Category — Cooking Recipes

Maybe it’s because I’m pregnant, I don’t know, but the other night I got a hankering for meatloaf.  I’d never made it before since I’m usually on the vegetarian side of life, but I have to say, it was quite easy, satisfying and delicious.  I didn’t feel like using a recipe either, some kind of rebellious mood, so here’s what I ended up with and it worked brilliantly!

The Rookie’s Meatloaf

• 1 1/2 pd organic ground beef
• 3 tablespoons tamari
• 4 tablespoons Heinz chili sauce
• 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 1/3 cup thinly chopped onion
• one egg, beaten
• 3 pieces of Ryvita, crushed
• a handful of chopped green olives
• sea salt
• fresh ground black pepper

Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl.  Transfer to a loaf pan and press it out evenly.  Mix some tamari and chili sauce together with a little water in a small bowl then spread it out over the top of the meatloaf.  Bake at 350 until center is cooked through, approx 45 minutes.

All measurements are a “guestements”.  Use your own judgement and try whatever you think sounds good.  Common ingredients in meatloaf are: ketchup, brown sugar, mustard/mustard powder, bread crumbs, eggs and/or milk, herbs like sage or thyme, onions, garlic and bacon.  Give it a go!  I put away three slices at the first sitting… two for me and one for the baby!

Suddenly, eating a kitty cat looks good to me! This was made from one of the cool cookie cutters I found while searching online. It came from Copper Gifts.

Now the dilemma for this and other spooky Halloween cakes and cookies is… how do you make black icing? Beware: it’s not as simple as adding black coloring to your white frosting. You’d have to use so much of it to make it black that it will ruin the taste. Some better ideas include starting with chocolate frosting and adding black coloring, or better yet, black gel coloring. Or you could add Hersey’s Cocoa powder to your white frosting. If you don’t want to mess with mixing, just buy some edible black sparkles. That might be better in the long run because the black icing is sure to turn your guest’s teeth a fowl-looking color. And that would be a real stroke of black cat bad luck!

I highlighted this fantastic new bread I found last week when I wrote about making wraps. This week I’d like to mention that this “Mountain Bread” also makes a delicious, light pastry. You can substitute it for almost any recipe that calls for pastry or filo dough. You can even use it in place of pasta in lasagna. It contains no added fat and doesn’t even have yeast in it so you save on a ton of calories and heavy stuff but don’t have to give up on taste. Here’s a recipe for Lamb and Rosemary Hot Pots from their online cookbook which I love. You will need:

• 500 gm lamb (a little over a pound), diced
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 1 cup red wine
• 1 cup beef stock
• 2 sprigs fresh rosemary
• 1/2 cup plain flour
• 50 gm (about 1-2 tablespoons) butter
• salt and pepper
• 4 sheets of Mountain BreadTM, cut to fit the ramekin size
• 1 tablespoon parmesan, grated

Coat the lamb in the flour and shake off the excess. Heat a pan, add the butter and once melted add the meat and the onion. Color the meat on all sides as this will give the color of the sauce. Pour in the red wine and stir (the wine will start to thicken). Next add the beef stock and continue to stir until there are no lumps and the sauce thickens. Place in the rosemary and cover with a lid. Cook for 30-40 minutes, stirring occasionally on a low heat until meat is tender. If the sauce becomes too thick before the meat is cooked add some liquid. Season to taste. Put a small amount of mixture on the bottom of individual ramekins, then place a ramekin shaped piece of Mountain BreadTM, then more of the mixture. Continue these steps until the ramekins are full, finishing with the Mountain BreadTM on top. Sprinkle with the parmesan and bake for 15-20 minutes on 180c (350 degrees) until golden.

Here’s an easy Halloween recipe that kids love and actually involves real, live fruit!  To make five Caramel Covered Apples you will need:

• 40 caramel cubes
• 5 apples
• 1 tablespoon water
• 5 wooden sticks
• wax paper

Wash and dry the apples.  Remove the stems and insert the wooden sticks in the stem holes until about half the stick is in the apple.  In a small double boiler over medium low, heat the caramel and water until thoroughly smooth, stirring continuously.  Dip the apples into the hot caramel sauce, coating them completely.  Set aside on greased wax paper.  You can store the apples in the frig but allow them to set at room temperature for 15 minutes before serving.

