I'll go first because I just finished a batch of the most wonderful cookies! I clipped this out of some magazine years ago and finally got around to making them today. OMG....so good!

I had to make a second batch of the caramel, there wasn't enough to fill all the cookies. I also added a little bit of oil to the chocolate to make it drizzle easier. Definitely a keeper recipe!

Sandies by the Sea

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
2/3 cup firmly-packed light brown sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup pecans, lightly toasted and very finely ground*
20 caramel candies
3 tablespoons cream or whole milk
2 to 3 tablespoons large crystal sea salt or fleur de sel, as needed**
1 cup chopped bittersweet chocolate or semisweet chocolate morsels

Combine flour and salt in bowl; set aside.
In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg and vanilla; beat to blend. Add dry ingredients in batches, mixing between each. Stir in ground pecans. Cover and chill dough until firm.
Preheat oven to 350�F (175�C). Line baking sheets with parchment paper or butter the sheets.

Roll dough into 1-inch balls with floured hands. Place on baking sheet at least one inch apart, and form a cavity in center of each ball with thumb. Bake for 13 to 15 minutes or until bottoms are brown and set.

Remove cookies from oven; cool briefly on baking sheet. Transfer with a metal spatula to a wire cooling rack set over a piece of parchment paper.

Melt caramel candies and cream together in a saucepan over low heat, stirring frequently. Fill center of each cookie with approximately 1/2 teaspoons of caramel. Sprinkle warm centers evenly with sea salt, and let sit until firm.
Place chocolate in plastic bag in a bowl, heat on medium at 30-second intervals in microwave. Massage between each interval until melted. Cut a small hole in bottom corner of bag, drizzle chocolate across each cookie; add additional salt if desired and allow cookies to sit until chocolate has become firm.
Makes about 4 dozen.

*To toast pecans, place nuts in a single layer in an ungreased shallow pan. Bake at 350�F (175�C) for 5 to 10 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pan to cool. Finely chop cooled nuts in a food processor or blender.

** Sea salt and fleur de sel are found at specialty food markets

Linda

I have two new recipes that we tried a couple of nights ago - both are terrific as written. Word of caution, I used a ton of mis en place bowls, spoons, measuting cups, pots pans, etc. The kitchen was a wreck by the time I was done.

Cheesy Baked Penne with Cauliflower and Crème Fraîche Bon Appétit : October 2008
Yield: Makes 8 servings

1 1 1/2- to 1 3/4-pound head of cauliflower, cored, cut into 1-inch florets
2 large heirloom tomatoes
5 tablespoons butter, divided
1/2 cup thinly sliced green onions
Coarse kosher salt
2 tablespoons all purpose flour
1 cup heavy whipping cream
3 cups coarsely grated Comté cheese (or half Gruyère and half Fontina; about 9 ounces), divided
3/4 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano, finely grated Parmesan cheese, divided
1 cup crème fraîche
1 tablespoon whole grain Dijon mustard
10 ounces penne (3 1/2 cups)
1 cup fresh breadcrumbs (from crustless French bread ground in processor)

Cook cauliflower in large pot of boiling salted water until crisp-tender, about 5 minutes. Using large sieve, transfer cauliflower to bowl. Add tomatoes to pot; cook 1 minute. Remove from water; peel and dice tomatoes. Reserve pot of water.
Melt 2 tablespoons butter in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add cauliflower; sauté until beginning to brown, about 5 minutes. Add tomatoes and green onions. Cook 1 minute to blend flavors. Remove from heat. Season with coarse salt and pepper.
Melt 2 tablespoons butter in large saucepan over medium-low heat. Add flour and stir 2 minutes. Gradually whisk in cream. Cook until sauce thickens, whisking occasionally, about 4 minutes. Add 2 cups Comté cheese; whisk until melted and sauce is smooth. Whisk in 1/2 cup Parmesan, then crème fraîche and mustard. Season with salt and pepper. Remove from heat.
Return reserved pot of water to boil. Add pasta and cook until tender but still firm to bite, stirring occasionally. Drain; return pasta to same pot. Stir in cauliflower mixture and sauce.
Butter 13x9x2-inch glass baking dish. Spoon in half of pasta mixture; sprinkle with 1/2 cup Comté cheese. Top with remaining pasta mixture and 1/2 cup Comté cheese. Melt remaining 1 tablespoon butter in small skillet. Add breadcrumbs and toss to coat. Remove from heat; mix in 1/4 cup Parmesan. Sprinkle crumbs over pasta. DO AHEAD: Can be made 2 hours ahead. Let stand at room temperature.
Preheat oven to 350°F. Bake pasta uncovered until heated through and bubbling, about 35 minutes.

