Middle Eastern Red Lentil Soup with Yogurt and Lemon

The Dean & Deluca Cookbook by David Rosengarten
Cookbook 28, Recipe 2, (Total 59)

This cookbook is an enigma to me. I can look through it for an hour and find recipes I'm interested in making, but have absolutely no desire to follow through. It's partially why I included this cookbook in my set cook from.

Did I like it? It was OK. Ultimately red lentils are better for dips than soups. This recipe was a little to close to pea soup - something I can't stand. I love du puy lentils (little french green ones).

Recipe:
In a large pot heat 1 T oil. Add 1 chopped onion, 1.5 tsp ground coriander, 1 tsp ground cumin, 1/2 tsp mustard powder and 1/2 tsp ground ginger. Cook until onions are slightly tender, about 5 minutes. Add 5 cups of water, 1 1/3 cups red lentils, 3 strips of lemon peel, and 1/2 tsp salt. Bring to a boil and then simmer, covered for 15 minutes. Serve with 1/2 cup yogurt mixed with juice of 1/2 a lemon.

OrzoSalad with Lemon, Mint, and Ricotta Salata

The Dean & Deluca Cookbook by David Rosengarten
Cookbook 28, Recipe 1, (Total 58)

For some reason or another I decided to pick up a bunch of orzo at the co-op. While putting it away in the cupboard I realized that that I already had a bunch at home. So I looked through my cookbooks for a recipe with orzo.

I also enjoy cold salads with ricotta salata (a slightly salty, grainy, yet soft cheese). It's one of those rare cheeses that does not melt - funny that it's usually used in cold salads.

Did I like it? It was very pleasant. A classic Italian type salad - with a little too much olive oil - I would increase the recipes veggies by 100% and add more herbs.

Recipe:
Combine: 1/4 cup olive oil, 1/3 cup chopped shallot, 2 T lemon juice, 1 finely chopped garlic clove, zest of 1/2 a lemon, 1/2 tsp salt and pepper to taste. Let this mixture sit while you cook 1 cup of orzo (boil for aprox 6 minutes). Drain orzo run under cold water and add to the olive oil. To this mixture add 1/2 cup each chopped orange pepper, cucumber and ricotta salata and a large handful of chopped mint.

Hot Juniper Sauce for Game Dishes (sos jalowcowy do dziczyny)

Polish Heritage Cookery by Robert & Maria Strybel
Cookbook 27, Recipe 2 (Total 57)

We also chose to cook up our last lamb roast for Stephen's Dad on Fathers Day. We will be picking up the 1/2 a lamb we ordered from Mr. Bob Otis this Saturday from the Farmers Market.

Did I like it? Yes - it pared nicely with the lamb. We've had juniper berries for a while and this was the best use of them I've tasted yet. The recipe states "don't be surprised if one of you guests remarks 'this tastes like gin'".

Recipe: Saute 1 chopped onion and 1 grated carrot in 2 T bacon grease. Add 2 T flour and cook until browned. Add 1.5 cup stock and add 1 chopped tomato and 1 tsp ground juniper berries. Bring to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes. Add 1/4 cup red wine, 1/2 tsp salt, pepper, juice of 1/2 a lemon and 2 garlic cloves. Simmer 5 more minutes. Blend and serve with roasted lamb.

Millet Groats (kasza jaglana)

Polish Heritage Cookery by Robert & Maria Strybel
Cookbook 27, Recipe 1 (Total 56)

We actually made two recipes from this cookbook for Stephen's Dad on Fathers Day. It's been a heck of a week and I haven't been able to post until now - a rare exception to the rule of posting on the same day.

Stephen wanted to cook a side that wasn't potatoes - we were looking for a buckwheat recipe but this worked with our plans and groceries better.

Normally we don't cook with bacon grease but we thought that our sister-in-law who is allergic to dairy might be coming over. Bacon grease was a better option than crisco and gave us an excuse to have BLT's for lunch!

Did I like it? Yes - it was a nice change from potatoes. Crunchy.

