Sour Cream Noodles

Did you know it's National Noodle Month?  Well, neither did I until Wendy of A Day In the Life of the Farm told us, and this week, the Sunday Funday bloggers are celebrating that fact, with all kinds of delicious noodle recipes.  And I had to get in on the fun.   

I love noodles, well, pretty much any kind of pasta.  I'm good with it all.   Fresh, dried, artisan...  

I've been making my own noodles for years, from the basic egg noodle recipe, one egg, one cup of flour, salt, and cook.    I made some for a blogging event a few years ago, and they ended up in this dish, Rakott Teszta, a Hungarian noodle dish.   It was so good, I brought it to a potluck, and it disappeared quickly.  I've made Gyoza wrappers, aka wonton wrappers.   And used them in some Wonton Soup.  And they were amazing.   

I was complaining to a friend that I was missing my pasta machine, which is in storage, and she said she had one and gifted it to me, so I'm all set to make pasta this week.  Although I did use it for my Pierogi dough the other day.   My back didn't like all that rolling-out business, so I made the machine do the work.  And life is good.  

I decided to make some egg noodles again, but did a little twist on them.   These were cut using the fettuccine setting.    I sprinkled some semolina over the top to keep them from sticking to each other. 

I added some semolina to the basic dough.  I let them dry for a bit, then cooked some up, well, I par-cooked them.  BTW, if using freshly-made noodles, they need hardly any cooking at all.  Just enough to 'set' the egg and flour.   I layered them in a small casserole dish and made what I'm calling sour cream noodles.   

I blitzed the sour cream and cottage cheese in the blender along with some grated parmesan cheese.  Tossed the par-cooked noodles in the 'sauce' and then put them into a casserole dish and baked them, just long enough for the noodles to finish cooking and the sour cream/cottage cheese/parmesan to envelop the noodles and make the sauce. 

 Perfect for a Meatless Monday, if needed.  There's lots of protein from the cottage cheese, the parmesan, and the other cheeses as well.   I'm also thinking it would be nice with some lovely shrimp in there, or maybe even some cooked chicken... if you need meat.   I'm also thinking you could add all kinds of veggies to it as well. And I may just do so in the future.  Some asparagus, mushrooms maybe, along with some sliced cooked chicken...  So many delicious possibilities...  

Check out what my fellow Sunday Funday bloggers made: 

• Culinary Cam: Chamomile Soba Noodles 
• A Messy Kitchen: Garlic Lover's Pasta
• Karen's Kitchen Stories: Kung Pao Noodles
• Mayuri's Jikoni: Manchow Soup 
• A Day in the Life on the Farm: Protein Packed Noodle Bowl 
• Food Lust People Love: Savory Garlic Rice Noodles 
• Sid's Sea Palm Cooking: Sour Cream Noodles 
• Sneha's Recipe: Vegan Thai Peanut Butter Noodles 
• Our Good Life: Winter Comfort Food: Butter Noodles 

And for those who would like my recipe: 

Sour Cream Noodles

Yield: 3-4

Author: Sid's Sea Palm Cooking - Adapted from many recipes

These noodles are bathed in a sour cream sauce and baked to perfection.

Ingredients

• 1 cup fresh noodles or 1 1/2 cups parcooked Egg Noodles.  Cook the fresh noodles for about 1 minute or the commercial egg noodles for 5 minutes. 
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 cup Cottage Cheese
• 1/2 cup parmesan cheese
• 1 tsp. Onion Powder
• 1 tsp. Garlic Powder
• 1 cup finely shredded Italian cheese mix, divided

Instructions

1. Place the sour cream, cottage cheese, parmesan cheese, spices, and 1/2 of the shredded cheese mixture in a blender or food processor to break up the cottage cheese curds and process to a smooth sauce.
2. In a bowl, mix the sauce with the noodles and place them into an oven-safe dish that has been sprayed with non-stick spray. Sprinkle the reserved cheese evenly over the top of the noodles.
3. Bake in a 350-degree oven for 15 to 20 minutes or until the cheese melts over the top of the dish and it has been warmed through. I like it to get some color on top.
4. Remove from oven and serve while hot.

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Roasties (Roast Potatoes)

This week on Sunday Funday, we've been asked to cook with a root or roots.   Mayuri is our hostess this week.  

 I've made these a few times now.  Roasties, so totally and completely YUM, and so easy to make as well

 

In fact, the last time I made them, they disappeared so fast, even though I thought I'd made a lot, it wasn't enough.  Lesson learned, next time I'll make more, but in the meantime, I've had a craving for them, so I decided that they would make a nice side dish with a steak.   These are pretty British in origin, but they translate well to this side of the pond.   And then I forgot to take the steak out of the freezer so I subbed in a pork chop.  

