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Okay, this is the most recent Recipe Thread
Since there didn't seem to be a recipe thread per se, I'll lead off with The Frugal Gourmet's recipe for Bubble-And-Squeak, with some comments. By popular demand among the Cellar's potato fiends...
BUBBLE-AND-SQUEAK 3 unpeeled potatoes, boiled 4 cups cabbage, chopped, blanched 1/2 med yellow onion, peeled, chopped 1 zucchini, grated or julienned 1 carrot, grated or julienned, optional 3 or more slices bacon, browned, chopped; reserve the fat 1/4 cup diced ham or Spam fresh coarse-ground black pepper, to taste; salt ditto English-y cheeses to top, optional Fry the bacon and boil the potatoes, which may be cut up into thirds if you like; blanch the chopped cabbage in the potato water. Mash the potatoes into rough lumps with hands or the bent-wire type of potato masher. Just break them up some, don't reduce them to paste. Add everything else but the reserved bacon fat and stir together in a mixing bowl. Heat a frying pan of any size that suits; nonstick ones are okay too. Put the bacon fat in the pan and press the potato mixture into the pan after it with a basting spoon or a spatula. Fry the resulting pressed layer of potato mixture until the bottom is golden brown, over medium-low to medium heat. The Froog says half an hour, but this depends on how thick you've loaded the pan. A too-heavy smell of frying potatoes says you're starting to burn it. Loosen it in the pan with the spatula, around the edges and underneath, clap an inverted plate on top of the frying pan and upend the whole thing so the bubble-and-squeak falls out on the plate. Top with a cheese you like, if desired; crumbled, grated, or sliced thin. * * * * I've tried things like adding red pepper, Italian seasoning, or minced garlic, and I'm not convinced they do anything for the dish. Seems like garlic should work; curry powder definitely doesn't. I've added mushrooms this time around -- maybe I need more mushrooms. As for Italian seasoning, perhaps the way to go is with some single green herb rather than a mixture. I suppose anything you like with ham might be considered, but the main seasoning it seems to really need is plenty of black pepper. I haven't tried any radical vegetarian revisions, though olive oil would suggest itself as working with the cabbage. I suppose bacon flavor TVP would make it. The quantities given are really starting points; this stuff can be made by eye and if you've an extra for dinner you can toss in a little more of everything. Four cups of cabbage is about half a cabbage head. Once the ingredients are prepped, this is a mix-and-heat recipe. |
BOSTON BAKED BEANS in a CROCKPOT
When my maternal grandfather passed away, he left his baked-bean recipe for posterity. He made his in a very slow oven in a bean pot, topping it off with water if the beans started getting too dry. When I saw it cooked at 250 F, I said to myself, "Aha! Crockpot on high power!" Tried it that way and it worked fine -- don't even have to tend the pot. This is baked beans from scratch, and I haven't bought a can of Boston baked beans in over ten years. Doubles easily. 1 lb dried white beans, Navy or Great Northern 1 tsp baking soda Water to soak, parboil, and to cover The night before, soak the dried beans in the water. Then add the baking soda and parboil the beans in the soaking water until the bean skins break when blown on. This isn't terribly long, maybe as little as fifteen minutes. The water will foam up as the parboiling goes on; when the foam reaches the top of the pot you're parboiling in, check the beans by blowing on them. Skim off the foam, leave the beans in the water while you put into the Crock-pot: 1 sm onion 1 to 2 tsp dry mustard 2 TBSP brown sugar, or molasses and sugar to taste (Grampa Rolie's original recipe included 1 tsp salt, but this DOESN'T need salt with the baking soda being in there already) 1/8 to 1/4 lb salt pork, cut in 1-inch pieces, per pound of dried beans, but no more than 1/4 lb or it goes too greasy. You can really hold back on the amount of salt pork. All this goes in the bottom of the Crock-pot. Drain the beans and pour them in on the other ingredients. Add the bean water to just barely cover the beans, discarding any remainder. Cook on High for five to six hours. Around five hours, stir the potful well to check doneness and to break up some of the baked beans, thus making the sauce, then continue cooking for a while. Six hours