Scallion Pancakes

June 3, 2012 · by ·

I have a guilty pleasure. I am not a huge fan of the Chinese take-out places, but whenever I go – I have to get one thing. Scallion pancakes. I shared an order with the family just the other night. But lately. every time we pick up these little greasy triangles from our local dive, I am left feeling a bit cheated. By the time it gets to our table, it is often lukewarm and chewy or soggy. Because it’s usually late on a Thursday night, it never tastes like it’s fresh or like someone cared how it tasted. I also thought about the price tag. It’s flour, water, scallions and oil people. It shouldn’t cost $5 for what amounts to two pancakes!

I have been wanting to make my own for a while. It’s really easy – a similar process to making paratha or malawach. It’s pretty quick and definitely worth your while.

Scallion Pancakes
Ingredients:

2 3/4 cup sifted all-purpose flour
1 cup very hot water
kosher salt
a bunch of scallions – about 5
vegetable oil

Pour the sifted flour in to a large bowl.

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Pour the hot water in to the flour while stirring.

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Mix with a wooden spoon until you have some semblance of a dough.

Sprinkle your hands with flour and knead the dough until the dough is smooth and elastic.

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Cover the dough with a damp towel and let sit for 30 minutes.

While the dough is resting, you can wash and chop your scallions.

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Cut the dough in to 4 equal pieces.

Lightly brush oil on to a rolling board.

Roll out one of the pieces of dough. It should be very thin. Roll it out in to a rectangle.

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Brush the dough with some vegetable oil.

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Sprinkle the dough with some kosher salt and some of the chopped scallions.

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Roll up the dough in to a long snake.

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Cut the dough snake in half.

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Coil the dough snake in to a round snail.

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Roll out the snail in to a pancake.

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Fry the pancake in a small amount of oil. Lightly brown on both sides.

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Drain and slice in to wedges. Repeat the process with the other balls of dough or you can chill in the fridge and use later. You could also process up until the raw scallion pancake stage and freeze for later use.

Serve with a soy ginger dipping sauce (soy sauce, chopped/mashed ginger, chopped garlic and some rice vinegar). Enjoy!

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Filed Under: asian, munchies, snack, Vegan, Vegetarian · Tagged: , , ,

Asparagus and Swiss Cheese Galette

May 31, 2012 · by ·

A friend of mine was headed out of town, so she graciously offered me her CSA for the week. Was so happy to see this lovely box of local, seasonal veggies. In the box were some beautiful greens, some tomatoes, fresh strawberries, eggs and some amazingly fresh asparagus. Just picked and grown less than 25 miles away from me! Love it!

I  really want to highlight each of these lovely fruits and veggies on their own. That’s how good they are are. I wanted the asparagus to have a starring role in tonight’s main dish. I thought about a shaved asparagus salad, but I knew that it wouldn’t be filling enough for the rest of the family. I also didn’t really want to cut up the asparagus too much. It looks too pretty to mess with.

Here is a lovely Asparagus and Swiss Cheese galette that worked for our family. When paired with a salad, it makes for a perfect light dinner.

Asparagus and Swiss Cheese Galette
Ingredients:

1 sheet puff pastry
2 cloves of garlic sliced
1 tbsp. dijon mustard
swiss cheese or gruyere
2 tsp.dried thyme or 1 tbsp. fresh
1 tsp. lemon zest
1 tsp. ground pepper
1 tsp. salt
1/2 pound of asparagus, washed and trimmed (thin stalks are better)
1 shallot chopped

Preheat oven to 400.

Roll out your puff pastry dough. Lay on a parchment paper lined baking tray.

Prick the dough with a fork along the inside of the edges. Leave about 1/2 – inch of clearance. This will form your crust.

Spread a thin layer mustard inside the fork pricks. Lay garlic pieces over this.

Lay cheese over the mustard.

Sprinkle herbs over this.

Lay out the asparagus however you’d like.

Sprinkle chopped shallots over the asparagus.

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Bake in oven for about 20 minutes.

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Enjoy with a salad for a nice, light and easy dinner! Gah! I have a weakness for buttery puff pastry. Way too good!

