Starving Artist Cafe

Oven, Braised

Meat, Braised : Brisket, Corned Beef, Meat Loaf, Roulades, Stew

Oven, Baked

Biscuits

Bread

Kneaded Bread Recipes

No-knead Recipes

Bread Specialties

Bread Dipping Oils

Brownies

Chex Mix

Cabbage: Stuffed Cabbage

Cakes: I have read of folks baking cakes in an electric skillet. The cake does not brown but it does cook through.

Cookies:

Biscotti and Rusks

Shortbread, Plain and Chocolate Covered

Devon Cream for shortbread

Theresa's Chocolate Chow-Mein Cookies

Ginger Biscuits, three types.

Lindsay Tarts, using shortbread dough.

Snickerdoodles

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Chocolate Marshmallow Bars

Rice Krispie Cookies

Oatmeal Toffee with Heath Bar bits

Crackers

Irish Brown Bread

Muffins

Vegetables

Roasting:

• 425 F ideal for most vegies; root vegetables, crucifers, zucchini, onions, bell peppers, cabbage, tomatoes.
• Cut into bite size pieces and toss with good-tasting oil until vegies have a glassy coating. Mild oil is recommended.
• Re-toss vegies with salt;
• Spread out on baking sheet; that will make the difference between roasting and steaming;
• Check for toasted bits after 15 minutes. That's the signal that the vegies are done. There is leeway here on roasting time.

Slow Cooker

Bean Soup

Boston Brown Bread, steamed in a slow cooker with special pan.

Cheese Macaroni

Hot Dogs

Lasagna with Lasagna or Spaghetti Noodles

Meatloaf with Veggies

Moroccan Vegetable Stew

Pasta Stoup (with vegetables and chickpeas)

Polenta

Ravioli

Rice Pudding

Sweet Potato or Yams

Stove Top

Chapatti and Hummus

Chili

Chickpeas and Potatoes with Cumin and Mustard Seeds

Cornbread as a Waffle

Pesto and Pasta Salads

Sausage and Potatoes:

1. 12-15 small potatoes: Yukon Gold, red potatoes, (peeling optional), cut into pieces, simmer in salted water and a handful of garlic cloves. (10-15 minutes for cut potatoes, 20 minutes for whole potatoes.)
2. Strain potatoes and garlic and let them cool.
3. Preheat oven to 375F.
4. Drizzle with olive oil to coat (a few T), good pinch of kosher salt and a pinch of black pepper. Spring of rosemary if desired.
5. Turn potatoes into a pan or casserole. Press unpeeled or whole potatoes a little bit into the pan to enhance crispiness.
6. Lay six Italian sausage links (sweet, hot, or combination) on top.
7. Bake until internal temp of sausage in 150F (20 to 30 minutes) and potatoes are crispy.

Gelatin:

Broken Glass Jello

Gelatin: excellent source of protein. Kosher beef gelatin is considered a high-grade source. One tablespoon jells one pint of liquid.

Beverages, Condiments, Dips

Beverages: Tea, Punch, Smoothies, Alcohol-Enhanced

Family recipes

Kitchen Medicine

Short Cuts

Cake Goop

Place all in one bowl and mix until lump-free:
1. One part all purpose flour;
2. One part vegetable oil;
3. one part melted shortening.

Cast Iron Cooking

• Do not subject the cast iron pots to sudden changes of temperature; they may warp or crack. Heat and cool gradually.
• Acidic foods, like tomatoes, can be cooked in cast iron AFTER seasoning is well established.

Stove top cooking:
• From Cast Iron Skillet Hack:
• Pre Heat Cast Iron Pan by placing skillet on burner mid/high heat for 3 to 4 min
• Add butter or choice of cooking oil
• Once melted make sure cooking juice is evenly spread over entire cooking surface
• Cook.

