Triple Chocolate Almond Cookies

Triple Chocolate Almond Cookies

This was the most popular cookie of the past week, getting rave reviews from both from taste testers and guests. It's a simple chocolate cookie, but swapping the traditional (and oft-overused) vanilla extract for almond gives it a nice twist.

Triple Chocolate Almond Cookies [printable recipe] [latviski]

Adapted from Cathy Lowe, Food Network
About 40 cookies

  • 2 1/4 cups (300 g) all-purpose flour
  • 1 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 2 sticks (8 oz or 220 g) unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar
  • 1 cup (220 g) packed brown sugar
  • 2 large eggs, beaten
  • 1 tbsp almond extract
  • 1/2 cup (45 g) unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1 cup (6 oz or 160 g) semi-sweet chocolate chips
  • 1 cup (6 oz or 160 g) white chocolate chips
  • 1 cup (30 g) chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 375F/190C.

Cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy, then mix in eggs, almond and cocoa thoroughly. Gradually add flour, salt and baking soda until fully incorporated, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary. Stir in chocolate chips and walnuts.

Drop dough by spoonfuls1 onto a foil-lined or parchment-lined baking sheet, leaving about 2 inches/5 centimeters between cookies. Bake for 10 - 13 minutes2, then remove cookies to a baking rack to cool.

For cookie bars, pat dough into a 9" square baking dish and bake for about 20 - 25 minutes. Remove and cool on a rack, cutting squares before entirely cool to the touch.

When completely cool, cookies can be frozen for long-term snacking or stored in a jar or a bag.

Notes:

  1. For consistent cookies, use a disher or a cookie scoop. I used a #20 disher (2.5 ounce capacity) to scoop out dough, which I then split in half. This disher is very popular for making the large cookies often seen in restaurants - about 6 fit on a standard half sheet baking pan.
  2. Dark cookies like these make it hard to determine when they're done. The cookie should look "set", but not gooey. They should be relatively easy to remove from the pan with a sharp spatula or cookie turner. If they smoosh together, rather than sliding easily, they're not done.

Trīskāršās šokolādes un riekstu cepumi

Triple Chocolate Almond Cookies

Trīskāršās šokolādes un riekstu cepumi [printable recipe]

Adaptēts no "Cathy Lowe, Food Network" receptes
40 cepumi

  • 300 g baltais milti
  • 1 1/2 tējkarotes sāls
  • 1 tējkarote cepamās sodas
  • 220 g mīksta sviesta
  • 200 g cukura
  • 220 g brūnā cukura
  • 2 sakulta olas
  • 15 ml mandeļu ekstrakta vai ruma
  • 45 g kakao pulvera
  • 160 g pussaldās šokolādes gabaliņi
  • 160 g baltās šokolādes gabaliņi
  • 30 g sakapātu valriekstu

Uzkarsē cepeškrāsni līdz 190°.

Sviestu un cukuru sakul, līdz masa ir gandrīz balta. Iejauc olas, kakao un mandeļu ekstraktu vai rumu. Pakāpeniski pievieno miltus, sāli un cepamo sodu un maisi, līdz mīkla kļūst viendabīga. Piemaisi šokolādes gabaliņus un valriekstus.

Apaļi cepumi:

No mīklas izveido mazas bumbiņas (apmēram 30 g). Izvieto uz, ar cepamo papīru izklātas, cepešpannas apmēram piecu centimetru attālumā vienu no otras. Cep 10 - 13 minūtes.

Cepumu plātne:

Ieklāj mīklu ar taukiem ieziestā cepešpannā vai cepeštraukā un cep apmēram 20 - 25 minūtes. Sagriez ēšanai piemērotos gabaliņos.

Things I Learned While Catering

My little step-brother married his girlfriend of several years yesterday. As it happened, all of the kids did something completely different for their weddings. My husband and I did Vegas out of a desire to both let his family in Latvia watch via webcam (that we didn't have to set up or troubleshoot) and not have to plan a damn thing. After all the immigration hassles we'd gone through (like having to travel to Poland for the actual visa interviews for him to enter the US), planning a wedding simultaneously was an overwhelming thought. My step-sister did the big bash wedding with professional everything downtown at the Triad Center. But my step-brother and his wife didn't want any of that: just a simple, informal get-together with family filling in for all the people ordinarily hired.

