I haven’t tried this yet, but wanted to post it here because it looks delicious. Originally appears in the September 2006 issue of “delicious”.

MAKES: 12 patties

INGREDIENTS:
400g canned chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1/2 small garlic clove, finely chopped (originally recipe calls for 1 full clove)
Small handful of chopped parsley
1 tsp Middle Eastern spice mix (or, 1 tsp each of ground coriander, cinnamon and ground cumin)
1 tsp paprika
2 tbs wholemeal flour, plus extra
1 egg
2 tbs uncooked rolled oats (add more if the mixture is too wet)
2 tbs cooked cous cous (not essential; it was leftover from last night’s dinner)
Large handful of cooked roast pumpkin (again, leftover from last night)
1/2 a small red onion, chopped
Olive oil for frying

METHOD:
Put all ingredients into a food processor and whiz until smooth. The mixture definitely shouldn’t be dough-like, but it shouldn’t be too wet that it falls apart easily.

Put some of the extra flour onto a plate and use an ice cream to scoop (even easier if you have a scoop that flicks out the balls) to make the patties. Flour your hands and dip the balls into the flour and shape them into rounds and flatten.

Fry over medium-high heat for about 3-4 minutes each side or until golden. When done, drain on a paper towel.

Ingredients
1 qt. (4 cups) milk

1 pkg. (4-serving size) JELL-O Butterscotch Flavor Instant Pudding & Pie Filling

1/2 cup vanilla ice cream, softened

1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

Preparation
PLACE all ingredients in large pitcher with tight-fitting lid; cover. Shake vigorously 1 minute or until well blended.

POUR evenly into 4 glasses. Serve immediately. (Mixture thickens as it stands. Thin with additional milk, if desired.)

Pumpkin Milkshake

Ingredients
4 ounces chilled canned pumpkin

1 1/2 cups cold low-fat milk

8 teaspoons sugar substitute

1/8 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon vanilla

Preparation
Mix well in electric blender. Top with a dash of cinnamon or nutmeg.

A side note: I made the third concoction recipe from my post about homemade chocolate syrup tonight, replacing the sugar with splenda, and it turned out alright. I may adjust the below recipe to use next time, as it should be creamier:

Homemade Hot Chocolate

Ingredients:
180-200g dark or milk chocolate (1 went with 2 bars of Lindt 75% dark as I wanted rich but not sweet)
1 1/2 cups boiling water
1 1/2 cups milk

Preparation:
1. Place chocolate in a small saucepan, then pour over 3/4 cup of boiling water over the chocolate and stir vigorously till the chocolate has melted and is smooth.

2. Stir in the rest of the water and milk, then heat over medium heat while whisking continuously till hot but not bubbling.

3. Serve immediately with some home-made marshmallows, or set aside and reheat just before serving!

Homemade Marshmallows

Ingredients:
2 tbsp + 1 1/4 tsp powdered plain gelatin
3/4 cup cold water
2 cups caster sugar
2/3 cup light coloured corn syrup
1 tbsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp salt
2 large egg whites
1 cup soft icing mixture*

* Soft icing mixture is different from pure icing sugar though they look the same. Pure icing sugar is regular white sugar that has been ground into a powder, whereas soft icing mixture is powdered sugar mixed with the same quantity of corn starch.

Preparation:
1. Line a 20cm x 15cm baking pan (or casserole dish) with cling wrap (plastic wrap), then cover with an even dusting of soft icing mixture, at least 1mm thick on the bottom and sides. If you prefer, you can spray the plastic with cooking spray instead (I just didn’t have any)

2. Sprinkle gelatin over 1/2 cup of water in a small bowl then set aside.

3. Combine 1/4 cup of water, 1 3/4 cups sugar and corn syrup in a large saucepan and place over a low heat to cook without stirring. Leave till temperature reaches 110 degrees C , then stir in the softened gelatin and stir in till well combined (mixture will go foamy).

4. While the sugars are cooking, beat the egg whites, salt and vanilla extract till foamy, then add the remaining 1/4 cup of sugar, 1 tbsp at a time, till stiff peaks form.

5. Gradually pour in the gelatin mixture into your meringue base, making sure to beat well after each addition, then beat for another 3-4 minutes or till mixture is very thick.

