Marinade for Roasted Vegetables

Because I like to cook with whatever is in the house, I have formulas for some things rather than recipes. A recipe implies that you should have certain ingredients to make the food taste right or to make it work. Most of the time, that isn't the case. Most things have a ratio that will allow you to substitute a whole array of ingredients. In addition to using up what you have around, formula cookery results in some novelty and discovery. 

We like to roast vegetables rather than steam or boil them because the flavor is concentrated and intensified in the roasting. With some of the water content gone and a bit of caramelization, new flavors emerge. The best example of this is how many people like roasted Brussells sprouts, but do not care for them cooked with any other method.

The sauces can be drizzled over the vegetables in whatever quantity you like. I like to drizzle a little when I first put them in the oven and then again about 15 or 20 minutes before I remove them from the oven.

Formula for Marinade

Tang - wine vinegar, rice vinegar, cider vinegar, lemon or lime juice - about 1/4 cup

Sweetness - honey, maple syrup, brown sugar, jelly - especially pomegranate - about 1/3 cup

Fat - butter, avocado oil, olive oil, ghee, or some combination of those - about 1/2 cup

Liquid - broth, wine, fruit juice, water, beer - about 1/3 cup

Flavoring/Umami - soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, chili pepper flakes or powder, caraway seed powder, dill weed, mustard, coriander, fennel, ginger, garlic, etc. How much of these flavorings you use is totally unique to who's doing the eating. But all of these are generally measured with spoons rather than cups.

There is no reason not to use the same formula for meat marinade, as well.

Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced.

Jaryd Clifford

Fruit and Cider Pancakes

I'm searching for a better name for the long list of pancakes I have made over the past decade or so. "Cake" is not what I am going for, but they always consist of batter fried in a pan, so this is it for now. These have a summery flavor and are simple to make.

This summer was a good year for fruit and I like to use what's on hand.

For these tasty breakfast treats you will need:

5 eggs
1 1/2 cups of mashed fruit
1 + cups of any flour you like; I have used wheat, quinoa, and brown rice flour - all with good results.
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup of cider; it can be hard cider or the non-alcohol kind.

Mix your ingredients together. Heat some coconut oil in a large frying pan, and spoon in some batter, and cook on a low heat setting.

Make the pancakes dollar size for easier flipping. If you like thicker batter, it's all right to add more flour. I tend to like a crepe-like result, so I use less flour.

Top with fruit sauce, honey, syrup, jam, butter or anything else that you like on pancakes. I usually sprinkle some chopped pecans on mine.

Crab Stuffed Twice Baked Potatoes

 I was searching my kitchen for something to plump up my twice baked potatoes and struck gold. I opened a can of crab meat, drizzled some fresh lemon juice over it, sprinkled some chili powder on it, and added it to the potato spice mix.  Voila!

1. Slice the leftover baked potatoes in half and scoop out the insides.

2. Set the shells on a baking sheet and put some melted butter into the potatoes - at least a tablespoon per potato.

3. Ad some parsley flakes, bouillon powder, black pepper, ground caraway, and sauted onion and garlic to the potatoes. If you are pressed for time, you could get away with onion and garlic powder.

4. Mix the crab/lemon/chili powder into the potatoes and mix it all together well.

5. Fill each of the potato shells; top with paprika and bake at 350 for about a half hour.

These are so delicious! You might want to try them at a dinner party.


No problem can be solved at the level of consciousness at which it was conceived,
Albert Einstein

Pumpkin Fritters

Pumpkin Fritters 

5 large or six smaller eggs 
2 cups cooked pureed pumpkin 
1/2 cup coconut flour 
1 cup fava, rice or other gluten free flour blend 
2 tablespoons cinnamon 
1/2 teaspoon cloves 
1 teaspoon nutmeg 
1 teaspoon salt 

Your batter should be a bit stiff. Drop into hot coconut oil and flatten a little with the spoon. Fry at medium low and serve with toppings such as butter, fruit, nuts, syrup, powdered sugar, and whipped cream.

Apple Custard Cake

Apple Custard Cake

There are many recipes for apple cake. The two things that set this one apart are: cooking the apples which helps create a custard texture, and browning the butter which gives it an extraordinary flavor.

Sliced apples - about 6 medium apples
I happened to have some Asian pears when I made this and I used a bit of pear along with the apples. Four apples and two pears will make an even more fabulous custard than the apples alone.

1/2 teaspoon Cardamom

1/2 teaspoon Nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon Cinnamon

1/4 cup bourbon or dry white wine or brandy

2 eggs

2/3 cup butter

3/4 cup brown sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla

1 cup flour (This can be oat flour, wheat flour, fava flour or some combination of these.)

