Lemon, Olive, Parsley Quinoa Cakes

I’ve wanted to share this recipe for months. Months. That’s how fast time has been flying. It gets away from me all the time. Get back here, time. Right this instant. This meal has become a staple at our house. Here are the top five reasons you should hurry to your kitchen and whip some up:

1. They’re delicious. Duh.
2. Quinoa...whole grain, protein.
3. Green olives. The kind you use in Martinis. Kalamata are also a good pick.
4. They look pretty.
5. Excellent leftovers.
6. Bonus: vegetarian.

Don’t let the semi-involved instructions deter you. On the surface, it might seem time consuming, but forming and shaping little patties in your hands is sort of meditative. Sometimes I break the recipe into three steps: cook the quinoa up to a day ahead; prepare the patty mixture and refrigerate up to 24 hours; shape the mixture into disks and pan fry.

These are wonderful served warm on a bed of fresh baby spinach. I’ve had success spooning over either a mustardy vinaigrette or homemade basil pesto - both are amazing with these quinoa cakes.

I also like them cold. The one tip I have is to make your mixture moist enough before cooking. There is a fine line between a moist and tender texture and hockey pucks.  You want to strike a nice balance between patties that are wet enough to stick together and keep their shape and those that fall apart when you put them in the pan. 

Lemon, Olive, Parsley Quinoa Cakes
Adapted from Super Natural Every Day

Ingredients:
3c cooked quinoa
4 eggs, lightly beaten
1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2c grated parmesan
1/3c coarsely chopped green olives
1/3c chopped parsley
1T lemon zest
3/4c bread crumbs
1/2t salt
1/2t pepper or red pepper flakes
1-2T water
2T olive oil

Directions:
In a large bowl, toss together onion, garlic, cheese, olives, parsley, lemon zest, bread crumbs, salt and pepper, and cooled quinoa.

Add beaten eggs and stir until all of quinoa is moistened. If necessary, add more water, 1T at a time, to thoroughly moisten mixture. Err on the side of wet because the quinoa dries out during cooking.

Scoop mix by 2 tablespoons. Use clean, moist fingers to form into a patty.

Cook 4-5 minutes each side in hot olive oil. Brown and remove to a paper towel lined plate. Serve warm or cold.

Tomato Tart with Phyllo Dough

In case you were wondering, I did not fall off the face of the earth.  I did however spend time this summer with family in Oregon, the place my grandmother has always called god's country, and in the French Alps, where we relaxed in hammocks under the trees at my husband's family's weekend house.

Firsts for me this summer were a visit to Provence where we enjoyed hiking with friends, a lunch stop and walk around the legendary Gigondas wine region, and buying a mixed case of organic wine from a local family owned and operated winery.  At the end of our stay in France we spent one week in a quaint little coastal town in Brittany on France's west coast.  We ate like kings, enjoyed time with family, and played and lounged on the beach (for the record, I do not play on the beach.  I lay under an umbrella and read.)

While I was away I spent a scant amount of time in the kitchen.  My go-to meals were homemade pizza and all different combinations of rice salad.  This Tomato Tart with Phyllo Dough was a stand out. Really really delicious.  Served with a green salad, it's the perfect summer meal.

The challenge I had with it was getting the tomatoes sliced thin enough.  I was using my mother-in-law's knives that are somewhat neglected in the sharpening department; even though I was afraid that the dough might suffer from excess moisture of tomatoes sliced a bit too thick, it didn't.  The phyllo dough was crisp and the tomatoes were the ideal complement to the cheese tucked inside each layer of dough.

I hope your summer adventures have brought you fun, good memories, and plenty of rest and relaxation.

Here's to getting back in the kitchen.

Tomato Tart with Phyllo Dough
Adapted from Sunset Fast and Fresh

10 sheets of phyllo dough, thawed
5T butter, melted
8T grated parmesan cheese, divided
1c very thinly sliced onion
1c shredded mozzarella cheese
6-8 roma tomatoes (depending on size), cut into 1/8-in. thick slices
1T fresh lemon thyme (or regular thyme)
salt and pepper

1.  Preheat oven to 375F or 190C.

2.  Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper and lightly oil the paper.

3.  Lay 2 sheets of phyllo on paper and brush lightly with a little melted butter.  Sprinkle all over with 1T parmesan.  Repeat layering 4 more times (phyllo, butter, parmesan), pressing the sheets firmly so they stick to the sheets below. 

4.  For the final layer: brush with remaining butter and sprinkle remaining 1T parmesan.  Scatter onion slices across, top with mozzarella, and arrange tomato slices in a single layer, overlapping slightly.  Sprinkle with thyme and salt and pepper to taste.

5.  Bake 30-40 minutes until golden brown.  Cool 10 minutes, then serve. 

Buckwheat Galettes

When my father-in-law arrived two days before Christmas, he did not come empty handed.  Far from it. It took him two full days of driving to get from France to here, but loaded carefully in his car was precious cargo indeed:  boxes of oysters, jars of foie gras, little cans of seafood mousse, tumblers of homemade jam, boxes of Lindt Pyrenees (the best chocolates. ever), blocks of pungent cheeses, saucisson, and so much wine I lost count.

Talk about being spoiled...and, for our part, tremendously grateful. There was one other special item tucked in among the treasure trove: buckwheat flour.  So to top it all off, my father-in-law prepared a beautiful stack of  buckwheat galettes, the crepe's sister pancake.  His recipe is as simple as it gets:

Buckwheat Galettes
Makes 10-12 pancakes depending on pan size

500g/4c buckwheat flour
2 eggs
3/4 liter/generous 3c water
1/2t sea salt (a pinch more if you like)
1/2c salted butter (for Step 3 of my father-in-law's tricks)
oil for pan
a small cloth

1.  Combine all ingredients and mix well with a whisk, 3-5 minutes.  Set aside for up to 6 hours at room temperature or cover and refrigerate overnight.

