Tofu and mushroom Jorim from nytimes

⅓ cup low-sodium soy sauce
5 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
1 (1-inch) piece fresh ginger, peeled and thinly sliced
2 scallions, cut into 1-inch pieces, plus more thinly sliced scallions for garnish
2 tablespoons neutral oil, such as safflower or canola
2 tablespoons turbinado or light brown sugar
½ teaspoon black pepper
1 (14- to 16-ounce) block firm tofu, drained and cut into 1-inch cubes
6 ounces fresh shiitake mushrooms, stemmed and sliced into ½-inch-thick pieces
Salt
Steamed rice and kimchi (optional), for serving


In a 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat, combine soy sauce, garlic, ginger, scallions, oil, sugar, pepper and ¼ cup water; mix well. Add tofu and mushrooms, season with salt and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook, carefully turning tofu and stirring occasionally, until sauce thickens into a glaze and coats the mixture, about 15 minutes.

Transfer the jorim to a serving bowl or platter and garnish with thinly sliced scallions. Serve with rice and kimchi, if using.

Spiced Tea With Ginger and Cardamom-Sanjay Gupta

  • 1 teaspoon minced ginger 
  • ¼ teaspoon freshly ground cardamom
  • 3 teaspoons brown sugar (optional)
  • 3 tea bags, preferably strong black tea such as Assam
  • 1 cup of half-and-half

1. Bring 4 cups water to a boil in a saucepan or small pot. As the water heats up, add the ginger, cardamom and, if using, brown sugar.2. Once water has reached a boil, reduce to medium-low heat so it simmers with gentle bubbles. Add the tea bags and half-and-half.

Using tea bags simplifies the process.

3. Let the liquid slowly come to a boil once again, then remove from heaGupta says making chai isn’t just about the drink but also the tradition surrounding it.4. Remove tea bags and carefully pour tea into teapot or cups.

Makes 4 servings

Vermont Cheddar-Ale Dip from yankee magazine

Vermont Cheddar-Ale Dip

  • 3 tablespoons salted butter
  • 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • 12 ounces blond or brown ale
  • 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
  • 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
  • 1–2 canned chipotle chilies in adobo sauce, finely chopped, plus 1–2 tsp sauce
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons brown sugar
  • Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
  • 20 ounces extra-sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
  • Chopped scallions, for garnish

Melt butter in a big skillet over medium heat. Whisk in flour until smooth. Cook, whisking continuously, about 1 minute (don’t let mixture brown). Add ale very slowly, still whisking, then add mustard, Worcestershire sauce, chilies and sauce, brown sugar, and pepper to taste. Cook over medium heat, whisking continuously, until mixture is thickened and bubbly, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat. Add cheese, whisking until melted. Top with scallions, if desired, and serve with tortilla chips or crusty bread.

Chocolate Zucchini cake/bread from twopeasandtheirpod.com

  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  •  1/2 cup Dutch process cocoa or unsweetened cocoa 
  •  1 teaspoon baking soda
  •  1/2 teaspoon sea salt
  •  2 large eggs, at room temperature
  •  1/4 cup unsalted butter melted and slightly cooled
  •  1/4 cup canola, vegetable oil, or melted coconut oil
  •  3/4 cup  packed light brown sugar
  •  1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  •  1 1/2 cups packed shredded zucchini
  •  1 cup  semisweet chocolate chips, divided
  1. Preheat your oven to 350°F. Grease a 9-by-5-inch loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.
  2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and sea salt. Set aside.
  3. In a large bowl, add the eggs, melted butter, oil, vanilla extract, and brown sugar. Stir until smooth. You might have a few small brown sugar clumps and that is fine.
  4. Stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, don’t overmix. Stir in the shredded zucchini until just combined. Stir in 3/4 cup of the chocolate chips.
  5. Pour batter into prepared pan. Sprinkle the remaining 1/4 cup of chocolate chips over the top of the bread. Bake for 50-60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the bread comes out mostly clean, you might have some melted chocolate chips on the toothpick and that is fine. You just don’t want a lot of gooey batter.
  6. Remove the pan from the oven and set on a wire cooling rack. Let the bread cool in the pan for 15 minutes. Run a knife around the edges of the bread and carefully remove from the pan. Let the bread cool on the wire cooling rack until slightly warm. Cut into slices and serve.
  7. Note-if you use coconut oil, make sure it is melted and slightly cooled. The bread will keep on the counter, wrapped in plastic wrap, for up to 4 days. This bread also freezes well. To freeze, cool the bread completely and wrap in plastic wrap and aluminum foil. Freeze for up to 1 month. Defrost before slicing

