The Kitchen

Welcome to the 75 Challenge 2016 Kitchen! It is new and empty now. I hope you all will gather here and fill it with food, conversation, recipes. cookbook suggestions, and fun.

Happy New Year, everyone! One of the nurses I work with, who is originally from Louisiana, gave me a serving of her husband's gumbo on Christmas Day in exchange for the jambalaya I had made for pot luck lunch in the hospital. It tasted fabulous, and after she gave me his recipe I made it for Christmas Eve dinner. It turned out great, and her husband graciously gave his permission to share the recipe.



Paul Sitz's Chicken and Andouille Sausage Cajun Gumbo

Ingredients:

1/2 cup Vegetable Oil
3/4 cup All purpose flour
1 lb Andouille sausage
2 lbs Chicken Thighs (bone-in; can substitute bone-in chicken breasts as well)
1 medium/large Green Bell Pepper (chopped)
1 medium/large Sweet Onion (diced)
3-4 ribs celery (chopped)
5-6 cloves fresh garlic (chopped)
1 bunch green onions (chopped)
1/2 cup parsley (chopped)
8 oz frozen okra
2 quarts low sodium chicken stock
1 tbsp gumbo filé powder
3 tbsp cajun seasoning
1 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp cayenne powder (scale based on heat preference)
3 dried bay leaves
Salt/Pepper to taste
Louisiana Hot Sauce to taste
2 cups white rice

Cooking Instructions:

Chop andouille sausage into bite size pieces. Using a large dutch oven, render andouille sausage over medium heat for 5-7 min. Remove sausage and set aside, but leave rendered fat/oil in pot. Using 1 tbsp of cajun seasoning, season Chicken. Then cook in the rendered fat from andouille sausage (4min/side, chicken will not be fully cooked). Remove chicken and set aside. There shouldn’t be much oil left, but use 1-2 oz of your favorite beer, white wine, or bourbon (or even just water) to deglaze the drippings from the bottom of the pan. Reserve these drippings with the chicken and sausage (will be returned into the gumbo later).

Clean out dutch oven before starting the roux. Combing flour and vegetable oil over medium heat. Using whisk, stir roux constantly until it becomes a milk chocolate color. This will take 15-20 minutes, but you should take care to not rush this process because a burnt roux will ruin the gumbo.

Once the roux is the color of milk chocolate, add the chopped pepper, onion, celery and garlic, and cook for 10 min. Add 2 quarts chicken stock, remaining 2 tbsp cajun seasoning, dried thyme, bay leaves, and gumbo filé powder (suggestion: don’t add salt and pepper until gumbo has come to full simmer and you’ve taste-tested). Bring to a boil and reduce to simmer. Add back andouille sausage and bone-in chicken thighs. Let simmer/stew for 1 hr. Remove chicken thighs and pick meat off bones (suggestion: if you substitute chicken breasts, consider removing after 30-40 min). Discard bones/fat, add back meat from chicken thighs, add okra, and simmer for 20 min. Throughout the cooking process, you may want to skim/remove oil that rises to the top.

Serve over steamed white rice. Garnish with green onions, parsley and hot sauce. Makes 10-12 servings.
______________________________

This is a nontraditional gumbo recipe, as it includes both filé powder and okra. I used Creole seasoning instead of Cajun seasoning. I was afraid of burning the roux, so I cooked it on medium-low heat, stirring it constantly as Paul said, and it achieved a milk chocolate color in about 17-18 minutes. It only took 2-3 minutes for it to transform from a blonde roux to a brown roux, so you want to watch it closely once it starts to turn brown. I'll re-emphasize Paul's comment about the importance of not rushing the time required to make the roux, as the gumbo will be ruined if the roux is burnt. I couldn't tell at what stage the drippings from the Andouille sausage and the chicken should have been added to the gumbo, so I poured it in after I added the vegetables (onion, bell pepper, celery and garlic) to the brown roux. I used Uncle Ben's Original parboiled rice, which is my go to rice for Cajun and Creole recipes. I forgot to add cayenne powder to the gumbo, so it wasn't as spicy as the one Paul made last week, and that made it more palatable to my parents. I didn't add any salt or black pepper, as it didn't need it IMO. It took about four hours from start to finish to make the gumbo, and I didn't find it hard to make. Very highly recommended!

Lisa says that Paul also has great recipes for shrimp Creole, crawfish étouffée and other Louisiana dishes, so I'll give them a try after I get them from her.

Yum!!

Carrie has requested the I post my cheesecake recipe. I took some over to her house earlier today. The recipe was given to my mother by Ann Haughton, a native of New York, who married a man from Mississippi and settled in my home town.



Cheesecake Supreme

1 ¼ cups graham cracker crumbs
¼ cup sugar
¼ cup butter, melted
5 – 8 oz pkg cream cheese
1 ¾ cup sugar
3 Tbsp flour
5 whole eggs
2 egg yolks
1 tsp vanilla
¼ cup whipping cream

Mix graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and butter. Butter a 9-10 inch spring form pan and press crumb mixture into bottom and sides of pan. Let ingredients except last two reach room temperature. Then beat cheese till fluffy. Mix sugar and flour gradually. Blend into cheese, keeping mixture smooth. Add vanilla. Add eggs and egg yolks one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in cream. Turn into crust. Bake in a very hot 500 degree oven for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 200 and bake one hour longer. Remove from oven and place away from drafts until cooled. Refrigerate until cold. Remove sides of pan and put on serving dish. Serve plain or with fruit. Keep refrigerated at all times.

>2 kidzdoc: I'm seriously hungry for that Gumbo now - YUMMY - I can't wait to try it out THANKS

>4 thornton37814: Thanks for posting your cheesecake recipe, Lori.

>5 lovelyluck: You're welcome, Jennifer. Please let me know how your version turns out.

>6 kidzdoc: You're welcome, Daryl! I took some of it over to some good friends of mine today also. I had a text from them tonight raving about it too.

I'm going to give you all my favorite tip that I learned in 2015. (I had to go to a cooking class to learn this).

When buying fresh herbs, snip the ends off the stems and stand them upright in a cup with water in your refrigerator. I currently have fresh cilantro that I bought three weeks ago with the leaves still crispy and inviting.

Besides lasting a really long time, it makes me smile to see my herb bouquet every time I open the fridge door and it also reminds me to add a snip or two of it to whatever I'm eating.

Happy happy to my food loving buddies.

>8 streamsong: You know, I've seen them do that on cooking shows, and never knew why they did it. My next batch of cilantro will be getting this treatment!

>8 streamsong: great tip.... i've wasted so much dill :( will have to try

>streamsong: I've done this with herbs on the counter, but never in the frig. I'll have to try it. But don't do it with basil! It'll turn black.

>8 streamsong: Thanks for that!

>8 streamsong: Thanks for the tip! I hate constantly buying fresh herbs and not using them before they wilt or brown, but I don't have anywhere to grow them myself.

I made this fish chowder today. It's super simple but so flavorful. I use Bar Harbor fish stock rather than making my own but follow the recipe exactly, cutting it down by about 1/3 since I'm the only seafood fan in my home.

>14 kgriffith: awe - your link leads me to a page to post a message without the recipe :( and it looks so yummy in the picture and I have a Chili Chowda cook off coming up and was thinking that might be perfect!

>15 lovelyluck: Whoops! Try now?

>16 kgriffith: I made it to food network - but not the recipe :( what is the name of the fish chowder? the first one to come up under the search is New England Fish Chowder - from Tyler's Ultimate - is that the one? :)

Darryl asked me to put how I make my vegetarien lasagne over here.

More or less step by step how I make the vegetarian lasagne.

Ingredients (You could also take zucchini, aubergine etc.)


Chop the vegetables, also the ognion and press the garlic.


Put some olive oil in a pan and start stewing the ognion and pressed garlic. After a while you add the vegetables. When the vegetables have fallen together add a soup spoon of tomato paste, pepper, salt and chili and stirr it for 10min. Than add the tomatoes (chopped in a can) and vegetable broth and season it with rosemary, oregano and thyme. Let it simmer for at least an hour, when needed add some more broth.


I make always a light bechamel (without butter): 600ml cold milk, three soup spoon flour, pepper, salt and nutmeg. Give everything into the cold milk and stirr it all the time when heating it until it is thick.

When everything is ready than start with the 'puzzle': The first layer is bechamel.


The next one is lasagne sheets (not cooked)


Next layer is the vegetable


Followed by bechamel


Then go on with pasta - vegetables - bechamel. Usually I have three layers of pasta in the end.

After the last time bechamel you put some parmesan on the top (I take Sbrinz, it is similar to parmesan but I like it better)


Now it's ready to go into the oven. 30min - 200C.

>17 lovelyluck: So strange! Yes, that's the one: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/new-england-fish-chowder-recipe0.html

>18 Ameise1: Whoa, that looks amazing!

>19 kgriffith: :) YAY! I'm so there

>18 Ameise1: That looks yummy I love the step by step pictures :)

>20 scaifea: Charlie would love it, Ambet.

>21 lovelyluck: Thanks so much, Jennifer.

>18 Ameise1: That looks yummy! I don't make lasagna often because it makes too much for a single person.

>8 streamsong: Thanks for that great tip, Janet! I'll definitely give that a try, as I use cilantro and parsley on a regular basis.

>15 lovelyluck: That fish chowder looks fabulous! I'll make that soon.

>18 Ameise1: Thanks for posting your great photos and description of your vegetable lasagna, Barbara! I'll give that a try soon as well.

I tried two new vegetarian recipes on Sunday, and I was pleased with how both turned out. The first is Bhindi Masala, an Indian okra and tomato dish served over basmati rice, which came from the web site Things I Made Today (http://www.thingsimadetoday.com):



Ingredients:

1½ cup basmati rice, dry
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 lb okra, washed and dried, stems removed, and cut into ½ inch pieces
2 onions, chopped
2½ tablespoons ginger, minced
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 tomatoes, chopped
2 teaspoons coriander
½ teaspoon red chili powder
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon garam masala
salt to taste

Instructions:

In a saucepan, cook rice according to package instructions.

Heat olive oil in a large skillet. Add okra and cook until slightly charred and soft. Transfer to a plate.

To the skillet, add onions and cook until translucent. Stir in ginger and garlic and cook for an additional 2-3 minutes. Add tomatoes and cook until soft.

Add all the spices and mix well. If mixture looks too dry and is not soaking in the spices, add ¼-1/2 cup of water. Taste and adjust salt if needed.

