Acorn Squash with Red Lentils

This was originally going to be Spaghetti Squash with lentils, but they didn't have any at the market.  After going back and forth a bit between the eggplants and hard squash display, I decided to stick as close to the original intent as possible.  It's still a stringy gourd, you just get a different look.  I have another use for the spaghetti squash if I ever find one.

Still determined to use an ingredient I've never bought before, I chose rainbow chard instead of kale for the greens.  It's much easier to clean and chop, and cooks down the same.  Being organic, I had to put up with the holes and extra dirt pre-wash.  I'm doing battle in my garden with a tomato-stealing squirrel, so I get the organic issues.

For the pesto, I Pantry Project-ed it with the last of this year's basil plant, some sliced almonds, and whatever parmesan was left in the tub.  Technically, a tablespoon of pesto is a serving, so I only needed a quarter of a cup.  Yeah, right, whoever only uses a tablespoon of pesto.  I made half a cup.  I drizzled some on top, then puddled a little to the side to be mixed in when you got to the bottom.

2 small or 1 large acorn squash (2 lbs)
*2/3 C dry red lentils
1/2 C diced onion
*1 clove garlic, minced
1 bunch chard or other leafy green
1 C mushrooms, sliced
salt
olive oil
*1/2 C pesto

1.  Preheat oven to 350º and line a rimmed sheet pan with foil for easy cleaning.  Slice squash stem to tip and scrape out seeds and strings.  Rub inside and out with a palm-full of oil.  Place cut-side down on baking sheet and roast until easily pierced with a fork, 45 minutes to an hour.

2.  When squash is about halfway done, start the filling.  Rinse the lentils and simmer, covered, in a saucepan until tender, about 15 minutes.  Remove from heat and drain off any excess water.  Set aside.

3.  In a large skillet, heat a tablespoon of oil.  Cook onion and garlic over medium heat while you chiffonade the greens and slice the mushrooms.  Add to the skillet and sprinkle with salt.  Cook until greens are wilted and mushrooms have given off most of their water.  Add lentils to the skillet and finish cooking.

4.  Plate squash halves, or cut halves into quarters if using one large squash.  Top with vegetable-lentil mix and drizzle with pesto.  Serve hot.

Difficulty rating  :)

Fried Plantains

This isn't a banana theme in the making, just a coincidence.  I wanted a side for the white bean burgers and wasn't in the mood for salad.  I was thinking potatoes, which evolved into this.  It can get weird when I go to the grocery store without a list.

Before and After

This got a little messy.  I've been working on some much-delayed stove cleaning and did this the day before a session.  The internet turned me on to using ammonia on my burner grates to get off the baked-on charcoal grease.  I didn't even know you could buy it without showing an ID.  $1.29 for half a gallon at Target.  Took a couple of soakings to get it down to a passable level.  If I do this three or four times a year, my stove will stay sparkly.  The only people who think a white kitchen is a good idea have a cleaning lady to keep it that way.  Thanks, Mom.

I got the ripest plantain they had, but you really need to make these with almost black fruit.  Mine was kind of hard and starchy.  Plus, it's a lot easier to peel an overripe plantain than one only just beginning to turn.  You end up with something more like thick plantain chips than mushy slices.

2 plantains, at least half black
oil for frying
salt or cinnamon, for garnish

1.  To peel a plantain, cut off the top and bottom.  Make a slit through the skin and peel carefully.

2.  While heating 1/2" of oil to 350º, slice plantains diagonally or into wedges.  If they start to take on a pinkish color, it's just oxidation.  It will disappear as they fry.

3.  Carefully add the slices to the hot oil.  Fry until golden brown, turning after 4 minutes.  Remove to a paper towel-lined plate to drain.  Dust with salt or cinnamon while still sizzling and serve hot.

Difficulty rating  π

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

When Bruin Smurf moved out, she forgot a bag of overripe bananas in the freezer.  Other than that, she left things about as clean as you can expect from a 21-year-old.

She originally had the bananas for banana chocolate chip muffins, so that's what I decided to do with them.  I don't have her stepmom's recipe, but I do have my banana bread recipe, from one of the tabbed cookbooks in my current project, that I can tinker with.  I'm mainly replacing the raisins with mini chocolate chips and adding an oatmeal streusel topping.  I would have used white chocolate chips, but they're kind of big to put in a muffin.  Cinnamon chips are also an option.  It's all about the flavor profile you want.

