Asian-Style Broccoli/Slaw Salad

Submitted by Allie Jones

Salad:

1 head cabbage

1 bunch broccoli about same size or a little bigger than your head of cabbage

½ cup dry roasted sunflower seeds

1 cup toasted slivered almonds

1 bunch green onions or scallions

2 pkg. Ramen noodles (raw and all broken up)

Dressing

Ramen noodle seasoning packets

~3/4 veg oil

1/3 cup white vinegar

½ cup sugar

Toss everything together with dressing (and whisk it well before you pour the dressing on) right before serving

Mooshoo Pork

Submitted by Allie Jones

~ ¾ lb to 1 lb pork (butt - I think, that’s what the guy at whole foods said to use), diced up very small

~ ½ - ¾  head of cabbage

2 large carrots or 3 medium ones

One bunch scallions

One small can water chestnuts, roughly chopped up

Flour tortillas (the Chinese use the delicate rice pancake things that I would bet you can find in asian food store but flour tortillas work fine)

Hoisen or plum sauce from asian section of store

(stir fry sauce)

6 tblsp soy sauce or tamari

4 tblsp mirin

2 tblsp sugar

Start on veggie stir fry first.  “julienne-cut” your carrots (very skinny little sticks or strips).  Start that frying in some oil in a large skillet, then shred/finely chop the cabbage and add to skillet and cover.  Make your stir-fry sauce and add about half to the veggie sauté and cover again.  Now get the pork cooking in a pan to brown it.  Once cooked, drain water off if there’s more than just a little in the pan, and add some of the stir-fry sauce (or all that’s left – use your judgement) and stir and put on low/warm heat.  Chop your scallions into about one inch long pieces and add to veggie sauté.  Next add water chestnuts and the pork to the veggie sauté and put down on warm/low heat.  Either steam or nuke tortillas in microwave to make them soft.  Spread about t tblsp of hoisen or plum sauce all over your tortilla, add a generous ladle of the moo-shoo, and roll like a burrito and serve.

(Egg strip option)  I like to put into my moo-shoo – especially since I actually do not eat pork – these Japanese style “egg strips.”  Simply beat up 2 or 3 eggs in a small dish, add a couple tsp of sugar, and pour in a small skillet and flip it like a flat omlette (sp?) and cut into strips.  Kids love these.

Fried Rice

Submitted by Kimberly Felix

Recipe by Our Best Bites, adapted from Disneyworld’s Ohana Restaurant

2 c. white rice + 4 c. water (OR 4 c. cold, leftover rice, which is actually better)
3 Tbsp. butter
1/4 c. minced red onion
2 Tbsp. chopped green onions
1/2 Tbsp. minced garlic
1/4 c. chopped carrots
1/2 c. chopped mushrooms
8 oz. (1/2 bag) of coleslaw mix
3-4 generous Tbsp. soy sauce

SEASONING:
1 Tbsp. dried onion
1 Tbsp. Kosher salt
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 ½ tsp. black pepper
½ tsp. celery salt
1 ½ tsp. sugar

Boil water and add rice. Reduce heat to low, cover, and cook for 20 minutes. This step can be done even up to 2-3 days in advance (and for some reason, fried rice tastes better when the rice is cold). Heat butter over medium heat and saute onions, carrots, and cabbage until carrots are tender. Add cooked rice, soy sauce, and seasoning to taste (you won’t even come close to using all of it; save the rest for future fried rice or use as you would seasoning salt.)

OPTIONAL ADD-INS:

–Peas, snap peas, or pea pods
–Ham
–Shrimp

Pea Dip

Submitted by Allie Jones

2 lbs frozen peas (thawed)

½ bunch cilantro (washed and most stems trimmed off)

2 cloves garlic, minced

¼ C lime juice

2 T rice vinegar

2 T soy sauce

1 t ground cumin

¼ t red pepper flakes

Put everything in blender or food processor and blend

BEST EVER Chocolate Cake

Submitted by Allie Jones

2 C sugar

1 C veg oil

2 eggs

1 C plain or vanilla soy milk (regular milk also OK)

1 C coffee, reg or decaf (NOTE, this is a brewed cup of coffee…NOT coffee grounds as I learned hard way first time)

1 t vanilla

3/4 C quality dark cocoa powder

1 C wheat flour

1 C white flour

1 t salt

1 t baking powder

2 t baking soda

½ cup applesauce

Preheat oven to 320 deg.  Use cooking spray and light layer of flour to prepare two, 9-inch cake pans, or one 9 x 13 inch pan, or one bundt pan.  In large bowl mix ingredients one at a time, mixing well after each addition.  Pour into pan(s) and bake for 40 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean

Irish Soda Bread

Submitted by Deidre Russo

Ingredients

4 to 4 1/2 cups flour
2 Tbsp sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
4 Tbsp butter
1 cup raisins
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 3/4 cups buttermilk

Method

1 Preheat oven to 425°. Whisk together 4 cups of flour, the sugar, salt, and baking soda into a large mixing bowl.

2 Using your (clean) fingers (or two knives or a pastry cutter), work the butter into the flour mixture until it resembles coarse meal, then add in the raisins.

3 Make a well in the center of the flour mixture. Add beaten egg and buttermilk to well and mix in with a wooden spoon until dough is too stiff to stir. Dust hands with a little flour, then gently knead dough in the bowl just long enough to form a rough ball. If the dough is too sticky to work with, add in a little more flour. Do not over-knead! Transfer dough to a lightly floured surface and shape into a round loaf. Note that the dough will be a little sticky, and quite shaggy (a little like a shortcake biscuit dough). You want to work it just enough so that the flour is just moistened and the dough just barely comes together. Shaggy is good. If you over-knead, the bread will end up tough.

4 Transfer dough to a large, lightly greased cast-iron skillet or a baking sheet (it will flatten out a bit in the pan or on the baking sheet). Using a serrated knife, score top of dough about an inch and a half deep in an "X" shape. The purpose of the scoring is to help heat get into the center of the dough while it cooks. Transfer to oven and bake until bread is golden and bottom sounds hollow when tapped, about 35-45 minutes. (If you use a cast iron pan, it may take a little longer as it takes longer for the pan to heat up than a baking sheet.) Check for doneness also by inserting a long, thin skewer into the center. If it comes out clean, it's done.
Hint 1: If the top is getting too dark while baking, tent the bread with some aluminum foil.
Hint 2: If you use a cast iron skillet to cook the bread in the oven, be very careful when you take the pan out. It's easy to forget that the handle is extremely hot. Cool the handle with an ice cube, or put a pot holder over it.
Remove pan or sheet from oven, let bread sit in the pan or on the sheet for 5-10 minutes, then remove to a rack to cool briefly. Serve bread warm, at room temperature, or sliced and toasted. Best when eaten warm and just baked.
Yield: Makes one loaf.