Eat It And Weep

Maple Oatmeal Scones

2009-03-01T15:38:00.005-05:00

I love these on a snowy day (like today) with hot tea.

2 cups flour
1 1/2 cups oatmeal
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 stick butter
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup maple syrup
3 tablespoons sugar
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon maple extract
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ginger
1/3 cup currants (optional)1/3 cup raisins(I personally use cranberries)
1/3 cup pecans, chopped

Preheat oven to 375°F.
Combine dry ingredients (except nuts, raisins, and currants) in mixer bowl and mix thoroughly. Cut in butter until walnut sized chunks remain.
Add buttermilk, maple syrup and egg and mix briefly until dough comes together.
Add pecans, currants and raisins and mix a few seconds more.
Turn out dough onto lightly floured board and pat into a circle 3/4 inch thick.
Cut into wedge pie-shaped pieces.

Bake on pre-greased cookie sheet at 375°F degrees until light golden brown, about 15-20 minutes.

Remove from sheet, glaze with confectioner's icing (flavored with orange juice is nice) if desired or sprinkle with dots of butter and cinnamon sugar.

NOTE: if you have no buttermilk, you can substitute yogurt or sour cream one to one, or 1/2 cup milk and 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice or vinegar.

Soy Chorizo Chili

2009-01-25T18:50:00.005-05:00

Batten down the hatches.
I have "invented" a new recipe with SOY. No meat here, kids. Nope. You can always throw in something from a cloven hoof if you feel the need, but I don't think it's necessary here.

29oz can of pinto beans, rinsed and drained

1 package of Soyrizo (look for it in the produce section with the tofu, egg roll wrappers, etc.)

1 cup salsa - I used Newman's own.

1 cup Sofrito (made by Goya - a mixture of tomatoes, onions, green peppers, garlic, and cilantro)

Directions:

1. Remove the Soyrizo from the plastic casing and saute until heated through, browned, and slightly crispy.

2. Add the Sofrito and salsa and mix thoroughly.

3. Add the humongous amount of beans.

4. Allow to heat through completely.

Serve over rice or in warmed flour tortillas with shredded sharp cheddar or monterey jack, low-fat sour cream, and fresh cilantro. I know there are some of you out there who can't stomach the "soapy" taste you get when eating cilantro. If that's you, chop up some fresh parsley. Nothing says loving like fresh herbs.

I ate this in the tortilla and folded it up burrito style.

I fed this to my husband who states that a meal is not a meal unless there is something that's come from a cloven hoof. He had NO IDEA the chorizo was actually soy and will NEVER find out!

Cherry Upside Down Cake

2008-10-20T22:37:00.004-04:00

CHERRY UPSIDE DOWN CAKE
Serves 6-8
2 cups cherries (stoned)

2/3 cup soft brown sugar

6 TBSP butter

3 large eggs lightly beaten together

1 1/2 cup self-rising flour

½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Pre-heat oven to 350 F

Butter and flour a cake tin, and line the base with baking parchment.Arrange the cherries over the bottom of the tin, and sprinkle 1/2 cup of the sugar over them. Beat the butter and remaining sugar together until pale and fluffy then add some of the egg, beating it in well before adding some of the flour and more egg and continue beating. Add the remaining flour and egg alternately beating each addition in well before adding the next; add the vanilla essence with the last addition of egg.Pour the cake mixture over the cherries and sugar, and smooth it level with a spatula if necessary.Bake in oven for 25-30 minutes until risen and golden and just beginning to come away from the sides of the tin. It may not need quite as long if it is in a fan oven.Remove from the oven and allow to cool for a couple of minutes.Place a large serving plate over the tin, and carefully invert it.
Serve warm or at room temperature with crème fraiche or with whipped cream.

Cheese Slaw

2008-07-24T13:30:00.002-04:00

1 lb. Swiss cheese, grated
1 onion, finely grated 1 small sweet red pepper and/or green pepper, chopped (I shred mine)
Mayonnaise, enough to moisten
Jalapeno pepper, without salmonella, chopped (Optional, this makes it "hot")

Mix cheese, onion and mayonnaise well. Add enough red and green pepper for color. Add Jalapeno peppers if desired. Serve in scooped out head of cabbage, as a spread with crackers.

This is a hit at parties and summer shin-digs.

Peach Glazed Pork Chops

2008-05-27T13:24:00.003-04:00

Nothing says lovin' like me standing over a grill. Got that?

Here's your list:

4 boneless center-cut pork chops

1 C peach preserves (preferably homemade...by me or someone else)

Spice Rub (see below)

Spice Rub
1/2 C brown sugar
3 tsp sea salt
3 tsp freshly cracked black pepper
3 tsp sweet paprika
2 tsp garlic powder

2 tsp onion powder

Mix rub ingredients together and massage into all sides of the chops. Let sit for about 30 minutes. You don't want to grill super-cold meat. That's a no-no.

Put preserves into a small saucepan over low heat. Stir with a non-stick spatula. Once the preserves are sauce-like, turn the heat on as low as possible. Ignore the sweet stuff for the moment.

Preheat your outdoor grill (or indoor if you're in grill hell and can't have an outdoor grill for whatever reason) on LOW.

If you grill these suckers on anything but low, you will end up with BLACK chops. Black chops = shit on a shingle.

Grill the chops until done - remember a teeny bit of pink won't kill you. Too many people kill pork and end up eating what looks, tastes, and feels like damn bark. You don't want bark. Got that?

During the last 5-7 minutes of grilling, baste all sides of the chops with the peach glaze. Don't walk away. Don't close the lid. The sugars will caramelize - that's good times. Walk away? They will burn. See above for Damn Bark.

Serve the remaining peach glaze. My kid referred to it as dippy. He lives for dippy of any kind.

I served the chops with homemade Asian slaw, steamed corn on the cob, and grilled semolina bread. Grilling it alongside the chops turned out to be a great idea.

If you made it through this post, you may just be a lucky wench! The first person to email me will be the lucky recipient of a large jar of my peach jam. G'head. I know you want it.

CHOCOLATE, MARSHMALLOW, BANANA SANDWICH

2008-05-02T16:50:00.005-04:00

I stole this from stumble upon...i want some of these sandwiches...a lot of these sandwiches...sigh*

Here's what you need: Unsalted butter, dark brown sugar, buttermilk bread, marshmallows, semisweet chocolate chips and banana. Health food right? Hello Budda' Boy...you're unsalted but I'm willing to give you a try. Our families might not see eye to eye but I'm curious about you and.....okay sorry. Place 3 Tablespoons of room temperature unsalted butter in a small bowl. It doesn't seem like enough does it? Add 3 Tablespoons of dark brown sugar to the butter. Mix the butter and sugar together until it looks like this. Then stick your finger in and taste it like I did. For the bread, buttermilk is choice here. It's rich, it's BUTTERY, it's the perfect choice. A fancy, fancy loaf is not needed here, I promise. Take 4 slices of buttermilk bread and lather them with the butter-sugar mixture. Feel free to eat a couple slices then make more. Now find a banana that resembles an old beach broad with lots of sunspots. It will taste better this way. Peel the banana and thinly slice.Place the banana slices on the unbuttered sides of the bread. Just use as many slices as you need to cover the bread. Don't skimp for gosh sakes. Get some marshmallows and place them on a metal skewer.Hold the skewer over an open flame until the marshmallows are burnt and gooey. Take the marshmallows, about six per sandwich, and place them on top of the banana slices. Sprinkle about a Tablespoon of chocolate chips over the bananas but under the marshmallows. Is this just unbelievable or what? Put the tops of the bread on and make a sandwich. Press down a little. It does not matter if the marshmallows cool off a bit while you put your sandwiches together. Don't worry I recovered the escaped chocolate chip over there. He was not going to get away. Melt some butter in a nonstick pan on medium-high heat. More, more, more..........more butter. Is that a song? Add your sandwich and cook until brown, about 1 minute per side.Carefully flip over. I used two spatulas to make the turn. Marshmallow and chocolate will be oozing out the sides. You will be Make these, you won't be sorry, except for the fat pants.

Caramelized Chocolate, Banana, and Marshmallow Sandwiches adapted from Bon Appetit

3 Tablespoons of unsalted butter, room temperature
3 Tablespoons (packed) dark brown sugar
4 slices of buttermilk toast
12 large marshmallows
2 Tablespoons of semisweet chocolate chips
12-15 banana slices*
Amounts for marshmallows, and banana slices vary due to the size of bread you use.

Mix butter and brown sugar in small bowl to blend. Spread over one side of bread slices. Place two slices, buttered side down, on plate.Skewer marshmallows and hold over open flame. Toast until marshmallows are blackened in spots, about 15 seconds.Divide bananas between bread slices on plate. Sprinkle chocolate chips over bananas, dividing equally. Add marshmallows on top of bananas and chocolate chips. Cover with remaining bread, buttered side up, pressing slightly.Heat large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add sandwiches; cook until brown, about 1 minute per side. Transfer sandwiches to work surface; cool 1 minute. Cut diagonally in half and serve.

Steak something-or-other

2008-04-09T00:13:00.003-04:00

A concoction I made up because it's easier than stuffed zucchini! Added bonus is that my kids all love it too.

Preheat large electric skillet.

Cut one large round steak into strips about 2" x 1/4". Cook in hot pan until browned, stirring occasionally. Season as desired (I like to use Tastefully Simple Seasoned Salt).

Add 12-16 oz sliced mushrooms, 1 large red onion quartered & sliced, and 4 small zucchini, halved and sliced. Stir together, cover and cook until zucchini is tender, about 10 minutes.

Serve with warmed, whole wheat tortillas.

Serves 4-6

BUTTERSCOTCH-APPLE CAKE

2008-04-03T00:35:00.006-04:00

I stole this from stumbleupon.. but damn it looks good.. and looks easy to make... You have to try this. You really do.

Butterscotch-Apple Cake
adapted from Taste of the South

1 cup vegetable oil
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 cups finely chopped, peeled apples
1 cup chopped pecans
1 cup butterscotch morsels
Garnish: caramel sauce and whipped cream

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large mixing bowl, mix together oil and sugar. Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition. Add flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon; beat well. Stir in vanilla, apples and pecans. (Mixture will be thick).

Spread mixture evenly in a greased 9 x 13 -inch baking pan. Sprinkle butterscotch chips over top. Bake for 55 minutes. Cool completely in pan. Garnish with caramel sauce and whipped cream.

This cake is so moist and rich it will taste like you slaved in the kitchen all day.Your family will be eating out of your hand...I promise.

BROWNIES

2008-03-27T17:01:00.004-04:00

I STOLE THIS RECIPE.. but it looked so good, I couldn't resist...enjoy

This recipe is pretty much straight out of Ruth Reichl’s wonderful memoir “Tender at the Bone”
makes 12 good size brownies

2/3 cup unsalted butter
5 ounces good quality unsweetened baking chocolate
1 t vanilla extract
4 eggs
1/2 t salt
2 cups sugar
1 cup flour
3/4 cups chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Butter and flour an 8 inch square baking pan.
Melt chocolate and butter in a pan on very low heat or in a double boiler. Add the vanilla when melted. Set aside
Beat eggs and salt in an electric mixer. Add sugar and beat at high speed for about 3 -5 minutes or until quite white.
Add chocolate and butter and beat on low speed - just until mixed. Add flour and combine quickly- until there are no white streaks remmaining.
Pour batter into baking pan. Turn oven down to 350 degrees and bake for 40-45 minutes. Do not over-bake - as these brownies are on the fudgy side.
Let cool completely before cutting.

http://www.happyinthekitchen.com/

.......BISCUIT DONUTS.......

2008-02-15T23:22:00.006-05:00

This is my first recipe here...and I'm embarrassed to say it's so easy and it's not even like cooking..well, it's not anything like cooking...But it's fast, easy and really good.

Take a can of biscuits..open it...separate the biscuits...poke a hole in the center and spread it out till it looks like a donut...or you can pinch them into little balls and make donut holes...fry them in hot oil.

You can roll them in powdered sugar, or make a cream glaze or chocolate glaze..any kind you want..I take splenda and cinnamon and roll them in it..or eat them plain...so that I don't go over board, which I'm inclined to do...I get the little small cans that only make 5 biscuits..make 3 regular donuts and donut holes with the rest..

That's it...I feel like I cheated.. hope you don't feel the same when you make them.

Oatmeal Griddle Cakes

2008-01-25T08:49:00.000-05:00

These are one of my all time favorites, especially for snowy days! All natural too!

