Happy Pi Day!

Happy Pi Day everyone!

Apple Raisin Honey Pi(e)

1 refrigerated pie crust
3 large apples, diced
1 cup raisins
1/2 cup confectioner's sugar
1/2 cup Honey flavored whiskey
1 tbsp Honey Date Balsamic
1 tsp Chocolate Olive Oil

Preheat the oven to 425°. Brig the pie crust to room temperature and set aside.

Mix the Honey Whiskey with the Balsamic and soak the raisins for at least 10 minutes. Dust the apples with the confectioners sugar and toss the apples and raisins together.

Roll the crust into a 9-10 inch pie plate. Pour the filling into it and drizzle with the Olive Oil.

Bake 35-40 minutes. Since this is a one crust pie, the filling may start to over-brown. Keep an eye on it and tent with foil if it gets too toasty.

(I however really like crispy bits on my pie and just leave it alone)

Slow Cooked: Honey Date Apple Butter

Welcome to the month of slow cooked foods! Cousin Jen asked for more slow cooker food. I can't promise that everything will take 8 hours to make. Sometimes, a slow cooker is just a great way to make soup! And there will be a few deviations along the way. I already have two things planned that are most certainly not made in a slow cooker.

But this was!

Honey Date Apple Butter

5 lbs of apples
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp powdered ginger
2-4 tbsp Honey Date Balsamic
2 1/2 cups white sugar

Peel, core and dice the apples finely. The smaller you chop them, the smoother your end product will be, so it is up to you.

Place the apples in your slow cooker. Mix the sugar, balsamic and spices together in a large bowl. Pour over the apples, stir to combine and turn it on.

Cover and cook on high for an hour or so then turn it to low and let it go for 9 hours or so. It should be thickened and a dark brown in color. It will probably be a bit watery yet, so remove the lid and cook on low for another hour.

Stir it up and put it in some jars. Store in the refrigerator. Can also be frozen. Plan on using it within two weeks though.

Roasted Pumpkin with Honey Date Balsamic Butter

I love pumpkin. Homemade pumpkin puree is always best, and you can customize it to be exactly what you want it to be. It is very easy as well. All you need is a sharp knife and a half hour with an oven. You can eat this straight off the rind, or serve it as a side dish. I plan to use this as a side dish for some ham steaks, but it may never make it.

I finally ran out of last year's stash of canned pumpkin. I take advantage of the massive sales that they have on them at this time of year and stockpile it. I eat pumpkin cookies well into July every year. You never know when you need a fall fix.

If I had the time to can vegetables, I would buy so many pumpkins! I'm thinking pumpkin puree and homemade pumpkin butter. Unfortunately, I will have to make do with this batch of pumpkin and deep pumpkin dreams.

Roasted Pumpkin with Honey Date Balsamic Butter

1 small pumpkin, pie pumpkin sized

 Per every cup of pumpkin:
1 tbsp plain varietal Olive Oil, I used Balsari
1 pinch salt

Sauce:
1/3 cup butter
1/4 cup Honey Date Balsamic

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

Depending on the size of your pumpkin, halve or quarter it and cut each piece into thin slices. Make everything pretty uniform, 1/2 or 1 inch thick, or you will have some very crispy slices. It is also up to you if you want to cut the skin off or not. It will not change the cooking time.

Toss the slices with the olive oil and spread them out in a single layer on a baking sheet. Don't crowd them too much, you can always bake two trays at once. Sprinkle the pinch of salt over them and roast them. This is where the thickness of your slices matters! Check them at 15 minutes. They should be almost fork tender.

Melt the butter and stir in the Honey Date Balsamic. At 15 minutes, brush this mixture over top the pumpkin slices. Close up the oven again and continue baking for another 10 - 15 minutes.

You could let the pumpkin cook fully first and then dress with the Honey Date sauce, but I love the little caramelized crispy balsamic bits you get when it is roasted with them. Go your own way!

Serve as a side, chopped on top of a salad (with walnuts) or just for dinner. Have fun with it!

Lucky Lentil Salad and a Coupon

Since tomorrow is Friday the 13th, I am giving you a reason to eat lucky.

Lentils are lucky. Thought to bring prosperity, they are typically eaten during New Years celebrations. But why not now! We can all use a little luck, and everyone could use a bit of prosperity. Besides, this is tasty as all get out. Happy Friday the 13th!

And don't forget, after the recipe is our new coupon!

Lucky Lentil Salad

1 lb green lentils

1 cup sweet onion

2-3 tbsp fresh tarragon

1 green bell pepper

1 tbsp five spice powder

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp chili powder

1 tbsp bacon bits (optional)

1/3 cup Persian Lime Olive Oil

4 tbsp Honey Date Balsamic

In a large sauce pan, cover the lentils with 2-3 inches of water and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and let cook. Check after 15 minutes for doneness, they should be tender, but not mushy. Rinse and set aside.

While the lentils are cooking, finely dice the bell pepper and the onion. Combine the olive oil with the spices and whisk to combine.

Toss the lentils and veggies together in a large bowl, adding the olive oil mixture slowly until well distributed. Drizzle on the balsamic 1 tbsp at a time. This is a taste and see method. A little over 3 tbsp seems to be perfect, but my husband liked the full 4 tbsp.

Eat lucky!

Honey Sesame Pork

Sometimes olive oil just isn't what you need. This Asian-inspired dish really needs the toasty flavor of sesame oil. It is a good thing that it mixed so well with the flavors of our Honey Date Balsamic, or this would be a recipe for another blog!

Honey Sesame Pork

1 tbsp sesame oil
1 tbsp Honey Date Balsamic
1/4 cup vegetable stock
1 lb pork, sausage or ground
pinch of red pepper flakes
salt and pepper
sesame seeds

Brown the pork in the sesame oil. Add in the vegetable stock and simmer, covered about 8-10 minutes. The liquid should be reduced and the pork should be cooked through.

Add in the Honey Date Balsamic, and the red pepper flakes and stir to coat. Use salt and pepper sparingly, if desired.

Cook for 2-4 minutes to let the Balsamic caramelize on the pork. Shake sesame seeds over the pan. You want a generous amount on there.

Serve hot. With rice or udon noodles.

Ham with Honey Date Balsamic Glaze

Definitely not vegan. There is just no way to modify this one. That's what the squash dishes are for!

Ham with Honey Date Balsamic

This all depends on what size ham you have and if it is a pre-cooked or not. I got a pretty small 6 lb ham that was full cooked. If yours is not fully cooked, please follow the cooking directions on the package.

Remove your ham from the fridge so it comes to room temperature before you cook it. Preheat your oven to 320degrees. The estimate for cooking is 15-20 minutes per pound.

For my ham, I am rubbing about 1 tbsp of dry mustard powder over the ham and brushing the Honey Date Balsamic all over it.

It takes about an hour and 30 minutes to bake, brush more Honey Date on every 15 minutes.

The last 5 minutes are very important. (If you have a bigger ham, you might want to make this the last 10 minutes) Turn the heat up to 400degrees to caramelize the Balsamic.

I am warming up some more balsamic to serve on the side.