Recipes

Ratatouille Recipe

This Niçoise dish is much more than a vegetable soup. It can be prepared fairly quickly by cooking everything together at the same time, but that needs to be done in the correct sequence to not miss out the art and the flavour of the dish.

It's also true that the recipe can legitimately vary (somewhat) according to tastes, but the variations should be based on experience. The volume is also very variable.

"Too much" doesn't apply to ratatouille. Cook it the first time, and eat it hot as the main course; then have it again later as a cold hors-d'oeuvre. In the summer time, it's great as a cold main-course dish. It keeps for several days in the refridgerator. Ratatouille is good served with couscous grain (semoule) or rice.

Cooking Pot - we use a large pressure cooker, without the pressure.

Recipe (12 servings; makes about 4.5 litres)

1.6 kg tomato [tomate] 700 g eggplant (2) [aubergine] 500 g zucchini (2) [courgette] 700 g bell pepper (2-3) [poivron] 1 kg onion [oignon]

6 cloves garlic [ail] Herbes de Provence (basilic,thyme, parsley) olive oil [huile d'olive] salt, pepper [sel, poivre] 140 g tomato paste

Common MethodThis method, or a variation, takes fewer pots, is somewhat faster, yet keeps the flavors well and is commonly used. About 65 minutes cooking.

1. Peel and drain the tomatoes (don't mind the seeds): cut out the stem cores; drop the whole tomatoes into boiling water for 2 minutes. Remove into a collander. The skin should split for easy removal; otherwise, make an X cut in the top, then peel off the skin.

2. Chop the onion and garlic. Clean the bell pepper, cut into small strips.

3. In a large cooking pot with thick bottom, put in olive oil, onions and chopped garlic. Add in the bell pepper. Cover to keep in the moisture. Cook for 20 minutes, stiring frequently, and add olive oil as necessary to prevent singing.

4. Add the peeled tomatoes and herbs de Provence. If you don't have good garden tomatoes with flavor, add a small can of tomato paste. Stirr well and cook for another 15 minutes. [35']

5. Cut the eggplant into rondelles. Cut the un-peeled zucchini into rondelles.

6. Add the eggplant and zucchini to the pot. Cook for about 30 minutes. [65']

Classical Method

This is the "old fashioned" method. We did it this way the first couple of times, just for the experience. It fills the kitchen surfaces with pots and pans, takes a bit longer, but doesn't really add to the flavor.

1. Cut the eggplant into rondelles; keep separate. Peel the zucchini, cut into rondelles, keep separate. Clean the bell pepper, cut into small strips, keep separate. Chop the onion, keep separate.

2. Peel, de-seed and drain the tomatoes (*)

3. Using four separate cooking pots, put some olive oil in the bottom; put in the eggplant, zucchini, pepper, and onion into their own pots; sprinkle some flour onto the eggplant and onto the zucchini. Put the four pots on to cook slowly. Each cooks for about 30 minutes, but test and cook each until correctly soft.

4. In a large cooking pot with a thick bottom, put in olive oil, chopped garlic, herbes de Provence. Squeeze the tomatoes in by hand. Cook slowly until you have a thick tomato sauce.

5. Add the four separately cooked vegetables to the tomato sauce, mix thoroughly and heat. Pour off the excess oil from the top. It's ready to serve.

Our Method

The first couple of times we made our ratatouille we used the pure "Classical" method, juggling our separate pots and being astounded when our chaos resulted in success. Having done it the "true" way, we then used the "Common Method" a few times: a single pot but everything still very time-sensitive. Our current method is much simpler, and produces the same great results. When we serve it to our neighbors and local friends it gets good reviews. When we admitted to some of the old-timers about our short-cut ways, they've told us that that's the way "it's always been done".

