The Voice Of Reason

This is Christmas dessert. Mom made the cupcakes, one version is pecan caramel and the other is Black Forest. My creation is the eggnog caramel cheesecake. We only had Cool Whip to put on it because my sister's hand mixer was broken so there wasn't really any way to whip up proper whipping cream. But wow was it good!!

Recipe here. inbetween_girl made it too and reported that it was very good. She made it with a crushed ginger base while i used graham cracker crumbs. Both would be equally yummy.

I made this in the slow cooker today : It doesn't make a huge amount, just right for two people

2 teaspoons olive oil
medium size onion chopped
3/4 to 1 pound ground turkey

.... brown onion until translucent, add turkey and brown the turkey
.... put this and the rest of the ingredients in a slow cooker, on low for 3 hours.

1 tablespoon chili powder (or to taste)
1/2 teaspoon marjoram
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1 small bay leaf
2 teaspoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon salt or to taste (i used sea salt and you don't need much)
pinch cinnamon
1 cup beef broth (used low salt oxo powder to make the broth)
1/3 cup canned or bottled chili sauce
1 to 1 1/2 cup diced tomatoes (used half of a 28 ounce tin)

after three hours, add a tin of white or red kidney beans, rinsed
cook on low in the slow cooker another couple of hours.

Can serve with chopped red onion, shredded cheese, sour cream if you like.

Beef and Broccoli
Found this on Good Life {eats} blog. It looks yummy! Definitely going to try it! I think you could put some onion and/or mushrooms in it too. I've had those in B&B in restaurants in the past.




* 1 lb flank steak, thinly sliced into 1/8-in thick strips
* 1 1/2 lbs broccoli, cut into bite sized florets
* 1 tablespoon high-heat cooking oil
* 1 tablespoon minced garlic

Beef Marinade

* 1 1/2 teaspoons soy sauce
* 1 teaspoon cornstarch
* 1/2 teaspoon cooking oil
* freshly ground black pepper to season the beef

Stir-Fry Sauce

* 4 1/2 tablespoons oyster sauce
* 2 teaspoons Chinese rice wine or dry sherry
* 3 teaspoons Chinese black vinegar or Balsamic vinegar

In a bowl, combine the ingredients for the beef marinade. Add the beef and let marinate for ten minutes at room temperature.

In a small bowl, mix together the ingredients for the stir-fry sauce.

In a wok or large saute pan, add 1 inch of water and bring to a boil. Add the broccoli and cover to steam for 3 minutes. The broccoli should be bright green, crisp tender and you should be able to pierce the stem with a fork. Drain.

Discard the water in the pan and dry the pan well. Set the pan over high heat and when hot, add the high-heat cooking oil and swirl to coat. Add the garlic and fry for 15 to 30 seconds, until fragrant. Add the steak strips, keeping them in one layer and fry 30 seconds. Flip the strips and fry on the other side.

Pour in the stir-fry sauce and stir to combine. Simmer until the sauce is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, about 30 seconds. Add the cooked broccoli back into the pan and toss to coat well.

Our storm really hasn't amounted to as much as they said it would, as is usualy the way. It has been snowing, mind you, but there's only a few inches down coating everything.

I spent a few hours this afternoon making my version of the caramel pecan candy, Turtles. I don't make them look like the store bought ones, as that involves fiddling around with molds and they're fiddly enough as it is. And in keeping with some LJ people's tradition, a pictorial guide to making them. Recipe at the end.
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I occasionally peruse this blog, called goodlife {eats} and this recipe was in one of the recent posts, Pumpin Pie Oatmeal.

• 1 cup old fashioned oats, not quick cook
• 1 Tbs whole flax seeds, optional
• 2 1/2 Tbs brown sugar, packed
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp allspice
• 1/8 tsp nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp lemon zest
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 2 tsp butter, softened
• 3/4 cup pumpkin puree
• 3/4 cup milk

Topping:

• 1/4 cup pecans, chopped
• 2 tsp butter, softened
• 1 Tbs brown sugar

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Grease 4 individual sized ramekins. Set aside.

Combine the oats through salt in a medium sized bowl. Stir well. In a separate bowl, combine the vanilla, butter, pumpkin, and milk. Whisk thoroughly. Pour the pumpkin mixture into the oats. Stir until combined.

