Majestic and Moist Honey Cake 

For many years I thought I had the best honey cake recipe in town. A recipe I received from a friend. However, my guests didn’t eat very much!  So, I searched for a moister, more edible honey cake recipe. I discovered the Majestic and Moist Honey Cake! It has wonderful spices, and a moister, cake-like texture.  Though, quite honestly, I’m not sure my guests eat more! Have a happy and sweet new year!  

Ingredients 

3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

1/2 teaspoon ground allspice

1 cup vegetable oil

1 cup honey

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

3 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup warm coffee or strong tea

1/2 cup fresh orange juice

1/4 cup amaretto

1/2 cup slivered or sliced almonds 

Directions

1.    Set oven for 350º F.

2.    Grease 10" tube pan or 2 loaf pans. Line bottom with parchment or wax paper.

3.    Whisk together all the dry ingredients in a large bowl and make a well* in the center.

4.    Into the well, add remaining ingredients in order, except almonds.

5.    Mix on low speed until thoroughly mixed.

6.    Pour into pan(s) and sprinkle with the sliced almonds.

7.    Bake 60-70 minutes. Adjust time when using loaf pans.

8.    Let cool 20 minutes before removing from pan. Cool completely on wire rack.

9.    Serves 12-14.

Original source: epicurious.com

 

*What is a well? When baking, you put all your dry ingredients, in the bowl, or on the kneading board. Making a well is basically digging a hole in the middle of the dry ingredients. Putting the wet ingredients into the well, allows you to better control how the ingredients are mixed. The best way to ensure your bakery item turns out tender and fine grained is to not over mix the batter. Evidently, this method will significantly improve the quality of your results.

Dr. Mao's Honey-glazed Masala Chicken with Apricots - REDUX

The title of this recipe is very misleading: the dish contains no chicken or apricots and, actually, there is no honey! 

Quite a while ago, an online article by Dr. Mao on the health benefits of apricots attracted my attention.  He was touting the apricots as an anti-aging weapon. “Research shows that of any food, apricots possess the highest levels and widest variety of carotenoids. Carotenoids are antioxidants that help prevent heart disease, reduce “bad cholesterol” levels, and protect against cancer.”  Certainly, my diet is filled with carotenoids from carrots and winter squash.

The recipe for “Dr. Mao's Honey-Glazed Masala Chicken with Apricots” was included in the article. Something about the recipe enticed me to create the dish using tofu instead of chicken, and I probably did not have apricots in the house at the time.

Thus the following recipe was born! It is one of my favorites as an easy dish to prepare, served often with brown Basmati rice, or another whole grain. Please enjoy!

Dr. Mao's Honey-Glazed Masala Chicken with Apricots - REDUX

Ingredients

• 12 oz or 16 oz package of tofu, extra firm
• 2 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 medium onions, sliced
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1 inch piece of peeled fresh ginger, finely chopped, or ½ teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 1/2 teaspoon masala spice
• 15 ounce can tomato puree
• Season with salt and garnish with parsley, if you wish

Directions

1. Drain the tofu. Cut into cubes or rectangle slices. Bake tofu, or sauté in oil.
2. Heat oil over medium heat in a deep skillet or Dutch oven pan.
3. Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened.
4. Add tomato puree.
5. Stir in ginger and cook for a few minutes.
6. Add garlic and tofu and let tofu warm in the sauce.
7. Stir in garam masala and continue to warm for only a few minutes.
8. Serve with rice

Variation: I usually stir fry, along with the onions, some broccoli florets.  The broccoli seems to complete the dish and add…beta-carotene in place of the missing apricots! 

Dr. Mao's chicken with apricots, with green beans and no broccoli.

Spicy Lentils

I hope it is not too late to send new year greetings. I wish you all success and contentment in the months to come.

Recently, I prepared this lentil dish for a friend, who then asked for the recipe.  The highest form of cooking flattery, I suppose! My friend manages a low salt diet, so I used salt free tomato paste, added no salt, and even eliminated the mustard,  to be cautious.  This version was delicious, even sweeter than the original. 

