Cranberry Sauce

As a kid, watching cranberry sauce come out of a tin and hold its shape was completely unappetizing, so I never cared for it. But this year I saw some fresh cranberries in the local store so tried to make it from scratch. With reduced sugar, it was still really sweet, but was a nice accompaniment to the turkey drumsticks and the brisket for Thanksgiving dinners. The bags are sold in 250 g units here so I adjusted the recipe accordingly. This makes quite a lot so could halve the recipe next time for a single bag.

• 
  500 g fresh cranberries (2 bags at Jumbo)
  
• scant 1 c sugar (4/5 c?)
• scant 1/2 c brown sugar (1/3 c?)
• scant 1/2 c water
• 1 c fresh squeezed orange juice
• optional: cinnamon

1. In a small pot, heat sugars, water and OJ. Dissolve the sugar and bring to a boil.
2. Add in cranberries. Bring to simmer and stir occasionally for 10-15 minutes, until most of the cranberries have burst. Continue simmering until reduced to desired consistency. (It will further thicken after cooling).
3. Transfer to bowl and let cool for at least 20 min.
4. Transfer to containers. Store in fridge until ready to use.

Buttermilk Biscuits

The freezer trick works really great. Kids loved them.

• 
  1 c buttermilk/karne melk (or 1 T lemon juice plus remainder lactose free milk) 
  
• 8 T butter (113 g = 1/2 c)
• 2 c flour
• 1 T sugar
• 1/2 t baking soda 
• 2 t baking powder
• 3/4 t salt 

1. Preheat oven to 450F/230C.
2. Line baking sheet with parchment paper. 
3. Place buttermilk in freezer for 10 min while preparing other ingredients.
4. Microwave butter, covered, for 30 seconds and then 10 sec increments until melted.
5. Whisk dry ingredients in large bowl.
6. Pour butter into chilled milk and stir. Butter will solidify into small pieces.
7. Add buttermilk mixture to bowl and stir until flour is incorporated and dough pulls away from side of bowl. Dough should be stiff (not wet).
8. Knead 5-6 times on generously floured counter. Flip and then shape into 6" square, 1.5-2" height. 
9. Cut 8 biscuit shapes (2.5" round or free form). Place on parchment paper.
10. Bake until tops are golden brown and crisp, 8-18 min.
11. Optional: brush tips with 1 T melted butter

Related

• Drop biscuits - no shaping
• Angel biscuits - with yeast 

Coconut Sticky Rice with Mango

I've found one shop with quality mangoes that are ridiculously expensive. But I splurge once in a while because they're my favorite fruit. To stretch them, I make this dish. Otherwise I prefer to eat them plain and fresh.
Summer 2023: Doubled the pouring sauce to finish the leftover coconut milk. Fed 8 generously.

• 
  2 ripe mangoes
  
• 2 rice cups of sticky rice (aka glutinous rice)
• 1 c/8oz/250 ml thick coconut milk
• 1/3 c sugar (reduced from 1/2 c)
• 1/4 t salt
• 1/2 T sesame seeds (white or black)
• Sauce: 1/4 c thin coconut milk, 1 T sugar, pinch of salt

1. Do ahead: Soak the rice for 3 hours or overnight.
2. Cook the rice in a rice cooker, using ratio from package.
3. Mix the thick coconut milk, sugar and salt. 
4. When the rice is done, transfer it to a bowl and while it is hot add the coconut mixture. Combine thoroughly. Leave it to rest for 30-50 min so the rice can absorb the liquid.
5. Mix the sauce ingredients and set aside.
6. Peel the mangoes and slice thinly. Scoop rice into bowl/plate, top with mango and drizzle with sauce. Sprinkle with sesame seeds.

Cong You Mian

HM made this for us and it was beyond delicious. I wanted to try my hand at it but it did not come out nearly as well, so I will have to play with it. I used olive oil instead of cooking oil and the noodles were from Amazing Oriental and weren't just flour and water (they had sugar and other ingredients in them). The cong were very big (how does that change the flavor?). Or perhaps I didn't use enough noodles, as they came out very dark. The cong you (scallion oil) flavor was not as strong in mine - perhaps I didn't cook them long enough.

