Kitchen: Indian Summer Pudding

Indian Summer Pudding

I was in the mood for apple crisp the other night, but it was still kind of hot...like over 100°.  I also had wanted to see what I could do with my Mom's recipe for Malt-o-Meal with added beaten egg, brown sugar, milk, butter, and vanilla beaten into it.  This, Indian Summer Pudding was the result.

I used Organic Blue Cornmeal for the base.  It makes a lovely lavender color when prepared.

I was lucky to find this at Sprouts...keeps in freezer!

This dish is best eaten soon after making...

• 1/2 cup blue cornmeal (fine ground) 
• 1 TB ground flax seed (optional)
• 1 1/2 cup water
• one large beaten egg
• 1 TB Sugar (or sweetener of your choice)
• 1 TB butter
• 1 tsp high-grade vanilla
• milk to thin--if needed
• 
  

bring water to the boil...add a pinch of salt if you wish, but it is not necessary.  While stirring with a whisk, slowly add the cornmeal.  If it gets too thick to stir, you can add more water or milk. (Make sure you have  all ingredients right next to the stove--you don't want to leave the pan--you need to continue stirring or pull it off the stove.)
Reduce heat to low...whisk in beaten egg.  This will "fluff" the mixture a little.  When the egg is "cooked" you can turn the heat off and add vanilla, sugar (or agave or your choice of sweetener), and butter.  You want a thick paste that will "set up".  If it is too thin it won't act like a "crust". (It will still taste ok though.)

Lightly butter a casserole or deep dish pie plate.  Smooth the mixture over the bottom.

The "filling" is really a quick fruit compote that I serve with pork or chicken.  You can substitute any fruits and nuts that you prefer.  This is what I usually use.

• 1 can sliced peaches packed in pear juice. (You will use the juice from the can, pears might work with this, too.)

a couple of handfuls of dried fruits and nuts, including  

• raisins (golden or otherwise, or currents)
• dried Montmorency cherries
• dried blueberries
• dried cranberries
• raw almonds
• raw pepitas

add spices to taste:

• cinnamon (alone) OR with
• a little ground clove (very little or one whole clove)
• allspice
• 1 tsp vanilla (after away from heat)

Heat the peaches, dried fruits and nuts, and spices, until the fruits and nuts are plumped...stirring as needed over a low heat. (It will burn if you leave it too long)

When the fruit is plumped, remove from heat and allow to cool.  The mixture should be much thicker.

The topping I used was 

• 2% Fage plain Greek Yogurt with a little 
• agave syrup to sweeten.  (Add to your taste...or leave it plain--it's good that way, too.) 
• 1 tsp vanilla

you might use almond flavoring or even cherry.

This didn't take very much time...and my husband LOVED it!!  I managed to get one serving of this, my son didn't get any.  My husband had seconds and then took the balance in his lunch the next day. 

This is the kind of recipe that you use what you have on hand, and what you like.  There is nothing "exact" about it.  I liked that I could put in the ground flax seed--and my husband didn't balk a bit.  You could easily sneak in all kinds of healthy additions--wheat germ, etc.  Just don't overpower it.

The colors and flavors remind me of an Indian Summer

Let me know if you try this and what fruits and nuts you used!
 

Kitchen: Corn Fritter Pancakes for DINNER!

Corn Fritter Pancakes...Great for Dinner!

We enjoy eating "breakfast" for dinner once in a while.  It can lower the average cost of dinner meals if you throw in "breakfast" for dinner.  Pancakes and eggs...and sausage or bacon or a slab of ham if you desire meat as well, (my husband does...).  Add a fruit salad and milk or a cup of coffee and there you are.

Making these is pretty simple.  Use whatever pancake recipe you prefer...you can even use pancake mix.  You will need to adjust the liquid because you will be using a small can of creamed corn which adds some moisture. 

Here is the recipe that I used--I actually prefer substituting half wheat flour and reducing or eliminating the salt, especially since there is salt in the creamed corn and baking soda will add saltiness.