Recipe:
Boil 2 cups of water with 1.5 T bacon grease and 1/2 tsp salt. Slow pour in 1 cup of millet. Simmer until the water is almost fully absorbed. Pour into an 8 inch square pan and bake at 350 for 35 minutes. "serve drenched with gravy".

Cream of Barley Soup

Vegetable Soups from Deborah Madison's Kitchen, by Deborah Madison
Cookbook 26, Recipe 2, (Total 55)

I was expecting nice severe weather this evening - thunderstorms and hail. What better to enjoy it with than soup and bread? Unfortunately my severe weather has still not arrived. In the meantime I've caused my house to reach an uncomfortable degree.

Did I like it? It tastes like the sauce from strognaff (the best part) minus the beef. It was delish.

Recipe:
Cover 1/3 cup of hulled barley with water - set aside. Heat a pot with 2T olive oil and 1 T butter. Add 2 large chopped shallots and 1/4 tsp dried oregano and saute for about 5 minutes. Add 2 grated carrots, 2 minced cloves of garlic and 1 chopped leek, saute for 10 more minutes. Drain the barley and add to the pot with 6 cups of water and 1.5 tsp of salt. Bring to a boil and simmer for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile simmer 1/3 cup barley in salted water for 30 minutes.

While barley in the soup pot is cooked - puree with 1 cup of sour cream. Return to pot - salt and pepper to taste. Add cooked barley. Top with pan fried sliced mushrooms and serve with fresh homemade bread.

A Spring Tonic

Vegetable Soups from Deborah Madison's Kitchen, by Deborah Madison
Cookbook 26, Recipe 1, (Total 54)

I found nettles for sale at Mississippi Market on Sunday. I've never tried them and they were cheep so picked up the two remaining packages. This recipe was the only one that called for nettles in my remaining 27 cookbooks.

Did i like it? It was surprisingly delicious. When I asked Stephen his opinion he replied "For how healthy it is, I give it an A+. I wouldn't crave it in the middle of the night but it's very tasty". I would agree.

The way the recipe is written - it leaves a lot of room for whatever you might have. I couldn't find sorrel so I used spinach and squeezed a whole lemon in the soup at the end. I didn't have carrot or radish tops but I had Kohlrabi tops so I used those.

Recipe:
In a bowl combine: 1 medium potato peeled and finely chopped, 2 carrots peeled and finely chopped, 1 yellow onion finely chopped, 5 cloves of garlic smashed and chopped, a nice handful of parsley chopped, and three pinches of Herbs de provence (I didn't have thyme so I had to substitute).

In another bowl combine: A large handful of watercress (at least 1/2 cup), 2 cups chopped swiss chard leaves, 2 cups blanched nettles chopped, 2 cups spinach chopped, about 1/4 cup kohlrabi leaves chopped, and a small handful of dill chopped.

Heat 1 T oil in a pan. Add the contents of the first bowl and cook for about 3 minutes. Add the greens and cook until they are thoroughly wilted. Add 1.5 tsp salt and 2 quarts of water. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 20-30 minutes - until carrots and potatoes are done. Puree. Taste for salt and pepper. Squeeze the juice of a whole lemon into the soup. Serve with sage flowers from your garden (my chive blossoms are now dead).

Carmelized Onion Tart

American Brasserie 180 Simple, robust Recipes Inspired by the Rustic Foods of France, Italy, and America by Rick Tramonto and Gale Gand with Julia Moskin
Cookbook 25, Recipe 2, Total 53

I needed to use up the extra pie crust from the Banana Cream Pie recipe - the cookbook suggested using this recipe and it seemed like a good plan.

Did I like it? No so much. It was a little bland and I wouldn't recommend the anchovy addition - they overpowered the dish. I cooked this for lunch - around dinner time I removed the anchovies, scraped the filling out of the crust and into a pan with more spices (paprika, oregano, shallot salt) and a handful more cheese - heated up that way it was much more flavorful.

Recipe:
In a pan heat 1 T olive oil, add 3 cloves of chopped garlic and saute for 3 minutes. Add 3T butter, when melted add 2 lbs of thinly sliced onions. Cook on low heat for 30 minutes or until caramelized. Add 3 T flour and cook for three more minutes. Set aside to rest.

