Hummus - PUBLISHED

1 and 2 - Since the skin of the black chickpea is quite coarse, the hummus will have quite a bit of texture. I haven't tried processing the be-jaysus out of the paste to try and break it down some more because it's quite good as it is.

3 - I'm removing the 'black kabuli chickpea' from the title. I'm testing with regular (more easily accessible) chickpeas. I followed the recipe and in the past I have not followed the recipe. More olive oil I think would better help to get that smoothness, and I didn’t have enough lemon juice on hand, even though I put in the amount in the recipe.

4 - This was good! The hummus will be a little liquidy but will firm up a bit after refrigeration.

1½ cups chickpeas, cooked (½ cup dried)

½ cup + cooking liquid (save chickpea cooking water known as aquafaba)
3 garlic cloves, minced

Juice of 2 lemons
½ cup Tahini

¼ cup olive oil
1 tsp salt
Black pepper, to taste

1. The day before, put the chickpeas in plenty of water and bring to a boil and immediately remove from heat. Allow to soak overnight.
2. Next day, cook until soft, about an hour.
3. Drain and keep ½ cup of cooking liquid.
4. Dump all the ingredients in a food processor and run until it becomes a smooth-ish paste. Add a little more cooking water if it's too thick.
5. With a spatula scrape down the sides and process again to get any bits that may not have gone through.
6. Taste to correct the seasonings.

Spicy Parsnip soup - Test 1

http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/vegetables-recipes/spicy-parsnip-soup/
Serves 6

1 - A surprising soup because the colour does not match the flavours. Very rich, sweet and warming.

2 - Ben continues to be surprised at how well balanced the flavors are in this dish. He points out that it's a good soup to have with a sandwich or grilled cheese, that it's a bit much on its own.

1 Tbsp mild oil
1 Tbsp butter
1 onion, chopped (100 gr)
2 cloves garlic, peeled and roughly chopped
1 thumb-sized piece fresh ginger, peeled and grated
1 tablespoon garam masala
1/2 tsp ground cardamom 
1/2 tsp ground allspice 
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
dash of cayenne
6 1 1/2 lbs parsnips, peeled and chopped
500 ml semi-skimmed 1 1/2 cups milk
1 litre organic 2 cups stock
sea Salt, to taste
Freshly ground b Black pepper, to taste
1/2 fresh red chilli, deseeded and finely sliced (or 1/4 tsp flakes)
Optional : 1 handful fresh coriander leaves

1. Heat a splash of olive the oil and the butter in a large saucepan. Add the onion, garlic, ginger and spices. garam masala  Bring to a sizzle then lower the heat to slowly cook Gently fry for around 10 minutes, until the onions are soft and starting to caramelize sweet.
2. Drop in the chopped parsnip and stir together so that everything gets coated in the oil and flavours. 
3. Pour in the milk and stock, season well with salt and pepper and bring to the boil. 
4. Turn down the heat and simmer for 30 minutes with a lid on or until the parsnip is thoroughly cooked.
5. After half an hour, check that the parsnips are cooked by sticking a knife in. If you’re happy, Remove them from the heat, purée and adjust the  and carefully whiz up using a hand blender or liquidizer. Taste the soup to see if it needs a little more salt or  and pepper.
6. Serve garnished with coriander leaves (optional).
7. Best served with bread instead of crackers.
8. Serve with a sprinkling of sliced red chilli, a few coriander leaves if you like, and a good chunk of crusty bread.
9. Tip: Use coconut milk instead of regular milk for a twist.

Anda Masala (Northern Indian Egg Curry) - Test 2

http://www.vietworldkitchen.com/blog/2011/08/north-indian-egg-curry-recipe-anda-masala.html

1 - Wonderful! I made adjustments to use what I had on hand. I've made note, but I'm looking forward to trying this with fresh tomato to taste the difference.
2 - Still very good. Ben suggested that it's a very versatile recipe. He would like to see if upping the amount of spices would work.
3 - Fresh tomato is a clear winner in my books.
4 - I think I got it down! On to the 3 tests.

5 - Made it again, and it was good.

