Baba Ganoush

2 large aubergines, halved lengthways
2-3 tbsp olive oil
2 garlic cloves, crushed
4tbsp tahini
25g ground almonds
Juice of ½ lemon
1tsp ground cumin
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Large handful of fresh mint leaves, roughly chopped

Preheat to 200c/400f
Brush the cut sides of the aubergines with some of the oil and bake them for about 35 min or until soft. Meanwhile, heat the grill to it’s highest setting.
Place the aubergines under the grill, cut sides up, and leave until they are black and blistered. This will take about 5 min. Remove and set aside to cool.
Scoop out the flesh, discard the skins, and place the flesh in a food processor. Add the garlic, tahini, almonds, lemon juice, cumin, and season with salt and pepper. Process to a smooth paste and check the seasoning.
Spoon into a serving dish, drizzle with the remaining oil and scatter over the mint leaves.

Can be made up to two days in advance and refrigerated.

From New Flavours of the Jewish Table.

What can I say about this except that it is Baba Ganoush. You have to have a recipe for it, because it is a staple (like Hummus). It’s great stuff, and this is a great recipe for it.

The aubergines need to be cooked, but that’s not hard to do, and other then that the food processor does the work for you.

Funny enough, it was my four year old that went totally over the moon for this one (though we all loved it). The first time I made it he kept pulling the bowl across the table and saying that the baba ganoush was his dinner, and we could all have the rest of the stuff. That is incredibly high praise from a four year old.

Herring salad in soured cream sauce

1x300g jar of pickled herrings
1 shallot or small onion, finely chopped
1 red apple, cored and coarsely chopped
2 dill pickles, rinsed and roughly chopped
150ml soured cream
1 tsp sugar or to taste
sprigs of fresh dill or fresh parsley, to garnish
pumpernickel or rye bread to serve

Drain and rinse the herrings, scrape off any skin or membrane, and cut into small pieces
In a medium bowl, combine the herrings, shallot or onion, apple, dill pickles, soured cream and sugar.
Cover and refrigerate for at least 24 hours
Garnish with dill or parsley and serve with pumpernickel or rye bread

From New Flavours of the Jewish Table.

I was really excited when I found this recipe. Back in the States it’s really easy to find jars of this herring salad at most supermarkets. My grandfather used to eat it all the time. Whenever I saw it in the store I would think of him, and although I didn’t buy it regularly, I liked to have some once in a while.

I’ve not ever seen it out here (except there is a version of it at IKEA), so it had been a really long time since I had come across it. This recipe for it was wonderful. It was easy to make, and it was delicious. My husband was pretty unsure about it, but agreed to try it. Although he found the mixture of fish, apples and pickles a little hard to get his head around, he actually liked it quite a bit, and had more then one serving.

I love this dish, and I love this recipe for it. It’s still not something I would keep in the house regularly, but when I do have the urge, I know how to make it myself now.

Gougères

Perfectly puffed up choux next to my gougères FAIL

By Cookbad

Gougères are profiteroles cheesy cousin.

You can stuff them the same way you would any choux pastry, but I cannot seem to get mine to puff up as they should.

I used to make these by just adding some grated cheddar or gruyère cheese to a simple choux recipe. They never puffed up and reminded me more of tiny little souffle that anything choux.

I've made this recipe that I am posting 4 times now and they have never ever puffed up the way cream puffs do, and they should. . .they are on the cover of the book they come from looking all golden, puffy and self satisfied. . . mocking me. . .

smug gougères

See what I mean?

They are from this terrific book called Bite Sized by François Payard that is about just one it sounds like. Great stuff, much of it pretty expensive to make.

Anyway. . . .

Why do I continue to make a recipe that fails? Because they taste really really good. They go so fast that I don't think I have ever actually tasted a cold one.

Here is the dubious recipe in question.
Gougères
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) butter
3 1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour, sifted
pinch of salt
pinch of freshly ground nutmeg
5 large eggs
5 ounces (1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons) heavy cream, slightly heated so it is warm to the touch
3 1/2 cups grated Gruyère cheese, plus more for garnish if desired

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

2. Place 1 cup water and the butter in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat and bring to a boil. Then reduce the heat to low and add the flour, salt, cayenne, and nutmeg. Cook the mixture fro 15 to 20 minutes, stirring constantly, until it turns into a thick paste and no longer sticks to the sides of the pan.

3. Transfer the batter to the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix at low speed, incorporating the eggs one at a time. Do not add an egg until the previous one is completely incorporated.

