Wednesday

Sep012010

Asian Vegetable Sauté

Wednesday, September 1, 2010 at 04:00AM

After our China visit a few of years ago, I realized how fond I was of their vegetable dishes. It was interesting how some simple ingredients cooked with a few seasonings can be so delicious. Prepared this way, vegetables can take on a whole new look and offer a welcome change in flavors.

I recently visited a very large Asian ranch market here. They have everything from fresh produce to meats, bakery products and dry goods as well as everything you’d ever want from a frozen food section. Their selection is amazing and the choices unlimited. It’s quite an interesting experience to roam through the store and check out all the imported foods.

I spoke with one of the clerks in the vegetable area and he told me about seasonings commonly used in Chinese vegetable dishes. After making my selection, I was anxious to get home to begin cooking. I had no idea how it would turn out and was very pleased with the results. It tasted delicious and was amazingly close to the one we had in China.

I served it as a side dish, but it could easily be enjoyed as an entrée over rice or noodles. I used a few vegetables, but after making it I realized many more could be included. If you like Chinese, I think you’ll like this one too.

Asian Vegetable Sauté

3 heads baby bok choy, chopped

½ white onion, roughly chopped

2 C fresh small mushrooms, sliced

10 fresh green beans, cut in pieces

½ red pepper, sliced

½ C fresh cilantro, finely chopped

3 cloves garlic, sliced

2 T vegetable oil

For the sauce:

½ C chicken stock

¼ C soy sauce

1 T sesame oil

2 T fish sauce

2 T honey

1 t Mongolian hot pepper oil

¼ C sherry wine

2 T cornstarch, dissolved in some cold water

Freshly ground black pepper

Chop all the vegetables and set aside. Combine the sauce ingredients and blend well.

In a large skillet—or wok—heat the oil. Add the garlic and onion and quickly sauté a couple of minutes first. Toss in the rest of the vegetables and stir to combine them with the onion mixture. Pour in the sauce. Cover and cook a few minutes until the vegetables are tender and the sauce has slightly thickened. Season to taste.

Get out your chopsticks. Your dinner is ready.

Enjoy!

©Pauline Boren 2010

Any questions or comments? Contact me at conservativecook@gmail.com.

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Wednesday

Aug252010

Oranges And Raisins Meet

Wednesday, August 25, 2010 at 04:00AM

The first time I made this cake I was around ten years old. I loved to bake even then, and for me it was great fun working on a recipe and turning out a dessert for our family dinner. My pastries didn’t always turn out perfectly, and I remember forgetting to include an ingredient now and then, but for the most part I enjoyed success and that’s what kept me going.

I did most of my baking in the summer when school was out. My favorite and only cookbook was the little Ann Pillsbury paperback that my Mom bought me. She didn’t bake much and never used a recipe for any of her own cooking. In fact, that little paperback was the only cookbook we had in the house. It’s falling apart now, but I still have it.

I originally got this cake recipe from my godmother. She made it often and probably had it memorized. She ground up the oranges and raisins in a small manual grinder. We had a similar grinder at home and while it was fun using it to chop the fruit, cleaning it was quite a job and not much fun.

Over the years I lost track of the recipe and was happy when my sister told me she still had hers. I had been thinking about that cake and was anxious to make one again. It has been years, and this time I’d be using a food processor and a lot easier than that manual grinder.

My cake tasted as delicious as I had remembered. I know I won’t be losing this recipe again. If you like oranges and raisins, you’ll love this cake. I prefer it with an orange glaze. It adds to the moisture and fresh citrus flavor of the cake.

Orange Raisin Cake

1 ½ C brown sugar

2 eggs, well beaten

1 t baking soda

¾ C sour milk*

2 C flour

1 t salt

¾ C butter (room temperature)

1 C golden raisins, ground

Rind of 2 naval oranges, ground

1 t vanilla

½ C walnuts, chopped

*To sour the milk, stir in a teaspoon of white vinegar.

Preheat oven to 350º

Butter and lightly flour a 13” x 9” pan

Squeeze the oranges and set the juice aside. In a food processor, grind the oranges with the raisins. In a bowl, sift the flour, baking soda and salt together. In a small bowl, beat the eggs with a fork.

