Queezle_Sister's Profile

From: Salt Lake City, UT USA

Joined: March 29th, 2010

About me: I enjoy cooking, and my favorite internet COOKING community is the one here at cookbooker. If you want to connect about my other non-academic passion, you can find me as QueezleWeaver on Ravelry, and mostly Warped Weavers. But I've miss you cookbooker, and so here I am again, and happy to contribute.

Favorite cookbook: Savory Way

Favorite recipe: roasted anything (most recently grapes)


Latest review:

August 23rd, 2019

Stuffed Zucchini with spiced beef or lamb from Zaitoun

When it is zucchini time, it can be difficult to find something interesting. But this was both different and a total delight! Zucchini are scraped out and roasted. The "meat" from within the zucchini... read more >


recipe reviews (1403)
book reviews (39)
useful review votes (961)

Queezle_Sister's Reviews


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1394 recipes reviewed. Showing 1 to 50Sort by: Book Title | Date | Rating | Recipe Title

The Zuni Cafe Cookbook: A Compendium of Recipes and Cooking Lessons from San Francisco's Beloved Restaurant

By Judy Rodgers, Gerald Asher
W.W. Norton & Co. - 2002

20th December 2010

Zuni Roast Chicken

The detailed instructions provided with this recipe were easy to follow, and the result was amazing. I started 2 days before serving with the preparation (jamming salt/herb mixture under the skin), and then cooked the chicken in a cast iron frying pan.

I have not roasted many whole chickens, and certainly not recently. I remember chickens sticking to the pan, and so I was nervous about flipping the chicken over half way through. But the instructions - to start with a hot pan and a dry chicken - did seal the skin, and flipping it over wasn't too much of a problem.

The only problem, from my perspective, was all the splattering grease. I'm very thankful for my self-cleaning oven.

The succulence of this chicken was amazing. Delicious and moist! My 15-yr old son has been unwilling to eat more than one bit of chicken for at least 5 years. But this, he ate, enjoyed, and even had seconds.

useful (1)  


14th January 2011 (edited: 14th January 2011)

Zuni Ricotta Gnocchi

Big disappointment here.

I like that this recipe goes on for six pages. Over the past month, I've probably read it at least 10 times. One caution was to use good ricotta, and there is a paragraph on making sure it isn't too wet. I made my own ricotta from whole milk (following http://www.seriouseats.com/2010/02/how-to-make-fresh-ricotta-fast-easy-homemade-cheese-the-food-lab.html I then hung the ricotta in cheese cloth over night (refrigerator), and if anything, my ricotta was too dry.
I followed the variation where you use lemon zest. I made sure to have nice curds in the ricotta, and then beat them till the curds were tiny, etc.
The gnocci were very soft, I added the suggested extra white, and it didn't help. The gnocci tended to fall apart when simmering, and never really firmed up. I ended up cooking them not for 2-5 minutes after they float, but more like 10 minutes. Still they had the texture of cottage cheese.

If you could get past the texture, these tasted amazing. Light, with a hint of lemon. But they are nothing you could serve company, and even my kids didn't want to do more than a courtesy taste.

I wonder if the lower boiling temperature of my 5000 foot elevation made these not cook correctly? At sea level, water boils at 212˚, and at 5000 feet, it boils at 201˚. I double, triple checked that I hadn't forgotten any ingredients, or any steps. I think either there is a mistake in the recipe, or else its best done close to sea level!

I looked around at other Ricotta Gnocchi recipes on the internet. The others had the same ratio of ricotta to eggs to parmesean, but they also called for flour. That would probably make the gnocchi hold together better, and cook more firmly... Live and learn.

useful (3)  


12th December 2010 (edited: 14th December 2010)

Zuni Chicken Stock

This recipe provides excellent detailed instructions on how to make chicken stock. I looked for chicken feet, including the local Asian market, to no avail, and still was able to make great broth using a standard grocery store whole chicken. I followed the instructions (except no feet and no extra wings), and the resulting broth has an excellent bright chicken flavor. I really enjoyed following the instructions for how to remove the breasts. It made me feel like Julie in the move "Julie and Julia".

One concern I had was with skimming off the foam. I did this, as per instructions, stirred, and skimmed again. However, foam continued to come up, and I was unsure whether to remove it or not. I decided not to, and it seemed to go away, but I'd be interested to hear other people's thoughts on this.