I don't think I've worked with frozen and defrosted bananas before.  It was pretty cool.  They just squirt out from inside the skins and don't require much effort to mash.  I'll have to remember that for next time.  Mashing a less-ripe banana is kind of a pain.

When it turned out this recipe makes more than a dozen, I had a chance to compare my two muffin/cupcake pans' performance.  The older, brown one bakes faster.  The newer silver takes longer, but the result is more even.  The cups are also a smidge larger.  Tiny differences over a couple of decades, but if I had Grandma Sophie's pans from the 50's still, they would result in even greater differences.  Something to keep in mind when using an old recipe.

Crumble
1/4 C flour
1/4 C rolled or quick oats
1 Tb brown sugar
2 Tb butter

1.  Stir together flour, oats, and brown sugar.

2.  Cut in butter until mixture forms crumbs.

3.  Refrigerate (or freeze) until ready to use.

Batter
*1 C mashed very ripe banana (2-3)
1 C sugar
1 egg
1/4 C butter, melted and cooled
1-1/2 C flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
*1/2 C mini chocolate chips

1.  Preheat oven to 325º.  Line a standard muffin pan with paper liners.

2.  In a bowl, combine mashed banana, sugar, egg, and melted butter.  In another bowl, sift together flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda.

3.  Make a well in the dry bowl and pour the wet into it.  Stir until about half combined, then stir in chips.  A few lumps are ok.  They're better than over-mixing.  You can even walk away for a couple of minutes and let it finish hydrating on its own.

4.  Fill muffin cups 2/3 of the way.  Avoid the temptation to fill more.  These don't rise much, but they're a lot easier to get out of the pan if they don't form "muffin top" rims.  Sprinkle tops with the oat crumb.

5.  Bake 20-25 minutes, until they pass the toothpick test.  Wait 10 minutes before removing from pan.

Makes 18

Difficulty rating  π

White Bean Umami Burger

While the Black Bean Veggie Burgers mimic beef, I was going more for a ground chicken effect with this one.  The addition of mushrooms and liquid smoke turn Meatless Monday into a barbecue-ish meal.

I did think of this at the last minute and had to buy canned beans, but I recommend soaking and cooking your own for a better texture.  These came out goopy, and I debated renaming them Sloppy Veggie Burgers.  That doesn't sound very appetizing, so I left it.  If that happens with yours, fry them on a skillet like pancakes or falafels.  I did that with the leftovers and it worked fine.  You should definitely use fresh mushrooms instead of canned.  I only bought crimini, but feel free to mix it up with a little bit of several flavors, even soaking some dried shiitakes to amp up the flavor.

Another mistake I made with this recipe was to buy the big burger buns.  Gluten-free patties don't hold together in wide diameters.  Make eight smaller patties instead of the four in the photos and use the smaller buns.

2/3 C dry Navy or white beans
*1/2 yellow onion, chopped
1/2 lb mixed mushrooms such as crimini, shiitake, or morel
*2 cloves garlic
1 egg
*1/4 C tapioca flour (sub breadcrumbs if not GF)
*1 tsp liquid smoke
salt, paprika, and pepper to taste

1.  Soak beans for 8-12 hours.  Drain, refill pot, and simmer 2 hours.  Drain.

2.  Into food processor, place onion, mushrooms, and garlic.  Pulse to break up.

3.  Add remaining ingredients, including the drained beans, and pulse to make a chunky mix that kind of looks like bean dip.  Refrigerate while oven is preheating.

4.  Preheat oven to 375º and liberally smear a foil-coated baking sheet with oil.  If pan-frying, start heating rimmed skillet and coat with a thin layer of oil.

5.  Scoop mix into 8 rounds on baking sheet or fry in batches on skillet.  Bake 15 minutes, until tops are set.  Carefully flip and bake another 15 minutes.  For frying, flip when bottoms are firm and crispy.

6.  Serve hot on toasted burger buns with whatever condiments you like.  I used barbecue sauce on mine.

Difficulty rating  :)

Creamy Scavenger Pasta

Bruin Smurf finished moving to her apartment the day of the tea.  We hardly saw each other the year she was here, but it still feels great to have my house back.  Molly has relaxed a lot, and I realized this is the first time we've lived alone since we moved.  I wasn't counting Princess before, but another cat in the house was clearly as stressful for her as a human.

