Bret's Blueberry Awesome Pancakes

1 c. all purpose flour
1/2 c. whole wheat flour
1/2 c. oats
4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 1/2 c. plain greek yogurt
4 eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla
6 tbsp brown sugar
4 tbsp butter
1 c. milk
1.c frozen or fresh blueberries, thawed

Greek Tzatziki Sauce

Tzatziki Sauce

14 oz greek, plain yogurt
1 regular or english cucumber, grated finely
1/4 c. sour cream
2 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
1 tbsp. white wine vinegar
1 tbsp. minced fresh dill
1 1/2 tsp. minced garlic
2 tsp. sea salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper

Grate cucumber, and press the juice out of it in a sieve.  
Mix all ingredients together in a bowl.  Keep cold.

Alex's Mediterranean Eggplant Casserole

Ingredients:

1 large american eggplant, cut into 1/2 inch wedges
1 can diced tomatoes
3 medium zuccini, chopped into large 1/2" chunks
1 c. cooked chickpeas
1 1/2 tsp minced garlic
1 tsp dill
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 tsp. sea salt
1 tbsp dried parsley
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
1/4 c. olive oil
fresh lemon
sea salt


soak eggplant in cold water and 1 tsp sea salt for 5 minutes.  Prepare other ingredients.
Drain eggplant and fry in flying pan with olive oil, stirring frequently.  Once lightly browned, add remaining ingredients and put into a casserole pan.

Bake at 375 for 45 minutes.

When done, squeeze fresh lemon over the casserole and serve with Tzatziki sauce.

Blueberry Cream cheese tart

http://magnoliadays.com/2012/blueberry-cream-cheese-tart/

For the crust:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup powdered sugar

Pinch of salt

3/4 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

1/2 cup finely chopped pecans or walnuts

For the filling and topping:

6 ounces cream cheese (not whipped), at room temperature

1 cup powdered sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup heavy cream

1/4 cup sugar

1 can (21 ounces) blueberry pie filling

For the crust:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. In the bowl of a food processor fitted with a knife blade, add the flour, powdered sugar, and salt. Pulse to combine. Add the butter and process until it forms a ball. Press dough evenly on the bottom and up the sides of a 12-inch tart pan with a removable bottom. Sprinkle the nuts evenly over the bottom and lightly press into the crust. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, or until lightly browned around the edges. Let cool completely.

For the filling and topping:

In a large mixing bowl, add the cream cheese, powdered sugar, and vanilla. Using a hand mixer, beat until smooth and combined. In a separate bowl, beat the heavy cream with the sugar until it has soft peaks. Fold the whipped cream, a little at a time, into the cream cheese mixture. Spread the cream cheese filling evenly into the prepared tart crust. Top it with the pie filling. Refrigerate at least 2 hours. Serve and enjoy!

Blueberry Bavarian cream Tart

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/gale-gand/blueberry-cream-tart-recipe/index.html


Ingredients
1 1/2 cups flour
1/4 cup sugar
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into pieces and slightly softened
1 egg yolk
Blueberry Bavarian cream, recipe follows
BLUEBERRY BAVARIAN CREAM:
4 cups blueberries
2 cups milk (not skim)
1/2 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
2 1/2 teaspoons powdered gelatin
2 tablespoons cold water
6 egg yolks
2/3 cup sugar
Directions
Put the flour in a large bowl. Add the sugar and mix. Make a well in the center and place the butter and egg yolk in the well. Using your fingers, work the butter and egg yolk together until well combined, then work the butter-egg mixture into the flour-sugar mixture until combined but still loose. The dough will be crumbly, but when you squeeze a handful, it should hold together.

Sprinkle the dough into a 10-inch pie or tart pan. Press the dough firmly and evenly onto the bottom and sides of the pan, making sure not to let the crust thicken at the corners. It should make a clean right angle where the sides meet the bottom. Chill the crust at least 30 minutes, or covered, up to 3 days. Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Bake until light golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes. Let cool before filling.

Blueberry Bavarian Cream: Pick over the blueberries, setting aside the best ones to make a circle around the edge of the finished tart. (You'll need about 1 cup.) Heat the milk and vanilla bean in a saucepan over medium heat just until it boils. Immediately turn off the heat and set aside to infuse for 10 minutes. Combine the gelatin and water in a small bowl, and let dissolve, stirring occasionally, until no dry spots remain.

Whisk the egg yolks and sugar together in a bowl. Whisking constantly, slowly pour the still-hot milk mixture into the egg yolk mixture. Return the mixture to the saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon. At 160 degrees, the mixture will give off a puff of steam. When the mixture reaches 180 degrees it will be thickened and creamy, like eggnog. If you don't have a thermometer, test it by dipping a wooden spoon into the mixture. Run your finger down the back of the spoon. If the stripe remains clear, the mixture is ready; if the edges blur, the mixture is not quite thick enough. When it is ready, quickly remove it from the heat.

