type here...
Home Blog Page 95

Lanttulaatikko- Finnish Rutabaga Bake

Girl Cooks World
-
0
Lanttulaatikko- Finnish Rutabaga Bake

Never heard of a rutabaga before?  Perhaps you know it by one its other names: Swedish turnip, swede, or yellow turnip?   But considering the fact that the guy at the supermarket checkout line had to ask me three times what it was, I’m guessing that it’s not really that big of a seller.

That’s a shame because it’s actually one tasty root vegetable.  As it turns out, it originated from a cross between turnip and cabbage.  Not a crossbreed I would ever have thought of, but I guess that’s why I’m not a botanist.

I’m a couple weeks too late, but this rutabaga bake, made with mashed rutabaga, cream, bread crumbs and seasoned with a hint of nutmeg, is an old, traditional Finnish Christmas dish.  The rutabaga is inherently sweet, but if you’d like to dial it up a bit (a la the Sweet Potato Casserole), feel free to add a teaspoon or so of sugar.

Lanttulaatikko- Finnish Rutabaga Bake

Yield: 6 side servings

Ingredients:

* 2 medium rutabagas, peeled and diced (about 6 cups)
* 3 Tablespoons butter, divided, plus extra for greasing
* 3/4 cup cream (I used half-and-half)
* 3/4 cup gluten-free breadcrumbs
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
* 2 eggs, slightly beaten

Directions:

Place the diced rutabaga in a large saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat and simmer until tender, about 20 minutes. Drain and mash. Set aside to cool slightly.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease an ovenproof dish with butter.

Add 2 Tablespoons of the butter, the cream, breadcrumbs, salt, nutmeg and eggs to the rutabaga and stir to mix. Pour into the prepared dish and dot the surface with pats of the remaining butter. Bake for 45 minutes or until the top has lightly browned.

Adapted from The Food and Cooking of Finland

Carrot Miso Salad Dressing and my Everyday Detox Salad

Girl Cooks World
-
0
Carrot Miso Salad Dressing and my Everyday Detox Salad

Want to know the trick to eating salads twice a day for a month?  Lots and lots of interesting dressings.

In terms of dressings, so far there’s been lemon tahini, creamy Asian, cilantro vinaigrette, cranberry-walnut, and then this here carrot miso.  I first heard about it from Deb, who’d been inspired by Gwyneth, who got the recipe from Cleanse specialist Dr. Alejandro Junger.  Was that convoluted enough for you?

The combination of carrot and ginger can do no wrong (for evidence see here and here), and this was no exception.  For those of you who are looking for a more substantial salad, avocado would make a lovely addition.

Carrot Miso Dressing

Yield: Dressing: About 1 1/2 cups, enough dressing for about 6-8 salads

Ingredients:

Carrot Miso Dressing:

1 cup chopped carrots
1 shallot, chopped
1-inch piece fresh ginger, grated or chopped
3 Tablespoons white miso paste
2 Tablespoons rice vinegar
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1/4 cup oil
up to 1/4 cup water

Everyday Detox Salad with Carrot Miso Dressing:

spinach
thinly sliced red onion
chopped cherry tomatoes
chopped cucumbers
carrot miso dressing
chopped cilantro
salt and pepper

Directions:

For the dressing, blend the carrots, shallot, ginger, miso, rice vinegar and sesame oil until smooth. Slowly add the oil. Add one Tablespoon of water at a time until the dressing has reached your desired consistency.

To make the salad, combine the spinach, red onion, tomatoes and cucumbers in a large bowl. Drizzle with carrot miso dressing and top with chopped cilantro. Add freshly ground salt and pepper to taste.