Corn Fritter Pancakes *

combine dry ingredients

 in a batter bowl or large (8 cup) measuring cup

• 1 cup unbleached flour just stir to add a little air before measuring--sifting is not required
• 1 TB sugar
• 1 TB baking powder (look for a product without aluminum in it)
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt (OPTIONAL--I chose to omit this)

using a whisk (or a fork ) mix thoroughly to distribute the ingredients well.

combine liquid ingredients 

• 1  cup (plus maybe a little more) buttermilk or sour milk** (see info below)
• 1 egg well beaten
• 2 TB cooking oil (like olive, corn, canola, etc.)
• 1 small can of creamed corn

blend the liquids until well mixed

Add the dry ingredients all at once, stirring lightly to combine.  You are just trying to combine and wet the ingredients--over mixing is not a good idea.  If you find that there is NOT enough moisture, you may need to add a bit more milk.  How can you tell?  If the batter does not spread on it's own--it is too thick.  If it runs all over the place, there is not enough flour...it not as easy to fix that...so better to be too thick, than too thin!

**to make "soured milk" place 1 TB apple cider vinegar (you might substitute lemon juice) in the measuring cup and then fill with milk to the measure.

To cook the pancakes, heat the griddle and then check with a few drops of water to see if they dance around.  If they instantly dry up--too hot...reduce heat and wait until the drops dance.  If they just sit and sizzle or do little--not hot enough.  Make sure you use some oil on the skillet to keep them from sticking. (You will need to add more during the cooking process)  

you want to see "bubbles breaking" and dryness around the edge to turn

Use a 1/4 cup measuring cup to get a "perfect" size consistently.  The batter should spread mostly by itself, but ok if you help a little.  Wait until you see the edges beginning to "dry"--won't appear shiny...and the bubbles beginning to break...then turn...only once for best results.

It won't be long to cook the other side.  If you like--remove them to a warmed plate, and place in a warm oven or even the microwave.  If there will be any time at all before serving, it might be helpful to place them on a paper towel to help keep the excess moisture build up.

Serve with butter and usually these are topped off with a dusting of powdered sugar--use a sieve and sprinkle the sugar on top.  Of course, you might like honey, or maple syrup, or even molasses on top.  A couple fried eggs, or maybe scrambled and a slice of ham go well with this.  A fruit salad and you have your breakfast for dinner!

• The plate used at the top is by LENOX: Desert Vista.

KITCHEN: POT PIE "PASTY"

hand held pot pie--pasty version with substitutes in dough

Hand Held Pot Pie--Pasty version

     I am fond of chicken pot pie and beef pot pie.  Those that are currently available in the stores...I am not so fond of.  I decided to try to make my own version of a hand-held pot pie using the Cornish pasty as a model. 

•  "Pasties" are connected to Cornwall England and were eaten by miners...The traditional Cornish pasty would have been filled with uncooked skirt steak, potatoes, "swede" (aka rutabaga) and onion.  Also, the bakers of these hand-held lunches placed sweet "pie" like finish at one end of the pie.  Lunch and dessert being baked into one item.  They were made into a "D" shaped half round, not sealed on the top, as this one pictured above is.  There would be a thick sealed crust that served as a "handle"--and initials of the "eater" were often placed on one end, so the "eater" would know which end to start with...meal or dessert.  
• Historically, though, I believe the pasties began as a venison version...and there seem to be plenty of recipes that include other meats, veggies, and fruit versions, pre-dating the Cornish version.

 I chose the following pasty recipe--only I tweaked it with a few changes and substitutions.  (link to the original recipe)
http://www.food.com/recipe/butte-pasty-dough-278820

• 3 1/3 c. flour
• 1 1/3 c. shortening or butter flavored shortening 

 This I changed to:

• 3 1/3 c. flour 
• 1 packet Flax Paks* (ground flax seed)
• 1 TB wheat germ
• 1/2 tsp Vege-Sal (or a celery salt)
• freshly ground pepper (to taste)

 and fat substitution

• 1 1/3 c. mashed avocado and butter combined (about half and half)

Combine the dry ingredients well. Mash a whole avocado and add butter to make up the difference to 1 1/3 cup of "fat".  The avocado could probably be substituted for all the fat, but in the case of desiring a more flaky crust...I chose the butter.  (Though it didn't really make a very flaky crust.)  Proceed by blending the "fat" into the flour with a pastry cutter until it is fine and crumbly.


The original recipe called for quite a bit of liquid, which I prepared, but didn't use nearly what it specified.

• one egg, whisked
• 1 TB white vinegar
• 1/2 TB sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• cold water--enough to bring the liquid to one cup.

I did make this preparation, but did NOT need nearly that much of it to moisten the flour enough to form a dough.  I don't think I used more than half of this mixture, since the avocado has a measure of moisture to it, besides the fat.  

