Let's talk recipes -- are you as random as I am?

[imafan26]

Today I made cauliflower fried rice. I did reduce the salt but not eliminate it altogether.
Soak 7 dried shiitake mushrooms in water
I used 5 strips of low sodium bacon, rendered for the fat and removed from the wok and placed in a small dish.
7 cloves garlic, minced and fried in the oil then removed from the wok and added to bacon
Scrambled 2 eggs in oil in the wok and removed eggs and added to bacon
1 large onion chopped, sauteed until translucent then added
2 thick pork boneless pork loin chops, sliced into thin strips and sauteed in the oil until browned
Add all of the following while stir frying
8 oz kamaboko, chopped
8 oz surimi (I probably should have used half this amount to reduce the salt)
4 cups cauliflower rice
10 oz frozen peas
7 dried shiitake mushrooms, rehydrated and sliced into strips
ground black pepper ( I put a lot of it in)
2 tsp hoi sin sauce (I made a mistake, I thought it was oyster sauce). Normally, I would use about 3 tablespoons.
1/2 cup chopped green onions.
Add back the bacon, garlic and eggs and stir fry until heated through.
It made about 5 quarts of cauliflower rice.

It was less salt than "normal" people would like, but for me, it was still on the salty side. Most of the salt was coming from the surimi, so next time I will add half the amount of surimi. The cauliflower rice disappeared so I need to cut the amount of the other ingredients so I could add the entire bag of cauliflower rice ( I only used half a bag). There wasn't any more room in the wok to add more. The hoisin was a mistake but it did add a subtle flavor. Two teaspoons in this amount of volume is o.k.

For me this is a one dish meal and it should last me for 6-8 meals. I don't know how to cook for one, I only know how to cook in volume. It is a good thing I don't mind left overs, because I do mind having to cook everyday.

Normally, I used frozen mixed vegetables but all I had in the freezer was peas and broccoli. Other oils can be substituted except EVOO because of the flavor of the EVOO and it has a low smoke point.

[applestar]

I’m trying to make room in the freezer — and Gary350’s blackberry cobblers were tempting me I made a cobbler inspired from his recipe (the latest version with 4+ cups of berries) ... using last year’s blackberries and elderberries from the freezer, and kefir and warm water in place of milk. My blackberries have grit-like seeds, so I strain them. In this case, I used 2 cups blackberries and 1 cup elderberries + 1 cup water, puréed in the blender after defrosting and strained through fine wire mesh strainer, adding 1 tsp tapioca starch. Added some old fashioned oats on top to balance the added water, and scattered dark chocolate bits for extra yum

I thought I burned the cobbler, but the dark edges are just melted chocolate



...I wrote down the recipe for how I made this, so I can make it again.

[imafan26]

Still looks yummy. I haven't made a cobbler in a long time. It is a good thing for parties or club meetings except when I am with my organic and vegetarian friends. I have to go with something vegetarian then. I like samosas with raita too.

[applestar]

You could probably substitute coconut cream or nut milk/cream and use whatever they prefer for butter alternative. I particularly like Gary350’s recipe because I can make a yummy baked dessert when there are no eggs available.

What tropical fruit would work in a cobbler? Maybe diced/chopped pineapple? Any others?

[pepperhead212]

I made a triple recipe of Szechwan eggplant on the Bug Kahuna Burner today. I decided to use this because even a 20k burner on my range would not hold a candle to this, with the 65k burner, and I did not want to heat up my house! One of my favorite dishes of all time, with all that garlic in it - I used 24 cloves today! Also used almost 5 cups of chopped scallions - the last ones from my garden, so I planted the 3/4" root I cut off of each of them. I did something different, which turned out really good - as one friend said "You outdid yourself today!" I wanted to put this on something besides white rice, and I often put it on pasta, but I added some more stuff, for more nutrition. I cooked 12 oz of black chickpeas (kala jeera) in the IP, first for about 6 hours, then 50 min on pressure cook, but then I still wanted to add more, so I found a jar with about 7/8 c of whole oats, and dumped that in with the chick peas, and cooked 12 min, and let it reduce naturally. That, plus a pound of pasta was just about the right amount for this large dish.

