An Itinerant Seller of Pigeons

1 tsp olive oil
1/2 c minced onion
1 clove garlic, minced
1 (15 oz) can black beans, rinsed and drained
1/4 c breadcrumbs
2 canned chipolte chilies, plus 2 tbsp adobo sauce
1 egg, beaten

In small skillet, heat olive oil. Add onion, saute for 2 minutes. Add garlic, saute for 2 minutes, until both are tender. Cool slightly.

In a large bowl, mash beans lightly with potato masher or fork. In food processor, blend chilies and adobo sauce well, and add to beans. Add onions, garlic, breadcrumbs, and egg white. Stir well. Allow to rest in the refrigerator for 15 minutes.

Shape mixture into 4 patties, and place on waxed paper. Refrigerate patties for a few hours to give flavors a chance to meet.

These patties can be grilled or pan fried. If grilling, spray rack with oil. If pan frying, heat a small amount of oil in skillet. Cook 3 minutes each side, until crispy and browned.

Excellent for breakfast, as a snack, or with dinner.

PEANUT BUTTER PANCAKES

Serves 2-4

INGREDIENTS

1¼ Cups Plain flour, sieved
2 Tbsp Sugar
2½ Tsp Baking powder
½ Tsp Salt
1¼ Cups Semi skimmed milk
1 Egg
¼ Cup Peanut butter (I used crunchy)
3 Tbsp butter, melted (I used olive oil)

Pancakes

1 1/2 cups flour
2tbsp sugar
3tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 egg
1 3/4 cups milk
2tbsp oil or melted butter

4 cloves garlic, slivered

2 shallots, minced

zest & juice of 1/2 lemon

zest & juice of 1/2 lime

2 red peppers, cut into strips

1 broccoli w/ stalk, cut into bits

2oz whisky

2oz black bean sc

2oz oyster sc

2oz franks hot sc

13 oz vanilla vodka

Drink 3/4 of the vodka. Saute the garlic, shallots, lemon & lime zest and juice until translucent. Add peppers and broccoli, turn to high. Add sauces and 1oz water. Cover 5 ish minutes. Uncover. Drink rest of vodka. Pull pan off stove because it’s probably burning. If you didn’t burn it, eat. Chopsticks are traditional, and waaaaaaay more fun after a half bottle of vodka.

This is best done over two days, make the filling and syrup the first day, then assemble the next.

Filling

7 cups Walnuts (shelled)

2 tsp Cinnamon

2 tsp Ground Cloves

3 tsp Nutmeg

1/2 cup sugar

zest of one orange

Grind walnuts roughly, don’t powder them, the chunks should be about half the size of peas. Do not refridgerage.

Syrup

5 cups sugar

5 cups cold water

1/2 cup honey

1 cinnamon stick

1/2 sliced orange

1/2 sliced lemon

1 tbsp whole cloves

2oz brandy (Naploeon is fine, though Metaxa is traditional)

Mix the sugar and water in a medium pot, stirring often. Heat until steam rises from the top, and sugar is all dissolved. Add remaining ingredients, bring to a medium boil. Reduce heat, simmer slowly for 4 hours. Remove from heat, strain scum and leftover orange/lemon/cinnamon/cloves bits out. (A thin sieve works best for this, a coffee filter removes too much flavour) Cool to room temperature, store in glass if possible.

Assembly

Walnut Filling

Filo Pastry

Melted butter

Whole Cloves

Cold water

Syrup

Preheat over @ 325. Liberally butter the pan (12×18 ish ?). Lay down one layer of filo pastry, then brush with melted butter. Repeat until you have 12 layers of buttered filo. (Filo-butter-filo-butter-etc) Sprinkle one even layer of filling on the top (~1/3-1 cup, depends on the size of the pan), until just covered. Place two layer of filo on top of filling, buttering each. Repeat this process (Sprinkle filling, then two layers of buttered filo, then filling, then filo, etc) until 1/2″ from top of pan. Top with 6-8 layers of buttered filo. Score baklava into diamonds. Place a whole clove into the middle of each piece, to hold the top layers in place. Spray lightly with cold water. Bake in preheated 325 oven for 45 minutes. Cover the baklava with a pan, continue cooking for another 30 minutes. Cool for 10 minutes, then cut along scored lines. Pour ~1/2 of the syrup mix over the baklava. When the syrup has been absorbed, pour the remaining syrup over. Do not over-saturate. Serve within 48 hours.