2.  Heat a crepe pan or large skillet over medium-high heat.  Grease well with oil but remove any excess.

3.  Pour a large spoon of batter into the pan (a soup ladle works perfectly) and swirl to distribute batter evenly.  Cook until tiny bubbles appear all over the surface of the pancake.  Flip and cook briefly on the other side.  Remove from pan and place on plate.

My father-in-law's tricks:

• oiled cloth for the pan
• aerate batter and repeatedly mix with wooden spoon or soup ladle thereby increasing the air in the batter (for light pancakes)
• If your galettes are too thick, simply thin down your batter (little by little) with more water.
• Step 1:  cook and stack galettes, set aside
• Step 2:  Clean up kitchen, sit down for an aperitif (also known as happy hour), and relax.
• Step 3:  Heat pan and add 1-2 teaspoons of salted butter.  Reheat galette, add filling, if desired, and before you know it you have a soft-in-the-middle, crispy-around-the-edges little piece of heaven. Add more butter with the reheating of each additional galette.

While many recipes call for melted butter in the batter, my father-in-law makes his sans extra fat.  Besides, the oil in the pan in Step 1 and the butter in Step 3 are sufficient to achieve the perfect galette.

You can make savory and/or sweet galettes.  Filling options include cheese, cured meats, eggs, jam, chocolate, or whatever else sounds good to you.  If possible, serve with a good French cider.

Pea Puree Lasagnette

Dear Denmark, you've done it to me again.  How many times have I gotten excited about a certain recipe, dashed to the grocery store, ingredient list in hand, only to drive home with hopes dashed because I couldn't find that *one* ingredient?  Apparently it has something to do with my little corner of the country because in talking to a group of girlfriends who live 90 kilometers away, they easily can find sweetened condensed milk in their grocery stores.  I bet the same goes for ricotta, too.  The injustice!

Luckily, there's a happy ending to this story.  The ingredient for which I was on a treasure hunt was ricotta cheese.  Instead I substituted cottage cheese and ran it through the food processor for 30 or so seconds to break up the little pieces.  No, it's not the same taste--or texture for that matter--as ricotta and Yes, I would have preferred ricotta, but mixed together with the pea puree it worked beautifully.

I picked up this delightful recipe from Poor Girl Gourmet: eat in style on a bare bones budget, one of the hottest cookbooks of 2010.  The book is all about eating well, very well, and saving money in the process.  The world could use more books like this.

Author Amy McCoy calls it Pea Puree Lasagnette because what you make is not a full tray of lasagna but fewer pieces of lasagna noodles with a delicate pea sauce between each layer.  While I like peas I don't love them and was a bit of a skeptic about the dish.  However, I enjoyed making it and, even better, it was absolutely delicious.  The shallots in the pea puree give it tons of flavor as does the conservative amount of crispy, crumbly bacon on top.

Another helpful feature of Poor Girl Gourmet is that each recipe comes with a cost estimate.  For instance, the Pea Puree Lasagnette is estimated to cost $8.98 for four (and there is a break down of each recipe component with price to show you how McCoy arrived at the total).

Pea Puree Lasagnette
From Poor Girl Gourmet by Amy McCoy

1c plus 2 1/3c frozen peas
1 medium shallot, finely chopped, divided
1t dried thyme, or 3t fresh, divided
1c fresh ricotta
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
6 wide lasagna noodles
2T plus 3T extra virgin olive oil
2T unsalted butter, cut into pieces
2T grated Pecorino Romano cheese
4 slices bacon, cooked to desired doneness and crumbled
1/4c (4T) créme fraiche or sour cream

My notes:  I used cottage cheese instead of ricotta, sea salt instead of Kosher, salted butter, Parmesan, and plain Greek yogurt instead of sour cream.  Also, I used 8 lasagna noodles, and cooked the dish in a 9 by 13-inch baking pan.

1.  Preheat oven to 350F.  To make the pea puree, cook 1c of the peas, half of the shallot, and half of the thyme in 1/4c water in a small saucepan over medium heat until heated through, 3-5 minutes.  Remove from heat and set aside to cool slightly, 5 to 7 minutes.

2.  Once the pea mixture has cooled, add it, liquid and all, to a blender or food processor and puree.

3.  Transfer the puree to a medium bowl and add the ricotta.  Mix well, until you have a pale green blend.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Set aside.  The puree may be made a day in advance and refrigerated in an airtight container if you so desire.

4.  In a large pot of boiling, salted water, cook the lasagna noodles according to the manufacturer's directions until al dente.  Rinse well with cold water to prevent the noodles from sticking to one another or to themselves. Set aside.

5.  Grease a 10 by 15-inch rimmed baking sheet with 2T olive oil to prevent pasta from sticking.  Lay two sheets of pasta on the bottom of the pan the long way.  Spread one-quarter of the pea puree on each. Cover each with another sheet of lasagna and spread the remaining pea puree evenly on both.  Top with a third layer of pasta and evenly distribute 1T of the butter pieces along the top noodle of each lasagnette stack.  Sprinkle with 1T of cheese over each stack, season with salt and pepper, and bake 25-30 minutes until lightly browned.  Remove and let stand for 5 minutes before cutting.

6.  While the lasagnette cooks, cook the remaining peas, for they will grace the top of the lasagnette when all is completed.  Heat the remaining 3T olive oil in a small saucepan over medium heat.  Add the remaining half of the shallot and cook until translucent, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the peas and the remaining thyme, and cook until the peas are heated through, 5 to 7 minutes.  Keep the topping peas warm until the lasagnette is ready to serve.