Oatmeal Griddle Cakes

1/2 c. whole wheat flour
4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups rolled oats
1 beaten egg
1 tbsp oil
1 tsp honey
3/4 c water
3/4 cup milk

Sift together dry ingredients, add rolled oats, combine oil, egg, honet, water and milk. Add to the dry ingredients and beat until smooth. Bake like pancakes.

Mjarda - Lebanese Comfort Food (Veg or Non-Veg)

2007-12-05T23:05:00.000-05:00

Mjardra - Lebanese Lentil Comfort Food Vegan/Non Veg
This recipe wins *no* awards for beauty. It's good, solid and quite high in protein. You can eat this as a side, as a meal or as a sandwich filling. Also called "mujadara"

Here's the vegan recipe:

Mjardra

2 medium onions, diced finely
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup brown rice or quinoa
1 cup brown lentils
4 cups water (approximately)
1 OXO Veggie bouillon cube
1/2 teaspoon salt (you can use more or less)

Chopped cilantro or Italian parsley to taste

Heat oil in pan and gently fry onions on medium high heat until they are brown- stirring occasionally. Add in rice/quinoa and lentils, mix in with onions. Add water and soup cube and salt as needed. Mix, cover and simmer for at least one hour, until the water is absorbed and the grains are soft. You may need to add water. Check occasionally and stir so it doesn't burn to the bottom. Add chopped cilantro or parsley prior to serving.
Best if served in a shallow bowl, and let sit for 10 minutes or so. Enjoy warm or cold - I actually like it best room temperature. Serve with strained yoghurt (if you aren't going vegan) and you can add even more protein.

Egyptians make it with the addition of tomatoes and chili pepper and it's called "koshari". Also good.

Mjardra with Meat

1 lb ground lamb or beef
1 chopped onion (2 if you don't use leeks)
2 chopped medium leeks - the white and yellow parts (save the green parts for soup)
2 cloves garlic chopped fine
2 tsp ras el hanout spices (omit or substitute your favorite pepper blend if you can't find this tasty spice mixture from Morocco, or if you don't like it)
(1/2 c. toasted pine nuts, if desired)
1 tsp salt
1 cup brown lentils
1 cup brown rice or quinoa
4 cups water (about)
2 chicken soup cubes or OXO vegetable cubes
chopped parsley or cilantro

Brown the meat in a heavy bottomed pan. If it's extra lean, you'll need to brown it in a little oil. Add the chopped onions, garlic and leeks and fry on medium heat until translucent. Add spices as suggested or to taste. I add the chopped stems of the greens at this point along with pine nuts.

Add the lentils and rice and fry briefly. Add the water, soup cubes and reduce heat. Simmer covered until lentils and rice are soft - about 1 hour. Be careful to stir and don't let this burn. Add chopped greens when cooked.
Serve hot or at room temperature. Goes well with a green salad or chopped vegetable salad, dressed with lemon juice and oil. Even better the second day!

You can also carmelize the onions before adding them to either version of the mjardra for a different taste.

*S*

Sugar Free Cream Puffs

2007-11-08T11:09:00.001-05:00

This is a recipe that I've recently revised to make weight loss surgery friendly. I've become famous for making these little babies.

Cream Puffs

Dough:
1 cup water
1/2 cup butter (1 stick, no substitutions)
1 cup all purpose flour (I tried whole wheat flour does NOT taste good)
4 eggs

Filling:

1 1/2 cups skim milk
2 packages of Sugar Free White Chocolate instant pudding
1 8 oz container of non dairy whipped topping

Optional:
Chocolate or Carmel ice cream topping (I used sugar free for mine)

In a saucepan over medium heat, bring water and butter to a boil.
Add flour all at once; stir until a smooth ball forms. Remove from heat;
let stand for 5 minutes. Add the eggs, 1 at a time; beating well after each
addition. (note: I use a Kitchen Aid mixer but use a fork if you don't have one)
It's very important to make sure the eggs are added one at a time. Beat until smooth.

Drop by half spoonfuls (a little smaller than quarter size) onto baking sheet (I use
parchment paper so it's easier to remove them).
Bake for 25 minutes at 400 degrees. Puffs should be browned on the top and cooked in the middle.

In the meantime, whisk milk with pudding. Fold in whipped topping. Refridgerate until ready to fill puffs.

Let puffs cool to room temperature. Once cool, fill with pudding mixture using a pastry bag with a bismark tip.

Drizzle with chocolate
and caramel if chosen. Store leftovers in the fridge or freeze.

Makes about 36 cream puffs

Pumpkin Dump Cake

2007-11-07T20:40:00.000-05:00

Pumpkin Dump Cake

30 oz. can of pumpkin pie mix
1 1/2 cup granulated sugar
3 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. salt
3 large eggs
12 oz. can of evaporated milk
1 box yellow cake mix
1 cup chopped pecans
3/4 cup melted butter

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Mix first 6 ingredients until smooth andpour into a greased 9x13 in. pan.
Sprinkle cake mix over pumpkin batter and then cover with the chopped pecans.
Drizzle melted butter over top and bake for 45-50 minutes.
The recipe says to refrigerate until completely cold and serve with coolwhip.
However, I like it warm. It's up to you. It's good either way!

Potato Soup

2007-10-10T20:39:00.001-04:00

Cheesy Potato Soup

8-10 medium red potatoes

2 large cans chicken (or vege) stock

1/2 cup celery

1.2 cup shredded or thin sliced carrots

1/2 cup broccolli pieces

1/2 cup cauliflower pieces

1 large onion

2 cloves garlic

minced1/2 package bacon cut into 1" pieces (optional)

1 cup milk

1/2 package Velveeta cut into 1" cubes

1 tsp celery seedsalt and pepper to taste

Quarter and cut potatoes into small pieces. You can peel them or scrub and leave skin on. You may leave the skin on for red or new potatoes, and peel if using others.
Place potatoes in large pot and cover with stock; add salt. Boil, covered until tender.
While potatoes are boiling, place bacon, onion, garlic, and green pepper in another large pot and sauté until bacon is cooked, green peppers are tender, and onions are clear.
Drain bacon fat, except for about 1 tablespoon. Add celery seed, salt, and ground pepper and sauté for 1 more minute.
Add sautéd ingredients to undrained boiled potatoes. Turn heat to medium.
Add Velveeta and stir soup until cheese melts. Add milk, and stirring constantly, heat until soup is hot.
Be careful not to burn it.
Makes a great pot of potato soup!

Beef Garden Skillet

2007-08-10T15:37:00.000-04:00

I usually make this in late summer, when all of my friends are bringing in their excess veggies. It's like having my own farmer's market. Since I never get all of the ingredients fresh at any one time, I'll mix in canned or frozen veggies as needed, so I'll include both here, except for the zucchini. There's always zucchini.

1 medium zucchini, halved and sliced
2 or 3 green onions, chopped (including greens) or 1 tbsp minced onion
2 cloves garlic, crushed or minced
2 or 3 ears of cooked corn, removed from cobs or (1) 16 oz bag frozen corn
3 beefsteak tomatoes diced or (1) 15 oz can of diced tomatoes, undrained
4 or 5 mushrooms slided or (1) 5 oz can of sliced mushrooms, drained
basil, oregano, salt and pepper to taste

Brown the beef in your skillet or dutch oven on medium heat. About halfway through the browning (about 3 minutes, or when the juices really start flowing from the beef), add the onion and garlic. Continue cooking until the beef is browned, and drain any excess liquid. Stir in zucchini, corn, tomatoes and mushrooms, let cook for a few minutes, then add salt, pepper, oregano and basil. Cover and lower heat to medium low, and let simmer for 10-15 minutes, or until zucchini is soft.

Serve with parmesan cheese and italian bread.

yeharr

Zucchini-Onion Frittata

2007-07-28T09:03:00.000-04:00

I found this one on Cooking Light's website. I'm a Cooking Light whore and am proud of it! Frittatas are so very easy and naturally lend themselves to the whims of the cook's palate because so many ingredients can be substituted depending on what's in the fridge, the garden, the season, in general. Enjoy!

I'd suggest using a spring mix with a simple vinagrette of olive oil, lemon juice, sea salt, and pepper to round out a meal.

Ingredients
3 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

2 medium zucchini, thinly sliced

1 medium onion, cut in half and sliced

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided

8 large eggs

1/4 cup milk

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1/4 cup chopped fresh basil

Garnish: chopped seeded plum tomatoes

Preparation

Melt butter with oil in a 12-inch ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat; add zucchini and onion, and sauté 12 to 14 minutes or until onion is tender. Remove from heat, and stir in 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese.

Whisk together eggs and next 3 ingredients at least 1 minute or until well blended. Pour over vegetable mixture.
Bake at 350° for 13 to 15 minutes or until set; increase oven temperature to broil, and broil 5 1/2 inches from heat 1 to 2 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Sprinkle evenly with remaining 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese and basil. Garnish, if desired.

Lightened Zucchini-Onion Frittata:

Reduce butter to 1 tablespoon, and omit oil.

Sauté zucchini and onion as directed; remove from heat. Reduce grated Parmesan cheese to 1/4 cup, stirring 2 tablespoons into vegetable mixture.

Substitute 1 (15-ounce) carton garden vegetable egg substitute for 8 eggs and 1/4 cup lowfat milk for 1/4 cup milk, and whisk together with salt and pepper. Pour over vegetable mixture.

Bake as directed; do not broil. Sprinkle evenly with remaining 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese and basil. Garnish, if desired.
Yield
Makes 6 to 8 servings

Raita and Tzatziki

2007-07-23T14:31:00.001-04:00

I'm not a huge yogurt fan, but I love this Fage brand of strained yogurt. It's is outstanding, especially in the hot weather. It's so great not to have to put the stuff in a coffee filter to get the water out of it. I make both raita and tzatziki - two yogurt dips/sauces from India and Greece respectively - which are great when you don't feel like cooking or eating anything. This yogurt has about 15g of protein in 7 oz (200 g), so it's a good source of easily digested protein.

Easy Raita
(Indian Yogurt Sauce)

3 tblsp fresh mint (use dried if you have to)
1 tsp fresh ginger (" ")
1/2 c. fresh coriander (cilantro) leaves (substitute parsley if you hate cilantro)
1 clove garlic
salt
pepper
(garam masala - Indian spice mixture, if you like and have it)

Grind these in a food processor or blender until paste-like

Whir in:
1 peeled and seeded cucumber, chopped. Drain on paper towels if it's really wet

Make sure there is some substance left to the cucumber

Blend with:

2 - 3 cups Greek strained yogurt

Serve cold with rice or any grain - quinoa is a great choice here. Or just enjoy as is.

Tzatziki
(Greek Yogurt and Cucumber Sauce)
(Makes about 3 1/2 cups.) This sauce is great with grilled zucchini or any grain dish. If you don't worry about mixing meat and milk, as most Greeks don't, it's a classic with lamb and any other grilled meat. I've also had this combined with avocado and it's quite yummy. Add more yogurt and it becomes a dip.

2 medium cucumbers, seeded and diced.

Peel cucumbers, then cut in half lengthwise and take a small spoon and scrape out seeds. Discard seeds. (If you use the small seedless or European cucumbers with few seeds, you can skip this step.) Dice cucumbers, then put in a colander, sprinkle on 1 T salt, and let stand for 30 minutes to draw out water. Drain well and wipe dry with paper towel.

Juice of one lemon (about 3 T - warm lemon in micro first to get more juice)
1 garlic clove, chopped
about 1 T kosher salt for salting cucumbers
1 T finely chopped fresh dill
1 T finely chopped mint leaves (if you'd like)
Kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste

In food processor with steel blade, add cucumbers, garlic, lemon juice, dill, and a few grinds of black pepper. Process until well blended. This is different from the raita, where you want more cucumber niblets left in the sauce.

Stir in:

3 cups Greek Yogurt (or regular plain yogurt, strained)

Taste before adding any extra salt, then salt if needed. Place in refrigerator for at least two hours before serving so flavors can blend. (This resting time is very important.)

Some people like to add:

A dash of extra virgin olive oil

and/or

A dash of Ouzo - greek liquor

*I HATE licorice/anise so I'm not doing that, but I've had it and it's good, IF you like that flavor*

This will keep for almost a week in the refrigerator, but you will need to drain off any liquid and stir each time you use it.

Current Theme

2007-07-10T15:16:00.001-04:00

In order to help give ideas on what to post, I thought I'd begin a "theme" series... hopefully everyone can find at least one recipe to fit each theme. And feel free to suggest recipe themes you'd like to see featured here too.

The zucchini meatloaf recipe just posted sounds wonderful... I love zucchini and am always on the lookout for ways to fix it. So our theme now is zucchini.

