Quinoa with Grilled Zucchini, Garbnzo Beans and Cumin

Bon Appetit, August 2008

White Chocolate Pistachio Brownies

I hesitate posting this one, because I wasn't wowed by this recipe. But at the same time I wasn't disappointed, i ate the whole pan! In fact, it's an extremely rare occasion that I find a brownie I don't care for. But I was just a little excited about these- White chocolate and pistachio brownies. I love pistachios in chocolate bars so thought this was a great idea! But The pistachios had almost no flavor and became quite soft when the brownies were baked. The brownie batter called for butter and olive oil, an odd addition I thought, but I like adding oil because it always makes whatever I'm baking SUPER moist. These were no exception. Super gooey, moist brownies. I will take some of the blame for these, I don't usually use the finest possible chocolate when baking. In fact, I just buy whatever's at the nearest supermarket- I bake too often to be able to afford fancy chocolate! And I (knowingly) used the wrong kind of chocolate. It was not baking chocolate, but regular sweetened chocolate. I reduced the sugar, but the chocolate had such a strong flavor it defintiley would've been better with nice chocolate. The same goes for the white chocolate- I couldn't taste it at all. I may as well have left it out, but maybe if it were nicer quality it would have made a difference. I just wanted to post because the recipe came from my Swedish food magazine, the same one my friend Jessie got!

Elle Mat & Vin, Sept-Nov 2008

Risotto

This is one of the first recipes I've tried from my Swedish food magazine. And, it's just plane ol' risottos, but I really liked it! I began by sauteeing a yellow onion in olive oil, then added arborio rice. Added a vegetable buljong and then slowly added water and white wine over 5 min. Then it simmered for 25 min, then sat for another 15min. Meanwhile, I roasted a zucchini, red pepper and onion in the oven. I added some parmesan cheese to the rice and a little butter and extra wine. I then served the rice, vegetables on top, some toasted sesame seeds and a little extra parmesan. It was pretty simple, but good! The risotto had just a little hint of a crunch but was also very sticky. The wine added a great scent! It was quite simple, didn't take too long and tasted good, I'd say a success! I think Johan liked it a little less, but he did like it. It was fun to try a recipe from the Swedish magazine! Next time I would probably use more vegetables and maybe shrimp- if I can ever find frozen raw shrimp again! It just could have used a little more flavor.

Johan Scale: G+

Elle Mat & Vin 5/08

Pomodori al forno

I read an article in my sep Bon Appetit about these tomatoes. Then I read about them on a blog (by the same writer). Then I read about them on another blog, stolen from the first blog. So I thought, I have to try this, I'd be a fool not too. And my intuition was right! One recipe was for the tomatoes to be put on baguette with goat cheese, the other to be put on pasta with parmesan, so I put them on pasta with goat chesse! A good compromise, I thought. I began by buying 1 kilo plum tomatoes and de-seeding them. I put them in a swimming pool of olive oil and sprinkled on a little sugar, salt and dried oregano. I roasted them slowly at 250F for a total of 2 1/2 hrs! Then the pasta recipe said to peel the guys. But as soon as I peeled one, I thought, these peels can't go to waste. So, I just ate them. It was at that point I knew I had something magical. I then put the tomatoes in a bowl with the olive oil and added garlic and parsley. I let all that sit for another 2 hrs. When Johan finally came home, I took 1/2 the tomatoes and gently chopped them in a bowl, then threw them together with some cooked whole wheat penne pasta. We put a little goat cheese on top and smaklig måltid (bon appetit?)! It was so, so good. I was blown away at how much flavor came out of these little tomatoes. They were juicy and soft and delicious. We licked the bowl clean. And it really didn't take long at all, if you subtract the 5hrs of waiting time! So, if you know you'll be home for a day, please do yourself a favor and try these. And don't forget that once you've eaten the tomatoes, you still have a deliciously infused olive oil you can save for dipping bread! Hmmmm, I wonder if I can can this...

Johan Scale: VG+

The Wednesday Chef

Orangette

Cravin' Corn Chowder

I've made this one a few times before, it is probably the most inexpensive dinner I make! It contains and onion, 3C corn and 1 medium potato. That's roughly it, maybe a little thyme and vegetable broth. But it's really inexpensive, really simple and has a surprisingly big flavor! Johan and I both really like this one, it's great when I'm not in the mood to put a lot of thought into dinner.

