Niki's Lacy Tempura

Moo, Niki and I worked hard to create a tempura recipe that would enable us to create a light and lacy tempura. We experimented with many ingredients, temperatures and combinations. This is one of our better creations. Great with shrimp and vegetables.

1 pound shrimp, shelled, deveined and flattened
2 eggs
1 cup very cold water
1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup cornstarch
1/4 tsp. salt
10 ice cubes
4 T very cold water
Olive oil

Tempura Dipping Sauce #1
1 cup beef broth
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup sherry
Sprinkle a little minced ginger on each individual bowl of dipping sauce

Dipping Sauce #2 (not traditional but very good)
1 T dry mustard
1/4 cup catsup
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 T water

Once you have cleaned and prepared the shrimp, store them in the refrigerator until you're ready to cook. To make the batter, beat eggs with very cold water. Sift together flour, cornstarch and salt. Beat this mix into the liquid (this is not a lumpy batter). Because you want the batter to be very cold when you drip shrimp and/or vegetables into the hot oil, add 10 ice cubes to the batter and set the batter bowl into a larger bowl filled with ice.

Pour enough olive oil into a sauce pan to deep fry shrimp. Heat oil to 375 degrees. And it will be important for you to maintain a steady heat.

With your left hand dip into the lace batter and shake it into the hot oil. With right hand, dip a cold shrimp into the main batter and roll it onto the lace. Cook until golden

For lace, place 1 cup of batter into a smaller bowl. Stir in 4 T of very cold water.

Moo's Cream of Broccoli Soup

When Moo sent this recipe to me years ago, she wrote: "This is my Cream of Broccoli soup we had for Easter, and it is delicious. You could easily substitute zucchini or another vegetable." She didn't call it a palate pleaser, but I will. You can serve this soup hot or cold.

1 bunch broccoli
1 stalk celery, finely sliced
1 small onion, finely sliced
3 cups chicken broth (or vegetable broth for vegans)
Dry mustard
Salt and pepper to taste
1 cup sour cream (or a non-dairy substitute)
Sour cream and fresh chives, finely chopped for garnish

Combine in a sauce pan broccoli, washed and trimmed, celery, and onion. Add broth and bring to a boil. Simmer for 15 minutes or until the vegetables are just tender. Pour into blender, add a pinch of dry mustard and salt and pepper to taste. Cover and blend until smooth (or a little less if you like more texture). Stir in sour cream (or substitute). If soup is to be served cold, add a dollop of sour cream on top and sprinkle with fresh chives. If you want to serve the soup hot, mix 3 T of olive oil with 3 T flour over low heat to make a roux. Add to the soup...it really adds to the flavor.

Moo's Cream of Ginger-Lemongrass Soup

I love this soup. It is light and flavorful. It's also got a little zip to it. Thank the chili bean paste for giving this soup that little something extra. Moo loved lemongrass and she liked to mix delicate flavors with a little spice. Dare it say it...chili bean paste was her "Bam!"

2 T olive oil
1 T fresh ginger, finely chopped
2 T lemongrass, finely chopped
2 T shallots, finely chopped
1/2 cup yellow onions, finely chopped
2 cups fresh corn
4 cups chicken stock (for vegan/vegetarian version use vegetable broth)
Salt and pepper to taste
2 tsp. sugar
1/2 cup half and half (vegan replace with a soy creamer)
2 tsp. chili bean paste
Coriander leaves for garnish

Heat olive oil in pot, add ginger, lemongrass, shallots and onions. Cook on low heat for 2 minutes. Add corn and cook for another minute. Add stock and bring to a simmer. Cook on low heat for about 5 minutes, add salt and pepper, then sugar and half and half. Remove pot from heat and cool to room temperature. When ready to serve, stir to blend ingredients and return pot to heat. Ladle into soup bowls add a dot of chili bean paste to top and swirl it with a knife to create a pleasing pattern. Garnish with coriander.

Moo's Vinaigrette Dressing

1 cup vinegar (you can cut this with some lemon juice if you prefer)
1 T sea salt
2 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. dry mustard
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1/2 tsp. fresh ground black pepper
2 cups olive oil
2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

In a small bowl, mix vinegar (or vinegar/lemon juice), salt, sugar, mustard, garlic and pepper. Whisk in the olive oil. Refrigerate in a tightly covered jar.

