Potato-stuffed tomatoes

During summer, I love to cook without meat. Stuffed vegetables are my favorite: tomatoes, peppers, zucchinis, eggplants. Usually I make stuffed tomatoes at least twice during the season. Most of the people would bake them  for 30-45 minutes, but I like them well cooked, slightly caramelized, so they are not acidic. Sometimes I let them bake for more than 3 hours.  The day after the taste is even better. Like most vegetarian dishes the more they are re-heated the better they taste. This is my mother’s recipe and all my family loves it! I hope you will love it too.

Ingredients
9 medium ripe tomatoes
4 medium hashed potatoes (around 4 cups)
1 egg
2 garlic cloves crushed
Salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoon parsley ciseled

1/8 cup butter (1 ounce or 2 tablespoons)
2 tablespoons olive oil + extra for drizzling
4 cups shredded cheese (gruyere, emmenthal or Jarlsberg)
5-6 basil leaves

Directions
Preparing the tomatoes and the sauce

1. Cut the top of the tomatoes leaving an inch. Scoop out the pulp and put in a pan over medium heat. Try to remove most of the seeds. Salt and invert the tomatoes on a large plate and let it drain.
2. Cook the pulp over medium heat to make a sauce (around 20 minutes). Season with salt and pepper.
3. Pass the sauce through a moulinette or a sieve to remove the seeds add the basil leaves and set aside.

Preparing the stuffing

1. While the tomatoes are draining and the sauce is cooking, shred the potatoes in a food processor, and cook in the microwave for 3-4 minutes or until just tender.
2. Remove and transfer to a large bowl. Add the salt, pepper, garlice and butter and stir to melt.
3. Add the cheese, egg and parsley. Mix well.

Putting everything together

1. Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Stuff the tomatoes, cover with the top and place in a shallow baking dish generously oiled.
3. Sizzle more olive oil on the tomatoes.
4. Bake 80-90 minutes or until most of the liquid is evaporated and the tomatoes start to caramelize. Lower the oven to 350 degrees F.
5. Add 2 cups of the tomato sauce and cook another 30-45 minutes.

Note: if the liquid is evaporating too fast, lower the oven earlier and add the tomato sauce.

Kamut Bread

Kamut is an ancient grain that has been rediscovered not a long time ago. Its exact origin is unknown. One story says the grain was found in the tombs of the ancient Egyptian Pharaohs, hence the nickname "King Tut's Wheat ». Another hint is that "Kamut," or rather, "K-M-T" (pronounced with vowels elided) was the hieroglyphic designation for ancient Egypt.There are many other stories surrounding the name and the origin of the kamut wheat.

Some nutrition facts :
The grain itself is very high in protein. It also contains a high mineral concentration especially in selenium, zinc, and magnesium. This grain variety is considered a high energy wheat, and provides the body with more energy in the form of complex carbohydrates. Because of its low oxidation levels it loses little nutritional content when being ground and processed. Even though this wheat variety contains gluten, it has been found to be more easily digestible by people who may have slight allergic tendencies : Wikipedia. 

 For my first try, I wanted to make just one loaf with 50% kamut flour and 50% all purpose flour, but I made a mistake. I put twice as much liquid than I should have in the dough (frankly I don’t know where my head was). The dough ended up looking like a cake batter! I added around 1/3 cup all purpose flour, but it was still too soft to handle so I literally poured it in a bread pan like a cake. The bread turned out beautiful and very good! As you can see it has a creamy color.  My photographer couldn't resists tasting it before taking the picture!
 I used a stand mixer to prepare the dough. Here are the ingredients.

Ingredients
Starter
½ cup all purpose flour
½ cup kamut flour
1 teaspoon instant yeast
2/3 cup water

Dough
½ cup all purpose flour
½ cup kamut flour
1 tsp instant yeast
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp margarine
1/4 cup warm milk

Directions

1. Mix all the starter ingredients. Let the starter rise until it doubles volume (around 2 hours).
2. Put all the dough ingredients, except the milk, in the dough machine.
3. Add the starter.
4. Turn the machine on.
5. Add the milk if necessary, little by little. The dough should be moist.
6. Knead for 10 minutes.
7. Cover and let it rise for 1 hour.
8. Punch it down to release air.
9. Shape it and let rise for another 45 minutes.
10. Bake 30 minutes in a 400F oven

Cheesy Zucchini Gratin

What I like about this dish is its simplicity. It’s perfect as a side dish for meat and a good way to get kids to eat more vegetables! The trick is to put more cheese on top and there you go.
I have zucchinis in the garden in summer time, so they are on the menu every other day. The zucchinis are light, high fibre and they are available all year long at a very good price.
This dish is ideal for weekday’s menu: it's ready in no time.
The zucchinis contain a lot of liquid so draining them is not enough. You have to dry them to avoid having a soggy dish. I usually put them in a pan on medium heat for around 10 minutes, but you can get around this step by adding 1 tablespoon of flour to the cream to absorb the excess liquid. In this case you do not have to dry them and therefore you save 10 minutes! Personally, I rather dry them.

