This is my all-time favorite recipe was this one. Sadly, amaranth flour is not for sale in all parts of the country, but here in the Pacific Northwest it's part of the Bob's Red Mill line of specialty flours.
These pancakes are hearty and crammed with flavor before you dress them up at all. I like to eat them plain. They're also great with jam.
Amaranth Banana Pancakes
Combine two bowls and mix. Adjust the thickness of the batter by adding a little water or a little flour if necessary. It will be thick and lumpy, but should be thin enough so that when you ladel it on to the griddle, it oozes into a disk about 1/4" thick.
Fry on griddle set to 350°F. It isn't necessary to butter the griddle, but doing so will give a slightly crispy, buttery edge. Fry one side until bubbles develop. Then flip once and fry until ready.
The above recipe serves a crowd. It can be cut in half if desired.
My mom called, and said, "Turn on channel 9 now, they're showing Julia Child making omelettes."
Oh, yeah, I have TV now, but that's another story.
Anyway, I switched to the TV input and watched the episode, it was really inspiring. For the plain omelette, she mixed the eggs with some parsley, pepper, salt, and water. She got a pan hot, then added about 1 tablespoon butter, it sizzled and foamed, and she added the "2-3" eggs. After about 4 seconds, she started swishing the omelette around in the pan, and then some number of seconds later, she flipped half of it over onto itself. To flip it, she did these little jerks where she pushed the pan away from herself, and then pulled it back sharply.
Once it was flipped, she scooted it around and then flipped it onto a plate by putting the plate over the pan, and then flipping them around. Then she fiddled with it a bit to tuck the edge under. She showed how to tuck it under using two forks, or, "If you're in the kitchen alone, you can just use your fingers like this."
Then she sprinkled the top with more parsley.
She showed putting various fillings in, and ended with a nice omelette party setup.
Since watching, I've tried a number of omelettes, both with and without fillings. And they're delicious! I used to think that I didn't like omelettes, because I don't like firm, leathery sides. These aren't like that at all, they're fluffy and flavorful. And even if you mess them up, they still taste great.
Directions:
Put the stock, ginger, lemon grass, and lime leaves or lime peel in a stock pot. Gradually bring to boil over medium-high heat. Boil for one minute, then add the coconut milk. Return to boil, then add the chicken. Return to boil, and then add the chili-tamarind paste, the lemon juice, sugar, and fish sauce. Stir until the paste and sugar are dissolved and blended, then add the mushrooms. Simmer until mushrooms are tender, about 1 minute.
Float chilies on top and turn off the heat. Serve.
Notes:
This is from one of my favorite cookbooks, True Thai by Victor Sodsook. I've now made it twice, and it turned out delicious both times. This dish is among both my favorite Thai foods and my favorite soups.
I used the lime peel option, the galanga, and palm sugar. The only place I've managed to find galanga is Uwajimaya. Both times I've been a bit heavy on the chicken, just because that's what the package was.
I've deviated from and modified the above recipe in the following ways.
Instead of chili-tamarind paste (which I couldn't find, and didn't feel like making), I used a mix of sweet chili sauce and tamarind extract. While this seems to work well for flavor, I'm thinking about adding something to make the dish hotter.
Since I used stock from bullion both times, I made up the stock first, and added the galanga, lemon grass, and lime peel to that pan, and then let it sit while I prepped the other ingredients.
Similarly, I prepped the sugar, juice, fish sauce, chili sauce, and tamarind extract into a bowl ahead of time, though I'm not sure that actually saved me any effort.
The second time I made it, I used the juice from the lime instead of lemon juice, and it worked fine.
The Siamese ginger, lemon grass, and lime peel/leaves aren't meant to be eaten. Eating the chilies is an option for the hardy.
beef was marinated cooked on high started with onions added garlic and cloves added beef added sugar add sherry added soy sauce added spice mix and salt added broccoli and water added oat flour to thicken
Tasted great, next time leave out salt as soy sauce provides, Carol says "not quite broccoli beef". serve over rice
I've written about Irish soda bread before, but now I've gotten the recipe perfected.
Start oven preheating to 425°F. Mix vinegar and milk in glass, and leave it to sour for at least 5 minutes. Place some parchment paper onto a cookie sheet. In a large bowl sieve and combine all the dry ingredients, mixing thoroughly. Pour in soured milk and mix together. Briefly knead dough into a ball and place on parchment paper on cookie sheet. Cut cross into top of bread, cover with large metal bowl, and put in oven. After 30 minutes, remove metal bowl. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes longer, until done.
Bread is done when browned and top is firm. You can double-check doneness by thumping on the bottom of the loaf, it should sound hollow. Place bread on rack to cool.
Dough should be sticky. You can use buttermilk, I use milk soured with vinegar because I always have milk around, and never have buttermilk around.
This is a really fast and easy bread.
I leave it on the cutting board, with the cut side down, that helps it last a little longer without much fuss.
Don't knead it very much. It rises from the reaction between the lactic acid in the milk and the baking soda. If you knead it too much, you'll lose a lot of the gas.
Because it's chemically leavened, you can use all sorts of flours. So far, my two favorite variations are 100% white all-purpose flour, and 50% all-purpose, 25% whole wheat, and 25% amaranth.
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