What's For Dinner?

More Meringues

2010-08-24T18:40:00.000-07:00

Margarita Meringues

Meringue Bit
3 large egg whites
2/3 cup sugar
1 packet True Lime
1 Tablespoon Tequila

Dry Ingredients Bit
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/4 cup powdered sugar
4 packets True Lime
4 packets True Orange

Salt or Sugar to sprinkle on top

Preheat oven to 300

Lightly grease a heavy baking sheet

In medium size bowl wisk together all the dry ingredients bits and set aside

In a stand mixer bowl (or spotlessly clean metal or ceramic bowl) combine egg white with the True Lime and beat on medium speed with the whip attachment until foamy. Add the granulated sugar about a Tablesppon at a time until all of it is incorporated. Turn mixer to high and beat until stiff glossy peaks form.

Gently but thoroughly fold in the dry ingredient bit into the meringue. Either pipe out or drop by spoonfuls, 20 cookies onto a lightly greased cookie sheet.

Sprinkle with either salt or sugar.

Bake for 40 minutes turning front to back every 10 minutes until outer meringue is crisp and light. Inner meringue should be marshmallowesque. Store in an airtight container for up to 4 days.

Pina Colada Meringues

Meringue Bit
3 egg whites
1/2 cup frozen concentrated pineapple juice, thawed
2 Tablespoons sugar
1 packet True Lemon (or 3/8 teaspoon cream of tartar)
1/4 teaspoon coconut extract

Dry Ingredient Bit
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1/4 cup dessicated coconut
1/4 teaspoon vanilla powder (can substitute 1/2 teaspoon real vanilla extract but add it into the meringue bit with the coconut extract)
pinch salt

Preheat oven to 300

Lightly grease a heavy baking sheet

In medium size bowl wisk together all the dry ingredients bits and set aside

In a stand mixer bowl (or spotlessly clean metal or ceramic bowl) combine egg white with the lemon juice and beat on medium speed with the whip attachment until foamy. Add the granulated sugar a tablesppon at a time until all of it is incorporated. Turn mixer to high and beat.

Meanwhile in a small saucepan heat the pineapple juice concentrate until it just boils. With the mixer running, carefully pour the hot juice over the egg whites. Beat until stiff peaks form. Stir in the extract.

Gently but thoroughly fold in the dry ingredient bit into the meringue. Either pipe out or drop by spoonfuls, 20 cookies onto a lightly greased cookie sheet.

Bake for 30 minutes turning fron to back every 10 minutes until outer meringue is lightly browned. These do not have the crisp exterior of more traditional meringues.

Do the Meringue!

2010-07-25T06:47:00.000-07:00

Double Chocolate Meringue Cookies

Meringue Bit
3 large egg whites
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon lemon juice or 1/4 tsp cream of tartar

Dry Ingredients Bit
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 cup powdered sugar
3 Tablespoons semi-sweet chocolate chips
dash of salt

Preheat oven to 325

Lightly grease a heavy baking sheet

In a blender or food processor combine all of the dry ingredients bits and pulse until chocolate chips are roughly but finely chopped. Set aside

In a stand mixer bowl (or spotlessly clean metal or ceramic bowl) combine egg white with the lemon juice and beat on medium speed with the whip attachment until foamy. Add the granulated sugar about a Tablesppon at a time until all of it is incorporated. Turn mixer to high and beat until stiff glossy peaks form.

Gently but thoroughly fold in the dry ingredient bit into the meringue. Either pipe out or drop by spoonfuls, 20 cookies onto a lightly greased cookie sheet.

Bake for 30 minutes until outer meringue is crisp and light. Inner meringue should be marshmallowesque. Store in an airtight container for up to 4 days.

True Lemon Meringues

Meringue Bit
3 large egg whites
2/3 cup sugar
1 packet True Lemon*
1 teaspoon real vanilla

Dry Ingredients Bit
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/4 cup powdered sugar
7 packets True Lemon*

Preheat oven to 325

Lightly grease a heavy baking sheet

In medium size bowl wisk together all the dry ingredients bits and set aside

In a stand mixer bowl (or spotlessly clean metal or ceramic bowl) combine egg white with the lemon juice and beat on medium speed with the whip attachment until foamy. Add the granulated sugar about a Tablesppon at a time until all of it is incorporated. Turn mixer to high and beat until stiff glossy peaks form.

Gently but thoroughly fold in the dry ingredient bit into the meringue. Either pipe out or drop by spoonfuls, 20 cookies onto a lightly greased cookie sheet.

Bake for 30 minutes until outer meringue is crisp and light. Inner meringue should be marshmallowesque. Store in an airtight container for up to 4 days.

*True Lemon is basically freeze dried lemon juice. It is usually in the baking section of the grocery store near the artificial sweetener. I have also seen it by the spices and with powdered drink mixes. I'd probably ask someone if you can't find it right off the bat. Also Rural King carries it.

I'm a bit mad for meringues right now. My next attempt is going to be a Margerita Meringue using True Lime, True Orange, a drop of tequila and sea salt sprinkled on top. I also want to make a toasted coconut one. I'll l et you know how they work out.

Tonight for dinner (Yes, it's Tuesday)

2010-06-08T16:25:00.000-07:00

We are having roast turkey breast seasoned with garden herbs, stewed green beans with potatoes and corn on the cob.

For dessert I am making a variation of my Aunt Gert's Strawberry Delicious Thing.

Rhubarb Deluxe

Rhubarb Filling
1 16 oz package frozen rhubarb
3/4 cup sugar
Zest and Juice of one lemon
1 teaspoon cornstarch dissolved in a small amount of water
1 Tablespoon butter
1 teaspoon vanilla

In a medium saucepan combine rhubarb, sugar, lemon zest and lemon juice. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until rhubarb begins to soften and break apart. Stir in the cornstarch slurry and cook, stirring constatnly 2 minutes. Remove from heat stir in the butter and vanilla. Allow to cool completely.

Crust
1 stick (1/2 cup) salted butter (don't use maragarine) softened
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup walnuts roughly chopped

Preheat oven to 350. Mix together all ingredients together and press into an 8x8 baking dish. Bake for 15-20 until pale golden brown. Set aside to cool.

Cream Cheese Mixture
4 oz cream cheese softened
1/2 cup powdered sugar

Mix together thoroughly.

Spread cream cheese mixture over cooled crust. Spread cooled rhubarb mixture over top of the cream cheese and refrigerate.

At this point you can either top with your favorite non dairy whipped topping or do as I'm planning and give it a hefty squirt of spray cream. (Spray cream and real whipped cream don't hold up well so if you top with these do each slice individually.

Yum.

Happy Thanksgiving

2009-11-25T21:34:00.000-08:00

Yes, of course I made a traditional turkey. I'd be so so sad if I didn't. That said, we have a rotisserie. We love our rotisserie. We have 5 turkeys, why not try something a bit different?

Garlic and Rosemary Turkey with Mushroom Pecan Stuffing

12 lb turkey, thawed

2 Tbl minced garlic in oil or 2 Tbl minced fresh garlic and 2 Tbl olive oil
2 Tbl dried rosemary
1/2 tsp sage
1/2 tsp chicken seasoning
several grinds of black pepper
1 tsp salt

Loosen the skin of the turkey and rub the herb mixture in and around under the skin. Stuff the bird's belly and head flap loosely with Mushroom Pecan Stuffing. Season the skin with salt and pepper. Truss up neatly and rotisserie that baby for about 3 hours.

Mushroom Pecan Stuffing

8 oz loaf of nice bread. French is good just don't use wonder bread.
1 Tbl butter divided
1 medium onion chopped
2 stalks celery chopped
1 lb button mushrooms chunky chopped
1 cup pecan halves
1 tsp (ish use your judgement. Sometimes sage is waaaaaaay overpowering and leaves a soapy taste other times it's blah. You want a lovely sage scent to waft off the toasted bread so use what you need to get that)
1/2 tsp rosemary
1/2 tsp thyme
1/2 cup broth or water plus more for the pan stuffing
Salt and Pepper to taste

Cube the bread and toast it in a 250 oven for 20-30 minutes stirring every ten minutes or so. Turn up the heat to 350 to and let toast to golden . (About ten minutes.) Set aside in a large bowl to cool.
Cook the onions and celery in half the butter until crisp tender. Add to the cooled bread. Saute the mushrooms in the remaining butter until golden. Add to the bowl. Add the pecans and season to taste with the herbs and salt and pepper. Moisten with broth and stuff the above bird.

What don't fit, place in an appropriately sized baking dish soften with broth and bake for 20-30 minutes at 350 until toasty, yummy goodness.

Cranberry Relish

I used this recipe and added 1/2 cup chopped, toasted pecans at the end

http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/cranberry_relish/

Cranberry Relish Recipe
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Preparation time: 15 minutes.

Ingredients
2 cups washed raw cranberries
2 skinned and cored tart apples
1 large, whole (peel ON) seedless orange, cut into sections
1 to 2 cups granulated sugar (depending on how sweet you would like your relish to be), [I used 1 1/3 cup]
Method
1 Set up the grinder with a medium-sized blade on the edge of a table with a large roasting pan or bowl to catch the mix as it grinds. These old fashioned grinders tend to leak some of the juice down the grinder base, so you may want to set up an additional pan on the floor under the grinder to catch the drips. If you don't have an old-fashioned grinder you can use a grinder attachment on a KitchenAid mixer, you can chop by hand (though that will take a lot of work), or you can chop in a food processor (be very careful not to over-pulse, or you'll end up with mush).

2 Run fruit through a grinder. Use the entire (seedless) orange, peels, pith and all.

3 Mix in the sugar. Let sit at room temperature until sugar dissolves, about 45 minutes. Store in the refrigerator.

Makes about 3 cups.

To my darling husband. Today isn't really that day but Happy Anniversary anyway. I love you.

Killer Bee Sting

2009-10-11T03:22:00.000-07:00

We grew a ridiculous amount of habanero peppers this year. I've cooked some, dried some even frozen some and our habanero just keeps cranking them out. So tonight I decided I wanted to make a preserve, if you will, of them.

Wear gloves.

Don't be scared...

Killer Bee Sting

8 habanero peppers washed
5 cloves of garlic roughly chopped
zest of one lemon
8 packets of True Lemon or the juice of one lemon
1 tsp salt
16 oz honey (nothing too strong clover or wildflower is just fine)

Lightly char the habaneros on your cooktop, bbq grill or griddle (In the same manner as roasting peppers) When the peppers have nice char marks and have softened a bit toss them in a blender or food processor with the remaining igredients. Buzz up until nicely pureed then pour into a deep saucepan. Simmer the sauce over medium heat for 10-15 minutes.

Sure this is gonna burn like crazy straight up, but say you give a couple a few pork chops a good hard sear then spoon a 1/4 to 1/2 cup of this over. Turn down the heat and simmer the chops (or chicken breast or salmon) until the meat is done to your liking and the juices and sauce reduce to an incredible glaze. Mmmmmmm.

Pie for Father's Day

2009-06-23T19:30:00.001-07:00

8" Pie Crust

2 eggs
1 cup half and half (I used fat free)
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp orange zest (feed the orange to Chloe or your equivalant of Chloe)
1 tsp vanilla
pinch salt
1/2 cup coconut (I used frozen unsweetened)
1 cup fresh blueberries

Preheat oven to 350.
Blind bake empty pie shell for 10 minutes.

Beat together eggs, half and half, sugar, orange zest, vanilla and salt until well combined. Stir in the coconut pour into pie crust and sprinkle with blueberries. Bake for 30-35 minutes until custard is set but still soft.

Delicious slightly warm with whipped cream on top but let it get cold and whoo baby, that's some kick ass pie. Mmmmmmmmmm!

Recipes

2009-05-31T15:41:00.000-07:00

Main Dish
Also Lemon Chicken
Campfire Cuisine-Lemon Chicken
Chicken and Dumplings.
Chicken Florentine Cassrole
Chicken and Mushroom Sausages
Chicken and Noodles
Chicken Paprikash
Chicken Stew in Mustard Cream
Curried Beef Stew
Fig Pizza
In yer face, roasted vegetable bouillabaise
Karl's Killer Cod (no K on the Cod)
Ketchup, the best part of the meatloaf
Little Fingers and Little Toes
Mushu Burgers
Mushu Pork, not in the least bit authentic
Noodle Stir Fry with Pea Greens
Roasted Pork with Vegetables
Second Best Curry Ever
Steak Sandwiches
Thai Beef Skewers
Wicked Chicken

Breakfast
Bacon
Corn Cakes

Side Dishes
Cranberry Walnut Salad
Fried Green Tomatoes
Fruit Salad
Honey, Lime and Cilantro Slaw
New Fry Batter
Sea Potatoes

Sauces etc.
Killer Bee Sting (Habanero Honey)
Maitre D' Butter
Peanut Sauce
Thai Injectbale Marinade

Dessert
Blueberry Coconut Custard Pie for Father's Day

Let's put Chloe through college one frog at a time! Buy a book here.

Chloe's Cake

2009-03-15T22:16:00.000-07:00

Chloe

Chloe the Early Year - God

Little Miss Sunshine - Roger Hargreaves

All the Frogs in the Pond - Kristi White

The Going to Bed Book - Sandra Boynton

Now We are Six A. A. Milne

The stories...

Fox in Socks

Harold

One Fish

Two Fish

Max

Mr. Topsy Turvy

Mr. Bump

Laura Ingalls & Charlotte

Little Critter

Mr. Noisy

Chloe's party was story book themed. We sent invitations that looked like books, asked everyone to bring their favorite childhood story book as a gift and made bookmarks as a craft. I only wish I could have tied the cake in with the theme somehow.

Happy New Year!