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Filed Under: baked, Breakfast, dairy, easy, Lunch, vegetables, Vegetarian · Tagged: , , , , ,

Crab Cakes

May 30, 2012 · by ·

I hate when I defrost a package of something and only use half of it in a dish – leaving me with extra food that I hadn’t planned on using. I can’t toss it back in the freezer. I don’t want to make more of the same thing I just made. That was the predicament I was in the other day.

I had unintentionally defrosted a whole package of the imitation crab meat – of the lump meat variety. I usually divide the pouch in to recipe-size packages when I buy it, but didn’t get a chance to this time around. I had used some of it this weekend in my mock crab rangoon.  I was left with 3/4 of a package though.

I often make fish cakes – usually salmon. Today, I decided to try making a kosher crab cake. I know it’s not going to be the same as the real thing, but I figured that I could still make something tasty. It would be a quick dinner item to go with a salad and some steamed veggies.  These “crab” cakes did not disappoint.

Kosher Crab Cakes
Ingredients:

1 package of the imitation crab meat or 1 pound lump crab meat, chopped well (I used 3/4)
2 shallots, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
3 scallions, chopped
2 large eggs
2/3 cup bread crumbs
1.5 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
lemon zest of 1/2 lemon
1/2 lemon, juiced
2 tbsp. horseradish sauce
2 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley
1.5 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 tsp. old bay seasoning
fresh ground pepper
tsp.salt
1.5 tbsp. vegetable oil for pan frying

Mix everything in  bowl.

Form in to patties.

Let the patties sit for a few minutes to set.

Pan fry in oil on each side until lightly browned. Keep in mind that the fish is fully cooked already.

Drain on paper towels.

Serve with steamed or sauteed veggies and a salad. We like this with a horseradish remoulade sauce.

Enjoy!

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Filed Under: Dinner, easy, fish · Tagged: , , , ,

Vegetable & Tofu Lo Mein

May 29, 2012 · by ·

After a 3-day holiday run, I’m all about easy meals this week. Here’s a meal idea that is always on the back-burner in our house.

Every so often, I crave lo mein. Not the cheap “chinese” restaurant lo mein you get for $4 on any random NYC street corner. I crave a good, flavorful but simple lo mein. With really good noodles. Good veggies. A bit of tofu. There’s an Asian marketing near me that carries a good variety of kosher and authentic noodles. While there, I stock up on rice noodles, egg noodles, rice vermicelli, and lo mein of course.  The fresh lo mein noodles last indefinitely in the freezer. They are good to have on hand for a rush dinner.

We always have veggies lying around. So this is a perfect way to use up those odds and ends sitting in your fridge. The dish is also flexible enough that you could throw in some frozen veggies as well.

Vegetable & Tofu Lo Mein
Ingredients

1/2 onion, chopped
1 package of fresh lo mein noodles
5 cloves garlic, chopped
small nub of ginger, chopped
1 tbsp. veg oil
1 tsp. sesame oil
1 container tofu, drained and cubed
assorted veggies, cut up  – some ideas: mushrooms, peas, broccoli, pepper, baby corn, zucchinni
2 tbsp. dark soy sauce (I used a mushroom flavored variety)
1 tbsp. sriracha – or less, to taste
1/4 cup of vegetable broth
chopped scallions
salt (to taste)
red pepper flakes (to taste)

Cook the noodles in water for a minute or two. If you don’t have fresh lo mein noodles, you can substitute a spaghetti noodle. Drain the noodles and set aside.

Heat the vegetable oil and sesame oil in a large wok.

Add in the onions, garlic and ginger.

Add in the drained tofu and cook for a few minutes on high.

Stir in the cut up vegetables. Whatever veggies you’d like.

When the vegetables have softened a little, but still crisp, add in the soy sauce, broth. and sriracha. Taste a bit and see if it needs more chili flakes or salt, etc.

Stir in the lo mein noodles. Let the noodles mix with the sauce and veggies.  Make sure all noodles are coated.

Garnish with raw scallions.

Serve.

Enjoy!

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Filed Under: asian, Dinner, easy, tofu, Vegan, vegetables, Vegetarian · Tagged: , ,

Rhubarb Crisp

May 25, 2012 · by ·

There is a greenmarket in front of my office twice a week. I love checking it out to see what’s in season. When I can, I prefer to buy from them. I love the splashes of color from the stands as I walk out of the subway. It’s a nice change from the shlock vendors that stand in its place during the rest of the week.

