Made this when Murat had tummy troubles, but had to doctor it because he hates ginger. I, on the hand, ADORE ginger, and much restraint was involved when trying to not drink the potion I had created for my patient. Anyway, served hot this really tasted like a nice autumn drink, but I can also see this being served cold as a really refreshing way to beat the heat in summer.
Ingredients
1 1/2 mugs of water
1 1x2 inch bulb of ginger
large pinch of cinnamon
1 small spoon of brown sugar
1 splash lime juice
1 small spoon of honey
Directions
1. Peel and chop ginger bulb into small pieces
2. Place into a pot with water and bring to a boil; continue to boil for 10 minutes
3. Add in cinnamon and brown sugar, continue to boil for 4-5 more minutes
4. Add in lime juice, turn off the heat, and add the honey
5. Strain into a mug and serve hot (can also be served cold with ice)
Sunday, October 7, 2012
Wednesday, June 20, 2012
Salmon Cakes
To be honest, I wasn't too crazy about the salmon burgers I made before. These are more what I had in mind, and are way simple to make besides. Cheers!
Ingredients:
1 can salmon, drained
2 medium zucchinis, peeled and grated
2 green onions, chopped
1 large bunch of dill, chopped (you can never have enough dill!)
1/2 - 3/4 cup panko bread crumbs (to hold it together)
4 T. mayonnaise
2 1/2 T. lemon juice
1 T. dijon or grainy mustard
salt and pepper to taste
olive oil for cooking
Directions:
1. Mix all ingredients except olive oil together
2. Shape into patties (add more panko breadcrumbs if they aren't holding together)
3. Cook over olive oil on medium heat until slightly browned; there is nothing technically raw in this, so don't worry about undercooking; it's more to hold it together and give it a little crunch.
Ingredients:
1 can salmon, drained
2 medium zucchinis, peeled and grated
2 green onions, chopped
1 large bunch of dill, chopped (you can never have enough dill!)
1/2 - 3/4 cup panko bread crumbs (to hold it together)
4 T. mayonnaise
2 1/2 T. lemon juice
1 T. dijon or grainy mustard
salt and pepper to taste
olive oil for cooking
Directions:
1. Mix all ingredients except olive oil together
2. Shape into patties (add more panko breadcrumbs if they aren't holding together)
3. Cook over olive oil on medium heat until slightly browned; there is nothing technically raw in this, so don't worry about undercooking; it's more to hold it together and give it a little crunch.
Cranberry Apple Cole Slaw
Not an original idea, but rather one based off of my friend Elizabeth's idea (and I think she based it on something else as well). Oh, well. Here is my interpretation; all measures are approximate, but anyway, it was super delicious! Murat thought it was too sweet, though, so adjust sugar level according to your taste.
Ingredients:
1/2 purple cabbage, shredded (could also use green, if you like)
1-2 large carrots, grated
2 green onions, chopped
1 apple, diced
1 large handful dried cranberries
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/8 cup apple cider vinegar
1/8 - 1/4 cup sugar
1-2 tsp. mustard (optional)
small amount black pepper
Directions:
1. Just mix together, obviously.
Ingredients:
1/2 purple cabbage, shredded (could also use green, if you like)
1-2 large carrots, grated
2 green onions, chopped
1 apple, diced
1 large handful dried cranberries
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/8 cup apple cider vinegar
1/8 - 1/4 cup sugar
1-2 tsp. mustard (optional)
small amount black pepper
Directions:
1. Just mix together, obviously.
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Caesar Salad Dressing Recipe
This isn't an original of mine (I modified it off one I found on the internet) but it was so yummy and easy I had to add it.
Ingredients:
5 anchovy filets, very finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped or minced
2/3 cup mayonnaise
5 T. parmesan cheese + 1 t. for sprinkling at the end
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp. dijon mustard
1 T. lemon juice
salt and fresh pepper to taste
Directions
1. Mix together. There, that wasn't so bad, was it? Serve with 2-3 heads of romaine lettuce, chopped or torn, and croutons and chicken if you like.
Ingredients:
5 anchovy filets, very finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped or minced
2/3 cup mayonnaise
5 T. parmesan cheese + 1 t. for sprinkling at the end
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp. dijon mustard
1 T. lemon juice
salt and fresh pepper to taste
Directions
1. Mix together. There, that wasn't so bad, was it? Serve with 2-3 heads of romaine lettuce, chopped or torn, and croutons and chicken if you like.
