Russian Pierogies

I had a Russian grandmother growing up. While she had never been to Russia she had spent her childhood growing up in a Russian enclave in China. I always wished i'd been old enough when she was still alive to properly learn her recipes from her. I don't even know the names of some of the dishes that her and my great aunt made us. I remember piroshki - a kind of meat pastie that was delicious with tomato sauce, and yummy cabbage and rice noodle pie. I also remember pierogies: delicious potato dumplings which my grandmother would sometimes give my family big bags of frozen for later.

I was too young to really learn her recipes while she was still alive, but more recently during a nostalgic moment I decided to explore my Russian heritage and learn to make some of these recipes from the internet.

So here is the first success of my explorations: Pierogies!

It turns out that these dumplings are made in many different countries in Europe, so many people I have since talk to about these, also had grandmothers who made them, even if they weren't Russian.

Eating these, I was instantly transported back to my childhood. They are delicious too and make for a fantastic lunchbox snack, entree or even breakfast.

Recipe

Makes 12-15 pierogies

Ingredients:

Filling:

5 potatoes

1 large onion

3 tsp butter

1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese

salt and pepper to taste

Chopped parsley, dill or chives

Dough:

2 cups white flour

1/2 tsp salt

1 egg

1/2 cup low fat sour cream (I suspect natural yoghurt might also work and would be healthier)

1/4 cup softened butter

Method:

1. Make pierogie filling first. Boil pealed potatoes. Chop onions and saute in butter until soft. 

2. Mash boiled potatoes. Add cooked onions, cheese, herbs and spices. Leave to cool in fridge.

3. Make dough: Mix together flour and salt. Add beaten egg to mixture.

4. Add sour cream and butter to flour mixture and work with hands until a smooth dough that isn't too sticky.Wrap dough in plastic film and refrigerate for half and hour.

5. Roll out dough on a floured surface ill it is about 20mm thick. Cut rounds using a cup or similar as a guide. 

6. Place filling in half of circle, then fold over and press together with a fork. a damp pastry brush may help getting the dough to stick together if you are having trouble. Pierogie can now be frozen for use at a later date if necessary.

7. To cook them, boil them in salted water. They are done when they float to the top. Then fry them with a bit of butter in a fry pan until crispy. 

Traditionally these are often served with more sautéed onions and sour cream. They aren't bad though on their own or even with some kind of tomato relish. Enjoy.

Homemade Mexican Refried Beans

I have previously bought refried beans in a can from the supermarket for my Mexican dishes. Last night though I wanted to have soft tacos and didn't have any so thought i'd try making my own. It is a bit of fluke because i didn't look at any recipes, but this turned out absolutely delicious!

Makes approximately 1 cup of bean paste.

Ingredients

1 can red kidney beans drained

1/2 can chopped tomatoes

sugar

salt

tabasco sauce

sprinkle of nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Method

1. In a saucepan put kidney beans and tomatoes and heat until tomato juice starts to boil. Reduce heat to a simmer.

2. Using a potato masher mash mixture while it cooks. The texture to aim for is a mostly smooth paste with a few lumps. Mix as you do this. The whole mixture should thicken due to the beans becoming paste as well as water from the tomatoes boiling off.

3. Season with tabasco, spices and salt and pepper. Note if you accidentally add too much tabasco then add more sugar to counteract it. Mix though

4. Once the mixture nice and thick and fully combined remove from the heat and serve warm.

Great as a side/filling in a variety of Mexican dishes.

Growing Sprouts

Sprouts are incredibly nutritious, delicious and very cheap to grow. They are also perfect for growing in small places, like my little desert caravan.

There are many different kinds of sprouts you can grow and special sprouting kits, bottles, trays and seeds that can be purchased. I don't have access to that kind of thing though, so wanted do grow sprouts with things you can get from a regular supermarket.

Supermarket things you can sprout:

- Dried Lentils I discovered only the green and french black ones work. Red ones are split so won't germinate.

- Quinoa

- Broccoli Seeds. From the gardening section of the supermarket. Not that cheap though.

- Mustard Seeds. From the spice section

- Dried Beans

- Pearl Barley. From the soup mix section. Where you also find dried beans and lentils.

