Baked Turkey Chimichangas

1 lb ground turkey
1 can (15 oz) vegetarian refried beans
1 cup mild salas, plus additional for serving
1 cup corn (frozen or canned)
1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
10-12 large flour or whole wheat tortillas
sour cream and guacomole for serving

Prehat oven to 375 degrees. Coat a 13x9 baking dish with cooking spray. Wrap tortillas in foil and let heat while preparing the filling.

In a large nonstick skillet brown turkey over medium-high heat until cooked through, about 5 minutes. Add beans, salsa and corn. Cook until heated through. Remove from heat and stir in cheese.

Take out warmed tortillas. For each chimichanga, use one tortilla, put a large spoonful of turkey-bean mixture into each tortilla, fold in the sides and roll up. Place each chimichanga in baking dish.

Bake uncovered until crisp and lightly browned, about 20 minutes. Serve topped with salsa, sour cream and guacamole as desired.

Roasted Sweet Potato and Apple Soup

2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 apple, peeled, cored and quartered
1 medium onion, peeled and quartered
1 cloves garlic, peeled
2 tbs vegetable oil
salt and pepper to taste
3-5 cups chicken or vegetable broth
yogurt, sour cream or goat cheese to taste (optional)

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Place sweet potatoes, apple, onion and garlic in a roasting pan, toss with oil and salt and pepper. Roast, stirring every 10 minutes, until potatoes are soft 20-30 minutes.

Puree vegetables in blender or food processor, adding just enough broth to cover. Will probably take 2 batches. Add more broth until soup is smooth but not too thick.

Heat over low heat. Can serve with yogurt, sour cream or goat cheese.

Bunny Chow

In Madhur Jaffrey's Ultimate Curry Bible there is a recipe for Bunny Chow. You have to be intrigued by the name alone. What it is? Rabbit curry? Or curried lettuce and carrots? Well, it is neither of these. Instead it is a way of serving curried stuff in buns that originated among Indian migrants in South Africa. Here is a slightly adapted version of the recipe she gives (with no curry heat in it), and some ideas for toppings that she doesn't have. My personal feeling about Bunny Chow is that it is right up there with hamburgers, hot dogs, tacos, souvlaki,, fish & chips, and Australian pies. Maybe a little messier to eat.

1/2 lb dried borlotti, pinto, kidney or other beans (or you can use canned beans, but I don't know how much)

1/2 t ground cumin
1 t ground coriander
1/4 t turmeric
1 t curry powder (I used a mild one since there are young kids in our house)

4 T oil (peanut, corn, canola, whatever)
1/2 t whole brown mustard seeds
1/2 t whole cumin seeds
1/2 whole fennel seeds
1 "medium" onion, sliced thin (someone has to tell me what onion sizes mean)
3 cloves of garlic, minced
2 t fresh ginger, minced
chopped tomatoes - fresh (about 6 oz), canned, or even some kind of tomato sauce (amount to taste .... but remember, you are not making a tomato sauce)
2 c of water, stock or liquid from the cooked beans (I will try beer next time)
salt
1/2 t garam masala

Crusty rolls or buns (maybe 6, see step 5 below)

1. Soak the beans overnight, drain and cook them until tender in whatever way you usually do. (I use a small amount of soda in the soaking water and new water for the cooking with a little olive oil, some sage and a tomato, cut up). Drain and reserve. (And I think reserved bean cooking water ought to be able to be used for the liquid in the sauce). Obviously you skip this if you have worked out how much canned beans to use.

2. Mix together in a small bowl the ground cumin, coriander, turmeric and curry powder.

3. Heat the oil over medium-high heat in a (non-stick if you can) pan that has a lid and that is big enough to take the beans comfortably, because you will add them later. When the oil is hot, put in the mustard, cumin and fennel seeds. After just a few seconds, add the onions. Stir and fry until they are just browning. Add garlic and ginger and continue frying and stirring for another minute. Add the ground spices from the bowl and stir for only about 10 seconds. Add the tomatoes and stir until they are softened. Then add the liquid (water or whatever), the salt, and the garam masala. Bring to a simmer, cover, reduce heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes.

4. Add the beans to the sauce. Stir, bring to a simmer and cook uncovered over low heat for 20 minutes. Stir frequently and keep an eye on things, maybe even adding a little water if the mixture cooks too fast. You are aiming for a consistency that can be put into hollowed-out buns and eaten with the hands.

