Tex-Mex Refried Beans

serves ~6; slightly adapted from Homesick Texan Cookbook by Lisa Fain

• 1 pound dried pinto beans
• 1/4 cup bacon grease
• 1 jalapeño, finely chopped
• 1/2 yellow onion, finely chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• salt, to taste

1. Soak dried beans overnight (at least 8 hours) in a large bowl with enough water to cover the beans.
2. Cook the beans in a crock put out on high for 3 hours until tender.
3. Once slightly cooled, transfer the cooked beans and about 1/4 to 1/2 cup worth of the cooking liquid into a blender and blend until a smooth bean paste is formed.
4. Heat the bacon grease over medium heat in a large skillet.
5. Cook the chopped jalapeño and onion, and cook for several minutes until the onions are soft. Add in the garlic and cook for a minute, followed by the bean paste.
6. Stir the mixture until the bacon grease is incorporated (6-7 minutes). Beans will be slightly darker in color
7. Season with salt to taste.

Snickerdoodle Ice Cream

• 1 1/2 cups milk (I used 2%)
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 large egg yolks
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 1/2 tablespoons cinnamon (cut back if you don’t want as strong of a cinnamon flavor)
• approximately 10 1 1/2″ snickerdoodle cookies, roughly chopped

1. In a medium sized saucepan, combine the milk, heavy cream, and sugar, over medium-high heat until the sugar is dissolved and the mixture is almost boiling.
2. In a small bowl, whisk the egg yolks together. Slowly add 1/2 cup of the milk and cream mixture to the eggs, mixing and making sure to take things slowly so the eggs don’t curdle.
3. Turn down the heat on the saucepan, and slowly add the egg yolk, milk, cream mixture back to the saucepan, stirring constantly.
4. Gradually raise the temperature, stirring constantly until the mixture thickens and coats the back of a spoon.
5. Pour into a bowl and whisk in the vanilla and the cinnamon. Allow to cool to room temperature and then cover with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator to chill thoroughly (over night is best).
6. Churn the ice cream according to ice cream maker’s instructions. In the last 2-3 minutes of churning, add in the cookie chunks.
7. Use a spatula to transfer the ice cream to a freezer safe container, place in the freezer, and allow to freeze for at least 6 hours before serving (over night is also best for the best ice cream texture).

Dahlia Bakery English Muffins

yields 1 dozen English muffins; slightly adapted from The Dahlia Bakery Cookbook: Sweetness in Seattle

• 1 medium Yukon Gold potato (5-6 ounces)
• 1 1/3 cups water (68ºF) + 1/3 cup water (68ºF), divided
• 3 cups bread flour
• 1/4 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 2 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 package active dry yeast
• vegetable, for oiling hands and bowl
• 2 tablespoons all purpose flour, for dusting pan
• 2 tablespoons cornmeal, for dusting pan

1. Dice the potato into 1″ chunks with the skin on. Cover the potatoes in a small saucepan and bring to a boil, cooking for 8-10 minutes until the potatoes are tender. Allow to cool before mashing with a fork or a potato masher/ricer. Measure 1/2 cup of tightly packed potato and place in the bowl of a stand mixer outfitted with a paddle. Discard remaining potato.
2. Add the first portion of water (1 1/3 cups) to the bowl of the stand mixer. It must be 68ºF for the dough to work. Use a thermometer to check the temperature. Add flours, honey, salt, and yeast. Mix on low for 10 minutes. The dough will be very sticky. Scrape the dough down the side of the bowl. Allow it to rest in the bowl for 5 minutes.
3. Mix the dough for another 2-3 minutes. The dough should be stronger at this point. Slowly start adding the second portion (1/3 cup) of water (break it up into 3-4 additions and make sure water is completely absorbed before adding more). Mix the dough for another 2 minutes until it is shiny.
4. Oil a large bowl and transfer the the dough from the mixer bowl to the oiled bowl. You will probably need to have oiled hands, as the dough is very sticky. Let the dough rise, covered with plastic wrap, in a warm area for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, oil your hands again and stretch the dough in many different directions. Cover again and let rest for another 30 minutes. Stretch the dough again and allow to rest for 2 hours, covered. You can refrigerate the dough at this point and continue making the next day (all of the following steps will take slightly longer with cold dough).
5. Sprinkle two baking sheets with flour and cornmeal. Sprinkle your work space with flour and flour your hands. Transfer the dough to the work space and divide into twelve equal portions (a pastry scraper works well for this). Roll each portion of dough into a ball and flatten out slightly with the palm of your hand.
6. Place 6 muffins on each baking sheet, cover with towels and allow to rise in a warm area until they have doubled in size (between 1 hour and 1 hour and 45 minutes if dough has not been chilled).
7. Preheat the oven to 425º. When the oven is ready, bake each pan separately for 16 minutes total. After 8 minutes remove the pan from the oven, carefully press down slightly on the muffin top (wearing a clean oven mitt is a good idea) so your muffins do not get too puffy and then flip them over. Bake for the remaining 8  minutes.
8. Cool on a wire rack for at least 30 minutes before slicing and serving. You can freeze them before slicing since this recipe makes a big batch!