4. Add the cream to the batter while the mixer is running. Then stop the mixer and gently stir in the grated Gruyère with a spatula, making sure not to deflate the dough.

5. Fit a pastry bag with a #5 or 1/2 inch star tip, and fill it with the dough. Pipe 1-inch rounds of the dough onto the prepared baking sheet. Wet your finger and smooth out the top of the gougères. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes, until golden brown.

6. Remove from the oven and sprinkle grated Gruyère on top if desired. Arrange on a platter and serve warm.

FIRST, I think using a paddle to mix is silly silly madness and maybe a translation error, but this guy speaks perfectly good english, so I don't know what he is thinking. And, I'm also no sure at one point during the paddling the dough turns into any condition in which you would have to worry about deflating it while adding cheese.

SECOND: 10-15 minutes doens't come close. I think half an hour is more like it

Last change for this one. I'm moving on.

Mango Gelée

A wee Gelée before being devoured by toddlers.

By CookBad

This is a recipe from Cookie magazine. I in no way endorse Cookie. I found it on epicurious while looking for a gelée recipe that would work. I had tried Thomas Keller's Concord Grape gelée to go with his peanut butter truffles. Get it? Peanut butter and gelée? His were made with fruit pectin and even though I believe that I followed the recipe to the T, the gelée failed to gel. Sad. The truffles were ridiculously good tho.

These cute little things called for gelatin. I cannot abide standard store bought gelatin. So often it smells to much like what it is -- skin, bones, hoofs. I have gelatin sheets that I've been wanting to try, but these needed to be moulded. So, I went with agar agar.

Agar agar comes from red seaweed. In China, certain types of swallows eat this red seaweed, spit it up to make nests that hang on the sides of cliffs. These nests are then harvested (at great peril to the harvesters as they have to hang from clifts to get to them) and then sold for A LOT of money to make birds nest soup out of.

The agar agar I used come unchewed or spit up. I think I once read someplace that it has 4 times more gelling action that gelatin, so I went with that when subing it in. I'm going to double check this.

You can buy it at most asian markets in powdered form.

Cookie calls them, gummies, but they are not at all gummy, so I renamed them.
Here is the recipe:
Mango Gelée 1 cup fruit juice (pure juice-not a fruit-flavored drink) or nectar, such as Goya, Mott's, or Kern's, chilled or at room temperature 1 1/4-ounce package gelatin ( I used half as much agar agar, just to be safe) Preparation 1. Lightly coat 16 tartlet molds or mini-muffin tins with oil. 2. Place 1/4 cup of the juice in a medium bowl and sprinkle in the gelatin. Let sit for 1 minute. 3. Meanwhile, in a small pan, bring the remaining juice to a boil. Add it to the gelatin mixture, stirring until the gelatin is dissolved. 4. Spoon the mixture into the molds. Chill in the refrigerator until set, 2 hours. 5. Pop the tartlets out. Serve them cold or at room temperature within 2 hours, or store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Tip You can buy plastic or metal tartlet molds ($1.50 and up each, surlatable.com). An 8-by-8-inch baking dish also works-once the whole thing is set, just cut it into squares with a knife, or into shapes with a cookie cutter.

It was a bit tricky getting them out of the mold. It took a certain amount of slamming down.

These were nice. Cute. Kids ate half of them before they were even finished gelling. Sneaky evil kids. They reminded me of the little jelly candies that you can buy in china town in large tubs shaped like cats, or kids or teddy bears. Only healthier and without a huge amount of sugar.

I got the little tartlets from Surfas for $2.50. I think they will be great for making mini brioche someday.

Cheese Straws

prebaked cheese straws

By Cookbad

I actually made the entire menu that went along with this, from Jan. 2008 Gourmet magazine, but these were the only part I got around to photographing.

The menu, which you can find here is ridiculously good and terrible for you. The fried chicken involves being fried in bacon fat (GENIUS!) and then is finished off with a bacon gravy and more just plain old bacon. I love a sentence that has bacon in it that many times.

I highly recommend the entire menu.

The cheese straws are wonderful because they take about 10 minutes to make and are very satisfying. If you skip or lower the amount of cayenne pepper kids love them.

They are also fun to make.

Here is the recipe:

CHEESE STRAWS
1/4 pound coarsely grated extra-sharp Cheddar (1 1/2 cups)
1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 stick cold unsalted butter, cut into tablespoons
1/2 teaspoon salt
Rounded 1/8 teaspoon cayenne
1 1/2 tablespoons milk
Preparation

Preheat oven to 350°F with racks in upper and lower thirds.

