I was really happy with the results of this recipe, but a little frustrated with the actual cooking. The noodles stuck together in big clumps and were quite difficult to get apart. And then the clumps cooked much slower than any noodles that did manage to stay separate. I don't know if the problem was my noodles, the way I broke them up, or the fact that my sauce was already boiling by the time I added them, but it was quite annoying! I think next time I'd try using a bag of the small "lasagna" noodles instead to see if that helped at all. Still... I can't argue with the results. This was excellent!

Skillet Lasagna

Slightly adapted from Budget Byte$

Ingredients

• 250g sausage meat¹
• 2-3 tsp. garlic paste
• 650-700mL tomato pasta sauce²
• 1-2 c. water
• 1/2 tsp. Italian seasoning
• 9 lasagna noodles, broken into 5cm pieces
• 1 c. ricotta cheese³
• 1/4 c. grated Parmesan
• 1 large egg (optional)⁴
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 1/2-3/4 c. grated mozzarella (or other melty cheese)

Directions

1. Cook the sausage over medium heat, breaking it up as it cooks.
2. Add the garlic and cook for another minute or two.
3. Add the pasta sauce, 1 c. of water, and Italian seasoning and stir to combine.
4. Add the noodles, being careful to make sure they don't clump.
5. Cover pan and bring to a boil.
6. Stir, reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until noodles are almost tender (~12 minutes), adding more water as needed to keep sauce moist.
7. Meanwhile, combine ricotta, Parmesan, egg, and a little salt and pepper and mix well.
8. Stir the pasta again, adding a little more water if necessary.
9. Dollop the ricotta mixture on top, cover, and simmer until heated through (~5 minutes).
10. Sprinkle with mozzarella and place under broiler until cheese is melty and lightly browned (2-3 minutes).

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¹ I only used 125g of sausage for my rendition because I was tossing in ~400g of homemade bolognese along with the 420mL of canned pasta sauce. ^Back
2 My can of pasta sauce was only 420mL so I added ~400g of frozen bolognese that we had in the fridge. I know that adds up to more that adds up to more than 700mL (if you assume that the sauce is mostly water and thus you can use weight to estimate volume), but since the bolognese had a bunch of meat in it, I figured it was less... saucy than plain pasta sauce, so I probably worked out about right for the sauce volume. And the extra meat in the sauce helped to make up for the paucity of sausage since I didn't have the full 250g on hand for this. ^Back
3 I think you could probably get away with using less ricotta than this, but I didn't want to have a partial tub left over so I just followed the recipe an used it all. ^Back
4 The original recipe didn't call for an egg, but the ricotta mixture was too thick to dollop easily and I usually add an egg to my "traditional" lasagna, so I tossed one in. ^Back

These were supposed to be gingersnaps, but they came out more chewy than crunchy. I don't have a problem with this -- Reiver and I both really liked the results -- but I don't really feel they can be called gingersnaps given the results.

I was initially thinking that these were fairly economical cookies, but that was before I'd realized that I'd somehow completely missed factoring in the cost of the crystallized ginger for the recipe. If you make these as normal ginger cookies, without the crystallized ginger, the whole batch costs just over $4 to make and the per cookie price works out to <$0.10. Adding the second form of ginger doubles the price and brings it up to just about $10 per batch and over $0.20 per cookie.

Double Ginger Cookies

Slightly adapted from Dessert of the Day by Kim Laidlaw

Ingredients

• 2/3 c. oil
• 1/3 c. molasses
• 1 c. brown sugar
• 1 large egg
• 390g flour
• 1/2 Tbsp. ground ginger
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp. ground cloves
• 1/8 tsp. salt
• 3/4 c. chopped crystallized ginger
• 1 large egg white
• 1/2 c. turbinado sugar¹

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 165°C (325°F) and lightly grease a cookie tray or two.
2. Combine the oil, molasses, brown sugar, and egg and mix well.
3. Sift in the flour, ginger, and baking soda. Add the cinnamon, cloves, and salt in on top.
4. Stir to combine.
5. Mix in the crystallized ginger.
6. Roll the dough into balls about 2-3cm in diameter, dip in egg white, and then roll in sugar.
7. Place on cookie sheet and bake at 165°C (325°F) for 15-18 minutes.

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¹ I didn't have any turbinado sugar, so I just used regular granulated sugar. The texture is a bit different, but I still really liked the results. ^Back

I've been running a curry train more-or-less continuously since my mom left. Reiver was about ready for a break from non-stop curries though and we'd hit a point where we were getting slightly low on leftovers anyway, so I decided to change it up for a bit. And, given that we're trying to be a bit more budget-conscious right now, I figured it might be a good time to revisit the Budget Byte$ blog. We had everything but the sausages on hand for this Dublin coddle already and it sounded tasty, so it seemed as good a place to start as any.

It was a great success! Everyone loved it. Everything was nicely cooked and the flavour was excellent.

