I took inspiration from a couple different sources on this one. I'm satisfied with how it came out. I left out the cayenne and jalapeño because I was trying to make it extra mild since the Kidlet has now randomly decided that she doesn't do spicy (after having no problem with spicy for several years before this). Next time I'd put them in though. Especially since the Kidlet didn't like it anyway.

Guacamole

Adapted from here and here

Ingredients

• 1 avocado, peeled and seeded
• juice of 1 lime
• 1/2 tsp. cumin seeds, ground
• 1/2 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1/2 tsp. chili powder (optional)
• 2 tsp. roasted garlic paste
• 1 tomato, chopped
• 1 very small red onion, minced
• 2 Tbsp. fresh cilantro, chopped
• 1 jalapeño, seeded and minced (optional)

Directions

1. Toss avocado with lime juice. Once avocado has been well-coated, you may drain off and reserve the excess lime juice if you wish. Personally, I didn't bother.
2. Add cumin, salt, chili powder (if using), and garlic paste and mash avocado.
3. If you drained off the extra lime juice in the first step, add 1 Tbsp. back into the mixture at this point.
4. Stir in tomato, onion, cilantro, and jalapeño.

I wanted to make some fruity muffins today, but we're all out of blueberries and cranberries which are my go-to berries for muffins. I contemplated flavours like carrot and morning glory, but they all seemed to have a tonne of oil and sugar in them. After raiding the freezer, I found some pineapple chunks that have been languishing in the back for months. I decided to look for a recipe that would let me use them up.

I like pineapple, coconut, and banana together. And, while the recipe still uses a fair amount of oil and sugar, it's definitely scaled back from what I was seeing in a lot of the other recipes. I actually cut the sugar back again and don't feel that the muffins were any the worse for it. Next time I'll try cutting back both the salt and oil a little as well. I also think it'd be nice to experiment with adding a bit of rum and using honey rather than sugar as the sweetener. Although, if I were to do that, I'd probably reduce the sweetener even further since honey is a bit sweeter than sugar (per unit volume). Gotta love supersaturated solutions!

Oh, and I almost forgot the other change I made! I replaced half the flour with whole wheat flour. I'm quite happy with the flavour and texture the muffins gained by having that bit of bran in there. I think the 50:50 mix worked out quite well.

Tropical Muffins

Adapted from Bare Feet in the Kitchen

Ingredients

• 3 very ripe bananas, mashed
• 1/4 c. coconut oil, melted
• 1/2 Tbsp. vanilla extract
• 1/3 c. honey (or 1/2 c. sugar)
• 1 large egg
• 1/4 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 2 Tbsp. rum (optional)
• 1/2 c. crushed pineapple¹
• 3/4 c. unsweetened shredded coconut
• 3/4 c. whole wheat flour
• 3/4 c. all-purpose flour²
• 3/4 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 Tbsp. cinnamon (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C) and line muffin tin with papers.
2. Combine bananas, coconut oil, vanilla, honey, egg, salt, rum (if using), pineapple, and coconut and mix well.
3. Combine flours and sift in baking soda and cinnamon (if using) and mix well.
4. Add dry ingredients to wet and stir until just combined.
5. Spoon batter into lined tin and bake at 350°F (180°C) for 20-30 minutes.

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Variations

Vegan

Ingredients

• 3 very ripe bananas, mashed
• 1/4 c. coconut oil, melted
• 1/2 Tbsp. vanilla extract
• 1/3 c. agave syrup
• 1 flax egg
• 1/4 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 2 Tbsp. rum (optional)
• 1/2 c. crushed pineapple¹
• 3/4 c. unsweetened shredded coconut
• 3/4 c. whole wheat flour
• 3/4 c. all-purpose flour²
• 3/4 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 Tbsp. cinnamon (optional)

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¹ I turned my frozen pineapple chunks into crushed pineapple by chopping it in the blender. ^Back
2 If all-purpose flour isn't available, feel free to substitute pastry/plain/soft/standard flour here. Muffins and quick breads don't need the extra gluten anyway. ^Back

Sugo di Cipolle (Onion Sauce)

I was planning on doing a broccoli and carrot curry for dinner last night. The Kidlet was feeling a little under the weather yesterday though, so we decided to go with pasta instead. This onion sauce is simple, with very few ingredients and pretty quick and easy to throw together. It's also delicious!

