Patlijan Gouvej (Eggplant Stew)

Many people in our family call this "Papa John Goulash" because the correct pronunciation is a bit difficult. Phonetically it's- "pot-la-jon goo-veg" Anyway you say it, it's delicious!

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 cups sweet peppers, any color, chopped
2 medium eggplants, peeled and cut into 1 inch cubes
20 Roma tomatoes, seeded and roughly chopped OR 1 28oz can diced tomatoes
1 14.5oz can tomato sauce
Salt
Pepper

Add oil to large stock pot. Toss in onions, garlic, and peppers. Salt the veggies so the liquid will release more quickly from them. Saute' on medium until they soften just a bit.

Add the rest of the ingredients into the pot. Stir to combine. Reduce to a simmer. Taste for seasoning and add salt/pepper to taste.

Simmer for about 30 minutes.

Serve piping hot over pilaf.

Pilaf

This is our Armenian family recipe. We serve it at every family get-together. It's one of our very favorite things to eat!

1/2 stick butter or a little extra if you're feeling indulgent
1/2 large onion, chopped
To taste-Lawry's seasoned salt OR salt, garlic powder, onion powder, & a dash a paprika
Black pepper
1 cup FINE egg noodles or thin spaghetti broken into 1inch pieces.
6 cups chicken broth ir homemade chicken stock
3 cups converted long grain rice- must be converted, the grains of rice hold together better, this rice is not sticky when cooked. We use Uncle Ben's or Texas brand.

Melt butter in a pot on medium heat, add onions and seasoning, saute' until onions begin to be translucent. Enjoy the glorious smell of sweet onions and butter!

Add egg noodles and let them toast a bit in the butter.

Add broth, bring to a boil. Add rice and stir to combine the ingredients. Let it come back up to a simmer. Put a tight fitting lid on the pot. Decrease temperature to low.

Simmer for around 20-25 minutes, until the liquid is absorbed. Do not life the lid during this time. The heat must stay inside of the pot!

It's difficult to overcook converted rice because it holds it shape so well. Check it after 20 minutes to see if the liquid is absorbed, add cooking time accordingly until there is not liquid left at the bottom of the pot.

The noodles and onions will rise to the surface during cooking. Stir to re-combine them into the rice. Serve as a side dish or as a bed for your favorite vegetable stew or shish kabob.

Vegetarian option- use great quality vegetable stock in place of broth.

Blueberry Sweet Corn Pancakes

These are a nice change in flavor and texture from traditional pancakes. 

2 cups Whole Grain Pancake Mix

2 1/2 cups milk

1 egg

1/2 cup cooked sweet corn cut off of the cob (smaller pieces are best, not whole kernels)

1/2 cup corn meal

about a cup of fresh or frozen whole blueberries

Combine ingredients with whisk. Let stand for 20 minutes. Prepare 4"-5" pancakes as you usually would. Once you pour batter onto the griddle, sprinkle 4-6 whole blueberries onto each pancake. Flip, cook, & enjoy with syrup. 

Variation: Omit the blueberries. Sprinkle a little chili powder into the batter. Prepare as usual. Serve as a savory dish with salsa, sour cream, black beans, and guacamole. 

Can be frozen. See this post for instructions. 

Whole Grain Pancake Mix

• 
  
• 4 cups whole wheat flour
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 3 1/2 cups old-fashioned or rolled oats
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 5 tablespoons baking powder
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1 tablespoon baking soda
• 1 cup oil
• Optional addition: 1/2 cup ground flax

Grind oats in food processor until fine. 

Combine dry ingredients. In a mixer or with a large whisk, drizzle in oil & mix until oil is evenly distributed. Will appear like damp sand. 

Store in a jar in the refrigerator indefinitely. 

Makes 10 cups. 

To make pancakes:

1 cup mix

1 cup milk

1 egg

Combine ingredients and let stand for 20 minutes. The oats need a chance to soak up some liquid. 

After letting it stand, gently stir before making pancakes. Makes about 8 4" pancakes per batch. 


To freeze: Cook pancakes & cool on a tray. Stacking them up makes them a bit soggy as they cool, so lay them flat to cool. Stack cooled pancakes into a clean bread bag (save them up for this). Seal up with a twist tie. Let all the air out of the bag first. Freeze on it's side. Pop apart frozen pancakes with a butter knife. Toast & enjoy!

Adapted from King Arthur Flour

Automatic Dishwasher Detergent

Works great! And it's super cheap. Makes 32+ loads.

Use 2 tablespoons per load, a little less if your dishes are coming out cloudy.

1 cup Borax
2 cups Washing Soda
1 cup Baking Soda

Mix together. Store in an airtight container.

The Best Veggie Burgers

This recipe makes a lot. It can be 1/2ed or 1/4ed, but I recommend making the whole thing and freezing them. 


These can also be used for taco filling, meatballs, etc.

1 onion
4 stalks celery
1 cup carrots
1 med zuchinni
3 cloves garlic
Mince all. I used my food processor. Salt & saute until barely translucent. This step is important because the burgers will hold together a little better and crisp up more easily if the veggies have let go of some of their moisture prior to being mixed in with the grains and beans.

2 cups dry lentils
2 cups dry split yellow peas *note- black beans could also be used
Cook beans in stock according to package directions. Mash them up up a bit. 

1 1/2 cups dry bulgur
Cook in water according to package directions.

1 cup walnut meal
about 4 cups oatmeal- you may need up to 6 cups depending on the moisture level of everything
4 eggs (or 6 egg whites)
Mrs. Dash
Parsley
 20 dashes or more liquid smoke
4 tablespoons  or more worcestershire sauce
salt
pepper

Combine everything and refrigerate for a few hours. Add more oats if it seems too wet to hold any shape. Season liberally. This makes a lot of burgers. If you are wondering if it's seasoned enough, take a small amount and brown up a tiny patty to taste for seasoning. 


The mixture is going to be fairly wet and kind of gummy and sticky. Form into patties. I form patties by putting some of the mixture on the counter, smashing it down to the thickness I want my burgers, and use my largest biscuit cutter to cut them uniformly. 


Flash freeze on baking sheets lined with plastic wrap. Bag up once frozen. 


Saute frozen patties on medium for 6-10 minutes per side depending on how frozen they are and how crisp you'd like them. Makes about 40 med-lg burgers.

Refrigerator Dill Pickles or Green Tomatoes

Ingredients:

1/2 bulb garlic, peeled

1/2 med. onion, chopped

8 stems fresh dill

4 cups water

1/2 cup white vinegar

1/8 cup salt 

1/2 jalepeno, sliced

6-8 pickling cucumbers, sliced or quartered into spears *OR*

6-8 green tomatoes - sliced *OR* a mixture of both

Directions:

Place 1/2 of the peeled garlic cloves, onion, peppers and dill on the bottom of a 1/2 gallon sterilized jar.

Pack  1/2 cucumbers and tomatoes in jar.

Place remaining 1/2 of garlic, onions, peppers in jar. 

Pack remaining 1/2 of cucumbers and tomatoes in jar. 

Place remaining dill on top.

Heat water, vinegar and salt until the salt dissolves. 

Pour brine in jar, covering everything.  

Set at room temperature for about 2 days

then refrigerate. 

Pickles will keep 9 months-1 year.