Spiced Fruit Compote

Combine the following in a medium stock pot, bring to a gentle simmer and hold for 15 minutes.

• 3 c water
• 1 tbls honey
• 1/4 tsp Real salt or Himalayan rock salt
• 1/2 fresh ginger in two pieces
• 5 star anise in pieces
• 1 tsp whole allspice
• 1 tsp whole cloves
• 1 stick cinnamon, broken
• 1 orange, zested and juiced
• 1 lemon, zested and juiced
• 1 tbls Earl Grey (2 tea bags)
• Optional - if omitting jam, you could add preferred amount of sugar here

Strain out the spices. Add the following to the pot:

• 15 oz box of golden raisins, 
• 5-7oz dried apricots
• 7-12 oz dried figs, 
• 7 oz dried cherries, apples or other mixed dried fruit
• 1 pkg (12 oz) fresh cranberries [substitute dried, but adjust sweetener]
• 1 c wine (sweet to dry to taste) [substitute any other combination of liquid to make a total of 4 cups including the reserved spiced liquid]
• Reserved spiced liquid from above

Hold just below a simmer until the cranberries are soft, the dried fruit is tender and the liquid is reduced. To balance acid, stir in up to:

• 14 oz lingonberry jam, or preferred quantity of other preserve to taste. Orange or peach marmalade, or berry jams would likely all work.

Makes 8 - 10 cups.

modified from chefdarin.com

Old-Fashioned Grasshopper Pie

• 1 (9 in) baked chocolate-cookie crumb crust

• 1 envelope unflavored gelatin
• 1/2 cold water
• 1/3 cup plus 3 tbsp. sugar
• 3 large eggs, separated
• 1/3 cup creme de menthe (green or white, your call)
• 2 tbsp. creme de cacao (optional)
• 1/2 cup chilled heavy cream

• Optional
• More whipped cream
• Chocolate curls or mint leaves for garnish

Directions

1. In a saucepan, sprinkle gelatin over water; let stand for 3 minutes. Stir in 1/3 cup of sugar and egg yolks. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly just until thickened. Do not boil. 
2. Stir in creme de menthe and creme de cacao until blended. Chill until mixture is very thick but not set, 30 minutes. The best way to do this to guarantee a smooth pie is to set the mix bowl on ice inside a bigger mixing bowl and sir until thicker.
3. Beat egg whites at high speed until foamy. Gradually beat in remaining 3 tbls sugar until stiff, but not dry, peaks form.
4. Beat cream at medium speed until soft peaks form.
5. Fold beaten egg whites then whipped cream into gelatin mixture. Fold in food coloring if using while creme de menthe, but seeking a green pie. 
6. Pour mixture into crust. Chill until set, at least 3 hours.
7. Garnish pie with whipped cream and shaved chocolate pieces.

Classic Russian Borscht

Ingredients

Stock

• 1 lb (450 g) beef stew meat + soup bones
• 8 cups water
• 2 tsp fish sauce (nam plam/Oyster brand)
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 small onion or 1/4 stalk of leek
• 1 med carrot

Soup

• 8 tbls butter
• 1¾ lbs (795 g) beets, roasted and peeled
• 4 medium carrots/parsnips, finely chopped
• 3 large stalks celery, diced or 1 medium celery root, shredded
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 large starchy potato (such as Russet), scrubbed and cubed
• 4-5 cups cabbage, thinly sliced into shreds
• ½ teaspoon coarse kosher salt (use a bit less if using fine salt)
• ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
• 3 tablespoons tomato paste
• 2-4 tbls lemon juice (to taste)
• 4 large cloves garlic, minced
• Sour cream, for garnish

Instructions

1. Brown meat/roast bones and make 8 cups of beef bone stock (30 min to 2 hours in the pressure cooker, or overnight slow cooker).
2. Strain and reserve stock, chop meat into bites, and freeze bones (waste not).
3. In large pot, melt butter (yes, all of it) and saute carrots/parsnips/celery/celery root/onion until soft. Stir in tomato paste.
4. Add beef stock, beef, potatoes and cabbage. Simmer until soft.
5. Stir in shredded beets, garlic, lemon juice and other seasonings. Warm, taste, adjust and consume with healthy dollops of sour cream.

This is an approximate reconstruction of the Classic Russian Borscht from The Girl's Guide to Guns and Butter, which sadly appears to have disappeared from the internet.

Tahini Chocolate Truffles

Ingredients

SERVINGS: MAKES 20

• 3 ounces bittersweet chocolate, melted
• ½ cup tahini (thicker is best for a firmer truffle)
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon real salt (or other flavorful salt), plus more
• 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
• ¼ cup black wild rice

Preparation

• Place a parchment-lined baking sheet in the refrigerator to chill. Mix chocolate, tahini, sugar, and 1 tsp. salt in a medium bowl with a rubber spatula; chill until firm, about 15 minutes.
• Meanwhile, heat oil in a large skillet until smoking. Cook rice, stirring constantly. After about 1 minute it will start to puff and pop open, revealing the tan inside of the grain. Once all grain is popped, quickly transfer to paper towels; season with salt. Let cool (rice should be very toasty and crisp; if grains are chewy, start over).
• Scoop chocolate mixture by the heaping teaspoonful and roll into balls. Place on chilled baking sheet. Chill 5 minutes, then roll in puffed rice to coat. Chill 10 minutes, then serve.
• Do Ahead: Truffles can be made 4 hours ahead; keep chilled. Let sit at room temperature 10 minutes before serving.

