Author Archives: cookingwithcandi

Fresh Basil Pesto

Posted on August 30, 2015 | Leave a comment
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Chicken and Pesto on the Grill

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Pasta Pesto

The original recipe for this delicious pesto appeared back in May 2011 on Cooking with Candi.  Yummy Pesto was the title. This is the same recipe from my BFF Suki. I have tried many pesto sauces and this remains my absolute go to favorite. It is super easy and while the basil is abundant you should make it and freeze it. When you freeze the pesto in a container, pour a thin layer of olive oil over the top . I have it frozen for up to 3 months. I use it on chicken, pasta, and it’s wonderful as a spread. This recipe is good for 2 lbs. of pasta usually. So I use 1/2 and freeze the rest if it’s just the 2 of us.

Pesto Chicken on the Grill with Grilled Peppers and Roasted Sweet Potatoes

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Fresh Basil

If you are going to use on chicken , just brush on the chicken sprinkle a tiny bit of  kosher salt on it and  let it marinate for a few hours at least and it can be marinated  overnight in the refrigerator. Take it out of fridge and let it sit at room temp. before putting on the grill. That’s it!

*You’ll need a food processor

Ingredients:

2 cups fresh basil (washed)

1/2 cup romano cheese (grated)

1/2 cup parmesan cheese ( grated)

1/2 cup pignolli nuts or walnuts

1 cup extra virgin olive oil–use a good one

1 – 3 tablespoons of unsalted butter (it’s good if the butter is softened before adding) you can soften in microwave

4 cloves garlic – peeled and whole

freshly ground black pepper–to taste

*kosher salt to taste if you feel you need it after finished making pesto

Directions:

I put all ingredients except for olive oil in the food processor. Give it a few grinds using the blade attachment. Then I slowly add in the olive oil through the top of processor while it’s on. Beautiful green pesto! so easy. Taste for salt and pepper

Cook pasta and drain and add pesto. Done!

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S’Mores Baked in the Oven

Posted on August 27, 2015 | 1 comment

IMG_8638IMG_8636IMG_8639 IMG_8641 IMG_8642IMG_8634 IMG_8633 IMG_8632Oh Wow!!! what could be better??? truly easy and very little fuss , perfect with the kids and perfect for the adults. Very rich and gooey. Whole thing takes about 40 minutes from start to finish and you can re-heat the sliced bars in the microwave for about 30 seconds if you have some left-over. It’s great for a large group and I would say about 12-15 servings here. Let’s hold on to the last few weeks of summer with this delicious dessert.

For a very traditional s’mores taste eat immediately, I think they tasted a little better after they cooled down for a bit. Whichever way you prefer them –this is a great recipe for a crowd. You can prepare first and then pop in the oven while you are having dinner. Enjoy!

*also I was able to obtain these amazing square marshmallows in the supermarket, if you see them –grab them otherwise just regular old marshmallows will do the trick.

Ingredients:

Crust:

18 graham crackers

1/4 cup granulated sugar

pinch of salt

8 Tablespoons unsalted butter-melted

*parchment paper — I think you’ll want to work with it for this recipe–it can get difficult once they harden to get them out of pan. Clean up was a snap with it.

Topping:

3 extra-large Hershey Bars (or 7 regular-size ones)

24 jumbo marshmallows–look for the large square ones

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Lightly grease a 9×13 Pyrex type baking pan with cooking spray and then line with parchment paper , allow an extra couple of inches of paper to hang over the edge.

In the food processor bowl, pulse the graham crackers until they are finely ground. Transfer the crumbs to a medium-sized bowl.

Add the sugar and salt to the graham crackers and stir to combine. Add the melted butter and stir until the crumbs are moistened. Pour the crumb mixture into the prepared pan and press into an even layer.

Bake the crust for about 10 minutes or until the edges turn lightly golden. Let the crust cool off completely before adding chocolate. I probably let it sit off heat for about 1/2 hour.

Arrange the chocolate bars (see picture) evenly on the top of cooled crust, I had to remove 1 row of chocolate to fit it in pan and left a little uncovered crumbs around edges. Arrange the marshmallows on top of the chocolate, leaving a little space between each one (see photos) Marshmallows will expand slightly.

Bake until the chocolate is soft and beginning to melt, and the marshmallows are evenly toasted on top. Probably about 10-15 minutes depending on your oven.

I couldn’t wait to eat them but I would suggest letting them cool off for  a little bit, cutting was easier when it cooled down ( after 15-20 minutes) I was able to cleanly cut slices. It’s more like campfire s’mores when you eat them hot out of the oven and certainly messier.