2008-12-31T12:03:00.000-08:00

As far out there as I am willing to go sometimes, there are a few things that are so deeply and ritualistically traditional that the thought of changing them seems sacriligious. So today, as I was injecting the turkey with an amazing Thai marinade; a (rather large) part of me was saying "No! No! No! Stop that!" However, I have three other turkeys in the freezer so if this experiment fails, in the next month or two I can make up for it with simple salt and pepper and a bit of oyster dressing.

Thai Injectable Marinade

2 Tablespoons Red Pepper Flakes
2 inch piece of fresh ginger roughly chopped
1 head of garlic peeled
the juice and zest of 3 limes
1/4 sugar
2 Tablespoons molasses
2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
1/4 cup fish sauce (don't be a wuss)
2 Tablespoons Bragg's Liquid Amino or soy sauce
1 Cup water

Blend everything together in the blender. If using as an injectable you might want to run this through a strainer.

I'll be putting the turkey in the oven in about 15 minutes. We're having coconut rice and a mix of broccoli and peppers as a side dish. I'll let you know how it turns out.

Happy Thanksgiving

2008-11-27T06:37:00.000-08:00

Who knew how much two words can change your life? Five years ago I was taking a break from a 22 pound turkey and a ridiculous vat of stuffing and chatting with a few friends on the game site where I played. I was in a festive mood so I decided to send Thanksgiving greetings to anyone who showed up on the site.

"Happy Thanksgiving!"

Two words. I must have sent out dozens of them. I got a lot of "Thanks" and "You too ;)" a couple of "Not American, don't celebrate it." Nothing I felt the need for further reply. But then...

"Happy Thanksgiving to you also. :) Shame I won't be celebrating it like
you guys do though..."

Hmmmm...Ok. I'll chat.
We talked about an English equivalent holiday. (None) We talked about turkey. (Yum) We talked about our lives. (Busy) We talked about online dating. (Stupid)

Unless of course you end up married...

Five years later. In about half an hour I'm going to turn to my husband and say "Happy Thanksgiving!" I'm gonna kiss him and I'm gonna kiss our beautiful daughter. I have a lot to be thankful for.

Cakes!

2008-11-25T19:40:00.000-08:00

Soda Pop Bread (for Jenifer)

2008-11-25T09:25:00.000-08:00

Easiest
2 cups Self Rising Flour
1 12 oz can of soda

Still Easy
2 cups All Purpose Flour
1 teaspoon Baking Soda
1 teaspoon Baking Powder
1/2 Teaspoon salt
1 12 oz can of soda

Whole Wheat Still Easy
2 cups Whole Wheat Flour
1 teaspoon Baking Soda
1 teaspoon Baking Powder
1/2 Teaspoon salt
1 12 oz can of soda

10 Grain Still Easy
2 cups All Purpose Flour
1/2 cup Bob's Red Mill 10 Grain Cereal
(7 or 12 Grain also work)
1 teaspoon Baking Soda
1 teaspoon Baking Powder
1/2 Teaspoon salt
1 12 oz can of soda

Directions
Preheat oven to 350. Lightly grease a loaf pan or an 8x8 baking pan.

In a medium bowl mix all ingredients just until combined. Turn out into prepared pan and bake 30-45 minutes until pick inserted in center comes out clean

Add Ins
up to 1/2 cup white or brown sugar
up to 1/2 cup Grain Cereal or Cornmeal
up to 1/2 cup of any type of nut
up to 1/2 cup of any type dried fruit
(cut larger fruits into small pieces)
up to 1 cup of cheese
small onion diced
small tart apple diced
small diced peach
Up to 1 tablespoon of any herb or spice or combination of herbs and spices.

Let your imagination run wild!

Eat This?

2008-10-30T22:29:00.000-07:00

Kristi's ^

Karl's ^

Chloe's ^

The White's ^

Fig Pizza?

2008-10-22T21:17:00.000-07:00

As unlikely as it may seem, the idea for this was brought on by a find of Meyer Lemons at our local co-op. Having never come across one before I had to buy one, but having never come across one before I also had no idea what to do with it. A search came up with Meyer Lemon Pizza on Weekly Dish (Which I am at the mo' madly in love with and reading from end to end.) I didn't have all the ingredients called for but decided to force the issue by making whole wheat pizza dough. The co-op had more lemons but the jalapenos at Schnucks were, erm, nasty. Black mission figs caught my eye and below them walnuts and click, click, click my brain assembled a fig and walnut pizza.

Whole Wheat Pizza Dough (Enough for two pizzas)

2 cups warm water
1 Tablespoon sugar
1 Tablespoon active dry yeast (2 packets)
2 cups all purpose flour
2 cups whole wheat bread flour (may need slightly more or less depending on the humidity)
2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons salt

In the bowl of a stand mixer with the dough hook attached, dissolve the sugar in the water. Sprinkle the yeast over the top and wait five minutes. Mixture should be bubbly or "scummy" looking. No activity means your yeast is dead either by suicide/old age or homicide (too hot of water) and you will need to start over. If all is well stir in one cup of all purpose then the salt and olive oil. Add the remaining all purpose flour and 1 1/2 cups of the whole wheat bread flour. Mix to combine adding more flour as needed to form a soft but not sticky dough. Using the dough hook "knead" for 10 minutes. Turn out of the bowl, form into a ball and place in a lightly greased bowl. Cover with a damp towel or plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled. Punch down and cut dough in half. Wrap one half and refrigerate for 2-3 days or freeze for 3 months. (Let it thaw in the fridge at least overnight before using.) With the remaining piece make Fig Pizza

Fig Pizza

Whole wheat pizza crust or crust of your choice.
18-20 dry Black Mission figs (or the type of fig you like best) destemmed and cut in halves
1/3 cup coarsely chopped walnuts
1/3 cup honey
Large sprig of rosemary roughly chopped
2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Coarse sea salt
1/2 cup fresh parmesan cheese shredded or grated

Preheat oven to 475. Spread pizza dough on a lightly greased baking sheet as thinly as possible. Mix the honey and rosemary together and warm in the microwave for 30-45 seconds. Set aside. Drizzle the crust with olive oil and sprinkle sea salt over. Scatter the figs and walnuts evenly over the crust then drizzle with the rosemary infused honey making sure to get some on every fig. Bake for 10 minutes remove from the oven sprinkle the parmesan over the top and bake a further five minutes. Mmmmm

We served it with cider vinegar marinated chicken breast that I grilled and a field greens salad with onions and tomato.

A few days later I found decent jalapenos so I made the Meyer Lemon Pizza. Fantastic! (Even better the next day, cold.)

A few new cakes...

2008-10-16T20:48:00.001-07:00

2008-10-16T20:37:00.000-07:00

Chicken Stew in Mustard Cream (Crock Pot Baby!)

2007-10-09T07:42:00.000-07:00

I once watched a show on (possibly) the Food Network where this woman put Colman's mustard in Beef Burgandy to give it an "English" spin. Since Karl asked if I had an inspiration for this dish...that could have been it (a little.) Mostly it was my brain putting bits of this and that together and stirring it around. this is what it came up with.

Chicken Stew in Mustard Cream
Weight Watchers Points 6

Meat
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast cut into 1 inch chunks
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 Tbl paprika
1 tsp each salt and pepper
Butter flavored cooking spray

Veg
1 pound potatoes peeled and cut into large chunks
1 pound carrots peeled and cut into large chunks
2 large onions peeled and cut into large dice
8 oz button mushrooms cut into quarters

Sauce
1 10 3/4 oz 98% fat free cream of mushroom soup
1 soup can full of dry white wine such as Sauvignon Blanc
3 Tbl Colman's Mustard Powder, or other not as good as Colman's mustard powder
6 cloves of garlic roughly chopped
1 Tbl salt

Mix together the flour, salt, pepper and paprika in a zippy bag or largish bowl with a lid. Add the chicken and shake well to coat. Heat a flat griddle or largish skillet over medium heat and spray sorta generously with pan spray. Lay out the chicken pieces in a single, uncrowded layer in the pan and spray the tops with a liitle more pan spray. Allow to cook without touching for 3-4 minutes or until bottoms are lightly browned and crisp. Turn each piece over and continue cooking in this manner using a little more pan spray if necessary until all pieces are lightly browned and crisp. (Cook in two or more batches if needed.) Set aside

In a medium bowl mix together the can of cream of mushroom the salt, Colman's mustard powder and garlic until well combined. Slowly add the wine and mix to combine.

In a crock pot (baby) place a small amount of sauce in the bottom. Add a layer of vegetables (My crock pot is one of the smaller round ones so I use about a third of the veg here. For the medium oval it would probably be half and the larger oval would use all.) Top with a layer of chicken then a layer of sauce. Repeat until all veg, meat and sauce have used ending with sauce. Cover tightly and cook on high for 4-5 hours. Not as preferable low 8-9.

I would bet this could also be done in slow oven (300 degrees) in a tightly covered roaster for 2-3 hours.

Serves 6

Chicken and Noodles

2007-04-29T18:14:00.000-07:00

This is a plan ahead recipe. You could very well poach chicken breasts in fat free chicken broth, however the gelatine obtained from boiling a whole chicken adds considerably to the lush mouth feel of the dish.

The night before...

Chicken and Stock

1 whole chicken
Water
2 Tablespoons Salt
1 tsp black pepper

Place chicken in a large dutch oven or stock pot. Add the salt and pepper and enough water to fully cover. Bring to a boil. Turn down heat and simmer for about an hour to an hour and a half until chicken cooked through. Carefully remove the chicken to a colander placed over a large bowl. Allow to drain for 10-15 minutes. Add the drained stock back to the dutch oven. Place the chicken and the stock (separately) in the refrigerator to cool overnight.

The next day...

Whole Wheat and Spinach Egg Noodles

2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour for dusting rolling pin and work surface
8 oz of baby spinach "sauteed" in 1/4 cup of boiling water until wilted, cooled
3 egg whites
1/4 to 1/2 cup water
2 teaspoons salt

Place the flour in the bowl of a kitchen aid mixer add the salt and mix to combine. Place the egg whites and spinach in the bowl and mix with the dough hook on speed 2 until combined. Check the consistency if too dry add water a tablespoon at a time until dough forms itself into a ball. Mix on speed 2 for ten minutes. Remove the dough from the bowl cover it and allow it to rest for 10-20 minutes.

In the meantime, remove broth from fridge and skim off all of the fat. Remove the breast meat from the chicken and add it to the broth. Bring this to a simmer and go roll out your egg noodles.

Divide the noodle dough into 3 pieces. Dust your work surface lightly with flour, roll out the dough to desired thickness and set aside on a cookie sheet. Repeat with the remaining two balls of dough. This is stickier than regular egg noodle dough. You don't want to make the dough too tall in proportion to it's width because instead of rolling the dough over itself you will fold it in half and cut into noodles. Repeat with all three dough sheets. Immediatley unfold the noodles and drop into the simmering broth. Turn up heat and bring to a boil boil for 5 minutes stirring occasionaly. Turn down heat and simmer a further 14 minutes.

Serves-8
Points-6

Thai me up and eat me!

2007-04-03T17:18:00.000-07:00

I'm in a hurry but I'll at least get the basics.

Thai Beef Skewer
1 lb top round cut into thin strips
2 cloves of garlic finely minced
2 Tablespoons of cilantro finely minced
1 inch piece of fresh ginger grated
zest of half a lime
3 jalapeno rings finely minced
1/4 cup lime juice
1/4 cup fish sauce (wimps can use soy)
2 Tablespoons soy sauce
couple shots jalapeno pepper sauce (optional if unavailable)
1/2 cup oil.

Mix everything together except the meat. Pour into a zippy bag and add the meat. marinate 15 minutes then thread on skewers. Broil or grill until done.

Honey, Lime and Cilantro Slaw
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup lime juice
1/4 mayo
zest from half a lime
2 Tablespoons cilantro finely chopped
12 oz package coleslaw mix

In a large bowl mix first five ingredients until well blended add coleslaw mix and stir to coat.

Peanut Sauce (for Peanut Noodles)
3/4 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup fish sauce (or use the wimpy stuff)
2 Tablespoons honey
2 cloves garlic finely minced
1 inch piece of fresh ginger finely grated
3 pickled jalapeno rings finely minced
2 Tablespoons chopped peanuts

Mix it all together and do with it what you will.

We mixed it with 8oz of freshly cooked noodles that we drained over 4 oz of bean sprouts (Lightly cooks the bean sprouts thataway) and garnished with chopped peanuts, grated carrots and chopped green onion.

In yer face, roasted veggie bouillabaise.

2007-02-19T05:12:00.000-08:00

Absolutely not the Provencal dish.

Veggie Part
4 large bell peppers (We used red, yellow and orange)
3/4 pound fresh tomatoes (cherries halved, romas eighthed, larger ones cut into large chunks, not a fan of grapes but I'd leave them whole)
8 oz package button mushrooms, large ones quartered
1 large zucchini, cut into half moons
1 large yellow squash, cut into half moons
1 large red onion, cut into large dice
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 cup dry white wine (we used good ole' Three Buck Chuck's Sauvignon Blanc)
1/4 cup olive oil
1 teaspoon sea salt
2 teaspoons chicken grill seasoning
1 tsp black pepper
Pinch of red pepper flakes

Preheat oven to 425

In a large bowl, combine the olive oil, wine, salt, chicken grill seasoning, pepper and pepper flakes. Add the veggies and toss to combine. Pour into a roasting pan and roast 25- 30 minutes until vegetables begin to brown and caramelize. Meanwhire prepare the fish and make the sauce.

Fish Part
1 lb fish fillets cut into large chunks (We used an assortment of Cod, Pollack, Sole and Flounder)
4 oz Salad Shrimp
2 Tablespoons olive oil
Salt and Pepper to taste

Toss fish and shrimp with olive oil and salt and pepper. When vegetable have begun to brown add these to the roasting pan and continue cooking for about 10 minutes or until fish is cooked through. Remove from oven and...

