Goat Cheese and Red Pepper Jelly Sandwiches

 

Red Pepper Jelly:

¾ lbs. of red bell peppers (about 2)

1 habanero pepper

1½ tablespoons of pectin

1 ½ cups sugar

1/3 cup vinegar

½ tablespoon butter

A pinch of salt

 

 

 

 

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15th meeting

Our last exchange was at gouveia winery in Wallingford. It is hard for us all to believe we have a little bit of wine country in Connecticut. It seems like it doesn’t belong here, however we are so grateful that it is. It winery is set on a hill overlooking several mountain. The day was kinda gloomy but the atmosphere was anything but. When we arrived at the winery their “dining” hall was full of people. There were people celebrating all sorts of occasions, whether it be a birthday or a bridal shower or just a date. We arrived and reserved a table indoor because we had shower on and off all day. The last thing we wanted was to get wet and run inside with our food. My only wish is we could have a picnic outside. Maybe next year!

Although no official theme was set, we all gravitated towards cheese. My pallet is still very immature so I don’t get how wine and cheese go hand and in hand but then again, I usually don’t get how wine and food go together either. Personally, I like my food at one time and followed by my wine. But that’s just me. Unfortunately Jalpa couldn’t make it to this one. We missed you, Jalpa! You did miss out on our little “debate” about a Yankee swap Exchange. Coming soon, Yankee Exchange!

 

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Fourth of July Rice Krispies Treats

Ingredients:

- 6 cups Rice Krispies Cereal
- 1 package marshmallows
- 3 TB butter
- Food coloring (red and blue)

Method:

1. Divide Rice Krispies and marshmallows into three parts.
2. Put one part of the marshmallows and 1 tablespoon of butter in the microwave for about a minute. Depending on your microwave it might take less than a minute to "melt" them. They should be super soft. Take a large enough bowl otherwise they will overflow.
3. Remove from the microwave and mix in the blue food coloring first. Then add the cereal to the mixture. Once they are well mixed, put them in a greased tray. Flatten them using a piece of wax paper.
4. Repeat step 2 and 3. Don't add any food coloring to the middle "white" layer.
5. Once they layers are all on and pressed, let it set for about 10 minutes before cutting them.

The more food color you add, the brighter it will be. I obviously didn't add enough didn't like the idea of you girls eating too much food coloring. It just doesn't seem natural to eat red and blue treats! Yes, that's why they look like that.

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Strawberry Spinach Salad

Ingredients
2 tablespoons sesame seeds
1 tablespoon poppy seeds
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup distilled white vinegar
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon minced onion
10 ounces fresh spinach - rinsed, dried and torn into bite-size pieces
1 quart strawberries - cleaned, hulled and sliced
1/4 cup candied pecans, blanched and slivered

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Peanut Butter & Cool Whip Treat

Ingredients:

• 4 tablespoons of peanut butter
• 1 tub of fat free cool whip
• Chocolate syrup

Method:

• Combine the peanut butter and the cool whip.
• Line cupcake trays with cupcake liners
• fill the tray with mixture (will yield 8)
• Drizzle with chocolate syrup and freeze for an hour or so

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4th of July Grilled Cheese

Ingredients for apx 6 sandwiches:

• sourdough bread (or any sliced bread of your choice)
• 3/4 cup shredded carrots (i bought carrots and shredded at home vs buying them from the grocery store, which tend to be dry and too thick for this sandwich)
• 1/4 cup diced tomatoes (remove seeds)
• habenero cheese slices (watch out, these will add some fireworks in your mouth!)
• purple potato, peeled, sliced 1/2 inch.  (I used about 8 of the fingerling little potatoes)
• fresh grated garlic
• black pepper
• salt
• your favorite bbq sauce

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14th Meeting- Happy Independence day, all!

We celebrated the fourth with each other this year. Nishal hosted the get together at her house. She greeted us with red, white and blue leis and then some delicious sangria. We enjoyed our lunch on the patio talking about the Indian summer we are having and food, of course. We had a guest exchanger this time: Manali. I am sure she was shocked by how much we eat and surprised by how awesome of a cook we all are. Seriously, we can start our own restaurant and be the executive chefs. Yes, 6 executive chefs. What? It can happen. Or have a reality show about how awesome we are. Or a book deal. Or a movie deal.

After lunch we played a version of charades and telephone that Jalpa had recently learned. There are no pictures -  but this is exactly why we need someone video taping these meets. They are lot funnier when you watch it. Jalpa had to leave early because her husband was not feeling well. Shortly after that we followed her out.

While hanging out we talked about how people have asked us if they can join the exchange. The answer is usually a very polite no. The reason is simple: we have found 6 is a perfect number for people to get together, exchange recipes, and have conversations. If there are more than 6, it feels like there are side conversations going on and it becomes a group within a group. This past Tuesday I was talking to a coworker and she asked me what my plans were for the 4^th. I told her and to that she responded, “oh that sounds like fun. I want to come”. I laughed and kinda walked away from her, but a few minutes later she started asking me questions about the whole concept. I explained and she was really in to it. No, I didn’t invite her. I bring this up, because I want to know if we have any readers out there that have been inspired by our little CT Exchange and have formed their own exchange. We would love to hear from you. Drop us a line and let us know how it has worked out so far.

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