Niki Dragon Raspberry Poppy Seed Salad Dressing

Niki put this one together, and I've replaced the canola oil with olive oil. It's a great palate pleaser.

3/4 cup olive oil
3/4 cup raspberry vinegar
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 - 2 tsp. honey
1/2 - 1 tsp. curry powder
Fresh ground pepper and sea salt to taste
1 1/2 T poppy seeds

Mix ingredients. Put aside to allow flavors to mingle and merge. Store in refrigerator.

Moo's Lemon Spice Dressing

This is an excellent salad dressing.

1/3 cup soft tofu
1/2 lemon, unpeeled and cut into pieces
1 tsp. curry powder
1 tsp. paprika
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 tsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4-1/2 cup white wine

Combine all ingredients, except the wine, in a blender until smooth. Add wine to desired consistency. Allow flavors to mingle and merge for several hours before using.

Moo's Honey Dressing

Try making your own rather than buying a bottle of something at the store. Replace Miracle Whip with a vegan version of mayo for a vegan dressing.

3/4 cup Miracle Whip
1/3 cup honey
1 T lemon rind, finely grated
3/4 tsp. lemon juice
1/4 tsp. fresh ginger, grated

Mix all ingredients in blender. Make ahead to allow flavors to mingle and merge. Keep in the refrigerator.

Moo's French Dressing

Again, try making your own salad dressing for a palate pleasing treat. Moo's recommendation: "Always try to get a good vinegar."

1 cup sugar
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. paprika
1 can tomato soup
1 can olive oil
1 cup vinegar

Mix all ingredients together in blender. Make ahead to allow flavors to mingle and merge. Keep in the refrigerator.

Moo's Own Russian Dressing

Believe me homemade Russian Dressing beats most anything you'll buy in a jar. And if you replace the Miracle Whip with a vegan mayo and leave out the hard-boiled eggs, this is a true vegan Russian Dressing.

1 cup Miracle Whip
1/4 cup catsup
1/4 cup chili sauce
2 tsp. Dijon mustard
2 tsp. red wine vinegar
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
2 hard-boiled eggs, finely chopped
3 scallions, finely chopped
1/4 cup green pepper, finely chopped
1/4 cup celery, finely chopped

Mix all ingredients together. Keep in the refrigerator.

Pasta del Moo

This is a little something Moo made up. She wrote it down in a letter she sent to me while I was in college. I guess Daddy considered it a real palate pleaser because Moo wrote, "It was delicious--Daddy ate his and part of mine." She didn't give me quantities for every ingredient. It's an intuitive thing based on how many people you will be serving and the flavor you're going for, and I've left it as she originally wrote it.

Several slices of firm white bread, cubed
Butter or olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
Green noodles
Salt
1 pkg. Italian salad dressing mix (dry)
1 1/2 cup sour cream

Cube several slices of bread and saute in butter (or olive oil) and garlic. Set aside. Cook green noodles in salted water. Drain then dump noodles back in pot. Add a little more butter and a package of Italian salad dressing mix. You can do this all ahead if you want. When you are ready to serve, add sour cream a little more olive oil or butter and the sauted bread cubes. Mix thoroughly, head and serve.

Moo's Piquant Lemon Potatoes

Get everyone to love vegetables. This recipe is guaranteed to do it. Palate pleasing vegetables every time.

2 pounds red potatoes
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup sugar
1 T lemon juice
1 1/2 T fresh basil, finely chopped
Grated rind of 1 lemon

Peel potatoes and slice thickly. Parboil potatoes in lightly salted water for 5-10 minutes. Potatoes should still be slightly uncooked and firm. Drain. While potatoes are cooking, combine butter, sugar, lemon juice and basil. Heat slowly, stirring until butter is melted and resulting in a a bubbly syrup. Add drained potatoes to syrup and cook over low heat for 10-15 minutes, until potatoes are richly glazed. Spoon syrup over potatoes often during the cooking period. Serve with a sprinkle of lemon rind. This recipe works equally well with green beans, peas, asparagus, beets or broccoli.