Sauce
1 cup dry white wine
2 cups vegetable broth
3 Tablespoons cornstarch dissloved in 1/4 water
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon chicken grill seasoning
salt to taste
1 Tablespoon olive oil

In a medium saute pan, saute the garlic, and chicken grill seasoning just until the garlic becomes fragrant. Add the white wine and cook until reduced by half. Add the vegetable broth, bring to a boil and whisk in cornstarch/water mixture stirring constantly until thickened. Add salt to taste. Pour sauce over the roasted veggie/fish mixture and stir gently to combine.

We served this over creamy mashed potatoes and had sweet corn as our side dish. Yum yum yum yum yum.

Bacon! bacon! bacon! Baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaacon!

2007-02-18T07:56:00.000-08:00

So, it's quite possible I'm completely obsessed with pork products.

Bacon Mach 1

3 lb rib end pork loin roast
1 cup Morton Tender Quick
4 cups cold water

Mix Tender Quick with the water until mostly dissolved. Place the pork loin in a gallon zippie bag, pour the water/Tender Quick mixture over, press out as much air as possible and refrigerate for 3 days. Slice thinly (an electric knife...) and pan fry.

Notes: Undeniably the best bacon I'd ever had but still a teens salty. So...

Bacon Mach 2

3 lb rib end pork loin roast
1 cup Morton Tender Quick
1 cup white sugar
4 cups cold water

Mix Tender Quick and sugar with the water until mostly dissolved. Place the pork loin in a gallon zippie bag, pour the water/Tender Quick mixture over, press out as much air as possible and refrigerate for 3 days. Slice thinly (This time we borrowed Mary Jo's meat slicer, woooooooooo hooooo, gotta get me one of those.) and pan fry.

Notes: It's amazing the difference a bit of sugar makes. I'm very happy with this one. I do plan on adding a little liquid smoke to the next batch but otherwise perfect.

Bacon Mach 3 (or Fancy Schmancy Underpantsy Bacon)

3 lb rib end pork loin roast
2/3 cup Morton Tender Quick
2/3 cup honey powder
3 cups cold water
2 Tablespoons No salt added Greek Seasoning
1 Tablespoon black pepper
2 capfuls Wright's Hickory Liquid Smoke

Mix all ingredients except the pork loin until mostly dissolved. Place the pork loin in a gallon zippie bag, pour the water/Tender Quick mixture over, press out as much air as possible and refrigerate for 3 days. Slice thinly (Again, Mary Jo's slicer, Woot.) and pan fry.

Notes: Although this was good, it wasn't as bacony as I'd like. We're going to use up this one first and then back to the Mach 2 stuff. It did however make me want to put liquid smoke in Mach 2 and call it 2.1.

Sausages how I love thee...

2007-01-31T14:52:00.000-08:00

So we made our first sausages. (Boo rah to KitchenAid)

We attempted English banger style sausages and let me tell you they were the best sausage I'd ever eaten.
We followed someone else's recipe with a few minor adjustments and they turned out yummo. Got to show them off too. My brother Pat showed up on Sunday to surprise my mom on her birthday. Near everyone ended up at my house so I made brekky. Homemade bangers, scrambled eggs and toast.

So here's the recipe we used

http://www.3men.com/sausage.htm#English%20Bangers

and the tweaks were

We used a 10 lb pork shoulder roast instead of pork loin (deboned and deskinned and denasty bitted)
For the bread crumbs we used an 8 oz french loaf which we dried and crumbed and that was about 1 3/4 cup of bread crumbs
Because we had more meat than the original recipe called for we upped the seasoning to 4 1/2 tsps
and finally we used an entire can (just shy of 2 cups) of chicken broth

Followed his directions and stuffed the whole mess into casings.

Even though we ate some that night (Bangers and mash) we discovered the taste and texture was considerably better the next day.

Then we decided to make more sausages on Tuesday and come up with entirely our own recipe. So we did

Chicken and Mushroom Sausages
Seasoning
2 Tablespoons Durkee Chicken Grill Seasoning
1 Tablespoon Greek Seasoning
Mix together

2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut into cubes (partially frozen works best for grinding and cubing)
1 8 oz loaf of fresh french bread cut into cubes
1 15 oz can of chicken broth
1/3 cup dry sherry (not cooking sherry)
4 teaspoons Seasoning

1 lb button mushrooms roughly chopped
2 large onions rougly chopped
3 cloves garlic minced
1/4 cup butter
1/3 cup sherry
A pinch of salt and pepper

Melt the butter in a large saute pan over medium heat. Add the onions, mushrooms, garlic and salt and pepper and cook slowly until all the juices are nearly evaporated and the onions are very tender. Add the 1/3 cup sherry and continue cooking until almost all liquid is evaporated. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.

Mix together chicken, bread cubes, seasoning, chicken broth and sherry. Allow to sit for a few minutes to allow broth to soak into the bread. Using the coarsest setting put mixture through a meat grinder. Combine the ground chicken mixture with the mushroom mixture and any leftover broth. Mix well and stuff into casings. Allow to sit overnight in the fridge before attempting to twist into links.

And in fact these were the best tasting sausages I've ever eaten. (Though the bangers were a close second)

Other ideas we've got floating around
Chicken Florentine-with spinach, mushrooms and swiss cheese
Country Chicken-chicken, sage, celery and onion (sort of classic stuffing flavored)
Chicken Fettucine-chicken, mushrooms garlic, parmesan and maybe orzo for fun
Beef Vindaloo
Pork solely seasoned with Greek Seasoning
Lincolnshire sausages

Truffle Oil...big, fat, culinary hoax...

2007-01-31T14:39:00.000-08:00

Ever seen the episode of Happy Days where Richie and the guys are all hyped up to go see the strippers? They get there and discover there's nothin' much to see. Yet when someone asks they all talk it up to be bigger than it really was.

White truffle oil...yes truffle oil. That divine, expensive, pig found fungus conveniently infusing extra virgin olive oil. Definitely a cheaper route to go especially if you're just getting your feet wet in the truffle tasting world.

If you'd never had a truffle and were going to hazard a guess as to it's taste and aroma what would you say? Earthy? Deeply mushroomy? Heady? A lot like garlic chives?

What?! a lot like garlic chives? How can this be? I spent eight bucks on this! (Which, trust me is a good price.) Granted it was tasty, but not the lush decadence I'd been led to believe. So I'm refusing to pull a Cunningham. Maybe black truffle oil is the good stuff but for anywhere from $8-35 a bottle white truffle oil ain't worth the money.

Indianapolis...

2007-01-24T19:52:00.000-08:00

Have I ever mentioned how much I love this town? (Go Colts!)

Karl and I decided to drive up and stay overnight to celebrate our anniversary. We left directly from work Monday night and got to Pat's a little after 10.

Pat cooked us dinner (yummy spaghetti) and we all settled down for the night. The next day Karl and I started our prowling with plans to meet up with Pat and Janice after Pat got off of work.

We hit Tienda Morrello #1, International Market, Meijer and International Bazaar. Mushy peas, curry paste and rose petal jam. The jam is going to be the filling in a cake I think.

P and J met up with us right as we finished in International Bazaar. Together we drove to 86th St. and Trader Joe's.

Trader Joe's is one of my favorite places. Three Buck Chuck and This Fig Walked Into a Bar are just one of the many delights that await you. This trip yielded two loaves of bread, Canadian White and Shepherd's Loaf, Comte sheese, goat brie, greek style yogurt, dried navel oranges, dried white peaches and dried black currants, pistachio nut meats, several sauces including a Thai Yellow Curry and a Masala Simmer Sauce. Other various bits and sundry and the triumph of the trip, White Truffle Oil. I can't wait to use it. My first plan is to pan roast the peruvian purple and yukon gold potatoes with a touch of truffle oil and sea salt. Who knows where I'll go from there...

From TJ's we ended our shopping at Saraga. Janice had never been there before and watching her delighted reaction was almost as good as the shopping. This trip yielded 6 more pounds of my favorite sea salt, honey powder, tofu noodles, udon noodles, soup noodles, carrot noodles, maybe some other kind of noodles, Idris Fiery Ginger Beer, coconut water, cuttlefish crackers and vegetarian crackers. We also bought this incredible double sided griddle pan.

We finished up with dinner at Buca di Beppo and headed home. It was an absolutely lovely day and I love Karl in general and for convincing me to go even though I was being a whiney baby.

I love you babe, happy anniversary.

Cranberry Walnut Salad

2006-10-31T17:36:00.000-08:00

Salady bit-
1 12 oz bag of shredded lettuce (or shred your own if you're not lazy)
1/3 cup dried cranberries
1/3 cup chopped walnuts
1 small onion thinly sliced
2 oz crumbled blue cheese

Dressing bit-
1/3 cup mayonaisse
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 Tablespoon Sherry Vinegar
1/2 teaspoon black pepper

In a large bowl, mix together all the dressing bits until well combined. Add all of the salad bits and toss to coat. Yum, yum, yum, yum, YUM.

WIP (works in progress)

2006-10-24T07:05:00.000-07:00

I'm trying to become better at chronicling (I wonder if I spelled that right) the food we experiment with. I've decided to just throw them here and work on them until the recipe is right. Hopefully I'll move them to a post of their own once I feel I've "perfected" them.

October 23, 2006

What a crock!
or
Karl's Curried Chickpeas and Chicken in a Crockpot

Night before-Drive to Schnuck's to buy cream for coffee. Wander around aimlessly then decide to make bean soup. Buy a few stalks of celery and a packet of Northern beans. Pay for groceries, get in car have husband tell you he'd like to make Chickpeas with Chicken and some Curry. Brainstorm...drive all the way to Pizza King on Weinbach because the one near our house sucks. Eat stromboli. Make another trip to Schnucks (the Washington Avenue one this time) Purchase a package of dried chickpeas and some other stuff not related to this recipe. Come home rinse chickpeas in colander picking out the bad ones. Place chickpeas in crockpot and add enough cold water to cover by 2 inches. Cover tightly and leave overnight to soak.

You can skip most of the above stuff and go directly to rinsing and soaking a 1 pound package of dried chickpeas.

In the morning add to the beans and leftover soaking water
2 large onions cut into small dice
1 cup frozen pepper stir fry
1/3 cup Maykway Curry Powder
2 Tablespoons Ship Curry Powder
2 teaspoons salt
1 clove garlic minced
1 cup (or more if needed) water

Stir together then add

4 chicken breast halves kinda burying them in the beans. Add more water if needed to barely cover the beans etc. Turn crockpot on low and leave to cook all day.

September 27, 2006

I brought this to work today and the muffins were so good. (Melissa had five if that tells you anything) Normally I would just go ahead and put the recipe in it's own post, however I'm trying a variation with cherries, blueberries and walnuts and in mix form. The original muffins reminded me of a really good bowl of oatmeal in muffin form.

The 12 grains are hard red wheat, stone ground corn,
rye, oats, triticale, brown rice, soy beans, oat bran, millet, barley, sunflower seeds, and flaxseed. Personally I think some of those things don't quite count as grains but Bob begs to differ and hell, 12 Grain Muffins sounds better than * Grain and Some Other Stuff Muffins.

12 Grain Muffin

2 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup Bob's Red Mill 8 Grain Hot Cereal
1 cup Bob's Red Mill 7 Grain Hot Cereal (Yes, these are two different things.)
3/4 packed light brown sugar
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon vanilla (powdered if you've got it)
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
2 cups milk
1/2 vegetable oil
1/2 cup sourcream
2 eggs

Preheat oven to 350. Lightly grease small muffin tins or line with cupcake liners. In a large bowl mix together first 8 ingredients and stir to combine. Add final four ingredients and mix until just combined. Fill prepared muffin cups about 2/3 full. Bake 15-20 minutes or until golden brown and delicious. 24 muffins

12 Grain Cherry Blueberry Walnut Muffin Mix

2 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup Bob's Red Mill 8 Grain Hot Cereal
1 cup Bob's Red Mill 7 Grain Hot Cereal (Yes, these are two different things.)
3/4 packed light brown sugar
1/4 buttermilk powder
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon powdered vanilla
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/3 cup dried cherries
1/3 cup dried blueberries

Combine all ingredients thoroughly and divide into 2 portions and bag up. For each mix use 1 cup milk, 1/4 vegetable oil, and 1 egg. Mix until just combined and fill prepared muffin tins 2/3 full bake 15-20 minutes until gbd.

I'm making these for brekkie at work tomorrow if they turn out ok I'll give them their own post.

Notes-These were not quite as good as I hoped. I think they had too much leavening and were not quite sweet enough. I'm out of 7 Grain Cereal but my plan is to lower the baking powder to 2 teaspoons, add 1/2 a teaspoon of baking soda and up the sugar to a full cup. I may also up the cinnamon to a full teaspoon.

September 12, 2006
I'm planning a good ole fashioned southern feast for dinner tonight. Baked ham with gingersnap glaze, scalloped potatoes, succotash, buttered cabbage and 7 grain corn bread.

1 cup all purpose flour
3/4 polenta or grits
1/4 7 Grain Cereal
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup milk
1/4 sourcream
2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
1 egg

Preheat oven to 425. Place a small amount of vegetable oil in a 9" skillet and place in oven to heat.

In a medium bowl mix first six ingredients together until blended. Add next 4 ingredients all at once and stir just enough to combine. Let sit for 5 minutes (just about the time it takes to clean up) then pour into heated pan in oven. Bake for ? until done.

I've fiddled with this in a few ways. The second time I made it I used whole wheat flour which I liked quite a bit. I also made a sweet version by adding 1/4 cup of brown sugar. Very yummy too. As for baking time it's 15-20 minutes.

