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ICEBOX COOKIES

You can have freshly baked cookies any time in Kamloops. Brynns started selling frozen logs of icebox cookies. Which reminded me I made a batch of icebox cookies last month, I just haven’t got around to writing it down beyond a hasty scribble on paper and a few photos in my ever growing folder waiting for immortalization ha! If I wasn’t compelled to take photos of my cooking, why oh why, I would have stopped adding recipes to this blog long time ago. 

You can keep the logs refrigerated for several days or freeze them for a couple of months. I prefer to freeze mine. Let the logs thaw out, but not completely, on the counter for an hour and slice them. I cut the slightly frozen dough with a chef’s knife. 3/16 inch slices make crisp cookies. 1/4 inch makes thicker cookies, which will be slightly chewy provided you put them away in a cookie tin before they dry out. You too can have fresh baked cookies anytime. 

Icebox Cookies

Cookie Dough: 

1 cup soft butter 

3/4 cup sugar 

1 egg 

2 1/4 cups flour 

Flavorings for each 1/3 of Cookie Dough: 

For Pecan Cookies: 1/3 cup chopped pecans, 1 tsp maple extract 

For Raisin Cookies: 1/3 cup raisins, 1 tsp rum extract 

For Orange Cookies: zest of 1 navel orange, 1 tsp orange extract 

• Beat the butter until creamy. 

• Beat in sugar gradually. 

• Add the egg and beat well. 

• Stir in the flour. 

• Divide dough into 3 equal pieces. 

• Add 1/3 cup chopped pecans and 1 tsp maple extract to the first batch of dough. 

• Knead to combine. 

• Add 1/3 cup raisins, 1 tsp rum extract to the second batch of dough. 

• Knead to combine. 

• Add zest of 1 navel orange, 1 tsp orange extract the last batch of dough. 

• Knead to combine. 

• Shape each batch into logs 2 inches in diameter. 

• Wrap the logs in plastic wrap, twist the ends  and refrigerate until firm. 

• Take the plastic off and reroll the logs between parchment paper for a perfectly round shape. 

• Place them inside clean plastic wrap again, twisting the ends. 

• Place in the freezer for a couple of hours or for overnight. 

• Remove log[s] from freezer and let them thaw somewhat. 

• Preheat oven to 350F. 

• Cut the logs into 1/2 inch-thick and bake for 15 minutes or longer ‘til golden. 

• The raisin cookies are to die for.

PISTACHIO CAKE WITH RASPBERRY FILLING

Happy Birthday Leilah! 

Speaking of spectacular cakes… the Hungarian proverb reminds me, “Not all that shines is gold”. I tend to follow my instincts… but not always. The first cake was a disaster, the second, a huge improvement, the next one will be even better. 

The one thing l took away from the experiment, besides the concept, was how much pistachios I will need for the cake; 300g. 

This is a delicately complex cake and l don’t think anything should compete with the pistachio and raspberry flavours! When icing this cake… less icing is more. 

Pistachio Cake with Raspberry Filling 

For this recipe you will need 1 1/2 cups of either raw shelled, or honey roasted pistachios. Honey roasted comes in 155g packets; two of those will cover all your pistachio needs. Do not use salted or spicy pistachios though. If you rather use commercial pistachio butter, it will be quite oily, so l would reduce the oil in the recipe at the very least by 2 Tbsp. 

Cake: 

1/2 cup unsalted butter 

1/4 cup oil 

2/3 cup sugar 

1/2 cup homemade pistachio butter - you will need a food processor for this 

3 eggs 

1 Tbsp pure vanilla extract 

1 tsp baking soda 

1/2 tsp baking powder 

1 tsp green food colouring 

2 3/4 cups unbleached flour 

1 1/4 cups 

3.25% buttermilk 

1/2 cup coarsely ground pistachios 

Raspberry Filling: 

1 1/2 cups frozen raspberries - frozen has more intensive flavour 

1 1/4 cup - reduce sugar to taste if using fresh commercial berries 

zest of 1 lemon 

juice of 1/2 lemon 

1/8 cup water 

2 Tbsp cornstarch 

Basic Vanilla Buttercream: 

1 cup soft unsalted butter 

4 cups icing sugar 

1/3 cup whipping cream - do NOT substitute with lower than 33% fat content 

 2 tsp pure vanilla extract 

Decoration: 

ground pistachios 

fresh raspberries 

First ground the pistachios 

• Coarsely ground 3/4 cup of pistachio nuts in the food processor and set is aside. This will go into the cake. 