Let's use some magic buzzwords here as well; they can be vegan, and they're also Gluten-free.  

Personally, I like making them with beef fat, but I've also made them successfully with oil.  Your choice...

Potatoes have got to be one of the most perfect foods.  You can turn it into candy, all the way up to some lovely fermented vodka.  You can mash, fry, bake, and boil them as well.   My late husband loved mashed potatoes, so when I made potatoes, I mashed them for him.    Personally, I love a plain boiled red potato with some butter.  One of my mom's favorite open-faced sandwiches was a layer of fresh, boiled new potatoes on a slice of rye bread.  As a kid, I never could understand why she liked it so much, but as an adult,  I understand.

Which brings us to these little and not-so-little nuggets of deliciousness. 

  Usually served alongside a nice Sunday roast, which is about the perfect thing for the Sunday Funday bloggers.   

Did I mention they're not just delicious but also easy to make?  Cause they are and look and taste amazing, perfect for impressing, if you need to.  

And most people will have the right kind of potato in the house already, at least if you buy russets.   One note here, red potatoes or any kind of firm waxy potato will not work as well here.  I use Russets or Yukon Gold potatoes.   I had some Russet potatoes in the pantry, but they decided they needed a second life and sprouted.

They're heading out to the back yard and will be put into a pot of dirt, ready for their second life.  I bought some Yukon Potatoes for this recipe, and they worked well.  

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees or 400 if using a convection oven.  Melt the beef fat if using, and prepare a baking sheet by spraying it with some non-stick spray. Peel the potatoes and quarter them.  I add them to some salted boiling water and cook them for about 8-10 minutes. 

Just long enough for the outer edge of the potatoes to cook.  Take them off the heat, drain them, then let them sit for a couple of minutes so that any excess water can steam off.    You can then either shake the pan with the potatoes in it vigorously.

Or put the potatoes into a large bowl that you can shake.   I should have put mine into a large bowl to shake. I ended up shaking them so hard that a couple of pieces of potato jumped out of the pot and ended up on the floor.   You do this so that the outer layer of the semi-cooked potatoes looks a little like they're kinda mashed.    You do want them roughed up a lot.  At this point, I pour the melted beef fat over the potatoes and toss again.   

Then I distribute them evenly on a baking sheet, separating them so they have a chance to roast.  Then into the oven for 20 minutes, after which I'll use a thin spatula (my fish spatula works well here) to loosen and turn the potatoes over, and then let them cook for another 20-30 minutes or until they're a lovely golden brown.  

The outer crust of these roasties is crisp, and the interior is so creamy and delicious. 

You can infuse the fat with some garlic and rosemary for an extra flavor boost, as it's melting, just drain it through a sieve before adding to the potatoes. If you don't, you risk the garlic becoming very bitter and acrid.   I tried it and decided that next time I'll up the garlic. 

No real recipe to follow, just do you.   I made enough potatoes for myself for dinner, but a word of warning here.  Make more potatoes than you think you'll need; they will go fast. 

Check out what my fellow Sunday Funday bloggers are sharing:

Cook With Renu: Beetroot Paneer Rice With Leftover Rice (Easy Lunchbox Recipe) 

Sizzling Tastebuds : High Protein Beetroot Burgers 

Sneha's Recipe: Ginger Almond & Poppy Seed Vadi 

Amy's Cooking Adventures: Roasted Beet Galette 

Sid's Sea Palm Cooking: Roasties 

Mayuri's Jikoni : Arbi Ka Paratha 

Food Lust People Love: Chantenay Carrot Ginger Soup 

Karen's Kitchen Stories: Parsnip and Leek Soup with Cumin and Mustard Seeds 

Making Miracles: Sweet Potato Shepherd's Pie 

Mildly Indian: Alu kangmet |Manipuri potato mash

Banana Pancakes

So this week, the Sunday Funday group is posting recipes using almonds.    Camilla of Culinary Cam is our hostess this week, and here's what she said 'February 16th is National Almond Day. Let's share any recipes you like with whole almonds, sliced almonds, almond meal, or even almond butter. Sweets, savories? Bring it on. Hosted by Camilla. 