- Cress. Also from the gardening section

I tried several kinds of lentils, quinoa, broccoli, mustard and cress with 3 different methods of sprouting.

Method 1: Jar Method

This is the best method for quinoa and lentils. I tried this method with mustard but found it too gluggy to drain, and method 3 was far better for them.

1. Put seeds/grains in a jar of water for 12 hours out direct sun. Attach a cheesecloth cover or a piece of dishcloth to the top of the jar lid with a rubberband.

2. Drain water from the jars using the cover to catch the spouts inside. From now on sprouts won't be sitting in water you merely rince them 2-3 times a day.

3. Once the seeds have a sprout about 1.5 the len

gth of the original seed put on a window sill so that some green can develop (this is optional).

4. Eat sprouts once they are about twice the length of the seed. Quinoa and lentil sprouts can be eaten fresh in salads or even stir-fryed.

Method 2: Wet Paper Towel on a Plate

This method works for seeds that grow vertically such as cress. It would probably also work for mustard or alfalfa.

1. On a large dinner plate or tray lay 2 layers of paper towel. Wet surface with either a splay bottle or by flicking drops of water with your finger.

2. Put a layer of seeds on the paper towel.

3. Moisten towel 2-3 times a day. Keep in a location with a little diffuse light. This will ensure the sprouts become green.

4. Harvest sprouts when they are a few cm tall.

Method 3: Soil in a Chinese Food Container

While this method takes slightly longer to set up in the beginning, it requires the least amount of maintenance as your sprouts will only need to be watered once a day. This works great for broccoli, mustard or cress.

1. Poke a few holes in the bottom of rectangular chinese food contains. This is important for allowing water drainage. Fill with potting mix. Sprinkle a thick layer of seeds and cover with a thin layer of potting mix (seeds should only be a few mm deep in soil). Water.

2. Water daily.

3. Sprouts can be harvested at anytime. Whist nutritionally sprouts such as broccoli are greater when they are smaller, i found broccoli 'seedlings' up to about 5cm were delicious. A great alternative or additive to lettuce in a salad!

Sweet Potato Leaf Salad

I recently got my own hanging veggie garden. One of the plants that I got was a sweet potato. It is probably in too small of a pot to actually get the sweet potatoes to grow large enough to eat, but I do get lovely green leaves that work as a wonderful salad leaf similar to spinach.

While many edible vegetables have edible leaves such as pumpkin, sweet potato leaves have the benefit of not having the small hairs that would make eating them raw quite painful. So it is possible to have them in a salad fresh. They are quite good cooked though as well.

Ingredients

A handful of fresh herbs (I used parsley, coriander and basil as these are what I grow)

~ 2 cups of sweet potato leaves (Young ones are best)

1/2 cup chickpeas from a can

2 tomatos diced

red onion to taste

low fat fetta cheese crumbled

salad dressing (whatever your favourite is. I like a splash of Maggie Beer's Seville vin cotto as it is quite sweet)

Salt and pepper to taste

Method

Comine all ingredients, dress with your salad dressing. Add salt and pepper to taste

Serve

Roast Vegetable, Garlic and Fetta Bread

This Italian style bread is delicious hot from the oven with butter or cold dipped in olive oil and dukkah.

Serves: 6

Cooking Time: 30 mins

Preparation Time: 2.5 hours (most of it resting)

Calories per serve: 274

Ingredients:

1 small sweet potato

1 potato

50g fetta cheese

dried rosemary

2 garlic cloves

3 tbs olive oil

3 cups strong white bread flour

1 egg beaten

1 cup luke warm water

2 teaspoons active instant dried yeast

1 tbs salt

Extra flour for dusting

Olive oil spray

Method:

1. In a large mixing bowl sieve flour. Sir in salt.

2. Make a well in the flour. Pour in water and add yeast. Leave for 10 minutes until bubbles form.

3. Add olive oil. Using a spoon gradually mix liquid into flour until it is a single ball of dough.

4. Put dough on a floured surface a kneed. It if is too sticky add extra flour. Kneed for 10-20 minutes to develop the elastic gluten.