Pulse cheese, flour, butter, salt, and cayenne in a food processor until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add milk and pulse until dough forms a ball.

Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface with a lightly floured rolling pin into a 12- by 10-inch rectangle (1/8 inch thick). Cut dough with a lightly floured pizza wheel or lightly floured sharp knife into 1/3-inch-wide strips. Carefully transfer to 2 ungreased baking sheets, arranging strips 1/4 inch apart. (If strips tear, pinch back together.)

Bake, switching position of sheets halfway through baking, until pale golden, 15 to 18 minutes. Cool completely on baking sheets on racks, about 15 minutes.

Hoisin sauce, & some things you can make with it

These are the tofu snacks..

They were pretty good.

Unfortunately, I forgot to take a picture of the amazing, wonderful, fabulous lamb chops, but the recipe is here if you want to try them.


Hoisin Sauce
½ cup dried adzuki beans, rinsed
2tbsp toasted sesame oil
1tbsp minced garlic
1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
¼ cup cider vinegar
¼ cup unseasoned rice vinegar
1/3 cup soy sauce
¼ tsp Asian chile garlic sauce, or ¼ tsp dried red pepper flakes, or more to taste

Place beans in a medium sized saucepan and add 5 cups of water. Bring the water to boil over a high heat, then reduce the heat to low. Let the beans simmer gently, uncovered, until they are very soft, 1.5 to 2 hours. Drain the beans in a colander and let them cool. Puree the beans in a food processor until smooth.
Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. When it is hot, but not smoking, add the garlic. Cook the garlic, stirring occasionally, until it is soft but not browned, 2-3 min.
Add the bean puree and the brown sugar, cider vinegar, rice vinegar, soy sauce, and 2 tbsp of water to the skillet and stir to combine. Bring the sauce to a boil, then reduce the heat to low. Cook the sauce, stirring occasionally until it is thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon, 10 – 15 minutes.
Add the chili garlic sauce to the hoisin sauce and sir to combine. Taste for seasoning, adding more chili sauce as needed. Let the hoisin sauce cool to room temperature. It can be refrigerated, covered, for up to 10 days or frozen for up to 3 months. Let it thaw in the refrigerator over night.

I was always under the impression that Hoisin sauce had plums in it, and this recipe has none to be found, but I really wanted to try the Hoisin tofu snacks, and I happened to have some adzuki beans lying around, so I gave this a go.

It’s from Food To Live By, which is one of my all time favorite cookbooks. The two recipes that follow are from the same book.

This was easy to make, and it made enough to make two batches of tofu snacks, and a lamb chop dinner, so it’s worth making.


Hoisin Tofu Snacks
14 to 16 oz extra firm tofu
½ cup home made hoisin sauce
2tbsp tamari or soy sauce
1tbsp hulled sesame seeds (optional)

Preheat the oven to 350f/180c
Cut the tofu into rectangles, approx 1 inch wide by 2 inches long by 1/3 inch. Arrange the pieces in a baking pan just large enough to hold them in a single layer. To make sure the tofu get crispy all over, the slices should be slightly separated.
Combine the hoisin Sauce, tamari, and sesame seeds, if using, in a small bowl and pour this mixture over the tofu. Turn the tofu so that both sides are evenly coated.
Bake for 30 min. Remove the pan from the oven and use a spatula and a large spoon to flip the tofu pieces. Return the pan to the oven and bake for 20 minutes longer. Then turn the tofu over again, and bake until deep golden brown, 10 min more. Remove from the oven and allow the tofu to cool for at least 5 min. The longer it sits out the firmer the tofu will become. Serve warm. The tofu snacks will keep, covered in the refrigerator for up to three days (although they will lose their crispness).


These were incredibly easy to make. I pressed the tofu first so that it would have a better texture. It’s easy, just wrap it in a clean towel, and pile an absurd amount of books on it, then wait. I thought they were fun, my husband loved them. I made a second batch by request.

Just to let you know, About halfway through they start to smell a little like they are burning. They’re not, they just smell that way. It happened both times, and both times they came out fine.

