Grilled Yeasted Yogurt Flatbread

 Kinda time consuming to cook, but very pleasing. I made a 2x batch.

Adapted from https://thecafesucrefarine.com/greek-yogurt-turkish-flatbread-bazlama/#wprm-recipe-container-32746

 I started mixing the dough around noon, and started cooking it around 5pm

1 ¼ cups water
2 ¼ teaspoons instant yeast
1 tablespoon sugar
¾ cup Greek-style yogurt
2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons kosher salt
450 grams all-purpose flour

Mix the yeast in the water until spread out. 

Add the sugar, pour into a large bowl

 Add the yogurt and olive oil and mix, wait a few minutes just to let the yeast get started. 

 Add the flour and the salt, then stir.

 Stir for a while - like 5 minutes? It was too sticky to knead, but you really want to work the dough. 

Cover the bowl in saran wrap and let it sit out for about an hour, punching it down and folding it about halfway through.

Then punch it down and fold it one more time and put in the fridge. You could probably do this first part the night before and leave it cold overnight, if so I would punch it down and fold one more time in the morning 

 Take it out about 30 minutes before cooking to get it warm.

 I turned a gas grill as high as it would go (so not that high, frankly), putting an oiled cast iron pan on one side and cleaning + oiling the grates on the other.

Then on  a well oiled cutting board I would flatten out a fist-sized ball of dough as best I could (with my hands), throw it on  the cast iron pan for a minute or two a side, then directly on the grate for another minute or two a side. I could probably have just thrown it on the grate but I am very worried about sticking.

 We ate them warm with some vegan cevapi and ajvar and it was very pleasing.

You could add herbs to the dough if you wanted, or brush with garlic/herb butter after. that would have been delicious too. 

Kimchi Butter Udon

Adapted, extremely slightly, from https://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/kimchi-udon-with-scallions
4 Servings.
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
1 cup finely chopped kimchi, plus 1/3 cup kimchi juice
2 tablespoons gochujang (Korean hot pepper paste)
1/2 cup low-sodium chicken broth
1 pound fresh (or frozen) udon noodles
Kosher salt
4 large egg yolks
3 scallions, white and pale-green parts only, thinly sliced on a diagonal


1) Heat 2 Tbsp. butter in a large skillet over medium-high. Add chopped kimchi and gochujang and cook, stirring occasionally, until kimchi is softened and lightly caramelized, about 4 minutes. Add broth and kimchi juice and bring to a simmer. Cook until liquid is slightly reduced, about 3 minutes.
2) We then let it sit for a while, just so prep was mostly cleaned before dinnertime.
3) Boil noodles according to directions
4) Using tongs, transfer noodles to skillet and add remaining 3 Tbsp. butter; cook, tossing often, until sauce coats noodles, about 2 minutes. Add to bowl and mix in the egg yolks so that they cook in the hot noodles. Sprinkle scallions and, if interested, furikake, over the top.

Ginger & Cabbage fish

 This is the easiest fancy recipe I know. It also scales really well. Below serves 4.
Adapted, slightly, from https://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/soy-and-ginger-steamed-fish

About a pound of skinless fish, cut into 4 portions. We've used snapper and black cod for this, but probably any studyish fish, including salmon, would work.
1 piece kombu (maybe 5x4)
3/4 cup water
2 Tbs sake
2 Tbsp. soy sauce
1 Tbsp. mirin
1/2 large cabbage, thinly sliced. Maybe more, the cabbage part is delicious
8-12 oz. mixed mushrooms (we use a mix of shiitake and enoki), torn into pieces
1 2" piece ginger, peeled, cut into thin matchsticks (thin is important)
1 tbsp. toasted sesame oil
2 scallions, thinly sliced

 

1) put kombu at bottom of a dutch oven, then add water, sake, soy sauce, mirin, half of the sesame oil.
2) Bring to a boil, then turn heat to low and put in the cabbage followed by the ginger and mushrooms.
3) Cook, covered, for about 10 minutes, halfway through pushing the cabbage down so that by the end it all ends up in the broth.
4) You can either leave it out for a while (that's what we do - basically that means almost all of the prep and cleaning is done before dinner gets served)
5) Cover both sides of the fish with a light dusting of salt, the gently put on the cabbage/mushroom bed on while the liquid is on a heat to make it simmer for about 8 minutes, until just cooked through (with thicker fillets it may take a bit longer). It is good with a bit of shichimi togarashi sprinkled over it for heat

Wunga Waffles

This requires a deep pantry of flours, but is pretty good!

