savorynotes

[savorynotes]

Falafels

Soak 2 cups of chickpeas in 6 cups of cold water, for 8 hours. The next morning:

Drain chickpeas well, and rinse under cold water. Dump them into a food processor with:

1 large bunch of parsley, chopped into three chunks 2 - 5 green chiles (according to your heat tolerance) Generous sprinkling of salt (they'll need some salt) 1 tsp cumin seeds, lightly toasted and crushed 2 TB coriander seeds, lightly toasted and crushed 1 head of garlic, peeled

Pulse the mixture in the food processor until it resembles bread crumbs. Spoon in about 2 - 3 TB of water (1 TB at a time), and blend until the whole mess becomes smoother. You'll go from a crumbly texture to a more paste like one. You do not want it to be terribly wet, so use as little water as you can help.

Just before deep frying, stir through 1/2 tsp of baking soda. Form into little lumps with a spoon, and deep fry at 350F (start the fat off at 370F so that when the falafels balls drop in, they'll not decrease the temperature of your fat too much, then decrease the flame so that they cook at 350 and don't burn) for about six minutes or so.

You really don't need any binder if you follow these instructions.

Best part is that you can substitute other beans if you're out of chickpeas. This works great with fava beans, lima beans, black eyed peas, white beans, etc.

[savorynotes]

Oat Dosa

4 cups oats 1 cup urad daal, soaked for 1 hour in warm water 1/2 cup rice flour

OR

3 cups oats 1 cups chickpea flour (fine ground, not coarse) 1/2 cup whole wheat flour 1 cup rice flour

OR

2 cups oats 1 cup chickpea flour 1/2 cup rice flour 1 cup split yellow peas, soaked for 1 hour in boiling water

Whatever the mix is that you have, grind the urad daal/split peas to an absolute smooth batter with "enough" water (IE, add as less water as you can, so that it doesn't fuss with you too much). Add the oats to the blender, and grind in batches until they're also pureed (you'll have to dump out the ground beans before adding the oats, but if you forget to do so, just dump out as much as you can, and then grind the oats with warm water). Mix together the chickpea flour, rice flour, ground oats, and ground beans. Let it sit for 10 minutes. During that 10 minutes, heat up your skillet over medium heat. You'll likely need to rinse off the skillets. I use two, because otherwise I'll be standing there for all time.

Add about 1 tsp of Eno (or baking powder), and mix up the batter quickly. If you can find Eno, use it, because it does give a bit of flavour on top of the bubbling. Fry over heat, until both sides are done, and grease liberally with the fat of your choice.

The beauty is that you don't have to soak anything. You can use the instant version. But, if you like the flavour of having urad daal, it only takes 30 minutes to soak in hot water, and 1 hour in warm.

[savorynotes]

Easy Injera Bread

Mix equal parts teff and water together in a mixing bowl and set aside, covered, in a warm place for a couple of days. It should be bubbling and active by then from natural yeasts present in your kitchen. If not, stir in a teaspoon of baker's yeast and wait another day.

Mix in roughly 1/4 teaspoon salt for every cup of flour you used.Now heat up a really good (and big!) cast iron skillet that you've oiled a bit, or a non-stick if that's what you've got. Ladel out a big ladel full of the batter onto the center of the skillet and spread it out in a circular motion. You're going for a pancake like thing that's thinner than a pancake, but thicker than a crepe.

Let it cook (holes will form in the surface) until the top is dry to the touch - you'll probably through out your first one or two injera until you figure out how much heat to use with your pan and your stove. Anyway, when the top is dry, gently lift the injera from the pan, working in from the edges to loosen it. Place it on a plate, covered with a towel. There you go!If you don't have any teff, you can do the same thing, but instead of teff flour use a mixture of wheat flour and finely ground cornmeal, maybe a 4-1 ratio of flours. Then the process is the same

Remember, if you are making injera using only teff, there's no gluten to work with, so the resulting bread is much more fragile than injera made with wheat flour.

