Food goodness

Ernie loves short ribs. This is a good way to make them, if you're not interested in braising them in a bottle of red wine with lots of bacon. That way is good, too. Adapted from Pioneer Woman 8 whole Beef Short Ribs 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil Salt And Pepper, to taste 1 Tablespoon Sugar 4 cloves Garlic, Crushed 1 whole Medium Onion, Diced 1 cup Red Wine 1 can (28 Ounce) Whole Tomatoes 1 can (14 Ounce) petite tomatoes in sauce 1 teaspoon Salt ¼ teaspoons Red Pepper Flakes Dried basil (how much? I dunno, I eyeballed it) Pasta Grated Parmesan Cheese Preheat oven to 275 degrees. Heat olive oil in a heavy pot over medium-high to high heat. Sprinkle short ribs with salt and pepper. Brown short ribs in oil, about 1 1/2 or 2 minutes per side. Remove to a plate. Pour off excess oil (be careful!) Throw garlic and onions into pot. Stir to cook for a minute or two, then add tomatoes, wine, sugar, salt, red pepper flakes, and basil. Stir to combine. With tongs, set sho

Adapted from Weight Watchers, Cooking Light and King Arthur Flour. 6 oz shelled and peeled hazelnuts 1 C KAF ww or white whole wheat flour 3/4 C AP flour 3 oz semi-sweet chocolate chips (I use Ghiradelli) 1/2 C dutched cocoa powder (regular is fine, too) 1 T instant espresso or coffee powder 1 t baking soda 1/2 t kosher salt 1 cup sugar 3 large eggs (can use 2 large eggs + 2 large whites) 1 Tbsp vanilla extract Preheat oven to 350. Place one rack in the upper third of oven and the other rack in the lower third. Cover 2 large baking sheets with parchment and set aside. If your nuts are not peeled already, place 6 oz of them on a large baking sheet and put in the oven while it preheats for about 10 min or so or until the nus smell fragrant and you can see the peels start to flake off. If the peels remain stubbornly in place, shake the pan a bit and then put it back in the oven for a few more minutes. Remove from oven and dump nuts onto a dish towel. Rub together vigorously

Slightly adapted from the latest issue of Vegetarian Times . This would make a great pot luck dish. Would also be good served with Alissa's recipe for Caribbean Chicken. 1.5 C shelled edamame, defrosted if frozen 2 C thinly sliced red cabbage 1 orange/red bell pepper, thinly sliced 1 C finely diced pineapple [or use frozen pineapple tidbits from TJ's] 1/4 C golden raisins/sultanas 1 large handful shredded carrots 1/4 C chopped salted cashews 1/4 C chopped fresh mint 2 T fresh lime juice plus the zest of one lime 2 T honey 1/2 t sriracha splash or two of soy sauce Toss veg and fruit in a large bowl. Whisk together mint, honey, lime juice, sriracha and soy sauce and pour over salad. Toss well to combine. Garnish with cashews and serve. Tastes best when flavors are allowed to marinate together a bit but also tasty when it's just made.

Adapted from the latest issue of Vegetarian Times (recipe not yet available online). I medium onion, diced [I used a red onion] 1 small red pepper, diced 1 small green pepper, diced [didn't have so I used a yellow one] 4 cloves garlic, minced 6 C cooked black beans, about 1 lb. dried [I used a mix of pinto and great northern] 3 medium potatoes, scrubbed and diced [don't peel!] 2 T red wine vinegar 1 T ground cumin 1 large bay leaf 1 T oregano [I used dried] 1 T salt or to taste [if using canned beans, use less salt] pinch or two of cayenne 1.5 T canola oil 6 C water or low-sodium chx broth I made mine from scratch instead of using canned beans because I had the time. If you are short on time, just drain and rinse about 3 cans of black beans [or other type of bean if you prefer]. Start by making the sofrito: coarsely chop onions, peppers and garlic and throw into your food processor; process until finely minced. If you don't want to dirty your food processor, then chop b

