Salmon with Asparagus and Herb Vinaigrette

I actually made this for my sweetheart's birthday 3 years ago, while on my hiatus from this site.  It went far more quickly than I expected. 

• 2 (6-ounce) center-cut salmon fillets, about 1 1/2 inches thick
• salt and pepper
• 1/4 C olive oil, divided
• 1 Tbsp butter
• 1 pound thick asparagus, tough ends trimmed
• 1 small shallot, minced
• 4 tsp fresh lemon juice
• 2 tsp minced fresh parsley, basil, or mint leaves
• 1/2 tsp Dijon mustard

1.  Pat salmon dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper.  Heat 2 Tbsp oil in 10-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until just smoking.  Carefully lay salmon in skillet, skin side up, and cook until well browned on first side, about 5 minutes. 
2.  Flip salmon over, reduce heat to medium, and continue to cook until center of thickest part of fillets is still translucent when cut into with paring knife and instant-read thermometer inserted in thickest part registers 125°, about 3 minutes longer.  Transfer salmon to platter, tent loosely with foil, and let rest while cooking asparagus. 
3.  Wipe out skillet with paper towels, add butter and 1 tsp more oil, and heat over medium heat until butter has melted.  Add half of asparagus to skillet with tips pointed in one direction and add remaining spears with tips pointed in opposite direction.  Sprinkle with 1/8 tsp salt and gently shake asparagus into even layer. 
4.  Cover and cook until spears are bright green and still crisp, about 5 minutes.  Uncover, increase heat to high, and continue to cook until spears are tender and well browned on one side, 5 to 7 minutes, using tongs to move spears from center of pan to edge of pan to ensure all are browned.
5.  Meanwhile, whisk remaining 3 Tbsp oil, shallot, lemon juice, parsley, and mustard together in small bowl and season with salt and pepper to taste.  Transfer asparagus to platter with salmon, drizzle with vinaigrette, and serve. 

Robyn's notes: this is probably his favourite meal I've ever cooked for him.  The whole time he was eating it he raved about how good it was.  I can't eat salmon, so I took his word for it.  

***** 5 Stars: Excellent. A favourite for both of us, I will make this repeatedly

Goat Cheese Stuffed Chicken Breast

With Couscous and Strawberries & Cream

This recipe actually came from my old health insurance company.  If I opened their recipe section every day for a month they would send me a Visa gift card, so I absolutely followed through.  Their formatting was awkward and I've made a change, but the nutritional info they provided (see below) is still accurate.

• 2 boneless skinless chicken breast halves, 3.5oz each, pounded to 1/4 inch thickness
• salt and pepper to taste
•  1 oz reduced-fat goat cheese (or feta cheese)
• 4 oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, drained and diced  
• 1/2 C frozen spinach leaves, thawed and drained (or fresh spinach, wilted, see below)
• 1 Tbsp olive oil

1.  Preheat oven to 375°F.  Season both sides of chicken with salt and pepper. 
2.  Combine cheese, tomatoes, and spinach.   Spread mixture down center of each chicken breast.  Roll up and secure with toothpicks.  Place chicken on baking sheet and brush with olive oil.
3.  Bake for 30 minutes, or until juices run clear.
4.  Serve with  1 1/2 C cooked whole wheat couscous (not gluten-free!) and finish with 1 C sliced strawberries topped with 3 Tbsp light whipped cream.

Robyn's notes: I never buy frozen spinach, but I always seem to have fresh baby spinach in the fridge.  Therefore what I've done in making this is to wilt the fresh spinach.  I stem my spinach, then place the leaves in a small skillet with about a Tablespoon of water, then cook on medium-high, gently stirring, for 3-4 minutes or until wilted.  Then I remove the leaves to a paper towel.  Remember that spinach cooks down, so for 1/2 C of prepared leaves about 1 C fresh are needed.  Meal is gluten-free if using a different side dish, like rice.  The nutritional info includes the side dish and dessert.  Watch me demonstrate this recipe on youtube!

*** 3 Stars: Good. At least one of us liked this enough for me to make it again, but not often

 Nutritional Information: 766 calories; 30g fat; 9g saturated fat; 62g protein; 66g carbohydrate; 15g fiber; 412mg sodium

Pear Butter

Served over Baking Powder Biscuits, shown above.