[savorynotes]

Shrimp Ceviche

Ratios for 4 U15 shrimp or ~ 3 oz of cod (or about the same size bundles to the eye), you can also make mixed ceviche with both

4 shrimp 1 roma tomato 1/4 red onion 1/4 cucumber 1/4 mango 1/2 red habanero (feel free to adjust or use serrano instead, you can always add more later) 1/4 avocado juice of 2 limes 1 serving spoon or about 120ml of the stock we make with the shrimp shells 2 squeezes (or about 1 tbsp of ketchup) some chopped cilantro

First I blanch the shrimp for a minute, and transfer them into ice water, save the water you blanched them in

Peel and devein the shrimp and throw the shells and heads back into the water to make a quick stock with some carrot, celery, onion, garlic, pepper, and salt... and maybe some white whine if you have some. Adjust for salt because the shrimp and the stock are your only seasoning.

You can do this the day before and store in the fridge if you are making a large amount.

If you are doing everything the same day, I take a few ice cubes and throw some of the stock to cool it down faster in the fridge.

Chop the shrimp and place in a bowl with some salt and pepper and the juice of the two limes, it should just be enough juice to cover the shrimp, cover and store in the fridge. After about 20 minutes you might want to stir the shrimp a bit. I'd say on average about 30-40 minutes in the fridge, but it will depend on the size of your pieces so just take a taste and decide when they are the right texture for you.

Chop the onion, cucumber (I don't use the pulp/seeds), mango, and tomato (I don't use the pulp/seeds), habanero, and cilantro.

Let it sit together for a few minutes in the fridge or eat it right away with some tostadas or saltines.

[savorynotes]

Spam musubi

Mix together:

¼ c soy sauce

¼ c mirin

2 tbsp honey

For the rest:

A can of Spam (save the can to use for forming the block of rice)

Ziploc bag

A batch of sushi rice prepared (probably about 3 cups of cooked rice, I add sushi vinegar, but I don't think that's typical)

3-4 sheets of nori cut in half

furikake

Slice up the spam into 6-8 slabs and brown both sides

Pour in the sauce and cook it for a few minutes til it thickens

To help form the musubi, I cut a sandwich bag open and make a long strip the width of the Spam can. Line the can with the strip, leaving the ends hanging out

Layer in the plastic-lined can:

rice

furikake (a tsp or so)

spam

a little extra sauce

rice

Fold over one end of the plastic and press down with the back of a spoon to compress. Pull the plastic sling out with the musubi.

Wrap in a piece of nori and it's done!

[savorynotes]

Salsa

Into at least a 14 cup processor:

Put 2 chipotle peppers out of a can and 3 fat toes of garlic

Blitz

Put in a ton of black pepper

Add half a regular sized onion (use a sweet onion, it's very easy to do too much onion with red or white)

Add 4 green onions

Blitz

Add one 28oz can of decent quality whole tomatoes, or that much tomato from regular or cherry tomatoes

Add about a half a wad of cilantro - you should cut it up with scissors some before putting it in though because sometimes the stems are long enough to wrap around the processor and then they won't process

Blitz

Salt well

Depending on the acidity in the tomatoes you may also want to add sugar

Sometimes you can put a spoon of cumin in there or lime juice but I don't see either as necessary

Takes about 60 seconds to make a batch, you get about three salsa jars worthIf you want spicier just do more chipotles or like do two serranos or something

[savorynotes]

Fisherman's Eggs

Pre-heat oven to 500 degreesPrep aromatics, herbsMix in sardines and some but not all oil from the can and stir it around a little.Dump into dish, oven. Six minutes later Put the eggs on top straight out of the shell. Seven minutes for eggs then take out of the oven. Let them sit for five minutes, serve.

[savorynotes]

Pantry Sweep Pâté

After searching through the cabinets I assembled:

2 Cans of Smoked Vienna Sausages

2 Tbs of chopped Season brand Anchovies

1/3 cup of chopped Red Onion (left over from taco night, approximate amount)

2 big cloves of Garlic (or 4 kind of wimpy ones, since that's all I had on hand)

2 tsp dried Thyme

2 tsp dried Rosemary

2 tsp fresh cracked Black Pepper

4 Tbs Olive Oil

1 Stick of Butter (diced)

Avocado Oil (in a spray can to lube up the skillet)

3 Tbs Mellow Corn whiskey

Note that I did not add salt. Between the viennas and the anchovies, there was plenty of sodium already.

