Sunday, July 21, 2013

Kohlrabi Slaw

Have you had kohlrabi?  It's that veggie that looks like it just landed from space.  With two in my fridge, I needed to find something to do with one of them besides grill them.  Which by the way is delicious, you can find my recipe here.

Using this salad as my inspiration,  I added kohlrabi, apple and carrots.  I used the food processor to shred the kohlrabi.  If you do, be careful because it can come out a little too grated.  I actually liked this better after the next day.  The crunch of the apple gives this slaw a great texture!



Kohlrabi Slaw

Ingredients:

For Dressing:
3 tablespoons cider vinegar
2 tablespoons honey
1/4 cup olive oil
salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste


1 Granny Smith apple or other tart, green apple
1 Kohlrabi shredded (I used the food processor - be careful not to over process)
3 carrots peeled and shredded

3 ounces Pecorino Romano cheese, finely grated (about 1 cup)

Directions:

To prepare dressing, whisk together cider vinegar and honey. Drizzle in olive oil and whisk until combined. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Core apple and cut into small cubes or matchsticks. Place in a small bowl and toss with 1 tablespoon of dressing to prevent the apples from browning. Peel kohlrabi, grate with grate, mandolin or food processor.  Peel and shred carrots. Toss with apples and remaining dressing.  Set aside and let sit for at least 15 minutes or more.(I thought it was better the next day)

Sunday, July 14, 2013

Asian Cole Slaw - Secret Recipe Club

There's a Wednesday night Farmer's Market in the area where Tim works.  A few weeks ago, he was were given a coupon for $5.00 off at the market.  Tim used his to purchase two beautiful heads of cabbage.  That means cole slaw at my house.   I'd just received my Secret Recipe Club assignment for the month, Morsels of Life.  One of the first recipes I found was for Asian Cole Slaw.  We prefer non mayonnaise based cole slaw's at our house, so this was a perfect recipe to try.

We really enjoyed the flavors in this dressing.  Mine came out a little thick. When I make this again, I think I will add a little olive oil to thin it out just a bit.  You can find a series of cole slaw recipes at Morsels of Life.  Next time we have cabbage, I can't wait to try the Cranberry Walnut Slaw.



Asian Cole Slaw
Recipe Courtesy of Morsels of Life

8 oz cabbage, shredded
2/3 cup carrots, grated
1/8 tsp celery seed
1/2 tsp ginger, grated
2 tsp peanut butter
1 T. soy sauce
1 T. lime juice
1 tsp. sesame oil
1/8 c peanuts, chopped

Combine cabbage and carrots.  Whisk remaining ingredients together.  Pour over cabbage and carrot mixture.  Combine well.  Sprinkle chopped peanuts on top, just prior to serving.

Tuesday, July 9, 2013

Not Your Mama's Banana Bread

One blog I never miss reading is Tomatoes on the Vine.  If you haven't been to Velva's blog, stop by she takes beautiful pictures and has delicious recipes.  I am always intrigued by banana bread recipes because I have one that I consider THE BEST!!  It's not my mama's but one of my best friends mama's and it is delicious.  When Velva said if you have a family favorite recipe, you'll like this one better, I knew I had to give this recipe a try.    I've tried a lot of banana bread recipes the past 30 years and none have replaced my favorite but let's take this one for a spin and see where we end up.

In fairness the recipe calls for bourbon and we didn't have any.  I used brandy instead.  I was going to throw in a few chocolate chips because they make everything better but I forgot.  That's probably good because it wouldn't be a true test of the recipe with the addition of the chips.  I think my pan was a little large than what the recipe called for so I reduced the baking time to 40 minutes.  Checked it and it was done.  The brandy added a delicious flavor profile to this bread.  Is it going to replace my favorite banana bread recipe?  Probably not but I will add it to the recipe box!


 
 Not Your Mama's Banana Bread
Recipe Courtesy of Tomatoes on the Vine
Ingredients:
3 to 4 ripe bananas, smashed
1/3 cup melted salted butter
3/4 to 1 cup light brown sugar (depending on your level of sweetness, that your prefer)
1 egg, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon bourbon (optional)
1 teaspoon baking soda
Pinch of salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
Pinch of ground cloves
1-1/2 cups of flour
Directions:
 Preheat the oven to 350 degree F.  With a wooden spoon, mix butter into the mashed bananas in a large mixing bowl.  Mix in the sugar, egg vanilla and bourbon, then the spices.  Sprinkle the baking soda and salt over the mixture and mix in.  add the flour last, mix.  pour mixture into a buttered 4x8-inch loaf pan.  Bake for 50 minutes to one hour, or until a tester comes out clean.  Cool on rack.  Remove from pan and slice to serve.
Enjoy!