Recipes Collection

So. I have made three batches of strawberry jam in the last couple of weeks and they have all set. Beautifully. This is a very new experience for me; my strawberry jam has traditionally been on the runny side. The reason is that I bought and tried Bernardins No Sugar Needed Pectin.

Im feeling a bit strange about this, because I am not usually very inclined to write about the products of mega-gigantico international corporations. Au contraire.  But this is the first time ever that I have used pectin and had it work. Moreover, Ive made a batch of each of three suggested variations, and they all worked equally well.

While this is "no sugar needed" pectin, you can use sugar if you want. My first batch was made as they suggest, with 4 cups strawberries, 1 cup fruit juice and 1 1/2 cups sugar. Compare this to regular jam recipes - the sugar used is way lower. Next, I made a batch with Splenda for my dad, the sweet-toothed diabetic. Finally I made a batch with no sugar, just the strawberries and fruit juice, for my mom, who is on a low-sugar diet and who isnt quite so inclined to sweets. I used a mixture of lime juice and water for my fruit juice in the first batch, and grape juice for the other two batches. They all set up equally well.

My measurement of strawberries got bigger and bigger with each batch I made; I should really concede that the last batch had a good solid 5 cups of strawberries in it. Worked fine. This really seems to be pretty fool-proof stuff.

The ingredients are simple enough; dextrose (a sugar), fruit pectin, citric acid, and calcium ascorbate (a form of vitamin C. No problems there.

I didnt skim my jam, which jam recipes have always said to do. Mine always took so long to set up (assuming it did) that any foam had lots of time to settle out before the jam set. Not this time. The foam managed to make it about two-thirds up the jar before it was caught and set, so my jam looks a little funny. Ho hum. I can live with that.

Ive had a number of people recommend Pomona pectin to me, but the trouble is I live in the sticks. Its the products of mega-gigantic international corporations, or local farmers, with nothing in between. In short, I cant get it. Therefore, I really dont know how well it would compare.

These were delicious and really easy to make.


Chocolate Fudge Easter Cakes
This is from the BBC Good Food Website
Makes 16 (I got 18)

140g soft butter
140g golden caster sugar
3 medium eggs
100g self-raising flour
25g cocoa , sifted

FOR THE FROSTING ( I only made half this amount and it was plenty)
85g milk chocolate, broken
85g soft butter
140g icing sugar , sifted
2 35g packs white chocolate maltesers,
mini foil-wrapped chocolate eggs
We use Fairtrade Divine milk chocolate eggs from Waitrose
I used Green and Blacks Caramel Mini Eggs and Cadburys mini eggs

1. Heat oven to 190C/fan 170C/gas 5 and put 16 gold cases into a fairy-cake tin. Tip all the ingredients for the cake into a mixing bowl and beat for 2 mins with an electric hand-whisk until smooth. Divide between the cases so they are two-thirds filled, then bake for 12-15 mins until risen. Cool on a wire rack.

2. For the frosting, microwave the chocolate on High for 1 min. Cream the butter and sugar together, then beat in the melted chocolate. Spread on the cakes and decorate with Maltesers and chocolate eggs.

The other day my mom sounded highly enthusiastic on the phone about a new quince marmalade recipe. she insisted I tried it. I didnt want to say that I cannot find quince, one of my favorite winter fruits, here and crush her passion. I said sure, of course Ill try. After I hung up, I decided to apply the recipe to pears that were sitting on the counter for a long time. The result was a light fragrant marmalade perfect with cream cheesed bagels.

I had 5 pears and used all. You can use as many as you want. 5 pears made 24oz/1.5lb/~700gr marmalade.

5 grated pears made ~5 cups. For 5 cups of grated pears I used 2 1/2 cups of sugar. So, the ratio of sugar to pear is 1 to 2.


























5 danjou pears, grated (use the bigger hole), seeds taken out, not
peeled
2 1/2 - 3 cups of sugar
juice of 1 orange
juice of half lemon
3-4 cloves

-Put grated pear, juice of orange, and cloves in a pot on medium heat. Pear will first release juice. Cook off juice. (~1 hour)
-Stir in sugar and lemon juice and cook until it thickens.
-Pour in dry jars and let cool. Wait until it cools down to put the lid.

But there will be no recipe this weekend.  I (Jenny) have a family function to attend. So, heres a picture of Ernest Hemingway. :-)

Be sure to check back next weekend for a yummy new dish!

Chicken croquettes are such an old fashioned dish. I dont know why I had such a hankering for them recently, but I did. Its not like anyone in my family ever made them, but the idea of chicken encased in a creamy sauce and then cooked until crisp on the outside is very appealing and was calling my name there for a while. I guess they havent really disappeared from modern eating either; theyve just been displaced by the chicken "nugget". No comparison though. None at all.

Its really best to use leftover cooked chicken for these. Its an awful lot of work to cook it just so you can make them. But if you do have some, these are a food plan. 

8 - 12 croquettes; 4 to 6 servings
30 minutes cooking time in advance, not including cooking the chicken
1 hour to finish; 20 minutes prep time, not including the chilling


2 cups chopped cooked chicken
1 cup bread crumbs
2 large shallots
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons soft unbleached flour

1 recipe poultry seasoning
1 cup whole milk or light cream
1 extra-large egg

2 tablespoons mild vegetable oil or melted butter
1 cup bread crumbs
2 extra-large eggs

Chop the chicken with the bread crumbs. Its best to put them through a food processor, but do retain some texture.

Peel and mince the shallots. Put them in a large pot with the butter and salt, and cook gently until soft and slightly browned. Add the flour and cook for a few minutes more, stirring frequently, until well amalgamated and even a little browned. Mix in the poultry seasoning. Stir in the milk or cream, a little at a time, to make a smooth paste, working out any lumps before adding more. Once it is all in, continue cooking, stirring frequently, until thickened. Mix the chicken and bread crumbs into the sauce. Cover and refrigerate until cold and fairly firm in texture.

