2. Place the yogurt in a mixing bowl. Add the cooked carrot mixture, salt, the remaining olive oil and lemon juice. Place in the refrigerator, covered, for 1 hour and serve garnished with a sprinkling of paprika dn the mint leaves.

How to drain yogurt: Start with double the quantity of yogurt that you will need, place it in a colander lined with a double cheesecloth, and drain over a bowl for 2-3 hours or until as thick as sour cream. You can drain it longer to make it as thick as you like.

These are both so tasty–I hope you enjoy them!

Feta Whipped with Basil, Lemon and Pepper–(Makes 3 cups, but you can easily divide it to make less or double to make more)

3 cups (about 12 ozs.) crumbled Feta cheese
3 scant tablespoons dried basil
1 heaping teaspoon black pepper–fresh ground is nice
2/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
6 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon lemon zest, cut into very think strips (julienne)

1. Pulse together the feta, basil and pepper in a food processor until combined.

2. Add the olive oil and lemon juice, alternating between each and pulsing after each addition, until the mixture is dense but spreads easily. Remove to a serving plate, garnish with lemon zest, and serve.

This can be made 2-3 hours ahead of time and kept, covered, in the refrigerator.

You can also use this to fill peppers. Stuff raw green or red peppers with the feta mixture, refrigerating until the cheese firms up, and then cutting the peppers into rounds. Better with in-season summer peppers, tho.

Here’s another good one:

Tangy Yogurt with Sauteed Carrots and Mint

(Good served with toasted pita wedges, or with meatballs)

Makes 4-6 servings

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 medium carrots, shredded(I do this quickly in the food processor)
3 garlic cloves, chopped
1/3 cup fresh mint leaves, cut into very thin strips (julienne)
2 cups thick Greek or Mediterranean-style yogurt, or drained plain yogurt
Salt to taste
2-3 tablespoons lemon juice to taste
Paprika
Fresh mint leaves for garnish

1. Heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a nonstick skillet over medium heat and cook the carrots, stirring, until soft, about 10 minutes. Add the garlic and mint, and stir for a minute until the garlic softens and the mint wilts.

2.

if anyone has a great suggestion for a crudite platter or a yummy dip or some easy appetizery goodness,

Christy, don’t know if you’re still reading here, but

a) Stuffed mushrooms. Since I am a “cook” like my grandmother was, once I make a recipe, I sort of “cook by sight” — in other words, I don’t have much of an idea what the actual “measurements” are. But in this case [and the next] it doesn’t much matter.

Get yourself some nice sized mushrooms. Wash & remove stems. Chop up stems. Add bread crumbs & seasonings [salt, pepper, Italian seasonings?? I dunno] to chopped stems. Stuff each mushroom with stem-crumb mix. Place mushrooms stuffing side up in baking dish. Put a little dot of butter on each mushroom. Pour white wine over mushrooms and leave 1/4 inch in dish. Cook @ 350 for, I dunno, 15-20 min — until tender. Quite healthful.

b) Get some prepared pie dough. [We used the frozen variety.] Roll out onto a cookie sheet. [Use a cookie sheet with rims.] Spread pie dough with one of the following: Dijon mustard; tapinade; artichoke paste. On top of this, layer shredded Swiss cheese. [Enough to cover; not too much, or dough won’t cook.] Add sliced tomatoes arranged nicely on top of cheese, and sprinkle tomatoes with salt, pepper, Italian seasonings. Drizzle with olive oil. Cook for around 25 min. @ 375 or so. Slice up & serve.

Sorry about these haphazard instructions. Comes from cooking over a campfire as a backpacker and just generally being a messy person.

Re Wii: got one for my family [two college kids]. For Mario Cart, do you have to have a “wheel” or can you operate from the controller? [I am such a newbie.]

Re snow: sorry to rub it in, but it’s gonna be 75 or so here today on Maui. It’s clear and beautiful, after a week of heavy rain.

OT: son of a friend went from DC to school in California When he heard there was going to be a “winter storm,” he went searching for his gloves, hat, muffler, etc. Turns out they only meant rain for a day or two. Weenies.

On the other hand, my son just arrived after his first semester of college. Skinnier, sick with a cold, typing like crazy to finish a “suddenly take home exam” when weather threatened. The prof gave him two days to complete it. It took almost two days to get to Montana (did she think everyone was going 30 miles to small town Iowa?). But he managed to get 12 typed pages on kinds of democracy and civil institutions by midnight central standard time. He’d slept 7 hours in three days. But I can hear him sleeping away. We only have him for four days and then he is off to the southern hemisphere for his break to reunite with his NZ friends from when we lived there.

We want our children to be functional and happy. Not all of us get that wish. So prayers and thoughts to all parents of suffering children.

My mom makes one with dates and marachino cherries and lots and lots of walnuts. It’s got enough of the weirdly colored fruit to be called a fruitcake, but it’s mostly walnuts and dates, and much yummier than the usual dried, candied ick

.

Wow, would I like that recipe!!

Our “family tradition” is stollen, which I’ve modified to reduce the amount of candied fruits but add lots of dried apricots.

I’d be willing to trade. [Note: stollen making takes at least half a day, since it has to rise twice. However, the punching and rolling are great fun.]

lesson 1
http://noolmusic.com/my_video/….._video.php

one of my best friends led me to this guy..my friend owns an art supplies store and is an artist/computer guru.

this guy is a must watch. philosopher/instructor. rofl.

http://noolmusic.com/my_video/….._video.php
he is hilarious, but also gives great lessons/tips for photoshop. this one is ‘vanishing point’. the master list for his lessons is on the right.

:-)