sweetners

thanks to the weave's employee newsletter, here are alternatives to using white sugar. oh boy, its good to be eating bread again!

sweetener amount to replace 1 c of sugar

sweetener will be followed by the amount to replace 1 c of sugar and then the amount to reduce liquid by

barley malt: 1- 1 1/4 c, 1/4 c

agave nectar: 3/4 c, 1/3 c

brown rice syrup: 1- 1 1/4 c, 1/4 c

date sugar: 2/3 c, none

honey: 1/2 c, 1/4 c

maple syrup: 1/2 - 1/3 c, 1/4 c

molasses: 1/2 c, none

sucanat: 1 c, none

Shepherd's Pie

NOTE: This recipe is modified from the one in Edmond's NZ Cookery
(serves 4)

1 onion, chopped (plus celery, cabbage, carrots, etc)
1 lb. ground meat (beef, turkey, mixture....)
2 T flour
1 T tomato sauce or ketchup
1 T chutney or apricot jam
3/4 beef (or chicken) stock
3 potatoes, peeled and chopped
1 T butter
1 T finely chopped onion
1/2 c. grated cheese
salt
pepper

MEAT BASE
Sauté meat until cooked. Drain off fat. Put meat in separate bow.
Sauté onions (and other vegetables) until the onions are clear
Combine cooked meat with sautéed vegetables
Stir in flour and cook for one minute
Add tomato sauce or ketchup and chutney/jam and stock
Bring to the boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 5 minutes.
Set aside

POTATO TOPPING
Cook potatoes in boiling, salted water until tender
Drain water
Mash potato, adding butter, onion, half the cheese, mixing until smooth & creamy
Season with salt & pepper to taste

PUT IT TOGETHER
Put mince into pie dish
Top with potato mixture
Sprinkle with remaining cheese
Bake at 400 degrees until golden and heated through

ALMOND MACAROONS

These are Kosher for Passover!

Makes about 2 dozen

3 or 4 egg whites
1 ½ cups granulated sugar
2 ½ cups blanched almonds
1 ½ t almond extract
pinch of salt

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or nonstick baking mats (Silpats).
2. Toast almonds in a skillet over medium heat, shaking the pan frequently until they become fragrant, about 5 minutes.
3. Combine sugar and almonds in food processor fitted with metal blade. Process for about 3 minutes, until it becomes a fine powder. Remove from food processor.
4. Clean and wipe dry food processor. Whip egg whites, salt, and extract together at medium-high speed until soft peaks form. Fold almond mixture into egg whites, turning over and over until incorporated. Batter will sticky.
5. Spoon batter by tablespoons onto prepared pans; cookies will spread to about 3-inch rounds, so leave plenty of room. Bake 1 sheet at a time until cookies are brown around the edges, 9-11 minutes. As soon as cookies come out of the oven, remove paper or Silpat with cookies on it from baking sheet. Let cookies cool completely before removing from paper; use a thin metal spatula if cookies stick.

Caramel Matzoh Crunch

It's almost that time of year...

• 4-6 unsalted matzoh boards or sheets
• 1 cup unsalted butter or unsalted Passover margarine
• 1 cup brown sugar, packed firm
• 3/4 cup chocolate chips or semi-sweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

Preheat oven to 375 Degrees F.

Line a cookie sheet completely with foil. Cover bottom of pan with baking parchment - on top of foil. This is very important as mixture becomes sticky during baking. Line bottom of pan evenly with matzoh boards, cutting extra pieces of matzoh, as required, to fit any spaces on the cookie sheet as evenly as possible.

Combine margarine or butter and brown sugar in a 3 quart, heavy-bottomed, saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture comes to a boil. Continue cooking 3 more minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and pour over matzoh.

Place in oven and immediately reduce heat to 350 F. Bake 15 minutes, checking every few minutes to make sure mixture is not burning (if it seems to be browning too quickly, remove from oven, lower heat to 325 F, and replace)

Remove from oven and sprinkle matzoh boards immediately with chopped chocolate or chips. Let stand 5 minutes then spread melted chocolate over matzoh. While still warm cut into squares or odd shapes. Chill in refrigerator until set. You can also serve it in confectioners' paper cups as a candy.