Joanna

 

Rockin' Rye Buns

It's FALL, folks!

Time for bread baking and all things soup.
Indeed, it's time for some Nice Buns: Sourdough Rye Buns

This is the finished product: Rye, spelt, and just a bit of wheat flour for 'lift'.

                      THE SECRET RECIPE! It is written in code; but I have the key!
                      *Thanks to the Rye Bread King, BIL Bill Starkey.

                      I did add a bit of molasses and just a little olive oil, salt, spelt and rye!
                     Next time: trying some Rosemary and Onion Sourdough Rye buns...

                                                  

                                 IN THE BEGINNING: Mixed with starter; sets overnight!

Tender Tamales!

Tender Tamales...

Vegan and gluten-free 

Last Sunday was Tamale Time! Ah, the delicioso scent of masa steaming away...nothing better! These are vegan and gluten-free AND ecstatically delicious!You must be prepared for tamale making, takes 2-3 hrs. If you cook filling the day before it can go abit quicker.

Ingredients: dried corn husks--a dozen or so. and first, after peeling them apart, soak in hot water about 20 min.for ez handling.
Vegan sour cream, if using.
filling:i made 2 different kinds 1.
sautee:1/4 c. chopped garlic, 1/3 c. ch. onion, ditto. chopped peppers, same amount of chopped mushrooms. add
1/2 c. corn kernels. & about 1/3 c. chopped cilantro..
i added slices of zucchini, can also use greens, about
1 cup. season with chilie powder, cumin, oregano & soy sauce. Sautee til near-done. Add abit of water to make stock to add to masa later. Save stock. Then, add chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, NOT MUCH, about 1 tbsp. to
about 1/2 c. tomato sauce. stir well into the vegie mix, & cook another 3 min.
2.also cooked up a yam & beans for an alternate filling using the sofrito above, w/black eye peas.When done, mashem up for the filling, add sr. cream.
the masa:
3 c.masa harina corn flour (not cornmeal)Maseca brand is good.
mixup w/ about 1 tsp. baking powder
1/3 c. vegan spread (i use Earth Balance, soy-free)
abit of'stock' from sautee above,to make wet, pliable, about 1/4 c.
Separate corn husks, tear some into strips to tie tamales.
laying husk out, spoon masa mix onto husk and spread to about 1 in. from all sides. Spoon filling on top making a thick line down middle. Add sour cream if using. taking 1 side of husk, fold over middle, then fold over other side, pressing together as much as possible. Fold up small bottom end of husk over top and tie with strip of husk. Can also fold over top and tie if you want.
Put enough water in steamer, & keep adding enough to steam tamales for about 55 min. Lay leftover husks on bottom of steamer tray, then layer tamales on top. Add a final layer of husks on top, lid on, and we're steamin'!
Note: when done, approach tamales carefully--they're hot!
Use tongs. Let sit a bit, first. But, oh, when you unwrap that baby and dig in...! Well we're in Tamale Heaven 4 sure.
Muy Bueno!
Dinner and a Movie Time! The following all go well with tamales:best choice: Like Water For Chocolate!!! (you go, Gertrudis!) or:
Frida, For Whom the Bell Tolls, Once Upon A Time In Mexico, any Zorro movies (Antonio Banderas is always worth a look, no?) El Mariachi, House of Spirits, Oliver Stone's South of the Border, Che, Motorcycle Diaries, Belle Epoch, Gaudi Afternoon and El sueño del héroe.