*********************************************************
And just in case you missed it on the meatloaf thread, this one is absolutely delish.

Meatloaf Americas Test Kitchen
==============================================
1 onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp thyme
1/2 cup ketchup
1/4 cup brown sugar
4 tsp vinegar
2 large eggs
1/2 cup milk, plus extra as needed
2 tsp Dijon mustard
2 tsp Worcestershire
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp Tabasco sauce
1 lb ground beef
1 lb ground pork
2/3 cups crushed saltines or 1 1/3 cups fresh breadcrumbs
1/3 cups minced fresh parsley
Saute onion; add garlic and thyme at very end.
Mix ketchup, sugar and vinegar; set aside.
Mix rest of ingredients together until evenly blended and mixture doesn't stick to side of bowl. If it does add additional milk, 1 T at a time, until it no longer sticks.
Turn onto a foil-lined sheet and shape into a 9x5 free-form loaf.
Brush with half the ketchup mixture. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.
Brush with remaining ketchup mixture and continue to bake 15 more minutes or until thermometer inserted to center measures 160 degrees. Let stand up to 20 minutes before serving.

doucanoe - cookies sound great. How would it be to use caramel topping that comes in a jar?

Linda, those cookies look amazing.

I wonder if I could just use my own caramel sauce for the centers.

Ann

Alexa, that penne with cauliflower sounds terrific. My favorite little farmstand will soon have their wonderful cauliflower and I'll be sure to try this.

It's not the meatballs I am showing you, as those are Alexa's Pork Thai meatballs (great recipe by the way!), it's the sauce. I should've halved it since it more than filled an 8 oz ramekin. Plenty. But it was really good. I didn't use rice vinegar, but white wine. I bet it would be an even better sauce if I had, but I can't imagine that happening as it was quite tasty. Or maybe that was the meatballs! :) Did I say it was a good recipe, Alexa? Well, it was!

Sweet Chili Thai Sauce

Submitted By: WOOBSIEE

"A savory sauce to use as a dip with shrimp or spring rolls, in stir-fries and noodle dishes, even on whole wheat pizza crust instead of typical pizza sauce with feta, sun-dried tomatoes, chicken, and vegetables."

Ingredients:
1 cup water
1 cup rice vinegar
1 cup sugar
2 teaspoons fresh ginger root, minced 1 teaspoon garlic, minced
2 teaspoons hot chile pepper, minced
2 teaspoons ketchup
2 teaspoons cornstarch

Directions:
1. Pour water and vinegar into a saucepan, and bring to a boil over high heat. Stir in sugar, ginger, garlic, chile pepper, and ketchup; simmer for 5 minutes. Stir in cornstarch. Remove saucepan from stove to cool. Then transfer to a bowl, cover, and refrigerate until needed.

PWM1 and Ann T....I think you could sub homemade caramel sauce as long as it sets up somewhat thick and won't run. They are really, really good. The coarse salt takes them over the top good!

Those meatballs look good, I have been meaning to try them.
Alexa, the cauliflower recipe sounds really good too. I'll have to make that for a family dinner sometime, Tim won't touch cauliflower, but I love it!

With the cooler temps this past week I have been a baking fool! Here is another keeper recipe that I made over the weekend.

{{gwi:1566774}}

Royal Raspberry Cake
From Tasty Kitchen-posted by Eat 80/20 Dietitian
Prep Time 15 Minutes Cook Time 40 Minutes

FOR THE CAKE:
1/3 cups Butter, Softened
1 whole Egg
1 cup Sugar
1 teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract
1 cup Skim Milk
2-1/2 cups All-purpose Flour
1/2 teaspoons Salt
1 Tablespoon Baking Powder
3 cups Fresh Raspberries

FOR THE GLAZE:
1/2 cups Powdered Sugar
2 Tablespoons Skim Milk
1/2 teaspoons Pure Vanilla Extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
In a large mixing bowl, use a hand mixer to cream together butter, egg, sugar, vanilla and milk. In a separate bowl, combine flour, salt, and baking powder. Spoon dry ingredients into wet and mix until dry ingredients are moistened.

