Dinner 29: Vermont

Menu

Maple-Lemon Roasted Chicken
Maple and Mustard Roasted Root Vegetables
Pure Maple Fudge

Review

My granddad was coming to visit, so I chose Vermont, because it's a state near where he lives, which is in Canada. I thought he'd like to have food that he might already know. Everything we looked at had maple syrup in it, which was good because I really like maple syrup!

I chose roasted chicken and vegetables, with two different kinds of maple sauces on them, and maple fudge, which was a bit tricky to make without any milk in it.

I liked all the food, because like I said, I like maple. The chicken was super yummy and I had a lot of it! I liked the veggies too, but not as much as the chicken. The maple fudge was really, really good and Mommy even used cookie cutters to make it into maple leaf shapes! I was sad when the maple fudge was all done, because it was so good.

Recipes

Maple-Lemon Roasted Chicken

(original recipe from Vermont Maple Sugar Makers Association)

1 4-pound chicken
2 lemons, one quartered and one for juicing
6 cloves garlic, peeled and halved
1 small onion, quartered
2 tablespoons maple syrup
3 tablespoons olive oil
salt and pepper, to taste

Preheat the oven to 375F.

Peel one of the lemons, removing long, thick strips of zest. Reserve the zest and juice the lemon into a bowl. Add the maple syrup and olive oil and whisk to combine.

Rub the chicken all over with the lemon zest and garlic cloves. Stuff the cavity with the quartered lemon, onion, garlic and lemon zest. Brush with the lemon-maple mixture and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Roast the chicken in a shallow roasting pan until done, brushing on additional lemon-maple mixture after each 30 minutes. Let rest 10 minutes before serving.

Maple and Mustard Roasted Root Vegetables

(original recipe from Vermont Maple Sugar Makers Association)

1/8 cup maple syrup

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon pepper

1 small onion, coarsely chopped

2 1/2 cups coarsely chopped root vegetables of your choice (we used parsnips, potatoes and carrots)

Combine maple syrup, mustard, garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper until well mixed. Toss vegetables in the mixture until well coated. Add to roasting pan with chicken (above) and cook until done.

Pure Maple Fudge

(original recipe from rectories)

4 cups soy milk

4 cups maple syrup

2 dashes salt

In a saucepan, simmer the soy milk over low heat until it is reduced by half. Allow to cool slightly. Add maple syrup and salt.

Using a candy thermometer, cook over medium-low heat until the mixture reaches 240F, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon.

Without stirring, gently remove from heat and pour into a bowl (do not scrape the sides of the pot!) Allow to sit 5 minutes.

Stir the fudge until it holds its shape. This should require effort towards the end. Pour it into a pan lined with wax paper and smooth the top. Allow to cool completely.

Once set, slice into squares or cut into shapes.

Dinner 28: North Dakota

Menu

Fleischkuekle
Knoephla Soup
Carrot-Apple Side Dish
Lefse with sugar

Review

I chose North Dakota next, because it's next to Canada. When we looked up recipes a lot of them had names that were really hard for me to say, but that's because they're from other languages that I don't speak. I decided to have a food that's like meatballs in a kind of dough, a soup that had dumplings in it, an apple and carrot salad, and a dessert that was like thin pancakes, but I forget all the names.

I loved the food from North Dakota! The meatball things were delicious and I had leftovers at school lunch the next day and the soup was so good I had two cups of it at dinner and more of it at school, too. I asked Mommy to make the soup again, because it's my favorite soup ever. The dessert was really good, too. Like rolled up pancakes with sugar and margarine on them. The margarine was all melted, though, so it did make a bit of a mess.

Recipes

Fleischkuekle

(original recipe from allrecipes.com)

Filling:
1/4 pound ground beef
1/2 small onion, diced
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper

Dough:
2 1/4 teaspoons Ener-G egg replacer powder
3 tablespoons warm water
3 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup soy milk

2 cups oil for frying

In a small mixing bowl, mix together the ground beef, onion, salt and pepper until well blended. Set aside.

Combine egg replacer and water until thoroughly mixed.

In a large bowl, stir together the flour and salt. Add egg replacer mixture and soy milk. Stir until well blended. Form the dough into 2-inch balls and, on a floured surface, roll out into circles 1/4-inch thick.

Form the beef into small balls, as many as you have dough circles. Place one on each dough circle and fold the dough around it. Seal the edges completely.

Heat the oil to 365F and fry the balls until golden brown and cooked through. Drain on paper towels.

