Cottage Cheese Pancakes and Latest Crack at Crack Slaw

 COTTAGE CHEESE PANCAKES

1 pint 2% cottage cheese

4 XL eggs

3 generous scoops stevia 

2 packs True Lemon

1 cup Pamela’s pancake mix

Butter for pan

Blend together until smooth.  Heat frying pan on medium low, melt butter and then pour pancakes, 1 large serving spoon per cake. When golden brown on the bottom, flip and cook until golden brown on the other side.

Serve with fruit sauce of your choice.

NB you can substitute in some plain Greek yogurt if you want to expand the recipe.  The basic formula is:

½ cup cottage cheese or Greek yogurt

1 XL egg

1 scoop stevia

½ pack true lemon (you can knock yourself out and go for a whole packet if you want)

½ cup Pamela’s pancake mix

Butter

Crack Slaw

Ingredients: 

1 medium to large head of cabbage, shredded very thinly

3-4 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp onion powder

1/4 tsp ground black pepper

1 tbsp white wine vinegar

3-4 cloves garlic minced

1can (57 gm) Maseri curry paste

1 lb ground chicken (or turkey, or whatever meat you want to add)

2 tsp fish sauce

2 tbsp dried parsley (optional, could also be fresh, chopped)

Optional:  sour cream or mayonnaise

1. Heat 2 tbsp olive oil at medium to medium/low in a large (very) sauté pan (or wok) and add cabbage.  Cover and stir frequently to move the cabbage around and cook until it softens.  Try to keep it from browning.  

2. Add onion powder, pepper and vinegar and stir well, frying for another 2-3 minutes, then remove the cabbage to a bowl and set aside.  

3. Add the other 2 tbsp of oil in the pan.  Add the garlic and curry paste, and sauté for one minute, then add the ground meat and fry until it is browned.  Add the fish sauce and parsley and continue to fry until most of the juices have evaporated.

4. Return the cabbage to the pan and stir to combine and return entire contents to heat, then serve.  Sour cream or mayonnaise may be added optionally.

 CRANBERRY APPLESAUCE  (Grandma Elaine)

Ingredients: 

1lb cranberries

1 MacIntosh Apple

About ½ cup or so water

Sugar or other sweetener to taste

Directions:  wash apple and cut into quarters, then toss into saucepan with the cranberries. Add enough water wo there is a small puddle at the bottom (the object it to cook the fruit without burning, but not end up with it too watery when done.). Cook until apples and cranberries pop.  Process through applesauce mill. (Alternatively peel and core Apple before cooking and just blend all the fruit in a blender).  Add sugar/sweetener to taste. Remember, it’s supposed to be tangy.

 Mrs. Page’s Pumpkin Bread

Preheat oven to 325.

Sift together:

3 ½ cups flour

3 cups sugar

½ tsp baking powder

2 tsp baking soda

½ tsp salt

½ tsp allspice

½ tsp nutmeg

2 tsp cinnamon

Beat and add to dry ingredients: 4 eggs

Add in:

1 can pumpkin 

1 cup vegetable oil 

Bake: in 2 greased loaf pans for 1 ½ hours @ 325.

Grease tops of loaves with butter after baking while still hot.

Prik Khing Crack Slaw & Shakshuka

It's been a while since I've posted.  I have been playing with recipes and they have not only morphed over time, but with the shakshuka, I can no longer access the original recipe without signing up for the NYT database.  Very annoying--like I need more emails from someone.  Though their recipes can be very good.

These are both relatively low carb recipes, and the Shakshuka can be made vegetarian.  Since the whole point is to cook eggs in the sauce, it won't be vegan.  The crack slaw could be vegetarian if you use some other crumbled meat substitute and drop the fish sauce.


