Cooking light thread again. Melik loves scallion pancakes and I failed with my first attempt at creating them (although he claimed they were great). Maybe this one will be a success...

ok, made these last night and halved the recipe. I thought they needed an extra egg, so I added 2, but I think I should have stuck with 1 - too much egg. They were pretty good though...

http://community.cookinglight.com/showthread.php?t=88429

Shredded Carrot-Ginger Pancakes

2 1/2 cups coarsely shredded carrot (about 1 pound)
1/2 cup chopped green onions (I used 1/4 cup)
1 teaspoon minced garlic (omitted...don't like garlic)
1 teaspoon grated peeled fresh ginger
1/2 cup egg substitute (I used 2 egg whites and 1 whole egg)
3 tablespoons cracker meal
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon canola oil, divided
Cooking spray
Green onion strips for garnish, optional

To prepare pancakes, combine first 4 ingredients in a large bowl. Combine egg substitute, cracker meal, and salt in a small bowl. Add egg mixture to carrot mixture; stir to blend.

Heat 1/2 teaspoon oil in a non-stick griddle or a large non-stick skillet over medium-low heat. Using about 1/4 cup batter per pancake, spoon 4 pancakes onto hot pan, spreading each to a 4-inch diameter. Cook 4 minutes on each side or until bottoms are lightly browned and cooked through. Transfer to a plate and keep warm. Repeat procedure for remaining batter.

Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 2 pancakes).

Posted by Maggie at 11:43 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Yummy. I made this recently but forgot to post it. made it again tonight for my parents and my brother Ian who are visiting. I just threw the eggplants over the flame on the range of the stove since the oven was taken, roasted on all sides, and cooled them in water. I also roasted the sesame seeds a bit.

INGREDIENTS:
2 eggplant
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup tahini
2 tablespoons sesame seeds
2 cloves garlic, minced
salt and pepper to taste
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Lightly grease a baking sheet.
2. Place eggplant on baking sheet, and make holes in the skin with a fork. Roast it for 30 to 40 minutes, turning occasionally, or until soft. Remove from oven, and place into a large bowl of cold water. Remove from water, and peel skin off.
3. Place eggplant, lemon juice, tahini, sesame seeds, and garlic in an electric blender, and puree. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Transfer eggplant mixture to a medium size mixing bowl, and slowly mix in olive oil. Refrigerate for 3 hours before serving.

Posted by Maggie at 09:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Saw this on cooking light thread: http://community.cookinglight.com/showthread.php?t=87718
Maybe I'll try it when Ian's visiting fro Colorado.

I made these for Ian and Ashleigh one morning and they were pretty good. More work than just an easy mix, but I guess they were healthier so it was worth it. The Berry compote was super delish. I reduced for a while longer than it called for.

Yogurt Multi-Grain Pancakes

Amount Measure Ingredient
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
1 1/2 cups Dannon® Plain Yogurt (fat free is fine)
1/2 cup low fat milk
2 eggs
1 1/2 Tbs. canola oil (see note)
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 cup whole-wheat pastry flour (can also use reg. whole wheat flour)
1/3 cup quick oats
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
2 T. sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/8 tsp. salt

1.Combine yogurt, milk, eggs, oil, and vanilla. Mix well. In another bowl combine flours, oats, baking powder, soda, and salt. Mix well. Add wet ingredients to dry and mix just to moisten. Don't over-mix. Let rest for 5-10 minutes (this step is optional).

2. Lightly grease a non-stick skillet or griddle with Pam and heat griddle on medium heat. Working in batches spoon 1/4 to 1/3 cup batter onto the grill and spread into a circle if batter is thick. Cook until golden and bubbling (2–3 minutes), then turn and continue to cook 1 minute.

Serve pancakes with warm maple syrup and fruit.
Yields: 4-6 Servings

WARM BERRY COMPOTE

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
1 Tbs. butter
3 Tbs. honey
1 Tbs. fresh lemon juice
1 Dash cinnamon
1 bag assorted frozen berries -- (12 oz)

To prepare compote, melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add honey, juice, cinnamon, and berries; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer 5 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Keep warm.