And relatively affordable as well. Not as cheap as a dal, but not terrible either. I wanted to check since the Budget Byte$ recipes aren't always quite as affordable as one might like. At least not here in NZ. I was shocked to see pound cake come up on the blog and intrigued to see how they'd made it more budget-friendly. The answer? They hadn't. Apparently pound cake is still an affordable dessert in the US. They'd figured the 4 eggs you'd need for it would only cost $0.68. That's $0.68 total, not each! And the 240g of butter was supposedly only another $0.98. I think they figured the whole cake would have cost just over $5 to make. Meanwhile, here, the butter alone would run nearly $5! So, when they said that the coddle should cost a bit over $11 to make, I was skeptical... But it's not too bad! I think you'd struggle to do it for under $15 here, but that's still not terrible when you get anywhere between 3-6 servings out of it (depending on how big your portions are).

Running the numbers based on grocery prices here, I figured it should probably cost somewhere between $15 and $20 to make this coddle, depending on how you buy your groceries. If you're willing to get a 10kg bag of potatoes, use 1kg for this, and find another use for the other 9kg, then that helps bring the price down through economy of scale. Same deal with the onions. If you just buy the 2 onions you need for the stew, it'll cost you a bit more per onion than if you're willing to buy a 2kg bag of onions and use the others somewhere else. I think this would also be a good place to use bacon pieces rather than the streaky bacon called for in the recipe as you're just chopping it up anyway and you can get bacon pieces for ~$10/kg, while it can be tricky to find streaky bacon for much under $20/kg. So, if you're willing to buy in bulk, you can probably make this for $15. If you're just buying exactly as much of each ingredient as you need for this particular recipe, then it'd probably come out closer to $20 for the pot. So, definitely not the cheapest meal ever, butnot completely ridiculous as a bit of an indulgent treat either.

Dublin Coddle

Slightly adapted from Budget Byte$"

Ingredients

• 250g bacon pieces (or chopped streaky bacon)
• 450g sausages (I like beef, but any will work)
• 2 onions, halved and sliced
• 4 tsp. minced/crushed garlic
• 1 tsp. black pepper, ground
• 1kg potatoes, cut into 3-4cm pieces
• 2 c. chicken broth
• 1 tsp. dried parsley
• 1/2 tsp. dried thyme

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 150°C (300°F).
2. Cook of the bacon in a Dutch oven over medium heat.
3. Add the sausages and sear on all sides.
4. Remove sausages and bacon from the pan (leaving any grease behind).
5. Bacon pieces are less fatty than streaky bacon, so you might need to add an extra splash of oil at this point depending on what you used.
6. Add the onion and garlic and cook until softened and beginning to colour.
7. Add pepper, potatoes, chicken stock, parsley, and thyme and stir to combine.
8. Place sausages and bacon on top.
9. Cover and bake at 150°C (300°F) for 90 minutes.
10. Remove lid and continue baking for another 30 minutes.

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Variants

InstantPot Version

I think this recipe would lend itself particularly well to an InstantPot/multi-cooker, I just need to figure out how to adjust the seasonings and liquid for it.

Masaaledar Phool Gobhi (Spicy Cauliflower)

I really liked this curry. I accidentally made it with twice as much onion, garlic, and ginger as it was supposed to have, but I would absolutely do it that way again. I loved the sweetness of the onion with the acidity of the tomato and the spiciness of the cayenne.

Masaaledar Phool Gobhi

Slightly adapted from 660 Curries by Raghavan Iyer

Ingredients

• 1-2 Tbsp. oil
• 2 onions, halved and sliced
• 12 cloves garlic, sliced
• 4 tsp. ginger paste
• 2 tsp. cumin seeds, ground
• 2 tsp. coriander seeds, ground
• 1 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1 tsp. ground cayenne
• 1/2 tsp. ground turmeric
• 1 small (400mL) tin diced tomatoes
• 450g cauliflower florets
• 1 c. water
• 2 Tbsp. chickpea flour (besan)
• 1/4 c. chopped fresh cilantro

Directions

1. Heat the oil over medium heat.
2. Add the onion, garlic, and ginger and cook, stirring often, until well-browned (12-15 minutes).
3. Add the cumin, coriander, salt, cayenne, and turmeric, stir to combine, and cook for another 30-60 seconds.
4. Add the tomatoes, water, and cauliflower, reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until cauliflower is tender (~12 minutes).
5. Stir in the chickpea flour and cook until sauce is slightly thickened (1-2 minutes).
6. Sprinkle with cilantro and serve.

Tamatar Paneer (Tomato Paneer)

I was going to make a lamb curry next, but I found some paneer on sale at the Indian grocery store and decided to cook that as our protein tonight instead.

I love this curry. The paneer makes it satisfying and high-protein. And while it takes a bit of time to cook the onions down, it's not particularly difficult and doesn't require many spices or other ingredients. And while the cream is moderately expensive most of the other ingredients are quite affordable. Especially if you can get a good deal on the paneer! The cream also makes it deliciously rich and luxurious. Oh, and it also doesn't require marinating or pre-frying the paneer. So, pretty great all round!

