Dried Fruit Compote

R3A2 DRIED FRUIT COMPOTE

Based on a Martha Stewart recipe. This is a crowd-pleasing dessert that goes well after a heavy meal such as at Thanksgiving, Easter or Passover. It's parve, vegan and gluten-free and has no nuts, no wheat and no chocolate. Quick and easy. Suitable for a pot-luck. Make it a day or two ahead or just before the meal.

INGREDIENTS*

3 c. apple cider (the result is very sweet so maybe substitute
      part water next time? I used Martinelli's cider
      but would use unfiltered fresh cider in season.)
6 dried pears halves (I cut each pear-half lengthwise into four
      strips, then crosswise into thirds)
12 dried apricots (they also are halves but Martha doesn't
      mention this; I cut them crisscross into quarters)
6 dried pitted prunes, optional (Martha doesn't mention prunes
      but I like the taste and the contrasting dark note to
      what is otherwise all orange-red. I cut them in sixths.)
3/4 c. dried cherries (about 5 oz.)
3/4 c. dried golden raisins (about 5 oz.)
1 lemon, zest and juice
1/2" piece of raw ginger, peeled
2 cinnamon sticks
1/8 tsp red pepper flakes (or more or none: the spicy taste
      seemed to fade away with cooling, so maybe add it after
      cooking? Martha used a pinch of freshly ground white pepper
      which might survive the simmering better.)

* Fruit choices and amounts are pretty much Martha's. You could vary them based on taste, availability, price, etc. For example, pear halves and dried cherries may be harder to find and more expensive than other dried fruit.

.

COOKING

-> Chop larger fruit into pieces a little larger than a raisin. Peel the ginger. Zest and juice the lemon. (My zester is hard to use so I just grate the peel on my vintage flat grater).
-> Put all ingredients in a saucepan (2-3 quarts), except maybe not the pepper.
-> Bring to a boil and then, per Martha, "[r]educe to simmer, and cook until fruit is soft and liquid is thick, about 20 minutes."

After 20 minutes my fruit was soft but the liquid was still thin. I gave it another 10 minutes and then tried raising the heat to a gentle boil. After an hour had elapsed - and the liquid was not much thicker than the cider I started with - I took it off the stove. Fortunately, the liquid thickens and is mostly absorbed as the compote cools. I therefore conclude that it would be fine to simmer or gently boil for 20-30 minutes and not to care whether the liquid gets syrupy. If there's still too much liquid after the compote cools, drain some of it and toss or reduce, and the next time use less cider.

-> Remove pot from stove and remove the cinnamon stick and piece of ginger (cook's bonus if you like ginger). Stir in pepper flakes now if you didn't add them before.
-> Martha says "Serve hot, cold or at room temperature." I cooled my compote in the pot with the lid cocked a bit to release steam, then refrigerated it in a covered serving bowl. I took it out before the meal and served it at room temperature for dessert with almond paste macaroons and Phil's Baba's Passover Chocolate Chip Cookies (recipe to be posted).
Makes great leftovers. Also could be used over ice cream.
Prep: 10 mins. Cooking: 25 mins (Martha), ~65 mins (me). Optional cooling time: ~30 mins.

rjm 20170412

Flank Steak (easy, fast, delicious)

              R3A2 5-INGREDIENT MARINADE
               Perfect for Flank Steak
  (based on Ann Arbor Hadassah Cookbook's Marinated Flank Steak)

This marinade can be used with 1 to 1 1/2 pounds of
      Flank Steak (or even 2+lbs)
      Boneless skinless chicken breast
      Fish (salmon steaks work well, or any fillets. Optional:
           replace some of the ginger with lime or lemon zest.)

INGREDIENTS
1/2 c. soy sauce
1/2 c. dry wine, any color but I usually use red
1/2 T. sugar (or a little less), which acts as a tenderizer
Ginger, raw (1+" long x ~3/4" diameter) peeled, chopped small       OR 1/2 tsp ground ginger but I prefer fresh.
1 clove garlic, minced or chopped same size as the raw ginger

(The original recipe had double all these amounts, but you don't need that much for a flank steak that serves 4 or even 6.)