• 
  4 T cooking oil
• 5 stalks scallions, cut into long sections (about 50 g)
• 2 T soy sauce
• 2 T dark soy sauce
• 2 t sugar
• 400 g dried thin, round noodles

1. Pour oil in wok. Add white parts of scallions. Simmer over medium low heat until they wrinkle. Add the green part. Continue to cook until they turn brown, about 10 min. Remove scallions.
2. Add soy sauces and sugar. Cook until the sauce starts to bubble. Remove from heat.
3. Cook the noodles. Drain and rinse briefly. 
4. Put noodles in oil and stir to evenly coat. 
5. Portion out to 4 serving bowls. Top with the fried spring onion and optional cooked vegetables.  

Fruit Salad

Nothing better to eat on a hot day than a chilled, colorful fruit salad. Use a variety of fruits - in both colors and textures. Do not use watermelon (too watery). I would also avoid cantaloupe and honeydew, just because they're not as exciting.

• 
  strawberries, raspberries
  
• oranges
• peaches, nectarines
• mango
• banana - ripe but still firm
• pineapple
• kiwi, green grapes
• blueberries
• passion fruit
• red grapes
• cherries
• blackberries
• dragonfruit
• apples, pears

1. Wash, peel, pit fruit as necessary. 
2. Cut each into bite size pieces.
3. Place in large bowl. Mix with juice from orange and/or lemon/lime juice (to prevent browning).
4. Optional: Include orange zest OR mint.
5. Chill for several hours or overnight.

Cong You Bing - Scallion Pancakes

My family made these quite often when I was a kid. A successful bing has many layers.
4/26/20 For one bing I put in spicy chutney powder instead of cong+salt. Deliciously spicy!

Dough

• 2 c flour
• 3/4 c boiling water (up to 1 cup)

Filling

• 2 stems of scallions
• salt
• oil (sesame, canola)

1. Slowly add the boiling water to the flour in a food processor and process for 15 seconds OR mix by hand.
2. Let sit covered in an oiled boil for 30 min (or longer).
3. Divide dough into 4 pieces.
4. Roll into large flat shape, as thin as possible.
5. Cover with oil and salt. Spread with fingers. Sprinkle chopped scallions on top.
6. Roll the long side. Start coiling into a snail, end with a second snail coil on top of the first.
7. Squash it with your hand and roll out to final size (NOT as thin as the first time).
8. Cook on low-medium heat in oiled frying pan until nicely browned on each side.
9. Slice into wedges and enjoy warm.

Cinnamon Raisin Bagels

We haven't been able to buy cinnamon raisin bagels from Metro grocery store in weeks. Tried making it from scratch using the bread machine. This came out ok - a bit blander than I would have liked, and I should have let it rise more. Could make this again OR try another recipe. BDs want plain bagels next.

1/28/22 Tried the other recipe. Folding the raisins and cinnamon to get the swirls was a nice touch, but otherwise they did not rise enough. Would experiment with the first recipe again.

• 1/2 c raisins, soaked in warm water for 10 min
• 1 T cinnamon
• 1 T sugar
• 1.25 c warm water
• 3 c flour (recipe called for bread but I only had AP)
• 3 1/3 T brown sugar
• 1 t salt
• 2 1/2 t yeast
• EGG WASH: 1 egg + 1 T water

1. Pat the raisins dry and combine with cinnamon and sugar. Dump into bread machine pan followed by remaining main ingredients. Set to dough cycle. Check dough and add water or flour to get right consistency. Remove after the first knead - about 20 min.
2. Place dough on floured surface and divide into 8 pieces.
3. Shape into bagels with very large holes (to account for increase in size during rising and baking time) and place on parchment paper on baking sheets.
4. Let rise for 30 min, until doubled.
5. Boil large pot of water with 1 T sugar. Boil bagels in batches for 1.5 min per side.
6. Cool on wire rack for a minute. Then brush with egg wash.
7. Bake 400F for 20 min.

Recipe #2

1/28/22 These came out rather flat. I forgot to put cornmeal on the parchment paper so when it was time to boil I couldn't get them off the sheet! Remember to butter or cornmeal the sheet next time!