5. While the beans are cooking, split and hollow out those crusty rolls. How many you use depends upon how big the rolls are and how many you think will get eaten. Six, I think. Anyhow, what you are doing is making the rolls into bread pockets or Euro tacos. The bread you scoop out can be used in bread pudding sometime, or as thickening or as very big bread crumbs.

6. Serve by filling the hollowed out buns with a scoop of bean mixture, topped with something (or nothing) from below.

Toppings

"Pickles" (see below)
Bottled chutney
Yoghurt
Shredded lettuce
Etc.

Jaffrey says that "pickles" are an integral part of the Bunny Chow experience, but she does not say whether she means Indian pickles or western pickles. I imagine either (or both) would be good. Mango chutney is good too.

I have no idea why she doesn't mention yoghurt and/or shredded lettuce. They seem perfectly obvious to me and they are great here. You might also consider raita instead of plain yoghurt, shredded daikon radish, chopped or sliced fresh tomato - and so on.

Why don't Indian take-aways start serving Bunny Chow?

Sailor Jacks

Raisin and spice mixture:
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
4 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp salt (opt.)
1 tsp ground ginger
3/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1 cup water
1/2 cup raisins
2 tbs molasses

Muffin batter:
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup oat flour
1/2 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
1 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 large egg

Glaze (optional):
1/2 cup confectioner's sugar
1 tsp fresh lemon juice
1 tsp milk

Make raisin and spice mixture, preferably night before: Place all ingredients in a medium saucepan and cook, stirring occasionally, over medium heat, until mixture comes to a boil. Simmer for 5 minutes, then remove from the heat adn let cool, overnight if possible.

Preheat oven to 375. Prepare muffin pans.

Make batter: Whisk together flours, oats, baking soda, and powder in a medium mixing bowl. Add cooled raisin and spice mixture, oil and egg. Stir to combine -- don't beat or it'll become tough.

Divide batter between muffin pan, filling each cup about 3/4 full. Bake until cake test inserted into the center comes out clean, about 20 to 23 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool in the pan for about 15 minutes, then turn onto rack to finish cooling.

Glaze: Mix ingredients until smooth and drizzle over cooled muffins. Traditionally these are served upside-down with glaze on the bottom. We don't usually bother with the glaze though.

Makes 1 dozen muffins

Buckwheat Pancakes

1 cup whole buckwheat flour
3/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt (optional)
1 egg
2 tbs molasses
2 cups buttermilk
1 tbs unsalted butter, melted

Combine flours, powder, soda and salt in medium bowl. In a measuring cup add egg and molasses to buttermilk and mix well, whisk in melted butter. Form a well in center of dry ingredients and pour in wet ones. Stir batter just until dry are thoroughly moistened.

Heat griddle and oil if necessary -- water should sputter. Make pancakes with 1/4 cup of batter. Let pancakes cook until bubbles form on first side, about 2-3 minutes. Flip when just beginning to set and cook about 1 minute more. Serve immediately.

Makes 20 3 1/2 inch hearty pancakes

Brown Rice Pancakes

4 eggs
1/4 cup buttermilk
2 tbs unsalted butter, melted
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp grated orange or lemon zest
1 cup cooked brown rice (or other whole grain)
1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour (or all-purpose)
1 tbs sugar
1/2 tsp salt (optional)
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
Pinch of ground cinnamon

Beat eggs in a medium bowl and whisk in buttermilk, melted butter, vanilla and zest. Stir in grain. Combine flour, sugar, salt and spices, and stir into wet ingredients. Stir in batter until it is just mixed, and let sit 10 minutes before making pancakes.

Heat griddle, and oil if necessary, until water sputters across it. Make pancakes with 1/4 cup of batter at a time. The pancakes set up quickly but don't bubble as they cook. As soon as they start to look set, flip and bake until both sides are golden. Keep warm in 200 oven or serve immediately.

Makes 12 3-4 inch pancakes.

Black-Eyed Pea Tacos

1 tbs olive oil
1/2 medium onion, chopped
1 tomato, chopped
1 cans (15 oz) each, black-eyed peas or pinto beans
1 can (15 oz) unsweetened corn kernels (or use 2 cups frozen)
1/4 cup mild salsa (plus additional for serving)
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro (optional)
12 taco shells
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
2 cups chopped lettuce

Preheat oven to 350.

In a large skillet heat oil over medium-high heat. Add onion and cook stirring occasionally until it starts to brown, about 5 minutes. Meanwhile dice tomato, drain and rinse the peas and corn. When the onion begins to brown add tomato and saute for about 2 minutes. Add peas, corn, salsa and cilantro. Stir until heated through.

Heat taco shells on a baking sheet in the oven for about 5 minutes -- check as they can burn easily.