This cookbook instructs us to do a lot of tasting, and in this recipe, to taste from the beginning. I was nervous about sipping a spoonful of water that contained a raw chicken carcass, but I did, and lived to tell about it. I found it instructive to monitor the development of this broth's wonderful chicken flavor, and I look forward now to trying recipes calling for high quality broth.

useful (1)  


1st January 2011 (edited: 1st January 2011)

Zuni Caesar Salad

The most exciting part of preparing this salad was hunting down and trying salt-cured anchovies. We had to buy a kg (see picture 2), anybody need anchovies? I was careful to follow the instructions on page 514 - it really answered all my questions about how to filet, etc.

The salad was delicious. The dressing had a good salty/sour/cheesy taste, and the croutons were very very good.

useful (1)  


The Flexitarian Table: Inspired, Flexible Meals for Vegetarians, Meat Lovers, and Everyone inBetween

By Peter Berley, Zoe Singer
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt - 2007

25th August 2013 (edited: 25th August 2013)

Zucchini-Rice Soup with Basil and Parmesan

A simple and humble soup, with fresh ingredients. The soup's mildness in part comes from using water (called for in the recipe), but if I repeated I would substitute a broth. If your ingredients are truly fresh (other than the rice and cheese, all came directly from the garden), its very nice. Its fine for a light family dinner, with toast, or would be OK as a first course. It used most of an over-grown zucchini.

I was leafing through the cookbooks at the library, and this book opened directly to this page. Not having to go buy anything is a huge bonus. It seemed as if I were meant to prepare this. Unfortunately, my quick trip to the apple store (my son's phone ended up being replaced by a new one) took longer than expected, and lucky me, my DH prepared it for us.

useful (0)  


Mollie Katzen's Sunlight Cafe (Mollie Katzen's Classic Cooking)

By Mollie Katzen
Hyperion - 2002

Low sugar, zucchini, and a cup of soy protein - when thought of as those terms, this was a great bread. But when compared to a standard rich and sweet quick bread, it might be considered lacking.

If you are looking for a quick bread that leans strongly toward healthy, this is a great place to start. If I make it again, I might use cardamom and lemon zest instead of the cinnamon-nutmeg flavorings used here.

useful (0)  


Website: The Kitchn

www.thekitchn.com
 

20th August 2013 (edited: 20th August 2013)

Zucchini Stuffed with Sausage, Mushrooms & Sage

A good use for an over-grown zucchini. This takes those mamouth excapees, and tames them by stuffing with a sausage, mushroom mixture rich in sage. The flavor was good, but don't be shy with the sage. I used garden fresh, and at least the 2T the recipe called for. As the reviews on TheKitchen say, it might be better with rice and less sausage. But don't skip the walnuts - they added an irreplaceable crunch.

useful (0)  


Website: Epicurious

www.epicurious.com
 

A low 4, but better than a 3 - this recipe produced a lovely side dish. I didn't have dill, and substituted fresh thyme. I also couldn't face cleaning the food processor, so I just tried to chop it up well instead of processing it. Had I processed it, the flavors might have melded a bit more.

useful (0)  


The Cake Mix Doctor

By Anne Byrn
Workman Publishing Company - 1999

A rich, moist cake that helps to use up that zucchini.

If you are worried that the zucchini will be too assertive, don't worry - it adds only color and moistness, and perhaps nutrition. This was simple to make - a cake mix, spices, oil, eggs, spices, and 2C grated zucchini. We substituted greek-style yogurt for the sour cream, and we skipped the frosting. We baked this in a bundt. It was delicious, but so rich that you really didn't need a second slice.

useful (0)  


The Moosewood Cookbook

By Mollie Katzen
Ten Speed Press - 1977

28th August 2011 (edited: 29th August 2011)

Zucchini Parmesan Sandwich

A healthy open-faced sandwich.

Onion and zucchini are sautéed with basil and oregano - I'm lucky to have had nice fresh veggies ready and waiting to be used. Toasted whole grain bread was then spread with the cooked vegetable mixture, topped with thinly sliced tomato, then Parmesan Cheese, and broiled.

This recipe prepared 3 open-faced sandwiches.

These were very sloppy. OK flavor, a bit sour and unbalanced. I liked it OK, but wouldn't rave about it. I think the flavor was a bit unbalanced, and it would have benefit from a nice smear of home-made mayo.

useful (1)  


Website: Smitten Kitchen

www.smittenkitchen.com
 

Better than it sounds!
Zucchini is grated, salted, and the water squeezed out. Then it is tossed with - you guessed it - cheese. The recipe suggests an assortment of lovely cheeses, but I used what we have on hand - a medium cheddar and pecorino. Also a generous hand with the pepper.

