Grandma's Ravioli

Dough Ingredients:

5 cups flour

4 eggs

1/8 teaspoon salt

warm water as needed

Filling Ingredients:

1 small or medium yellow onion

2 lbs. ricotta cheese

1 cup cooked chopped spinach

2 cups mozzarella cheese

1/2 cup Romano cheese

1 egg

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

Instructions:

1. Chop onion and saute until just browned.

2. Combine onion with cheeses, egg, and nutmeg and mix together evenly. Set aside.

3. Combine flour, eggs, and salt in large bowl. Add warm water as necessary and knead together until smooth.

4. Cut dough into 5 or 6 pieces. Roll one piece of dough until it is less than 1/4 inch thick.*

5. Spread the ravioli filling in a thin even layer on half of the dough. 

6. Fold the other half of the dough on top of the filling and press lightly.

7. Using a ravioli rolling pin, press down hard on one end of the dough and roll across slowly. This pushes the filling into the square areas and seals the dough together.

8. Use a pastry wheel to cut along the lines made by the ravioli rolling pin. 

 9. Separate raviolis. You may freeze them for later use, or boil them to eat immediately.

10. Boil ravioli for approximately 5 minutes. (My grandma says once the ravioli float to the top, let them boil for 2 more minutes.)

11. Top with sauce and sprinkle with Romano or Parmesan cheese and serve.

 *Be sure to use a lot of flour on your flat surface, the dough, and the rolling pin so that it doesn't stick!

After a long recipe hiatus, I'm finally posting again. I've been at my grandma's house all summer, and I've been spoiled by her making me dinner for me these past few months, so I haven't been doing much of my own cooking. But today I convinced my grandma to teach me how to make ravioli. I asked her if her mother taught her to make ravioli, but she said no, her mother never made ravioli or lasagna. My grandma isn't sure where she learned to make ravioli, she said maybe one of her sister-in-laws taught her. Wherever the recipe came from, my grandma has now passed it on to both my mother and me. My mom has a video from the early 1990s of the two of them making batch after batch of ravioli for our family's Easter dinner. Today my grandma and I recorded a video too. I haven't watched it yet, but if it seems like it would be interesting I may post it as well. 

I think the best way to end this post is with a final picture; this is a scan of the two recipes we followed today, in my grandma's handwriting.

Bruschetta

Ingredients:
1.5 medium Roma tomatoes, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
5-6 basil leaves, chopped
2 slices rye bread
balsamic vinegar
olive oil
black pepper


Instructions:
1. Heat approximately 1 Tbsp olive oil in a frying pan. Place slices of rye bread in oil and fry until browned. Remove, add more oil, and fry reverse side until browned.
2. In a small bowl, combine tomato, garlic, and basil with a splash of vinegar. Sprinkle with    black pepper and mix well.
3. Place tomato mixture on top of rye.


I know that bruschetta is typically dry toasted bread, and the olive oil is added to the tomato topping along with the vinegar, but I made it this way because I love the way bread tastes when it's been fried in olive oil. It leaves the bread crisp, but not hard and crunchy the way bread for bruschetta often is. 

This tastes really refreshing and summery to me. I made it one day on a whim as a snack, and it was so good I made it as an appetizer a few days later to go alongside a pasta and salad for a full meal.

Vegetable Pot Pie

Crust Ingredients:

3 cups whole wheat flour

2 Tbsp baking powder

6 Tbsp butter

1 cup milk

dried herbs (rosemary, thyme)

Filling Ingredients:

4 cups vegetable broth

1/4 cup flour

1/3 cup milk

1 potato, cubed

1 onion, diced

3 cloves garlic, minced

3 stalks celery, chopped

2/3 cup mushrooms, sliced

1 bag mixed frozen veggies

salt*

*Actually, I never put salt in recipes. I usually just have salt on the table so that people can add the amount of salt they want, if they so desire. 

Instructions:

1. Mix ingredients for crust. Roll out 2/3 of dough and place in greased 9"x13" glass baking dish, covering bottom and sides. Set remaining 1/3 of dough aside.