Double Your Omega-3's Double Your Fun Fishcakes

Note:use nori for a vegetarian option 

Yes, it's true: Captain Nemora is still runnin' on Island Time--or as much as possible on my daze off.
Here we have another adapted recipe from Ann Vanderhoof's Caribbean travel/receta books. Instead of saltfish, we use salmon. Canned: ok. And, add flaxseed meal to the mix = DOUBLE OMEGA 3'S!a vegetarian take on this: use chopped Nori. ALL: very good, muy bueno and good eating!
...Ohhh...when you smell dis cook, mon...it's a pretty thing too: opens into a red/green pepper mix,
Makes 10-15 incredible edible fishcakes.
mixup:
13-14 oz can salmon, delete any bones remaining
1/4 c. ch onion
3 cloves garlic minced
1/4 c. fresh bell pepper
1/4 c. fresh sweet red pepper
1 eggwhite
1/4 c. cornflour--also, save out about 1/2 c. to dredge cakes in
1/4 c. ground flaxseed meal
1/2 c. leftover rice if u have it. ok if not.
(i happened to have some shortgrain(very yang!)and kasha mix--yum!)
dash: curry powder, cumin, oregano, chilie powder,soya, sesame oil.
mixup well, and wet hands, shape into rounds, slightly smaller than tennis ball size then flatten and dredge in corn flour with a little black pepper and chilie powder.
heat frying pan w/peanut oil to hot. fry on both sides until golden brown. drain on newspaper (no color).Inhale the mahvellous aroma!
Tartar Sauce:
to: 1/2 c. Veganaise *better than mayo! and no cholesterol!
add: 1 tbsp stoneground/or dijon mustard
dash soya, worchestershire
squeeze lime or lemon juice
tsp:finely minced red onion
2 tsp pickle relish
sprinkle dill weed
Serve cakes HOT! with a squirt of lime, and if u like, Tabasco
*McIlhenny's Louisiana Tabasco from Avery Island, LA se vous plait!
& tartar sauce.
Baked french fries with white and sweet potatoes would go well w/this *see Thanksgiving feast recipe here earlier...) as well as a cole slaw or some crunchy salad: featured here: greens w/crunch: Romaine w/ ch. celery, fresh tomato, green onion, avocado and black olives w/a balsam vinagrette.
Bon Apetit! mes amis!
...a wee footnote from the Capt'n...
CHILIES CHILIES CHILES!
now that the dog-end of the dog-days of summer are upon us, i find i enjoy abitof heat now and then!dog-nose! there is a hot pepper from the Yucatan:Xnipek: dogs nose. (dogs noses r wet, no? ah, a running nose & eyes and a tangy bite on the tongue, chilie peppers in summer. which brings us to:
'Chasing Chilies' and xcellent new (2011) bk out by 3 chilie aficionados who chase the elusive endangered chilies of America from Maryland (fish peppers anyone?) thru Louisiana (aforemention'd Tabasco of course) and down into Sonora and Yucatan (habaneros, etc). Fascinating book, with great recipes! Inspired me to make:
a Chilie Oil (w/raw and sauteed garlic, New Mexico Chilies and cayenne), Chilie Sauce (same ingreds + cilantro, celery, onion, cumin, oregano, & abit of tomato) and a sortof Chilie Colorado only w/chicken, okra, mustard greens, corn and tomato sauce...umm humm.
That recipe coming on up -- next time!
!PS Habaneros a cure for arthritis? Just possibly!Stay tuned!

Caribbean Spice Sunday Dinner

Note: not vegan or vegetarian 

Inspired by the book: the Spice Necklace--sailing through the Caribbean, collecting recipes from the locals--I had in mind a nice Creole-cum-Italian type sauce for Sunday dinner.
Sauce:
approx. 2 c. tomato sauce,1 tbsp. stoneground mustard or dijon, 1/3 c. soya, 1/4 c. molasses,1/3 c. water w/dash of natural smoke flavoring, basil, chilie, curry, cumin, oregano and anise seed! yes.
skin chicken thighs, (6 or 8) and oil pan w/sesame or olive oil, roll chicken in oil in pan to coat w/oil & spices:
basil, chilie, curry, cumin, oregano, but not the anise.
Coat chicken in spice, and brown on both sides.
When nicely browned,add a little water, and pour off grease. Then, add sauce over all. Cover and simmer 1 hr, stirring occasionally, add water if cooks down too much.
Chop:2 c.or more squash, 1/c sliced carrot,1/2 onion, 1/4 c.garlic, 1/3 c. black olives, 1/3 c. fresh or dried figs, 1/2 c. red/gr/yellow peppers. Add to chicken & sauce, add water if has cooked down too much, need a nice thick sauce. Cook 20 min.& stir it up.(add currants, pineapple chunks, or  prunes,&/or abit of coconut if you wish a more sweet/savory island flavor)
Before done, add a long splash of wine or rum, + about 1/3 c. water with lime juice added. I used a long splash of ruby port i happened to have saved for cooking. Let it cook in about 10 min.
My stars, when you open it up and taste it, w/tender chicken falling off bone, and the wonderfulness of the lime and anise and molasses and tomato and all the soulful spice of the Caribbean, mon, de flavor burs' in your mout' like to make you dance, guaranteed!
Now, to serve: can go w/rice, but as I just got some lovely sourdough rolls, I cut them in 3rds as they are fat, and toast them. Then, heat up olive oil (Napa Valley Naturals is great, altho w/olives from Sacramento Valley, hm...why isn't it called Sac Valley Naturals, eh?) anyway olive oil and minced garlic  heat in microwave afew minutes, or on stove.
drizzle over your buns...& take a whiff o that.
Separate chicken into strips mix up w/sauce & spoon that fahntastic chicken-veg-olive-fig-stuff over your buns and enjoy! Yeah, mon.
Have as I did, w/a green salad w/ch. figs and crumbled goat cheese and sliced olives on top.
And, as I picked some blackberries this morning (figs not quite ready yet, so i bought dried ones -- i had it bad for some o'that fine figgy stuff...), i got some orange sherbet en route on bike home and shall top it w/berries for dessert.
O yea.
Bon Apetite! Tonite's Dinner-&-a-Movie DVD: Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension! extended version
(Oh yea; bring it on:John Parker vs. John Big Booty! & Dr. Lizardo, my favorite John Lithgow character.)
'There are monkey boys in the facility'

.

Baked Green Pepper Delight

Tonight's 'Dinner & A Movie': Baked Green Pepper Delight & Chickpea/Kasha Croquettes
(part 2 coming soon!) x Ra/who recommends the following accompaniment:
The Infinite Worlds of HG Wells
(suitable for children)&
The Time Machine (orig)
later, not 4 children:
--Time After Time--a Wells triple feature!

