Calamari Salad

My son's current favorite food is Calamari Salad from Scotto's Italian in Hampton Bays, NY. This is my copy attempt:

2 lbs cleaned squid
3 thinly sliced celery stalks
1 yellow or orange pepper, cut in pieces
2 - 3 thinly sliced shallots
8 - 10 Calamata olives, pitted and diced
3 - 4 Campari tomatoes

Dressing
3 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp rice vinegar
1/2 cup olive oil
11/2 tsp Italian spice mix
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper

1. Thinly slice squid and boil in lightly salted water until opaque, about one minute. Do not over boil. Toss squid with ice cubes to stop from further cooking.
2. Whisk dressing together and add sliced shallots. Let sit while you slice remaining ingredients.
3. Add remaining ingredients and save a few tomato wedges for decoration.
4. Cool for a couple of hours before serving, turning content upside down a couple of times to better distribute the flavors.

Apple Crisp Pie with Oatmeal

This oatmeal crisp pie was adapted from a Swedish recipe

3 apples (Jonathan or other baking variety)
1 2/3 cups oatmeal
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup regular sugar
1 x 8 oz stick margarine
cinnamon

Oven 405 F for 25 minutes or until apples are soft.
1. Mix butter, 1/2 cup brown sugar (or regular sugar) and oatmeal until you have a coarse mixture.
2. Butter a pie form
3. Peel and remove seeds from apples. Cut into wedges or cubes.
4. Distribute apples evenly across form and sprinkle with 1/4 cup sugar and cinnamon. Cover with oatmeal mixture and bake for about 25 minutes.
Serve with whipped cream or vanilla sauce

Curried Squash and Apple Soup (V)

Winter time is perfect for hearty soups. This recipe is from a Wild by Nature Market circular. Instead of roasting cumin and coriander seeds, I am using already powdered spices to save time.

2 cups chopped onions
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 1/2 tbsp cumin seeds
2 tbsp coriander seeds
2 tsp salt
6 cups/3 lbs peeled, seeded and cubed butternut squash
2 cups peeled, seeded and cubed apples
2 cups peeled and cubed sweet potatoes
4 cups water

Topping
10 oz fresh chopped spinach
1 tsp minced garlic
1 tsp vegetable oil

1. Saute chopped onions in vegetable oil until translucent.
2. Toast cumin and coriander seeds in a skillet until fragrant and grind to powder.
3. Add spices and remaining ingredients to soup and bring to a boil, then let simmer for about 30 minutes or until all ingredients are tender.
4. While soup is simmering, saute topping garlic in vegetable oil on low heat until golden. Add fresh spinach, crank heat up and stir until spinach has wilted and liquid is gone.
5. Puree soup in blender. Add water if too thick.

Serve with spinach topping and a nice crusty bread.

Carrot Cake (V)

This carrot cake recipe uses ground flax seeds instead of eggs. By combining ground flax seeds with hot water, you'll get a mixture with an egg resembling texture and a nice nutty flavor. A rule of thumb is a tablespoon ground flax seed per egg.

Use a 9 inch form with removable bottom. If you like a double layer cake, make two 9" forms and add a layer of frosting between (frosting recipe after the cake recipe).

1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup raisins
2 cups grated carrots
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup apple sauce
4 tbsp ground flax seeds mixed with 4 tbsp warm water
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups sugar
2 cups flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground cardamom
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder

1. Mix flax seeds with warm water and stir - you'll get a jelly resembling mass
2. Add remaining wet ingredients (vegetable oil, apple sauce, vanilla extract and grated carrots).
3. In another bowl, mix dry ingredients (sugar, flour, salt, spices, baking soda and baking powder).
4. Combine dry and wet ingredients, add raisins and walnuts.

Pour in a greased 9 " form and bake for about 35 - 40 minutes in 325 F or until a tooth pick comes out clean and cake separates from form.

Let cool.

Frosting
8 oz box of vegan cream cheese
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/4 cup confectioner's sugar
Cream ingredients together and cover cake. Enjoy!

Due to the comparatively low amount of sugar in this frosting it is not as light and fluffy as frostings with more fat and sugar, which I find too sweet. 

Chocolate Chip Cookies

This is a step-by-step guide to my husband's scrumptious chocolate chip cookies. An urban legend says this recipe hails from Mrs. Fields. My husband omitted nuts, which can be added if desired.

Start by creaming together:
1 lb room temperature butter
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups dark brown sugar
2 cups regular sugar
Add 4 eggs after creaming sugar, vanilla and butter

Step 2:
Prep the the dry ingredients:
1. Grate 5 cups oatmeal into flour
2. Grate 12 oz bar of milk chocolate

Step 3:
Mix grated oatmeal and chocolate with:
4 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt

Step 4: Combine dry and creamy ingredients and add 24 oz (3 - 4 cups) of semi-sweet chocolate chips

330 F for 8 -10 minutes depending on desired texture and oven personality

We divide the dough into rolls enough for 6 - 8 cookies, wrap them in wax paper and keep these in the freezer. This way we can enjoy freshly baked cookies in less than 30 minutes - just zap in the microwave for about  20 seconds, slice, put on cookie sheet and bake (toaster oven is the fastest).