1. Prepare the ginger by removing the skin with a carrot peeler and chopping small, maybe largest dimension no more than 1/8".
2. Put the meat, chicken or fish in a glass or stainless baking dish (not aluminum: too reactive).
3. Pour on the liquids, sprinkle on the sugar, and drop on the ginger and garlic. I like to rub the ginger and garlic in a little with the back of a spoon.
4. If I think of it half way through or even as late as when I preheat the oven, I scrape the ginger and garlic into the liquid, turn the meat over and then spoon the ginger and garlic onto the 2nd side, again rubbing it in with the back of the spoon..

Marinating Time per A2 Hadassh Book for flank steak:
      3-4 hours at room temperature or
      all day or even overnight in fridge.
If you have less time, it's OK, too.

5. When ready to cook, preheat grill or oven.
6. Remove from marinade (but don't toss it quite yet)
7. Broil on the grill or the oven, basting with a little marinade when you turn it over. -OR- Bake at 425: put a little marinade, but not all, in the baking dish to prevent sticking, and baste with soe more marinade part way through. If you bake, you don't have to turn the meat over unless you really want to.

Broiling Times:
If it's flank steak, 4 minutes on a side for rare.
If it's chicken cutlets, 5 minutes on a side.
If it's fish, depends on thickness and desired doneness.

8. For flank steak, cool a few minutes to make it easier to slice, slice about 1/2" thickness, and serve. Chicken and fish can just be served straight away.

Good cold. Great for leftovers.

Prep time: 15 minutes
Marinating time: 3 hours to overnight
Broiling time: 10 minutes

First typed 20020714 rjm, rev 20170315

No-Roll Pie Crust

PHIL'S AUNT SHAYNA'S NO-ROLL PIE CRUST

Sift directly into pie pan
      1 1/2 c. flour
      1 1/2 tsp. sugar
      1 tsp. salt
In measuring cup, whip with fork
      1/2 c. oil
      2 T. cold milk
Pour liquid over flour. Stir and toss with fork (careful, it will seem like there is a lot of flour) until all the flour is dampened.

With finger tips, make an even layer on the bottom, up the sides and on the rim. Flute/pinch the rim crust with your fingers. If one place is too thick and one too thin, you can patch, but try to be even as you go.

Bake
      unfilled: 12-15 min at 425 deg. Before baking, place
           circle of parchment paper on top of crust and fill
           with pie weights or dried beans
      filled: 15 min at 400 deg, then 30 min at 350 deg.

      P.S. At the end of the 30 min., I've been turning off the
      oven but leaving the pie inside for another 30 min.-1 hour
      (because I forget to take it out or I'm taking a nap and
      tell Phil to just turn off the oven when the beeper beeps).
      The crust texture has been perfect every time. I have yet
      to see what it is like if I actually remove the pie when
      the baking time is over.

      P.P.S. Now that I've tried removing the pie on time, I
      think it is a better idea not to, especially when the fruit
      is very juicy. So whether it's accidentally or on purpose,
      leave the pie in the cooling oven to dry out a bit.

FILLING
Phil's Aunt Shayna mostly made this crust for her fabulous lemon meringue pie. But that may be more ambitious than you want. You can just make any old fruit pie using this crust. What fruit? Really, any of the usual: apples, pears, peaches, plums, apricots, rhubarb, strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, or a mixture of two or more. I tend to make apple or peach myself. Here's an R3A2 recipe from Joy of Cooking.

Joy-of recommends
     5 cups of fruit
This seems like a lot to me, but it depends, literally, on how you slice it. If you use apples or pears, peel and core them and then slice them thinly so they cook down faster. If you use peaches or other stone fruit, you don't have to peel them unless you really want to. In that case, use the boiling water trick*. Leave the sliced fruit in a bowl, and in a smaller bowl mix together the SUGAR MIXTURE:
      1/2 to 2/3 c. sugar
      1/8 tsp. salt
      1 to 1 1/2 Tb. corn starch
      1/4 tsp. cinnamon
      1/8 tsp. nutmeg
You can toss the sugar mixture with the fruit and then put everything in the unbaked crust, or you can put a layer of fruit in the crust, top with some sugar mixture, and repeat until everything is used up. Or, if you happen to have put all the fruit in the crust before making the sugar mixture, don't worry. Just pour the sugar mixture all over the fruit. It will sink in and be fine. I often sprinkle some other things on top, such as
      1/8 tsp. allspice or
      ground walnuts (ground unto flour, if I happen to have
           ground too many for Vegetarian Epicure
           Eggplant (recipe on request))