Spray a 9-10" springform pan lightly with baking spray. Spoon batter into pan and cover the top of the cake evenly with raspberries.

Bake for 35-45 minutes (somewhat dependent on pan), or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

While cake is baking, whisk together the glaze ingredients.

When cake is removed from oven, gently brush the warm cake with glaze (I removed the sides of my cheesecake pan to brush the sides of the cake as well). Allow to set for 10 minutes and serve!

Linda

This recipe was in the fall issue of a grocery store's in-house magazine and it sounded so good, I was anxious to try it. We had heavy rains the last few days so invited some friends over for dinner to cheer everybody up and made this roast without any changes to the recipe. It was delicious, moist and tender.

The only negative thing was that the skin was beautifully crisp and crunchy but covered with the fennel seeds, which had imbedded themselves into the skin during cooking. There were too many to crunch on if someone wanted to eat the skin. However, I liked the fennel flavor they imparted. I'll have to ponder what to do next time.

ITALIAN-STYLE SLOW-ROASTED PORK

3 small onions, peeled, halved and sliced
2 navel oranges, unpeeled, thinly sliced
1 (7-10 pound) pork shoulder
6 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
1 Tbs. fennel seed
Salt and cracked black pepper

Equipment: roasting pan (remove rack), gravy separator

DAY BEFORE: Combine onion and orange slices in roasting pan. Diagonally score fat-side (top) of pork about 3/4 inch deep in a diamond pattern. Rub garlic, then fennel seeds into top of pork. Season well with salt and pepper. Place pork on top of onion and orange slices. Cover with plastic wrap; refrigerate overnight.

DAY OF MEAL: Preheat oven to 275 degrees. Remove plastic wrap. Bake uncovered for 7-8 hours. Do not baste or turn meat over.

Remove from oven; carefully place roast on clean platter and allow to rest. As roast rests, ladle hot juices into gravy separatore. Reserve de-fatted juices (au jus); keep warm. Discard onions and oranges.

Serve au jus with pork.

Those cookies are some serious food porn. Yummm... Quite a few good sounding recipes already.

Alexa, that cauliflower dish sounds right up our alley. It will be cauliflower season before we know it. I need to check the freezer and see if I have any left from last season that needs to be used up.

Rob, we're both heat weenies but that's a great basic sauce even with the chili minimized.

Funny Ruthanna, neither of us like fennel in any form, but I love orange with pork and I can easily imagine doing that roast without the fennel. Sounds like a great rainy day meal.

I posted this on WFD, but since it was a new recipe I'll post it here too. Christy got this recipe from the coupon ads in the newspaper. She's come up with some good recipes from there. As written the recipe had the name brands on it so I'll post that version here. I hadn't bothered on the WFD thread.

Hot Broccoli Cheese Dip
1 pkg. (8oz.) Philadelphia cream cheese, softened
1 cup Breakstone's or Knudson sour cream
1 envelope Good Seasons Mild Italian seasoning (I don't keep dried dressing, although that was my fathers favortie and we had it most every day. I used dried thyme, basil, tiny bit of italian seasoning since I don't like oregano, dehydrated onion, paprika and quite a bit of parsley)
1 pkg. thawed, drained chopped broccoli (I used my own frozen broccoli, about a cup and a half)
1 package (8oz.)Kraft Shredded Cheddar cheese, divided. (I don't like preshredded so just grated 2 cups of cheddar cheese.)

The recipe calls for this prep.
Mix cream cheese, sour cream and salad dressing mix with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended. Stir in broccoli and 1 1/2 cups of cheddar. Spoon into 9" pie plate or ovenproof crock.

Bake at 350 for 20 minutes

Sprinkle with rest of cheddar cheese (1/2 cup)and bake for additional 5 minutes until cheese is melted. Serve with crackers.

My prep changes.
Since I was using my dehydrated onions from Honeyville, I wanted to mix the dry ingredients in my food processor. I mixed all the dry ingredients until fine. Then I put 2 medium cloves of garlic in and pulsed it until garlic was chopped nice. Threw in the broccoli and gave it a few pulses to make it uniform. In a bowl I mixed the cream cheese and sour cream. Then added the broccoli and seasoning mixture. Added the one and half cups of cheddar and spooned into a oval ceramic dish. Baked as per the instructions, putting on the extra cheese toward the end. Instead of crackers I baked some buttered french bread rounds to serve it on.

Really was quite good.

