House of Joy & Tuesday Night Dinner

cabbage & noodles

2011-08-20T12:35:00.000-07:00

Essentials
1 medium head cabbage, chopped
1/2 bag pasta (egg noodles, elbow macaroni, etc.)
butter
salt & pepper

Additionals
onion
bacon
ham
sausage (kielbasa)
chicken
sour cream

***
Saute the cabbage and onions in butter or bacon grease (I used about 2 T). Cook until soft and browned.

Boil the water and cook the pasta. Add into the cooked cabbage and butter.

tamale pie

2011-08-06T04:53:00.000-07:00

I brought back some Trader Joe's taco seasoning mix last time I visited the US and it needs to be used, so tamale pie it is! (If I want to make this in the future, I'll just my own mixture of spices. For whatever reason when I was standing there at TJ's, I just had to have that packet. Who knows my thinking.)

Crust: (Combine and put in bottom of pie tin or casserole)
1 cup cornmeal
2 teaspoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg, slightly beaten
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
(1 cup whole kernel corn, drained)

Saute together in a little oil:
2+ small onions
3-4 cloves garlic

Add:
1# ground beef and cook until browned.

Take off heat and add:
taco meat seasoning packet
diced peppers (fresh or canned)
diced tomatoes (1 can) and/or tomato sauce
black beans (1 can - or kidney or pinto)
frozen or canned corn (I omit)

Stir together. Put on top of crust. Bake at 350 degrees about 30 minutes. Sprinkle with cheese and put back in oven to melt.

Eat with sour cream/yogurt and salsa and cilantro.

chicken soup to cure malaria

2011-06-18T09:32:00.000-07:00

Well, that's the hope.

Stock:
chicken carcass, most good meat removed
2 small onions, chopped
5 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
(celery would be great but there's none here; would have put in celery seed if I could find it)
(I threw in 5 small very hot peppers. Next time I'd try it with 1-2.)
Herbes de provence (about 1 T)
basil (about 1 T)
salt
pepper

Boil that all for a few hours, until it tastes like chicken stock. Then drain it, pick meat off the bones, and discard the solids.

Soup:
Take the broth and add:
5-6 cloves garlic, chopped
2 small onions, chopped
3 carrots, chopped
seasoning to taste (more pepper and salt)
chopped chicken meat

Cook until carrots are soft (about half an hour).

Add frozen vegetables (I put in peas, beans, and broccoli) and egg noodles, cooking 8 minutes until noodles are tender.

(It's better to cook the noodles separately, otherwise they get too mushy with reheating. But I really didn't want to wash another pot.)

red palm oil

2011-04-09T12:03:00.000-07:00

When we were over in Zwedru the other week, we drove past a woman with a big jug of red liquid. "I want some!" Well, she wouldn't fill my water bottle with it but pointed me to somebody who would.

Red palm oil is made of the fruit of oil palms. The fruit falls in large clumps and it's pretty - like chestnuts but the color of a brilliant sunrise.

People here in Liberia make the oil themselves, and it makes a unique flavor. I can't describe it - maybe a little fruity. It adds a depth to flavor and pairs well with most vegetables and meat.

The refined oil is used for bad foods, but the unrefined red oil is full of healthy things. You know how coconut oil used to be thought of as really bad but now people are realizing it's actually really good? Like that.

And now I have a big water bottle full of it in my cupboard. I used it today to make cabbage with chicken. The first few bites had too much flavor, but then it mellowed and I like it.

It'll be good with other vegetables, like potato greens.

sour cream banana bread

2011-04-09T06:45:00.000-07:00

From here. It's very yummy! Local bananas are abundant, and they go bad pretty fast. There's a locally made sour cream which isn't cheap but is nice as a special treat with beans/chili - and the leftovers can be frozen and thawed in bits for this recipe. (I'll also toss in some yogurt to finish that up, and it should be fine.)

Ingredients:

Serves: 12, Yield: 1 loaf

1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup mashed banana (2-3 bananas)
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup chopped nuts (optional)
1/2 cup chocolate chips (optional)

Directions:

Prep Time: 15 mins

Total Time: 1 1/4 hr

Grease 1 large loaf pan.
Cream margarine, sugar, eggs and vanilla.
Add dry ingredients, then bananas, nuts and sour cream.
Mix well.
Bake at 350 F for 1 hour.

okra oatmeal cookies

2011-04-07T11:17:00.000-07:00

Megan sent me this recipe and I cannot wait to try it someday!!

crepes

2011-04-03T01:55:00.000-07:00

I was burnt out. I was exhausted. I was overwhelmed.

I didn't want to hit the bottle, and I tried some of my other vices.

What could get me out of this slump? What could delight and invigorate me?

NUTELLA CREPES!

Taken from here, the batter is even better the next day. I disregard their directions though; I put the flour in a bowl; combine everything else, then whisk it (with a fork) into the flour. There are some lumps, but it's not tragic.

After cooking one side, I flip it over and put a glob of nutella on. It gets runny with the heat, so after removing (the edges brown), I spread it and roll it up and enjoy!

Ingredients

1 cup all-purpose flour
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup water
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons butter, melted

Directions

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour and the eggs. Gradually add in the milk and water, stirring to combine. Add the salt and butter; beat until smooth.
Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium high heat. Pour or scoop the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/4 cup for each crepe. Tilt the pan with a circular motion so that the batter coats the surface evenly.
Cook the crepe for about 2 minutes, until the bottom is light brown. Loosen with a spatula, turn and cook the other side. Serve hot.

banana bread

2011-02-13T00:23:00.000-08:00

Bananas are very, very common here in Liberia, as are plantains. There are different varieties including the very small very sweet ones.

Getting bananas for banana bread was a challenge though - co-workers offered to bring me their old bananas, but mice ate them first. Then all my usual places to buy nobody was selling or I couldn't get to.

But not far from the gate of my compound, two girls were selling bananas. I screeched to a halt and asked how much. I gave them 100 Liberian dollars (about $1.50) and they filled a plastic grocery bag overflowing, and we chatted. "Are you making rice bread?" That's how they make banana bread here, with rice ground into flour. I should learn that recipe.

But for today, I'm using my standards. I made two recipes today for brunch, to taste test and compare.

Banana Bread #1:

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 eggs, beaten
(I added 1 tsp+ of vanilla)
2 1/3 cups mashed overripe bananas

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9x5 inch loaf pan.
In a large bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt. In a separate bowl, cream together butter and brown sugar. Stir in eggs and mashed bananas until well blended. Stir banana mixture into flour mixture; stir just to moisten. Pour batter into prepared loaf pan.
Bake in preheated oven for 60 to 65 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of the loaf comes out clean. Let bread cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack.

Banana Bread #2:

Ingredients

1 cup granulated sugar
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 large eggs
3 ripe bananas
1 tablespoon milk
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt

Directions

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Butter a 9 x 5 x 3 inch loaf pan.

Cream the sugar and butter in a large mixing bowl until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.

In a small bowl, mash the bananas with a fork. Mix in the milk and cinnamon. In another bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

Add the banana mixture to the creamed mixture and stir until combined. Add dry ingredients, mixing just until flour disappears.

Pour batter into prepared pan and bake 1 hour to 1 hour 10 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Set aside to cool on a rack for 15 minutes. Remove bread from pan, invert onto rack and cool completely before slicing.

Spread slices with honey or serve with ice cream.

sweet potato pie

2011-01-31T09:55:00.000-08:00

Well, it was a debacle. The sweet potatoes are not orange, one didn't mash properly, the butter was all chunked in the pie. I have no pastry blender and my kitchen is about 300 degrees at all times. The only pie tin to buy in this entire city is a flimsy aluminum one. The oven doesn't work right - thank goodness I have an oven thermometer, because one millimeter adjustment takes it from 400 degrees to 200 degrees, and I am not exaggerating. Then I had to turn the oven off midway through baking so we could go shopping at the market (which was really a trip), and that's of course after the pie spilled and overflowed all over the oven floor.

But. The paramour's cousin came over to teach me to cook some Liberian dishes (eddoes soup and gravy for eddoes) and my contribution was the sweet potato pie, and he loved it. "Please, let me be here to learn how to make it with you next time. And we'll make potato greens." Deal!

So, I just followed these two recipes so I'll just give full credit.

Sweet potato pie

Ingredients

1 pound (2 cups) sweet potato
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup milk
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 (9 inch) unbaked pie crust

Directions

Boil sweet potato whole in skin for 40 to 50 minutes, or until done. Run cold water over the sweet potato, and remove the skin.
Break apart sweet potato in a bowl. Add butter, and mix well with mixer. Stir in sugar, milk, eggs, nutmeg, cinnamon and vanilla. Beat on medium speed until mixture is smooth. Pour filling into an unbaked pie crust.
Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 55 to 60 minutes, or until knife inserted in center comes out clean. Pie will puff up like a souffle, and then will sink down as it cools.

Crust


8 Tbsp (1/2 cup) Chilled butter
1 1/3 cup Flour
dash Salt
2-3 Tbsp Ice water

Cut the butter into 8-12 pieces and place in bowl. Add the flour and salt and use a pastry blender to mix the butter with the flour until it’s the size of small peas. (If you don’t have a pastry blender, you can use two forks or your fingers.)

Using your fingers, mix in the ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time. Mix just until it holds together, only a few seconds. Press the dough into a flat disk.

Sprinkle a little flour on a cool, dry surface and place the dough on it. (Note: if you’ve made the larger recipe, take about 2/3 of the dough for rolling the bottom crust.) Rub a little flour onto the rolling pin so it won’t stick and roll the dough in a rough circle a little larger than the diameter of your pan. If the dough sticks, sprinkle on a little more flour. The dough should be about 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick.

Use a spatula to loosen the dough from the surface, and fold it in half and then quarters to make lifting it easy. Place in the pie pan and press to shape. If you’re so inclined, use your fingers or a fork to make a pretty edge on the crust.

oven roasted vegetables and chicken pieces

2011-01-30T09:04:00.000-08:00

Seeking inspiration I found this recipe, which I tweaked.

*chicken pieces (I got 2 legs and 2 thighs in the mystery package) - seasoned with salt and pepper
*about 3 cups of small tomatoes
*1 small eggplant
*okra (maybe 4 cups?)
*drained can of cannellini beans
*2 heads of garlic, divided into cloves
*1 onion, sliced
*basil (sadly no fresh, so I dumped a bunch of dried)
*paprika (fresh chili peppers would have been better but didn't have any)
*olive oil (a couple of good glugs)

I tossed everything in together and gave it a stir.

350 degrees for an hour and a half, stirring occasionally.

****
This turned out quite flavorful yet soupy. I'd likely not add the vegetables until the end in the future because they're too mushy for my tastes. And the chicken was tender but definitely not crispy - this was more stewed.

Serious problems with controlling the temperature of my oven, but it seemed to work out ok. Not fab, but fine. Tasty and satisfying with a hunk of bread.

chili

2010-12-19T08:38:00.000-08:00

I've been really struggling to find my groove with food here in Liberia - it's hard to shop, etc. Non-Liberian food is available at supermarkets, but expensive (cream cheese for $9) and hit-or-miss. Even things regularly stocked, there's no guarantee it will be there. Liberian food is sold in markets, but none seem to be walking distance from me or I can't find them. It takes knowledge that I don't yet have and time to prepare that I definitely don't have.

So, I eat a lot of fake Pringles and cheap Turkish cookies. A lot. Too many dinners.

Chili is now added to my repertoire. Note to self: if I'm carrying the bags of cans home, they're heavy.

******
Saute:
onion (4 small Liberian ones)
garlic (4 cloves)
3/4# ground beef (even the cows are skinny here: that was some lean beef)

Find a can opener (or a knife, or whatever works):
2-3 cans beans (or cook up a bag of black beans)
1 small can tomato sauce
1 large can peeled canned tomatoes (chop if whole)
1 1/2 T cumin (but I am a cumin freak)
1 tsp paprika*
1 tsp cayenne pepper*
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon dried basil leaves
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

Add the beans & tomatoes & spices to the beef & onions/garlic and let it simmer for at least 15 minutes (longer is better).

I like to eat it on rice or with cornbread.

(*Or if have chili powder, use 1 1/2 Tbsp in lieu of paprika and cayenne pepper.)

Liberian-style cabbage soup

2010-12-05T09:04:00.001-08:00

So, the secret to Liberian cooking?

Use a TON of oil, Maggi seasoning cubes, MSG, hot peppers, and boil meat and vegetables together and serve with rice.

I omitted the MSG but otherwise was pretty authentic.

*Fry chicken in about 1/2" of oil. (I used two large chicken legs, and it took a long time until it seemed nearly done.)

Remove chicken.

Add chopped* onions (3 small), garlic (5 cloves), peppers (4 long hot ones) to the oil.
Toss in a couple of bouillon cubes and a small can of tomato paste.
Allow to saute over low-medium heat until onions are transparent.

Add chopped cabbage. (I used a small head, but I needed at least twice that much.) Saute for a few minutes. When cabbage starts to wilt, add back the chicken and allow to cook over med-low heat for about 30 minutes, until the cabbage softens and flavors meld.

Chicken should fall off the bones, which is how I like it, but pull chicken out earlier if you don't like it so soft.

Serve with rice.

*Liberians use a mortar and pestle to pound the peppers, onion, and garlic. The flavor is superior that way to chopped, but I use what I got.

lentil soup

2010-11-28T13:22:00.001-08:00

Eating in Liberia ain't cheap or easy, I'm finding.

Going back to lentils, this soup was pretty tasty (based on Alton Brown).

Saute:
onion (I used two very small ones)
garlic (a few cloves)
carrot, chopped
a bit of seasoning salt

When onions are translucent, add:
chopped tomatoes (3 small)
1 pound lentils
2 quarts broth (I put in 2 quarts water and 4 bouillon cubes - too much bouillon, too salty)
cumin (1 tsp: but I forgot it this time and it was fine)
coriander (1/2 tsp: also forgot)
grains of paradise (which I have yet to find)

Bring to a boil, then to a simmer for 35-40 minutes.

smoked fish and potatoes

2010-11-13T07:47:00.000-08:00

I have no idea what I'm doing here, but I grabbed some potatoes and smoked fish (most likely mackerel) at the grocery store, and doggone it sounds good, so here goes:

*Steam the potatoes until pretty done.

*Debone the fish.

*Saute onion and garlic in oil. When soft, add in the fish.

Eat the fish on the potatoes, topped with yogurt (which is all i have ... should have picked up some sour cream).

I'll eat it with stewed okra & tomatoes ... and now I'm very hungry!

I'm in Liberia!

2010-11-13T07:33:00.000-08:00

While it's possible to eat from a supermarket here if one's tastes go towards $15 per box cheerios and $7.50 bags of M & Ms (I spent a long time staring at those before leaving them behind), I'm cheap.

Fortunately I can eat out a lot for a good price. Well, I can eat out for a very expensive price, but what I'm finding is that I would much rather pay $2 for cook shop Liberian food than $20 for western food such as chicken quesadillas (they're actually only $9 or so I think, but most things are quite expensive). There's a fellow in the office with a hookup of a nearby woman who will even deliver, so some days that's perfect (though, if I'm too busy to go out to lunch, I'm likely too busy to eat - and I got scolded seriously for not sharing when the food was delivered).

Liberian diet is VERY rice heavy. Which for me is great! I find it interesting how the quality of the rice varies so much depending on where you eat. At an expensive restaurant it's perfectly white, but less expensive has some grains with dark ends (burned?), etc. Of course I like the cheap stuff. The diet is a lot of greens (potato greens, cassava leaves, and numerous other kinds I can't think of right now), very spicy with these tiny peppers that pack a punch. People add pepper sauces made of these peppers. Into the greens or soups of whatever sort (my least favorite is palava which is made I think with jute leaves that are slimy) are put chunks of fish, chicken, and beef - usually all three in one bowl. Liberians cook with a LOT of oil and Maggi seasoning cubes.

So, the challenge for me will be: a varied, healthy diet. I won't be eating the chicken quesadillas on a regular basis, but I will be going for the potato greens. In my own cooking I will experiment a lot with the local fish: I need to find a good supplier and then have my way with it.

There aren't a lot of sweets here except for fruit: year-round is bananas and pineapple, and I missed mango season sadly. Peanuts are another snack sold regularly, and I used to see fresh peanut butter at the refugee camp though I haven't seen it around here yet.

And so my culinary adventures begin!

cocoa banana muffins

2010-08-17T05:42:00.000-07:00

From here. Very yummy!

Ingredients:

1/2 cup applesauce (or substitute vegetable oil)
1 egg
1 cup sugar
2 very ripe bananas, mashed
1/2 cup cocoa
1-1/2 cup flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 350F. Cream applesauce, egg, sugar and banana. Stir in remaining ingredients. Pour into greased muffin tins. Bake for 25 minutes. Makes 1 dozen muffins.

a must-try bread recipe!

2010-08-12T05:19:00.000-07:00

No, I do not feel like baking bread when the temperature soars to double digits. Usually at this time of the year, I'm eating off the few loaves I baked during the last nice days before summer hit full-force. This year didn't really work out that way.

But this recipe intrigues me and I cannot wait to try it when we bump back down to double digit temperatures.