How do you use it? Got any great recipes featuring zucchini? Any tips for ways to use it up when you get too much (well, besides using it as a baseball bat... anyone who gardens and has kids probably knows that one!)

Please be sure to label your post with the zucchini label so we can all find them.

Let's hear it for zucchini!

Zucchini Meatloaf

2007-07-10T13:13:00.000-04:00

for Ballon Pirate

ingredients:

1 1/4 pounds extra lean ground beef (or turkey or chicken - to taste)
1 cup coarsely grated zucchini
3/4 cup finely chopped onion
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1 egg
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
4 teaspoons dijon mustard - or plain yellow mustard if you don't have any dijon around

Preheat oven to 175C/350°F.

Mix ingredients well.

Put into bread pan or shape into loaf and put it onto some other baking surface...

Bake until done - probably around an hour.

Freely enjoy

Savory Polenta

2007-06-25T17:55:00.000-04:00

2 tablespoons olive oil, plus extra for grilling or sauteing if desired
3/4 cup finely chopped red onion
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
1 quart chicken stock or broth
1 cup coarse ground cornmeal
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 ounces Parmesan, grated

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large, oven-safe saucepan heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the red onion and salt and cook until the onions begin to turn translucent, approximately 4 to 5 minutes. Reduce the heat to low, add the garlic, and saute for 1 to 2 minutes, making sure the garlic does not burn.
Turn the heat up to high, add the chicken stock, bring to a boil. Gradually add the cornmeal while continually whisking. Once you have added all of the cornmeal, cover the pot and place it in the oven. Cook for 35 to 40 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes to prevent lumps. Once the mixture is creamy, remove from the oven and add the butter, salt, and pepper. Once they are incorporated, gradually add the Parmesan.

Pour the polenta into 9 by 13-inch cake pan lined with parchment paper (I use PAM!). Place in the refrigerator to cool completely.

Once set, turn the polenta out onto a cutting board and cut into squares, rounds, or triangles. Brush each side with olive oil and saute in a nonstick skillet over medium heat, or grill.

I make a tomato gravy or use Ranch dressing to dip the triangles in. I am sure you guys can come up with some other interesting options!

Blueberry Kuchen

2007-06-17T08:26:00.000-04:00

Ah, at last, my blueberry bushes have small fruits developing. Soon the plump blueberries will be baked in my annual blueberry recipe!

Blueberry Kuchen
2 eggs
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup oil
1/2 cup milk
3 cups flour
5 tsps. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
2 cups blueberries
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
3 Tbsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. cinnamon

Beat the eggs with 1 cup sugar till blended. Stir in oil and milk. In another bowl, sift together flour, baking powder and salt. Stir into liquid ingredients until smooth.
Spread into a greased 9-by-13 inch (or larger, for less depth) pan. Mix the blueberries with lemon juice, 3 Tbsps. sugar and cinnamon, and sprinkle atop batter.

Bake at 350 for 40 to 50 minutes.

For an antioxidant bonus: Add 1 cup of Hershey’s Special Very Dark chocolate chips into the batter and serve cake with a cup of coffee in one hand and a glass of red wine in the other.
*smile*

Black Bean Tacos

2007-06-17T08:18:00.000-04:00

Black Bean Tacos
1 can Progresso black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can Old El Paso chopped green chilies, drained
1 large clove garlic, pressed (or 2-3 small ones)
½ tsp. Old El Paso taco seasoning
¼ cup yellow bell pepper diced
¼ cup red onion diced
¼ cup cherry tomatoes deseeded and diced
½ cup fresh cilantro minced
2 tsp. fresh lime juice
salt and white pepper to taste
¼ cup Old El Paso taco sauce
¼ cup sour cream
12 Old El Paso taco shells
1 ½ cups shredded Mexican 4-cheese blend

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place black beans and green chilies in a large bowl; add garlic and taco seasoning; mix well. Add bell pepper, red onion, cherry tomatoes, ¼ cup of the cilantro and lime juice to combine. Taste and adjust flavor with salt and white pepper, if desired. Set aside.
Mix together taco sauce and sour cream; place in a plastic sandwich bag (for decorative piping). Set aside.

Heat shells according to package directions for 5-7 minutes. Microwave black bean mixture for 1-2 minutes (stirring once) until heated through. Fill taco shells with black bean mixture and top each with equal amounts of shredded cheese. Cut a corner of the plastic bag holding the taco sauce and sour cream and pipe decoratively over the cheese. Sprinkle with the remainder of cilantro to garnish. Makes 6 servings.

Cilantro Lime Marinade

2007-06-17T08:13:00.000-04:00

Now that grillin' season is here, I wanted to share this recipe for marinade! I love it on shrimp!

Cilantro Lime Marinade
suitable for grouper, mahi, shrimp, salmon, or tuna

Juice from 5 limes
2 Tbsp. chopped cilantro
1 heaping Tbsp. minced garlic
2 1/2 Tbsp. olive oil
2 Tbsp. diced red bell pepper
3/4 Tbsp. honey (more or less to taste)
1 pinch cayenne pepper
Whisk together all ingredients and marinate fish for 15 minutes.
If desired, reserve some marinade and brush over fish as you cook.

Cheesecake!

2007-04-27T11:15:00.000-04:00

The Joy of Cheesecake has this amazing Passover cheesecake, which, frankly is too good for just one time a year. Shavuos is coming up next month, aka the blintz and cheesecake holiday, so there's a good time to try this out. You could definitely do this with Splenda if you are splendarific, which I am not.

It's got some good protein going on!
Try it with the matzoh meal crust (which is a restaurant standard these days for cheesecakes). Graham cracker will work too, but it's higher in sugar:

Matzoh Meal crust: 1 c Matzoh Meal, 4 T Butter, Melted, 3 T Sugar

Preheat oven to 350. Blend ingredients well in a bowl. Press mixture onto the bottom and partly up the sides of a greased 8" springform pan. Smooth crumbs to an even thickness. Bake for 10 minutes. Cool before filling.

The Filling: 1 c cottage cheese (or ricotta if you don't want to sieve and drain), 1/2 lb cream cheese, 2/3 c sugar, 3 large eggs, separated, 1 t grated lemon rind, 1 T potato starch, 1 c sour cream

Oven should be cooled to 325 degrees.

Press the cottage cheese through a sieve. Drain. Beat together the cottage cheese, cream cheese, sugar and egg yolks. Stir in the lemon rind, potato starch and sour cream until just mixed. Beat the egg whites (in a separate bowl) until the form stiff peaks, then fold the whites into the cheese mixture.

Pour the mixture into the prepared crust and bake for 1 hour or until set. Allow to cool in the oven, with the door propped open, for 1 hour. Chill.

Kentucky Burgoo

2007-04-27T09:11:00.000-04:00

I love this recipe but it is a bit of effort and expense. I thought I would put it up as it is my time of year to go visit friends in Kentucky and do the Kentucky Derby thing.

Source: Molloy Postcards & Souvenir Services, 1100 Pike Street, Covington KY 41011
Category: Main Dish
Servings: 12
Serving Ideas: Serve with garlic bread.
WW Points: 7.5

1 pound beef stew meat
1 pound lean pork tenderloin -- cut 1" thick
1 teaspoon onion salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground red pepper
3 whole carrots -- sliced
2 small onions -- chopped
4 chicken thighs without skin
2 small red potatoes -- peeled and cubed
1 cup chopped green pepper
14 1/2 ounces stewed tomatoes -- cut up and juice reserved
10 1/2 ounces chicken broth -- double-strength
17 ounces whole kernel corn, frozen
17 ounces baby lima beans – drained

1.Place beef and pork in a 6-quart slow cooker. Sprinkle with onion salt, pepper and red pepper. Toss until evenly coated.

2.Layer in slow cooker, in order, carrots, onion, chicken, potatoes, green pepper and stewed tomatoes with juice. Add chicken broth. Pour liquid from corn into slow cooker; set corn aside. DO NOT STIR mixture in slow cooker.

3.Cover and cook on low for 9 hours or until beef, pork and vegetables are tender.

4.Remove chicken. Stir corn and lima beans into mixture in slow cooker. Cook on high for 30 minutes or until heated through.

5.Meanwhile, when cool enough to handle, remove chicken from bones and cut into bite size pieces. Discard bones. Return chicken to mixture and heat through.

Per serving: 348 Calories (kcal); 6g Total Fat; (16% calories from fat); 32g Protein; 43g Carbohydrate; 64mg Cholesterol; 296mg Sodium Food Exchanges: 2 1/2 Grain(Starch); 3 1/2 Lean Meat; 1 Vegetable; 0 Fruit; 0 Fat; 0 Other Carbohydrates

Exotic Fruit Salad - Easy

2007-04-21T21:38:00.000-04:00

I was experimenting with a chopped fruit salad that would be sweet and tasty, but high in fiber. This is what I came up with:

12 oz mango slices or chunks - FROZEN (important!)
3 granny smith apples, cored and sliced, but unpeeled
1 can crushed pineapple in own juice, drained
1 lemon
1/2 cup chopped toasted almonds or pecans
cinnamon
(1/4 cup sweet wine, if desired)
(1 tbsp honey, if desired)

Core and slice the apples. Juice the lemon and toss the apple slices with the juice. Chop the apples coarsely in a food processor or a mezzaluna. Put back in the bowl with the lemon juice and toss. Chop the frozen mangoes in the food processor or with a mezzaluna. If they are not frozen, they will turn to mush! Mix with the apples and juice and toss. Add cinnamon to taste - about 1/2 - 1 tsp. Mix well. Add wine if desired. Mix again. Last, add honey and pineapple and nuts. Let stand at room temperature to meld and then refrigerate. Will keep a week in the fridge.

If you like, you can make this with fresh mint for a different taste. It is also good with coconut, which I like, but DH isn't keen about. I could also think to substitute coriander for cinnamon and chop cilantro and serve the salad as a type of chutney.

Cranberry Chutney

2007-04-10T20:54:00.000-04:00

This sucker's so simple, it'll make you smack ya mama!

I made this on the fly on Easter. I grilled chicken breasts and pork tenderloins outside even though it was cold. I decided that I wanted to offer something else to go along with the pork since I'd only dry rubbed it. I came up with this.

1 medium sweet onion, thinly sliced
3 Tbl butter
1/2 C white vinegar
1 to 1 1/2 C dried cranberries (fresh or frozen can also be used. I had dried on hand.)
1 - 2 apples - peeled and sliced. I used about 1 cup of DRIED apples from last year's harvest since I didn't have any fresh ones available, and the recipe was GREAT!)
2 large navel oranges, JUICED- throw away everything else although you could throw in some of the zest if you're a real citrusy person.
1 C white grape juice
Dash of cinnamon or nutmeg
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

Melt one tablespoon of butter in a pan and add the onions. Saute over medium heat until softened and translucent. Don't brown them.
Add the vinegar to the pan and stir for 2 minutes.
Add the cranberries and apples.
Pour in the orange and grape juices and stir well. Lower the heat and allow the mixture to simmer. The apples and cranberries will plump up while absorbing the liquid. (About 10 minutes)
Add the cinnamon and cayenne pepper.
Let the mixture simmer for about another 5-10 minutes and add the remainnig 2 tablespoons of butter to the chutney. Mix well. The butter will provide a nice gloss to the sauce.
Serve along with grilled meat or fish. I served it with grilled pork tenderloin which had a dry rub of sea salt, cracked black pepper, and rosemary.

Sandwich Ring

2007-04-04T18:33:00.000-04:00

2 pkgs Pillsbury French bread dough
1 tsp. Italian seasoning
1-2 cloves garlic
Olive oil
Sandwich toppings (see suggestions below)
Italian dressing

Take French bread dough and place each one in a half moon on a pizza pan. Pinch ends together to make a ring. Score the dough every few inches (see picture above). Brush dough with olive oil. Press garlic evenly over the top. Sprinkle Italian seasoning over the top. Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes until done.

Once cooled, slice bread in half horizontally. Flip top over and place sandwich toppings of your choice (i.e. salami, ham, turkey, chicken, sliced cheese, onion, tomato, lettuce, peppers or anything you like) around the bread in layers. On the bottom side of the top, drizzle Italian dressing and spread evenly. Replace top layer of bread, slice and eat!

This recipe serves 6-8 and more if you use more toppings.

