Monday, April 11, 2011

Pancakes (Multigrain)

Source: Pancakes? How boring. These are the BEST pancakes though. Much trial and error have gone into these.

Rating: Very Favorable

Notes: Add some multigrain flour, at least some cornmeal, in place of the white flour. You will very definitely not regret it. I always let the mixture sit a bit before I add the melted butter. This puffs it up, and adding the butter punches it back down again, but it seems to work best this way. Not too thin, not too thick, once they're baked.



INGREDIENTS:
  • 1 1/4 cups flour (white, wheat, cornmeal, multigrain-- a mix is best)
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 tablespoon sugar
  • 5 teaspoons baking powder
  • 2 eggs
  • 3 tablespoons butter, melted
  • 1 cup milk

METHOD:
  1. Mix dry ingredients together. Measure milk, drop in eggs, and mix. Pour wet ingredients into dry, mix. Add melted butter. Mix well. Bake on a greased griddle (far better than the stove for consistency's sake) until bubbles appear, then turn over.

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Shepherd's Pie

Source: My favorite not-particularly-easy recipe to make. Every time I make it I change something or other, so it's quite malleable. Just make sure to use lots of mashed potatoes for the top! Comfort food at its best.

Rating: Very Favorable

Notes: This time I put a spinach layer in between the mushroom gravy and the potatoes. I'd forgotten to freeze tofu in advance, so I used soy crumbles instead. And I didn't add the coriander.



INGREDIENTS:
  • 2 tablespoons oil
  • 1 cake tofu
  • 1 large onion, chopped
  • 1/4 teaspoon thyme
  • 1/2 teaspoon coriander
  • pepper
  • 1/2 cup walnuts, chopped
  • 1 lemon, juice of
  • 5 tablespoons soy sauce
  • 4 large potatoes
  • 3 tablespoons butter
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 1/2 pound mushrooms
  • 1 1/2 cups hot potato water
  • 2 tablespoons cornstarch, dissolved in 1/2 c. water

METHOD:
  1. Freeze, thaw and shred tofu (make sure to freeze a day ahead of time). Saute onion in 1 tablespoon oil with thyme, coriander, and some pepper. Add walnuts and shredded tofu. When heated through, add lemon and 2 tablespoons soy sauce.
  2. Peel, cube and boil potatoes and mash with butter and milk. Save the potato water!
  3. Saute mushrooms, 3 tablespoons soy sauce and some pepper in 1 tablespoon oil. Add hot potato water and bring to boil. Stir in cornstarch water. Stir until thick.
  4. Oil a casserole dish and put the tofu mixture in the bottom, then the mushroom gravy, and then the potatoes. Dot the top with butter and bake at 400 for 15-20 minutes.