• 3 lbs pears
• 2 C sugar
• 1/2 tsp grated orange peel
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 2 Tbsp + 2 tsp orange juice

1.  Wash pears, core, peel and slice. 
2.  Combine pears and 1/4 C water in a large saucepot.  Simmer until pears are soft.  Puree using a food processor or food mill, being careful not to liquefy.
3.  Measure 1 quart pear pulp, combine with sugar in a large saucepot, stirring until sugar dissolves.  Add remaining ingredients.  Cook until thick enough to round up on a spoon.  As mixture thickens, stir frequently to prevent sticking. 
4.  Ladle hot butter into hot jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace.  Remove air bubbles, adjust two-piece caps.  Process 10 minutes in a boiling-water canner at sea level, increasing 1 minute for every additional 1,000 feet elevation.

Yield: 5 half-pints

Robyn's notes: I made this the same day I made Spiced Peach Butter, and while he didn't have a preference between the two, enjoying them both, I admit I preferred this one slightly.  It had such a fresh, summery feel that I didn't want to stop eating it!  I did make one error with this, taking a phone call while the pulp was cooking.  I knew that the peach butter had cooked for over 25 minutes uncovered, so I covered this batch and stirred less frequently.  At the end of my phone call I realized I was approaching that 25 minute mark, and rushed to stir.  It had started to stick while I wasn't watching it, and a small amount of the butter scorched.  Fortunately it didn't give a burned flavour to the whole batch, and I got to it in time, but it's a good reminder to focus on one task at a time. 

**** 4 Stars: Very Good.  Enjoyed by us both, I will make this frequently.

Spiced Peach Butter

Served over Baking Powder Biscuits, shown above.

• 2-2.5lbs peaches
• 2 C sugar
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1.  Wash and blanch peaches.  Put peaches in cold water; peel, pit, and slice peaches. 
2.  Combine peaches and 1/4 C water in a large saucepot.  Simmer until peaches are soft.  Puree using a food processor or food mill, being careful not to liquefy. 
3.  Measure 1 quart peach pulp, combine with sugar and spices in a large saucepot.  Cook until thick enough to round up on a spoon.  As mixture thickens, stir frequently to prevent sticking.
4.  Ladle hot butter into hot half-pint jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace.  Remove air bubbles, adjust two-piece caps.  Process 10 minutes in a boiling-water canner at sea level, increasing 1 minute for each additional 1,000 feet elevation.

Yield: about 5 half-pints

Robyn's notes: the only peaches available to me were cling, where I'd rather have had freestone.  While peeling went surprisingly well, I mangled the heck out of each peach in attempting to get the pits out.  For the peeling process I had each peach in the boiling water for a full 60 seconds, while my instructions suggested 30-45.  However, I had canned peaches in light syrup the previous day and found them very hard to peel, and remembering that water boils at 208F at my altitude, felt that the longer blanch might help.  It definitely did, after each peach had been moved to a bowl of ice water for a couple minutes the peels slid right off.  The thickening took longer than anticipated, I was cooking the pulp for more than 25 minutes before I decided it was probably good enough.  Again, at this altitude, everything takes longer to cook.  We definitely liked this, and when I asked if he had a preference between the two flavours of fruit butter I made that day he said no.  Personally, I felt that this was slightly more of a winter dish, but that's probably because I made the spiced version, and I associate those spices more with the holidays.  It can also be made as plain peach butter, by omitting the ginger, nutmeg, and cinnamon.

*** 3 Stars: Good.  At least one of us liked this enough for me to make it again, but not often

Grilled Chicken with Chipotle-Orange Glaze

This is the recipe I bought the chipotles in adobo sauce for in the first place! 

• 1 Tbsp orange juice concentrate, thawed (see notes, below)
• 1 1/2 tsp finely chopped chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
• 1 1/2 tsp balsamic vinegar
• 1 tsp molasses
• 1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
• 2 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (8 oz total)
• 1/8 tsp salt

1.  Preheat grill or broiler to high, lightly oil the rack.
2.  Whisk orange juice concentrate, chipotles, vinegar, molasses, and mustard in a small bowl.
3.  Sprinkle chicken with salt.  Grill or broil chicken for 2 minutes.  Turn the chicken, brush with glaze, and cook, brushing occasionally with more glaze, 4 minutes more.  Turn the chicken again, brush with the glaze, and cook until no longer pink in the middle, 2 to 5 minutes more.

Robyn's notes: the day is not coming when I will either thaw an entire package of orange juice concentrate in order to use 1 Tablespoon or try to shave off the right amount still frozen to just thaw a bit.  So what I did was juice an orange into a thin glass early in the day, and let it sit.  The juice will separate, with much of the water rising to the top and leaving a concentrated juice at the bottom.  I poured off the watery top and used just the remaining thick juice for this recipe.  Because of my sensitivity to spice, I didn't chop up the chipotle.  I left the whole pepper in the bowl when I whisked the glaze together, so it would provide some kick but not too much.  It's a good thing, too, because this was quite spicy for me, though quite good.  After slicing the chicken for the plate I drizzled on a little extra glaze.  I broiled this, but it would be oven-free if grilled.

