A Harmony of Flavors

Za'atar, Zah'tar, Zaatar, Zahtar or What

2026-01-26T13:28:00.000-07:00

Now, here is a confusing topic for you! Zah'tar. Or any of the other spellings above or even others.

Many years ago, I heard of the herb and spice blend called zah'tar and looked up recipes, chose what sounded "right," to my completely untrained eye and palate of the time. I set the recipe out here in my blog, and so it has remained.

With time, even in the intervening years since 2014 when I wrote that blog, so much more is now open to us on the internet. The world has opened up and so much information, even as confusing as it can be, is there for anyone to read.

I love recipes. I love to find something new, then look up every version of that recipe I can find. I compare and see what one person considers important versus another. What flavor profiles are sought after.

Most of all? When I discover a new spice or herb I haven't previously known, I seek it out. ASAP! As Indian food has been my main hobby for literally years and years, I have two large bins of spice jars and tins, store bought single spices and truly, the home made blends / masalas I've made would take up at least another bin.

Now, I am looking into Middle Eastern cuisine. I got interested while watching videos by Mark Wiens. We really have enjoyed these videos. I decided to try some of the foods out, finding recipes that sounded like what I'd seen on the videos. I tried out a bunch of recipes and made a little feast for my family on my birthday. I found I liked a lot of what I made, very much. I decided to try some more. And, funny thing, when I am searching out recipes, I end up with questions. What actually is this ingredient? What is really in this spice blend?

Zaatar, and Zah'tar

Zah'tar Blend

Now, to the point. today I decided to delve more deeply into what really constitutes Zah'tar, the blend of herbs and spices so widely used in the Middle east. Which then led me to examine this supposed "wild thyme" that is so crucial to a good zah'tar blend. This is what I found:

Zaatar is an herb that grows wild all across the Middle East.

Zah’tar (or many other possible spellings) is an herb and spice blend used all over the Middle East.

Zaatar is often referred to as “thyme or wild thyme.” Yet, the zaatar herb (Origanum syriacum), the biblical hyssop, is actually in the oregano family, variously described as tasting similar to thyme, or oregano or even marjoram. It grows wild all across the Middle East, along with Origanum vulgare (common oregano) and Origanum majorana (marjoram) and these three species are often confused due to their similar characteristics. Thus, it may be any of these oreganos that end up being a part of the Zah’tar blend.

Yet, the thyme plant (Thymus vulgaris), while common and native to the Middle East along with (and often confused with) Thymus capitatus, a native wild thyme, also often referred to as “hyssop,” (confused yet?) are what ends up somehow as the descriptor for the herb “zaatar” that is used in the spice blend, Zah’tar. What?????

So, as it turns out, people use whichever is available, whether the true zaatar herb, one of the wild oreganos or one of the wild thymes when making their Zah’tar.

What Comprises the Spice Blend, Zah'tar?

As per my usual style, I have looked through 8 different recipes, glossing over any that nearly dismissed the herbal component, or those that skimped on sumac. The variations are all over the place from 1/2 cup of zaatar herb and a teaspoon of sumac (which will be "green zah'tar"), to 4 tablespoons sumac and 3 tablespoons herbs.

Some swear that a "green zah'tar" is preferable as it is the zaatar herb that is the important part. Sesame seeds are a part of zah'tar no matter where you find the recipe, though again the amount ranges from 1/4 cup to 1 1/2 teaspoons. These measurements are from recipes that make approximately a half cup total.

In short, the ingredients for zah'tar blend are zaatar herb (or equal parts dried oregano, marjoram and thyme to approximate zaatar flavor), toasted raw sesame seeds, ground sumac, salt.

Ground Sumac

As the herb zaatar is covered above, here is a little on sumac, as well:

The Mediterranean spice, Sumac is not from the same plant as poison sumac, though it is in the same family. The sumac used in Mediterranean and Middle Eastern cuisines grows wild only in those areas, so no chance of running afoul of the wrong plant. The dried, crushed fruits yield a reddish brown powder with a tangy, lemony flavor and fruity sourness and astringency. Sumac is an important component of the spice mixture called Zah'tar. Sumac on its own can be sprinkled over most any food that needs a little zip. Sprinkle it over hummus, yogurt, avocado or cheese. In the Middle East it is liberally sprinkled onto many foods as they are ready to eat, and shakers or bowls of sumac are always available at table.

What if you cannot fine the zaatar herb? Substitute a combination of dried oregano leaves, dried marjoram leaves and dried thyme leaves, either in like amounts or as preferred. If one of the three is not available, try for at least two of them.

Sesame seeds need to be the raw kind, not the polished little shiny ones like you'd find on a hamburger bun. Raw sesame seeds are a pale tan in color and not at all shiny or polished. This kind will toast nicely, where the polished ones will want to burn.

There is no real substitute for sumac. It is a sour component that something like dried lemon rind would not mimic. But it is easy enough these days to get dried sumac on our favorite easy place online, or in Middle East markets, and even in some groceries.

Zaatar herb is also available in some places, but be sure the label states Origanum syriacum. I just bought a pouch of the zah'tar blend online, being sure it mentioned the Origanum syriacum on the label, just to see what the real thing tastes like.

In light of all I have learned, this will be my new Zah'tar recipe. I am using here an equal parts combination of the three flavoring herbs (thyme, oregano, marjoram) in lieu of the zaatar herb, as I still do not own any of that. Should you have access to the actual zaatar herb, Origanum syriacum, simply substitute all three tablespoons of that.

Zah'tar

Yields less than 1/2 cup

1 tablespoon raw sesame seeds

2 tablespoons ground sumac

1 tablespoon dried marjoram leaves

1 tablespoon dried thyme leaves

1 tablespoon dried oregano leaves

1/2 teaspoon coarse sea salt or kosher salt

Heat a dry skillet and once hot, add in the raw sesame seeds and stir with a wooden spoon to keep them moving around to toast evenly. They will begin to snap and bounce all over the place, so very important to have them in movement. After a short while they will begin to change color to a slightly deeper, warmer tan color. Remove them from heat and pour out to a bowl to cool. Do not leave them in the pan or they will continue to toast, and run the risk of burning.

Once cooled, either do a quick whiz in a spice grinder to break some up or use a mortar and pestle. You want some of them broken up, but definitely not powdered. Set them aside. Add the sumac, and them add the dried herbs, rubbing them well between the palms of your hands before adding to the bowl. Stir in the salt and mix everything well to evenly distribute.

Taste for salt. Then store in a glass jar with a tight fitting lid in a cool, dark place, or in the refrigerator, if it will not be used up in a reasonable amount of time.

My passion is teaching people how to create a harmony of flavors with their cooking, and passing along my love and joy of food, both simple or exotic, plain or fancy. I continue my journey in ethnic and domestic cuisines, continuing my journey to explore diverse culinary experiences and hopefully to start you on a journey of your own. Join me also at A Harmony of Flavors on Pinterest.

Yeast Water and Making Bread

2025-12-05T16:23:00.003-07:00

I like to create cookbooks. For myself. To give to a friend or two. Nothing commercial. I was in the process of finishing up a fairly large book of bread. Bread in all senses of that word, including muffins, quick breads, pancakes, yeast breads, flavored yeast breads, sourdough. And as I was finishing up my very long task, of course something new popped up on my horizon. Yeast Water.

Yeast Water

My First Yeast Water Bread

Okay, I have been making yeast bread, mainly one recipe, since I was about 23. I am now 75. Somewhere around 2014, I was introduced to sourdough in a new way. I had tried it before, became disenchanted, let it lapse. Now I had a book by Peter Reinhart called The Baker's Apprentice, and he explained things in a way I hadn't ever understood before. I made sourdough from scratch. Perfect. Made bread. Sometimes it was great and others, well, definitely not. Ultimately, this also lapsed, as I grew tired of constantly tossing out starter to make new batches. And I know, nowadays there are recipes that abound for using sourdough discards. Some years ago, these were nowhere apparent.

So, while looking for something else online, the words "yeast water" called my attention. This had nothing to do with what I was looking for, so I count this as pure serendipity. As I looked up yeast water, I found that there are possibly as many ways to make it as there are people and ideas. and what brings me here to write about it is simply because I read an article from King Arthur Flour about testing yeast water, and the comment that it takes longer to make than a starter with sourdough starter.

I will disagree with this, simply because I have been following a method shown online in a video from a German woman and I have followed that as a pattern for all yeast water breads since. In all the places, at that time about 3 years ago, that I read of how to make yeast water, they all stated to use water as per your need, with extra to begin a new batch, add a teaspoon of sugar and some dried fruit. I have used dates, raisins, dried cherries and dried figs at different times, to date. I usually use three dates to approximately 3 to 4 cups of water. All these suggestions said that as soon as the fruit all floated, the yeast water was ready to use.

The only other thing the German woman stated was that yeast water should be used in place of ALL water or liquid called for in the recipe. This means that if I use some of the yeast water to make a "starter," I need then to refresh the yeast water again to make enough for any other liquid called for in the recipe. The already live yeast water ferments again (with another teaspoon of sugar and another couple of dates) overnight very easily. Of course this all works best it it is made in a warm place. In summer my house is set at 79 or 80 degrees F. In winter, the oven with light on is a good substitute.

Creating a Starter

Flax Sunflower Yeast Water Bread

In general, I like breads that take many days to make. I realize this is not feasible for everyone. But between Peter Reinhart's information and other places I have read over these intervening 10+ years, long rises are what give flour time to absorb liquids better and coax out flavors that would never be there if making a bread all in one day. Plus, slow rising at room temperature brings out different flavors from those unlocked in a long, slow, cold-rise. I am no expert on the chemical processes taking place and why. But I can with great authority state that the flavors of some of these breads have been phenomenal.

So if a bread recipe calls for using a starter, prep your yeast water (1 to 2 days in a warm place, if it is with a batch you've kept in the fridge. Longer if it is starting from scratch. Shorter if it is mid summer and you're sweating standing still!) Just keep in mind about 4 cups water all total to begin, whether fresh with fresh water of part yeast water, part water. Add a teaspoon of sugar and 2 - 3 dates, cut up in chunks, or a small handful of raisins or other dried fruit. Stir this well. It is best to keep in a jar without a tight fitting lid. I have some bail wire jars, and remove the rubber gasket. Then, stir the mixture several times a day, or whenever you think about it. Once all the fruit rise to the surface, it is ready to use.

Save the fruit! In any bread you're making, the fermented fruit can be added back into the bread dough and during kneading, it all but disappears. It adds a gentle fruitiness, but does not jump out with its flavor.

To make the starter, use about half yeast water and half flour, whether bread flour, whole wheat, rye or whatever you are working with. Stir well, cover and set aside in a warm place. It should be well risen by the following day. Meanwhile, use the remaining yeast water, add in more water, enough to cover any more liquids called for in the recipe with some left over, another teaspoon sugar and more fruit. Stir well. Shake or stir various times during the day, and by the following day it too should be ready to use.

Sometimes recipes call for a soaker as well, so this can be made at the same time and both set to do their thing overnight.

Making the Bread

When making your bread recipe, follow the instructions, simply substituting the refreshed yeast water for the liquid called for. To date, all the yeast water breads I have made have been ones calling for various rises, and taking three or four days to make in total. Warm rises, cold rises, great flavor and beautifully risen loaves. Most have been baked in my Dutch Oven. To date I have had zero failures. Best of all, no throwing sourdough starter discards down the drain.

Yeast Water Rye with Dried Cherries and Pumpkin Seeds

Here is a recipe that is a mashup of a couple of recipes I found online (not yeast water recipes) that I altered and mixed together to something that sounded really good to me. As it turned out, it is a fabulous bread, nicely dense and chewy as I love, wonderful alone, slathered with butter and/or jam, made into a sandwich, or a nice open-faced sandwich as it is hefty enough. It is easy to slice thinly if preferred (I do). Oh! And grilled cheese! It makes fabulous grilled cheese.

Yeast Water Rye with Dried Cherries and Pumpkin Seeds

Makes one loaf

DAY 1: Refresh Yeast Water
1 to 1 1/2 cups water
your existing yeast water
1 teaspoon sugar
2 - 3 chopped dates (or substitute 3 tablespoons dried tart cherries)

Stir this mixture often, over 12 to 24 hours and keeping in a warm place. Mixture should end with small bubbles and all the fruits floating.

DAY 2: Pre-Dough

150 grams bread flour

250 mL refreshed yeast water (about 1 cup)

Stir together until no dry ingredients remain. Cover and set in a warm place to ferment overnight. Meanwhile feed the yeast water again, to build up what will be needed for the main recipe.

DAY 3: Early morning: Main Dough - Autolyze

- all the pre-dough (above)

200 grams bread flour

200 grams sifted whole wheat flour

110 grams sifted rye flour

125 mL yeast water (scant 3/4 cup)

Place all these ingredients in a heavy-duty mixer or a bowl to mix by hand. Stir well until no dry ingredients remain. Cover and set aside 1 hour.

OTHER INGREDIENTS:

2 teaspoons Kosher salt

1 teaspoon gluten

1 teaspoon diastatic malt powder

2 tablespoons powdered milk

- the cherries from fermenting the yeast water, if they were used

3 tablespoons molasses

1/2 cup dried tart cherries

1/4 cup raw pumpkin seeds or sunflower seeds

100 grams yeast water (about 1/2 cup)

During the autolyze period, measure out the 5 dry ingredients and set aside. Place the dried cherries and pumpkin seeds in a bowl with the yeast water to soak and soften.

Once ready to make the dough, add first the dry ingredients and begin mixing on low, then add in the leftover fermented cherries, yeast water-cherry-seed mixture and molasses. Mix slowly until the liquids are absorbed, then mix on medium speed for about 5 minutes.. Rest the cough, covered, for about 20 minutes. Turn out to a greased surface and perform a stretch-and-fold: take the dough from one edge and stretch upwards, lengthening the dough and then folding it back onto itself. Turn the dough 1/4 way around and stretch and fold again. Turn 1/4 more, stretch and fold, then one more 1/4 turn and stretch and fold. This begins to form the gluten without over mixing. Grease the dough, cover and rest 20 to 30 minutes and repeat this same stretch and fold. Then rest and repeat stretching and folding twice more, a total of 4 times altogether.

Now turn dough over, seam side down, and beginning with cupped hands behind the dough, begin dragging the dough towards you, tightening the dough from its base. Turn the dough a little, and repeat the cupped hands, dragging the dough towards you from each side. This makes the dough very taut, and helps it to create a nice high rise.

Prepare a banneton with a mix of half flour and half rice flour, or heavily dust a smooth tea towel lined bowl. Set the loaf into the prepared banneton or bowl with the seam side upwards. Set the bowl into a food safe large plastic bag and close it off with plenty of air inside keeping the top from touching the dough. Place in the refrigerator overnight

DAY 4: Bake

When ready to bake, place an enameled cast iron Dutch oven with its lid on into the oven and set to 450F. Time this for 30 minutes to get the pot screaming hot.

Remove the dough from the refrigerator just before the pot is ready. Place a large sheet of parchment over the banneton/bowl. Set a pizza pan over top and invert the dough with the parchment onto the pan. Score the top of the loaf with a baker's lame or razor blade or a very sharp knife. A simple pound sign will do.

With heavy oven mitts, remove the Dutch oven to the stove top. Remove lid and set aside on another burner. Lift the dough into the pot by holding the parchment at its corners and place into the pot, parchment and all. Cover with the lid and back into the oven. Bake for 30 minutes, then remove the lid and bake for an additional 10 to 15 minutes, depending on how dark you like your loaves. Once done, Remove the pot carefully with oven mitts. Use a long metal spatula to help lift the loaf out; set it onto a rack to cool at least 2 hours before slicing.