Tamatar Paneer

From 660 Curries by Raghavan Iyer

Ingredients

• 1-2 Tbsp. ghee
• 1 onion, halved and sliced
• 6 green cardamom pods
• 1/4 c. tomato paste
• 1 Tbsp. coriander seeds, ground
• 1 tsp. ground cayenne or Kashmiri chilies
• 1/2 tsp. ground turmeric
• 1 c. water
• 250g paneer, cut into 2cm cubes
• 1 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1/2 c. heavy (35%) cream
• 1/2 c. milk
• 1/2 c. chopped fresh cilantro

Directions

1. Melt ghee over medium heat.
2. Add onion and cardamom, cover, and reduce heat to medium-low.
3. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is nicely browned (~20 minutes).
4. Add the tomato paste, coriander, cayenne, and turmeric and cook until darkened (3-5 minutes).
5. Add water, paneer, and salt and cook, covered, until sauce thickens (~15 minutes).
6. Add the milk and cream and simmer for an additional 10 minutes.
7. Stir in cilantro and serve.

I love sticky toffee pudding, but I've never actually made it myself. This is the first recipe that I've tried, but I really like it. And so did Reiver and my mom. I think I'd like to try adjusting the proportions sometime, just because it would be nice to have even more dates in it. That said, I've written the recipe up without modifications this time because it was so good as is. I'll put my suggested modifications below.

I ran out of brown sugar when making the sauce so I ended up using some white sugar mixed with molasses. I ended up putting in way more molasses than needed to make a brown sugar equivalent, so the sauce was much darker than intended, but Reiver really liked it and says he'd do it that way on purpose in the future.

Sticky Toffee Pudding

Slightly adapted from Dessert of the Day by Kim Laidlaw

Ingredients

Pudding/Cake

• 1/2 c. chopped dates
• 3/4 tsp. baking soda
• 3/4 c. boiling water
• 1/4 c. butter, softened
• 3/4 c. brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 c. (140g) flour
• 1 1/4 tsp. baking powder
• 1/4 tsp. salt (if using unsalted butter)

Sauce

• 1/4 c. butter
• 3/4 c. brown sugar
• 1 Tbsp. molasses (optional, for extra dark sauce)
• 3/4 c. heavy (35%) cream
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• small pinch of salt

Directions

1. Combine the dates and bakiing soda and pour over the boiling water. Set aside for at least 10 minutes.
2. Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F) and grease and flour either eight 1/2-cup ramekins or one large casserole dish.
3. Cream the butter with the sugar until lightened.
4. Beat in the eggs, one at a time.
5. Beat in the vanilla.
6. Add the flour, baking powder, and salt (if using) and mix until combined.
7. Add the date mixture and stir to combine. Mixture will be fairly thin.
8. Pour batter into prepared dish(es) and bake at 180°C (350°F) until done; ~20 minutes for small puddings, 50 minutes for one large one.
9. Meanwhile, combine the butter, brown sugar, molasses (if using), and cream for the sauce and bring to a gentle simmer.
10. Cook, stirring frequently, until slightly thickened.
11. Stir in vanilla and salt.
12. Once the pudding is done, remove from oven.
13. For small puddings, turn them out onto warmed plates and pour sauce over. For a large pudding, scoop generous spoonfuls into bowls and pour sauce over.
14. Top with vanilla ice cream and/or whipped cream if desired.

---

Variations

Sticky Date Pudding

Ingredients

Pudding/Cake

• 1 c. chopped dates
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 c. boiling water
• 1/4 c. butter, softened
• 1/2 c. brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 c. (140g) flour
• 1 1/4 tsp. baking powder
• 1/4 tsp. salt (if using unsalted butter)

Sauce

• 1/4 c. butter
• 3/4 c. brown sugar
• 1 Tbsp. molasses (optional, for extra dark sauce)
• 3/4 c. heavy (35%) cream
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• small pinch of salt

Nanny's Lemon Cream

This is the lemon curd that I grew up eating. It's my great-grandmother's recipe. And we all called it lemon curd, but when we got her recipe, she had it written down as "lemon cream". It's very good. Simple. And I like that it uses whole eggs rather than just the yolks. I've now also tried it with grapefruit and can vouch for the results. I expect it would work wonderfully with limes as well!

Lemon Cream

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 c. sugar
• 4 large eggs
• 1/2 c. lemon juice
• 2 Tbsp. water
• 3 Tbsp. butter

Directions

1. Combine sugar, eggs, lemon juice, and water and mix very well.
2. Cook over low to medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until thickened.
3. Remove from heat and stir in butter.

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Variations

Grapefruit Cream

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 c. sugar
• 4 large eggs
• 1/2 c. (or a bit more) grapefruit juice
• 3 Tbsp. butter

This was delicious. And I like the ratio of chicken to broccoli.

Chicken and Broccoli in White Sauce

Slightly adapted from Woks of Life

Ingredients

Chicken

• 1 large chicken breast (~300g), sliced
• 2 Tbsp. water
• 1 Tbsp. oyster sauce
• 2 tsp. cornstarch
• 1 tsp. oil

Broccoli and Sauce

• 1/4 tsp. sugar
• 1/2 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1/2 tsp. sesame oil
• 1/8 tsp. ground white pepper
• 1 c. chicken stock
• 4 c. broccoli florets
• 2 tsp. oil
• 1/2 tsp. ginger paste
• 2 tsp. garlic paste
• 1 Tbsp. shaoxing wine
• 2 Tbsp. cornstarch + 3 Tbsp. water

