tabbouleh

I like most anything, especially Middle Eastern foods. I prepared lentils and rice with caramelized onions to go along with my North African spiced chicken (cooked in my tangine) Friday night. What to serve alongside the leftover lentils? Well, I have a can of stuffed grape leaves. I also have plenty of parsley left and a cucumber, so why not tabbouleh?
While the authentic uses fine Bulgar, I am out of that and will use the Bob's Red Mill Bulgar I have on hand. I just need to soak it. And just for the record, the authentic has little Bulgar wheat, this being a salad, after all.
I am also putting most ingredients in the food processor. I will leave some cucumber, onion and tomato to chop into the final product, but I just happen to like it done up in the processor. Beware, do the parsley first, then the cucumbers, or else you will have a lot of cucumber juice!

Plenty for me:

1/2 cup medium Bulgar wheat, soaked in 1/2 cup hot water, OR fine Bulgar wheat, no need to soak
1 bunch of parsley
a couple of sprigs of mint, if you have it, and like it. don't overdo it
1 English cucumber, chopped (or let the processor do it)
1 tomato chopped
1/2 onion or green onions
lemon juice to taste
olive oil to taste
salt and pepper to taste
cayenne if you like heat
garlic if you like, don't overdo it

you can substitute zucchini for cucumber but cucumber preferred
some folks who are avoiding wheat use quinoa. cook as specified on the package

I soaked the Bulgar. This took about an hour. Meanwhile, I put the onion, most of the cucumber, garlic, parsley and some mint in the food processor and gave it several whirls.

Once the Bulgar wheat was soft, I added the veggies, lemon juice and oil to taste. Refrigerate at least 30 minutes.
A nice addition to my Middle Eastern meal this evening.

"I'll never bake another pork loin again."

And she bakes a killer pork loin.

Hubby here.  Chiming in to tell you about how good you have it if you have a pork loin and a pressure cooker.  You may decide to never bake another pork loin, too.  This is from Idiot's Guides - Pressure Cooking by Tom Hirschfeld, mostly.

1 T olive oil
2.5 lb pork loin
1/3 c minced yellow onion
1 T minced garlic
salt
pepper
1 c ale or dry white wine
1 T dijon mustard
1/4 c heavy cream (optional, I did not use)

In a 5.5l pressure cooker, heat oil over medium high heat.  When hot, add pork loin and brown on all sides.

Add onion, garlic, salt, pepper and cook for one minute or until vegetables start to soften.

Add ale and mustard and cook for 2 minutes or until foam subsides and liquid comes to a boil.

Lock on the lid, bring pressure to 2, lower heat, and cook for 30 minutes.  Remove from heat and perform quick release.

Transfer pork to cutting board and cover with foil.

Put the cooker back on the burner, turn up heat to medium high, bring sauce to a boil and cook for at 5 minutes or until thickened and reduced by 1/3.  Adjust seasoning.

Add heavy cream, if using, and cook for two minutes until at desired consistency.

Slice pork, and drizzle with sauce.

Sweet Potato Pie

When I asked for suggestions for the Thanksgiving meal, both Mom and hubby declared "sweet potato pie". Now, I have made pumpkin pie on many occasions, but not sweet potato. And no, I am not one to assume that you just switch out the ingredients. 
At first we looked in basic recipe books such as Betty Crocker and Better Homes and Gardens. Then, of course! Southern Living! I own every book except for one, from 1979 on till today. Now, the first ten years or so of their annual recipes collection was documented in a master book, so off so we go to find a gazillion recipes listed. After looking over a few, I chose Old Fashioned Sweet Potato Pie. It turned out fine. Not too sweet. I splurged on an on-sale organic, no trans-fat pie shell found in the healthy foods selection at Kroger. This made two pies as the pie shells were rather small.

Old Fashioned Sweet Potato Pie
January 1979 Southern Living

2 cups cooked, mashed sweet potatoes
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened (make sure very soft)
2 eggs, separated
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup evaporated milk
1/4 cup white sugar
1 deep dish pie shell or two smaller ones

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Combine sweet potatoes, brown sugar, butter, egg yolks, spices and salt in a large mixing bowl. Beat until light and fluffy. (I beat by hand.)
Beat egg whites in mixer or with hand mixer until foamy, gradually adding white sugar. Beat until stiff, then fold into the sweet potato mixture. Pour filling into pie shell(s).
Bake at 400 for 10 minutes, then reduce heat to 350 degrees and bake an additional 45-50 minutes or until set. Cool on a wire rack.

