Homemade Lemonade

Now that my summer class if over, I'm going to try to post some of the recipes I've made over the past couple of months. Homemade Lemonade sounds like a great one to start with! Last weekend, I went to one of my best friend's weddings. Amber and I met back in 4th grade, and have been great friends ever since. She looked absolutely gorgeous! As did her decorations and bouquets (which I caught; get ready H ;) haha). Here is a picture of one of her center pieces for the reception tables:

There were probably 20 or more tables, so you can tell that they had more than enough lemons to give away. Ryan and I took home 17! We used the peels to make limoncello (if it turns out I'll post a recipe for it) and the juice to make Homemade Lemonade:

1 cup + 3 cups water, divided
3/4 cup sugar
1 cup fresh-squeezed lemon juice

Combine 1 cup water and the sugar in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir until dissolved to create a simple syrup. Cool the simple syrup. Pour the syrup, lemon juice, and 3 cups water into a pitchers. Stir well. Serve with ice, if desired.

Sunny Quinoa Salad

I love the quinoa salads found in The Whole Life Nutrition Cookbook, but I decided that it was time for me to make up my own quinoa salad.  Here's how I made it:

Sunny Quinoa Salad

1 c. quinoa
1-3/4 c. water
pinch of sea salt

4 green onions, sliced
1 c. chopped cilantro
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and finely diced
1/2 red pepper diced
1-1/2 ears of corn, cooked, corn cut from the cob
1 c. canned black beans

Dressing:
1/4 c. freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 T extra virgin olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
3/4 t. sea salt

Topping:
Raw sunflower seeds
Olive Oil
Sea salt

1. Prepare quinoa:
Rinse the dry quinoa in a fine mesh strainer under warm running water. Place quinoa in a medium sauce pan with the water and sea salt. Cover and bring to a boil. Then reduce heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes.

2. While the quinoa is cooking, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Prepare the additional ingredients (green onions, cilantro, jalapeno, red pepper, corn, and black beans). Once the oven is preheated, roast raw sunflower seeds in a cake or pie pan with a little olive oil and sea salt for about 10 minutes, stirring once. Remove pot of quinoa from the stove and let cool.

3. Once the quinoa is cool, transfer to a bowl with a lid. Add the green onions, cilantro, jalapeno, red pepper, corn, and black beans to it.

4. Whisk together the dressing ingredients in a separate small bowl. Pour over the quinoa and vegetables. Toss salad together.

5. To serve, spoon salad on a plate or bowl and top with the roasted sunflower seeds. The salad can also be chilled for later use. I recommend adding the sunflower seeds right before you serve it so they don't get soggy.

Sangria

Mmmmm...thank you, Ryan, for making this! :)  Delicious!

Sangria

• 2 lemons, cut into slices
• 2 oranges, cut into slices
• 1-2 oz pineapple juice
• 1 oz lime juice
• 2 bottles of Rojo Mojo Shiraz (or other red wine)
• 4 T sugar
• 4 shots of brandy
• Ginger ale

Note: When you are slicing the fruits, discard the seeds, if possible.

In a pitcher, squeeze most of the juice out of the lemons and oranges.  Pour in the pineapple and lime juices.  Pour one bottle of wine over the fruit and juices.  Stir well.  Pour the other bottle of wine in the pitcher, and stir again.  Pour in the sugar and brandy.  Stir until sugar is dissolved.  Let set in fridge for at least a couple hours (best overnight).  To server, mix wine with ginger ale to taste.

Italian Sprinkle Cookies

This first recipe is for one of my coworkers, Vicky. Without her pushing, I wouldn't have this blog. :) Thanks, Vicky. I made these cookies for a cookie exchange my boss, Crystal, invited me to. Hopefully they're a hit at the exchange. My recipe says that it makes 7 dozen cookies, but I only got 5 1/2 dozen out of it.


Italian Sprinkle Cookies

• 6 eggs
• 5 c all-purpose flour
• 2 c powdered sugar
• 2 T + 1-1/2 t baking powder
• 1 c vegetable oil
• 1 T almond extract
• 1-1/2 t lemon extract

Glaze

• 1/2 c warm milk
• 1 t almond extract
• 1 t vanilla extract
• 3-3/4 c powdered sugar
• Sprinkles

To make:
Preheat oven to 350. Beat eggs until light and fluffy (about 5 minutes). In a separate bowl, combine flour, sugar, and baking powder. Stir in oil and extracts. Gradually add in beaten eggs. Dough will be stiff (I advise against using wooden spoons). Roll dough into 1 inch balls and place on ungreased cookie sheet.


Cook in oven for 11 to 12 minutes or until edges begin to brown. While cookies are baking make glaze by combining milk and extracts in a large bowl. Then whisk in sugar until smooth.


After baked, dip hot cookies in glaze. Transfer to a cooling rack to drain. Immediately top with sprinkles (glaze sets quickly). Let dry for 24 hours before storing in airtight containers.