here comes the gas

2 weeks ago a new green grocer shop opened and I was instantly in love with it. All fresh veggies and fruits all the time... you would think that is not a rarity but it is because what most green grocers do here is they don't restock until all is sold which means wilted greens and ready to be buried fruits stay on the shelves …yuck! Anyway, so of course I overbought (roka, broccoli, eggplant, cukes, carrots, etc) and so found myself overeating in order not to waste anything. But I was still left with one hearty huge ball of red cabbage… what to do with it? Now 2 weeks later and it is starring me in the face… screaming at me … eat this … eat this… so bravely I decided that today is the day I will cook red cabbage (not just use it raw in a salad), (but how and why?)After looking through many recipes in the cookbooks I have on the shelf and what I found online I really could not find one I liked because most were the pickled or sweet types of recipes. I remembered that my mom use to fry r/cabbage with tomatoes and onions so I decided to give that a try. My biggest Dilemma was what spices of course besides garlic, salt and pepper? I decided to give it a north African twist and used some crushed Coriander seeds... not bad ...not bad at all... now we have to eat it for days and days .... here comes the gas..........

FIG SEASON IS HERE

I absolutely love fresh figs, so of course when in the local farmers market yesterday I saw them bathed in a beautiful color purple I just had to gather some up for that nights desert. Once home I found I had a tub of Mascarpone cheese that just had to be used before it expired so I decided to use it along with these beautifully just picked figs. You could easily replace the Mascarpone with cream cheese. Don't be afraid of the flower flavored waters they are just so wonderful with soft cheeses as well as in cookies and can be found in most supermarkets or make your own!

FIGS WITH MASCARPONE CHEESE

INGREDIENTS :

6 black figs
25g unsalted butter
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 tablespoons of almond flavored liquor or any liquor you desire
1/2 teaspoon of honey
2 teaspoons of rosewater or orange flower water
250 grams of mascarpone cheese
slivered almonds

1. Preheat a broiler or oven to the hottest temp it will go.
2. Quarter the figs, so that they open like flowers, taking care not to cut them all the way through. Place them in a heatproof dish into which they fit comfortably.
3. Melt the butter in a small saucepan, then add the cinnamon, vanilla, honey and flower water. Stir to combine and pour onto the figs, save some to serve over the cheese.
4. grill under the broiler or bake in the oven for a few minutes and then serve with some mascarpone or cream cheese over which you drizzle some of the left over syrup.
5. sprinkle with the slivered almonds (pistachio or pine nuts can also be used.

Enjoy!

grilled Ratatouille

It has been since mid June too hot (over 100f) here in Cyprus therefore haven't been hanging out in the kitchen unless you call opening watermelon and tuna cans an abstract form of cooking.
But sadly in my fridge there lies, calling out, a lonely eggplant, some half dead cherry tomatoes, red peppers and a very lonely limp yellow squash. Found a great grilled ratatouille recipe by Bobby Flay, served it over angel hair pasta... it was delightful! All done on the barbecue outside! (I cheated and cut my vegetables first, worked fine)

Here is the recipe from his website:
Grilled Ratatouille
Directions

2 zucchini, cut into quarters lengthwise

2 yellow squash, cut into quarters lengthwise

2 Japanese eggplant, halved lengthwise

2 red bell peppers, stemmed, seeded and quartered

2 yellow bell peppers, stemmed, seeded and quartered

2 red onions, quartered

1 pint cherry tomatoes

1/2 cup olive oil, plus 2 tablespoons

Salt and freshly ground pepper

4 cloves garlic, finely chopped

2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh oregano leaves

1/4 cup finely chopped flat-leaf parsley leaves

Preheat grill to medium-high.

Place all cut vegetables and the tomatoes in a large shallow baking dish, add the 1/2 cup of olive oil, and toss to coat. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Place the vegetables on the grill and cook for 5 to 6 minutes, turning halfway through the cooking time. Remove the tomatoes, cover grill, and cook the remaining vegetables for 2 minutes, or until almost cooked through. Transfer vegetables to a cutting board and coarsely chop (leave tomatoes whole). Place the chopped vegetables and tomatoes in a large bowl, add the 2 tablespoons of olive oil, garlic, oregano and parsley and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Serve at room temperature.

Champagne Risotto

I finally figured out what to do with that leftover champagne taking space in my fridge from last New Years Eve. CHAMPAGNE RISOTTO What else?

EASY Champagne Risotto

3 TABLESPOONS OLIVE OIL
2 SMALL FRENCH SHALLOTS, finely chopped
1 lb of ARBORIO RICE
21 fl oz of CHAMPAGNE
4 cups of hot water
2 oz of PARMESAN CHEESE, grated, plus extra, for serving
3 oz of SCARMOZA CHEESE, grated
1.5 oz of Butter


Heat oil in a large heavy-based saucepan with high sides. Sauté the shallots for
5 minutes until they are softened and slightly golden. Add the rice and cook, stirring, for 30 seconds (or so, until it is well coated with the oil)
Add 10.5 fl oz. of the Champagne and stir until absorbed.
Add one ladleful of hot water stirring continuously to prevent the risotto sticking. Continue this way; making sure the water is absorbed before the next ladleful is added.
After 20 minutes you should have added about 4 cups of water.
When the rice has absorbed all the water, add the remaining Champagne. Stir well and then stir in the cheeses and butter. Add salt and pepper to taste and serve immediately with freshly ground black pepper and extra grated parmesan.

