My Hot Chili Relish

1 lbs chilies, sliced 1/4-inch rounds. Do not deseed. (see note below)

1-2 large tomatoes, roughly chopped

one head garlic, minced

butter

salt

soy sauce

1 tbs paprika

Optional: powdered cayenne

Melt a cube of butter in large fry pan. Add the garlic stir till softened, do not let brown. Add paprika and stir for a minute or two then add tomatoes and cook until they start to break down, add chilies and let cook for a few minutes. Add some water 1/2 cup water and cover. Add more water as needed to keep from drying out. Sauce should be thick. when chilies are soft and the tomatoes completely broken down, pour soysauce to taste. Do not use more than a table spoon. If the sauce needs more saltiness at this point, use salt.

Note: Use a combo of or just one particular variety of chilies I usually just use jalepenos and then if they are mild, throw in a serrano or two. The more kinds of chilies used the more complex the flavor. I recommend using medium to hot varieties. Habaneros are too hot, the flavor gets lost in the overwhelming spiciness.

This makes a fair amount. I am going to make a milder version when the chilies begin to arrive at the Farmer's Market this late spring.

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Tibetan Momos

This is how I make momos based on how I was taught by the wife of a Tibetan lama. These dumplings are delicious and juicy. It's kind of tricky to make the round style dumplings but you can pleat them in the crescent shape (see my other entry on dumplings.) I really love to eat them with the below sauce. When you bite into them after they've been just cooked - be aware they are hot and juicy. Spoon a bit of sauce on the momo after each bite. Yum!

Momos

Filling

1lb beef
1 small to med small red onion finely chopped
1-1/2 to 2 inch piece of ginger, peeled finely chopped
2-4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
¼ c water
1 tsp salt
1 bunch cilantro finely chopped stems included

mix all together

Dough

2 1/2 c flour
approx ¾ c water (add a little at a time.)

How to:

Mix /knead to a smooth dough. Let rest covered at least 10 mins to ½ hour. Shape into a log and break of small pieces and using your hands make smooth balls and then flatten slightly.

Roll out pieces to 3 inch rounds with the edges thinner than middle. Stuff and pleat like a standard dumpling or to make traditional round shaped momos, try following this youtube video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DzWSsWpZfjg. To freeze: dust bottom of momo with a bit of flour and put on dry cookie sheet. Do not let them touch. Once frozen put in plastic zip bag or other container and pull out as needed. Leftover dough can be used for Yow Bing (Chinese green onion pancakes.)

Put the momos in a steamer with the water already at a boil. Momos are done when you touch the sides and they are firm and the wrapper is not sticky to the touch, about 15 mins. 20-25 mins for frozen.

Cooking tips:

• You can also put beef bones in the water and maybe a few veggies and save the resultant broth for soup.

• When steaming, layer steamer with leaves of napa cabbage or lettuce to keep momos from sticking. For fun, you can use a slice of carrot under each momo but the carrot has to be pretty big to keep the momo from sticking. Traditionally, people just oil the steamer.

Makes about 30 dumplings. Serve with a green sauce or chili salt.

Green Sauce

1 bunch Cilantro coarsely chopped
1-2 Jalapeno chilies chopped
Dried red chili flakes if needed
1 large tomato, chopped
2 cloves Garlic chopped
½ to 1 tsp Salt
Water as needed

Blend all ingredients until just uniform. Or you can mince everything to control the texture. Alternatively you can use 1 cup of plain yogurt instead of the tomato.

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Cold Season Remedy - Bubbe-mycin

Chicken soup is proven to help to alleviate cold and flu symptoms. This recipe contains many home remedy ingredients (onions, garlic, thyme, oregano, celtic gray salt) and combined makes a tasty soothing broth. It's important to use the highest quality ingredients you can. Don't skimp on your health!

Lori’s Chicken Broth

3-4 lbs organic free range chicken, rinsed and innards removed

1 yellow onion washed with peel, with a clove stuck in

3-6 cloves of garlic, don’t bother peeling

2 Carrots

2 Celery

fresh thyme and/or oregano

Celtic gray sea salt

Wash all veggies, leaving skins on. Put all veggies, seasonings except salt, in pressure cooker then add chicken and water to cover. Bring pressure to high (Kuhn Rikon 2^nd red line) for 25 minutes. Quick pressure release.

Remove chicken and let cool enough to handle. Remove skin and then debone. Don’t be super careful removing all the meat from the bones, the point here is making bubbe-mycin and good flavor is important. Set the meat aside to cool and use in another recipe. You can leave the chicken in whole when cooking again but even I think that’s going a bit far.

Put the bones back in the pot with veggies. Return to stove and bring back to pressure for 1 to 1-½ hour. This should be sufficient to cooking all the meaty goodness from the bones. Pour through a cheese cloth or fine mesh strainer to remove all impurities. Let cool before putting in refrigerator. Let thoroughly cool and remove any solidified fat. When reheating, add celtic gray sea salt to taste, more fresh thyme to taste.

Serve as a broth or this can be turned into chicken soup by adding chopped carrots, celery and onion along with the gray sea salt and fresh thyme and leftover chicken and cooking until veggies soft.

Note: Or the chicken can be used for chicken salad or chicken noodle.