Joy-of says to add lemon juice if the fruit is dry or if you like a little lemon. (I'd squeeze on the juice from 2 wedges of a medium lemon.) Joy-of also says always to dot with butter before baking. I routinely forget to do the butter and have never noticed the lack.

Phil's Aunt Shayna, may she rest in peace, taught Cooking in a middle school in Detroit for many years - which meant that she also taught the kids math, geography, science, nutrition, civics and everything else. I don't know if she invented this recipe or found it somewhere, but it is definitely perfect for middle-schoolers. And for everyone else. It's like making mud pies.

* Boiling Water Trick for Peeling: Fill a small pot about 2/3 full of water and bring to the boil. Have a pyrex cup or bowl half-filled with ice water standing by. Throw in (one at a time) whatever it is that needs peeling (can be a tomato as well as a peach or other fruit). Do _not_ turn off the heat. Leave the thing in the pot for 30 seconds, then remove it with a slotted spoon and plop it into the ice water for about 10 seconds. Take it out and the peel should come right off without any implements. If it needs help, use the tip of a knife to start the removal process. Repeat for the rest of the things in need of peeling. Add water to the pot or the bowl if you need to. Don't worry that the boiling water gets colored by whatever it is you're trying to peel. When you're all done, toss the water - into your garden during a drought.

rjm 8/25/93; 11/13/14;12/17/15

Baked Chicken

R3A2 BAKED CHICKEN

I found this recipe in a newspaper in around 1970. It was called 'Chicken Venetian' but I don't know what is Venetian about soy sauce.

2 - 4 lb chicken pieces, with skin and bone, of course.
        I usually use either a whole cut-up fryer or just thighs.
1/4 c soy
2 T vinegar
2 T oil, divided
1 clove garlic or 1/8 tsp minced garlic or equiv powder
1/4 tsp oregano

Choose a baking dish that will let the pieces fit cozily without overlapping. I use pyrex or vintage Corningware. Pour ~1 T of the oil in the dish and put into the oil puddle each piece of chicken skin side DOWN. Move the chicken pieces around in the oil so that the skin is well coated. Leave the chicken with skin DOWN.

Mix together SOY SAUCE, VINEGAR and the remaining 1 T of the OIL along with fresh or jar GARLIC (but not the powder) and pour over the chicken. You can also just pour the liquids directly on the chicken one at a time. Then sprinkle with OREGANO and, if you use garlic in powder form, the GARLIC. I never measure the oregano or garlic, just sprinkle with neither a heavy nor light hand.

Cover the dish with aluminum foil. Bake at time/temp indicated, removing foil and turning to skin side up after 3/4 of the time has passed and basting. Baste again once after that if you think of it.

TEMP/TIMES: 400 [375] total time 60 [80] minutes:
45 [60] min (skin side down, covered with foil)
then 15 [20] min (foil removed, skin side up,
basting if you think of it after 7 [10] minutes)
Always yummy.

Notes:
1. The original recipe specified 400 degrees. I think chicken cooks better at a lower temperature for a longer time so I experimented with lowering the temperature and extending the time. I am sure that other temp/times would work OK, too, just keep the proportion of 3:1 for the times for [skin side down and dish covered] : [skin side up and dish uncovered].

