Recipes / Food - Drink

[Ea]

Originally Posted by beppe

Great ideas. Just do not put tomatoes

As if!

Originally Posted by beppe

The apple with cabbage is almost a must and as it accompanies the pork with kindness it should be perfect. I would use those that maintain the acidity like Granny Smith. But than it becomes a rich man recipe, for a goose leg rather than for a rack of pork ribs. I would put orange juice and raisins and cranberries, if not granatæble frø, you might be familiar with those? If google translator has not played me a trick

Pomegranate seeds seem a little odd to me used like this. I prefer to use them fresh - they look like little jewels. Would be a shame to cook them. With all that fruit it might get a tad too sweet as well

[beppe]

Actually I am preparing white cabbage (not savoy cabbage, mind you) with orange juice, apples, red fruits (dried curranst and cranberries) and raisins. It is a Xmas recipe that I got on a Scandinavian site.

Pomegranates give a tangy flavor and they are often present in Mediterranean recipes. In our climate they are quite common and considered jewels like you do , and also jewel bearers (proactive of abundance in general). One usually keeps a handful of the raw seeds for decoration, a handful for the cooking and the rest is squeezed for a juice to be used in the recipe.

Wikipedia has a nice page for it (that is now in full season, here).

Too sweet? Yes. We must avoid that danger, absolutely. And always keep in mind that as the Weavers' song says only kisses can be sweeter than, as they like.

[pilotbob]

Originally Posted by beppe

Actually I am preparing white cabbage (not savoy cabbage, mind you) with orange juice, apples, red fruits (dried curranst and cranberries) and raisins. It is a Xmas recipe that I got on a Scandinavian site.

Nice... sounds "almost" like it is on the Eat to Live plan.

BOb

[beppe]

Originally Posted by pilotbob

Nice... sounds "almost" like it is on the Eat to Live plan.

BOb

Kisses for you also, my benefactor and master of well being

This is the perfect season for tasty vegetables in places like where I live and where you grew up.

I am experimenting in slices of eggplant, dried in the oven or in a dryer to substitute slices of bread. I found a variety that does not require previous de-bittering with salt (which is the bothersome part).

[montsnmags]

Vietnamese chargrilled eggplant, with pork, peanuts and tofu

[From one of the Spirit House Restaurant's cookbooks.]

Serves 4

INGREDIENTS

• 8 long, thin eggplants, quartered lengthways with stems intact
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil

PORK and TOFU

• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 4 sliced golden shallots
• 2 cloves garlic
• 400g pork mince
• 2 tablespoons fish sauce
• 1 tablespoon palm sugar
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 250g firm tofu, cut into 1cm/0.5" dice
• 2 tablespoons chopped, roasted peanuts
• 1 teaspoon roasted chilli powder
• 2 green shallots, sliced
• 1/2 cup chopped coriander leaves

METHOD

• Chargrill the eggplant over a moderate heat, brushing with oil until well cooked, for about 10-15 minutes
• Set aside and keep warm

For the pork and tofu, heat oil to a moderate heat in a wok
Add the golden shallots and garlic and stirfry until soft
Turn the heat to high and stirfry the pork mince until cooked
Add the fish sauce, palm sugar, soy sauce and tofu, and stir until combined
Moisten with a small amount of water if necessary

To assemble, place the eggplants on a plate and spoon the pork and tofu mixture over them.
Garnish with peanuts, chilli powder, shallots and coriander


(Note, we made it with the large, bell-shaped eggplants rather than the long ones. I'll let you know how it was, as I'm about to head downstairs to eat it. )

Cheers,
Marc

[Stitchawl]

Originally Posted by montsnmags

Vietnamese chargrilled eggplant, with pork, peanuts and tofu

Thanks, Marc! Looks great!



Stitchawl

[montsnmags]

Originally Posted by Stitchawl

Thanks, Marc! Looks great!



Stitchawl

It tasted great too. It will definitely be going on the "regulars" list. For what it's worth, we didn't use pork mince either, but just a lean pork fillet, chopped fine by knife. We're trying to keep things a bit lean at the moment.

Cheers,
Marc

[Wait_For_It]

Nutella Hot Chocolate
Makes 1 cup

1 cup of milk
1 tablespoon of Nutella (or adjust to taste)
1 tablespoon of instant coffee (or adjust to taste)

Combine all in a saucepan on stove over med. heat. Stir until everything is mixed together and heated through.

This is really great especially if you love Nutella!

[desertgrandma]

Something for the cold winter nights........