We went with three other couples to the season's last music in the park & did a potluck picnic. I took along a pitcher of white sangria from a local restaurant, which was a big hit. I made just a half recipe. I made it a few hours ahead & was glad I did. At first the brandy flavor was a little raw, but by the time we drank it, it was very smooth.

LGOC White Sangria
Servings: 8 to 10
Note: The restaurant uses Presidente brandy.

2 (750-ml) bottles dry white wine, preferably Pinot Grigio
1 1/3 cup orange juice
1/2 cup triple sec
1/4 cup brandy
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 oranges, sliced
1/2 lemon, sliced
1/2 apple, sliced
Large bunch grapes, stemmed

In a large pitcher, whisk together the wine, orange juice, triple sec and brandy. Add the sugar and vanilla extract and continue to whisk until the sugar is completely dissolved. Add the sliced orange, lemon and apple, along with the grapes. Serve over ice with fruit slices as garnish.

Here is a link that might be useful: La Grande Orange Cafe's White Sangria

Tried this soup from the Food Network Magazine tonight and even my sweet potato-hating daughter loved it - she assumed the orange colour came from the cheese!
About 40 minutes start to finish - used my immersion blender, not the blender. My notes/changes are at the end.

Broccoli-Cheddar Soup
Recipe courtesy Food Network Magazine
Ingredients
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 stalks celery, finely chopped
2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
2 cups half-and-half
1 pound russet potatoes, peeled and chopped
1 pound sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped
1 bay leaf
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
2 cups chopped broccoli florets
1/3 pound sharp cheddar cheese, shredded (about 1 1/3 cups)
Croutons, for topping (optional)
Directions
Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the onion and celery and cook, stirring, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the chicken broth, half-and-half, both potatoes, bay leaf, 2 cups water, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper and bring to a boil.
Reduce the heat to medium low and simmer until the potatoes are tender, about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, put the broccoli in a microwave-safe bowl; add 3 tablespoons water and season with salt. Cover with plastic wrap and microwave until crisp-tender, about 4 minutes; drain.
When the potatoes are tender, remove the bay leaf from the soup and transfer the soup to a blender. Puree until smooth, leaving the filler cap slightly open to let steam escape (or puree the soup in the pot with an immersion blender). Return the soup to the pot and thin with water, if necessary. Return to a simmer over medium-low heat; stir in the broccoli and season with salt and pepper.
Add the cheese and stir until melted. Ladle the soup into bowls and top with croutons, if desired.

I used 1 cup of half and half and one cup of chicken broth (in places of the 2 cups of half and half) and 1 cup of grated sharp cheddar and the soup was plenty thick and rich. I used more like 4 cups of broccoli. Didn't bother with the croutons.
Made 6 generous servings although the following is based on 4 servings:

Per serving: Calories 589; Fat 34 g (Saturated 18 g); Cholesterol 97 mg; Sodium 931 mg; Carbohydrate 50 g; Fiber 8 g; Protein 22 g

We made these before Irene trying to use up produce in the refrigerator. It was one of those "hit or miss" things that I'm prone to do with baking. They came out great so I wrote down what we did & thought I'd share.

Zucchini, Carrot, & Apple Muffins

1 Cup Grated Zucchini
2 Cups Grated Carrots
1 Apple, Peeled & Diced
3/4 Cup Coconut
1/2 Cup Chopped Almonds
Zest from 1 orange
1 Cup AP Flour
1 Cup WW Flour
1 Cup White Sugar
1/4 Cup Light Brown Sugar
1 Teaspoon Cinnamon
2 Teaspoon Baking Soda
1/2 Teaspoon Salt
3 Eggs, Lightly Beaten
3/4 Cup Canola Oil
1 Teaspoon Vanilla

1. Gently toss together carrot, zucchini, apple, coconut, almonds, & orange zest. Set aside.

2. Combine flours, sugars, cinnamon, baking soda, & salt in a large bowl.

3. Combine eggs, oil, & vanilla. Stir into dry ingredienets just until moist. The batter was pretty thickk.

4. Fold in the veggie/fruit/coconut/almond mixture.

5. Bake in muffin pans at 350 degrees for about 20-25 minutes.

I use those rimmed jumbo muffin pans & we made 6 ginormous muffins.

Very good when the power went out!

/tricia

Nut-Raisin Rolls

This recipe came from Penzey's Spices Holiday 2010 catalog (Chris Dodd). This seems like a lot of groceries, but it makes 4 nut rolls. This is my newest favorite thing to eat for breakfast!