So, my husband, the amateur photographer, did the photography, including some traditional poses. A friend of the groom's did the cake. My brother-in-law played piano while his wife handled all of the decorations. I volunteered to feed everyone. The bride had some requests: Simple, down-home lunch with mini-sandwiches. Lots of strawberries (her favorite fruit) along with more fruits and veggies. A few different appetizers, maybe some desserts (no one knew if there would be a wedding cake as procuring one hit several snags).

Wedding Catering: Sandwiches and Salads Build-Your-Own mini croissant sandwiches, potato salad.

Wedding Catering: Veggies Leaf salad and veggie tray, plus toppings

It was a very small affair with confirmed guests of 13 (14 with the bishop) and the potential for 20-22. By no means a big catering job and reasonable enough for me to put together. I've never catered before, or really even cooked for such a large gathering. With the help of my husband, I knew I could manage it.

We settled on some easy dishes that would fit their tastes and those of the guests, winding up with a "sandwich bar" where folks could put together their own sandwich, a potato salad, a leaf salad, four different appetizers, three types of cookies, brownie bites, loads of veggies and fruit, plus chocolate-dipped strawberries. I also put together a heart-shaped dish full of the largest strawberries which I dipped and decorated. These turned out to be a huge hit -- everyone loves tuxedo strawberries and they're easy to do, even for someone as ham-fisted with decorating as me.

"Tuxedo" Dipped Strawberries I suck at decorating but in my defense, drawing with a toothpick ain't easy!

What Did I Learn? After a week and a half of stress, two very long days of preparing and serving, here's what I took away from this experience.

Wedding Catering: Appetizers Left-to-right: Tomato bites, crunchy peanuts, banana-peanut butter "Elvis" bites, salami and smoky cheddar bites, mini-dogs

You can't predict what people will love -- or hate. I kept coming across miniature pigs in a blanket when I went looking for recipes and since it seemed the type of thing the bride and groom would enjoy, I made them. Only a handful were left and the groom demanded them in a bag for later. By contrast, the leaf salad was utterly untouched. (Surprisingly, given the rabid salad-lovers in the family.)

Veggie Tray Mmm.. Veggies, spinach dip and "fiesta" ranch dip

Make sure there's a variety of foods available and don't forget vegetarians or diabetics. Half of the food provided was vegetarian-friendly. But I don't usually worry about diabetics (in part because I'm spoiled with my father who wears an insulin pump and happily eats everything). It turned out that the bride's adoptive father was diabetic -- but he happily chowed down on the veggies and asked for the rest to take home.

Having enough room to store everything safely is just as important as being aware of allergies and cross-contamination. I wound up putting two-thirds of the contents of our fridge into one relative's extra fridge to have enough room just to store the ingredients (and later, to chill batches of different foods). Then I had to borrow a second cooler from another family member so I could store the finished products on ice overnight and transport it the next day.

Likewise, having enough room to work is important. If I could have, I would have borrowed a kitchen from someone else, preferably one with a dishwasher and plenty of counter space. Doing it in our cramped kitchen produced cleanup all out of proportion to its size (to my mind) and I'm still cleaning. (Oh, how I miss having a dishwasher...)

Wedding Catering: Desserts Two types of cookies, brownies, wedding cookies, chocolate-dipped strawberries

Remembering the one little comment the bride makes about what she'd really like makes a difference. In this case, it was strawberries, her favorite fruit. It's the end of strawberry season and the strawberries available are not very good. But one way to make them go farther and last longer is to add sugar, so I dipped about a pound and a half in chocolate. She was thrilled.

The Most Important: Wear comfortable shoes. In fact, I was so focused on everything that had to be done, I forgot to add "be comfortable" to the list. While my dad and his wife changed before and after the ceremony, comfortably working in jeans and tshirts, neither I nor my husband thought about it. By the end of the afternoon, my shoes were off more than on and putting them on to go home was painful. By the end of the night, I found out how much the 4" heels had played havoc with my legs. If I had worn comfortable shoes, things would have been much easier.

