Friday, October 31st, 2003

Time	Event
2:31a	I just bought a muffin baking-plate today ;) Does any of you have a good muffin-recipe? (5 Comments | Comment on this)
8:16a	Brunch ideas? a friend of mine is hosting a pot-luck brunch in a few weeks, and I'm looking for ideas of things to bring. They're already covering things on the bacon and fritatta departments, so those are out. also, I'd be driving about 45 minutes to get there, so whatever I bring will have to be fairly easily transportable. I'd like to prepare something fresh, rather than cop-out and just pick up a bag of bagels. any ideas? I've got one or two, but figured you lovely people would have some interesting ones as well. Current Mood: thoughtful (10 Comments | Comment on this)
8:59a	Baked Chicken Korma & Rice Julie's Baked Chicken Korma & Rice This is the recipe I came up with to make chicken korma to take to a potluck, based on the excellent korma recipe my husband uses. I wanted to make it in a casserole form that would be easy to just mix together and bake then take in the same pan to the potluck. The folks at the gathering loved it, so I think it came out pretty darn well. :) Main ingredients: 3 cups cubed chicken meat, breasts or thighs, skinless 2 cups uncooked white rice Sauce: 1 cup chopped onion 1 cup sliced mushrooms (optional) 1 Tbsp butter 1 Tbsp olive oil 4 Tbsp cashew butter (warmed in microwave to soften) 1 cup half and half 1 13.5 oz can coconut milk or 1 1/2 cups plain yogurt (I prefer the coconut milk) 2 14.25 oz cans chicken broth, or about 30 oz homemade equivalent Spices: 1/8 tsp cayenne, to taste 3 tsp turmeric 1 tsp cinnamon (Ceylon preferred) 1/2 tsp ground cloves 1 tsp ground coriander 3 tsp ground cardamom 2 tsp ground cumin Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. In a large saucepan sauté the chopped onion and sliced mushrooms (if using) in butter and olive oil until onions are opaque. Add spices and the remaining sauce ingredients except for one of the cans of broth (or half of your homemade); simmer for 5 minutes. Turn off heat and add cubed chicken; stir. Put uncooked rice in the bottom a large lightly-oiled lasagne pan and carefully pour the chicken/sauce mixture over (the pan will be pretty darn full). (You can also just mix the rice into the sauce and pour into the pan, but if you do so make sure you evenly distribute the rice on the bottom of the pan.) Bake in 375 degree oven for 30 minutes, add the remaining can of chicken broth into the pan and stir well, then bake for an additional 30 minutes until rice is cooked through. Makes about 10-12 potluck servings. Making it in a crockpot: this dish could also be slow-cooked in the crockpot, but if you do... don't bother to saute the onions and mushrooms; put in all the broth at once; cook on med to high for 4 hours, and don't put in the half-n-half, coconut milk or yogurt, and cumin until the last 30 minutes (if you overcook cumin it turns bitter). Also, make sure to use a type of rice that holds together well and won't get too mushy during long cooking. Uncle Ben's would probably work well. (8 Comments | Comment on this)
9:41a	Spanakopita Pan-Style Spanakopita Pan-Style 2 lbs fresh spinach or 2 10 oz pkgs frozen chopped spinach, thawed 6 eggs 1 cup milk 1/2 lb feta cheese, crumbled 1/4 cup olive oil 2 medium onions, chopped 1 clove garlic, minced 1/4 cup chopped fresh dill or 1 tablespoon dillweed salt and pepper to taste 1 lb filo (phyllo) pastry sheets 1/2 cup olive oil 2 tablespoons cold water Rinse fresh spinach thoroughly several times. Trim stems and discard. Chop leaves and drain well. If using frozen spinach, squeeze dry after thawing and fluff to separate. Beat eggs in a large bowl. Blend in milk. Stir in feta cheese. Heat 1/4 olive oil in a large skillet. Add spinach, onions, and garlic. Saute until spinach wilts, about 2 minutes. Add dill, salt and pepper. Saute 1 minute to blend flavors. Add to cheese mixture. Mix well. Set aside. Preheat oven to 350F (175C). Oil 13" x 9" baking pan. Stack filo pastry sheets and trim to fit pan (cut in half if sheets are large) and cover with plastic wrap to prevent drying out. Heat 1 cup olive oil in a small skillet. Place half the filo sheets in prepared pan, brushing each with hot oil. Pour spinach mixture over filo layers. Top with remaining filo sheets, brushing each with hot oil. Brush top sheet with hot oil. Sprinkle with cold water. Bake 40 to 50 minutes or until golden brown. Let stand 20 minutes to set before cutting. Cut into 3" diamond or square shapes. Makes 12 pieces. Source: Mideast & Mediterranean Cuisines, by Rose Dosti. (2 Comments | Comment on this)
10:22a	Samosas with Spicy Pumpkin Filling I haven't tried this recipe, but found it online today and it looks so delicious and appropriate for the season that I wanted to share it. :) Samosas with Spicy Pumpkin Filling Samosa Dough: 1 1/2 cup flour 1/4 tsp salt 1/4 cup oil 5 Tbsp cold water or as needed Filling: 1 Tbsp oil 1/2 medium onion 2 ea garlic cloves 16 oz cooked pumpkin puree, canned or homemade 1 Tbsp lemon juice 1/2 tsp salt, or to taste 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper, or to taste 1/4 tsp ground cumin 1/4 tsp ground coriander 1/8 tsp turmeric 1/8 tsp ground ginger 1/8 tsp ground cinnamon 1/8 tsp ground cardamom 1/4 tsp sugar oil, for frying In a food processor or by hand, combine flour and salt. Add oil, mixing until flour resembles fine crumbs. Add just enough cold water to form a medium-soft dough. (If using a food processor, dough will form a ball and leave sides of work bowl.) Refrigerate dough, covered, while you prepare filling. In a skillet, saute onion and garlic in 1 tablespoon oil. When onion and garlic are soft and translucent, add pumpkin and seasonings. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until mixture it thick, about 10 minutes. Set aside to cool before filling samosas. Assembly: Roll out small 1-inch balls of dough into very thin circles. Cut each circle in half. Place a rounded teaspoonful of filling into the middle of one semi-circle, then roll dough up to encase filling, forming a cone-shape in which the circle's rounded edge becomes the wide end of the cone. Pinch wide end of cone closed. Repeat for remaining dough and filling until all samosas are filled. Heat a couple of inches of oil over moderately-low heat. Fry samosas in hot oil until golden brown and crisp. Remove and drain on absorbent paper. Source: copyright 1995 Karen Mintzias (10 Comments | Comment on this)