7.  Top each lasagnette with one-quarter of the pea mixture.  Sprinkle crumbled bacon onto each plate and top with sour cream.

Coconut Split Pea Dahl

A few days ago I shared my discovery of Nami-Nami, an intriguing food blog written by a talented home cook in Estonia.  Upon perusing her site, the photo (and corresponding recipe) for simple coconut lentil dahl caught my attention.  It was a perfect match for two of my current food goals:  eat more legumes and spend less money on food.  As we all know, beans are an inexpensive super food.  A great source of protein and fiber and a hearty substitute for meat.  I've talked before about Mark Bittman and his quest to get people to eat less meat in favor of legumes, whole grains, vegetables and fruits. We still eat our fair share of meat in this house, but the concept really resonates with me and the benefits are simple:  better health, environmental stewardship, and money saved.

So when I saw the recipe for dahl, it struck my Bittman chord.  Problem was, my lentil supply was depleted.  Instead, I grabbed a bag of dried split peas and decided to go for it.  Like lentils, split peas require no pre-soaking and break down really well when exposed to moisture and heat.

The recipe couldn't be easier--the only hard part was waiting for it to cook down and reduce to a wonderfully creamy consistency.  If you are in search of another simple and hearty dish to add to your mealtime line up, you cannot go wrong with this recipe.  Plus, make the crispy onions for the top and you get an additional level of, uh, excitement.

So, crispy onions.  Pille (the Estonian woman) refers to them as crispy, but many of us also know them as caramelized.  Whatever you call them, I have developed an abiding fondness for this version of one of the best kitchen staples known to man. (This from a woman who detested onions until her early 30s.  But the onion and I--even raw--are becoming better and better friends in recent years).

It's too bad that I'm not very skilled at cooking them.  Despite paying close attention to the amount of oil and level of heat, invariably I end up with a bunch of onions that are caramelized and crispy, yes, but also verging on burned.  The proof is in my rather sad photo.  They still tasted terrific, but can I tell you I woke up in the middle of the night freaking out about all the carcinogens I ingested?  True story.  I told Alan how worried I was, and he said Well, it's not like you eat them every day. That made me feel a little better, but it was still hard to get back to sleep.

At any rate, I urge you to make this delicious dahl--with or without the onions.  Perhaps you are better skilled at achieving the perfectly caramelized onion.  I don't want you waking up in the middle of the night either.  At least not because of burned onions.

Lebanese Meatballs and Lentil Bulgar Stew

Tired of the same old same old, I pulled out the Lebanese cookbook that my friend Kira gave me for my birthday last year.  I was looking for something exotic or at least a new set of flavors to excite my palate and awaken my winter-filled soul.  There are many inspiring recipes in the book but I settled on two:  meatballs with lemon yogurt sauce and lentil, bulgar, and spinach stew.

It's funny, I sort of thought I knew what Lebanese cooking was like, but I think I was simply mixing it up with Greek and other Mediterranean food.  Granted, I'm basing this on two recipes, but it seems different. The meatballs are a mixture of ground lamb,* mint, parsley, onion and garlic.  They taste good no doubt about it, but they wouldn't be half as good without the tangy yogurt sauce.  The sauce really made this dish for me.  With lots of lemon, it makes the meat come alive and is the perfect complement to the spices.  

I served it with whole grain couscous and steamed green beans.  The couscous soaks up the sauce beautifully, but I imagine rice or quinoa might also do the job.  

The next day for lunch I diced a tomato and chunk of cucumber and mixed it with two leftover meatballs, the couscous, and yogurt sauce. Delicious.

*Ground lamb is difficult to come by in Denmark, at least in my town, so I substituted ground beef.  I realize that lamb would impart an entirely different taste to the dish, but the beef had to do. I wasn't disappointed.

Meatballs

Adapted from The Australian Women's World Lebanese Cooking

1kg minced lamb (or ground beef)

1 large onion, chopped finely

1 egg

1/4c finely chopped mint leaves

2T finely chopped parsley

2T grated lemon zest

1.5T ground cumin

3 cloves garlic (grated or finely chopped)

1t salt

1t pepper

1.  Using hands, combine all ingredients in large bowl.  Roll level tablespoons of mixture into balls.  Place on a tray, cover, and refrigerate 30 minutes.  

2.  Cook meatballs, in batches, on heated grill or skillet until browned all over and cooked through.  

Lemon Yogurt Sauce

1c plain yogurt

2T finely chopped mint leaves

1.5T fresh lemon juice

1/2t sugar

1.  Combine ingredients in small bowl and serve with meatballs.

I'd call the stew a work in progress.  It's a very basic recipe with few ingredients but made as is, I couldn't help but feel like something was missing with every bite I took.  And that's after I dressed it up a bit.  I added fresh lemon juice, a splash of plain yogurt, and sea salt.  I was amazed that the recipe calls for no salt.  Lentils, spinach, and bulgar are wonderful foods, but to my mind, they need salt and are too bland without it.  This is an earthy stew and if I were Oprah Winfrey I might say that it tastes like eating a piece of of the earth, but I'm not so sure that this is what I'm after in a stew.  (If you haven't heard, Oprah is a big fan of rugbrød, Denmark's ubiquitous rye bread).

Nevertheless, I like and recommend this recipe.  Perhaps adding some chicken stock in place of all or part of the water would do the trick. Other ideas: red pepper flakes; sauteed mushrooms with a bit of celery and carrot added to the pot with the dry lentils and bulgar (step 2).

The first time I served it, I added a topping that was a simple mix of tahini, plain yogurt, and a squeeze of lemon juice.  I'm the only one in my family who likes tahini, but it's just as well since Alan said he thought it looked like a bird pooped on my stew.  Well be that as it may, it was tasty and added a lot of flavor to the dish.  By the way, my photo simply gives credence to Alan's bird poop comment, so you'll have to trust me on this one.