Crockpot Sweet and Sour Pork

2010-06-16T21:28:00.001-07:00

Crockpot Sweet and Sour Pork
Originally uploaded by gummychild

Mmm...it smells so good! I've made this for dinner, and it's been stewing wonderfully today, waiting for Shelton to get home from class so we could eat this together for dinner tonight. =)

Pictures of food in a crockpot aren't as nice looking as those that are plated, but I guarantee you that this smells heavenly. It's not the traditional Panda Express type of sweet and sour pork that one may envision when they hear "sweet and sour pork"...it's a different type, and not really Chinese either, ha ha. But if it tastes as good as it smells, it's a winner and keeper in my recipe book! =)

I got it online. =) Anyway, here's the way I made it, and you can make it too! =)

Ingredients:
- 1.5 to 2 pounds of Country Style Pork Shoulder meat
- 1 red bell pepper, chopped up.
- 1/2 an onion, chopped up.
- 1 can of pineapple chunks (20 oz); you will need 3/4 Cup of the juice.
- 1/4 Cup of Rice Vinegar (or cider vinegar)
- 1/4 Cup of water
- 1/4 Cup of brown sugar, packed
- 1 Tbsp. of light soy sauce
- 2 Tbsp. of starch
- 1/2 tsp. of salt (to taste)

Directions:

1. Place the pork, bell pepper, and onion in the crockpot.
2. Mix well everything else except for the pineapple chunks in a bowl, and add it into the crockpot. Save the pineapple chunks in the fridge.
3. Turn the crockpot onto low and cook for 8 hours.
4. At about 45 minutes left of cooking, add the pineapples in.
5. Serve with hot rice! =)

Lemon-Fig Cake

2010-06-16T21:27:00.001-07:00

Lemon and Fig Cake
Originally uploaded by gummychild

Made these mini cakes for my mom's birthday last weekend! ^_^ They were delicious, and not too sweet (she always complains that baked items are way too sweet, hee hee...), so it was perfect!

Because I didn't have a full cake pan and baked them in mini sized ones, they were kinda like giant muffins...but still good, and would be extra tasty with coffee, tea, or hot cocoa. ^_^

This is from Martha Stewart's little magazine book of recipes, Everyday Food, the Holiday Baking 2007 Edition. =)

Ingredients:

- 1/2 Cup olive oil
- 1/2 Cup milk
- 1 large egg
- 1-1/2 Cups all purpose flour
- 3/4 Cup sugar (I used only 1/2 a cup)
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 package (about 7-10 ounces) of dried figs, stemmed and coarsely chopped up (about 1-1/2 Cups)
- 1-1/2 teaspoons of finely grated lemon zest (from 1 lemon)

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Brush a 9" tart pan with a removable bottom with some oil, or use a cake pan lined with parchment paper on the bottom.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk the oil, milk, and egg.

3. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.

4. Add the milk mixture into the bowl of dry ingredients and stir until smooth. Don't overmix! Gently fold in the figs and lemon zest.

5. Spread the batter into the pan, and set the pan on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake until golden and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 35 to 40 minutes.

6. Cool in the pan for about 15 minutes before unmolding the cake onto a wire rack to cool completely. To serve, cut into wedges. The cake can be stored, wrapped well in plastic, at room temperature for up to one day.

Papaya Milkshake

2010-06-16T21:25:00.000-07:00

Papaya Milkshake (1)
Originally uploaded by gummychild

A really tasty smoothie for a hot day like today! =)

Ingredients:
- 1 ripe papaya, scooped out into pieces with a spoon
- 3 Cups of milk
- 2 Cups of crushed ice
- 7-8 teaspoons of sugar (to taste, really)
- cinnamon
- mint leaves to garnish

Directions:

Use a blender to blend everything except for the cinnamon and mint leaves together (be careful! Remember that blenders can go crazy if you fill it all the way up...about halfway up is good, and if you need to do this in batches, that's fine too).

Serve with a dash of cinnamon sprinkled on top of the foam that will naturally be made, and top with a sprig of mint for some color, pizazz, and flavor. =) We didn't have any mint leaves available, but I think it would be nice. =)

We served ours in martini glasses, but this will serve beautifully in a tall glass as well! =)

blueberry crunch

2010-04-04T08:36:00.000-07:00

I grew up in southeast Alaska, in the Tongass National Forest. Our house was surrounded by trees and berry bushes - countless salmonberries and blueberries. We made a ton of jelly and jam (which my sister sold to cruise ship passengers when they docked - we always laughed when they would ask this very blond, green-eyed girl if she was Eskimo - which of course also shows lack of geographic knowledge).

This recipe, from family friends, is one of my very favorite things to do with wild blueberries. Yes, "regular" blueberries are fine, but wild blueberries have a special deeper more intense flavor that make me go wild.

SITKA COMFORT FOOD

Mix and then put in 9 x 13 cake pan:
4 cups blueberries (1 quart)
~ 1/2 c sugar
3 T flour

Combine, then dab atop the berries:
1/2 c brown sugar
1 1/2 c flour
1 c oatmeal
1/2 c butter (originally she called for 1 c, but I find the lesser amount is fine)
1 tsp vanilla

Bake 40 minutes at 375 degrees. Enjoy with vanilla ice cream.

okra soup

2010-04-03T10:46:00.000-07:00

An impending move has me seriously examining the contents of my freezer, knowing I need to empty it. I've spent the past year filling it with all sorts of treasures, so this is a challenge for me. But also a fun challenge!

Fry pancetta or bacon (alternatively, use cubed meat and/or a soup bone). Then saute onion & garlic & chopped peppers (bell and/or spicy).

Add in vegetables. I shall add:
*okra, frozen
*corn, frozen
*green beans, frozen
*spinach, frozen
*diced tomatoes, canned
*1 c tomato juice

Add enough stock/water/whey/bouillon to cover. Cook 30 minutes or so.

Season to taste with salt, pepper, herbs & spices. Probably a dash of salt and a few grinds of lemon pepper will satisfy me (and cayenne if no hot peppers).

New Orleans style cabbage

2010-04-03T10:32:00.001-07:00

I spent New Year's Day at my friend Laura's house, where we had the traditional black-eyed peas (which she made "jerk") and cabbage. This cabbage was soooo good that I had to ask her how she made it. Yeah, an entire container of parmesan. Yeah. No wonder it's tasty!

So since I'm spending Easter tomorrow with Ruby's family, where I have not seen a lot of vegetables, I figured this would be a good way to finish off my parmesan - with moving, I'm in OPERATION: EMPTY FREEZER AND REFRIGERATOR, so this will do that ... and the breadcrumbs in the freezer ... and the cabbage in the crisper ... So, here are her directions.

What makes this New Orleans style? Well, her mimaw is from New Orleans, and she probably got this from an Italian neighbor at some point. But what REALLY makes this a New Orleans-style vegetable is that all the additions essentially negate all the positives of eating vegetables!

There's no particular recipe for the cabbage but I can give you a general idea. I cut the cabbage up into small strips and cooked it down with a little bit of olive oil, an onion, and some garlic. Once that's done, start mixing in Italian style breadcrumbs until it becomes a little pasty. You can add the cheese at this point. After that, I put it in a casserole dish, threw a little more cheese on top, and baked it on 350 for 30 minutes or so to get the top a little crunchy.

I hope that all makes sense. It's one of those things I picked up from Mimaw and she never had any measurements for it.

canning lids!

2010-03-29T15:01:00.001-07:00

These were as a Facebook ad and I'm so glad to have seen them!

They are Tattler reusable canning lids. I can be a bit of a canning fiend, but I get annoyed that I have to buy new lids each time. Sure, they're less than 10 cents a piece, but one of the benefits of canning is that you save money by reusing containers. So, I'm super excited to see that I have options!!

collards with ham hock

2010-03-26T12:35:00.000-07:00

When I moved to the South, I took to okra immediately - it grows like crazy in my backyard and I cook it in various wonderful iterations, then pickle, freeze, and dry it and enjoy it. I am not in the least bit self-conscious of my okra affinity.

But collards? Truth be told, they're more complicated. Oftentimes when I would have them, they were too fatty for me and too doctored up. I wanted collards without the fancy dressing up, darn it.

But shortly after I moved here, I tried cooking my own collards to my own specifications. And honey child, they were atrocious. Bitter and tough (perhaps from the supermarket and not really fresh) and BLECH! And I gave up for the time being.

Now though, I feel more sure about my southern cooking repertoire, and so I tried again when I picked up some beautiful greens from the Farmers Market. And they're so good I think I might eat the whole darn pot today! Fortunately they're darn good for me - and here is an interesting article on their history & nutrition.

***
Put one smoked ham hock in a large pot of liquid. (The liquid can be broth or water or whey from yogurt making, which is what I used.) Boil it to get the flavor of the ham hock in the liquid. (I boiled it about two hours, and truthfully this was too long because that flavor is too dominant. Next time I'll boil it maybe 1/2 hour, then pull out the ham hock and set it aside to use for something else later.)

While that is simmering, clean your greens. Generally for cleaning greens such as collards, you need to do a fair amount of dunking in a big tub of water and rinsing. They do trap dirt. Then chop the greens. I keep almost all the stem (just trimming off the bottom bit). I take a big bunch of collards and roll them together and chop through all the stems then on up to the leaves.

When the ham hock is falling apart, add the collards to the broth and stir well. (If they won't all fit, add what you can then let it wilt down a bit and then add the rest.)

Simmer for about 45 minutes. The collards are a tough bunch, and they need the time to break down the bitterness and fiber. The long cooking (usually I lightly cook vegetables so this goes against my intuition) is actually important to release nutrients as well.

Flavor to taste. Definitely taste before salting! The smoked ham hock was super salty to me. I had just finished a jar of pickled okra and tossed in the garlic & peppers from that jar, as well as a bit of the vinegar.

Enjoy! I ate on "Jazzmen" rice (also super good with cornbread) with a good dash of Crystal hot sauce on top. And oh soul, so good!

The liquid left from cooking greens is called "pot likker" and is super tasty and nutritious. You can sop it up with cornbread or rice, or you can save it and use as a soup base.

strawberry honey jam

2010-03-25T06:02:00.000-07:00

(originally posted on other blog March, 2009)

Pre-work: prepare the jars & lids. Wash them well, then put them in separate pans. You want to boil the jars to get them very sterile, but do not boil the lids because that can destroy the sealing rubber gasket part. Get the lids to a simmer then turn off the heat; boil the jars about 10 minutes and then keep them in the pot. You'll use the same pot to boil them in later when they're full of jam, so don't dump the water out. [I have a problem with a film developing on the jars when they boil - my guess is from minerals in the water. Will need to figure it out.]

Then, wash the strawberries. Be gentle. Get organic strawberries, or at least unsprayed, so you're only washing to get off dirt, leaves, etc. Dry on a clean tea towel. Let them get to room temperature so that their flavor is very full.

Then, hull them. I take the stem off with my fingers, then use a huller for the tough attachment part. (Can also use a knife, but I find that seems to take off too much of the good berry.)

Slice until you think you'll have about 4 cups mashed (my best guess is about 2 1/2 pints). (You probably don't have to slice before mashing, but I think it makes the mashing easier.)

Then mash, leaving some yummy big chunks but getting out the juice. Measure into a pan to be sure you have 4 cups. {*I do multiple batches as well - see below.}

Get out your other supplies. I use Pomona's Universal Pomona because it doesn't require table sugar and has fantastic customer service (yeah, I've called twice). I use local honey because it tastes like ambrosia. I've never been all that into honey before, but this Westwego (on the West Bank) honey from Mynick's farm pushes me into paroxysms of pleasure. And the combination of local strawberries and honey is so wonderful!

The directions are clear for Universal Pectin, which I appreciate. You have to make "calcium water" (just adding some liquid to water to keep in a jar). You add 2 tsp of that to your 4 c of mashed berries, and then add 2 tsp from the other packet (pectin) to however much honey you want to use (I use 1/2 c to 3/4 c of honey per 4 cups of strawberries.)

Bring the fruit to boil while stirring so the bottom doesn't burn. Then add the honey mixture, stirring well to dissolve the pectin. Return to a boil and then remove from heat.

Fill the jars to 1/4" of top (it really helps to have a canning funnel). Wipe the rims clean, screw on the two piece lids, and put the jars in the boiling water to cover. Boil five minutes if you're at (or below, in my case) sea level, longer at higher altitude. Remove with the special tool for that (jar handler tool) and set on a towel on the counter to cool. For four cups of mashed berries, I filled three 1/2 pint jelly jars and then a larger jar that isn't for canning to use as fridge jam (I sterilized the jar & lid and will keep in fridge and use up right away).

And then you have jam! Yum! It's fantastic to eat throughout the year, and I especially like it in homemade yogurt.

****
It is definitely possible to quadruple batches with this pectin (as long as you have enough pots, etc.).

3/24/09 - A whole flat of strawberries yielded about 18 1/2 c mashed strawberries (probably more but I measured generously). I put in about 2 1/2 c honey and 10 teaspoons each of calcium water and pectin.

It made 7 pints plus an applesauce jar, a jam jar, and another glass container I use for food leftovers.

****
3/23/10 - A whole flat yielded about 17 c mashed berries (yeah, I nibbled on quite a few), which yielded 9 pint jars of jam plus a little bit.

super simple apple dip

2010-03-22T16:32:00.000-07:00

I am not much for sauces, but I'm a fiend for a good dip. I can eat bushels of raw vegetables with a fresh ranch dip (OK, now I'm craving ...). For Thanksgiving the hostess served (amongst 3,000 other things) sliced apples with caramel dip, and I could not stop gorging myself. If I had any shame, I would be embarrassed, but it had probably been years since I'd had caramel.

On my recent monster roadtrip, I munched apples and carrots along the way, and when I replenished I bought a big bag of Trader Joe's already-sliced apples, which was a LOT of apples. It got me craving caramel but all the recipes I saw were rather elaborate and for huge quantities.

But then I thought of dulce de leche and OH SNAP was that ever easy. All you need is a can of sweetened condensed milk (which I happened to have on hand for Vietnamese coffee) and a large pot!

****
Place the unopened can of sweetened condensed milk in a large pot, covered with water. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a bubbling simmer for about 90 minutes. (Many people said 3 hours or so, but 90 minutes was a perfect consistency and who wants to boil for three hours??)

Be sure to keep the can covered with water (or it could explode). Mine didn't need water replenishment, but if you boil longer or harder it could.

Remove can from water and let cool. Open can, pour in to container and serve. I liked it warm and also chilled.

Note: This is a lot of sugar and fat and calories. Share!

revolution, shmevolution

2010-03-21T19:13:00.000-07:00

Jamie Oliver, eff you.

I just watched two minutes of "Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution" and I am revolted. I agree with this person. But let me up the discontent.

Do not call grown women "girls." Don't call the head cook a "lunch lady" and say you "love these girls." They're old enough to be your mother or more, and you need to show them respect.

Learn to show respect in general, asshat. Stop the self-righteous crap. Stop saying things like "Pizza for breakfast and chicken nuggets for lunch. Welcome to America."

Here are the problems with that statement. First, all Americans do not eat that way so stop being an ignorant bigot - Alice Waters is very American as well, thanks. Second, Brits don't eat any better, and their food tastes worse. Third, England has an obesity epidemic as well, so why not preach where people don't think you sound like a moron, with your pretentiously mussed hair? Fourth, you are portly, Jamie Oliver. If Eva Longoria wants to give nutrition advice, I would listen to her because she's lean. You have a belly that would turn Jenny on. Fifth, our entire food system is on its head because of whackadoo subsidies that make fast food and crap considerably cheaper than healthier food. Poor people don't have arugula cash (says the woman who just ate rice and beans, again).

Oh, I can go on and on, and maybe I just caught an awful couple of minutes. But anybody who comes in and disrespects Head Cook Alice - well, off with his head. Asshat.

I know that I'm a food elitist. Absolutely. I choose local, organic foods because I know they make me feel better, and I break down for "junk" only rarely. I am obsessive about my nutritional choices. But I don't expect or demand that of others. No revolution can be crammed down other people's throats.

We need a food revolution, but this? THIS is not how to do it, Jamie Oliver. You will just divide our country further, and I hope they tar and feather you.

We do need a food revolution in our country, but THIS is most certainly not it.

goat and collards

2010-03-07T06:11:00.000-08:00

Seeking to clear my refrigerator and freezer, I shall assemble a West African-style "soup." Sorry for the lack of measurements - I just empty up what I have.

*onion, chopped
*garlic
*goat meat, chopped
*peppers - bell or chili (in Liberia, they mash the garlic & chili peppers in a mortar/pestle - not chop. Makes the flavor richer)
*(celery)
*collards, one bunch, cleaned thoroughly and chopped; and/or other greens (such as mustard greens, cabbage, etc.)
*okra (frozen is fine)
*diced tomatoes (a can; or some tomato paste, juice, sauce, etc. - the acid helps tenderize the goat and adds a great flavor)
*other vegetables as desired including carrots, potatoes, yams, etc.
*stock (I use whey from yogurt making and homemade stock)
*seasonings to taste (salt, pepper - in Liberia they use a lot of MSG, which I do not; can also blend in a couple tablespoons of peanut butter toward the end of cooking)

Saute onion, garlic, peppers, and celery (if desired) over medium-low heat in peanut oil. (High heat will burn garlic and make it bitter.)

Add in goat meat and brown it. (Or remove the first ingredients and brown the goat alone)

Put that in a crock pot with the rest of the ingredients, add stock to cover, and let cook for several hours. The goat needs a long time to cook in order to tenderize, and that won't hurt the collards (I would use a tough green like collards rather than spinach for that reason, and any other vegetables added should be hearty as well to avoid turning to mush) - and the long time will help the flavors meld and the okra adds a great body.

Goes great on rice!

gumbo z'herbes

2010-03-03T18:00:00.000-08:00

Gumbo is a wonderful medley of cultures and flavors which thrives in the melting pot of New Orleans. I never turn down a gumbo, and have been told I make a damn fine roux especially for a girl from Alaska.

A special gumbo is gumbo z'herbes, which is made with a variety of different greens. In true New Orleans fashion, you cook 'em down with some meat and serve it up on rice. But that description does not do it justice.