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Moroccan Chicken with Eggplant
Based on a recipe I found online, this is less work than it looks like other than the initial chopping bit. I made this using a whole chicken but I find it difficult to get both tender white meat AND fully cooked dark meat. Since I prefer light to dark, I'm changing this to chicken breasts, but if you like dark meat you can use that too, but cook it much longer on a simmer than you would for dark meat.
Ingredients:
A bunch of olive oil
1 white or yellow onion, chopped
4-5 cloves garlic, minced
1 T. paprika
1/2 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. coriander
1 tsp. turmeric
3/4 tsp. ginger
1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. cloves and/or allspice (optional)
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. black pepper
1-2 lemons (for juice)
3 large tomatoes, diced
8 chicken breasts (I use bone-in and cut each breast in half)
1 cup water or chicken stock
3 small, skinny eggplants, unpeeled and diced into 1-inch cubes
Sliced almonds for serving
DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees
2. Cook onions over medium-high heat in a LARGE pot until starting to turn translucent; add garlic and cook until fragrant but NOT burned.
3. Add your spices (salt, pepper, paprika, cumin, coriander, turmeric, ginger, cinnamon, allspice and/or cloves) and cook for a minute or two
4. Add water/chicken stock, tomatoes, and juice from 1 lemon and bring to a boil
5. Meanwhile, drizzle 4-5 tablespoons of olive oil over the eggplant in a baking dish; toss to coat, then pop in the oven until tender and starting to brown (stirring occasionally), about 25 minutes.
6. Add the chicken to the pot, stir in, cover and simmer for 15 minutes or until eggplant is ready.
7. Add eggplant to cooking chicken, stir in, then continue to simmer, covered, until chicken is cooked through and tender.
8. Sprinkle with almonds before serving (it really adds a nice crunch, don't skip it!)
Ingredients:
A bunch of olive oil
1 white or yellow onion, chopped
4-5 cloves garlic, minced
1 T. paprika
1/2 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. coriander
1 tsp. turmeric
3/4 tsp. ginger
1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. cloves and/or allspice (optional)
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. black pepper
1-2 lemons (for juice)
3 large tomatoes, diced
8 chicken breasts (I use bone-in and cut each breast in half)
1 cup water or chicken stock
3 small, skinny eggplants, unpeeled and diced into 1-inch cubes
Sliced almonds for serving
DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees
2. Cook onions over medium-high heat in a LARGE pot until starting to turn translucent; add garlic and cook until fragrant but NOT burned.
3. Add your spices (salt, pepper, paprika, cumin, coriander, turmeric, ginger, cinnamon, allspice and/or cloves) and cook for a minute or two
4. Add water/chicken stock, tomatoes, and juice from 1 lemon and bring to a boil
5. Meanwhile, drizzle 4-5 tablespoons of olive oil over the eggplant in a baking dish; toss to coat, then pop in the oven until tender and starting to brown (stirring occasionally), about 25 minutes.
6. Add the chicken to the pot, stir in, cover and simmer for 15 minutes or until eggplant is ready.
7. Add eggplant to cooking chicken, stir in, then continue to simmer, covered, until chicken is cooked through and tender.
8. Sprinkle with almonds before serving (it really adds a nice crunch, don't skip it!)
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
Dill Potatoes Au Gratin
Again, as part of my "first meal cooked in Turkey" experience, I had to make something nice and simple. These take a long time to bake, but are easy to prepare provided you aren't trying to peel potatoes with an enormous chopping knife (only to later discover that you had a potato peeler in the drawer all along).
Ingredients:
4 large potatoes, cut into 1/4 inch slices
salt and pepper to taste
3 T. butter
2 cups milk
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. flour
1 bunch fresh dill, chopped
2 cups cheese (cheddar or Gruyere or Swiss, depending on taste; I used some random Turkish cheese that I only later found out doesn't melt. Oops.)
Directions:
Preheat oven to 200 degrees Celsius (convert to Fahrenheit if you have to, I'm lazy).
1. Butter a baking dish (like a small lasagna pan) and place the sliced potatoes in them. Season with salt and pepper and toss with your hands, then spread evenly.
