Mystery Thread

[InLove]

Hi Everyone--

Phyllis--I just made the Cookies WiP.

Turned out really tasty. Kind of a "cookie-cake". Very moist.
I did add just a little more sugar to satisfy the sweet tooth I seem to have developed in recent months, probably due to all the meds I had to take for a while. And instead of plain chocolate morsels, I used some fancy chocolate-cherry flavored ones that Mom bought me before she passed (I had them in the freezer). I thought she might like to take part in the "experiment".

I really enjoyed doing this. Thanks!

I found the book I told you about. I'll type up a post and run it by you sometime today. I need to get your opinion, since I am sure you will know more about this than I do.

InPeace,
InLove

[InLove]

Hi Everyone

The following recipes come from an old book that a friend found on the floor of an abandoned building near me. After trying to find the owner, whose name is inscripted by hand in the front pages (apparently, it was a gift), he gave it to me because he knew I would cherish it and take care of it. The binding is loose, but the pages have the patina of the years.

I hope it is okay for me to share some of the recipes this treasure of a book contains. The ones I have included here are from a holiday section which is applicable to this season. If there are any objections, then I am sure my post can be removed. The credits are at the end, and I can provide the names of individual contributors, if necessary. I decided not to include them in the post out of respect for their privacy. I have typed the recipes as they appear in the book, and so some of the techniques and wording may seem a little out-of-date, but that is what draws me to it. It is living history.

Phyll—I didn’t know when you might log back in, and since we did already discuss this, I decided to go ahead and post. Hope I didn’t cross any lines that I shouldn’t. Just thought today would be a good time.

Bagels

2/3 cup peanut oil
1 1/3 cups water
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons sugar
2 cups matzo meal
5 eggs

Directions

Boil together oil, water, salt and sugar. Add immediately 2 cups matzo meal. Mix well and cool. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Roll into balls the size of a golf ball. Place on greased cookie sheet 2 inches apart. Indent center with finger to make hole in bagel. Bake in 400 degree oven for about 30 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm with butter.

Note: Using 6 eggs instead of 5, increasing water to 2 cups and leaving out sugar, this recipe also makes excellent matzo balls.



Chocolate Spice And Apple Pesach Cake

(This recipe comes from Mannheim, Germany, and was at least four generations old at the time of publishing.)

Ingredients:

8 eggs, separated
10 tablespoons sugar
6 ounces almonds, grated (use electric blender if possible)
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 tablespoons cocoa
1 grated apple (remove skin first)
½ fresh lemon (juice) plus 1 teaspoon grated rind
2 to 3 tablespoons matzo meal

Orange-Lemon Wine Sauce:

Juice of 2 oranges
Juice of 1 lemon
½ teaspoon vanilla
2 egg yolks
¾ cup dry white wine
1 cup water
2 tablespoons potato starch

Directions:

Cake: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Beat egg yolks and sugar until bubbles form. Add cinnamon, cocoa, almonds, lemon juice and rinds, apple and matzo meal slowly. Beat egg whites and fold into other mixed ingredients. Pour into ungreased spring form (9 inch pan). Bake for 50 minutes. Leave in the oven with door open for 10 minutes longer after the cake is thouroughly baked (when no batter sticks to cake tester). Serve with orange-lemon sauce. This cake may be baked several days in advance since it ages well. Serves 8 to 10.

Orange-lemon wine sauce: Place all ingredients in a saucepan and stir together. Place on stove over low heat and continue stirring until mixture comes to a boil and begins to thicken like a custard. For a foamier sauce, beat remaining 2 egg whites and fold into cooked sauce. Chill and serve over the chocolate spice and apple cake.



Carrot Souffle Cake:

(This recipe comes from someone in Houston)

Ingredients:

6 eggs, separated
1 cup sugar
1 cup blanched almonds, grated
1 cup carrots
juice and rind of 1 lemon
raspberry preserves
whipping cream

Directions:

Cream egg yolks with sugar. Add almonds, lemon juice and rind. Add carrots which have been boiled whole with peel, then scraped and mashed. Beat egg whites until stiff but not dry. Fold in egg whites. Bake in greased spring form pan in 350 degree oven about 45 minutes. Open oven door and cool a little before removing as it falls in center slightly. Before serving put thin layer of raspberry preserves on top, then whipped cream.

All recipes in this post from:
(5000 YEARS IN THE KITCHEN, SISTERHOOD TEMPLE EMANU-EL, DALLAS, TX. 1965)



InPeace,
InLove

[Phyllis Sidhe_Uaine]

Originally posted by InLove
Phyll—I didn’t know when you might log back in, and since we did already discuss this, I decided to go ahead and post. Hope I didn’t cross any lines that I shouldn’t. Just thought today would be a good time.