Spicy Jalapeno Creamed Corn Soup with Roasted Corn Salsa

Girl Cooks World
-
0
Spicy Jalapeno Creamed Corn Soup with Roasted Corn Salsa

I’m all about little details that can transform a perfectly good dish into something extra special.  You know, like candied walnuts on a salad or burnt onions atop an Indian dal.  The roasted corn salsa here is a perfect example.  The jalapeno creamed corn soup by itself is really quite good.  But add some roasted corn salsa on top and it becomes one of those knock-your-socks off dishes.  At first taste my mind started spinning, imagining everything I could top with the slightly crisp roasted corn niblets… corn and clam chowder, shepherd’s pie, southwestern chili, the list goes on and on.

I’d originally planned to make this with fresh corn but by the time I got to the market, only the very sad looking ears were left.  The good news is that frozen corn worked great, meaning this soup can be made year round.  And since the ingredient list is short and simple, this is one soup that would definitely benefit from a good, flavorful broth.  If you’d like to add another texture and flavor (as well as some good, healthy fat), feel free to add some avocado to the roasted corn salsa.

Spicy Jalapeno Creamed Corn Soup with Roasted Corn Topping

Yield: 4-6 servings

Ingredients:

Soup:

* 1/4 cup olive oil
* 4 cloves garlic, minced
* 1 onion, chopped
* 2 jalapeno peppers, stemmed and chopped
* 6 cups frozen corn, defrosted
* 3 cups chicken or vegetable broth
* salt and pepper
* roasted corn salsa

Roasted Corn Salsa:

* 2 1/2 cups frozen corn, defrosted
* 1 Tablespoons olive oil
* salt and pepper
* 1 Tablespoon finely chopped red onion
* 2 Tablespoons cilantro leaves, finely chopped
* 1 jalapeno pepper, stemmed, seeded and finely chopped
* 1/2 avocado, pitted and chopped (optional)
* salt and pepper

Directions:

To make the soup, heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the garlic, onion and jalapeno and sauté until they have softened, about 4-5 minutes. Remove from heat.

Place the defrosted corn in a blender and then add the sautéed garlic, onion and jalapeno. Puree until smooth. You may need to pulse the blender to get things smooth. Alternatively, add up to 1/2 cup of the broth to get things moving.

Pour the corn puree into the saucepan and heat over medium heat. Slowly stir in the broth. Bring to a boil, and then reduce heat, cover, and simmer, approximately 15-20 minutes. (While the soup is simmering, you can prepare the roasted corn salsa). Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Ladle into individual soup bowls and top with the roasted corn salsa.

Note: if you’d like the soup a little less thick, feel free to add some extra broth or water.

To make the salsa, preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Prepare a baking sheet by lining it with aluminum foil. Spread the defrosted corn evenly on the prepared baking sheet and drizzle with the olive oil and then lightly season with salt and pepper. Roast for about 20-25 minutes, or until the corn has turned a golden brown (some kernels may turn almost blackish and crispy- don’t worry- they’ll taste really great). Remove from oven.

Combine the roasted corn, red onion, cilantro leaves, jalapeno pepper in a bowl and mix to combine. Gently stir in the avocado, if using. Add salt and pepper, if needed.

Anzac Biscuits (Cookies)

Girl Cooks World
-
0
Anzac Biscuits (Cookies)

Have you ever thought you’d made some great new discovery only to find out that the discovery had actually been made years before and that, furthermore, you were late to the party?  Well, that was the case with these Anzac cookies, or biscuits as they’re called in Australia.

My expectations for these cookies was quite low; their name is from the acronym for the Australia New Zealand Army Corps.  During World War I, women sent a variation of these cookies to soldiers abroad because the ingredients didn’t spoil and the cookies traveled well.

Well, these eggless wonders really took me by surprise.  Far from the tasteless bricks I was anticipating, they were soft, chewy, with a definite caramel flavor.  After I made them I realized that Heidi already wrote about them years ago, claiming they were her favorite cookie AND that David had included a recipe for an adaption in his latest book Ready for Dessert: My Best Recipes.

Well, I might not have made any new discoveries, but I’m happy to have found these cookies nonetheless.  They were easy to convert to gluten-free and tasted amazing. An added bonus is there’s no worry about eating the raw dough because no eggs are involved.  I hope you give them a shot.