Baked Green Pepper Delight

...so called because of it's sheer delightfulness. And, uses leftover rice, vegs, etc. in wond'rous ways.
ok, so you have some of that marinara sauce left over from the Tortilla Soup we just made, no?

Well you should.You will need it.
  Ingredients:
not much, but some marinara sauce. say...1/3 c.
At least 3 peppers, cut in 1/2 = 6 servings
3 cloves large,chopped garlic
1/3 c. chopped onion
1/4 c. chopped cilantro
various leftover vegs: We happened to have 1/2 c.cabbage from lunch, sliced thin
 mushrooms! say 1/2 c. chop'd
shiitake and clamshells *on sale,
 1/2 small *eggplant, cubed.
hollow out peppers' insides discard seeds and chop that small.
sautee all this in 1 tbsp.peanut oil & soya, & add some to outside of pepper-1/2s.
Oil a baking sheet or pan.

Simmer above vegs, adding leftover cooked rice, at least 2 heaping cups *or cook up some yummy steamed organic basmati.
add rice to vegies w/abit of marinara sauce,pinch of basil, oregano, thyme and cumin, chilie powder, curry...Add the hollow pepper shells, with some water in the rice/veg mix and heat,covered about for about 5-7 min. on low.
Transfer pepper shells to baking sheet, stuff with rice/veg mix. Bake at 375 for 20-30 mins depending on if u like vegs crisper, or if you do want them abit more done, and with a nice crunchy baked top which i must admit i do rather enjoy-go for it another 5 min or so.
Add when done:
 Top w/a bit of spread if u like, whilst hot
+ nutritional yeast
Black olives, avocado, sliced
small grape tomatoes, cut in 1/2
perhaps slivered almonds,& all set upon
a salad bed, w/raspberry walnut vinagrette dressing -
It all truly has a wonderful smell, look, taste coming out of the oven. The flavors marry beautifully after they have had some time together. Enjoy!

...and as HG Wells was often seen visiting the local Tea Shop w/his lady ("Same time tomorrow then?")

I'll enclude here a quite interesting link to

VINTAGE TEA ROOMS!

Vintage Tea Rooms

Veggie Tortilla Soup

Fairly Quick E-Z Veggie Tortilla Soup!
OK, so it's another rainy, cold, blustery day out. This calls for: soup! Now! Pronto, Si!
Mostly homemade, w/a shortcut that eliminates need for 'stock.' Frankly I never use 'stock' because that's what soup IS already! (onion, garlic, herbs sauteed in abit o'oil w/soya and maybe Worchestershire sauce - gluten-free! and viola: 'stock'..)Anyway, here goes! intrepid kitchen cavaliers!:

Ingredients:
1/2 of 26 oz.jar:Gluten-free spaghetti/marinara sauce. Also, check ingredients for sugar amount! If you get a sauce w/Mushrooms, it doesn't usually have so much sugar that it tastes like tomato candy. Just a jar for $1-2 will make 2 batches soup.( Save the remainder in freezer til next time, store in leftover plastic container or freezer bag. Heat up in a dishtowel atop soup pot, w/lid turned over to thaw enough to drop the frozen sauce in.)

Carrots, chopped small cubes
Potato, ditto
1/2 large onion "
1/2 bulb garlic, or at least 6 large cloves, chopped fine
A stalk or 2 of celery, the feathery ends are excellent in soup
Soya sauce, non-gluten:( La Choy)
Cilantro: about 5 stalks, chop leaves, discard stems

OK!
in small amound of oil (a drop or 2) add water. and soya, about 4 tbsp. to soup pot. Add about 1/3 c. water and turn on med. add all ingred.s above and cook til boil, add about 1 c. more water, few more quick shakes of soya and when boiling again, add:

oregano, bay leaf, a dash curry powder, thyme, at least 2 tsp. cumin,
ditto chilie powder and then turn down to low and cook on slow simmer-- about an hr. or 45 min. at least. Check at 1/2 hr. to add water if needed. DO NOT ADD SALT!the soya takes care of it. pepper is good.

THEN!
Add: veggies! Must enclude: froz corn, froz. peas, fresh or frozen pepper medley: sweet red, yellow, green, about a cup chopped. I also like sliced zucchini, maybe sliced chard or froz. mustard greens, but any greens are swell, as well as froz. 'winter vegs' cauliflower and broccoli. If you are adding mushrooms, which are yummy indeed, add about 15 min. b4 it's ready.
Cook another 1/2 hour and it's done. Ready for your tortillas!
Personally, I love yellow corn, and if you are up for it, make your own tortillas--the masa flour has such a divine fragrance cooking!

But, if you're in a hurry, you just got off work, and heck w/that already, open a pack of gluten free corn tortillas, even frozen, pry that puppy off, tear into strips, not too small, about 'chips' size, and place in bottom of bowl. Pour hot soup over, w/lots o' veggies.
--Enjoy!  Perfect for a winter's warm-up!

To be enjoyed watching Appaloosa, Brisco County Jr. or Frida, or just listening to some bossa nova curled up with your sweetie, kid, or kitty. Bon Apetit!