4 6 large or extra large eggs, hard-boiled
1 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 tsp cumin seed
1 medium (100gr) onion, finely chopped
3-inch piece cassia bark or cinnamon stick, broken in half
2 tsps ground coriander or coriander seed, toasted and pounded
1/2 tsp dried red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
About 1/2 teaspoon salt
2 medium or 1 large ripe tomato, pureed (about 3/4 cup or 10oz.)
1 cup water
1 Tbsp coarsely chopped cilantro leaves

1. Peel the cooked eggs and let them soak in water to cover while you prepare the sauce. This soaking seems to prevent the whites from getting too rubbery. Set aside.
2. In a medium skillet or wide, shallow pan, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the cumin seed and cook, stirring, for about 15 seconds, until slightly darkened and fragrant.
3. Add the onion and cinnamon. Cook, stirring frequently, for about 6 minutes, until the onion starts to brown. Add the coriander, red pepper flakes, turmeric, garlic, and salt.
4. Continue cooking for about 2 minutes, until the garlic has lightly fried and is aromatic. 
5. Lower the heat and add the tomato. Cooking for 3 to 5 minutes, stirring, until it no longer smells raw. Add the water and bring to a boil. Lower the heat to low, cover, and gently simmer for 5 minutes to develop the flavor.
6. Meanwhile, drain the eggs, pat them dry, then halved each lengthwise. When the sauce has finished simmering, uncover and slide the eggs in, cut side up. Increase the heat to medium-low and simmer the eggs, spooning sauce on the top, until the eggs are hot. Adjust the heat as necessary. The sauce should cook down and thicken a bit during this final stage.
7. Transfer the eggs and sauce to individual serving dishes or a communal dish. Garnish with the cilantro and serve immediately.

Test 1 - Indian Spiced Eggplant

http://www.cookingchanneltv.com/recipes/indian-spiced-eggplant

2 1/2 teaspoons garam masala
2 teaspoons ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 1/2 cups water
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 medium eggplants (about 1 1/2 pounds)
1/4 cup oil
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
Serving Suggestion: Basmati rice.

1. In a small bowl, combine the garam masala, coriander, and turmeric
2. In a measuring cup, stir together water, sugar, and vinegar. 
3. Cut eggplant into 2-inch pieces.
4. Heat the butter in a large, heavy nonstick skillet over moderate heat. Add the spices and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute. 
5. Add eggplant and salt and toss to coat with the spice mixture. 
6. Stir vinegar mixture and add to eggplant mixture. 
7. Simmer mixture, covered, without stirring, 10 minutes, or until eggplant is just tender. 
8. Uncover skillet and cook eggplant mixture at a rapid simmer, without stirring, until liquid is almost evaporated and eggplant is slightly charred (but not burned) on bottom, about 15 minutes. 
9. Remove skillet from heat and let eggplant stand, covered, 5 minutes. 
10. Transfer the eggplant to a serving bowl, sprinkle with cilantro, and serve with rice.

PUBLISHED - Potato Quiche

1 - A surprisingly light quiche. The potato flavour is not very strong and blends very well with the other ingredients.
2 - Didn't have enough cheddar so used parmesan to get the right amount of cheese. It added another dimension as an option. I would like more custard to seep into the potato so poking holes into the bottom layer or something will be the next test.
3 - The potato glommed together so before putting in pie shell I chopped it up on a chopping board. Worked well. Still delicious.
4 - Also makes for an excellent cold dish for picnics and hot days.

1 blind baked pie crust
1-2 Tbsps butter
8-10 oz potatoes, skin-on, grated
1 bunch chives, chopped fine
8 oz sharp cheddar cheese, grated (optional, substitute 1.5 oz of the cheddar for parmesan for an added kick)
3 large eggs
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp Dijon mustard

1. Blind bake the pie crust if it isn't already.
2. Pre-heat the oven to 375F.
3. In a non-stick pan melt the butter and fry the grated potato over medium heat until just al dente.
4. Add the chives and turn off the heat, only slightly cooking the chives. Set aside.
5. In a bowl, whisk the eggs then add the cream, milk and mustards. Mix well.
6. Put the potato at the bottom of the crust. Make sure the potato is in small pieces so that the custard can seep into it; it may have glommed together into masses while pre-cooking. 
7. Following the potato is a layer of the grated cheese, and finally pour the egg mixture over all.
8. Bake in the oven for 40-50 minutes, or until the centre is set, the custard is puffed up and browned.