• Coarsely ground another 1/2 cup of pistachio nuts in the food processor and set it aside. This will be used to decorate the cake. 

Next make the pistachio butter. 

• Add 1/2 to 3/4 cup of pistachios to the food processor. 

• Process on high speed until smooth butter forms. 

• The butter will be very dry. You could add a Tbsp of water if you are compelled, but it’s not necessary. Don’t add salt or oil though. Scrape out 1/2 cup and set it aside. 

Next make the cake. 

• Preheat the oven to 350F. 

• Fully line with parchment paper two 9 inch spring form cake pans and set them aside. 

• Add the butter, oil and sugar to the beater bowl and whip until fluffy. 

• Add 1/2 cup of pistachio butter, eggs, vanilla extract, baking soda, baking powder, and green food colouring and beat until very fluffy on high speed. 

• Reduce the speed to slow and bit by bit add from the flour and the buttermilk alternating until all the flour and buttermilk has been added. 

 • Lastly stir in the 1/2 cup coarsely ground pistachios you set aside earlier. 

 • Divide the cake batter between the prepared cake pans and place in the oven for 25 to 30 minutes. 

In the meantime make the Raspberry Filling. 

• NO jam! Jam would be overly sweet for this cake. You need the tartness only raspberry filling can provide. 

• Crush the berries. If your raspberries are very seedy increase the amount the recipe calls for. Next crush the berries and force it through a fine sieve discarding the seeds. 

• It will be smooth if you had to remove the seeds, otherwise the filling can remain chunky. 

• Next combine the raspberries and sugar in a saucepan and bring them to a simmer. 

• Simmer, stirring often to reduce the liquid. 

• In a small bowl make a slurry from water and the cornstarch and add it to the raspberries. 

• Give it a stir and bring it back to simmer and cook for a couple of more minutes. Don’t cook it too long; cornstarch looses its effectiveness if cooked too long. 

• Remove from heat, and stir in the lemon juice and the zest. 

• Pour it into a heatproof bowl, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate. 

Continue with the cakes. 

• When the cakes are done, place them on a wire rack to cool for 15 minutes. 

• Run a blunt knife around the perimeter to loosen the cakes and open up the spring mechanisms. 

• Place both cakes on the wire rack to cool. 

• When no longer warm to the touch, place both cakes in the fridge to chill for an hour. If you don’t assemble the cake the same day or perhaps freeze it for another day, make sure there is parchment paper on both top and bottom before fully wrapping both cakes. 

While the cakes are chilling make the Vanilla Buttercream. 

• Beat the soft butter until creamy. 

• Gradually add the icing sugar and beat on low speed until the icing sugar is fully incorporated. 

• Add the remaining ingredients, increase the speed and beat on high for 4 minutes until buttercream is very fluffy. 

• Add more cream or icing sugar if needed. 

Next assemble the cake. 

• Gently remove the baked on parchment papers from the bottoms. 

• Slice both cakes horizontally. 

• Place one of the bottom layers on a cake round or on parchment with the cut side up. This is to stabilize the cake. Reserve the other bottom for the top. Place all the other layers with the baked sides on top for easier spreading. 

• Spread 1/3 of raspberry filling on top first and then 1/5th of the buttercream over the filling. This will be a bit tricky, but it can be done. 

• Add your next layer of cake and repeat the same process with layer two and three. 

• Place the last layer on top and spread half of the remaining buttercream on top. 

• Cover the sides thinly with the remaining buttercream. Rather than completely coating the entire cake, spread the frosting thin enough to leave the layers exposed, “naked”. As you see I didn’t. I made half an extra batch of icing to finish the cake and regretted it. Because we all left the icing from the sides on the plate. 

• Chill the cake in the fridge for half an hour. 

• Sprinkle the cake top with the remaining ground pistachios and arrange a few fresh or frozen raspberries on the top.

REINVENTING the LEFTOVERS

1. Potato Nokedli 

Not to be confused with the potato based small dumplings called rolled potato dumplings, these were leftovers from small flour based dumplings, called egg dumplings or nokedli. Nokedli of course is best when fresh, so I try to add the leftover to soups or as in this case remake them into something completely different. I cooked a large potato and combined it with the leftover nokedli, hence the name Potato Nokedli. 

