recipe – Page 7 – a hippie with a minivan

Pita Bread…

2 1/4 tsp yeast
1/2 cup warm water
1 teaspoon brown sugar
3 1/2 cups flour
1 1/4 tsp salt
1 cup lukewarm water

Activate yeast by mixing with 1/2 cup warm water and tsp of sugar

Mix flour and salt

Add yeasty water to the flour

Add the cup of warm water… start with 1/2 cup and slowly add more until it comes together…

Put on lightly floured counter and start to knead

Knead…
push

turn

fold

Place in bowl lightly covered in olive oil

Cover and let rise

Double

separate into small balls and let rise again about 10 min (preheat oven to 450)
I made 14….

roll out the dough

let rest another 10 min…

put in oven and watch them puff up…

Enjoy!!!

Salt Cured Salmon…

I was buying some Cured Salmon from the fish store once in a while because I love it… but it is expensive!

A few weeks though I saw recipe and I found out that it is really easy to make… pretty much just pack the salmon in Salt and whatever else you want… So I tried it… and I can’t stop making it since then…

What I have been doing is taking the filet, brushing a bit of liquid smoke on it (to give it a bit of a smoked Salmon taste) putting a few tbsp of salt over it plus pepper, dill, sugar and granulated onion… then I weight it down with some cans of tomatoes and stick it in the fridge…

After about 12 hours I drain it a bit and add a bit of everything if needed… and then put it back in the fridge… another 12 hours later I drain it again and put a few paper towels under it to saok up the rest of the moistur and stick it back in the fridge… A few hours later it should have a slight rubbery feel to it… then it is time to slice…

Slice at an angle as thin as you can get it…

then you can store it in the fridge… I am not sure how long it lasts, but it is cured so it should last a while…

but it also gets eaten very fast…

(on a whole wheat english muffin with a bit of butter and cream cheese)

Miso Paté

This may not look very appetizing but don’t let looks fool you. This is a kind of paté that can be very versatile. You can use it as a spread on bread of vegetables, in a sandwich or with crackers. EVeryone enjoyed this in the house, which is saying a lot.

2 cups broken pieces whole wheat bread
1/2 cup water or broth
1/4 cup tahini
2 tbsp miso
1 small onion (minced)
1 tbsp sesame oil
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 tsp of poultry seasoning (mix of sage, thyme, rosemary etc)

break the bread into pieces and add the broth or water and mix until moist with your hands…
add the rest and mix well…
put in the fridge and let it sit for a least a few hours… but better the next day….

So good!!

Salmon… stuffed and smothered…

This is a recipe that even the fish hater in my family likes…

Like most of my recipes… amounts are approx…

butterfly a Salmon filet and stuff with crumbled goat cheese, tarragon, salt and pepper…. and place in a baking dish…

In a bowl Mix together about 1/4c of sour cream and 3 tbsp of Mayonnaise, add to that add about 3 tsp of mustard, chopped green onion (I use 2), about 3 tbsp of parmesan, and about 1 tbsp each of tarragon and dill, a bit of pepper and a bit of salt to taste… (might not need it depending on the parmesan)

spread over the stuffed salmon fillets… (you can reserve some of the sauce for dipping)

bake at 450 for about 10 min per inch of thickness…

stuffed…

out of the oven…

ready to eat…

Dense Chocolatey Chocolate cake…

It was Simon’s birthday 2 weeks ago and I wanted to make him happy with chocolate… which is something that he loves…

So I searched for the best chocolate cake recipe and fell on one on this blog…

I did adapt it a bit to make it more dark and gooey…. but omg… it was good!

CAKE
2 1/2 cups granulated sugar
2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
3 large eggs
1 ½ cups buttermilk
1 cup strong brewed coffee, cooled
3/4 c vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla
4 oz unsweetened chocolate squares, melted and slightly cooled

FROSTING
1 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup whipping (35%) cream
6 oz semi-sweet chocolate squares
2 tsp vanilla
1 package (8 oz) light cream cheese, softened
1 cup butter, softened

CAKE
1. Lightly grease bottom and sides of three 9-inch round or square cake pans. Cut circles/squares of parchment paper to fit bottom of pans and place in pans. Lightly grease paper and set pans aside.

2. Combine sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. Set aside.

3. In another large bowl, beat eggs for about 3 minutes, until they have thickened slightly and are lemon-coloured. Add buttermilk, coffee, oil, vanilla and melted chocolate. Mix until well blended.

4. Gradually add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix until batter is smooth. Divide batter equally among pans.

5. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes at 350 degrees F, until a toothpick inserted in centre of cakes comes out clean. Cool in pans on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove cake from pans, peel off paper and cool completely before frosting.

FROSTING
1. Whisk together sugar, cocoa, and whipping cream in a medium saucepan. Cook slowly over medium heat, whisking constantly, until mixture comes to a gentle boil. Cook 1 minute. Remove from heat and stir in chocolate until melted. Stir in vanilla. Let cool to room temperature.

2. In a large bowl, beat cream cheese and butter on high speed of an electric mixer until smooth. Add cooled chocolate mixture and beat on medium speed until well blended. Refrigerate frosting until desired spreading consistency is reached, about 1 hour. But don’t let it get too firm – you won’t be able to spread it!

3. To frost cake, place one cake layer on a plate. Spread 1 cup frosting over top. Repeat with second layer. Place final layer on top. Ice top and sides with remaining frosting.

Cover and refrigerate, but let cake stand at room temperature for 30 minutes before serving.