Cloven Snickerdoodles

My favorite cookies are Snickerdoodles with a lil secret ingredient: cloves.

Cloven Snickerdoodles

½ cup butter substitute
½ cup crisco
2 eggs
1 ½ cup sugar
2 ¾ cup flour
2 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 teaspoon baking soda
¼ t salt
2 teaspoon cinnamon
extra sugar with a pinch of ground cloves

Preheat oven to 375°. Mix butter, Crisco eggs and 1 ½ C sugar together thoroughly. Sift flour, tartar, baking soda, cinnamon and salt together. Add the two mixes together and then roll into walnut sized balls. Roll balls in sugar and cloves then flatten with fork tines. Place the balls on an ungreased cookie sheet 2 inches apart and bake for 8 to 10 minutes.

***For Christmas cookies I half the size of the cookies and bake just until edges are brown. These make good thumb print style cookies.

Uber Banana Bread

My banana bread always comes out the moistest, sweetest, densest stuff. The trick is to use bananas that are so over ripe that they're mushy.

Uber-Messy Banana Bread

1 cup Sugar
½ cup Butter Substitute
2 cup Flour
1 teaspoon Baking Soda
3 Large Overripe Bananas
1 Egg, beaten
1/2 cup light brown sugar

Preheat oven to 350°. Cream sugar and butter together. Mash the ‘nanners and add to the sugar mix. Add the flour, baking soda, and blend well. Scrape into an ungreased loaf pan then sprinkle brown sugar over the top. Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour. A knife inserted into the loaf center will draw clean.

Apple Muffies

This afternoon I got the baking bug. This is the first thing that I made.

Apple Muffies

3 cups of apples, peeled and diced
1/2 cup of water
1 cup of brown sugar, packed, divided into 1/2 cups
2 cups sifted flour
1 teaspoon of baking powder
1 teaspoon of baking soda
1 tablespoon of unsulphured molasses
1 teaspoon of cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon of cloves
1/2 teaspoon of ginger
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup of oatmeal
1/2 cup of seedless raisins
2 eggs, beaten
1/4 cup of oil

Preheat to 350°. Combine the chopped apples, water and 1/2 cup of the brown sugar. Cook for about 10 minutes over medium or until the apples are almost tender. Allow to cool.

In a mixing bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, oatmeal and raisins. Stir in the cooled apple mixture, eggs, remaining brown sugar, molasses, vanilla and the oil. Mix together until just moistened.

Bake in an ungreased muffin pan for about 30-35 minutes at 350°. Cool for about 10 minutes before removing from the pan.

The bread may be lightly frosted with a mixture of 1 cup powdered sugar and 2 or 3 teaspoons of warm water or sprinkled with raw sugar partway through the baking process.

Apple Rice Pudding

This is one of my new attempts at playing with recipes for lactose free goodies. Not terrible adventurous but it feels like it accomplished a sense of comfort foodness.

Apple Rice Pudding

3 sm. apples, peeled, cored & diced
1 1/2 c. cooked rice
1 cup vanilla almond milk
8 dates, finely sliced
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon sugar substitute
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
3 eggs, separated

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. In a large bowl stir together all ingredients except egg whites. Beat egg whites until stiff. Fold into apple-rice mixture. Turn into a 1 1/2 quart casserole. Set casserole in a large baking pan to a depth of 1 inch. Bake for 70 minutes. Serve warm or chilled.

Pork Roast Avec des Herbes

I like a good flavorful pork roast. In my family the roast traditionally is just tossed in a roasting pan and left to cook down in only its own juices, maybe a tiny bit of garlic salt added. To me it's simply unnatural to not play with spices or marinades of some sort. And wasting broth that makes vegetables so flavorful should be a sin.

Pork Roast Avec des Herbes

1 boneless pork loin roast, about 3 to 4 pounds
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 1/2 teaspoons dried thyme
4 to 6 medium potatoes
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon thyme
2 teaspoon freeze-dried or fresh chives
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
salt and pepper, to taste

Preheat oven to 325° F. Rub pork loin with 1 teaspoon garlic powder, 1 teaspoon onion powder, 1 1/2 teaspoons thyme, then sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place pork loin in a shallow roasting pan. Roast for 50 to 55 minutes.

Peel and quarter potatoes; cook in boiling water for about 10 minutes. Drain, let cool, and place potatoes in a large bowl; toss with olive oil, 1 teaspoon dried thyme, chives, 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder, and salt and pepper. Place potatoes around pork loin; roast an additional 45 to 60 minutes, or until pork registers at least 155° on a thermometer.