2. For years my handwritten version of the recipe (a) did not specify greasing the dish but I always did, and (b) said 2T vinegar and 1T oil. When I gave my aunt the recipe back in the late 70s she wondered about that ratio. A few years ago I found the newspaper clipping, and sure enough it said 1T vinegar and 2T oil, just like in salad dressing. I was right, however, that it was silent about greasing the dish. I like vinegar, though, so I still use 2T of vinegar, and only about 1 T of oil for the sauce.

rjm, first typed up 3/3/03; rev 11/17/13, 5/10/14

Three Cans (fast, easy, vegan, parve, cheap, tasty, low cal, packable lunch)

THREE CANS

R3A2 Three Cans
(makes 1 to 3 servings, depending on how ravenous you are)

If you just eat a third of the mixture of the three cans, then
Preparation time:1 minute and
Calories: 175
1. Drain a ~one pound* can of each of the following:
     Green Beans
     Tomatoes
     Beans
*These days typical cans are 14.5 to 15.5 oz but sometimes you can still find a 16 oz. can.

2. Mix together in a bowl, one you can cover and refrigerate if you have leftovers. I use an 8" vintage Corningware with a glass cover. Eat!

Lasts in the fridge for a week, maybe more.

VARIATIONS

A. If you want to get fancy, add one of these:
     a dash of Tabasco
     juice from a slice of lemon, Meyer lemon, or orange
     1-2 Tb oil and vinegar dressing

B. If you want more protein:
     Vegan: sunflower seeds (the roasted and salted kind are least likely to taste rancid)
     Vegetarian: Cheese - I favor pre-shredded asiago, or I cut up an ounce or so of extra sharp cheddar
     Pescatarian: Tuna - another can (3-7 oz) or a 2.5 oz bag to avoid having to drain

C. For more greenery, to improve presentation, or just for a change:
     * Serve THREE CANS on top of torn lettuce or arugula or a handful of salad-in-a-box
     * Pull off the leaves from a sprig or two of dill or parsley or both and stir in
     * Dice and toss in some carrot, maybe one baby-cut carrot per serving or an equivalent amount of regular carrots
     * Use leftover THREE CANS in an omelette


Notes on cans

GREEN BEANS: I prefer cut rather than French style, and I never get the low salt version because it tastes like the can to me. If you need to watch your salt, THREE CANS may not be for you.

TOMATOES: I usually use diced or petite diced. Spicy foods help me eat less volume and less fat, I think. My favorite these days is Del Monte Petite Diced with Zesty Jalapenos.

BEANS (not the green ones): Most of the time I use pintos, red or white kidney beans, northern beans or chick peas aka garbanzos. Except for chick peas, the taste is pretty much the same so my preference is really just a matter of appearance: color and size. Black beans and black-eyed peas are also fine, and they do have different tastes. My favorite brand of beans is Bush's. They still sell 16 oz. cans and their quality control is excellent. I have never used canned lima beans although maybe I will try them one of these days. Sometimes when I use plain tomatoes I mix them with spicy beans: S&W Pinquitos are delicious.

THREE CANS can be made in a hotel room if you can get to a supermarket. It can be made in advance and taken on a trip. With all the variations, you can probably lunch on THREE CANS several times a week for months and not get too tired of it. Or anyway, I can.



How I Came to Invent Three Cans: I once signed up for a web-based diet called Fat Loss for Idiots. It let you eat all you wanted of a few specified foods, 4 meals a day for 11 days. To start the program, you went through a list of foods and checked the ones you liked.* Then the software whirred and out came your personal meal plan.

For one meal I could eat all I wanted of certain vegetables. That day I was feeling too lazy to cook or chop. I did not want to use any extra bowls or knives. I looked in the pantry and selected THREE CANS. The rest is, well, both history and this recipe: a low calorie, tasty, vegan, parve dish you can make in almost no time. You can also take it with you on a trip, eat it at your desk, and dress it up when you need variety and are willing to dirty a knife and cutting board.

* The Fat Loss Program: If you checked off meats on their list, then your meal plan included "slices" of that meat: chicken, ham, turkey, beef. Did that mean I would have to buy those salty processed sliced meats in packages, or did the diet creators just assume that Americans can't cook? Maybe the word "slices" was used as shorthand for trimmed of excess fats and skin? But the diet had other oddities: "shrimp" was always listed as "Delicious Shrimp." No other food came with a sales pitch.

rjm 5/1/2014, rev 5/11/14