Ginger-Garlic Noodle Stir Fry, English Pancakes, Acorn Squash Soup

See the recipe for this English Pancake below.  Check out my other recipes too...

Ginger-Garlic Noodle Stir-Fry
This Forks Over Knives recipe is actually pretty good as originally written, but I added more soy, and  a bit of heat to the sauce.  Good combination of ingredients all in all.

6 oz dry Noodles -- Asian soba or glass noodles, or just ordinary spaghetti
1 thumb-sized piece Ginger, sliced
4 large cloves Garlic, sliced
1/3 cup Soy Sauce
2 Tbsp Corn Starch or Arrowroot Powder (thickener)
2-3 Tbsp Rice Wine Vinegar
6-8 Green Onions, sliced in to 1" pieces
4 oz sliced Mushrooms
1 cup thin-sliced rounds of Carrot
1-2 cups Broccoli florets
1 head Bok Choy, sliced crosswise into 1/4" pieces
1/4 cup raw unsalted Cashews

Cook the pasta to package directions.  Drain, rinse, reserve.  Whisk to combine the soy sauce, vinegar, corn starch, 1/2 cup water and one clove of minced garlic.  Reserve.  Prep all the veggies.
Add the other veggies, except for the broccoli and mushrooms. 

Stir and fry things another few minutes until things start to soften.  Finally add the mushrooms, broccoli and sauce.  Stir and fry until the sauce starts to thicken.  Remove from heat.

Pour boiling water over the noodles to reheat them, drain, then pile them in a large serving bowl and spoon the stir fry over the top.  

Serve family style with tongs so diners can serve themselves.  Serves 2 with nice leftovers for lunch the next day.

Surprise Acorn Squash Soup
We eat lots of squash -- acorn, butternut, spaghetti and others.  This is a new soup ingredient for me though; I usually use Butternut for soups.

2 Acorn Squash
1 Onion, diced
4 cloves Garlic
4 cups veggie broth or water
1 tsp Nutmeg
1 tsp Cumin
Salt & Pepper to taste
1-2 cups non-dairy "Milk" -- we prefer unsweetened Almond "Milk"
{Surprise} 2/3 cup shredded Carrots

*Optional -- 1 Tbsp Turmeric.  This adds to the richness and color of the soup.  I had Toasted Coconut flavored almond milk, left behind by a guests, that I was trying to use up, and it was just too sweet in this soup.  A tablespoon of Turmeric did the trick -- took it back towards Savory rather than sweet; plus it gave me a better color!

Halve, seed, and cook the squash -- roast it, or microwave (my choice) until the flesh is tender.  Cool, reserve the flesh and discard the skin.

In your soup pot, in a splash of oil, saute the onion and garlic until it's going translucent.  Add the squash, spices and broth.   Simmer for 10 minutes.

Add the "milk", stir, and transfer to a food processor.  Take the soup for a spin to make it nice and creamy.  Return to your soup pot, add the shredded carrots, and heat it through before serving.

English Pancakes
As I write this it's Monday Feb 24th.  Tomorrow, we realized, is Shrove Tuesday -- the day before Ash Wednesday and the start of Lent.  Not that either of us are particularly religious.  But Sally reminded me that Shrove Tuesday, in the UK is also known as Pancake Day.... and why didn't I make English style pancakes as part of Tuesday's dinner.

Never one to turn down a food challenge (I knew English pancakes were more like French crepes than American breakfast slabs) I did a quick search for recipes, and I found a recipe by Delia Smith the famous British chef and cookbook author.   It's hard to go wrong with a recipe this simple...

4 oz AP Flour, well sifted
pinch of salt
2 Eggs
7 oz Milk plus 3 oz Water
2 oz Butter
Sliced Lemon
Sugar 

Sift the flour and salt into a large mixing bowl with the sieve held high to achieve maximum aeration.  Make a well in the center and break the eggs into it.  Use a whisk to incorporate the flour and eggs.

Gradually add the milky water to the flour and keep whisking and scraping the bowl to get all the flour in the batter.    Do a little experiment here to find a spoon, coffee scoop, ladle or whatever you have to hold about 2 Tbsp of batter.  You'll use that measure to put the batter in the pan for each pancake.

