Donut Army

This is actually a re-post from something I posted earlier . I hadn't made it since that last post, and remembered it as, well, life-changing. And it's still delicious, but I did learn that if you don't have all the ingredients, the overall taste is diminished accordingly. This go-round, I did not have the fish sauce I needed, and the overall dish suffered. Still, I think it's worth a re-post. Stir-Fried Eggplant with Garlic and Basil Sauce Cook's Illustrated , May 2002 Thai Sauce Base: 3 T asian fish sauce 1 T lime juice (1 lime) 1 tsp lime zest (1 lime) 1 T brown sugar 1/8 tsp red pepper flakes Eggplant: 1 T + 1 tsp peanut oil 1 lb eggplant, cut into 3/4" cubes (6-7 cups) 6 cloves garlic, minced 1 3/4" pice ginger, minced (1 T) 2 scallion, sliced thin 1/2 c basil, torn into 1/2" pieces Begin by preparing the sauce base. Mix all ingredients together in a bowl or, simpler yet, in a Mason jar. Shake or whisk together until...

This is nice, simple, and reheats well. Plus, it has the added bonus of making the house smell yummy for days! Very Vegetable Curry Vegetarian Times , January 2005 2 tsp canola oil 2 T curry powder 2 cloves garlic, minced 1 T ginger, minced 1 tsp turmeric 1 yello onion, chopped 1 red bell pepper, chopped 1 sweet potato, peeled and cut into 1/2" dice 1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes, undrained 2 15.5 oz cans chickpeas, drained or rinsed (or, made from dried! recommended) 1 c stock 3 c baby spinach Heat oil in large pot over medium heat. Add curry powder, garlic, ginger, and turmeric. Cook 1 minute, stirring constnatly. Add onion, bell pepper and sweet potato. Cover and cook 5 minutes, or until vegetables begin to soften. Reduce heat to low. Add tomatoes, chickpeas and stock. Season with salt and pepper. Cover and cook until tender, 30 minutes. Stir in spinach and cook over low heat 3-5 minutes to wilt spinach and blend flavors.

This is a lovely hearty stew-like dish. It's called minestrone, but it is barely a minestrone -- very low on the noodle side of the noodle-to-vegetable equation. Still, yummy. Winter Minestrone Cooking Light , January 2008 2 tsp olive oil 1/2 c onion, chopped 1/2 tsp basil, dried 1/2 tsp oregano, dried 2 cloves garlic,  minced 1 1/4 c acorn or butternut squash, peeled and cubed 3/4 c zucchini, diced 1/2 c carrot, chopped 1/2 c fennel, diced 1 c water 1 14-oz can stock 5 T tomato paste 1/4 c ditalini 2 1/2 c Swiss chard, chopped 1/2 c Great Northern Beans, cooked 1/2 tsp pepper Heat oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add onion, basil, oregano, and garlic to pan. Cook 5 minutes. Add squash and next 3 ingredients (through fennel). Cook 5 minutes. Add 1 c water, stock, and tomato paste. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes. Stir in pasta and cook 8 minutes. Add chard and cook 3 minutes. Add beans and cook 2 minutes, until thoroughly heat...

Yum, yum, yum, yum, yum. I didn't realize how much the added crispness of preparing noodles in this way would add an extra layer of interest to this dish. Just totally yummy -- a lovely combination of stewy flavors, warm pasta, and crispiness. Ciceri e Tria The Top 100 Pasta Sauces 10 oz tagliatelle 10 oz chickpeas, dried 1 tsp baking soda Salt and pepper 1 bay leaf 1 clove garlic, finely chopped 1 onion, finely chopped 1 carrot, finely chopped 1 stick celery, finely chopped Parsley, finely chopped 8 oz can Italian plum tomatoes Olive oil Wash dried chick peas. Put in bowl with plenty of tepid water. Add soda and 1 tsp salt to water. Soak for at least 12 hours. Drain peas. Put to boil in fresh water. Add bay leaf. Boil 1 hour. Drain. Return to pan. Add chopped vegetables and tomatoes, with their juice. Cover with boiling water and cook for another hour, being careful to not let the pan boil dry. When chick peas are ready, boil a large quantity of water. Add ...

So, I admit it. I don't understand it when people say they don't have enough time in the morning for breakfast. How long does it take to make some toast? OK, eggs may take a little longer. But oatmeal, even -- you don't have a few minutes to stir a pot of water and oats? But now that I've discovered how to make overnight oatmeal, I don't believe I will be going back to my old way of standing by the stove. Stirring a pot is for suckers! Overnight Oatmeal 1 T butter 1/2 c steel cut oats 2 c water 1 c milk 1/2 tsp salt dash cinnamon dash sugar dash vanilla extract Before going to bed, toast the oats in fat until they start to smell nutty; this will take about 2-3 minutes. Do not let them burn. Add water to the pot. Use caution for this stage, as the oil in the pan is very hot; the water will cause a large amount of steam. Bring pot to a rolling boil. Turn off the flame, cover, and go to bed. In the morning, add 1 c milk and your other ingredients. Coo...