Here's the photo of the final dish, plus an album of a bunch of photos, taken while I was cooking it.
Finished dish. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

https://www.flickr.com/photos/91097628@ ... 0189600757

While making this, we also made a batch of that favorite lentil salad of mine. Funny thing was, when a guy came in early, and I was cooking those chick peas, he wanted to know what "meat" I was cooking in there! And later, when cooking those lentils, with freekeh and black cardamom in it, somebody else came in, and thought that I had sausage in the pot, even when he looked at it! Funny how you can fool people with these unusual ingredients, even when you're not trying to.

I put a friend to work to cut up all the cherry tomatoes I had, for the lentil salad, since he looked bored, just sitting there. He kept finding another bowl with more cherries in it, and I'd say something like "yeah, cut those up too!" He thought that I had way too many, but when I had it all mixed up, he said that it looked like it always had. I told him that the original recipe had 2 c of halved cherries in it, which would be 3 c for this, which would be far too few, and he agreed!

We didn't even touch the lentil salad (well, except for all the tasting I had to do! lol), but some went home with them.

[pepperhead212]

I had another batch of one of my tomato dishes, since I had a good amount of tomatoes, for maybe the last time; they are still coming in slowly, though I do have a lot of small green tomatoes...time will tell.

I like to use shells in recipes like this, since they trap the bits and pieces of ingredients. And I usually add some legumes and whole grains, to add nutrients to a pasta dish.
2 1/2 lbs diced tomatoes, with chopped green and kalamata olives, capers, anchovies, and garlic. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Tomatoes, with olive paste, olive oil, and basil stirred in. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Finished dish, with pasta, sabud moong, and spelt added. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

[pepperhead212]

My new friends came over to help me pick up the rest of the wood for my raised bed. They put it on my picnic table - the heavy part of it; now I can edge join it, and put a few coats of solid stain, which I got the same color as my picnic table, to be safe! lol After this, we got down to the important work - cooking!

Actually, I only had the one thing to make - the okra. Their son brought over another container of dal, which he used some of my peppers in - he's gotten hooked on those things! I made a cucumber pachadi earlier - similar to a raita, but with a kick to it. And a bhindi masala - a spicy, stir-fried okra dish, which I cooked the onion, ginger, and garlic earlier, so I could finish it quickly. Here's a photo of the okra added about a minute before (you can see that the purple in the Little Lucy is almost gone already - like in purple beans), and the finished dish:
Bhindi masala, or spiced okra, stir-fried, with okra just added. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Finished bhindi masala, after stir-frying for about 10 minutes. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

[pepperhead212]

I had to make some Mexican food, after a bunch of talk about it on another forum. I made some guacamole, for us to snack on, while preparing this - a favorite dish that I added some okra to, to use up that little bit, and it was delicious!

This is a favorite recipe of mine, and all of my Mexican food loving friends. It is based on a recipe from Diana Kennedy's The Art Of Mexican Cooking. The original recipe had grilled tomatoes, but I have made this countless times with canned tomatoes, and it's almost as good; now, they have those canned "roasted" tomatoes, which are great in these, and other Mexican dishes, too. The original recipe only had 12 oz of livers, and only 2 canned chipotles, but I have always doubled it! The livers seem to come in the 20 oz frozen containers now, down from the 24 oz years ago, but I added some okra to this - often it's thick sliced mushrooms. Also, pork liver is good in this, but needs some braising, to tenderize it. But everyone liked the pork liver, for its stronger flavor.

I also put some dried chiles in every time, to add flavor to the canned. And sometimes, to add some more flavor (didn't need it in this sauce), I add some salsa negra - the version from Rick Bayless's Mexican Kitchen - which is an almost black paste of fried moritas and garlic, with some piloncillo. I always keep some of this in the fridge (it keeps forever, due to the sugar) to add that flavor to dishes.
Salsa negra. This really is black! A morita/piloncillo/garlic paste, to add more flavor to a chipotle sauce. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Chicken Livers in Chipotle Sauce

3 canned chipotles (2 more, with vegetables)
4 dried moritas, or 2 chipotle mecos
28 oz can tomatoes
6 oz can tomato paste (optional, used when adding vegetables)
6 cloves garlic, peeled
1 medium onion, sliced thin lengthwise
4 tb oil, divided
Optional: 8 oz okra slices, or mushroom slices, sautéed separately. I usually cook the onion with these.
20 oz chicken livers

A. Toast the moritas or mecos in a dry skillet over medium heat, pressing hard against the skillet, until it crackles, and a little smoke comes up from it. Flip over, and repeat. Soak the peppers in hot water, while preparing other ing.

