Roasted Chick Pea & Carrot Salad

It's my favourite kind of dish: something that looks fancy, but is really no more difficult to put together than any other salad. The extra requirement is simply a little roasting time. This would be a good dish for New Year's Eve or New Year's Day, when lots of people eat beans for good luck. They represent little coins, perhaps, and the carrot slices will reinforce that idea very well.

You could serve a simple protein dish with this salad, but some nice crusty bread would make it a meal in itself.

If you can only get pumpkin seeds that are already roasted and salted, don't add them in to the vegetables to be roasted, but put them in with the lettuce. I'd cut the salt back quite a bit too, in that case. 

4 to 6 servings
1 hour - 15 minutes prep time

Roast the Vegetables:
1 540 ml (19 ounce) chick peas
250 grams (1/2 pound) medium sized but thin carrots
3 or 4 shallots
1/3 cup raw pumpkin seeds
3 tablespoons sunflower OR olive oil
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cumin seeds, ground
freshly ground black pepper to taste
1/2 teaspoon Aleppo pepper

Preheat the oven to 400°F. 

Rinse and drain the chick peas well. Scrub or peel the carrots, trim them, and cut them into slices not too much larger than the chick peas. Peel and sliver the shallots. Toss them all on a large baking tray with the raw pumpkin seeds and the oil.

Grind the cumin with the salt then mix in the pepper and Aleppo pepper. Sprinkle over the vegetables and toss again.

Roast for 20 to 30 minutes, stirring once in the middle, until done to your liking. Put the tray on a rack and let them cool for another 15 minutes.

Finish the Salad:
the juice of 1/2 large lemon
1 tablespoon sunflower OR olive oil
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
half a bunch of greenhouse lettuce OR 2 cups pea or sunflower greens
  OR 1/2 cup chopped parsley and other herbs

Juice the lemon and mix it with the oil and mustard while the vegetables are roasting. As they cool, mix the dressing in with them.

Wash and dry the lettuce, and chop it fairly finely. Toss it with the cooled vegetables and transfer everything to a serving platter. Serve at once.

Lettuce could be replaced with pea or sunflower micro-greens, or if making this in the spring, with parsley and a touch of chives, cilantro, dill, or mint.




Last year at this time I made Oyster Mushroom Chowder with Saffron

Pumpkin Seed & Bean Purée with Roasted Lamb Chops & Oil-Poached Garlic

I've always been a bit dismayed by recipes that combined 2 types of protein; beans and meat. I was raised in the era of nutritionists assuring everyone that while we need protein, too much is not good. Furthermore, I spent my early adulthood seriously lacking in money. Serving multiple types of protein at once not only seemed a bit profligate, but was generally beyond my means.

Now that I'm trying to eat more protein and fewer carbs I have to re-think this whole attitude. I'm trying to keep my meat consumption at about what it was before, since when it comes to meat, the too much is not good idea still holds a fair bit of water. Essentially that means upping my bean consumption.

Long story short, here's some lamb chops on a bean purée. Very good too, if a bit fancy for everyday. However, as usual, nothing difficult and lots that can be done in advance. The bean purée is essentially a hummus, and if you don't serve it all, the leftovers can be treated as such, and served with chips or crudités. I'm likely to make it again for just that purpose. The garlic and garlic oil too, will have other uses, which is good, since you will only use about 1/4 of them in this recipe. The oil, if put in a very clean jar should last well, but I would try to use the garlic up within a week or so. Keep refrigerated.

4 servings
to make Oil-Poached Garlic - 1 hour - 20 minutes prep time
to make Pumpkin Seed & Bean Purée - 15 minutes prep time,
    not including cooking beans or toasting pumpkin seeds
to roast the lamb chops - 25 minutes - 5 minutes prep time

Make the Oil Poached Garlic: 
3 to 4 heads of garlic
1 cup mild vegetable oil

Peel the garlic and trim the root ends off. Put them in the top of double boiler with the oil. Bring the double boiler up to a boil, then reduce the heat slightly so that it is boiling at a slow but steady clip. Cook the garlic for 45to 50 minutes, until soft but not mushy. The oil can show small streams of bubbles, but should not be hotter than that. Check that the water level does not drop too low.

Strain the garlic from the oil, and put each in suitable separate storage containers, as you will have a fair bit of each left over. 

Make the Pumpkin Seed & Bean Purée:
1 1/2 cups pumpkin seeds, toasted
4 to 6 oil-poached cloves of garlic
2 to 3 cloves raw garlic
1 teaspoon sweet Hungarian paprika
freshly ground black pepper to taste
3 tablespoons garlic-flavoured oil (from poaching)
the juice of 1 large lemon
2 cups cooked white beans (1 cup raw)
salt if required

Toast the pumpkin seeds in a dry skillet until lightly browned if they are not already roasted and salted, and let them cool on a plate.

Put the pumpkin seeds, cooked and raw garlic, paprika, pepper, and oil into a food processor and process until very finely chopped; puréed is what you are aiming for but I don't think you are going to achieve it quite yet. Stop and scrape the sides down several times. When the mixture is very fine, add the lemon juice and process some more.

When the lemon juice is in well and you cannot see any flecks of pumpkin seed, begin adding the white beans and blend thoroughly. Taste and adjust the seasonings.

I used this right away and it was good, but we both agreed that the leftovers were better, so if you can make this from several hours to the day before, that will be good.

Roast the Lamb Chops:
8 (900 grams; 2 pounds) lamb chops
salt & freshly ground black pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Have your skillet or grill in the oven to pre-heat too. If using a roasting pan, put a little water in the bottom of it to prevent the drippings from smoking.

The lamb chops should be removed from the fridge to come to room temperature before cooking them.Season the chops on both sides with the salt and pepper. Place the chops in the pre-heated cast iron skillet or roasting pan, on their edges with the fatty sides down. Cover loosely with foil. Roast for 12 to 15 minutes. Remove the foil from the chops and continue roasting for another 5 to 7 minutes. Let sit in the pan for another 5 or 6 minutes to rest.

The beans should be heated while the lamb is in the oven; grease a shallow pan into which they will fit, and put it in the oven while the lamb cooks. The exact time will vary according to the depth of the pan and the temperature of the beans to start with. My beans were just warm and spread fairly shallow, and were hot within 10 minutes. Otherwise, they may take longer. It wouldn't hurt to cover them with foil too, and they will need a good stir once they come out as they will crust over a little.

Serve Up:
Put a good dollop (1/4) of the warm bean purée on each plate. Top with 2 of the cooked lamb chops. Slice or mince a clove of the poached garlic over each plate to garnish. Serve at once.  

Rye Spaetzle with Caraway

This was the final dish of a menu consisting of Broiled Muscovy Duck Breast, Braised Belgian Endive, and the spaetzle. It looks a little plain - it's noodles, basically - but I have to say this is the dish that is going to stick in my memory, and which I intend to make again regularly. I am late to discovering how fast and easily spaetzle can be made, and I regret it. All those wasted years! But now I know. It helped, I think, to have a colander with fairly large holes that work well for forming the little dumplings, but I have to admit I have purchased a spaetzle maker for the next batch. This is an unusual one, which doubles as a perforated pot lid.

The rye flour worked perfectly. The caraway seeds, in my opinion were what really made these special, and the tang of the buttermilk added to the joy.

Mr. Ferdzy must have really liked them too. I was planning various things to do with the leftovers - sautéed with vegetables and sprinkled with cheese; fried with bacon, put in vegetable soup as noodles - but the quantity of leftovers is just pitiful. I guess I could throw them in some soup but it hardly seems worth the effort. They may disappear as someone's midnight snack anyway.

And as is traditional around now, it's time to step away from the computer and go spend time with the family. I hope all my readers have happy holidays, and may we all have an excellent New Year.