total should really do it, but if it takes longer, it's not a problem. The beans at the top may have dried out a little, but just stir these back into the potful. At this point I check it for taste and usually end up adding some more molasses; I like baked beans rather sweet. You can cook the beans all night and half the day on Low power, but remember to turn to High when you lift the lid to stir the beans. Don't cook it this long on High unless you really want Boston Baked Refrieds -- interesting, but it's because it's peculiar. Navy beans work well for this recipe, but I think Great Northerns actually have the real baked-bean texture; the Navy beans feel a little different. Serve with fresh-baked bread, particularly brown bread of any sort. There's supposed to be a vegetarian/Kosher edition of this dish in the Mediterranean, substituting olive oil for the salt pork. I haven't tried this. |
<b>Cheap Lazy But Vaguely Pro-Vegetable College Student In A Burrito</b>
(tonight's dinner.) - sweet onion - broccoli - tortillas (large, cheap, local & fresh, ideally) - salsa - refried beans - cheese (opt.) Slice onions, crudely chop onions. Leisurely sautee on medium in covered pan with olive oil and <a href="http://www.huyfong.com/frames/fr_sriracha.htm">cocksauce</a> until the broccoli is cooked to taste and the onions are brown. (Add broccoli later if you want it crisper.) Dump the veggies into a bowl, add olive oil & a tortilla to the pan. Apply sliced/etc cheese, refried beans. Let it cook a while (still on medium-ish), then add the vegetables. Keep an eye on the bottom; ideally, it'll turn a light golden brown and turn crispy. Take it off before it gets too crisp to fold or roll, add salsa, consume. If you're particularly lazy, try to use only one plate for the vegetable storage and burrito consumption. |
I threw some sausage, saurkraut, and dumplings (with a bit of water) in the crock pot, let it cook on high for 4 hours and served it over mashed potatoes. Mmmmmmmmmm.
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Oven at 250 degrees, same amount of time, and check the beans every hour or so for drying out. They get too dry, add a little water to barely cover, stir. Everything else is as above.
The crockpot will consume less energy than heating an entire oven, but you can get more out of the oven if you slow-cook some other stuff in there along with the beans. This is good in the winter, as the hot stove will take care of some of the heating of your house, perhaps all of it if your place is well insulated and easy to heat. |
LEMON MERINGUE PIE, the condensed milk recipe
There are several ways to make lemon meringue pie. We've never found any others that could match this one. It's my mother's slight modification of the recipe found on cans of condensed milk; over the years she's tweaked it a bit. The secret to a lemon meringue pie that will blow your guests' socks off is the homemade graham cracker crust; storebought graham pie shells just aren't the same. We like the pie pretty tart now that we're all grown up and don't have kid-type sweet tooth any more, so a little more lemon and less sugar will doubtless suit maturer palates. Doubles easily; you can go from a nine-inch pyrex pieplate to a fourteener. Heat oven to 375 degrees. Graham cracker crust: mix together 3/4 stick of Butter, melted 20 squares Graham Crackers (one of those packages inside the box), crushed to crumbs. Flog 'em up in a food processor or crush with rolling pin between layers of wax paper. Fresh crackers are best. 1/4 cup Sugar (you may be able to reduce this quite a bit, or cut it with Splenda) Press mixture into 9" pie pan. Bake at 375 degrees for 8 minutes, cool on rack. Filling: while pie shell is cooling, mix together, then immediately put in pie shell 1/2 cup Lemon Juice juice of 1 Lime (optional) 1 tsp Grated Lemon Rind (more if desired) a little Grated Lime Peel (optional) 1 14oz can Condensed Milk (not evaporated! that's for tea!) 1/4 tsp (heaping) Trader Joe's Trader Darwin's (tm) Vitamin C Crystals (optional. Now the pie is good for you, at about 250% of RDA per slice) Mix everything but the condensed milk together first. The minute the condensed milk hits the lemon juice it's going to start to set up. Mix together quickly and immediately pour into pie shell. Allow to set while you prepare the meringue. Mom doesn't put the yolks of the separated eggs into the pie filling as the original recipe has it, on the grounds that uncooked egg