Thai Fishless Sauce

It's been a long time since I've tasted fish sauce, but I think this simple recipe does a nice job rounding out a Thai curry with a salty taste o' the sea.  I'm guessing it's actually nothing like fish sauce but I think it works better than soy sauce or hoisin sauce.  You could use any mixture of seaweed, I think, but I went with nori because it is more readily available at grocery stores what with sushi's popularity.

INGREDIENTS
Makes 1 cup
- 2 sheets nori, crumbled
- 2 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp light soy sauce
- 1 cup boiling water

METHOD
1. Place all ingredients in a blender (or in a container and use a hand blender).   Let sit for 5 mins, then blend until smooth.  Strain through a fine mesh sieve.  Store in the fridge.

Baked Yeast Donuts

This weekend's experiment was to see if I could make a baked yeast donut that was as tender and tasty as its deep-fried counterpart.  The baked donut recipes I have seen all involve a donut pan and a batter (as opposed to a dough), but I wanted to go for the classic yeast donut.  I do have a donut pan that I have yet to try out (sorry, Tina.  I swear I will get around to it!), but I suspect such pans are not a common kitchen commodity.  The trick was to find the right method that would bake the donut without it developing a crust. The end result was pretty awesome, if I do say so myself.  Not as tender as a deep-fried donut (and, of course, lacking that wonderfully crispy outside), but still very tender and delicious.  Of course, the recipe is not fat-free (I'll leave that to more capable hands) but it certainly is fat reduced without the frying.  The ingredients are the same as the original, but I simplified the method a bit.


INGREDIENTS
Makes at least 12 donuts
- 3/4 cups soy milk
- 3 tbsp warm water
- 1 1/4 oz vegetable shortening
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp ground flax seed
- 2 1/4 tsp instant yeast
- 11.5 oz all purpose flour

METHOD

1. Heat soy milk, water, shortening, salt, and sugar in the microwave, or on the stove, stirring regularly until shortening melts. Whisk in flax, then whisk in yeast.  Let sit a few minutes, then whisk again until smooth.

3. Put flour in a large bowl and add soy milk mixture. Mix together into a rough dough, then knead for about 5 mins until smooth, adding more flour or more water as needed.  The dough should be very soft and slightly tacky, but not sticky.  Aim for a moister dough than usual for a more tender final product. 

4. Transfer dough to a lightly oiled bowl, cover, and let rise for about 60 mins, until doubled in size.
5. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Lightly mist with oil.
6. Roll out the dough on a lightly oiled surface to about 3/8" thick. Cut out donuts with a donut cutter (see pic above).  Dough scraps (and holes) can be re-rolled and cut. Place on prepared baking sheets (6 per sheet) and cover. Let rise for 1/2 hour, or until just about doubled in size.
7. Preheat oven to 500 degrees with rack in the middle.   Bake donuts one sheet at a time.  Place one sheet on top of another (i.e. you are baking the donuts on two sheets--this will insulate the donuts and keep the bottoms from getting too brown) in the oven and reduce the heat to 425 degrees.  Bake for 5 mins, then gently turn donuts over.  Bake for another 3 minutes.  Donuts should be lightly golden (see below).  Return heat to 500 degrees before baking the second sheet as above (but make sure the second sheet is new/cold).
8.  Let cool, then glaze.

Hoagie Rolls

This is a pretty simple recipe that yields 10 incredibly tasty rolls perfect for your lunch-time sandwich, or a classic Philly cheese steak (vegan, of course).  Refrigerating the dough overnight helps develop flavour and it can stay in the fridge for up to four days.  You can bake them up all at once, or half the recipe at a time so you are not overloaded with rolls.  You can also freeze extra rolls and use them when needed.

INGREDIENTS
- 5 1/3 cups/24oz/680g white bread flour
- 2 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 1 tbsp ground flax
- 1/4 cup warm water
- 3 tbsp oil
- 1.5 tsp barley malt syrup (optional)
- 1 cup/8oz warm water
- 1/2 cup + 2 tbsp/5oz warm soy milk
- 2 1/4 tsp instant yeast

Baked Mini Corn Dogs

Son #1 wanted corn dogs for lunch this week.  I think they must be serving them in the cafeteria at school because "corn dog" really isn't in our vocabulary.  Now, you know that I don't shy away from frying things in oil from time to time (Mmmmmm.  Donuts . . . ), but if the kids were going to eat these every day for lunch (kids are like that) frying seemed like a bad idea.  Solution: a baked corn dog that is somewhere between a pretzel and the deep fried original.  These were/are a massive hit with my kids and hopefully will be with yours as well.  I also understand there is some major sporting event coming up this weekend which might lend itself to a a corn dog or two.