2. Melt butter in saucepan, then add flour; whisk constantly for a few minutes until it turns golden.
3. Add the milk and salt and pepper to taste. Cook on medium-high, stirring quite a bit, until it thickens.
4. Add the cheese and the dill and cook until the cheese is melted.
5. Pour mixture over the potatoes, then toss it in the sauce until the potatoes are more or less evenly coated and the potatoes are distributed evenly in the pan. At this point I like to add a little more freshly ground pepper (and maybe a little salt).
6. Cook for about 1 to 1 1/2 hours, until potatoes are nice and soft on the bottom and the top potatoes are nicely browned.
Ingredients:
4 large potatoes, cut into 1/4 inch slices
salt and pepper to taste
3 T. butter
2 cups milk
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. flour
1 bunch fresh dill, chopped
2 cups cheese (cheddar or Gruyere or Swiss, depending on taste; I used some random Turkish cheese that I only later found out doesn't melt. Oops.)
Directions:
Preheat oven to 200 degrees Celsius (convert to Fahrenheit if you have to, I'm lazy).
1. Butter a baking dish (like a small lasagna pan) and place the sliced potatoes in them. Season with salt and pepper and toss with your hands, then spread evenly.
2. Melt butter in saucepan, then add flour; whisk constantly for a few minutes until it turns golden.
3. Add the milk and salt and pepper to taste. Cook on medium-high, stirring quite a bit, until it thickens.
4. Add the cheese and the dill and cook until the cheese is melted.
5. Pour mixture over the potatoes, then toss it in the sauce until the potatoes are more or less evenly coated and the potatoes are distributed evenly in the pan. At this point I like to add a little more freshly ground pepper (and maybe a little salt).
6. Cook for about 1 to 1 1/2 hours, until potatoes are nice and soft on the bottom and the top potatoes are nicely browned.
Easy Pepper Steak
This is not the same as "Steak au Poivre". This being my first ever meal cooked in Turkey, I had to make due with what I have, which isn't much. There is no sauce, just a truly yummy, easy to make steak that takes less than 10 minutes and is completely delicious. The ones I used were cut really thin, we're talking about 3/4 of an inch (welcome to Turkey!) Therefore I'm not entirely sure on cooking times.
Ingredients:
4 steaks
Freshly ground black pepper (important that it's freshly ground!)
Salt
Worcester Sauce
2 T. butter
1 T. olive oil
Directions:
1. Take steaks out of fridge at least 30 minutes (preferably about an hour) before you intend to cook them.
2. If they are wet looking, pat them dry with a paper towel.
3. GENEROUSLY crush black pepper over the steaks, then sprinkle with salt (about 3/4 of a teaspoon for 4 or 5 steaks). Press the peppercorns and salt into the steak.
4. Turn the steaks over and repeat step 3 on the other side.
5. In a large frying pan on medium-high heat, place 1 T. of butter and the olive oil until the butter is melted and it's starting to smoke.
6. Place the steaks onto the frying pan and cook until the edges are starting to look done.
7. Before you turn them, sprinkle some Worcester sauce over the steaks and rub the other tablespoon of butter of the top. Then turn them over.
8. Sprinkle some more Worcester sauce on the steaks before you take them off the grill. Cook for another couple of minutes until they are cooked to your likeness! Serve immediately.
Ingredients:
4 steaks
Freshly ground black pepper (important that it's freshly ground!)
Salt
Worcester Sauce
2 T. butter
1 T. olive oil
Directions:
1. Take steaks out of fridge at least 30 minutes (preferably about an hour) before you intend to cook them.
2. If they are wet looking, pat them dry with a paper towel.
3. GENEROUSLY crush black pepper over the steaks, then sprinkle with salt (about 3/4 of a teaspoon for 4 or 5 steaks). Press the peppercorns and salt into the steak.
4. Turn the steaks over and repeat step 3 on the other side.
5. In a large frying pan on medium-high heat, place 1 T. of butter and the olive oil until the butter is melted and it's starting to smoke.
6. Place the steaks onto the frying pan and cook until the edges are starting to look done.
7. Before you turn them, sprinkle some Worcester sauce over the steaks and rub the other tablespoon of butter of the top. Then turn them over.
8. Sprinkle some more Worcester sauce on the steaks before you take them off the grill. Cook for another couple of minutes until they are cooked to your likeness! Serve immediately.
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