Power and Pierogies

Last month my eldest daughter came home from a week at conservation camp, reveling about one of her favorite parts of camp - the food. 
"We had these things filled with mashed potato..."
"Pierogies?"
"Yeah...whatever...they were de-lic-ious!  We need to get some!"

So, here it is a beautiful September Sunday, with onions and potatoes fresh from my boss' garden on the counter...Challenge accepted. 

Pierogies are a labor of love, but really shouldn't have taken me as long in the kitchen as they did.  I had my laptop propped up on the fruit bowl, you see; my friend/cousin-in-law is doing an Ironman race today, and I've been glued to the live webcam of the event, hoping to catch a glimpse of the unassuming little powerhouse of a woman she is.  We've run together on the weekends over the last 8 months or so...in slush and snow, wind, rain, and sun...3 milers and 13 milers...her training, me tagging along happy for the incentive and the company - the fact that she's bat-shit crazy left unspoken.  Well, by me anyway.  She mentioned it fairly often and I have no doubt has questioned her sanity a few times today especially.  For those not familiar with Ironmans, they consist of a 2.4-mile swim, a 112-mile bike ride, and a 26.2-mile run.  Not much longer now, and she'll be crossing the finish line.  I couldn't be prouder.  I really just want to cry.  Or maybe that's from all these onions...let's get back to some pierogies.

I got about 46 dumplings out of this recipe, with a good amount of filling leftover.  Even sans distracting webcam, you'll be in the kitchen awhile - you'll need nourishment, and there will be passersby who will want to nibble too.  In short, extra mashed potato is never a bad thing.

The Filling:
3 lbs gold potatoes, diced (my spuds were thin skinned and knowing the source, I didn't bother peeling)
1/4 cup Earth Balance buttery spread
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tsp pepper
2 tsp salt
1 large onion, diced small

In a large pot, boil potatoes in water for 10-15 minutes, til fork tender.  Drain, and set aside in colander.
In the now-empty pot, sauté onions in olive oil and EB until translucent, about 7 minutes.  Add salt and pepper.  Add potatoes back in, and mash and mix all together.  If you have an electric mixer, use it to get a nice creamy consistency.  Let cool.

Caramelized Onions:
1/4 cup olive oil
2 lbs yellow onions, sliced

While you work on the dough below, saute onions in oil, over low heat until translucent, sweet, and slightly golden - about 1/2 an hour total - stirring occasionally.

The Dough:
3 Tbsp olive oil
1 cup warm water
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups white whole wheat flour
3/4 tsp salt

Mix oil, salt, and water in a bowl.  Add flour gradually, mixing.  Then knead on a lightly floured surface for at least 5 minutes.  Cut in half.  Roll out the dough, flouring your counter as necessary, so that each half of the dough is about 18 x 10 inches and quite thin.  Cut circles from this, about 3-1/2 inches wide.

After each batch of circles is cut, fill each circle with 1 Tbsp of potato filling. 

Seal edges around, using a bit of water if need be.  Don't worry about them looking perfect.  This is a rustic food of love thing.  And that is the best kind.

Set the uncooked dumplings on a pan covered with wax paper or the like, while you finish the rest.

Meanwhile, heat a large pot of water to boiling again.  When the pierogies are all filled and sealed, they are ready!
Boil in batches of 10-12, for 4 minutes.  Place on an oiled baking sheet as they come out of the boiling pot.

When the onions are done caramelizing, move them to a bowl.  Add more olive oil to the pan, and place boiled dumplings in to brown, a couple minutes on each side.  Remove to serving bowl/platter.  Serve with the caramelized onions.  Applesauce would be yummy too.

So, there you have pierogies.  Hubby and visiting neighbor friend loved them, camp memories were relived by my daughter, and my other daughter (hater of all real food) handed me the one she tried.  Alas, we'll have some yummy noshing in the days to come. 

And here I sit tonight, listening to other people's friends and family cheering as their own crazy heroes cross under that ticking Powerbar sign on my laptop.  I wait and watch - and for the record, it's so not the onions. 

Deviled Potatoes

Roasted spuds filled with creamy wow factor...hardly of the devil.  Especially sans chicken embryos. 
I made these last Easter and again for a Superbowl party yesterday. 
I think I've perfected them..."I could eat these til I puke," said the carnivorous husband. 
Quite possibly the best compliment a cook can garner. 

This makes what sounds like a lot...about 5 dozen.  But trust me - none will go to waste.

You'll need:

For roasting:
3-1/2 lbs small (about 2") potatoes (I like to use a mix of yellow and red/purple)
Olive oil, salt and pepper

For filling:
2/3 cup vegan mayonnaise
1 cup cashews (boiled for 8 minutes & drained)
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp salt
2-3 tsp horseradish
3 tsp mustard
2 tsp lemon juice
1/2 cup vegetable broth
Pepper, to taste
Paprika

Preheat oven to 350.
Slice potatoes in half and place on a baking sheet.  Toss potatoes in olive oil and salt and pepper.
Lay the halves cut side down, and bake for 30 minutes.

When the spuds are done roasting, remove from the pan with a spatula.  When cool enough to handle, scoop out centers with a spoon, leaving about a 1/4" rim. 

Put all the filling ingredients (except for paprika) and scooped-out potato into your food processor, and blend until smooth.

Spoon mixture into a plastic bag (cut one of the corners) or official piping bag, and pipe this deliciousness into the hollows of the potatoes. 

Sprinkle with paprika. 

 

Cover with plastic wrap until ready to serve.  Refrigerate if it's going to be more than a couple hours til devour time; but these are best, I think, at room temp (guaranteed though, even stone cold, to be better than the Broncos).

GF Holiday Banana Bread

I did all my usual holiday baking before Christmas...cookies, truffles, etc.  But needed a "New Year's" gift for a friend who had been away that week.  So, I came up with this festive, tasty treat (that's crispy/moist and sweet/tart in all the right places) with what I had left on hand in the freezer and pantry.

Makes 2 large loaves.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

Mix all in order:
2 cups maple syrup
1/2 c melted coconut oil
1/4 c ground flaxseed mixed w/ 3/4 c water
7-8 frozen bananas, peeled and chopped/mashed
7-oz bag of sweetened coconut flakes
1 c sliced almonds
1 c frozen cranberries
2 tsp vanilla
2 c GF All-Purpose Baking Flour (I used Bob's Red Mill brand)
2 c oat flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 Tbsp xanthan gum
Sugar, for sprinkling

Pour into two loaf pans that have been coated with baking spray. 

Sprinkle tops with sugar, and bake for 1 hour. 

Remove from oven, and let cool in pans for 10-15 minutes before turning out onto cooling rack.