INGREDIENTS
Makes 24.  Weighing the ingredients (the flour in particular) provides the most consistent results.
- 12oz/340ml/1.5 cups plain soy milk
- 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 tbsp instant or active dry yeast
- 3 tbsp vegetable oil
- 3 tbsp brown sugar
- 1.5 tsp salt
- generous 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 9oz/255g/1.5 cups fine cornmeal
- 11.5oz/326g/2.5 cups white bread flour
- soy milk for brushing
- 12 veggie hot dogs, cut in half

OPTIONAL
- I have seen recipes that call for some cayenne in the dough, or some minced jalapeño.  These sound like great ideas but not the kind of things my kids like

METHOD
1. Warm up soy milk to between 90 and 100 degrees F, then whisk in vinegar.  When thick, whisk in yeast, oil, and sugar.  Let sit for 5 mins to allow yeast to dissolve.
2.   Meanwhile, whisk salt, baking soda and cornmeal in stand mixer bowl.  Add yeast mixture and mix well.  Let sit for 5 mins.
3. Add flour and mix into a rough dough.  Let sit for 5 mins, then knead with a dough hook for 5 mins on med-lo speed.  The dough should clear the bottom of the bowl and should be tacky but not be sticky.  Adjust flour as needed (I find the amount above to be perfect).
4. Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl and turn to coat.  Cover and refrigerate overnight.  You can skip this step if you are in a rush and just let the dough rise at room temp, but I find that the overnight fermentation produces great flavour, lets the gluten relax, and allows the cornmeal to soften.  Also, since the dough is tacky, cooling the dough makes it much easier to work with.  You can also compromise between the two methods and refrigerate the dough for about 4 hours.
5. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.  Place one oven rack in the second highest position, and one on the second lowest.  Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
6. Divide the dough into 24 equal pieces (around 40g each) then cover to keep from drying out.  Flatten each piece into a rectangle slightly longer than the veggie dog half and wide enough to wrap around the veggie dog.  Lightly dust the work surface with flour if the dough is too tacky to work with.  Wrap the dough around the veggie dog and pinch to seal the seam and ends.  Gently roll the dog back and forth in your hands to smooth out the dough as much as possible.  Place on the prepared sheet and repeat.  Put 12 corn dogs on each baking sheet.
7.  Brush each corn dog with soy milk (I pick them up and brush all sides).  Bake for 7.5 mins, then rotate and switch the sheets from one rack to the other (i.e. the sheet on the second highest rack will now be on the second lowest, and vice versa).  Bake for another 7.5 mins then transfer to a cooling rack.

Easy Mexican Red Rice

Great on its own, as a side, or in a burrito.

INGREDIENTS
- 1 dried red chile, deseeded (I used a New Mexico chile)
- 2 tbsp oil
- 1 large onion, diced
- 2 garlic cloves, diced
- 1 28 oz can diced tomatoes (juice and all)
- 1.5 cups long grain rice (I used basmati), rinsed
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 cup frozen peas

METHOD
1. Slit open chile and deseed, then soak in a bowl of hot water for about 5 mins.  Save the soaking water.
2. Heat oil in a saucepan over medium heat, then sauté onion and garlic for 5-7 mins, until translucent but not browned.
3. While onions are cooking, blend the soaked chile (but not the soaking water) into the tomatoes (I use an immersion blender in a juice pitcher, but a blender or food processor would also work).  Blend until smooth.
4. Add rice to onions and stir to coat with oil.  Cook for 2 mins then add the tomato mixture.  Mix well.
5.  Bring to bubbling, then reduce to low, cover, and simmer for about 15 mins, or until rice is almost cooked.  If rice gets too dry, add some of the soaking liquid.

6.  Add peas to the rise, mix well, then cover and cook for 5 mins.  Fluff rice and serve.