Suzette Sauce

This simple orange sauce can be used over crepes, as in crepes suzette, or regular pancakes, or spooned over a dark chocolate cake.

Ingredients:
2 oranges
4 tbsp sugar
a dash of vanilla

Instructions:
1. Grate the peel of the oranges. Juice the fruit and put the juice and the peel in a saucepan.
2. Add the sugar and vanilla and warm over low heat into a syrup. It takes about 5 minutes.

Quotes on Vegetarianism

A man can live and be healthy without killing animals for food; therefore, if he eats meat, he participates in taking animal life merely for the sake of his appetite. And to act so is immoral.

--Leo Tolstoy

Olive Oil Brownies

I saw this recipe for brownies made with olive oil and I had to give it a try. I ate at a gourmet restaurant once where the dessert was chocolate with olive oil, sea salt, and bread crumbs, and the combination worked really well. This is a savoury brownie so it’s not what you want if you are looking for luscious chocolate sweetness, but it is a tasty variation to have in your arsenal. I did not follow the recipe exactly, so here is my version. It got great reviews from everyone who tried it.

Ingredients:
½ cup water
120 g dark chocolate
¾ cup olive oil, plus more to grease the pan
1/3 cup cocoa powder
2 cups sugar
1½ cup flour
2 tsp sea salt
1 tsp vanilla
1 tbsp agave
2 whole eggs
2 egg yolks

Instructions:
1. Boil the water. Melt the chocolate over low heat in the water.
2. Mix in the oil, cocoa powder, sugar, flour, salt, vanilla, and agave.
3. Beat in the eggs and yolks.
4. Grease a pan and then pour the batter in.
5. Bake at 180 C for 25 minutes.

Lorraine Pascale

M and I have been devotedly watching Lorraine Pascale’s Baking Made Easy show on the BBC. Check out her show and her book. She’s engaging and she really does make everything seem easy!

Baked Grapefruit

M bought a bunch of grapefruits on sale. They’re good as they are, of course, but I thought one night we should have something different, so I baked the grapefruit and served it warm. I like how the segments are lightly sweet and fall apart once they’ve been baked. Unfortunately, we only have one grapefruit spoon at the moment, so M and I had to share, passing the spoon back and forth as we ate our dessert, but that just added to the enjoyment.

Ingredients:
1 grapefruit
sugar
cinnamon

Instructions:
1. Slice the grapefruit and sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon.
2. Bake for 10 min at 200 C, then serve.

Hoppin’ John

I don’t make the traditional hoppin’ John, as I flavour it with roasted garlic (see the previous post), but this close enough. Basically, you cook black-eyed peas and rice together, and that’s all there is to the traditional African-American New Year’s meal. It is a tasty, healthy dish. You can add spinach to get some extra nutrition or other vegetables. You can serve it as a side dish or just eat this as it is.

You can buy legumes in tins or else dried. Then you soak them overnight, which is cheaper and healthier, as the tinned versions tend to have a lot of salt. If you use tinned, wash the legumes off.

Ingredients:
rice (I use brown, which is healthier)
water
black-eyed peas (1 tin or buy dried legumes and soak them overnight)
1 clove roasted garlic
1 tsp parsley
50 g spinach

Instructions:
1. Wash and boil the rice in the water according to the directions. About halfway through (10-15 minutes), add the peas.
2. Add as much of the garlic as you want. I used five cloves, but if you’re a real garlic-lover (or you’re not kissing anyone later), you can use the whole head. Save any cloves you don’t use for another day.
3. Add the parsley and spinach. Continue cooking for another 5 or so minutes.
4. Serve.

Roasted Garlic

It is so easy to roast garlic and it makes the garlic taste milder and fuller. You can mix the cloves with parsley and butter to rub on bread or use it in cooking (see the next post). You can add it to tomatoes to make a simple pasta sauce or sneak the cloves into casseroles. And so on; it’s a handy item!

Ingredients:
1 head of garlic
olive oil

Instructions:
1. Rub the garlic with the olive oil and wrap it well in aluminium foil.
2. Roast it in the oven for 40 minutes at 180 C.

Chocolate Orange Buns

I’ve been on a bit of a baking kick lately, so I decided to make slightly sweet buns that could be eaten with tea or for dessert. I used dark chocolate and orange and very little sugar, so these buns have a hint of sweetness without being too decadent. Instead of making individual buns, the recipe can be used to make a chocolate orange bread.

