Kitchen Cleaning For A New Year

Rosh Hashanah is upon us and that means a new year, along with sweeping out the old. For other this transitional time, it means evaluating the summer foods and ingredients. Get rid of the old,  and prep the pantry and fridge for fall ingredients.

Summer is all about the barbecue sauce. If it's still warm where you are,keep on grilling. The stuff can last anywhere between six to twelve months, depending upon its' composition. However it can also be used instead of ketchup for burgers and fries.Yet it can be added in meat loaf ,meat  balls and hamburgers. It gives the meat a sweet tang and a spicy bite, which takes ground beef out of the ordinary .Another idea of what to do with barbecue sauce is adding it to shredded pork for pulled pork or leftover roast chicken  for a take on the first.This makes a great Saturday lunch, perfect with potato chips or a scoop of potato salad.Barbecue sauce also can be a key ingredient in homemade baked beans.If you bought jerk sauce for spicier outdoor fare, you can still use it  in a variety of dishes.Like barbecue sauce it has a shelf life of anywhere from six months to a year. Add to a chicken stew for some bite and excitement or even to tomato sauce to create a Caribbean version of arrabiata  sauce.

If you have a garden, then you know about end of the season overage.Luckily tomatoes can be  turned into sauce that can easily be stored in freezer.It can also be turned into salsa and even jam.What is great about tomato jam or jelly is that it also uses green tomatoes,This is perfect if you're cleaning out the garden and have a few stragglers.Summer's herbs, especially basil can still be used or ground into pesto.If you've made several containers of the sauce, remember that it can be added to tomato sauce and even mayo.Try a pesto flavored potato salad or hummus for a different take. Make an Italian BLT with pesto mayonnaise and subbing in pancetta for the bacon.Pesto also highlights seafood and fish, Consider serving mussels with the sauce or add it to a tuna and white bean pasta sauce. That sweet summer treat, ice cream, is probably sitting in the freezer.It has one of the shortest shelf life of any summer food - two to three months only.If eating it on a chilly day gives you the shivers ,consider serving it with a hot fudge or hot caramel sauce. Smuckers has some great toppings that can easily be warmed in the microwave. Another way to get rid of it, is adding a blob of it to hot coffee for a different take on a latte.Or put it between Nilla or chocolate wafers for mini ice cream sandwiches (for a bigger bite, use the monster cookies from your local bakery)

It's a new year and a new season. Get rid of the old summer ingredients and make way for the fall..There will be more room for what's ahead.

Make Your Own Cool Treats

Nothing beats an ice cream sandwich or a Popsicle during these hot days. By now , though, it's getting tiresome munching on the same kinds . What to do to liven up those treats? Make your own. Creating your own special one that is not only fun but tasty too.

One of the easiest cool treats to make is the Popsicle.It's probably the first recipe we ever tried making, thanks to pouring a favorite drink into a paper cup and then sticking a stick in it. You can still make them, using a popsicle tray. This can be found at any grocery store or even Target or K-Mart. Fill with your favorite juice or even soda for a fizzy frozen kick. You can also make an ice cream soda and then freeze it for something different. If you're into healthy , then juice fresh fruit and turn those into pops. Add the pulps and flesh for some texture too.If you want something exotic then try the Mexican paletas. These are pureed fruit pops and can be made with any kind of fruit from strawberries to blueberries to bananas. You can even make a refreshing pina colada flavor using pureed fresh pineapple. Pudding is another ingredient that is great for pops. Try one of the Hershey's dark chocolate ones to make an ultra rich Fudgesicle. Add mint for even more decadence.If you're looking for another healthy alternative try freezing yogurt into the molds. Make parfaits by alternating layers of fresh fruit and vanilla yogurt.

Ice cream sandwiches are another hot weather favorite. Take your favorite cookie and add your choice of ice cream. To amp it up buy those big sugar or chocolate chip cookies from your local bakery and sandwich any flavor of  gelato between them. You can also bake cookies ,such as shortbreads or chocolate chip and fill with homemade ice cream. There are cookbooks such as Vegan Ice Cream Sandwiches by Kris Holchek Peters that offer great recipes that combine these scratch cookies with homemade ice cream.For something a little less caloric use graham crackers . Crush up extra ones for decorating the middle. Ice cream cake is another treat and surprisingly easy to make.In fact .you can even make one using  store bought ice cream sandwiches.It's layering them with just ice cream and then topping it off with an "icing" of crushed chocolate wafers. You can also bake a regular cake and use ice cream as the filling and frosting. This is a nice idea for a summer birth day cake.You can also do the same with cupcakes by splitting them in half and filling them with ice cream and then add a blob of ice cream on top for decoration.

Homemade cool treats are not only fun to eat but fun to make. Be creative as you combine favorite flavors for a tasty way  to beat the heat. Lower the temps with a fresh popsicle or a slice of ice cream cake.

Easy Summer Birthday Cakes

Summer birthdays are always fun.There's barbecues, sangria, and of course cake.The only problem with the last is baking is not fun even in air conditioning.The best idea while keeping it homemade is easy to make no bake cakes.These are fun and just as yummy as the baked and iced kind. One of the easiest and tastiest are the Jello No Bakes.These consist of a quick crust or base, a mousse like center and creamy toppings.There are easy cheesecakes ,including a home style and cheryl one.You can customize them by adding either melted or solid chocolate chips along with adding slivered or ground almonds to the crust.There's also a fun peanut butter cup cake and and Oreo flavored one too.These are wonderful ends to any party and take fifteen minutes at best to just whip up and assemble.These can also be made into cupcakes by making the dessert in muffin tins. Jello itself has a slew of no bake cake recipes that would make the perfect birthday cake.Try layering different varieties of Jello to create an airy but flavorful confection.Cream cheese plays a big part in creating a no bake treat.You can blend it with Cool Whip and other flavors such as chocolate or citrus to create an airy and light slice.Start with either a simple Graham cracker or ground cookie crust as the first layer, then add the cream cheese and cream mix.Decorate with fruit slices or chocolate curls depending on what you ,'ve made. Refrigerator cakes are another fun summer birthday treat.One of the most easiest and the most elegant is the chocolate wafer log.This is a no brainer to create.Just take those famed chocolate wafer cookies and layer them on their side, using the topping as "mortar"to glue together.You can use chocolate Cool Whip for pure decadence .You can even add a side of bananas or cut strawberries to cut the intense flavor.Another icebox cake is the classic Nilla wafers with a custardy cream.The original recipe calls for raw eggs but if you're having qualms about this omit them and just used whipped topping mixed with pineapple and any kind of nut meats.A variation of this is a dessert loaf made with condensed milk and the addition of raisins .Icebox cakes can also be made with crushed graham crackers.Layer the crackers and then heap on layers of CoolWhip and fresh fruit such as sliced peaches.For a quick spin on the classic Brown Derby cake, alternately layer chocolate Graham crackers, whipped topping and slices of bananas and strawberries.Reserved some crackers to be crushed and sprinkled on top of the cake.You can also do a home made ice cream cake this way too.Layer the crackers with softened ice cream for a really special treat. Summer birthdays need a summer cake.Whip up a cool airy creation ,perfect for a balmy nice.It's not only a greatbway to end a special birthday meal but also to celebrate a summer baby.