Well I am still trying to find the Cook's recipe online so I do not have to type it, but I am actually happy to have a reason to type out the other recipe. My current copy is sloppily scrawled on an crumply sheet of paper, which is probably why it always seems so daunting to make. Some of the spice quantities in the ingredients list seem off as compared to the recipe (ras el hanout, cinnamon and aleppo), not sure if I copied them wrong or what, but I just use my judgement. Here goes: Pastitsio From "New Greek Cuisine" by Jim Botsacos cup dry currants ½ cup olive oil 1 lb 90% lean ground beef 1 lb lean ground lamb 2.5 Tbsp ras el hanout 1 tsp Aleppo pepper 1.5 Tbsp cinnamon Kosher salt Fresh ground pepper 3 cups finely diced onion 6 cloves garlic, sliced 2 cups dry red wine 2 ½ cups crushed tomatoes with juices 1 lb penne Tomato sauce (recipe follows) Yogurt béchamel (recipe follows) ¼ cup grated kefalotyri cheese [I use kasseri because that is what I can find.] 1. Soak currants in hot water for 30 minutes, drain and set aside. 2. In large skillet over medium heat, brown batches of ¼ cup each lamb and beef with 1 Tbsp oil until lightly browned, add ¼ tsp each of ras el hanout and Aleppo, and a pinch of cinnamon, salt and pepper. Drain in a colander and repeat. 3. To a saucepan over medium heat, add 2 Tbsp olive oil, onion, and a pinch of salt. Cover and cook 10 minutes. Add garlic and cook 1 minute. Add wine and cook, stirring, until the pan is almost dry, about 25 minutes. Add tomatoes, simmer stirring once, 10-12 minutes. Add meat, combine. Season to taste with ras el hanout, cinnamon and Aleppo, making a very aromatic mixture. Add currants and cook 5 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and cool. 4. Cook pasta to al dente, drain well and dump into an ice bath, drain well. 5. Put pasta in a large bowl and stir in 2 Tbsp olive oil. 6. Preheat oven to 325. 7. Pour ¼ cup tomato sauce into pasta and turn to coat. 8. Pour ¾ cup tomato sauce into deep 10" round casserole. 9. Pour pasta on top, spread to an even layer. 10. Spoon meat over pasta to an even layer. 11. Spread 3 cups of béchamel over the meat. 12. Sprinkle with cheese. 13. Bake in center of the oven for 25 minutes. 14. Turn oven to broil, and broil about 5 minutes until golden brown. Let rest 5 minutes before serving. Tomato Sauce (makes 3 cups) ¼ cup olive oil 4 garlic cloves, sliced 1 tsp Greek oregano Salt and Pepper 28 oz can crushed tomatoes with juice In medium saucepan over medium heat, sauté garlic 2 minutes. Add oregano and a pinch of salt and cook 1 more minute. Add tomatoes and bring to a boil. Simmer 25 minutes, skimming off foam. Remove from heat until ready to use. Yogurt Béchamel Sauce 1 bay leaf ½ medium onion, peeled 2 whole cloves 1 ½ cups whole milk 1 ½ cups heavy cream 1 ½ Tbsp unsalted butter ½ cup AP flour Salt and Pepper Nutmeg ½ cup Greek yogurt 1. Attach bay leaf to onion by piercing with cloves 2. Add milk and cream to a medium sauce pan over medium heat. Cook without stirring until barely simmering, about 5 minutes, and remove from heat. 3. Heat butter in another saucepan over medium heat and add flour. Cook, stirring constantly, for 3 minutes. Remove from heat and add milk slowly. 4. When well blended, put back on medium heat. Add onion and simmer 10 minutes. Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg. Remove from heat and set aside to cool. 5. When cool, fold in yogurt and set aside until ready to use.

Thanks Woodie2 :) Im all the way almost to high bridge road just off of A1A so we really are close . Drop me a line next time you are here if you want to talk food and gardens :) Mitchdesi its interesting that you discovered that possibilty so quickly .You see the voting has been ongoing since the first and it was not untill someone on another forum alerted me that I was aware of the voting flaw .I immediatly sent an email to the folks at mambolicious letting them know that there is a flaw in the voting . I hope that they can log IPs and ensure a fair vote . You are attempting to be accusatory to the wrong party .

no actual recipes, but blood pressure is mostly affected diet wise by alcohol and salt so keeping those to a minimum is a good idea - I never add salt to recipes anymore, instead I use herbs to add flavouring. As far as cholesterol, the main culprit is not meat but the saturated fat that often comes with meat, so eating lean meat is fine, but you have to remove the skin from chicken and all visible fat from meat, use low fat mince (I buy l/f chicken mince) and l/f sausages etc. Changing your cooking oil to Olive oil can increase your good cholesterol levels which help can to lower your bad cholesterol levels.

I don't know what kind of cocoa you used but unless it's Dutch process, it will have a bit of a bitter taste.....due to the alkalai used in the processing. You can't successfully substitite cocoa powder for semi sweet chocolate.....you are also forgetting that semi sweet chocolate contains some sugar....as well as the cocoa butter removed to make the powder. Here's a recipe using just cocoa powder......it's simple enough, but not outrageously chocolate as Martha Stewart's. But if you try to sub milk for the yogurt or oil for the butter, they won't turn out.....they need the acid of the yogurt, brown sugar and the cocoa to make them light. COCOA FUDGE COOKIES 1 cup flour ¼ tsp baking soda 1/8 tsp salt 5 Tbsp butter 7 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa 2/3 cup sugar 1/3 cup packed brown sugar 1/3 cup plain low-fat yogurt 1 tsp vanilla extract Cooking spray 1. Preheat oven to 350° 2. Lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Combine flour, soda and salt; set aside. Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Remove from heat; stir in cocoa powder and sugars (mixture will resemble coarse sand). Add yogurt and vanilla, stirring to combine Add flour mixture, stirring until moist. Drop by level tablespoons 2 inches apart onto baking sheets coated with cooking spray. 3. Bake at 350° for 8-10 minutes or until almost set. Cool on pans 2-3 minutes or until firm. Remove cookies from pans; cool on wire racks. Yield: 2 dozen cookies.