Empanadas

Empanadas are definitely a super-tradition Chilean fare, and can be found in bakeries and corner shops everywhere in Chile. There are two general types of empanadas - baked ones (horneada) and fried (frita). Inside any empanada, you can basically put anything you want as a filling, although it's harder to make cheese empanadas in the oven. Here is the basic recipe for the dough (masa), which varies slightly for fried and baked empanadas but can be the same, and some suggestions for filling.

Dough for Baked Empanadas
Ingredients:
9 cups all purpose flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
6 oz. margarine
1 1/2 cups water
1/2 cup white wine

Dough for Fried Empanadas (can also be used for baked empanadas)
Ingredients:
9 cups all purpose flour
6 oz margarine
2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups water


1. Combine ingredients in bowl until consistent.
2. Roll out dough to a sheet, in a rectangular shape.
3. Imagine a line going down the width of your dough, and put two or three spoon fulls of filling on the lower half of the line, with about a two inch circle of dough around each spoon full.
4. Fold the top half of the dough over the spoon fulls.
5. Using a tea saucer or other small plate, cut the dough out starting on the crease in a semi-circle shape, cutting until the plate reaches the crease again.
6. For fried empanadas, you want to make sure that the edges are very tightly pressed together - think of the top and bottom parts of a pie crust.
7. For baked empanadas, you want to fold over the dough, making sort of a square in order to keep the juices inside. You may also want to spread some beaten egg on the tops with a brush to give them that golden-brown glow.


[spoon fulls on the dough]

Suggestions for filling:
Napoleana - tomatoes, cheese, oregano, and ham for the meat eaters
Champinon - sauteed mushrooms and onions with cheese
Espinaca - sauteed spinach with cheese
Acietuna - cheese and olives
Frutilla - chocolate and frozen strawberry

Of course, you can basically add whatever filling you like to the empanada, but it should be already cooked.

Homemade Veggie Burgers

Last weekend, Sigrid and I tried to make tofu, and while we didn't end up with tofu, we did end up with soy milk and a substance close to soy flour. From the "soy flour," we made veggie burgers, and although they were good, the recipe needs tweaking. Here are the basics.

Ingredients:
dried soy beans
water
1 cup frozen peas
1 cup frozen corn
1 egg
2 tsp pepper
2 tsp salt
3 tsp dried oregano

1. Soak the dried soy beans in water overnight.
2. Add one cup of soy beans and three cups of water to a blender, blend until consistent.
3. Cook liquid on stove at medium heat for 7-10 minutes.
4. Remove from heat and pour the liquid through a cloth, to separate what will become the soy milk and the soy flour. Make sure to wring out the cloth and squeeze out as much of the liquid as possible. [This liquid is soy milk; other website suggest adding salt, or sugar to add flavor. Sigrid and I are going to try adding whole vanilla beans...]
5. Let the flour cool.
6. In a blender, blend the thawed peas and corn together with the spices. [These can easily be replaced with other veggies, such as mushrooms and onions.]
7. In a large bowl, mix together peas, corn, soy flour, and one egg. Stir until consistent.
8. Make into patties, which can either be baked or fried. [We decided to bake ours, and they turned out a little dry. Next time, I think we will fry some without oil in a frying pan to see if they retain more moisture.]

We are clearly still fixing this recipe, and when more developments arise, they will be recorded!

Chocolate Balls

Another classic Swedish recipe that is very easy and quick, and a definite crowd pleaser. The recipe makes about 20-30 golf-ball sized treats, and can be easily doubled or tripled to make more. But, it's not that healthy of a treat, if you look at the ingredients.



Ingredients:
5 oz butter
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup coconut shavings
1 1/2 tbs "vanilj socker" [hard to find outside Europe, but 3/4 tbs vanilla extract can be substituted].
4 1/2 tbs cocoa
3 tbs coffee
Extra coconut shavings to coat balls

1. Soften butter and mix with sugar, coffee, cocoa, and vanilla extract.
2. Mix in oats and coconut shavings until mixture is consistent.
3. Pour remaining coconut shavings on a plate, spreading them out over the plate.
4. Take spoonfuls of mix and roll them into golf-ball sized [or slightly smaller] balls.
5. Roll the balls in the coconut shavings, lightly covering the balls.
6. Place them on a tray or plate, and let them cool in the refrigerator for an hour or more before serving.

Swedish Cinnamon Rolls

The basic recipe for "Kanelbullar" that I got from alltommat.se.



Ingredients:
1 1/4 cup milk
1/2 oz dry yeast
3 1/2 oz butter/margarine
3 3/4 cups flour (540g)
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cardamom

2 oz butter/margarine
3 tbs sugar
3 tbs cinnamon

1. Warm the milk to slightly above room temperature, pour in yeast and let sit for 15 minutes.
2. Mix in 3 1/2 oz of butter.
3. In a separate bowl, mix together flour, sugar, salt and cardamom.
4. A little bit at a time, mix the dry ingredients and the wet ingredients together. Mix and knead until a smooth, soft, consistency.
5. Let rise for half an hour.
6. Roll out dough with rolling pin into a rectangle, making sure it is at least a foot wide.
7. Spread out the remaining butter on the dough, and sprinkle with the sugar and cinnamon.
8. Roll up the dough into a log, long ways, and cut into two inch pieces.
9. Preheat oven to 480 degrees Fahrenheit
10. Place the pieces on a greased cookie sheet, cover, and let rise another 30 minutes.
11. Bake for 7-10, or until golden brown. You can spread beaten egg on top of the rolls before placing them in the oven, if you choose, as well as "pearl sugar," if you can find it. If not, after the buns are done baking, you can sprinkle the top with powdered sugar or sugar glaze.

Healthy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

Although oatmeal raisin cookies are already much healthier than other types, I tried to modify the recipe to make it a little more healthy - since when I bake in the house the goodies disappear and I thought it would be better for everyone if they were not that bad for you...

Ingredients:
3/4 water
1 1/4 cup white sugar
3 egg whites
2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp cloves
1/3 cup prune puree
2 cups rolled oats
3/4 cup raisins

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and cloves in large bowl.
3. Combine water, sugar, and eggs in small bowl.
4. Combine wet and dry ingredients, while also stirring in prune puree, until mixture is smooth and consistent.
5. Slowly stir in oats, then raisins until batter is consistent.
6. Place spoonfuls of dough on cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes or until golden brown on top.

Prune Puree:
3 dried prunes
3 table spoons water

1. Blend in food processor until smooth, serves as a butter substitute.


This recipe is low in fat and cholesterol free. The sugar could also be substituted with Splenda to cut back on calories as well.