Assemble tacos with black-eyed pea mixture, cheese, lettuce and extra salsa as desired.

Bubble and Squeak - two ways

Bubble and Squeak Two Ways

Nora, there are two kinds of bubble and squeak according to the English cook, Jane Grigson. One is made from leftovers of roast meat. Do you ever have any of those? We don't, so we don't make it. The other is made from potatoes. We usually have some of those around. Both of them also have cabbage.

Bubble and Squeak - first way

Leftover roast meat (beef maybe)
Cabbage
Margarine or oil or bacon fat

1. Boil or steam the cabbage until just tender and then cut it up into square pieces. Drain the water from the cabbage pieces and pat-dry them with a paper towel. Keep these ready.
2. Cut up the leftover roast meat into strips. Cook them in some hot fat in a frying pan, until they are bubbling away. That's the bubble part. Don't cook them very much or they will be tough. Take them out of the pan and keep them ready.
3. Now add the cabbage pieces to the pan and press them down. This is could be the squeak part, because maybe the cabbage will make a squeaking sound while it cooks a bit and gets a bit brown.
4. Serve the meat and cabbage together.
5. Some people cook sausages instead of roast meat.

Bubble and Squeak - second way

Cabbage, cooked the way you do in the first recipe and chopped up
Potatoes, cooked and peeled
1 large onion, chopped
margarine, butter or bacon fat or cut up slices of bacon

1. First mash the potatoes really well. Mix them and the cooked and chopped cabbage together really well.
2. Heat up the magarine (or whatever) in a frying pan big enough for the potatoes and the cabbage together (which means a pretty big pan). Put the chopped onion in and cook it until it is soft and lightly brown (it should smell good). I like starting this off with cut up slices of bacon and leaving the bacon bits in for a bit more taste.
3. Now put the potato-cabbage mixture into the pan and press it down until it is like a cake in the pan. What you are going to do now is to cook it until the underside is nice and crusty brown. You have to guess a little about when that will happen and it takes some time.
4. When the underside of your cake is brown, cut it into pieces and turn the pieces over to do the other sides. This means you don't have to turn the whole thing over, which might not be possible to do without breaking it.
5. Keep on turning over and browning until it looks right. After all, everything is already cooked so you don't have to worry about having to time it just right. What you are doing by browning it this way is making some crunchy tasty bits to make it all taste better. Serve it from the pan onto plates.
6. You could serve this with fried slices of leftover meat or sausages if you want.
7. I am not sure when the bubbling or squeaking happens in this recipe. Maybe the fat bubbles and you squeak if you happen to touch something hot.

Daniel Boulud's Root Vegetable Cassoulet - modified

I am a big fan of Daniel Boulud's recipes, but I didn't think that the vegetarian root vegetable cassoulet which appears in Daniel Boulud's Cafe Cookbook would be all that great. It sounds maybe a bit thin. Anyhow, I was quite wrong. It is exceptionally good even if it is not, as Boulud himself remarks, a real traditional cassoulet. However, when I made it I had to change some things around (because one member of our family is very allergic to fennel as a vegetable, although not to fennel seed; and because tomatoes are out of season; and because I don't do bouquet garni in bags, etc). Here is my modified version.

Root Vegetable Cassoulet - modifed

2 c dried cannellini beans
3 T olive oil
1 small onion, cut in 1/4 inch dice
3 large cloves garlic, finely chopped
salt, pepper
1 T tomato paste
2 canned (Roma) tomatoes, 1 diced and 1 cut in half
7 c unsalted vegetable stock (actually I used powdered chicken stock)
6 stalks celery, each about 6-8 inches long, peeled and cut into 3 inch lengths
6 small carrots, peeled and trimmed (each was about 3-4 inches long, but thick)
3 large turnips, peeled, trimmed and quartered
1t fennel seeds, ground roughly with a mortar and pestle
3 sprigs Italian parsley
3 sage leaves
2 sprigs fresh thyme

1 c bread crumbs
3 more cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1/4 c more Italian parsley leaves, finely chopped
3 T unsalted margarine, melted

Unusual kitchen item: parchment (bake) paper, which will be used as a supplemental lid for the cooking beans and vegetables.

