Winning Recipes With Charlie Sheen

Charlie Sheen's Winning Recipes from Charlie Sheen

Too Too Funny!!

Cornbread I Can Eat!

It's called Bobota - in Greek: μπομπότα, pronounced bo-BOH-tah. I found it while researching ancient Greek bread recipes for a post on Gypsy Magic.

Depending on the region of Greece and local customs, the word bobota can mean anything from cornmeal to any bread or polenta-type dish made with cornmeal. Cornmeal recipes were very popular during times of hardship, and bobota is considered by many to be a "peasant" dish. This basic recipe has a little sugar, but has no flour, milk, eggs, or butter. It gets a delightful shot of flavor from fresh orange juice and produces a dense, crumbly cornbread.

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 40 minutes
Total Time: 50 minutes

Ingredients:

• 2 cups of cornmeal
• 1 1/4 teaspoons of baking powder or baking soda
• 1/4 cup of sugar
• 4-5 tablespoons of fresh orange juice (juice of 1/2 large orange)
• 1/4 cup of oil (olive or corn)
• about 1 cup of lukewarm water

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350°F (175-180°C)

Whisk together the cornmeal, sugar, and baking powder to combine well. In a separate bowl, mix oil, orange juice, and water, and stir until well blended. Add liquids to the dry ingredients and stir.

Pour batter into a well-oiled 9-inch pie pan and bake for 40-45 minutes. Test for doneness by inserting a toothpick into the center of the pan. It should come out dry.

Cool at least 10 minutes before cutting. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Yield: one 9-inch pie pan (4-8 pieces) of simple country cornbread. To increase the recipe, increase all ingredients proportionately.

The Chinese Moon Festival

The Chinese Moon Festival is this really cool event where the moon is honored. This year, it falls on Sept 22. I have a bunch of posts scheduled for Sept 21 over at Gypsy Magic but I can't put the link in because it isn't posted yet. And what I did was, I put up a bunch of stuff here that didn't seem appropriate for Gypsy Magic site. I posted them early so I could go ahead and link them. So... if you're wondering what the heck all that moon festival stuff is, now you know!

And if you are curious about the Festival, and don't want to wait until posts show up at Gypsy Magic, here's the scoop. There's even a recipe! So, read on:

Once upon a time, the earth had ten suns. They burned the crops and people suffered from famine. Houyi, a lesser god and a highly-skilled archer, felt sorry for mankind, so he decided to shoot down nine of the suns. After he shot down the suns, he became a hero. He had a beautiful wife name Chang’e (also a lesser god) and they lived happily together. Houyi gathered many followers and one day they all went hunting together regularly. One day, on Houyi’s way back home the Jade Emperor (the highest god) gave Houyi a pill which granted eternal life as a reward for shooting down the suns. He warned Houyi, “Make no haste to swallow the pill.” Houyi loved Chang’e very much and did not want to leave her, so he gave the pill to Chang’e and let her store the pill in a safe place. Chang’e put the pill in her jewelry box. But one of Houyi’s apprentices, Peng, discovered this secret. He decided to steal the pill.

One day Houyi and some other disciples went to the mountain. Peng pretended he was sick so that he could stay at home. Everyone went to the mountain except Chang’e, who stayed at home. Peng burst into Chang’e’s room and forced her to give him the pill. Chang’e knew she was no match for Peng so she took flight and flew far away. She did not want to leave her husband, so she stopped at the moon which is close to Earth. After Houyi discovered what had happened, he was very angry and heartbroken. He looked up into the night and called Chang’e’s name. He saw that on the moon there was a shadow that looked like Chang’e, so he ran and ran and tried to get to the moon. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t reach the moon.

As for Houyi, he built himself a palace inside the sun as “Yang”-阳 (the male principle), with Chang’e as “Yin”-阴(the female principle). Once a year, on the 15th day of the full moon, Houyi visits his wife. That is why the moon is full that night.



