New England Clam Chowder

This recipe is adapted from one in Sunset's Favorite Recipes II. Yield: 4 quarts

butter, approximately 2 Tbsp
1 large onion, chopped
1 cup chopped celery
4 cups potato cubes (1/2" dice, thin-skinned potatoes--NOT baking potatoes)
1/4 cup finely chopped parsley
4 cans (6 1/2 oz. each) chopped or minced clams
2 (12 oz. each) bottles clam juice
4 cups whole milk
3 Tbsp cornstarch
salt and pepper to taste
more chopped parsley for garnish

• Melt butter. Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until onion softens. Add celery and cook for a few more minutes.
• Drain clams, pouring liquid into a four cup measure. Add enough clam juice to total four cups. (Reserve clams for later.)
• Add clam juice, potatoes, and parsley to the soup pot. Bring to a boil, lower heat, and simmer until potatoes are tender but not mushy, 20-30 minutes.
• Whisk cornstarch into milk and add to soup. Add clams. Bring to a simmer (stir frequently) and let it bubble several minutes, until slightly thickened.
• Season with salt and pepper to taste. Garnish with parsley, if desired.
• Serve with grated cheese and/or bacon bits if desired.

Notes:

• I think this could have used less milk and possibly more potatoes.
• I'm probably more generous with onion and celery than the recipe calls for.
• I really don't notice a thickening due to the cornstarch, but have always added it per the original recipe.

Plum Crisp

I'm still buying big boxes of Italian plums, but we can eat only so much kuchen. Next on the agenda: plum crisp.

I adapted the filling from a recipe on epicurious, and covered it with my favorite crisp topping.

Topping:

3/4 cup butter

1 cup plus 2 Tbsp light brown sugar

1 1/2 cups oatmeal

1 1/2 cups flour

Melt butter. Add remaining ingredients. Mix thoroughly and spread in 9 x 13" pan. Bake at 350* until golden brown, stirring every 10 minutes (~30 min. total). Set aside (it will crisp as it cools).

Filling:

3 pounds Italian prune plums (~44)

1/2 cup sugar

3/4 cup water

4 tsp cornstarch

• Halve and pit plums. Cut into 8 chunks each.
• In a large skillet cook plums and sugar over medium heat, stirring, until sugar is melted.
• Combine water and cornstarch in small bowl or mixing cup. Stir into plum mixture and simmer, stirring, until liquid clears and thickens.
• Pour into 9 x 13" pan and bake about 30 minutes at 350*.
• Remove from oven. When mixture stops bubbling (or later), sprinkle with topping. Serve warm or cold.

Below is the filling shortly after removal from the oven:And here is the completed crisp:Okay, I can hear the complaining already: "Why should I bother to cook the topping separately? What a hassle! Why is she so picky? I always top the fruit before baking." Well, friends, I made my first batch the old way, and this is what it looked like:

Not so pretty, huh? As the fruit cooked, it bubbled all over the topping. Most of it was gooey and chewy rather than crisp and light. (It didn't help that I made too much topping in the first place.) Cooking the streusel separately is well worth it, and isn't much extra effort. It can even be done (in its own pan) at the same time the fruit is cooking. Opening the oven to stir isn't a problem.

Additional notes:

• You can add 1-3 tsp cinnamon to the topping.
• I made this twice, and had 43 and 44 plums in 3 pounds. Your plums' sizes may vary, so weight is a more reliable measure. If I make this again soon I'll try to remember to record the volume (in cups) of cut fruit.
• If there is more topping than you care for, don't sprinkle it all on the plums. Keep the extra in a container (mine is in the fridge) to sprinkle on ice cream or applesauce or whatever. It's hard to go wrong with brown sugar and butter...
• UPDATED 9/26: We (Joe and Marianna helped) made another today and had 8 cups of cut fruit.
• Another lesson learned the hard way: If you're going to take this to a friend's house, wait to put the topping on when you get there so the jiggling in the car doesn't make it sink. Waah...

Oma's Plum Kuchen

When those Italian plums (prune plums) show up in the grocery store in late summer, I always think of Oma. She had a dough recipe that she used for making sticky buns, pineapple rolls, and most importantly, plum kuchen (koo-ken). She was a loving grandmother and a great cook, and was so generous with her time and talent. (Among other things, she made me some special birthday cakes and gave me the cake decorating bug.)

