Donut Army

Make this dish, and you will have your family running out from whatever computer or book they are hiding behind. Your neighbors, following the wafting odors of this dish as it cooks, may even pop over round dinnertime! There are some difficult ingredients to find. I've made a few suggestions for alternate ingredients. But if you can, find the original ingredients. Kaffir lime leaves are worth the search. In the south, I grow my own because the dried version is so hard to find. Thai Tofu with Red Curry Sauce over Coconut-Scallion Rice Vegetarian Planet 10 dried kaffir lime leaves (if you can't find it, use 1 1/2 tsp grated lime rind) 1 1/4 c coconut milk 2 3/4 c water 1 tsp salt 1 1/2 c jasmine rice 1 bunch cilantro, coarsely chopped (2/3 c for the sauce, and the rest for garnish) 2 cloves garlic, cut in half 1/4 c dry-roasted, unsalted peanuts 1 T fish sauce (if you can't find it, use a dash of salt) 1/4 c canola oil 2 T chile paste 1 16-oz package firm...

This made a delightful lunch on a hot day! Paired with a sliced tomato salad, we were fortified for the rest of the afternoon. This noodle dish is a trifecta -- a snap to make, good for you, and looks impressive to your guests. Szechuan Green Beans and Soba Three Bowls 12 oz soba 1 T + 1 tsp sesame oil 2 tsp canola oil 1 lb green beans, trimmed and cut into bite-sized pieces 4 cloves garlic, minced 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes 3-4 T tamari sauce 2 T sesame seeds, toasted (opt) Bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook soba until al dente, about 5 minutes. Drain, rinse under cold water, and drain again. Place noodles in a large bowl and set aside. Heat both oils in a large skillet over medium heat. Add green beans and saute 3 minutes. Reduce heat to low and cook 2 minutes more. Add garlic and red pepper flakes and cook 2 minutes longer. Immediately pour green bean mixture over soba noodles, scraping the skillet well to get all the oil into the bowl. Toss sob...

I kind of can't believe I made these myself. Potato Knishes 50+ Friends Club Cookbook Frozen puff pastry dough 4 yellow-skinned potatoes, boiled with skins on 1 onion, chopped and sauteed 2 eggs salt pepper garlic powder (or 2-3 cloves garlic, minced) parsley 2 T butter Thaw pastry. Roll pastry out thin. Cut into 2-3" squares and set aside while preparing filling. Boil potatoes until tender. Remove skins. Mash or rice until fine. Add eggs, onions, seasonings, and butter. Mix until smooth and well blended. Place 1 well-rounded tsp on each square of dough. Bring edges of dough together until sealed. Place on greased cookie sheet. Brush with egg white, if desired. Bake in 400 degree oven for 25 minutes, or until golden brown.  

I heart cornbread. And, really, it is so easy to make. I like that I can put it together quickly for a last-minute accompaniment to a meal. And, I like the leftovers as breakfast the next day, or as a snack throughout the rest of the week. Here is one of my favorite cornbread recipes. Then again, I have many favorite cornbread recipes. Double-Corn Cornbread Cook's Country 1 c cornmeal (yellow or white) 1 c flour 2 T sugar 2 tsp baking powder 1/4 tsp baking soda 3/4 tsp salt 1 c frozen corn, thawed 1 c sour cream 2 large eggs 1/2 tsp hot sauce 4 T unsalted butter, melted 2 tsp vegetable oil Adjust oven rack to middle and heat to 340. Whisk cornmeal, flour, sugar, powder, soda and salt together in a large bowl. Pulse corn, sour cream, eggs and hot sauce in food processor until corn is coarsely chopped and mixture is combined. Fold corn mixture into cornmeal mixture, then stir in melted butter. Heat oil in a 10" cast iron skillet over medium-high heat un...

This is such a charming salad -- easy to prepare, and good for a side salad to your packed lunch throughout the week. Warm Lentil Salad with Walnuts, Green Beans, and Red Onion Vegetarian Pleasures Dressing: 1/4 c oilive oil 2 T red wine vinegar 1/2 tsp dijon mustard 2 cloves garlic, minced 2 tsp fresh thyme, or 1/2 tsp dried 1/2 tsp salt pepper 1 tsp olive oil 1 red onion, thinly sliced into half-moons 1 tsp red wine veingar 1/2 lb green beans, cut into 2" lengths (2 c) 1 1/2 c lentils 1/2 c walnuts, chopped 1/4 c parsley, chopped Combine all the ingredients for the dressing in a screw-top jar and shake. Set aside. Heat the teaspoon of oil in a medium skillet. Add red onion and saute 2 minutes. To set the color, sprinkle the vinegar over the onions and toss well. Saute about 5 more minutes, or until they just become tender, yet are still crunchy. Remove from heat. Bring 6 c water to a boil in a 3-quart saucepan. Drop in the green beans. After water ...