*** 3 Stars: Good. At least one of us liked this enough for me to make it again, but not often

 

Raspberry-Glazed Chicken

For several years I found myself regularly running across recipes that called for "seedless raspberry jam", but couldn't find the stuff in any of my local stores.  I've made raspberry jam, but straining out the seeds was a pain, and due to my health problems I should avoid seeds as much as possible, so just substituting regular jam didn't seem the best idea.  I did eventually find the product, and of course bought it immediately...then couldn't find any of those recipes again.  This one doesn't necessarily require seedless, but I find it better and now that I have the jar I might as well enjoy it!

• 2 tsp canola oil
• 2 boneless skinless chicken breast halves
• 3 Tbsp raspberry jam
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard
• 1/2 C raspberries (frozen and thawed is ok)

1.  In 10-inch nonstick skillet, heat oil over medium heat.  Cook chicken in oil 15 to 20 minutes, turning once, until juice of chicken is clear when cut.
2.  In small bowl, mix jam and mustard.  Spoon jam mixture over chicken; top with raspberries.

Robyn's notes: I was pleasantly surprised at how good this was, as I expected it to just be acceptable.  The sweet from the jam combined with the sharp bite of the mustard worked great together.  I served this with Creamy Couscous, which I think was a good choice for the dish. GF: check your mustard, some brands are free of cross-contamination, others may not be. 

**** 4 Stars: Very Good. Enjoyed by us both, I will make this frequently
 

Chunky Applesauce

My mom has been making this applesauce for a good 45 years or so.  Back when she started, my great-grandfather gave her a crate of apples every year that he'd grown, and they had to be dealt with before they turned, so applesauce was a great project.  She doesn't use a recipe, so she sent me basic instructions for her method, which I have used repeatedly and turned into this recipe.  Read all notes before beginning.

• 3 lbs apples (about 8 medium)
• 1 1/2 C apple juice
• 1/2 C sugar
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon

1.  Core, quarter, and peel apples, cut them into 1 inch chunks.
2.  In large saucepan, combine apple juice and cut-up apples.  Bring to a boil, cover, and simmer 15-20 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally.
3.  Using sugar and cinnamon, sweeten to taste.  Be careful!  These apples and the liquid they're sitting in can burn your tongue.  Be aware that the apples will taste sweeter when hot, so for a very sweet applesauce it may be necessary to over-sweeten them at this stage.
4.  Return to a boil for about 1 minute, remove from heat and allow to cool for 10 minutes.  Smash with potato masher to desired consistency.  (For creamy applesauce, press through a ricer or food mill instead)

Applesauce is ready to eat at this point, or it can be preserved in a boiling water canner as follows.

5.  Carefully ladle hot applesauce into hot half-pint jars, leaving 1/2 inch headspace.  Remove all bubbles; wipe rims and adjust lids.  Process for 10 minutes in a boiling water canner at sea level, increasing processing time by 1 minute for each 1,000 feet of additional altitude.

Yield: 5 half-pints

Robyn's notes: I've used several different varieties of apples, but have to say that my favourite batches have been made with two varieties together.  Because of what's available at my market this has generally been Fuji and Golden Delicious.  I have been told that the best varieties for applesauce are those as well as Braeburn, Cortland, Crispin, McIntosh, Liberty, and Rome.  Use a saucepan large enough that the liquid and apple chunks combined in it fill no more than 30-50% of the interior.  While simmering, the apples will splatter and bubble up the sides, so they need a lot of room in the pan.  The juice should be enough to cover the bottom of your pan by 1/2 inch.  A larger saucepan may need more than I use.  Water can be used in place of apple juice, but the flavor will not be as deep and more sugar will need to be used.  I always use 100% not-from-concentrate apple juice.  While I'm a fan of the assembly-line method of doing practically anything, I don't use it for prepping the apples.  As soon as they are exposed to the air they will start to oxidize, but this will be slowed when they're in the juice.  So I do each apple as quickly as possible without risking my fingers and move on to the next.  I have never measured the cinnamon, instead just dashing it in.  I quite like the taste of cinnamon in my applesauce, so if I use a bit too much I'm ok with it, it just makes for darker applesauce. 

**** 4 Stars: Very Good. Enjoyed by us both, I will make this frequently

Homemade Magic Shell

"Magic Shell" is, of course, a brand name, but it's the term most people are familiar with. This is the chocolate sauce for ice cream that is liquid when it's poured on, then goes immediately solid.