Would I do it again? My brother-in-law asked me if I thought I'd cater professionally after this. My answer: Probably not professionally. I'd thought about it a few years ago, but after the stress and worry of this week, I don't think it's something I'm cut out to do.

What would I change if I had it to do over? I'd make half as much food, but with only two appetizers (the mini dogs and tomato bites) and twice as many of them. I would also insist that the tablecloths not be black (makes the food look funereal).

On the upside, last night's dinner, today's lunch and dinner all have been built around leftovers. Not much to do tonight except steam some rice, toss a bunch of veggies left from the veggie plate in a hot pan with some soy sauce and dinner's served!

Baking up a storm

My step-brother is getting married on Saturday and my husband and I are catering the reception. It's a small affair, thankfully, but I underestimated the amount of work involved in sourcing ingredients and researching recipes.

Today, I mainly baked desserts and set up for the major push tomorrow where most everything will be prepared. Saturday morning, I have to prep all of the canapes in the morning before leaving for the afternoon wedding. I've never catered before nor am I very experienced in preparing food more than a few hours ahead. It's been a learning experience so far and there's still so much to do!

What does all of this mean? Next week's posts will feature cookies, dips and canapes. I'll have to miss this week's Latviešu ēdieni post (I haven't had time to do anything) and will return on Sunday with a report after the dust settles.

For now, I leave you with a few memories from Latvia.

Tirdzniecības kanāls, Liepāja Tirdzniecības kanāls, Liepāja, Latvija

Ķiploku karstmaizītes Ķiploku karstmaizītes, Čili Pica, Liepāja, Latvija (Toasted garlic bread sticks with a cheesy dipping sauce at a very popular pizza joint)

Vārna Hooded Crow (corvus cornix) taking flight

Pretty Flower A pretty flower in Kuldīga, Latvija

See you Sunday and I hope you enjoy your weekend!

Farinata (Ligurian Chickpea Flatbread)

Farinata

I don't remember now where I came across making a thin batter out of chickpea (garbanzo beans) flour and water then cooking it in an oiled skillet. It was definitely good, however, I thought I'd make it again this week as a substitute for buns for polish dogs.

It didn't really wrap as well as I imagined but the flavors of the rosemary-infused flatbread meshed well with the caramelized onions, horseradish and mustard topped meat. All's well that ends well (in a full tummy).

I remembered what I had done the first time: mix one cup chickpea flour with one cup water. It was good but a bit bland, so I went looking for a better recipe. I found it at We Are Never Full, which is also where I learned that this particular preparation is called "farinata" and comes from the Ligurian region of Italy.

I had everything I needed to make it. Fresh rosemary, check. Sage leaves? Er, I haven't had sage in the house in years, but the basil plant is going strong, so check! Chickpea flour? Double check.

I read through the recipe a couple of times and wrote down the necessary quantities on my notepad. Satisfied I knew what I was doing, I puttered into the kitchen. The batter came together beautifully in a matter of minutes. I had just enough time to let it rest the requisite hour. I looked at my notes.. 1/2 cup olive oil? Seems a bit much, doesn't it? Hmm.

I poured it into the cast iron skillet. Mine is a little smaller than hers - an 11" not a 12". But when you're talking about a 1/2 cup of oil, it apparently makes a huge difference. It looked really, really deep. I frowned at it, it didn't go away. So I figured it wasn't really as deep as I thought, let's just try anyway and poured the batter in.

Oh dear. That didn't work at all. The batter floated on the oil. It literally did not touch the bottom of the pan as far as I could tell. No point now in doing anything other than cooking it, really. I wanted to see what would happen so I put it in the oven, closed the door and hoped it would still come out.

You can see where this is going. No, it didn't come out. But it did. I took it out after 30 minutes. The flat bread was completely cooked (and utterly oily) but the flavors were really good. I threw it in the trash, drained off most of the oil into a jar to be reused later, and started whisking up a new batch.

Now, however, the rest of dinner was nearly done. So I whisked it up into a fairly thin batter, heated up the skillet on the range and pan-fried a few in a scant two tablespoons of oil. Those came out perfectly. The flatbread was fluffy and redolent with rosemary. Not as thick or as nice as it would have come out in the oven, but next time, I'll do it with just enough oil to cover the pan and preheat it in the oven. I've written that into the recipe (as much for me as for anyone reading) but it's as yet untried.