Penne al Sugo di Cipolle

Slightly adapted from the Classic Pasta Cookbook by Giuillano Hazan

Ingredients

• 1/2 c. olive oil
• 8 anchovy fillets
• 4 onions, chopped
• pepper, to taste
• 1/4 c. dry white wine
• 3 Tbsp. capers
• 2 Tbsp. fresh parsley, chopped
• Parmesan, to serve

Directions

1. Combine oil and anchovies over medium-low heat and break up as much as possible.
2. Add onions and season with pepper. Cook for 20-30 minutes.
3. Increase heat to medium-high and cook until onions darken.
4. Add wine and cook until liquid has mostly evaporated.
5. Add capers and parsley and cook for 2 more minutes.
6. Toss with cooked pasta of choice and top with Parmesan to serve.

I made up a rye sour a little while back for tasty sourdough goodness. I haven't been making much use of it lately though. I like a good sourdough bread, but it's nice to mix it up sometimes too. I've had enough other bread recipes to try that the sour has kind of gone begging.

I'm gonna be taking another crack at the whole wheat sourdough tomorrow. But, in the meantime, I decided to try out some sourdough crêpes. They worked out very well! They're really quick and easy to throw together and all they really need is starter and eggs. There are, of course, lots of other things you can do to use starter/sours but, for sheer simplicity, I think this may become my go-to.

Delicious served warm and filled with Cheddar!

Sourdough Crêpes

Slightly adapted from Cultures for Health

Ingredients

• 4 eggs
• 1/2 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1 c. sourdough starter OR rye sour
• 1/4 c. whole wheat bread (hard/strong/high grade) flour (optional)

Directions

1. Beat eggs with salt.
2. Whisk in starter and whole wheat flour (if using).
3. Preheat over medium-high heat. If the pan isn't well-seasoned, oil it lightly before you begin cooking.
4. Pour ~1/4 c. of batter into the pan and spread it very thin (either by using the back of a spoon or tilting the pan).
5. Flip when top looks mostly dry and full of bubbles.
6. Cook for another minute or so before removing from heat.
7. Serve with Cheddar or whatever toppings you prefer. (Spinach goes nicely.)

Full disclosure: This recipe is a work in progress. I decided to try the banana bread recipe feature in the Laurel's Kitchen Bread Book. It's a bit different than most of the other banana bread recipes I've used in the past. It uses very little sugar (in the form on honey, in this case) and not too much fat. There are no eggs called for either. It does include two other ingredients that I'm not used to seeing in banana bread though: lemon juice and chopped dates. The dates are a nice, fruity inclusion that give it a bit more sweetness without resorting to adding more sweeteners direction. And the lemon juice is there to make the batter acidic and give the baking soda something to react with.

I made this quickbread recipe as written for my first go 'round (as I usually do). It's a nice enough bread, but the flavour isn't quite what I'd hoped. I do like that it uses whole grains though. And not too much sugar or fat. That said, I think I did miss the egg a bit. And the brown sugar, now that I think about it. And, even though it calls for a decent quantity of mashed banana, I think that it could've used even more. With a white flour, I think it would've been plenty but, against the whole wheat backdrop, I didn't feel like the banana flavour came through as much as I would've liked. It also could've used some more spices (cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg) to complement the banana flavour.

The next time I'm making banana bread, I think I'll try combining the Laurel's Kitchen recipe with Deb's Jacked-Up Banana Bread recipe and see where that gets me. I haven't had a chance to test this out yet, of course. But I'm afraid that I'll have forgotten what changes I wanted to make by the next time I'm baking this. So I figured it doesn't hurt to write it all down now and then see how it goes.

