Thai Pesto

This recipe is a fleshed out version of something I heard on The Splendid Table when a caller was asking about what to do with all of her Thai basil she had growing in the garden. She mentioned that she had made a Thai pesto with it and gave the ingredients that she had used: Thai basil, coconut oil, cashews and some Thai chilies in one batch.  The host got very excited and suggested many uses for the pesto (though nothing else for the basil) and I got very excited and thought "Dinner tonight".

So, here is what I came up with based on the above mentioned ingredients. I use a stone mortar and pestle for making pesto because I think it gives better flavor to the herbs when they are mashed not cut. That said, I am a snob and I'm sure cutting in the food processor works just fine.

4 cups Thai basil (longer, skinnier leaf than genovese or sweet basil. Can be found at Asian groceries)
2 cloves of garlic
2 Tablespoons of raw cashews

Strip the leaves from the stems of the basil and mash or run through the food processor until you've got a smooth paste. (I had to do batches because my mortar, while large, only holds about 2 cups of leaves.)

To this add:
1/3 cup of coconut oil, best if in liquid state.
2 Tablespoons of fish sauce
1 Tablespoon of lime juice
1/4 teaspoon (minimum, I added more like 2 Tablespoons) of sriracha sauce. Don't skip this, it rounds out the flavor, but if you don't love spicy things, stick to the minimum.

Mix well until smooth. Adjust seasonings to your taste. You may need to add a bit of salt or more fish sauce.

Cook your rice noodles in your preferred way. I used the wide noodles like the ones for Pad Thai. If you want meat or tofu, use a bit of the pesto as a marinade to give extra flavor. Thinly slice some raw carrots and red bell peppers and toss all of this together with the pesto. Easy-peasy, tasty dinner in 15 minutes. Even if you're hand mashing everything!

Vietnamese Inspired Eggplant

This is a loose adaptation of a recipe from a friend. She gave it to me when I asked for help with eggplant cause I don't love it but am growing it.  This was the #1way we ate eggplant last summer. I think it works best with the long, skinny Asian types of eggplant that don't really need to be brined first, but I've made it with the fat globe kinds eggplant. A young plant is better.


Slice the eggplant into rounds. If it's the big kind, salt & press out the water for a while first.
Heat some coconut oil in a pan and fry the eggplant rounds til caramelized. Just before removing the eggplant, toss some banana pepper slices in to the pan. Cook till almost soft. Thrown some heavy greens (kale or collards), cut into long slices in. Cook til bright green, a few minutes total. Put all of the veggies over rice or thin rice noodles. Top with nuoc cham sauce. Can be eaten hot or cold as a salad. Is a little addictive.

Body Butter

A while back, when we all had 1, maybe two kiddos we got together and made a bunch of crap for the holidays. One of those things was this body butter, which I loved and thought I'd lost the recipe for. I found it, including my notes and am pasting it below so that if (when) I lose it again, it will be here.

Body Butter Recipe/Formula

1 part wax (beeswax or soy wax)
1 part fixed oil (almond, apricot kernel, macadamia, hemp, whatever)
1 part butter (shea, cocoa, mango, whatever again)
This is great and really moisturizing and you can design and change the recipe based on what you like and what you have on hand.

example:
1oz beeswax
1oz cocoa butter
1oz sweet almond oil


Should be ~1:2 oil to butter and wax. Possibly add a bit of cornstarch to help make a smoother feel, about 2tsp/lb of ingredients

ETA: 7/22/13
I'm not 100% certain of when I intended to post this. I just found it in the drafts. And this recipe seems a bit off. Did we really use that much wax? Anyone remember?

