Chewy Coconut Wafers

1 1/3 cups (3 3/4 ounces) unsweeetened coconut (or use sweetened flaked coconut - see note*)
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 tablespoon hot water
1/4 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
1/4 cup all-purpose white flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon packed light brown sugar
2 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 large egg
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Heat the oven to 350° F. 

Spread coconut on a rimmed baking sheet and toast in the oven, stirring frequently, for 6 to 9 minutes or until well-browned; be careful not to burn.  Immediately turn out into a small bowl.  Mix in 1 tablespoon vegetable oil and 1 tablespoon hot water.  Let stand until cooled.

In a small  bowl, thoroughly stir together the oats, flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside.  In a medium bowl, whisk together the sugars, butter, egg, and vanilla, until the sugar dissolves.  Whisk in the oat mixture and toasted coconut until well-blended.

Line baking sheets with aluminum foil and grease the foil.

Drop the dough onto the lined baking sheets by generous measuring-teaspoonfuls, spacing about 2 1/2 inches apart. 

Bake the cookies, one sheet at a time, in the upper third of the oven for 10 to 12 minutes, or until nicely browned but not burned.  Reverse the sheet from front to back halfway through baking to ensure even browning.  Slide the cookies, still attached to the foil, onto a wire rack.  Let stand until completely cooled.  Carefully peel the cookies from the foil.  If the cooled cookies stick, they are underbaked; return to the oven and bake for 3 to 4 minutes more.

Store in an airtight container for up to 4 days or freeze for up to 1 month.


Makes about 35 2 3/4-inch cookies.

From The All-American Cookie Book by Nancy Baggett


*Note: If using sweetened flaked coconut, omit the 1 tablespoon oil and 1 tablespoon water,  as well as the 2 tablespoons sugar.

Lentil Minestrone with Greens

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
2 carrots, finely chopped
2 to 4 garlic cloves, minced 
1 can (14 ounces) tomatoes, seeded and chopped, with juice
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme or 1 teaspoon fresh leaves
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
3/4 pound (about 1 1/2 cups) brown or French green lentils, picked over and rinsed
8 cups water, or combination of water and vegetable broth
1 2- to 3-inch Parmesan rind
1 bay leaf
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1/2 pound Swiss chard, stalks removed, leaves washed and chopped (about 2 cups, tightly packed)
1/2 cup soup pasta (such as elbow macaroni, small shells, or tubetti) or Arborio rice (optional)
2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan

Heat the oil in a heavy soup pot or Dutch oven over medium-low heat and add the onion and carrot.  Cook, stirring, until the vegetables are tender, about 5 minutes or a little longer, and then stir in the garlic.  Cook, stirring, just until the garlic smells fragrant and is beginning to color, about 1 minute.  Stir in the tomatoes, thyme, and oregano.  Increase the heat to medium and bring to a simmer.  Cook, stirring often, for about 10 minutes, until the tomatoes have cooked down somewhat and smell fragrant.  Stir in the lentils and water (or water and broth), Parmesan rind, bay leaf, and cayenne, and bring to a boil.  Reduce the heat, cover, and simmer for 30 minutes.  Add salt, about 2 teaspoons to begin with, and simmer for another 15 to 30 minutes, until the lentils are tender and the broth fragrant.

Add pepper to the soup and stir in the chard and pasta.  Continue to simmer for another 10 to 15 minutes, until the pasta is cooked through.  Adjust seasonings to taste.  Remove the Parmesan rind and bay leaf.  Stir in the parsley.  Serve, topping each bowl with a generous sprinkle of grated Parmesan.

(The soup can be made up to 4 days in advance, stopping before adding the chard and pasta.  Before serving, thin as needed with water, reheat, and proceed with recipe.)


Serves 4 to 6.

From Mediterranean Harvest by Martha Rose Shulman, with very minor changes

Simple Cookie Glaze

2 1/4 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon milk
Food coloring (optional)

Mix all of the ingredients together.  Stir until smooth.  The glaze should be thick, but soft enough to "settle" when you spread it.  If the glaze is too thick, dribble in another 1/2 teaspoon or more of milk.