B. Place the tomatoes and paste (if used), along with the garlic, and the canned and drained chiles in the blender, then blend to a smooth purée. Press through a medium mesh strainer, to remove skins and seeds, unless using a Vitamix or other power blender.

C. Heat 2 tb oil in a wok, or a sauté pan (my favorite pans for frying Mexican sauces), over medium high heat, and add purée. Cook 7-8 min., stirring and scraping constantly, or until very thick - the spatula leaves a track in the pan, when scraping. Remove to a bowl, and clean out pan.

D. Heat 2 tb oil in the pan over medium high heat, until shimmering. Add livers, and sauté about 3 min., stirring several times, then add leftover blood, and boil off quickly. Add the chile paste, and stir until heated through, adding the optional vegetables at the end, to heat through. Scrape into a serving bowl, and serve with toasted corn tortillas, with some shredded cheese, and some cilantro.

Chipotle sauce, cooked down by about a third already. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Chipotle sauce, cooked down to a paste, about 11 min. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Okra, starting to sauté, before adding onions. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Chicken livers added to the oil. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Livers, after cooking about 3 min. on high. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Chipotle paste, added to livers. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Finished chicken livers in chipotle sauce, with okra and onions mixed in. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Toasting the tortillas over an open flame. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Chicken livers, okra, and onion in chipotle sauce, made into a delicious taco. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

[Vanisle_BC]

Last night I tried making fresh whole-wheat pasta and using it in DIY Alfredo sauce; total disaster in both cases. I've made myself some notes about how to proceed in future experiments

Tonight I'm trying Chinese scallion pancakes for the first time; again using WW flour, which is probably a mistake. I'll likely be making myself notes about how to proceed next time :).

[applestar]

Oooh, let us know how your whole wheat recipes turn out. I would like to know how to make any of those.


...with baked goods like bread and muffins, I have had good results using White Whole Wheat (King Arthur) and by mixing in some rice flour, For the scallion pancake, I could also imagine using grated long/mountain potato — this is grated on Daikon grater to make foamy mucus-y sauce, which adds air bubbles to the pancake — I suppose same results might be achieved by separating and whipping the egg white — both would be folded into the batter.

I have this Ceramic Daikon grater, but you can get plastic or metal as well —

[Vanisle_BC]

Oooh, let us know how your whole wheat recipes turn out. I would like to know how to make any of those.

Haha - disaster after disaster. Main mistakes: 1 - modifying a recipe before mastering the original, 2. Hoping the results of an experiment will be the evening meal (instead of going in the trash-can.) Tomato sandwiches saved the day.

But I'm not done yet. If at first you don't succeed ..... smarten up before you try again!

[pepperhead212]

@Vanisle - You might want to try using WW atta flour, for your pasta and scallion cakes. This is an Indian flour, used for a lot of flatbreads. It is durum wheat - the wheat used for most pasta - and rolls out easily, since the gluten, while it is in the flour, does not make the dough as elastic as hard wheat. If you have an Indian store in your area you could look there. It can also be found online, though it's a bit pricey, since shipping heavy flour is not cheap! Look closely, however - I have seen some that is only 80% WW, while others were listed as 100%.

[Vanisle_BC]

Pepperhead, thanks for the info about Atta flour; I'll look out for it. Meantime I'm going back to square one, to practice making decent pasta with regular white flour before trying others.

[pepperhead212]

@Vanisle - another flour you can find in Indian groceries is bajra - millet flour. It's a very nutritious grain, and, while I have never tried it, you could probably mix it with white flour, to make a pasta - the flavor is fairly neutral, and would go well with most things. I often mix whole millet with jasmine rice, to add nutrients, but it doesn't cover the jasmine rice flavor. I just grind up whole millet to make as much flour as I need, to make a flatbread.

[Vanisle_BC]

Yay! Second go at the Chinese pancakes is successful; even using the remainder of the WW dough I failed with yesterday.

