This post's purpose is to collect my common tags in one place, so readers (and I!) can easily access entries on several subjects.

A Google search reveals the following recipes. Has anyone tried any of these? Did they actually help with congestion? Have a recipe to offer?

Scotch Toddy recipe

1 shot Scotch whisky
1 tbsp honey
1 bag tea
boiling water


In a standard coffee mug put the scotch, honey and tea bag. Pour boiling hot water to fill mug. Steep for about one or two minutes. Then remove and dispose of tea bag.

Hot Toddy

1 oz Whiskey
1 oz Honey
1 oz Lemon Juice
3 oz Water (Hot)

If you have a microwave, the easiest way to make this drink is to warm the honey and lemon juice for about half a minute and then to add hot water and the whiskey. Otherwise, we recommend that you stir the honey and lemon juice into extremely warm water, allow it to cool slightly, and add the whiskey.

Hot Scotch Toddy

2 measures Scotch whiskey
3 measures boiling water
1/2 measure lemon juice
1 teaspoon honey (or brown sugar)
3 drops angostura bitters
1 slice lemon, studded with cloves
ground nutmeg

Put the sugar, bitters, lemon juice, and clove-studded lemon slice in the glass. Add the Scotch and pour in the boiling water. Stir to dissolve the sugar and sprinkle with ground nutmeg.

Rice Dressing, or, "Dirty Rice"

1 lb ground beef
1 lb ground sausage
1 cup cooked rice
1/2 cup cooking oil

The holy trinity:
1/2 cup chopped bell pepper
1 cup chopped onions
1/2 cup chopped celery

1 clove garlic, crushed (not everyone uses this, but I like it)
1 bunch green onion, chopped finely (also optional)
Salt, pepper, and tabasco to taste (I substitute Cajun seasoning for salt and pepper, as it has a high content of both.)

Put the cooked rice in a large bowl.

In a heavy pan, saute the ground meat and sausage in 1/4 cup of oil until brown. Drain most of the grease, leaving only a little to moisten the meat. Set this pan aside.

In another pan, saute the onions, bell pepper, celery, garlic, and green onions in remaining 1/4 cup of oil.

In the large bowl, mix the rice together with the contents of the two pans. Add seasonings (salt, pepper, tabasco, Cajun seasoning). Served as a side dish.

Pumpkin Swirl Bread

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

1 8 oz package cream cheese (lowfat will work)
1/4 cup sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 3/4 cups flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 cup canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie mix)
1/3 cup margarine, melted
1 egg, beaten
1/3 cup water
optional: 1 cup pecans; walnuts make an adequate substitute but aren't as good.

1. Combine cream cheese, sugar, and egg, mixing until well blended. Set aside.
2. In a separate bowl, combine dry ingredients. Then combine dry ingredients with pumpkin, margarine, egg, and water, mixing just until moistened. Reserve 2 cups of this pumpkin batter.
3. Pour larger portion of batter into greased and floured 9"X5" loaf pan. Pour cream cheese mixture over pumpkin batter. Top with reserved pumpkin batter.
4. Cut through batters with knife several times for swirl effect. Bake at 350 degrees for 70 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 5 minutes. Remove from pan.

Chocolate Meringue Pie

1 baked and cooled 8 or 9 inch piecrust (you can use a bought one, toasted a bit in the oven at 425 degrees F, or not toasted)

Filling:
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 heaping tablespoons cocoa
1 1/2 cups milk
3 egg yolks (save whites for meringue)
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 tablespoon butter or oleo
1/4 cup cornstarch


Cook all ingredients until thick over medium heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon. Pour into piecrust.

Meringue:
Beat 3 egg whites until stiff. Add 1 heaping tablespoon of sugar. Beat about 1 minute more. Spread on the pie. Be sure to seal edges with the meringue.

Brown in the oven at 425 degress Farenheit until top of meringue is lightly toasted.