No Bake Cookies for Any Time

2025-05-09T10:54:00.001-07:00

. . . but especially for Christmas! I know it is already into May. And I just haven't been blogging, so this never got posted.

Near Christmas last year I had bought two boxes of Vanilla Wafers. I always make Bourbon Balls for Christmas, partly because they are invariably requested, and partly that I love them. But most importantly, they are no bake. Mix, form and store. What a great invention, no-bake cookies!

Apricot Coconut Rum Balls (Bourbon Balls top right)

Why I bought two boxes of Vanilla Wafers is beyond me. The recipe for Bourbon Balls calls for one box. That recipe makes plenty. Since Bourbon Balls use cocoa and bourbon, I wanted to find another no-bake recipe that would use the extra box of cookies without using cocoa. Do you know how difficult it was to find one, single recipe that did not use cocoa? Heavens!

I searched. I specifically wrote no cocoa, or no chocolate in my search. All that came up were recipes using cocoa. I searched for no bake cookies with no mention of cocoa or chocolate. Still, all the recipes had cocoa or chocolate in them.

And then finally, a little Christmas miracle happened. I found this post from Chips and Pepper. Their recipe is, I am sure, perfect. I told my sister about it, noting that the original had no alcohol. She said she would make it that way for her grandkids. It didn't fit all of my criteria, but it was a usable recipe to start. My criteria were:

No cocoa or chocolate
Use Vanilla Wafers as the base
Use dark rum (as opposed to bourbon in the Bourbon Balls) as I have no more small grandchildren ;)

I sat and compared amounts in this recipe to the recipe for Bourbon Balls, to try and formulate a recipe that would accommodate my criteria. I didn't have any orange marmalade or orange juice. Instead I used apricot jam and dark rum. I added cardamom, simply because we all love cardamom in my house. I am sure ginger would be great as a substitute or possibly cinnamon, if one of those spices suit. Or they can be left out entirely. I used dark rum. Other rum can be used interchangeably. Coconut flavor rum would go well with the coconut in the recipe. Spiced rum would enhance the spice aspect. These can be rolled in granulated sugar. I used powdered sugar to distinguish from the Bourbon Balls that I roll in granulated sugar.

I must report that I loved them, as did everyone else who tried them. My husband and I both have loved the Bourbon Balls all through our 35 years together, but we conceded that these might just be a new favorite! So I give all my thanks to Chips and Pepper for the great idea I used!

Apricot Coconut Rum Balls

1 (12-ounce) box Vanilla Wafers, crushed to fine crumbs

3/4 cup powdered sugar

1/2 cup finely ground pecans or walnuts

3/4 cup fine shredded unsweetened coconut

1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom

1/2 cup apricot jam

6 tablespoons dark rum

Powdered sugar, for rolling

Place the first five ingredients into a large bowl and stir to combine all ingredients.

Separately in a small bowl or a large measuring cup, combine the apricot jam and dark rum. If any pieces of apricot are large, cut them very small, else it makes for difficult rolling later.

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and thoroughly mix until all ingredients are well moistened. Form small balls, rolling them tightly, then roll in the powdered sugar. Store in a container. At room temperature, they will be very soft. They are best kept either refrigerated or frozen. This makes having them done way ahead of time a snap. They that in no time once set out at room temperature.

NOTES:

Nuts used are interchangeable
Cardamom can be switched out for another spice, or left out
Apricot jam may be substituted with orange marmalade or peach jam
Dark rum may be substituted with other flavors of rum or another dry liquor of choice. It may be left out and substituted with orange juice, if preferred.

Black Eyed Peas Indian Style

2023-06-17T15:52:00.001-07:00

I cannot believe I'm heading on a year of no posts. Still, hoping this will be of interest.

In all of my life, despite trying all sorts of foods from all over, I have never once tried to make black-eyed peas. I believe i tasted them once, as part of "Texas Caviar" served at a function I was attending. In that mixture, the whole thing was stellar, but I could not pick out one flavor on its own.

Alsande Tonak or Black-Eyed Pea Curry

Then, rooting around the internet for Indian recipes, I cam upon one called Alsande Tonak, a recipe from Goa. I cannot now place where I found this recipe, yet there are many of them out there to peruse, should you be a "comparison cook," like me.

I promptly went out and bought some black-eyed peas to try out this recipe, and it was a hit with both my husband and I.

Caveat:

So many Indian recipes call for using (as in the recipe I used to create my own) 12 or 13 dry red chilies in making the masala, then another teaspoon of hot red chili powder later on. If this is your thing, more power to you!

While I do like some heat, I would never tolerate that over abundance of a good thing. My poor husband would likely perish at the first taste. He's not one for chili heat at all. So, under this restriction, I scaled back the whole red chilies to 1 and eliminated the chili powder later.

About the Masala**

Most masalas require toasting each spice separately first, and setting them to cool, then grinding. This masala is going to be toasted later, so the first part can be avoided. Secondly, the masala is more than is needed for the recipe, so you will have some left for another time. Or, double the remainder of the recipe and use all this amount of masala.

About the Coconut***

The very best is having fresh coconut in this recipe. Many supermarkets these days do carry it in the freezer section. Those in my area do not, so I get frozen bags of it when I go to the Indian grocery.

But if you have no access to fresh coconut, use unsweetened dry coconut, about 1/4 cup, and add it to the spices to grind for the masala, then use it as directed for the masala.

Alsande Tonak

(or Black-Eyed Pea Curry)

Alsande Tonak
Black-Eyed Pea Curry

1/2 pound black eyed peas, soaked overnight

2 fresh tomatoes, chopped

1 small onion or shallot, chopped

2 cups water

TONAK MASALA:
3 whole cloves
1-inch cinnamon stick
3 tablespoons coriander seeds
1/2 teaspoon black peppercorns
1 dried red chili, de-seeded, broken, for less heat
1 1/2 teaspoons fennel seeds
2 - 3 petals of a star anise

2 teaspoons white poppy seeds, optional
----------
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1 tablespoon cooking oil

1 small onion or shallot, chopped

3 - 5 garlic cloves, minced

3/4 cup frozen grated fresh coconut*** (see above)

3 - 4 teaspoons of the Tonak Masala** (see above)

1 teaspoon of salt, or to taste

Drain the soaking water from the black-eyed peas. Put them in a pot with the tomatoes, onion / shallot and water and bring to boil. Lower heat, cover and cook for 20 to 30 minutes. They should be quite soft. If not, cook a little longer.

Meanwhile, make the masala: Take all of the whole spices and grind them to a powder, then add to the powder the turmeric and nutmeg. Set aside.

In a skillet, heat the cooking oil and cook the onion until just golden. Add in the garlic for a minute or so and stir. Add in the grated fresh or frozen coconut and continue to cook, stirring until the coconut is golden. Add in the 3 or 4 teaspoons of the reserved masala and cook, stirring until the masala is well heated through. Add the contents of the pan to the cooked black-eyed peas along with the salt and mix well. If they need more liquid, add more water, then cook until heated through, and serve with roti or rice.

Chickpea Curry with Mango and Coconut

2022-10-08T12:08:00.001-07:00

There are many, even in my own family, who do not care for chickpeas / garbanzo beans. For some it's texture related. For others, just plain dislike. I am not among those. I love chickpeas, whether in a salad, as hummus, as a dessert (Garbanzos en Dulce), in Indian mixtures like Channa Masala, or most ways I have encountered them. When a new recipe comes along, I sit up and take notice.

Mango Coconut Chickpea Curry

Again this time it was from VeganRicha.com that I came across a recipe that comprised some of my favorite flavors, ticking so many boxes that I saved the recipe. Again, as with my previous post on some of her muffins, I change a few things to reflect my way of doing things. I completely understand where VeganRicha was coming from with her ingredients, because it makes the recipe more accessible to someone without a complete stock of Indian spices and other flavoring agents (unlike me). For her recipe of Mango Curry Chickpeas, please click on the link, which should take you right to that recipe page.

One of the Brands I've Used

Richa uses ground cinnamon, cayenne and whole cloves. I used a small, 1-inch piece of stick cassia (the thick kind of stick), Kashmiri chili powder, and skipped the cloves, instead using crushed coriander seeds. I added in freshly ground pepper as well, and instead of a bay laurel leaf, which is what is known here in the US as bay leaf, I used a tej patta / tamal patra leaf, which is the Indian "bay leaf." These two have not much of anything in common, the tej patta tasting more of cinnamon than of bay laurel leaf. Toward the end of her recipe, she uses a couple of teaspoons of vinegar or lemon juice to balance out the sweeter flavors. Instead I used tamarind concentrate from the Indian grocery nearby. It is an already prepared version, in runny form, just as if you'd taken the time to soak the tamarind pods, soften all the flesh, then strain it of all the seeds and fivers to make the preparation from scratch. A real time saver!

None of these changes are huge, just my own preferences. Please check out Richa's original recipe before proceeding with mine.

Another thing about the recipe is using mango puree. I never buy

Mango Coconut Chickpea Curry

mangos in a can or mango puree or even mango juice. I prefer to eat fresh mangoes any day. Yet as Richa states, truly ripe mangoes are hard to come by, so making ones own puree may not yield the hoped-for flavor / sweetness results. However, my son and his wife were visiting over the weekend past and we all went to Patel Brothers Indian Grocery in Chandler, to stock up on some things. Not being Indian, I did not realize we were coming up to Diwali. The place was aswarm with people! But, what fun! I love saris, and had the opportunity to see so very many beautiful ones that day as many sari-clad ladies roamed the store. I complemented each one as I saw them!

Back to the mango, my son loves mango, and he does buy mango juice, so he purchased a large-ish carton of "Alphonso Mango Juice." When he drank a glass of it, it looked awfully thick, but hey, I wasn't drinking it. It was also the most deep orange in color. And, they accidentally left it in my fridge when they left to go home, too far away to come back for it.

It was far sweeter than was necessary for this recipe, but with everything else in the recipe, it was toned down a good bit, and I added a little more of the (very tart) tamarind extract at the end than is called for. It was the most heavenly tasting curry, ever!

Mango Coconut Chickpea Curry

Serves 3 to 4

Makes about 3 to 4 servings
Mango Coconut Chickpea Curry

1 medium onion, chopped
1 inch fresh ginger, grated
3 - 4 cloves fresh garlic, minced
-----

2 teaspoons coconut oil
½ teaspoon cumin seeds
½ teaspoon crushed coriander seeds
1- inch cinnamon stick
1 small tej patta leaf

-----

½ teaspoon fresh-ground black pepper

½ teaspoon Garam Masala
¼ - ½ teaspoon Kashmiri chili powder

-----
1¼ cup coconut milk
¾ cup mango puree

¼ - ½ teaspoon salt, or as needed
1½ cup cooked chickpeas, or canned, drained
2 - 3 teaspoons tamarind concentrate, or use lime juice
- cilantro, for garnish

Prepare the onion, ginger and garlic and set aside. Heat a skillet until quite hot and add in the cumin and coriander seeds with the cinnamon and tej patta leaf and stir quickly, until fragrant; a few seconds. Do not burn. Add in the onion, mix well and sauté until golden, then add in the garlic and ginger and stir for 1 to 3 minutes to take away the raw smell. Stir in the Kashmiri chili powder (or cayenne, to taste), ground black pepper and garam masala, until fragrant.

Stir in the coconut milk, mango puree and tamarind, then add in the chickpeas and mix well. Taste for salt before adding; chickpeas from a can may be salty enough already. Cover and let simmer for 10 minutes to meld flavors. Serve garnished with cilantro.

Muffins so Very Delicious and Low Fat

2022-09-04T15:17:00.001-07:00

Muffins are really good. Still, I generally prefer biscuits or scones. Once in a while, I see a recipe and think I might try it, then somehow, it just doesn't happen.

A few nights back, I was looking through Facebook, and came on a recipe for Turmeric Carrot Muffins with Chia & Coconut, from VeganRicha. Just the title alone had me riveted, right there, because each ingredient in the title is one I use regularly, and love. If you are vegan, or must be gluten free, please check out her recipe by clicking on the link to her recipe, above.

Turmeric Carrot Gingerbread Muffins

Okay, I looked up the recipe and saved it, and apparently my subconscious mind percolated and filtered through the recipe all night and into next day and finally I sat to think it through with my conscious mind. First off, I am not vegan, or vegetarian. Secondly, I don't have to be gluten free. So, I could make the recipe without those strictures, making it more a regular muffin recipe. I opted to use eggs. If milk was needed I would use it instead of a nut milk or coconut milk (I absolutely love coconut milk, but didn't want to open a can to use only a half cup!).

As it all turned out, I changed a lot of things. I truly didn't deviate much from the spirit of the recipe. I used almost everything in the recipe as stated, but changed amounts.

I used a tiny bit more oil, but added a little snack cup of applesauce.
Turmeric Carrot Gingerbread Muffins
I opted to not use maple syrup, as it is expensive and I can never tell by taste that it is even in a recipe like this. I waffled between using honey or agave syrup, then switched to molasses.
Mixed spices were in the original recipe, and cardamom, cinnamon and nutmeg mentioned as possibilities. I changed this to cardamom and ground ginger.
I used a fair bit more fresh ginger than called for as well, as I truly love ginger.
As the recipe called for coconut milk and lemon juice, I changed that to buttermilk, thereby eliminating the lemon. Lemon would bring acidity up to work with the baking soda, but buttermilk will as well.
I used more flour, as I was adding both eggs and applesauce, so it was 2 cups of flour total. I used 1 cup of a mixture of barley and buckwheat flour, and the other cup plain all-purpose flour. If preferred, use all purpose flour for the whole 2-cup amount, or substitute whole wheat or other whole grain flour for part of the whole amount. In another attempt, I may use a bit of wheat bran as a part of the two cups of "flour."

I will caution that this recipe needs initial prep work, in that there are so very many little amounts of things to be measured out. I got out all my little cups I use for measuring out sets of spices and things (I save the little 1/2-cup applesauce snack containers for this type of use) and set out all the individual dry ingredients (mixed spices, raisins, coconut, chia, sugar, and the freshly grated ginger). I set the finely grated carrots in a bowl (Richa's recipe calls for blending carrots and other wet ingredients together, but I see no need for extra dirty utensils).

Ultimately, having used extra fresh ginger as well as adding dry ground ginger, along with the molasses, made these smell like the most heavenly gingerbread as they baked. All the extra textures and flavors, while not eclipsed completely, do give great texture. Carrots always make cakes moist, and that works here as well. These are exceptional muffins, and exceptionally good. Thank you Richa, for such an amazing combination!

Turmeric Carrot Gingerbread Muffins

Makes 12 muffins

Turmeric Carrot Gingerbread Muffins

DRY INGREDIENTS:

1 cup all purpose flour (130 grams / 4.6 ounces)

1 cup whole grain or other flour, or simply use all purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

3 tablespoons chia seed (32 grams / 1.15 ounce)

1/4 cup sugar or palm sugar (41 grams / 1.4 ounce)

1/4 cup raisins or chopped dates (34 grams / 1.2 ounce)

1/4 cup dry, unsweetened coconut shreds (18 grams / 0.65 ounce)

SPICES:

1 teaspoon ground cardamom seeds

1 teaspoon turmeric powder

1/2 teaspoon dry, ground ginger

WET INGREDIENTS:

2 carrots (155 grams / 5.25 ounces), finely grated

1/3 cup molasses

1/2 cup buttermilk

1/2 cup plain applesauce

2 tablespoons sunflower oil or coconut oil

1-inch fresh ginger, finely grated (15 grams / 0.55 ounce)

2 large eggs

--------

1 1/2 teaspoons each chia seed and shredded coconut for topping, optional

Turmeric Carrot Gingerbread Muffins

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease, or spray with cooking spray, the wells of a 12-well muffin tin. Set aside.