I got the skillet hot and added in the onion to start clarifying in a little avocado oil while I opened the sausage tins and got the weenies chopped up. Then they went into the skillet and I gave it a stir and cooked them until they started to brown. Next, I got the garlic and anchovies minced, and then added them along with the olive oil and herbs to the mix. Everything got really fragrant and herbacious and the dogs started getting real interested in what was going on.

So once that had browned to my liking, I put that into the food processor and pulsed it a few tomes to get a coarse chop going. Then I added in the butter and let it puree while I drizzled the whiskey into the mix.I put that into a glass dish and let it set up in the fridge overnight. The result? A pâté that cost me maybe ~5 dollars and is way better than it has any right to be. I cut a baguette, spread some on, and sat and watched it rain this afternoon.

[savorynotes]

Vaca Frita

2 lbs flank steak, cut into 3-4 chunks 2 bay leaves 2 tsp salt 4 garlic cloves, minced 1 tsp cumin 1 tsp oregano 1 tbsp salt 1/2 tsp black pepper Juice of 2 limes Juice of 1/2 orange 1 medium white onion, sliced 6 tablespoons neutral oil Salt & pepper to taste

Pressure cook flank steak with salt, bay leaves and enough water to cover for 40 min. Shred with two forks. Season with garlic, cumin, oregano, salt, pepper, lime and orange. Marinate for at least 30 min. On medium high heat cook marinated meat and sliced onion untouched for 5 min to develop crispy crust. Now continue to mix around until your desired crispyness.

Tostones (Fried Green Plantains)

2 green plantains Avocado oil spray

Peel and slice your plantains into 2 inch chunks. Thoroughly spray with oil. Air fry 390F for 10 min. Flattened each piece. Spray with oil again and air fry for another 10 min at 390F.

Black Beans 2 cans of black beans 1/2 white onion, diced 1/4 green bell pepper, diced 1/2 tsp cumin 1/2 tsp oregano 1/4 tsp black pepper 2 bay leaves Chopped cilantro 1 tsp tomato paste 1 cup water 2-3 garlic cloves, minced 1/2 tsp red or white wine vinegar 1/2 tsp sugar In a medium sauce pot, sauté onions and peppers until translucent. Add in beans and mix for a few minutes. Pour in water, seasonings and bay leaves. Let this come to a boil and thicken. Once thicken to your liking, add in minced garlic, sugar and vinegar. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

[savorynotes]

Empanadas

Dough: I measure 1 kilogram of white flour vs 200 grams (Yeah I know I should use mililiters for water but at these volumes weight=volume, usually) of cold water, 250 grams of boiling water, 150 grams of cooking oil, 2 tablespoons of salt and 4 tablespons of sugar. mix with a woden spoon and once it is firm enough knead for roughly 10 minutes to get a supple dough ball. Cut into 150 gram balls and stretch into small discs you can fill up with whatever you want, easily seal and bake.

Artichoke Filling: Boil 4 artichokes for an hour on low heat, then cool shock them, scrape the "meat" off the bottom of the leaves, get rid of the sharp hairs and mash the bottom of the artichoke. Caramelize 4 diced onions with 3 tablespoons of sugar until they caramelized into an almost jam-like mixture. Mix both together in a big pot, add a liter of cream and simmer it down until it thickens nicely. let it cool so it hardens a bit, then spoon it inside your dough discs, seal on one side, paint with egg yolks and bake for 30 minutes on medium high heat until nice and golden.

Alternate Fillings:

Mushrooms, cheese and thickened cream.

Tikka masala chicken curry.

Caramelized onions with pork back, coconut milk, crushed nuts and yellow curry.

Crushed San marzano tomatoes, ham, cheese , olives and green peppers (which is basically a pizza inside an empanadas, but not calzone style)

Paste made of garlic fried mushrooms, cream and high fat cheese with oregano sprinkled inside and the outside painted with egg and sugar for a sweet crunchy exterior.

Diced ham fried with garlic, crushed tomatoes, fresh pineapple, diced and left to rest on sugar for 12 hours beforehand, grated gouda cheese.