Farinata [printable recipe]

Recipe adapted from We Are Never Full

  • 1 1/4 cups chickpea flour
  • 1 1/4 cups water or kefir
  • 1 teaspoon of chopped rosemary
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • pepper
  • olive oil

Combine flour and spices in a small bowl, then whisk in the liquid until a thin batter comes together. It should be the consistency of milk or a good crepe batter. Let rest for 1 hour (up to overnight), skimming off any foam that develops.

For oven-baking: Preheat the oven to 425 with a cast iron skillet inside. Take the (hot!) pan out, pour in about 2 - 3 tablespoons of olive oil, swirl to coat as needed, then add the batter. Bake for 30 minutes, checking at 25 minutes, for a crispier farinata, OR bake for 15 - 17 minutes and broil for 2 minutes, for a softer version.

For pan-frying: Pour a tablespoon of olive oil in a nonstick pan or a well-seasoned cast iron skillet. Heat over medium heat. When ready, pour some batter into the skillet, swirling it around a la crepes and flipping halfway through. When golden brown, remove to a waiting plate, add a bit of oil to the pan if necessary and repeat.

We made ours thicker, like pancakes, but you can make them as thin as crepes too.

Notes:

  1. A related version called socca, from Nice, France, incorporates some olive oil into the batter as well.

. . . By the way, you should really click on the link in the recipe above. The smiling goat is adorable!

A Very Veggie Stirfry with Simply Fried Rice

Veggie Stirfry with Fried Rice

I love stirfries. When I moved out on my own and had to start cooking for myself, stirfries offered an easy, cheap meal that could be endlessly varied. Even now, if I don't know what to make, I make a stirfry because I always have the ingredients on hand and can whip up a sauce in nothing flat.

Which made writing this post incredibly difficult. You see, to me, the very essence of a great stirfry is that it can be made in hundreds of ways. My sauces and marinades are never the same twice -- I build them based on how I feel and what I want to eat, adding a bit of ginger today or some powdered wasabi tomorrow. In fact, an old friend of mine, Brandon, coined the term "Coriental" to describe my methods for making these!

Today, I'll describe the basics of how I made this particular one. Please note - the amounts and ingredients are most definitely not set in stone. Look for produce that's on sale, in season or just plain looks good. If nothing fresh looks good, look in the frozen section and find a bag of frozen veggies whose mix you like. A 1 pound package is about right for two and eating more veggies is hardly going to bust a diet.

It is very important that all of the ingredients are prepped before you begin cooking. Stirfries move fast -- you will not have time to chop up a veggie before adding the next, especially since you need to be stirring constantly so that nothing burns. Traditionally, these are cooked over very high heat, but I usually use medium-high heat which seems to work better for my stove and equipment. Use whatever works best for you.

As for the fried rice.. There are so many ways to make it! I have two favorites and they're both simple. I always incorporate beaten egg and green onions. Half the time, I am lazy and use Sunbird Fried Rice Mix (I love the flavor that Sunbird's mix gives it), the other half, I'm even lazier and just pour over some soy sauce and fry it until the edges of the grains brown up. Sometimes I throw in a handful of cubed cooked ham too. While I love fried rice, I'm happiest with the very simplest.

Veggie Stirfry and Fried Rice

Veggie Stirfry with Simply Fried Rice [printable recipe]

Serves 2

Fried Rice:

  • 2 cups cooked, cooled rice
  • 2 tbsp soy sauce
  • 2 eggs, beaten well
  • 2 green onions, finely chopped

Stirfry:

  • 1/2 onion, sliced thinly from root to stem
  • 1 pattypan or sunburst squash, julienned
  • 1 small head of broccoli, stem julienned and florets separated into bite-sized pieces
  • 1 carrot, shredded
  • 1/2 cup fresh or frozen peas
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced or crushed
  • 1 large cluster of oyster mushrooms, roughly chopped
  • 2 green onions, sliced

Sauce:

  • 4 tbsp soy sauce
  • 2 tbsp oyster sauce
  • 1/4 tsp powdered ginger or 1 quarter-size slice fresh, minced
  • 1/2 tsp garlic powder or 1 clove, crushed
  • 1/2 tsp crushed red chile flakes
  • 1 tsp hoisin sauce (optional)

Making the sauce: Mix all sauce ingredients together in a small bowl or glass.