This is easiest to first measure out all the little ingredients and have at hand, "mise en place." A personal choice, but recommended.

In a medium mixing bowl, place all the dry ingredients together, plus the spices and stir together.

In another bowl, combine all the wet ingredients and stir well to combine, then pour all the wet into the dry ingredients and mix with a spoon or silicone spatula until no dry ingredients remain. Fill the muffin tin wells equally - the mixture is very generous. Separately, sprinkle some of the coconut for topping over each portion of batter, then repeat with chia seed.

Bake the muffins for 12 to 15 minutes. Test with a toothpick, as for cakes, at about 12 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside to cool for 10 minutes before trying to remove from the tins. (Muffin papers may be used, if preferred.) After 10 minutes, the muffins will release from the tins with very little coaxing. Set them aslant in the wells to continue cooling. Store at room temperature for up to 2 days, or freeze some in zip-top freezer bags for another time.

Lentils Shine in a Dish Called Mujadara

2022-07-21T10:55:00.004-07:00

I like lentils. Liking lentils in the first place, may - or may not - preclude some from liking this dish.

I had heard of Mujadara. I just never researched it to find out what, exactly, it was. I am not at all sure how or why I missed out on this meal, but I surely do wish I'd found out sooner, because it is one amazingly flavored dish.

Mujadara

Mujadara is a Lebanese / Middle Eastern concoction of lentils and rice. Rice can be substituted with bulghur. Lentils and rice are pretty bland fare, on their own. They need a lot of help in the flavor department. I believe what interested me the most when reading the recipes online - particularly the ones written by Lebanese or other Middle Eastern bloggers - is the near lack of any flavorings beyond a little cumin - and a whole boatload of onions. These onions are sauteed until very, very dark; far darker than the norm. These deeply caramelized, nigh on to burnt (but not quite) onions are what provide the absolutely heavenly flavor to the otherwise not too exciting lentils and rice.

Every cook has their own way of making a thing. Every cook has their own reasoning as to why it should be that way. I have absolutely no argument on method, and depending on the outcome, I may change a method to suit my own lifestyle. And at my age, I look for the simplest way, the fewest steps, the least cleanup possible. I have ranted on that subject here before, so I won't go into it again. But, when it requires three or four different pots or skillets to make one meal, I look immediately to how that can be simplified.

Maureen's Cookbook

Maureen Abood, a Lebanese-American lady I have been following for years on her blog, Facebook and with her cookbook called "Rose Water and Orange Blossoms," has recipes amazingly easy to understand. When dealing with an unknown culture, it helps to have someone both knowledgeable in the foods themselves, but also articulate enough to translate that into descriptions that clarify to a person not of that culture. I have some go-to Indian blogs that have fantastic recipes. Some though, assume that one knows what one is doing and so the recipes require some trial and error. And errors happen way too easily, when one "assumes!"

Ultimately, Maureen's recipe is the one that gave me the clearest idea of the whys and the wherefores of making Mujadara, though I had read about 8 recipes online and had already scribbled down two versions of what I thought I would do.

What is Mujadara?

As mentioned above, Mujadara is a dish of lentils and rice (or bulghur), made with a surfeit of deep, dark, caramelized onions. The onions completely make this dish. Do not stint on the onions. In fact, in one blog, this admonition was followed by the fact that her relatives used twice the amount used in her recipe!

Whenever I research a recipe from a culture that is not mine, I try and stick to recipes from people of that culture. They would certainly know better what it is that makes a dish. Reading recipes from other sources not of the culture, where a slew of additional flavors are added in, either as enhancement or compensation, well, this is, IMHO, trying to change the culture, and there I try instead to remain a purist.

In all the recipes written by a Middle Eastern (by background and culture, no matter where they live), there were - besides salt and water - just 5 main ingredients: lentils, rice (or bulghur), lots of onions, oil for sauteeing the onions (usually olive oil) and cumin. Period. Amounts may vary. Methods may vary. Ingredients did not vary.

👀I did opt to parboil the lentils in a separate pan, for the one simple reason that it is best not to salt the lentils while they cook, as this toughens their skins and makes a longer cooking time.

Ultimately, my Mujadara, though it takes a little while to make, was so very worthwhile. The flavors were sublime. My husband will tolerate lentils, if in the right application. He loved this dish nearly as much as I. I heartily recommend it to anyone. Vegetarians will love it for its complete protein. It is great accompanied by a simple salad, or tomatoes, or a tomato and cucumber salad. Of course, meat to accompany is fine. A dollop of Greek yogurt, or as I used, tzatziki, is also a great flavor combo.

Mujadara

Serves 8 as a side dish

1 cup brown lentils

1 cup long grain or basmati rice

4 cups water, divided

4 medium onions, divided (more, if desired)

2 - 4 tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds

Begin with the onions, as these take time. Chop three of the onions. Heat a goodly sized skillet over medium to medium low heat. Add in half the olive oil to heat and then the chopped onions. Stirring often, saute the onions until they are well past simple caramelization, and on into the realm of almost burnt. Sprinkle the salt over the onions while cooking as this helps draw moisture. The darker the onions, the better the flavors in the dish. Towards the end of cooking, add in the cumin.

Dark Sauteed Onions for Garnish

Once the onions are almost ready, place 2 cups of the water and the lentils into a medium saucepan. Cover and cook for about 12 to 15 minutes. The lentils are just parboiled at this time. Add the contents of the pot, with any liquids remaining, to the onions in the large skillet. Add in the remaining 2 cups of water and the rice. Stir, bring to boil and lower to a simmer. Time for approximately 20 minutes. Leave the lid on and remove the skillet from the heat. Let steam for an additional 10 or 15 minutes if there is time.

While the lentils and rice cook, heat another, smaller skillet and add the remaining olive oil. Cut the last onion into long slivers or rings and again, saute these until very deep dark in color. Once they are dark enough, pour them out onto paper toweling to absorb excess oil, and to crisp up a bit. Once the Mujadara is ready to serve, use these onions to garnish the dish.

Serve with a salad, a Shirazi salad (cucumber, tomato and onion), sliced tomatoes, a dollop of labneh, plain Greek yogurt, or tzatziki, some mint sprigs or cilantro, and this meal is fit for a king.

Individual Cheesecakes Cute as Can Be

2022-07-14T11:54:00.003-07:00

These perfect little individual cheesecakes were made to serve at a special dinner for some friends. Every, single thing about them was perfect: flavors, appearance, texture, and the bonus was that they came out of the little ramekins just perfectly. Better results could not be hoped for.

Black Sesame Matcha Individual Cheesecakes

While they were perfect, and have stayed in my mind ever since, I haven't returned to them. Why? Well, there is really no huge valid excuse at all really. The biggest thing was that I ran out of Matcha Green Tea powder and haven't replaced it.

Even longer ago, I had made Matcha and Black Sesame Muffins, and they were delightful. It was this combination, the green and the black flecks together are quite striking, that made me want to do something else with it.

Using Matcha Green Tea

Matcha Green Tea Powder

Using Matcha green tea powder can be tricky, only in the sense that depending on the quality, the color may be the brightest of lime green (higher quality, more flavor, higher price), or a very dull green, or even a very pale green (lower quality, less flavor, lower price). The dull green was what was used in both the muffins and the cheesecakes.

With less flavor and color, more is needed to achieve even the least bit of color in a baked good. This alters the dry ingredient contents upwards, with the possibility of a dry outcome, whether dry muffins or a very stiff and dry cheesecake.

Using higher quality Matcha will give a lot of color, but when it comes down to the facts, Matcha is very bitter. Too many people will not automatically love this bitterness, so a fine line is walked when making something like these recipes. Too much of a good thing and they may not be at all well-received.

Some of this bitterness in a baked item can be mitigated by using more sugar, yet breakfast muffins are not meant to be sweet as a cupcake (though far too many are), and too much sugar will alter a cheesecake's consistency as well.

An idea on that score is to dissolve the green tea powder in just enough hot water to make a smooth paste. In this way, the texture of either recipe would not be significantly altered. It also would afford the ability of actually seeing how much color is being added. The final baked goods will never be that same color, but it at least gives a clue.

Aside from the issue of Matcha, having some in the first place, and then all these other considerations, these little cheesecakes are no difficulty to make. The mixture is a straightforward style, black sesame is available in many stores nowadays. While black sesame is not much different in flavor than the white, they do give visual interest. So, on with the recipe:

Black Sesame Matcha Individual Cheesecakes

Makes about 6 (6-ounce)

or 8 (4-ounce) servings

Black Sesame Matcha Individual Cheesecakes

12 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1 teaspoon lime zest, finely grated
½ cup white sugar
2-3 tablespoons Matcha Green Tea powder
1 pinch salt
1 cup sour cream
3 large eggs, room temperature
1 tablespoon black sesame seeds

- Extra sugar, for dusting
- Butter for greasing

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease six (6-ounce) or eight (4-ounce) ramekins with butter. Dust them with sugar, tapping out excess. Set the ramekins into a roaster pan that can hold water halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Heat a large kettle of water and keep hot.

In a small bowl, whisk together the sugar and green tea powder. In a separate mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese until smooth, then add in the sugar mixture and lime zest and beat gently, just to combine. Add in the eggs, one at a time, beating gently until incorporated, then add in the sour cream and fold in the black sesame seeds.

Fill the ramekins of choice with the mixture. Set the roaster pan into the oven and carefully pour in the hot water around the ramekins to about halfway up their sides. Bake the cheesecakes 20 minutes for the smaller ones or 25 minutes for the larger ones. The centers should be a bit jiggly. Remove the pan from the oven and set the ramekins aside to cool. Chill the cheesecakes completely, refrigerated, before unmolding.

To unmold the cheesecakes, run a knife around the edges. They should start to spin a bit in their molds. Set a plate over top of the mold and invert the ramekin over the plate until the cheesecake comes loose onto the plate. Serve with a twist of lime and/or a dollop of whipped cream.

Good Golly it's Gumbo

2022-07-12T12:20:00.004-07:00

Long before ever visiting Louisiana, and later actually living there over the Y2K times, I had heard of Gumbo, as well as Etoufee, Jambalaya and a lot of other dishes, not all of which I really associated with Louisiana. Red beans and rice I'd had in Guatemala as a very young newlywed expat. maybe these were not the Louisiana-spiced version, but the concept was there. Boudin rouge or boudin noir are a sausage made with blood as part or most of its ingredients, but I had eaten those in Guatemala as well, under the name Moronga or Morcilla. Not a banana fan at any time, Bananas Foster never held any interest whatsoever. And long, long before ever learning that bread pudding was pretty much Louisiana's state dessert (according to me, anyway, as it was found in every single restaurant), I had been making and loving bread pudding.

When it came to hearing about Gumbo, I heard about okra as an ingredient, and I am absolutely not an okra fan. Thus, Gumbo held no interest. I like tomatoes, tomato sauces, spaghetti sauces, but there are times I just cannot abide them. At least my stomach seems to completely rebel at times, and then sometimes not. Etoufee, mainly tomato-ey red in color, was not high on a list of things I wanted to try.

Chicken and Andouille Gumbo

And then, we moved to Louisiana. Just north of Lake Ponchartrain, there were an amazing assortment of the best eating establishments all grouped so closely near to one another that you could barely toss a stone without hitting one, and we frequented them, almost all, in a constant rotation. My husband will not touch seafood, and not even fish. This is a mental allergy mind you, not a physical one. But as Louisiana cuisine is really all about fish and seafood, crawfish being absolutely huge there, there were many restaurants that had no meat on the menu, and some with a whole lot of truly stellar gourmet seafood dishes available, and with one lone hamburger plate on the menu, generally served with coleslaw (which my husband will not eat) and fries. They truly are not catering to the meat lover diet.

Exploring Gumbo Flavors

As we began exploring food in our new home area after we moved there, I was excited to taste this Gumbo I had heard and read about. I was willing to overlook okra, if the dish was good enough. And I had a couple samplings that were passable, for sure. But it was down in New Orleans proper, that I first had a small bowl of File Gumbo. Being a complete neophyte in the Gumbo world, I had asked the waitress what was the difference. she explained that Okra Gumbo used the okra as a slight thickening agent, whereas File Gumbo used File powder as it's slight thickening agent. Obviously okra has its own flavors as well, as does file powder, but I wasn't aware of that, then.

➤File powder is nothing more than the powdered leaf of sassafras. It is generally

File Powder

available in the spice aisle. This flavoring agent should never be added to the pot, but only stirred in at table. If cooked, it can become stringy.

On tasting the little bowl of File Gumbo, I was suddenly aware that this was amazingly good! Oh my, was it good! And then I went on a search. In each and every restaurant, I tried at least a small bowl or cup of Gumbo, just to see the range of flavors, and just how good, good can be.

While living there, I never even attempted to make Gumbo. More often than not, the Gumbo in restaurants contained crawfish or shrimp. At the time I still wasn't aware of why I was swelling so much all the time, so I blithely ate my way through crawfish, shrimp, crab, blue crab, lobster and a lot of other shellfish. Now, sadly, I have long been aware of my intolerance for those most wonderful foods. Sigh.

Making Roux

Moving away from Louisiana, as all good things must end one day, I longed for Gumbo. As I set about learning what made a good Gumbo, I learned about roux. While I had made roux plenty of times, in preparation for a gravy, those were always a very blond roux, just cooked enough for the raw flour taste to be gone, but not for color. In Louisiana, there is ROUX. Pronounced, "ROO." And this is one not to be messed with. Every young girl must learn the way to make a proper roux, or you will not ever attain a proper gumbo. And this roux must be cooked until "mahogany colored." This requires constant attention to the pot, or the roux will burn. This disaster cannot be repaired, and the only solution is to begin again. This process of cooking oil and flour to a mahogany color can take 15 minutes or it can take an hour, completely dependent on the skill and ease of the one making it. If unskilled, as I was the first time, it took an hour over medium or medium low heat. Over a higher heat, and a lot of quick stirring, it can be accomplished in much less time, but without this very dark roux as a base, the gumbo will not be right.

Holy Trinity added to Roux

The next important thing to know is that many, if not most, dishes in Louisiana are based on the flavors of the 'holy trinity, a phrase coined by chef Paul Prudhomme. This trinity is a combination, in equal parts, of chopped onion, green pepper and celery. These should be prepped and ready, as they are the first addition to the Gumbo pot, once the roux is ready.

Andouille sausage, pronounced ahn-DOO-ee, in Louisiana, is generally very highly spiced, with a strong chili kick. For the unwary, this can be a shock. The Andouille found in other areas of the country is but a poor relative, in comparison. I've used Aidell's brand, as I can tolerate the salt levels, though it is not spicy hot.

Chicken and Andouille Gumbo

Serves 8 to 10

Chicken and Andouille Gumbo

ROUX:

½ cup shortening or oil
½ cup all-purpose flour

----------
2 tablespoons cooking oil

2 medium onions, chopped
2 green peppers, chopped
6 stalks celery, chopped
3 cloves garlic
1 whole chicken, cut up
2 - 4 Andouille sausages, sliced
1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
¾ teaspoon dried oregano flakes
¾ teaspoons dried basil leaves
2 bay leaves
½ teaspoon ancho powder or cayenne
6 cups water or stock
Salt & pepper, to taste

File Powder, for serving

MAKE ROUX: In a heavy soup pot or Dutch oven, melt the shortening or oil over medium heat. Add in the flour and stir continually with a wire whisk until the mixture becomes a deep mahogany brown. This can take from 10 minutes to half hour, depending on your heat setting. Do not scorch the roux or you will need to begin again. Set aside, off the heat.