4 to 6 servings
15 minutes prep time plus some wait time

2 cups whole rye flour
1 teaspoon caraway seeds, OPTIONAL
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 large chicken eggs OR 2 large duck eggs
about 1 1/4 cup buttermilk

Mix the flour, caraway seeds, and salt in a mixing bowl. Break in the eggs, and whisk about 1 cup of the buttermilk in with them, then stir it all together to form a smooth batter. Let it rest for 30 minutes to an hour if you can, before you cook the spaetzle, although it is not absolutely required.

Put a large pot of salted water on to boil. Check the consistency of the batter - it should be like a thick pancake batter. I needed to add another 1/4 cup of buttermilk, but be prepared for it to vary slightly. When the water boils - which should be about 5 minutes before you are ready to serve dinner, because these little jobbies cook amazingly fast - transfer the batter to a colander (or spaetzle maker, if you have one) and press the batter through the colander using a spatula. Obviously, you want to hold the colander over the boiling water while the batter goes into it. Your third arm will come in extremely handy here - in this case attached to Mr. Ferdzy. Seriously, I am at a bit of a loss to see how this can be done by one person alone. I mean it could be, if you didn't mind a quarter of the batter all over the place, but I do.

Anyway, once all the batter is in, in little squiggles, or at least as much of it as you are going to get in, let it cook in the rapidly boiling water until they all float. This will be just about enough time to quickly wash the colander so you can use it to drain them - 3 or 4 minutes is all they will take. Serve 'em hot, with a pat of butter if nothing else, but creamy cheeses, gravy drenched meats, or saucy vegetables will all be appropriate ladled over them.




Last year at this time I made Curried Parsnips Roasted with Apples & Shallots and also Oslo Kringle.

Braised Belgian Endive in a Ginger Clementine Sauce

Clementines are not local, but they are certainly a familiar fruit of the season. They make a great sweet and tangy sauce for slightly bitter Belgian endives. Later in the winter you could use other oranges to supply the juice - most of those will be big enough that one will do.

This is a very quick and easy recipe, but it does require several minutes of very concentrated attention right at the end, as you cook the sauce down.

4 servings
30 minutes - 10 minutes prep time

4 medium-large Belgian endives
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 clementines
1 teaspoon finely grated ginger
1 teaspoon honey
1 tablespoon soy sauce

Wash and trim the endives, and cut them in half. Heat the butter in a medium skillet over medium heat. When it begins to sizzle, add the endive halves, round side down. Add a tablespoon of water to the pan to help cook them. Cook for 5 or 6 minutes then turn them over.

Meanwhile, juice the clementines. Leave the juice in the lemon juicer, but remove any seeds. Peel and grate the ginger and add it to the juice. Add the honey and soy sauce to the juice.

When the endives are turned over, pour in the clementine juice, etc. Continue to cook the endives over medium heat until quite tender, about 10 minutes more. Transfer them to a serving dish using a slotted spoon, then turn up the heat and cook the remaining sauce in the pan for a few minutes until thickened. Watch it carefully; it can turn just a shade brown but that is the signal to remove it from the stove and pour it over the endives at once. Serve as soon as the sauce is put on.




Ha, ha! Oh look - last year at this time I made Endive, Walnut, Cranberry & Blue Cheese Salad.

Broiled Muscovy Duck Breast

I actually made this before I made the Braised Muscovy Duck that I posted a while back. Once I had the duck broken down and the stock cooking, I decided we should make a start on eating the duck that night. It was a big duck - just shy of 9 pounds - and I figured we might as well get going. I won't get into the details of cutting up the duck here; you can refer to the Braised Duck recipe.

My Mom came over to help us eat it, and there was still enough left over for a good serving. Muscovies are big ducks. They are not even the same species as other ducks, and their meat is very beef-like. However, the breast meat is still best served quite rare.

This is basically the technique from this recipe at Epicurious, although my duck breasts must have been almost twice the size of the ones they called for. They did need more time to cook, but not twice as long, because not all the increase (or perhaps even that much of it) was in the thickness.

Since I was serving it with the Rye Caraway Spaetzle and Braised Belgian Endive with Ginger-Clementine Sauce I felt there were already plenty of flavours going on, and it did not need a sauce. Duck generally goes with robust fruity flavours and acidity to help balance out the richness of the meat, or the drippings under the pan could be used to make gravy, although I just added them to the duck stock.

3 to 4 servings
30 minutes 10 minutes prep

1 breast from 1/2 of a 4 to 5 kilo (8 to 10 pound) Muscovy duck
salt & freshly ground black pepper

Take the duck breast from the refrigerator 20 minutes to half an hour before you cook it. About 5 minutes before you cook it, put enough water into the bottom of a broiler pan to cover it, and put it in the oven about 4" or 5" from the broiler (not that you will have much choice; hopefully this is the distance when using the top rack.) Preheat the broiler and pan.

Meanwhile, pat the duck breast dry with a paper towel and cut a diamond grid into the skin. You don't need to cut it completely through in every place, and you should avoid cutting into the meat as much as possible. The cuts should be about 1/2" apart.

When the broiler pan is hot remove it from the oven - I suggest you have some trivets set up to receive it as the odds are good your stove-top is fully occupied at this time - and place the prepared duck breast on it skin side down.

Cook the duck for 8 to 10 minutes under the broiler... make sure your fan is running on high. Move the pan to the trivets again and turn the duck breast over with a large spatula, checking that it is loosened completely before turning it. Season it generously with salt and pepper and return it to the oven for a further 8 to 10 minutes. Exact times will vary depending on how thick the duck breast is and how rare you like it. If you wanted it only just pink though, I would give it another 2 or 3 minutes on each side.

When the duck comes out of the oven after being cooked on both sides, cover it loosely with some foil and let it rest for 5 to 6 minutes before carving. Serve at once.




Last year at this time I made Brussels Sprouts Zeytinyagli.

Savory Leek & Dried Tomato Cheesecake in a Rye Crust

I'm on a rye kick (I think the leeks go without saying). Most of the bread I eat is now rye, and the more I have it the more I like it. It works quite well for pastry, although I can't see it going with everything. Savory applications are probably the best, and it worked very well with this cheesecake.

I made one large cheesecake and we ate it as our main course, but I can see this doing very well made into muffin-sized mini cheesecakes and used as an appetizer or as part of a holiday buffet. I got some mascarpone on half price which is what inspired me to make this, but I have to say that while it was delicious it was insanely rich. I think next time I would use ricotta. A combination of the 2 might be good, but then you would have leftovers of each. Either way a good crunchy green salad is the perfect thing to have with this, to balance out all the rich cheese and buttery rye crust.

6 to 16 servings
2 hours 30 minutes - 1 hour 15 minutes prep time

Make the Crust:
1 1/2 cups whole (dark) rye flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/3 cup cold unsalted butter
6 or 7 tablespoons ice-cold water

Measure the flour into a mixing bowl and stir in the salt and baking powder. Grate in the butter. I drop the butter into the flour to coat it before I start, and repeat every time I get about a quarter of it grated. Stir the grated butter gently into the flour each time. Once all the butter is in, cut it in some more with a pastry cutter until it is in small pea-sized bits.

Add about 5 tablespoons of the water and stir it in with a fork. Add a little more water as needed until you can work the mixture into a smooth, fairly dry dough. Try not to add too much water, in other words. Once the mixture is in a smooth ball, put it back in the bowl and cover it with a cloth. Let it rest for about 20 minutes.

Line the bottom of a 9" spring-form pan with parchment paper. Preheat the oven to 375°F.

Pat the dough evenly over the bottom of the pan (don't put it into the ring yet). Let it be a little thicker in the inch around the outside. Then, put on the ring and close the clip. Press the extra dough around the edges up the sides a little, about half an inch or so. Make sure the dough is even, then prick it all over with a fork. Bake for 12 to 14 minutes at 375°F until the dough is dry and slightly puffed.

