Carol, are you talking about big chunks? About 1.5 inches? If so, that was lkeel, and I agree, it was delicious.

I ended up with what was left-over on Saturday. It was very, very good. I use the past-tense because I made a pot of pinto's & ham on Monday. DH has just about polished off the rest of the jar!

Also, someone (maybe newhippe or jlhart?) brought a penne pasta salad with asparagus in it that had a really light tasting dressing on it. I would LOVE to have the recipe for that one also, please?

Paula

Yes, that is the one I was talking about and it may not be called green tomato relish, but that is what I thought of. I have never made green tomato relish of any kind because I could buy one that I liked. I had a regular habit of stopping in Tulsa most everytime I went through town to buy a few quarts. I think the extended parking lot at the casino ate my source, so I guess I need to make my own. The one at the fling was not only delicious but pretty.

Yes spicy green tomato relish was awesome. Our Green tomatoes, onions and jalapeno will be ready for harvest in few days. We also liked that Garden Salad with chapped vegetables and crunchy corn chips (first bowl). Please share both recipes. -Priya

I would like to have the sesame-topped (pita?) strips recipe... that was addictive!

Thanks,
Sharon

The pasta salad with asparagus was me, Paula. I will post tonight when I get home!

The sesame crackers (lavosh) and hummus were mine. The first batch of lavosh I made according to the recipe was a bit bland, so I tweaked the recipe and here it is. I also used three types of flour because I ran out of all purpose flour, and in my opinion the wheat flour added a lot of flavor...but use whatever flour you have.

I bought my sesame seeds from the bulk bins at Reasors which was MUCH cheaper than buying tiny little jars in the spice aisle

(this is my HUGE batch party recipe)

Ingredients:
1.5 cups all-purpose flour
1.5 cups bread flour
2 cups wheat flour
2 teaspoons white sugar
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 tsp sesame oil
1 1/3 cup water
2 egg white
4 tablespoons butter, melted

Topping:
4 egg whites, beaten
8 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds
kosher or sea salt

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
2. In a large bowl, stir together, flour, sugar, oil and salt. Add water, 2 egg whites and melted butter; mix well to make a stiff dough. Knead until dough is smooth, about 5 minutes. It took my stand mixer a good 5 minutes and I had to add a couple extra Tablespoons of water)
3. Divide dough into 8 sections. Roll each section on lightly floured surface until paper thin. Cut into long strips with a pizza wheel. Place on ungreased baking sheet. Brush with egg white and sprinkle with sesame seeds and a little kosher or sea salt.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 10 to 12 minut long until browned.
(watch carefully, they go from underdone to almost burned within a minute, my husband got to eat the ones that were too dark)!

Jo

I'm still looking at the recipes...but in OKC, you can buy sesame seeds much, much cheaper at Akins. Probably the one thing in the whole city you can find cheaper there!

Lisa

Ok, I'm embarrassed, after reading the form on canning. The spicy green tomatoes have not been tested or anything like that.
I've been canning for about 25 years. I learned from a lady that had been canning forever, I guess. She taught me how to can, but we really didn't use specific recipes. I just do my pickles the way she taught me. I'm so glad I havn't made anyone sick.
I'll try to find a similar recipe from a book.
Thanks,
lisak

Rosa Blanca in SW OKC is another place to buy semi-bulk (large packages) of spices very affordably. Sometimes the Hispanic food section at Crest has good prices on big bags of sesame seeds too. Small bottles are for the uninitiated.

I use a basic recipe from Real Simple and tweak it to taste. I doubled this recipe for the Fling.

Pasta Salad with Asparagus and Lemon
8 oz whole wheat penne (1/2 box)
1 lb asparagus, ends trimmed, cut into 1 inch pieces
1/4 c Parmesan or Pecorino Romano cheese pieces (chunked or shredded)
2 T extra virgin olive oil
1 T fresh lemon juice
1 t grated lemon zest
1/2 t kosher salt
1/4 t black pepper

Cook pasta according to package directions and add asparagus during last 3 1/2 minutes. Drain pasta and asparagus and rinse under cold water to cool. Transfer to large bowl. Add the remaining ingredients and toss to combine.