ASSEMBLE GUMBO: In a large skillet, heat the 2 tablespoons of oil and sauté the onions, green pepper, celery and garlic until softened, about 10 minutes. Add to the pot with the roux. Dry the chicken pieces and brown them on all sides in the skillet, then remove them to the pot along with the sliced Andouille, all the spices, chili powder and water or stock. Add in about 1 teaspoon of salt, to start, and some freshly grated black pepper. Stir well, then cover and cook on very low heat for an hour, or until the chicken is very tender. Once the gumbo has cooked, check for seasoning and adjust as needed. Leave chicken on the bone, or remove the skin and bones, if preferred, returning the chicken meat to the pot. Serve with a scoop of rice. Serve File Powder on the side. Use 1 to 3 teaspoons per serving, to taste.

NOTES: If using shrimp or crawfish, add these in to the pot only about 5 to 7 minutes before ready to serve, to just cook through.

Bran Muffins are a Very Old Favorite

2022-07-11T11:34:00.002-07:00

Long, long before bran and fiber became a health food, I loved bran muffins. Kellogg's® All-Bran® was common in our house when I grew up, and I recall my Grandma eating it as well. Of course, as a child, I didn't grasp what the reasoning was for this cereal, but I liked it. Even better though, were the bran muffins. No matter what, I have loved bran muffins.

Despite that, I hadn't eaten them or made them in a very long while, back when I started this blog back in 2012. And it wasn't until 2014 that I received all the bread cookbooks that started my journey into coaxing flavor from whole wheat, and not yet for another year or so that it came to be that I had a lot of accumulated bran at my disposal. I had long ago stopped eating cereal of any kind but oatmeal, so I wasn't keeping the All-Bran cereal at home, either. Many of the new bread recipes called for sifted whole wheat flour. As I was grinding my own wheat berries, for even better flavor (read more about why, here), some needed only the largest of bran flakes sifted from the flour, resulting in varying amounts of bran leftover.

Bran Muffins with Raisins and Walnuts

It was still quite some while of accumulating bran that I reasoned, "I can make Bran Muffins!"

Once I finally sat down to create a bran muffin recipe, first looking into recipes all over online at the time, to compare what was done, read comments about them and such, I cobbled together a plan. And it was still a while before I got to the point of making them. I cannot recall why it took so long to actually get around to making them, except for the fact of a whole lot of things happening in my life back then. Once I did, I made them quite a few times, and quickly ran out of all the accumulated bran I had stored, and once again I lapsed.

I did include the recipe in my Newsletter, which is now defunct, so once more I am placing it here to keep.

Bran Muffins with Raisins and Walnuts

Makes 12 muffins

Bran Muffins with Raisins and Walnuts

1 cup wheat bran
1½ cups whole wheat or whole Kamut flour
2½ teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt)
½ cup raisins
½ cup chopped walnuts
¼ cup sugar, or palm sugar
¾ cup milk
½ cup unsweetened applesauce
¼ cup molasses
2 tablespoons cooking oil of choice
2 large eggs, beaten lightly

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease or spray with cooking spray the wells of a 12-well muffin tin, or line wells with muffin papers Set aside.

In a mixing bowl, combine the first 8 dry ingredients and stir them together, ensuring the raisins are all separated from one another for even distribution. The raisins may be substituted with dates, if preferred.

Separately, whisk together the milk, applesauce, molasses, oil and eggs. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir with a wooden spoon or spatula, just until all the dry ingredients are moistened. Quickly, scoop the batter into the prepared muffin wells, dividing the batter evenly between the wells, and pop the tin into the oven on a middle rack for about 15 minutes, or until a tester inserted in the center comes out mostly clean.

Remove the tin from the oven and set aside for 5 to 9 minutes, at which time the muffins will release quite easily from the tin. Serve warm, preferably with butter, for a treat any time.

Veggie Kebabs as Main or Side Dish

2022-07-10T13:55:00.001-07:00

If you love grilled vegetables, then this is a recipe for you. Whether you are vegetarian, or if you want these as a side dish, they have excellent flavor, both from the marinade and from the grill.

Veggie Kebabs

When I made these, I used a mix of vegetables I had selected just for this application, but you can mix and match as you choose, keeping in mind that not all vegetables cook at the same rate. I used tiny potatoes whole, so I first boiled them and then marinated them to use on the skewer just for the added flavor of the grill. I used chunks of fresh pineapple, obviously not a vegetable but it does taste great on the grill! Bell peppers are an easy choice, and multi colored peppers make the kebabs look more visually appealing. I used hunks of portobello for the meatiness, but button mushrooms or cremini mushrooms would also work - or no mushrooms at all if they are not to your taste. Corn is best cut into small rounds across the cob, both for easy skewering and for quicker cooking, as more heat can reach the kernels. Sweet potato also needs a little cooking beforehand to make them soft enough to grill, just being careful not to over cook or they won't stay put on the skewer. I love grilled onion, so the more the merrier, whether white, yellow or red, and cut into wide enough squares to be comparable in width to the other vegetables on the skewer.

Gourmet Gardens Italian Herbs

I happened to have on hand at the time a tube of Gourmet Garden Italian Herbs. If you have not used this mixture, it is really great to give flavor to all sorts of foods, whether steaks, baked potatoes, mix into a dressing - just use your imagination. Once you've tasted it, you will think of all kinds of things it would enhance. Our friend Rich is a fanatic about this stuff and has it on hand at all times, for stirring into vegetables, adding to sauces, to spread on pizza, whatever strikes his fancy.

I tried once to make an approximation of this stuff, and it was okay, but somehow fell just short of the mark, for flavor, despite using fresh herbs to create it. The only actual herbs in this mixture listed on the label are basil, oregano, parsley and rosemary, out of 10 total ingredients, so you may understand why I wanted to go that route of making my own.

👀My suggestion, if you do not have this ingredient, or choose not to use it because of the many "other" ingredients, would be to substitute a tablespoon of minced fresh basil and rosemary with another dollop of olive oil to approximate - as my recipe already calls for oregano and thyme, garlic, balsamic vinegar and olive oil.

Veggie Kebabs

Makes about 10 to 16 kebabs, depending on size of skewers

Veggie Kebabs

1 – 2 ears corn, cut into 1½ inch wheels
1 red bell pepper, in 1-inch squares
1 orange bell pepper, cut in 1-inch squares
1 red onion, separated and cut in 1-inch squares
1 zucchini, cut into 1-inch cubes
6 (3-inch) Portobello caps, quartered
15 – 20 tiny 1-inch potatoes, or others, in 1-inch chunks
1 sweet potato, peeled, in 1½-inch cubes
2 cups fresh pineapple, in 1½-inch wedges

MARINADE/SAUCE:

1 teaspoon Kosher salt
1 tablespoon fresh chopped oregano
2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
3 tablespoons Gourmet Garden Italian Herbs

(or see above 👀)

3 cloves garlic, smashed and minced

Place the potatoes and sweet potato chunks into a small pot and cover with water. Bring to boil, adding 1 teaspoon salt to the water, and boil for about 10 minutes, or until they can just barely be pierced through. Drain and rinse under cold water and set aside to cool.

In a bowl, whisk together the Kosher salt, fresh oregano & thyme, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, Italian Herbs paste and garlic. Whisk together and pour over all the vegetables in a large bowl. Toss to coat. Thread the vegetables onto skewers, keeping in mind, if using wooden skewers, they must be soaked for at least 30 minutes before using. When threading the corn, skewer it through the center of the “wheel.” Reserve the marinade aside.

Grill the skewers over a hot grill until they are browned in spots and tender. Brush them with some remaining marinade to serve. Or, remove the vegetables to a bowl to serve, pouring some of the remaining marinade over top.

NOTE: As a party idea, use small wooden skewers, well soaked ahead of time, and thread on just a small few veggies per skewer, Make extra marinade to have for guests to use as a dip or a pouring sauce when serving. As these do not have to be hot for serving, they can be made just slightly in advance, but do not make them so far ahead they need refrigerating, as this significantly changes the flavors.

Root Vegetables in all their Glory

2022-07-08T10:28:00.002-07:00

I love root vegetables. From beets to yucca and everything in between. There hasn't been much in the root vegetable or tuber family that I don't like, so they feature in many of my favorite recipes.

Mixing parsnips with potatoes for mashed potatoes has been a habit of very long standing. Oven fries and potato salads make my husband particularly happy. Sweet potatoes, whether used in a "salad" application (like Sweet Potato & Black Bean Salad), baked in a casserole or made into oven fries, make me particularly happy.

Oven Roasted Root Vegetables

While we are just now coming into the full heat of summer and many people avoid heating their ovens, this recipe for Oven Roasted Root Vegetables (plus a couple of others thrown in 😉) should stay in your files for when Fall and cooler temps start moving in, because this is one fabulous recipe.

When Fall does hit, squash of all kinds abound, and I love squash as much as most root vegetables. I cannot begin to say I have tried all the countless varieties of squash out there, though I can say with certainty that butternut is normally in my fridge, but come Fall, I wander into other types, like the Australian blue varieties such as Jarrahdale or Jamboree, or Hubbard, though I am not always able to find them, or acorn. So, I normally add some kind of squash to my root vegetables, just because of their similar dense texture and cooking times.

Speaking of cooking times, this will depend entirely on the size you cut your vegetables in preparation for baking. You might cut them into 1 to 1 1/2-inch cubes, or you might go with a much smaller cut. I made an extra tiny cube size for the topping for an appetizer recipe I made for my son's birthday (Rosemary, Brie & Goat Cheese Tarts with Balsamic Roasted Root Vegetables), so being an appetizer portion, the veggies were cut to about 1/4-inch cubes. For some reason I have the time listed for those tiny cubes as nearly the same as for larger ones, though my recollection was that it took about 30 to 35 minutes. If you have much larger, say 1 1/4-inch sized, it can take an hour or even a little more.

I like using shallots when making the vegetable mixture, but any kind of onion, red, white or yellow, will work just fine. Go with personal preference, or what is on hand. And another vegetable I use, again just because I like them, is green or red bell pepper - and which to use is up to the individual, or what is currently on hand.

Mix root vegetables for this recipe as you choose, but keep in mind that red beets will stain everything a pretty red color. An alternative if you like beets is to look for either golden beets or Chioggia beets. Yucca root is particularly hard, so should be cut a bit smaller than the other veggies, if using.

Oven Roasted Root Vegetables

Serves about 6

Oven Roasted Root Vegetables

VEGETABLES:
2 cups (10 ounces) kabocha squash, or butternut
2 cups (8.5 ounces) shallots
2 cups (8.3 ounces) red bell peppers
1¾ cups (8 ounces) sweet potato
1 cup (5.5 ounces) carrots
1 cup 4.5 ounces) parsnip

DRESSING:
½ cup Balsamic vinegar
¼ cup melted, unsalted butter
¼ cup olive oil
1 - 2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves, or use a couple or three large whole sprigs
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon salt
1½ teaspoons Zah’tar, optional
2 – 3 cloves garlic, minced

VEGETABLES: Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease or spray a 9 x 13-inch oven safe casserole and set aside. Peel and scoop out seeds from the squash and cut into ¾-inch cubes. Peel and cube the sweet potato, carrots and parsnip similarly. Cut ends from the shallots and slice into quarters, lengthwise. Clean seeds and membranes from the bell pepper and cut into squares. (Yes, the pepper is not a root vegetable, but it gives great flavor and color!)

DRESSING: Whisk together all the dressing ingredients and pour over the prepared vegetables in a bowl. Toss well to coat the vegetables evenly. Pour the vegetables with the dressing into the prepared casserole dish and bake for 40 to 50 minutes, or until the vegetables are easily pierced with the tip of a knife.

My passion is teaching people how to create a harmony of flavors with their cooking, and passing along my love and joy of food, both simple or exotic, plain or fancy. I continue my journey in ethnic and domestic cuisines, continuing my journey to explore diverse culinary experiences and hopefully to start you on a journey of your own. Join me also at A Harmony of Flavors on Facebook, and Pinterest.

This Meatloaf is not Just a Meatloaf

2022-07-07T10:01:00.004-07:00

This meatloaf is excellently flavored - with Gorgonzola! Not just your everyday meatloaf, for sure. Diverse flavors all blended together become an intriguing and evocative combo.

Meatloaf has always been just "bleh" for me. I surely have never ordered it in a restaurant, as does my husband. Even worse, if it has had raw onion added in before baking. I love onions, but not raw. I prefer instead to caramelize onions before adding them to a meatloaf mixture, which, to me, provides a lot more depth of flavor.

Gorgonzola Meatloaf

Trying out different flavor combinations, on the very occasional meatloaf, has been due to that need of mine to make things taste better. Especially if it is something I find so unappealing in general. I know there are many meatloaf lovers who will vehemently disagree with me, my own husband included. But if you want something a little different, then look no further.

It also is not easy to take an enticing photo of meatloaf - of any sort. My photos leave much to be desired, I admit. You'll have to just go on my word here, that this is one truly delicious dinner item. When I made this originally, cherry preserves were mixed with ketchup to spread over the top. Currant jelly would work as well, though the jelly would have to be melted in order to mix with the ketchup. In looking back at this recipe, a new idea popped into my head. I never, ever, stop tweaking recipes, even my own. I rarely make a recipe the same way twice, even when it was fabulous the first time. I believe that when I make this for dinner tonight, I am going to add in some soaked and softened dried blueberries as well. 😁 That, and I am planning on using half ground beef and half ground turkey.

Gorgonzola Meatloaf

Makes 2 meat loaves; serves about 6 to 8

Gorgonzola Meatloaf

2 pounds lean hamburger
1 cup applesauce
¼ cup A-1 Sauce®
2 teaspoons salt
- freshly ground black pepper, to taste
4 cloves fresh garlic, minced
3 eggs, lightly beaten
¾ cup rolled oats
2.5 ounces Gorgonzola crumbles
½ cup ketchup
½ cup cherry preserves (or use melted red currant jelly)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Have two 4 x 8-inch loaf pans sprayed with cooking spray; set aside.

In a large bowl, thoroughly mix together all ingredients except the ketchup and preserves. Divide the mixture into two equal portions and pat them into the prepared loaf pans.

Combine the ketchup and cherry preserves. Divide this mixture to spread over each of the meatloaves. Bake them for approximately 1 hour. Slice and serve.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

UPDATE: I did make this meatloaf the day I wrote this blog, and used the changes I noted above, namely using half ground chicken and half ground beef, and adding 4 (or 5) ounces of dried blueberries, which I soaked briefly (then drained before adding to the mix of ingredients) while I was getting the rest of the ingredients in the bowl to mix.

Revised Gorgonzola Meatloaf with half ground chicken and dried blueberries

There are many people who do not appreciate the addition of sweet into a savory application. Some consider their own meatloaf recipes canon, and any additions or subtractions near sacrilege. I understand. Truly. If however, you do love the occasional addition of the less common ingredient, then this was a fabulously flavored meatloaf. The original was great, and this just took a couple more steps upward in my humble opinion!

I mentioned at the beginning of this blog about onion in meatloaf. I did not use onion in this particular one, and had a question from a friend on that in Facebook. While I did not add onion in this recipe, if I were to do so, I would chop a medium onion and saute in oil until well caramelized before adding.

No Matter What You Call Them

2022-07-06T11:45:00.001-07:00

When I first started my journey into Indian foods, it was a combination of being taken to an Indian Buffet or two, and then venturing into more as my cravings for those flavors expanded. That, along with the first cookbook I received, "The Complete Asian Cookbook" by Charmaine Solomon, with a section on Indian food, later followed by "The Bombay Palace Cookbook" by Stendahl.

