----- Original Message -----
catlovescrow.com
Sent: Friday, November 16, 2007 5:25 PM
Subject: FW: Recipe exchange

1. Bruce
2. Karena

You've been invited to be a part of a recipe exchange.
Please send a recipe to the person whose name is
listed in the number 1 position above (even if you
don't know that person). It would be preferable if you
e-mailed a recipe that is quick, easy and without rare
ingredients.

Actually, the best one is one you know in your head
and can type out and send right now. Then, copy this
letter into a new e-mail, move my name to the number 1
position and put your name in the number 2 position.

Only my name and your name should show when you send
the e-mail. Send it to 20 friends. If you cannot do
this within 5 days, let me know so it will be fair to
those participating. You should receive 36 recipes.

It's fun to see where they come from!!! Seldom does
anyone drop out because we can all use new recipes.
The turn-around is fast because only 2 names are on
the list.


Ha, ha. You have no idea how bad I am at this sort of thing! You caught me at the right moment because I usually don't get around to sending these on to other people. At least you two will get my recipe.

I'll tell you what I'm making for dinner tonight.

To serve 4
Buy a package of frozen potstickers at Costco.
Pour 1 can of chicken broth (or veggie broth) in a pan. Add 2X as much water as chicken broth. [Or if you aren't worried about sodium and aren't on a budget, just use all broth! Use enough to cover pot stickers.]
Bring liquid to a simmer.
Add 20 potstickers (5 per person) and put the rest back in the freezer. [Five is the suggested serving. You might end up with leftovers.]
Add more water/broth if needed to cover.
Toss in some cut-up veggies. [I used carrots and shredded cabbage this time. Garlic, water chestnuts, onion, etc. would also be good.]
Add most of one of the packets of sauce that come in the potstickers. [I reserved a little bit for Pat because he likes his stuff extra-flavored.]
Serve with rice or oriental-style noodles.
Your children might prefer to eat just the potstickers without any extra broth or veggies. Depends on their age. Seems a lot of kids eat veggies when they are young, then don't eat them for awhile, then start to eat them again. Some children might eat only the pasta on the outside of the potsticker; some might eat only the stuffing. Some might only eat the rice. Some might already be full of Cheerios. You have children. I don't need to tell you this!

One of Pat's favorite vegetable recipes:

Harvard Beets

2 pounds beets, well rinsed
1/4 cup sugar
5 tablespoons Balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup orange juice
2 teaspoons corn starch
Salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoon butter
Grated zest of 2 oranges (optional)

Cook beets until tender by simmering or baking. Slip off the skins, and cut the beets into 1/4 inch dice. Should be about 4 cups beets.

Combine sugar, vinegar, orange juice, cornstarch, salt and pepper in a heavy saucepan. Whisk well and bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly until the mixture is clear and thickened, 4 to 5 minutes. Whisk in the butter and zest. Remove from heat when the butter is melted.

Mix sauce with beets. Serve hot or at room temperature.

Notes:

An easy way to cook the beets is to wrap them in foil or put in a covered casserole and bake. They take about the same amount of time as potatoes of equal size.

I have also chopped raw beets and cooked them in the sauce. Add the cornstarch near the end for this method.

Beets can be chopped, sliced, diced, or whole. It doesn't matter!!!! Do what you like. Increase the beets for a lightly sauced dish, or decrease them for lots of sauce on the beets. In other words, I don't worry about exactly how much beets I have.

This recipe was adapted from The New Basics Cookbook. I cut the sugar in half and use Balsamic, rather than regular red wine vinegar.

Cooked beets freeze well.

Beet greens are yummy steamed and sprinkled with vinegar or with your favorite vinaigrette dressing. Wash them well, as they are often sandy.

Curried Tofu and Onions

From Fast and Natural Cuisine, by Geifskopf and Toomay.