• 1/4 C semi-sweet chocolate morsels 
• 1 1/2 Tbsp coconut oil 

1. In double boiler, melt both ingredients, stirring to combine.
2. Remove from heat and allow to cool for two minutes.
3. Pour over ice cream, wait for shell to harden, and enjoy!  

Robyn's notes: if the sauce is not used right away, it should be refrigerated, as there are no preservatives like the bottled store-bought version has. The sauce will of course harden in the fridge, it can be microwaved to return to liquid form before using, or the container it's in can be placed in a hot water bath.

**** 4 Stars: Very Good. Enjoyed by us both, I will make this frequently

Havarti-Dill Mashed Potatoes

• 1 large russet potato
• 1/4 C milk
• 1 Tbsp butter
• 2 Tbsp shredded Havarti cheese
• 1 tsp fresh dill
• salt and pepper to taste

1. Peel potato and chop into 1/2 inch pieces (see notes below). Place in large saucepan and add enough water to cover. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer, covered, for 20 minutes or until potatoes can be broken up with a fork.
2. Drain, return to saucepan, and shake over low heat for 1 minute. Mash in remaining ingredients, leaving some potato chunks if desired.

Robyn's notes: he likes potato skin in his mashed potatoes, I can't have the skins, so I sometimes make two versions of any mashed potatoes, peeling half the potato for mine and leaving the other half unpeeled for his.  Add the milk while mashing, depending on the size of the potato it may not be necessary to use the full amount.  Havarti, being a semi-soft cheese, is difficult to shred.  It can help to spray the grater with cooking spray, or simply cut it into small pieces off the block instead of shredding. 

**** 4 Stars: Very Good. Enjoyed by us both, I will make this frequently

Queso Blanco

Last Wednesday I leaned over the bed to pull off the fitted sheet for washing, and immediately felt a series of spasms in my lower back.  I have a herniated disc that leads to sciatica, so this is not the first time I've experienced this, it generally happens about once a year.  This time I fell forward onto my face screaming from the pain, which is where I remained until my sweetheart got home and rescued me.  He moved me onto my back in bed with pillows under my knees, and I stayed there until Thursday morning when we went to the ER for stronger pain meds and muscle relaxants.  Monday was the first day I was truly up and moving around, but since it's best for this sort of back problem to keep moving as much as possible, I decided that today I'd make the most basic of cheeses.  Queso blanco is not a melting cheese, but it's good on crackers or bread, sliced and fried, or sprinkled over tacos or refried beans.  Read all my notes at the bottom before beginning, the recipe I followed was not perfect.

• 1/2 gallon cow's milk (raw or pasteurized is ok, not ultrapasteurized)
• 1/4 C lime juice (for me this was every drop of 3 limes)
• salt to taste

1.  Heat milk in a non-aluminum pot on medium-low heat for about 10 minutes (see notes, below) or until it looks like it’s just about to boil. If you have an instant-read thermometer, heat until milk is between 185°F and 190°F.
2.  Pour in lime juice. The curds will separate from the whey and the mixture will begin to look lumpy or grainy.  Simmer for 2-3 minutes.
3.  Pour the pot’s contents into a cheesecloth-lined colander and drain for 2-3 minutes.  Sprinkle curds with salt (see notes, below).  If desired, add herbs, spices, or chopped chiles (about 1/4 C of chopped chiles would be right, or about 1/2 Tbsp of fresh herbs.  Really it's whatever tastes best to you, you'd need to experiment).
4.  Gather curds in the center, tie the cheesecloth’s ends and hang the cloth on the faucet so it can drain for 4 hours or overnight.
5.  Untie cheesecloth, and store cheese in sealed container in the refrigerator.  It will keep as long as the milk would have, so note the expiration date on the milk before disposing of the packaging.

Robyn's notes: I used raw cow's milk because it's easily available, but as mentioned above, pasteurized is fine.  Ultrapasteurized should never be used for making cheese.  The recipe I was following phrased step 1 almost exactly as I've written it here, and since it didn't say whether or not to cover the heating milk, I left it uncovered so I could see better when it was getting close to a boil (I have many thermometers of various types, all are still in storage).  When, after 15 minutes, the milk was just slightly warm to the touch, I put the lid on.  Another 30 minutes later, it still wasn't coming up to a boil and I bumped the burner to a slightly higher heat.  Counting from the time I first turned on the stove, it took 50 minutes to get the milk to the proper temperature, and I've seen other people comment that they had the same experience.  A lot of this will depend on your stove, the size of the pot you use, etc.  Visually for me, the milk quickly got a yellow skin on top, and after all that time tiny bubbles started to form all across the underside of that skin.  When I poured in the lime juice I did give it a quick stir, but didn't agitate it very much.  The entire pot separated without my having to do so.  I only used two thicknesses of cheesecloth over my strainer, and I lost a lot of curds, so in future I'll probably use four thicknesses.  The recipe I followed gave no guidelines as to amount of salt.  It just said it was ok to use more than you normally would, because a lot of the salt will drain out as the cheese dries.  Since I didn't know how much "normal" was, I used about 1/2 tsp.  It was definitely not enough.  As I was draining in the strainer, I scraped the cheesecloth with a spoon in several places to help the whey drain out.  I would recommend not pressing with the back of a spoon, as that will just force the curds through.  The completed recipe worked, but the cheese was completely tasteless.  I've had queso blanco many times, and while it's a mild cheese it does usually have some flavour.  This did not.  Obviously if I'd added herbs, spices, or chiles it would have been different, and I will try that in the future and revise my rating if it improves.  For now I'm being generous in a 3 star rating, as so many of the instructions were vague and the final product tastes like nothing.
 

