Shepherd's Pie

Looking for some comfort food as the weather gets cooler? I made this recently for a simple dinner with friends, and it was enjoyed all around.

SHEPHERD'S PIE

adapted from WeightWatchers Simply Delicious

makes 6 servings

1-1/2 lbs. potatoes (about 3 large), cut in about 1" chunks (I leave the skins on the potatoes, but you can peel if you prefer)

1 t. olive oil

1 large onion, finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced (minced garlic from a jar is fine)

1 lb. ground beef or lamb

14-1/2 oz. diced canned tomatoes with juice

1 cup frozen peas, thawed

1/2 t. salt (divided in half)

1/4 t. freshly ground pepper

1/2 t. dried oregano

1/2 t. dried thyme

about 1 t. butter

about 1/4 cup milk

1.     If you think of it in advance, measure out a cup of frozen peas early in the day and let defrost in the refrigerator. Or you can take them out when you start preparing the meal and put them in a bowl of cold water to defrost, then drain.

2.     Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

3.     Put the potato chunks in cold water to cover, in a large pot.  Bring to a boil and then simmer until tender when tested with a fork, about 20 minutes total. (Instructions for finishing the mashed potatoes in step 6 below.)

4.     While the potatoes are cooking, heat a large nonstick skillet. Put in the olive oil and heat up. Add the onion and garlic and sauté until softened, about 3-4 minutes. Add the beef or lamb and brown, breaking it apart as it cooks, about 5 minutes. Drain all excess fat from the skillet.

5.     Stir in the tomatoes (with their juice), peas, 1/4 t. salt, pepper, oregano, and thyme. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes.

6.     When the potatoes are done cooking, drain them and then return to the saucepan. Sprinkle with 1/4 t. salt. Mash in the butter and then the milk, adding more milk if needed to get to a good consistency.

7.     Spread the meat mixture in a 9" baking pan or a 1-1/2 quart casserole. Spread the mashed potatoes evenly over the meat. Bake until the potatoes begin to brown and the filling is bubbly, about 20 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

269 calories per serving

Thai salmon (or other fish) soup with ginger and lime juice

Last night I wanted to make soup with our new Sitka Salmon delivery, and wanted something brothy rather than a milk-based chowder, which is what I've made before. Looking through my file of saved recipes, I found this one, copied a while back from a friend's cookbook. The original recipe called for some ingredients not available to me, but it suggested substitutes that I used (lime juice instead of tamarind liquid, cilantro leaves rather than roots), and the soup came out great--more tasty than I imagined it would from such a simple recipe.  The soup alone isn't quite enough for a full dinner; we had some crackers and guacamole on the side.

I've given two sets of instructions, one for making the whole recipe at once, and one for dividing it in half, to eat on two separate nights, which is how David and I generally cook. Usually I just cook a whole recipe and heat up leftovers, but when cooking fish, I like to cook the fish on the same night I'm serving it. For this recipe, I made all the broth (including what would have been garnishes at the end), set aside half, and will add the rest of the salmon on the second night.

SALMON (or other fish) SOUP WITH GINGER AND LIME JUICE

adapted from Quick and Easy Thai

serves 4

3 cups water

3 T. coarsely chopped shallots (about 1 large bulb)

1/4 c. chopped cilantro, divided in half

1/2 t. freshly ground pepper

3-inch chunk of fresh ginger

3/4 lb salmon or other meaty fish fillets (e.g. cod, tilapia), cut into about 1" chunks

1/4 cup freshly squeezed lime juice

2 T. fish sauce

2 T. brown sugar

1/4 t. salt

2 T. thinly sliced green onions

1.     Cut up the ginger into small chunks and then mince it in a food processor.  Add the shallots, 2 T. cilantro, pepper. Process, adding 1/2 cup of the water as you process, to make a fairly smooth paste.

2.     In a medium saucepan, combine the paste with the remaining 2-1/2 cups water and bring to a boil over medium-high heat.