Whole Wheat Banana Bread

Adapted from the Laurel's Kitchen Bread Book and Smitten Kitchen

Ingredients

• 1/2 c. chopped dates
• 1 Tbsp. rum
• 2 Tbsp. lemon juice
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 5 large very ripe bananas, mashed
• 3 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
• 1/2 c. firmly packed brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1 egg
• 2 c. whole wheat all-purpose flour OR 1 1/2 c. whole wheat pastry (soft/plain/standard) flour + 1/2 c. whole wheat bread (hard/strong/high grade) flour
• 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
• 1/8 tsp. ground cloves
• 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 c. chopped walnuts

Directions

1. Combine dates, rum, lemon juice, and vanilla and set aside overnight.
2. Grease an 8x4" (20x10cm) loaf tin and place it inside another tin.
3. Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C).
4. Combine mashed bananas, butter, honey, and salt.
5. Beat in egg.
6. Add dates (along with any residual liquid) and mix well.
7. Add flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves and sift in baking powder and baking soda. Stir until almost fully incorporated.
8. Mix in walnuts.
9. Pour batter into nested greased loaf tin and bake at 350°F (180°C) for 90 minutes. Check progress after an hour. If sides look pale, remove the outer tin and continue baking.

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Variations

Vegan

Ingredients

• 1/2 c. chopped dates
• 1 Tbsp. rum
• 2 Tbsp. lemon juice
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 5 large very ripe bananas, mashed
• 3 Tbsp. canola oil
• 1/2 c. brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 2 c. whole wheat all-purpose flour OR 1 1/2 c. whole wheat pastry (soft/plain/standard) flour + 1/2 c. whole wheat bread (hard/strong/high grade) flour
• 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
• 1/8 tsp. ground cloves
• 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 c. chopped walnuts

Raan (Leg of Lam with Raisin-Mint Sauce)

Apparently raan normally uses mature mutton or goat. Iyer has adapted it to more tender western lamb. He also added a sauce to the dish. The sauce is lovely, but I don't think it really needs it.

Raan

Slightly adapted from 660 Curries by Raghavan Iyer

Ingredients

Roast

• 1 boneless leg of lamb roast (~1.6kg)
• 1 c. plain yogurt
• 1/2 c. slivered almonds
• 1 Tbsp. bin bhunahua garam masala
• 3/4 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1 onion, chopped
• 4 Tbsp. ginger paste
• 4 large cloves garlic
• 4 fresh green Thai chiles, stems removed
• 2 Tbsp. fresh cilantro, chopped
• canola oil

Sauce

• 2 Tbsp. canola oil
• 1 tsp. cumin seeds
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1/2 c. raw cashews
• 1/4 c. golden raisins
• 1/2 c. tinned tomato sauce
• 1/4 c. water
• 1/4 c. heavy (35%) cream
• 1/4 c. firmly packed fresh mint, chopped

Directions

Roast

1. Tie lamb into a compact shape with twine and make 4-6 slashes ~1/4" (~0.5cm). Place in a shallow pan and set aside.
2. Put yogurt in blender and add the almonds, garam masala, salt, onion, ginger, garlic, and chiles and purée to make a slightly gritty paste.
3. Pour the yogurt mixture over the lamb and sprinkle with cilantro.
4. Massage the marinade into the meat, working it into all of the slashes.
5. Cover and chill overnight.
6. Preheat oven to 450°F (230°C).
7. Oil a rack and place it in a roasting pan.
8. Place the lamb on the rack along with any clinging marinade. Reserve the remaining marinade.
9. Roast lamb until seared and lightly browned (~10-15 minutes).
10. Reduce heat to 325°F (160°C) and roast for another 15 minutes.
11. Spoon the reserved marinade over the lamb, add a little water to the pan, and continue roasting, checking occasionally to make sure the drippings aren't burning. Continue roasting until meat registers 135°F (60°C) at centre of thickest part (~1 1/2 hours).
12. Prepare sauce while meat is roasting.
13. Remove roast from oven and let meat rest for ~10 minutes.
14. Cut off twine, slice, and serve with sauce on the side.

Sauce

1. Heat oil over medium-high heat.
2. Add cumin and sizzle for 5-10 seconds.
3. Add the onion, cashews, and raisins and stir-fry until cashews are lightly browned (~5 minutes).
4. Add tomato sauce and water and deglaze the pan.
5. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer, stirring occasionally until some of the oil has separated and come to the surface (~10 minutes).
6. Transfer sauce to blender and add the cream. Purée to make a creamy, slightly grainy sauce.
7. Just before serving, reheat the sauce, covered, over low heat and stir in the mint leaves.

