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Saturday, April 17, 2010

Hawaiian Pancakes



It was a gray Seattle day. To counter the effect it had on me I decided to make something that reminded me of our days in Hawai'i. I had shredded coconut, coconut milk and 3 year old macadamia nuts in the freezer! Now something's cooking!

Serves 4+
Preparation time: About 45 minutes

1 can coconut milk (lite is fine)
1 tsp coconut essence
2 eggs
2 cups ricotta cheese
1 tsp vanilla
~ 1/3 cup milk (2% is ok)

3/4 cup whole wheat white flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp honey/agave nectar/sugar
2 cups shredded unsweetened coconut
1.5 cups macadamia nuts, coarsely processed

Whisk the wet  (except the milk) and dry ingredients in seperate bowls
Add the dry ingredients to the wet a little at a time, mix until no big lumps are present
If needed add the milk to thin the batter consistency. (It should be a little thicker than cake batter)



Heat a griddle on medium high, dot with butter. Turn down the heat.
Place 2 tbsp of pancake batter on the griddle to make a pancake. (Do not spread)
Let it cook on medium low heat until golden, then flip
Serve with lemon curd, whipped cream, pineapple slices, pineapple preserves or just plain syrup!

Scambled Hash


This is a fancier version of my favorite recipe for scrambled eggs growing up. You can keep it simple by skipping the 'filling' or soup-it-up for a weekend brunch. Experiment with the different options like vegetables, herbs, spices out there. It's the versatile egg!

Serves 2
Preparation time about 30 minutes

Scramble
3 large eggs
1 chicken sausage (or 1 cup extra firm tofu)
1 tsp flour
1 tbsp milk (whole milk or half and half make for a moist scramble)
1 tbsp butter
Cayenne pepper or Paprika, 1 tsp
Salt and Pepper to taste

Filling
1/2 medium onion, diced (I like medium to large chunks)
1 cup diced red and green pepper (to match the size of the onions)
1/2 cup fresh or frozen spinach
1-2 tsp of finely chopped jalapeno (or to taste)
1/2 tsp curry powder (pick your favorite flavor. I like one of the following: garam masala, cumin, coriander, madras curry powder, peri-peri etc)

Garnish
1/3 cup parsley (Or your favorite herb- cilantro, rosemary, oregano go well too. If using dried herbs, use 2 tsp)
1/3 cup goat cheese, crumbled (or fresh mozzarella, torn into small chunks)

Prepare the filling first:
Heat 1 tbsp of olive oil in a saute pan on medium heat
Add the onions, saute until brown
Add the curry powder and saute until fragrant (about a minute)
Add the peppers, jalapeno, cut up sausage/tofu and spinach
Cook until the spinach has wilted
Season with salt and pepper. Turn off heat and set aside.

Cook the eggs:
Break the eggs into a large bowl and beat in the milk and flour until combined

Heat a saute pan over medium high.
Add the butter and melt until light brown.
Stir in the cayenne pepper/paprika
Add the egg mixture, stir and turn down the heat to medium low. Cook for a couple minutes before stirring slowly (If you like a smaller curd texture, stir often)
Cook **covered for about 2 minutes and then stir over heat until desired texture is achieved. (I like my eggs large curd and well done)
When almost done, mix in the filling *gently and season with salt and pepper. Mix in the crumbled goat cheese (if using mozzarella, mix gently until cheese starts to melt)
Garnish with chopped herbs

* Using a gentle touch helps keep the eggs fluffy
** Covered cooking for a while helps the eggs rise and become fluffy (due to the milk+flour mix in the egg)

Sunday, April 11, 2010

Zesty Lemon Curd



A fridge overflowing with eggs and lemon made for an easy citrus decision. Lemon curd (as I've found this week ...) can be used in many delicious ways. On pancakes, panna cotta, ice cream or just folded into whipped cream and topped with fresh berries! Quite a yummy week, dessert wise! :)

5 egg yolks
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup lemon juice
1 tsp lemon zest 
1 stick butter, chilled
1 cup water
 
Whisk the egg yolks and sugar until smooth.
Bring the water in a medium saucepan to a simmer. Place a bowl on top of the pan without touching the water. (This is called a water bath) Lower the heat.
Place the egg mixture in the bowl on top of the pan and start whisking in the lemon juice and zest.
Whisk for about 10 minutes or until mixture has thickened like a simple sryup.
Turn off the heat and stir the butter in- cutting little pieces of it at a time.
Place in a very clean and dry bowl, cover with some plastic wrap pressing it directly on the surface of the curd to avoid a film forming.
Will store in the fridge for upto 2 weeks or freezer for a month.

Lemon Ricotta pancakes



This came out of a lazy Saturday evening when plans of making vegetable lasagna didnt pan out. Sunday morning was glorious and sunny and I felt the need to eat some of the lovely lemon curd I'd made. The ricotta brings so much air into the pancakes and are perfect with lemon curd drizzled on top of fresh berries and whipped cream. Delicioso!

Preparation time 30 minutes
Serves 4 (makes about 12 pancakes)

3/4 cup flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
2 tbsp sugar/honey

1/2 cup milk
Juice of 1 lemon
Zest of 1 lemon
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups ricotta cheese
2 eggs



Whisk the dry and wet ingredients in seperate bowls, mix the dry into the wet slowly until just combined with no mjor lumps
Heat a griddle and grease with butter
Pour about 1/4 cup of batter to make a pancake and cook until golden on both sides
(Use a heavy griddle or pan on medium low heat to cook the pancakes. This will help cook the insides of the pancakes as well)
Serve with lemon curd, fresh berries and whipped cream

Saturday, April 3, 2010

Lemony Peanut Rice



O came over to cook with me last night. We had a ton of fun and ended up making quite a feast! Here is a simple rice dish that H really loves and got O hooked as well! My contribution to it was just typing this up! (This is H's recipe and O cooked it to perfection!)

Serves 2-3
Preparation time 20 minutes

1 cup uncooked basmati rice
Juice and Zest of 1 medium lemon (or to taste)
1/2 tsp turmeric
2 tsp cumin seeds
1/4 cup chana dal (http://www.gourmetsleuth.com/images/chana-dal.jpg)
1 cup peanuts
1 tbsp coconut or sesame oil
2 tsp mustard seeds
1/2 cup coconut flakes (unsweetened)
1 dried red chili
1/2 cup curry leaves
Salt to taste

Cook the rice with a little less than 2 cups of water, fluff with a fork and set aside.
In a saute pan, heat the oil and add the chana dal, saute for about 2 minutes or until dal is crunchy.
Add the cumin seeds, mustard seeds and the curry leaves. Cover and let splutter for about a minute on medium low heat
Add the coconut and stir for about a minute. Careful, coconut burns quickly due to the high fat content. Add the peanuts and stir for about 2 minutes or until the nuts are lightly browned
Break the dried red chili and add to the mixture in the pan.
Add the cooked rice and mix gently to avoid breaking the rice grains
Mix in the turmeric to achieve an even color.
Turn off the heat and stir in the lemon juice, zest and salt.
Adjust the seasonings serve hot with yogurt and Indian pickles or a curry.