In a bowl combine 3 eggs, 2/3 cup whole milk, 1/8 tsp nutmeg, 1/2 cup grated Gruyere cheese and the cooled onions. Pour into pie shell and top with four anchovies. Bake at 350 for 35 minutes.

The Best Banana Cream Pie

American Brasserie 180 Simple, robust Recipes Inspired by the Rustic Foods of France, Italy, and America by Rick Tramonto and Gale Gand with Julia Moskin
Cookbook 25, Recipe 1, Total 52

Stephen makes me a birthday cake every year. Since I've been thinking about this pie since January I requested this instead of a cake. This will probably be the only recipe I post that I didn't cook myself.

Did I like it? It tasted great. Unfortunately it didn't hold together very well. With 1/2 cup of cornstarch and 12 egg yolks - it should have stood on its own no matter what. We don't agree on why it didn't work out. Either way I was asleep at 10:45 last night due to an incredibly delicious birthday night out when he made the filling so I can hardly assign the blame:) We celebrated with Mom and Sarah this evening with the pie.

Recipe:
Crust: Mix together 4.5 cups flour, 2 tsp salt and 2 tsp sugar. Cut in 1.5 cups butter. Mix 1/2 cup cold water with 2 tsp red wine vinegar and add to flour to form a dough. Rest for 30 minutes. Divide in half. Blind bake one pie crust at 375 for 25 minutes, remove the foil and bake for 10 more minutes. Cool. Use remaining dough for something else.

Filling: Combine 4 cups whole milk, 1/4 tsp salt, and one vanilla bean in a pan. Bring to a boil and then steep. Whisk together 12 egg yolks with 1 1/3 cups sugar until light and frothy. Whisk in 1/2 cup cornstarch. Pour the egg yolks into the milk and bring to a boil whisking constantly. Boil for about 3 minutes. Stir in 3T butter and 3 sliced banana's. Pour until pie shell and refrigerate overnight. Top with whipped cream.

(For breakfast make an egg yolk scramble)

Crisp Peppery Kohlrabi-Carrot Slaw with Dill and Anise

Vegetables from Amaranth to Zucchini The Essential Reference 500 Recipes & 275 Photographs, by Elizabeth Schneider
Cookbook 24, Recipe 2 (Total 51)

I bring lunch to work about 99% of the time - usually in a Kerr jar. The majority of the food I bring is homemade or leftovers. I occasionally go on an Amy's frozen food stint.

Did I like it? Yes. The pepper really comes through even though it's strained out. I was impressed by it's subtle bite.

Recipe: The night before: Cut 4 small kohlrabi's into small julienne slices. Place in a strainer and toss with 1.5 tsp salt. Let this sit for about 30 minutes. After 30 minutes rinse and then dry.
Meanwhile, toast 1 tsp anise seed and 1/2 tsp coarse ground pepper. Add 1.5 T canola oil and 1 sliced garlic clove. Heat until garlic clove begins to color. Let steep.
Peel 2 carrots and then continue to use the peeler to create thin slices. Place carrots into a bowl with 1 T rice vinegar, kohlrabi and into this mixture strain the canola oil. Divide mixture between two Kerr jars. In the morning add 1 T chopped dill.

Mustard Green Gratin

Vegetables from Amaranth to Zucchini The Essential Reference 500 Recipes & 275 Photographs, by Elizabeth Schneider
Cookbook 24, Recipe 1 (Total 50)

This cookbook is in my top 10 essential - if you like to purchase random vegetables from random farmers - this is the cookbook for you. I purchased mustard greens at $2 for a bunch at the Farmer's Market on Saturday. I referenced this cookbook for recipes.

Did I like it? Yes. I'm not a huge fan of greens such as kale, chard, mustard greens etc., but I try to eat them since they are good for me and will help keep my optical migraines at bay. Stephen put it correctly when he said this is a luxurious way of eating vegetables.