Cover roast pork loin with foil and let stand for about 15 minutes before slicing.

Dashi - Japanese Mother's Day Meal

I have 1 Asian grocery in the area. It's a pretty place with usually only one person working it sadly. And that one person speaks very little English. Most of the packages are also not in English so I do a lot of wandering around trying to figure out what ingredients are really what I'm looking for. Shirataki noodles come in two flavors as far as I've seen: tofu that's been shaped to look like a noodle and a traditional brown flour and yam noodle.

This recipe to me sounds very yummy. I haven't had a chance to try it yet, but the mirin tends to add a very sweet taste to most noodle dishes.

Dashi

1/2 lb thinly sliced beef loin, or pork loin, cut into 1 and 1/2 inch length pieces
4 potatoes, cut into quarters
1 onion, cut into wedges
1/4 lb carrot, cut into bite size chunks
1/2 package shirataki noodles
2 1/2 cups dashi soup (typically a fish stock. Vegetarian stock can be used)
2 tablespoon mirin
2 tablespoon sugar
4 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon of vegetable oil

Heat 1 tbsp of vegetable oil in a deep pot and saute beef quickly on high heat. Add onion, carrot, potato, and shirataki in the pan and saute together. Pour stock in and bring to a boil. Turn down the heat to low and skim off any foam or impurities that rise to the surface. Simmer until potatoes are softened. Add sugar and mirin and put a drop-lid. Simmer for about 5 minutes and add soy sauce. Simmer until the liquid are almost gone.

Makes 4 servings

Gomaae Spinach

I love spinach almost any way that you cook it. Even raw. Especially raw. Cooking it gomaae -style adds a sweetness to the spinach that you don't normally find in American cuisine. Gomaae is the way that the sauce is prepared and can be used in other dishes.

Gomaae Spinach

1 lb. fresh spinach, washed
4 tablespoon black sesame seeds
2 tablespoon sake
2 tablespoon sugar
1 1/2 tablespoon soy sauce

Set a large pot of water to boil. Add spinach and boil for about one minute. Drain and soak the spinach in water until cool. Drain again then squeeze the spinach to remove the excess liquid. Cut spinach into about 2-inch lengths and set aside.

Put sesame seeds in a suribachi (Japanese mortar) and grind them with a surikogi pestle. Or, place sesame seeds in a blender or food processor and grind until smooth. Add sugar and mix well. Add soy sauce and sake to the mix and blend well. Dress boiled spinach with the sesame sauce.

***Even though it looks like a lot of spinach, the vegetable cooks down drastically. It only makes about 4 side dish servings.

Baeckeoffe - French Lamb Stew

This is a very simple, very savory stew that will feed 4 people comfortably. If you're not fond of lamb, pork or beef could concievably be used in its place without swapping ingredients.

Baeckeoffe

1 tablespoon butter
2 leeks, trimmed and chopped
4 potatoes, cubed
12 oz lamb, cubed
4 oz white wine
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a heavy Dutch oven, sauté the leeks in the butter until they start to turn tender. Add the potatoes and the lamb to the oven, and then toss with the white wine, salt, and pepper.

Bake in the preheated oven for 1 hour. Serve ASAP with crusty bread.

Camote - Mexican Sweet Potatoes

Mayan sweet potato recipe tweaked for use today. This recipe was found at Chelsie Kenyon's site http://mexicanfood.about.com/bio/Chelsie-Kenyon-16233.htm

Camote

4 large sweet potatoes
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup butter substitute
1-2 dashes cinnamon (optional)

Peel sweet potatoes and cut them into approx. 1 inch cubes. Place them in a buttered oven-safe dish, cover and bake for 45 minutes at 375 degrees. Then remove and top with the remaining butter, honey and cinnamon. Bake uncovered for an additional 10-15 minutes.

Garden Roast Potatoes

Lucas brought me in a sprig of rosemary from his dog walk today and I stared at it for awhile, picturing all the things I could do with it. I've made part of it into a cutting and trimmed the lower leaves for dinner. Here's the recipe.

Garden Roast Potatoes

5 medium baking potatoes, scrubbed, peeled and cubed thinly
1 large vidalia onion, cubed into chunks
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1/3 cup of chicken broth
2 teaspoons of fresh rosemary
6 tablespoons of olive oil
sea salt
fresh ground black pepper

Preheat to 350 F. Boil potatoes until easily pierced by a fork then place in a large mixing bowl. In a small saucepan add 2 tablespoons of olive oil, rosemary, garlic and onion and cook over medium heat until onion is translucent. Add to the mixing bowl. Combine remaining olive oil and chicken broth then toss well. Spread into one even layer on a greased cookie sheet, mashing a few spots with a fork for the juices to collect. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake for 40 minutes.