This recipe comes from my hardcore singer friend and screen writing partner, John Joseph. He first made it for me in New York and now that I live on the west coast, I had to call him up for the recipe because I was craving it. It’s that good! It’s vegetarian but don’t let that scare you. It’s the bomb!!! You will need:

• 2 cups basmati rice
• 6 tomatoes
• 4 carrots
• half a head of broccoli
• half a head of cauliflower
• a few handfuls of spinach
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 tablespoons asafoetida/hing powder (can substitute with crushed fresh garlic)
• 3 chilies - chopped (optional or can use chili flakes)
• 2 tablespoons mustard seeds
• 2 tablespoons tumeric
• 2 tablespoons cumin powder
• salt
• pepper
• 8 oz munster cheese - grated
• 8 oz monteray jack cheese - grated
• parmesean cheese
• 2 cups bread crumbs

Note: all the ingredients are approximate and you can use your good sense on the proportions.

Cook the rice. Wash all the veggies. Chop the carrots, broccoli and cauliflower into small bite sized pieces and steam until tender (don’t overcook). Cut the tomatoes into eighths. Heat the oil in a deep skillet over medium high heat. Add all the spices, then the tomatoes and cook over medium until the tomatoes soften and become juicy. Stir in the chopped spinach until it becomes cooked by the tomatoe mixture. In a big pot mix the rice, veggies, tomato mixture, cheese and most of the bread crumbs and salt and pepper to taste. Put in a baking pan and bake at 325 for 50 minutes. Put the extra bread crumbs and grated parmesean cheese on top and put bake in the oven until brown.

Sick of the ‘ol sandwich and chips?  Here’s a healthy idea to change up your kids lunch, and yours too if you want.  Try a wrap.  It’s just as tasty and fun but has way less calories.  I found these wraps at Whole Foods and I highly recommend them.  Besides being whole wheat, they contain no fat, sugar or yeast.  Stuff them with healthy ingredients and they’ll leave you and you’re children feeling satisfied yet light after lunch so you can concentrate on afternoon work.

You don’t have to be a whiz in the kitchen to make a good wrap.  You can even use PB & J if you want.  I made my lunch with left over roast chicken, avocado, mayo, alfalfa sprouts, salt and pepper.  It was delicious!  My only recommendation is they are quite thin so they may tear if you fill them up too full.  My suggestion is to make a lighter wraps and have a couple of them.  They are so low in calories you can afford to have more than one.

This sandwich recipe is my mom’s and it’s got a number of great attributes: It’s easy to make. It’s definitely kid approved because it used to be a favorite of mine growing up. It’s different than the norm. And you can make it before hand and store it in the frig or even the freezer until you’re ready to serve it. It will always taste great because it’s meant to be baked fresh and served hot. You will need:

• 1/2 lb. cooked ham, cut into cubes
• 1/2 lb. sharp cheddar cheese, grated
• 1/3 cup onion, finely chopped
• 1/2 cup stuffed olives, chopped
• 2 hard boiled eggs, chopped
• 3 tablespoons mayonnaise
• 1/2 cup chili sauce
• 8 hot dog buns
• aluminum foil

Mix all the ingredients together and generously fill the buns with the mixture. Wrap tight in aluminum foil and place on a baking tray. Bake at 400 degrees for twenty minutes. Serve hot!

Out of these three breakfast sweets, which is your favorite? Pancakes, waffles, or French toast?

For me that depends on who makes it. When I’m at a restaurant I think the best bet is pancakes - the least likely to be screwed up. Waffles is a good choice when eating out as well if you can see they have a waffle machine and are making them fresh. But I’ve learned never to order French toast at a restaurant. Why? Because it’s just not like I make it at home.

I’ve been disappointed so many times at restaurants when I’ve ordered French toast. Either it’s soggy, or eggy, or not cooked thoroughly or the bread is lame. When making French toast the first thing you need to think about is the bread. For me, marrying a Jew sealed my selection. It was tradition in his family to buy Challah for Friday night shabot and use the left overs for French toast on Saturday morning. Since I discovered what amazingly superior French toast Challah makes, I buy the loaf on Friday, skip the sadar, and use the whole thing for Saturday morning delight.

