Conservative Cook

Asian Vegetable Sauté

2010-09-01T11:00:31Z

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.

Oranges And Raisins Meet

2010-08-25T11:00:28Z

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.

The Perfect Bread

2010-08-17T11:00:33Z

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

A Japanese Twist for Green Beans

2010-08-11T11:00:35Z

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!

©Pauline Boren 2010

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

Anyone for Shish Kebob?

2010-08-03T11:00:45Z

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.

Dinner is now ready. Enjoy!

©Pauline Boren 2010

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

One More for Lemons

2010-07-20T11:00:54Z

Lemon pudding cake is an interesting dessert. While baking, the filling separates into two layers—on the bottom a creamy lemon pudding and on top a light golden cake. It makes a delicious dessert, and beautiful enough to impress your family and guests. And the best part—it’s easy to make.

With just two tablespoons of flour I like to think it’s also low-cal. It has even fewer calories when I substitute Splenda for the sugar. The refreshing citrus flavor is perfect to finish any meal.

It’s simple and versatile, and if you don’t want to bake it in a soufflé dish, use six individual ramekins. I’ve made it both ways. When using the larger dish remember to add a few extra minutes to the baking time.

If you enjoy lemons, you’ll love these little desserts. They’re also good made with limes, and they remind me of key lime pie without all the calories. You’ll like it no matter what you use.

Lemon Pudding Cake

3 large eggs, separated

½ C granulated sugar

2 T flour

1 T grated lemon zest

¼ C fresh lemon juice

1 C milk, whole or low-fat

¼ t salt

Preheat oven to 350º

Set a kettle of water on to boil, and butter a 1½ quart soufflé dish or six 6-ounce ramekins.

Separate the eggs, and in a large bowl beat together the egg yolks and sugar until the mixture is pale yellow. Add the flour. Gradually add the lemon juice and zest and then the milk.

In a separate bowl with an electric mixer, beat the egg whites with salt until stiff peaks form. By hand, slowly fold the lemon mixture into the egg whites. The mixture will be thin.

Pour the hot water into a large baking pan until it comes up to about one inch of the sides. Pour the batter in the dish, or divide it among the ramekins. Set the dish in the water pan. Carefully place the pan in the center of the oven. Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until the top is puffed and lightly browned.

Serve warm or at room temperature. Top with some whipped cream or a light dusting of powdered sugar.

Enjoy!

©Pauline Boren 2010

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

Don't Forget the Chilis

2010-07-13T11:00:58Z

By now you know that chili peppers are my favorite seasoning. I use them in a lot of recipes. There are endless varieties of size, color and heat to choose from and they all add tons of flavor to sweet or savory dishes. The smaller ones tend to be hotter.

Peppers are delicious in meat and vegetable dishes, eggs, salsas, breads, muffins, jams and jellies. My favorite recipe for the bright and shiny little jalapeno is now Green Chili Corn Bread.

My neighbor made some recently. She’s a terrific cook and always on the lookout for new recipes. She clips them out of every magazine and newspaper she can get her hands on, and she found another good one.

The other night we dined with her and she barbecued chicken. It was served with a salad and, of course, this incredible Green Chili Corn Bread. It was golden yellow, loaded with green peppers, very moist and absolutely delicious. It was the best I’d ever tasted. Naturally, she gave me the recipe.

The combination of the fresh green chiles, creamed corn and cheddar cheese makes this corn bread one of the most satisfying in color, texture and flavor. It was delicious smeared with sweet soft butter.

The heat delivered by some chili peppers comes from the natural substance called capsaicin. The capsaicin is mainly in the inner white ribs running down the middle and along the sides. Removing both seeds and ribs minimizes the heat considerably but not completely. Some heat actually imparts flavor too.

Since jalapenos can be rather spicy, in this recipe I removed all the seeds and ribs before dicing them. Two medium-size jalapenos measured almost a half-cup. That was close enough. Depending on your heat preference, you may want to do the same. You can enjoy the flavor without having to fight the heat.

Green Chili Corn Bread

1 C butter

¾ C sugar

4 eggs

½ C green chilis, seeded, ribs removed and diced small

1 ½ C canned cream corn

½ C cheddar cheese, shredded

1 C flour

1 C yellow corn meal

2 T baking powder

1 t salt

Preheat the oven to 325º and butter a 9” square pan.

Measure the flour, corn meal, baking powder and salt and set aside. Cream the butter and sugar. Add the eggs one at a time. Add the dry ingredients a little at a time. Add the chilis and cheese and mix well to combine.

Pour the batter into the buttered pan and bake 1 hour. Test with a toothpick in the center for doneness. Cool before slicing and don’t forget to serve with plenty of soft sweet butter.

Enjoy!

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

Not Just Any Bread Pudding

2010-07-06T11:00:28Z

Today’s recipe is for bread pudding—or rather cupcake pudding. No bread here at all. Earlier in the week I baked some cupcakes using a new recipe. The results were disappointing. While they looked fine and the flavor was good, the texture was coarse and dry. They definitely needed some “moisturizing.” I tasted one and tossed the others in the freezer.