The main secret seems to be: After making the dough spirals, roll them out very thin then 'distress' them in the pan while cooking, to separate the layers.

The technique is difficult to describe but easy to understand on screen. Are we allowed to post links to illustrative videos? I watched a few youtubes.

[pepperhead212]

Here's another delicious Thai curry that I made. I was trimming those kaffir lime trees, and the smell gave me a craving for Thai food! I made a Thai curry, to use up some of those veggies I had. The lady I shared it with had never had one before, and immediately wanted to know how to make it - since it looked so easy, maybe even she could make it! lol After I showed her the recipe for just the curry paste, she decided to keep letting me make it.
Thai red curry, with okra, eggplant, bottle gourd, poblanos, onions, chard stems, long beans, bitter melon, and chicken. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Finished Thai red curry, served on a mix of millet and jasmine rice. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

[pepperhead212]

With almost the last of my tomatoes, I made the last batch of that raw tomato pasta sauce, that I make countless times during the summer - last one until probably early next July. A friend, who loves it, went in the hospital for an outpatient procedure today, and I told him I'd bring him some tomorrow. It was a large amount - 62 oz of tomatoes, before draining some, 8 cloves of garlic, a bunch of 3 different olives and anchovies, chopped up, and the first batch of that indoor basil, from the hydroponics. I cooked about 1 1/4 c of spelt, and added that with 2 cans of rinsed beans, to 1 lb pasta, instead of all pasta.
Last batch of tomatoes for the season, with garlic, basil, olives, anchovies, and olive oil. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Finished pasta dish, with spelt and 2 cans of beans added. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

[applestar]

Looks yummy as always, pepperhead Your friend is sure to recover quickly

[pepperhead212]

I got a craving for this when I harvested all that spearmint yesterday! This is the hottest dish I have made all year, and for me to day that, you can imagine how hot it is!

This is a favorite dish of mine, and definitely one of the hottest! The original recipe had 30 Thai bird peppers, so it was actually hotter, but the peppers I use are a little larger, milder, and have more flavor. It is from southern Thailand, which is why it has some of that sweet soy sauce, which is very thick, and has molasses in it, as the sweetener. The original recipe used fresh rice noodles, but I use the dried ones - more available, and I always have some on hand. Sometimes, however, when I go to the SE Asian market, I'll pick up some fresh, as it really is good with those, as well. The original recipe called for holy basil, but I rarely have that, and I have found that the spearmint and basil combination is better; this time I used about half mint, 1/4 seratta basil, and 1/4 Thai basil. I've made it with all Thai basil, and all Italian basil, and liked it more with the Italian, but the mint adds greatly to both And I usually use the jicama or kohlrabi for the crunch - better with the fresh veggies, when available.

As usual, this goes very fast, once the cooking starts.

Mahagony Fire Noodles

12 oz wide rice noodles; soaked in warm water 30 m
30 thai birds; OR
15-20 thai dragons
10 cloves garlic
1 1/4 lbs boneless chicken; sliced 1/4 x 1/2 x 2 in.
8 oz bamboo shoots; sliced
1 tb oil
1/2 cup water or chicken broth
1 tsp white pepper; ground
2 tb fish sauce
1 tb oyster sauce
2 tb sweet black soy sauce
1 1/2 tb sugar
1 1/2 cup(s) holy basil (fresh); loosely packed, OR
3/4 cup Italian basil; AND
3/4 cup(s) mint leaves
2 tb oil

A. Make a paste in the mortar with the Chiles and garlic (or make the paste in a food processor). Add 1 tb fish sauce to the chicken, and stir to coat; let marinate 15 min or so, while preparing other things. Measure out the pepper, the other tb of fish sauce, oyster sauce, soy sauce, and sugar into a bowl together. Drain noodles and have all ing. ready by the wok.

B. If using canned bamboo shoots, drain them, pat dry, and stir-fry them in 1 tb oil over med-high heat for 1 min. Pour onto a paper towel, cool, and blot dry. I do this just to get that "canned flavor" out of them.

C. Heat a large wok (I use my 20") over high heat; add oil, swirl, and heat briefly. Add chili paste and dtir-fry 15 sec. Add chicken and bamboo shoots and SF 30 sec. Add noodles and broth or water, and toss 1 min. Add the pepper, sauces and sugar and SF 1-1 1/2 min., or until noodles are soft and no longer hard inside. Remove from heat, toss with the herbs, and serve.