To get the somewhat wet filling to warm enough to melt the cheese, you need to cook these on the cooler side of the grilled cheese cooking temperatures. But other than patience, this recipe is a winner!

Daughter (now 18) loves grilled cheese, and DH enjoyed it too. An easy summer weeknight dinner.

useful (0)  


The Essential New York Times Cookbook: Classic Recipes for a New Century

By Amanda Hesser
W. W. Norton & Company - 2010

21st July 2013

Zucchini and Vermouth

A simple execution that truly elevated this humble vegetable. My daughter and I gobbled it up, and still wanted more. I cannot think of when that has ever happened with zucchini.

The cook is instructed to coarsely grate the zucchini, I turned to my mandolin, used the coarsest tool, and ended up with 1/4 inch wide sticks. I think this was larger than the recipe intended, but it worked well.

I sauteed the zucchini in a scant T olive oil, and cooked it till the zucchini was dry, and soft, and as instructed, splashed in a bit of vermouth (dry). It was little more than kissed by the vermouth, but the flavor combination truly worked.

useful (2)  


Website: Scrumpdillyicious

scrumpdillyicious.blogspot.com
 

12th August 2011 (edited: 12th August 2011)

Zucchini and Sun Dried Tomato Scones

Great concept - zucchini scones with sun dried tomatoes - but the recipe had lots of errors!

I discovered this recipe, and the blog, from TheKitchn. The scrumpdillyicious blog states that the recipe is originally from "Recipes from the Wilderness" by Craig Higgins, and I think that errors arose when the blog copied it.

First problem was that 250 g of flour were to be mixed with 7 g of butter - that was only about 1/2 tsp. I guessed that 70 g were intended, and so used 1/4 C butter. The amount of cream of tarter also seemed impossibly small (2 g), and so I used 1 tsp. Before I added the buttermilk, I realized the batter was already pretty moist from the zucchini, so I threw in another 1/2 C flour.

The blog also failed to tell us the baking temperature. I tried 410, but the bottom of the scones became a tad dark - next time I'll try 375. I baked them for about 35 minutes.

The instructions say to roll the dough into balls. For me it was still too moist. But the scones were pretty good, all things considered, and very moist. My low rating mostly came from all the errors.

useful (1)  


Essential Pepin: More Than 700 All-Time Favorites from My Life in Food

By Jacques Pepin
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt - 2011

This is a very basic recipe - probably most of us wouldn't need a recipe for this. Cook pasta, sauté sausage, add vegetables, mix together. A bit of pasta water, some spices garlic and cheese and there you are.

We substituted wagon wheels for the ziti, and also added peas. It was tasty, quick, and even better because my husband prepared it.

useful (1)  


Cookin' in the Cabin: Iron Springs Cookbook

By
- 2011

27th November 2012

Zippy Biscuits

A strange recipe prepared by my MIL. This cookbook is from an old community of summer cabins in Prescott Arizona. This recipe has only 3 ingredients - bisquick (2C), shredded cheese (2C), and Jimmy Dean sausage (1 lb). The three ingredients are mixed together (requiring considerable effort), and then formed into bite-sized bits and "baked till done" at 350.

I never would have selected this recipe to make, but I tried them - and surprisingly good. The teenagers couldn't get enough of them. I think they would be suitable to take backpacking or on a long hike.

useful (0)  


Website: Smitten Kitchen

www.smittenkitchen.com
 

A very light dessert, and the amount of gelatin to milk and milk products was perfect.

I didn't have full-fat yogurt, and so deviated from the recipe there, but I did use whole milk. I found the flavor to be a bit flat. It was barely sweet, which is fine for me, but it needed something more than the 2T lemon juice. Perhaps lemon zest, also, or a T triple sec?

Instead of honey and walnuts, I used some frozen berries, which I thawed and sweetened with a bit of sugar.

useful (0)  


The Olive and the Caper: Adventures in Greek Cooking

By Susanna Hoffman
Workman Publishing Company - 2004

9th March 2013

Yogurt Lemon Soup

This is a light lemony soup. Barley is precooked, and then mixed with broth (I used fish), herbs (dill, cilantro, and thyme), and brought to a boil. Once its hot, you whisk in yogurt and lemon juice.

The flavor is pretty good - very lemony - next time I'd use a bit less.

The down-side of this soup is that the yogurt-lemon ingredients did not mix in very well. In fact, it would separate as soon as you stopped stirring.

