Lemon Coconut Macaroons

These came out soooo light and chewy with the richness of coconut and refreshing zest of lemon. I actually got the recipe for these from www.mimi54.wordpress.com, but subbed 3/4 cup of the almond flour for shredded unsweetened coconut. I also accidentally added 1 cup of sugar rather than 3/4 cup, with 1/4 of the cup for rolling the cookies in. I personally don't think these cookies need to be rolled in suagr and next time I make them, I'll only use 3/4 cup of sugar. Also, it was mentioned in www.mimi54.wordpress.com that the dough can be refrigerated to firm it up a bit before rolling it into little balls. This might be a good idea as I did end up with a lot of sugar/almond/coconut on my hands.

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cup ground almonds
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
zest of 1 lemon
3/4 cup shredded unsweetened coconut

Preheat oven to 350.

In a med bowl combine almond flour, lemon zest, and coconut. The lemon zest tends to stick together so use a spatula to break them up.

In a large bowl, combine egg and sugar. Add almond flour mix to bowl and stir well to ensure it is evenly blended. If you've got time, cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate so the dough will be easier to roll.

Pinch off walnut-sized pieces of dough and roll into a ball. Place on greased or parchment paper-lined pans, 2 inches apart. Bake for 8-10 minutes. These macaroons are not supposed to "brown" in the oven. They should stay a light pale color, so check on them after 8 mins.

Cool on pans, then veeeeery gently peel off.
Makes about 2 dozen.

Homemade Oat Treats

I found a nifty little booklet while in the waiting room of my doctor's office. It was printed by Quaker Oats and had some oat recipes that some chefs came up with. Since I don't eat wheat (among other things) I knew I could find some useful stuff in there so I took one.

Lo, and behold, there was a recipe for oat bars! I'd been meaning to make my own granola bars for a long time but just couldn't find the right recipe. I subbed a few of the ingredients in these Homemade Oat Treats based on what I could find, what I like, and what was priced best (read: cheapest). I've got ingredients that I subbed in, or omitted parenthesis in italics.

Homemade Oat Treats
(Adapted from recipe by chef Kevin Prendergast)

3 cups old fashioned, large flake oats
3/4 cup sunflower seeds
1/4 cup sesame seeds (omitted)
3/4 cup sliced almonds
1/4 cup unsalted butter (I used coconut oil)
1/3 cup light brown sugar (I used evaporated coconut sap)
1 tbsp ground cinnamon
1/3 cup wild honey (I used brown rice syrup)
1/2 cup wheat germ (I used ground up flax seeds)
1/2 cup chopped dried apricots (I used 1 cup)
1/2 cup flaked coconut (I used unsulphured, unsweetened coconut)
1 cup golden raisisn (I used dried unsulphure, unsweetened papaya)
1 cup sun-dried cranberries (I used 1/2 cup dried unsulphured, unsweetened mango)
1/3 cup sun dried cherries (I used dried pineapple)
(I added a bar of high quality, dark chocolate, chopped into small pieces.)

Preheat oven to 325 F (160 C). Toast the oats, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds and sliced almonds (I'm always afraid of burning almonds so I did this for 5 minutes). In a saute pan, gently heat the butter (or coconut oil), brown sugar (or coconut sugar), cinnamon, and honey (or brown rice syrup), stirring to incorporate the flavours.

In a large mixing bowl, mix the oat mixture, dried fruits (and flax and chocolate if using) together. Drizzle the honey mixture over top, ensuring the oats and fruit get a good "covering". Line baking tray with parchment paper and spread mixture evenly. Bake for 20 - 25 minutes. (The recipe says to cut while still warm but for me, it was way too crumbly. I waited until it completely cooled to cut into squares.)

Makes 30 small bars.

Verdict: chopping the fruits can be a bit of a pain but as long as you've got a good knife, it should be OK. The chocolate gives it a bit of a "burnt" taste, but it's still good and helps me curb my sweet tooth (and avoid eating wheat) at work when there are muffins and doughnuts everywhere.

Roasted Eggplant and Dill and Potato, aka Baigan Ka Bartha and Aloo Soa Ki Subzi

It was Saturday night and the husband and I planned to make some dinner using recipes from our new(ish) cookbook "Everything Indian Cookbook by Monica Bhide, 2004.

