Stuffed Cabbage

I meant to write this post shortly after making these stuffed cabbage, Asian style, for the first time.  Now I'm warming the leftovers that I froze for our Sunday supper and remembered that I wanted to share these.

I started with 1 lb. of ground pork adding 4 celery stalks chopped fine, 1 egg, 1 cup cooked rice, 1 large clove garlic minced, 1+ tsp. of five spice powder, soy sauce, chili oil, and sesame oil.  The last three were splashes, sorry not measured.

I mixed that all well.

I had one large head of cabbage and gently took off 10-12 leaves.  I trimmed out the center ribs and chopped those fine and added them to the pork mix.  Then took a large spoonful and placed in the cabbage leaf.

Rolled it up tucking in the sides and placed in greased casserole.

Here's the filled dish.

Fou a sauce I mixed 2/3 cup chicken broth, a tablespoon of sherry/cooking white wine, tablespoon of sesame oil, dash of chili oil, tablespoon of soy sauce and a splash of Chinese vinegar.

I poured this over the cabbage, covered casserole with foil and

placed in a hot 400º oven covered for 30-40 minutes.

Here's the dish out of the oven and below a serving on a plate with fried rice.

It was a delicious concoction.

Addendum To Thursday's Post

The chicken chili was so good last night.  I didn't need to add any additional salt.  I froze a good portion of it to thaw at holiday time for lunch when there are more people here to serve and kept  4 cups to have for lunch tomorrow and next week.

Eggplant

I picked my largest eggplants this evening. I had a hankering for fried eggplant so decided that they were big enough to pick: one of each variety.

I sliced them up into spears.

Tossed them in beaten egg.

Then tossed them in bread crumbs.

Heated a skillet with corn oil to brown them up.

Turned them over since they each had three or four sides.

Placed them on a paper towel to drain and served them up. I sometimes drizzle syrup on my fried eggplant. They were so good.

Here's the tomato dish we had with our supper: scalloped tomatoes a Joy of Cooking recipe. Very easy. Sauteed onions in butter, add brown sugar, dried crumbs, cut up tomatoes and place in casserole. Top with crumb mixture and bake at 350º for 30 minutes. One of our favorite tomato dishes.

Delicious Dessert

The King Arthur Flour blog has a wonderful recipe for Cherry Clafouti. Never heard of clafouti? Neither had I. There were no cherries to be had to try this so I used 3 cups of blueberries and one large peach instead.

Since you bake it in a cake pan I was expecting something cake-like.

It's more of a light custard. Delicious, too!

Teriyaki Beets

This evening I wanted to use some beets from the garden as a vegetable with dinner. I found this recipe that was a hit with everyone.

Teriyaki Beets from Winter Harvest Cookbook reprinted in from Asparagus to Zucchini: a Guide to Farm-Fresh Seasonal Produce by Madison Area Community Agriculture Coalition

12 small unpeeled beets
4 T butter
2 T honey
1 T minced fresh ginger
1 T soy sauce

Boil or steam the beets until almost tender. Rinse in cold water and cut into halves. (I quartered them.) Combine the other 4 ingredients in a small sauce pan and heat until the butter and honey are melted. Brush some sauce over beets and place on heated broiler pan. Broil 5-10 minutes until tender, basting frequently. Transfer to serving dish and pour remaining sauce over. (I put the beets into a foil pouch, poured on some sauce sealed it and put it on the grill. I poured over the remaining sauce before serving.)

Dinner

Had friends for dinner last night. Here's the menu:

brie cheese with almonds
asparagus soup
bison meatballs
angel hair pasta
tomato and basil sauce
salad
chocolate cake
strawberries sauce

Here's the chocolate cake recipe (courtesy of Country Living Magazine):
Ingredients: 1 1/2 cup sifted cake flour (I used King Arthur unbleached)
1/3 cup Dutch processed cocoa
1 tsp baking soda
1 cup sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup strong brewed coffee, warm
1/3 cup olive oil
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp aged balsamic vinegar

Heat oven to 400. Lightly coat an 8 inch round cake pan with PAM and dust with flour. (Or cut a round of wax paper for the bottom instead of the flour.)

Whisk the flour, cocoa, soda, sugar and salt in a large mixing bowl.

Stir the coffee, oil, vinegar, extract together in another bowl or large measuring container.

Whisk the liquids into the dry ingredients just until smooth.

Pour batter into pan and bake in oven for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool in the pan and then remove to serving plate.

Cake may be iced or I like to serve with strawberries in syrup and whipped cream or ice cream.

Fresh Strawberries Sauce.
1 pint ripe strawberries
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp sugar

Lightly rinse the strawberries and pat dry. Hull and cut up into a bowl. Toss with lemon juice and sugar and let stand for 2 hours to let juices develop. Refrigerate covered for up to 4 hours before using.