Broccoli Salad

2007-04-02T19:35:00.000-04:00

INGREDIENTS
· 1 head fresh broccoli, cut into bite size pieces
· 1/2 cup raisins (optional)
· 1 cup halved seedless red grapes
· 1/4 cup red onion, chopped
· 2 tablespoons white sugar
· 3 tablespoons white wine vinegar
· 1 cup mayonnaise
· 1 cup pine nuts
· ½ to 3/4 cup sharp cheddar cheese
· 10 slices bacon (can omit if you are a vegetarian)

DIRECTIONS
1. Place bacon in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium high heat until evenly brown. Crumble and set aside. (I cheat, using the packaged crumbled bacon)

2. In a salad bowl, toss together broccoli, grapes, pine nuts, cheese, bacon, and red onions.

3. In a separate bowl, whisk together the white sugar, vinegar and mayonnaise. Pour over broccoli mixture and toss to coat. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

Skordalia

2007-03-28T19:37:00.001-04:00

Garlic Skordalia on Matzoh-

One of our family's faves at Pesach is Greek Skordalia. This is more or less how I make it - I've done it with and without the almonds and they are both good:

Skordalia

1 pound Yukon gold potatoes, scrubbed
Kosher salt, as needed,
8 -10 cloves garlic, minced
3/4 cup whole blanched almonds
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 cup water
Juice of 1-2 lemons, freshly squeezed
Freshly ground black pepper

Cook potatoes until very tender, about 30 minutes. Drain the potatoes and let cool slightly. Rub the skins off the potatoes and discard them. Coarsely chop the potatoes and puree them.

Sprinkle the garlic with a generous pinch of the salt and smash it into a fine paste with the side of a knife.

In a food processor, combine the garlic, almonds, and oil and puree into a paste. Mix the oil mixture into the potatoes until incorporated; then mix in the 1 tablespoon and 1 teaspoon salt, water, lemon juice, and season with pepper, to taste. Keep refrigerated until needed and let come to room temperature before serving. Great on matzoh or with brisket.

Two Vegetable Recipes - Leek - Celery

2007-03-21T13:30:00.000-04:00

Here follow two vegetable recipes, also suitable for vegetarians or vegans. We make them for Passover, but they are good anytime.

I have learned both of them from Turkish Jews, though they are probably found in Greece as well.

The first is Apio - Sweet and Sour Celery. I make it with celeriac (celery root), but you can make it with a bunch of stalk celery too. It's a good way to make celery aside from serving it raw. Save the celery leaves for soup or matzoh balls. It doubles pretty easily.

Apio

1 large celery root, or two smaller ones
4 carrots
4-5 tblsp olive oil - or other veg oil
3 tblsp fresh lemon juice
Zest of one lemon (if desired)
1/2 c. water
1 tblsp soup mix or 2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tblsp sugar (I suppose you could use splenda).

Wash and slice the celery root into roughly 1/4" - 1 cm slices. Unless you enjoy cut fingers, don't peel them before you slice the root. Scrape and slice the carrots, slightly on an angle, to look nice.

Put all the ingredients except the salt or soup mix in a heavy sauce pan. Add 1/2 c (about 1 1/4 dl) water, and cover. Cook on low heat for 30 minutes or until tender.

Remove the vegetables and pour the thickened sauce over them. If the sauce is too
thick, thin with water. If it is too thin, cook uncovered without the vegetables, but be carful not to let it burn.

Serve hot as a side dish or at room temperature/cold as a side or appetizer.

Garnish with dill if desired.

I have no idea what this is called in Turkish or Ladino.

Braised Turkish Leeks

6 medium-sized leeks
1 med onion, sliced
1/2 cup olive oil
2 tblsp tomato paste
1 -2 tblsp sugar
1/2 cup water or vegetable stock
Juice of 1/2 lemon - more if desired
Zest of half lemon, if desired
1/4 - 1/3 cup finely chopped flat leaf parsley
1/2 tsp chopped fresh dill
Salt
Freshly ground black or white pepper
Lemon slices to garnish

Remove outer leaves from leeks and trim roots even with base. Cut off most of the green tops and save for soup. Halve lengthwise and wash well to remove ALL soil and sand. Fry onion in oil until transparent. Add tomato paste, thinned with the water or stock, half of the parsley, sugar, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, cover and simmer 10 minutes. Add leeks and lemon juice, spooning liquid over the leeks. Simmer covered 15-20 minutes. Remove to glass serving dish - because it looks quite pretty - garnish with parsley, dill and lemon slices, if desired. May be served warm or cold.

Irish Strawberry Bread

2007-03-17T20:27:00.000-04:00

Being Irish, I wanted to share my traditional Irish Strawberry Bread!

Ingredients:
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 2 cups sugar
• 4 eggs
• 1 3/4 cups vegetable oil
• 2 cups strawberries, rinsed, hulled, quartered

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350° F.
Grease and flour two 9x5x3-inch loaf pans.
In a large bowl, combine flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and sugar.
Add eggs and oil and mix well.
Stir in strawberries and mix again.
Divide the batter between the pans and bake for 1 hour until top is golden.
Cool in pan 10 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack.
Cool completely before slicing.

Cheesy Meatloaf

2007-03-09T17:09:00.000-05:00

At my house we share the meatloaf making tasks. One kid mixes the dry stuff in one bowl, the other kid mixes the wet stuff in another bowl, and they pour them together in a third bowl with the ground beef, where I mix it all together and then slide it into a loaf pan, and drizzle some ketchup on the top:

1.5 lb lean ground beef

dry stuff:
2/3 cup cheese crackers, crushed*
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp dry mustard
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp rubbed sage
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese)

wet stuff:
1 cup milk
1 egg
1 tsp worchestershire sauce

Bake at 350 for one hour. Let stand for 10 minutes, and serve it with corn and applesauce.

yeharr

*we use one of those kids-lunch sized bags of cheez-its, open a little corner of it to let the air escape, and pound it into submission. But that's just us.

Chopped Liver Extraordinaire

2007-03-07T16:00:00.000-05:00

Gehackte Leber á ma façon, if we are going to be all foreign and fancy-schmancy: This is a home version of my commercial recipe which I am sharing with you lucky readers. It is so simple that my husband gets rave reviews when he makes it.

This recipe has not only an amazing amount of protein - 1 cup gives about 27 g of protein - it is a great source of Vitamin A and some of the Bs.

1 lb kosher chicken livers, ideally pre-broiled. If you aren't Jewish and/or don't care about kashrus, just use regular chicken livers
3-4 tblsp rendered chicken fat (schmaltz), or other fat
3-4 hard boiled eggs
1-2 finely chopped (do it in the food processor) onion
Kosher salt - to taste. Use less if you use kosher livers which are already salted.
Freshly ground black pepper
Tarragon, fresh or dry (both work, but have different flavors), to taste. Start small.
A little whiskey or brandy - a shot maybe. For the livers, not for you!

Fry the onion - or half of the onion, if you like more texture - in the fat until clear. Add tarragon. Sauté quickly. Add livers and whiskey and fry only until no longer pink. The alcohol will evaporate. If you overdo this part, the livers become hard and icky. Put half of the livers, half of the onion and 2 eggs in a food processor and grind to desired consistency - depending on if you want more of a smooth or chunky quality. Repeat with second half of livers, onions and eggs. Let cool and meld before eating. Store cold. Enjoy with a small spoon. You can eat it on cucumber or (more hard core) sweet onion slices, pickles or red pepper sticks to avoid additional carbs from crackers, if you are low-carbing it.

Taco Pot Pie

2007-03-04T18:15:00.000-05:00

I glommed onto this one when I was perusing the Food Network's site. A lady entered it in one of Emeril's contests. I made it tonight with great reviews from the peeps who stuffed their faces. Any changes I made to the original recipe are bolded.

1 lb lean ground beef
1 package taco seasoning (1.25 oz)
1/3 C water

1 Tbl oil (omitted)
1 (16oz) package frozen green, yellow, and red peppers and onions
1tsp garlic powder (omitted)
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp chili powder (added)
1/4 tsp salt (omitted)
1/8 tsp pepper (omitted)
1 (11 oz) can corn, drained (I used frozen corn that I quickly steamed in the microwave.)
1/2 C salsa
1 can pigeon peas, drained (I used the Goya brand. You can use any bean you like or omit them completely. They weren't in the original recipe.)
1 (15 oz) package prepared, refrigerated pie crusts, softened as directed on package
8 oz (2 C) shredded cheese - colby/monterey blend, cheddar, whatever.

Garnishes:
chopped green onions
salsa
sour cream

Preheat over to 400 degrees

Brown beef over high heat until thoroughly cooked. Drain visible fat and add taco seasoning and water. Mixed until well-combined. Place in a bowl.
Dump the frozen bag of peppers and onions into the same pan and cook until heated through. The defrosting process will help deglaze the pan.
Get a BIG bowl. Mix the meat, vegetable mixture, can of drained beans, corn, and salsa together. Add any specific spices if you feel it's not spicey enough.
Arrange one of the pie crusts on the bottom of the pie pan. Cover the crust with 1/3 of the cheese. Layer on 1/2 of the meat and veggie mixture. Add 1/3 of the cheese on top of that. Layer on the rest of the meat, cover it with the remaining cheese, and then, the top crust.
Crimp the edges of the shells together and cut a few steam slits in the top of the crust.
Bake for 40 minutes - keep an eye on the shell. You may need to place some foil on its edges to prevent overbrowning. I put the pie on a foil-covered cookie sheet in case it boiled over while baking.

Hope you enjoy!

Hamentaschen - Filled Purim Cookies

2007-03-03T22:54:00.000-05:00

Ok, I'll fess up off the bat. I do not like yeast hamentaschen doughs one little bit. They are the ubiquitous treats on the Finnish Purim table but they never cut it for me. Either they were too hard or they tasted like wannabe danish. If you like them, you should hie yourself to Moishe's Bakery in New York. Their yeast hamentashen are said to be delish. I wouldn't know from this.

Myself, I grew up with the cookie kind and am partial to apricot, lekvar (prune or "dried plums" as they are now marketed) and mohn (poppyseed) in terms of the traditional fillings and in that order. I am open to innovation including, but not limited to, wild plum (the best), mango and coconut/chocolate.

Here are two cookie-type doughs with which I've had some success. The first is milchig, the second parve. Do not refrigerate the oil dough unless you want a big mess and some hamantaschen you could use to crack nuts - or, heaven forfend, your teeth.

The first is my version of an old recipe that originally appeared in Women's Day, when bubbeh was a bocher (i.e. so long ago that it can't be remembered). If you roll the dough out, it will give a thinner, crispier cooky. If you make balls and smash them, you get the kind of hamentashen that my husband, he should live and be well, likes. Generally speaking, the less you can handle this dough, the better, as you won't need to add as much flour to keep it from sticking. Yes, you could make this parve with parve margarine and soy milk or Rich's non-dairy stuff, but it's not worth it, tastewise. Also, I hate recipes that tell you to "sift x, y, and z together, blah blah, then make a well and beat from there." Hey, it's my kitchen, I've been baking for longer than your average bear, I'll do it my way! In this particular recipe, method matters. Yes, it's potchkeyey. Yes, you have to hunt down the sifter or improvise with a strainer. But it makes a difference in how quickly the dough comes together and how little you have to work it, which in turn gives a more tender result. Ultimately, you'll do what you like. Such is life. Just don't come kvetching to me about it!

Butter Hamentaschen Dough

2 1/2 c. sifted unbleached flour
1 tblsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1/4 c. sugar
1 egg, beaten
3/4 c. milk or milk/cream mixture
1/3 c. melted butter
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. grated lemon zest (optional)

Sift flour with baking powder, salt, and sugar. Beat egg with milk and vanilla
then mix with melted butter and pour into center of dry ingredients. Stir until a soft dough is formed. Knead a few times on a lightly floured marble slab or other work surface. Roll or pat to 1/4 inch thick. Cut into 3-inch circles, fill, etc. If you hate rolling, take about a tablespoon of dough, roll it between your hands into a ball and flatten with a glass. Fill with between a half teaspoon and a teaspoon of your desired filling and pinch corners into a triangle. Bake on a silicone sheet or baking parchment at 350 degrees for 20 to 25 min or until slightly golden. They should not turn brown. Makes 15 to 18.

Parve Hamentaschen

3/4 cup vegetable shortening
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. baking powder
1 pinch salt
2 - 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

Cream together the shortening and sugar.

Add the eggs and vanilla and continue mixing. Add the baking powder,
salt and about 1 1/2 cups of flour. Slowly add enough flour
to the dough until the dough is soft and smooth, but not greasy or
sticky - between 2 and 2 1/2 cups of flour.