In each Indian Buffet I frequented, there were little lamb meatballs, obviously done on a grill or maybe in a tandoor oven, and definitely with a char-grilled flavor. Prominent enough to notice in these meatballs was the flavor of mint, other spices just making the whole so very delightfully flavored. I looked for these, when I found them, as they quickly became a favorite.

But, what are they called?

That is something I never found out.

Lamb Kofta or Lamb Seekh Kebabs

Over the many, many years since those early days, I have learned a lot more about Indian cooking, recipes, flavors, flavors divided by areas of India, spices - oh! the spices! - and so very much more. But, I never did find a specific recipe for those little grilled lamb meatballs. On the buffets, they were always in a bin of their own. No sauce, maybe a sprinkling of fresh cilantro.

Much later, reading about Middle Eastern foods and such, while the flavors in general do not call me the way Indian foods do, there are a lot of great foods I have tried to date, and I also read about how much of the food of Persia and other Middle East countries filtered down into India, and in fact is how Naan bread came to be in northern Indian cuisine.

And there I discovered Kofta. And then Seekh Kebabs.

Or Kefta, or Kafta, but however the spelling comes out, these are the very closest to the flavors I was looking for. I did a little tweaking, mainly adding in a little more fresh mint, but mostly in keeping with the flavors I recalled. Grilling (or broiling in a pinch) gives them that marvelous added layer of flavor. Obviously in a country that does not, in general, eat beef, if they even eat meat at all, lamb would be the red meat of choice. The closest to these little meatballs I have found in Indian cookbooks is called Seekh Kebab, usually the "seekh" referring to ground or minced meat (but not always!) and can be used for lamb, chicken or whatever meat is being used in the recipe. I have made Seekh Kebabs with chicken meat, and they are good, though I made them in a frypan. These type of kebab are usually formed into long sausage shapes around skewers, more often a flat skewer that helps keep the meat on while rotating on the grill.

Ultimately, no matter what you call them, these are the closest approximation to those wonderful little grilled meatballs on the Indian Buffets.

Lamb Kofta or Lamb Seekh Kebabs

Makes about 6 to 8 servings

Lamb Kofta or Lamb Seekh Kebabs

2 pounds ground lamb, or substitute beef or go half and half
1 medium potato, baked, cooled, peeled, riced

2 shallots, minced finely
3 large cloves garlic, minced finely
½ cup fresh parsley, minced finely
½ cup fresh mint, minced finely
¼ cup fresh cilantro, finely minced
1½ teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon ground sumac, optional
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground allspice
½ teaspoon ground cumin
½ teaspoon ground cardamom
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- Pinch ground cloves

To be more authentic, finely mince the meats, or briefly pulse them in the food processor. It should not be paste, but much finer than ground meat.

Combine all the ingredients and mix well with clean hands to distribute all the spices evenly. Form the mixture into elongated meatball shapes on pre-soaked bamboo skewers or on metal skewers. Another method is to form the meat into a single-thickness hot-dog shape, evenly along the length of the skewer. To bake the kofta, preheat oven to 425 degrees. Set the skewers on a broiler rack or other rack over a rimmed baking sheet and bake the kofta for 20 to 25 minutes. Thinner meat formed along the length of the skewer will be done in a much shorter time. If grilling, grill as for burgers, turning as needed for even browning. Serve with tzatziki or hummus and flatbreads with a side salad for an amazing meal.

Easy Whole Wheat Bread for Beginners

2022-07-05T13:15:00.001-07:00

I just love it when someone who knows nothing about bread making asks if I can show them how. This happened with a friend of ours a couple years ago. He had never made bread dough, to my knowledge. He certainly had never kneaded bread dough. He does like most of my heavier, denser loaves, enjoying whole grains. He loves beer. And so I set myself the task of creating a recipe he could make for himself.

Whole Wheat & Ale Bread

Whole Wheat?

I explained to him my ideas on buying whole wheat flour from the grocery, mainly, DON'T. My main gripe about whole wheat bread, long ago when I first started trying whole grain breads out, was that they just tasted blah. Later on, after reading Peter Reinhart's books I realized that those grains need some coaxing to extract flavor. That, but even more importantly, I learned about the way "whole wheat flour" is created. And I do mean created. No grocery-store-bought whole wheat flour is anything but a construct, made by taking the white flour, and adding back in enough of the bran to approximate "whole wheat," and this may vary by brand. No wonder it tastes so different when you grind your own wheat berries! There is no dividing up the white endosperm (the starchy part used for white flour) from the bran (the outer coating and source of fiber) and the germ (the food source for the grain when sprouting, and source of many B-vitamins, some protein, minerals and healthy fats).

The reason for this dividing up of the grain parts is of course, getting the white refined starch we call white flour, a process that has now removed about a quarter of the protein and greatly reducing at least 17 key nutrients. What is left is a mere shadow of the original grain. To "rectify" this situation, white flour is "enriched," a process whereby some few nutrients are added to the flour, but certainly not in the proportions, nor the way, in which nature originally provided. Another reason for this division is that the germ, containing so very much goodness, also tends to go rancid very easily, so removing it means the resultant (mostly worthless) white flour is able to stay in warehouses and on grocery shelves much, much longer. And of course, removing the bran is removing the fiber we so need in our diets. (Facts gleaned from The Whole Grains Council.org)

Enough of the lesson!

Suffice to say that once I started grinding my own grain, whether slowly and tortuously with my Kitchen Aid grinder attachment long ago, or very quickly with my Whisper Mill, the flavors began to truly stand out. This is due to having the whole grain, bran, germ and endosperm, all ground together, yielding far superior flavor. There are other ways of extracting flavor, but just this step makes it worthwhile. I told our friend to look for a place that he could take whole wheat grains and have them ground, as is, for him to use.

Other Considerations

When making whole grain breads, keep in mind that the whole grain, ground together, yield a substantial amount of things to prevent a good rise. Those very things that make whole grain breads heavy and dense, namely the bran and germ. These have no gluten proteins and cannot help with the rise and stretchiness of the dough. The bran, in fact, can actually cut the gluten strands, furthering this problem. Any bread that is labeled "whole grain" must have some token amount of whole grain in it. However, no true whole grain, or even mostly whole grain, bread will ever be light and fluffy. Can't happen. While I am not a wholehearted proponent of plain white bread (I never, ever buy plain white bread, but only bake my own when needed), some white bread flour in a whole grain recipe can help give a little rise you may not get otherwise. In my recipe below, I have 3 parts whole grain to one part white flour, for just a little lift.

Kneading

Kneading is an individually learned process. I don't believe any two people perform this process quite the same. The goal is to manipulate the dough, forcefully enough for proper mixing, long enough to develop such gluten as is possible to coax into being. (This does not apply to rye breads - that is another article entirely.) Often, at the beginning of kneading, the tendency for a new bread maker is to add more and more flour, because at the beginning the dough can be quite sticky.

Avoid this if at all possible.

The more flour that goes into the dough, the denser and dryer the loaf will be. Add any flour judiciously, and do your best to deal with the sticky hands. The dough eventually will become more pliable and less sticky, the closer to "windowpane" you get. In Peter Reinhart's books, he describes the proper feel as "tacky, but not sticky." If you have a metal "bench scraper" this can help with scraping the dough up from your counter or kneading surface so kneading can continue.

Windowpane

One way I have worked with in a lot of breads is spraying my granite countertop (often my hands as well) with spray oil and kneading on this oily surface. If more is needed occasionally, at least I am not making the dough more dense.

Windowpane can be reached in 10 to 20 minutes of kneading depending on the strength of your arms and the amount of manipulation. Press, roll, fold, stretch, turn; move and manipulate the dough constantly, to knead. Windowpane means being able to pick up a smallish piece of the dough, then stretching it between two hands until you can see light showing through the dough, but without tearing. And happy baking!

Whole Wheat & Ale Bread

Makes 1 round loaf

Whole Wheat & Ale Bread

3 cups <2 tablespoons whole wheat flour (1¾ cup whole wheat berries, ground)
1 cup + 2 tablespoons white bread flour, plus some for dusting
2 teaspoons salt
1 packet (2½ teaspoons) instant rise/rapid rise yeast
3 tablespoons molasses
2/3 cup cool water
¾ cup < 2 tablespoons strong-flavored ale (or use all water)

In a large bowl, combine the two flours, adding the salt to one side of the bowl and the yeast to the opposite side of the bowl. Mix the water, ale and molasses together and pour into the flour mixture. Begin mixing with hands or a wooden spoon until the mixture comes together as a mass. Oil a clean, smooth surface and turn the dough out onto the surface and knead for 12 to 15 minutes, or until it passes the windowpane test.

Grease a clean bowl and place the dough into the bowl, turning once to grease both sides. Cover with a towel or with plastic wrap and set aside to proof until doubled. This can take up to 4 hours but begin checking at 2 hours. When a finger is pressed into the surface of the dough, it should still spring back slightly. If the finger leaves a deep indent, it has proofed too much, so keep an eye out.

Once dough is risen, turn dough out onto a lightly flour the work surface. Gently fold and turn the dough to degas. Flatten the dough into a rough rectangle. Press corners into the center, then again press the new “corners” into the center. Turn the dough over and firm the rounded ball by pressing, dragging and turning the dough until the surface is very taught. Set the loaf onto a parchment lined baking sheet. Cover with plastic wrap and set to rise until doubled. It is ready when the dough still springs back when gently pressing a finger into it.

Have oven preheated to 425 degrees. Place bread onto a rack near the center of the oven and bake 25 minutes. Lower the oven temperature to 400 degrees and bake a further 10 minutes, until the loaf is golden brown and sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom. Transfer to a wire rack and leave to cool completely before cutting.

What to do with Extra Beets

2022-07-04T10:56:00.001-07:00

Make a cake, that's what!

I had someone give me a large paper sack full of red beets one time. I love beets. I canned some of them. I baked some of them, in Lemon Garlic Beets, I put them in salads, made Root Vegetable and Greens Soup, and I still had some beets leftover. Someone suggested a Chocolate Beet Cake. I said, "What???" I'd never heard of such a thing in all my nearly 70 years (at that time) of life!" But as I Googled, I found many recipes for Chocolate Beet Cake out there, so color me shocked!

Chocolate Beet Cake

Okay, all that is well and good, but I am not personally over fond of chocolate. Chocolate cakes (I eat them occasionally, not at all often) or chocolate ice cream (I really dislike chocolate ice cream), um, no thank you. I wondered, "Is there a cake made with beets that does not include chocolate?"

At the time I created this cake, and searching for recipes in existence, the pickings were mighty slim. Most cakes made with beets, and this still holds true, having done a cursory search just now, have chocolate as an ingredient. As an observation, when I did make the Chocolate Beet Cake originally, the batter was a lovely dark red. Once baked, however, the color was just simply that of a chocolate cake - no particular red color left as "evidence," making it something my husband, a confirmed beet-hater, truly enjoyed.

And so, I hoped this would hold true if I made a cake without the chocolate to hide the evidence of beets as an ingredient. My thought process was to go with a spice cake. We both love spice cakes, my Prune Spice Cake being one in particular I have made fairly often. The prunes give it a bit more depth of color, but a spice cake on its own is still darker than any white or yellow cake. I proceeded with the idea of a Beet Spice Cake.

Beet Spice Sheet Cake

My instinct payed off; there was absolutely no evidence of pinkness in the final cake. Looking back at the recipe (I never stop tweaking, even with my own recipes!), I used some of my Mocha Spice Blend II, but that gave me the idea of maybe just adding in some instant expresso powder, maybe 1 to 3 teaspoons, depending on how much you love coffee flavor! If a fine powder, this can be added with dry ingredients. If it is in crystal form, then mixed with a tablespoon of water to melt first and added with the eggs and oil would work.

Beet Spice Sheet Cake

Makes one 18 x 24-inch sheet cake, or one 8 or 9-inch round, two-layer cake

1 cup pureed, cooked beets (about 3 medium beets)

Beet Spice Sheet Cake

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons allspice
2 teaspoons Mocha Spice, optional (or substitute your favorite Pumpkin Pie Spice Mix)
1 cup vegetable oil
4 large eggs
¾ cup granulated sugar
¾ cup brown sugar
1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
¾ cup ground pecans or walnuts

Boil the whole beets in water to cover for 45 minutes to an hour, until easily pierced with a fork. Cool completely. This can be done a day earlier. Peel the beets and puree finely in a food processor, food mill, or on a small holed grater.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease or spray with cooking spray a sheet pan (about 18 x 24-inches, with a rim at least ½-inch high). Line the pan bottom with parchment and spray again with cooking spray. Set aside.

In a bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, allspice and Mocha Spice blend. Separately, whisk together the vegetable oil, eggs, both sugars and vanilla extract. Pour the liquid ingredients into the bowl of dry ingredients and stir well until all the dry ingredients are moistened, then fold in the ground nuts. Pour the batter into the prepared sheet pan and spread batter evenly. Bake the cake for about 13 to 15 minutes, or until a tester inserted in the center comes out mostly clean.

Revisiting Some Recipes

2022-07-02T11:08:00.001-07:00

Around the time COVID began, I had a lot of changes occur in my life, things were upside down for a time, and then COVID just continued to mess with our lives. And in all of that, I just lost the desire to invent new recipes, hence the very few recipes in my blog since 2019, and the Newsletter just didn't hold an iota of interest. It is now nearly three years since I posted a Newsletter, so I am allowing it to lapse.

However, there were some really good recipes that had been available only through the Newsletter. I had links to most of them in the Index portion of this blog site, but now that the link to those recipes will expire along with the newsletter, I deleted the links to those recipes, and will hopefully get the majority added back in, as I post them here in this blog.

Goat Cheese Tarts with Fig and Preserved Lemon Jam

The following recipe was a remake of an older recipe, with a new twist or two, and they were so stupendously good, I have to assure that the recipe stays available! These are little bite (or two) sized appetizers I created to pair with a sampling of white wines at a wine tasting evening. If memory serves, they paired best with a Chardonnay. I realize "Chardonnay" is rather generic for the many and varied iterations of that grape, but a nice, buttery type is the best.

I have long had a medium sized, marble mortar and pestle set, and in casting around for something to simplify the forming of tart shells in my mini tart pans, I thought of the pestle. Being marble, it is therefore good for use with pastry dough. I found that making small balls of the dough and setting them in the wells of the pan, the thicker end of the pestle can be used to do the broad stroke of making the dough into a relative "bowl" shape in each little well. Flipping the pestle and using the narrow end, it is perfect for pressing the dough against the sides of the little wells and up to the top edges. Necessity: the Mother of Invention.

Preserved Lemons

Preserved Lemon is an item that most will not have on hand, unless you are a Middle Eastern, Mediterranean or northern African maybe. I have long been acquainted with the taste of preserved lemon, though I hadn't ever seen them sold anywhere in most of my middle-America travels. Recently though, I spotted Preserved Lemons in a jar on the grocery shelf in southeast Arizona! Imagine my surprise. To make preserved lemons, you need a (preferably sterilized) large-ish glass jar with lid, nice, unblemished and well-scrubbed lemons to press into the jar and sea salt or Kosher salt. Extra lemon juice to top off. Cut halfway into each lemon from one pointed end. Cut into the opposite ends in a crosswise manner, as shown. (Or, simply make two criss-crossing cuts down to near the bottoms of the lemons, but not all the way through.)

Making cuts for preserved lemons

Now, using plenty of salt. pack salt into the cut parts of the lemons, using as much as can possibly be pressed into them. Press these lemons into the clean, prepared jar, packing in tightly so a lot of their juice is pressed out into the jar. Once the jar is filled, or you've used all the lemons that fit, using fresh lemon juice, make sure the lemons are covered with the juice. Cover and let set on the counter for about 3 days, then in the refrigerator for at least 3 weeks more.