For the past few weeks, they’ve had rhubarb stalks on their tables. I’ve never tried rhubarb. Not even in a strawberry-rhubarb pie. I’ve missed out on such a classic American staple. As I walked through the tables yesterday, I eyed the stalks. I asked one of the workers how much I would need. He said 1-2 pounds would be plenty – about 4-5 stalks. A colleague mentioned that rhubarb is great in a crisp. I decided to check it out. Got to try everything once, right?
We love fruit crisps in the summer. They come together easily and use what we have on hand. I wasn’t sure how this one would turn out though. It smelled good while baking, but rhubarb has a mixed reputation. I set aside a small ramekin so that I could try it. I wasn’t disappointed. It has this tangy and tartness to it that is welcome. 

Rhubarb



Rhubarb Crisp
Ingredients:
4 large stalks of rhubarb
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup flour
1 stick of butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 cup oats
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. vanilla
Preheat the oven to 400.
Cut up the rhubarb, slicing it across – around 1/2 inch thick. Sliced Rhubarb

 Mix up the sliced rhubarb with the white sugar and the flour. Place in a buttered baking dish. A 9×9 would work for this.

Sliced up rhubarb

In a separate bowl, using a pastry blender, mix up the rest of the ingredients. Sprinkle the crumble over the rhubarb.
Rhubarb Crisp

Bake until the topping is golden brown. The rhubarb should be soft. It should take around 30-35 minutes.

Rhubarb Crisp

Serve while warm – with a nice scoop of ice cream. Enjoy!

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Filed Under: baked, Dessert · Tagged: , , , , , ,

Cookie Cookie Cheesecake Ice Cream

May 25, 2012 · by ·

I have this lovely ice cream maker. I rarely use it. I love ice cream, but I only make it a few times a year. Such a shame.

Over the course of the past week or so, whenever I am with a group of like-minded Jewish women, the topic always moves over to Shavuot. The holiday best known for cheesecake, is the holiday where we received the torah. Everyone asks me what I have on my Shavuot menu. I invariably freeze and turn red. I have nothing on my menu. Seriously. I have this urge to have toast and eggs at every meal. Something super simple. Of course I can’t get away with that.

It’s supposed to be hot this weekend, so I decided to make a couple of different ice creams. In reverence to the holiday tradition, I have prepared a cheesecake ice cream base. I mixed in oreos and chocolate chip cookies for some of what I call Cookie Cookie Cheesecake Ice Cream.

Cookie Cookie Cheesecake Ice Cream
recipe adapted from David Lebovitz, The Perfect Scoop
Ingredients:

10 oz cream cheese, cut up
zest of one lemon
3/4 cup sour cream
1/2 cup half & half
1 cup sugar
pinch of salt
1/2 cup crushed oreos
1/2 cup crushed chocolate chip cookies

Place the cut up pieces of cream cheese in the bowl of a blender.

Add in the lemon zest, sour cream, half & half and salt.

Blend until everything is mixed well together.

Chill for about an hour or two.

Pour in to your ice cream maker. Run the ice cream maker for about 25 minutes. Once the mixture is thickened, add in the cookie pieces.

Keep the machine running for 5 more minutes.

Pour in to a container and freeze.

Enjoy!

cheesecake ice cream

Filed Under: dairy, Dessert, easy, sweet · Tagged: , , , , ,

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cheesecake Bars

May 24, 2012 · by ·

Let me start out by saying that I’m not a huge fan of cheesecake. When Shavuot rolls around, I start to get anxious. Cheesecake is expected and I just don’t wanna.

I thought about what I had on hand and what I liked in a dessert treat. Why not combine the cheesecake with something that I actually like? Turn it in to something good. I thought about the basic elements. Traditionally, cheesecake has a buttery graham cracker crust. What if I turn this cheesecake in to a cookie bar? My favorite cookie is oatmeal chocolate chip (OCC). I could get in to a bar that is cheesecake and OCC combined. I kind of like the way this turned out.


Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cheesecake Bars
Ingredients:

Cookie Crust and Topping:
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup and 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups oats
1/2 cup coconut flakes
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Cheesecake Layer:
2 packages (8 oz each) cream cheese, softened
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
zest of 1/2 lemon

Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray bottom of 13×9-inch pan with cooking spray.

In a small bowl, mix together the dry ingredients.