*** 3 Stars: Good. At least one of us liked this enough for me to make it again, but not often

Spinach Cucumber Salad with Yogurt Dressing

I don't really like to buy salad dressing unless I'm using it to cook with.  I'd much rather make my own, as it's fresher and can be made in small amounts as needed.

• 1/2 Tbsp lemon juice
• 1/4 tsp honey
• 1 Tbsp plain yogurt
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 Tbsp fresh mint, chopped
• salt and pepper to taste
• 2 C baby spinach leaves
• 1/2 cucumber, peeled, seeded, and halved lengthwise (see notes, below)
• few slices red onion

1. Whisk the lemon juice and honey in a bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk the yogurt and olive oil together. Add the yogurt mixture to the lemon juice mixture in a thin stream, whisking constantly. Stir in mint, then add the salt and pepper to taste. Cover and chill the dressing for up to 24 hours.
2.  Combine the spinach, cucumbers and onion in a large bowl. Season with a little salt and pepper if desired. Add just enough dressing to moisten the salad. Toss to coat, and serve with extra dressing on the side.

Robyn's notes: My sweetheart prefers that I not peel or seed cucumber, as lots of nutrition is lost in disposing of the peel, so I just wash it well and slice it into half-coins.  This is a side salad, not an entree salad, and was made to use leftover cucumber, red onion, and yogurt from recent meals.  I can't eat spinach, cucumber, or red onion, so I can only go by his opinion, which was that this was "fine".  Dressing smelled nice, I can say that!  

*** 3 Stars: Good. At least one of us liked this enough for me to make it again, but not often

Luleh Kebabs with Yogurt-Cucumber Sauce

As far as I can determine, Luleh Kebabs are an Armenian dish (though some others claim them, mostly people of various Persian descents).  Traditionally, they would be made with ground lamb, but as I didn't get this recipe from a traditional source, ground beef has been substituted.  This is an American Heart Association/American Diabetes Association approved dish.

Yogurt-Cucumber Sauce

• 1/4 C fat-free plain yogurt
• 2 Tbsp finely chopped, peeled, and seeded cucumber
• 1/8 tsp dried dillweed, crumbled
• dash of pepper

Kebabs

•  8 oz extra-lean ground beef
• 2 Tbsp finely chopped onion
• 2 Tbsp snipped fresh parsley
• 1/4 tsp ground coriander
• 1/4 tsp ground cumin
• 1/8 tsp garlic powder
• 1/8 tsp salt

1.  In a small bowl, stir together the sauce ingredients.  Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.
2.  Preheat the broiler.  In a medium bowl, using hands or a large spoon, combine the kebab ingredients.  Using hands, shape the mixture into two 6x1 1/2-inch logs.  Insert skewers into the center of the logs.  (Or shape the mixture into two oblong patties about 3/4 inch thick.)  Place on broiler sheet.
3.  Broil 4 to 5 inches from the heat for 4 to 5 minutes on each side, or until no longer pink in the center (internal temp should be 160°F).  Serve with the sauce.

Robyn's notes: these were fine, not exciting for me because there are so many parts of this that I'm not able to eat (cucumber, onion, only supposed to have ground beef once each month).  I tasted the sauce and it was interesting, very strong taste of the cucumber, which made it light and fresh.  The kebab was juicy all through, and I admit I ended up eating mine with some ketchup since I couldn't have the sauce.  Needs a side dish of some sort, since each person only gets one kebab it feels like you're not getting much to eat, even though it's a full serving.  For snipping the parsley, the easiest way is to use kitchen shears, hold the leaves in a tight bunch between your fingers, and carefully snip, avoiding injuring yourself.

