Category Archives: Recipes

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Fertility and Potency Syrup (Gladstar)

Reviews on the taste of this were almost entirely positive.  It also mixes fairly well with whiskey.

1 ginseng root

2 oz muira puama

1 oz ashwaganda

1/2 oz saw palmetto berries

1/2 oz wild yam root

2 qt water

2 oz oats (oatstraw)

1/2 oz raspberry leaves

1 oz damiana

1 oz nettles

1 to 2 c honey

1 c fruit concentrate

1/2 c brandy

Combine ginseng, muira puama, ashwaganda, saw palmetto, and wild yam with water.  Decoct slowly until liquid is at 1 qt.  Add oats, raspberry leaf, damiana, and nettles after turning off heat.  Let sit 8-12 hours.

Strain through finemesh strainer and cheesecloth or muslin.   Add honey, fruit concentrate, and brandy.  Store in refrigerator.  Take 2-4 T daily for 3-6 months.

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Egg Bread/Challah (Rombauers)

Combine: 2 pkgs (4 1/2 tsp) active dry yeeast, 1 tsp sugar, 1/4 c 105-115 degree water

Measure into a large bowl:  6 c flour and 1 T salt.

Make a well in the flour mixture and pour in yeast mixture.

Combine and then add to the flour mixture:  2 c 105 degree water, 3 slightly beaten eggs, 1/4 c oil, 3 T sugar, (1/16 tsp saffron or healthy pinch safflower)

Mix until you have a good dough.  Turn out and knead ten minutes.  Place in a greased bowl, cover, and let rise until double.  Punch down, divide in two, kneading each for several minutes.  Cut each into three, roll out into ropes, and braid, seaming the ends tight.  Brush with egg wash (1 yolk diluted with 1-2 T water or milk).  Bake 15 minutes at 400/350 then 20-45 at 375/300.  The second temps are for high altitude.  The vague time for the second cook time is due to the fact that our convection oven cooks yeast breads far faster than a conventional.

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Parker House Rolls/Cloverleaf Rolls/Hot Cross Buns (Rombauer)

Scald:  1 c milk

Add and stir until dissolved:  1 T sugar, 2 T butter, 3/4 tsp salt

Sprinkle 1 pkg (2 1/4 tsp) yeast over 2 T 105-115 degree water.

Add the milk moisture to the yeast bubbliness once it has cooled to lukewarm.  Beat in one egg.  Stir in (somewhere in the vicinity of) 2 2/3 c flour.  Do so gradually, as you want the dough just properly workable, and if it tips over to too dry, none of these work very well.  Start with stirring and shift to kneading once neccesary.  Place in a greased bowl, brush with melted butter, cover and let rise until double.

Parker House Rolls:  Roll dough out and cut rounds.  Crease the middle, then fold and press edges.  Let rise on a greased baking sheet.  Bake at 425 for 20 minutes.

Cloverleaf Rolls:  Punch down after that rising, and roll into balls.  Size them so 3 of them will 1/3-1/2 fill a muffin round.  Put three in each section of a muffin tin…  or tins.  Brush with melted butter, and then cover until doubled again.  Bake at 425 for 20 minutes.

Hot Cross Buns:  Change the dough above by increasing the sugar to 1/4 c and adding to the sugar:  1/4 tsp cinnamon, 1/8 tsp nutmeg, 1/4 c currants or raising, 2 T finely chopped citron.  After first rising, shape into 18 balls and put on greased baking sheets.  Cover and let rise until nearly double.  Bake at 425 for 20 minutes, or until golden.

Milk Glaze for Hot Cross Buns:  1/2 c confectioner’s sugar, 2 T hot milk, 1/4 tsp vanilla.  Warming it over a double boiler will eliminate the weird taste powdered sugar often leaves in icing.

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Quick Winter Herb Bread (Gramma Betsy)

2 1/2 c flour

3 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1 tsp basil

1/2 tsp marjoram (I didn’t have any so left it out and added a few leaves fresh sage)

1/4 tsp oregano

pinch thyme

1 c raisins

1 c ch nuts (used almond meal instead)

2 eggs

4 T honey

1 1/2 c buttermilk

1/2 c butter, melted and cooled

Mix dry ingredients.  Add raisins and nuts.  Beat eggs.  Add honey to eggs, followed by buttermilk, followed by butter.  Stir into the dry ingredients swiftly.  Split in two, put in greased loaf pans, and bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes.