Snickerdoodles with Cinnamon Chips

yields ~ 1 1/2 dozen 1 1/2″ cookies

• 1 1/4 cups cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon cream of tartar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
• 3/4 cups granulated sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup cinnamon chips
• 2 tablespoons sugar, for rolling
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon, for rolling

1. Preheat oven to 350º. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mat.
2. In a medium sized bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, cream of tartar and salt.
3. In a large bowl, beat together the butter and sugar with a hand mixer for several minutes until light and fluffy.
4. Add in the egg and vanilla extract and beat until smooth.
5. Slowly add the dry mixture to the wet mixture, mixing until just incorporated.
6. Fold in the cinnamon chips and distribute evenly throughout mixture.
7. Combine the 2 tablespoons of sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl.
8. Use a cookie scoop to scoop out dough and roll into small balls. Thoroughly cover in cinnamon-sugar mixture.
9. Place balls on cookie sheet and bake for approximately 10 minutes or until edges are golden, but middle is still soft. Allow to cool on the baking rack for several minutes and then transfer to a wire cooling rack.

Margarita Fish Tacos

serves 6

Tacos

• 1 1/2 pounds true cod fillet
• 2 limes, juiced
• 3/4 orange, juiced
• 1/4 cup agave syrup
• 1/4 cup tequila
• 1 tablespoon triple sec
• salt

1. Heat up the grill.
2. Combine all of the ingredients in a large plastic bag and marinate the fish in the fridge for 30 minutes.
3. Create an aluminum foil tray in which to cook the fish and place fish on top.
4. Grill for about 10 minutes.

Mango Pomegranate Seed Guacamole

• 2 ripe medium sized avocados
• 1/2 red onion, diced
• 1/2 jalapeño pepper, seeded diced
• small handful of fresh cilantro, chopped
• 1 medium mango, peeled, pitted, and diced
• 1 lime, juiced
• 1/4 orange, juiced
• salt, to taste

1. Mash the avocados.
2. Add in the diced onion, jalapeño, cilantro, and mango.
3. Squeeze in the lime and orange juices.
4. Add salt and mix. Continue adding salt and mixing until desired seasoning is reached. Serve with tortilla chips.

Pico de Gallo

• 2 tomatoes, diced
• 1 small red onion, diced
• 1 jalapeño, seeded and diced
• 2 limes, juiced
• small handful of fresh cilantro, chopped
• salt, to taste

1. Combine all ingredients in a small bowl and adjust flavors to taste.

Thai Coconut Shrimp Risotto

Risotto

• 1 1/2 cups arborio rice
• 4 1/2 cups chicken stock (plus more as needed)
• 2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
• 1 cup coconut mik
• 1/4 cup sherry vinegar
• 4 cloves garlic
• 1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger
• 2 tablespoons unsweetened coconut
• 1 shallot, diced
• 2 tablespoons butter

1. Combine all of the ingredients except for the butter in a crockpot.
2. Cook on high heat for 3 hours until all of the liquid has been absorbed and you have fluffy rice. You may need to add a little more chicken stock to loosen up the rice before it is ready to serve.
3. Stir in the butter into the hot risotto just before serving.