Finally, on my last attempt to get it where I wanted flavor-wise, I heated a bowl of leftover stew for lunch and stirred a couple spoons of yogurt and a spoon of tahini directly in to the sauce pan.  Mixed together and heated through, I thought, Now we're talking.  It was rich with flavor but still healthy and light.

Lentil, Bulgar, and Spinach Soup
Adapted from The Australian Women's World Lebanese Cooking

2 liters water
1c brown lentils
1c bulgar
1/4c olive oil
2 medium white onions, finely diced
2 cloves garlic, grated
6 cups fresh baby spinach or 3 cups frozen spinach
2T coarsely chopped parsley
2T fresh lemon juice
1.5t salt

1.  Bring water to a boil in a large saucepan or dutch oven. (This is where you can add some stock).

2.  Add lentils and bulgar.  Cook on medium-low for 45 to 55 minutes until tender.

3.  While lentils and bulgar are cooking, heat oil in frying pan and cook onion and garlic until golden (approx. 10 minutes on med- low heat).

4.  Add spinach.  Cover and remove from heat.

5.  Incorporate spinach and onion mix into stew and heat until well combined.  Add 1.5t salt or more to taste.

6.  Stir in generous 1/2 cup plain yogurt, 1/4 cup tahini, and 2T lemon juice.

7.  Serve with fresh parsley on top.

Chicken Pot Pie

It's been one of those weeks where I'm not motivated to do very much. It doesn't help that it started getting light at 8:00 a.m. here this week. What's more, at 7:30 a.m. it's totally dark and feels like it should be 4:00 a.m. instead. Ugh. Alan reminded me that we'll turn the clocks back next weekend and then it will be lighter in the morning...but dark at 3:30 p.m. Lovely.

But let me tell you about some wonderful pot pies I made last week...when I was more energetic. You can find the recipe here. I've made pot pie from scratch before but always either with leftover rotisserie chicken or cooked pieces of boneless breast to add to the filling. For some reason--and it's worth saying it this way because boy is it a time killer--I decided this time that I would boil a whole chicken, make my own broth, and then de-bone the meat and use it and the broth for the pie.

Honestly, eating a pot pie that is 100 percent made from scratch is just the best. No worries about any fillers, chemicals, or puny vegetables. Having said that, making a pot pie this way is not for the faint of heart. It's not at all difficult, just very time consuming. So, if you have a couple extra hours laying around, please do yourself a favor and make this delicious recipe. It's absolutely perfect for these fall days that just keep getting shorter and shorter.

Savory Pies

I'm jealous of my neighbor who gets to look at this every day.

I am not a fan of corn. But still I give it a chance. That's because of it's beautiful shape and color, the fact that it's a summer staple, and--decobbed--my son will eat cups of the stuff. I'd been seeing a recipe for Tomato and Corn Pie pop up on several of my favorite food blogs, here and here. At first I was turned off by it because of the corn, but I continued to think it over and soon couldn't get it out of my mind. I had to try it. Maybe it was the biscuit crust or the fact that it's a one "pot" meal, something for which I'm a sucker. What's more, I like the notion of making this dish earlier in the day and then simply pulling it out of the fridge and baking it at dinner time. Same goes for the Spaghetti Pie. It takes the stress out of dinner time when you don't have to toil and fuss in the kitchen. I suppose you could even assemble these dishes the night before and stash them in the fridge to bake the next evening.

I conservatively adapted the recipe from Everybody Likes Sandwiches (second link above), who in turn adapted it from the Gourmet magazine version. I included fine ground cornmeal in my biscuit dough, a perfect complement to the corn kernels inside the pie.

While I can't take credit for the actual idea, the Spaghetti Pie is my own creation and can be modified in numerous ways. It's great for using up leftover spaghetti and I imagine virtually any other type of leftover pasta (though the large tubular shape of, say, penne could make it tough to get flat in your pie plate or spring form pan). After all, the goal here is to shape the pasta to the bottom and sides of your pan so you can add filling in the middle. I didn't have too many pizza or pasta-type ingredients on hand but found an unopened package of Canadian bacon slices in the back of my fridge along with a box of fresh mushrooms. I also went to the freezer and removed a bag of chopped, frozen spinach to add some greenness to the dish.

Spaghetti Pie is not the best meal you'll ever have but it's enjoyable to make, easy to prepare in advance, and fun to eat.

Spaghetti Pie

1 pie plate or 9" or 10" spring form pan

3-4 cups leftover (or cooked and cooled) spaghetti - eyeball how much will fit in your pan

1.5 T melted butter

2 eggs, beaten

1/2c grated Parmesan

1c cottage cheese (you could try substituting ricotta if you prefer)

1/4c sliced mushrooms

6-8 slices of Canadian bacon

1/2c chopped, frozen spinach (or 1c fresh baby spinach)

2T fresh basil, chopped (optional)

1-2c spaghetti sauce (depending on how dry or saucy you like your pie)

3/4c mozzarella

1. Mix spaghetti with butter, eggs, and Parmesan.

2. Form into pan pushing pasta up the sides; make a well in the center.

3. Add cottage cheese and layer on the toppings: mushrooms, Canadian bacon, spinach.

4. Pour over spaghetti sauce and top with mozzarella and basil. (Alternatively, mix the basil with the pasta before molding in the pan).

5. Bake at 350F for 25-35 minutes.

Note: I also thought this dish could benefit from some sauteed onions or garlic. Incorporate them where you see fit.