1. Prepare a large cooking pot with thick bottom, put in plenty olive oil.

2. Chop the onion, put it into the pot and start it cooking slowly. Chop and add the garlic.

3. Wash the bell pepper, cut into small strips, and stir it in.

4. Wash the tomatoes, chop them up in big chunks, and throw them in (no peeling) and stir in well.

5. Add the herbs de Provence and pepper. If the tomatoes are flavorless (all too common these days), we add a small can of condensed tomato sauce at this time.

6. Cut the eggplant and the zucchini into big chunks, then throw them into the pot. Then then need to be stirred down frequently until they've merged with the rest of the ingredients.

This takes about an hour, from when we first start chopping until everything is in the pot together. We then cook slowly for one to two hours, depending on how chunky you want in and how eager you are to try it.

---

Conversions 1 kg = 2.2 lbs 0.45 kg = 1 lb

1 lt = 1.06 qt 0.95 lt = 1 qt

30 g = 1 oz = 2 Tbs 60 g = 2 oz = 1/4 cup 115 g = 4 oz = 1/2 cup

180 g = 6 oz = 3/4 cup 225 g = 8 oz = 1 cup 450 g = 16 oz = 1 pint

Copy from

http://www.beyond.fr/food/ratatouille.html

posted by Chira @ 5:46 PM 0 comments

Hamburger Stew Recipe

PREPARATION:

Tear bread into pieces and soak in 1/2 cup hot water for 5 minutes. Add garlic, beef, pepper, and 1 teaspoon of the salt. Mix well and shape into 8 small patties. Brown patties in a heavy Dutch oven; add 4 cups of water.
Cover and simmer for 10 minutes. Add vegetables and remaining salt; cook for 15 minutes. Make dumplings with biscuit mix, following directions on package. Drop dumpling batter by teaspoonfuls onto simmering hamburger stew. Cover and cook for 15 minutes.
Hamburger stew serves 4.

From About.com
http://southernfood.about.com/od/beefstewrecipes/r/bl30319z.htm

posted by Chira @ 12:07 AM 0 comments

Pot Roast with Vegetables

PREPARATION:

Heat oil and butter in a Dutch oven or heavy stock pot over medium heat; brown roast for about 20 minutes, turning to brown all sides. Add sliced onion, garlic, thyme, marjoram, bay leaf, pepper and salt to the meat drippings; stir and cook for about 30 seconds. Add beef broth; bring to a boil.
Reduce heat, cover, and simmer slowly for about 2 hours. Turn meat from time to time. Add small white onions, carrots, and rutabaga. Cover and simmer for about 30 minutes, or until vegetables are tender.

Transfer meat and vegetables to a hot platter and keep warm while making gravy. Strain the liquid remaining in the pot. Measure 2 cups, adding a little water to measure 2 cups if necessary; return to Dutch oven. Pour 1/4 cup of water into a measuring cup. Add flour and stir with a small whisk or fork until mixture is smooth. Gradually add flour mixture to liquid and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Reduce heat and simmer for 2 to 3 minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning. Pot roast serves 6 to 8.

From About.com
http://southernfood.about.com/od/potroastrecipes/r/bl30221c.htm

posted by Chira @ 12:00 AM 0 comments

My Stews

NO ROUX - INGREDIENTS:

• 300 g of thick flank, cut in thin slices
• 2 onions, cut into thin slices
• 7 cloves of garlic, cut into thin slices
• 2 potatoes, peeled and cut in thick slices
• butter
• bay leaf
• thyme
• salt
• pepper
• water or bouillon, mixed with beer, or just beer or soju

PREPARATION:

1. Put small amount of butter in a frying pan. After the butter melt, sweat sliced onion, sliced garlic, thyme, bay leaf in the pan.
2. Remove them from the frying-pan.
3. In the same pan put brown the meat slices briefly on both sides. Season with salt and pepper.
4. Add water, beer and/or bouillon, cover and let the meat cook for 10 minutes in the frying-pan.
5. In a casserole put layers of sliced potato, onion, meat, and the last layer of sliced potato.
6. Cover with liquid and let the stew simmer in the oven or on the stove for 45 - 60 minutes (cooking time is not critical). Serve sizzling hot.


