Insanity..

I had a special occasion to go to, and needed something special to make, but super easy.

I had flour. Butter. All I needed was a can of condensed milk, and wa-la...caramel tarts. They are so freaking yummy...but it's insane to eat more than one. Maybe one and a half. But not two. Ask me how I know. :p


If you want to try these yourself, here ya go:


Caramel Tarts


1.5 c flour
1/2 c butter
a couple tablespoons water
generous pinch fine sea salt

1 can condensed milk


Take a medium pot, fill it to the top with water, and put it to boil. Remove the label off the condensed milk, lay it on it's side UNOPENED in the water, and bring it all to a boil. (DISCLAIMER: This is the way I do it. But it's been known to pop, so I've heard, so I do it when I am not planning on being in the kitchen while it cooks, and with a lid. I have no idea what is supposed to happen if it pops, cause I've never seen it happen, any of the times I've done it, or any of the times any of my friends have done it. Proceed at your own risk.)

Once it boils, turn it to a simmer, and let it simmer for a couple hours. Add more water as it boils down, to keep the can covered. Turn off, take out of the water, and let it cool. Or, do this all the night before, and just turn the burner off and let it call cool itself without having to ever touch it, like I like to do. When you open it, you will have thick, creamy caramel. This stuff is unreal to dip apple slices in.

Crust:

Rub the butter into the flour and salt, til all rubbed in and greasy. Sprinkle in a couple tablespoons water in, and just mix JUST enough to get it mixed, and the dough pulls together. Add a little smidge more if you need.

Preheat the oven to moderate (350* F or 180* C). Press a 1 inch ball of dough into the bottom of the cups of a muffin tin, and press it all on the bottom and up the sides by about a 1/2 inch. Or else use those little patty pans, and go all the way to the top. Bake approx 10 min or so, til lightly golden. Pull out and cool. Pop the little pastry shells out of the pans, scoop a dollop of caramel into each one, and restrain yourself from eating way too many cause they look like little harmless mouthfuls.

Sticky Mango Bliss..

Dh and I were looking for a good green mango chutney recipe, since we have a pile of them here to use up. Along the way we saw this recipe for Mango Sticky Rice.



We have mangoes in the back yard. The next day, I drove past a pile of coconuts that someone had picked off their tree and were giving away. Obviously, it was meant to be.



Yes...it really is as yummy as it looks in the pics. :p

The recipe I tried to follow is in that above video link, but I changed it up a little, so if anyone is in the mood, here is the recipe:

1 cup sweet (mochi) rice
1 cup water

3/4 cup coconut milk
1/4 cup water
1/3 cup fresh grated coconut (or a couple tablespoons dried)

1/2 cup fresh, grated coconut, (or a couple tablespoons dried), additional to the above amount

1 cup coconut milk
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp salt (I missed this part, and I totally regretted it...I recommend YOU don't miss it)

fresh mangoes


Soak the first two ingredients, the rice and water, together for 30 min. Add the next three, put on stove and bring to a boil (WATCH this part, cause it will very easily stick and burn if you aren't paying attention! Give it the random stir on the bottom as it heats.) Turn it down to a simmer, and cook for 15 min, til the rice grains are no longer crunchy and undone.

While that is cooking, toast the remaining coconut on medium-low heat, til toasty-golden brown. Stir frequently so it doesn't burn.

Mix the next three ingredients together into a sauce. When the rice has cooked, pour half the sauce in, toss it through, and then add the rest. At this point, it's going to look a little sloppy. Let it sit for 20 min or so, to absorb some more sauce, and to cool a little, or a lot, depending on how you like it.

Serve with cut up mangoes alongside. Yum!

Credit:
Many thanks to John Mitzewich on About.com for the recipe, and very instructional video to go with it. :p

A vegetarian Christmas dinner...

Okay..so these aren't the most appetizing pics in the universe. I couldn't help it...I was starving, and the food was sooo yummy, I just dug in before I could remember to take a pic. :p But this was our Christmas dinner, sans meat. We got the mashed potatoes (mixed with kumera, Maori sweet potato), the stuffing from scratch, tofu pieces soaked in Braggs, coated in a seasoned garbanzo flour mix and fried, a salad, and the roasted dinner, consisting of something created out of various soy products by my SIL that was totally yummy, some soy or gluten cutlet things from the Buddhist vegan restaurant, also totally yummy, and asparagus and peppers, all roasted, too. And, of course, cranberry sauce. Gotta have the cranberry sauce. :p



Dessert was my pumpkin pie, with a dollop of mascarpone...the pie was better even than last time, and the mascarpone took it over the top...



