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The introduction to this recipe says "a colourful lasagne that is both dairy-free and meat-free! As it takes a while to prepare, I always make this recipe in stages. Lasagne is also best made the day before, as it is less likely to fall apart. The good news is that this recipe will feed a party - but you will require a large lasagne tray. Or halve the recipe and use a small one."

recipe
Cookbook challenge

notes, thoughts, changes: This was a fiddly dish - the roasting, then making the tofu ricotta, then layering the elements, then baking - but it was delicious once made!

I really liked the tofu ricotta - the miso and garlic make it absolutely amazing. If you wanted a dairy-free cheeselike sauce or filling and didn't mind the strong flavours? This would do really well as a substitution.

Cookbook challenge

As the introduction suggested, I made a giant pan of the stuff, and froze half of it for later eating. We've just finished the last of it this week and it was still extremely edible.

I'll definitely make it again, when the ingredients are to hand - most likely in the autumn, when there's a glut of the vegies in question.

musesfool

I made Gamja Jorim (Korean Braised Potatoes) this afternoon. I followed the recipe as written with the roasting method, except I sprinkled the potatoes with garlic and onion powder before I put them in the oven.

( ingredients and instructions )

These are really good, but you really can't take your eyes off them once you add the honey and toasted sesame oil - I walked away for a minute and when I came back, the potatoes had begun to stick to the bottom of the pan.

tielan

I've never been a PB&J kind of person. I don't mind it, it's just not my go-to, so to speak. PB & Honey? Yes, please! PB & J...well, I guess?

I've had the Weber Complete BBQ book for about four years now, and it's been excellent for all kinds of recipes, and lots of fun to experiment with. I figured I'd give this a go and see how it went.

( PB&J Ribs )

spiralicious

Strawberry Balsamic Chicken Salad with Sliced Almonds and Creamy Goat Cheese

Found on Zest My Lemon's Instagram here

I made this in August and forgot to post.

1 boneless skinless chicken breast.
2 tablespoons @ batistinifarms Estate Notes Extra Virgin Olive Oil and more for drizzling.
2 tablespoons @ batistinifarms Estate No. 15 Balsamic Vinegar and more for drizzling.
2 cups baby spinach
2 cups baby arugula
6 large strawberries with stems removed and sliced in half.
2 tablespoons sliced almonds.
1 tablespoon shallots thinly sliced.
Goat cheese crumbles.
Salt and cracked black pepper.

Add the chicken breast to a shallow bowl. Season both sides with salt and pepper. Add the balsamic vinegar and extra virgin olive oil and fully coat the chicken. Let the chicken sit in the mixture for 5-10 minutes to let marinate. Heat a grill pan on the stovetop and grill each side of the chicken for 5-6 minutes until cooked through. Let rest for 5 minutes before slicing. To a large bowl add the baby spinach and baby arugula. Drizzle with a little extra virgin olive oil then add the sliced balsamic chicken, strawberries, sliced almonds, shallots and goat cheese on top. Drizzle with more balsamic and enjoy!

I did use a different balsamic vinegar and I substituted the arugula with a different leaf lettuce. I am always looking for different ways to eat chicken, because frankly, I don't like chicken. I would eat this everyday though. I did wonder if it was going to be balsamic vinegar overload, but everything worked very well together. Extremely tasty.

spiralicious

Baked Salmon Seasoned with Olive Oil and Cracked Black Pepper

Found on Zest My Lemon's Instagram here

I made this in August and forgot to post.

Baked salmon seasoned with olive oil and cracked black pepper with brown rice, zucchini sautéed in olive oil, crunchy snap peas and butter garlic mushrooms

For the salmon, place on a sheet pan over lemon slices, season with garlic powder, black pepper, sea salt and olive oil. Bake in oven or toaster oven on 400 for 12-15 minutes depending on the size of the salmon. Mine was a one pounder or air fry in a 390-400 F preheated air fryer for 12-15 minutes.