• 1.25 c warm water
• 1 T honey
• 1/2 T sugar
• 1.5 t yeast
• 3.5-4 c flour
• 1.5 t salt
• 2 t cinnamon
• 1/2 c raisins

1. In a small bowl, combine the honey, sugar and warm water.  Sprinkle on the yeast. Stir to dissolve and let sit for 5 min until foamy.
2. In a large bowl combine 2 cups of flour and the salt. Add the frothy yeast and stir until evenly mixed. Add 1/2 cup of flour at a time until it's too hard to stir by hand (about 1 cup). Turn onto floured surface and continue adding flour until the dough is fairly stiff but still kneadable. Knead for a total of 8 minutes.
3. Flatten the dough. Add the cinnamon and raisins down the center. Fold the dough over and knead until the raisins are dispersed and there are swirls of cinnamon in the dough. Knead over raisins that have escaped.
4. Form dough into ball, cover and let rise until doubled (about 45 min).
5. Punch the dough down and form it into a log. Cut into 10 equal pieces.
6. Form each piece into a smooth ball. Pinch the center to make a hole 3x bigger than final size.
7. Place on GREASED baking sheet/parchment paper, or sheet lined with cornmeal. Let rise until doubled for another 45 minutes.
8. Preheat broiler.
9. Boil wide pan of water.
10. [Broil the bagels for 1 min on each side. They should not brown, only become dull on each side and poof up.] - This is when I discovered I'd forgotten to grease the parchment paper so I couldn't flip them. I only broiled on one side and then had to deal with the disaster. The second tray I didn't broil at all. The first tray came out much smoother than the second tray.
11. Boil rapidly for 1 min on each side, flipping with chopstick. Let drip on wire rack.
12. Place back on baking tray and bake at 375/190 for 20-30 min until the surface is golden brown.

Snickerdoodles

Key ingredient is cream of tartar. If you don't have it, make another cookie! These turn out very soft. Lost my original recipe but these turned out fantastic.

• 1 c butter, softened
• 1.5 c sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 t vanilla
• 2.75 c flour
• 1.5 t cream of tartar
• 1/2 t baking soda
• 1 t salt

Dip

• 1/4 c sugar
• 1.5 T cinnamon

1. Cream butter and sugar for 5 minutes.
2. Beat in eggs and vanilla.
3. Add dry ingredients and stir until just combined.
4. optional: Chill for 15-20 min.
5. Preheat oven to 350. Combine dip ingredients.
6. Roll dough into small balls and roll in dip. Place on parchment lined paper. Take each ball and roll AGAIN with a spoon, scooping dip on top and pressing down lightly with spoon.
7. Bake for 9-10 min. Err on the side of shorter to ensure soft cookie.
8. Cool on tray for 2 min before moving to cooling rack.
9. Store any leftover dip in small jar.

Tofu Black Bean Stir Fry

I usually buy extra firm tofu, but had a package of firm tofu in the fridge I needed to use up. Found a recipe I had the ingredients for.

• 1 pkg firm tofu
• 1 T black bean sauce
• 2 T cooking oil
• 1 cl garlic
• 1 t minced ginger
• assorted vegetables (spinach, carrot, snow peas, broccoli, mushrooms, etc)
• 1 T cornstarch
• 2 T cold water
• 1/2 c broth
• 2 T low sodium soy sauce

1. Pat tofu as dry as possible.
2. Cut into 1/2" cubes.
3. Combine with black bean sauce. My sauce was very thick and did not spread easily. Next time combine with soy or water to make thinner? Let sit for 10 min.
4. Heat oil in wok. Saute tofu until browned. Set aside in bowl.
5. Add oil as needed. Saute vegetables with garlic and ginger.
6. If possible, move veges to side of pan. Add broth and soy sauce.
7. Combine cornstarch and water in small bowl. Pour into broth and stir until thick.
8. Stir in slurry with veggies. Mix until veggies are cooked. 
9. Add tofu and stir one last time.
10. Serve with rice or udon noodles.