Meanwhile, fill a large bowl with ice water half way. Strain the mixture into a medium bowl to smooth it and remove the vanilla bean. Pour off 1 cup of this mixture (Anglaise) into a large bowl and set aside. Place the medium bowl containing the remainder of the mixture in the ice water and let cool, stirring often. Add the gelatin to the cup of hot Anglaise in the large bowl and mix until completely dissolved, creating a Bavarian cream. Working quickly, fold the larger amount of berries into the Bavarian cream and spoon the mixture into the center of the tart shell. Spread until smooth and even. Before the filling cools completely, arrange the reserved berries around the edge of the tart to form a rim. Chill at least 2 hours and serve in slices, pouring a bit of the Anglaise next to each side.

Read more at: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/gale-gand/blueberry-cream-tart-recipe/index.html?oc=linkback

Beauty Berry Recipes

jam #1
American beautyberry berries become edible upon reaching full ripeness which usually occurs in late summer to early fall. They should be a dark purple/magenta color but not turning wrinkled and dry. These berries can be eaten raw and have a mild, slight medicinal flavor. To truly maximize the potential of these berries it is best to make jelly out of them. Combine 1.5 qts of berries with 1 qt. water, boil for 20 minutes and then strain out the solids. Add 4.5 cups of sugar and one envelop of Sure Jell to the liquid. Bring the liquid back up to boil for two minutes, skimming off any foam. Pour the hot jelly into sterilized jars and seal. The resulting jelly has a unique flavor which reminds me of rose petals and champagne.

Jam #2
1 ½ qts. of Beautyberries, washed and clean of green stems and leaves. Cover with 2 qts. water.Boil 20 minutes and strain to make infusion. Use 3 cups of the infusion, bring to boil, add 1 envelope Sure-Jell and 4 ½ cups sugar. Bring to second boiland boil 2 minutes. Remove from heat and let stand until foam forms. Skim off foam, pour into sterilized jars, cap.

#3
Insect Repellent
I pretty much chopped up a plant(leaves and stems) and boiled it in a pot and let it cool and strained the brown liquid into my blender, about 1 1/2 cups. In a separate pot I warmed some organic neem oil (1 cup) with 1 ounce of beeswax until melted. Then you turn the blender on and pour in the oil mixture very slowly and it becomes a cream. I have to say hands down the best insect repellent ever! Because its a creme on july/august days one application is all you need for the entire day even when your sweating.”

Marbled Chocolate Banana Bread

Ingredients

Unsalted butter for pan
1 1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons whole wheat flour plus more for pan
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
2 large eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups coarsely mashed very ripe bananas (3 large)
2 tablespoons sour cream
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 cup Dutch process cocoa powder
1/4 cup boiling water

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°F with rack in middle. Generously butter a (9- by 5- by 3-inch) metal loaf pan, then dust with flour, knocking out excess.
In a bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt.
In bowl of electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat sugar and eggs on medium-high speed until very thick and pale, about 10 minutes. Reduce speed to low and add oil in a slow stream, mixing until incorporated, then mix in bananas, sour cream, and vanilla. Remove bowl from mixer and fold in flour mixture.
Transfer one-third of the batter to a medium bowl; set aside. Spoon the remaining batter into prepared pan.
In a small bowl, whisk together cocoa powder and the boiling water until smooth; stir cocoa mixture into reserved batter until well combined. Spoon chocolate batter over batter in pan to cover, then, to create marbling, run a table knife through the batters in a swirling motion, swirling batter from underneath to top and vice versa (do not over-swirl or the batters will combine and you won't see the marbling pattern). Bake for 50 minutes, then tent loaf with foil and continue to bake until a wooden pick or skewer comes out clean, 15 to 25 minutes more.
Cool loaf in pan on wire rack for 10 minutes, then turn out onto rack. Turn loaf right side up and cool complete

Turtle Cheesecake

http://barefeetinthekitchen.blogspot.com/2012/12/turtle-cheesecake-with-caramel.html
Turtle Cheesecake with Caramel, Chocolate and Pecans
recipe adapted from Philadelphia Cream Cheese
Yield: 16 - 24 servings

12 oreo chocolate sandwich cookies, about 1 cup finely crushed
3 tablespoons butter, melted
3/4 cup caramel sauce, I used this homemade caramel sauce
3 (8 ounce) packages of cream cheese
3/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla
3 eggs
1/4 cup dark chocolate or semi sweet chocolate chips, melted
1/4 cup chopped pecans, toasted if desired

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Crush the oreo cookies in a large freezer weight ziploc bag. You can use a rolling pin or mallet to crush them. Or, you can quickly pulse them in a food processor. Combine the crumbs with the melted butter and press the mixture into the bottom of a spring-form pan. Pour 1/2 cup of the caramel sauce over this crust and spread it across the crust lightly with a spatula. Refrigerate this crust for 10 minutes.

Beat the cream cheese, sugar and vanilla until smooth. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing on low speed just until each one is blended. Pour this mixture over the refrigerated crust. Place the spring-form pan on a large baking sheet prior to placing it in the oven. (If you line the baking sheet with foil first, clean up will be a breeze.) Some of the caramel in the crust will drip through the pan onto your oven if you forget this step.

Bake 65 - 70 minutes, until the center is almost set. Run a knife around the edges of the pan while it is still warm. Let cool at room temperature and then refrigerate 4 hours or overnight before removing the sides of the pan.

Once the sides of the pan have been removed, sprinkle the pecans across the top of the cheesecake and then drizzle with the remaining caramel and the melted chocolate. Store remaining cheesecake in the refrigerator. Enjoy!