Add okra pieces back in and remove from heat.
_________________________________________

I wasn't fond of this recipe initially, as I had to make numerous adjustments to it on the fly. First, I used half of the chopped onions, since I generally use Vidalia onions, which are considerably larger than most other ones. Fortunately I made this recipe first, and I used the other half of the cooked onions in the second recipe I tried. Two medium tomatoes weren't nearly enough to balance the okra, so I used four instead. I decided to let the okra and tomatoes simmer for 15 minutes over medium heat, and added 1/4 cup of water to allow the spices to infuse into them, along with a few shakes of black pepper. I thought that it tasted good but not great yesterday, but when I had it for lunch today it was much better, and the office staff I shared it with enjoyed it and asked for the recipe.

This recipe was modified from a much more authentic one from Veg Recipes of India (http://www.vegrecipesofindia.com/bhindi-masala/), but I didn't use that one, as I didn't have dried mango powder and dry fenugreek leaves. I just found out where to get those spices locally from one of the pediatric residents, who is Indian, so I'll try that recipe the next time I make it.

The second recipe was Red Lentil Soup with North African Spices, which Deborah (@Cariola) mentioned on my thread this weekend.



INGREDIENTS:

4 tablespoons Unsalted Butter
1 large onion, chopped fine
Salt and pepper
¾ teaspoon ground coriander
½ teaspoon Ground Cumin
¼ teaspoon ground ginger
⅛ teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
Pinch cayenne
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 garlic clove, minced
4 cups chicken broth
2 cups water
10 ½ ounces (1 ½ cups) red lentils, picked over and rinsed
2 tablespoons lemon juice, plus extra for seasoning
1 ½ teaspoons dried mint, crumbled
1 teaspoon paprika
¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Melt 2 tablespoons butter in large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and 1 teaspoon salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened but not browned, about 5 minutes. Add coriander, cumin, ginger, cinnamon, cayenne, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper and cook until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Stir in tomato paste and garlic and cook for 1 minute. Stir in broth, water, and lentils and bring to simmer. Simmer vigorously, stirring occasionally, until lentils are soft and about half are broken down, about 15 minutes.

2. Whisk soup vigorously until it is coarsely pureed, about 30 seconds. Stir in lemon juice and season with salt and extra lemon juice to taste. Cover and keep warm. (Soup can be refrigerated for up to 3 days. Thin soup with water, if desired, when reheating.)

3. Melt remaining 2 tablespoons butter in small skillet. Remove from heat and stir in mint and paprika. Ladle soup into individual bowls, drizzle each portion with 1 teaspoon spiced butter, sprinkle with cilantro, and serve.

Serves 4 to 6. Pair this soup with a salad and bread for lunch or a light supper.
__________________________________

I originally wasn't overly impressed after the soup finished cooking, as I thought it was a bit bland, until I added the cilantro and the melted butter spiced with mint and paprika at the end. That brought out all of the flavors of the soup, and it transformed this from an ordinary lentil soup to a special one. Don't skip that last step!

ETA: I left off several of the ingredients when I originally posted this recipe, but it should be complete now.

Does anyone have a good recipe for vegetable soup?

Sandy K

I made 8 can taco soup tonight. It's an easy recipe, but oh, so tasty. I added the sour cream, cheese, and cilantro to it. https://doingitlikemartha.wordpress.com/2013/02/06/69/

vegetable soup- have you looked at the web site Smitten Kitchen ( I found a good beef and barley soup there)

I made Chicken Bacon Tacos tonight - It was my own invention so there are no exact measurements - here's what I did though -

I pan fried boneless skinless chicken thighs (about 1 1/2 lb) in a little butter with garlic powder, cumin, and black pepper seasoning - when the chicken was finished cooking I shredded and diced it

I fried up about 12 oz bacon and then crumbled into smaller pieces and threw it in with the chicken

I diced up a small yellow onion and a medium green pepper and put them in with the chicken to saute until the onions were tender and translucent then I threw in about a 1 to 1 1/2 cups of frozen yellow corn

I sauteed the whole mess until the corn was cooked through

I took kraft mexican cheese and put it onto 1/2 of a soft - maybe 9 inch - tortilla. Then I scooped a spoon full of chicken bacon stuff onto it and then put another layer of cheese on the top. I folded the tortilla in half and placed it in a hot skillet for about 30 seconds - just enough to brown the tortilla and melt the cheese - then I flipped it and did the same to the other side

I'm no chef but the Troll (my daughter for non-lurkers to my thread) calls them my amazing Chicken Tacos

Picture of what was left of the Chicken Bacon stuffing :) it was yummy! I'd say this makes enough for 8 tacos or four people - we are a family of three that is why there are leftovers (AKA my lunch tomorrow)

>torontoc I've not heard of the Smitten Kitten website, I will check it out! thanks!

Sandy K

>25 kidzdoc: Ohhhhh bhindi masala is one Indian dish I haven't yet had a chance to try making but I'm so eager for it! I don't have amchoor powder either and I have to travel to the next city to find it. I also find that it's not uncommon for Indian food recipes to taste better on the second day! Those spices work some serious magic. My mother and I have been taking Indian cooking classes for about a year and a half now, so I have a deep interest in Indian cuisine (it's so wide and varied, I love it). I'll be checking this thread regularly!

I also have a marvelous recipe for red lentil / dal masoor soup that I got from one of these classes, I'll try to find it and maybe post it here. It's really, really fab.

EDIT: I also just re-read the bhindi masala recipe you posted and realized that maybe it didn't taste so great on first try because...uh...the spices are added wrong. The original recipe you linked does it correctly, but the one you used doesn't seem to allow the spices to bloom correctly first! My cooking instructor would yell at me, anyway. Adding all that water, auuugh!

>32 dk_phoenix: Thanks for those helpful comments, Faith. I don't have much experience cooking Indian food, save for a couple of curry recipes I made last year. I've now found out where to get Indian spices, thanks to one of the pediatric residents who is on service this month (who is of Indian descent), so I'll try the original recipe from Veg Recipes of India instead of the one taken from it.

As per requested by Darryl, I have copied the recipe here for a soup that I find is my perfect comfort food on a cold winter's day. It's from a Canadian cookbook, called The Looneyspoons Collection. These sisters are really hilarious. One of them is a nutritionist, and even if you don't make one single recipe from this book, you will not stop laughing as you read through their very *punny* recipes, tips, corny jokes and cartoons. But the truth is, the recipes are great! http://janetandgreta.com/cookbook/the-looneyspoons-collection/

Here you go:

Roasted Sweet potato soup with ginger and orange

6 cups peeled, cubed yams or sweet potatoes (about 3 large)
1 1/2 cups coarsely chopped onions
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 tsp. minced garlic
5 cups reduced sodium vegetable or chicken broth
1 tbsp. each grated orange zest and gingerroot
1 whole clove
1/2 tsp. each ground cumin and salt
1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
6 tbsp. light (5%) sour cream
Minced fresh cilantro for garish (optional)

Spray shallow roasting pan with cooking spray. Add yams, onions, olive oil, and garlic. Stir well, roast, uncovered at 425F for 25 minutes. Stir once, halfway through cooking time.

Transfer mixture to large pot. Add broth, orange zest, gingerroot, clove, cumin, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, covered for 10 minutes.

Working in batches, carefully transfer soup to a blender or food processor and puree until smooth. Serve hot with a swirl of sour cream in the centre. Garnish with fresh cilantro, if desired

Makes 6 servings. When I make it, it fills 2 large mason jars.

>34 jessibud2: That sounds good! Thanks for posting that recipe, Shelley.

>32 dk_phoenix: Oh, perfect! I had zero experience before I started taking the classes, it really is quite a different approach from the typical Western cuisine. I hope to try Thai cooking in the future, but there seem to be fewer classes around for it.

>34 jessibud2: My mother has the LooneySpoons book and she loves it! I've paged through it and it really is a hoot. That's a great recipe too, I think I might try it but add coconut milk (canned) instead of sour cream for a good dose of healthy fats.

>34 jessibud2: jessibud2: That soup sounds yummy! I hope to try it this weekend. And perhaps the fish chowder as well. It's great soup weather right now.

>27 sandykaypax:

I make a lot of vegetable soups with no recipe, just throwing in whatever seems good, but I mostly use the same base: a litre of stock, a 420ml tin of crushed tomatoes, and a little water (I rinse out the tin with 100-200ml). I find this makes a robust but not overwhelming background flavour and adds an extra vegetable. Using tomatoes with herbs in them is good too. I also tend to add a third of a cup of pearl barley...but Lori is our grains expert!

Have you heard about *pulses*? Oddly, I had never heard that specific term before, as it pertains to a food group. However, apparently, 2016 has been declared the Year of Pulses and Canadian chef Michael Smith has set up a Pulse Pledge, to try to educate people about the nutritional value of pulses (lentils, peas, beans, chickpeas). The newsletter you will get once you take the pledge, will include all manner of recipes. I heard him interviewed on the radio yesterday and I just signed up! Here's the link, it looks great!

http://pulsepledge.com/

Here is the interview: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/programs/metromorning/pulses-2016-1.339081...

This could be interesting!

I just got the first newsletter, and here is some of the info it included:

Pantry Prep

The first step in your pulse journey was signing up (check!). Next up: stocking your pantry. Dried pulses typically found in the bulk bins or the rice aisle are the most affordable and long-lasting, but they do require cooking - and some have to be soaked first too (beans and chickpeas). So if you know you’ll be pressed for time, use canned, frozen or refrigerated pulses to remove that step!
For baking, swap traditional flour for chickpea, lentil, and black bean flours. Pea protein powder gives smoothies a boost, and tons of packaged and prepared items like hummus, bean dips, roasted chickpeas, and lentil or black bean chips are great for healthy snacks in a hurry.
Below is a quick guide to the different pulses varieties, so you know what to look for when you’re stocking up.

Chickpeas - aka garbanzo beans (dried, canned, frozen, flours)
Lentils (dried, frozen, flours)
Dried peas (dried, protein powder)
Beans (dried, canned, flours)


AND... already, there are some truly mouth-watering recipes included, with photos!!

I actually bought a pressure cooker through holiday sales (an Instant Pot, to be precise) so that I could eat more legumes / "pulses" and prepare them on my own instead of buying the expensive, "organic", "pre-soaked" canned versions (food is getting too bloody expensive these days).

I should post some of the incredible Indian recipes I make regularly using pulses, they're soooo filling and warming and really do just cost pennies to make.