Recipe:
This cookbook has a section for each vegetable called "Pros Propose". It's where they give you a recipe in short paragraph form and assume you can cook it from there. "Cook roasted garlic cloves in heavy cream until reduced by half. Add stemmed, blanched mustard greens and cook until soft, about 20 minutes. Transfer to baking dish and cover with shredded Gruyere and fresh bread crumbs. Brown under broiler."

So: Bake a bulb of garlic at 350 until soft. Add to 1 cup of cream and simmer on the stove for a good 20 minutes. Meanwhile blanch a bunch of mustard greens in a pan of water for about three minutes. Strain and roughly chop. Add greens to the cream with 1/2 tsp salt and some ground pepper, cook for about 20 minutes. Add 1 tsp flour to thicken. Pour into a suitable dish and spread with a mixture of 1/4 cup bread crumbs and 1/4 cup grated Pleasant Ridge Reserve cheese. Broil for about 5 minutes.

Sweet Potato Waffles

The Victory Garden Cookbook by Marian Morash
Cookbook 23, Recipe 2 (Total 49)

I feel no shame in eating breakfast food for dinner.

Did I like it? Yet again, this recipe produced a much lighter product than I was expecting. Since there was no added sugar the waffles turned out just savory enough to enjoy with maple syrup (Grade B!).

Recipe:
Bake one sweet potato (I used my personal favorite: red garnet). It should equal about 1 cup mashed. Add to the mashed sweet potatoes: 3 egg yolks, 1 cup of milk and 1/4 cup of melted butter. Then stir in 1.5 cups of flour which has been mixed with 2 tsp baking powder and 1 tsp salt. Beat three egg whites to soft peaks and fold into sweet potato mixture. Cook in a waffle iron.

Kohlrabi Dumplings

The Victory Garden Cookbook by Marian Morash
Cookbook 23, Recipe 1 (Total 48)

We purchased Kohlrabi at the Farmers Market yesterday and I chose this recipe to use them up.

Did I like it? It was delicious! They were light and flavorful. However, they were a bit o' work...

Recipe:
Boil 12oz of Kohlrabi bulbs in water for 30 minutes, followed by .4 oz of the leaves for 5 minutes. Peel bulbs and place in a food processor with the leaves and 1/2 cup of ricotta - Puree. Place mixture in a pan over low heat.

In a pan bring to a boil 1 cup water with 6T butter. Take off the heat and beat in 3/4 cup flour. Place back on medium heat and cook, stiring constantly, for about five more minutes - until the mixture films the bottom of the pan. Remove from heat and add 3 eggs - one at a time. Beat in Kohlrabi mixture along with 3/4 cup grated parmesan.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and drop in Kohlrabi mixture with a 1 1/2 inch ice cream scoop. Simmer for 15 minutes. Plunge in to ice water and let sit in the water until they sink to the bottom. Remove from ice water and drain on a towel for 10 minutes.

Place dumplings in a buttered pan, brush with butter, sprinkle with parmesan and bake at 350 for 15 minutes.

Well... As I was typing this recipe in I realized that while I halved the kohlrabi mixture, I did not halve the pate a choux mixture - oops. It turned out great and I'm not sure it would have been as delicate if I had made it correctly.

Lettuce and Lovage Soup

The Herbfarm Cookbook 200 Herb-Inspired Recipes, Plus a Complete Guide to Growing, Handling, and Cooking with Fresh Herbs by Jerry Traunfeld
Cookbook 22, Recipe 2 (Total 47)

This was a surprisingly light soup. I thought the soup would be a bit on the slimy side - it wasn't at all. I've wondered about lettuce soup for a long time. It's one of those recips that appears in old cookbooks as well.

Did I like it? Yes - It should have been accompanied by little cucumber sandwiches and a glass of champagne.

Recipe: In a large pot melt 4T butter, add 1 large chopped leek and 1 chopped garlic clove - cook until leeks are soft. Add 4 cups of homemade chicken stock and 1 tsp salt. Simmer for 10 minutes. Add 1 head of lettuce (recipe calls for Romaine - I used a large head of bibb from the Farmers Market). Simmer for 5 minutes. Add 2T chopped lovage and puree. Add salt/pepper to taste. Garnish with chive blossoms.