Melt the butter and whisk 2 Tbsp of it into the batter.  The rest of the butter gets used to wipe the pan between each pancake you make, using a wad of paper towel.

Use a small skillet -- 7" or 8" --  and get it really hot.  Then reduce the burner to medium as you start to make the pancakes.

As soon as the batter hits the pan, start to swirl it to spread the batter into a thin disk. The first side should only take about 30 seconds to cook. 

 Lift the edge of the cake to make sure it's turning golden.  Flip the pancake with the same palette knife or other thin spatula and cook the second side for just a few seconds -- 5 or so.  Then slide the pancake onto a warm plate to form a stack.

Sprinkle each pancake with bit of sugar and squeeze of lemon.  Roll, slice and devour!  This is really a dessert pancake.  You don't want to eat more than a couple of these at a sitting.

Paella, Ras el Hanut, Chuletas, Dairy-free Scones, Squash Casserole

Paella Bajoqueta
That's a vegetarian paella featuring green beans as the primary subject.  Bajoqueta is the Catalan (not Spanish) word for green beans.  Not all paella include seafood; many Catalan and Spanish traditional paella do not.  You really want the biggest skillet you can find, or a true paella pan for this dish.  I decided to employ our seldom-used 15" Saladmastertm skillet even though we have traditional paella pans.  The big skillet has an oil core which will help make the heat even all across the bottom.  Trying to work a thin metal paella pan across two burners can be frustrating. 

1 lb Green Beans, topped and tailed but left long
4 cups Vegetable Broth (1 box)
2 cans Garbanzos, drained and rinsed
1 Sweet Onion, chopped
1 Red Bell Pepper, chopped
1 Ancho Chili Pepper, chopped
3 cloves Garlic, chopped
2 Beefsteak Tomatoes, diced
1 tsp crumbled Saffron threads
1 tsp Cumin
2 tsp Smoked or Sweet Paprika (or 1 of each...)

Pour the rice in the pan, add the vegetable broth, and start bringing the liquid up to a boil.

The basic principle of cooking a paella is to add the components in the "longest to cook, goes first" order.  So... rice, then as it starts to get warm liquid, next comes the green beans, followed by other ingredients each in its turn, tomatoes being last.  As the dish progresses, the rice cooks up through the other components.

When all the liquid has been absorbed by the rice, the other ingredients should be cooked as well.  If the rice is sticking to the bottom of your pan, that's good!

Paella aficionados fight over who gets the wonderful crusty, almost burnt rice from the bottom of the pan!  See the big piece I got there on my plate of paella?  Yummm!

Ras el Hanut
The name of this quintessential Moroccan spice blend means "head of the shop".  It's a melange of the spices which a spice merchant in the souks of Marrakesh or Tangiers might sell.  Each local merchant's blend would vary depending on what spices he kept in stock.  Some versions have as many as 50 spices...

The blend is essential for Shakshuka -- the now popular in the West dish of 'eggs poached in tomato' dish that has long been a favorite meal in Israel and across the Middle East and North Africa.  I serve it as a breakfast here at our Poolside Cabana Airbnb listing.

Here's a simplified blend of just ten "essential" spices.  It's the proportions that count, so I'm not giving any measure -- you can use teaspoons, tablespoons, ounces, pounds, buckets.  You can even swap out a spice here or there, or add one or two...

1  Cumin
1  Ground Ginger
1  Salt
3/4 Pepper
1/2 Cinnamon
1/2 Coriander
1/2 Cayenne
1/2 Allspice
1/2 Turmeric
1/4 Cloves

Chuletas de Puerco en  Salsa Verde
Chuleta means "chop", and Puerco... well, you know (or at least you should).  Pork Chops in Salsa Verde.  This is classic Mexican home cooking.  Sally was out of town so I made this all for myself.  

Thin cut chops are the secret to this dish.  I get mine from a Mexican carnicería just down the road about a mile.

And don't you dare use bottled salsa verde, when I gave you a perfect recipe for making your own, on January 13th!  

You want the salsa fairly thin for this recipe.  If yours is too thick, just add a couple tablespoons of water and stir to thin it out.

