Friday, December 16, 2022

Bourbon spice rack
1 ounce bourbon whiskey
1 ounce sweet vermouth
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 teaspoons grade B maple syrup
2 dashes lavender bitters
1 dash cardamom bitters

1. Combine the bourbon, vermouth, lemon juice, maple syrup, lavender bitters, and cardamom bitters in a tumbler. Add ice and shake well until chilled.
2. Double strain into a tumbler with a large piece of ice.

Read on...

Monday, October 11, 2021

Roasted Butternut Squash and Garlic Soup

Roasting a head of garlic along with the squash rounds out the flavor of this vegan/vegetarian soup.
Ingredients:
- 1 small butternut squash (2-2.5lb)
- 1 head garlic
- olive oil
- vegetable oil
- 1 T curry powder (or to taste)
- 1 medium yellow onion
- 2 carrots 
- 2 cups vegetable broth
- 3/4 cups yellow split peas
- (vegan) sour cream
Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 400F.
- Wash the squash. Cut in half and remove seeds. Cut into 1 inch thick half-disks. Arrange in single layer on greased pan. Sprinkle with curry powder.
- Remove most of the outer skins on a head of garlic. Chop off the upper part of the garlic so all the cloves are exposed. Save the garlic tips for the soup. Drizzle the head of garlic with olive oil. Cover loosely with foil.
- Roast squash and garlic for about 40 minutes until garlic and squash start to caramelize and squash is fork tender. Set aside to cool.
- Meanwhile, chop carrots and dice onion. Sauté onion on low heat with vegetable oil in large soup pot. When onion starts to caramelize, add garlic tips. Sauté for another 30-60 sec, then add curry powder. Cook until fragrant. Add carrots. Remove from heat.
- Once squash is cool enough to handle, peel and add to pot. Add half the roasted garlic to the pot. (Serve the remaining roasted garlic with fresh bread & butter, or save for another meal.) Add split peas (rinsed and sorted).
- Add vegetable broth to cover the squash. Simmer for 30 minutes until peas are soft. Blend with hand blender. Add salt & pepper to taste.
- Serve with a dollop of (vegan) sour cream.

Read on...

Saturday, December 17, 2016

Tofu Paprikash

This recipe is based off of the Chicken Paprikash recipe Mark Chu-Carol's posted on his Good Math, Bad Math blog.

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onions, quartered and then sliced thin
2 cloves of garlic, finely minced
1 tablespoons Sweet hungarian paprika
1 tablespoons Hot hungarian paprika
1 bay leaves
2.5 cups vegetable stock
1 pound frozen and thawed firm tofu
1 bell pepper, diced
2 carrots, diced
1/2 cup creme fraiche or sour cream
Cooked egg noodles or spaetzle tossed with butter
Salt and pepper to taste

Saute the onions in olive oil until translucent, adding the garlic during the last minute of cooking. Meanwhile, drain the tofu and cut into bite-sized pieces. Add the paprika and bay leaves, stirring around, and then add the tofu and saute for another minute. Add the carrot, pepper and stock. Simmer for 20 minutes to let the flavors absorb into the tofu. Add creme fraiche; salt and pepper to taste. Serve over noodles.

Read on...

Fudgy Brownies

I'm still working on this recipe for Fudgy Brownies. Expect updates.

  • 8 (1 ounce) squares unsweetened baking chocolate
  • 1 cup butter
  • 5 eggs
  • 1 cup white sugar
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
  • 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 cups chopped walnuts
  • 1 cup dark chocolate chips
  • 1 cup white chocolate chips
  • Melt butter and chocolate in the microwave. Mix it all up. Meanwhile, grease a 13x9 inch pan.
  • Preheat oven to 375. Beat eggs and sugar on high for 2 min, then mix in vanilla and chocolate butter mixture.
  • Stir in flour just enough to mix, then add nuts and chips. Spread in pan. Bake for 35 min.

Read on...

Mini Bacon Mushroom Spinach Quiches

You can get creative with the filling. Aim for 3 cups of filling, and cook veggies and meat before baking. You can freeze extras. To reheat from refrigerator, microwave 1 quiche for ~30 seconds. Makes 12 mini quiches.