You can re-heat the sliced bars in the microwave for about 20-30 seconds. If you are keeping them , cut them and store individual slices.

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Yellow Tomato Gazpacho

Posted on August 24, 2015 | 1 comment

Here is a quick easy yellow tomato gazpacho made from beautiful heirloom tomatoes readily available now. I would also suggest looking at my other gazpacho recipe titled “Farm to Table Gazpacho” it is a more traditional take on gazpacho. You can add different ingredients but this is a delicious simple one for you! Enjoy the last days of summer!

cookingwithcandi's avatarCooking with Candi

photo 4 (3)photo 4 (2)I had purchased the most beautiful yellow  tomatoes and figured I would make gazpacho. Gazpacho is by far one of my most favorite summer time soups.  This one is fairly smooth.  Before serving I added  avocado and served with tortilla chips for a wonderful most satisfying meal. This is also super easy and you’ll look like a pro if you just follow these easy directions. You’ll need a decent blender and a few easy to obtain ingredients and you have a wonderful additional to any meal or a nice light lunch. This time I used beautiful yellow tomatoes, you can use any color you’d like and you can use any kind of tomato from the small grape or cherry tomatoes to the larger ones.  The yellow tomatoes with the flecks of jalapeno made a strikingly beautiful soup.photo 2 (3)photo 2I have another recipe titled “Farm to Table Gazpacho” it’s more of a traditional gazpacho! I…

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Frozen Lemonade Pie

Posted on August 22, 2015 | 4 comments

IMG_8219Just to start out with this disclaimer , this could be the most fattening thing I have ever made. Delicious but wow!!!! What the heck it’s dessert right? Dessert could and should be decadent or else you can have a piece of fruit. Well now that I made my disclaimer on to the good news. It’s quick, super-easy , pretty inexpensive and tastes pretty amazing. Just make certain that your ingredients are very cold and the lemonade comes directly out of the freezer. You can buy a prepared graham cracker crust if you don’t want to bother making one–I give you absolute permission to do so. Just make sure that the whole pie gets eaten because you don’t want this pie hanging out in your freezer–it can get dangerous.

And no baking!!!!!!!

Ingredients:

1 14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk, chilled

1 6 ounce can frozen lemonade concentrate (small can)

12 ounce whipped topping, thawed–I guess you can go light with this but giving all the other ingredients you may as well go full throttle.

1 prepared graham cracker crust (available in the baking aisle of almost every supermarket I know)

Directions:

Beat condensed milk with an electric mixer. Add Lemonade directly from freezer and beat until very thick.

Fold in whipped topping with a spatula until just folded in.

Pour into crust and freeze.

Remove from freezer 1/2 hour prior to serving.

I placed some berries on top or you can use a piece of lemon or lime for decoration.

Enjoy this one!!!!

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Chopped Vegetable Salad

Posted on August 15, 2015 | Leave a comment

FullSizeRender (2)FullSizeRenderI was having a dinner party and thought this would be a perfect addition to my menu. It contained fresh  vegetables and a salad all in one! Perfect side dish served right along with dinner. Of course you can add a protein and make this the meal which would be ever so perfect. Perfection in a bowl. This is what I did and what veggies I used, feel free to use the vegetables you would love. These were the quantities that worked perfectly though. I won’t lie it took some prep for this and a good idea would be to chop a lot of the veggies ahead of time and have them ready. Avocado and lettuce must be added right before serving though. Dressing and veggies can be made ahead of time .

*I served as a side dish and it was generous for about 6 -8 servings , if you’re using for a main probably 4-6.

*Original Recipe from O Magazine–I made a few changes

Ingredients:

Dressing:

2 Tbsp. red wine vinegar

1 Tbsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 Tbsp. Dijon Mustard

1 garlic clove–minced

1/2 tsp. kosher salt plus a little more to taste at the end

1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper plus more to taste at the end

1/4 cup good extra-virgin olive oil

Salad:

1/2 lb. green beans, trimmed and cut into small pieces — about 1/2″

2 medium carrots, cut into small pieces

3 ears of corn, cut kernels off cobs

1/2 pint small cherry or grape tomatoes cut in 1/2

2 ribs celery, cut into small pieces , about 1/2″ pieces

1 red bell pepper, cored and cut into small pieces , also about 1/2″ size

1/3 cup finely chopped red onion

1 head romaine , chopped

1 large ripe avocado, peeled, pitted and diced

1/4 cup finely grated Parmesan Cheese

Directions:

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.

