DIY Strawberry Soda–Lacto Fermented Strawberry Soda

Posted on June 10, 2015 by lazygirldinners

So now that you know how to make a ginger bug, let’s put it to use. I’ve been wanting to make this soda specifically for Page for a long while now. The great thing about this soda is that it is full of beneficial bacteria, so it’s a soda that is actually good for you. The directions I had for making this soda said to leave it out of direct sun light for 24 hours, so that it naturally carbonates and then move it to the refrigerator to chill and slow the process down. I put the soda in a corner and left it to sit, about 15 hours later, I hear a loud explosion in my kitchen. The bottle had exploded and my entire bottle of soda was lost. There was glass everywhere! It made me so sad. So the moral of the story is, don’t leave this out to carbonate more than 12 hours. If you plan on doing that, then put this in a cabinet, close it so that the explosion is confined, and no one gets hurt. Or place this in a plastic sterilized water bottle, that way you can clearly tell when the soda has carbonated, the bottle will expand and harden once the soda has been carbonated. In the book The Art of Fermentation’ the author suggest placing a raisin in the bottle, once the raisin rises to the top that is a sign that the soda has been carbonated, and you can transfer it to the refrigerator. I juiced fresh strawberries in my juicer for this recipe. There are many recipes out there that boil the berries with sugar to make a syrup, and then use the syrup as a base to make this soda. I preferred to just use fresh juice–delicious! Also the sugar is an optional ingredient, if the strawberries you’re using are already sweet then you don’t really need to add more sugar.

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Ingredients:

2 cups of strawberry juice

2 cups of water

1/2 cup of ginger bug

1/4 cup -1/2 cup of organic raw sugar –optional

Equipment:

Close top bottles

Directions: Remove the stems from the strawberries–about 3 pints and juice them.

Strain 1/2 cup of the ginger bug.

To a large bowl add the strawberry juice, water, ginger bug, and sugar if using,

Stir well cover with cheesecloth and place out of direct sun light to allow the mixture to ferment over night. If you’d like you could ferment longer–up to 3 days, but the flavor of mine was just perfect after 24 hours. The bacteria eat the sugar, so the longer you leave it, the less sweet it becomes. But be careful, the bacteria will convert the sugar to alcohol so you don’t want to leave it too long–unless of course you want to make this a mead–a delicious alcoholic beverage, instead of a soda. Transfer the mixture to an air tight bottle or mason jar to carbonate, store in a dark cabinet–or a safe area where if it explodes it will not harm you or your family members.

Store for up to 12-15 hours before moving it to the refrigerator to chill. Once chilled open the bottle over a sink–natural carbonation is a powerful thing! Pour over ice and enjoy!

How to Make a Ginger Bug–How to Make a Lacto-Starter

Posted on June 9, 2015 by lazygirldinners

How to make a Ginger Bug–How to make a Lacto -Starter

So you’re probably wondering what a ginger bug is, and why on earth would I make it! The short answer is that it’s a culture of good bacteria that is used as a base for homemade lacto fermented sodas. Much like kefir, kombacha, yogurt, and other fermented foods like pickles, kimchi, and sauerkraut, the bacteria in lacto fermented sodas provides beneficial bacteria to our guts. I’m not a fan of conventional soda’s for obvious reasons, and I’m so glad to have this as an alternative. The recipe I used for making this lacto soda starter comes from the book Bar Tartine Techniques & Recipes, get a copy, it’s a great book. You can use any type of sugar that you like in this recipe, and don’t worry about the sugar, it’s not for you, it’s for the bacteria, and they need it to thrive. They eat it, and what’s left over is a thing of pure beauty. One thing you should know about this recipe, is that you have to use organic ginger. Commercial ginger is radiated, and because of that will not make a successful starter.

