The Two Rrr's

Extraordinary Couscous

Serves 4

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1 ¾ cup “cooked” couscous

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 tablespoons honey

1 lemon

4 peach halves, canned or fresh, cut into ½ pound

halloumi

½ tablespoon butter

1 handful rucola salad or dandelion leaves, about 2 ounces

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Mix the butter and the honey into the warm couscous.

Juice the lemon and grate the zest. Cut peaches into small pieces. Chop the greens.

Slice halloumi and fry in the butter, then cut into small pieces.

Add the lemon juice and zest, peach, halloumi, and rucola to the couscous.

Serve warm.

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Halloumi is a Cyprus style cheese, sometimes called squeaky cheese, made using sheep’s milk. During production, the curds are heated to high temperatures, a process which gives it both its “squeaky” texture and ability to hold its shape when cooked or grilled. Halloumi has a natural brininess that pairs well with the peach.

For the dressing:

½ red chili

¾ cup extra-virgin olive oil

1 ¼ cups fresh herbs, like basil, thyme, cilantro

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon white pepper

Mince chili and herbs. Mix all together and serve with the couscous.

Potato Salad

Serves 4

1 ¾ pounds potatoes

½ pound asparagus

⅓ pound radishes

2 – 3 scallions, about 1 ½ ounces

2 – 3 tomatoes, about 5 ounces

salt

white pepper

1 tablespoon fresh dill

3 ounces butter

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 ½ tablespoon white vinegar

1 tablespoon honey

1 – 2 garlic cloves, pressed

Peel potatoes, cut if they are large and boil.

Finely chop asparagus and radishes. Finely slice scallions and cut tomatoes in chunks. Place it all in a large bowl. Season with salt and pepper.

Mince dill and sprinkle over the vegetables.

Press garlic cloves.

In a small pot, melt the butter, add garlic and the remaining ingredients. Pour over the salad and blend carefully.

Spagetti Sauce with Lentils

Serves 4

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1 tablespoon butter

1 onion, finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

1 pound chopped tomatoes

2 cups water and 1 buillon cube (or 2 cups already made buillon)

½ cup whipping cream

½ cup red lentils

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

1 tablespoon dried oregano

1 tablespoon honey

Salt

White pepper

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In a pot, sauté the onion in the butter for a few minutes, then add the garlic. Sauté for another minute or so.

Add tomatoes, bullion, cream, and lentils and let simmer for about 20 minutes.

Add the vinegar, oregano, and honey. Add salt and pepper to taste.

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Tasty without ground meat. I use home made bullion and if I have balsamic vinegar with pomegranate on hand I’ll definitely use that!

Honey Vinaigrette

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Honey Vinaigrette

Probably slightly redundant to point out in a blog like this, but what else to call a classic vinaigrette dressing with honey?

2 tablespoons Italian EVOO

2 tablespoons white vinegar

1 teaspoon honey

Salt

White pepper

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Whisk together.

Björnköttschili med Tequila

4 – 6 portioner

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Chili:

2 tsk olivolja

½ kg björnköttfärs

1 stor rödlök

5 vitlöksklyftor

2 röda paprikor

2 gröna paprikor

2 röda chilis

2 jalapeños

2 dl tequila

1 burk krossade tomater, 400g

1 l eller mer köttbuljong

2 tsk chilipulver

3 tsk paprika

1 ½ tsk oregano

1 tsk färsk timjan

2 tsk mald spiskummin

peppar

salt

Salsa:

2 tomater

1 medium jalapeño

½ rödlök

2 vitlöksklyftor

1 lime

Salt och peppar

Till servering:

½ huvud isbergssallad

250 gr cheddarost

1 avocado

2½ dl gräddfil

12 tortillas

metal containers with tequila — Photo by Los Muertos Crew on Pexels.com

Tärna löken och finhacka vitlöken. Tärna paprika och hacka chilin (med fröna) och jalapeñon. Värm en stor 4-liters gryta på medelhög värme. Salta och peppra köttfärsen.

Häll i olivolja och sedan det kryddade björnköttet. Rör tills köttet är genomkokt, ca 5–10 minuter.

Tillsätt den uppskurna paprikan, löken och vitlök. Ta ett kliv bakåt och tillsätt tequilan. Var försiktig, alkoholen kan ta eld och flamma upp.

Tillsätt krossade tomater och köttbuljong och låt sjuda upp. Tillsätt kryddor och sjud på låg värme i 2-3 timmar, och häll i mer buljong vid behov.

Under tiden: Kärna ur och hacka tomaterna, jalapeñon, löken och vitlöken. Pressa limejuicen. Blanda alla salsa-ingredienser tillsammans i en skål och låt stå och dra.

Toppings: Finstrimla salladen, riv osten, skiva avocadon – lägg i olika skåla och ställ fram tillsammans med gräddfilen.

Släng lite köttsås på en tortilla, på med en sked salsa och övriga toppings efter tycke o smak. Eat & repeat.

people holding tortilla with beef — Photo by Los Muertos Crew on Pexels.com

Den här chilin är fantastiskt god och kan, givetvis, avnjutas på andra sätt än som taco-fyllning! Receptet är inspirerat av ett från köksmästare Tom Minchella.