I tweak it by adding raw cherry tomatoes (yellow and red), and any other veggies I like. Also feel it always needs more salt and lemon juice than the recipe says, but I usually eyeball things, so couldn't really say how much more. This time, I used a garlic-infused olive oil that I'd made for a grilled chicken recipe because I had it on hand, and eyeball it, too.

Eyeball cooking is the best. How did I miss this salad? I'm unhappy now.

Perhaps someone will share the salad, that looked like it had tiny black pearls and tiny black sprouts?

Seedmama I missed the asparagus salad too and I am irrationaly upset with everyone who ate some ;)

Jo

Oh wow, Jo! I didn't realize you made the lavosh. They were AMAZING. And the hummus was fantastic! I'm going to have to save the lavosh recipe. It was SO good.

Kelly

Lisak,

Why don't you go ahead and tell us exactly how you make the green tomato relish?

We can look at the recipe and see if there's anything that looks unsafe in terms of canning. You can guesstimate amounts if you aren't sure--you know, if your cooking style is to use a pinch of this and a dash of that. I think it likely is a perfectly safe recipe. and I bet if you posted it, the long-time canners here won't see any obvious red flags and may, in fact, already have a similar recipe in a canning cookbook.

Someone was telling me their family's "old, secret recipe" for making Blueberry-Lime Jam. Old family recipe, my foot! It was the Ball Blue Book recipe which made me have a fit of giggles. (I didn't tell them that the whole world has been using their old, secret, family recipe for decades...but I wanted to!)

Dawn

Lisak,

I agree with Dawn. I suspect there's enough vinegar in there to take care of things. Please let us take a look at it. They were so good.

Spicy green tomato relish
This recipe depends on the amount of veggies you want to pickle. This amount of brine usually does one batch of 7 quart jars, with a little left. If I have more than 7 quarts of veggies to do, I just make another batch of brine while the 1st batch is in the canner.
Brine:
3 qt. water
1 qt. apple cider vinegar 5% acidity
3/4 cup canning salt
1 cup sugar
Bring this to a boil.
Veggie mix: green tomatoes, bell peppers, onions, hot peppers (your choice), dill weed or seed, crushed garlic.
Cut tomatoes to about 1/2"to 1" cubes, onions, bell peppers and hot peppers can be cut to a smaller size. I like to use both green and red peppers.
To the bottom of each hot jar, add 2tsp. crushed garlic and 2 tsp. dill weed. Pack jars with tomato mixture to 1/4"
head space. Pour boiling brine over top, add a small pinch of powdered alum. Remove air bubbles, wipe rim with a damp cloth to remove any liquid. Adjust 2 piece lids and process for 15 minutes in a boiling water bath caner. I also use this brine for pickled squash.
Pleas use safe canning practices such as sterilizing the jars, processing for the appropriate amount of time and checking your seals to makes sure they sealed properly.

Chandra,
You asked about the salad with crunchy corn chips and chopped vegetables. Here's the recipe:

Frito Salad

16-ounce bag frozen corn, thawed
16-ounce bag frozen peas, thawed
(2) 14-ounce cans dark red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 large or 2 small green peppers, chopped
1/4 cup chopped red onion
1 to 2 cups cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
16-ounces cubed cheddar cheese
Ken's Steak House Sweet Vidalia Onion Dressing
1 bag Fritos corn chips (regular size)

Mix corn, peas, kidney beans, green peppers and onion in large bowl. Just before serving mix in the cheddar cheese, tomatoes, and dressing (I use about 1 cup to 1 1/2 cups dressing). Add Fritos last and mix well. This is one of those recipes that exact amounts don't really matter. Just use what you have and it will work out. The original recipe I was given called for more onion, but if you happen to use a really strong onion it can be a little overpowering, so I cut it back to 1/4 cup.

Thank you, MiaOKC for the recipe for the pasta with asparagus and lemon. I loved that and am really glad to see the recipe here!

Suzie

Hello Suzie, MiaOKC and Jo, Thank you for sharing wonderful recipes. Priya and I can't wait to make them as soon as possible.
Regards -Chandra

Chandra and Priya- I'd like to know how to make the sesame candy. DH and I both thought it was delicious!

oh, me too on the sesame candy. It was delicious.

Thanks for posting the recipe to the lavosh and hummus, Jo. I loved that and had gone back for seconds! I think the lavosh is one of those "can't eat just one" foods for me.

