Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bars

 Recipe from Two Peas and Their Pod

INGREDIENTS

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon pumpkin-pie spice
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
• 1 large egg
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 cup canned pumpkin puree, not pumpkin pie filling
• 12 ounces chocolate chips

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9-by-13-inch baking pan and set aside. In a medium
2. bowl, whisk together flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda, and salt; set aside.
3. With a stand or electric mixer, cream butter and sugar on medium-high speed until smooth;
4. beat in egg and vanilla until combined. Add pumpkin puree and mix well. The mixture will
5. look somewhat curdled. Reduce speed to low, and mix in dry ingredients until just combined.
6. Fold in chocolate chips.
7. Spread batter evenly in prepared pan. Bake bars for 35-40 minutes or until edges begin to
8. pull away from sides of pan and a toothpick inserted in center comes out with just a few
9. moist crumbs attached.
10. Cool bars completely in pan. Cut into squares and serve.

Mixed Vegetable Jeon

By Hetty Lui McKinnon | Washington Post

Servings: 2

INGREDIENTS:

 For the dipping sauce

• 1 tablespoon tamari or soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
• 1 to 2 tablespoons chili crisp or oil, to taste
• 1 scallion, thinly sliced

For the jeon

• 1 1/4 cups (156 grams) all-purpose flour (or a gluten-free all-purpose flour mix)
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch or potato starch
• 1/2 teaspoon fine salt
• 1 cup (240 milliliters) ice water, plus more as needed
• 2 teaspoons doenjang or shiro miso (white miso)
• 1 garlic clove, minced or finely grated
• 2 cups (9 ounces/255 grams) frozen mixed vegetables, defrosted for 30 to 60 minutes
• 2 scallions, thinly sliced
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided 

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Make the dipping sauce: In a small bowl, whisk together the tamari or soy sauce, vinegar, chili crisp or oil (to taste), and scallion until combined.
2. Make the jeon: In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cornstarch or potato starch, and salt until combined.
3. In another medium bowl, whisk together the water, doenjang or miso, and garlic until thoroughly combined.
4. Add the flour mixture to the doenjang mixture and whisk until smooth and mostly lump-free – but don’t overmix. The mixture should be thick but just pourable. If it looks too thick or stiff, add another 1 to 2 tablespoons of ice water.
5. Gently fold in the defrosted vegetables and scallions until just combined. Don’t overmix – the mixture does not need to be smooth.
6. Heat a 10-inch skillet on medium-high heat until hot, for about 3 minutes. Drizzle in 1 tablespoon of the oil and add half of the batter (just eyeball it!). Cook until golden underneath, about 2 minutes, then, using a wide spatula (a flexible fish spatula, if you have one), carefully but confidently flip the pancake over. Cover, reduce the heat to medium and cook for 2 minutes. Uncover and cook, pressing the pancake into the pan with the spatula, until the bottom is golden and crisp, an additional 2 minutes. Flip it back over and cook the golden side again for another 2 minutes to make sure it’s crisp.
7. Increase the heat again to medium-high and repeat with the remaining oil and batter.
8. Slice the pancakes into wedges and serve, with the dipping sauce on the side.
   

Pastel de Choclo Corn and Beef Casserole

Total Time: 1 hour, 30 minutes Yield: 6

Author: Pilar Hernandez

INGREDIENTS

For the corn mixture:

• 2 tablespoons butter

• 4 bags of frozen corn (454 grams each) or 10 cups

• 1/2 cup whole milk

• 3 tablespoon cornmeal

• 1 bunch basil, about 10 leaves, Sweet basil preferably

• salt, pepper and Merkén or paprika

For the meat:

• 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil

• 2 pounds ground beef

• 1 cup water or beef broth

• 3 onions, diced small

• Merkén or 1 tablespoon sweet paprika

• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

• salt, pepper

• 2 tablespoons flour

Optional: cooked chicken, hard-boiled eggs, olives, and raisins

INSTRUCTIONS

For the meat, it can be done the day before:

1. Heat the oil in a large pot, saute the beef until lightly browned, about 8 minutes, stirring occasionally, add the paprika, salt, pepper, and cumin, sauté
2. 2 minutes more.
3. Add the broth and simmer for 30 minutes over low heat.
4. Add the onion, mix well, and cook over medium heat until the onion is tender, about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally
5. Turn off heat and add the flour and stir well. Adjust seasoning if necessary. Cool and refrigerate or use immediately.

