Apple Blackberry Yogurt Custard Pie

This quick and easy pie is my favorite kind of recipe because you can tinker around with it when there's extra stuff in the fridge. Just arrange fruit to fill about half a frozen pie crust, then pour the custard over the fruit and bake for about 40 minutes. The fruit rises and creates beautiful patterns. The original recipe is from the Moosewood cookbook and calls for 2-3 peeled, thinly sliced apples. Here, I've added blackberries.

1 pie crust
About 2 cups fruit for baking (pears, apples, berries)

Custard:
Put the following in a blender and blend until smooth.
4 eggs
1 cup yogurt (plain or flavored, maple is great), lowfat or fat-free is just fine
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp vanilla extract (almond or orange extracts would be great too)
1/3 cup honey or brown sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon (cardamom or nutmeg would probably be nice too)

Passover Menu and Recipes

Stuffed Eggplant:
Adapted from Olive Trees and Honey
2 eggplants (or 8 baseball-sized eggplants)
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley or other fresh herb
1 cup matza meal
1 tbsp choppped chives or 1 tsp dried oregano and 1/2 tsp dried basil
1tsp kosher salt
1 cup cheese, shredded
1 cup yogurt
2 eggs, beaten
1/4 cup chopped nuts

Preheat oven to 350.
Scoop out cores of eggplant and reserve pulp.
Cook shells in boiling water until tender, about 3-5 minutes. Drain.Chop reserved pulp.
Heat 2 tbsp oil. Add onion and garlic and sautee 5 minutes.
Add rest of oil, eggplant, and herbs and sautee until soft, about 10 minutes
Remove from heat and stir in rest of ingredients: matza, salt, pepper, chives, cheese, egg, nuts.
Place shells in greased pan and spoon in filling.
Bake covered in foil 20 minutes.
Uncover and bake until golden, 10 minutes.

Egg-Lemon Asparagus
Adapted from Olive Trees and Honey
Note: When not Passover, this is delicious over pasta...
1/4 cup olive oil
1 clove garlic, cut in half.
1/2 tsp kosher salt
pepper to taste
1/2 cup water
2 tsp flour
2 eggs, beaten
5 tbsp lemon juice
2 lbs asparagus, trimmed and cut into 2-inch pieces
In a skillet, heat the oil. Add garlic and sautee 1 minute. Add asparagus, salt, and pepper. Discard garlic.
Add water and bring to a boil. Cover and cook at medium low until tender.
Remove asparagus and save cooking liquid.
In a medium bowl, whisk flour, eggs, and lemon juice. Slowly whisk in cooking liquid.
Pour mixture back into the skillet and cook with low heat, stirring constantly, until it starts to thicken. Be careful, or you'll end up with scrambled eggs!
Pour sauce over asparagus and serve immediately.

Note: You can't reheat the sauce- unless you want scrambled eggs!!


Algerian Potato and Herb Terrine
Adapted from Quick and Easy Meals for the Vegetarian
Note: this recipe is really delicious, and it sounds a heck of a lot more complicated than it actually is. We've added, subtracted, and substituted ingredients. As long as the proportions are more or less the same, it's fine.

We've had some issues with the potatos cooking through, so you may want to try slicing them and baking them first to soften them up. Also keep in mind that you need to let this sit and cool and solidify for 2 hours before you can eat it.

1lb spinach, cooked
3 tbsp chopped fresh sorrel (hard to find, dill or basil with a little extra lemon juice tastes great too)
2 tbsp chopped fresh chervil (optional, really hard to find)
2 tbsp chives or scallions
2 cloves garlic
1 tsp cardamom seeds or 1/2 tsp cardamom
2 cups sour cream
3 eggs, beaten
1 tbsp tomato puree (not necessary)
2 tsp harissa (optional, spicy!)
2 lb potatos in very, very thin slices
4 oz cheese, grated (gruyere is great, cheddar too)

In a large bowl, mix spinach, herbs, garlic, spices, sour cream, eggs, tomato and harissa.
In a loaf pan, alternate layers of this mixture and potatos, ending with mixture on top. Top with shredded cheese.
Cover and bake in a pan 1/2 full of water for 1 1/4 hours. Remove foil and bake 15 more minutes until top is golden. Let stand for 2 hours before turning out.

Cod Baked in a Yogurt Sauce

From The Wednesday Chef
Serves 4 to 6

3 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 medium onions, cut into 1/8-inch slices
2 pounds thick fillets cod
2 cups Greek yogurt
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon sugar
Salt and coarsely ground black pepper
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 tablespoons ground coriander
¼ teaspoon garam masala
¾ teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
3 tablespoons unsalted cold butter, cubed (optional)

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a large skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of the oil. When hot, add the onions and cook over medium until translucent, 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and transfer to a baking dish just large enough to hold the fish in a single layer. Cut the fish fillets crosswise into 2-by-3-inch pieces and lay them over the onions.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together the yogurt, lemon juice, sugar, 1 ½ teaspoons salt, ¼ teaspoon pepper, cumin, coriander, garam masala, cayenne and ginger. Whisk in the remaining 1 tablespoon oil. Pour sauce over the fish, tucking some under each piece. Cover with foil and bake until the fish is just cooked through, 30 to 40 minutes.