In the mixer, cream the butter and sugar until fluffy. Add the eggs, vanilla and milk. Add the flour mixture a little at a time. Then add the orange/raisin mixture and beat on low to combine. Lastly add the nuts.

Pour the batter into your prepared pan. Bake 45 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean.

This cake can be finished with an Orange Glaze or Lemon Sauce. I prefer the orange glaze. I’m including both recipes so you can select the one you like.

For the Glaze: In a small saucepan, combine the orange juice with ¼ cup sugar and heat over medium heat until the sugar is dissolved. When the cake comes out of the oven and while still hot, poke a few holes on top with a skewer or fork. Pour the glaze over the top and cool in the pan before slicing.

For the Lemon Sauce:

½ C sugar

1 T cornstarch

Dash salt

¼ t ground nutmeg

1 C boiling water

2 T butter

1 ½ T fresh lemon juice

1 t fresh lemon zest

Mix the first four ingredients. Gradually stir in hot water. Cook over low heat stirring constantly until thick and clear. Remove from heat and blend in the butter, lemon juice and zest. Cool and serve over individual servings. Sauce recipe makes 1-1/3 cups of sauce.

Enjoy!

©Pauline Boren 2010

Any questions or comments? Contact me at conservativecook@gmail.com.

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Tuesday

Aug172010

The Perfect Bread

Tuesday, August 17, 2010 at 04:00AM

How about a little potassium today? Well, that’s what the bananas do for this recipe. Any way you like them, bananas are loaded with lots of vitamins and minerals—and one important mineral is potassium. Bananas are an amazing fruit that fits equally well in salads, breakfast cereals and a variety of baked goods.

One popular recipe is for banana bread. It’s so moist and full of flavor it should be called “cake” rather than “bread.” The texture of the bananas particularly lends itself to this recipe. Of course, bananas are also great in cakes, cookies, frostings, pies as well as baked puddings.

My college roommate gave me this Banana Bread recipe years ago and I still use it today. She told me it was her favorite because it never fails. She sure was right about that. For the sour milk she adds a teaspoon of white vinegar to fresh milk, and in no time it curdles and is quite sour.

The next time you have a bunch of ripe bananas and can’t bear the thought of tossing them out, take out this recipe and give it a try. And if you don’t have raisins or walnuts in your pantry, just make it plain and you’ll still love it.

Banana Bread

1 C sugar

½ C butter

2 eggs, beaten

3 ripe bananas, mashed

½ C sour milk

1 t baking soda

2 C all-purpose flour

1 t vanilla

½ t cinnamon

¼ t salt

1 C golden raisins (or chopped walnuts or both)

Preheat oven to 350º

Grease and flour a metal loaf pan, or use a cooking spray.

Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt and cinnamon. In a small bowl beat the eggs and vanilla.

In the bowl of a mixer, cream the butter and sugar until well blended. Add the sour milk, eggs and bananas and beat well. Gradually add the dry ingredients and lastly the raisins or walnuts.

Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan. Bake 1 hour or until a skewer comes out clean when tested in the middle of the loaf.

Cool before slicing. Store in plastic wrap or foil. Also freezes well.

Enjoy!

©Pauline Boren 2010

Any questions or comments? Contact me at conservativecook@gmail.com

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Wednesday

Aug112010

A Japanese Twist for Green Beans

Wednesday, August 11, 2010 at 04:00AM

You’re probably wondering what gomae is. Gomae is a Japanese dressing. Toasted sesame seeds, soy sauce and sugar are mashed together with a little water to make a dressing for hot steamed vegetables. You can use it on green beans, spinach, chard or any vegetable you like. It’s very tasty and low fat as well.

My friend Elaine is married to a Japanese man. He also happens to be a terrific cook who has learned many great recipes from his mother. When we had dinner at their house a few years ago, John served gomae with steamed green beans. The beans were lightly seasoned and had a delicious nutty and savory flavor. John gave me the recipe, and after I saw how easy it was I’ve made it often.

He even bought me the special gomae bowl and rounded-end dowel used to mash the sesame seeds with the other ingredients. The bowl has a rough inside surface and working the seeds against the rough surface grinds them down to almost a paste. The bowl is sold in Japanese specialty stores, but you don’t need a special bowl to make it. A food processor works just as well.

