Fudge Pie

from Linda Calkins

Oven 350 degrees

Melt in a heavy pan:
1/4 pound butter or oleo (1 stick)
1 square bitter chocolate or semi-sweet choc. (baking choc.) (about 1 oz.)

Remove from fire and add:
1 cup sugar

Beat well and add:
2 eggs
1/2 cup flour
1 tsp. vanilla

Beat well after each addition.

Pour into greased pie pan.

Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes. You will learn how dried out and crunchy or soft and squashy you like it.

Chicken Posole

I read this Easy Chicken Posole recipe on Rancho Gordo's blog and adapted it for what was in the kitchen. I had two very small whole chickens from the farmer's market that I wanted to get rid of, and this worked really well. By the time the pozole was done, the meat was falling apart, but still held together by the skin, so it was easy to pull the chickens out, de-bone them and put the meat back in. The posole was really easy to make, but had to sit on the stove for a long time.

Olive oil
1 yellow onion
2 carrots
1 anaheim pepper
3 garlic cloves, finely diced or crushed
2 very small, whole chickens or whatever bone-in chicken parts you have
1 lb dried posole (I bought mine from Rancho Gordo)
Mexican oregano (maybe 2 Tb dried)
Chile powder
cumin seeds (maybe 1 tsp)
salt
pepper, freshly ground

Dice the onion, carrots, and pepper. Heat some olive oil in a large pot, then saute the vegetables until the onions are a bit translucent. Add the garlic and cook for about 30 seconds, then fill the pot with water and add the posole and chicken. (The water should cover the chicken and posole by a bit, although my whole chickens stuck out so I had to keep flipping them. The posole soaks up a lot of water, so make sure the pot does not dry out and add water if needed; the finished product should be like a soup.) Add the spices.

Partially cover the pot with a lid, and simmer gently for several hours until the posole is tender and the chicken is falling apart. When it's getting close to done, taste and adjust the seasonings. At the end, take the chicken out, de-skin and de-bone it, then add the meat back to the posole.

Serve in soup bowls with diced red onion, cheese such as cotija (although we had to settle for ricotta salata), a squeeze of lime juice. It seems like chopped fresh cilantro and creme fraiche/sour cream/crema would also go well.

Quinoa and Mango Salad

This recipe is adapted from Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone by Deborah Madison. She used scallions instead of red onion, and added cilantro, garlic, and jalapeno. It also might be good with other types of nuts, shallots instead of onion, or other fruits or dried fruits. I think that 1 c quinoa is actually a little too much, so I don't put it all in. It'd be good to use the full amount of quinoa if you have two mangoes or more avocado.

1 c. quinoa
2 c. water

1 mango, diced
1 avocado, diced
1/2 red onion, finely chopped
1/4 c. sliced almonds, toasted

2 Tb yogurt
1 tsp curry powder
juice of 1/2 lemon
1 tsp honey
2-4 Tb canola oil (or other neutral oil)
salt
freshly ground pepper

Rinse quinoa several times in a bowl of cold water to remove the saponin, draining each time in a fine sieve. Bring the water to a boil in a small saucepan, then add salt (if desired) and the quinoa. Lower the heat, cover, and simmer 12-15 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes. Drain through a sieve if it's watery. Chill.

Put the cooked quinoa in a bowl with the mango, avocado, and red onion. Mix the yogurt, curry powder, lemon juice, honey, oil, salt and pepper to make the vinaigrette, adjusting all ingredients to taste. Mix the vinaigrette into the quinoa mixture to taste. Stir in the almonds last so they stay crisp.

Zucchini Chocolate Chip Cookies

I tried this recipe from Animal, Vegetable, Miracle today. The cookies turned out surprisingly good (as Mark put it). They have a cake-like, light texture and aren't too sweet or rich. I used bittersweet Ghiarandelli chocolate chips.

ZUCCHINI CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES
From Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver with Steven L. Hopp and Camille Kingsolver

1 egg, beaten
½ c butter, softened
½ c brown sugar
1/3 c honey
1 Tb vanilla extract

1 c white flour
1 c whole wheat flour
½ tsp baking soda
¼ tsp salt
¼ tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp nutmeg

1 cup finely shredded zucchini
12 oz chocolate chips

In a large bowl, cream the butter, brown sugar and honey. Stir in the egg and vanilla.

