Northern Nosh

A few food musings to keep it simple and delicious.  Never know where these will come from and take them where you will!

Randy’s Super Muffins:  Have one and all your woes will disappear.

preheat oven to 350 and grease a large muffin pan with butter. In bowl mix together dry ingrediants and add wet to it.  Mix.

1.5 cups of whole wheat flour

1 cup of dark brown sugar

3/4 cup ground almonds or flax seeds

1 tsp baking powder

2tsp of baking soda

pinch of salt

3/4 cup oat bran

2 tsp of Cinnamon

3/4 cup of milk

2 egss (beaten)

1 cup of mashed banana or shredded apple

1 cup of carrot or zucchini  shredded

1tsp of almond or vanilla extract.

1 cup of dark chocoate chips

Bake until a toothpick comes out clean ~35 min.

Save the Day Burritos

Stumped for dinner…It does not get any easier than this! Serve fours

1-2 yams  , 1lb of ground bison, venison or beef, 2 tsp of cinammon, 1 tsp of cumin & coriander, 8-10 oz of salsa, 1 can of black beans, 3 handfuls of fresh spinach, 4 eggs (optional).

First, peel a large yam, depending on the number of people you are feeding.  Par boil the yam so it still holds its shape.  Drain and set aside.  Meanwhile, in a large cast iron skillet put a little olive oil and brown 1lb of ground bison/venison or hamburg.  As this cooks add 2 tsp of cinnamon, 1 tsp of cumin and coriander. Salt & pepper to taste.  Cook the meat through.  While the meat is cooking  with the spices, drain a can of black beans and rinse.  Once the meat is done add the beans, yams and an 8-10 oz jar of your favorite salsa.  I tend to use Green Mountain Mix Medium. Mix and allow to heat through.  At this point, I add handfuls of spinach to the dish, cover and steam.  Here you have to options: A. make small depressions in the meat mixture and crack an egg into each, cover and poach or B, you can use the mixture as burrito feeling adding condiments of your choice.

Homemade Lemon Curd: Gourmet, January 2001

• 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
• 2 teaspoons finely grated fresh lemon zest
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 3/4 stick (6 tablespoons) unsalted butter, cut into bits

Whisk together juice, zest, sugar, and eggs in a 2-quart heavy saucepan. Stir in butter and cook over moderately low heat, whisking frequently, until curd is thick enough to hold marks of whisk and first bubble appears on surface, about 6 minutes.

Transfer lemon curd to a bowl and chill, its surface covered with plastic wrap, until cold, at least 1 hour.

Can be chilled up to 1 week

Maple salad dressing

¼ c mayonnaise

¼ c Maine maple syrup

3 tbls.white vinegar

2 tsp. Granulated sugar

½ c vegetable oil

Wisk mayo, syrup, vinegar, and sugar in a medium bowl to blend. Gradually whisk in oil slowly to emulsify until thickened slightly. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Cover and refrigerate until needed. Rewhisk slightly before each use.

 

Creamy Roasted Garlic Dressing:

1/2 cup of white vinegar                  1 cup of olive oil

1/2 tbsp of Dijon mustard               1/2 cup of roasted garlic (how to roast garlic)

Put the vinegar, mustard, garlic and salt & pepper to tast in a blender…blend together.

Slowly add the olive oil to the mixture while the blender is running

 

River Driver’s House Dressing:

1/2 cup of Balsamic Vinaigrette      Fresh herbs to taste, thyme, basil, parsley, chopped fine

1/2 Tbsp of Dijon Mustard                   1 cup of Olive Oil

Salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

Put the Balsamic, fresh herbs and mustard in a blender and blend for 30 sec.  Slowly pour the olive oil to mixutre in blender with the blender running.  Viola!

Kitchen Elf Granola:

Easy to make and easy to eat…make it your own by adding favorite dried fruit, chocolate, or nuts! Preheat the oven to 300 F

Combine the following DRY ingrediants in a large bowl

6 cups of Rolled Oats

1.5 cups of almonds (or not)

1.2 cup of sesame seeds

1/2 cup of wheat germ (find it the cereal section of the grocery store)

1 cup of whole wheat flour

1 tsp of cinnamon and 1/2 tsp of  allspice, ginger, nutmeg and salt (or you could omit the powdered ginger spice and  add 1/4 cup of  chopped chrystallized ginger).

In a seperate bowl mix together until a creamy consistency:

1.5 cups of honey or 3/4 cup of honey & 3/4 cup of Maple Syrup (go for the real stuff)

1/2 cup of canola oil

2 tsp of vanilla

NOW, pour the liquid over the dry ingrediants and mix to coat evenly.  Put 1/2 of the mixture on a cookie sheet with side and press to flatten…no more than an inch deep.  Do the same on the other sheet.  Bake for 1 hour rotating the sheets 90 degrees every 15 min and swap from top to bottom in the oven.

Cool on trays.  Break up in to a large mixing bowl and add fruit of choice…dried cranberries, raisnes, chopped dried mangos or dates.  Also, I like to make mine with dried cranberries and add white chocolate chip bits!  Another thought is to add dried blueberries and dark chocolate bits…pretzels, you name it…the possibilities are endless.

Store in fridge in air tight containers…it won’t last long!

Snow Storm Soup (otherwise known as potato/leek! )

3 leeks chopped (just the white parts), 1 onion chopped saute together in olive oil in the bottom of a stock pot over medium heat.  When softened add 1 tbsp of dried thyme, salt and pepper to taste.  Stir a minute to release the oils in the herbs.  Add 1 qt of chicken or veggie stock, boxed or homemade.  To this add 4 potatoes diced, or enough to suit you!  Bring to a boil and then simmer until the potatoes are tender.  Blend with an immersion blender or eat as is! Serve with homemade bread, bisquits or crackers and cheese.