Ingredients:
1 cup flour (I used ¾ cup regular flour and ¼ cup spelt flour, for an extra nutty wholesomeness)
¼ cup cocoa powder
1 tsp dried yeast
3 tsp sugar
a pinch of salt
25 g butter
1 orange
1 tbsp cream (or milk)
½ cup liquid (I use the juice from the orange plus a bit of cold water)
50 g chocolate

Instructions:
1. Mix the dried ingredients together, then add in the butter.
2. Grate the orange rind into the mixture, then add the cream and liquid.
3. Grate the chocolate into it as well.
4. Shape the dough into one big loaf or 6-8 smaller buns. Let the loaf/buns rise for 35 minutes.
5. Bake at 200 C for 10-15 minutes (longer for a whole loaf). Serve warm with tea or coffee.

Scones

Scones seem so quintessentially English; served warm with jam and clotted cream, alongside a steaming cup of tea, they’re wonderful. I used to think they must be complicated to make and that they were best left to charming cafés in English seaside villages. Actually, they aren’t that hard at all. Adding some cream to the recipe (it’s up to you whether you want to use double or single; both work, but obviously the double cream is richer and therefore more fattening) makes it taste better in my opinion; some people use an egg instead so the scones last longer. Personally, I think that if the scones taste the way they should, they will be eaten quickly and thus don’t need to last longer.

Ingredients:
1 cup flour
2 tbsp sugar
½ tbsp baking powder
a pinch of salt
3 tbsp butter
½ cup cream
¼ cup raisins or currants
jam
clotted cream or butter

Instructions:
1. Sift the dry ingredients together. Mix in the butter and blend.
2. Add the cream and mix until it is a fairly smooth but sticky batter.
3. Add in the raisins or currants. Knead and shape into a flat loaf.
4. Cut into 6 pieces, but do not separate.
5. Bake for about 13 minutes at 200 C.
6. Serve with jam and clotted cream or butter.

Pasta with Roasted Aubergine, Fennel, and Garlic

This is a simple meal that’s healthy and full of flavour. The only unhealthy bit is the cheese, but you don’t need much of it anyway.

Ingredients:
1 aubergine
olive oil
salt
1 fennel
2-3 garlic cloves
1 carton chopped tomatoes
pasta (about 75 g per person)
water
cheese, optional (strong cheddar works well)

Instructions:
1. Wash the aubergine, rub it with olive oil and salt, and place it in aluminium foil. Roast it for an hour at 200 C.
2. Chop the fennel and garlic and fry it lightly in oil. Add the tomatoes.
3. Boil the pasta in the water.
4. Take the aubergine out of the oven and chop it, then add it to the vegetable mix.
5. Serve the pasta with vegetables over it. Grate cheese on top if desired.

Olive Bread

Watching my M happily munch away on olives made me wonder if I could make her a nice olive bread. We had slices of the bread warm with butter spread on it, but it could be used for sandwiches too, and the next day I nibbled on the bread as it was while we were baby-sitting for the daughter of friends.

Ingredients:
2 cups flour (I used spelt flour but plain white would be fine too)
¼ tsp salt
1 tbsp sugar
1 tsp fast-action yeast
¾ cup warm water
4 tbsp olive oil
½ cup olives

Instructions:
1. Mix the dry ingredients together.
2. Add the water and the olive oil and blend until just mixed. Leave to rise for about 30 minutes, or until doubled.
3. Chop the olives.
4. Turn the bread out on a floured surface and knead. Add the olives.
5. Leave to rise for another 30 minutes.
6. Bake at 200 C for 30 minutes.

Whole-wheat Yogurt Pancakes

Some nights, the comfort of pancakes is all we really want for dinner. But many pancake recipes are heavy on the butter and use plain flour, whereas I keep trying to think of ways for us to get more fibre and less fat in our diets. So in more and more recipes, I am trying to replace white flour with whole-wheat or spelt or other types. And for moistness, I used low-fat yogurt instead of relying on too much butter or milk.

We ate these with poached eggs, but they’d also be good with sliced banana or other fruit.

Ingredients:
3 tbsp butter
1 cup flour
½ cup whole-wheat flour (or spelt flour)
2 tbsp sugar
1½ tsp baking powder
2 tsp baking soda
a pinch of salt
1½ cups yogurt
¼ cup milk
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
oil
agave or honey to serve with it

Instructions:
1. Melt the butter.
2. In a bowl, mix all the dry ingredients together.
3. Add the yogurt, milk, eggs, and vanilla to the butter. Mix well.
4. Warm oil over medium heat in a frying pan.
5. Mix the dry and wet ingredients together, then pour tablespoonfuls into the pan. Brown the pancakes on both sides.
6. Serve with agave or honey.

Ode to the Sous Chef

It was on this day that I met M, so I want to take a moment to write an ode to my beloved sous chef.