I thought it tasted pretty good, but 14-yr-old daughter didn't like it at all.

useful (1)  


Paletas: Authentic Recipes for Mexican Ice Pops, Shaved Ice & Aguas Frescas

By Fany Gerson
Ten Speed Press - 2011

Lovely yogurt - flavored with lemon zest simple syrup, and with blackberries. This dish was simple to make, low calorie, and refreshing for a day that nearly hit 100˚.

You know you want them - just make 'em.

We used fat free greek yogurt, and we didn't bother to sieve out the lemon zest.

useful (2)  


Barbecued ribs and other great feeds

By Jeanne Voltz
- 2000

22nd July 2011

Yogurt Chicken

Chicken on the grill - but this one - no thrill...

This recipe had a lot of promise - Indian spices in yogurt, and a long time marinating in the refrigerator. Unfortunately, the chicken ended up bland - none of the flavor of the spices I had added.

It was moist, and I think pretty tender, but there are much better recipes out there for chicken in the grill.

useful (1)  


The Olive and the Caper: Adventures in Greek Cooking

By Susanna Hoffman
Workman Publishing Company - 2004

26th February 2013 (edited: 26th February 2013)

Yogurt Cake with Ouzo-Lemon Syrup

This simple cake is simply delicious. The cake itself is straight forward - creamed butter and sugar, four eggs (separated), 1C yogurt, flour, baking powder, and lemon zest. The egg whites are beating to stiff peaks and folded in at the end. The instructions call for coarsely chopped lemon zest. I don't like biting into big pieces of lemon peel, and so I used the larger of my two microplane graters. This bakes in a 10-inch springform pan, and is to be inverted onto a plate, and then saturated with this delightful syrup.

I do not own a large cake plate, so just used the bottom of the springform pan (no cake inversion). This was a mistake! The syrup doesn't soak into the top crust as it would have through the cake's bottom. I added a bunch of holes (fork), which helped. This was an unusual and delicious cake!

This cake tasted better the second day -- the syrup had permeated deeper and mellowed. I also served it with whipped cream - mascarpone, which was an excellent counterpoint to the cake's sour-sweet flavor.

useful (2)  


Website: Food In Jars

www.foodinjars.com
 

14th September 2012

Yellow Tomato and Basil Jam

Sweet, a great tomato flavor, and with a bold basil base note. The perfect trifecta.

Its that time of year - every night I'm roasting or freezing or simmering -- all to allow me to remember our garden this winter.

Tomato and basil is one of my favorite combinations, and so this recipe caught my eye. It did not disappoint! Lots of tomato, simmered with sugar, lemon juice, and near the end, I added the basil. The picture shows the filled jars prior to processing.

useful (2)  


This is a very basic, very simple soup. However, paired with the suggested toppings elevates it substantially. Alone, the soup would be just a "3". We paired it with the pickled onions and the tapenade.

Do beware that the recipe takes at least 2 hrs. If you are like me, and read just the beginning, you might delude yourself into thinking its a simple 1 hour cook. When I realized my miscalculation, I moved it to the pressure cooker, 10 minutes high, fast release, and then carried out the second 45 minutes of reducing the broth. I wish the author had described how thick it should be - it seemed a bit thin to me.

I was happy to eat this and to remember how much I enjoy split peas.

useful (0)  


Website: Smitten Kitchen

www.smittenkitchen.com
 

10th October 2011

World Peace Cookies

Chocolate heaven.

The many 5-star reviews led me to make these cookies. I did weigh my ingredients, but my dough was very crumbly. I over-mixed mine (my single biggest cooking problem -- plunging in and doing things before I read it carefully). The instruction suggest covering your bowl with a dish towel and pulsing your mixer on and off. I use those old 1940's pyrex mixing bowls, though, which are low and wide. So I used two sheets of plastic wrap (one on each side). I was so thrilled that there wasn't flour everywhere I just kept on mixing.

More than half my cookies were a pile of crumbs that I compressed into a blob. Cooked up fine, but not pretty. The other half were less crumbly, and looked ok. But they all tasted amazing.

I used regular chocolate chips (chopped up). I think the suggestion of crunchy salt is a very good one.

useful (1)  


Website: 101 Cookbooks

www.101cookbooks.com
 

25th February 2012 (edited: 27th February 2012)

Wintery Spring Rolls

It was so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so good!!!!!!!!!!!!! I loved them there is nothing better to eat than a quick and easy healthy meal like these for lunch. They are technically appetizers but they can work as a whole meal if you make enough! I cooked the tofu so that it was very crisp on the out side (the way I like it). It took quite a while, but turned out crispy and brown on the outside and soft on the inside. My mother was glad that they didn't take very much time to make, and that I was willing to cook it! I really like crispy tofu, and this is a great way to use it. Make plenty.

