House Favourite Chocolate Chip Cookies

Adapted from "Mama Now Cooks Like This!" by Susan Mendelson

Cream together:

1 cup butter

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup white sugar

Gradually add:

2 eggs

2 tsp vanilla

zest of a small orange

Stir in:

1 cup all purpose flour

1 cup spelt flour

1 cup ground oats (simply grind rolled oats in the blender/food processor)

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

pinch salt

Finally, add:

1 pound dark (semisweet) chocolate chips

1 cup coarsely chopped pecans

Drop by the tablespoonful onto parchment paper covered cookie sheets.

Bake at 350F for 11 minutes, until golden at the edges.

Piroshki

Dough:

1/2 cup millk or buttermilk

1/2 warm water

2 teaspoons dried yeast

1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon sugar

1/4 cup oil

1/4 cup butter

1 egg

flour -- approx. 3 cups

Combine -- make bread dough -- let rise once.

Filling:

1 lb ground beef, browned

2 large onions, caramelized

1/3 head green cabbage, sliced and sauteed

3 carrots, shredded and sauteed

1/2 cup sauerkraut, minced

5 cloves garlic, minced

3 tablespoons tomato paste

ungodly amounts of salt and pepper

Combine ingredients.

Take a golf-ball sized lump of dough, flatten, fill with 2 tablespoons of filling, pinch closed and let rise for a while.

Bake for 30 mins at 350F.

Buttermilk Pancakes

Combine:

1/2 cup buttermilk

1 cup warm water

1 egg

pinch salt

1 tablespoon sugar

3/4 teaspoon yeast

Mix well, then add:

2 1/2 cups flour

Stir well -- mixture should be smooth and thick.

Let rise in a warm place until doubled, about an hour.

Cook in frying pan with generous amount of oil, until golden brown on both sides.

Banana Oatmeal Muffins

1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats

1 cup buttermilk

1 cup whole wheat flour (or 1/2 cup wheat flour and 1/2 cup spelt flour)

1 tsp baking power

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp allspice

3/4 tsp nutmeg

1/4 tsp cloves

(zest of an orange)

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 egg

2 very ripe (black) bananas, mashed

1/4 cup canola oil

Preheat oven to 400F.

Combine oats and buttermilk, let stand while you prepare the remaining ingredients.

Stir together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and spices.

Add brown sugar, egg, oil and bananas to oat mixture.

Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix until just combined.

Bake for 18 minutes, or until a tester comes out clean.

Makes 12.

Chile Sauce for Braising

6 dried guajillo chiles

1/2 cup boiling water

1 medium onion

5 garlic cloves

2 tbsp tomato paste

2 tbsp molasses

1 tsp cumin seeds

1/2 tsp ground cloves

cinnamon stick

Seed chiles and tear into small-ish pieces. Pour boiling water over chiles and soak to soften (about 15 minutes). Combine chiles, soaking liquid, onion, garlic, tomato paste, molasses, cumin seed and cloves and blend well.

Heat oil in braising pot. Add chile mixture and saute for about 6 minutes. Add 1.5 cups more liquid (water or stock) and cinnamon stick.

Braise meat in this delicious liquid.

Adapted from Epicurious.

Chorizo Soup

2 small dried Spanish-style chorizo, diced

olive oil

1 medium onion, diced

3 stalks celery, diced

5 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 tsp Spanish paprika

1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed

1 small can crushed tomatoes

about 3 cups chicken stock

about 1 lb of spinach

Heat olive oil and add chorizo. Let the fat render out of the sausage.

Discard excess fat.

Add onion, celery, garlic and and paprika -- turn down the heat and put the lid on the pot. Let cook until softened, about 15 minutes.

Add chickpeas, tomatoes and chicken stock. Simmer for 25 minutes.

Add spinach, cook until wilted (about 10 more minutes).

Serves 4.

Adapted from a Jamie Oliver recipe I read once, I think.

Southeast Asian-ish Carrot Soup

1 onion, minced

2 shallots, minced

2 cloves garlic, minced

thumb-sized piece of ginger, minced

coconut oil

1 pound carrots, peeled and chopped into 1 cm pieces

3 cups stock

1 cup light coconut milk

1/2 tsp sriracha

2 tbsp peanut butter

1 tbsp fish sauce

big pinch of sugar

lime wedges, for garnish

Saute onion, shallot and garlic in coconut oil until soft. Add carrots, ginger and stock. Simmer until carrots are soft (30+ minutes). Add remaining ingredients and blend until smooth. Add more sriracha, fish sauce or peanut butter to taste.

Serve with lime wedges.

Serves 3.

Adapted from Epicurious.