In a medium bowl, cream the butter, sugar and egg. Mix in the vanilla extract.

Mix the dry ingredients with the wet ingredients. Stir in the coconut and the chocolate chips.

Press 3/4 of the dough in to a 9×13 pan. Bake for 15 minutes.

While the crust is baking, prepare the cheesecake layer.

Beat the cheesecake ingredients together in a small bowl.

Pour the cheesecake batter over the cookie crust.

Sprinkle the rest of the oatmeal cookie mixture over the cheesecake.

Bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes or until the edges of the cheesecake start to become golden brown.

Cool on counter for 30 minutes.

Chill and slice up. Enjoy!

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Filed Under: baked, dairy, Dessert, sweet · Tagged: , , ,

Grilled Cheese with Pears and Caramelized Onions

May 23, 2012 · by ·

My dad is the sandwich master – especially on the weekends. Even my kids know. Zaydie is who you turn to when you want any multitude of sandwiches. After a few weeks with my parents, my daughter came home asking me to make lunch like Zaydie did. “Zaydie likes it this way.” “Zaydie makes this differently,” and so on. Egg salad is never just chopped eggs with Zaydie. It’s amped up with herbs and pickles or olives. Same with grilled cheese. There was always something added to it. I remember a period of time when grilled cheese was often filled with cheddar, tomato and sunflower seeds.

So…tonight’s dinner is dedicated to my dad. As I drove home, debating what to make. I thought of the bag of fresh cheeses I had just bought at the store. With Shavuot coming up, I had to stock up. I wanted something fast and something tasty. I decided to make this. Not sure if I have upped the ante on my dad’s sandwich skills, but hopefully, I have come close to reaching his sandwich awesomeness.

Grilled Cheese with Pears and Caramelized Onions (makes 2 good sized sandwiches)
Ingredients:


1 large onion, sliced thinly
1 tbsp. butter
2 tsp. salt
3 tsp. thyme
4 slices of bread ( I used rye, but a ciabatta or a sourdough would be great with this)
dijon mustard
gouda cheese, sliced
1 ripe bosc pear
more butter, for grilling

Start by heating up a small saute pan. Add butter to the pan. Get it hot. Once the butter is melted, add the onions and turn the heat down to medium-low.  Cook the onions slowly. Add the salt and the thyme. Let the onions caramelize.  This will take around ten minutes or so. Stir every so often. Once the onions are done, set aside.

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Slice up your pear in to thin slices. About 1/4-inch thick.

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Spread a thin layer of dijon mustard on the inside of two of the slices of bread. Make sure not too put too much mustard on, or it will overpower the other flavors. Add a slice of cheese; then a pear layer; then the caramelized onions and finally another slice of cheese. Sandwich it together with an a slice of the bread that doesn’t have any mustard. You are now ready for some grilling!

This sandwich would do really well in a panini press. Alas, that is the one kitchen appliance that I don’t have.

In a large pan, heat up a tablespoon of butter. Place sandwich in to pan. Pan should be on medium-high heat.

Take a large cast iron pan or some other heavy heatproof object and press it down on your sandwich.

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Grill for a few minutes on each side.

Slice in half and eat up! Serve with some salad on the side.

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Enjoy!

Filed Under: dairy, Dinner, easy, Lunch, sandwich, Vegetarian · Tagged: , , , , ,

Meatless Monday: Vegetarian Tamales

May 21, 2012 · by ·

Every morning, as I walk to the subway, I walk by this little old woman selling fresh tamales from a big pot on a cart. It’s a very small set-up, most likely illegal. She is there every morning though, rain or shine. I am sure they taste amazing, and I always wish I could sample her goods.

I have been toying with making my own tamales for a while. I bought some dried corn husks a while back. Had been debating the filling for while. Finally came up with a plan. Very happy with the results and I will definitely make again. Tamales can be frozen and reheated in the microwave or steamer.

Vegetarian Tamales
Ingredients

Dried Corn Husks

Filling:
1 tbsp. oil
1 large onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 large zucchini, diced
1 can black beans
1/2 small can chipotle peppers in adobe sauce, chopped
1/2 package of mushrooms, chopped
2 tsp. chili powder
2 tsp. cumin
2 tsp. salt
chopped cilantro
1/2 cup broth
1 cup shredded cheese

Masa Tamale Dough:
2 cups masa harina
2 cups vegetable broth
2 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. baking powder
1 stick of Earth Balance shortening

Start by checking the corn husks. Check for bugs. My package didn’t have any, but these still should be checked. There was corn debris. Just what looks like dried strands of the corn silk. Brush off any shmutz on the corn husks. Soak them in a large bowl of warm water for at least 30 minutes.

