Jelly Roll

This is an old-fashioned dessert that my mother made many times when I was a child. I made them for my children and my grandchildren get very excited when I make them for family dinner. I hope you will give it a try!
This is a basic recipe for vanilla cake and a jelly or jam. You can vary the flavor of the cake and the filling. There are thousands of recipes on the internet.

Jelly Roll
4 eggs, separated
2 tablespoons water
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
a pinch of salt
1 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
2/3 cup jam or jelly
powdered sugar

Heat oven to 375 degrees.
Line a jelly roll pan (sheet pan) with parchment or waxed paper. Grease the paper generously.
Beat the egg yolks and water together until smooth.
Add sugar, vanilla and salt and beat well.
Add flour and baking powder and beat until batter is smooth.
Beat egg whites until fluffy and fold into batter.Read More...

How To Cook Dried Beans

Dried beans are not used often enough! They are cheap, store for long periods of time, are nutritious, and are very easy to cook. There are hundreds of ways to use them and you can freeze them.
The key to cooking a successful pot of beans depends on two things: the age of your beans and knowing when to salt them. We will talk more about this later.
This simple stovetop method can be used for small, medium, or large beans such as the following:
Chickpeas (garbanzo beans)
Navy beans
Black-eyed peas
Black beans
Pinto beans
Great Northern beans
Lima beans
Red beans
Cannellini beans
This method will not work for lentils or split peas, which are not really beans, but are still in the legume family. Lentils cook much quicker than beans and don’t require pre-soaking.
Help! I've cooked these beans forever and they won't get soft!
The culprit probably isn’t the recipe or your cooking technique, but rather ...

Benefits of Gelatin and Collagen

Gelatin is the cooked form of collagen, which is found in animal bones and connective tissue. Gelatin contains lots of amino acids, which is why it has so many health benefits.
Bone broth is an excellent source of gelatin, but you can also find powdered gelatin sourced from grass-fed cows at your grocery store, at Costco, or online. Gelatin powder can be added to almost any recipe, including soups, stews, smoothies, coffee, and even DIY skin care recipes.
We recommend purchasing gelatin and collagen products from animals that have been grass-fed or pasture-raised, since these animals are healthier overall and are not raised using artificial hormones or antibiotics.
Going one step further, look for organic gelatin whenever possible to ensure the animals did not eat a diet that consisted of GMO grains or crops sprayed with chemicals. You also want to be careful about where you get your gelatin products from, especially beef gelatin, because you don’t want to be ex...

Easy Flatbreads

Flatbreads. Every culture has one – naan, pita, lavash, roti, tortillas, etc.
You can do so much with them! If you learn the technique for making them, you can make them all. There are many different recipes for making them, but this one is easy and uses no yeast. Plus the yogurt makes it soft and pliable.
This same recipe can be used as a wrap or as a base for pizza.
I prefer to use my griddle which fits over 3 burners, but a cast iron skillet will do fine. You can even cook these on the grill.

EASY FLATBREAD
Adapted from Julia Frey
Makes 8
300 grams or 2 1/3 cup all-purpose flour (you can also use whole wheat)
200 grams or scant 1 cup plain, full-fat yogurt
2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 tablespoon avocado oil for frying (optional)

Mix the flour, yogurt, baking powder and sea salt and knead lightly until a dough forms. The dough will be s...