Turkish goulash

Turkish goulash

This was incredible!
(Serves 4)

700-800 grams (roughly 2 lbs) cubed beef
Oil, butter or ghee
1 large onion
1 large tomato
3 "toes" (as we say in German, hee hee) garlic
1 tbs honey
2 tbs raisins, if you'd like
1 cup dry red wine (if you're cooking for kids, you can replace a lot or all of the wine with beef broth)
5 nodules (what are these, seeds? Kernels?) of allspice, ground up; probably around a teaspoon of powder
Maybe 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon (I didn't really measure)
About 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
Some chili powder if you'd like
2 bay leaves
1.5 cups broth (beef, chicken, veggie, what-have-you)
2 tablespoons tomato paste
Salt and pepper
Splash of red wine vinegar
Potatoes or rice

Slice up the onion into thin noodley strings. Mash/cube/crush garlic. Cube the tomato. Toss it all into a hot buttered/oiled/gheed pan and sautee til soft. Remove from pan.

Put more oil/butter/ghee into the pan and brown the meat bits. Add the veggies back in, together with the optional raisins and honey. Shake in some pepper. Pour the wine over top and let it bubble until the mixture has thickened a bit. Add the broth, tomato paste, bay leaves, and spices, cover the pan, and let everything simmer for a good hour.

Now is a good time to make the potatoes (boiled, mashed, steamed, all are good) or rice.

Before the hour is through, you can remove the lid to let some extra water evaporate if it's not quite thick enough. It should have a stroganoffy consistency.

Add a splash of red wine vinegar toward the end for some nice sourness and stir in. Serve on top of potatoes or rice with a dollop of yogurt or sour cream.

This made the house smell amazing. With the Christmasy spices, it's great for a cold winter's day!

*A tip: If you're making for big eaters, I might suggest upping the ingredients a bit, or at least just adding another half pound of beef and a bit more broth & wine. Four people got full, but there were no leftovers!

Fish casserole

We had only some canned mackerel and noodles, so put together a pretty tasty dinner!

Have on hand:

  Boiled egg noodles
  Prepared veggies of choice: steamed broccoli, or, e.g., a bag of frozen veg (peas, green beans, carrots)
  Sauteed or canned mushrooms (drained)
  Cans of fish: mackerel, tuna. Probably sardines, salmon, etc. would also work.

Then for Sauce:

  Yellow onion
  Herbs (ideas: basil, oregano, parsley. Summer savory. Or tarragon, dill. Whatever you like.)
  Butter
  White wine
  Flour

  Veggie broth

  Milk

Then for Topping:

  Bread crumbs

  Parmesan (or Gruyere, or other dry, salty, tasty cheese)

  Olive oil or melted butter

Start oven on "bake" at 200C.

Prepare a cup or so of veggie broth and add some splashes of white wine.

Make the sauce: saute onion and herbs in generous butter. When onion is soft, start whisking in flour until you get a thick, smooth paste. Slowly pour in veggie broth + wine combo and keep whisking until you get a smooth sauce of desired thickness (it will also thicken a little when it cools). Add splashes of milk to desired creaminess.

Now is the time to mash a bunch of the drained fish into the sauce! Mash mash mash. Or if tuna: flake flake flake. Don't be shy with the fish, I used four cans of mackerel last time, and could probably have used more. Tip: if it's packed in oil, I would completely drain, otherwise the dish is too heavy. But if it's packed in water, you could keep the juice to retain all the fish nutrients (of course, this will thin the sauce a bit so prepare the thickness accordingly).

Add veggies and mushrooms to sauce and mix. Add noodles and mix. Dump into casserole dish.

Make the topping: mix equal parts bread crumbs and cheese. Moisten with olive oil or melted butter, and stir to make sure all is moistened. Spread over casserole dish.

Bake for 20 mins or until topping is browned, crisp and bubbly.

I recommend serving with squirts of lemon juice. :)

Variation 1: This might work well with rice as well, but haven't tried it yet.

Tip: I would avoid sautee'ing the mushrooms with the onions, as I don't know if the water from the shrooms would interfere with the roux. But if someone tries it lemme know how it works out.

Simple pumpkin bread

Simple Pumpkin Bread

Don't be fooled, dear non-American readers! This is really a cake. 