Tarragon and Chive Ravioli

The Herbfarm Cookbook 200 Herb-Inspired Recipes, Plus a Complete Guide to Growing, Handling, and Cooking with Fresh Herbs by Jerry Traunfeld
Cookbook 22, Recipe 1 (Total 46)

While in Seattle last Fall I would have loved to eat at The Herbfarm Restaurant. The cost was around $300 per person so we passed the opportunity by. I picked this recipe out in January and have been waiting for my chives to burst out of the ground.

Did I like it? On the scale of ravioli I've eaten in restaurants, it's up there at the top. On the scale of ravioli I've made at home it's solidly in the middle of the pack. It has a nice flavor but I just love squash ravioli with sage butter.

I did not make the pasta recipe from this cookbook. I always use the recipe from The Il Fornaio Pasta Book by Maurizio Mazzon. It works every time so I don't mess around with any others.

Recipe:
Pasta: On your counter place 1 1/4 cups flour. Create a big well in the middle - you should have circle of bare counter top about 4 inches across - surrounded by a levy of flour. Into this circle add 2 eggs, 1 tsp olive oil and 1/2 tsp sea salt. Using a fork beat the eggs together and gradually add flour from the edges until you have a cohesive dough. Knead until smooth and not sticky - about three minutes. Let set covered on your counter for 30 minutes. Divide in half. Roll out 1/2 to the second to last setting on your pasta roller.

Filling: Mix together: 1 cup ricotta, 1 egg, 3 T chopped tarragon, 1/4 cup chopped chives, 1/4 cup chopped parsley, 1/4 cup grated parmesan.

Fill your ravioli's and boil for about three minutes.

Melt 3T butter and add 2T chopped parsley, 1T chopped chives and 1 T chopped tarragon. Pour over cooked ravioli and garnish with chive blossoms.

Rhubarb Crumble Cake

Beyond Nose to Tail More Omnivorous Recipes for the Adventurous Cook, by Fergus Henderson & Justin Piers Gellatly
Cookbook 21, Recipe 2, (Total 45)

I have rhubarb to use up in the garden and I like cake. Since I gave you a scale for Christmas I decided not to translate the grams.

Did I like it? It was ok. The flavor was good but the cake a little tough. 1.5 hour baking time for an eight inch cake is just too long.

Recipe:
Rhubarb: Add 1.5 cups chopped rhubarb to the grated zest of one orange, 50g white sugar and 50g brown sugar. Set aside while you make the other two cake sections.

Crumble: Cut 95g butter into 125g flour, add 60g of brown sugar, 30g silvered almonds, 30g slivered ground almonds (crush slivered in a mortar), and a pinch of salt. Set aside.

Cake: Beat 125g butter with 125g white sugar until fluffy. Add 3 eggs one at a time. Add 160g flour, 1/2 tsp baking soda, and a pinch of salt alternately with 50ml milk.

Assemble: In an 8x3 pan place the cake mixture on the bottom, cover with rhubarb mixture, followed by the crumble. Bake at 350 for 1.5 hours.

Confit Pig's Cheek and Dandelion

Beyond Nose to Tail More Omnivorous Recipes for the Adventurous Cook, by Fergus Henderson & Justin Piers Gellatly
Cookbook 21, Recipe 1, (Total 44)

I've been meaning to cook from the nose to tail cookbooks for a while. Pa gave me both of them and I thought pigs cheeks, aka pork cutlets, sounded less scary than their feet.

Did I like it? Absolutely, it was delicious. The recipe itself is pretty basic but involves much more lenghtly cooking times than I'm used to.

Recipe:
First - render duck fat from previous weeks trimmed duck skin to equal about 1.5 cups. Take duck skin - chop it up with a little water - place on lowest heat for 1 hour. Strain and cool over night.

Second - find a farmer willing to let you purchase pig cheeks. Try to find one who will sell you a smaller quantity than 5 lbs! I'm not sure what I'm going to do with the rest of mine...