To use the preserved lemons, the rinds should be completely softened, when they are ready. Cut or tear off as much as you might need (a quarter lemon, half) and separate the inner flesh and discard. Wash the rind before using. It can be added to salads, fish dishes, or giving a great flavor to something like this Fig Jam, below!

Goat Cheese & Prosciutto Tarts with Fig & Preserved Lemon Jam

Makes 35 mini tartlets

Goat Cheese Tartlets
with Fig & Preserved Lemon Jam

TART SHELLS:
½ cup finely ground pistachios
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
¼ cup cold unsalted butter
4 ounces regular cream cheese

FILLING:
6 ounces goat cheese (Chevre or Montrachet)
½ cup heavy cream
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves, stripped from stems
½ teaspoon finely ground white pepper
1 pinch salt
3 ounces prosciutto, minced finely

FIG & PRESERVED LEMON JAM:
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
2 large shallots, cut in half and sliced
8 dried white figs (135 grams), cut in small pieces
½ cup white wine
2 tablespoons honey
3 tablespoons finely minced preserved lemon, rind only
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves, stripped from stems

TART SHELLS: Grind pistachios finely in a spice grinder or food processor. Place the ground pistachios in the bowl of food processor along with the flour and pepper. Pulse briefly to stir. Cut the cold butter and cream cheese into small cubes and add to the processor. Pulse about 20 times, then turn on to process until the mixture comes together. Turn out and form small balls about 1-inch in diameter or slightly less (10 grams apiece). You should have 35 balls. Set the balls of dough into the wells of mini tart pans. Press dough into the wells and up the sides, then freeze. Once frozen, these can keep, well covered, for up to 2 weeks if needed to do ahead.

Making tart Shells, adding chopped prosciutto and cheese filling

FILLING: Place the goat cheese into a bowl. Using a hand mixer, beat until the cheese is relatively smooth, then add all the remaining filling ingredients except the prosciutto and beat until the mixture is smooth. This mixture can be kept in the fridge for up to 3 days, well covered, if needed to make in advance. When ready to make the tarts, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Remove the tart shells from the freezer and divide the minced prosciutto between the tart shells. Pour 1 to 1¼ teaspoons of the goat cheese filling over top of the prosciutto in the shells. Rap the pans a few times sharply on the counter to distribute the filling down around the prosciutto. Bake the tarts for 12 to 14 minutes, or until the filling is set and the shell is golden. Cool and remove from pans. The tarts can also be baked ahead and then frozen. Simply remove the baked and frozen tarts from freezer, set them on a baking sheet and bake them at 350 for 10 minutes to reheat before topping with the Fig and Preserved Lemon Jam, just before serving.

Sauté shallots till golden, add figs and thyme, preserved lemon

FIG & PRESERVED LEMON JAM: Melt the butter in a medium skillet and add in the sliced shallots. Sauté the shallots until they begin to turn golden. Add in the chopped dried figs with all the remaining Jam ingredients and cook until the liquid is mostly gone, and the mixture is sticky and cooked through. If making ahead, place the Jam into a clean container with lid and refrigerate until needed, up to 3 weeks. Using two small spoons, top each tart with a small amount of the ‘Jam’ just prior to serving.

If You Like Idli and Uttappam

2022-06-14T14:01:00.005-07:00

In my spare time, which there is a lot of these days, I make books. Not to sell, though many have suggested it. For my own reference, I created a "My Favorite Recipes" book a long time ago, going on to create a Volume II as there were so many more recipes that came to mind after finishing the first volume.

My Guatemalan Cookbook

I have made books of bird and fowl identification, using photos I had taken or from my sisters for identifying purposes, spend a lot of online time researching descriptors and other details so If I came home with yet another unidentified photo, I had a resource for identification. I made a book of all the flowers, be they weeds, wild or other, from trips to the Pacific northwest, one from flora of California I had photographed, of orchids I'd grown myself or taken photos of in botanical gardens. More recently, I created 4 smaller books of plants and flowers on Arizona (one of cacti, one of tender plants, one of succulent type plants and one of shrubs and trees).

Many other cookbooks have been made since those first ones so long ago. One was a memoir cookbook of Guatemalan recipes for my oldest daughter when she turned 40. I had lived in Guatemala for 12 years, and my children were born there. My oldest was still closest to the relatives there; still spoke Spanish reasonably well. At the time of creating that book, I had made such few recipes as were included in the book, maybe around 40, because there was nothing online to find nearly 12 years ago. Since then I have added to that memoir cookbook for my son and next daughter turning 40. I have managed to include over 80 recipes in there now, and I learn more as the years go by.

My Bread Cookbook

I have no background in India, but love the flavors and spices. I have created a couple of Indian cookbooks so far, but it wasn't until I was finishing the pages for a new Bread cookbook that I went searching for other Indian breads than Naan, parathas or chapatis. While researching Indian breads, and the "appams" in particular, I came upon recipes for Utappam, which uses leftover Idli batter. Oh boy.

Idli was something I got interested in - as a concept - a LOT of years ago, but never got around to trying, out of fear. Too many conflicting admonitions, a lot of strictures, and it was just so foreign (excuse the word) a concept. So I managed to set that on the back burner for about 8 years. Once I did venture to make Idli, while the batter did not ferment (remedied by adding baking soda last minute before using), I loved those little steamed pillows! But making Idli is a definite process, needing time and some attention. When I read about Utappam, I really wanted to try, but did not want to go through all that trouble of making Idli batter just then.

I mused on that a bit and thought,

"Really, idli batter is made of presoaked rice and urad dal, with a little fenugreek and a little cooked leftover rice or Poha rice, then grinding the soaked grains to a batter. What it I skipped the first part of soaking the rice and the lentils and used rice flour and pre-ground urad dal? I have fenugreek powder. Poha rice nearly disintegrates in liquid anyway."

I proceeded to try that out, but as a quick version used instant yeast to approximate fermentation (it took a couple of hours to rise). It was good, and it worked. Still, obviously the fermentation process would be adding proper flavor. These yeasted ones, while good, were curiously "flat" tasting. So I went back and made a new batter. After mixing the ingredients I left it on the counter for nearly 24 hours, at which time I saw a slight growth of the batter and some bubbles. Eureka!

Clockwise from top left: Nariyal chutney, Idli Podi, Idli, and Imli Chutney

This batter made lovely and very delicious Utappam, as well as Idli, so I am truly happy.

Quicker Idli or Utappam Batter

Made 4 (5-6 inch) Utappam and 8 Idli

Utappam

1 cup white rice, ground finely to equal 1 1/4 cups, OR use 1 1/4 cups preground rice flour flour (about 190 grams)

1 teaspoon fenugreek seeds (3 grams), ground finely, OR 1 1/4 teaspoon fenugreek in powder form

1/3 cup peeled split urad dal, ground to flour (about 74 grams), or 3/4 cup once ground (- not a typo!)

1/4 cup Poha rice,

OR use 1/4 cup leftover cooked rice

3/4 teaspoon salt

1 3/4 cups cool water, or as needed

Place the rice flour, urad dal flour, ground fenugreek and Poha rice into a large mixing bowl. Begin stirring in the water with a wooden spoon, so as not to form lumps. Add only enough water to make what looks like a stiff pancake batter. Set the bowl aside in a warm area and cover with a lid or plastic film and allow to ferment. This may take up to 24 hours. Look for puffing, bubbles and a nice fermented aroma. Once ready to use, stir in the salt.

To make Utappam, heat a skillet as you would for pancakes. Lightly grease the pan and ladle in batter, as for pancakes, spreading to about 5 or 6-inches in diameter. While the "pancake" is cooking on one side, place your desired toppings on the uncooked upper side. Possible toppings include:

Idli Batter in tray to steam
cilantro,
parsley,
curry leaves,
shredded fresh ginger,
sliced onion or shallot,
chopped garlic,
grated carrot,
chopped bell pepper (green or red),
chopped or sliced green chilies (Serrano or Jalapeno are good),
chopped tomatoes (not too juicy),

or anything else that sounds good. (Limit the toppings as they will only fall off if too many are in place when the pancake is flipped over.) Once the bottom is browned, drizzle some oil over the toppings before turning and then flip the pancake to lightly brown the other side. Serve with toppings upwards, with any chutney or pickle of choice, with a dal dish or a soup.

To make Idli, a traditional south Indian breakfast or snack food, an Idli stand is a must. My Idli stands consist of a three-tiered stand with a base to be able to set into a large pot with a shallow layer of lightly boiling water. The little rounded wells, 4 per tray (with three trays total), are filled just to their edges and stacked. Once set into the pot with water, the water must not touch the bottom tray. Cover the pot and steam the idli for about 7 to 9 minutes. They should test done as for a bread or cake, by inserting a toothpick in center that should come out clean. Idli can be served with any curry or leftovers, with Sambar, Tamatar ki Chatni, Tamarind (Imli) Chutney, Coconut (Nariyal) Chutney, Idli Podi (a dry spiced mixture that tastes heavenly), or all by themselves with any of these chutnies or Podi.

New Indian Recipes on the Menu

2022-06-11T11:01:00.002-07:00

Time seems to escape me these days, yet every so often there is a gathering that warrants a fresh look at my recipes to date, sometimes finding them insufficient, despite the fairly vast number. A month or so past, I entertained my grandson and his friend, who love Indian food. When we chatted, he'd said that the flavors of Indian foods are some of his favorites, though he usually eats very simply. So I created a dinner, not knowing his particular tastes, but hoped it wouldn't be too far out of his comfort zone - and it wasn't! They both ate like two very healthy young men should. I was pleased.

For that meal, I made some of my more common favorites, Chicken Korma, edging outside the plain rice category with Barley Kichdi as one of the side dishes, and one of my all-time favorites, Palak Paneer, as the other. I also had no clue on their tolerance for heat, so all the dishes were made quite mild in deference to my husband, but I offered an array of chutneys with varying heat levels: Am Chutney or Mango Chutney (no heat), Dhania Poodina or Green Chutney (medium heat), Imli Chutney or Tamarind Chutney (a little heat), and Fresh Ginger slices in lime juice with Serrano pepper and salt, possibly the hottest). They went for the Green Chutney and fresh ginger, polishing them off!

Dinner Menu

So, when my son was recently married in Hawai'i, and his lovely bride just turned fifty years beautiful, I made a dinner to celebrate both events when they came to visit this past weekend. They both love Indian food as well, and I have made them many Indian meals already in past. Trying to come up with something to feed them that hasn't already been a part of many menus in past was becoming a challenge. Ana is sensitive to rice, so I wanted to keep that out of the menu completely. I thought of making the Barley Kichdi again, but they've had that more than once and well, not again. The same for the Palak Paneer, which is maybe one of all our favorites, but as I serve it with practically any special meal I felt it was time for a change.

What to do, what to do?

I finally opted for Telangana Chicken, though I kept it mainly without any of the fiery, spicy heat in deference to Ana and my hubby. Instead of going for rice or even barley, I opted to make a very simple Tadka Dal using only Masoor (red lentils) and Moong (mung bean) dals, and adding a simple Tadka of sauteed mustard and cumin seeds, asafetida, shallot, ginger and garlic, and salt at the end. We all love dal/lentil dishes, so that one was a hit. I wanted to make Channa Masala, but my son objected. I went hunting for something to do with peas and found some few ways, such as Matar Masala (spiced peas), and somewhere i came across a recipe called Sookh Matar, though I can find no other reference to this terminology. I felt after reading that Sookh might refer to the same concept as "sabzi" meaning a dish cooked down to relative dryness - no sauce in it. I wanted more vegetables and also some color so added red bell pepper. It turned out fantastic whatever it may be called.

Matar Masala or Sookh Matar

Serves 6 to 8

Matar Masala (Spiced Peas)

1 large onion in thin half-rings
2 tablespoons coconut oil or sunflower oil, more if needed
--------
1 - 2 tablespoons coconut oil or sunflower oil
1 large shallot, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
1/2 teaspoon asafetida

MASALA: mix together and set aside
1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
1/2 teaspoon crushed coriander seeds
1/2 teaspoon Garam Masala
1/2 teaspoon black salt or regular salt
1/2 teaspoon amchur (dried green mango powder)
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
-----
1 bag (13 ounces) frozen baby peas

Saute the large onion in the oil, stirring very often and watching carefully not to burn, until the onions are a deep caramelized brown. Spread the onions on several thickness of paper toweling to blot and cool. This part can be made days in advance and refrigerated until needed.

Heat a skillet over medium to medium low heat and add in the 1 or two tablespoons of oil. Add in the cumin seeds and asafetida to sizzle for a few seconds, then add in the shallot, garlic, ginger and red bell pepper and saute gently to soften. Add in a tablespoon of water at a time, only if needed for the ingredients not to stick. Add in the masala ingredients and stir until fragrant. IF MAKING AHEAD, the dish can be made to this point, placed in a covered container and refrigerated for up to three days.

To finish the dish, bring the refrigerated mixture back to heat in a skillet, then add the peas with a tiny amount of water and heat them through. Once heated, add in the caramelized onion and stir in to heat through.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The other new item on the menu was a salad, something I had never created with an Indian meal, but this time I wanted some diversity. 😉 The most common I found was called Kachumber Salat, a combination of cubed cucumber, tomato and onion, seasoned with an array of possible spices and a touch of lime juice. I plan to mix a batch of the masala mixture to keep on and to sprinkle on tomatoes at any time - it was that good!

Kachumber Salat

Serves 6

Kachumber Salat

1 cucumber, seeds removed if too large, cut in small cubes
1 - 2 medium tomatoes (I used heirlooms), in cubes
1 large shallot or 1 small onion, in cubes

MASALA:
1/2 teaspoon Chaat Masala
1/2 teaspoon black salt (or regular salt)
1/2 teaspoon crushed cumin seeds
-----
2 tablespoons fresh mint leaves, chopped finely
1/4 to 1/2 cup cilantro, chopped finely
2 teaspoons lime juice, or to taste
pinch chili in powder or crushed chili flakes

IF MAKING AHEAD, the only thing that can be done is mixing the spices together. The tomatoes and cucumber will go watery if done in advance. If raw onion or shallot are not tolerable, cut these ahead of time (up to 20 minutes) and set them into a bowl, covered with white vinegar. Drain and rinse before adding to the remaining ingredients and stir them all together well before serving.

Delightful Bundt Cake with Bourbon Spiked Drizzle

2022-01-14T14:45:00.001-07:00

I started out with nothing particular in mind one day, looking at dessert recipes. I think of all desserts to make, cakes are possibly my favorite. Anything from a simple old fashioned coffeecake tosheet cake to decorated cakes and bundt or ring mold cakes. Suddenly I came upon a site with a recipe called Gingerbread Bundt Cake with Cinnamon Rum Icing. I love gingerbread - it is a kind of cake / dessert bread cross, after all. The pictures on the site are just lovely. The mold used for the Bundt cake was exceptionally pretty, though I don't own that particular style. And I thought about it a while and wondered, "The recipe calls for applesauce. I wonder how pumpkin would do in the recipe, instead?"

Pumpkin Gingerbread Bundt Cake with Bourbon Spice Glaze

As I continued to peruse the recipe, I noticed that it is made a bit differently than any other cake recipe I've ever made. It called for melting butter, setting side to cool slightly, then beating together the sugar and eggs till fluffy and light. What? And then adding in the melted, cooled butter. Okay, so I went ahead with all this and made the cake with my own variations. I made the icing with Bourbon rather than rum as I have become interested in Bourbon of late.

