Fast Salmon Patties

As much as I know salmon is a brain food loaded with omega-3 fatty acids but should be eaten in moderation due to mercury levels, I find it a challenge to cook salmon in a way that is fast, affordable and appeals to me. For years, I would make and serve salmon the way my grandmother did,--mix canned salmon with mayonaise and serve with peas and mashed (in my case baked) potatoes. Ventures to try baked glazed salmon, salmon cakes using corn flakes in lieu of bread crumbs were unsuccessful.

With ingredients I keep in the house,--eggs, soy sauce, non-stick cooking spray, I decided in 2016 to try making salmon patties. This time it was fast, affordable and appealing to my palette.

Fast Salmon Patties – makes 4 patties

1 – 6 ounce can boneless, skinless salmon, drained
1 large egg
2 tablespoons soy sauce, tamari or worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon lemon juice
½ teaspoon onion powder
½ teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
non-stick cooking spray

1. Place oven rack on middle rung. Preheat oven to broiler setting.
2. Line a medium or large cookie sheet with aluminum foil, tucking in ends. Spray with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside.
3. In a medium bowl, break up salmon into small pieces with a fork.
4. Add soy sauce, lemon juice, onion powder, garlic powder and ginger to salmon. Mix until blended.
5. Add egg and mix until blended.
6. Divide mixture into fourths. Roll each fourth into a ball, flatten to a patty and then place on cookie sheet.
7. Spray top of patties with non-stick cooking spray.
8. Place patties in oven on middle rack. Cook 3 – 5 minutes until top is golden brown. Flip patties, spray top of patties with non-stick cooking spray and cook for another 1 -2 minutes. Remove from oven. Serve. Refrigerate any leftovers.  

Salmon Patties ready to serve

 

Whole Wheat Orange Biscuits

This is based on the “Drop Whole Wheat Biscuits” recipe in the 1933 copy of Better Homes Recipe Book by Marjorie Mills. Where there is no rolling or cutting of the dough these are not beautifully shaped discs. They are fast to make. The total number of biscuits you end up with depends on how large or small you make them.

Whole Wheat Orange Biscuits (yield: 4 – 6 biscuits depending on size)

1 cup whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 tablespoon shortening at room temperature or slightly melted
3/8 – ½ cup orange juice (this is 6 – 8 tablespoons, 2 tablespoons = 1/8 cup)

1. Place oven rack on middle run setting. Preheat oven to 350 degrees farenheit.
2. In medium bowl and if desired soften/melt shortening
3. Add flour and baking powder and combine with shortening.
4. Add orange juice 1/8 cup or 2 tablespoons at a time until dough congeals into one ball moving away from sides of bowl. Do not go beyond ½ cup or 8 tablespoons.
5. Using a spoon, drop on to non-stick or greased baking sheet.
6. Bake for 5 minutes, turn and bake for another 5 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center of center biscuit comes out clean.
7. Remove from baking sheet to either cool or serve.
8. Store any leftovers in air tight container. 

Whole Wheat Orange Biscuits

ready for serving

Chocolate Chip Pan Cookies from scratch in under 45 minutes

Loving sweets as I do, this was a regular dessert I would make when invited to dinner at the last minute. My fastest time was 37 minutes from none to done.

½ cup butter
½ cup sugar
¼ cup brown sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
(optional) ½ cup chopped walnuts or pecans

Place oven rack on middle run setting. Preheat oven to 375 degrees farenheit.

Grease 8-inch x 8-inch pan.

In medium to large microwave safe bowl melt butter.

Stir in sugars, eggs and vanilla extract by hand lightly until combined.

Stir in flour and baking powder until well blended.

Add chocolate chips and nuts.

Spread mixture evenly into greased pan.

Bake for 25 – 35 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Cool completely in pan until cutting and serving. Store any leftovers in air tight container.