Dahi Elaichi Rajmah (Kidney Beans in a Cardamom-Yogurt Sauce)

Okay, this is definitely my new favourite kidney bean based curry. And not just because it gives me an excuse to make and eat freshly-fired pooris. (Although that is a pretty good reason!) I'm a big fan of the flavours in this curry. The punjabi garam masala gives it a nice cinnamon-y warmth and the cayenne adds just enough heat balanced with the lovely tart tang from the curdled yogurt. It's perfect. And, now that I know that I can buy frozen, ready-to-fry pooris from the Indian grocery, I suspect this will be a recipe that I revisit with some frequency.

Dahi Elaichi Rajmah

Slightly adapted from 660 Curries by Raghavan Iyer

Ingredients

• 2 Tbsp. ghee
• 1 onion, chopped
• 6 green cardamom pods
• 1 c. plain yogurt
• 1/2 tsp. ground turmeric
• 2 c. cooked red kidney beans
• 2 c. water
• 1 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 2 tsp. Punjabi garam masala
• 1/2 tsp. cayenne
• 2 Tbsp. fresh cilantro, chopped

Directions

1. Melt ghee over medium-high heat.
2. Add onion and cardamom pods and cook for a couple minutes until onion begins to brown.
3. Stir in yogurt and cook until liquid evaporates and only onion-flecked yogurt curds are left (~15 minutes).
4. Stir in turmeric.
5. Add kidney beans, water, salt, garam masala, and cayenne and stir to combine.
6. Reduce heat to medium and cook until sauce has thickened (10-15 minutes).
7. Stir in cilantro.
8. Serve with fresh pooris and, if you'd like a bit more kick, lime pickles.

This is my new favourite bread recipe! It's beautiful and soft and tender. Fluffy and light. And the honey gives it a lovely, subtle sweetness. It keeps well. It slices nicely. It makes amazing toast and beautiful sandwiches. I don't think I can oversell this bread. It's wonderful!

I did have a bit of trouble with the timing of the rises on this one. But even over-proved as it was, it was still delicious! I've taken another crack at it now. The rise isn't quite as high on the latest batch, but hopefully I still gave it enough time to develop that beautiful, light texture.

Buttermilk Bread

Slightly adapted from Laurel's Kitchen Bread Book

Ingredients

• 1/2 c. warm water
• 2 tsp. active dry yeast
• 3/4 c. hot water
• 1 1/4 c. buttermilk
• 1/4 c. honey
• 830g hard (high grade/bread/strong) whole wheat flour OR 780g all-purpose whole wheat flour + 50g gluten flour
• 2 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 2 Tbsp. unsalted butter

Directions

1. Sprinkle yeast into warm water and set aside for 10 minutes.
2. Combine hot water, buttermilk, and honey and stir until honey has dissolved.
3. Combine flour(s) and salt and mix well.
4. Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients and pour in the yeast mixture and the buttermilk mixture.
5. Gradually incorporate the flour into the liquids working from the centre outward.
6. Turn out the dough (don't worry if not all the flour had been incorporated yet) and knead for 10 minutes, working in additional flour or water as needed. This dough should be relatively loose so err on the side of too wet over too dry.
7. Smear the butter on the work surface and continue to knead the dough for another 10-20 minutes to incorporate the butter.
8. Place in an ungreased bowl, cover, and set to rise for ~2 hours. (If your house is very warm, check after an hour or so.)
9. Knock the dough back, shape into a ball, and return to bowl to rise for another 1-1 1/2 hours.
10. Knock the dough back again, divide it into two equal portions, and shape each half into a ball.
11. Round the balls, pulling the gluten tight and smooth across the tops. Set aside to relax for 10 minutes.
12. Shape each ball into a loaf and place in greased loaf pans.
13. Cover loosely and set to rise for 30-60 minutes.
14. Slash the tops of the loaves (assuming the dough is well-risen) and bake at 325°F (160°C) for ~1 hour. (Check after 45 minutes or so.)
15. Cool in tins for 10 minutes, then turn out and place on wire rack to cool.