Third - Completely cover 4 pig cheeks with duck fat and bake at 340 for 3 hours. Cool completely in fat over night (in my case for two days.) You want to make sure the cheeks are completely covered - I used my small ikea 5x5 pan.

Fourth - Remove pig cheeks from fat and place each on a piece of bread - cook at 350 for 1.5 hours. Also cover 12 peeled cloves of garlic and 12 small sections of shallots with duck fat and bake along side cheeks for the first 45 minutes. Move garlic and shallots to a mixing bowl.

Fifth - To the garlic and shallots add 1Tsp of capers, 1 bunch of chopped parsley, and one bunch of dandelion leaves from your (non-chem-lawn) yard.

Sixth - Make a vinaigrette with 2 tsp Dijon mustard, 150ml olive oil, 1 tsp balsamic vinegar, a squeeze of lime (i didn't have a lemon) and a pinch of salt.

Seventh - When the pig cheese are crispy - chop the them and the bread into hunks and add to the greens mixture. Dress with about about a 1/2 cup vinaigrette.

Serve on the lawn.

Duck a la Mode

The Successful Housekeeper Manual of Universal Application, Especially Adapted to the Every Day Wants of American Housewives; Embracing Several Thousand Thoroughly Tested and Approved Recipes, Care and Culture of Children, Birds and House Plans; Flower and Window Gardening etc,; With Many Valuable hints on Home Decoration by M.W. Wllsworth & F. B. Dickerson 1882
Cookbook 20, Recipe 2, (Total 43)

I chose two duck recipes in order to use up the duck I purchased at the farmers market.

Did I like it? Absolutely, it was delicious. I was surprised at how well the port fit this dish. The duck completely overpowers any sense of the ports sweetness. I'm now looking forward to a couple of days without meat. These two dishes were excellent and Sunday's was pretty good - three dinners in a row with meat and I'm ready for a week off.

(Soon I will have hot bread from the oven - I made bread today from yesterday's boiled potato water! YUM)

Original Recipe: Take a couple of ducks, divide them into quarters and lay them in a stewpan with a sprinkling of flour, pepper and salt. Put a large lump of butter divided into pieces at the bottom of the stewpan and fry the ducks until they are a nice light-brown color. Remove the frying-pan and put in half a pint of gravy and a glass of port; sprinkle more flour and add a bunch of sweet herbs, two or three shallots minced fine, an anchovy, and a little Cayenne when the ducks have stewed in the gravy till tender, put them on a dish, take out the herbs, clear off any fat, and serve with the sauce thrown over them.

My interpretation: Take half a duck and cut the wing and drumstick off. Split the remaining portion in half length wise (this enables you to keep the breast in one piece). Place duck pieces in a pan with 1T butter, add 2 large pinches of kosher salt, 2 small pinches of pepper and sprinkle 2T of flour over the meat. Turn heat to medium and cook until nice and brown. Remove from pan and drain fat into a small jar. Return meat to pan and add 1 cup of gravy (made from stock created from last nights leftover bones and the neck and giblets), 1 cup of stock, 1/3 cup port, 1 minced anchovy and 2 chopped shallots. Bring to a boil and add a large amount of parsley and thyme tied together. Simmer over medium low heat for 35-40 minutes until the breast meat reaches 160 degrees. Thicken sauce if needed and serve with mashed potatoes.

Fricasseed Duck

The Successful Housekeeper Manual of Universal Application, Especially Adapted to the Every Day Wants of American Housewives; Embracing Several Thousand Thoroughly Tested and Approved Recipes, Care and Culture of Children, Birds and House Plans; Flower and Window Gardening etc,; With Many Valuable hints on Home Decoration by M.W. Wllsworth & F. B. Dickerson 1882

While I was employed by the Minnesota Historical Society I started reading through the entire cookbook collection there - I believe I made it through about 250 before I left. This was my favorite old cookbook. I wrote down the name but became convinced I would never find it for a reasonable price. I consistently found it for $75 - eventually I found it for $30 and snatched it up.