Heat olive oil in a pan on the stovetop on medium high heat until hot. Add desired veggies (mushrooms, peas, broccoli, bell peppers, onions, zucchini would all work) season with sea salt and cracked black pepper. Add additional seasoning/herbs/spices of choice to taste if desired. Lower heat a little so the oil doesn’t get too hot and the veggies don’t burn. Occasionally give a toss with a large spoon until the veggies are lightly golden. About 7-8 minutes.

This turned out great. The salmon reminded me a lot of how my dad used to grill it on the BBQ. My veggies were just mushrooms and zucchini with white rice. It was very filling and would do again.

spiralicious

Kartoffelpuffer (German Potato Pancakes)

From Craft Beering

Ingredients:
2 lbs starchy potatoes, such as Russet
2 eggs
1 tsp salt
½ tsp pepper
1 tsp nutmeg
1tbsp corn or potato starch (use if you do not intend to use the starch from the potatoes)
cooking oil as needed for pan frying

Instructions:
1. Peel and coarsely grate the potatoes. Place in colander or large sieve over appropriately sized bowl and let drain for 10-15 minutes. Press a couple of times to help the process along. (Alternatively, place the grated potatoes in a clean cheese cloth and squeeze out all the water.)
2. Once most of the liquid from the potatoes has collected at the bottom of the bowl, move the drained potatoes to the side and either discard the liquid and reserve the starch settled underneath it or discard everything.
3. Beat the eggs with the salt, pepper, nutmeg and if using the 1 tbsp of corn or potato starch, then add to the potatoes.
4. Heat ¼ cup of cooking oil in a frying pan over medium to medium-high heat. When hot, add a large spoonful of potato egg mixture to the oil and flatten it out using the back of the spoon. (Do not overcrowd the pan).
5. Fry until each side if golden and crispy, about 4 minutes per side, depending on how large the pancakes are.
6. Drain the cooked potato pancakes over paper towels before serving. Serve while still hot with apple sauce or sour cream as a dip.

Unsurprisingly, extremely tasty and used a lot of oil. It took a little bit to find a rhythm, but once I found it, cooking them up went pretty well. I do wonder if my potatoes were not drained well enough and/or they were not mixed well as I did notice I had a lot of liquid left at the end, after I had fried all the pancakes, and that the pancakes towards the end of the batch were more “potato pancake” like and the ones at the beginning were more like fancy hash-browns. But very tasty regardless.

spiralicious

Goat Cheese & Mushroom Strudel (Puff Pastry or Phyllo Dough)

Recipe is from Craft Beering.

Ingredients:
2 tbsp butter + more for brushing the dough*
2 garlic cloves, chopped
18-20 oz mushrooms (cremini recommended)
1 tsp fresh thyme leaves (or ½ tsp dried)
1 tbsp fresh chopped parsley
2 tsp flour
1tsp salt (or to taste)
½ tsp pepper (or to taste)
6 oz goat cheese
2 sheets puff pastry (or 24 -30 phyllo sheets, about 5-6 ounces, or 1 recipe strudel dough)

Instructions:
1. Clean and trim the mushrooms and chop as finely as you'd like. Over medium heat melt 2 tbsp butter and saute the mushrooms with the garlic and thyme. Once most of the mushroom moisture has been released and evaporated add the chopped parsley, the flour and season with salt and pepper. Stir and cook for another minute or two. Remove from the stove and let cool down a bit. Fold in the goat cheese.
2. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Melt the rest of the butter. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
3. Spread out the puff pastry onto a clean surface and brush each of the two sheets with a bit of melted butter. (If using phyllo, start with 3 sheets, brush and so on until you have 2 separate piles comprised of 12 to 15 phyllo sheets each.)
4. Divide the filling and spread it over each sheet of dough. Leave a little room at the ends. Fold the short end inward and roll along the longer side. Brush seam with butter, place seam side down onto baking sheet. Generously brush with butter.
5. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the surface is deep gold color. Allow to cool down for 5 minutes before slicing.