September 4, 2006

Seven Grain Bread has moved to it's own post.

August 29, 2006

Still working on breads. I really liked the blueberry orange buns I made and I've decided to play with it it.

Cherry Berry Bread
In a small bowl mix one cup of warm water with 2 tsps sugar sprinkle one tablespoon active dry yeast set aside until foamy
In a sauce pan heat over low heat 1 cup whole milk with 1 stick (1/2 cup) butter until butter is just melted. Do not boil. If milk get overly hot set aside to cool otherwise stir in 1/2 cup sugar and two eggs and one teaspoon vanilla to combine.

In a large bowl mix 2 1/2 cups of flour with 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt. Stir in the yeast/water mix and the milk/butter/egg/sugar mix and stir until well combined. Cover and set aside for one hour. Mixture should be bubbly and risen. If not you screwed up and have to start over. Most likely prob...dead yeast either from being too old or too hot. Buy fresh and watch your liquid temps. I didn't so i get to go on to the next step.

Stir down the yeasty mixture (technical term sponge) and stir in 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 cups more flour to make a soft, workable, but slightly sticky dough. (if you are using a stand mixer the dough will clean the sides of the bowl but stick slightly on the bottom) Turn out on a lightly floured surface and knead for 5-10 minutes until dough is smooth and pliable. Form into a ball and place in an oiled bowl turning to coat. Cover with a damp cloth and set aside to rise until doubled.

At this point you have a great sweet bread dough. It will make yummo cinnamon rolls, heavenly fruit buns, even a passing danish type bread or conchas.

To make the cherry, blueberry buns, punch down the dough and knead in 4 oz each dried cherries and blueberries and half cup of chopped walnuts. Divide dough into 32 equal pieces form into buns and place on a lightly oiled sheet pan. Cover and let rise until doubled. Bake at 375 for 15-20 minutes until golden and hollow when thumped. While still warm frost with

1/4 softened butter
2 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
dash salt
Beat together and add
2 Tablespoons sourcream (more is frosting is too thick)

----

Sun Dried Tomato and Swiss Bread has moved to it's own post.

Naan Bread

1/2 warm water
1 teaspoon white sugar
2 teaspoons or 1 package active dry yeast
1/4 cup warm milk
1/4 cup plain yogurt, room temperature (or yoghurt if you must)
4 tablespoons melted butter
3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder

Put warm water in a small bowl, add sugar and yeast and stir until dissolved. Set aside for 5-10 minutes or until it foams.
Blend in the warm milk, yogurt and melted butter.

In a large bowl, mix flour, salt, baking powder and poppy seeds. Pour in the yeast/milk mixture all at once and work it into the flour, using your hands. Continue mixing, adding flour or water as needed, until the mixture leaves the sides of the bowl.

Knead for 6 to 8 minutes or until smooth and elastic. Place in a lightly oiled bowl and turn to coat. Cover with a damp cloth and let stand in a warm place to rise for about 1-2 hours or until doubled in volume.

Punch down and divide into 8 equal pieces. Lay out the dough balls and allow to rise until doubled in volume (about 30-45 minutes). Roll each dough ball into an approximately 8 inch circle.

Preheat a griddle or large skillet over high heat until a drop of water dances on it. Lay one circle of dough on the griddle. Cook until lightly browned on one side, flip and brush the cooked side with a little bit of melted butter. Continue cooking on 2nd side until bubbled bits develop dark brown spots. (A little charring is ok)
Repeat wtih remaining dough.

Notes-These were not as chewy as I like naan to be. The taste was very good so I'm going to try it again with only 2 Tbls of melted butter.

Curried Onion Bread has moved to it's own post and been renamed to Bharji Bread.

Curried Beef Stew has moved to it's own post

All of these are from Sunday August 27, 2006

2006-10-08T19:51:00.000-07:00

Rye and Kamut Bread with Caraway Seed

2006-10-01T10:12:00.000-07:00

2 cups bread flour
1 cup dark rye flour
1 cup Kamut flour
2-2 1/2 cups water
1/4 cup Vital gluten
2 Tablespoons caraway seed
2 Tablepoons sugar
1 Tablespoon yeast
1 1/2 teapoons salt

In a large bowl mix together the bread flour, rye flour, kamut flour, vital gluten, caraway seed, sugar, yeast and salt. Add about 1 3/4 cups of flour and stir to combine. Continue adding water until a soft, slightly sticky dough forms.

This does have rye flour in it so it's not going to go completely smooth and if it's not slightly sticky you have too much flour.

Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 5-6 minutes. Watch how much flour you add, you really could end up with a brick. Place in a lightly greased bowl, cover and set aside to rise until doubled in bulk. Punch down and form into desired loaf size(s). Place on a lightly greased cookie sheet, cover with lightly oiled paper towels and let rise until doubled. Brush tops with Starch Glaze* or egg white. Slash tops with a sharp knife and bake at 450 for 10 minutes. Turn heat down to 350 and bake for a further 10-20 minutes until bread is golden, and sounds hollow when thumped.

Because this has rye and a whole grain flour in it you might want to test it with an instant read thermometer. You're looking for 190 at the center of the loaf.

Starch Glaze
1 cup water
1 Tablespoon cornstarch

Mix together and bring to a boil. Brush on chewier type bread to achieve a crunchier top.

WIP (works in progress)

2006-10-01T07:54:00.000-07:00

I'm trying to become better at chronicling (I wonder if I spelled that right) the food we experiment with. I've decided to just throw them here and work on them until the recipe is right. Hopefully I'll move them to a post of their own once I feel I've "perfected" them.

September 27, 2006

I brought this to work today and the muffins were so good. (Melissa had five if that tells you anything) Normally I would just go ahead and put the recipe in it's own post, however I'm trying a variation with cherries, blueberries and walnuts and in mix form. The original muffins reminded me of a really good bowl of oatmeal in muffin form.

The 12 grains are hard red wheat, stone ground corn,
rye, oats, triticale, brown rice, soy beans, oat bran, millet, barley, sunflower seeds, and flaxseed. Personally I think some of those things don't quite count as grains but Bob begs to differ and hell, 12 Grain Muffins sounds better than * Grain and Some Other Stuff Muffins.

12 Grain Muffin

2 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup Bob's Red Mill 8 Grain Hot Cereal
1 cup Bob's Red Mill 7 Grain Hot Cereal (Yes, these are two different things.)
3/4 packed light brown sugar
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon vanilla (powdered if you've got it)
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
2 cups milk
1/2 vegetable oil
1/2 cup sourcream
2 eggs

Preheat oven to 350. Lightly grease small muffin tins or line with cupcake liners. In a large bowl mix together first 8 ingredients and stir to combine. Add final four ingredients and mix until just combined. Fill prepared muffin cups about 2/3 full. Bake 15-20 minutes or until golden brown and delicious. 24 muffins

12 Grain Cherry Blueberry Walnut Muffin Mix

2 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup Bob's Red Mill 8 Grain Hot Cereal
1 cup Bob's Red Mill 7 Grain Hot Cereal (Yes, these are two different things.)
3/4 packed light brown sugar
1/4 buttermilk powder
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon powdered vanilla
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/3 cup dried cherries
1/3 cup dried blueberries

Combine all ingredients thoroughly and divide into 2 portions and bag up. For each mix use 1 cup milk, 1/4 vegetable oil, and 1 egg. Mix until just combined and fill prepared muffin tins 2/3 full bake 15-20 minutes until gbd.

I'm making these for brekkie at work tomorrow if they turn out ok I'll give them their own post.

Notes-These were not quite as good as I hoped. I think they had too much leavening and were not quite sweet enough. I'm out of 7 Grain Cereal but my plan is to lower the baking powder to 2 teaspoons, add 1/2 a teaspoon of baking soda and up the sugar to a full cup. I may also up the cinnamon to a full teaspoon.

September 12, 2006
I'm planning a good ole fashioned southern feast for dinner tonight. Baked ham with gingersnap glaze, scalloped potatoes, succotash, buttered cabbage and 7 grain corn bread.

1 cup all purpose flour
3/4 polenta or grits
1/4 7 Grain Cereal
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup milk
1/4 sourcream
2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
1 egg

Preheat oven to 425. Place a small amount of vegetable oil in a 9" skillet and place in oven to heat.

In a medium bowl mix first six ingredients together until blended. Add next 4 ingredients all at once and stir just enough to combine. Let sit for 5 minutes (just about the time it takes to clean up) then pour into heated pan in oven. Bake for ? until done.

I've fiddled with this in a few ways. The second time I made it I used whole wheat flour which I liked quite a bit. I also made a sweet version by adding 1/4 cup of brown sugar. Very yummy too. As for baking time it's 15-20 minutes.

September 4, 2006

Seven Grain Bread has moved to it's own post.

August 29, 2006

Still working on breads. I really liked the blueberry orange buns I made and I've decided to play with it it.

Cherry Berry Bread
In a small bowl mix one cup of warm water with 2 tsps sugar sprinkle one tablespoon active dry yeast set aside until foamy
In a sauce pan heat over low heat 1 cup whole milk with 1 stick (1/2 cup) butter until butter is just melted. Do not boil. If milk get overly hot set aside to cool otherwise stir in 1/2 cup sugar and two eggs and one teaspoon vanilla to combine.

In a large bowl mix 2 1/2 cups of flour with 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt. Stir in the yeast/water mix and the milk/butter/egg/sugar mix and stir until well combined. Cover and set aside for one hour. Mixture should be bubbly and risen. If not you screwed up and have to start over. Most likely prob...dead yeast either from being too old or too hot. Buy fresh and watch your liquid temps. I didn't so i get to go on to the next step.

Stir down the yeasty mixture (technical term sponge) and stir in 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 cups more flour to make a soft, workable, but slightly sticky dough. (if you are using a stand mixer the dough will clean the sides of the bowl but stick slightly on the bottom) Turn out on a lightly floured surface and knead for 5-10 minutes until dough is smooth and pliable. Form into a ball and place in an oiled bowl turning to coat. Cover with a damp cloth and set aside to rise until doubled.

At this point you have a great sweet bread dough. It will make yummo cinnamon rolls, heavenly fruit buns, even a passing danish type bread or conchas.

To make the cherry, blueberry buns, punch down the dough and knead in 4 oz each dried cherries and blueberries and half cup of chopped walnuts. Divide dough into 32 equal pieces form into buns and place on a lightly oiled sheet pan. Cover and let rise until doubled. Bake at 375 for 15-20 minutes until golden and hollow when thumped. While still warm frost with

1/4 softened butter
2 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
dash salt
Beat together and add
2 Tablespoons sourcream (more is frosting is too thick)

----

Sun Dried Tomato and Swiss Bread has moved to it's own post.

Naan Bread

1/2 warm water
1 teaspoon white sugar
2 teaspoons or 1 package active dry yeast
1/4 cup warm milk
1/4 cup plain yogurt, room temperature (or yoghurt if you must)
4 tablespoons melted butter
3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder

Put warm water in a small bowl, add sugar and yeast and stir until dissolved. Set aside for 5-10 minutes or until it foams.
Blend in the warm milk, yogurt and melted butter.

In a large bowl, mix flour, salt, baking powder and poppy seeds. Pour in the yeast/milk mixture all at once and work it into the flour, using your hands. Continue mixing, adding flour or water as needed, until the mixture leaves the sides of the bowl.

Knead for 6 to 8 minutes or until smooth and elastic. Place in a lightly oiled bowl and turn to coat. Cover with a damp cloth and let stand in a warm place to rise for about 1-2 hours or until doubled in volume.

Punch down and divide into 8 equal pieces. Lay out the dough balls and allow to rise until doubled in volume (about 30-45 minutes). Roll each dough ball into an approximately 8 inch circle.

Preheat a griddle or large skillet over high heat until a drop of water dances on it. Lay one circle of dough on the griddle. Cook until lightly browned on one side, flip and brush the cooked side with a little bit of melted butter. Continue cooking on 2nd side until bubbled bits develop dark brown spots. (A little charring is ok)
Repeat wtih remaining dough.

Notes-These were not as chewy as I like naan to be. The taste was very good so I'm going to try it again with only 2 Tbls of melted butter.

Curried Onion Bread has moved to it's own post and been renamed to Bharji Bread.

Curried Beef Stew has moved to it's own post

All of these are from Sunday August 27, 2006

Sun Dried Tomato and Swiss Bread

2006-10-01T07:34:00.000-07:00

Sundried Tomato and Swiss Bread

1 1/2 cups warm water
2 Tablespoons sugar
4 teaspoons active dry yeast
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
3-4 cups flour
2 Tablespoons good quality olive oil
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 teaspoon cracked black pepper
1 1/2 oz sun dried tomatoes snipped into small bits
8 oz swiss cheese cut into 3/4 inch chunks

Dissolve the sugar in the water. Sprinkle on the yeast and allow to bloom. Stir in 1 cup of the flour, the salt and olive oil. Stir in enough of the remaining flour to form a soft, pliable dough. Form into a ball and place in a large bowl lightly greased with olive oil. Cover and let rise until doubled in bulk.

Punch down the dough and knead in the oregano and pepper. Form into a ball and place in a large bowl lightly greased with olive oil. Cover and let rise until doubled in bulk.

Punch down the dough and knead in the tomatoes and swiss cheese. Form into two loaves, and place on a lightly greased cookie to rise one last time. When doubled in bulk, bake at 375 for 35-40 until golden brown and hollow sounding when thumped.

Notes-This is not quite as spicy or chewy as the original (Great Harvest Bread Company) However it does have a fine grained crumb and the olive oil in the background is an exceptional note. I actually prefer my version especially because it has more cheese. Like the original this makes fabulous toast made even better by more swiss cheese chunks to toast and melt. Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!

