Recipes

Pumpkin Bars

Crust
¾ c. rolled oats
¼ c. almond flour
¼ c. walnuts
¼ c. pecans
½ t. ground cinnamon
2 T. maple syrup
2 T. olive oil

Filling
1 ½ c. pumpkin puree
2 beaten eggs
1/3 c. almond milk
3 T.  maple syrup
½ t. ground cardamom
½ t. ground ginger
nutmeg for dusting

To make the crust, preheat oven to 375 degrees and lightly oil an 8” square pan.  Put all dry ingredients in a food processor and pulse till it resembles coarse cornmeal.  Add syrup and oil and pulse till combined and crumbled.  Transfer this mixture into the pan and press it evenly into the bottom to make the crust.  Bake about 15 minutes so it gets firm, and leave the oven on.

 Meanwhile, put pumpkin into a food processor or blender.  Add eggs, milk, syrup, and spices.  Process till smooth.  Pour the filling over the crust and smooth top. Sprinkle with nutmeg.  Bake for 25 minutes until the filling is set and just beginning to pull away from the sides of the pan.  Let cool completely and refrigerate at least 2 hours before cutting into 16 squares.  

Roasted Tomatoes

When it is time for the harvest, it seems like we can be overrun by all that great, fresh produce from the garden. The zucchinis are probably the worst, and they threaten to take over the neighborhood.  You really can’t give them away.  But sometimes, we also get too many tomatoes.

There are worse problems, of course, but what to do with all those extra tomatoes?  The neighbors have their own gardens, so there is no giving them away.  You can always skin and freeze them in chunks for later, but what if you don’t really have that many?  Well, then you can make a casserole out of them.

Ingredients:

5 large tomatoes, cut into eights
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons minced garlic
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
1 ¼ lbs medium shrimp, peeled or cooked chicken in small pieces
½ cup fresh parsley
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 cup feta cheese, crumbled

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.  Place the tomatoes in a large baking dish.  Spoon the olive oil and garlic over the tomatoes.  Sprinkle with salt and toss.  Place on top rack of oven and roast for 20 minutes. 

Remove the baking dish from the oven, and stir in the shrimp or chicken, parsley, and lemon juice.  Sprinkle with the cheese.  Place back in the oven for another 10 to 15 minutes.

Fish in Parchment

With this parchment paper, you can cook your fish and eat it too.  And, you can pop some frozen vegetables inside the packets to cook with the fish.  This will keep the fish moist, and it will also save you from washing another pan.  

The cooking time will vary according to the thickness of the fish, but it is usually about 20-30 minutes.  If you aren’t sure about how long to bake the fish, take a packet out when you think it’s cooked, unfurl it, and poke at the fillet.  If the fish flakes, it’s done.  If it doesn’t flake, pop it back in for a while longer.  If you want a side dish of spicy potatoes, they can be baked at the same time.

To cook the fish in parchment:

Set oven to 375 degrees.  Place white fish fillets (or other variety of fish) on a large piece of parchment paper.  Season as desired.  I like to use a mixture of sage, ginger, garlic powder, and turmeric, but your own favorite seasoning herbs can go in here. 

Add vegetables.  This is a good time to use frozen snow peas or asparagus, as they will not get as soppy as when just boiled in water.  Sliced tomatoes are also good. Wrap up the whole business into a packet, curling the edges, so no juice seeps out.  Bake in the hot oven for at least 20-30 minutes—depending on the thickness of the fish.  Open the packet and serve at once, maybe with potato wedges. 

Sourdough Revisited

Starting a batch of sourdough is not a step to be taken lightly.  It will demand some time and attention, and it will want to be baked whether you feel like baking it or not.  All the same, the taste is delicious, and it is just full of all those lovely nutrients that we want in our diet. Here is a recipe to get your starter started.

1 tsp. dry yeast
2 c. warm water
2 T. honey (or Stevia that measures like sugar)
2 c. flour (white, whole wheat, spelt, or buckwheat)

Combine yeast, water (not too hot or it will kill the yeast), honey, and flour in a glass mixing bowl and stir with a wooden spoon.  Apparently, sourdough does not like to be around metal, so keep that in mind.  Cover with cheesecloth, set in a warm place (85 degrees is good) to ferment.  In two or three days, your own sourdough starter will be ready to use. 

Store in a clean plastic or glass container with a fitted cover (with an air hole) in the refrigerator until needed.  If a clear liquid collects on top, that is called ‘hooch’ and it is perfectly normal.  It means your starter is probably hungry.  Either pour off the liquid or stir it down.  Take some starter out to bake with at least once a week.  Then feed and water your starter with equal portions of warm water and flour.  If you leave your starter out of the frig it will need more attention.

Stuffed Cabbage

1 lb. ground beef and 1 lb. ground pork                             
egg                                                                      
½ c. cold, cooked rice
1 large cabbage
1 can tomato paste
1-2 cups sauerkraut

Cut the core out of the cabbage and place the whole head in boiling water to parboil for about 15 minutes.  Cabbage leaves should be flexible but not too soft to stuff with the meat filling.  Drain the cabbage and let set until the leaves are cool enough to handle.

Meanwhile, put beef, pork, egg, rice, and salt and pepper (as much seasoning as you think best) in a large bowl and mix them all together.  When the cabbage leaves are cool, lay one out on your cutting board and remove a small portion of the thick core end of the leaf.  

Place a well-rounded tablespoon of meat mixture in the center of the cabbage leaf and roll it up, tucking in the ends firmly to hold it together.  Repeat.  Use up all the meat this way and as much of the cabbage as you need. 

When the cabbage rolls are completed, place them in a deep pot or roaster.  Spread the top with sauerkraut and then with tomato sauce.  Almost cover the rolls with water, bring to a boil, and let simmer for at least 2 hours.

Banana Bread

.Nothing warms up the kitchen like having the oven on, and the aroma of baking bread is almost as delicious as the taste.  Since we usually have bananas in the house, they are really handy for baking.  This is especially true when they all turn ripe at once.

Here is a recipe for a quick banana bread.  You can also use frozen bananas for this, but they have to be thawed first.

1 cup unbleached flour
½ cup buckwheat flour (or you can use all unbleached)
3 t. baking powder
½ cup stevia
¼ c. canola oil
1 egg, beaten
1 cup ripe banana, mashed
1 cup almond milk
chopped nuts, dried cranberries, and/or raisins

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray (with cooking spray) a 9x5x3 inch loaf pan.  Mix flours with baking powder and set aside.  In another bowl, mix stevia, oil, and egg. Add bananas and milk.  Pour this into the flour mixture, and stir until just combined.  Add fruit and nuts to taste.  Bake at 350 for an hour or until a cake tester comes out clean.  Let cool in pan 10 minutes, then remove to a wire rack and let cool completely.