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1. Put 1/2 cup butter in a skillet over low heat to brown. When butter is browned, set it aside to cool.

2. Peel and slice apples.

3. Put nutmeg, cardamom​, sugar, flour, bourbon, vanilla, salt and baking powder into a mixing bowl, and add the partially cooled butter.

4. Put the apple/pear mix and 2 generous tablespoons butter into the skillet to begin softening. Sprinkle the fruit very lightly with cinnamon.

5. While the fruit is softening in the skillet, add the eggs to the mixing bowl. This should take 10  -  15 minutes. The fruit should be partially cooked, but not mushy.

6. Let the fruit cool a little before adding to the rest of the batter so as not to cook the eggs.

7. You can bake the custard in a glass pie plate or in individual custard cups. At  340, the cake will take about 35 minutes to bake. The individual cups may be done at around 30 minutes.

Sprinkle with a little powdered sugar. Serve while still slightly warm with whipped cream. It's also good cold!

More Chia Pancakes

Because you cannot have enough recipes for pancakes...More Chia Pancakes

1/2 cup chia seeds
1 1/2 cups hot water
1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup coconut flour
5 medium or 4 large eggs
2 tablespoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
Pinch of cloves

Coconut oil for frying.

1. Stir the chia seeds into the hot water. Let sit for 30 minutes or longer. These can even be kept in the refrigerator overnight if that is more convenient.

2. When you are ready to fry your cakes, mix all the ingredients together in a blender. Blend on medium speed for about a minute.

3. Drop spoonfuls of batter into hot coconut oil to make cakes about 3 inches in diameter.

4. Serve with any combination of toppings: butter, syrup, fruit sauce, nuts

The world will be saved by beauty.   Fyodor Dostoyevsky

Roasted Potatoes with Tender Chicken

Roasted Potatoes with Tender Chicken 

Tender chicken and crispy potatoes in one dish doesn't seem possible, but it's amazingly simple and quite delicious.

10 pieces of chicken tenders and/or boneless thighs

8 medium potatoes 

Chili powder

Salt

Butter

Marinade:

1/2 cup balsamic vinaigrette

1/4 cup soy sauce

2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

1/3 cup water

1. Marinate the chicken for about 1/2 hour.

2. Sprinkle with salt and chili powder

3. Peel and cut the potatoes into 1 1/2 inch cubes 

4. Place the potatoes on top of the chicken/marinade layer. 

5. Gently turn the potato cubes over in order to coat them slightly with the marinade mix, but leaving the chicken on the bottom layer.

6. Sprinkle the potatoes with salt and pepper. 

Bake at 350 for about an hour and a half. At the 1 hour mark, drizzle melted butter over the potatoes. 

Potatoes will get deliciously browned on the outside and soft in the middle. Scoop the chicken and potatoes into a platter with a slotted spoon.

Love comforteth like sunshine after rain.  William Shakespeare

Banana Fritters

Banana Fritters

Most of us have seen the recipe for 2 eggs/1 banana pancakes on the Internet somewhere. I have tried that recipe and found it somewhat wanting, so I have updated a banana fritter recipe. I think you will like it!

I froze my overripe bananas. I peeled them, broke them into pieces and froze them in zip lock bags. This isn't necessary, but it's useful if you don't want to make the fritters at the same time the bananas need to be used. After thawing, I drained them in a metal strainer. 

This resulted in about 1 1/2 cups of mashed banana. 

Add: 

1/2  cup ground golden flax seed 

1/3 cup of coconut flour 

4 eggs 

2 tablespoons of cinnamon 

2 teaspoons vanilla 

Small amounts of cloves, nutmeg or cardamom can also be used. (1/2 teaspoon amounts) 

1/2 teaspoon salt 

1/4 cup chia seeds 

1. Mix very thoroughly - a mixer is probably the best way. 

2. The batter needs to sit for a bit to let the chia seeds absorb moisture. Anywhere from a half hour to overnight is fine. If the batter becomes a little too thick, add some coconut milk (any kind of milk would work) to thin it a bit. The batter should be fairly thick, though. 

3. Drop small spoonfuls in hot coconut oil and then cook over medium low heat. Little discs about 2 inches in diameter is what you are aiming for. Lots of surface area is the key to good flavor and texture.

Eat them with any toppings you like: Butter, syrup, fresh fruit, cooked fruit, chopped nuts, coconut, jam, etc. Some people might like them without any toppings.

