I'm always on the lookout for cookbooks by Rose Elliot. They aren't always easy to find, particularly if you are like me, living in the United States. For those of you who haven't heard of her, Rose is an accomplished UK-based cookbook author who focuses on vegetarian recipes - three million copies of her books in print. I loved the idea behind her golden, puffy, sun-dried tomato muffins which I came across in Vegetarian Supercook. Not only does their cottage cheese and ground almond base make them a smarter way to start the day, the combination of tomatoes, cheese, and basil baking in a hot oven makes your kitchen smell like a pizzeria.

Backing up a bit, one of the great things about Rose's recipes (generally speaking) is that many of them strike a strong nutritional balance. They tend to combine proteins, complex carbohydates, vegetables and good fats together in interesting (and delicious) ways. This is something that is actually harder to do than it sounds - certainly something I struggle with in my own cooking and recipe creation.

A few of the other recipes from Vegetarian Supercook I'd like to eventually try: Lentil and Olive Pate' with Grilled Fennel, Wild Mushroom Roulade, Sweet Potato and Wild Rice Patties with Lime Salsa, Crunchy Hazelnut Croquettes with Red Onion Marmalade, and her Spicy Vegan Carrot Cake.

I encourage you to give these muffins a try, but keep a few things in mind. The texture here isn't attempting to emulate a traditional flour-based muffins. These are much moister, less bready, and more quiche-like. Well, maybe a better way to think of them is like a souffle's heartier, denser, more portable cousin. Also, I don't normally bake basil, but this worked out nicely. The muffins can be made gluten-free. If you make the muffins mini-sized they are perfect party fare, and in place of the sun-dried tomatoes you can dream up countless other ways to flavor the cheese and nut base batter.

- chopped olives, lemon zest and chopped herbs
- sauteed, chopped mushrooms and fresh thyme
- chopped chipotles and adobo sauce
- roasted garlic, pesto and toasted pine nuts
- sauteed chopped potatoes and rosemary

Let me know what you think of these, I really enjoyed them hot, as well as room temperature as a quick snack.

(Click through to site to see recipe)

The Quince

This lumpy fruit has a delicious perfume that is reminiscent of apples and pears. But unlike apples and pears, the quince must be cooked. If it isn't, the super tart flavor will make your mouth pucker!



Because it is naturally full of pectin, quince lends itself perfectly to making jams and compotes.
But this is a versatile fruit, so for this week's Weekend Herb Blogging, hosted by Ulrike at Küchenlatein, I cooked up an aromatic, cinnamon-y, mildly spicy Chicken Stew with Quince.




Moroccan Chicken and Quince Stew

serves 6

2 quinces, peeled, cored and thickly sliced
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 cup flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)
1 (3 and 1/2 pounds) fresh whole chicken, cut up
3 Tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 large onion, peeled and chopped
2 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
1 can (14.5-ounces.) whole Italian tomatoes, crushed with their juice
1/2 cup water
1 cinnamon stick
2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint

Place quince slices in a small bowl with a little water and lemon juice and set aside.
Mix together flour, salt, pepper and optional cayenne pepper in a dish and lightly dredge chicken in flour mixture until evenly coated.
Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat.
When hot, add oil, and brown chicken on all sides.
Remove from pan and set aside.
Drain quince, and pat dry with a paper towel and sauté quince in skillet until brown on both sides.
Lift out with a slotted spoon and set aside.
Add remaining olive oil and cook onion and garlic until softened but not browned.
Return chicken to pan and stir in tomatoes.
Break cinnamon stick in half and add to pan with the water.
Bring to a boil, cover, and reduce heat, and simmer gently for 20 minutes.
Add reserved quince and cook for about 20 more minutes, until chicken is fully cooked through.
Stir in the mint.
Remove cinnamon before serving.

Serve with rice or couscous to soak up the delicious juices.
See article.

1 cup old fashioned oats
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 ounces, 1/4 cup, chopped walnuts
3/4 cup sour cream
3/4 cup whole milk
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 really ripe bananas, mashed up
3/4 cup raisins
1/2 stick butter, 1/4 cup, melted, plus additional for buttering skillet
Maple syrup or honey, for drizzling

Here's a great tip: if you cannot find really ripe bananas, just nuke
them in the microwave for about 15 seconds and they will become super
soft for mashing.