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While the husks are soaking, you can prepare the rest of the components.

In  a large pan, saute the onion and the garlic in the oil. Add in the spices.

Mix in the zucchini and the mushrooms. Saute for around 5 minutes, or until soft. Stir in the chipotle pepper and the black beans.  Add the vegetable broth if the filling starts to look too dry. Turn off the heat and mix in the cheese. Set aside.

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Now it’s time to prepare the the masa dough. Measure out the masa, the spices and the baking powder in to the bowl of a mixer. With the mixer going on low, pour in the vegetable broth.  Mix to form in to crumbly paste.  Add in the shortening. Mix for a minute or so. Everything should be incorporated. Make sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula.

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Now it’s time to assemble.

Set yourself up with everything nearby.

Set up your steamer station. I didn’t have a steamer that fit my dairy stock pot for this, so I used a metal colander. Place water at the bottom of the pot and bring to a boil. Turn it to medium.

Make strips out of a few of your corn husks. These will be your tamale ties.

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Lay out a corn husk and spread some masa dough down the center.

Place about a tablespoon or two of your filling in the center of your dough.

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Roll up the corn husk like a burrito: Fold the bottom side up, and the sides in. Then tie it up.

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Place upright in your steamer set-up.

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Steam on medium/medium-high for around 90 minutes. Check your water levels throughout.

When done, the masa dough will be firm.

Remove tamales from steamer.  They will be extremely hot. Be careful when opening.

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Serve with some salsa and sour cream. Or eat it just straight out of the package. These are great as a meal or a snack even! Enjoy!

Filed Under: dairy, Dinner, Gluten Free, Main Course, munchies · Tagged: , , , , , , , , ,

Vegetarian Yakisoba

May 17, 2012 · by ·

This recipe is inspired by Mark Bittman and adapted from one of his recipes. I am addicted to cooking podcasts. I can often be found learning how to make obscure dishes while on the subway during my morning commute. While everyone else is playing Angry Birds or reading their Kindle, I am learning how to properly fillet a whole fish or spatchcock a chicken. I’m not complaining.

Today, I was catching up with Mark Bittman. He was preaching about the virtues of yakisoba. All I could think of are those commercials where they suggest that those heat & eat cups of Yakisoba bring families together. Anyhow, Mark Bittman had me at “fast food.” Aside from the ease of preparation and the fact that it’s hard to mess up, I like the flavors of the sauce and I had all the necessary ingredients at home. When the hubster came home and had a plateful, he declared it blogworthy.  So here it is.

Vegetarian Yakisoba 
Ingredients
adapted from Mark Bittman’s recipe

8-10 oz. Asian noodle – an egg noodle or gluten free soba is best
1 container of tofu – drained and sliced up
2 tbsp. chopped ginger
2 tbsp. chopped garlic
1 tbsp. vegetable oil
1 cup shredded cabbage
1/2 cup shredded carrots
1 cup cut up broccoli
1/2 cup sliced mushrooms
1/2 cup chopped peppers
2 tbsp. chopped scallions

Sauce:
2 tbsp. ketchup
2 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce (I use a fish-free version)
2 tbsp. mirin or sugar
1 tbsp. sriracha or other hot sauce
2 tbsp. soy sauce

Marinate the drained tofu in some sesame oil and soy sauce for about 15 minutes.

Boil a pot of water and cook the noodles. Drain and set aside.

In a large wok, heat up the oil.

Add the ginger and garlic to the pan. Cook for 1 minutes. Add the tofu. Cook for 5 minutes.

Add in the rest of the veggies, except for the scallions.

Stir fry everything together for a few minutes.

In a small bowl, mix up the sauce ingredients.

Pour and mix them in to the vegetables.

Stir in the noodles.

Plate it up. Garnish with some chopped scallions.

Vegetarian Yakisoba

Enjoy!

Filed Under: asian, Dinner, easy, Gluten Free, Main Course, tofu, Vegan, vegetables, Vegetarian · Tagged: , , , ,
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