I'm pretty sure Alton Brown adds mayonnaise to his version of this dip to put in an extra zing to it, but that style is just not for me. This recipe is from the New York Times and I added garlic powder to it because I like garlic. I'm sure you could just as well stir in some roasted garlic too, but that may overpower the onion element to the dip. For this batch, I used Darigold natural sour cream.
Ingredients
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
3-4 stalks green onions, minced
1 c. sour cream
1/2 tsp sea salt, or more to taste
1/2 tsp garlic powder
Directions
1. In a small pot, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add onions, salt, and garlic powder and stir until green part of onion turns bright green. Continue stirring for 2-3 minutes so the onions don't burn. If you're using ordinary white onions, you could cook the onions until they turn translucent. You could even caramelize the onions too if you wanted. It makes no difference in the recipe. Remove from heat, and strain oil out to another container for later use (later as in, not used in this recipe).
2. To a cup of sour cream, mix in green onion mixture until the onions are evenly distributed. Taste. If it isn't salty enough, add a little more salt. Cover the container the dip is in and store in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes so that the onion/garlic flavor permeates the sour cream.
3. Serve with fresh vegetables (carrots, cucumbers, broccoli, etc) or chips.
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Creamy Tomato Soup
Last week my local Fred Meyer grocery store had a lot of soup on sale and there were even coupons in the weekly newspaper circular. Of course, aside from buying organic beef stock on sale, I tend to shy away from buying commercially made soups. But, I was curious about the can of basic FM tomato soup whose ingredients listed tomato paste, water, and some other trivial things like salt and spices. While I can't break even on the cost when FM soup is on sale (only $0.59), I can use higher quality ingredients to make an inexpensive tomato soup. A 6 oz can of organic tomato paste is only $0.99, and when purchased in bulk at Costco drops to roughly $0.65/can. With the availability of fresh sun-grown tomatoes months away (only imported and greenhouse grown are "in season"), using canned tomatoes might be the way to go during the winter.
To reconstitute a 6 oz can of tomato paste, the general ratio is about 2 cups of liquid. For a cream-based tomato soup, this generally means you are adding milk or cream at some step in the cooking process. For a regular tomato soup, you could just use broth or water for the liquid. In this recipe, sugar and baking soda help adjust the acidity of the tomatoes.
Ingredients
One 6 oz can of organic tomato paste
1 1/2 c. organic whole milk
3/4 c. filtered water or vegetable broth
1/2 tsp organic granulated cane sugar
up to 1/4 tsp baking soda (optional, only add to balance acidity)
Spices (see below)
sea salt, to taste
freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Optional spices: garlic powder, powdered/dried oregano (omit if using dried basil), dried basil (omit if using dried oregano), paprika (a little heat, but mostly for color), fresh parsley (for garnish) or dried parsley
Directions
1. Heat the milk separately from the rest of the ingredients.
2. In a separate pot, combine tomato paste, water, sugar, baking soda, and spices. Bring to a boil and let simmer for 10-15 minutes.
3. Gradually whisk the milk into the tomato soup.
Serves 2.
To reconstitute a 6 oz can of tomato paste, the general ratio is about 2 cups of liquid. For a cream-based tomato soup, this generally means you are adding milk or cream at some step in the cooking process. For a regular tomato soup, you could just use broth or water for the liquid. In this recipe, sugar and baking soda help adjust the acidity of the tomatoes.
Ingredients
One 6 oz can of organic tomato paste
1 1/2 c. organic whole milk
3/4 c. filtered water or vegetable broth
1/2 tsp organic granulated cane sugar
up to 1/4 tsp baking soda (optional, only add to balance acidity)
Spices (see below)
sea salt, to taste
freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Optional spices: garlic powder, powdered/dried oregano (omit if using dried basil), dried basil (omit if using dried oregano), paprika (a little heat, but mostly for color), fresh parsley (for garnish) or dried parsley
Directions
1. Heat the milk separately from the rest of the ingredients.
2. In a separate pot, combine tomato paste, water, sugar, baking soda, and spices. Bring to a boil and let simmer for 10-15 minutes.
3. Gradually whisk the milk into the tomato soup.
Serves 2.
Pea Pesto
Ingredients
1 (10 oz) package of frozen green peas, thawed
1 garlic clove
1/2 c. Parmesan cheese
1 tsp sea salt, to taste
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/3 c. olive oil
8 cherry tomatoes, halved
1 whole grain baguette, sliced
unsalted butter, softened
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
1. In a food processor, pulse together peas, garlic, cheese, salt and pepper. With the machine running, slowly add olive oil until well combined.
2. Slice baguette diagonally into equal portions. Spread butter onto the top of each slice and toast for 5 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove from oven.
3. Spread about a tablespoon of pea pesto on top of a baguette slice and top with a cherry tomato half.
Source: Giadia at Home
1 (10 oz) package of frozen green peas, thawed
1 garlic clove
1/2 c. Parmesan cheese
1 tsp sea salt, to taste
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/3 c. olive oil
8 cherry tomatoes, halved
1 whole grain baguette, sliced
unsalted butter, softened
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
1. In a food processor, pulse together peas, garlic, cheese, salt and pepper. With the machine running, slowly add olive oil until well combined.
2. Slice baguette diagonally into equal portions. Spread butter onto the top of each slice and toast for 5 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove from oven.
