radish salad

4 cups radishes, washed and sliced
1/2 cup thinly sliced onion
1 cup diced fresh tomato
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
1 small clove garlic, minced
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh basil or fresh mint
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
fresh chopped parsley for garnish

PREPARATION:
Combine sliced radishes, onion, and tomato. Whisk together the salt, garlic, pepper, basil or mint, lemon juice, and vegetable oil. Toss with salad then garnish with parsley.
Serves 6.

rhubarb strawberry jam

from my trusty 3M cookbook from 1987.

this is super easy and if you have access to rhubarb, super cheap.

i only had sugar free strawberry banana jello, and it tastes fine. i also did not can the jars, just washed them in hot soapy water and boiled the lids. usually jams seal without canning, because the hot liquid is enough to warm the jars to seal. i suppose you could can them for 5 or 10 minutes to be safe, though.

i am going to make a couple more batches of this before the rhubarb runs out.

4 c. chopped rhubarb
4 c. sugar
1 c. sliced strawberries
1 pkg. strawberry jello

combine first 3 ingredients in saucepan. heat over low until juices form. bring to boil, and boil (stirring frequently) for 15 minutes. remove from heat and stir in jello. put into jars and seal.

makes about 5-1 cup jars of jam.

Rani's Biscotti

even though karen learned the hard way that you can light biscotti on fire, it's really a very good recipe. i plan to use it for little "house gifts" when i go visiting friends and family! i actually made a half batch and it was still plenty of biscotti...

Peanut Butter and Chocolate Biscotti

10 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 stick plus 2 tablespoons)
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 3/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 large eggs
1 1/4 cups sugar
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup smooth natural-style peanut butter, room temperature - i used chunky ;)
1 1/4 cups dry roasted peanuts
1 1/4 cups chopped dark chocolate or semisweet chocolate chunks (about 6 ounces)

1. Position racks evenly in the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Line 3 baking sheets with parchment paper. (note: i used my pampered chef baking sheet, no parchment to light on fire!)

2. Melt the butter over medium heat, swirling the pan occasionally. Continue to cook until the butter browns and gets a nutty aroma, about 5 minutes. Let cool slightly.

3. Whisk the flour, baking powder and salt together in a large bowl.

4. Beat the eggs in a medium bowl with an electric mixer until light and pale yellow, about 2 minutes. Gradually add the sugar while beating. Then slowly add the butter and vanilla until evenly mixed, about 30 seconds more. Add the peanut butter and mix until combined.

5. While mixing slowly, add the dry ingredients to the wet, in 2 additions, mixing just until absorbed. Fold in the peanuts and chocolate pieces.

6. Divide the dough evenly into thirds and put each portion in the center of a baking sheet. Shape the dough with slightly wet hands into logs about 2-inches wide and 15 inches long. Bake until set and brown around the edges, 25 to 30 minutes. (For even baking take care to rotate the pans--top to bottom and front to back--about half way though.) Cool logs on the baking sheets for about 10 minutes.

7. Lower the oven temperature to 325 degrees F. Carefully transfer the logs to a cutting board. Cut logs crosswise, with a long serrated knife at about a 45 degree angle, into 1/2-inch thick cookies. Place cookies cut side down on the baking sheets. Bake until crisp, about 8 minutes. Flip the cookies over and bake until golden brown, about 8 minutes more. Cool biscotti on the baking sheets.

granola is where it's at

i have noticed that some bloggers segment their blogs into nice categories. the old back forty is so jumbled up, that i'm going to try and post recipes separately (as much for myself as anything, since i rarely write them on cards in the proper way).

my first recipe is for homemade granola, from a 3M cookbook circa 1980, the year i graduated from high school. my dear aunt elizabeth started giving me these books as gifts, and i still turn to them quite abit. i have always loved granola, but never tried to make it. i actually veer from this recipe quite frequently, am convinced the secret to its goodness is the use of canola oil, and keeping the exact amount of CUPS of dry ingredients, but altering the quantity of each depending on what you are in the mood for (for instance, i never put in 2 cups of wheat germ, in fact, it's just as good with 2 extra cups of oatmeal).

Granola

Mix together in large bowl:
4 c. oatmeal
2 c. wheat germ
1 c. almonds
1 c. chopped walnuts
1 c. sunflower seeds

In separate bowl, combine:
3/4 c. canola oil
3/4 c. brown sugar
1/3 c. water
2 t. vanilla

Mix and add to dry ingredients, stirring well. Bake at 250 degrees for 1 hour in two 9x13 cake pans. Stir every 15 minutes. When cool, add your favorite dried fruit or raisins.