Ingredients

4 cups of filtered water

5 teaspoons of grated organic ginger

5 teaspoons of organic sugar

Directions: Add the water,

1 teaspoon of ginger,

and one teaspoon of sugar, to a large canning jar, or a bowl, stir well,

cover with cheesecloth and place in a dark corner.

The next day add one teaspoon of ginger, and one teaspoon of sugar, stir well, cover with the cheesecloth and return to the corner. Continue to do this for another 3 days. By the 5th day your ginger bug should be bubbling with action. By bubbling I mean this:

The bubbles are not boiling, just a few here and there, but when I moved it with spoon it sizzled.

Once you get that, your ginger bug is ready to use. If you’re not ready to use it right away, transfer it to a mason jar, cover it, and refrigerate it. Make sure to feed it once a week with 1 teaspoon of ginger and 1 teaspoon of sugar. When you’re ready to make soda bring the starter to room temp, feed it with 1 teaspoon of ginger and 1 teaspoon of sugar until it bubbles again, about 3 days. Stay tuned tomorrow I’ll share my recipe for strawberry soda using this starter–it’s soooooooooooooooo good!

Miso Butter–How to Make Miso Butter

Posted on June 2, 2015 by lazygirldinners

How to Make Miso Butter

Butter is delicious all on its own, I love adding it to sauces, slathering it on piping hot corn on the cob, or a simple piece of toast. There is not much that butter doesn’t improve. However, miso butter is the younger, prettier, and more sophisticated sibling of butter. It’s everything butter is, but better! I was introduced to miso butter by David Chang after watching a chef series he did. Frankly, I don’t know why I never tried making miso butter before. I have had it several times at restaurants, and was always fascinated whenever chefs mentioned using it. I guess it just never occurred to me to try to make it at home–until it did–and now I can’t live without it. Most chefs recommend using a 2 to 1, or 3 to 1 ratio of butter to miso. I found my sweet spot is larger on the butter side, so my ratio is more of a 4 to 1. Tomorrow I am going to share one of my absolute favorite ways to use miso butter, until then here is how you make it.

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Prep time: 5 minutes

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons of white organic miso

7 tablespoons of grass fed butter–cut into cubes–it makes mixing easier

Directions: To a medium size bowl add the butter,

Then the miso.

Using the back of a large spoon, mix and mash together the butter and miso paste until well combined.

You’ll know the butter is fully mixed when you no longer see streaks of brown or yellow.

Once the butter and miso have been well combined, transfer to an air tight container and refrigerate for later use.

This butter is amazing on almost everything, from steaks to veggies and fish! See you tomorrow;-)

If you like this recipe try my recipe for How to make Butter or How to brown butter

DIY Onion Soup Mix–Copy Cat Lipton’s Onion Soup Mix

Posted on May 27, 2015 by lazygirldinners

DIY Onion soup mix

There are three seasonings that I can rely on my mom to have in her cupboards at all times: Lawry’s seasoning salt, Lemon pepper, and Lipton’s Onion Soup Mix. In fact while writing this, I was tempted to call her, and have her take a picture of what is inside her cupboards, just so that you guys could see, but she’s not that technologically savvy. She barely knows how to get the pictures that I send her of Page through text. When I was growing up my mom would rent 4-5 movies and make a bunch of snacks for us watch over the course of the weekend. One of those snacks was a sour cream and onion dip. She’d take a container of sour cream and mix in a package of the Lipton Onion Soup mix–simple but delicious. We’d happily nosh on potato chips, celery, and carrot sticks dipped in the onion dip while we watched the latest movie release from Blockbuster video–yes I just dated myself! Oh the memories! I haven’t had that dip in years! I’d say a good 10-12 years, maybe longer. It’s not something my mom makes any more. I wanted to make it for me and my hubby, but I didn’t want to buy the Lipton’s seasoning. I had an idea of what was in the seasoning–or at least I thought I did– dried minced onion, onion powder, dried green onion–but to be sure I called my mom and asked her what was on the ingredient list. Sure enough she had a box in her cupboard and the ingredient list she read to me was anything but simple. Besides the MSG, onion powder, and cornstarch, there were a list of ingredients that had nothing to do with onions. So I set out to do what I do best and made my own–without all the added preservatives and coloring. I used the organic onion powder that I made myself, and added minced onion and a few herbs. A perfect match! Tastes just like I remember it! Delicious!!

