The Purple Pumpkin Project

Notice the new background? Who doesn't love purple? 

And, it's almost Epilepsy month! 

I have several people in my life with Epilepsy and just wanted to spread the word on the Purple Pumpkin Project. They are simply trying to raise awareness of Epilepsy and particularly what do do if you see someone having a seizure. 

The original article, and the Facebook page.

How to help someone who is having a seizure

When providing seizure first aid, these are the key things to remember:

DO:

• Keep calm and reassure other people who may be nearby.
• Time the seizure with your watch.
• Clear the area around the person of anything hard or sharp.
• Loosen ties or anything around the neck that may make breathing difficult.
• Put something flat and soft, like a folded jacket, under the head.
• Turn him or her gently onto one side. This will help keep the airway clear.
• Stay with the person until the seizure ends naturally.
• Be friendly and reassuring as consciousness returns.
• Offer to call a taxi, friend or relative to help the person get home if he seems confused or unable to get home by himself.

DON’T:

• Don't hold the person down or try to stop his movements.
• Do not try to force the mouth open with any hard implement or with fingers. A person having a seizure cannot swallow his tongue. Efforts to hold the tongue down can injure teeth or jaw.
• Do not attempt to give anything orally.
• Do not keep the person lying on their back.
• Don't attempt artificial respiration except in the unlikely event that a person does not start breathing again after the seizure has stopped.

Strawberry Mousse

This is a Princess original and one of those recipes that is great for so many different things. Most recently I put it in Krogers mini shortbread tartlet shells. It's also good in cream puffs or eclairs with white chocolate on top or just in a cooked pie crust. My personal favorite is crepes.

I recommend using a star tip is you haven't lost it somewhere in your kitchen..hmmm. And I have 3!! 

Also, to make it less grainy looking make sure you add all the strawberry powder while it is still hot to dissolve it. I tried to add more after I added the strawberry mixture and it didn't work. It still tasted good though.

3/4 c. sugar

2 1/2 Tbsp cornstarch

3/4 c. water

1 (3 oz.) box strawberry jello powder

1 lb bag frozen strawberries, thawed (fresh also works)

1 envelope knox unflavored gelatin

1 tsp. lemon juice

 1 c. heavy whipping cream

1/2 tsp vanilla extract (or to taste)

3 Tbsp powdered sugar (or to taste)

In a blender blend the strawberries until smooth. Blend in the knox gelatin and set aside. Let stand for at least 5 minutes.

Whisk together the sugar and cornstarch and then whisk in the water until no lumps remain. Cook over medium heat until the mixture is clear and very thick. Remove from the heat and whisk in the strawberry jello powder. Keep stirring for one minute. Make sure you whisk it long enough on this step of their will be gelatin lumps in you dessert. Stir in the blended strawberries and gelatin mix and stir another minute. Stir in the lemon juice and them place the mixture in the refrigerator to chill. 

Chill the strawberry mixture until its no longer warm, but not set. Whip the cream with the vanilla and powdered sugar until stiff peaks form. Whisk a third of the whipped cream into the strawberry mix. when mixed whisk in the remaining whipped cream. Chill until firm to the touch. 

To use remove the mousse from the fridge and whisk once. Let stand for 20 minutes before using. Because its stabilized with gelatin it will look kinda lumpy unless you use a piping bag to fill your tarts or crepes with. If you decide to make a pie out of it whisk the mousse in and chill just until its thick, but not set, and then mound it in a cooked and cooled pastry shell. 

I have also made mixed berry mousse with this same recipe. Just substitute the frozen strawberries with a bag of frozen mixed berries and omit the lemon juice. I still used strawberry gelatin powder but I suspect another berry flavor such as raspberry or blackberry fusion might be good. The final mousse was a medium purple color.

This made enough to fill 5 dozen mini tart shells, about the size of a silver dollar.

Red Peanut Curry

Who doesn't just love pinterest?

You can find all kinds of pins that you love, either because they are great ideas or because they are so bad you get a great laugh out of them.

Well I tried this Chicken Curry from Better Homes and Gardens, with my changes of course. 

I also want to add that I think a tablespoon or two of fish sauce would probably be great in the sauce but I haven't tried it so if it's gross don't blame me. I also just the chicken into small strips so that they would cook faster. This means that the carrots and the bell peppers didn't cook as much. This means the bell peppers didn't turn to mush and the carrots were still crisp tender, which is how we like them.

This would also be really good with beef, just make sure it is thinly sliced so that is cooks in 2 hours.

 

1 onion, chopped

1 red bell pepper, sliced

3 large carrots, sliced

2 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts

1/4 c. flour

3/4 c. water

1 chicken bouillon cube

3 Tbsp. creamy peanut butter

2 Tbsp. lime juice

2 Tbsp. soy sauce

1 inch chunk of fresh ginger, peeled

4 cloves garlic

3 Tbsp red curry paste

1 - 2 jalapeno peppers, seeded for less heat, not for more (optional)

1 can coconut milk ( I used the entire can, not just 1/2 c)

2 c. green vegetables 

(frozen green beans, peas, sliced zucchini, or all the above)

3 Tbsp chopped fresh cilantro

3 Tbsp chopped fresh basil

Place all the sauce ingredients (water to jalapeno) in a blender and blend until smooth. Set aside.