WITH ROUX - INGREDIENTS:

• 300 g of thick flank, cut in thin slices
• 2 onions, cut into thin slices
• 7 cloves of garlic, cut into thin slices
• 2 potatoes, peeled and cut in thick slices
• butter
• AP flour
  
• bay leaf
• thyme
• salt
• pepper
• water or bouillon, mixed with beer, or just beer or soju

PREPARATION:

1. Put small amount of butter in a frying pan. After the butter melt, sweat sliced onion, sliced garlic, thyme, bay leaf in the pan.
2. Remove them from the frying-pan.
3. In the same pan put brown the meat slices briefly on both sides. Season with salt and pepper.
4. Remove the meat.
5. In a casserole put layers of sliced potato, onion, meat, and the last layer of sliced potato.
6. In the frying pan, add 2 tablespoon of butter.
7. Wait until the butter foam up, then add 2 tablespoon of AP flour.
8. Cook the roux until it's loosen up and the color has changed to brown.
9. Add water, beer and/or bouillon at once.
10. Let the roux cook for 10 minutes in the frying-pan.
11. Pour the roux in the casserole and let the stew simmer in the oven or on the stove for 45 - 60 minutes (cooking time is not critical). Serve sizzling hot.


TIPS:

You can also prepare the stew in a pressure cooker instead of a casserole. This will shorten the cooking time to 15 minutes and, at the same time, less liquid can be used, since in a pressure cooker it is not essential that the stew be completely covered.

posted by Chira @ 11:51 PM 0 comments

Gazpacho Soup

What makes gazpacho soup so good is the fresh taste of all the vegetables. It's best in the summer when vegetables are the most flavorful. People who have never tried a cold soup are sometimes hesitant to try gazpacho but soon become fans of the fresh, intense flavors. Gazpacho is one of summer's pleasures!

Gazpacho soup originated from the southern Spanish region of Andalusia. Although there are many regional and modern versions of this recipe, it's traditionally made with ripe tomatoes, bell peppers, cucumbers, garlic, and bread moistened with water that is blended with olive oil, vinegar, and ice water and served cold.

Gazpacho was traditionally eaten by workers in the fields of vineyards, olive plantations, citrus groves, wheat fields, or cork farms. Gazpacho was originally nothing but bread, water, and olive oil, all pounded in a large wooden bowl. It was poor people food.

The word gazpacho is believed to come from the word "caspa", meaning "residue" or "fragments", an allusion to the small pieces of bread and vegetables in a gazpacho soup.

This is Chef Sabra Ricci's version of gazpacho soup. It's an excellent make-ahead dish for summer parties. People on a low-carb diet such as the South Beach Diet can serve this soup with grilled chicken or fish for a satisfying, healthy lunch.

Gazpacho

Serving Size: 8

Ingredients

3 cups tomatoes, red ripe, seeded and diced
2 cups red bell pepper, diced medium
2 cups red onions, diced medium
1/2 cup celery, diced medium
2 cups cucumber, diced medium
1 teaspoon garlic, minced
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
2 cups organic vegetable juice
pinch cayenne
1 teaspoon cumin

Method
Mix diced tomato, peppers, red onions, celery and cucumber together in a medium bowl. Divide the mixture in half and separate in two bowls.

Add garlic to one of the bowls and empty into blender. Add vinegar to the blender and puree until smooth.

Add the vegetable juice, cayenne and cumin to the blender. Blend.

Add the puree to the bowl of diced vegetables.

Refrigerate overnight. Garnish with lemon and cilantro.