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Makes the equivalent of 1 package of Lipton Onion soup mix

Ingredients:

4 Tablespoons of organic dried minced onion flakes

3 teaspoons of organic onion powder

1 teaspoon of organic dried chives

1 teaspoon of sea salt

1/4 teaspoon of celery salt

Directions: Mix all ingredients together in a small bowl, if you don’t plan on using this right away, transfer it to an air tight container for later use.

D.I.Y. Cheese Crackers–How to make Cheese It Crackers

Posted on May 6, 2015 by lazygirldinners

DIY Cheese Cracker’s–DIY Cheese it’s

My mom is a lover of all things snack related, so for Mother’s Day I want to give her what she enjoys most. I had been planning on making cheese cracker’s for Page, she was given gold fish crackers as a snack at school, and came home and immediately asked me to buy them. Not really going to happen. So since my mom and Page share a love of great snacks, I thought I’d make these cheese crackers for them. These cracker’s are what AWESOME aspires to be! They’re better than great! And they’re 1000 times tastier than store bought cheeze it’s. The recipe I used comes from America’s Test kitchen, so if you want the recipe in it’s original form click here. I used less salt than the original recipe calls for. Cheese already has a lot of salt, so adding too much is overkill. Do pick a great quality cheese for these, because quality matters for this particular recipe–good cheese=great cheese crackers. The recipe calls for the use of Annatto seeds, I found them quite easily in the spice section of Whole Foods. If you can’t find them, omit them from the recipe–your crackers will be white, instead of orange–not a big deal, they’ll still taste beyond amazing!!!

Ingredients:

6 ounces of organic sharp cheddar cheese, finely grated

4 tablespoons of butter (2 ounces)

1 teaspoon of sea salt

1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons of all purpose flour

2 tablespoons of cornstarch

1 tablespoon of Annatto seeds, coarsely ground (optional)

2 tablespoons of boiling water

Directions: To a small bowl add add the coarsely ground annatto seeds and the boiling water.

Allow the seeds to steep in the boiling water for 5 minutes, then strain and allow to cool to room temperature.

Meanwhile, add the butter, 1 teaspoon of salt, and cheese to a stand mixer with the paddle attachment,

mix on medium speed until cheese and butter are creamed and well combined–about 30 seconds.

Add in the flour and cornstarch and mix until combined–about 1 minute.

Add in the Annatto seed water,

then mix until dough clumps together or forms a ball–about 15 seconds.

Transfer dough to a lightly floured counter, flatten to a disc, wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

When ready to cook, pre-heat oven to 375F. Line two bake sheets with parchment paper. Remove the dough from the refrigerator, and working on a floured counter, roll out the dough to 1/16 inch thickness–or as thin as you can get it without falling apart when you move it.

Cut the dough into 1 inch squares using a pizza or ravioli cutter or use small cookie cutters to cut out shapes.

Use a skewer to poke holes in the center of the crackers,

Transfer to the parchment lined bake sheets, place in the oven and bake until light and golden–about 18 minutes.

Remove from oven, allow to cool completely, then enjoy.

