Lentil-Quinoa-Butternut Soup, Posole Verde, Barm Brack, Pajeon w/Shrimp & Veg

 Lentil-Quinoa-Butternut Soup
An interesting variant which has little of the usual butternut character.

1 medium Butternut Squash Neck  -- save the seed ball for another dish
1 large Onion, diced
2 cups of cooked 50/50 Quinoa/Lentils
1 firm ripe tomato, diced
1 Tbsp  Scarborough Fayre spice blend.  Or Z'Atar if you don't make my Scarborough Fayre
1-3 Tbsp Balsamic Vinegar to finish

Combine 1 cup dry lentils and 1 cup dry quinoa in water and simmer until tender.  Drain, cool, and reserve.    If you're like me,  you made a large batch of lentils & quinoa using your rice cooker earlier in the week and have leftovers in the fridge which you use here...

Peel and grate the squash.  Saute the onion, then add the squash and about 6 cups of water.  Cook on medium heat for about 30 minutes, then puree in your blender or with stick blender.   
Back in the pot, add the quinoa/lentil mixture and the spice blend and stir to combine.  Simmer for about 20 more minute, and add the diced tomato in the last ten minutes or so.  Stir in a couple tablespoons of balsamic vinegar if you feel it needs a bit of acidic 'kick'.  

Posole Verde
Sally's away for a week, so I can make one of my favorite Mexican dishes.  She just doesn't care for the taste of Posole or Chile Verde -- made with green chiles, tomatillos, hominy, onion, and spices.   That's OK.  All the more for me!   Making a big batch for a couple different applications in the week.

                                  
1 large Onion, diced
1 15 oz can White or Yellow Hominy
1 lb Pork for stew  cubed or chopped into 1/2" pieces
Cumin to taste
Oregano to taste
3-4 cloves Garlic 
2-3 Green Chiles, diced -- Poblano, Anaheim, New Mexico... hotter if you like
8-10 Tomatillos, peeled and chopped -- no substitute.  These are NOT green tomatoes -- completely different taste.  Use a 15-24 oz can of tomatillos if you must.
                                  
Simmer everything together for 30-45 minutes until the tomatillos are soft and tender.  Then serve in a bowl with tortilla chips on the side.

In addition to bowls of deliciousness, I also made:

Posole Nachos
                         
and

Posole Stuffed Cornbread
                          

Barm Brack
Versions of this fruit bread/cake exist across the UK from western Ireland to the eastern Dales, north and south,  Nothing like American Fruitcake!! 

                              

This version comes from the Yorkshire Dales, and has no yeast -- so it's more dense  -- a cake rather than a bread. 

This is a "waste nothing" recipe.  'Barm' is the name for the heavily yeasted dregs of the ale brewing process.  But in the Irish Gaelic bairín breac  also means "spotted loaf".  Good eats any way you name it.

3 cups mixed Dried Fruit -- raisins, sultanas, currents, candied ginger, dates etc.
1/3 cup Candied Orange or Mixed Peel
1-1/2 cups strong Tea  -- Yorkshire brand or other black tea
2 Tbsp softened Butter
1/3 cup Dark Brown Sugar
1/2 beaten Egg (about 1/8 cup)
1/3 cup AP Flour
1/4 cup Almond Flour or ground almonds
1/2 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 Tbsp Black Treacle or Molasses
1 oz shot of Whiskey, brandy, etc.
1/4 tsp ground Nutmeg
1/2 tsp Lemon Juice

Soak the fruit in the tea 8 hours or overnight.  Drain and reserve.

Cream together the butter and sugar, then add the egg, treacle, nutmeg and lemon juice.  Fold in the AP and almond flour.  Lastly fold in the fruit.  It looks almost impossible to cram that much fruit in that little batter -- but it will fit!
                                          

Spray or grease a 6" baking tin.  Or use whatever you've got.  An 8" dish is too big and the cake will be too thin.    Spread the fruited batter in the tin.

Bake at 350F for about 1-1/2 hours until a toothpick comes out clean.  Cool before removing from the tin.
                                       

                                        

Traditionally served with a slice of Wensleydale cheese, but a nice sharp cheddar from anywhere is a good second choice. 
                                   

Shrimp & Veg Pajeon
This stuffed Korean rice flour pancake is a good way to use up dribs and drabs of veggies that are lurking in your fridge.  

Basic Pancake Batter
1 cup Rice Flour or a blend of rice and other flours
2 Tbsp Corn or Potato Starch
1/4 tsp Sugar
1/2 tsp Salt
1 clove Garlic, minced
1 Egg, beaten
1 cup  Sparkling Water of some kind -- Seltzer, Tonic, what-have you

Filling
2 cups of meats/veggies including, traditionally, sliced green onions -- I used 4 cut into 1" lengths.    I also used thin sliced red bell pepper, 6 sliced shrimp, and a couple ounces of thin sliced Crimini mushrooms.
                           

Assemble the batter ingredients and prep the filling ingredients.

Mix together the dry batter ingredients.  Make a well and add the garlic, beaten egg and slowly add the sparkling water.   Fold to combine.

Now fold in the filling ingredients until everything is coated.
                                    
Heat a large skillet medium high, and add a couple Tbsp of oil.  I ladled in the whole batch of batter into the skillet.  It was a major pain to try and cook and flip without the pancake breaking up.
                                       

You should  use only  half of the stuffed batter and spread it around.  Fry for 4-6 minutes until the pancake is nicely brown on the bottom.  Carefully flip and cook the second side equally.    Repeat with the remaining batter.    You want crispy outsides and tender inside.
                                         

Serve whole or sliced with a dipping sauce made from hoisin or soy sauce, or a commercial Asian dipping sauce of your choice.  I made a quick sauce with hoisin diluted with mirin and laced with bits of green onion and sesame seeds.    As written the recipe will easily feed at least two; more if you serve it with rice or noodles on the side.