parts may not be safe and she dislikes the texture; she reserves them for the morrow's scrambled eggs. Raise oven heat to 425 degrees. Meringue: 3 Egg Whites 1/2 tsp Cream of Tartar 1/4 cup Sugar pinch of salt Beat Whites w/Cream of Tartar until stiff peaks form. Beat in Sugar, Salt. Pile onto pie filling, bake at 425 degrees for 5 minutes, until peaks start to brown or meringue is just getting golden. Let cool, refrigerate. Several hours fridgeing is better than just one hour. This pie doesn't travel very well. At least, the meringue doesn't -- automobile vibrations seem to start breaking the meringue down into a sweet eggy liquid -- a little of this moistening the crumb crust is nice, but a flood of it makes for a sticky mess. Basically, make it where you're going to eat it if at all possible. |
Tonight has been a double feature. Starting at around 10:30, I made a batch of <h1>Woo's Blue</h1>
Kingston Spar 42.0 Silica 27.0 Ball Clay 13.0 Whiting 18.0 -- Red Iron Oxide 4.0 Rutile 4.0 Bentonite 2.0 Mix gently (wear a respirator), add <i>to</i> water (oops) & sieve repeatedly, about 9 times. Mixing 300g plus cleanup took me about 2 hours, so when I got home, I made myself some <h1>Nutritional Yeast on Toast</h1> - Toast some bread. - Apply vegan butter of your preference (Soy Garden, Earth Balance, etc) - Sprinkle with nutritional yeast, pepper (opt), salt (opt) never said the recipes had to be food. ;) |
Same idea, from bottom to top:
Whole grain toast, butter, Vegemite. Vegemite beats its Canadian cousin Marmite. |
Delish corn casserole dish I'm making for T/giving dinner:
(Not for dieters) 1 can (15 0z) creamed corn 1 can (15 0z) whole kernal corn, drained 1 cup buttermilk 1 stick melted butter 2 eggs, whipped 1 package JiffyBrand corn muffin mix Spray 2Qt casserole dish with non-stick spray Mix all ingredients together Pour into casserole Bake, uncovered, 350X45 min. to an hour I cook for an hour--I like it brown and crispy. Amazingly easy and really :yum: |
Do any of the Brits hereabouts have a really good recipe for Bubble and Squeak?
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Bri, that's a classic recipe in my husband's family, except they use 8 oz. of sour cream instead of buttermilk.
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Here (approx) is my Mum's recipe for Bubble & Squeak. I've tried to translate it to be US friendly. Mum says she hasn't measured it out in years, and really anything leftover would go into it - this is the simple, basic recipe.
2-4 slices cooked bacon diced or cut into strips 1 small onion, chopped & fried until soft 2 cups cabbage 2 cups boiled potatoes Dripping (leftover fat) from roast or butter for frying Roughly mash potatoes (should be chunky) Mix in with cabbage, bacon, onion Heat dripping/ fat in skillet Press mixture down & cook over a low-medium heat for approx 10 mins Turn onto plate, return to pan to cook other side You can also make wells in the bubble & squeak & drop eggs into them to cook. |
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Ok I am definitely going to try making bubble & squeak in the next couple of days. My husband is a very choosy eater, and this would definitely be something he would veto..... but he's in Beijing, so I can eat whatever I want!
I'm going to try UG's beans too!! I made corned beef & cabbage last night - it's another "no way" meal when he's home. I vowed that I would be good & work out/ diet while he was gone....... yeah, um..... don't think that's gonna happen! lol |
Enjoy! And eat your starches with fiber -- try getting your carbs from fiber-laden sources, includin' beans. The slower release of the energy of the carbs when plenty of fiber is around means your body isn't jolted into secreting lots of insulin to control the rise in blood glucose and storing that glucose as fat. Something I've gotten some pretty good results from is Sugarbusters (tm) -- you can get the books at Borders or Barnes & Noble.
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BusterB, Jiffy brand corn bread/muffin mix and cake mix are still around on the West Coast.
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Well when I was a kid, don't think they had jiffy. I however do have some.
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Muffed stonkfish
One cup breadcrumbs, 2 tbsp parsley, pinch of dried thyme, grated rind of half a lemon, 2 oz melted butter, 1/2 tbsp lemon juice mix it all together, add a little beaten egg to bind.
