International Pumpkin Recipes #2

Italian Pumpkin Ravioli with Sage Butter
Serves: 10-12 as a starter, 4-6 as a main course [makes about 10-12 large ravioli]
Prep time: 1 hour 30 minutes [or 1 hour if using ready-made wonton wrappers] To Cook: 50 minutes
Shopping List:
For this recipe, you can make your own pasta dough, as below, or you can use frozen [...]

Revenge of the…

I not only like to you give recipes, I like to read them too. One of the websites in my RSS feed is Craving for… which directed me to this one.
Enjoy the Revenge of the Brussels Sprouts! Spooky!!!

International Pumpkin Recipes #1

Pumpkins and squashes are used in many countries. In North American they bake pumpkin pies during Thanksgiving while the Italians adore using them in risottos. Further east, in India, the popular Kaddoo [or West Indian pumpkin] is the favoured variety mainly used in braises and curries. The Vietnamese and Chinese use squashes in soups, the [...]

Did You Know?

Mushrooms are not universally adored. Some people are not keen on the taste or texture of funghi, while others suffer from an irrational fear of mushrooms, called mycophobia.
Perhaps the fear isn’t so irrational – although fatal poisoning from mushrooms is rare, some of the most poisonous and most delicious species belong to the same genus.

Thanksgiving is on its way…

Turkey Salad
Makes 6 servings
Shopping List:

350 gr or 2½ cups cooked turkey meat, chopped
60 gr or ½ cup finely chopped celery
½ fresh jalapeno pepper, diced
20 gr or 1½ tablespoon sweet pickle relish
60 ml or ¼ cup low fat mayonnaise
60 ml or ¼ cup plain non fat yogurt
1 gr or 1½ teaspoons dried cilantro
2 gr or 1 [...]

Did You Know?

The liquid inside a coconut is the coconut juice, not the milk. Coconut milk is produced by steeping grated coconut meat in boiling water, leaving the mixture to cool, then straining it. Coconut cream is produced by the same method but using less water.

A Taste of Autumn #2

Sweet Potato Pie
Makes 8 servings
PREP TIME 30 MIN
COOK TIME 1 HR 50 MIN
Shopping List:

450 gr or 1 pound sweet potato
115 gr or ½ cup butter, softened
100 gr or ½ cup white sugar
100 gr or ½ cup white sugar
120 ml or ½ cup evaporated milk
2 eggs
2 gr or ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 gr or ½ teaspoon [...]

A Taste of Autumn #1

Hungarian Goulash
Makes 8 servings
A good basic recipe that can be adjusted to taste. Hungarian goulash should be a flexible recipe, and you should taste it and adjust it when it is almost cooked, to suit your own taste.
Shopping List:

80 ml or 1/3 cup vegetable oil
3 onions, sliced
22 gr or 3 tablespoons Hungarian sweet paprika [edelsüss [...]

Did You Know?

That most stereotypical of student staples, baked beans, are derived from a traditional dish from New England which dates back to the 19th century. Traditionally, Puritan families in and around Boston baked navy beans (also known as haricot beans) with spices and molasses in the oven; the resulting dish was crowned ‘Boston baked beans’. Boston is [...]

Best Of Both Worlds…

Cajun Chicken Lasagna
Makes 12 servings
Shopping List:

450 gr or 1 (16 ounce) package lasagna noodles
450 gr or 1 pound andouille sausage, quartered lengthwise and sliced
450 gr or 1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast halves – cut into chunks
6 gr or 2 teaspoons Cajun seasoning
0.7 gr or 1 teaspoon dried sage
60 gr or ½ cup chopped onion
60 [...]

Did You Know?

French writer Alexandre Dumas included a recipe for Norfolk dumplings in his Grand Dictionnaire de Cuisine, declaring, wrongly, that they were named after the Duke of Norfolk because of his taste for them. It is thought that Dumas was purposefully misinformed by a prankster: early evidence of the good-natured rivalry between the countries.
Recipe for Norfolk [...]

Indian Summer…

Marinated Mushrooms
Makes 6 servings
Shopping List:

235 ml or 1 cup water
680 gr or 1 1/2 pounds fresh mushrooms, stems removed
60 ml or 1/4 cup olive oil
2 gr or 2 teaspoons thyme
6 gr or 1 teaspoon salt
45 ml or 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
8 gr or 3 teaspoons minced garlic
1 gr or 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
6 gr or 4 tablespoons [...]

Fresh from the Garden…

Homemade Tomato Soup
Makes 6 servings
A quick and easy recipe for real homemade tomato soup like no other you have had before, just like my late Granny used to make it.
Shopping List:

720 gr or 4 cups chopped fresh tomatoes
40 gr ot 1 slice onion
4 whole cloves
475 ml or 2 cups chicken broth
30 gr or 2 tablespoons [...]

Festive BBQ…

Caribbean Lamb Kebab with a Tasty Dressing
Makes 6 servings
Shopping List:
For the marinade
175ml or 6fl oz pineapple juice
60 ml or 4 tablespoons malt vinegar
115g or 4oz molasses sugar
salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the kebabs
750g or 1lb 10oz lamb neck fillet, fat trimmed, cut into 3cm or 1¼in cubes
2 large red peppers, seeds removed, cut into [...]

Did You Know…

In the Middle Ages, the word plum was used to describe dried fruits in general. For this reason, Christmas pudding is still also known as plum pudding. When Little Jack Horner pulled a plum from his mouth in the 16th century nursery rhyme, he probably pulled out a raisin, according to Alan Davidson’s Oxford Companion [...]

Sunny Side of the Street…

We stay this week in the Mediterranean with…
Hummus
Makes 20 servings
Shopping List:

2 cloves garlic, chopped
540 g or 1 (19 ounce) can garbanzo beans/chickpeas, drained [reserve some of the juice]
60 ml or 4 tablespoons lemon juice
45 g or 3 tablespoons tahini [sesame paste]
3 g or ½ teaspoon salt
freshly crushed cumin seeds to taste
30 ml or 2 tablespoons [...]

New Girl in Town…

Get a taste of Holland during NiEuW Amsterdam Restaurant Week, September 5 – 20 [Yes, the weeks are getting longer]. 
To commemorate the purchase of Manna-hata, today’s Manhattan, for only 60 Dutch guilders [about $24], restaurants all over town are offering the $24 Taste NiEuW Amsterdam Menu.
Next to Organic Healthy Fast Food at Danku there are many other [...]

Did You Know…

The English name ‘allspice’ was given to the dried, unripe berry of the Pimenta dioica (a tropical American tree) because of its complex mixture of flavours that hint at cloves, black pepper, nutmeg and cinnamon. Spanish explorers in the 16th century likened them to black pepper, and thus named them ‘pimento’ (as in ‘pimenta’, the [...]

A Taste of North Africa – Morocco

During Ramadan, communities around the world break their fast with different dishes, depending on the season and country. HARIRA which is officially a lamb broth with pulses, vegetables and herbs is popular in Morocco. The Hairy Bikers [Cooking show on the BBC] ate harira when they rode from Marrakesh to the Sahara, then created this version, [...]

Did You Know?

Ramadan does not focus on self-denial for its own sake, but for the strengthening of spiritual and community relationships. After sunset, any good food can be enjoyed by those who fast. Sweetmeats such as baklava, halva, nuts and dried fruits are commonly eaten after the main meal and sometimes long into the night.