Mayuri's Jikoni : Almond Date Balls 

Sid's Sea Palm Cooking: Banana Pancakes 

Sizzling Tastebuds: Basil Almond Pesto 

Karen's Kitchen Stories: Chinese Almond Cookies 

A Day in the Life on the Farm: Copycat Panera Thai Chicken Salad 

Sneha's Recipe: Energy High Protein Shake 

Culinary Cam: Gató de Almendras Mallorquín 

A Messy Kitchen: Grain Free Almond Flour Cinnamon Pancakes 

Making Miracles: Lemon Almond Muffins 

Mildly Indian: Roasted almond cookies 

Food Lust People Love: Smoky Spicy Roasted Almonds

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I shared a recipe for what I think is the best Banana Bread I've ever had last week; it had almond flour in it.  But, for some reason, I've got a bit of a sweet tooth going, and it's still Banana Month, so I thought I'd have some fun and play with some ripe bananas and some almond flour.  This is actually a remake of a post I did a few years ago about Banana Pancakes, but I've remade it, hopefully a touch healthier, or not, but it's still delicious.    

I love substituting almond flour wherever I can.  I just love the taste, and while it's nutritionally more dense, as in more calories than regular flour, it's perfect for those people who are celiac, avoiding gluten, or are sensitive to gluten.   

And I usually have bananas on hand, ripening way faster than I can eat them.  Which is why I currently have a few bananas in the freezer, ready to be made into Banana Bread.   But this recipe actually calls for a fresh, ripe banana.   

I don't know about you, but I buy bananas at a certain stage and end up not eating them.  They get overripe, at least to my taste, so then I place them in the freezer.    OK, so I'm picky.  

I like bananas, but they have to be almost totally ripe, still a touch green on the skin, and very firm.  More than that, they go into the freezer for the next batch of banana bread.   As soon as those dark spots start forming on the peel, they're too ripe. I know, fussy, fussy, fussy.  But I like what I like.    I also like adding some coconut and chopped pecans when I make the pancakes. 

 And you know, they're really kinda healthy, so long as you don't add a bunch of syrup and butter.   

Here's the recipe:

Banana Pancakes

Yield: 2

Author: Sid's Sea Palm Cooking - Adapted from many recipes

Bananas, eggs and almond flour makes for a great pancake.

Ingredients

• 1 ripe banana - mashed
• 1 egg
• 4 tablespoons almond flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons each of coconut and chopped pecans - optional. Add to the batter, before cooking, if desired.

Instructions

1. Mix the mashed banana, egg, almond flour, and baking powder together. If using the coconut and chopped pecans, you can add them here.
2. Spray a frying pan with some non-stick vegetable oil, heat over medium heat.
3. Dollop 1/4 of the mixture into the pan, and cook until set. These do not act like regular pancakes; you'll need to lift a corner of the pancake with a spatula to check for color and flip them when they reach a nice golden color. There is no gluten, and the pancake will not act like a regular pancake.
4. Serve with butter and golden syrup.

 

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Banana Bread, low sugar and gluten free.

 A friend shared this recipe with me. It was one she'd cut out of a magazine.   It immediately piqued my interest for a few reasons: the minimal amount of oil and sugar per loaf.  And it was also gluten-free.   

It's also Avocado and Banana month, and I honored the Avocado with my Spicy Avocado Deviled Eggs earlier this week, and now we get to the other part of the month, the Banana.  

I've been making a good banana bread for years, but honestly, I wasn't crazy about how much oil the recipe called for, so when my friend, Lisa, shared this recipe, I sat up and took note.   It's still really delicious, and for those of us who seek a little less sugar and oil in our diets, well, all I can say is this,  WOOHOO!!!!  

My only quibble when I read the recipe was that I didn't have any oat flour on hand.  And when I raised that little quibble to my friend, she told me she'd made her own oat flour from some oatmeal she had on hand.  I fixed that little issue, though.  I took some of the oats I'd purchased, threw them into my blender, and whizzed them into flour. Best part, it costs about .05/oz., versus .34/oz. for the processed oat flour, and I don't know about you, but that is a pretty significant saving.  And I do like to save, where possible.  

I also used up the frozen bananas I had.  I buy bananas a lot, but usually don't eat them quickly enough, and they get overripe.  At which point I consign them to the freezer, in their original packaging.   When I want to bake banana bread, I usually have enough for a couple of loaves of banana bread.  

Hint:  I take the bananas out about a half hour or so before I'm ready to bake. I then cut off one end of the frozen banana, squeeze out the innards into a bowl, and set it aside as I gather the rest of the ingredients.     I also like to lay a banana slice lengthwise on top of the bread and use the natural division in the banana to separate it into thirds.   

I have to admit to not really caring for Banana Bread that much, but if I'm going to eat it, I want some walnuts in it. 

And since I made a second batch of bread and was feeling a touch lazy, I decided to use my gluten-free flour in it, instead of the oat flour.   It did make a big difference.   The oat flour seemed to make the bread very soft, whereas the gluten-free flour made it look more like traditional bread.  