Testing - Roasted Maple Brussels Sprouts

https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1015042-maple-roasted-brussels-sprouts-with-toasted-hazelnuts
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E0DEFD81331F934A35751C1A9639C8B63

1-My sister did an admirable job with this for Easter dinner 2017. I screwed up the time, and now I'm not sure if we discovered that 30 minutes is more than sufficient or if I miscalculated the timer and 45 minutes is correct!
2 - Again I was distractable - I made this for a St Patrick's day dinner (green doncherkno) and I was making several dishes at the same time. However, I think the extra 15 minutes is indeed too much. The sprouts sat around a little before being eaten, which means that some of the crispiness of the caramelized bottoms was lost. Nonetheless, they were very much appreciated.

1½ pounds brussels sprouts
¼ cup olive oil
¾ teaspoon sea salt
¼ teaspoon (or 10 grinds) black pepper
2 tablespoons maple syrup

1. Heat oven to 400 F. 
2. Trim bottom of brussels sprouts, and slice each in half top to bottom. 
3. Heat oil in cast-iron pan over medium-high heat until it shimmers; put sprouts cut side down in one layer in pan. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. 
4. Cook, undisturbed, until sprouts begin to brown on bottom, and transfer to oven. Cook, shaking pan occasionally.
5. After 15 minutes, stir the brussels sprouts to even out the browning and add the maple syrup by drizzling over the sprouts. 
6. Bake for After another 15 minutes, stir in the maple syrup.
7. Check that the sprouts have somewhat deflated and the bottoms are brown. If not, cook another 15 minutes for a total of 45 few minutes, or until the sprouts are quite brown and tender.

Plum Compote - PUBLISHED

My wonderful mom and sister are visiting and it's early spring. Not a lot of fresh stuff to eat on the farm. However, I still have a bunch of frozen plums in the chest freezer. My mom likes fruits and veg and my sister likes desserts. So I made this, which we ate with plain cake and it was plate-licking good.

2 lbs Italian prune plums, pitted
1/2 - 3/4 cup sugar (quantity depends on sweetness of plums, and personal taste)
2 cinnamon sticks
2 tsps vanilla extract.

1. Stew the plums in a pot with the sugar, cinnamon sticks and vanilla with the lid on, mixing occasionally. About 20 minutes.
2. When the plums have released their liquids remove the lid and keep at a medium simmer. 
3. Continue to cook until enough of the liquid has evaporated to thicken the juice into a sauce, about another 15-20 minutes to my taste, but maybe more or less for yours.

Nettle Ravioli - PUBLISHED

http://www.foodnetwork.ca/recipe/nettle-ravioli/10750/
http://www.bhg.com/recipe/sauces/browned-butter-sauce/

1 - Very interesting. The filling is dense and very earthy, reminiscent of ground meat! I still haven't mastered the pasta dough making, though.

Pasta dough
2 cups flour (or try 3 oz flour per egg)
3 eggs
pinch salt

Filling
50 g stinging nettle leaves
1 clove garlic
25g by weight of pine nuts (try other nuts!)
1 egg
salt and pepper
a little oil

Sauce
1/4 cup (2oz/58gr) butter per 16 ravioli
1 clove garlic, pressed
1 Tbsp snipped fresh basil, sage, oregano, Italian (flat-leaf) parsley, and/or chives or 1/2 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves

Garnish
Ground black pepper
Grated parmesan

Pasta - part 1

1. On a board or the counter, make a mound of flour, sprinkle on the salt, create a bowl in the centre of the flour mound, crack in the eggs and start combining with your fingers. You should end up with a very dry dough, almost cracking. Cover and allow to rest for 1 hour. 

Filling

1. Simmer all the nettles in a little water for ten minutes then drain. 
2. Put the nettle on a strong paper towel or tea towel, fold the towel to encase the nettle, and twist to squeeze out the excess water. The nettle should be a little clump of pressed material when you're done. Chop finely.
3. Roughly grind the pine nuts.
4. In a small bowl whisk the egg. Mix in the chopped nettles, pressed garlic, pine nuts, salt and pepper.
5. Heat a small non-stick pan, add a little oil, and dump in the egg and nettle mixture. Cook just until the egg starts to solidify.
6. Set aside while rolling out the pasta.