This recipe comes from a book I don't fully trust -- I have many notes in the book where the recipe was bland. But others were total winners. I am going to move this recipe into the category of winners! Bulgur and Dilled Zucchini Vegetarian Express Lane Cookbook 3 c water 1 tsp salt 1 1/2 c bulgur 5 zucchini 2 T olive oil 1 c parsley, chopped 1 T fresh dill, chopped, or 1 tsp dried 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper feta cheese, crumbled Bring water and salt to a boil in a medium pot. Add bulgur, cover, reduce the heat to low, and cook 5 minutes, or until barely softened. Remove from heat and set aside. Wash zucchini and cut into small cubes or slices. Combine with parsley, dill and red pepper flakes. Heat oil in a wide skillet over high heat. Add zucchini, herbs and spices. Cook until zucchini is done to desired taste (I cooked them for about 10 minutes). If your pan is big enough, add the bulgur to the zucchini and stir to combine. Scoop onto serving plates and tos...

  I was raised with several good pieces of knowledge, including: 1) sour cherries make the best cherry pie, and, 2) Crisco makes the flakiest pie crust. Both of things have proven to be true over the years. And while the short sour cherry season sure makes it inconvenient for making pies whenever you feel like it, they are certainly worth the search. You and I both know that Crisco may make the flakiest pie crust, but it sure is a pain to clean up after. So for today's post, I veered from my momma's classic pie crust dough (sorry, Mom) and tried a variant -- the fat comes exclusively from butter (versus Crisco), and the entire dough can be put together in a mixer, rather than requiring ice cold butter being cut into Crisco. Again, a pie dough with actual fat (Crisco or lard or whatever) is going to have a completely different texture, just because of the type of fat you are using. But, if you want to put together something quickly and without needing to soak your Crisco...

A great sounding tart -- pears cooked in their own juices in a crust of flour and pecans. The whole thing spiced up with the inclusion of ginger. Right up my alley! Unfortunately for me, this crumble didn't turn out that great. It was dry. And, the pears never cooked down enough to be soft, and yet the crust was already too dark by the time I took it out of the oven. What are your ideas? Would it have helped to saute the pears first before even assembling the tart? Ginger-Pear Crumble Real Simple Magazine 3 1/2 lb pears - Anjou or Bosc - peeled, cored, and quartered 1/2 tsp orange zest 1/3 c sugar 1/4 c flour 2 tsp ginger, grated 1 Pecan-Brown Sugar crust, pre-baked Pecan-Brown Sugar Crust: 1 1/4 c flour 3/4 c pecan 1/4 c brown sugar 1/2 tsp salt 6 T unsalted butter, softened 1 egg, lightly beaten Crumble Topping: 2 T flour 1/4 c sugar pinch cinnamon Preheat oven to 375. In the bowl of a food processor fitted with a blade, combine the flour, pecans, su...

This is such a delightful little dish to put together! Not at all time-consuming. Some of you may shirk from some of the woefully misunderstood ingredients (gorgonzola cheese and half and half), but, it's all in the proportions, people! This recipe comes from Cooking Light, and is just delicious. Ziti with Spinach, Cherry Tomatoes, and Gorgonzola Sauce Cooking Light , September 2008 4 oz ziti, uncooked 1/2 tsp olive oil 1 c cherry tomatoes, halved 1/4 tsp salt 1/8 tsp red pepper flakes 1 cloves garlic, minced 6 T half and half 3 T gorgonzola cheese, crumbled 1 c spinach Cook pasta according to directions. Drain. Heat olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add cherry tomatoes, salt, red pepper flakes, and minced garlic to pan. Cook 1 minute. Stir in half and half and Gorgonzola and cook 2 minutes, or until slightly thick. Stir in spinach and pasta and cook 1 minute, or until spinach wilts.