Chocolate Pudding, Roasted Tomatoes

The weather in Denmark has been unbelievably nice for seven consecutive days. It's most welcome but surprising because things here change so rapidly, and it's not at all uncommon to experience only one nice day sandwiched between five or six crappy ones. So when we had friends over for lunch on Saturday I was thrilled not only to have their company but to see sunny skies and warm temperatures, too.

I regret not photographing lunch. It was a beautiful vegetable couscous salad and marinated, grilled chicken breasts. I did, however, remember to take a shot of dessert. Maybe it's because I constantly have sweets on the brain. I found the couscous and chicken recipe on Dinner with Julie (who either got it from Epicurious.com or Bon Apetit). It's an excellent summer lunch and because you can prepare the salad the night before, it makes the day-of prep a breeze. All that's required is removing it from the fridge to get it close to room temperature before serving and tossing with toasted, slivered almonds and cilantro. Well in my case, just the almonds.

Because I can never find cilantro in my local markets, I thought Danes never used it, but our guests Soren and Mette said you can usually find it Fotex (not in Hobro's...at least not when I've looked) or Bilka, which is sort of a Danish version of Costco. The chicken is a snap. It gets marinated in olive oil, lemon juice, and seasonings for either 30 minutes at room temp. or a few hours in the fridge. Throw it on the grill for a 3-4 minutes on each side and it's ready to join the couscous. For those of you who want to try it, click on the links above.

When I perused my copy of Nigella Express for dessert ideas, I was drawn to a recipe for Budino Di Cioccolato (chocolate pudding) because, once again, I could prepare it ahead of time. Moreover, it's a cold dessert (not served straight from the fridge but still cold-ish) which is perfectly suitable for summer. My two words to describe it? Absolute heaven. So very creamy, smooth, and delicious. I sprinkled each dessert cup with a few colorful chocolate buttons and stuck a cookie stick inside (I can't remember the fancy name for them).

Budino Di Cioccolato from Nigella Express by Nigella Lawson

1c whole milk

1/2c heavy cream

1/3c sugar

1T cornstarch

1/3c cocoa

2T boiling water

2 egg yolks

1t vanilla extract

2 oz. dark chocolate, finely chopped

1. "Put the kettle on to boil water, and warm the milk and cream together either in a saucepan r the microwave.

2. Put the sugar and cornstarch into another saucepan and sift in the cocoa. Add the 2T boiling water and whisk to a paste.

3. Then whisk in the egg yolks, 1 at a time, followed by the warmed milk and cream, and then the vanilla extract.

4. Scrape down the sides of your pan and put it on the heat, cooking and whisking for about 3-4 minutes until the mixture thickens--if it helps, think of a consistency like mayonnaise.

5. Take off the heat and whisk in the finely chopped chocolate before pouring into 4 small cups or glasses each with a yield of about 2/3 of a cup.

6. Cover the tops of the cups with plastic wrap, laying it directly on top of the pudding to stop a skin from forming, and then refrigerate once they are cooler. Make sure they are not still fridge-cold when you serve them. You can add a blog of cream on top if you like."

My notes: I doubled the recipe and ended up with 7 ramekins of pudding. Also, I didn't bother with the plastic wrap step and it was just fine, not much of a skin at all.

Now, on to the tomatoes...

Lately, nearly every food blog I follow has posted something about roasted tomatoes. I've been salivating each time I see the photos and read the authors' comments about their deliciousness. So, Nigella came through for me once again with her recipe for what she calls "Moonblush Tomatoes." I love this recipe because not only is it ridiculously easy but it's like getting a wonderful surprise when they're finally ready. I put mine in the oven last night before bed and when I woke up this morning couldn't wait to remove them and eat some. Here's the thing, you turn the oven on and get it nice and hot and then once you place the tomatoes inside you immediately turn it off. This means you can either do like I did or if you'd rather, you can stick them in before you leave for work in the morning and come home to these beautiful, fragrant gems that are fabulous in salads, alongside fish, chicken, or steak, or simply eaten with some cheese and bread.

This morning I ate mine for breakfast with cottage cheese and a slice of toasted rugbrod (Danish rye bread). What a treat!

Moonblush Tomatoes from Nigella Express by Nigella Lawson

1lb, about 24, on-the-vine cherry or other baby tomatoes

2T olive oil

2t kosher salt

1t dried thyme

1/4t sugar

1. Preheat the oven to 450F.

2. Cut the tomatoes in half and sit them cut side up in an ovenproof dish. Sprinkle over the olive oil and seasonings.

3. Put them in the oven and immediately turn it off. Leave the tomatoes in the oven overnight or for a day without opening it.

My notes: I used less than a pound of tomatoes because I simply took what I had sitting on my counter. Some were on the vine and a few of them were larger (sandwich-type) tomatoes. Also, I used sea salt and lined my pan with aluminum foil to make clean-up easy.

I can't wait for lunch to get here.

Thank you Soren, Mette, Frederik, and Agnete for coming to visit us!

Vegetarian Risotto, I mean Chili

I'm hesitant to write about this risotto, oops, I mean chili because it looks NOTHING like the version from 101 Cookbooks that inspired me to make it in the first place. My chili was so thick you could stand a fork in it, and I probably should have added a lot more water than the 10 cups the recipe calls for. Because barley figures prominently, I'd almost call my version chili risotto. Having said that, it was just plain wonderful, so I'm going to write about it anyway.

I'll give you the link to Heidi Swanson's recipe right up front. My changes are as follows: I omitted the hot peppers and chickpeas (the chili powder made it spicy enough for my family, and I was out of chick peas). Then, after I had sauteed the onion, shallots, and spices, I realized that I did not have a single can or carton of diced tomatoes. That left me with only one solution: improvise like hell. I used a quarter jar of almost-too-old-to-use spaghetti sauce, a half-cup of leftover diced tomatoes, a quarter cup ketchup, and 6 finely diced tomatoes. It might sound like an odd combo, and Heidi Swanson would probably be aghast, but it actually worked in the end. In addition to this mixture, I added dry lentils, barley, and bulgar wheat.

