Keftedes (Kef-teh-des) are usually Meatballs seasoned with Greek style Seasonings and Feta Cheese.  Vegetarian Keftedes are popular too. Often they are made with carrots, I like Parsnips more than carrots since they have more flavor and are less watery so I made mine with parsnips. I also cut some fat out by baking the Keftedes instead of frying and by using Fat Free Cottage Cheese instead of Feta.

Ingredients for Keftedes

3 Cups Shreaded Parsnips

1 handful of chopped fresh Parsley

1/2 a shredded Sweet Onion

16 oz. Package of Fat Free Cottage Cheese Whipped till smooth

2 eggs (crack them into your cottage and just whip them in)

4 slices of lite White Bread ( Frozen and Chop into the smallest cubes you can)

1 teaspoon dried mint

1/2 teaspoon dried dill (fresh herbs should be better but I used what I had at home)

Fresh ground Sea Salt

Fresh Ground Black Pepper

1 Cup Whole Wheat Panko Bread Crumbs

3 Tablespoons Michael Psilakis Gyro Slider Spice  Recipe* It seems to compliment the Keftedes well and gives another layer of flavor. Or just add salt and pepper to crumbs till tasty. Will post Michael Psilakis recipe after the Keftedes.

Oven is set at 350 degrees

Shredded Parsnips, Onion, and Chopped Parsley.

Combined with the Cottage Cheese, Eggs and Lite White Bread, Mint, Dill, Salt, and Pepper.

Roll into a meatball shape about the size of a walnut and light coat it in your seasoned crumbs.

I wound up with 30 and baked them at 350 degree oven for 15 minutes as soon as they came out I generously salt and peppered them and served them with a low fat Tsatziki Sauce.

 

Michael Psilakis Gyro Slider Spice

12 Tablespoons Cumin

2 Tablespoons Coriander

8 Tablespoons Mustard Seed

2 1/2 teaspoons Cloves

2 Tablespoons Black Cardamon ( there is no substitute for black cardamon and DON’T use green it’s not the same)

4 Tablespoons Fennel

2 Tablespoons Cinnamon

This seasoning is delicious to coat a burger with  but will need Salt and Pepper.

Low Fat Tsatziki

About 3 inches of Armenian Cucumber pealed, seeds removed and grated.

About 2 Tablespoons of my  Slow Roasted Garlic Spread (see recipe under recipes)

About 1/4 of large sweet Onion Grated

About 2 Tablespoons of Dried Dill

Slightly over 1/2 Cup of Non Fat Greek Yogurt

Juice of one small lemon

Fresh Ground Sea Salt and Fresh Ground Pepper.

 

 

I took Thomas Keller’s Recipe for Lentils Vinaigrette and made some substitutions and minor additions.

The ingredients I used are

2 lbs Black Beluga Lentils

2 branches of fresh Bay Leaves

1 head of garlic sliced in half

1 parsnip cut in half ( I believe the recipe says to use carrot but I like the flavor of parsnips so I used parsnip)

about a teaspoon of dried Thyme (sprays of Thyme are used in the real recipe but I didn’t have any that day)

1 large Sweet Onion (one half diced the other 1/2 whole)

3 Tablespoons Red Wine Vinegar (You don’t use all three tables at the same time)

2 teaspoons Kosher Salt

Some Fresh Ground Black Pepper

1 1/2 Tablespoon Dijon Mustard

1/4 C Extra Virgin Olive Oil

About a Cup of sliced Scallion

2 carrots shredded (my addition I think they play well against the parsnip flavor)

About a handful of fresh chopped parsley

Take your Lentils, Onion, Parsnip, Garlic, Bay leaves, Thyme, and Bring to Boil and then cover and simmer till done. (about 20 minutes)

This is important

When the lentils are done discard the onion, parsnip, garlic and bay leaves. NOW ADD 2 Tablespoons of Red Wine Vinegar, your two teaspoons of salt and some fresh ground black pepper and let sit and get cool. This is Thomas Keller’s method sort of but not exact I note.

Now make the Vinaigrette!