Grilled Lamb Chops with Mongolian Sauce
2tbsp grated peeled fresh ginger
2tbsp minced garlic
2 medium shallots, thinly sliced
½ cup ginger vinegar, or balsamic vinegar
2tbsp firmly packed, light brown sugar
¼ cup toasted sesame oil
1/3 cup tamari or soy sauce
1/3 cup teriyaki sauce
¼ cup hoisin sauce
1tbsp Asian Chili Garlic sauce
8 loin or rib lamb chops

To make the marinade, place the ginger, garlic, shallots, vinegar, brown sugar, sesame oil, tamari, teriyaki sauce, hoisin sauce, and chili sauce in a medium sized bowl and whisk to combine.
Place the lamb chops in a large re-sealable plastic bag and add the marinade. Let the chops marinate in the fridge for at least 8 or up to 48 hours, turning the bag occasionally to distribute the marinade evenly.
Set up the barbecue grill and preheat it to medium.
Remove the chops from the marinade and transfer them to a platter. Strain the marinade through a fine mesh sieve into a small saucepan. Discard the solids. Bring the marinade to a boil over high heat and cook until it thickens to a sauce, 3-5 min.
Place the lamb chops on the hot grill and cook them for about 2 min on each side. Baste the chops with some of the boiled marinade. Cover the grill and cook the chops , turning once, until cooked to taste, about 6 min longer for medium rare. To test for doneness, insert an instant read thermometer through the side into the center of a chop without touching the bone. It will register 145f when the chop is done to medium rare.
Let the chops rest for 5 min, then serve them with the boiled marinade on the side.

These are amazing. I don’t make lamb chops very often, but I might start now. My advice to you is to make the hoisin sauce, portion it out and freeze it so that you can make these whenever you want to. Because once you make them once, you will want to make them again.

I used the grill in my oven because we don’t have a barbeque. It worked fine, though I had to cook them for 2 minutes longer then the recipe instructed. I think that the cooking time might vary slightly from one grill to another.

Try this recipe for yourself and find out.

Pumpkin dip

675g pumpkin, peeled deseeded and cut into 2.5cm/1inch pieces
1 garlic clove
1tsp salt or to taste
3tbsp tahini
3tbsp lemon juice
handful of finely chopped parsley or watercress leaves to garnish

place the pumpkin pieces in a steaming basket and set into a pan over 1 inch of boiling water, cover and cook over moderate heat for 10 min, or until tender. Meanwhile, in a serving bowl pound the garlic and the salt with a pestle until creamy.
Remove the pumpkin pieces, drain, squeeze out some of their excess water and puree them in a blender, or use a vegetable mill. Add to the garlic in the bowl. Add the tahini and lemon juice, mix well, taste and adjust the seasoning.
Serve with cos lettuce, endive, or a mixture of orange, red and yellow pepper slices

One more from New Flavours of the Lebanese Table .

This was my son’s favorite thing ever. He loved it so much that we ate it for two days in a row, and when it ran out, he made me take him to the supermarket to buy more squash so we could make more and eat it for two more days. He never got tired of it, kept asking if he could have it for breakfast.

It’s basically Hummus, but with pumpkin (I used butternut squash instead). What a fabulous idea!

Next time you are thinking about having hummus, try this instead. It’s easy and quick to make, and it’s a really nice change from the usual.

Goat cheese and black olive tartlets

375g pack ready-rolled puff pastry
1 egg lightly beaten
2 X 200g packs crumbly goat’s cheese
Handful pitted black olive, sliced
Chopped parsley, to serve

Preheat to 200c
Unwrap the puff pastry, and using a 5cm cutter, cut out 20 rounds (you may need to re-roll to get the 20). Now use a slightly smaller cutter to make a light dent in the pastry, creating a rim. Use a fork to make a few pricks in the center of the pastry; this will stop it from rising while letting the outer ring puff up.
Place the pastry discs on a baking sheet, and brush all over with egg. Crumble the goat’s cheese in the center of each tartlet and scatter over the olives. Can be made up to this point up to two days ahead and kept in the fridge. Cook for 15-18 min until the pastry is puffed and golden brown. Sprinkle with parsley before serving.

These came from This was from Good Food Magazine.

They are so easy. They take almost no time to prepare, it can all be done in advance, and they look and taste really impressive.

These are big winners, we all loved them, my youngest went totally crazy for them. I will make these over and over and over again, using the original combination, as well as trying other things. The might be nice with sun dried tomatoes, or with roasted red peppers, or capers in place of the olives for variety. You could really use anything you wanted, but the goat’s cheese and olive combination is definitely a star.

Some small festive foods

For New Year’s eve, we thought it would be fun to make some festive little foods, and I found these here. They are all really easy to make.



Portable Caprese: Skewer a small ball of mozzarella, a grape tomato and a bit of basil leaf. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, and drizzle with oil.

So simple, so basic, so lovely. I thought these were wonderful, and they were fun to put together too. The boys were able to help with these, and they enjoyed that a lot.