Variations: 1 lb fresh rice noodles may be used, adding when only 1-1 1/2 min of cooking is left. 1 lb of dry pasta may be used, undercooked slightly, and added as with the rice noodles.

Peppers to be used in Mahogany Fire Noodles by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Thai ingredients for Mahogany Fire Noodles, plus the herbs by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Ingredients for Mahogany Fire Noodles, mise en place. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Chili and garlic paste, stir fried briefly. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Stir-frying chicken briefly. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Finishing up the stir-fry of the Mahogany Fire Noodles, with remaining ingredients. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Tossing in the herbs, off heat by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Finished Mahogany Fire Noodles by pepperhead212, on Flickr

[applestar]

I’m not sure — actually pretty sure I would not be able to eat something that you say is the hottest, but that looks good.

...I need to make something eith one of those noodles.

[pepperhead212]

Applestar, You could try the recipe with much milder peppers, but an equal volume, and get a dish you could eat. I've done this for people who don't like real hot foods.

[Vanisle_BC]

Tonight we're having - Tadaa!
"Grenadin de porc au beurre La Fin Du Monde"
- a fancy French name but we just call it Pork Chops Stanley Park; Stanley Park being the name of the enjoyable quirky novel we got it from. Fin Du Monde is the name of the French-Canadian beer it's cooked in - pricey with a very unusual flavour but I've grown to like it a lot...

MY SHORT VERSION:

Pork chops
Flour - Salt, pepper & flour chops.
Oil
Butter #1 - Brown chops in hot oil+butter, set aside in warm oven.
Onion
Mushrooms
Parsley - Saute onions, thin sliced mushrooms, minced parsley w. more pepper.
Garlic
Beer - when mushrooms turning brown add garlic & beer; boil, swirl
Cream
Butter #2 - Thicken sauce w. butter & cream, reintroduce chops.

---------------------

LONG VERSION, from the book "Stanley Park" by Timothy Taylor

"When the pan was hot he added a knob of butter and some oil from a plastic, red-nozzled bottle, let it heat through and foam while he vigorously salted and peppered the chop. He dusted it with flour, then gripped the protruding bone with tongs and pressed it down into the foaming fat. When it was browned on both sides, he tested its firmness with his thumb, pushing gently on the flank of the hot chop, pulled it out and onto a small plate that he slid into a low oven. A few onions went into the pan, a grind more pepper, chanterelles and shiitakes sliced thin, some minced parsley. He tossed the mixture, letting it slide to the far edge of the pan, pulling it back and up towards him, which made it break loose from the slick surface and turn over before landing. He let it cook through, whistling with the music -- they had segued from Tom Waits to Tom Jones. When the mushrooms were starting to brown, he added a bit of garlic and the beer, swirling the contents of the pan to mix them while they boiled. A knob of butter to thicken the sauce. A new dry side-towel before grabbing the chops out of the oven. Back they went into the sauce, half-covered and slid just slightly off the flame.

He chose new potatoes for her, much better with the beer. He laid down a bed of the browned mushrooms in their sauce, nestled the chop on top, triangulated with three of the waxy yellow potatoes, sprayed the plate with more parsley and carried it out himself.

"Grenadin de porc au beurre La Fin du Monde," he said, sliding it onto the table in front of her."

BUT what about the cream??? There was supposed to be cream!

[pepperhead212]

A friend came over and helped me eat some of those fire noodles from last night, but I wanted to make a side dish (you really can't eat much of that stuff!). I had a little over a lb of beans, plus last night I halved over a qt of my last cherry tomatoes. This made me think of making up a mix of the som tum dressing I make, but milder, and it turned out great! This was definitely something I'll do again, maybe tweaking it a bit.
Green bean version of Som Tum by pepperhead212, on Flickr

I first crush a bunch of peanuts in the mortar, remove those, then crush some garlic, followed by some fresh red Thai peppers, then a small amount of soaked, dry shrimp. Then the lime juice, palm sugar, and fish sauce, to finish the sauce. The beans were just steamed 4 min., chilled, then spun dry, before mixing with the sauce, peanuts, and the tomatoes.