1lb monkfish tail - remove the bone down the middle and stuff with the above stuffing. Lay a little proscuitto on top. Wrap it all in foil and bake at 190C for 40 minutes. Deeeelishus! |
Made the corn casserole yesterday. With sour cream, added 1/2 cup each green onions and bell pepper a dash of old bay seasoning. Great
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Deer Ribs
On new years we smoke ribs at Mikes shop. With blackeyed peas, cabbage and cracklin cornbread. Click photo for cornbread.
[IMG]<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/busterb/80498616/" title="Photo Sharing"><img src="http://static.flickr.com/42/80498616_b8ae34ef23.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="ribs" /></a>[/IMG] |
I made the corn bread casserole again today. With green onions, bell pepper and swapped the whole corn for Hominy. Also 2 small pounded chicken breast coated with my take off of the Outback onion. Served on my fine china :yum:
[IMG]<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/busterb/86236065/" title="Photo Sharing"><img src="http://static.flickr.com/39/86236065_5380aa26fd.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="c-bread casserole" /></a>[/IMG] [IMG]<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/busterb/86236066/" title="Photo Sharing"><img src="http://static.flickr.com/6/86236066_7ffb8729b7.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="c-breast" /></a>[/IMG] |
:yum: Yum! I think I need to go fix myself dinner now, although it won't be as good as that, alas. Like your fine china, too! Where did you pick up that pattern? :D
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China-Mart of course.
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"Beans may be cooked in a pressure cooker..."
A further note on baked beans, from the cookery booklet written somewhat erratically by one Olga V. Hanscomb, home ec advice columnist with the St. Paul Daily News, 1936: "[with the beans cleaned and soaked overnight] Beans may be cooked in a pressure cooker for 45 minutes at 20 pound pressure and then browned in oven for 30 minutes."
The Hanscomb recipe looks a lot like my grandfather's, in the general details: 2 cups dried Navy Beans 1/4 lb Salt Pork 1 tsp Salt 1/2 tsp Mustard 1/4 cup Molasses Hot Water, to cover, and a change of water to cook How Olga did it: "Wash beans and soak over night in one quart of water. Drain off the water and cover with fresh water. Cook slowly about 1/2 hour. Drain. Place half the beans in a bean pot or deep casserole and add seasonings [the mustard and molasses -- U.G.]. Slash the pork but do not cut through the rind and place in pot rind up. Add the remainder of the beans and cover with hot water. Cover the dish and bake at 275 degrees for 8 hours, replenishing with water which evaporates. Beans may be cooked in a pressure cooker for 45 minutes at 20 pound pressure and then browned in oven for 30 minutes." You may or may not want the salt, particularly if you parboil the beans with baking soda in the bean water, which is the big difference between Grampa's recipe and this one. I'm a bit surprised at the keeping of the salt pork in one piece -- I rather like encountering the occasional lump of salt pork adrift in my beans. |
Good gods, man, be careful!! An exploding pressure cooker can take out your whole kitchen!
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Cornbread Recipe
Wonder if anyone could have a look at this cornbread recipe for me & let me know how authentic it's likely to be? I can't follow American recipes as I usually come up against an ingredient I can't find in this country, so this is from a UK website.
280g cornmeal, fine polenta or fine semolina 85g plain flour 2 tsp Bicarbonate of soda salt and fresh ground black pepper 1 large egg 150ml Milk 425ml buttermilk or natural yogurt 115g jarred chilli peppers, drained and chopped Method 1. Preheat the oven to 200°C/gas 6. Generously butter a shallow tin (around 25cm long) or a small roasting tin. 2. In a large bowl combine the cornmeal, flour and bicarbonate of soda and season well with salt and freshly ground pepper. 3. In a jug combine the egg, milk and yogurt and chillies . 4. Pour the contents of the jug into the bowl of dry ingredients and lightly combine, taking care not to over-mix as this will make the corn bread tough. 5. Pour the mixture into the buttered tin and bake for 25-30 minutes until firm and golden. Serve warm from the oven, cut into squares. I've had packet mix cornbread before (from the Kick Yo Ass Hot range), but I've never tried it from scratch before. This one appeals as it's not too fattening... |
Yogurt is not an authentic southern ingredient.