I LOVE Indian food but am always hesitant to make it home because some the ingredients are hard to get, or because I don't want to buy a whole jar a of tamarind paste or whatever and have to eventually throw it out. Also, it never tastes like what I have at the restaurants. But with the 2 recipes in this title, I felt it was doable because we happened to have all the ingredients on hand, or knew we could get them at the local Safeway (BTW, Thriftway, we miss you!)

Roasted Eggplant (Baigan Ka Bharta) from "Everythin Indian Cookbook"



3 pounds eggplant (we used 2 large ones)
4 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 small onion, peeled and chopped roughly
1 tsp Ginger-Garlic paste (recipe below)
1/4 tsp red chili powder
1 tsp coriander powder
2 medium tomatoes, finely chopped
Salt, to taste
Fresh chopped coriander, for garnish (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 475. (I used the broiler and but the oven rack to the second highest position).

2. Rub 2 tablespoons of the oil on the eggplants on a baking sheets and place in the oven. Cook until the eggplant is soft and the skin is charred. Turn occasionally so all sides get charred. Remove from oven to cool.

3. Once eggplants are cooled, peel and discard skin. Mash the eggplant with a fork into a smooth pulp. Set aside.

4. In a large skillet, heat the reamining 2 tbsp of oil over medium heat. Add th eonions and saute until they are transparent. Add the Ginger-Garlic Paste, red chili powder, and coriander powder, saute for 30 seconds.

5. Add the tomatoes and saute for about 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Use the back of your spoon or spatula to mash the tomatoes. When the mixture is ready, oil will start to separate from the mixture (mine never did this so I went ahead to the next step).

6. Add the eggplant and mix well. Add salt to taste and fry for about 7 - 10 minutes stirring constantly. Remove from heat, garnish with fresh coriander and serve with basmati rice.

I order this every.single.time. at our local Naan 'n Curry and love it so much. This version was OK. Don't get me wrong, the balance of spice with the eggplant and tomato was really nice, but I was looking for something with more oomph, more kick, more flavour. I think next time, I'll add more ginger-garlic paste or maybe add curry powder or garam masala or something. Maybe even a chili.

Ginger-Garlic Paste From "Everything Indian Cookbook"

2 serrano chilies (optional)
1/2 cup gingerroot, peeled
1/2 cup garlic cloves, peeled
1 tbsp cold water

1. Remove the stems from the green chilies (if using)

2. Place all ingredients in a food processor and puree to form a smooth paste. Add mo more than 1 tbsp of water to help form a smooth consistency.

3. Store the paste in an airtight jar in the refrigerator. The paste will keep for up to 2 weeks.

We put ours in a glass Pyrex container with lid. We put plastic wrap to keep any air out and have kept it in the freezer for about a month now. You could probably halve or quarter this recipe since you really only seem to use about a tsp or so for each recipe!

Dill and Potato (Aloo Soa Ki Subzi) From "Everything Indian Cookbook"



2 tbsp vegetable oil
1/2 tsp cumin seeds (we only had ground cumin so we used about 1/8 tsp of that)
2 green chilies, seeded and minced (we used serrano chilies)
2 large russet potatoes (or 3 medium) peeled and diced
1/2 cup frozen peas (we omitted these)
1/4 cup chopped fresh dill
1/4 tsp turmuric powder
salt, to taste
water, as needed

1. In a large skillet, heat the oil on medium. Add the cumin seeds (or ground cumin). When they begin to crackle (or when ground cumin becomes fragrant), add the freen chilies; saute for 10 seconds.

2. Add the potatoes and saute for about 2 minutes. Add the peas, dill, turmeric, and salt; saute for another 2 minutes.

3. Add a few tablespoons of water (the husband added 4), cover and cook on low heat until the potatoes are cooked through, about 10 - 12 minutes.

How can you go wrong with potatoes and dill? This dish was fine, but next time, I might add some curry powder or garam masala for more flavour. We kind of added salt as we ate since the recipe doesn't tell you exactly how much to add.

Wine Night

The hubs and I have been keeping a particular bottle of wine for a special weekend. By special, I don't mean an anniversary or birthday but a weekend where we have no plans, can start drinking early in the evening so we can enjoy the sunset, and can have enough time to make some food to go well with the wine.

