What's Cooking Wednesday: Kohlrabi Slaw Redux

Please go to The Fairy Blogmother for more What's Cooking Wednesday participants.

Well, you may remember that last week I wrote about a recipe gone wrong. One of those recipes that went increasingly wrong as I kept trying to fix it.

I put out a plea for help, and help you delivered! I not only received suggestions from Ann Arbor, but also from Alberta, Canada; New Orleans; Belgium; Boston and several other locales.

I am very grateful for all of the help. Many of the suggestions were similar, which makes sense given that I described what I was looking for. After sorting out the many ideas, and going to local blog, Gastronomical Three, suggested by AnnArbor.com reader Vivienne Armentrout, I decided to try the following variations:

This one was suggested by AnnArbor.com reader Peipei:

1 TBS canola oil
1 tsp toasted sesame oil
2 TBS honey
1 tsp fresh, grated ginger
2 TBS rice wine vinegar
1 TBS whole grain mustard
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground fresh pepper

A sauce for hiyashi chuka, the cold Japanese noodle dish, was suggested by my blogging buddy, Thalia's Child, who lives somewhere in Western Canada. After doing a comparison of different variants of hiyashi chuka, I decided on the variant suggested by Thalia's Child, which consisted of this:

3 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons white sugar
3 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
5 tablespoons chicken stock
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1/2 teaspoon chili oil (optional - but I used it)


I then pondered "add-ins". AnnArbor.com reader JG suggested cranberries, both for color and taste, and AnnArbor.com reader Mike Jennings suggested elimination of the sunflower seeds and adding black sesame seeds and toasted sesame seeds instead.

As a tasting panel, we invited over some friends, and we made a lovely Monday night dinner of it, supplementing the kohlrabi slaw taste-testing with grilled chicken sausages, a decadent Paula Deen corn casserole, and an Achatz raspberry pie. (Yeah, I was a bit lazy and opted for store bought dessert).

Before our friends arrived, I made two batches of the kohlrabi slaw with this recipe:

Per batch:
4 cups shredded kohlrabi
2 peeled, shredded carrots
4 shredded radishes

Then I divided the slaw into two bowls and mixed one bowl with Peipei's dressing and one with HALF the hiyashi chuka sauce. The amount of the hiyashi chuka sauce was basically twice the amount of Peipei's dressing, so you can either halve the recipe or save the rest of the sauce for another use (such as actually making hiyashi chuka). I let the batches of slaw marinate while I prepped everything else.

Right before dinner, I divided each batch of slaw into three bowls and topped each bowl with one of the following add-ins:

1. cranberries and toasted sunflower seeds
2. JUST toasted sunflower seeds
3. black sesame seeds and gomasio (dry roasted sesame seeds with sea salt):



We then passed all six bowls around sequentially and tasted each. For our very unscientific poll of four, the winning variant was unanimous:

Hiyashi chuka sauce with cranberries and toasted sesame seeds followed by the hiyashi chuka sauce with black sesame seeds and gomasio.

It needs to be stated, however, that we also really enjoyed those same two variants with Peipei's dressing. The solo sunflower seed variant, however, was just plain boring with either dressing.

Differences between the two dressings: both gave the semi-sweet, Asian feel that I was looking for with my original recipe. I would proudly serve either one at my table. Peipei's dressing was far sweeter than the hiyashi chuka sauce, so if you prefer sweeter tastes, in general, Peipei's dressing would be your choice. Since I used the optional 1/2 tsp hot chili oil in the hiyashi chuka sauce, this sauce gave a bit of heat, something that all four of us enjoyed. If you prefer something with a bit of spice, then the hiyashi chuka variant is for you. The cranberry/sunflower seed option was pretty darned sweet, the black sesame seed/gomasio option was much more savory, especially with the hiyashi chuka sauce.

So mix and match to your own tastes and enjoy! After the wonderful suggestions I received here, I'm hoping to have further misadventures in the kitchen.

Also, if you feel like commenting, comments would be greatly appreciated here.