Add food color, if you like.  Gel paste food colors are preferable, as they don't alter the liquid/sugar ratio as regular food colors might.


Makes 2/3 cup.

From King Arthur Flour website

Vanilla Sugar Cookies

4 cups (18 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, slightly softened
2 cups (14 ounces) sugar
2 large eggs
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
Sugar or vanilla sugar

Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl and mix together thoroughly with a whisk or a fork.

Beat the butter and sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer until light and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes.  Beat in the eggs and vanilla.  On low speed, beat in the flour until just incorporated.  Scrape the dough into a mass and knead it with your hands a few times until smooth.  Divide the dough into 4 pieces and form each into a flat patty.  Wrap and refrigerate the patties until firm enough to roll, preferably several hours or overnight.

Heat the 350° F.  Position racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven.

Remove 1 patty from the refrigerator and let it set at room temperature until supple enough to roll but still quite firm.  Roll the dough between two sheets of wax paper to a thickness of 1/8 inch.  Turn the dough over once or twice while rolling it out to check for wrinkles; if necessary, peel off and smooth the paper over the dough before continuing to roll it.

When the dough is thin enough, slide it (still between the sheets) onto a cookie sheet and refrigerate.  Repeat with the remaining patties, sliding each rolled-out piece on top of the others in the fridge.  Remove the bottom (coldest) sheet of dough from the refrigerator.  Peel off the top sheet of paper and set it on the counter.  Invert the dough onto it and peel off the second sheet.

Cut cookie shapes as close together as possible to minimize scraps, dipping the edges of the cookie cutters in flour as necessary to prevent sticking.  Place the cookies at least 1 1/2 inches apart on cookie sheets (greased or lined with parchment paper).  If the dough gets too soft at any time, refrigerate for a few minutes until firm. Repeat process with remaining pieces of dough.  Gently press the remaining dough scraps together (don't overwork them with too much kneading) and reroll.  Sprinkle cookies with sugar or vanilla sugar.

Bake cookies for 8 to 10 minutes, or until pale golden at the edges, rotating the pans from top to bottom and from front to back halfway through the baking time.  Repeat until all the cookies are baked.

For lined pans, set the pans or just the parchment liners on racks to cool.  For greased, unlined pans, let the cookies firm up for 1 or 2 minutes, then use a metal spatula to transfer the cookies to racks.  Cool cookies completely before stacking, decorating, or storing.  May be kept in an airtight container for at least one month.


Makes about ninety 2 1/2-inch cookies or fifty-five 3 1/2-inch cookies.

From Chewy Gooey Crispy Crunchy by Alice Medrich

Potato and Endive Chowder

2 to 4 tablespoons butter
3 white Belgian endives, chopped into 1-inch pieces
3 large leeks, white parts only, finely chopped and rinsed (about 3 cups)
1 pound boiling or yellow potatoes, scrubbed well and cut into 1-inch chunks
2 carrots, grated
Aromatics: 1 bay leaf, 4 thyme sprigs, 4 parsley branches
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper
1/2 cup light cream 
4 to 6 slices country bread
Thinly sliced Gruyere or Swiss cheese to cover the bread
Minced parsley and/or thyme

Melt the butter in a wide, heavy soup pot and add the endives and leeks.  Cook over medium-high heat for several minutes, then add the potatoes, carrots, and aromatics.  Season with 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, lower the heat to medium, and cook the vegetables, turning them occasionally until they smell very aromatic and are browned in places, about 10 minutes.

Add 7 cups water and 1 1/2 teaspoons salt and bring to a boil.  Lower the heat and simmer, partially uncovered, until the potatoes are soft, about 30 minutes.  Press a few potatoes against the side of the pot to break them up and give the soup body.  Add the cream, then taste for salt and season with pepper.

Toast the bread, then melt the cheese over it.  Set the toasts in soup plates, then ladle the chowder over the bread, sprinkle with parsley and/or thyme, and serve.


Serves 4.