I found duck for sale at the Farmer's Market on Saturday. Unfortunately he had run out but promised to butcher us one if we came back on Sunday - which we did.

I will first type the recipe as it is in the book - followed by my interpretation. I decided to cut the duck in half and cook two separate recipes with it.

Did I like it? Yes - I would describe it as simple, homey and plain old good food.

Original Recipe: Most people think a duck must be roasted, but try this once instead: Cut a mallard or red duck into four quarters; chop an onion fine, and put all into a pot; cover with water, and add more as it boils away. Stir a little celery seed, or celery chopped up fine, three or four strips of salt pork, and when nearly done add a tablespoonful of Worcestershire sauce. Build a mound of mashed potatoes around your dish and carefully lay the contents of the fricassee in the center. Season with salt and pepper. This makes a juicy and Delicious dish.

My Interpretation: Cut a duck in half. Reserve one half for another recipe. Cut the remaining duck in half again. Place in a sauce pan with 1 chopped onion and cover with water. Bring to a boil and continue boiling for 25 minutes. Add 2 ribs of chopped celery, 1/4 tsp celery seed, and 2 strips of bacon chopped and two pinches of kosher salt. Lightly boil for 20 more minutes. Remove duck and strain the liquid in to a large bowl - skim off as much fat as you can. Return everything but the reserved fat back into the pan and add 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce.

Meanwhile boil up as many potatoes as you would like. Mash and form into a mote* on a plate. Strain liquid. Place duck and strained material inside mote add liquid to taste. Serve.

*Stephen informed me "mote" is an incorrect term - it should be an "earthen levy".

Aromatic Beef Broth Noodles (Bun Pho)

The Noodle Shop Cookbook 150 Favorite Noodle Dishes from Seven Asian Cuisines, by Jacki Passmore

Cookbook 19, Recipe 2 (Total 41)

I wanted to use up the final batch of beef bones we purchased last fall. This cookbook has two beef stock recipes - one "aromatic" and one "good". I chose to add some elements from the aromatic to the good.

Did I like it? Yes - it was a very simple soup after eating too many scones today.

Recipe:
Stock:
Bring to a boil: 3 lbs beef bones, 6 green tops of scallions, 2 inches of peeled ginger, 1 tsp peppercorns, 1/2 orange peel, 2 star anise, 2 inch piece of cinnamon. Skim and reduce heat to a very low simmer for 3.5 hours - strain. Refrigerate. Discard fat.

Heat stock to a boil and add 3 T fish sauce (Nuoc Mam).

Boil Rice Vermicelli for 3 minutes - divide between two bowls.

Heat a wok on high heat with 1 T oil. Add very thinly sliced 6 oz sirloin and cook for about 1 minute. Remove to a bowl and cook 1 thinly sliced onion in wok.

Top noodles with beef and onion, add broth.

Serve with mint and sliced scallions.

Teriyaki Soba

The Noodle Shop Cookbook 150 Favorite Noodle Dishes from Seven Asian Cuisines, by Jacki Passmore

We purchased this cookbook on vacation in Vancouver quite a few years ago.

Did I like it? It was OK. A little too salty for my taste. That said, I was looking for something really yummy - I didn't have such a great day - I should have known that anything with soy sauce wouldn't really have fit the bill tonight.

Recipe
Cook 6 oz soba - Add soba to boiling water, bring back to a boil and then add 1 cup of cold water, return to a boil again and then simmer for aprox 2 minutes, cook until just tender. Drain and set aside in the colander.

Cut 1/2 a chicken breast into matchstick pieces, set aside. Cut 6 scallions into 2 in pieces, set aside. Combine 1/4 cup soy sauce, 2.5 T sake, 1.5 tsp mirin and 1 T sugar, set aside.

Heat 1 T oil in a pan, add chicken and cook until done, set aside. Add scallions to the pan and cook for one minute. Add the soy sauce mixture and cook until scallions are tender and the sauce has reduced a little. Add the chicken.

Pour boiling water over the noodles in the strainer - divide between to plates and top with the sauce. Serve with Shichimi (japanese pepper condiment)