Anzac Biscuits (Cookies)

Yield: Approximately 30 cookies

Ingredients:

1 cup gluten-free oats
3/4 cup dried, unsweetened coconut
1/3 cup brown rice flour
One third cup oat flour (I ground my gluten-free oats in a coffee grinder)
1/3 cup potato starch
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon xanthan gum
1/2 cup butter
1 Tablespoon honey (or Golden Syrup)
2 Tablespoons boiling water

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and grease a baking sheet or line with a Silpat baking mat.

Mix together the oats, coconut, brown rice flour, oat flour, potato starch, sugar, brown sugar, baking soda and xantham gum in a large bowl and stir to combine.

In a small saucepan, melt the butter and honey together. Add the boiling water and stir to combine. Pour into the oat mixture and mix well.

Lastly, drop by teaspoon onto prepared baking sheet and bake for approximately 12 minutes, or until lightly browned. Remove from oven and allow the cookies to cool for one to two minutes on the baking sheet. Remove cookies to a cooling rack.

Jamaican Ginger Beer Recipe

Girl Cooks World
-
0
Jamaican Ginger Beer Recipe

By now it should be apparent that I’m something of a ginger phene.  I mean in the past two weeks alone I’ve posted recipes for Carrot, Ginger and Lime Juice, Tangy Red Cabbage with Ginger, and Rhubarb Ginger Crumble and now this Jamaican ginger beer recipe.  Without a doubt, I can assure you I won’t be slowing down anytime soon.

Although I made a Boozy Ginger Beer when I was in Ghana, I’ve been wanting to try a non-alcoholic version.  This is pretty darn close to perfect- just enough brown sugar sweetness, some fruity tartness from the lime, and a whole lot of ginger kick.

If you’re a Frugal Fannie like myself, feel free to re-use the ginger.  Surprisingly, there’s still a lot of ginger flavor left for your favorite tea or syrup.

Jamaican Ginger Beer Recipe

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients:

5 cups water
1 cup minced ginger
1/3 cup lime juice
1/2 to 2/3 cup brown sugar
1 Tablespoon cream of tartar

Directions:

In a large saucepan bring the water and ginger to a boil. Lower heat, cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Remove from heat, add lime, cream of tartar, and 1/2 cup brown sugar. Taste and add a little extra sugar, if desired.

Let stand for three hours. Strain and refrigerate. Serve over ice with a slice of lime.

Rhubarb and Ginger Spritzer

Girl Cooks World
-
0
Rhubarb and Ginger Spritzer

There’s a big misconception out there that we don’t have real seasons in Hawaii.  Sure, we have temperatures in the low 80s year round, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t some subtle (and sometimes not-so-subtle) ways to tell that spring has arrived.

The days are longer and drier.  Monster surf on the North Shore winds down while the South Shore season begins to heat up.  And then there are the clues at the markets: asparagus season is in full swing, with the green stalks monopolizing a large portion of the produce section.  As much as I love asparagus, I’m even happier to see fresh rhubarb, which makes its very brief and limited appearance about this time every year.  If you see it on the shelves, you’ve got to grab it; you never know whether it’ll be around the next time you go.

Well, I’m happy to say that I’ve been good at taking advantage of both the longer and the rhubarb.  First up?  A nice hike and beach day over on the Windward side.  Of course when I pulled my SLR out of my bag for photos I realized I’d left my CF card in my media reader.  Boo on that.  And then my battery died on my point and shoot after only a couple shots.  Boo again.

I promise I’ll head back in the not-too-distant future and make a mental note to check both cards and batteries before I head out the door.  Luckily my SLR was back in business for rhubarb and ginger syrup.

Rhubarb and Ginger Spritzer

Fresh rhubarb and ginger is simmered with sugar and water, creating a pleasantly tart and sweet, rose-colored syrup.  You also end up with a delicious byproduct: soft, sweetened rhubarb.  I spooned some over some Greek yogurt and topped with pistachios for an easy breakfast that felt extra special.

