Bobota Bread

simple corn bread recipe...

* 2 cups of cornmeal (yellow or blue)
* 1 1/4 teaspoons of baking powder or baking soda *
* 1/4 cup of sugar (brown or white sugar)
* 4-5 tablespoons of fresh orange juice (juice of 1/2 large orange)
* 1/4 cup of oil (olive or corn)
* about 1 cup of lukewarm water
sauce:
1/2 cup granulated sugar, 3 T honey, 1 orange plus water to make a cup, 6 cloves

Preheat oven to 350°F (175-180°C)
Whisk together the cornmeal, sugar, and baking powder to combine well. In a separate bowl, mix oil, orange juice, and water, and stir until well blended. Add liquids to the dry ingredients and stir.
Pour batter into a well-oiled 9-inch pie pan and bake for 40-45 minutes. Test for doneness by inserting a toothpick into the center of the pan. It should come out dry.
Cool at least 10 minutes before cutting. Serve warm or at room temperature.
*Sauce is optional, but combine ingredients and let sit. Remove cloves...pour over bobota before serving.
*nice that it is vegan:)

Betsy's Biscuits

2 C flour
1/2 tsp salt
3 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda

6 tablespoons oil (if doubling recipe, use slightly less than double oil)

1/2 cup yogurt (unflavored; Russian or Greek yogurt is good for its thickness)
1-2 tbs of skim milk

Combine dry ingredients in food processor, blend. Add in yogurt, blend until it crumbles into pea-sized bits. Add in milk in small increments until biscuits come together into a big lump of dough. If this happens before you add all the milk, stop adding it!

Roll out to 1/2 to 1inch thickness, and cut out biscuits. Do not knead the dough, and try to handle it as little as possible. Put the biscuits on the tray so they are touching each other gently on the sides.

Bake at 425 for ~12 min. Enjoy with butter, honey, jam, cranberry sauce, gravy... everything!

cilantro pesto

1 bunch fresh cilantro
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese (to make vegan leave out cheese...can put in more nuts)
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 cup walnuts
salt to taste
1/2 cup olive oil
optional: chile

In an electric food processor or blender, blend cilantro, garlic, vinegar, Parmesan cheese, cayenne pepper, nuts, and salt. Add 1/4 cup of the olive oil, and blend the pesto. Add more olive oil until the pesto reaches your desired consistency.
Pour pesto in a small saucepan and warm over low heat, stirring constantly, until pesto begins to simmer. Pour over cooked pasta and toss. Can also add a small (mild) chile)

*also works very well as a spread with pita, bolani, or chips

*also can reduce amount of olive oil and substitute in more walnuts.

red rocks steaks

4 to 6 tenderloin steaks (or same number of portobello mushrooms for veggie meal)
2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
5 shallots, diced fine
4 Tablespoons honey
1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup white wine
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup orange juice
2 Tablespoons RED ROCKS (dry leaves, unsteeped, powdered).
*If don't have red rocks tea...used ground up rooibos tea with almonds and increase the proportion of vanilla by a smidge.

Rapidly brown the steaks on a hot skillet, with the olive oil and shallots, salt and pepper. Cover and let simmer for five minutes. Mix together the honey, cinnamon, white wine, vanilla, orange juice and ground tealeaves, and add to the steaks in the skillet. Simmer for an additional 10 minutes, stirring frequently. Remove the steaks and cut into diagonal strips. Baste each strip with the sauce.

lemon basil sorbet

3/4 cup water
about 1 cup sugar, or less for more tart
grated zest of 2 lemons
1 3/4 cups freshly squeezed lemon juice
basil - finely chopped 10 leaves
lemon shells optional
egg white beaten

Boil water, sugar, and lemon zest in a pan, stirring until the sugar has dissolved - about 5 min. Cool, chill, then add the lemon juice. Churn and freeze (if you have a ice cream maker).
You can make without an ice cream machine - pour mixture into flat freezer tray, allow to partly freeze, then beat to break up the ice crystals. The more you break it up the smoother it will be. When partially frozen mix in egg white thoroughly.
Zest Note: When peeling the zest, make sure no white pith is included, it will make the sorbet bitter.
Lemon Shells: Traditional way of serving, these are made by slicing a "lid" off the top of each lemon and removing insides, then freeze shells then pack them with sorbet and refreeze.

Roasted Chili Paste

1/2 cup small dried red chilies such as chiles de Arbol
or chiles japones (about 32), stemmed, halved crosswise
and loosely packed, about 1/2 ounce
A generous 1/2 cup unpeeled shallots, cut lengthwise
into chunks, about 3 ounces
1/4 cup unpeeled garlic cloves (8 to 10 large cloves), about 1-1/2 ounces
1/2 cup vegetable oil
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon salt
*3 tablespoons Tamarind Liquid: optional

In a wok or a small, heavy skillet, dry-fry the chilies over medium-low heat until they darken and become fragrant and brittle, 3 to 5 minutes. Shake the pan and stir frequently as they roast. Remove from the heat and transfer to a plate to cool.

Increase the heat to medium and dry-fry the shallots and garlic, turning them occasionally, until they are softened, wilted, and blistered, about 8 minutes. Remove from the heat and transfer to the plate to cool.

Stem the chilies and shake out and discard most of the seeds. Crumble the chilies into small pieces. Trim the shallots and garlic, discarding the peel and root ends, and chop coarsely. Combine the chilies, shallots, and garlic in a mini processor or blender and pulse to a coarse paste, stopping to scrape down the sides as needed. Add 1/4 cup of the vegetable oil and grind to a fairly smooth paste. Transfer to a small bowl and set aside.

Pour the remaining 1/4 cup oil into the wok or a skillet. Place over medium heat until a bit of the paste added to the pan sizzles at once, about 1 minute. Add the ground chili paste and cook, stirring occasionally, until the paste gradually darkens and releases a rich fragrance, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool to room temperature.

Combine the sugar, tamarind, soy sauce, and salt in a small bowl and stir well. Add this mixture to the cooled chili paste and stir to combine. The paste will be quite oily, and must be well stirred before each use. Transfer to a jar, cap tightly, and refrigerate for up to 1 month. Use at room temperature in recipes or as a condiment.

Makes about 1-1/4 cups.

(can make tamarind liquid by combining tamarind paste and water)