Check the back of the cornmeal package. There is usually a recipe on there. |
I've never seen cornmeal, though I am going to check tonight. I was going to use polenta. If I used buttermilk would that make it worth making? I'll buy it if I can find it, but authentic southern ingredients don't have a very high demand round here :(
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"Authentic Southern Ingredients" include exotic things like Lard and Fatback.
Buster is the one who should be guiding you here. I'm a Yankee. Cornbread is pretty straightforward. And yes, go with the buttermilk. |
Their ain't no Bacon fat in that , it CAN'T BE REAL !!!!!!
Oh and when you Do find some bacon fat and buttermilk also find a black iron skillet , heat your stove and light a burner on top, after you mix up the corn bread mix , put the black iron skillet on the burner and melt the bacon greese , spread it around and THEN pour your mix in to the skillet , then into the oven and ENJOY !!!! What this will do is cause a bottom layer that WILL seperate from the pan that tastes YUMMMMMMMMMY !!!!!! All crunchy and baconey tasteing !!!!!! |
But either use the yoghurt (um, authentic to the modern South ;) ) or sour a half liter of plain milk with 30ml (two tablespoons) of either lemon juice or white vinegar -- this halves easily, think a tablespoon to a cup and let it stand five minutes before using. You can also simply stir some yoghurt into milk, 1:1. What you're trying for is milk + acidic zing. Makes the baking soda really go to work.
There are two basic kinds of American cornbread: Southern, which is simply a starch food and unsweetened, and Northern, which prefers to make cornbread sweet, though not as sweet as cake, which it otherwise rather resembles. What's the difference? Adding sugar. Whichever is eaten isn't, I think, rigidly observed by region, but professional Southerners (like professional Texans, but they sound a little different, as each Southern state has its own variation on the southern accent) will likely acknowledge that unsweetened cornpone is the traditional variety in their neck of the woods. Oh, and frying polenta or cornbread, a/k/a cornpone, in bacon fat IS authentically Southern -- though it's the sort of thing you'd do before going out and plowing the bottom forty acres, the kind of thing Goodman John would have eaten a Ploughman's Lunch to fuel up for. Oldfashioned, that is. Those chili peppers are optional, for a spiced cornbread. If you go with the chilis, you might consider grating some cheddar cheese on top. |
The modern South is not "The South." As in "The South will Rise Again" South.
The modern South is a bunch of damnYankees relocated to Research Triangle Park, North Carolina and to the high tech corridor of Georgia to work computer and electronics jobs that just never went back North after the dot com bust. |
I found both buttermilk AND cornmeal! From the packaging & location in the supermarket I assume both are used in Carribean cookery. So if my experiment goes well I can make it as many times as I like.
Thanks for the advice - I won't be taking the bacon or cheese advice for the moment as I'm trying to make a low fat version. Once I've lost some pounds - and perfected basic cornbread - I may become more adventurous. |
I should stay out of this, because I use self rising meal and flour most. UG is correct about making sour milk in post above. The hot pan thing above is good also. Zippy. If you let pan cool a little after oven, it won't stick as much. I cook mine in a cast iron skillet and how much,what I put in mix depends on size of skillet. Some put oil, grease in mix. I use a TB spoon of bacon grease in hot pan, swirl around to grease pan and dump in mix. Sometimes I use no flour or maybe 3 TBs to a cup of meal. Also I cook nothing in my bread skillets but bread.
Son brought me a bag of the asskickin mix before X-mas. Wow! Just be careful of the package of pepper, it's like dust. Here's a little read on baking soda, powder. http://users.rcn.com/sue.interport/food/bakgsoda.html |
I can't get the Ass Kickin mix over here any more - no UK sites seem to sell it & the US sites won't ship to the UK. Hence falling back on making my own.
Am I right in thinking a skillet is like a frying pan? I was going to cook mine in a ceramic overproof dish. |
You're better off with a sheet cake pan of the dimensions stated on your recipe.
