ANZAC COOKIES

This is a recipe I got from the Martha Stewart website years ago. These cookies have become really popular at a bakery here in town (Sweetie Pies), so I have resurrected it.  They really are chewy and wonderful. I haven't tried them with vegan butter... but they don't have any eggs in them, so that's a plus.

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 cups rolled oats

2 cups sugar

1 cup flaked coconut (whirled around in a food processor to make in finer)

1 cup (2 sticks) butter

2 tablespoons Lyle's Golden Syrup (You can find it at World Market, or you can order it online)

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 cup boiling water

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper, and set aside. 

In a large bowl, combine flour, oats, sugar, and coconut. Set aside.

In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt butter with syrup. Dissolve baking soda in boiling water, and add to butter mixture. Stir to combine. (Be careful; if the butter is hot, it will bubble up considerably.)

 

Add butter mixture to dry ingredients, and stir to combine. 

Using a 1 1/2-inch ice-cream scoop, drop onto prepared baking sheets, about 2 inches apart (They will spread out a lot, so make room)

Bake until golden brown and firm but not hard, about 15 minutes. Pull them off the sheet pans with the parchment paper and onto the counter so they don't sit on the hot sheet pans and overcook.

A marriage made in heaven... Lyle's Golden Syrup and Howard the Gnome...

BUNCH OF BANANAS BREAD

I used the word "Bunch" in the name because this recipe takes 2-1/3 cups of mashed bananas, which is about 5 small to medium bananas... and when I have enough bananas that are too ripe to eat, and too many to just throw out, I like to make banana bread. I just don't bother for one or two bananas. (Don't tell my Grandma Warner, she never would let anything go to waste... She lived through the Great Depression, and would can 2 little jars of peaches before letting a few go bad. She also always sent you home with something she had just made. It would always be put in a sour cream container, or a recycled frozen dinner plate. It wasn't just food that didn't go to waste.)

I don't know how I ended up with this many bananas... in three stages. The ones on the bottom are still edible, though barely. The ones on the top will last a couple more days and are still good for smoothies, or freezing for ice cream (recipe to come in another post). But the bananas to the left were just too ripe, so they have been peeled and mashed for banana bread.

Ingredients:
2 cups flour

1 teas. Baking Soda

1 teas. salt

¾ cup brown sugar

½ cup oil

2-1/3 cups mashed ripe banana

½ teas. Cinnamon

1 teas. Vanilla

2 eggs (or egg substitute)

(Sugar in the Raw, or sanding sugar for topping)

Preheat over to 350°F. Mix ingredients together.

I cram the bananas into the measuring cup to get the right amount, but let the mixer actually mash them, then add the rest of the ingredients and mix together.

Oil and flour a 5”x9” loaf pan. I use the Pam for Baking because it has the oil and flour already mixed together and you just spray it on.

Spray the pan over the sink, otherwise you will be getting a sticky mess all over your counter, or floor, etc. The sink is easy to clean.

TIP: Wipe the cooking spray off the handles and sides of the pan, after you put the batter in but before you put it in the oven... it will bake on there and stick like glue to your pan... and Aunt Kathy won't be there with a razor blade to scrape it off for you... unless you take something to her in the pan and forget it at her house... then the pan will return to you spotless. 

After you pour the batter into your loaf pan and clean it up. Sprinkle sugar on top. I like the Sugar in the Raw, or Sanding Sugar, because it is big and crunchy.

Bake for 60 minutes or until stick comes out clean.

SWEET POTATOES

Ingredients:

• 3 enormous Sweet Potatoes (or 4 medium ones). The garnet ones, kind of a dark red-brown color. They have a bright orange flesh and taste better that the other kinds.
• 1 cup Sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon of cayenne pepper
• Optional 4 oranges, cut in half (if you want to bake them in orange halves... you can put the juice from the oranges in with the sweet potato mixture if you are using the oranges)
• 2 whole Eggs (just leave these out if you want them vegan)
• 1 teaspoon Salt
• 1 cup Brown Sugar
• 1 cup Walnuts or Pecans, chopped
• 1/2 cup Flour
• 1 teaspoon Cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon Nutmeg
• 3/4 stick Butter (or vegan butter)

Instructions:

Wash the sweet potatoes, poke them with a knife so they don't explode, and bake them in a 375-degree oven until fork tender, about 40 minutes. 

Make sure you line your baking dish or sheet pan with foil... because they will really mess it up with sticky burned stuff.

You can just eat them this way with butter and maple syrup, or go ahead and make a casserole out of them...let them cool for a while, and then slice them open and scrape out the flesh into a large bowl.

