Recipes

[Sily]

More "local" food recipes from the eastern shore, Maryland, USA.  This cake -- the Smith Island Cake -- is a little hard to make because it has ten to eight layers, depending how many pans you want to cook the batter in.  The first picture I took below is the cake we had a few days ago, a Smith Island ten-layer coconut cake made by the ladies at Classic Cakes.  It was expensive -- $27.00 for one cake, but it was for someone's birthday and a special occasion.  The second picture I didn't take but you can really see the layers.

Oh yeah, Smith Island, Maryland is a very interesting place.

Recipe: is here.  It calls for cake mix from a box, but you can make it all from scratch if you are a purist.  :P

The cake we had:



A much better picture here of the layers:

[AndrewX]

Here's a simple and simply delicous way of cooking Lamb shanks. It's cooked by an American and you couldn't make it taste much better irrespective what else you may add to it. I cook it exactly as he does and when I serve them they sink faster than the Titanic.  An real special treat.:big grin:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0F-MQSLan3k

[Get Boldened]

I found a website that shows you how to cook American cuisines. There is also a section on food cooking basics like how to make pasta:

http://www.conagrafoods.com/consumer/rec...IPES&max=6

They show cooking videos too. The videos teach you how to make, to name a few:
Blue Cheese Steak
Chicken Mango Salad
Chunky Moroccan Style Butternut Stew
Cool and Easy Gazpacho
Fresh Fruit Custard Tart
Glazed Frank Kabobs

[Polly]

The last time I cooked deer meat this is what I did.  (This deer was shot in mid-state NY last year and fed mostly on raspberry bushes and apples in the wild according to my pro.  The meat was not gamey tasting at all according to my tastebuds.)

I added about a tablespoon of virgin coconut oil to the pan and cooked the meat (steaks from the thigh) with onion slices, Gala apple slices and Montreal Steak Seasoning.

Simple but it was really good if you like deer meat. 

[AndrewX]

Here are some sweets and desserts I enjoy. 

Dried FIGS

Firstly you need to have the right variety of FIG to make good dried figs.  The variety which is used by all commercial dried fig manufacturers is the one which produces relatively small round fruit  which STILL look green when ripened.  Do not use the variety of fig which produces elongated large dark figs as these ones rapture their skins badly by the time they hit the ground and have too much wetted internal pulp which ferments before they fall off the tree making them very unsavoury to the pallet.  The smaller greener variety produce a rich blood/crimson red internal pulp that is highly aromatic and sweet but they do NOT rapture their skins when they fall on the ground and their wetted internal pulp has a much lower water content than all others thereby eliminating fermentation of the fig's sugars when over ripened.

Collect all the figs that have fallen from the fig trees on the ground (usually this happens late August or early September). Do NOT use figs which are still attached to the tree, only the ones that are over ripened and fallen onto the ground.

Wash them to remove any dust and then dry them well. Bake them in 180 C for 10 - 15 minutes.

Let cool and store in an air tight jar.  They last for months.



FIG preserve 

Ingredients:

- 1 kg fresh figs

- 1 kg sugar

- 1 glass water

- Juice of one medium to large lemon

Put the figs in a pot, boil for 15-20minutes and drain them. Keep the water and boil it with the sugar for 5 - 10 minutes. Add the figs and remove from fire. Leave the figs in the syrup for one day. Next day simmer the figs until the syrup thickens. Finally add the lemon juice and mix it in well.  Store in sterilized jars and seal tightly.

SOUR CHERRY PRESERVE (exquisite sweet)

Ingredients:


[*]1 kg firm sour cherries
[*]1 kg caster sugar
[*]300 ml water
[*]1 teaspoon lemon  

Wash and stone/de-pip the cherries. There is a special implement for this, or you can use a forked hairpin. Their stoning has to be done carefully in order to leave them intact.  Many farmers who grow and supply them have a special machine which pips them so ask or it when you buy them.  Though even if you cannot buy them stoned it will not take long to stone them once you get the hang of it by trying a few first.