Maple-Crusted Salmon from foodiecrush.com

  • 1 tablespoon chile powder
  • 1 tablespoon paprika
  • 2 teaspoons raw brown sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 1/2 pounds skinless salmon fillets cut into 4 portions
  • 3 tablespoons pure maple syrup
  1. Preheat your oven to broil. Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray with cooking spray.
  2. In a small bowl, mix together the chili powder, paprika, sugar, and salt
  3. Generously sprinkle the chili powder mixture evenly over the tops of the salmon fillets.
  4. Place the salmon on the prepared baking sheet and broil for 6-9 minutes, depending on how thick your fillets are and how crispy you prefer the crust.
  5. Remove the salmon from the oven and brush the maple syrup over the tops to coat the spice rub. Return to the oven and broil for an additional 1-2 minutes until the maple syrup is bubbling and has formed a crust. Serve immediately.

Ruthie’s Apple Cake recipe by Bonnie Stern

2 eggs
1 cup sugar
2/3 cup vegetable oil
¼ cup orange juice
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 ½ cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt
½ cup brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
4 to 5 apples, peeled, cored and chopped
½ cup walnuts, toasted and chopped
2 tbsp coarse sugar, optional

With an electric mixer, beat eggs and sugar in a bowl until light. Beat in oil. Beat in orange and vanilla.

In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt. Add to egg mixture and stir until combined.

In a third bowl, combine brown sugar, cinnamon, apples and nuts.

Spread about half of the batter in an oiled and parchment lined 9 inch spring-form pan. Spoon apples on top of this batter. Drizzle remaining batter on top of the apples. The batter on the top layer may not cover the apples completely. Sprinkle with coarse sugar.

Bake in a preheated 350 degrees F oven for about 50 to 60 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean. If the cake is browning too much, cover loosely with foil and reduce oven heat to 325 degree F. Makes 8 to 12 servings.

Recipe from “Friday Night Dinners” by Bonnie Stern.

Tomato Stew With Basil Dumplings from washingtonpost.com

  • FOR THE STEW
  • 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 1 medium onion, finely chopped
  • 1 medium red bell pepper, seeded and finely chopped
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt, or more as needed
  • 1 teaspoon dried basil
  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • Three 14-ounce cans chunky tomato puree
  • 1/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup sherry vinegar
  • FOR THE DUMPLINGS
  • 1 cup flour
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, cut into small bits and chilled
  • 3 tablespoons finely chopped basil leaves, plus torn or ribboned basil, for garnish
  • 1 large egg
  • 1/2 cup whole milk

For the stew: Melt the butter in a large saucepan or small Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Stir the onion, bell pepper, salt, dried basil and black pepper; cook, 5 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally.

Stir in the tomato puree, brown sugar and vinegar. Reduce the heat to medium; let the stew cook while you make the dumplings.

For the dumplings: Whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl. Work in the butter with your fingertips until the mixture is crumbly. Stir in the 3 tablespoons of chopped fresh basil.

Whisk together the egg and milk in a liquid measuring cup. Pour over the flour mixture and stir just long enough to form a soft, sticky dough.

Bring the stew to a boil over medium-high heat. Use a 1-ounce spring-release scoop or two soup spoons to drop golf-ball-size dumplings evenly over the surface of the stew. Cover and cook for 20 to 25 minutes or until the dumplings are firm, fluffy and somewhat dry on top.

Uncover and let stand for 5 minutes. Sprinkle with the torn or ribboned basil and serve warm.