The best way to pay for a lovely moment is to enjoy it.    Richard Bach

Braised Lamb Shoulder

 Here are two recipes for slow cooked lamb. It is surprisingly delicious with a taste similar to the much more costly leg of lamb. These instructions are for oven braising, but you could use a slow cooker (crock pot). The slow cooker might take a little bit longer than the oven to get the same results.

Lamb in Wine Sauce

2 pound lamb shoulder (If you are feeding more than 4 people, you will need two of these.)
Olive oil
Onion
Mushrooms
Fish sauce (or anchovy paste)
Red wine
Orange juice
Curry powder
Ground Rosemary
Salt
Pepper


1. Drizzle a little olive oil over the lamb shoulder sprinkle generously with salt and pepper and a light dusting of curry powder. Cover with diced onion, pour about a half inch of water in the bottom of the pan, and bake in a 320 oven for 4 or 5 hours.

2. Chop 10 - 12 mushrooms into small pieces. Dice one medium sized onion.

3. Saute the onions and mushrooms in a bit of olive oil, and add 1/2 cup of freshly squeezed orange juice and 3/4 cup red wine. Add a teaspoon of fish sauce and a half teaspoon of ground Rosemary to this mixture and simmer slowly for a few minutes.

4. At hour 3, pour the wine sauce over the lamb shoulder and cook until the meat is falling off the bone and is very tender.

 Serve with rice, lentils, and acorn squash for a hearty winter meal.



Lamb with Rosemary and Garlic

2 pound lamb shoulder (If you are feeding more than 4 people, you will need two of these.)
Olive oil
Garlic - regular or elephant
Fresh Rosemary
Curry powder
Salt
Pepper

Sides: red or white potatoes, small onions, carrots




1. Drizzle a little olive oil over the lamb shoulder and sprinkle generously with salt and pepper and a light dusting of curry powder. Pour about a half inch of water in the bottom of the pan and bake in a 320 oven for 4 or 5 hours.

2. Dice one or two cloves of elephant garlic or 5 or 6 regular garlic cloves.

3. At hour three, baste the shoulder, and then cover with diced garlic and fresh Rosemary.

4.At hour 3.5, lay small unpeeled red or white potatoes, chunks of carrot, and 6 or 7 small onions around the roast. Salt and pepper the vegetables. These will take a little over an hour to cook at the low temperature.

Serve on your best platter, with Pinot Noir and candlelight, just for fun!

Rosemary is a hearty plant that can be grown indoors or outdoors. It requires little care and will be there for you when you want to add some to a soup, bread or meat dish. It is the secret to great tasting lamb dishes.

 Save your shoulder bones and scraps to make a delicious bone broth. Throw the scraps into a pot of water with a little salt, some more Rosemary and a bit of tamarind. Simmer on low for several hours. Strain the broth through a metal sieve and use the clear broth for lentil soup or lamb stew if you have enough meat left over.

Marry the one who gives you the same feeling you get when you see your food coming at a restaurant.
(Lynn Rossetto Kasper attributed this to Anonymous, and I would never argue with her.)

Spicy Party Snack

Roasted Chickpeas or Garbanzo Beans are a great alternative party snack. They are fairly inexpensive to make and quite a bit more nutritious than many snack foods.

Drain the liquid from a can of beans, heat some coconut oil on a baking sheet, and pour the drained beans onto the sheet. Sprinkle with spices, stir just a bit, and bake at 350 for 30 - 40 minutes. Beans should have a crisp coating. If they are not quite crisp, give them a few more minutes. Once they are cooled, you can store them in an airtight container. They are better fresh, though.

They will crisp a little faster if they are not crowded, so it is best to use only one can per one regular size baking sheet. 

Suggested spices:

Salt
Ginger
Turmeric
Cumin
Powdered mustard
Dill weed
Chili powder


Breakthroughs happen when what is suddenly possible meets with what is desperately necessary.
Thomas Friedman

Persimmon Salsa!

Whether you have a persimmon tree or friends with persimmon trees, this is the time of year when they seem to be everywhere. Persimmons recipes are quite commonly breads and pastry items because persimmons have a a sweet jam-like quality. We like salsa at our house and fruit mixes with hot chilies to create a flavor extravaganza. (Mango and pineapple salsas are also on this blog). So the persimmons (I used five) went into the salsa, along with:

Roasted garlic - 3 cloves
Cumin - rounded teaspoon
Salt - rounded teaspoon
Lime juice - one large lime
Crushed tomatoes - 2 1/2 cups
Red pepper flakes - rounded tablespoon
Chili powder - rounded teaspoon
Chipotle chili powder - level teaspoon
Ground coriander - level reaspoon, or cilantro leaves - rounded tablespoon

Persimmons need to be peeled and be sure not to get any seeds into the sauce.
 
