I love olives, the funny thing is that when I was younger I never used to eat them and then about a decade or so ago I discovered how amazingly they go with just about anything.  I love the fancy little jar or bowl of marinated olives that you can get at a lot of restaurants, so I thought to try and make some for myself.  These turned out delicious.  The best part is that they can be stored in the refrigerator for a month.  If I'm short on time I eat them the day that I make them but the longer you let them sit the more flavorful they become.   

The recipe calls for a number of aromatic ingredients, the first step is to dry roast the coriander and fennel seeds until they become fragrant before adding in the rest of the ingredients.

Recipe from The Daring Gourmet

I bought a pasta machine almost a decade ago now ; however, I've been too intimidated to actually try pasta on my own.  A couple months ago though I took a making pasta from scratch class with some friends and it was honestly so easy to make I don't know why I waited so long to try it in the first place.  This recipe uses white flour, however the teacher recommended using '00' flour for the best quality.  Making pasta from scratch requires some thinking ahead of time because you need a day for the noodles to rest before preparing them to eat.  

The next step is to knead the dough until it all comes together, the dough should be fairy tough and hard but still malleable.  I then split it into 3 balls so that it's easier to work with.

After letting the dough sit for about a half hour (covered and at room temperature) I used a rolling pin (along with some flour for dusting) to get the dough started before putting it through the pasta machine.   You want to roll the dough at the widest setting on the machine at first and then fold it together in thirds and dust it with some flour before putting it through the machine a second time (still at the widest setting).  

​After folding the dough and rolling it through the widest setting another time (3-4 times total) you do not need to fold the dough anymore.  Set the machine to a narrower setting and keep rolling the sheet out until it becomes almost paper thin.  ​Once the dough is thin  enough, let it sit on the counter to dry for a few minutes and then put it through the angel hair pasta setting to get some nice thin noodles.  Do not let the pasta dry too much otherwise it will become brittle and crack.

The prepared pasta should rest overnight in the refrigerator in an airtight container before boiling it in salted water for 2 minutes.  I recommend using a very light sauce with handmade fresh pasta because the noodles are very delicate.  The texture of fresh pasta will be less rubbery than store-bought pasta.  

The same steps can be used for fettuccine, you just have to cut the noodles at that setting.  If you wanted to make lasagna then don't cut the noodles with the pasta cutting setting but just cut them with a pizza-cutter or a knife into noodles the size of your lasagna tray.  

Ingredients:
6 large eggs
600 grams "00" flour, or all purpose flour

Method:

1. Pile up the flour on your counter and then make a well in the center.  Break your eggs into the well and then whisk them with a fork.  Start mixing in a little bit of the flour at a time until all of it has been incorporated.
2. Knead the dough just until it all comes together and then split the dough into 3-4 equally sized balls and wrap them  in some plastic and let sit at room temperature for about half an hour.
3.  Use a rolling pin (along with some flour for dusting) to get the dough started before putting it through the pasta machine.   You want to roll the dough at the widest setting on the machine at first and then fold it together in thirds and dust it with some more flour before putting it through the machine a second time (still at the widest setting).  
4. ​After folding the dough and rolling it through the widest setting another time (3-4 times total) you do not need to fold the dough anymore.  Set the machine to a narrower setting and keep rolling the sheet out until it becomes almost paper thin.   If at any point the dough gets a bit sticky just dust it with some more flour.
5. ​At this point you can decide what type of noodles you'd like to prepare- angel hair, fettuccine, lasagna etc, 
6. Once the dough is thin  enough, let it sit on the counter to dry for a few minutes and then put it through the angel hair pasta setting to get some nice thin noodles.   Note:  do not let the pasta dry too much otherwise it will become brittle and crack.
7. Dust the noodles with more flour before curling into loose 'nests', these can then be put in an airtight container and stored in the fridge for a few hours or overnight before cooking.
8. To cook the pasta, boil a pot of water and add a generous amount of salt to it, add the noodles and cook 'al dante' meaning they should be a little bit on the hard side- not soggy.   Angel hair pasta only really needs to be cooked for about 2 minutes.
9. Mix in some light sauce and serve.