Wuss for the Cure

2006-09-17T14:34:00.000-07:00

Every year I contribute to the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Research Foundation's Race for the Cure. It's usually on a Saturday and my job keeps me from participating in any other way. This year it was on a Sunday and I convinced my wonderful husband to get up extra early and come out to do the Race with me.

I haven't been feeling well lately so I opted for the 1 mile family walk (Wuss for the Cure) as opposed to the 5k run/walk (Race) Also participating with us was my sister Lora Ferguson, my nephew Jacob Sisco, my neice in law Melissa Long my grand"daughter" Baylee and actually running in the 5k, my brother in law Don Ferguson. Due to a back injury my sister Cate Sisco Slept in for the Cure and good friend Brandi Davis might have had a little too much fun at a party the night before and also Slept in for the Cure. Together we were Team Piece of Cake.

Sunday morning dawned and after a nourishing breakfast of black currant yogurt topped with cranberry almond crunch and approximately 400 phone calls to find out who was going and where we were meeting, we arrived at Robert's Stadium parking lot to wait for the rest of the team and lament that we hadn't brought any coffee.

And I got up at 6 am to wait for your family in a parking lot?

It seemed like forever before Lora and Don arrived and of course Melissa and Jacob hadn't even left their houses. Everyone did get there before the last bus left, so in the end it was fine.

Lora Ferguson, the first of our team to arrive, with Baylee the last of our team to arrive.

Yes, that is Melissa taking off her shirt in a public parking lot. She says she can do the same with undies.

Here is Jacob, the only one of us with enough sense to preregister for the Race.

There wasn't anyone handy to get all of us and Don had run off already but Jacob took this photo of all the Pink Shirts on Team Piece of Cake.

Don left on one of the earlier buses but the rest of us wanted to sit together. So after everyone who was going to get there (remember Brandi may or may not have had too much 'fun' the night before.) got there we headed off to the big, yellow school bus which I forgot to take a photo of.

Baylee, who is just one year old had never ridden on a school bus before.

Karl, who is British, hadn't either.

The bus dropped us off a short distance from the actual race and we had to walk the rest of the way.

The crowds were unbelievable. It's hard to imagine that so many people could care enough to get their butts out of bed on a Sunday but they were there. In fact over 13,000 people participated in the Race this year.

We managed to find Don almost immediately in spite of the huge crowds. (Most likely because he's hilariously tall and skinny and was wearing a bright red shirt with a cake on it)

Grandpa Don (who actually RAN in the 5k) holding Baylee, who Strolled for the Cure.

After finding Don we headed off to late registration to get our T'Shirts and Race bibs.

If you've never done a Race this is the part that is hard. You pay your $25 for the privelage of a white shirt with the Race logo, a racer's number and in addition you can pin bright pink In Celebration or in Memory of placards onto your shirt to tell people who you are Racing for. You look around you and there are women in special pink Survivior t'shirts. Some of them don't have any hair, some of them are carrying signs that say "10 years" or "6 years". Over to the right is a group of people wearing matching T'shirts that proclaim the name of a woman they are racing in memory of. Then you think of some woman that you know and love, maybe more than one woman that you know and love, and if you're lucky you put her name on a In Celebration of instead of In Memory of and pin it to your back.

This is my first year racing. I didn't know that it was gonna make me cry. But I did and so did Lora and so did Melissa and when I asked my husband if it would be okay to carry his parents names with me too I could feel his sadness. I was fortunate to carry the name of two survivors with me. However being at the Race for the Cure brought back what they had gone through to become survivors.

I also discovered the night before the Race, that my Aunt Judy, who is on her second round with breast cancer, has been diagnosed with Lupus and a degenerative bone disorder. Carrying her name with me felt like an extraordinary responsibility and honor.

We got ourselves registered, dried our tears and Team Piece of Cake

waited for 9:30 and the start of the 5k race. Again, the amount of people participating was stunning. We tried to see Don but despite the hilariously tall and thin thing and the red shirt, lost him in the crowd.

Baylee and Melissa looking for Grandpa Don
and Karl foiling one of Baylee's escape attempts.

The 5k is the bigger part of Race day and literally thousands of runners and walkers pass through the opening gate. An announcer calls out team names and the names of Survivors as they pass. After the majority of the 5k-ers pass they let the ones walking in the 1 mile Family Walk line up at their start.

This is Karl heading towards the starting line.

And we're off!
The 1 Mile course takes you from the back of Eastland mall past Macy's and around the front almost to JC Penney's.

We decided about 3/4 of the way through that we all could have walked the 5k.

In fact it was an easy walk and a beautiful day for it.

The people in front of us.

The people behind us.

Apparently a few others agreed

For the last leg of the race we let Baylee out of her stroller to walk. She was initially way more interested in the flowers than actually walking anywhere. With Grandma Lora on one side and Mommy on the other she decided it was ok to go, go, go!

Which was a good thing because we were almost at the end where you get to be attacked by the big, pink, balloon arch.

All in all it was a great experience and if they continue to have it on Sunday then I will continue to Wuss or Race depending on my health at the time.

Arrrrrrrrrrrrrrggggghhhhhh!!!!! I'm a PIRATE!

2006-09-14T05:51:00.000-07:00

Your pirate name is:
Black Jack Rackham

Like anyone confronted with the harshness of robbery on the high seas, you can be pessimistic at times. You have the good fortune of having a good name, since Rackham (pronounced RACKem, not rack-ham) is one of the coolest sounding surnames for a pirate. Arr!

Arrrrrrrr

2006-09-14T05:47:00.000-07:00

My pirate name is: Dirty Bess Kidd

You're the pirate everyone else wants to throw in the ocean -- not to get rid of you, you understand; just to get rid of the smell. Even though you're not always the traditional swaggering gallant, your steadiness and planning make you a fine, reliable pirate. Arr!

On vegetable broth...

2006-09-04T13:13:00.000-07:00

I keep a gallon zippie bag in my freezer. Every time I peel a vegetable (except potatoes) snap a pea or bean or cut the end off a tomato or squash I toss these normally discarded bits into the bag. When it's full I plop the frozen veggies into what I think of as my pretty big pan. I then fill it with water, bring it to a boil and let it go for anywhere for 1/2 an hour to an hour depending on how distracted I am whilst making it. After I notice it again I strain the vegetable broth into one of my gallon pitchers. I return all the cooked once veggies back to the pot, fill with water and repeat. I do let this second brew cook slightly longer because it kinda seems like you should have to. (Although I've never scientifically tested this.) I strain this batch into the second of my gallon pitchers (You could use large bowls if you don't happen to own gallon pitchers or both of them are filled with Kool Aid or iced tea.) Toss the veggies, (if you have one, put it on the compost pile) wash the pan out, combine both (approximate) gallons of veggie broth and allow to cool.

Once the broth is cool enough to handle, I place 1 and 2 cup amounts in quart size zippie bags, (Label them before you start) place the bags flat in the freezer and let them freeze solid. I also fill standard muffin cups with 1/3 cup of the broth freeze these solid then pop them into a gallon baggie for when I just need a wee bit of broth.

Some things that I've put in the bag-Asparagus ends, bean and pea snap offs, celery tops, carrot peels and trims, mushroom stems, tomato tops, zucchini and yellow squash trimmings, onion peels and tops, garlic peels, lemon peels (from when you've juiced a lemon, but I wouldn't go overboard) trimmings from broccoli and cauliflower (again not too many) cabbage cores, I've even used lettuce leaves.

Basically any non starchy and not too 'strong veggie'

What I would avoid-Potato peels or trimmings, beets (too staining) brussels sprouts, corn cobs, excessive amounts of any strong smelling or tasting veggie like fennel or raab.

I do know of people who will toss their leftover dinner veggies and the juice from canned veggies. I tend to avoid this as I like butter on vegetables and I really don't eat a lot of canned veggies.

"What's the point?" you may ask. Several things. I use a lot of broth in my cooking. A can of vegetable broth costs about 79 cents. For the cost of the zippie bags, 2 gallons(ish) of water, enough gas to boil it up and a bit of time, I can get the equivalent of 16 cans of vegetable broth. (If you do the math that's about $1.25 instead of $12.64) It's also a delicious, high quality broth with no added salt.

I can control portion size more easily than canned broth. A can of vegetable broth is about 15 oz (close to 2 cups) I don't always need 2 cups of broth and I often waste the remainder of the can. I have good intentions but the can sits in the fridge until it ferments or spills on the eggs, sometimes both.

I also like the idea of further using something that would normally just get pitched. Back in the days when I had more time I did pitch the spent veggies onto the compost heap. In turn the compost went into my pathetic garden which provided me with at least a few new veggie peels and trims to put in the zippie bag. That's a cycle I can get behind.

Oh, and I have a freezer to store the equivalent of 16 cans of vegetable broth, so it's also practical for me.

For me making my own broth makes sense. It's a money saver. For me it's also a time saver because I am forever forgetting to buy it and then having to run back to the store for it. Finally it's my little stand against the throw away society we live in. Reduce, reuse, recycle and eat well.

7 Grain Bread

2006-09-04T09:54:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I may be trying to beat you to death with the staff of life.

2 1/2 - 3 cups flour
1/2 cup 7 grain hot cereal such as Bob's Red Mill 7 Grain Hot Cereal
1/4 cup demererra sugar (or brown sugar if you're husband isn't British)
1/4 cup malted milk powder such as Carnation or Horlick's
3 teaspoons yeast
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 cups milk warmed to about 120 degrees
2 Tablespoons melted butter

In a large bowl mix 2 1/2 cups of flour, the cereal, sugar, malt powder, yeast and salt together. Add the warm milk and butter all at once and stir to combine. If needed add up to a 1/2 cup more flour to make a soft workable dough. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead about 10 minutes. Form into a ball, place into a lightly oiled bowl, turning to coat, cover and let rise until doubled. Punch down, form into a loaf allow to rise bake at 375 35-45 minute until golden brown and hollow sounding.

Curried Beef Stew

2006-09-04T09:22:00.000-07:00

Curried Beef Stew

2 lbs thick cut round steak cut into cubes
1 1/2 cups flour
2 Tablespoons curry powder (I used Ship)
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon each black pepper, white pepper and paprika
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 bell peppers cut in large dice
2 large onions diced
*1/2 of a 12 oz package snake gourd*
3 15 oz cans whole peeled tomatoes
3 cups water
1/4 vindaloo curry paste (I used Patak's)

In a bowl or ziploc bag mix the flour, curry powder, salt, black pepper, white pepper and paprika together. Add the meat cubes and toss or shake to coat.

Heat some of the vegetable oil in a large dutch oven over medium heat. Add the meat in a single non crowded and layer and brown on all sides. Do this in batches if necessary. Remove the browned meat and set aside. Add the peppers and onions to the pan and saute briefly in the drippings. Add 1/4 of flour to the vegetables and stir to incorporate. Add the tomatoes, water, *snake gourd* and the vindaloo curry paste. Gently add the meat and it's drippings back to the pan. Adjust salt to taste. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer 2-3 hours until meat is tender.

*snake gourd is apparently a semi common foodstuff in India but not so much in Indiana. We bought it because we've made a pact to try new things (I would not recommend salted dry gooseberries.) Check the freezer section of an asian or Indian market and you might find it. If not, I'm pretty sure zucchini or yellow squash would work or you can of course leave it out entirely.

Notes-This smells fantastic. We're gonna have homemade naan, the Bharji bread, brown rice pilaf, peas, hot mango chutney and yogurt with this.

More notes-The snake gourd didn't taste like zucchini or yellow squash but they really would make a good substitute. This was particularly good piled onto the Bharji Bread and dotted with yogurt and chutney.

Audioblogging at it's best...

2006-08-29T15:28:00.000-07:00

also know as babbling idiocy.

Bharji Bread or the first one to make it out.

2006-08-29T09:50:00.000-07:00

Bharji Bread formerly known as Curried Onion Bread

1 cup sour cream, at room temperature
3 tablespoons water
3-3-1/2 cups all-purpose flour, divided
1 package active dry yeast
2 tablespoons sugar
1-1/2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons of your favorite curry powder (I used Ship)
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 small onion cut into small dice
Vegetable oil or nonstick cooking spray
Small amount of melted butter

Stir together sour cream and water in small saucepan. Heat over low heat until temperature reaches 120° to 130°F. Do not boil. Combine 2 cups flour, yeast, sugar, salt and baking soda in a large bowl. Spread sour cream mixture evenly over flour mixture with rubber spatula. Stir until well blended. Turn out dough onto lightly floured surface. Knead about 5 minutes adding enough of remaining flour to make a smooth and elastic dough. Place in a lightly oiled bowl and turn to coat. Cover with a damp cloth and let stand in a warm place to rise for about 1-2 hours or until doubled in volume.

Punch down dough and knead in the onions until completely mixed through the dough. Form into a ball or loaf shape and place in the center of a lightly greased cookie sheet. Cover with a damp cloth and allow to rise until doubled in volume.

Preheat oven to 375. Bake loaf 35-45 minutes until golden brown and hollow sounding when thumped. Brush with melted butter after it comes out of the oven.

Notes-This was totally Karl's idea. My idea was to make more of a filled type bread with a curried onion filling. This turned out incredible. It reminds Karl of Bharji's which is exactly what he wanted. It reminds me of onion and dill bread that we used to get when we were little kids. I'm actually going to use the sour cream base for an onion dill bread in the near future. I'm pretty sure this is also going to make killer toast so I'm hoping there will be some left after dinner tonight.

August 29, 2006-Yes, it does make incredible toast and if you top it with eggs scrambled with sourcream and cheddar cheese it makes a damn fine breakfast.

By the way if you don't know what Bharji is (also spelled bharjee, bhargee, bhagee, and bhaji) It's a yummy fried onion fritter made with gram flour (chickpea flour), curry powder cilantro and of course onions.

