La Cucina

This is a page where we can share recipes we make and enjoy, our favorite cookbooks, restaurants of special interest, etc. I didn't do much cooking in 2024, but that will change significantly this year, and I'll post old recipes and new ones that I particularly like.

I'm inspired to share a simple dish that reminds me of the Near East, a variation on the za'atar pie:



Here I cheated by using a commercial roti, as I do when I'm too hungry/lazy to prepare the dough (with yeast, two risings, can refrigerate or freeze for future use). The roti is about 9 inches. Make a paste out of the za'atar mix, olive oil, and just a touch of water. It should be spreadable but not runny. Spread it generously all over the roti (or dough pie. Pierce the latter with a fork in a criss-cross pattern first.) Bake at 350F for about 10-15 minutes, or until the roti puffs. A thicker pie might take longer.

I always have yogurt to go with. I recommend buying imported Middle Eastern za'atar if possible. The mix in the photo is Palestinian made, bought at Rabba (local chain) and mixed with a Syrian blend. Since it's made from local herbs, every mix will taste differently. Note that so-called Syrian oregano or wild thyme does not correspond to the oregano and thyme one would find in the Western markets, so it's not that easy to reproduce by oneself.

>2 LolaWalser: Thanks, Lola!

I plan to consume more beans going forward, especially because I need to consume more iron containing foods now that my red meat intake is very minimal. Yesterday I made one of my favorite soups, African sweet potato, bean and peanut soup, which contains a sweet potato (in this case a Korean sweet potato with a purple skin and pale flesh), black eyed peas, white beans (I used cannellini), black beans, a yellow bell pepper and a jalapeño pepper, with plenty of herbs and spices. Here's the recipe:

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon light olive oil or peanut oil
1 tablespoon red or green gluten-free curry paste- hot or mild, to taste (start with less if you prefer it mild)
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 medium red onion, peeled, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium sweet potato or yam, peeled, diced
1 large yellow bell pepper, cored, seeded, diced
1 jalapeño or other hot chile pepper, seeded, diced fine
1 14-oz. can black-eyed peas, rinsed, drained
1 14-oz. can white beans, rinsed, drained
1 14-oz. can black beans, rinsed, drained
1 quart light broth
1/2 cup 100% natural peanut butter melted in a half cup of boiled hot water (for one cup total)
1/2 teaspoon crushed hot red pepper flakes, or more, to taste
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
Juice from 1 big juicy lime
2-3 teaspoons organic brown sugar or raw agave nectar, to taste
Sea salt and black pepper, to taste

For garnish:
Chopped fresh cilantro or parsley

Instructions:

Heat the light olive oil in large soup pot. Add the curry paste and cinnamon; stir for a minute to infuse the oil with spice. Add the onion, garlic, sweet potato, yellow pepper and jalapeño. Stir and cook the veggies for 5-7 minutes, until softened.

Add the black-eyed peas, white and black beans, broth, melted peanut butter, red pepper flakes and cilantro.

Bring the soup to a high simmer, cover, and lower the heat; keep the soup on simmer and cook until the vegetables are tender, about 25 to 30 minutes.

Stir in the lime juice and brown sugar or agave. Season with sea salt and ground pepper, to taste. Warm through and taste for seasoning adjustments.
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This recipe makes nearly a full pot of soup, so it makes far more than the four servings the author claims. This is great as an entrée or a side dish, and it freezes and reheats well. Those with sensitive palates or who plan to make it for family members or guests may want to cut back on the peppers, though!

ETA: This recent article mentions that the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) will likely recommend that adults consume at least 2.5 cups of beans and legumes per week, so I'll incorporate half a cup of this soup or something similar into my diet on a daily basis.

2/3 cup flour
pinch of salt
3 lg eggs
2/3 cup milk

Heat oven to 425F. Beat eggs lightly then add milk. Sift in flour & salt and beat just until bubbly. Pour into oven-proof skillet and place on lowest rack. Bake 15 minutes without opening the oven. After 15 minutes, pierce the peaks with a knife, lower the temperature to 375F and bake for 10-15 more minutes.

A simple oven pancake recipe that many people are familiar with. But growing up, in our household, these were "booby pancakes" and only made on special days.