Let's just say that if there were any problems with your post, one of the mods would've deleted it by now.

Anyway, I'm going to make the Carrot Souffle cake tomorrow night, perhaps adding some raisins (my :kitty: nature has poked its head [again.]) It might be good for Easter, too. *shrug*

Phyllis Sidhe_Uaine

[Quahom1]

I gotta remind myself NEVER to read this thread before going grocery shopping...

[InLove]

Thanks Phyllis

It may be a bit late for the season, but I have got a really easy and inexpensive way for coloring eggs, too. Don't have to go out and buy all that cutesy stuff if you don't want to. Just fill some cups with really hot water, add some white vinegar and fairly heavy food colorings if you have them in the cupboard. Then add several drops (plenty, that is) of vegetable oil to the cups and swirl hard-boiled eggs around in them--they come out shiny and sort of "tie-dyed" looking. And they dry fast with none of the sticky feeling that comes from some of the pre-pack dye kits. And it's all natural. (I was out of vinegar last weekend, but I had some white wine vinegar for salads, which worked just fine. LOL--and I didn't get all my eggs completely cooked before I dyed them...first time that has ever happened to me...so I put the dyed eggs in a 350 degree oven for a few minutes, which did the trick and, surprisingly enough, didn't ruin the eggs or the "paint job". Who knew?)

And Q--I know what you mean. Had a bit of trouble with the "potato starch" thing...

InPeace,
InLove

[Phyllis Sidhe_Uaine]

Originally posted by InLove
And Q--I know what you mean. Had a bit of trouble with the "potato starch" thing...

InPeace,
InLove

If I'd've known you were having "trouble" with the "potato starch" thing, I would've sent down 5 boxes of it along with 3 boxes of matzos (halving my Passover stuff since I really didn't need all of everything I received this year.)

Phyllis Sidhe_Uaine (and the CR :kitty: delegation)

[Phyllis Sidhe_Uaine]

I made the bagel "receipt" and ate the entire batch in one sitting (kinda like potato chips/crisps, you can't eat just one. ) Gotta get the large canister of matzo meal (like the one I asked for for Passover.)

Phyllis Sidhe_Uaine

[InLove]

Pass the cream cheese, please! (I was up in the middle of last night reading your post, Phyllis, and it just sounded so yummy...)

OH, and I've been meaning to mention that I stored the cookies in the refrigerator and discovered that they are also really good when chilled! So try and reserve some for yourself next time!

[wil]

Camping in style...

Made crepes using coconut milk in the batter and straining it after mixing....worked well...

Oh and an omelette in a dutch oven...no flip...cooks like a souffle...wonderful

[InLove]

Coconut crepes...never thought of that before. Now I will have to try it. Gotta figure out how to crack the coconuts first....

Here's some easy stuff just right for warmer weather:

Individual Salad Plates


#1 (Works well as a light meal or an antipasto)

Field greens or spinach
Fresh ripe tomato slices
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
Mozzarella cheese (the round kind), sliced
Seasoned red wine vinegar
Olive oil
Two or three black olives

Arrange greens on salad plate. Place tomato slices on top to one side and sprinkle all with garlic. Place cheese slices next to tomatoes. Lightly drizzle entire dish with the vinegar and oil. Garnish with olives.


#2 (Light meal, or makes a great companion for Mediterranean dishes)

Field greens or light lettuce and spinach mixture
Olive oil
Lemon juice
Goat cheese
Small pitted red Greek olives (don’t know the name of them, but they are found at most large health food or Mediterranean markets)
Mandarin orange slices, chilled
Almond slivers

Line plate with greens. Lightly drizzle with olive oil and lemon juice. Place cheese on top in middle. Add a generous sprinkle of olives. Garnish to the side with a couple of mandarin slices and a few almond slivers.


#3 (For a meal, with summer beverages, or as an appetizer for a Mexican dish. I personally like to serve it with black bean soup or quesadillas.)

Finely shredded iceberg lettuce
Olive oil
Guacamole (mash your own or use the stuff sold now in many produce sections, as it is pretty good and real easy—all organic and refreezable—the unseasoned is best, IMO.)
Simple Pico Dip: mixture of tomatoes and red onions (diced), fresh jalapenos, chopped, seeds removed, chopped fresh cilantro leaves (to taste)
Lemon juice (or lime, if preferred)
Toasted tortilla chips (place chips in hot oven for 3-4 minutes)

Line plate with shredded lettuce. Drizzle with a tiny bit of olive oil. Place a generous scoop of guacamole on top to one side, and another of pico mixture across from it. Drizzle all with lemon or lime juice. Fill in spaces on plate with chips.