We also added some avocado to some of the rolls -- that added a wonderful creamy texture and of course great flavor.

13 daughter

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Website: 101 Cookbooks

www.101cookbooks.com
 

26th December 2014

Winter Punch

We prepared this punch for our Christmas Eve dinner party. I really liked that it wasn't too sweet, and that one could dial down the alcohol by addition of sparkling water. It is a gin and prosecco based punch, with additional flavor from rosemary simple syrup and ginger juice. Getting several tablespoons of juice from a ginger root was the most difficult step of the recipe, and the overall flavor went well cheese-based appetizers.

useful (0)  


Website: Smitten Kitchen

www.smittenkitchen.com
 

20th February 2011 (edited: 21st February 2011)

winter fruit salad

I really wanted to love this recipe. Its beautiful, it uses seasonally appropriate fruit (pears, apples, and dried fruit), and interesting. It produced a heavenly aroma, and gave my refrigerator an exotic aroma that I found irresistible. Unfortunately, I found its strong flavor to be overwhelming.

The first step in preparing this recipe is to heat water, sugar, star anise, and vanilla bean. I used the suggested 3 star anise, but I think I would have liked it better had I only used 1 or 2. The recipe also instructs you to incubate the fruit overnight. I think instead you could make the syrup in the morning, and marinate your fruit for only an hour or two.

The sprinkling of pomegranate on top made this really beautiful.

useful (1)  


The Essential New York Times Cookbook: Classic Recipes for a New Century

By Amanda Hesser
W. W. Norton & Company - 2010

Why knew that pickled red onions were the perfect complement to chard? But when I noticed that this was an adaptation of a Deborah Madison recipe, it all made sense.

The red onions do not need much time to pickle. Like Amanda Hesser, I needed more vinegar/water for the pickling than the recipe suggests.

I could easily eat this all the time. It was seriously addicting.

Note that the instructions say to slice thick rings. I think mine were too thick, though they did turn out beautiful imho.

useful (1)  


Kitchen of Light: The New Scandinavian Cooking

By Andreas Viestad
Artisan - 2007

An amazing combination of flavors, and beautiful to boot. Spinach is wilted under the broiler, then smoked salmon and raspberries are added. It is then dressed with an amazing concoction that includes creme fraiche, raspberries, and raspberry vinegar (plus sugar, salt and pepper). I didn't have the pink peppercorns for the final garnish, but nobody missed them.

Note - I followed the epicurious recipe to make creme fraiche (so easy!) and am glad I didn't chicken out and use sour cream.

This was prepared for my cookbook club (2 1/2 yrs and still going strong). To prepare 13 dishes, I didn't broil the individual plates of spinach, but instead broiled the spinach on a large cookie sheet, and then portioned it out to the different plates. This allowed me to skip the "cool the plates" step!

useful (0)  


The Olive and the Caper: Adventures in Greek Cooking

By Susanna Hoffman
Workman Publishing Company - 2004

This is a simple 3-ingredient recipe. So simple, and yet it was the perfect addition to these croquettes.

I have to admit to an eye-roll when preparing this condiment, and nearly skipped it. I mean, how good can a bit of wilted parsley really be? The red wine vinegar, though, elevated the parsley, and the salt brought much-needed salt to the croquettes. My parsley did NOT wilt, though, yet that was no problem. I would guess that the alternative cilantro would wilt very quickly. The slow wilting of parlsey means you don't really need to wait until the very last minute before preparing this add on.

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Super Natural Every Day: Well-loved Recipes from My Natural Foods Kitchen

By Heidi Swanson
Ten Speed Press - 2011

29th July 2012

Wild Rice Casserole

Delicious grain dish - with flavor zings from mushrooms - and topped with Gruyere cheese.

This dish had a wonderful flavor, and it looked beautiful. It was prepared by a member of my cookbook club for one of our meals. Great mouth feel - a bit creamy from the addition of cottage cheese and sour cream, but no sacrificing the grain texture. The recipe includes finely chopped onions and mushrooms, and they provided a very nice little burst of flavor.

This is a lovely dish. It appears to be fairly simple to prepare, and the instructions say it can be prepared in advance. This would be an excellent accompaniment for many sorts of meals, I can imagine it at the Thanksgiving table, or alongside a nice roast.

useful (1)  


The Very Best Of Recipes for Health: 250 Recipes and More from the Popular Feature on NYTimes.com

By Martha Rose Shulman
Rodale Books - 2010

Nice concept, but the recipe has a couple problems. The salad is pretty simple - a couple types of rice, some lightly steamed asparagus, herbs, walnuts, and a dressing. I prepared as described, except I doubled the asparagus.

