baba ganoush, tomato feta spread, & roti

tomato feta spread: made this one up on the fly. slice cherry tomatoes in half. toss in olive oil, sea salt, & fresh pepper. roast in toaster oven at 425 for ten minutes. combine in food processor with crumbled feta, to taste. super tasty.

baba ganoush: prick a large eggplant with a fork, then roast at 425 for about an hour until it is soft. let it cool, then purée in a blender with garlic, peanut butter (or tahini), some olive oil, fresh lemon juice, and salt, to taste.

roti: mix 2 cups of flour with ½ tsp salt. add 4 tsps oil and mix until lumps smooth out. add ¾ cup warm water ¼ cup at a time. form a dough ball; careful not to over-knead the dough. coat the ball with a few drops of oil, and then let it rest for 15 minutes. divide the dough into 12 balls., dip the balls in flour to coat them, and roll them out into flat rounds. cook in a skillet on high heat for 10-15 seconds each.

Tuna Ceviche

A few days ago we were having grilled tuna steaks. I rescued a few pieces before they hit the flames to make ceviche.

Take some tuna. I probably had roughly one normal-sized steak, about an inch thick.

Cube the tuna, about 1/2" per side.

Chop up a few green onions. I used both the white and green parts. I stopped a few inches shy of the top, because these ones were only OK, and I didn't want any woody bits.

Finely chop half an onion. I would have preferred a red one, because they're prettier, but this yellow one worked well enough, and was probably a bit milder.

Peel and finely chop some ginger. This is about two knuckles' worth, or about 4 teaspoons when chopped.

Juice some limes. I used two whole limes, and later added a whole lemon because I wanted the flavor to be a bit brighter. Also, add a teaspoon or so of soy sauce to taste.

Mix it all up in a non-reactive bowl. Cover and refrigerate. Walk away for 2-3 hours. Return and top off with some chopped cilantro. Time for some noms.

Use Ice for Brown Rice in the Microwave

This is not a recipe, just a quick tip. The automatic rice button on most microwaves operates thusly: the more water there is in the microwave, the longer it takes to heat it up. The automatic rice setting measures how long it takes to bring the water to a boil to figure out how much rice and water there is, and how long it needs to be cooked.

This works great for most white rice, but not so well for brown rice, which takes considerably longer to cook. So, this morning, I used ice instead of room temperature water, and the rice turned out just about right. The extra heating time bought by using the ice was enough to make the difference.

banana crumble snack cake

banana crumble snack cake from my muffin thursdays blog:

ingredients: 1/2c butter, softened 3/4c brown sugar (packed) 2 eggs 2 large, ripe bananas 1 tsp vanilla heaping 1/4tsp salt 1 tsp baking soda 3/4c flour 1 1/4c old-fashioned oats (not quick)

for the topping: 3/4c old-fashioned oats 1/3c brown sugar (packed) 1 tbsp flour 4 tbsp butter, softened

directions: cream butter and brown sugar for the cake. mash bananas, and add to creamed mixture. add eggs, one at a time, beating till fluffy after each addition. sift together salt, baking soda, and flour into the cake. stir in oats and mix till just combined.

pour into a sprayed 9" cake pan or springform. mix up the topping by whisking together the oats, brown sugar, and flour. cut in the butter until a crumbly mixture forms. sprinkle over cake.

bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick tests clean. run knife around the outside of the cake to loosen it from the sides as it cools.

enjoy!

three reasons to love bredenbeck's

lemon curd, carrot cake, and chocolate raspberry cupcakes. om nom nom nom.

http://www.bredenbecks.com/

banana frozen custard

in a saucepan, combine 2 cups milk, 2 cups heavy cream, 2 beaten eggs, 1¼ cups sugar, and ¼ teaspoon salt.

cook and stir over low heat until mixture thickens slightly; it should coat the back of a spoon. refrigerate until cool.

pureé two ripe bananas with ½ teaspoon vanilla extract and 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg. stir together with cooled custard and pour into an ice cream maker.

enjoy!

three reasons to love hokka hokka