Tzatziki

Recipe from COOKIE + kate

Made this for Emma during Covid, doing it again for her birthday.

• 2 cups grated cucumber (from about 1 medium 10-ounce cucumber, no need to peel or seed the cucumber first, grate on the large holes of your box grater)
• 1 1/2 cups plain Greek yogurt
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint and/or dill
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 medium clove garlic, pressed or minced
• 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt

Instructions:

1. Working with one big handful at a time, lightly squeeze the grated cucumber between your palms over the sink to remove excess moisture. Transfer the squeezed cucumber to a serving bowl, and repeat with the remaining cucumber.
2. Add the yogurt, olive oil, herbs, lemon juice, garlic, and salt to the bowl, and stir to blend. Let the mixture rest for 5 minutes to allow the flavors to meld. Taste and add additional chopped fresh herbs, lemon juice, and/or salt, if necessary (I thought this batch was just right as-is).
3. Serve tzatziki immediately or chill for later. Leftover tzatziki keeps well, chilled, for about 4 days.

Abuelo Pelaez's Frijoles Negros

This delicious recipe comes from Ana Sofia Peláez of Brooklyn. Slightly adapted. We make this often.

1 pound  black beans, rinsed thoroughly
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1/2  large white onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
4-5 garlic cloves, mashed but whole
2 celery stalks
1 bay leaf

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2  large white onion, finely chopped
1 green bell pepper, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 bay leaf
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 teaspoons salt (easier to add later than take away)

2 tablespoons sherry vinegar
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/4 cup green olives stuffed with pimentos, thinly sliced

Soak the black beans overnight in a large pot with 10 cups of water.

Add the next five ingredients to the beans and bring to a boil.  Lower the heat to medium and simmer for 1 hour, check regularly and skim the foam that forms on the top.

To make the sofrito, warm the remaining olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  Add the remaining onion, green pepper and garlic and sauté for about 5 minutes till soft.  Add the bay leaf, cumin, oregano, black pepper and salt and cook for about 2 minutes more.

Add the sofrito to beans. Stir in sherry vinegar, wine and olives, and bring to a boil. Lower to a simmer and cook, covered, for about 1 to 1 1/2 hours, stirring frequently, until slightly thickened and cooked through. Remove both bay leaves, and adjust salt and pepper to taste. Remove from heat and add sugar. Serve as soup or a side dish, or over white rice.

 Substituted 3 Tbs IPA vinegar for vinegar and white wine. Delicious.

Serve as soup, over white rice or as a side dish to just about anything. I like to cook it sloowww. Better the next day.

Makes 8 servings.

Napa Cabbage Salad

Slightly modified from  Napa Cabbage Salad By Jacques Pepin Step . Too garlicky for some, but we love it. Leftovers keep well for a day or so.

INGREDIENTS 

3 to 4 cloves garlic, peeled, crushed and chopped (2 teaspoons) 

½ teaspoon salt 

½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 

2 teaspoons Dijon-style mustard 

1 tablespoon red-wine vinegar 

1 tablespoon soy sauce 

3 tablespoons peanut oil 

1 firm head Napa cabbage (about 1 pound) 

PREPARATION YIELD 6 servings 

Step 1 Put the garlic in a large salad bowl and mix in all the remaining ingredients except the cabbage. 

Step 2 Trim the cabbage, removing and discarding damaged or wilted leaves, and cut the head crosswise into 1-inch slices. You should have about 8 cups. Wash well and spin dry in a salad dryer (moisture would dilute the dressing). Ten or 15 minutes before serving, add the cabbage to the dressing, toss well and set aside, so the dressing can penetrate the cabbage and soften it slightly. 

I added radish and roasted scallions

 Fresh Rolls

dipping sauce #1

• 1 Tbs hoisin 
• 2 Tbs peanut butter 
• lime juice
• crushed garlic
• soy sauce
• water to thin

dipping sauce #2

• 4 tsp fish sauce
• ¼ cup water, 
• 2 Tbs fresh lime juice, 
• 1 clove garlic, minced, 
• 3 tablespoons white sugar,  
• ½ teaspoon garlic chili sauce
• 
  

Salmon en Papillote

This recipe came from Eric and is a very tasty way to prepare salmon if it is not too thick.

Preheat oven to 425F. 

Wrap the salmon in parchment in a shallow pan, adding the following on top: mint, parsley, tomato, capers, zest of 1 lemon, leek, salt, pepper and evoo.

