-French Dressing

Dear Fans of Hounds Who Cook,

We are stirring up some staples tonight for a weekload of company coming. This French Dressing was found at bigoven.com, a site we have never been to before. We've adjusted it according to our tender palates, especially nixing the sugar and using stevia in its stead.

French Dressing

1 1/3 cup sugar/stevia equivalent
4 teaspoon paprika
2/3 cup catsup
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 small onion
1-2 tablespoons of lemon juice

Blend all ingredients except the oil in a food processor until smooth. While food processor is running on slow speed drizzle in oil until blended. Refrigerate for 2 or 3 hours to let flavors blend.

Guthrie's Note: We didn't add salt or pepper to ours, but did add a cup of tomato juice we had to use up. This made the flavor less intense so we added a big tablespoon of tomato paste to balance it out. We also used stevia rather than sugar and it was capital.

Eli's Note: I concur with my younger brother.

-Black Bean Enchilada Bake

Dear Fans of Hounds Who Cook,

While we hounds are daily carnivores, we understand the human's fragile psyche and need to vary its diet to non-meat items. Some people, such as our soon-coming visitor, eat no meat at all. We will be interested to see if she is has a tendancy to prowl and amble. This is what happens to us when we have a severe shortage of meats. In any case, we've prepared an absolutely tasty meal which will agree with her palate.

Black Bean Enchilada Bake

* 2 cups chopped onion
* 1 1/2 cups chopped red pepper
* 2 garlic cloves, minced
* 3/4 cup salsa
* 2 teaspoons ground cumin
* 2 15.8 ounce cans black beans, drained
* 12 6-inch corn tortillas
* 2 cups cheese shredded (we used cheddar/Monteray Jack)
* 24 ounces stewed tomatoes
* 1/2 cup sour cream (optional)
* 1/2 cup sliced black olives (optional)

Saute in their own juices for three minutes: onion pepper, garlic, salsa, cumin, black beans and tomatoes. Arrange 6 tortillas over the bottom of a 9" x 13" baking dish, overlapping. Spread half of bean mixture over tortillas and sprinkle with half of the cheese. Repeat with remaining tortillas, bean mixture, and cheese.

Cover dish with foil and bake 15 minutes. Carefully remove foil and serve warm.

Garnish with sour cream and olives.

Notes from Eli:When baked and frozen and reheated, the corn tortillas became corn mush, so be prepared for that if you must freeze.

- Peanut Butter Cookies

Dear Fans of Hounds Who Cook,

Tonight for the first time in the life of we hounds, we made our own peanut butter. Guthrie would have eaten it all right away, but the little person visiting had the good idea to make it into cookies. Our Girl is launching into what she calls a no-gluten diet, so she was happy to make this flourless recipes. Thankfully the first batch was a little singed so guess who will get those for breakfast tomorrow? Happy pups. We searched and searched the Internet and found this recipe so prevalent that we're not even attributing it. It's a most awesome Flourless Peanut Butter Cookie Recipe. Gooter it (he means Google it) and you'll see what we mean. It's everywhere. It's as though every hound on earth knew about this recipe except us. We'll give you hound tips and tricks though to make it worth your while.

First off, if you have the likes of a Champion juicer, do as we did and grind your own peanuts. It makes such a chewier, better cookie that you might grind your own peanut butter ever after too.

Second off, if you grind the peanuts and make cookies right away, you made need to refrigerate the dough in order to be able to roll it into balls. We did.

Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies
Me's Independent Rating: 3 of 3

2 cups ground peanuts or natural peanut butter
1 cup white sugar (or stevia equivalent)
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp. baking soda
(add salt if you ground unsalted peanuts)

Cream sugars, eggs, and baking soda (and salt, if desired). Thoroughly blend in peanut butter. Chill dough if necessary to form balls. Use an ice cream scoop for large cookies. Press down with a sugared fork. Bake at 350F for 8 minutes.

Notes from Guthrie:
Err on the side of Undercooking these delicacies. If overcooked they are well suited (though too sugary) for dog treats.

Notes from Elias:
Make sure you buy peanuts to grind that do not have seasonings or additives. We bought two big jars and took one taste and wondered at them. They had MSG and cornstarch, among other undesireables, and even paprika for flavor. We don't recommend a paprika flavored cookie.

- Pectin Jelly with Green Apples and Sauce

Dearly Loved Fans of Hounds Who Cook,

We are all astir over a newfound way to use the green apples that are falling in the yard. They are not yet ripe and sour with a hard texture. We know there will be apples a plenty for saucing in a month, but we eager hounds want to cook up a little something now. So we searched (and searched) the Internet and found exactly what we were looking for. First, very important information about the Healthful properties of unripe apples (see here), and then a recipe for pectin jelly (see here) which you can eat as it is OR use when making Conserve with the berries you are picking right now, or in the next weeks. We found Miss Lindy's narrative instructions hard to follow, so we are recipifying it all right here for your convenience and ours:

July Pectin Jelly
for eating and the preservation of fruits

7 pounds green apples (such as crabapples in late July)
13 cups water
8 cups sugar (or stevia equivalent) (or 4 cups per quart of juice)
1 large lemon

Wash green apples and pluck off stems - they are bitter and maybe even toxic, we're not sure. Cut in quarters, leaving on the skin. Bring nearly to a boil, then turn down and simmer 30 minutes. Press all through a jelly-making cone-shaped sieve with the help of a dowel. Then (who could imagine?) hang it all in a jelly bag and catch the juice. This they said would yield 2 quarts of clear apple juice but for us it was only one. Chill for sediment to sink to the bottom. Reserve apple pulp for the applesauce recipe below.

Sterilize 8 1-cup jars in a dishwasher or canner, and lids with rings.

Pour clear juice into big old saucepan, cast aside sediment into the pulp pile for the applesauce recipe below. Add the juice of 1 lemon and sugar or stevia. Bring to boil. Boil on medium high or high heat for 10 minutes or until temperature reaches 220 degrees F. Skim off foam throughout the boiling extravaganza.

Pour jelly into sterilized jars. Wipe rim with a wet cloth and screw on lids. Turn jars upside down for 5 minutes and then back up to foster sealing. Make sure the lids seal - the middle button should be contracted and not give (or boing) when you press down on it.

Apple Sauce
Run the apple pulp and sediment from the jelly recipe through the jelly-making cone-shaped sieve with wooden dowel again. Add sugar (or stevia, our preference) to taste. Store in fridge or heat it up and can it.