Chocolate Chip Pan Cookies 

ready to be cut and served

Quick fudgy brownie recipe

Back when I could eat dairy, sugar and cocoa without abandon this was my all-time favorite recipe to make, and the fudgier the brownie the better. While it is frowned upon these days, there was a time when I would scrape the bowl clean of any batter that didn't make it to the pan,--sometimes it was half the batter. This is why I credit this recipe with solidifying my method for scraping bowls and pots clean.

In playing with the recipe on the box to make the fudgiest brownie I could, here are four things I found successful to do to this: use butter instead of oil, melt or soften butter so it can be easily mixed by hand, use a 8-inch x 8-inch pan, add ½ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips to batter.


One box, DuncanHines Chewy Fudge Family Size Brownie mix
½ cup (1 stick) butter, softened or melted.
2 large eggs
¼ cup water
½ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1. Place oven rack on middle run setting. Preheat oven to 350 degrees farenheit.
2. Grease 8-inch x 8-inch pan.
3. In medium to large bowl add butter, brownie mix, eggs and water. Stir until well blended (about 50 strokes by hand)
4. Add semi-sweet chocolate chips and until blended (about 10-15 strokes by hand)
5. Spread brownie mixture evenly into greased pan.
6. Place brownies in middle of oven rack and bake for 31 – 34 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
7. Cool completely in pan until cutting and serving. Store any leftovers in air tight container. 

Brownies ready to be cut and served

Eggplant Caviar or Julie's variation on this Alice Waters recipe

This recipe was on the same page as the Olive Oil Rosemary cake recipe I wrote about two years ago. Always on the look out for new recipes which meet my dietary needs of no dairy, low sugar and looking for new ways to cook eggplant, I added this one to the list of recipes to try. I made this recipe for the first and second times in 2016 when eggplant was in season and for the third time in 2017, once again, when eggplant was in season.

I cannot tell how the leftovers of this taste as it's usually gone by the time it cools to room temperature as it's that popular in my house. I can tell you I'm looking forward to this year's crop of eggplant, garlic, onions/shallots to make this recipe again and maybe have some leftovers.

This is a variation of the recipe as it appeared in the September 2010 issue of Yoga Journal,--a reprint from Chez Panisse Vegetables by Alice Waters. This version includes measured amounts for eggplant, salt, pepper, olive oil and shallots, substitutions for garlic cloves and shallots and a trick on how to easily clean the baking dish used to roast the eggplant.

1 large globe eggplant or 4 cups diced eggplant, peeled
¼ teaspoon kosher salt or ½ teaspoon table salt
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
1 ½ tablespoon olive oil, plus more to taste
1 ½ tablespoon water
2 shallots or ¼ cup diced shallot or ½ cup diced onion
2 tablespoons balsamic or red wine vinegar, plus more to tase
1 clove garlic, peeled and mashed or 1 teaspoon minced garlic
(optional) ¼ cup fresh parsley or cilantro (chopped)

1. Place oven rack in middle position. Preheat oven to 375 degrees farenheit. Spray 1 quart covered baking dish or 13-inch x 9-inch baking dish with non-stick cooking spray.
2.  Peel eggplant and cut into cubes, approximately 1-inch in size. Place cubed eggplant into baking dish, season with salt and pepper, and toss with 1 ½ tablespoon olive oil. Sprinkle with water, cover with either baking dish cover or with aluminum foil. Bake until eggplant is very soft and can be easily mashed with a fork, about 30 – 40 minutes.
3. While eggplant is baking, peel and dice shallot/onion. Place in medium to large heat resistant bowl. Add 2 tablespoons vinegar and soak for 10 minutes. Peel and mash garlic if using garlic clove and add garlic to shallot/onion mixture.
4. Add cooked eggplant to shallot/onion mixture, mash well with fork and cool to room temperature. Stir in parsley or cilantro, and add olive oil and vinegar to taste. 

Eggplant Caviar on a cracker

ready to eat

Chunky style hummus

When I was a child, beans were not something I would voluntarily eat. “Beans, beans the magical fruit, the more you eat, the more you ….” You get it.