Cut the chicken in half lenght-wise and cut into 1 inch strips. Place the onion carrot and pepper in the bottom of the crock pot. Put the chicken and flour in a large resealable bag and toss to coat. Put the chicken on top of the vegetables and pour the blended sauce on top of the chicken. Cover and cook on high for 2 hours. You can cook on low for longer but the carrots will be a lot more tender. After 2 hours add the coconut milk and green vegetables and cook an additional 30 minutes. If you cooked it on low turn the pot to high for the last 30 minutes.

Remove the pot from the base and stir in the fresh herbs. Serve over rice.

Peach Salsa

6 large ripe peaches

6 slices of pickled jalepenos, like for nachos, chopped

1/4 c. red bell pepper, finely chopped

1/2 red onion, finely chopped

1 small amount of chopped fresh cilantro, about 1 Tbsp chopped

1/3 c. balsamic vinegar

2 Tbsp honey

2 Tbsp jalapeno liquid from the jar of slices

Heat the balsamic vinegar over medium heat until reduced by at least half. Whisk in the honey until smooth. Remove from the heat and whisk in the jalapeno liquid. Set aside to cool

Peel and chop the peaches. 

Combine the peaches, red onion, red pepper, jalapenos, cilantro and balsamic vinegar sauce.  

Stir to combine. 

Serve with chips or over pork chops. 

Fresh Blueberry Sauce

5 c. fresh blueberries

3 Tbsp sugar

1 tsp. lemon juice

3 Tbsp water

1 1/2 tsp instant clear gel

Place half the blueberries in a large bowl and mash lightly. I started to use a potato mashed but it mushed the blueberries too much, I like them to only be broken up a bit but not a paste. Add the sugar and remaining blueberries and continue mashing until most of the blueberries are at least somewhat squished. Add the water and lemon juice, stir for a minute and let stand for 10 minutes. Sprinkle the clear gel over the top and stir again for another minute. Let stand for ten minutes and serve.

I love the use of the clear gel because it thickens the sauce around the berries without having to cook them at all leaving it so they are still fresh. This can be made with fresh strawberries as well. Slice the strawberries instead of mashing them and skip the water. Let the sliced berries sit with the sugar for about 20 minutes and then add the clear gel until thickened.

This is great over ice cream, in crepes, or just in a bowl with whipped cream.

Cajun Cream Pasta

2 lb Boneless, skinless chicken breasts

seasoning mix (recipe below)

2 Tbsp butter

2 Tbsp oil

1 c. chicken broth

2 Tbsp tomato paste

1/2 onion, chopped really fine

1/2 bell pepper, chopped really fine

1 Tbsp garlic

1 Tbsp flour

1 c. half-an-half

Salt & Pepper to taste

Hot cooked pasta

Trim the chicken breasts of fat and cut in half lengthwise.  Sprinkle with a generous amount of seasoning mix on both sides and cook in the oil and butter. Don't turn the chicken until it looks golden and the seasoning is dark brown. Flip and cook on the other side. Remove from heat and keep warm. 

If the pan looks dry add an additional splash of oil and saute the onion and pepper until translucent. Add the garlic and cook 30 seconds longer. Stir in the flour and cook another 30 seconds.

Add the chicken broth to the pan and simmer to deglaze the bottom. Add the tomato paste and simmer all together for 5 minutes. Stir in the half-an-half and simmer an additional minute. 

Return the chicken to the pan along with any juices on the plate. Taste for salt and pepper and adjust accordingly. Turn once to coat and serve over hot pasta.

Seasoning mix

2 Tbsp Kirklands Signature Seasoning mix

1 tsp. thyme

1 tsp. oregano

1 tsp paprika

1/2 tsp granulated garlic

1/4 tsp onion salt

Mix all together. Reserve extra for future use. I only used about 3/4 of the seasoning. 

If you don't want to make your own seasoning mix any Cajun seasoning mix will do

Presto Pasta Nights this week is at Simple Kitchen Seasons

Oatmeal Scotchie Bars

My mom used to make a cookie with butterscotch chips called oatmeal scotchies. The recipe was the one on the back of the chip bag. I made this recipe up using my favorite cookie recipe, and of course a few tweaks. Cookies would be good, but bars are easier to make and taste just as good. 

I would have made this with all butter instead of the oil and syrup but I one stick was all I had. So if you aren't as neglectful as I am then try it with all butter and let me know how it goes.And I know corn syrup has a really bad reputation right now, but really, it's a dessert. What were you expecting?

1 stick butter, softened

2 Tbsp oil

2 Tbsp corn syrup

3/4 c. brown sugar

2 Tbsp granulated sugar

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 c. flour

3/4 c. whole wheat flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1 c. oats

2 tsp. cinnamon

1 bag butterscotch chips

Beat together the butter, oil, and syrup. 

Beat in both sugars, the egg, vanilla, soda, salt, and cinnamon. 

Once mixed beat in the flours and oats then the butterscotch chips.

Spread evenly into a 9 x 13 pan. 

Bake at 350 for 20 - 30 minutes until a dark golden brown. 

Let cool for 10 minutes before cutting into bars.