From Vegetable Soups by Deborah Madison

Roasted Squash, Red Pepper, and Cheese Quesadillas with Chipotle-Lime Sour Cream Dip

One 3/4-pound seedless piece butternut squash, unpeeled, cut into 3/4-inch dice (about 5 cups)

1 medium onion, unpeeled, cut into eighths

1 large garlic clove, unpeeled

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

Eight 5- to 6-inch flour tortillas

1 cup coarsely chopped red bell pepper (about 1 large)

1 cup coarsely grated Cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese

1/2 stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter, softened

1 canned chipotle chili in adobo, minced

2 teaspoons fresh lime juice

1 cup sour cream

To make the quesadillas: Heat oven to 400° F.  In a shallow baking pan, arrange squash, onion, and garlic in one layer and drizzle with oil, tossing to coat.  Roast mixture in the middle of the oven for 15 minutes or until garlic is tender; transfer garlic to work surface.  Roast squash and onion until tender, about 15 minutes more.  Discard peels from squash, onion, and garlic.

In a food processor, puree squash, onion, and garlic, with salt and pepper to taste, until smooth. (Squash puree may be made 2 days ahead and chilled, covered.) Spread about one-fourth of the squash puree on each of 4 tortillas and sprinkle each with about one-fourth of the bell pepper and about one-fourth of the cheese.  Top each quesadilla with a plain tortilla, pressing gently together.  Spread each side of the quesadillas with 1/2 tablespoon butter.

Heat a griddle or skillet over moderately high heat until hot and cook quesadillas, one at a time, until golden, about 3 minutes per side.  Transfer to a cutting board and cut each quesadilla into 6 to 8 wedges and serve warm with chipotle dip.

To make the dip: In a small bowl, stir chili and lime juice into sour cream until well-combined.  (Dip may be made 2 days ahead and chilled, covered.) 

From Gourmet

Roasted Carrot Soup

1 pound carrots, cut into chunks
2 small potatoes, cut into chunks
1 large onion, cut into chunks
4 garlic cloves, peeled
2 to 4 tablespoons olive oil
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper
2 thyme sprigs
1 bay leaf
1 quart vegetable stock
1/2 cup light cream
2 to 3 tablespoons sour cream
2 teaspoons minced parsley

Heat the oven to 425° F. Toss the vegetables with the olive oil and season with 1/2 teaspoon salt and some pepper.  Put them in a large baking dish with the thyme and bay leaf and roast until tender and glazed, about 1 hour, turning them 2 or 3 times.

Transfer the vegetables to a soup pot, add the stock, and bring to a boil.  Simmer until the carrotsare soft, about 20 minutes, then puree until smooth.  Return the puree to the pot, salt to taste if needed, and season with pepper.  Stir in the cream.

Ladle the soup into bowls, swirl a spoonful of sour cream into each, add a little minced parsley, and serve.


Makes about 6 cups.

From Vegetable Soups by Deborah Madison

Fish Cakes with Chipotle-Caper Mayonnaise

4 slices qood-quality firm white bread, torn into pieces (1 1/2 cups)
1 celery stalk with leaves, cut into 2-inch lengths, optional
1 1/4 pounds boneless cod, haddock, or other white fish fillets, cut into 2-inch chunks
1 large egg
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 teaspoons pureed canned chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
2 teaspoons capers

Place bread in food processor; using on/off turns, process until very coarse crumbs form.  Transfer breadcrumbs to large bowl.  Using on/off turns, chop celery, if using; add to bowl with breadcrumbs.  Using on/off turns, coarsley puree fish; add to bowl.  Add egg, salt, and pepper to bowl.  Mix gently but thoroughly.  Transfer fish mixture to work surface and shape into four 1/2-inch-thick cakes.

Heat olive oil in a heavy large skillet over medium heat.  Add fish cakes and cook until brown on bottom, about 5 minutes.  Using a large spatula, carefully turn fish cakes over and cook until second sides are brown and centers are opaque, about 5 minutes longer.

Mix together mayonnaise, pureed chipotles, and capers.

Serve fish cakes with chipotle-caper mayonnaise.


Makes 4 cakes.

From Bon Appetit, with many changes