Fare Exchange: Breakfast cinnamon rolls for breakfast and dinner quesadillas

Jane Henegar

Good morning, good company. As we squeeze - sometimes very literally - between generous holiday feasts, these requests have arrived. The asker is Faithful Husband, who wants to know "How to make Greek lemonsoup like the well-seasoned version at Taziki's restaurant downtown and also a recipe for taziki sauce."

Furthermore, here's an overheard request from one young man. He's about to graduate from college and he said to his mama, "You've got to teach me how to cook." Would you help her out by giving him easy, substantial recipes to start apartment-keeping with?

QUESADILLA

As promised, here is another special-occasion quesadilla sent from Michele Johnson of Rossville.

Crab and Goat Cheese Quesadillas

1/2 cup chopped green onions

1 teaspoon lime or lemon zest

4 ounces mild goat cheese

8 ounces crab meat, drained and checked for cartilage

1/2 teaspoon Old Bay Seasoning

8 fajita-size (8-inch) flour tortillas

1 1/2 cups Monterey Jack cheese, grated

2 tablespoons oil

Mix green onions, lime zest and goat cheese in a bowl; set aside. In another bowl, gently mix crab meat with Old Bay seasoning, being careful not to break up crab too much.

Divide cheese mixture into 8 parts, then crab mixture into 4 parts. Spread 1/8 of cheese mixture over one side of each tortilla. Take a tortilla and sprinkle with some Monterey Jack cheese, then place 1/4 of crab mix on top of cheese. Sprinkle with some more Monterey Jack, then top with another tortilla.

On a griddle heated to about 325 degrees, or in a large skillet heated over medium heat, add a couple of tablespoons of oil. Cook quesadillas until tortillas are lightly golden brown, working in batches if necessary. Don't overcrowd.

Cut into serving wedges.

Suggested toppings, if desired: Sour cream and fresh avocados or, for something special, try Mango Salsa (recipe below)

Mango Salsa

Ripe mango, diced

Cherry tomatoes, diced

2 tablespoons fresh cilantro

3 tablespoons red onion

2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

Salt and pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients and chill for at least an hour. Serve with quesadillas.

SOURDOUGH CINNAMON ROLLS

If you saved Clifford Burdette's sourdough starter recipe from last week and began the process, you are now ready for his cinnamon rolls made with said starter.

Sourdough Cinnamon Rolls

Sweet Dough:

34 cup milk

2 tablespoons butter

1 teaspoon active dry yeast

1 cup proofed sourdough starter (recipe printed Nov. 16; http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/life/entertainment/story/2016/nov/23/fare-exchange-holiday-feeding-teen/399094

1 egg

1 teaspoon salt

14 cup sugar

3 cups flour or more

1 cup raisins, optional

Cinnamon Mixture:

1 tablespoon butter, melted

2 tablespoons sugar

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

Icing:

1 cup powdered sugar

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 tablespoon cream

The night before: Proof your starter. I usually get mine out of the refrigerator, where I store it, and add a cup of flour and a cup of water. Then I let the mixture sit loosely-covered overnight on the counter. It should be bubbly and active in the morning.

Heat the milk and the butter in the microwave for one minute. Allow to cool slightly. Add yeast and let sit until yeast dissolves.

In a large bowl, mix the proofed sourdough, egg, salt and sugar. Add the milk mixture. Gradually add the flour to make an elastic dough.

Knead for 5 minutes. Let the dough rest for 10-15 minutes.

Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface to about a 9-by-13-inch rectangle.

Sprinkle the surface of the dough with the cinnamon mixture (and raisins if you are adding them). Roll up the dough.

Lightly score the roll to create 12 rounds. Cut firmly with a sharp knife.

Put the rounds in a lightly buttered 9-by-13-inch pan. Allow to rise until rounds are touching each other and the sides of the pan, approximately 60 minutes in a warm place.

Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes.

Mix the icing to your desired consistency. Some people like it thicker, some prefer thin. Pour over the cinnamon rolls while hot.

Serve warm. Makes 12 servings.

Total time: 1 hour 45 minutes. Prep: 1 hour 30 minutes. Cook: 15 minutes

Sourdough Dinner Rolls

1 cup sourdough starter

3 to 4 tablespoons honey or sugar

1 1/2 cups warm water (See * Note)

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon yeast (1 package)

1 tablespoon salt

5 cups flour, plus enough for a floured surface

Butter, melted (for brushing tops)

Heat oven to 375 degrees.

In a large bowl stir together sourdough starter, sugar or honey, warm water, olive oil, yeast and salt.

Add flour, 1/2 cup at a time, stirring after each addition until the dough is dry enough to knead; it should still be slightly sticky. Turn out the dough onto a heavily floured surface and knead for 5-10 minutes, until the dough is tacky but not sticky and reaches a temperature of 78-80 degrees.

Place the dough in a clean large bowl sprayed with non-stick cooking oil, cover the bowl with a kitchen towel or plastic wrap and let the dough double in size. When the dough has doubled, punch it down with lightly floured hands.

Divide the dough into rolls, each slightly smaller than the size of a tennis ball.

Lightly oil a 9-by-13-inch pan or line with parchment paper. Set the rolls into the pan and let them rise until doubled, covered with greased or oiled wax paper.

Once the rolls have doubled, remove wax paper, place them in heated oven and bake for 20 minutes. During the last 5 minutes of baking, brush the tops with melted butter and return them to the oven.

The rolls are done when they are lightly brown on top.

* Note: For this water peel, cube and boil a potato in 2 cups of water, then remove potato and let the water cool until temperature reaches 110-115 degrees. Then use 1 1/2 cup of this water.

Prep time 20 minutes. Total time 2 1/2 hours.

VEGAN GREEN BEANS

Rose Secrest's rough-draft new cookbook, totally vegan, includes this pungent recipe for a green bean salad.

Horseradish Green Beans

2 cups (or a bag) green beans, cut into -inch pieces

1 cucumber, diced

1 rib celery, diced

1/4 cup red onion, diced

2 tablespoons horseradish, grated

1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

1 teaspoon dill

Fresh-ground black pepper to taste

Combine, chill and serve.

JUST A DASH

From recipes sent by readers, here are some helpful hints tacked onto the end of their recipes. The first came from Jody Poindexter of Flintstone, Ga.

"For the smoothest frosting, freeze cake for at least 30 minutes, then frost. Freeze layers on the wire rack or a cookie sheet. If you're not using them right away, wrap frozen layers well in plastic wrap. Mix homemade batter by hand for a more tender and moist cake."

And this one, from an anonymous reader, advises testing for the freshness of spices.

"Flavor fades from ground spices after two or three years. They don't go bad, though, so before tossing anything, do a sniff test. Crush a little bit in your hand and see how potent the aroma is. If you can't smell much, replace it."

That's it for today, but December with all its tastiness is right around the corner. Come 'round, won't you?