I also taste-tested both, and ummm, can I just say, they were both pretty darn tasty.    I do think I prefer the one with the walnuts and gluten-free flour, though, but I wouldn't say no to the one made with the oat flour either.   I also want to add I've made a lot of recipes using bananas.  And while Banana Bread is not really high on my list of faves,  I've made Oatmeal Banana Muffins, and I also love making these Banana Coconut Pecan Pancakes from time to time.   A friend of ours always ordered the Banana Coconut Pancakes when we'd go out for breakfast.  I can't remember if there were pecans on them as well, but I like pecans, so I usually add some.    I also live in the south, and I'm not sure, but I think that everyone who lives here has to have a Banana Pudding recipe.  I honestly do not know if it's still a requisite for living here, but just in case...   I've also made a Banana Bundt Cake a few times.  Talk about a sugar rush, this delivers it.  

As you can see, I've celebrated Bananas a lot.    And now for this edition of Banana Month. 

 

Here's the recipe: 

Banana Bread - gluten free

Yield: Makes 2 small loaves or 1 large one

Author: Sid's Sea Palm Cooking - Adapted from many recipes

Prep time: 10 MinTotal time: 10 Min

Love banana bread, but don't like all the oil in it? Try this method, it's a low-sugar, gluten-free loaf of deliciousness.

Ingredients

• 3 ripe bananas + 1 ripe banana, divided lengthwise into thirds, using the extra third for the batter.
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 1/3 cup honey
• 1/4 cup Canola or vegetable oil
• 1 tsp. Vanilla extract
• 1 1/4 cups firmly packed almond flour
• 1 1/4 cups oat flour - made from quick oats or Gluten-free flour. The texture will be different with each one.
• 1 tsp. Baking Soda
• 1/2 tsp. Baking Powder
• 1/2 tsp. fine sea salt - I use extra fine Himalayan Salt
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts, optional

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 2 8x4 or 1 9x5 pan/s with nonstick spray, then set aside while the batter is made.
2. Mash bananas in a bowl until smooth, add the eggs, honey, oil, and vanilla, and mix well.
3. Divide a banana into thirds lengthwise, using the banana's natural divisions. Add one-third of a banana to the mashed bananas and set the other two pieces aside.
4. In a separate bowl, combine the dry ingredients and mix well.
5. Pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, and mix until well combined.
6. Pour batter into the two pans, evenly, and place the 1/3 piece of banana on top, and press down lightly.
7. Bake for 30-35 minutes, checking after 35 minutes to see if the bread is browning too quickly, and test for doneness by inserting a toothpick; if it comes out clean, the bread is done. If the bread is not done, place a piece of aluminum foil over the top, and continue baking for another 10-15 minutes.
8. Cool the bread in the tins on a cooling rack for at least 20 minutes before removing the bread from the tins. Let cool completely before slicing and serving. Store in an airtight container.

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Spicy Avocado Deviled Eggs

This week on Sunday Funday we're celebrating Avocados since it's National Avocado Month, starting today.  I had to participate since avocados are one of my favorite green veggies.  BTW, it's also Banana Month as well, and I'll be sharing my Banana Bread recipe later on this week. 

Wendy of A Day in the Life on the Farm suggested we have fun with Avocados this week.   She's also our hostess for this event.  

I made some Spicy Avocado Deviled Eggs with some Guacamole and Sambal Oelek.   

I got hooked on Guacamole the first time I tried it, and I'll buy avocados and make Guacamole just cause.   Why am I talking about Guacamole?  

Well, it just so happens that this week on Sunday Funday, it's Avocado Month and 

I'm sharing my recipe for Spicy Avocado Deviled Eggs, along with a shortcut.    I'm sure we've all been there: picked the perfect avocado, taken it home, cut it open, and found it all brown inside. Or we've gotten some unripe ones, taken them home, let them ripen, cut them open, and YUCK.   Big old brown spots, showing where they were bumped or ? during transportation.    

Awhile ago,  ok, so it was several years ago, I bought some premade, or rather processed, avocado in little tubs.  These are by Wholly Avocado; some are guacamole, and some are just plain processed avocado.  I like keeping them in my fridge for those avocado emergencies, cause I'm tired of chucking avocados, cause they have a habit of ripening and needing to be used TODAY by 2PM at the latest.   You know what I mean.    And now that you've suffered through my avocado lecture, let me bore you with my hints, or rather, my hard and fast rule when it comes to making hard-cooked eggs. 