Fresh Squeezed Lemonade

Had to get rid of some girl guide cookies, so set DBD and her best friend out front with some pitchers of fresh squeezed lemonade. Made 2 large batches and it all went. Very easy to adjust the sweetness by watering down.
6/24/19 XBD requested homemade lemonade again. Cut the recipe in half.

• 1.5 c sugar
• 1 c water
• 1.5 c lemon juice (6-8 lemons)
• 7 c water (or part ice to speed chilling)

1. Heat the sugar with one cup of water, until the sugar is dissolved. 
2. Squeeze the lemons, remove seeds, but leave in pulp.
3. Stir syrup, lemon juice and remaining water in container.
4. Refrigerate until chilled.

Buckwheat Granola

M sent me 15 lbs of buckwheat so had to look up what to do with it. This is the first use. I used a combo of pecans, cashews, hazelnuts, whole and sliced almonds, and pumpkin seeds. Based on this recipe.

• 2 c buckwheat groats
• 1.5 c nuts and seeds
• 1 t cinnamon
• 1 t ginger
• 1 c shredded coconut
• 1 ripe banana
• 2 T coconut oil
• 2 T maple syrup

1. In a large bowl, combine buckwheat, nuts, spices and coconut.
2. In a small bowl, mash the banana. Add the oil and syrup.
3. Pour the banana mixture over the buckwheat mixture and stir to combine.
4. Bake for 20-30 minutes at 350F, stirring halfway.
5. Use for breakfast, as a yogurt topping, etc.

Similar

Grain-free granola

Vegan Soft Serve

Really does turn out amazingly like real soft serve. I froze the bananas last night and then made the dessert at 6:30 pm and ate it at 8:30. Delicious!

• 3 bananas
• 2 T cocoa powder
• 1 t vanilla

1. Slice the bananas. Put in container and freeze for minimum 2 hours (overnight is ok).
2. Blend until smooth - at least 5 minutes. Or use a food processor if you have one for faster results. Using a blender will require pushing down the bananas every few pulses.
3. Add the cocoa powder and vanilla and blend until combined.
4. Scoop back into container and place back in freezer.
5. Enjoy within a few hours.

NOTES

This supposedly needs to be eaten immediately as it will not freeze well.

Instead of cocoa powder+ vanilla, try oreo cookies or strawberries or chocolate chips or mint leaves.

Grain-free Granola

Looking to reduce carbs for breakfast, thinking about having this for breakfast with yogurt, instead of the normal cereal or bagels (or french toast or pancakes or waffles...). 

• 1 c hazelnuts
• 1 c pecans
• 1 c raw almonds
• 1 c cashews
• 1/4 c solid coconut oil (reduced from 1/3 c)
• 2 T maple syrup
• 1/3 t salt
• 1 T cocoa powder
• 1 t vanilla
• 1 t cinnamon
• 1/2 c shredded coconut
• 1/4 c roasted pumpkin seeds

1. Pulse nuts in blender until crumbly.
2. In a small pan, melt the coconut oil over low heat with the syrup, salt, cocoa, vanilla and cinnamon.
3. Remove from heat and stir in coconut and pumpkin seeds.
4. Thoroughly mix pulsed nuts in.
5. Spread on parchment sheet and bake for 15-25 min at 325F.
6. Let cool in oven.

NOTES

Original says 300F but that takes too long. 350F is a little too high and ends up with some nuts slightly burnt.
Nov 2015: I've made this more than a dozen times this year. It's a staple on top of a breakfast bowl (of cereal or oatmeal). Once I used pistachios instead of hazelnuts - it ended up chewier but still delicious. One batch lasts about a week.

Slow Cooker Burrito Beans

This recipe is supposed to mimic refried beans, without having to use the stove. They take quite a long time on high heat, so need to be started very early, or done on low the night before.

• 3 c dry pinto beans, rinsed
• 1 small onion, cut in half
• 5 cl garlic, chopped
• 1 small jalapeno, seeded and chopped
• 3 t salt
• 1 t fresh ground pepper
• 1 t cumin
• 9 c water

1. Place onion, jalapeno, beans, garlic, salt, pepper and cumin in slow cooker. Pour in water and stir to combine.
2. Cook on high for 8 hours (or start night before on low).
3. Pull out beans by strainer to serving bowl, leaving liquid in slow cooker. Mash with potato masher, adding liquid as needed for desired consistency.
4. Serve as filler for burritos. Freeze leftovers.

