I received this recipe on a Postcrossing postcard from New Zealand.

Ingredients:
700g chicken mince
1 egg yolk
1/2 tsp salt
2 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
1 Tbsp peeled and grated ginger
1 Tbsp coarsely ground coriander seeds
Finely grated zest 1 lime
1 hot red chilli, finely chopped
Ice cream sticks (available at supermarkets)

Directions:
In a bowl mix chicken mince, egg yolk, and salt. Add remaining ingredients and mix thoroughly. Shape into elongated patties on the ice cream sticks, putting them on a plate as they are done, and chill for 2 hours.

Cook patties on an oiled barbecue hotplate heated to medium and cook until golden brown all over (keep patties lightly oiled during cooking to prevent them becoming dry). Serve hot with lime wedges for squeezing over.

Ready in 30 minutes plus chilling time
Makes: 24

My friend from the Monkey Bar in Ann Arbor sent me this recipe.

Sift together:
2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp sugar
1 cup raisins

Work in (with fingers or knives):
3 tbsp butter or margerine

With fork, quickly stir in :
2/3 cup water

Add more water until dough is soft and light but not sticky.
Turn out onto a floured board and knead 20 strokes.
Shape/portion as desired, and put on greased baking sheet or pie tin.
Bake 25 minutes at 350 degrees F.
Increase heat to 400 degrees and bake for another 5 minutes.

My friend notes that the bread doesn’t rise much. He uses pure corn-oil margerine and water, but suggests that people without his food allergies could try butter and milk. He also notes that currants would be more traditional than raisins, but it’s not something that most people keep on hand.

I received this recipe on a Postcrossing postcard from Kaire in Estonia. She said it’s their traditional food.

Ingredients:
1 kg pig’s head
1 kg pettitoes (potatoes?)
1 kg veal meat
1 pig tail
1-2 onions
1 parsley
piece of celeriac
1 carrot
15 peppercorns
salt
2 bay leafs
6-7 liters water

Directions:
Start to boil the meat in smaller pieces. After removing excess foam from boiling, add spices, onions and carrot. Then boil over low heat until the meat starts to come off from the bones.

Cut the meat into very small pieces, throw off the bones, mix the meat with filtered broth, heat until boiling point and then pour into small bowls for cooling and hardening.

Eat with mustard or horseradish.

and I’m in. Now, to select the recipe.

Do I go national dish
or offer a tasty vegetarian delight?

(To make up for all the times vegetarians are faced with what everyone else has except for the meat. Or the inevitable ‘vegetable platter’ where bulk replaces quality?

A friend of mine is allergic to milk, butter, eggs, chocolate and nuts, so this is his favorite cookie.

Ingredients:
2 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp powdered cloves
1/2 tsp ginger
1/2 cup molasses
1/4 cup sugar
3 Tblsp cooking oil
2 Tblsp water

Directions:
Sift together the flour, baking soda, salt, nutmeg, cinnamon, powdered cloves and ginger. Separately bring to boil the molasses taking care to not let it boil over. Once boiling, stir in the sugar, cooking oil and water. Heat until it all dissolves together.

Pour dry ingredients into the molasses mixture, and mix well. You may add more water if needed. Spoon onto greased sheet pan. Bake 8 minutes at 375F.

Makes about 20-24 cookies.

While I’ve not adopted this goal, I will share a favorite refreshing beverage recipe here as part of the 43Things Cookbook goal.

Ingredients:
6 tea bags (your choice though white or green work well)
3 white peaches, pitted and chunked
1/4 cup fresh raspberries, cleaned
about 2 quarts water

Directions:
1) Place peach chunks and raspberries in bottom of a clean 2 quart glass jar. Fill half-way with water then use potato masher to crush the fruit, infusing the water with the juices.

2) Fill jar with remaining water leaving room to add tea bags at top. Seal jar with lid and place outside in direct sunlight for 3 to 5 hours depending on how strong the sun is, and how strong you like your tea. Monitor the jar so that the sunlight continues to strike the jar, so the tea will seep.

3) Once the tea has reached the desired strength, move it into the refrigerator to chill or serve immediately over ice. You may remove the tea bags, or leave them in.

Again a recipe from one of the chefs of the world-famous Monkey Bar of Ann Arbor.

12 Avocados; scooped, pitted and mashed
1/2 (large) tomato; diced
1 (large) onion; diced
5 Serrano Peppers; roasted, seeded, and chopped finely
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro
1/4 cup lime juice
2 tablespoons dried oregano leaves
1.5 tablespoons black pepper
1.5 tablespoons salt
1 tablespoon granulated garlic

Combine all ingredientes in a large bowl.

Makes about two quarts.

A friend of mine is a chef at the Monkey Bar in Ann Arbor, MI. He recently shared with me their recipe for their famed Pico De Gallo. It’s his favorite part of their Mexican menu. They use it mostly on tacos, but he notes that it adds some zing to a conventional sandwich as well.

Pico De Gallo
6 large tomatoes, diced fine
1/2 large onion, diced fine
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
juice of 1 large lemon
3/4 Tablespoon black pepper
3/4 Tablespoon dried oregano leaf
3/4 Tablespoon salt

Mix together thoroughly and chill.
Makes about 3 pints.

Labneh

Lebanese Yogurt Cheese

Makes approximately 2 cups

You will need:
Cheesecloth (you can find it in most grocery stores)
2 large bowls
A whisk
A cabinet handle or hook where you can hang the cheesecloth

Ingredients:
1 quart of full fat plain yogurt (I’ve used low fat and it works, but full fat is better)
2 tsp salt

In a large bowl, whisk the yogurt and the salt together. Line the other bowl with cheesecloth (I do two layers of cheesecloth), enough so that there is cheesecloth hanging over the edges of the bowl.

Pour the yogurt into the cheesecloth. Bring up two opposite corners of the cheesecloth and tie them together. Bring up the other two corners of the cheesecloth and tie them together. Now you have a sort of sling to hold the yogurt.

Hang the cheesecloth with the yogurt from a cabinet knob over the bowl. (In my last house I installed a small hook under the cabinet just for making labneh.) Let it hang for at least overnight, 24 hours is good. (It’s OK not to be refrigerated for this.)

The next day, open the cheesecloth and you have labneh! You can form it into a ball and drizzle olive oil over it and/or sprinkle it with chopped mint. DELICIOUS on pita bread, crackers, or bagels.

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It seems (in my very unscientific and casual survey) that we have a lot of soups, stews and marinades.

Just an observation!

jkd