Coconut Yam Fritters | Planet Organic Market

Coconut Yam Fritters | Planet Organic Market
This looks really yummy and I just love yams so I think I'll haul out the food processor and give it a go. Let you know how they turn out!

These Asian-inspired fritters, developed for a Planet Organic Cooking class, are an excellent way to enjoy the sweet earthy taste and nutritional goodness of yams.

Ingredients:

1/2 lb	Yams (about 1/2 of a large yam)	250 g
1/2 cup	Unbleached white flour	125 ml
1/2 cup	Rice flour	125 ml
1/2 tsp	Turmeric, ground	2 ml
1/2 tsp	Sea salt	2 ml
1/2 tsp	Baking powder	2 ml
1 cup	Coconut milk	250 ml
-	Canola oil (enough to pan-fry)	-

Method

Peel the yam, grate coarsely and extract as much moisture as possible by squeezing in your hands.

In a large mixing bowl, mix the two flours with the baking powder, salt and turmeric. Toss in the grated yam.

Gradually add enough coconut milk to moisten. If the mixture becomes too dry, add more coconut milk; however, it should be solid enough to hold its shape.

In a large skillet, heat a tablespoon of the oil to medium-high heat. Lightly form a heaping teaspoon of the fritter mixture and fry on both sides until golden brown. Flatten slightly with a spatula to ensure the inside is cooked. You may need to add small amounts of oil as you go.

Once made, keep them in a warming dish in a preheated oven. Serve fritters with a plate of soft lettuce, herbs, bean sprouts and dipping sauces. Yields 4 servings.
Posted using ShareThis

Kid Cobb Salad: Don't let the name fool you

I found this recipe at Atascocita Branch Library, where I worked in Texas, in an old parenting magazine. And we used to eat it a lot when we lived in Houston but it fell off the menu list when the kids came around (something about lettuce that kids don't, at first, understand). We had it on Saturday night and I remembered why we loved, loved, loved it. So, here you go:

1 head of romaine, chopped
1/2 cup of carrots, chopped
1 large avocado, chopped
1 cup roasted turkey breast, chopped (we used Tofurkey)
2 hard-boiled eggs, chopped
1 cup shredded cheese (any type)
4 strips of crumbled bacon (we usually leave this out)
Ranch dressing

And while it doesn't sound like much, it's surprisingly filling and yummy.

Making cookies en masse
Here's a tip that I picked up from our neighbor who is a chef. He makes batches of cookie dough and divides out enough for a dozen cookies, shapes it into a long rectangle on plastic wrap, wraps it up and freezes it. Then he pulls it out of the freezer, slices the dough up and bakes it from frozen. I think you need to add a couple of minutes to the overall bake time to make up for the freezing but they taste great. I tried this with wax paper and I wouldn't recommend wax paper because it tears too easily. Also, you need to make sure that the plastic wrap isn't embedded in the dough somehow otherwise when you take it off, it will be frozen 'in' the dough and you might not get it out without having to thaw the whole batch of dough. Here are the ones I made last night (chocolate chip cranberry almond cookies) and, as you can see, I wasn't sure how much dough would make a dozen cookies.

Cabbage-Mushroom Sauce
Okay, this one doesn't sound that exciting but it is really, really yummy. And cabbage is one of the three farty veggies that we're all supposed to eat once a week (along with broccoli and cauliflower).

1/3 cup olive oil
6 cloves garlic, chopped
1 medium red onion, diced
1 medium cabbage, chopped (I used a green one)
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
1 pound of mushrooms (hmmm, about 4 cups)
1 tbsp dried dill weed
S&P to taste
1/4 cup of water
noodles (we used soba noodles because they were in the pantry but the recipe calls for spinach-fettucine)

Heat the oil in a large pot over ML heat, add the garlic and onion. Cook for 10 minutes, stirring often until softened but not brown. Add the rest (except the noodles) and cover the pot. Raise the heat to medium and cook for 30 minutes, or until the cabbage is soft, stirring often. Meanwhile, cook the noodles to coincide with the sauce being finished. Serves 6.

Leftover Oatmeal Cookies
Pippa loves oatmeal but we often have leftover (especially on the mornings when I'm not fully awake and mis-measure and end up making oatmeal for 6). A couple of weeks ago, I went hunting for a recipe that would use up the leftover oatmeal because it was so wasteful to throw it away, but no one wanted to eat cold, gummy oatmeal.
This cookie recipe turned out really well, with my usual modifications. (original is from Mrs. Fields Cookie Book)

2.25 cups of flour (I used all-purpose this time because we were out of whole wheat but would probably use half-half normally)
1/2 cup of wheat bran
1/2 tsp BS
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup of cooked oatmeal (generous)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 cup of marg/butter
2 tbsp honey
2 tsp vanilla
2 large eggs
1.5 cups golden raisins
3/4 cup of chocolate chips (substitute nuts if you prefer)

Mix the oatmeal, sugars, butter, honey, vanilla and eggs together. Measure out dry ingredients (I dump it into the mixer bowl but you can measure it into a separate bowl if you prefer) and mix together. Fold in raisins and chocolate chips. Drop onto parchment paper, bake at 300 for 22 minutes. Cool and store.

Not-my-mum's Shepherd's Pie
And that is because it's from the Joy of Cooking but I've modified it somewhat. It's really really nice and although I make it with soy grounds, would be good with any kind of ground meat, I'm sure.

1.5 lbs of potatoes (that's about 6-8 medium)
butter
salt
canola oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
1 stick of celery, chopped
1/2 zuccini, chopped
8 mushrooms, chopped
frozen peas and/or corn
2 cups of soy grounds (or 1 lb of cooked ground meat)
1 tbsp flour
3/4 cup of stock
1 tbsp fresh thyme
1 tbsp fresh rosemary (I tend to use sage here)
s&p
butter

Peel, quarter, boil the potatoes. Drain but save some cooking liquid in the pot and mash potatoes in the pot with butter and some salt.
While potatoes are boiling, heat oil in a pan (i use the medium cast iron) and cook the veggies until soft (start with onions and add the rest once the onions are softened). Stir in the grounds, and then sprinkle the flour over the whole mixture. Cook, stirring for about 2-3 minutes, then pour in the stock. This will thicken very quickly. Stir in the herbs, and spoon mixture into a shallow baking dish. Spoon the mashed potatoes over top, smoothing down and dotting with bits of butter. Bake at 400 for about 30-35 minutes (will probably bubble over so put something underneath to catch the drips), turn oven to broil and broil until top is browned, about 2 minutes.

Very Healthy Zucchini Chocolate Muffins
These muffins should cool completely before you eat them otherwise you'll really taste the zucchini, unless you like that.

1/3 cup butter, melted (could substitute oil)
1/3 cup sour cream
2/3 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla

1.5 cups flour (I use a combination of whole wheat and all purpose)
1/4 cup ground flax
1/4 wheat germ
1 tsp each BP/BS
1/2 tsp each cinnamon/salt
1.5 cups zukes, shredded
1/2 cup chocolate chips (you can use raisins, nuts or cranberries)

Oven at 375, greased or lined muffin pan. Makes about 12.
Mix the first 5 ingrediants (cream). Combine the dry and add to the wet. Mix in zuke and chocolate chips. Spoon into muffin pan (about 1/3 cup each) and bake, 21 minutes at high altitude, slightly less lower down.

These are the most wonderful creation. No more paper liners and they work like a charm. Only thing you need to do is let them cool in the silicone liners before you take them out. I think the sweatiness created by this causes the muffins to just fall right out. I found them at Safeway for about $12.