The dressing called for 1/2 C of oil, and as I was adding it, I became skeptical. I added ~2/3 of the dressing, and the salad felt quite greasy. I didn't care for the dressing on the day I prepared this, but as leftovers for my lunch, the flavors had melded, and it was better.

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The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook

By Deb Perelman
Knopf - 2012

I prepared this recipe with the tweaks suggested by Sprouted Kitchen - where the raspberries are replaced by fuju persimmons - and reviewed it in both places. I prepared my own ricotta using this recipe, and followed the Sprouted Kitchen's version suggestion to use fuyu persimmons in the place of the raspberries suggested in the SK cookbook. I also substituted skim milk for the 1/3 C heavy cream (but don't tell anyone!).

These scones came together easily and looked just beautiful. They were sweet - but not too sweet - had a lovely texture - and the combination of cinnamon, cardamom, and ginger gave an excellent subtle spice. I found that the persimmons were a bit lost in the recipe, but I will definitely repeat with other fruit. Note that this recipe was also recently put on the 101cookbooks blog using blackberries.

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The America's Test Kitchen Healthy Family Cookbook: A New, Healthier Way to Cook Everything from America's Most Trusted Test Kitchen

By America's Test Kitchen, America's Test Kitchen, America's Test Kitchen, Editors of Cook's Illustrated Magazine, America's Test Kitchen
America's Test Kitchen - 2010

Nice flavor and texture. These waffles used both WW and AP flour, and buttermilk helped them to be light and tender. A full batch was OK for four of us. These were a bit fussy as the eggs are separated and the whites folded in. But aside from the extra bowls, they tasted good.

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Website: Sprouted Kitchen

www.sproutedkitchen.com
 

This recipe is basically the very same as the Raspberry Ricotta Scones from Smitten Kitchen Cookbook, and I will review it in both places. I prepared my own ricotta using this recipe, and followed the Sprouted Kitchen's version suggestion to use fuyu persimmons in the place of the raspberries suggested in the SK cookbook. I also substituted skim milk for the 1/3 C heavy cream (but don't tell anyone!).

These scones came together easily and looked just beautiful. They were sweet - but not too sweet - had a lovely texture - and the combination of cinnamon, cardamom, and ginger gave an excellent subtle spice. I found that the persimmons were a bit lost in the recipe, but I will definitely repeat with other fruit. Note that this recipe was also recently put on the 101cookbooks blog using blackberries.

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The Very Best Of Recipes for Health: 250 Recipes and More from the Popular Feature on NYTimes.com

By Martha Rose Shulman
Rodale Books - 2010

This recipe yielded thick fluffy pancakes.
The flour was 2/3 whole wheat, 1/3 all purpose - but by using buttermilk, baking soda, and baking powder, they were rather light, and nobody complained. The recipe prepared enough for four light eaters.
The recipe called for blueberries to be added while cooking; we didn't have any and didn't miss 'em.

As usual, 13-daughter ate hers au naturale, but my DH used a generous dose of maple syrup. Both were happy!

One note - I used butter in the pan to cook them, and it imparted a very good buttery flavor (but made them slightly less healthy).

useful (1)  


Website: 101 Cookbooks

www.101cookbooks.com
 

9th April 2011 (edited: 13th April 2011)

Whole Wheat and Chocolate Chip Skillet Cookie

The most painful part of making chocolate chip cookies (other than acknowledging all the calories) is forming individual cookies. I was immediately drawn to this recipe for 2 reasons: it cooks as a single large cookie (in a skillet), and it uses whole wheat flour.

I found the dough to be very stiff, but it seemed to bake up OK. The cookies had a nice whole wheat flavor, which I loved, but it might not appeal to everyone. They also had a good salt/sweet thing going on.

A dangerous aspect of these cookies - its too easy to keep slicing a tiny bit more, and then a tiny bit more...

If I remake these, I will definitely be adding walnuts. And I didn't have bar chocolate, so used chocolate chips.

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Website: My New Roots

mynewroots.blogspot.com
 

A striking presentation for cauliflower!

This recipe first caught my eye because I think it could be tweaked to make a Halloween dinner dish - by carving the cauliflower to look like a brain.

