Chocolate and Roasted Edamame Toffee

Dessert

Girl Cooks World

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April 12, 2019

OK, I realize that some of you are probably thinking that edamame toffee doesn’t sound all that appealing. And a couple years, I would have agreed with you. But then I tried Trader Joe’s chocolate covered edamame and I became a believer in the combination of chocolate and soy.

And since there aren’t any Trader Joe’s out in the 50th state, I had to take matters into my own hands. I’d been making a chocolate and almond toffee for quite some time and decided to just replace the chopped almonds with roasted edamame. Call me crazy, but I think edamame works even better since it adds a salty edge.

This time I lucked out at the store and they had a mix of edamame with cranberries, almonds and sunflower seeds; the combo makes the toffee look so pretty. If you can’t find a similar mix, you can always make your own according to your own preferences.

And for those of you who are a little intimidated by candy-making? Don’t be. Just make sure you have a candy thermometer, follow the recipe, and you’ll be all set. This recipe is also quite a bit forgiving if, say, you become engrossed in a magazine article about mail order brides and the mixture heats well beyond 300 degrees. But of course I encourage you to be more careful than I was…

Still nervous? Check out David’s tips for candy-making.

Chocolate and Roasted Edamame Toffee

Ingredients:

* 2 cups roasted edamame or roasted edamame mix with dried fruits, seeds and nuts, divided
* 2 tablespoons water
* 1/2 cup (1 stick, 8 Tablespoons) butter, cut into 8 pieces
* 1/8 teaspoon salt
* 1 cup sugar
* 1/4 cup lightly packed light brown sugar
* 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 1 cup bittersweet or semisweet chocolate chips (or 6 ounces chopped)

Directions:

Lightly oil a baking sheet with an unflavored vegetable oil. Sprinkle half the edamame or edamame mix into a rectangle (about 8-inches by 10-inches) on the baking sheet.

In a medium heavy-duty saucepan fitted with a candy thermometer, heat the water, butter, salt, and both sugars. Cook, stirring as little as possible, until the thermometer reads 300 F degrees. Remove from heat and quickly stir in the baking soda and vanilla. Immediately pour the mixture over the edamame on the baking sheet. Try to pour the mixture so it forms a relatively even layer. If necessary, gently but quickly spread with a spatula or the back of a spoon.

Sprinkle the chocolate chips evenly over the top and let stand 2 minutes, then use a spatula or the back of a spoon to spread in an even layer. Sprinkle the remaining edamame over the chocolate and gently press them in with your hands.

Cool completely and break into pieces to serve.

Teff Porridge with Honey, Dates and Cloves

Recipes

Girl Cooks World

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April 12, 2019

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Teff Porridge with Honey, Dates and Cloves

I stumbled across this recipe by accident this past weekend when I flipped over a bag of Bob’s Red Mill teff to see if there was a recipe for injera, Ethiopia’s staple bread. There wasn’t. The good news is that there was something even better: this simple, spiced, hot breakfast cereal made with Ethiopia’s favorite grain.

Malty and sweet, teff pairs beautifully with dates and honey to create a delicious, high-protein hot cereal. The combination, along with a sprinkling of cloves, gives it a taste reminiscent of spice cake.

Feeling indulgent? Swirl in a little cream just before serving. After all, Ethiopia is known as the land of milk and honey (although for the record I should note that I’ve also heard the same title granted to both Israel and Ireland). It’s a perfect, cold-weather holiday breakfast.

Teff Porridge with Honey, Dates and Cloves

Yield: 2-3 servings

Ingredients:

* 1 cup whole grain teff (not teff flour)
* 3 cups boiling water
* 1 Tablespoon butter
* 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
* 3/4 cup chopped dates
* 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
* 1/4 cup honey, plus extra for serving
* 1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
* heavy cream (optional)

Directions:

Toast the teff grains in a large saucepan over medium heat, stirring frequently, until the grains emit a toasty aroma, about 5 minutes.

Slowly add the boiling water, butter and cloves. Stir well. Simmer, covered, for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent any lumps from forming. Stir in the chopped dates, salt and honey. Cover and continue cooking until the grains are tender and the porridge is at your desired consistency. Add more water, if necessary to thin out the mixture.

When the porridge is completely cooked, remove from heat and let sit, covered, for 5 minutes. Ladle into individual serving bowls and sprinkle with walnuts and an extra drizzle of honey. Top with cream, if desired.

