Friday, December 31, 2021

'OUT' WITH THE OLD, 'IN' WITH THE NEW

 

 

                            ‘Out’ with the old, ‘In’ with the new

           Here we are, turning another last page of a calendar, with hopes for a better New Year. The glow of the past holidays lingers, but so do the concerns of the continuing pandemic. Champagne bubbles might signify our optimism for the coming year, but unlike Christmas, there are few traditional dishes that come to mind for the turning of the year. Possibly, because most cooks may wish to relax after the New Year’s eve ‘extravaganza’.

          It is therefore interesting that peas are associated with this event in several cultures. As a child in Latvia, I knew that you ate ‘gray peas’ on New Year’s eve for good luck in the coming year and they all needed to be eaten by midnight, or they would bring tears in the new year. In Southern states of USA, black eyed peas or “Hopping John’ are eaten on New Year’s day for good luck. Hopefully any leftovers can be reheated for continued good luck.

                                      Easy ‘Hoping John’

          Traditionally this dish is made by slowly simmering dried black-eyed peas with a large ham hock for several hours. This recipe is a slimmed down version, but equally tasty.

          Rinse 1 lb. black-eyed peas and soak overnight in a large bowl with water. To cook, drain the water and place the beans in a 3-quart pot with water to cover by 2 inches. Bring to boil, stir in one 14 oz. can chopped tomatoes with liquid, 1 chopped onion, 1 tsp. salt, ¼ tsp. red pepper flakes and simmer partially covered for 1 hour. Stir in 1 ½ cups diced ham, a couple of drops of ‘liquid smoke’ seasoning and simmer for another 10 minutes and serve.

          A favorite and easy meal for New Years day at our house are baked stuffed jumbo pasta shells. They can be stuffed with Italian sausage and sauce, but here is a lighter spinach and ricotta version.

 


                                             Spinach and Ricotta shells

          Cook 16 jumbo pasta shells to ‘al dente’ according to package directions and drain.

           In a small bowl combine: 1 beaten egg, 12 oz. low fat ricotta, 1 cup mozzarella, ½ cup freshly grated Parmesan, 1 tsp. onion powder, 1 tsp. salt, ½ tsp. pepper, 2 tblsp. chopped parsley and ½ package of frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry.

          Lightly oil the bottom of a large baking dish. Stuff the shells with the filling and arrange in the baking dish. Cover with 1 ½ cups of Marinara sauce. Cover the dish tightly with aluminum foil and bake in a 350-degree oven for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for additional 10 minutes. Serve sprinkled with additional grated Parmesan.

          New Year’s day desert should be colorful, easy and not too heavy. These poached cranberry pears will brighten any holiday table.


        Poached cranberry pears

          Pick over cranberries and rinse, discarding stems and any decayed berries, you will need 1 cup fresh berries.

          Peel 4 firm-ripe pears (Bosc, Comice or Anjou), cut in half and core. Place pears cut side up in a 2-2 ½ quart baking dish, cover with a thinly sliced rinsed lemon, ends discarded, and the cranberries.

          In a small pot combine 1 cup sugar, 2 tblsp. cider vinegar, ¼ tsp. ground cinnamon, ginger each, 1 inch peeled fresh ginger chopped fine and 2/3 cup red wine. Quickly heat over high heat, stirring until sugar is dissolved and pour over the fruit.

          Cover dish tightly with foil and bake in a 350-degree oven for 45 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature. And, some leftover holiday cookies on the side would not be amiss!

          Happy New Year to everyone!

 (I. Winicov Harrington lives in coastal Maine and is the author of “How to Eat Healthy and Well for Less than $5.00 a Day: the Smart-Frugal Food Plan”; website: www.winicov-harrington.com)

 

 

Thursday, December 16, 2021

SHARING BAKED GIFTS

 

Sharing Baked Gifts

           Each Holiday season, as we reach out to family, friends and even acquaintances, many of us want to share that joy of the season.  For those of us that cook, it easily translates in sharing baked goods. This can manifest in a grandchild’s favorite chocolate chip cookies, cookies to share among a group of friends, a plate covered with wrap and a sprig of green for an elderly neighbor or even a couple of cookies tried with a red ribbon for members of your book club. The choices are endless.