*** 3 Stars: Good. At least one of us liked this enough for me to make it again, but not often

Chicken Tikka Masala

Whenever I go to an Indian restaurant that serves chicken tikka, I'm always grateful.  It's not really an Indian dish, after all, it's a British dish, so I'm glad it's made the transition here to the States, no matter what menus it ends up on.  If you can make your own garam masala mix, that's always best, but it's fine to grab one from the grocery.  Be aware that results will be different based on what specific spices are included in the garam masala mix you use.  Plan ahead, this includes a marinade.

• 1/2 C plain yogurt
• 1/2 Tbsp lemon juice
• 2 1/2 tsp garam masala
• 1/2 Tbsp minced fresh ginger
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, cut into 1-inch cubes
• 1 Tbsp butter
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 2 tsp paprika
• 3 tsp garam masala
• dash cayenne
• 1/4 tsp salt (or to taste)
• 8 oz can tomato sauce
• 1 C heavy cream

1.  Combine yogurt, lemon juice, 2 1/2 tsp garam masala, ginger, and 1/4 tsp salt in a ziploc bag.  Add chicken, coating completely, seal, and marinate in refrigerator for at least 1 hour.
2.  Melt butter in large skillet over medium heat, add garlic and saute for 1 minute.  Add paprika, 3 tsp garam masala, cayenne, 1/4 tsp salt, and blend.  Carefully stir in tomato sauce and heavy cream.  Simmer uncovered on low heat until thickened, approximately 20 minutes.
3.  Meanwhile, place chicken on broiler pan, discard marinade.  Broil 3-4 inches from heat for 8-10 minutes, turning once halfway through cooking.  Add cooked chicken to thickened sauce and simmer 10 more minutes, stirring occasionally.  Serve over rice.

Robyn's notes: this was fairly spicy, but I'm sensitive to spice.  The garam masala I was using (I was lazy this time and used a pre-made mix) contained black pepper, cardamom, cumin, cinnamon, coriander, "and other spices".  I would have added black pepper and cumin separately if they had not been included in the mix.  Although we enjoyed this, it was a bit too spicy for our tastes, so I'm not likely to make it often.  

*** 3 Stars: Good. At least one of us liked this enough for me to make it again, but not often

Zoku Fudgsicles

I don't think there's a part of the country that hasn't been suffering from the heat these past few weeks.  Personally, having lived in Arizona and in the Southern CA Low Desert, I'm just grateful to have air conditioning and not be looking at brown-outs on 110°F days.  But I have been using my Zoku quite a bit, mostly for simple juice pops.  I'd tried a Zoku-branded recipe for fudgsicles once before and wasn't happy with the results, so I'm pleased to say that this recipe seems to work great.

• 2 oz bittersweet chocolate, chopped
• 2/3 C heavy cream
• 1/4 C whole milk
• 1/2 Tbsp cocoa powder
• 1/2 Tbsp vanilla

1.  Place the chocolate in a medium-sized glass bowl, and set aside.
2.  In a medium saucepan, combine cream, milk, and cocoa powder over medium-high heat, whisking constantly.  Bring to a simmer.  Remove from heat and pour mixture over chocolate.  Let sit for 2 minutes without stirring.
3.  Whisk together until chocolate is melted, whisk in vanilla.  Refrigerate until cool.
4.  Stir cooled sauce to re-combine.  Insert stick into mold, pour sauce into prepared Zoku, and let stand until frozen, 10-12 minutes.

Yield: 3 Zoku pops

Robyn's notes: the texture of these is exactly what I look for in a fudgsicle.  Remove from Zoku slowly, the soft consistency wants to stick.  It'll be fine if removed gently but will be a disaster if you force it.  I also thought these were great with some banana coins in the mold first.  Does not store well, I had some leftover in the fridge overnight and it had thickened to a point the following day that I had to defrost the Zoku to get the popsicle out (and I'd stirred it a lot before pouring it in the mold).

*** 3 Stars: Good. At least one of us liked this enough for me to make it again, but not often

Patriotic Fruit Skewers

This probably doesn't need a recipe, just an explanation and closer photo than the one I posted on July 4th.

On each toothpick a raspberry, banana coin, and blueberry, in that order.  As a dipping sauce, Honey Cream Fruit Dip.  Make as many skewers as needed for the appetites of the eaters.

Only gets three stars because I'm not supposed to eat blueberries, they make me somewhat ill, so I'm not able to enjoy it much.

*** 3 Stars: Good. At least one of us liked this enough for me to make it again, but not often

Raspberry Curd

• 2 oz raspberries
• 1/4 C + 1 Tbsp sugar
• 1 large egg yolk
• 2 Tbsp butter
• 1 Tbsp lime juice
• tiny pinch salt

1.  Whisk all ingredients in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water until slightly thick. Strain; refrigerate until cold and thick.