(Mmm... cake.)


Ingredients:
 3 cups (350 grams) flour
1/2 cup (60 grams) ground hazelnuts
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon each: nutmeg, cloves, ginger
1.5 teaspoons cinnamon (of course, I personally can't get enough cinnamon, and therefore use something like two teaspoons)
1 cup (200 grams) white sugar
1 cup (200 grams) brown sugar
1 cup (240 grams) melted butter
2 cups (about 450 grams) pumpkin puree
4 eggs


Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 350 F (180 C).

In a large bowl, mix the dry stuff: flour, hazelnuts, baking powder, salt, spices. Then mix in the sugars.

Mix in the melted butter, stirring well, then the pumpkin puree.

Add the eggs one at a time, blending thoroughly after each one.

Pour the batter into two buttered & floured loaf pans (each roughly 9 inches x 5 inches).

Bake for 50-60 minutes, until a stick inserted into the middle of one comes out clean.

Then just try to wait until they cool before you take a bite!

(Of course, like any spice cake, these are even better after 1-2 days wrapped in plastic.)

Carrot cake

Carrot Cake

This has a lot of ingredients. But believe me, it is worth every minute! This might be the Best Cake Ever. But perhaps that distinction will have to wait until everyone has made it themselves and can weigh in...

This was riffed off of Sam's Famous Carrot Cake from allrecipes. Then I changed a bunch of stuff.

3 eggs

3/4 cup yogurt
3/4 cup butter (or! 1/2 butter, 1/4 c coconut oil)
1-1/2 c white sugar

vanilla
lemon zest

cinnamon
ginger
cloves
dash salt

1 c flour
1 c almond meal
2 teaspoons baking soda

2 c shredded carrots
1 c flaked coconut
1 c chopped walnuts
1 (8 ounce) can crushed pineapple
1 cup raisins
Spiced rum

Start raisins soaking in rum. For best results, give them a couple of hours to get nice and fat and soft.

Mix together dry, with the spices. Mix together wet. Combine. Fold in all the fruit and nuts and carrots. Fold in raisins, along with a few spoonfuls of the rum they soaked in. Pour into a loaf pan (or pan of your choosing... bundt might be nice).

Bake 175C/350F for approximately one hour. Start checking on it at 30, then again at 45; you may have to cover it with foil and turn the temp down for the last 20 or so, to get it to cook through and not be too brown.

Let cool for 10 minutes or so. Then devour. Pro tip: this is even better after a couple of days...!

Flourless chocolate cake

This one is from Epicurious. Probably the most successful flourless cake ever! We were tempted to put some extra liqueur or something in it, but it's not necessary -- is delicious just as it is.

(Okay, maybe next time I'll give in and add a teeny bit of espresso... :) But that's it!)

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Flourless-Chocolate-Cake-14478#ixzz201IUbqzl

4 ounces fine-quality bittersweet chocolate (not unsweetened)

1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter

3/4 cup sugar

3 large eggs

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder plus additional for sprinkling

Preheat oven to 375°F and butter an 8-inch round baking pan. Line bottom with a round of wax paper and butter paper.

Chop chocolate into small pieces. In a double boiler or metal bowl set over a saucepan of barely simmering water melt chocolate with butter, stirring, until smooth. Remove top of double boiler or bowl from heat and whisk sugar into chocolate mixture. Add eggs and whisk well. Sift 1/2 cup cocoa powder over chocolate mixture and whisk until just combined. Pour batter into pan and bake in middle of oven 25 minutes, or until top has formed a thin crust. Cool cake in pan on a rack 5 minutes and invert onto a serving plate.

Dust cake with additional cocoa powder and serve with sorbet if desired. (Cake keeps, after being cooled completely, in an airtight container, 1 week.)

Erdbeerbowle

Steve made this on a warm summer evening. Absolutely brilliant.

Champagne
Strawberries
Fresh basil
(a tiny bit of) Cointreau
Sparkling water

Slice/chop the strawberries, and pile them into a pitcher. Chop and add basil leaves. Top with a whole bottle of champagne. Place in the fridge and let it all soak together for an hour or two.