Divide mixture evenly between 4 individual sized ramekins. Place ramekins on a baking sheet (this makes it easier to move in and out of the oven.). Bake at 374 degrees F for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, combine the ingredients for the topping: chopped pecans, butter, and brown sugar. After the oatmeal has baked for 10 minutes, remove and divide topping mixture evenly between the ramekins. Bake and additional 7 minutes. Cool for 5 minutes before serving. Top with a splash of milk and raisins, if desired.

There's a little cafe downtown at the pedway to the Delta Barrington that makes this soup. The former owners made it better but these guys don't do too bad a job. There's a lot of variations i found on the net but this seems closest to what they make. I think you could use a larger can of tomatoes and cut down on the stock, probably and use spinach instead of kale. Some recipes also put rice in it and some put chopped green pepper in it or carrots. I can't abide carrots. Some recipes make it creamy with milk or coconut milk. I like it straight up, probably without the beans but they would be ok in it.

African Peanut Soup with Red Beans
Serves 6

3/4 cup dry roasted peanuts, coarsely chopped and divided
2 Tablespoons peanut oil
1 medium onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tablespoons fresh ginger, minced
cayenne, salt, and pepper to taste
6 cups vegetable stock
2 sweet potatoes, peeled and thickly sliced
14.5 ounce can diced tomatoes
2 15 ounce cans red beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 pound kale, stems discarded and leaves sliced
1/4 cup peanut butter

Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Saute the onion, garlic, and ginger for about 5 minutes. Add 1/2 cup of the peanuts, cayenne, salt, and pepper and saute for about 30 seconds. Add the vegetable stock, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, and red beans. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer. Add kale and simmer for about 20 minutes, or until potatoes are done. Add peanut butter and stir until combined. Garnish each serving with a sprinkle of the remaining peanuts.

I am making a concerted effort to cook a bit more for myself, including trying new recipes or just making casseroles that allow eating of leftovers for a few days. It's so boring cooking for just myself so i don't eat very well. Anyway, this is today's effort and it was quite tasty. I didn't put as much in it as the recipe has ingredients for 6 servings though i did make the sauce part the same. I suppose you could substitute tofu or more veggies, and veggie stock if you were wanting it as a vegetarian recipe.

Singapore Noodles with Pork and Peppers.

1 pound (500g.) pork loin but in 2 x 1/4 inch strips.
1 tbsp veg. oil
1 leek (white and light green part, sliced thinly)
1 each red, yellow and green pepper sliced into 1 1/2 x 1/4 inch strips
2 large cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 cups chicken stock (375 ml)
1/4 cup oyster sauce (50ml)
1 tbsp curry powder (I used Curry paste) (15 ml)
1 tbsp cornstarch (15 ml)
1 tbsp water (15 ml)
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley or coriander (125 ml)
dash of hot pepper sauce
3/4 lb whole wheat spaghetti (375 g)

Heat oil over high heat and stir fry pork 3 or 4 minutes until well browned. Remove and set aside
In same skillet, add peppers, leek, garlic and stock and cook, covered for about 2 minutes.
stir in oyster sauce and curry.
Blend cornstarch and water and stir into mixture along with the pork. Bring to boil and cook, stirring, 1 to 2 minutes or until heated through and thickened. Stir in parsley and hot pepper sauce.
Meanwhile, cook pasta 8 to 10 minutes and drain well. Toss with sauce.

I didn't have any parsley or coriander and didnt' substitute anything. I don't know if it really needs it or not. I also forget to put in the pepper sauce though the amount was minimal anyway. I probably let it cook a bit too long as the peppers weren't nice and crunchy but it was tasty.

It was chillier outside today than i expected. Nearly froze going down to the grocery store and in it, as i was wearing a sleeveless top.
It would be the day that the cabs just don't seem to arrive when you've got something that will melt! I called, gave my name but other cabs came and went for other people. This one older cabbie came but he was picking up his wife. I said i had called awhile ago and whined that my groceries would melt. Ah well. a few minutes later, he came back, having deposited the wife and her groceries and came back for me. What a star!

I made one of my new recipes for supper, a tuna casserole and it was really very good but it sure makes a lot because it calls for 2 cups of macaroni and that always makes a good sized casserole dish full. You could easily take it for a family meal or buffet. Recipe at the end of the post.