Easy Butternut Squash Ravioli from tasty.co

Squash filling
2 cups butternut squash, peeled and chopped
½ onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, peeled
1 tablespoon olive oil
salt & pepper, to taste
1 tablespoon brown sugar
2 oz grated parmesan cheese

Fish pasta
2 cups flour
4 eggs
1 tablespoon olive oil

Hazelnut brown butter sauce
5 tablespoons unsalted butter
¼ cup roasted hazelnut, chopped
10 leaves fresh sage
salt, to taste
1 lemon, juiced
1 oz grated parmesan cheese

  1. Preheat oven to 425˚F.
  2. Add the diced butternut squash, chopped onion, whole garlic cloves, olive oil, salt, and pepper to a baking sheet, tossing until fully coated.
  3. Bake until the squash is golden brown and tender, about 30 minutes.
  4. While the squash is in the oven, make the dough.
  5. When the squash is finished cooking, add it to the food processor along with the brown sugar and Parmesan cheese. Pulse until it becomes smooth. Set aside to chill.
  6. Rinse the bowl of the food processor.
  7. To the bowl of a food processor, add the flour, eggs, and olive oil, and pulse until the dough comes together into a large ball and swirls around the processor.
  8. Removethe dough, wrap in plastic wrap, and rest it the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
  9. Cut 2 ounces of pasta dough from the ball and roll out into large, wide, thin sheets of pasta.
  10. Lay a sheet over an empty ice cube tray, and press the dough down gently into each of the holes.
  11. Fill each hole with a tablespoon of the butternut squash filling. Place a second sheet on top of the ice cube tray. Press down on all the sides of the raviolis. Flip the ice cup tray over to release the pasta and cut off any excess dough.
  12. Separate each ravioli with a knife or cutting tool.
  13. Gently place a few raviolis into boiling salted water and cook until the raviolis float and firm up slightly, 2-3 minutes. Scoop out the ravioli and set aside briefly to cook a new batch or dump out the water and start the hazelnut brown butter sauce.
  14. In a pan, add 3 tablespoons of the butter, sage leaves, and hazelnuts. Cook until the butter browns deeply, the nuts are heated through, and the sage is fried and crispy. Turn off the heat and add the lemon juice and season to taste.
  15. Swirl in 2 more tablespoons more of chilled butter, to thicken the sauce. Add the cooked raviolis back in and toss gently to coat the pasta.
  16. Serve the pasta with brown butter sauce.
  17. Enjoy!

Instant pot apple crisp from centercutcook.com

  • 5 medium sized apples, peeled and chopped into chunks
  • 2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp nutmeg
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 1 tbsp maple syrup
  • 4 tbsp butter
  • 3/4 cup old fashioned rolled oats
  • 1/4 cup flour
  • 1/4 cup brown sugar
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • Place apples on the bottom of your Instant Pot. Sprinkle with cinnamon and nutmeg. Top with water and maple syrup.
  • Melt the butter. In a small bowl, mix together melted butter, oats, flour, brown sugar and salt. Drop by the spoonful on top of the apples.
  • Secure the lid on the instant pot. Use the manual setting, and cook on high pressure for 8 minutes.
  • Use a natural release. Let sit for a few minutes, the sauce will thicken.
  • Serve warm and maybe top with vanilla ice cream.

Pecan Pie Bars from slowroasteditalian.com

Crust
1 1/4 pounds (5 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup granulated sugar
4 large eggs
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

Topping
1 pound (4 sticks) unsalted butter
1 cup light corn syrup
3 cups light brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup heavy cream
2 pounds pecans, chopped

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

For the crust, beat the butter and granulated sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, until light, approximately 3 minutes. Add the eggs and the vanilla and mix well. Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Mix the dry ingredients into the batter with the mixer on low speed until just combined.  Press the dough evenly into an ungreased 18 by 12 by 2-inch baking sheet, making an edge around the edge like you would a pie crust . It will be very sticky; sprinkle the dough and your hands lightly with flour. Bake for 15 minutes, until the crust is set but not browned. Allow to cool.

For the topping, combine

the butter, corn syrup, and brown sugar in a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan. Cook over low heat until the butter is melted, using a wooden spoon to stir. Raise the heat and boil for 3 minutes. Remove from the heat. Stir in the heavy cream and pecans. Pour over the crust, trying not to get the filling between the crust and the pan. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until the filling is set. Remove from the oven and allow to cool. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate until cold. Cut into bars and serve.