Maintenance:
• Hand wash by hand with mild soap or none at all.
• Dry ASAP
• Rub with a light coat of vegetable oil after every use, preferably while pan is warm.. Olive oil and butter are NOT recommended.
• If it rusts: scour the rust with steel wool, rinse and dry, rub with a little vegetable oil
• Lots of rust? Re-seasoning instructions at Lodgemfg.com

Re-season in oven (from Lodge Cast Iron web site:
• Preheat oven to 450-500 F. (Southern Living recommends 350F.) Place aluminum foil on bottom rack to catch drips.
• Wash pan with warm, soapy water and dry completely with paper towel or lint-free cloth.
• Apply a very thin layer of cooking oil inside and out with a cloth or lint-free paper towel. VERY THIN. If it drips or runs when you tilt it, there is too much oil. Oil with a high smoke point, like vegetable oil, melted shortening, flaxseed oil, grapeseed oil, or canola oil is recommended.
• Place cookware UPSIDE DOWN on the center rack to prevent oil from pooling on cooking surface.
• Bake for one hour.
• Turn off heat and allow cast iron skillet to cool in the oven. This allows the seasoning to adhere completely.

Correct Sticky Coating after Seasoning
• This can occur if you 1) use too much oil when re-seasoning or 2)Don't clean pot thoroughly before seasoning or 3) Use oil with a low smoke point, like olive oil.
• Put pan on low heat. As the pan heats up, use a spatula to gently scrape off any stuck-on food.
• Let cast iron cool down to being warm to touch. Scrub the sticky areas with a stiff brush or non-metal scrubbing pad.
• Mix equal parts water and white vinegar and pour it into the pan and soak for an hour. If the outside of the pan is sticky, submerge the cast iron. After soaking, scrub with stiff brush.
• After removing the stickiness, reseason.

Cookies

Freezing cookie dough: drop cookies frozen in balls and then stored in plastic bag. Sliced cookies frozen as logs.

Eggs

Peeling Eggs Instead of boiling fresh eggs, you should STEAM THEM! All you do is use a vegetable steamer or a double boiler. Fill the bottom with some water and heat to boiling. Add your eggs into the upper basket, cover, and steam for 20 minutes. After cooking, immediately put the eggs into ice cold water to cool.

Is the egg fresh? Put the egg into a deep bowl of water and:

1. If it sinks quickly to the bottom in a horizontal position this means that it is very fresh so you can use it without fear.
2. If it sinks slowly and reaches the bottom in a vertical position, it means that it is still in good condition but should be consumed quickly, so don't wait a few days to eat it.
3. If the egg floats or does not sink completely, throw it away because it is rotten or off and is not fit for consumption.

You can also check its freshness on your plate: when you open the egg and the yolk and the white are firm and do not spread out it means that it is fresh. However, if both parts spread too much and the yolk loses its consistency it is not as "new" as you thought.

Meat

Always let meat rest for a few minutes after cooking to allow the juices to redistribute; this keeps the meat moist for eating. Also: always slice then and cut against the grain. This makes any piece of meat more tender.

Pastry

Rolling dough: "Also, I added 3T of sour cream with the butter. It makes for very tender pastry. Since it's a fairly soft dough, chill as long as possible (I did overnight) so that you have to use a min. amount of flour for rolling. Better yet, roll between 2 sheets of waxed paper, remove the top sheet, cut the shapes without removing them, and put the whole thing in the freezer for a few minutes to get them good and stiff again. They will pop out easily and the scraps can be re-rolled over and over since no flour was added in rolling."

Seasoning

Shade-tolerant Vegetables

1. Kale
2. Scallions
3. Beets
4. Parsley
5. Spinach
6. Carrots
7. Cilantro
8. Turnips
9. Chard
10. Lettuce
11. Arugula
12. Garlic
13. Potatoes
14. Mustard Greens
15. Bok Choy

Successful gardening

• Berries
• Perennials: asparagus, artichokes, rhubarb, sage, thyme, tarragon, mint and oregano.
• Rosemary
• Leeks and garlic
• Tomatoes
• Figs (if practical in your climate) or Asian pear tree for colder climates
• Pecans, hazelnuts