Add 1 cup of (regular granulated) sugar, cayenne, 2 eggs, and 1 teaspoon of salt. Stir it all together. Add the orange juice if you are making orange ones.

Now, in a separate bowl, add 1 cup brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, nuts, chopped, ½ cup flour, and ¾ stick of butter. With a fork, mash together until thoroughly combined.

Spread the sweet potato mixture into a regular baking dish and sprinkle the crumb mixture all over the top. Or, if you want individual servings, you can scoop the flesh out of the orange halves, scoop the mixture into the little orange bowls, sprinkle with the toppings and place them in a baking dish.

Bake in a 400°F oven for 30 minutes, or until golden brown.

PERFECT GREEN BEANS WITH SHALLOTS

 

Ingredients:

Half a produce bag of green beans

2 shallots

2 T Butter or vegan butter

2 T Olive or canola oil

Salt & Pepper

Instructions:

Wash and trim the end of your beans. You can leave them whole, or break them into smaller pieces. Fill your pasta pot with salted water and bring to a boil.

Peel and dice your shallots fairly small. Melt the butter in a pan and add the oil. Sauté the shallots until translucent. Turn off the heat until your beans are done.

When the salted water comes to a boil, add the beans.

Only cook the beans for about 2 minutes. They will turn bright green.

Then pull them out, drained (which is why the pasta pot comes in handy). and immediately take them over to the sink and pour very cold water over them. If you want to be very professional, fill the sink with ice water and dunk your beans in it. This will stop them from over cooking.

 

See how bright green they are? Drain them again and dump them into the pan of shallots, add salt and pepper to taste, and toss to coat. You can turn the heat back on and warm them up. Or they will hold well at this point and you can heat them up later. They are also just really good a room temp also.

CRANBERRY SAUCE

I guess I decided that if I have been making so many things from scratch, I should make my own cranberry sauce. It looks really easy on TV when they do it. Plus, everything is better than what comes in a can... so this must be too! It was really easy, and it tasted amazing. The difference is like the difference between grocery store strawberry jam and home made.

Ingredients

12 oz bag fresh cranberries

Juice from 2 oranges

Zest from one orange

2/3 cup brown sugar

1/3 cup white sugar

2 oz rum

Instructions

Zest one of the oranges before you cut them in half to get the juice. Then juice the two oranges, making sure to pick out any seeds.

Put all of the ingredients into a sauce pan on medium heat. 

Don't forget the rum... I've heard that amaretto, brandy, or whiskey is good also. I would use amaretto sparingly, too much almond flavor might not be great.

As it comes to a boil, the berries will start to pop, and it will look foamy. Just keep stiring.

Eventually it will thicken and turn a deep red color... in about 15 to 20 minutes.

ROASTED VEGETABLES WITH CANNELLINI BEANS

(Recipe adapted from one I found in Whole Living Magazine. This is one of my favorite cooking magazines.)

Ingredients
1 large onion,chopped
5 garlic cloves, peeled
1 small rutabaga, peeled and chopped
2 parsnips, peeled and chopped
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
2 yukon gold or red potatoes, chopped
2 stalks of celery, trimmed and sliced
4 oz. sliced mushrooms
3 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for drizzling
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
Coarse salt and pepper
1 1/2 cups cooked and drained cannellini beans

Directions

• Heat oven to 425 degrees. On a rimmed baking sheet, toss onion, garlic, rutabaga, parsnips, carrots, sweet potato, mushrooms and celery with olive oil and 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar. Season with salt and pepper.
• Roast, tossing once, until golden brown and tender, 25 to 30 minutes. Remove from oven and stir in beans.
• Roast until beans are crisped, about 5 minutes more. Toss vegetables with 1 teaspoon vinegar and drizzle with oil.

The trick to this recipe is to have your oven hot enough. 425°F will probably burn the last thing that spilled over in your oven... smoke will ensue... that's because you usually cook things at 350°. It will stop once you cook more at a high heat... or you clean your oven.

Above is a version with no beans, but red beets and green onion.

Here is a version with sweet potatoes, pink beans and Brussels sprouts. Notice the caramelization on the Brussels sprouts and sweet potato... that is major yumminess right there. Don't go in and stir it too often... let it get brown. That is why the high heat is so important.

LASAGNA

OK... this has no meat, and no cheese, so it is really healthy, pretty much fat free, full of protein from the tofu, yes tofu, and pretty darn yummy for having no guilt involved. Don't get all excited like it might taste like real lasagna... but it makes a great meal, and is really cheap... like $6 compared to $36 to make.