In a separate bowl, combine the flours, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. Then stir the dry ingredients into the butter mixture.

When the ingredients are almost completely incorporated, stir in the zucchini and chocolate chips. Stir to combine, but

Drop by spoonful onto greased baking sheet, and flatten with the back of a spoon. Bake at 350°, 10 to 15 minutes. Makes about two dozen.

Roasted Roma Tomatoes

This is a good way to make not very good tomatoes much better. I served them in pasta with olive oil, pepper, ricotta salata, fresh basil and Italian parsley. They can also be a side vegetable by themselves.

Roasted Roma Tomatoes
From Linda

roma tomatoes
herbs, such as fresh thyme or dried Herbes de Provence
salt
pepper
olive oil

Oil a baking sheet with a couple tablespoons or so of the olive oil. (It's not a bad idea to line the baking sheet with foil first.)

Slice the tomatoes in half, length-wise, and lay them out on the pan, cut side up. Sprinkle the tomatoes with the herbs, salt and pepper.

Roast in a pre-heated 475 F oven for 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 300 F and roast for another couple hours or so, depending on their size.

"BBQ" Braised Pork

Make a dry rub with:

paprika
garlic powder
dark brown sugar
dry mustard
sea salt

Smear the dry rub on all sides of a:

5 to 7 pound pork shoulder

Let marinate for several hours or overnight, if possible, although I did not when I tried this.

Make the barbeque sauce by mixing these ingredients to taste in a bowl:

1 1/2 cups cider vinegar
1 cup yellow or brown mustard (I substituted dry mustard)
1/2 cup ketchup (I substituted about 2 Tb tomato paste)
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
2 garlic cloves, smashed
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cayenne
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
dash worstershire sauce
dash tobasco

Taste and adjust the seasonings and sweetness as desired. Add anything else you like.

Heat some vegetable oil in a large, heavy pot. Brown the pork on all sides, being careful that the rub doesn't burn. Remove pork and set aside. Pour off oil.

Add:

1 onion, peeled, then cut in half and sliced thinly

Sautee the onion a minute or two, stirring and scraping up the browned bits on the bottom of the pot. Add the barbeque sauce you made, bring to a boil. Place the pork on top of the onions. The sauce should come up 1/2 to 3/4 of the side of the pork.

Cover and simmer for as long as you can stand. The meat should be very tender when done and falling off the bone. Anywhere from 3 to 6 hours. You can flip the meat once or twice, if you like, but you don't have to.

When it's done, remove the meat. Let sit a few minutes then slice to serve. Boil down the sauce (including the onions in it) to the desired thickness and serve with the meat.

Olive Oil Cake

This cake was very light and had good flavor, although mild in the way a pound cake is mild. We served it with red wine poached pears and a sauce made from the poaching liquid and cream, but it was also good the next day plain.


Olive Oil Cake
From Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone by Deborah Madison, p.702

4 eggs, separated, plus 1 egg white, at room temperature
1 c sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 Tb orange flower water (optional)
Finely grated zest of 1 large orange and 1 lemon
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 c plus 2 Tb olive oil
1 1/3 c milk
2 1/2 c sifted cake flour
2 tsp baking powder
Powdered sugar (optional)

Preheat the oven to 375 F. Oil or butter and flour a 10-inch springform or bundt pan.

Beat the egg whites until they form soft peaks, then gradually add 1/3 c of the sugar and continue beating until firm peaks are formed. Scrape them into a large bowl and set aside. In the same mixing bowl -- don't bother to rinse it -- beat the yolks with the remaining sugar until thick and light colored. Lower the speed, add the flavorings and salt, then gradually pour in the oil. The batter will be thick, like mayonnaise. Slowly add the milk, then whisk in the flour and baking powder. Reach thoroughly around the bottom of the bowl to make sure everything is well mixed. Fold in the egg whites. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan.

Bake in the center of the oven for 25 minutes. Reduce the temperature to 325 F and bake for 40 minutes more or until a cake tester comes out clean and the cake has begun to pull away from the sides. (It's better to err on the side of overbaking than underbaking this cake.) Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Remove the rim or invert, if using a bundt pan, onto a cooling rack. When cool, gently transfer the cake to a cake plate and dust with powdered sugar.

Makes a tall 10-inch cake, serving 10-12

Almost flourless chocolate cake: Boca Negra

I've made this cake several times for parties. Since it's so rich, I just serve it with slightly sweetened whipped cream; I've never tried the white chocolate cream.

