Easy Chocolate Macaroons

If you like brownies, and you like coconut, and you like cookies, and you like easy desserts, this one is a "must try".

1 pkg. brownie mix
2 c. flaked coconut
1 egg
4 TBS. water
2 TBS. oil

Mix all together until incorporated.  Bake on well-greased or parchment lined cookie sheet for 12 minutes.

Sweet Potato Corn Chowder by Guest Chef Scott

Ingredients:


2 russet potatoes, peeled and diced

1 yam, peeled and chopped

½ cup frozen corn

1 medium onion

1 quart chicken broth

1/8 cup milk

Salt and pepper

Grated Cheese

Dice the onion and sauté until transparent. Add the diced potato and chopped yam. Add corn and chicken broth. Bring to a boil. Periodically stir the mixture. Gradually the soup will boil down and the potatoes will cook. You’ll know it’s done when the potatoes start to break apart upon stirring. I like my soup a little chunky so I stir it well, but not well enough to lose the larger chunks. Add Milk after the potatoes are fully cooked. Give the soup a good stir. Salt and Pepper to taste. Serve with grated cheese on top.

Raita by Guest Chef Scott

*Raita* A tangy yogurt that is often served on the side of spicy curries.


1 large tub of Plain low fat yogurt (any high quality organic yogurt will be fine)

1 large cucumber

1 large carrot

1 small tomato (optional)

½ bunch of cilantro

1 tsp cumin or cumin seeds

Juice of 1 lime

Start by pouring the yogurt into a strainer. The idea is that you are going to drain off the excess liquid, or whey. Better quality yogurt tends to have less liquid. After you have drained off the excess liquid, place the remaining yogurt into a bowl.

Peel and dice your cucumber, grate your carrot, dice your tomato, and chop your cilantro. Add all of these goodies to the bowl

Take your cumin or cumin seeds and dry roast it in a frying pan. Meaning, put the spice in a dry frying pan. Turn on the heat. Wait for the color of the spice to change (slightly), and the scent to fill the air. Remove from heat and let cool. If you are using cumin seeds, grind them. Add this to the bowl.

Your Raita is now ready. I like to make it the night before and let it sit in the fridge, so the flavors can mingle. But it’s your thing do what you want to do.

Before serving, squeeze the juice of one lime into the mix.

Lamb Curry by Guest Chef Scott

*See the next post for the Raita pictured in the blue bowl.

Ingredients


3 chopped onions

2 fresh chopped tomatoes

2 chopped chili peppers

2 cloves garlic

1 Tbsp chopped ginger

2 Tbsp tomato paste

1 Tbsp curry powder

1 Tbsp cumin

2 – 2 ½ lbs lamb leg

½ bunch fresh cilantro

½ cup water

½ cup toasted almonds

1 tsp chili powder (optional)

Dash salt and pepper
Dry Rub

1 Tbsp roasted curry powder (you can roast your own spices)

1 Tbsp roasted cumin (you can roast your own spices)

Juice of 1 lime

The night before, trim the fat off of the Lamb. You won’t be able to remove all of the fat, but you’ll be able to get a lot of it. Cut the Lamb into small cubes. Place in a Ziplock back, and combine with 1 Tbsp roasted curry powder, 1 Tbsp roasted cumin, and the juice of 1 lime.

To roast your own spices - Take your spices and dry roast them in a frying pan. Meaning, put the spice in a dry frying pan. Turn on the heat. Wait for the color of the spice to change (slightly), and the scent to fill the air. Remove from heat and let cool. If you are using cumin seeds, grind them in a mortar or spice grinder

The day off, In a sauté pan (preferably an oven safe pan) heat olive oil until warm. Add diced onion. Sauté onions until completely transparent, cook onions for about ten additional minutes. Add Garlic and Ginger mix thoroughly and let cook for a couple minutes. Add spices; stir well and let sit for a minute. Add lamb meat; stir occasionally until lamb is browned. Once lamb is browned, add tomato paste and water. Stir well; turn heat to medium-low and cover. If you are using an oven safe pan, place the pan in a 200° degree oven. Cook the lamb for 1 ½-2 hours. If cooking on the stove top, you’ll want to stir occasionally. Then add tomatoes, stir well and cook for 3-5 minutes. Garnish with Cilantro and toasted almonds.

Serve with Rice

Hold for Applause

Hummus by Guest Chef Scott

This is a nice mild, no too garlicy hummus.


Ingredients

3 cups dry garbanzo beans, rinsed and soaked overnight.

3/4 cup tahini paste (sesame seed paste)

1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1/4 - 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice, to taste

1 tsp ground cumin

3 small cloves fresh garlic, minced or crushed.

Salt to taste

1 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil for drizzling

Rinse the presoaked garbanzo beans and place in a pot. Fill with enough water to cover the beans by at least one inch. Bring to a boil and turn heat down to med-low. Simmer 1 - 1 and 1/2 hours. Garbanzo beans will be very soft and delicious.

Drain the beans, save some of the water for later. Put the beans into a food processor, or blender. Blend until smooth, gradually adding the olive oil. Add some of the water while blending; the beans should be a little thicker than you want your hummus to be.

Add tahini, garlic, and lemon juice. Mix well.

Add cumin and salt. Mix Well.

Taste, it should be delicious.

Spread the hummus on a flat serving dish and drizzle olive oil on top.

Enjoy.

Theoretically this makes about 8 servings. But almost no one eats a full serving of hummus. It will make a full blender or food processors worth.

Coconut Rice by Guest Chef Scott

Ingredients:

4 cups cooked rice (2 cups raw rice cooked)

1 tsp cinnamon

2 tsp sugar

½ can lite coconut milk

1 cup half n half (or Ice Cream)
This is the easiest thing to make. Traditional coconut rice is made by cooking the rice in the coconut milk. I don’t like the texture when you do that; also this is handy because you use left over rice.

Combine all ingredients in a bowl. Cover and let sit in the refrigerator over night.

Serve warm. I like to include ice cream or fresh fruit like Mango.

Guest Chef Scott's Sri Lankan Dal Curry

Ingredients:

2 lbs. dry dal (I like Toor Dal, Channa Dal, or Moong Dal)

dal is a lentil

1 large onion

1 medium tomato

1 bell pepper

1 carrot

2 cloves garlic

½ inch fresh ginger grated

1-2 cans coconut milk

1 ½ Tbsp Curry Powder

1 Tbsp Cumin

1 tsp Cinnamon

1 tsp ground mustard seed (optional)


It is easier to use two. It works best to soak the Dal overnight, but if you forget no major problem. In one pot add the dal and water; you want to add about twice as much water as dal. Bring pot to a boil, and periodically stir. The dal will cook in a pressure cooker in about 20 (from boiling) and about an hour in a regular pot. The dal will be done when it is soft and no longer crunchy. Drain the dal and set aside.

Finely chop the garlic, onion, tomato, pepper, and carrot. Sauté the onion until transparent. Add the garlic, ginger, tomato, pepper, and carrot; sauté until vegetables are thoroughly cooked. I usually blend the mixture at this point, but that’s only because I don’t like tomatoes. Add to the cooked vegetables the spices. Mix in the cooked dal. Add coconut milk, you want enough coconut milk to make the dal a little soupy. Depending on how it cooked and what type of dal you used you will need 1 to 2 cans of coconut milk – adding too much coconut milk is impossible.

Periodically stir and bring to a low boil. Let simmer till ready to serve.