Directions

1. Combine chicken, water, oyster sauce, cornstarch, and oil, mix well, and set aside for 30 minutes.
2. Combine the sugar, salt, sesame oil, white pepper, and chicken stock, mix well, and set aside.
3. Bring ~6 c. of water to a boil.
4. Add the broccoli and cook for 1-2 minutes.
5. Strain out the broccoli, but keep the water boiling in the wok.
6. Add the chicken to the boiling water and cook until no longer pink. Drain and set aside, this time discarding the water.
7. Clean the wok, then heat the oil over medium heat-high heat.
8. Add the ginger and garlic and stir-fry for 10-20 seconds.
9. Drizzle in the shaoxing wine around the edges of the wok.
10. Stir the sauce and drizzle that in as well.
11. Give the corn starch slurry a stir and slowly pour it into the wok.
12. Cook, stirring, until sauce thickens.
13. Add the broccoli and chicken and toss to combine.
14. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook until heated through.
15. Serve with rice.

We have an excess of citrus right now, so I picked this out to use up some of it.

Lemon Pudding Cake

Slightly adapted from Dessert of the Day by Kim Laidlaw

Ingredients

• 1 c. sugar, divided
• 1/4 c. flour
• 3 lemons
• 50g butter, melted
• 3 eggs, separated
• 1 1/4 c. milk
• 1/4 c. cream of tartar (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F) and place a 20cm (8") square baking dish inside a 23x33cm (9x13") baking dish.
2. Combine 3/4 c. of the sugar with the flour.
3. Zest the lemons and mix in the grated zest.
4. Mix in 1/3 c. of lemon zest.
5. Stir in the melted butter and egg yolks.
6. Add the milk and stir to combine.
7. In a clean bowl, combine the egg whites and cream of tartar (if using).
8. Beat until foamy, then gradually mix in the remaining 1/4 c. of sugar and beat until stiff.
9. Mix ~1/3 of the meringue into the batter.
10. Fold in the remaining meringue until no longer streaky.
11. Pour the batter into the 20cm (8") pan.
12. Pour hot water into the larger pan until halfway up the side of the smaller pan.
13. Bake at 180°C (350°F) until top is lightly brown and firm (~40 minutes).
14. Serve warm, room temperature, or cold.

This is a very rich stew served in a buttery mustard gravy. The beer in question was meant to be a porter, but I used stout. I also used ~250mL less liquid than the recipe called for. I also used less chicken than called for and a mix of drumsticks and thighs rather than just thighs. I doubled the onions and added a bit of garlic as well.

The resulting stew was excellent! That said, I think it could've used more vegetables. I think I'd put more carrots and potatoes next time and/or add a bit of turnip/swede or something.

Beer-Braised Chicken Stew

Adapted from Dish of the Day by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

• 1-2 Tbsp. oil
• 1.2-1.5kg chicken pieces
• salt and pepper
• 6 Tbsp. butter, divided
• 2 onions, halved and sliced
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 bay leaf
• 400-500g carrots, peeled and cut into 2cm pieces
• 500-600g potatoes, cut into 4cm pieces
• 1 kumara, peeled and cut into 4cm pieces
• 1 rutabaga/swede, peeled and cut into 3cm pieces (optional)
• 500mL stout
• 500mL chicken broth
• 2 Tbsp. brown sugar
• 2 Tbsp. Dijon or Roman mustard
• 2-3 tsp. tomato paste
• 1/2 tsp. dried thyme
• 1/3 c. flour
• 1/2 c. hot water

Directions

1. Heat the oil over medium heat.
2. Season the chicken with salt and pepper and sear for a few minutes on each side.
3. Remove the chicken from the pot and set aside.
4. Melt 1 Tbsp. of the butter in the pot.
5. Add the onions and garlic and cook until softened and beginning to brown.
6. Add the bay leaf, carrots, potatoes, kumara, and rutabaga (if using).
7. Add the stout, chicken broth, brown sugar, mustard, tomato paste, and thyme.
8. Return chicken to pot and bring to a boil.
9. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer for 30 minutes.
10. Mash the remaining 5 Tbsp. of butter with the flour to form a paste.
11. Slowly add 2 c. of the cooking liquid to the flour paste while stirring until smooth.
12. Pour gravy back into pot.
13. Rinse out measuring cup the gravy was mixed in with the hot water and pour that into the pot as well.
14. Cover and simmer for another 10 minutes.
15. Check to make sure chicken is cooked through, season to taste, and serve.

Dhingri Mutter (Mushroom and Pea Curry)

In theory this was meant to be "gucchi mutter" (morel and pea curry). However, morels are not native to New Zealand and getting them here is an extremely expensive prospect. I mean, they're expensive anyway. I've just been spoiled by being able to get them for free from my parents in the past. But, given that getting the required quantity of morels would've cost ~$100 here, I decided that maybe it was acceptable to swap them out for a different mushroom in this case. Especially since white mushrooms were on sale for $8/kg this week.

