You know that saying when life gives you lemons that you got to make lemon-aid? Well I was sort of gifted with more yellow squash than I could eat. So I made my last two pounds of yellow squash into faux sour kraut that isn’t too sour. Actually it taste better than most sour krauts out there and it’s quick and easy to prepare. Two pounds seems like a lot of squash but this shrinks down a lot. This will stay fresh around up to three weeks. My idea of serving size will differ from yours. This makes at least 6 servings.

Ingredients for 6 servings

2 lbs yellow squash – thin spiral cut

1 large sweet onion – sliced very thin on mandolin

1 cup apple cider vinegar

1 Tablespoon dark brown sugar

1 Tablespoon sugar

1 teaspoon sea salt

9 juniper berries – ground

1 teaspoon caraway seeds

1/2 teaspoon yellow mustard seeds

Directions

In a large mixing bowl combine the spiral cut yellow squash and mix well with the thinly sliced onions and set to the side.

In a small bowl combine the vinegar, sugars, salt, juniper berry powder, caraway seeds and mustard seeds and mix well. (you can heat to dissolve sugar and salt but it isn’t necessary because it melts as it sits)

At this point it is easier to put the squash/onion mixture in a gallon zip lock bag and pour the vinegar mixture into the bag. Scrape out anything that didn’t dissolve in the bowl and add it to the squash mixture. Squeeze the bag mixture and squash things around to distribute as best as you can. Squish out as much air as you can and let this sit out on the counter for an hour. The sugar and salt will cook and sweat the squash. It will be delicious on your food.

Add some to a hotdog, or pastrami or whatever you like kraut on.

Enjoy!

I was inspired to create this recipe after watching a chef cooking competition show called Top Chef. One chef Bryan Voltaggio made potato cakes with shallots, gruyere cheese and thyme. I was meant to make them because those were the ingredients that I had to use up in my house. I don’t know for remember how the chef on TV make his potato cakes but mine also came out fabulous……They came out FORKING AMAZING! The whole house smelled FORKING AMAZING too! These are easy to make and come out incredible. A few oof the ingredients that I used are harder to find but if you don’t make this exactly the way I did it won’t come out as great. This recipe happened to make 12 smaller perfect potato cakes so I’d say that is about 12 servings but they are so delicious that some people might want to eat two servings.

Ingredients for up to 12 servings

1 lb shallots – peeled – sliced paper thin

1 1/2 lb red potatoes – peeled – cut in half depending on size -sitting in cold water -(salt)

2 Tablespoons sea salt (for boiling potatoes)

1 hot banana pepper – cut long ways in half (to boil with potatoes to give flavor)

2 oz unsalted butter

4 oz gruyere cheese – shredded

2 Tablespoons canola oil

1 Tablespoon Calabrian Chili Oil

1 teaspoon sea salt

1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper

few grates nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 egg – beaten

1 Tablespoon fresh thyme leaves

non stick cooking spray

Directions set oven to 500 degrees F.

On one burner put your pot of potatoes on a medium high boil with the salt and the hot pepper. Cook till potato is tender (15-20 min.)

On your other burner add the oils to the pan on high heat. When the oil is hot add the shallots and turn down to medium high. Stir occasionally and cook till soft but not brown. (about 7=8 min). Take off heat and add to potatoes after potatoes are drained and the hot pepper is thrown away.

By now your potatoes are done. Mash them with the butter and add the 1 teaspoon sea salt, white pepper, few grates of nutmeg, black pepper, thyme and gruyere cheese. Mix well. Add the beaten egg and shallots and mix well.

Spray muffin pan with non stick spray and fill each cup with mixture.

Place in preheated 500 degree F oven.

After about 5 minutes the potatoes will be brown so turn down the oven to 350 F degrees. They will only need about ten more minutes for a total of 15 minutes in the oven. (about 5 minutes 500 degrees F , turn down to 350 degrees F about ten minutes more)

Remove from oven and let cool down. Serve when warm or refrigerate and reheat. Can be frozen and then thawed to reheat.

Everyone will FORKING LOVE THEM!

I was watching chef Vivian Howard’s Food Show called Somewhere South on PBS. She visited chef Cheetie Kumar and she made this green tomato and watermelon rind achaar that sounded delicious. Last week Safeway had these watermelons for 65cents each and I had a lot of watermelon rind so I wanted to make this recipe. I didn’t have all the ingredients but I had enough to get it to taste similar. I didn’t have green tomatoes but a traditional ingredient for this recipe is green unripe mango. I didn’t have that either. But Costco dropped off a package of 6 mangos that I didn’t order so I decided I would use them here. Chef Kumar would not approve of this recipe because you must use an ingredient called mustard oil. I don’t have mustard oil and I’m not l’m not searching for it during the pandemic so I ground some mustard seeds instead. My recipe is very different from chef Kumar’s recipe but it did come out amazing and I did use the majority of her seasonings. I also note that my idea of serving size may differ from your idea of serving size.