Posted by Maggie at 02:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Ashleigh and I explored Jackson Heights (neighborhood in Queens known for their thriving Indian community) on a recent lazy afternoon and we bought the makings for palak paneer to bring home and cook together. Ashleigh spent a year in Bangalore, India and I was curious to see if she picked up any tricks to Indian cooking. She insists on using fresh spinach, which I admire, but I made this a second time using frozen - sorry Ash! It still tasted pretty darn good. Many times this dish is put through a food processor but Ashleigh recommended skipping this because the texture is so great as is. I have to say I agree with her on this one. This is a fun dish that you can easily experiment with, adding different combinations of spices and it's tough to mess up. Love it!

Ingredients:
paneer cheese cut in cubes the size of dice
garlic, minced
onions, chopped
tomato, chopped
spinach, washed and torn (or frozen if in a pinch)
spices (can vary - turmeric, cumin, coriander, ginger, garam masala, etc)

Method:

Heat oil in a frying pan and grill the cheese until it's a golden brown and all sides. Steam down fresh spinach. Meanwhile, heat oil in a pot and saute onions and garlic. When it starts to carmelize, add tomatoes, spinach and spices. Cook together until the spinach is of a desired consistency and then add the cheese just so it's heated through. Serve with rice or nan!

Posted by Maggie at 11:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I saw this recipe and decided to give it a try. I started it last night at the end of an all day cooking spree, but finished it off today because I ditched it to go for sushi with my friend May. I'm still hungover right now so I can' t really give an opinion of it. I'll come back when I have it for the first time.

INGREDIENTS:
4 tablespoons unsalted butter (I used less - 2 maybe)
1 onion, chopped
1 (28 ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes, with liquid (didn't have this so I just processed 3 plum tomatoes)
2 (14.5 ounce) cans chicken broth (just used bouillon and H20)
2 cups dry brown lentils
1/2 cup red wine
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

DIRECTIONS:
Melt the butter in a large pot over medium high heat. Place the onions in the pot and saute for 10 minutes, or until onions are tender.
Place the tomatoes in a food processor or blender and puree until smooth. Pour this into the pot with the onion along with the chicken broth and the lentils
Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and let simmer for 20 minutes. Then, stir in the wine, garlic, nutmeg and cloves. Simmer for at least 25 more minutes (I actually simmered for a couple hours).

Posted by Maggie at 06:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Ok, I wanted to try baking baguettes and I made my first attempt today. I made a previous entry with a recipe but after I got home last night from shopping I realized the recipe called for regular yeast and I only had quick rise (highly active) fleishmans. So instead of braving the cold just to pick up yeast, I decided to make a recipe using quick rise. I read a few recipes and came up with my own.

Ingredients:
1 pkt quick rise (highly active) dry yeast
2 cup warm water (105 to 115 degrees)
1 tsp sugar
2 tsp salt
5 1/2 x to 6 cups unbleached flour

Method:

sprinkle yeast over 1/4 c. warm water in the food processor bowl. Add sugar and let stand 5 mins. Add in remaining 1 3/4 cups water and salt. Add 4 cups of the flour. Process until a ball starts to form. Gradually add about 1 more cup of flour to make a soft dough. Turn dough out onto a board or pastry cloth floured with some of the remaining 1/2 to 1 cup flour. I kneaded the dough for just a couple mins because I think the processor did most of the work. Turn dough into a greased bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and a towel let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk (about 1.5 hours).

Punch down dough; knead dough lightly into a ball on a floured surface. Cover with inverted bowl and let rest for 10 minutes. Divide dough into 3 equal portions (I actually made 2 large and 2 small baguettes to experiment). Shape each into a slender oval loaf 16 to 18 inches long by rolling the ball of dough under palms of hands to elongate it. Place well apart on a large, greased baking sheet. Let ride until puffy but not quite doubled (20 to 25 minutes). Preheat oven to 450 degrees. With a razor blade or very sharp knife make 3 diagonal slashes, about 1/2 inch deep, down center of each loaf. A lot of recipes called for spraying water at 3 minute intervals, but since I didn't have a spray can, I just placed a small pan of water in the bottom of the oven. Bake until bread is well browned (25 to 30 minutes total). Slide onto wire racks to cool.
Yield: Makes 3 loaves

My notes:

It was pretty good for a first attempt I think. They looked nice and had a decent texture. I wish they had a bit more flavor though. After consulting with mom, I'm thinking perhaps it could have more flavor if I used a regular yeast and had a starter (poolish). Also, this made pretty big loaves so I think if using this much flour next time, I would make 6 small loaves. I read that you can freeze them and bring them back to life by sprinkling some water and baking to warm. There's always attempt #2!

