Ghormeh Sabzi (A whole lot of herbs persian stew)

The wonderful thing about Persian food is its always healthy, its always delicious and its almost always based on onion and turmeric. Once you understand that onion and turmeric are essential, you can cook amazing Persian cuisine. Ghormeh Sabzi is such a wonderfully delicious stew. Its fragrant and nutritious. There are different variations, but here's how we made it.

Key ingredients for this dish are a bushel or two of coriander (cilantro) and bushel (or two) of parsley and a bunch of green onions.

Ghormeh Sabzi

1 large yellow onion, finely chopped
1 tsp. turmeric
1 lb. stewing beef
1 bunch green onions, finely chopped
1 bushel parsley, finely chopped
1 bushel coriander (cilantro), finely chopped

juice from one lemon or lime

1-2 dried persian limes, leemoo-amoneee (these are optional but are a really nice touch)
1 can red kidney beans

Method

1. Saute the onion over medium-high heat in oil and turmeric until golden brown. Add the stew meat. Cook until the meat is browned well on all sides.
2. Add the greens to the meat & onion mixture, stirring well. Add 1.5 - 2 cups of water (this is just an estimation to get it to a stew consistency, not a soup consistency). Season with salt & pepper to taste. Add the lemon juice, turn the heat down, and let the whole thing simmer. The longer the better as stews only get better flavour the longer they stew together.
3. Add the dried lemons towards the end of the cooking period (if added too soon, the stew may become bitter).
4. Finally, add the drained kidney beans.
   
   
   This stew is supposed to be a bit sour. Its so delicious and refreshing.

Serve with rice.

Long time no see, but still cooking

So a few months ago I discovered this blog strictly about food from Texas. One might think to themselves, "What good food could be specific to Texas?" But there is plenty, and being a native of Texas myself I've slowly realized how much I miss this food now that I have moved away. A while ago this blog posted a recipe for dewberry cobbler. Dewberries grow wild in southern Texas. I decided I would try it out only altering it slightly and using strawberries and blackberries (which are similar to dewberries) instead of dewberries. It is delicious and a great thing to do with your berries that might be getting a little too ripe.

Thanks Home sick Texan for your great recipe!

Here's how I made mine

Dewberry Cobbler

Crust ingredients:

1 stick of butter (the original calls for 1/2 a stick but because I used regular milk, I added more butter)

1 cup of flour

1/2 cup sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 cup of milk (the original calls for butter milk)

1/2 teaspoon salt

Filling ingredients

2 cups dewberries or blackberries (original calls for 4 cups fruit but I only had 2)

1/2 cup sugar

2 tablespoons cornstarch

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon lemon juice

Method:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Put berries in a pie plate or other bake wear preferably round. Sprinkle with sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, and lemon juice. The original recipe says to let this mixture macerate for 20 minutes but I didn't bother.

To make the crust, melt the butter on low in a pan, and then add the other ingredients. The dough will come out moist and pliable.

Spread dough out over berries

Bake 40 minutes or until light brown and bubbling.

Serves six

Biscuits

I love biscuits and am constantly searching for a perfect flaky delicious recipe. This one is adapted from a recipe off the Martha Stewart website for Mummy's Sweet White Scones. I just

made them less sweet and skipped the sugar sprinkle on top.

6 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for work surface

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup sugar

1 heaping tablespoon baking powder

1 1/2 sticks chilled unsalted butter

4 large eggs

1 3/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons milk

In a large bowl whisk together flour, salt, sugar, and baking powder.

Make a well in center of flour mixture and put small pieces of butter. using your fingers mix butter and flour until a crumbly mixture is made.

In a medium bowl whisk together 3 eggs and milk. 

Combine milk mixture with flour mixture.

Knead dough lightly then roll out to 3/4 inch thick.

Using a cookie cutter or glass cut out biscuits.

Place on cookie sheet.

Brush tops with egg.

Cook at 475 for about 15 minutes.

I recommend rotating top tray to bottom half way through.

Serve with butter, honey or jam, or cheese.