Oatmeal Lace Cookies

Ingredients 8 tbls. (1 stick) butter 1/4 cup milk 1/4 cup molasses 1 teaspoon vanilla 3/4 cup sugar 1 cup flour 1/2 teaspoon baking powder 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 cup quick or old-fashioned oats 1 cup (optional) chopped nuts, finely chopped Directions Preheat oven to 375ºF. Melt butter in saucepan. Remove from heat; stir in milk, molasses and vanilla. Sift together sugar, flour, baking powder and salt. Blend into milk mixture. Stir in oats and nuts. Drop by level teaspoonfuls 2 in. apart on greased cookie sheet. Bake 6 to 8 minutes. Cool. Yield: 4 dz cookies

Sourdough crepes, with buckwheat

This makes crepes even more awesome. And making a batch of savory crepes with a bit of cheese and whatever's quick from the garden or farm box makes this the perfect summer or seasonal food.

1 1/4 cups whole milk
1 tablespoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
3 tablespoons butter, melted
1/2 cup buckwheat flour
1 cup sourdough starter
3 large eggs (or 4 if you won't be resting the batter for a long while)

Beat all the ingredients together until soupy. You can then chill for a couple hours or just start frying up. (I tend to cook them right away).

My favorite way to make crepes for dinner is to make a savory saute of something from the backyard garden (e.g. greens with onion and a touch of tomato sauce) and cook that in the middle with a bit of cheese. If and only if those get eaten, then we might have something sweet for round two.

More detailed stuff about crepes here

Sourdough Chocolate Cake

I found a gem of a recipe that even my choco-holics like and is perhaps the least processed cake ever. And is delicious and moist and yummy. I mean, really, really yummy. Too yummy to keep to myself!


Here it is and this includes my changes. I've made it twice now, once plain, once with frosting. The page with the version I started with is here.

SOURDOUGH CHOCOLATE CAKE


INGREDIENTS:


½ cup sourdough starter

1 ½ cups whole wheat flour

2 cups sucanat

1 cup milk


¾ cup powdered cocoa (not instant)

1 teaspoon baking powder

2 teaspoons baking soda


2 eggs

½ cup melted butter

¾ cup cold coffee

1 teaspoon vanilla


PROCEDURES:


Put the starter in a large bowl, mix in flour and milk. Cover loosely and allow to stand at room temperature at least a couple hours, preferably 8 hours or overnight.

Add the rest of the ingredients, dry ingredients first, then wet.

Grease and flour two 9 inch round cake pans. Pour in the batter, which will be thin, and bake in a preheated 350F oven for about 30 minutes, or until the layers test done when poked with a toothpick. The cake will have pulled away from the sides of the pan.

Allow to cool about 10 minutes before removing from pans, then finish cooling the layers on wire rack. Do not frost until the cake is completely cold.

A mild chocolate butter cream frosting is nice with this cake.

Adapted from: “Baking with Sourdough.”

bittman any fruit any nut bread

the last time I made this with raw grated acorn squash and the kids loved it.

Moosewood Fudge Brownies

I love these. And I love that I can make them in a small portion that's a little more reasonable (since I have been known to eat a whole pan if the moon's right, if you know what I mean...) My substitutions in parentheses.

Ingredients:
1/4 c. coconut oil
1/4 c. peanut butter (could replace these two with 1/2 c. butter)
1/2 c. chocolate chips, darkest and best quality you can get.
1 c. brown sugar (I use 3/4c. sucanat)
1/2 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs
1/2 c. all-purp flour (I use whole wheat)

Preheat oven to 350'. Grease a 8 inch square pan (I like them thick and chewy so I use a bread pan, lower the heat to 325' after 10 minutes and bake a bit longer).

In a heavy-bottomed pot, melt butter and chocolate chips on low. (If using a nut butter, add after removing from heat).

In a bowl, add all remaining ingredients. Beat with a mixer til well blended. Add melted chocolate & mix. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 20 minutes.

Pumkin Cake with Orange Frosting

~Sylwinn posted this on FB and it is now one of my favorite~

I altered the icing for a less sweet drizzle on top~

4 eggs

2 cups sugar

1 cup canola oil

1 can of pumpkin (15 oz)

2 cups unbleached all purpose flour

2 t baking powder

1 t baking soda

1/2 t salt

3 t cinnamon

1 t ginger

1/2 t cloves

**********************

heat oven 350, beat eggs, sugar, oil, pumpkin until smooth.

stir in flour, b.p. , b.s., salt, spices.