>5 ELiz_M: Would that be equivalent to a Dutch baby, Liz?

My brother came over for Christmas yesterday, and we had a traditional Southern meal. He brought a ham and cornbread, and I made collard greens and macaroni & cheese:



Here is a good recipe, courtesy of the Food Network:

Ingredients:

2 bunches collard greens or 2 bunches two bags of pre-washed collard greens
3 tablespoons olive oil or 3 tablespoons a mixture of olive oil and bacon grease
1 onion, sliced
2-3 garlic cloves, smashed
2 bay leaves
1 smoked ham hock (can also add 3 slices of chopped cooked bacon, if desired)
2 quarts chicken broth, warm
2 tablespoons cider vinegar (great for cutting out any bitterness)
1 teaspoon sugar (I never add sugar to my greens!)
salt & freshly ground black pepper
add a dash hot pepper sauce, if desired, when serving (I prefer to use Louisiana tabasco peppers in vinegar, which are sold in stores or online)

Directions

To prepare greens, cut away the tough stalks and remove all stems from the collards. Discard any leaves that are bruised or yellow. Wash the collards thoroughly to remove the grit, 2 or 3 times, until the water runs clear. Dry thoroughly -- you can do this easily by rolling them up in a clean dish towel. (I sometimes use two bags of pre-cut and prewashed collard green pieces from the produce section, but I still break off any large pieces of stem as they tend to be tough even after cooking.).

Place a large pot or cast iron Dutch oven over medium heat and add the olive oil. When it is heated, add the onion, bay leaves and ham hock. (If using bacon, cook beforehand and then add when the greens go in.) Cook the mixture until the onions are soft and are starting to brown, about 8-10 minutes. To prevent the garlic from burning, add it just a few minutes before the onions are done.

Pack in greens, pushing them down into the pot. Add the broth, vinegar and sugar. Bring up to a boil, turning the greens over occasionally with a wooden spoon as they wilt. Lower to a simmer, cover the pot and cook for 1 hour. Taste the "pot liquor" (broth) and check the seasoning, adding salt and pepper as desired.

Cover again and let cook for an additional 2 to 2½ hours. Some recipes use a lot less cooking time, but this additional time really helps all the flavors come together. (If using the bagged pre-cut collard greens, they may only have to cook for another 1 to 2 hours.) Remove the bay leaves and ham hock, dicing up and adding any meat from the ham hock, drain off excess cooking liquid, and serve.
________________________________

The biggest essential take away IMO is the need to cook the greens for at least three hours; this ensures that they will be tender and not overly bitter. You can also substitute a smoked turkey neck bone in place of a ham hock, and vegetarians could use smoked paprika and additional spices to give it more flavor; I suspect that cumin would work well.

After many attempts of tinkering with it, in the manner of the engineer that he was, my late father came up with a recipe for Southern macaroni & cheese that was widely beloved. I follow his recipe, and although it turns out very good it still doesn't quite reach the height of his best ones. Here is his recipe, which he gave permission to share when he was alive:

Dad's Macaroni and Cheese

Ingredients
16 oz elbow macaroni (I often use an equal amount of cavatappi, which I like much better than plain old macaroni)
26 oz extra sharp cheddar cheese
6 large eggs
1¼ sticks margarine (10 tbsp)
12 oz evaporated milk
4 oz 2% or regular milk
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp black pepper

Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 375° F
2. Cook pasta until al dente, per package instructions
3. Drain and toss pasta in a bowl with margarine, then sprinkle with salt and pepper
4. Cut cheese into ¼ inch cubes
5. Beat eggs and milk
6. Add liquid, cheese and pasta to a bowl, toss to mix well
7. Add to well greased baking dish
8. Bake uncovered for 50-60 minutes, or until top is golden brown.
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I checked this pan at 50 minutes, and looking at it I probably should have pulled it out 5 or more minutes before then, as it's a wee bit browner on top than it ideally should be, although it still tasted great.