Making the fried rice: In an oiled large wok or deep skillet over medium-high heat, fry the cooked rice. Separate the grains to fluff and ensure all of the rice cooks evenly -- you don't want lumps. Stir constantly, keep everything moving. After about 2 or 3 minutes, pour over 2 tbsp of soy sauce. Mix it in well and continue to fry.

My husband likes his egg to coat most of the rice, I prefer big chunks of egg. For his way, pour the beaten egg over the rice and stir it in well, continuing to stir constantly so that all of the egg cooks up nicely. For my way, push the rice to the sides, leaving a largish circle of pan in the center. Pour the eggs into the cleared center and scramble. Once the eggs are mostly cooked, stir into the rice.

When the rice is nicely browned, add the green onions and fry for another 30 seconds. Remove to a bowl and keep warm.

Making the stirfry: In a large skillet or wok, lightly oiled and set over medium-high heat, begin by frying up the onions until nicely browned and soft. Remove to the bowl.

Next, add squash, broccoli and carrot. Add a bit of water and cover for 2 minutes to steam them a bit before frying. Remove cover and add garlic and mushrooms. Fry all together for a couple of minutes until the mushrooms soften. Add sauce. Continue to fry, stirring frequently for another 2 minutes. Add peas, cook for 1 minute, then add green onions. Stir in the onions. Taste a bit of broccoli, make sure it's cooked al dente.

Serve over fried rice.

Atvainojiet, tulkojums ir tapšanas stadijā.

Veggie Stirfry with Fried Rice

I am attempting to translate my recipes into Latvian but find that some things simply don't translate well. Ašcepti is the best way we could describe "stirfry", which is a fast frying method that involves high heat and nearly constant stirring. See Wikipedia for more information.

Veggie Stirfry and Fried Rice

Ašcepti dārzeņi ar ceptiem rīsiem 2 porcijas

Ceptajiem rīsiem: 350 g vārītu rīsu 30 ml sojas mērces 2 sakultas olas 2 sagriezti loki

Ašcepumam: 1/2 strēmelēs sagriezta sīpola 1 mazs, salmiņos sagriezts cukīni 1 neliela, rupji sagriezta brokoļu galviņa 1 rīvēts burkāns 50 g zaļie zirnīši (svaigi vai saldēti) 3 sasmalcinātas ķiploku daiviņas 1 liels, rupji sagriezts austersēņu čemurs (var aizvietot ar šampinjoniem) 2 smalki sagriezti loki

Mērcei: 60 ml sojas mērces 30 ml austeru mērces šķipsna ingvera pulvera vai 3 mm bieza, sakapāta svaiga ingvera šķēlīte šķipsna ķiploku pulvera vai 1 sasmalcināta ķiploku daiviņa šķipsna paprikas pārslu

Making the sauce: Mix all sauce ingredients together in a small bowl or glass.

Making the fried rice: In an oiled large wok or deep skillet over medium-high heat, fry the cooked rice. Separate the grains to fluff and ensure all of the rice cooks evenly -- you don't want lumps. Stir constantly, keep everything moving. After about 2 or 3 minutes, pour over 2 tbsp of soy sauce. Mix it in well and continue to fry.

My husband likes his egg to coat most of the rice, I prefer big chunks of egg. For his way, pour the beaten egg over the rice and stir it in well, continuing to stir constantly so that all of the egg cooks up nicely. For my way, push the rice to the sides, leaving a largish circle of pan in the center. Pour the eggs into the cleared center and scramble. Once the eggs are mostly cooked, stir into the rice.

When the rice is nicely browned, add the green onions and fry for another 30 seconds. Remove to a bowl and keep warm.

Making the stirfry: In a large skillet or wok, lightly oiled and set over medium-high heat, begin by frying up the onions until nicely browned and soft. Remove to the bowl.

