Colorado Cowboy Cookies

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 cups of old fashioned oats

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

½  teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 sticks of unsalted butter, room temperature

2/3 cups firmly packed dark brown sugar

2/3 cups sugar

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

1 ½ cup of semisweet chocolate chips

1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 350 F.

Mix the first 6 dry  ingredients to blend.

Beat the butter and sugars until fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla to combine.

Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture and mix to blend.

Stir in chocolate chips and nuts.

Cover dough and chill 1/2 hour or overnight.

Form dough into ball, using ¼ cup for each ball. Place on cookie sheet and flatten to 2 inch rounds. Space the rounds 2 inches apart.

Bake at 350 F for 14 minutes or until brown of the edges.

Note: at 7500 Feet (altitude) I modified the recipe by reducing the baking soda to ½ tsp.

Cucumber Beet Salad

Ingredients:

2 cups of Water

1 cup Quinoa or Couscous

3 Green Onions Chopped

½ Cup Chopped Mint

½ Cup Flat-Leaf Parsley

2-3 Beets Cubed

1-2 Cucumbers Cubed

For the Dressing:

4 tablespoons Lemon Juice

2 tablespoons Olive Oil

1 1/2 teaspoon Cumin

1 teaspoon Salt

1/2 teaspoon Black Pepper

Pinch of Cayenne Pepper

Instructions:

v Wrap the beets in foil and bake in a 450 F oven for 30 to 60 mn. Unwrap, let cool enough to handle and peel. Cut beets in small cubes.

v Bring the water to a boil. Add quinoa stir, cover, reduce to simmer. Cook until quinoa is soft and water is absorbed (25-30mn). Let cool. (Alternately drop 2 cups of Couscous in  4 cups of boiling water.)

v Whisk the ingredients for the dressing in a large bowl.

v Add the onions, mint, parsley, beet, and cucumber to the bowl with the dressing. Mix well.

v Stir in the quinoa/couscous and set aside in the fridge (or a room temperature)  to blend the flavors.

Beet Pizza

Ingredients: 

1 bunch of kale or Swiss chard,

1 bunch of leeks,

1 tbsp of butter

2 medium beets,

3 tbsp homemade pesto,

¾ cup of feta cheese,

1 cup of grated fontina or mozzarella

Milled pepper,

1 large homemade pizza dough,

Instructions:  Preheat the oven to 450 F.

1.     Make pizza dough and let it rest for at least 2 hours until doubled. Spread the dough in a pizza pan.

2.     Meanwhile place the beets in an ovenproof dish with ½ cup of water. Baked at 350 for one hour or until tender.

3.     Meanwhile, use a frying pan to sauté the leeks in 1 tbsp of butter until golden.

4.     Wash the kale and remove the stem. Cut in strips 1 to 2 in. wide. Add the kale to the leeks. Cook covered at low heat until just wilted (up to 5 min).

5.     Spread 2-3 Tbsp of pesto over the surface of the pizza dough.

6.     Spread the fontina or mozzarella over the pesto.

7.     Peel and cut the beets into thin slices. Spread uniformly over the cheese.

8.     Spread the leek-kale mixture over the beets.

9.     Sprinkle the pizza with pepper (to taste)

10.                        Sprinkle the pizza with the feta cheese.

11.                        Bake at 450 F for 20-22 min or until the crust is golden. Cover with foil if the cheese cooks too fast.