I find it easiest to start with your 1 1/2 Tablespoon of Dijon and slowly add your 1/4 Cup of Extra Virgin Olive Oil and after that’s emulsified slowly add your 1 Tablespoon of Red Wine Vinegar and add to your cooled lentils.

Now add your Carrot, Onion, Scallion, and Parsley to the lentils.

Mix and your done. You can vary the recipe as much as you like. You might want it saucier and might want to double up on the vinaigrette but I like it drier. Last time I made this I used Regular Lentils and with my Three Hour Onions Recipe that you can find under recipes and it tasted very good that way warm. (I didn’t add all the raw onions and used the three hour onions and scallions)

A Timbale is hard to describe. It’s layers of food that might  be or include a combination of Pasta, Custard, Rice, Risotto, Potatoes, Eggs, Cheese, Meat, and Vegetables held together with egg, also usually baked in a pan, (but sometimes Chilled or steamed) and is traditionally covered with bread crumbs. Sometimes it’s made in a pan for multiple servings and sometimes it made in individual pans.

I’ve made Timbales a few times and always make them different. This Time my Timbale was made of Zucchini, Eggplant, Tomatoes, Greens, Cheeses, Spelt Pasta, Eggs, Butter and Whole Wheat Panko Bread Crumbs.

I set my oven to 375 degrees. I buttered and crumbed my Springform Pan.

 

I patted bottom of pan with seasoned Zucchini mixed with Some Mozzarella Cheese,one beaten egg and lined the sides of pan with broiled and seasoned Eggplant.

 

I topped that with Seasoned Provolone Cheese.

Then I added Seasoned Tomatoes.

Next came my mixture of Seasoned Ricotta, Mozzarella, Provolone, Hard Cheese, Egg and Spelt Pasta.

 

More Seasoned Provolone.

 

Then I added the seasoned Seasoned Greens mixed with cheese Mixture and then a layer of the Zucchini Mixture.

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Topped that with Whole Wheat Panko Bread Crumbs.

 

Baked at 375 for 90 Minutes.

 

Corn stock turns Corn Soup, Corn Risotto, Polenta, and other Corn Recipes from ordinary to extraordinary!

Most Corn Stock recipes instruct you to gather your used corn cobs and boil them for a certain amount of time with some aromatics.

Why do that when you can have delicious sweet corn and great corn stock with a BIG giant corn taste roasted in one easy pan.

Set your oven to 375 degrees. Get your pan and fill with your pealed  corn cobs. Fill with water to almost cover your one layer of corn. Add about 2 oz. of sweet butter for 4-6 corn cobs and about 1 teaspoon of Kosher Salt for the 4-6 corn cobs. Cover pan. and Roast for 2 hours. After two hours pull pan out on counter still covered and let sit out and cool for at least an hour. You will have the sweetest juiciest corn and the most delicious corn stock you ever had!

I note the Stock will be slightly salty but I find that helpful to season whatever I’m using the stock for.

Garlic gets totally transformed when you roast it at 375 degrees in a covered pan with a heavy sprinkle of Extra Virgin Olive Oil for an hour.

 

All this peeled garlic only cost about $2. from the Asian Market.

 

After the garlic is roasted just Blend.

The Garlic gets so sweet and mellow. It’s excellent in spreads or sauces and keeps fresh for many weeks in the refrigerator.

 

The story of Barbie’s Tuna salad is that it was created by a Caterer named Barbie. Nobody ever tasted tuna salad like that before and everyone who tasted it wanted the recipe. Someone who goes by the ID Tanaquil posted the recipe on www.allrecipes.com .  The recipe is a little unusual with a tiny bit of curry and Parmesan Cheese but all the flavors are delicious together.

I tried out the recipe. I thought it had interesting flavors that were different. I liked it but wanted less creaminess, wanted more texture, and a little more balance so I made a few adjustments. Instead of White Tuna I used light, I like the flavor and texture of light better and it also has less Mercury in it. I had to cut the Mayo down a bit. I swapped out as much as the dried herbs as I could and replaced them with fresh that seem much brighter to me. I added shredded carrot, salt, pepper, and fresh squeezed lemon juice. I will post the two recipes together. Just follow whatever you like or a combination to make your own. Makes around two servings.

