Spice Melange

“In this time, the most precious substance in the Universe is the spice melange.”

– Princess Irulan

Melange means mixture. If you keep the following whole spices on hand, you can crush and grind them in various combinations to go with any foods. You could probably even make sandworm taste okay.

Coriander seeds

Turmeric

Chillies

Salt

Cumin Seeds

Fennel Seeds

Black Peppercorns

Garlic

Ginger

Fenugreek

Cinnamon (Canela) bark

Cloves

Anise

Mustard

Tamarind Pods

Cardamom Pods

 

Advertisement

Steak and Liver Pie

You can hide rather a lot of liver in this pie.

Ingredients:

1 package of beef liver cut up relatively small

2 pounds beef cut into 1 inch cubes

½ cup oil

½ cup lemon juice

2 tablespoons vinegar

½ tablespoons minced onion

pepper

oil for frying

1 medium onion, chopped

flour

bouquet garni (a cheesecloth bag containing a bay leaf, and several sprigs of thyme)

¾ pound of carrots, cut into bite sized pieces.

½ pound of mushrooms cut into bite sized pieces.

1 tablespoon Worcester sauce

Procedure:

Place liver and beef in a bowl with oil, lemon juice, vinegar, minced onion, and pepper and marinate an hour or overnight.

Pour the whole through a sieve, to save the marinade. Coat the beef and liver with flour by tossing the meat in a bowl with some flour.

Sautée the chopped onions in oil. Add the beef and liver. Stir while sautéing until the the flour is coated with oil. Add the marinade to the pan, along with the bouquet garni, salt, and enough water to cover by 2 inches. Simmer for an hour.

Add the carrots and mushrooms to the pan and simmer for 45 minutes or until the meat is done.

Whisk together ¼ cup water and ¼ cup flour. Add it to the pan and stir for another 5 minutes to make a gravy sauce.

Pour into baking dishes and cover with pastry.

Preheat the oven to 425 Bake at 425 for 15 minues and 375 for 30 – 45, until crust is brown and filling is bubbling hot.

Borscht Recipe

A family recipe for borscht from Naked Cookbook, my #NaNoWriMo #WriMoRebel project this year.

Ingredients:

• 1 quart beef broth
• 1 pound pork sausage
• 3 medium beets, peeled and grated
• 3 carrots, cut very small
• 3 potatoes, cut small
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1/2 medium head cabbage, cored and sliced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• salt, pepper to taste
• 1/2 cup sour cream, for topping

Directions:

1. Put a bottle of vodka in the freezer.
2. In a saucepan, heat beef broth to a simmer. In a kettle, bring about a quart of water to a boil.
3. In a soup pot, crumble the sausage over medium-high heat. If it is lean, add a little cooking oil. Cook and stir until no longer pink. Lower heat. Add a little pepper, the onion and garlic, cook until the onion looks wilted.
4. To the soup pot, Add the beets, carrots, potatoes and beef broth. Add boiling water to cover the vegetables. Cook until the carrots and potatoes are tender, about 10 minutes or so.
5. Add the cabbage, and cook only a tiny bit, less than 5 minutes.
6. Ladle into serving bowls, and garnish with sour cream. Serve with a shot of ice-cold vodka straight and dark bread.