This can be done in advance. If you are continuing right away, reduce the oven to 325°F.

Make the Filling & Bake the Cheesecake:
1/2 cup dried tomatoes
3 large leeks (3 cups when sliced)
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 teaspoon salt
freshly ground black pepper to taste
a few grates of nutmeg
2 large eggs
475 grams (1 tub) mascarpone OR ricotta cheese
2 tablespoons rich milk, light cream, buttermilk, OR yogurt
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Put the dried tomatoes into a sturdy bowl and cover them with boiling water. Cover the bowl and let them soak for 10 to 15 minutes, then drain them well. Chop them up if they are too large - they should be about 1/2" in any direction at most.

Trim the leeks, discarding the roots and dark green parts of the leaves. Cut each leek in half lengthwise, then in short slices across. Put them in a strainer and rinse them thoroughly. Drain well.

Heat the butter in a medium skillet over medium heat. Once it is melted, add the well-drained leeks and cook them for about 10 minutes, stirring regularly. They should soften up quite a lot, but not be permitted to get brown.

Heat the oven to 325°F, if it is not there already. 

Mix the leeks and tomatoes in a mixing bowl. When they are cool enough that they will not cook them, break in the eggs and mix well. Season with the salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Add the soft cheese  about 1/3 at a time, and mix it in well. Mix in the cream (or whatever) and the grated Parmesan.

Scrape the mixture 0nto the baked crust. Spread it out evenly. Bake the cheesecake for 1 hour and 10 or 15 minutes until lightly browned and firm in the middle. Let it cool. Serve barely warm or at room temperature. If made in advance and refrigerated, it should be brought back to room temperature before serving.




Last year at this time I made Matcha-White Chocolate Chip Cookies.

Christmas is Coming

Christmas is coming! The geese are as fat as they are going to get, I imagine, and more to the point the turkeys are too. I thought I would round up links to some holiday-appropriate dishes (cooookkkiiieeesss) most of which I am not going to make this year, since we will be going to Windsor in accordance with our new custom. But maybe you could! There's a ton more things that are appropriate for holiday fare that I couldn't squeeze in here, so don't forget to check the side headings. Also, you will find most of my recipes organized as photos at my Pinterest board.

Appetizers and Other Tidbits:

Louise's Emergency Salsa Dip

It may have been born during an "emergency" but it's fast, and it's easy,  and it uses things you may already have, so now it's a regular feature.

Carrot Dip or Spread

An early example of the now ubiquitous vegetable based "hummus" dips, and as such a little healthier than some holiday fare.

Sunflower Vegetable Paté

I've been leaving out the potato for a little chick pea flour and seasoning it with poultry seasoning to make a low-carb stuffing (dressing) substitute. But it's really good in its original form, too!

Soups & Salads:

Curried Roasted Parsnip & Apple Soup

You will need to make the curry powder for this, since it is now next to impossible to buy a decent one, but the link is there and this soup is faaaaabulous!

Cream of Rutabaga Soup

Rutabaga...? you say; and I say, YES! It makes a really good soup! A traditional winter vegetable, and not too heavy to start a big holiday meal.

Spinach, Avocado, & Mango Salad

Not very local or seasonal but once in a while it's good to splash out a bit... and this salad is what I consider to be the platonic ideal of salads.

Strawberry Cucumber Salad

I made this in early summer, but now strawberries, cucumbers, and lettuce are all available in the winter from greenhouses, making this a rare salad that can be made from local produce in December.

Main Events:

Vegan "Turkey" Roast

Turkey for people who don't eat turkey, and maybe even for people who do eat turkey.

Duck Terrine Roasted in the Duck Skin

A little time consuming, but an extremely good way to make a small duck go further, and really tasty too.

Braised Turkey

A better way to cook turkey for best quality light AND dark meat. Most of the carving is done in advance, too, for less stress at serving time. 

Roasting a Stuffed Free-Range Turkey

Which cooks a little differently than the factory farmed ones, something to be aware of if that's what you get.

Side Dishes:

Brussels Sprouts au gratin

A special treatment for a special treat. I have to say, I really love Brussels sprouts cooked this way.

Brussels Sprouts, Leeks & Carrots

If you are looking for a lighter treatment for the sprouts, this one is an excellent choice.

Braised Red Cabbage & Onion with Goat Cheese

Red cabbage is a must if you have duck, and even if you don't this is an amazing way to serve red cabbage. Make more than you think anyone will eat, because they will.

Rum & Raisin Sweet Potatoes

A dish that plays up the sweetness of sweet potatoes, without resorting to *gag* marshmallows.

Wild Rice Pilaf

A slightly luxurious classic; the perfect combination for holidays.

Cakes & Puddings:

Carrot Pudding - An Old Canadian Recipe

Many people have fond memories of this once ubiquitous pudding. It seems to be having something of a revival, and why not? It's good! Don't forget the Hard Sauce!

Christmas Plum Pudding

This is a more classic Plum Pudding, but if you are going to have it you had better get cracking. Don't forget the Hard Sauce!

Light Fruitcake:

Can't have Christmas without fruitcake! This is the traditional family version, i.e. I think it came out of a Better Homes & Gardens cook books from 1960 (wedding present to my parents).

Stollen:

Oh how I love this stuff! I think it's off the table for me now, though. Have some for me.

Cookies & Bars:

Rolled Spice Cookies (Lebkuchen, really)

My favourite cookie of all time? Could be! They get better and better the longer they sit, so make them now! Just the thing if you are sending cookies to someone for a present.

Gingersnaps

These are also realllly good, and they are a particularly good cookie to make with children, because the more the dough is handled the better the outcome. No eggs or dairy makes them vegan, too.

Friesian Thumbs

Another rolled, spiced cookie. I do love them! All of these are good keepers. I have lots more cookies suitable for Christmas so maybe check out my Pinterest board.

Rum Balls Made with Cake Crumbs

The ultimate rum balls, so far as I am concerned. Yes, you have to make the cake first, but a nice cocoa sponge cake is a good thing to have in your repertoire too.

Aunt Alethea's FAMOUS Squares

The ultimate baked square, full of candied ginger and dates. More bars and squares at my Pinterest board.

Leek & Oyster Mushroom Lasagne

I think I'm on a bit of a lasagne kick. There is a lot of filling in proportion to the pasta which is a good thing on several levels, as far as I am concerned. And oh, look! It's leeks and mushrooms; two of my favourite things. (And pasta. And creamy cheese. I mean. This is a winner.) Admittedly it's also a bit luxurious, but after all, there are a number of holidays coming up, for which this would be very suitable.

8 servings
2 hours - 45 minutes prep time

Prepare the Vegetables:
3 large leeks
450 grams (1 pound) oyster mushrooms
4 to 6 cloves of garlic
4 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons rubbed thyme OR savory

Trim and wash the leeks, and cut in half lengthwise. Cut into slices, rinse, and drain well. Trim the oyster mushrooms - they should need very little; they may be just a little woody around the roots. Peel and mince the garlic.

Put half the butter in a large skillet and heat it over medium heat until melted and bubbling. Add the drained leeks and cook, stirring regularly, until they are softened and reduced in volume but do not let them brown. Add the garlic, mix in and cook for another minute, then transfer to a bowl.

Melt the remaining butter in the skillet and add the mushrooms. They can get a little hotter and  brown a little, to which end stir them regularly but let them sit long enough to brown before turning them. Sprinkle them with the salt and seasoning. When they have softened and browned, but are not thoroughly cooked, add them to the leeks and mix them in.

Make the White Sauce:
3 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons soft unbleached flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
freshly ground black pepper to taste
3 cups whole milk OR light cream

Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the flour and seasonings and mix them in well. When there is no visible flour and everything is well amalgamated start whisking in the milk, a little at a time. Add more as the sauce thickens. When it is all in and the mixture is smooth and has thickened remove it from the heat.

