Sourdough Blueberry Muffins

This recipe will make 6 small muffins (2-inch diameter)

Ingredients:
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup oil
1 cup sourdough starter
(See this post for info on starter: Sourdough Bread)
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup flour (whole wheat or all-purpose white)
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup sugar or Splenda sweetner
1/2 cup fresh or frozen blueberries

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 425F. Generously grease muffin pan with vegetable oil or PAM spray, butter. You can use also use cupcake/muffin paper cup inserts if you prefer.

Mix all the dry ingredients in a small bowl and set it aside. Mix the sourdough starter with all the wet ingredients in a larger bowl. Fold in the dry ingredients and the blueberries. Mix the batter quickly and spoon it into 6 muffin cups.

Bake for 20 minutes. Let them rest for a couple of minutes before removing them from the muffin pan or they will stick.

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Homemade "Miracle Whip"

Tastes just like the real thing!!

Ingredients:
2 egg yolks
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoon powdered sugar
3 tablespoons lemon juice (use Key Limes if you don't have lemons)
1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
1/4 teaspoon paprika (pimentón)
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder (ajo en polvo)
1 1/2 tablespoons flour or cornstarch (maicena)
1 teaspoon dry mustard (mostaza en polvo)
1/2 cup boiling water
2 tablespoons vinegar

Directions:
Use a blender or electric mixer to blend egg yolks, salt, sugar, paprika, garlic and 1 tablespoon of the lemon juice.

Slowly pour in 1 cup oil, a few drops at a time, mixing thoroughly.

Add remaining 1/2 cup oil a little faster and when it is thoroughly blended, gradually add the remaining 2 tablespoons of lemon juice.

Mix the flour, mustard and vinegar together in a small saucepan, but don't cook it yet. Gradually add the boiling water and mix until smooth. Cook the mixture in the saucepan on low heat just until it forms a smooth paste (don't let it get to thick).

Slowly add this hot mixture to the mayonnaise and blend well.

Pour into a container and cool in the refrigerator.

This will make about a 1/2 liter

Salad Dressing

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Rice Pudding ~ Arroz con leche

Ingredients:
1 liter of milk
1 can of condensed milk
1 can evaporated milk
1 4 ounce stick butter
1 cup of raisins
250 grams of rice
100 grams of sugar
Zest of 1 lemon rind
1 cinnamon stick
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

Directions:
In a saucepan bring water to a boil and cook the rice. In another deep sauce pan bring all three milks to a boil, add the sugar and butter and stir constantly until it dissolved. Once the mixture comes to a boiled again, you can add the cooked rice, raisins, lemon zest and cinnamon. Let it simmer on low boil for about 15 minutes, stirring frequently. Sprinkle with ground cinnamon before serving. This is delicious served hot or cold.

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Sourdough Waffles & Pancakes

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Now that I have my never ending supply of sourdough starter, I decided to see what else I could make, besides bread. After scouting around for different recipes I developed the following recipe for waffles and pancakes. This morning I made a dozen of the lightest 4 inch waffles I have every tasted.

Sponge Ingredients:
2 cups of refrigerated sourdough starter
2 cups of flour
2 cups of water

Sponge Directions:
The night before, feed the 2 cups of starter with the flour and water in a large bowl. Mix well and leave it covered at room temperature (65 F. - 80 F. degrees) overnight. You should have a very active sponge in the morning. Measure out 3 cups for the waffle/pancake batter. (Place the remainder in your sourdough starter jar, give it a feeding with about 1/2 cup water and 1/2 cup flour, let it rest 30 minutes to an hour, and return it to the refrigerator.)