Cut the dough into thirds and roll out one section, about 1/8" thick
on a well-floured slab or baking board. Use a cup or a can to cut approximately
3" circles. Bake on a silpat (silicone baking sheet) or a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.

Place in a preheated 350º oven for 15-18 minutes, until golden brown. Makes 32-38 cookies

Perogies or Perohy (or pyrohy)

2007-03-02T16:14:00.000-05:00

Everybody pretty much knows what perogies are, I will assume. Little pockets of dough with filling, boiled and served with some melted butter.

Perohy Dough:

2 Cups Flour
1 Cup Yoghurt
1 Tsp Salt

Mix the above well, and let stand covered on counter (room temperature) so that the dough can become elastic.

American bread flour is lower in gluten than Canadian all-purpose flour. Americans must use bread flour and often must increase the quantities of flour in by 5-10%. You may also just need to add gluten, or you could go across the border and buy some of Canadian flour...

Potato Filling:

3 Cups Potatoes (that is about 4 1/2 cups raw and cubed)
1 tsp Salt
1 1/2 Cups Cheese

Other stuff to do:

Boil potatoes until cooked but not mush. Drain water, mash while adding in the other ingredients.

Roll out dough into relatively thin (but not parchment) sheets. Use a little extra flour to keep things from sticking.

Cut dough into squares or use a cookie cutter or other item to cut dough. Put a spoonful of potato mixture in the middle of each cut piece of dough, fold over and pinch the edges together. If it tears too much, you may need to re-roll your dough thicker or add less filling.

Put on a cookie sheet or some such.

When completed the batch, bring water (lots - big pot) to boil and drop them in. When they float to the surface, they are cooked.

Remove from boiling water by draining into a collander or with a slotted spoon so you can throw in the second batch. You know the saying... "Bet'cha can't just eat a dozen."

Cover with as little or as much melted butter as you want. Often the butter is even better if you slowly saute some onions in with it while metings the butter.

Also good with sour cream. Better with sour cream and butter...

Perohy can be frozen. Do not thaw before cooking - drop frozen perohy straight into boiling water.

This recipe works well with exercise and/or starvation after you gain weight from eating too many.

2007-02-24T19:35:00.000-05:00

Rosemary Manchego Scones

3 cups self-rising flour, preferably Martha White
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup finely chopped rosemary, or less if desired
1 tablespoon sugar
8 tablespoons (1/2 cup) Crisco solid
1/2 to 1 1/2 cups grated manchego cheese, depending on how cheesy you like your scones
1 cup buttermilk

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place the flour, salt, pepper, rosemary and sugar in a food processor and pulse just to combine. Add the lard and pulse just until the mixture becomes the texture of coarse meal. Place the mixture into a large mixing bowl and add the cheese and buttermilk, stirring until just combined. Remove the mixture to a floured surface. Using your hands, quickly work the dough into a circle about 8 inches wide and 1/4 inch high. Cut the circle into 8 wedges with a sharp knife, as if cutting a pizza. Place the wedges on the baking sheet and bake for 13 to 18 minutes, or until just barely golden brown. Be careful not to overcook, as the scones will harden.The scones are best eaten immediately, split open with a thick smear of softened butter or as a mini sandwich with a thin or shredded chicken or turkey and a slice of tomato. I also love to make these into small vege sandwiches. Yields: 8 scones

Easy Potato Bake

2007-02-22T07:46:00.000-05:00

This will be a good way to get veggies into kids who loathe seeing the green things passing their lips. Likewise, you adults who abhore veggies, will think you've died and gone to heaven!

I've only made this one time under great pressure to get SOMETHING made before Buddha had a hungry belly meltdown, so bear with me on the approximate time(s), etc.

1 bag of frozen hash browns (the CHUNK ones. not the shredded ones. I think mine was a 16 oz bag.)
1 can cream of mushroom soup (fat free)
1 can cream of celery soup (fat free)
1 1/2 C low-fat or skim milk
1 8oz bag of shredded colby-jack cheese (Use any kind of cheese you like. I used what I had on hand.)
2 C chopped, frozen broccoli (I use frozen rather than fresh because it's easier than getting fresh, washing, chopping, etc.)
garlic powder
salt and pepper

Use a 9X13 baking dish.
Preheat the oven to 375.

Spray the baking dish with Pam.
In a LARGE bowl, empty both soup cans and milk and mix with a whisk. Add aproimately 1/4 tsp of salt and pepper and 1 tsp of garlic powder. Mix well.
Add the broccoli to the soup mixture and mix to combine.
Add the potatoes to the soup mixture and mix to combine. Then add HALF of the cheese.
Put the potato mixture into the 9X13 pan and spread out. Top with the remaining cheese and bake for approximately 50 minutes. Keep an eye on the cheese. You may want to cover it with foil for the first 20 minutes to avoid overbrowning.
Note: I'm a flavor chick so I added more garlic and pepper than most people would like. If you want to avoid salt, I'd suggest using 1/2 - 1 cup of low-salt chicken stock to thin out the soup. It'll add good flavor. Next time I make this, I'm going to add about 8oz of sliced mushrooms.

Hope this turns out well for you peeps!

Barbecue Chicken Pizza

2007-02-20T17:47:00.000-05:00

This was the kids request for their birthday dinner.

One full skinless, boneless chicken breast

Slice breast along the grain into thin, inch-long strips. Saute strips in a medium-hot frying pan or wok with 3 tbs. oil, until browned. I usually add a few splorks of hot sauce, and toss until all pieces are coated. Unless you have an unually large pan, it's best to use half of the chicken at a time. Set chicken aside.

Two pizza shells (we prefer Boboli, but any will do)
2/3 c. barbecue sauce (our choice: Dinosaur Honey Garlic Sauce)
2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Dump 1/3 c. of barbecue sauce in the center of each pizza shell. Using the back of a tablespoon, swirl the sauce in ever-increasing circles until you coat the entire shell with sauce. You can use more if you want, but don't make it too thick. Spread 1 cup of shredded cheese on each shell, then place the chicken strips on the shell in a spokes pattern. Bake in the oven for about 5 minutes, or until cheese melts. I place the shells directly on the rack for a crispier crust, or use a pizza pan for a chewier one.

Kansas City Variation: cut a few slices of deli ham into strips, and mix them in with the chicken.

Puddle* Variation: add slices of banana peppers.

yeharr

*Puddle is my second-oldest son, so nicknamed for his predisposition to hang around in low places until removed. He loves banana peppers, and will put them on just about anything this side of chocolate cake. They're pretty tasty on this pizza, though.

Guacamole

2007-02-18T00:44:00.000-05:00

Yet another delightful product from the testicle tree. All the ingredient amounts are approximate.

1 small clove of garlic, peeled, but whole
2 ripe avocados
1/2 tsp salt
1-2 tbsp lemon juice*
1/4 cup minced white or yellow onion (or one of the small 'soup' onions)
1/4 tsp chili powder
half a dozen or so splorks of your favorite hot sauce.

1) Rub the inside of a medium-sized ceramic or glass bowl with the garlic clove, coating the entire surface with garlic juice; discard the remainer of the clove. Don't use metal or plastic bowls, as the metal bowl will react with the garlic juice and give a metallic taste to the dip, and the plastic bowl will absorb the garlic flavor and will be useless for any non-garlic foodstuffs for the rest of eternity.

2) Scoop out the insides of the two avocados and add them to the bowl. Refer to my previous avocado post for tips on how to quickly and easily remove the stone, and what the hell the first sentence of this post refers to.

3) Add the salt and lemon juice, and mash the fruit until it starts to liquefy.

4) Add the onion, chili powder and hot sauce, and blend it in.

5) Add more hot sauce if you think it needs it.

Serve as close to immediately as possible. The avocado oxidizes fairly quickly, and turns a rather unappedtizing shade of brown.

If you want to prepare this meal ahead of time, I suggest covering the entire surface of the guacamole with a thin layer of sour cream, then stretch plastic wrap over the top of the bowl and refrigerate. The sour cream will inhibit the oxidation process. Then, when you go to serve it, swirl the sour cream slightly into the guac, making a lovely white-and-green pattern. If you're feeling especialy marthastewardy, sprinkle a few pieces of diced tomato on top.

yeharr

*I know many people who are lemon snobs; who only use real lemons and real lemon juice in their recipes. The amount listed above is approximately the same amount of juice as you would get out of half a small lemon. I don't always have another dish ready that would require the juice of half a small lemon, and the half of a lemon will sit in the refrigerator until I do my semi-annual refrigerator rescue., at which time it gets tossed into the trash with a silent self-curse for being so wasteful. So I rarely buy lemons, and instead use the reconstituted lemon juice in the plastic lemon-shaped squeeze bottles, and it still tastes great.

"Well," the snobs sneer snippishly, "if I was to make the same dish, but with real lemon juice, you'd notice the difference right away."

"Well," I reply, "if you were to make the same dish, I probably wouldn't have bothered to make this one."

STEAMED CLAMS WITH CILANTRO AND RED PEPPER

2007-02-15T17:19:00.000-05:00

As a fan of pasta, due to a wheat allergy I always use rice pasta, I toss a lot of things over it to have a quick and easy dinner. This is one of my favorite meals, so simple and so perfect. Jane loves this dish too; when she comes over no clam is safe. So boil up some linguini and serve the clams and broth over that for a yummy meal. You can even throw in some fresh minced clams (those from the fishmonger are far superior to those in a tin) at the end to make it a bit more saucy.

5 tablespoons unsalted butter (I've replaced the butter with olive oil and it was still great)
1 1/2 cups thinly sliced green onions
1 1/4 cups chopped fresh cilantro
2 cups sake or dry vermouth
4 garlic cloves, pressed
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper
4 dozen littleneck clams, scrubbed

Melt 4 tablespoons butter in large pot over medium heat. Add green onions and cook 3 minutes. Add 1 cup chopped fresh cilantro and next 4 ingredients. Increase heat to high; bring mixture to boil. Add clams; cover pot. Cook until clams open, shaking pot often, about 7 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer clams to 6 soup bowls (discard any clams that do not open). Boil remaining liquid over high heat until slightly thickened, about 1 minute. Whisk in remaining 1 tablespoon butter. Season with salt and pepper. Pour sauce over clams. Sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup chopped cilantro and serve.

Makes 6 servings.

Who's going to be the first to try this and thank me profusely?

Chicken Roll Ups

2007-02-15T08:07:00.000-05:00

This is quite quick and tasty. I make it for guests because you can prepare it all ahead of time and refrigerate until ready to bake.

1 package of frozen or fresh boneless, skinless chicken breasts

2 10 oz can of Campbell’s cream of Chicken Soup

1 box of Stove Top stuffing

1 stick of butter
1 cup water

Heat Oven to 350 degrees. Spray 9 x 13 inch baking dish with cooking spray.

Take defrosted bag of chicken and one at a time pound the chicken breast until it is ¼ of an inch thick. Mix together one stick melted butter and 1 cup of cold water to the stuffing mix. Take each chicken breast and put two table spoons of stuffing in the middle and roll the breast up and place seam side down in the middle of baking dish. Pour two cans of soup over the chicken and bake for 1 and a half to two hours until chicken is tender.

You can do this without pounding the chicken out but it will take longer to cook and won't be as tender.

Couscous!

2007-02-13T22:34:00.000-05:00

Couscous, little yellow grains of semolina, made from durum wheat, is a good source of protein with 100g of couscous giving just over 15g of protein and is a slow burning source of energy (a "medium" on the GI, for those who watch that kind of thing). It tastes a lot like bulghur but lighter and with a nutty taste - kind of a cross between pasta and wheat. Instant couscous takes about 10 minutes to make and is great either warm or as a salad.

Some couscous ideas:

*Couscous mixed with olives, cashews and cherry tomatoes
*Couscous with watercress, feta cheese and radish
*Mediterranean Pinenut Couscous salad with balsamic vinegar, olive oil and baby spinach
*Couscous with spinach and garbanzo beans, drizzled with yoghurt
*Roasted peppers stuffed with couscous, nuts, crasins and ground beef
*Couscous and almonds drizzled with fresh lemon juice
*Breakfast couscous made with whole milk, instead of water. Add honey or raisins, or splenda, if you like a sweet cereal.
*Couscous in soup is also excellent,

Couscous couldn't be easier to make. If you want to use it for a salad, just take a serving bowl and add the desired amount of couscous (I find that half a cup per person works well) and cover with boiling water. The aim is for all of the water to be absorbed, and for the couscous to swell, so I find it's usually better to add too much water than not enough, otherwise your couscous will not cook and will remain hard and crunchy. You can eat your couscous hot, or let it cool down and eat it in a salad, cold. One of the bonuses of couscous is the short preparation time - I make my salads in about 8 minutes in the morning, and I know I have a nutritious meal ready for lunch time.

