bagels

My advice: Invite friends over that like to eat. Have them bring some toppings. Have the dough made and...get to work! You'll never want to buy bagels again...promise. The recipe is here. This nice person posted the recipe, so why should I type it all out?! Enjoy. And get bakin'...

Peanut Sauce

Peanut Sauce (recipe below...) and Fresh Rolls (recipe to come...)


Peanut Sauce adapted from David Lebovitz

2 cups dry roasted peanuts

3/4 cup  hot black tea

1/2 cup coconut milk

2 T peeled and minced fresh ginger

4 cloves garlic, peeled and minced

2 small chiles, seeded and finely chopped or 1 tsp chili flakes

1 1/2 tsp salt

1 T brown sugar

1 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce

1/2 teaspoon ground Szechuan pepper (if available)

1/4 c fresh lime juice

2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil

1 1/2 teaspoons chili paste (Rooster sauce) or chili oil

2/3 cup packed cilantro 

1 tablespoon fish sauce

put the peanuts and hot tea in blender. whip it up and add the rest of the ingredients. use within a week. YUM!

Quinoa Corn Chowder

Quinoa Corn Chowder adapted from http://lornasass.com/recipes/appetizers-and-soups

3 T butter
1 1/2 c diced leeks (white and light green parts) - you can use onion, but I really liked the taste of leeks here and I usually don't 'splurge' on leeks...
1 c diced celery
1 c diced red bell pepepr
1 tsp salt
3/4 c quinoa
1/2 tsp dried thyme
4 c corn, either canned, fresh or defrosted
1 c milk, any kind
3 T minced parsley
s + p

Cook leeks, celery, bell pepper and salt in 2 T butter. saute for 5-10 minutes until soft. Add 3 c water, bring to boil and stir in quinoa and thyme, drop back down to a simmer and cook for 10 min. covered. In blender process 3 c of the corn with 1 c water. Add this to the soup along with corn kernels after it has cooked for 10 minutes. simmer for another 3-5 minutes or until the quinoa is done. When it is done, there will be no starchy white dot in the center of the grain. Stir in the milk, the remaining 1 T of butter, and parsley. Taste and adjust salt and pepper. This soup will thicken as it stands so you may need to add milk to thin it out.

enjoy!

lemon lime tart

lemon lime tart adapted from david lebovitz's site


1 tart shell described here:
3/4 c fresh lemon or lime juice or a mixture
2 T grated lemon or lime zest
3/4 c sugar
9 T butter
3 eggs
3 egg yolks


in a saucepan, heat juice, sugar and butter, whisk until butter has melted. in a separate (large) bowl, whisk eggs and yolks together. slowly, I mean slowly pour the juice mixture into the egg mixture. this will warm the eggs up without cooking them. after pouring it all into the egg mixture, put the filling back into the saucepan and continually whisk over med/low heat until it thickens and bubbles. pour the filling into the tart shell after it comes out of the oven and bake for 5-10 minutes just until set. refrigerate and enjoy!


cooks notes: I think this would be outstanding with orange or grapefruit filling...yum

potato soup with sauteed mushrooms and rustic croutons

2 T butter
1 T olive oil
1 1/2 large diced onions
1 tsp salt
2 lbs new potatoes, quartered
1/2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp dried thyme
2 tsp Italian seasoning mix (combo of dried oregano, parsley, rosemary...)
1-2 cubes veg stock seasoning or 1 large spoonful if you buy it in bulk
8 c water
2 bay leaves
salt and pepper


in large pot on med heat, saute onions and salt with butter and oil until soft, 8-10 min or so. add spices, cook for a minute to release spice flavors, then add potatoes, cook for another minute, then add veg stock, water and bay leaves. 


cover and simmer for approx 10-15 minutes until potatoes are soft when pierced with knife. puree with hand blender AFTER taking the bay leaves out. add salt and pepper to taste.


while the soup is simmering....


croutons
2-3 c torn up rustic Italian bread, if it's dried out...great!
3 T butter
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1 tsp salt


in a cast iron skillet, melt butter, add bread and spices and saute on med/low heat until the bread is toasty


mushrooms
sliced mushrooms
butter


the proportions are totally up to you, just saute the two together in another skillet and by the time the soup is done, your toppings will be too!

apple cake

this recipe was adapted from gourmet magazine. it's moist and delicious. It calls for applesauce, but we canned a lot of apple pie filling this fall, so I used that instead. if you don't have applesauce, just chop up some apples, put in a pan with a splash of lemon juice, apple pie filling spices (cinn, cloves, nutmeg) and sugar. cook down a bit and you will have chunky applesauce aka apple pie filling...enjoy

wet ingredients:

1 stick soft butter

1 c brown sugar (if you are using apple pie filling that already has added sugar, decrease this amt. by 1/4-1/2 c)

1 t pure vanilla extract

2 eggs

1 1/2 c applesauce or apple pie filling (see directions above pics)

1/4 c (approx.) milk

dry ingredients:

1 c all-purpose flour

1 c whole wheat flour

2 t baking powder

1/2 t baking soda

1/2 t salt

3/4 t cinnamon

1/2 t ginger

1/8 t cloves

350 deg. butter an 8 or 9 inch square cake pan. 

in a bowl cream the wet ingredients (except for the applesauce and the milk)  together for 1-2 min. add the dry ingredients and the applesauce or apple pie filling and the milk. stir JUST until incorporated. if the batter appears too dry add an additional dash of milk. if you add too much milk, no big deal - it will just take a bit longer to bake.

yum!

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There's a new restaurant in town...

Kabuki Japanese Steakhouse Finally, a good restaurant in Logan!
This roll is only $13!