Caramelized onions are amazing. I figured a tart full of them would definitely be a winner. I'm sad to say I was a little disappointed with this one. I mean, it was okay, but it didn't blow me away like the Potato, Spinach, and Raisin Tart I made a few weeks back. It was just... alright. I think, if I made it again, I might try adding a little cottage cheese to it. It might also be worth baking it in a 9" (23cm) springform pan rather that the 9" pie plate I used this time. The recipe specifies a "23cm (9 in) deep tart tin", but I think that means something different in the UK than it does here. After watching a few episodes of Great British Bake Off where they make deep dish pies/tarts, the tins they use are very deep indeed and have straight sides as opposed to the sloped sides of the conventional pie plates we use here. This meant that my tart didn't have the expected capacity and I couldn't fit all the custard in the shell, which probably threw off the balance of the recipe a bit. I guess I'll try using a springform pan next time and see if that makes a difference.

Onion Tart

Slightly adapted from The Book of Old Tarts by Elizabeth Hodder

Ingredients

• 225g savoury/plain shortcrust pastry
• 1 Tbsp. fresh thyme
• 1 egg white
• 25g unsalted butter
• 2 Tbsp. olive oil
• 8 onions, peeled and sliced
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 1 Tbsp. sugar
• 1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp. ground ginger
• 2 eggs
• 2 egg yolks
• 425mL heavy (35%) cream
• pinch of saffron

Directions

1. Lightly flour your work surface and sprinkle with thyme.
2. Roll out the pastry on the prepared surface.
3. Line a 9" (23cm) springform pan with the pastry.
4. Prick pastry all over with a fork and brush with egg white.
5. Bake at 350°F (180°C) for 25 minutes.
6. Melt butter and oil over medium heat.
7. Add onion and sprinkle with salt and sugar.
8. Cover, reduce heat to medium-low, and cook for 20-30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
9. Remove lid and cook for another 10 minutes.
10. Stir in nutmeg and ginger, then remove from heat.
11. Beat the eggs with the extra yolks and season with salt and pepper.
12. Add the saffron to the cream and gently warm over medium-low heat until just steaming.
13. Add warm cream to beaten eggs in a thin stream while whisking.
14. Spoon the onion mixture into the baked pie shell.
15. Pour the custard over the onions.
16. Bake at 375°F (190°C) for 25 minutes.
17. Serve warm.

I've tried to make bagels before. They never came out quite right. They were never inedible. But they were somewhat disappointing in almost every attribute: shape, texture, rise, flavour. It was a lot of hassle to deal with boiling them before baking and the results were never pleasing anyway, so I sort of gave up on the idea of making good homemade bagels. But then TF encouraged me to try again. And I checked my trusty copy of the Laurel's Kitchen Bread Book and found that they did indeed have a bagel recipe near the back. Finally, I can reliably make a good bagel!

Overall the recipe was pretty much perfect as written. I did have to substitute molasses for the malt syrup because I don't tend to keep malt on hand. But it still worked out great. The only issue I had was actually with the baking time and temperature. The original calls for baking these lovely little toroids at 425°F (220°C) for 35 minutes! This turned out to be both too hot and much too long. I tried baking my second batch at 400°F (200°C) for 20 minutes and that seemed to be just about right. Keep an eye on them the first time you make them and adjust the time and temperature as necessary.

Whole Wheat Bagels

Adapted from Laurel's Kitchen Bread Book

Ingredients

Dough

• 1/4 c. warm water
• 2 tsp. active dry yeast
• 1 Tbsp. molasses¹
• 1 tsp. honey
• 2 c. water, divided
• 700g hard/high grade whole wheat flour
• 30g gluten flour
• 2 tsp. coarse sea salt