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Skillet = frying pan. I concur with Wolf on using the cake tin or loaf pan, but I'd be hard pressed to describe any difference of results from putting a frying pan or a cake pan into the oven to bake this recipe.
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ceramic overproof dish. It'll work if not too deep.
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BB I have NEVER personaly cooked any corn bread , but i have seen it done , the best tasting used the bacon fat in the skillet , I just assumed it also helped it not stick , but well ,hell what do I know !!!
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Ass Kickin Chili
I fixed the Ass kickin chili today for dinner, supper and a few more meals. I didn’t use all the Habanero pepper; hey someone else might like to try it.
I took a chuck roast, trimmed and cubed it. Then to freezer for a few minutes, ran it thru food processor. Think I might have trimmed too much fat off. Guess I’m use to the store ground crap. I also add some ground Chipotle pepper, more chili powder, which I think might have been too old. More black pepper and cumin. I truly think it needed more fat. Anyway I wouldn’t have paid for the mix. It was a X-mas present. The ass-kickin cornbread was good. BTW I’m working on a knockoff of it. Got the dried bell pepper today. :worried: |
Peanut Butter Cookies - No Flour
3/4 c granulated sugar
1 large egg 1 tsp. vanilla extract 1 c peanut butter 1 tsp baking soda Heat oven 350 degrees. ( calls for parchement paper on baking sheet but I didn't use any) Mix sugar, egg,vanilla with mixer for 3 minutes on low. Mix on medium until dough comes together, about 30 seconds. Place 2-teaspoon balls one inch apart on baking sheet. Press down with fork or make indent with thumb and fill with jam. 1/2 tsp. Bake until lightly brown. 12 to 14 min. These are really really yummy! |
Anyone have a recipe for vegetarian lentil soup that actually tastes worth a tinkers' damn? There are a lot of mediocre, uninteresting veggie lentil soups out there -- mediocre when they are not downright nasty.
Meat stock in lentil soup works better, and even adding saturated fat in the form of bacon grease or butter improves veggie lentil soup -- looks like the addition of chopped cooked bacon may be just the thing. Of course, that wouldn't do for a vegetarian recipe -- so who has one they actually like, beyond faint praise? Trying the pea-soup trick of adding a few drops of dark sesame oil seems to show promise. |
I've not tried this recipie but sometimes rice is a good filler for meat. I personally would use white rice so as not to overpower the lentils. I would also add celery and carrots too. I like bean soup but have been skeptical about trying lentils.
I think the onion soup mix might give you the flavor you desire. I have some creole seasoning mix that is really good for beans too. LENTIL & BROWN RICE SOUP 3/4 c. dried lentils 1/2 c. brown/reg. rice, uncooked 6 c. water 1/2-1 tsp. ground cumin 1/2 tsp. salt 1/2 tsp. pepper 1/2 pkg. onion soup mix (I sub. 2 bouillon cubes) 2 cloves minced garlic 3 oz. spinach, cut into 1/2" strips (about 1 c.) 2 tbsp. snipped cilantro or parsley 3 tbsp. lemon juice Heat lentils, rice, water, cumin, salt, pepper and soup mix (dry) to boiling in 4 quart Dutch oven; reduce heat. Cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, until lentils are tender, about 40 minutes.Stir in spinach, cilantro and lemon juice until spinach is wilted. Serve with additional snipped cilantro and lemon slices if desired. |
Chicken Breast Bundles
An old friend came by for lunch today. We made 1/2 of this. I had the breast cooked in butter and olive oil when she came. She did the rest was great.
Bundles 1/4 cup butter or margarine 8 boneless skinless chicken breasts (about 4 oz each) 1/4 teaspoon pepper 2 cans (8 oz each) Pillsbury® refrigerated crescent dinner rolls 1 package (4 oz) garlic-and-herb spreadable cheese 1 egg, beaten, if desired 2. Meanwhile, heat oven to 375°F. Lightly spray large cookie sheet with cooking spray. In 12-inch skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Sprinkle chicken breasts with pepper; add to skillet. Cook 8 to 10 minutes or until well browned on all sides. Set aside to cool slightly. 3. Unroll both cans of the dough and separate into 8 rectangles; press each into 6x4-inch rectangle, firmly pressing perforations to seal. 4. Spread cheese evenly in center of each dough rectangle; place chicken over cheese. Bring corners of dough together over chicken and press to seal; place on cookie sheet. 5. Bake 18 to 22 minutes or until deep golden brown, brushing lightly with egg during last 5 minutes of baking time. Stir chutney; serve with warm chicken bundles. |
I'll probably be making a batch of this this week sometime.