2 tbsp butter (or oil)
1 onion (I use 2)
1 large clove garlic, minced (or more, hee hee)
2 tsp curry powder (not nearly enough - use 2 to 3 tablespoons of a commercial or your own blend)
2 cups water and 1 tablespoon vegetable broth powder (jeez, why am I giving these people any credit? A can of your choice of broth works just fine and plain water will do in a pinch and of course you can use bouillon or powder if you prefer)
10 oz firm tofu, cut into cubes (I use whatever size the whole package is, minus what I eat raw while preparing the recipe)
1/2 cup shelled peas (or more if you like a lot of peas or use cubed zucchini or whatever else might strike your fancy)
3 tablespoons flour (I've used both white and whole wheat with success)

Heat the butter. Halve the onion lengthwise and thinly slice each half (or slice it thick or chop it, doesn't really matter in the end.) Simmer the onions, tofu, garlic, and curry powder until soft and golden brown. Add flour and cook for a few minutes, then slowly stir in broth. Simmer to meld flavors and thicken broth. Stir in the peas sooner or later depending on how much you want them cooked.

Serve over rice, pasta, or other grain.

I almost forgot to mention - the last few times I've made this I used the habenero oil that someone gave us. I like it spicy! If you want the tofu to be a softer texture, add it at the end intead of the beginning.

Pasta, Pasta!

Lisa was craving spaghetti with meat sauce. I thought Pasta Carbonara sounded good. I've planned to go to Jennifer's Sushi Party tomorrow, so I made both. This will enable my family to eat dinner tomorrow night without cooking or eating out.

Spaghetti: Brown ground beef. Drain off the fat if you paid less and got the 85/15 blend. Add one jar of prepared pasta sauce of your choice.

Pasta Carbonara: This is a variation of the bacon and egg pasta made famous in an old Audrey Hepburn movie. The first few times I made this, I used bacon, but really it is gross to eat bacon grease now that we know better and no longer milk our own cows. I've used pancetta with happy results. Tonight I made it with the ham steak that was in the freezer, fresh parsley from the garden, a small zucchini, and a few petite peas. We'll add cheese on the side.

Cook one pound of spaghetti. Drain. Put half the spaghetti into the pan with the meat sauce and the other half in with the carbonara derivative.

Rinse some lettuce for a quick salad.

Here is an easy recipe for a quick dinner. If you keep these ingredients in your pantry, you will always be ready for a dinner fit for company!

Cut the sweet potato and the yam that have been in your refrigerator long enough to get a little moldy spot but otherwise look, smell, and feel entirely edible into chunks. Toss them in a skillet, add water, cover, and cook until soft. Ponder whether you really meant to buy one sweet potato and one yam, rather than two of the same kind.

Pull the package labeled "chicken for soup" from your freezer. This should be the one that was the leftover ginger chicken stir fry that you threw in there a month or two ago.

Add this to the skillet, with, if desired, the broth of your choice. If you happen to have bought a case of chicken broth from Costco, that would do.

This would be really good if you started it early enough in the evening that you could add a bit of rice or other such grain. I didn't. So we ate it with toast.

Asparagus Dawgs

We've been making this and similar burgers for years now. Sometimes we skip the meat.

Pat loves to grill sweet onions and asparagus, whenever we BBQ anything. I'm afraid I can't reveal his secret BBQ sauce blend. It changes periodically anyway. Any BBQ sauce you like will work, or you can brush the veggies with plain or seasoned olive or other oil, or sometimes dark sesame oil.

Basically, Pat begins by BBQing the onions (always!), asparagus in season, or zucchini. He sets them to the back of the grill and BBQs the hamburgers or hot dogs (or steak). Then the buns are very lightly buttered before they are also quickly grilled to warm them up.

After that, everyone builds their dawg or burger with preferred toppings: mustard or sweet mustard, asparagus or zucchini (depending on the season), the onions, Gorgonzola or other cheese, and anything else you might think of.

Somehow, this idea has leaked to the GP. Today's Herald has a recipe for a smoked salmon and asparagus sandwich on a hoagie bun.

Silver Salmon Cakes with Sweet Onion Relish

Pat loves salmon cakes, so I made some with our leftover silver salmon.

I sauteed onions and celery on the side, after first planning to mix it in with the cakes but remembering that the girls probably wouldn't enjoy all those crunchies and green stuff. I added Cajun seasoning to the mashed potatoes. Turns out I could have mixed it all together, since the girls didn't care for the salmon cakes at all this time.

To serve Pat, I arranged three cakes on the plate, with the "sweet onion relish" (the sauteed onions and celery) and steamed asparagus. I sprinkled Guerra's on the asparagus, added a splash of ketchup, and grated black pepper on all.

Another gourmet meal. What can I say?