2 extra thin cut Pork Chops
Salt & Pepper to taste
1+ cups Salsa Verde
Spanish Rice for your side dish

Brown the lightly spiced chops on both sides in a splash of oil.  Remove the meat, and add about half of the salsa verde to the skillet.  Put the chops on the salsa and top them with the remaining sauce.

Turn the heat down low and simmer for about 15 minutes while the salsa reduces and thickens.

Here I served the chuleta with some wonderful Peruvian Vegetable Tacu Tacu that Sally brought home from our favorite Peruvian restaurant.  Or, you could serve it with this side:

Quick Spanish Rice
1 cup White Rice
1-2 tsp Badiatm Sazon Tropicale Orange (or 1 packet)

Cook the rice your usual way (I use a rice cooker), but add the sazon tropicale to the liquid as the water comes to a boil.  Perfect Spanish Rice every time.  You can doctor it with some cooked diced red bell pepper and onion if you want!

Dairy-Free Blueberry Scones
We had a Guest at the Poolside Cabana who's partner was dairy-free, but really wanted scones.  Then I found this recipe... happy Guests!  I made this as a "sconebread" using self-rising flour, but of course you can make wedge scones or round scones as well...

2 cups AP flour*
2 tsp Baking Powder*
¾ tsp Salt
½ cup fresh Blueberries or rehydrated dried berries
1 cup canned Coconut Cream not coconut milk
1 tsp Vanilla Extract or other extract (lemon would be good) that you like
Coarse Sugar, for sprinkling (optional)

* or use 2 c Self-Rising Flour and no Baking Powder, like I did...

Goya brand coconut cream is available in many megamart canned milk sections, or at you local Latin market(s).

Preheat oven to 425F.  Prepare a baking sheet or pan with parchment paper and/or spray.

Meanwhile... whisk the flour, baking powder if using, and salt together in a medium bowl. Add blueberries and toss lightly to coat.

Stir in 1/2 cup of warmed coconut cream and the vanilla extract. If you warm the cream it becomes thinner and easy to pour rather than spoon.   Add enough more cream to get a cohesive dough, plop it out on a heavily floured work surface and dust with additional flour.  Knead a few times to get a dough that is not too sticky.  Chill dough in the fridge until in the oven comes up to temp.

Remove the baking sheet from the fridge and cut each disk into 4 wedges. Separate the wedges to give them room to expand.

Bake for about 15 minutes, or until lightly browned.   If you make a sconebread in a 6" or 7" pan, like I did, it will need to bake for 30+ minutes.  After you get a good brown top, cover with tinfoil to stop additional browning.  

Can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days, in the refrigerator for up to a week, or individually frozen for longer.

Winter Squash CasseroleThis one was inspired by a Meatless Monday acorn squash casserole which was nice and creamy, but I felt needed more 'body', so I combined it with parcooked butternut squash.

2 Acorn Squash, halves and seeded

1 small/medium Butternut Squash, peeled, seeded and cubed

1 cup diced Sweet Onion
1/2 cup Skyr or Greek Yogurt
1 tsp Italian Seasoning
1 tsp Cavender'stm Greek Seasoning
1/4 cup Parmesan from a can
1/4 cup Panko
Optional -- 1/4 cup Feta cheese crumbles

Preheat the oven to 350F.
Microwave or roast the Acorn squash, cut side down, until very tender.  Cool and scoop the meat into a bowl and mash.  Add the yogurt, onion, salt & pepper and fold it all together.  

Microwave or roast the Butternut cubes al dente (they'll cook some more but you don't want them falling apart).  Cool slightly, then fold into the Acorn mixture.

Spoon into an appropriate baking dish which has been sprayed or oiled to prevent sticking.  Top with the panko, parmesan and optional feta.  Bake 25-35 minutes until bubbly.  

This got Two Thumbs Up from Sally.  Great taste!!

Fish Pie, Cod Avgolemono, Creamy Sprouts, Ponderosa Lemons. more

Cod Avgolemono

All my own invention!    We've been doing baked cod the last few months,  as I wrote about back on 9/24/19.  That recipe has you marinating the cod, then dredging and lightly frying it and finally baking it to finish. 

So I decided to skip a step to speed things up a bit.  No more marinating!

I preheated my oven to 400F.  I had my fillets thawed and patted dry-ish.  I had my dredging station set up -- one pan for egg, another other for flour.

