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Jacob & Sanna's Blog

a blog on travel, family and food

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We travel. We parent. We see the beauty of many cultures and places. We cook. We read. This is a blog about those things. Welcome.

Jacob

Swedish teacakes with wheat bran

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A couple days ago we visited my cousin Tabita in Iowa and ate uncle Olle’s tekakor for dinner with salmon, cheese and cucumbers – delicious!  I asked for the recipe, and I’ve translated it from Swedish and converted the units to US measurements.

Olle’s Tekakor med vetekli Recipe
Ingredients:
half
batch
Full
batch
7 T
200g (7/8c)
butter
2 c
4.2c (1l)
milk
7 t
4.5T (6pk)
Active dry yeast  
   (3 7g packages = 200g for ½ batch)
1 t
2 t
salt
1 t
2 t
Sugar
.85 c
1.7c (4dl)
Wheat bran (vetekli)
5 c
10c (2.4l)
White flour

Method:
  1. Melt the butter and mix all ingredients into a dough and let it rise 30 minutes. 
  2. Roll out the dough to a 1 cm thick layer.  Use a teacup or something to cut it into round cakes. 
  3. Prick with a fork and let it rise another 30 minutes. 
  4. Bake in 250° C (480° F) for 8 minutes. 

Serving:
       Slice and make open-faced sandwiches with cheese, sliced meat, tomatoes, cucumbers.

Penny’s Gingerbread Cookies

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1 c brown sugar
1 c shortening/ Crisco
1 egg
1 c molasses

4 c flour
1 t cinnamon
2 t ginger
1 t baking soda
1/2 t cloves
1/2 t nutmeg
1/2 t salt

Bake at 350 for 9-10 mins. Don’t over bake. Makes 4 dozen.

Mom’s Whole Wheat Bread

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4 loaves

1T yeast
1T sugar
1 C warm water

Stir the above together, set aside till frothy.

2 1/2 t salt
1 c oil
1/3 c molasses
2/3 c sugar
2 c hot milk
1-2 c oatmeal, cornmeal, cracked grain mix
7 c whole wheat flour
3 c hot water
7c unbleached white

Knead in a large bowl, adding flour as necessary. Let rise double (1 1/2 hour). Punch down on floured surface — shape into loaves. Knead well. Place in greased pans (our mom uses butter!). Let rise. Bake at 350 for around 38 mins.

Baked Vegetarian Bengali Biriyani

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Cut in small chunks:
4 carrots
3 potatoes
2 sweet potatoes
Blend in food processor:
3 chilis
2 T fresh ginger
3 T fresh garlic
Saute 3 large onions in 1 cup oil
Add ginger, garlic, chili paste.
Add to onion mix:
1 ½ t cumin seeds
1 ½  t turmeric
1 t coriander
½ t nutmeg
½ t chili powder
1 ½ t salt
1 large tomato, cut.
Add  cut vegetables. Saute and mix for 4 mins
In 12 c water, add:
4 cardamom pods
4 cloves
3-4 bay leaves
1 t black pepper
1 ½ t salt
1 cinnamon stick, cut in pieces
 
In two casserole dishes, divide in half:
6 cup rice, basmati is best
¼ c raisins
1 c peas
The vegetable onion mix
The spiced water
Sprinkle saffron.
Cover, bake for 1 hour at 350. Serves 14 people. Serve with fresh cucumber, tomato, onion, coriander salad. Serve a half a boiled egg on each person’s plate.

Baked Bengali Biriyani

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                  Put in a food processor:
2 T fresh smashed ginger
2 T  smashed garlic
2 green chili
                Add to:
1 t turmeric
1 t black pepper
1 ½ t cumin
¼ nutmeg
¼ chili
1 ½ salt
2 c yogurt (optional)
 Add to 5 lbs of chicken pieces, marinate ahead of time.
              To 12 c water add:
2 cinnamon sticks, cut in smaller sticks
4 cloves
6 cardamom pods
3 bay leaves
1 ½ t salt
Bring it to a boil.
In two casserole dishes, divide the ingredients in half:
6 C of basmati rice
¼ C of raisins
1 cup peas
3 cut potatoes
Put half the boiling spiced water in each casserole dish. Place the marinated chicken on top of the rice.
Cover and bake for 1 hr -1 hr 10 mins at 350.

