Recipes Discovered

Hot Dandelion

It’s that time of year again when the pretty yellow dandelions start popping up all over the yard. The real activity was last week though when my mom and aunt searched the yard for the baby dandelion leaves. Apparently, the leaves taste the best well before the flowers bloom. Upon arriving home for my visit, my mom presented me with a bag of the dandelion, which we cooked up for dinner. This isn’t the first time I’ve posted this recipe, although it’s the first time I’ve made it with fresh dandelion. Since I couldn’t find dandelion last year, I substituted chicory. However, after having the ‘real thing’, I will admit the dish is much much better with baby dandelion. It has a less bitter taste and is more tender. Although I still can’t say it’s my favorite dish, it did move up a few notches. And, of course, I will try it again next year and reexamine the whole thing.

Every Easter since I can remember, I have helped my Mom make candy Easter eggs. Along with the traditional peanut butter eggs, we also made cream cheese, cherry, cherry walnut, and coconut eggs. The coconut eggs are my favorite, especially with a handful of chopped cherries add to them. I usually got to mix everything together, while she added the ingredients and dipped the eggs in chocolate. This was the first year I made the eggs by myself, which I found out wasn’t quite as fun as making them with my mom, but I still managed to successfully make 22 dozen eggs. It’s a lot of work, but one taste of these homemade eggs reminded me of why my mom always went though the effort. They are delicious, rich, and creamy – better than any candy egg bought at the store. And for those of you wondering about the difference between the peanut butter eggs, it’s simply this. The original recipe peanut butter eggs are a lot sweeter and have a more “melt in your mouth” texture. The updated recipe peanut butter eggs, which includes cream cheese, have a richer taste and are a bit more creamy. Both are excellent, and it is just personal preference which is better.

Cream Cheese Easter Eggs Recipe

Cherry and Cherry-Walnut Easter Eggs Recipe

Coconut Easter Eggs Recipe

Original Peanut Butter Easter Eggs Recipe

Updated Peanut Butter Easter Eggs Recipe

Black Bean Salad Recipe

During the summer, it’s nice to find recipes that don’t heat up the kitchen. Potato salad and pasta salad require boiling water, and sometimes, it’s just too hot. Plus, you have to worry about potato salad spoiling at picnics and sometimes pasta salad is just too heavy. This black bean salad is a perfect alternative, and is sure to please everyone.

The recipe is very simple. Just combine a 15 ounce can of black beans with chopped onion, pepper, jalapeno, corn, garlic, parsley, lime juice, and olive oil. Season the salad with salt and pepper and allow the flavors to mix for at least 30 minutes. I like to make it a few hours before or even the day before to let all the flavor mix together. It’s a great salad that is light and refreshing. Perfect for summer picnics.