Take it from me, you don’t have to be Jewish to enjoy this recipe, but you might get addicted to the tradition once you try it. You will need:

• one loaf Challah (pronounced “holla”) Most grocery stores that have bakeries bake this bread on Friday
• three eggs
• 3/4 cup milk
• butter
• maple syrup
• berries (optional)

Cut the Challah into 3/4 inch slices. Beat the eggs and milk together. Heat a tablespoon of butter in a skillet over medium high heat. Dip a slice of bread into the egg mixture, thoroughly covering one side, then the other. Caution: do not leave the bread soaking. If it gets too soggy it’s to hard to cook all the way through. Put the slice of bread on the skillet. Cook one side until golden, add more butter and cook the other side. Eat immediately or keep warm in the oven. Serve with berries and real maple syrup.

The most typical excess in any summer garden is zucchini. At this time of year, you should be able to get your hands on some fresh, home grown zucchini for very little or even for free if you have nice neighbors. Here’s a recipe for how to use up that extra goodness in a delicious, unusual way. You can make this as a cake in a 9 x 13 inch pan if you prefer. You will need:

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 cups brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 4 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 cups grated zucchini - takes about three medium-sized zucchinis
• 3/4 cup chopped walnuts
• 3/4 cup currants

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Lightly grease and flour muffin tins or cake pan. Wash the zucchini, cut off the stems and grate in a food processor.

In a medium size bowl combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, sugar and salt. Mix thoroughly.

In another bowl beat eggs, vegetable oil and vanilla together. Pour the egg mixture into the flour mixture and mix well. Stir in the shredded zucchini, walnuts and currants. Pour into the prepared pans.

Bake at 325 degrees for 25 minutes. If fork comes out clean when poked in the center, take out to cool. If not, keep baking. Could take up to an hour to bake thoroughly if made in a 9 x 13 pan.

Feel free to experiment with this recipe. You could add coconut, cranberries or raisins or even try it with fresh fruit like blueberries. You also may try a topping like coffee cake crumble or icing. I tried it with a lightly sweetened cream cheese frosting which was good but my husband prefered it without saying it was “like taking a beautiful country road and putting a McDonald’s on it.” Simple sometimes is better and I plan to have my next muffin with a cup of Earl Grey and maybe the slightest bit of butter.

There are tons of ways you can cool off during the summer, but there’s nothing better than relaxing in the shade with a bowl of healthy homemade ice cream. It’s very easy once you know the steps and if done right, you would never notice the difference. One of my favorite ice cream flavors is strawberry, so here is an easy recipe.
First, you will need:

• A quart of fresh strawberries (hulled)
• 1 cup of heavy cream
• ½ cup of half & half
• 3 tablespoons light corn syrup
• 1 tablespoon of vanilla paste
• ¾ cup of white sugar
• 3 egg yolks

After you have these items, you begin by placing 1/3 of the strawberries into a blender (or a food processor), and blend them until the contents are completely smooth. You then add the remaining strawberries to the mix and turn on the blender for just a little while. Then pour the strawberry mix into a large bowl.

Next you will need to mix the heavy cream with the half & half you bought. Take a saucepan and pour in only 1 ¼ cup of the cream you mixed and heat it on medium; stop when it begins to bubble around the edges of the saucepan. Now, take a large bowl and put in the egg yolks, sugar, corn syrup and the remaining contents of the cream mixture. Stir it up as you slowly pour in the heated cream from the saucepan. Add the vanilla, then pour everything into the saucepan and heat until the sauce becomes thick (you will know this when the mixture is able to coat the back of your metal mixing spoon), which usually takes about five minutes. The mixture shouldn’t come to a boil this time around.

You can then squeeze strained (use a sieve) custard into the berry mix in your blender, mix it up and then place in the fridge until it has chilled. Use an ice cream maker to place the cream mixture in and freeze it (follow the instructions of the manufacturer).

Once frozen, you can pour on the strawberry toppings and enjoy!