Ole Mole! Things I have not Eaten~

              I just have to put this in this section right away.  This pluckit bread is so good it does not stay on the table.  I have made it four times since posting it and I have to say the English Kitchen (Marie) knows her stuff.  See how to accomplish this in the post Dishes I Miss Having.  Try it--with drinks it is scrumptious.                                       

Now to things I have not tasted:

Mole (MOH-lay) is a rich sauce flavored with chili peppers, nuts and yes, chocolate.  I have not tried
it and probably shant.  Haggis, a traditional dish of sheep's stomach stuffed with chopped lamb's liver, heart, onions and oatmeal--nope, not going to eat that either.
RAMPS?  Never heard of them, but would like to use them if I can find them.

Ramps!

It's ramp season in the Northeast. For those of you that are not familiar with ramps, they are a wild leek with a strong garlic/onion flavor. They grow throughout Western Pennsylvania, West Virgina, and Virgina. This time of year, there are a number of ramp festivals throughout the area. I've also noticed a number of local restaurants featuring ramp dishes on their menus.

Here is an easy recipe for Scalloped Potatoes with Ramps:

6 cups sliced potatoes 3 cups ramps salt and pepper 1/2 cup chicken broth 3/4 cup heavy cream 1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese Spread a layer of sliced potatoes in a buttered 1 1/2-quart casserole. Add a layer of ramps and a sprinkling of salt and pepper. Keep repeating the layers, ending with potatoes. Combine chicken broth and heavy cream; pour over potatoes and ramps. Bake at 375° for 45 minutes, then top with grated cheese. Return to the oven for about 15 to 20 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender and the cheese is melted.

Surfing today's food blogs I ran onto this and it is a spring treat that should be tried.  It's an award winner.

STRAWBERRY RHUBARB COCONUT COFFEE CAKE
INGREDIENTS:
1 1/2 cups Brown Sugar
2/3 cups Oil
1 Egg
1 tsp Coconut Extract
2 1/2 cup Flour
1 tsp Salt
1 tsp Baking Soda
1 cup Vanilla Yogurt
1 1/ 2 Cups Rhubarb, chopped
1 1/2 cups sliced Strawberries
3/4 cup Sweetened, shredded coconut
1/3 cup Sugar
2 Tbsp Butter
1/2 cup Chopped Macadamias Nuts
1/4 cup Sweetened, shredded coconut
DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees, grease a 9 x 13 inch pan and set aside. In a large bowl, beat brown sugar, oil, egg and extract together until smooth. Combine flour, salt and baking soda; add to sugar mixture alternately with yogurt. Beat until smooth. Fold in rhubarb, strawberries and 3/4 cup coconut. Transfer to prepared pan. In a small bowl, combine sugar, butter, nuts and 1/4 cup coconut until crumbly, sprinkle over batter and bake 40 to 55 minutes or until golden.

Andy's treat after he planted 90 tomato plants.  Lovely.

Note: I just had a square of this cake and it is delicious.  Now I changed it a bit to suit what I had on hand.  I used coconut sugar, granulated coconut nectar, ideal for baking and sauces that I got in New Orleans. It is dark brown, just as the regular sugar is, and I probably had some regular but wanted to try this recipe with this  New Orleans sugar and it worked really well, especially with the coconut in the topping.  In the topping I used a good dash of Myers dark rum instead of canned milk and it too turned out great.  I would cut down on the sugar in the entire recipe, however--Andy loves it sweet, but too much sugar sets my mouth on edge.

Oatmeal Cake

From justapinch recipes (I would cut down on the sugar. Also, I added dark rum to the topping that goes under the broiler after the cake has baked.) 

Cook time:	30 Min		Difficulty:
Prep time:	30 Min		Serves:	12

Ingredients

- 1 1/4 c water, boiling - 1 c oatmeal, old fashioned, uncooked - 1/2 c butter Visit GoBoldWithButter.com - 1 c sugar (1/2 c. would do)  - 1 c brown sugar, firmly packed (1/2 c. would do)  - 2 eggs - 1 tsp vanilla - 1 tsp soda - 3/4 tsp cinnamon

- 1 1/2 c flour - 1/2 tsp salt - 1/4 tsp nutmeg - FOR topping - 1/2 c butter Visit GoBoldWithButter.com - 2 c coconut - 1 c nuts (finely chopped) - 1 1/2 c brown sugar, firmly packed (1 c. would do)  - 8-10 Tbsp evaporated milk (a dash of rum is a good substitute)

Directions

1. Preheat oven at 350 degrees.
2. Pour boiling water over oatmeal and set aside for 20 minutes.
3. Cream butter and sugars, add eggs. Beat well. Add vanilla and oatmeal mixture. Add flour, soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Mix well.
4. Put in greased 9x13 inch pan. Bake at for 30 minutes.
5. For Topping: Melt butter and add coconut, nuts, brown sugar, and milk. Mix well. Frost cake when you take it out of the oven, and broil until the top is brown. (Watch it carefully, so it doesn't burn.)
6. PLEASE NOTE: The setup for the recipe doesn't allow me to put a subtitle for the topping. I tried, but it didn't work too well. The bottom ingredients are not for the cake, but for the topping you put on after the cake is baked.

                                                  

At every Paris outdoor market live eel is a popular commodity.  I was at Bastille totally fascinated as shoppers bought the live eels and slipped them quickly into a bag--but, not so fast... one got away and slithered over  to inspect my shoes. He need not have worried, I was not interested in tasting eel and he was not interested in wearing my shoes (and so) that is another thing I have not eaten.