so easy {recipe: almond butter}

some things are easy.

almond butter

ingredients:

• almonds (honey roasted, roasted and salted, or raw, NOT dry roasted)

instructions:

1. put almonds in food processor
2. process until you see almond butter.

they’ll crumble first, and then turn into a paste, and lastly, you’ll get a thinner, smooth almond butter.

hotter than bentley {recipe: peach lemonade popsicles}

I have been watching the bachelorette, which I have not done since the first semester of college, when Kathryn and I would park it in front of the TV on Monday nights and watch Bob sift through women. It is a terrible show and also terribly entertaining.

Hotter than Bentley, I say, but I don’t really see what Ashley saw in him. Any guy who spends 5x as long on his hair as I do is too much.

Anyways.

It is very hot outside.

So hot I think the meterologists are crying every day when they forecast the weather as:

• 102
• no rain
• watering restrictions enforced

But you wouldn’t even know that they were crying because their tears would evaporate in .2 seconds. Because it is so hot.

It is so hot that everyone’s grass is frying for the third summer in a row. And if your grass is not frying, everyone on the block knows it is because you water more than the two-allotted-days per week.

So I made popsicles.

I couldn’t bring myself to purchase the plastic popsicle molds because I saw their lifecycle in my kitchen going like this.

1. Oh! popsicle molds! I love you! it is so hot outside and you will bring me great joy!
2. Make many batches of popsicles.
3. Get frustrated that to eat one popsicle I have to try and run only that compartment in hot water to get the popsicle out.
4. Eat all four popsicles.
5. Put it in the dishwasher.
6. Have no empty storage space to put the popsicle contraption. Immediately make more popsicles so that the mold can be stored in the freezer.
7. Have a kid finish a popsicle and drop and step on the handle part, debilitating 1/4 of the popsicle mold for the future.
8. Put the thing in the dishwasher again and have half of it crack, debilitating 1/2 of the popsicle mold.
9. Make some popsicle flavor that turns out to be gross and leave the thing in the freeezer forever, because it was cheap plastic and half broken and I have nowhere to put it anyway.

So, I got 3 oz dixie cups and short little popsicle sticks, both of which can be used later for kids and crafts.

Basically, you can freeze anything in here. I did apple juice ones and then these peach lemonade popsicles.

Peach Lemonade Popsicles

makes 4

• 1 peach, peeled and diced.
• 10 oz lemonade
• 4 3oz. dixie cups
• 4 short popsicle sticks (from the craft store. mine are about three inches long.
• 4 clothespins

Instructions:

1. Place the four cups in an 8×8 baking pan, or plate, just something you can use to transfer them to them to the freezer.
2. Clamp your popsicle stick with a clothespin (so that the two are perpendicular), and rest the clothespin across the rim of the cup so that the popsicle stick dangles down in the center of the cup (see photo above).
3. Fill each cup halfway full with lemonade, freeze at least two hours.
4. Remove from freezer and divide peach pieces between four cups.
5. Top with remaining lemonade and freeze at least four hours.
6. Peel off paper and enjoy!

alternative snacks {recipe: sweet potato crackers}

I have already told you how tired I am of cheerios.

In my quest for new snacks, I made these sweet potato crackers. Let me tell you why they are great for your kids (or for yourself):

1. one batch makes about 100 sturdy crackers – think 100 triscuits. that will last you at least a little while.
2. almost no added sugar
3. almost no added salt
4. no added food coloring

 

Sweet Potato Crackers

adapted from NC Sweet Potatoes

• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 2 1/2 tablespoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 1 medium Sweet Potato (1 cup)
• 1 T. sugar
• optional: coarse salt, sesame seeds, cayenne pepper

1. Pierce sweet potato with fork and bake at 450 for one hour.
2. Slice sweet potato open and scoop out one cup of sweet potato. Let cool.
3. Sift flour, baking powder and salt together into the bowl of a stand mixer.
4. Add butter and sweet potato, beat until mixture  is consistent.
5. Switch to dough hook and let mixer knead dough for three minutes.
6. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface.
7. Divide dough into 4 balls.
8. One ball at a time, roll the dough out as thin as possible (1/8 to 1/16″)
9. Slice rolled dough into squares or punch shapes with a cookie cutter.*
10. Preheat oven to 350.
11. Lift dough crackers with a spatula onto an ungreased cookie sheet lined with silicone liner or parchment paper
12. Bake for 10 minutes until bottoms are slightly browned. Turn over and bake 3-4 minutes more.
13. Cool on rack before storing in an airtight container.

*If making these for adults, sprinkle with salt, sesame seeds and a little cayenne, if desired.