          Jo, my sister-in-law has developed this to an art form, baking various ethnic Christmas breads and shipping them early in December. You need not try to replicate the original Dicken’s Plum Pudding, many baked gifts are not complicated, and you can even tailor them to individuals that need such gifts to be either sugar or gluten free. Here is a collection of recipes, some of which are very quick and easy.  


                                                 Pecan-Raspberry Buttons

          Chop enough pecans in a Cuisinart to make 1 ½ cups chopped nuts and set aside in a small bowl.

Beat 1 cup (½ lb.) room temperature unsalted butter with ¾ cups sugar. Separate 2 eggs, beat the yolks into the butter mix and set the whites aside in a small bowl. Next, thoroughly stir into the batter: 1 tsp. almon flavoring, ½ tsp. salt and 2 cups flour.

          Beat the egg whites to blend. Shape dough into 1-inch balls, roll them in egg whites to coat, then in the chopped nuts and place them on parchment lined cookie sheets 1 inch apart. Press your thumb in the center of each ball to make an indent. Bake the cookies in a 325-degree oven for 18-20 minutes.

          Cool completely and spoon about ½ tsp. thick raspberry jam into indent of each cookie. Best to leave cookies out on a rack for a day, to let the jam harden a bit.


                                              Latvian Christmas cookies

          This is my mother’s recipe which she baked each Christmas until her 93rd year.

          Beat 1 cup (½ lb.) unsalted butter to light with an electric mixer, then beat in 1 cup sugar. Beat in 4 egg yolks one at a time and 1 tsp. vanilla. Save the whites for the meringue cookies (following recipe). Using a wooden spoon, thoroughly stir in scant 3 cups flour mixed with 2/3 tsp. baking powder. Chill the dough ½ hour.

          Roll out portions of the dough ¼ inch thick, cut out forms with cookie cutters or moons and half moons with a glass. Place on a parchment lined cookie sheet and baste with a glaze of 2 egg yolks beaten with 1 tblsp. water (save the egg whites with the others, 6 are enough for an angel food cake if you don’t want to make meringues). Bake at 375 degrees for 12-13 minutes until golden. Cool on the pan for 5 minutes before removing with a spatula.

                             Meringue Kisses or Divinity

          These glamorous members of the Cookie Family are delicate and add interesting variety to a cookie tray. They are completely gluten free.

          Lay smooth brown paper (large paper bag cut open works well) on baking sheets and preheat oven to 250 degrees.  Do not grease the paper. Turn 3 room temperature egg whites in a 2-quart bowl. Beat with an electric mixer until stiff enough to form peaks curved at the tip. Add 1 cup sugar in 6 portions and beat until blended after each portion. Then beat in 1 tsp. white vinegar and 1 tsp. vanilla (or 2 tsp. fresh lemon juice for a different flavor) until meringue stands in stiff peaks. Drop heaped teaspoon full meringue on the prepared cookie sheets, 1 inch apart. Bake 25 to 30 min. until pale cream color.  Turn off the oven, open the oven door and let everything cool.  Remove from paper on a rack. Outside will be crisp and fragile. Store in a tight container.

                             Lacy Manchego Crisps

          For someone on a sugar and gluten free diet you can not beat these fragile delicious crisps, since you can make them with a bit of rice flour instead of wheat flour.

          Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line baking sheets with parchment paper.  Grate 6 oz. (2 ¼ cups) of Manchego cheese on a box grater rough setting. Toss gently with 2 tblsp. rice flour (or 1 ½ tblsp. wheat flour). Spoon level tblsp. in mounds 4 inches apart and spread lightly in ovals. Bake 8-10 minutes until golden. Cool crisps completely on baking sheets and remove with metal spatula. These are fragile and delicious.

          Happy baking and sharing to all!!!

 (I. Winicov Harrington lives in coastal Maine and is the author of “How to Eat Healthy and Well for Less than $5.00 a Day: the Smart-Frugal Food Plan”; website: www.winicov-harrington.com)

 

 

Thursday, December 2, 2021

COOKING WITH TOFU

Cooking with Tofu

           Most of us in Western cultures associate tofu with a vegetarian or vegan diets. However, in Southeast Asia, its original home, it often appears paired with meat or even seafood. In Japan, tofu is a favorite ingredient in summer meals for lighter fare. After having just fully enjoyed Thanksgiving and in view of the coming food excesses of the Holidays, it may be time to review tofu as an occasional lighter alternative.