The moon cake (月饼- yuè bǐnɡ):

The moon cake is a traditional symbol of the Mid-Autumn Festival. There are many legends surrounding the moon cake. In one tale, moon cakes originated in ancient times to pay homage to the moon. According to other sources, the moon cake was invented as a way to honor the Moon Goddess Chang’e. In what is perhaps the most famous tale, it is said that during the end of the Mongolian- ruled Yuan era Han Chinese rebel Zhū Yuán Zhānɡ distributed a secret message baked in moon cakes giving the instructions “revolt on the 15th day of the eighth lunar month”. On the night of the brightest moon these revolutionary fighters successfully attacked and overthrew the Mongolian army.

And if you want to make some, here is a traditional recipe:

Mid-Autumn Moon Cake Recipes
By Yan Can Cook, Inc

Makes 2 dozen

• 1 can (17-1/2 ounces) lotus seed paste
• 1/4 cup finely chopped walnuts

Dough

• 4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2-cup non-fat dried milk powder
• 3 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup sugar 1/2 cup solid shortening, melted and cooled
• 1 egg yolk , lightly beaten

1. Mix lotus seed paste and walnuts together in a bowl; set aside.

2. Sift flour, milk powder, baking powder, and salt together into a bowl. In large bowl of electric mixer, beat eggs on medium speed until light and lemon colored. Add sugar; beat for 10 minutes or until mixture falls in a thick ribbon. Add melted shortening; mix lightly. With a spatula, fold in flour mixture. Turn dough out on a lightly floured board; knead for 1 minute or until smooth and satiny. Divide dough in half; roll each half into a log. Cut each log into 12 equal pieces.

3. To shape each moon cake, roll a piece of dough into a ball. Roll out on a lightly floured board to make a 4-inch circle about 1/8-inch thick. Place 1 tablespoon of lotus seed paste mixture in center of dough circle. Fold in sides of dough to completely enclose filling; press edges to seal. Lightly flour inside of moon cake press with 2-1/2 inch diameter cups. Place moon cake, seam side up, in mold; flatten dough to conform to shape of mold. Bang one end of mold lightly on work surface to dislodge moon cake. Place cake on ungreased baking sheet. Repeat to shape remaining cakes. Brush tops with egg yolk.

4. Bake in a preheated 375 degree F. oven for 30 minutes or until golden brown. Transfer to a rack and let cool.

Copyright Yan Can Cook, Inc. 1991.

Fresh Corn on the Cob

Cook fresh corn on the cob in microwave with husks and silk intact. They will cook in their own natural moisture, and taste really yummy. Here's how:

Cooking Timetable:

• 1 ear - 1 1/2 minutes
• 2 ears - 3 to 4 minutes
• 3 ears - 5 to 6 minutes
• 4 ears - 7 to 8 minutes
• 6 ears - 8 to 9 minutes.

Place on dampened paper towel.
Turn ears over and rearrange after 1/2 cooking time.

When ears are hot to the touch, remove and wrap in kitchen towel or foil. Let stand at least 5 minutes.

Remove husks and silk (which is easier than when cold) and serve with melted butter.

A Kitchari Fast

In Ayurveda, the ancient wisdom of India dating back 5,000 years, this mix of rice and mung beans is considered extremely easy to digest and is said to purify the digestion and cleanse the body of toxins. Ayurvedic physicians often prescribe a kitchari diet before, during, and after panchakarma, a rejuvenative treatment that cleanses toxins stored in bodily tissues as it restores systemic balance.

Kitchari provides solid nourishment while allowing the body to devote energy to healing. You can safely subsist on kitchari anytime in order to build vitality and strength as it helps balance all three doshas. For restless vata, the warm soup is grounding; for fiery pitta, its spices are calming; and for chilly kapha, it provides healing warmth...