1 cup leftover egg dumplings 

1 large potato, chopped 

1 Tbsp oil 

2 Tbsp butter 

salt and pepper to taste 

fresh parsley leaves, optional 

• Peel, and chop the potatoes into bite size pieces. 

• Cook them in water until soft. 

• Drain and add them to the leftover nokedli. 

• Add the oil and the butter to a fry pan and place on medium heat. 

• When the butter melts, add the potato/nokedli mixture to the pan and stir to combine. 

• Season the mixture with salt and ground pepper to taste and heat through. 

• Add the fresh parsley leaves and serve. 

the addition is chopped, boiled potatoes

2. Potato Pasta from Paprika Potatoes Leftover 

My darling always enjoyed Potato Pasta and with the leftover Paprika Potatoes we were halfway there. You may ask why bother to write another recipe when I already have a perfectly good Potato Pasta recipe. But for those of us who regularly cook Hungarian dishes this makes sense. I don’t think I ever managed to make paprika potatoes for only one sitting. We always have leftovers, but never enough for another dinner. Besides what is Potato Pasta? It is the combination of Paprika Potatoes and Cooked Pasta. In this case we already had one of the components I just had to make a batch of square pasta. Combine the cooked pasta with the leftover paprika potatoes, heat it through and voila potato pasta! I just never thought of it before.

the addition is homemade square pasta

PAPRIKA STEW WITH POTATOES – KRUMPLIS PÖRKÖLT

The world calls it goulash, but in Hungary this is called pörkölt. What the Hungarians call gulyás [goulash] is actually a rich paprika laden beef soup. 

According to the dictionary “pörkölt” means roasted, which could imply roasting in the oven. That would be inaccurate. Roasting in a cauldron over a fire or roasting on top of the stove would be more precise. In Hungarian the word “pörkölt” actually means drying, through heat-exposure, in other words stewed. Krumplis Pörkölt therefore is the Hungarian version of a stew. 

So what is the difference between Pörkölt and Goulash? Both are paprika based but one is a soup, not a stew, made from meat, potatoes and carrots. Pörkölt, on the other hand, is a rich stew that can be made with different kinds of meat. And, if you add sour cream to Pörkölt, it is called Paprikás. These seemingly identical stew dishes are made from the same base, fat, onions, and paprika, we call “goulash base.” They all originated from Hungary, but are eaten throughout Central Europe. 

Paprika Stew with Potatoes

 

200 g lean pork tenderloin, cubed 

3 Tbsp oil 

1/2 medium onion, diced 

1 Hungarian or 1/2 yellow bell pepper, sliced 

1 tomato chopped 

1 1/2 Tbsp Hungarian sweet paprika 

homemade meat stock or water as needed 

salt and pepper to taste 

3 potatoes, sliced into wedges

14% sour cream for serving, optional 

• Dice the onions. 

• Heat the oil in a non stick sauté pan. 

• Add the chopped onions and sauté until translucent. 

• Add the cubed pork and brown it lightly and turn to sear every side. 

• Add the green pepper and the tomato. 

• Stir in the paprika and salt it lightly. Keep in mind the stock will be salty already. 

• Add stock or water to cover half way up the meat. 

• Bring to slow, steady simmer, cover with lid and cook until almost tender. 

• Meanwhile peel the potatoes, wash, and slice them into wedges. 

• Add the potatoes to the pan and a little bit of stock or water to barely cover the potatoes. 

• Bring it to a slow simmer and cover. 

• Cook until the potatoes are tender. 

• Adjust the salt and add pepper to taste. 

• When the potatoes are fully cooked remove from heat and let it rest for a few minutes before serving. • Serve with 14% sour cream on the side.

WALNUT DOBOS – DIÓS DOBOS

North American bakeries popularized it as a tiny cake bar, just a bit larger than a petit four, some of them so removed from the original I would not recognize it in the showcase without the label “dobas”. One more time, dobos has a candy top, stefania is the same only with bitter cocoa powder over the buttercream top. 

Using the authentic dobos recipe for the cake with chocolate-walnut icing is a twist on this iconic Hungarian. I debated calling it stefania, but since the majority knows it as dobos, I too did the unthinkable. I cut a sheet cake into three, made a long rectangle cake and called it… a dobos well walnut dobos to be precise. I shudder at the thought of further complicating the dobos issue, but then again it was very good. 

