All the measurements are after grinding. I use a brass mortar and pestle for grinding, and heartily recommend a power spice grinder for the cumin and coriander. I used pre-ground for the cinnamon and cloves. However, you might note how coriander and nutmeg are far more intense when freshly ground.

2 teaspoons black pepper
1/3 teaspoons cardamom
1 teaspoon cinnamon (I prefer Saigon; use what you have)
1/2 teaspoon cloves
1 teaspoon coriander
2 teaspoons cumin (I toast the seeds before grinding)
1/3 teaspoon nutmeg

Mix well. It’ll fill about 1/3 of a regular spice bottle, maybe 14 grams.

Try sprinkling that stuff on everything! I adore it over pasta!

Enjoy!

Double Chocolate Oatmeal Raisin Muffins

makes 12
Pre-heat oven to 400 degr F

ingredients

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, or a blend of AP and whole wheat
1/2 cup good cocoa powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon (Saigon is lovely)
1 tablespoon baking powder (not soda)
scant teaspoon salt

3/4 cup brown and/or golden sugar, lightly packed

3/4 cup oatmeal flakes (I use quick oats), soaked in
1 cup milk

2 eggs (at near room temperature)
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup small semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup raisins (I used sultanas this time), soaked in hot water until soft, then squeezed of the excess water

method

Measure out the chocolate chips. Try not to eat them yet.

Mix the oatmeal with the milk and let it sit in it’s own bowl while you do the next bit.

Sift, if possible, the first set of dry ingredients into a medium mixing bowl. Mix in the brown sugar; it tends not to sift well, so make sure it’s de-clumped and well-mixed.

In a two-cup measure (it’s easier), measure out the oil. Crack in the eggs, and add the vanilla. Use a fork to beat enough to break up the egg membrane.

In the bowl of dry ingredients, dump in the milk-soaked oatmeal, and then the egg mixture, and then the soaked raisins. Use a spatula, spoon, or fork to lightly turn everything, folding all together. Do not stir unless you want rocks. When most of the flour looks mixed in, add the chocolate chips, and turn a bit more. It’s fine if there are still thin streaks of flour showing.

Scoop into your prepared muffin tin. I use an ice cream scoop with the lever; it’s quicker and less messy for me than using the double-spoon method.

Put into the pre-heated oven. After about 5-10 minutes, turn the temperature down to 375. After being in the oven for about 20 minutes total, check to see if they’ve risen; if they have start checking for done with a toothpick. (Insert a dry toothpick into the middle of a muffin. If it comes out with batter, it needs more time; if it comes out dry or with a few crumbs, it’s done.)

Let sit in the pan for about 5 minutes, then turn them out onto a cooling rack. Let the chocolate chips re-solidify again before tasting, or you could burn yourself. Guess how I know…?

If you’re inclined, you could frost them (I never do) or dust with icing sugar (pretty!).

Enjoy!

Spiced Green Tomato Muffins

Makes 1 dozen.
Pre-heat oven to 400 degr F
Line one dozen muffin cups with muffin liners, or grease and flour muffin cups.

ingredients:
Dry
2 cups all-purpose flour (up to half whole wheat)
3/4 cup dark brown sugar, lightly packed
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon cinnamon powder
1 1/2 teaspoond ginger powder
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg powder
1/8 teaspoon clove powder

Wet
3/4 cup milk
1 egg
1/2 cup mild-flavored oil
1 teaspoon vanilla

Additions
1/2 cup sultana raisins, soaked in hot water to soften
2 cups green tomatoes in 1/4″ dice

method:
Mix the dry ingredients in one bowl.
Mix the wet ingredients in another bowl.
Sprinkle the squeezed-out raisins into the dry ingredients and stir.
Mix the diced tomatoes into the wet ingredients, and dump all of that into the dry ingredients.

Turn and stir until most of the dry ingredients are incorporated. That is, “most” because too much mixing toughens the gluten; a little of the dry mix showing is a guide.

Spoon (or use an ice cream scoop) the batter into the muffin cups; they should fill at least half-full or a bit more.

When the oven is hot, pop that tray in for about 25-30 minutes until the tops are golden, and a clean toothpick inserted into a muffin comes out “dry”, that is, without wet batter sticking to it.

Let cool for a few minutes.

Then… Enjoy!

Ingredients

1 cup milk (tepid, about 115F)
1 cup water (tepid)
2 teaspoons sugar (white)
4 teaspoons yeast (I use instant)

4.5 cups flour (all-purpose, whole wheat, or a blend)
0.5 cup butter OR 0.25 cup olive oil
2 teaspoons salt

Method

Proof the yeast by combining, in a bowl or larger measuring cup, the warm liquids and sugar; stir to dissolve. Sprinkle yeast over. I tend to stir it, but you need not. Cover and let the yeast wake up and start foaming. This will take around 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a large bowl, mix flour and salt. I like sifting for a nicer end product, and keep the larger bran bits for the pan. Work in the butter or oil until it resembles fine crumbs. I use my hands to rub and massage.