3. Garnish with lemon wedges and a shake of paprika and/or cayenne.

Toffee with Apricots, Chocolate, and Rosemary
Adapted from Cecily Celebrates! Lavender Cashew Toffee (because my mom hates lavender)
This is also a flexible recipe. You can use any kind of chocolate and any dried herb or chopped nuts. Go crazy. Or not. It's also a just good when it's simply toffee and chocolate.

1 stick butter
1 cup sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup water
2 tsp rosemary, crushed into small pieces
3/4-1 cup chocolate for melting
Candy thermometer (essential!)

Butter a medium cookie sheet.
Bring butter, sugar, salt and water to a boil.
Put candy thermometer in and stir constantly 15-20 minutes until candy reaches hard crack stage- 300 F. Watch carefully!
At 300 exactly, remove from heat and stir in rosemary. Pour onto baking sheet and let spread. Let it cool.
While cooling, melt chocolate in double boiler or by putting glass bowl over boiling water. Let it cool slightly, then add apricots and spread over toffee.
Let it cool completely in the fridge and then break into pieces and serve. Keeps well in fridge!

Mango, Pear and Coconut Charoset

For this recipe, chop ingredients by hand. Although it is not as easy and throwing everything into the cuisinart, ours got too pasty when we made it with a machine, with a consistency not unlike
chopped liver. But tastier. We initially used cashews, which were too sweet. Use almonds or even walnuts.

1 ripe but not mushy mango
1 ripe and soft pear
1 cup almonds
1 cup shredded coconut
juice of 1 lime
2 tsp tamarind concentrate (can be found in Indian markets- optional, but really nice)
sprinkle of Chinese 5 spice (optional, can substitute ginger)

Chop nuts and fruit and mix all ingredients in a bowl.

Chinese Tea Eggs
I adapted these from this recipe. They come out with a beautiful brown marbling and a subtle but rich taste.

Chinese Tea Eggs - 茶叶蛋 （cháyèdàn)

6-10 eggs
2 tablespoons black tea
1/2 cup soy sauce
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons sugar
4 pieces star anise
1 cinnamon stick
1 teaspoon cracked black peppercorn (optional)
2 to 3 strips orange peel (optional)

Put eggs in a medium-sized pot with enough water to cover the eggs. Bring water to boil, then lower heat to simmer for 3 minutes. Remove eggs from heat and allow them to cool a bit before handling (running them under cold water does the trick quickly.) Take the back of a knife and crack eggs evenly all around.

There's the fabulous brew. Return eggs to the pot and add the rest of the ingredients. Bring liquid to boil again, then simmer for 1 to 3 hours, longer for a more intense flavor and color, adding water if level gets too low. Remove from heat, and put into ice water. Peel when they're at room temperature.

Coconut Jello

I adapted this from this recipe. This was delicious! One problem. The first time I made it, the coconut fat rose to the top of the jello, creating an effect not entirely unlike a french manicure. So this time, I used beaters.

Coconut Gelatin Dessert

1 envelope unflavored gelatine
5 tablespoons sugar
1 cup boiling water
1 cup unsweetened coconut milk, room temperature
1/4 teaspoon almond extract

Mix gelatine and sugar in a bowl, and add boiling water, beating until
dissolved. Then stir in coconut milk and flavoring. Pour into a mold and chill until set, about 3 hours.

Passover Chocolate Nut Apple "Cake"
My mom is famous for this cake, which she adapted from a passover cookbook years ago. It's thick and moist and not too too sweet. The frosting is a new adaptation this year.
6 eggs, separated
1 cup sugar
1 cup chopped walnuts or almonds
1/2 cup matza meal
4 oz semi-sweet chocolate, grated
2 apples, peeled and grated

Frosting: 3 ounces each semi-sweet chocolate and white chocolate, grated finely

Beat egg yolks with sugar until lemon colored and thick. Gently stir in nuts, matza, and apple. Beat egg whites until they form stiff peaks. Fold into other ingredients with a spatula. Pour into 9" springform pan; bake 45 minutes to 1 hour.

To frost, sprinkle chocolate and white chocolate on cake immediately when it comes out of the oven and let melt until shiny. When it looks shiny and soft in a few minutes, take the tip of a knife and drag it across to create swirls in the chocolate. Let harden and let the cake cool COMPLETELY before attempting to remove from pan.