* You will need from 4 to 10 tbsp of extra butter melted. 4 if using puff pastry, about 6 if making your own strudel dough and about 10 if using phyllo.

This was extremely tasty, but I did have some problems with this one. To start, it says prep time: 10 minutes, cook time: 35 minutes, for a total of 45 minutes. It took me two hours from start until I got it in the oven, but that could be just a me problem.

Substitutions: I added more garlic, mostly because when I pulled off two cloves from the bulb, they ended up being many more than that each. I ended up with 24 ounces of button mushrooms and only 4 oz of goat cheese, because that was what was available.

I went the puff pastry route, which is why the strudel dough recipe is not here.

It was a lot of fun watching the mushrooms cook down.

At one point, I did have to track down the picture version of the instructions because how they wanted you to fold it was not clear to me. Apparently, they want you to fold it like a burrito.

They also neglected to mention cutting vents in the top like you do for pie, which I did do, but it still should have been in the instructions.

My oven must also not have been hot enough, because after 35 minutes in the oven, it had still not reached a “deep gold color” but it was cooked enough to eat and we did, after letting it cool for 5 minutes.

spiralicious

Schwammerlbrühe (Bavarian Mushroom Stew with Dumplings)

I got the recipe from Craft Beering, but it's stashed on my phone, so sorry for no linkage.

Ingredients:
20 oz mushrooms
4-5 shallots
2 tbsp clarified butter (ghee)
½ cup white wine (preferably dry)
2 tsp salt
½ tsp pepper
thyme, (optional, 1 tsp dried or picked leaves of 4-5 sprigs)
2 cups heavy cream
1 small bunch parsley, finely chopped

Instructions:
1. Finely dice the shallots or onion. Clean and cut the mushrooms depending on their size – slice, quarter or cut in half.
2. Heat a large, deep pan over medium-high. Add the butter and saute the shallots for a minute or so. Add the mushrooms, stir well and saute for a couple of more minutes.
3. Deglaze with the white wine and scrape off all brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Let the wine evaporate, then season with salt, pepper and if using thyme add it.
4. Pour the heavy cream over the mushrooms, stir and bring to simmer. Let simmer for about 5 minutes until the cream begins to thicken slightly. Remove from heat and add finely chopped parsley just before serving.

I substituted one large onion for the shallots, used regular butter, only used half the salt, used dried parsley, and left out the thyme (and did not miss it). I only quartered the mushrooms, which I though was fine, but my mother complained were too big. Everyone agreed it was extremely tasty though, and that is really the point. I did not make bread dumplings. Instead, we ladled the soup over chunks of pretzel rolls.

There was a little bit left over, so the next day, I added some leftover hamburger to it and heated it up over noodles for an impromptu stroganoff for one. Also, very good.

fuzzyred

This week's recipe comes from the tasteofhome Contest Winning Annual Recipes 2010 cookobook.

( Read more... )

Thoughts and Variations
I used 2% milk instead of fat-free, and slightly less than 1/2 cup because I didn't quite have 2 teaspoons of cornstarch in the house (oops). I used four chicken breasts, but they were closer to 6 or 7 ounces each than 4, so they maybe weren't as flat as they should have been. I used a whole small onion, rather than having a half onion left over, although after making the dish, that might have resulted in too many onions. I used chicken broth, as I don't generally have any cooking wines in the house.

This was an easy dish to put together, and it went fairly quickly, although I did have to put two of the chicken breasts back in the pan. Because I don't think I got them flat enough, they ended up being undercooked. Thankfully, I caught that before I started eating them. Overall, I like the flavours of this dish, and it makes a good way to dress up chicken if you need a change from just plain meat. I would probably make this again.

