4 T of dried herb leaves and a dash of lemon juice to 1/4 lb of butter that has been softened to room temperature. Should then be stored in a covered container.
Herb Butter
Moong Dal (Madhur Jaffrey)
This was really amazing. Especially the garlic cloves that had cooked in it.
1 1/2 c moong (or other) dal (hulled and split)
2 cloves garlic, peeled
2 slices fresh peeled ginger (1″ square, 1/8″ thick)
1 T coriander greens or parsley, chopped
1 T turmeric
1/4-1/2 tsp cayenne
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 T lemon juice
3 T veget oil or usli ghee
A pinch ground or tiny lump asafetida
1 tsp whole cumin seeds
lemon or lime wedges
Clean and wash dal. Put in 3-4 qt pot. Add 5 c water and bring to a boil. Skim froth and scum from top. Add garlic, ginger, turmeric, and cayenne. Cover, lower heat, and simmer for 1 1/2 hours. Stir occasionally. Once cooked, add salt and lemon juice. (Should be thicker than pea soup, thinner than cooked cereal.) In a small skillet or pot, heat the oil or ghee over medium high heat. When hot, add asafetida and cumin seeds. Once the asafetida sizzles and expands, and the seeds darken (few seconds), pour the oil over the dal and serve. (Over rice, wedges on the side, can garnish with onions.)
Water (Explanation of Types)
Spring Water: Flows naturally from underground to the surface.
Mineral Water: Contains sodium and calcium and sometimes other trace minerals.
Drinking Water: Tap Water that has been cleaned further and bottled.
Distilled Water: Has no minerals, which is actually not a good thing. Distilled water is “hungry” water, chemically, and can actually strip your body of certain nutrients as it is absorbed and processed.
Reverse Osmosis Water: Mimics the body’s own filtration, which is a good thing.
Sparkling Water: One of the above, only carbonated.
Flavored Vinegar
Put washed and dried whole herbs or vegetables in a bottle or other container, preferably glass, and pour in vinegar until filled. Steep for 4 to 6 weeks for full flavour before removing.
Combination Suggestions:
Red Wine Vinegar: Shallots, garlic cloves, tarragon
White or Cider Vinegar: Dill, Mint, Lemon Peel, Thyme, mustard seed, Lemon Grass (I’ve had luck with sage and basil as well.)
Rice Wine Vinegar: Peeled ginger, green onions
Split Pea Soup (Betsy Codier)
2 lb split peas
3-4 qt water
1 ham bone or smoked ham hock
1-2 c chopped celery
1 c chopped onion
3 large diced carrots
1-2 bay leaves
1/4 – 1/2 tsp thyme
salt and pepper (and turmeric) to taste
Wash and sort peas, add enough water to cover them + s inches. Boil for 2 minutes, cover and let stand for one hour. Add everything else, heat to boiling, and simmer for three hours. Remove bone, add diced ham if desired. Fix seasoning.
Chocolate Chip Drop Cookies (Rombauers)
Preheat oven to 375
Cream 1/2 c butter.
Add gradually and mix until creamy: 1/2 c brown sugar, 1/2 c white sugar
Beat in: 1 egg, 1/2 tsp vanilla
Sift and stir in: 1 c + 2 T flour, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp baking soda
Stir in: 1/2 c chocolate chips (can also add 1/2 c chopped nuts, if you like)
Bake about 10 minutes.
Saturday Night Casserole (McCalls)
This one went over quite well.
12 bread slices (it specifies white, I used a whole wheat white)
2 T soft butter
4 slices swiss cheese (for both the swiss and the bread, it is going to depend on the size of your casserole)
1 large tomato, cut into slices
4 eggs
2 c milk
1 tsp salt (it calls for seasoned salt, but I used salt and then added some more seasoning to the end result)
1/8 tsp pepper (or to taste)
1 tsp dry mustard (or to taste)
1/4 tsp paprika (or to taste)
1 tsp dried minced onion
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
(I’d suggest a little garlic as well)
2 c grated sharp Cheddar cheese
Lightly grease a 2 qt casserole, shallow is better for this recipe. Lightly spread one side of each slice of bread with butter. Take 4 (or however many it takes) slices of bread and put them butter side down in a single layer in the casserole. Make Swiss sandwiches out of the rest of your bread, again placing the buttered sides out. Cut them in half, diagonally. Place the sandwiches in the dish center edge down, and sort of layer and pinwheel them. Place slices of tomato between the sandwiches throughout. If you end up with extra tomato, just tuck it in where it looks right.
Mix together the eggs, milk, salt, pepper, mustard, onion, paprika, and Worcestershire. Stir in cheese.
Pour mixture over the bread, and stick in the fridge for an hour. Preheat your oven to 325 while waiting. Then bake the casserole for about an hour, or until it seems firm and cooked through when checked.
Hems
Basic Hem: Fold up inch of fabric, press, tuck in the raw edge.
Blind Hem: Turn back raw edge an inch, iron. Fold up some, press again, fold back down so only 1/8″ original fold shows. Apparently takes a special sewing machine foot and stitch. Not checked yet to see if I have either.
Baked Macaroni and Cheese (McCall’s)
Had this for dinner last night. Quite tasty, even in its present format, however, I would suggest upping the cheese in the sauce by 1/4-1/2 c cheese. It could definitely have been cheesier. I also doubt I actually used the stated amount of salt and pepper, as I sort of eyeballed fresh ground for our tastes. (Less salt, probably a little more pepper.) Also seemed it would go well with some garlic added somewhere in the process, which we will probably do next time.
1 pkg (8 oz) macaroni
1/4 c butter
1/4 c flour
1 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
2 c milk
2 c (8 oz) grated Cheddar Cheese
1 large tomato, thickly sliced
Preheat oven to 375. Cook macaroni as package directs, drain.
While that is cooking, melt butter in medium saucepan. Stir in flour, salt, and pepper, until smooth. (Make a roux, essentially.) Gradually stir in milk. (Very gradually, especially at the beginning. Once it starts to become liquid again, you can go a bit faster.) Bring to boiling, stirring constantly, and then simmer 1 minute. Remove from heat.
Stir in 1 1/2 c cheese and the macaroni. Pour into a 1 1/2 quart, shallow casserole (works quite well in a not shallow one, too). Arrange tomato slices over the top. Sprinkle remaining cheese over the top.
Bake 15 minutes or until the cheese is golden brown (or until cheese is beautiful and melty and the sauce is boiling around the noodles.)
(4-6 servings)
Country French Toast (Cooking with Bourbon)
This should be called French Toast Grog or something along similar lines. Next time we make it, I am definitely cutting back on the amount of bourbon used.
1 loaf of thickly sliced bread (depending on the sort of bread and size of loaf, you may have to double the wet ingredients)
4 eggs, beaten
1 – 1 1/2 c milk
2 oz Bourbon
2 T sugar
1 tsp vanilla
3/4 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
For topping:
2 T butter, cubed
2 T sugar
2 T cinnamon
Grease baking dish, put slices of bread in it.
Mix: eggs, milk, bourbon, sugar, vanilla, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
Cover and allow to soak overnight in the fridge. Warm 30 minutes before baking. Dot with butter. Sprinkle cinnamon and sugar over the top. Cover with foil and bake at 350 for 45-50 minutes, or until eggs look set.