Pacific Rim Stir-Fry.

The first time we had this recipe, it was a disaster. Don't get me wrong, it tasted great. No, the disaster was that I managed to dump my entire plate on our new cream colored carpet. I was trying to multi-task, dealing with Jonathan in his swing while moving my plate. It didn't work. A bit slid off, and as I tried to catch it, the rest slid off the other side of the plate! Now, because this dish contains turmeric, it stained the carpet in that spot a deep golden yellow. A lovely color, if it's not in only one spot on the floor.  Needless to say, I avoided this recipe for awhile, due to the 'trauma' I'd suffered before because of it. That was almost a year ago, and I wish I hadn't waited this long. This really is a delicious dish, especially when there is no drama surrounding it. (We did get the carpet stain out, by the way. It took me scrubbing it, Chris steam-cleaning it, me trimming the spot with tiny scissors, and finally calling in a professional to finish the job.) I hope you enjoy this as much as I have, without all the drama!

Pacific Rim Stir-Fry

Recipe from Easy Everyday Cooking, from Better Homes and Gardens

Ingredients:

3 oz. rice sticks (also called rice noodles), or dried vermicelli, broken

12 oz. skinless boneless chicken thighs or breast halves

1/2 c. chicken broth

2 T snippd fresh basil or 2 t. dried basil, crushed

2 T. soy sauce

2 t. cornstarch

1 t. chile oil

-or-

1/2 t. crushed red pepper (we used this)

1/2 t. ground turmeric

1 T. cooking oil (peanut oil works best, but other will do)

2 med. carrots, cut into julienne strips

2 c. broccoli florets

1 red or green sweet pepper, cut into lengthwise strips

1 bunch green onions, chopped small, opt.

1/4 c. cashew halves or peanuts

Directions:

In a saucepan cook rice sticks in boiling water for 3 minutes, or cook vermicelli according to package directions. Drain, keep warm. (We did this at the end, so we didn't have to worry about keeping them warm, and it worked just as well.)

Meanwhile, rinse chicken; pat dry with paper towels. Cut chicken thighs or breasts into thin, bite-size strips; set aside.

For sauce, in a small bowl combine chicken broth, basil, soy sauce, cornstarch, chile oil or crushed red pepper, and turmeric; set aside.

Add cooking oil to a wok or 12-in. skillet. Preheat over medium-high heat (add more oil if necessary during cooking). Stir-fry carrot strips in hot oil for 1 minute. Add broccoli; stir-fry for 1 1/2 to 3 minutes more or until crisp-tender. Add green onions, if using, cook one minute more. Remove from wok. Add the chicken to wok; stir-fry for 2 to 3 minutes or until tender and no longer pink. Push from center of wok.

Stir sauce; add to center of wok. Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly. Return cooked vegetables to wok. Stir all ingredients together to coat. Cook and stir about 2 minutes more or until heated through.  Serve immediately over hot rice sticks or vermicelli. Top with cashews or peanuts. Makes 4 servings.

Honey-Spice Cake.

It's been awhile since we've had dessert here at Karen's Kitchen, so I thought I'd pass along this lovely fall recipe your way.  It's definitely a departure from the average white box cake, almost closer to pumpkin or banana bread in consistency rather than cake. That's alright though. The bold, rich flavors are perfect for a snack with afternoon tea or after-dinner coffee.  I've found that I prefer this served warm, whether you eat it soon after it comes out of the oven or you reheat slices as needed.  If you double this recipe, you can make a bundt cake, but I recommend making the loaf first, as small slices are so full of flavor that this cake serves many. Enjoy!

Honey-Spice Cake

Recipe from How to Cook Everything Vegetarian, by Mark Bittman

Ingredients:

1 T butter, plus butter for the pan

1 T grated or finely minced orange zest

1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour

1/2 c. rye or whole wheat flour (I used rye)

1 t baking soda

1/2 t ground cinnamon

pinch salt

pinch each ground allspice, nutmeg, cloves, and ginger

2 eggs

1/2 c. sugar

1/2 c. honey

1/2 c. freshly brewed coffee

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 9x5 in. loaf pan, or if you double the recipe, a tube pan. Combine the 2 T. butter and the zest in a small saucepan over medium heat; cook until the butter sizzles, then turn off the heat. Combine the dry ingredients in a large bowl.

Beat the eggs and sugar together until the mixture is light and thick; beat in the honey and coffee, followed by the butter/zest mixture.  Add the dry ingredients by hand, stirring just to combine; do not beat. Pour into the prepared loaf pan and bake for 40 to 50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the loaf comes out clean.  Let the cake rest in the pan for 5 minutes before inverting it onto a rack.  Remove the pan, then turn the cake right side up.  Let cool before slicing.

I frosted this cake with mocha glaze, also from the HTCE Veg. cookbook. I halved the original recipe, and I still had about three times as much as I needed. In retrospect, I think this would have been a great cake to top with simple homemade whipped cream. However, this is a great glaze for a chocolate cake, or even your basic white cake, so here's the recipe anyway.

Mocha Glaze

Recipe from How to Cook Everything, by Mark Bittman

(This is the full recipe. Half a recipe was more than enough for a loaf cake, but it may not be enough for a 13x9 cake.)

Ingredients:

1/2 c. coffee

1/2 t. vanilla extract (optional, I used it)

3 cups confectioner's sugar (powdered sugar) plus more as needed

1 oz. melted semisweet or bittersweet chocolate 

-or-

3 T cocoa powder

(I used the cocoa powder, and wish I'd used the melted chocolate instead. It turns out better with the chocolate, I think.)

