Chocolate Coconut Raspberry Macaroons

I had forgotten about this recipe until my uncle came into town and asked me to make them for him again. That got me scrambling to try and find the original recipe and then remember how I had adapted it....I couldn't quite remember but this is what it looks like now:

Macaroon:

Bake at 325 for 20 minutes or so

4 egg whites

two pinches of salt

about 2 T of Vanilla (I just poured in some until I felt it was right)

1 1/3 cup sugar

2 2/3 cup coconut

2+ heaping T of coca powder

Beat egg whites, salt, and vanilla until they form stiff peeks. Just beat and then keep beating. Fold in the sugar slowly beating as you go. Keep on beating! Add in the coca powder and then beat some more. By this point my arm was quite tired (I was trying out my new hand mixer! but you can use your electric beaters!). Fold in coconut and mix well.

Use a spoon to scoop out the size macaroons you desire and place on a greased cookie sheet.

Once finished place macaroons on wire rack to cool.

While the Macaroons are cooking start on the Chocolate Raspberry sauce that you will drizzle on them when they are done!

Sauce:

Two heaping handfuls of raspberries

heaping cup of chocolate chips

1/4 to 1/2 cup of sugar (This is to taste so start out with 1/4 cup and add as you taste. Some berries are more tart than other and the same goes with the chocolate you use)

1+ T of vanilla*

Place raspberries in sauce pot along with sugar and vanilla start took. Allow for raspberries to soften. Add in chocolate and stir constantly. Melt chocolate completely. Taste (but be careful! the mixture will be HOT!) and add more sugar or vanilla if needed. Drizzle over the cooling macaroons and let cool. Enjoy!

*I always add more vanilla than a recipe calls for. In reality I probably use anywhere from 1 to 3T.

french fries

A quick and easy way to make yummy fries...is by baking them! So this bad for you treat becomes something that is actually healthy (or relatively so!).

-Potatoes (the bigger the better!!!) at least one per person. In my house two persons works better!

-Olive oil

-seasoning: salt, pepper, chili pepper, garlic powder- really anything that sounds good to you!

Time: 20-45 minutes

Serving size: How many potatoes do you want to peel?

Pre-heat oven to 450

Peel potatoes (although you can leave them unpeeled just make sure you wash them well if you leave them with the skin on. The littles in this house don't like peels and the chickens love them, so we peel ours) Cut potatoes into the size and shape you want your fries....stake fries, home fries, McD size fries, again this is up to you! My family chooses some where between the stake fries and the fast-food chain size fries. Sometimes it just depends on the meal!

Place uncooked fries in plastic ziplock bag add olive oil- enough to liberally cover all the fries. Don't be afraid to have left over oil. Its better to have too much than too little in this case.

Spread the oil coated fries on a cookie sheet and sprinkle whatever seasonings you have decided on (I find its good to mix the fries about so that both sides get season).

Place in oven and start baking. After about 7 to 10 minutes, stir and flip fries (this does not have to be precise! you just want them to bake fairly evenly). Every 5 to 7 minutes repeat this process. How long the fries take depends on if you like them soft or crispy. My family likes a nice medium- not too crunchy but nicely crisp. It usually takes about 30 minutes.

fruit granola bars

One of my mom's favorite treats was a soft granola bar from Wild Oats, unfortunately the store by our house closed down and now that treat is a rare commodity.

This is my attempt at make something like it for her and the rest of the family.

This recipe comes from "Love in the Kitchen" by Wendy Jeub with Cynthia Jeub. This is a well liked cookbook in our house as it is written by a mother of 14 and recipes yield nice sized quantities.

3 cups flour (whole wheat is better- but in a pinch like I was tonight white works fine)

3 cups oats

1 cup butter, melted (I use Earth Balance Natural Shortening- make sure you get the Vegan kind if you are trying to make a non-dairy version!)

1/2 tsp cinnamon + (I used more because I LOVE cinnamon)

1/4 tsp salt

1 1/2 cups brown sugar - (I used 3/4 cup because we don't like to use a lot of sugar here- toddlers and lots of sugar do not mix well, especially when they have ADHA and sensory issues!)

3 cups of your favorite jam

Pre-heat oven to 350

Mix all of the ingredients together - except for the jam- and press half of the mixture into a 9x13 pan sprayed with oil. Pour jam over mixture (heat the jam up, just a bit, if it is especially thick- otherwise when spreading it you pull up some of the bottom mixture.)

Spread the rest of the flour mixture on top and press down, but not too hard. Cook for 15-20 minutes. start checking at 15 minutes for jam bubbling around the edges of the pan, once there is a fair amount of bubbling- its done!

Cool and cut into bars.

Well, I must have done something wrong because when the bars finally cooled and I eagerly cut myself one- it was horrible! Crumbly and dry in parts and sticky and gewy in others. WAY to sickly sweet, like eating jam rolled in sugar with some oats along for the ride. Not at all what I was expecting!

I plan on trying it again at a later date, and altering the recipe even more...hopefully with better results!

(don't let this reflect on the book though! I have made many other wonderful dishes from it, this one just didn't turn out so great).

The Beginning...

Cooking Up Peace came to me via my mother. As I sat at my computer putting the finishing touches on a project proposal that I would be spending the next few months working on, she came up to me and said "How about a cookbook?" A cookbook? What does that have to do with peace? "You can talk about community and how food is a huge part of all cultures around the world and how hospitality is important to peace." Huh, I thought, she has a point. "Plus," my mom added, "you love cooking and you could try recipes out on all of us (my family) which we would love." And so the idea for this project and cookbook were born.

This cookbook will be kid friendly (as I will be trying everything out on my friends and family), as well as allergen friendly. My younger siblings have an extensive list of allergies (and I am allergic to dairy) so I have experience changing recipes to fit our needs. Ideally, it will also be a wide range of recipes from all around the world.

What you can do...send me family favorite recipes (all kinds are welcome! I will do the work of converting them to being allergen friendly, so don't let that scare you off!); quotes on/about peace, food, hospitality, and/or community that have touched you; stories from your lives and families; and anything else you think would be good for this project!

I will of course be crediting everyone who helps! If your family recipe comes directly from a cookbook...thats OK! just send me the name of the cookbook so that I can credit it as well!