The staff of life...

2006-08-22T10:49:00.000-07:00

Our recent trip to Indy introduced us to the joys of Mexican pastry. We do have a Mexican bakery here and I am planning on visiting it very soon but I'm afraid it's going to be aimed at the gringas and too upscale. So I decided to try my hand at Conchas which was damn close to my favorite thing we tried. I found a recipe on AllRecipes and modified it slightly so I could use ingredients I have on hand. This is extremely close and slightly better than the ones we had in Indy.

Conchas

Dough
2 1/2 teaspoons yeast
1/2 cup warm water
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup heavy cream
3/8 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup butter melted and cooled
1 egg
4 cups (approximately) all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Topping
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter softened
1 cup flour
2 teaspoons vanilla

In a large bowl stir together the yeast and warm water. Mix in the milk, 3/8 cup sugar, melted butter, salt and 2 cups of flour. Add the cinnamon and enough of the remaining flour to form soft, non-sticky dough that cleans the side of the bowl.

Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic about 10 minutes. Form into a ball and placed smooth side up in a greased bowl. Cover with a damp cloth and place someplace warm and draft free to rise until doubled in bulk. 1-2 hours. Punch down and allow to rise again. Alternatively you can place the dough in the refrigerator and allow it to rise slowly overnight. Remove it from the fridge and allow it to come to room temp before working.

When dough is done rising, make the topping. Cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy add the flour and vanilla mix to form a paste.

Divide the bread dough into 12 equal balls and place on a lightly greased cookie sheet. Divide the topping into 12 equal balls, flatten and place one disk on each dough ball. Make score lines in topping to resemble a clam shell. Cover with a damp cloth and let rise until doubled about 45 minute to one hour.

Preheat oven to 375. Bake conchas 20-25 minutes until golden brown and hollow
sounding when thumped. Hardest part...allow to cool 15 minutes before eating.

The baking of conchas inspired me to do a little bit of experimental baking. I came up with

Chai Crumble Buns

Dough
2 1/2 teaspoons yeast
2 Tablespoons warm water
1 teaspoon sugar
1 cup milk
10 Chai tea bags (I used 6 Celestial Seasonings Teahouse Chai Original and 4 Stash Double Spice)
6 green cardamom pods (optional
1/3 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter melted and cooled
1 egg
4 cups (approximately) all purpose flour

Topping
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter softened
1/2 cup flour
2 weetabix biscuits crumbled or 1/2 cup oatmeal
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon white pepper

In a small saucepan bring the milk, teabags and cardamom pods to a bare simmer. Stir and remove from heat. Set side to cool. When cool remove cardamom pods and teabags squeezing to remove as much milk as possible.

In a large bowl stir together the yeast and warm water. Mix in the chai flavored milk, 1/3 cup sugar, melted butter, salt and 2 cups of flour. Stir in enough of the remaining flour to form soft, non-sticky dough that cleans the side of the bowl.

Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic about 10 minutes. Form into a ball and placed smooth side up in a greased bowl. Cover with a damp cloth and place the dough in the refrigerator and allow it to rise slowly overnight or 12 hours. Remove it from the fridge and allow it to come to room temp before working.

When dough is at room temperature, make the topping. Cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy add the flour weetabix, vanilla, cinnamon and white pepper mix to form a crumbly dough.

Divide the bread dough into 12 equal balls and place on a lightly greased cookie sheet. Divide the topping into 12 equal portions, place one disk on each dough ball and flatten out to cover as much of the top os possible. Make back and forth score lines in topping. Cover with a damp cloth and let rise until doubled about 45 minute to one hour.

Preheat oven to 375. Bake 20-25 minutes until golden brown and hollow sounding when thumped.

And...

Orange, Blueberry and Walnut Double Glazed Buns

Dough
2 1/2 teaspoons yeast
1/2 cup warm water
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup heavy cream
3/8 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter melted and cooled
1 egg
4 cups (approximately) all purpose flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 oz dried navel oranges snipped into small pieces
2 oz dried blueberries
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Double glaze
1/4 cup butter softened
3 cups powdered sugar
3 Tablespoons frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed
3 Tablespoons milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
dash salt

In a large bowl stir together the yeast and warm water. Mix in the milk, 3/8 cup sugar, melted butter, salt and 2 cups of flour. Add the cinnamon and enough of the remaining flour to form soft, non-sticky dough that cleans the side of the bowl.

Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic about 10 minutes. Knead in the oranges, blueberries and walnuts until incorporated. Form into a ball and placed smooth side up in a greased bowl. Cover with a damp cloth and place someplace warm and draft free to rise until doubled in bulk. 1-2 hours. Punch down and allow to rise again. Alternatively you can place the dough in the refrigerator and allow it to rise slowly overnight. Remove it from the fridge and allow it to come to room temp before working.

Divide the bread dough into 12 equal balls and place on a lightly greased cookie sheet. Cover with a damp cloth and let rise until doubled about 45 minute to one hour.

Preheat oven to 375. Bake 20-25 minutes until golden brown and hollow sounding when thumped. While the buns are baking make the glaze and frosting.

Double Glaze
Mix the butter, salt and powdered sugar until thouroughly combined. Stir in the
orange juice concentrate and the vanilla. Divide this into two parts. Thin one part with the 3 Tablespoons of milk.

While the rolls are still hot dip them into to the glaze and rotate to completely cover the tops. Allow to cool for 15 minutes then frost with the thicker icing.

There is a slight problem with these buns. I bought the dried navel oranges at Trader Joe's and now I can't seem to find another source for them. This doesn't really seem to be a good enough reason to buy a food dehydrator...maybe if one goes cheap enough on eBay...

Back from Indy have to cook up all the weird food.

2006-08-14T18:12:00.000-07:00

Seaweed Soup

8 cups of chicken or vegetable broth
A large handful of dried seaweed scissored into small pieces
1 clove of garlic minced
dash of ground ginger
1/2 cup sherry
1 8 oz can sliced water chestnuts and it's water
1 8 oz can sliced bamboo shoots and their water
1/2 tsp or more white pepper

Bring to a boil add

2 medium sized king oyster mushrooms sliced into thin rounds
8 oz raw shrimp

Bring back to a boil add

8 oz soy tofu noodles (fresh ones)
8 oz soy bean or mung bean sprouts

Bring back to a boil turn off heat stir in 1/4 cup of Bragg's liquid amino or light soy sauce. Adjust the level of white pepper until soup has a nice bit of heat. Serve with prawn crackers.

Vacation in Indy

2006-08-13T19:43:00.000-07:00

We had a marvelous time. Only managed to sleep late once, discovered the joys of Mexican bakeries and ate oursleves completely silly.

Sea Potatoes

1 lb small new or fingerling potatoes well scrubbed
1/4 cup sea salt or kosher or uniodized salt
Water

Place the potatos in a single layer in a large sauce pan. Add the salt and enough water to cover them by 1 inch and bring to a boil. Cook until tip of knife inserted into largest potato slips in easily. Drain almost all of the water (leave enough to barely cover the bottom of the pan) and return to heat to evaporate the remaining water. Stir very gently to help a salt crust form on each potato. Serve piping hot with just a bit of butter.

New Fry Batter

2 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt, pepper and paprika
1 tsp baking powder
1 3/4 cup milk

Mix all ingredients quickly and well. Dip things you want to fry into the batter and fry them. We liked-green tomato slices, turkey breast chunks, chicken breast chunks, haddock (which we used in fish tacos) and mushrooms. Pretty much anything you could think of. Yum!

Chicken Paprikash

4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves cut into strips
1 1/2 cups of flour
1/2 tsp each salt, pepper and paprika
1/4 real butter
1/2 cup vegetable oil
8 oz package sliced mushrooms
4 cups chicken broth
1/4 paprika
2 cups sourcream

Ketchup...the best part of meatloaf

2006-08-01T13:25:00.000-07:00

I really like meatloaf especially the ketchuppy bit on top. I no longer bake my meatloaf in loaf pans but rather freeform on a sheet pan so there is more surface area to put ketchup on. I might be an addict.

This recipe actually makes 3 meatloaves, two to freeze and one to cook and eat tonight. The recipe can also be stuffed into peppers or rolled into meatballs.

8 lbs of ground beef
10 slices of soft white bread
2 eggs
2 15 oz cans petite diced tomatoes in juice
3 small onions peeled and quartered (or grated if you don't own a blender or food processor)
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup worcestershire sauce
2 tsps garlic powder (I do not use fresh garlic as it tends to overwhelm in this recipe)
2 tsps steak seasoning
1 tsp thyme
1 tsp black pepper
Ketchup, lots and lots of ketchup or whatever it is you really like on top of your meatloaf

Optional but excruciatingly yummy
3 8 oz packages sliced mushrooms seasoned with salt and pepper and sauteed in 1/4 cup butter then cooled

Blender or food processor method:

Add the onion quarters, one can of tomatoes, the juice from the other can of tomatoes (hold onto the tomatoes) the soy sauce, worcestershire, garlic powder, steak seasoning, thyme and pepper to the blender or food proccessor and whirl until onions are pureed.

Place the bread in a large bowl and pour the tomato/onion mixture over. Add the reserved diced tomatoes and smoosh (clean hands work best) until most (or all if you like it that way) of the bread is dissolved and incorporated. Mix in the eggs. Add the ground beef and mix gently but thoroughly.

Hand method:

In a large bowl mix the tomatoes and their juice with the grated onion. Squish to break up the tomatoes even more. Add the soy sauce, worcestershire, garlic powder, steak seasoning, thyme and pepper. Squish more. Add the bread one piece at a time, squish some more, add the eggs, squish, add the meat, squish again but gently.

For both:

Freezer loaves-Line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil and lightly oil. Divide the meat mixture into 3 equal parts set one aside to bake tonight. Make a layer of meatloaf from about 1/3 of an equal part. Spread one third of the mushrooms over this and top with the remaining 2/3. Smooth into a nice loaf. Repeat and place these two in the freezer to freeze solid. Remove from foil, wrap, label and date. Put them back in the freezer otherwise they will thaw and that's not what we're going for, okay?

To bake-Preheat oven to 350. Remove from freezer and whatever you've wrapped it in. Place on a cookie sheet or in a baking pan. Cover with as much ketchup as you possibly can. Bake while still frozen for 1 hour 30 minutes.

Bake tonight loaf-Exactly the same as the freezer loaf except you don't need the foil lined cookie sheet or the freezer. Form the loaf in the pan you plan to bake in, cover with ketchup bake at 350 for 1 hour 15 minutes.

Aunt Gert's Strawberry Delicious Thing

2006-07-02T09:21:00.000-07:00

My Aunt Gert was a marvelous woman, funny, kind and sweeter than an entire box of sugar. When I was five years old I spent the summer at her house. She convinced me to eat the crusts on bread, (She told me it would make my hair grow.) always made home made mashed potatoes, even though I told her you could buy a mix and made a strawberry thing that made you want to skip dinner and head straight for dessert.

I miss Gert. Like all of my mother's sisters, she had a screwy sense of humour and a fierce determination to love life, no matter what.

3 cups flour
1 cup chopped pecans
2 cups butter

Mix well and press into a 9x13 pan. Bake 15-20 minutes at 300.

1 8oz package cream cheese
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Combine and spread on cooled crust.

Top with

3 quarts of sliced strawberries mixed with
2 packages of strawberry glaze

Cover with
1 12 oz container Cool Whip

Little fingers and little toes...

2006-06-15T05:50:00.000-07:00

I am ashamed to admit I was watching Ham on the Street and borrowed the idea for these from George Duran. I'm not really ashamed about the borrowing, more the watching of that idiot show. That man is ten times more annoying than Emiril.

Anywho, he was making lighter versions of chicken fingers and I decided to give it my own twist.

1 lb of chicken breast cut into strips (fingers) or chunks (toes)
1 cup of mayonaisse
Stuff to make the mayo tasty (see below)
2 cups panko bread crumbs or regular bread crumbs or matzo meal
salt and pepper

In a medium sized bowl mix the mayonaisse with the flavoring of your choice

Asian
2 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp rice vinegar
1/2 inch piece of fresh ginger grated
1 clove garlic finely minced
1/2 tsp sesame oil
1/4 tsp black pepper
Dash of hot sauce

Curry
1/4 cup vindaloo curry paste
3 Tbl curry powder
1 tsp hot sauce

Lemon Garlic
2 cloves of garlic finely minced
zest and juice of 1 large lemon
1/2 tsp black pepper

Barbecue
1 Tbl brown sugar
2 Tbl cider vinegar
1/2 tsp each garlic powder, onion powder & chili powder
Dash of liquid smoke

Preheat oven to 400. Lightly grease a baking sheet with vegetable oil or pan spray.

Spread your crumb of choice on a large plate and season with salt and pepper. (If making the curry ones a bit of curry powder, barbecue a bit of chili powder) Dip your chicken pieces into your mayo mixture then into the crumbs, turning and pressing lightly to coat well. (Messy) Lay each chicken piece on your baking sheet until all pieces are coated. Bake for 15-20 minutes until chicken is done and coating is nicely crisped.

Alternatively you can leave the chicken naked. ie dip them in the mayo and leave off the crumbs. Absolutely yummo!!!

Delicious all by themselves but you can make dipping sauces for them or use commercial ones such as sweet and sour, hot mango chutney or barbecue sauce.