..and then these, made by SIL. The pictures may not look like they belong alongside Cannelle et Vanille, but trust me, they tasted like they did. A bitter chocolate/caramel mousse, seriously amazing.

By the time dinner was done, I couldn't move. The rest of them ate just as much, but that didn't stop them from having a rousing game of the annual cricket. I sat on the bench and tried not to burst. :p

From scratch..

So I made a pumpkin pie. From scratch. Because I couldn't make it to the fancy import store to get the canned Libby Lee. And it was gooood. And awhile ago, too, cause I lost the pic deep in the middle of the photo folder. But it was still good. :p And yeah, my pie slicing skills leave a lot to be desired. Esp since I made it in a deep cake dish, rather than a pie dish or springform pan, like a normal person would. :p

No recipe, because I didn't use one.

If you were desperate, it would go something like this:

1/2 a packet suitable cookies for disintegrating into crumbs for the base
a couple tablespoons butter, melted

Combine crumbs and butter, press onto bottom of your pan, and put into a preheated 350F (180C) oven for ten minutes. Take out and cool.

1/2 a medium size kabocha squash (Japanese pumpkin down here), or any other equivalent winter squash...the sweeter the better

Peel, seed, and cook this down slowly over a couple hours, til disintegrated into fine mush.

Taste test, and add in enough sugar to make a sweet pie filling. The squash I used was so sweet, I used about half the amount of sugar I would normally use for a pumpkin pie..bonus. :p

Add a couple tablespoons total of whatever spices you like to add. I used a lot of cinnamon, some nutmeg, and a little ginger.

1 can evaporated milk

4 tsp cornstarch, and 4T milk

Combine everything thoroughly, pour into prepared crust, and bake for an hour or so, til the middle is set. Take out, cool, and serve with whipped cream, or icecream. Totally divine.

Mmmm...cheeeeesecake...

It was FIL's b-day yesterday. Can't remember which one. But it was an insanely young one for a dude with a 35yo son and 5 grandkids. (NO, they aren't all mine!)

I was on cheesecake duty, and I made this one. Though, I just used the ingredients as a guideline, and didn't use eggs, but subbed with milk and cornstarch (2TB milk and 2tsp cornstarch, per egg). And then mixed in the innards of a couple of mighty shriveled lilikois (passionfruits) languishing in the fruit bowl. But it came out pretty damn yummy. After I had to wash the cream cheese in a colander to remove the several cup's worth of fine Italian salt that exploded into the bowl, all over the counter, all over the floor, all over me, when the stupid salt container FAILED while I tipped out a bit into my hand, though. Ugh. That would not have been nice. And then we topped it with fresh mango, and canned lilikoi in syrup. Yuuummmm.

The artistically close up shot is to disguise the fact that it is a pathetically small slice, leftover from last night, looking a bit worse for wear. We ate all the rest. Couldn't help ourselves. :p

Note: If you decide to make this really yummy cheesecake yourself, take note that the butter measurement for the crust is down in the topping list, and the milk for the filling is also down in the topping list. Gave me a few moments of confusion, they did. And take note that you REALLY don't need much of it to start feeling sick. :p

Peach-Mango Crisp..

The peaches have arrived, and the mangos are still going..and they go so goooood together!! :p A recipe of sorts, to go with it..


Peach-Mango Crisp or Apple...that one was damn good, too. :D

6 or so cups of cut up fruit...whatever is in season

a couple tablespoons of flour

a half tablespoon or so of cinnamon

half that of nutmeg

sweetener of choice, adjusted to the tartness of the fruit. Obviously, if you have sour fruit, you are going to need more. Just saying. Cause otherwise you might find yourself loading the sugar into the cream before whipping, to balance it back out. Ask me how I know. :p


Toss together well. Load into your baking pan...slightly heaped is best. Dot with little pats of butter.


Topping

1 1/2-2 cup flour

cinnamon and nutmeg to taste

1/2 c butter or so

sugar, or whatever


Rub it all together, to resemble fine breadcrumbs. Put on top of the fruit, spread it around evenly, and slightly press down. Bake for 1/2 hour or so, til the top goes a nice golden.

Serve with a scoop of whipped cream, or ice cream, or whatever your choice. Yogurt is pretty yummy, too. :D

Edit 1: I made this with canned peaches the other day, and just as yummy.

Edit 2: I've submitted this to Fun and Food Cafe's Vegetarian Thanksgiving recipe carnival!! Jump on over and have a peek at all the other options...Yum! :p

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I've joined in over at Confessions of a Craft Addict, for Thankful for 30...30 days of gratitude. I am expecting to do as well as...well, Blogtoberfest. :p IE, I left big holes in the schedule all over the place. We'll see how I go. lol

First Gratitude: My babies are all well and healthy today.