I've only had it once, served up by Leah Chase. And if I were not atheist, I have no doubt there would be angels singing. It was one of those transcendent moments and took my breath away. It is that amazing.

The thing is, it's not a common dish. Traditionally it's only made for Good Friday and without meat. Being in New Orleans though, meat got added back in, and now it's more of a Lenten dish in general.

Know what time it is now? It's LENT! And I want me some gumbo z'herbes! And I want to see my friends. So I thought I'd invite Eve over to help me make it and we'd have a few friends over ... but then I thought, "Hm. Why not invite a whole bunch of people!" And suddenly I'm thinking of needing more bowls and bigger pots.

The thing about gumbo z'herbes is that you need like 15 types of greens - so it sure seems easy to me to make up a whole lot. And on rice, with some French bread - not too expensive to make. I'm always buying all kinds of greens anyway. Sure wish I'd grown more ... oh well. That's why we have farmers markets.

So, here's a recipe that's an amalgamation of a whole bunch of different types, and I will likely do something quite similar (though I want to get to 15 greens! They say however many types of greens in is how many new friends you'll make that year):

11 types greens

1 small bunch arugula
1 small bunch kale
1 bunch kohlrabi
1 bunch beet greens
1 bag spinach
1 bunch mustard greens
1 bunch collard greens
1 bunch swiss chard
1 bunch bok choi
1/2 head cabbage
1/2 head iceberg lettuce

(other types greens one can use: carrot greens, chicory, watercress, pepper grass, turnip greens, radish greens, nasturtiums, etc.)

meats

1 1/2 pounds andouille
1 pound cooked beef brisket
1/2 pound tasso
(can also use ham, stew meat, pickle pork)
1 pound bacon, cooked and drippings saved to make roux
1 cup flour for roux

seasonings

1 chopped onion
1 chopped bell pepper
4 stalks chopped celery
garlic
1 large bunch chopped shallots
1 bunch chopped parsley
1 bunch fennel
4 minced jalapenos
3 tablespoons vinegar
salt, pepper, hot sauce

How to make it

Strip the leaves off all the greens, removing the woody stems. Soak in large bowl in cold water, drain, soak again until the water runs clear. Stuff all the greens (omit the shallots) in a large stock pot and add 2 quarts water. Cover and steam until wilted, about 30 minutes. Drain greens and reserve the liquid (pot likker!) and chop greens fine or use a blender (blender is the preferred method). Fry off the bacon, remove then add about a cup of flour to the bacon drippings and make a roux. Once roux is ready add the chopped seasonings (celery, bell pepper, onion, shallots, jalapenos, garlic). Cut the meats (andouille, bacon, tasso, brisket) into small pieces and place in stock pot. After the seasonings are translucent, add to the stock pot with pot likker, and meats, and bring to a boil. Add the greens, parsley, fennel, salt pepper, vinegar and hot sauce, bring to a boil then simmer until thick. Serve over rice or grits, with some cornbread on the side.

Moroccan oranges

2010-03-03T17:58:00.001-08:00

I saw these on the blog of a friend of a friend, and couldn't pass them up. I'll just copy it word for word and someday for a special occasion make them (because now, this is more sugar than I eat in six months!): (and yes, see labels, I know that Morocco is not in the Middle East - but this seems something that would be served there ...)

Chantal's Mother Moroccan oranges

This is what you need

4 oranges
1 cup of honey
1cup of sugar
whole cloves
2 cinnamon sticks (1 for the syrup and the other broken in half for the jars)
2 1-pint jars
and what I have added over the years which is of course, optional

A couple of fresh orange or lemon leaves, washed and dried
and a dash of Grand Marnier or Cointreau

Wash the oranges well with hot water to make sure they are completely clean. Remember, you will be eating the whole orange here. Slice the oranges into 1/3 inch slices. I normally use medium size oranges so they will fit nicely into a wide mouth pint jar. In a large frying pan for instance, place the sliced oranges and cover with water. Simmer at the lowest heat for about 20 minutes or until you can pierce the skin easily. Don't let them get too soft or the effect won't be the same. Firm but tender is the operative word here.

Drain them and then lay them flat on a cooling rack. I leave them out overnight covered with a piece of saran wrap. The following morning stick a whole clove in each slice and set aside. Now mix the honey and sugar to make a syrup. Bring the syrup to a boil and then lower the heat to simmer. Add 1 cinnamon stick and reserve the other. Carefully add the orange slices into the pan and simmer for another 20 to 30 minutes.

Now comes the fun part. I cook with tongs and I would be completely useless without them, but I am sure a slotted spoon or even a fork, providing you use it horizontally as you would a spatula, would make your job easy; You have to be careful as they break easily at this point, arrange them into layers into the 2 pint jars. Divide the syrup among the jars and add the cinnamon sticks. Wipe the edge of the jar clean and either add a citrus leaf to each, or a dash of liqueur. They are perfect without either but they are superb with both.

Serve with creme fraiche, or some of Trader Joe's French Village vanilla yoghurt. And then come back to tell me where your unicorn took you.

needing protein

2010-03-02T17:21:00.000-08:00

So, I'm kind of over meat.

I was a vegetarian a long time and then when I moved to an Eskimo village and my dietary choices limited significantly (dry fish with seal oil? or corned caribou?), so I started eating meat and never looked back. I realized I function best with a good deal of protein.

And so I became a meat eater. But, I'm kind of over it now. Being in touch with my inner Asian, I've been putting little bits in vegetable dishes for flavor, but the texture and feel of meat itself as a star of a dish? Rarely excites me. And i thought it was just a problem with my cooking, but now I don't think so.

So, I'm needing new and exciting ways to get enough protein.

Eggs I will eat sometimes, but I tire of them pretty quickly.
Yogurt is a staple but not a satisfying food (better as a dessert).
Legumes are a frequent part of my diet, often with a little bit of meat.
I would eat fish but I don't like the local fish and good wild Pacific salmon and halibut is way too expensive. And the shellfish here always makes me ill. I do eat tuna in moderation (ah, the mercury fears).
I do eat nuts and seeds, but they're way high in calories for the protein they provide.
I also take the whey from yogurt making and use it in soups and breads - I'm hoping that ups their protein content.

Other ideas?? I'm the queen of variety and cannot stand food routines ...

roasted asparagus

2010-03-01T13:44:00.000-08:00

Honestly I've never been a big fan of asparagus. I make myself eat it because I think I should like it and it's very healthy, but steamed? Ick. There's a particular taste component that repulses me. I'll eat it when prepared as an appetizer wrapped in goat cheese, bacon, and dates ... but not regularly!

But roasted? Oh, baby. THAT is another story. I discovered roasting vegetables last year, and there has been no turning back. So I thought, why not? Oh, yum. Oh, yum, yum, yum. The roasting kills that icky taste and I'm a happy asparagus-muncher.

****
asparagus
olive oil
salt (I used Himalayan pink freshly ground) - go light on the salt - I find the roasting really emphasizes the saltiness
pepper (freshly ground - I used lemon pepper)
dried red chili pepper flakes

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Wash and dry the asparagus. Snap off the woody ends as necessary.

Spread out on a baking sheet single layer and spray with olive oil. (If you have no spray oil, you can roll it around in a plastic bag or bowl with about 1 T to 1 bunch asparagus - to lightly coat t.)

Sprinkle salt, pepper, and pepper flakes on top.

Bake 10-20 minutes, depending on size and how you like them. (I like 'em crispy, so I go full time.) Stir every 5 minutes or so.

Enjoy!

Curried Potato and Onion Curry

2010-02-26T14:07:00.001-08:00

also from Aarti!

4 T olive or canola oil
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 large onion, diced
a few curry leaves
1-4 green Thai chilies (per preference)
2 pounds russet or Yukon Gold potatoes, cut into 1/2 inch cubes & submerged in bowl of cool water to prevent browning
2 tsp salt
1 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp ginger-garlic paste
2 T chopped fresh cilantro

Heat oil in pan over medium-high heat. Add the mustard seeds, then once they beign to pop add the cumin seeds which which will turn reddish.

Toss in the onion, ginger-garlic paste, curry leaves and green chilies. Stir fry for two minutes.

Cover pan and cook 15-18 minutes.

Drain potatoes and add to the pan. Add salt and turmeric. Stir. Add 1 cup of water and cover the pan. Cook until potatoes are tender, 15 minutes. Sprinkle with the cilantro and serve.

Carrot, Cucumber, Onion Salad with Lime Dressing

2010-02-26T14:05:00.000-08:00

from Aarti!

1 c grated carrots
1 cucumber, peeled & diced
1/4 onion, minced
1/4 green pepper, diced
4 T lime juice
1 tsp sugar
salt & pepper to taste
chopped fresh cilantro
chopped peanuts to garnish (optional)

Add carrots, cucumber, onions, and pepper to bowl.

In another bowl mix together the lime juice, sugar, salt, and pepper to taste. Add vegetables and toss. Garnish with chopped peanuts and fresh cilantro.

2010-02-25T22:55:00.000-08:00

Time magazine article here on French school lunches. Love it!

Chicken Breast with Colorful Veggies in a Butter-White Wine ReductionSauce

2010-02-18T12:36:00.002-08:00

Chicken Breast with Colorful Veggies in a Butter-White Wine Reduction Sauce
Originally uploaded by gummychild

I have no idea what to call this dish, hee hee...so the title just kind of names it. =)

I made chicken breasts again, similar to the paillard recipe from before, but modified it just a little. I'm not normally a fan of chicken breasts - I'm a dark meat girl - but I do have to admit that I can cook it so that it's moist and tasty. =)

The ingredients were completely eyeballed and thrown in together based on my own judgment, so...I'll do my best to give estimates, but honestly...most of the time, I just, as Toucan Sam says, "Follow my nose!". ^_^

Take one chicken breast and split it in half (or use two whole ones; up to how many you want to make), and season with salt and black pepper. In a cast iron skillet, heat up about a tablespoon of olive oil on medium-high. When it's hot, place your chicken on the skillet and let it cook for about 4-5 minutes on each side (*note: these were pretty thick).

Meanwhile, blanch one bunch of asparagus that you've trimmed and chopped into sections in boiling water. Drain, and set aside.

Slice one red bell pepper, dice a sprig of green onion, and chop up some white mushrooms.

When the chicken is seared well on both sides, and mostly cooked, add in about a tablespoon of unsalted butter, and let it melt in the skillet in the spaces where the chicken is not found. Also scrape off any chicken bits and let the butter mix with the juices and bits. Add in about 1/2 a cup of chicken broth (or mix chicken bouillon with water...depends on what you have) and all the veggies that were cut up, and mix the veggies and liquid well. Keep the chicken in the hot liquid on one side of the skillet as everything cooks. =)

TK and Bev left us a bottle of zinfandel...yay! That means Shelton and I can cook with some white wine, since we don't drink (plus, add in some wine to my diet and I'm sure Aiva will sleep for a little too long, hahahaha...!). How fun! So I added in some of the zinfandel, probably only about a tablespoon and some, and let the sauce reduce until about half, maximum.

Season with a pinch or two of kosher salt to your desire, stir well, and the dish is ready after all the veggies are cooked (which to me, means that it's still got some crunch, but definitely not raw!).

Unfortunately, I don't have a picture of this dish plated with jasmine rice, the chicken on one side, and veggies on the other, with the sauce drizzled on the chicken (and some on the rice, because the sauce was really tasty!). However, you'll have to trust me that it was really colorful, and delicious for the eyes as well as the mouth. Bon appetit! =)

Chicken Salad in Phyllo Cup

2010-02-18T12:36:00.001-08:00

Chckn Salad in Fillo Cup Dish
Originally uploaded by gummychild

Quick chicken salad made from what I had on hand:

- 1 Chicken breast, diced into small pieces and poached.
- 1 apple, diced.
- 2-3 stalks of celery, cleaned, stripped and diced.
- 4 thin slices of deli honey ham, torn into pieces by hand (or you can dice)
- A handful of raisins
- 1 Tablespoon of light mayo (or more based on your preference)
- Toasted sesame seeds
- Salt and pepper

Mix everything together, and season to taste. =) Place in the refrigerator and serve when ready.

I tried to make a phyllo cup to place our salad in, only, as you can see, it kinda collapsed in the oven.

Collapsed Phyllo Cup...
Originally uploaded by gummychild

However, it was still fun to put the chicken salad on top, and breaking it up with our forks over dinner and mixing it well with our chicken salad. It gave it all a nice, crunchy texture, hee hee...

The salad itself was really refreshing and light! Not heavy at all, and the apples and raisins made it more fruity than a usual chicken salad. If I had a lemon, I'd squeeze some lemon juice in it for some zing. ^_^ The apples didn't oxidize, and I'm guessing it's because of the mayo because it would block its exposure to oxygen.

cabbage & pancetta with linguini

2010-02-15T16:21:00.001-08:00

Better than it sounds!! Very yummy and really hits the spot when I'm craving pasta and vegetables.

From here, with few modifications.

Saute until crispy brown:
Pancetta (I used about 2/3 of a package from Whole Foods) or bacon

Lower heat and add:
1/2 c chopped onion
2 cloves garlic
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
black pepper

Saute a bit, then add in:
1/2 cabbage, chopped

Stir up and let cook well, preferably until cabbage browns.

While that is cooking, boil water and cook linguini to directions. (I like a lot of cabbage to a little pasta, but do the amount you would like.)

Mix together, top with some grated parmesan and butter (*see below), and enjoy!

***
*When I cooked this, I used some leftover bacon grease in a cast iron skillet; between that & the pancetta, there was plenty of fat for flavor so no need to add butter or much cheese.

banana bread

2010-02-12T15:42:00.000-08:00

I have a bunch of bananas from a friend from our last freeze - I think they are ready for consumption, but they're a funky kind. Friend called them "Mexican bananas" but I see no description for that on-line; said friend said they're not as sweet and have a nice lemony flavor. Well, I have no idea what to expect, and I fear they're very starchy, but I don't want them to go to waste! I like banana bread a lot, but I'm not fond of it being too sweet or too fatty. So, I shall make this up! (Note: And it TURNED OUT GREAT!! Exactly what I wanted!!)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees; grease 1 bread pan.

Combine & set aside:
1 1/2 c flour (3/4 white all purpose and 3/4 c whole wheat pastry)
1/2 c oats
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

Cream:
1/2 c sugar (white or brown)
1/4 c (4 T) butter, softened

Add in:
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
1/2 c - 1 c yogurt*
1/4 - 1/2 c applesauce*

Add flour mixture in.

Mash: 2-3 very ripe bananas. Add in to mixture.

Add (if desired):
1/2 c chopped nuts (pecans, walnuts)
1/2 c chocolate chips or nibs

Bake for about an hour, until done.

*Honestly I didn't measure the yogurt & applesauce - just thawed frozen little containers. Whatever I used (probably to the upper level) was great - but the bananas were very starchy and didn't produce my liquid. So if I were using more and juicier bananas, I would use the lower limits of these probably.

Cafe Style Seafood Rice

2010-02-11T22:38:00.002-08:00

Cafe Style Seafood Rice
Originally uploaded by gummychild

This dish is easy to make, and nothing super fancy, but it's great over rice or pasta...if you really want to make it Hong Kong cafe style, you can toss some cheese on top and broil the whole plate, but I opted to leave that out.

Ingredients:

- 1 Can Cream of Mushroom soup (plus milk and water to make the soup)- 1 fillet of fish (I used a big fillet of Mekong Basa, but any sole/white fish will work)- 4 sticks of imitation crab, frozen
- 8 fish balls (these are usually frozen, pounded rounds of fish meat, usually make with either threadfin bream fish, pollock, or other fish...not the balls of a certain animal, as Victor may have thought about "meatballs" and/or "fishballs" in his pho soup noodles, hee hee...)
- 1/2 a bunch of asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1 inch sections
- Salt & Pepper
- Some flour or starch

Directions:

1. Slice the fish fillet into bite size sections, and season with a little bit of salt (I used very little, as we'll be using a canned soup later anyways, and they have enough sodium!) and black pepper. Coat/dredge the fish pieces in either flour or starch.

2. Add a few teaspoons of oil to a saute pan, and when heated up, add the fish into the pan. Lower the heat to about medium, and watch carefully to be sure the fish is cooked through. Flip and turn the fish as each side cooks up.

3. Meanwhile...in a small saucepan, cook the cream of mushroom according to directions. I like to add in half a can of water and half a can of milk (and a little bit more milk) to make the "sauce" a little creamier. =) Do stir the soup once in a while to make sure it's not getting too hot!

4. Boil another saucepan of water, and toss the asparagus, frozen fish balls, and frozen crab sticks into the boiling water. Remove when cooked. Set the asparagus aside. Slice the fish balls in half and set aside. Slice each crab stick into fourths, and set aside also.

5. When the fish is cooked, pour the soup into the pan, and add the rest of the ingredients. When the entire mixture starts to bubble, it's ready! Serve over fresh rice, or over fresh cooked pasta noodles. ^_^

Chicken Paillard in Lemon Butter Sauce

2010-02-11T22:38:00.001-08:00

Chicken Paillard in Lemon Butter Sauce...with Rice & Spinach
Originally uploaded by gummychild

Slightly modified from Martha Stewart's Living

Ingredients
Serves 2 to 4

-4 chicken breast halves (Martha says to make them into paillards by flattening them with a mallet...I pounded them only a little with a can of corn, but then decided I'd keep them nice and big so that they'd be more juicy. A wise move, as I found out later!)
-Salt and pepper
-1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
-1 tablespoon plus 2 to 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
-2 cloves of garlic, peeled and smashed
-Segments and juice of 2 lemons (in hindsight, just 1 lemon is enough. 2 was fine and tasty, but it would be flavorful enough with just 1 lemon)
-3/4 cup low-sodium chicken stock

Directions

1. Season 4 chicken on both sides with salt and pepper.

2. Heat 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil and 1 tablespoon unsalted butter in a large cast iron skillet (maybe it's psychological, but I thought the cast iron seared the chicken and made it taste better than just using a regular skillet) over medium-high heat until butter foams. Add chicken, and saute on 1 side until golden brown, about 4 minutes. Reduce heat to medium. Flip, and saute paillards until cooked through, about 3 minutes. Transfer to a plate.