This dough recipe was supposed to make TWELVE large pasties...I was only able to manage EIGHT, and I felt that I probably should have rolled the dough out a little thicker than I did.

Another "misjudgement" I made was in the time it would take to bake the pasties.  Silly me, I thought that since I had already pre-cooked the filling, that it would NOT take a full hour for the pastry to bake...WRONG.  I was doing a face palm when I realized how over-done the filling must be!  Though the results were not exactly what I was desiring, I can see that if I continue to tweak the recipe, I may end up with what I am going for.

To make the filling prepare 

• carrots and celery, diced small
• 2 TB olive oil

If you are using onions, then dice and add those together with the carrots and celery into a heavy soup pot, bringing them to a sweat, and beginning the browning process.  Since I used leeks instead, they tend to burn and develop a "bitterness" if you try to brown them too much.  I added the leeks after the carrots and celery were browned.

• boneless, skinless chicken thighs, (raw) diced (small chunks)

Stir in raw chicken meat (breast would work fine too).  Brown it and season with

• salt
• pepper
• poultry seasoning
• garlic

 stirring all the while to make sure it doesn't burn!  
Add

• 4 cups chicken stock or broth

Allow the meat and veggies to cook--although when I do this again, I certainly will not cook them 'til tender, since they will have more cooking time in the oven.


It is important to STRAIN the stock/broth off and allow the chicken and veggies to cool since this type of recipe does NOT call for gravy to be baked into it...you can use the liquid to make a gravy to pour of the top of it.  If you try to put a hot filling into the dough you will have a mess!!    I added a little milk and thickened the stock with a flour and water mixture to make the gravy.

After "resting" your dough for at least 15-20 minutes in the fridge--wrapped in plastic.  Divide your dough into eight balls, and cover in plastic, rolling out one ball at a time.  I used a dessert or salad plate to measure.  (About 8 inches)

I had seen another pasty recipe that sealed the dough at the top, and decided that although it wasn't a traditional finish, it worked best for me.  (You can use a thinner crust if you seal it on top.)

Place the drained and cooled filling on the center of the round and pull up the edges, fold and crimp the edges.  Seal well.  Brush with an egg wash.  Poke a few holes to let out the steam.  Place  four on a baking sheet and set in a moderately hot oven.  I tried 375°, but I think I could have set mine at 400° and cut down the baking time.  Start with the cooler oven, though.  It still took an hour to bake these.

When they come out of the oven, you can smother them in that wonderful gravy!!


These froze very well, the gravy didn't freeze as well.  Taste was fine, just didn't look as nice...a little lumpy!

You can see the little ice crystals from being frozen!

Great to keep these on hand!

*These are handy little packets that keep the milled flax seeds ready for use--and it stays fresh.  Ground flax seeds often go rancid...this way you are good to go!  Sprinkle on cereal or into baked goods--a little goes a LONG WAY!

http://www.carringtonfarms.com/Flax-Products/Flax-Paks.php 

KITCHEN: Green Garlic (eighth in a series)

Scrambled Eggs with green garlic and a bit of hot sauce!

 I'm not sure when I first heard the term "green garlic", but I know it was from my father, who had learned that it was a very popular thing in England.  I can't figure out why few people, even those who grow their own garlic don't take advantage of this.  It takes no special gardening technique and you can pick the garlic bulbs up at most grocery stores, so you don't even need to go to a nursery.  The taste is a mild garlic flavor which is often used in scrambled eggs and salads.  Snipped into small pieces, you can add it to mashed potatoes.

Easy to grow on your front porch...

 We tried growing some of the regular garlic from bulbs in the grocery store.  While they do eventually grow, we found out that organically grown garlic is NOT treated with an anti-growth product that other garlic often is.  For that reason, I recommend (if you choose  "grocery store" garlic), that you use "organic" for greater success.  To plant: Separate the garlic into cloves (do not remove the skin) root side down--tip up--bury in the soil about a 1/2 - 1 inch covering the tip at least 6 inches apart.  (We've even planted less deep, since we are NOT intending to grow the garlic for the bulbs, but for the green spears.)