Meanwhile in a large bowl, whisk together vinegar, lemon juice, mustard, 1/2 tsp. kosher salt, garlic, and 1/4 tsp. black pepper. Lastly, whisk in the oil slowly. Set aside.

When water comes to a boil, add cut up green beans and carrots to boiling water and cook until tender, about 5-6 minutes. Add corn and cook a couple of minutes more. Drain in a colander and rinse under cold water, let veggies completely cool down. I let them sit till they were completely cool. Give vinaigrette a quick whisk, and add veggies to the bowl. Add in the tomatoes, celery , bell pepper and onion and toss well. Set aside and let marinate for at least 1/2 hour. I probably let it sit in marinade for about an hour.

Right before serving, add chopped romaine, avocado and parmesan . Taste for salt and pepper and add as needed. Toss gently to combine.

Serve immediately.

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Posted in corn, Salad, salad dressing, tomatoes, vegetables, vegetarian

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Blueberry-Banana Muffins

Posted on August 7, 2015 | 1 comment

Love blueberries and love bananas. Blueberries are abundant now and super delicious . Bananas are always around and I always buy too many and need to figure out what to do with the rotten bananas. I realize there are a lot of ingredients in these muffins and just measuring it all out was a task, but I enjoyed it and it was well worth it. I will freeze a few for when I am in the mood for them but not in the mood to bake them. The recipe yielded exactly 12 decent sized muffins, in one pan.  This muffin mix is perfect, not too sweet which makes for a perfect breakfast muffin or snack muffin. I used buttermilk ( low fat) couldn’t find non fat , but if you can feel free to use it here. There are 2 eggs but no butter and only 1/4 cup of canola oil . The buttermilk allows you to cut way back on the butter and the oils. These muffins worked out perfectly.

Ingredients:

3/4 cups nonfat or low-fat buttermilk ( I used low -fat b/c I couldn’t fine nonfat)

3/4 cups packed light brown sugar

1/4 cups canola oil

2 large eggs (room temperature, and I used my little trick because I decided to bake at the last minute) just let the eggs sit in warm water for 1/2 hour.

1 cup mashed ripe bananas ( I used 2 medium sized bananas)

1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour

1 cup all purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt ( regular table salt)

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 1/4 cup blueberries

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. I sprayed a 12 cup muffin pan with baking spray ( and they came out perfectly) you can also line with paper liners if you like.

Whisk together the buttermilk, brown sugar, oil and eggs in a large bowl. Stir in the mashed bananas.

In another bowl, whisk whole-wheat flour all -purpose flour, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda, salt and nutmeg.

Fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and stir until just combined . Fold in the blueberries. Divide the batter into the 12 cup muffin pan till full.

Bake until the tops are golden brown and a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean.

I baked for 25 minutes.

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Mediterranean Shrimp –Roasted with Feta

Posted on August 7, 2015 | Leave a comment

IMG_8507 IMG_8500IMG_8506IMG_8493 IMG_8497 IMG_8494 IMG_8498 IMG_8486 IMG_8487 IMG_8490Most outstanding shrimp recipe from Ina Garten. All the tastes of the Mediterranean in one dish. It’s roasted shrimp with feta, fennel, tomatoes, lemons, Pernod,  wine and other good things. This was really so very delicious we ate it 2 nights in a row. It doesn’t need rice or pasta but if you’re having 6 people you can stretch it by adding the starch.  I used 1 1/4 lbs.  of shrimp and we had dinner for 2 nights. It was the first time making recipe so I wanted to use the right amount of ingredients. You can easily cut this in half for two people. This recipe as is will generously serve 4.

There are a lot of ingredients and I had to buy a bottle of Pernod but don’t let this discourage you.  You’ll also need a 12″ heavy ovenproof skillet and there is a lot of prep but you’ll look like a pro when this dish comes out of the oven. It really wasn’t difficult and have your fish store prepare shrimp. (Peel and de-vein) if you’d like you can leave tails on but I didn’t and it was perfectly fine.

Ingredients:

4 tablespoons olive oil, divided into 2 tablespoons each

1 1/2 cups medium-diced fennel

3 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 cup dry white wine

1 14 1/2 oz. can diced tomatoes

2 teaspoons tomato paste

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 Tablespoon Pernod ( available in most liquor stores)

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 1/2 lbs ( app. 16 per pound) peeled and de-veined shrimp ( I prefer Mexican White and can usually obtain them) Talk to your local Fish Store.

4 -5 ounces good feta cheese, coarsely crumbled

1 cup fresh bread crumbs , yes I made them myself in the food processor–just throw 3 slices of white bread into food processor with crusts on and chop! it’s so much better than store-bought, just saying.