When ready, add a very small dash of Cointreau or other orange liqueur (really, not much -- don't want to make it too rich). Alternatively, a little fresh squeezed orange, or a couple of orange or lemon slices, will probably also do. Just something to give it a little bit of citrus.

Serve topped with sparkling water. Ahhhh!

Protip: this is another recipe that is most delicious when kept simple. We tried to get fancy and try variations with brandy and other liqueurs, and the best version always turned out to be just this basic one. Simple and fresh!

Chopped salad

This is my new standby:

Lamb's leaf lettuce (aka mâche, aka Feldsalat, aka Nüsslisalat, aka corn salad)
Arugula (aka rocket)
Cherry tomatoes
Avocado

1/2 Orange

Walnut oil

Balsamico

Salt and pepper

(optional) Other nuts: walnuts or almonds or ..

Pile the lettuces together (lamb's leaf and arugula) in about equals parts on a large cutting board. Open an avocado and scoop the meat out onto the pile. Use a giant knife to chop it all together until it's in soft, moist, fork-sized chunks. Scrape into a bowl. Halve the cherry tomatoes and toss together with the salad. Toss with a dressing of: fresh squeezed orange, walnut oil, a dash of balsamico, salt and pepper. Optionally sprinkle with some other nuts.

I've tried variations of this where I try to add more herbs (mix in fresh basil, or add tarragon or italian herbs or something) but it really is best just as simple as it is!

Variations:
+ Goat cheese instead of avocado (both at the same time is good, but tips the scales toward rich, rather than fresh. Depends on what you're going for!).
+ Spinach instead of the other greens. If you use spinach, strawberries might also be a nice addition.

Sage walnut pesto

1 part fresh parsley
1 part fresh mint
4 parts fresh sage

walnut and/or olive oil

2 garlic cloves
walnuts, toasted
parmesan
lemon juice (optionally also a little zest)
salt

Toast the walnuts: place in a pan and toast on medium-high heat for a few minutes, until nuts are fragrant and starting to slightly brown.

Blend herbs and oil in food processor. Add the rest of the ingredients at will, to preferred taste and consistency.

Serve with:

Ricotta on toast
Prosciutto on toast
Slathered onto fish and baked (so simple, SO GOOD)
Roasted squash
A spoon

Mexican style beer braised pork

• Pork shoulder 
• lard 
• onion 
• garlic 
• dried chilis 
• coriander 
• cumin 
• salt, pepper 
• cinnamon 
• dash cloves 
• oregano 
• thyme 
• bay leaves 
• beer 
• orange 

1. Acquire a large chunk of pork, ideally with bone still in (for better flavor). Shoulder is good. Butt is probably also good, or any other large cut. 
2. Brown the pork on medium to high heat, using some lard if it's a really lean cut. Remove meat. 
3. In the same pot, reduce heat, add a little more lard if necessary, and saute chopped onion, garlic, chilis. 
4. When soft, add spices and continue to cook for another minute or two. 
5. Return meat to pot, add herbs (oregano and thyme), a whole bottle of beer, and a juiced orange. I usually just crush the orange flesh and throw all of it in there, minus peel. Top up with enough water to cover the meat about half way. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. 
6. Simmer for at least 6 hours. Occasionally turn, and add more water as necessary. 
7. When the meat is tender enough to remove bones (after at least 4 or 5 hours), remove them, and continue cooking. 
8. When meat is falling apart, increase heat a bit until juice completely reduces and is soaked into the meat. Might have to pay some attention in this last 20 mins or so, stirring to prevent meat from burning. 
9. At this point, if you don't mind an extra step, you can slide the meat into the oven and broil it for a minute or two until it's crispy on top. Or maybe just continue to cook it on the stovetop in its own juices, until it gets crispy on the edges. This is the traditional last step for carnitas. I haven't tried it, yet, though, am usually too hungry to bother! 
10. Serve with corn tortillas (homemade is the *best*), fresh guac, salsa, and fresh cilantro.

Ethiopian recipes

I need to learn to make more Ethiopian food. So good! Found this little blog, maybe will give these a try: http://ethiopianfood.wordpress.com/recipes/ These look good, too: http://www.ethiopianrestaurant.com/recipes.html Also, nice looking spice mix: http://www.food.com/recipe/berbere-200366 Now just to find an injera supplier in Switzerland...