White Sangria

2 white peaches 1 orange 6 ripe strawberries 1 cup vodka 1/2 cup simple syrup, more to taste 1 bottle sauvignon blanc Chop up fruit and mix vigorously with syrup and vodka. It will be better if you let this macerate for a couple of hours, or even overnight. Add wine, stir. Adjust simple syrup to taste. Pour through a sieve and serve over ice with a few slices of strawberry and/or orange for garnish. Makes 4 generous glasses.

Chana Masala

Adapted from a Madhur Jaffrey recipe.

The recipe calls for a tablespoon of amchoor powder, dried unripe mango powder. If you can't find this, double the lemon juice instead. #vegan

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 medium onions, minced
1 clove garlic, minced
2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger
1 fresh, hot green chili pepper, minced
1 tablespoon ground coriander
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
2 teaspoons cumin seeds, toasted and ground
1 tablespoon amchoor powder
2 teaspoons paprika
1 teaspoon garam masala
2 cups tomatoes, chopped small
2/3 cup water
4 cups cooked chickpeas,drained
1/2 teaspoon salt
Juice of 1/2 lemon(see note)

Heat oil in a large skillet. Add onion, garlic, ginger and pepper and sauté over medium heat until browned, about 5 minutes. Turn heat down to medium-low and add the coriander, cumin, cayenne, turmeric, cumin seeds, amchoor (if using it), paprika and garam masala. Cook onion mixture with spiced for a minute or two, then add the tomatoes and any accumulated juices, scraping up any bits that have stuck to the pan. Add the water and chickpeas. Simmer uncovered for 10 minutes, then stir in salt and lemon juice.

Eat up or put a lid on it and reheat it when needed. Curries such as this reheat very well, they are actually better the second day. I often take this to work for lunch.

Soup Addict's Orange and Rum Cakes

This is lifted wholesale from the wonderful Soup Addict Blog

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Bake time: 20 minutes

Yield: 12 mini cakes

Ingredients:
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
Pinch of salt
3 large eggs, separated
3/4 cups sugar
3/4 cups (12 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
1 teaspoon vanilla paste or extract
1 tablespoon dark rum

1/4 cup freshly squeezed blood orange juice (1 medium blood orange)*
1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon dark rum

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray 12 mini brioche tins or 12 3″ cake rings with non-stick spray. Place on a parchment paper lined baking sheet.

2. Whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. Beat the egg whites in a mixer until glossy and form stiff peaks.

3. In a large bowl whisk together sugar and egg yolks until they are thick and pale. Add butter, vanilla and rum and whisk together until smooth. Whisk in the flour mixture.

4. Using a rubber spatula fold in one-quarter of the egg whites. Gently fold in the remaining egg whites, until mixed (it’s okay to have a few streaks of egg whites). Spoon the batter into the prepared tins or rings three-fourths full.

6. Bake 15 to 18 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through baking. Cakes are ready when lightly golden and a cake tester inserted in the center of one cake comes out clean.

7. While the cakes are baking, make the sauce. Bring the blood orange juice, sugar and rum to a boil in a small saucepan. Stir until the sugar dissolves, then remove from heat.

8. When the cakes have cooled for 5 minutes, use a thin toothpick (or other clean, narrow stick) to poke 10 holes into each cake. Gently, slowly pour the rum sauce over the cakes. The cakes should be somewhat saturated, and the tops of the cakes should be pink (the pink will fade as the sauce dries). Let sit for a few minutes, then move to a clean surface (clean off the bottoms of the tins, if necessary). Let cool.

9. Gently remove the cakes from the tins or rings (if using rings, you can run a small knife around the edge to loosen cake). Serve with whipped cream or ice cream.

*To simplify things, rather than worrying about an exact measure of 1/4 cup, just squeeze the orange juice into a container and then measure it. Use the same amount of sugar, and 1 tablespoon of rum.

Gaynelle's Family Fruitcake

My friend Gaynelle says that this has been passed down in her family for 200 years. It's the best fruitcake I've ever had.