Ingredients:

• 1 box of lasagna noodles (no-boil, or regular if you have more time and less money)
• 1 or 2 big jar(s) (or a can is cheaper) of spaghetti sauce
• 1 package of extra firm tofu
• 2 T vegetable oil
• 1 large onion
• 3 cups of cooked vegetables, more or less (greens, eggplant, squash, mushrooms, etc.)
• 1 T oregano
• 1 T salt
• 1 t pepper
• garlic... one clove crushed, or teaspoon of jarred, or some granulated

 

Saute your onion with a little vegetable oil, add in your mushrooms, squash or eggplant type veggies (not the greens) and cook until softened. Season with salt and pepper.

Saute the greens and keep them for a separate layer.

Start with a layer of sauce on the bottom of a large baking dish. Place a layer of noodles. I used the no-boil ones here because they save time, but you can also use the regular kind. I haven't tried it, but Ina Garten says that you can bring a big pot of water to a boil and throw in the regular lasagna noodles. Turn off the heat and let them sit for 20 minutes and they will work great. Regular noodles are a lot cheaper, and taste better, so I am going to try that next time.

Next is your "ricotta" layer. This is where the tofu comes in. Crush it up with a fork and add the garlic, oregano, salt and pepper. It has the same texture as ricotta, but is full of good protein and no dairy. Make sure you taste it and make sure it has enough seasoning before you spread on your layer. Unseasoned tofu is BLAH!

Put another layer of noodles, and another layer of veggies, and some sauce, and another layer of noodles, and the rest of the sauce. Bake in the oven for like 30-40 minutes... 350°F, check it... you can tell when it is done. Let it cool a bit before trying to cut it up.

MUSHROOM RISOTTO

Ingredients:

6 cups vegetable stock

3 tablespoons vegetable or olive oil

1 pound sliced Crimini (Brown) Mushrooms, diced

1 medium onion, diced

1 1/2 cups Arborio rice

1/2 cup dry white wine (or not, if you don't have any open)

4 tablespoons butter (Vegan butter is always fine)

1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan Cheese (or not, if you are making it vegan)

Salt and pepper to taste

The way I make risotto takes 3 pots... one for the veggies, one for the stock, and one for the rice.

Directions:

• Warm the vegetable stock in a saucepan over low heat.
• Warm 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir in the mushrooms and onions and cook until soft (about 3 minutes). 
• Add rice and 1 tablespoon oil to the 3rd pot and coat the rice with oil. When the rice starts to turn a pale, golden yellow, add the wine, stirring constantly until the wine is fully absorbed.
• Add 1/2 cup of the warm stock to the rice and stir until the stock is absorbed. Add another 1/2 cup of stock and stir until the liquid is absorbed. Continue adding 1/2 cup broth to the rice and stir constantly until the stock is absorbed. Repeat this action until the rice is al dente (about 15 to 20 minutes).
• Remove the rice from the heat and stir in the mushrooms and onions, butter, and Parmesan cheese. Season with salt and pepper (to taste).

You can add any cooked vegetables at the same time that I said to add the mushrooms... asparagus, peas, peppers, sundried tomatoes, squash...

Making risotto takes a little patience, you have to stand there for 20 minutes stirring constantly adding more stock... my friend, Julie, had no patience for this... even with a glass of wine. She kept walking away when I was teaching her how to cook it... I had to keep making her come back and keep stirring.

She did finish it and was very proud. This is risotto with English peas and yellow bell peppers, topped with grilled chicken-apple sausages.

COLE SLAW

 

Howard the Gnome likes to eat his Cole Slaw outside in the fall.

This makes what looks like a ton of cole slaw, but once you dress it and let it sit for a while it isn't so much. This is more like the amount for a party... halve the recipe if you are just making it for a few people for dinner.

Ingredients:
One head of green cabbage, shredded
One head of purple cabbage, shredded
5 carrots, shredded
One bunch of cilantro, chopped
1 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup white vinegar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon celery salt
 1/2 teaspoon ground pepper

Cut the core out of your cabbage before shredding it.

 

Thinly slice the cabbage to make fine shreds... matching nail polish is always a plus!

 

You can buy already shredded carrots, or use a box grater...

 

 Here are the ingredients for your dressing.

Put all the dressing ingredients in a bowl and whisk until smooth. It should have the consistency of a melted milkshake. Taste it to see if is has that perfect sweet, tangy, salty flavor balance and adjust accordingly.

 

Pour the dressing over your slaw...

 

...and toss. Refrigerate and re-toss a few times so everything gets to marinate in the dressing. This is better if you make it at least an hour before you are going to eat it.