From: Serious Eats 1 tablespoon olive oil 1 medium yellow onion, diced 1 orange pepper, diced 1 red pepper, diced 2 cloves garlic, minced 1 teaspoon cumin 2 teaspoons chili powder One 15-ounce can diced tomatoes Three 15-ounce cans black beans, rinsed and drained (I used cannellini and garbanzos) 1 small chipotle chile pepper in adobo sauce, minced ¼ cup chopped cilantro stems Kosher salt 1 bottle dark beer 1 pound sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes ¼ cup chopped cilantro leaves 1/2 lime (optional) sour cream (optional) Heat oil in large Dutch oven or heavy-lidded saucepan over medium heat. Saute onion and peppers until soft and beginning to caramelize, 5-8 minutes. Add garlic, cumin, and chili powder and continue to sauté until very fragrant, about 2 minutes. Stir in tomatoes, beans, chipotle, cilantro stems, and 1 teaspoon salt. Turn heat to high, and pour in beer. Simmer for 10 minutes, then add sweet potatoes. Continue to simmer until potatoes are tender, but not fall

You have probably already heard me drone on in some other venue about my quest to make delicious yogurt. I want to make thick, tangy plain yogurt. I love plain yogurt for many reasons and I want to make my own. I will...one day. Maybe with your help! Using one particular recipe three times, I have made: yogurt of reasonable texture that K wouldn't touch and gave me & S iffy tummies, baked milk and drinkable yogurt. I want to like this recipe because it's really simple but I don't have a warm setting on my oven (lowest temp is 170) and the wattage of the oven light doesn't seem provide enough warmth, so I don't think this is going to be the method for me. (I can't even find my paper copy of this recipe tonight...I bet K hid it from me!) After my most recent two attempts, I did more reading about homemade yogurt. You can do it as many ways as there are ways to keep something warmish for a while: swaddled crockpot method swaddled crock in an unwarmed oven metho

Yummy. I added chunked potatoes to my pot of lentils while they cooked. I also splashed some balsamic during the last 5 minutes on the stove. Served w/ little dollop of plain yogurt. By Freya Bellin on markbittman.com Makes: 4 servings Time: About 30 minutes with cooked lentils Precooked lentils are so useful that it makes total sense to cook extra. Once you do that, it’s a snap to make this one-skillet dish, which you can serve with good bread or rice; or make the variation, an approximation of mujaddarah, a dish popular throughout the Middle East that adds rice to the skillet. Lentil cooking water and porcini soaking water are both invaluable liquids; you can use either (or a little of both) to moisten the stir-fry and save the rest to flavor other dishes. 1⁄2 cup dried porcini mushrooms, optional Boiling water as needed 2 tablespoons olive oil, or more as needed 2 onions, halved and thinly sliced 1 pound mushrooms, preferably an assortment, sliced 3 cups cooked lentils, drained, liq

From Rick Bayless's Mexican Everyday I've also used this recipe with a whole chicken instead of pork. I'd love a tip about how to keep track of all the tiny little bones of a chicken in a slow cooker. Serves 6 1 1/2 pounds red skin or Yukon Gold potatoes, each cut into 6 wedges 1 1/2 – 2 pounds boneless pork shoulder, cubed (I used 1 1/2” cubes) 2 oz (about 8) dried guajillo chilies (stemmed, seeded, and torn so they lie flat) 1 – 15oz can diced tomatoes (preferably fire roasted) 4 garlic cloves, peeled and halved 2 tsp dried oregano 2 Tbs Worcestershire sauce salt 1/2 C (loosely packed) chopped cilantro for garnish 1/2 C diced white onion 1. Set the potatoes over bottom of slow cooker and top with pork. 2. Heat med. (8-inch) skillet over medium heat. When it is hot, toast the chilies – about 10 seconds per side. Any smoke means they are burning. Put in blender. 3. Add tomatoes w/ juice, garlic, oregano, Worcestershire, a generous 1 1/2 tsp. Salt, and 1 1/2 C water. Blend u