Ingredients
2 lb zucchinis sliced
1.5 cup heavy cream
3 eggs
3 cups shredded cheese (gruyere or emmenthal or Jarslberg)
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 400F
2. Steam the zucchinis until cooked to taste.
3. Drain and put in skillet on medium heat to dry.Don’t forget to watch them, you don’t want them burnt. You want to eliminate as much liquid as possible to avoid having a soggy dish.
4. In the meantime, beat the eggs in a bowl.
5. Add the cream and cheese. Mix well.
6. Add seasoning.
7. Transfer the zucchinis to an 8x10-inch baking dish.
8. Pour ¾ of the cream mixture on zucchinis and combine.
9. Spread the remaining ¼ cream evenly on top to make up the gratin crust.
10. Bake 20-30 minutes or until golden brown.

Blueberry Pie

This is my first attempt and I must say it was a hit! 

Ingredients
Dough
3 cups flour
2 tablespoon sugar
¾ cup butter (softened)
5 tablespoons shortening
8-10 tablespoons water

Filling
6 c blueberries
1 cup sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch
½ lemon: zest and juice (3 tablespoons)
2 tablespoons granulated sugar to sprinkle

Instructions

1. Combine the flour, sugar, butter and shortening to obtain something like a coarse cornmeal.
2. Sprinkle the water, one tablespoon at a time and mix just enough for the mixture to hold together and turn into a smooth dough. Add more water if needed.
3. Divide the dough in 2 pieces, wrap in plastic and refrigerate for 15-20 minutes.
4. Combine the blueberries, sugar, cornstarch and lemon juice and zest in a bowl.
5. Let it sit for ½ hour.
6. Preheat the oven at 500 degF
7. Remove the dough from the refrigerator.
8. Sprinkle work surface with flour. Roll out one piece of the dough into a 9 inch circle using a rolling pin and sprinkling with flour. Roll the dough over the rolling pin, and unroll it onto the pie pan. Press gently.
9. Roll out the second piece of dough into a rectangle and cut into 8 strips.
10. Spread the blueberry filling on the pie crust.






11. Place the strips to form a lattice as shown in the picture. Press the strips against the crust and tuck them in. Cut any excess dough.





12. Sprinkle with sugar.



13. Place the pie on a baking sheet. Bake 25 minutes at 425, then lower temperature to 375 and bake another 25 minutes. It should be bubbling that's why it is recommended to place it on a baking sheet. I didn't follow the advice so the bottom of my oven was splashed a little bit.


14. The crust should be dark brown


15. Let it cool until barely warm. Cut yourself a slice and enjoy!

Strawberry Sorbet

Yet another sorbet. It was so hot when I served the sorbet to take the picture. By the time the camera was ready, it was already melting! 

Ingredients
2 lbs strawberries
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/3 cup water
1 lemon juice

Directions

1. Stir sugar and water together over medium heat in a large saucepan until sugar has dissolved.
2. Add the strawberries and stir to combine. Remove from the heat.





3. Allow to cool a little bit then blend until the mixture is smooth.





4. Add lemon juice and stir.
5. Refrigerate mixture until cold.
6. Freeze in ice cream maker for 25-30 minutes or per machine directions.
7. Enjoy!

Notes:

1. The quantities used yield 6 cups of strawberry mixture, so if your ice cream maker, like mine, can only hold 4 cups then you need to make 2 passes.
2. If you don't have an ice cream maker, put the mixture in the freezer and mix every hour or so until frozen.

Peach Sorbet

The last thing you want to do when it’s hot and sticky is to turn your oven on. A sorbet is the only thing I can think about and it is so refreshing. It is quick and so easy to make. It took me at most 10 minutes to make.

The proportions I gave are based on my taste, but you can adapt them to yours by putting more or less sugar ( is you are calorie conscious), or putting more or less lemon juice. Taste and adjust.

I usually prefer using fresh fruits, but good peaches are not in-season yet in my area. If you are using fresh fruits, make a syrup and cook them 5 minutes peeled and sliced. Cool before blending.

Ingredients

1 28 fl oz can peaches with syrup (roughly 4-5 peaches)

½ c sugar

1 lemon juice

Directions

Blend everything together into a smooth puree with a hand mixer or a food processor.

Freeze in the ice maker for 25-30 minutes. 

Cardamom Lemon Chocolate Marble Cupcakes

My daughter made these cupcakes for a weekday get together with friends. They came out just beautiful with swirls of chocolate. That was perfect, no need to top them for decoration which would take a bit longer.

Ingredients 
1 stick unsalted butter
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 tsp salt
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
2/3 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup cocoa powder
Zest of one lemon
2 tsp ground cardamom

Note: If you don't have buttermilk, you can make a great replacement by mixing a tablespoon of white vinegar per 1/2 cup of milk and leaving it on the counter for 20 minutes.