Robyn's notes: lemon juice is also ok, I had half a lime needing to be used.  I served this over my Cold-Oven Quarter Pound Cakes and used it for an additional topping with Blueberry Upside-Down Cakes.

*** 3 Stars: Good. At least one of us liked this enough for me to make it again, but not often

Honey Cream Fruit Dip

I took the ratios for this from an episode of Alton Brown's Good Eats. It's easy to upsize if necessary, as this makes quite a small amount of dip.  The show used 1 Cup of sour cream, to give a sense of scale. 

• 1/2 Tbsp honey
• 2 Tbsp sour cream
• berries of your choosing

1.  In a custard cup or small glass bowl, heat honey in microwave for 20-25 seconds.  Whisk in sour cream.  Serve with fruit.

Robyn's notes: this was a way to keep from wasting even the tiniest remaining bit of sour cream after having used it in several recipes.  It was good on strawberries, but I think where it really shone was on raspberries. If making a large batch, the honey should be warmed on the stove in a saucepan, but for such a tiny amount as this that would be ridiculous.

*** 3 Stars: Good. At least one of us liked this enough for me to make it again, but not often

Peach Mango Smoothies

About 10 or 12 years ago, I picked up a couple Smoothie cookbooks, with the intention of eating more healthily.  I only ever made 3 or 4 recipes out of both, partly because they called for a lot of specialty ingredients and insisted that I put the items into the blender in a certain order, processing for a certain number of seconds between each addition, and I was lazy and poor and those things didn't work for me.  So eventually I stopped bothering with some of the ingredients in one of the smoothies, and stopped worrying about careful combining.  This is where I ended up, and it's a smoothie I've been making ever since.

• 1 banana, diced
• 1/4 C mango sorbet (store-bought ok)
• 1 C frozen sliced peaches
• 3/4 C frozen diced mangoes
• 1/2 C juice of your choice (see notes below)

1.  Combine all ingredients in a blender and process until combined and smooth, stopping blender as needed to stir and push chunks down.

Yield: approximately 22 fl oz

Robyn's notes: it's ok to use a frozen banana, but if so, the banana needs to be diced into coins before being frozen.  I usually have a couple frozen diced bananas on hand for making smoothies with, they do turn brown in the freezer but as long as they were fresh to start they'll retain their freshness long after they stop looking pretty.  A full-size frozen banana is very hard to process and becomes quite frustrating.  I have used both store-bought frozen fruit and fruit that I've frozen myself for the peaches and mangoes, and it really doesn't make any difference.  I prefer buying fresh and freezing myself; if getting the store-bought make sure to buy fruit that has not got added sugar or syrup, it'll mess with the flavour of the finished smoothie.  It is best to use frozen, not just fresh fruit, however, because of the moisture content.  I use whatever juice I can find or have in the house, with a few guidelines.  My preference is for Orange Peach Mango, it just gives the best and truest flavour for this combination of ingredients.  If I can't find that, I'll go for whatever peach-mango combination I can find.  If there isn't one, I'll go for an orange-banana combination, and if that's not available, straight orange juice.  I prefer not to use "tropical mix" juices or strawberry-banana (even though I love the latter as a juice), because it just doesn't taste as good for this use.  For measuring the mango, I usually use the 1 Cup measure and just don't fill it up, since there's a lot of air between the mango pieces it's hard to get an accurate measurement without using a scale.   

**** 4 Stars: Very Good. Enjoyed by us both, I will make this frequently

Mango Sorbet

Without an ice cream maker.

I have to be careful about the kitchen appliances that I choose.  Space and money are both limited, so anything that takes up room and has only one use is something I'm just not going to spend money on.  Ice cream makers fall into that category.  We don't eat ice cream very often, so it's not really a loss, if we had one I'd feel like we needed to justify it, and we'd eat ice cream more than we really want or need to.  However, I do love sorbet, specifically peach or mango sorbet, and in the summer I treat myself to pints of them and eat them straight out of the carton with a spoon.

The problems with that are double.  One is the price.  They tend to run about $4 for a pint, and I consider that to be a lot for a snack or dessert.  The other problem is the ratio of ingredients in store-bought sorbet.  For the mango, for example, there is more water than any other ingredient, sugar being the next highest, then mangoes, followed by juice--from concentrate--of lemon, pumpkin, and carrot.  Add "natural flavours" and pectin, and you've got a $4 cool treat.  I'd really rather not have more water and sugar than fruit in my sorbet.  So here's my alternative.  Be aware that since no ice cream maker is required, you can't just leave it and forget about it, it has to be checked.