Moo's Tapioca Asparagus Soup

This is a simple recipe and very good. You'll get raves as a palate pleaser when you serve this. I mention using a Hot and Spicy seasoning (your choice) because it's up to you how much zip you want to give the soup and the flavor enhancement you're looking for. There are many spicy seasoning mixes on the market so experiment with different flavors. Enjoy!

1 1/2 T butter (vegans can use a non-dairy butter substitute like Earth Balance)
1 T flour
1 cup asparagus water (the water your fresh asparagus is cooked in or the juice in a can of asparagus spears)
1 quart chicken broth (you could use a vegetable broth for vegan version)
1/2 cup quick cooking tapioca
salt and pepper to taste (watch salt if you use canned asparagus)
Hot and Spicy seasoning (your choice)
asparagus spears for garnish

In a large sauce pan melt butter. Add flour to make roux. Cook over medium heat for about 3 minutes. Add asparagus water slowly. Simmer about 5 minutes. Then add broth. Add tapioca and cook, stirring for about 5 minutes or until the tapioca is cooked and soft. Add salt, pepper and hot/spicy seasoning. Prior to serving put a couple spears of cooked asparagus in the soup bowl and ladle soup over the spears.

Moo's Colcannon

Okay Bruce, this one is for you! I know you love it. If you don't know what colcannon is...it's an Irish favorite with mashed potatoes and cabbage. It certainly qualifies as vegetarian, but you can make it vegan by using soy milk and a non-dairy butter like Earth Balance or Smart Balance.

1-1/2 cups water
3/4 pounds cabbage, cored and shredded
1/2 tsp salt
1-1/2 pound boiling potatoes, scrubbed
1-1/4 cups milk, scalded
1 T onion, minced
cayenne pepper, salt and pepper to taste
In a saucepan, combine water, cabbage and salt. Bring the water to a boil over moderately high heat and cook the cabbage, stirring until the liquid is evaporated. Remove from heat and cover pan loosely.

In a large saucepan, combine potatoes with enough cold water to cover by 2 inches. Bring to a boil and simmer until tender. Drain and shake dry over high heat for a few seconds. Cool. Peel the potatoes and puree while warm. Beat in scaled milk, cabbage, onion, salt and peppers to taste. Heat over low heat, adding more milk, if necessary, to achieve the desired consistency. Heat until hot. Mound into a warm serving dish. Make a depression in center and add 1/2 stick softened butter. Let begin to melt and serve hot.

Kendra's Cold Zucchini with Salsa Verde

You have a few options with this recipe. You can serve it as an appetizer or as a salad. With the exception of the herbs, I did not tell you how to chop the vegetables. This should be your preference. Some people like a smooth salsa, others like it chunky. Personally, I think you might want to blend in food processor until smooth if you are serving this as a salad.

8-10 small zucchini, trimmed and cut in half lengthwise
1 cup fresh parsley, chopped coarsely
1 cup olive oil
1/2 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
1 small onion, chopped
4 anchovy fillets
3 t. capers
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 shallot, chopped
1 tsp. seasoned salt
1 cup fresh parsley, finely chopped
1/2 cup fresh basil, finely chopped
Ground pepper to taste

Cook zucchini in boiling salted water for about 4 minutes. Drain, rinse under cold water to cool quickly. Drain. Refrigerate. Combine coarsely chopped parsley with olive oil, lemon juice, onion, anchovies, capers, garlic, shallot and salt in food processor. Blend on pulse so you can control the consistency. Transfer to a bowl for serving and stir in finely chopped parsley and basil. Season with pepper to taste. Cover and refrigerate until cold.

When ready to serve, arrange zucchini on cold platter. For appetizers, slice zucchini into sticks and serve salsa in a bowl for dipping. As a side dish/salad, arrange zucchini halves on cold plate and spoon salsa over the top.

Moo's Pirate Rummy Spoonbread

This stuff is amazing. And that's all I have to say about that. A major palate pleaser.

2 cups whole milk
1 can coconut flakes
3/4 cup cornmeal
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp nutmeg
2 T butter
1 package frozen corn souffle, defrosted
1 package frozen kernel corn, defrosted and drained
4 eggs, separated
2 T dark Jamaica rum

Heat milk and coconut together. Do NOT boil. Gradually add cornmeal. Stir constantly until thickened. Remove from heat. Add salt, nutmeg, butter. Fold in the defrosted corn souffle and corn. Beat in egg yolks, one at a time. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Fold in rum. Beat egg whites until stiff, then fold into mixture. Turn mixture into a buttered baking pan, set that pan in boiling water in 350 degree oven. Bake for 1 to 1-1/2 hours (you'll have to check regularly as the water slows down the baking process and all ovens are different). Serve immediately with butter.