          Tofu or ‘bean curd’ is the product of coagulating soy milk with a calcium or magnesium salt and draining the excess liquid. The process is analogous to milk being turned into cheese, but tofu contains soy protein while cheese contains animal protein. Consistency of the drained tofu ranges from silky to super firm, with firm and extra firm available in most stores. Tofu itself is bland, readily absorbs most flavors, hence is useful for both savory and sweet dishes. In fact, a Japanese colleague once hosted my husband and I to dinner in a “Tofu” restaurant in Kyoto. We arrived at dusk, a lantern illuminated a blooming plum tree next to a low thatched building with several small subtly decorated rooms and our dinner; appetizer, soup, main course and desert were all delicious and tofu based!

          Tofu is high in protein and has only 70 calories for a 3 oz. serving. The following recipes use extra firm tofu, which comes as a block (14 oz.) in a container submerged in liquid. Cut the amount to be used for each recipe from the block and blot with several layers of paper towels before processing. The remainder of the tofu block will keep refrigerated in the original liquid for several days for use in another recipe. 


                                      Crisp sesame tofu with soba noodles

          Blot one half block of extra firm tofu with paper towels, cut in 1-inch cubes and toss with 2 tblsp. corn starch mixed with ¾ tsp. salt.

          For vegetables: clean and slice 4 large mushrooms, slice in julienne strips ½ red seeded pepper and slice 2 large scallions. Or you can substitute some broccoli separated in large florets for the mushrooms and pepper.

          Prepare the sauce by mixing: 2 tblsp. soy sauce, miso paste, rice vinegar and lime juice each. Stir in 1 tblsp. toasted sesame oil, 1 minced garlic clove, 1-inch fresh ginger, grated and 4 tblsp. water.

          Cook soba noodles for 2 persons according to package directions, drain and set aside.

          In a large pan heat ¼ cup grapeseed oil, fry the tofu cubes to crisp brown on all sides and drain on paper towels. Add 1 tbslp. grapeseed oil to the pan and stir fry all the vegetables except the scallions, for 1 minute. Stir the sauce into the vegetable mix, heat for a minute, then stir in the tofu and heat for an additional minute. Finally stir in the scallions.

          Divide the soba noodles in 2 shallow bowls, spoon the tofu-vegetable mix over the noodles, sprinkle generously with toasted sesame seeds and serve.

                             Hot and sour soup

          This soup is best prepared with dried shitake and black tree ear mushrooms, but 4 oz. sliced button mushrooms can be substituted. The dried mushrooms need to be soaked in hot water for 30 minutes, rinsed and sliced. Water soaking the mushrooms can be added to the soup after filtering out sand through a paper towel

          Before you start: rinse and drain contents of an 8 oz. can of sliced bamboo shoots, and cut each slice in thin strips lengthwise. Slice thinly two scallions. Blot ½ block of tofu with paper towels and cut in small cubes or ¼ thick strips. Cut 5-6 oz. boneless pork loin in ¼ inch strips and marinate with 2 tsp. dark soy sauce. In a small bowl mix: 3-4 tblsp. red-wine vinegar, 2 tblsp. rice vinegar, 2 tblsp. light soy sauce, 1 tsp. sugar, 1 tsp. salt. In another small bowl stir 2 tblsp. cornstarch with ¼ cup water.

          Heat a wok over high heat, pour 2 tblsp. peanut oil down one side, swirl and stir fry the pork strips until the meat just changes color, about 1 minute. Stir in the mushrooms and the bamboo shoots and stir fry for an additional minute. Add 4 cups reduced salt chicken broth and the mushroom soaking water (or 2 cups water) and bring to boil. Add the vinegar mixture and when boiling, stir in the cornstarch, it will slightly thicken the soup. Turn the heat to simmer. Beat 2 eggs with a fork and a couple of drops sesame oil.  Add the eggs to the soup in a thin stream, stirring the soup in one direction. Stir in ½ tsp. white pepper or more to taste. Drizzle with another tsp. toasted sesame oil.  Serve hot sprinkled with the scallions. Can be reheated.

          There are many wonderful flavor combinations to be discovered with tofu.

(I. Winicov Harrington lives in coastal Maine and is the author of “How to Eat Healthy and Well for Less than $5.00 a Day: the Smart-Frugal Food Plan”; website: www.winicov-harrington.com)