To make the croquettes, preheat the oven to 350°F. Brush a large lasagne pan with some of the oil or melted butter. Pu the bread crumbs in a shallow dish, and the eggs, beaten, in another. Divide the mixture into the number of croquettes desired. Roll each one in the crumbs, then the eggs, then the crumbs again. Do not attempt to flatten them into a patty shape until they are placed in the baking dish, at which point they should be gently pressed to be about 1" thick. This is because the mixture remains fairly soft even when chilled, and is easier to work with as a ball.

When all the patties are thus formed, brush them with the remaining oil or butter. Bake at 350°F for 35 to 40 minutes,  until firm and golden-brown.




Last year at this time I made Smoked Trout & Sweet Potato Cakes.

**I recently revised this recipe to be more mixer-friendly. If youd like to make it with a wooden spoon/your own two hands, see the original recipe (link at the bottom).

I saw these buns over at Smitten Kitchen and I knew they would be amazing. They arent any harder than any other bread and they are so good! I know it probably seems silly to make hamburger buns, but I love making bread in any form, and I likewise dislike buying bread, so I thought I would give these a try. The recipe makes 8 buns. These are tasty and if youre looking to make burgers better than any restaurant, this will help you get there.

By the way, my husband, the burger-lover, absolutely fell in love with these! Paired with these oven fries, he was in heaven.

Makes 8 buns* (see note at end about freezing dough)

Hamburger Buns
1 c. warm water
3 T. warm milk
2 tsp. active dry yeast
2 1/2 T. sugar
2 large eggs
3 - 3 1/2 c. flour
1 1/2 tsp. salt
2 1/2 T. unsalted butter, softened
sesame seeds, optional

Combine water, milk, yeast and sugar. Let stand until foamy, about five minutes. Meanwhile, beat one egg.
In bowl of mixer, combine 3 c. flour and the salt. Add butter and rub into flour between your fingers, making crumbs. Add yeast mixture and beaten egg until and mix on low until dough forms. Continue mixing and add more flour a little at a time, if needed, until the dough clears the side of the bowl. Knead for 5-6 minutes.
Shape dough into a ball and put in a bowl. Cover bowl with plastic wrap or a towel and let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, one to two hours.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Divide dough into 8 equal parts. Gently roll each into a ball and arrange two to three inches apart on baking sheet (youll need 2 baking sheets; 4 buns on each). Cover loosely with a piece of plastic wrap lightly coated in nonstick spray (or a towel) and let buns rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, about one to two hours.
Set a large shallow pan of water on oven floor. Preheat oven to 400 degrees with rack in center. Beat remaining egg with one tablespoon water and brush some on top of buns. Sprinkle with sesame seeds, if using. Bake, turning sheet halfway through baking, until tops are golden brown, about 15 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool completely.
I made these earlier in the day and then cut them open and toasted them in the oven for a minute or two right before dinner. Delicious!
*On freezing: The first time I made these, I froze half of the dough in a chunk and used it later so I just made 4 at a time. This time, (I just made another batch today), after I formed them into individual balls, I lined a pan with parchment, stuck the balls on the pan, put it in the freezer until hardened, and then pulled off the balls and stuck them in a ziploc bag. This way I only have to bake 2 at a time (for the two of us) and I only have to make them once every 4 times. Just an idea. Just let them thaw and rise on the counter before you want to bake them (take them out the morning of).

Source: Adapted from Smitten Kitchen

This is another lentil and whole grain combination I made for lunch one weekend. Since it was a Sunday, we wanted to have something spicy and filling and at the same time pertaining to our diet regimen. For me, kichadi is the best diet dish, very filling and tasty as well. This time I tried it make to healthier by substituting mung bean sprouts instead of lentils, and added lots of vegetables, and reducing the rice to one cup. I prepared chicken fry to go with this for me and for my husband I prepared oven-baked cauliflowers in tandoori style. This was a very comforting lunch for us.

INGREDIENTS:
1. Brown rice, 1 cup.
2. Mung bean sprouts, ½ cup.
3. Small onions, 2.
4. Mixed vegetables like cauliflower, carrots, and green beans all coming around 1 cup when chopped.
5. Peas, fresh or frozen, a handful
6. Cumin seeds, 1 teaspoon.
7. Cinnamon, 1 small stick.
8. Bay leaf, 1.
9. Cardamom, 2 cloves.
10. Cloves, 2.
11. Salt as per taste.
12. Curry leaves, a sprig.
123. Chopped cilantro, ½ cup.

PREPARATION:
Wash the rice well and soak it for 1 hour. Dice the onions and vegetables into small pieces. Dice the onion finely. Heat a pan or a pressure cooker pan with a tablespoon of oil. Add the spices and fry everything for one minute until good aroma comes from the spices. Add the onions now and sauté for a few minutes until they turn tender. Drain the water from the rice and add it to the pan. Add 3 cups of water, salt, chopped vegetables, sprouts, curry leaves and mix everything and cook everything until rice and dhal are cooked. A rice cooker also can also be used here. I used a pressure cooker for up to 3 whistles and cooked the rice. Garnish with chopped cilantro and serve hot with any spicy side dish.

Do check out some of my whole grains recipes, low in carb and calorie, which are ideal for dieting:

Oats sambar sadam

Oats pongal

Oats bisebelebath

Oats thayir sadam

Oats and cracked wheat rava idli

Cracked wheat rava pongal

Cracked wheat mint pulav

Quinoa pulav

Tomato soup with barley and pasta

Spinach and barley soup