Wash my mind....

I accidentally watched 10 minutes of a PETA documentary...I need to get those images out of my head. There is a REASON I never watched Meet Your Meat. I just can't take it.

So I am looking for ANYTHING...a funny joke..a great song...a cool youtube...an incredible pic...just post it here. Please??

Credit: Captured Moments Photography

Leather....

I avoid leather...I don't like the idea of wrapping myself in the skin of a dead animal. Blech. So, I really, really, really, REALLY wish there were some way to match the look and movement of these, without killing an animal in the process. Cause they are GORGEOUS!!!!



Credit: I have no idea...was from a pic sent to me years ago by my SIL. I am sure it's a well known designer, though, so maybe someone else recognizes it??

Meatless Satay Sticks..

Okay, so, disclaimer: I am a lifelong vegetarian, I have never eaten meat, and never will...so I have no clue how these match up to real meat satay sticks. But I don't care, I think they taste damn good as they are, so I make them. :D


Satay Gluten Sticks

I made these ones under the grill, but they also are fantastic on the barbeque. You can serve them however you like; we usually serve them with rice and a salad, or rice and whatever veggies we have grilled.


Gluten

This is how I make my gluten. You can make it however your favorite way is.

Gluten flour

Broth (You can make whatever kind you want...this time, I used a bouillon cube, soy sauce, chopped garlic, black pepper, and bay leaves. Other times, I use mixed herbs, bouillon cubes, etc; or soy sauce and other spices; anything to make a strongly flavored broth, with salt, so the gluten doesn't end up totally tasteless.)


Bring a large pot filled 1/4 of the way with broth (you need a LOT of head space for cooking gluten...it EXPANDS!) to a boil.

Meanwhile, mix gluten flour, however much you need, with a LOT of water. Add the water all at once, and mix thoroughly, fast, so it doesn't clump up. It's better to mix too much water than not enough. Too much can be drained, or even strained, if there's that much. Too little is tough and horrible. I use like a 1:1 1/2 gluten:water ratio.

Mix the gluten til it becomes a cohesive ball. Break of 1-1.5 inch chunks off, and drop into the boiling broth. Cover, and boil for 20 minutes or so...when you pull a piece out and cut it in half, it shouldn't have the rubbery middle anymore. When cooked, drain.


Satay Sauce


1/3 cup or so peanut butter...we prefer crunchy, but you can use whichever kind you want.

1 cup or so coconut milk or cream

chopped clove of garlic

minced red chilli

sesame oil

soy sauce

sugar or sweetener of choice, enough to make the sauce nice and sweet


Mix everything together. Should be runny. Put on a burner, and heat gently til it thickens a little. You still want it to be runny, but not totally liquid.

Put drained gluten in a large bowl, pour satay sauce over, and toss, and then leave to soak for a little while.

Thread chunks onto bamboo skewers (you can add veggie chunks here, too, if you want..whatever you would put on a shishkebab), and grill or bbq. When nice and toasty on all sides, baste with sauce one more time, and put back over the heat to make it nice and bubbly and golden again. Serve!

Grilled Tofu Foccacia Sandwiches

ETA Added a better pic....I'm still obviously not a food photographer, though. :p

Anyway...these were a staple last summer. We made them on the barbeque, and if it was raining, which it did wayyyy too frequently (I know, we are in a drought, the rain is good, all that...but it sure sucks when you don't own a dryer and it RAINS FOR TWO WEEKS STRAIGHT), we would just make them in a frying pan and under the grill. Seriously, you have GOT to try them!!

Grilled Tofu Foccacia Sandwiches


Garlic Chili Lime Butter

1 c butter
1 red chili
1-2 cloves garlic, minced
Zest from 2 limes, and juice from 1 half

Mix all together well. Get the zest and juice for this first, cause it is hard to zest squeezed limes. This stuff is unreal.

Tofu

Large block extra firm tofu (reg will work, too, but extra firm won't fall apart as easily), sliced

Marinate in:

1/4 c olive oil
Juice of the rest of the limes
1/2 T sea salt
1 red chili, minced
1-2 cloves garlic, minced
1-2 T sugar (I've used raw and brown sugar, and honey; maple syrup would be just as awesome.)


Grill tofu slices on barbecue, basting with sauce; or, fry in nonstick frying pan, spooning sauce over it as it cooks.


