Oh my goodness, is this stuff ever good. It made my taste buds sing! And isn’t the color just beautiful?

If you’re not a hummus fan, this may change your mind since it contains no garbanzo beans. If you are a hummus fan, making it with green peas will just enhance your experience. To my mind, the tahini (sesame seed paste) is what makes this dish. It gives it oodles of flavor. The lemon juice also helps, and I love cumin, so I added a bit more than this Cooking Light recipe suggested. The original is available online.

The recipe indicated cooking the peas. Why, I said? Not necessary since it would be pureed. So I used them straight out of the bag (but defrosted). There’s some garlic in it, some Italian parsley and some olive oil. I added more oil than the original recipe because once it was whizzed up in the food processor it was a bit too dry – it threw a good part of it up on the sides and it didn’t puree well enough. A little more oil (about a tablespoon) in the bowl fixed that problem. Let it mellow for an hour or two (or it can be served immediately). Serve with some kind of soft Middle Eastern bread. We had sangak bread to serve alongside (you can see a few torn pieces on the right of the bowl in the photo up at the top).

One other thing – this appetizer is a CINCH to make. Talk about easy. It took about 6 or 7 minutes to make. Really. Once whizzed up, I scraped it out into a serving bowl, sprinkled it with zahtar (I didn’t have any sumac on hand), covered it with plastic wrap and zipped it out when guests arrived. I really liked this – the flavors just burst in your mouth. Do try it.
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You ever get hungry for breakfast food at dinner time? Since we don’t eat eggs and bacon except on rare occasions, I decided one night that breakfast food appealed to me. I was going to make yeast waffles, but that takes an overnight sit in the refrigerator for the batter. No time for that. In my stack of to-try recipes I had this one for oatmeal pancakes, that I’d read over at Smitten Kitchen blog. She got the recipe from Good to the Grain: Baking with Whole-Grain Flours (a cookbook that makes grains and other healthy foods much more appealing). I’d read something about the book at another blog too.

The pancakes were easy to make, although I did have to make oatmeal as part of the recipe. If you happen to have leftover oatmeal on hand you’ll save an extra 10 minutes or so, and dirtying up another pot! First, though, you have to make some oat flour in the food processor (just whiz up enough dry oatmeal until it’s flying all around in the workbowl). That gets mixed with the other dry ingredients (flour, sugar, salt, baking powder).

Then you mix up the wet stuff: the cooked oatmeal, milk, eggs, melted butter. That gets poured into the dry mixture and you very gently fold and whisk lightly (use a heavy hand with it and the pancakes will be heavy and tough).

Confession time: I didn’t re-read the directions as I was doing it and I added in ALL the cooked oatmeal – the recipe indicated making two cups worth and you only needed to use one. So I had to thin down the batter some. The recipe you see below is my convoluted version, which made those lovely thin double-sized dollar pancakes in the photo above. The recipe made way too many for the two of us, so I placed the extras in between pieces of waxed paper and put several  stacks into bags in the freezer. They microwave (to reheat) just fine. Be careful and don’t overdo the time, though. They were fine with just a bit of butter, but sublime with some real maple syrup. The bigger ones (top photo) were thicker, more chewy, with more of an oatmeal texture. The thinner ones I liked better, actually. But either way, they’re very tasty. Very oatmeal-y, if you will.

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A year ago: Pork Tenderloin with Maple Mustard Vinegar Sauce
Three years ago: Whole Wheat Pizza Dough

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Reaching my fork right into the screen here and grabbing a bit of that nice, crispy browned topping sounds so good right now. This fish dish was so easy. And so delicious. Of course, you do need to like halibut (although I’m sure it would work well with other kinds of firm-fleshed fish).

The fish is broiled (remember when that’s about all we DID with fish?). Down low in the oven. Actually at least 10 inches from the element – gives it time to cook through and slowly brown and get crispy on top. That’s about the only way you could broil this – low and slow.

First you prepare the pan (a broiler pan – rack – over a pan), oil it so the fish won’t stick too badly. Put a piece of foil underneath too to catch the drips (easier cleanup). Then you mix up some oil, fresh garlic, mayo and some rinsed and chopped capers. And a bit of lemon zest. Slather that on top of the fish and broil for 9-12 minutes, depending on the thickness of the fish and the distance from the heat (remember, 10 inches). Serve with rice and lemon wedges. Easy. If you don’t like capers, you can substitute Dijon mustard.