We only ever had home made yogurt at home growing up and the texture and flavor is probably far superior to the ones that you get in the grocery store.  I always thought it was a mystery how a little bit of yogurt turned a bunch of warm milk into a giant pot of yogurt.  I realize now though that it's just a bit of simple science and it's really quite simple.  Yogurt is good bacteria and, given the right temperature and conditions, the bacteria grows and ta-da...giant pot of yogurt made for a fraction of the cost of the containers you can buy.   

Ingredients:
8 cups milk (whole milk is best)
1/2 cup yogurt containing active cultures (check the ingredients)

Method:

1. Heat the milk. Pour the milk into  a Dutch oven or heavy bottomed pan and set over medium to medium-high heat. and warm the milk until it's just about to boil. ( about 200°F).
   
   Note: Stir the milk gently as it heats to make sure the bottom doesn't scorch and the milk doesn't boil over.
2. Cool the milk. Let the milk cool until it is just warm to the touch, 112°F to 115°F. Stir occasionally to prevent a skin from forming. 
3. Thin the yogurt with milk. Scoop out about a cup of warm milk with a measuring cup and add the yogurt. Whisk until smooth and the yogurt is dissolved in the milk.
4. Whisk the thinned yogurt into the milk. Pour the thinned yogurt into the warm milk while whisking gently. This inoculates the milk with the yogurt culture.
5. Transfer the pot to a (turned-off) oven. Cover the Dutch oven with the lid and place the whole pot in a turned-off oven — turn on the oven light or wrap the pot in towels to keep the milk warm as it sets (ideally around 110°F, though some variance is fine). You can also make the yogurt in a dehydrator left at 110°F or using a yogurt maker.
6. Wait for the yogurt to set. Let the yogurt set for at least 4 hours or as long as overnight — the exact time will depend on the cultures used, the temperature of the yogurt, and your yogurt preferences. The longer yogurt sits, the thicker and more tart it becomes. If this is your first time making yogurt, start checking it after 4 hours and stop when it reaches a flavor and consistency you like. Avoid jostling or stirring the yogurt until it has fully set.
7. Cool the yogurt. Once the yogurt has set to your liking, remove it from the oven. If you see any watery whey on the surface of the yogurt, you can either drain this off or whisk it back into the yogurt before transferring to containers. Whisking also gives the yogurt a more consistent creamy texture. Transfer the to storage containers, cover, and refrigerate. Homemade yogurt will keep for about 2 weeks in the refrigerator.
8. Your next batch of homemade yogurt. Once you start making your own yogurt, you can use some of each batch to culture your next batch. Just save 1/2 cup to use for this purpose. If after a few batches, you notice some odd flavors in your yogurt or that it's not culturing quite as quickly, that means that either some outside bacteria has taken up residence in your yogurt or that this strain is becoming weak. As long as this batch still tastes good to you, it will be safe to eat, but go back to using some store-bought commercial yogurt in your next batch.

Recipe From the kitchn

I debated on whether or not to post this recipe but it's almost more of a how-to or techniques/tips for how to make hashbrowns from scratch and how to get nice and fluffy scrambled eggs which made it worth posting.  The quantities for the potatoes and eggs aren't listed since they can be easily adjusted depending on how many portions you would like.  I recommend one large potato and 2 large eggs per person.  Soaking then washing the potatoes helps prevent them from sticking together and turning into a large glob.  

Hashbrowns: 
Ingredients:
1 large potato per person
salt, to taste
fresh cracked black pepper, to taste
1 tsp butter (increase the amount accordingly)
1 tsp vegetable oil 
(increase the amount accordingly)

Method:

1. Peel and dice the potatoes.  Soak in cold water and rub the starch off and rinse/strain.
2. In a heavy bottomed non stick skillet warm the oil and butter to about medium-high heat then add the potatoes. 
3. Stir occasionally, allowing the potatoes to get a golden skin.  Cook until the potatoes are  cooked through (depending on the types of potato that you use the time varies but you can check by seeing if it breaks/flakes easily).
4. Remove from heat and season with salt and fresh cracked black pepper.