Assemble & Bake the Lasagne:
650 grams (1 1/2 pounds) ricotta cheese
250 grams (1/2 pound) mozzarella cheese, grated
about 12 lasagne noodles
1 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat the oven to 375°F.  Grate the mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses.

Spoon about 1/4 of the white sauce into a  9" x 13" shallow baking (lasagne) pan. Lay 4 lasagne noodles (or in fact, enough to cover the bottom of the pan in a continuous single layer) over it. Spread them with 1/4 of the ricotta cheese then 1/3 of the vegetables. Sprinkle with 1/2 of the grated mozzarella.

Repeat twice with another layer of noodles, white sauce, ricotta, vegetables, and mozzarella in that order. Finish off by spreading the final 1/4 of the white sauce and ricotta cheese over the top of the lasagne. Sprinkle the Parmesan evenly over the top. Cover the lasagne loosely with aluminum foil and bake for 20 minutes at 375°F. Remove the foil and bake for a further 40 to 50 minutes until it is well browned and bubbling. Let it rest for 10 minutes before serving.




Last year at this time I made Leek & Celeriac Soup. 

Flourless Sweet Potato & Chocolate Cake

This isn't exactly a cake. It's a bit too solid and pudding-y, but it's round and it cuts and it's full of chocolate. It's a bit like sweet potato pone meets that famous flourless chocolate cake from the '80s. Definitely delicious, and I'll take it.

As is now usual, I've kept the sugar down as much as I think reasonably possible. You could add more, I'm sure, although it seemed sweet enough for me, what with the sweet potatoes as well as the sugar. Mind you, I have definitely adjusted to having things much less sweet than I used to.

I used half sugar and half erythritol-monkfruit blend for the sugar. I've been experimenting a bit with similar artificial sweeteners, but when they run out I think I will just go back to using sugar. From my reading, it seems that although they have no calories, they still affect your blood sugar as if you had eaten sugar, and that's what leads to weight gain and diabetes, more than the actual calories. This would certainly explain why the widespread availability of artificial sweeteners has done nothing to prevent these things.

But enough about that! Have some marvelous, delicious, healthy cake! 

12 servings
1 hour to 1 1/2 hours to roast the potatoes
1 hour 20 minutes - 20 minutes prep time to make the cake

Roast & Mash the Sweet Potatoes:
1 kilogram (2 1/4 pounds; 3 or 4 large) sweet potatoes

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Wash the sweet potatoes and poke them in several places with a fork. Bake for 1 hour to 1 hour and 30 minutes, until soft. Let cool.

Peel and mash the sweet potatoes very thoroughly, discarding the skins. For best results press them through a coarse sieve, potato ricer, or food mill.

This can be done up to a day in advance, and the sweet potato purée covered and kept refrigerated until needed.

Make the Cake:
1/2 cup unsalted butter
125 grams (1/4 pound) unsweetened chocolate
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 tablespoons rum OR orange juice
a little finely grated orange zest, OPTIONAL
4 large eggs

Put the butter in a heavy-bottomed, largish pot - a soup pot is excellent. The batter will be mixed right in the pot. Add the remaining ingredients, except for the sweet potatoes and the eggs. Heat gently until the butter and chocolate are melted. Stir occasionally.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350°F. Line the bottom of an 9" spring-form pan with parchment paper, and butter the sides.

When everything is melted and smoothly amalgamated, remove the pot from the heat. Stir in the sweet potato purée until well blended. Break in the eggs, one at a time, and beat them in well.

Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth it out evenly. Bake for 1 hour at 350°F. Let cool and set completely before serving, preferably overnight.




Last year at this time I made Winter Hodge-Podge.

Rutabaga, Carrot, & Leek Soup

This cheerfully orange soup is basically a thick vegetable purée with seasonings. In other words, it's easy, healthy, substantial, and delicious. Just the thing for what looks like being an old-fashioned winter, and a good choice to balance out some of the richer fare floating around at this time of year.

4 to 6 servings
1 hour 30 minutes prep time

 

2 cups peeled, diced rutabaga
2 cups peeled, diced carrots
1/4 cup unsalted butter
1 bay leaf
2 medium-large leeks (4 cups when chopped)
1 teaspoon salt
freshly ground black pepper to taste
1/4 teaspoon dried rosemary leaves
1/2 teaspoon rubbed sage
2 tablespoons barley flour, toasted
4 cups chicken OR vegetable stock, or a little more
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
a dollop of sour cream to serve, optional

Peel and dice the rutabaga. Peel and dice the carrots. Melt the butter over medium heat in a heavy-bottomed soup pot. Add the rutabaga and carrots, and mix in to coat them in the butter. Let them cook slowly, stirring regularly, for about 45 minutes.

Meanwhile clean, trim, and slice the leeks. Rinse them again and drain well. Add them to the vegetables in the pot as soon as they are ready - you want them to cook in the butter for about half an hour. Season with the salt, pepper, rosemary, and sage.

Toast the barley flour in a small skillet over medium heat, stirring regularly. When it has toasted to the shade of a brown paper bag, turn it out onto a plate to cool. When the vegetables have cooked for 45 minutes, sprinkle it over them and stir it in until it disappears. Pour over the chicken stock and vinegar. Simmer for a further 30 to 40 minutes until the rutabaga is tender, stirring occasionally. Keep the pot covered and try not to let it evaporate too much, but if it does add a bit more stock.

Purée the soup (after removing the bay leaf) until smooth. Reheat to serve. Be careful! The thick soup is prone to splattering.  A dollop of sour cream makes a nice garnish, if you are so inclined.





Last year at this time I made Fondant Potatoes & Turnips.

Quinoa Salad with Roasted Brussels Sprouts, Sweet Potatoes & Shallots

Here is a festive take on a typical salad around here; I've done lots of quinoa and other grain-based salads, and lots of salads with roasted vegetables, and lots of salads with fruits and nuts. This one has them all, plus some pretty lively seasonings. 

It was made for a large family gathering, but it's not too fancy to be what's for dinner, and I would think leftovers would hold fairly well. Not that we found out, of course.

6 servings
allow 1 hour 20 minutes for advance cooking
allow 30 minutes to cool vegetables
allow 10 minutes to finish assembling the salad

Cook the Quinoa:
1 cup raw quinoa
2 cups water
1/2 teaspoon salt

Put the ingredients into the rice cooker; turn on and cook. Let cool.

Roast the Vegetables:
500 grams (1 generous pound; probably 2) sweet potatoes
6 to 8 large shallots
300 grams (10 ounces) Brussels sprouts
3 or 4 tablespoons mild vegetable oil
salt & freshly ground black pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 375°F. 

Wash and trim the sweet potatoes, and cut them into bite-sized chunks. Put them into a large shallow baking tray and toss them with 1 tablespoon of the oil. Put them into the oven to roast.

Meanwhile, peel and trim the shallots, and cut them into fairly large slivers. When the sweet potatoes have roasted for about 10 minutes, toss them into the sweet potatoes along with another tablespoon of oil.

Wash and trim the Brussels sprouts, and cut them in halves or quarters according to size. Toss them into the roasting vegetables when the sweet potatoes have been roasting for about 20 minutes (i.e. 10 minutes after adding the shallots). Season generously with salt and pepper and continue roasting the vegetables for another 30 to 40 minutes until they are done to your liking - it is a good idea to stir them at least once in the middle of that time.

When the vegetables are roasted, allow them to cool to somewhere between slightly warm and room temperature.

