Lamb Curry

Lamb curry is one of those dishes I make with leftover lamb from Sunday or a  Holiday dinner of leg of lamb.  I've made it from "fresh" cuts of lamb chops, but, somehow it always tastes better using precooked roasted leg of lamb.  This batch was made after Easter dinner, but finally found its way to the top of my posting list!  

This is much easier than it looks....give it a try!  Put it on your "favorite" list to make on those snowy nights, maybe not that 100 degree weather we're expecting soon!

Ingredients:

3 cups of preferably cooked lamb, cubed

2 Tbsp flour

2 Tbsp oil

1/4 cup white wine

1 cup chopped yellow onion

3 cloves of garlic, chopped

2 Tbsp curry powder

1/2 tsp each of cinnamon, coriander, salt and pepper

3 cups chicken or beef broth (I used chicken because that's what I had but beef gives it a hardier flavor.)

1/2 cup raisins

Directions

 1. Put the lamb in a medium sized bowl, add the flour and toss to coat.  In a large casserole pot, heat the oil on medium.  Add the lamb and cook until browned.  Remove from the pan.

Brown the lamb

 2.  Add the onions and brown for just a few minutes until soft.  Add the wine to de-glaze the pan (loosen the meat bits).  Throw in the curry powder, cinnamon, coriander, salt and pepper  and stir.
  

add the onions

add garlic and spices and wine

3.  Add the broth and raisins and turn up the heat to a slow boil.  Once it boils, turn the heat down to low, cover and simmer for about 40-45 minutes.  Check during the cooking process to make sure it doesn't stick to the pan.  It will thicken and the flavors will come together.  

Serve over rice.  This can be made the day before or hours before, then refrigerated.  It will be even thicker.

Traditional Anise Flavored Biscotti

As a young girl my best friend was Italian.  My mother would often visit with JoJo's mom down the street for afternoon tea or coffee.  This was during an era when most mom's did not work outside the home except for volunteering at school or church.  I never minded going over to JoJo's except that her family always had these strange looking and equally strange tasting cookies.  What's a biscotti?  What I was experiencing at such an early age is exactly what I made in my kitchen the other day!  Now they aren't so strange.  If fact, they were darn good!

These days, I make biscotti for my best friend, who is also Italian.  He also happens to be my BEST friend for the last 40 years...and my hubby.    Even though these biscotti are on the plain side, they don't lack for flavor and they certainly didn't last very long in this home!

Traditional Anise Flavored Biscotti

1/2 cup vegetable oil

3 eggs

1 cup sugar

1 Tbsp anise extract

1 - 2 tsp orange extract (I thought this would give it more flavor but optional)

3 1/4 cups flour, all-purpose

1 Tbsp baking powder

1 egg white, beaten

1 -2 Tbsp sugar (regular granulated)

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.   In a large bowl beat the oil, eggs, sugar and extracts.   In a smaller measuring cup or bowl combine the flour and baking powder.    Add the flour into the egg/sugar mixture and blend until a heavy dough begins to form.

Divide the dough into 2 pieces.   (NOTE)  Working on a floured board,  form them into 12 inch or so long log shapes.  Slightly press down.  Brush some egg white onto the surface and sprinkle with sugar.

Bake for 25 - 30 minutes, turning the pan halfway through the cooking process.  When golden brown remove from the oven and slide them off onto a clean cutting board to cool slightly.  With a serrated knife slice them into 1/2 inch slices.  I usually don't "second bake" my biscotti...I like them on the chewy side.  You can though.  Just put back onto the cookie sheet cut side up and bake for an additional 8-10 minutes.

NOTE:  

For this batch I made one loaf plain and one with chopped almonds.  This is where you would add them.

Soba Noodles and Slaw

I always forget about incorporating broccoli slaw into recipes.  It's so easy to grab a bag and throw it into pastas, salads or noodle dishes like this one.  While Chinese food is not my absolute favorite, maybe because of the sodium content, I make it from time to time just to have variety.

Next time you're in the mood for Chinese, substitute broccoli slaw instead of chopping up all those veggies.