CROCKPOT BEEF STEW

However much cut up beef chunks you like. If there is a lot of visible fat, take the time to trim.

Put stew mean into crockpot. (easy, eh?)

In a small bowl, combine

1 packet Hidden Valley Ranch seasoning mix
1 packet Italian salad dressing mix
1 packet Au Jus gravy mix

Now, sprinkle the mixed seasonings over the stew meat, and mix to make sure all is covered.

Add two cups hot water,, cover and let cook on low for 8 hrs. This small amount of water allows the meat to absorbed the seasonings.

About 3-4 hours before serving, add however much chopped up potatoes and carrots and whatever other veggies you want. With the seasoning, you don't need onions.

About 1/2-1 hr before serving, add another cup of water, just to dilute the strong broth.

This is delicious on the first day, but even more on the second....I just pour the remainder into a large pan and heat on the stove.

Serve with a salad and bread, and dinner is done.

[Ea]

Originally Posted by montsnmags

It tasted great too. It will definitely be going on the "regulars" list. For what it's worth, we didn't use pork mince either, but just a lean pork fillet, chopped fine by knife. We're trying to keep things a bit lean at the moment.

The pork and tofu mix looked nice - and super easy Thanks for the recipe Somehow I've never thought to combine tofu with meat, but it's a great idea. It's good to know you can use other kinds of egg plant (though I may skip them - still not sure I like them )

[Stitchawl]

Originally Posted by Ea

TSomehow I've never thought to combine tofu with meat, but it's a great idea.

Classic Chinese dish, called 'Ma Pwo Tofu' uses minced beef as a flavoring for the tofu. Quick and easy to make, healthy too! Best of all, it tastes great!

MA PWO TOFU

4 squares firm tofu
7 oz lean beef, finely minced (ground)
5-6 green onions (scallions, spring onions) white and green parts, cut into 2cm pieces.
1/4 cup frying oil

1 tablespoon fermented black bean, finely chopped
2 teaspoons hot bean paste
2 teaspoons crushed garlic
2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh ginger
1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh red chili pepper or chili sauce
(I double these amounts, but I like strong flavors!)

1 teaspoon Chinese brown peppercorn powder

SEASONING:
1 1/2 tablespoons light soy sauce (Chinese, not Japanese!)
1 tablespoon rice wine or dry sherry
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
1 cup (8 fluid oz) chicken stock
1 tablespoon cornstarch

Cut the tofu into 1/2 inch cubes and soak in hot water
until needed. Heat the frying oil and
stir-fry the beef until lightly coloured, then add the scallions and
stir-fry a further 30 seconds. Add the chopped black beans, the
bean paste, garlic, ginger, and chili pepper or chili sauce and
stir-fry for a further 30 seconds, then add the pre-mixed
seasoning ingredients and bring to a boil. Simmer for 1 minute.

Drain the tofu and add to the sauce, reduce the heat and
simmer until the sauce is well reduced and the flavor thoroughly
permeating the tofu, about 8-10 minutes. Transfer to a serving dish and season with Chinese brown peppercorn powder.

[Ea]

The slow cooker (crockpot) beef stew I made last night.

It's meant to be a sort of base, where you cook several portions of meat at once, and then create individual dishes with single portions later.

1200* gram raw beef or veal - 225-250 gram per portion - in total, as much as you want and can fit into your slow cooker. In chunks or large dice.
Equal amounts of, and roughly chopped:
- 1 onion
- 1 slice of root celery (you can use stalk also)
- 1-2 carrrot
water
3-4 dl white wine (it's more neutral than red)
10 whole black pepper corns
2-3 bay leaf
1 teaspoon dried thyme (or a small handful fresh)
1-2 teaspoon salt

1. Brown the meat on a frying pan at high temperature. This is optional, but slightly improves taste and look of the dish. Put meat in slow cooker.

2. Brown vegetables on the frying pan, and put them in the slow cooker.

3. Add wine on the frying pan, and turn off the heat. When the bubbling subsides, pour into slow cooker. Remember to scrape off browned bit from the pan - we want everything into the slow cooker.

If you elected not to do the - admittedly messy - frying, just skip step 1 to 3 and put everything into the slow cooker in one go.

4. Add the pepper, bay leaf, thyme and salt, and enough water to barely cover the meat.

5. Let it simmer until meat is tender - which can be everything from 4 to 8 hours.

6. Take out the meat from the cooking liquid and set aside. Strain cooking liquid into a bowl and throw out the now thouroughly exhausted onion, celery and carrot.