I downloaded and watched Doctor Who and the Confidential. Really excited now for the last two episodes. I had not had any experience or knowledge of Catherine Tate's work previous to her being on DW so i was objective in the face of nearly everyone else i knew that did know her and dreaded her. Perhaps not everyone has changed their minds but a good few of them have. Me? I think she's really pulled a blinder and if she was known as a comedienne before, will be known as an actress now. She played a blinder this week. Last week was all Doctor mostly and this week was mostly all her. Is it the next season that is supposed to be a mini-season with 3 or 4 specials instead of a full roster of 13?

( Spoilers behind here, for this week and the rest of the season )

And the recipe:

8 ounces (2 cups) uncooked macaroni
1- 7.5 ounce tin water packed tuna, drained (I had to use two of the small 3.5 ounce tins, it was enough)
1 cup sliced celery
1/3 cup chopped green onion
1/4 cup diced green pepper
1/4 cup diced pimento (seemed to be more for colour. can use red pepper instead)
1 can (10 ounces) reduced fat cream of celery soup
1/2 cup low fat milk
1 cup reduced fat cheddar cheese , grated
1/3 cup low fat mayonnaise
1/4 tsp. black pepper
I also added a handful of black olives that i had left over. I think you could make this vegetarian by substituting the tuna for anything else you'd like, more veggies, tofu, chick peas or some sort of beans.
Cook macaroni. Drain and rinse with cold water and drain again. In a large bowl combine the macaronie, tuna, veggies and pimento and mix well
in a small pot, combine soup and milk and heat over medium heat until smooth. Add grated cheese and cook until cheese is melted. Remove from heat and add mayo and pepper.
Pour over the macaroni mixture and mix well. Pour into a casserole dish which has been sprayed with non-stick spray. (I didn't. It came out just fine). Bake at 350 degrees (medium hot oven, don't know what the gas mark equivalent is) for about 40 minutes. Serves 6.

I put some of the mixture into little individual casserole dishes and they were cooked in about 25 minutes. This was quite tasty. It's low fat and if made wiht low fat cheese, mayo and soup, is under 300 calories and under 6 grams of fat per serving. I didn't have low fat cheese and i used 2% milk not 1% so it would be a bit higher as i made it but it would still be fairly good. I wouldn't use skim milk. You might also go for the low sodium soup if you can get it.

(Shhhh....No jingling this morning.)
Today i bring you a recipe from my mate Flaming Nora. She assures that it's absolutely wonderful and worth a bit of "faff".
It's a UK recipe, with the ingredients in metric or in ounces for the most part. At least the oven temp is in all formats! Green and Black's do organic chocolate in the UK. Any high really dark chocolate will do. Notes in the recipe are "Nora's"...

Rich Stout Cake

By popular demand, here's the recipe for Green & Black's Rich Stout Cake. It's on page 85 of Green & Black's Chocolate Recipes book but there's no picture of it in the book or one I can post as the cake has all been eaten in our house. Notes (in brackets) in the recipe are my own to you, fellow cake baker. It's a gloriously rich, moist cake that isn't over sweet because of the Guinness.

225g (8 oz) butter, softened
350g (12 oz) soft dark brown sugar
4 eggs, beaten
225g (8 oz) plain flour
half a teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoons bicarbonate of soda
400ml (14 fl oz) Guinness or stout (allow the head to settle before using - very important)
100g (3.5 oz) cocoa powder
150g (5 oz) dark chocolate, minimum 60% cocoa solids, grated

1. Preheat oven to 180C / 350F / gas mark 4
2. Butter and line a DEEP 9" cake tin with greasproof paper (such a faff but worth doing)
3. Cream butter and sugar and gradually add beaten eggs. (Never worry if you curdle, you can always beat your way out of it, or cry with frustration as you chuck it down the sink).
4. Sift together the flour, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda.
5. Mix together the Guinness and cocoa in a jug. The recipe notes: You will have to persevere with mixing. (You will). Add the grated chocolate.
6. Add the flour and the Guinness mixture alternately to the cake mixture, stirring between each addition until completely mixed. The consistency will be soft (very soft).
7. Spoon into a deep 9" cake tin and bake for 1 - 1.25 hours. (It took our decent oven over 2 hours to cook thoroughly) until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean. You may need to cover the cake with foil or greaseproof paper after about 1 hour to prevent the top from browning.
8. Remove from the oven and leave to stand for 10 minutes before turning out onto a wire reack to cool.
9. (Enjoy).

More for my own records really....

( nice salmon recipe )