Meg's Irish Soda Bread

Here is a guest recipe. Andy, my bay mate, sent me this recipe over the weekend. His wife Meg made this bread and sent me pictures et al. It looked so good I had to post it right away.
Here's the recipe in Meg's words:

No Knead Bread

Hey everyone. I know I know i've slowed down to a crawl here. I've actually been cooking everyday but haven't made anything new that hasn't already been posted. I have nver made bread before. This recipe came to me from Gareth. Its actually a very popular recipe posted in the New York Times. Check it out here . There is also a youtube video of making this bread. I'm not much of a baker. I love breads but never ever ventured to make some on my own fearing all the kneading etc. This is an extremely easy recipe...it takes some time just for the dough to ferment and rise but is soooo easy its definitely worth a try. The bread is really really good.
I'm posting some of the pics of my bread making but not the recipe since the article has it. Unlike the recipe and as shown in the video I used my oven at 500 degrees instead of 450. Also, for some reason, maybe I didn't use enough flour on my towel, the bread stuck to the towel before baking and I had too pull it off losing a little bit of dough with it. This happened to Gareth too so I warn you to use maybe a thinner cotton towel that will easily come off. I also stored my dough after rising in the fridge and baked it the next day. That was fine too. I sincerely hope you try this one.

Yes we can

On this historic day let us welcome the 44th President of the United States of America, Barack H Obama, and wish him the best in his task ahead. As residents of this country we should understand and acknowledge our duties and responsibilities to assist in the rebuilding of a peaceful and prosperous nation and world. Yes we can!

Peas Paranthas

I love stuffed paranthas. It reminds me of my dad. He loved stuffed paranthas and being a vegetarian he always ordered this in any Indian restaurant. I can't believe he left us so early in life. Jan 16th was his 61st B'day. Happy B'day Pappa....this is for you. I remember him everytime I makes paranthas and can almost see him at the dining table waiting eagerly. I wish you guys had known him...he was such a sweetheart. The most important thing I learnt from him was always see the good in people and see the positive side of life whenever you're down. I read this food blog a couple of days back where the author was so called "venting" but she said such mean things about such trivial issues with her co-workers that I was shocked. However hard or long your work day was what bitterness do you hold within you that makes you say such terribly nasty shallow things about people who mean no harm. There's a thin line between venting and being downright mean. What a waste of blog space!! After reading her post I thought of my dad and his sweet outlook on life...because of it he was a happy man. Remember people keep the happy thoughts in, throw out the bad ones and use that "hate" word sparingly. Well I have totally digressed from my main point...here is the recipe for paranthas stuffed with peas in my dad's memory.

Ingredients
2 cups peas, cooked in water
2 green chillies
1 tsp cumin
salt to taste
Dough recipe

Grind together the cooked peas, green chillies and cumin with salt to form a thick mixture. Roll out the whole wheat flour dough into a 2 inch thick 6 inch diameter circle.



Add a spoon full of peas mixture in the centre. Fold the dough over it and seal the edges to form a ball. Flatten the ball in some flour and roll gently using flour to prevent sticking or tearing. This can be hard especially since the peas mixture is mushy. I just rolled a much thicker dough than normal and it was still good. So roll the paranthas thick so as to not tear the dough and spill out the filling. Heat a pan. Place the parantha on it. Lightly brown on one side. Turn over. Add oil to the browned side and flip again to bring a golden brown glossy colour. Cook this way on both sides. Do not press the paranthas too much as this makes them hard. Serve hot with yoghurt.

Potato Pancake with Eggs and Tomatoes

Weekend mornings are perfect to experiment with new breakfast ideas. With the numerous snowed in days we've had I was bored of cereal or plain ol eggs. Using left over cooked potatoes I conjured up a potato pancake. Somehow it didn't seem enough so I dropped on a couple of fried eggs on top. That also didn't seem enough so I topped it all with some sauted tomatoes and onions. Mmmmmm it was sooooo good. Eaten with toast and a nice big glass of OJ...perfect.

Ingredients

2-3 potatoes cooked and mashed
2 large eggs
one small onion, chopped
One tomato, chopped
1 tblsp ketchup
a dash of salt, pepper and paprika
1 tblsp chopped parsley

Method
Season the mashed potatoes with salt and pepper. Form a large patty and pan fry to brown both sides. Place on a serving plate. Add oil to a pan and saute chopped onions till transparent. Add chopped tomatoes and ketchup. Season with salt and paprika. Add chopped parsley and turn off heat. Fry two eggs sunny side up till nice and well cooked with crispy edges. Place eggs on the potato pancake. Heap on spoon fulls of the tomato onion mixture on top. Serve right away. Optional: sprinkle on some grated parmesan cheese on top.

Merry Christmas and a Happy 2009!

Its the most wonderful time of the year!!! Just wishing all my visitors a very happy Holiday season and a fantabulous New Year. I have so many things that i'm looking forward to in this year. There's one particular event i'm super excited about. Guess what it could be?? Well to give you a hint in a culinary sort of way: there's a bun in the oven! Oooh i've been dying for months to give that away : ) . Hope all of you make resolutions you can keep this year. Lots of Love and happiness. Take care , stay warm and EAT those buttery cookies damn it!

Jambalaya

Jambalaya is a perfect one pot meal to make for a large group of people. This cajun/creole dish is a Lousianna favorite and is similar to the spanish counterpart Paella. I made it as a main entree for our lab party. It could feed quite a few people with enough for left overs.

Ingredients

1 pound cut boneless chicken
1 andouille or chorizo sausage, I used chorizo, sliced
1 pound shrimp, raw, peeled and deveined
One large onion chopped
One large green pepper diced
4 stems of celery diced
One large can diced tomatoes
1 cup chopped parsley
2 bay leaves
3 tsp creole seasoning (I use Tony Chachere's)
1 tsp thyme
3 cups rice, washed and soaked in water for at least 30 minutes
7 cups of chicken stock
Olive oil 1 tblsp
salt to taste

Method
Season chicken and shrimp with a sprinkle of salt and creole seasoning. Brown sausage in a large bottomed pot. Remove sausage after browning and use fat from the sausage to brown chicken and then the shrimp. Shrimp should just slightly turn color but not completely cook.

Add olive oil to the pot. Add bay leaves, onions, green peppers and celery and saute till vegetables are softened. Onions, pepper and celery are known as the holy trinity of New Orleans style cooking.

Add tomatoes with juice and cook through. Add chicken and sausage back into the pot. Add salt and all seasonings. Mix well and heat through. Drain rice and add to the mixture. Mix. Then add all the chicken stock. Cover and bring to a boil on medium heat.

Once the rice starts boiling, simmer and cook covered for 15 minutes. Do not lift the lid during this cooking time. Once the rice is cooked and all the liquid is absorbed stir in the shrimp and half the parsley. Cook for another couple of minutes till shrimps cook completely. Garnish with left over parsley and serve hot.