Proper Southern macaroni & cheese should always be baked in the oven, and it should be firm enough to cut into slices, with the approximate consistency of cornbread. IMO it should also not have any weird additives in it. I love this hilarious video by the comedian and YouTube personality Kaelin Allen when he commented on a hideous version of macaroni & cheese that was made on the Food Network several years ago. My only comment is that my White friends from the Deep South were also horrified by that macaroni & cheese, as they also know what it's supposed to look and taste like!

Both of those recipes look delicious, Darryl.

For Christmas dinner, my husband smoked a turkey in his smoker. We had mashed potatoes, a salad with watermelon radishes and goat cheese, and I made these rolls with my younger son. They were delicious. We've always bought Hawaiian rolls at the store for holidays, but when I got them for Thanksgiving we all thought they taster sweeter and more "fake" than they used to, so I tried baking these from scratch instead. They were easy and so much better!

https://www.gimmesomeoven.com/1-hour-soft-buttery-dinner-rolls/

This is an appetizer that my family serves at various events during the holidays.

Salmon Ball

1 15oz can Red Sockeye Salmon
1 8oz package of Philly cream cheese
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 cup chopped pecans
a bunch of parsley, finely chopped
1 tablespoon Liquid Smoke
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons horse radish

-Drain snd clean salmon of all gray matter and large bones; do not concern yourself over small white bones.
-Add softened cream cheese, blend and eliminate all signs of the cream cheese to reach a consistent salmon color.
-Mix in the finely chopped onion, liquid smoke, horseradish, and lemon juice.
-Using a spatula, form the salmon into a ball in the bowl.
-Cover and chill for at least one hour.

-Chop the parsley (cleaned and dried). On a sheet of wax paper, layer the parsley and then the pecans. The area of pecans and parsley should be about 9-10” square
-Scoop the salmon onto this square. Pulling up the ends of the wax paper, wrap the mixture into a ball.
-Wrap in foil and place in the fridge for at least half an hour until chilled.
-Unwrap the ball (exposing the top only, and tip onto a platter.

Serve with crackers of your choice.

You can prepare this in advance with just the final placement left for the moment before guests arrive.

It freezes well.

>9 japaul22: Ooh, I love Hawaiian rolls! Thanks for that recipe, Jennifer.

>10 ELiz_M: That recipe sounds very interesting, Liz; I had no idea red sockeye salmon came in cans!

>10 ELiz_M: this reminds me of my Grandma's "shrimp ball". I'll have to see if I can scrounge up her recipe.

>11 kidzdoc: It does, but sometimes you have to stop by 3-4 stores to find it!

Again, i am terrible at taking photos. I was making biscotti to mail back home to mom and going through my baking good containers realized I had 3 cups of pistachios. So I made these extremely easy and sugary-delicious cookies:

Cookies: The New Classics by Jesse Szewczyk

Chewy Flourless Pistachio Cookies

Ingredients
2 cups (280 grams) raw or toasted unsalted pistachios (*see Note)
1 cup (200 grams) granulated sugar
¾ cup (75 grams) confectioners’ sugar
½ teaspoon kosher salt
¼ teaspoon ground cardamom
2 large egg whites (nb: I used one whole egg)
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Step 1
Preheat the oven to 350°F and set 2 racks at the upper-middle and lower-middle positions. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or nonstick baking mats.

Step 2
In the bowl of a food processor fitted with the blade attachment, combine the pistachios, granulated sugar, confectioners’ sugar, salt, and cardamom. Process until the pistachios are the texture of fine sand and there are no visible pieces of pistachio left, 60 to 90 seconds (nb: this is easier to do in small batches). Transfer the mixture to a large bowl and add the egg whites and vanilla extract. Mix with a rubber spatula (nb: or a hand mixer) until a thick, paste-like dough forms.

Step 3
Using a medium 1¾-inch (#40) cookie scoop or 2 tablespoons, portion out the dough and roll into balls (nb: I used regular spoons so that I would have about 36 small cookies rather than 16 large ones). (The dough will be sticky, so don’t fret if they are not perfect balls.) Place the dough balls at least 3 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets.

