the other night I made a vegan no nut flourless chocolate torte…totally allergy friendly. You use an entire can of black eyed peas in the recipe. so gross. but so good! just don’t eat it hot and add more chocolate than the recipe calls for. hot, it tastes like “bean torte”. cool, tastes, as one little would say, “‘sconna beeso yummy”.
here is the link:
http://www.noveleats.com/vegan-flourless-chocolate-cake

Ingredients

- 1.5 cups paella rice
- about 25 t0 30 medium sized frozen, uncooked shrimp (shelled and “deveined” for ease of use by the squeamish eater)
- two small onions, finely chopped
- 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 1/2 a bag of frozen, shelled fava beans
- 1 hand full of those midget carrot nubs that come in a bag, cut into small slices
- 1 qt chicken broth, at close to boiling temperature
- 1tsp olive oil
- 1 generous pinch of saffron
- salt and pepper to taste

Preparation

Using low sided pan, like a sauté pan, sweat (simmer while covered — over medium-low heat) the onions and carrots with about 2 to 3 tbs of olive oil, until the onions are translucent.

Add the garlic and the rice, and stir for about a minute.

Sprinkle the saffron evenly over the rice.

Add the broth, just enough to coat the rice.

Lay out the shrimp and fava beans evenly on top of the rice. Cover the pan and let it simmer over low heat for about 15 to 20 minutes.

Taste the rice periodically, and turn off the heat when the ice is cooked.

Serve this dish hot.

Happy cooking.

- 8 chicken thighs
- 3 onions, halved then cut into slices
- 1 tbs. cumin powder
- 1 tbs. curry powder
- 1 tsp. ginger powder
- 1 pinch saffron threads
- 1 qt chicken stock
- 1/4 cup fresh ginger slices
- 3 or 4 cilantro stems with leaves
- 1 cup pulp free orange juice
- 4 preserved lemons
- salt and pepper to taste

Special equipment

- a tagine or a cast iron pot with lid
- or, pressure cooker (cuts cooking time 20 minutes, at optimal pressure)

Preparation

1. Sweat the onions at low to medium heat, until they are translucent. Then add the chicken thighs.

2. Add in the cumin, curry, and ginger powders, and the saffron threads, then stir until the spices are well incorporated. Add salt and pepper, about 1tsp. each.

3. Add enough chicken stock to cover the chicken thighs.

4. Cook covered on low heat for about 30 minutes. If you are using a pressure cooker, skip to step 5.

5. Add the ginger slices, cilantro stems, the honey, and the orange juice.

6. Cook covered on low heat for another 30 minutes. If you are using a pressure cooker, skip to step 7.

7. Add the 4 preserved lemons.

8. Cook covered on low heat for another 30 minutes until the sauce is nice and thick (when it coats the back of a spoon). If you are using a pressure cooker, close and seal the lid, turn up the heat to medium high until it reached optimal pressure, then cook for 20 minutes on medium low heat.

9. Serve while hot, on a bed of saffron rice or couscous with raisins cooked in chicken broth.

Happy cooking!

- 300 g. of porc livers, thinly sliced (about 3 cm long and 2 cm wide),
- 1 onion, thinly sliced,
- 100 g. of frozen peas,
- 10 g. of dried black mushrooms,
- 20 g. of dried porcini mushrooms,
- 1 carrot, thinly sliced,
- 1 thumb size piece of ginger, finely chopped,
- 1 garlic clove, finely chopped,
- 2 tbs. of soy sauce,
- 1 tbs. of dry vermouth,
- 1 tbs. corn starch or arrow root,
- 1 tsp. of sugar,
- 5 pinches of pepper,
- 1 cup of stock,
- 2 tbs. olive oil.

Preparation

Soak the mushrooms for 30 minutes in warm water then strain them and cut them into thin slices. In a bowl, mix the starch, the stock and the soy sauce.

Blanche the liver slices for 15 seconds, then rinse them off. Dredge them in a mixture of the sugar, the pepper and the vermouth and let them rest for 30 minutes.

In a sauté pan, heat 1 tbs. of olive oil, add the ginger and stir for a few seconds, then add the liver. Cook for 5 minutes, tossing every once in a while.

Remove the liver and set it aside for later.

Using the same sauté pan, add another tbs. of olive oil, and turn the heat to medium high. When the oil is hot, add the garlic, stir for a few seconds, then add the carrot. Cook for 1 minute, all the while stirring with a wooden spatula. Add the onion, the peas, and the mushrooms. Cook for 2 minutes while stirring.

Reduce the heat to medium low put the liver back in, and add the starch/soy sauce/stock mixture. Let it all simmer, stirring occasionally, until the sauce thickens.

Serve while hot on a bed of pasta. Garnish with parsley.

Happy cooking!

All you need is a large bottle of average to decent balsamic vinegar (at least 12 oz or you’ll end up with less than 3 oz of finished product).

Empty your bottle of balsamic vinegar into a heavy bottom saucepan, and put the saucepan on super low heat. The liquid should not even come to a simmer. All you’ll see is a fine mist swaying over the liquid. The fumes do pack a punch, so might want to make this when you’ll be home alone all day.
Once the vinegar has reduced down to just a quarter of its original volume, take it off the heat and let it cool enough that it won’t burn you.

Pour the reduced vinegar into a plastic squeeze bottle, and you’re done. Put the squeeze bottle in the fridge and pull it out went you want to squirt some on a plate. A little goes a long way. It will keep for months.

• 3 or 4 black bananas (super ripe and peeled)
• 2 eggs
• ½ cup butter, melted (plus a couple of Tbs to coat bread pan)
• 1 ¾ cups all purpose flour
• 1 cup sugar (plus some extra for the bread pan and for dusting)
• ¼ cup dark rum
• ¼ cup molasses
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp baking soda
• ½ tsp baking powder
• ½ cup chopped walnuts or chopped, pitted dates (optional)

Equipment:

• one large mixing bowl big enough to contain all the ingredients;
• one medium bowl for the dry ingredients;
• one glass (oven safe) or metal bread pan (size of an average loaf);
• a pastry brush (or your clean fingers).

Preheat your over to 375°F.

Prepare the bread pan by coating it with melted butter with the pastry brush (or your clean fingers), then by coating the butter in the pan with a dusting of sugar. This will help when you are going to want to remove the bread from the pan.

Combine the bananas and the eggs in the large mixing bowl. Mix in the melted butter, until you have a consistency resembling that of oatmeal.

Slowly add the sugar to the bananas, butter and eggs while mixing.

Mix in the rum, vanilla and molasses. You don’t have to get rid of all the dark molasses streaks.

In the medium bowl, combine the flour, baking soda and baking powder. Sift the flour mixture into another medium bowl if it appears lumpy.

Slowly add the flour to the large bowl containing the wet ingredients, while mixing. All the flour should become absorbed.

Add the optional walnuts and/or dates, mix until roughly incorporated.

Pour the mixture into the prepared bread pan, leaving about ½ to 1 inch of room for the bread to rise.

(Optional) Dust the top of the bread mixture with some sugar. This will create a crunchy glaze when the bread is baked.

Bake in the preheated oven for 45 to 60 minutes. Test with a wooden skewer inserted into the middle of the bread pan after about 40 minutes. When the skewer comes out clean, the bread is done. Let it cool in the pan on a counter top. When it is cool enough to handle with your bare hands, remove it from the pan and enjoy.