6. Pour mixture into the prepared dish, then dust the top with another layer of soft icing mixture. Place in the fridge for up to 8 hours, or till mixture is fairly firm to the touch and your finger springs back when you press it.

7. Dust your bench with more soft icing mixture as necessary, turn out the mixture and make sure that all surfaces are dusted and not sticky. Using a sharp knife, cut the block into 2cm squares. Dust the newly cut surfaces in more soft icing mixture, then store the batch in between sheets of baking paper in an air-tight container (in the fridge if you’re having warm weather).

Recipe #1

Ingredients

1 cup cocoa powder (unsweetened)
2 cups sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup cold water
1 tablespoon vanilla

Preparation
Combine cocoa and sugar and blend until all lumps of cocoa are gone. Add water and salt and mix well. Cook over medium heat, bringing it to a boil. keep boiling until thick, stirring to keep from overflowing. Remove from heat and let cool. When cool, add vanilla. This is great for chocolate milk, hot cocoa, and ice cream topping. Cost Analysis: (30 ounces) Store bought: $1.89 Homemade: 90

Recipe #2

(only slight variation)

Ingredients
1/2 cup cocoa
1 cup water
2 cups sugar
1/8 tsp salt
1/4 tsp vanila

Preparation
Mix cocoa and water in saucepan. Heat and stir to disolve the cocoa. Add sugar, stir to dissolve. Boil 3 min. Add salt and vanilla, pour into jar and store covered in fridge. Keeps several months.

Hershey’s Chocolate Syrup recipe

Ingredients
1/2 cup Hershey’s Cocoa
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Dash of salt

Preparation
Combine cocoa, sugar and salt in a saucepan. Add water, and mix until smooth. Bring this mixture to a boil. Allow it to boil for one minute, being careful that it does not boil over. Remove from heat and let cool. When cool, add vanilla extract.

Really they all sound essentially the same, but vary on size of ingredients for taste. Looks like some experimentation is in order.

It’s Mosquito Season. (I worked at Terminix far too long, I think)

Provided by my friend Renee. She has used this herself and says it works great and she was not bothered by mosquitos for at least 4 hours while outside.

As a base/carrier oil, you can use grapeseed, almond, jojoba, apricot kernel, or even olive oil.

(Yes this is the exact recipe, do not bug me about the amount of essential oils)
5 oz carrier oil

Essential oils:

1/2 oz citronella oil
1/2 oz texas cedarwood oil
1/2 oz eucalyptus oil
1/2 oz lemongrass oil
1/2 oz peppermint oil
1/2 oz neem oil

mix ‘em all together, shake before using. it can be put into a spray mister bottle.

She also mentions that Clove Oil and Tea Tree Oil mixed together (or experiment with the recipe above) also helps repel bugs.

An additional set of homemade recipes I found:

INSECT REPELLENT SPRITZER

Materials:
lemon peels and/or orange peels
mint leaves and/or pennyroyal leaves and/or sage leaves
rubbing alcohol or witch hazel

Directions:
(Note Do Not use penny royal if you are pregnant or wish to become so.)

Make a strong tea with the peels and the mint leaves. You can use each ingredient separately if you like or combine them to suit your sense of smell. Its best to soak the ingredients over night in a covered pan. The next day strain. Mix the strong herbal tea half and half with either witch hazel or rubbing alcohol and put in a spray bottle. Spray your self down before going outside in the evening.

INSECT REPELLENT OIL

Materials:
Salad oil of any kind (but olive is preferred)
lemon peels and/or orange peels
mint leaves and/or pennyroyal leaves and/or sage leaves
glass jar sterilized
pan to heal oil

Directions:
(Note Do Not use pennyroyal if you are pregnant or wish to become so.)

Place torn leaves and peels packed in a sterilized glass jar. Heat oil to 160 degrees F. Pour over herbal mixture in the jar to completely cover. Place top on, and let sit in a dark place for at least a week. A month is better. Rub this oil on before hikes or out side activities where one might sweat off a spritzer.

FLEA REPELLENT FOR DOGS

(NOTE: Do not use this on cats. Citrus is toxic to cats in large amounts.!!!)

