Wednesday, November 21, 2012
3 bananas, mashed
2 eggs
1/4 cup white sugar
3/4 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 tsp baking powder
2 cups milk
2.5 cups oats
8 oz frozen blueberries
- Combine mashed bananas in a large bowl with eggs, sugar, vanilla, salt, and baking powder. Whisk to combine. Add the milk and whisk until smooth. Stir in oats, then frozen blueberries.
- Pour into a greased 8×8 baking dish, and bake at 375 F for about 45 minutes, until golden brown and no longer wet.
Wednesday, November 21, 2012
1/2 cup smooth peanut butter
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/3 cup warm water
1 1/2 tsp ground ginger
1 clove garlic
2 1/2 Tbsp rice vinegar
1 1/2 Tbsp sesame oil
1 Tbsp honey
chili sauce, to taste
3/4 pound dried soba noodles
4 green onions, thinly sliced
1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
1 yellow bell pepper, thinly sliced
1/2 cucumber, thinly sliced
1 cup tofu, cubed
- Puree dressing ingredients in a blender until smooth, then transfer to a large bowl.
- Cook noodles. Drain in a colander, then rinse well under cold water.
- Add pasta, scallions, bell peppers, cucumber and tofu to dressing, tossing to combine.
Wednesday, November 21, 2012
3 pounds plum tomatoes, halved lengthwise
2 Tbsp olive oil
4 cloves garlic, peeled
1/4 tsp thyme, dried
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper
4 cups vegetable stock
- Place tomatoes, cut side up, on a large baking sheet. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper, and drizzle with olive oil. Wrap garlic cloves in a tight foil packet, and add to tray.
- Roast at 400 F until tomatoes are brown and tender, about 1 hour. Cool slightly.
- Pulse cloves, tomatoes, and accumulated juice in a food processor until a chunky puree.
- Transfer to medium pot and add thyme, crushed red pepper, and stock. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer and cook, uncovered, for 25 minutes. Adjust seasonings to taste.
Wednesday, November 7, 2012
4 cups apple cider
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp Maldon salt
1 stick unsalted butter, in chunks
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1/3 cup heavy cream
- Boil the apple cider in a large saucepan until reduced to a dark, thick syrup, between 1/3 and 1/2 cup in volume, about 40 minutes. Stir occasionally.
- Line the bottom and sides of an 8-inch square metal baking pan with 2 long sheets of crisscrossed parchment. Combine the cinnamon and salt in a small dish.
- Remove cider from heat, and stir in butter, sugars, and heavy cream. Return the pot to medium- high heat with a candy thermometer, and let boil until 252 F, about 5 minutes.
- Immediately remove caramel from heat, add the cinnamon- salt mixture, and give the caramel several stirs to distribute it evenly. Pour into the pan. Let it sit until cool, about 2 hours.
- Transfer caramel to a cutting board, and cut into small squares with a well-oiled knife.
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1 1/4 cups flour
1/2 cup ground almonds
3/4 tsp almond extract (or 1 Tbsp amaretto)
- In large bowl, cream butter and sugar. Beat in the egg, almond extract, and ground almonds. Gradually mix in the flour until well blended.
- Place on ungreased cookie sheets by the teaspoon. Bake 5-8 minutes at 400 F, until lightly browned.
Wednesday, October 17, 2012
2 sticks butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 tsp cinnamon
1-1/2 cups quick cooking oats
- In a medium bowl, cream together butter, white sugar, and brown sugar. Beat in the egg, then stir in vanilla.
- Combine flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon; stir into the other bowl. Mix in oats. Cover, and chill dough for at least one hour.
- Preheat oven to 375 F. Roll the dough into walnut-sized balls, and place 2 inches apart on greased cookie sheets. Flatten each cookie with a large fork dipped in sugar.
- Bake 8-10 minutes. Let cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack.
Friday, September 7, 2012
2 cups heavy cream
1 cup milk
1/2 cup cocoa powder
4 ounces bittersweet or semi-sweet chocolate
1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp cayenne (or to taste)
6 egg yolks, lightly beaten
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 Tbsp brandy or spiced rum (optional)
- Heat one cup of cream in a small saucepan. Whisk in cocoa powder, and bring to a simmer. Whisk until cocoa powder is well incorporated. Remove pot from heat. Stir in chocolate until completely incorporated.
- Put mixture into a metal bowl, and add remaining cup of cream. Set that bowl in an ice bath to cool it down. Place a mesh sieve over the bowl with the chocolate mixture.
- Put one cup of milk, sugar, cinnamon, cayenne, and a pinch of salt into a saucepan and heat until steaming, but not boiling, stirring to incorporate spices.
- Place egg yolks in a medium sized bowl. Slowly pour some heated milk mixture into the egg yolks, whisking constantly to temper (but not cook!) the egg yolks. Use a rubber spatula to scrape the warmed egg yolks and milk back into the milk saucepan.
- Stir the milk-egg mixture constantly over medium heat with a wooden spoon, scraping the bottom as you stir, until the mixture thickens and coats the spoon so that you can run your finger across the coating and have the coating not run. This takes 3-10 minutes.
- As soon as the mixture coats the spoon, remove from the heat and immediately pour through the mesh sieve into the bowl of the chocolate cream mixture. Stir into the cream mixture, and add vanilla.
- Let the mixture cool in the ice bath, and then chill in the refrigerator for a couple hours. Right before churning, add brandy if desired.
- Churn in an ice cream maker, then store in an airtight container in the freezer for several hours.
1 onion, diced
15 oz pinto beans, drained and rinsed
15 oz black beans, drained and rinsed
15 oz kidney beans, drained and rinsed
45 oz diced tomatoes
1 cup water
2 Tbsp chili powder
1 1/2 tsp cumin
1 tsp coriander
1 Tbsp cocoa powder
1 chipotle pepper in adobo (from can), minced
- In a large pot, saute onion in vegetable oil until browned.
- Add beans, tomatoes, water, and spices. Simmer for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Adjust seasonings to taste, with salt, black pepper, and cayenne pepper.
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup basil leaves, packed
1 cup fresh lemon juice
2 Tbsp lemon zest
- In a saucepan over medium heat, combine sugar with 2 cups water, and stir until dissolved.
- Remove from heat, and add basil leaves. Cool to room temperature, then refrigerate for 2 hours.
- Strain out basil leaves, and add lemon juice and zest.
- Freeze in ice cream maker (about 25 minutes) then freeze to set.
5 serrano (or 3 jalapeno, or 7 thin red) peppers, chopped
1 cup cilantro (leaves and stems), chopped
1/2 yellow onion, chopped
1/3 cup fresh ginger, peeled and chopped
15 cloves garlic
1 Tbsp lime zest, grated
1 Tbsp coriander, ground
1 tsp cumin, ground
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp salt
- Remove some seeds from serrano peppers, if desired.
- Puree all ingredients in food processor, until fairly smooth. Add 1-2 Tbsp water if needed.
- Use about 2 Tbsp in Thai curry recipes. Keeps in the refrigerator 2 weeks.