[Muslimwoman]

What a great thread, thanks. Of course I can't get a lot of the ingrediants here but my husband is going to spend the next couple of weeks saying "what 's that?".

Please could someone in USA tell me what weight/liquid quanitity a cup is? Or I may have a few disasters.

I have learned 2 things about food since coming to Egypt:

1: Don't eat unless you have a cast iron stomach.
2: How to make perfect rice.

Okay so it's just a little thing but I spent years making awful rice before my mum in law taught me this. If you are interested in middle east food shout up and I shall give you some great recipies.

The secret to perfect rice. Put the amount of rice you want in a bowl, wash rice and leave to drain. In the same container put the same amount of water plus 1cm (don't use more water or it goes stodgy and sticky). Add water and salt to rice and heat until really boiling. As soon as it boils turn heat right down, cover and simmer - don't stir it. Should be ready in about 5-7 minutes. If still a bit hard just sprinkle half a spoon of water and let it steam.

For fried rice, exactly the same quantities of rice and water. Heat some oil in bottom of a thin metal pan (doesn't work well in none stick pans), put half of rice in and stir with metal spoon, until really brown (may go all lumpy and sticky but as the oil penetrates it will seperate). Add water (keep head out of way as it spits like mad), full teaspoon of salt and rest of rice. Follow as above.

It took me about 10 attempts to get it right but now I am the rice queen

Anyone have a recipe for making fruit cordial? Can't buy it here and my rear is spreading with all the coke I drink.

[Phyllis Sidhe_Uaine]

Muslimwoman: a cup of dry any dry ingredient has a different weight depending on what the dry ingredient is (a cup of sugar weighs differently than a cup of flour or, say, a cup of down or a cup of gold.) A cup of liquid is 8 fluid ounces/250 ml.

InLove: would you like lox mixed in your cream cheese? The :kitty: delegation wants to know (they deliver, y'know.) Also, I wonder what the cookie WiP would taste like if used in ice cream sandwiches. Sorry about this.

Phyllis Sidhe_Uaine

[Phyllis Sidhe_Uaine]

Um, InLove (and anybody else):

Have you tried the sauce "receipt" I posted a while ago? If so, what's your opinion? () I'm one of those who isn't always confident in her culinary skills, as you probaly can tell.

Phyllis Sidhe_Uaine

[InLove]

Hi Everyone!

Glad you posted Phyll--as somehow, Muslimwoman's post had escaped my attention. I have not tried the sauce recipe yet. I'll have to scroll back--seems roasted garlic was involved...always one of my favorite subjects!

And it is coming up on "basil season" now as well--didn't get a chance to garden as much as I'd like this spring, so I'm hoping that some will reappear. I've had things winter over and replant that supposedly were annuals (had some lavender for about 4 years, which is unusual).

I think the cookies would be great with ice cream. Would you slice them horizontally and layer the ice cream in between, using the side with the chocolate for the tops? And they could be stored in the freezer ahead of time, too!

(And those kitties are the greatest! They know me well... )

Muslimwoman--sorry I overlooked your post! So glad you are here. Thanks for the rice tips. It has taken me a while to get the rice thing down, and sometimes it still doesn't work right. So I need all the help I can get. I love rice. We have something here in Texas called "Texmati" (like basmati) and it is grown in the lowlands down near the coast. It is really good. For some reason, I was surprised to find that Texas had rice paddies. Last time I was down there, I saw them.

I am wondering--I used to hang out with a Lebanese family who taught me to make tabouli. With that tabouli, we usually had toasted pita bread, plain yogurt, and lentil soup. I never did quite get the lentil soup idea down. I know you are in Egypt, but I'm wondering if you have a similar recipe. I sure did love it.

Please do contribute your favorite recipes anytime you like! And tell me about the markets there?

InPeace,
InLove

[Phyllis Sidhe_Uaine]

Back by "popular demand", my "quick and easy sauce" recipe:

1 small tin of tomato sauce
1 T. tomato paste
1 t. Italian Seasoning, crushed
1/2 t. lemon thyme, crushed
1 T. butter
Roasted garlic to taste (optional)
Salt and pepper to taste (optional)

Mix together the first four ingredients in a medium saucepan. Heat on medium, stirring frequently until it starts boiling. Remove from the heat and add the butter, stirring gently to incorporate thoroughly. Add the optional ingredients in the first step to blend the flavors in better.

Phyllis Sidhe_Uaine