Batter Ingredients:
3 cups of active sponge
2 eggs
3 tablespoons of vegetable oil
4 tablespoons of honey
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon baking soda

Batter Directions:
Add the eggs, oil, honey and salt to the sponge and mix well. Let the batter rest for about 30 minutes. You can cook the bacon or sausage, set the table, and heat the waffle iron or pancake griddle while the batter rests. The waffle iron or griddle should be set to 400 F. degrees, or moderately hot. Just before you are ready to cook, add the baking soda and mix well. If you add the baking soda too soon the batter may go flat and the waffles/pancakes won't rise well when cooked.
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Sourdough Bread

My all time favorite bread has always been sourdough, preferably San Francisco Sourdough. I became curious recently about sourdough and the whole bread making process, so I started to research on the internet and found the basic sourdough is a simple process of allowing equal parts of flour and water to ferment. Flour naturally contains wild yeasts and bacteria spores. When mixed with water and left at room temperature the naturally-occurring enzymes break down the starch into complex sugars. The sugars convert into glucose and fructose that yeast can metabolize. The bacteria then feed on the metabolism products from the yeast. This process creates the sourdough starter.

UPDATE: Since living in Costa Rica for several years, I found I needed a fresh sourdough starter. I found this procedure online, and it resulted with the best starter I have every used. Sourdough Starter

I tried creating my own starter and it did turn sour, but the loaf of bread was extremely dense and not at all what I was hoping to achieve. I wound up pitching it in the trash. I really wanted something more along the lines of a true San Francisco sourdough, so I went back to the internet and discovered Linda Wilbourne's web site with a true San Francisco Sourdough Bread Starter.

A little over a week ago, I purchased the San Francisco sour dough starter that is made up of a tiny amount of flour, the live wild yeast organisms, and another live organism called a lactobacillus, which is what creates the sour flavor in sourdough bread.

I followed Linda's instructions to the letter to create my starter and the results are amazing. I spent 72 hours getting the starter to the point it was ready to be used to bake a loaf of bread. I didn't have much experience baking bread, but John does, so this past Monday, after John came home from work, he helped me with the first loaf. I needed to get a feel of how the dough should look and feel and John is a great teacher. Our first loaf came out of the oven about 12:30 AM (Tuesday morning). We let it cool for about 15 minutes before we sliced the first piece and had a taste. Oh my, this is really good stuff!

That same Tuesday, after a little sleep, I went about the process of creating more starter and I made two more loaves, you know, just to get some practice in.

One was a round of white and the other a sandwich loaf using 1/2 white and 1/2 whole wheat flours. Both were absolutely delicious!

I now have a couple of sourdough starters safely stored in the fridge. The starter "stash" needs to be fed about once a month to keep the population of hungry micro organisms alive. It's pretty easy to do and this will give me a never ending supply of sourdough yeast for baking.

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Baked Onion

It's April and the Texas 10-15 Sweet Onions are back in season! This is an all time favorite of mine. You can use this same recipe with the Georgia Vadalia and the Washington Walla Walla onions.

Ingredients:
2 Jumbo 10-15 Sweet Onions
2 ounces of butter
1/4 cup water
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon seasoning salt
1/4 teaspoon lemon pepper
1/4 cup bread crumbs
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Direction:
Peel the onions, remove the stem, trim the top and bottom of the onion slightly so it will sit flat (without rolling) on either end. Slice the onions in half. Place the onion halves in baking dish with the round end to the bottom. Add water and top the onions with all the ingredients above. Bake at 375 for 45 minutes and serve.

This serves 4 and it make a great substitute for a baked potato.

Texas A&M University spent 10 years perfecting the Texas 1015. Here is some information I found on a Texas Aggie website you may find interesting:

"Texas 1015 SuperSweet Onions - The Sweetest In Its Class
The 1015 SuperSweet Onion, named after its recommended planting date of October 15, was introduced by the South Texas onion industry in 1985 after 10 years of research. It is the sweetest, mildest onion anywhere in the world.

Texas 1015 SuperSweets are available from mid-April through May and are predominantly single-centered, making them ideal for large, uniform-size onion rings. They also grow to softball-size proportions, often weighing in at one pound or more each and measuring over four inches in diameter. The optimum-size eating onion - in terms of mildness and sweetness - measures three to four inches in diameter and weighs 14 to 16 ounces.

Great Taste and Healthful, Too
Texas sweet onions not only taste great, they're good for you, too. Onions have naturally occurring compounds that have been reported to lower blood pressure and reduce cholesterol levels in the blood. They also contain quercetin, an antioxidant that has been found to inhibit the growth of some cancer cells. Another healthful bonus: Onions are low in calories and are a good source of vitamin C."

Vegetable

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