Marinated mushrooms: Cut button mushrooms into chunks and toss with lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper. Let rest five minutes. Spear two chunks with a piece of Parmesan about the same size.

I didn’t do the last part with the parmesan cheese. I just used it as a recipe for extra quick marinated mushrooms. I also slightly changed it. I crushed up a small garlic clove to a paste, and mixed that in with the oil and lemon, salt and pepper, and I used Chestnut mushrooms instead of button. They are similiar, but just a bit more flavorful. It was great. It was super quick, and the flavor was excellent. These would be nice to serve as a light side with a lunch, or to bring along on a picnic. I’m sure I’ll be doing this again.



Cucumber and caviar: Take 3/4-inch-thick slices of cucumber. (The quality of the cuke is more important than that of the caviar; it has to be good enough to leave the skin on.) Scoop out most of the seeds, leaving the bottom of each slice intact. Fill it with a spoonful of yogurt, sour cream or crème fraîche mixed with dill, and top with caviar or salmon roe.

These were really fun to make. I enjoyed scooping out the little cucumber cups, but all in all I found it a little disappointing. To be honest I’m not exactly sure what went wrong, it was probably the incredibly cheap and sub standard caviar that I used. The flavor of it got completely washed out by the dill, sour cream and cucumber. It wasn’t that it was bad, it just seemed like a waste. If you are going to do this one, I would make sure your caviar is fairly good quality, or just skip it completely and make them as little cucumber dill snacks.

Breakfast bars

397g can condensed milk
250g rolled oats (not instant)
75g shredded coconut
100g dried cranberries
125g mixed seeds (pumpkin, sesame, sunflower)
125g natural unsalted peanuts

Preheat to 130c and oil a 23x33x4cm baking tin, or use a throw away foil one.
Warm the condensed milk in a large pan
Meanwhile mix together all the other ingredients, then add the warmed milk and fold to combine. Spread the mixture into the tin and press down to even the surface.
Bake for 1 hour then remove from the oven and cool on a rack for about 15 min before cutting into 16 bars (four across and four down). Let cool completely.

Too easy, really good, last for ages (Up to a week) in a Tupperware container. Some might find it too sweet for breakfast (not me), but they still make excellent and filling snack bars. Seriously, just mix and bake, it’s as easy as instant food.

Thanks Nigella Express.

I used salted peanuts because that’s what I could find, and they were absolutely fine. I also used a baking trick of coating my hands with flour so that I could squash down the mixture into the pan without it sticking too much. Nigella says to use gloves, but if you don’t have any, try the flour trick.

Scallion Pancakes

600g plain flour
approx 600ml boiling water
6 spring onions
125ml corn oil
2tsp salt

Make the scalded dough (see below) with the flour and water and divide into 4 pieces
Finely chop the spring onions
Roll out each piece of dough to a circle 1/8 inch thick. Brush with a little oil, then sprinkle with a little spring onion and salt. Roll up the dough, and bring the ends together and pinch to seal. Roll into a ball, then roll this out into a 6 inch diameter circle.
Heat 1 tbsp oil and fry each pancake over medium heat until golden brown on both sides. Drain on absorbent paper, and keep warm while you fry the rest, adding more oil to the pan as necessary.

The dough is a bit time consuming, and it’s not the easiest to knead. As compared to an average white bread dough, it definitely puts up a bit of a fight. Still it’s totally worth it. Once the dough is made, the pancakes are nothing, super easy. I skipped the lard that is in the actual dough recipe because it wasn’t mentioned in this recipe, and that worked just fine.

The frying takes a few minutes on each side. I had to adjust the temperature quite a bit because I wanted it to brown nicely on each side, but not burn. A medium heat is your best bet.

The consistency of these is so satisfying. They are sort of chewy and dense and crispy on the outside with the lovely salty onion-y-ness. They totally rock! I made a scallion-less one for my older son who is against most green things these days, it was good too.




Scalded dough
275g plain flour
1tbsp melted lard
approx 300ml boiling water




Weigh the flour and sift into a large bowl. Stir in the melted lard.
Boil the water and measure out the right quantity
Gradually pour the water into the flour, stirring all the time.
Keep stirring to mix thoroughly, but do not bring the mixture together. Cover the bowl with a damp cloth and leave to stand for about 10 minutes.
Knead the mixture to bring it together to a rough dough, and turn out of the bowl
If necessary, add more flour or water, the dough should be damp, but not wet. Cover with a damp cloth and leave for 20 min.
Knead the dough by vigorously pulling and pushing it apart.
Finish off by kneading it with the palm of your hand until it is really smooth (about 15-20 minutes).
If you do not want to use right away, put in a bowl and cover with a damp cloth.