I'm glad people found the herb storing tips useful. The instructor just sort of casually threw this out in an "everybody knows how to " way, and all the people at my table - and maybe in the whole room - except me (!) wisely nodded their heads.

>11 markon: Thanks for the addition! The notes I took do say not to do this with basil - wrap in paper towel and put in fridge. I had forgotten that point

>34 jessibud2: I will definitely try that recipe! Also thanks for the Loony Spoons mention. I've requested the book thru the library; my Amazon Christmas gift card is burning a hole in my pocket if it looks like one I want to have a copy of.

>36 dk_phoenix: I'm not sure coconut milk will substitute. I think what you're looking for is a bit of tang as well as creaminess. I usually use a small dollop of plain Greek yoghurt when soups call for being served with sour cream.

Yes, in this area, I usually hear them called 'legumes' instead of 'pulses' .

BudgetBytes has been having quite a few references to her Instant Pot that she recently acquired. I'll love to hear more!

Whoops, typos. Had to edit because I said exactly the opposite of what I meant.

>40 jessibud2: Interesting! Thanks for posting. I'll be glad to hear more.

Okay, here's a decent one! This one I actually got off the back of a cheap package of yellow split peas. They called it an "Indian Split Pea Dhal" but, uh, then it didn't use any Indian spices so someone at the company must have just thought it sounded cool, and the recipe wasn't written with the correct cooking techniques for the spices. Anyway, here's my modified version. (And once I get this Instant Pot figured out, it'll be snap as the split peas will cook in minutes, wheeeee!)

Yellow Split Pea Dhal

Makes 4 servings.

1 cup yellow split peas, uncooked
2 cups water (or broth, if you prefer)
1 tsp turmeric
1/4 tsp red chili powder (***NOT the dark red kind used for Mexican food, the bright red kind used for Indian cooking...if you don't have it, you can sub the same amount of cayenne; adjust to taste)
1/2 tsp salt (or to taste)
1 tbsp ghee or butter
1 onion, finely diced
1 1/2 tsp cumin
2 whole cloves
garam masala, for finishing
chopped cilantro, for finishing

1) Rinse split peas well. These don't require soaking but rinse in several changes of water until it runs clear.
2) In a large pot, add water or broth, salt and split peas. Bring to a gentle simmer, cover and allow to cook 45 minutes or until split peas are tender and falling apart. Stir occasionally if needed, add extra water if needed. (For authentic Indian style dhal, the split peas should be very mushy, so much that you could add extra water later to turn it into a soup if you choose.)
3) While that cooks... in a frying pan, heat ghee or butter. Once heated, add cumin and fry until fragrant (watch that you don't burn them! if you do, start over). Add cloves, stir. Add onion. Saute for 5 minutes or until onion is soft and translucent. Add remaining spices, stir to coat onions, then cook for 2 minutes to allow spices to heat & wake up.
4) Add cooked dahl to onion mixture (or vice versa, really) and allow to simmer 5-10 minutes to blend. Add more water as needed, depending on whether you're serving this as an entree or as a soup.
5) Taste and add any extra salt as needed. Finish with a sprinkle of chopped cilantro and garam masala. Serve over rice or with pappadum!

(...aaaand now I'm craving this and will probably make it tonight...! It's so warming on cold days. :D )

Yep, made it tonight! The last time I made it I used half broth & half water, but tonight just water. It'll definitely have more flavor with the broth, but it was still good tonight. The 1/4 tsp of chili powder is not enough heat for me (I'd do 1/2 tsp if cooking just for myself), but it was just right for El Husbando.

Darryl dropped by my thread and reminded me about the Kitchen - the best place to congregate in any home! - so I am re-posting a recipe here.

Vegetarian Casserole:

Note:
I tend to just throw stuff together when I cook so the recipe below is more just an ingredients listing with some basic cooking notes to give you an idea of what went into the dish.



INGREDIENTS:
2 parsnips - peeled and diced
12 brussels sprouts - cleaned and quartered
1 sweet potato - peeled and diced
1/2 medium onion - chopped fine
2 tsp smoked paprika
2 TBSP chopped garlic
2 TBSP oil of choice (I use avocado oil)
2/3 cup pearl barley - I was out of farro, that would have been my first choice
1 1/2 cups water or stock of choice
one 540ml/19oz can of black beans
one 796ml/28 oz can of diced tomatoes
1 1/2 cup chopped fresh kale
salt and pepper to taste

PROCESS:
Combine first 7 ingredients. Pour into large casserole pan and cover with tin foil. Bake in oven at 325'F for 30 minutes. While veggies are baking, cook the pearl barley in the water (or stock of choice) for 20 minutes at medium heat, partially covered. Remove casserole dish from oven and stir in black beans, diced tomatoes and kale. Recover with tin foil and return to oven for additional 15 minutes. Remove from oven. Add salt and pepper to taste and serve.

NOTES:
I would have added 1/2 cup of medium salsa to the recipe but I was out of salsa. I also think doubling up on the black beans - or cutting down on the overall veggie count - would also be a good idea. Humm... now that I think about it, lentils would probably be really good in this. Would also work really well as a side dish with a roasted chicken. Overall, a healthy casserole idea that can be easily adapted with different ingredients.

Daryl is really encouraging the use of the Kitchen thread this year. I used to visit it quite a bit, but then it seemed no one else was using it. It's nice to see it active again.

>44 dk_phoenix: Ooof, that dhal sounds amazing!

I made banana bread yesterday from a recipe I found a couple years ago on Simply Recipes. They've altered it a bit from the one I printed out--the original called for 3 or 4 bananas instead of 2 or 3--but it's still an easy and tasty recipe.

>49 amanda4242: The more bananas the better!

I love seeing all of the great recipes here! Keep 'em coming, everyone.

I made Spicy Peanut Noodle Salad from Budget Bytes for lunch today.



Here's the recipe:

Ingredients:

SAUCE:

½ inch fresh ginger, grated
1 clove garlic, minced
⅓ cup hoisin sauce
⅓ cup crunchy "natural style" peanut butter
1 Tbsp sriracha
1 Tbsp fresh lime juice
⅓ cup hot water

SALAD:

1 red bell pepper
1 yellow bell pepper
3 carrots
1 bunch green onions
½ bunch fresh cilantro
8 oz. linguine

Instructions:

Grate the ginger using a small holed cheese grater into a bowl. Add the minced garlic, sriracha, hoisin sauce, peanut butter, and lime juice. Stir until everything is combined (it may be slightly clumpy), then add ⅓ cup hot water and stir until everything is smooth. Taste and add more lime juice if desired.*

Bring a large pot of water to a boil for the pasta. When the water reaches a boil, break the pasta in half** then add it to the water. Boil the pasta for 7-10 minutes, or until al dente. Drain the pasta in a colander and allow it to cool.

While the pasta is boiling, prepare the fresh vegetables. Thinly slice the yellow and red bell peppers. Use a spiralizer or a vegetable peeler to make thin strips out of the carrots, or use a large holed cheese grater to grate them into smaller pieces. Thinly slice the green onions. Pull the cilantro leaves from the stems and either leave them whole or give them a rough chop. Place the prepared bell peppers, carrots, green onion, and cilantro into a large bowl.

Once the pasta is drained and completely cooled***, add it to the bowl with the vegetables. Pour the peanut sauce over top, then toss until everything is evenly coated. Serve immediately or refrigerate until ready to serve.

Notes:

*If the sauce is too sweet for your tastes, you can add a small amount of soy sauce to help balance the flavors. Start with a ½ tsp and add more if needed.

**Breaking the pasta in half makes it easier to incorporate the vegetables into the pasta later.

***Make sure the pasta is completely cooled to prevent cooking or softening the vegetables. If needed, run cool water over the pasta, but then allow it to drain and dry until the pasta is tacky. Watery pasta will make the peanut sauce slide off.
_________________________________________________________________

I used matchstick carrots instead of peeling regular ones, which saved time. I like spicy foods, but this salad is at the upper limit of what I can comfortably eat, as my lips were all but smoking as I was eating it. I used McCormick's Gourmet Sriracha Seasoning, so I would highly recommend using 1/2 or 1/3 that amount, or leaving it out altogether. It's a quick and easy recipe that makes four servings, and I highly recommend it.

Oh la la. All this food looks great!

Yesterday I made Mexican stack for a vegetarian/vegan pot luck lunch.

You layer alternately with tortillas, the following: refried bean mix (see recipe later), eggplant slices, and sautéed mushrooms/ dollops with cream cheese. Bake covered for 40 minutes and then grill once you have added grated cheese on top. Serve with salad and sour cream.

Refried bean mixture

1 onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, crushed or diced finely
One red capsicum (bell pepper) finely chopped
1/2 can of chopped tomatoes (or 2 tablespoons tomato paste and some water OR 1/4 cup bolognaise sauce)
1/4 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon dried coriander
Red kidney beans prepared as slow, or one can.

Boil red kidney beans for nearly an hour, until soft and able to be squashed in your fingers. Drain and set aside. Add to all of the above which has been fried together and is soft. Once it is all heated, mash the mixture together, making sure it is quite damp as the mixture can soak into the tortillas and become dry after baking.

I prepare the eggplant by slicing it, brushing it with oil and grilling each side until soft and browned. You can also use pumpkin slices if you like for this layer.

>51 kidzdoc: I pinned that one in case I faild to do it when it first appeared on the blog.

Hey, Darryl - I'm planning on trying out your gnocchi recipe - could you please give me an idea of the weights / numbers for the gnocchi and brussel sprouts (you say 'a packet' and 'a bag')? - thanks!

>54 lyzard: Here's the link to the original recipe: http://www.onegreenplanet.org/vegan-recipe/crispy-gnocchi-with-mushrooms-asparag.... It doesn't specify the weights, but the packet of (potato) gnocchi and the frozen Brussels sprouts were each 16 oz.

From the Department of Redundancy Department: I just made another batch of Xi Jong Shi Chao 'Jidan' (Chinese Tofu Scramble), which is the meal that I make more often than any other, as it is easy, quick and tastes wonderful. I ordered black salt from Amazon last month, and this is the first time I've made this with it (although I made some two Fridays ago when I visited my parents, as my mother also loves it. I'm sure that I posted a photo and the recipe here early last year, but I'll do it again, since I love this scramble so much.