• 1/3 C water
• 1/3 C sugar
• 2 ripe mangoes
• 1 Tbsp lime juice

1.  In a small saucepan, bring water and sugar to a boil.  Stir until sugar dissolves, remove from heat and cool.
2.  Peel mangoes and remove as much flesh as possible, placing all flesh into blender.  Pour 1/3 C cooled syrup into blender over mango, add lime juice, and puree until smooth.  Transfer mixture to a freezer-safe container with a removable lid.
3.  Stir every hour for the first 2 hours, then every 45 minutes after that, for a total of 6-8 hours.

Yield: see notes below

Robyn's notes: The texture is not quite as smooth as what you would get from an ice cream maker, but for my taste it's perfectly fine.  As I was doing the stirring, I tasted a bit of it from time to time, and really thought I'd have to throw it out and start again.  It was quite sour, and I thought I had my simple syrup ratio off.  In the morning it had all evened out.  It's nowhere near as sweet as the store-bought stuff, and if you want really sweet sorbet you may want to increase the amount of syrup incrementally, but it tastes very mango-ey and I'm happy with it.  I used an old Cool-Whip container, and my yield was 1-1/2 packed Cups or 12.5 oz (this is going to depend on the size of your mangoes and how much flesh you're able to get off of them, but expect to get around this much).  So a bit less than the pint I'd get at the store, but mangoes were on special and I already had the lime so this cost me $1 to make and I feel good about what's in it.  Now, don't go eating it all, one of my next recipes will call for some of it.  I made this a second time, using a light syrup that I had cooked peach halves in for canning.  Came out very well.

**** 4 Stars: Very Good. Enjoyed by us both, I will make this frequently

Crashing Chocolate Cakes

I've got 3 more dessert recipes written that need to be tested, but I think they'll wait a little while.  We're starting to get a little overloaded on sweets, and I do have a couple of entrees also waiting for testing, so those will take priority after this.

Flourless chocolate cakes seem to wax and wane in popularity, having moments of being everywhere you look and moments where it seems no one has ever heard of them.  This one is similar to the "molten" or "lava" cakes that tend to be available in restaurants, but with a more homey look.  Speaking of which, the towel in the picture below was embroidered by my late grandmother in the 1950s.  It's been getting near-daily use in the years since, too, so for those of you who enjoy embroidery but think you have to choose between an item that's utilized and one that's cherished?  Have hope!  Sometimes you can do both.

• 3 oz dark chocolate
• 1/3 C butter
• 2 eggs, separated
• 1/2 C sugar

1.  Preheat oven to 350°F.  Chop the chocolate into small pieces and melt, with butter, in a double boiler or metal bowl set over a saucepan of barely simmering water, stirring until smooth.
2.  Beat egg yolks and sugar in a bowl until pale yellow.  Remove top of double boiler or bowl from the heat and combine egg mixture with chocolate.
3.  Whisk egg whites until stiff peaks form (stiff peaks stand on their own completely without falling over.  Do not overbeat), fold into chocolate mixture.  Pour batter evenly into two mini cocottes or individual casserole dishes/ramekins.  Bake 18-22 minutes.  Allow to cool for 5 minutes before serving.  The cakes will rise while baking, and crash in the centers after being removed from the oven.  Serve warm with ice cream. 


Robyn's notes: I took the first cake out of the oven after 18 minutes, leaving the other to cook longer, so we could taste each and decide which we preferred.  The first (photo above) rose to about a half-inch above the cocotte rim (both had been filled to about a half-inch below the rim), and crashed very nicely and evenly at the center.  It was a little bit too "uncooked batter" in the center for my taste, which I know is the point, but I like the mushy inside of these cakes to be almost like hot fudge, not like licking a beater.  The second, which cooked for about 21 minutes, rose quite high above the rim (almost a full inch), and didn't crash nearly as prettily, instead getting a large crack and subsiding halfheartedly in one direction.  The center was closer to my preference, though.  In step 3, where I say "whisk" the egg whites?  If you have access to an electric beater, use it.  Seriously.  I had to actually whisk because my mixer is unavailable at the moment, and not only does it take forever to whisk egg whites to stiff peaks by hand, it's very tiring.  The only benefits of doing it by hand are 1) the feeling of pride and accomplishment that lasts about 90 seconds upon completion; 2) the knowledge that you could do it if your power went out/that you're not as far removed from your homemaking great-grandmothers as you thought; 3) the tiny possibility of reduction in the jigglyness of your tricep.  If you'd like to add a little liqueur to this recipe, such as Amaretto or Kahlua, about 2 tsp should do it, and it should be added to the melted chocolate and butter before adding the egg+sugar mixture.  These cakes are very rich.

*** 3 Stars: Good. At least one of us liked this enough for me to make it again, but not often