3.     Add the lime juice, fish sauce, brown sugar, salt, and the cut-up salmon.  Return soup to a boil and simmer until the salmon is just cooked through (about 2 minutes of total cooking time).  Stir in the green onions and remaining cilantro leaves.

If serving just 2 people and you want to cook the salmon fresh when having leftovers on a second night:

Do steps 1 and 2, as above.

3.  Add the lime juice, fish sauce, brown sugar, salt, green onions, and remaining cilantro leaves.  Divide the broth in half (about 2 cups each portion) and put one portion in the refrigerator, along with half the cut-up salmon.

4.  Put the other portion of broth back in the saucepan, add half the cut-up salmon, bring to a boil and simmer until the salmon is just cooked through (about 2 minutes of total cooking time).

5. For a second night, repeat step 4.

missing ingredient in waffle/pancake recipe!

Oops, I left out one ingredient in the recipe posted yesterday.  You need to add 2 t. baking powder to the dry ingredients!  The recipe has now been updated, but please correct your copy if you already printed it out.  Sorry!

Whole-Grain Pancakes with Blueberries and Nuts

These are the best!  Having recently bought too many blueberries when the price was good, I had frozen a bunch. They're not as good when they're defrosted, but are great in these pancakes/waffles.  I made the pancakes first, which were delicious, but time-consuming. Next I made the waffles, even better, and easier to do--I can sit down and read the paper as each one cooks, instead of hovering over the stove watching the pancakes.  Either version freezes well. Pancakes can be reheated in the microwave. For waffles, I break them in half and put them in the toaster. I think I have to go downstairs now and make another batch. I may even make a double batch of the dry ingredients, so I have the makings of a second batch all ready to go next week.

whole-grain WAFFLES OR pancakes with blueberries and nuts

makes 9-10 waffles or 18-20 pancakes

adapted from https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1019362-whole-grain-pancakes

1 cup whole-wheat flour

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup cornmeal

1/4 cup rolled oats (I used "old-fashioned" not quick)

1/2 t. kosher salt
2 t. baking powder

1/2 t. baking soda

1 cup plus 2 T. chopped nuts (chopped fairly small) I use pecans.

3 large eggs

1/4 cup canola oil

1 T. honey

2-1/4 cups buttermilk (or can use plain yogurt, not Greek) In order to get two batches out of one quart of buttermilk, I use 2 cups of buttermilk and 1/4 cup of whatever kind of plain yogurt I have on hand, Greek or not.

blueberries, fresh or frozen (if frozen, no need to defrost first) (can substitute other fruit or chocolate chips)

Mix the dry ingredients (can be done the day before—or longer—and set aside)

In a large bowl, mix together all the dry ingredients (grouped together above).  I usually do this the day before, covering the bowl, so that I can make the waffles or pancakes more quickly in the morning.

Mix the wet ingredients

Mix together the buttermilk, eggs, canola oil, and honey. I start by putting the 2 cups of buttermilk in a 1-quart Pyrex measuring cup, add yogurt to bring it up to 2-1/4, put in the eggs, oil, and honey, and then mix everything with an immersion blender.

Mix together

Mix the egg mixture into the flour mixture until smooth. (I use an immersion blender to do the mixing.)

Make waffles

Preheat the waffle iron. Spray the bottom plate with Pam or equivalent. Spoon batter onto the waffle iron, as much as you would use for two pancakes.  Place some blueberries onto the batter.  Spray the top plate quite heavily. Close the waffle iron and cook until nicely browned. (In my waffle iron, this takes about 3 minutes.)  When you take out the cooked waffle, scrape out any berries that may have stuck to the plates. Repeat until all the batter is used up.

Make pancakes

Heat a frying pan and spray with Pam or use a little butter. Spoon batter into the pan to make as many pancakes as will fit in the pan. Cook until the underside is browned, about 3 minutes. Flip and cook until golden on the other side, 2-3 minutes. Transfer to a plate as they finish and serve with maple syrup.