Sauce Bolognese Prep time 90 min to 2 hrs. This is the old-school stuff from an 80-y.o. Italian mama. 5 cloves Garlic, 3 and 2 ¼ cup Olive Oil about 1 lb. Ground Beef or Ground Pork 2 cans Crushed Tomatoes ¼ cup White Wine fresh Parsley fresh or dried Basil, optional Black Pepper, Red Pepper, to taste – light on the Red 1. On low heat, brown three of the Garlic cloves in the Olive Oil. 2. Remove cloves, add ground Beef or Pork, brown. 3. In a separate pan, simmer crushed Tomatoes over low heat. Keep at light simmer. Use diffuser if necessary – like if you have cheap cookware. 4. When meat is browned, drain excess oil if necessary, add White Wine, simmer about 5 minutes. 5. Add meat to the simmering tomatoes, cook about 1 ½ hours. Cooking time depends on your taste for the acidity of the tomatoes (longer cooking means less acidic?), and how acid they are. 6. ½ hour after adding meat, add fresh Parsley and the other two cloves Garlic, and the Basil – 1 sprig if fresh Basil, or sprinkle in some dried, to taste. |
Tried it out last night. Definitely simmer two hours if not more, or at the two-hour mark do what I did and stir in one small can of tomato paste to thicken without burning. Slow simmer really seems to be the secret. Something else that will affect how long you cook it is how wet you want the sauce -- I dislike sauce that leaves a puddle of red water under the pasta, so I'm going with longer simmering.
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Cranberry Liqueur
24 oz Cranberries; pkgs fresh 4 c Sugar 3 c Gin (the most inexpensive Chop Cranberries in food processor or blender. Put in a large lidded jar. Add sugar and gin. Store for 2 weeks, turning or shaking container daily. Strain off cranberries reserve for dessert topping, or use in cranberry nut bread. Decant liqueur into appropriate bottle. Keeps indefinitely. (To strain off cranberries I use a bandanna and squeeze the hell out of them) This is awesome in champagne To make a cranberry martini In good whiskey Just on ice The dregs are awesome on ice cream with a reduction of the liqueur, mmmmmm |
Blueberry Liqueur
2 lb frozen blueberries, chopped 4 cups sugar 3 1/2 cups (cheap carbon filtered) vodka place in a container (I used an old 1 gal plastic vinegar bottle). I used to use fancy glass decorative storage containers, the fuckers are heavy and don't have handles. Not worth it unless you are trying to impress someone. Shake and mix until well combined. Shake and mix once a day for two weeks. Decanting: Strain through a mesh strainer over a bowl. Take the leavings and place into a clean (duh!) bandanna and squeeze it over another bowl (in case you slip and some of the leavings spill out) to get as much of the denser juice out. Get your strongest friend to do this or use blocks of wood if you like. The harder you squeeze the better. Combine the contents of the two bowls & decant into bottles or jars. Save the contents of the bandanna and use on ice cream, in muffins, cheesecake or a blueberry upside down cake |
Tabbouleh
5 Bunches of curly leaf parsley 1 Large tomato (use two if small, 1½ if medium) 1 Large cucumber (use two if small, 1½ if medium) 1 Medium onion (I use the Red Onions, they do not get bitter) 1 Cup of Extra Virgin Olive oil 1 Cup of Lemon Juice (Lime is fun too) 1 Cup Bulgur Wheat (cracked wheat found at most health-food stores) Kosher or Sea Salt to taste Fresh cracked black pepper to taste Boil 4 cups of water & add to the Cracked Wheat in a bowl. Chop the parsley, tomato, cucumber (with the skin on), onion, & tomato very fine. In a large bowl, mix chopped ingredients, with the olive oil, lemon juice, salt, & pepper. Drain the wheat & fold it into the other ingredients. Refrigerate & serve when chilled. Some like to drain off the juice so the salad does not get soggy after it has been chilled and use it like a dressing. Most leave the salad in the juice. If you do not like the consistency of the grain you can use Couscous though it will get soggy very quickly. Tabouleh is best eaten the same, or next, day of preparation. Some like to use Salsa instead of the Tomatoes, add Garlic, Paprika, or Cumin. Playing is best after making the base a few times, depending on your taste. |