No Knead Bread

Peasant Bread

This was pretty easy to throw together and came out nice and chewy. It's my first no-knead bread attempt. It was quite an interesting process just using a spatula and 2 forks. The original post has pictures of the whole process. The dough really is super wet. The bowls she uses are VERY small, which you can't tell from looking at her pictures since they are all close up shots.. I made a 9x5 loaf using about 2/3 of the dough (she recommends 3/4 of it) and the remainder in a small, shallow, square 1.5L dish. When mixing it originally my dough was quite dry, not wet like hers in the picture so I added a couple T of cold water. The alternative** is to start with less than 4 cups in the bowl and add extra flour after mixing it together. 

• 4 c flour (or slightly less**...should be 1 lb 2 oz), not bleached
• 2 t sea salt
• 1/2 c boiling water + 1.5 c cold water (or just 2 c lukewarm water)
• 1 T sugar
• 2 (+1/4) t yeast
• 2-3 T butter

1. In a large bowl, whisk the flour and salt.
2. In a small bowl, dissolve sugar in the water. 
3. Sprinkle yeast on top and wait 10-15 minutes until yeast is frothy, to prove that it is still alive.
4. Pour yeast mixture into flour and mix with spatula. Mixture will be very wet. 
• Either put dough in a greased bowl
• ...OR...scrape sides of mixing bowl and butter the sides.
5. Cover with cotton towel and let rise in warm, moist area (like a warm oven with a pot of boiling water inside) for minimum one hour, but preferably 1.5-2 hours.
6. Generously grease 2 containers, no bigger than 1.5L each, with 1 T (or more) butter each.
7. Using 2 forks, pull the dough from the sides and punch down, turning sides onto itself. It is important that the dough is pulled from the sides and entirely punched down. Use forks to separate the dough into 2 pieces (of equal size if containers are equal...or if using 9x5 bread pan, then about 2/3-3/4 of the dough for that, remainder for small container or muffin tins or ramekins). Scoop up each piece and plop into prepared containers.
8. Cover and let rise in warm area for 30-45 minutes. Dough should rise to just below/above top of container, depending on the container.
9. Bake at 425F for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 375F and cook for 22-25 minutes more.
10. Remove from oven and turn onto cooling racks. If they were sufficiently greased, they should fall out.
• If the breads look pale and soft, put on cookie sheet and continue to bake for 5 min.
11. Let cool for 10 min before slicing.

Split Pea Soup I

Started cooking at 9:30 pm and had it for lunch the next day. It looked a bit watery at first, but after pureeing part of it and letting it sit for a while it looked thicker. There is a nice hint of cloves - delicious! Made in 4 quart slow cooker - could probably double to have more for leftovers. Also used the east indian curry powder from House of Spice. Based on original recipe.

• 1 c dried split peas
• 5 c water
• 2 T Better than Bouillon
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1/2 sweet onion, chopped
• 2 carrots, chopped
• 2 stalks celery (with a few leaves) - split
• 3 whole cloves
• 1/2 t salt
• 1/4 t pepper
• l/2 t cumin
• l/2 t curry powder
• 1 bay leaf
• optional: 1 T brown sugar

1. Rinse dahl and add to slow cooker.
2. Cut off 3" of celery and poke the 3 cloves into it. Chop the rest of the celery.
3. Add remaining ingredients, except brown sugar, to crockpot.
4. Cook on low for 12-15 hours.
5. Let cool slightly. Puree all or part of soup.
6. Add in brown sugar.
7. Enjoy!

Related Recipes

Split Pea Soup II - with meat and parsley

Pea Pesto

This is an atypical pesto - it turns out green but tastes sweet! Tried it on its own and then with linguine. Prefer it as a dip as opposed to a pasta sauce.