Wonderful Maple Syrup

I was jumping for joy when I spotted organic maple syrup on the shelf in our neighborhood supermarket, it is an unusual find. Ran home and couldn't wait to open it up and pour some of this wonderful gooey amber colored gel onto my fingertips for licking. Yummy... I remember once when searching for pancake recipes I found a great one by Emeril but never gave it a try. Since now I have the one missing ingredient it is on the menu for supper tonight! (maybe I will leave out the banana and serve baked sweet potatoes on the side with it???)
Emeril's Cornmeal Pancakes
Ingredients
• 1 cup cornmeal
• 1 cup flour
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• Pinch salt
• 1 cup of yogurt (plain or flavored)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1 ripe banana, quartered lengthwise and thinly sliced
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• 3 egg whites
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• Vegetable oil or Margarine for cast iron skillet
Garnish:
• Unsalted butter, softened
• Maple syrup
Directions
Heat a cast iron pan over low heat to warm up for 5 minutes.
In a large bowl combine the cornmeal and flour. Stir the cinnamon, baking soda and brown sugar together and add to the bowl. Add a pinch of salt. In another bowl combine the yogurt, vanilla and milk. Using a wooden spoon, stir the wet mixture into the dry ingredients. Lightly fold in the bananas and melted butter. Beat the egg whites until soft peaks form. Gently fold in the egg whites.
Add 1 teaspoon of oil to the skillet and add 1 tablespoon of batter to the pan, spreading the batter to form even 2-inch pancakes. Cook until bubbles cover the surface, flip and cook until golden underneath, about 30-40 seconds. Continue with the remaining batter. Serve immediately with butter and syrup.

Cardamom buns!

I just love cardamom and I am always happy to find new recipes to use it in. I haven't actually prepared this yet but the following recipe, which is from "Falling Cloudberries" by Tessa Kiros, is my newest cookbook that I am just in love with, it just "smelt" so good I will surely be making it this weekend.

Cinnamon and cardamom buns

bun dough

250 ml (I cup) TEPID MILK
100 g (3'/z oz) CASTER SUGAR 25 g (I oz) FRESH YEAST
1 EGG, lightly beaten
125 g (4'/z oz) BUTTER, softened
2 TEASPOONS Freshly GROUND CARDAMOM seeds
1 TEASPOON SALT


Cinnamon Butter:
2 TEASPOONS GROUND CINNAMON
50 g (13/-1 oz) CASTER SUGAR, PLUS 1 TABLESPOON for sprinkling
80 g (23/-1 oz) BUTTER, softened
1 EGG, lightly beaten

CINNAMON & CARDAMOM BUNS

Put the milk and sugar in a bowl and crumble in the yeast. Leave for 10 minutes, or until the yeast begins to activate. Add the egg, butter, cardamom and salt and mix in. Add the flour, bit it, mixing it in with a wooden spoon until you need to use your hands, and then turn it onto the work surface to knead. It may seem a little too sticky initially, but will become compact and beautifully soft after about 5 minutes. Put the dough back in the bowl, cover with clean cloth and then a heavy towel or blanket, and leave in a warm place for about 2 hours, or until it has doubled in size.

To make the cinnamon butter, mix together the cinnamon and sugar then divide the butter into portions and keep on one side.

Put the dough on a floured work surface and divide it into four portions. Begin with one portion, covering the others with a cloth so they don't dry out. Using a rolling pin, roll out a rectangle, roughly about 30 x 25 cm (12 x 10 inches) and 2-3 mm (1/8 inch) thick. Spread one portion of butter over the surface of the dough with a palette knife or blunt knife. Sprinkle with about 3 teaspoon the cinnamon mix, covering the whole surface with quick shaking movements of your wrists. R, L to make a long dough sausage. Set aside while you finish rolling out and buttering the rest of the dough, so that you can cut them all together.

Line two large baking trays with baking paper, or bake in two lots if you only have one tray. Line the dough sausages in front of you and cut them slightly on the diagonal, alternating up and down so that the slices are fat 'v' shapes, with the point of the 'v' about 2 cm (3/4 inch) and the base about 5 cm (2 inches). Turn them so they are all the right way up, sitting on their fatter bases. Press down on the top of each one with two fingers until you think you will almost go through to your work surface. Along the sides you will see the cinnamon stripes oozing outwards. Put the buns on the baking tray, leaving space for them to puff and rise while they bake. Brush lightly with beaten egg and sprinkle a little sugar over the top.

Leave the buns to rise for half an hour and preheat your oven to 350°F (180C). Bake them about 20 minutes or until they are golden. Check that they are lightly golden underneath as well before you take them out of the oven. Serve hot, warm or at room temperature and, when they a cool, you may keep them in an airtight container so they don't harden.

Butter Beans!

My spoon loves beans, all beans. Since butter beans (lima) were available in the market fresh this week, I thought to be productive in the kitchen and make one of my fav bean recipes.
Baked Butter Beans with onions, tomatoes, red onions, celery, garlic and parsley

Soak the beans overnight. Drain them put them in a pot of cold water with a bay leaf. Cook for about 1-2 hours, until tender. Add salt near the end of the cooking time.

Preheat the oven to 350F. Drain the beans but keep some of the water to use later as a thickener. Place the beans in a baking dish.

In a frying pan with some olive oil, saute red onions until they are translucent. Add them to the beans along with sliced celery stalks, chopped ripe tomatoes, chopped garlic, parsley, olive oil, salt and pepper to taste. Add some of the reserved bean water and mix all together. Cover the dish and bake for about 45 minutes. Remove the cover and stir the mixture adding more of the bean water if the dish seems too dry. Sprinkle with breadcrumbs and return to the oven uncovered, for another 20-30 minutes. Serve with an extra drizzling of olive oil on top if you so desire.
Yummy with any meat dish or alone with rice and even a plain pasta.