humus
4 cups cooked chickpeas (two 19oz cans, drained) 1/2 cup tahini (sesame seed paste) 1/3 cup hot water 1 cup extra virgin olive oil 4-6 cloves fresh garlic (or more, if you're like me) 2-4 tsp ground cumin juice of 1 or 2 lemons sea salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste In your food processor, blend the chickpeas, tahini, hot water, olive oil and the juice of one lemon until smooth. Add the garlic and spices, and blend again, stopping to scrape down the sides occasionally. Taste and adjust the lemon juice amount, if needed. Add the salt and pepper, and blend again. Serve with warm pita bread, cut up fresh veggies or crackers. Also great as a Mayo substitute on sandwiches or burgers. Variations My Favorite is with some dill and cucumber!! (Rob) Sun-Dried Tomato: This one is soooooo good. Add 1/2 cup chopped sun-dried tomatoes (preferably those that have been packed in oil) and process well to make it smooth. Very tangy. Green: Add one bunch of fresh, chopped cilantro (stems removed) and 1/3 cup chopped, fresh dill (stems removed) to the recipe. Process until smooth. Mexican: Add 1/2 cup hot salsa to the recipe. Omit water, or use 1/4 cup if needed, to blend. Sweet and Sour: Add 1/2 cup drained sweet pickles to the recipe and process until smooth. Humus and Tabbouleh wraps are awesome! |
Thanks, Rkzen, those look delicious. The blueberry thing probably works well with the strawberries we grow out here. Or rhubarb, too, with all that sweetening.
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When I was 19 I got a job in a bakery bagging bread. MOst of the baggers would bag up all the loaves as soon as they cooled and then stand around waitnig for the next batch to come out. I was so slow That there was no room left for the bread to cool. I constantly fell behind the bakers.
My boss was very cool, though. He decide to train me as a baker, reasoning that everything was doen by clock. e.g. the mixer starts on the hour, after ten minutes the first part of flour goes in and mixes until half past, etc. So I beacme a baker at 19. For the next four years I worked as a baker in about four different bakeries and learned how to bake just about everything you could imagine. What I'd do was jot down the recipe from the recipe box on a slip of paper and scale it up or down according to what I needed to bake that day. Usually, when I got homw I'd have four or five in my pocket. By the time I quit baking for a living I had amassed a large collection of tested recipes. Even though this was more than 20 years ago, after four years of baking, there are a lot of things I can bake off the top of my head and without measurements. There are certain ratios that are constant, a little more or less and your muffin becomes a bar or a cookie, your chewy becomes crunchy, etc. Playing with these ratios can be like a musician riffing on a classic melody. In the spirit of Ibrams music trivia game here is a bakery question. Whoever answers it correctly gets to ask the next question. I was going through my recipes and found the following slips of paper. I neglected to write down what the recipes were for. What do you think this is a recipe for? Baking times and temps optional. First: 3C flour 1/3 C sugar 2 1/2t B.P. 1/2t B.S. 3/4t salt 1/2 lb Butter 1 C milk 3/4 C currant 1t Orange rind The second one is harder since I didn't even write down what the ingredients were, just the quantities. Although I did write down time/temp. 1/4# 1/4# 2 C 4 1C 1/2t 1/2C 325 degrees f 20-25 minutes I have since figured out what these are for. |
Was that a major thread hijack up there? Sorry. Didn't mean it like that.
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First:
3C flour 1/3 C sugar 2 1/2t B.P. 1/2t B.S. 3/4t salt 1/2 lb Butter 1 C milk 3/4 C currant 1t Orange rind This is close to a Welsh Cookie recipe that you do on a griddle, but no egg... I'm in over my head. |
Hot cross buns?
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