1. Soak the beans overnight, or do a quick soak. Rinse and drain them and put them into a large (heavy) pan into which you will later put the 7 c of stock and all the vegetables to cook on the stove.
2. In a small saute pan heat 1 T of olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and the first 3 garlic cloves, salt and pepper. Cook, stirring frequently, until the onion and garlic are tender but not (too) colored. The recipe says 10 minutes, but it took a shorter time for me. Stir in the tomato paste and then the diced tomato. Take the pan off the heat and reserve it for later.
3. Go back to your large pot (the one with the drained beans in it). Add the 7 c of stock and bring it to a boil (warm stock saves a lot of time here). Now add the celery, carrots, turnips, fennel seed, 3 sprigs of parsley, sage leaves and thyme - and bring back to a simmer. Cut a piece of parchment paper to fit inside the pot. Put the parchment lid in the pot on top of the vegetables, beans and stock and press it down gently (don't let it get under the stock). Keep the heat as low as you can to maintain a low, steady simmer underneath the paper lid. Stir every now and then (I actually didn't stir at all). Cook about 1 hour or more until the beans are tender. (I simply stopped the cooking after an hour: the beans were a bit al dente which seemed okay). Season with salt and pepper shortly before the beans are cooked through.
4. Remove the pot from the heat, take the parchment lid off and throw it out, and drain the liquid into a bowl or pitcher. I poured the contents into a colander over a bowl to catch the liquid. Keep both the bean/vegetable mixture and the liquid. The recipe has you separating the vegetables from the beans at this point so that you can make separate layers of beans and veggies in the next phase. I didn't do that.
5. Preheat the oven to 400.
6. Make the crust: combine the bread crumbs, the second 3 cloves of garlic and the 1/4 of chopped parsley, then add the melted margarine. Mix up with your fingers until it is crumbly.
7. Get another pot, one that will go into the oven with the beans/vegetables. Probably this has to be a new pot because the previous one has had to be big enough for all the liquid as well. Put the beans/vegetables in the new pot. Gently stir in the reserved onion, garlic tomato mixture (remember it?). Gently stir in the remaining 2 T olive oil. Add just enough liquid to come just below the top of the contents. Sprinkle the crust mixture over all (it can make a fairly thick layer).
8. Bake in your preheated hot oven. The recipe says 12-15 minutes, but I think it could be longer - anyhow, you are looking for an appetizing browned crust.
9. Serves 6.

Note: the leftover liquid tastes great and should be kept as vegetable stock.
Note: this is not a long recipe to make, since pre-preparation (peeling, chopping, etc) is not long. Start to finish for me was about 2 hours, maybe a little over.
Note: fresh herbs (parsley, sage, thyme) are definitely worth it in this dish.

Roasted Eggplant Pasta

This is a good way to serve eggplant to those who are reluctant to try it.

1/2-1 lb tubular pasta
1 lb eggplant
3 tbs olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/4 cups crushed tomatoes
salt & pepper
1 cup ricotta
1/4 cup fresh basil, minced

Preheat oven to 400. Brush eggplant with 1 tbs of olive oil (I skipped this but would recommend it in hindsight), place on a lightly greased baking sheet. Bake 35-40 minutes, turning 2-3 times, until blackened and soft. Let cool.

Meanwhile heat water for pasta. Once the eggplant is cool, remove the skin and roughly chop the pulp.

When you put the pasta in to cook, heat a large saute pan and add 2 tbs olive oil. Add minced garlic and cook a few minutes, but don't let it burn. Add tomatoes and cook 2-3 minutes, until slightly thickened. Then add eggplant and season with salt & pepper. Heat through.

Toss together the cooked pasta, eggplant & tomato sauce with ricotta and fresh basil. I do this in the saute pan. Does not need Parmesan on top, but you could if you like.

Nora's menu

This is the menu Nora devised last night after hearing Daniel's. Daniel does not like Zucchini or grape tomatoes, but Nora does. She has been reading about Bubble & Squeak in My Naughty Little Sister.

Zucchini
Grape tomatoes
Bubble & Squeak
Currant tomatoes
Potato chips
Peas
Chocolate Cake
Hot Chocolate

Does anyone have a good recipe for Bubble & Squeak? Nora would like to have that.

Daniel's menu

This is the menu that Daniel came up with last night, while driving in the car with Kevin, to pick-up Nora. He did not get as far as dessert.

Grilled cheese
Pasta that looks like grilled cheese (but is not made of grilled cheese and the over-all dish looks like grilled cheese not the pasta shapes)
Tomato soup with nothing in it
Salad with celery and meat
Chicken, browned and then baked, with a sauce.

The sauce is made of salt, raisins and pepper, mixed together, then put in a shaker and shaken over the pan. It is put over of the chicken while it is baking.

Note -- Nora does not like grilled cheese, although she will eat it with tomato soup.

