wassails

Hi everyone,

I was curious if anyone had any recipes for the Christmas drink known as a wassail. I tried one from The Joy of Cooking some years ago, but the end result was inedible (putting it mildly).

John G.

curried rice salad

Dressing:
4 tbsp canola oil
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp honey
1 tbsp sesame oil
2 cloves garlic
2 tsp curry powder
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/4 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp ginger

Whisk together dressing ingredients. Add to:

4 cups cooked brown rice
3/4 cup raisins
1/2 cup almonds

Mix well.

lentil barley stew (especially for John Good!)

5 cups water
¾ cup lentils
¾ cup barley
tomatoes to taste- 2-4 large fresh, or 15-30 oz canned
2 tsp salt
¼ tsp pepper
½ tsp rosemary
¼ tsp garlic powder
2 carrots

Simmer 60 minutes.

Zucchini, from Mary Margaret

4 Med. sized squash or zucchini
6 T mayo
½ c Milk
2/3 c Sharp cheese, grated
Salt and pepper to taste
bread crumbs

Cook vegetables in small amount of water and drain well. (don’t overcook)
Combine remaining ingredients (except crumbs) stir over low heat till cheese is melted and sauce thickens
Put squash in greased casserole dish, pour sauce over all and breadcrumbs on top.
Heat in oven for a few min.

stuffed tomatoes, from Mary Margaret

½ c Cream Cheese ( or soft goat cheese)
½ c Gooda Cheese (grated)
½ c parmasean or Romano (grated)
2 cloves garlic
1 tsp dry mustard
2 tsp sundried tomatoes (soaked in warm water and cut up)
1 ½ c bread crumbs
2 T basil
2 T olive oil
black pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients in a food processor until well blended.
Slice off tops of tomatoes
Spoon out centers, being sure to leave enough of the sides so the tomato keeps its shape.
Stuff tomatoes
Bake 350 degrees for 20-25 min. Until stuffing is browned and cheese is melted.
Left over stuffing can be used as a stir in for pasta. A little more oil should be added if this is what you will do with it.

stuffed peppers, from Mary Margaret

1 pkg corn bread mix plus ingredients for preparation
8 green or red bell peppers blanched
1 pepper diced in food processor
1 lg. onions finely diced in food processor
1 tsp olive oil
1 lg. can tomatoes, no salt added
1 pkg. frozen whole kernal corn, thawed and drained
½ can olives, drained diced in food processor
1/3 c raisins
1 T chili powder
1 tsp ground sage ( or bells poultry seasoning)
1 c shredded Montery Jack

Prepare corn bread according to pkg. directions
let cool, break into pieces
Reduce oven temp to 350 degrees
Slice tops off 8 peppers, remove seeds, and blanch peppers and tops by boiling for 1-2 min and rinse with cold water.
In med. frying pan sautee onion in oil, add 2 T water, if neededuntil onions are golden brown.
Add diced pepper and cook for 2-3 more minutes
Remove from heat.
In large mixing bowl, combine tomatoe, corn, olives, raisins, spices, onions and peppers, ¾ c. cheese, corn bread.
Stuff peppers with filling
Top with remaining cheese
Bake 30-40 min
Garnish with cherry tomatoes and fresh herbs
You can make another corn bread and add 1 chili pepper finely diced to the box’s recipe.

Cranberry salsa and Apple and beet salad, from Mary Margaret Corcoran

Cranberry Salsa.... a favorite around here....
12 ounces fresh cranberries, chopped (you'll want to see if you can still get these, they are usually only around for the holidays)
8 ounces crushed pineapple in juice, drained well
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup green bell pepper, finely chopped
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
2 Tablespoons onion, finely chopped
1 medium jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped
1/4 teaspoon salt

In a large bowl, combine all ingredients. cover and chill at least twohours to let the flavors blend. Serve with chips or your favorite meat.Yield: about 3 cups.Enjoy!

Apple & Beet Salad
1c yogurt
1T olive oil
2 T leomon juice
few sprigs of mint
few stems of cilantro
(wisk these ingredients together in med. bowl and drizzle over the following)
1 lb beets (cooked to just al dante' and grated or julienned)
1-2 lg. apples grated or julienned

Here's one that I saved from the Hip Mamas and Papas list:

On Feb 20, 2007, at 9:36 PM, Lara wrote:

> How cool that you all are interested in the veggie patties.
>
> One of the many things that my husband loves to tease me about is my
> method of measurement when cooking. I am often very experimental and
> just use my best judgement. That said, I can give measurements and
> will try to approximate based on what I did. But I encourage you to
> experiment and to use what you have in the fridge. All the veggies
> mentioned below were sitting in my fridge waiting ... and not being
> eaten so I'd say try using whatever you have around that sounds good.
>
> 2 medium steamed carrots (in rounds)
> 2 medium steamed parsnips (in rounds, peeled after cooking)
> 1/2 medium butternut squash roasted with olive oil and thyme (also
> peel skin after cooking)
> 1 stalk of broccoli, cut in rounds and steamed
> 1 egg
> 1/4 cup of chick pea flour or fine bread crumbs
> 1/4 to 1/2 tsp salt
> some black pepper
>
> Blend all the veggies in the food processor. Beat the egg and add it
> to the veggies, mix in the flour or bread crumbs. Heat enough oil (I
> used canola) to thinly cover the pan. Spoon the mixture into the
> frying pan once it is very warm, flip once golden brown, press down
> with spatula once flipped. Wait till second side is golden brown.
> Remove from heat to cool a bit and ENJOY!
>
> I would love to hear if this works for others and if your kids like
> them.

hummous

several cloves garlic
couple tbsp dried parsley (fresh is better, but it's winter)
2 green onions
about 2 tbsp diced red onion
4 cups cooked chick peas
1/3 cup tahini
1/3 cup lemon juice
1 tsp salt
dash cumin
enough water to make it blendable

Blend in food processor until it's the right texture. You need much more water if you make it in the blender, but we've done it before!

black beans and sweet potatoes

Fry up some onions and garlic. Toss in some cumin and coriander, and then add a bunch of precooked (baked or microwaved is easiest) sweet potatoes. Mash it all together, then add salt and pre-cooked (or canned, I suppose) black beans.

This "recipe" is also a very good burrito filling- even Cadao will eat it. When the chives start growing, they're a good replacement for the onions.

granola bars

2-year-olds really like these. I've significantly modified the recipe from its original form, so it's much less sweet than a typical commerical granola bar- so keep your own tastes in mind if you try them!

2 cups rolled oats
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp salt
1/4 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup honey

Mix everything together. Add enough water (maybe a half cup?) to slightly moisten it- enough so it's possible to mix everything thoroughly. Pat into a greased 9 by 13 pan and bake at 325 about 20 minutes. The peanut butter and honey are sticky enough to make these less crumbly than other recipes I've used.

Welcome! A lot of our friends have wanted to trade recipes after sampling each others' offerings at potlucks and parties, and this seemed like the most efficient way to do it. If you'd like to contribute, let me know and I'll have Google send you an invitation so you can post directly onto the blog. Or, if you're feeling especially technophobic, e-mail me the recipe and I'll post it for you. Enjoy!