Carrot and Cashew Soup

adapted from a recipe in one of the Moosewood Cookbooks

1 lb carrots, scrubbed, peeled (if desired), and sliced into discs about 1/2-3/4" thick
2-3 medium-sized potatoes, scrubbed, peeled (if desired), and cut into chunks about the size of the carrot pieces
1 medium onion, chopped
2-3 cloves garlic (or more), minced or pressed
3 tbsp olive oil (not extra-virgin, it needs to be heated)
pinch cayenne
1/2 cup cashews
2 tsp ground coriander
1 1/2 pints stock (chicken or vegetable; if no stock, water with buillion)
salt to taste
black pepper to taste

1. In the bottom of your soup pot, saute cayenne, onion, and garlic in hot oil (can use stock if you want to go lowfat) until the onion is transparent; add the carrots and potatoes and brown them lightly. If you use stock, the garlic and vegetables will not brown as they do in oil. Add a little more oil or stock if the oil is all absorbed and the vegetables begin to stick.
2. Toast the cashews in a small frying pan. I've skipped this step when feeling lazy.
3. Add the ground coriander to the vegetable mixture and stir for about 2 minutes.
4. Add the stock, bring to the boil, cover, and simmer for 25 minutes or until the vegetables are all tender.
5. Puree the vegetable mixture in whole or in part; cashews can be pureed or added in whole. Serve with salt and black pepper and sliced bread. I've seen carrot soup recipes where yogurt is stirred into the soup and it is served cold.

Artichoke Sauce

1/4 cup olive oil (preferably not Extra Virgin, as that will smoke when heated)
1/4 cup butter
6 cloves garlic, minced or pressed, more or less to taste
5 chopped artichoke hearts (14 oz can, drained)
2 tbs chopped fresh herbs (I prefer basil)
1 tbs fresh lemon juice
black pepper to taste, when served

Heat oil and butter in saucepan until butter melts. Saute garlic in oil 2-3 minutes, until golden; can also add a pinch of cayenne with the garlic for added hotness (it will toast slightly and darken in color). Add artichoke hearts, herbs, and lemon juice. Heat gently for about 10 minutes; break up artichoke hearts with the edge of a spoon so they mingle throughout the sauce.

Serve warm over pasta and/or steamed vegetables. Top with grated parmesan, chopped tomatoes, sprigs of basil, that sort of thing.

Baba Ganouj

2 medium eggplants
2 tbs tahini
2-3 garlic cloves, pressed
juice of 1 lemon
1/2 tsp salt
fresh black pepper

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Slice two medium eggplants in half lengthwise, place facedown on a baking sheet, pierce skins with a fork, and bake until they begin to deflate (about 40 minutes). (Can also bake them whole, if you pierce them.) Let cool, then scoop out insides into a bowl and mash with a fork. Add rest of ingredients and mix well.

Serves 6-8 as a dip. Also good as a topping for rice or pasta, or as a sandwich spread.

Buttermilk Biscuits

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

2 1/2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons salt (can use considerably less)
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup butter or margarine (that's 1 stick. Don't use the kind of margarine that comes in a tub, it won't work. If you really really want to, you can use an equivalent amount of lard, which makes fabulous biscuits but is very bad for your health.)
1 cup buttermilk

Sift dry ingredients together. Add butter and blend well until like a fine cornmeal (I use a pastry cutter). Add milk and mix thoroughly (a well-seasoned wooden spoon works well). Roll dough out thin and cut into circles with a glass or jar mouth. Bake on greased pan until lightly browned. Serve with butter and jam, or honey, or syrup, or with fried eggs. Or anything, really.

To sour regular pasteurized milk as a substitute for buttermilk, add 1 tablespoon lemon juice or white vinegar to 1 cup milk and let stand at room temperature for 10-15 minutes before use.

Basic Biscuits

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

2 cups flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup shortening (I use butter)
2/3 cup milk

Sift dry ingredients together. Cut in shortening with a fork until mixture resembles coarse cornmeal. Add milk slowly and stir with fork only until slightly mixed. If you overmix, the biscuits won't be flaky. Place on floured board and knead gently. Roll to 1/2 inch thickness. Cut into circles with a floured glass or jar mouth. Bake on cookie sheet for 10-12 minutes.

They should turn out pale on top, slightly brown on the bottom. They won't rise much. Eat hot with butter and jam, or use them as a side dish, to sop up juices of other food.