Walnut Dobos 

Cake: 

1 cup flour 

3/4 cup potato starch 

9 egg whites 

1 cup sugar 

9 egg yolks 

1 tsp finely grated lemon zest 

Chocolate-Walnut Buttercream: 

3/4 cup soft unsalted butter – must be unsalted! 

2 cups icing sugar, sifted 

1/3 cup cocoa, sifted 

1/8 cup whipping cream 

1 cup finely ground walnuts 

• Line a full size baking sheet with parchment paper. 

• Preheat oven to 350F. 

• In a bowl sift together the flour and potato starch. 

• Add the grated lemon zest and set aside. 

• In a beater bowl beat the egg whites to soft peeks. 

• Add 1/2 cup sugar and beat to stiff glossy peaks. 

• Gently transfer to a clean bowl. 

• Add the egg yolks and 1/2 cup of the sugar to the beater bowl and beat on high speed for 5 minutes. 

• Gradually add the flour and potato mix to the yolk mixture. 

• Stir some of the beaten egg white into the egg yolk mixture. 

• Gently fold in the remaining whites. 

• Spread the batter on the parchment lined sheet pan. 

• Bake at 375F until light golden. 

• Remove pan from the oven, loosen the edge and place on wire rack for 5 minutes. 

• Slice the cake crosswise into 3 equal parts. 

• When the cake is cooled down somewhat peel off the parchment paper. 

• While the cake cools to room temperature make the chocolate-walnut buttercream. 

• Beat the butter with an electric beater until fluffy. 

• Gradually add the sifted icing sugar. 

• Beat on high for 4 minutes or until fluffy.

• Add the cream and beat it for 2 more minutes. 

• Add the sifted cocoa and beat to combine. 

• Add the ground walnuts and beat to combine. 

• Spread each layer evenly with the buttercream and stack them on top of one another. 

• Leaving the sides of the cake bare, chill for half an hour before slicing.

PEA PURÉE

Pea purée is not just baby food. It can make a tasty accompaniment to many dishes and very easy to make. If using fresh peas make sure they are FRESH. The sugars are quickly lost after the harvest. Frozen peas on the other hand are available year around and are easy to use. Use a blender or a powerful food processor to purée the peas. It should have a velvety smooth consistency to fully appreciate the flavour. Immersion blenders and inexpensive food processors fail the task. 

Pea Purée 

1/2 cup frozen peas per person 

water 

salt to taste 

• Bring a pot of water to the boil and blanch the peas for 3 to 4 minutes. 

• Drain the peas, but keep the pea stock. 

• Add the peas to a blender along with a bit from the pea stock. 

• Blend the peas, adding more pea stock if needed to a silky smooth consistency. 

• Salt it sparingly. 

• I would not add lemon juice or ground pepper or sugar. These would only muddle the wonderful pea flavour. 

POPPY SEED MANDARIN CAKE BARS

Too many mandarins why not make cake? Mandarins already have a richer flavor, but the poppy seeds add further excitement to this delicately flavored and textured cake. Other than the central pith, mandarins have no pith and once you pick out the seeds the entire mandarin can be utilized. 

Poppy Seed Mandarin Cake Bars 

Cake: 

2 mandarin oranges 

1/4 cup sugar 

2 cups flour 

2 1/2 tsp baking powder 

1/2 tsp salt 

1/2 cup 1% milk 

1/4 cup 14% sour cream 

2 tsp orange extract 

1/3 cup butter 

1/3 cup vegetable oil 

3/4 cup sugar 

3 eggs 

1/4 cup poppy seeds 

Icing: 

1/4 cup unsalted butter 

2 cups icing sugar 

juice of 1 mandarin orange 

• Preheat your oven to 350F and fully line a square pan with parchment paper. 

• Peel two mandarin oranges. 

• Place the peel and the orange segments minus the central pith into a food processor. 

• Add 1/4 cup sugar and process to smooth consistency. Set aside. 

• In a mixing bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside 

• In a smaller bowl combine milk sour cream and orange extract. Set aside. 

• Beat the butter and the oil with the sugar until fully combined. 

• Add the eggs one and the time beating after each addition. 

• Continue beating until very light. 

• Add the orange mixture to the egg mixture. 

• Alternating add from the flour mixture and the milk mixture until everything is combined. 