Make the Dressing:
1 1/2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
2 tablespoons mild vegetable oil
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon fine hot red chile flakes
salt & freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 or 2 cloves of garlic
the juice of 1 1/2 large limes

Measure the oils and seasonings into a jam jar or small bowl. Peel and mince the garlic finely, and add it. Juice the limes and add the juice to the other ingredients. Mix well or shake together until well blended.

Assemble the Salad:
2/3 cup roasted salted peanuts
2/3 cup dried cranberries

Loosen and break up the cooked quinoa in a large mixing bowl. Add the roasted vegetables and toss to combine. Mix in the roasted peanuts and dried cranberries. Drizzle the dressing over the salad and toss gently to coat it in the dressing. Transfer the salad to a large serving bowl and serve.





Last year at this time I made Orecchiette with Brussels Sprouts & Parmesan. 

Poppy Seed-Bran Soda Bread

Rudolph's make a poppy seed and bran bread that I like very much, but it doesn't make the cut for my new diet. It's quite different from this one (lots of white flour and much less bran and poppy seeds; also a standard industrial yeast-raised bread) but this has plenty of appeal too. I put in the higher quantity of poppy seeds and liked it, but I am prepared to admit that that's a lot of poppy seeds. You could certainly supply them with more discretion.

This is an excellent bread to have with a bowl of hearty vegetable soup, or I suppose you could eat it with butter and jam, although I think it is better with cheese. 

12 slices
1 hour - 5 minutes prep time - allow time to cool

2 cups whole spelt flour
1 1/2 cups wheat bran
1/4 to 1/2 cup poppy seeds
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups buttermilk

Mix the dry ingredients together in a mixing bowl. Stir in the buttermilk until just blended. Let the batter rest for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, grease and flour a large loaf pan and preheat the oven to 350°F. When the batter has rested (and thickened slightly) scrape it into the prepared pan and smooth it out. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes until done - test with a toothpick if you are not sure.

Let the loaf cool for 10 minutes before removing it from the pan. Let cool to just barely warm to completely before slicing and serving.





Last year at this time I made Poutine with Homemade Gravy.

Braised Muscovy Duck

I've cooked Muscovy duck a few times, and I always find it a bit of a challenge. The meat is much more like beef than poultry in colour and texture, although with that lovely ducky flavour. They are sturdy birds and the meat does not tend to be naturally tender, and while the skin is thick with some fat they are not overall fatty like other ducks but really quite lean. Like most poultry, there is a fair bit of difference in the meat from the legs versus the meat from the breasts. I decided to try cooking this one using the technique I like to use on free-range turkeys. The verdict - it works very well.

I hardly seasoned this at all, other than aromatic vegetables, bay leaves, and salt and pepper. No complaints. The meat is rich and flavourful and doesn't need anything else. Next time I might throw in a few juniper berries, and I can see adding sautéed mushrooms to the gravy. Of course, you don't have to make the gravy at all; various sweet-tart fruit sauces are classic with duck and you could do one here. I'm not likely to bother. I like the gravy very well and as I say, the flavour stands on its own with no trouble. There is plenty of leftover stock in addition to the leftover vegetable and flour thickened gravy, and between the two of them you have the basis for quite a lot of excellent soup.

I'm doing the final roast for the breasts at a higher temperature than I did the turkey; I think the duck breast calls for a faster, shorter cooking.

It's interesting (to me, if no-one else) to see how my recipe writing technique has changed since I started this blog. I find myself wanting to go back and re-write the original turkey recipe to use the system of mini sub-recipes I've been using for more complicated dishes for a while now. I'm curious if anyone has any preferences about how I'm doing this. 

allow about 1 pound per person
up to 1 hour to break down the duck
3 hours plus to make the stock - 15 minutes prep time
2 to 2 1/2 hours cooking time plus a further 15 minutes before you are eating

Break Down the Duck:
1  4 to 5 kilogram (8 to 10 pounds) Muscovy duck

I find that Muscovy duck often comes with a fair number of feather tips still embedded in the skin. Use a good large pair of tweezers to extract as many as you can. 

Cut the wings from the bird. Cut the tips from wings and put them in a large soup pot. Cut the legs off from the bird next. Some really good kitchen shears are very helpful here. Put the leg and wing pieces aside. If there are any other portions of meat still attached to the back side of the carcass, remove them carefully and set them with the legs and wings.

Cut the breast meat carefully from carcass, in one piece from each side, along with any remaining pieces of meat that are large enough to cut off and use. Start by cutting along each side of the breast bone then almost scraping the meat from the rib cage. Break off the back half of the carcass (now with all the meat removed) and put it in the soup pot with the wing tips. Break up the remaining bones and put them in the soup pot. Add the neck, if you have it. 

Make the Duck Stock:
1 stalk of celery
1 medium carrot
1 medium onion
2 1/2 litres (10 cups) water
1 tablespoon vinegar
2 or 3 bay leaves
1/2 teaspoon black peppercorns

Wash, trim, and peel (if necessary) the vegetables, and chop them coarsely. Add them to the pot of bones. Cover the bones with the water, add the vinegar, bay leaves and pepper, and simmer for several hours; cover and return the duck pieces to fridge while this happens. You may wish to make the duck  stock the day before the duck is to be cooked. Cool the stock promptly and keep it in the fridge as well until needed, in that case.

I made my duck stock in the Instant Pot. I don't know that it was much quicker, what with the heating up and cooling down periods, but it required no attention as it cooked. I gave it 45 minutes and the results were satisfactory, although I wonder about giving it slightly longer next time - up to an hour for really strong stock.

At some point the stock must be strained, and the solids discarded - but keep any fat if you can.

Braise the Duck:
1 or 2 stalks of celery
1 medium carrot
1 medium onion
2 to 3 tablespoons duck fat OR mild vegetable oil
2 or 3 bay leaves
salt & freshly ground black pepper to taste

Yes, this is a repeat of all the veggies put into the stock. Wash, trim, and finely chop the celery. Peel and grate the carrot. Peel and chop the onion. Put them aside for the moment.

Preheat the oven to 275°F. 

Heat 2 tablespoon of the duck fat (from the top of the stock) or vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Brown the wings and legs and any other pieces with skin well, and put them, skin side up, in a large roasting pan with a lid when done. Add the vegetables to the skillet, with a little more fat or oil if there is not enough (unlikely; you may need to drain some off in fact), and cook them until softened and slightly reduced in volume. Spoon the vegetables in around the duck pieces, but not covering them. Add any duck pieces without skin (if you did a good job there won't be any). If you can keep the skin above the level of the stock it should stay fairly crisp and nice. 

Ladle over 4 cups of the strained duck stock. Cover the pan and put it into the oven for 1 1/2 to 2 hours. The meat should be cooked, and moderately tender, although keep in mind that Muscovy duck will always be quite firm and almost beef-like. Raise the temperature to 400°F.

Place the duck breast pieces on top of the meat in the pan, trying to avoid putting them over the legs (to keep the skin on them crisp) and return to the oven. Roast until the breasts are crisped, brown, and medium rare; about 20 to 30 minutes.

Cover the meat loosely and let rest for 10 minutes before carving and serving.

Make Gravy:
2 to 4 tablespoons barley or other flour

If you wish to make gravy, lift the meat from the roasting pan to a large serving platter and cover it to rest there for the 10 minutes. Scrape half the broth and vegetables into a food processor, removing and discarding the bay leaves, and process with 2 tablespoons flour. This will be more than enough gravy, but I do this with the remaining half as well - it makes an excellent soup when thinned with a little more the plain stock.

Heat whatever quantity of the puréed broth you think will make sufficient gravy for your needs in a medium skillet over medium heat. Simmer, stirring regularly, until thickened; 3 or 4 minutes should be sufficient. Transfer to a gravy boat and serve.

The remainder of the puréed broth should be cooked in the same way, but after dinner is soon enough to do it; it then becomes the basis for soup along with any leftover gravy from the meal.