Healthier Layered Holiday Salad

I so enjoyed the all-church Thanksgiving potluck yesterday evening - lots of yummy dishes. One that hubby enjoyed was the traditional layered salad in a trifle bowl. It was tasty but rather salty, and I never make it for good reason - tons of fat and salt and even sugar, added to the mayonnaise dressing!

Here is my version of a layered salad that would be pretty and appropriate for the holidays:

Made Healthier Holiday Layered Salad

1 bag of baby spinach

1 bag of romaine
1 16oz. Can of garbanzos, drained
1 small can of mandarin oranges, drained
1 green or yellow bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 small purple onion, chopped or 1 bunch of chopped green onions
1 small can sliced ripe olives, drained
1 small jar roasted red peppers, drained and chopped
nuts – optional – sliced almonds work well
4 oz. Shredded reduced-fat cheese of choice, Italian blend works well

favorite salad dressing – oil and vinegar balsamic vinaigrette or lower fat versions of ranch

Layer in this order in a pretty glass bowl:

From bottom to top

romaine
½ package of cheese
garbanzos
green peppers or yellow peppers
olives
spinach
red peppers
onions
rest of cheese
mandarin oranges
nuts, if using

You can further reduce the fat by leaving out the nuts and cutting the cheese portions, but heck, you do need a little fat.

 

Southern Belle Pineapple Upside-Down Cake

Butter. Need I say more?

Modified from Craig Claiborne's New York Times Cookbook

Pineapple Upside-Down Cake


1 stick plus 3 Tablespoons butter
3/4 cup brown sugar
fresh or canned pineapple slices 4 to 5
1/4 cup pecans
maraschino cherries (optional)
1/2 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup milk

Preheat oven to 375 degrees

Melt 3 tablespoons butter in a cast iron skillet or other round baking pan. Sprinkle with brown sugar and arrange pineapple slices to fit. add maraschino cherries if desired and add pecans around the pineapple slices.
To prepare cake - Cream remaining butter and white sugar in mixing bowl. add eggs and vanilla, beating well. In separate bowl, mix flour, salt, and baking powder. Add to creamed mixture alternatively with the milk.
Spoon batter carefully (batter will be very thick) over the pineapple slices. Bake for about 35 minutes or until done. Let cake cool for 5-10 minutes. While still warm, invert onto a serving platter.

Peeled and sliced pears or peaches, 3-4, can be substituted for pineapple.

Gingerbread is a Good Source of Iron and Calcium, Potassium and B-6

Oh, how we can rationalize things! Anyway, I love gingerbread and had poor results with some recipes I tried last year. So, I returned to good ole Craig Claiborne, who I always think of for entrees but not desserts.

I really like the texture of this cake. Maybe a tad too sweet.


1 tablespoon cider vinegar
3/4 cup milk
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
pinch of salt (I added a bit more to the batter)
1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger (I like a strong ginger flavor. I used two teaspoons and will probably bump that up next time)
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves (don't mess with this.  trust me)
1/3 cup vegetable shortening (yes, I know. but you can get 0 trans fat Crisco at the grocery, and you need a neutral product for a good gingerbread. It's better for your arteries than butter)
1/2 cup white sugar (a tad too sweet for me, I may decrease by a couple of tablespoons next time. but you can't fiddle around too much because you need the heft of the sugar)
1 egg
3/4 cup dark molasses

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 8x8 inch baking pan. (my oven burned the bottom and edges slightly, so I will try 325 next time)
Add vinegar to the milk and set aside. Stir together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and spices
Cream the shortening, adding sugar gradually. Add egg and beat well. Add the molasses and mix.
Add dry ingredients alternatively with the milk. Stir only until mixed. Turn into pan and 45 to 50 minutes or until gingerbread springs back when touched in the middles. Cool in pan on cake rack.

The Elvis Cake

The Elvis Cake (also known as Peanut Butter Banana Cake)

adapted from a Taste of Home cookbook

Bananas and peanut butter, Elvis was on to something. This is easy to put together, a great snacking cake.

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
2-3 bananas, mashed (2 is a little drier, 3 more moist)
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
optional - 1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 cup milk ( I used skim, use what you have)

Frosting:

1/3 -1/2 cup peanut butter (I used crunchy for texture, smooth is okay too)
1/3 cup milk
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
2-3 cups confectioners sugar (you have to play with it to get the consistency you want)

In a large mixer bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time. Beat in bananas and vanilla. Combine flour, baking powder and baking soda, and nutmeg if using. Mix alternately with milk, beating well.
Bake in a greased 13 by 9 baking pan at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack.
For frosting, beat peanut butter, milk and vanilla in a bowl until blended. Gradually beat in confectioners sugar, 1 cup at a time, until smooth and consistency you want. Spread over cooled cake.