Step 4
Bake both sheets at the same time, swapping the top sheet to the bottom rack and bottom sheet to the top midway through baking, until the tops of the cookies crack and the bottoms are just starting to brown, 12 to 14 minutes (I baked for 10 minutes, rotating the sheets after 5 minutes). (Don’t overbake the cookies. They aren’t the kind of cookie that browns that much on the top. It’s best to err on the side of underbaking for this recipe.) Let the cookies cool completely on the baking sheets before removing.

>14 ELiz_M: They sound delicious - like pistachio macaroons.

I finally made the microwave English muffin bread from Beard on Bread since I have milk to use up and it turned out really well (my oven is broken). I look forward to moving and having a working oven again so I can make the non-microwave version of this, as it's the dirtiest page in the book (which my mom bought in the 1970s), always a sign of quality.



The original recipe in the book is a two-loaf one but I've gone ahead and given you the halved version for one loaf.

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour (approx)
1 package dry yeast (2 1/4 teaspoons)
1/2 tablespoon sugar
1 1/4 cups milk
1/8 teaspoon baking soda dissolved in 1/2 tablespoon warm water

In a large mixing bowl combine 1 1/2 cups flour, the yeast, sugar, and salt. Heat the milk until warm (100-115 degrees F) and add to the flour mixture, beating by hand or in a mixer until quite smooth. Stir in enough of the remaining flour to make a stiff batter, adding a little more flour if needed. Cover the bowl, place in a warm spot, and let the batter rise until light and doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.

Stir down the yeast batter and thoroughly blend in the dissolved baking soda. Put batter in a well-oiled tempered glass or ceramic dish (I used a 7 inch pyrex bowl with 3 inch high sides). Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, about 45 minutes. Cook uncovered in the microwave for about 6 minutes (my microwave is 700 watts and this was fine for me but that's lower wattage than most so maybe start at 5 minutes if you have a newer machine), or until no doughy spots remain. Cool for five minutes, then loosen edges and remove from the pan.

(He says batter throughout but mine was certainly a very soft dough after the second flour addition.)

I tried a new recipe for lunch today, Lemon Garlic Butter Cod Bowls with Roasted Brussels Sprouts, which I had over tricolor quinoa, which was quite tasty. Here's the recipe

Ingredients:

1 pound cod fillets, cut into 4 pieces
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 tablespoons unsalted butter

For the Roasted Brussels Sprouts:
1 pound Brussels sprouts, halved
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Optional Bowl Additions:
1 cup cooked quinoa or rice
Lemon wedges for serving
Fresh parsley or dill for garnish

Instructions:

1. Prepare the Brussels Sprouts:
Preheat your oven to 400°F (200°C).
In a bowl, toss the halved Brussels sprouts with olive oil, garlic powder, salt, and pepper.
Spread them in a single layer on a baking sheet and roast for 20–25 minutes, tossing halfway through, until golden and tender.

2. Marinate the Cod:
While the Brussels sprouts are roasting, pat the cod fillets dry with paper towels.
In a small bowl, whisk together olive oil, garlic, lemon juice, oregano, salt, and pepper. Brush the marinade over both sides of the cod pieces and let them sit for 10 minutes.

3. Cook the Cod:
Heat a large skillet over medium heat and melt the butter. Add the marinated cod to the skillet and cook for 3–4 minutes per side, or until the fish is opaque and flakes easily with a fork. Remove from heat and set aside.

4. Assemble the Bowls:
Divide the cooked quinoa or rice (if using) into bowls. Top with roasted Brussels sprouts and a piece of lemon garlic butter cod.

5. Garnish and Serve:
Garnish the bowls with fresh parsley or dill and serve with lemon wedges for an extra burst of flavor. These Lemon Garlic Butter Cod Bowls are a light, flavorful, and nutrient-packed meal that's perfect for any time of the week. Enjoy!
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I only made one 4 oz fillet, so I quartered this recipe, and only cooked a quarter of the Brussels sprouts, although I made what should be enough quinoa to have three more servings. This turned out well, although I'm tempted to make it with salmon, which I bought along with cod yesterday, after I finish the cod.

>16 mabith: That's interesting! I've never baked bread in a microwave: good to know it can be done if I don't have access to a regular oven or I need non-crusty bread.

>17 kidzdoc: Looks delish! Were your Brussels sprouts humongous, or is the photo deceptive?

