Taziki? Djadjik? Raitha? Yogurt Sauce? -By Sanjay

I made a yogurt based sauce and I am not sure what to call it. The bargain basement cilantro Susan found at the farmers market was still there and looking a little wilted. I was therefore inspired to do something with it along the lines of chuck it in the food processor with olive oil and making some kind of pesto concoction. This was not allowed to happen because I saw our fancy new 'red wine vinegar' aka ghetto vinegar that I poured into an empty red wine bottle. Because oil and vinegar are good friends and we also had too much yogurt that won't keep forever we now have my take on djakdjik (although I am sure somebody's Iraqi grandmother will disapprove).

Recipe

1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup vinegar
1/2 cup natural yogurt
1/4 onion
1 clove garlic
2 tbs chopped cilantro
2 tsp lime juice

Dump in food processor. Process. Enjoy.

Description

Tastes like taziki without being taziki. The omission of cucumber and addition of cilantro helps to switch it up a bit. There is an interesting interplay of sour flavours from the lime, vinegar and yogurt that I enjoyed. It works really well as a salad dressing (as seen above) and as a dip.

Suggestions

I am sure that this would work with a little less oil and vinegar.

Lime cookies -by Susan

I was craving a cookie with less fat than a brownie (what I typically end up baking), but just as much flavor. I ended up making this recipe for Lime cookies.

Adaptations:
I didn't have any nutmeg so I just used about the same amount of allspice which worked out fine. I didn't have any zest (just used a container of lime juice) so I just left it out.

Description:
I think these cookies were awesome, but Sanjay disagrees. They have enough lime juice to be sour so don't expect sweet sugary creations. They also take on the flavor of the spices so that caused them to be wonderfully flavorful.


Suggestions:
The cookies were really difficult to roll into balls. I just took pinches and didn't even try rolling them until they were in the dusting bowl. The spices added so much flavor so don't be afraid to use plenty of them. The cookies taste best if they are cooked all the way through so leave them until you see the brown.

Pizza -by Sanjay

We threw together a pair of pizzas today. The dough is a bread machine recipe from Donna Rathmell Greman's Bread Machine Cookbook V. The sauce and toppings are our inventions or an exercise in getting rid of left overs.

Recipe:

Crust
1 1/2 cups warm water
2 tbs vegetable oil
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1 cup whole wheat flour
2 1/2 cups bread flour
2 1/4tsp quick yeast

For the sauce
1 can tomato puree
2 tbs dry oregano and basil
2 tsp garlic powder
1 tbs salt
2 tsp black pepper

Toppings
1 cup spinach
1 cup broccoli florets
1 tomato
1 onion
1 bell pepper
1/2 cup mushroom
1 lb mozzarella

Place liquid ingredients for the crust in the bread machine first.
Drop in the salt and sugar and then the flours.
Make a small hollow in the flour to put the yeast in. Don't let the yeast touch the liquids sugar or salt.
Put the machine on the 'dough' setting and let it do it's magic.

Mix all the sauce ingredients together in a big bowl. Dunk you finger in and check if it tastes right. Add spices as needed (I didn't actually measure to begin with).

All of the veggies were diced up quite small. I loaded one of the pizzas with half of the spinach all of the broccoli and half of the bell pepper and half of the cheese. The other pizza got the rest.

Spread your dough out on two lightly oiled cooking sheets. Ladle the sauce on and sprinkle your toppings.

The pizza s cook at 350 F for about 20 minutes.

Description:

These big delicious rectangular pizzas are rammed with veggies.

Suggestions:

I'm thinking of trying soy cheese instead of mozzarella in the future.

Palak Paneer -by Susan

Combining all the knowledge we found in a few books and websites, we came up with the following recipe for Palak Paneer.

Recipe:

----Part A----
1/4 lb paneer cubed
1/2 onion
2 cloves garlic
dash salt
1 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp cumin powder
1/4 tsp sugar
1 tbps oil

----Part B-----
1.5 lbs frozen spinach
sm piece ginger
1 tbsp cinnamon
1 tsp chilies
1/2 onion
1 tomato

1. Defrost spinach.
2. Chop up onion and tomato.
3. Put all of the Part B items in a pot with a little bit of water and bring to a boil for 8- 10 minutes.
4. Let it cool then grind it all into a paste with the food processor.
5. Finely chop the onion and garlic for part A.
6. Heat oil and fry onion until translucent.
7. Add garlic then fry briefly.
8. Add the rest of the spice powder and stir.
9. Stir in the Part B and let it cook for a few minutes.
10. Add paneer and cook for 2 more minutes.

Description: This version was not as creamy as we had hoped, but otherwise was a hit!


Suggestions: A friend recommended adding cream. In addition, we found that this made the most amazing omelet the next day so be sure to make some extra.

Veggie Burgers -by Susan

Today we were inspired to make veggie burgers. We found an interesting recipe at about.com which we adjusted slightly. Go to Mushroom Veggie Burger for the original recipe.


Adaptations: We didn't have green onions or parsley in the house so we left that out. We also added an egg to try to set it better.


Description: This burger was not at all meaty and didn't hold it's shape very well before frying. The pinto bean flavors dominated the vegetables. On the other hand, the burger satisfied my craving and had an interesting blend of flavors.


Suggestions: We think that freezing the patties overnight prior to use might make them hold up better. Also, a combination of different types of beans and possibly some whole wheat flour might add some more interesting flavors and make them more solid.