Brubaker Wassail

3 1/4 c water
2 c apple juice
1 cinnamon stick
4 cloves

Simmer above ingredients for at least an hour.

Stir in 1/3 c sugar & 6 oz. lemonade concentrate. Serve.

Pulgogi

1 lb. beef, thinly sliced
4 Tbs. sugar
2 Tbs. sesame seed oil
6 Tbs. soy sauce
4-5 cloves garlic, minced
4 Tbs. sesame seeds
1 green onion, chopped

1-Marinate beef in remaining ingredients for 2-12 hours.
2-Cook in a wok or fry pan over medium heat until done.
3-Serve with short-grain rice or romaine lettuce leaves (authentic).

Variations:
Vegetarian--substitute one package (16 oz?) extra firm tofu, drained and diced, for beef.
Crockpot--(best version for super tender meat!)-throw all the ingredients into the crock pot and mix well. Cook 4 hrs. on low or 8 hrs. on high. Break up meat and stir in green onion before serving.
Sucrose-free--substitute equal parts honey for the sugar .

Cabbage Salad

Marinade:
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 teaspoon sesame oil
3 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1 packet ramen seasoning (chili-lime is our favorite)


Cabbage Salad:
approx. 1/2 c sliced almonds
Noodles from the opened Ramen package
approx. 1 T sesame seeds
----> toast these ingredients in a fry pan

Mix in with:
1 head of cabbage, shredded
a few stalks of green onions, chopped

Stir in marinade and toss, toss, toss!

*Note- for very large heads of cabbage, I often use two ramen packets and double the remaining ingredients for the marinade and salad.

Squash Lasagna

After devouring this dish tonight, I had to recommend it to you guys! I saw it made on Studio 5 the other day. They used pumpkin, but the field pumpkin we had was too tough to cut... so we used butternut squash instead, and it was a delicious subsitute. I think any squash would do.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups peeled and diced pumpkin
• 5 tomatoes
• 1 eggplant or zucchini** (we used eggplant)
  
• 16 oz. part skim ricotta cheese
• 9 ounces feta cheese
• 5 oz. pesto sauce
• 2 eggs, beaten
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce
• Lasagna noodles
• 1 1/3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Method:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Slice a field pumpkin into quarters and place on a baking sheet, then roast in oven until browned and tender, about 30 minutes. Slice tomatoes, eggplant, zucchini or other vegetables of choice into thick slices and place on baking sheet and cook for the last 15 minutes of pumpkin time -- until tender and tomatoes are wrinkly.

In a medium bowl, stir together ricotta, feta, pesto, eggs, salt and pepper until well mixed. Cut cooked pumpkin away from the skin and cube, and then fold roasted pumpkin into ricotta mixture.

Pour half the tomato sauce into a 9x13 baking dish. Lay lasagna noodles over the sauce. Arrange a single layer of veggie (zucchini/eggplant) slices over pasta and top with half the ricotta mixture. Cover with lasagna noodles. Arrange the roasted tomatoes evenly over the noodles and spoon the remaining half the ricotta mixture over the tomatoes. Sprinkle with half the mozzarella. Top with lasagna noodles. Pour remaining tomato sauce over all and sprinkle with remaining mozzarella and Parmesan.

Bake in preheated oven 30 to 40 minutes, until golden and bubbly.

**You can easily make this a savory Pumpkin Beef lasagna by swapping the eggplant layer for a layer of ground beef tossed in tomato sauce.

~10 servings, 326 calories per serving (about half the calories of other lasagna recipes!)

Crash Potatoes

So.. so.. so.. so.. GOOD!
My sister-in-law Tina made these while we were visiting Rexburg this past weekend. They are so delicious (I'm already making them again 3 days later). The only herb I've had them with, so far, is the rosemary. So yummy. Or did I say that already??!! :)
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Ingredients:
New Potatoes (or other small, round potato)
Olive Oil
Kosher (coarse) salt
Black Pepper
Whatever herb you like... ie- Rosemary

Bring a pot of water to a boil. Cook potatoes until fork-tender. Drizzle olive oil generously on a cookie sheet. Place potatoes on cookie sheet with plenty of room in between. Use a potato masher to gently press down on the potato until it slightly mashes. Then rotate the masher 90 degrees and finish flattening it. Of course, you don’t want to absolutely smash it into the pan—you want it almost to resemble a cookie. Repeat until all are flattened. And really, I don’t know why you couldn’t use the bottom of a glass for this step if you don’t have a potato masher. The surface might not be as textured and interesting, but I think it still might work. Brush or drizzle potatoes with olive oil. Generously sprinkle salt, pepper, and herb(s) over potatoes. Bake on top rack at 450 degrees for 20-25 minutes, or until golden and crispy and sizzling.

*Photos & Recipe courtesy of The Pioneer Woman (http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2008/06/crash-hot-potatoes/)

Spring Rolls

The freshest & best spring rolls I've ever had! As with the Pansit, the recipe is not an exact science. What you want to include the most of, however, is the veggies. The next highest quantity is the noodles, and finally the herbs. The herbs should give a nice, subtle kick to the egg rolls and not be overwhelming.

Rice paper
Rice vermicelli
cucumber, sliced thin
carrots, sliced thin
Basil, mint, and chives (Asian varieties if you can find them)

Soak the vermicelli according to package directions (usually 15-30 minutes)

To assemble the spring roll:
Rinse rice paper according to directions (about 5 seconds with lukewarm water), lay on a plate.
Add some vermicelli noodles, cucumber and carrot slices, and herbs. Fold burrito style (Fold one side of paper over the filling, fold in sides, and roll until you get to the end of the rice paper).

I dip the rolls in hoison sauce, but the lady at the Thai store said Chili sauce is a nice compliment also. Enjoy!

Pansit

This is a Vietnamese version from a friend of mine whose mom is, well, Vietnamese! It's very good, and goes really well with fresh Spring Rolls, one of my favorite recipes that I'll have to post in a bit (I'm posting this while I wait for Jono to come home with the bell pepper, carrots, and cabbage).

It's not an "exact" recipe (ie- no measured amounts)... you just add the quantity of veggies/tofu you see fit. Also, while this recipe uses tofu, Filipino versions use thinly sliced pork or other meats... for all you meat eaters :)
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rice vermacelli, soaked one hour
egg (optional), cooked omelet style and sliced/chopped
sliced shallots or green onion (I use green onion)
green beans, sliced in half length-wise
red pepper, sliced (this is also optional, but I think it adds a lot to the dish)
carrots, sliced (julienned)
mushrooms, sliced
green cabbage, chopped
tofu
veggie bouillon
soy sauce

Slice tofu and marinate in soy sauce while prepping other ingredients. When done, heat some oil in a skillet and fry tofu til browned. In clean skillet, heat oil and fry shallots or onions. Add carrots, green beans. Add cabbage. Add mushrooms. Add red pepper. (I think I wait 1-3 minutes between each veggie addition) Then add egg & tofu. Add noodles, a little bit of water, and toss... toss... toss! Add soy sauce to taste.

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Note* I just realized that no where in the recipe does it say what to do with the bouillon. That's probably why I forgot to use it when I made it tonight :P Normally, you would prepare half a cube or cube (to taste) with the water and add after the noodles (the bouillon water being the "little bit of water") The pansit still tasted great without the bouillon though. If I hadn't come back on to post pictures, I wouldn't have even realized that it was left it out.