food from ellis: January 2008

grit tabouli

yeilds 6 servings

2 cups bulgur wheat

1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

2 tbls rice wine vinegar

2 cups boiling water

1/4 cup finely diced, seeded cucumber

1/4 cup finely shredded red radish

1/4 cup finely shredded carrot

1 large bunch fresh flat leaf parsley, stems removed & finely minced

2 green onions, green parts only, finely minced

3/4 tsp sea salt

1/4 tsp cracked pepper

1/4 tsp cumin powder

1/4 tsp granulated garlic

in a large bowl, combine bulgur, lemon juice & vinegar. Add boiling water until covered and let sit until water is absorbed & bulgur is tender to bite...30-45 minutes. cool completely

add remaining ingredients and toss together. Cover and refrigerate a few hours to let flavors develop.

I liked this recipe from the Grit Cookbook, a nice twist on Karyn's Tabouli ~ i did however feel like it needed a bit more crunch, like it was bulgur heavy? Next time i would up the amount of veggies and definatley add chopped tomatoes! enjoy.

Little Egg Sandwich for Bob's Bagels

for just $ 3.50 this little sweat treat of a bagel sandwich has become a hit.

Little Egg Sandwich also shares it's initials with it's creator, me:).

A simple swipe of meyer lemon pesto with a fried egg on a toasted bagel.

meyer lemon pesto ~

1 cup packed basil leaves

1/4 - 1/2 cup olive oil (i use just as little as necessary to do the trick)

1/4 cup pecorino romano, finely grated

1/4 cup toasted pine nuts

juice of one meyer lemon (flavor is far superior to regular lemons)

1 small clove garlic

1 tsp sea salt

1 tsp cracked pepper, or to taste

blend all ingredients in a food processor and use right away.

cashew butterscotch bars

a rich & sultry dessert from down south.

Browned butter intensifies the buttery flavor of these quick and easy

dessert bars.

1 1/2 cups raw unsalted cashews

1 tsp salt

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup brown sugar, packed

1 egg

2 tsp pure vanilla extract

1 3/4 cups unbleached white flour

syrup ~

3 tbls butter

1/3 cup sugar

2 tbls water

1) preheat oven to 350* and toasted cashews for 7-10 minutes until golden. then chop and toss with 3/4 salt & set aside to cool.

2) in a heavy sauce pan, heat butter on medium heat until it begins to bubble, turn and amber color and leave small brown particles in the bottom of the pan. pull off heat and refrigerate for 10 minutes.

3) beat egg, brown sugar, and vanilla into the cooled butter until creamy. sift remaining 1/4 tsp salt & half of the flour into the mixture, stir well. add the rest of the flour and mix until the dough becomes stiff and forms a ball. Press the dough evenly into a greased & floured 9 X 13 dish and set aside.

4) for the syrup, in a small saucepan heat the butter & sugar on medium-low heat until the mixtures bubbles vigorously and the sugar begins to dissolve. Add the water and stir until most of the sugar has melted and it becomes syrupy. stir in cashews and then take off heat and pour over the top of the pressed dough

bake for 25 - 30 minutes until golden brown and firm. cool, then cut into squares.

grit buttermilk biscuits & gravy

Grit Yeast Gravy ~ yeilds 4 cups

1 cup butter

3/4 cup whole wheat flour

3/4 cup nutritional yeast

2 cups regular milk

1/2 cup soy sauce

1 3/4 cup hot water

2 tbls worcestershire sauce

In a large heavy saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter completely. Stir in the flour & yeast until blended and continue to wisk the roux until it begins to bubble - 5 minutes. Keep whisking to prevent burning, using only enough heat as needed.

Continue a rapid whisk while adding milk gradually. The mixture will quickly become thick like custard & look strange. Combine soy sauce, water & worchestershire and add to gravy gradually. Blend well after each addition, continue cooking until thickens.

this recipe can easily be made vegan & can be cut in half

Grit Biscuits Deluxe w/ Gravy

1 1/2 cups all purp. flour

1/4 cup plus 2 tbls whole wheat flour

1 tbls double acting baking powder

1 3/4 tsp sugar

1/2 tsp plus 2 pinches salt

3 tbls vegetable shortening

2 tbls butter, chilled and in small pieces

3/4 cup plus 1 tbsl buttermilk

2 tbls cider vinegar

extremely small pinch of dry mustard

1) preheat to 450* and grease a baking sheet

2) in large bowl, whisk together flours, baking powder, sugar and slat. Cut in the butter & shortening with a pastry blender until very small and coarse.