Boca Negra
From Baking with Julia by Dorie Greenspan

"The cake is meant to be served warm or at room temperature, when it is as moist, dense and dark as the chocolate you use to make it. Chilled, it has all the appeal of fudge. The white chocolate cream, which is made a day ahead, is one you can use with other desserts, and neither the cake nor the cream is a challenge for beginner bakers. In fact, if you make it in the food processor; it takes only 5 minutes." Makes 12 servings.

The cream:
12 ounces white chocolate, finely chopped
1 c heavy cream
1/4 c bourbon (or more to taste)

The cake:
12 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
1 1/3 c sugar
1/2 c bourbon
2 sticks (8 ounces) unsalted butter, cut into 10 pieces, at room temperature
5 large eggs, at room temperature
1 1/2 Tb all-purpose flour

Prepare the white chocolate cream at least 1 day in advance: Put the white chocolate into the work bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade or a blender container. Heat the heavy cream in a small saucepan until small bubbles form around the edge of the pan. Pour the cream over the chocolate and process until completely smooth. Add the bourbon, taste, and add up to a tablespoon more if you want. Turn into a container with a tight-fitting lid and chill overnight. The cream can be kept covered in the refrigerator for a week or frozen for up to a month. If you've frozen the cream, thaw it overnight in the refrigerator.

Make the cake: Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350. Lightly butter a 9-inch round cake pan and line the bottom with parchment or waxed paper; butter the paper. Put the cake pan in a shallow roasting pan and set aside until needed.

Put the chopped chocolate in a medium bowl and keep close at hand. In a 2-quart saucepan, mix 1 cup of the sugar and the bourbon and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the sugar dissolves and the mixture comes to a full boil. Immediately pour the hot syrup over the chocolate and stir with a rubber spatula until the chocolate is completely melted and the mixture is smooth. Piece by piece, stir the butter into the chocolate mixture. Make certain that each piece of butter is melted before you add another.

Put the eggs and the remaining 1/3-cup sugar in a medium bowl and whisk until the eggs thicken slightly. Beating with the whisk, add the eggs to the chocolate mixture and whisk until well blended. Gently whisk in the flour.

(If you want to make the cake batter in a food processor, put the chocolate in the work bowl of the processor. Bring all of the sugar and the bourbon to a full boil and pour the syrup into the work bowl; process until the mixture is completely blended, about 12 seconds. With the machine running, add the butter in pieces, followed by the eggs, one at a time, and then the flour. Process an additional 15 seconds before turning the batter into the prepared pan.)

Baking the cake: Pour and scrape the batter into the prepared pan, running your spatula over the top to smooth it. Pour enough hot water into the roasting pan to come about 1 inch up the side of the cake pan. Bake the cake for exactly 30 minutes, at which point the top will have a thin, dry crust. Remove the cake pan from its water bath, wipe the pan dry and cover the top of the cake with a sheet of plastic wrap. Invert the cake onto a flat plate, peel off the parchment and quickly but gently invert again onto a serving platter, remove the plastic.

Serve the cake warm or at room temperature with the chilled white chocolate cream.

Storing: Once cooled, the cake can be covered with plastic and kept at room temperature for 1 day or refrigerated for up to 3 days; bring to room temperature before serving. For longer storage, wrap the cake airtight and freeze it; it will keep up to a month. Thaw overnight, still wrapped, in the refrigerator.

Granola

We got hooked on eating granola as breakfast cereal with milk when we started eating Cafe Fanny granola. Now we make our own version.

Granola

6 c rolled oats (not quick)
3/4 c sunflower seeds
9 Tb whole wheat flour
6 Tb wheat germ
3 Tb dry milk powder (optional)
3 Tb sesame seeds
1 c raw almonds, chopped, sliced or slivered
Salt to taste
1 1/2 c honey
3/4 c canola oil
raisins to taste

Preheat oven to 350 F. Combine all dry ingredients. Stir in oil and honey.

Spread on a baking sheet, and bake 20-30 minutes until golden brown, stirring occasionally. The browner it gets, the tastier it is, but be careful it doesn't burn.

Spread out on wax paper to cool. When cool, add raisins and store in an airtight container.

Notes:
The quantities are very flexible. I often add more nuts and seeds than the recipe calls for, or leave something out if I don’t have it. I also sometimes add ground flax seed after it has baked, while it’s still hot.