I hardly ever buy the plums or try to bake with them myself, but this year I went crazy and bought a five pound box at Costco! Let me tell you, that is A LOT of little plums! I came home and almost desperately prepared a batch of kuchen. Yum! I finished the box a few days later with another 1/2 batch, which is documented below. I've adapted it a bit, as is my usual practice (can't leave well enough alone...). Enjoy.

By the way, there are many kinds of kuchen. This one is essentially bread and fruit, and is only lightly sweetened. I think some are much sweeter and cakier in texture, but this is the kuchen I've always known and loved.

Kuchen
2 cups milk
2 pkgs yeast (4 1/2 tsp)
2 Tbsp instant potato
4 Tbsp butter
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp salt
6-7 cups flour
1 egg
Italian plums (40-50)
cinnamon sugar

• Heat milk to 105-115* and pour some into the mixing bowl of a stand mixer. Add instant potato and yeast and stir to dissolve.
• Add butter to the remaining milk and heat just enough to melt the butter. Add sugar and salt, stir, and set aside to cool slightly.
• Add some flour to the yeast mixture and mix on low speed. Add egg and some more flour and continue mixing. Gradually add the warm milk/butter mixture and continue mixing. Continue adding flour in small amounts (speed 2 on Kitchen Aid) until the dough is smooth and leaves the sides of the bowl. Let it continue mixing for 2 more minutes.
• Turn dough out and lightly oil the mixing bowl. Form the dough into a ball and put it back into the bowl, turning it over so all surfaces are greased. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise until double in size (40-80 minutes). Punch down dough and let it rise 2 more times.
• Punch down the dough a final time, and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Let it rest while you grease your pans. Roll out the dough (it will be thin) and place in pans.
• Sprinkle dough with cinnamon sugar, cover with plum halves (skin side down), and sprinkle again with cinnamon sugar. Let rise again, then bake at 350* for 25 minutes. Best eaten warm!
• Yield: 7 round cake pans or 2 (~11 x 17") jelly roll pans/baking sheets with sides

Notes:

• Most of the dough ingredients can be added in any order. Just don't add the salt to the initial yeast mixture, and don't add the hot milk/butter until there are enough other ingredients to stop that heat from overwhelming and killing the yeast.
• Quicker rising: Boil water in the microwave (in a Pyrex measuring cup). Leave the cup of water in there and put in the mixing bowl of dough. It's now in a very warm, humid environment.
• The second and third rises are much quicker than the first. Be ready.
• The dough may have to rest now and then during rolling out. You'll know because it will keep pulling back and resisting your stretching. Leave it for a few minutes until it is cooperative again.
• The first time, I misread the recipe and baked the kuchen at 375* for 20 minutes. It was just as good.
• Oma's recipe said the dough would be less than 1/2", but I was nervous because it was MUCH thinner. This picture doesn't do it justice--I'll bet it was below 1/4".

Here's a picture of a panful of dough and fruit. The fruit looks HUGE on the thin layer of dough--don't worry! All will be well. (The white stuff in the lower left corner is sparkle sugar I added. Don't bother--most of it melted, and what remained wasn't worth the effort.)

Below is the unrisen dough with raw plums on it. Notice how much of the pan sides you can see.

See the puffiness now just before going into the oven.

And the extra rise from baking. Don't the plums look luscious now?

Kuchen is best eaten warm from the oven. It is also excellent the next day for breakfast (wrap tightly), IF you microwave it for a few seconds to freshen it up.

Thanks, Oma, for all the love.

Indian Cheese and Nut Dessert Balls

This recipe comes from Sundays at Moosewoood Restaurant, page 320.

1 1/2 cups chenna
1/3 cup confectioner's sugar
3/4 tsp grated orange rind
2-4 tsp orange juice
1/8 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup finely chopped almonds or pistachios (we needed LESS)
optional garnish: mandarin oranges

Place the chenna in a bowl and add the remaining ingredients, except the nuts and orange sections. Mash until smooth with a spoon or your fingers. Form the mixture into a dozen or so walnut-sized balls (We made them smaller.) and roll each ball in the chopped nuts to coat. Chill until ready to serve.

If you've used freshly made chenna, these dessert balls will keep for 3 or 4 days if tightly wrapped and refrigerated.

Chenna (Indian Cheese)

This is from Sundays at Moosewood Restaurant, page 297. It can be used in savory dishes or desserts.