Put the tomatoes, persimmon pulp, lime juice and garlic into a blender to make a sauce with an even texture.

Pour the sauce into a glass bowl and add spices to bring it to the level of heat that you like. None of the

The longer the salsa sits, the more heat it will absorb from the chili pepper flakes and powders, so you might want to wait for a while before adding more of those things unless you will not be bothered by a spicy salsa.

 To roast garlic, chop the tops from a few heads, drizzle with olive oil and bake at 325 for about 45 minutes. When the cloves are soft, you can squeeze them out of the skins and put them in a glass jar in the refrigerator to use in salad dressings, hummus, or any sauce you might be making. They will keep for a couple of weeks on the top shelf and add terrific flavor to many dishes.

Roasted Eggplant with Pomegranate Sauce

Peel and cut eggplant into 1 inch cubes
Cut mushrooms into chunks

Add chunks of red pepper, tomato, or thin slices of carrot for color.

Sprinkle the mixed vegetables with sea salt, and a drizzle of olive oil and roast them in a shallow pan at 325 degrees for about 35 minutes. Then pour the pomegranate sauce over the vegetables and turn the heat to 350. Roast uncovered for about 20 more minutes or until eggplant is very tender.

Serve over rice with chicken or shrimp.

Pomegranate sauce:
1/4 cup of pomegranate jelly*
1/4 cup of olive oil or butter
2 tablespoons of soy or tamari
1/2 teaspoon each of ginger, thyme, salt, and curry
A splash of red wine and a bit of mustard are also good.

Melt the jelly slightly in the microwave before mixing with the other ingredients. If you use butter, you can melt that along with the jelly.

* You could also use pomegranate molasses or pomegranate syrup. I use the jelly because it's what I have around most of the time. Even pomegranate juice could work in this recipe.

Baby Back Pork Ribs

Spring and summer are the seasons for grilling. There are so many good things to grill, but ribs are a perennial favorite.

Baby Back Pork Ribs 

2 or 3 slabs of ribs

Sprinkle liberally with salt, pepper, and chili powder

You can use additional herbs and spices, too, such as: curry powder, thyme, sage, oregano

Put the ribs in a covered roasting pan with at least a half inch of water in the bottom of the pan.

Bake at 325 for at least 3 - 4 hours. Check periodically to see that there is still a half inch of liquid in the bottom of the roaster.  (If you do a larger batch, say 5 or 6 slabs, bake them for 4 - 5 hours.)

At 3 ½ hours, coat the ribs with barbecue sauce. Use your favorite brand or make your own.

At the end of 3 or 4 hours, the ribs will be falling apart, so you will want to handle them carefully when transferring them to the grill. Brush on more barbecue sauce and grill 10 to 15 minutes on each side. You might need an additional BBQ screeen to keep the pieces from falling through the grate.

If you want to cook these a day or two ahead, you can refrigerate them when they come out of the oven rather than grilling immediately.

Homemade Barbecue Sauce Recipe*

1 small can tomato paste

 1 tablespoon molasses

¼ cup brown sugar or honey

1 tablespoon mustard – any kind

1 teaspoon of any smoke flavored spice

1 tablespoon chili powder

4 large cloves pressed garlic

3 tablespoons olive or sesame oil

1 tablespoon salt

1 teaspoon black or white pepper

2 tablespoons sautéed onion or 1 tablespoon  minced dried, onion

1 tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce

*MORE ABOUT BBQ SAUCE

The ingredients for a delicious barbecue sauce are not all that specific. The recipe can work with a wide range of ingredients.  You will need - 

1. Some fruitiness: Tomato paste, apricot, peach or mango sauce or any combination of these

2. Some spiciness: Chili powder, curry powder, pepper flakes, sautéed chilies, mustard

3. Some smokiness: Any salt or spice mix that has smoke flavoring. These can get overpowering very quickly, so this is one ingredient to add carefully.

 4. Some sweetness: Brown sugar, honey, maple syrup, or whatever you have on hand

5. Some umami: Roasted garlic, sautéed onions or fennel or shallots or leeks, anchovy paste or fish sauce

You can also use wine, Worcestershire sauce, olive oil, salt, and butter in your sauce. 

Specific ingredients are not as important as the combination of these five flavor categories. Based on these categories, you can use whatever you have in your kitchen to create a fabulous sauce for your barbecued ribs (or chicken, steak, or fish). 

Once you make your own sauce, you will realize that it is truly easy to do and tastes much better than the commercial kind, which very frequently has a chemical taste.