Materials:
citrus peels
water
pan

Boil left over citrus peels in a pan of water. Pour over your dog after a bath rubbing into the coat. It will make your dog smell like an orange. It will kill fleas AND keep them off your pet.

Courtesy of GetRichSlowly. I’m all about the DIY techniques and recipes, naturally.

Ingredients:
1 chicken carcass with some skin/meat left on the bones
1 yellow onion with skin
2 carrots, ends trimmed off but not peeled
1-2 ribs celery, preferably with the leaves
1 bay leaf

Preparation:
Put the carcass in a 4-quart pot. Cut the onions, carrots and celery into a few large pieces and add to the pot. Cover with cool water. Bring the pot to a boil and then reduce heat to a slow simmer. Let it simmer away until you have about 1 quart of liquid left (about 90 minutes or so). Then cool slightly (for safety) and strain the stock into a freezer-safe container (be sure to leave room for expansion as it freezes). You can also let the broth to cool in the fridge so you can skim off the fat. Discard bones and vegetables.

Tips:
The onion skin adds a rich brown color to the stock as well as flavor. The celery leaves add a depth of flavor too. I sometimes keep a Ziploc bag of onion skins and celery leaves in the freezer so I will be sure to have them when I’m making stock.

The holy trifecta of carrots, onion and celery is what the French call mirepoix (pronounced “meer-pwah”), but feel free to experiment. If I have leftover scallions, parsley, shallots, turnips or other vegetables handy, in they go. There are no real rules for making stock — only guidelines.

Carrots add sweetness; reduce them if you like an even more savory stock.

Play with herbs and spices. Add a few peppercorns if you like a bit of spice. Thyme goes well if you’re using turkey bones. Think of what you’ll make with the stock and season accordingly.

I prefer to make my stock without adding salt (although there is some in the store’s spice mix) and then salt to taste later when I am using the stock in a recipe.

Set a timer to remind you to check the stock periodically.

If you’re in a climate where you can grow your own bay leaves, this recipe is even cheaper to make.

Toss the mirepoix in olive oil and then broil in the oven for a bit until just beginning to brown. This will give your stock an extra dimension of flavor and earthy fullness. This will also darken the stock so don’t do it if clear stock is needed for presentation.

Ingredients: (6 servings)
8 chamomile tea bags
6-1/2 cups water, divided
1 large red onion, chopped
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
3 large cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1-1/2 tbsp ground cumin
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper (option)
2 tbsp light or dark brown sugar, lightly packed
1 can (29 ounces) pumpkin
1 tbsp salt, or to taste
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
3/4 cup sour cream or plain yogurt, for garnish (optional)
Sliced chives, for garnish (optional)

Preperation:
1. Bring 4-1/2 cups water to a boil; pour over tea bags; cover; steep for 6 minutes; reserve.

2. Saute onion in oil over medium-low heat until soft, about 3 minutes. Stir in garlic, cumin, and cayenne, stirring constantly until mixture is aromatic, about 1 minute.

3. Stir in tea, remaining 2 cups water, pumpkin, sugar, and 1 tbsp salt. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until mixture reduces and lightly coasts the back of a spoon, about 20 minutes. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground pepper.

4. Serve in individual soup bowls. Garnish each with a dollop of sour cream or plain yogurt and sprinkle of chives.

Tips:
Use a heavy saucepan or soup kettle to prevent soup from scorching as it simmers.

I love cheese balls, and this recipe came from a friend of my mothers. I’ve made it several times over the years and have never tasted another cheese ball like it. This recipe is fairly moist, compared to a lot of the hardened commercial logs you’ll see.

Ingredients:
8 oz. Wisepride Cheese
8 oz. Philly Cream Cheese
1/2 tsp Worchestersture Sauce
1/2 tsp Chopped Parsley
1-2 tbsp sherry to moisten
Dash of onion salt
Dash of garlic powder
Pegans or other nuts (usually 1 bag per ball will do, I don’t like too many nuts on mine)

Prepare:
Mix all ingredients together except the nuts. Roll into a ball with your hands and then roll that into the nuts. The mixture will be fairly moist, so if you prefer it to be easier to handle, you may want to stick it in the fridge for a bit first. I personally like it moist and mushy while I roll it into the pecans.