Kitchen Experiments

I usually keep a running list of recipes I want to try.  Most weeks I include at least one new recipe in my plans.  Other times I am on a roll and knock several off my list.  I try to experiment on the weekends when I have a bit more time to spend in the kitchen and Ross is here to help watch the little ones.  Here are some of the recipes I have tried recently:

whole wheat noodles - These were pretty thick, but turned out okay.  I was quite proud of myself for trying this out!  Lucy and Julia didn't love them, so I think I need to try again with a different grain.  (soft white wheat?  spelt?)

Tammy's butter spread - This is an easy recipe to whip up.  Having spreadable butter ready in the fridge is nice, but the taste is a bit more watered down than I like.  I'm going to experiment with this some more and tweak the recipe a bit, maybe add less water.

Italian dressing - Success!  I have tried several different homemade Italian dressing recipes and we never really liked them.  This one was a success this week.

fajita seasoning - I can't remember where I found this recipe, I hope I still have it written down!  Instead of buying expensive seasoning packets, I made my own fajita spice mix.  It worked well, and although I didn't do the price breakdown, I think its cheaper.  At least I can now make fajitas without having to have a spice packet on hand.

toasted spelt cereal - I picked up this recipe from some people that sell flour at our farmer's market.  It looked good in theory, but actually was a big flop.  The recipe did not include baking times, and no matter how long I toasted the crumbled cake it refused to crisp up.

kefir- A friend gave me some kefir grains last week.  I'm happy to say that I have kept them alive so far.  We've used kefir in smoothies and for soaking grains.  I tried making ranch dressing with kefir, but it was about the nastiest thing I've ever tasted.

soaking - Ideally, the majority of the grains that we eat would be soaked or sprouted.  I have never actually done this very much, aside from soaked baked oatmeal.  Now that I have an unlimited supply of kefir, I've tried soaking a few things this week.  Even if I don't soak a recipe for the recommended time, some soaking is better than none.  I soaked some cornbread and then later read that cornmeal has to be soaked differently, lol.  Oh well.

I still have a long list of recipes that I want to try!  How about you?  Do you often experiment with new recipes?