The Part That Was Good

I really enjoyed seeing some of you yesterday at Pedal 4 Patrick. What a great event!! Congratulations to Ann, Christina & Peri for a well run, entertaining & successful event! It looks like the kids raised a lot of money for Press On which funds research to find a cure for childhood cancer. As I mentioned to some of you we had Red Beans and Rice for dinner. In case you were wondering, red beans take about 5 hours in the slow cooker. Unfortunately, that did not work into our plans and I over cooked them. They were very tasty but too thick and mushy. I will perfect that recipe and give it to you later.  However, there were many parts of our meal that did work and are blog-worthy.

Salad dressing is really easy to make. A classic vinaigrette is 1/3 vinegar to 2/3 oil. A homemade dressing tastes so much better than a bottled dressing and when I have time I will make my own because it is really easy. For the spinach salad I made a raspberry vinaigrette using part apple cider vinegar because I find raspberry vinegar overpowering. I put in some walnut oil because it is another really healthy oil (good for the heart) and pairs really well with raspberries. If you don't have walnut oil, use all olive oil.

Raspberry Vinaigrette
1/4 tsp dijon mustard
1 Tbs raspberry vinegar
1 Tbs apple cider vinegar
salt & pepper
2 Tbs walnut oil
4 Tbs extra virgin olive oil

Don't measure the dijon mustard, just put a dollop in the bottom of your bowl. Add the vinegars, a couple of good pinches of salt & some pepper. Whisk this together and continue whisking as you slowly add in the oil. Taste to see if you need more salt & pepper.

Tip: If a dressing ever seems too vinegary but you feel like you don't want to make it heavy with more olive oil, add a splash of water. It works amazing with strong vinegars.

Pumpkin Hot Chocolate
Caterina found a recipe in the American Girl magazine for Pumpkin Hot Chocolate. She loves pumpkin. We tweaked it and it was delicious! So if you were wondering what to do the leftover caned pumpkin from your pumpkin pancakes, here you go!

1/2 mug of milk
1 package of instant hot chocolate
1/2 mug of water
2 Tbs canned pumpkin
cinnamon
whipped cream
toffee bits

I always make hot chocolate with half milk (1% or skim) and half water. It tastes so much richer! Heat the milk in the microwave for 1 minute. Mix in the hot chocolate mix and add hot water. Stir in the pumpkin and a good sprinkle of cinnamon. Top with whipped cream and toffee bits. Yum!