3 Tablespoons minced fresh parsley

2 lemons–1 for zesting and juicing and 1 cut into wedges to serve with dish

Directions:

Prepare shrimp and set aside, I like to place clean shrimp on paper towels to dry them before cooking.

Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees.

Spray 12″ skillet with cooking spray for easier clean-up. Heat 2 Tablespoons of olive oil over medium-low heat. Add the chopped fennel and sauté for about 10 minutes, until the fennel is softened. Add the garlic and cook for a quick minute. Add the wine and bring to a boil, scraping up any brown bits for about 2-3 minutes and the liquid is reduced by about half. Add the tomatoes with their liquid, tomato paste , oregano, Pernod, Salt and Pepper to the skillet. Simmer over medium-low heat , stirring occasionally, for about 15 minutes.

While the shrimp is cooking combine the bread crumbs, parsley, and lemon zest with the remaining 2 Tablespoons of Olive Oil and set aside.

Turn off the heat and arrange the shrimp (see photo) in one layer over the tomato mixture in the skillet. Scatter the feta evenly over the shrimp. Then sprinkle the bread crumb mixture over the shrimp.

Bake in 400 degree oven for app. 15 minutes, until the shrimp are cooked and the bread crumbs are golden brown. (you can cut into a shrimp and make sure it’s opaque at this time)

Remove from oven and squeeze the juice of 1 lemon (I used zested lemon) over the shrimp. Serve hot with the remaining lemon cut into wedges.

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Summer Salad–Farm Fresh Farro

Posted on August 3, 2015 | Leave a comment

photo 5 (4)photo 4 (65)photo 2 (69)photo 3 (4)During the summer months in Colorado I am usually outdoors on a hike or my bike and while out there I can’t help but be inspired by all the beauty surrounding me here in the mountains. One of the things I often think about while out there is what I am going to make for dinner. Our daughter Kerri was out here visiting and while she is out here I am always on the search for some new vegetarian recipes to try out.  The inspiration for this salad came from some beautiful radishes from the farmers market and some fresh sugar snap peas. During the summer months with all the beautiful fresh vegetables available it’s super easy to throw together these salads. The fresh parmesan pieces give it the extra kick and salt it needs, use as much or as little as you like. I prefer pearled farro for this recipe.

*original recipe from Jessica Seinfeld website Do it Delicious

Ingredients:

1 cup pearled farro

1 cup sugar snap peas

4 large radishes

2 scallions

1/4 cup mint leaves loosely packed

1/4 cup parmesan pieces

3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

Follow directions on the box of farro or fill a saucepan to about an inch from the top. Bring to a boil, and add the farro and cook until tender but still chewy, about 10 minutes. Drain in a strainer and run under cold water to cool down. Drain out excess water and let sit while you prep the rest of the salad.

Wash the snap peas and radishes. Remove the stems from the snap peas, cut them crosswise into 1/2″ pieces and add to a medium bowl. Trim the stems off the radishes and remove the root ends. Slice the radishes in half , then slice crosswise into thin half moons. Add the radishes to the bowl. Trim the ends of the scallions, wash and then slice the white and light green parts of the scallions into small rounds. Add to the bowl. Tear the mint leaves and add to the bowl. Take the parmesan and crumble into the bowl, you can use your hands or a knife to crumble parmesan. Add the cooled farro to the bowl.

Add the lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper to the bowl. Taste for seasonings. Mix and allow to sit for a bit before serving. I made ahead and stored in fridge. I removed before serving for a while to bring to room temperature.

 

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Posted in Raw, Salad, salad dressing, vegetables, vegetarian

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Devil’s Chicken on the Grill

Posted on July 31, 2015 | Leave a comment
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chicken flattened out right before cooking

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look at the color of the skin on this chicken, no black!!! just golden and brown

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marinade for chicken

IMG_7440 IMG_0574We absolutely love spatchcocked chicken. Simply delicious made in the oven and on stove top (see recipe for Spatchcocking the Chicken) . In any event I hadn’t ever made it on the grill and I wanted to . It came out just perfect, just wish I had better photos. We started eating it before I could photograph so I kind of assembled it and snapped. Next time I will take better photos and add them because this will be a staple in our house.

As you know we love spicy food but you don’t need to use crushed red pepper you can just season with salt , pepper and paprika, garlic powder whatever you’d like . This is how I did it and for those of you who do like it a little spicy this was perfect. It wasn’t really all that spicy at all just a hint of kick.