Dhingri Mutter

Slightly adapted from 660 Curries by Raghavan Iyer

Ingredients

• 2-4 Tbsp. ghee, divided
• 1 onion, coarsely chopped
• 1/4 c. slivered almonds
• 3-4 tsp. garlic paste
• 2 tsp. ginger paste
• 2 Tbsp. tomato paste
• 1/2-3/4 c. water
• 250g mushrooms¹
• 1 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1 tsp. ground Kashmiri chilies
• 1/2 tsp. Kashmiri garam masala
• 1/4 tsp. ground turmeric
• 1 c. frozen green peas
• 2 Tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro

Directions

1. Melt 1-2 Tbsp. of the ghee over medium heat.
2. Add the onions, almonds, garlic, and ginger and cook until nuts are browned (~5 minutes).
3. Pour 1/2 c. of water into a blender, add the tomato paste and onion mixture, and purée.
4. If the sauce looks too thick, blend in a few more Tbsp. of water.
5. Melt the remaining 1-2 Tbsp. of ghee over medium heat.
6. Add the mushrooms, cover, and cook until they release their liquid or morels look slightly shriveled (~5 minutes).
7. Add the sauce, salt, ground chilies, garam masala, and turmeric and stir to combine.
8. Add the peas, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer until heated through and flavours blend (10-15 minutes).
9. Sprinkle with cilantro and serve.

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¹ If you're going for the authentic gucchi mutter, then you'll want morels, thoroughly washed and cut in half. Otherwise, Iyer suggests sliced porobellos as a tasty (if very different) alternative. I just used white button mushroom, halved, for my curry and, honestly, they were great! ^Back

I have fond memories of Mom making chicken and broccoli casserole when I was a kid. I hadn't had it in years. But found myself suddenly craving it while pregnant, so I asked her for the recipe. Turns out it was chicken divan + rice! She pointed me at a recipe from the Cozy Cook as something that looked pretty close to her version. I tried it out and it was nice, but came out a bit stodgy. I think that was probably down to the rice that I used though. I only had jasmine rice on hand, so I went with that, but I think that basmati would probably give a better result. Or maybe even a long-grain brown rice. I also think that her version went heavier on the broccoli and maybe a bit lighter on the chicken. Not that this version wasn't good, but I did find myself missing the extra broccoli a bit. So I might try adjusting the proportions slightly next time. Otherwise, it was quite nice though.

Chicken and Broccoli Casserole

Adapted from The Cozy Cook

Ingredients

• 4 Tbsp. butter, divided
• 750g skinless boneless chicken breasts (or ~3 c. chopped cooked chicken)
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1-2 celery stalks, chopped
• 5 c. broccoli florets
• 1 can (~300mL) condensed cream of celery soup
• 2/3 c. sour cream or mayonnaise
• 1/2 c. milk
• 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp. onion powder
• 1/2 tsp. mustard seeds, ground
• 1/2 tsp. sweet paprika (optional)
• ~2 c. grated cheddar cheese, divided
• ~2 c. cooked rice
• 1/2 c. crushed Ritz crackers or panko breadcrumbs

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F) and grease a large casserole dish.
2. Cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces and season with salt and pepper.
3. Melt 2 Tbsp. of butter over medium heat.
4. Add the chicken, onion, and celery and cook until chicken is about halfway done (~3 minutes).
5. Add the broccoli and cook for another 3-5 minutes.
6. Add the soup, sour cream/mayo, milk, garlic powder, onion powder, mustard, and paprika (if using).
7. Stir in half of the cheese.
8. Spread the rice in an even layer in the bottom of the prepared casserole dish and top with the chicken and broccoli mixture.
9. Top with remaining cheese, cover, and bake at 180°C (350°F) for 15-20 minutes.
10. Meanwhile, melt the remaining 2 Tbsp. butter over medium heat and add the crushed Ritz crackers/breadcrumbs and stir to coat.
11. Remove casserole from oven, increase heat to 200°C (400°F), uncover, and top with buttered crumbs.
12. Return to oven and bake for another 5-10 minutes.
13. Let stand for 5-10 minutes before serving.

Today is a day for nostalgia food. And I recently ran across a Pioneer Woman recipe that reminded me of a childhood favourite of mine. Her recipe was a bit more involved than I remember mine being, but it was still clearly in the same genus. I'm pretty sure the version that I grew up with was just ham, cheese, mayo, and pasta (preferably shells). The PW recipe adds mustard, peas, parsley, yogurt, lemon juice, honey, olive oil, bell pepper, and green onions. I thought the mustardd and peas sounded like excellent additions. The parsley and green onions gave a bit of extra green, so I also tossed them in. And the yogurt was a way to lighten it up a bit, so I decided to use that as well. I decided to leave out the olive oil and honey. But I did like the idea of a bit of extra acidity from the lemon juice, so I put that in too. I think the bell pepper would also be nice. (And possibly something that was also included in my childhood version. I just can't quite remember anymore.) But I left it out since I didn't want to poison Reiver.

Ham and Cheese Pasta Salad

Adapted from Pioneer Woman

Ingredients

• 450g small shell or macaroni pasta
• 1 1/2 c. frozen peas
• 3/4 c. mayonnaise
• 1/2 c. plain Greek yogurt
• 3 Tbsp. yellow mustard
• 2 Tbsp. lemon juice
• 1/4 c. chopped flat-leaf parsley
• 1/4-1/2 tsp. black peppercorns, ground
• 225g mild cheddar, cubed
• 225g ham, cubed
• 1 bell pepper, chopped (optional)
• 3-4 green onions, sliced thin

Directions

1. Boil the pasta until al dente, then add peas and boil for 1 minute longer. Drain.
2. Stir together mayo, yogurt, mustard, lemon juice, parsley, and pepper in a large bowl.
3. Mix in the pasta and peas, cheese, ham, bell pepper (if using), and green onions.
4. Salad may be served immediately, but is best after it has chilled for several hours.