Looking for Oatmeal Cookie recipes

Deirdre's posted oatmeal cookie recipe anticipates this post.
I have been looking for an oatmeal cookie recipe that matches my idea of what an oatmeal cookie should be. This is not as easy as you might think. My idea of what an oatmeal cookie should be involves its being chunky (not thin) and having raisins (but no nuts, I think, and especially not coconut). Somehow none of the recipes I have found (or Deirdre has found for me) has made the cookies I want.
Does anyone on this blog have an oatmeal cookie recipe I can try?

Raisin-Walnut-Oatmeal Cookies

I have not made these so I cannot comment on how they might be:

1 1/2 cups rolled oats (not quick cooking)
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
4 oz (8 tbs) unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 extra-large egg, room temp
1 tsp vanilla extract
2/3 cup raisins (or other dried fruit)
2/3 cup coarsely chopped walnuts (or pecans or almonds)

Preheat oven to 350. Prepare 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper or non-stick liners.

In a large bowl, combine the oats, flour, baking powder and cinnamon (you could add 1/4 tsp of salt too).

Beat butter unti light and fluffy but your prefered mixing method. Add sugar to butter and cream together well. Scrap sides of bowl occasionally.

Beat egg lightly with vanilla. Add to butter mixture, scraping sides of bowl as needed.

Add the dry ingredients in 3 stages, mixing well after each addition.

Add raisins and walnuts and blend well.

Use a small (1 1/2 in dia.) ice scoop or spoon to drop small mounds onto baking sheets, leaving 2 inches between cookies. Bake 5 minutes, then switch sheets and bake 6 to 7 minutes more, until set and golden.

Remove sheets from oven and cool on baking sheets on racks. Remove with a spatula to racks.

Makes 3 dozen.

Actual Pink Frosting for Miranda

Line up on kitchen counter:

1 stick of softened butter or container of soft margarine
1 bag confectioner's sugar
1 jar strawberry jam (spreadable fruit in this case)
1 small container of cream

1 bowl
1 tough mixing spoon or spatula

Now put some splotches of softened butter or margarine in the bowl. Add a good pouring of confectioner's sugar and mix vigorously until smooth. Add splotches of jam until you get the colour/taste you like, mixing after each. Mix some more, adding cream splotches to get the consistency you want.

This is the actual way Miranda's frosting was made. Of course it didn't come out perfectly smooth (you want to do things a little less ad hoc if you want smooth frosting: electric mixers are a big help too).

Some of the jam was used straight, in between the layers of Betty Crocker's New Choco-Nougat cake, which is our standard birthday cake and has been since the 1950s.

There will be pictures of Miranda blowing out the candles posted someday. These pictures give a good idea of the colour of the actual pink frosting.

Spaghetti Pie

2 eggs
4 tsp olive oil
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
3 1/2 cup cooked spaghetti (7 oz dry)
1 1/2 cups prepared spaghetti sauce, such as marinara
1 onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/2 lb lean ground meat
2 carrots, grated
1 cup cottage cheese or ricotta
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Cook spaghetti if it is not already cooked. Preheat oven to 350. Lightly grease a 9 or 10 inch pie plate.

In a large bowl beat eggs, 2 tsp of oil and Parmesan until smooth. Add cooked spaghetti and 1/2 cup of spaghetti sauce. Toss well to coat.

Turn into greased pie plate. With the back of a wooden spoon, press spaghetti over the bottom and up the sides of the pie plate to form a crust or nest.

Heat remaining 2 tsp of oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and saute until tender, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and saute 30 seconds longer. Add ground meat and cook, breaking up the meat with a wooden spoon until the meat is no longer pink. Stir in the grated carrot until well-mixed. Turn off the heat and stir in the spaghetti sauce.

Spoon cottage cheese/ricotta over the bottom of the spaghetti crust. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup of mozzarella. Top with meat sauce mixture. Cover the pie plate with aluminum foil.

Bake pie for 20 minutes. Remove foil, sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup of mozzarella. Bake until the cheese melts, about 5 minutes longer. Let stand 10 minutes before slicing and serving.

Pink Frosting for Miranda

1/2 cup butter, softened
4 strawberries, hulled & cut up
2 1/2 cups confectioner's sugar
1/2 cup half-and-half (or similar)
1 tsp vanilla
In a medium bowl cream butter until pale and fluffy (this could be done in an electric mixer but I wouldn't, of course). Add the strawberries and beat 30 seconds. Add confectioner's sugar (on low if using a mixer), 1/2 cup at a time, until well-blended. Add cream by spoonfuls until blended. Add vanilla and beat until fully incorporated.