Cherry-Oatmeal scones

• 1/2 cup oatmeal
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 2 Tbs turbinado sugar
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/3 cup dried cherries, coarsely chopped
• 1 egg
• 3 Tbs canola oil
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• Milk to make a total of 7/8 cup liquid

Preheat oven to 425F. Use convection if you have it.

Combine dry ingredients in a medium sized bowl. Combine liquid ingredients in a measuring cup and stir until it emulsifies. Add to the dry ingredients and stir until mixed.

Turn out onto a  floured counter. Knead gently and divide into two pieces. Shape each piece into a round and pat to about 1/2″ thick. Cut each round into 6 wedges and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

Bake 10 minutes or until golden brown–it’ll take an extra minute or two if you’re not using convection.

Cassoulet

I cooked this cassoulet in the crock pot, but I didn’t really want to call it “Crock Pot Cassoulet.” I have also done it in the oven- works well, too.

Cassoulet

• 3 carrots, diced
• 4 stalks celery, diced
• 2 yellow onions, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 lb. smoked sausage, sliced
• 1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into bite sized pieces
• 2 cans cannelloni beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 can diced tomatoes, undrained
• ½ to 1 cup chicken broth
• ½ c wine
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 t dried thyme
• salt and pepper
• fresh parsley chopped

Sauté onion, carrot, garlic, and celery in olive oil until soft. Remove from skillet and add to the crock pot. In the same skillet brown chicken thighs (you may have to add a little more oil). Add sausage to brown it a bit, too. Remove chicken and sausage and put in pot with onion mixture. Deglaze skillet with wine, cook for a minute to burn off the alcohol. Pour over onion, chicken, sausage mixture. Add everything but fresh parsley to the pot. Add enough chicken stock to almost cover everything. Cook in crock pot on low for 5 or more hours.

Serves 8-10

This recipe is for the crock pot, but you could put everything in a dutch oven and cook in the oven for a couple of hours. You will need to add some more liquid partway through the cooking.

Slow-Roasted Grouper

• 2 6-8 oz grouper filets
• 2 Tbs olive oil
• 1/4 cup white wine
• 1 clove garlic, crushed
• 1/4 cup fresh oregano, chopped
• sea salt, to taste

Preheat oven to 275F. In an ovenproof dish, combine oil, garlic, oregano, and wine. Add grouper and spoon mixture over the fish. Salt to taste.

Bake 20-25 minutes or until opaque.

Granny’s Eggplant Caviar

I added a few things to Granny’s Eggplant Caviar recipe. I even added chicken and served it for dinner!

• 1 onion chopped
• 1 medium eggplant, peeled and cut into cubes
• 1-2 tomatoes chopped or a can of diced tomatoes
• olive oil
• 1/2 cup sliced green olives
• 1/4 cup toasted pinenuts
• 3 T. cilantro, chopped

S&P

Saute onion in olive oil in large skillet until softened. Add eggplant, tomatoes, olives, stir to mix. Cover and let simmer for 15 minutes or longer until the eggplant is soft. Stir in pinenuts and cilantro. Serve with crackers as an appetizer. Or…

I also brown a couple of chicken breasts and nestle them in with the eggplant mixture, and let it cook for about 20-25 minutes to cook the chicken through. Serve over rice, or pasta, or couscous. Yummy!

Ginger Chicken-Noodle Soup

• 3 quarts organic, natural chicken stock
• 2 ribs celery, chopped
• 1 onion, chopped
• 5 oz Matchstick carrots (half a bag)
• Olive oil
• 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces
• Grated ginger to taste (I use a piece about twice the size of my thumb)
• 8 oz. medium egg noodles

Put stock in a large soup pot and bring to a boil.

While stock boils, saute the celery, carrots, and onion in olive oil. When the vegetables are done, add to the stock.

Saute the chicken in olive oil until it browns, then add to the stock. Deglaze the pan with a few ladles of stock, and cook the stock down to a syrup. (Remember, kids, the Maillard reaction is your friend!)

When the soup comes back to a boil, add the grated ginger and noodles and cook until the noodles are done, about 10 mins. Total time for the recipe should be around 30-45 minutes depending on how much you cook the vegetables and brown the chicken.

I like it served with a good dose of habanero pepper sauce (such as Sontava) ; YMMV.

This recipe is also good with fresh thyme instead of ginger (in which case I don’t usually add the habanero sauce).

Pancakes

Pancakes

Originally uploaded by ted_major
Whole Wheat Pancakes

• 1 1/2 cups white whole wheat flour (I use Prairie Gold from Wheat Montana)
• 2 Tbs. turbinado sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 egg, beaten
• 2 Tbs canola oil
• 1 tsp vanilla
• Milk to make a total of 1/2 cups liquid

Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl and stir to mix.

Crack egg into a 2 c. mixing cup and beat with a fork. Add vanilla and oil and beat until combined. Add milk to make a total of 1 1/2 cups liquid, stir, and pour into dry ingredients. Stir until mixed (don’t worry about a few small lumps), and let rest 10 minutes.

About halfway through the batter rest, place a large non-stick skillet over medium heat, and preheat for at least 4 minutes. Scoop batter into the pan (I use a scan 1/4 cup to make small cakes–use more if you like ’em big). Let cook until the edges are dry and bubbles appear in the surface. Flip cakes and cook until the second side is browned.

Repeat with the rest of the batter.

I like a thick pancake, so this batter is pretty thick. If you like a thinner cake, add enough milk to make 1 5/8 cups (an extra ounce or 2 Tbs).

Maple syrup is traditional, but good honey really complements the wheat flavor, and fresh ground almond butter with honey can’t be beat on these cakes.

Leftover Steak Bolognese

• 1/2 lb. leftover steak
• 1 oz. dried porcini mushrooms
• 28 oz. can fire-roasted crushed tomatoes
• Olive oil
• salt, to taste
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 tsp. oregano (fresh if you have it)
• 1/4 cup red wine
• 1 lb. pasta of your choice (we used linguine)
• Freshly grated Parmesan

Reconstitute mushrooms in hot water for a few minutes, then remove from liquid (leaving sediment behind) and chop.

Chop steak finely.

Heat a large skillet over medium heat, then add olive oil and saute garlic until golden. Add ‘shrooms and steak and saute until heated through. Add crushed tomatoes, oregano, wine, and salt. Bring to a simmer and reduce heat.

While sauce simmers, heat a large pot of water and cook pasta until done. Drain and plate up the pasta. Spoon sauce over pasta, and serve with freshly grated parm.