Ingredients:

1 Tbs. peanut oil
1 medium onion, sliced (I use a large Vidalia onion)
1 tsp. fresh ginger, grated or minced
2 cloves garlic, minced (I use 4 cloves)
1 block extra-firm tofu, pressed and drained
1 tsp. turmeric
1 tsp. black salt
4 scallions, finely chopped, whites and greens divided
1 medium or large tomato, cut into chunks (I use two medium tomatoes)
Toasted Sesame Oil, for garnish

Preparation:

Heat the oil in a deep skillet or sauté pan over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic and ginger and cook until the onion is softened and translucent, about 4 minutes. Break the tofu into chunks and add to the pan. Mix the tofu into the onions and let the tofu cook until it browns a bit, about 5 minutes.

Add the turmeric and the black salt to the pan. Toss the tofu so the spices cover it completely and turn all pieces of the tofu yellow. Pour 1/3 cup water into the pan and mix the tofu well. This helps the spices to distribute more evenly.

Add the scallion whites and the tomatoes to the mixture. Stir and cook until the tomatoes are heated through, about 2 minutes. Turn the heat off. Add a drizzle of toasted sesame oil and garnish with the scallion greens. Enjoy!
_____________________________________________________________

I break up the tofu and drain it nearly completely, so I don't add water to this scramble, as it tends to make it watery. Simple, and oh so delicious!

>55 kidzdoc:

...which is about 500g, I think - thanks!

I tried a new recipe today since I had some goat cheese I wanted to use: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/237596/gluten-free-herbal-goat-cheese-chicken/

I used thighs instead of breasts and increased the cooking time. I had fresh garlic so I chopped that and added it instead of garlic powder. I also had rather more chicken and goat cheese, so it came out cheesier than the picture on the link, but it was quite tasty.

No cooking for me today, but I do have a pitcher of freshly squeezed orange juice chilling in the fridge.

I tried a new recipe today, North African Bean Stew with Barley and Winter Squash, which was featured in the Food section of The New York Times this past Wednesday, and I was pleased with how it turned out.



Here's the recipe:

INGREDIENTS:

⅓ cup extra-virgin olive oil, more for serving
2 leeks, white and green parts, diced
1 bunch cilantro, leaves and stems separated
1 cup finely diced fennel, fronds reserved (1/2 large fennel bulb)
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 ½ tablespoons baharat (see note)
½ cinnamon stick
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 quarts chicken or vegetable broth
½ cup pearled barley
2 ½ teaspoons kosher salt, more as needed
Large pinch saffron, crumbled (optional)
4 cups cooked beans or chickpeas
2 cups peeled and diced butternut squash (1 small squash)
¾ cup peeled and diced turnip (1 medium)
½ cup red lentils
Plain yogurt, for serving
Aleppo pepper or hot paprika, for serving

PREPARATION:

In a large pot over medium heat, heat oil and cook leeks until they begin to brown, 10 to 12 minutes.

Finely chop cilantro stems. Stir into pot, along with diced fennel and garlic. Cook for 2 minutes. Stir in baharat, cinnamon and tomato paste, and cook until paste begins to caramelize, about 2 minutes.

Stir in broth, 3 cups water, the barley and the salt. Bring to a gentle boil, stir in saffron, if using, and reduce heat to medium. Simmer uncovered for 40 minutes. Stir in beans, squash, turnip and lentils; cook until barley is tender, about another 20 to 30 minutes. Taste and adjust seasonings, if desired. Remove cinnamon stick.

Ladle stew into bowls. Spoon a dollop of yogurt on top and drizzle with olive oil. Garnish with cilantro leaves, fennel fronds and Aleppo pepper or paprika.

Tip: Baharat is a Middle Eastern spice mix. You can buy it at specialty markets or make your own. To make it, combine 2 tablespoons sweet paprika, 1 tablespoon ground coriander, 1 tablespoon ground cumin, 1 tablespoon ground turmeric, 2 teaspoons black pepper, 1 teaspoon grated nutmeg, 1 teaspoon ground cardamom and 1 teaspoon allspice.
_______________________________________

I strongly dislike turnips, so I used two parsnips instead. I used roughly 2-1/2 cups of chickpeas and about 1-1/2 cups of pinto beans. I made the baharat from scratch, and I didn't use either Aleppo pepper or hot paprika, as I couldn't find either one at Publix or Kroger. Otherwise I followed this recipe exactly. It's labor intensive, but it makes a ton of stew, as it filled my large soup pot nearly to the brim. This will easily yield 8-10 servings, and it's very tasty and filling without being spicy hot. Highly recommended!

>60 kidzdoc: It does sound tasty.

A certain boss who shall not be named, and a number of colleagues, have been hating on me for my preference for oatmeal raisin over oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. This has been ongoing since the Great Flour Bakery Lunch Order of ALAMW16. So naturally, I had to make cookies to satisfy the constant reminder that such delicious treats exist.
As with most cooking I do, I ended up using a bit of this and a bit of that from a few recipes and their comments. I'm quite happy with the results, and have decided that parchment paper is an absolute must for future forays into cookie baking.
What's your best oatmeal raisin recipe? Any particular tips for that or any other specific kind of cookie?

My grandmother used to make cookies, and she declared whenever asked that it was "the recipe on the Quaker Oats box". Except hers were high lumps, not flat, and they tasted quite different - much richer.

So one day my mom followed her around the kitchen as she baked a batch, and discovered the differences. Which were basically two - one, she would substitute bacon fat for the fat in the recipe (the current recipe calls for shortening, but I think it used to say butter. I made them with all bacon fat and didn't like them. I think I'll try half bacon fat and half butter next time) and two, she worked (as a psychotherapist) and never had time to make the cookies all in one go. So she'd make the dough and put it in the fridge, and the next day she'd bake it - which contributed to the height of the cookie, since it was baked from cold and didn't have time to flatten out.

My family has the same argument as your office - I made half the batch this Christmas with chocolate chips and half with raisins. I prefer the raisins, the chocolate is very sweet but not very chocolate (like chocolate-covered nuts, spoil the texture of the nuts and the flavor of the chocolate in one go!). I had lots of help with the raisin ones, though - I'm not alone in my preference (wahh, I didn't get to eat them all!).

I have parchment paper, but I didn't learn of its existence until after I'd gotten used to using teflon pan liners. They're not sold any more, or only sold as "oven liner", but they are fantastic - much thinner and more flexible than silicon liners, many (many many) times reusable, not particularly hard to wash, easy to cut with scissors to fit your pans, and utterly non-stick. I've made almond brittle on them without the slightest threat of sticking (and no greasing them - just as they come).

The reason they're not sold any more, I believe, is a "health threat" - but I suspect it's along the lines of the carcinogenic properties of Sweet'n'Low; if a rat ate half its weight in Sweet'n'Low, it had a higher likelihood of getting cancer. Which, yeah, but! Not that I'd eat Sweet'n'Low in any case. But I'll keep using my liners, even if they're (eek!) Teflon.

Friends! I randomly made up a recipe using spices in my cupboard and whatever was in my fridge over the weekend, and it turned out pretty darn well. Since it's a random recipe, go ahead and play with the spices as you like. If you don't have whole spices, use ground and adjust to taste (I like very strong spice flavors, so I'd actually adjust up if I made it again):

Faith's Cabbage & Rutabaga...Dish

1 medium rutabaga, chopped into 1" pieces
2 onions, chopped
1/2 head of cabbage
2 tbsp oil of choice (I used coconut)
1 tsp whole cumin
1 tsp ground turmeric
1.5 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1 tsp whole fennel seed, crush w/ mortar & pestle before using
1 tsp whole coriander seed, crush w/ mortar & pestle before using
1 cup broth

1) Heat oil in large pot. Add cumin seeds & heat until fragrant. Add onions, stir until softened.
2) Add remaining spices, stir to coat onions. Cook 2-3 minutes.
3) Add rutabaga, cabbage, and broth. Stir together. Cover and cook until rutabaga reaches desired done-ness. Stir occasionally. Took me approximately 40m to cook to my preference, stirring every 10 minutes. I had my cooking temperature on medium, but if I made it again, I'd adjust to see if it's possible to cook faster on higher heat (without burning things).
4) Adjust salt & pepper to taste.
5) Serve!

I assume this could also be done in the slow cooker or a Very Large Skillet. I liked that it uses cheap but nutritionally dense ingredients, since the cost of produce has been skyrocketing lately...

>62 kgriffith: I'm afraid that I prefer the chocolate chips. I actually use the recipe that was published back in 1992 when George H. W. Bush and Bill Clinton were running for president. The newspaper had a contest to see whether Barbara Bush's or Hilary Clinton's recipe for chocolate chip cookies won. Hilary's had oatmeal in them and won! I tried both recipes and preferred Hilary's recipe. Of course, I doubt either recipe actually came from the first ladies. I know Barbara said at the time that wasn't hers and that the request had been answered by a White House staffer. Regardless, I still have the newspaper clipping and still use the recipe.

>62 kgriffith: I always use dried cranberries in my oatmeal cookies since I loathe raisins--a consequence of growing up surrounded by raisin grapes.

>63 jjmcgaffey: I remember those teflon sheets, and let me tell ya, I'd use 'em in a heartbeat, "health risks" be damned. But, since parchment paper did a wonderful job of preventing even a single pan of cookies having bottoms that were even slightly darker than golden brown, I'll stick with it!

>65 thornton37814: How funny! What strikes me most is that the idea of asking potential first ladies for a cookie recipe now would almost certainly be poorly received, but 1992 wasn't all that long ago.

>66 amanda4242: I used a combination of raisins and orange-flavored dried cranberries. Definitely added a bit of a tartness and tang!

>64 dk_phoenix: I got a head of cabbage in my produce delivery a couple of weeks ago that weighed somewhere between 8-10#. I did a pot roast with a rutabaga and carrots and half of the cabbage, but I couldn't fit anything more in the slow cooker! So, the following weekend, I did just veggies in the slow cooker. I ended up adding a few cups of the liquid from the pot roast time around for flavor, and the result was deeeeelicious. I honestly haven't had much luck with beef roasts, so I've decided to stick with corned beef or pork in the slow cooker, and rib roasts or other oven- or pan-cooked cuts of beef to go with slow cooker veggies.

Nothing fancy going on in my kitchen. This is soup weather. Last month, after having roast chicken, I had tossed the chicken carcass and a little of the leftover meat into the freezer when a warm spell made soup less appealing. I've retrieved the bird and am boiling up a nice chicken broth, on the way to a batch of chicken soup for the weekend. I have the makings for a batch of chili, too.