Quinoa and Sweet Potato Cakes with Orange-Cumin Raita
Adapted from this recipe
2 eggs
3 cups cooked quinoa
2 cups peeled grated sweet potato
1/2 cup flour or matza meal
sprinkle of salt and pepper
2 bunches scallions, chopped (optional)

Raita (adapted from Vegetarian Planet):
3/4 cup plain yogurt
1 tsp cumin
1/4 c chopped cucumber (optional)
1 tsp orange zest

Cook quinoa according to directions on box, or use rice cooker. Mix with eggs, spices, scallions, and sweet potatos. Form into patties and fry in olive oil. Mix all ingredients for raita. Serve together.

Asparagus and Pasta with Egg-Lemon Sauce

I've already mentioned my love of asparagus. I finally got Jonah into it, and now he can't get enough. My friend Beth (of the pizza dip recipe, see February) got us a wonderful vegetarian Jewish cookbook called Olive Trees and Honey. We've made a couple of the recipes, including Cheesy Stuffed Eggplant and the abovementioned asparagus, and although both have benefited from our tinkering around, I'm sure they're quite good as is.

Here's the asparagus recipe. The sauce is essentially a hollandaise. The first time we made it, we found that it makes wayyyyy too much sauce for the asparagus, so we put the rest on pasta. It won't keep for more than a day since it has partially cooked egg and can't be reheated, so make and eat. It's so good there won't be leftovers anyway.

1 bunch asparagus, cut into 2-3" pieces.
2 tsp flour
2 eggs
5 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup olive oil
1 clove garlic, chopped

2 cups pasta, cooked

Sautee garlic in oil. After several minutes, remove and add asparagus. Sautee several minutes, then add water to pan. Bring water to a boil and let cook until asparagus is softened. Meanwhile, beat 2 eggs. Add flour and then lemon juice. When asparagus is done, remove from pan and pour cooking liquid into egg mixture. Pour both back into the pan and cook about 3 minutes on low heat, until the sauce starts to thicken up. Remove immediately from pan and pour over pasta and asparagus.

This is a great side dish!

Shakshuka

The first time I ate shakshuka was at Sofra in Belmont. It is a wonderful dish involving eggs poached in tomato curry. It's sweet, salty, warm, chewy, mushy, and satisfying for any of the three meals of the day. At Sofra they serve it in a beautiful engraved metal bowl.

I breathlessly told my Israeli cousin about this amazing dish and he was slightly unimpressed: it turns out it's pretty commonplace in Israel. I found some recipes online and adapted them to create this:


Have you ever seen a lovelier mess?

28 oz diced tomatos, canned
4-6 eggs
2-6 cloves garlic
1/4 cup (4tbsp) oil
1 tsp paprika
2 pinches sugar
2 tsp salt
pita bread

In a medium sized frying pan, sautee oil, tomatos, garlic, and spices for 15 minutes on low, or until softened. Pour hot liquid into blender and blend on low speed until smoother but still chunky. Pour back into hot pan and cook, stirring occasionally, for 10 more minutes on low. Crack eggs on top of tomatos and let cook for 5-10 minutes, or until eggs are set. Meanwhile, toast pita until crunchy and then crumble. Scoop tomatos and eggs with a ladel into bowls and top with pita and an extra shake of paprika (optional).

Go Brinner! Breakfast Egg Nests

Brinner is Breakfast for Dinner. It is a brilliant cure for anything, absolutely anything, that ails you. I found the recipe for Breakfast Egg Nests in Vegetarian Times Magazine, and I've been playing with this recipe depending on what's in the house. It takes 20 minutes and it's incredibly good, warm, and simple. The ones we made Sunday came out of the ramekins perfectly and were made with wheat bread, so they had a lovely brown nest. Those pictured below (tonight's) while actually more delicious, were made with When Pigs Fly sourdough bread, which did not flatten well. I would recommend using sliced bread in the future.

• Small ramekins (Ceramic white pots- usually about a buck)
• Butter or spray
• eggs
• bread
• anything else, including but not limited to: cheese, veggies, salsa, fresh herbs, leftover dips

Grease each ramekin. Decrust a slice of bread for each ramekin you're using and roll it out flat with a rolling pin. This is very fun. Stuff the bread into the ramekin and fill it with a variety of toppings, then crack in the egg. Top with more stuff if you wish. On Sunday, Jonah made his huevos rancheros style, with a layer of guacamole and salsa and cheese. I put leftover spinach yogurt feta dip from the party in the bottom of my egg nest.

Really, folks, the possibilities are endless.