Matthews Estate 2005 Claret:



This wine was described to us as a "big, chewy red" (see my earlier post titled, "The Wines of King County" for details) and I really don't know enough fancy shmancy wine lingo to describe it. It definitely had a full flavour with enough acidity to make your mouth water a little while you held it in your mouth.

I can truly say that I researched high and low for what would go well with this special wine. I know what you're thinking, "easy, some cheese and crusty french bread!" Well yeah, but what if we don't eat wheat or cow products? "Ohhhhh... well that makes a big difference!"

The one with the black wax (?) is manchego, and the one that is diced finely is the pecorino romano.



Have no fear, we found 2 sheep's milk cheeses: pecorino romano, and manchego. Here was our menu for our much anticipated night with Matthews Estate 2005 Claret:

Tomatoes with olive oil and fresh basil atop slices of manchego cheese
Grilled portabello mushrooms and red bell peppers
Rice pasta in olive oil with garlic, olive tapenade, and pecorino romano.



The tomatoes should be self explanatory! We used 2 medium sized vine-ripened ones.

For the grilled mushrooms and bell peppers, I brushed them with olive oil, seasoned them with salt, and sprinkled a bit of balsamic vinegar on them. We used them on the George Foreman because our BBQ wasn't working (boo!) so if you can BBQ them, do it until all the liquid evaporates from the mushrooms.

For the pasta, it didn't quite work as planned. We used rice spaghetti and the water we cooked it in got really sludgy, and so the spaghetti was pretty sludgy. I rinsed it with cold water to wash the sludge off but now the pasta was cold! The idea was for the hot pasta to warm the olive tapenade and melt the pecorino romano a little. Not ours. It just sat there looking cold so I threw it in a frying pan to heat it up a bit. After it heated up, it was delicious!

If you're using wheat pasta, you won't have this problem so cook as much pasta as you need, drain and while still hot, toss it with olive oil, a few tablespoons of olive tapenade, and as much or as little pecorino romano (or similar cheese like parmesan) and let stand for a few minutes while the cheese softens and melts.

Of all out dishes, I though the tomato/fresh basil/manchego went best with the Claret, but the Hubs thought the pasta paired best.

Sorry for the unspecific quantities for the dishes, but just keep tasting adn testing until you get the level of saltiness you like!

Chickpea spinach salad with feta

*Disclaimer: I've been copying and pasting recipes from all kinds of blogs for years now and had been keeping them for my own use. I never thought I'd start a food blog so I never cited the source. If this recipe is from your blog, please leave me a comment so I can properly credit you.

Chickpea spinach salad with feta:



I love chickpeas and I love feta. I decided to indulge the other day at the supermarket and but a block of high quality (or at least the price made me think so) goat feta. Not as salty as the stuff in the brine, which is kind of a bummer because I was hoping the feta would add some saltiness to this salad. Not the end of the world that it didn't though, because it still added a creaminess to it.

I'm not the precise measuring type so all ingredient quantities are approximate.

1/2 cup dried chickpeas, soaked and cooked until soft (you could use 1 can instead)
2 bunches of spinach, blanched, squeezed dry and chopped roughly
1 tbsp good olive oil
juice of 1/4 - 1/2 a lemon (depends on how lemony you like it)
1/4 - 1/2 cup crumbled feta (depends on how feta-y you like it)
Salt and pepper

Place the blanched, squeezed and chopped spinach in a bowl, making sure it's evenly spread out, and leaves are not squeezed together. Pour the chickpeas over top. Drizzle with olive oil, making sure it is evenly distributed. Add lemon juice, tossing to coat all of the spinach and chickpeas. Sprinkle the feta cheese over top and again, toss to distribute evenly. Have a taste and season with salt and pepper as needed.

You could keep the spinach raw if you like, but the spinach I had on hand was pretty beat up so I decided to blanch. Your call...

The Wines of King County

Who knew? Wineries (or satellite wine shops, I believe they're called) just a few minutes drive outside of Seattle!

The husband and I were hosting from out-of-town friends who somehow brought sun-filled, warm days with them from Minnesota (love them!) and we somehow ended up going wine tasting. It wasn't necessarily planned but somehow, someone threw out the idea, the husband googled, and on a Monday morning, we were bound for Woodinville to visit some well-known wineries, and some less-known (well, at least to us.)