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A year ago: Butternut Squash Risotto with Pancetta
Two years ago: Chorizo and Eggs
Three years ago: Pizza with Chicken, Red Onion and Olives

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There’s a long, meandering story to tell about this recipe. When we were in Britain in August we stayed in Wales for several days. And after a really interesting (and different) Welsh dinner at a pub one night, the chef served us a few Welsh cakes. Having never had them before (or ever heard of them) I was intrigued. He brought us four. We ate two and took the other two with us, which we enjoyed the next day. I almost always keep a small plastic bag in my purse. You just never know when you might need one. It was perfect for my little stash of Welsh Cakes. (And say, speaking of what kind of stuff women keep in their handbags – did any of you watch Nate Berkus on his new TV show, where he wanted to know what women keep in their purses – why we feel naked without one – and one audience member he interviewed actually pulled out a black bra from hers? THAT was weird!)

Traditionally, I’d guess a Welshman would not eat a Welsh Cake after dinner. And why the chef did for us, I’m not sure, except that he made us a typical Welsh meal. They’re more like a little treat to have with a cup of tea or coffee. Probably eaten mid-morning or mid-afternoon. The dessert I ordered, banofee pie – oh so good – was delicious, but it’s not Welsh particularly. So I guess he wanted us to end our meal on a Welsh high note.

We tasted them, and I fell in love with them. Being a scone aficionado, I quizzed our waitress about them. How were they made, I asked? In a dry skillet – cast iron preferred, she said. They were just lightly sweet, with a little sprinkling of sugar on the top of each one. They were warm, light and scrumptious. Right then and there I determined I’d learn how to make them once I got home. As we left the pub that evening the chef scribbled out his recipe and handed it to me. Comparing it in my mind with scones, I didn’t see any liquid on the list. I asked him about milk or cream, and he said no, the butter was sufficient. His instructions were so succinct as to be non-existent, so I figured I’d best figure it out later. I didn’t think any more about it then.

Within 24 hours of our arrival home I was searching my cookbooks (first I went to my EYB site – and yes, EYB told me I owned one cookbook with a recipe – and if you don’t know EYB, you can read my post about it). I went online and found several recipes too – many of them  identical. I made a kind of Welsh Cake spreadsheet, so to speak, of the different ingredients from all the recipes I found. Some had more butter (in proportion to flour) than others. Some had spices (like mace, nutmeg, cinnamon, or “mixed spice,” which is a combination jar sold in Britain). Some called for cream or milk. But every recipe called for an egg. Except the chef’s. Here’s the chef’s entire recipe: 5 ounces butter, 10 ounces self-raising flour, 3 ounces caster sugar, 1 pinch mixed spice, 4 ounces currants or raisins. 1/2 hour fridge, griddle no oil. Isn’t that a kick? That was it. He was doing it from memory as he scribbled onto a tiny piece of paper, and I think he must have forgotten the EGG.

SO, the next day I decided to try one of the recipes (not the chef’s) that included an egg and I’d see where it led me. I was pleased with the taste, but I followed a method that said to pat out the rounds by hand. I knew the chef’s had been much more structured, more precise than that. I didn’t know what temperature to cook them, either, although I quickly determined that using my nonstick electric skillet would be the best choice. I have an cast iron skillet, but the electric skillet would be more heat-consistent. I watched a precious video online of a dear, little Welsh grandmother named Betty making Welsh Cakes for her grandchildren. I didn’t try her recipe, but I watched the technique carefully. So next I tried the chef’s recipe – and decided with the quantity of flour  – that I should add two eggs. Mistake. Probably one would have been sufficient. But I didn’t think they were quite right, either, although I did use my rolling pin and got perfect rounds. And incidentally, my friend Marie, who writes A Year From Oak Cottage has a recipe on her other blog, about Welsh Cakes. Hers calls for lard, though. Take a look if you’re interested.

Now we fast-forward a couple or three weeks. I wasn’t sure which recipe I’d try next. Coincidentally, I’d had a couple of email exchanges with one of my readers, Toni-Anne, who lives in England (we’ve been emailing occasionally for the last couple of years). Just on chance I asked her whether she knew Welsh Cakes. Well, yes, indeed she did. She was raised in Wales, and recalled her mother making them often. Sadly, Toni-Anne’s mother died when she was 10, and she doesn’t have her mum’s recipe. Toni-Anne said she’d see what she could do, though.

A few days went by and then I got another message from Toni-Anne. She’d remembered that in the early 80’s she’d spent a few weeks in North Carolina and she’d made Welsh Cakes while she was there. North Carolina, I thought? From a magazine recipe, she said. And would you believe it? She still had the recipe. And the magazine! From the December, 1981 Redbook. The Welsh Cakes were credited to a woman named Blodwyn Lewis. Blodwyn? Yup. Blodwyn, a very Welsh name, I’ve learned.

Promptly, I made this recipe, and am so happy to say that this will be my go-to recipe for Welsh Cakes, thank you very much! I did make one change – I used cream instead of milk, but either will work. And I used my food processor to cut in the butter. They taste very similar to my buttermilk scones, but these have no buttermilk in them. I’ll have to make an ingredient by ingredient comparison of the two. Or maybe I’ll have to try my scone recipe cooked on a griddle. Maybe later. For now I’m sticking with this recipe. So here, my friends, is the Redbook magazine Welsh Cake recipe, from 1981, thanks to Toni-Anne and her amazing archives! Thank you, cyber-friend!