I beat an egg in the dredging pan, then squeezed the juice of half a lemon into it, and beat the mixture for a minute more to combine.  This creates a liquid that the Greeks would call avgolemono "egg-lemon", except they would use only egg yolks with lemon juice as a sauce base.

Dredge the fish in the avgolemono.  Then dredge it in spiced AP flour (I used a bit of Cavender'stm Greek seasoning).   Fry the fillets in a splash of EVOO, on medium heat, for about 3 minutes per side.  Then transfer them to a baking dish.

Just before you slide the baking dish into the oven, spoon generous amounts of the 'left-over' avgolemono over the fillets.  Bake for 10-12 minutes, plate and serve.

The result is a moist and flavorful piece of fish -- not dry as many baked fish dishes can create.   Try it -- I think you'll like it!

Icelandic Fish Pie
Back in 2017 Sally and I had the great pleasure of visiting Iceland for three days, as a layover on our way to Glasgow.    Beautiful and stark country, very clean, and wonderful people.  Also, great seafood -- cod, wolf fish, prawns, and much more.  One of the first dishes I had there was something called plokkfiskur. 

Not a very appetizing name, but a very tasty "fish pie" made with leftovers.  Not that you or I ever have  "leftover" cod... and we rarely have leftover mashed potatoes.    I've made this a few times since then, and tweaked the basic recipe by adding vegetables.  But I haven't made it in a year or so.    Sally mentioned it 'out of the blue' the other day, and I thought we all needed to get re-introduced to a fabulous dish.

No reason this has to be made with cod, of course.  Any firm white fish will do -- grouper, mahi mahi.  I've even added salmon.  A mix of fish is just fine, too.

4 cups Mashed Potatoes -- I use just potatoes with some Skyr yogurt and a splash of cooking water
12 oz Cod fillets
2 cups Frozen Peas
White Pepper -- to taste
Sweet and Smoked Paprika for dusting
optional -- a cup of diced onion sautéed

While the potatoes are cooking, start another, small, pot of water and bring it to a boil.  Add the thawed cod fillets, put the lid on, and turn the fire off.  By the time the potatoes are done, the fish will be perfectly cooked.

Mash the potatoes with the skyr and about a half cup of the potato cooking liquid.  Fold in the peas and optional onions and add the white pepper.

Turn the mixture out into a deep dish pie pan.  Smooth the top and dust with paprika.

Bake at 350F for about 20 minutes until you get a nice bit of browning on the top.

Here's the plokkfiskur with a side of carrots sautéed in orange juice.


Creamy Brussels Sprouts with Sun-dried Tomato
From Forks Over Knives...  My version uses shallots, theirs uses leeks.  Like every FoK recipe we've tried (many) this one, as written, was "pretty good"  but lacking something...  

What I suggest is first, double the amount of mustard and use a real, strong, mustard -- not that wimpy yellow stuff.  Second, use at least 1/4 cup of sundried tomato, not a measly tablespoon -- you literally cannot taste the sundried tomato!  Third, forget the chopped greens.  Again, the taste is lost.

1 lbs Brussels Sprouts, halved
2-3 large Shallots, thin sliced; about a cup
1/2 cup Water or Broth
1 cup unflavored Almond "Milk"
2 Tbsp AP Flour
1 Tbsp Nutritional Yeast
1 Tbsp Yellow Mustard
1 Tbsp finely chopped Sun-dried Tomato
1 Tbsp julienned Greens (parsley, celery, lettuce, etc)
S&PTT

Cook (basically steam) the sprouts and shallots in the water or broth for about 10 minutes on medium low, until they can be easily pierced with a fork.

While that's happening, in a bowl whisk together the "milk", flour, nutritional yeast and mustard, then add the sundried tomatoes.   Add this mixture to the sprouts, and cook another 3-5 minutes until the sprouts are coated and the sauce thickens, stirring frequently.  Dress with the greens before serving.

Ponderosa Lemons
We went for a walk along the FPL right-of-way behind Sally's house and discovered a fruiting lemon tree with large knobby fruit.  I "rescued" these fallen fruit, and brought them home with us.