2. Cook potato, onion and garlic in a large pot over a medium heat for about 10 minutes.

3. Add the celery, mushrooms, and frozen veggies and cook for an additional 10 minutes.

4. In a separate pan, warm the broth. Add milk and flour and whisk until smooth. 

5. Add broth to vegetable mix. Sprinkle with spices (I used black pepper and dried parsley) and simmer on stove for about 10 minutes.

6. Pour vegetable mix onto pie crust.

7. Roll out remaining dough and cut into strips 1 inch wide. Arrange the strips in a woven pattern on top of the pot pie mixture. If desired, brush top crust with a beaten egg.

8. Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 1 hour.

I've made chicken pot pie before, so this was a familiar process for me, but it was my first time using whole wheat flour for the crust. The whole wheat flour made a really good crust, I think. It made the dough slightly more difficult to work with, but the resulting crust was so flaky and delicious.

This recipe is for a huge pot pie; my friend and I purposely made a huge pie so that we can each have leftovers for a couple of days. This is one of those meals I'm looking forward to eating for the next couple of days. Really, who doesn't love pot pie? They're so hearty and gratifying, this was the perfect meal for this rainy Sunday.

Lentil Risotto - Slow Cooker or Stovetop Recipe

Ingredients:

1 cup dried lentils

1 1/2 cups Arborio rice

8 cups water

4 Tbsp butter or margarine

1 yellow onion, chopped

salt and pepper

freshly grated Parmesan, to garnish

sliced green onion, to garnish

Instructions:

1. In a saute pan, heat the butter and saute the onion until golden brown (about 10 minutes).

2. Place lentils, rice, water, and onions in slow cooker. Cover and cook on high for 2+ hours, or until rice and lentils are tender and water has been completely absorbed.

3. Salt and pepper to taste. Garnish with shredded Parmesan and green onion to serve.

This recipe is remarkably simple. However, I found that the 2 hours cooking time listed was not enough time. At the one and a half hour mark, hardly any water had been absorbed, so I moved the mixture to a large pot on my stove to finish cooking. I was making this for several dinner guests, and so I wanted to speed up the process and be finished by the time they arrived (I did not succeed at this). 

You could easily make this entirely on the stove if you don't have a crockpot. On the stove, just be sure to keep stirring so that the risotto doesn't stick to the pot. Based on my other risotto cooking experience, I would guess that it would take about 30-40 minutes to cook on the stove.

I served this with a side of stuffed mushrooms and some oven-roasted asparagus, which made a very nice, filling, and complete meal, as rice combined with lentils is a complete protein. Asparagus has recently become one of my favorite side dish vegetables; I'm pretty sure one of the main reasons for this is that it makes my pee smell funny for the next 18 hours or so, and this amuses me. No, actually I really like the flavor of asparagus. I roast it in olive oil and sprinkle lemon pepper on top, which is absolutely delightful.

Slow Cooker: Potato and Chile Gratin

Ingredients:

4 serrano chilies

1 Tbsp olive oil

4 large russet potatoes

1/4 pound jack cheese, grated

1/2 cup water

4 cloves garlic, peeled and diced

1 cup heavy cream

Yield: 8 servings

Instructions:

1. Cut the chilies in half lengthwise, remove seeds and veins. Place on a foil-covered baking sheet and bake at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 15 minutes, or until the skin blisters.

2. Meanwhile, skin your potatoes and cut into thin slices.

3. When the chilies are roasted, remove the skin using your fingers or a paring knife. Cut the chilies into small chunks.

4. Spread the olive oil on the bottom of the slow cooker insert and place a layer of potato (1/3 of total) along the bottom.