The outcome was the finest grained cake, the most tender, and just flat-out delicious, that I had to share. The link above to the original recipe will show how it was. I loved the mix of Pumpkin and Gingerbread flavors. The drizzle icing was amazing. And here is the recipe, as I made it:

Pumpkin Gingerbread Bundt Cake with Bourbon Spice Glaze

Makes one bundt cake

200 grams unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
4 large eggs
360 grams sugar (about 1⅔ cup)
-----
360 grams all-purpose flour (about 2½ cups)
1½ teaspoons baking soda
¼ teaspoon flaky salt
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon ginger
1½ teaspoon cloves
-----
1 cup sour cream
1 cup canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Brush a Bundt pan with soft (not melted) butter and dredge with flour. Tap to release excess flour, then set pan aside.

Over low heat, melt the unsalted butter; once melted set aside. In a mixer, beat together the eggs with the sugar until they are light and fluffy, then slowly stir in the slightly cooled butter.

Separately, measure out all the dry ingredients and stir to evenly distribute ingredients. In a measure, stir together the sour cream and pumpkin to combine.

To the egg mixture add about a third of the dry ingredients, mixing on low speed to combine. Add half the pumpkin mixture and mix, then another third dry mixture, the remaining half pumpkin mixture, then the remaining dry ingredients, stirring after each addition. Pour into the prepared Bundt pan, rapping sharply on a hard surface to release bubbles.

Bake the cake for 50 to 55 minutes, or until a tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Rest on a wire rack to cool for 10 minutes in the pan, turn out onto the rack to cool completely before glazing.

BOURBON SPICE GLAZE:
180 grams / 1¼ cup confectioner's sugar
1 - 2 tablespoons Bourbon
1 - 2 tablespoons milk or water
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon fresh orange zest

Stir all ingredients until smooth. Pour over completely cooled cake.

My passion is teaching people how to create a harmony of flavors with their cooking, and passing along my love and joy of food, both simple or exotic, plain or fancy. I continue my journey in ethnic and domestic cuisines, trying new things weekly. I would love to hear from you, to help me continue my journey to explore diverse culinary experiences and hopefully to start you on a journey of your own. Join me also at A Harmony of Flavors on Facebook, and Pinterest.

Pork and Sauerkraut for New Years

2022-01-14T11:10:00.001-07:00

Elegant Tenderloin Pinwheels

I grew up with my Mom's traditional pork chops and sauerkraut as our New Year's Day dinner. I just never thought much about it until I started getting objections to this menu. And so it is that although I have tried to just go ahead with making it on a couple of occasions, it was not well received (my husband would just pick off every tiny shred of sauerkraut that clung to the pork or the potatoes), I enjoyed it thoroughly.

Mom would bake her pork chops in the oven, adding quartered, peeled potatoes to the pan, covered with foil. Once all this was cooked (in the case of the pork chops, way overcooked), she would empty a jar of sauerkraut into a colander, rinse it well, then scatter it over the pork and potatoes, then top with a little brown sugar, cover again and bake.

So, while my husband has never been keen on the idea of sauerkraut, I know my son and his fiancé do love it. Hence my idea of creating a really stellar pork dish, one that wasn't overcooked, and then making the sauerkraut as a stand-alone dish, so those who do not love it (ahem!) could just skip it, while the rest of us enjoyed.

My husband's teeth need some work at the moment, so I was looking for something soft; pork tenderloin would be the meat. Then, I recalled a recipe I had made a very long time ago, where the pork was butterflied out flat and filled with a mixture that included prunes (dried plums). I recalled that it was very good, but I wanted to jazz it up some. Recalling another recipe, one for a rolled and stuffed flank steak, where the filling was so amazingly flavorful (from my very old Creme de Colorado cookbook), I got out both these recipes to compare and see what parts of each stuffing recipe I liked best.

Ingredients I absolutely wanted to include from between the two recipes were: prunes, bacon, spinach, parsley, Romano cheese and mushrooms. White bread crumbs were a part of both recipes, but I had some pumpernickel I wanted to use instead. Nut meal sounded good, and I opted for hazelnut meal. Somewhere I read lemon zest as a possibility for flavor with a pork stuffing. Caramelized onion and garlic were also good additions. For fresh herbs, thyme and sage were added to the list.

Elegant Tenderloin Pinwheels

I wanted to have the pork look pretty in a spiral when sliced, so it would be best to have both of (a package of) two pork tenderloins cut open and slightly overlapped to fill, roll, then tie them in place. There are different ways of cutting open pork tenderloins. One is to simply cut most of the way into the center, lengthwise, open flat and pound the heck out of them until of an even thickness. I hate this. It makes so very much noise, splatters meat, blood and bits everywhere and takes forever to truly get the meat flat. Somewhere online, someone butterflied this way but instead of pounding, cut into each thick section to create an unfolded piece of tenderloin. I don't see that as any easier. My preferred method is to use small cuts with a very sharp knife parallel to the cutting board, continuing parallel until the meat is mostly all one thickness and laid out flat. There are many, many places online showing this and the other methods in excruciating detail, so I do not believe it is needed to reproduce all that here. Whatever method is used, it is good to have the thickness small, about 1/4 to 5/8-inch thick.

While this seems an extraordinarily long recipe, if broken up into the do ahead parts and finalized on the day of serving, it is very doable. The final result of this experiment was a chorus of groans of pleasure at the table, so I accomplshed my goal. Here is what I did:

Elegant Tenderloin Pinwheels for Dinner

Elegant Tenderloin Pinwheels

Served 8 - 10

STUFFING:
5 ounces bacon, cut small and fried crisp
-----
1 medium onion, chopped
½ teaspoon salt, divided
1 - 2 tablespoons olive oil or bacon fat
3 tablespoons dry Sherry or Bourbon
6 cloves garlic, minced
-----
¾ pound fresh mushrooms (I used 'Baby Bella'), sliced
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 - 3 tablespoons Sherry
½ tablespoon fresh thyme leaves½½
-----
¾ cup finely shredded Romano cheese
½ cup chopped Italian (flat-leaf) parsley
1½ cups fresh baby spinach, in fine chiffonade
7 - 8 soft, pitted prunes, cut in small pieces
¾ cup fresh pumpernickel crumbs (or other bread crumbs as preferred)
½ cup hazelnut meal
- zest of one lemon

MEAT:
2 pork tenderloins (about 2.5 lbs. total)
½ teaspoon salt
chicken or beef stock for pan
1 medium onion, sliced

PAN SAUCE:
4 tablespoons Bourbon (or Sherry)
1 clove garlic, finely minced
½ cup red currant jelly
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
½ cup sour cream

Make ahead (1 to 3 days in advance if needed): Begin the stuffing by frying the bacon and draining on paper toweling. Once cooled, place into a medium sized container with lid. Set aside. If using bacon grease, leave a tablespoon worth in the skillet and add in 1 tablespoon olive oil. Add the chopped onion and sauté on medium to medium high, stirring often until the liquid has mostly gone, then add in 1/4 teaspoon of the salt and the minced garlic and stir constantly, lowering the heat if needed so as not to burn, until the onions are nicely browned. Add in the Sherry or Bourbon and cook quickly until completely evaporated. Pour the contents into a bowl to cool, then add to the container with the bacon.

Add to the same skillet the butter and olive oil and add the mushrooms, sautéing until all the liquid has cooked out and evaporated. Add in the remaining quarter teaspoon salt and continue cooking, stirring, until the mushrooms are browned. Do not stop cooking the mushrooms as soon as their liquid evaporates or they will be flabby and still leach liquid into the stuffing mixture. Add in the thyme leaves and the Sherry and cook until the Sherry is completely evaporated. Add the mushrooms to the same plate where the onions cooled; once cool, add to the bacon and onion mixture and refrigerate.

------------------

Grate the Romano cheese and place in another container with lid. Add to the cheese the chopped parsley, spinach chiffonade, prunes, pumpernickel crumbs, hazelnut meal and lemon zest. Toss to combine, cover and refrigerate if needed for up to 2 days.

--------------------

ON THE DAY:

Remove any silver skin from the tenderloins. Taking one tenderloin at a time, using a very sharp knife with the blade set parallel to the cutting board and about a quarter to a half-inch from the board, begin slicing into the length of the meat. As it opens, continue to slice in at the same height along the length, using small cuts if needed, until the tenderloin is completely opened flat. Set the tenderloin aside and repeat with the other tenderloin. (Some ideas, with video or pictures, on how to open and flatten the pork tenderloins are here, and here.)

Combine together all of the two containers of prepared stuffing ingredients into one bowl and toss repeatedly until all the ingredients are well and evenly distributed. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9 x 13-inch pan with cooking spray. Measure out 7 or 8 lengths of cotton kitchen twine, long enough to go around the rolled tenderloin and tie, and set them nearby.

Place the two tenderloins spread out, slightly overlapping, with one narrow end pointing the opposite direction from the other. This offsets the fact that each sort of come to a point, and makes the whole a more uniform shape to roll. Place the stuffing mixture onto the meat, spreading and patting evenly, leaving about an inch bare all around the perimeter. Neatly roll the meat, carefully lifting while rolling to keep the stuffing from oozing out. Once rolled, slide one piece of cotton twine under the roll and tie at the center, tightly. Repeat this about every 2 to 3 inches. Trin the ends of the twine to no more than a half inch long.

Place a large skillet over medium high heat and add some olive oil to the an. Carefully brown the meat on all sides. Once browned, set the meat into the prepared 9 x 13 pan. (Leave the skillet as is, to deglaze and make a sauce, later.) Pour some stock around the meat, to no more than a third of the way up the sides of the meat. Add in some of the onion, then cover with foil and bake the meat for 50 to 70 minutes, or until a meat thermometer registers 155 to 160 degrees. Remove from oven and leave covered.

Meanwhile, with the skillet on a burner, deglaze the pan with Bourbon or Sherry, stirring with a plastic spoon or spatula until all the browned bits are mixed in. Add in the garlic and jelly, stirring until dissolved. Stir in the butter until emulsified, then add in the sour cream and mix, off heat, until combined.

Slice the meat across the roll, into 3/4 to 1-inch thick slices. Leave the twine in place to keep the rolls from unraveling (it is easy to remove at table). Set the slices slightly overlapping on a platter and pour the pan sauce down the center of the meat.

My passion is teaching people how to create a harmony of flavors with their cooking, and passing along my love and joy of food, both simple or exotic, plain or fancy. I continue my journey in ethnic and domestic cuisines, trying new things weekly. I would love to hear from you, to help me continue my journey to explore diverse culinary experiences and hopefully to start you on a journey of your own. Join me also at A Harmony of Flavors on Facebook, and Pinterest.

A New Take on Sourdough with Yeast Water

2021-07-18T13:59:00.001-07:00

Maybe "new" isn't absolutely on the mark, but for me, this came as a shot from left field. What am I talking about?

Yeast Water.

I have to believe that I am not the only bread baking person who hasn't heard of this before, and the whole idea came to me in such a roundabout and serendipitous way that I am sure I was just "meant" to find it. I was still working on my bread cookbook, and it was coming to a close. For some unknown reason, I was dragging my feet on finalizing the project, and it had been days since I really did anything with it. And then, I came to a point I thought, "Okay, I have to finish this already!" And with that said, I thought I'd take a look at "The Rye Baker," by Stanley Ginsberg, just to see if there was a blank page in between the last recipe and the Index. Simple enough thing, right?

Sourdough Ciabatta with Yeast Water

There was not a blank page there, but there were a few pages that dealt with things like resources, and one of the resources was blogs that he frequented, both for ideas and for reference. One of these was for a baker in Switzerland, no less, with " . . . a wealth of information of sourdoughs and Swiss regional breads." The blog is Bernd's Bakery (berndsbakery.blogspot.ch).

I love things foreign. I always have. Things from foreign places fascinate me, so I immediately went to check out the blog. Of course it is in German, so that posed a problem. I tried Google Translate, and that left rather more than a little to be desired, but then I realized that the English version of the recipes is right there, just further down the page. All right! After perusing the first page, I looked at the menu bar and chose "Bread Baking with Wild Yeast." After all, Stanley Ginsberg referenced sourdough right there in his Resources. And there I came to a halt and stared. Was I seeing this correctly? He talked of "Yeast Water." And I felt like a fish out of water. I am fairly knowledgeable on bread baking terms. So what the heck was this, then?

Yeast Water?

I read about this phenomenon in that Swiss blog. Then, I opted to just Google "yeast water" and see if anything came up. The very first place that came up was a blog called Drive Me Hungry (drivemehungry.com/yeast-water). Here it is all explained in American English, and this blog showed how the yeast water is made and how it is used. Do check it out - so very worthwhile and so easy. I looked at a couple more places, but this one was sufficient. It all seemed too easy to be for real, but I am always game for something new. I went to the kitchen (about 10 steps away) and got out some figs, sugar, water and a container and mixed them together in a container. Three days later my yeast water was ready.

So, What IS Yeast Water?

Sourdough Ciabatta

Yeast water is fruity, fermented water that can stand in quickly to make a
sourdough starter. No muss, no fuss, and best of all, no waste. Simply a mix of (preferably organic) raisins, figs, or other dried fruit, filtered water and a small amount of sugar. Mix well, cover and set aside. Shake or stir vigorously morning and evening and once the fruit is floating and there are lots of bubbles, plus the lovely fruity fermented smell, it is ready. Strain out the fruit (use them in a recipe if desired, instead of tossing), then keep the fermented water in the fridge till needed.

With a regular sourdough starter, it must be fed to become active. A flour and water mixture is added to existing starter and left to ferment. But unless you throw out some of the initial starter, you end up with gallons of it. And if your starter is pretty dormant after too long in the fridge, this process is repeated over a series of days until the starter is very actively bubbly. Each time, you are tossing a portion of the starter, then needing to use yet more flour and water to refresh.

With yeast water, in order to have a nicely bubbly and active batch of starter, all that is needed is to combine equal portions - by weight - of flour and fermented yeast water. No waste. After a few hours at room temperature, it is as bubblingly active as you could ever want. No discarding anything. This has long been a bugaboo of mine - the waste of flour. Especially last year, with all the grocery shelves bare and flour in short supply.

When I first created my wild yeast sourdough starter from scratch in South Dakota, it worked exactly as the recipe said, in Peter Reinhart's "The Bread Baker's Apprentice." It was perfect. It bubbled and grew, just as it was supposed to do. Since moving to Arizona, where I opted to recreate a sourdough starter from scratch rather than try to bring an active starter along with me. For whatever reason, though I followed the same recipe, did everything right, my sourdough starter is sluggish. No matter how many times I fed it, it would grow, but never very much.

With this yeast water, which fermented so quickly, I went on to use one of Drive Me Hungry's recipes for Sourdough Ciabatta. I mixed up the Poolish and set it to rise overnight. I mixed up the yeast water and flour and set to rise. Drive Me Hungry's recipe says to let the two starters ferment for 10 to 14 hours, depending on temperature. Well, we live in Arizona, so it's a lot warmer indoors than in Aberdeen. I have a suspicion it may have taken about 4 or so hours to ferment the starters, and next time I am planning to make the starters in the day and once risen, place them in the fridge overnight, to develop more flavors. That will be another post. By next morning the starters were huge. I made the bread and it turned out great. Though, with the very wet dough I had to haul out my baker's couche to support it while rising. All the flour needed on the couche made a thorough mess in my kitchen, then outdoors where I shook it out later, and all over my clothes (face, hair, feet) as the flour flew everywhere when I shook out the cloth. All that aside, I made the Ciabatta recipe and aside from needing a full cup more flour to make the dough even remotely clear the sides of the bowl, it came out perfectly, and it is delicious.