• Finally add the poppy seeds and whip to combine. 

• Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake until the cake begins to pull away from the sides of the pan. 

• Place cake on a wire rack to cool. 

• Meanwhile combine icing ingredients and whip until very fluffy. 

• When the cake cooled to room temperature spread the icing on the top. 

• Serve at room temperature.

BUTTER CHICKEN MEATBALLS

Adapted from Jo Cooks, this was amazing. What caught my interest were the meatballs, they were pretty much how I make mine. The recipe looked mild; the hot stuff no longer works for the two of us. I changed up a few ingredients in part because of preference or simply that’s what I had on hand. The proof of the pudding might be in the eating, but for me the question has always been would we want to eat it again? Otherwise why write a recipe? 

Make the meatballs first. Extra lean ground chicken has minimal fat content, so care should be taken to keep the meatballs intact. And as with any meatballs, the outer layers should be cooked before sauce is added. Grating the onion helps, but you will need far less from grated onion than from diced. 

As for the spices, I make my own garam masala and keep it in the deepfreeze. Commercial garam masala in my opinion is vastly inferior. That’s one of the Indian spices I refuse to buy, even from the Asian store. Similarly I keep fresh tomato sauce in the deepfreeze; unfortunately I used up the last bit for this recipe. Our tomato plants suffered this year and for the first time in decades we don’t have an abundant supply of tomatoes. Until the next crop of fresh wine ripened tomatoes I will have to rely on Passata, which is the best alternative. I find canned tomatoes harsh and for the same reason I rarely use tomato paste. I only use imported Hungarian Paprika; no other paprika gives the dept of flavour and vibrancy. As for curry powder there is mild or hot, but make sure it’s specifically for chicken. I buy mine from an Asian store and keep it in the deep freeze in a secure container. 

Spices are expensive so people tend to hang onto them for decades… Never buy spice in bulk. Aromatics should be double, triple packed and stored in the deepfreeze for up to one to two years. Never keep paprika, chili powder, garam masala and curry powder in the cupboard. People don’t realize these spices have a short shelf life and will quickly loose their potency and colour. More about this here. 

Butter Chicken Meatballs 

Meatballs: 

2 Tbsp olive oil 

~300g extra lean ground chicken 

1/4 onion grated 

1/3 cup fine breadcrumbs 

1 egg 

1/4 tsp garam masala 

salt and pepper to taste 

 Sauce: 

2 Tbsp butter 

2 grated garlic 

1 heaping tsp grated ginger 

1/2 cup fresh tomato sauce or passata 

1/2 tsp turmeric 

1/2 tsp ground cumin 

 1 heaping tsp mild madras curry powder 

1 1/2 tsp garam masala 

1 Tbsp Hungarian Paprika 

1/2 cup homemade chicken stock 

1/2 cup heavy cream 

cilantro freshly chopped for garnish 

• Start with the meatballs. 

• Truly combine meatball ingredients in a shallow mixing bowl. 

• Oil your hands or lightly wet them with water and form egg sized balls from the mixture. 

• Add the oil to a non stick sauté pan and cook the meatballs on medium heat a couple minutes on each side, gently turning them over. 

• Gently transfer meatballs to a plate and set them aside. 

• Next make the sauce. 

• Add the butter to the pan. 

• Stir in the garlic and ginger and cook for 1 minute. 

• Add the tomato sauce or passata, turmeric, cumin, curry powder, garam masala and Hungarian Paprika and chicken stock and stir.

• Bring the sauce to a simmer and slow cook for 10 minutes until the sauce thickens. 

• Stir in the cream. 

• Add the meatballs to the pan and simmer for a few minutes to heat through.

• Sprinkle the top with cilantro, and serve with rice.

RUM SOAKED DRIED PEAR AND PRUNE STRUDEL

The first casualty of climate disaster was our plum tree. It used to supply friend and neighbor with juicy yellow fleshed Italian plums. I cooked and baked with those plums for decades, but no more. The prunes we made in the past couple of years of course are dwindling. To make it go a bit further I paired them with a small amount of dried pears in what I thought was an unusual combination. Both were pretty dry so I soaked them in premium rum overnight. Now Jimre always loved prunes, his family used to have an orchard in the Village of Ölbő. I was never a fan and that is why I decided to soak them in rum. As an experiment using commercial filo made perfect sense. My only regret I didn’t make two strudels. It must be because of the rum. 