Spicy Lentils was designed to taste like baked beans. Prepare this dish and feel healthy about your choice! (See more below on this topic.)

Spicy Lentils

Ingredients
 

1 12 oz. package dried brown lentils   

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup medium onion, chopped
3 cups of water

¼ cup brown sugar, firmly packed

1/3 cup molasses

2 tablespoons prepared mustard 
1 6 ounce can tomato paste

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Sort through lentils, searching for stones, rinse and drain.

2. Heat oil in a saucepan over medium heat.

3. Add onion and sauté until softened and translucent.

4. Add about 3 cups of water and lentils.

5. Simmer for 30 minutes. Adding more water if necessary.

6. Add brown sugar, molasses, mustard, and tomato paste. Mix gently.

7. Simmer until the lentils are tender, but intact (approximately an additional 30 minutes).

8. Season with salt and pepper.

As I write,  I have been thinking about the nutrient quality of this dish, because one of the benefits of cooking with molasses is iron content.   One-third cup of molasses would add about 5 additional grams of iron to the dish.

What nutrients do lentils offer us compared to other protein sources, for example?   Looking at the USDA National Nutrient Database, comparing cooked lentils to beef, I found lentils to be important for iron and fiber.

	Calories	Protein (g)	Fat (g)	Iron (mg)	Fiber (g)
1 cup lentils	230	18	1	7	16
3 oz lean beef	205	20	13	2	0

I would love to hear your thoughts about my recipe blog. I’ll try to respond to your questions or recipe requests.  See the comments section below.

Vegetarian Chinese lettuce wraps

One of the delights of dining in a restaurant is enjoying a dish or cuisine that you might not prepare yourself.  However, much to the dismay and irritation of some my family members, I might say, “I could cook this!”  Such was the case with PF Chang’s vegetarian lettuce wraps.   I thought, “Why not?”

The first point of research was the Internet which offered many “copy-cat” versions of PF Chang’s vegetarian lettuce wraps. I compared 4 or 5 and created my own recipe that was certainly influenced by herbs in the cupboard and condiments in the refrigerator.  The experiment succeeded!  I did not replicate the dish offered by the renowned restaurant, but the wraps were delicious, fun, and felt very healthy!  Tomorrow I’ll prepare the Chinese Lettuce Wraps for a dinner guest. We’ll see how it goes!  Enjoy!

Vegetarian Chinese lettuce wraps

Ingredients

Filling:

3 tablespoons vegetable oil  (olive)

1 package firm or extra firm tofu,

1 cup water chestnuts

2/3 cup mushrooms

2 tablespoons chopped onions

1 teaspoon minced garlic

One head of lettuce, Boston Bibb or Iceberg

Optional: chow mein crunchy noodles or crispy rice noodles.

Stir Fry Cooking Sauce:

2 tablespoons soy sauce

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon rice wine vinegar

1/4 teaspoon sesame oil

½ teaspoon ground ginger (fresh if you have available)

Pinch of black pepper (to taste)

Dash crushed red pepper

½ teaspoon chili sauce

Drizzle Sauce:

1/4 cup soy sauce

1-2 teaspoon garlic

½ to 1 teaspoon red chile paste, or Sriracha (more if you like it spicy!

Optional: 1-3 teaspoons hot mustard (or less, to taste)

Instructions:

1.   Press some of the water out of the tofu. Crumbled the tofu into small bits or cut in small cubes.

2.   Bake the tofu in the oven at 375 degrees on a lightly greased pan. Bake 10 minutes, stir or flip the tofu pieces, then bake another 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside.

3.   While the tofu is baking cut the mushrooms, water chestnuts, and onions into similar sized pieces – diced or cubed – about the size of small peas.

4.    Heat the vegetable oil in a wok or large frying pan.

5.    Add water chestnuts, mushrooms, and onion to the pan. Sauté until onions are soft.

6.    Add the tofu and garlic to the pan. Mix gently.

7.    Add the stir fry sauce and be sure all the ingredients are coated with it.

8.    Sauté the mixture for 3-5 minutes.

9.    Remove from heat and transfer to a large bowl.

10.   Let cool slightly before eating so you don’t burn your hands.

11.   Serve with a large spoon alongside the lettuce cups and drizzle sauce. You can also serve with     chow mein crunchy noodles or crispy rice noodles.