Directions 

1. Preheat oven to 325 degF. Line a muffin pan with paper cupcake liners. 
2. Mix the flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl.
3. In another bowl, mix the cocoa powder with 2 tablespoons of hot water until it forms a smooth liquid paste.
4. Beat the butter and sugar together in a stand or hand mixer until smooth and airy.
5. Add the eggs one at a time, and the vanilla, and beat until the mixture is well combined.
6. Add the flour mix and the buttermilk little by little, each time beating the batter until it is smooth.
7. Put 1/2 of the batter in a separate bowl and add the cocoa to it. Mix well until well combined.
8. Add the lemon zest and the cardamom to the other 1/2 of the batter and combine.
9. Put one spoonful of the lemon/cardamom batter in the bottom of each mold and top it off with a spoon of the chocolate mixture.
   
10. Cook for 12 minutes for small cupcakes, and 16 minutes for muffin-sized ones.
11. Let cool fully in the pan before removing.

Pineapple Sorbet

So easy you won't want to think twice about making it. The hardest part is not eating it before it freezes!  And you don't even need a ice cream maker! Here is the step by step recipe in pictures.

Ingredients
2 * 19 oz cans of pineapple chunks in juice
2 oz of white rum (optional)

Directions
Blend the two cans of pineapple until they are slightly fluffy

Add the rum. This helps the sorbet to stay smooth and stops crystallization. Mix.

Put in the freezer and mix every hour or so until frozen.

Easy Cherry Sponge Cake

Another easy and quick recipe : 10 minutes to make, 20-25 minutes to bake. This cake contains almost no butter. I have used cherries but it can be made with any other fruit, whatever you have in your pantry. Because I didn’t use a lot of cherries (not everyone in the family is a big fan), I added a crème pâtissière (pastry cream) to be served on the side to add more moisture.

Ingredients
Sponge Cake
2 eggs
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup all purpose flour
2 tablespoons corn starch
½ teaspoon baking powder
3 tablespoons luke warm water
1 tablespoon dark rum
9 inch savarin mold (or a regular pan)
Butter for the pan
2 tablespoons icing sugar for decoration
½ Lb pitted cherries

Crème pâtissière (optional)
1-1/4 cup milk
1 egg
¼ cup sugar
2 tablespoons corn starch (or flour)
1 tablespoon cocoa
1-2 tablespoons of rum (or more)

Directions
Sponge Cake

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F;
2. In a large bowl (or a stand-up mixer) beat the eggs to obtain a pale yellow color.
3. Gradually add the sugar while still beating. Add the water and rum and mix few more seconds.
4. Mix the flour, starch and baking powder together then gradually add to the egg mixture while still beating. The batter is just a little bit thicker than the pancake batter.
5. Butter the mold and pour in the batter.
6. Add the fruits on top.
7. Bake at 400 degrees F (200 degrees C) for 5 minutes, then turn down the oven to 375F and continue cooking for another 20 minutes.
8. Poke the middle of the cake with a skewer to check if it’s done. If it comes out clean, the cake is ready.
9. Let it cool, transfer to a plate and dust the surface with sifted icing sugar.

Please have a piece!

Crème pâtissière
While the cake is cooking, heat the milk in the microwave. Whisk the egg and sugar in a saucepan until thick, then stir in the corn starch or flour. Pour the hot milk onto the egg while still whisking. Put the saucepan over medium heat and stir until it the cream thickens. Remove from the heat, add the rum and cover. Serve the cake warm or cold with the crème pâtissière on the side.

Pâte de Coings (Quince Paste)

Quince paste is one of the delicacies for which each woman in my family prides to have the best recipe. For me my Auntie was always the winner. The criteria for best quince paste are simple: translucent and pale yellow paste. As you can see I am not there yet!...
The quince has a green/yellow color and a very delicate fragrance. I don’t know any other way to eat it other than sweet in marmalade, jam or jellied like in this recipe.
Sorry I forgot to take a picture of the fruit before cooking it, but you can google it and you will find a lot of pictures. 

Ingredients
3 quinces
1-1/3 cup sugar
2 tablespoons lemon juice

Directions

1. Wash the quinces and scrub with paper towel. Remove any stems. 
2. Steam until soft. I steamed mine in a pressure cooker for 35 minutes. Let the quincies cool a little bit then peel, remove the seeds and any fibrous parts. It’s preferable to do it while they are still warm.
3. Weigh, then puree in a blender or hand mixer.
4. Use the same weight in sugar (around 1-1/3 cup).
5. Combine the pureed fruits, sugar and lemon juice in a saucepan.
6. Stir continuously until the until the sugar is dissolved and the paste comes off the sides of the saucepan.
7. Pour in a shallow dish (1/2 inch or so) and leave it to dry for few days in a dry area. After one week it should be dry enough.
8. Cut into pieces the size and shape you want and roll in granulated sugar.