I got home late last night, and ate a fabulous dinner: Granny Smith apple, sliced and dipped into Tupelo honey; chunks of soft Port Salut cheese crammed into ripped off hunks of fresh French bread, and occasionally dipped into the honey. With a glass of milk. While rereading bits of C.S. Friedman's The Madness Season. Then I began packing for CapClave while watching the last episodes of House season one.

Not a bad evening.

It was chilly enough for a jacket this week, so it's chilly enough to bake things in the oven. Woo!

This recipe is very flexible; you do need a big casserole pan, though.

Baked Ziti

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Start water boiling for ziti.

Ingredients:
--Large bowl and a 3 quart casserole pan
--1 16 oz box cooked Ziti (or other noodle pasta)
--28 oz jar spaghetti sauce--can substitute crushed tomatoes for part of it, or homemade sauce in the same amount
--16 oz ricotta cheese (lowfat is okay, no-fat is okay)
--2 cups shredded mozarella
--1 egg, slightly beaten
--2-4 cloves crushed garlic (to taste, really)
--1 tsp dried oregano (use more if fresh oregano)
--1/4 tsp pepper
--1 tbs grated Parmesan
--1 15 oz package each of frozen spinach and broccoli, thawed (I usually just put the boxes on a paper towel in the morning and use the thawed stuff in the evening) (fresh veges can be used, of course, but this recipe was intended for laziness)
--Other options: shredded carrots, sliced mushrooms, sliced artichoke hearts, chopped onion, etc.. If you add too many things, you need a bigger pan.

Combine ziti and veges and cheeses and egg and spices plus 1 and 1/2 cups spaghetti sauce in large bowl. Mix together.

Pour 1/2 cup spaghetti sauce into bottom of casserole pan.

Spread ziti mixture evenly over sauce. Top with remaining 1 1/2 cups spaghetti sauce; sprinkle with parmesan.

Cover with foil and bake for 30-35 minutes or until hot and bubbly.

Makes about 8 servings.

I actually had this written up from a long time ago, when I was asked to send it to someone, and thought I would post it here.

Lentil Soup

This is my lentil soup, which has a lot of possibilities for experimentation, different seasonings, etc..

Since I do this by eye, this recipe is a little vague, but it's really hard to mess up lentils unless you burn them.

With all beans, it's best to keep the flame or temperature very low. Those clay bean pots can be expensive, but are really great.

Fill a saucepan about 3/4 full of water or stock, a generous pinch of cayenne, and some salt, then bring to a boil. A bouillion cube in the water can be nice if you don't have stock. Once the water is boiling, bring your flame down low and add lentils and, if you want to, pearl barley or (washed) quinoa. For a 6 qt saucepan, use 1-2 cups of lentils, depending on how many other ingredients you have.

Digression: This recipe is for green lentils (which look brown), but works equally well with French green and red (which look orange when raw). However, if you use red lentils, cut down on your cooking time by at least half an hour, possibly more. Red lentils tend to disintegrate, and when cooked they look yellow--this is how they're supposed to look. Brown lentil soup takes 1 1/2-2 hours to cook. Vegetables need about a half hour to cook.

Back to the recipe. After the lentils and barley have simmered for about an hour, add chopped vegetables. My staples are potatoes, carrots, and peeled broccoli stems. Corn is also really good, and canned corn is easy--just add it right before the end. I've had good results with sweet potato, as well. Some people like celery.

After adding the vegetables, simmer for another half hour or so, then add crushed or chopped garlic, and onions if you like them. I usually go with 3-5 cloves of garlic and a tablespoon of onion powder. (Lentils can soak up a lot of seasoning.) Now is also the time to add your other seasonings. Combinations I've used include cajun seasoning straight from the container; curry powder; red wine vinegar; chopped raw ginger and fresh lemon juice; and blackstrap molasses with lemon juice. Whatever you choose, let it all simmer for another half hour or so. Add fresh-ground black pepper and salt to taste. If you want rice in your soup, cook it separately and mix it in when the lentils are done.

You'll know it's done when the lentils break apart easily. If they're not done, they'll crumble in your mouth and have a kind of chalky taste.