Spread into greased 15x10 glass baking pan.

Bake 25-30 mins- although I go 40.

Let cool before frosting.

***********************

Orange Frosting

1/3 cup soft butter

2-3 cups confectioners sugar

3-4 T orange juice

1/2 t vanilla

grated zest from orange

beat ingredients until smooth~ ice your cake

Enjoy!

Carrot Halwa

Ted got this recipe from one of his co-workers. It is rather time intensive, but totally worth the effort.

Carrot Halwa by Ratna Kumria

Carrots (grated) 4 cups
Milk 2 cups
Sugar 1 ½ cups
Butter Ghee or Veg Oil ½ cup
Cardamom Seeds (crushed) 5 pods
Allspice (crushed) 2 berries
Golden raisins 3 tablespoons
Cashews or Almonds(sliced) 3 tablespoons
Time 2-3 hours

1.Wash, peel, and coarsely grate carrots. Soak raisins in enough water to cover them.
2.Cook carrots in milk on medium heat stirring occasionally until the milk has evaporated. This step can take an hour or so.
3.Stir in sugar and spices. Cook well until all moisture has evaporated and carrots are dry. This step takes time too.
4.In the meantime cook the raisins and cashews in 2 tablespoons ghee until nuts are slightly browned. Remove raisins and cashews with a slotted spoon. Reserve ghee for next step.
5.Add the reserved ghee as well as the remaining ghee and cook on high heat until the color changes and carrots become slightly crisp.
6.Mix in raisins and cashews.

Sour Cream Chicken Enchiladas

There are a bazillion recipes for this all over the internet. This is the version I've adapted for our family. It's quickly become a family favorite and is pretty simple to throw together in under an hour for dinner. Plus, it's a lot less processed than many of the versions floating around.

Ingredients

Filling:
• 1 lb chicken, diced
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 2tsp Mexican oregano
• salt & pepper to taste
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• green chile, diced (optional)


• 8 8-inch flour tortillas, softened
• 1 1/2 cups grated cheddar cheese (or other Mexican/southwestern type cheeses)

Sauce:
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/4 cup flour
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 2 tsp oregano
• salt to taste
• 3 green chiles, roasted and diced (1, 4 oz can)
• 1 cup sour cream

Directions
Make filling:
1. In large frying pan, heat oil & cook onion til soft. Add chicken, garlic, oregano, chile, salt & pepper cooking together over medium-high heat until chicken is just done.
2. Divide cooked filling evenly between 8 tortillas; add 1 1/2 tablespoons cheese to each tortilla.
3. Roll enchiladas and place seam-side down in 9x13" baking dish that has been lightly sprayed with no-stick cooking spray.

Make sauce:
4. While chicken is cooking, melt butter in a medium saucepan; whisk in flour to make a roux. Gradually whisk in chicken broth small amounts at a time (to prevent clumping). Bring to boiling, stirring frequently. Add chiles, oregano and salt. Correct seasonings.
5. Remove from heat and let cool a bit; whisk in sour cream. Pour sauce evenly over enchiladas.
6. Top with remaining 3/4 cup cheese and bake at 400° for 20 minutes until cheese is melted and sauce near edges of baking dish is bubbly.

Enjoy!

Korean Cucumber Salad

This is the dish I brought to Sylwinn's mama blessing.

2 large cucumbers, thinly sliced
3 tsp coarse salt
1 cup water
2 Tbs white vinegar
1 tsp suger
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1 clove garlic, minced
1 spring onion, minced
1 Tbs toasted sesame seeds, ground

Put sliced cucumbers in a bowl, sprinkle with salt and add the water. Soak for 15 minutes, then drain off liquid. Combine other ingredients, pour over cucumbers, mix well and serve chilled.

Beet Risotto

This comes from my new favorite food blog, A Good Appetite. I made it tonight and loved it.