These can be stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

Pineapple Rings–How to make dehydrated Pineapple Rings

Posted on April 15, 2015 by lazygirldinners

Dehydrated Pineapple Rings

One of my go to snacks is dehydrated fruit. I’m a particular fan of pineapple rings. But, if you’ve ever purchased organic dehydrated pineapple rings, then you probably know that pineapple rings are a snack that can be out right expensive! I mean outlandishly expensive! On top of the expense, it’s pretty hard to find pineapple rings that haven’t been soaked in baths of sugar. I’m not a fan of adding sugar to dehydrated fruit. It’s sort of an oxymoron to me that sugar is added to dehydrated fruit at all, because if you know anything about dehydration–then you know that the sugar in fruits concentrate when dehydrated, so there really isn’t a need to add sugar–unless you’re dehydrating something really tart like cranberries then I could see the purpose of adding sugar. Last week I purchased a pineapple, I fully intended to eat it fresh. However,when I cut, and tasted it– it was pretty tasteless. Disappointing for sure. The pineapple clearly needed to ferment more. Rather than chuck it, I sliced it and put it in the dehydrator and made pineapple rings. The resulting pineapple rings were not only flavorful, but they were sweet–everything you want would want in a fresh bite of pineapple–minus the juice of course. The pineapple rings lasted all of 2 minutes, my sister in-law, my niece and Page, gobbled them right up–I’m pretty sure they would’ve passed on the fresh slices.

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time 6-8 hrs 10-12hr for thicker slices

Ingredients:

2 whole fair trade organic pineapple

Directions: Remove the stem from the pineapple, then slice off the top and bottom. Slice off the skin, making sure to remove all the eyelets.

Now slice the pineapple thinly.

Keep in mind that the thicker you slice it, the longer it will take to dry. If it’s too thin your pineapple rings will turn out crisp, if they are a bit thicker, they’ll be more leathery, so it’ just a matter of what you’re seeking in consistency. After slicing, cut out the center core by carving a circular cut in the middle of the pineapple.

Remove the core and discard it.

Place the pineapple rings on your dehydrator sheet,

Set the dehydrator to 135F. If you’re doing this in the oven, set the oven to 150F or the lowest possible setting. Dehydrate for 6-8 hours, 10-12hrs if you cut thicker slices.

Once dry let cool, then enjoy!

Page could not wait for me to take a picture, she loves these so much!

if you like this recipe, try the recipe for my pineapple fruit roll-ups!

Creamy Caesar Salad Dressing

Posted on March 17, 2015 by lazygirldinners

Creamy Caesar Dressing–DIY Caesar Salad Dressing

My latest obsession is salad. Crispy and crunchy vegetables with a drizzle of oil, and a splash of citrus or vinegar–what’s not to love? Salads are a great way to get in a few servings of fresh vegetables in their raw state. As much as I love salads, they can become a bit boring if you don’t mix things up a bit. The easiest way to do that is to switch out the vegetables and the dressing. I often make caesar salads with romaine lettuce, but sometimes I switch out the romaine and replace it with baby kale, or lacinto kale. It makes for a hearty salad and an especially delicious twist to the standard caesar salad, we are all used to. I’ll post the recipe I use for the kale caesar another day, but today, I’m sharing my recipe for my favorite creamy caesar salad dressing. It’s my go to dressing, when I crave a creamy salad dressing.

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: none

Ingredients:

1 clove of garlic pasted

2 Tablespoons of lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon of worcestershire sauce

1 tablespoon of anchovy paste

2 large egg yolks

1/4 cup grape seed oil

5 teaspoons of olive oil

3/4 cup of freshly grated parmesan cheese

black pepper to taste

Directions: To a small bowl add the grated garlic and lemon juice, allow to sit for 10 minutes. If you have a hand mixer like I do, add the lemon garlic mixture, (after it sits for 10 minutes), and the rest of the ingredients to a bowl and mix until the mixture thickens–about 1-2 minutes.

Transfer to an air tight container and chill until ready to use.

If you don’t have a hand mixer, whisk worcestershire sauce, anchovies, and egg yolks into garlic/lemon juice mixture.

While whisking, drizzle grape seed oil and extra virgin olive oil into bowl in slow, steady stream until fully emulsified.

