yogurt cake

 I made a batch of yogurt with some bad bacteria in it (tastes way off) that I'm using up for baking.  Everything has so much sugar in it, but this does not and it's still moist and tasty.  I don't usually have lemons about (they're expensive here), so I wonder about some other flavor instead of lemon zest.  

Ingredients

• 1 cup (250gr) plain yogurt
• 2 leveled cups (250gr) all-purpose flour or light spelt flour (I mixed both)
• 1/2 cup (100gr) white or unrefined cane sugar
• 1/2 scant cup (approx 80gr) vegetable oil 
• 2 eggs, at room temperature
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 Tsp Vanilla essence
• 1 Lemon, zest
• 1 pinch salt

JAM GLAZE

• 3 Tbsp apricot or orange jam

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 350F°/180C° and place the rack in the middle position.
• Grease a 9x5x2.5 inch loaf pan with butter, cooking spray, or simply line the pan with parchment paper (in this case there's no need to grease the pan).
• Mix eggs and sugar, then add oil, lemon zest, vanilla essence and mix again. Add yogurt (not very cold) and mix it into a smooth consistency. All in one bowl.
• Whisk flour, baking powder and a pinch of salt together and add to the wet batter until just combined. 
• Scrape the batter into the prepared loaf pan and smooth the top. 
• Bake for about 35-40 minutes, until a skewer inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
• When the cake is done, remove it from the oven and place on a wire rack to cool. 
• You can serve it plain or brushed with some quick and easy jam glaze which adds a lovely shine and flavor. Fruit glaze: put 3 tablespoons of apricot or orange jam into a small saucepan. Heat gently over low heat until the jam has melted and If it looks too thick adjust the consistency with a tiny bit of warm water. When the glaze is the consistency of runny honey, brush the yogurt cake straight away.
  

chickpea dip (not hummus)

Without tahini, it doesn't really taste like hummus to me.  But, this is still a pretty good snack, fro here.

Ingredients

• 1 (15 oz.) can garbanzo beans (chickpeas), drained and rinsed
• 2 to 4 tbsp. water
• 2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tbsp. lemon juice
• 1 garlic clove minced
• 3/4 tsp. ground cumin
• 1/4 to 1/2 tsp. salt

Instructions

Add the garbanzo beans, 2 tablespoons of water, the olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, cumin, and 1/4 teaspoon of salt to a food processor. Process until smooth and creamy. If needed, add additional water to thin out the hummus and 1/4 teaspoon of salt to your taste preference.

canning salmon

Notes so I remember next time. 

Last year I canned sockeye salmon because a friend's boyfriend had too much and so they shared, and it was FABULOUS.  I especially like the salmon patties I make with it.  Also of course I love it because it's free. 

Well, this year isn't free, but I found a source with coho.  He says it'll be great for canning because of all the good oil.  I'll give it a whirl. 

Last year I canned all pints (except a practice run with some past-prime pink fillets my friend's kid gave me; they were not great but dogs have enjoyed that).  This year I realized that half-pints would expand how often I use it.  It's a commitment to open a pint and have to eat it quickly, especially since the dog can't eat it (she gets stomach problems).  But a half pint I could make into a sandwich spread and eat for breakfast on toast.  Oh, yes.  So, I pulled out all the half pint jars and ... I need more.  It'll still be mostly pints. 

So, today I went and got the coho and it was such a delightful experience to chat with the fellow and learn. 

I got 20# with the heads on, gutted and bled.  That was 4 fish ($80 as it's $4/#).  I'll mark here when finished how many jars that makes.

I need a good fish knife.

It took me about 1.5 hours to process the fish - chop off the heads (save to make fish broth to can so that I can make salmon chowder in the deeps of winter, and then bokashi the fish heads since I can't just bury them outside), chop off the tail and fins (then chop to put into bokashi bin), cut into pieces.  I wash the fish off in cool water and scrape off easy scales, but I don't really scale the fish, and I don't remove bones or skin.  I don't usually eat the skin when canned, but it slides right off (MUCH less waste than trying to skin it raw).  The bones get soft and are crunchy, and a good source of calcium.

My canner (an electric Carey canner aka Nesco, that I use A LOT) only holds about 4 jars, but I think I can stack the half-pints on top of the pints, so I can do 4 pints and 3 half-pints per load.

Pressure can on high for 100 minutes. 

So I can do one load tonight and hopefully can finish tomorrow.  I have to let my canner cool down and rest between loads, but I'm guessing I'll be doing about 18 pints worth, so ... maybe 3 loads tomorrow?  I can start early since I just have to warm lids and fit it into jars and roll.  Then I'll make the fish broth and can that. 

Not bad.  Maybe two hours worth of work and $80 for 18 pints of fish and a few quarts of broth. 

If I'm still feeling chipper when all done processing, I'll ask him to try again for some sockeyes on his next run ($5/pound). 

I'm gonna need more jars!

scones

Sour cream to use up, wanting something satisfying dessert but not too much sugar.

These!

Mix together
2 c. flour (I used 1 c. freshly ground whole wheat flour - 130 g.)
1/3 c. sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

Then grate into it:
8 Tbsp frozen butter
Use fingers to mix butter it in

in another bowl mix together
1/2 c. sour cream (yogurt would also be fine)
1 egg
1/2 c. dehydrated huckleberries or some other fruit or nut or whatever goodness is waiting to be used up.

Add wet to dry and mix up to combine and get into a ball.  Pat ball into a round about 7-8" and cut into 8 slices.  Sprinkle with some sugar. 

Bake 400 degrees 15-17 minutes. 

Now I just wish I had some clotted cream!

Chinese cabbage and egg stirfry

Just got some locally grown Chinese cabbage, and this looked like a good idea.

Ingredients:
- chopped (Chinese) cabbage
- 2 eggs, beaten
- fish sauce
- green onions (or garlic scapes)
- garlic
- carrot, grated
- (red) onion, chopped
- red chili
- sesame oil
- sesame seeds

Heat oil in wok.  Add garlic, stir a minute, add onion. Then add grated carrots. 

Stir in cabbage.

Add a bit of water (maybe 1/4 cup?).

Add chili, black pepper, (salt - do you really need it if adding fish sauce?), fish sauce, and green onions.  Stir and cook 2-3 minutes, until water evaporates. 

PUsh vegetables to side, add some more oil, then the eggs.  Let them cook in place a couple minutes, then stir eggs until cooked, then stir in vegs. Add sesame seeds.  Turn off heat and serve.

red flannel hash

From a Facebook group, which I plan to try:

Boiled potatoes, beets, and carrots leftovers from a boiled dinner perhaps. Just a bit of turnip if you please, and a diced raw onion.

Grease a cast iron skillet with several pieces of salt pork. Drop the vegetables into the hot pan and with a biscuit cutter or a soup can (top and bottom removed) cut, dice the vegetables until all that's left is this uniform rich red panful of tiny pieces of unidentifiable stuff.

Serve it like home fries with eggs and such. Or make a side dish for a meat and greens meal.

Spectacular, sweet and bold adventure.

farm cookies - chocolate chocolate chip

From one of my dearest, oldest friends and her cousin who pulled together from the cupboard.  These chocolate bombs are one of my favorite special treats.

Blend together:
- 1 c butter
- 2 eggs
- 1 c honey
- 1 tsp vanilla

Mix together:
- 2 c flour
- 1 c cocoa
- 1 tsp baking soda

Mix all together, add chocolate chips

350 degrees about 8-10 minutes.