Fool-Proof Butter Short Crust

125g/4oz plain flour

pinch of salt

55g/2oz butter, cubed

30-45ml/2-3 tbsp cold water

Preparation method

1. Put the flour and salt in a large bowl and add the cubes of butter.

2. Use your fingertips to rub the butter into the flour until you have a

mixture that resembles coarse breadcrumbs with no large lumps of

butter remaining. Try to work quickly so that it does not become

greasy.

3. Using a knife, stir in just enough of the cold water to bind the dough

together.

4. Wrap the dough in clingfilm and chill for 10-15 minutes before using.

5. Alternatively using a food processor, put the flour, butter and salt in

the food processor and pulse until the fat is rubbed into the flour.

6. With the motor running, gradually add the water through the funnel

until the dough comes together. Only add enough water to bind it and

then stop.

7. Wrap the dough in clingfilm as before and chill for 10-15 minutes

before using.

Slow Cooker Chicken Tikka Masala

1 to 1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken (thighs or breasts)

1 large onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1-inch piece whole ginger, peeled and grated
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 to 2 tablespoons garam masala
2 teaspoons smoked paprika
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes (or roasted tomatoes)
3/4 cup heavy cream or coconut milk
Fresh cilantro, chopped
2 cups cooked rice, to serve

Cut the chicken thighs into bite-sized pieces and transfer them to a 3-quart or larger slow cooker. Stir in the onion, garlic, ginger, tomato paste, 1 tablespoon of garam masala, paprika, and kosher salt until the chicken is evenly covered with spices. Stir in the diced tomatoes with their juices.

→ If you have the time: Marinate the chicken in 1/2 cup yogurt for up to 6 hours. Shake to remove excess yogurt before transferring to the slow cooker.

→ If you have the time: Sauté the onions and garlic in a little olive oil over medium-high heat in a skillet until softened, then stir in the ginger, tomato paste, and spices until fragrant. Transfer to the slow cooker with the chicken and diced tomatoes. This will give your tikka masala more depth of flavor.

Cover the slow cooker and cook for 4 hours on high or 8 hours on low. Fifteen minutes before the end of cooking, stir in the heavy cream. If you prefer a thicker sauce, leave the slow cooker uncovered for the last 15 minutes. Taste and add more garam masala or salt to taste.

Serve over rice with fresh cilantro sprinkled over the top of each serving. 

Stovetop Mac and Cheese (from Serious Eats)

From the Food Lab

8 (16) oz tube-shaped pasta

• 6 (12) oz evaporated milk
• 1  (2) egg
• 0.5  (1) tsp Tabasco
• 0.5 (1) tsp ground mustard
• Salt to taste
• 12 (24) oz grated cheese (melting variety)
• 1.5 (3) tsp cornstarch
• 4 (8) tbls unsalted butter, cut into chunks

Place the macaroni in a large saucepan and cover it with salted water by 2 inches. Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring occasionally to keep the pasta from sticking. Cover the pan, remove from the heat, and let stand until the pasta is barely al dente, about 8 minutes.

Meanwhile, whisk together the evaporated milk, eggs, hot sauce, and mustard in a bowl until homogeneous. Toss the cheeses with the cornstarch in a large bowl until thoroughly combined.

When the pasta is cooked, drain it and return it to the saucepan. Place over low heat, add the butter, and stir until melted. Add the milk mixture and cheese mixture and cook, stirring constantly, until the cheese is completely melted and the mixture is hot and creamy. Season to taste with salt and more hot sauce. Serve immediately, topping with toasted bread crumbs if desired.

Johnnycake

Combine in medium bowl:

   1 cup yellow or white cornmeal
   3/4 tsp salt
   2 tsp sugar

Heat to rolling boil in small saucepan:

   1 cup water
   2 T. butter
   1/4 cup milk

Immediately pour hot water/butter over cornmeal mixture in a slow trickle stirring constantly. When all liquid has been absorbed, add milk. Mixture should be fairly thick.

Heat some butter and oil in equal quantities in a skillet and coat bottom. Drop batter by large tablespoons onto griddle, forming 4" cakes. Fry till crisp and golden on both sides. Serve with butter and maple syrup.

Cream Scones

2 cups of ap flour

1/4 cup sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

Pinch of salt

5 1/3 tablespoons butter

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 whipping cream

Glaze:

1 egg

1 tablespoon cream

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Mix all dry ingredients. Cut in butter. Add cream, egg and vanilla. Mix until just moistened. Press the dough into a circle and cut into eighths. Bake for 15 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. 

Strawberry shortcake!

Obsessively Good Avocado Cucumber Salad

       This salad is gluten-free, dairy-free, chametz-free and vegetarian… but you should make it anyway, heh, because it’s fresh and green and totally hits the spot. It also takes about 5 minutes, tops, to put together which means that you can make as much of a habit of it as we have.