Heidi has all kinds of ideas regarding great toppers for her chili. I left mine alone and loved it that way but added some fresh dill and cubes of feta for my blog photo. To my mind, it's not really chili season, but I'm so glad I have a pot of leftovers to last me a few days. If you're a fan of barley and bulgar, I suggest you try it. Instead of chili risotto, you'll probably end up with something far closer to the original recipe.

Phyllo...Revisited

I don't give up easily. When we visited Kira and Kevin last weekend I spent some time flipping through Kira's cookbook on Greek cuisine. I landed on a recipe for Spanakopita and saw that it included instructions for making phyllo dough from scratch. I loved this of course because of the sheer impossibility of buying phyllo in my town. arrgh. I love you, Jamie Oliver, but No, filo (as he calls it) is NOT available in all supermarkets nowadays (a maxim from Jamie at Home). At least not in Hobro, Denmark.

So the recipe intrigued me and I felt compulsed to tackle the challenge of making my own phyllo. It was not an east feat, trust me, but I managed to roll 8 individual layers that would end up enveloping the spinach filling. The sweat literally poured off me as I rolled each piece of dough as thin as paper. In a warm house, in summer. However, I wiped my brow before any dripped on to the dough, I promise.

I was pleased with the finished product even before I slipped it into the oven. Fully baked, I was even happier. While my phyllo was not nearly as light and flaky as the commercial variety, it was far better than I imagined it would be. I will definitely make this recipe again and each successive time I'll endeavor to roll the phyllo lighter and thinner. In the case of homemade phyllo, the adage practice makes perfect couldn't be more fitting.

Dough issues aside, what I love most about this pie is its filling. It's very simple and yet so darn delicious. I modified the recipe by adding cottage cheese and an egg to the spinach mix because, well, I like it this way. I think the combination of the white cheese and greens is both lovely and tasty.

Spanakopita

Adapted from The Best Traditional Recipes of Greek Cooking by Dimitri Haitalis

Filling

1/2 kilo (1lb, 2oz) fresh spinach

6 spring onions, finely chopped

1/2 teacup fresh dill, finely chopped

1.5 teacups olive oil

1.5c cottage cheese (optional)

1 large egg (optional)

salt and pepper

Dough

1/2 kilo (1lb 2oz) flour

2 eggs

1/2 teacup melted butter

1 teacup warm water

salt

1. Clean and wash the spinach meticulously, then drain well. Saute the onions in olive oil on medium heat until transparent but not brown. Shred spinach in large pieces and add to onions. Season to taste. Cook for 15 minutes until all the liquid is gone. Remove from heat and stir in dill.

3. Optional - in a bowl mix 1.5 cups cottage cheese with 1 large egg. Add a tiny bit of the warm spinach mix to the cold cheese mix and stir well. Then, in small amounts, keep adding spinach mix until it is all incorporated. Set aside and get on with preparing the phyllo dough.

4. Place flour in a bowl, add eggs, melted butter, salt and as much warm water as in necessary for a dough that is pliable. Knead well and roll out in thin pastry sheets with a rolling pin.

5. Line an oiled pan with a pastry sheet, brush with olive oil, then lay 2 or 3 pastry sheets on top brushing each one with olive oil. Spread filling evenly over the pastry sheets and cover with 3-4 more layers of pastry, oiled in the same way as previously.

6. Bake in a 180C or 350F oven for 45 minutes. Serve hot or cold.

My notes: Feel free to make the original version without cheese; I've included instructions if you want to add it though. Greek cooking uses teacup measurements. One teacup is equal to 3/4c. I really just eyeballed my measurements and probably used less olive oil than called for.

Asparagus and Potato Tart

Look at what my precious son brought me. He was so excited.

Other than accepting this beautiful flower from my son, the best part of being sick this week was receiving my new Jamie Oliver cookbook in the mail and laying in bed reading it. I remember watching him on TV years ago when the Food Network was just getting started. I've always admired his energy, creativity, and zest for life. He is one of a kind, no doubt about it. But until recently I hadn't thought much about his cookbooks. I had been hearing how great Jamie at Home is and decided to splurge on a copy, shipped from Amazon UK. It's not that the book is that expensive, but anything is a splurge when you're unemployed.


I'm only about a third of the way through it, and I've been impressed with the beauty and simplicity of the recipes. The book's chapters are divided into the four seasons and each season is broken up into sub-chapters. Right now I'm focused on the asparagus section in spring. There's a recipe I'm dying to try because it looks so darn delicious and fun: crispy pancetta wrapped asparagus that you dip in soft boiled eggs. In the book Jamie presents the topless soft boiled eggs in a purple supermarket egg carton. The bright green asparagus, deep yellow and white eggs, and the purple carton, well, the colors make for an extraordinary photo. I can't decide whether to make it now for my family of three (not exactly toddler food except for the hands-on part) or wait to serve it for breakfast or brunch with friends.

Tonight I adapted Jamie's recipe for Crispy and Delicious Asparagus and Potato Tart. I had hoped to follow it to the letter, but I only had two sheets of phyllo dough in my fridge (Jamie refers to it as filo and his recipe calls for 5) and I lacked one of the two cheeses it called for. Quick aside: if you are new to this blog, I'll just tell you that locating phyllo dough in Denmark is akin to finding a needle in a haystack. I'm not joking. I can't find it anywhere in our town and the last time I bought some was in Aarhus, Denmark's second largest city and well over an hour's drive from here. I bought two packages but I should have bought at least twice that. At least I know for next time.

