Homemade Chocolate Syrup

1 cup cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 dash salt
1 1/2 cups water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Combine all ingredients in a medium saucepan; boil 2-5 minutes, stirring, until sauce begins to thicken. Store in refrigerator.

NOTES
From Food.com.
So easy to make, so delicious. Much better than store-bought.

Banana Bread

3 - 4 bananas, mashed
1/3 cup melted butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp baking soda
pinch salt
1 1/2 cups flour

Preheat the oven to 350°F. With a wooden spoon, mix butter into the mashed bananas in a large mixing bowl. Mix in the sugars, egg, and vanilla. Sprinkle the baking soda and salt over the mixture and mix in. Add the flour last, mix. Pour mixture into a buttered 4x8 inch loaf pan. Bake for 1 hour. Cool on a rack. Remove from pan and slice to serve.

NOTES
From Simply Recipes.
THE best basic banana bread.

Tzatziki Sauce

8 oz plain yogurt
1 cucumber, shredded
juice from 1/2 lemon
1 - 2 tsp chopped fresh dill, or 1/4 - 1/2 tsp dried
1 - 2 cloves garlic, minced
salt and pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients; chill before serving. Serve with falafel, pita, fresh veggies, Greek food, meats, whatever you like.

NOTES
Adapted from various online recipes.
To reduce wateriness -- strain yogurt in a paper-towel lined strainer before making, and/or squeeze water out of shredded cucumber. Sometimes I skip these and it's still pretty good.

Falafel

1 can chickpeas, drained
1 onion, roughly chopped
1/2 cup fresh parsley
1/4 - 1/2 cup fresh cilantro
2 cloves garlic
1 egg
2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp salt
1 dash pepper
1 pinch cayenne pepper
1 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp baking powder
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 cup dry bread crumbs

In a large bowl mash chickpeas until thick and pasty; don't use a blender, as the consistency will be too thin. In a blender or food processor, process onion, parsley and garlic until smooth. Stir into mashed chickpeas.

In a small bowl combine egg, cumin, coriander, salt, pepper, cayenne, lemon juice and baking powder. Stir into chickpea mixture along with olive oil. Slowly add bread crumbs until mixture is not sticky but will hold together; add more or less bread crumbs, as needed. Form 8 balls and then flatten into patties.

Heat 1 inch of oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Fry patties in hot oil until brown on both sides.

Serve in a pita with tomatoes, cucumbers, spinach or lettuce, feta or goat cheese, onions, tzatziki sauce, or whatever you like.

NOTES
Adapted from Sean's Falafel on Allrecipes.com.
The best homemade falafel recipe I've tried.
The fresh herbs really make a huge difference in flavor.

Cassoulet

1 can white beans, drained and rinsed
1 onion, chopped (doesn't need to be small)
1 lb sausage
1 lb chicken legs
2 cans diced tomatoes
1 cup dry white wine
1 quart chicken stock
1 bay leaf
parsley
thyme
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 Tbsp tomato paste
3/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
2 carrots, peeled and cut crosswise into 1/4-inch slices

In a large skillet over medium-high heat, cook the onions and sausage; sauté them for 10 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove from pan and set aside.

Preheat the oven to 350F. Drain all but 4 tablespoons of the fat from the skillet. Brown the chicken legs in the skillet; remove from pan and set aside.

Combine the onions, sausage, chicken legs, tomatoes, wine, chicken stock, herbs to taste, garlic, tomato paste, 3/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper in a large casserole dish. Cover with a lid or foil, and bake the casserole for 25 minutes. Add the carrots to the casserole, cover, and bake for an additional 20 minutes.

Add the white beans to the hot casserole and gently stir the mixture. Bake, uncovered, for 1 hour. Discard the bay leaf and serve the cassoulet hot.

NOTES
Adapted from about.com.
My amounts of some ingredients didn't quite match the recipe but it still turned out tasty anyway.

Whiskey Butterscotch

1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
1/3 cup corn syrup
2 Tbsp butter
1 tsp sea salt
1/4 cup water
3/4 cup cream
3 Tbsp whiskey
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Combine brown sugar, corn syrup, butter, salt, and water in a medium pot. Bring to a simmer and cook until sugar dissolves, 2 to 3 minutes. Add cream and continue to simmer until sauce is thick and syrupy, about 12 minutes. Stir in whiskey and vanilla extract. Simmer three minutes more. Allow sauce to cool to room temperature. Transfer to jars. Sauce will keep for up to one month in the refrigerator.

NOTES
From Serious Eats.
Seriously delicious as an ice cream topping, coffee add-in, sauced over chocolate cake.
Took me much longer than 12 minutes to get the right consistency.
We also ate this for much longer than a month and it seemed fine to us.

Marcia's Pancakes

Mix:

1 cup rolled oats
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup cornmeal
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 Tbsp brown sugar

Add:

2 cups buttermilk
2 eggs
1/2 stick butter, melted

Stir together, cook over medium heat.

NOTES
From my friend Marcia.
Delicious hearty pancakes.
Plain yogurt works as a substitute for buttermilk.