Chicken Paillard in Lemon Butter Sauce

3. Raise heat to medium-high. Add segments and juice of lemons, chicken stock, and any plate juices, and deglaze the pan, scraping brown bits from bottom with a wooden or metal spoon. Simmer until sauce reduces by half, about 3 minutes. Gradually stir in 2 to 3 tablespoons cold unsalted butter (cut into small pieces) until just melted. Season to taste.

Served with rice and spinach (stir-fried with a bit of oil and a few cloves of garlic). Delicious! ^_^

Chinese Red Date Tea

2010-02-11T22:37:00.000-08:00

Chinese Red Date Tea
Originally uploaded by gummychild

After delivery, I was told to drink this as if I was drinking water...and I loved it! It was a tea brewed of dried fruits, and it's easy to make.

Ingredients:

- Toasted Rice Grains (just heat them up till fragrant on a wok)
- Dried Red Dates
- Dried Longan Fruit
- Dried Goji Berries (aka Wolfberries)
- Hot Water
- Thermos

Directions:

1. Simply toss in about a Tablespoon of the rice grains into the Thermos...and add the fruits as desired. If you want a number, about 5-6 of the red dates and longans each, with about 12 goji berries will suffice, but you can increase the number of each depending on what taste you want. If you want it to be a little sweeter (and this is sweet as in a natural kind of sweet. It's really yummy!), add some more dates or longans. =)

2. Fill the thermos with hot water and seal. Let it sit for about 10 minutes, or whenever you are ready to eat. Enjoy it hot! =)

Slow Cooker 20 to 40 Clove Garlic Chicken

2010-02-11T22:36:00.000-08:00

Slow Cooker 20 to 40 Clove Garlic Chicken
Originally uploaded by gummychild

From Crockpot365

Ingredients

-3-4 pounds chicken
-1 large onion, sliced
-1 tablespoon olive oil
-2 teaspoons kosher salt
-2 teaspoons paprika
-1 teaspoon pepper
-20-40 garlic cloves, peeled, but intact (I used about 30...I think 20 would be best, as the flavor in the end with 30 overwhelmed that of the chicken. I like garlic, but the main part of this dish, in my opinion, should be the chicken!)

Directions

1. Place onion slices on the bottom of the stoneware insert. Toss and mix in everything else on top of the onions: chicken, olive oil, salt, paprika, pepper, and all of the garlic cloves.

2. Do not add water.

3. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours, or on high for 4-6. The longer you cook chicken-on-the-bone, the more tender it will be. If you use drumsticks, the ones on the side will brown and may stick to the sides of the crock, burning a bit. If this bothers you, you can rearrange them with tongs an hour before serving.

Done!

Gumbo Ya-Ya from Commander's Palace

2010-02-08T07:24:00.000-08:00

The farmers market has posted the recipe and ... yum! Can't wait to make it soon! (Posting it here as written in case it disappears off the internet before I can make it - and I doubt I'd change this much at all. I might add okra because I love it so much - but it's not necessary with the roux AND file. I made my first roux during the NFC Championship game, and my New Orleans native host said I make a damn fine roux especially for a girl from Alaska.

Ingredients

3/4 cup vegetable oil
1 2-1/2-pound chicken, cut into quarters
salt and black pepper
1 cup sifted flour, divided
4 large or 5 small onions, diced
1 medium bunch celery, cleaned and diced
4 bell peppers (green or red), diced
2 tablespoons minced fresh garlic
4 bay leaves
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper or 5 fresh cayenne peppers, diced
1 pinch dried basil
1 pinch dried oregano
1 pinch dried thyme
2 quarts cold water or stock
1-1/2 pounds andouille sausage, sliced (or any spicy smoked sausage; I also use alligator sausage when available.)
1 tablespoon filé powder
Louisiana hot sauce
hot cooked white rice
chiffonade of green onions (for garnish)

Directions

Heat oil in a pot over high heat for about 5 minutes or until oil is smoking. (Watch carefully.) Season chicken heavily with salt and pepper; dust with about 1/4 cup flour (shake off excess flour). Sear floured chicken in hot oil until golden brown, about 1 minute on first side. Turn and sear 2 minutes on second side. Remove chicken from pan and set aside.

Heat oil to smoking point again. Slowly add remaining flour to make a roux, cooking and stirring constantly for about 3 to 5 minutes or until mixture is the color of chocolate. (Scraping the sides and bottom of the pot while constantly stirring is the key to a good roux. Be careful not to burn it because if you do, you will need to start over.) When roux has reached the desired color, add onions; cook for 1 minute. Add celery and cook for 30 seconds. Add bell peppers and stir, scraping the bottom of the pot; cook for 1 minute. Stir in garlic and then add bay leaves, cayenne pepper, basil, oregano, and thyme. Add a touch of salt and black pepper. Slowly add water or stock, stirring constantly. Add seared chicken and sausage. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly, then reduce heat and simmer for about 3-1/2 hours. Skim off excess fat. When chicken falls off all of the bones, remove the bones from the pot. Return to a boil. Add filé, stirring vigorously to avoid clumping; continue stirring until filé is dissolved. Season with salt and pepper if needed. Finish with Louisiana style hot sauce of your choice and taste. Adjust seasoning as necessary—don’t be afraid to spice this up! Serve over rice and garnish with green onions.

Serves 10-12

Recipe compliments of Jamie Shannon, Commander’s Palace

pork shoulder in a crockpot

2010-01-28T13:13:00.000-08:00

For Gail, learning the crockpot love! :)

***
When I had a surfeit of fennel greens, a friend suggested I try this (oven roasted pork shoulder with fennel tops). And so I waited for a sale on the meat, and today I made it!

Pork is supposed to cook to 170 degrees (though you can take it out earlier because it'll heat up at least another 5 degrees before cooling).

I didn't really want pulled pork, and all the recipes I could find were for that and for very long temperatures. In my crockpot (which runs hot), after about 6 1/2 hours, the meat was about 185 degrees. Good bye trichinosis!

Honestly, the flavor does not amaze and astound me, and the smell of the fennel tops got noxious. And as I just took a bite I remembered: I don't really like pork. Oh yeah. So I will probably slather it in a BBQ sauce and eat on rice with vegetables, and life will be fine - and next time I'm inspired to cook pork, hopefully I'll look back here and remind myself I DON'T LIKE PORK! Or at least I will remember how long it needs to cook.

***
*pork shoulder (called Boston butt - reverse-euphemism?) - mine was 4.2 pounds
*add any vegetables you'd like. I had a bunch of fennel tops chopped coarsely which I mixed with some olive oil, salt, and pepper, then spread over the pork.

Put in crockpot - NO LIQUID NEEDED (really, Tiff!). It creates its own liquid, which I will strain and defat and freeze to use in the future.

Cook on low until it smells done (should have checked at 5 1/2 hours but I thought that was too early).

Let cool, remove bone and fat, shred if using for pulled pork. (And if doing BBQ pork, shred and then put back in the crockpot with BBQ sauce to cover, and let cook on low another hour or so.)

oatmeal pancakes

2010-01-27T12:22:00.001-08:00

Super duper yummy! Very filling, hearty, tasty. Also NOT low-fat, so not a regular thing!

From here. I halved it and that worked very well.

2 cups rolled oats
2 cups buttermilk (or milk with lemon juice: 2 T lemon juice, add milk to 2 c, let sit a few minutes)
½ cup all-purpose flour
2 Tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. table salt
2 large eggs, lightly beaten**
1/4 - ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted but not hot (less works fine)
Vegetable oil or spray, for greasing the pan
Maple syrup, for serving

The night before:
Combine the oats and buttermilk in a medium bowl. Stir to mix. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

The morning of:
Take the bowl of buttermilk and oats out of the fridge. Set aside.

In another medium bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

Add the eggs and melted butter to the oat mixture, and stir well. Add the flour mixture, and stir to blend. The batter will be very thick.

Warm a large nonstick skillet or griddle over medium-high heat, and brush (or spray) with vegetable oil. To make sure it’s hot enough, wet your fingers under the tap and sprinkle a few droplets of water onto the pan. If they sizzle, it’s ready. Scoop the batter, about a scant ¼ cup at a time, onto the pan, taking care not to crowd them. When the underside is nicely browned and the top looks set around the edges, flip the pancakes. Cook until the second side has browned.

Re-grease the skillet, and repeat with more batter. If you find that the pancakes are browning too quickly, dial the heat back to medium.

Serve hot, with maple syrup.

Yield: about 12 pancakes, or 3 to 4 servings

***
I learned two good cooking tricks growing up (yes, only two):
1. The best way to tell if something is finished cooking is by its smell
2. Don't flip pancakes until the bubbles have formed and burst.

Trust me - life is so much better if you just follow these very important rules.
*****
These are so tasty and satisfying that I decided to make them again the next week - but I'm not thrilled about all that butter. So I looked around the internet and it appears there are very similar recipes but with only 1-2 T oil listed, not a whole darned stick of butter. So next time I will try it with just 1 T and see how it works! I'm sure it won't be as rich, but it'll still have the satisfying texture.

** Once I decreased the butter, the egg taste really came through and that wasn't what I wanted. So next time I wonder ... if I just substitute 1/4 c milk for each egg, will that work? Hmm ...

beet greens, pasta, and pancetta

2010-01-26T15:29:00.000-08:00

*pancetta or bacon (I used 5 very thin slices of pancetta, chopped into pieces, because that's what I had - would be better with thicker slices of pancetta)
*garlic, chopped (depends on how much you like it - I used 3 medium cloves)
*onion, chopped (not much - I used two slices of a red onion)
*beet greens, coarsely chopped (I used from about six medium beets), but if you use the stems (I definitely do), chop them more finely because they take longer to cook
*sundried tomatoes in oil, chopped (maybe 2 T)
*pasta (about 2 c cooked)

Fry the pancetta. It has enough fat that you need not add other oil.

Fry until it's crispy and remove if you can (I couldn't), then add onion and garlic and saute until it softens. Then add the sundried tomatoes if you like (they have oil clinging which is a good thing now) and stir it all up and let it saute over medium-low heat until the greens are cooked enough to no longer be bitter (unless you're like me, and you like them a little bitter when combined with the sweetness of the sundried tomatoes) and the stalks aren't too tough.

Add pepper and salt to taste (and a dash of balsamic vinegar if you like).

Stir in the pasta and eat. Top with freshly grated parmesan or other similar cheese.

***
Substituting beans for pasta would be a healthy choice, but I'm about beaned out right now and I was craving the heartiness of some pasta. I used whole wheat pasta elbows because that's what I had, but any such shape would be good.

I LOVE beet greens - they're like chard with a special treat - and I always feel like I've gotten a super good deal because I can use the beets AND the greens. And with sun-dried tomatoes, a flavor combination I stumbled upon this year, they are phenomenal.

I wouldn't make this every week, but it was a great taste treat!

broccoli winter slaw

2010-01-25T16:24:00.000-08:00

I regularly read Gluten-Free girl; while I don't think I'm gluten-intolerant, I don't think it's healthy to rely too heavily on glutinous foods and so I try for a good variety. That is to say - I don't follow her baking advice, but her other recipes are fun.

Ever since she posted this winter slaw recipe, I've been wanting to try it. And today when I just could NOT stop being hungry I thought some roughage would help (and roasted beets and sweet potatoes will be a great second course). (What I probably need is more protein, but I'll live.) Besides, I needed to clear all the vegetables out of my refrigerator as an excuse to cruise by tomorrow's farmers market.

While I will never be a raw foods follower, I think it's good to get a variety of nutrients and some are best taken raw. And I was intrigued at the idea of raw brussels sprouts - and I do believe I like them better than cooked!

This is basically taken from her recipe above. I liked it ok, though I would choose the other broccoli salad I make if given a choice.

***

The Slaw

1 head broccoli
10 brussels sprouts
1/2 head cabbage (Napa, savoy, regular)
1-2 stalks celery

The Dressing

½ cup mayonnaise, fresh-made if possible
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1-2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
kosher salt and cracked pepper to taste

Prepping the vegetables. Take off all the little florets of the broccoli head. Peel the outer layer (or not if it's not necessary) of the broccoli stalks and slice them in half lengthwise, then dice them (about 1/2-inch cubes). Remove the outer layer of the brussels sprouts. Cut each Brussels sprout in half. Slice the halves as thin as you can. Cut the cabbage in half. Remove the core and slice as fine as you can. Slice the celery down the middle, lengthwise, then dice the celery stalks the same size as the broccoli stalks (I do more finely because I'm not a big celery fan). Combine all the vegetables in a large bowl.

Making the dressing. Mix the mayonnaise, mustard, and rice wine vinegar. Season it with salt and pepper to taste. If you want the dressing a touch thinner, add a bit more vinegar or a smidge of water.

Finishing the salad. Coat the vegetables with the dressing. Season the salad to your taste.

Feeds 4.

honey whole wheat bread

2010-01-23T16:22:00.000-08:00

This is the very first bread I ever made - when I was about 12 years old I found it in the Mennonite More with Less cookbook and decided I would make bread. So, with no role model, I followed the recipe.

And it was FANTASTIC.

Since then I've made many other types of bread, but I keep coming back to this.

Bread is a great thing to help with stress: the kneading of the bread helps take the edge off my aggressive energy.

*Makes two loaves; bake at 375 for 40-45 minutes.

Combine:
3 c whole wheat flour
1/2 c nonfat dry milk (I don't add this usually - it's expensive!)
1 T salt
2 pkg dry yeast

Heat in saucepan until warm:
3 c water, whey, milk, or potato water (water that you boil potatoes in - it's yummy!)
1/4 - 1/2 c honey
2 T oil or butter

Pour warm (not hot) liquid over flour mixture. Stir well.

Add in:
1 additional c whole wheat flour
4+ c white flour, until the correct consistency

And make bread! (Knead at least 15 minutes; rise in warm place for 1-2 hours until doubled in bulk; punch down & knead a little; divide into two loaves, place in greased loaf pans and allow to rise until double in bulk.)

It's also great with wheat germ added and soy flour substituted for some of the whole wheat (I'm opposed to soy flour for nutritional reasons, but it gives a great crust). I've added various other things such as seeds and other flours. It's always great!

I just have to plug the cookbook - More-with-Less Cookbook: Suggestions by Mennonites on How to Eat Better and Consume Less of the World's Limited Food Resources. It was printed in 1976 - what's in vogue now, the Mennonites knew long ago. Now, some of the things in it I definitely wouldn't recommend now - such as using margarine. But it really shaped my concept of the world.

harira

2010-01-21T15:12:00.001-08:00

Harira - North African Vegetable Soup - served during Ramadan at iftar/breaking of fast, the national soup of Morocco (from Sundays at Moosewood Restaurant)

serves 6-7

1 cup finely chopped onion
garlic, minced
2 diced celery stalks
3 T oil
1 t turmeric
1 t ground coriander
1/2 t cinnamon (go easy on it - not too much!)
1/8-1/4 t cayenne (to taste - go easy)
1 small potato chopped
1 small carrot diced
4 small tomatoes chopped (I threw in a can of diced tomatoes)
1 cup tomato juice
4 cups vegetable stock or liquid from cooking chick peas or water
1 small zucchini finely chopped
1/2 cup curly vermiceli, crumbled (I couldn't find curly, so used angel hair pasta)
1 c. canned or cooked chick peas (I just threw in a can - 69 cents at Whole Foods!)
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice (I didn't use fresh, but it would be tasty)
salt & pepper to taste
****
Garnish:
chopped fresh parsley
fresh mint leaves
red bell pepper or pimiento strips
********
In a soup pot, saute the onions and celery in the oil until the onions are translucent. Add the spices, potatoes, and carrots and cook for 5 minutes, stirring often. Mix in the chopped tomatoes, tomato juice, and chick pea liquid/stock and simmer until all the vegetables are almost tender.

Add the zucchini and vermicelli and simmer for about 5 minutes longer. Mix in the chick peas, lemon juice, and salt and pepper to taste.

Garnish with chopped parsley, mint leaves, and strips of red bell pepper or pimiento.

*******
I think it would be way yum with cabbage, green beans, and small pasta such as orzo.

Freezes well.

Mexican rice for a little crowd

2010-01-17T16:53:00.000-08:00

Sadly, my childhood was bereft of culinary delights - unless you call tater tots, "cream of ..." soups, and canned vegetables delightful (I do not).

But there was something served in the school cafeteria I liked, and I spent years trying to recapture it - and this comes the closest!

This goes great with beans and other Mexican dishes to stretch the food dollar for a crowd.

***
*oil or butter
*1# bag of white rice
*garlic cloves, chopped
*onion, chopped
*cold water (1 1/2 times the amount of rice)
*can of diced tomatoes with chilies (generic Ro-Tel)
*small can of tomato sauce
*1 T ground cumin
*2 bouillon cubes (or just use broth instead of water)
*salt, to taste
(a little kick would be good - a jalapeno or two, or some cayenne)

Heat the oil/butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add the rice and stir it as it browns (don't have to stir a lot at first, but keep an eye on after it starts to brown). Add in the garlic & onion to saute them a little.

Then add in everything else, stir it up well, and then cover it with a lid. When it starts to boil, turn it to low, and let cook undisturbed for 20 minutes.