Honey Spice Banana Nut Bread

There you are face to face with that blackened, mushy, last banana that you just didn't eat in time. You think to yourself, 'I can't bare to let it go uneaten', so you begin to imagine what you should do with it. Banana chocolate chip pancakes are always a tasty option, but you've already had breakfast. The next best thing is  banana bread.

• 2 cups flour (1 cup white 1 cup wheat)
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon of baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1 egg, beaten
  
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1 mashed overripe banana
• 1/2 cup almonds
• 1/2 cup walnuts

Cream butter and sugar

Slowly add flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt

Add banana, egg, milk, honey and cinnamon

Mix until combined

Add 3/4 cup mixed nuts

Grease bread pan

Pour in batter and sprinkle with remaining nuts

Bake at 350 for 30 to 40 minutes

Chicken Barley Soup

This is one of my most favourite soups and the one I go to when someone in my family is starting to feel under the weather. It's simply home.

Chicken Barley Soup (Serves 4)

- 4 legs of chicken
- 1 cooking onion chopped
- 1 cup of cut carrots or baby carrots
- 1 tablespoon salt (or to taste)
- 1 teaspoon black pepper (or to taste)
- 1 teaspoon turmeric
- water
- 1 cup of barley (they grow!)
- 10 or so fresh basil leafs
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1/2 lemon

- Combine chicken, onions, carrots, salt, pepper, turmeric and cover with water in a large pot
- Cook over medium heat for 30 minutes or until chicken is cooked.
- Take chicken out and set aside in a casserole dish for broiling (*second course which I like to serve with rice and salad).
- Add barley, basil, tomato paste, and cook for another 20 minutes.
- Add lemon juice, stir and let simmer for 5 minutes over low heat.

Hot and delicious every time!

*This recipe works just as well with noodles substituted for barley

Lemon Bar Delights

Tomorrow is my last day volunteering with a group of little kids. I wanted to give something special to the other ladies I work with (the kids are already getting cookies).  So, I wanted to bring something that requires a little more of a refined taste. I love lemon bars and I hope they do too!

Crust 

1 3/4 cup flour

1/2 cup powdered sugar

3 tablespoons corn starch

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1/2 cup cold butter

Butter pan

Mix the flour, sugar, cornstarch and salt. Add butter in pieces. The mixture should look course and have large pieces of butter left in it.

Put crust in pan. Pat down until it is firmly compacted. Press up the sides a bit. The crust should be about 1/4 inch thick

Freeze for 30 minutes

Put in oven for 20 minutes at 350 rotating once 

Topping

1 1/4 cup granulated sugar

4 eggs lightly beaten

3 tablespoons flour

1 lime, and 2 large lemons freshly squeezed

1/4 cup milk

1/2 teaspoon salt

Mix sugar, eggs, flour, juice, milk, and salt

Remove pan from oven and pour topping onto crust

Bake for 20 minutes

Cut into bars and sprinkle with a little powdered sugar

And serve!

Winter Shortbread Cookie Sticks

Winter weather brings out the baker in me... so today lets have some shortbread cookies. 

Shortbread is classic and a great recipe to master. Its so simple yet absolutely scrumptious and very versatile. You can dip them in chocolate, decorate them with icing, or just have them plain.

My recipe is for simple plain shortbread that will go great with coffee or tea. So whip some up and invite someone over to share them with.

Shortbread cookies

2 cups flour

1/2 teaspoon of salt

1 cup butter (room temperature)

1/2 cup icing sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

(In a separate bowl combine salt and flour and set aside)

-In mixer bowl, cream butter (1min)

-Add sugar until smooth (2min)

-Add vanilla

-Slowly add flour mixture, stirring gently

-Flatten dough into a disk and wrap in plastic wrap. Freeze for 30 min

-Roll out dough onto floured surface. Thickness should be between 1/2 -1/4 inch

-Cut into desired shape

-Place cookies in freezer for 10 minutes to firm them up again

-Sprinkle cookies with sugar

-Line baking sheet with parchment paper

-Bake for 10 minutes @ 350

-Let cool on a wire wrack