What is a sous chef? The sous chef (full title: sous-chef de cuisine) is the second-in-command in the kitchen. This is the person who works with the executive chef, helping, supporting, preparing, and generally doing everything that needs to be done. The kitchen simply wouldn’t function without the sous chef.

I do most of the cooking at home. But that doesn’t mean that M doesn’t play an essential role. She does most of the shopping and she is always eager to help chop vegetables and prepare the ingredients for me. She also cleans up, usually fixing the messes I’ve made. She takes out the rubbish much more often than I do. She takes care of things and makes sure everything is running smoothly around our little Veggie Dyke home. I wouldn’t get to have the fun cooking and baking that I do if it weren’t for her.

But that’s just in the kitchen. M plays this same role in general. She is always supporting and helping me. She never gets enough credit (just as the executive chef always gets the attention while the sous chef is underappreciated) and I probably don’t thank her enough or tell her often enough how great she is. She makes my life better in every possible way.

So here’s to my sous chef, my partner in the kitchen and everywhere else – I love you!

Vanilla Whipped Cream

When I was an undergraduate, I used to spend a lot of time hanging around a coffee shop near my university. In fact, that’s where I met my first girlfriend, but that’s a different story. Anyway, this coffee shop had fantastic whipped cream. The people who worked at the counter noticed how often I came in and they used to start getting my drink ready once they saw my car pull into the lot. And my drink always had extra whipped cream.

Once I asked what the secret was to this addictive whipped cream and one of the workers said it was vanilla. Since then, when I serve whipped cream, such as with my flourless chocolate soufflés, I have always added just a touch of vanilla. It gives the whipped cream that extra little je ne sais quoi.

Ingredients:
300 ml double cream
1 tbsp sugar (to taste)
1 tsp vanilla extract or vanilla sugar (use the seeds from half a real vanilla pod, if you feel like splurging)

Instructions:
1. Mix the cream with the sugar and vanilla with a hand blender until fluffy. Adjust the sweetness according to your taste.

Mediterranean Recipes

I saw a brief reference to Clifford A. Wright in an article and I went to look at his website. The site claims to be the “source for the authentic and traditional foods of the Mediterranean in their cultural and historical context illustrated with hundreds of heirloom Mediterranean recipes fully-tested in the kitchen of Clifford A. Wright” and I thought it was pretty impressive. It’s worth checking out. Many Mediterranean recipes are vegetarian or easily can be turned vegetarian.

Leek Tart

I like leeks but don’t use them often enough. So I decided to make a simple leek tart. I carmelised the leeks and then seasoned them with a bit of mustard (though horseradish or just black pepper would work too). I mixed in some creamy goat cheese and that was it. It was comforting, but it also was nice enough so that I could have served it to guests.

Ingredients:
4 leeks
oil
sugar
1 cup yogurt or buttermilk
mustard or horseradish or black pepper
125 g goat cheese
1 portion shortcrust pastry (see previous post)

Instructions:
1. Wash and cut the leeks into small pieces. Fry them lightly in oil, then add a bit of sugar so they carmelise.
2. After about 10 minutes, add the yogurt or buttermilk. Season with spices according to your taste.
3. Mix in the goat cheese.
4. Put the shortcrust pastry in the casserole dish. Pre-bake at 200 C for 5 minutes.
5. Add the leek mixture to the dish. Bake for 25-30 minutes at 200 C.

Shortcrust Pastry

When it’s so easy to make your own shortcrust pastry, why buy the ready-made stuff from the grocery store? The pre-packaged pastry tends to have chemicals and flavourings added, so I think it’s better to make your own, because then you know exactly what’s in there.

M thought I should roll it out, but that seemed like too much effort for me, so I just pressed it into the dish I was using. M said it gave the dish a more rustic look and we think that’s fine, but if you really want a fancier style, roll it out.

Ingredients:
½ cup flour
75 g butter
a little cold water

Instructions:
1. Mix the flour and butter together, either by hand or in a mixer.
2. Add water as needed, not more than 2 tbsp.
3. Chill in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes, then use as desired.

Root Vegetable Gratin

This is a hearty dish for a cool winter evening. You can vary this with any other root vegetables, such as turnips or squash.

Ingredients:
4-5 carrots
2 parsnips
5-7 Jerusalem artichokes
oil
50 g butter
3 tbsp flour
1 tsp parsley
1 tbsp mustard
2 tbsp Greek yogurt
½ cup milk
75 g cheddar

Instructions:
1. Peel and dice the vegetables (if they need to be peeled).
2. Oil or butter the casserole dish and then put the vegetables in it.
3. Melt the butter over low heat and add the flour, parsley, mustard, and yogurt. After a couple minutes, add the milk and cheddar. Continue cooking until the cheese has melted.
4. Pour the cheese sauce over the vegetables and bake at 180 C for 30 minutes.