Whole wheat flatbread

Since we were making the focaccia so much, we figured we should try to make a healthier variation, especially so we feel better about feeding it to Camden.

Whole wheat flatbread

1 ¾ c water
2 Tb Olive oil
1 c bread flour
2 c whole wheat flour
¼ c amaranth flour
½ c oatmeal
2 Tb flax meal
1 ½ tsp salt
2 Tb sugar (white or brown)
1 ½ tsp yeast
olive oil, as desired, for greasing the pan and drizzling on top
Freshly ground pepper to taste (optional)
Fleur de sel or other flaky sea salt to taste (optional)

Place all ingredients in the machine and run the dough setting. This takes almost 1 hour, 50 minutes with my machine, ending with the completion of the first rise.

Grease a half sheet pan with olive oil (be generous unless you really want it lowfat). Place the dough on the pan and stretch it more or less to the edges of the pan, and dimple it with the tips of your fingers. Cover the dough loosely and let rise again, anywhere from 10 minutes to an hour, depending on your patience and the room temperature. The less it rises, the denser it will be; the longer it rises – to a point – the more big air bubbles and flavor it will have.

Remove the cover. If desired, drizzle the dough with more olive oil, grind pepper on top, and sprinkle on Fleur de Sel (or any flaky sea salt) to taste.

Bake in a pre-heated 425 F oven until brown.

Easy focaccia

This bread has good flavor, but is basic enough to use like French bread. I make it frequently since we no longer live near a bakery. The dough is very sticky. I make it with the dough cycle of my bread machine, but mixing it with a stand mixer would work just as well; if you make it by hand, you may need more flour.

Focaccia

1 ½ c water
1 ½ Tb olive oil
3 ¾ c. bread flour
1 ½ tsp salt
1 ½ Tb sugar
1 ½ tsp yeast
olive oil, as desired for greasing the pan and drizzling on top
freshly ground pepper to taste
fleur de sel or other flaky sea salt, to taste

Place all ingredients in the machine and run the dough setting. This takes almost 1 hour, 50 minutes with my machine, ending with the completion of the first rise.

Grease a half sheet pan with olive oil. Place the dough on the pan and stretch it more or less to the edges of the pan, then dimple it with the tips of your fingers. (If it springs back and you’d like it thinner, after the initial stretching, let it rest covered for 10 minutes to relax the gluten, then stretch it more.) Cover the dough loosely with a towel or plastic wrap and let rise again, anywhere from 10 minutes to an hour, depending on your patience and the room temperature. The less it rises, the denser it will be; the longer it rises – to a point – the more big air bubbles it will have.

Remove the cover and drizzle the dough with more olive oil, grind pepper on top, and sprinkle on fleur de sel (or any flaky sea salt) to taste.

Bake in a pre-heated 400 to 450 F oven until brown. If it smells like the olive oil is burning, turn down the oven.

Pancakes

The whole wheat pancakes in the previous post are based on this recipe, which is the one my mom has always made.

Hotcakes
Serves 2

1 c flour
2 tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
1 egg, separated
1 c milk
a little oil (about 1/8 c to 1/4 c)

Sift flour, baking powder, salt. Stir milk, egg yolk, and oil. Add dry ingredients and stir. Beat egg white and fold in. Drop by spoonfuls on hot griddle.

"Healthy" Pancakes

This recipe was an experiment to make healthy pancakes for Camden -- something he'll eat but that's good for him. I am particularly trying to get more iron into him. They turned out better than I expected, light and fluffy and not too "healthy" tasting.

Whole Wheat Pancakes
Serves 2

1/2 c whole wheat flour
1/4 c all-purpose flour
1/4 c amaranth flour
1 Tb flax meal
1/2 Tb nutritional yeast
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
1 1/8 c milk
1/8 c canola oil
1 egg, separated
2 apricots, diced (reconstituted, dried apricots or use 1 fresh)
1 banana, diced

Mix the dry ingredients together in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, mix the milk, oil, egg yolk, apricots and banana. In a third, small bowl, whip the egg white until stiff peaks form. Gently stir the milk mixture into the dry ingredients. When it is mostly mixed, gently fold in the egg white until just combined. Do not over-mix. Add more milk if you'd like a thinner batter.

Recipes online

This blog should serve as a more easily shared version of my recipe book.