5. Sprinkle with salt and add a layer of cheese (1/3 of total). Place about 1/2 of the chilies on top of the cheese.

6. Repeat with another layer of potato, cheese, and chilies. Finish with a layer of potato.

7. Pour water over the top, cover, and cook on low for about 1 1/2 hours.

8. Add the garlic to the cream and pour on top of the potatoes.

9. Recover and cook for another 3 hours or until the sauce has thickened and the potatoes are tender.

My house smelled so amazing as this was cooking. The garlic and cheese aroma filled the entire downstairs, and I couldn't wait for it to be ready to eat. I warmed up some frozen vegetarian chorizo and made a salad to make it a complete meal. 

The chilies are not spicy, they just add a nice flavor. I'd say this is a good meal to serve kids, because I made it for a friend of mine from the mid-West who is as picky as a child when it comes to food. We have pretty opposite tastes in food, really. I think I have a very West Coast/California taste in food. From what I understand of mid-Western cuisine, I don't think it would work out for me if I had to live there. I've never denied being a total food snob; I embrace it.

Anyway, for some reason this recipe claims to serve 4, but that must be if you're eating unbelievably large portions. I ate it with 2 friends on the day I made it, then I ate some for dinner for the next 3 consecutive nights, and Roommate #1 ate it for dinner for 2 of those nights, so that totals out to 8 servings. Of course, it was never all I ate; I balanced out the heavy starchy potato and cheese with salad and such, so maybe I wasn't eating what would be considered a full serving.

In any case, it makes a large amount of food, so I recommend this dish for people with families, as something to bring to parties or events, or for people like me who like to cook for 1 day and get meals out of it for the better part of a week.

Slow Cooker: Stacked Cauliflower Enchiladas

Ingredients:

1 head cauliflower

1 white onion, cut vertically into 8 pieces

2 tomatoes, chopped

1 (15 oz) can of black beans

8-12 small corn tortillas

1/2 lb grated Monterey Jack cheese

1 (28 oz) can green enchilada sauce

fresh cilantro, for garnish

sour cream, for garnish

Instructions:

1. Trim and core cauliflower. Slice head vertically and cut into thin pieces.

2. Pull sliced onion layers apart.

3. In a large bowl, combine cauliflower, onion, tomatoes, and black beans. Mix evenly using hands.

 4. Grate your cheese (I usually don't include steps like this that are preparation work, but I set up my self-timer for this shot, and I just really liked how it turned out).

 5. Oil the inside of your slow cooker. Place 2 or 3 overlapping tortillas in the bottom of the slow cooker. Add about 1/3 of the mixed vegetables, sprinkle with 1/3 of the cheese, and cover with 1/3 of the enchilada sauce.
6. Create two more layers of tortilla, vegetables, cheese, and  sauce.
7. Top with a layer of tortillas and remaining sauce.

 8. Cover and cook on low for 5 to 6 hours, or until cauliflower is tender. 
9. Top with a handful of extra grated cheese, and cook for an additional 30 minutes, or until cheese is completely melted.
10. Scoop onto plates and top with cilantro leaves and sour cream to serve.

I've decided Mexican food and Indian food are some of the most delicious foods to eat, but the worst foods to photograph. They just never look pretty. But since they're so tasty, I'll allow for the lack in appearance.

This meal serves a small army. In my cookbook, it claims to serve 4 to 6. I must wonder, do they mean 4 to 6 giants? I made this meal on Sunday and had 2 friends over for dinner to help me eat it. We each had seconds; the seconds were probably smaller than the first serving, but still, you have to assume that's a good 4.5 servings total at least. I've also eaten the leftovers for the past two nights, so now we're up to 6.5 servings, but THERE'S STILL MORE! I'm going to have to eat this for probably another 2 meals before it's gone. That's 8+ servings. This meal was so tasty though, I'm definitely not complaining about eating these leftovers!

I continue to love my slow cooker! My food cooks all day while I'm doing homework and I don't have to worry about it. Then I not only have dinner that night, but for the next several nights! I wonder how much time this slow cooker has been saving me? I'm not sure, but with my school schedule, I can use all the extra time I can get!

