Honey Garlic Sauce

Well, due to an issue of burning out my frying pan, I never got to make those wontons last night.   It was pretty bad.

I did, however, make the honey garlic sauce I had planned to use and boy is it yummy!  I made sure there was enough left for when I can chisel out my frying pan.  Maybe this will give me incentive to finally de-rust and season my cast iron skillet.

Note to self, a frying steak can turn on you in an instant!  Good thing the steak was still delicious and barely burnt at all!  My pan on the other hand.....

The best thing about this sauce is it retains most of it's goodness since it is not heated to a nutrient killing cooking temperature.  I don't know if it would still be considered raw by some standards but in any case, it's far more delicious and nutritious than the jarred stuff at the store or what they serve in a Chinese restaurant!

Honey Garlic Sauce

1 cup of water or beef broth
1/2 cup of raw honey (or more to taste)
2 or more large cloves of garlic , finely minced or grated
1tbsp molasses
1tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup water
1 heaping tbsp arrowroot powder/flour (or more if a thicker sauce is desired)

Honey garlic sauce on my basmati rice, veggies and steak,mmm!

Combine water/broth and honey in a small saucepan.  Stir well to mix and add garlic, molasses and Worcestershire sauce.  Heat at a low temperature until warmed.  Mix the second measure of water and arrowroot powder in a cup and add to the saucepan.  Keep stirring while it heats on low until it reaches desired consistency.

Cook Notes: I used water but I think it would be far better using beef broth.  The local garlic I use is huge.  Two cloves is half the bulb and is very potent so definitely adjust to taste!

Part of Simple Lives Thursday!

Soaked Dough Pizza and Garlic Fingers

Pizza is a favorite around here. It is one of my favorite foods to eat. Garlic fingers are right up there, especially with donair sauce!! It is a local thing but one which you must try! I can't find a good way to make donair sauce really healthy but it is something you wouldn't want to eat very often anyway.

Usually, I just use my normal bread dough for pizza. This time, I soaked it as I have been doing for my homemade bread. Here is how I do it:

Bread Machine Homemade Soaked Dough Pizza and Garlic Fingers

3.5 cups of whole wheat flour

1.5 cups of warm water

3-4 tablespoons kefir

Put these items in the bread machine and put on dough cycle. Let it work for the first cycle until it comes to the rest period then shut the machine off. I usually leave it right in there but you could also put it in a bowl and cover it to sit on the counter overnight.

The next day mix the following in a small bowl:

1/4 cup very warm water (not hot)

2 tablespoons honey

a sprinkle of salt

2 tablespoons olive oil

Stir well to dissolve the honey then sprinkle 2 tsp yeast on top. Let proof about 10 minutes. Put the bread machine back on the dough cycle and start. Slowly add the liquid ingredients, letting them mix in without sloshing around. When all the ingredients are worked into the soaked dough, let it knead until the first rest period then shut the machine off again. You can let it rise at this point but I usually start working it right away. I think it's more tender if you let it rise at least once before rolling out.

Grease two pizza pans or cookie sheets. This will make at least 3 12" round crusts so divide the dough into even portions and roll them into the desired shape. I usually freeze one to have on hand (either rolled out and frozen on a pizza pan or in just a lump).

For pizza, spread with pizza sauce or desired tomato based sauce (I usually use the kids favorite spaghetti sauce). Top with desired toppings and sprinkle with cheese.

For garlic fingers, spread with butter and top with grated mozzerella cheese and minced garlic that have been minced together. If you have a favorite garlic butter, use that and use less garlic.

Bake at 400 degrees until the tops are brown and bubbly. Slice the garlic fingers into long, thin slices and servegarlic fingers with donair sauce.

Another way that I make donair sauce is put half a cup each milk powder and sugar into a blender. Add 1/4 cup vinegar and 1/4 cup of boiling water as well as a tablespoon or two of sugar. Blend until well mixed (I sometimes have to adjust the ingredients but I can't remember exactly). The third way I've tried is a can of sweetened condensed milk with enough vinegar added to make it sweet but tart. Like I said, not ideal ingredients but best saved as a rare treat. I've tried making with natural sweeteners, but it is tricky to make and never tastes right.

Easy Garlic Cheese Sauce

Last night we had broccoli for supper and Mark always likes cheese on it. Shaylee said she would eat some if it had cheese on it. Ethan wouldn't touch it knowingly with a 10 foot pole. I wanted to get a little creative with the cheese instead of him just slapping a cheese slice on it (I keep them on hand for grilled cheese sandwiches).

In a small pot, place one cup of grated cheese and add a cup of milk. Add as much grated garlic as you care to have; for us, the more the merrier! I used 4 cloves. Stir over medium heat until the cheese is melted and it is starting to boil. Take it off the stove and add enough heavy cream until it is the consistency you desire (I added about a quarter of a cup). Serve over your veggies or anything you would like with a garlic cheese sauce.

I thought it was really yummy and told Ethan that it reminded me of garlic toast. Of course he then wanted garlic toast, so I put some of the garlic cheese sauce on bread and toasted it. He ate two pieces and wanted more!

After it cooled, it was the consistency of Cheez Whiz. If wanted, you could leave out the garlic and use it in place of that. A good way to avoid the fakiness of the processed stuff.

So a simple cheese sauce that makes a great topping for garlic cheese toast and possibly has lots of other uses. Very easy!