• 1+ c frozen peas, defrosted
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 2 T pine nuts
• 1/8 t salt
• olive oil

1. In a small pan, lightly toast the pine nuts. (Remember to stir continuously to prevent burning).
2. Add water to pan and bring to boil. Add peas and cook for 2-3 minutes. Drain and let cool.
3. Combine garlic, pine nuts, peas and salt in chopper and blend until smooth. Add olive oil if mixture is too thick.

Serving Suggestions

- Eat as is with crackers or tortilla chips.

- Add to pasta with cooked peas and cheese. Note, if mixing with pasta, definitely use extra olive oil to help it spread. See original recipe for pasta directions.

Hummus

Very easy to prepare and tasty to eat. MM always doubles the garlic. I prefer less bite.

• 1 can chickpeas (garbanzo beans)
• 3 cloves garlic
• 3-4 T lemon juice
• 3 T tahini
• 1/4-1/2 t salt
• cayenne pepper (or black pepper or cumin)

1. Dump beans, SOME of the liquid, garlic, juice, tahini and salt in blender. Blend.
2. Taste. Add more bean liquid, lemon juice, tahini, and/or salt to taste.
3. Transfer to bowl. Sprinkle with cayenne.
4. Eat with carrot sticks or as spread on sandwich.

Spinach side dish

Whipped this up in no time.

• 1 package frozen spinach, nuked for 2 min to defrost a bit
• 2 T chopped garlic
• 1 inch ginger, chopped
• 1 t cumin (ran out of whole cumin)
• canola oil
• 1 t turmeric
• 1 t ground coriander
• 2 t tomato sauce (original: puree)
• 2 T slow-cooker-dahl

1. Heat garlic, ginger and cumin in oil over medium heat.
2. Add spinach and turmeric. Stir for 5 minutes.
3. Add coriander, tomato sauce and slow-cooker-dahl. Cook for 10 minutes.
4. Salt to taste.

Slow Cooker Dal

Inspired by a post on saltandpaprika I gave a crack at dal in the slow cooker. Next time I wouldn't mix in the two types of dal - they cooked at different rates - one became mush and the other needed more cooking. Or maybe my yellow dal was too old. It was beautiful in color though, especially with a side of spinach. Used madras curry powder from kensington market.
12/19/12 Made this with 2 c red lentils and a can of whole tomatoes (that I diced myself, and then strained the seeds out of the juice). Used crushed red pepper in place of chili flakes.  Turned out delicious! Used the east indian curry powder from kensington market. Ate with mixed rice and roasted pumpkin.

• 1.5 c red lentils
• 3/4 c yellow dal
• 2 1/4 c water (equal to cups of dal)
• 2 T minced garlic
• thumb size of fresh ginger, grated or chopped
• 2 T canola
• 1/2 t chili powder
• 1/4 t chili flakes
• 1 t powdered cumin
• 1 t dried cilantro
• 1/2 t turmeric
• 1 t curry powder
• 1 can coconut milk
• 1 28oz can diced tomatoes
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 carrot, chopped

1. In a small bowl, mix the garlic, ginger, oil and spices. Microwave 30-40 seconds.
2. Place mixture in bottom of slow cooker. Add lentils, water, coconut milk, tomatoes, cinnamon, bay leaf, and carrots.
3. Cook on low for 6-8 hours (longer for yellow dahl, shorter for red dahl). [Or high for 2.5-3 hours.]
4. Serve with basmati rice (and a spinach dish for additional color).

Feb 2013: Tried a variation on the recipe, using a very rich can of coconut milk (55% fat) and curry powder and more carrots. Liked this one better.

• 2 cl garlic, minced
• 1 T ginger, diced
• 2 t curry powder (east indian from Kensington spice shop)
• 1/2 t chili flakes
• 2 T canola oil
• 2 c red lentils, rinsed
• 3 medium carrots, diced
• 1 can coconut milk, creamiest you can find
• 1 can (28 oz) diced tomatoes
• 1 t salt
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 c water

1. Mix the curry powder, chili flakes, garlic and ginger with the oil. Microwave for about 30 seconds (or until fragrant). 
2. In the slow cooker, combine the remaining ingredients. Pour the oil mixture over the top and mix well.
3. Cook on low for 6 hours or high for 2.5-3 hours.
4. Serve with rice. Leftovers keep well in fridge or freezer.