Poaching Liquid

• 3L water
• 3 Tbsp. molasses²

Directions

1. Sprinkle the yeast into the warm water and set aside for 10 minutes.
2. Dissolve the molasses and honey in 1 c. of the water.
3. Combine the flours and salt and mix well.
4. Make a well in the centre of the flour and pour in the yeast mixture, the molasses mixture, and enough of the remaining water to make a stiff dough. (I started by adding ~1/2 c. and ended up working in an additional 1/4 c. during kneading.)
5. Knead the dough for 15-20 minutes. I found it easiest to achieve the desired texture by working in the last bit of water during kneading: Wet your hands, knead for a few strokes, then evaluate the dough and see if it still needs more water. The dough should be smooth and supple, but quite a bit stiffer and tighter than regular bread dough.
6. Place in an ungreased bowl, cover, and set to rise for ~1 hour³. (Rising time will vary depending on room temperature.)
7. Dissolve 3 Tbsp. of molasses in 3L of water and set to boil.
8. Divide the dough into three even portions.
9. Shape each portion into a ball.
10. Round the balls, stretching the gluten sheet taught across the top of each one. Cover (so they don't dry out) and set aside to rest for 10 minutes.
11. Preheat oven to 400°F (200°C) and grease one large (or two small) cookie sheets.
12. Flatten one of the balls and cut into four equal portions.
13. Shape each portion into a smaller ball. Roll it on the counter under your cupped hand to get a good shape. Let the balls rest for a minute or so.
14. Pick up a small ball and push your thumb through the middle.
15. Turn the dough ring around your thumb, gradually increasing the size of the hole and evening out the sides.
16. Keep working the hole larger and larger until it reaches a size of 1.5-2" (4-5cm).
17. Repeat until you've made 12 bagels.
18. Place two or three bagels into the boiling water mixture.
19. Boil for 30 seconds, flip, then boil for another 30 seconds.
20. Remove from water and place on greased cookie sheet.
21. Continue boiling bagels in batches of two or three until all 12 have been boiled.
22. Bake at 400°F (200°C) for 20 minutes.

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Variations

Montreal-Style Bagels

Ingredients

Dough

• 1/4 c. warm water
• 2 tsp. active dry yeast
• 1 Tbsp. molasses¹
• 1 tsp. honey
• 2 c. water, divided
• 700g whole wheat flour
• 30g gluten flour
• 2 tsp. coarse sea salt

Poaching Liquid

• 3L water
• 1/4 c. honey

Directions

• When forming your bagels, stretch them a bit more. Aim for a 3" (7.5cm) hole. The bagel should be relatively skinny with a large hole.
• Bake at 425°F (220°C) for only 15 minutes.

NY-Style Bagels

Ingredients

Dough

• 1/4 c. warm water
• 2 tsp. active dry yeast
• 1 Tbsp. molasses¹
• 1 tsp. honey
• 2 c. water, divided
• 700g whole wheat flour
• 30g gluten flour
• 2 tsp. coarse sea salt

Poaching Liquid

• 3L water
• 1 Tbsp. baking soda
• 1 1/2 tsp. coarse sea salt

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¹ If you have malt syrup on hand, use 2 Tbsp. of barley malt in place of both the molasses and honey. Alternatively, use 2 Tbsp. honey in place of the molasses (and leave out the extra 1 tsp. of honey). ^Back
2 Feel free to use malt syrup here as well if you can find it. ^Back
3 For really great, well-developed flavour set the dough to rise in the fridge overnight. ^Back

I loved eggnog as a kid and this was always my go-to recipe. I don't make it so often anymore, but it's still a nice treat every once in a while. Add a little rum if you like. Personally I prefer my eggnog without any booze but, to each their own.

Eggnog

Adapted from Betty Crocker's Cookbook for Boys & Girls

Ingredients

• 3 eggs¹
• 1 1/2 c. milk
• 6 Tbsp. (vanilla) sugar
• 3/4 tsp. vanilla extract
• 3/8 tsp. ground nutmeg

Directions

1. Combine all ingredients in blender and mix until homogeneous and slightly frothy.
2. Serve immediately or refrigerate for later. Garnish with a little extra nutmeg if desired.

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¹ I've always just used whole raw eggs in my eggnog. Then again, we generally had fresh eggs from our own chickens to use. If you're wary of eating raw eggs, you can look for pasteurized eggs at the grocery store. They're generally sold in square cartons (like milk cartons) around here. If using pasteurized liquid eggs -- check to make sure they haven't had any other seasonings or ingredients added! -- 1/4 c. should be roughly equivalent to 1 large egg. ^Back

Our traditional New Year's Eve dinner is generally a ham (or in the case of this year: pork roast). And once the meat is all gone the bone gets tossed in the soup pot with a ham hock and some split peas to make soup. The recipe is pretty simple and incredibly tasty. TF isn't generally much of a soup person and even he loves this soup.

Unfortunately I didn't write down my recipe the first year and I've forgotten exactly what I did. A bit of Googling turned up a similar-looking recipe, so I'm just using that as my base recipe this year. I have made a few adjustments though.

