Lemon Poppy-seed Teacakes

I was looking for a recipes to use some remaining poppy seeds. I looked through my cookbooks and was inspired by a Russian Teacakes recipe. 

I found that the combination of whole wheat flour, rolled oats, and poppy seeds, created a texture that was irresistible. The addition of lemon adds the flavor of Spring.


I shared these with some co-workers and faculty at my graduate institution. They were a big hit!






Lemon Poppy-seed Teacakes
adapted from King Arthur Flour Whole Grain baking cookbook


Ingredients:


1 1/3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
1/2 cup white whole wheat flour
1/2 cup white whole wheat pastry flour
2/3 cup almond meal (or chopped walnuts)
11 tablespoons unsalted butter
10 tbsp splenda or 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tsp vanilla extract
Grated zest of 1 lemon
1 cup of confectioners' sugar for coating (optional)


Recipe:


(1) Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or use without parchment, ungreased. 
(2) In a food processor, pulse the oats and flours until everything is finely ground. If using almond meal add to the processor, and pulse to mix.
(3) In a medium bowl, beat the butter, Splenda, and salt until smooth. Beat in the lemon juice, vanilla extract, and lemon zest. Then the oat mixture. 
(4) Roll the dough into teaspoon-size balls. Place the balls on the prepared baking sheets, 1 1/2 inches apart.


(5) Bake the cookies, reversing the pans midway through (top to bottom, bottom to top), for 15 minutes. (Note: They won't have begun to brown, perhaps maybe at bottom edge.)

(6) Meanwhile, spoon about 1 cup confectioners' sugar into a plastic bag. (The cookies taste great even without the sugar coating, so go ahead and try one before coating...I did!)


(7) Remove the cookies from the oven and allow them to cool for 5 minutes. Place the warm cookies in the bag and shake gently to coat with sugar. Allow them to cool completely, then shake them in the sugar again, adding more sugar to bag if needed. (This is very important, if you want the sugar coating to be very apparent for serving.)


Place the cookies on the sheet once more, to allow time for the sugar to adhere, before serving or storing.

Lime-Infused Black Bean Stew

In a recent food challenge with my friends, we decided to explore South American cuisine in our cooking. My family is from Trinidad and Tobago, in the West Indies. Trinidad neighbors Venezuela and has been also influenced by the English, Portuguese, East Indian, French, African, and Chinese cuisines, to name a few. Growing up, I was exposed to all of these cuisines in addition to the derived "West Indian" cuisine. 


I was very excited to embark on South American cooking as the flavor brought me home. Using ingredients in my pantry, I decided to do a lime-infused black bean stew, which uses minimal ingredients but packs a lot of flavor.




Lime-Infused Black Bean Stew


Ingredients:
1 can reduced sodium black beans, drained and rinsed
2 limes, juiced
1/2 medium onion, chopped
1/4 cabbage, diced
4 tbsp tomato paste
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1 tsp ground coriander
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
spray canola or olive oil
1/2 cup vegetable broth or chicken broth
1 1/2 cup water


Recipe:
(1) In a medium pot, sprayed with canola oil, brown the chopped onions.
(2) Add the black beans, vegetable broth, and 1 1/2 cups of water.
(3) In a separate saucepan sprayed with canola oil, add the cabbage and cook for 4-5 minutes covered.
(4) In the pot with the black beans, add the vinegar, lime juice, tomato paste, and coriander.
(5) Cook the black beans uncovered until reduced to two-thirds the original volume.
(6) Add the cooked cabbage to the pot of black beans. Season with salt and pepper to taste.


Serve with Tortilla chips (I love the Multigrain Food Should Taste Good chips). Enjoy!

Spring Corn Pudding

For another Sunday dinner with my girlfriends, I decided to use some fresh spring ingredients like corn and green garlic to make this main dish. I added cheese and used whole wheat flour to incorporate some whole grains. I was pleasantly surprised with the sweet yet savory flavor of this main dish.