Ingredients
1 lb unsalted butter
1 lb browned and sifted cake flour
1 lb sugar
10 eggs
3 lbs raisins
2 lbs dates, chopped
1 lb currants
1/3 lb glazed pineapple chunks
¼ lb dried cherries
¼ lb each candied fruit - citron, lemon, and orange
½ lb pecans
½ lb sliced or slivered almonds
1 cup fresh orange juice (about 3 oranges)
1 pint bourbon
1 tbsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground allspice
1 tsp ground mace
1 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground cloves

Parchment paper for lining loaf pans

Directions
The day before baking, brown and sift the flour, soak the almonds in orange juice, chop, flour and sift the dried fruits and fruit peels. Cut parchment paper for lining.

Cream butter and sugar until very light. Beat egg yolks to a pale lemon color and add to the mixture. Alternately fold in flour and stiffly beaten egg whites. Sift in spices. There are no rising agents in the recipe so be sure to use plenty of "elbow grease" in the mixing. Begin adding dried fruit and pecans. As the mixture becomes stiff, add almonds and orange juice, and later the bourbon.

Line loaf pans with parchment paper on all sides and fill with batter, spreading batter evenly in the pans. The recipe makes 6-8 loaves depending on the size of the pans used (more if making mini-loaves). Bake in a very slow oven (225-250 degrees) to which a small pan of water has been added. After 1/2 hour turn the loaves. Total baking time is between 4 and a half and 6 hours depending on the number of loaves and the type of oven. Cakes are done when the tops are springy and a straw inserted in the center comes out clean. After they cool, wrap and refrigerate. The cakes age very well and are best consumed 1-2 months after they are baked.

Flaxseed meal bran rolls

Ok I know that "flaxseed meal" and "bran" make this sound like a heavy, tasteless, good-for-you bread. But trust me -- this is a moist, aromatic, chewy, and just completely yummy bread recipe.

1 pkg yeast
1/4 cup warm water
1/8 cup honey
1 1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup butter
1/2 tsp salt
1 egg
1 grated apple
1 cup flaxseed meal
1 cup bran
3+ cups white all-purpose or bread flour
1 tsp cooking oil

Mix yeast and warm water in a large bowl and let sit until creamy, about 5 minutes. Meanwhile, warm milk, take off heat and add honey, butter, egg, and salt and whisk. When luke warm, add to yeast mixture. Add apple, flaxseed, bran, and flour and mix. Turn out onto a board and knead, adding more white flour sparingly as needed to keep it from sticking. Knead 5-10 minutes. Oil a large bowl and turn dough into it. Cover with a damp towel and place in a warm location. When it's doubled in size, turn oven on to 350 and oil a 9-inch springform pan. Divide dough into 8 equal balls and put in springform pan. Let rise another 30 minutes, then bake in oven 30-40 minutes.

Pastafarian Cocktail

1/2 cup good dark rum
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
1/4 cup clementine juice
2 oz simple syrup
1 cup tonic

stir and serve over ice

Posole Verde a la Wallski

This is dedicated to my cousin Anthony Reynoso, who inspired me to get off my duff and finally make posole. This is probably completely different from his version, but what the heck, it was good. Makes about 4 big bowls full. Reheats well.

1 1/2 pounds pork butt
1 15 oz can of whole hominy, drained
6 large whole cloves of garlic
2 teaspoons ground cumin
6 cups of water
1 cup toasted pepitas
1/2 pound tomatillos (about 1-2 cups)
1 large jalapeno pepper, seeded
salt to taste
tortillas

Possible garnishes to serve with the posole (the more the better):
avocado slices
sliced radishes
minced cilantro
wedges of lime
minced scallions or red onion


Put cumin, water, pork, hominy and garlic in a pot and simmer on low heat for and hour and a half to two hours. Put pepitas, tomatillos, jalapeno, and some of the simmering broth in a blender and blend until smooth. Add to the pork broth. Continue to simmer for 30-60 minutes. Serve with warm tortillas and garnishes.