Knoephla Soup

(original recipe from Food.com)

Knoephla Dumplings:

3 cups flour

3/4 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

Water, as needed

Soup:

4 cups water

2 cups chicken broth

1 large onion, diced

1 stalk celery, diced

2 cups potatoes, diced

2 chicken bouillon cubes

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

2 bay leaves

1 cup soy milk

Mix flour, salt and baking powder together to make a stiff dough. Add just enough water to make a stiff dough.

Roll the dough into 1/2-inch ropes and cup into 1/2-inch long pieces. Set aside.

In a large soup pot, add water, broth, onion, celery, potatoes, bouillon cubes, salt, pepper, garlic and bay leaves. Boil until potatoes are done, about 15 minutes. Add soy milk and knoephla. Simmer 30-40 minutes.

Carrot-Apple Side Dish

(original recipe from Taste of Home)

3 medium carrots

1 cup water

1/2 tablespoon dairy-free margarine

1/8 cup brown sugar

1/2 tablespoon lemon juice

1 dash cinnamon

2 apples, peeled, cored and diced

1/2 tablespoon cornstarch

1 tablespoon cold water

In a saucepan, cook carrots in water until crisp-tender. Drain the water and add margarine, sugar, lemon juice and cinnamon. Mix well, then stir in the apple. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Combine cornstarch and cold water into a slurry. Stir into the carrot mixture. Bring to a boil and cook until thickened. Lower the heat to a simmer and cook, uncovered, another 2 minutes, stirring constantly.

Lefse with Sugar

(original recipe from Cooking Channel)

1 pound russet potatoes, peeled and diced

1/4 cup soy milk

2 tablespoons dairy-free margarine

1 teaspoon sugar

3/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup flour

Boil the potatoes until tender. Drain.

Combine potatoes with soy milk, margarine, sugar and salt and mash until smooth. Place mashed potatoes in the refrigerator to cool down, about 30 minutes.

Once cooled down, add the flour to the potatoes and work gently into a dough. Allow the dough to rest for 10 minutes.

Take 2 tablespoons of the dough and form it into a ball. On a floured sheet of parchment paper, roll out the dough into a very thin circle, adding flour as necessary to avoid sticking.

Heat a large, non-stick skillet over medium heat. Turn the parchment paper upside down and gently peel off the circle of dough. Place the dough on the heated skillet and cook until brown speckles begin to form, about 1 minute. Flip the lefse and cook another 30 seconds. Transfer lefse to a place and cover with a clean kitchen towel. Repeat with remaining dough.

To serve, spread with margarine and sprinkle with sugar, then roll up. If the lefse are cold, they can be warmed up in a heated skillet.

Dinner 27: Ohio

Menu

Skyline Chili
Burnt Carrot Salad
Dairy-Free Nut-Free Buckeyes

Review

I chose Ohio this week, because it also starts with 'O' just like Oklahoma last week. I chose a kind of chili that's served on spaghetti, a carrot salad and a candy that usually has peanut butter in it. Mommy said Daddy wouldn't like the chili, but I wanted to have it anyway!

Mommy was right that Daddy didn't like the chili, but I did - I really liked it on the spaghetti! It was kind of like spaghetti and meat sauce but also kind of different. And I liked the carrots, too, even though they were a bit burnt, which they were supposed to be. The best part was the dessert though! They were chocolate covered candies made from Sunbutter, which were delicious! I wanted to have more and more and more of them! Yum!

Recipes

Skyline Chili

(original recipe from allrecipes.com)

1 pound ground beef
2 cups water
1 onion, finely chopped
1/2 can tomato paste
1 tablespoon vinegar
2 cloves garlic
1 ounce unsweetened chocolate
2 tablespoons chili powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1/8 teaspoon allspice
1 bay leaf

To serve:
cooked spaghetti
raw onion, diced
grated cheddar soy cheese

Place the ground beef in a large saucepan, cover with water and bring to a boil, stirring and breaking up the beef to a fine texture. Simmer the meat until thoroughly cooked, about 30 minutes.

Add the rest of the ingredients, bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, for 3 hours. Add water as necessary to prevent the chili from burning.

Serve with raw onions and a generous amount of grated soy cheese over spaghetti.

Burnt Carrot Salad

(original recipe from Metropole)

2 large carrots, peeled and trimmed
2 firm avocados, thickly sliced
1/2 cup grated soy cheese
1/4 cup pickled red onion
2 tablespoons fresh flat leaf parsley, chopped
1 tablespoon lemon juice
4 tablespoons olive oil, divided
salt and pepper, to taste

Cut the carrots in half lengthwise, then cut them into 3.5 inch segments. In simmering salted water, slowly poach the carrots until they are easily pierced with a paring knife. Remove carrots from water and set aside.