Current Mood: pleased

tielan

The recipe is from the book Levant by the proprietor of the UK restaurant Tanoreen.

Cauliflower Steaks with Pomegranate Tahini

The recipe is produced online here and actually gives credit to the chef and the book. (Other ones by chef bloggers didn't.)

( full text under cut )

August

notes, thoughts, adjustments: It's a slightly tricksy recipe: lots of little moving parts, and quite a bit of messiness. Deep frying is probably easier if you have an air-fryer, although it's the dipping and crumbing part that is the truly messy bit.

I didn't have pomegranate molasses or harissa for the sauce, so I just blended up some pickled kumquats and added them in, looking for the tangy, bright fruity taste to cut through the breaded and deep-fried cauliflower. It definitely worked for my tastebuds!

In spite of all the hassle and fuss, it's delicious and a show-stopper and I would definitely make it again. It also ends up with a lot of smaller pieces of cauliflower that can be used to make a creamy soup or a cauliflower gratin.

Now I have to find a vegie dish with some nice vivid colours (greens, oranges, reds) to serve with the cauliflower steaks!

fuzzyred

Well, it's afternoons again at work, and after last week's Chicken Pot Pie, I was in the mood for something lighter. This recipe from the tasteofhome 2012 Annual Recipes cookbook fits the bill nicely.

( Special Occasion Salad )

Thoughts and Variations
I used one bundle of spinach and one package of arugula. I added a few extra cherries and almonds (which I didn't bother toasting), since it seemed like a lot of leafy things and not much else; I eyeballed the salt and pepper. This came together pretty quick, being a salad and all, the longest step being cutting the stems off the spinach since I think I ended up with the full grown kind and not the baby kind.

This was a pretty decent salad, especially since I wasn't sure I liked arugula, ot dried cherries *laugh*, but I found things meshed pretty well together. It *is* a lot of leafy things though, and I feel like the dressing needed to be a little more acidic to cut through the sweetness of the other ingredients. All in all, definitely a salad to keep in my repetoire, and to keep in mind for family get togethers.

Current Mood: pleased

yuuago

My experience with this one could be described as "Local man is shocked that a tomato-based dish tastes like tomatoes". I don't know what I expected.

( Smoky spinach and chickpea stew )
Notes and adjustments:

+ I added a tsp of freeze-dried garlic and a dash of ground black pepper, because why not. Used a slightly larger amount of paprika than suggested, about 1.5tsp, and that felt right.

+ The tomato-based sauce has a very liquid texture, so you'll want to serve this with something that'll soak it, like bread (my choice) or rice.

+ I can see myself cooking this again, despite my mixed feelings about tomatoes. It might be nice with something extra added in, like mushrooms or baby corn.

tielan

Gluten free, dairy free, sugar free (uses maple syrup and dates).

Recipe comes from Food As Medicine which I ~~nicked~~ borrowed from my parents (and haven't yet received a directive to return) and which is very useful for vegan/vegetarian, gluten-free, sugar-free, dairy-free recipes that are absolutely delicious.

Cookbook challenge

I wanted a snack that was a little less guilty than shortbread and biscuits and cake and sugary gummy fruit sweets, and found this recipe.

Cookbook challenge

notes, thoughts, adjustments: I didn't have enough maple syrup, so I made up the difference with treacle (which is also cheaper than real maple syrup). The result is a bit stickier than I liked - it maybe needed more nuts, but is fine when kept in the fridge. I'll definitely make it again; it's been a tasty, lightly filling snack when the sweet tooth hits.

tielan

From The Ultimate Christmas by Jane Newdick

I've had this book for a couple of decades and although I've looked longingly at the pictures, I've never actually gone ahead and made anything in it.

Shortbread is possibly the least-difficult thing in the book, but I had a yen for shortbread and so...