Ingredients:

Crust
- 1 1/4 cup flour
- 1/2 cup quick oats
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 3/8 cup vegetable oil
- 3 tablespoons milk

Filling
- 2 strips bacon
- 1/2 cup diced onion
- 2 cups diced mushrooms
- 5 oz fresh spinach
- 4 eggs
- 1/4 cup milk
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- 1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

- Preheat oven to 400.
- Combine dry ingredients of crust. Dump in oil and milk. Stir to combine, until you have a crumb mixture of uniform consistency. Divide into muffin tin. Press into sides and bottoms. Bake for 10 min.
- Slice bacon into little strips. Fry to taste. Add onion, fry at medium heat until translucent and browning. Add mushrooms, fry until cooked through. Add spinach, cook until wilted.
- Beat eggs in medium size mixing bowl. Add cheese, milk and spices. Stir in veggies. Divide into muffin tins - about 1/4 cup per shell.
- Bake for 13-16 minutes, until set. Serve hot.

Read on...

Tuesday, November 17, 2015

Italian Wedding Soup

None of the recipes I found called for the normal soup starters: onions, garlic, celery. I figured I'd at least want those flavors, even if I didn't have them floating around in the soup, so I made my own stock.
Italian Wedding Soup
Makes 4 servings
Ingredients:
Stock:
- 1 yellow onion
- 1 head garlic
- 4 stocks celery
- 1 carrot
- 1 tablespoon bacon grease (or oil)
- chicken bones/scraps
- 1 bay leaf
Soup:
- 1/2 lb ground turkey
- 1/2 slice bread (or 1/8 cup breadcrumbs)
- 1 egg
- dash garlic powder
- dash onion powder
- dash Italian seasonings
- dash ground pepper
- 1 tablespoon Parmesan cheese
- 2 carrots
- chicken bouillon
- beef bouillon
- salt & pepper to taste
- 1/2 to 3/4 cup Israeli couscous, depending on how thick you want your soup
- 1 bag fresh spinach
Instructions:
Stock:
- Heat the grease in a large pot
- Cut off the roots of the onion but do not peel. Quarter the onion, skin and all. Sear in the grease while you chop the garlic. Chop garlic head in half, separate cloves, throw into pot, skin and all. Coarsly chop celery and carrot, throw into pot.
- Add chicken bones, bay leaf, and 2 quarts of water. Simmer for 6-8 hours. Drain, reserving liquid and discarding solids.
Soup:
- Bring stock to a boil. Meanwhile, make meatballs: tear bread up into little pieces and put into mini food processor. Add egg. Blend a bit. Let sit for 5 min. Blend until smooth. Remove blade and mix in turkey, spices, and cheese. Spoon 3/4 inch lumps of meatball mixture into boiling stock.
- Add carrots and couscous. Boil for 12 minutes or as directed by couscous package.
- Add 1 cube beef bouillon, 2-4 cubes chicken bouillon, and salt to taste.
- Add dash of Italian seasonings and bag of spinach, stirring until spinach is cooked, about 1 min. Enjoy!

Read on...

Wednesday, July 29, 2015

Nageotte Beans

This is recipe that my extended family has been making for generations, often without the benefit of measurements and written instructions. My cousin Casey shared this version of the recipe.

Nageotte Beans

Ingredients:
- 1 lb dry navy (or pea) beans
- 7 -- 8 cloves of garlic
- 1 medium onion, chopped and lightly sauteed
- 1/2 lb uncured bacon cut into 1 -- 1 1/2" chunks
- salt & pepper to taste -- easy on the salt you can always add more as it cooks
- 1 1/2 Tablespoons of summer savory (you may have to look for this herb; it's not commonly found in grocery-store spice racks)
- 1/3 stick of butter
Instructions:
- Briefly boil the beans, then drain, then soak overnight.
- Drain again.
- Put all ingredients into a baking dish which could be a bean pot or a casserole, mix lightly
- Add enough water to top of ingredients is moist
- Bake at 300 -- 325 for 4 to 4 1/2 hours
- Check periodically to keep moist on top. You can use water or you can use beer. A little beer in the cook also helps.
- After 4 -- 4 1/2 hours the beans should be almost creamy. Bake a little longer (keeping moist on top) if not yet done.
Great for picnics and pot-lucks!

Read on...