The Most Delicious Cinnamon Raisin Bread

2021-07-14T08:10:00.001-07:00

Many years ago I made cinnamon raisin bread. I tried forming it in various ways. Truly, the complexity got out of hand. Ultimately, the bread didn't present well. It was delicious, but that's not enough. And so it happened that as I was writing that recipe into my bread cookbook that I've been creating for myself, I thought it needed revising. I wrote down how I thought the best way to make the bread might be, and wrote all that into the pages of my book in progress. The difficulty lies in photos. If I want to present photos of how the bread should look, and I have none, well. You see the problem here?

Cinnamon Raisin Bread

With that in mind, I opted to give my new and revised recipe a try. Thank heaven I did, because this version not only looks wonderful, it tastes like a slice of heaven, to boot.

Cinnamon Raisin Bread

Makes 3 loaves

SPONGE:
1 cup milk
1 cup water
1/3 cup honey
- pinch salt
2 cups bread flour
1 teaspoon instant yeast

Warm the milk, water and honey to 105 - 115 degrees F. If it heats too much, allow the mixture to cool slightly. Pour this mixture into a large bowl, or the bowl of a heavy duty stand mixer with dough hook attachment. Whisk in the salt and bread flour and instant yeast and cover. Set aside for 45 to 50 minutes, or until the mixture has grown markedly and is covered in foamy bubbles.

FOR THE DOUGH:
1 stick unsalted butter (4 ounces), very soft
3 large eggs
2½ teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon instant yeast
2 - 3 tablespoons cinnamon
3½ to 4 cups more bread flour
--------
1 - 1½ cups raisins

DOUGH: Add the butter to the sponge and begin beating in with the dough hook or by hand with a wooden spoon. Add in the eggs and mix well, then the salt and cinnamon, yeast and 2 cups of the bread flour. Mix until well combined, with machine or by hand (turning out onto a floured surface when the dough becomes too stiff to beat by hand). Add in the remaining flour, ½-cup at a time, until the dough becomes a soft mass. Do not add more flour than needed to bring the dough together. Knead for 5 minutes more, by machine or by hand, then add in the raisins and knead a further minute or two to fully incorporate. Remove the dough hook and cover the bowl, or if kneading by hand, grease a bowl and set the dough in the bowl, turning once to grease both sides and cover the bowl. Let proof until doubled, about 60 to 90 minutes.

Grease three 8 x 4-inch loaf pans. Turn dough out onto a floured surface and lightly degas. Divide the dough into 3 equal portions. Flatten a portion into an approximate rectangle (see sidebar, left) and roll up tightly from the narrow end, tucking in edges as you roll to keep a neat roll. Set into a greased loaf pan. Repeat with the remaining 2 portions of dough. Cover and let rise until 1-inch above the pan rims. If desired brush with an egg wash. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Bake the loaves for 30 - 35 minutes, or to an internal temperature of between 195 and 200 degrees F. Turn out onto racks to cool completely before slicing.

NOTE: If desired, when flattening out the dough in preparation for rolling into loaves, you can mix 1/3 cup of granulated sugar with a half-teaspoon cinnamon and sprinkle a third of this mixture over each rectangle before rolling up into log shape. Proceed with rolling and set into pans, and proceed with rising and baking.

Guatemalan Breads Once Again

2021-07-13T09:42:00.005-07:00

In my previous post, I mentioned that I have been creating a breads cookbook, just for myself; a way of getting together all my bread recipes. As I was collecting all the recipes I had made to date under the chapter for Guatemalan Breads, I started looking around the internet once again and found some more to try. The recipes I am posting here are, in the main, from a YouTube video by Recetas y Pasteles Lili. The whole video is in Spanish, and it is long, but very thorough. My recipe has minimal changes, and less steps, plus, it's in English, but my gratitude to "Lili" for the recipes and instructions.

Gusanitos, Gallinitas and Besitos, Guatemalan Breads

These breads, all three of them, are made from the same dough, and the same batch of sugar paste. They are fairly sweet, sweeter than most of the Guatemalan breads. But, they are really cute breads. One shape is called Gallinitas, or "Little Hens." So called, because they supposedly represent the coxcomb (wrong sex, but hey!) with their little floppy looking tops. Another of these breads is called Besitos, or "Little Kisses," as they have an "X" cut into the top. The third of these breads are called Gusanitos, or "Little Worms," so called because of the segmented-looking bodies. If these don't sound inviting, just wait.

Since they are all made from the same dough(s), once the dough is made and ready, they simply need to be shaped. There is an interesting little trick to forming each of them, and only for the Besitos did I change the method, as Lili's method seemed cumbersome. These breads are just delightful with a cup of coffee, be it for breakfast or afternoon snack. Once trying out the methods they do become very easy. I hope you'll give them a try.

Pan Dulce (Gallinitas, Besitos and Gusanitos)

Makes 18 sweet rolls

Make the SUGAR PASTE: with hands or a small mixer, beat together the flour, sugar and lard or shortening until it is cohesive. Add in a tablespoon of water. It should have the consistency of dough. If not, add a tiny bit more water at a time until it can be formed easily, rolling out or making into a ball. Divide the Sugar Paste into 3 equal portions, by weight, form each into a ball and set back in the bowl, Cover the bowl to prevent drying and set aside.

MAKE THE DOUGH: Place all ingredients for “dough” except the water into a heavy duty stand mixer or into a large bowl if mixing by hand. Run the mixer with paddle until the lard had dispersed well. Add in most (not all) of the water and begin mixing with the dough hook, or by hand. The dough should be very soft, but not so soft it cannot be handled. Add the remaining water if needed, to achieve this soft consistency. Knead the dough for 5 to 8 minutes, then allow it to rest for 20 to 25 minutes.

Turn the dough out onto a greased surface and divide the dough into 3 equal portions, by weight. Each portion will make 6 rolls. Set two portions aside, covered. Divide the last portion of dough into 6 equal pieces by weight.

To make “GALLINITAS:” Make each of the 6 pieces of dough into a log about 6 to 7-inches long. Take one of the balls of sugar paste and equally divide the ball into 6 pieces. Take one of these pieces of the sugar paste almost, but not quite, as big as the piece of dough and roll it into a similar length log. Set the sugar paste log on top of the dough log. Flatten the two pieces together, to a width of about 1.5 inches. No need to lengthen the log. Now, using a small knife or a metal bench scraper, slice through the stack, from the center to the wide edge, repeating these cuts about every quarter-inch.

From one short end, begin to roll up this piece, until you come to the end of the length. The bread is formed sideways, so turn the dough so the floppy ends are now the top and set on a parchment lined baking sheet. Repeat this process for the remaining five pieces of the dough, setting them well-spaced, on a parchment lined baking sheet.

Gallinitas, or Little Hens

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

To make “BESITOS:” Take the second portion of the dough and further divide it into 6 equal pieces by weight. Roll each piece into a ball and flatten the ball with hands to about 3½ to 4-inches in diameter. Take the second of the balls of sugar paste, further divide this ball into 6 equal pieces. Take one small ball of the sugar paste and set it in the center of the dough circle, photo 1. Bring the dough up and around the sugar paste to completely encase it, pinching the ends so they stay closed. Turn the ball over so the seam is on the bottom, photo 2, and set this onto a parchment lined baking sheet. With clean scissors, snip across the top of the ball, photo 3. Now snip the top in the opposite direction, across the first cut, photo 4, and forming an “X in the dough, having cut through so the sugar paste is exposed, photo 5. Repeat this process with the remaining 5 balls of dough from this group, setting them well apart onto the parchment-lined baking sheet. Brush the tops with egg wash, avoiding the open, cut surfaces.

Besitos, or Little Kisses

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

To make “GUSANITOS:” With the last of the 3 portions of dough, divide this into 6 equal pieces by weight. Take one piece and form a ball. Set the ball onto the oiled surface and flatten to a large, long oval, approximately 5 x 8”. With the last remaining sugar paste ball, divide into 6 equal pieces. Take one piece of the sugar paste and flatten as much as possible between the hands, then set this piece onto one end of the long oval of dough, leaving about ½-inch of dough exposed at the end, photo 1, below, ensuring that the paste just reaches the side edges. Make slices through the sugar paste and dough, starting about a third of the way up the dough, cutting into strips downward about every quarter to one-third inch apart, photo 2. Begin rolling the dough from the short end without the sugar paste, pressing each side to seal as you roll, photos 3, 4, 5. Once the roll is complete, photo 6, the cuts will reveal the sugary insides and the segments will somewhat resemble a worm, or “gusanito.” Repeat this process with the remaining 5 pieces of dough and sugar paste. Set each Gusanito onto parchment lined baking sheets, well apart. Brush the dough with egg wash, but avoid getting the egg into the cut surfaces. Set aside, covered, and proof for at least 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Bake all the breads for 15 minutes, then rotate the pan 180 degrees and bake for 10 minutes more, for a total of 25 minutes. If breads are on separate pans, bake one tray at a time.

Gusanitos or Little Worms

New South Indian Dish

2021-07-12T11:54:00.001-07:00

Recently, I have been putting together a cookbook on bread. I love creating my own cookbooks, though none are commercial. I just love getting things together in one place. My first cookbooks were of "Favorite Recipes." Another was of Guatemalan Recipes and a Memoir for my oldest daughter who remembered her life in Guatemala. Another of Vegetarian Recipes for a friend. One is of sweets of all kinds. And on and on and on goes my story. This latest is all on breads. I love the challenge of all the organizing, making it look great, detail work is just my thing.

As I am at the stage of proofreading, and while looking more closely at the recipes, words, descriptions, I came to the chapter on Indian breads, and there are many. Many I have made, and there are so many more I have not made but want to. So in reading a few of the recipes I had written out for myself but not actually put to the test, I came across one for Neer Dosa. For those who are not into Indian food as I am, apparently "neer" means water. Dosa is a very flat, crepe-like bread, often made from leftover Idli batter, but Neer Dosa are purely soaked, then ground, rice and water. They are bland, taste like rice, and as such are meant to accompany well-spiced foods, for breakfast, lunch or snack. One of the suggestions I'd seen on websites was to serve these with a Mangalorean Egg Curry.

Mangalorean Egg Curry or Ande Ambat

I have seen recipes for egg curries, from the earliest times of my interest in all things Indian. To date, I had never made one. Made with hard boiled eggs, essentially the eggs are placed into a well-spiced "gravy" of some kind. Depending on region the type of flavors in that gravy or curry mixture will vary. I was intrigued by the use of the word Mangalorean. I'd heard it used, and even looked it up, but couldn't quite place it. According to Wikipedia, Mangalore (also "Mangaluru") is a major port city on the western coast in the Indian state of Karnataka, in southern India. Being a coastal city, coconut based foods are common.

I found very few recipes while searching "Mangalorean Egg Curry." In general, what I found is that this curry is common in the Konkan region of Mangalore, and is called Ande Ambat, so far as I can tell. Information is sketchy, but "ambat" appears to be a curry mixture, since it is used for other things like prawns, fish, etc. Only when "ande" (or "anda") is added does it refer to an egg curry. Essentially, no matter which recipe you look at, most of the ingredients are the same, with varying amounts. After looking through more recipes under that title, I realized that there was really not much new. The ingredients are the same and methods and amounts differ.

After making my version of this dish for dinner last evening, my husband and I both truly loved the flavors, and the Neer Dosa paired exceptionally well with the dish, though I felt my dosa weren't yet made with any proficiency. Sadly, there are quite a few steps to this recipe, though some of them can be made ahead. The spice mixture ("masala") can be made and stored. The sauce (curry) can also be made ahead. Assembling in a hurry is then a snap. Making it all in one go, I had 2 skillets and 3 different saucepans dirtied, along with the blender, before I finished.

Mangalorean Egg Curry and Neer Dosa

Still, it is so very tasty, I would truly suggest trying it out. Some ingredients may not be available, unless you are really dedicated to Indian cuisine, as I am. Ajwain or Carom seed is used in just a tiny pinch and can be optional or substituted with a small bit of thyme (thymol is the smell one associates with thyme herb, and ajwain or carom seed also contains thymol). Curry leaves, while they are available fresh by mail (when they arrive, I put them into a zip-top freezer bag and straight into the freezer), aren't on everyone's list of staple items. I love the flavor of them and use them often, but they can be omitted. Tamarind isn't in everyone's pantry either, but can easily be substituted with a squeeze of lime juice, or simply omitted. Dried red chilies aren't on everyone's shelf, and are also a matter of taste. Some cannot tolerate the heat, and others can't get enough. I used two dried red chilies, breaking them open and discarding the seeds before using. If preferred, use dried red chili flakes to your own personal preference, or in a pinch, simply use a tiny bit of cayenne, to taste. Not everyone keeps a fresh coconut lying around, either, though I found that I can buy a whole, ripe coconut, open it and remove all the coconut "meat," and then grate it on a small-holed grater and freeze it, well wrapped. Easy to grab a little when needed.

Mangalorean Egg Curry or Ande Ambat

Based on 1 egg per serving: 6 servings. Based on 2 eggs per serving: 3 servings.

Mangalorean Egg Curry or Ande Ambat

DRY MASALA MIX:
2 (or up to 8) dried red chilies, with or without seeds
1-inch soft cinnamon stick
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 teaspoon coriander seeds
1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds
1/2 teaspoon black peppercorns
1/8 teaspoon carom/ajwain seeds

CURRY or GRAVY:
2 - 3 tablespoons coconut oil
2 medium shallots, chopped
12 - 15 curry leaves
3 - 4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
1/2 large red bell pepper
1 - 2 tomatoes, chopped
1 teaspoon-sized piece of seedless tamarind
1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
1/2 cup fresh grated coconut
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

OTHER INGREDIENTS:
1/2 cup unsweetened coconut milk (or use water)
1 1/2 to 2 cups water
6 eggs, hard-boiled, peeled
1 - 2 medium potatoes, peeled, cubed

TEMPERING:
1 tablespoon coconut oil
1 small shallot, halved, sliced
8 to 10 curry leaves

MAKE THE DRY MASALA MIX: Heat a dry skillet over medium to medium high heat, then toast the spices, one spice at a time (different sizes will toast for different times), just until fragrant, removing each to a single plate to cool. Once cooled, grind the spices in a spice grinder and set aside, or cover tightly and store in a cool, dark place until needed.

MAKE THE CURRY: In a medium skillet, over medium heat, add in the coconut oil and then the shallots with the curry leaves and saute, stirring often, until the shallots soften and start turning a golden color. Add in the garlic and ginger and cook 3 minutes, then add in the red bell pepper and tomatoes with the turmeric powder and cook, stirring often, until the vegetables are soft and the tomatoes broken down. Stir in the grated coconut and cook one minute. Pour the ingredients of the skillet into a blender container, along with the cilantro, the spice Masala mixture, and with either the coconut milk or water (from "other ingredients") and blend smooth. The curry can be refrigerated, tightly covered, until later if needed.

When ready to make the dish, cook the cubed potatoes until easily pierced with a knife. Drain the water from the potatoes. Have the curry in a medium saucepan over medium heat and add in the potatoes and 1 1/2 cups of water, stirring well. Make shallow cuts in the hard-boiled eggs, then add to the curry. If the mixture is still thick, add more water as needed. Let the mixture simmer, covered, for 10 to 15 minutes to meld flavors.

TEMPERING: In a small skillet, heat the 1 tablespoon coconut oil and saute the sliced shallot with the curry leaves. When the curry is ready to serve, pour into a bowl, then pour the tempering ingredients from the skillet over top. Garnish with cilantro leaves.

NOTES: If desired, 3 eggs may be whisked together and stirred into the simmering curry sauce before adding the potatoes and tomatoes.