Norwish Recipes

For today's Frugal Friday post I want to talk about yeast. You may know by now that I love to make yeast breads and yeast and I have become rather good friends during the last few years. But it hasn't always been that way. Our relationship was quite strained during my early cooking days and I've had many cooking catastrophes that were caused by yeast defects. Now of course I understand that they weren't really yeast defects after all, but simply my own misunderstanding of the properties of yeast. I hope today to be able to clear up a few of those for you if you're having difficulties. Or if you're already a yeast expert I'd love to hear you share some kitchen tips of your own about yeast. So how does this topic relate to Frugal Friday? Well, hopefully that will become clear as we go, but in a brief synopsis here let me just say that cooking catastrophes cost money (not to mention time and energy and stress). Understanding about yeast will help avoid a lot of...

One of the things that I've missed being sugar-free six days a week is the sweet pancake and waffle toppings that I used to enjoy. But most syrups, jams and jellies are loaded with sugar. I usually eat my waffles or pancakes with unsweetened applesauce, but recently I came up with this peach syrup as a variation that I love.  Fresh Peach Syrup (No Sugar) Printable Recipe * Makes about 1 cup INGREDIENTS: 1 Cup peach puree (I used a blender to puree the peaches) *See Note 2 Tbsp. Xagave nectar Sprinkle of vanilla powder, optional *Note: If peaches aren't in season you can use thawed frozen or canned peaches with all the liquid drained off DIRECTIONS: Combine ingredients and mix well. Serve on fresh waffles or pancakes. Refrigerate leftover syrup for up to a week. Recipe Source: healthyfamilycookin.blogspot.com Here's some of my favorite pancake and waffle recipes to serve this syrup on: Wheat Pancakes Wonderful Waffles 5 Grain Waffles with Flax Seed This week I'll be link...

It's that lovely time of year again when the world starts awakening out of it's cold, deep sleep. Bulbs burst out of the ground into amazing blooms. Buds start to form on trees and then flower into beautiful blossoms. Bees begin their busy work of pollinating. Daffodils that bloomed this week are covered with snow today... ...that's spring for ya! This week has had some ups and downs for me, like all weeks do. Yet it has seemed like this week the ups have been higher and the downs have been lower than even most weeks. Towards the middle of the week I decided I needed a break from the stress and put myself in full-day timeout in the garden. I spent the day planting peas, onions, carrots, beets, turnips, rutabagas, and spinach. I puttered around cleaning out weeds and straightening flower and strawberry beds. I love the feel of my hands in the rich earth. The breeze on my face. The sounds of excitement as the birds prepare to build their nests and raise their families. I came...

These cookies are my dream come true. Seriously. The fact that I can still have cookies and not sacrifice my health over it makes me so happy. :) I was at a friend's house and she had made these. She knew I was sugar free and let me try one. I'll be honest and tell you that on the first bite my taste buds were taken a little off guard. The flavor is quite different than my taste buds were used to in a cookie and it might be for you too. I mean honestly, whose taste buds wouldn't choose a sugar-y chocolate chip cookie over a sugar free one, right? But by the middle of the cookie, those taste buds had forgotten their initial reaction and started rejoicing over the deliciousness of this very decadent (and healthy) cookie. Well, I begged my friend for the recipe, and she was nice enough to share. I made them as a surprise for the kid's as an after school snack. What was their reaction? Actually my kids didn't like them at first (I think it was because of that first bite...

How much do you pay for convenience? Last week I really enjoyed reading  this post by Katherine at Proverbs and Pacifiers  on this very subject. In the post she talks about how we often choose convenience without thinking about the consequences. We go buy bread from the store when we can make it at home. We run to the bank for a loan instead of taking the time to save the money for ourselves. She pointed out that not all conveniences are bad. But we often take the easy road of convenience without really thinking about the cost. And sometimes those costs include our health, our happiness, and even our families. So today I want to pose this question to you: What conveniences are you willing to pay for and what really is the cost?  I'll give you just a few examples and then I'd love it if you would share your own. Example 1: What's the cost of convenience for buying prepackaged quick foods or fast food over making food from scratch? These "convenience" foods are ofte...