Hubby and I are planning to open up a bottle of port later this evening, sip a bit of it, and watch the snow.

The big snowstorm that has hit the Mid-Atlantic states in the U.S. brought enough snow that I was able to try out making snow ice cream:



Delicious!

And easy, too! Around 12 cups of fresh snow (I didn't measure exactly), approximately 2 teaspoons of vanilla, and a can of sweetened condensed milk, mixed together with a wooden spoon. We already had some at lunchtime and are saving the rest in the freezer for a tasty treat later.

I worked from this recipe: http://happyhooligans.ca/3-ingredient-delicious-vanilla-snow-ice-cream/

If you add some Nestle's Quik, you get chocolate too!

That's good to know; my wife prefers chocolate to vanilla ice cream in general.

>69 harrygbutler: Yum! My girls ate/eat what we call "prairie ice cream" after reading about it in Little House in the Big Woods. Fresh snow with maple syrup drizzled over.

When we get homesick for Cyprus, which we did tonight, we make Aunt Eleni's Koupepia:

>72 AMQS: "Prairie ice cream" sounds good. I had been wondering about whether one could substitute syrup (and maybe evaporated milk) in the snow ice cream to get other flavors. Maybe something to try next time!

The koupepia looks good, too!

>62 kgriffith:: I'll weigh in as a chocolate chipper - it's a texture thing for me. (and I'm a chocoholic). But my grandmother's recipe, which includes oatmeal, also includes raisin water as a flavoring.

Okay, I asked this in my thread too, but I figure more folks might wander in here who aren't regulars over there...does anyone have knowledge of Japanese food? Specifically sweet & salty snacks to recommend?

I'm heading to a Japanese candy shop later today (my first visit!) and I know absolutely nothing about Japanese snacks. I wonder if some of you better-traveled folks & foodies might have suggestions for me? Pretty please?!

My current plan is: A bottle of Ramune (though I don't know what flavor), something matcha (KitKat? Cookies? Pocky? I do love Pocky...), and some meltykiss. But beyond that...I'm so new! I have no idea! And I'm very easily overwhelmed in situations where there are many choices of brand new things.

>75 dk_phoenix: Oooh, Pocky! Love that stuff.

Pollo Ciudad with Pickled Tomato Salsa



Ingredients:

4 large, boneless chicken thighs or leg and thighs, with skin
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 shallots, diced
3 large mushrooms, thinly sliced
1 to 2 jalapenos, chopped with seeds
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 cup chicken stock
3/4 cup half-and-half or heavy cream
1/2 bunch cilantro, stems and leaves separated
2 egg yolks
1 1/2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
3 cups cooked rice, for serving
4 grilled scallions, for serving
Pickled Tomato Salsa, recipe follows, for serving
Pickled Tomato Salsa:
1 pound tomatoes, diced
1/2 bunch scallions, white and green parts, thinly sliced
2 to 3 serrano chiles, with seeds, thinly sliced in rounds
1/2 cup white vinegar
2 1/2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 teaspoons salt
4 teaspoons freshly grated ginger
1 tablespoon minced garlic
2 teaspoons yellow mustard seeds
2 teaspoons cracked black peppercorns
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon cayenne
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Directions:

Season chicken liberally with salt and pepper. Heat a large saute pan over medium-high heat, add oil, and place chicken in pan skin side down. Sear for 4 minutes, then reduce heat to medium and continue cooking for another 8 minutes. Turn chicken and cook another 4 minutes, or until just cooked all the way through.

Meanwhile, make sauce by melting butter in a medium saute pan over moderate heat. Cook shallots and mushrooms until soft and golden, about 10 minutes. Add jalapenos and cumin, lower heat, and cook for 5 minutes. Add chicken stock. Turn heat to high and cook until liquid is reduced by half. Add cream or half-and-half and cilantro stems and return to a boil. Remove from heat. Puree in a blender, pass through a wire mesh strainer, and return to heat.

Whisk egg yolks, sugar, and vinegar together in a small bowl. While continuing to whisk, pour one cup pureed cilantro sauce into egg mixture to temper. Then combine egg mixture with puree and cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until sauce is thick and smooth.

Arrange grilled chicken over a bed of your favorite rice and spoon sauce over all. Garnish with cilantro leaves, grilled scallions, and Pickled Tomato Salsa. Serve immediately.

Pickled Tomato Salsa:

In a large bowl, toss tomatoes with scallions and serrano chiles.

In a medium saucepan, bring vinegar to a boil. Add sugar and salt, and cook until dissolved, about 1 minute. Remove from heat and reserve.

Measure ginger, garlic, mustard seeds, cracked peppercorns, cumin, cayenne, and turmeric onto a plate and place near stove. In another medium saucepan, heat oil over moderate heat until just smoking. Add spices and cook, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until aromas are released, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in vinegar mixture. Immediately pour over reserved tomato mixture. Stir to combine, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate 3 to 4 hours or several days. Makes 2 cups.

Recipe courtesy of Susan Feniger and Mary Sue Milliken.
___________________________________________________________

Erin, the psychiatry nurse practitioner who works in my office space, shared this recipe with me last year. I absolutely love this entrée, as it's my favorite homemade chicken and rice dish. It's a bit labor intensive, but the bulk of the work comes from making the pickled tomato salsa and the cilantro mushroom sauce. The best part of this recipe is that it makes large portions of salsa and sauce, far more than than it would suggest. I was able to get enough of both to cover 10-12 thighs when I last made it in the summer for my family, so it's great for leftovers or large meals. It packs a good amount of heat, mainly due to the serrano chiles, and when I made it for them I used half of the peppers. Very highly recommended!

ETA: I don't strain the puréed cilantro mushroom sauce. I used portobello mushrooms instead of regular white ones, which gave the sauce a richer taste.

>74 markon: I think soaking the raisins made a big difference in how they feel in the cookie, if that makes sense. They aren't sticky or hard like I've come across in other, inferior cookies ;)

I made harira, a traditional Moroccan lamb, chickpea and spinach soup, for dinner, and I like how it turned out. This is the first recipe I've tried from Ottolenghi: The Cookbook, which I received as a Christmas gift last month. His web site doesn't list the full recipe, but you can find it here: http://www.culinate.com/books/collections/all_books/ottolenghi/525335



Ingredients:

1 cup (200 grams) dried chickpeas (you can also use canned chickpeas here (roughly 3 cups or 500 grams) instead of dried)
1 tsp. baking soda (not necessary if you don't use dried chickpeas)
3 Tbsp. olive oil
1 large onion, cut into ⅜-inch (1-centimeter) dice
7 oz. (200 grams) boneless lamb rack or shoulder, cut into ⅜-inch (1-centimeter) dice
2 Tbsp. tomato purée (I used an equivalent amount of tomato paste)
1 Tbsp. superfine sugar
2½ lb. (1 kilogram) canned tomatoes, chopped
5 cups (1.2 liters) chicken stock or water
~ Salt and freshly ground black pepper
~ Juice of 1 lemon
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. ground ginger
~ Pinch of saffron threads
3 cups (100 grams) baby spinach leaves
4 Tbsp. coarsely chopped cilantro
4 to 6 lemon wedges

Steps:

Start preparing the soup the night before by putting the dried chickpeas in a large bowl with the baking soda and covering them with plenty of cold water — it should cover the chickpeas by at least twice their height. Leave at room temperature to soak overnight.

The next day, drain the soaked chickpeas, place in a large saucepan, and cover with plenty of fresh water. Bring to a boil and simmer for about 1 to 1½ hours, until the chickpeas are tender. Drain in a colander and set aside.

Place a large saucepan over medium heat and add the olive oil. Add the onion and fry until soft and translucent. Increase the heat, add the diced lamb, and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, until the lamb is sealed on all sides and has taken on a bit of color. Add the tomato purée and sugar and mix well. Cook for 2 minutes, then add the chopped tomatoes, drained chickpeas, stock, and some salt and pepper.

Bring the soup to a boil and lower the heat to a simmer. Use a large spoon to skim off any scum that forms on the surface, then cook for about 35 minutes, until the meat is tender.
Squeeze the lemon juice into the soup. Season the soup with the cumin, ginger, and saffron. Taste and adjust the salt and pepper.

When ready to serve, bring the soup back to a boil. Wash and drain the spinach leaves and chop them coarsely. Add the spinach and cilantro to the soup just before you bring it to the table. Serve with a wedge of lemon.
________________________________________________

This soup is quite tangy, due to the tomatoes and lemon juice, rich and subtly flavored without being spicy hot. I used diced tomatoes, and the next time I make it I'll use Ro-Tel diced tomatoes with habañero peppers, to give it a kick. The recipes says that it makes 4-6 servings, but it makes a nearly full pot of soup, not including the spinach, so most people should be able to get 6-8 or more servings out of this. This would be good with artisan bread or, better yet, homemade cornbread, and I think it would make a great soup for anytime of the year.

This was Sunday supper for us last night. Braised lamb shanks with mashed potatoes and baby limas. I once had a recipe, but I've tweaked and twiddled with it so much it's "my own", now. So here's what I do:

Ingredients:

Enough lamb shanks for your crowd. Very hungry people can easily eat two at a sitting.
1 medium carrot, sliced; and 1 small onion, diced, per pair of shanks
3 or 4 garlic cloves for the pot (more or less to taste)
Olive oil for browning
dried rosemary
dried thyme (NOT the powdered stuff)
salt and pepper
red wine
beef broth or a combination of beef and chicken broth
tomato paste

Brown lamb shanks well on all sides in olive oil in a heavy pot. If necessary, do this in batches.

Remove browned shanks to a plate while you:
saute the carrots and onions in the same pot, adding 1 to 2 tablespoons of tomato paste to deepen flavor and aid browning. (The amount of paste depends on the amount of veg...judgment is required here, but I use about 1 tablespoon for 2 carrots and 2 onions)
When veggies are nicely caramelized, return meat to pot.
Add 1 1/2 cups of broth, 1/2 cup wine, along with the garlic, herbs and seasonings to taste. (I never measure herbs, salt or pepper when cooking, unless I'm following a new recipe for the first time, so I'm useless as a guide here.)
Bring to a boil, reduce heat to simmer, cover and braise for about 2 hours, until meat is falling off the bone. Uncover and reduce sauce if needed.

>80 laytonwoman3rd: Ooh...yum.

I made Portobello Mushrooms With Pearled Barley and Preserved Lemon for lunch today.