To prepare this, the instructions first tell you how to make a batch of tandoori spices. I didn't want yet another spice mix, so I scaled it down and just guessed the amounts. Once you have the spice mix, you mince ginger and garlic, combine them with the spices and yogurt and lemon juice and oil. You rub this all over your cauliflower, marinade (I let it go 1.5 hrs, but the recipe advises that longer is also OK). It then roasts for about 1 hour.

This looked beautiful and was easy to slice. I think the flavor profile of mine was a bit off - but perhaps because I estimated the tandoori spice blend amounts for a single serving. Nevertheless, its aroma was wonderful, and I will happily eat the leftovers.

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The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook

By Deb Perelman
Knopf - 2012

26th November 2012

Whole Lemon Bars

Excellent lemon flavor in an incredibly rich cookie.

I prepared these because I brought a bag of lemons home with me from a recent trip to california. I appreciate that there are special instructions for using meyer lemons (less sugar required).

The bad: clearly this is a case of gratuitous use of butter. Seriously, in an 8X8 pan, 1 stick (1/2 C) for the crust and another 1/2 C (stick) for the filling - yowza! Traditional lemon square do not have butter in the filling.

These cookies are rapidly disappearing at the hands of the teenagers, and I'm doing all I can to resist. Next time I'll go back to the traditional recipe (less butter), but if you want a truly decadent lemon square, this is the recipe for you.

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Super Natural Every Day: Well-loved Recipes from My Natural Foods Kitchen

By Heidi Swanson
Ten Speed Press - 2011

29th July 2012

White Bean Spread

Very flavorful, and if prepared from canned beans, its also quick!
A flavored oil is prepared using garlic and fresh rosemary. It is mixed with the beans, mashed in a food processor, and almonds, salt, and lemon juice added. At the end, a bit of additional oil and some lemon zest is put on top, and some toasted almonds.

This paired really well the the pita chips, from the same cookbook (and pictured above with a pita chip).

This recipe was prepared by my 13 yr old daughter for our cookbook club. It was very popular, and was nice with beer, wine, and cocktails.

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Website: Leite's Culinaria

leitesculinaria.com
 

This quick recipe turns canned white beans and sauteed onion&garlic into an amazing poor-man's humus. That alone was fantastic smeared onto whole grain toast.

The second step is to marinate onions and radicchio in a balsamic vinaigrette, and then sear them. The dish is assembled by layering the veggies on top on the puree.

The electric frying pan was not up to the job of searing the vegetables, and really, I should have done it in small batches, so its my fault. But the flavor was good, and its worth trying again when I get a real kitchen.

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Website: New York Times - Dining and Wine

www.nytimes.com/pages/dining/index.html
 

This recipe has potential to be five - its just too salty.

A fennel bulb and white onion are sliced thinly, and caramelized (3T olive oil) (with fennel seeds). Instructions say 25 minutes - mine was starting to caramelize by that time, and I gave it an additional 7-8 minutes. I think another 10 would continue to enhance this part of the calzone.

The other part is a mashed up white bean-lemon zest-olive oil mix. I used canned beans (not my favorite), and we had a lot of trouble with this step until we turned to an underused kitchen tool - the muddler. That mashed up the beans well.

After rolling out the pizza dough, you spread the bean mixture and then the fennel/onion mixture, seal it up, brush it with oil, and apply some salt.

20 minutes at 500F and its done - beautiful!

The lemon squeezed on at the table adds a lot - and helps to cut the salt. I'm not sure if the salt came from my canned beans (I did rinse them well), or the many parts, each well salted.

I liked the combination of flavors, the final look of the calzone, and how well it sliced. This recipe is worth tweaking!

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Website: New York Times - Recipes

topics.nytimes.com/topics/reference/timestopics/subjects/r/recipes/index.html
 

This was OK - good for a hot day and healthy. Tomatoes are chopped, marinated with sherry and balsamic vinegars, then wheat berries added, another marinade step. Then you add cucumbers, parsley, mint, and feta.

I did make a few changes, not all intentional. I chopped fresh basil for something else, but accidentally added it to this salad. I still added the parsley and mint, though. I also did not have feta, but instead substituted cotija cheese, a mexican cheese that is somewhat similar to Feta (salty!). Even Wikipedia comments on their similarity.

Nothing wrong with this salad, it just didn't wow me. With better quality tomatoes, though, it could be a winner.

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Website: Epicurious

www.epicurious.com
 

This salad was amazing!

Once you've cooked the wheat berries, the rest is easy - onions are fried till slightly charred, and then kale takes a turn in the frying pan. A good dose of salt and pepper, and a squeeze of lemon. Its really that simple.

This salad also really beautiful. I'd be happy to eat this any day.