It turns out that these are Ponderosa Lemons -- not a true lemon at all. It is thought (but unproven) that they are a natural cross between a lemon and a citron.  The first ones were grown from a random seedling found in Maryland, back in 1887!  The trees run small, and are often used as ornamentals or potted porch plants here in southern Florida.  The fruit run very large -- sometimes as big as a football!  The ones I found are easily twice the size of an ordinary lemon.  Ponderosas can be used exactly as ordinary lemons -- juice, pie, zest, etc.  

Two Ponderosa made more than this pint of marmalade; it usually takes 3 oranges to make the same amount!  

The marmalade is very tasty. It  turned out a bit "chunky" for a lack of liquid (or over abundance of skin and pith) and it has a distinct taste -- lemony but not bitter -- similar to the dried citron that you find in fruitcakes.  Maybe these are lemony snicket!

Savory Scone Bread
One of my Breakfast For Two menu items for our Airbnb is Savory Apple & Cheddar Scones. Lately, I've taken to making and presenting the item not as half a dozen individual scones, but rather a single large (9") loaf of "sconebread".   Either way, the combination of sweet apple and sharp cheddar cheese makes a great taste combination for a breakfast dish.  Perfect with a cup of coffee or strong tea!

1-1/2 cups AP Flour*
1-1/2 tsp Baking Powder*
1 tsp Dry Mustard (Coleman'stm is perfect)
1/2 tsp Salt
4 Tbsp Butter or Margarine
1 cup shredded Sharp Cheddar Cheese
1 Sweet Apple, chopped (not a Granny Smith)
1 Egg, beaten
1/2 cup Milk

*  Actually I prefer using Self Rising Flour with no added Baking Powder.

Preheat the oven to 400F.  While that's going on... Mix the dry ingredients together.  Cut in the butter to make fine crumbs.  Add the cheese and toss to coat.  

In a separate bowl combine the egg and milk.  Add this to the dry mix to make a batter.  Fold the apple into the batter and stir to coat.

Turn the batter/dough out onto a floured surface and dust with flour.  Knead 10-12 times to make a not-sticky dough like a bannock; adding flour as needed.  Form into a loaf and spread into a 9" springform pan or cake tin with a parchment covered bottom (to make release easier when it's done).

Bake for 25-30 minutes until the proverbial toothpick comes out clean.  

Three Ingredient Biscuits!, Crumble, Salmon and more

Three Ingredient Biscuits
I've been making these biscuits for several years, and first wrote about them here back in September of  2014.

These are the best tasting, fastest biscuits you will ever make and eat!  Half an hour from getting the last ingredient out until you're eating a flaky, hot, scrumptious biscuit!!

2-1/2 cups Bisquicktm or similar 'baking mix'
1/2 cup plain Skyr/Greek Yogurt or Sour Cream
1/2 cup Lemon-Lime Soda or Ginger Ale

Pre-heat the oven to 425F.  While that's happening bring the recipe together:

Put the four mix in a bowl, add the yogurt, and gently add the soda so that it doesn't foam a lot.  Stir together to incorporate into a wet dough.  Flour a working surface and plop the dough down.  Flour it liberally and then fold/knead together into a workable dough.  Pat or roll the dough out about 3/4" thick, and use a cookie cutter to punch out 6 nice biscuits.

Bake the biscuits 15 minutes until GB&D.  Total time to make and bake = 30 minutes!!

Fabulous by themselves, or as a base for Biscuits & Gravy.  Add a tablespoon of sugar to the mix and they're great as strawberry shortcake too!

Salmon With Chickpeas
Got this recipe from Weight Watchers Cafe.  The spice blend and the dollop of yogurt with a chiffonade of mint is what really makes this a great meal.

Preheat oven to 450F

2 Salmon fillets
3 tsp Paprika; a mix of sweet and smoky and hot paprika is really good
2 tsp Coriander
2 tsp Cumin
2 tsp fresh ground Black Pepper
2 Zucchini, sliced into 1" rounds
1 large Red Bell Pepper, chopped
1 cup Red Onion, diced
2-3 cups cooked Garbanzos/Chickpeas
2 Tbsp Skyr or Greek Yogurt
2-3 Tbsp Mint chiffonade
2 tsp EVOO

Line a shallow baking dish with foil and lay out the salmon fillets.  Also foil line a baking sheet.