Shrimp

• 1 lime, juice
• 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger
• 1/2 pound fresh Gulf shrimp, peeled and deveined

1. Combine all of the ingredients in a large plastic Ziploc bag.
2. Allow the shrimp to marinate for about 30 minutes in the fridge while heating your grill up.
3. Grill the shrimp for several minutes on each side, depending on size, until fully cooked.
4. Serve on bed of risotto.

Pineapple Curd

• 1 cup pineapple puree (place chunks of fresh pineapple in the blender, then measure)
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 3 egg yolks
• 2 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

1. Whisk together the pineapple puree and sugar in a medium sized sauce pan over medium-high heat until mixture begins to bubble.
2. Whisk the egg yolks together in medium sized bowl, then slowly add a little bit of the hot pineapple mixture to the yolks, mixing.
3. Turn down the heat to low, then add the yolk-pineapple mixture back to the saucepan.
4. Add the cornstarch and salt and continue to mix until mixture has thickened and coats the back of a spoon.
5. Transfer to a glass jar, and once cooled. Store in the fridge for up to 5 days.

Mini Inside Out Peanut Butter Cups

yields 18 mini peanut butter cups

• 1 10-ounce bag Reese’s Peanut Butter Chips
• 1 10-ounce bag milk chocolate

1. Line a mini muffin pan with 18 paper liners.
2. Melt the peanut butter chips in a microwave safe bowl in 30 second intervals at half power until smooth.
3. Fill 3-4 of the liners with a spoonful of the melted peanut butter chips then use the back of the spoon to work the peanut butter all around the sides of the liner. Only do 3-4 at a time because the peanut butter chips solidify fairly quickly.
4. Once 18 liners have been filled with peanut butter, place the pan in the freezer for 5 minutes.
5. While freezing, melt the milk chocolate in a microwave safe bowl.
6. Remove the pan from the freezer and cover the hardened peanut butter with the milk chocolate, almost filling to the top.
7. Place back in the freezer for 10 minutes.
8. Reheat the peanut butter chips if necessary and then remove the pan from the freezer again and cover the milk chocolate with a thin layer of the remaining peanut butter chips.
9. Put back in the freezer for another 5 minutes to harden.
10. Store in the refrigerator, but allow to sit out for several minutes before eating to soften. You don’t want any broken teeth!

Crystallized Ginger and Peach Muffins

yields 9 muffins; slightly adapted from Good To The Grain by Kim Boyce

Peach Topping

• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
• 2 medium yellow peaches, ripe yet firm, sliced

1. Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add in the honey and ginger to make a syrup.
2. Once the syrup is bubbling, add in the peach slices, coating with syrup and cook for several minutes until slightly softened.
3. Remove from heat and allow to cool.

Muffins

• 1 cup oat flour (you can process rolled oats in the food processor and then measure out)
• 3/4 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter (I actually used Earth Balance), melted and cooled
• 3/4 cup buttermilk
• 1/2 cup plain nonfat Greek yogurt
• 1 large egg, beaten
• 5 tablespoons crystalized ginger, chopped
• turbinado sugar, for topping
• cooking spray

1. Preheat the oven to 350º. Spray a muffin tin liberally with cooking spray.
2. In a large bowl, combine the flours, sugars, baking powder, soda, ginger, and salt.
3. In a medium sized bowl, mix the butter, buttermilk, yogurt, and the egg.
4. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and stir until just combined.
5. Stir in the crystallized ginger.
6. Use a cookie scoop to divide the dough into 9 cavities (use 2 muffins tins to allow the muffins room to spread out over the top).
7. Place peach slices on muffin tops and sprinkle with turbinado sugar.
8. Bake for 22-24 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out cleanly.
9. Allow to cool in tin for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire cooling rack.