Cold Harusame Noodles

These are nummy nummy things that I can't get at my local grocery. Harusame noodles are delicate and lovely to look at. They can do a lot to fancy up your dinner presentation.

Cold Harusame Noodles

1 and 3/4 oz dried harusame noodles , or cellophane noodles (bean thread noodles)
1 1/2 Tbsp soy sauce
1 1/2 Tbsp rice vinegar
2 tsp sugar
1/2 Tbsp sesame oil

Boil water in a medium pot. Boil harusame noodles in the pot, according to the package instruction. Drain harusame noodles in a colander and cool them with cold water. Drain and cut drained harusame into 2 to 3 inches long.

Mix sugar, soy sauce, vinegar, and sesame oil in a small bowl. Pour the dressing over the noodles and mix well.

Quick Fruit Sorbet

I'm really missing sweet treats at the moment. This is what I've been doing to stave off cookie wants.

Quick Fruit Sorbet

1/2 cup sugar (or honey or sweetener equivalent)
1 1/2 tsp cornstarch
2 cups water
2 cups pureed strawberries (or other berries, bananas, canned peaches, etc)

Dissolve the sugar and cornstarch in the water in a large saucepan over low heat, then boil until thick, like syrup, about ten minutes. Remove from the heat and cool. When the sugar syrup is completely cooled, add the pureed fruit and mix well. Place in a plastic contained and freeze, uncovered, until it is solid. Cut the sorbet into chunks, then process in a blender or food processor until smooth and creamy. Put the sorbet back into the freezer and allow to freeze for another 4 hours.

**I've also subbed out some of the water for lemon or lime juice for a slightly more tart mix.

Beef Stew Cassarole

As rainy as it is I want warm comfort food that you eat with a spoon and warms all your innards. It's stew time.

Beef Stew Cassarole

1 1/2 pounds cubed beef stew meat
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 (14.5 ounce) cans Italian-style diced tomatoes
1 (14 ounce) can beef broth
4 carrots, chopped
2 potatoes, peeled and chopped
3/4 teaspoon dried thyme
2 tablespoons Dijon-style prepared mustard
salt and pepper to taste

Combine meat and flour in a large plastic food storage bag and toss to coat evenly. In a saucepan brown meat in hot vegetable oil. Season with salt and pepper, if desired. Add tomatoes, beef broth, carrots, potatoes and thyme. Bring to boil; reduce heat to medium-low, cover; and simmer for 1 hour or until beef is tender. Blend in mustard and serve.

Spaghetti Squash

Some years back my father introduced me to spaghetti squash. It's a very buttery tasting vegetable that after prepared you treat just like pasta.

Spaghetti Squash

1 (4 pound) spaghetti squash
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 cup grated romano cheese substitute (optional)
salt
coarsely ground black pepper
spaghetti sauce of your choosing

To boil squash: cut in half and scrape out seeds. Boil squash until tender cut side down for 15 to 20 minutes or until soft. Place 1/2 cup cooking water into a bowl, then drain and shred the squash (scrape with a fork. The meat as it shreds will resemble spaghetti noodles). Transfer to a bowl with reserved liquid.

Toss squash with reserved liquid and dress with extra-virgin olive oil, lots of cheese, salt to taste, and lots of black pepper. Ladle spaghetti sauce atop the squash meat. Serve.

Clair-Mel Black Beans 'N' Rice

In the neighborhood I grew up in everybody's mama had a special recipe. Good black beans and rice was one of thosethat you could eat at 6 people's houses and have 6 different ways. This is the closest that I've found to how I like them.

Clair-Mel Black Beans 'N' Rice

1 lb. dried black beans
4 c. water
3 cloves peeled, crushed garlic
1 med. peeled and chopped yellow onion
1/4 lb. chopped salt pork
1 lb. smoked ham hocks, cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
2 tsp. paprika
3 tsp. cumin
2 bay leaves
4 c. chicken stock or broth
1/4 tsp. chili powder
1 tbsp. red wine vinegar
Salt and pepper
Sticky parboiled rice
Cornbread or spoonbread

Wash beans and place in 6-quart stove top casserole with 4 cups water. Cover and boil 2 minutes, then shut off heat and let set 1 hour. Add remaining ingredients, except vinegar, salt and pepper. Simmer until tender (2 hours).