***
This makes quite a bit - probably 10 good servings depending on what else you're serving.

easy chicken enchiladas with salsa verde

2010-01-15T16:48:00.000-08:00

From here. Extremely yummy!

Yield 4 servings (serving size: 2 enchiladas and 1 lime wedge)
Ingredients
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 (7-ounce) bottle salsa verde (such as Herdez brand) (I used a 16-ounce bottle which was perfect)
• 2 cups shredded cooked chicken breast
• 1/3 cup (3 ounces) 1/3-less-fat cream cheese, softened
• 1 cup fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
• 8 (6-inch) corn tortillas
• Cooking spray
• 1/4 cup (1 ounce) crumbled queso fresco
• 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
• 4 lime wedges
• Cilantro sprigs (optional)

Preparation
Preheat oven to 425°. Combine first 4 ingredients in a blender; process until smooth. Combine chicken and cream cheese in a large bowl. Stir in 1/2 cup salsa mixture. Reserve remaining salsa mixture.
Bring broth to a simmer in a medium skillet. Working with one tortilla at a time, add tortilla to pan; cook 20 seconds or until moist, turning once. Remove tortilla; drain on paper towels. Spoon about 1/4 cup chicken mixture down center of tortilla; roll up. Place tortilla, seam-side down, in an 11 x 7-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Repeat procedure with remaining tortillas, broth, and chicken mixture. [OR - just steam or microwave the tortillas and stuff them then - no broth nonsense to deal with.]

Pour remaining salsa mixture over enchiladas; sprinkle evenly with queso fresco and chili powder. Bake at 425° for 18 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Serve with lime wedges. Garnish with cilantro sprigs, if desired.
Nutritional Information
Calories: 327 (26% from fat)
Fat: 9.5g (sat 4.4g,mono 2.9g,poly 1.3g)
Protein: 28.5g
Carbohydrate: 31g
Fiber: 3.3g
Cholesterol: 78mg
Iron: 1.8mg
Sodium: 493mg
Calcium: 149mg

Green tomato cake

2010-01-15T16:24:00.001-08:00

THIS IS SO YUMMY!! And nobody can guess what the mystery ingredient is. From here.

* 2 1/4 cups sugar
* 1 cup vegetable oil
* 3 eggs
* 2 teaspoons vanilla
* 3 cups flour
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 1 teaspoon baking powder
* 1 teaspoon cinnamon
* 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
* 1 cup pecans or walnuts
* 1 cup raisins
* 2 1/2 cups diced green tomatoes
* coconut (optional)

PREPARATION:
Preheat oven to 350°. In mixing bowl, beat sugar, vegetable oil, eggs and vanilla until smooth and creamy. Sift together the flour, salt, baking powder, cinnamon and nutmeg; slowly beat into egg mixture. Blend well.

Stir in pecans, raisins and tomatoes.
Pour into greased 9x13-inch pan. Top with coconut if desired. Bake for one hour, or until a wooden pick or cake tester inserted in center comes out clean.
Serves 12+.

challenges

2010-01-11T15:49:00.000-08:00

First, let me say hello to Aiva Jordin Yuen, who was born to "Gummy" on 1/10/10. Congratulations!! Y'all have many wonderful challenges ahead of you, and it will be fun to see how Aiva loves food too.

A far less consequential challenge in the cosmos are these bananas. Jamie cut them before the biggest freeze and there's a big bunch stalk of them in their house (which I posed with along with Ruby in full chef's regalia ... think I need that picture) and he sent me home with these. Eve says they are "Mexican bananas" but I find nothing on those on-line and I am not banana-savvy enough to distinguish from the on-line descriptions to see what other names they may have. She says they have a nice lemony flavor and are good in banana bread.

So, banana bread it shall be! But ... what else?? Bananas foster bread pudding - I had some of that a few months back and it rocked my world. I wonder how they would be in a raita.

Jackie Frost, if you're reading (though I know you're ill now), your culinary services are needed! Because truth be told, I haven't really eaten bananas for a couple of years. Almost all my produce is from the farmers market, and until they start selling bananas there I'm sitting fruity with satsumas and Pontchatoula strawberries.

So ... any ideas?

orange yogurt

2010-01-10T17:50:00.000-08:00

I picked up some incredible blood oranges at the Farmers Market on Saturday - they picked like mad before the freeze, and I don't know how much longer we'll see any citrus this year. I wanted to do something special with them, and I just made some yogurt, and as usual Ina Garten has good ideas! From here. It's super yummy - tastes like orange sherbet/vanilla ice cream without the chemically residue that leaves in my mouth. I omitted the honey (because it was all solid and I didn't feel like liquifying it), and that was fine, though it would also be good with! This feels like a special treat and would be great to serve at a brunch, etc.

Ingredients

4 cups (2 pints) plain yogurt
1/4 cup raisins
1/4 cup coarsely chopped walnuts or pecans
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/4 cup good honey (or less)
1 orange, zest grated
1/2 to 1 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
Orange, orange zest, raisins and walnuts, for garnish (optional)

Directions

Line a sieve with cheesecloth or paper towels (or a tea towel) and suspend it over a bowl. Pour the yogurt into the sieve and allow it to drain, refrigerated, for 3 hours or overnight.

Place the thickened yogurt into a medium bowl and stir in the raisins, walnuts, vanilla, honey, and orange zest. Thin with orange juice until it is a desirable consistency. Garnish with sections of orange, orange zest, raisins, or walnuts and serve.

***

Truth: This stuff is like crack to me. It tastes like a creamsicle or an Orange Julius but without all that nasty chemical aftertaste. It is SO GOOD. I will not ever be taking it to a brunch because it would disappear long before I could get to my destination. Maybe it wouldn't be so magical without the blood orange, but DANG it's good now.

granola in the crockpot

2010-01-10T17:46:00.001-08:00

Please note: all of the ingredients are highly variable. Don't want pecans? Don't put in pecans. Put in what you want! The advantage to using the crockpot is that it is less likely to burn than in the oven, and this uses less energy.

mix together:
5 c oats
1 c pecan halves
1/2 c whole almonds
1/3 c raw sunflower seeds
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp salt

combine:
1/4 c honey
1/4 c brown rice syrup (or more honey)
1/4 c butter melted (or coconut oil)
3/4 c applesauce
1 tsp vanilla

1 c dried fruit (to add after the granola is cooked)

Mix it up, put it in crockpot on low. It takes about 5-6 hours; stir it every 20 minutes or so (when you can smell it).

Let cool, add fruit, and store in airtight container. Great with yogurt and fruit!

pickled okra salsa

2010-01-10T15:21:00.001-08:00

A friend who knows I'm an okra pickling fiend just sent this to me (from Jan 2010 Southern Living Magazine) and I'm super stoked to try it!

Pickled Okra Salsa

5 whole pickled okra, sliced

1/2 cup chopped sweet onion

4 tsp chopped fresh cilantro

1 tsp fresh lime juice

1/4 tsp salt

1/8 tsp. ground pepper

1 (14.5 oz.) can diced tomatoes with mild green chiles, drained

Pulse first 6 ingredients and half of tomatoes in a food processor 4 to 6 times or until thoroughly combined. Stir in remaining diced tomatoes. Serve immediately, or cover and chill. Store in refrigerator for up to 7 days. If refrigerated, let stand at room temperature 15 minutes before serving.

Makes 1 1/2 cups. Prep time: 10 min.

oh crock pot how do I love thee, let me count the ways

2010-01-09T09:17:00.001-08:00

I can wax poetic on slow cookers/crock pots ad nauseum. As y'all know. But SERIOUSLY, they are AMAZING. (Crock pot is just the Rival brand name for slow cookers. That's what I have - the 4 qt red, actually two of them (on one, I broke the crock - but I've super glued it back together and it holds pretty well, so when I really need two - I'm set). It runs a bit hot.)

I have no recollection of when I first discovered them ... there may have been one in the house when I was a kid but I don't think my parents ever used it. Never lived with somebody who used one really.

But at least since moving here, I have been a fiend. Right now, as you can see, I'm making yogurt and black beans (just threw everything in so it doesn't look like it!). Also this week I'll make chicken makhani and probably either black bean chili or tamale pie with the black beans. Stephanie O'Dea's website makes me feel more sane about my crockpot lovin' because she's over-the-top.

A crockpot can be a great tool to help reduce costs. Actually I think that's how I got so obsessed - I use it to cook the garbanzos to make my own hummus.

If I were at a job and away from home for 10 hours or so, I would definitely get a crockpot with a timer, because most things don't want to cook that long. But it's also great for making a big pot for the week on the weekends when home more.

But I was just thinking today, Gail, about how GREAT a crockpot will be for baby food down the road. Those little containers of baby food are ridiculously expensive, and they add all sorts of icky stuff to some of them (seriously, what baby needs SUGAR added to sweet potatoes? PLEASE!). But a crockpot can cook vegetables and fruits down to very soft, and wouldn't take much attention at all, and you could freeze portions (or can).

That can also be a problem - crockpots can make mush out of vegetables. Some vegetables are definitely better added late in the cooking. It's just a matter of figuring out what works for you. It's really good for cooking things that want a long, slow simmer time - like sauces and soups whose flavors richen with time. Also good for frozen meats - can just throw it in and let it cook all day.

Also, it seems that most things I can make in the crock pot, I can freeze portions for later. My freezer runneth over!

OK, there is so much crockpot joy for me to share, but there are other things I need to do today besides stare in awe and wonderment at them. I'm curious how other people use them - if there are uses I haven't thought of.

Indian butter chicken (chicken makhani)

2010-01-08T14:48:00.000-08:00

This is definitely worthy of company! (especially if they are not on a strict fat regulated diet)

from here.

2 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs (she says frozen solid is fine)
1 onion, sliced
6 garlic cloves, chopped
2-4 T butter
15 cardamom pods (or more - sewn together or in cheesecloth)
2 tsp curry
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
2 tsp garam masala
an inch or so of fresh grated ginger
1 can coconut milk (I used light)
1 can (6 oz) tomato paste
2 T lemon juice
1 cup plain yogurt (to add at the end, I used nonfat)

Throw everything in (except yogurt), stir it up and turn it on. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours, or high for 4 (or less - with my hot crock).

Stir in plain yogurt 15 minutes before serving. Discard cardamom pods. Salt to taste, serve with rice. Roasted cauliflower is a great side!

***

NOTE: If only cooking four hours (3 1/2 was sufficient for the chicken), then the onions will be a bit crunchy. So, either cook longer or saute them first (probably preferable, though it destroys the whole "I can put this meal together in 15 minutes" vibe).

sweating vs. caramelizing

2010-01-08T14:13:00.001-08:00

Video from CHOW here on sweating vs. caramelizing (wouldn't let me embed).

The secret? Cook longer for caramelizing. Medium heat for both, add salt from beginning - but (and this is key and what I wasn't sure about): you don't need to add any sugar to caramelize. The longer cooking brings out the natural sugars.

I just ate some roasted beets & sweet potatoes, and some of the bits were caramelized and HOLY MOLEY THAT'S GOOD! But the recipe I have calls for a bit of brown sugar - and I think I'll omit next time if it's unnecessary.

lemon poppyseed bread

2010-01-08T13:25:00.000-08:00

(modified from a Horizon yogurt recipe that was once on-line but is no longer)

Combine:
1 c yogurt
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
zest from one lemon (~1 T)
1/4-1/3 c poppy seeds
1/4 c melted butter
1/4 c applesauce*

Combine in another bowl:
2 c flour (all purpose or whole wheat pastry or a combination)
1/2 c sugar
1 T baking powder
1/4 tsp salt

Then combine them and bake in a greased bread pan at 350 degrees for 50+ minutes. (The texture was a little strange - really thick.) (Usually 50 minutes works fine, but today it was still doughy in the middle when I pulled it out then - use the toothpick test to check for doneness: slide one in the middle and see if there's uncooked dough sticking to it. Crumbs are ok- pull it out. But goop and it needs more time.)

Let it cool a bit.

Heat together: juice of a lemon and 1 T sugar until sugar is dissolved.

Poke little holes in the cake with a toothpick and drizzle the glaze over it.

***
AWESOME texture! Soft. Not as lemony as I'd expect, but it's mild (probably because I use Meyers lemons). Freezes well.

*One of my fat-cutting tips is to replace half butter in any baked recipe with applesauce. It works well though it does change the texture, and it helps with the many jars of applesauce I still have left on my shelves from the saucing extravaganza Erin & I had last year. But if you don't want to use applesauce, it would be fine to use 1/2 c butter total.

roast in a crockpot

2010-01-07T09:12:00.000-08:00

(Yeah, the meat is there, hidden under the mushrooms.)

(When first cooked, it was fall apart tender. A night in the 'fridge firmed it right up [above].)

*roast (I used sirloin tri tip because it was on sale; I read chuck is good); mine was about 2.5 pounds (can use larger)
*vegetables (I used: 4 carrots, 1 onion, 2 stalks celery, 7 cloves garlic, 1/2 pound crimini mushrooms) (potatoes would also be good, or other sturdy vegetables)
*liquid (I used 1 c tomato juice and 1 c chicken stock from freezer, then added probably two more cups of water and a vegetable bouillon cube - and that was TOO MUCH LIQUID)
*herbs/spices (salt, pepper, bay leaves, oregano, basil, marjoram, thyme - or whatever you like!)

***
Sear the roast. Heat up a pan to pretty high heat with a high heat point oil such as peanut oil. Roll the roast in flour and kosher salt & freshly ground pepper. Place roast in heated oil until you can smell it browned, then turn over and repeat for all sides.

While searing, chop vegetables in chunks (I usually chop quite finely, but I leave in larger chunks for the crockpot - so they don't lose all shape). Place in bottom of crockpot. However, don't put in more delicate ones - the mushrooms I added later.

Place seared roast on top of vegetables.

Deglaze pan. Pour some of the liquid into the hot pan and use it to scrape up the flavorful bits from the bottom (the "fond"). I then added all liquid to heat to boiling to speed along the cooking process.

Pour heated liquid into crock and add herbs/spices.

Cook on low for about 5 hours (meat thermometer about 160 degrees for medium). (see below)

Add mushrooms and other delicates the last hour or so.

****
I'm on a big marjoram kick lately and think I should probably get a plant. I find it blends so well with so many things. I also am liking thyme, and still have some fresh sprigs so tossed those in.

For liquid, a lot of people use wine but I really do not like the taste of meat cooked in wine. Blech. And yes, I've tried a variety of wines and I always feel like I've just wasted perfectly good food by doing that. I also am not loving Worcestershire sauce, though that could be a nice addition. I think that most people would not put tomato sauce/juice/paste into a roast, but I like the mild acid and the flavor richness it adds (and if not using it, I would add some apple cider vinegar). Of course a lot of people would throw in onion soup mix and cream of mushroom soup, but I am most assuredly NOT those people. (You will NEVER see me cook with cream of anything soup because they most assuredly taste like crap. Trust me - I grew up in a household that went through cases of the stuff.) I'm trying to wean myself off bouillon, but as far as evils go the one bouillon cube for all that food - I'm not worried.

When I added all that liquid, I erred on the side of caution, and it ended up looking very much like soup. I will probably save the broth to cook rice with because it's very flavorful - but it is A LOT.

When figuring out how to cook a roast (never done it before in my life), I chanced upon a java roast recipe. It sounded intriguing, but my organic fair trade coffee is pretty expensive and I didn't want to waste it - plus, the idea of putting cream cheese into a saturated fat extravaganza of red meat - well, not really my thing. But if I have some extra coffee lying around in the future I might try it.

Regarding time: I guessed I would need more time than I really did. My roast was pretty small and my crockpot runs hot and I started it with boiling liquid - but when I checked it at 5 1/2 hours, the meat was well over 200 degrees. The vegetables were great texture then, carrots still a little firm. Didn't add mushrooms at end - will saute them tomorrow to accompany.

It turned out very tender, but a little on the dry side (probably because it was quite lean).

Would be awesome with mashed potatoes & gravy! Would also be good with a green salad or something fresh to balance this long-cooked food. I wanted to accompany it with roasted beets and sweet potatoes, but with the timing so off those will be dessert.

Yeah, since I didn't add the mushrooms to the roast because it cooked a lot faster than I expected, the next day I sauteed them and and then added some broth and let them cook down. YUM!!

Elaine's Snickerdoodle Cookies

2010-01-06T16:30:00.001-08:00

Snickerdoodle Cookies
Originally uploaded by gummychild

Elaine gave me this recipe for my bridal shower a few years back, and though I've been wanting to try it, never got to it until today! Mmm, it's delicious! It makes a fragrant and soft cookie...just the way we like Snickerdoodles to be. =)

It's a sturdy basic recipe, but some recipes call for shortening. Like NolaOkra, I'm not a fan of shortening, but our reasons are different. My reason is simply that I've never used it before, and it looks kinda gross, hahaha...plus, plain ol' butter always seems to work best when it comes to baking. For me anyways. =)

Here's her recipe, with some of my own tips thrown in. ^_^

1. Cream 1 cup of softened butter with 1.5 cups of sugar. When well blended and fluffy, add 2 eggs and cream well.

2. In a separate bowl, sift 2 and 3/4 cups of all-purpose flour with 1 tsp. of baking soda, 1 tsp. of cream of tartar, and 1/2 tsp. of salt. Add this to the butter and sugar mixture, and mix well.

3. Roll the dough into logs about 1" - 1.5" thick and wrap with saran wrap. Refrigerate the dough for at least 2 hours. I think the reason for doing this is because we're not using shortening here, the cookies might spread too much, and it'd be too soft. Putting it in the fridge would allow it to be a little tougher so that it won't spread too much during baking. You can probably keep the dough refrigerated longer, and even freeze and defrost it in the fridge, which is what I'm going to do with some of this dough. I only made about a dozen cookies today, and the recipe says it can make 4 dozen!