What's Cooking Wednesday: Cornmeal Pancakes with Apples

Believe it or not, I consider this to be a very romantic recipe. In our salad days, D and I were living on opposite sides of Massachusetts and spent many weekends together. We were both grad students, we had no money, and pleasures had to be fairly simple. Two pleasures that I remember with great fondness were Sunday morning hikes with various other folks from D's department and D making me these wonderful pancakes. The original recipe used more butter, white flour, etc., but we actually prefer this version now (as do our waistlines). Enjoy! Photos will be forthcoming this Sunday, I hope.

Cornmeal Pancakes with Apples

Ingredients:

1 apple, preferably granny smith, peeled, cored and chopped into small pieces

1 cup cornmeal
1 tsp salt
1 TBS maple syrup (or equivalent, for my non-U.S./Canadian friends)
1/2 cup boiling water

1 egg
1 cup lowfat buttermilk (or regular buttermilk, if you can't get the lower fat version)
1 TBS melted butter

1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour (or plain whole wheat flour, but this gives it a smoother texture)
2 tsp baking powder


Directions:

1. Take the cornmeal, salt, maple syrup and boiling water and mix together. Set aside for 10 minutes.

2. Peel, core and chop the apple. Set aside.

3. Melt the butter in a sauce pan or the microwave. Beat the egg, and then add the buttermilk and the butter. Mix together.

4. Sift the flour or give it a whirl in the food processor several times. Then add the baking powder and repeat.

5. When the ten minutes is up, mix the wet ingredients into the cornmeal mixture. Then add the flour mixture with a few quick strokes. Lastly stir in the apple bits.

6. Spray a non-stick skillet. Cook the pancakes until bubbles rise and they look "done", and then flip them over and cook another 30 seconds to a minute.

Serve with syrup or fruit salad or jam.

6 servings. (Two pancakes per person).


Nutritional Info

Fat: 4.2g
Carbohydrates: 32.6g
Calories:182.8
Protein: 5.5g

As always, nutrition information supplied by the recipe calculator at sparkrecipes.com. And please go to Shan's place for more What's Cooking Wednesday participants.

Recipe Monday!

Here's what we've been eating lately. Well, we really have had more than desserts, but it's just a dessert kind of post today:

1. This one was adapted from The King Arthur Flour Baker's Companion. This cake is just incredibly delicious. That's all I can say. K, our Danish son, and D devoured it, almost within a day:
Apple - Rhubarb Cake

Ingredients:

1 1/3 + 1/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour, or 3/4 cup all purpose flour and 3/4 cup whole wheat flour
3/4 cup oat bran
2/3 cup granulated sugar
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
2 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
2 tsp apple pie spice or 1 tsp cinnamon and 1/2 tsp each nutmeg and allspice
3 TBS crystallized ginger, minced
2 cups cored, chopped apples with peel on
2 cups diced rhubarb
1/4 cup raisins
1/4 cup golden raisins
2 large eggs
1/2 cup lowfat buttermilk
6 TBS butter, softened

Nutritional Info:
Fat: 5.5g
Carbohydrates: 36.3g
Calories:196.3
Protein: 3.5g
Dietary Fiber: 2.7g

1. Preheat oven to 325 F.

2. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flours, sugars, baking soda, salt, and spices. Cut the softened butter into chunks and add it along with the ginger, buttermilk, apples, raisins, eggs and rhubarb.

3. Turn the batter into a greased and floured 9X13 inch pan and smooth the top. Bake the cake for 45 minutes, or until it springs back when lightly touched in the center. Remove it from the oven and cool completely on a wire rack. Leave the cake in the pan.

Number of Servings: 16

2. This was off of the Sparkpeople.com site. It's from the American Institute for Cancer Research. AICY is the caner charity that fosters research on diet and cancer and educates the public about the results. Again, this is not overly sweet. D and I just loved it:
Summer Pudding

Ingredients:
8 slices white bread, without crusts
5 cups assorted berries (raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, sliced strawberries) (we used just blueberries, 'cause that's what's at the farmer's market right now)
1/2 cup sugar
Lowfat plain or vanilla yogurt

Nutritional Info:
Fat: 1.7g
Carbohydrates: 40.3g
Calories:185.3
Protein: 4.2g
I wasn't able to get the fiber information for this one.

