaporated milk (or cream if you want)

Beat cream cheese and 1 egg together in a bowl. Beat in remaining eggs, 1 at a time. Stir in the rest of the ingredients. Pour into 2 unbaked pie shells.
Bake on lower shelf of oven at 350F, for about 45 minutes or until a knife inserted in the centre comes out clean.

To Die For Blueberry Muffins

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1 egg
• 1/3 cup milk
• 1 cup fresh blueberries
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup butter, cubed
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease muffin cups or line with muffin liners.
2. Combine 1 1/2 cups flour, 3/4 cup sugar, salt and baking powder. Place vegetable oil into a 1 cup measuring cup; add the egg and enough milk to fill the cup. Mix this with flour mixture. Fold in blueberries. Fill muffin cups right to the top, and sprinkle with crumb topping mixture.
3. To Make Crumb Topping: Mix together 1/2 cup sugar, 1/3 cup flour, 1/4 cup butter, and 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon. Mix with fork, and sprinkle over muffins before baking.
4. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes in the preheated oven, or until done.

My notes: I really didn't change much of anything with this recipe, but be aware that it only makes about 8 muffins. I suppose you could make them small and get 12, but where's the good in that? Also if I remember right I used brown sugar in the topping instead of white. I then ate the leftover topping on toast, but be warned that it's addicting.

Carrot Cupcakes

1 1/2 cup sugar

1 1/2 cup oil

4 eggs

1 tsp salt

2 cups flour

2 tsp soda

2 tsp cinnamon

2 cups (heaping) grated carrots

1 cup chopped nuts

Beat together sugar, oil and eggs until thick. Sift together the dry ingredients and add to first mixture. Mix well. Add carrots and nuts. Bake in 20 - 22 cupcake papers, or a greased and floured 9x13 pan. Bake at 350*F for 35 to 40 minutes for large cake and 20-25 minutes for cupcakes.

Cream Cheese Icing:

4 cups icing sugar

1/4 cup melted butter

3 oz cream cheese

2 tsp vanilla

Mix all together until smooth.

Top icing with chopped nuts.

Coconut Lime Cupcakes

2 cups Cake Flour

2 teaspoons Baking Powder

¾ teaspoons Salt

½ cups Butter, Softened

1 cup Sugar

3 whole Eggs

2 teaspoons Vanilla

¾ cups Milk

Juice and zest from one lime

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt.

With an electric mixer, mix butter and sugar on high speed until fluffy. Scrape sides of bowl and mix for a few more seconds. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add vanilla. Mix to combine.

Alternate adding dry ingredients and milk in three batches, mixing for a few seconds after each addition.
Scrape sides of bowl, then mix one final time.

Fill 12 paper-lined muffin tins 3/4 full with batter. Bake for 20 to 22 minutes, or until poufy but not brown. Cool before icing.

Icing:

½ cup butter or Crisco (or combination)

4 Tbsp coconut milk

2-3 Tbsp fresh lime juice

Icing sugar to make a soft icing.

Beat all ingredients together until smooth and creamy. I added a little green food colouring to mine and then sprinkled coconut on ½ of each cupcake.

Mocha Cupcakes

3/4 cup Flour

1 teaspoon Baking Powder

1/4 teaspoon Baking Soda

1/4 teaspoon Salt

4 Tablespoons Butter

3/8 cups Cocoa Powder

1/2 cup Strong Brewed Coffee

1/2 cup Buttermilk

1/2 cup Packed Brown Sugar

1/2 cup Granulated Sugar

1 whole Large Eggs

1/2 teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line 10 -12 muffin cups with cupcake papers.

In a medium bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt together.

Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the cocoa and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Off heat, whisk in the coffee, buttermilk, and sugars until dissolved. Whisk in the eggs and vanilla, then slowly whisk in the in the flour mixture until no streaks remain. (The batter will be very runny – almost liquid.)

Bake about 15-18 minutes, until just done. Cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then remove and cool completely.

Icing:

1-2 Tablespoons Instant Coffee

1/2 cup Butter, Softened (may use ½ Crisco)

1/2 teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract

2 cups Icing Sugar (or more to make the right consistency)

1 Tablespoon Milk, Up To 2 Tablespoons If Needed

Mix all together very well, until slightly fluffy. Add more milk or icing sugar to get a spreadable icing.

Kim's Tart

Kim's Apple Tart: Better Late than Never

Crust:

1/2 c. butter, softened

3/4 c. flour

1/4 c. sugar

Press in springform or tart pan, bake at 350F for 8-10 min.

Filling:

Cream 6 oz. Neufchatel or cream cheese (Neufchatel is supposedly less fat with all the flavor)

Stir in:

1 egg, beaten

1 Tbsp. cream (or milk)

1/2 c. ricotta cheese

2 Tbsp. sugar

1 tsp. lemon juice

Pour over crust.