( shortbread is shortbread )

monksandbones

A few years back, when one-pot pasta-and-sauce recipes were briefly popular, I was pretty skeptical of them. This recipe suggests that I was right to be skeptical. However, I bookmarked it at some point, so I must have thought it had potential, and I, you know, actually made it.

One-Pot Creamy Mushroom and Spinach Orzo.

I made the recipe basically as written, except that I used frozen instead of fresh spinach. But I also had to add a cup and a half of additional liquid to cook it as directed, because it became a solid mass before the orzo was cooked. It still wasn't cooked quite to my satisfaction when I declared it done, so the pasta ended up sticking to my teeth, and the overall effect was something I can only describe as bland and gluey. It's possible I didn't have enough cheese for the volume of pasta, hence some of the blandness, but I think the whole thing would be vastly better as a two-pot affair, with the pasta cooked separately in water, and the sauce cooked as a white sauce or an alfredo sauce with the mushrooms, spinach, and cheese. If I was making it again in a single pot, I'd probably use 1.5 cups of orzo for the amount of other ingredients, rather than 2.5 cups as suggested.

While I was eating the first serving, the rest of it seized up so completely in the pot that I had to add a further full cup of water to loosen it up enough to portion it out into servings for lunches this week, and I'll probably have to add more water when I reheat it. I've also doctored the servings with a little more salt and some lemon juice in the hopes that that perks the taste up a bit. Fingers crossed that this is one of those dishes that's better as leftovers than it is at first, because it makes a lot!

tielan

From the Marie Claire cookbook zest by Michele Cranston, p197

cumin and lime biscuits (cookies)
6 tbsp unsalted butter
150g caster sugar
1tsp ground cumin
1tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp lime juice
grated zest of a lime
1 egg
150g plain flour
1 tsp baking powder

Preheat oven to 180C. Cream the butter and sugar, then fold in the cumin, vanilla, lime juice, lime zest, and egg. Sift in the flour and baking powder and stir together. Spoon the batter onto a baking sheet lined with baking paper - use 1 heapted tablespoon of mixture per biscuit. Bake for 12 minutes, or until golden brown, and allow to cool on a wire rack.

Serving suggestion: whipped cream and slices of ripe fruit such as figs, nectarines, peaches.

thoughts, notes, ideas: The biscuits were okay. I was hoping for more zing from the lime, and while the cumin added dimension, I'm not sure it's a dimension I particularly wanted. That said, I took the remaining biscuits over to some friends and they thought the biscuits were great, so they'd probably do for people who don't mind a little bit of adventurousness in their baked goods!

fuzzyred

This week it is past for dinner, with this Ginger Garlic Linguine from the tasteofhome Contest Winning Annual Recipes 2010 cookobook.

( recipe )

Thoughts and Variations
I didn't have cayenne pepper, so I used a bit less than a 1/4 teaspoon each of paprika and hot chilli powder. I didn't weigh or measure the linguine, just threw in what was left in the pack. Since this recipe was for 6, having less is okay with me. I also used around 1/4 cup butter instead of a half. It seemed to still work with the lesser amount, possibly because I had less pasta.

It was pretty tasty. It only took about 20-25 minutes start to finish, so it was quick and it's also a nice variation on boring pasta. The flavours all seemed pretty balance, nothing outweighing the others so that was nice. I would make this again, although I might vary the spices depending on how I feel.

Current Mood: pleased

tielan

Mujaddara Lentils and Rice was stored on my Pinterest board "nommy" and I've never made it.

( recipe )

notes, thoughts, changes: I had leftover rice, an onion, and most of the herbs except for coriander and coriander powder. Never used coriander powder before, but we have coriander seed which is what coriander powder is made from. I had a lot from the garden...but I planted all the seeds out. Next year I won't be so swift to do that!

It was pretty easy to make, although the time to caramelise the onions was more than I wanted to spend. Still, they were really good there.

Yes, I'd make it again. Simple but comforting and tasty.