Mayonnaise

Condensed milk
Balsamic or cider vinegar
Black pepper

Mix together CD and BV in 2:1 proportions, til it thickens. Taste. If too much like sour condensed milk, add more vinegar. If too much like vinegar, add more milk. Mix in pepper.


Salad greens

Mixed salad greens. I use the kind with arugula, spinach, and radicchio (however you spell that ), etc, but any kind will work.


Foccacia bread

I use this bread, cause we love it, but any chewy, hearty bread will work.

Split bread, butter with the chili lime garlic butter, and put on barbecue to grill and melt. If using a grill, toast the bottoms first, and then flip and put butter on, and toast again.


Cheese

Um, yeah, sliced cheese.

Mashed Avocado


Assemble all ingredients into a sandwich. Serve. Yum.

White Pizza..

Everyone has their own favorite recipe for pizza with red sauce. But I've found that not many people have heard of pizza with white sauce. Let me tell you, they are missing OUT. We had a little get together with the IL's for MIL's birthday, and I made white pizza, and actually remembered to take a pic! :p So you guys get one of my recipes. Heh.

This is a pretty full on pizza, and we usually only make it for special occasions...we couldn't handle it much for an everyday thing!


White Pizza

Your favorite pizza crust. I don't have a recipe, so I can't give you one; I just dump stuff in the bowl.

White sauce, made with milk and cornstarch, salt and pepper. Make it plenty thick so it doesn't run off the sides of the pizza. Not gluggy, though!

1/2 block of cream cheese (optional), added to white sauce after cooking

Pesto

Toppings:

Sliced red onions

Sliced mushrooms

Pitted kalamata olives

Roasted pumpkin or winter squash chunks

Baby spinach leaves, whole, or larger leaves, chopped

Marinated artichoke hearts

Red, yellow and green bell peppers, sliced

Feta cubes

Ricotta (this is not the stuff in the tub, this is the Italian stuff in the deli...it's basically the same as paneer, so you can use that, instead)

Fresh basil leaves, chopped roughly

Shredded mozzarella


Other options:

Sundried tomatoes

Roasted peppers

Minced hot red chilli

Avocado (Note: this is actually on my pizza up there, but the general consensus among anyone with any sense of taste is that cooked avo is putrid. Dh doesn't agree, though, so his half had some on. Blech. Other people might like it, too, though, since cooked avo seems to be on gourmet pizza menus all the time, so I added it to the list)

Corn (fresh off the cob, frozen, canned, whatever)

Etc etc etc


Make your dough, and after rising, etc, roll it out, put it on a well greased pan, poke with a fork all over to keep it from bubbling all out of shape, and bake in a HOT oven (I usually just turn the oven up to 500*...a HOT oven makes the best pizzas) for 10 min or so, til almost done. Take out, and top.

Spread the pesto on first, all over, and then a nice layer of white sauce. Top with all the rest of your toppings, top with the shredded cheese last, and then throw in the oven til browning and bubbling on top. YUM!

Mega yummy brown rice salad..

I made this one day by throwing the last little bit of everything edible in my fridge together, and it turned out to be SO yummy that it gets requested at least once or twice a week, even by the brown rice haters around here (ahem..me.)

Recipe, of sorts:

Brown Rice Salad

4-6 cups Cooked, cooled long grain brown rice

4-6 cups salad mix, chopped into bite size pieces

A couple of grated carrots

cucumber or two, sliced

sliced green onions

a stalk or two of diced celery

2-3 cups plain yogurt...I use Greek yogurt, cause it is nice and thick

shredded cheese, 1/4 cup or so

the chilli oil I talked about here, 1-2 tablespoons, depending on how much heat you like

salt and pepper to taste


Assemble and mix well. Serve!!

ETA This recipe makes a LOT...enough for a full meal for my large eating family, and enough for a normal family to take to a potluck, lol. It can keep for about two meals, otherwise the cukes and salad starts getting soggy.

Summer rolls.....

I LOVE summer rolls...the rest of the family, not so much. So I don't make them that often. I made them the other day, though.

If anyone cares, here's basically the recipe:


Summer Rolls

Assorted veggies, shredded or julienned as appropriate (carrots, green onions, cucumbers, lettuce etc)

Shiitake mushrooms, dried or fresh (dried, soak in hot water til soft, and slice. Fresh, just slice)

Bean thread (cellophane noodles, bean noodles, whatever they are called in your area of the world)

Seasoned tofu, sliced into sticks

Toasted sesame seeds

Rice paper wrappers


Sauce

Soy sauce

Lee Kum Kee Chiu Chow chilli oil (more about that in a second)

Chinkiang vinegar (ditto)

Sugar



Prep all the veggies and have them laid out on the board, ready to go. Get a bowl of hot water ready, wide enough for the whole wrapper to settle in at once without cracking.