5. Spray some olive oil into the original mixing bowl. Put dough to rest in it and cover with a damp tea towel. Put in warm place for 1 hour to rise (perhaps near oven that will soon be on to cook the vegetables).

6. While dough is rising peal and chop into small cubes the vegetables. Put in a baking tray with a spay of olive oil. Cook in a 200 degree oven for about 20 minutes or until soft and golden. Turn occasionally to ensure vegetables are cooked evenly. Once cooked take out of oven and put on a plate to cool. Set oven temperature to 190 degrees to preheat once you are near to the end of the 1 hr dough rising time.

7. After an hour the dough should have doubled in size. Punch down to release the air. Put back on a floured surface. Now incorporate into the dough the roasted vegetables (including the garlic), the rosemary and fetta. Shape into a loaf and put on a floured pizza stone (preferable) or a baking tray. Brush with a beaten egg and sprinkle on some more rosemary. Put in 190 degree oven for 30 mins or until golden.

8. mmmmmm

Beetroot, Tomato and Fetta Tart

Ingredients

Puff pastry (1 sheet makes 2 tarts)

Sliced tomatoes

Fetta cheese

Beetroot relish

Pepper & Salt

Method

Preheat oven to 200 degrees C.

Cut piece of pastry in 2 rectangle halves. Scour a 1 cm border around each pastry piece and use this as a guide as to where to place toppings.

Brush a thick layer of beetroot relish on each piece of pastry. Lay on top tomatoes and fetta.

Place on a baking tray in oven for 20 minutes or until tarts are golden brown in colour.

Cut into pieces before serving either hot or cold to your guests.

Beetroot relish is available at most supermarkets. Other relish flavours could also be used instead.

Cream of Celeriac Soup

This interesting vegetable can be eaten raw or cooked and is the root of a type of celery plant (so it tastes pretty similar celery stalks but with a completely different texture).

Ingredients

1 celeriac pealed and diced

1L chicken stock

white pepper

parsley chopped

1 can evaporated milk

dash of lemon juice

Method

1. Simmer celeriac in chicken stock in a large saucepan.

2. Once tender strain off some of the chicken stock. Use a food processor or barmix to bend. Add a dash of lemon juice and mix well.

3. Add chopped pasley and pepper.

4. Put back on heat and add evaporated milk. Bring to the boil mixing well.

Serve

Broccoli and Blue Cheese Soup

I once had a soup just like this at a ski resort in Canada and after being out in the cold all day it was heaven! So i've tried to replicate this here.

Ingredients

Broccoli (quite a bit)

1 can of evaporated milk

milk

blue vein cheese

pepper

Method

1. Chop up the broccoli. You can use all of it including the stalk. Put into a saucepan the broccoli, evaporated milk, pepper and as much extra milk as you need to cover the broccoli with liquid.

2. Simmer for about 20 minutes or until the broccoli is tender. Add the cheese in small pieces and stir.

3. Once cheese has melted into the soup, remove saucepan from heat.

4. Blend with a barmix or food processor until smooth (if you need to use a food processor wait until soup is cooler).

5. Reheat if necessary and serve with crusty bread.

from my blog at http://www.angelacooking.blogspot.com/

Spinach Pie

Sarah & Jane i'm posting this for you.
For everyone else this is a yummy spinach pie that isn't all that original (I merely adapted it from a recipe on the back of a packet of filo pastry) but is very yummy and seems to consistently work.

Ingredients:

2 eggs

Spinach

Mint

1 spanish onion

1 block garlic fetta

garlic

cinnamon

nutmeg

red wine or balsamic vinegar

1 tbs white sugar

filo pastry

butter

salt

pepper

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 90 degrees. Grease a pie tin with a little butter and set aside.

2. Caramelise chopped onion and garlic in a saucepan on medium heat. Add vinegar and sugar.

3. Add spinach. Once wilted remove from stove top.

4. Put spinach and onion in a bowl. Mix in all other ingredients (except butter).

5. Line pie dish with filo pastry. Add filling. Top with filo. Brush with melted butter.

6. Cook for 45 minutes or until golden and crispy.

7. Serve with chutney or chilli jam.

Warm Autumn Chestnut Salad

Chestnuts are somewhat of a novelty for me. So sorry if this isn't so 'exotic' as some of the other things i've posted here.