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My Two Souths: Blending the Flavors of India into a Southern Kitchen

By Asha Gomez, Martha Hall Foose
Running Press - 2016

Meh... this recipe has potential, but it turned out a very very mild dish. Onions are sauteed in ghee, cardamom and star anise, gently crushed, is added. garlic, etc, then chunks of chicken breast, broth, and rice.

I deviated by using brown rice in place of basmati, and used raisins instead of apricots.

But even with additional salt, it didn't have any of the flavor notes that whisper "india" to me. And I have a ton of leftovers (I doubled the recipe).

I think I will add some ginger next time, and maybe some red pepper flakes to wake this dish up!

On the plus side, the chicken was tender, it was easy, and only dirtied up one pot and a serving bowl.

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Super Natural Every Day: Well-loved Recipes from My Natural Foods Kitchen

By Heidi Swanson
Ten Speed Press - 2011

2nd July 2013

Weeknight Curry

A nice bright dish, with zucchini, asparagus, and cauliflower cooked to crunchy perfection. The veggies are sautéed in coconut oil (which in our current heat wave is suddenly a liquid!), and then further cooked in coconut milk.
I agree with Andrew that the spicing is too mild. However, this was an easily prepared dish that my DH made for my return home (30 hrs transit). It was fresh and delicious.

The author does caution to be sure to add salt. My DH added about 1 tsp salt, and we still needed more at the table. Served with brown rice and a green salad.

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Website: Epicurious

www.epicurious.com
 

23rd September 2012

Watermelon and Feta Salad

After reading @justlaura's review, I've been waiting for an opportunity to prepare this salad. I'm so grateful for my CSA's late season watermelon!

This is an unusual salad. The watermelon gives it sweetness and crunch, the feta supplies saltiness, and black pepper gives it just the right base note.

I followed suggestions in the other reviews at epicurious and added both mint and lime juice (~ 1T finely chopped mint, tossed with the feta before adding to watermelon to separate the leaf fragments and juice from 1/2 medium sized lime).

Everyone in the family enjoyed this salad! The recipe is a keeper for sure. The one reservation - it probably doesn't keep well, so probably is not so great for a pot luck or for planned on leftovers.

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Steamy Kitchen's Healthy Asian Favorites: 100 Recipes That Are Fast, Fresh, and Simple Enough for Tonight's Supper

By Jaden Hair
Ten Speed Press - 2013

6th October 2014

wasabi-soy dressing

This is a nice idea - adding wasabi to a rice vinegar/soy sauce/honey/oil dressing. It is dressed up a bit with sesame seeds.

This just didn't give the salad enough of a punch. I am thinking a pinch of cayanne or other spicy hot thing would have made it better.

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The Greens Cookbook

By Deborah Madison, Edward Espe Brown
Broadway - 2001

11th April 2011

Warm Red Cabbage Salad

I really like the combination of ingredients here - red cabbage, red onion, apple, and goat cheese. It also calls for walnuts, but we substituted hazel nuts.
The onion, garlic, and cabbage is to be briefly sautéd, suggested time 3 minutes, or until it wilts. I cooked mine for about 5 minutes - it was warm but not really wilted. The instructions were also to cut the cabbage into wedges. Wedge size was not specified, so the fat part of my wedges were about 1/2 inch. This was still too big for us. I liked the flavors very much, but if I make it again, I will shred the cabbage, and also cut the apple pieces smaller, too.

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Website: The Kitchn

www.thekitchn.com
 

3rd October 2013

Warm Fudgy Pudding Cake

I have searched for a chocolate pudding cake that matched that of my youth, and you can track my efforts here, here, here, and here. This one finally earns the coveted top rating. The ratio of pudding to cake was perfect, the texture of the pudding was thick, and the cake was truly cakey. The only change I made was to use boiling water instead of cold, because that was what we did, back in the day.

This was what my son wanted for his birthday cake, and it performed perfectly.

Don't forget the scoop of vanilla ice cream for the top.

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Website: cookstr

www.cookstr.com/recipes
 

11th July 2012

Warm Chocolate Cake

A molten chocolate lava cake - who knew it was this easy?

Chocolate, butter, eggs, egg yolks, and a small amount of flour and sugar. The trick is cooking it just the right amount of time.

After watching master chef, we decided that we needed to know how to prepare this delicious dessert. Mine were a tad over-cooked. I pulled them out of the oven on time, but it took me several minutes to find the right tools to lift the ramekin, turn it over, and then lift it up.

I served these with raspberries out of my garden. They were awesome.

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