Johan Scale: G+

"The Native Foods Cookbook" by Tanya Petrovna

Pumpkin Scones

The first use of the rest of the pumpkin pureed I have stacked in the freezer. I found this recipe in my Cheese Board cookbook and they sounded great! I began by mixing the puree with buttermilk (well, some kind of buttermilk substitute) and cream (how could things possibly go wrong from here, you're thinking?). I sifted flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, ground ginger and nutmeg. Added some salt and pepper then cut in a bunch of butter. Gently mixed everything together. I was supposed to form balls with the batter, but mine was way too sticky, so I just plopped a spoonful on a baking sheet, sprinkled a little cinnamon sugar on top and baked. They were really good! The pumpkin flavor wasn't too strong and they were prefectly moist for a scone. I think they're a little flatter than supposed to be, but that was obvious when the dough was too sticky to form a ball. It was a perfect fall treat! I wouldn't call them amazing, I've made other scones I've liked better, but I was not disappointed in these. And Johan loved them.

Johan Scale: VG

"The Cheese Board Collective Works" by The Cheese Board Collective

Oopa Moussaka

"The Native Foods Cookbook" by Tanya Petrovna

Quinoa with Mango and Curried Yogurt

I have no idea how I came across this recipe, I can't remember why I found it. But it's off of epicurious.com and it's been in the back of my mind for some time. The recipe kind of suggests it's supposed to be served as a side dish, so I decided to just make it for lunch one day. I boiled some quinoa, mixed yogurt, curry, lime juice, fresh ginger, salt, pepper, and a little oil. This was the sauce, I mixed the quinoa into it. I roasted the red pepper (the recipe calls for a raw one) and topped the quinoa with that, some roasted peanuts, mango and cilantro (the recipe called for mint). The recipe also called for a jalepeño. I chopped it up and it was so super hot I ended up sauteeing it for a while to loose the heat. I intended to serve it with some arugula, but kind of forgot. But it was really good! It had great flavors and a combination of textrures and colors. It didn't made a whole lot, I would probably make 1 1/2 recipe next time. But I was really happy with it and will definitely be making it again.

Johan Scale: G+

epicurious

Pumpkin Lasagna

Thanks to Jessie for recommending this one! It was so fun to make something so different than what I we usually eat. I can think of only one other time that my maing dish had pumpkin as a main ingredient (pumpkin ravioli, also amazing!). I've never made my own pumpkin puree, so that was fun and I am happy to have some left-overs. The lasagna was quite simple. I baked and pureed the pumpkin and mixed in a little salt and dried sage. I mixed some ricotta and parmesan cheeses with some salt and pepper (was there one more thing?). Then I layered the noodles, puree, cheese, over and over then baked the thing for quite some time. It not the most beautiful dinner I've made, but it sure tasted good! It was really soft and creamy and the pasta added a nice balance to that. Overall, a really fun recipe to try!

Johan Scale: VG

http://www.vegetariantimes.com/:

http://www.vegetariantimes.com/recipes/9771?section=

Greek Bean Casserole

I found this recipe a long time ago and really like it. It came from an ICA Buffé. I begin by mixing some cherry tomatoes (which I smash a little), onion, garlic and some oil in a bowl. I add "big white beans" to a casserole dish, then olives and sliced mushrooms, topped with the tomato mixture. I bake it for a while, then add feta cheese. I love this served with whole grain bulgur. And it has so much nutrition! The recipe calls for okra, I used it once but am not so used to the taste, so jut kind of thought it was odd. I skip it now. And the recipe calls for canned tomatoes. Fresh are much, much better. Johan doesn't like it as much as I do, but hey? I do the cooking, right? So I keep making it on occasion.

Johan Scale: G+

ICA Buffé 4, 2008

Rocket Burgers

I love these burgers! Well, they're more like sandwiches. The recipe is from my never failing Native Foods book. Instead of patties, the recipe calls for portabello mushrooms, sauteed in some olive oil. I love portabellos! I use these buns usually. I'm not a huge fan of the bread hamburger buns are usually made of, these buns are much better. But, i don't know what they are. In swedish- småfranska which literally translated means little french. So whatever, they're good! Then I add some arugula (or spinach depending on who gets their way between Johan and me) and some Yugoslavian Ivar (Ayvar?). This is the secret. I begin with 2 red peppers and 1 yellow, and one eggplant. I roast all, take away the skins and seeds from the pepper. Then dice them really small and mix with some vinegar and other stuff. Then I usually puree 1/2 of it to make a smoother consistency. It has such an amazing flavor! I will make it just to dip a baguette in, too. The recipe calls for mayonnaise, but I think it's unnecessary, so never add it. Once the Ivar is made, the recipe is super simple and quick. One of my favorites from the book!