Prik Khing Crack Slaw


Ingredients:

1 medium to large head of cabbage, shredded very thinly
1 leek, thinly sliced
4 tbsp coconut oil
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1 tbsp white wine vinegar
3 cloves garlic minced
1/2 can (57 gm) Prik Khing paste (or any curry paste)
1 lb ground chicken (or turkey, or whatever meat you want to add)
2 tsp fish sauce
2 tbsp dried parsley

Optional:  sour cream or mayonnaise

1. Melt 2 tbsp of coconut oil at medium to medium/low in a large (very) sauté pan (or wok) and add cabbage and leek.  Cover and still frequently to move the cabbage around and cook until it softens.  Try to keep it from browning.  
2. Add salt, onion powder, pepper and vinegar and stir well, frying for another 2-3 minutes, then remove the cabbage to a bowl and set aside.  
3. Melt the other 2 tbsp of oil in the pan.  Add the garlic and curry paste, and sauté for one minute, then add the ground meat and fry until it is browned.  Add the fish sauce and parsley and continue to fry until most of the juices have evaporated.
4. Return the cabbage to the pan and stir to combine and return entire contents to heat, then serve.  Sour cream or mayonnaise may be added optionally.

Shakshuka


Ingredients:

2-3 tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion, sliced thinly
1 bell pepper, sliced thinly into 1-2 inch slices
1 medium to large eggplant, sliced into 1-2 inch 1/4 to 1/2 inch sticks
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 tsp cumin (or to taste)
1 tsp salt (or to taste)
1 1/2 tsp ground coriander (or to taste)
1 tsp paprika (or to taste)
1 tsp Aleppo pepper (or other spicy pepper, also to taste)
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
28 ounce crushed tomatoes
2 tbsp tomato paste (also to taste)

1. In a large saute pan over medium heat, add olive oil, then add onions.  Saute until softened, then add bell pepper.  Saute for another 3 minutes, then add eggplant and garlic.  Continue to sauté until eggplant softens.
2. Add spices to pan and stir until combined.  Add tomatoes and tomato paste, then cover and simmer for 20-30 minutes on low.
3. At this juncture, you can add 6-8 eggs, cracked and gently placed, to the large saute pan and cover, cooking for 6-8 minutes, depending on how hard you want the yolks, then serve.
4. Alternatively, you can decant the sauce into a storage container and save.  When you wish to make single servings, you place 1-2 cups of sauce into an 8 inch frying pan, heat on medium until bubbling, then add 2 eggs, cover, and cook for 6-8 minutes, then serve.  

Personally, I like to do the later, then eat it straight out of the pan.  Yum!

Per Request: Hearty Kale Soup, and also Tasty Butternut Apple soup

I am going to try to write down what I did to make my most recent batch of kale soup.  It was a real winner, but sometimes the challenge is remembering what you did to get the recipe right!

Hearty Kale Soup

Ingredients:

2 large bunches of Kale, rinsed and chopped
1 medium onion (1/2 large sweet onion), chopped coarsely
3-4 cloves of garlic, minced
1-2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tbsp dijon mustard
2-3 tbsp balsamic vinegar (or to taste)
Fresh ground black pepper
5-6 cups of chicken broth

Over medium heat in a large soup pot, heat oil, then saute onion and garlic until softened.  Add mustard, vinegar and pepper, and stir.  Add chicken broth.  Bring to a boil, then add kale.  Simmer for 10-15 minutes, covered, stirring once or twice to make sure it cooks evenly.  Pour into blender or food processor and process in batches.  taste and adjust seasonings.

I will probably be able to adjust this after another try at making it.  I have already made a second batch and am pretty sure it needed more of the balsamic to get it just right.

Here is my first pass at butternut apple soup, as best as I can recall:

3 cups butternut squash cut in 1 inch cubes (or a little smaller)
2 large Cortland apples, peeled and sliced
1/4 large sweet onion, chopped
1 tbsp olive oil
4 cups vegetable broth
fresh ground black pepper to taste
2-3 tbsp ground ginger
1 tbsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
2-4 tbsp apple cider vinegar

Over medium heat in a large soup pot, heat oil, then saute the onion.  Add the rest of the ingredients except vinegar and simmer until vegetables and fruit are soft.  Add vinegar to taste.