When added to sparkling water, the syrup created a delicate pink non-alcoholic spritzer, perfect for a summer get-together or baby shower.  It can also be easily incorporated into some of your favorite boozy drinks- stay tuned for one idea tomorrow…

Rhubarb and Ginger Spritzer Recipe

Ingredients:

Rhubarb and Ginger Syrup:

4 stalks fresh rhubarb, cut into 1/2-inch pieces (about 4 cups)
4-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and coarsely chopped
3 cups sugar
2 cups water Sparkling water

Directions:

Combine the rhubarb, ginger, sugar and water in a large saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, until the rhubarb is soft. Remove from heat and let sit for 30 minutes.

Pour mixture through a fine-mesh sieve into a bottle. Chill syrup completely. Combine sparkling water with syrup to taste. Serve over ice.

Riivinkropsu – Grated Potato Casserole

Girl Cooks World
-
0
Riivinkropsu – Grated Potato Casserole

This is a dish that can easily be made with simple leftovers in your fridge or pantry.  Did you know there’s an ingredient-based recipe generator app that can help you come up with ideas for your next meal?  Download Crumb for free and get creative ideas on what recipes to make with the ingredients you have on hand.

Sure, this isn’t the most groundbreaking or original recipe from Finland, but I sure do love my potatoes.  The bottom layers of shredded potatoes, surrounded by an egg and dairy mixture, get soft and creamy while the top gets golden and crispy.  Think of this as one giant tater tot.  And just like a tater tot, forkfuls were promptly dipped in ketchup and Sriracha for some kick.

The first time I made this, I squeezed it into the quart-sized baking dish pictured.  The next time, I made sure to spread it out in an even larger dish to maximize the crust to filling ratio.  In the future, I might try to one up myself and add cheese.  Even as stated in the cheese-less recipe, the dish had a similar creaminess to baked mac and cheese.  I can only imagine that the addition of some cheddar would be magical…

PrintRiivinkropsu – Grated Potato Casserole

Yield: 4 side servings

Ingredients:

butter (for greasing pan)
1 egg
1 cup whole milk or light cream
2 Tablespoons rice flour
1 teaspoon salt
3-6 small-to-medium potatoes, peeled and grated (see note within instructions below)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and butter an ovenproof baking dish.

In a medium bowl, lightly beat the egg and add the milk or cream, rice flour, and salt.  Stir to combine and then add the potatoes.  Transfer to the prepared baking dish. Note: you can tell you have the right amount of shredded potatoes if there’s a thin layer of shredded potatoes above the milk and egg mixture.  This means the covered potatoes will soften and get creamy during baking while the top layer will get crispy and golden.

Bake for 45-50 minutes.  Turn the oven to broil and broil for several minutes to brown the crust.

Shandy for One, Australian “Lemonade”

Girl Cooks World
-
0
Shandy for One, Australian “Lemonade”

When I research foods from various countries I try to get my hands on as many cookbooks as I can… old, new, popular, obscure, I love them all.  I had to chuckle when I was reading an old Australian cookbook that said that if you walked into a bar or restaurant and ordered a lemonade, you’d be given a drink that was half lemonade and half beer.  Those Aussies don’t mess around, do they?

During all of my recipe testing for the beer damper I found myself with a bunch of half bottles of beer.  Not a bad thing of course, but when you’re making bread at 9:30 or 10:00 in the morning, there’s some level of shame in downing the rest of the bottle so many hours before noon.  My solution?  Trying this Australian lemonade, or Shandy, which I hear is also popular in the U.K.

I wasn’t exactly sure what to expect but I’m definitely a fan.  Tart, refreshing, with just a hint of sweetness, it’s a super easy drink option for summer entertaining.  Throw a couple lemon slices in and it’s one good looking drink as well.