But despite my short supply of phyllo and different cheese, I went for it. I like the fact that Jamie says you can use whatever kind of pan you prefer. I chose a 10" quiche pan. I lined it with one sheet of phyllo (which overlapped the pan) brushed it with melted butter, and repeated with my second sheet. I set that aside and got busy with the filling. To boiled, mashed potatoes, I added two types of cheddar. One a traditional mild yellow and the other white and sharp. Both are imports from Ireland. In another bowl I mixed 3 eggs with 2/3 cup heavy cream. The egg and cream mix got mixed in with the cheesy potato mix and 1/2 teaspoon of nutmeg was stirred in. I poured this into the phyllo lined tart and then decorated it with blanched asparagus spears.

The presentation is lovely. This is a very good dish but I would do a couple of things differently next time. First, I believe the amount of filling I poured in the pan was too much for the pan size. According to the photo in Jamie's book, the tart should be on the flat side. Mine was at least 1.5" thick, too thick I thought. Also, I would make sure I had the requisite 5 sheets of phyllo because I think it would make more of a crust that the filling needs.

But this is a terrific and easy lunch or dinner and goes great with a pile of greens on the side.

Asparagus and Potato Tart (from Jamie at Home)

500g potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

500g asparagus spears, woody ends removed

200g filo pastry

100g butter, melted

100g freshly grated Lancashire cheese

100g freshly grated Cheddar cheese

3 large organic or free-range eggs (Jamie has a whole section in his book about why you don't want to eat traditionally farmed eggs)

1 x284ml pot of double cream (I used a little more than a 1/2c of heavy cream)

1/4 of a nutmeg (would have preferred a whole nutmeg but used ground instead)

In Jamie's words:

Put your potatoes into a pan of salted boiling water and cook for 15 minutes. Meanwhile blanch your asparagus in a separate pan of salted boiling water for 4 minutes, and drain in a colander.

Preheat the oven to 190C/375F/gas 5. Get an ovenproof dish--I've used many different shapes and sizes. Layer the sheets of filo pastry in the dish, brushing them with melted butter as you go and letting about a 2.5 cm hand over the edge. You want to get the pastry about five layers thick. Put a clean, damp tea towel over the top and put to one side.

When the potatoes are done, mash them with the cheeses. In a separate bowl, mix the eggs and cream and stir into your cheesy mashed potato. Grate in the nutmeg, season well with pepper and mix together. Spread the mashed potato over the filo pastry, then bring up the sides of the filo and scrunch them together to form a rim. Take your blanched asparagus and line them up across the filling, making sure you cover it all. Brush all over with the remaining melted butter [a step I forgot] and pop into the preheated oven for around 20 minutes, or until golden and crisp. Allow to rest for 10 minutes. Serve just as you would a quiche for a quick lunch or supper, with a salad.

Serves 4

Food for Invalids

Why did I bother? I just asked my husband which of the 10 or so photos he liked best of tonight's dinner of white fish and veggie puree. Alan: "You know what's the problem? The plate. You should have used a different one." But don't worry, he said, you can Photo shop it and make the rim blue instead of yellow." Me: "Yeah...okay...I'll get right on that." I must admit, he has a point about the veggie puree unintentionally ending up the same color as the rim on our bowls, but no mistake equals the punishment of monkeying around with Photo shop.

Since we're still recovering from this nasty cold virus that's hit our household, I made fish and veggies, the most nutritious and easy thing I could think of. The fish is local and is a relative of cod. I simply sprinkled it with a little salt and dried tarragon and baked it for 15 minutes. On the stove top I sauteed leeks and a little bit of butter in a large saucepan. After it cooked for a few minutes, I added chopped carrots, asparagus, and potatoes along with a little salt and a couple cups of water. It cooked for 25 minutes and then I passed the mix through a food mill to puree it. I added the finished puree back to the saucepan, incorporated a tablespoon of butter, and that was it. I wasn't sure how the fish would taste sitting right on the puree, but it was actually quite good. I squeezed fresh lemon over the whole thing and mixing a bit of fish with a bit of puree on the fork was a delicious combination. When he was eating it, Alan didn't even notice the yellow rimmed plate.

A quick note about my title: I have this incredible cookbook that I've had for many years called The American Woman's Cookbook, first published in 1938 and last published in 1943. I picked it up at a garage sale when I was in college, and I've referred to it at different times over the years. While it is full of wonderful and basic information on practically any food you can think of, it offers some very archaic advice. For example, an entire chapter is devoted to Food and Beverages for Invalids, intended to "help the housewife who, in addition to her other work, has the duty of ministering to the needs of the sick and convalescent." Thus the inspiration for today's blog title. Don't you love it?

White Fish and Veggie Puree

Four, card-deck size (or thereabouts) fillets of cod or other white fish

1/2 t sea salt

1/2 t tarragon

olive oil for the baking dish

1. Place a piece of foil in your baking pan and drizzle with 1T of olive oil. You don't have to line the pan with foil, but I do this because I'm lazy and prefer washing a minimum number of dishes.

2. Place fillets in the pan, sprinkle with salt and and tarragon

3. Bake at 350F for 15-18 minutes

Veggie Puree

1 large leek, chopped into rings and washed (I immerse my chopped rings into a bowl of cold water to get all the sand and dirt out)

2T butter

3 medium carrots, peeled (I leave the peel on if they're organic) and cut into 1/4" rounds

8 or 9 small potatoes (new potato size), 2 large, or 4 medium

1/2 bunch asparagus, ends trimmed and cut into 1" pieces

2-3 cups of water

1t salt

1. In a large saucepan, saute leeks in 1T butter for 5-6 minutes until soft and translucent.

2. Add the rest of the veggies, water, and salt (the water should barely cover the veggies---if you want soup, add more water) and bring to a boil.