Then add the wet mix to the dry. (Also known as the “biscuit method”.) I use a fork or dough spoon until the mass is coming together and needs more direct contact. Knead the dough in the bowl (or on the counter) until the dough comes together. Sometimes I adjust the moisture level slightly with a bit of flour or water. Knead for another five minutes until the dough is springy, relatively smooth, and tacky but not sticky.

Return the dough to the bowl if you worked on the counter. Lightly oil (or flour) the dough ball, cover (I use a pot lid; a clean tea towel will suffice), and let rise for about an hour in a warm place.

Pre-heat the oven to 375F.

When the dough has doubled in size, press it down to deflate, and knead another five minutes.

Divide into 12 balls of equal size.

Dust your 9″ x 13″ cookie or jelly roll pan with flour.

Shape each roll smoothly, and space evenly on the pan. Dust the tops with more flour.

Then cover again and allow to rise for another 20 or so minutes.

Remove cover and bake in the oven for about 15 minutes, until the tops and bottoms are golden.

When done, pull from the oven, and move from the baking pan to a cooling rack.

Try to wait half an hour before eating!

Note: Scottish Baps have butter and milk as ingredients, and no oil or additional sugar beyond the need of the yeast.

Ingredients – basic list

1 cup whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 cup brown sugar (up to 1-1/2 cup, as desired)

3/4 cup soft butter or neutral oil (such as sunflower)
1 large egg, lightly beaten

1 cup rolled oats, or other rolled grains; include any other additions as suggested below.

Seasonings are suggested under Options, and where to add them.

Method – generally

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Combine flour and baking powder in a large mixing bowl. Sift if you’d like a lighter cookie.

Add dry seasonings to the dry ingredients.

Mix wet ingredients, including wet seasonings. Dump this into the bowl with the dry ingredients and mix.

Add the last set of ingredients, being the oatmeal, and mix all together until moist.

Either scoop cookie-size lumps onto a cookie sheet, or press the dough as a mass to about 1/2″ (1 cm) thick to be cut after baking.

Bake @ 350 degrees F for 10-15 minutes. When done the bottom will be golden and the top set with a touch of color. If you baked this as a pancake, cut while still warm; I use a pizza cutter.

Options

This is where the fun happens!

Flour: use regular all-purpose in part or in whole; use part spelt; I haven’t tried gluten-free yet, but it should work.
Sweetener: use as little or as much as suits you; use part or all white sugar; if you use honey, use less and add it to the liquid ingredients.
Fat: butter gives flavor, and you can cut it with part shortening; olive oil tends to be stronger flavored and can be tempered with extra spices; coconut oil could work and will lend its own flavor; I tend to stay with the oil.
Grain etc.: I use rolled oats, either regular or quick

Seasonings: 1 teaspoon vanilla in the wet mix; 1 teaspoon cinnamon in the dry mix. Maybe add 1/2 tsp powdered ginger, a bit of nutmeg and cloves.
Other additions: consider coconut, shelled sunflower seeds, mini chocolate chips, raisins, currants, dried blueberries etc. I tend to mix it up with rolled oats (1/2 cup), chocolate (1/4 cup), and raisins (1/4 cup).

And there’s more!
For thinner cookies, use a bit more oil.
For cakier cookies, add another egg, and enough flour to correct the balance of wet and dry.

Eat as snack, breakfast, or anytime you need a little something!

Enjoy!

In the style of make-it-do-or-do-without, this is an abbreviated version of what they did; I’ll cover other options below.

Ingredients for a cup of gravy:

1 tablespoon of drippings (leftover fat from cooking meat)

1 tablespoon of plain, all-purpose flour

1 cup of water (or milk or cream for additional richness)

Method:

Heat your saucepan to about medium heat and add the fat; I use the frypan I’ve cooked the meat, pouring off all the drippings except for one tablespoon. The fat should sizzle a little.

Add the flour in a sprinkle, using a straight-edge wood spatula to stir. Keep stirring and cooking the flour slowly until the flour has gained a bit of color, not too dark, and is fragrant. The flour will absorb the fat.

Add your liquid in a thin stream, stirring constantly to reduce lumps, and it will thicken in about 5-10 minutes. The liquid should be cool to room temperature when adding; adding hot liquid will not thicken quite so well. Add more liquid if you prefer.

Season to your taste with salt and pepper, and some herbs you like if you have them.

Serve!