1 T olive oil
1/2 c diced beets, about 1/4" dice
1 garlic scape, sliced (or one clove garlic, minced)
10 beet leaves & stems, chopped & separated
pinch of sugar
4 c chicken or vegetable stock
1/2 T unsalted butter
1 spring onion, white & green parts chopped (or one scallion, chopped)
1/2 c + 2 T arborio rice
2 T sherry
3 T grated Parmesan + extra for serving
salt & pepper

Heat 1/2 tablespoon of the olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the beets, garlic scape & about one half the beet stems (save the remaining stems for another use). Sauté for about 2 minutes. Stir in the sugar until dissolved. Set aside.

Bring the broth to a simmer in a saucepan. Keep the broth simmering the whole time you are cooking.

In another saucepan, heat the remaining olive oil & the butter over medium heat. Add the onion & sauté for a minute. Add the rice & cook while stirring for another minute, coating the rice. Add the sherry & cook while stirring until evaporated. Add the stock 1/4 - 1/2 cup at a time. Cook & stir each addition until evaporated before adding the next. Test the rice from time to time to see if its getting tender. When it's tender & creamy with just a slight bite it is ready (you may not use all the broth). As you are adding your last addition of the broth also stir in the beet mixture & the chopped beet leaves. Once that final broth addition is absorbed stir in the Parmesan until melted. Season with salt & pepper as needed.

Serve sprinkled with extra Parmesan if desired.

Carry-In meals... Vegetarian enchiladas

Maybe I'm the only one, but I have to make a meal to carry to someone at least once a month. I usually double the recipe and make 1/2 for us and 1/2 for the family receiving the meal. So, I get bored making the same 4 dishes and have been trying to come up with a list of recipes that I can turn to when the usual mix-up is either over my budget or I'm just plain sick of it. I'll be listing recipes here as I come across good ones and if anyone else wants to join the party, post the recipe and tag it "carry-in" and maybe potluck too :)

First up:
Vegetarian Enchiladas
(this makes about 12 enchiladas)

For the filling:

Saute until soft
1 med-large onion, diced
1 bell pepper, diced

When soft add:
2-4 cloves garlic
2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp chilli pepper
Cook for 1 minute

Add:
2c. diced tomatoes (or 1 can diced tomatoes, drained)
2c. cooked black beans (or 1 can)
2c. cooked pinto beans (or 1 can)
2c. cooked rice
salt to taste
Stir and cook til heated through. Adjust seasonings as needed. Add water or broth as needed to prevent sticking.


Place 1/2c of filling into a 8"flour tortilla, roll and put into casserole dish. Repeat til your dish is full or you're out of filling. Top with your favorite enchilada sauce (I like this ranchero recipe) or not. Finally sprinkle about 1c of shredded cheese (queso, cheddar, monterey jack, etc.) Wrap in foil and carry to it's final destination with instructions to bake, uncovered, at 350' til cheese is melted and sauce (if you're using any) is bubbly.

Master Baking Mix

I've used this a couple times on our group camping trips. I've been asked for it before and always forget about it... but, finally, here it is :) Modified from the More with Less cookbook.

makes 4 lbs (or 2 lbs, in parentheses)

Sift together 3 times:
10c (5c) flour
6T (3T) baking powder
1 1/2T (2tsp) salt
1/4c (3Tbs) sugar

cut in to consistency of cornmeal:
2c (1c) shortening

To use for pancakes:
1c. milk
1 egg, 1 1/2c baking mix.

Mix well and cook as usual.

For biscuits:
1/2c. milk/water
1 1/2 c Master mix

My notes:
I use a 50/50 (sometimes 75/25) mix of whole wheat and unbleached white flours. I do use shortening in this, but I go to the health food store for the non-hydrogenated, expensive stuff. You could use a mix of butter & oil, but then it would need to be stored in the fridge. The original recipe also calls for 1 1/2 tsp (pinch) cream of tartar with the dry ingredients and 2c (1c) milk powder to be mixed in at the end. I've never used these and it's been fine.