Dip one wrapper in, hold there for 30 seconds or so til it's soft enough to bend without cracking, lay it on your plate or board, and fill with a little bit of everything, laying in a short line at the bottom. Don't overfill, or you won't be able to roll it. To roll, fold the bottom up over the filling and pull it all firmly in. Fold the sides in on each side, and then roll the filling up the rest of the way. Continue with the rest.

Mix the sauce together, and enjoy. :)


Note: For the sauce, I used two easily available Asian ingredients, but I don't know what the English terms would be. The chilli oil is the same stuff you get when you go to a sushi or Japanese dumpling place, for dipping in. This is what the bottle looks like:

I *know* the bottle looks all greasy and cruddy. I use it all the time, what do you expect!? Hmmph. (I make an unreal brown rice salad using it..I'll post that recipe one of these times, too :D )

Anyway, it's not the same as normal chilli oil; it's seasoned, and has a fairly distinct, yummy flavor.

I also used a vinegar...I think it's what might be called black vinegar, but don't quote me on that. This is what *it* looks like:


It's also a fairly distinct flavor.

That all said, you can make whatever sauce you want, as long as it's nice and strongly flavored. My dh prefers peanut dressing, anyway. :p

I urge you all to run RUN and get you a pie maker. I LOVE these things. I made a...um...not quite chicken pot pie thing last night for dinner...SO SO yummy! I say not quite, because being a vegetarian, obviously I wouldn't be sticking chunks of dead chicken in my pie, right?? :p (Sorry, this is the picture that looked the least like it was from a 1970's Reader's Digest cookbook, lol!)



Anybody want a recipe..ish?


Not-Chicken Veggie Pie


Gluten flour
Bouillon seasoning (I used this mushroom seasoning ....very yummy stuff! Available in Asian shops. They also make an Aloe Vera seasoning that's pretty yummy too)
Nutritional yeast


Potatoes
Carrots
Frozen peas and Corn
Bell peppers
Cheese
Cream cheese
Salt
Pepper
Garlic

Pastry (I usually take the easy way out, and use frozen puff pastry, but you can make whatever you like)


Mix gluten flour with plenty of water...if you add too much and it's just mushy or soupy, just drain it or press it a little, to make it firm enough. Too firm, though, is pretty horrible, imo!

Bring water to a boil with seasoning and yeast in it....you want this strong and brothy, to flavor the gluten. Chop gluten into small pieces 1/2" or so, and drop them into the boiling water one by one, so they don't glue themselves together. Boil for 10 minutes or so, til the middle is cooked (no more rubber inside). You can also make bigger chunks, and just increase the cooking time a little. Drain.

Chop potatoes into 1/2" chunks, boil til mostly done, toss in the bell pepper cut into same size chunks, and the peas and corn. Finish cooking it all together. Drain.

Add cream cheese and grated cheese to taste, as well as the salt, pepper, and pressed garlic. Add in the precooked gluten chunks, mix altogether, and fill your pies!! I use my handy dandy mini pie maker but you can make it just as well in the oven, in any size you want. Enjoy! :D

I am a noodle fiend..

I love noodles, all noodles, in soup, fried, baked, as spaghetti, whatever. I ordered a noodle stirfry in a food court, watched the old Japanese guy making it, and came home and tried it myself. It actually came out BETTER than the takeout, if you can believe!

I typed up one of my vague, random recipes here. (If Ellenade is reading this, she might recognize the chopsticks!)



A handful each of any suitable veggies (broccoli, carrots, onions, any Asian greens, bean sprouts, bell pepper, etc etc), cut into bite size pieces

Hokkien noodles from the cold section in the supermarket. These are precooked, and just need warming.

Fried tofu pieces (I made my own here, but the premade fried tofu pieces in the store are great, too)

Vegetarian oyster sauce

Soy sauce


Boil a deep pot of water. I put everything into a metal colander, except the sauces, drop the colander into the pot of water, give it a stir to mix it all into the water, and then leave for one minute, til the veggies are barely wilted. You COULD just put it all in the water, and then drain, too, but I usually do a single person at a time (prepare one while the other is cooking), and keeping the water going works for me.

Pull out, drain for a minute, and drop into a hot frying pan with a couple tablespoons of oil. Throw in enough oyster sauce to thoroughly coat the noodles and veggies (I think mine came to about 1/4 cup), and a good splash of soy sauce; toss well, and serve!!!

For one person, this could take five minutes, with a little organization!