Baked Brie Cheese

So I know I’ve been MIA for some time now. I was having trouble making it to the computer, but I was still cooking loads of fun stuff. This is one of the best things that I came across…



2x250g (or similar size) wheel of brie (or similar cheese)
1 small apple
1/4 cup dried cranberries
1/4 cup slivered almonds
1 spoon brown sugar
1 spoon melted butter

This is one of those recipes that is not an exact science. You can adjust the ingredients to your liking, but this is a good jumping off point.

Cut the wheels of cheese in half across the middle (like a hamburger bun). Mix together all the other ingredients in a bowl. Open up the cheese, and place a quarter of the apple mixture on top. Place the top back on the cheese (like a sandwich), then put another quarter of the apple mixture on top. Do the same with the other cheese and place them both on baking trays (ones that have sides in case the cheese leaks out), and put them in the oven at 180 for up to 20 minutes, but start checking on it after 5 minutes. The cooking time will vary with the type, size, and starting temperature of the cheese. It’s done when it looks warm and melt-y and beautiful. Serve with little slices of bread to dip into it.

My sister-in-law and her partner were out here visiting, and they taught me how to make this. It is absolutely one of the best things that you can do with a cheese. It’s so good that it’s impossible to stop eating it till it’s all gone. The texture of the almonds and the combination of the slightly sour cranberries and the sweet apples and the melt-y-ness of the cheese, is to die for. This dish is gorgeous. It’s also dead easy and can be done way in advance (just put them together and leave them in the fridge till it’s time to throw them in the oven). This makes it the perfect thing to have for guests.

I will be making this all the time!

Thanks guys!!!!

Spiced Seed Mix

75g pumpkin seeds
75g sunflower seeds
1tsp reduced–salt soy sauce
1/4tsp chili powder

Preheat to 190c/375f
Mix all ingredients together and transfer to a baking sheet
Cook for 10 min till dried and slightly golden. Leave to cool then store in an airtight container, either in the fridge or freezer.


These were from The Diabetes Weight Loss Diet.

Obviously they are dead easy to make, and they taste nice. I think they make a great salad topping too. It doesn’t seem like a lot of chili powder, but it’s enough to give them a subtle flavor. These would be good to keep around the house.

Spinach Bread

I forgot to take a picture of the lovely bread I made for our friends, but here is a photo of the beautiful flowers that they brought for us.




When we had friends over on the weekend, I made another version of this bread. I followed the same recipe, but for the filling I used Spinach, feta cheese, black olives, garlic and some fresh dill with the olive oil (salt and pepper to taste).

I wilted the spinach first. The garlic I chopped pretty fine, and didn’t pre-cook. This would have been really great, but I forgot how much spinach shrinks when it cooks. I used way too little. The flavor of the filling was really good, and the garlic was fine to use raw, but it was a very small strip of filling, and mostly bread. I’d say if you are using fresh spinach, you need a bag about the size of a large bed pillow.

My dad made a spinach version of this bread too. I made the original for him while he was out visiting, and he totally loved it. His version was with spinach and ricotta and garlic, but the garlic was precooked in some oil, that was also used in the filling. It came out really well.

This bread recipe really lends itself to just about any filling that you can think of. The bread has a great texture, and a beautiful, but entirely subtle flavor, so you can really get creative. I’m thinking of trying a version with some Indian potato and pea curry as a filling. My dad is thinking about making a version that is a giant Ruben sandwich. I’m in love with that idea, and if it comes out well, I might just corn another beef and try it too.

Marinated Mozzarella in Crème Fraiche with lemon and marjoram

Slice up 4 balls of buffalo mozzarella around 1cm(1/2 inch) thick, place on a large plate or dish and smear all over with a small tub, or 6 heaped tbsp of crème fraiche. Season with sea salt and black pepper. Wash and peel 1 lemon with a with a vegetable peeler, and finely chop half of the rind. Sprinkle this over the mozzarella and squeeze over half of the juice. Put the left-over lemon half to the side in case the flavor needs tweaking later. Sprinkle over a handful of fresh marjoram leaves. Taste for a good balance of flavors.
Halve, deseed, and finely slice a couple of fresh chilies. Sprinkle over the mozzarella, drizzle over 4 tbsp of olive oil, and serve in the middle of the table, or as part of another dish. Any left-overs will keep a couple of days in the fridge, or can be baked on a piece of cod.