I'm quite frankly shite at figuring out how long to cook eggs to get them to the perfect doneness, so many years ago, I bought an Eggsact Egg Timer.  You can get it here.  I love my Timer and use it often because I love a soft-boiled egg, and this way I can cook it to my taste. 

If I can plan ahead, when I make Deviled Eggs, I like to take the eggs out the day before and let them sit on the counter for at least 24 hours.   Mainly because I buy super-fresh eggs, and they are notoriously hard to peel once they're hard-cooked.  

I then cook them with my timer, the timer changes color and lets you know how cooked they are by where the color changes,  and as soon as they're hard-cooked, I take the pot, drain the hot water, and shake the eggs inside, fracturing the shells. 

I then fill the pot with cold water, let them sit for just a minute or so, pick off a little piece of shell, puncturing the membrane a little,

Place the egg back in the pot, and continue until I've done all the eggs.  Then I peel them.  The eggs will still be warm, but you can handle them easily.   The cold water gets in under the membrane, and the shells peel away easily. 

And if you should happen to find a stubborn egg, well, gosh, if you're making deviled eggs, just smoosh that egg white in with the rest of the yolks.  You just get more filling that way.   Or if making egg salad or potato salad, no one will know but you.    I've been making my hard-cooked eggs this way most of my life, and it works.  I buy very fresh eggs, which are notoriously hard to peel, so I let them sit on the counter for at least 24 hours before cooking them. 

Now that we have those two things out of the way, let me show you how to make my spicy avocado deviled eggs.    I made only 4 eggs this way, because while I love eggs, I can only eat so many per day.  OK, so two is my usual limit.  

I also want to say, that if you do my little trick of setting the eggs on the counter overnight, make sure they're sitting upright, as the yolk will migrate to the side of the egg, and that means a thinner side wall, as you can see here, getting the yolk out made me 'break' or tear that thin side wall.  

I also have fun with my eggs. I don't just cut them lengthwise; I'll cut them in half, then cut a very thin slice off the bottom, so they sit nicely, before I cut them in half.   Variety is the spice, they say.  

You will also end up with way more filling than you need.  I personally like piping them into the egg whites with a star tip,

but you do you.   However, you get the filling in there, it's good.    I like the leftover filling on crackers or tortilla chips as a nice little treat/snack.  

Here goes the recipe, such as it is.  I only made 4 eggs this time, but if you make more eggs, just increase the amounts as needed.  I would suggest a dozen eggs, 2 avocado mini's, or a half cup of mashed avocado.   

Check out the fun my fellow Sunday Funday bloggers had with Avocados. 

• A Messy Kitchen: Avocado Chicken Salad
• Mildlyindian: Avocado chutney 
• Mayuri's Jikoni: Avocado Strawberry Salad 
• Amy's Cooking Adventures: Avocado Toast with Crispy Chickpeas 
• Making Miracles: Chocolate Avocado Pudding 
• Food Lust People Love: Chunky Avocado Egg Salad 
• A Day in the Life on the Farm: Crab and Avocado Salad 
• Sneha's Recipe: Creamy Avocado & Egg Salad- Keto 
• Cook with Renu: Grilled Tofu Avocado Sandwich 
• Sizzling Tastebuds: No cook Avocado Spread 
• Karen's Kitchen Stories: Pineapple Avocado Salsa 
• Sid's Sea Palm Cooking: Spicy Avocado Deviled Eggs 
• Our Good Life: Winter Citrus & Avocado Salad with Olive Oil and Sea Salt

Recipe for the Spicy Avocado Deviled Eggs follows:  

Spicy Avocado Deviled Eggs

Yield: 2

Author: Sid's Sea Palm Cooking -

Deviled Eggs are so much fun to play with. You can add all kinds of deliciousness to them. I added Guacamole and Sambal Oelek to these eggs. Just double, triple, or quadruple the ingredients for your deviled egg extravaganza. I cooked 4 eggs for this recipe, but you can do more

Ingredients

• 4 hard-cooked eggs, cut lengthwise or in half.
• 1/4 cup prepared guacamole
• 1 heaping teaspoon Sambal Oelek, more or less to taste.
• 1 teaspoon mayonnaise if desired

Instructions

1. Mash up the egg yolks on a plate with a fork and, if need be, add any whites you massacred, breaking them up as well.
2. Place the mashed egg yolks and any whites into a small bowl.
3. Add the guacamole and the mayonnaise if needed, stir together.
4. Place the mixture into a piping bag, equipped with a star tip.
5. Pipe the mixture into the prepared egg whites. You can enjoy the leftover egg yolk mixture on crackers or tortilla chips, or make a fancy egg sandwich. Cause there will be leftovers, depending on how high you pipe the filling onto and into the egg whites.

 

 

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