3 Types of Fudge

I had high hopes for today since my husband is out of the house and I'm by myself for the first time in a week and a half. I wanted to work on another one of my National Board essays, work out, grocery shop, and take an 1 1/2 hour yoga class. Instead I am sitting in front of our space heater jacking up our electricity bill (it is freezing outside), ordering shoes (these are awesome-and in size 11!), eating gluten free cookies (which we got at Hub51 last night, one of my favorite restaurants), and watching multiple hours of Real Housewives... Totally non productive but I miss having some time alone. I will go grocery shopping (have a crazy taste for BBQ beans and gluten free cornbread and carrot fries, although the beans wont be as good as in Kansas City which has the BEST beans) and maybe work out and write my lesson plans for this week, but that is about it.

Fudge is one of my signature desserts/sweet snacks along with pecan pie squares and chocolate bark. I have been making the cookies and cream fudge (which everyone loves) for past 4 years and am always looking for new fun flavors. It is hard to find gluten free pre-made items to put in these types of fudge, and if you can find gluten free sandwich cookies and chocolate covered pretzels buy them right away!

Cookies and Cream Fudge

Ingredients

2 12 oz bags of white chocolate

1 14 oz can of sweetened condensed milk

dash of salt

1 cup of smashed regular oreos (or gluten free sandwich cookies)

1 1/2 tsp of vanilla extract

In a saucepan mix together sweetened condensed milk, pinch of salt, and white chocolate and heat over low heat. Stir until melted. Take off of heat and mix in vanilla extract and cookies. Pour into 9 inch square pan lined with wax paper. Chill until firm. Take out of pan by flipping it over onto a cutting board and peel off wax paper. Cut into squares. Freezes very well.

Peanut Butter Surprise Fudge

Ingredients

2 12 oz bags of semi-sweet chocolate

1 14 oz can of sweetened condensed milk

dash of salt

1/2 cup of smashed of chocolate covered pretzels (can use gluten free brand like Glutino)

1/4 cup of roasted lightly salted peanuts

1/2 cup of smashed peanut butter cups

1 1/2 tsp of vanilla extract

In a saucepan mix together sweetened condensed milk, pinch of salt, and chocolate and heat over low heat. Stir until melted. Take off of heat and mix in vanilla extract, peanuts, pretzels, and peanut butter cups. Pour into 9 inch square pan lined with wax paper. Chill until firm. Take out of pan by flipping it over onto a cutting board and peel off wax paper. Cut into squares. Freezes very well.

Minty Fun Fudge

Ingredients

2 12 oz bags of dark chocolate

1 14 oz can of sweetened condensed milk

dash of salt

1/2 cup of smashed peppermint patties (you can make them homemade- check out this recipe)

1/2 cup of smashed mint oreos (I couldn't find gluten free equivalent, you could use regular sandwich cookies instead or take them out of recipe)

1/4 cup of smashed andes mints

1 1/2 tsp of vanilla extract

In a saucepan mix together sweetened condensed milk, pinch of salt, and chocolate and heat over low heat. Stir until melted. Take off of heat and mix in vanilla extract, peppermint patties, oreos and andes mints. Pour into 9 inch square pan lined with wax paper. Chill until firm. Take out of pan by flipping it over onto a cutting board and peel off wax paper. Cut into squares. Freezes very well.

Long Beans with Peanuts and Korean Glazed Potatoes

It is so weird. I just noticed today (or finally thought about it) that my garden is still green and it is November... November! Usually everything is cut down, packed up, and I am starting to winterize my windows by now. However, I feel bad cutting down all my green plants. My parent's gardens were dead and I cut and bagged 350 lbs of plant material on Saturday but I don't know if I can do the same to mine. My Black Eyed Susans are at full bloom. I just don't want to wait until too late and do it in the freezing cold...

I did, however, cut my herbs this weekend. Again, fresh herbs in November is nuts. In the city we haven't even gotten a frost yet. I had tons and tons of chives along with thai basil and some oregano left at the end of this season. I worked late last night washing them then combining the chives and then the thai basil with olive oil in the food processor and made herb ice cubes. Then I made more oregano pesto that my brother, who likes very very few foods, really likes.

Earlier on in the day, I decided to cook Asian. I love this Asian market, that is around 20 miles away, because it had fun vegetables that I cant find any where else. Case in point, long beans. I really don't like green beans, but I love long beans. Does that make any sense? I don't know what the difference in the taste is. For me I feel like the long beans are dryer. I also found some more Korean corn syrup, which unlike all the clear corn syrups I find in the regular grocery store, does not contain vanilla flavoring. So, I decided to make these awesome potatoes that I experimented with on a picnic during the summer. Enjoy!

Spicy Stir Fried Long Beans With Peanuts

(Pa-O Long Beans)

From Epicurious.com

Ingredients

1 1/2 lb long beans

1/2 cup unsalted dry-roasted peanuts

2 tsp soy sauce

2 to 3 small fresh Thai chiles or 1 Tbs chili paste

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 Tbs oil

1 Tbs chopped garlic

1/2 cup of green onions, chopped

2 tsp lime juice

Cook the beans, untrimmed, in a pot of boiled salted water. Stir and remove when tender, around 4 minutes. Put in bowl of ice water to stop cooking then drain and pat dry. Trim the ends and cut into 3/4 inch pieces.

Use your food processor to grind 1/2 of the peanuts into small pieces, leaving the rest to be large.

Mix soy sauce, chiles or chili paste and salt together in small bowl.

If you have a wok (I don't, my kitchen can't fit anything more) make sure it is on high heat. Same thing for large pan. Oil the pan and add garlic until it turns pale golden. Then add the peanuts and stir fry until they are golden. Add the beans and stir fry until hot, around 2 minutes. Take off of the burner and combine in soy sauce and green onions. Add in lime juice and salt to taste.

Korean Glazed Potatoes (GamJa JoRim)

From Aeri's Kitchen

Ingredients

2 cups of potatoes (I use small golden ones) diced in 1/2 inch cubes

1/2 cup water

2 Tbs oil

2 1/2 Tbs soy sauce

2 Tbs clear corn syrup

1 1/2 Tbs sugar

2 Tbs minced garlic

1 tsp of toasted sesame seeds

In pan on medium heat add in the oil and let heat. Then add in the potatoes. Fry the potatoes for until they are half cooked. Then add the water, soy sauce, sugar, corn syrup, and garlic. Cook for 5 more minutes on medium heat. Add salt to taste and continue to cook until the liquid is a paste (be careful, it can turn into paste quickly without you noticing it)

Reduce the temperature and fry until the potatoes are cooked. Add sesame seeds and serve!