We like

Hoisin Barbecue
1/2 cup good quality barbecue sauce
2 Tbl Hoisin Sauce
1 tsp hot sauce
Couple of dashes liquid smoke

Garlic Tahini
1/2 cup sour cream
2 Tbl tahini
2 cloves garlic finely minced
1/4 cup lemon juice

Curried Mayo
1/2 cup mayonaisse
2 Tbl vindoloo curry paste
1 Tbl curry powder
1 tsp hot sauce

Horseradish Ranch
1/2 cup ranch dressing
1 Tbl prepared horseradish (not the creamy kind)

Mushu Burgers

2006-06-12T16:52:00.000-07:00

Burgers
1 lb ground pork
1 egg
1 inch piece fresh ginger grated
2 cloves garlic finely minced
2 Tablespoons ponzu or 1 Tablespoon rice wine vinegar and 1 Tablespoon soy sauce
1 Tablespoon Kikkoman or Tamari Soy Sauce
1 tsp hot sauce
1/2 tsp black pepper

In a medium bowl mix together all ingredients except the pork until well combined. Add the pork and using your hands, mix thouroughly but lightly. Form meat into four even sized patties. Cook on medium high turning once until cooked through.

Veggie Mix
2 cups coleslaw mix or shredded cabbage
1 small onion sliced into thin strips
4 oz button mushrooms cut into slices
2 Tablespoons soy sauce
1 Tablespoon Honey
1 Tablespoon rice wine, red wine or sherry vinegar
Salt and Pepper
2 Tablespoons Vegetable oil

Heat 1 Tablespoon oil in a wok or large saute pan until hot. Add the mushrooms season with salt and pepper and cook untill golden brown and slightly crisp. Remove from pan add remaining vegetable oil and the onions cook for 1-2 minutes until onions are translucent add the coleslaw mix, toss and fry until veggies are slightly wilted. Add the soy sauce, vinegar, honey and mushrooms. Cook and stir one minute more.

To assemble
4 burrito size flour tortillas
Hoisin sauce to taste

Spread a dollop of hoisin in the center of the tortilla, top with a 1/4 of the sauteed veggies and one of the burgers. Wrap up as best as you can and shove in your face. Yum!

The meat mixture makes an incredible filling for potstickers. Alternatively you can form it into meatballs and bake them at 375 for about 15 minutes then add them to the veggies and serve over rice. I'm thinking about experimenting and skewering the meat mix with possibly pineapple, green pepper and some onion then grilling them, maybe brushing on a bit of hoisin at the end. Sounds promising.

Fruit Salad

2006-05-29T19:31:00.000-07:00

3/4 cup sourcream
2 Tbl sugar
sprig of mint finely chopped
1 tsp vanilla
dash white pepper

Mix together and add

2 cups diced fruit of your choice. I totally cheat and use a combination of those fruit cup thingies such as citrus salad, tropical mix, pineapple and peaches

Yum

Karl's Killer Cod (no K on the cod)

2006-05-17T17:49:00.000-07:00

1 lb cod fillets
1 cup tomato puree
5 or 6 large basil leaves torn into small pieces

Cheese Sauce
1/2 small onion finely diced
2 Tbl butter
1/4 cup flour
1/2 cup dry sherry
1/2 cup cream
1 1/2 cups milk
8 oz finely shredded sharp cheddar
4 oz finely shredded colby jack cheese
salt and white pepper to taste

1 cup fresh bread crumbs
2 Tbl melted butter

Preheat oven to 350

In a bowl or baggie mix the tomato puree, basil and cod fillets. Toss to coat, set aside while making cheese sauce.

In a medium saucepan melt the 2 Tbl butter add the onion season with salt and white pepper and saute briefly. Add the flour and cook 1 minute. Whisk in the sherry stirring constantly, slowly add the cream then the milk. Bring to a boil remove from heat and once it stops bubbling add the cheese a large handful at a time, stirring after each addition until cheese is melted. If the cheese doesn't want to melt you can briefly return the pan to very low heat.

Place the cod/tomato mixture evenly in a lightly oiled baking dish. Top with all of the cheese sauce. Mix the bread crumbs with the melted butter and sprinkle evenly over the top. Cover pan with foil and bake 20 minutes until cheese is bubbly. Remove foil and bake 10 minutes more until bread crumbs are crispy. Remove from oven and allow to rest 5-10 minutes before serving.

We had brown rice seasoned with onion, garlic and green pepper with this. Yum.

Shrimp Toast

2006-05-07T16:38:00.000-07:00

It'd been a long time since I'd ordered shrimp toast as an appetizer. As a child I loved the stuff, Crisp toast, sweet and fragrant shrimp puree with that little sprinkling of sesame seeds on top. But like my love for egg drop soup my taste moved on to slightly more sophisticated fare. Shrimp toast was a fond memory.

Friday evening after a 12 hour shift at work we decided to head to Golden Buddha. Ironic almost that this would be the place that I rediscovered my love of shrimp toast as it is also a recovered treasure from youth. We ordered our usual House Special Sizzling Rice Soup, Egg Foo Yung and Shrimp with Pine Nuts and in a spirit of adventure decided to forego the usual pot stickers in favor of well...shrimp toast.

They were just as lovely as I remembered them to be and it inspired me to try my own version.

1/4 lb peeled and deveined raw shrimp
1 4 oz can water chestnuts
1-1/2 piece of fresh ginger finely grated
1/2 small shallot finely minced
2 Tbl sherry
1 Tbl soy sauce
2 Tbl cornstarch
1 egg white
1/4 tsp each white pepper and salt
2 Tbl Sesame seeds
8 slices white sandwich bread.
Oil for frying

Finely mince the shrimp and water chestnuts, combine with the seven ingredients and set aside. Using a spoon back lightly smoosh the bread to form a shell, divide the filling evenly between the bread and smooth over to edges. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and cut each piece of bread diagonally into quarters. Fry in hot oil, shrimp side down a few at a time about 2 minutes per side. Drain on paper towels and serve with hot mustard and plum sauce.

Maitre D' Butter

2006-05-07T16:29:00.000-07:00

Maitre D' butter is one of life's sinful joys. Take something as simple yet luxurious as a properly cooked steak, plop on a heaped spoon of maitre d' butter and the result of hot meat, melting butter and rich juices makes the most divine sauce ever.

1 4 oz stick real butter softened
4 oz blue cheese
1 smal shallot finely minced
1 tsp Chicken grill seasoning or favorite herb blend (mine has thyme, rosemary, orange peel, red pepper flake, dehydrated garlic and oregano)

Combine all ingredients smashing them together with a fork to blend. Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours to get the full effect. Stays fresh in fridge about a week, in freezer about 6 months if tightly wrapped.

Chicken and Dumplings

2006-05-03T17:53:00.000-07:00

Depending on where you come from chicken and dumplings can mean a lot of things to different people. I happen to live in Evansville and most people around here think of chicken and dumplings as a thickish square egg noodle cooked in chicken broth with chicken. My parents however are from elsewhere and I think of chicken and dumplings as a light fluffy biscuit type thing cooked in chicken broth with chicken.

I've never been a fan of from scratch dumplings or biscuits for that matter. The most likely reason being that I may be congenitally unable to make light and fluffy dumplings or biscuits. However this evening we were rushed, we had to make several unplanned stops and when we went to the store I forgot the Jiffy mix. Being just a little too tired to schlep myself back to the store and feeling that it might be totally unfair to send Karl who was equally as stressed and tired as I was, I resigned myself to from scratch dumplings. I decided to take a different approach...

Boil a chicken, seasoning it well with salt and pepper in a large pan with enough water to cover until chicken is done between 45 minutes to an hour or so. Remove the chicken from the pot and set aside to cool.

4 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1/3 cup lard
1/4 vegetable oil
1 cup buttermilk
1 cup (at least) milk

Mix the first 4 ingredients together in a large bowl. Cut in the shortening and the oil using a pastry blender or two knives until mixture resembles fine crumbs. Stir in the buttermilk and enough regular milk to form a loose but thick dough. Set aside.

Check the broth from boiling the chicken for seasoning add more salt and pepper if needed. Pick the chicken from the bones and add this to broth. Bring the broth to a boil. Drop about half of the dumpling mixture by large tablespoons over the boiling broth until top of broth is covered evenly in a single layer. Bring broth back to a boil, reduce heat cover tightly and simmer for twenty minutes. Remove lid and either serve the dumplings or skim them into a large shallow dish. For the second batch check the broth if it's very thick you can add more chicken broth or some water to thin it out. Repeat the same process for the second batch of dumplings.

These turned out very light and fluffy and pretty yummy too. Is this the end for Jiffy Mix? Probably not, I still can't make a decent biscuit, but in future not having it on hand will definitely not be the point of stress it's been before.

English chocolate, ponzu, Trader Joe's and Heaven and Hell

2006-04-04T17:41:00.000-07:00

I am a foodie. I am not sure anyone had ever called me this before I told my friend Peter that I was going to Indianapolis for 3 days to visit my brother and shop at the great international grocery stores there. It's true though. When I go camping the scenery is gorgeous, the hikes are fun but to me the best part is cooking over an open fire. When I head to Indy in addition to seeing darling Patrick and lovely Janice, I also get indulge my need to find new and delicious foods to take home. I'm not the kind of foodie that wants to eat at 5 star restaurants. I'm the kind that wants to experiment in the kitchen and eat at any promising non chain restaurant that catches my eye, especially if it's a dive.

So we drive to Indianapolis, take the wrong exit, eat at possibly the worst Chinese buffet ever (sometimes dive hopping does not work out) and eventually end up at Pat and Janice's around 9pm. We are greeted by cries of "Oh shit! I forgot you were coming!" and apologies for the mess, then hugs. We crashed out on the couch, watched Pulp Fiction and settled down for the night. We woke to a kind of time warp sensibility because Indianapolis is an hour ahead of us and then there was Daylight Savings Time and my brother's only wall clock was about 5 hours fast. It set the tone for the entire weekend that we never really knew what time it was.

We woke up at some point Sunday morning sometime between 8:30 and 10:30, made coffee, and searched the Yellow pages for promising grocery stores. International Food Mart, which we had discovered on a previous trip, was our starting and end point. It was raining and although I know where Patrick lives, I don't know the address and didn't feel like getting soaked walking out to get it. I knew how to get to IFM from Pat's so it really was a logical choice. I used Mapquest to get directions to Sarraga, a huge international grocery in a converted KMart building. From there it was to be Trader Joe's and if we happened across one on the way a Meijer.

IFM was great. We picked up Vimto, some pigeon peas, dry chinese mustard and various other bits and pieces. Then on to Sarraga. Now anyone who's ever used Mapquest knows that occasionally they will just jack you around. Fortunately there was a nice big billboard to point us in the right direction.

Ignoring Mapquest completely we made our way to Sarraga. For a few moments we sat in the parking lot in awe of the immense size of the place. Our awe was soon overwhelmed by curiousity and we headed inside. Good lord the place was immense! We started in a section at the front of the store occupied by fairly norm of Asian imports. Noodles, noodles, noodles and some beer. Beyond this was the produce section.

A vast cornucopia of foodstuffs I'd heard of but never seen and stuff I'd never even heard of at all. Casava, giant yams, something that looked like an extremely angry potato. Chilis of all size, shape and color, green coconuts, long beans and at least 3 different kind of sprouts. All the exotic produce made my head spin. If I hadn't known for a fact that real life would intrude, I would have bought a bit of everything. However I knew we were constrained by home storage and perishability. Perhaps next time though. I did end up with enoki mushrooms and a pound of soy bean sprouts. We wandered into the home wares section of the store and marveled at the darling dishes and strange contraptions this led into the frozen food section.

A stunning array of exotic shellfish, more dumplings then you could eat in lifetime, edamame, esoteric fruits, steamed buns, interesting vegetables, and noodles, noodles noodles. Plush mochi. We made our slow way back and forth through the rows and rows of freezer cases and I eventually reached the conclusion that I was no longer seeing only staring. I looked over at Karl and realised the same thing was happening to him. Eventually we stumbled out of the freezer section and landed ourselves at the butcher's counter.

to be continued...

Noodle Stir Fry with Pea Greens

2006-03-14T06:01:00.000-08:00

I love new stuff! If it relates to food, I especially love new stuff. While on a hunt for marrowfat pea seeds I discovered a site called Sprout People. They introduced me to the idea of pea greens, which in effect is pea sprouts (think bean sprout) taken to the next logical level. I grew mine myself although in the right area of the country you might find them in a specialty store or farmers market.

1 lb of cooked noodles such as #3 Chinese Noodles, Linguine, Soba or your favorite
2 chicken breast halves or 1/2 pound of pork loin cut into small pieces
4 cloves garlic finely minced
Black Pepper
Lots of assorted veggies* I used in this one
1 can of sliced water chestnuts, drained
1 can of fancy mixed chinese vegetables, drained
1 8 oz package sliced button mushrooms
1 6 oz pkg fresh sugar snap peas
1 large onion sliced thinly
A very large bunch of pea greens
Oil for frying
1/4-1/2 cup of soy sauce**
1 Tbl honey

Heat 2 Tbl of vegetable oil in a wok over high heat until almost smoking. Add your desired meat, the garlic, a sprinkle of black pepper and a bit of soy sauce. Saute until meat is cooked through. Remove from pan and set aside to keep warm add a bit more oil to the pan and add your mushrooms season with pepper and soy sauce and cook until mushrooms begin to brown add the remaining vegetables except the pea greens to the pan and more oil if needed. Toss and cook for 2-3 minutes. Add the noodles and cooked meat and pea greens. Season with soy sauce to taste and 1 Tbl honey. Cook and stir until heated through. Yum, yum, yum, yum, yum!

