DIY Herbed Focaccia

This delightfully dimply bread is crusty and flavorful. It is great cut into strips and served with red sauce for an appetizer or as bread for a gourmet sandwich. It is also a great accompaniment for anything from soup and salad, pasta, chicken, or even pizza.

Homemade Herbed Focaccia Recipe

• 2 1/2 cups flour (white, whole wheat, or a combination)
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 cup warm water
• 1 Tbsp oil
• 1 pkg or 2 1/2 tsp yeast
• 1 tsp sugar or honey 

• Oil (olive or other)
• Salt
• Minced garlic (fresh or dried)
• Minced onion (fresh or dried)
• Oregano
• Basil
• Rosemary
• Thyme
• Shredded mozzarella

1. In a mixing bowl combine flour and salt.
2. In a liquid measuring cup combine warm water, 1 Tbsp oil, yeast, and sugar or honey. Let sit 5-10 minutes.
3. Pour liquid into flour and salt and stir and knead until soft dough forms. Add a little flour or warm water if the consistency is to wet or dry. Let sit 10 minutes.
4. Heavily oil a cookie sheet. Sprinkle salt over the bottom.
5. After dough has begun to rise spread over cookie sheet like thick pizza crust. Make indentations with your fingertips or knuckles.
6. With a clean pastry brush, heavily paint the top of the bread with oil. Sprinkle with as much or little salt, garlic, onion, herbs, and cheese as you desire.
7. Let rise 15-30 minutes in a warm environment if you are impatient like I am. Allow to rise 12-24 hours covered and refrigerated if you want richer taste and can wait that long.
8. Bake in a preheated oven at 450F for 10-20 minutes (depending on how brown and crisp you want it).

DIY Cream of Potato and Spinach Soup

This creamy soup is naturally green and delicious. Subtle flavors meld into creamy comfort food. This soup is great paired with Irish Soda Bread Biscuits any day of the week. Add carrot sticks and you have all the colors of the Irish flag for St. Patrick's Day.

I began with Joy the Baker's Spinach Soup Recipe, but changed it up a lot. This soup turned out thick and creamy. My second son gobbled down about three bowls of it.

Homemade Cream of Potato and Spinach Soup

• 2 Tbsp butter or oil
• 1/2 medium onion
• 3 cloves garlic
• 4 cups vegetable or chicken broth (or even water)
• 4 cups cubed potatoes (you can peel them if you like, I don't bother and once they are blended you can't tell)
• 6 cups spinach (or other favorite greens)
• 1 tsp or more salt to taste
• 1 tsp oregano
• 1 tsp basil
• 1 tsp thyme
• 1 or more cups cream or whole milk

1. In a large soup pot saute onion and garlic in butter very low to caramelize.
2. Add chicken broth and cubed potatoes. Boil low about 15 minutes or until potatoes are soft.
3. Add greens and seasonings. Stir greens around until limp.
4. Blend either with an immersion blender or in batches in a regular blender. Use caution of course. Hot soup is hot.
5. Add cream or milk, stir until well incorporated, and serve hot.

Great with Irish Soda Bread Biscuits

Mandarin Mondays: National Civilized (The Chinglish Files)

DIY Irish Soda Bread Biscuits

We love the taste if Irish Soda Bread and these biscuits bake up even faster. Great with soup or stew for St. Patrick's Day or any day.

Homemade Irish Soda Bread Biscuits

• 2 cups flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 Tbsp oil
• 1 cup buttermilk (or 1 cup regular milk with 1 Tbsp vinegar or lemon juice added)

1. In a mixing bowl sift together all dry ingredients.
2. Add milk and oil, and stir until just combined.
3. Either roll out on floured surface and cut with biscuit cutter, or drop rounded tablespoons full onto greased cookie sheet.
4. Bake at 400F until golden brown, about 10-12 minutes for average size biscuits.

DIY Fresh Coconut Chocolate Cake

I love baking with the real fresh fruits and vegetables available in the markets here. This coconut chocolate cake recipe uses fresh coconut juice and meat.

You can make this recipe even easier by using a store bought or homemade cake mix. Or simply mix up the dry ingredients when you are preparing the cake; it doesn't take very long. I imagine you could substitute canned coconut milk and dry shredded coconut, but I haven't tried.

This is a great island twist on a classic cake. One medium coconut should yield more than enough juice and meat to make this recipe. Drink the juice up (quickly it goes bad fast) for a natural electrolyte drink, Or freeze to use later. Place extra shredded coconut on a cookie sheet and toast in your oven to use in other recipes or add to your granola.