Good stuff, people, and thanks for posting the lavosh recipe!

Another good place for spices of all kinds is at the very large Asian grocery store at about 25th & Military in OKC...Super Cao Nguyen...I'll have to see how their sesame seeds are priced, too.

Sharon

The lavosh is very low fat, too. The only fat in that huge recipe which served 50 was 4 TBSP butter, so less than a quarter tsp per serving.

No one asked for my hummus recip but I am giving it to you anyway LOL. It's an adaptation of Alton Brown's Turbo Hummus, and it's very fast and easy. Fresh ingredients like fresh lemons and garlic make a big difference, so don't cut corners with bottles or jarred versions!

this recipe serves 8 and I quardrupled it for the fling. It takes 10 minutes to make.

Ingredients
4 to 6 cloves garlic
2 can garbanzo beans (chickpeas), one can drained, one can undrained
4 to 6 tablespoons tahini (I just grind my own sesame seeds into a paste in the food processor, it's cheaper and tastes fresher)
A couple handful fresh parsley leaves
2 lemons, zested and juiced
Pinch freshly ground black pepper
2 Pinches kosher salt
2/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil (I like mine with a little less oil and generally do 1/2 cup)

Directions
Chop the garlic finely in a food processor. Add the beans and the reserved liquid and process finely or to desired consistency. Add the tahini (sesame seed paste), parsley, lemon zest and juice, black pepper, and salt. Process until it forms a paste. Drizzle in the olive oil and process until it reaches the consistency of mayonnaise

Jo

Jo, I think I was taking the lazy route and sending you my request for the recipe telepathicly. I kept wondering why you hadn't posted it too. Thanks for picking up my signal. There is a famous Middle Eastern food store/restaurant in the Medical Center district of Houston. It's so famous I can't recall it's name LOL, but I could drive you there blindfolded. Your is as good as, if not better than, theirs. Thanks for sharing!

Seedmama

Seedmama- you asked if "Perhaps someone will share the salad, that looked like it had tiny black pearls and tiny black sprouts?"

I'm not sure if that is the grain salad I brought or not. I used "red" quinoa (pronounce "keen-wa")- it has a reddish brown color. It is a very small grain, which after it is cooked has little white "comma's" come off of the grain.

The salad had black beans, corn, onions, roasted poblanos, cherry tomatos, parsley (1 bunch), and cilantro (2 bunches) in it. Olive oil, apple cider vinegar, and lots of salt & lime were used to dress it. I can't give a recipe, because it changes each time I make it. Quinoa also makes great tabouleh, which is what I took to the Spring Fling last year.

Andria

Andria,
Thanks, that's the one. Commas are a good way to put it. I was coming up with other descriptions that were both less accurate and less appetizing. I can't wait to make it.

Jo,
Droubi's is the place in Houston. One of those holes in the wall that focuses on food, not atmosphere. Yum!

I told Priya to post recipe for Sesame Candy. -Chandra

Chandra - I hope you won't mind, but I went to our Seed Swap Thread from last fall and found the Sesame Square Recipe. I've saved it myself too.

"Here is one most simple Recipe for Sesame Squires (Till ki Chikki)

INGREDIENTS
250g Jaggery, its called Panela in Spanish (substitute Brown Sugar)
100g Roasted Black Sesame Seeds,
One tsp full Butter.

METHOD: Put butter and jaggary in pan cook for few minutes or until it caramelized then turn off the burner. Add roasted sesame seeds mix it well, greese the cake pan and spread think layer by patting, after little cool, cut it with pizza knife."

Tell our little Expectant Momma to just stay off her feet a few extra minutes. =) And give her a hug for me, too.

Paula

Paula,

Thank you so much for posting it here. This is recipe was what my mother told me. Priya confirmed she did follow same steps, she used both black and white sesame seeds and also peanuts.

Priya is doing fine, her friends are here for couple of days to take care of her. Another couples from Maryland visiting us next week, then her parents following week. So far all is well.

Cheers -Chandra

Chandra - I have to ask one more personal question and take this thread off topic one more time. I thought earlier that I had heard the twins were both boys, but my husband said one boy and one girl. Inquiring minds want to know!

Carol, yes your DH is right! its pink and blue...one boy and one girl! regards -Chandra