As an adult I eat beans voluntarily on a regular basis and have posted three bean-related recipes on this blog: Winter Fruit Salad, Black Bean Sloppy Joe and White Bean and Sausage Salad. I can trace back this change in attitude toward beans to the first time I tried hummus. Learning that hummus had approximately the same nutritional value with half the calories of peanut butter was my motivation. Loving peanut butter but not the calories, I was open to trying something new.

I found I really liked hummus. Eating it so frequently I chose to find a recipe where I could make hummus on my own whenever I pleased. Having replaced my cans of chickpeas with dried chickpeas as the latter takes up less cabinet space which makes room for my homemade applesauce, I've recently found every endeavor to make homemade hummus ends at the cooking of the chickpeas as I tend to snack on them, toss in salads or add them along with either rice or pasta to a dish of oven roasted squash or eggplant.

• 1 cup dried chickpeas soaked and cooked OR 1-19 ounce can chickpeas (both yield 2 cups chickpeas)
• 3 tablespoons tahini (sesame seed paste)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice
• 3 garlic cloves, mashed or 3 teaspoons minced garlic
• Water from chickpea can or water from pot used to cook chickpeas

If using canned chickpeas, drain and rinse beans, reserving water in a separate container.

If using dried chickpeas, soak and cook beans according to package, reserving water in pot used to cook chickpeas.

In a large bowl, mash chickpeas with a potato masher, fork or beater of a hand mixer. Add tahini, olive oil, lemon juice, garlic. Using either fork or hand mixer on low to medium speed, mix until blended. If consistency appears too coarse, stir in small amounts of water from chickpeas to make smooth.

Serve. Store unused portion in air tight container in refrigerator.

Creamy Avocado Dressing

Avocados, sometimes called “alligator pears” or “butter fruit”, are a good source of potassium and folate. The August 2014 issue of Yoga Journal contained several suggestions of how to enjoy avocados any time of the day and not as the main ingredient of guacamole. This dressing recipe is a variation of the one included in this issue.  For a thick dressing which could be used a spread, omit water.  

Creamy Avocado Dressing

1 ripe avocado, peeled and seed removed

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 tablespoon olive oil

¼ teaspoon ground black pepper

¼ teaspoon onion powder

water (optional)

Using small food processor or blender combine above ingredients until thoroughly mixed. Gradually thin with water to desired consistency. Store any unused dressing in air tight container and refrigerator. 

Creamy Avocado Dressing 

(no water added) 

on bread and topped with

julienne sliced sun-dried 

tomatoes 

 

Focaccia bread for four in under two hours

In 2007, I decided to face my fear of baking with yeast by making yeast-based breads. I chronicled one of these adventures in my November 11, 2013 post on Anadama Bread. In looking for yeast-based bread recipes which made one loaf or less, I found this focaccia bread recipe from allrecipes.com which makes enough for four and doesn't leave me wondering what to do with all the leftovers.

As what happens with recipes I make frequently and become familiar with, I tweak by either varying the ingredients or process which has happened here. The kneading noted in the original recipe can be skipped, and brushing the dough with oil and sprinkling with salt can be omitted.

Focaccia bread 

1 teaspoon white sugar

1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast

1/3 cup warm water (110 degrees farenheit)

2 cups all-purpose flour

Canola or olive oil (optional)

Table or kosher salt (optional)

In a small bowl, dissolve sugar and yeast in warm water. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes unless instructions on yeast packet states less time.

In a large bowl, combine yeast mixture with flour, adding room temperature water 1 tablespoon at a time until dough has formed.

Cover bowl tightly with plastic wrap, or with dampened cloth or 1-2 paper towels, and let dough rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 30 minutes.

Place oven rack on middle rung. Preheat oven to 475 degrees farenheit while dough rises.

Lightly grease or coat cookie sheet with non-stick cooking spray.

Turn dough out onto cookie sheet and gently shape.  If shaping with hands, lightly coat hands with canola or olive oil to keep dough from sticking to you. For thicker, higher bread, shape a smaller loaf. For thinner, crispier bread, shape a larger loaf.  

