Costco Hot Chocolate

Ingredients: 

• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/4 cup confectioners' sugar
• 2 cups whole milk
• 5 ounces bittersweet chocolate (60%), roughly chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• pinch of kosher salt

Combine the cocoa powder and confectioners' sugar in a small bowl and whisk to combine.

In a medium saucepan, bring the milk to a simmer over medium-low heat. Whisk in the chocolate and the cocoa powder mixture; whisk vigorously to combine. Bring to a boil and gently boil for 30 seconds while continuing to whisk. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla and salt. Pour this through a fine-mesh sieve to remove any small lumps.

Serve warm with a side of cold whipped cream, unsweetened or lightly sweetened. Pour into small bowls or mugs to serve. Makes 4 servings.

Note: This will keep, covered, in the fridge for up to 1 week. Reheat slowly on the stove over medium low heat, stirring occasionally, before serving.

Best Fruit Salad

Cut into bite-size pieces:

Kiwis
Bananas

Add:

Frozen raspberries
Whole grapes (we like red or purple)

Mix it all together and let it sit for a few minutes. The frozen raspberries will thaw while cooling the other fruits to a pleasant temperature. The salad will be delicious.

Peck of Pickled Peppers

1. Buy a jar of pickles (I think Claussen works best)
2. Eat them
3. Cut fresh cucumbers and other vegetables (like peppers) and put them in the brine
4. refrigerate overnight
5. enjoy!

The brine is usually good for about two batches of pickles, more if you add salt and vinegar. They're incredibly crisp and tasty.

Ma's Rice Pancakes

Ingredients:

4 eggs
2 cups water
1 ½ cups + 2 Tbsp rice flour
1 tsp salt

Beat eggs lightly, mix in water and salt. Add flour gradually while beating to keep smooth. Let sit for 15 min - 1 hour. Heat a frying pan (it should be fairly hot), put a little butter/oil in. Stir batter well before each pancake and pour enough batter to coat the bottom of the pan (they should be like swedish pancakes/crepes). Cook until slighty brown, flip over and cook until done (second side should not turn brown). Oil/butter pan between pancakes if needed.

They can be eaten with a variety of toppings for dinner or any other meal. Serve how ever you like and enjoy.

A Taste of Russia

From our partner site, Marat's Kitchen:

Skillet Pasta with Sausages

Baked Creamed Spinach

Винигрет (Vinaigrette Salad Russian Style)

Homemade Sauerkraut

Golubzi

More coming soon, right Marat? ;-)

Fruit Syrup for Pancakes

Ingredients:

¼ cup corn starch
½ cup sugar
Water to desired thickness (should be quite thick before add fruit)
Frozen fruit
Mommy’s way: Mix sugar and corn starch together with no heat, add cool water a little at a time stirring constantly. Add fruit.
Daddy’s way: bring water to a boil, stir corn starch with water and add that mixture. Add fruit

Catherine’s way: Forget about the corn starch. Thaw fruit. Place in blender with some orange juice and sugar. Blend. Heat if desired.

Pasta Sauce

Ingredients:

Onions
Garlic
Hamburger
Tomatoes
Basil
Oregano
Salt
Pepper
Cayenne pepper
Molasses or vinegar and sugar
Optional: mushrooms, olives

Cook onions and garlic and hamburger together. When cooked, add tomatoes (add tomato paste to make it thicker). Add spices to taste; 2-3 times more basil than oregano. Dash of cayenne pepper, a little bit of molasses. Add mushrooms or olive if desired.
Benj’s variation: replace molasses with a little bit of vinegar and sugar.

Hamburger Soup

Ingredients:

Onions
Garlic
Carrots
Green beans
Potatoes
Tomato juice
Salt
Pepper
Cook onions, garlic, and hamburger together. Add some water and bring to a boil. Put carrots in. Next add green beans if fresh or frozen. Add potatoes last; should take only 5 minutes or so if cut small. Add tomato juice after vegetables have been cooked (tastes better for some reason. Add salt and pepper.

Chili

Ingredients:

2 cups Pinto Beans

1 carrot (for cooking only)

½ lb. hamburger

Medium-sized onion

2 cloves of garlic

2-4 cups of some type of tomatoes (crushed seems best)

1 Tbsp. Crushed red chili pepper

1 tsp. salt per quart of chili

Wash and soak pinto beans 4-8 hours before making. Drain off soaking water, put on new water, bring to a boil and boil gently with a carrot in it for 1.5-2 hours until very soft. Cook hamburger with onion and garlic. Add tomatoes and chili pepper to beans (remove carrot first) along with hamburger mixture.

Black Beans

Ingredients:

2 cups black beans
1 carrot (for cooking only)
3 cloves garlic

Wash beans, soak 4-8 hours. Pour off soaking water, put on new water and cook with garlic and a carrot for 1.5-2 hours or until soft (remove carrot after cooked).

For black bean soup: Same as above except blend after cooking and add a tiny bit of Cumin. Good served with Sour cream and raw tomatoes.

Ma's Cornbread

1 cup buttermilk
1 cup cornmeal
1 tsp salt
3/8 tsp baking soda
1 egg
1 tbsp butter

Place butter in pan and pan in preheating oven. Mix first five ingredients. Stir melted butter into batter.

Bake at 450 for 22 minutes.