>18 Dilara86: Thanks! The photo makes the Brussels sprouts look much larger than they actually are.

>17 kidzdoc: Mmm, that's my kind of meal. Thanks, Darryl!

Super simple supper. "Cowboy meatballs" from Kitchen.com
I used Impossible Meatballs.... Will serve with Spanish rice and avocado slices.

All of these recipes look so good!

>17 kidzdoc: Definitely going to try this one! And for dessert........?

>23 SassyLassy: Hmm. I'm not much of a dessert person, as I've only ever made two desserts from scratch to my knowledge, my mother's sour cream coffeecake for a dear neighbor on his birthday several years ago, and a strawberry rhubarb cream pie, my favorite dessert, two or three times.

>21 WelshBookworm: This looks fabulous

>24 kidzdoc: Cod and Brussels sprouts coming up this weekend.
Sour cream coffeecake sounds wonderful. Strawberry rhubarb pie is a huge hit here, without the cream part. Then there's rhubarb sour cream pound cake, which combines your two desserts!

>26 SassyLassy: The recipe I made was strawberry rhubarb custard pie, which was a big hit with my partners at work when I made it for them several years ago. Here's a link to the recipe:

Strawberry Rhubarb Custard Pie

>27 kidzdoc: Thanks for that - love the glazing idea

Guessing most of you have something like this in your rotation, but I love using this sort of salad base to use up whatever veggies and herbs we have around. I like the dressing in this recipe.

This time it was pearled couscous, cherry tomatoes, cucumber, mint from my aerogarden, red onion, and kalamata olives. Had it as a side dish to turkey burgers.
Sometimes I add chickpeas or feta.

https://www.inspiredtaste.net/12689/lemon-and-herb-couscous-salad-recipe/

>29 japaul22: That sounds great!

>29 japaul22: I do a lot of these, rarely with a recipe - it is more of a "let's see what is available around the house" for me. As long as I do not add the fresh veggies, it keeps very well in the fridge - these get added just before so they stay crunchy :)

The last one was quinoa, canned beets, roasted red peppers, corn, red beans, cucumbers, cherry tomatoes and red radishes (no onions because I was bringing it to the office and I was out of feta - it usually makes it into these). I actually had not thought of using couscous as the grain/base...

>31 AnnieMod: I'm enough of a novice cook that I like a recipe for the dressing, but other than that I agree that this is a super easy idea. Works with faro, quinoa, bulgur wheat, etc. Toasted nuts also add in well.

Recipe from Ayla: A Feast of Nepali Dishes from Terai, Hills and the Himalayas

Sidra ko chutney (Fish chutney)*

1 tablespoon mustard oil
½ teaspoon cumin seeds
4 dried red chillies, crushed (I'm a wimp and used 1/4 tsp of red pepper flakes)
I garlic clove, finely chopped
2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh ginger
25g (1 oz) sidra (dried river sprats), or other small dried fish (I found dried fish of an unknown type at H Mart, so I think almost any kind of mild white fish will work)
½ teaspoon ground turmeric
250g (9oz) tomatoes, chopped
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon lemon juice

Heat the mustard oil in a non-stick frying pan until hot. Add the cumin seeds and crushed chillies. Cook until the cumin crackles, then add the garlic and ginger and stir-fry for 2-3 minutes.

Add the dried fish and turmeric. Stir-fry for a minute, making sure you get a nice brown colour on the fish.

Add the tomatoes and salt and simmer for 5 minutes, until the tomatoes soften. Leave to cool for 1 minute, then transfer to a large pestle and mortar (or a food processor) and crush (or pulse if using a food processor) to obtain a thick paste. Add the lemon juice, adjust the seasoning to taste, adding more lemon juice or salt if needed.

*it is in the small, square container near the center of the picture

>33 ELiz_M: Interesting that they use river fish, as I immediately thought of salt water fish, which would give quite a different flavour. I do like the sound of this recipe though. Does the cooking process give off that same smell that Vietnamese fish sauce does, the one with the fermented liquid? It always seems you have to air the house out completely after using that - difficult when having guests in winter!

Like your picture.