Ingredients:

Pearled barley:
1 tablespoon sunflower oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
3 cups (750 ml) vegetable or chicken stock
heaping 1/2 cup (110 g) pearled barley
1/4 preserved lemon, flesh removed and skin finely chopped
1 3/4 ounce (50 g) feta cheese, crumbled
1 tablespoon chopped flat-leaf parsley
2 teaspoons thyme leaves
2 tablespoons purple basil sprouts, radish sprouts, or purple basil leaves, shredded
1 tablespoon olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

7 tablespoons (100 g) unsalted butter
15 sprigs thyme
6 large portobello mushrooms
3/4 cup (180 ml) dry white wine
1 cup (180 ml) vegetable stock
2 cloves garlic, finely sliced
Coarse sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

1. First cook the barley. Heat the sunflower oil in a heavy-based saucepan and sauté the onion and garlic until translucent. Add the stock and bring to a boil. Stir in the barley, lower the heat, then cover and simmer for 1 hour, until all the liquid has been absorbed and the barley is tender.

2. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350°F / 180°C. Take a large baking sheet and grease it heavily with two-thirds of the butter. Scatter the thyme sprigs over it. Stem the mushrooms and place the mushroom caps, stem side up, on top of the thyme. Pour over the wine and stock and scatter the sliced garlic over. Dot each mushroom with a couple of knobs of the remaining butter, then season with salt and pepper. Cover the pan with aluminum foil and place in the oven for 15 to 20 minutes, until the mushrooms are tender. Leave them in their cooking juices until you are ready to serve.

3. When the barley is done, remove the pan from the heat and stir in the preserved lemon, feta, parsley, and thyme. Taste and add salt and pepper. To serve, reheat the mushrooms in the oven for a few minutes, if necessary. Place each mushroom, stem side up, on a serving plate. Scoop the barley on top and spoon some of the mushroom cooking juices over. Garnish with the basil sprouts and drizzle over the olive oil.
_______________________________________

I didn't have or make preserved lemon, so I used ¼ of a fresh lemon instead. This was an easy recipe to make, which came from Ottolenghi: The Cookbook, and I thought it was rich but mildly flavored, although the flavors were significantly enhanced by adding sea salt to the pearled barley at the the end. It's a nice main entrée, which would go well with a side salad or green vegetable. It didn't knock my socks off, but I did like it and would make it again.

Filipino Chicken Adobo

This recipe is from Leanne Brown's Good and Cheap. She says that adobo in the Phillipines refers to anything cooked in vinegar and soy sauce, and isn't spicy like adobo pepper sauce. Of course, if you want spice, you can add hot peppers to the vegetable mix.

Marinade
3/4 Cup rice vinegar (or white vinegar)
1/4 Cup soy sauce
2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
1/2 t black pepper
8 chicken thighs

Marinade chicken 30 minutes to overnight

Cook
Pull chicken out of marinade & pat dry. Brown chicken on both sides in dutch oven or other large pan in 2 Tbsp vegetable oil. Add the following and bring to a boil. Turn down and simmer 40 minutes.

marinade liquid
3/4 cup water
2 medium potatoes, chopped
4 medium carrots, sliced

Prepare rice while meat is cooking

Finish
Mix 2 tsp cornstarch in small bowl with liquid from meat/vegetables. Add into pot and stir. Cook an additional 3-5 minutes allowing sauce to thicken and glaze meat and vegetables. Serve over rice.

You can use other cuts of meat or vegetables as you please. I think some fresh ginger would be good in this, although it's already flavorful.

This past Sunday I made Mushroom-Spinach Soup With Middle Eastern Spices, using a recipe that was in the Food section of last Wednesday's edition of The New York Times:



INGREDIENTS:

*6 tablespoons unsalted butter or extra-virgin olive oil
*1¼ pounds mixed mushrooms (such as cremini, oyster, chanterelles and shiitake), chopped
*½ pound shallots, finely diced
*1 tablespoon tomato paste
*2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme leaves
*1½ teaspoons ground cumin
*1 teaspoon ground coriander
*¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon
*Pinch ground allspice
*2½ teaspoons kosher salt, more to taste
*1 teaspoon black pepper
*5 ounces baby spinach
*Fresh lime juice, to taste
*Plain yogurt, for serving (optional)

PREPARATION:

Heat 3 tablespoons butter or oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add half the mushrooms and half the shallots; cook, stirring occasionally, until most of the liquid has evaporated and the mushrooms are well browned, 10 to 12 minutes. Transfer mushrooms to a bowl and repeat with remaining butter, mushrooms and shallots.

Return all mushrooms to the pot and stir in tomato paste, thyme, cumin, coriander, cinnamon and allspice; cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.

Stir in 5 cups water, the salt and the black pepper. Bring mixture to a simmer over medium heat and cook gently for 20 minutes. Stir in baby spinach and let cook until just wilted, 1 to 2 minutes.

Using an immersion blender or food processor, coarsely purée soup. Mix in lime juice. Thin with water, as needed. Taste and adjust seasoning, if necessary. Serve with dollops of yogurt if you'd like.
______________________________

Mmm. This was a very quick and easy recipe to make. My preferred local supermarket (Publix) sells sliced mixed mushrooms in the grocery section, and I just gave them a quick chop before I added them to the pot. I didn't purée the soup for long, as I prefer a thick, chunky soup. I added a heaping tablespoon of Greek yogurt to the reheated soup. After sitting in my refrigerator for six days it was thicker and tasted even better than it did after I first made it. This recipe makes four full bowls, and I'll add it to my regular rotation of favorite stews and soups.

>26 kidzdoc: Darryl, I was thinking of trying the soup this week but can't see in the ingredients how much broth, water or lentils. Did I miss it in the instructions?

>85 bell7: Thanks for noticing that, Mary! I left out several ingredients in that recipe. I went back to Deborah's post in Club Cucina, and inserted the remaining ingredients in >26 kidzdoc: just now.

A couple of weeks ago I ordered The Indian Slow Cooker on the recommendation of my group's practice manager and one of my partners, who are both of Indian descent. The Sunday before last I tried two recipes, which both turned out well. The first was Aloo Baingan (Spicy Punjabi Eggplant with Potatoes):



Ingredients:

* 3 large eggplants, diced, about 12 cups
* 1 large potato (russet or yellow), peeled, diced, about 2 cups
* 1 medium red or yellow onion, peeled and roughly chopped
* 1 piece (2 inches long) ginger, peeled, cut into 1 1/2-inch matchsticks
* 6 cloves garlic, peeled and coarsely chopped
* 3 to 4 Thai or serrano chilies, chopped or sliced lengthwise
* 1 tablespoon cumin seeds
* 1 tablespoon red chili powder
* 1 tablespoon garam masala
* 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
* ¼ cup vegetable or canola oil
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped

Instructions:

1. Put the eggplant, potato, onion, ginger, garlic, green chilies, cumin, red chili powder, garam masala, turmeric and oil in a slow cooker. Cook on low, 3 hours.

2. Remove the lid; cook, 2 hours (to dry up some of the moisture released by the eggplant).

3. Add the salt and cilantro. Serve with roti or naan, or stuffed inside a pita pocket.

Note: You will need a 5-quart slow cooker to fit all the vegetables. If your slow cooker is smaller, try cutting back on the quantities by one-third.
_________________________________

I used one russet potato and four serrano chiles. I tasted it after I took the lid off, and was worried that it would be too hot to eat. Fortunately mixing it into basmati rice tempered the spices and provided a nice balance to it. I think I would cook it uncovered for 90 minutes instead of two hours, as it's a wee bit on the dry side, and use half of the sea salt. This recipe makes seven cups of eggplant, and with a roughly equal amount of rice I'll get seven servings out of this. This didn't knock my socks off after I initially made it, but I loved it the following day and subsequently.

The second recipe was Aloo Gobi (Spiced Cauliflower with Potatoes):



Ingredients:

* 1 large cauliflower, washed and cut into 1-inch pieces (about 8 cups/1.89 L)
* 1 large potato (russet or yellow), peeled and diced (about 2 cups/473 mL)
* 1 medium yellow or red onion, peeled and coarsely chopped
* 1 medium tomato, diced (optional)
* 1 (2-inch 5 cm) piece ginger, peeled and
* 3 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped, minced, or grated
* 3-4 green Thai, serrano, or cayenne chiles, stems removed, chopped or sliced lengthwise
* 1 tablespoon (15 mL) cumin seeds
* 1 tablespoon (15 mL) red chile powder
* 1 tablespoon (15 mL) garam masala (see Notes)
* 1 tablespoon (15 mL) salt
* 1 teaspoon (5 mL) turmeric powder
* 3 tablespoons (50 mL) vegetable or canola oil
* 1 heaping tablespoon (20 mL) fresh cilantro, chopped

Directions:

1. Put all the ingredients except the cilantro in the slow cooker. Mix well.

2. Cook on low for 3 hours. Mix once or twice during cooking, especially in the beginning. Eventually the cauliflower will release enough liquid to prevent anything from sticking to the sides of the slow cooker.

3. Add cilantro. Mix well but gently so as not to break up the cauliflower. Serve with roti or naan and a side of onion and cucumber salad.
______________________________________

I did add a tomato, as Anupy Singla in The Indian Slow Cooker said that her foodie father liked it that way. I used three serrano chiles instead of four, but it was still very spicy, although having it over basmati rice gave it a perfect balance. I also liked it immediately after it finished cooking, but I loved it after a day or two in the refrigerator.

This cookbook contains 50 recipes, of which all but eight are vegetarian. I loved both aloo dishes, and many of the other ones in the book are also very appealing.

I'm just a little late, but here's something for National Pi day:



Unfortunately, it's the one I made last year, so even I will have to be satisfied with a virtual piece. But I can almost smell it.

>86 kidzdoc: Thanks, Darryl! It's going to have to wait 'til next week (my shopping list was waaayyyy too long already and I have to figure out where to get red lentils), but I'll let you know how it goes!

Happy St. Patrick's Day, everyone! Is anyone else making corned beef and cabbage?

I went to put my dinner in the crock pot this morning, and found that we were out of BEER. I always use a recipe for corned beef & cabbage that adds beer, so this created a dilemma. Afraid to just leave it out with the old recipe, I found a new recipe that dispenses with the suds, but adds some other ingredients. I'll keep you posted on whether it is fit to eat.

My corned beef is simmering as we speak. I use beer too, but I cook it on top of the stove for an hour and a half, and then put it to roast for another hour or so, depending on the size of the brisket.