Johan Scale: G+

"The Native Foods Restaurant Cookbook" by Tanya Petrovna

Apple Sauce

In another attempt to fully live out fall this year, I thought I would try to preserve some swedish apples by making apple sauce! I found a recipe in my most recent issue of Bon Appetit, bought some apples and finally gave it a go! I began by peeling and coring the apples, this took up the most time. I then boiled them in a little lemon water with cinnamon and allspice (called kryddpeppar in swedish) and a lot of sugar. They boiled, or simmered for about 20min which seemed to be plenty of time. I tasted it and added more cinnamon and allspice. And that was it! Not to tricky. And I'm pretty happy with it! I considered leaving out the sugar because I usually buy unsweetened applesauce anyway, but thought the first time I'd stick to the recipe. And, I think it's too sweet. Next time I'd leave out the sugar and add even more spices! I love cinnamon and apple together! The consistency was a little gummy, but I attribute that to that I didn't use the apples the recipe suggested (Granny Smith, Fuji and Johnathon), I used an assortment of swedish apples (called Ingrid-Marie, Red Summer Apples, Katja or Discovery). But it turned out good. Nothing super exciting, but not disappointing! I really need to get some real canning equimpment, it would make this process much easier!

"Three-Apple Applesauce" from Bon Appetit, Oct 2008

The Johan Scale

Johan and I were talking and both decided that there is a little problem with the Johan scale. When it began, a 4 was a very high score. But, in order not to offend, Johan began giving mediocre dishes 4's thus causing an inflation in the Johan Scale. Although I do think that overall, the dishes I've made lately have really been successful, it seems most dishes are getting a score of 4.5. To make the scale more useful, we came to the conclusion that we need to re-scale the scale. And to avoid confusion, we decided to not use numbers, but letters just as the Swedish school grades are given. It will be as follows:

Johan Scale
U: (underkänd) fail
G(+): (godkänd) pass
VG(+/-): (väl godkänd) pass with honor
MVG(-): (mycket väl godkänd) Pass with high honor

Anything that recieves above a G will be worthy of being made again. Hope it's not to confusing for all my many, many readers!

Butternutsquash Bisque

Here it is, the use of my second butternut squash. This recipe I got from my friend Erin. It started with sauteing an onion, leek and carrot, then adding the baked squash. Adding vegetable stock, an apple, bay leaf and a touch of sugar, as opposed to the last recipe which was pretty much onion and squash. I was hesitant to use this one because of all the ingredients, I didn't want them to be overpowering. But, that they weren't! This did take a while to make, but the time was worth it! It was so full of flavor and nice and think, as I think a bisque to be. To serve, we poured the soup over bits of soft brie and sprinkled a few chives on top. The brie melted in the soft soup (as shown in photo) and was such a smart combination of flavors! I really liked the cheese in there. This soup was wonderful, a definite regular in my book, as long as I can find the squash!

Johan Scale: VG-

Recipe from Erin

Caramel-Pear Butter

The Swedish pears and apples are amazing. I regularly eat both throughout the year, so when the Swedish varieties popped up, I was quick to try them. And have been eating them by the plenty. But now it's getting cold and I'm afraid to loose these. So I've been thinking of ways to preserve the apples and pears. This month in my Bon Appetit, they offered a recipe for Caramel Pear Butter, which sounded perfect. My mom used to buy a delicious apple butter, so I thought I must give it a try. I went to a local market and bought a kilo pears for less than $2 (10SEK) and I was set. I boiled the pears in a little lemon juice and apple juice for 20 min or so. The recipe then said to "Press the pear mixture through a fine plate of food mill..." well I certainly don't have a food mill, so I just puréed the stuff in a blender, that worked perfectly. I returned it to the pot, added some brown sugar and nutmeg, then simmered for an hour to let thicken. And it was done- and amazing. I was truly shocked at how good this was! Sweet, with such a strong pear flavor! I couldn't wait to put some on some toast. I considered just serving myself up a bowl of it, it was so good. But I managed to seal a jar for later use and then enjoyed the bit I'd allowed myself for now. I am so tempted to go buy more pears and make more.