Mix dry ingredients, the first 7, in a bowl. In a another bowl, mix
the wet ingredients, the next 4. Whisk the wet ingredients into the
dry until just combined, then fold in the mashed up bananas and the
raisins. Stir in the melted butter.

Heat a griddle over medium heat and brush with additional melted
butter. Cook pancakes, each about 1/3 cup, until bubbles form on the
top, then turn. Cakes will cook in about 2 minutes on each side. Keep
pancakes tented with foil as they come off the griddle to keep them
hot. Serve with drizzled honey.

Pancake Recipes
Famous Recipes
Slow Cooker Recipes

Au revoir summer. You will be missed.

It will be strange not to walk down the lane, turn the key in the lock and enter our garden to pick fresh, vine ripened tomatoes, sweet and fragrant muscat grapes, long green chili peppers, fat purple eggplants and little onions.



Last night the remaining tomatoes and eggplants from the garden, with zucchini and peppers from the market, were made into a colorful, garlicky ratatouille.

There was quite a ratatouille craze this summer after the Disney/Pixar movie with that cute little rat, Rémy, was released. It seemed I couldn't open up any food website or blog without stumbling upon a version of this Provençal summer vegetable stew.

This is not the lovely, symmetrical, spiral ratatouille from the movie, which was actually inspired by Thomas Keller's recipe for Confit Byaldi. This ratatouille is beautiful in a traditional, deconstructed way.

Ratatouille
from Savoring France by Georgeanne Brennan

2 generous tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 small yellow or white onions, chopped
2 eggplants, cut into 1-inch cubes
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 zucchini, cut into 1-inch cubes
2 large green, red or yellow bell peppers, seeded and cut into 1-inch pieces
8 to 10 ripe tomatoes, peeled, seeded and coarsely chopped
3 fresh thyme sprigs
1 fresh rosemary sprig
1 dried bay leaf
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1/4 cup minced fresh basil

In a large, heavy saucepan or soup pot over medium heat, warm the olive oil. When it is hot, reduce the heat to medium-low, add the onions and sauté until translucent, about 2 minutes. Add the eggplant and garlic and sauté, stirring often, until the eggplant cubes are slightly softened, 3 - 4 minutes.

Add the zucchini and bell peppers and continue to sauté, stirring and turning, until softened, another 4 - 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes, thyme, rosemary, bay leaf, salt and pepper and stir and turn for another 2 - 3 minutes.

Cover, reduce the heat to low, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are soft and have somewhat blended together, about 40 minutes.

Stir in the basil and remove from the heat. Transfer to a serving bowl and serve hot, at room temperature or cold.

Serves 10

See article.

Well, summer is definitely over!

The wind is howling out there, the high temperature today is about thirty degrees farenheit lower than it was on Monday and the skies are grey and ominous. I guess it was only a matter of time...




But with autumn brings glorious, sweet pumpkins. (I don't mean these pumpkins this time) And when I have a big chunk of pumpkin, I make a soothing, satisfying and velvety pumpkin soup that requires only a few ingredients.

Velvety Pumpkin Soup

serves 4

2 pounds fresh pumpkin, peeled and cut into one inch cubes
4 cups chicken stock
1-2 tablespoons sugar, depending on the sweetness of the pumpkin
4 tablespoons heavy cream
salt
freshly ground white pepper
4 tablespoons crumbled Gorgonzola cheese or 4 small slices Fourme d'Ambert cheese

In a large stockpot mix together the cubed pumpkin, chicken stock and 1 tablespoon sugar.
Bring to a boil over high heat, cover and cook for 20 minutes.
Taste and add more sugar if necessary.
Blend until completely smooth with a hand blender or in a food processor. Use caution with hot soup!
Just before serving, bring back to a boil and whisk in the cream.
Add salt and white pepper to taste.
Serve with 1 tablespoon Gorgonzola or 1 slice Fourme d'Ambert on top of each serving.

See article.

If it’s 92 degrees and you buy a jar of pumpkin puree, will the weather get cooler? No, but I won’t let that stop me from trying to force summer out the door

Christmas Eve and Thanksgiving Eve have always been “Pie Days.” A large family gathering means baking lots and lots of pies. Our standard Thanksgiving pie needs alone go something like this: 10 chocolate pies (I swear), 3 pecan pies, and 2 pumpkin pies. There were one or two other “experimental” flavors thrown in occasionally: chocolate chess, cherry, mince meat (where has this stuff been all my life?!), buttermilk, sweet potato… You get the picture.