Callaloo Soup and Buffalo Pulled Chicken

Callaloo Soup

Ingredients:

2 tsp olive oil                                    5 cups vegetable stock

1 ½ cups chopped onion                  2 cups diced peeled sweet potatoes

3 cloves garlic, pressed                    5-6 cups chopped callaloo

2 Tbsp grated fresh ginger root        1 cup coconut milk

½ tsp ground allspice                       1-2 cups diced fresh tomato

2 tsp ground turmeric                        1 can black soy beans, rinsed and drained

3-4 tsp ground coriander                  2 Tbsp lime juice

1 tsp dried thyme

Directions:

1. Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Stir in onion, garlic and ginger. Cook and stir until onion has softened and turned translucent (about 5 minutes). Sprinkle in the allspice, turmeric, coriander and thyme, then cook for 1 minute more.

2. Pour in the vegetable stock and sweet potatoes and bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low, cover and simmer 5 minutes.

3. Add the callaloo and simmer 5 minutes.

4. Stir in the coconut milk, tomato, beans and lime juice. Simmer about 5 minutes longer until the vegetables are tender.

Excellent soup that goes surprisingly well with breakfast.  Posting this in case anyone would like to try it.  Very very healthy!  You can add okra if you want, or use kale instead of callaloo.

Here's another recipe:

Buffalo Pulled Chicken

6-8 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1/3 cup olive oil

3 crushed garlic cloves

12 grinds black pepper

1 tsp smoked paprika

1 tsp chipotle chili powder

Juice of ½ lemon

½ cup Frank's Red Hot Sauce

Whisk all ingredients except chicken breasts together until well mixed. Spray inside of the slow cooker with cooking spray (PAM). Pour in 1/3 of the sauce to cover the bottom lightly. Layer in 3-4 chicken breasts. Pour another third of the sauce over the chicken breasts, then layer in the rest of the breasts and pour the last of the sauce over them. Place the cover and cook on medium for 6-8 hours.

Fish the breasts out of the pot when done and pull the chicken with forks. Place in bowl, and mix in enough of the sauce remaining in the cooker to moisten and flavor the chicken. Eat right away, and store the extra.

This is REALLY yummy.  And dead easy.

Chicken Soup

I am putting this up at Marc's request.  He no longer is able to reliably find good chicken soup, as good as Grandma made it!  So now he needs the recipe.  I will add some suggestions at the end of what to throw into the soup to make it more than broth with some vegetables.  A hint: if you're going to add some sort of starch like rice, quinoa or noodles, you can make them separately and let them cool.  When you add them to the nuclear hot soup, it cools it down nicely.

Chicken Soup

1/2 tbsp butter
2 ribs celery
2 large carrots
2 parsnips (or one really large one)
1 medium onion
1 quart chicken broth (I like the Pacific organic low sodium)
1-2 cups diced chicken breast
1/2 to 1 tsp salt (optional)

Prepare the vegetables in whatever size you prefer.  You can slice, leave the celery largely intact as spears, or do like I do and mince them all up in the food processor so they're unrecognizable and you don't notice you're eating any nasty chunks of celery.  Melt the butter in your stockpot, then saute the vegetables until tender in the butter. Add broth, chicken and salt and simmer for 20 minutes.

Optional:

I like to use rotisserie chicken (the whole thing) to make this up.  If you use the rotisserie chicken, you won't need the butter.  I strip the meat off the chicken and chop it, then add to the soup.

You can get a Napa cabbage, rinse thoroughly and shake dry, then slice into shreds and thrown them in the soup to simmer.  The cabbage doesn't change the flavor, but it adds texture and bulk and makes the soup more substantial..