... I am so sorry to do this to you, but this post has been moved to my new website, shirleytwofeathers.com, and can be found in the Eating To Live section, here: A Kitchari Fast

How to Make Kombucha Tea

Kombucha tea, also known as kombucha mushroom tea, is a fermented beverage harkening back to the ancient Chinese. Doctors in China prescribed kombucha as a tonic for stomach ailments. During the Middle Ages, kombucha tea made its way through the Silk Road to Europe. It has been claimed as the "fountain of youth," and by the 16th century European nobility were turning to kombucha as a tonic for everything that troubled them.

The name kombucha mushroom tea refers to the kombucha mushroom, a bacterial cake resembling a mushroom that's used as a starter to ferment the beverage. The beverage doesn't really contain mushrooms. Although many health benefits are attributed to kombucha, the jury is still out whether or not it's good for you, won't do any harm, or is actually bad for you.

Plain kombucha has an acidic, vinegar-like flavor in addition to the original sweet tea flavor. The strength of the tea flavor can be adjusted with the amount of tea bags brewed per volume of water. It usually has a mild to moderate carbonated texture. In commercial brands, some have a sweet taste, others do not. This depends on length of brewing time, or if the manufacturer has added sugar to the final product. Kombucha also comes in different flavors. This is usually done by adding juices to the base tea after fermentation/incubation has completed.

If you'd like to try making your own kombucha tea beverage, here's how to make kombucha tea.

Things You'll Need:

• 3 quarts filtered water


• 1 cup sugar. Regular refined white sugar or organic cane sugar works fine. You can experiment with other fermentable sugars, like corn sugar. Many brewers prefer organic, if available. It is possible to use honey instead, but SCOBYs originally matured on sugar will not work well with honey, and the fermenting process may take much longer.


• 4 or 5 tea bags of organic black tea Tea. Tea bags or loose leaf teas will work. Experiment! Many teas will work: green, black, echinacea, and lemon balm.


• A kombucha "mushroom" mother, also called a SCOBY, for Symbiotic Culture of Bacteria and Yeast. If you can't find or don't want to buy a SCOBY, you can make one by buying commercial kombucha and leaving it out (covered, in a warm dark place as described below) for a couple weeks.


• 1/2 cup of already made Kombucha as a starter, or vinegar if you don't have that. This is to add acidity to the brew, so it's possible that something like pure cranberry juice might also work.


• 4 quart pyrex bowl, wide-mouth glass jar, or other container. A heavy, food-grade glass jar or large glass Pyrex container is your best bet. NOTE: If you use plastic, metal, ceramic or non-food grade glass containers to make Kombucha - they may (and will most likely) leach toxins, such as lead. If you use a glass container that is too thin, it may fracture when pressure builds inside as the kombucha effervesces.

Instructions:

1. Wash your hands very well (hot water and soap, for at least 30 seconds under running water). Use of non-latex gloves is also recommended, especially if touching the culture directly.


2. Fill up your pot with 3 liters (3.1 quarts) of water and put the stove to high. Boil water for at least 5 minutes to purify water, especially if your water supply is chlorinated.


3. Add 4 or 5 tea bags. According to taste, you may remove tea immediately after brewing, or leave them in for the next two steps.


4. Turn off heat and add 1 cup sugar (for about three liters of water). Sugar will start to caramelize if water continues to boil, and you don't want that to happen.


5. Cover and let tea sit until it is room temperature, around 75ºF/24ºC will do. It will seem to take a long time to cool, but adding the cultures when it is too hot will kill them.


6. Alternatively, you can boil 3 quarters of filtered water. Add the sugar and simmer until all the sugar is dissolved. Then, remove the pot from the heat and add the tea bags. Let them steep for as long as it takes for the water to cool - approximately two hours. Remove the tea bags.


7. While it is cooling, pull out your pyrex bowl, wide-mouthed glass jar, or other container and wash it well in the sink with very hot water, rinsing thoroughly. If you don't have much extra water for cleaning and rinsing, put 2 drops of iodine into the bowl, add a bunch of water, and swirl it all around to sanitize. Rinse out bowl, cover, and keep waiting.