Gastronomic Masochism, Part 2

In 2006, I made two trips to China to see my now-husband. It was thrilling, scary, amazing, and eye-opening. I haven't written much about it and it's hard to tell stories without showing pictures. Telling someone who's never been to China about the trip- it's kind of like the kind of funny story you tell and follow up with "You had to be there." It was that intense.

But I digress. This is, after all, a food blog. Here are some of the wonderful (and strange) things that Jonah, Carol, and I ate in China. I suspended my vegetarian ways for 6 weeks and although my stomach barely lived to tell the tale, my taste buds wanted in.

Act 1: Home World, Lanzhou, Gansu Province

This was like Target and Whole Foods rolled into one. It was my introduction to the large scale of EVERYTHING in China. There were about five floors, each one more ADD-inducing. The displays were wonderful, an artist's dream of color and never-before-seen shapes and packaging.

I thought I'd seen every fruit and vegetable in existence. And then I saw The Pitaya.

I didn't know that it was at first, so I looked it up. Wikipedia, I love you. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pitaya Turns out it's commonly known as dragonfruit. Still, I call it Audrey.

Act 2: Eggs
Century Eggs, Tea-Boiled Eggs, and a Cautionary Tale of Strangers on a Train

Let's just let the Wikipedia post speak for itself:

"Century egg, also known as preserved egg, hundred-year egg, thousand-year egg, and thousand-year-old egg, is a Chinese cuisine ingredient made by preserving duck, chicken or quail eggs in mixture of clay, ash, salt, lime, and rice straw for several weeks to several months, depending on the method of processing. After the process is completed, the yolk becomes a dark green, cream-like substance with a strong odor of sulphur and ammonia, while the white becomes a dark brown, transparent jelly with little flavour or taste. The transforming agent in the century egg is its alkaline material, which gradually raises the pH of the egg from around 9 to 12 or more.[1] This chemical process breaks down some of the complex, flavorless proteins and fats, which produces a variety of smaller flavourful compounds."

If you're still reading, you're a brave soul. But not as brave as those who have dared to eat the century egg, and may I say, enjoyed it. Immensely. We ordered them wherever we saw them on the menu. Although they can have a strong aroma of ammonia, they do not taste like it and they are excellent, with the texture of a perfectly poached egg with a slightly jello-ish textural finish. I'm not doing a great job of selling them, am I?

Once we attempted to make the century egg and tofu dish we'd had there, and did a pretty darn good job. We also found this dish at Shangri-la restaurant in Belmont, on Belmont Street, which has a lot of wonderful and unusual Chinese dishes. There, they top the tofu and eggs with a delicious soy and ginger sauce and "ham floss" and I do not want to know what that is. I pick it out because it's fuzzy and I just don't want to know.

We also went to a lovely teahouse in Shanghai where they served quail eggs. I couldn't bring myself to eat them, but they were really lovely looking. They're hard-boiled in tea and slightly cracked at some point during the process, so the crack-patterns show up beautiful and brown. Here they are, with shells still on.

And now for my favorite egg story. In China, the most popular transport is the train. We took several overnight trains during our trips. In each car there are about a dozen rooms with four beds (two bunks) in each. During a trip to Shanghai, we traveled with a woman and her daughter. After establishing fairly quickly that they spoke no English and didn't understand our feeble attempts at Chinese, the mother seems to have decided to communicate through food. I can definitely respect that. Jonah is a FAST eater and perhaps because his plate was quickly empty, she gave Jonah most of her dinner despite his protests. And thus, he ate several helpings of bitter melon. Sucker. That'll teach him to eat slower. Anyhow, back to the point. Several hours after dinner, she took out some snacks. She offered me an egg and having eaten century eggs before, I was understandably cautious. Could I eat a whole one with out the ginger and soy chaser? I wasn't sure. I was relieved to see that it had a white shell and even after taking off the shell, it was still white. A good old-fashioned hard boiled egg. Right? Alas, no. I broke the egg in half and looked down in shock because THE YOLK WAS COMPLETELY BLACK. JET BLACK. ALL-CAPS BLACK. AND THERE WASN'T A DARN THING I COULD DO ABOUT IT. Because, when offered half, my loving husband clenched his mouth shut and wordlessly, he shook his head. So, my friends, I ate it. I ate the black egg. All of it. And I lived to write this blog. And to tell you that it was damn tasty. After I ate it, and once the woman and her daughter were asleep, Jonah produced a bottle of wine from his backpack and managed to convince me that if I drank half of it, straight from the bottle, the alcohol would kill any bacteria from the egg. I see now that he was trying to get me drunk on a train. Perhaps the egg was all part of his plan. That night, I wrote several postcards to my friends and family, telling them of the gastronomical encounter and professing my love and appreciation for them, lest I never see them again. Drunken, black-yolk postcards: I will never learn.

Writing this has made me hungry. I think, in light of recent posts, that I will choose oatmeal.