just chop these and use like you would green onion

Within a couple of weeks or so, you should see "life" springing forth from the cloves.  The important thing to remember when harvesting the spears is to take small to medium length spears, one or two from each planting...the larger ones are tough, and may be dried and ground for yet another flavor from your garlic garden.  Taking more than one or two of the inner spears can cause the plant to die or affect it's growth.  Like green onions, you may need to replant for green garlic more often than for bulb garlic.  Normally you would harvest "outer leaves", but I want the most tender leaves, so harvest those sparingly.
I prefer green garlic in eggs, salads, "green drinks", topping for baked potatoes, and anywhere you think you might like a more mild addition of garlic.  Because it is so mild, kids may learn to like garlic this way.
Of course, my preferred brand of eggs is Great Day Farms Omega-3 eggs.  See last weeks blog about the eggs--
Great Day Farms Omega-3 Eggs 

KITCHEN: Great Day Farms Omega-3 Eggs (7th in a series)

Great Day Farms Omega-3 Eggs with Lutein

Great Day Farms Omega-3 Eggs... 

• 350 mg Omega-3
• 300 mcg Lutein
• 6 g protein

Yes, eggs are notorious for having "cholesterol", but eggs are also notorious for being a healthy choice--and in my book--the yolk is the best part of the deal!   The yolk has lecithin (a phospholipid) in it that seems to hinder the absorption of the cholesterol inherent in the eggs.  Omega-3 oils are usually found in fish, but I need to limit my intake of those types of fish.  Lutein is good for your eyes.
This particular brand of eggs is one of the tastiest around, and locally I am able to purchase a DOZEN eggs for $1.77--that's less than .15 an egg!--at Walmart. Such a deal!!  
I bought another brand of eggs the other day, since I couldn't get to the store where the Good Day eggs were available.  My son insisted that I should not have purchased any eggs at all since no other eggs taste like the Good Day eggs!


Eggs are an easy solution to hunger at anytime of day.  We are well aware of 

• hard and soft boiled, 
• scrambled, 
• fried, and 
• omelets for breakfast.  

When we make a hot cereal for breakfast (other than oatmeal) we often whisk in an egg and some vanilla after it is cooked.  The egg fluffs up the cereal a bit. It's really good in purple corn meal or farina-type hot cereal. 


I also enjoy a quick "egg drop soup" for breakfast using

• chicken, beef, or vegetable broth...brought to a boil
• scallions, or carrots, etc...especially if the veggies are already cooked or dried.  (This is optional)
• Stir in a whisked egg for more of a "noodle" effect or drop in for a "bloom" effect.  Usually I opt for the whisked effect.

It is fairly quick and easy to have your breakfast in a cup.  Look for reduced fat/salt versions of your favorite broth or stock--home-made is great too, using drippings from a roasted chicken or roast beef.


Want something a little heartier??  Try Scottish Eggs

• hard boiled eggs
• finely ground sausage or other ground meat
• bread crumbs

Remove the shells from the eggs, cover them with a thin "blanket" of the sausage or ground meat.  Coat the covered eggs in bread crumbs and fry in oil, making sure the meat is fully cooked. [Not sure why they are called Scottish Eggs]


Whip the egg whites to a meringue and bake it in the form of no fat cookies...if you are a little crafty you can pipe the meringue to look like ghosts, kisses, hearts, or little sheep.
Save the yolks for some fantastic creamy rice pudding.  (Yes, raw eggs may be frozen [whole or separated] for a short period of time and used in cooking. But never freeze whole raw eggs in the shell.) If you make the meringue cookies you will have extra yolks--save them for the Creamy Rice Pudding


Back in the "good ol' days", egg whites were also used as a "glue" to put paper labels on glass bottles.


Try adding mashed avocado to mashed egg yolks instead of mayo...YUM!  I don't care for mayo or other spreads, so my deviled eggs are made with the avocado.  I will be doing a blog about avocados one of these days...please watch for it.


If you are tired and need a quick meal after dinner--eggs will not fail you there either.  You can whip up all types of omelets or frittatas.  


Scrambled eggs with country gravy in a flour tortilla, or scrambled eggs with peppers, onions, etc. and hot sauce and cheese in a flour tortilla will make a good quick to heat and eat meal.  When eggs are on sale or we have a coupon, we make a large batch and freeze them, individually wrapped in paper that can go in the microwave.  If heated from frozen state the eggs get a little hard, but still very edible.  Better if you can allow them to thaw in the fridge over night before heating in a microwave.


I like this company and I love their website--especially the EGG FUN--have a look!
Egg Fun 
They even have stuff you can do with the shells and the carton!!  Nothing goes to waste!