Whole Foods has a whole new section devoted to eggs which we happened to notice yesterday. There were some rather unusual ones, quail and ostrich eggs! I wonder how the ostrich eggs are to be cooked, their cooking suggestion was to boil them, would probably feed a family of ten.

Ostrich Eggs

Eggs Galore

4 potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 cup peas
1 tomato diced
1/2 onion, finely chopped
2 pods garlic
1 tsp grated ginger
1/2 cup coriander, finely chopped
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp jeera powder
3 tsp oil
1 tsp jeera seeds
1 tsp kalonji seeds
1 cup water

• Heat the oil. Add jeera and kalonji seeds.
• Fry the onion, garlic and ginger.
• Add the tomatoes and fry until the tomato is mashed.
• Add the chilli powder and jeera powder and stir.
• Stir in the coriander leaves.
• Add potatoes, peas and water. Cover and cook for about 15-20 minutes or until well cooked.

Yesterday, we decided to call a couple of friends over and serve ‘high tea’, given, that we do make tea one of the more important meals over the weekend. This was our tea menu.

• Mini toasts with a fig and hazelnut spread.
• Gouda cheese with quince paste.
• Mint chutney and cucumber sandwhich.
• Pineapple, almond and cream cheese sandwhich.
• Potato and acorn squash pizza.
• Banana walnut cake.
• A pot of Earl Grey Tea.
• A pot of Spring Oolong Tea.

To add this, our guests got us a box of yummy brownies.

While most of the work revolved around assembly, I’ve posted the ingredients or the recipe for some of the snacks.

Mint Chutney and Cucumber Sandwich

Mint Chutney

• 1 bunch of mint leaves
• 1/4 bunch of coriander leaves
• 4 green chillies
• salt to taste
• lime to taste

Grind the above ingredients together, adding 2 table spoons of water.

Mix in salt and lime.

Potato and Acorn Squash Pizza

This recipe is a slight modification of this recipe from Food Network.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,,FOOD_9936_78783,00.html

• Yukon Gold potatoes, thinly sliced
• Rosemary
• Acorn Squash
• Red Chilli Flakes
• Maple syrup
• Olive oil
• Salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 400F.

Drizzle olive oil over the potato slices and toss some sprigs of rosemary. Bake in the oven for 10 minutes.

Cut the acorn squash into half, remove the seeds and core. Slice into 1/2 inch thick slices.

Toss with olive oil, red chilli flakes and a dash of maple syrup.

Bake in the oven for 20 minutes. Allow it to cool and then peel off the outer skin.

Top the pizza base with potatoes and acorn squash, drizzle with olive oil and bake as per the instructions for the pizza base.

Banana Walnut Cake

I used this recipe from the Food Network site, the cake was moist and tasty.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,,FOOD_9936_4050,00.html

2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup sugar
4 very ripe bananas
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon cinnamon
<1 cup chopped walnuts>

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a medium bowl combine flour, baking soda and powder, salt.

In a large bowl cream together eggs and sugar.

Stir in mashed bananas, vanilla, oil and cinnamon.

Stir in flour mixture, a third at a time, until just combined.

<I added a cup of walnuts, folded it into the batter before baking>

Divide batter into two 9×5 loaf pans. (I baked it in a greased sqaure dish 8 1/2 inches wide and 3 inches deep)

Bake for an 1 hour.

Vegetarian version of the Moroccan pigeon pie.

Filling:
3 Potatoes (diced)
1 Onion (finely chopped, or cut into commas)
3 Cloves Garlic (finely chopped)
1 Inch piece Ginger (finely chopped)
2 Tomatoes (diced)
1 Bay leaf
3 Cloves
2 tsp Jeera powder
1 tsp Chilli powder
2 tsp Harissa

1 Cup Sugar
1 Cup Almonds
1 Stick Cinnamon

1. Fry the bay leaf and cloves in oil.
2. Add the onions, garlic and fry.
3. Add the jeera powder, chilli powder and harissa.
4. Add the tomatoes and potatoes.
5. Continue to cook until potatoes are soft.
6. Grind the sugar, almonds and cinnamon together until the almonds are crushed.

Pie:
6-10 Sheets of Phyllo Dough
Ghee or Olive oil to brush the phyllo dough

1. Brush the base of the pie dish with olive oil or ghee. Arrange 3 layers of phyllo dough at the base of a pie dish. Brush each layer with olive oil or ghee.
2. Spread the almond-sugar mixture over the base.
3. Add the potato filling.
4. Arrange 3 more layers of phyllo dough over the filling. Brush each layer with olive oil or ghee.
5. Preheat oven to 350F. Bake for 10-15 minutes or until the crust is golden brown

Links to the recipe we used to come up with this recipe.

http://www.fabulousfoods.com/recipes/appetizers/apfowl/bastilla/bastilla.html