O.M.G. This is even tastier than I imagined it would be. And, after having eaten it, I can picture it as a part of lots of other dishes. I can even picture this mushed up into a lovely dessert -- a spin on a traditional Indian halwa, for example. Or, served over pasta. Or inside some kind of dough product. Really, really tasty. And, despite that I'm normally a fan of eating something yummy by itself (like beets), this dish really makes them something memorable. Roasted Beets with Curry Dressing Mariquita Farms 6 beets, roasted Olive Oil Salt Dressing: 2 cloves garlic, crushed 2 T yogurt 2 T mayonnaise 4 tsp curry powder 3 T lemon juice 10 T olive oil 4 T cilantro, chopped Preheat oven to 375. Wash, trim and wrap beets individually in foil. Set the foil-wrapped beets directly on racks in a hot oven and roasting until a knife goes through easily. At least 45 minutes, maybe upwards of an hour. Set aside to cool. Mix dressing by combining all ingredients e...

OK, this was so good that apparently I didn't even stop to take a picture of the finished product. But you don't need a picture to imagine how good warm pasta + warm goat cheese + warm red peppers is going to taste! From a list of simple ingredients comes a delicious dish -- appropriate for main course or side pasta dish. Chevre Pasta Penzey's One , October 2008 1 lbs dried pasta (I used spaghetti) 1/4 c olive oil 2 cloves garlic, minced 2 red bell peppers, sliced (or mushroom or zucchini) 6 oz chevre White pepper 1/4 c basil, chopped Parmesan cheese, grated Boil water. In a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add garlic and vegetables and saute until crisp-tender, about 3-5 minutes depending on the vegetables. Add chevre and white pepper. No, that is not a stick of butter - that's a 6 oz log of chevre. While cooking vegetables, cook the pasta according to package directions. Drain well and add to skillet with vegetables. Add a l...

So good. So very, very good. And only gets better as a leftover. The original version of this recipe calls for arugula instead of spinach, but my grocery wasn't carrying arugula this week so I replaced with spinach. Just delicious. Of course, using the arugula would still be delicious, and would add a nice peppery bite to the soup. However, in lieu of that, using spinach is just fine. So, let's get to it and turn the following into something delicious! Arugula (or Spinach) Potato Leek Soup The Washington Post , May 1, 2009 3 large leeks (about 5 c) Olive oil 8 c stock 2 lb Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 2" chunks Salt and pepper 4 c spinach leaves, coarsely chopped Wash leeks and chop. Heat oil in a stockpot. Add leeks and cook about 10 minutes. Add stock. Increase heat and bring to a boil. Add potatoes. After the soup has returned almost to a boil, cook uncovered for 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Add arugula (or spinach) and s...

I broke out the old juicer the other day. Earlier this summer, I was making fresh juice every morning, and it was fantastic. I was experimenting with fruit juice, vegetable juice, everything! I decided to introduce a bit of the tropics into my early spring by bringing the juicer out and reminding myself that it is not that hard to clean after use, and that that shouldn't be an excuse to not use it. Pineapple Delight Soy Milk Quick 1/2 pineapple 2 apples Peel pineapple. Core apples. Cut everything into sections. Juice pineapple first, then apples.

A lovely way to start the day, and relatively quick to assemble. Especially if you have bananas past their prime that you haven't thrown into the freezer, like was the situation in my kitchen this morning. Going Banana Morning Muffins Penzey's One 1 2/3 c bananas, mashed 1/2 c dark brown sugar 1/2 c sugar 3 T butter, melted and cooled 1/4 c milk 6 T yogurt 1 T vanilla extract 2 eggs, lightly beaten 2 c flour 1 tsp baking soda 1/2 tsp salt 1 tsp cinnamon 1/2 tsp coriander 1/4 tsp allspice 1/4 tsp mace 1/4 tsp nutmeg Preheat oven to 350. Lightly grease 12 muffin tins. In medium bowl, blend brown and white sugar with a spoon. Add cooled melted butter and stir until absorbed. Add milk, yogurt, eggs and vanilla. Stir until combined. Add mashed bananas and stir well. In a separate bowl, combine flour, soda, salt and spices and stir to combine. Add half the dry to the wet and fold until just barely combined. Repeat with remaining dry, again stirring until j...