Ingredients
4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tbsp sugar
2 pkgs dry yeast (4 1/2 tsp)
1 1/4 cups (2 1/2 sticks) margarine or butter
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
6 egg yolks
1 cup milk

Filling
1/2 lb golden raisins
1 cup water
6 egg whites
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 lbs ground walnuts (2 heaping cups)
1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

2 tbsp melted butter (optional)

Mix together the flour, sugar and yeast. Cut in the margarine and / or butter. Blend egg yolks and the milk and then add to the dough. Mix well. Divide the dough into four pieces. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

For the filling
Place the raisins in a saucepan and cover with water. Cook over medium low heat until the raisins plump, about 10 minutes. Drain well and let cool. Beat the egg whites until stiff. Stir together sugar, nuts and vanilla. Fold in the the cooled raisins, then the whipped egg whites.

On a lightly floured surface, roll out the pieces of dough to 1/8 inch thickness. Spread with the filling and roll up (long end to long end). Places rolls on ungreased baking sheets, cover and let rise for 1 hour.

White the dough rises, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Bake the rolls for 40-50 minutes. Brush with melted butter if desired. Cover with a clean towel until cool. Cut carefully just before serving.

Hints, tips, tricks and how to cheat
I made a poolish using 1/ 2 cup water, all of the yeast and 1 tbsp of sugar. I then added the remaining sugar and 1/2 cup evaporated milk to the dough. I used two sticks margarine and 2 1/2 sticks butter (because it's what I had). I ground the walnuts in the food processor. I used regular raisins and not golden raisins because it's what I had. I used silpats and lightly greased them. I did not brush the bread with melted butter. I cooked the breads for 40 minutes.

Last nite I made a broccoli-cheese soup that Ghoghunter had posted earlier this year. It was awesome!

Broccoli-Cheese Soup

1 tablespoon butter, melted
1/2 medium onion, chopped
1/4 cup melted butter
1/4 cup flour
2 cups half-and-half (or 1cup milk and 1 cup half-and-half)
2 cups chicken stock or bouillon
1/2 pound fresh broccoli
1 cup carrots, julienned
salt and pepper, to taste
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
8 ounces grated sharp cheddar cheese

Saute onion in butter. Set aside.

Cook melted butter and flour using a whisk over medium heat for 3-5 minutes. Stir constantly and slowly add the half-and-half,then the chicken stock whisking all the time. Simmer for a few minutes.

Add the broccoli, carrots and onions. Cook over low heat until the veggies are tender for 20-25 minutes. Add salt and pepper.

The soup should be thickened by now. Pour in batches into blender and puree (or use an immersion blender).

Return to pot over low heat and add the grated cheese; stir until well blended. Stir in the nutmeg and serve.

I made this for Cookbook Club last night and thought I thought it was going to be a little bit boring, it was really delicious and everyone enjoyed it. It is so easy I will definitely be making it again.

Pasta and Peas
James Peterson Kitchen Simple
4 tablespoons (60 mL) butter
1 4-ounce (113 g) slice prosciutto ¼-inch thick (6.3 mm) cut into ¼-inch (6.3 mm) dice
1 small onion, chopped
1 10-ounce (284 g) package frozen peas or fresh baby peas
1 bunch parsley, finely chopped
Pepper
1 pound (454 g) dried pasta, like spaghetti or linguine
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
In a large sautée pan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the prosciutto and onion. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion turns translucent, about 10 minutes. Add the peas and cook just long enough to heat them through. Add the parsley and season to taste with salt and pepper.
Meanwhile, boil dried pasta according to the instructions on the package, or if fresh, for 30 to 60 seconds, until soft with the slightest resistance to the tooth.
Drain the pasta, reserve some cooking water just in case, and transfer to a heated bowl. Toss it with the pea mixture. If it seems dry, add a ladle full of pasta cooking water. Serve in heated pasta or soup plates. Pass the Parmesan at the table.
Makes 4 servings.

This past weekend I made Lou's (hawk) red sauce/Italian gravy and it turned out delicious! I used a pork chop, chicken thighs, and homemade meatballs to cook in the sauce. While I only made a third of the recipe, I still had enough leftover to freeze several containers of the sauce.

Thanks, Lou! I'll make this again.
Teresa

These muffins have great flavor & freeze well. They tend to crumble, so cupcake liners are a help. They don't rise a lot, so I will fill the cups two-thirds full in the future.

