STILL NEW YORK-HUNGRY

12. Runaway Carbs! (potato, pea, banana, dark choc!)

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Okay, admittedly we have no artisan Italian cucina here, or all these crazy dishes that line through the previous recipes and cookbooks – although one is looming ahead where you'll think I've gone completely bonkers. (Thank God I have my next shrink rendezvous on the 8th.)

Actually, it was a bit funny with these, ye know?

I was watching the potatoes and bananas and some other fresh produce deteriorate in real time, – therefore this entry's title – getting more and more anxious to use them up, because you don't throw away perfectly fine food, right?

As it happened, I was trying how strong I already am at releasing cookbooks (not very). I took one of each that might be able to "solve" my culinary "problems"... and opened it at a random page.

I found the Main Dish in Swiss cook Moana Werschler's book – focusing on vegetarian / vegan family kitchen – Mama, ich will Brokkoli! (Mama, I want broccoli!)

The Dessert I found in Cynthia Barcomi's Best of Baking. Curiously only available in German as she's from Seattle, lived long in NYC but emigrated to Germany in the mid-90s, and now obviously rather uses her new native tongue.

I admit I tinkered a bit with ingredient ratios and substituted / added one or two, but basically it's the recipes from the books. And there were a few more yums to explore in each of them, so they may stay.

These could also be dishes of someone who has never cooked before – like my novel series'/ stories' FMC, Laura Zimmermann before she became the self-taught, whacky chef / baker she's turned into and scares / teases MMC Vince with her "creations".

They are for real people who really start cooking at one, because they're simple yet yummy... and GOOD-carbed with potatoes, peas, bananas.

Ever heard of Meal Prep? I cooked / baked both dishes and had enough for three+ days! Everything's of course without chemical additives.

And the amount of withering food has shrunk considerably!

You're interested? Nice!

Then off to the kitchen with a cool beer. After all you have a German in the kitchen with you.



Serves:

– 3 Main courses à 4 fritters + ample sour cream / portion
– 4-6 desserts à 2-3 muffins / day


Prep Time:

– about 1 hr Main.
– about 1 hr Dessert. Including cooling off.


Degree of Difficulty: Easy Both



WE NEED


Potato-Pea-Fritters => (Adjusted quantities in brackets)

800 gr (567 gr) / 1.75 lb. (1,25 lb.) potatoes Recipe starchy; Me: waxy
120 gr (200 gr) / 4.25 oz. (7 oz.) peas Rest of => "11. Piselli alla Romana (Hi-Carb)" 
1 small onion Red – my fave
1 egg
50 gr (40 gr) / 1.75 oz. (1.5 oz. savory cheese Used some of the Pecorino left from => "10. Nonno Aurelio's Gnocchi (Hi-Carb)" 
Salt
Pepper
Oil For frying: and here about 1 cup (240 ml / 8 US fl.oz. mix of Canola, Sunflower, Safflower
flour For coherence of the mass; didn't do it => fritters soft to disintegrating but light as feathers
Parsley & Chives Both fresh... as many as you like; of course you can also use frozen ones.
EXTRA: 2 garlic cloves


With that goes perfectly: handmade sour cream. See below


Banana-Muffins

330 gr / 11.7 oz. flour MIX of 230 gr / 8 oz. flour + 100 gr / 3.5 oz. floured almonds => makes them not so flour-"heavy"

1. tsp creme of tartar Recipe => 50/50 baking powder + soda
1/8 tsp cloves Mortared by hand.
1/8 tsp nutmeg Pre-ground.

140 gr / 5 oz. softened butter
125 gr / 4.4 oz. sugar
2 large eggs OR 3 M-sized ones

250 gr / 8.8 oz. mashed bananas Just the 3 I'd left, sans peel

70 gr / 2.5 oz. walnuts Roughly chopped. I used the same amount of Greek Yoghurt as... well, no nuts. Makes
'em fluffier

EXTRA: 40 gr / 1.5 oz. dark chocolate 70% cocoa




WE DO

Potato-Pea-Frittiers

1. Grate the cheese and finely chop the onion (/garlic) and the herbs. If fresh ones are used, like in my case.

2. Peel + cut the potatoes in small pieces and cook / steam them with LITTLE water for about 20 minutes, adding the peas in the last 5-10 minutes. Let cool briefly, then mash potatoes + peas and add the onion (garlic). Moron me overlooked the LITTLE fact. Hint: nightmare pouring out that water. I was so glad I'd cleaned the sink, because I had pluck most peas and some potato pieces out of it, getting my fingers burned.

3. Mix cheese, egg, spices + flour – Add it tbsp-wise, otherwise they get too tender/crumbly an hardly keep their shape! – with the mass until you have a dough. If too sticky, add another spoon flour, or whatever it needs. But always spoon-wise.

4. Shape 12 potato fritters and fry them golden-brown in the oil.




Sour Cream

– 500 gr / 1.1 lb 20% un-flavored/-processed cream cheese Or 50/50 with leftover mascarpone
– 200 gr / 7 oz. natural sour cream UN-flavored/-processed
– 1 onion
– 2+ garlic cloves
– 3 tbsp vinegar Like aceto balsamico
– 1 tbsp sugar
– 1 tsp salt
– 1/2 tsp pepper
– 50 gr / 1.75 oz.herbs Mixed, fresh / frozen

Finely chop onion + garlic + herbs – if you use the latter fresh – and whisk together with the other ingredients.




Banana-Muffins

1. Mash the bananas and chop the chocolate & walnuts. When you use them, of course.

2. Preheat the oven to 190°C / 375°F and butter the muffin tin.

3. In a bowl, mix flour(/almonds), cream of tartar (/baking powder + soda) + spices. In another bowl – or your kitchen aid – beat butter, sugar + eggs until creamy. Mix in the banana puree. With a wooden spoon / rubber spatula, stir in the dry ingredients until the dough ALMOST comes together before adding the walnuts / yoghurt/chocolate.

4. Fill the dough into the tin and bake for 18+ minutes. Yeah, I know. But since every oven is an individual it takes longer / shorter until they're finished. Mine, for example, took 20 minutes.



Enjoy & Guten Hunger!