Options:

• Fat can be the drippings from meat, butter, or vegetable oil. You can make it vegan!
• Starch can be flour, cornstarch, arrowroot, and so on. You can make it gluten-free! Try equal parts arrowroot and tapioca flour.
• Liquid can be water, milk, cream (very rich), or broth/soup stock.
• Herbs can be whatever goes well with the dish it is being served with, like thyme for beef, poultry seasoning of sage, etc. for chicken, and so on.
• You can skip the salt, and add “Better Than Bouillion” for seasoning.

Tips:

• When pouring off excess fat, put it into a tin for future meals, or into a tin to discard; don’t pour fat down the sink unless you enjoy declogging sinks. No toilets, either!
• If you add your liquid in one big pour, it will likely make the gravy lumpy (which means straining it if you like is smooth). Pour in a thin stream and stir it in as it goes. A whisk can help rescue lumpy gravy.
• If you use cornstarch and similar, mix it with a bit of water to make a slurry, a thin paste, and make it smooth with a fork or small whisk. I put my mix into a tightly sealed jar and shake it smooth. Using a fork or a whisk, add the liquid slowly, in a thin stream, whisking all the while.

It’s a lovely way to dress up potatoes (mashed, or boiled/steamed), or egg noodles, or turkey stuffing, or whatever works for you!

Enjoy!

Basic Tomato Sauce

ingredients:

1 teaspoon olive oil (or other vegetable oil)
1 medium onion, chopped (1/2″ to 3/4″ size)
4 cloves of garlic, minced (that equals about 1/2 bulb of garlic; use as much as you like)
opt. 1/2 c dry red wine or 2 T balsamic vinegar (you might need to add a tiny bit of sugar if you do this)
Herbs: to taste, so start with 1/4 t oregano plus 1/8 t basil; OR 1 t of Italian seasoning; ground black pepper to taste; 1 t dried parsley or 1 T fresh
28 oz can of tomatoes

method:

Prep your veggies to make it easier on yourself. Peel, rinse, dice, chop.

Ideally, start this in a heavy-bottomed saucepan; if you don’t have one, try your frypan. Heat the olive oil over medium heat until it shimmers a bit, and add the onions. Sauté until they turn translucent. Then add the garlic, and continue cooking and stirring until the garlic is fragrant and the onions closer to golden in color.

If you add the liquid, use it to loosen the tasty bits on the bottom of the pan.

Add the herbs.

Add the tomatoes. Simmer, stirring occasionally, 15-30 minutes. Adjust the seasoning (those herbs and spices you added, and maybe a little salt).

The type of canned tomatoes are a matter of taste: whole and chunked tomatoes, with juice, will give a looser, chunky sauce that works well with pasta that with tubes and shells; diced and crushed tomatoes will give a saucier result that coats pasta like sphaghetti.

As is, it’ll serve nicely over rice or other grains, not just pasta. And how about the “noodles” in a previous post?

Perhaps you’d like something thicker for nachos, or dipping. If so, simmer it a while longer, uncovered, to let some of the moisture cook off. Note that your flavors will intensify, so season cautiously and taste as you go.

One more thing: you can take a bit of a shortcut to a thicker sauce by adding a couple of tablespoons of canned tomato paste to your sauce. I recommend adding this between the onions and the garlic to mellow the paste flavor a little before adding more liquid. (If you had to open a fresh can of tomato paste, pop the rest of the paste onto wax paper and freeze it. Then put it into a freezer container to prevent freezer burn. If you measure it out, it’ll be ready for the next time you need a little tomato paste.)

Remember that you can beef up the sauce with shredded carrots, minced kale, and other veggies added with the onions. Of course, you can add browned ground beef or ground turkey.

Without the meat, the sauce will keep in the fridge for 3-5 days.

Enjoy!

Prepare the rice. Short grain brown rice will make a stickier rice; if you make extra, you can add milk to it next morning for breakfast. Long grain brown rice is more usual. Measure out 125 ml (1/2 cup) rice per person; rinse to get rid of dust, and pick out anything non-rice. Put into a saucepan with almost twice the amount of water (this will vary with the rice; experience will tell you, so just watch over it); bring the rice and water to a boil, and then turn down to simmer for about 30 minutes. Sometimes the rice will need a little extra boiling water near the end, so check it: if it looks dry but the rice is still too chewy, add a little water.

Prepare the vegetables. My top choices are carrots (1 per person), sweet potatoes (1/2 per person) and broccoli (1/2 head per person). Rinse them and cut off anything that looks rotten; if possible, leave the skin on the two root vegetables to get that extra bit of flavor and nutrition. If you are new to knife skills, you might want to chop everything before beginning the next section, and just follow the timing.