For our first stop, we chose Chateau Ste Michelle. We've had quite a few of their wines before and liked their Indian Wells labels quite a bit. The grounds are well-manicured and the gift-shop was really nice, too. I don't want to give away too much about the tour other than to say it's free and you get a free tasting at the end. You can pay a bit more to taste their Indian Wells label but considering you can buy these labels at Safeway (and sometimes they're on sale), this didn't seem worth it. To taste their vintage reserve wines, you have to make an appointment. Overall, I liked the CSM tour and the Chateau provides a really nice "vineyard" atmosphere. There are picnic tables on the grounds, too! We bought some BBQ at a restaurant nearby and had our own little picnic there.

Next, we went across the street to Columbia Valley Winery. It was under construction so the ambiance was lacking. The woman at the counter was really helpful and friendly. Actually, everyone was very cheerful and welcoming. It created a comfortable, un-intimidating atmosphere for asking questions. They didn't have a "tour" per se but you could pay something like $5 for a few different wines. I don't think the hubs was very impressed with any of them but just a matter of taste.



We got in the car (after drinking lots of water, eating , and releasing fluids :) and drove around the corner to Januik Winery / Novelty Hill Winery. The building is very lofty with high ceilings and big windows, that kind of thing. Again, the woman at the counter gave us some great recommendations for the wines, and some of the other wineries in the area.



"Big, chewy reds" is how the woman at Januik/Novelty described Matthews Estate. The "Estate" looked like a temporary construction office. Inside, there are some handsome bottles of reds nestled in cool wooden boxes. The reds were definitely big and chewy. Hubs was very impressed and bought a bottle of claret. No pic of Matthews Estate wine shop because the shop itself was really not very impressive.

Next off, another recommendation by the "big, chewy reds" woman was Brian Carter Cellars. Again, the woman there was super-friendly. At this point, I think I was just plain"happy" and not really paying attention to the wine.


Final stop, as per the recommendation of the Brian Carter, was Bookwalter Winery. It looked like a car garage (in a cool way) and was decorated nicely. I was still quite "happy" from all the tastings to pay attention to the wine. We did buy one bottle wine but I think the cork was contaminated.

Outside the wineshop (used to be an annex to an old schoolhouse?) Note the car-garage like doors as we conferred about the wines...


All in all, it was a summer-like day in early April. With our good friends, we spent the day laughing, chatting and relaxing. I had to say goodbye to our friends the next day. It was the perfect way to end a fun week with them.

Black Bean Soup

After a long weekend (gotta love Easter) full of rich foods and wine, my body was craving something simple, nutritious, and filling. Black bean soup! This is something I threw together with things I had lying around the house. SO not in the mood to shop on Easter Monday. I added miso paste for depth and saltiness.

Being of Japanese descent, this is something I always have in the fridge. You could definitely use chicken stock or some other kind of stock but would have to play around with the seasonings a bit. Oh, I also used an immersion hand-blender (gotta love those things!)

Lazy day black bean soup

1 1/2 cups dried black beans (soaked over night, simmered for 2 hours until soft, drained)
1 onion, chopped
2-3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 - 1 1/2 inch piece of ginger, peeled and chopped
2 tablespoons miso paste (I think red or white would be fine)
soy sauce, to taste.
Cilantro sprigs (optional)

In a large pot, heat up some oil over med-high and saute the garlic, onions and ginger until the onions are translucent.
Add the black beans, stirring in incorporate onion/garlic/ginger flavours for about 2 minutes.
Add 2 cups water and miso.
Bring to a boil stirring occasionally to help miso dissolve.
After miso has dissolved, simmer for about 5 minutes. Add as much or as little soy sauce depending on how salty you 'd like it to be. You can add more water for for a thinner soup.
Being very careful that the blender is fully submerged in the liquid, pulse until desired consistency is reached. I like it pretty well blended. It's better to stop the blender before moving it around the pot. And never life the blender up while you're still blending, otherwise you'll end up wearing the soup!
Garnish with cilantro.

Enjoy!

You could even add some heat to this by adding a few green chiles. I decided to keep mine heat-free to help my body cleanse a little but will definitely be trying this recipe again with some chiles.