Last year at this time I made Barley, Wild Rice & Mushroom Pilaf. It would go extremely well with duck, just sayin'!

Butternut Squash Roasted with Shallots & Cranberries

Nothing fussy about this; it's about as quick and easy as roasting squash ever gets. I'd say this is an ideal dish to serve with any poultry or pork; less ideal with beef or lamb but still good. A simple green vegetable will finish the menu.

 I am still trying to figure out how squash fit into a lower blood sugar diet. They are quite high in carbohydrates for a vegetable, and in fact contain sugars. On the other hand they rate quite low on the glycemic index and load, and some sources indicate they have blood-sugar lowering properties. On the other hand I can find references to people eating squash and having their blood sugar go up... it's a puzzle. Right now I am eating them because we have a laundry room shelf full of squash, but I will need to check my blood sugar levels over the winter as I eat them, and think about whether and how many we should plant next year. And I put honey in them too, because cranberries. However, in spite of all the potential pitfalls this is a dish for special fall and early winter occasions, and will not get eaten often.

If I wanted to make this more of a main dish, I would sprinkle some cubes of feta cheese over it for the last 10 or 15 minutes of baking.

4 servings
1 hour 30 minutes - 15 minutes prep time

1.4 kilogram (3 pounds) butternut squash
6 to 8 shallots
1 cup fresh cranberries
1 tablespoon honey
2 tablespoons mild vegetable oil
salt & freshly ground black pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 375°F. 

Peel the squash, and remove the seeds and any stringy bits from the seed cavity. Cut it into 1 centimetre slices, and then into bite-sized pieces. Peel and quarter the shallots.

Put the squash and shallots into a shallow 9" x 13" baking (lasagne) pan. Add the cranberries, washed and picked over. Drizzle the honey and vegetable oil over the squash, etc, and mix gently. Season with salt and pepper.

Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes until the squash is tender. Stir gently halfway through the baking time. Serve at once.




Last year at this time I made Squash Poached in Maple Syrup.

Brussels Sprout Purée

Here is a presentation for Brussels sprouts that is simultaneously fairly plain (not much in the way of ingredients) and fancy, what with the messing around with the food processor. I have to admit I like puréed vegetables in general, but I can see that some people may find them too much like baby food.

Still if you are looking for something familiar and yet with a little twist, this may make a good choice for holiday meals. I wouldn't serve it with squash (well actually, I did, which is why I am saying this) or mashed sweet potatoes or any other similarly textured vegetable, on account of the similar textures. Serve it with rice or other whole grains, and crunchier vegetables.  

4 servings
20 minutes prep time

500 grams (1 pound) Brussels sprouts
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 to 3 tablespoons sour cream OR yogurt
salt & freshly ground black pepper to taste

Wash and trim the Brussels sprouts. Cut an "X" about half an inch into the bottom of each one, to ensure that they cook evenly and through to the middle.

Put a pot with about an inch of water in it on to boil. Add the sprouts when it boils, and cover them. Cook for 6 or 7 minutes.

Lift them out with a slotted spoon into a food processor. If there are some loose leaves, you can set aside a few to use as a garnish. Add about 1/4 cup of the cooking water, the butter and the sour cream or yogurt. Season with the salt and pepper. Purée until smooth, stopping to scrape down the sides if necessary. Transfer to a serving bowl and garnish with the saved leaves, if you have them. Serve at once, although if you find they have cooled a bit in processing, it may be a good idea to give them a minute in the microwave. (Or if you have made them in advance, the well reheat in the microwave quite well - 2 or 3 minutes will probably do it.




Last year at this time I made Roast Chicken in a Clay Pot (Romertopf).

Sausage & Cheese Stuffed Peppers in Tomato Sauce

I have a freezer full of peppers but I couldn't resist a couple of big fat red beauties from the half-price table. I had some really still quite good mushrooms from the half-price table ditto, some lovely smoked sausage from a local farmer, and cheese curds from our trip to Ottawa last weekend. This is how it all ended up.

If you have about 3/4 of a cup to a cup of leftover cooked quinoa, brown rice, barley, etc, you could use that instead of the cracked wheat but since I didn't have any of those, the fact that the cracked wheat just needs to be soaked and not pre-cooked made it very convenient. As you see, I only made 2 stuffed peppers but I'm calling for 4 because I had enough filling to do 2 more. Guess I'm going to fold the rest of the filling into tomato sauce and put it on pasta.

4 servings
1 3/4 hours to 2 hours - 1 hour prep time

Roast the Peppers:
4 large greenhouse bell peppers

Broil the peppers for about 5 minutes per side until the skin is lightly browned. Let them cool enough to handle, then peel and core them. Turn them upside down to drain as you make the filling. Allow 20 minutes for this; it may not take quite that long but then again it may. 

Stuff & Bake the Peppers:
1/3 cup cracked wheat
1 medium onion
6 to 8 medium (125 grams; 1/2 pound) button mushrooms
2 cloves of garlic (optional)
250 grams (1/2 pound) raw sausage
a little mild vegetable oil
125 grams (1/4 pound) cheese curds OR other mild cheese, diced
2 to 3 cups tomato sauce 

Meanwhile, boil some water and put the cracked wheat into a small bowl with a couple of shakes of salt. Pour over about 1 cup of boiling water, cover, and let soak for about 10 or 15 minutes. Drain well.

Peel and chop the onion. Wash, trim, and cut the mushrooms 3 or 4 times in both directions to form little sticks. Peel and mince the garlic, if you are using it. Remove the casing from the sausage and crumble it. I used smoked but raw sausage; this was sufficient heat to make the casing stick too much to remove, and since it was not particularly thick I decided to leave it and just chop the sausage fairly finely.

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly oil a shallow casserole dish which will hold all the peppers neatly.

Heat a little oil in a medium skillet. You need enough to keep the onion and mushrooms, which are about to go in, from sticking but then the sausage will also go in, and it will likely exude a certain amount of fat, so the trick is to keep the veggies from sticking but not end up with too much grease.

Add the onion and mushroom to the pan and cook, stirring occasionally until slightly softened. Add the sausage and cook for another few minutes, until the sausage seems to be mostly cooked. Add the garlic - although you should consider the flavouring of the sausage you are using - and cook for another minute or two. If you wish to add any other seasonings, now is the time; I find it hard to recommend any as it all depends on how your sausage is already flavoured. Since I used smoked sausage I just added a small bit of smoked paprika and some pepper. When the sausage is done, remove the pan from the heat. Mix in the drained cracked wheat and let the mixture cool enough to handle. Chop up about half the cheese curds and mix them in.

Stuff the peppers with the prepared mixture and place them in the oiled pan. Drizzle the sauce over and around them. Bake for 45 minutes to an hour. After they have been in the oven for about 15 to 20 minutes, sprinkle the remaining cheese curds over them.





Last year at this time I made Hungarian Seasoning Blend.

Pear & Endive (or Arugula) Salad with Lemon-Cardamom Dressing

Rather plain and sparse on the ingredients, I thought as I was making this. However, it didn't taste plain - it tasted extremely good and even Mr. Ferdzy went back for seconds; pretty amazing for a salad that contains Belgian endive, which is not his favourite thing at all. Perhaps it was because it has been a long time since we have had any pears. Their season is nowhere as long as that of apples, and they really are sugar in fruit form as well. Still, they are so good and I intend to eat a few this fall.

As usual I got sucked in by the fact that my hydroponic lettuce was amazingly pretty and I could not bring myself to just chop the stuff up. The pear slices on top were a bit pointless too, but even though I know better I just can't help myself. I should just chop everything up in advance then not have to supply a knife to eat the salad, but whatever. It did look nice for 30 seconds after it hit the table.