The sweet corn and fresh vegetable flavor, brought me back to Chile, a recent travel adventure.

Spring Corn Pudding
adapted from Bon Appétit magazine

1 cup chopped green garlic
1 cup chopped red onion (~ 1/2 medium onion)
3, 15- to 16- ounce cans corn kernels, drained, rinsed, and divided
3 tbsp butter, melted
canola oil spray
1/2 cup grated cheese (mixture of asiago, parmesan, cheddar, mozzarella, feta)
4 large eggs
2 1/2 splenda packets or 2 tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
3 tbsp white whole wheat flour


(1) Preheat oven to 400F. Spray 13x9x2-inch rectangular baking dish with canola oil.
(2) Spray a medium skillet with canola oil over medium heat. Add onion and sauté until soft, about 5 minutes. Cool in skillet.
(3) Meanwhile, whisk milk, eggs, flour, sugar, salt, pepper, and 3 melted tbsp butter in a large bowl.
(4) Scrape in onion mixture and green garlic. Add 2 cans drained corn.
(5) Puree remaining 1 can drained corn in food processor until smooth.

(6) Add puree to bowl with custard mixture and stir to blend well.
(7) Add 1/4 cup cheese to the custard mixture. I used a mixture of 5 cheeses. Use whatever you have on hand, preferably crumbly, slightly salty cheeses. Transfer to prepare baking dish.
(8) After 20 min, add the remaining 1/4 cup grated cheese to top of pudding.
(7) Bake pudding until set in center and beginning to brown on top, another 20 to 25 min. Serve warm.


This pudding is a great use of spring time veggies. The garlic works well with the corn. I will definitely use this recipe again and again. Let me know what creations you come up with!

Swiss Chard and Scallion Dutch Baby

Do you have friends or family members that don't like vegetables? I have a few. Do you have a large amount of produce that needs attention? I did. That is why, for one of my Sunday dinners with the girls, I adapted a recipe from my 2007 Food and Wine Annual Cookbook that takes a creative spin on a classic dessert, a Dutch Baby, a light pancake.


I cut down the amount of butter as the scallions cook nicely in canola oil spray. I also prepared this with white whole wheat flour and it still came out light and fluffy. Their recipe used Scallions and Spinach but this is easily adaptable to anything green that takes to heat well (and doesn't spring too much liquid).


Try it for yourself and see. ;)

Swiss Chard and Scallion Dutch Baby
adapted from 2007 Food and Wine Annual Cookbook


Ingredients:


1 bushel of Swiss Chard, chopped
4 large scallions, thickly sliced
1 spray can of canola oil (or olive oil)
1 cup of non-fat milk (or almond milk or whole milk)
1 cup of white whole wheat flour
4 large eggs
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons of grated Parmesan cheese
Pinch of ground or freshly grated nutmeg
Salt and Pepper to taste


Recipe:

1. Remove the top rack in the oven and preheat to 450°. In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook the swiss chard until wilted, about 1 minute. Drain and let cool. Squeeze the chard dry.
2. In a blender, mix the eggs, milk, flour, 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt, 1/8 teaspoon of pepper and the nutmeg until smooth.
3. Spray a 12-inch cast-iron or non-stick oven-proof skillet with canola oil (or olive oil). 
4. Add the scallions and cook over moderate heat until tender, about 3 minutes.
5. Add the swiss chard and cook until heated through, about 1 minute; season with salt and pepper. 
6. Increase the heat to high and cook for 1 minute without stirring. 
7. Pour in the batter, sprinkle with the Parmesan and transfer the skillet to the oven. 
8. Bake for 25 minutes or until golden. Cut into wedges and serve hot or warm.

Serve it as a first course (8 people) or a main course (4 people).

It tasted delicious topped with goat cheese! A wonderful pre-lude to San Francisco's Goat festival at the Ferry Building Farmer's Market on Saturday.


Let me know what of ingredient combinations you come up with.