A more traditional way is illustrated by the following recipe:

Couscous with veggies and almonds

1 red or orange or green bell pepper, chopped
1 stalk celery, sliced thinly
1 carrot, sliced thinly
1 onion, chopped
1/2 c slivered almonds or other nuts as desired
Chopped parsley or cilantro - if desired
Olive oil or butter - abt. 2 tblsp, but vary according to taste
Salt/pepper

Sauté the vegetables in the fat until the onions are translucent. Reduce heat.

add

1 cup of couscous

Stir with vegetables until the couscous becomes well-coated and there is a good, nutty smell from the pan.

add

1- 1 1/4 c. water, broth, wine, even OJ

Simmer until almost all of the water is absorbed on low heat, about 8 -10 minutes.

This is wonderful eaten warm, either by itself or as a side dish, and is great for a salad.

Banana Bread

2007-02-13T08:46:00.000-05:00

Don't you hate throwing away those brown bananas? Well, here's your answer, make them into bread. It's easy.

1 3/4 cup flour
3/4 tsp. soda
1 1/4 tsp. cream of tarter
1/2 tsp. salt
1/3 cup shortening
2/3 cup sugar
2 eggs well beaten
1 cup mashed bananas (2-3)

Sift flour, soda, cream of tarter and salt. Cream shortening, stir in sugar a few tablespoons at a time. Add eggs and beat well. Add flour mixture alternately with bananas, a small amount at a time. Beat until smooth. Pour into a well greased loaf pan and bake in a 350 degree oven about 1 hour until done.

If you don't have time to make bread, bananas can be frozen for future bread use. Just remember to thaw them before you use them, lol.

Oxtail Two Ways

2007-02-12T09:58:00.000-05:00

I first had oxtail soup in Denmark, when I was a kid. It is especially memorable for me because I ate it in a pagoda at Tivoli Gardens.

Oxtails should be cheap, and used to be, but are now quite expensive. I won't even tell you what you have to pay for kosher ones, if you can find them. The good news is that you only need about a half pound for a big ol' pot of tasty soup.

I'm going to give two recipes for variations on this wonderful soup. The first is my take on a traditional oxtail soup with red wine. The second is perfect for Lunar New Year or just a good Chinese chowdown. Both look like they have a lot of ingredients, but feel free to adapt them to what you have at home or what you like to eat. Each of these should be good for 6-8 servings of soup. Both freeze well. Add the noodles later if you are going to freeze the high protein East Meets West soup.

1.Traditional Oxtail Soup

1/2 lb oxtails
1 chopped onion
2 chopped carrots
2 stalks chopped celery
1 peeled turnip, chopped (optional)
garlic
parsely
olive oil
salt
pepper
2 bay leaves
thyme
1 big can pureed tomatoes or 1 box pomi tomatoes
water
1 cup of wine, like a sirah (if desired)

Get your butcher to cut the oxtails into 2" pieces and trim the excess fat from the tails. Heat the olive oil - some use butter, but I don't - and sauté the onions and garlic in the oil. When translucent, add the celery and carrots and parsely. Place the oxtails carefully in the oil and vegetable mixture and let brown evenly (this is what gives your soup a good color). Salt and pepper to taste and add a bit of thyme - about 1/4 tsp dry or to taste. Add water to cover and simmer for 1.5 hours. Yes, you could do this in a crock pot. Remove from the fire, strain and put the stock into the cold so that you can remove the fat more easily. If you want, you can stop at this point and come back to the soup later.

Remove the meat from the bones and return it to the stock. If you don't mind picking bones out of your soup spoon, you can also just cook the soup until the meat falls of the bones. Bring to a simmer and add the tomatoes and wine. Adjust seasonings. If you like you can add more vegetables, barley or another grain, but it is delicious without any of these.

2. East Meets West Oxtail Soup

1/2 lb oxtails
1 chopped onion
2 chopped carrots
2 small pieces celery root (celeriac)
2 pieces bok choy
1 can sliced water chestnuts
1 pkg. shirataki (soy) or gan si noodles (optional)
garlic
ginger
peanut oil
dark soy sauce
vinegar (chinkiang is best, but rice will work)
salt
pepper
5 spice powder
1/2 c. sherry (if desired; Chinese is best)

Sauté 1 carrot, celery root, garlic, ginger, salt in a small amount of peanut oil. Add 2" pieces of oxtail and brown on all sides. Reduce heat add a good splash of dark soy sauce, vinegar and about a tsp of 5 spice powder. Cook for about 1.5 or until meat is read to fall of of the oxtails. Strain soup, remove meat and let stock cool. Defat.

Reheat the stock, add sliced bok choy, carrot. Let simmer until vegetables are soft and add noodles. If you like, add 1/2 cup of Chinese sherry (or regular sweet sherry) to the soup.

Cola Chicken

2007-02-11T15:58:00.000-05:00

I have some simple low fat Weight Watcher recipes from my time in Weight Watchers. I will take some of the better ones and share them here.

Source: Weight Watchers class
Servings: 4
WW Points: 4

Cola Chicken

4 chicken breasts (no skin)
1 cup ketchup
1 can diet coke

1. Place ketchup and coke in large skillet and stir.
2. Add chicken.
3. Cover & simmer on low heat for one hour (last 10 minutes uncover).

You can also substitute the chicken w/pork chops but you will need to adjust the points accordingly. This is excellent and so easy. ****With the left over sauce, the next night make meatballs. Cook the meatballs (use ground sirloin 2 oz cooked = 3 pts) and then pour the leftover sauce in w/the cooked meatballs. Heat through and serve (excellent)!

Eat It And Weep blog button

2007-02-11T10:56:00.000-05:00

Here is a button I made for this blog.

If you would like to steal it, here is the code. You must change all [ to < and ] to >

[div]
[a href="http://eatitandweep.blogspot.com/"][img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 163px; height: 102px;" src=" http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_o79yTJWh_-w/RckAQ5QsjLI/AAAAAAAAAE4/LcokxxFYLDQ/s320/food.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5028550749184625842" border="0" /][/a]
[/div]

Bean Soup

2007-02-10T18:09:00.000-05:00

A couple of months ago, we started doing something new... I call it "Kids Cooking Night". Once a week, usually on either Friday or Saturday night, one of the kids takes a turn to plan the menu and make the meal.

I wasn't sure how my idea would go over when I proposed it. But I was rather shocked at the result. I sort of expected reluctant acceptance. Instead, I got arguing. No not with me... with each other. They were fighting over who got to go first!

So tonight is my 10 year old daughter's turn. And she told me a few weeks ago that she wanted to make "ham & bean soup like we got at that one restaurant we went to". I agree that they make some really good soup, but I knew I didn't have a recipe for it. So I turned to google to try to find something similar, and found that they had their soup recipe posted on their website!

So today I thought I'd share the Amish Acres Bean Soup recipe with those of you who are too far away to make it to Northern Indiana to taste the restaurant version. Even if you don't have a kid to cook it, it's simple enough for you to make yourself.

Bean Soup

1 lb. Soup Beans
1 Ham bone
1/2 c. Chopped onion
1/2 tsp. Seasoning salt
1/2 tsp. Celery salt
Dash of garlic salt
Salt and pepper

Soak beans in water overnight. Drain, add fresh water and cook slowly with the ham bone for 2 hours. Add onion, celery salt, seasoning salt and garlic salt, salt and pepper. Remove ham bone, trim off any meat and return to pot. Add ham bits and simmer for 1 hour.

Happy Eating!

Potato-Green Pea Salad

2007-02-10T17:42:00.000-05:00

This really is good! :)

Potato-Green Pea Salad

Salad:
4-5 medium potatoes
2 cups frozen peas, thawed
1 cup chopped celery
1/4 cup sliced green onions , or more
1/4 cup chopped green pepper

Dressing:
1/2 cup fat-free mayo
1/2 plain yogurt (or fat-free sour cream)
1-2 tablespoons prepared mustard
1 teaspoon vinegar
salt and pepper to taste
herbs of choice, if desired

*Boil the potatoes (or cheat and buy the diced canned ones, lol)
for 30-40 minutes, or until tender.
When cool, peel and cut into cubes. You should have about 7 cups.

*Combine the potatoes with the rest of the salad ingredients.

*Then mix the dressing ingredients and pour over the salad mixture. Toss and refrigerate at least 1 hour.

Carrot Cake

2007-02-10T17:30:00.000-05:00

Buddha Girl has been begging for this recipe. It is awesome!

Carrot Cake

2 cups all purpose flour
2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon (I add 1 tablespoon, cuz I like it)
3 cups finely shredded carrot
1 cup cooking oil
4 eggs

optional:
finley chopped English walnuts

*Grease and lighly flour a 13 x 9 x 2 pan. (I use a bundt pan)
In a large bowl, combine the first six ingredients.
Add the next three ingredients, beating with an electric mixer until combined.
Continue beating two minutes on medium speed.
Turn into the pan and bake at 325 for 40 minutes or until done.
Frost with your favorite cream cheese icing.

***I also like to pour this prepared mix in mini loaf pans and use as a mini bread loaf.
This makes an excellent gift!

Sugar Free Berry Delight

2007-02-10T10:45:00.000-05:00

Again, this is not low fat or calories but is sooo good! Mr. Sign came up with this concoction. It makes a huge amount so you can always cut the ingredients in half. You could also use graham crackers for the crust but wouldn't get that salty sweet taste we all love.

¾ Cup Flour

2 cups chopped pretzels

1 cup of chopped pecans

1 stick of butter

1 cup Splenda

Melt butter in the microwave. Mix ingredients above in a bowl and press firmly on the bottom of a 9 x 13 inch baking pan, Bake in a 350 degree oven for 15 to 20 minutes.

2-8 oz blocks of 1/3 less fat cream cheese

2 cups of Splenda

1-16 oz container of non dairy whipped topping

With a wire whisk blend Splenda and softened cream cheeses together. Fold in whipped topping and spread on the cool crust and set in the regenerator for 10 minutes.

2-.3 oz of sugar free packages of Jell-O black cherry (you can use any flavor but this is my fav.)

3 cups of frozen berries such as blue berries, raspberries, black berries

Prepare Jell-O per the directions from the package using quickset method. Mix in the berries and let set for 5 minutes. Then spoon over the top of the cream cheese mixture and let set for two hours.

Simple Tex-Mex dip

2007-02-09T09:37:00.000-05:00

This is my daughter's favorite appetizer

1) Take one 8 oz. slab of cream cheese and put it on the counter
2) Go watch 'Scrubs'
3) At the first commercial break, turn your oven on to 350
4) At the second commercial break, spread cream cheese over bottom of 11x7 pan (28x17 for you Canucks)
5) At the end break, open up a can of Hormel Chili (no beans) and pour it over the cream cheese
6) Scrubs never does a tag, so you'll also have time to pour half a bag or so of shredded taco cheese over it, and slide it in the oven.
7) Go watch '30 Rock'
8) At the first commercial break, take it out of the oven, and carry it into the living room with a bunch of paper napkins under one arm, and a bag of tortilla chips held in your teeth
9) dump all the stuff onto the coffee table
10) eat until bedtime
(optional: at second commercial break, tell one of your kids to get you a drink)

This might also work with other programs, such as 'Lost,' 'American Idol,' or '24,' but remember: break times vary.

yeharr

Salmon Soup

2007-02-08T20:50:00.000-05:00

Just for you, Balloon Pirate!

Empty one can of salmon into large saucepan. Break it apart, then fill pan with water. (I usually use a 3 quart saucepan... just use whatever size you need and add enough water to serve the number of people you are feeding). Add about 1 tsp salt, some black pepper (fresh ground is best), and 2 to 4 T of butter or margarine. Cook until hot. Break LOTS of saltine crackers into the bowl of soup, let them soften & expand, then enjoy.

One can of salmon makes enough soup for 5-10 people.

And as I tell my kids... yes, you DO eat the bones in it. They're good for you. If they make it into your bowl, they are yours. So eat them. NOW.

If you're cheap like my parents, you can substitute a can of mackerel instead of salmon. No it's not nearly as good. But it is cheaper. Or you can save the mackerel for that fluffy mackerel recipe instead. Your choice.

Please Forgive Me...

2007-02-07T23:34:00.000-05:00

But since Barman dropped a Weight Watchers' Classic on us, I just had to bring up one of my alltime favorite websites. It's food-related. At least tangentally.

