St. Patrick’s Day Dinner

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Okay, so in honor of the promise of spring and St. Patrick’s Day I made a special dinner for the Irish-at-heart.  Since I’m not eating red meat, I decided to go with the next most Irish protein, salmon.  Perhaps it will make me wise and I’m certain it will be tasty.  The menu is simple and economical: salmon croquettes, (basically canned salmon with onion, red sweet pepper and dill).  If you’re offended by the can, just remember it’s wild caught, canned fresh and it’s cheap, Irish mothers rejoice.  It’s served alongside a big bowl of colcannon, with Irish soda bread, and for dessert I’ve got bread pudding slathered in Bailey’s Irish Cream sauce, so let’s get to it.

Irish Rosemary Soda Bread

Irish Rosemary Soda Bread

Irish Rosemary Soda Bread

 

 

 

 

 

Ingredients

  • 4 cups all purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
  • 1 Tablespoon finely chopped rosemary (or other herb of choice)
  • 2 cups buttermilk

Grease an 8-inch pie plate or baking sheet and set aside.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a large bowl combine flour, baking soda, salt and finely chopped rosemary.

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Make a little well in the center and add the buttermilk.   Stir until a dough forms (feel free to use your fingers if you want).  Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead gently until the dough is smooth and not sticky.

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Place the dough on the greased pie plate and cut a half inch deep X across the top of the dough.

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Bake for 50 minutes or until a dark golden brown.  Transfer to a rack to cool.

Irish Rosemary Soda Bread

Irish Rosemary Soda Bread

 

 

 

 

 

 

Do not slice until the bread has cooled.  Wrap in a moist towel until ready to serve.  I usually bake the bread the day before and store in a bread bag until the next day before slicing.

Creamy Colcannon

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My version of colcannon has a couple of extra ingredients but I think you’ll like it, unless of course you hate peas in which case just leave them out.

Ingredients

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  • 2 lbs russet potatoes, peeled and cut into cubes
  • 1 small or half of a large cabbage, cored and chopped
  • 2 small or 1 large leek (white part only) sliced into rings
  • 1 cup frozen green peas
  • 1 cup of fat free milk
  • 4 ounces softened cream cheese
  • 1/2 teaspoon white pepper (use black if you don’t have white pepper)

In a large pot of water, boil the potatoes until tender (about 20-25 minutes).

Steam the cabbage for about 10 minutes or until tender.  Drain, cover and set aside.

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In a small saucepan, simmer the leeks in milk just until soft (about 5-7 minutes).  Then remove the leeks with a slotted spoon, set aside, and reserve the milk.

021Drain the potatoes and add about half the milk used to simmer the leeks.  Mash the potatoes to desired consistency (I like mine a little lumpy).   Add the cream cheese and pepper and mash until blended.  Use the remaining milk if needed.  Stir in the cabbage, leeks and peas.  Serve immediately, or refrigerate and reheat in the microwave for serving later.

 Salmon Croquettes (Patties)

Ingredients

  • 1 15-oz can wild caught salmon
  • 3 scallions, finely chopped
  • 1 small sweet red pepper, finely chopped
  • 1 cup bread crumbs
  • 1 egg
  • 1 teaspoon dried or fresh dill
  • Salt and pepper

Salmon Patties

 

 

 

Combine all ingredients and form into patties.  In a skillet, sauté the patties until crisp and browned.

Really Easy Bailey’s Irish Cream Bread Pudding

Ingredients

  • 1 1-lb loaf cinnamon raisin bread
  • 3 cups half and half or whole milk
  • 1 cup Bailey’s Irish Cream (Brady’s also works)
  • 3 eggs, slightly beaten
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 2 Tablespoons vanilla extract
  • 1 Tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
  • 3 Tablespoons melted butter

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.

Bailey's Bread Pudding

 

 

 

 

Tear bread into small pieces and place in a large bowl.  Add the milk and Bailey’s and let soak for about 10 minutes.  Work the mixture in with your hands until the milk is absorbed.

In another bowl combine eggs, sugar, vanilla, spice and butter.  Add to the bread mixture and pour into buttered baking dish.  Bake at 350 degrees for 50-60 minutes or until a knife inserted in center comes out clean.  Let rest on cooling rack until fully set.  The smell was making me irrational and I forgot to take pictures.