This is a lovely alternative to simply roasting vegetables. It's just as easy as throwing vegetables into an oven with simple spices, but, the easy bread topping adds a nice extra "oomph" to the dish that will make it seem much fancier than it actually is. Vegetable Tian Main-Course Vegetarian Pleasures 2 slices good-quality bread 1 T + 1/4 c olive oil 1 clove garlic, minced 1 lb green beans, trimmed 12 oz mushrooms, halved or quartered, depending on the size 1 red bell pepper, cut into 2" chunks 1 tomato, seeded and finely diced 1 red onion, cut into eighths 1/2 tsp dried basil 1/2 tsp dried oregano 1 tsp dried dill pepper Preheat oven to 375. Tear the bread into pieces and place them in a food processor. Grind to make bread crumbs. Heat 1 T olive oil in a skillet. Add garlic and saute 1 minute. Stir in bread crumbs and toss to coat. Cook, stirring frequently, until crumbs begin to turn golden, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat. In a lar...

Yum, yum, yum - y'know, it doesn't really take all that much longer to prepare some migas for breakfast, versus waiting for a Pop-Tart to toast. If you don't want to replace your weekday Pop-Tart, at least try this out over the weekend! Migas Donut Army Random vegetables from the kitchen - tomatoes, peppers, onion, garlic Eggs Tortilla chips Salsa Break eggs into a bowl (2 eggs per person, roughly) and scramble. Add water to break proteins and make the scrambled eggs fluffier. Chop up vegetables, and separate the hard (peppers, onions and garlic) from the soft and runny (tomatoes). Add oil to a pan. Once warm, add the hard vegetables. Saute until almost softened -- 1-2 minutes. Pour in eggs and let the eggs cook along with the vegetables. Cook until desired consistency (some like their eggs runnier than others). Towards the end of the cooking, add the runny vegetables (tomatoes) and salsa (if using). Also, crumble tortilla chips over top the eggs and stir to ...

I have been making this dish for nearly 20 years and it remains a four-star entree. It's just a lovely, lovely rendition of tabouli. Pitas Stuffed with Curried Bulgur and Fruit Vegetarian Times 1 c bulgur wheat 1 tsp sweet curry powder (it will say "sweet" on the label) 1 tsp balsamic vinegar 2 cloves garlic, minced 1/2 c scallion, thinly sliced 1 1/2 c red seedless grapes, halved 1/2 c dried cranberries, or golden raisins (I use 1/4 c of each) 1 yellow or red pepper, diced 2 tsp olive oil 1/2 c cucumber lettuce feta In medium saucepan, bring 1 1/2 c water to a boil. Remove from heat. Stir in bulgur and let sit, covered, until tender -- about 10-15 minutes. Transfer bulgur to a large bowl. Add curry powder, balsamic vinegar, garlic, scallions, grapes, cranberries (and raisins), and bell pepper. Toss well. The original recipe called for the bulgur combination to be heated on the stove before stuffing into the pita. I don't find that neces...

I know many of you are scared about trying to bake bread at home. Some bread is difficult. But others are simple. Your quick breads -- the ones that don't use yeast -- are obviously the most simple. But even some yeast breads can be relatively fool-proof! I recommend starting with something user-friendly, like pita bread. Not only can pita dough withstand some overstretching and overworking, it's also plum fun to make -- it blows up like a balloon right there in your oven! This is not my tried and true pita recipe. I couldn't put my hands on my tried and true version, so, I tried this alternate version. The alternate version worked quite well, and must have more salt than my other version, because the pitas did store a bit better than my normal pitas. This recipe is herbed -- which is a nice change, but not one that I particularly loved in a pita pocket. It smells delicious to bake herbed bread, but it tricks your mind into thinking that you're baking a pizza or som...

Another dish that is full of flavor, but ultimately not that hard to assemble. Holds well, and smells up the whole house in a good way! Chicken Curry with Yogurt A World of Curries 1 tomato, chopped 1/2 tsp cinnamon 1 tsp cardamom 4 whole cloves, crushed 4 whole peppercorns, crushed 1/2 tsp cumin seeds, crushed 4 small hot green chiles (serranos, seeded, stemmed and chopped) 1/4 tsp turmeric 1 tsp cayenne 1 1" piece ginger, peeled and grated 2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced 1 c yogurt 1 3-lb chicken, cut up 3 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into 1" cubes 1/4 c vegetable oil 2 onions, sliced fine 1/2 c water cilantro for garnish Combine tomato, cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, peppercorns, cumin seeds, chiles, turmeric, cayenne, ginger, garlic, and yogurt to make a marinade. Toss the chicken pieces in the marinade to coat and allow to marinate, covered, for at least 2 hours in the fridge. Place potatoes in a pan and cover with...