Nutritional Analysis
Per serving - 55 Calories
Fat 1 g - 7% calories from fat
Protein 2 g
Carbohydrate 13 g
Cholesterol 0 mg
Sodium 237 mg

posted by Chira @ 8:08 PM 0 comments

Korean Beef

INGREDIENTS:

• Beef - flank steak, sirloin, or your favorite - cut in ½ inch strips or whole
• For Each Pound of Beef, make the following marinade:
• ¼ cup soy sauce
• ¼ cup chicken broth (or water - the difference is pretty subtle)
• 2 Tablespoons artificial sweetener (or brown sugar - not much of it probably actually gets into the meat)
• 2 Tablespoon sesame oil
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 teaspoon fresh garlic or ½ teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon fresh grated ginger
• 2 green onions (scallions) chopped
• 1 Tablespoon sesame seeds (optional)

PREPARATION:

Cut the beef into half-inch strips if the butcher didn't do it for you. (In a large US supermarket, this means finding the bell and ringing it. Someone will come out - it's their job to cut meat.) If the meat has a grain (obvious lines) like flank steak, cut perpendicular to those lines.

Mix the marinade ingredients up, and put the meat in. Marinate anywhere from an hour to overnight. If you use artificial sweetener, consider adding just a teaspoon of dark molasses for flavor.

Grill quickly on a hot grill.

There is no carbohydrate to speak of in this recipe if you use the artificial sweetener. It's hard to tell with sugar in a marinade how much gets in.

posted by Chira @ 8:06 PM 0 comments

Thai Ingredients (1): Garlic, Shallot, and 3 kinds of Basil

Garlic (Gra Tiem)

1. Use: Almost all Thai dishes, such as soups, curries, salads, sauces and pan-fried dishes, contain garlic.
2. Medicinal Properites: Cures and prevents atherosclerosis, high blood pressure, aids digestion, relieves cold symptoms, fights some intestinal parasite, helps heal wounds, fights infections, strengthens heart, and clear chest congestion.
3. Method of Preparation: Garlic is ground in curry paste, crushed in salad dressings, or chopped and fried before adding to other ingredients in pan fried dishes.

Shallot (Hua Hom)

1. Use: Shallots are ingredients of all kinds of curry pastes, hot sauces and salads.
2. Medicinal Properties : Aids digestion, relieves cold symptoms, increases appetite, and regulates menstruation.
3. Method of Preparation : Ground in curry pastes or sauces, cut up finely in salads and pan-fried dishes.

Ocimum Sanctum Red, or White Basil, or Holy Basil (Ga Prao)

1. Use: Grapro is used in Pad Gaprao (fried meat with fresh chili pepper, garlic and gaprao), Gang Pa, Gang Kae, and Tom Jew.
2. Medicinal Properties : Relieves flatulence and indigestion, helps release phlegm, and increases milik supply for breastfeeding mothers.
3. Method of Preparation:
1. Add fresh gaprao to fried ingredients just before removing from the pan. The heated gaprao will add the flavor to the dishes.
2. Deep fry gaprao until crispy and add to the dishes as garnish.

Sweet Basil (Horapa)

1. Use : All kinds of Thai curries and some pan fried dishes, i.e. fried long egg plant, shellfish dishes; contain Horapa. Horapa can be used fresh in salads and as an accompanying vegetable for regional dishes.
2. Medicinal Properties : Aids digestion, increases perspiration, relieves coughing, fights parasites of the digestive tract, relieves constipation, and cures scurvy.
3. Method of Preparation : Add to the cooked dishes just before removing from the heat. Horapa provides full fragrance while heated but not overcooked.

Ocimum Canum, Hoaru Basil (Mang Rak)

1. Use : Gang Liang (spicy vegetable soup) and regional clear vegetable soup contain Mangrak leaves. This kind of basil can be used fresh to accompany Thai hot sauces : Namya, Namprik.
2. Medicinal Properties : Mangrak leaves aid digestion, increase perspiration, relieve coughing, and cure scurvy. Mangrak seeds relieve constipation and promote body weight reduction.
3. Method of Preparation : Mangrak is best while fresh. It is should be added last as ingredient to the soup just before removing from the heat.

posted by Chira @ 2:06 AM 0 comments

Sole with Lemon Sauce

This dish is very simple, but very tasty for me because I love lemon. These days, Dan and I try to eat fish everyday. We want to increase our protien intake and fish is a perfect resource.