Injera- Spongy Ethiopian Bread Plate

Recipes

Girl Cooks World

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April 12, 2019

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If you’re looking for traditional injera, you might want to look elsewhere. Making injera is truly an art form and it requires patience, a lot of practice, and special equipment. Made from teff flour, injera requires a lengthy fermentation to get its trademark tang. They’re also made so large that they become like a huge plate or tablecloth that various dishes are heaped upon. Diners are supposed to rip off a piece and use it to scoop up the food. If you’re having a flashback to either Homer’s Odyssey or the movie Along Came Polly, you’re not alone.

For those who prefer instant gratification and don’t have a giant crepe maker-like contraption, this recipe is for you. The teff flour is balanced by some other gluten-free grains, baking soda provides instant leavening, and yogurt adds a sour tang. It might not be traditional, but it did the trick for me. Make a fresh batch and use it to scoop up some Doro W’et sauce; you’ll understand what the fuss is all about.

Injera- Spongy Ethiopian Bread Plate

Yield: 10-12 injera

Ingredients:

2 cups teff flour
1/2 cup rice flour
1/2 cup sorghum flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup yogurt
3 cups club soda
ghee or vegetable oil, for oiling skillet

Directions:

Combine the teff flour, rice flour, sorghum flour, baking soda, xanthan gum, and salt in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk the yogurt into the club soda and then pour into the flour mixture to make a smooth, thin batter.

Grease a large skillet with ghee or oil and heat the pan over medium-high heat. Pour about 1/2 cup of the mixture into the center of the pan and swirl the pan to distribute the batter. Cook for approximately 30 seconds and then cover. Cook an additional 30 seconds until done. Remove to a plate and cover with a cloth to keep warm while cooking the remaining injera.

Honey Ice Cream

Dessert

Girl Cooks World

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April 12, 2019

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Ethiopia… the land of milk and honey. Anybody up for a dessert that combines the two? Honey is a really important part of Ethiopian cuisine. There’s honey wine, honey bread, honey beer, etc., etc. I’m not sure how many Ethiopians really break out ice cream makers for honey ice cream, but when I saw a recipe in Marcus Samuelson’s book, I didn’t need much convincing to give it a shot.

Full fat dairy and honey are a magical combination, although I didn’t always think so. When I was in my teens I’d freak out at the idea of drinking any milk other than skim. Even my family’s attempt at a 1% compromise was vehemently rejected. But when I wound up with a doozy of a cold, with the worst sore throat I’d ever had, my father went out to the store to buy whole milk. He heated some up and put in a long drizzle of honey. I protested, naturally, claiming that whole milk was gross. I changed my tune pretty quickly after my first taste.

The good news? My throat felt better immediately. The bad news? I’ve never been able to go back to skim.

Since it’s almost December, I’m guessing that your ice cream maker, like mine, has been sitting idle for far too long. Why not break it out for some honey ice cream… it would be the perfect complement for some warm apple crisp or spice cake. Yum.

Honey Ice Cream

Yield: 8 servings

Ingredients:

1/4 cup sugar
1 cup heavy cream
1 1/2 cups milk
4 large egg yolks, slightly beaten
1/3 cup honey

Directions:

Combine the sugar, heavy cream and milk in a medium, heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar.

When the mixture is smooth and the sugar is dissolved, temper the eggs yolks by whisking in about 1/2 cup of the hot cream mixture into the eggs. Pour the tempered yolks into the saucepan and cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture coats the back of a wooden spoon.

Remove from heat and place the entire saucepan into a shallow ice bath (I fill a couple inches of ice water in the bottom of my kitchen sink) and mix in the honey. Stir frequently until the custard has cooled. Pour the custard mixture into a container, cover, and refrigerate for at least an hour.

Freeze in an ice cream machine according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

Gluten-Free Coconut Pound Cake

Recipes

Girl Cooks World

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April 12, 2019

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I feel like I haven’t done much baking on the blog as of late, so when I saw that coconut pound cake was a popular food offering on religious holidays in Cambodia, I was psyched for the opportunity to adapt a pound cake recipe from a gluten-free cookbook I just picked up the other day.

It’s rich, buttery and dense, just like the pound cake you grew up eating… you know, the one sold in the freezer section of the grocery store. This one just has a hint of coconut. Technically, it’s not ~really~ pound cake. Pound cake is so named because it called for a whole pound of butter, and sugar, and, well you get the idea. This version only uses 12 ounces of butter, so it’s really like Gluten-Free Coconut 12-Ounce Cake. Unfortunately that doesn’t really have much of a ring to it.

On the bright side, doesn’t that mean this is really like a low fat cake, since it’s 25% less fat than the original? In my mind that pretty much makes it diet food and you should have absolutely no guilt eating a piece… or two or three. You’re welcome.