[savorynotes]

Gỏi Gà - Chicken and Cabbage Salad

Make some vinegar onions (which is a condiment that's also great in pho)

-Thinly slice half a medium onion -Put in bowl, sprinkle on a bit of sugar, and cover with white vinegar -Let sit for at least 30 minutes

Mix dressing, which is the standard fish sauce dipping sauce but undiluted with water:

-1 Tb fish sauce -1 Tb sugar -1 Tb lime juice -1 clove garlic minced -chile paste or chopped fresh chiles to taste

Toss together and let sit 20-30 minutes:

-1 lb shredded cabbage -1 carrot, julienned -handful of Vietnamese basil, chiffonade (or Vietnamese coriander which gives a different flavor to the salad) -shredded cooked chicken (as much or little as you like, I think I used a pound of broiled chicken breast here) -drained onions -dressing -1 tsp of the vinegar from the onions or to taste

The additional vinegar is optional, I like a bit more tartness in the salad. You could also just use more lime juice in the dressing instead.

[savorynotes]

Sangria Mexicana

2/3 cup lime juice 2/3 cup sugar 3 cups red wine (Beajoulais, Merlot, whatever you have, I used a Cote du Rhone) 1 cup sparkling water (not pictured) 5-6 slices of lime

Boil the lime juice and sugar into a simple syrup, cool and then stir everything together. I mixed this up a day early to let the flavours incorporate.

[savorynotes]

Stir-fried Lemongrass Beef Noodle Bowl (Bún bò xào)

This stir-fried beef dish is usually eaten in Vietnamese rice noodle bowls though you could certainly eat it with rice, in a sandwich, or in a salad.

Ingredients: -1 lb thin slices of beef, cut across the grain -2 Tb minced fresh lemongrass -4-6 cloves minced garlic -3 Tb fish sauce -1 Tb sugar -minced chile peppers or sambal to taste -black pepper to taste -1-1.5 cups sliced onion -canola/vegetable/peanut oil

Directions:

1. Mix together the beef, lemongrass, half the garlic, 2 Tb fish sauce, sugar, chile, 1-2 Tb oil, bunch of black pepper and let sit for 15-30 minutes.

2. Heat up some oil until it's pretty hot and add the onion, stirring frequently until softened and starting to brown. Add the remaining garlic and stir for about 30 seconds. Set the onion mixture aside.

3. Add some more oil, heat it up to high, and fry the beef in batches, depending on how big your pan is. You want to fry just enough at a time so that the beef browns nicely and cooks in just a minute or so.

4. After all the beef is cooked, toss the beef and the onions back in the pan briefly to reheat and add in the other 1 Tb fish sauce or a little more, to taste. The dish is a little saucy but there won't be a whole lot which is why you add prepared fish sauce to the noodle bowl.

To assemble, layer in a bowl starting from the bottom:

-Salad mix, any combination of: lettuce, cucumber, bean sprouts, herbs (basil and mint are most common, Vietnamese balm or perilla may also be used for a twist) -Boiled rice noodles that have been cooled to room temperature -Meat -Drizzle meat and noodles with scallion oil -Pickled carrot and daikon radish -Sprinkle with ground peanuts -Serve with prepared fish sauce: pour a generous amount into the bowl and mix everything up

[savorynotes]

Pad Moo Ka-prao

Ingredients 1.5 lbs ground pork - Chicken works great too but I do not recommend beef. Finely chopped by hand meat works better than ground 12 large cloves of garlic, peeled 10 thai bird's eye chilies - use as many as you can handle (10 is pretty strong) 2 shallots, peeled and roughly chopped 1-2 tablespoon fish sauce - to taste 2 tablespoons dark soy sauce 1 tablespoon dark sweet soy sauce - can use oyster sauce but I don't care for it here 1 tablespoon peanut oil 1 cup whole basil leaves* packed - if using Thai basil, use the blossoms as well

I like to pound my garlic, peppers, and shallots in a mortar and pestle into a very coarse paste, but a rough chop will do for all of them.