Add 3/4 cup Parmesan and pepper to taste; whisk until incorporated:

Cauliflower Pizza Crust–How to make Cauliflower Pizza Crust

Posted on March 4, 2015 by lazygirldinners

Cauliflower Pizza Crust

I’m trying to find different ways to serve vegetables to Page. She has a new found love for pizza–before she wasn’t at all impressed. Recently, I’ve started to get her involved in helping me to make the meals we’re eating. I saw a food documentary about food, and kids. In it the narrator said that the best way to get kids to eat vegetables is to have them take part in cooking. Page is at that age where she’s very eager to help, so I thought why not take advantage of that. I’ve also really wanted to try out a cauliflower pizza crust on our new baking steel. I have to say that I was more than impressed with the results–so was Page. Now for those of you wondering if this will taste anything like that delicious yeasty bread that you’re used to with pizza–the short answer is no. Bread is bread–this is an alternative to bread. Although it’s not bread–it mimics bread in form, and it is so delicious that it stands on it’s own. The reason cauliflower is most often used by people as a substitution for grains is because it has such a mild flavor. It also has great texture. This recipe requires that you add cheese. I used parmesan, but you could use mozzarella, or pecorino, or a combination of your favorite Italian cheeses. I also used fresh basil, but you can use rosemary, or another herb of your choosing, dried or fresh–totally up to you.

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:

1 small head of cauliflower

1/4 teaspoon of garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon of truffle salt

1 tablespoon of finely chopped fresh basil

1 cup of freshly grated parmesan–or cheese of your choice

1 egg

Directions: Pre-heat your oven and pizza stone or baking steel to 450F for 45 minutes. Steam the cauliflower for 5-7 minutes–or until fork tender.

Transfer cauliflower to a processor and process until cauliflower looks like grains of rice.

Transfer processed cauliflower to a clean kitchen towel, or a nut milk bag, and squeeze until the cauliflower becomes dry. You want to squeeze out as much water as you can.

Transfer the cauliflower to a medium size bowl, and add garlic powder, salt, basil, and cheese–mix together into a ball.

Spray a sheet of parchment paper with oil. Add the cauliflower mixture to the center of the parchment paper, and with your hands begin to flatten and form it into the shape of a pizza.

Once you have the shape you want, place it in the oven for 10-12 minutes.

Once it’s golden brown and bubbly like this: remove it from the oven.

Now you can top it with your favorite tomato sauce, cheese and toppings.

Once you have it topped, place it in the oven to cook until the cheese and topping melt. Remove from oven, cut serve and enjoy!

This made a 10-12 inch pizza, not a crumb was left over. Everyone enjoyed it–my husband didn’t even know that the crust was made from cauliflower until Page told him! If you like this try my recipe for Tortilla Pizza!

Rosemary, Garlic, & Lemon Pototoes

Posted on February 18, 2015 by lazygirldinners

Rosemary, Garlic, and Lemon Potatoes

One of my husbands favorite side dishes. He is a lover of all things potato, so I’m constantly trying to switch up the way that I cook them. The easiest way for me to do that is to switch up the herbs. In this case fresh is best! The fresh rosemary really makes these potatoes sing! The pungent and earthy flavor of fresh rosemary paired with the lemon and garlic, make for a delicious potato dish!

Prep time: 5 minutes

Cook time: 10-15 minutes

Ingredients:

4 medium organic potatoes (cubed skin on)

1 Tablespoon of fresh organic rosemary finely chopped

1 teaspoon of garlic finely chopped

1/2 teaspoon of lemon powder (can sub the zest of one small lemon)

4-5 Tablespoons of grape seed oil

Sea salt to taste

Directions: Heat olive oil in a frying pan. Place cubed potatoes in,

Cook potatoes until they start to brown, tip, cook for 5 minutes on one side, brown and then flip to the other side to brown. Once potatoes are brown and fork tender, add the rosemary, lemon powder, and garlic, toss for ten to twenty seconds, just until you can smell the garlic, turn the fire off.