Someone once said "You can kid the world, but not your sister" Wish you a very happy birthday Devina.......miss you EVERYDAY.... No.....I did not come up with that name, I was wondering why it is called slutty brownies.....I would actually name them 'Threesome Brownies"......and before you guys start thinking ...."Gosh!!!this Cherie has one dirty mind"....NO....you are wrong....when I say "Threesome".....I mean....Oreo biscuits sandwiched between Brownie and Chocolate chip cookies.... doesn't that make it awesome THREESOME.....and also a perfect name for us three sisters....Devina is the soft heart Brownie......Neetu who seems hard from outside but is actually soft like a cookie inside......and Iam the poor Oreo biscuit in the middle who has been sandwiched by these girls and I have nowhere to go......but together we make an awesome threesome combination. Recipe source :  Whats Gaby Cooking Ingredients Print this recipe for the brownie 140 gra...

This dish falls into our comfort food category.............Kempu appala chutney with piping hot ganji......egg omelette and pickle.. ....perfect combination for rainy day. Ingredients Print this recipe 6 to 7 Red pappad 1 1/2 cup freshly grated Coconut 5 dry Red chillies ,roasted (3 byadigi 2 guntur) 2 tsp Coriander seeds, roasted 1/2 tsp Cumin seeds, roasted 1/2 Onion , chopped marble size Tamarind salt to taste Oil to deep fry pappads Method In a mixer or blender jar combine red chillies, coriander seeds , cumin seeds, salt and tamarind, grind into a fine powder. Toss in the fresh coconut and grind for 2 seconds only.Transfer into a bowl and sprinkle chopped onion to top. Fry the red pappad in hot oil and place on kitchen towel to remove excess oil. Just before serving crush the red pappad and mix with the coconut masala and serve with ganji

Today I'm sharing another great sugar free recipe with you. This is a recipe that I just discovered this week that I found over at  Domestic Diva   and it truly will change the course of my sugar free existence. That sounds a little dramatic, but I'm really not joking here. This recipe is amazing. Throw a few of these guys in a batch of sugar free cookies (and yes....I am planning on sharing my favorite recipe with you real soon...) and you honestly feel like you've died and gone to sugar free heaven. Enjoy. Sugar Free Chocolate Pieces (Homemade Chocolate Chips) Printable Recipe *Makes quite a few... INGREDIENTS: 1 Cup butter or coconut oil 3/4 Cup honey 1 Cup cocoa powder 1 Tbsp. vanilla extract DIRECTIONS: Melt butter or coconut oil and honey in small saucepan. Stir in cocoa powder and vanilla extract until smooth and remove from heat. Line a 9 x 13 pan with wax paper. Pour chocolate in tray and freeze for 1-2 hours or until set. Chocolate may still be somewhat soft and p...

Being healthy financially is integrally connected with applying the virtue of self-discipline. Self-discipline is a virtue that we should practice in all areas of our lives, including finances. Has anyone else noticed that these core virtues that were fundamentally part of healthy families and a healthy society in previous generations seem to be slowly fading away and even disappearing? Our society today is becoming more and more fast-paced and less and less patient. Clever marketers and advertisers convince many that the way to happiness is through the accumulation of stuff. Their message seems to be, "Why wait when you can have it all right now?" That attitude leads many to rack up so much credit card and other debt that they are literally enslaved to it. The burden is so heavy that they may think that it's too late and they'll never recover. But the truth is, it's never to late to begin practicing self-discipline in our finances, whether we have a mountain of ...

Isn't it so true that "necessity is the mother of invention"? That's been the case with me as I've started to change my diet to become sugar free six days a week. I've literally been on a rampage to convert a lot of the recipes that I love to eat to be sugar free so that I can still enjoy them. It's been a lot of fun. Today I'm sharing with you a recipe that I've made and loved for a long time, and just recently converted to be sugar free. This recipe comes from a good friend and roommate of mine in college. She made this ALL the time and every time I make it, it reminds me of that happy time and how good it tasted to us. She called it "Best Banana Bread" and it really is. I've been making it whole grain for several years now, and really, why not? The whole grains found in it make it so delicious and flavorful, not to mention making it healthier. I love it. And I hope you enjoy it too. Best Banana Bread Printable Recipe *Makes 2 Loave...

As you may know, on this blog I talk a lot about creating healthy families. One of the most important parts of a healthy family is a healthy marriage. Healthy marriages, like families, take work and effort and don't happen without planned time together. But dates can be expensive. If you count the cost of a babysitter, going out for dinner and tickets to a movie or other activity...that adds up! And often the cost is unrealistic for a couple trying to be frugal and live within their means. My husband and I have been married now for eleven plus years and we try to have at least one date every week, often more. I've come up with a list of over 50 frugal date night ideas that won't break the bank or the budget. One of our "date night dinners" my husband and I have enjoyed. One of our favorite date night traditions is drinking homemade grape juice, which we save for special occasions only... Candlelight Dinner - This is one of our favorite dates. We send the kids to ...