Meat Loaf

This recipe is a no-brainer. My toddler could pull this one off. I love how it feeds 8 with a small amount of a cheap cut of meat. It has become one of my regulars.

1 lb ground beef
3/4 cup fine oatmeal
1 onion, finely chopped
1 1 cup tomato juice
1 egg, beaten
1 1/2 t salt
1 t black pepper

Heat oven to 350F. Mix all the ingredients together and pack firmly into a standard loaf pan. Bake 1 hr, 15min. Let stand 10 minutes before slicing.  Serve with a generous amount of ketchup. Serves 8.

Lemon Almond Polenta Cake

I found this recipe in one of Nigella's cookbooks. I love this cake. The almond meal makes it a bit marzipan-like. And the glaze does not hurt things either. We had it for breakfast with blueberries and milk!

14 T soft butter (I used a mixture of lard and coconut oil)
1 c fine sugar
2 c almond meal
3/4 c fine cornmeal
1 1/2 t baking powder
3 egg
zest of 2 lemons

for the glaze (juice of 2 lemons, 1 c powdered sugar)

1. Line a springform pan with parchment and grease it. Preheat oven to 350F.

2. Beat butter and sugar until pale and fluffy.

3. Mix almond, cornmeal, and baking powder. Add 1/3 of this into the butter mixture, followed by an egg, and continue beating. Repeat. Repeat. Beat in lemon zest.

4. Pour into pan and bake for 30-40 minutes. The center may be soft, just make sure the sides have pulled away from the pan.

5. While the cake rests on a cooling rack, make glaze. Boil lemon juice and powdered sugar until sugar is dissolved. Pour over cake and cool completely before removing the outer ring of the pan.

Cuban black beans

About an hour before dinner, put 3 pots on the stove.

One pot for the beans. To 1lb of black beans that have been soaked overnight, add a finely chopped onion, 6 minced garlic cloves, 1/2 t marjoram, 1/4 t cayenne, salt to taste, and water just to cover. Cover, bring to boil, then simmer on low heat.

One pot for boiled chicken. Salt 6 drumsticks and sear them in oil. Then add about 1in of water or stock. Bring to boil, then cover, and simmer on low heat.

And one pot for rice. I like a long grained rice for this.

When beans are tender and the water has been absorbed (if not, mash some of them against the side of the pan and cook a bit longer to thicken), take off heat and add the zest and juice of 2 limes and some olive oil. Check for salt.

Plate up and garnish with lots of cilantro.

P.S. Thank you, Robin, for the inspiration!