*Other lovely veggies you can use
Bean sprouts
Soy bean sprouts (These are lovely. Traditional bean sprout flavor with a crunchy edamame tasting seed on the end)
Thinly sliced carrots
Broccoli
Snow peas
Green onion
Bamboo shoots
Cabbage (in any form)
Cole slaw mix
Broccoli slaw mix
Whatever takes your fancy although I would avoid beets, turnips and brussels sprouts

**Or try Ponzu, a blend of soy sauce and sidachu citrus this may be my favorite discovery since dry sherry.

Roasted Pork with Vegetables

2006-03-04T19:10:00.000-08:00

For the roast
4lb boneless pork loin roast
4 lbs potatoes peeled and cut into halves and quarters
2 lbs baby carrots
2 large onions peeled and quartered
4 cloves garlic peeled and rough chopped
8 oz package Porcini or button mushrooms cut into rough chunks (reserve 2 for the gravy)
Salt and Pepper or greek seasoning to taste
1/2 cup dry sherry
1 cup chicken broth
1/4 butter
2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
1/4 butter

For the gravy
1 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup dry sherry
2 Tablespoons soy sauce
1 tsp sherry vinegar
2 porcini or button mushrooms finely chopped
2 Tablesoons cornstarch dissolved in 1/2 cup water
Pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350. In a large roasting pan mix the chicken broth, sherry, 1/4 cup butter and vegetable oil together. Add the potato, carrot, onion and garlic, sprinkle heavily with salt and pepper or greek seasoning. Toss the veggies in the broth mixture. Rub the pork loin with salt and pepper or greek seasoning and place fat side up on the vegetables. Cover the pan with a tight fitting lid or foil. Cook, covered for 1 hour 45 minutes. Remove from oven and carefully pour as much of the pan juices as you can into a large skillet or saucepan. Sprinkle the mushrooms and the remaining 1/4 cup butter over the vegetables stir lightly to coat and return the roast to oven and turn up to 475 for approximately 1/2 hour.
To the reserved pan juices add the sherry, chicken broth, soy sauce, sherry vinegar, and chopped mushrooms, bring to a boil stir in the cornstarch/water mixture and bring back to a boil. Season with extra pepper to taste.

Also Lemon Chicken

2006-03-02T17:07:00.000-08:00

Frying lemons is my new passion.

4 chicken breast halves cut into bite size pieces
2 large lemons sliced very thinly
3 bunches green onion (spring onions, scallions, whatever you call them) white and green cut into 1" pieces
4 cloves garlic minced
1/2 cup dry sherry
1 15 oz can chicken broth or 2 cups homemade (if you have the time for that sort of thing)
1 cup water
2 Tablespoons cornstarch
Salt and Pepper to taste
1/4 cup vegetable oil

Heat 2 Tablespoons of the vegetable oil in a wok over high heat. Add the lemons to the oil and saute until limp and lightly browned. Remove the lemons form the pan leaving as much of the oil in the pan as possible. Heat the remaining 2 Tablespoons of oil in the pan and add the chicken and garlic, season with salt and pepper and saute until chicken is lightly browned and cooked through. Add the sherry and bring to a boil, cook for one minute. Add the chicken broth and bring to a boil. Meanwhile mix the water and cornstarch together stir into the pan and bring back to a boil, stirring to prevent lumps. Add the green onions and fried lemon and cook 2-3 minutes longer, adjust seasoning if needed with salt and pepper. Seve over rice.

The Second Best Curry Ever

2006-03-01T20:59:00.000-08:00

The very best curry Karl ever made for me was so hot one bite immediately caused endorphin euphoria. Indian food is not particularly popular in our little neck of the woods and decent ingredients are hard to come by. We found the Vindaloo paste in an Asian Grocery store the first time and the second time in Indianapolis on the second happiest day of our lives. A trip to Minnesota yielded the Maykway powder but we're gonna have to beg Danny for an airmail package soon as we're almost out of it and tea.

2 lbs sirloin, top round or eye of round sliced into thin strips
1 cup sour cream
1/3 cup Patak's Vindaloo Curry Paste *
1 Tablespoon Maykway Hot Curry Sauce Mix **

1 large lemon sliced thinly
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 sweet bell peppers (preferably red and yellow) sliced into strips
1 med onion diced
1 15 oz can diced tomatoes
2 jalapeno peppers sliced into rings

1 cup sourcream
2 cups water
1/4 cup Maykway Hot Curry Sauce Mix **

Mix 1 cup sour cream, 1/3 cup Vindaloo paste and the Curry Sauce Mix together in a bowl or zippy bag. Add the sirloin and mix to coat and combine.
Heat the oil in a wok or large fry pan over medium high heat. Add the lemon slices and stir fry until limp and lightly browned. Remove from oil and set aside. Add the sirloin with all of it's marinade to the pan. Cook until the marinade starts to separate and the meat is mostly cooked. Add the bell peppers, onion, tomato and jalapeno and cook for 5 minutes. stir in the remaining cup of sour cream, the water and the curry sauce mix. Stir and bring to a boil, mix the fried lemon slices back in and cook for 1-2 minutes more. Serve over rice or rice pilaf or fried rice. Mmmmmmmm!!!
*You can use a different brand if you must
**Karl's brother sends this to us and it may be difficult to find. You can substitute your favorite curry powder and some cornstarch to get the proper thickening power.

Fried Green Tomatoes

2006-02-21T10:56:00.000-08:00

Southern comfort food at it's absolute best. I've never been a fan of cornmeal so here's my deep fried version.

Fried Green Tomatoes

1 cup milk
1 Tbl vinegar
1 cup flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
dash cayenne pepper
Thinly sliced green tomatoes
Oil for frying

Heat oil in a dutch oven. Meanwhile mix the milk and vinegar together and let thicken slightly. In a bowl mix together flour, baking soda, salt and cayenne add the milk/vinegar and stir to combine. Should be the consistency of thinnish pancake batter. if not add more milk. Dip tomaoto slices in the batter and fry until golden brown, place on paper towel to drain sprinkle with salt serve with horse radish ranch for dipping.

Horseradish Ranch

1 cup prepared ranch dressing (I prefer Wishbone)
2 Tbl Horseradish (not the cramy kind)

Mix together.

Steak Sandwiches

2006-02-09T17:55:00.000-08:00

4 mini french bread loaves or 2 regular
1 stick (1/2 cup) butter softened
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic minced
1/4 small shallot minced* (remaining shallot save for sandwiches)
1 teaspoon grill seasoning for chicken
8 oz of gouda grated

2 lbs top round or sirloin sliced thin
8 oz button mushrooms sliced
4 small (ok one of them is partial from the garlic butter) shallots sliced thin
1 cup dry sherry
1/4 cup butter
Salt and Pepper or Greek sesoning to taste

Preheat oven to 350. Mix softened butter, olive oil, garlic, shallot, and grill seasoning in a small bowl. Split french bread lengthwise and spread each half with the garlic butter. Place on a cookie tray and set aside

Melt 2 Tablespoons of butter over high heat in a large skillet. Season the steak strips with salt and pepper or greek seasoning. Add to the butter and saute until browned but still fairly juicy. Remove from pan and scrape out drippings into a bowl to keep warm. Put the french bread in the oven now. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter to the pan and heat until it begins to brown. Add the mushrooms in an even layer and sprinkle with salt and pepper or greek seasoning. Do not stir. Cook 3-5 minutes until mushrooms begin to brown and crisp. Give the pan a hard shake and repeat on second side. Add the shallots and cook 1-2 minutes more add the sherry and bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Meanwhile remove the french bread from the oven and sprinkle 1/4 of the shredded gouda evenly over the top halves of the bread put the loaves back in the oven to melt the cheese. Add the steak strips and all their juices to the mushroom/shallot mixture. Heat through. Remove the bread from the oven and spoon 1/4 of the steak mixture with it's sauce on the uncheesy side of the bread. Squish down to make it fit. Top with the cheesy side and cut each sandwich in half (or 1/4's if using full size loaves) Serves eight.

Mushu Pork-Not in the least bit authentic

2006-01-26T17:10:00.000-08:00

1/2 lb pork loin cut into thin strips
1 clove garlic finely minced
1 teaspoon fresh grated ginger
1 tablespoon soy sauce
Black pepper
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 16 oz package Rainbow Salad or Broccoli Slaw
1 can bamboo shoots drained reserve the liquid
2 small or 1 large onion sliced thin
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup sherry
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tsp szechuan chili paste or other chili paste or hot sauce
2 tsp cornstarch
1 package burrito size tortillas
1 jar hoisin sauce

Heat a wok over high heat. Meanwhile toss the pork loin with the garlic, ginger, 1 tablespoon soy sauce and some black pepper. Add the oil to the wok and when almost smoking add the pork. Toss and cook until browned and cooked through. Add the onions to the pork and and cook 1 minute add the rainbow salad and bamboo shoots. Stir and cook for 2 minutes add the sherry, brown sugar, chili paste and remaining soy sauce. Continue to cook and stir for 2-3 minutes. Mix the 1/2 cup water, reserved bamboo shoot liquid and the cornstarch together pour into wok over meat and vegetables and bring to a boil, tossing to combine sauce and vegetables. When sauce has boiled and thickened remove from heat. To serve spread 1-2 tsps hoisin sauce on center of tortilla, top with a mound of mushu and roll up burrito style. Serve with rice.

Campfire Cuisine-Lemon Chicken

2006-01-25T21:11:00.000-08:00

Any fool can burn a hot dog and heat a tin of beans, and lets face it if you've just hiked all over the wilderness and it's freezing and you're starving, these things taste absolutely divine. But I've always enjoyed creative cooking and the challenge of a campfire only makes me want to be more creative. A love of hobo meals has caused me to experiment with other food you can bury in a fire. Potatoes and onions, whole and wrapped in a shiny jacket of foil taste incredible after you pull them from the coals. Adding mushrooms or peppers to the traditional mix of carrots, potato and onion in a hobo meal is a nice twist or changing from a hamburger patty, to a chicken breast or a pork chop is also welcome. This so far is my favorite is my favorite wrapped in foil experiment.

Lemon Chicken

For each:
1 sheet heavy duty aluminum foil
1 chicken breast
1/2 lemon sliced very thin
4 or 5 green onions white and green parts cut into 1 in pieces
2 cloves of garlic chopped
1 cup instant brown rice
1 cup chicken broth or water
1 tablespoon butter
salt and pepper

Spread the butter (or if it's cold break into bits) in the center of the sheet of foil, lay the lemon slices over the butter top with the onions, salt and pepper the chicken breast and lay this on top of the lemon and onions, fold the sides up to form a squarish bowl, sprink the garlic on top of the chicken pour the rice over the chicken then the broth over the rice. Fold the sides of the foil up and around the food and roll over twice to seal (watch your other ends so the broth doesn't spill out) roll each of the other ends to form tight seals. Bury in hot coals for 15-25 minutes depending on the heat of your fire. Open and wolf.

Corn Cakes

2005-12-30T14:25:00.000-08:00

Perfect corncakes are not pancakey but more creamy custard with a crispy outside. Use more oil than you would for pancakes or you won't get the crispy yumminess that these need.

1 15 oz can cream style corn
3/4 milk
1 egg
1 cup flour
1 tablespoon cornmeal
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper
Vegetable oil for frying

In a medium sized bowl mix together the creamed corn, milk, egg, cornmeal, baking powder, salt and pepper. Stir in the flour just enough to combine. Set aside. Set a griddle or large frying pan over medium high heat. When hot add about 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil to the pan. Drop about a 1/4 cup of batter per cake onto the griddle (I can usually get four in one go) Cook until bubbles form on top and sides look crisped, about 2 minutes. Turn with a spatula. If cakes want to tear wait a little bit longer. Continue cooking on other side for another minute or so. If cakes refuse to set up enough to flip add a little more flour. If the first ones seem cakey add a bit of milk. If pan runs dry of oil add more. Serve hot with butter or not. Ham is also good.

Wicked Chicken

2005-11-22T12:43:00.000-08:00

4 chicken breast halves cut into bite size pieces
1 cup flour
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp black pepper
1/4 real butter
1/2 cup vegetable oil

Sauce
1/2 cup (1 stick) real butter
1 cup Louisiana style hot sauce

In a frying pan heat oil and butter until bubbly. While the oil is heating combine the flour, salt and pepper in a bowl or even better a quart size zippy bag. Shake the chicken pieces to coat them in the flour and add to the hot oil. Cook 2-3 minutes until golden brown. Turn pieces and continue cooking until browned all over and cooked through. Remove from pan and set asside.

Drain the oil and butter from the pan leaving as much as of the browned flour as possible. Add the stick of butter and melt over low heat. Add the hot sauce, heat through. Stir in the chicken until completely coated in sauce.

I like to serve this with Lipton's Garlic Parmesan Risotto Rice and corn. Unfortunately the stores in my area no longer carry Lipton's Garlic Parmesan Risotto (infinite sadness) and I've had to make do with Cheddar Broccoli Rice.

Chicken Florentine Casserole

2005-11-14T21:30:00.000-08:00

4 chicken breast halves cut into bite size chunks
8 oz baby spinach leaves
4 oz button mushrooms sliced thin
1/4 cup butter divided into 3 parts
1/2 cup dry sherry or dry white wine or chicken broth
1 15 oz can cream of mushroom soup
1 15 oz can chicken broth
1 cup water
1 14 oz package instant brown rice
1/4 lb swiss cheese sliced thin
Cavender's Greek Seasoning or salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 375• In a dutch oven melt the first third of the butter over medium high heat. Season the chicken with greek seasoning or salt and pepper. Sauté chicken until browned, set aside. Add another third of the butter to the pan saute the mushrooms sprinkled with greek seasoning until golden. Remove from the pan. Add the last third of the butter and saute the spinach adding more to the pan as it wilts. When spinach is completely wilted add the sherry, bring to a boil and cook one minute. Add the cream of mushroom soup and the reserved chicken and mushrooms. Add the rice and stir to combine. Stir in the chicken broth and water bring to a boil. Turn off the heat. Cover the top with swiss cheese slices, cover tightly and bake in oven for 15 minutes. Uncover and bake 10 minutes more until cheese is bubbly and lightly browned.