Gluten-Free Coconut Pound Cake

Ingredients:

* 1 1/2 sticks butter at room temperature
* 4 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
* 1 1/2 cups sugar (feel free to substitute palm sugar for up to half of this amount)
* 3 extra large eggs, or 4 medium eggs
* 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
* 1/2 cup rice flour
* 1/2 cup sorghum flour
* 1/2 cup tapioca starch
* 3/4 teaspoon xanthan gum
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 1/3 cup dried, unsweetened coconut, plus extra for sprinkling

Directions:

Grease a 9″ x 5″ loaf pan.

In a large bowl, cream together the butter, cream cheese, and sugar. Add the eggs and vanilla and blend.

Add the rice flour, sorghum flour, tapioca starch, xanthan gum, and salt and blend well until totally combined and the mixture begins to become elastic. Mix in the dried coconut. Pour into the prepared loaf pan and smooth the top. Tap the pan on the counter to help break up any air bubbles that may have formed in the dough. Sprinkle the extra coconut over the top of the dough.

Place on the center rack of a cold oven. Set the temperature at 200 degrees and bake for 20 minutes. Increase the temperature to 250 degrees and bake for another 20 minutes. Increase the oven to 275 and bake for another 10 minutes. Finally, increase the temperature to 300 degrees and bake until the crust has turned golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 40 to 50 minutes.

Curried Shrimp with Cucumbers

Girl Cooks World

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April 12, 2019

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The cookbook that I adapted this from claimed that this was one of Cambodia’s most popular dishes. I’m not so sure I believe that, considering I didn’t see any similar recipes in other Cambodian cookbooks, or even online. But I was intrigued enough of with the idea of cooked cucumber in the curry that I decided to give it a go. Until then I’d never even considered eating cumbers in a non-raw state.

The verdict? Surprisingly good. The shrimp and cucumber, which is cooked just beyond the tender-crisp stage, keeps things nice and light to balance out the rich coconut sauce. And you’ve got two options for the sauce. You can use a whole can of coconut to get a nice and soupy curry, which would saturate and flavor the bed of rice, or cut back to make things a less saucy.

Curried Shrimp with Cucumbers

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients:

* 4 cloves garlic
* 1 shallot
* 4 green onions, cut into approx 1-inch pieces
* 1 1/2-inch piece ginger
* 1 teaspoon ground fennel
* 2 teaspoons ground coriander
* 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
* 2 teaspoons cayenne
* 2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
* 1 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined
* 1 1/3 cup coconut milk (or up to a full can, if you’d like it a bit soupy)
* 1 cucumber, quartered lengthwise, seeded and cut into thick slices
* juice and zest of one lemon
* 1 teaspoon palm sugar (can substitute regular sugar)
* 1 Tablespoon fish sauce
* cilantro (optional)

Directions:

Place the garlic, shallot, green onions, ginger, fennel, coriander, turmeric, and cayenne in a blender or food processor and process until smooth.

Heat the oil in a large skillet or saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the spice paste and fry for 3-5 minutes. Add the shrimp and cook, stirring frequently, until they’ve turned pink. Stir in the coconut milk and bring to a boil. Add the cucumber, lemon juice and zest, palm sugar and fish sauce and cook, stirring occasionally, until the shrimp are cooked through and the cucumber has softened. Serve atop a bed of rice and sprinkle with chopped cilantro, if desired.

Babah- Cambodian Rice and Pork Soup

Recipes

Girl Cooks World

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April 12, 2019

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Even though I live in a tropical climate, I’m still a huge fan of hearty, warming soups. After all, I do work in an overly cold, air conditioned office all day long. But as much as love a good cream soup or chowder, I’ve been gravitating lately to soups that provide a wide range of textures and flavors. You know who does this really well? Southeast Asians. There’s just something magical about Thai, Vietnamese, Cambodian and Laotian food.

This rice soup recipe is adapted from Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Duguid’s Hot Sour Salty Sweet. It, as you may have guessed, has all of those qualities. You’ve got heat from the chile pepper, lime juice adds the sour, fish sauce adds umami and saltiness, and the crispy shallots (and some palm sugar!) add a little bit of sweetness. There’s a simple and hearty jook or congee-like base that gets jazzed up with the addition of chile, crunchy bean sprouts, toasted peanuts and fresh herbs.