When stoning place the stones/pips/seeds in the water as they are taken out; at the end remove the pips from the water and discard them. Do not discard the water. Place the cherries and sugar in alternating layers in a wide saucepan. Add the water strained from the stones, bring to the boil and simmer for 20 minutes. Withdraw from the heat and let it stand for 24 hours. Bring back to the boil, skim, add the lemon juice and boil rapidly, without stirring, until it reaches setting point ie very thickened. Store in sterilized jars and seal tightly.  To serve, all that is needed for a full serving is one heaped tablespoon of the preserve in a dessert plate. 



Turkish Delight (yum)

Ingredients: 

- 2 kg sugar

- 1,5 cup corn flour

- Pinch of mastic powder

- Pinch of vanilla

- 6 cups of water

- Icing sugar

- Rosewater (1/2 to 1 cup depending on your taste)

- 1 sacket gelatine 

Mix all ingredients except the Icing Sugar into a saucepan and bring to the simmer. Simmer until mixture becomes thick and smooth. Pour mixture into a baking pan and at this point you may if you wish sprinkle any kind of cruched nut on top of it... cashews and pistacho go well with it.  If you do not want to sprinkle nuts on top of it, then leave it out to cool off.  When cool place it in the fridge for 7 hours. Remove from fridge, cut in square pieces of medium size, keeping in mind that each piece is a serving, and roll each piece in icing sugar.  Delish.

[AndrewX]

Stuffed Zuccini Blossoms 

Ingredients:


[*]18 large zucchini blossoms 
[*]1 cup long - grain white rice
[*]1 large onion, finely sliced
[*]3 tablespoons parsley, finely chopped
[*]3 tablespoons fresh spearmint, chopped
[*]1 large tomato, peeled cut in small pieces
[*]70 ml olive oil 
[*]150 ml water
[*]Salt
[*]Pepper class=article 

Wash the zucchini blossoms and drain them. Use a bowl to mix the rice with the oil,  tomato, parsley, onion and the spearmint all together. Stir well and start stuffing the zucchini blossoms, one by one, using a small teaspoon. Be carefull not to damage the blossoms. Do not overstuff the blossoms as the rice will swell when it is boiled. Place the stuffed blossoms into a saucepan, add water and cover. Simmer until rice is cooked. Check water if more is required and jsut a little if need be. 

[Sily]

Oh. My. God. 

YUMMY.  :big grin:

[DreamTime]

Stuffed Zucchini...oh, yumm...

I also love, love, the sweets, but since I quit smoking I have gained - sigh - some weight, so I must only look at them and not touch. :crybaby:

[AndrewX]

The zucchini flowers are very tasty and very Low Fat as well, I'm sure you'll enjoy them Sily, just find a friend who has a zucchini patch and ask them for a bag of flowers.  Most growers simply let them wilt away and die.

Hi DT,

One does NOT need to deprave themselves of a nice sweet if they still wish to lose weight.  Just keep away from the ones that are saturated in fats and sugars.  Try any of these, theyr'e all delish.

 

LOW FAT Sweets



Baked Apples

INGREDIENTS:

• 1/4 cup dried cranberries or raisins
  
• 1/4 cup chopped walnuts
  
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
  
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
  
• 4 Granny Smith apples

PREPARATION:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a small bowl, combine dried fruit, walnuts, sugar and cinnamon. Core each apple and place in a baking dish. Spoon one-fourth of the ingredients into each apple. Bake for 40 minutes or until apples are tender.  Serves 4


Per Serving: Calories 287, Calories from Fat 50, Total Fat 5.5g (sat 0.5g), Cholesterol 0mg, Sodium 6mg, Carbohydrate 57.5g, Fiber 6.8g, Protein 1.7g

If you wish you can a scoop of low-fat yogurt of any flavour you wish, vanilla flavoured goes very well with it.




