Cleaning dishwasher and cloudy glasses

First, load your dishwasher with ONLY glass items- no metal or plastic.
Then, on the bottom rack, fill a cup (I use a measuring cup or a glass bowl) with one cup of household bleach.
Leave that cup upright in the rack and run your dishwasher through the wash cycle (NO detergent).
Then, stop it after the wash cycle, reset it, and fill the same cup with 1 cup of white vinegar.
Run the regular cycle, and ::poof:: you have crystal clear glassware and a clean dishwasher.

Couscous Salad with Pomegranate Seeds

Couscous Salad with Pomegranate Seeds

Yield:about 6 1-cup servings

• 2 1/4 cups water
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 (10-ounce) package plain couscous
• 1/4 cup dried currants or golden raisins
• Dressing:
• 2 shallots, minced (about 2 tablespoons)
• 1/4 cup rice vinegar
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint
• Garlic salt, to taste
• 3 green onions, trimmed and thinly sliced, including half of dark green stalks
• Lemon juice to taste
• Freshly ground white pepper to taste
• 1 cup shelled pistachios (salted or unsalted) or Planters' Pistachio Lovers Mix (roughly chopped)
• 2/3 cup pomegranate seeds
• Garnish: chopped fresh mint and sprigs of fresh mint

Procedure:

1. In large saucepan combine water, oil cumin and salt; bring to boil on high heat. Remove from heat and stir in couscous. Cover and let stand 5 minutes. Add raisins and fluff with fork.

2. Prepare the dressing. Combine shallots, vinegar, honey and olive oil; stir vigorously to blend. Stir in mint and garlic salt. Toss dressing with couscous. Add green onions and toss. Taste and adjust seasoning, adding lemon juice and pepper, and additional salt as needed. 3. Add nuts and pomegranate seeds; toss. Garnish servings with chopped fresh mint, and if desired, a nice sprig of mint.

Fried Rice

Ingredients:
1 lb. pork sausage
5 eggs beaten
1 bag frozen peas and carrots, thawed
6 c. cooked white rice, cold
1/4 c. soy sauce (or to taste)
pepper to taste
3 green onions, chopped

1. In a skillet over medium-high heat, cook sausage until evenly browned. Drain (save the grease for later use), removing sausage from the pan. In the same pan using the remaining grease, cook the eggs. Set aside.

2. Using the discarded grease, add rice and fry, stirring so there are no clumps. Mix in sausage and soy sauce. Stir in eggs and peas and carrots, mixing so there are no big chunks of egg. Season with pepper, and stir in green onions just before removing from heat. Adjust the soy sauce to taste.

Korean Short Ribs

Ingredients:
16 ribs
1 c. soy sauce
3/4 c. sugar
1/2 c. water
1 asian pear, chopped
1 onion, chopped
2 T. minced garlic
4 T. sesame oil
1 T. pepper
1 T. ginger

1. wash meat, then soak in water for 1 hour
2. in a food processor, add chopped onion and pear, puree finely. Pour to large bowl and add remaining ingredients
3. marinate ribs for 8-10 hours or over night

Hummus

16 oz can of chickpeas or garbanzo beans
2.5 tablespoons lemon juice (depending on taste you can add a little more or a little less)
1 1/2 tablespoons tahini*
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons olive oil

Mix all together in food processor and serve.

*I’ve made it w/o the tahini and it turned out fine, just a bit blander. I also buy tahini at Trader Joe’s and keep it in my freezer; just get it out when I make this.

Easy Pickled Beets

Really easy way to make use of beets from our CSA (and our garden). It was exactly the flavor I was looking for.

Ingredients

* 1 bunch (4 or 5) beets
* 1/4 cup cider vinegar
* 1 Tbsp sugar
* 1 Tbsp olive oil
* 1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
* Salt and pepper

Method

1 Remove greens from beets, save for future use (see beet greens recipe). Cut beets to uniform sizes so they will cook evenly. Steam or boil around 30 minutes or until done. (Alternatively, you can roast them by wrapping them whole in foil and cooking them in a 350°F oven for about an hour.) A fork easily inserted into the beet will tell you if the beets are done or not.

2 Drain the beets, rinsing them in cold water. Use your fingers to slip the peels off of the beets. The peels should come off easily. Discard the peels. Slice the beets.

3 Make the vinaigrette by combining the cider vinegar, sugar, olive oil, and dry mustard. Whisk ingredients together with a fork. The dry mustard will help to emulsify the vinaigrette. Adjust to taste. Add salt and pepper to taste. Combine beets and vinaigrette in a bowl and allow to marinate for a half hour at room temperature.

Spaghetti Carbonara

Ingredients

* Salt to taste
* 3 tablespoons olive oil
* 2 slices of bacon (if desired)
* 3 or 4 small zucchini, about a pound, washed, trimmed and cut into slices 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick
* Freshly ground black pepper to taste
* 2 eggs
* 1 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
* 1 pound spaghetti, linguine or other long pasta
* 1/2 cup roughly chopped mint, parsley or basil

Method

1. Salt a large pot of water, and bring it to a boil over high heat. Put the olive oil into a 10- or 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat. A minute later, add the bacon and zucchini, and cook, stirring only occasionally, until bacon is crisp and zucchini very tender and lightly browned, 10 to 15 minutes. Season with a little salt and a lot of pepper.

2. Beat the eggs and 1/2 cup of the cheese together. Add the pasta to the boiling water, and cook until it is tender but firm. When it is done, drain it, and combine it immediately with the egg-and-cheese mixture, tossing until the egg is cooked. Add the zucchini, and toss again. Taste, and add more salt and pepper if necessary.

3. Toss in the herb, and serve immediately, passing the remaining cheese at the table.

Big Fat Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookie

INGREDIENTS

* 2 cups all-purpose flour
* 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
* 1 cup packed brown sugar
* 1/2 cup white sugar
* 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
* 1 egg
* 1 egg yolk
* 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets or line with parchment paper.
2. Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt; set aside.
3. In a medium bowl, cream together the melted butter, brown sugar and white sugar until well blended. Beat in the vanilla, egg, and egg yolk until light and creamy. Mix in the sifted ingredients until just blended. Stir in the chocolate chips by hand using a wooden spoon. Drop cookie dough 1/4 cup at a time onto the prepared cookie sheets. Cookies should be about 3 inches apart.
4. Bake for 15 to 17 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the edges are lightly toasted. Cool on baking sheets for a few minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.

Lou Ann's Minestrone

Sautee one large onion and two stalks of celery in a tablespoon of olive oil

Add:
Large can crushed tomatoes
Box veggie broth
2-3 cups water
1/2 can tomato sauce or 1 cup tomato juice
1 T dried basil
1 t oregeno
1 t thyme
1 t dried parsley or fresh Italian (flat-leaf) parsley
Dash red pepper flakes
Salt to taste

Assorted veggies in bite-sized pieces:
carrots
yellow squash
broccoli
cabbage
whatever you have on hand

Bring to boil and then simmer until veggies are cooked

Add just before serving and then simmer with lid on until spinach is tender:
1 cup cooked shells or elbows
1 can kidney beans
1 can cannellini
A few handfuls of baby spinach

Top with parmesan