One inch (a couple of cm) of water goes into the 2 litre (2 qt) saucepan, then the steaming basket, and put on the lid. Bring the pot to a boil; it will happen quickly. Chop the carrots into 4 cm (an inch and a half) pieces and put them into the basket over the steaming water; start timing from this point, approximately 20 minutes. Chop the sweet potatoes into similar sized pieces and add about 5 minutes after the carrots. Chop the broccoli into florets, and add 5 minutes after the sweet potatoes. Check all the veggies after another 5 or so minutes, poking them with a fork to see if they are tender enough to eat. Try not to overcook the broccoli; once that beautiful bright green is gone, it’s not so nice.

Grate some cheese, about 1 oz per person. A medium or sharp cheddar is very nice, a mozzarella melts beautifully, and real parmesan (not the pre-grated stuff) is an intense taste sensation.

Rice goes onto the plate first, then the veggies, and then the cheese. If you have a little salsa or pickles on the side, you’ve taken it up one more notch.

Good eating!

Long grain rice tends to want to maintain individuality, and is more common for dinner. Short grain brown rice will make a stickier rice; if you cook extra, you can add milk to it next morning for breakfast. Sticky rice really is sticky, and great for sushi. Jasmine rice and Basmati rice have a little different flavor. Arborio rice is best for risotto.

All rice cooks essentially the same: 1/2 cup rice per person to 1 cup of water. The freshness of the rice will determine whether you need a little less water, or more; start with a little less and add more liquid until the rice is tender.

Prepare the rice.

Measure out 125 ml (1/2 cup) rice per person; rinse to get rid of dust and excess starch, and pick out anything non-rice.

(Note #1 that some countries add talc to the rice to kill pests, and keep rice from clumping. When in doubt, rinse until the water runs clear. Talc is very bad to ingest.)

(Note #2. There is some concern over rice containing forms of arsenic. If rice is not consumed daily, that helps. If your rice is basmati, especially from California, it appears to test as having the lowest levels. Rinsing helps, as the uptake of arsenic by the rice plant seems to be retained on the outer layer; an overnight soak works especially well, soaking and rinsing again before cooking. I still eat rice!)

Put into a saucepan with almost twice the amount of water (this will vary with the rice; experience will tell you, so just watch over it). It sounds weird, but you can measure by putting your rinsed rice into the saucepan, and add water until the level comes up to the first joint of the finger you have just touching the top of the rice in the pot. It works perfectly on ordinary saucepans, but lousy on crockpots and such.

Bring the rice and water to a boil on the stove, and then turn down to simmer for maybe 30 minutes (it could take 45 minutes) until tender. Sometimes the rice will need a little extra boiling water near the end, so check it: if it looks dry but the rice is still too chewy, add water, a tablespoon at a time.

When the rice is tender, take it off the heat and leave the lid on; let it stand for about 5 minutes (longer is fine). Then use a fork to lightly lift and fluff the rice to make it perfect! Serve.

Two ways…? Well…

You can make a stove-top “rice pudding” (known in my family as “milk rice”) by adding the same amount of milk as the water above (or make that a mix of coconut milk and water), and cooking it a while longer at a much lower temperature. Stir it often! It will want to stick to the bottom of the pot. This is where that wood spatula shines.

When thick and pudding-y, serve hot or cold with your fave toppings. Mine is brown sugar and cinnamon. You could add butter. You could top with yogurt and berries. You could add raisins part-way through the cooking. There’s no egg in this, so it’ll keep a few days in the fridge without problems… unless you eat it all at once!

I take a shortcut: I cook enough rice for dinner -plus- enough for milk rice. The “leftover” rice gets a second cooking with more milk for breakfast or dessert the next day. Cook once, eat twice!

Enjoy!

Gravy needs only three ingredients, five if you count salt and pepper: fat, starch, and liquid.

Fat can be the drippings from meat, butter, or vegetable oil. You’ll want one tablespoon per cup of gravy.

Starch can be flour, cornstarch, arrowroot, and so on. You’ll want one tablespoon, too, per cup of gravy.

Liquid can be water, milk, cream (very rich), or broth/soup stock. You’ll want about a cup of liquid.

Heat your pan to about medium. You can use the same pan you roasted meat in, pouring off the excess fat into a tin to discard; don’t pour fat down the sink unless you enjoy declogging sinks.

If you use cornstarch and similar, mix it with a bit of water to make a slurry, a thin paste, and make it smooth with a fork or small whisk.

When the fat is sizzling a little, pour in the starch mixture, or the flour. Stir to mix well, and let it cook a little. Flour will get toasty golden and smell wonderful, and starch will thicken.

Using a fork or a whisk, add the liquid slowly, in a thin stream, whisking all the while. Cook for another 5 to 10 minutes until it’s thick. You may add more liquid to create the degree of thickness you like. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

That’s it! Pour over potatoes, or noodles, or stuffing, or biscuits… whatever works for you!

Enjoy!