4. Turn your oven on to 374 degrees F, and line your baking sheet with parchment paper. Take out your logs of dough, and cut them into thick coins so that you can roll them into walnut size balls.

5. Roll them into a sugar and cinnamon mixture. I used 1/4 cup of sugar mixed with 2 Tbsp. of cinnamon.

6. Place them onto the baking sheet, about 2 inches apart as they will spread, and bake for 8-10 minutes. DO NOT LET THEM BROWN! In my oven, 8 minutes was perfect for super soft cookies that were just done. Go for 10 minutes if you want a crisper Snickerdoodle (or longer, but I'd keep a good eye on it).

The wonderful thing about these cookies, besides its taste, is that it fills the entire kitchen and home full of sugar-cinnamony goodness, hee hee...I'm not a fan of straight-up cinnamon...but used in baking, I think I'm liking it more and more. =)

Fukien Fried Rice

2010-01-05T21:33:00.000-08:00

Fukien Fried Rice
Originally uploaded by gummychild

As you know, I love making fried rice. =) It's healthy (really, we don't need that much oil, even if it's called "fried"), depending on what you put in it, and you can use up any leftovers that are sitting in your fridge. And it's tasty. =)

Today, I decided to make the Fukien-style fried rice, which is a "wet" fried rice. You know how you can order burritos regular, or wet? Well, fried rice (and noodles, like the Chiu-Chou style stir-fried noodles!) come in the same way. Basically, you have a very basic fried rice on the bottom, and top it with the ingredients that are usually in a nice and savory gravy sauce...the sauce leaks into all the cracks of each rice grain below, filling the entire dish with flavor. ^_^

The ingredients are all eyeballed again, so I'll do my best to guesstimate measurements for those that want to try it. Keep in mind though: cooking is based on how you like certain flavors, how much you want of this or that, and is pretty flexible, so feel free to go crazy and adjust to your own liking. =)

Ingredients Ready To Go!
Ingredients:

- 3 Chicken Thighs, deboned, and with the skin and fats removed.
- 1.5 Tablespoons of cooking wine
- Grated ginger (just about a teaspoon)
- 4 cloves of garlic, minced (I wanted more garlic flavor today)
- a handful of bok choy, cleaned.
- 2 eggs, beaten.
- handful of cilantro, rinsed and chopped up.
- 1 sprig of green onion, cleaned and diced.
- 2 cups of rice (cook this beforehand)
- 2 more eggs, beaten and set aside.
- Oil to stir-fry

*Optional: You can add other veggies, such as sliced shitake mushrooms, diced carrots, and dried scallops. Those would be some nice additional touches to the ingredients I used today, but again, fried rice is pretty flexible. Do what you want. =) As for protein, adding sliced pork, beef, shrimp, and even fish fillet or meatballs (the Asian kind) would work too.

Gravy Sauce Ingredients: (all eyeballed...)

- 1 cup of water
- 2 Tbsp of starch (I use tapioca starch normally, but cornstarch works just as well for those that don't have tapioca starch)
- 1.5 Tbsp of Oyster Sauce
- 2 tsp of light soy sauce

Directions:

1. Dice the chicken thighs, and marinade with cooking wine, grated ginger, minced garlic, and starch. Set aside.

2. Chop the box choy. I like to chop the stems about half an inch wide, and the leafy parts 2-3 times bigger. Set aside.

3. Take the 2 beaten eggs and make a thin pancake on a saute pan that's over medium heat. Flip when one side is done, and when the whole thing is cooked, remove the egg and cut it into thin strips. Set aside. You won't need the saute pan anymore; everything now goes on the wok.

4. Heat up the wok on high, and add the other 2 beaten eggs slowly in a circle, so that it forms something of a thin pancake. You might just add a little more than half of the eggs at first. Add your rice, and stir-fry the eggs into the rice; add the rest of the eggs as you cook so that it mixes and mingles well with the rice. The rice should look "golden" as the eggs coat each grain. =) If you find it gets a little dry on your wok, add some oil; I usually will add a few teaspoons (one ring around the wok with my oil cruet). Remove the rice and set into your serving platter.

5. While the wok is still hot, add a ring of oil and toss in your chicken. Have fun stir-frying! When using a wok, I always prefer to "hear" the cooking - the sizzling, the metal spatula sliding against the iron wok as it confidently flips over the food pieces - it shows me that real cooking is being done! Hee hee. ^_^

Do you see the "green" oyster sauce??? Lee Kum Kee has a "No MSG, No Preservative" Oyster Sauce now. The taste is just as good. =)

6. When the chicken pieces are about 3/4ths done, go ahead and add the egg strips, cilantro, and green onions. Mix them well, and as the chicken pieces are almost done, add in the bok choy and mix well.

Step #6a...

Step #6b...

7. Make your gravy in a separate bowl, and add into the wok mixture. Adjust your gravy as needed: more water to thin it out, or starch to thicken. You won't know whether you need to thin the sauce or thicken it until you see it cook and heat up with the rest of the ingredients, as the heat helps thicken the sauce.

8. When the entire mixture is heated through (look for bubbles all over the wok!) and as thick/thin as you like, dish it all up on top of the rice, and voila! Serve hot and fresh! ^_^

Look for bubbles throughout your sauce to know that everything is heated thoroughly!

Piping hot and ready to serve!

not the best broccoli of my life

2010-01-02T16:23:00.001-08:00

Winter is the season of roasting vegetables in my kitchen, and I'm seriously enamored with them all.

So today I thought I'd try broccoli, based on this recipe.

Meh.

Wasn't crazy about the lemon zest so didn't juice, and didn't add yet more olive oil or pine nuts. That's just too busy and I don't need all that fat (some fat, yes; a Greek village's daily serving of fat, no). I think most vegetables need one good spice, and I'll be experimenting to find what broccoli's is. Because there has to be something out there that goes SHAZAMM! like cumin with cauliflower does. Of course cumin is polyamorous and might also work well with broccoli.

And yes, my favorite parts are the burnt bits and edges ... and I know that they're carcinogenic, but I'm eating them with BROCCOLI AND CAULIFLOWER. Seriously - doesn't that cancel out?

2009-12-28T11:24:00.001-08:00

It's good to have friends with whom you can share leftovers.

This wisdom today brought to you by too many so-so dumplings (not the Asian kind) with a yummy turkey soup and a Native American med student with a great metabolism who is hopefully bringing dessert.

Chocolate Espresso Snowcaps

2009-12-28T01:10:00.001-08:00

Chocolate Espresso Snowcaps
Originally uploaded by gummychild

If you like coffee, and have a penchant for chocolate, why...you'd love this cookie. =) It's straight from Martha Stewart's Collectible Cookie Edition of Everyday Food (2006) again, and available online too.

It gets a little messy to make, but that really is part of the fun, hee hee...^_^ The original recipe says it makes 18...I doubled the batch though, and got about 52 of them! O_o Perhaps I made them a little smaller than instructed...^_^ Below is the recipe for "18" snowcaps.

Ingredients:

- 4 ounces bittersweet or semi-sweet chocolate, coarsely chopped (I just used the Ghirardelli bittersweet chocolate chips and melted them)
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup cocoa powder
- 4 teaspoons instant espresso powder
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/8 teaspoon table salt
- 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 2/3 cup packed light-brown sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 tablespoon milk

Directions:

1. Place chocolate in a bowl, and melt in the microwave in 30 second increments; let cool. In a separate, medium bowl, sift together flour, cocoa powder, espresso powder, baking powder, and salt.

2. In a large bowl, beat butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg and beat to combine. Stir in cooled chocolate. Add dry ingredients alternating with the milk. Mix just until combined.

3. Turn out onto a piece of plastic wrap. Shape into a flat disk; wrap in plastic and chill in freezer until firm, about 45 minutes.

4. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Pour confectioners’ sugar into a large bowl. With slightly damp hands, shape dough into 1-inch balls (about 1 tablespoon of dough each). Roll each ball in powdered sugar. Leave in sugar while shaping remaining cookies. Roll cookies a second time to completely coat.

5. Place on prepared baking sheets 2 inches apart. Bake until sugar coating splits, and cookies have spread but are still soft to the touch, 12 to 14 minutes (my oven = 11 minutes). Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

organic produce

2009-12-26T08:48:00.001-08:00

As today's public service announcement, here's information from Dr. Mercola. It's expensive to eat organic, and even though that's my real desire (so many darn toxins in life in New Orleans, don't need to eat them) I can't always do so. So, this helps me make the determination of what's most important to get organic. The first chart - things that are least important to buy organic (though, the picture is broader than just pesticide load: there are some serious human rights violations especially with conventional banana production); second chart - things you really should.

Of course this all gets complicated because the overwhelming majority of vendors at the farmers market do not grow organic. It's far more difficult to do that it here in the South than other places (as my own experience - and research - has shown). So when faced with local or organic choice, it's always a tightrope walk for me. I avoid the Georgia peaches because they laughed at me when I asked if they spray them, and I avoid the fellow who says, "Pesticides are the least of your worries - I grow one mile downstream from a nuclear power plant! Why do you think everything looks so good and big?!" I talk to the apple man about which sprays he applies and when, and I hit strawberry season early (and freeze a bunch), before they spray.

I wash produce well - especially those on the high pesticide load chart - and consider peeling when conventional.

Sigh. Eating well is complicated!

The following 12 foods have the lowest pesticide load when conventionally grown. Consequently, they are the safest conventionally grown crops to consume:

Broccoli	Eggplant	Cabbage	Banana
Kiwi	Asparagus	Sweet peas	Mango
Pineapple	Sweet corn	Avocado	Onion

Meanwhile, these 12 fruits and vegetables had the highest pesticide load, making them the most important to buy or grow organic:

Peaches	Apples	Sweet bell peppers	Celery
Nectarines	Strawberries	Cherries	Lettuce
Grapes (imported)	Pears	Spinach	Potatoes

Zucchini Latkes

2009-12-25T13:42:00.000-08:00

Zucchini Latkes
Originally uploaded by gummychild

With lots of sweet baking going on, it's nice to balance it with something that's a little savory...^_^ I made these Zucchini Latkes today for lunch, to go with leftover pizza that Mello brought over on Wednesday. ^_^

I love making potato pancakes, but this new discovery is a new species of its own! It's very, very light, and extremely tasty. ^_^ The outside is just a bit crispy, and the inside is moist (I did not squeeze out the water from the zucchini as indicated in the original, because I didn't want just crispy zucchini cakes) and full of zucchini flavor - perfect if you love zucchini as much as I do. =)

The only problem is, I modified this quite a bit from the original at gourmet.com, and went on my own, eyeballing the amounts of ingredients I used, so I'll do my best to give you the best estimate in terms of measurements.

Ingredients:

- 3 regular size zucchinis, peeled and shredded with a grater.
- a pinch of kosher salt
- 1 egg
- 1/2 Cup of panko bread crumbs
- 1 Tablespoon of parmesan cheese with tuscan herbs (dried basil, thyme, etc...)
- Oil to pan cook with

Directions:

1) Mix everything together well. =) Season to taste.

2) Make one circle of oil on a hot skillet, and wait for the oil to heat up.

3) Drop mixture in by giant spoonfuls (I used a serving spoon; I'm guessing it's about 2-3 Tablespoons) but make sure they are packed together into a latke/thick pancake shape so that it will cook and hold together.

4) When the bottom is browned, flip carefully and wait for the other side to brown.

5) Serve fresh! It's light, tasty, and doesn't need additional seasoning. The original suggests sour cream, but I liked it just as it is. =)

fennel, feta, kalamata salad

2009-12-25T13:41:00.003-08:00

Super duper yummy! Inspiration here.

Dressing:

1/4 c lemon juice (fresh-squeezed Meyers lemons, please)
sugar to taste (about 1 tsp)
salt & pepper (go light on salt because of olives and feta - how salty are they?)
1 tsp - 1 T olive oil

Mix together & set aside.

Salad:

fennel (I used one bulb sliced as thinly as I could, but I need a mandoline!) - set in ice water while preparing everything else
romaine or other lettuce you have on hand (or none)
olives (kalamatas, about 1/3 cup because they're yummy!); I prefer them chopped in 1/4 or so
4 oz of feta (fresh goat feta, please!)

Mix the dressing in with the ingredients and enjoy!

Hague Cookies =)

2009-12-25T13:41:00.001-08:00

Mr. Hague's Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookies
Originally uploaded by gummychild

Mr. Hague makes these gigantic cookies regularly for our staff at Sierra, and he shared the recipe with me years ago. =) Though they're still very, VERY good and the ONLY chocolate chip cookies I ever make (I know it sounds snooty, but really...I've not had another chocolate chip cookies better than these! ^_^), they're always better when Mr. Hague makes them, just because. ^_^

They're not the most photogenic, aesthetically beautiful cookies, but they're probably one of the best tasting. You simply can't beat that rustic, homemade cookie taste. ^_^

Ingredients:
- 3/4 Cup white sugar
- 3/4 Cup packed brown sugar
- 1 Cup of butter, softened
- 1 egg
- 2.25 Cups flour (AP or whole wheat flour)
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1 cup of coarsely chopped nuts (pecans for me)
- 12 ounces (or 2 cups) of semisweet chocolate chips (I use bittersweet Ghirardelli because I'm a dark chocolate girl...)

Directions:

1) Heat oven to 375 degrees F, and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

2) Mix the sugars, butter, and egg in a large bowl well.

3) Add in the flour, baking soda, and salt (dough will be stiff). Stir in nuts and chocolate chips.

4) Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls (or, if you're Mr. Hague, rounded palmfuls, hee hee...), about 2 inches apart onto the baking sheet.

5) Bake 8-10 minutes (I find 8 minutes is fine for my oven; as the oven stays on for each batch, by the 3rd batch, I usually go down to 7 minutes) or until light brown.

6) Cool slightly, and then remove from the cookie sheet. I like to put them up on a wire rack to cool completely before storing them in an airtight container, but you can also eat them at this point, hee hee hee...^_^

apple phyllo pastry

2009-12-23T12:54:00.001-08:00

My fennel-kale phyllo pastries are wonderful, but the phyllo was larger than the space I planned for it to sit so it got pretty beat up and I want to use it up.

So, what to do with phyllo? Well, I do have apples and dried cranberries I've been wanting to use up ...

****

apples, chopped (2 large ones was all I had but more would be good)
dried cranberries, soaked in rum or bourbon for a couple of hours or overnight (1/4 c)
pecans or almonds, chopped or sliced (1/2 c)
sugar (to taste - I used 2 T brown sugar)
cinnamon (I like a LOT of cinnamon, so about 1-2 T; nutmeg is also good but I'm not a real fan)
lemon juice (Meyer's lemon juice, about 1 T)
dash salt

Mix together and simmer on the stovetop until apples soften a bit - about 10-15 minutes. (Adding cornstarch w/water to thicken it would be a good step but I just was so not in the mood for Argo.)

Melt 2-3 T butter w/2 T honey. Lay out a sheet of phyllo and lightly brush it with butter/honey; add another sheet and repeat. I had 10 sheets of phyllo to use up, but about 5 would be good or anything in between.

Put filling on phyllo and roll up like a jelly roll - or put on parchment and tuck up (like picture above) and bake at 350 for 30-45 minutes, until phyllo is browned.

***
The melted butter makes it not really low fat, but it's so much better than a pie crust. This would be great with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream!

phyllo with greens & cheese

2009-12-22T16:10:00.000-08:00

I have some ingredients to use up, and what brings things together better than (organic) phyllo dough? Me = very excited. I used to make a chard phyllo thing when my garden was overabundant. I remember a roommate coming home and sniffing, "I don't eat anything green," and I remember they were very tasty - but beyond that, not so much.

****

kale - I have quite a bit left, so I will boil it down and chop it up finely.
spinach - frozen, thawed. Note, other greens such as chard and beet greens would be phenomenal.
fennel greens, chopped up
onion (1)
garlic (2 cloves)
ricotta - leftover from bruschette adventures, I was wondering what to do with it (4-6 oz)
feta - picked up today, I'll use some for a good flavor (4 oz)
1 egg
1/2 tsp nutmeg - really, just a little bit
salt and pepper (other things as desired such as lemon juice, mint, other spices, etc.)
phyllo

Sweat onion and garlic to soften. Either cook the greens with that or boil greens separately & then drain/chop and then add in. Add fennel greens. Do drain the greens well or it'll be too soupy.

Add the rest of the ingredients (except phyllo) and mix it up. Taste it and see if anything is missing, adjust, etc.

Let it cool (or prepare the day before). The phyllo should thaw in the refrigerator overnight.

There are many tutorials on-line about how to use phyllo dough; I don't remember it ever being a hassle so I just follow the directions on the box. Lay it out, brush some olive oil, cut it in strips, make it triangles. I like a lot of filling and not much phyllo - probably because I've never had the pleasure of fresh phyllo.

Bake at about 350 degrees for about 25 minutes. Also freeze well to be baked later!

***

Phyllo is fun, and if I have any left over I will do some little things with apple, thyme, and pecorino cheese. Yum! You can stuff anything in it and enjoy.

hummus

2009-12-19T18:27:00.001-08:00

I apologize to anybody wanting directions to make hummus - I don't measure. I taste, and because I've made hummus dozens of times I eyeball. There are myriad recipes and they're all pretty similar but with different measurements, and you just have to try it and see what you like best.

garbanzo beans. I always soak and cook them myself - not only is that cheaper than cans (and create less waste), but their texture is better because I cook them for a long time. Garbanzos don't overcook though - and I tell you this after cooking some for about 9 hours today. I soak them overnight and then cook them in the slow cooker - high if I'm home, low if not (with plenty of water). I do love the smell! I make a whole crockpot full because I might as well if I'm using the electricity, and I make a TON of hummus and freeze it in containers to have for months until the next batch.
lemon juice (fresh is best)
sesame tahini (when what I have is gone, I'm going to try to make my own)
olive oil

These are the key ingredients to get texture and taste right. I like to grind in a food processor and then a blender - this gets it very smooth. It's a bit of work, especially when I make 4 quarts of garbanzos and have to do a few batches. But again, now I won't have to make hummus again for months.