Roast Squirrels

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3 small squirrels

¾ cup salad oil

¼ cup lemon juice or vinegar

2 cups bread crumbs

½ cup milk or cream

½ cup diced and sautéed mushrooms

½ teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon pepper

½ teaspoon onion juice

4 tablespoons olive oil or bacon fat

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

Paprika

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Dress and clean squirrels. Wash in several waters and dry. Cover with salad oil mixed with lemon juice and let stand for 1 hour. Combine bread crumbs, with just enough milk or cream to moisten, mushrooms, salt, pepper and onion juice. Stuff the squirrel with this mixture, skewer and truss. Brush with olive oil or bacon fat and roast uncovered in a slow oven (325 degrees F) 1½ to 1 ¾ hours or until tender. Baste every 15 minutes with fat from bottom of pan. When tender, make a gravy with remaining broth, adding Worcestershire sauce and paprika to taste. Serve gravy in a separate dish. Serves 6.

gray squirrel on brown wooden fence — Photo by Brett Sayles on Pexels.com

With rising inflation and higher food and energy prices, eating what’s readily available in your garden is a good idea for the cost-conscious cook! This recipe is from The American Woman’s Cook Book, 1947.

Bear Tequila Chili Tacos

Serves 4 – 6

Photo: Tom Minchella

For the Chili:

2 teaspoons olive oil

1 pound ground bear meat

1 large red onion

5 garlic cloves

2 red bell peppers

2 green bell peppers

2 red chilies

2 jalapeños

¾ cup tequila

1 (14.5-ounce) can crushed tomatoes

4 or more cups beef broth

2 teaspoons chili powder

3 teaspoons paprika

1 ½ teaspoons oregano

1 teaspoon fresh thyme

2 teaspoons ground cumin

pepper

salt

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Salsa:

2 tomatoes

1 medium jalapeño

½ red onion

2 cloves garlic

1 lime

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

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For serving:

½ head of iceberg lettuce, shaved thin

½ pound cheddar cheese, grated

1 avocado, sliced

1 cup sour cream

12 flour tortillas

Dice the onion and finely chop the garlic. Dice the peppers and chop the chilis (with the seeds) and the jalapeños. Heat a large 4-quart sauce pan over medium high heat. Season the meat with salt and pepper.

Add olive oil and then seasoned bear meat. Stir until meat is cooked through about 5-10 minutes.

Add diced peppers, onion and the garlic. Stand back and add tequila. Be careful, the alcohol may ignite and burn off.

Add crushed tomatoes and beef broth and bring to a simmer. Add spices and simmer on low heat for 2-3 hours, adding more beef broth as needed.

Seed and chop the tomatoes, the jalapeño, onion and garlic. Juice the lime. Mix all salsa ingredients together in a bowl and set aside.

big brown bear — Photo by Brett Sayles on Pexels.com

Distribute bear meat mixture among toasted tortillas and top with salsa. Add optional ingredients if desired.

This chili is awesomely good, and can of course be enjoyed in other ways than on top of a tortilla! The recipe inspired by one of Chef Tom Minchella’s.

Apple Crumb Pie

Serves 8 – 10, or 1 teenage boy

Pastry:

1 cup all-purpose flour

5 tablespoons unsalted butter, about 2½ ounces

1 pinch of salt

1 tablespoon sugar

2 tablespoons water

Filling:

7 apples

1 cup lingonberries, frozen or fresh

Fresh ginger, ½ tablespoon grated

¼ – ½ cup honey

Topping:

1 cup oatmeal

9 ounces almond paste

½ cup coconut oil

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Distribute the butter, softened and cut in small pieces, over flour. Combine all the ingredients and work it until smooth. This can be kept covered in the fridge until ready to use. Roll out on a lightly floured counter and use to line a 12 inch shallow round cake pan.

Peel and cut the apples into wedges. Peel and grate the ginger. Combine the apples, lingonberries, ginger, and honey and place in pie form.

Mix the ingredients for the topping until crumbly and spread on top of the apples.

Bake at 425 F for 10 minutes. Then lower the heat to 350 F and bake for another 30 minutes.

Serve with whipped cream, vanilla sauce, or ice cream.

If you poor sod suffer without lingonberries, cranberries will do just fine!

Rumor has it that the crumb pie was popularized during WW II, without the pie crust, as many ingredients for the crust were rationed.

Pumpavåfflor

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2 dl väldigt välbakad pumpa

2 ägg

½ tsk salt

¼ dl socker + ¼ dl vaniljsocker, eller ½ dl socker och vaniljpulver eller essens

2 dl vetemjöl

4 dl mjölk

2 msk smält smör

½ tsk bikarbonat

½ tsk bakpulver

1 nypa muskot

1 nypa kardemumma

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Varva mjöl- och mjölkihällningen. Ställes kallt ½ timma innan gräddningen.

Jag använder ofta butternutpumpa, bakad mjuk i ugnen, så att det går att repa fruktköttet med en gaffel och det blandar sig fint i smeten.

Alla älskar våfflor, inte bara på Våffeldagen! Den här varianten står sig bra på egen hand, med en klick kaffe- eller vaniljglass eller smör, eller lönnsirap, eller honung, eller….