3. Once it boils, reduce heat to a strong simmer and cook 20-25 minutes until veggies will easily mash with a fork.

4. Remove from heat and either pass through a food mill or puree in a blender, in batches.

5. Add puree back to saucepan and incorporate remaining 1T butter and season to taste.

Serve with fish.

Keema and Naan

Good news:  we're having the best visit with my brother and...Anatole is well again!  That means I can sneak back onto my blog for a bit before I shut down and get outside to enjoy this beautiful Danish summer day.  

I don't remember from where I lifted these recipes for Indian Keema and Naan, but they're excellent. I was flipping through and old issue of Rachael Ray Magazine and found some sheets of notebook paper stuffed inside, and on one of them I found these recipes I'd hand written. I'll include the recipes although I give full disclosure that I don't know who to credit them to. 

This particular Keema is comprised of ground beef and veal, tomatoes, spices, peas, and lemon juice.  It's simmered on the stove awhile so all the flavors mix together, the chopped fresh tomatoes sort of melt into tiny pieces, and the peas get cooked.  It makes its own sauce, too. Because I prepare only one dinner (not something different for Anatole), I left out the hot chilies.  And anyway, as I've mentioned before, we're not big on spicy.  But my brother is and he brought out our neglected bottle of Thai chili sauce and added it to his plate.  Alan and I copied and it was a really wonderful addition.  Unfortunately, we had to omit the cilantro because it's nearly impossible to find in our town (but occasionally we do).

Store-bought bread-aisle Naan doesn't hold a candle to homemade.  It just doesn't.  I love this recipe because it's got plain yogurt in it and it's extremely fun to make.  After the prepared dough has sat for 2 hours, you cut it into 8 pieces, roll each into a ball and then, with a wine bottle, glass, or rolling pin, roll into a long oval and bake.  The bread gets puffy and golden brown and is a fantastic match for the Keema.  You could substitute lamb for the beef/veal and it would work splendidly.  

Keema

2T veg oil

1 onion, minced

8oz ground veal

8oz ground beef

salt and pepper

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 firm ripe tomatoes, diced (I used 4)

1T minced ginger root or 1t ground ginger

1t garam masala (I upped it to 2t to compensate for no chilies)

1t minced fresh hot green chilies

3c frozen peas

1 lemon, juiced, or to taste 

2-3T minced fresh cilantro

1.  Warm oil until hot.  Add onion and cook, stirring for 5 minutes.  Add veal and beef.  Salt and pepper to taste.  Cook until no longer pink.

2.  Add garlic through chilies.  Cook, stirring for 5 minutes.  Add peas and continue to cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally for 10-15 more minutes.  (I cooked mine on the long side to meld the flavors and generate more sauce).

3.  Remove from heat, stir in lemon juice and cilantro, and correct seasoning adding more salt if necessary (I did).

Naan

4c flour

1t baking powder

1/4t baking soda

1t salt

1 egg, lightly beaten

6T plain yogurt (I used Greek yogurt) - room temp

3T butter or ghee, melted

3/4c lukewarm milk

1.  Sift flour through salt in bowl.  Stir in egg, yogurt, and butter.  Gradually stir in enough milk to make a soft dough.  

2.  Knead well.  Cover with a damp cloth and place in warm place for 2 hours.

3.  Preheat oven to 400F.  Knead dough on a floured surface for 2-3 minutes until smooth. Divide into 8 pieces.  Roll each piece into a ball and then into ovals about 6-8" in length.  

4.  Grease a baking sheet with oil.  Brush both sides of rolled out Naan with oil.  Bake 6-10 minutes until puffy and light golden brown.

Marginal Shrimp but Great Recipe

This week's veggie box is great but not unlike the boxes of previous weeks. The only new items are a small watermelon from Spain and a cute little box of sprouts from Holland. At least I think that's what they are. I looked up the Dutch word Mosterdkers on Google Translate and it said "cherry mustard," in English. How mysterious. I'm guessing they'll make a terrific salad addition.

Dinner tonight was a shrimp dish I made many times last year. The recipe is extremely easy and comes from Real Simple magazine. It has a mere eight ingredients, four of which are garlic, olive oil, and salt and pepper. The others are shrimp, scallions, feta, and roasted red peppers. I visited five different markets to find roasted red peppers, but no luck. The peppers I bought were pickled but not roasted, and they just don't impart the same flavor as the charred peppers do. Another stumbling block: no freezer means either buying fresh shrimp in the market (impossible in my town) or buying frozen and using it the same day. Which is what I did. But I wasn't that impressed with the quality of the shrimp and overall, the dish was not nearly as good as I recall from the past. I still enjoyed it--especially dipping slices of fresh baguette into the juices generated during cooking--but it didn't wow me. By the way, I'm not happy with my photos for today's post. The sprouts and baked shrimp in particular are too dark. And the pre-cooked shrimp mix looks too red and bright. More practice with the camera: Check!

Shrimp with Roasted Peppers and Feta (adapted from Real Simple)

1 12-oz jar roasted red peppers

1 bunch scallions

2 cloves garlic

1.5 lbs large shrimp, peeled and deveined

8-oz feta

2T olive oil

1/2t salt

1/2t pepper

Heat oven to 400F or 200C, hollow square setting!

1. Drain the peppers and cut into 1" pieces. Slice the scallions and garlic cloves. Combine all three ingredients into a bowl with the shrimp, oil, salt, and pepper.

2. Place mix in individual baking dishes or large casserole. Crumble feta on top and bake until the shrimp are cooked through and the feta begins to brown, about 20 minutes.

Serves 4

The dish is great served with a green salad and crusty bread. A glass of white wine would be good, too.