In a ramekin, combine the spices, mixing well.  Then brush the fillets with the EVOO and coat with the spice blend.   Prepare the veggies and lay them out on the baking sheet and dust with the remaining spice blend (if any).

Bake the veggies 20 minutes.  The add the salmon to the oven and bake another 10-12 minutes until the salmon is flaky.

Plate the fish and veggies.  Add a dollop of yogurt to each fillet and top that with shredded fresh mint. Slices of lemon for squeezing over will not be amiss.

Cauli-Quinoa Casserole
Looking for something different in a casserole?  This is a really flavorful combination.   I can't really call it a casserole though, as casseroles have to have some sort of "binder" -- cheese, eggs, something -- and this recipe doesn't.  Still tastes good though!

1 head Cauliflower, disassembled
2 cups dry Red Quinoa -- regular tan quinoa is OK but the red has more flavor
3 cups Vegetable Broth
1 cup Onion, diced
6 cloves Garlic, minced
1 Tbsp Italian Seasoning
1 Tbsp White Wine Vinegar
3 cups Pasta sauce of your choice -- we like the Paul Newmantm brand sauces
1 cup Frozen Peas
recommended optional -- 1 cup of shredded cheddar to top the casserole before baking.

Cook the quinoa in a pot or rice cooker, to package directions.  While that's happening, combine everything else (except the pasta sauce and peas)  in a skillet and saute until the cauliflower is just starting to soften.

Fluff the quinoa with a fork, then spread it in the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish.   Spread the pasta sauce over the quinoa.  Now layer on the cauliflower mixture. Lastly, spread the peas over everything.

Bake at 350F for 20-25 minutes until the cauliflower is starting to brown a bit.

Brocc-Kale Stir Fry
I borrowed this recipe, with my own tweaks, of course, from the Food & Wine magazine site.  Quite simple really -- and tasty.

2-3 heads Broccoli, cut into florets
2-3 cups chopped Kale, mostly leaves not stems
1-2 Shallots, peeled and sliced
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Zest and juice of half a Lemon
1+ tsp Red Pepper Flakes
1/4 cup sliced Almonds, toasted in a dry skillet
SPTT
Optional -- large-diced Red Bell Peppers, sliced Mushrooms

In large skillet, splash of oil, cook the shallots a minute or so to release aromatics.  Add broccoli and cook 2+ minutes.  Now add the kale and cook until broccoli is tender ~ 3minutes.

Remove to a bowl, toss with the lemon juice and zest. pepper flakes and Parmesan.  Plate and devour!

Mango-Apple Crumble
Simple dessert for Sunday Brunch.  I thawed about 4 mangos worth from last year's harvest, sliced up a Fuji apple, and tossed in a handful of blueberries for good measure.  Put it all in an 8x8 baking dish.  I found this rather nice, simple, and somewhat healthier crumble formula to top it with.

for the crumble:
3/4 c oatmeal
1/3 c Almond Flour
2 tbsp. honey
3 tbsp. reduced fat butter, melted; or coconut oil
1tbsp brown sugar
pinch salt

Bake the dessert for about 40 minutes @350F until the crumble browns a bit.

Staffordshire Oatcakes
This is my take on a classic English breakfast dish.  It does take a bit of planning to prepare, but is well worth the time.  This is a yeast risen and savory pancake, unlike its sweet American baking powder cousin.   Makes 2 large cakes:

2-1/2 oz Fine Oat Flour or Scottish Oatmeal (not steel cut or rolled oats)
2-1/2 oz Whole Wheat Flour
1/2 cup each -- Milk and Water
1 pkt Quick Rising Yeast
pinch of Salt

Combine the oat and wheat flour, add the salt and dry yeast.  Nuke the water/milk mixture until 'blood temperature' -- about 30 seconds.  Add the warm liquid to the dry mix and stir into a batter.  Cover and let it rise for 1 hour in a warm, breeze free place (I put it inside the microwave, covered with a damp towel that I microwave for 1 minute to get nice and warm).

I cook these in a dry 9" non-stick skillet but you could use a barely oiled griddle also.  I dollop out 2/3 cup of the batter into a disk about 1/2" or more thick and cook them about 3 minutes per side over medium heat.

Server traditionally with a dusting of confectioner's sugar and a squeeze of lemon juice.