As tidy as she was, there was a lot of cleaning to do.  Her room took a morning and three loads of laundry, a detail cleaning of her bathroom another couple of hours because I have foodservice-level standards of cleanliness, and then I tackled the fridge and pantry.

Her side of the fridge was cleaner than mine, which was a relief.  It's weird to have so much space again.  The pantry needed a little more work because I hadn't done a Passover cleaning this year.  Love washable shelf liners.

Once everything was clean and put back, I realized I have a lot of food on hand and Edison could shut off the power periodically during the windy fire season.  I decided to do a little Pantry Project and see how long I could go with only buying minimal, short-term perishables.  First up was macaroni, a jar of pickled artichokes, and the rest of the dilled cream cheese from the cucumber sandwiches.  I did think this through enough not to mix the artichokes with the cream cheese.  The vinegar would have curdled everything into more of a cottage cheese pasta.

My mom used to do pasta with cream cheese once in a while.  I don't know if it's a Jewish thing, an East Coast thing, or she just liked it.  Adding some tomatoes from the garden and edamame out of the freezer qualified this for Sukkot.

*2 C dry macaroni or other short pasta (half a box)
*1/2 C diced onion
*1 clove garlic, minced
1 Tb olive oil
*2 Roma tomatoes, diced
*1 C edamame, peas, or other legume, defrosted
*1 C marinated artichoke hearts, drained
kosher salt to taste (artichokes will have salt)
*1/2 C whipped cream cheese, any savory flavor
*1/2 C shredded parmesan cheese

1.  Cook pasta according to package directions.  While that's happening, sauté onion in the oil in a skillet.  Once softened, add garlic, diced tomatoes, and peas.  Salt to taste.

2.  Drain pasta, reserving about 1/2 C of cooking liquid, and immediately return to pot.  Stir in cream cheese and the reserved water while hot.  Stir in cooked vegetables.

3.  Plate or place pasta in a serving bowl.  Top with artichokes and shredded parmesan.  Serve hot.

Difficulty rating  π

Gluten-Free Almond Cookies

I'm not sure what's more annoying, having people ask at your bakery if there are gluten-free options, or not having them.  I treat the GF designation as seriously as true kosher or a peanut allergy.  Something either is, or isn't, and if you can't ensure the pan it's baked on is free of gluten, don't say it is.  Honestly, if I ever own a bakery, I'm putting up a disclaimer that we cannot guarantee something as GF or nut free.  "Made on equipment that also processes" is the best phrase lawyers ever came up with.

I started my second baking day for the tea with these, so I knew everything was clean and flour-free.  There shouldn't have been a "second baking day", but I got paranoid that I would run out of food.  Also, so I could make the two GF baked recipes before turning out a backup batch of scones.

These are not macarons, or even macaroons.  They rely on whipped egg for any semblance of leavening, and taste mostly like sponge drops.

These were also very picky.  They seemed to prefer a Silpat and the bottom rack in my electric oven.  They were ok on parchment, but you have to watch them from the 8 minute mark so they don't burn.  I could have tried another batch with less sugar, to make them easier to control, but I had made a 2-egg version and it was a massive amount of cookies already.

The good news is that the GFs at the party were asking for the recipe.  I guess they're used to putting up with whatever someone serves, just being grateful they can eat it at all.  They're good cookies, KLP without the extract, and you won't run out.

*1 C almond flour
*1/2 C Potato starch
dash of salt
1/4 C unsalted butter
1/2 C sugar
2 Tb brown sugar
1 Tb oil
1/4 tsp coconut extract
1 egg, room temperature

1.  Preheat oven to 350º.  Line two or three baking sheets with a Silpat or parchment.

2.  Cream together butter and both sugars.  Beat in oil, extract, and egg until smooth and fluffy.  This is all of your leavening.  Scrape down sides of bowl and beat again.

3.  Sift together almond flour, salt, and potato starch.  Add to mixer and beat until smooth.  Since this is GF, you can't overbeat it.

4.  I found it easiest to pipe these with a 1/2" plain round tip into drops slightly bigger than a Hershey's Kiss.  Or you can drop by generous teaspoons onto the baking sheets.  These are going to spread out flat to about twice the original diameter, about the size of Nilla wafers.

5.  Bake until set and just beginning to brown around the edges, about 8-10 minutes.  Allow to cool on the pan for several minutes, then carefully transfer to a cooling rack.  They stay soft, but you can store them in layers separated by wax paper in a sealed container or in the freezer.