Later I remembered reading something about bread pudding and how easy and forgiving it is. Just about any bread-like product can be used. There might be hope for my cupcakes yet. If bread works well, why can’t cupcakes work even better?

I was determined to find out, so I used a simple recipe and substituted 5 of my cupcakes. It was almost too easy and the results were surprisingly delicious.

If you like bread pudding go ahead try this. Or if you have stale cupcakes in your freezer, use them. If you use plain bread, you can even jazz up the flavor with some spices, raisins, nuts, chocolate chips or citrus. The flavors are endless.

The next time you bake something that’s not great, chop it up and make bread pudding. And remember, if you use unsweetened bread increase the sugar by a half-cup. If it’s already sweet, a quarter cup is plenty.

And if you don’t have any cupcakes, pick some up from your grocer’s day-old rack and make some cupcake pudding tonight.

BREAD PUDDING

5 C diced cupcakes

½ C raisins

4 eggs, beaten

3 C milk

¼ C sugar (or Splenda)

¼ t salt

1 t cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350

Butter an 8 x 10 baking dish or pan. Cut the cupcakes into large cubes and spread them out on the bottom. Soak the raisins in hot water to plump them up. Meanwhile, beat the eggs and combine with the milk, sugar, salt, nutmeg and vanilla.

Drain and distribute the raisins over the cubes. Pour the egg mixture over the top and lightly push the cubes down to absorb the custard. Let it stand a few minutes.

Bake uncovered 45 minutes, or until the top is golden and puffed. Serve warm or cold. A little whipped cream on top is always nice. Enjoy!

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

A Smoky Spread

2010-06-29T11:00:28Z

Our neighbor gave us a package of freshly smoked salmon. He has a friend who has a smoke house in Seattle. We’ve had his brand in the past, and the combination of extremely fresh fish and his special smoking process produces the best flavor ever. I’m normally not a salmon lover, but I’m sold on this one after having it in this recipe.

I used cream cheese, sour cream and fresh dill, but I think the horseradish was the secret ingredient to bring out the best flavor of the salmon.

You can use it as a dip or light filling for brunch finger sandwiches. If you like to entertain, for your next cocktail party bake some miniature cream puff shells. Pipe the filling into the centers and dust the tops with paprika. Garnish with fresh dill sprigs and set out the beautiful platter for your guests.

My salmon was an 8oz. piece. Even if your package varies an ounce or two either way, use it anyway and it will be fine. I only added horseradish for spice, but if you like it hotter add a few shakes of Tabasco sauce or even some red pepper flakes.

Smoked Salmon Spread

8 oz package cream cheese, softened

½ C sour cream

8oz smoked salmon

1 T fresh lemon juice

1 T fresh dill weed, minced

1 t straight horseradish

Salt and Pepper to taste

In a bowl with a hand blender, combine the cream cheese with the lemon juice and dill until creamy and smooth. Add the sour cream, horseradish, salt and pepper. Break up the salmon into bits and fold into the mixture. Taste and adjust the seasoning if necessary. Cover the bowl and chill at least four hours for the flavors to blend.

Serve with crackers and garnish with fresh dill.

Enjoy!

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

Anyone for Casserole?

2010-06-23T11:00:10Z

Yesterday I tried a brand new recipe. It was for a casserole. I had never made one before and it was time to give it a try. While flipping through an old recipe book this one caught my eye. I love foods with peppers—any variety. I’ve used many in recipes and they never disappoint.

This casserole was interesting in that it didn’t call for the usual can of creamed soup. The main ingredients are eggs, milk, chiles and cheese. Very simple assembly, and if you can grate cheese and beat an egg, you can make it. I had all the ingredients on hand and decided to bake one for lunch.

It literally took minutes to mix up, and as it was baking it smelled great. I could hardly wait to taste it. The filling was light and creamy and these chiles were perfect for this casserole. It wasn’t too spicy but just incredibly delicious.

If you want to combine it with a side salad, you’ve got a complete lunch. It’s good hot or cold and would travel well to any potluck. If you like chiles too, you’ll definitely want to make this recipe. For me it’s a keeper.

Chile Relleno Casserole

2 7oz cans whole green chiles, drained

1 ½ C jack cheese, coarsely grated

1 ½ C pepper jack cheese, coarsely grated

2 eggs, beaten

2 C milk

½ C all-purpose flour

¾ 1 t salt

Preheat oven to 325º

Use a 12 x 8 x 2 oven-safe dish. Coat the dish with some butter or cooking spray. Place half of the chiles across the bottom. Sprinkle the pepper jack cheese over the top. Place the remaining chiles on top and sprinkle the jack cheese over that layer.

Beat the eggs and whisk in the milk, flour and salt. Pour the milk mixture over the cheese and chiles. Bake in preheated oven 50 to 60 minutes until brown and puffy. Let it rest 10 minutes before slicing to serve.

Enjoy!

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