This was amazing. No small shock it was a Jamie Oliver. It was gorgeous to look at, easy and fast to make, and really tasty. We had some people over last weekend, and I made this and the dips and the bread. Everything was a big hit. This one was so fast that I was able to make it right before they got here.

I would not have though of putting Crème Fraiche on cheese, it’s a weird idea, but the flavors complimented each other really well, and the lemon and chilli kept it from being boring. This is great to make when you have guests because it makes a beautiful centerpiece. I would like to have tried to use the left-overs with fish, but there were no left-overs to be had.

Some Dip

Creamy Avocado Dip
2 anchovies, or 2 tsp anchovy paste
2 scallions, including white and three inches of green, trimmed or coarsely chopped
1 small clove garlic, peeled
1tbsp fresh tarragon leaves
2 tbsp coarsely chopped fresh chives
2 tbsp fresh flat leaf parsley leaves
1/2 tsp grated lemon zest
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1tbsp tarragon vinegar, or white wine vinegar
1 small ripe avocado, preferably Hass, peeled, pitted, and coarsely chopped
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup sour cream or plain yogurt
Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper

Place the anchovies, scallions, garlic, tarragon, chives and parsley in a food processor or blender. Pulse until finely chopped, stopping once or twice to scrape down the sides with a rubber spatula.
Add the lemon zest, lemon juice, vinegar, and avocado, and blend till smooth.
Add the mayonnaise and sour cream and pulse to combine. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Can be refrigerated covered for up to three days.


Edamame Hummus
About 1 cup shelled fresh or frozen (unthawed) edamame (soybeans)
2 large cloves of garlic, peeled
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup fresh flat leaf parsley
3/4 cup canned chickpeas (garbanzo beans) drained
1/4 cup plain yogurt
2tbso tahini
3 tbsp fresh lemon juice
pinch of cayenne pepper
1 tsp ground cumin, or 1 tsp whole cumin seeds, toasted and ground
Bring a pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the edamame and cook until tender, 4 to 5 min. Drain and set aside to cool.
Place the garlic, salt, and parsley in a food processor, and pulse the machine until they are finely chopped.
Add the edamame and chickpeas and pulse 5 or 6 times until they are coarsely chopped. Add the yogurt, tahini, lemon juice, cayenne pepper, cumin, and 1/2 cup water and process until the hummus is smooth. Can be refrigerated, covered for up to 1 week.

I made these and I also made Green Goddess , which I have made before. They are all equally easy to make, and they are all fromFood to Live By. If you have a food processor, there is really no reason to buy dip, you are really only saving yourself 5 minutes, and the store bought will never taste fresh like homemade does. Also dip usually improves overnight (in my opinion), so it can easily be made the day before, and taken out of the fridge all cold and fresh on the day of.

After having made all three of these, I have to say that the Green Goddess was by far, no competition, the absolute best. From now on it is the dip I will always make for any dip making occasion. Also, if there are left-overs, they can be thinned out and used as a salad dressing. It rocks!

Fig Rolls

175g/6oz dried figs, rinsed and coarsely chopped
75g/3oz plain whole meal flour
75g/3oz plain flour
25g/1oz light muscovado sugar
65g/2.5oz polyunsaturated margarine (I used butter)
1.25ml/1/4tsp salt

lightly grease a baking sheet, and set aside. Put the figs in a saucepan with 300ml/1/2pint water. Simmer for about 20 min, stirring occasionally until the figs are tender and the liquid is well reduced. Set aside to cool, then puree in a blender or food processor and set aside.
Put the remaining ingredients in a blender or food processor with 30ml (2tbsp) water and mix to a dough. Knead the dough on a lightly floured surface, then roll out to an oblong about 40x12cm (16x5inches).
Spread the fig puree down the center of the dough rectangle and carefully fold in the sides so that they overlap over the filling. Trim the ends of the roll and cut into 3cm (11/4 inch) wide slices. Turn the rolls over and place on the prepared baking sheet.
Mark the top of each roll with a wet fork and bake at 190c/375f for 25-30 min, until lightly browned. Cool on a rack.

When we lived in New York, one of my husband’s favorite snacks were the fig rolls that they sold in the Korean Groceries. If you are from New York, you know what I’m talking about. They are kind of whole wheat-y kind of cake-y and even though all of the corner groceries had them, so they must have come from a major distributor, they came wrapped in cling wrap, with no label as if they were home made. There was an op-ed piece in the New York Times (I think) once about how New Yorkers are some of the most food label obsessed people on the planet, they won’t touch a food unless they know, not only what’s in it, but where those things are from, with the solitary exception, of the Korean Grocery fig bars. We all ate them.
Weird.