Bring a heavy pan to medium high heat and coat with one tablespoon of the olive oil. Once the oil starts to smoke, season the carrots with salt and pepper and lay them in the pan, cut side down. Turn the heat down to medium and let the carrots develop a nice, even, dark char. Remove from pan and set aside to cool.

In a large mixing bowl, combine carrots, avocado, soy cheese, onion, and parsley. Season with salt and pepper and dress with lemon juice and olive oil.

Dairy-free, Nut-free Buckeyes

(original recipe from Adventure of a Gluten Free Mom)

1 1/2 cups sunflower seed butter
1/2 cup dairy free margarine
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 cups confectioners sugar
10 ounces dairy-free chocolate

In a large bowl, mix sunflower seed butter, margarine, vanilla and confectioners sugar to form a smooth, stiff dough. Shape into balls, using approximately 2 teaspoons of dough for each ball. Place on parchment paper covered pan and freeze for at least 4 hours.

Slowly melt chocolate in a double boiler, stirring occasionally until smooth. Remove from heat.

Remove the candy from the freezer. Insert a toothpick into a ball and dip into the chocolate, leaving a small circle at the top uncoated. Place on a parchment lined baking sheet, chocolate side down and remove toothpick. Repeat with remaining candies. Refrigerate 30 minutes to set.

Dinner 26: Oklahoma

Menu

Oklahoma-Style Onion Burgers
Best Ever Pinto Beans
Creamed Corn
Faux Pecan Pie

Review

I chose Oklahoma because it's OK! We looked at a lot of recipes, and I decided to have burgers with onions, beans, corn and a pie that usually has nuts, but my mom said we could make it with pretzels instead.

I went shopping with Daddy, but we didn't have to get anything special since it was all stuff we usually get. Except the beans, it took a while to find the right kind of beans because they were put in a different place.

My favorite part of dinner was the burger with onions. Usually I don't like onions, but I ate all of these, they were so good! I also liked the corn, and the beans were okay, too. The pretzel pie was very very sweet, and I loved it. Sometimes I don't like very sweet stuff, but this pie was great. Too bad I was only allowed small slices!

Recipes

Oklahoma-Style Onion Burgers

(original recipe from Serious Eats)

3/4 teaspoon canola oil
1 pound ground beef, divided 6 small balls
salt and pepper
2 small onions, thinly sliced
6 slices soy Cheddar cheese
6 soft hamburger buns

Heat canola oil over high heat until smoking. Add beef and press down with the back of a spatula until flattened and very thin. Season generously with salt and pepper.

Working quickly, spread onions evenly over cooking burgers and press down to embed them in the meat. Let cook until well browned, about 2 minutes more.

Carefully flip the burgers and onions with a spatula. Let cook until the onions begin to soften, about 1 minute. Add soy cheese and top bun. Place the bottom bun upside-down over the top bun to steam.

When buns are soft, transfer the bottom bun to a plate. Add condiments, if desired. Lift onions, burger and top bun all together and place on bottom bun.

Best Ever Pinto Beans

(original recipe from Allrecipes.com)

1 pound dried pinto beans
6 cups water
4 slices smoked bacon, chopped
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon brown sugar
6.5 ounces tomato sauce

Cover pinto beans with water in a large bowl. Soak beans for 4 hours, changing water every 30-45 minutes. Drain.

Bring 6 cups of water to a boil in a large pot. Add beans, bacon and salt. Add more water, if needed, to cover the beans by at least 1 inch.

Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until beans are just starting to soften, 2-3 hours.

Stir in brown sugar and tomato sauce. Simmer until beans are tender, about 1 more hour.

Creamed Corn

(original recipe from Allrecipes.com)

16 ounces frozen corn kernels
5 ounces soy cream cheese
1/3 cup dairy-free margarine
1/3 cup soy milk
2 teaspoons white sugar
salt and pepper, to taste

Preheat oven to 325F.

In a dutch oven, combine all ingredients. Cook for 30-45 minutes. Adjust seasonings, if necessary.

Faux Pecan Pie

(original recipe from Southern Plate)

4 teaspoons Ener-G egg replacer powder
7 tablespoons water
1 1/4 cups sugar
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons dairy-free margarine, melted and cooled
3/4 cup light corn syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 deep dish pie shell, unbaked

For topping:
1 1/2 cups crushed pretzels
3 tablespoons dairy-free margarine, melted
2 tablespoons sugar

Preheat the oven to 350F.

Combine the first 6 ingredients in a large bowl, whisking until well combined. Pour into the pie shell.

Combine all topping ingredients in a medium bowl and stir well, until pretzels are coated. Sprinkle evenly over pie.

Bake for 1 hour, covering the crust with foil after 30 minutes. Allow to cool completely before serving.