Thickness of the soup depends on the ratio of water to lentils and how long they are cooked. I've never quantified it exactly. Have fun experimenting!

The only trick with this recipe is to find broad beans (or fava beans). I've had good luck in the bulk section at Whole Foods, and when I find them, I buy a lot and put them in a jar.

( My absolute favorite bean recipes. )

African Spinach and Peanut Butter Stew

Serves 6

2 onions
2 peeled tomatoes (can use canned)
2 lbs spinach or two 10 oz packages thawed frozen spinach
4 tbs unsweetened natural peanut butter
approximately 1 cup water
salt, pepper, oil

1. In a saucepan, fry sliced onions in oil until soft; can add pinch of cayenne for added heat. At the same time, set 1 cup water to boil.

2. Slice tomatoes and add to onions.

3. Chop spinach coarsely, or if using thawed, separate the mass.

4. Add spinach to tomatoes and onions, cover, cook over medium heat for five minutes, occasionally stirring.

5. Make a paste of peanut butter and hot water--you won't need all of the water, just enough to thin the paste to a soupy consistency.

6. Add peanut butter paste to rest of stew, season with salt and pepper, then cook for 5-10 minutes, stirring and/or adding remaining hot water to prevent sticking.

Middle Eastern Spinach Soup

45 minutes prep time
6-8 servings

1 medium potato OR 1 cup uncooked white rice (I prefer short grain)
2 tbs butter (I usually substitute olive oil or canola oil)
2-3 large cloves garlic, crushed
4 cups chopped onion (or a couple of tbs onion powder)
2 tsp salt, 1 tsp ground cumin, 1/2 tsp turmeric, dash of cinnamon, dash of cayenne pepper (increase or decrease spices to taste)
black pepper to taste
2 cups water
2 lbs fresh OR 20 oz thawed frozen chopped spinach
1 1/2 cups firm yogurt at room temperature

1.
If using potato: peel, dice, boil until tender, set aside
If using rice: cook in separate container while making soup. Can use brown rice to add fiber, but brown rice takes longer to cool and doesn't look as pretty.

2. In a large saucepan, sauté onion, garlic, and spices in oil until tender, approximately 8-10 minutes. Works best if heat is medium and mixture is stirred frequently.

3. Slowly add spinach and two cups water to spice mixture; watch so water hitting hot oil doesn't spatter. Add potato now if you're using it. Cover the saucepan and simmer for 10-15 minutes. (Can save a bit of time here if the water is already simmering in another container, but it's not necessary.)

4. Let soup cool slightly. Can leave soup as it is, partially purée, or fully purée.

5. Stir in yogurt, and rice if you're using it. Add black pepper.


With potato, soup can be served either hot or cold. With rice, the soup is best lukewarm.

I cooked this weekend, for the first time in literally months. I think I cooked maybe three times last year, from March through December. For me, that is so unusual as to be almost pathological.

But now I might be back into it. I made Ful from Jessica Harris' wonderful The Africa Cookbook.

Soak two cups of fava/broad beans in four cups of water overnight.
Next day, add enough water to cover beans and bring to boil on medium heat. Lower heat and cover; cook for about two hours or until beans are tender. (Shells of beans will be less tender than interiors.)

When cooked, reserve one tablespoon of the cooking liquid and drain. Mix beans and reserved liquid into the dressing, which is a mixture of:

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice (I sometimes add some zest as well)
6 cloves pressed raw garlic (crushed if you don't have a press; minced won't do)
1 teaspoon sea salt, ground.
(Harris also adds chopped fresh parsley, but I didn't have that on hand)

Serve warm. Leftovers can be gently heated, but too much microwave will make the beans tough.

That's it. The steam from the hot beans as it hits the dressing is so full of garlic that it burned my eyes a little.

Harris recommends crushing the garlic and salt together in a mortar, then adding them to the oil and juice, but I usually just dump everything into a glass bowl as I prepare it. I do this while the beans are cooking and let it sit so the garlic will infuse into the oil.

You're supposed to serve it with accompaniments but I only bother when making this for a group. Suggested accompaniments are triangles of toasted pita bread, boiled eggs, and...I forget the others.