All these pics and recipes look so good. I've been baking and cooking non-stop this week to fill my deep freeze. We've been in the 90's for a couple of weeks now so it looks to be a very long summer and I don't fancy the idea of having the oven on for an hour at a time then. Sorry I don't have any pics to put up but it was more of an assembly line process, then into the tupperware. : )
So far I've made African peanut stew with chicken, sausage with field peas and green beans, Israeli couscous with carrots and bok choy, batches of peanut butter, chocolate chip and lemon cookies, Butterfinger blondies and a batch of pumpkin dog cookies.

Late to the Irish party but I've done both a boiled dinner with a pork brisket, and a gray corned beef brisket in the crock pot over the last two weeks. Both times with cabbage, rutabaga, carrots, and yellow flesh potatoes. I love an excuse to eat rutabaga!

Sorry to barge in here without a recipe to share, but I wanted to make a post to make sure as many people as possible saw it.

We're discussing group read over in the group read organization thread.

We've settled for The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco in May and are currently discussing summertime reads. If anyone is interested in any of the books mentioned on the thread so far, or if you have any new ideas, please feel free to head over and post.

The Magus has been suggested for June and The Name of the Wind for a summer long read (June-August) but nothing has been decided yet.

Grilling season has begun here in NE Pennsylvania. And we have a new charcoal grill, so had to break it in this weekend.



I baste with this simple recipe as it cooks. (DO NOT MARINATE---the results will be entirely different and not nearly so tasty.) Turn frequently and baste liberally every time.

Whisk together:

1 egg
1 cup cider vinegar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1 1/2 tsp poultry seasoning (Bell's is my favorite)

Ooh, that looks, and sounds, wonderful! I can almost smell it!

Karen O.

I have a pan of brownies in the oven. I use several recipes from a book called 101 Best Brownie Recipes, and this recipe is in my regular rotation. I've followed the recipe exactly, and I've also put the melted cocoa/butter mixture into a standing mixer and completed the recipe that way. I've added chocolate chips and sometimes, unsweetened shredded coconut. It's just a really fast, simple recipe that produces rich brownies.

Homemade Beginner Brownies

3 tbs. butter
1/3 c. cocoa
1 c. sugar
2 eggs
1/2 c. flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 c. chopped nuts

Preheat oven to 350. Melt butter over low heat in a saucepan. Remove from heat and add cocoa and sugar and mix well. Add the eggs one at a time, beating after each.
Add the flour, baking powder, salt and vanilla and beat well. Stir in nuts.
Pour into a sprayed 8x8 pan. Bake 30-35 minutes.

I tried a new recipe for lunch yesterday, Peruvian Seafood Stew with Cilantro Broth:



Here's the recipe:

INGREDIENTS:
2 Tablespoons oil
1 yellow or white onion- diced
1 fresh green ancho chili - chopped
1 green bell pepper - chopped (optional)
6 cloves garlic - rough chopped
1 Tablespoon coriander
2 teaspoons cumin
4 cups chicken broth or stock
3 cups water - divided
4 cups small diced potatoes
2 cup diced carrots
2 whole bunches cilantro, including small stems
2 lbs seafood, mixed -shrimp, scallops, mussels, fish, (or sub cooked chicken, or chickpeas)
½ teaspoon- ¾ teaspoon salt
cracked pepper
2 limes
cilantro and sour cream for garnish
crusty bread for dipping

INSTRUCTIONS;
Heat oil in a large heavy bottom pot, over medium high heat.
Add onion, and saute for two minutes, stirring often.
Add ancho chili and bell pepper. Turn heat to medium and saute until tender about 10 minutes, stirring often.
Add garlic and spices and cook for two minutes or until fragrant.
Scrape this all into a blender and set aside.
In the same pot, add 4 cups chicken broth or stock, plus 1 cup water.
Bring to a boil.
Add the small diced potatoes and carrots and simmer over medium heat until just tender, about 10 minutes.
In the meantime, add two whole bunches of cilantro to the blender, stems and all. I usually cut or twist off 1-2 inches off the stems, leaving the rest.
Add 2 cups lukewarm water to the blender. Bend everything until VERY smooth, at least 45 seconds.
Do not add this yet, just have it ready.
Once the potatoes and carrots are tender, add the seafood and simmer until desired doneness, or about 3-5 minutes.
When seafood is cooked, stir in cilantro mixture from the blender.
Heat, but do not boil too long, or you will lose the lovely green color
Squeeze the limes - I used 1½ limes.
Taste, adjust adjust salt.
Serve in bowls with cilantro sprigs, sour cream (optional) and crusty bread

NOTE: Don't boil the cilantro mixture too long or you will lose the pretty green color. In the photos you see me using 2 poblano chilis, and this was quite spicy. The next time I used 1 plus a green bell pepper - spicy, but not overly.
__________________________________

I used 1-1/2 lb of Patagonia scallops and 1 lb of mixed seafood (calamari, mussels, octopus and baby shrimp) from Publix, my preferred local supermarket, so my stew is chock full of seafood. Other than that, and using 3 tbsp of lime juice in place of the juice of 1-1/2 limes I followed the recipe to the letter (I used up nearly all of the potatoes in my refrigerator, a mixture of Yukon Gold and purple potatoes). I normally don't use much salt when I cook, but this needed a bit more than the recipe called for to bring out the flavors. This recipe makes nearly a full pot of stew, and it should provide 6-8 healthy servings. This tastes as good as it looks, and I've added this to my list of favorite recipes.

I tried another new recipe for lunch today, a copycat version of the Chicken Gnocchi Soup that is served at Olive Garden (for those of you not in the US this is a popular Italian restaurant chain that is located in numerous suburbs here). As I mentioned on my Facebook page I haven't dined at Olive Garden in roughly 25 years, but I found this as I was looking for recipes that contain gnocchi this weekend, as I have four packages of potato gnocchi in one of my kitchen cupboards. This recipe sounded good, and the end product didn't disappoint.



Here's the recipe, from the web site Dessert Now, Dinner Later:

Ingredients:

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into cubes
2 Tbsp olive oil
4 Tbsp butter
1 medium onion, diced
1 cup celery, diced
1 tsp minced garlic
1 cup carrots, shredded
3 Tbsp flour
1 quart Fat Free Half & Half
1 (14 oz) can low sodium chicken broth
1 cup fresh spinach, chiffonade (finely sliced)
¾ tsp dried thyme
salt & pepper to taste
1 (16 oz) package Gnocchi

Instructions:

In a large stock pot heat olive oil & saute chicken breasts. Season with a little salt & pepper. Cook until mostly done (very little pink showing.)

Add butter until melted & then add the onion, celery, garlic & shredded carrots. Cook until onion is translucent. Add flour to absorb the liquid from the butter which will form a roux. Stir well.

Add the half & half and chicken broth. Stir until it comes to a boil. Allow to simmer while you cook the gnocchi in another pot of boiling water until dumplings float (3 minutes.) Drain & set aside. (*You could possibly just add the gnocchi to the pot of soup, but it might thicken the soup too much & be slightly starchy.)

Add spinach, thyme & cooked gnocchi to the pot of soup. Taste & adjust seasoning with salt & pepper. Serve hot.

*If the soup is not thick enough, add 1-2 Tbsp cornstarch mixed with just enough COLD water to stir it smooth. Add to the HOT soup & wait for it to boil to thicken up.
____________________________________________________________

I bought a package of three chicken breasts, so I used all of them in this soup. Otherwise I followed it exactly, using a 16 oz package of Gia Russa potato gnocchi. I did add red pepper flakes to the bowl of soup I had for lunch, to give it an extra kick. I was very pleased with this soup, and although I divided it into five Tupperware containers, not counting the bowl I had, I should probably have put less soup into at least two other containers, as it is a very rich and filling one course meal.

This is a message for those who knew Pat Howard ( phebj) Pat was an active member, and then in 2016, did not re join the 75 challenge group. Because I had not heard from her in awhile, approximately a month ago, I sent a card to her address in Idaho. Those of you who may remember Pat, she and her husband were transplants from NYC to Idaho and they were incredibly happy in Idaho. They built a new home in 2015, and Pat was so happy about this.

Sadly, today I received a card in the mail from her sister in law, Ruth Smith. Ruth thanked me for the card and told me that Pat and her husband both died. Pat's husband died in December 2015, and Pat followed him on January 13, 2016. The note states that "the cancer and the grief coincided. A joint celebration of life was held a few days ago.

Here is a link to Pat's 2015 thread:

https://www.librarything.com/topic/186004

You may remember that Pat had breast cancer, then was doing very well after treatment. I believe sometime in 2015, the cancer reared its ugly head again.

I liked Pat a lot and am saddened that I did not keep in touch with her more than I did. The communication I received today was a Holiday card Pat started to write, but didn't send. Her very kind sister in law sent the card to me containing Pat's handwriting.

I will be thinking of Pat a lot today. She was a kind spirit.

Although I had sleuthed out Pat's obit on line (as did Darryl), I had no idea her husband had preceded her so shortly. That makes me really sad that her last weeks were so full of grief. Earlier, I sent a small donation for books at a school near where she lived through www.donorschoose.org

Thank you for sharing the information.

>101 Whisper1: That is very sad, Linda, but now we do have confirmation of what we had suspected, especially since Darryl was quite certain the obituary he found was actually hers. How kind of her sister-in-law to communicate with you. Thank you for letting us all know.

>102 streamsong: What a wonderful idea to give a donation to a school near where she lived. I will do the same. Thanks for the link. I've been in and out of LT throughout the years of surgery, I'm sorry I missed that you and Darryl had sleuthed out Pat's orbit on line.

>103 laytonwoman3rd: I will respond to her sister-in-law. Perhaps others would like to share thoughts. If so, I can add those thoughts to mine.

I didn't cook anything this weekend, but I made two new recipes the Sunday before last, one of which was Cajun shrimp scampi with rice:



Here's the recipe:

Ingredients:

For the rice:

2 ½ cups chicken broth
1 cup long grain rice
½ cup onion, minced
¼ cup celery, minced
¼ cup green bell pepper, minced
1 garlic clove, minced
3 tbsp butter
¼ tsp paprika
¼ tsp cayenne pepper
½ tsp dried oregano
½ tsp dried basil
Salt & pepper to taste

For the shrimp:

1 lb large shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 tsp Cajun seasoning
1 tbsp olive oil
2 tsp garlic, minced
2 tbsp butter
¼ cup white wine
1 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
Lemon zest
Salt & pepper to taste
Finely chopped parsley

Directions:

1. In a pot over medium heat, add butter, onion, celery, bell pepper, and garlic. Saute the vegetables for about 5 minutes, and then add the seasonings. Stir in the rice and toss well to coat.