Scrambled Eggs:
Ingredients:
2 large eggs per person
1 tbsp milk per egg
pinch of paprika
salt, to taste

Method:

1. Crack the eggs in a bowl, add the milk and scramble with a whisk or a fork.
2. Add the paprika and the salt and scramble a little more.
3. Heat a non stick pan to medium heat and add the eggs, let them sit for a few seconds before running a spatula through them.
4. When the eggs start to just come together, even if they look slightly moist, remove them from the heat.  The residual heat from the pan will cook them completely without drying them out.  Over cooking eggs makes them dry and chewy.

This isn't a recipe per-say but it is one of the many ways that I like to have my toast.  The combination of dill and butter is amazing.  I had to sprinkle a bit of sea salt on-top of this toast because the only butter I had was unsalted.  I recommend using salted butter on toast- always.

Ingredients:
Sliced Bread
Salted Butter
Dill
Sea Salt (optional)

Method:

1. Toast the bread and spread desired amount of butter on it.
2. Sprinkle with dill and, optionally, with a bit of sea salt.

There are a million and one variations to garam masala so feel free to adjust this to your liking, but roasting whole spices and then grinding them up fresh makes for a much more aromatic and delicious masala than the store-bought versions.

I've seen so many different ways to use a waffle iron on Pinterest.  I actually have a whole board dedicated to waffle iron recipes.  It may be a little unfair to call this a Pinterest fail however because the egg cooked just fine...I broke the yolk while trying to get it out of the waffle iron.  I managed to flip the egg out intact but then I wanted to turn it right side up and that's when it broke.  

I warmed the bread with the waffle iron to give it a waffle like look as well.  I will definitely be trying this again to make this work.  I just need to figure out an effective way to get the eggs out without damaging them because I love the look of this waffle-esque breakfast.  

Pomegranates are in season right now.  These delicious anti-oxidant rich fruits are great as-is, but you can also toss them in a smoothie or juice them.  De-seeding a pomegranate can be really messy and difficult.  You have to especially be careful not to get any of the juice on your clothes or anywhere else because the juice stains pretty severely.  This how-to describes a quick and easy way of getting the juicy seeds out cleanly.

The first step is to score the top of the pomegranate, be sure not to cut too deeply otherwise you will end up cutting the seeds. 

Next, pull the top off like a cap.

You'll notice the white membrane from the top of the pomegranate dividing it into sections; cut the sides of the pomegranate along these  membranes.  Again, be careful not to cut too deeply because you don't want to damage the seeds inside.  

Holding the pomegranate at the tops and bottom gently pry it apart along the cuts that you made.  You shouldn't have to apply too much pressure, the pieces should come apart fairly easily.  Once open, peel away the little white skin holding the seeds in (the white parts are inedible).   

Turn the pomegranate over in your hand, seed side down, over a bowl, and tap the skin with a spoon to knock the seeds out.  This tapping motion will loosen the seeds and they should, for the most part, just fall right out.

Nom nom, enjoy!

Ingredients:
3 ½ cups of All Purpose Flour
2 tsp Salt
1 tsp Sugar
2 Tbsp of Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 1/3 cups of Warm Water, 110 degrees
1 Envelope of Yeast

To make the dough:

1.  Add the yeast to warm water and set it aside for about 3 minutes.
2. In the bowl of a standing mixer, fitted with a dough attachment, mix together the flour, salt, sugar and olive oil. Stir the yeast in the water to make sure its all dissolved and add it to the flour mixture.
3. With the speed on medium, mix until everything is combined. Reduce the speed to low and mix for 10 minutes.
4. Oil 2 bowls with olive oil and set aside. Divide the dough in two pieces and roll into a ball. Place each ball of dough into the oiled bowls, seam side down and brush the tops of the dough with a little oil to stop them from drying out. Place a piece of plastic wrap on top of each bowl and place the dough into a warm place. Inside a microwave or an oven (oven turned off) works best.
5. To make the pizzas, preheat the oven to 475 degrees and place a pizza stone in the oven and preheat it for 20 minutes. (if you don’t have a pizza stone you can use a large baking sheet just place it in the oven upside down so there are no edges).
6. Sprinkle some flour onto your counter, take 1 ball of dough and dredge it in the flour on all sides. Using your hands or a rolling pin, roll the dough out to a 10 inch circle.
7. Using a pizza peel (or a baking sheet upside down so that there are no edges) place the rolled out pizza dough on it and start topping it.