Sweet Potato and Parsnip Soup

Ingredients:

1 Tbsp olive oil

2 leeks, sliced

3 celery stalks, chopped

4 cups diced sweet potatoes

2 cups diced parsnips

3 3/4 cups vegetable stock

Garnish:

fresh cilantro leaves

roasted strips of sweet potato and parsnip

Instructions:

1. Heat the oil in a large pot. Add the leek, celery, sweet potato, and parsnips. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring frequently to prevent browning.

 2. Add the vegetable stock and bring to a boil. Lower the heat, cover, and simmer for 25 minutes, or until vegetables are tender.
3. While the soup is cooking, roast strips of sweet potato and parsnip on a baking sheet in the oven. (5-10 minutes)

4. Remove the soup from heat and allow to cool for several minutes. Puree in a food processor or blender.

5. To serve, garnish with roasted Sweet potato and parsnip strips, cilantro leaves, salt and pepper.

I'm sure this is painfully obvious by now, but I love blended soups. I especially loved the addition of the roasted vegetables on top of this one. They were truly delightful. I think it was the multiple textures that I enjoyed. Blended soup texture + roasted root vegetable strip texture = good sensations. Of course, the texture wouldn't mean anything if the flavor wasn't also enjoyable. Luckily, it is indeed quite lovely.

Slow Cooker: Armenian Apricot Soup

Ingredients:

1 cup dried lentils

6 cups water

1 onion, diced

2 carrots, diced

1 cup apricots

1 tsp ground cumin

nutmeg

ground cinnamon

Greek-style yogurt or sour cream

fresh mint

Instructions:

1. In slow cooker, combine lentils, water, carrots, onion, apricots and cumin. Sprinkle with nutmeg and cinnamon.

2. Cover and cook on low for 4 hours, or until vegetables are tender.

3. Puree the soup using a food processor.

4. Garnish with yogurt or sour cream and fresh mint.

This soup was quite delightful, and amazingly easy. The apricots are definitely the strongest of the flavors, so it had a very sweet warmth. I also made a salad to go with the meal; the salad was spinach, carrots, chopped pear, slivered almonds, and dried cranberries with a raspberry dressing. Accompanied by some white wine, it was overall a very sweet and fruity meal. 

Slow Cooker: Curried Chickpeas

Ingredients:
2 cups dried chickpeas
6 cups water
1 red onion, finely chopped
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 Tbsp cumin seeds
1/4 tsp black peppercorns
8 whole cloves
1 1/2 tsp chili powder
1 1/2 inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and minced
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp garam masala
1 tsp curry powder
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
3 fresh serrano chiles, seeded, deveined, and finely chopped
fresh cilantro leaves


Instructions:
1. Put the chickpeas and the water in the slow cooker. Cover and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours until chickpeas are tender.
2. In a frying pan, saute the onions in the oil for 15 minutes.

3. Using a mortar and pestle, grind the cumin seeds, peppercorns, cloves, chili powder, ginger, turmeric, garam masala, curry powder, and cayenne into a course powder.

4. Add the ground spices to the onions and cook for an additional 5 minutes.
5. Add the onions and spices to the chickpeas in the slow cooker and cook on low for 30 to 60 minutes.
6. Using a handheld immersion blender*, puree some of the chickpeas to thicken the mixture.
7. Add salt to taste. Garnish with cilantro leaves and chile slices.


*I don't have an immersion blender, so I used my handheld mixer, which worked pretty well. 


I forgot to make any rice or buy any naan to have with this, so I ate it with crackers. It was thick enough to make a nice dip, so it was really good with the crackers. The cilantro was also really great with this flavor. I added even more cilantro after the picture was taken.
I'm clearly enjoying my slow cooker! I'm also excited that this recipe allowed me to use my mortar and pestle. I talked to my grandma on the phone today and told her that I used the mortar and pestle, and I continue to love it. I know she's glad that she gave it to me, because she knows I'm sentimental, so I'll keep it forever. 

Gardein: Amazing!