Directions:

Combine all the ingredients and beat until combined and smooth; it should be about the consistency of thick maple syrup-just pourable. Adjust the consistency by adding a little more liquid or a little more sugar. Use immediately or store, covered, in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.

Note: I've been stirring a small spoonful of the leftovers into my oatmeal in the morning. Delicious!

Lasagna, Pt. 2 (How to make lasagna/spaghetti sauce)

I love this meat sauce. When we have it atop spaghetti, I look forward to it all day, if not all week. This is another family recipe, this time handed down from my aunt Katy to my mom to me. Enjoy!

Spaghetti/Lasagna sauce

Recipe from: Katy Lyren

Makes: plenty for spaghetti or an 8x8 pan of lasagna, double recipe for a 9x13 pan of lasagna

Ingredients:

1 lb. ground beef

1/4 t. garlic powder

1/2 to 1 t. oregano

2 t. sugar

1 pkg. onion soup mix

1 6 oz. can tomato paste

1 8 oz. can tomato sauce

1 1/4 c. hot water

Directions:

Brown beef and garlic powder together.

When beef is browned, add rest of the ingredients, and simmer till slightly thickened, or until desired consistency.

For Lasagna:

Ingredients for 8x8 pan, double for 9x13

1 recipe pasta dough

1 recipe lasagna sauce

1 small container cottage cheese and/or ricotta cheese

Shredded cheese of your choice, opt.

Assembly:

Layer 1 row of noodles, 1 layer of cheese, one layer of sauce. Repeat. Top with one layer noodles, and one layer of cheese. Top with shredded cheese, if desired.

Bake for 45-50 minutes at 350°. (Bake up to 1 hr if using 9x13.)

Lasagna, Pt. 1: How to make your own Pasta Dough

There is nothing better on a cold winter night than a fresh-from-the-oven homemade meal. Comfort food, by its very nature, is required on those nights. Chili, meatloaf, lasagna. Now, I realize that people are busy, that spending an afternoon making dinner is not desirable. HOWEVER. This recipe is completely worth it. I promise. It doesn't have to take forever, but it will take a bit as you're learning the recipe.  Once you've got it down, it'll only take about 20 minutes, tops, start to finish. Add in making the sauce, and you've got another 20 or so, plus oven time. Your family will love you for this. YOU will love you for this. Your hips may not, but even they can be placated by portion control. Without further ado, part one of how to make lasagna from scratch.

Homemade Noodles

Recipe from Gayle Van Camp (my mom)

Makes: Enough dough for an 8x8 pan of lasagna. (Mom says she can get a 9x13 out of this recipe...I double it for that.)

Ingredients:

 2 eggs

4 T. (1/4 c.) milk

2 c. all-purpose flour (can use up to 3/4 c. whole wheat flour)

1 t. salt

Directions:

Beat eggs in mixer a little.

Add milk, mix.

Beat 1 c. flour in at a time, alternating with salt.

Let mixer form it to a ball, (you may have to lock it in place if you can do that). 

Here's where my mom and I differ...she says grease the counter, I say flour it. Basically, if you want to let the dough dry completely and store it, greasing works, but it takes a long time. If you want to use the dough right away, flour the counter.

Flour your counter. :) Your dough will be a bit sticky now, so flip it around on the counter a bit so it collects some extra flour.  

Roll out your dough as thin as possible (check out these little rolling pin spacer things! They work great if I need a precise thickness - I ended up just putting on the thinnest set, which simply kept me from rolling the dough too thin) and cut the dough to size.

If you choose to grease the counter, roll the dough out as thin as possible, let dry some, then cut to width desired. Let dry more, then flip with a spatula so the back side can dry too. Once completely dry, you can store in the fridge or freezer until needed.

These noodles work famously for soups, to eat as regular pasta (though I usually can't get them thin enough for that...) or, my favorite use for them, in homemade lasagna.  My meat sauce recipe for this is upcoming, so check back soon!

Pesto.

I had a rather large basil plant when I made this. It has since died, and I must start anew.  If you have your own homegrown basil, this is a great way to use it. If you can get a lot for cheap somewhere, that's fine too. If you can only find basil in the super small, super spendy packages at the grocery store, this may not be how you want to use it...but who am I to say? This is a good condiment, and works great if you have some on hand to stir into cooked pasta for a quick dinner. I'm told there are other uses, but I haven't explored them as yet.

Traditional Pesto

Recipe from: How to cook Everything Vegetarian, by Mark Bittman

Makes: about 1 cup pesto

Ingredients:

2 loosely packed cups fresh basil leaves, rinsed and dried (pat dried, not 'crunchy' dried)

salt

1/2 clove or more garlic

2 T. pine nuts or walnuts

1/2 c. extra virgin olive oil, or more

1/2 c. freshly grated parmesan, pecorino romano, or other hard cheese (optional) (I didn't use this)

Directions:

Combine the basil with a pinch of salt, the garlic, the nuts, and about half the oil in a food processor or blender.  Process, stopping to scrape down the sides of the container if necessary and adding the rest of the oil gradually.

Add more oil if you prefer a thinner mixture. Store in the refrigerator for a week or two or in the freezer for several months. Stir in the parmesan by hand just before serving. (I don't like parmesan, and so skipped this step.)