Candyboots has a bunch of Weight Watcher cards from the mid-seventies on her site, my favorite of which I include in this post. The only thing better than the names of these cards is the commentary she lists with it.

She writes of the cards:

None of them have calorie or nutrition information of any kind, and in some instances it's hard to tell what's dietetic about the recipes at all, except that they're unspeakably grim. And yet also, completely insane.

For a good laugh and far worse recipes than even I would post, head on over.

Yeharr

Cabbage, Tomato, Hamburger Soup

2007-02-07T21:38:00.000-05:00

This is a Weight Watchers recipe from way, way back. I think it was from cave man days actually. Well maybe 30 or 35 years ago. I do not know what it is about this recipe but it just seems to melt the weight off you. Probably just my imagination.

Source: Weight Watchers
Servings: 8
WW Points: 6.3

1 small head Cabbage Quarter cabbage
1 1/2 pounds beef, ground, lean, uncooked
32 ounces Tomato juice
2 tablespoons Lemon juice
1 pinch pepper Season to taste.

1. Brown hamburger.
2. Place in roaster.
3. Add tomato juice,1/4 cup water, lemon juice and pepper.
4. Add cabbage, stirring into mix until completely coated.
5. Cover roaster and bake at 350 for 1 hour.
6. Uncover, stir and place in oven 15 more minutes.

PER SERVING: 266.9 Calories, 17.9 g Total Fat, 7.1 g Saturated Fat, 63.8 mg Cholesterol, 484.9 mg Sodium, 9.9 g Total Carbohydrate, 2.5 g Dietary Fiber, 17.2 g Protein, 59.4 mg Calcium.

Cheesy Potatoes

2007-02-07T17:16:00.000-05:00

SignGurl's Cheesy Potatoes

1 bag of frozen southern style hashbrowns (they are cut into squares)

2 cans of cream of chicken soup (use cream of celery if you are vegetarian, not cream of mushroom)

1-16 oz. container of sour cream

2-3 cups of shredded cheddar cheese.

In a large bowl, mix soup with hashbrowns. Mix in sour cream and then cheese. Place in a 9" x 13" pan and bake at 350 degrees for 1-1.5 hours or until golden brown.

This recipe is in no way low fat but it's so good and easy.

Avocado is Better than None

2007-02-07T10:11:00.000-05:00

Snce Barman broke the high-calorie taboo here, I'm going to share one of my favorite ways to eat an avocado.

Make sure you choose ripe but not overripe avocados. They should feel like a well-filled beanbag when lightly squeezed.

The following recipe serves two, and it's easily doubled and tripled.

1) Slice the avocado in half lengthwise, as in the picture above. Use your big chopping knife (you'll see why in step two).
2) Remove the stone. My preferred way to do this quickly and easily is by firmly sinking the blade of the chopping knife into the stone, just deep enough that it will come out when you twist the knife. I've found using the part of the blade closest to the handle works best.
3) mix together 3 tablespoons of plain nonfat yogurt and 1 tablespoon of dijon mustard, and fill the hole left by the stone with the mixture (half of the mixture goes into each half of the avocado).

That's it. Give each person half an avocado and a spoon. The shell makes a natural bowl. If you're feeling hoity-toity, sprinkle a little parsely on top.

Serve immediately, or as close to it as possible. Avocados turn brown relatively quickly. If you need to prepare this ahead of time, make enough of the mixture as you'll need and refrigerate it, then add it right after you slice the avocado

195 calories per serving/31 grams of fat.
If you use regular mayo instead of nonfat yogurt, add 300 calories and 90 grams of fat to the mixture.

Avocado Fun Fact: The name 'avocado' comes from the Aztec 'ahuacuatl,' which means 'testicle tree.' remember that the next time you squeeze one. In fact, I guarantee you'll never forget it.

yeharr

Blueberry Stuff

2007-02-06T22:21:00.000-05:00

Up until now things have been fairly healthy and there have been no desserts. I think it is time to change this. It is a favorite of anyone that tries it. Maybe if you just had a bite or two.

1 quart blueberries***
1 large can crushed pineapples
1 box yellow cake mix
2 sticks butter

In a 9x13 glass pan layer: quart of berries, Large can crushed pineapple (drain a little), 1 box yellow cake mix (just the dry mix out of the box), two sticks melted butter.

Bake on 350 for 45 minutes. Best served warm with ice cream or cool whip. For a change use cherries in place of blueberries.

***NOTE: If you substitute frozen berries for fresh then reduce some of the pineapple juice otherwise you will have to much liquid and this will be more soupy than normal. This should no affect cooking time.

Pizza Pocket

2007-02-06T12:40:00.000-05:00

With my new diet and exercise program (Body for LIFE and Eating for LIFE), I have found that the most difficult part is managing some of the cravings when it's not my free day. If the kids have pizza, I want it too! I have substituted a personal pizza made with a pita as the crust, fat free cheese, turkey pepperone, etc, and found it really satisfies some of those cravings.

So based on that success, I came up with this Pizza Pocket as a quick and healthy lunch.

Pizza Pocket

Mix together in a bowl:
2 slices lower fat ham, sliced into 1/2" by 1" pieces
6 slices turkey pepperoni, cut into quarters
1 cup fresh spinach, coarsely chopped
2 T fat free mozzarella cheese
Other "pizza" toppings as desired... chopped red onions, bell peppers, sliced mushrooms, etc

Spread 2 T pizza sauce into one half of a whole grain pita. Warm pita slightly in microwave first if necessary, to soften it for filling. Fill with half of above topping mixture, and microwave for approximately 30 seconds, just until spinach wilts.

Makes 2-3 pizza pockets.

Chili

2007-02-06T10:20:00.000-05:00

Hello, I'm the Balloon Pirate, the newest member of this here foody blog. Cadbury invited me, so blame him.

I'm a single dad with two young kids at home, so most of my cooking is done fast and cheap, and with a minimum of utesnils.

My first contribution is a recipe that I posted on my blog a year or so ago. It's actually one of my more work-intensive recipes, but it's one of my favorite dishes.

Thanks for letting me be a part of the process!

I apologize for a relative lack of measurement here, but I don't really measure all that much when I cook chili. I usually use my hands as a rule of thumb. So I've included my own personal measuring unit in this post.

The following will produce 4-6 bowls of chili, depending on how generous you are. It's easy to double and triple, because all of the ingredients are self-contained; i.e., one can of pinto beans, one can of tomato paste, et c.

Tools

Dutch Oven
10" skillet
chef's knife
paring or small utility knife
chopping block
cooking spray or a small amount of olive oil
latex gloves

I can make my chili with the dutch oven alone, but it's faster and easier to use the skillet.

Ingredients

1 lb top round or sirloin beef, trimmed*
16 oz pinto beans, drained (one can)
1 onion (fist sized)
2-to-4 jalapeño peppers (thumb-sized), or more if you want. It's your digestive tract.
1 red bell pepper (you can use green if you want, but I like the red for its color)
1 clove garlic
6 oz tomato paste (one of those tiny cans)
1 oz (or so)Masarepa (pre-cooked corn meal)--spread out over a dinner plate
2 bottles of beer**

Seasonings

salt***
cumin
cinnamon (optional)
chili powder (optional)
hot sauce (my choice: Jump up and Kiss Me Smoky Chipotle)

Fixins

Extra-sharp white cheddar cheese, shredded
Sour cream
corn bread or muffins

Get Started

First things first. If you're wearing contact lenses TAKE THEM OUT NOW. You'll be handling some foods high in capsascin, and the last thing you'll want to do is try to take your lenses out afterwards. Trust me on this. It's OK. I'll wait.

Dum-de-dum-dum.

You're back. Good.

Put on the gloves and start chopping. Do the jalapeños first. How spicy do you want it? Obviously, the more jalapeños you use, the hotter it gets. Removing the seeds and inner membranes will also cut down on the ol' scovilles. I've found that four peppers, (seeds removed) is about as hot as anyone really wants it. If you really like it hot, skip the next paragraph.

To remove the seeds, I roll the pod on the chopping block with the palm of my hand, back and forth a couple of times. Then I slice off the top of the pod (at the stem), and shake most of the seeds out into the trash. Sometimes I'll roll the pod a few more times between my palms inverted this way, getting as many seeds out as possible. Then, I slice the pods lengthwise, and remove any remaining membranes and seeds with the paring knife. You could use the chef's knife for this, but I've found the small blade works best. Once seeded and de-membraned, chop them small and put them in the dutch oven.

Chop the onion and bell pepper next. Chop these guys a little coarser--I go for pieces about the size of the tip of my pinky--and slide them into the dutch oven with the jalapeños. If you have a garlic press, use it to add the clove, or just chop it really fine, add it, and pour about half a bottle of the beer over them, add a couple of pinches of salt, and start simmering.****

While simmering, get to the beef. I use top round (london broil) or sirloin because the fat's easy to trim from it. Trim the fat (if not already done by the butcher), and then cut the beef into small chunks--again, the tip of my pinky is my reference. Now, it's time to braise the meat.
(Don't try to do all of the meat at one time. It's possible, but this works best if you give the meat some room. Do 6-8 ounces at a time, depending on the size of your skillet)

Pre-heat your skillet to medium-high (using the cooking spray or oil at the appropriate time), dredge the meat in the masarepa, and sear it in the skillet, about 2-3 minutes, until the juice starts coming out of the meat. Add about 1 tbsp. of the tomato paste, and turn the beef into it, until the paste caramelizes on the beef, and dump it into the dutch oven. Then, deglaze the pan with 2-3 ounces of beer (pour the beer into the hot pan and stir it around to get all the caramelized tomato paste off the pan.) Let it simmer and reduce in size for about a minute, and dump it in with the rest of the stuff. Repeat as necessary. (If you're only using the dutch oven, slide the cooked meat out to the edges, cook the next batch in the middle, and don't bother deglazing)

Then add the beans and the rest of the beer, cover, and cook for at least 10 minutes (15 if you're only using the dutch oven, and have added the veggies second) on medium-low heat. I often do this in the oven (set at 300), but it can be done just as easily on the stovetop.

Fine Tuning

After that, uncover, stir, and add another pinch or two of salt, a couple pinches (probably 1/8th teaspoon) of cumin, a dash of cinnamon, a splork or three of hot sauce, and stir it in. I'm not going to tell you how much or little to add, really. It's all personal preference. I just advise adding a little at a time. It's always easy to add more. Next to impossible to remove too much. Let it cook uncovered for a while--maybe 5-10 minutes, to let the liquid reduce, stirring occasionally. If it's still too soupy for your tastes, add some masarepa. If you want more spice, add a little at a time, and let it sit for 5-10 minutes before you taste. Repeat until it's the way you want it.

I like to let my chili simmer on low heat for an hour at this point, but it's ready to be served at anytime after the first half hour of cooking.

Serving:

I put the pot in the middle of the table, along with a big bowl of shredded cheddar, a bowl of sour cream, and a basket of muffins. My reccomended serving procedure is: line the bottom of the bowl with the cheese, add the chili, add a dollop of sour cream on top, and serve with the muffin and a beer. My beer of choice is Alexander Keith's India Pale Ale, but since that's not available in the United States, I usually go with a Labatts.

Yeharr

*If you can get a butcher to trim it for you, order a pound, trimmed. If you buy it pre-wrapped, figure about 1-2 ounces of the package will be fat, and buy accordingly

**Or more, if you're planning on having some while you cook. I usually use Labatts, but any ale will do.

***I recommend Himalayan Mountain Red Sea salt, which is mined from deep underground mines that are high up in the Himalayan mountain range. If, for some reason, you find yourself short of this kitchen staple, I suggest Fleur de Sel, which is harvested by hand off the village of Guerande in Brittany in July and August, when the sea is calm and the weather conditions are just right.

Or, just grab a handful of Morton's. It's salt for chrissakes.

****If you're only using the dutch oven, do the meat first, and add the veggies afterwards. It just takes a little bit longer to cook.

Grilled Eggplant

2007-02-05T16:06:00.000-05:00

Source: Some show I watched years ago and my own experimentation

Cut eggplant with skins on about 2 inches thick - judge your total amount of eggplant for yourselves.
Put in lidded container with splash of balsamic vinegar
Shake until most of the vinegar is absorbed
Put in some oil (anywhere from a tablespoon per eggplant up)
Sprinkle oregano, basil, and pepper on eggplant
Shake until spices are evenly distributed - apply more before putting on grill if neccessary.
Grill eggplant on hot grill/bbq until nicely browned scores appear - turn and grill other side. Eggplant should be softened, but not soggy.
Will also work on George Foreman grill - slightly soggier than BBQ result
Tastes better if eaten relatively warm.