8. When the tea is cool, pour it into the bowl (or whatever container you are using) and add the starter tea, which should constitute about 10% of the liquid. Using about a 1/4 cup of vinegar per gallon of tea also works, it tastes just a bit different, though.


9. Gently put the SCOBY into the tea, cover the top of the container with the cloth, and secure it tightly with rubber band. If you are using a bowl, you can place a piece of plastic wrap with holes punched in the top over the bowl.


10. Now place the bowl, covered, in a warm dark place where it won't be disturbed. Be sure that insects and dirt cannot fall into the mixture or it will contaminate it. Temperature should be consistently at least 21ºC or 70ºF. 30ºC or about 86ºF is best if you can manage. Lower temperatures will make it grow slowly, but below 70ºF makes it more likely that unwanted organisms will start growing too.


11. Wait about a week. During this time, you can check on the tea periodically if you like.

Here's what to look for:

• The culture will sink or float or do something in between, it doesn't matter. You should see, at some point, a new layer of culture growing on the top. Eventually, it will likely form a film covering the whole top of the tea. It may look strange and discolored, but don't worry, it's probably not moldy. Mold that grows on kombucha looks like the mold that grows on bread - fuzz and all. If it's turning black, discard the tea and get a new cake.


• When the tea starts to get smelly like vinegar, you can taste it. The best way to pull a sample is with a straw. Don't drink directly from the straw, as backwash may contaminate the tea. Dip the straw about halfway into the tea, cover the end with your finger, pull the straw out and drink the liquid inside.


• Brewed kombucha looks fizzy and tastes sour. If you can still taste the tea, it's not done yet. If it tastes right, then you're ready for the next step.


• If not, just keep waiting and sampling every couple of days until it is ready. Don't be impatient. If you move on too soon, it will taste funny, or perhaps too sweet.


• The tea is ready when the mushroom has grown a second spongy pancake. Use that to make more tea, or give it away to friends.

When the tea is ready:

• Make a new batch of regular tea the same way you did before (steps 1 thru 7, above). Allow to cool.


• Bring the container of newly fermented tea into the kitchen, take plastic wrap or cloth off top.


• With clean hands (and non-latex gloves if you have them), gently remove mama and baby cultures and set them on a clean plate. Note that they may be stuck together. Pour a little of the kombucha on them to keep them protected.


• Using a funnel, pour your finished, newly fermented tea into storage container(s). Fill it all the way to the top. If you don't it will take forever to get fizzy. If there isn't enough, you can either get smaller containers or fill the rest with regular tea. Only do this if there is only a slight gap, though, or else you risk watering down the tea. Another option is to fill it with juice to give it flavor. Fresh pressed is best, of course, but regular works too. Only do this after it's in the container, though. You don't want to contaminate your next batch, since you will...


• Leave about 10% of old tea in the glass jar as starter tea. This keeps the pH low to prevent mold and things from growing while the tea is getting started. This insures that the fresh tea solution is acidic enough to combat any foreign molds or yeast.


• Pour the new tea in, and put the culture back in, cover, etc. You may use each layer of culture to make a new batch of tea; some recommend using the new layer of culture and discarding the old one. It is not necessary to put both layers of culture back into a single new batch; one will suffice.


• Cap your jug or bottles of finished kombucha tightly and let sit for about 2 - 5 days at room temperature to get fizzy.


• Refrigerate. Kombucha is best enjoyed cold.
  

Still not sure what to do?
Here's a video:

Home Made Dog Food

I've been making dog food for my little dog Cinnamin, and it occured to me that the recipe that I've been using might be helpful. I don't know that what I'm feeding her right now would be good for all dogs - but it got a thumbs up from my vet, and she looks pretty good (all things considered), so I'm going to stick my neck out and say that I do think this diet would be fine for any dog with renal disease and cancer.