[applestar]

Y’all are making me hungry!

And @vanisle, I love books that are heavy on cooking details like that! I have a few ... actually a lot of my books are like that.

[Vanisle_BC]

I love books that are heavy on cooking details like that! I have a few ... actually a lot of my books are like that.

I recommend "Stanley Park." A well written tale with an unusual plot about eating (both rough & refined), cooking, cheffery in the restaurant business, romance and poetic justice.

La Fin Du Monde beer is good too -- but maybe a taste that has to be acquired .

[pepperhead212]

I made a dal today, since it was sort of a soup day here, and I had one bottle gourd left to use up. It wasn't very large, so I also added some mushrooms I had to use up, and about 5 oz of chicken I sliced up in it, as well. While it was cooking and cooling down in the IP, I made a few missi roti to go with it. They were actually done before the dal was depressurized! Amazing how fast they are to make.
Roti almost finished, after third flip by pepperhead212, on Flickr

The finished dish:
Finished lauki chana dal, with mushrooms and some chicken added. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

[imafan26]

Looks yummy.
I got a tub of sour cream. I made potato mac salad but lightened it by substituting sour cream for half the mayonnaise. Now I have a lot of sour cream left. Any suggestions for what I can do with it? How long can I keep it?

[applestar]

- Baked potato topping — actually also good with sweet potatoes — try with the purple fleshed one
- cheese cake - baked or no-bake gelatin based (you also need cream cheese),
- tomato-based pasta sauce — turns into creamy pink sauce ...add some kind of liquor (like vodka) or white wine for extra kick,
- any tex-mex, or mexican — I like mexican chicken corn chowder served with shredded cheddar cheese in the bowl, pour hot chowder over the cheese to melt, then add a generous dollop of sour cream to cool down both the spicy heat and temperature of the chowder ...spoon out chowder, cheese and a bit of sour cream for each mouthful without mixing them together
- creamy white fish chowder — mix in

...I would use up an opened tub within one week... they last longer but will start to swim in whey. (use the whey for anti fungal plant spray with milk)

[Gary350]

The finished dish:
Finished lauki chana dal, with mushrooms and some chicken added. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

That looks good.

[pepperhead212]

I made another Indian dish today - a sambar, using a new batch of sambar masala I made with that batch of curry leaves, that I trimmed, to bring the plant in. I finished off those roti flatbreads, with the new soup. Have to make a few more now.

[pepperhead212]

And yet another Indian lentil dish tonight, one with 5 different types of lentils! It's Dhaba Dal, usually a vegetarian dish, but I added some chicken to it, to cook briefly toward the end. Turned out delicious, and was a good cold weather dish.
Dhaba Dal, finished dish, served with a roti. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

The lentils, plus some of the turmeric, for the Dhaba Dal by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Most of the other ingredients - just a few of them!
Fresh and dried ingredients for the Dhaba Dal. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

[Gary350]

Crock pot vegetable stew.

About 9 am crock pot was set on counter top and turned on. Throw in 1 package of stem meat, 1 large onion sliced & diced, 10 small garlic cloves, cook until meat, onion, garlic is cooked. Dump in 1 can cream of celery soup, 1 can cream of mushroom soup, garden corn, green beans, red peppers, green peppers, carrots, peas, potatoes, & 1 package of country gravy mix, stir well. Salt & pepper to taste. Continue to cook until time to eat, if done before dinner time turn on low to keep warm. Crock pot cooking is so easy just throw stuff in then go away come back later to eat. Wow this was good I ate 2 large bowls.

[pepperhead212]

I went to a friend's place for Thanksgiving dinner today, and I took the dessert - a 10" crême brûlée pumpkin cheesecake. An old recipe I used to make years ago, and I saw a recipe for a crême brûlée cheesecake a while back, and knowing how good that butterscotch pumpkin pie is, I thought that I'd try this, and it was a big hit!
Pumpkin Cheesecake, bottom side up, on serving disk. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Sugar burned on the Crême Brûlée Pumpkin Cheesecake. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

[applestar]

I decided to make blueberry muffins and cranberry muffins using fresh blueberries and chunky cranberry/citrus/walnut “sauce” leftover from Thanksgiving Day dinner. ...BUT I accidentally used a cupcake recipe as my reference recipe. ...well, that and the recipe was for carrot cupcakes, but that’s beside the point.