 
POACHED PEARS


INGREDIENTS:

• 1 cup pomegranate juice
  
• 1/2 cup cranberry juice
  
• 1/2 cup orange juice
  
• Zest of one orange
  
• 1 cinnamon stick
  
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
  
• 1/4 cup honey
  
• 4 ripe but firm Bartlett or Comic Pears

PREPARATION:
Combine pomegranate juice, orange juice, orange zest, cinnamon, nutmeg and honey in a large saucepan. Warm the juices on a low-medium heat. Peel the pears, leaving the stem in tact and core from the bottom of each pear.  Slice a small section of the bottom of each pear so they can stand.

 
Place pears upright in warm juice and spice mixture and baste. Simmer pears for 20-30 minutes, depending on degree of firmness. The pears should be tender when pierced. Remove pears and transfer to a plate. Bring juice mixture to a boil and reduce by half. Remove cinnamon stick. Spoon syrup over pears. Serve warm.
Serves 4.


Per Serving: Calories 292, Calories from Fat 9, Total Fat 1g (sat 0g), Cholesterol 0mg, Sodium 0mg, Carbohydrate 69.3g, Fiber 6.1g, Protein 1.4g

 






Low Fat Pear-Cranberry Strudel


INGREDIENTS:

• 2 ripe pears, peeled, cored and chopped
  
• 2 tsp lemon juice
  
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries
  
• 1 tablespoon sugar
  
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
  
• 6 sheets 9-inch by 14-inch phyllo dough, thawed
  
• Butter-flavored cooking spray

PREPARATION:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a cookie sheet with nonstick cooking spray or lay a silicone baking mat inside.
Place chopped pears in a medium bowl with lemon juice, cranberries, sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg.  Stir well.

Place one phyllo sheet on cookie tray and spray with butter-flavored cooking spray. Repeat with next four sheets. Lay final sheet on top. Spoon filling along length of dough sheets, leaving a border of at least 1 inch from the edges. Tuck in the short ends and roll the strudel. Bake seam side down for 25 minutes or until golden. Serves 4.


Per Serving: Calories 168, Calories from Fat 12, Total Fat 1.4g (sat 0.3g), Cholesterol 0mg, Sodium 83mg, Carbohydrate 37.6g, Fiber 3.3g, Protein 1.5g

 



CARROT CAKE

This one is outragously good tasting:big grin:

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
  
• 1 cup whole-wheat flour
  
• 2 tsp baking soda
  
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
  
• 1/2 tsp allspice
  
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
  
• 4 egg whites
  
• 1 1/4 cups firmly packed brown sugar
  
• 1 cup unsweetened applesauce
  
• 1/2 cup low fat buttermilk
  
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
  
• 1 8-ounce can crushed pineapple, drained
  
• 2 cups shredded carrots
  
• 1/2 cup raisins
  
• 1/4 cup chopped walnuts
  
• 1/4 cup light cream cheese
  
• 1/4 cup fat-free cream cheese
  
• 2 cups powdered sugar
  
• 1 tsp lemon juice
  
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

PREPARATION:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 13-inch x 9-inch baking pan with nonstick cooking spray.  Combine flours, baking soda, cinnamon, allspice and nutmeg in a large bowl. Stir with a whisk. In another bowl, beat egg whites until soft peaks form.

Beat in sugar slowly, followed by the applesauce, buttermilk and vanilla. Add to flour mixture and stir until just moist. Stir in the pineapple, carrots, raisins and walnuts. Spoon batter into baking pan and bake for 35-40 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack before frosting.


For the frosting:
Beat cream cheeses together with lemon juice and vanilla. Add in powdered sugar until desired consistency. Spread over cooled cake.
Cut cake into 16 squares.


Per Serving: Calories 269, Calories from Fat 29, Total Fat 3.3g (sat 1.1g), Cholesterol 5mg, Sodium 244mg, Carbohydrate 54.9g, Fiber 2.7g, Protein 5g




Enjoy DT:big grin:

[DreamTime]

Bring on the apples and pears!