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Anadama Bread (Matthew Galliard)

1/2 c cornmeal

1/2 c molasses

1/2 c cooking oil

2 1/2 c water

1 tsp salt

1 pkg yeast

6-7 c flour

Put 1 c water and cornmeal in a saucepan, bring to a boil slowly.  Let it thicken, but not burn.  Remove from heat, add oil, molasses, remaining water, and salt, and yeast.  Stir smooth.  Cool to around body temp.  Put in 2 c flour and leave for 15 minutes for yeast proofing.  Add flour and knead until slightly sticky, but smooth.  Let rise in covered greased bowl until double.  Punch down and let sit 10 minutes.  Grease and flour 2 loaf pans.  Shape into loaves, put into pans, let rise again.  Bake at 450 for 30 minutes or to 190 internal temp.  Let cool 30 minutes.

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Miso Tofu Bok Choy (Vegetarian Times)

This was definitely tasty, but it involved quite a bit more ginger flavour than I typically present to my household.  In fact, given that the recipe was called “Miso Tofu” the fact that the Ginger flavour, if represented in text on the net would have had to have been a neon all caps animated gif with all of the other flavours in dark gray italics over a black background behind it….  There are two sets of measurements listed.  One was what the recipe called for, which I changed a bit making it, the second is what I am planning to use next time I make this.   We all ended adding a little bit of tamari to it, which helped to gentle the GINGER, but I would prefer to bring the miso and garlic a bit more to the forefront next time it is cooked.

However, making this finally taught me how to deal with tofu to end up with a firm fried version…  and it also taught me that I despise grating ginger by hand.

1 14 oz package of tofu, drained and pressed

2 T red miso (3)

5 tsp grated ginger (3)

2 T rice vinegar (3)

4 cloves garlic (6)

1 T + 1 tsp peanut oil

1/2 tsp cornstarch

1 head (2 lbs) bok choy (We only used one)

1 T black sesame seeds.

Press tofu.  (Wrap in several layers of paper towels, place on one cutting board, put another on top, and then something heavy on top of that.  The recipe suggested a heavy jar, which did not seem to be doing the job, so we used our cast iron griddle.  Replace paper towels a few times, until it seems to be pressed out.)  Cut tofu into 1/2 inch chunks.  Puree miso, ginger, vinegar, and 1/2 of the garlic.  Heat wok until water sizzles and evaporates.  Add 1 T oil and tofu.  Fry until golden.  Sprinkle with cornstarch and fry until darkened.  Transfer to a plate.  Add 1 tsp oil and rest of garlic, and fry 30 seconds.  Add bok choy and fry until tender.  Return tofu, add half puree (we just put it all in at this point, as half looked far too dry), and cook until heated through.  Garnish with sesame seeds and rest of miso on the side.

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Green Chile Chicken Enchiladas

Approx 1 lb roasted skin-on green chiles

2 T olive oil

1 T butter

(5-10) (to taste) large garlic cloves

salt

pepper

ground cumin (fresh roasted is best)

3 c chicken stock (or more, as needed)

10 corn tortillas

Approx 1 lb shredded cooked chicken

2-3 c shredded cheese

sour cream

Preheat oven to 400.  Chop chiles.  (Original recipe said to skin, I just took the woody ends off.  Charlie said the deseeding was likely included for people wanting less heat.)  Heat olive oil and butter over med heat.  Add garlic, cook until fragrant.  Add chile, salt, pepper, cumin.  Cook for a few minutes, stirring every so often.  Add 1 c chicken stock (or more, if needed).  Simmer down to 1/3 original volume.  Bring rest of chicken broth to a simmer, and dip the tortillas in it.  (Quickly, just enough to dampen.  You want them softer, but cornmeal mush, which they become very easily, is not the goal.)  Transfer to baking sheets.  Fill with chicken and 1 1/4 c (ish) of the cheese.  Wrap, put into a baking dish.  Cover with chile sauce and top with cheese.  Bake 15-20 minutes or until cheese is browned and bubbling.

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