It occurs to me it could actually be a super-simple recipe if you made a spice-mix of the spices, and did a whole bunch of caramelised onions all at once, then froze them. The onions might be a big mushy, but the taste would probably still be there.

siberian_skys

This was really good. I highly recommend it. Here's the link: https://www.servedupwithlove.com/2018/04/easy-one-pot-chili-mac.html

I did make some alterations to the recipe for both preference and missing ingredient reasoning.

Instead of doing it on the stove top, I had microwave elbow macaroni so I cooked that and then put it in a bowl. I then added the other ingredients I used. I am not a fan of ground beef in chili, so I replaced it with chili beans which also replace the tomato products and onion. I did not have chili powder. I forgot to replace it when it expired so I used hot sauce instead. I had never heard of Worcestershire sauce in chili. I love the stuff. I was very pleased this recipe. I mixed everything together and put it back in the microwave. I put put soup crackers on top of it as well as grated cheese when it finished. I think that was the best Chili Mac I've ever made. I would definitely make it again. I do need to put chili powder on the grocery list.

I forgot to mention that I took out the beef broth as well. I would think you'd need it if you were using the meat that I omitted.

hudebnik

Recipe at NY Times.

Executive summary: cook pasta al dente and drain, reserving 1 cup of cooking water. Mix ricotta, Parmesan, lemon zest, lemon juice, salt & pepper, and 1/2 cup of the cooking water in the same pot. Add pasta back into the pot and toss with sauce, adding more cooking water if necessary.

Yum; definite keeper, very summer-y, and extremely quick and easy. The most time-consuming part is zesting and juicing lemons.

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Cookbook Challenge!

February 2024

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Page Summary

tielan - Lasagne with Roasted Vegetables
musesfool - Gamja Jorim (Korean Braised Potatoes)
tielan - PB&J Ribs
spiralicious - Strawberry Balsamic Chicken Salad with Sliced Almonds and Creamy Goat Cheese
spiralicious - Baked Salmon Seasoned with Olive Oil and Cracked Black Pepper
spiralicious - Kartoffelpuffer (German Potato Pancakes)
spiralicious - Goat Cheese & Mushroom Strudel (Puff Pastry or Phyllo Dough)
spiralicious - Schwammerlbrühe (Bavarian Mushroom Stew with Dumplings)
fuzzyred - Chicken with Mushroom Sauce
tielan - Cauliflower Steaks with Pomegranate Tahini
fuzzyred - Special Occasion Salad
yuuago - Smoky spinach and chickpea stew
tielan - Sweet Treat Nut Squares
tielan - hogmanay shortbread
monksandbones - One-Pot Creamy Mushroom and Spinach Orzo
tielan - cumin and lime biscuits
fuzzyred - Ginger Garlic Linguine
tielan - Mujaddara Lentils and Rice
siberian_skys - One Pot Chili Mac
hudebnik - Pasta with ricotta and lemon

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Cookbook challenge

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Recent Entries

Lasagne with Roasted Vegetables

Gamja Jorim (Korean Braised Potatoes)

PB&J Ribs

Strawberry Balsamic Chicken Salad with Sliced Almonds and Creamy Goat Cheese

Baked Salmon Seasoned with Olive Oil and Cracked Black Pepper

Kartoffelpuffer (German Potato Pancakes)

Goat Cheese & Mushroom Strudel (Puff Pastry or Phyllo Dough)

Schwammerlbrühe (Bavarian Mushroom Stew with Dumplings)

Chicken with Mushroom Sauce

Cauliflower Steaks with Pomegranate Tahini

Special Occasion Salad

Smoky spinach and chickpea stew

Sweet Treat Nut Squares

hogmanay shortbread

One-Pot Creamy Mushroom and Spinach Orzo

cumin and lime biscuits

Ginger Garlic Linguine

Mujaddara Lentils and Rice

One Pot Chili Mac

Pasta with ricotta and lemon

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February 2024

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