Best Ever Chewy Ginger Cookies, version 6

2 1/2 c flour
2 1/2 tsp ginger powder
1 tsp cloves
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cream of tartar
3/4 c candied ginger
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 c butter
1/2 c shortening
3/4 c brown sugar
1/4 c molasses
granulated sugar for rolling

Mix dry ingredients together. Add chopped candied ginger. Cream fats with brown sugar. Add eggs and molasses. Combine dry ingredients with butter mixture. Roll into balls and roll in granulated sugar. Bake in a 350 F oven for 10 to 12 minutes.

Risotto II

This is the risotto! It's not the most photogenic food. A bit bland and lump looking. But its delicious.I was a little worried while making it because it took a long time for the rice to cook. And it needs to be coddled while it's on the stove. The butter and parmesan cheese do a lot for this dish. Also the wine. I doubled the amount of white wine from what was in the recipe. I also have a lot left over. Because it's so rich, my friend and I didn't have as much of it as I thought we would, last night. So I'm taking the risotto to work this morning and hopefully, it'll get gobbled up. Taking food to work seems to be the best strategy for getting rid of food in a hurry.

The Naked Chef's Basic Risotto

approximately 1 quart chicken or vegetable stock
1 tbsp olive oil
3 finely chopped shallots or 2 medium onions
1/2 head of celery, finely chopped
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
14 oz risotto rice
1/2 c dry white vermouth or white wine
5 tbsp butter
3-3 1/2 oz freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Stage 1: Heat the stock. Then in a separate pan heat the olive oil, add the shallot or onion, celery and a pinch of salt, and sweat the vegetables for about 3 minutes. Add the garlic and after another 2 minutes, when the vegetables have softened add the rice. Turn up the heat now. At this crucial point, you can’t leave the pan, and anyway, this is the best bit.
While slowly stirring, continuously, you are beginning to fry the rice. You don’t want any colour at any point (so remember, you’re in control, and if the temperature seems too high, turn it down a bit). You must keep the rice moving. After 2 or 3 minutes it will begin to look translucent as it absorbs all the flavours of your base (it may crackle at this point, that’s fine). Add the vermouth or wine, keeping on stirring as it hits the pan - it will smell fantastic! It will sizzle around the rice, evaporating any harsh alcohol flavours and leaving the rice with a tasty essence,
I must admit I’m a sucker for dry vermouth. When it cooks into the rice it seems to give it a really full but subtle flavour and leaves a wicked sweetness that works perfectly with the rice. White wine is lovely, probably ore delicate and fresh. Try both - see what you think.
Stage 2: Once the vermouth or win3 seems to have cooked into the rice, add your first ladle of hot stock and a pinch of salt (add small amounts of salt to taste while you are adding the stock). Turn down the heat to a high-ish simmer (the reason we don’t want to boil the hell our of it is because, if we do, the outside of the rice will be cooked and fluffy and the inside will be raw). Keep adding ladlefuls of stock, stirring and allowling each ladleful to be absorbed before adding the next. This will take tabout 15 minutes. Taste the rice - is it cooked? Carry on adding stock until the rice is soft but with a slight bite. Check seasoning.

Ma Po Tofu

I'm not giving out precise measurements for this dish because I have no clue what they are. This is where the fun is in cooking...

You want to start with 1/2 pound of extra lean ground pork. Add a splash of rice wine, two splashes of soy sauce and a brief drizzle of sesame oil . Mix it all together. Meanwhile, chop up a clove of garlic and two shallots. Heat a frying pan in medium high. Add a small drizzle of cooking oil and then add the shallots and garlic. Stir for a moment or two and then add the ground pork. As the pork browns, make the sauce. It's a mixture of two large spoonfuls of oyster sauce, one spoonful of Asian chilli sauce (you can buy it in a jar), a smaller spoonful of cornstarch and maybe 1/3 c water. Once the pork is fully browned add 1/2 cup of peas. Then stir in the sauce. The sauce will need to thicken so turn down the heat on the pan slightly while it does this. You want it to start getting bubbly. Meanwhile, get the tofu ready. I like using silken tofu because it's much smoother, but it can fall apart easily because it's more delicate. The best thing to do is to scoop the tofu up with regular soup spoon and then nestle the tofu on top of the pork. Let the tofu get coated in the sauce. The sauce shouldn't be gooey thick -- just thick enough to come across as a sauce. Heat the tofu and pork mixture until everything starts to really bubble again. Serve on top of steaming white rice.