Posted by Maggie at 05:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Just thinking about Mac n Cheese and realize I've never made it!

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/recipe_views/views/859

http://pasta.allrecipes.com/az/MacaroniandCheese.asp

http://community.cookinglight.com/showthread.php?t=87273

Ok, I tried the third one last night (3/3/06) and it was pretty good. Mac n Cheese w/Roasted Tomatoes from cooking light. It definitely wasn't my mom's mac n cheese (I remember velveeta) but the tomatoes were a nice touch. It wasn't super cheesy which could be considered a bad thing but made it taste lighter and probably reduced the caloric intake, so I might try it again. I think it needs something more though... seasoning, a little kick of something, spinach or roasted peppers would be nice too. Will experiment for next time.

Posted by Maggie at 04:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I like slow cooker stuff and found this on cooking light thread http://community.cookinglight.com/showthread.php?t=87272

1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce
1/4 cup hoisin sauce
3 TBS ketchup
3 TBS honey
2 tsp bottled minced garlic
2 tsp grated peeled fresh ginger
1 tsp dark sesame oil
1/2 tsp five-spice powder
2 pounds boneless Boston butt pork roast, trimmed
1/2 cup fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth

1. Combine first 8 ingredients in a small bowl, stirring well with a whisk. Place in a large zip-top plastic bag. Add pork to bag; seal. Marinate in refrigerator at least 2 hours, turning occasionally.
2. Place prok and marinade in an electric slow cooker. Cover and cook on LOW for 8 hours.
3. Remove prok from slow cooker using a slotted spoon; place on cutting board or work surface. Cover with aluminum foil; keep warm.
4. Add broth to sauce in slow cooker. Cover and cook on LOW for 30 minutes or until sauce thickens. Shred pork with 2 forks; serve with sauce.

Yield: 8 servings (3 oz. pork and 1/4 cup sauce)

CALORIES 227 (38% from fat); FAT 9.5g (sat 3.1g, mono 3.9g, poly 1.1g); PROTEIN 21.6g; CARB 12.7; FIBER 0.4g; CHOL 73mg; IRON 1.7mg; SODIUM 561mg; CALC 30mg

Posted by Maggie at 10:06 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Mom recommended this wine. A full-bodied red. She said that Aunt Wende bought 10 cases of it! I hope they're having a lot of parties or else that is very scary.

She said it was called Panarroz and it's from Jumilla and they had 2004. I'll have to try it out.

ooh, found a review:

This wine is made by the famous Bodegas Olivares in the rising star appelation of Jumilla. Located 150 miles southeast of Madrid, Jumilla was one of the few areas spared from the Phylloxera epidemic during the late 1800's. Therefore they have some of the oldest ungrafted vines in Europe...and most of those vines are planted to Mourvedre, a major component in this wine. The hot days and cool nights in this region help Paco Selva make great wines as well as tasty inexpensive wines like this one!

The Wine Advocate The 2004 Panarroz may be even better than the 2003, which received the same rating. Even better news is that the USA received 60,000 cases of this 42% Mourvedre, 38% Grenache, and 20% Syrah blend. An amazing bargain, it boasts an inky/ruby/purple color as well as a big, sweet nose of scorched earth, chocolate, blackberries, and cherries, and an opulent, medium-bodied, fruit-filled personality with lovely glycerin, a savory texture, and a pure, long finish. One hundred percent tank-fermented and aged, it is a gorgeous Spanish red to drink over the next 1-2 years.

Posted by Maggie at 03:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)