So the blueberry “muffins” turned into something akin to blueberry cobbler in cupcake/muffin paper, and the cranberry “muffins” turned into ... well basically cranberry cupcake. I did add diced fresh pineapples to the cranberry muffin batter which made it more interesting.




...I asked DD to fill the cupcake/muffin paper lined muffin pans and bake them, and although I had instructed her to oil the paper before filling them, (I forgot to tell her and) she didn’t oil the perimeter of the muffin cups, so the cake-not-muffin batter which couldn’t hold their shape when they puffed up, oozed around the rim and got stuck. She had to struggle to get them out and several ended up without their tops ... (SHE said “topless” — haha.)

They were yummy regardless though. Oh! It just occurred to me that I could have added dried cranberries. That might have added another interesting dimension,

[pepperhead212]

Today I had a couple people over for Mexican food. My reason for having to make Mexican is because I totally trimmed back my epazote in the hydroponics - I used a generous amount, in both recipes, but I took the rest to the Mexican grocer in town - he loves getting these large bags of epazote!

The black beans for the chilaquiles I cooked yesterday, and had a small bowl last night (I couldn't wait!). One of the friends is vegetarian, but eats dairy, so that's what I stuck to. The black beans for the chilaquiles were cooked with some epazote, onion, garlic, and chipotles, then blended smooth. Since there were only 3 of us, I simply filled the bowls with some chips, instead of a casserole, added the thinned black bean purée, and quickly topped them with some queso añejo, crema, and a little more chipotles and epazote leaves - takes about 4-5 minutes to get them slightly softened, but still crunchy, though the last bites are totally softened, by the time we got to them. The recipe was supposed to have some diced avocado as some of the garnish, but none of mine were even close to ripe. No big loss.
strmanglr scott Here's that photo.
Finished black bean chilaquiles. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

We took a long break after pigging out on those, and I ran a load in the DW. Then we had some tacos, made with some creminis, and some greens I had just harvested today, and cooked those in a pasilla sauce. This was served in corn tortillas, with some fresh white onion, crumbled up queso añejo, and some fresh lettuce leaves. We totally finished those!
Mushroom greens taco, with some gueso añejo, onion, and lettuce. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

We really didn't need dessert, after just those two dishes, but I made some small smoothies - I had some ripe mangos, which I added some lime juice to, and they were so ripe, no sugar or stevia was needed.

[Gary350]

Last night I accidentally found Mom's vegetable soup recipe on a piece of paper fold up inside her old cook book. I did not know I had her recipe. I have been trying to make good vegetable for 20 yrs sense she died but it was never as good as hers. This morning about 10 am I started cooking her recipe and we both ate 2 bowls each at 1:30 pm. Wow this is good. Very simple recipe, cook stew meat in skillet until brown then add onions cook a few minute then add carrots & garlic cook a few more minutes then add everything else bring to boil then simmer until, potatoes, carrots, cabbage, are cooked. Add old bay seasoning, salt, pepper, simmer 15 more minutes it is ready to eat. I copied recipe on clean paper it is easier to read. I used stew meat she use a small chuck roast. Cut meat into bit size pieces you like best. I used our garden, corn, tomatoes, green beans from the pantry. We will have this whole pot of soup eaten before bed.

[pepperhead212]

I made a batch of ratatouille based lentils in the IP, with the chicken trimmed from the boneless skinless thighs, that I froze 5 lbs of, the other day. I browned the chicken some on high sauté mode, adding some re-hydrated eggplant, and cooked until the EP was starting to brown some.then removed them. Then, on regular sauté, I added a large diced onion, and cooked that until browning a little, then added a large, diced red bell pepper, and cooked that a few minutes, added 4 large minced cloves of garlic, and cooked 1 min. Then I added one 28 oz can of diced tomatoes, 3 c of water, about a half tb of Serbian oregano (in place of the usual thyme), and a generous amount of chopped basil - I had a large handful of leaves, and used half now, half at the end. I salted the liquid with a generous amount of fish sauce - a favorite of mine, in these dishes. Then I added 1 c of rinsed puy lentils, and 1/4 c red quinoa, and about a tb of crushed Thai pepper flakes, and mixed in. I covered, and cooked 14 min. in the "porridge" mode - something I use when the dish will be fairly thick. It cooled 12 min., and I stirred in the rest of the basil. I will definitely make this again; would probably also be good with Italian sausage, or without meat, and maybe more veggies.
Ratatouille lentils, with chicken by pepperhead212, on Flickr

