My Culinary Blog

1 kg juicy orange carrots
1 1/2 litre milk
400-500 gm sugar
elaichi powder (cardomon)
saffron few flakes
few drops orange colour (optional)
1 tbsp ghee

Method
Peel and grate carrots
Put milk and carrots in a heavy saucepan. Boil till thick, stirring occassionally. Once it starts thickening, stir
continuously. Add sugar and cook further till thickens. Add ghee, elaichi, saffron and colour. Stir on low heat till the mixture collects in a soft ball or the ghee oozes out. Serve hot, decorated with a chopped almond or pista.

1 1/2 cup almonds soaked overnight
3 cups hot milk
250 gm ghee
1/2 to 1/3 cup sugar

Method
Peel the almonds, wash and grind to fine paste.
Heat ghee in a heavy pan.
Add paste and cook on first high then slow flame, stirring continuosly.
After a while it should turn a light brown and aromatic.
Carefully pour hot milk and stir.
Use a long-handled spatula as the mixture tends to splatter.
When thickens, add the sugar and cook, stirring continously and gently till ghee begins to separate.
Decorate with chopped nuts and serve hot.

Ingredients:

2 cups fresh moshrooms
2 shallots
2 tblsp fresh chopped parsley
1 tblsp butter
1/2 tsp lemon juice (preferably fresh)

Instructions:

Clean the mushrooms in cold water (Harlod McGee tells us that they do not absorb enough water to be worth the fuss of using a mushroom brush. I agree. Since they are already something like 95% water, even if they absorb a large amount, they will only become … what - 96%?) Cut or pull the stems off of the mushrooms (save them for mushroom soup or a duxell) and slice the caps into 3/16 inch slices.

Finely chop the shallots. If you don’t have shallots, use 3 tbsp chopped onion and 1 small clove of garlic, chopped, minced, diced, pressed, cleavered or otherwise made mushy in your most favorite way. Heat a frying/saute pan over medium-high heat. Add the butter and let
it melt. When the butter is bubbling, add the mushrooms. Saute, tossing or stirring until the mushrooms start to brown. If a lot of
juice comes out of the mushrooms, simply boil it away and keep on.

As the mushrooms start to brown, add the shallots (or onion and garlic) and the chopped parsley. Finish browning the mushrooms.
Taste the mixture. Sometimes it will improve in flavor with the addition of the lemon juice. Sometimes it doesn’t seem to be needed.
Spoon the sauted mushrooms over warm, buttered toast. If you want to be fancy, cut the crusts off of the bread before you make the toast, cut it diagonally after it is toasted and buttered and call it ‘toast points.’ Sprinkle a little fresh chopped parsley on top of the mushrooms and put a small sprig of parsley on the plate beside.
Another Option: In place of shallots, use about 2 -3 tablespoons of finely chopped fresh chives.

Ingredients: 

1 tblsp olive oil (I use about 1t, but hey)
1 tblsp minced garlic
1 tblsp soy margerine (I omit this)
8 oz. white mushrooms (to make this really good try oysters or
chantrelles)
4 cups kale, tightly packed
1/4 cup water
1 tsp tamari
5 cherry tomatoes, quartered (this time of year I tear up dried
tomatoes)
salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:

Heat olive oil on medium in a 4 1/2 q sauce pan. Add garlic and margerine (if used) and saute until garlic is lightly browned. Add
veggies and stir 15-30 seconds, making sure not to burn the garlic. Add water, tamari, salt and pepper and cook another 5 minutes, stirring
often. Add tomatoes and cook another 5 minutes on low. Serve immediately.

Note:

I assume this dish is meant as a side, but over couscous, millet or bulghur it’s a quickie meal.

Ingredients:

4 oz Oyster mushrooms, rinsed and kept slightly moist
1 1/2 cup safflower oil for frying

Flour mix:

1 tsp nori flakes, pulverized in a coffee grinder or blender
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 cup unbleached flower
pinch of salt and pepper

Water mix:

1/2 tsp nori flakes
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/2 cup water

Bread crumb mix:

2 cups fresh bread crumbs (not dried, no crust)
4 tsp nori flakes
1/2 tsp garlic powder

Instructions:

Thoroughly mix ingredients for each of the three mixes. Heat oil to 350 (I don’t trust my stove, so I got an oil thermometer. He says five mins on med heat) in a wok. Dredge mushrooms in flour mix and shake off excess. Dip mushrooms into water mix and shake off excess. Dredge mushrooms in crumb mix. Fry mushrooms four to five at a time for about 1 1/2 minutes, being careful that the breading doesn’t get beyond golden. Drain mushrooms on a towel covered plate. Allow a minute between batches for oil to re-heat. Mushrooms may be kept warm in a 250 oven.
Serve garnished with fresh lime chunks.

Note:

Although these are deep fried, the mag says they’re only 7g fat per serving, for what that’s worth. These are supposed to resemble fried oysters. I obviously wouldn’t know, but they’re really good, and all the Orthodox people I’ve served them to have like them.

Ingredients:

4 tblsp capers
6 anchovy fillets, drained
1 cup olive oil
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 lb small mushrooms
Freshly ground black pepper

Instructions:

Rinse two tablespoons of capers and dry on a paper towel. Pound them and the anchovies in a mortar or press them through a sieve with a
spoon. When the mixture is reduced to a paste, transfer it to a mixing bowl. Add the oil little by little, stirring as you do it. Add the lemon juice and pepper to taste. Let the sauce stand in a covered container at least 4 hours before serving. Remove the stems from the mushrooms and clean them with a damp paper towel. Place five on each plate and spoon three tablespoons of the tapenade over them. Garnish the plates with the remaining capers.

Ingredients:

1 doz. fresh mushrooms (2″ in diameter)
2 cups diced stale bread
1/2 cup grated Parmesean cheese
2 tblsp dried onions
1 tblsp sunflower seeds
1 tblsp dried parsley flakes
1/2 tsp lemon pepper
1/2 tsp seasoned salt
2 tblsp melted butter
1/2 cup dry vermouth
Cheddar cheese

Instructions:

Wipe mushrooms clean, carefully break off and chop stems. Scoop out remaining gills and discard. Combine chopped stems with bread,
Parmesean cheese, onions, sunflower seeds, parsley flakes, lemon pepper, salt, butter, and vermouth. Pack into mushroom caps. Bake in shallow pan with small amount of water for 30 minutes at 325 degrees. Remove and criss-cross each mushroom with slivers of Cheddar cheese, then replace in oven until cheese melts. Makes 6-12 servings.

Ingredients:

1 pound of mushrooms into halves or quarters.
2/3 cup heavy cream. Heat
2 tblsp butter in a deep frying pan.
3-4 chopped garlic cloves
1 tsp pepper
2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
salt

Instructions:

Chop 1 pound of mushrooms into halves or quarters. Heat 2/3 cup heavy cream. Heat 2T butter in a deep frying pan. Add 3-4 chopped garlic cloves to the butter. Add mushrooms and cook for about 2 min, until brown. Add hot cream, salt, 1 tsp pepper, 2 tsp nutmeg. Cook for about 5 more min, then add 1/2 cup chopped cilantro. Serve on hot buttered rice or French bread.

This one takes a little longer. Chop up some fresh mushrooms and onions, and saute in butter, margarine, oil, whatever until the onions are clear. Drain and set aside until cool. On cocktail bread (rye or pumpernickel), pile a mound of mushrooms and onions, grated swiss cheese, grated italian cheese (i use locatella), and bread crumbs. Broil until the swiss melts, and serve immediately.