I've made a few different chocolate waffle recipes before, but I hadn't tried this one yet. Honestly, it wasn't even really a recipe. It was just a suggested mix-in for the waffle batters in the Breakfast Bible. In theory, I was meant to add 1/2 c. sweetened cocoa powder to the standard batter and then top the resulting waffles with fresh cherries and cherry syrup. In practice, I have never heard of sweetened cocoa powder and I didn't have any cherries on hand. So, instead of that, I did my best to approximate when it came to the cocoa. And for toppings we tried homemade mandarin marmalade and whipped cream as well as bananas and chocolate sauce (with a little peanut butter on mine as well). Delicious!

Whole Wheat Chocolate Waffles

Adapted from the Breakfast Bible by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

• 190g whole wheat flour
• 6 Tbsp. sugar
• 2 1/2 Tbsp. Dutched cocoa powder
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1 1/2 c. milk
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 90g salted butter, melted

Directions

1. Combine the flour and sugar.
2. Sift in the cocoa powder and baking powder and mix well.
3. Beat the eggs and vanilla into the milk.
4. Stir in the melted butter.
5. Mix the wet ingredients into the dry until just combined.
6. Allow batter to rest while waffle iron preheats.
7. Scoop a portion of batter into the preheated waffle iron and cook according to manufacturer directions. Repeat until all batter is used.
8. Serve waffles with your preferred toppings. Fresh berries, whipped cream, bananas, peanut butter, marmalade, and chocolate sauce all work well.

Okay, well, technically this one wasn't a true key lime pie since I didn't make it with key limes. I just used the limes off of the tree out front. I'm not entirely sure what variety they are. But the finished pie came out tasting somewhere in between "key lime" and "Persian lime" and I quite liked it!

I found the amount of filling somewhat skimpy on this recipe. That said, it actually works quite well if you're having it without the whipped cream. The filling is quite sharp and sweet, so I think a "properly" filled pie would actually be overwhelming without the whipped cream to cut it. I've doubled the filling recipe below. But if you want to have your pie without the cream, I'd recommend just doing half the amount of filling.

Sadly, I forgot to take a photo. I guess I'll just have to make it again!

Key Lime Pie

Slightly adapted from Pioneer Woman

Ingredients

Crust

• 1 1/2 c. graham cracker crumbs
• 2 Tbsp. sugar
• 6 Tbsp. salted butter, melted

Filling

• 1 c. lime juice
• 2 Tbsp. grated lime zest
• 2 cans (~400mL each) sweetened condensed milk
• 4 large egg yolks

Topping

• 300mL heavy (35%) cream
• 2 Tbsp. icing (powdered/confectioners') sugar

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F).
2. Combine the graham cracker crumbs and the sugar.
3. Pour in the butter and mix until evenly dampened.
4. Press mixture into a 23cm (9") pie plate.
5. Bake at 180°C (350°F) for 10 minutes.
6. Remove from oven and set aside to cool slightly.
7. Meanwhile, combine lime juice, zest, condensed milk, and egg yolks. Mix well.
8. Pour filling mixture into crust and smooth top.
9. Bake at 180°C (350°F) for 10 minutes.
10. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely. Cover and chill overnight if desired.
11. Once completely cool, whip the cream with the icing sugar until stiff.
12. Top pie with whipped cream, slice, and serve.

Sauerbraten (German Sweet and Sour Beef)

When I was in NZ last year, I found an excellent deal on beef brisket and came home with a nice piece. It went in the freezer to be cooked later... But then I never quite got to it before I left. So it was still waiting for me in the freezer when I returned this year.

Another time I might've tried to smoke and/or barbecue it. But we're kind of out of grilling season in this hemisphere now and, after a year in the freezer, it was a bit freezer-burnt, so I decided to go for a slow cooker option instead.

After giving it a bit of thought and tossing around a few different ideas, I settled on taking a crack at turning it into sauerbraten. I have fond memories of the sauerbraten that my dad made. And, while I don't have his recipe, I figured I could at least ask the internet and try to come up with something similar. And it seemed like the ideal thing to do with a big chunk of slightly freezer-burnt beef.

The recipe that I used recommends using a bottom round or rump roast for this, but I figured the brisket would also work quite well. And it did! I really enjoyed how it came out. That said, I'm sure it would be good with other cuts too.