Challah (Egg Bread)

This is the bread I grew up with and since I can’t get it where I live now, I wanted to make it myself. It can be a bit time-consuming, but mainly because it needs time to rise. You don’t have to spend all that time with it. Basically, you just mix the ingredients, let the dough rise, then shape the dough into breads. While it’s rising, you go off and do other things, like reading a great book.

Challah has a great eggy, slightly sweet taste. Use it in French toast or for sandwiches or just with some butter on it. Eating it makes me think of the Jewish bakeries I used to go to. I remember one in particular where the ladies behind the counter used to always give me a cookie or two to eat as my mother and I were waiting for our challah to be sliced. Those were the days…

Ingredients:
2 cups warm water
½ cup milk
7 g (1 tbsp) yeast
8 cups flour, plus more for kneading
4 tbsp vegetable oil or butter, plus more for the trays
¼ cup sugar
2 tbsp agave or honey
3 eggs, plus 1 egg for the egg wash
poppy seeds and/or sesame seeds

Instructions:
1. Put the water and milk into the bowl of a stand mixer, then sprinkle with the yeast. The yeast will probably foam a bit.
2. Mix in the flour a couple of cups at a time. Add the oil or butter and the sugar and agave or honey.
3. Mix in the eggs. Cover the dough in the bowl with a dishtowel and leave it to rise for about an hour.
4. Put the dough on a floured surface and knead it. It will be quite sticky, so add more flour as needed, although if you add too much, it will get dry.
5. Divide it into two pieces of dough, then divide each piece into three. Braid the three pieces together so you have two braided loaves.
6. Place the loaves on oiled trays and leave to rise for another hour.
7. Give the loaves an egg wash, then sprinkle them with seeds as desired.
8. Bake at 190 C for 40 or so minutes.

Pasta with Creamed Aubergine, Mascarpone, and Spinach

Pasta with vegetables is about as easy as it gets for dinner, so this is perfect for a weeknight. It’s also healthy, especially if you use whole-wheat pasta or rice pasta, and go easy with the mascarpone. I like to separate the spinach so some is cooked with the pasta and some is mixed in with the aubergine, as it gives them different textures.

Ingredients:
pasta (50-75 g per person)
1 portion creamed aubergine (see yesterday’s post)
½ cup mascarpone
100 g spinach

Instructions:
1. Make the pasta according to the directions on the package (i.e. boil it until al dente).
2. Warm the aubergine with the mascarpone and the spinach.
3. Serve the aubergine over the pasta.

Creamed Aubergine

I love aubergine (or eggplant, as I grew up calling it) and I love it when it’s been creamed. It tastes so rich, but it’s actually very healthy and there is no real cream in it. It’s great with pita or over pasta or as a base for a stew. You can serve tofu or even fish on a bed of creamed aubergine.

Ingredients:
1 aubergine
olive oil
salt
lemon juice

Instructions:
1. Rub the aubergine with olive oil and salt, then wrap it in aluminium. Bake for about an hour at 220 C.
2. Using a hand mixer, blend the aubergine until it is creamy, adding in more olive oil (about 3 tbsp). If you wish, you can peel it first, but I like it with the peel.
3. Season with lemon juice.
4. Eat on toast or with pita or use it with pasta (see tomorrow’s post).

Lentil Pie

A hearty lentil pie is simple, healthy, and tasty. I like to season it with a bit of cinnamon, which adds an exotic tinge, but it’s easy to vary the spices according to your taste.

Ingredients:
1½ cups lentils (I use puy lentils)
3 cups water
1 vegetable stock cube
2 carrots
1 parsnip
2 shallots
2 garlic cloves
oil
cinnamon
black pepper
1 handful cherry tomatoes
1 package puff pastry
Greek yogurt, to serve with

Instructions:
1. Rinse the lentils, then boil them in the water with the stock cube. This will take about 30 minutes, until the lentils are tender. If you use regular lentils, they may need to be soaked for a couple of hours and/or boiled longer. Check the package.
2. Peel and dice the carrots and parsnip. Dice the shallots and garlic. Lightly fry in oil and season with cinnamon and black pepper.
3. Wash and halve the cherry tomatoes.
4. Lightly oil an oven-safe dish and drape the puff pastry in it.
5. Mix the lentils, tomatoes, and other vegetables. Season more if necessary.
6. Bake at 200 C for about 25 minutes. Serve slices with Greek yogurt.