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Oyako Donburi

This is my version of the family recipe for oyako donburi. It's more of a soupy meal than the traditional rice bowl with stuff. It's very simple, fast, and delicious. The recipe quantities don't make a lot but should be good for 2-3 people. The veggies add depth to the broth. The daikon is especially good.

Ingredients:

1 box chicken broth (for best use homemade)

1 tbs dashi powder

1 equal amount of water (or a little more)

1 whole chicken breast or equivalent thighs deboned & chopped bite-sized pieces
(I save the bones to make my own stock)

¼- ½ cup shoyu

6-8 eggs, beaten

garnish: finely chopped green onions and/or toasted nori crumbled

veggies: I usually add a little water chestnut sliced, fresh shiitake mushrooms sliced, and/or diakon sliced into matchsticks. Sometimes I add a little of the daikon greens or thinly sliced cabbage for color.

Heat chicken broth, dashi, and water) to a boil, toss a whole green onion or two (take out before serving), add chicken and veggies, then turn down heat to simmer. When chicken is just cooked, taste broth and add more stock or water or dashi depending on your taste. Bring soup back to boil. Stir ½ cup hot broth into eggs then pour eggs in to pot stirring until cooked. Add shoyu to taste.

Serve over hot Japanese rice. Garnish w/green onions and/or nori.

Wheat and Dairy-free Sweet Potato Muffins with Cinnamon Sugar Coating

Adapted from Noble Pig Cooking Blog
For the Muffins:
2-1/2 cups Spelt Flour
1-1/2teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/3 cup "fake buttermilk" - plain soymilk tainted with 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar or lemon juice
1/3 cup coconut milk
1/2 cup sweet potato puree (canned or fresh baked)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 stick margarine, room temperature
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 eggs

For the
topping:
1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 stick margarine, melted

In a medium bowl, combine spelt flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and ground nutmeg. Set aside.

In a large pouring vessel combine the coconut milk, "fake buttermilk", sweet potato puree, and vanilla. Set aside.

In a large bowl, cream margarine and brown sugar with an electric mixer, until fluffly. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Mix, alternating wet and dry ingredients into the butter mixture, starting and ending with the dry; mix only until each addition is incorporated, DO NOT OVER MIX, BUT ON THE OTHER HAND, DON'T UNDER MIX EITHER.

Grease your muffin tin or line them. Fill muffin cups 1/2 full. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the muffin comes out clean.

While the muffins are baking, In a shallow bowl, combine sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg. Put the melted butter in a separate bowl.
When the muffins are cool enough to handle, yet still warm, remove the muffins from the tins, brush them completely with the melted butter, and roll in the cinnamon sugar mixture to coat.

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wheat free, dairy free, but not taste free, sweet potato muffins

To my delight, I found a great deal in the overstock bin at Fred Meyer of canned organic sweet potato and pumpkin. I put the sweet potato to work yesterday, and the results were delish. I will post recipe if anyone is interested. I discovered when the recipe says, "don't overmix", they need to add for people like me, "but don't undermix, either" because some of them oozed.

I used soymilk with apple vinegar as a substitute for buttermilk and coconut milk for the whole milk with great results. I used spelt flour so it is wheat-free and ever so tender, but not gluten free. Only a few looked like a volcanic eruption, the rest looked lovely, like this:

How to use leftovers – Dumpling Filling

Often when making dumplings (or potstickers, gyoza, jao zi, etc.) you'll end up with extra fillling. Here is one recipe that solves this leftover problem. This was adapted from an excellent recipe from the NY Times, Mark Bitten's blog, 11/18/09, "Meatballs, Chinese Style."

Take leftover dumpling fillling and add an egg white and about 2 tsp tapioca starch. You can add more salt if ou like, or a tsp of soy sauce or fish sauce. The mixture will be very wet but don't worry the poaching in stock will firm them up.

Mince an inch of ginger and finely slice the white parts of a leek or a small handful of Chinese chives or a couple of green onions. Heat veg oil, add ginger and onion but don’t brown just get it softened. Add about 6-8 small heads of baby bok choy roughly chopped. Or use an equivalent amount of regular bok choy or Napa cabbage, coarsely cut up. It looks big at first but the greens cook down so much, you’ll be surprised.

Add white pepper and 2/3 to 1 cup of chicken or pork stock. Stir, then cover the wok or pan w/lid and let the bok choy cook down a little. After a minute or two, shift the bok choy over to one side of the pan. Make the dumpling filling into balls, don’t have to be precise here, and gently ease them into the cooking liquid next to the bok choy. Cover the pan and simmer for 10 minutes. The bok choy will be very overcooked but so yummy.

The broth is pretty amazing. I don’t usually reduce or thicken it. If you have leftover broth from meal, this can be used in another stirfry or as a soup base. Check for seasoning, add a few drops of sesame oil and soy sauce to taste.

Serve, of course, with rice.

Note: I’ve made this recipe several times from scratch (no leftover filling.) Making the meatballs from a lb of ground pork, 1 tbs fish sauce, ½ small minced onion, , white pepper , tiniest pinch of sugar, egg white (small egg), 1 tbs starch (corn or tapioca.) It makes a lot but then you have -- leftovers!

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