Curried Lentil, Wild Rice and Orzo Salad

Curried Lentil, Wild Rice and Orzo Salad

1/2 cup wild rice
2/3 cup green or brown lentils
1/2 cup orzo pasta
1/2 cup currants
1/4 cup finely chopped red onion
1/3 cup slivered almonds, toasted

Dressing:
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1/4 tsp each turmeric, paprika, ground cardamom, nutmeg
pinch each cinnamon, cloves, cayenne
1/3 cup vegetable oil

In a large pot of boiling salted water, cover and cook wild rice for 10 minutes.
Add lentils, boil for 20-25 minutes, add orzo, boil another 5 minutes, until just tender. Drain well and transfer to a large bowl. Add currants and onion.

Dressing: In small bowl, whisk together all remaining ingredients. Pour over rice and toss gently. Let cool completely, refrigerate at least 4 hours or up to 2 days. Just before serving sprinkle with almonds.

Lucy Waverman's Scottish Oatmeal Biscuits

This is from Lucy Waverman’s latest cookbook, Lucy’s Kitchen. It’s a collection of recipes that have personal meaning to her. She says these biscuits are a particular favourite of hers, and pair nicely with smoked salmon, cheese or butter and marmalade. The texture will be crisper without the baking powder. And you can also make them thinner than specified in the recipe, just reduce the baking time.
3 c quick-cooking rolled oats
1 ½ c all purpose flour
2 tbsp granulated sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1 ½ tsp baking soda
1 ½ tsp salt
1 c butter, cubed
¼ c water
Preheat over to 325F. Combine rolled oats, flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and walt in a large bowl. Cut in butter until mixture resembles smalll peas. Stir in enough water to bring dough together and knead gently. Roll or pat out dough on a lightly floured surface until about ½" thick. Cut out biscuits using a 3" cookie cutter. Place on an ungreased baking sheet. Bake for 25 minutes, or until bottoms are lightly brownded. Biscuits will crisp as they cool. Remove from baking sheets and cool on rack.
Makes about 20 biscuits

Chinese Steamed Custard Buns (sau bau)

2 ½ oz butter
2 eggs
½ c. sugar
¼ c. custard powder
¼ c. corn starch
1 c. milk
4 c. flour
7-8 tsp. baking powder
1 c. sugar
2 tbsp (1 oz) lard
1 tsp. vinegar
1 c. cold water
24 2 ½" parchment paper or paper muffin cups
Melt butter. Mix in custard powder and corn starch in a separate bowl. Beat eggs and sugar until sugar dissolves. Stir in butter, custard powder and corn starch. Add milk. Steam the mixture over rolling hot water for 15 minutes. Take the filling and stir again. If it’s too lumpy, add more milk until it’s smooth. Return the custard to the rolling hot water and steam for another 15 minutes. Let it cool completely.
Combine the flour and baking powder in a large bowl. Cut the lard into the flour until the mixture resembles fine crumbs. Mix in sugar and vinegar. Gradually add water. Use one hand to mix until it just holds and forms a dough. Add a little more more water if 1 cup is not enough. Leave the dough in the bowl and cover it with a damp towel for half-an-hour. Divide the dough into four portions. Divide each portion again into 6 balls. Use a rolling pin or fingers to flatten each roll into a 3" or 4" round. Stuff in the desired amount of filling and squeeze the opening closed to form a bun. Place on top of parchment paper and then arrange in a steamer for steaming.

Chocolate Cut Out Cookies

1/2 c. butter, softened
1/2 c. sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
1 1/2 c. flour
4 tbsp. cocoa
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
Combine salt, baking powder, baking soda, cocoa and flour in a small bowl. Set aside. In a larger bowl, cream butter. Mix in sugar and beat until fluffy. Beat in a egg and add vanilla. Stir the flour mixture into the butter until a soft dough forms. Divide the dough into two portions. Wrap each portion in plastic wrap and let sit in a fridge until firm -- about an hour or so. Preheat over to 325 degrees. Roll out the dough on a floured surface with a floured rolling pin until it is 1/4" thick. Cut cookies with cookie cutter and transfer to baking sheet. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes. Let cool slightly on sheet and then transfer to a rack to cool completely. While the cookies are cooling, make the icing.

Royal Icing
1 1/3 c. icing sugar
1 egg white
food colouring
Beat egg white until frothy. Add in 2/3 c. icing sugar. Heat in the microwave until the icing reaches 160 degrees on a thermometer. Then stir until another 2/3 c. icing sugar until the icing forms soft peaks. Add food colouring and use to decorate cookies.