This is pretty cheap and definitely healthier than that bisquick or krusteaz crap, even with the shortening. We don't use it at home much, but I always have a batch on hand through the summer for camping trips, etc. It seems to keep forever, so long as it's airtight from bugs!

BROCCOLI BACON CHEDDAR CHEESE W/ RAISINS SALAD

Remember that recipe email thing some of us did a long time ago? Someone sent this one to me and I happened to stumble upon the message when I was looking for something else. So I thought to myself, "Wow, I have all those ingredients," and I made it. And it's good! I'm really looking forward to lots of yummy salads in coming warm months.



8 slices bacon, cut in bite-size pieces
and cooked slightly crisp

½ cup mayonnaise (light, or salad dressing
such as Miracle Whip as preferred)
Lemon juice,* about 2 teaspoons
2 tablespoons sugar (this seemed like too much to me, I used about a tablespoon)

1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/3 cup raisins (or currants)
1/4 cup red onion, sliced, cut up but not chopped*

3 bunches broccoli, about 2 pounds

In small cup or bowl mix the mayo dressing ingredients.

Cut up broccoli in florets, place in large bowl. Add the cheese and raisins, then toss lightly with the mayo mixture. I like to leave the red onion slices (*not chopped for a nicer appearance) and the bacon last for presentation. Shortly before serving, toss them so they are coated with the dressing.
(Certainly a lot of room for personal preference) but people seem to really like it and there are more variations...leave out the bacon for vegetarians, add sliced almonds, currants instead of raisins, sunflower seeds, etc.
*No lemon juice on hand?...substitute vinegar.

Sweet and spicy sauce!

I have discovered the secret to delicious, quick meals. You take a 12 ounce jar of apple jelly (I've heard that grape jelly works too) and cook it in a sauce pan with about 2/3rds (less if you don't like incredibly hot food) of a 5 ounce thing of tabasco sauce. Then you can just use the sauce on any meat and in any way--dip chicken nuggets in it, cook meatballs in it, baste chicken breasts with it and bake it, etc, etc. Throw in some veggies and rice/noodles to make it complete. Use a little or a lot depending upon how much flavor/hotness you want. I have seriously used this on all my meals in the last few days. It is an addiction.

Chai tea Concentrate

I love chai, but it's really a pain to make from scratch. I'm also a snob and don't like most of the mixes available at the store. They're either too sweet or not spicy enough or whatever. Today I was reading Angry Chicken and came across this recipe for a mix that's kept in the fridge for 6 months. It is perfect! No too sweet and with the addition of 1/4 tsp ground pepper is definitely spicy enough! Enjoy!

Pumpkin Black Bean Soup

Pumpkin Black Bean Soup
(adapted from Bon Appetit and originally posted at AMU) (posted by Carol)

Yield - 2 servings

1 15 oz can pumpkin (or equivalent amount of fresh, cooked pumpkin)
1 15 oz can coconut milk, regular or light
1 15 oz can black beans, drained
1 cup vegetable or chicken stock
2 tsp ground cumin
lime juice
chopped cilantro to taste
salt to taste

In heavy saucepan, heat cumin over medium heat for ~ 30 seconds. Add pumpkin, beans, coconut milk and stock. Cook until hot and flavors meld. Add 1-2 Tbsp of fresh lime juice and cilantro to taste. Add salt if needed. Serve with chopped cilantro on top.

My Notes:
I discovered this recipe on a forum I frequent. I assume sharing is good! I love how fast and good this is.

I use parsley or skip it as DH hates Cilantro.

Toast with Apples & Cheese

We had this today and it was SO yummy! It's a good snack or part of a lunch.

Slice of bread
1 apple sliced thinly (I used my mandarin for really thin slices)
some raisins
two or three slices of cheese

On a cookie sheet, layer the apples, rasins, then cheese on top of the bread. Put under the broiler for two or three minutes til cheese is melted. Enjoy! If you want some crunch to your bread, it would be best to toast it lightly first since the broiler will just make it soggy.