Moo's Stuffed Peapods

Here's another of Moo's favorite, holiday appetizers. They're easy to make, but to make a large batch will take you some time. Be patient, put on some music or a favorite movie while you work. The results of this palate pleaser are worth the time.

3/4 pound snow peapods
2 8-oz. packages cream cheese, cut in bits for easier blending
1/2 cup chives, chopped
Worcestershire sauce to taste
Salt and white pepper to taste

Blend in batches, cream cheese, Worcestershire sauce, salt and white pepper. This is really a personal taste thing and how spicy you want the peapods. Blend all the mixture until it is smooth. Put it in the refrigerator to chill. Now prepare the peapods by breaking off the ends and removing the strings. Wash then toss into boiling salted water for about 1 minute (until bright green). Drain peapods and run under cold water to stop the cooking process. Pat dry. Slit open each peapod to within 1/4 inch of each end. Once all peapods are prepared, get ready to fill. Apply a decorative tip to your pastry bag, fill bag with cream cheese mixture. Pipe cheese filling into each peapod and arrange on serving plate. Chill, loosely covered, for at least an hour.

3/4 of a pound of peapods should yield about 50 appetizers.

Moo's Cauliflower Salad

This is a vegetable salad of cauliflower, celery and onion (I think you could easily add some sliced carrots too). Moo received this recipe from a friend, but she then took the recipe apart and recreated it. The lemon dressing makes it a Moo palate pleaser.

fresh cauliflower, sliced
celery, sliced
raw onion, chopped
salt & pepper

Lemon Dressing
2 large lemons, use juice of both and grated rind of one
2 T sugar
3 large egg yolks, slightly beaten
1/2 t. salt
1/4 t. pepper
1 cup sour cream

Lightly beat the egg yolks and set aside. Combine lemon juice, sugar, salt and pepper. Reserve the rind. Bring ingredients slowly to a boil, swirling the pan to dissolve the sugar. Stir a little of the hot juice into the egg yolks to warm them. Return all the egg mixture to the juice saucepan over low heat. Whisk briskly until the eggs have thickened slightly. Remove from heat and immediately whisk in sour cream and rind. Set aside to cool to room temperature.

Pour over vegetables, mix well and serve.

Denny's Corn Souffle

Dennis used to enjoy trading recipes with Moo. This is one of his palate pleasers.

6-7 ears fresh corn, boil and strip kernels from ears
6 T butter

Combine the following:
4 cups whole milk
4 eggs, beat lightly
1/4 cup honey
2 T flour
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spread corn in the bottom of a 9 x 12 pan. Pour the milk/egg mixture over corn. Place the butter in chunks on top of the corn mixture. Bake about 1 hour, until golden brown and springy.

Moo's Asparagus Custard Casserole

This is a little something Moo threw together. It's a great side dish that's a great way to enjoy asparagus.

5 eggs
2 cups milk
2 T butter
2 T onion, chopped
2 T flour
1 can mushroom soup (concentrated)
1 cup cheese, shredded (Moo usually used either Jack or mozzarella)
I large bunch of asparagus cut into bite-size pieces
Bread crumbs
Slivered almonds

Beat eggs and milk. Saute chopped onion in butter. Combine these ingredients, then add flour. Turn oven to 350 degrees and preheat. Put cut asparagus in souffle dish. Pour egg mixture over asparagus. Sprinkle with bread crumbs and slivered almonds. Bake at 350 for about 50 minutes or until the custard is set. Serve warm

Moo's Basil Sauce

Here's a light, fresh sauce for pasta. Moo often used this sauce to create one of her palate pleasing pasta casseroles.

1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, chopped
4 T butter
1 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, crushed
2 large tomatoes, cut into thin wedges
6 sprigs fresh parsley leaves, chopped
1/2 cup dry red wine
Fresh ground pepper to taste

Saute all the ingredients in the butter for 5-10 minutes. Pour on top of pasta and top with parmesan cheese.