Rum Soaked Dried Pear and Prune Strudel 

1/3 cup premium rum 

1 2/3 cup prunes 

1 2/3 cup dried pears 

3 Tbsp honey 

1 pkg vanilla sugar 

grated peel of 1 lemon 

6 sheets of filo pastry 

1/2 cup melted butter 

• Place the frozen filo dough in the refrigerator for overnight. 

• Place the dried fruits in a smaller bowl to soak in the rum. 

• Turn it over a few times to cover all the fruit with rum. 

• Cover and leave it soaking overnight. 

• Next day add the honey, vanilla sugar and the grated peel to the rum soaked fruit. 

• Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. 

• Next take out 6 sheets of filo and place it on a large piece of plastic wrap on a smooth, clean surface. • Cover the filo right away with a large piece of plastic wrap. 

• Rewrap the unused dough tightly, box it and put it back in the freezer or refrigerate it up to two days. • Preheat the oven to 375F. 

• Melt the butter. 

• Place one sheet of filo on a sheet of parchment paper. 

• Dip a soft pastry brush into the melted butter and lightly brush it all over the pastry. 

• Place the next filo on the top, repeating with the remaining sheets. 

• Try not to position tears on top of one another. 

• After the last sheet is buttered, gently arrange the prepared fruit near the long end of the filo sheets. 

• Using the parchment paper, loosely flip the filo over the filling forming a log. 

• Gently lift the log onto the parchment lined baking sheet. 

• Tuck the ends under. 

• Brush the top first with butter and then with the egg wash. 

• Sprinkle sugar on the top 

• Bake in the preheated oven until golden brown. 

• Remove from the oven and let the strudel cool to room temperature. 

• Dust with icing sugar and cut into slices 

• Cover up leftovers with a clean kitchen towel and store on the counter or in the cupboard. It will keep for a couple of days. However strudel is best on the day it is made.

ORANGE CAKE BAR

 

This is a very pleasant cake. It can be baked in two round cake pans, but if you don’t want to fuss with cake decorating, a cake bar is always a sensible option. I made it with freshly squeezed oranges, but pure orange juice will work too. The orange zest can be replaced with lemon zest or omitted altogether. 

 

Orange Cake Bar

1/3 cup soft butter 

1/3 cup oil 

1 cup sugar 

3 eggs 

2 1/2 cup cake flour 

2 1/2 tsp baking powder 

2 tsp orange zest 

1/3 cup fresh orange juice 

1 tsp Grand Marnier or orange extract 

Orange Frosting 

6 Tbsp soft unsalted butter 

2 1/4 cups icing sugar 

2 tsp Grand Marnier or orange extract 

2 Tbsp of fresh orange juice 

1/8 cup 14% sour cream 

• Preheat oven to 350F. 

• Fully line a rectangular cake pan with parchment paper. 

• Cream the butter and oil. 

• Gradually add the sugar and whip until fluffy 

• Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. 

• Continue beating for 5 minutes. 

• In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder and the orange zest. 

• Add the dry mixture alternately with the orange juice to the creamed mixture. 

• Add the Grand Marnier and beat only until smooth. 

• Bake in the prepared cake pan for 25-30 minutes or until the middle springs back. 

• Remove from the oven and place the pan on a wire rack to cool. 

• Before frosting the cake bar it has to cool down to room temperature. 

• Combine frosting ingredients and whip on high speed for 4 minutes. 

• Spread the frosting over the cake and chill for easy slicing. 

• Serve it at room temperature.

UKRAINIAN STYLE CABBAGE ROLLS

 

Back in the day at the Canada Day celebrations l would race over to the Ukrainian tent at Riverside Park and line up for a plate of cabbage roll with perogies and sausage. Years went by and some of the tents were replaced by newcomers. Sushi and Tim’s didn’t entice. OK, I liked the peaches at the Italian tent, but I didn’t particularly care for the pasta they served. I have eaten at the Colombo Hall so I am well aware what Italian pasta should taste like. But mostly I just missed the cabbage rolls. 

Thought it was time to try my hand at making it. Recognizing there are endless varieties and mostly vegetarian versions, I picked a video that seemed close to my own cabbage rolls. The stuffing had more meat than rice. I can’t claim authenticity, I had to simplify it... a lot. Still, the six cabbage rolls I made were surprisingly tasty and we enjoyed them on three consecutive nights with various accompaniments. 