Makes about 3-1/2 to 4 dozen

Difficulty rating  π

Egg Salad

I'm not really a fan of egg salad, which is why I haven't posted a recipe for it yet.  As the guest list for the tea grew, my original plan of deviled eggs was becoming too much work.  Open-faced egg salad on either pumpernickel cocktail toasts or some kind of veggie cup would be much easier.

My issue with egg salad is the same as with tuna salad and any other "salad" that is too easy to make all mayo.  I'm not sure if it's a taste or texture thing, but I rarely choose something like this on a menu.  I'm also not much into avocados, but I put too much salt in this and avocados are an easy fix for that problem.  Plus, it was free with grocery rewards.

4 eggs
*2 Tb mayonnaise
*1 tsp mustard
*1/2 tsp horseradish
2 Tb shallot or red onion, finely diced
*Celery salt to taste

1.  Hard boil the eggs.  Place in a saucepan with water to cover by one inch.  Bring to a boil for 2 minutes, turn off heat, and cover.  Let sit for 15 minutes.  Place in a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking, then peel.

2.  Dice eggs.  This gets easier if you pop out the yolks into a bowl first and only chop the whites.  I know, that sounds like a no-brainer, but it took me two eggs to figure out.  The yolks will get broken up when you mix everything together.

3.  Add egg whites and remaining ingredients to the yolks in the bowl and mix together.  Start with just 1/4 tsp of celery salt and add more as needed.  Every mayo has a different sodium content.  Apparently the GF Passover mayo I had in the fridge has a lot.

4.  Serve as sandwiches, salad, or a side.

Difficulty rating  :)

Persian Love Cake

I came across this earlier in the year when I was looking for cakes involving rose water.  I chose a different recipe at the time, since this is more of a coffee cake than a layer cake, but it was always in the back of my mind to bake for the tea party.

This is Broma Bakery's version of Yasmin Khan's Persian Love Cake.  The only thing I'm changing is the garnish.  Aside from the part that I don't like pistachios, you're supposed to garnish with something that is also an ingredient in the dish.  So, sliced almonds to represent the almond flour.  I did cheat on the flower petals.  Couldn't find dried rose petals and subbed hibiscus.  The intent is there.

The recipe does call for bleached almond flour, not ground almonds or almond meal.  This is the same stuff you use for macarons and GF pastries.  It doesn't taste any different, but there will be a coarser texture to the cake and it won't rise as well if you use another product.  Once a specialty item, the proliferation of GF sections has made it easy to find.  Bob's Red Mill is currently considered the best brand for pastries by most blogs.

Cake
1/2 C unsalted butter
3 Tb vegetable oil
2 eggs, room temperature
1 C sugar
*1 tsp lemon zest
*2 tsp lemon juice
*2 Tb rose water (not syrup)
1 tsp vanilla
1-1/2 C flour
1/2 C almond flour
2 tsp ground cardamom
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt

1.  Preheat oven to 350º.  Grease and line an 8" or 9" cake pan.  This did rise to the top of a 2" deep 8" pan.  If you only have 1-1/2" pans, go for a 9".  If using, start soaking a baking strip.

2.  Cream together butter, oil, and sugar. Cream in eggs one at a time, then add lemon zest, juice, rose water, and vanilla.  It's going to be soupy.

3.  Sift together remaining ingredients and add to mixer.  Beat on low until just combined.  Now, it's going to be thick.  Pour into cake pan, spread out with a spatula, secure baking strip, and bake for 40 minutes or until cake passes the toothpick test.

4.  Cool cake on counter in pan for 5 minutes.  Turn out and cool completely before icing.  Cake can also be frozen at this point and finished later.

Icing
*1-1/2 C powdered sugar
*1 Tb rose water
1-1/2 Tb milk
1/4 C sliced or slivered almonds
3 Tb dried rose petals

1.  In a small bowl, beat together powdered sugar, rose water, and milk into a glaze.  For a thinner glaze, add more milk, not rose water.

2.  Place cake on serving platter.  Spread glaze on top.  Dripping over the sides is welcome.  Allow to settle onto the cake for a minute or two, then sprinkle with nuts and petals.  Glaze should set up in about half an hour, less if the cake was still frozen when iced.

Makes 1 cake, 8-10 servings
Difficulty rating  :)

Butter Tarts

I first heard of butter tarts in a YouTube chat room.  The filling is a lot like a pecan pie base with raisins instead of nuts.  Actually, you can put nuts in it too, so it really is just a mini-muffin sized corn syrup pie.

