Grandma's Ginger Crisps

I'm searching for the perfect ginger snap.  I tried these tonight.  I love the texture - crisp and soft in the middle.  Very buttery - yum!  The cookies could be spicier.

I'll continue to look.  Obviously right butter to flour ratio.  Just want more molasses and spices.

found on The Cast-Iron blog

Ingredients:

3/4 c shortening
1 c white sugar, plus a bit extra
1 egg
1/4 c molasses
2 c flour
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground cloves
1 tsp ground ginger

1. Cream the shortening and 1 cup of sugar; add the egg and molasses and mix until creamy.

2. Mix the dry ingredients together and add the dry to the wet and mix until you get something that looks like cookie dough.

3.  Lightly grease a couple of baking sheets, or line them with parchment paper. Make 1.5 tbs balls of dough and roll in some white sugar. Place the dough balls about 1.5" apart on the baking sheet. Press each ball down gently with a fork.

4. Bake for 10-12 minutes (watch them after 10 minutes!) in a 375ºF oven. Let cool, then devour them all and share them with no one. No no. I didn't mean that. I mean wrap them up and give them to friends and family in the spirit of the season.

Bombay Aloo

(I'll post photos of the delicious blackbean pumpkin soup shortly--after congealing in the fridge overnight it was like baked black beans! So yummmmmmy.)


Although I've seen so many soups that look irresistible, we currently have lots of soup in the fridge and are running out of pots to hold them.  Also, I still have a lot of that garam masala I made so I figured why not put it to use with this recipe:

Bombay Aloo (Serves 4)

3 potatoes, peeled and chopped into bite-size pieces

2 tsp salt

1 tsp turmeric

1/2 onion, finely chopped

2" piece fresh ginger, grated

4 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced

1 tsp garam masala (I use homemade)

1 tsp cumin powder

1 tsp chilli powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 onion, sliced

1/2 green capsicum, deseeded & sliced  (apparently this is just a bell pepper, she's a Brit living in Spain, they make words up over there I hear)

2 tbsp tomato puree

1 tbsp lemon juice

1 tomato, skin & core removed, cut into 8 pieces

4 tbsp chopped coriander

Boil the potatoes in water with a little 2 tsp salt and the turmeric until cooked.

Meanwhile, heat the oil in a karahi or deep frying pan and fry the finely chopped onion for about 3 minutes, until translucent.

Add the ginger, garlic, garam masala, cumin and chilli powder, stir fry for 2 minutes.

Add the 1/2 tsp of salt, the sliced onion, capsicum, tomato puree, lemon juice and cut tomato, stir fry for 2 minutes.

Drain the potatoes and add to the pan. Mix well and serve immediately sprinkled with coriander.

Note: This dish can be made ahead and re-heated.

from http://debskitchencreations.blogspot.com/2010/11/bombay-aloo.html


Sounds easy enough, right?

Pumpkin Blackbean Chili

First plate served - pretty on pink

On the table

On the stove

Prepared the chili Saturday afternoon.  The roasted pumpkin added a delicious flavor to the chili.  Danny Barnes provided the perfect sound for cooking.  Didn't use a slow cooker.  Cooked the whole thing on the stove using black beans I'd cooked earlier in the week.  Next time, and yes, there will be a next time, I think I'll add peppers.  Definitely could have used an additional punch.  Nice way to give a fall flavor to chili.

A Poem

Sisters
Janet Wong

She calls me tofu
because I am so soft,
easily falling apart.

I wish I were tough
and full of fire, like ginger-
like her.

Looky here...

Recipe for this love dip: http://homesicktexan.blogspot.com/2007/02/looking-for-love-dip.html

Get ready for this: Pumpkin Blackbean Chili!

Pumpkin and Black Bean Chili (Slow Cooker)

(from the Guilty Kitchen blog)

1 large onion, diced
1 lb ground beef (I'm going to use the morning star vegetarian meat, the blogger says it can be left out entirely, maybe another type of bean?)
1 cup pumpkin purée
1 19 oz can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 28 oz can diced tomatoes, preferably no salt added
1 7oz jar of tomato sauce
1 tbsp cumin
2 tbsp instant coffee
2-3 tbsp chili powder
2 Tbsp hot sauce (like Cholula Chili Garlic)
1-2 tsp sea salt
2 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp cocoa powder
1 buttercup squash or small pumpkin
1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped fine

1. In a large frying pan on medium heat, sauté the ground beef until thoroughly browned. Place in bowl of crock pot and set aside.
2. In same frying pan, sauté onions until translucent and then add those to the beef in the crock pot bowl.
3. Add remaining ingredients, except whole squash and cilantro to crockpot. Stir and mix and turn to low.
4. Cook on low for at least eight hours.
5. To roast squash preheat oven to 400°F. Cut squash in half and scoop out seeds. Slice into small crescents about one inch in thickness, brush with a small amount of oil and bake on baking tray for 20-25 minutes.
6. When squash is done, cut into large cubes and stir into chili just before serving.
7. Garnish chili with chopped cilantro and a dollop of sour cream if desired.

This just looked to good to ignore! Laura did you tell me about this blog? I love it, this woman is smart and creative, jeeez. And talks about this recipe book based collected from blogs, cool, called "Foodies of the World" that was just published!

Alright you two, deadline is going to be extended to Tuesday because of the delayed posting, and its a good recipe for a workday. However I want to make asap!

What do we have here?

Click it. I dare you.

And now that I know they're called Alfajores? I'm making 'em myself!