Next, add squash, broccoli and carrot. Add a bit of water and cover for 2 minutes to steam them a bit before frying. Remove cover and add garlic and mushrooms. Fry all together for a couple of minutes until the mushrooms soften. Add sauce. Continue to fry, stirring frequently for another 2 minutes. Add peas, cook for 1 minute, then add green onions. Stir in the onions. Taste a bit of broccoli, make sure it's cooked al dente.

Serve over fried rice.

Cabbage Gratin

Cabbage Gratin

One day, not so very long ago, my husband and I sat in our flat in Liepāja staring at a cabbage.

It was a very nice cabbage, a Savoy, as a matter of fact.

Cabbage is a staple in Latvian cooking; we'd just finished a head of "China" cabbage (similar to Napa) a couple of days prior but we were running out of things to do with it. We'd had cabbage salads and stir-fried cabbage and cabbage leaves and cabbage wraps. Now what?

It'd been a rather cold and soggy winter day, so we knew we wanted something hot. Preferably baked so we could have a nice warm kitchen to go with it.

How I miss that kitchen. Not all of it, of course, the fridge is too small for this American and the gas burners didn't always heat evenly, but there was a balcony to store food on in the winter and plenty of cupboard space. One of his cousins in Rīga who does kitchen remodels did the layout and planning; I'm hoping to get him to help with the layout when we buy a home.

Ahem. Where was I? Oh right, cabbage.

I don't remember now where we found this recipe originally or even what search terms we used to find it. Actually, I'm not even sure this is based on one recipe -- I have a tendency to pull up two or three (even four) that have components I like then create a recipe from them.

What I do know is that it's really, really good on a cold day. It smells wonderful - redolent with caraway seed and cabbage. It may not be an original Latvian recipe, but it sure does fit the bill. Give it a try, I believe you won't be disappointed.

Ready for Baking

Cabbage Gratin [printable recipe] [latviski]

Serves 4

  • 4 cups cabbage, shredded
  • 2 medium carrots, shredded
  • 3 green onions, chopped
  • 1 cup milk
  • 2 ounces cheese, shredded
  • 1/2 tsp caraway seeds
  • salt, pepper
  • 2 large eggs, beaten
  • 1 egg white
  • 1 tbsp fresh parsley, minced, or 1/2 tsp dried
  • 1/4 tsp nutmeg, freshly ground
  • 1 tsp olive oil
  • nonstick spray

Preheat oven to 400F.

Toss cabbage with a pinch of salt and a teaspoon or so of water, cover and microwave for 4 minutes. Saute shredded carrot in olive oil with a bit of salt, until it begins to brown, about 4 minutes. Beat together eggs and egg white, then add milk, chopped green onions, 1 ounce of shredded cheese, caraway, nutmeg, salt and pepper.

Spray an 8"x8" baking dish with nonstick spray (or rub inside well with butter). Combine cabbage, carrots and egg mixture in the dish well. Top with remaining cheese and parsley.

Bake uncovered at 400F for 35 minutes. When done, it should be browned and a knife inserted in the center will come back cleanly.

Notes:

  1. It doesn't really matter what cheese you use as long as it's a good melting cheese. I usually use an Italian blend or mozzarella/Parmesan.
  2. 4 cups of cabbage works out to be roughly one baby head of green cabbage or less than half of a large head. Next time I make this, I need to remember to weigh it -- weight would be much easier to use in this recipe!

Kāpostu sacepums

Kāpostu sacepums

Kāpostu sacepums [printable recipe]

4 porcijas

  • 1 litrs ēvelētu vai sagrieztu kāpostu
  • 2 rupji rīvēti burkāni
  • 3 smalki sagriezti loki
  • 250 ml piens
  • 60 g rīvēta siera (krievijas vai līdzīga)
  • 1/2 tējkarote ķimeņu
  • 2 sakultas olas
  • 1 olas baltums
  • 1 Ēdamkarote sasmalcinātu pētersīļu
  • 1/4 tējkarote malta muskatrieksta
  • olīveļļa vai eļļa (cepšanai)
  • sviests (ietaukošanai)
  • sāls, malta pipari

Sajauc kāpostus ar šķipsniņu sāls un nedaudz ūdens, un četras minūtes karsē mikroviļņu krāsnī, slēgā traukā. Ja mikroviļņu krāsns nav pieejama, vāri sālsūdenī līdz kāposti tik tikko kļūst mīksti.