Ina Garten's recipe. Comfort. I made the sandwiches open-face on a hearty wheat loaf because that's what I had on hand. * 2 tablespoons unsalted butter * 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour * 2 cups hot milk * 1 teaspoon kosher salt * 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper * Pinch nutmeg * 12 ounces Gruyere, grated (5 cups) * 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan * 16 slices white sandwich bread, crusts removed * Dijon mustard * 8 ounces baked Virginia ham, sliced but not paper thin Directions Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Melt the butter over low heat in a small saucepan and add the flour all at once, stirring with a wooden spoon for 2 minutes. Slowly pour the hot milk into the butter–flour mixture and cook, whisking constantly, until the sauce is thickened. Off the heat add the salt, pepper, nutmeg, 1/2 cup grated Gruyere, and the Parmesan and set aside. To toast the bread, place the slices on 2 baking sheets and bake for 5 minutes. Tu

Below is Alton Brown's recipe. I wimped out of full execution of the recipe by substituting a little saucepan of our long-faithful Molly Katzen peanut sauce , but as soon as I get my hands on tamarind paste, I'll try this recipe again Alton's way. Even with my transgressions, it was so good. I added shrimp that I steamed in the chicken stock leftover from the Pho recipe. I made a stupid error when reading the recipe that resulted in me chopping and salting an entire HEAD of cabbage (also left over from Pho ). I just made it into a big batch of sweet and tangy slaw by adding 2T of sugar and about 1/4 C rice vinegar and shaking it all together to combine. It was great as a crunchy condiment and my daughter said it tasted like butter. 1-ounce tamarind paste 3/4 cup boiling water 2 tablespoons fish sauce 2 tablespoons palm sugar 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar 4 ounces rice stick noodles 6 ounces Marinated Tofu, recipe follows 1 to 2 tablespoons peanut oil 1 cup chopped scall

I felt like an Hoover era housewife boiling a chicken, but it turned out great -- moist, easy to pull apart but not quite falling apart like it does in the crockpot. The carcass was in great shape to freeze to make another pot of stock later. I made this soup early in the week, we ate leftover chicken for lunch another day and then I made another pot of just plain old chicken noodle later in the week that made two meals. The mild Asian flavor in the chicken and leftover broth was a nice bonus. Boil until tender: 2 lb. chicken or leg quarters [my chicken was 5 lb. I used a meat thermometer to make sure the chicken was cooked to 180 degrees.] water to cover 1-2 t salt 1 star anise [the store didn't carry it, so I subbed 1 tsp Chinese Five Spice - yum.] Remove chicken, debone, and pull or cut into pieces, Skim broth and keep hot. Place in each of 4 soup bowls: 2 T cabbage thinly sliced 1/2-1 green onion, finely chopped 2 sprigs cilantro or parsley [both] 2 T. chicken pieces a little n

Smells amazing, tastes delicious. Easy and cheap to make if you have the whole spices on hand (Grg). Reheats really well. In a large saucepan, heat: 2 T oil Add and saute 2 minutes: 1 large onion, chopped 2 green peppers, sliced 2 inch stick cinnamon 4 cardamom pods 4 whole cloves Add & stir-fry about five minutes: 1 C uncooked rice [I used brown] 1/2 C lentils Add 1 1/2 C potatoes, cubed 1 C cauliflower, chopped [1/2 a bag of frozen] 1 lg tomato [1 can of fire roasted] 4 C water Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer until rice, lentils & veggies are tender, 20-30 minutes. Consistency will be like stew, not dry or fluffy. from Extending the Table

Easy. Tasty. Goes great with Khichri (Indian lentils & rice dish). Husband came home and asked our three year-old daughter, who was wearing an apron, wielding a rolling pin, and dusting a circle of dough with flour, "What are you doing?" She replied, "I'm makin' Cha-potties!" True story. Combine 2 C. flour [I used one C whole wheat and one C unbleached white] 1 t. butter pinch of salt Gradually add: 1/2 C (or more) of lukewarm water Knead until dough is soft. Cover with damp cloth and let rest 1 hour. Divide dough into 10 pieces. On a floured surface, roll each piece into 4-inch circle, 1/4 in thick. [If you roll it any thinner, the result is crunchy and you want soft and flexible] Heat heavy un-greased frying pan [I used a cast iron tortilla comal]. Cook each Chapati until it starts to bubble on bottom, turn, cook on other side and remove. Stack in tea towel to keep warm. from: Extending the Table (wonderful 10,000 Villages cookbook)