Since I usually cook up a bunch of bacon for the New Year's Eve stuffing, I decided to use some of the excess bacon grease to cook the veggies in instead of butter. I also reduced the liquid a bunch since cooking in the InstantPot means it's not losing anything to evaporation. If you're making this on the stove top you might find you need to add slightly more liquid to keep it a good consistency.

The last change I made was to add an extra 3/4 or so of split peas. I had initially gone with the recommended 1 3/4 c. but, even after reducing the broth and water by a cup each, the soup was still very thin. If it had been only slightly on the thin side, I would've just puréed a bit and stirred it back in to give it a little more body. But that wasn't going to be enough in this case. I tossed in all the peas I had left and put it back on to boil and then simmer. Hopefully that should be enough to thicken it up nicely. It smells absolutely delicious! It just wasn't nearly thick enough when I looked. If you like your pea soup flavourful but relatively thin, then feel free to go with the original 1 3/4 c. For stand-a-spoon-in-it thick soup, use at least 2 1/2 c. of split peas. (And maybe purée a bit once it's cooked as well.)

Update: So, I had previously recommended adding more split peas than the recipe called for because the soup was way too thin otherwise. But this year I had the opposite problem and found it was too thick. And that was even with the full 6 c. of liquid! So, I've walked that instruction back. If you're making this soup on the stovetop, I would recommend following the original instructions: 6 c. of liquid and 1 3/4 c. of split peas. If you're using an Instant pot, you may want to decrease the liquid, increase the split peas, or both.

Split Pea Soup

Slightly adapted from Seasons & Suppers

Ingredients

• 2 Tbsp. bacon grease (or butter)
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 carrots, peeled and chopped
• 1 rib celery, chopped
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 tsp. dried thyme
• 1 tsp. dried savoury
• pepper, to taste
• ham bone(s)
• 1 smoked ham hock
• 1 3/4-2 c. yellow split peas
• 3 c. chicken broth
• 2-3 c. water

Directions

1. Heat bacon grease (or butter) over medium heat.
2. Add onion, carrots, and celery and cook until vegetables are softened.
3. Add bay leaf, savoury, thyme, and pepper and cook for another minute or so.
4. Cut the skin from the ham hock and add it along with the peas and any ham bones.
5. Stir in the chicken broth and water and bring to a boil.
6. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 1.5 hours checking periodically to see if it needs more water.
7. Remove the ham hock and bones.
8. Pick any meat from the bones/hock and return it to the pot. (Discard the bones.)
9. Season to taste and adjust consistency as desired. If you like a thicker soup, purée a cup or so and add it back to the pot. If you like thinner soup, add a bit more broth or water.
10. Serve with crusty bread.

InstantPot Diretions

1. Set InstantPot to medium-temperature Sauté and add bacon grease (or butter), onion, carrots, and celery and cook until vegetables are softened.
2. Add bay leaf, savoury, thyme, and pepper and cook for another minute or so.
3. Cut the skin from the ham hock and add it along with the peas and ham bone(s).
4. Stir in the broth and water and allow to boil.
5. Cancel Sauté, cover, and set to high-temperature Slow Cook for 2 hours.
6. Remove the ham hock and bones.
7. Pick any meat from the bones/hock and return it to the pot. (Discard the bones.)
8. Season to taste and purée some of the soup if desired.
9. Serve with crusty bread.

I love this bread! It's quick. It's easy. It's delicious. It appeals to the cornbread lover in me. It has a texture and mouthfeel very close to my ideal cornbread with a hit of molasses and caraway-rye to mix it up a bit. Usually I prefer recipes that have close to a 1:1 ratio of flour to cornmeal, but I think this one gets away with the slightly higher flour ratio by dint of using whole rye flour and not being too sweet. (I do like a little bit of sugar in my cornbread, just not too much.)

This definitely isn't to everyone's tastes. It's a dark, savoury, crumbly cornbread. If you're not a fan of both dark rye and cornbread, you probably won't be a huge fan of this loaf. That said, if those qualities all sound promising to you, this might end up being one of your new favourites!

Corn Rye Quickbread

Slightly adapted from Laurel's Kitchen Bread Book

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 c. whole rye flour
• 1 c. cornmeal
• 1/2 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 2 tsp. caraway seeds
• 2 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 3 Tbsp. canola (or other neutral) oil
• 3 Tbsp. molasses
• 1 egg
• 1 1/4 c. buttermilk

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C) and grease a loaf pan.
2. Combine flour, cornmeal, caraway seeds, and salt.
3. Sift in baking powder and baking soda and mix well.
4. Beat oil and molasses with egg.
5. Stir buttermilk into egg mixture.
6. Dump dry ingredients into wet and mix until just combined.
7. Pour batter into greased loaf pan and bake at 350°F (180°C) for ~1 hour.