Soba Noodles and Slaw

2 eggs

1/2 - 1 Tbsp oil

2 cups cooked chicken chunks or pieces

1 pkg soba noodles

4 green onions (scallions), chopped

2 garlic cloves, chopped

juice from 1/2 lime

1/2 bag or about 2 cups of broccoli slaw

1 Tbsp Chinese stir fry sauce

2 Tbsp Hoisin sauce

Cook the noodles first according to direction.  I didn't use all the noodles..maybe 2/3 of them.  Set aside when done.  Don't drain them just yet.

Meanwhile, heat half of the oil in a large skillet or frying pan on medium heat.  Whip the eggs in a bowl, then add to the oil and scramble into small pieces (like scrambled eggs).  Remove from the pan.

Reduce the heat to low/medium and add a bit more oil,  the chicken, garlic, lime juice and both sauces and mix well.  Add the broccoli slaw, onions and drained noodles.  Blend well.  You can add a bit of water to loosen the sauce, if needed.  That's it!  Dinner is served.

You can garnish with chopped peanuts and cilantro, too.  Yum!

Pesto Edamame Tortellini Salad

Looking for a Summer salad that's a little bit of Asian Italian fusion?  This hits the target!  A few weeks ago hubby and I went salad tasting at the local store.  We were actually trying to find a cold salad that could supplement a wedding brunch menu for the already planned wedding that's happening in , count them........33 days!  I'm not sure, yet, whether I'll be making from scratch or ordering it, but I wanted to make some crucial changes.  The original had peas in it.

You see, this girl does not eat her peas...they don't go down very well, never have.  As a matter of fact, my sister and I used to feed the peas to our dog, Laddie, under the table.   Laddie loved peas or anything else we'd sneak to her.  At the time, we thought we were "home free"....no peas for us.  We thought we were sooo smart!    My parents were VERY aware of what was being done under the table.  Our punishment......eat more peas and couldn't leave the table until they were gone.  Those peas packed a powerful punch (and memory).

Needless to say, I substituted edamame for peas.  Wise choice on my part.  I'll definitely prepare this salad again with a few more additions, but this was the first "draft".

Edamame Pesto Tortellini

1/2 cup precooked and shelled edamame beans, cooled

1 package of 4 cheese store bought tortellini, (you've seen that green packaging)

zest and juice of 1/2 lemon

1 Tbsp mayo or plain yogurt

1/2 cup fresh spinach, chopped

1 1/2 Tbsp prepared pesto

2 Tbsp chopped walnuts

1 Tbsp olive oil + some at the end

Cook the pasta according to directions and drain.  Put all the remaining ingredients into a large bowl.  Mix well and salt and pepper to taste.  Refrigerate until well chilled.  Then serve.  Delicious!!

NOTE: For more crunch you can wait to add the walnuts until right before serving.

Healthy Chocolate Pudding

Pudding Girl

Looks like I was exposed to chocolate pudding at a very young age.  But, I'm still that girl in many ways!  Don't bother me when I'm smearing pudding on my face!  Yes, that's one of those pictures that can be used to blackmail you at a much later time in life or propel you into the famous Gerber baby archives.  The fact remains, though, this girl loves her chocolate pudding!

This concoction was no different.  I even impressed the hubby with it.  It has healthy ingredients hidden inside ...avocado, banana and chocolate!   Try it, you'll like it....

Adapted from edibleperspective.com

Ingredients:

2 ripe avocados

2 ripe medium bananas  (The riper the banana, the sweeter this becomes.)

6-8 Tbsp of unsweetened cocoa (I used half sweetened and half unsweetened.)

1 tsp vanilla flavoring

1 tsp cinnamon

In a food processor blend and pulse the avocados and bananas.  Then add the cocoa powder, vanilla and cinnamon and pulse until well blended.   The original recipe called for 1-2 scoops of protein powder, but I didn't add that this time.

Put into a  covered bowl in the refrigerator for at least an hour.  Serve with fresh berries and a bit of nuts sprinkled on top.  You'll wonder why you've never tried this before!