Sauerbraten

Slightly adapted from Daring Gourmet

Ingredients

• 2 onions, chopped
• 2-3 carrots, cut into large chunks
• 1 leek, white parts only, thoroughly rinsed and chopped
• 3-4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tsp. dried thyme
• 1 tsp. dried rosemary
• 2 bay leaves
• 8 juniper berries
• 6 whole cloves
• 10-12 black peppercorns
• 2 1/2 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1 tsp. sugar
• 2 1/2 c. red wine
• 1 c. red wine vinegar¹
• 1 1/2 c. water
• 1.5-2kg beef roast (brisket, bottom round, rump, etc.)
• 1-2 Tbsp. oil or lard
• 4 slices bacon, chopped (optional)
• 1/4 c. flour
• 1/4 c. raisins
• 75-85g gingersnaps/gingernuts (6-7 gingernuts), crushed
• 1 Tbsp. honey

Directions

1. Combine the onion, carrot, leek, garlic, thyme, rosemary, bay leaves, juniper berries, cloves, peppercorns, salt, sugar, wine, vinegar, and water and bring to a boil.
2. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes.
3. Remove from heat and allow to cool completely.
4. Nestle the roast into the marinade, cover, and refrigerate for 4-7 days, turning each day if the marinade does not completely cover the meat.
5. When ready to cook, remove the meat from the marinade and set aside.
6. Strain the marinade and reserve both the solids and the liquids.
7. Heat the oil over medium-high heat.
8. Add the beef and sear on all sides. Set aside.
9. Add the bacon (if using) to the now-empty pot and cook.
10. Add the vegetables and sauté for ~5 minutes.
11. Add the flour and cook until no longer raw (3-4 minutes).
12. Pour in the reserved marinade, raisins, gingersnaps/gingernuts, and honey and bring to a boil.
13. Add beef, cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer for 2-4 hours if cooking on the stovetop. Otherwise, transfer everything to a slow cooker and cook on "high" for ~6 hours. (Or use an InstantPot-style multi-cooker to do the whole thing in place.)
14. Once beef is cooked through and tender, remove from the pot and set aside.
15. If desired, remove the bay leaves, juniper berries, and cloves from the liquid and purée the veggies into it to make a thick gravy. Otherwise, adjust consistency by mixing in a cornstarch or flour slurry and boiling until gravy thickens to desired consistency.
16. Adjust seasoning to taste.
17. Slice beef and serve with the gravy (and veggies if you chose not to purée them).
18. Serve with a starch (potatoes, bread, etc.) and rotkohl (sweet-and-sour red cabbage) or another vegetable dish of your choice.

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¹ I couldn't find any red wine vinegar, so I just used white wine vinegar. Either is fine. I think that cider vinegar would also be good in a pinch. ^Back

Pyaaz Tamatar Gosht (Onion-Tomato Lamb Curry)

Reiver found discount lamb at the butcher's last week, so I turned it into a tasty curry! I haven't had a chance to do many lamb curries, so this was a treat. It was also very easy. Definitely going on the "favourites" list!

Pyzza Tamatar Gosht

Slightly adapted from 660 Curries by Raghavan Iyer

Ingredients

• 2 tsp. coriander seeds, ground
• 1 tsp. cumin seeds, ground
• 1 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1 tsp. sweet paprika
• 1/2 tsp. ground cayenne or Kashmiri chilies
• 1/2 tsp. ground turmeric
• 4 tsp. ginger paste
• 4 tsp. garlic paste
• 450g stewing lamb
• 2 Tbsp. oil
• 4 cardamom pods (pref. black, but green is also okay)
• 2 bay leaves
• 250-400mL canned tomato (pasta) sauce¹
• 1/4 c. fried onions²
• 1/4 c. water
• 2 Tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro

Directions

1. Combine the coriander, cumin, salt, paprika, cayenne/Kashmiri chilies, turmeric, ginger paste, and garlic paste and toss with the lamb to coat. Let stand for 30 minutes.
2. Heat oil over medium to medium-high heat.
3. Add the cardamom pods and bay leaves and sizzle for 20-30 seconds.
4. Add the lamb and sear for 5-8 minutes.
5. Add the tomato sauce, fried onions, and water and bring to a boil.
6. Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally.
7. Sprinkle with cilantro and serve.

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¹ The original recipe only calls for 1 c. of tomato sauce. I used ~350mL and it was great and Reiver said that he wouldn't've minded it with even more sauce, so I think I'll just use the whole tin next time. Follow your heart! ^Back
2 Iyer calls for 1/4 c. of fried onion paste here. I didn't really want to make fried onion paste, so I just tossed in 1/4 c. of fried onions along with 1/4 c. of water. This seemed to work very well and I wouldn't hesitate to use this approach again. ^Back

Cocolate-Raspberry Torte

This is basically a flourless chocolate cake. It's incredibly rich and dense with no leavener whatsoever and only the tiniest bit of flour. It then gets filled with a mixture of jam and mashed raspberries and "iced" with ganache. And garnished with whole raspberries and toasted almonds. It is delicious!