Garlic Roasted Chicken with Gravy

2007-02-05T10:23:00.000-05:00

Source: Weight Watchers New Complete Cookbook
Servings: 4
WW Points: 7

The chicken cavity can be stuffed with just about anything and doing so will infuse the meat with wonderful flavor. Try onion quarters and lots of rosemary or lemon wedges and parsley.

One 3 ½ pound chicken
1 lemon, halved
1 onion, halved
4 rosemary sprigs
4 thyme sprigs
6 garlic cloves, peeled
1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon cornstarch
2 tablespoons dry white wine
1 scallion, minced
1 tablespoon reduced-sodium soy sauce
¼ teaspoon crumbled dried sage leaves

1.Preheat the oven to 400°F; spray the rack of a roasting pan with nonstick cooking spray. Remove the chicken giblets and neck from the body cavity; refrigerate or freeze for another use. Rinse the chicken under cold running water inside and out; pat dry with paper towels.

2.Place the lemon, onion, rosemary, thyme and garlic in the body cavity. Place the chicken, breast-side up, on the rack in the roasting pan. Roast 30 minutes; pour the broth and lemon juice over the chicken. Reduce the oven temperature to 325°F. Roast, basting frequently, until cooked through and the juices run clear when the thigh is pierced in the thickest part with a fork, about 1 hour longer. Transfer the chicken to a cutting board; let stand for 15 minutes.

3.Meanwhile, pour the pan juices into a medium saucepan, skimming off any fat and reserving 1 tablespoon of the juice in a small bowl. Dissolve the cornstarch in the reserved juices. Add the wine, scallion, soy sauce, sage and ¼ cup water to the sauce pan; bring to a boil and boil 5 minutes. Reduce the heat to low and whisk in the dissolved cornstarch; cook, stirring constantly, until the gravy thickens, about 1 minute. Carve the chicken and serve with gravy. Remove the skin before eating.

Per serving: 293 Calories, 10 g Total Fat, 3 g Saturated Fat, 114 mg Cholesterol, 277 mg Sodium, 9 g Total Carbohydrate, 0 g Dietary Fiber, 39 g Protein, 71 mg Calcium.

NOTE: I especially love the gravy. Also I have made this in an 18 quart roaster and made two at one. It worked very well.

Lowfat Ranch Vegetable Dip

2007-02-04T14:56:00.001-05:00

This is a concoction I came up with a number of years ago. I needed to make veggie dip, and when I got out the package of ranch dip mix, I realized that I didn't have any sour cream on hand. So I decided to substitute.

Sometimes substitutes are better. This is not only healthier, it is also tastier. I never went back to sour cream!

Lowfat Ranch Veggie Dip

Put 1 C lowfat or fat free cottage cheese into blender. Blend until smooth, adding just enough skim milk to be able to blend it.

Once it is smooth, add 1/2 pkg ranch dip mix, and blend until thoroughly mixed. Refrigerate. Dip will thicken slighly after blending.

LOWER fat fettucini alfredo

2007-02-01T20:09:00.000-05:00

I posted this one on my website but felt that it was my duty as Buddha Cook to post it here. Try it! Please! If you feel too guilty eating it, add some broccoli or spinach to add some greenery. Me? If I'm going to sin on pasta, I'm sinning 100%!

1 Tbl butter (yes, butter. don't skimp and try to use margarine.)
2 garlic cloves, minced (if you're not a garlic freak, just SMASH the two cloves, use them in the recipe, and remove them before serving.)
1 Tbl all-purpose flour
1 1/3 C 1% milk
1 1/4 C freshly-grated Parmesean (I use Parmigiano-Reggiano)
2 Tbl 1/3-less fat cream cheese
1/2 tsp salt (I use fine sea salt.)
1/2 lb cooked fettucini (I usually double this entire recipe because I never cook a 1/2 lb of pasta. Ever.)
parsley and cracked black pepper

1.Melt butter in a saucepan over med heat. Add the garlic and stir to avoid browning the garlic. You'll end up with bitter yuck. Cook for about a minute and add the flour. Cook for about 2 more minutes to get the 'raw' flavor out of the flour.
2. Gradually add the milk using a whisk or wooden spoon. (The recipe I have says to use the whisk. I never do.) Keep mixing until all the milk has been added, and the mixture has thickened - about 5-6 minutes.
3. Add 1 cup of the grated cheese, the cream cheese, and salt - stirring until the cheeses have melted and them sauce is combined.
4. Add the hot pasta to the saucepan and toss together. Sprinkle with the 1/4 C remaining cheese, and top with chopped parsley and cracked black pepper.

NOTE:
As I said, I usually double all of the ingredients so I can make the entire pound of pasta. Serve this with a salad of romaine, pepperoncini, marinated mushrooms, and red onion tossed with olive oil and red wine or balsamic vinegar. Easy!

Salsa, Anyone?

2007-01-28T17:38:00.000-05:00

With my remaining crop of Roma tomatoes, I always make salsa. It's great fresh, and pretty good canned too. I always have plenty, so if you're hungry, come on over. But bring some tortilla chips... I'm out!

Or in case you want to make your own, here's my recipe.

Fresh Tomato Salsa

1 1/2 to 2 gallons of Roma Tomatoes
1 bunch fresh cilantro
1 large white or red onion
1 med bell pepper
3-6 jalepeño peppers
1-2 tsp salt
1-2 tsp garlic powder
4-6 Tbls lime juice

Dice Roma tomatoes into large bowl. Drain off a portion of the extra liquid if desired.

Remove stems from cilantro up to where the leaves begin (about halfway up the stalks) and discard. Wash and drain remaining portion of the cilantro, and chop into small pieces.

Peel and finely chop onion.

Remove seeds from bell pepper, and finely chop.

Cut top off of jalepeño peppers just below stem. VERY finely chop or blend. Be careful not to touch the cut edges with your bare hands, as the juices can burn. If you don't have a chopper, you can blend several roma tomatoes in your blender and then add the peppers. (Start with 3 or 4 peppers and add more as needed.)

Mix above ingredients together. Add salt, garlic powder, and lime juice.

Add additional jalepeño peppers or seasonings if needed.

As is usual in the recipes I develop, measurements aren't precise. You can play with it until you get it the way YOU like, just like I did.

Pizza

2007-01-27T17:31:00.000-05:00

I began developing my pizza recipe around 1980. A brother's college roommate came to our home for a weekend and promised to make us his special pizza. Unfortunately, he arrived too late to make the pizza, but he still wrote down his recipe for us.

I began to make his crust, and for several years I made it true to his directions. But it was just ok. The sauce was easy, and quite tasty after my adjustments to the spices, but the crust just seemed bland.

In the mid-80's, I made at least 6-8 recipes of my pizza for my soon-to-be-husband's bachelor party, and delivered them individually to his mother's garage where he and his friends were hanging out, drinking beer, and watching not-so-pure videos. Perhaps not a normal thing for a future-wife to do... I'm still not sure WHY I volunteered to do that! But it turned out ok... at least I assume so. The guys ate it, but then a bunch of hungry guys drinking beer will eat most anything, so that's not saying much. The crust did have some issues... it didn't want to bake thoroughly in the middle... but they ate it anyway.

After that, I decided it was time to try to fix the recipe. I spent years making minor modifications... adjusting ingredients, par-baking the crust... even trying entirely different recipes.

I decided the crust needed more salt. Major improvement. Hubby wanted it to be more buttery, like Pizza Hut's. Not healthy, but I did agree to butter the crust edges after the par-baking. Another improvement. Then I decided I loved olive oil. It's good everywhere else, why not in pizza crust? So I substituted it for the cooking oil. Pretty good! If that's good, and we like a buttery flavor, why not put butter in place of the oil? Or at least half of it? Bingo... another improvement. And since there's still some oil-butter blend left over, lets use that on the crust edges too, instead of the pure butter. Hey... we're almost there now.

Ok, now sprinkle the crust with parmesan and mozzarella cheeses before par-baking it. Bingo. THIS is my perfect crust. Great texture, nice flavor, and doesn't overpower the sauce & toppings.

Want to try it yourself? If you do, be sure to let me know how you like it.

Pizza Crust

Stir together:
1 C flour
1 pkg yeast, dissolved in 1 C warm water
1 tsp salt
1/2 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 Tbsp melted butter

Add and mix in until approximately the right consistency to knead:
1 to 1 1/2 C more flour

Knead, adding more flour as needed. Set aside to rise until doubled.

Spread evenly on large rectangular or round pizza stone. Sprinkle lightly with grated parmesan and mozzarella cheeses. Bake at 425 degrees for 7 min or until mozzarella cheese is just beginning to brown. Remove from oven, and brush outer inch of crust edge with a half melted butter/half olive oil mixture.

Add pizza sauce (below) & toppings, and bake another 8-12 minutes until cheese is melted and just beginning to brown.

Pizza Sauce

1 can (about 2 cups) tomato sauce
1/2 tsp oregano, finely crushed
1/3 tsp basil, finely crushed
1/2 to 1 tsp dried minced garlic (fresh garlic is much better, but I seldom have it around when I need it!)
1 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
2 T minced white onion
1 finely diced Roma tomato

Mix all together, then simmer while preparing crust. If you want, you can lightly saute the onions and garlic in the olive oil before mixing in the rest of the ingredients. Adjust spices to personal taste.

Costa Rican Tilapia

2007-01-26T17:26:00.000-05:00

I posted this recipe recently on my other blog, but thought it is more appropriate here, so a repost is in order.

Rice and beans are a great combination. I love them... always have. But while in Costa Rica over 20 years ago, I ate "Gallo Pinto", and it had an elusive flavor that I haven't been able to match when I cook rice and beans. I know how to make the Costa Rican rice... but the combination just never had the right taste.

So, I turned to Google. (who doesn't?) And I did find the instructions I needed to make Gallo Pinto. I'm planning to make that tomorrow. But in the meantime, I had to try another recipe I found.

The Gallo Pinto search took me to a Costa Rican information website, which featured a recipe for Costa Rican tilapia. Having eaten a lot of fish while there, I know how good it is... and figured since I like tilapia, it would be worth the effort to try this recipe.

I was wrong... it was for more than just "worth the effort". It was more like culinary ecstacy.

Seriously. Any of you who enjoy cooking... you've gotta try this. And if you don't like tilapia, just substitute some other type of fish that you do like.

Costa Rican Tilapia

Combine in a shallow dish:
3 T lime juice
1 T olive oil
2 T chopped fresh cilantro
1 t minced garlic
1/2 t salt
1/4 t sugar
Add 6 tilapia fillets, and marinate 15 minutes, turning once.

Heat 2 to 3 T cooking oil in large saucepan. Saute 2 T finely diced onion until translucent. Add 1 1/2 C uncooked long-grain rice and saute until rice changes color (it becomes more white). Add 3 C water and 1 1/2 t salt, and cover. Cook for 20 minutes, reducing heat when necessary.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

In large, high-sided skillet or saucepan, heat 2 T olive oil on medium heat. Add 3 t minced garlic and 1/2 C finely minced onion, and saute until translucent (about 5 minutes), stirring. Add:
2 T chopped fresh cilantro
2 oranges, peeled, seeded, and coarsely chopped
1 28 oz can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 15 oz can black beans, drained & rinsed
1 t dried oregano, crumbled
1/2 t black pepper
1/4 t cayenne pepper
Cook, uncovered, until hot, stirring occasionally.

Place rice into 9x13 pan. Spoon the bean mixture on top and gently blend. Slightly overlap tilapia fillets on top and scrape marinade over fillets. Bake 16-20 minutes, until the flesh of the tilapia just begins to flake.

A new venture

2007-01-25T15:27:00.000-05:00

Playing with food (no, not that way... get your minds out of the gutter!) has been a hobby of mine for years.

It frustrates my husband to no end that I won't write a recipe down! To me, every recipe is a work in progress, and why write it down if I'm going to just be modifying it next time? To him, I can't possibly reproduce THIS version of it when I won't write down what I did!

But lately with my new style of eating, I have been coming up with some new combinations that may be worth documenting... perhaps even sharing. I have also found recipes on the internet that are too good to keep to myself. And I know that others of you out there love a good recipe as much as I do! Some may be more healthy... some less healthy... but all are equally welcome here.

So if you're a recipe lover, just email me (my address is on my profile) and you'll be sent an invite to join this blog so you can share YOUR favorites too! And when you post... be sure to add any details or history about the recipe, and link to all applicable recipe categories in the labels (think cookbook chapters and/or index categories), so this can develop into a searchable cookbook with personality.

Happy eating!