I passed by a fast food restaurant on my way to the grocery store yesterday, and they were advertising some kind crispy chicken sandwich. Now, fast food is not something that usually entices me. The last time I had fast food was over 9 months ago; before that it had been about 6 months. It's just not part of my life. I don't like it, I don't crave it. But, some kind of crispy chicken sounded fantastic at that moment. Once I reached the grocery store, I perused the frozen food aisles and found the answer to my craving: fake meat chicken tenders.

I tried them for the first time tonight, and I'm completely amazed. While they were cooking in my oven, my house really smelled like chicken! I put them on top of a salad, and I would swear to you that what I was eating was real chicken! I'm so thrilled with this product that I'm blogging about it, even though I did no cooking, this is not a recipe, it's just some frozen "chicken" tenders I warmed up and put on top of a simple salad.
I compared the nutrition information of these with McDonald's nuggets, and these are the results:

	MCDonald’s 6 piece Chicken Nuggets (3.4 oz)	4 pieces Gardein Seven Grain Crispy Tenders (3.6 oz)
Calories	280	180
Calories from Fat	160	30
Total Fat	17g (27% DV)	3g (4% DV)
Saturated Fat	3g (15% DV)	0g
Trans Fat	0	0
Cholestorol	40mg (14% DV)	0mg
Sodium	600 (25% DV)	520mg (22% DV)
Carbohydrate	16g (5%)	18g (6% DV)
Fiber	0g	2g (8% DV)
Sugar	0g	0g
Protein	14g	18g
Vitamin A	0	0
Vitamin C	2% DV	0
Calcium	2% DV	8% DV
Iron	4% DV	30% DV

Pretty interesting, huh? I know what I'd give my kids, if I had kids. My seven year-old nephew loves chicken nuggets. I've told my mom to give these to him and see if they fool him. I think they will. They are really, really amazingly good.

Slow Cookers are Awesome!!!

I had to make a video using still images for a class assignment, so I decided to make a video about how awesome I believe my slow cooker is. I made another great slow cooker recipe last night, and have plans for another one tomorrow night, so there will be even more slow cooker goodness up here soon!

Slow Cooker: Potato, Carrot, and Coconut Milk Curry

Serves: 4 to 6


Ingredients:
3 lbs. red potatoes
1 cup water
2 Tbsp canola oil
1 white or yellow onion, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
2 Tbsp cumin seeds
2 tsp fennel seeds
1 lb carrots, peeled and cut into rounds
3 Tbsp curry powder
2 tsp chili powder*
1 can (14 oz) coconut milk
4 serrano chiles, seeded, deveined, and finely chopped
salt


*for a more mild curry, omit chili powder


Instructions:


1. Wash potatoes, then put in slow cooker with water on low setting for 4 hours.*

2. When potatoes are tender, remove from slow cooker and cut into medium chunks (I cut mine into eighths). 

3. Return potatoes to slow cooker.


4. In a frying pan, heat oil over a medium flame. Saute the onions for about 10 minutes. 

5. Add the garlic, cumin seeds, and fennel seeds to the onions and continue cooking for another 3 minutes.


6. Transfer the onions to the slow cooker. Add the carrots, curry powder, chili powder, and coconut milk.


7. Stir evenly, then cover and continue to cook on low for an additional hour.


8. Sprinkle with serrano chiles, salt to taste, and serve.


*cooking time depends on the size of your potatoes. I used somewhat large potatoes; for smaller potatoes, you'll need less time.


I've had my slow cooker for a year, but this is the first time I've used it. My mom gave me a vegetarian slow cooker recipe book for Christmas, so I finally feel motivated to use my slow cooker! This curry was pretty good. I made it for a potluck, and I forgot to add the salt, so last night when I ate it I felt it was somewhat bland. However, I added salt when I ate the leftovers this afternoon, and it made a world of difference! It had great flavor, and was quite filling. 


I've had a brief hiatus from updating this blog; I had final projects to do at the end of the term, and then winter break. I did some cooking in that time, but mostly things I'd made before. Now that I have my slow cooker cookbook, I expect to be updating regularly again. A slow cooker is pretty conducive to a student's schedule; my meal can cook itself while I'm in class or studying!