Topping-Apple Part:

Peel, core, and slice 2 Granny Smith apples

Splash some lemon juice over top so they don't get brown and stir them up

Set aside

Bring to boil:

3/4 c. water

1/2 c. sugar

Splash of vanilla

3 slices apple

Mix 1/4 c. water and 2 Tbsp. clear jel (or cornstarch, you poor thing)

Add to boiling mixture, stirring constantly til thick.

Remove from heat and add:

~2 tsp. cinnamon

~1/2 tsp. nutmeg

Pour over sliced apples. Stir together. Layer over the cream/crust layer. Bake at 350F for about 45 min. or til you think the creamy layer is cooked.

Ok, so. I just had my first piece and it's quite delicious, if I do say so myself. I didn't want the texture of the cream part to be completely creamy, so I like the ricotta for that. However, next time I think I would add some more lemon juice and a bit more sugar to that part. The crust was delicious, but I wanted it to be a bit more phyllo-dough-like than it was. I really loved the apple part, and overall it wasn't that sweet which is what I was going for as well (not that I was trying to be like Robyn or anything). :) I'm pretty pleased with it. Oh, please don't think I'm so fancy that I keep ricotta on hand. I just happened to have some leftover from a lasagna and thought it would be good in there. :) Also: this turns out quite thin and would easily fit in a tart pan, which is also what I was going for. Pictures to follow.

The Best Apple Tart

(like my title?)
This was a little tough, since I was supposed to be copying something I've never tasted! I thought I'd go for more of a European flavour - in my limited experience this means buttery and not too sweet. This was on the thin side, but I thought the "height" of it was perfect. I wanted something that actually was more of a tart, in case one day I actually own tart pans and could make little ones.
I happened to have leftover hazelnuts from Christmas, so I used those in the crumb topping. It tasted really good while I was snitching it, but after it was baked, I couldn't really taste them.
Oh, one important thing: I lost the paper that I was jotting things down on as I baked this. So, sorry in advance if you try this and it doesn't turn out. This is my guess.
Anyway, without anything farther, here is my recipe:

Crust:
1 C flour
1/2 C icing sugar
1/2 C butter
1 egg yolk
enough cream to make a soft dough
Mix flour and icing sugar and rub in butter with your hands. Leave some chunks. Mix in egg yolk and cream until soft but not too sticky. Use some extra flour to press dough into pan.
(I used an 8" springform pan)

Chop 4 large apples and place evenly on crust. Sprinkle generously with cinnamon.

Mix together the following and put on top of apples:
1/2 C ground hazelnuts
1/4 C brown sugar
1/2 C oatmeal that has been ground in a blender
2 Tbsp butter

Bake at 350F until crumbs are golden and you're sure crust and apples are done. Don't underbake it.

[I wouldn't bother with the caramel sauce I made. It was more like a butter sauce, and even though it was good, I would have preferred this without it.]

All in all, I would give this a very high rating, Thank you, Karla.
I loved the crust. I loved the topping. It was very buttery and not too sweet. Yum.

Karla's Apple Tart

Crust
Blend:

1 1/4 cups all purpose flour

1/3 cup brown sugar

1/4 tsp salt

Cut in:
1/2 cup butter

Add:
¼ cup milk
1 tsp vanilla

Mix to form a soft dough, and press into 9” tart pan or springform pan. I used a springform; I really don't know how a tart pan would be.

Filling:

5 cups Granny Smith apples (about 3 large), peeled and sliced

1 cup sugar

2 tbsp. flour

1 tsp. cinnamon

¼ tsp. nutmeg

¼ tsp. salt

Mix well and pour on top of unbaked crust.

Crumb topping:

Blend:

¾ cup flour

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup brown sugar

Cut in:

1/3 cup butter

Spread crumbs evenly over apples. Bake tart at 400 F for 40 minutes.

Caramel Topping:

½ cup sugar

1/4 cup water

3 Tbsp. butter

¼ cup whole milk or heavy cream

Boil the sugar and water, whisking constantly, until the sugar turns brown. Add butter and continue whisking until butter melts. Remove from heat, stir for a few more seconds, and then add milk or cream. Caution: there will be a lot of steam when you pour the milk in, and you might burn your hand off! Keep whisking until it’s slightly cooled. Drizzle desired amount on the tart. Wow. The crust could use a little improvement, but overall it was quite good, if I may say so myself.

Rhonda's Apple Tart

Crust:

1 1/2 cup flour

1/2 cup icing sugar

1/2 cup + 1 Tbsp salted butter

2 egg yolks

1 tsp vanilla

Mix the flour and icing sugar, then cut the butter in with a pastry blender. With a fork, mix the yolks and vanilla together, then gently combine with the flour mixture. Mixture will stay crumbly, but not dry. Reserve 1/2 cup of crumbs and press the rest into a pie or tart pan. (I suppose a springform pan would work well, too. Chill crust for 20-30 minutes and then bake at 375 for 8-10 minutes. Press down any bubbles that formed while baking.

Apple filling:

Peel, core and slice 4 medium apples (a good baking variety if you can get them!)

Toss the apple slices with 2 tsp lemon juice. Mix together the following and then combine with the apples:

2 Tbsp flour

1/4 cup + 1 Tbsp sugar

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1/8 tsp salt

Place the filling into the crust.

