Dinner Rolls and Salsa

Was able to make 2 of my favorite recipes this week, and thought I would share!

The first is my all-time favorite dinner rolls, based on 2 different recipes from my mom. I was excited to find (for the first time) organic whole wheat bread flour at Giant last weekend. I have never used bread flour but hoped that it might counteract some of the "heaviness" of using whole wheat flour. And bonus that it was organic! (Wheat is one of the most highly used genetically modified crops, along with soy and corn, so try to buy those organic if at all possible!) My next task will be to try my Pinch Me Bread recipe but with using this basic dough recipe, but using yogurt instead of cottage cheese/sour cream and leaving out the oregano! I might even add a dash of vanilla for good measure, or use vanilla yogurt. I'll be sure to post how it turns out!

Cottage Herb Rolls

1 pk yeast
1/2 c warm water (I used water as hot as it would get from the tap)
2 1/2 c organic whole wheat bread flour
1/8 c Sun Crystals
oregano (didn't really measure for this one- if you want a stronger herb flavor, use more, if less or no herb flavor desired, use less!)
1/3 c organic raw wheat germ
1 c sour cream (or you can use cottage cheese, but I didn't have any so I used sour cream)
1 egg
Small amount of olive oil

Dissolve the yeast in water and set aside as you prep other ingredients. Turn on oven to 200 degrees. Once it is done heating, turn off.
In large bowl mix flour, sugar, oregano, wheat germ, sour cream and egg. Add yeast/water mixture. If consistency seems a little dry, add a small amount of olive oil. Knead on floured surface until smooth (about 5 minutes). Place in bowl sprayed with nonstick spray, set in dough and cover with tea towel dampened with hot water and set in oven 30-40 minutes. Wait patiently (or not so much like me!)

I did not roll out the dough once it was done rising, just use my handy Autie Anne's pretzel dough cutter and cut off small amounts of dough at a time while it was in the bowl. Form the dough into an oval shape, lightly coat with olive oil and fold over like a clam and place in a glass baking dish coated with nonstick spray like
this one:

Continue until all the dough has been used, it was a tight squeeze for the 8x8 pan, but a 9x13 would probable have been too large. Besides, they look cute once they bake and get all puffed up in the pan. I meant to take a picture of that, but, well, let's just say these rolls don't last too long around here! Bake at 350 for 20-30 minutes or until starting to lightly brown on top. They also reheat well wrapped in foil in the oven or wrapped in a damp paper towel in the microwave.

Update: Here are the rolls but made with cottage cheese instead of sour cream (and still in the pan :)

Sweet Veggie Dip (based on a recipe from my friend Danette. When I first saw it, I thought it looked disgusting but completely fell in love with the recipe, and it also opened my taste buds up to the joys of green peppers!)

2 cans organic black eyed peas (drained)
2 cans organic corn (drained)(the original recipe calls for shoe peg corn but I have not been able to find that organic and it tasted fine with sweet corn)
1 large organic green pepper (chopped)
1/2-1 large organic purple onion (chopped)
1 jar pimentos (drained) (I have not been able to find organic pimentos yet)

Mix all ingredients and set aside

Combine the following ingredients for marinade:
1/4 c Sun Crystals
1/2 c apple cider vinegar
1/2 c olive oil
1 tbsp Tiger Sauce (This is tricky to find, it is in a glass bottle usually with the hot sauces or steak sauces. It is not organic, but with such a small amount used for the batch, I let it slide.)

Pour marinade over veggies and mix well. Best if chilled overnight. The excess marinade can be drained. This is great on salad instead of dressing or with organic tortilla chips. It makes a meal all by itself!