Imam Baldi (Eggplant Casserole)

3 medium Eggplants
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 onions, chopped
4to 6 tomatoes, chopped or 1 small can
4 cloves garlic, chopped
½ cup dried currants or golden raisins
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried basil
2 tablespoons fresh parsley, finely chopped
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
Salt to taste
½ cup soft breadcrumbs
1/3 cup pine nuts or slivered almonds
Basil or parsley for garnish

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Chop eggplants coarsely.
In a large skillet sauté onions in olive oil until soft, about 10 minutes. Add eggplant, tomatoes, garlic, currants, oregano and basil. Simmer for 10 to 20 minutes or until softened and most of the liquid has evaporated. Stir in parsley, cinnnamon, nutmeg and salt.

Place in a casserole and bake 40 or 50 minutes, until fork tender. Mix breadcrumbs and nuts, sprinkle over top of casserole pushing gently into filling so crumbs stay put. Return to oven and bake for 10 minutes or until well toasted.

Garnish with basil and serve warm or at room temperature.

Adapted from Veggie Life magazine, Spring 2005

Crepes

This is one of those recipe where technique is more important than the measurements. This recipe will make about 10 medium sized crepes. The size depends on the size of your frying pan.

2 eggs, lightly beaten.

2 cups milk

½ tsp. vanilla

1 tsp olive oil

1 cup flour

Mix the eggs, milk, vanilla and oil. Stir in the flour and beat lightly with a whisk. Do not over beat. This recipe is even better if the batter sits in the fridge for a couple of hours or overnight but at our house it never makes it that far. The batter should have the consistency of heavy cream. If it is too thick add more milk and stir. I like to put the batter into a pitcher so it’s easy to control the pouring and there is less spilling on the stove.

The temperature of the frying pan is crucial. If you have non-stick that’s the best. A well seasoned cast iron is great because it holds its heat. If you don’t have non-stick it helps to add a bit of butter to the pan for the first pancake. The first one usually sticks or rips and my grandchildren have learned not to beg for the first one. Pour the batter into the middle of the pan in a circular motion and then tip the pan to even out the batter. The batter should sizzle when it hits the pan and the batter should stick enough to keep the pancake from moving in the pan. When it looks dry on the top you turn it over. Slip a spatula under the edge and try to get it at least half way under. If you try to pull the spatula out it will just stick, so if you can’t get it under far enough just turn the pancake anyway. If it rips, somebody will get two half pancakes. If it sticks, it probably wasn’t cooked long enough or the frying pan wasn’t hot enough.

Serve with butter, brown sugar, white susgar,icing sugar, lemon juice, chocolate sauce or syrup. Roll them up to eat them.

Spaghetti with Clam Sauce

Spaghetti with Clam Sauce

¼ cup butter

1 onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, minced (optional)

¼ cup flour

2 cups milk

Salt, pepper

½ cup cheese

1 can baby clams, drained (use fresh if you are lucky enough to be able to get them)

Parsley

Melt the butter in a saucepan and add the onions. Cook the onions until soft, and add garlic and cook a few minutes longer. Add flour and cook, stirring constantly until it is blended with the butter. Add milk and cook over low heat, stirring often, until thick and bubbly. Add cheese and stir in until melted. Season with salt and pepper. Add clams and stir.

Meanwhile, boil spaghetti until soft.

Place the spaghetti in a bowl and add sauce. Sprinkle with chopped fresh parsley.

If You want to make it lighter, use low fat condensed milk. At the other end of the scale, you can use cream or half cream and half milk. You can use any kind of cheese you like. I used half cheddar and half mozzarella this time, but Swiss and/or Gouda are also excellent.

True's Pikelets
Ingredients

2 teaspoons butter
1 cup of self-raising flour
Pinch salt
2 Teaspoons sugar
1 Egg
1/2 Cup milk

Directions

. Melt the butter.
. Put it into a bowl with the flour, the salt, the sugar, the egg, about
half a cup of milk and the melted butter. Stir it all up until there are no
lumps. You may need to add more milk.
. Grease the griddle or frypan. Drop the mixture on in spoonfuls.
. When the pikelet is bubbly, turn it over and cook the other side. (Watch
out for the child's wrists on the hot edge of the frypan.)

Scalloped Potatoes

Slow Cooker Scalloped Potatoes

This is a very large recipe but the proportions are not all that important.

12 medium potatoes, thinly sliced

1 or 2 medium onions, thinly sliced

1 or 2 cloves minced garlic (optional)

Pre-cook the potatoes and onions in water for about 5 minutes and then drain and place in slow cooker.

Top with roux made as follows:

¼ cup butter

¼ cup flour

2 cups milk

Melt butter and add flour. Stir until well mixed. Then add milk. Cook on low heat stirring often until it is thick. Add about 1 cup of cheese. I used a mixture of cheddar, mozzarella and feta. Stir well and pour over the potatoes. If it doesn’t cover the potatoes, add some plain milk to top it up. Sprinkle the top with parmesan cheese.

Cook for about 4 hours on medium or low.

I made a huge pot of these and they disappeared in minutes.

Carmel's Crispy Skinned Salmon

Preparation Time

15 minutes

Cooking Time

10 minutes

Ingredients (serves 4)

• 1 tsp rock salt
• 2 tsp finely grated lime rind
• 4 (about 170g each, 2cm thick)
• salmon fillets
• Olive oil, to grease
• 1 x 150g pkt baby spinach leaves
• 2 ripe avocados, halved, stones removed, peeled, coarsely chopped
• 1 red capsicum, halved, deseeded,
• thinly sliced
• 1/2 red onion, halved, thinly sliced
• 45g (1/4 cup) drained pickled ginger
• 1 green shallot, end trimmed,
• thinly sliced diagonally
• 1/2 cup fresh coriander leaves
• 1 x 100g pkt fried or crunchy noodles (Chang's brand)
• Freshly ground black pepper
• Lime wedges, to serve

• Wasabi dressing

• 125g (1/2 cup) good-quality
• whole-egg mayonnaise
• 1 1/2 tbs olive oil
• 3 tsp wasabi paste
• 3 tsp soy sauce

Method

1. Place rock salt and lime rind in a mortar and pound with a pestle until finely crushed. Sprinkle salmon with salt mixture.
2. Preheat a barbecue or chargrill pan on high. Brush salmon with oil. Cook for 2-3 minutes each side for medium or until cooked to your liking. Transfer to a plate and cover with foil to keep warm.
3. To make wasabi dressing, combine the mayo, oil, wasabi and soy sauce in a bowl.
4. Place the spinach, avocado, capsicum, onion, ginger, shallot and coriander in a bowl. Add noodles and toss to combine.
5. Divide the salad among serving plates. Top with salmon, drizzle with wasabi dressing and season with pepper. Serve with lime wedges, if desired.

Source

Australian Good Taste - November 2005 , Page 64 Recipe by Carmel Debreuil

Hummous

Spicy Hummus

¼ cup parsley

2 tablespoons choppd onion

1 garlic clove, chopped

¼ cup orange juice

2 tablespoons tahini

2 tablespoons rice vinegar

2 teaspoons soy sauce

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

¼ teaspoon each ginger, coriander, turmeric, cumin, paprika

1 can chickpeas or 1 cup dry chickpeas, soaked and cooked.

Process parsley, onion and garlic. Add remaining ingredions and the chickpeas drained. Process until smooth. This dip gets better as it ages.