I love kefta. Any time I've gotten them at a restaurant around here though, they're always served dry. And they're usually formed into small patties rather than balls as well. So I thought it was quite interesting that Crocker describes kefta as "minced meat [...] formed into balls and poached in a tangy sauce". I quite enjoyed this version with the sauce. I'd also be interested in trying other versions as well though. I quite like the dry patties that I've tried before, so I'd love to learn how to do those ones too.

Spiced Kefta in Tomato Sauce

Slightly adapted from 150 Best Tagine Recipes by Pat Crocker

Ingredients

Kefta¹

• 450g lean ground beef
• 1/2 c. fresh bread crumbs
• 1/2 onion, minced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 Tbsp. berbere
• 1 egg
• 1/2 tsp. coarse sea salt

Tomato Sauce

• 2 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1 1/2 onions, chopped
• 1 Tbsp. ras el hanout
• 4-5 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 fresh red Thai chile, chopped
• 1 Tbsp. ginger paste
• 375-400mL tinned diced tomatoes
• juice of 1 lemon
• flesh and rind of 1 very small or 1/2 large preserved lemon
• 2 c. frozen chopped spinach

Directions

1. Combine all kefta ingredients and mix well.
2. Form into 2-Tbsp. balls and set on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Kefta can be set aside until sauce is ready or, if not making sauce immediately, place tray in freezer. Once meatballs are frozen, remove from tray and place in a bag in the freezer.
3. Heat oil over medium heat.
4. Add onion and ras el hanout and cook for 5 minutes.
5. Add garlic, chile, and ginger paste and cook for another 5 minutes.
6. Add tomatoes, lemon juice, and preserved lemon and bring to a boil.
7. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, uncovered, for 10 minutes.
8. Add spinach and simmer for 5 minutes.
9. Gently nestle keftas into the sauce, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes, turning once or twice during cooking.
10. Once keftas are cooked through, serve in the sauce alongside crusty bread and/or rice.

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¹ If you don't feel like making the kefta from scratch, you can simply simmer a ready-made meatball of your choice in the tomato sauce. ^Back

Kheema Mutter (Ground Beef and Green Pea Curry)

Mutter paneer is fairly ubiquitous at Indian restaurants in North America. I'd never heard of kheema mutter though. It'll still never knock kheema paav off my top spot for ground beef curries, but it makes a good showing nonetheless. If I'm feeling up to it next time, I'll try making some rotis to go with it. Iyer recommends rotis as the ideal accompaniment and I'm sure fresh ones would make for a particularly satisfying meal.

Kheema Mutter

Slightly adapted from 660 Curries by Raghavan Iyer

Ingredients

• 2 Tbsp. canola (or other neutral) oil
• 2 tsp. cumin seeds
• 1 onion, halved and sliced
• 2 Tbsp. ginger paste
• 3 fresh green Thai chiles, minced
• 3 large cloves garlic, minced
• 2 (3") cinnamon sticks
• 2 bay leaves
• 450g lean ground beef
• 2 tsp. coriander seeds, ground
• 1 tsp. cumin seeds, ground
• 1 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1 tsp. turmeric
• 1 c. water
• 1 c. frozen green peas
• 2 Tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro

Directions

1. Heat oil over medium-high heat.
2. Add cumin seeds and sizzle for 5-10 seconds.
3. Add onion and fry until softened and lightly browned (5-10 minutes).
4. Add ginger, chiles, garlic, cinnamon sticks, and bay leaves and cook, stirring, until mixture is well-browned (~5 minutes).
5. Break up the ground beef and add it to the pan and cook, stirring occasionally, until browned (8-10 minutes).
6. Add coriander, cumin, salt, and turmeric and stir to coat.
7. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 10-12 minutes.
8. Add water, peas, and cilantro.
9. Continue to simmer, covered, stirring occasionally, until the peas are cooked (5-8 minutes).
10. Serve with rotis and/or rice.