If desired, lightly coat top of bread with oil or lightly salt. 

Bake bread in preheated oven for 10 to 20 minutes, depending upon desired crispness and loaf shape.

Remove from oven. Cool. Serve. 

Focaccia bread

removed from oven and cooling

Cake Mix Snickerdoodles

A snickerdoodle is a cookie made with butter or oil, sugar, flour and rolled in cinnamon and sugar. There are some who say the difference between a sugar cookie and a snickerdoodle is the use of cream of tatar, an acidic byproduct of winemaking.

Snickerdoodles were not a cookie I grew up with. I only heard of their existence when I was an adult. Thinking snickerdoodle dough required refrigeration prior to baking and not having the patience for such, making them didn't cross my mind until I worked with someone who mentioned they were their favorite cookie.

In the mood for a new cooking or baking adventure, I searched the internet and found the following recipe from the Duncan Hines' website. To my delight, no refrigeration of dough was needed nor was any cream of tartar.

Cake Mix Snickerdoodles (yield: about 40 cookies)

3 tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 box Duncan Hines Classic Yellow Cake Mix

2 large eggs

¼ cup vegetable or canola oil

1. Place oven rack on middle run setting. Preheat oven to 375 degrees farenheit.
2. Lightly grease cookie sheets. Set aside.
3. In a small bowl, combine sugar and cinnamon. Set aside.
4. In a large bowl, combine cake mix, eggs and oil. Stir until well blended and dough is formed.
5. Shape dough into 1 inch balls. Roll in cinnamon-sugar mixture.
6. Place balls 2-inches apart on cookie sheet. Flatten balls with bottom of glass.
7. Bake one sheet at a time for 8 – 9 minutes or until set.
8. Remove from oven, cool 1 minute then transfer cookie to cooling rack to cool completely.

Oven Roasted Baby Carrots

The idea for this recipe began late last year while checking out the frozen vegetable offerings at my local Trader Joe's.  Amongst the frozen spinach, peas and green beans was roasted carrot medley,--orange, yellow and purple carrots seasoned and ready to heat and serve. Having tried yellow and purple carrots from Winter Moon Roots farm several years back I knew my preference was for an all orange carrot dish as I find orange carrots sweeter than the other varieties. 

An on-line, internet, google search yielded many options.  After perusing the search results, I settled on using the Roasted Carrots with Parsley and Thyme by Martha Rose Shulman as the base for this recipe choosing to use cut and peeled baby carrots versus peeling and cutting carrots.

Oven Roasted Baby Carrots (serves 2 - 4)

1 pound (16 oz) cut and peeled baby carrots
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
pinch kosher salt

Place oven rack on lowest rung.  Preheat oven to 400 degrees farenheit.  Line a rimmed cookie sheet or 13" x 9" baking dish with aluminum foil, shiny side facing up (this will make clean-up easier). 

Place carrots in a medium size bowl and toss with olive oil, thyme, oregano, pepper and salt. 

Spread carrots in a single layer on cookie sheet or baking dish.  Loosely cover/tent cookie sheet or baking dish with a second piece of aluminum foil, shiny side facing carrots.  This second sheet of foil should allow some ventilation.  

Place in oven and cook for 30 - 35 minutes.  Uncover.  If possible, using a large spoon, gently roll carrots to loosen them off the aluminum foil.  Carrots should be tender and slightly browned on one side at this point.   

Place uncovered carrots back in oven for 5 minutes or longer until desired tenderness or browning is achieved. 

Serve warm.  Store unused portion in refrigerator. 

Baby Carrots ready for the oven

 

 

Oven Roasted Baby Carrots

Ready to Serve

 

A faster way to make Kale Krisps or Kale Krisp recipe number 2

In my October 17, 2014 blog post, KaleKrisps, I provided instructions on how to make these from a recipe which appeared in the in the March 2011 issue of Yoga Journal whose source is noted as an adaptation from Ripe from Around Here: A Vegan Guide to Local and Sustainable Eating by Jae Steele.