4 servings
15 minutes to make the dressing
15 minutes to make the salad

  
Make the Dressing:
1/4 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
5 or 6 pods of green cardamom
1/4 teaspoon salt (but see notes)
freshly ground black pepper to taste
2 tablespoons almond or other nut oil
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
3 tablespoons sour cream
the juice of 1/2 large lemon

Grate a little lemon zest into a small bowl. Crush the cardamom and remove the green papery husks, then grind the remaining seeds with the salt. Note, however, that if you are using roasted, salted pumpkin seeds in the salad I would suggest cutting the amount of salt way back. Add this to the lemon zest then grind in plenty of black pepper.

Mix in the oil, the mustard, the sour cream, and the lemon juice. The dressing is best if made at least half an hour to an hour in advance to allow the flavours to blend.

Make the Salad:
4 cups chopped lettuce (1 large head hydroponic lettuce)
1 large or 2 medium heads Belgian Endive
OR 2 cups chopped arugula
1 or 2 stalks of celery
2 medium firm-ripe Bartlett or 3 Bosc Pears
1/3 cup pumpkin seeds, toasted

Wash, trim, and chop the lettuce, the Belgian endive or arugula, and the celery. Mix them in a salad bowl.

Wash, core, and chop the pears. If you like, you can cut enough thin slices to form a circle over the salad. Mix the chopped pear into the salad and arrange the slices over the top, if that is what you are doing.

Note: If you are starting with raw pumpkin seeds, they should be toasted in advance in a dry skillet and then turned onto a plate to cool as soon as they are full and lightly browned. I recommend these over the ones bought already roasted and salted, but you have to use what you can get, of course.

Either toss the dressing into the salad, then arrange the pear slices and toasted pumpkin seeds over it, or sprinkle on the pumpkin seeds and pass the dressing separately.




Last year at this time I made Turkey & Mushroom Stuffed Leeks.

Russian "Lazy" Egg & Cabbage Pie

I've had my eye on this one for a while, but I've been putting it off because it seemed a bit odd and also a bit plain, in spite of being a pie, of sorts. Wrong, though! It was really good and the ever-popular easy, and I'll be making it again. I might gild the lily and put some cheese or bacon in it, but really it was more than fine the way it was. If there's anything difficult about it, it's deciding what to serve with it. It seems to want something, but after all it does contain all the components of a reasonable meal itself. Maybe all it needs is a second helping. More seriously, some squash or sweet potato might be good to round it out. Salad seems like too much veg, and while some bacon or sausage would go well it's already pretty rich.

This sort of soft batter enclosing a filling gets used a lot, from Turkey on up through the Balkans, Ukraine, and Russia. Some of the recipes I looked at referred to it as a lazy pie, as the batter is much faster and easier to make than a proper pie crust. Cabbage and eggs are a really common filling but there are lots of other things baked into this type of pie. Ground meat and mushrooms seem popular, but right now we have a glut of cabbages in the cold storage so cabbage it was.

I used a mix of sour cream and rather thick yogurt, and in spite of adding a little more than the cup I'm calling for, I think my batter was a hair too thick. It's pretty forgiving, though. I used oil although a lot of recipes called for mayonnaise, which after all is basically oil. I didn't see the need particularly, and mayonnaise is rather expensive. Vegetable oil worked fine. 

4 to 6 servings
1 hour 30 minutes - 30 minutes prep time - not including boiling the eggs

Prepare the Filling:
3 large room temperature eggs
4 cups finely shredded green cabbage
1 medium carrot
1 large onion
1 tablespoon mild vegetable oil
salt & freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 teaspoon rubbed dillweed
1/2 teaspoon rubbed savory

Put the eggs into a pot and cover them with water. Bring them to a boil and boil them for 1 minute. Cover the pot and remove it from the heat. Let sit for 10 minutes. Drain the eggs and rinse them in cold water until cool. This can be done in advance.

Wash, trim, and finely shred the cabbage. Peel and grate the carrot. Peel and sliver the onion finely.

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the carrots and onions and toss them in the oil; after they have cooked for a minute or two mix in the cabbage. Cook the vegetables gently until softened and reduced in volume but not browned. Stir regularly. Mix in the seasonings as they cook.

Once they are ready, remove them from the heat and let them cool while you make the batter. Peel the hard-boiled eggs, chop them, and mix them with the vegetables.

Make the Pie:
3 large eggs
about 1 cup sour cream, yogurt, OR buttermilk
1/4 cup mild vegetable oil OR mayonnaise
1 1/3 cup soft whole wheat or spelt flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 tablespoon sesame OR poppy seeds

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Lightly oil a 8" x 10" baking (lasagne) pan.

Whisk the eggs in a mixing bowl. Whisk in the sour cream, yogurt, or buttermilk and the oil. Measure the flour and mix in the salt and baking powder. Whisk it into the eggs and dairy. If necessary, add a little more of the chosen dairy product to make a thick but pourable pancake type batter. One cup buttermilk should be enough but thicker sour cream or yogurt may require a bit more. You could also use a mixture of products.

Pour 40% to 50% of the batter into the prepared pan and spread it out evenly. Spoon in the vegetable filling evenly over the batter. Scrape in the remaining batter and smooth it evenly over the top.

Bake the pie at 375°F. for 40 to 45 minutes. Let it rest for 10 to 15 minutes before cutting and serving.





Last year at this time I made Mincemeat Cake. 

Brussels Sprouts Hash

We went to Ottawa and Gatineau for a long weekend to visit relatives. That was 2 days on the road, and 2 days visiting, which is much too long on the road, especially given that we hit that first snow storm of the season on the way back. We were fed quite well by our relatives but food on the road leaves much to be desired, especially if you are trying to track it down in small, isolated towns, as we were. It was a relief to start our week back home with something healthy and delicious and more like our usual fare.

I mentioned before that boiled and cooled then re-cooked potatoes are easier on the blood-sugar. They make good hash, too. Convenient! Other than needing to remember to cook the potato in advance, this is a quick and simple meal. Any kind of protein is all that is needed to make it a full meal, which is also nice. If you don't want meat, top it with some poached or fried eggs. Or maybe even if you do. Bacon and sausage seem very appropriate but fish or chicken would go very well too.

4 servings
45 minutes prep time, not including boiling the potato

Boil the Potato:
1 large (250 grams; 1/2 pound) baking potato

Put a pot of water on to boil, then boil the potato for 10 minutes. Drain and cool. This can be done up to a day ahead.

Make the Hash:
500 grams (1 pound) Brussels sprouts
1 medium (250 grams; 1/2 pound) sweet potato
3 or 4 medium shallots
3 or 4 tablespoons bacon fat OR mild vegetable oil
salt & freshly ground black pepper to taste

Trim the Brussels sprouts and cut them into thin slices. Place them in a colander. Put a kettle of water on to boil.

Wash and trim the sweet potato, if required, and grate it coarsely. Grate the potato coarsely, discarding any skin that peels off of it, which is likely to be most of it. Peel and sliver the shallots.

When the water boils, pour it evenly over the Brussels sprouts in the colander and let them drain. Meanwhile, Heat 2 tablespoons of the fat in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the sweet potato and potato shreds and toss them in the fat, then spread them out and let them cook for 3 or 4 minutes. Turn them once you can see some brown flecks starting to form. Adjust the heat as necessary.

Add the blanched Brussels sprouts and mix them in. Continue cooking the hash, turning and mixing the vegetables every few minutes to cook them evenly and distribute the lightly browned bits amongst them. You are likely to need to drizzle a bit more fat or oil over them as they cook; enough to keep them from sticking or scorching but not enough to let them become greasy. Season them with salt and pepper as they cook; if you use bacon fat keep in mind that it will be supplying some amount of salt.

When the hash is cooked to your liking, serve it at once.





Last year at this time I made Warm Chicken & Wild Rice Salad with Roasted Vegetables.