You want 4 cups of flour, the exact values are flexible but I suggest:

1 3/4 cup whole wheat
3/4 oat bran
3/4 flax seed meal
3/4 buckwheat
1 t kosher salt
1 t baking soda
1 T baking powder
---
1/4 cup sugar
1.5 T Vanilla
1 quart buttermilk
1/3 cup neutral oil, like canola
---
3 eggs
2 bananas
---
Mix-ins (dried blueberries, chocolate chips, whatever)


Mix the dry ingredients together in a big bowl

Mash the bananas in a medium bowl
Add the eggs, beat until well mixed
Add the rest of the wet ingredients (sugar, vanilla, buttermilk, oil)

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and stir until just combined
Add in whatever mix-ins, stir gently

These waffles do better on darker settings (I used a 5 on a scale 1-6)

Salmon Burgers

These were shockingly easy

Get 1lbish salmon fillet (for 4 patties)
tablespoon mustard
tablespoon or so of chives
salt, pepper
egg yolk

With a sharp knife, peel skin off of fillet (you can also do this by hand, or ask the fishmonger to do it. Doesn't matter if it comes out evenly, because we're going to chop it anyway)
Chop the salmon into a mush (start with 1" chunks, then keep going). You don't want it to be a paste - some small pieces for texture are good. Add in the other ingredients once the mistrue starts to have some texture.

make patties - make sure they are roughly the thickness of the salmon itself - and (optional) put in fridge for 30 minutes so it sets a bit.

Cook with butter over medium heat, about 3-4 minutes a side.

We served over hamburger buns with guacamole and pickled red onions.

Spicy Turkey and Zucchini

From: https://www.thekitchn.com/spicy-ground-pork-amp-zucchini-stir-fry-247254

Feeds 3

For the sauce:
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon minced ginger
1 tablespoon angry lady sauce
2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
1 teaspoon black rice vinegar

stir together, set aside

For the stir-fry and serving:
1 pound zucchini (about 3 medium)
1 tablespoons canola or vegetable oil, divided
1 pound ground turkey
Salt
4 scallions, thinly sliced


 Cut each zucchini in half lengthwise, then slice each half crosswise into 1/2-inch-thick half-moons

Heat a flat-bottomed wok or large frying pan over medium-high heat until a drop of water vaporizes immediately on contact. Drizzle the oil around the pan, add the zucchini, and spread out into one even layer. Let cook undisturbed for about two minutes, until just starting to brown. Flip to other side and cook for another 2-3 minutes.

Add turkey and stir so that it breaks up into small pieces. It should be cooked in about 5 minutes. Then add the sauce and scallions, stir to combine, and serve.

Steamed Fish with Quinoa

Adapted, by our standards heavily, from https://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/soy-and-ginger-steamed-fish

feeds 4 (we doubled everything except for the fish (made 1.5x the fish), and fed 6)


Fish
1 lb skinless fish fillet (we used cod, which was on sale. My guess is that it would be better with black bass. would also work with salmon). Cut into about 4 even portions.
1 4x3" piece dried kombu (optional)

2 Tbsp. sake

2 Tbsp. soy sauce
1 Tbsp. mirin (sweet Japanese rice wine)
¼ large head of Napa cabbage, stems thinly sliced crosswise
4 oz. shiitake stems ripped off and cut into quarters
1 4" piece ginger, peeled, a quarter cut into thin slices, the rest finely diced.
6 cloves garlic, finely diced.
1 Tbsp. toasted sesame oil
4 scallions, thinly sliced

in small pot, combine kombu, sake, soy sauce, mirin, and the ginger slices. Bring to a boil, and then bring heat to low and cover.

Meanwhile, saute the ginger and garlic and a quarter of the scallions in a large pan on medium heat (we used a 10" cast iron with high sides, a dutch oven would also work. Anything that can handle 3-4" of height and that has a cover). We used about a Tbsp coconut oil, but you couldn't taste it in the end, so whatever oil you want is probably fine.

After a few minutes, add in cabbage and stir until the ginger/garlic mixture is more or less evenly distributed. Add mushrooms and stir until it starts to wilt, about 10 minutes. Turn heat to lowish (I used 2 on our 1-10 scale), add in broth (removing the kombu and ginger), and then place fish portions over, not touching. Cover.

The fish should cook in about 10-15 minutes (the recipe says 10, ours took 15 although we didn't get a good seal). Drizzle sesame oil over it and serve.

Quinoa (makes about 3 cups cooked, which feeds 6ish as a side)
1 cup quinoa
2 cups water
2 eggs
2 cloves garlic, finely diced
2 scallions, thinly sliced
2 tbsp soy sauce (roughly)
dash hoisin
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp gochujang (if not feeding to babies)
a thin slice of butter (a tsp, roughly)

First toast the quinoa (dry): add it to a medium-hot pan (that has a cover) and stir it around until all of the quinoa is hot (but not burnt!). Turn heat to high and add in the water, with a dash of salt, stir to make sure nothing is stuck to the bottom. Once starts to boil, stir again, cover, and turn heat to low.
13 minutes later it should be relatively fluffy. There should only be a tiny bit of water left in the pan, but that water is the enemy: drain the quinoa using a fine mesh strainer (you will not get much.). Return quinoa to the dry pan (turn off the heat) and cover for 5ish minutes: this last step steams the quinoa and makes it fluffy.

I then made fried-rice style quinoa: I made scrambled eggs with the garlic sesame oil, and butter, then added the quinoa, soy sauce, hoisin, scallions, and gochujang, stirred it until it was all combined, and then let it sit until the fish was ready.