Transfer to a plate season with sea salt toss and enjoy!

If you like these potatoes then you’ll love my recipe for Lemon and Garlic Potatoes! You might also like these Ranch Potatoes!

Tortilla Pizza– How to make Pizza with a Tortilla crust

Posted on February 17, 2015 by lazygirldinners

Tortilla Pizza

A friend of mine has been espousing the virtues of the Baking Steel for over a year and half now. We don’t make very many pizza’s in this house, so I put it on my list of things that I want to buy in the future, but really can wait. Then I read all about the virtues of this steel plate in Modernist Cuisine, and I knew that I needed one sooner rather than later. Aside from being a great way to make brick oven style pizza’s, the baking steel works as a plancha, an anti-griddle, and a teppanyaki. A multi-purpose gadget always excites me, so I ordered one. I came across a great article on Serious eats about a reversible version of the Baking Steel, and right next to it was a recipe for Extra-Crispy Bar-Style Tortilla Pizza and I knew that I had to try it. Leave it to me to buy a gadget made for making pizza only to put it aside to make a pizza in a cast iron skillet. After making this, I don’t know why I never thought to try making pizza with a tortilla as a base before. I’ve used naan, pita, and a middle eastern bread to make pizza before, so you would think it would have occurred to me to try one with a tortilla. This pizza is super-duper easy, takes less than 10 minutes from start to finish, and it’s the best thin crust pizza that I’ve ever eaten. For my gluten free friends, this pizza is easily adapted to become gluten free by switching out the flour tortilla, with a gluten free tortilla, Whole Food’s sells a host of different varieties. You can add additional toppings to this, but I kept it simple.

Prep time: 5 minutes

Cook time: 7-10 minutes

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons of Organic Tomato sauce (I used the Trader Joe’s brand)

1/4 cup of freshly grated parmesan cheese

1/2 cup of organic mozzarella cheese (grated)

3 fresh basil leaves sliced thinly

1 large organic flour tortilla

1/2 teaspoon coconut oil or grape seed oil

Directions: Pre-heat oven to broil. Add the oil to the cast iron pan and bring to temperature over high heat.

Once the oil is hot, wipe out any excess with a paper towel–be careful not to burn yourself.

Add the tortilla to the pan, turn the heat down to medium-low.

Add the 3 tablespoons of tomato sauce,

spread the sauce out evenly over the tortilla, all the way out to the edges.

Add the mozzarella.

Then add the parmesan around the edges–you are giving your pizza a parmesean crust.

Add the basil:

Transfer the pizza to the oven,

Allow the pizza to cook for 3-4 minutes or until the cheese bubbles and browns.

Remove the pan from the oven. The pizza should be nice and crisp–if it is not, place the cast iron pan over a burner, turn on the fire and allow to cook for another 30-60 seconds until it’s nice and crisp. Remove the pizza from the pan slice, serve and enjoy! This recipe is only for one pizza, so if you need more adjust accordingly. My daughter enjoyed this so much, that she begged me to make her one for breakfast the next morning.

If you like this recipe you will probably like my recipe for Artisan Prosciutto Tomato and Basil Pizza.

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Lazy Girl Dinners

A Lazy Girls guide to quick, healthy, and easy recipes!

Tag Archives: vegetarian

DIY Strawberry Soda–Lacto Fermented Strawberry Soda

How to Make a Ginger Bug–How to Make a Lacto-Starter

Miso Butter–How to Make Miso Butter

DIY Onion Soup Mix–Copy Cat Lipton’s Onion Soup Mix

D.I.Y. Cheese Crackers–How to make Cheese It Crackers

Pineapple Rings–How to make dehydrated Pineapple Rings

Creamy Caesar Salad Dressing

Cauliflower Pizza Crust–How to make Cauliflower Pizza Crust

Rosemary, Garlic, & Lemon Pototoes

Tortilla Pizza– How to make Pizza with a Tortilla crust