Other things to add to taste:

green onions
garlic (I always put in a TON of garlic, and since I usually eat pita & hummus for breakfast, it can have a little bite - so this time I tried cooking cloves & green onions in with the garbanzos) (Know too that the garlic flavor ripens - it may taste bland, but after sitting for awhile the garlic will be like WOWZA! - so be gentle)
cumin
salt
roasted peppers (I really like roasted anaheim peppers, and a lot of them, but last time when I did a taste test with friends I heard more favorable results with roasted red peppers)
Whatever your heart desires! (sundried tomatoes, chipotle, cilantro, pepper, paprika, cayenne, parsley ...)

When you serve it, it's nice to have some whole garbanzos to scatter, then a sprinkle of paprika and a glug of olive oil.

***
I have a hard time with breakfast foods, and pita & hummus is a perfect one for me so I freeze up batches of hummus and a dozen pita at a time. Hummus can be pretty darned expensive in its own tubs at the store so you can really save money by making your own - plus then you can make it just how you want it, and awe and amaze your friends if you accompany it with homemade pita bread. Nobody dislikes the woman who brings the homemade bread.

roasted sweet potatoes with thyme

2009-12-19T14:40:00.000-08:00

(I apologize that I'm a horrible photographer.)

Taken from here, with some modifications.

3-4 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1"-1 1/2" thick rounds
2-3 tablespoons melted butter (or olive oil, but butter & sweet potatoes is a match made in heaven!)
1/2 - 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves, chopped
2 small cloves garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon crushed red-pepper flakes
1 teaspoon coarse salt

Mix it all together. Lay out rounds single layer on a pan and cook at about 400 degrees for about 40 minutes.

roasted cauliflower

2009-12-19T14:35:00.001-08:00

It's cauliflower season again - YAY!!

Taking the idea from here, roasted cauliflower with cumin is one of my very favorites. Amy just facebooked me yesterday asking again how to make it - I love sharing with friends!

I think this is a wonderful side with just about anything, especially Indian food.

****

cauliflower - 1/2 - 1 head, broken into florets

Mix it with (quantities depend on how much cauliflower):

good glug or two of olive oil
salt (not too much)
cumin (I put in quite a lot)
cayenne pepper (not much)

Mix it all up and then put single layer on a pan.

Roast at about 400 degrees for about 40 minutes (flipping midway). I like mine really well done. Unfortunately it shrinks so much, but alas. And truth be told, no matter how much I make there are rarely leftovers. I have been known to stand at the oven and just eat the entire head of cauliflower - it's THAT GOOD. And cauliflower is super good for me, as is cumin.

Lemon Pecan Cookies with Lemon Glaze

2009-12-19T10:15:00.001-08:00

Lemon Pecan Cookies with Lemon Glaze
Originally uploaded by gummychild

I didn't looove how these came out, but they weren't too bad, and others might have liked it more. The recipe came from Henry's Market, which is where I get the recipe for that very tasty Citrus Salt that the Chris H. loves, hee hee...=)

Ingredients:

- 1/3 c. powdered sugar
- 1/3 c. butter, room temperature
- 1 Large Egg
- 2/3 c. honey
- 1 tsp. vanilla
- 2 Tbsp. lemon zest
- Juice of one lemon
- 2 1/2 Cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for rolling
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1/3 c. finely chopped walnuts (*I used pecans)

For the Glaze:
- 2 c. confectioners’ sugar
- 3 Tbsp. lemon juice
- 2 tsp. lemon zest

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375° F.

2. Cream together sugar and butter at low speed. Add egg, honey, vanilla, lemon zest, lemon juice. Mix until smooth.

3. Sift together flour with baking soda and salt. Mix flour mixture into margarine mixture, until just combined. Fold in walnuts.

4. Dust work surface lightly with flour. Roll dough into an 1/8-inch thick rectangle. Using cookie cutters of choice, (I just used a cookie dough scoop, and didn't shape them), cut out cookies and place on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet, about 1-inch apart.

5. Bake 8 to 10 minutes, until lightly browned. Cool on a cooling rack for 10 minutes.

6. While the cookies cool, mix together 2 cups confectioners’ sugar with lemon juice and lemon zest to create a spreadable glaze. Spread glaze over cookies and top with lemon zest, or chopped nuts.

Lemony White Chocolate Chunk Biscotti

2009-12-19T10:14:00.000-08:00

Lemony White Chocolate Biscotti
Originally uploaded by gummychild

I've been playing and experimenting in the kitchen again...hooray! ^_^

This is one of my recent creations...

Even BatNomi would be proud of me, because these came out pretty dang tasty! =) And they were the first time I've ever made biscottis before...=)

Granted, they're not photogenic, but they are wonderful in taste! =)

Modified slightly from KraftFoods.

Ingredients:
- 2 cups flour
- 1 tsp. Baking Powder
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, softened
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 Tbsp. grated lemon zest
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp. lemon extract
- 4 ounces of White Chocolate chips
- 1/3 cup Sliced Almonds, toasted

Directions:

1. HEAT oven to 350ºF.

2. SIFT together flour, baking powder and salt; set aside.

3. Beat butter, sugar and lemon zest in separate large bowl with mixer until well blended. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each. Blend in extract. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in chocolate and nuts.

4. DIVIDE dough in half; shape each half into 12x1-inch log on floured surface. Place on greased baking sheet.

5. BAKE 20 min. or until golden brown. Cool on baking sheet 10 min.

6. Transfer to cutting board. Cut each log diagonally into 21 slices, using serrated knife. Return, cut-sides down, to baking sheet. Bake 5 min. or until crisp. Remove to wire racks; cool completely.

Toffee Blondies

2009-12-19T10:09:00.000-08:00

Toffee Blondies
Originally uploaded by gummychild

Oh my. Shelton LOVES these. =)

They're kinda like brownies, but not made with chocolate at all, so they're called "blondies".

The recipe comes from Martha Stewart's Everyday Food's Collectible Cookie Edition (2006)...a little cookie recipe book that I love and clutch onto. I've made many, many cookies from this book, including yummy Butter Pecan Cookies, Chocolate Espresso Snowcaps, Coconut Balls, Icebox Shortbread Cookies, and so forth. =) It's probably where most of my favorite cookie recipes come from. ^_^

So here's how you too can make these yummy Toffee Blondies!

Ingredients:

- 8 Tbsp (1 stick) of unsalted butter, melted
- 1 Cup packed light brown sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp. salt
- 1.5 Cups of AP Flour
- 1 Cup of Toffee Candy Bits/Almond Brickle Bits. =)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Meanwhile, line the bottom and sides of an 8"x8" square baking pan with parchment, leaving a 2 inch overhang on both sides. Set the pan aside.

2. Beat butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, vanilla and salt well. Add in flour and beat until just combined.

3. Fold in the toffee bits.

4. Spread the batter evenly in the baking pan and bake for about 30 - 35 minutes, when the toothpick comes out clean. Remove from the oven and cool completely on a wire rack..

5. Using the parchment overhang, lift the cake from the pan and peel off and discard the parchment. With a serrated knife, cut into desired size and be ready to serve! =)

*The original recipe uses foil, and an electric beater. Unless I have to, I usually always use parchment paper, and mix things by hand with the whisk that comes with an electric better, ha ha, or a spatula. =)

birthday cake

2009-12-14T18:39:00.000-08:00

Yellow cake recipe from here was pretty good, and chocolate frosting from here was outstanding!

roasted chicken & vegetables

2009-12-14T18:31:00.000-08:00

Oh, YUM! The chicken was sooo moist and juicy and the vegetables fantastic as well.

***
Prep vegetables. This is the mixture I used but it could totally be altered:

*10 small potatoes, de-eyed and chopped in half
*3 carrots, chopped in rounds
*1/3 head cauliflower, in florets
*1/2 onion in big chunks
(sweet potatoes would be good, but I wouldn't recommend beets unless you want pink chicken)

I tossed all that with about 1 T of olive oil and a dash of cumin & salt & pepper. Lay it out in a 9x13 pan (or equivalent).

On top of that put a washed chicken. I put it breast side up first. Rub about 2 T kosher salt and some pepper into the skin with 2 T or so of olive oil. I also rubbed some garlic and then threw the cloves in the body cavity.

Lay the chicken on top and bake at 425 for 45 minutes.

At that time, mix up the vegetables and pour the chicken juices from the cavity onto the vegetables. Put the chicken its other side and bake another 30 or so minutes at 350 degrees - you want the temperature in the chicken to be about 170 degrees (use a thermometer).

Let it sit about 15 minutes before carving and then enjoy - and shock and awe your friends! :)

roasted beets and sweet potatoes

2009-12-14T18:27:00.000-08:00

from here ... so good!!

4-6 medium beets, peeled and cut into chunks
2 1/2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
2 (or so) cloves of garlic
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon brown sugar
3 medium sweet potatoes, cut into chunks
1/2 - 1 large (sweet) onion, chopped (needn't be sweet)

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
In a bowl, toss the beets with 1/2 tablespoon olive oil to coat. Spread in a single layer on a baking sheet.
Mix the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil, garlic, salt, pepper, and sugar into the sweet potatoes and onion, coating well.
Bake beets 15-30 minutes in the preheated oven (20 minutes was insufficient). Mix sweet potato mixture with the beets on the baking sheet. Continue baking 45 minutes, stirring after 20 minutes, until all vegetables are tender.

***
This is super yummy and really hit the spot. The trick is to get fresh, local produce and let it stand on its own.

By the time the beets were no longer too crunchy, the sweet potatoes were too soft - so I'd cook the beets longer alone or chop even smaller.

Also, I cooked this in an oven that was 425 for 1/2 hour and then 350 degrees - I don't think temperature really matters and you can roast them at any temperature.

Russian-style beet potato salad

2009-12-12T10:44:00.000-08:00

From Laurel's kitchen

2 (or so) medium beets, boiled and then skinned and diced
2 (or so) potatoes, chopped and boiled
1/2 c peas

Cook and chill all.

Then add sauce:
1-2 T mayonnaise
4-6 T yogurt
1-2 T vinegar
salt & pepper & sugar to taste
fresh dill if you have it
****
This craves my root vegetable cravings! I flash back to memories in Russia, where this was common summer fare. I like to let it sit for a bit before consuming to let the flavors meld.

It makes a very pretty pink salad that is oh so tasty!

oh what a beautiful morning!

2009-12-12T08:06:00.000-08:00

All the makings of a crappy day: Cold. Rain. Ate cookies for breakfast from last night's cookie exchange.

And yet, the charms of New Orleans are too seductive for that miserable nonsense. I started at the Farmers Market and it was amazing. I got strawberries from Pontchatoula. Strawberries in DECEMBER! I love Louisiana! And tomatoes (he grows in the greenhouse and promised me they would thrill me beyond all reason). And acorn squash and romaine lettuce and could have gotten beautiful carrots and beets but I was already set. Milk from Smith Creamery ("Would you like a taste of chocolate milk?" Trust me - it's sooooo good.) Cilantro and sweet potatoes and cauliflower. Satsumas and goat ricotta and eggs. Bell peppers and I begged the man to come back next week with his beautiful fennel because I simply couldn't face that challenge on top of everything else I got.

Oh, I just smelled the tomatoes and I think I orgasmed. Breathe deeply and enjoy the bounty. When he said something about "refrigerator" and I said, "You said I should put them in the refrigerator?" he almost snapped and confiscated them from my possession. Soul, no. Never, ever put tomatoes in the refrigerator. And I was thinking of something lovely with the strawberries for Monday dinner but they will not last that long because they are so aromatic and inviting.

Then I went to La Boulangerie and picked up a couple of baguettes for bruschette (or probably crostini since they're narrow). They have such wonderful baked goods and staff with French accents.

Then on to Whole Foods where I appreciate the attempted help of the staff but they don't know anything compared to the customers. In the wine aisle, a woman had six children with her and they appeared to not all be hers because the girls (all under twelve) were sipping from hot liquids and discussing the relative merits of different brands of wine that they have tried. And checking out, a woman had a small bundle of thyme for cheap which I hadn't seen so she pointed me in the right direction. Because of the dash I didn't have time to ask her what she was doing with 8 pounds of beets. Bummer.

You know how when you're madly deeply in love and seeing that person makes your heart flutter and stomach flip? That's how I feel about New Orleans.

Russian tea cakes

2009-12-11T11:33:00.001-08:00

A Christmas classic! I've since heard these powdered sugar-covered shortcakes called other things such as Mexican wedding cakes, and they're probably completely unknown in all foreign lands. But since I grew up in the capital of Russian America, I get to call them Russian tea cakes!

There are many recipes for it but they all are only slightly different. Here's one.

And here's the one I have in my recipe box (makes about 3 dozen):

1 c unsalted butter, softened (you need to let it sit out for hours - don't microwave or other shortcut!)
1/4 c powdered sugar (sift if necessary)
1 tsp vanilla
2 c flour + 2 Tbsp
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 - 1 c chopped toasted walnuts or pecans.

Toast the nuts on an ungreased baking pan for about 8-10 minutes at about 350 degrees (until they smell toasted). Set aside until they cool. Then if you're using a food processor, toss them in with 2 T flour and pulse just about 5 times. Too much and you get nut butter which is not what we want here! (If you're not using a food processor, just chop them finely and add in the 2 T flour with them.)

Mix powdered sugar well into butter (beat for awhile - until butter looks whipped) and add in vanilla. Add salt and 2 c flour (gradually is easier) and stir well (this is when I start using my hands instead of a spoon). Add the nuts and mix well.

Roll into small balls (about 1 1/2" diameter) and bake 10-12 minutes in an oven about 375 (between 350 and 400 is fine). They're done when they start to brown on the edges and smell done.

Roll the warm cookies in powdered sugar; let cool and then roll them again.

three bruschette

2009-12-10T19:17:00.000-08:00

The farmers market and an early dinner guest inspired this research on bruschetta. All need to made just before serving and eaten immediately - otherwise the bread will be a soggy mess.

****

WINTER SQUASH BRUSCHETTA from here (I followed his directions but would change in the future)

(makes about 16 pieces)

1 1/2-lb butternut or acorn squash, peeled, de-seeded and chopped to a ½-inch dice (it wasn't easy peeling the acorn squash but it wasn't impossible)
½ multigrain or whole wheat baguette, sliced to 16 ½-inch rounds
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
½ cup fresh ricotta (goat cheese would be way better)
juice of 1/2 lemon
salt and pepper
few pinches rosemary (optional) (necessary, and three big sprigs of fresh)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Toss diced squash pieces in two tablespoons of the oil and optional rosemary and spread in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake for 20-30 minutes (or longer - more like about 50 minutes), rotating or flipping them once midway through cooking. Pieces should be caramelized and crispy in parts but not too crisp. Remove from heat and let cool completely.

Line the bread slices in an even layer on a baking tray and bake at 250 degrees for about 5 minutes, until just crisp (or a toaster oven). Remove from tray and let cool completely. (If desired, rub a garlic clove on the bread for a little kick.)

Spread a layer of ricotta on each piece of bread. Sprinkle a little salt and pepper on top of each one, then place a spoonful of the squash on top. Squirt a few drops fresh lemon juice on top of each piece. Drizzle the remaining tablespoon of olive oil across the tops (I skipped), and serve immediately.

I found it rather bland and I'm hoping a day in the fridge will deepen its flavor. I think it would be great with a chevre rather than the uber-bland ricotta, and maybe some sweetness in the squash to deepen its flavor.

***********

BEET GREEN BRUSCHETTA inspired by here and here.

2 cloves (or so) garlic, minced
beet greens, chopped (I used the tops of about 8 beets)
salt & pepper to taste (go light on the salt)
1/2 tsp red chili flakes
1 1/2 T sundried tomatoes, minced
cheese such as Pecorino

Crisp up the bread (I cut at a diagonal, about 1/2-3/4" slices - this would be good on larger bread slices) in a toaster over broiling for about 4 minutes. You don't want to turn it into Melba toast though, so more is not really more.

Heat oil on low and gently saute garlic for a couple of minutes. Then add in the chopped beet greens (no need to dry - the liquid helps them cook) and salt, pepper, and chili flakes. Stir while cooking over low heat, then put a lid on for a few minutes to let the greens cook. Remove from heat and stir in sundried tomatoes.

Top the bread with the beet green mixture and shave a bit of cheese on top. Return to oven/toaster oven for about 2 minutes just to barely melt up the cheese.

****

TOMATO-BASIL BRUSCHETTA, the old standby

1 garden-fresh tomato (or more!), chopped and deseeded/liquid removed if there's too much
fresh basil (about 5-6 medium leaves), minced finely
salt, pepper to taste
1 T olive oil (or as desired)
a dash of vinegar or lemon juice.

Mix up and let flavors meld for an hour or so.

Crisp up the bread. Rub garlic along the bread but NOT too much (I was so zealous I can guarantee no vampires will be near me anytime soon). Top with tomato mixture just before serving.

preserved lemons

2009-12-09T11:25:00.000-08:00

Meyers lemons only come around once a year, and at the farmers market they call to me so seductively. They're sweet and floral and so yummy - but when I end up with dozens, what am I to do? (though I dreamily do fantasize about the day when I have my own home with my own fruit orchard with at least a couple lemon trees)

First I juice a bunch and freeze in ice cube trays (each cube is about 2 T) - I'm very happy to have fresh-tasting lemon juice throughout the year.