Shandy For One

Yield: 1 servings

Ingredients:

* 2 Tablespoons lemon juice
* 1 Tablespoon sugar, or to taste
* 3/4 cup water (or sparkling water for more fizz)
* 3/4 cup beer
* ice
* lemon slices for garnish (optional)

Directions:

Combine the lemon juice, sugar and water and stir to combine. Add ice and then pour the beer over the lemon mixture and stir gently to combine. Garnish with lemon slices, if desired.

Nigel’s Gooseberry Pie

Girl Cooks World
-
0
Nigel’s Gooseberry Pie

There’s really only one reason in my book (blog?) to grow gooseberries. Sure, jam is nice, but the reason I brought my three little gooseberry sticks home from the nursery, was for pies.

Before we get into it, I feel I should say a few things directly to you peeps who think you don’t like fruit pies. At the risk of sounding ferocious, I think it’s because you haven’t had one of my fruit pies. You see, fruit pies do not need a lot of anything other than the choices of fruits, a bit of sugar and a kick-ass pie crust.

This particular pie, gooseberries, sugar, and a sweet buttery crust that melts in your mouth and unabashedly soaks up, without the least bit of sogginess, the full-fat cream that is essential to pour all over it, is perfection. There is no sourness quite like the sourness of gooseberries. They were, I believe, created for the sheer joy of eating them with cream and crust.

Let’s continue.

I call this Nigel’s Gooseberry Pie as this summer continues my love affair with the writings of Nigel Slater. An English gardener-cook whose prose on life in his garden and kitchen make me swoon. And the man can make pie.

Nigel’s Gooseberry Pie

Pie Crust

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, chilled, plus more for pie plate
2 ½ cups all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling out dough
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 cup ice water

Filling

1 & 1/2 quarts gooseberries, topped and tailed
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup water

Directions:

  1. To make crust, follow directions for perfect pie crust.
  2. After one hour of refrigerating discs, preheat oven to 390 degrees.
  3. Take one disc from refrigerator, press into pie plate and poke the bottom all over with a fork. Place a sheet of parchment paper inside. Add dried beans or pie beads and blind bake for 15 minutes or until the crust starts to get golden.
  4. While bottom crust is baking, roll out other disc for the top.
  5. Meanwhile place water, sugar and whole topped and tailed gooseberries in a wide-bodied sauce pan and bring to a boil. Simmer just for a minute or so, tossing gently as you go. Cook the berries only just until they turn slightly opaque, do not let them burst. Take them out with a slotted spoon as soon as they lighten up. They may not lighten up all at once (possibly some are of a more serious nature) so begin to take the ones out that do while the others are still heavy colored.

    gap

  6. Turn up the heat and bring the remaining liquid to a gel. Gooseberries are very high in pectin. Trust me when I say bring to a fierce boil for a solid two minutes and you’re good. Let cool.
  7. Once bottom pie crust is slightly cool, add gooseberries and pour the gel over, evenly distributing.
  8. Let the top crust warm up for a minute or so from the fridge and place over top of pie. You can tuck the sides right over the existing sides. Use it all and don’t be concerned about a thick edge. This is a very crumbly, soft and forgiving crust. As long as you followed directions for the perfect pie crust and have not fiddled with it too much up to this point, you can afford some pressing and maneuvering here and you will still win friends and influence people with this crust.
  9. Slice two or three air holes artfully in the top and place in oven. Bake at 390 degrees for 20 minutes. Take out of oven and sprinkle sugar generously across the top. Don’t skip this part. Gooseberries are very sour and this sugar is imperative. Bake for 5 more minutes until the whole thing is golden and the juices are bubbling up from the openings.

Let cool. And trust me when I say this: serve with heavy cream, it is as essential as the rest. And you might as well be proactive and serve it in a bowl with a spoon.

If you are not growing gooseberries, or have an extra quart or so of cream layin’ around, go to your local farmers market now and look around. You need this in your life.

1...949596...119Page 95 of 119
© Newspaper WordPress Theme by TagDiv