12.  To prepare: Spoon the tofu into the lettuce cup and top with the Drizzle sauce. Add crispy/crunchy noodles if available. Wrap the lettuce around the ingredients like a taco/burrito and enjoy!

Pumpkins muffins with dates

Where do your favorite recipes come from?  Many sources, naturally.   A muffin recipe that been prepared an infinite number of times (and now by the next generation) came from a nursery school.  The original pumpkin recipe that you see below came from my son's nursery school in 1979!  Oil-stained and barely legible, but always delicious. It appears that in 2002, I added some additional spices and made an adjustment for a double recipe.  Just recently, I mistakenly added allspice that I thought was ground cloves and enhanced the recipe again!  Also, I decided to try chopped dates instead of the usual raisins.  Do try the newest version!  We need to stay in our autumn harvest theme, even if we use canned pumpkin!

Original muffin recipe from 1979.

Pumpkin muffins with dates

Dry ingredients:

1 ½ cup AP four

2 teaspoons baking powder

½ cup sugar

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon cinnamon

½ teaspoon nutmeg

½ teaspoon ground ginger

½ teaspoon allspice

¼ teaspoon ground cloves

Wet ingredients:

½ cup canned pumpkin

¼ cup canola oil

1 egg

½ cup chopped dates

Directions

1.       Prepare the muffin tin, either with baking spray or paper muffin cups.

2.       Set the oven at 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

3.       Blend all dry ingredients in a mixing bowl.

4.       Make a well in the middle of the dry ingredients.

5.       Pour the wet ingredients into the well.

6.       Fold together the dry and wet ingredients, without mixing too forcefully or thoroughly.

7.       Gently blend in the chopped dates.

8.       Put the batter equally into the 12 muffin cups.

9.       Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until done

With a warm beverage, this is a comforting treat!  (Try hot apple cinnamon tea, or hot chocolate!)

Tips:

·         Makes 12 2 ½ inch muffins.

·         Or bake in an 8 or 9 inch cake pan, greased or sprayed with baking oil.·        

·         Try ¾ cup whole wheat flour and ¾ cup AP flour for a better whole grain experience. 2/3 – 1/3 ratio works well also.

·         Leftover steamed or baked winter squash works well in this recipe. (Butternut, Acorn, Kabacha, etc. Sweet Dumpling squash from the winter farmer’s market has been my favorite this year. Very sweet.)

Portuguese Kidney Bean Soup

Portuguese Kidney Bean Soup is a family favorite.  The flavor is wonderful and very different than other soups. It is even better the second day.

I have been preparing this soup for many years.  As a newly married young woman, I joined a cookbook book club!  I found this recipe in The Art of Making Real Soups by Marian Tracy, 1967. The cover is tattered and the pages quite yellow. The recipe below is a meat-free version. There is a chapter in the book: Classic and Sustaining with No Meat. Maybe that section is worth a quick review!  If you have kidney beans and potatoes, you can make the soup today! Enjoy!

Portuguese kidney bean soup

Ingredients:

2 16 ounce cans dark red kidney beans, drained and rinsed

1 medium onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

3 tablespoons olive oil

2-3 medium red potatoes, chopped

1 6 ounce can tomato paste

2 bay leaves

1 teaspoon allspice

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1.       In a soup pot, sauté onions in olive oil until soft.

2.       Add to the pot about four cups of water and the two bay leaves.

3.       Add chopped potatoes.

4.       Boil about 15 minutes until potatoes are soft.

5.       Add kidney beans, allspice, and garlic.

6.       Simmer about 10 minutes.

7.       Add tomato paste and salt/pepper to taste.

8.       Simmer another 10 minutes. Be sure to add water to reach desired thickness.

9.       The soup is wonderful with whole grain bread.  The next day, the flavors of the soup are even better integrated into the ingredients.