You will ask your neighborhood butcher to please remove the backbone of your chicken unless you’re good with the kitchen shears and can take it out by yourself. I prefer having butcher do it . (see photo) Chicken will still be in one piece or you can have them cut it into two pieces, it doesn’t really matter which way. I kept it as one whole chicken.

Ingredients couldn’t be simpler, I’m sure you have all ingredients but the chicken.

Ingredients:

2 cloves garlic–chopped

1 Tablespoon fresh thyme leaves ( app. 10 sprigs) removed from sprigs and chopped

3 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice ( 1 nice size lemon)

2 Tablespoons Extra-Virgin Olive Oil

1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt

3/4 – 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper ( use as little or as much as you’d like I used 1 teaspoon)

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 whole chicken with back-bone removed and flattened as much as possible, if you’d like you can have chicken cut into 2 halves.

Directions:

In a small bowl , add chopped garlic, chopped thyme along with lemon juice, oil, salt, red and black pepper. Whisk all ingredients together. Rinse the chicken and pat dry with paper towels.

Put chicken on a baking tray and cover with marinade , I used a pastry brush to get marinade all over the chicken. Let chicken sit in marinade at least an hour and up to 24 hours.

Heat the grill ( spray grill first with cooking spray or oil the grates).

I turned heat on grill up all the way , once grill got very hot I turned it down to medium-low and placed the chicken on grill skin-side down, closed the cover and cooked it low and slow for about 22 minutes. You can check on chicken by lifting up with tongs , be sure to check up on it often to make sure you have no flare-ups with your grill. Flip chicken over and cook for another 20-25 minutes. You can cut into chicken to make sure it’s done. This method worked perfectly for me , as all grills are different you will have to see how long it will cook on yours. I did it 22 minutes per side and it seemed to work out perfectly.

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Orzo with Lemon Shrimp and Spinach

Posted on July 29, 2015 | 1 comment

photoDSCN0367DSCN0363DSCN0372DSCN0384DSCN0390By now you all know how very much we love shrimp. It comes in handy to have an ex-shrimp monger on hand to clean and devein my shrimp. I love cooking it but not so much cleaning and deveining it. Joel not only obtains the best shrimp around but he really does do a great job of cleaning and deveining. ( I think it’s in his DNA) In any event we make a pretty good team when it comes to shrimp dishes.
So now on to this delicious dish. I didn’t feel like grilling and this dish was calling out to me. I saw Giada de Laurentiis make a shrimp scampi on her show and she made it with arugula , it looked so awesome and light I figured I’d do it my way and make it with spinach even though I knew Joel wouldn’t eat the spinach. Our friend Drew was over and he loves spinach so we ate Joel’s spinach, once again it’s his loss. This dish was pretty easy to pull together once shrimp was prepped. Not a whole lot of ingredients, and whole thing took about 1/2 hour.  This dish was very light in flavor and a perfect summer night meal, doesn’t have to be served super hot , can be room temperature. Thanks again to Giada for the wonderfully inspiring recipe.

*once the shrimp is prepared this dish is a snap. Have your fish store clean and de-vein your shrimp for you.

Ingredients:

Vinaigrette:

1/3 cup olive oil

zest of 2 large lemons ( try to use organic if you’re zesting and eating the peel) and scrub those lemons well

1/2 cup fresh lemon juice ( from the 2 large lemons you just zested)

1/2 teaspoon of kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper

In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, lemon zest and lemon juice, salt and pepper until smooth and set aside.

Ingredients:

1 lb. orzo

1 lb. shrimp , I used large under 10’s, peeled and deveined  ( you can have fish monger do this )

2 tablespoon olive oil

1 large shallot , chopped

app. 1 more teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 cup dry white wine ,  ( I used what I had on hand)

6 ounces of spinach , I used baby spinach, use whatever greens you like. Giada used arugula .

Directions:

Cook orzo according to directions. Drain and reserve 1 cup of the pasta water.

Place shrimp in a bowl and sprinkle with kosher salt and some freshly ground black pepper . Heat the 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium high heat. Add the chopped shallots and cook until soft for a few minutes. Add the shrimp, cook shrimp until they turn pink and are just cooked through depending on the size of your shrimp. When shrimp is cooked through remove the shrimp from the skillet. Increase the heat to high and add the 1/2 cup of wine, allow to boil up and scrape up all the brown bits from the bottom of the pan, cook for another minute or so until most of the liquid has evaporated.  Then add orzo to the pan along with the vinaigrette and the spinach and let it wilt down.  I added most of the reserved pasta water , you’ll use as much or as little as you need, I used whole cup of reserved pasta water. Add the shrimp back in and toss well until all the ingredients are well coated. Serve up and enjoy.

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