I’ve always associated pumpkin with Thanksgiving - and only in the form of pie for dessert. So it wasn’t a surprise that I started thinking about Turkey & Cranberry sandwiches as I stirred my lil’ arm off making Pumpkin Pie Fudge, trying my darnedest to will that candy thermometer up just 5 more degrees.

The texture of the pumpkin fudge was nice and smooth - I’ve sent a batch or two of homemade chocolate fudge to a goopy, grainy death in my day. The flavor is dangerous. It’s not overwhelmingly pumpkin, nor is it overwhelmingly white chocolate. Each square is like taking a bite of mellow pumpkin pie. I don’t know that I’d change a thing next time. I’m just hoping I can find a pumpkin fan or two to help me polish off the pan!

Pumpkin Pie Fudge, adapted from Southern Living
3 cups sugar
3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
2/3 cup evaporated milk
1 cup canned pumpkin
2 Tbsp corn syrup
2 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
9 oz white chocolate, chopped
7 oz jar marshmallow crème
1 cup walnuts, chopped and toasted
1 tsp vanilla extract

Stir together first 6 ingredients in a 3 1/2-quart saucepan over medium-high heat, and cook, stirring constantly, until mixture comes to a boil. Cook, stirring constantly, until a candy thermometer registers 234° (soft-ball stage).

Remove pan from heat; stir in remaining ingredients until well blended (stirring this is a work-out!). Pour into a greased aluminum foil-lined 8-inch square pan. Let stand 2 hours or until completely cool; cut fudge into squares.

Ismét egy vkf 9-re készült étellel jelentkezem. Elérkezett az alma és körte szezonja, s közismerten jól érzi magát némely belsőség, mint pl. a máj az alma társaságában. Az almát és a májat is kellemesen kíséri némi hagyma, így végül ezt a hármast kombináltam össze egy kicsit más desszert formájában.


Úgy is jellemezhetnénk a receptet, mint egy kicsit erőteljesebben ízesített almás rétest, melybe némi borjúmáj is belekerült. A hagymát az almával együtt megpirítottam, majd cidre-ben puhára főztem - mindaddig míg az almából kilépő természetes zselésítőanyag, a pektin be nem sűrítette a töltelékemet. Egy kevés gyömbérrel még fokoztam a fűszerességét, majd elkavartam benne az előtte megpirított borjúmájfalatokat. Végül rétes módjára leveles tésztába csomagoltam, s szép aranybarnára megsütöttem. A "piszok" a tányéron némi majoranna, mely szintén jól megy az almához és hagymához. Akár főételként is tálalható ;) (recept)

Spring has arrived!
Yes, spring. If you live in the Southern Hemisphere, that is.
This weekend in Sydney, Australia there are some great events celebrating food and wine: Fine Food Australia and Wine and Spirits Australia.

If Australia isn't your neck of the woods or is too far to travel, how about Asheville, North Carolina? This weekend Asheville is hosting The Taste of Asheville, complete with cooking demonstrations, music and theme dinners.


My friend Michael might be sipping some wine and nibbling his way through the Santa Fe Wine and Chile Festival in Santa Fe, New Mexico this weekend.

The mission of the Santa Fe Wine & Chile Fiesta is to create a week of food and wine events that promote Santa Fe as a world-class culinary destination.

The 53rd Annual Galway International Oyster Festival is on in Galway, Ireland. There will be an oyster shucking contest, music, oyster tastings and many other festivities.

A two day event celebrating okra, the Irmo Okra Strut, is happening this weekend in Irmo, South Carolina. Go and try their signature dish, fried okra. There will be a parade, a street dance and amusements for the kids.




The "Cranberry Capital of Wisconsin" is celebrating the 35th Annual Warrens Cranberry Festival, in Warrens, Wisconsin. This event is jam packed with an antique/flea market, arts and crafts show, a farmer's market, a parade and cranberry marsh tours.

Go and satisfy your passion for cheese at
The Great British Cheese Festival this Saturday and Sunday in Frilford, Oxfordshire.
See article.