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A year ago: Olive Oil Orange Madeleines
Three years ago: Anise Pound Cake

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Really, I thought I’d posted this recipe ages ago. I’ve had it for years. Have made it a few times. It’s incredibly easy. You can make it in less than 30 minutes. Which is probably why it was one of Rachel Ray’s recipes, although I got it at a cooking class some years ago. It was credited to Rachel, but I could not find this recipe anywhere online, so perhaps the cooking instructor had changed it a bit. Or perhaps it’s in one of Rachel’s cookbooks and not available online.

What’s a stoup, you ask? Something in between stew and soup. A thicker soup than a traditional soup. But not quite as thick as a stew. And I think Rachel Ray coined the word stoup. What makes this one thicker is the addition of 8 ounces of cream cheese. It could be made with ground turkey, I suppose (I use ground beef). And you can use any kind of pasta, really. I used egg noodles this time just because they were the handiest to reach in my pantry. You could use elbow macaroni, or penne, or bowtie pasta. It would be best to use some kind of short pasta – not long noodle type. Just keep that in mind.

First you cook up the ground meat, add garlic, then stock, Italian seasonings, then you add canned kidney beans (or any kind of beans would do – it’s just that the dark kidneys look good against the creamy backdrop of the soup) and canned, chopped tomatoes. Lastly you add in the pasta and cook just until al dente and add the cream cheese. It melts quickly enough if you stir it gently. Serve and sprinkle with fresh basil. Done. Now, wasn’t that easy? It’s all made in one pot. Great for a fall cool evening, I think. It’s almost soup weather around here.

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A year ago: Gingerbread Cupcakes with Lemon Frosting
Three years ago: Drop Biscuits

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The photo is a little blurry – sorry – when I use my point and shoot camera, I tend to place the camera a little too close to the food. What you see there is a tender, juicy chicken breast that’s stuffed with some provolone cheese, then rolled up in 2 ultra-thin slices of prosciutto. It’s briefly browned, then baked for a few minutes while you make the pan sauce (butter, shallots, white wine, chicken stock, lemon juice and fresh basil). Once you gather up the ingredients, the entire dish can come together in a matter of minutes.

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Don’t you get tired, sometimes, of a regular green salad? My normal dinner side salad contains lettuce of course (or combination of greens of some kind), but usually radishes, celery, maybe carrots, some bell pepper, Feta cheese, tomatoes and parsley or cilantro. I make numerous kinds of salad dressings from scratch. But there are times when none of the veggies appeal to me.

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This recipe has been part of my repertoire for so long I don’t even remember where I got it. When our kids were growing up, often on Sunday evenings we’d barbecue a big hunk of top sirloin – about 2+ pounds worth. Dave was the maestro at the grill and brought it, sizzling on a big, long white platter, into the dining room with a moderate amount of ceremony.

Dave loved telling stories to our kids about Sunday family dinners when he was growing up, and much to his grandmother’s consternation, his grandfather would throw slices of bread from one end of the table to the other. Far more interesting than passing a bowl or plate, he must have figured. Frisbees weren’t invented yet when this took place, but the stories were passed down through the family about Grandpa’s spinning the bread from where he sat at the head of his dinner table to whoever was requesting a slice. He preferred to sail the bread to the opposite end and let those people pass them on. Family sagas are made of this.  And although our dining table wasn’t as long as Dave recalls his grandmother’s was, Dave has been known to toss a biscuit or a roll – much to my consternation and warnings. Everybody laughs – and still laughs when Dave brings it up. My embarrassment was if anyone else was visiting (friends of ours, or friends of our kids) to think that’s the way we behaved at our daily dinner table.  My job as a mother was to instill decorum at the dinner table and teach our kids good manners. They’ll likely not remember my words of wisdom, but they’ll surely remember their Dad throwing a biscuit. Ah well, throw propriety out the door. Laugh and have fun, right?

Dave enjoyed cutting off the serving-sized hunks of the steak and putting them onto the plates stacked at his place at the head of the table. And when we were done with all the steak – it always got eaten in full – our daughter Dana wanted the juice – blood – that was pooling on the white platter – that was her favorite part. I think she still craves that part of any steak dinner at her house.

Usually I’d make baked potatoes because we all liked them. Once in awhile I’d make twice-baked potatoes, if I had the time. But this topping combines all the good stuff you like to have in a sour cream and butter topping (for baked potatoes) and puts it all in one bowl. And makes it easier for passing around the table. There’s nothing more to it than sour cream, butter, green onions (with a bit of preparation to them) and salt and pepper.

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