To create a quick sauce, combine 1 can of sweetened condensed milk with 1/2 cup Bailey’s Irish Cream.  Warm in the microwave (very carefully).  Pour over the bread pudding and serve.

So there it is.  My culinary homage to St. Patrick’s Day and if you want green beer you’ll have supply your own.  Enjoy!

 Creamy Colcannon 011

 

Chickpea Tofu – The Quick Version

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In an effort to limit my soy intake without sacrificing protein content I’ve been looking for a reasonable alternative to tofu.  I was very excited to discover an almost perfect replacement that was easy and inexpensive to make, and I actually like it a lot more than tofu (thank you marystestkitchen.com).  It’s Burmese chickpea tofu (shan tofu) made from four simple ingredients: chickpea or garbanzo flour, a teaspoon of turmeric, a pinch or two of salt and water.  No specialized processes or tools, if you can boil water and wield a whisk you’re set.  Chickpea tofu is really versatile whether it’s fried, baked, made into little steaklets, added to salads, stir fry or almost any way you could use tofu, even desserts.  But let’s start with snacks.  Cubed and fried it’s even better than popcorn for binging on Downton Abbey or Game of Thrones because it’s crunchy, tasty and full of protein.  No guilt.  Spice it up any way you want, dunk it in your favorite exotic sauce or drown it’s crispy goodness in ranch dressing.  Try it.

Basic Chickpea Tofu

Ingredients:

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  • 2 cups chickpea flour (if all you can find is chickpea and fava bean, that’s okay).
  • 6 cups of water or vegetable broth (divided)
  • 1/4 teaspoon turmeric
  • 1 teaspoon salt

Instructions:

Line a baking pan or casserole dish with parchment paper, or a clean cotton kitchen towel.

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The turmeric will stain it so don’t use the nice ones you got for your birthday.

In a large pot bring 4 cups of water or vegetable stock to a FULL ROLLING BOIL.

While you’re waiting for the water to boil, combine the chickpea flour, turmeric, salt and 2 cups of cold water.  Whisk it until it’s smooth.

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When the water or stock comes to a FULL ROLLING BOIL, carefully stir in the chickpea mixture.  If the water isn’t boiling it won’t be hot enough for the tofu to set properly.

Turn off the heat and stir constantly and vigorously for five minutes.  Don’t skimp on the time.

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The mixture should become glossy and get very thick within a couple of minutes.  If it doesn’t just put it back on the heat for a minute or two over a medium low heat and keep stirring.

Once the mixture has thickened, quickly pour it into the prepared pan and spread it evenly with a spoon or spatula.

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Let it cool to room temperature, and then chill in the fridge for at least an hour or even overnight.

 

 

 

Once it is thoroughly chilled, turn it onto a plate and remove the parchment paper.  At this point you can slice it or cube it any way you want for storage.

Chickpea tofu freezes beautifully, just pop the cubes in a zip lock and tuck them in the freezer.

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You can make little cutlet patties, or cubes, or even slice it thin like noodles.  This really is one of the most versatile dishes I’ve ever seen.  Try it and enjoy!

 

 

 

 

Winter Salads

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Shortly after Thanksgiving I stop buying fresh salad greens.  Yes, we really do have greenhouses in the northern tier, but eating seasonally means using what is available (for a reasonable price), buying locally or using whatever you put by from the garden.  However, this doesn’t mean giving up salads.  Crunchy goodness isn’t synonymous with romaine lettuce.  Salad like soup can be made from almost any vegetable (because that’s what I mostly eat).   One of the things that is readily available in the markets here is butternut squash.  Now, there are endless ways to prepare squash, but almost all of them involve cooking in one form or another and I had never heard of eating butternut squash raw.  So, I was pleasantly surprised to stumble across a recipe by Mark Bittman (The Minimalist) of the New York Times using raw butternut squash.  This is my adaptation of his recipe using ingredients from my kitchen.