5oz. light tuna drained and flaked (Barbie’s 7oz. White Tuna drained & flaked)

1 1/2-2 Tablespoon Parmesan Cheese (Barbie’s 1 Tablespoon Parmesan Cheese)

3Tablespoons Mayo, I used light Mayo (Barbie’s 6Tablespoons Mayo or dressing)

1 1/2 Tablespoons Hot Sweet Pickle Relish, I used Famous Dave’s Sweet and Hot Pickle Relish (Barbie’s 3T Sweet Pickle Relish)

1 1/2-2 Tablespoon Sweet Onion Grated (Barbie’s 1/8 teaspoon dried onion flakes)

1/4 teaspoon Curry (same)

2 Tablespoons Fresh Parsley Chopped (Barbie’s 1 Tablespoon Dried Parsley)

1 teaspoon dried dill (the same I didn’t have any fresh dill here)

1 small (tiny) garlic clove mashed (Barbie’s a pinch of garlic powder)

Fresh Lemon Juice from 1/2 a lemon for my taste it needed acid for balance.

one small carrot grated This adds to the texture and eye appeal and the flavor plays well against the dill.

Fresh ground Sea Salt

Fresh ground Black Pepper

Just mix and chill and your ready!

 

Recently I had these Pea Cakes out at Southern Rail Restaurant in Phoenix and I was inspired to do my own twist on them. Theirs were tasty but fell apart when you ate them. Mine do differ from the taste of the ones I had from Southern Rail but hold together well and are moist. I don’t know what the Southern Rail Recipe was but they had an almost falafel taste, seemed pan fried or grilled and came with a really Great Flavorful Tomato Jam that complimented the cakes very well.  I found them interesting nonetheless.  Mine are more a corn bread taste. I guess I could have called mine cakes if I made them flatter or made them like pancakes in a fry pan but choose the muffin shape so I called them muffins. Mine came out moist with a delicate flavors I liked and I didn’t want to add anything else to them. My oven is set at 350 degrees and I used oiled muffin pans.

Ingredients are

1 Cup Cornmeal

1 Cup Flour

1 Tablespoon Baking Powder

1/2 teaspoon Baking Soda

1 teaspoon Kosher Salt

1/2 Cup soft butter

1 egg beaten

1/2 Cup Buttermilk

1/2 Cup Milk

1 lb. Peas (I used a 1 lb. frozen bag thawed)

1 cup of chopped Scallion

1 clove minced garlic

Fresh Ground Black Pepper

I had my dry ingredients in one bowl.

My wet in my other bowl.

Then I spilled out 1/2 my wet and added the garlic,  half of my peas and all the scallions.

Then I blended mixture.

Then I added the Fresh Ground Black pepper to all bowls and combined all mixtures. The mixture did look sort of dry but I knew it would be fine since I based this recipe on my Corn Muffin Recipe I haven’t Published as of yet.

Filled oiled Muffin Pans about 3/4 full.

Baked them at 350 degrees for 15 minutes.

They came out moist and with a nice texture. They do have some slight sweetness to them but are without sugar. you can also taste onions without them overpowering the peas. This recipe made 17 muffins for me.

I think they are a good for breakfast, or as a side, snack  or a side dish for dinner.

 

 

 

 

I had some Mulling Spice and some Grapes that were going past their time so I thought I’d pickle them seasoned with Mulling Spices. Mulling Spice sort of has the aroma of Christmas.

Normal Mulling Spices are Orange, Ginger, Cinnamon, Black Pepper, Allspice, Star Anise, and Cloves.

Foe some reason I had an old pack of this seasoning sitting around. I no longer purchase any spice blends because they almost forking always suck.

I cooked maybe 1/3 sugar against 2/3rds vinegar with my already packaged Mull seasoning and the grapes. I drained the mulling spices out.

They came out tasting good and not too sweet, almost apple pie like. I think they will go well with a light creamy cheese or an almost not sweet whipped cream. They also keep well too!

It’s easy to pickle your grapes if you accidentally  purchased too many.