Apple Muffins
makes 24 - 30 muffins
Note: Adapted from Marcella Gaskill, A.P.P.L.E. (Apple Publicity Promotion Ladies Effort), published in "Sebastopol Gravenstein Apples: Sweet & Savory Recipes."

3 1/2 cups (14.9 ounces) flour
2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3 1/2 cups finely chopped, peeled apples
1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup toasted (or untoasted) walnuts, or another nut

1. Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour standard muffin pans, or grease the tops of the pans and line with cupcake liners.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, salt, baking soda and cinnamon. Stir in the apples, then the oil, vanilla and nuts. This makes about 5 cups of batter.
3. Divide the batter among the prepared muffin pans, filling them about one-half to two-thirds full. Bake until a toothpick inserted comes out clean, about 30 minutes, rotating halfway through for even baking.

Here is a link that might be useful: Apple Muffins

coconut-nj, that cheese dip looks wonderful! I'm putting it in my To Try file. Thanks.

Well, my first time posting this I had everything about done and my browser shut down for no apparent reason other than I was installing the latest Java update, which they bug me about nearly every day. I knew there was a reason I was ignoring it!!

I'm really determined to post these recipes though, because they were really good and I think I mentioned that I would like to have a larger repertoire of Indian recipes. I like the idea of Indian food but am rarely pleased with my execution of it. I'm usually not crazy about the mix of spices, but these two dishes were so good I couldn't stop eating them. Easy peasy too, so give them a try if you'd like to try something Indian. However, be forewarned they are hard core vegegarian. The best BF could say about them is he didn't dislike them!

Masoor Dal (Spiced Red Lentils), from an unkown blogger. Check out the link to the blog, the photos and description are what made this worthwhile.

Prep Time: 10 mins
Cook Time: 30 mins
Serves: 6

Ingredients

1/2 teaspoon turmeric

1 teaspoon coriander powder

1 teaspoon cumin powder

1 teaspoon paprika (can use chili power for more kick)

extra virgin olive oil

5 cloves garlic, grated

1 inch piece ginger, grated

1 small onion, diced

1 jalapeno pepper, seeds removed and diced

1 14.5 ounce can Petite Cut tomatoes, liquid drained

2 cups masoor dal (red lentils), rinsed

5 cups water

1/2 cup cilantro leaves, chopped

salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Measure out the spices into a small bowl and set aside.

In a large pot or dutch oven on medium heat, add olive oil. When the oil starts bubbling stir in spices and cook for a minute. Add garlic and ginger and cook for another minute. Add onions and peppers and stir until the onions starts to soften. Add in tomatoes and cook until the tomatoes start to breakdown and get pulpy.

Add in lentils and water and bring to boil. Turn heat low, cover and simmer until lentils are soft and tender, about 20 - 25 minutes. Stir in most of the chopped cilantro, reserving a little to garnish. Serve with naan or with basmati rice or both.

Lpink's notes: I had to cook it more like 45 min. but I used half brown lentils since I ran out of red. Also, I didn't drain the chopped tomatoes, I used the juice as part of the liquid to cook the lentils, but added towards the end, as acids make bean skins tough. Easily cut in half but I forgot to do that at the outset.

Ethiopian Cabbage Dish by stamarex. I made it Indian by adding garam masala

Ingredients
1/2 cup olive oil (I only used 1/8 cup in the crockpot)
4 carrots, thinly sliced
1 onion, thinly sliced
1 teaspoon sea salt 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/2 head cabbage, shredded (I diced)
5 potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes (I used chunks of red potatoes with the skins mostly on)
I added 1/4 tsp. garam malsa to the mix.

Directions
Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Cook the carrots and onion in the hot oil about 5 minutes. Stir in the salt, pepper, cumin, turmeric, and cabbage and cook another 15 to 20 minutes. Add the potatoes; cover. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook until potatoes are soft, 20 to 30 minutes.

Lpink's notes: I made this in the crockpot. I layered the veggies with the spices, except I didn't use salt and pepper I used seasoned salt, which had garlic, onion and lemon in it too. I used much less oil and mixed it with an equal amount of veg. broth at the bottom of the crockpot. I had to sprinkle a little more broth over it as it got closer to being done, so I used maybe 1/3 cup of broth overall.
I put this in the crockpot initially on low, but turned it up afte a while since I only had 3-4 hours to cook it.