Viegli apbrūnini burkānus pievienot mazliet sāls. Sakul olas un olas baltumu, pievieno pienu, lokus, ķimenes, muskatriekstus, sāli, piparus un pusi siera.

Ietauko nelielu cepeštrauku -- manējā izmēri ir 20 cm x 20 cm x 5 cm. Tajā sajauc kāpostus, burkānus un olu maisījumu, un pārkaisi ar atlikušo sieru un pētersīļiem.

Cepeškrāsnī, kas uzkarsēta līdz 200 grādiem, cep 35 minūtes. Gatavs, kad virsma zeltaini brūna un sacepums nelīp pie vidū iedurta naža.

Gandrīz gatavs cepšanai

Maizes zupa (Latvian Bread Soup)

Maizes zupa (Latvian bread soup)

Every week, I make one dish from Latviešu ēdieni.

When I went to Latvia for the first time, I happened to be there in time for my father-in-law's vārdadiena, or name-day. (All of the most common Latvian names are assigned to a certain day on the calendar, along with a day for anyone whose name isn't on there.) The family decided to have a party at "Zvanītāji", one of the many small ethnographic houses scattered across the country.

This one in particular is near Rucava on the southern Kurzeme coast and is a 19th century wooden house where traditional implements, costumes and food can be experienced, as can traditional music and dancing, thanks to the Rucava Club of Traditions. I have to say it was a lot of fun, though it was extremely odd to be surrounded by Latvians laughing and singing along to dirty ditties (which I didn't understand until my husband translated for me). If my Latvian had been stronger, it probably wouldn't have been quite as odd as it felt!

Read more about Zvanītāji here.

For the party, we were served a full meal (a "Rucava banquet") consisting of many traditional Latvian dishes, including dumplings, potatoes with white butter, and my favorite dish of the night: maize zupa or bread soup.

Maizes zupa is a dessert made out of sweetened dark rye bread, dried fruit, water and whipped cream. Something about this cold, thick, sweet soup just captured my heart. I was able to source some traditional dark rye (Borodinsky brand from Brooklyn) available locally for a somewhat reasonable price and tossed a few slices in the freezer for this dessert sometime in the future.

Tonight, it just sounds right. We don't have any dried apples, but we have fresh that we toasted up in the toaster oven for a while. It's not the same, but it sure does taste good!

Maizes zupa (Latvian bread soup)

Maizes zupa -- Latvian Bread Soup [printable recipe]

Serves 2

  • 150 g stale or toasted dark rye bread1
  • 2 cups (1/2 l) boiling water
  • 20 g sugar
  • 20 g brown sugar
  • 2 tbsp cranberry juice concentrate2
  • 40 g dried fruit (apples, raisins, prunes), finely chopped
  • cinnamon
  • ground cloves
  • sweetened whipped cream3

Traditional Method: Soak bread in water until soft, then force through a fine sieve.

My method: Grate toasted bread coarsely (we used our food processor), then bring water to a boil in a small sauce pot. Soak bread in water until nicely soft.

Stir in sugar, cinnamon, cloves and fruit. Add water as necessary to make it soup-y. Cook over low heat until soup is the consistency desired and the fruit flavors have permeated throughout. Remove from heat and stir in cranberry concentrate (if using).

Chill thoroughly. Serve with a dollop of whipped cream on top.

Notes:

  1. No dark rye? Try the darkest pumpernickel you can find. It won't be the same, but you'll get the idea
  2. Why cranberry concentrate? Because outside of Thanksgiving, frozen plain cranberries aren't available in my local stores. I did, however, have a not-so-sweet jar of cranberry concentrate that served well.
  3. I'm not even going to tell you what the recipe originally called for when it came to the whipped cream. Ever tried to whip less than a tablespoon? Just whip up a small batch or use a bit of Cool Whip that's hanging about in the freezer.

Atvainojiet! Tulkojums vēl nav pieejams.