Bake for 20 minutes rotating once half way through

I grabbed this article (and the pictures) directly off of a food blog/website that I love called Food52. Its super useful, especially if you don't want to purchase so many different types of flour.

A lot of us keep a bag of all-purpose flour kicking around, a faithful old friend that we lean on for pancakes, muffins, and everything in between. More devoted bakers might even have a few wildcards in their baking arsenals, like whole wheat pastry or spelt flour. But only in the most organized and well-stocked of home pantries will you find a bag of the self-rising variety, or cake flour in its kitschy, outdated packaging.

If you didn't plan quite so far ahead, you might get tripped up on a recipe that calls for one of these vaguely esoteric flours. Don't want to make another trip to the grocery store? Never fear. Both are easily faked at home, using ingredients that you probably have on hand.

Cake Flour

Cake flour has a lower protein content (8%) than its all-purpose cousin (11%), which means your batter won't develop as much gluten and your finished product will be lighter and softer, with a finer crumb. Sometimes higher-protein flour is a good thing, like when you're baking a sturdy loaf of bread -- but if you're whipping up an airy chiffon cake or a delicate angel food, your recipe might call for cake flour.

You can replicate it by measuring out the same amount of flour that your recipe calls for, replacing all-purpose flour for cake flour. Next, remove two tablespoons of flour for every cup of flour you're using, and replace each of those tablespoons with cornstarch. So, if your recipe calls for 2 cups of cake flour, measure out 2 cups of AP flour, remove 4 tablespoons, and add 4 tablespoons of corn starch. If your recipe calls for 3 1/2 cups of cake flour, you'll remove 7 tablespoons, and so on and so forth.

Whisk together your flour and cornstarch, and then sift. A lot. About five times, actually. Since we're aiming for lightness, you want your hacked cake flour to be very-well aerated, with the corn starch completely integrated.

And voilà, cake flour!

Self-Rising Flour

Next up: self-rising flour. This variety already has salt and baking powder mixed into it, so recipes that call for it typically won't require additional salt or leavening. It's a very big deal in Southern cooking, especially in biscuits, and it's also pretty simple to replicate: for every cup of self-rising flour that your recipe calls for, measure out one cup of all-purpose flour and add 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder.

So, if your recipe calls for 2 cups of self-rising flour, you'll measure out 2 cups of all-purpose flour, and add 1/2 teaspoon salt and 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder.

Whisk everything together, and then sift. That's right, about five times total. Aeration, you know. Alice's orders.

Keep in mind, however, that certain cult-following brands of self-rising flour such as White Lily and Presto are similar to cake flour in that they're milled from softer wheat and have a lower protein content than all-purpose. If your recipe calls for one of these flours, or you feel like being a total over-acheiver (unlikely, since this particular kitchen hack is an exercise in laziness), use your DIY cake flour instead of all-purpose in the above conversion. Your unthinkably fluffy, mile-high biscuits will thank you.

Asparagus is super versatile, delicious and good for you! You can steam, stir fry, bake, sauté, boil, or grill asparagus and it comes in many different shades (green, purple or white). Purple asparagus is sweeter and white asparagus is less mild in flavor. The picture below is of steamed asparagus with garlic powder and soya sauce on top. I just wanted to go over a few things to look out for when purchasing and storing this vegetable.

Buying
Contrary to popular belief, thinner stalks of asparagus don’t necessarily mean that its more tender- so buy and use what’s appropriate for your recipe. Look for asparagus with tightly closed tips and unwrinkled stalks. Be sure the stalks are firm and not limp because that’s an indication of freshness. Also look out for any bruises and blemishes. 

Storing
It’s best to eat asparagus fresh but if that’s not possible then wrap the bottom in some damp paper towel and keep it in an unsealed plastic bad for a few days. You also have the option of treating your asparagus the same as you would flowers- cut off the last half inch and store it upright in a container of water and cover the top with a plastic bag.

Using
Snap off the bottom woody part of the asparagus…this is really simple because the asparagus will bend, and then on that portion where the tender stalk meets the woody end it will snap. If you are using a thicker stalk then be sure to peel away the tough skin from the bottom third of the spear with a peeler before snapping off the ends.