There was one in the International cookbook as part of a Canadian dinner.  There wasn't a crust recipe and the filling was too simplistic, so I found one on Tasting Table that looked better.  I'm actually very happy with the pastry crust recipe.  It was easy to work with and the re-rolls did not get as tough as I was expecting.  It may get re-posted on its own at some point.

Pastry
1-1/2 C flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 C cold butter, cubed
1/4 C cold shortening or lard, cubed
1 egg yolk
*1 Tb lemon juice
cold water as needed

1.  In a bowl, stir together flour and salt.  Cut in butter and shortening.

2.  In a measuring cup, beat yolk and lemon juice.  Add enough cold water to equal 1/3 cup.

3.  Make a well in the flour and add the liquids.  Mix together into a crumbly dough.  If necessary, add water a teaspoon or two at a time.  Pastry crust goes from dry to soggy very quickly.

4.  Form dough into a disc, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate for at least half an hour.

5.  Pan spray a muffin pan or two mini-muffin trays like it was an ingredient.  Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface about 1/8" thick.  For full-sized cups, cut 4" circles.  For minis, use a 2-1/2" biscuit cutter.  Reroll scraps, using less additional flour each time.  Press into cups.  I have a cute little wooden tool to press into mini cups.  First time I've used it, but I'm definitely going to do it a lot more.  Love the thing.  Place trays in the freezer until ready to bake.  This isn't 100% necessary, but it helps to keep the crust from shrinking in the oven.

Filling
1/2 C packed light brown sugar
*1/2 C corn syrup
1 egg, room temperature
2 Tb butter, melted and cooled
1 tsp vanilla
*1 tsp lemon juice
about 1/2 C currants or other filling like pecans

1.  Mix all ingredients except the currants in a bowl.  Preheat oven to 450º.

2.  Get the crusts out of the freezer.  Divide the currants between the cups.  That's a heaping 1/4 tsp for minis and 1 tsp for regular muffin cups.  Add filling no higher than 3/4 of the way up the cups.  It's going to boil in the oven.  I tried spooning it in the tiny cups, then found it ten times easier to put the filling in a squeeze bottle.

3.  Bake about 12 minutes, until crust is golden.  Allow to cool on the counter until they stop bubbling, then run a scraper around the edge to loosen the cups.  If they cool in the pan, any syrup that boiled over will become water-soluble super glue.

4.  Allow tarts to cool a few more minutes after loosening, then transfer to a cooling rack.  Final product can be served still warm, cooled, or frozen for up to a month.

Makes 1 dz muffin-sized tarts or 3 dz minis

Difficulty rating :-0

Rosh Hashanah Tea

I didn't make my Summer tea deadline.  The first day I knew I could get off was RH eve, so that's when I scheduled the party.  It did give me a slight theme.  The later date also gave me a chance to bring in some fall flavors usually missing from an afternoon tea in July.

I didn't choose to do any particular "Jewish" foods other than apples and honey and sprinkling pomegranate seeds on the yam toasts.  I considered latkes, but they're very time-consuming and the invitation list doubled when I invited the HHD choir.  The only concession I made was to keep it kosher dairy, on the off chance that anyone actually observes.  The majority of my teas are kD anyway.  Once in a while I'll put meat or shellfish in the savory selections.

Conscious that many were considering this a light dinner before services, I made sure the savories were nutritious and filling.  I also came up with several GF options in the first course.  Eventually, I broke down and made some GF/Passover cookies with some leftover almond flour and potato starch.  I thought they were merely passable, but many were asking for the recipe.  Ok, I can post that.

I did get the number attending a bit wrong.  I won't have to cook for a few more days.  After putting out such a spread, that is fine by me.  I have mini scones and cookies in the freezer for snacking even after taking a plate to services.  Can't do that for YK, so more for me.

First Course

Cucumber Sandwiches
Crudités with White Bean Hummus and Baba Ghannouj
Pao de Queijo with Salmon Salad
Egg Salad on Pumpernickel
Sweet Potato Toasts with Peanut Butter

Second Course

Scones (both plain and currant)
Spiced Plum Preserves
Blueberry-Cherry Jam
Strawberry Lavender Jam
Devon Cream


Third Course

Persian Love Cake
Oatmeal Everything Cookies
Butter Tarts
Gluten-Free Almond Cookies
Apples & Honey

Difficulty rating  $@%!