Gomae continues to be one of our favorite dressings for hot green beans, and we also like it on steamed spinach and chard.

Gomae

1 pound fresh green beans, stem removed

3 T freshly toasted sesame seeds

2 T water

5 t soy sauce

½ t sugar

Heat a small skillet over medium heat. No oil is necessary. When it’s hot, toss in the sesame seeds and shake them around until they’re golden and toasted. Pour them into a bowl and set aside to cool.

In a gomae bowl or food processor, combine 2 tablespoons of the seeds with the soy sauce, sugar and water and blend until crushed and fairly smooth. Reserve the third tablespoon to sprinkle on top.

Cut the beans in half. Bring a pot of water to a boil, add the beans and cook a few minutes until they are cooked but still crisp. Remove from heat and drain.

Return the beans to the cooking pan, add the gomae and toss with two large spoons to combine. Place in serving bowl or individual plates and top with the reserved sesame seeds. Serve while hot.

Enjoy!

Any questions or comments? Contact me at conservativecook@gmail.com.

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Tuesday

Aug032010

Anyone for Shish Kebob?

Tuesday, August 3, 2010 at 04:00AM

We were visiting a friend who has a place in the mountains last weekend. I love to cook, and when I saw his beautiful new completely remodeled kitchen, I instantly volunteered to make dinner. He loves shish kebobs and they turned out to be our choice for dinner.

I’ve never been that impressed with shish kebobs, and the few times I’ve ordered them out I was not overwhelmed. I was anxious to make some myself, and hopefully change my own opinion of the little grilled meat on a stick.

That night the weather was perfect for grilling and dining on the deck. I just happened to bring along a recipe recently clipped from our local newspaper since I had a feeling I’d be in charge of cooking a dinner. As it turned out, I was also very happy to try out that new kitchen too.

I originally planned on using lamb but my recipe called for beef; I bought a top sirloin steak and a few other standard shish kebob ingredients--onions, peppers and cherry tomatoes.

I got right to work chopping vegetables and making the marinade. Marinating the meat ahead of time was definitely the way to go. Also using thin strips instead of chunks worked well. The whole process was easy and actually a lot of fun.

The secret to the flavor in this recipe is the combination of the balsamic vinegar with the garlic. The flavors came together beautifully and my kebobs made a delicious grilled dinner. I served them with jasmine rice and salad and we all agreed that the whole meal was a huge success.

This recipe has definitely changed my mind about shish kebobs and I’m now sold on the whole idea. In fact, I was so pleased with the results that I took several photos and am including them here so you can see.

Summertime is grilling season and there is some summer left on the calendar. Why don’t you give this easy recipe a try? I guarantee you’ll want to make it more than just once.

For the Kebobs:

1-1/4 lb top sirloin steak, thinly sliced

1-1/2 green bell peppers cut into 1-¼ inch chunks

1 basket cherry tomatoes, left whole

½ large sweet Vidalia onion, cut into 1-¼ inch chunks

8 to 10 wooden skewer sticks

For the marinade:

1/3 C olive oil

1/3 C balsamic vinegar

1 t kosher salt

1 t ground black pepper

5 cloves garlic, peeled

Soak the skewer sticks in water for an hour or more. This will prevent burning on the grill.

In a blender, combine the marinade ingredients. Puree until creamy and smooth. Slice the meat and put in a glass pan or bowl. Pour the marinade over the top and mix well to coat all the meat. Cover and let stand at room temperature 30 minutes. If you’re not grilling them in the next hour or so, store the meat in the refrigerator and bring it to room temperature a half hour before grilling.

Meanwhile prepare the peppers and onions in a bowl. Drizzle a bit of olive oil, salt and pepper over the top and toss to coat. Now you’re ready to assemble the skewers. Dry off the sticks and rub them with a little oil to prevent sticking. Begin to thread while alternating the meat and vegetables on the sticks. Thread any remaining loose ingredients together. Pour the rest of the marinade over the top. You’re now ready to grill.

Rub some oil or use a cooking spray on the grill. Fire it up to the medium/high temperature. When ready, gently arrange the skewers with a little space between them. Cook about 3 minutes per side.