3/4 lb. or 3-4 small seedless cucumber, washed and chopped into bite size chunks
1 avocado, pitted and diced
1 T sour cream
1/4 chopped cilantro, stems and all
2 tsp  lemon juice, plus more to taste
Salt and pepper to taste
A dash of Tabasco

Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and toss to coat everything. Adjusting seasoning to taste.  Repeat again tomorrow.

Adapted from Smitten Kitchen

Spaetzle

Simplest Homemade Spaetzle
Recipe from The Balthazar Cookbook, technique from trial and error via smittenkitchen

2 cups (250 grams) all-purpose flour
7 large eggs
1/4 cup (59 ml) milk

Combine the flour, eggs and milk in a large bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour, or overnight.*

Prepare an ice bath. Bring a large pot of well salted water to boil. If you’ve got aspaetzle maker, use it. Otherwise, I put the batter in a bag and snipped out bits of dough with scissors. It make more gnocchi sized dumplings, but was very easy with no clean up required. Boil for 2 to 3 minutes then use a slotted spoon to fish spaetzle out and drop it in the ice bath. Continue with remaining batter in 3 batches. 

When you’re done with the batter, drain the spaetzle well and toss it with a small amount of olive oil to keep it from sticking. You can use it right away, or keep it in the fridge for a day until needed.

* The rest really does make nicer batter

I tossed my dumplings with pea vine pesto from the CSA basket.

Crock Pot BBQ Chicken

9 chicken legs or thighs, fresh or frozen
salt 

  For the sauce:
1 1/2 c. dried cranberries
1/2 c.+ 3 T apple cider vinegar (preferably with the mother)
4 cloves of garlic,
1/2 c. fine diced onion
1/4 c. ketchup
2 T tomato paste
1/4 c. red wine
2 T Worcestershire sauce
1 T sweet thick soy sauce (if you don't have this use normal soy sauce and add 1 tsp brown sugar)
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp berbere (see separate post for recipe)
1 tsp tumuric
1 tsp fresh ground black pepper
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp espresso powder

Put the dried cranberries and cider vinegar in a microwave safe bowl and nuke for 1 min. Combine all the ingredients for the sauce in a blend and blend until you have a smooth puree. Turn your crock pot on high and sprinkle the onions and garlic on the bottom. Season the onions with a little salt and then put in about half the sauce. Sprinkle some salt on the chicken and then lay that on top of the sauce. Put the rest of the sauce on top of the chicken and then cover. If you chicken is frozen, cook on high for 1 hour and then low for about 6 hours or until fall apart tender. If your chicken is fresh you can cook on low for about 9 hours and it will be nice and tender, or if you want you can cook on high for and hour and then low just keep an eye on it cus it will cook fast then if it were frozen.

Berbere spice blend

2 tsp cumin seed
2 tsp corriander seed
1 tsp fenugreek seed
1/2 tsp pepper corns
1/4 tsp allscipe berries
6 cardamon pods
4 whole cloves
2 dried hot chilles
3 T paprika
2 tsp salt
1 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp fresh grated nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger

Toast all the whole spices and then grind in a coffee blender. add to already ground spices and store in an air tight container.

Baker's Chocolate Chip Cookies

1/2 c. butter
1 egg
1/2 c. white sugar
1/4 c. brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 c. a.p flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp espresso powder (totally optional)
1 c. chocolate chips
1/2 c. chopped nuts (for those who won't eat them with out nuts, or feel free to omit them depending on your strategy)

Beat butter, egg, sugars and vanilla until light and fluffy. Add sifted dry ingredients, blend well. Stir in chips and nuts (if using). Bake at 375 for 8-10 min. Take them out a little before they look done, they'll set up while they cool. Devour, preferably with a large glass of milk. Adding 1/2 tsp of espresso powder would be nice since these are fairly sweet.

Best Chocolate Pudding/Fudgesicle

5 oz dark chocolate, chopped fine 

4 cups half and half 

6-10 egg yolks ( depending on how thick you want it or how many eggs you're trying to get rid of)

3 T sugar 

2 tsp cocoa

1 1/2 tsp espresso powder 

1 T vanilla extract 

1/4 tsp salt

Heat dairy, espresso powder, cocoa powder and salt in a saucepan until scalding and than take off the heat. Beat sugar with egg yolks until thick and pale yellow. Temper egg yolks into dairy (see note). Turn off heat, add chocolate a handful at a time, stirring slowly until all the chocolate is melted. Add vanilla extract. Strain through a mesh sieve. Eat warm or cold. Freeze in ice cube trays to make the best fudgesicel ever.

Sweet Potato Flapjacks

4 eggs, beaten well
2 c mashed cooked sweet potato
1 1/2 c buttermilk
1 1/4 c flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tbls baking powder
1 tbls brown sugar
1/4 tsp cinnamon

Stir potato into eggs to blend well. Add buttermilk and smooth. Combine all remain ingredients in a bowl, mix and gently stir into batter until just smooth.

Fry and consume immediately. Makes a lot, but you'll eat them all anyway.