Homemade Fresh Coconut Chocolate Cake Recipe

• Chocolate Cake Mix OR
• 2 1/3 cups flour
• 1 1/2 cups white sugar
• 1 Tbsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/3 cup cocoa powder
• 1/3 cup oil (if using coconut oil melt first) or melted butter
• 1 cup coconut juice, conout milk or regular milk
• 2 cups shredded fresh coconut meat (divided)

1.  In a medium mixing bowl dump cake mix OR sift together dry ingredients.
2. Add oil and juice or milk to dry ingredients and stir until well combined.
3. Fold in 1 cup shredded coconut into batter.
4. Pour cake batter into a greased 9x13 cake pan.
5. Sprinkle remaining shredded coconut on top of the cake.
6. Bake at 350F for 25-35 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean and the coconut on top is toasted lightly.
7. Garnish with extra toasted coconut when serving if desired.

Mandarin Mondays: Young or Never (The Chinglish Files)

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DIY Key Lime Bars

These key lime bars are amazing.

I could just leave it at that, but really these are ridiculously good. As in they rival chocolate desserts good. And given how much I like chocolate, that is really saying something.

I combined these two recipes to make this Key Lime Bar Recipe.

Use freshly squeezed key lime juice for this recipe. The bars will be yellow in color, unless you add green food coloring, but delicious either way.

In the photos I made the wedge shaped bars in a round pan, no food coloring, and using oil for the crust. The square bars were baked in a square pan (imagine that), with green food coloring, and butter for the crust. Both were amazing, but I said that already, so here is the recipe.

Homemade Key Lime Bar Recipe

Crust

• 1 cup flour
• 1/2 cup butter (you can use oil if you want, but butter is definitely better)
• 1/4 cup sugar

1. Combine ingredients in a mixing bowl and cut together with a pastry cutter, unless corse crumbs are formed.
2. Press crumbs into a greased 8x8 or 8-9 inch round cake pan. (You may want to line the pan with parchment paper or aluminum foil to remove more easily if not using a silicone pan.)
3. Bake at 350F for about 20 minutes, until golden.
4. Let cool at least slightly.

Filling

• 1/2 cup key lime juice
• 1-3 tsp key lime zest (extra zest for garnishing if desired)
• 3 eggs
• 1 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup flour
• Green food coloring (optional)
• Powdered sugar for dusting right before serving (optional)

1. Zest and juice limes. Set aside.
2. In a mixing bowl combine sugar and flour.
3. Beat in eggs until well combined.
4. Add lime juice and zest (and green food coloring if desired). Beat until well combined again.
5. Pour over cooled crust and return to oven to bake at 350F for 20-30 minutes or until set.
6. Remove from oven and let cool on counter to room temperature. Then chill for at least hour to overnight in the refrigerator. (If you can wait that long.)
7. Dust with powdered sugar, garnish with extra zest if desired, and serve.

Makes one 8x8 or 8-9 round cake pan of bars.

DIY {Natural Mint} Grasshopper Brownies

These rich brownies with fluffy natural mint whipped cream were a huge hit around our house. We love mint and chocolate together and these beauties disappeared much too quickly.

Also if you ever need to make a quick pan of brownies and all you have is a cake mix, you can use this adaptation to turn it into brownies.

"Cake Mix" Brownie Recipe

• 1 cake mix OR the following dry ingredients from homemade cake mix
• 2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups white sugar
• 1 Tbsp powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/3 cup cocoa powder (for  chocolate cookies only obviously)

• 1/2 cup oil
• 2 eggs
• Up to 1 1/2 cups chocolate chips (if desired)

1. Mix all ingredients in a bowl until well combined.
2. Spread on prepared 9x13 pan and bake at 350F  20-25 minutes.
3. Let cool.

Natural Mint Infused Whipped Cream

• 1-2 cups whipping cream
• 1-2 large handfuls of mint leaves
• 2-4 Tbsp sugar

1. Wash and dry the mint leaves well. Tear and bruise leaves slightly to bring out the most flavor. Place in colander inside of a bowl.
2. Steep the mint leaves in the milk for several hours up to overnight. (See photos of mint steeping here.)
3. Strain mint leaves from cream.
4. Add sugar and whip cream until stiff peaks form.

Just before serving top brownies with mint whipped cream and chocolate chips if desired.

Mandarin Mondays:Essence of World Karst (The Chinglish Files)

DIY Natural Mint Green Smoothie

Green smoothies are a great way to sneak an extra serving of veggies into your day. This natural mint smoothie provides all of the green, with a fun flavor twist.

Even my boys who are not always so found of drinking their greens really liked this refreshing smoothie.

Homemade Natural Mint Smoothie Recipe

• 1 cup milk
• 1 large handful of mint leaves
• 1-2 chopped and frozen bananas
• 1 cup of your favorite greens chopped
• 1-2 Tbsp sugar or honey if desired
• Up to 1 cup ice if desired

1. Wash and dry the mint leaves well. Tear and bruise leaves slightly to bring out the most flavor. Place in colander inside of a bowl.
2. Steep the mint leaves in the milk for several hours up to overnight. (See pictures of mint steeping here.)
3. Strain mint leaves if desired. (I usually strain mint leaves after steeping for most recipes, but since this one already had greens in it, I left them in.)
4. Pour milk and all other ingredients into blender and blend until smooth.