At the end I found a lovely video of a Ukrainian lady preparing cabbage rolls with a dreamy quality to it. Enjoy it or make her recipe. She made a large pot of it. Mine makes only six.

Ukrainian Style Cabbage Rolls

8 leaves of white cabbage 

1/2 cup rice 

Vegetables:

2 Tbsp oil 

1 onion, chopped 

2 cloves of garlic, crushed 

2 Carrots, finely grated 

2 Tbsp quality preferably homemade tomato sauce 

3 sprigs of fresh parsley or 1 tsp dry

salt and pepper to taste 

200g lean ground pork 

2 Tbsp + 3/4 cup 14 % sour cream

1 1/2 cup homemade pork or vegetable stock 

Prepare ingredients: 

• First separate the cabbage leaves from a full head of white cabbage. 

• The instructions are HERE. 

• Once the leaves are separated, cook them in simmering water until they are soft enough to roll. 

• Trim off [don’t cut them off, just trim] thick parts of the stem for easy rolling. 

• Then set them aside to cool.

 

• Next cook the rice and set it aside to cool. 

Next prepare the vegetables: 

• Slow fry the onions in a large non stick skillet. 

• Add the garlic and the grated carrots and the parsley. 

• Stir in 2 Tbsp tomato sauce. 

• Slow cook stirring the vegetables on low medium heat for a few minutes. 

• Transfer the vegetables to a food processor and puree. 

• Adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper to taste. 

• Divide the pureed vegetables. 

Make the stuffing next. 

• Add the ground pork, the cooked rice and half the pureed vegetables to a large mixing bowl. 

• Add 2 heaping Tbsp of sour cream, salt and pepper to taste and truly combine the mixture wearing food safe grade plastic gloves or with your clean hands. 

• Divide the stuffing six ways and wrap them inside 6 of the cabbage leaves burrito fashion.

• Set them aside. 

• Next add 2 Tbsp of oil to an ovenproof pot. 

• Take the remaining 2 cabbage leaves and lay them inside the pot. 

• Arrange the cabbage rolls on the top. 

Next make the sauce: 

• Add the remaining pureed vegetables in the skillet with the tomato sauce and the pork stock. 

• Bring to a slow simmer. 

• Stir in 3/4 cup sour cream and remove skillet from the heat. 

• Pour the sauce over the cabbage rolls. 

• Cover and place in a 300F oven for 3 to 4 hours. If making larger quantities, increase oven time. 

• Serve with buttered pasta. 

• Yields 6 cabbage rolls.

 

REMOVING CABBAGE LEAVES

It is difficult to remove cabbage leaves without tearing. And the one thing I always hated when making cabbage rolls was boiling the cabbage and separating a couple of hot leaves from the head and then putting the cabbage back into the boiling water so a few more leaves can be taken off. My hands are accustomed to handling heat, still this is no fun. Then there is the waste. 

You repeat the process several times and by then the small leaves that remain will be cooked and useless for anything else. I tend to make a large amount of Hungarian cabbage rolls and depending on the cabbage I may need two heads, but I never seem to use it all up. Now that’s a lot of leftover partially cooked cabbage! Oh I intend to use it up, but then I never do, and why would I? I just made cabbage rolls! So the unused cabbage gets chucked. 

Or what happens when you only need a half a dozen cabbage leaves? Throw the rest of it away? I never thought I will say this, but lately cabbage has been expensive! 

Have no fear; you don’t have to boil the cabbage to remove the leaves. Takes a bit of patience but the leaves will separate from the cabbage like magic. All you have to do is place the remaining cabbage on a kitchen towel to dry, wrap it and put it back in the fridge as fresh as before. 

Removing Cabbage Leaves

 

• Cut and scoop out the hard center core of the cabbage with a small sharp knife. 

• Run slow tap water into the gap between the leaves. The water accumulates in the gaps and the leaves peel off naturally because of the weight of the water in the gaps. It’s physics dear Watson! 

MANGO MUFFINS WITH RUM

Delicious, delicious! I made these last month and still have a few tucked away “for the man” in the freezer. 