Since this original post, this has replaced potato chips or other like items as a crunchy salty flavored snack. Store bought sufficies as a quick back-up, but the preference is homemade. With time being at a premium these days, a faster way was sought.

The first time saver was buying kale which was already washed. The second was not removing the stems. The third was raising the oven temperature which did result in instances where the kale was cooked beyond recognition in trying to determine the correct temperature and cooking time.

Kale Krips, quick cook (recipe #2)

1-10 ounce packed washed dinosaur, lacinato or tuscan kale, ready to serve

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

Canola oil cooking spray (optional)

¼ – ½ teaspoon kosher salt

1. Place oven rack on middle rung. Preheat oven to 300 degrees farenheit.
2. Line a cookie sheet with aluminium foil. Set aside.
3. In a large bowl, combine kale, olive oil and vinegar until kale is evenly coated.
4. Spread as much kale as possible in a single layer on prepared cookie sheet.
5. Spray with canola oil cooking spray and the sprinkle with kosher salt.
6. Place in oven 10 – 20 minutes, checking after 15 minutes. Remove from oven when leaves are dry and crisp. Serve or cool and store in airtight container.
7. Repeat steps 4 – 6 as many times as needed. 
   
   

Quick Cook Kale Krisps ready for eating

Red velvet with white dot cookies

When I was a child and my mom would bake sweets, she would always use a box mix from Duncan Hines. This is why, as a teenager and young adult, I would comb the baking aisle of the local supermarkets looking for Duncan Hines purple cake mix in an effort to recreate my favorite birthday cake, the purple birthday cake, from my 5^th birthday. In my late twenties, I figured out how my mom made the cake with box cake mix,--white cake mix, red and blue food coloring.

Where there is no shame in my family for baking cakes, brownies or cookies from box mixes or refrigerated ready to shape and bake dough, several such mixes reside on my cabinet shelves. After attempting to make a red velvet cake from scratch using my Godmother's recipe, running out of red food coloring and using blue food coloring which resulted in a brownish red velvet cake, I was excited to see Duncan Hines Red Velvet cake mix. With the intent of making this as a cake, I bought a box where it languished on my cabinet shelf for over a year.

Wanting to make something with the mix which would serve many, not require utensils and could be stored easily, I went to the Duncan Hines' website and found their recipe for Red and White Velvet Cookies. Not interested in investing the time required to shape and refrigerate the dough, dipping or spreading melted white chocolate on half of each cookie, nor in investing in white chocolate premium baking bars when I had a bag of white chocolate chips already in the house, I modified the recipe to accommodate my wishes and is the one I've posted here.

Red velvet with white dot cookies (yield: approximately 48 cookies)

1 box Duncan Hines Signature Red Velvet Cake Mix

6 tablespoons butter

1 large egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

½ cup white chocolate chips

• Place oven rack on middle run setting. Preheat oven to 350 degrees farenheit.
• Lightly grease cookie sheet. Set aside.
• In large microwave safe bowl, melt butter.
• Add cake mix, egg, and vanilla extract and mix by hand until well blended and dough is formed.
• Shape dough into 1 inch balls, placing them 2-inches apart on cookie sheet. Flatten balls with bottom of glass.
• Bake, 1 sheet at a time for 10 – 12 minutes or until set. Remove from oven, cool 1 minute then transfer cookie to cooling rack to cool completely.

Place white chocolate chips in dry small to medium glass bowl. Melt in microwave for 90 seconds at 50% power (or medium power). Stir with a dry spoon or spatula. Continue melting in microwave at 50% power (or medium power) in 30 second increments, stirring each time until chocolate is melted.

Using a back of dry spoon or a butter knife, spread a quarter-size amount of white chocolate on the center of each cookie. Let chocolate set, about 1 – 2 hours, before serving or storing in airtight container with wax or parchment paper separating layers. 

Red Velvet cookies ready for their 

white chocolate dots