7. Divide meat and coking liquid into portions and use it for whatever you fancy.

Last night I cut a few slices of savoy cabbage, put them in the bottom of a cooking pot, added a portion of meat and sauce, and a little starch for thickening, and then let it simmer till cabbage was tender.

I could also suggest adding tomato, bell pepper, onion, green cabbage, and flavour with paprika.
Or onion, floury potatoes in dice, and peas.
Or fry mushroom, add meat and sauce and a glass of red wine and reduce.
Or beans, tomato, bell pepper, onion, garlic, and chili.
Or...


* weight after cleaning away visible fat, which we don't want too much of in a stew (spoils the taste)

[kindlekitten]

Originally Posted by Stitchawl

Classic Chinese dish, called 'Ma Pwo Tofu' uses minced beef as a flavoring for the tofu. Quick and easy to make, healthy too! Best of all, it tastes great!

MA PWO TOFU

4 squares firm tofu
7 oz lean beef, finely minced (ground)
5-6 green onions (scallions, spring onions) white and green parts, cut into 2cm pieces.
1/4 cup frying oil

1 tablespoon fermented black bean, finely chopped
2 teaspoons hot bean paste
2 teaspoons crushed garlic
2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh ginger
1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh red chili pepper or chili sauce
(I double these amounts, but I like strong flavors!)

1 teaspoon Chinese brown peppercorn powder

SEASONING:
1 1/2 tablespoons light soy sauce (Chinese, not Japanese!)
1 tablespoon rice wine or dry sherry
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
1 cup (8 fluid oz) chicken stock
1 tablespoon cornstarch

Cut the tofu into 1/2 inch cubes and soak in hot water
until needed. Heat the frying oil and
stir-fry the beef until lightly coloured, then add the scallions and
stir-fry a further 30 seconds. Add the chopped black beans, the
bean paste, garlic, ginger, and chili pepper or chili sauce and
stir-fry for a further 30 seconds, then add the pre-mixed
seasoning ingredients and bring to a boil. Simmer for 1 minute.

Drain the tofu and add to the sauce, reduce the heat and
simmer until the sauce is well reduced and the flavor thoroughly
permeating the tofu, about 8-10 minutes. Transfer to a serving dish and season with Chinese brown peppercorn powder.

oh that looks very yum! do you serve it with rice or is the tofu such a presence you do not need it?

[Stitchawl]

Originally Posted by kindlekitten

oh that looks very yum! do you serve it with rice or is the tofu such a presence you do not need it?

Absolutely WITH rice. I like to go heavy on the spicy bean paste to really heat it up, so the rice makes a perfect foil for that. Actually, rice is served with EVERY meal, regardless. With noodle dishes, with potato dishes. For Asians, it replaces the 'bread' found on American tables. We always have warm rice in the rice cooker. We usually make enough for 2-3 days at a time. The cooker keeps it fresh.

Most large supermarkets now have Asian sections, so you can find spicy bean paste sold as 'Tobanjan' or 'Kochijan' Each has a slightly different tastes with the Tobanjan being more authentic (Kochijan is Korean rather than Chinese).
The Fermented Black beans are a staple in my kitchen as they are an very important ingredient in many Chinese dishes. You only use one or two tablespoons of them in a dish as the flavor is very intense.
Chinese soy soy sauce has a VERY different flavor from Japanese, and using one instead of the other will have a dramatic effect on the flavor in a dish.

Stitchawl

[montsnmags]

Originally Posted by Ea

The pork and tofu mix looked nice - and super easy Thanks for the recipe Somehow I've never thought to combine tofu with meat, but it's a great idea. It's good to know you can use other kinds of egg plant (though I may skip them - still not sure I like them )

A lot of the dishes we make a fairly simple. A well known chef over here, Kylie Kwong, says that so many of the dishes she cooks take half-an-hour to prepare and then five minutes to cook. I find a lot of SE Asian cooking to be like that, and I like that (because I'm no chef, and I find it meditative to take a good hour-long "half-an-hour" chopping things up and putting them in our little stainless steel bowls, ready to add as necessary ).

It took me a while to enjoy eggplant. Previously I only ever saw it as the squidgy vegetable in some salads. But The Loved One makes a couple of different "eggplant parmigiana"s, and seeing and cooking it almost as the "meat" in a dish - giving it some strong flavours and a decent, starring role - seemed to turn that squidginess into a lovely plus. Now it's a favourite - if I was vegetarian, I'd be eating a lot of eggplant.

Cheers,
Marc