3. Spread about a tablespoon of pea pesto on top of a baguette slice and top with a cherry tomato half.
Source: Giadia at Home
Lemon Pound Cake
I grew up eating the Sara Lee stuff and can probably still eat an entire loaf by myself. This ingredient ratio comes from Cooks Illustrated and becomes a pretty tasty dessert bread for guests who enjoy a more lemony than sweet flavor to this classic cake. The magazine would have you poke holes with a toothpick or skewer into the top side of the cake before drizzling on their lemon glaze, which really isn't quite a glaze at all but more like a lemon syrup. For a real glaze, you'd probably have to swap out the real granulated sugar with powdered sugar so that it sets up like a crust when it hardens.
If you don't stock cake flour, simply combine 1 cup all-purpose flour (minus 2 tbsp) with 2 tbsp cornstarch.
Ingredients: Cake
1 1/2 c. cake flour
1 c. (2 sticks; 16 tbsp) cold unsalted butter, diced
1 c. organic cane sugar
4 large eggs
2 tbsp lemon zest
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp sea salt
Optional additions to step 4:
For lemon poppy seed pound cake, stir in 1/2 c. poppy seeds, or
For lavender pound cake, stir in 1 1/2 tbsp dried lavender flowers
Ingredients: Lemon Glaze
1/2 c. powdered sugar
juice of a lemon
lemon zest (optional)
Bring sugar and lemon juice to a boil in a small pot, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Let cool and set aside until ready to use.
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
1. Prepare a 9" x 5" loaf pan by using unsalted butter or olive oil to grease the pan, dust it with some flour, and tap out the excess.
2. In a food processor, pulse together sugar and lemon zest. Add lemon juice, eggs, and vanilla extract. Transfer mixture to a large bowl.
3. In the same food processor, pulse together flour, baking powder, salt, and butter.
4. Gently whisk flour mixture into wet ingredients. Pour batter into prepared pan.
5. Bake for 15 minutes. Reduce oven heat to 325 degrees F and bake for an additional 30-35 minutes until the surface is golden brown and a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean.
6. Cool on a rack before storing or serving.
If you don't stock cake flour, simply combine 1 cup all-purpose flour (minus 2 tbsp) with 2 tbsp cornstarch.
Ingredients: Cake
1 1/2 c. cake flour
1 c. (2 sticks; 16 tbsp) cold unsalted butter, diced
1 c. organic cane sugar
4 large eggs
2 tbsp lemon zest
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp sea salt
Optional additions to step 4:
For lemon poppy seed pound cake, stir in 1/2 c. poppy seeds, or
For lavender pound cake, stir in 1 1/2 tbsp dried lavender flowers
Ingredients: Lemon Glaze
1/2 c. powdered sugar
juice of a lemon
lemon zest (optional)
Bring sugar and lemon juice to a boil in a small pot, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Let cool and set aside until ready to use.
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
1. Prepare a 9" x 5" loaf pan by using unsalted butter or olive oil to grease the pan, dust it with some flour, and tap out the excess.
2. In a food processor, pulse together sugar and lemon zest. Add lemon juice, eggs, and vanilla extract. Transfer mixture to a large bowl.
3. In the same food processor, pulse together flour, baking powder, salt, and butter.
4. Gently whisk flour mixture into wet ingredients. Pour batter into prepared pan.
5. Bake for 15 minutes. Reduce oven heat to 325 degrees F and bake for an additional 30-35 minutes until the surface is golden brown and a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean.
6. Cool on a rack before storing or serving.
Pomelo Marmalade
Wikipedia tells us that "marmalade is a fruit preserve made from the juice and peel of citrus fruits, boiled with sugar and water." The very statement suggests, no wait.. encourages, that any citrus fruit could be used as the added peel to a jam recipe. Say for example, a pomelo.
Why a pomelo? The fruit is very common to Chinese food festivals such as New Year's Day, the real one (Jan 23, 2012). I saw a pomelo recently and thought about what else one could do with a pomelo besides eating it like a grapefruit. I read a few grapefruit recipes and have cobbled this particular one together.
Here's how it would go down...
1 large pomelo
2 Meyer lemons
2 oranges (1 cup fresh squeezed orange juice)
2 c. water
4 c. granulated sugar
a pinch of Mexican saffron, optional (for color)
Some citrus peels have a high pectin content. This is what makes marmalade gel without added pectin.
1. Fill canner (or a very large pot) with water and bring it to a boil. Wash jars and lids. Put jars on a cookie sheet in the oven at 150 degrees until ready to use them. Put the lids in a bowl and cover with boiling water.
2. Wash fruits thoroughly.
3. Peel pomelo, lemons, and oranges with a sharp knife or vegetable peeler. Be sure to just remove the skin of the fruit, not the white pith. Julienne the pomelo, lemon, and orange rind into strips.
4. Separate the fruit from the membrane and discard the membrane and seeds. Chop the fruit wedges into small pieces and put them into a heavy bottomed pot.
5. Simmer rind, chopped fruit, saffron, fruit juices and water over high heat for 10 minutes. Remove from heat. Cover pot and let it cool overnight.
6. Next day, add sugar to pot and bring to a boil over medium heat. Stir occassionally until the candy thermometer reads 215-220 degrees F. At 215 degrees F, the sugar syrup may be pulled into brittle threads between the fingers. I'm not sure why you'd want to test it this way since the sugar is very hot. At 220 degrees F, when a cool metal spoon is dipped into the syrup then raised, the syrup runs off in drops which merge to form a sheet. (Read more about the various boiling stages of sugar syrup).
7. Remove from heat. Skim foam off and ladle into sterilized half-pint canning jars, leaving 1/4" inch head space. Wipe rims, seal jars, and process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes.
8. Remove jars from water bath. Let cool for 12 hours. Label and store in a cool, dark place.
Makes 4 half-pint jars.
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