1:11p	does anyone know where i can buy ... • heavy cream (for crème-brûlée): i'm pretty sure this is in the supermarket but i'm not sure what to look for. the only cream i know of is heavy whipping cream (used for making whipped cream) but i don't think it's the same heavy cream is it? am i looking for a carton, a tub, or a block? • orange-flower water (for madeleines): it's optional, but it'd be cool to know where i can find this! thanks in advance :) Current Mood: curious Current Music: West Wing - Alan Menken - Beauty and the Beast (20 Comments | Comment on this)
2:24p	intro hey there, just joined the community and am glad to see the recipes flying! I'm a fan of "experimental cooking" (making up meals with whatever happens to be around) and interesting vegan/vegetarian recipes- I'm not a total vegetarian, but I definately enjoy the food and I'm working on a farm now so there's always plenty of fresh stuff on hand! Anyways, just wanted to say hi and share last night's experiment, a soup with seasonal ingredients and it actually tasted pretty good. The measurements are going to be approximate of course, so suit it to your own tastes... cheers Fall Harvest Soup: 2-3 tblsp olive oil 1 medium fennel bulb 2 large leeks (3 medium) 2 medium carrots 1 largish turnip (I like the purple top ones) 2 medium potatoes (something golden is nice, yukon gold perhaps?) 1 smallish winter squash (small butternut, medium acorn, etc, something easy to peel) about a quart of water 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg pinch of cinnamon pinch of thyme roasted garlic if you have it handy salt and pepper to taste Chop up the leeks, fennel and carrots and saute them in the olive oil (if you're not using roasted garlic, toss a couple of chopped garlic cloves in there too). While they're cooking, peel the squash and if you have to, the turnip (you don't if they're organic or if you don't normally) and cube them and the potatoes. By this time the leek mix should be pretty translucent, so toss in the other veggies and stir them around while you add the water. Cover and let it simmer on low heat for about 20 minutes. After the 20 minutes add in the spices/herb and about one head of roasted garlic squashed out if you've got it. Let it simmer again for another 5-10 minutes, adding water if it needs it. If the turnips and carrots are tender enough, then add your salt and pepper and call it soup! It was enough for two hungry farmers, but probably it will serve 4 as a soup course. about the roasted garlic- I always have it handy- it's easy enough to toss in when you are roasting something else (smother with good olive oil, wrap in foil and cook for 40 minutes at 350-400) and it tastes good in/on just about everything! well, that is, if you like garlic. (4 Comments | Comment on this)
2:43p	Pork shoulder roast I put a pork roast in the crock pot and rubbed it with a bunch of seasonings and cut up an onion and threw that in also. I have never made one before but I'm planning on, once its done cooking, to shred it up and add bbq sauce and make pork sandwiches. Anyone evear do this before and how did it turn out or is there something else I should put in there? Any ideas/sugestions are welcome! Current Mood: curious (8 Comments | Comment on this)
5:53p	more soup! hee hee! I guess I have to admit I really like soup...this one IS from a recipe, made it a couple of nights ago and it was fabulous, just spicy enough to warm you up on chilly nights (which we're starting to get here) Egyptian Lentil Soup ( Read more... ) I will be trying out pumpkin muffins tonight, wish me luck! (Comment on this)
6:13p	Recipe: Sweet Potato Pie I made this recently for my co-workers and it came out so beautifully that I thought I'd share. I used a recipe from "The Encyclopedia of American Food & Drink" and added some of my own touches: Sweet Potato Pie 1 lb sweet potatoes 3/4 c brown sugar 1/4 t salt 1 t ground cinnamon 1/2 t nutmeg 1/4 t ground cloves 3 eggs 3/4 c milk 3/4 c heavy cream 1 T butter 1 pie plate lined with pastry crust (I used Mrs. Smith's 9" deep dish homestyle pie crusts.) Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. Poke a bunch of holes in the sweet potatoes with a fork, then microwave on high for 10 minutes. Allow to cool for 5 minutes. Cut in half and scoop out the meat inside into a large bowl and beat till smooth. Blend in the brown sugar, salt and spices. Beat in the eggs, milk and heavy cream and then beat in the butter. Pour into pie crust, leaving about a half inch space from the top. Bake at 400 degress for about 40-45 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Current Music: (none) (2 Comments | Comment on this)
6:18p	ok, one more post... does anyone have any good recipes involving daikon radishes? we've got more than we can handle here and I'd hate to waste them... (3 Comments | Comment on this)

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