I take the peels of these lemons and freeze them. My thinking is that I could just zest them as needed since they're frozen basically intact. I haven't tried it yet, but it's a to-do and I think it would work fine.

But the OTHER THING - and the purpose of this post - is PRESERVED LEMONS.

Last year I did some internet searching when my lemons were starting to turn and I learned for the first time of these. They're used heavily in Moroccan and Algerian cooking, and so I was game. I made a quart which I have very happily used throughout the year. They taste, I'm told, like capers - however, I really don't like capers but I really liked preserved lemons, so there's a limitation to that theory. But they are pickled and not sweet or sour, and taste extremely different than when fresh.

I got advice from several sources, including here. I just made some more today - two pints, and in the second pint I added a bay leaf, a few cardamom pods, a few pepper corns, a cinnamon stick, and a couple cloves. I thought it would be a fun try but I didn't want a full quart of the seasoned ones.

****
Wash some lemons thoroughly (organic is best!). I needed about 3 1/2 lemons for pints and about 8 for a quart - depending on the size.

Put 2 T kosher or sea salt in the bottom of a sterilized jar.

Cut the lemon as if you were going to cut in half through the top, but stop before you actually cut through. Then do the same so it is almost quartered but still attached at the bottom.

Salt heavily inside and outside the lemon.

Squeeze it into the jar - you want juice to come out. (You do NOT, however, want to lemon juice to shoot up all through your kitchen as though a blue whale's blow hole is in your lemons. You know, like I did today. Twice.)

Fill the jar, cramming them in tight, making sure there's lemon juice covering the top (either from these lemons or from extra juice).

I like to cap with the plastic lids Ball makes - the metal will corrode.

Leave the jar out for a few days and turn it upside down every so often. More juice should come from the lemons, but if the lemons aren't covered you can add more juice.

The texture and appearance of the rind will start to change - it's pickling - and after a few days you can put in the fridge. I'm told to not use for a few weeks to allow the process to complete.

It should be fine to keep the jars in the fridge for a year or so - I just make sure there's always lemon juice covering the lemons.

***
TO USE:

I use in recipes calling for them (I'll post some later). Take a lemon out, or use just a half, and remove the pulp. Rinse off the salt and then chop it very finely and add in. I think I read somewhere it can get bitter if cooked a long time, so I add near the end.

Preserved lemons have such a unique flavor and couldn't be substituted with anything else - and since I'm a fan of northern African cuisine, they've been a great discovery for me!

roasted chicken & vegetables

2009-12-08T18:44:00.001-08:00

Now this just looks darned good - will have to try it soon!

I like carrots and potatoes roasted with the chicken, and I'd like cauliflower ... I wonder if beets would bleed too much? Hmmmm ...

citrus spinach salad

2009-12-08T18:31:00.000-08:00

This is always a hit - I love the different tastes and how healthy, yet satisfying and tasty it is!

Citrus Spinach Salad

2 cups fresh spinach leaves
OR
2 cups torn Romaine Lettuce
1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced (go light)
1 fresh navel orange, peeled and separated into sections
OR
2 blood oranges, peeled and separated into sections
OR
1/2 small can mandarin oranges
2 T toasted pine nuts

Dressing
2 T orange juice
2 T white wine vinegar
3 T olive oil (usually I use less)
2 tsp. honey (or save the juice from the can of mandarins for sweetener)
1 T chopped fresh cilantro
2 tsp. dijon mustard
salt & pepper to taste

Serves 2

Toss spinach, onion, oranges and pine nuts together. Whisk together all dressing ingredients. Pour over salad and serve.

(Note: I would double or treble the salad fixins for that amount of dressing)

pita

2009-12-01T12:55:00.001-08:00

Here's the recipe I used from my bread cookbook. It's not the greatest, but it works.

2 T dry yeast
2 T sugar (or honey)
2 tsp salt
2 C whole wheat flour
2.5 c very warm water (up to 120 degrees if it's cold in the kitchen)
1/4 c oil or melted butter
another 2 c whole wheat flour
1 cup+ white flour

Make bread with it (put yeast, sugar, salt & some flour together, then add the oil & water to form a sponge [just to make sure the yeast is working well], mix in the rest of the flour, knead, etc.). Let it rise for about an hour (double in bulk). Then divide into 16 pieces and heat the oven to 475 degrees (letting them rest as oven heats).

Roll into rounds (about 3/16" thick, about 6" round) and put on baking sheets sprinkled with corn meal (corn meal only underneath the bread, or it'll burn, smoke, and start the smoke detector). Alternatively, put on parchment paper. I just made a batch (12/24/09) and half of them stuck badly to the pan, which was a real bummer.

Bake about 8 minutes.

They freeze well and are great with hummus! Hm ... and falafel sounds good ...

turkey carcass soup

2009-11-29T14:02:00.000-08:00

Take a turkey carcass, preferably with some meat on it still, and definitely skin and fat, and throw it in a big pot or a crockpot. Cover with (filtered) water and simmer for hours. Season if you like, but I just throw in some bay leaves and dried minced onions.

Turn it off and let it cool a bit, then strain it. Pick the meat off the bones and chop it. Toss the bones, skin, fat, etc. If you want to refrigerate the stock overnight, I've heard you can scrape the fat off the surface then - but truth be told, that hasn't been my experience (this time, it was all gelatinous with a thin white surface that couldn't be separated really).

Put the crockpot back on.

Chop and saute a bit:
*the trinity (onion, celery, pepper)
*carrots
*garlic

Add to the crockpot with the chopped turkey meat.

Add spices (I used all dry and they were fine):
*bay leaves
*basil
*thyme
*marjoram
*rosemary
*black pepper
*oregano
*(salt - though I don't add)

Simmer for a few hours. Add frozen vegetables such as peas and beans for the last hour.

In a separate pan, boil water and cook noodles (I like egg noodles). Add a little olive oil after draining. I like to cook the noodles separate so that they don't turn to mush and soak up all the liquid when stored and reheated.

*****
This turned out really, really, REALLY good - perfect for the cold weather, and for my health.

I used only about half the carcass I came home with and froze the other half. I'm looking forward for more turkey soup later - and I think next time I'll make dumplings instead of using noodles.

oatmeal dinner rolls

2009-11-26T09:19:00.000-08:00

AWESOME. From here.

*about 30 rolls

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups water or milk (I use whey or potato water)
1 cup oats
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons honey (or so)
2 packages (or Tablespoons) active dry yeast
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
2+ cups white flour (as needed)

Directions

BRING water, butter, and honey to a boil in a medium saucepan. Remove from heat, add oats; let cool to 110 degrees (or more like 120 degrees if it's 55 degrees in your kitchen like mine).
STIR together yeast, wheat flour, salt.
BEAT oat mixture into dry (can use electric mixer or wooden spoon) until smooth. Add white flour until it's the right consistency.
TURN dough out onto a lightly floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic (about 10-15 minutes). Place in bowl and cover with towel.
COVER and let rise in a warm place (85 degrees), free from drafts, 1 hour or until dough is doubled in bulk. (I put in gas oven - pilot keeps it warm)
PUNCH dough down, and divide in half; shape each portion into 15 (1 1/2-inch) balls. Place evenly into 2 lightly greased cake pans or cookie sheets.
COVER and let rise in a warm place (85 degrees), free from drafts, 30 minutes or until doubled in bulk.
BAKE at 375 degrees for 15 minutes or until golden brown.

carbo loading: how I know I'm a Yankee

2009-11-26T09:13:00.001-08:00

I've always thought of Thanksgiving as a carbohydrate-loaded meal: stuffing, potatoes, rolls, pies, and various topping on various sides. Not a holiday for Dr. Atkins.

That said, I had no idea how truly carb intensive it is until I moved to the South. Because on top of all those things, there are the traditions of potato salad and baked macaroni! It boggles the mind!

To me, potato salad = Fourth of July and macaroni & cheese = from a blue box for a picky child. I lived on Kraft mac & cheese in my tween years because I didn't like my parents' cooking and I was semi-vegetarian - and oh yeah, I was a pain in the ass. I grew out of the blue box and recognize mac & cheese for what it is - a heart-stopping, artery-clogging extreme indulgence for only the most special of occasions. To eat it on the same day as pecan pie and sweet potatoes loaded with butter and deep-fried turkey - well, it seems INSANE.

And that, my friends, is life in the South.

L called me the other day as her personal bread-making hotline, and when I talked about taking the Oregon bar exam she said, "You cannot leave! The food in Oregon must be horrible!"

Horrible, I wouldn't say. But lower-fat, I will agree. :)

tamale pie in the slow cooker

2009-11-24T11:11:00.000-08:00

From Stephanie's wonderful crockpotting blog.

Filling:
Mix these all together. Spray cooking spray in crockpot and put in filling.

*black beans (sorry, I never measure, I'm guessing about 3-4 cups?; you could use a couple cans, or as I did - soak overnight then cook a few hours in the slow cooker - I season with cumin, basil, and oregano)
*corn (a can, drained, or frozen - I used about a cup but can vary)
*canned tomatoes (I used a can of Ro-Tel [generic] and about 1/3 can of diced tomatoes)
*onion (I sprinkled a bunch of dried minced onion that a friend left, but could use fresh chopped)
*cheese - about 1/2 c, shredded (can be omitted - not sure it really added anything)
*chili powder - 1 T
*cumin - 1 tsp (depending on seasoning of beans - if they're not seasoned, amp these up)
*paprika - 1/2 tsp

Topping:
I followed Stephanie's directions and I think it made too much topping, so I would halve this next time:
*corn meal - 3/4 c
*flour - 1 1/4 c (I used about 1/2 whole wheat pastry flour and 3/4 c white)
*baking powder - 1 tsp)
*a little bit of sugar (maybe 1 T)
*1 c milk (rice milk was fine)
*1 egg

Combine dry ingredients, then add wet. Put on top of filling, and cook.

On high, in my pretty hot crockpot, it was done in about 4 hours. The top middle didn't really brown, but it got hard so that's good enough. It did stick to the crock, so spraying is worth it.

**
Comments -
As I said above, I'd cut the topping in half or so. The filling is really open to variation and you could throw in different vegetables and beans in whatever quantity.

In addition to the beans, you could add browned ground meat. If you don't brown, you could deal with a grease situation so I'd brown first; I think buffalo would be great.

It was pretty good, especially on a chilly day, and I hope it freezes well!

food and its relationships

2009-11-22T11:37:00.001-08:00

I think that for the vast majority of Americans, food is depersonalized. You go to a grocery store where you don't know anybody, having no idea where the food came from. You go to restaurants where you don't really know how they prepared the food, and it's usually handed to you in layers of wrapping through a window as your car is running.

Like all things, food is different in New Orleans. As a culture, we eat red beans on Monday. Even if you don't personally eat red beans, you know it's red-bean eating day. People here start talking about their next meal before they finish the one they're currently on. And in the line at the grocery store, it is very usual to ask somebody what they're doing with the food they're buying. We frequently swap recipes and ideas and share good deals with total strangers. It's our way, in part because there are no strangers in New Orleans. So even in the most depersonalized situation - rows of wrapped and sanitized foods from who knows where - it's pretty personalized.

I've stepped it up a notch, too. Farmers markets are an amazing source of information. Not only do I get to meet the people providing the food and know that it's local (though some of our local is pretty far, truth be told - some of those vendors drive a few hours), but they share the greatest ideas ever - recipes and culture.

Today I went to the grocery store up the road for a can of green chiles and an onion, and was startled at the tag on the onion: Peru. Now, no offense to the lovely people of Peru, but why am I eating their onions? And where do the chiles come from? I really like the grocery store because I think it does a real community service - most people walk there (which is good because there's no parking - I almost always walk or bike myself), and as a locally-owned business keeps revenues in the city - plus some of their products are organic. I'll shop there as necessary because I like supporting them.

And then this afternoon I went to the Food Coop, sort of. It hasn't really opened yet - won't until next year - but they are selling a few things. It's only 1.5 miles from my house so biking is the way to go (which is always a bonus for me) and they actually really had a great deal on some things. Organic raw almonds cost $12/pound at Whole Foods ($11.99) but at the coop, only $6.58/pound. Awesome. They were super disorganized and a fellow kept walking through shouting "I'm here to help if anybody needs it!" when it was apparent to me what needed to be done (weighing, labeling, etc.). Everybody kept asking my name and introducing themselves and trying to give me information I already have. They couldn't figure out how to make change, but they took my wishlist suggestions and asked my advice. I will be returning, definitely.

Living in New Orleans, I have long lost my expectation or even desire for things to run smoothly and efficiently. When I first moved here I was exasperated at all the U-turns I had to make to get anywhere (a plethora of one way streets and no left turn signs), but now I just roll with it. So, I have to make a U-turn. It's a metaphor for life in New Orleans. Rarely do I get where I want to go as I thought I wanted to get there, but always something wonderful happens and I meet all sorts of people along the way.

Rarely do I set foot in a "regular" supermarket now because I find it so depressing - all the trans fats and the clerks on food stamps and the harsh lighting and unsanitary baskets, they make me just turn around and walk out. I expect relationships to the people who provide my food, and I reject a cellophaned plastic world.

bacon grease

2009-11-21T15:45:00.001-08:00

I've always been frugal, but my current economic situation makes me take it just a step further.

When I made broccoli salad, I was shocked at how much grease came from the bacon that I fried up. I was frustrated because I don't buy the cheap crap - I got it on sale, but I got the kind without nitrates, not so processed, from "natural" farm. When I fried up the whole package, there wasn't that much bacon to use and freeze, and that bummed me out. But there was a whole lot of grease.

I tried to throw the grease away but when I put it in a plastic container of course it melted the container and spilled all over my back porch. So I poured it into a glass container, but then I got to thinking ... and next thing you know, I'm cooking eggs and vegetables in it. I haven't yet baked with it as an ingredient, but that might be next. The thing is that butter and oil are expensive, especially if you're trying to avoid GMOs and rGBH and THC and TNT.

Next time I'll think it through and drain it through a paper towel. Honestly I very rarely cook bacon, but this might make me more willing.

And yes, I feel like a proverbial Plains Indian, using all of the buffalo.

soups for chilly winter days

2009-11-21T06:23:00.000-08:00

Sometimes it's shocking to me the things that I've never eaten. Going to the retreat last weekend was a great opportunity to try and share new things with people - I changed L's life by teaching her how to make her own bread, and K changed mine by bringing white chili. She uses a base/flavor packet from where she works, but a quick look on the internet reveals a number of possible recipes that I can make from scratch.

Here's Paula Deen's white chili recipe, and probably what I will try first with a few tinkers. In fact, I think I'll make it tomorrow since I think I have everything on hand. Yummm ...

And here's her lasagna soup recipe, which another member brought and it was SUPER yummy too. I don't think it would freeze well because of the pasta, but would be a great casual dinner with others, especially with a good French bread or crostini.

It's rainy and dreary and chilly, so more soup it is!

borscht

2009-11-18T18:46:00.000-08:00

This was long a stand-by for me - I love me some root vegetables, and then learned how to make it for real when I lived in Russia. But somehow it fell by the wayside. Yesterday when I went to the farmers' market, though, the beets called out to me provocatively. "Hey baby, you know you want to take us home." And there they were, so beautiful, so robust, so vibrant, so beety. And now they are in my fridge (and don't get me started on how upset I am that 2009 is The Worst Gardening Year Ever). So, back to borscht I go (though, there's there AMAZING beet/potato cold salad we used to eat in Russia that was to die for - that may be next).

****

Beef (or goat) meaty bones (make broth from them in slow cooker, drain fat, then add):

3 medium beets, peeled and diced

1 diced carrot

3 medium potatoes, cubed

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 medium onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 medium head cabbage, cored and shredded

can diced tomatoes and/or small can tomato paste

1 T lemon juice or vinegar
1 1/2 tsp dried dill (if don't have fresh - which is really far superior)
salt and pepper to taste

Toss it all in the slow cooker, give it a good stir and cover with water if necessary (and maybe a little beef bouillon if the broth doesn't look rich enough). Don't cook it too long or it'll all get mushy (I've never slow cookered it before, though I like not having to stir regularly).

[That's the easy & quick way; better to saute onion & garlic first and then toss it all in.]

Serve with sour cream or yogurt (сметана would be best but I've never seen it for sale here) and dark, grainy Russian bread.

goat stew

2009-11-16T19:11:00.000-08:00

Modeled after this. Used to have really excellent goat stew (called soup) in Ghana but I want to put some vegetables in it. I think the important things are the tomato, a little peanut butter, chilies and garlic, and cooking the goat a long darn time.

1 lb of goat
1-2 large onions (include the trinity of celery & pepper if desired)
2-4 cloves of garlic
a jalapeno or small chilies
2-3 T peanut oil
2-3 T tomato paste
a bay leaf or two
1/8 tsp of cloves
1/8 tsp of ginger
1 dash of cayenne
salt and white pepper
1 T freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 cups of beef stock (I'll use bouillon) (add more water as necessary)
2-4 carrots (or some pumpkin or a yam), in chunks
1 pound okra
2 T peanut butter

Peel and dice the onions, and slice the carrots (or pumpkin).

Crush the garlic and chilies with mortar & pestle.

Heat up the butter to medium heat and saute the meat and onion, garlic, chilies for a few minutes (till onions are translucent). Put them in a crockpot.

Then add tomato puree, spices, lemon juice, and the stock.

Cook several hours in the crockpot (about 5 hours on high).

About an hour before serving, stir in vegetables and peanut butter.

Check the seasoning. I like it with white rice.

***
This turned out really good, though I'd go lighter on the cloves. It has a rich, deep flavor. Other vegetables would be really good too, such as green beans and zucchini (though added late, to make not mushy).

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