Salsa!

Momma ripped out a magazine insert with three different salsa recipes. We needed something to take to a party, so we riffed off two of the recipes to make our own.

1 c diced pineapple
1/2 c finely diced red onion
1/2 c diced cucumber
1 clove garlic, minced
2 T chopped cilantro
2 T grated ginger
squeeze of lemon
drizzle of honey
salt and pepper to taste
Mix together and let rest 1 hour in the fridge.

For this salsa, the heat comes from the ginger, aided by the garlic and onion, and the acidity of the pineapple, rather than the traditional chilies.
So for an onion and garlic free version for myself, I upped the ginger and cilantro and black pepper. Tastes wonderful with blue corn chips, and would go nicely over baked chicken breasts or thighs. (Put lemon slices on the chicken pieces before roasting them, and then serve them over spinach with the salsa. Would be so good.)

1 c diced pineapple
1/3 c diced cucumber
1/4- 1/3 c chopped cilantro
4 T grated ginger (or more!)
Lemon juice
Honey
salt and LOTS of black and white pepper

I'm also reading Jamie Oliver's Cook with Jamie. It's an excellent cookbook, has a huge section of delicious-looking salads (if we only had the greens!), pastas, then goes through things to do with different meats (lots of seafood), a section on veggies, and some desserts. I wish the veggies took up the whole book. We don't really eat meat in our house, we eat pasta only rarely since Mum can't eat it anymore, so I'm not feeling entirely inspired. But the things he does with carrots! We're running out of carrots in our fridge!

And in other news, there's a new food and cooking channel on TV, the Cooking Channel. They have Julia Child on, Monday through Friday at 1pm Central time! And I got to watch "the Galloping Gourmet" for the first time yesterday. He's a scream.

Beef and Porter Pie, give or take

Butter and olive oil for sauteeing
Half to 2 pounds ground/any type beef
1 onion, chopped
Middle of the garlic head/a few huge cloves, minced
2 carrots, sliced
2 celeries, sliced
7 big baby bella caps, chopped
1 bottle porter or any dark beer
Some water
Few pinches of thyme
Bay leaf
Salt and pepper
IT butter and IT flour for roux (optional)
Pie dough

Cook meat, saute veggies, pour liquid into veggies and simmer for ages or add a roux. Put it all together and bake at 425 until crust looks good or someone bites your arm. Eat with peas and cheese-covered cauliflower for optimal effect.

And this one too . . .

I found the website for Saveur magazine. Typing in "apples" brought up so many wonderful things!
From http://ourchocolateshavings.blogspot.com/2009/09/apple-pudding.html:

Apple Pudding
Serves 4

2 big apples (I used Cortland), peeled, cored and roughly chopped
1/2 lemon, juice and zest
2 x 1/4 cup of brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
1/4 cup of self-rising flour
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
50 grams of room temperature butter
1 egg

Preheat your oven to 350F.
In a small bowl, combine the apple pieces, lemon juice and zest, cinnamon and brown sugar. Set aside.

In a another bowl, using an electrical mixer, beat the butter and sugar (about 2 minutes). Add the the egg and vanilla extract until just combined. Slowly add in the flour until just combined. Divide the apple mixture into 4 individual ramekins and spoon over the flour mixture. Bake for 40-45 minutes. Enjoy!

Remind me to make this

Buttery Apple Cake-Tart

This recipe started life as Ligita's Quick Apple Cake, which is a classic recipe in itself. As things tend to do in my kitchen, however, this evolved, and now it's a close relative of Ligita's cake, but definitely its own dessert. For one, I bake it in a shallow tart pan, which allows for maximum crustiness and a somewhat lighter texture. I've also taken out the cinnamon, which I felt was masking the delicate flavor of the browned butter, and replaced it with a vanilla bean, since vanilla bean sauteed in brown butter is one of the best things ever, trust me. The result is something really unique, like I said, a cross between a cake and a tart, crisp and soft, buttery, fragrant and fruity. And trust me again, you will want some whipped cream or ice cream alongside.
Source: adapted from Classic Home Desserts by Richard Sax
Yield: one thin, 11-inch cake; serves 8

3 large tart apples, such as Granny Smith, peeled, cored and thinly sliced
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
3/4 cup (150g) plus 3 tablespoons sugar
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks/180g) unsalted butter
1/2 vanilla bean, split in half lengthwise (i.e. cut a bean in half crosswise, then split the half lengthwise)
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup (140g) all-purpose flour, sifted
1/4 teaspoon salt
Vanilla-flavored whipped cream or ice cream, for serving

Preheat the oven to 350F/175C. Generously butter an 11-inch (28cm) nonreactive tart pan or other similarly-sized glass or ceramic baking dish. Toss the apples in a bowl with the lemon juice and 2 tablespoons of the sugar. Spread the apples evenly in the prepared pan.

Combine the butter and vanilla bean in a small saucepan (not nonstick - you need to be able to see the butter change color). Cook the butter over medium until the milk solids are light brown and the whole thing smells deeply nutty, about 7-10 minutes. Watch carefully to avoid burning.

Allow to cool for a few minutes, then remove the vanilla bean (add it to your extract!) and pour the browned butter into a medium-sized bowl, scraping the black vanilla seeds and browned butter solids in too. Stir the 3/4 cup (150g) sugar into the butter. Gently stir in the eggs; stir in the flour and salt just until blended. Spoon the batter evenly over the apples and spread into an even layer. Sprinkle with the remaining 1 tablespoon sugar.

Bake until lightly golden and crusty, 30 to 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan on a wire rack. Cut into wedges and serve from the pan warm, with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

Update: so I made this and it was pretty good but just way too sweet. Next time I won't toss the apples with sugar and I'll cut the sugar in the custard to about 1/2 cup.

Delicious placebo

We're all sick. Chicken soup makes it better. As does coffee.




4 big cloves of garlic, chopped
4 quarter-sized leeks (white and light green parts), chopped & rinsed meticulously
7 large, or to taste, baby bella mushrooms, sliced thin
2 glugs olive oil

2 small celery sticks, sliced
1 or 2 carrots, sliced thin
Bay leaf or two, salt, thyme, tarragon, oregano, poultry seasoning? (just don't go by color)
1/4c nutritional yeast (well worth the trip to the co-op or whatever hippie store)
2 boxes of chicken broth, or enough canned to submerge all the goodies

Black pepper
Noodles or some kind of grain, cooked
Parmesan cheese (optional)

Get the biggest pot you have and saute the leeks, garlic, and shrooms until the mushroom juice is almost all reabsorbed. Then throw in the stuff up to the broth, cook just until carrots are edible, and administer pepper, carbs, and cheese at will.