Serves 2

Ingredients

~ 10 chestnuts

handful of wild rocket leaves

2 carrots

1 potato

3 cloves garlic

olive oil

salt & pepper

fresh rosemary

Method

1. Roast the chestnuts. You do this by first cutting a cross on the flatter end of each nut. This stops it exploding in the oven. Then place them in a preheated 200 degree C oven for about 15-20 mins. If you put a sheet of baking paper over the top of the roasting nuts this might make cleaning the oven if any explode an easier task. The nuts should be a golden colour and fairly easy to remove from the shells when they are done.

2. Roast veggies, garlic and rosemary in a baking pan with olive oil on 200 degrees C (thus you can cook both the chestnuts and veggies at the same time if you want.

3. On a bed of rocket crumble some roasted chestnuts and roast veggies. Squeeze the garlic cloves into the oil the pan and mix. Pour some of the garlicy olive oil over the salad.

Serve as a side to a main dish. In the spirit of Autumn this would be best with roast venison or duck...or roo, just make it gamey :)

Red Wine Pasta

This is pretty simple to make, and worth the time. It tastes much, much better than dried pasta with bottled sauce. Oprah if you are reading this, perhaps this could be an example of 'cook yourself fit' because I think any carbs in the pasta would get burnt off with all the kneading and rolling!

Serves: 2
Preparation time: about 2 hours
Cost: Probably about $10

Ingredients
Pasta

250g plain flour
3 eggs

Sauce
4 roma tomatoes
1/2 a bottle cheap Aldi french red wine
basil
oregano
2 cloves garlic
olive oil
salt
pepper
plain flour for thickening

Instructions

1. Start by making the pasta. Sift flour onto a clean bench. Make a well and crack eggs into it. Using your hands mix egg and flour. Knead until pasta dough feels smooth and elastic.

2. Wrap in cling wrap and put in fridge for at least 30mins.

3. Finely chop tomatoes. Heat some olive oil in a saucepan. Add tomatoes, garlic, herbs spices. After about 1 min add red wine. Simmer on low for 45 mins

4. Remove pasta dough from the fridge. Split into 2 balls of equal size. Knead each ball and then using a rolling pin roll as flat as you can. With a knife cut into long thin strips.

5. Boil water in a saucepan. Add pasta. It will be very quick to cook in comparison to dried pasta so watch it!

6. When pasta sauce is reduced down to about 1 1/2 cups take off heat. Sprinkle a small amount of flour. Return to heat and stir until it thickens.

7. Drain cooked pasta. Add sauce. Serve with cheese and fresh basil.

Other ideas: this pasta recipe can be used to make all sorts of pasta. Make lasagna or ravioli using spinach and home-made ricotta (see recipe below).

Mexican Jicama Salad

Jicama is a root vegetable sometimes called a bean yam. It originates from South and Central America where it is an important part of the Festival of the Dead in Mexico.

The leaves of the plant are actually poisonous. This vegetable can be eaten raw, baked, fried.... The only requirement is that it is peeled which given it's unusual shape is surprisingly quite easy. All you need to is cut a bit with a knife and peel the back the skin with your hands. Raw, the vegetable smells and tastes a lot like sugar snap peas with a texture like raw potato.

This is quite close to the way that jicama is served on the streets of Mexico (they serve jicama slices with lime and chilli). It's incredibly fresh and zesty... and would make an awesome side dish with pan-fried salmon. I honestly could eat this stuff for days...and unlike the chips, it's actually healthy and super quick to make.

INGREDIENTS
1/2 a Jicama
1 nectarine
bunch of fresh coriander
one chili (medium heat)
lime juice (fresh or from a bottle)
olive oil

INSTRUCTIONS
1. Peel jicama. Slice into thin sticks. Put in bowl with a splash of lime juice (to retain white colour).

2. Slice nectarine and add to bowl. Add a handful of coriander mix.

3. Finely chop chili add to bowl.4. Mix a slash of olive oil with a splash of lime juice. Mix and pour over salad. Serve

Note: Nectarines could be exchanged for mango