Babah- Cambodian Rice and Pork Soup

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients:

* 1/2 pound ground pork
* 2 Tablespoons fish sauce
* 1 teaspoon palm sugar (can substitute white sugar)
* 7 cups water
* 2 stalks lemongrass, trimmed and smashed/bruised with the reverse side of a knife
* 1 Tablespoon dried shrimp
* 1-inch piece ginger, peeled and smashed flat
* 3/4 cup jasmine rice, rinsed
* 2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
* 6 cloves garlic

Garnish and Accompaniments:
* 1/4 cup fish sauce
* 1 red chile, minced
* 2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
* 2 shallots, chopped
* 12 leaves Thai basil and 8 leaves sawtooth herb (can substitute cilantro), coarsely torn
* 2 cups mung bean sprouts
* bunch scallions, trimmed and thinly sliced
* black pepper
* 1/4 cup dry roasted peanuts, coarsely chopped
* 1 lime, cut into wedges

Directions:

In a small bowl, mix the ground pork with the fish sauce and palm sugar and set aside.

Place the water in a large saucepan over high heat and add the lemongrass, dried shrimp and ginger and bring to a boil. Let boil for 10 minutes and then add the rice, stir and return to a boil. Reduce heat low enough to maintain a slow, steady boil and let cook until the rice is tender, about 15 minutes. Remove from heat and discard the lemongrass and ginger.

In the meantime, heat the oil in a heavy skillet over medium-high heat and add the garlic. Cook, stirring, until the garlic turns golden and then add the pork and cook, breaking up any clumps that form, until cooked through. Then add the contents to the rice soup.

Next, prepare the garnish and accompaniments. In a small bowl, combine the fish sauce with the minced chile and set aside.

Heat the oil in small saucepan and add the shallots over medium-high heat. Cook, stirring constantly, until crisp and golden. Place in a small bowl and set aside.

Ladle some of the rice and pork soup into individual bowls. Top with herbs, some bean sprouts, some chopped scallions, the crispy shallots, freshly ground pepper and some chopped peanuts.

Serve with the chile fish sauce and lime wedges.

Roasted Red Pepper and Feta Dip

Recipes

Girl Cooks World

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April 12, 2019

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Do you guys remember this commercial where the woman making Rice Krispy treats pretended it took her hours to make them? The gist of it was that Rice Krispy treats taste so good everybody will think you spent hours in the kitchen making them.

Well, that’s also the case with this dip. Man oh man is it good. And just like the Rice Krispy treats commercial tagline, it’s “So Good. So Easy.” A recipe is provided below, but it’s easy to adapt to suit your own preferences. If you’d like to make it a bit healthier, just add some more red peppers or cut back a bit on the feta- I’m sure it would still be amazing.

Thonly critical thing here is to find an authentic feta that’s actually made from sheep’s milk… most of the feta cheese that you’ll find in the grocery store is made from cow’s milk. I had to trek out to Whole Foods to find some of the good stuff. It was definitely pricier than the cow’s milk version but I’d say the quality and taste is definitely makes it worth it.

Roasted Red Pepper and Feta Dip

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients:

* 3-4 roasted red bell peppers, stemmed, seeded and peeled (or the approximate equivalent of red mini peppers)
* 3 Tablespoons olive oil
* 4 cloves garlic, minced
* 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, plus extra for garnish
* 8 ounces sheep’s milk feta, crumbled

Directions:

Heat the olive oil in a small saucepan over medium-high heat and cook the garlic until lightly browned. Add the red pepper flakes and stir to combine. Remove the pan from the heat.

Combine the roasted red peppers, garlic and olive oil mixture and almost all of the feta (reserve a bit for garnish, if desired), in a food processor and process until well combined.

Place in a small bowl and top with reserved feta and a sprinkle of crushed red pepper flakes, if desired.

Quick Preserved Lemons

Recipes

Girl Cooks World

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April 12, 2019

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Anybody else ever have a recipe they wanted to make but hit a wall because they didn’t have any preserved lemons on hand? By the time you need them, it’s already too late to make them and I generally don’t have the foresight to plan ahead. I don’t know about you, but I generally don’t have the patience (or attention span) needed to wait several weeks for lemons to sit in salt to get ready to roll on a particular recipe.

So I was pretty thrilled to find out that it’s possible to cheat and do a quick preserve. You just chop up some lemons, let them sit in salt and sugar for a couple hours and voilà… they’re good to go. These will play a critical role in the Greek lentil salad I’ll be posting in just a bit.

Quick Preserved Lemons

Ingredients:

* 4 unwaxed lemons (or scrub conventional lemons until they’re free of wax)
* 1 Tablespoon kosher salt
* 2 Tablespoons sugar

Directions:

Dice lemons, including the peel, removing as many seeds as possible. Place the chopped lemons and their juice in a jar and sprinkle with the salt and sugar. Let the mixture sit for several hours at room temperature. Cover and shake the jar periodically, removing the lid between shakes. Serve immediately or store in the refrigerator for up to a week.