Chocolate-Raspberry Torte

Slightly adapted from The Perfect Cake by America's Test Kitchen

Ingredients

Cake

• 240g dark chocolate
• 12 Tbsp. butter
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp. instant coffee
• 1 c. almond flour
• 1/4 c. all-purpose flour
• 1/4 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground
• 5 large eggs
• 3/4 c. sugar

Filling

• 1/2 c. raspberries
• 1/4 c. raspberry jam

Decoration

• 150g dark chocolate
• 1/2 c. + 1 Tbsp. heavy (35%) cream
• 1/2 c. sliced almonds, toasted
• ~24 whole raspberries

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 160°C (325°F).
2. Grease two 20cm (8") round cake pans, line bottoms with parchment paper, grease the paper, and then flour the pans.
3. Melt the chocolate and the butter over very low heat.
4. Remove from heat and add the vanilla and coffee.
5. In a separate bowl, combine the almond flour, all-purpose flour, and salt and mix well.
6. Beat the eggs until lighter in colour and increased in volume (~3 minutes).
7. Gradually beat in sugar.
8. Add the egg mixture to the chocolate mixture and whisk until not quite fully combined.
9. Sprinkle in half of the almond mixture and stir to combine.
10. Add the remaining almond mixture and finish mixing.
11. Divide the batter between the prepared pans.
12. Bake at 160°C (325°F) until done and toothpick inserted in centre comes out almost clean (16-20 minutes).
13. Allow cakes layers to cool in tins for 30 minutes.
14. Turn out onto wire racks, then flip one layer onto a serving platter right-way-up.
15. Mash the raspberries and mix with the jam.
16. Spread the raspberry mixture over the top of the right-way-up cake layer.
17. Place the second layer on top upside-down.
18. Combine the chocolate and the cream and heat over low heat until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth and homogenous.
19. Pour ganache over cake and spread evenly across the top and down the sides.
20. Crush the sliced almonds and press into the sides of the cake.
21. Decorate the top of the cake with the whole raspberries, placing them evenly-spaced around the perimeter.
22. Chill for at least 1 hour before serving.

Cinnamon Rolls (Breakfast Bible)

This is far from the first cinnamon roll recipe that I've made. But... I hadn't made this recipe yet. And I had the (digital) cookbook with me in NZ. And I needed something for breakfast. I mean, this isn't the healthiest option and should probably be more of a dessert, especially if you include the icing. So, definitely not something to indulge in often, but a nice treat once-in-a-while.

Cinnamon Rolls

Slightly adapted from The Breakfast Bible by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

Dough

• 1 c. milk
• 100g sugar
• 75g butter, melted
• 3 large eggs
• 2 1/4 tsp. instant yeast
• 620g all-purpose flour, divided
• 1 tsp. coarse sea salt

Filling

• 100g brown sugar
• 90g butter, softened
• 2 tsp. ground cinnamon

Topping

• cream cheese icing

Directions

1. Combine the milk, sugar, butter, eggs, and yeast.
2. Add ~550g of the flour and mix well.
3. Gradually add salt and more flour until a very soft dough forms.
4. Knead the dough, gradually adding in more flour as necessary, until smooth and supple (~10 minutes).
5. Shape the dough into a ball and place in a covered bowl to rise (1 1/2-2 hours).
6. Meanwhile, beat the brown sugar, butter, and cinnamon until combined.
7. Knock back the dough and roll it out into a large (35x40cm) rectangle.
8. Spread the filling evenly over the surface of the dough, leaving a 2-3cm border along the longer sides.
9. Starting with a long side, roll up the dough, jelly-roll-style.
10. Pinch the edges to seal the seam.
11. Cut the rolled dough crosswise into 8 or 9 equal slices.
12. Grease a 23x33cm (9x13") pan.
13. Arrange the rolls in the prepared pan, cover, and let rise (60-90 minutes at room temperature; up to 12 hours in the fridge).
14. Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F).
15. Uncover and bake at 180°C (350°F) until golden brown (~30 minutes).
16. Let cool in pan for ~15 minutes.
17. Meanwhile, make the icing.
18. Spread the icing over the rolls.
19. Allow to rest for another 15 minutes before serving.

I was planning on making a cheese and avocado scramble for breakfast this morning. But, when we went to cut it open, the avocado had gone off. But I'd already cracked all the eggs. So I had to quickly pivot to something else. Luckily we had all the bits for this "Mexican scramble". And it was delicious! I actually liked it a lot better than I think I would have liked the avocado scramble.

It was meant to use a fresh tomato and then be topped with salsa and sour cream. But I decided to just leave the tomato out and stir the salsa directly into the eggs instead. We then just topped it with the sour cream alone. I was also a bit scant on the green onions, but it still came out very nice.

Mexican Scramble

Slightly adapted from The Big Book of Breakfast by Maryana Vollstedt

Ingredients

• 8 large eggs
• 1/4 c. milk
• 1/2 tsp. dried oregano
• 1/8 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground
• pepper, to taste
• 1-2 tsp. butter
• 4-8 green onions, chopped
• 1 tomato, chopped (or 1/3 c. salsa)
• 3-4 Tbsp. sliced Kalamata olives
• 1 small (~100mL) can chopped green chilies
• 1/2-3/4 c. grated cheese (cheddar or monterey jack)
• salsa and/or sour cream, to serve

Directions

1. Beat the eggs with the milk, oregano, salt and pepper.
2. Melt the butter over medium heat.
3. Pour in the eggs and cook for a minute or so.
4. Stir the eggs.
5. Add the green onions, tomato (or salsa), olives, and chilies and cook, stirring occasionally, for another few minutes.
6. Add the cheese and continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until the eggs are fully set.
7. Serve with salsa and sour cream (and, optionally, toast).