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Tina's Shortbread Chocolate Chip Cookies

Reviewed: Nov. 11, 2010

This cookie is awesome

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Crispy Barbequed Tofu Slices

Reviewed: Nov. 3, 2009

6 minutes broiling is definitely too long. I'd do 4 minutes. Besides that, I'd imagine it's very good.

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Penne with Spicy Vodka Tomato Cream Sauce

Reviewed: Jun. 12, 2009

Excellent sauce! I made mine vegetarian and it was delicious! Sauteed the garlic and red pepper flakes until the garlic was golden, added tomato paste as I don't like chunky pasta sauce, and added a little over 1/4 cup vodka. Otherwise I followed directions. The tomato paste definitely did not have enough liquid in it and the sauce was too thick, so I ended up adding an entire pint of heavy cream and nearly an entire pint of half and half. Tossed it with home made gnocchi and it had a delicious sweet taste to it. Makes a large batch so I froze half of it and have been using about 2 tablespoons of the sauce per serving of pasta. You don't need much of it at all!! Will definitely use crushed tomatoes next time instead of tomato paste.

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Honey Of An Oatmeal Bread

Reviewed: Jun. 12, 2009

Loved this recipe. My incredible picky roommate about died from ecstasy! I double the recipe for one loaf, adding 3/4 cup honey, 2 1/2 teaspoons yeast, and a little over 5 cups of whole wheat flour to make a whole wheat bread. I don't have a bread machine, so I dissolved the yeast in 2 cups warm water first before adding the rest of the ingredients and 3 cups flour. I took the mix out of the bowl and kneaded in the last 2 cups and then continued kneading for 15 minutes. A great way to make sure of perfect conditions for the bread to rise is to turn on the oven to warm for one minute, then put in the oil covered dough and turn off the oven. The first time I let the dough rise 1 1/2 hours, second time and hour in the pan. The second time it rises don't put a cloth over the pan, the dough rises above the pan and a little over the edge (I love that look!) and a cloth will depress it, instead cover with an oiled piece of cling wrap. Great find!

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Home-Style Brown Rice Pilaf

Reviewed: Jun. 12, 2009

Great dish! I added two cubes of vegetable bouillon and some hot sauce to the brown rice water to really kick up the flavor. Omitted the mushrooms, used 4 cloves of garlic, used an entire can of chickpeas (after rinsing), and substituted fresh parsley with dried, and cashews with raw pine nuts (pine nuts were chopped and sauteed with the onions). This was a HUGE hit with the roommates!

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Spinach and Pasta Shells

Reviewed: Jun. 12, 2009

Fantastic and easy dish. I used fresh spinach and sauteed it with a diced onion and the garlic after the onion softened rather than boil it. I also added cayenne and some chili powder as I'm a huge fan of spice. To fancy it up a little, you can also add a cup of heavy cream when adding the spinach and reduced to get a great cream sauce. To thicken the sauce, you can add a little corn starch and stir, slowly adding more until the consistency you want is reached; it shouldn't take more than 3 tablespoons.

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Spinach Brownies

Reviewed: Jun. 12, 2009

Good overall recipe. I sauteed the onion, 4 small cloves of garlic, a head of broccoli, some red pepper flakes, chili powder, cayenne, and black pepper in a tablespoon of butter, adding a bag of fresh spinach and a diced green pepper after the onions grew soft. I'm a big spice fiend so if you like the heat dump the spice on. After the spinach wilted I dumped the entire pan (liquid and all) into the flour mixture. For the "crust" part, I exclusively used whole wheat flour and only added 3 tablespoons of butter to use a total amount of 1/4 cup butter as suggested. I also used nonfat milk. Didn't have any mozzarella, so I substituted it with 3 oz of shredded parmesan and 4 oz of reduced fat cream cheese and baked for 33 minutes. To my absolute surprise it turned out delicious! This will definitely be repeated!

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