[pepperhead212]

I made a Keralan style stir-fry tonight, to use up some mushrooms and bell peppers I had. I served it on a mix of brown rice and millet - something I do a lot, to add some nutrients to rice. The recipe was based on this one:
Mushroom Pepper Stir-fry
I doubled it, and added more garlic and more hot peppers, as usual! However, just those 5 Thai peppers could have been reduced to 3 - that black pepper is surprisingly hot, in this amount. This is something I turned on my range hood for, even though it's cold out there - the fumes were strong! A friend who was trying this with me thought that it wasn't that hot...until a few bites into it, and it grew on us. Had a pineapple based raita on the side, which helped the cooling!
Ingredients for Keralan Mushroom Pepper stir-fry by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Finished mushroom pepper stir-fry by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Mushroom pepper stir-fry, served on a 50/50 mix of brown basmati and millet. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

[pepperhead212]

I pulled up most of those covered greens out there, getting an overflowing 12 qt bowl filled with them - the rest of the plants went in the compost. I wanted to make some tacos with them, so I caramelized some sliced onions, followed by some chopped cremini. After the mushrooms were browned, the steamed chard (about 10 oz fresh) and a generous cup of jicama, sliced and cut into about 1/4" pieces. This was sautéed until most of the water had cooked out, then it was removed to a bowl.

Meanwhile, a salsa was made with some dehydrated tomatillos (1.6 oz, a little over 1 lb equivalent), 8 moritas, and 8 pan roasted garlic cloves. The tomatillos and moritas are dry toasted in a skillet, before the garlic, then soaked in hot water. These are then blended with the garlic, to make a paste, then put in the wok, with water I rinsed the blender out with, then it was cooked down about 8 min on medium high, until thickened. Those dehydrated tomatillos, when dry roasted in a pan, taste as good as grilled, fresh tomatillos, in these salsas!
Pay roasted moritas and dried tomatillos, ready to be soaked. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Paste, of the roasted garlic and soaked tomatillos and moritas. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Tomatillo and morita paste, cooking down. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Paste, cooked down for about 8 minutes. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Heating up the tortillas over an open flame. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Finished taco, with the onion, greens, mushroom, and jicama filling, topped with the salsa, queso fresco, and cilantro. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

[pepperhead212]

I love barley and mushrooms together. Tonight I added beef to them, a classic combo, and made a soup, some in my IP, but a lot on the stovetop, too.

I cooked the mirepoix in the IP, adding 2 crushed garlic cloves, then removed most of it, and added 9 c of the broth, using that roasted chicken base and the barley, then cooked it for 20 min. on high pressure, while prepping the rest of the dish.

I soaked 1 oz of porcini, then "massaged" the grit out of them, then rinsed them in another cup of water. I chopped them up, then, using a method Marcella Hazan used in her books, I boiled the porcini with the strained soaking water, before adding the butter and fresh cremini, to brown those. The second rinsing water I used to deglaze the beef pan, and rinse out the mushroom pan.

The beef I browned and added to the barley, with the cooked mirepoix and deglazing from the sauté pan, plus about 2 tsp fresh rosemary and 1 tsp fresh sage, chopped, andcooked it for 15 min. on high, and released pressure after 10 min. I then added the mushroom mix, rinsed out the pan with that porcini liquid, and cooked on high for 10 min. I let it naturally release for 15 min., then released the rest of the pressure. Then, I stirred in 1/4 c chopped parlsey, in addition to that on top of the bowl. I think I have about 10 bowls of it leftover!

Chopped porcini, with soaking liquid cooking off. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Chopped cremini, added to porcini to brown in butter. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Mushrooms finished browning in butter. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Second batch of beef browning. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Browned beef, ready to add to IP. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Fresh rosemary and sage, chopped up for the soup. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Finished soup in Instant Pot by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Finished Beef Barley Mushroom Soup by pepperhead212, on Flickr