For the corn mixture:

1. In a cast iron or a large pot with a thick bottom, melt the butter over medium-high heat, add the frozen corn, and occasionally stir for about 8 minutes
2. Add milk, basil, salt, pepper, and Merquén or paprika and continue to cook, occasionally stirring for about 10 minutes longer.
3. With a hand blender, blend the corn, trying not to go uniform, leaving some chunky parts. Add the cornmeal and continue cooking over medium heat
4. for 5 minutes. The consistency should be firm. Taste and adjust seasoning. It will thicken slightly when cool.

To assemble the pie:

1. Put one layer of the prepared meat filling on a clay or baking dish. Add cooked or rotisserie chicken parts, quartered hard-boiled eggs, olives, and raisins on top of the meat.
2. Cover with the corn mixture. Sprinkle with granulated sugar for a nice browning in the oven.
3. Bake at 400F or 200C in a preheated oven for 45-60 minutes until bubbling and golden on top. Let stand 10 minutes before serving

Homemade Ramen Bowl

INGREDIENTS

Mushrooms & Chicken

2 tablespoons olive oil, divided

2 tablespoons butter, divided

8 oz. mushrooms

1 large boneless/skinless chicken breast, about ¾ lb.

Salt/Pepper

Soup

½ cup dry white wine

1 tablespoon butter

3 cloves garlic, minced

6 cups low sodium chicken broth

2 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce

2 teaspoons sambal oelek

2 teaspoons honey

¾ teaspoon toasted sesame seed oil

2 (3 oz.) packets instant Ramen noodles, don’t use flavor packet

6 leaves Bok Choy, roughly chopped

Seasonings

• ¾ teaspoon EACH: onion powder, mustard powder
• ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/8 teaspoon white pepper
• 1 pinch red pepper flakes

For Serving

Green Onions

Roughly chopped honey roasted peanuts

Soft boiled eggs (see Ramen Eggs)

Ramen Eggs (Ajitsuke Tamago)

 via: https://www.justonecookbook.com/ramen-egg/

INGREDIENTS

• 4 large eggs (50 g each w/o shell) (refrigerated; use slightly older eggs, which are easier to peel)

For the Marinade

• ¼ cup soy sauce
• ¼ cup mirin
• ¼ cup sake (or water)
• 1 tsp sugar

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Before You Start: Please note that this recipe requires a marination time of 8 hours or overnight. Gather all the ingredients.
2. Bring it to a boil and whisk it a few times to let the sugar dissolve completely. Once boiling, lower the heat and simmer for 1 minute. Turn off the heat. Set aside to cool completely.
3. Add 4 cups (1L) water (for 4 eggs) to a medium saucepan and bring it to a boil. There should be enough water to cover the eggs by at least 1 inch (2.5 cm). Once at a full boil, take out 4 large eggs (50 g each w/o shell) from the refrigerator. Carefully and gently lower one egg at a time into the boiling water with a mesh strainer/skimmer or a ladle. When you add the first egg, set a 7-minute timer. You can cook them 6 to 6½ minutes for a runny egg yolk and 8 to 9 minutes for a custard-like egg yolk.
4. Once all the eggs are in the saucepan, lower the heat to maintain a gentle boil. Make sure the water is simmering, but not bubbling so strong that the eggs bounce around. If you want your egg yolks to be centered, gently rotate the eggs with chopsticks once in a while for the first 3 minutes.
5. After 7 minutes, immediately take out the eggs and shock them in iced water for 15 minutes.
6. Once the eggs are completely cool, gently crack the shell at the wide bottom end of the egg and start peeling it vertically toward the pointy top. Dip the egg in the iced water a few times to help with the peeling. Once you peel one section vertically, the rest of the shell comes off easily

To Marinate the Eggs

1. Place the eggs in a plastic bag and add the marinade to the bag. Why am I recommending a plastic bag? With a plastic bag, we don‘t have to use a lot of marinade to submerge the eggs. This marinade is used only one time for food safety reasons, so it’s most economical to prepare no more than the amount you need. If you use a container instead of a bag, it requires more marinade to submerge the eggs.
2. Remove the air from the bag and use a clip or rubber band to seal the bag right above the eggs. This way, the eggs are completely submerged in the marinade. Refrigerate for 8 hours or overnight. You can rotate the eggs occasionally if you like.