>34 SassyLassy: Probably? I don't cook much Vietnamese food and day-after cooking smells don't bother me. A work colleague thought it tasted like fish sauce and tomatoes (in a good way!).

>33 ELiz_M: also pictured: Tarul ko tarkari (purple yam curry), Aloo ra gobi ko tarkari (spiced cauliflower and potatoes) Sandheko bhogare (pomelo and yogurt salad) and Badam ko chutney (cilantro and peanut chutney)

Ooh, very nice! What's in the pomelo and yogurt salad, apart from pomelo and yogurt?

>36 Dilara86:

Ingredients
650g (23oz) bhogate, or pomelo, about 200g (7oz) of flesh
100g (½ cup) natural (plain) Greek yogurt
1 teaspoon caster (superfine) sugar
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon dried chilli flakes
2 teaspoons lemon juice
2 teaspoons mustard oil

For the tempering
1 teaspoon mustard oil
½ teaspoon fenugreek seeds
½ teaspoon ground turmeric
¼ teaspoon Kashmiri chilli powder, or medium hot chilli powder

Prepare the bhogate (or pomelo). Remove the peel and white bitter membrane. Separate the flesh into small pieces.

Mix the bhogate (or pomelo) flesh with the yogurt, sugar and salt in a bowl and set aside.

For the tempering, heat the I teaspoon of mustard oil in a non-stick frying pan. Add the fenugreek seeds and cook until they darken. Add the turmeric and chilli powder. Cook over low heat for a few seconds, stirring all the time and making sure that the spices do not burn.

Add the tempering to the bhogate and yogurt mix along with the chilli flakes, lemon juice and the 2 teaspoons of mustard oil. Mix well, and adjust the seasoning adding more sugar, salt, chilli powder or lemon juice to taste. Leave to cool before serving.

>29 japaul22: Mmm, that reminds me that I haven't cooked pearl couscous in a while. I'm always looking to use up odds and ends of cooked vegetables—that lemony dressing looks like a good way to do it.

@Eliz_M asked me about cabbage recipes in my thread a long time ago now and I never got around to posting any. Partly, because I'm not a big recipe user for savory foods and partly because I love cabbage so much I really don't need to do much to it to love it.

I was inspired by this video for gochujang butter cabbage though and I've been hooked. In the video they do whole quarters of cabbage, but with my chronic pain using a knife and fork can be a struggle so I chop the cabbage into one inch pieces, give it a good initial char with some oil, and then add the gochujang butter (would also be great with harissa, I use a teaspoon or two or gochujang and a tablespoon of butter for half a small or a quarter of a large cabbage). I've been loving having this with spaetzle, polenta, or just rice. If the cleanup after making spaetzle weren't so annoying I'd be making it every day I think.

I also make these vegetable pancakes a lot with shredded cabbage, taking some inspiration from okonomiyaki or the Korean vegetable pancakes, yachaejeon (written recipe and video there). The key with that recipe is it gives a good ratio to follow, 2 1/2 cups of vegetables, 3/4 cups water and 3/4 cups flour. I tend to make it with thinly sliced cabbage, onion, shredded carrot if I have carrots, and green onion. The large pieces of green onion are vital to the finished taste, in my opinion (I also like to add chopped kimchi or something else pickled/fermented into it for a little extra flavor dimension). It's a good one for using up veggies in the fridge though.

>37 ELiz_M: I have done a lot of Indian cooking and Nepali recipes are very similar. You can make the same salad with shredded raw pumpkin too, but I usually use any neutral oil (vegetable oil) would do and add mustard seeds, instead of mustard oil. It's because mustard oil has a very strong taste and can easily overwhelm more delicate flavours. Using the tempered seeds lets you control that. If anyone is thinking of trying it that way, add the mustard seeds first, let them pop, and then the fenugreek, because mustard takes longer to cook. Fenugreek on the other hand cooks very quickly. So you don't want to overcook or undercook either.

I made a super simple recipe from International Vegetarian Cookery tonight.
Eggplant and Cheese with Rice (Middle East) - I loved it and will make it again. It's just onions, peppers (I used red), eggplant, and tomato sauce. Add cheese and serve over rice. It called for Meira. I tried some specialty cheese shops in the Twin Cities and nobody had it. So I used Dutch Edam.