Method 1. In a wok, heat up the peanut oil over medium-high heat. Add garlic/pepper/shallot mix and fry until fragrant. It is imperative that you not burn your garlic and make sure it cooks through. If you're unsure, medium heat works but you will need to crank it up to high for the next step. 2. Add the meat to the pan and break it up, stirring in the previous ingredients. 3. Once the meat has lost most of its raw color, add in the sauces. 4. Once the meat is fully cooked, turn off the heat and stir in the basil, allowing it to wilt 5. Serve with rice and topped with a fried egg*

*I like to use a wok with a good amount of oil (almost covering the egg) and fry until the edges are puffy and brown while the yolk remains runny.

[savorynotes]

One True Hummus

3 cups cooked chickpeas (size after cooking) 1/2 - 1/8 tsp salt (optional) 2 large garlic cloves 1/2 cup tahini (prefer imported from Middle East) 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice

1. Wash dried chickpeas and run them through a colander to remove debris, pebbles, etc.

2. Soak chickpeas for 24 hours in 3x their volume in purified/filtered water (important for absence of chlorine taste). The 24 hours is important because we are shooting for maximum softness of the chickpeas.

3. Strain chickpeas from their liquid, cover.

4. Heat liquid to boiling

5. Drop chickpeas back into liquid

6. Raise to a boil again.

7. Upon hitting a boil, reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 2 hours.

8. Set aside to cool in the liquid. It is important that the cooling is in the liquid, not outside it.

9. Press the lemons and remove seeds

10. Merge the lemon juice with the Tahini, mix well.

11. Mince the garlic and introduce to Tahini / Juice mix.

12. Insert the mix into the blender.

13. Gradually add strained chickpeas into the blender

14. Add reserved liquid as needed to maintain target consistency.

15. Continue processing and adding liquid unless smooth.

16. Sample Hummus. At this point it should taste like a marriage of Hummus, Tahini, garlic and lemon juice. If the lemon flavor is too weak, add enough juice then blend again.

17. Garnish as your skills enable, introduce olive oil, get creative.

18. Serve with crudites

[savorynotes]

Mole Rojo con Pollo

Ingredients:

- 4 medium dried chiles anchos - 2 medium dried chiles mulatos - 1 medium dried chile pasilla - 1 can chile chipotle - 1.5 tbsp sesame seeds - ½ cup vegetable oil (plus a bit extra if needed) - 2 heaping tbsp unskinned peanuts - 2 tbsp raisins - ¼ medium yellow onion, thickly sliced - 1 clove peeled garlic - ½ corn tortilla, stale or dried out - 1 slice white bread, stale or dried out - ½ of a 15 oz. can whole tomatoes, well drained and roughly chopped - ½ of a 13 oz. can of tomatillos, drained - ¼ of a 3.3 oz. tablet of Mexican chocolate, chopped - ½ tsp. dried oregano - ¼ tsp. dried thyme - 1 bay leaf - 8 peppercorns (or ⅛ tsp. ground) - 3 cloves - 1 inch cinnamon stick (or about 1 tsp. ground) - one whole chicken (about 3.5 lbs.) cut into quarters - about 5 cups chicken broth - 1 tbsp. sugar - salt to taste

Although not as time intensive as a complex Mole Poblano, a recipe like this requires many steps and takes time. Staying organized will help you save time and effort.

Stem, seed, and devein the dried chiles. Tear the chiles into flat pieces. Seed the canned chipotles and set aside.

Combine the tomato, tomatillos, chocolate, oregano, and thyme in a large bowl. Pulverize the bay leaf, peppercorns, cloves, and cinnamon stick in a mortar and pestle or a spice grinder and add to the bowl.

Toast the sesame seeds on a medium-size skillet over medium heat and stir until golden brown. Add to the tomato mixture.

Get your exhaust fan ready. Pour 3 tbsp of vegetable oil into the skillet and when hot, fry the dried chile pieces a few at a time for several seconds per side until they turn a nut-brown color. Add the pieces to a separate bowl from your tomato mixture, trying to drain away as much fat as possible back into the skillet. Cover the chiles with boiling water, weight with a plate to keep them submerged, and soak for at least 1 hour. Drain the excess water and then add your reserved canned chipotles. Reserve the chiles in a separate bowl.