I was hoping these would be like those fig bars of yore. They weren’t exactly, but they weren’t disappointing either. They were slightly more pastry dough-ish then cake-ish, but they were really good nonetheless. I found that I wasn’t able to make the fork marks on them without squishing out all the filling, so I just didn’t, and I don’t think they suffered for it.

I will definitely make these again. They only have a little sugar, and they make a really great treat.

Walnut and Honey Scones

1lb/455g wholemeal flour
4.5tsp baking powder
1 tsp sea salt
4oz/115g butter or margarine
2.5tbsp raw cane sugar
2oz/55g chopped walnuts
2.5tbsp clear honey
1/3pint (200ml) cold milk
Egg or milk for coating
Preheat oven to 425f/220c
Sift flour, baking powder, and salt into a bowl. Rub in the butter. Add sugar and walnuts, and mix to a soft but not sticky dough with honey and milk.
Turn into a lightly floured board, knead quickly, and roll out to 1/2 inch (1cm) thickness.
Cut into rounds and put on a greased baking sheet. Brush tops with beaten egg or milk and bake for 10 min.

These were so good, I love them! I didn’t think I would like whole wheat scones because I thought they would be too heavy, but that wasn’t a problem at all. The walnut and the honey made these just as good without anything on them as they were with toppings. I’m going to have to stick to making these for a while.

They were from The Vegetarian Times Cookbook.

Sesame crackers

5oz/140g yellow maize flour
3/4lb/340g wholemeal flour
5 oz/140g sesame seeds
1 tsp sea salt
1/3 pint/200ml cold pressed oil
8oz/225ml water, approximately

Stir together the two flours, sesame seeds, and salt. Add oil and enough water to make a dough that is just soft enough to roll.
Turn dough onto a floured sheet of greaseproof paper, and knead just enough to work into a ball. Cover with another sheet of greaseproof paper, and roll out thinly.
Cut into desired shapes with knife or biscuit cutters. Repeat until all dough is used. Bake on ungreased sheets at 375f/190c for 25-35 minutes.

These were from The Vegetarian Times Cookbook. I’m a big fan of sesame seeds, and of things that my three year old son can cook, so this seemed just right.




I had some trouble with these, but all of my troubles boiled down to the same mistake, and that was rolling the dough too thin. It just said to roll it out thinly, so I made it thin like paper, thinking the thinner the better (an idea that is the root of so many peoples problems these days… but I digress). Having made them now, I see that they don’t puff or rise at all, so you just want to roll them out to good cracker thickness.

The problems that I had were, firstly, they were hard to cut and transport to the baking sheet. This might be partly because we were using playdough cutters, not cookie cutters, but I choose to blame this mostly on the thickness of the dough. There wasn’t enough to cut through, so it made a weak line which meant that they tore when they were being pulled off. The second problem was that the cooking time was too long. Even at the shortest time, they got a bit burned. Again, this was only because they were rolled too thin. A couple of the last ones, which were considerably thicker cooked just right. Still, I’d say check them after 20 min just in case.

All that said, the ones that were not overcooked were really good. Also, my son absolutely loved making them into elephants and teddy bears and such. He was so proud he kept asking if he could call his dad to tell him “I made beautifuls you can eat!”

Cheese –Oat Balls

I forgot to take a picture of these, but I had to include them anyway because I love them. I will make them again soon, and try to get a picture of them up here


4oz/115g rolled oats
4oz/115g Cheddar Cheese, grated
4oz/115g Wholemeal flour
4oz/115g Butter or margerine, softened to room temperature
1/8 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp chilli powder
4 tbsp milk

Spread oats in a shallow tin and toast at 350f/180c until a pale, golden brown
Combine oats well with other ingredients.
Pinch off pieces a little larger than marbles and roll into balls on an un-greased baking sheet and bake at 350f/180c for 15-20 minutes or until bottoms are lightly browned. Store in an airtight container.

Oh my god, so much fun! I love these. They taste just like “Cheeze-its”, but they are way healthier. They were super easy to make, both of my sons helped out. They had fun measuring and pouring, though my two year old got distracted by a bowl of pennies before we got to the ball rolling. My Three year old made a good 4 or 5 balls before joining in the penny throwing.

The only down side of these, is that it will be hard to get the kids to eat anything else when they are around.

Fun, easy, so tasty, you should try this.