Swedish Tea Ring Update

As I mentioned in an earlier post, my mom made a Swedish Tea Ring for Christmas morning that was tender and light. While part of this is the mother's touch, I think the other part is the fact that she makes it the night before and lets it rest before baking it in the morning. This lets the gluten in the dough relax, makes the dough rise slowly, and gives the tea ring a better flavour. So, here is the deal: make the tea ring as I described, then cover and place in the fridge overnight. The next morning, uncover and place in a cold oven. Turn oven to 350 degrees and bake for 20-25 mins, or until golden brown.

Ultimate Fajitas!

I know I already posted a fajita recipe, but these were too good not to mention! My in-laws put these together for last night's family Christmas get-together (Fajitas for Christmas dinner? Now that is out-of-the-box thinking!). They were beyond delicious. It was like there was a party in my mouth and everyone was invited! The secret to the good taste, I think, was twofold. One, the veggies were prepped the day before and left to marinate overnight. Second, the veggies were cooked in a BBQ wok (by yours truly).

INGREDIENTS

Quantity varies depending on how many fajitas you are making

- red, yellow, and green pepper, sliced

- sweet vidalia onion, sliced

- red onion, sliced

- portabella mushrooms, sliced

- olive oil

- chili powder

- balsamic vinegar

METHOD

1. Toss peppers and onions in olive oil. Sprinkle liberally with good quality chili powder and toss again. Let marinate overnight, if possible.

2. Toss mushroom slices with olive oil, 1 tsp or so of balsamic vinegar, and chili powder. Let marinate overnight, if possible.

3. Heat BBQ to med-hi heat. First cook peppers and onions in a BBQ wok (or some other metal container with holes), stirring frequently. Cook until veggies are soft and slightly browned. Do not overcook. Remove pepper and onion and keep warm. Cook mushroom slices for about 5 mins, until softened.

Serve these with whatever suits your fancy. We had guacamole, chopped green onion, chopped tomato, and pan-fried Yves "Chicken" Tenders.

Chocolate Thumbprint Cookies

Vegan Mother-in-Law made these from Vegan With A Vengeance for yesterday's family get-together. They were chewy and moist, and were delicate without crumbling or falling apart. I have never made them, but will have to whip up a batch when I get home.

Roasted Chestnuts

Really, I just wanted to share this photo with you (which I have compressed to accomodate for the dial-up connection). Roasted chestnuts are delightfully smoky, nutty, and sweet all at the same time. While I did not sing and yuletide carols whilst I ate these, they were good nonetheless.

METHOD

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

2. Cut/poke an "X" through the shell of each chestnut with a paring knife. Place on a cookie sheet.

3. Roast for 20-22 mins. The shells will peel back around the X. When cool, peel, sprinkle with sea salt (optional) and enjoy!

Greetings from the Land of Dial-up

My parents are still on dial-up Internet service. I don't think of myself as an impatient man, but dial-up is enough to make you want to throw your monitor out the window waiting for that bleedin' progress bar to inch its way across the screen. That means I can't post any photos right now.

I made the Cranberry Glazed Tofu for the members of family who were at my parent's house on Christmas Day. It was a smashing success. My grandmother looked at it warily, and said something to the effect of "what the heck is this?,"but gobbled it right down and enjoyed it. I made crispy tofu this time (instead of baking it) to save time and oven space, and it opened up a discussion about how close the texture was to those chicken balls they serve at Chinese restaurants. I will chalk this recipe up in the "win" column.

On Boxing Day the whole family was here and I made the Holiday Stew for the vegans among us. We ran out of chick peas so I used cubed extra firm tofu that had been thawed and frozen. It worked really well. The meat-eaters had roast beef, which, quite frankly, was disgusting. The smell of cooking flesh and fat was bad enough, but the sight of sliced, bloody meat affected me more than I thought it would. The stew was really tasty, though.

My Mom has been catering to our needs all week, and we love her for it. She made a vegan Swedish Tea Ring for Christmas morning, which turned out way more tender and tasty than mine. Ah, the mother's touch . . . . She also made Chickpea Pot Pie with a mashed sweet potato topping instead of crust, which is a great low-fat option.

Thanks to all for the D.C. restaurant recommendations! I will bring my camera and blog from the road.