Yield: 1 1/2 cups

2 quarts whole milk
3-4 Tbsp strained, fresh lemon juice

In a large, heavy saucepan, bring the milk to a rolling boil, stirring often to prevent sticking. Remove from the heat and stir in 3 Tbsp of lemon juice. Return the pan to low heat and stir gently until white curds separate from the yellowish whey. If this doesn't happen within 15 or 20 seconds, add an additional Tbsp of lemon juice.

Pour the curds into a strainer or colander lined with a piece of thin, damp cloth or several thicknesses of cheese cloth. Let it drain until cool enough to handle, then gather up the cloth and squeeze out any remaining liquid. Now you have chenna.

Chapatis

This recipe is adapted from Bread: 150 Traditional Recipes from Around the World, page 169.

2 cups chapati flour (We use King Arthur's white whole wheat, which I can find at some grocery stores.)
1 tsp salt
3/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp water

Place the flour and salt in a bowl. Make a well in the center and gradually mix in the water. Check the consistency when you have added about 1/2 cup and add the remainder, as needed, by the Tbsp. The flour shold absorb all the water and it should be possible to knead it to a smooth and elastic dough without the addition of any further flour. Knead the dough on a floured work surface for 5-10 minutes (or use stand mixer). Cover with wet cloth or plastic wrap and let stand at least 30 minutes.
Divide the dough into 8 small balls. Dust each one with flour and roll them out very thinly into rounds about 10 inches in diameter.
Cook on ungreased griddle or frying pan. Optional: brush with a little oil.

Kheera-Tamatar Raita/Yogurt with Cucumber and Tomato

This is adapted from Cooking the Indian Way, page 41.

1 medium tomato
1 medium cucumber, peeled
2 cups plain yogurt (preferably not non-fat)
1 small onion (Vidalia is best), finely chopped
3 Tbsp chopped fresh coriander (cilantro) or parsley
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
dash of cayenne pepper (optional)

Cut tomato in half and remove seeds. Chop into small pieces. Chop cucumber into small pieces (optional: remove seeds first by cutting lengthwise and scraping them out with a spoon). Combine all ingredients. Chill at least one hour before serving.

Aloo Mattar/Potatoes and Peas

This is adapted from Cooking the Indian Way, page 33.

2 Tbsp vegetable or peanut oil
1 tsp chopped fresh ginger
1 clove garlic, pressed
1 small onion, chopped
1/2 tsp salt
3 large potatoes, peeled and chopped
2 cups water
1 10 oz package frozen peas, thawed

Saute ginger, garlic, onion, and salt in oil about 3 minutes, stirring frequently, until mixture is brown and fragrant. Add potatoes and water and stir to combine. Cover skillet, lower heat, and simmer about 20 minutes (We cooked less--maybe our potatoes were cut smaller.) or until potatoes are almost tender. Add peas and simmer 2 or 3 minutes or until peas are heated through.Notes:
Use all purpose potatoes, NOT Russett (baking) potatoes.
You may substitute a 17 oz can of green peas, drained, for the frozen peas.

Interesting Ingredients--Ginger Made Easy

Grated fresh ginger is listed in a few recipes on this site. I for one don't want to run to the store to buy a big knob of ginger every time I need it. Nor do I want to keep some on hand waiting to spoil in between uses. So here's what I do instead:

Buy a nice piece of ginger and peel it.Cut it into chunksand whirl in the food processor until minced.Form into a log on plastic wrap, roll it up, and put in a freezer bag.Store in the freezer. When I want grated ginger, I just unwrap the log and shave some off with a sharp knife or cleaver. Sometimes I let it thaw a bit to make the shaving easier. A log of ginger lasts through MANY uses.

EASY!

Kabab Masala/Ground Lamb Kebabs

This is adapted from Cooking the Indian Way, page 25.

1 1/2 pounds ground lamb or beef
3 cloves garlic, pressed
1 tsp grated fresh ginger
1 medium onion, finely chopped
3 Tbsp chopped fresh coriander leaves (cilantro)
1 Tbsp plain yogurt
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp salt

Combine all ingredients. Let stand at least 30 minutes. Form into small patties and cook on the grill (or fry or broil).The original recipe suggested greasing skewers with melted butter, forming kebabs with wet hands, and broiling the meat.