Ingredients for 2 serving

2 fillets Sole

Sauce
1/2 cup chopped onions
1/2 cup chopped carrots
1/2 lemon (juice only)
1 cup chicken stock
lemon zest
salt
thyme

Preparation

1. Put all the sauce ingredients into a pan.
   
2. Simmer the sauce until the vegetables get soft.
3. Put the fish in the sauce and cover the pan with a lid.
4. Leave the fish on medium heat for 20 minutes. Be careful not to burn the sauce.
5. It's ready to serve now.
   

I love to put some chili flakes on top of my fish. It gives a little spicy taste to the fish. Sour and Spicy go very well together.

posted by Chira @ 1:53 AM 0 comments

Chinese Steamed Pork Dumpling

This is one of Dan's favorite dish.

Ingredients for 4-5 servings

40 round dumpling skins**
2 Chinese dried shitake mushrooms
1 medium egg
60 grams onion, finely chopped
120 grams ground pork
90 grams shrimp

Seasoning Sauce

1 teaspoon sugar
2 tablespoon sesame oil
2 teaspoon thin soy sauce
2 teaspoon oyster sauce
2 teaspoon cornstarch

Preparation

1. Put the mushrooms in hot water. Leave them until get softer, then squeeze until them dry. Cut off and discard stems. Chop into very small pieces.
   
2. Shell, devein, wash, and drain prawns. Dice tnto bits.
3. Mix the pork, mushrooms, prawns, and onion in a blender until it is fine. This will be the stuffing
   
4. Add seasoning and the egg to the stuffing.
5. Mix them well together.
6. Place 2 teaspoon stuffing in the center of a dumpling skin.
7. Fold the skin in half.
8. Steam the dumplins for 30 minutes or until they are cooked.
9. Use as many as you want. The rest of the dumplings can be kept in the freezer.
10. Reheat after thawing by steaming 10 minutes.

Tips

1. Dumpling skins are similar to Wonton skins, except that they are round and slightly thicker.
   
2. Sometimes, I put the dumpling in homemade chicken and daikon soup.
   

posted by Chira @ 8:20 PM 0 comments

A Chinese Lady Wearing A Wrap

It should have been a little more charred, though, it was pretty good.

Ingredients for 1 serving

3 of 6-inches Chinese pork sausages
2 daikons
5 Chinese celeries
1 cup vinegar
1 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt

Preparation

1. Boil the vinegar, sugar and salt mixture over medium heat. When the sugar dissolves, remove from the heat.
2. Wash the daikons, peel and slice thinly lengthwise. Cut into 1.5 cm. width strips.
   
3. Soak the daikons in the vinegar mixture for 2 hours.
4. Wash the celery, cut off all the leaves and keep them for later use. Blanch the celery stems in boiling water. When the stems are tender, place the celery stems in cool water to stop the cooking process. Tear the stems into thin strands to be used as strings.
5. Wash the Chinese sasuages. Steam over hard boiling water. When the sarsages are cooked, take them out and cut them into 1 inch pieces. Divide each piece lengthwise into two halves.
6. Drain the daikons then use each piece to wrap a piece of the sausage. Placde one celery leaf on top, then tie tightly with a celery string
7. Arrange on a serving tray. Serve with a beverage as an appetizer.

Tips

For those who like spicy food, don't soak the daikon in the vinegar. Squeeze the daikon with salt until softened. Then, wash with water and wrap around the sasages. Soking the daikon in vinegar solution, however, add sourness to the food which will get rid of a greasy taste

posted by Chira @ 3:52 AM 0 comments