Dried mango slices chopped and soaked in premium Jamaican rum was the beginning of these yummy muffins with none of the soaking liquid wasted. Booze is not my friend, but I tolerate it in baking. Not that I ate more than one due to my latest curse, an all encompassing milk protein allergy. The taste of coconut and almond milk despised, a muffin here and there with dairy is worth the pain. The least distinct milk substitute is oat milk, but you can’t whip oat. Not much krémes or somlói for me. 

On a side note, our world tends to celebrate the wrong people. Entertainers and the rich and famous are the bomb. How many Nobel Prize winners can we name? That is why l am so pleased Karikó Katalin winning the Nobel Prize! First and foremost a Hungarian’s researcher makes it possible to bring the Pandemic under control. Then there is the promise mRNA will be used against cancer and allergies. How wonderful is that?

Mango Muffins with Rum 

 2/3 cup dry mango, diced 

1/3 cup dark rum 

1/4 cup soft butter 

4 Tbsp oil 

3/4 cup sugar 

2 eggs 

2 3/4 cups flour 

1 tsp baking powder 

1/2 tsp baking soda 

1/2 tsp salt 

1/2 cup 3.25 % buttermilk 

1/2 cup 14% sour cream 

2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice 

• Soak the diced dry mango in rum for an hour or longer. 

• Preheat oven to 425F. 

• Line a muffin tin with large size parchment liners. 

• Add soft butter, oil, sugar, eggs, baking powder, baking soda and salt to a beater bowl and beat until fluffy. 

• In a measuring cup whisk together the sour cream and the buttermilk and the lemon juice. 

• Alternating, gradually add the lour and the sour cream mixture to the butter mixture and stir it with a wooden spoon to combine. [From here on end don’t beat the batter] 

• Add the rum soaked mango with the remaining rum to the batter. 

• Divide the batter in the prepared muffin tin. 

• Bake in the preheated oven for 8 minutes. 

• Reduce heat to 400F and bake 12 minutes longer.

• Test for doneness and bake it 2-3 minutes longer if needed. 

• Remove the muffin tin from the oven and place it on a wire rack.

STRAWBERRY SCONES

with dried strawberries and heavy cream

I was never a fan of scones, I think I made it once… years ago. I found it dry and even drier cooled down. Then yesterday I made a search for a biscuit with dried strawberries, the dried strawberries I had were to expire in a month. What I found were cookies, so I switched my search to scones. Valla! There were so many versions of the same recipe… where it started…who the heck knows. The ingredient list was the same except for the chatter, the photos the whatnot…and of course the adds. You scroll and scroll and begin to wonder, is there even a recipe? 

Not that you needed one more, but here is MY version. There is no need for super cold ingredients and mine reads more like a biscuit than a scone. All you need for it is a food processor. Without it, attempt it at your own peril. But boy this one is even more delectable than my Biscuit Deluxe, and yes it will be still pretty good the following morning if you store it in a plastic bag. But then again it may all go at first sitting. 

Strawberry Scones 

Scones:

2 cups flour 

2 heaping Tbsp sugar 

1 Tbsp baking powder 

1/4 tsp salt 

1/3 cup cold butter 

2/3 cup heavy cream, 33 to 35 % 

1 egg 

small amount 3.25% buttermilk for topping up 

1/2 cup dried strawberries, diced 

Eggwash: 

1 egg 

1 Tbsp milk 

• Turn the oven to 400F and line a cookie tin with parchment paper. 

• Use the butter, whipping cream, egg and the buttermilk right out of the fridge. 

• Place the cold butter, flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in the food processor and pulse it 3-4 times.

• Transfer flour mixture to a large mixing bowl. 

• Next add the whipping cream and the egg to a measuring cup and top it up to exactly 1 cup with buttermilk. 

• Using a fork stir to combine. 

• Add the cream mixture to the flour mixture. 

• With a wooden spoon stir just to combine. 

• Add the diced dried strawberries. 

• Using your hands bring the mixture into a ball and place it on a clean flat surface. 

• By hand or a rolling pin flatten dough to 1 1/2 inch thickness. 

• Transfer the rounds to the prepared baking sheet. 

• To make the egg wash, beat together an egg with a tablespoon of milk and brush the scones with it generously. 

• Place the scones in a preheated oven for 15 to 18 minutes. 

• Serve the scones right out of the oven. The texture and the flavor of these scones are so lovely, they don’t even need butter. 

• Once the scones cool to room temperature, place them in a clean plastic bag for the night. Next morning heat up the leftovers in the microwave and enjoy.