Maizes zupa (Latvian bread soup)

Maize zupa 2 porcijas

150 g sakaltušas vai grauzdētas rupjmaizes 1/2 l verdoša ūdens 40 g cukura 30 g dzērveņu sulas 40 g smalki sagrieztu, žāvētu augļu (ābolu, rozīņu, plūmju) kanēlis maltas krustnagliņas putukrējums

Ja ir pieejams virtuves kombains visvieglāk ir rupjmaizi sarīvēt vai sasmalcināt tajā un pārliet ar verdošo ūdeni...

My method: Grate toasted bread coarsely (we used our food processor), then bring water to a boil in a small sauce pot. Soak bread in water until nicely soft.

Stir in sugar, cinnamon, cloves and fruit. Add water as necessary to make it soup-y. Cook over low heat until soup is the consistency desired and the fruit flavors have permeated throughout. Remove from heat and stir in cranberry concentrate (if using).

Chill thoroughly. Serve with a dollop of whipped cream on top.

Maizes zupa (Latvian bread soup)

Guacamole

Guacamole and Chips

Mmm.. guacamole. Surprisingly easy to make and oh-so-good with chips or on sandwiches (and many other places), it's worth the 5 minutes when avocados are a reasonable price. In my small town, it's nearly impossible to get avocados at a good price; groceries usually sell them for exorbitant amounts ($3 for a medium avocado?!) so when I need some, I go down to the Mexican grocery which has them all the time for less than a dollar. They're always ripe (or overripe) and it's best to get there early when their produce shipments come in, but it's worth the trouble to pick through.

Don't know how to pick an avocado? I'm used to the Hass variety which makes up 85% of the US avocado market and 80% of the world avocado market. When unripe, the fruit will feel very hard and the skin will be green. As it ripens, the skin blackens and the fruit softens.

If you want to eat it that day: Look for an all-black avocado that yields to gentle pressure. If it squishes very easily, it's overripe and may be rancid (ick).

If you want to eat it in a few days: Look for a mostly-black avocado that isn't quite rock-hard. Leave it on the counter to ripen, but if you leave it near bananas or apples, it will ripen faster (due to the effects of ethylene gas given off by these fruits).

If you have a ripe or nearly ripe avocado that you need to use in the next day (but not today): put it in the fridge. Chilling it slows the ripening process and you can eke another 2 days out of a ripe avocado.

Like apples and potatoes, avocado meat will turn brown once exposed to air. You can retard this process by brushing the meat with acid, usually from a lime or lemon, and covering it well with plastic wrap or cellophane.

One last note... All parts of avocados are toxic to pets, including cats, dogs and birds. Don't share your guac with them, okay? Don't give the pit to your parrot as a chew toy or let your dog clean out the bowl. Share your chips if you like, but keep the guac to yourself.

Guacamole

Simple Guacamole [printable recipe]

From Mark Bittman

  • 2 - 3 ripe avocados, halved and pitted
  • 1/2 - 1 jalapeno1 (depending on heat of pepper and your taste), minced
  • 1 lime
  • 1/4 medium red onion, diced (or green onion, shallot, etc.)
  • salt
  • 2 tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped
  • 1 large clove garlic, crushed

Grate lime zest and juice lime. Combine zest, garlic, onion, chile and salt in a small bowl. Add cilantro and mix in thoroughly. Scoop avocado meat into the bowl, mash together with mixture using a fork or potato masher, leaving a few chunks of avocado. Add lime juice and taste, add salt as needed. Serve immediately.

Notes:

  1. Individual chile peppers can vary widely on heat, even within a species. I've had incredibly mild jalapenos and fiery hot jalapenos -- I've found the spiciest tend to be locally grown and mild tend to come from stores. But that's me.
  2. No peppers? Try using some chile powder or cayenne.
  3. Roasted peppers can also be very nice - try roasting an anaheim or poblano or pasilla pepper. How? Put it in the oven (or grill) and broil for 10 minutes (turning periodically) until the skin is blackened and blistered, remove to a paper sack for 10 minutes, then once it's cool enough to handle, peel off the papery skin, remove the seeds and mince the meat finely.