1. Line bottom and sides of 1-quart bowl with bread, trimming it to fit.

2. In medium saucepan, combine berries and sugar. Heat, stirring over medium heat, just until sugar is dissolved and berries release their juice, about 4 minutes.

3. Pour fruit and juice into bread-lined bowl. Top with layer of bread and cover loosely with plastic wrap. Place bowl on plate and cover it with saucer that fits just inside bowl. Weigh down saucer with 2-pound can. Refrigerate pudding overnight.

4. To serve, remove can, saucer and plastic wrap. Run knife around edge of bowl to loosen pudding and invert it onto bottom of plate. Serve pudding with dollop of yogurt on each plate.

Makes 6 servings.


3. Oh, my goodness.... this next one is to die for. Probably the best chocolate ice cream I've ever had. Tiny servings (1/4 cup) are more than enough - that's what the serving size is for this:
Deep Dark Chocolate Ice Cream adapted from Patrish's recipe off Recipezaar
Ingredients:
2 cups 2% milk
1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
1/2 vanilla bean
5/8 cup granulated sugar
5/8 cup good, unsweetened cocoa powder
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
6 oz. bittersweet chocolate, chopped

Nutritional Info:
Fat: 6.9g
Carbohydrates: 19.4g
Calories:135.3
Protein: 2.6g
Dietary Fiber: 1.9g

1. In a large saucepan, combine the milk and cream over medium-low heat. With a sharp knife, split the vanilla bean lengthwise; use the blunt edge of the knife to scrape out the seeds.

2. Stir the seeds and the bean pod into the milk/cream mixture. Simmer over low heat for 30 minutes. Remove the pod adn rinse for other use or discard it.

3. Combine the sugar, cocoa, eggs and egg yolks in a medium bowl. Use a mixture on medium speed - it will be very thick

4. Measure out 1 cup of the hot milk/cream mixture. With the mixer on low, add the cup of the hot milk/cream to the cocoa mixture in a slow, steady stream and mix until completely incorporated. Stir the chopped chocolate into the saucepan with the milk/cream. Stir the egg mixture into the hot milk/cream. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens and begins to resemble chocolate pudding. Transfer the mixture to a bowl and stir in the vanilla extract. Cover with plastic wrap placed directly on the survace of the chocoalte mixture and refrigerate until complete cooled.

5. Pour the chilled custard into the freezer bowl of an ice cream maker, and let mix until thickened. The ice cream will have a soft, creamy texture. It will freeze hard, though, so with the leftovers, freeze in a microwaveable, airtight container, and either leave the container out for 15 minutes before serving or heat in the microwave for about 10 seconds before serving.

Number of Servings: 14

And just to throw in something that's NOT dessert:

4. This next is SO good - and filling! The carrot tops really add to it, believe it or not. This has become a favorite summer "go-to" dinner:
Tuscan Carrot Top and Rice Soup

Ingredients:
1 TBS extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, minced
2 small carrots, diced
2 small summer squach, diced (zucchini or other similar vegetable can substitute)
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp salt
ground pepper to taste
6 cups vegetable broth
1/2 cup short grain rice
1 1/2 cups chopped carrot tops
4 TBS fresh grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, or equivalent

Nutritional Info:
Fat: 1.8g
Carbohydrates: 22.1g
Calories:133.3
Protein: 5.7g
Dietary Fiber: 3.6g

1. Heat the oil in a large, heavy soup pot. Saute the onion, carrots, summer squash and garlic for 5 minutes over low heat until onions are translucent. Add the salt and pepper and pour in the broth, and bring to a boil.

2. Add the rice and cook for 15 minutes or until rice is almost tender. Add the carrot tops and cook for 5 more minutes, mixing well.

3. Serve with the parmesan - 1 TBS per person to keep with the nutritional values, more if desired!

Number of Servings: 4