Return the skillet to the heat. If you are low on oil feel free to add a little more, but try to keep the ingredients well drained of fat in order to keep your mole from getting greasy. A mesh strainer is helpful here.

Add the peanuts to the hot oil and stir until well browned, about 4 minutes. Remove, drain well, and add to the tomato mixture. Fry the raisins for about a minute, stirring frequently until they are puffed and brown. Remove, drain, and add to the tomato mixture.

Add the onion and garlic to the skillet and stir frequently until well browned, around 9 minutes. Remove to the strainer and press on them to drain the fat, and add to the tomato mixture.

Add a tiny bit more oil to the pan. Fry the tortilla until browned. Break it up and add to the tomato mixture. Brown the bread in the pan on both sides, tear it into large pieces, and add it to the tomato mixture.

Stir the tomato mixture well. Scoop half of the mixture into a blender and add around ½ cup of the broth. Blend until smooth. Add only a little more of the broth if needed to keep the mixture moving through the blender blades. Strain the blended mixture into a separate bowl. Do the same for the remaining tomato mixture.

Puree the reserved chiles in 2 batches in the blender, added ¼ cup of broth to each batch. (plus a little extra if needed as above). Strain and reserve in a separate bowl from the tomato mixture.

Heat 1.5 tbsp oil in a dutch oven or kettle over medium-high heat. Dry the chicken well and brown the pieces in the hot oil, about 4 minutes per side. Remove and set aside.

Pouf off the excess oil from the kettle and return to the heat for a minute. Add the chile puree and stir constantly until dark and thick, about 5 minutes. Add the bowl of tomato puree and stir several minutes longer, until the mixture is once again thick. Mix in 2.5 cups of broth and partially cover, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer gently for 45 minutes. Stir occasionally.

Season with salt (if needed) and sugar. If the sauce gets thicker than heavy cream, thin it with a little broth.

Just before serving, bring the sauce to a simmer over medium heat. Add the dark meat quarters and cook for 10 minutes, partially covered. Add the breast pieces and cook about 14 minutes longer, until tender.

Remove the meat from the sauce and arrange on a serving platter. Skim off any fat that is floating on top of the sauce, then pour the sauce over the chicken. Sprinkle on some sesame seeds, and serve.

[savorynotes]

Banana Cream Pie

Crust:

1-1/4 c almonds

1/2 c sugar

3/4 c butter, salted, room temperature

1 large egg

1-1/2 c unbleached, all-purpose flour

1/8 tsp baking powder

Filling:

1 c milk

3 egg yolks

1/3 c sugar

1 T cornstarch

1-1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 pkg Knox gelatin

1/4 c warm water

2 c heavy cream

4 ripe bananas

1/3 c confectioner's sugar

Crust:

Toast almonds, in their skins, for about 10 minutes, until fragrant. Let cool.

Grind the almonds with the sugar in a food processor to a very fine powder but not a paste. Add the butter; process to blend. Add the egg, then the flour. Pulse just until blended.

Divide the dough into two parts. You will need only one of these for the pie; freeze the other (or double the filling recipe). Shape each half into a disk; wrap in plastic, and refrigerate for at least one hour.

Roll the dough out to fit a 9" pie plate. Fit it into the pan; crimp the rim; and prick the bottom and sides thoroughly with a fork. Chill for another hour.

Bake the empty shell for 25-30 minutes at 350 degress, until golden brown. You shouldn't need to weight the crust.

Pie:

Dissolve the gelatin in the water; set aside.

Scald the milk (I do this in a measuring cup in the microwave).

In a small saucepan, whisk together the yolks, sugar, and cornstarch. Gradually whisk in the hot milk. Cook over a medium heat, stirring constantly, until thick. Stir in the gelatin and the vanilla extract. Place plastic wrap on the surface and let cool to room temperature.

Whip 3/4 cup of the cream in a chilled bowl; fold into the cooled custard.

Slice the bananas quite thin. Gently fold the slices into the custard.

Scrape the filling into the pie shell and chill until set.

Whip the remaining cream with the confectioner's sugar and cover the filling with swirled mounds of whipped cream.