Crumb topping:

Cut together with a pastry blender:

reserved crumbs from the crust

1/4 cup margarine or butter

1/8 tsp salt

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup flour

1/4 tsp cinnamon

Evenly top the apples with this mixture.

Bake at 350*F for about 30 minutes or until the apples are soft.

I made a caramel sauce for topping the tart, but I forgot to write down exactly how I made it. :) You're on your own for that, I guess.

My taste testers (and I) enjoyed this a lot, but the Chief Taste Tester in my house says he will take an ordinary apple pie any day. :) I liked the way this turned out, but thought the caramel sauce made it a little too sweet for me. Good idea, Karla!

Caramel Bananas

Almost every time I eat oatmeal I think about putting bananas on it but I can never quite bring myself to do it. So this morning I thought I'd try this and it was pretty good! Tell me what you think.

In a skillet melt 1-2 Tbsp butter (depends how fat/thin you feel at the moment).
When it's melted, throw in a bunch of brown sugar (again, use your good judgment).
When that's all yummy and melty, dump in some cinnamon and nutmeg, and then
slice in about 3 bananas.
I happened to have some already-toasted almonds sitting there so I put those in too.
This would also be awesome with pecans.
As soon as the bananas are all sliced, turn off the burner and stir them up a bit. You don't want to cook them!!! Just warm them up.

We ate this on steel-cut oats, but they would also be good on ice cream, or yogurt. (Oh, next time I might also use maple syrup instead of brown sugar.)

Recipe Challenge #2

Welcome to the 2nd challenge! We shall call this one "The Apple Tart Challenge." Kirk and I visited a bakery called Ganache Dessert Kitchen (Google it, I don't feel like linking it...lazy me) a couple of weeks ago, and boy was that not a mistake. Their chocolate ganache-y things were good, as far as we tasted, but my favorite item from our box of loot was the apple tart. It was about 3 inches in diameter, so it was not a little wimpy tart. It had a perfect buttery crust; kind of cookie-ish, kind of pie crust-ish. The apples were slightly tart, but spiced so, so well. There was a delicious crumb topping, and then homemade caramel drizzled on top. I can't describe how delicious it was.

So, I dare you to try your hand at making the most outrageously delicious apple tart you can. Then, simply box it up and send it to me asap. I will be the judge in this challenge. Or at least post pictures and your recipe. I will give you until February 10 to complete this challenge. If you do not participate (Robyn) you will be disqualified.

Maple Glazed Brussels Sprouts

Wash and trim 30-40 fresh brussels sprouts, and cut each one in half. Slice or dice one medium onion (or as much as you like). In a non-nonstick pan, melt 1 Tbsp olive oil and 1 Tbsp butter. Sauté the onions for about a minute or until they start to soften. Add the brussels sprouts and sauté for about 8 minutes. I like to leave them for 30 seconds or so between stirring them so they begin to caramelize a bit. Season to taste – I like a little rosemary, salt and pepper. When they are tender-crisp (but NOT so crisp that they still taste raw), drizzle some real maple syrup into the pan (I don’t measure…about 1-2 Tbsp?). Stir it up quickly, scraping all the brown off the bottom of the pan. Turn off the heat, and enjoy.

Lentil Vegetable Soup

2 cups dry lentils, rinsed

8 cups chicken stock

1 onion, diced

1 ¼ cups diced carrots

¼ cup finely diced green pepper

1 Tbsp dried parsley

3 Tbsp tomato paste

2-3 cloves garlic, minced

1 Tbsp cumin

½ tsp turmeric

1 cup chopped cauliflower

Mix everything except the cauliflower together in a large saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 30-40 minutes. Add cauliflower and let it simmer for another 10 minutes or until cauliflower is cooked. Serve with fresh bread and cheese.

My notes:

I radically changed an allrecipes.com recipe and this is the end result. I used green lentils, but I think you could use any colour. The original recipe called for more tomato paste, so if you like it really tomato-y you might want to add more. I think peas would be good in this, but I didn’t have any. Four out of six people in my family liked this. J

Scottish Oat Scones

Combine in bowl:
1 1/2 C flour (I am sure these would be good w/ whole wheat - I just forgot to use it)
2 C rolled oats
1/4 C sugar
4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 C dried cranberries (or raisins or currants)

In a separate bowl, combine:
1 egg, well beaten
1/2 C melted butter
1/3 C milk (I had to add a little extra as I was mixing)

Gently stir the wet ingredients into the dry, just until combined.
On a greased baking sheet, pat dough into two 6"-7" rounds. Score each top into 8 wedges. Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar.

Bake at 425F for 15 min until risen and golden.

Basil Vinaigrette

2 cloves garlic

1 Tbsp. ground (like brown) mustard

3 Tbsp. honey

1/2 c. balsamic vinegar

3 oz. basil

About 2 c. light olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

Put everything in blender except the oil; blend profusely. Slowly add oil until well emulsified.

This is delicious over baby spring greens, feta cheese, and strawberries. Enjoy!