Ingredients:

• 1 can white meat chicken (no salt added)
• 2 tablespoons condensed canned goat milk (I poured the entire can into an ice cube tray and froze it - then I dumped the cubes into a freezer bag. I'm assuming that 1/2 cube is equal to 2 tablespoons)
• 1 tablespoon wheat germ
• 3 heaping tbsp rice cereal for babies - more if needed

Here's how I put it together. I empty the can of chicken (including the liquid) into a 10 oz jar. I add the cube of goat milk, the wheat germ, and the rice cereal. Then I add just enough water to moisten the cereal but not so much that it's too soupy. If I happen to put too much water, I just add more cereal until it's the right consistency.

And that's it! She loves it. My dog weighs about 18 lbs and doesn't have much of an appetite, so if she eats the whole thing in one day - I'm really happy. This diet is high in protein, which isn't usually recommended for dogs with chronic kidney disease, but since she is in "hospice" the vet felt that it didn't matter.

Variations - substitutions - additions:

• Substitute a can of salmon for the can of chicken.
• Add cooked oatmeal, couscous, rice, or baked potato if you want to add bulk or carbs.
• Add pieces of hard boiled egg.
• My dog also really likes those little chicken sticks that you can find in the baby food section - they come in a bottle and look like little hot dogs.

Disclaimer:

I am not a vet - nor am I an expert in dog nutrition. This was the only thing I could get my dog to eat, and it's bad enough that she's dying of cancer. I didn't want her to starve to death at the same time. So, for those of you who want dog food recipes designed by a vet - specifically for dogs with chronic renal failure - stay tuned... there's more.

Sister Rose's Cajun Cough Stopper

Here's a recipe for a Hot Toddy
Makes 1 cup.

• 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp ground allspice
• 3/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice (or orange, grapefruit and lemon juice combined)...

... I am so sorry to do this to you, but this post has been moved to my new website, shirleytwofeathers.com, and can be found in the Folk Medicine Remedies and Cures section, here: Sister Rose's Cajun Cough Stopper

Tres Leches

On New Years Eve this year, my daughter Sky and I made a Tres Leches Cake, which I discovered to be a popular dessert in Ecuador (where I grew up). Surprisingly, I hadn't ever heard of it, and so we decided to try it. Wow! It was really rich and it was really good! And it was so easy to make!


Ingredients for the Cake:

• 6 eggs, separated
• ¾ cup sugar
• 1 cup flour

Ingredients for the Syrup:

• 1 can (410 g) evaporated milk
• 1 can (400 g) condensed milk
• 1 cup heavy cream or whole milk

Ingredients for the Topping:

• 1 cup heavy cream
• 3 tbs. sugar

Procedure for the Cake:

1. Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C).
2. Grease and flour a 9x13 in. pan.
3. Beat the egg whites in a clean metal bowl until stiff peaks form. For best results, use cold egg whites directly from the refrigerator.
4. Beat the egg yolks and sugar in a separate bowl until it forms a creamy yellow mixture.
5. Stir the flour and sugar together in another bowl.
6. Add the egg yolk mixture to the dry ingredients and blend thoroughly by hand.
7. Fold the whipped egg whites into the creamed mixture with large, gentle strokes.
8. Spread the mixture evenly into the prepared pan.
9. Bake at 375°F (190°C) for 20 to 30 minutes or until light brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
10. Once the cake is ready, take it out of the oven and put it into a deep dish. Let cool slightly before adding the syrup.

Procedure for the Syrup:

• Blend the evaporated milk, condensed milk, and cream.
• Pour over the cake, making sure to cover it entirely. R
• Refrigerate and cool completely.

Procedure for the Topping:

• Beat the cream with the 3 tbs. of sugar until stiff peaks form.
• Spread over the cake.
• Refrigerate - or eat immediately.

Options and Variations:

• Some recipes in the region add a cup of rum to the milk mixture.
• The recipe itself is neutral enough in taste to handle a touch of flamboyance. It can be lightly dusted with ground cinnamon or instant coffee.
• Berries or bananas can be layered beneath the cake mixture and placed atop the meringue.
• Toasted coconut or chocolate shavings can be sprinkled on top.
• Caramel sauce can also be drizzled over the topping.