Ingredients for around 8 servings

1 watermelon rind – green removed and cut in planks (around 3 lbs)

1/4.cup kosher salt + water to brine watermelon rinds

6 mangos (I used yellow) skin and seeds removed and cut in planks

1 teaspoon kosher salt – to salt mangos

1/2 cup white vinegar

1/2 cup apple cider vinegar

1/2 cup sugar

4 Tablespoons canola oil

1/2 teaspoon yellow mustard seeds

1/2 teaspoon fenugreek seeds

2 teaspoons nigella seeds ( also known as black cumin)

1 Tablespoon fennel seeds

2 teaspoons ground turmeric

1/4 teaspoon cayenne powder

2 oz white sugar

1 oz turbinado sugar

1 teaspoon salt (or to taste)

1/4 cup white vinager

Directions

Toss the watermelon rinds with 1/4 cup kosher salt and place in a colander and put in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours.

Toss the mango with 1 teaspoon kosher salt and place in either a bowl or quart ziplock bag and let sit in the refrigerator along with the watermelon rind for four hours.

After 4 hours drain and rinse the watermelon rinds and just drain the mango and keep to the side.

Boil the watermelon rinds in water for 5 minutes and rinse and drain watermelon rinds again.

Combine vinegars and sugar. Bring to boil and then reduce to simmer. Add rinds and cook till rinds are clear. Remove from heat and drain and discard liquid.

Grind your spices together and then mix with the three ounces of sugar and one teaspoon salt.

In a wok or deep skillet heat up oil toll it’s hot and add the spices mixed with the sugar and salt. Mix well till fragrant. Add the rinds and mix well. Add the vinegar and let it boil a few minutes and then shut off heat and fold in the mango.

It’s delicious and full of flavors you will love it!

I special THANKS to chef Cheetie Kumar for your wonderful recipe to inspire me to create this delicious dish.

I came across a jarred version of Hungarian Borscht by Gold’s on the internet. It’s different and is made of the usual soup vegetables, beets, cabbage and spicy paprika. I thought that sounds delicious and I happen to have beets and cabbage that I have to use up so I wanted to make it. I looked for recipes for Hungarian Borscht and came across many other varieties of borscht. There is Russian Borscht with cabbage, beets, potatoes, caraway seed, dill and sour cream, Another is Jewish Borscht that is cabbage, beets, tomatoes, short ribs and is sweet and sour. There is also meatless Polish Borscht that is made with a lot of mushrooms. Another is Mennonite Borscht that is made with a beef base and carrots, potatoes, beets, cabbage, tomatoes, allspice, star anise and heavy cream. I thought the Hungarian Style sounded like what I wanted to do today. I didn’t have recipe and winged it off the ingredients from The Gold’s Jar of Hungarian Borscht I saw on the internet. It came out FORKING DELICIOUS! It’s a hearty vegetable stew. It’s delicious and zippy…not as spicy as you might think. I didn’t call it Hungarian because I made up this recipe from just reading the ingredients from a jarred product. My idea of serving size may differ from your idea of serving size. To me this makes around 6 medium sized bowls.

Ingredients for around 6 servings.

2 carrots – peeled, diced

2 celery ribs – diced

1/2 large sweet onion – diced

1 hot Hungarian pepper – fine chopped (they sell them at Asiana Market I buy them and keep in freezer for when I need them..very hot but delicious)

1 lb beets – peeled, diced

5 oz tomato – diced

2 Tablespoons canola oil

1 teaspoon sea salt

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

3 garlic cloves – ground to paste or microplane

6 oz tomato paste (one small can)

5 cups vegetable stock

1 Tablespoon + 2 teaspoons Hungarian paprika

2 teaspoons hot paprika

2 Tablespoons apple cider vinegar

1/2 small cabbage – sliced extra thin on a mandolin (I used green but either is fine)

salt and pepper to taste

Directions

In a large pot on medium high heat add the oil. When the oil is hot add the carrots, celery, onion, Hungarian pepper, beets, tomato, sea salt and black pepper. Stir well and cover pot and cook till vegetables or fork tender (around 9 minutes depending on dice size…timing may differ).

Remove cover and add the garlic. Mix well. In the center of the vegetables make an empty spot. In the empty spot add the tomato paste and stir it up bit to cook it up for a minute or two. Then mix it all up and add the vegetable stock and mix well. Add the paprikas and let this simmer around 10 minutes.

Next add the cabbage. Stir it around. Add the vinegar. Let this simmer around 20 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste. A dap of sour cream or a hard boiled egg is optional.

It’s FORKING DELICIOUS!