Alternatively, you can add rice, matzo balls, noodles, quinoa, etc. at the end.

What makes this soup so awesome is the Grandma Elaine innovation of putting parsnips in it. Thanks, Elaine!

Amazing squash recipe!

I happened to see this in a Concord Monitor article when visiting Uncle Donald this past week.  He let me bring it home and I tried it today.  Yum!  I also read about the book "Fat Chance" in the same article, and have already purchased and finished it.  Pretty good book, though I've read even more amazing ones over the past couple of years.

Spice Winter Squash and Plantains (or Bananas)

4 tablespoons oil

2 bananas or ripe plantains (suspect plantains will be less mushy)

1 pound butternut squash cut into 1 inch cubes 

1 medium onion, peeled and finely chopped

3 cloves garlic, peeled and minced

2 teaspoons ground cumin

1 teaspoon ground coriander

2 tablespoons Sriracha

1 tablespoon cider vinegar (I used pomegranate vinegar this time)

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 to 1 cup water

1 small bunch fresh cilantro (optional)

Heat the oil in a medium to large skillet.  While it's heating, peel the plantains (or bananas) and cut into 1/2 inch thick disks, placing immediately into the skillet to brown on both sides.  Remove to a paper towel to drain.  Put the squash in the skillet and brown on all sides, then remove them from the pan and set asides as well.  Add onion for a few minutes and saute, then add garlic and continue cooking until the onions start browning.   Add spices, Sriracha and vinegar to the onion and garlic and stir.  Add back the plantains and squash and stir.  Add 1/2 to 1 cup of water to moisten the mixture and stir in the cilantro if you're going to add that as well.  Cover the skillet with a lid, reduce heat to low and cook, stirring occasionally and adding a little more water as needed, until squash is soft.

Serves 8 portions, about 1/2 cup in size.

This is pretty spicy.  You can always cut back on the Sriracha if you want, or use any other chili pepper you have available.  I've got two plantains ripening and will definitely make this again when they're ready!  I think I'll also bring a toned down version to the next Thanksgiving dinner I attend.  It'll separate the men and women from the sissies! 

Christmas Gluten Free

I am posting the recipe for Oma's Christmas Seafood Gratin here in both regular and gluten-free format, starting with gluten-free.  I had to ask Kurt to send me a copy of the recipe because I couldn't find it, which was annoying.

Oma's Christmas Seafood Gratin (gluten-free)

1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
2 onions, peeled and diced
2 bell peppers, cut fine
1 large package of baby bella mushrooms (crimini), sliced

1/2 cup sweet rice flour
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
4 cups milk (can be lactaid or lower fat than whole)
1 1/2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tsp dry mustard
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

15 ounces frozen lobster meat (defrosted and drained)
16 ounces frozen lump crab meat (defrosted and drained)
8 ounces small cooked shrimp, tail off

fine cut parsley (optional)

Melt butter in a large saute pan over moderate heat.  Stir in onions, bell peppers and mushrooms.  Cook for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Remove from heat.  Blend in flour, salt and pepper until smooth.  Stir milk in gradually, then return pan to heat.  Cook, stirring constantly, until thickened.  Stir in cheese and mix.  Add lemon juice, mustard, and Worcestershire sauce.  Cook until cheese melts.

Break up the defrosted seafood, drain, and add to sauce.  Mix, and let mixture heat to a boil.

Serve on pasta.

Makes about 12 servings or so.


The directions are about the same for the regular version, with just a difference in the ingredients, so I'll just list the ingredients.

1/2 cup butter
2 onions peeled and diced
2 bell peppers, cut fine
1 large package of baby bella mushrooms
2/3 cup sifted all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
4 cups milk
1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
15 ounces frozen lobster meat, defrosted and drained
16 ounces frozen lump crab meat, defrosted and drained
8 ounces small, cooked, tail-off shrimp, defrosted and drained

optional parsley, chopped, as garnish.