It kind of reminded me of Shakshuka, but with eggplant (and no poached eggs.) It also didn't have any spices other than salt and pepper.

>21 WelshBookworm: can you share the recipe?

>42 mariaqin: Sure. This is from a little book published in 1965. International Vegetarian Cookery
Eggplant and Cheese With Rice
Ingredients:
1 lb. eggplants
1/4 lb. butter (I used about 3 T.)
1 breakfastcup Meira or other salty cheese (I used Dutch Edam, 7 oz. I think...)
plain boiled rice
2 green or red peppers
1 large onion
1 pint tomato sauce (I used a can of puree)
1/2 pint water
salt and black pepper

Peel and slice the onion and green peppers and saute in the butter until tender. Add the diced aubergines (or egg plants), the sauce and the water and seasoning, then simmer for 10 to 15 minutes. Stir in the cheese and cook the mixture just long enough to melt the cheese, then serve on a bed of plain boiled rice.

Another super simple recipe from The Enchanted Broccoli Forest: Cream of Fresh Green Pea Soup.

My neighbor (retired) works part time for the local food processing plant. She brought me a bag full of fresh raw green peas right from the field.

The soup is just sauteed onion, add lightly steamed green peas and water or stock. Simmer about 10 minutes. Puree about 1/3 of the soup and return to saucepan. Add milk or cream. Don't cook any further.

Heat carefully right before serving and snip in some fresh herbs. I used parsley, thyme, and chives right from the garden. It was delightful!

I had about 3 cups of peas. I used one whole, sweet onion, about 2 cups of water - maybe a little more, and one cup of soy milk.

>44 WelshBookworm: Nice!

One of my go-to soups when it's hot outside and I don't want to spend time in the kitchen is a cold pea soup.
I typically use frozen green peas. They're not mealy, which means they hardly need cooking. You might up the cooking time for other types.

Pour frozen peas into a saucepan, cover with water or stock, and bring to the boil.
Simmer for 1 to 5 minutes, then switch off the hob, add a sprig of mint, cover, and steep for however long you want.
Remove the mint, blend the soup.
Serve hot, warm or cold.

Simple and refreshing!

(edited to correct a spelling mistake)

>45 Dilara86: Yes, I thought about mint, but the parsley, chives, and thyme combo was perfect. Could have used basil too.

>46 WelshBookworm: I'll try your combo!

I was going through recipe ephemera and rediscovered this recipe card my mom wrote up, which I have made before and can vouch for being a really delicious quick bread. We're having a break in the worst of the summer heat here, so I've been on the quick breads lately.

I'm not sure where my mom got the recipe from, but I would not be surprised if the original was 100% all purpose flavor and both the whole wheat flour and especially wheat germ were my mom's editions (her Beard on Bread is full of notations of adding wheat germ and whey and such). I *think* I made it exactly like this and loved it, but it's possible I left out the wheat germ and just used extra all purpose flour (I definitely used part whole wheat, and that flavor goes so nicely with honey, though I likely left out the walnuts).

Milk and Honey bread OVEN: 325 F
Heat together:
1 cup milk
2/3 cup honey
1/4 c butter
Until honey dissolves and butter melts. Cool some, and beat in: 2 eggs

Combine and add:
1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 cup wheat germ

Stir in 1 cup chopped walnuts. Bake in a greased loaf pan for 1 hour at 325 F. Makes 1 loaf. Delicious with cream cheese.

>48 mabith: Oh, that sounds good! I need to get some eggs, so I can make it. I bet rolled oats would be good in it too. And yay for quick breads. I keep buying bananas and then not eating them until they are too far gone and end up in the freezer. So I've made banana bread twice this summer. Used the same recipe - this one here https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchen/classic-banana-bread-33... - except I like to add 1/2 cup (or more) of mini chocolate chips. I made two loaves to take to the family gathering for my mom - one with chocolate chips and pecans, and one without nuts or chips in case someone didn't like nuts. Used up 7 bananas, and I have since discovered two more I missed... Naturally, the one with chocolate chips disappeared first! I ate up the leftover loaf spread with peanut butter.