Cook for 20 min.

Lentil, Sweet Potato Soup

 This recipe came from twopeasandtheirpod. I double the veggies. 

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 onion chopped
• 3 cloves garlic minced
• 1 carrot diced
• 1 celery stalk diced
• 2 small sweet potatoes peeled and cut into 1/2 inch cubes
• 1 1/2 cups brown lentils
• 4 15 ounce cans vegetable broth
• 2 cups water
• 2 cans 15 ounce diced tomatoes
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 2 cups chopped fresh spinach

Instructions

1. 1. In a large pot, heat the olive oil. Add the onion and garlic. Saute until onion is tender and garlic is light brown in color. Add carrot, celery, and sweet potatoes. Cook until vegetables soften, about 5-7 minutes.
2. 2. Stir in the lentils, vegetable broth, and water. Add the diced tomatoes, bay leaves, thyme, and rosemary. Season with salt and pepper and stir. Cook on medium-low heat for about 35-40 minutes or until lentils are cooked.
3. 3. Add the fresh spinach and stir. If necessary, season with salt and pepper. Remove bay leaves and serve warm.

Whole Wheat Sandwich Bread

This is a favorite everyday sandwich bread. This recipe was modified from a King Arthur recipe. I use half white and half whole wheat flour because that is what the bread lovers like. Used weight for ingredients where listed.

• 1 1/4 cups (240g) lukewarm water
• 2 Tbs olive oil
• 1 Tbs honey
• 2 cups (227g) all purpose flour
• 2 cups (227g) whole wheat flour
• 2 Tbs sesame seeds
• 2 Tbs flax seeds
• 1 Tbs wheat gluten
• 1.5 tsp salt
• 1.5 tsp instant yeast

Put everything in bread machine on dough cycle. When complete roll out air bubbles and shape into bottom of 13" pullman loaf pan. Cover with plastic wrap and dish towel till 1" from top.

Baked in 2 loaf pans in oven 381 F for 35 min. Runs over some. Also worked exactly in 13" pullman pan at 375F for 18 min, uncover, then 15 min.

Pullman Loaf / Pain de Mei

A real winner. You can't always eat healthy and everyone loves this. From a King Arthur recipe, tweaked to work for me.

Use weight measurements, not volume.

2/3 cup (152g) milk
almost 1 cup (215g) lukewarm water
3/8 cup (6 tablespoons, 85g) butter
2 teaspoons salt
3 tablespoons (35g) sugar
1/4 cup (28g) whole dry milk
3 tablespoons (35g) potato flour (sub 2 tablespoons potato starch)
4 3/4 cups (567g) King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour (using Sir Galahad)
1 1/8 teaspoons instant yeast

Put all in bread machine. Butter 13" pullman loaf pan (not necessary). When dough is finished, preheat oven to 356F.  Deflate dough and get out air bubbles, shape into 13" log. Flatten deflated dough into loaf pan. Cover with plastic wrap so no air reaches dough. When dough is 1" from top of pan, remove plastic and put top on pan. Wait a few minutes more. Bake 23 min, remove top. Some of the dough comes out the side, but someone will eat that too. Bake 20 min more.  Remove from pan and let cool completely.

Dijon Vinaigrette

3 tbsp red wine vinegar
3 tbsp lemon juice 
3 tbsp Dijon mustard
3 cloves garlic pressed
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
6 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Beans & Rice

1 pound dried beans
water to cover
2 large bay leaves
1 onion, diced
3 stalks celery, diced
olive oil, salt, pepper
roasted diced vegetables (optional)
field roast 'sausages', pan fried (optional)
canned tomatoes (optional)
1 cup brown basmati rice

Wash and pick through beans. Cover with water + 2 inches and bring to a boil. Add bay leaves.
Cook at 175 - 200 on induction burner for 2 hours until slightly tender.
Saute vegetables in olive oil with salt and pepper to taste.
Add vegetables, and optional ingredients  to beans with 1 tsp salt and additional pepper.
Cook one more hour or until almost tender. Add rice and 2 cups water and cook 40 more minutes.
Let sit for 5 minutes. Enjoy!

Feel free to experiment with beans and ingredients. This was great with Yellow Indian Woman  Beans, leftover roasted sweet potatoes and apple sage field roast sausage with tomato sauce.