Lasagna tart

I had a vegetarian friend over and wanted to make something substantial, so I went for a lasagna tart from 101cookbooks. I couldn’t find ricotta at the store so I used cottage cheese, which I like in lasagna anyway. I used 250g, about 1 cup. I also layered parmesan cheese (by eye and taste) over the cottage cheese in each layer.

I did find that the wholemeal olive oil pastry was incredibly difficult to roll out unless quite a lot of water was used. It was very flakey and kept falling apart and was rolled thicker than I usually roll butter-based pastry. I may have to practice a few more times. I didn’t find that the taste of the lemon zest came through either so feel free to skip that. There was also a lot of leftover pastry even though it was quite thick, so I lined a few new mini tartlet tins I wanted to try out. Rolling it out thinly for the small tins was much easier; if you have small tins and don’t mind the tedium, use them instead. I baked them for 20 mins.

Group GORP

A recent mixture of GORP based on what I had in the cabinets

Got some sort of group excursion that will require snacks? This is what my friends and I did in high school for trips. Have everyone bring one or two items to contribute to a snack mix. Throw everything into a really big bowl or bag, give it a shake/stir and then divvy it up into individual snack baggies. Generally it’s a good idea to have the leader/adult/most boring friend bring the base–some kind of cereal or pretzel, usually. My favorite contributions were always Swedish Fish candies and honey bbq Fritos. Other good additions are mixed nuts, dried fruit, chocolate, shredded coconut, Goldfish, flavored or yogurt pretzels, cereals, etc. Pretty much anything sturdy enough to handle some jostling will make a tasty addition to a sweet and savory mix. Though this can be a healthy snack, that really depends on your friends…
Have fun!
Emma

Lobiani (Georgian Bean Bread)

I made this recipe from Darra Goldstein’s excellent The Georgian Feast. I brought it to a Super Bowl party, and it was a big hit–a savory, finger-food that’s quite filling but also a little different. The texture wasn’t the same as the lobiani that I bought on the streets of Tbilisi, but it was still very good. My friends suggested, though, that they would prefer a different spice blend; I’m not sure what would be good though. Any suggestions?

Makes 2 incredibly large breads (fortunately you can freeze it after you cut it)

For dough:
10 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) softened butter
2 eggs
2 cups sour cream (light worked fine)
4 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda, divided into quarters

For filling:
1 pound dried kidney beans, soaked overnight to soften
3 or 4 medium onions
2/3 cup vegetable oil (yes, you do need that much or else it gets dry)
1 teaspoon ground coriander
2 teaspoons salt
Black pepper to taste

one egg yolk to brush on top while baking

Cream the butter. Beat in the eggs and sour cream. Mix in flour to make a soft dough.

On a well-floured board, roll the dough to a 15 x 18 rectangle. The dough will be INCREDIBLY sticky at this stage, but it will calm down fast, so just do your best the first few times. Sprinkle the rectangle with 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda. Fold the dough into quarters and reroll, repeating the baking soda, fold, re-roll procedure until the baking soda is used up. Place the dough into a floured bowl, cover it and leave to rise for 6-8 hours indoors or 2-3 hours in the sun.
For filling: Boil the kidney beans for about one hour. Drain, and then mash. Dice the onions and sautee them in the oil until soft. Stir the onions (and oil) into the kidney beans, and add the spices. Divide in half, and set aside.
Before you start assembling the bread, preheat the oven to 350* F. When the dough has risen, divide it into two parts. Roll each out in a large circle, keeping the inside of the circle thicker than the outside. Place the filling in the center, and bring the dough up around it, forming a sort of ball. Flatten this out, to a large disc. Brush the top of the bread with beaten egg yolk, and bake for 40-45 minutes until browned.

Enjoy!
Emma

Blueberry Banana Bread

I made this recipe yesterday and found it DELICIOUS, but I thought the directions and ordering of ingredients were a bit confusing. I haven’t made any substantive changes to the recipe, I’ve just rewritten it a bit for clarity.

Makes two loaves of bread, or one loaf and one tray of muffins.

Ingredients:
1 egg
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/3 cup milk
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 1/2 cups flour
1 tablespoon plus 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
3 medium mashed bananas
1/4 cup coconut
1 cup chopped pecans (optional)
2 cups frozen blueberries

Directions:
In a large bowl, cream together the egg and sugars. Add wet ingredients and mix, then dry.
Add the mashed bananas and mix.
Fold in blueberries, coconut, and pecans if using.
Pour into greased loaf or muffin pans.
Bake at 350* F for about an hour for a loaf, and about 20 minutes for muffins.
Cool slightly, loosen, and turn onto a baking rack to cool.
When cool, wrap in plastic wrap and keep refrigerated.

Enjoy!
-Emma

Sick Tea

This is what I always have when I have a cold (as I fear might be soon). The tea itself is actually strictly optional; it’s the lemon, honey and ginger that will feel wonderful on a sore throat, and will supposedly help your immune system.

In a mug, mix together approximately:
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
1 Tablespoon honey
1/2 inch fresh ginger, roughly chopped or about a teaspoon of ginger from a jar. Don’t use dried!
(1 tea bag of your choice, optional)
Hot Water

Mix it all together, and feel better!