Spiced Roasted Apple & Acorn Squash Soup

More squash. Sorry; not sorry. We have quite a bit of the stuff. This is at least a different kind.  The tart apples, sweet spices, vinegar and mild squash needed a fair bit of pepper to balance it out, I thought, so check it before you serve it. I debated putting a little heat into this, and maybe another time I would. This was very nice, though; lively, sweet and tart.

4 servings
1 hour 30 minutes - 30 minutes prep time

Mix the Spices:
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
1 teaspoon anise seeds
1/2 teaspoon allspice berries
1/2 teaspoon black peppercorns
1 teaspoon salt

Grind everything together and set aside.

Roast the Squash, Etc & Finish the Soup:
1 large (1kg; 2 1/4 pounds) acorn squash
4 medium apples
4 shallots
2 tablespoons mild vegetable oil
3 cups unsalted chicken OR vegetable stock
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

Preheat the oven to 400°F.

Cut the squash into quarters and scoop out the seeds and stringy bits from the centre. Rub the cut edges with a little oil, and roast the squash until tender, about an hour and a quarter.

Meanwhile, peel the apples, core them, and slice them into wedges - I used an apple cutter. Peel and cut the shallots into quarters. Toss both with a little oil and the spice blend, and spread them on a baking tray. Bake for about 45 minutes, until softened and slightly browned. Start checking them at the 30 minute mark though; apples vary a lot in the length of cooking time required, and much depends on how thickly you have sliced them.

The apples can cool while the squash finishes. Once the squash is roasted and cool enough to handle, peel off and discard the skins. Run the flesh through a food processor until smooth. You can add any quantity of the apples and shallots that you like, up to all of them, or you can keep some out, and mash them, and add them later to provide some chunky texture to the soup. Use some of the stock to thin the squash if it is too thick for the food processor.

Put the puréed squash, etc into a soup pot with the remaining apples and shallots (lightly mashed), the remaining stock, and the vinegar.  Heat to a good simmer and serve.

Braised Pork Ribs & Squash

Kabocha is probably the traditional squash for this traditional Chinese dish, but butternut was what I had, and it was fine - plenty of cooks do seem to use it.

The black bean sauce I had was also fairly spicy, which was a thing I liked in the finished dish, but use whatever black bean sauce you like/have/can get. I also saw a few versions of this recipe which called for oyster sauce instead. I don't think it would have the same depth of flavour but it would do in a pinch.

I thought of making this in the Instant-Pot, but it cooked quickly enough that it would actually have been slower, what with the ramping up and the cooling down. Which is a bit amazing since they have the look and taste of something that spent the entire day simmering. This is supposed to be made with small cut spare ribs, but regular pork back-ribs are what I can easily get. They were a bit too large to be ideal, but they worked and we ate them and they were delicious, so no harm, no foul.

Serve with rice and a simply cooked green vegetable.

4 servings
1 hour 30 minutes - 30 minutes to marinate - 20 minutes prep time

Marinate the Pork Ribs:
2 tablespoons vinegar
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
2 tablespoons black bean and garlic sauce
OR 2 tablespoons oyster sauce
1 teaspoon arrowroot 
600 grams (1 1/2 pounds) pork ribs

Mix the vinegar, soy sauce, sesame oil, and black bean sauce, and arrowroot in a shallow flat-bottomed pan (I used my smaller lasagne pan). Cut the ribs into individual pieces and toss them in the marinade, then lay them out in it in a single layer. Let marinate for 30 minutes (or up to 3 hours in the fridge).

Cook the Ribs & Squash:
600 grams (1 1/2 pounds) butternut or kabocha squash
1 large leek
2 cloves of garlic
1 tablespoon grated or finely minced fresh ginger
2 tablespoons mild vegetable oil
2 cups water

Cut the squash and remove the seeds and stringy bits. Peel it and cut it into large bite-sized chunks. Wash, trim, and chop the leek into smaller pieces. Peel and mince the garlic. Peel and mince (grate) the ginger.

Heat the oil in a heavy-bottomed soup pot or Dutch oven (bastible) over medium-high heat. Lift the ribs out of the marinade - scrape it back into the marinating dish - and put them in the oil. Brown the ribs on both sides. Throw in the ginger and garlic for the last minute of cooking.

Add the water to the marinade and swish it out into the pot of ribs once they are all browned. Add the squash and leek. Mix everything gently, then allow the the water to come up to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer, and simmer the ribs, etc, for about 30 minutes, until the squash is tender and the meat is starting to come off the bones. Give it another gentle stir once or twice during the cooking period. The water should cook down to a thick sauce, but make sure it does not boil dry - add more water if that seems like a possibility. Let rest for 5 minutes then serve.





Last year at this time I made Pasta with Bacon, Broccoli, Leeks & Cream.

Turkish Lentil & Potato Salad

This seems to be a reasonably popular dish, judging by the number of recipes for it that I found. I am, however, at a bit of a loss as to what to call it. I guess salad is as close as it gets. It's not a dip - too thick - but the texture is smoother than most North American dishes known as salads. Also it just gets eaten, not put on anything. It's served at room temperature which makes me reluctant to call it a casserole. It's more like a soft, smooth-textured potato salad than anything, so salad it is even though you should be able to cut it in wedges like a pie.

I cooked the lentils and potatoes in advance, the day before. I don't think that's really the way to do it. I think the lentil and potato mixture should still be fairly warm when it gets pressed into the dish if you want to be able to cut it into neat pieces to serve, as it really didn't "set" when mixed then formed while cold. Hence the photo with the topping on only half the dish - I could see there was no way I would be able to cut and serve it neatly, although it turned out not to be as bad as I expected. 

4 to 6 servings
1 hour 15 minutes - 30 minutes prep time

Advance Preparation:
4 medium (450 grams; 1 pound) potatoes
1 cup red lentils
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 or 2 bay leaves
2 cups plain yogurt

Wash, peel or trim, and dice the potatoes. Put them in a rice-cooker with the lentils, salt, bay leaves, and 2 cups of water. Turn on and cook.

Line a strainer with 2 or 3 coffee filters and spoon in the yogurt. Put it over a bowl and strain it while the potatoes and lentils cook. When the lentils and potatoes are done, set them aside to cool enough to handle while you continue.

Make the Salad:
1 medium onion
2 or 3 cloves of garlic
1 tablespoon mild vegetable oil
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 tablespoons pepper paste
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cumin seed, ground
2 teaspoons sweet Hungarian paprika

Peel and dice the onion. Peel and mince the garlic.

Heat the oil in a small skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and let it cook for several minutes, until softened and translucent. Add the tomato and pepper pastes. Add the salt, ground cumin seed, and paprika. Finally, add the garlic and cook for just a minute or so longer. Remove it from the heat and add it to the lentils and potatoes. Mix well.

Lightly oil a 10" pie plate and press the mixture into it.

Make the First Topping:
1 or 2 cloves of garlic
1 or 2 tablespoons finely chopped dill, chives, parsley, OR cilantro, OPTIONAL
1 small carrot, grated, OPTIONAL
1/4 teaspoon salt

Peel and mince the garlic. Clean and mince the an herb, if you wish to add one, and peel and grate the carrot. Mix all these, with the salt, into the strained yogurt.

Make the Second Topping & Finish the Salad:

1 teaspoon rubbed dry mint
1 teaspoon pepper paste OR sweet Hungarian paprika
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon Aleppo pepper, OPTIONAL
2 tablespoons olive oil

Measure the seasonings into a small bowl and mix them; stir in the olive oil.

Spread the first topping evenly over the prepared lentils and potatoes. Drizzle the second topping over the top of that. Serve the salad at room temperature - if it is necessary to refrigerate it before it is served, bring it out to warm up for about 20 minutes first. 





Last year at this time I made Moroccan-Spiced Cauliflower.