3) stir together buttermilk, vinegar and dry mustard. form a well in the flour and add the liquids ~ gently fold until fully combined

4) with floured hands, form into a ball and transfer onto a floured surface and pat into slab that is 1/2 inch thick. divide into 12 biscuits and bake on middle rack for 12 minutes

garlic tomato soup w/ parsley almond pesto

for the soup ~

2 cups veg stock
1 cups water
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 tsp onion powder
2 tbls evoo
1 small onion, minced
2 tsp minced garlic
1 small red pepper, finely chopped
salt & pepper to taste
28 oz. can whole tomatoes, squished with hands
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
2 tsp cornstarch
little water
fresh squeezed juice of one lemon

1) combine water, stock, soy & onion powder, set aside
2) heat evoo in a large stockpot and saute onion until soft. add garlic & bell pepper and cook another 3-4 minutes. add salt, pepper, tomatoes and stock mixture. bring to a boil, then reduce and simmer and add vinegar. Blend cornstarch with a little water and stir into soup. simmer for 25 minutes. Stir in lemon and top with pesto

parsley ~ almond pesto
1 bunch flat leaf parsley, stems removed
1 cup pecorino romano, finely grated (or parm)
1/4 - 1/3 cup toasted almonds, ground into nut meat
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 - 1/2 cup evoo

blend all ingredients in a food processor

vegetable wontons w/ mango ginger dipping sauce

i have made alot or wontons in my day & these turn out the best...everytime!

they are relatively quick to make and freeze well before baking to have on hand for a quick happy hour snack. Feel free to alter the ingredients to your liking, just keep the ratios the same. The other perk is that they are baked, so much better on the heart.

mango ~ ginger dipping sauce

1 cup water

1/2 cup dried mangos (bulk at your co-op)

1 tbls tamari

2 tbls mirin

1 tbls rice vinegar

1 tsp finely grated ginger root

1/4 tsp chili paste

Boil water and pour over the mango, let rehydrate for 30 minutes. Then combine all other ingredients in a blender and add the now soft mango with half of it's liquid & blend. Sauce will be a nice and thick for dipping.

vegetable wonton filling ~

1 cup grated carrot

1/2 cup thinly sliced mushrooms

1 cup finely shredded napa cabbage or 4 large brussels sprouts

2 tbls toasted sesame oil

1/4 cup chopped green onion

1/2 tbls grated ginger

1/2 tbls curry powder

1 tbls mirin

1 tbls tamari

1 package square wonton wrappers (uncooked)

1/4 cup toasted sesame oil (for brushing)

1) preheat oven to 375*

2) saute the vegetables in sesame oil in a large skillet until limp, 5 minutes. Add green onion & ginger. then sprinkle with curry powder and mirin & tamari. remove from heat

3) lay out some wonton sheets on a clean surface and with a pastry brush, brush the edges with the reserved 1/4 cup sesame oil.

4) working in batches, drop 1 tbls vegetable mix into the center and then fold into a triangle. Krimp the edges tightly with the tines of a fork, folding the two bottom corners inward slightly and press with the fork to close tightly.

5) lighlty oil a baking sheet with olive oil and place the wontons closely together.

brush the tops with sesame oil and bake for 6 minutes, turn them over, and continue baking another 6 minutes.

yeilds 30 wontons

it's not chicken - chicken style salad

beverages for the season

the ONLY margarita's worth making in my book ~ don't forget the beer

a plethora of unique beers brought over from Bottleworks compliments of Matt ~

the mixture makes for an interesting headache the next day for sure!

highly sought after bevy from Meghan's neck of the woods, we anticipate a gnarly morning of westcoast weather to shut us in for a brunch and espresso beer party. thanks Meghan!!!!
jefferson juice as we now put it made a mighty fine manhattan and it's all thanks to ben & mary for supplying us with the warm and buttery bourbon...what's next? LaNells Private Stash???