Julie Scale: 5.5

Bon Appetit, October 2008 or http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Caramel-Pear-Butter-350119

The Hollywood Bowl

Wow. I can't believe I waited so long to try this one! Due to a confusion about allergies, this recipe was never made, but once that was cleard up, I had to give it a try. And I've just noticed this is my first post about a dish which contains tofu. I do use tofu, much more than it seems, I promise! This recipe comes from my Native Foods cookbook. It consists of brown rice topped with steamed vegetables and marinated tofu topped off with a peanut coconut sauce, extra toasted peanuts and red bell pepper. This was so good! And quite simple. The tofu marinated for about 30 min in soy sauce, rice vinegar and garlic, but once that was done the dish was quite quick (especially with a little help from Johan!) I hesitated on the cauliflower because it wasn't the best price, but really glad I didn't! It added great flavor! I followed my friend, Jessie's suggestion to cut back on the vinegar in the sauce a bit, that worked out great. And thankfully, I'm an idiot and accidentally made 3 times as much sauce as it needs! So the rest is in the freezer for next time I make this dish, which will likely be sooner than later. Although it said it was enough for 2 servings, it made 4 for us. Another hit!

Johan Scale: Strong 4.5

"The Native Foods Restaurant Cookbook" by Tanya Petrovna

Mushroom Soup with Hazelnut Gremolata

I this recipe caught my eye on epicurious.com. It just sounded so good! I was quite shocked to find some dried porcini mushrooms and so decided this soup was meant to be! Overall it wouldn't have taken to long to make. But I didn't have a carrot, so off to the store I went. I came home, chopped the carrot and onion, roasted the hazelnuts, soaked the dried porcinis then opened the 0.5Kilo bag of mushrooms I bought Tuesday to find a big bag of mold! I need to learn how to keep mushrooms, they're never good for me after a day! So BACK to the store I went to buy another 0.5Kilo mushrooms- this time without a scale to know how much I was buying. But I apparently have a good eye, I got exactly what I needed! Then back home, sliced up the mushrooms and sautéed it all for a bit. I then added some veggie broth and simmered for about 20min before puréing. I started on the gremolata- parsley, garlic, chopped toasted hazelnuts, olive oil and a bit of orange zest. It was really good! But strong. I ended up with much too much gremolata! But the soup was superb with the gremolata and some reserved sautéed mushrooms. It was thick and creamy, without any cream. The porcinis added a wonderful flavor and the spicy gremolata added crunch and pleasant aroma from the orange. My complaint (of course there'd be one, right?)- it didn't make much. I like to have enough left over for lunch for both Johan and I, but now I'm left with no lunch. Well, next time I'll just make more!

Johan Scale: 4.5

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Mushroom-Soup-with-Hazelnut-Gremolata-350094

Tomatoes Stuffed with Rice

I have been following the blog www.orangette.blogspot.com for a little while. The author, Molly, writes an article for Bon Appetit magazine every months and that's where I heard about her. But I haven't yet tried any of her recipes. She referred her readers to the perfect chocolate chip cookie recipe, which I have plans to try (as soon as the fancy chocolate chips arrive from my mom!) but these stuffed tomatoes were the first thing I tried. I definitely could have made them better. I just used regular old tomatoes, whatever was at the grocer. I'm sure heirloom would have been much tastier! And I was lazy and used boxed bread crumbs instead of fresh. But the dish was still quite good! It baked for a while, but the prep time was pretty short. I liked the rice and tomato mixture which was just the insides of the tomatoes, arborio rice, onion and basil. I would maybe put in a little more basil next time, but I don't think you could ever have too much basil! I love potatoes too, so I really liked the sliced potatoes on the side. It was nothing too fancy, but good and I will definitely make it again.

Johan Scale: Strong 4

http://orangette.blogspot.com/2008/09/on-cue.html

Butternut Squash and Lemongrass Bisque

This soup has been long awaited. I have been craving some butternut squah bisque for a while, but butternut squash is hard to come by here. Finally, I found some squash in Stockholm last weekend. I'd like to thanks Johan for carrying the 2 1/2 kilos of squash around Stockholm for me! So I was really worried about making the bisque, I have never made it before and for how much trouble went into finding the squash, I wanted it to turn out. So I decided to rely on my never failing Native Foods cookbook. I think that was a good call! This turned out great! I just peeled the butternut squash and chopped it up, carmelized two onions then boiled it all for 25min. puréed the soup, then steeped a lemon grass stalk in it for 10min. I served it with dried cranberries, chives and yummy fresh bread. I would have preferred it a little thicker, next time I would reduce the water. Otherwise, pretty good! And I was really glad Johan liked it so much. I wanted him to think all this searching for the squash was worth it! Luckily I have another squash left, so another bisque is soon to come!

Johan Scale: Strong 4.5

"The Native Foods Restaurant Cookbook" by Tanya Petrovna