When done cooking, debone hocks, chop meat, and return to pot. Remove Salt pork. Add vinegar, salt and pepper. Bring to simmer again. Serve with sticky rice and cornbread. A dash of crystal hot sauce and raw onion are added delights.

Cherry Rhubarb Pie

I've only had it once. And it was an anemic little slice overpriced to a silly amount, but it was goooooooood! Someone take a pictue of a rhubarb for me. I have no idea what it looks like aside from 'pink'.

Cherry Rhubarb Pie

1 pound rhubarb, cut in 1/2-inch slices (about
1 (16 ounces) can pitted tart red cherries, drained
1 1/4 cups sugar
1/4 cup quick-cooking tapioca
1 recipe plain pastry, made with 2 cups of flour

Combine sliced rhubarb, cherries, sugar and tapioca; let stand 10 to 15 minutes. Line a 9-inch pie plate with pastry; pour in filling. Roll out remaining pastry about 10 inches. Cut strips of dough ,1/2-inch wide. Lay several strips on top of filled pie at 1-inch intervals. Fold back every other pastry strip; fold down as you weave crosswise strips over and under.

Trim even along outer edge of pie; seal edges. Dampen edge of pie slightly with water and place extra strips around entire rim of pie, covering ends of lattice. Flute pastry edge, pressing well all around to seal. Bake rhubarb pie at 400° for 40 to 50 minutes.

Black Cherry Iced Tea

I found the most wonderful Asian Food blog called Apetite for China. This recipes comes from Diana Kuan's kitchen. Check out more of her culinary delights at http://appetiteforchina.com/

Black Cherry Iced Tea

2 quarts water
1 pound fresh black cherries, rinsed and pitted
1 1/4 cups sugar
1/4 cup lemon juice
2 whole star anise
5 bags black tea, steeped in 2 cups water
Mint sprigs for garnish

Bring water to boil in a medium-sized pot. Add cherries, sugar, lemon juice, and star anise. Simmer for 15 to 20 minutes, until the cherries are almost falling apart. Turn off heat, mix in black tea, and let stand for 1 hour to cool.

Strain liquid through a fine mesh sieve, mashing the cherries with a wooden spoon to extract more liquid. Discard solids. Transfer liquid to a pitcher and refridgerate until ready to serve.

Slow Cooker Mushroom & Pecan Dressing

This is another recipe that I could eat as a full meal. I love stuffing. Unless it has raisins.

Slow Cooker Mushroom & Pecan Dressing:

8 ounces sliced fresh mushrooms
1 cup sliced celery
1 cup chopped onion
6 tablespoons butter
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 tablespoon dried basil, crumbled
12 cups toasted bread cubes
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup toasted chopped pecans*

Melt butter over medium-low heat in a heavy skillet. Add mushrooms, celery, and onion; sauté for 5 minutes, until vegetables are just tender. Remove from heat; stir in the pepper and basil. In a large mixing bowl, combine vegetable mixture with the bread cubes. Sprinkle with the chicken broth and toss gently. Pour mixture into crockpot. Cover and cook on LOW setting for 3 1/2 to 4 hours. Stir in toasted pecans just before serving. Serves 10 to 12.

*To toast nuts, spread out in a single layer on a baking sheet. Toast in a 350° oven, stirring occasionally, for 10 to 15 minutes. Or, toast in an ungreased skillet over medium heat, stirring, until golden brown and aromatic.

Yvette's Short Ribs

4 lbs Beef short ribs

salt/ pepper

flour

2 med onions sliced

1 1/2 cups beef broth, water, or BBQ sauce

Roll ribs in seasoned flour. brown well in large skillet. Put onions in bottom of crockpot. Add browned ribs and liquid. Cover, cook low 8-10 hrs (High 4-6)

Mushroom and Barley Soup

1/4 cup barley

6 3/4 cup chicken or Veggie bouillon

1 bay leaf

1 tbs butter substitute

12 of mushroom slices

1 tsp olive oil

1 onion chopped fine

2 carrots sliced thin

1 tbs chopped tarragon

1 tbs chopped parsley

salt and pepper

1. Rinse/ Drain Barley. Boil Bouillon, add bay leaf and salt. stir in barley. Reduce heat, cover, simmer 40 mins

2. Melt butter in skillet over med heat. Add mushrooms and seasoning w salt and pepper. cook/ stir for 8 mins until golden brown. Remove from heat.

3. Heat oil. add onions and carrots. Cook 3 mins over med heat until onion is done.

4. Add remaining boullion. Boil. Stir barley and liquid and add mushrooms. Reduce heat. Stir in tarragon and parsley.