LEBANESE LEMON & GARLIC DRESSED Carrot & Zucchini Salad

Petr Kratochvil

Carrot and Zucchini Salad

Serves Four

2 large carrots, cleaned and shredded (use the large side of a hand shredder)

2 small zucchini, cleaned and shredded (use the large side of a hand shredder)

lemon-garlic dressing (see below), to taste

Prepare the salad:

Mix the vegetables and then dress with the lemon and garlic dressing, not so much that the salad is soupy.

Lebanese Lemon-garlic Dressing

Prepare the dressing:

4 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil, the best quality you can afford when it's for a dressing

1 tablespoon lemon zest

1 lemon juiced

1 fresh garlic clove, crushed well using a mortar and pestle

1/8 cup fresh coriander (cilantro), minced (you can substitute parsley)

Whisk all the ingredients together.  Dress salad to taste.

Actual product ingredients may be other than that which is shown or suggested on this blog. Please remember that you should not rely solely on the information presented here or anywhere online and that you always read package labels, warnings, and directions before purchasing and consuming a product. 

SAVORY BAY RIDGE BREAKFAST BREAD PUDDING

The recipe

Serves four people

• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 1/2 cups of milk (dairy, nut or soy, your choice)
• 3 large omega-3 eggs, beaten
• 1 1/2 cups Pecorino Romano, freshly grated
• Sea salt
• Coarse black pepper, freshly grated
• 1/4 cup fresh parsley, finely minced
• 1 teaspoon fresh rosemary, finely minced
• 7 slices of Udi's Gluten-free Multi-grain Bread, toasted and quartered
• 2 cups of Emmental Cheese, shredded
• 3 cups of water

Grease an 8 inch baking dish with the olive oil.

In a bowl, mix the milk, eggs, half the Pecorino Romano cheese, the fresh herbs, and salt and pepper to taste.
Layer half the toast in the bottom of the baking dish. This is free form. It's okay to overlap. Top the toast with about two-thirds of the cheese. Eyeball it. Precision isn't necessary. Arrange the remaining toast. With a fork, press gently on the toast to help make sure that it absorbs the liquid. Mix what's left of the Pecornio Romano and Emmental and top the pudding with the mixture.

Boil the water and pre-heat the oven to 425°.

Let the dish stand for twenty minutes. Set the baking pan in a larger pan. Pour enough boiling water in the larger pan to come half-way up the side of the baking pan. (This is like using a bain-marie - or water bath - for making cheesecake.) Bake for about thirty minutes to cook through, set the pudding, and brown the top. If the top starts to brown before the pudding is set, just carefully and loosely cover the pan with aluminum foil.

Actual product ingredients may be other than that which is shown or suggested on this blog. Please remember that you should not rely solely on the information presented here or anywhere online and that you always read package labels, warnings, and directions before purchasing and consuming a product. 

TURKEY POULE

Photograph courtesy of publicdomainpictures.net

This recipe may have originated for us with Paul Prudhomme. It  is an absolutely delicious way to use leftover turkey you may have frozen after Thanksgiving.

Louisiana Turkey Poule 


This recipe
Serves four

• Eight large slices of leftover turkey breast
• Butter or gluten-free spread
• Four slice of Udi's GF Multi-grain Bread, each one toasted and cut into four diamond shapes
• 4 slices of GF Bacon
• 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, minced
• 2 tablespoons fresh chives, minced
• 2 tablespoons of fresh rosemary, remove from stem and mince
• 2 cups of bechamel sauce, gluten-free
• 2 cups shredded swiss (my preference) or cheddar cheese
• black pepper, freshly grated
• 1/4 cup fresh parsley, finely minced

Prepare the bechamel, add the cheese and the herbs, and keep warm.

Cook the bacon and set aside to drain on paper towels.

Sauté the turkey in a little butter or spread to heat through, but be care not to let it dry out. Arrange the toast points on four serving dishes.  Top toast with a turkey and a slice of bacon.  Pour some of the bechamel over each serving, sprinkle with the pepper and parsley.  Serve hot.

Actual product ingredients may be other than that which is shown or suggested on this blog. Please remember that you should not rely solely on the information presented here or anywhere online and that you always read package labels, warnings, and directions before purchasing and consuming a product. 

AN ANTIQUE PERSIMMON RECIPE

Public domain illustration of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Recipes are good-will ambassadors." Mrs. Cordell Hull as quoted in Pioneer "Vittals"

Everyone finds their way to Brooklyn, it would seem. Then their books find their way onto the shelves of second-hand bookstores and into our family library. This post was inspired by one such find.

The glorious gold-orange globes of hachiya persimmons arrive in the market along with the autumn chill. There are several kinds of persimmons, but the ones generally available to US are the hachiya. These must be very ripe to eat raw or use in cooking.  They have high tannin levels, which makes them bitter when unripe. When the persimmons become as soft as a ripe tomato, you can cut them in half, scoop out the flesh with a spoon, and eat them raw.  Or you can use the pulp for breads, cakes, and puddings.
we found the recipe below, which we offer for historical interest, in a charming booklet compiled by Sarah Dougherty of Russellville, Tennessee.  There's no date on the book and no copyright to give us a hint.  It would appear that Mrs. Dougherty lovingly collected old Tennessee recipes and probably self-published this tiny, three-by-five, brown-covered gem.  According to the booklet, this recipe is from the mountains of East Tennessee and dates back to the 1800s.

Persimmon Pudding

• 3 eggs
• 1 cup brown sugar, packed
• 1 cup seeded persimmons
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• Pinch salt
• 1 teaspoon soda dissolved in buttermilk
• 1 cup four [substitute gluten-free all-purpose flour, exchangeable one-for-one in a recipe]
• butter, the size of an egg [3/4 stick of sweet butter or Earth Balance Vegan Buttery Sticks]
• 1/2 teaspoon each of spice, cinnamon and nutmeg

Mix all together and bake in moderate oven until done.
Serve with whipped cream.

***

EARTH BALANCE VEGAN BUTTER STICKS

Earth Balance Buttery sticks works just fine in baking. The spread is suitable as a spread or for cooking but not for baking, frosting, or candy-making.

Kosher.
Gluten Free.
Dairy Free.

Ingredients: Expeller-Pressed Natural Oil Blend (Soybean, Palm Fruit, Canola Seed And Olive Oils), Filtered Water, Pure Salt, Natural Flavor (Derived From Corn, Not MSG, No Alcohol, No Gluten), Soy Protein, Soy Lecithin, Lactic Acid (Non-Dairy, Derived From Sugar Beets), And Beta Carotene Color (From Natural Source).

Actual product ingredients may be other than that which is shown or suggested on this blog. Please remember that you should not rely solely on the information presented here or anywhere online and that you always read package labels, warnings, and directions before purchasing and consuming a product.