Sun-dried tomato spread

Made this one up as I was adding ingredients to a mini food prep. Some days I just want to eat chicken cold cuts with a sauce other than the one that soy sauce-based one I normally use. I used a lightly seasoned rice wine vinegar because it's not as sharp-tasting as balsamic vinegar. Anyhow, this came out tasting really good and now I'm finishing it off with those multi-seed flatbread crackers from Trader Joe's.

Ingredients

4 tbsp sun-dried tomatoes packed in olive oil
1 tbsp seasoned rice wine vinegar
1 tbsp olive oil
1 garlic clove, minced
fresh thyme leaves (1 sprig)
fresh rosemary leaves (about 1 tsp)

Directions

In a mini foodprep, pulse together all ingredients until tomatoes are finely chopped and blended.

Rosemary Vinaigrette

Ingredients

2 tbsp red wine vinegar
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp fresh rosemary leaves, finely chopped
2 oz olive oil (6 tbsp)

Directions

Combine lemon juice, red wine vinegar, garlic, mustard, and rosemary in a bowl. Slowly whisk in olive oil. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Haute spicy chocolate chip cookies

For the most part, this takes the simple dough ratio for chocolate chip cookies and adds more spices to it. By itself, cinnamon and chocolate chips don't taste that great together. But with a hint of cayenne pepper, the subtle element of heat is added to an otherwise benign sweet snack.

Ingredients

2 c. unbleached all-purpose flour
2 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 c. unsalted butter, cold and cut into pieces
1 c. brown sugar, packed
1/2 c. organic granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1-2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp ground cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp sea salt

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

1. In a food prep, blend together flour, brown sugar, granulated sugar, baking soda, salt and spices. Add eggs and pulse until combined. Add butter and pulse until dough comes together.

2. Empty food prep into a large mixing bowl and fold in chocolate chips.

3. Drop by rounded teaspoons onto a parchment-lined baking sheet.

4. Bake for 10 minutes. Cool on wire racks.

Curry Butternut Squash Soup

Autumn is when a lot of squash varieties are in season. Butternut squash is one of my favorites because it can be roasted pretty easily with brown sugar and olive oil, it can be deep fried as a vegetable (if it is sliced thinly enough), and it can be made into a nice and hearty soup.

Ingredients

One butternut squash (approx 3 lbs), peeled, seeded, and cut into 1" pieces
1 qt organic chicken broth
1 organic medium carrot, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
1 tbsp curry powder
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions

1. In a stockpot, melt butter and olive oil together over medium heat. Add carrot, garlic, squash and curry powder. Let vegetables sweat for a few minutes, then add the broth. Bring soup to a boil and simmer over medium heat until squash is tender, 20-25 minutes.

2. Using an immersion blender or regular blender, pureé the mixture until smooth. Season with sea salt and black pepper, to taste. Serve while hot.

Note: If you like onions, a medium chopped onion can be added when the garlic and carrots are added. Let the onions caramelize in the oil before adding the squash and curry powder.

Simple Lemon Syrup

Makes about 1.5 cups

Ingredients

1 c. sugar
1 c. water
grated zest and juice of 1 lemon

In a small saucepan, combine sugar, water, lemon juice, and lemon zest over medium heat. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for about five minutes until sugar has dissolved.

Remove from heat and allow syrup to cool before using or storing.
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