6 onions, chopped in long slivers. Fry them in lots of oil, and put them as a garnish on top of the baked rice when you serve it.

Serves 14 people.

Stuffing recipes

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Carol’s Bread Stuffing

It’s good with a lot of nice stale bread to cut in cubes and sage – which is the distinctive spice.

  1. Cube old bread. Toast is lightly in butter in your wok
  2. Lightly fry minced onion and celery
  3. Mix all together in a large bowl with plenty of salt and pepper and sage and fresh minced parsley
  4. Pour in a tasty chicken or turkey broth – so that it is moist. Or just stuff it dry into the belly of your turkey or chicken.
  5. Then bake, covered for probably 30 min.

Mommom & Poppop’s Bread Stuffing


3 Tbs chopped onion
1/4 cup butter or margarine
4 cups dry bread cubes (7 slices cut into 1/2 ” cubes
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp poultry seasoning
1/2 tsp sage
2 to 4 Tbs chicken broth

Cook onion in butter. combine with bread and seasoning. Toss with enough liquid]to moisten. Makes 3 cups enough for 4-5 lb chicken Double for 10 lb. turkey.

I add celery with onion and mushrooms. I put stuffing in a greased casserole bake 350o about 45 minutes.

High Fiber filling cookies

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The world really doesn’t need another cookie recipe. But here is my current favorite:

Cream together:

3/4 c sugar

1/2 c butter or oil

1/2 peanut butter

1 egg

Mix together, then add to above:

3T toasted sesame seeds

1 c whole wheat flour

1/2 t salt

1/2 t baking soda

1/3 c oatmeal

1/2 t nutmeg

350 degrees for 10-12 mins

Groundnut Stew

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1.5 lbs beef/ chicken (with or without bone, according to preference)
2 large tomatoes chopped/ 1/2 c tomato puree
2 c water
3/4 c peanut butter (I would only use the natural stuff)
5 -8 c of vegetables — (pumpkin, potatoes, carrots, squash, beans .. anything!)
Pressure cook for 8-10 mins after the first shesh.

Then fry the below and add to the boiling soup.
1 T oil
1/2 c onions
1/2 c mild chilis or capsicum
1/2 t salt
1/2 t red pepper (I put more)
salt
black pepper
sugar

It’s good over rice.

Tapioca coconut Thai dessert

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  • SERVES 2-4
  • 1/2 cup Asian pearl or seed tapioca
  • 2 cups water
  • Pinch of salt
  • 1 can of coconut milk
  • table syrup or maple syrup to serve (approx. 1-3 Tbsp. per serving)
  • sliced fruit

Soak the tapioca in water for twenty minutes. Drain the leftover water. Add 2 c of water and a pinch of salt and bring to boil, then simmer for ten minutes, add water if tapioca is bubbling or splitting. Taste to see if the tapioca is soft, not hard. Some of the balls will still be white.

Put about 1/2 c of cooked tapioca in each person’s bowl. Add about 1/4 -1/2 c of coconut milk, 1 T of sugar syrup, and fresh fruit. I added mango, guava, and jackfruit. In Thailand, other possible toppings would include boiled sweet corn, cooked black beans, shaved ice, plus other things.

sesame cookies

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3/4 c shortening
1 c sugar
2 eggs
1 t vanilla

2 1/2 c flour (I used ww)
1 t baking powder
1 t salt
1 c sesame seeds (I used homemade tahini)

chill. Oven at 400 F for 8-10 mins

The recipe comes from Extending the Table, and it’s from Nigeria.