Raw Butternut Squash with Dried Fruit and Walnuts

Ingredients:

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  •  1 smallish butternut squash, peeled and grated
  • 1/2 cup of dried fruit (I used a combination of dried cherries and golden raisins but you could use cranberries or almost any dried fruit – go ahead, live dangerously)
  • 1 tablespoon of chopped pickled ginger (the original recipe calls for fresh, but I made pickled ginger this year so I used that and it was GOOOD)
  • 2 tablespoons chopped walnuts
  • 4 tablespoons of sherry vinegar.  (I substituted half balsamic vinegar and half tawny port)
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

Cut off the ball part of the squash and save it for another recipe.

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Peel and slice the neck portion and grate.

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In a bowl, combine the grated butternut squash, the dried fruit, walnuts, salt and pepper.  In a small jar, combine the olive oil and the vinegar/port mixture.  Shake well and toss with the squash mixture.

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 Serve immediately, or put in the refrigerator to chill overnight.

Mixed Pickle Relish

It’s time to start using up those little treats from the garden.  Remember the pickles I made last fall: green beans, carrots, cucumbers?  No, well here they are, and this is going to be one of the easiest side dishes ever.  Serve it like a salad with some rich like curry, or serve it like relish.  It’s even good on sandwiches.

Pickled Carrots, beans and Cucumbers

Pickled Carrots, beans and Cucumbers

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1/2 cup pickled carrots (cubed)

1/2 cup pickled green beans (chopped)

1/2 cup pickled cucumbers (bread and butter variety)

1/2 cup pickled red onions (chopped)

Mixed Pickle Salad

Mixed Pickle Salad

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Combine in a pretty bowl.  That’s it.  Summer crunchy in the middle of winter.

Enjoy!

 

Healthy Soups Are Good Medicine

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“Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food.” Hippocrates Winter is here in earnest and flu season is hitting its peak.  The really bad news is that the vaccine this year isn’t as effective as in years past so supporting your immune system is a good way to stay healthy.  Food as medicine is a very old idea and here are two great soups to help boost your immune system plus provide a bowl of comfort when you’re fighting off the miseries.  My first soup is a serious flu and cold fighter but it’s not a great first course on date night.

Garlic Soup

Ingredients: 3-4 medium potatoes, peeled and diced 1 – 3 small parsnips, peeled and diced 1 large carrot, peeled and left whole 1 small onion, diced 6-8 cloves garlic, peeled and minced 4 cups vegetable or chicken stock 2 tablespoons butter or olive oil

What You Need

What You Need

In a heavy saucepan, sauté the onion in the melted the butter (or oil).  Add the minced garlic. Garlic Soup 10   Saute onion until translucent and the garlic is fragrant but not browned.   Add the parsnips and potatoes and cook for about 3-4 minutes. Garlic Soup 14

 

 

 

 

 

Add the stock and the whole carrot, cover and simmer until the vegetables are fork tender. Garlic Soup 17                                                                                                                                     Remove the carrot and set aside. Blend the soup until smooth. Garlic Soup 20

Slice the carrot and add back to the soup.  Garnish with ground black pepper and crackers. Garlic Soup 21 But what if you already feel awful and your tummy is out of sorts.  Sometimes you need comfort as well as an immunity boost.  This soup is will fix you right up and even kids and cranky husbands like it.

Spicy Ginger-Carrot Soup

This is based on a recipe I found for Punjabi Ginger Soup with a few added tweaks.  It really is delicious and you’ll eat it again and again even if you’re not feeling under the weather. Ingredients: 1 large onion, diced 1 sizable knob of ginger (about 2 tablespoons grated), or you can use powdered ginger. 2 carrots, peeled and chopped 2 tablespoons coconut oil (or butter if you prefer) 1 tablespoon cumin seed 3 teaspoons ground turmeric 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes (to taste) Salt and pepper to taste 1 15-ounce can of full fat coconut milk Spicy Ginger Soup 2           In a heavy skillet, saute cumin seed, turmeric and pepper flakes in the coconut oil until the spices are fragrant. Ginger soup 002           Add the ginger, salt, onion and the carrot and sauté for another 2-3 minutes. Pour in the can of coconut milk and simmer until the carrot is tender.

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Spicy Ginger Carrot Soup

  Blend until smooth, garnish with some chopped mint and serve with some crusty bread. Ginger soup 013   There’s ginger to settle your tummy, tumeric to boost your immune system, a bit of pepper to help the aches and stuffy nose, and smooth yummy coconut milk to make everything feel all better.  Enjoy!