Pasta - part 2

1. After the hour of rest, knead the dough for about 10 minutes before running it through the pasta machine.
2. Divide the dough into two balls and roll as thin as you can (1/8" or thinner) or run through the pasta machine up to the thinnest setting. If the dough is sticky when you're rolling it, there isn't enough flour, so sprinkle some on, fold, and run it through again until it becomes a nice smooth sheet.
3. To stuff the ravioli, lay out one sheet. Evenly space out small lumps of the filling allowing plenty of room of virgin dough to make a good seal. Brush around the filling with water.
4. Lay the second sheet on top, smoothing out and pressing gently to make the two sheets touch around the stuffing and seal with the help of the dampened bottom sheet (this last bit can also be done after cutting the shapes).
5. Cut out the ravioli in circles or squares with a knife or pasta cutter. Press out any remaining air bubbles and be OCD about pressing the edges a lot.
6. While bringing a large pot of salted water to a simmer, prepare the sauce.

The Sauce

1. In a medium saucepan, heat the butter to a froth and cook about 4-5 minutes. 
2. Add the pressed garlic and mix to break up the garlic. Continue cooking and stirring over medium heat until the butter is lightly browned, another 2-4 minutes. 
3. Remove from heat and stir in the herb(s).

The Big Finish

1. Reduce the heat under the boiling water and let it slow to a gentle simmer. Carefully drop in the ravioli and cook until they rise to the surface and puff up (3-4 minutes). 
2. With a slotted spoon remove the ravioli and put directly in the sauce, covering them with the butter sauce before dropping in the next one.
3. Plate the ravioli, drizzle any remaining sauce on top, and garnish with fresh ground pepper and parmesan.

Testing - Rarebit with pear and cambozola

1 - Quite liked it. More pear though.

1 to 1.5 2-3 lbs winter pear, sliced thin
1 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsps balsamic vinegar
1 Tbsp flour
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup dark beer
3 oz Gruyère, grated
1 oz Cambozola, grated
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 egg yolk
Pinch of salt
Black pepper, to taste (1/4 tsp.)
Crusty country-style bread (Such as the Commons Bread, see below)

1. Start toasting, until golden brown, some thick homemade bread (I used slices of my Wonder Bread).
2. With the grill at mid-point in oven, turn broiler on. On a cookie sheet lay some parchment paper and spread some butter over it, about 1-2 Tbsps. Lay the pear in a single layer then dribble over some balsamic. Broil, basting and turning, until pear is soft.
3. Meanwhile, in a saucepan, heat the milk until just below boiling and whisk in the flour to make a roux. Whisk until it just starts to brown.
4. Whisk and add the beer slowly. It will bubble up, which actually helps break up the roux. Cook another 3 minutes, whisking, until thick and smooth.
5. Add the cheese, the egg yolk, and the mustard. Cook until the cheese melts and everything is well combined, then season with black pepper and set aside to rest a couple of minutes.
6. Turn on the broiler. Arrange the bread onto a cookie sheet and the pear slices on top. Spread the cheese sauce until it spills over the edges of the toasted bread; this prevents the edges of the bread from burning under the broiler. Put in the oven to grill for 20-30 seconds or until it's bubbly and starting to brown.

Untested - Nettle and Garlic Leaf Soup

https://food52.com/recipes/11495-nettle-and-green-garlic-soup?utm_source=cj&affil=cj&utm_medium=affiliate&utm_campaign=Food52+Outdoor+Goods+Page&company=Skimlinks&website=8248019

2 Tbsps butter
1 small leek
2-3 stalks green garlic
1 Tbsp flour
1 quart water or stock
1 teaspoon salt
1 bunch nettles (~1/2 pound)
1/4 cup heavy cream in the pot or a dollop of regular or greek yogurt in each bowl (optional)
Salt and pepper to taste

1. In a saucepan over medium heat, melt butter until foamy. 
2. Add leeks and green garlic, stir for a few minutes then add the flour. Sauté until the flour starts to brown and the veg are soft. for 5-6 minutes until soft. Add potato, water or stock and 1 teaspoon salt and b 
3. Bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, and cook for 15 minutes or until potato is fork-tender. 
4. Meanwhile, remove the nettle leaves from the stem and rinse to clean. Wear gloves! 
5. Bring a pot of water to a boil and drop cleaned nettle leaves in the pot. Cook for 2 minutes. 
6. Drain and quickly put nettles in a bowl of cold water for 30 seconds. Remove and drain again. 
7. When the soup base is ready, add nettle leaves and cook for 1-2 5-10 minutes. Remove from heat and puree with an immersion blender, blender or food processor. Add salt and pepper to taste. 
8. Serve soup with dollops of yogurt, if desired