2. Once the grains are lightly golden, stir in the chicken broth. Cover and let simmer to cook for about 15-20 minutes. Once cooked and all the liquid has absorbed, fluff with a fork.

3. Rub the shrimp with Cajun seasoning, salt, and pepper. Heat olive oil in a pan on medium heat. Add shrimp and cook for 2-3 minutes, just until seared but not fully cooked. Remove from pan and set aside.

4. Add garlic to the pan, sauté for a minute, and then stir in the butter. Pour the white wine and lemon juice and allow to slightly thicken.

5. Turn off the heat and toss the shrimp and parsley in the sauce. Serve over the rice.
____________________________________________________________

I thought I would like this recipe, but I absolutely loved it. The rice is full of flavor on its own, but the spicy and citrusy shrimp make it irresistible. I had a 24 oz bag of frozen shrimp from Publix in my refrigerator, so I adjusted the recipe accordingly. My only minor critique of this otherwise outstanding recipe is that it calls for too much olive oil to cook the shrimp, which was obvious in the video that accompanies this recipe, so mine wasn't seared as well as it could have been. This dish was easy to make, and I'll be making this on a regular basis from now on.

Oh, that looks so good! I would eat the whole thing in one sitting, probably (well, maybe not 24oz of shrimp's worth). I'll be trying this out. I recently got a new electric skillet, and this dish would be a snap in that lovely pan. Thanks for the recipe!

>106 klobrien2: You're welcome, Karen! I have a bag of frozen mixed seafood (calamari, mussels, octopus, and shrimp) at home, and I may use it instead of shrimp to make more Cajun scampi.

I tried a new recipe yesterday, Asiago Chicken Pasta with Sun-Dried Tomatoes yesterday, and I was very pleased with how easy it was to make, and how it tasted:



Here's the recipe, from Julia's Album, which has other good looking pasta recipes:

Ingredients:
1/3 cup sun-dried tomatoes with oil (2 tablespoons)
1 lb chicken breast, sliced in half, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
salt
paprika
1 cup half and half
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup Asiago cheese, grated
8 oz penne pasta (use gluten free brown rice penne, for gluten free version)
2 cups fresh spinach

Directions:
1. Use sun-dried tomatoes in oil - if the sun-dried tomatoes are too big, chop them into smaller bites. Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil with sun-dried tomatoes and minced garlic on medium heat.

2. Heat sun-dried tomatoes (cut them) in 2 tablespoons of olive oil and chopped garlic on medium heat. Add chopped chicken breast to the sun-dried tomatoes and oil - generously season the chicken in the skillet with salt and paprika. Cook chicken until it's cooked through completely.

3. To the same skillet with chicken and sun-dried tomatoes, add 1 cup of half and half and 1/4 teaspoon salt - bring to boil. Add grated Asiago cheese and stir for about 30 seconds to melt the cheese. Reduce the heat from boil to simmer and continue stirring to make sure all cheese melts. At this point, if the sauce is too thick, add another 1/3 cup of half and half and stir. Taste the sauce - if 1/4 teaspoon salt was not enough, add more.

4. Cook pasta according to package instructions. Drain, rinse.

5. Add cooked and drained pasta to the sauce. Add spinach, mix everything - cover with the lid and let the pasta sit to allow spinach to wilt, on low simmer. After spinach has wilted, stir everything together to combine, taste and add more salt, if needed.
_______________________________________________________________

I sprinkled red pepper flakes onto my bowl of pasta, and used baby spinach that I bought yesterday. The recipe indicates that it takes 40 minutes to make, and it produces four servings, which is exactly right (it took me closer to 45-50 minutes, but it always takes me longer the first time I try a recipe). This tasted fabulous, thanks in large part to the Asiago cheese, and it's now become one of my favorite quick recipes, one that can be made after coming home from work. As I mentioned on my Facebook post, this recipe is, I think, very flexible. Vegetarians could leave out the chicken, or substitute artichoke hearts, olives, etc. Gluten free pasta could take the place of penne, as Julia mentioned in the recipe. And other ingredients could be substituted or added to it, including roasted peppers, as Katie suggested, roasted tomatoes, and sausage.

I'll shortly try another new recipe, Eggplant With Lamb, Tomato and Pine Nuts, and I'll post a photo and the recipe here and on my thread after it's done.

This is my first attempt at making Eggplant with Lamb, Tomato and Pine Nuts (sorry for the dark photo):



Here's the recipe:

Ingredients:
2 large firm eggplants, cut into 1/2-inch slices
4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons kosher salt, more as needed
1 medium yellow onion, finely diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 pound ground lamb or beef (80 percent lean)
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
Black pepper
½ tablespoon unsalted butter
½ cup pine nuts
1 (28-ounce) can tomato sauce, or 31/2 cups homemade sauce (see recipe)
12 ounces fresh mozzarella, sliced

Preparation:

Heat broiler and line a baking sheet with foil or parchment.

Brush both sides of eggplant slices with 2 tablespoons olive oil and sprinkle with 1 teaspoon salt. Arrange slices on prepared baking sheet and broil in batches until they are deep mahogany brown, turning once halfway through, 5 to 7 minutes per side.

Adjust the oven to 375 degrees with rack positioned in the center.

In a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of the remaining olive oil over medium heat. Add onion and sauté until translucent, but not browned, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add ground lamb or beef, stirring frequently and breaking up meat into very small pieces with the side of a metal spoon. Season with remaining teaspoon salt, cinnamon and pepper. Sauté until meat is just cooked through. Taste and add more salt or pepper, or both, as needed.

In a medium skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Add pine nuts and reduce heat to medium-low. Stir nuts to coat them with butter and continue stirring constantly until nuts are golden brown, 2 to 4 minutes. Keep a close watch over the nuts; they can burn quickly once they begin to brown. Transfer nuts to a bowl while still warm and salt them lightly.

Coat a 13-by-9-by-2-inch baking dish with remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Spread 1/2 cup of tomato sauce in the bottom of the dish. Lay 1/3 of the eggplant slices in a single layer over the sauce, covering as much surface area of the bottom of the dish as possible. Spoon half the meat evenly over eggplant. Pour 1/3 of the remaining tomato sauce evenly over meat. Sprinkle with 1/3 of the pine nuts. Layer again with eggplant, meat, tomato sauce and pine nuts. Finish with a layer of eggplant and cover with more tomato sauce, sprinkling top with pine nuts.

Pour 1 cup warm water around the perimeter of the baking dish. (Sauce will thicken as it bakes.) Cover pan with foil and bake for 90 minutes. Remove foil and top eggplant evenly with mozzarella. Bake for 15 minutes longer, uncovered, or until the cheese is bubbling and golden. Serve eggplant warm, over rice.
__________________________________________________________________

This recipe takes over three hours to make, but 1 hr 45 min of the time is spent baking it in the oven, unwatched. I was confused by the addition of the water, and I added it to the baking dish, and not around the perimeter of it! I didn't realize this until after I made it, after many people who made the recipe and commented on the NYT web site said that it was far too watery! Fortunately the water can be fairly easily removed, although the flavor of the dish is probably diluted slightly as a result. Despite that it tastes great, and makes eight full sized servings, especially if it's served over rice. I'll definitely make this again, especially now that I know where the water is supposed to go.

I forgot to post two other new recipes I tried recently, one of which I loved, West African chicken mafé (also known as groundnut stew):



Here's the recipe, from The Perfect Pantry:

Ingredients:

2-1/2 lb boneless, skinless chicken thighs, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
1-1/2 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
1 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp ground black pepper
3 tsp chopped garlic, divided
1/2 to 1 tsp ground cayenne pepper (use lesser amount for a bit less heat)
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 small yellow onion, finely diced
1 small red bell pepper, seeded and finely diced
1/2 green bell pepper, seeded and finely diced
1 small jalapeño pepper, seeds and ribs removed, finely diced
4 cups chicken broth, low-sodium store-bought or homemade
1/2 cup smooth peanut butter
1 Tbsp tomato paste
1/4 cup drained canned chopped tomato
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp peeled, grated fresh ginger root
1/2 cup coconut milk
1/4 cup chopped cilantro or parsley, for garnish

Directions:

Place the chicken pieces in a large mixing bowl, and add the salt, black pepper, 2 teaspoons of chopped garlic, and cayenne. Use your hands to mix everything together, making sure the spices are distributed all over the chicken.

Heat the oil in a large nonstick frying pan over medium high heat. Add the chicken, in batches if necessary to avoid overcrowding the pan, and brown on all sides, then transfer to a platter or bowl.

To the oil remaining in the pan, add the onion, bell peppers, the remaining garlic, and jalapeño. Sauté the vegetables for 4-5 minutes until soft.

Pour in the chicken broth and simmer for 20 minutes, uncovered. Reduce the heat to medium-low, and stir in the peanut butter, tomato paste, canned tomato, thyme, ginger and coconut milk, and simmer for two minutes, whisking to incorporate the ingredients. Return the browned chicken to the pan and cook uncovered over low heat 30-40 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the chicken is tender and the sauce thickens.

Garnish with chopped cilantro or parsley, and serve hot, over rice.
____________________________________________________________

This was a labor intensive recipe, as it involved lots of chopping of vegetables and chicken. However, the cthe chicken is very tender, the stew is full of flavor, and the recipe makes 6-8+ servings, as it uses 4 lb of meat. Highly recommended!

I love groundnut stew. Yours looks delicious!

>110 mstrust: Thanks, Jennifer! I was very pleased with it, and I plan to make it again this week.

So here's a quart of blackberry liqueur I made.



I sorta followed a recipe. I used:
1 & 1/2 c. fresh blackberries
2 c. sugar
3 c. vodka (I used half regular and half whipped cream flavored vodka)
You can add a cup of filtered water the lessen the potency.
Put in a tightly sealed glass jar and store in a cool, dark place for 10-12 days, or until the berries begin to lose their color. Strain berries out and return liqueur to glass bottle.

oooh, I hadn't considered using flavored vodka.

>112 mstrust: That looks great!

Big "oops!". I've edited the recipe to read 3 cups of vodka, as I used a cup and a half each of the vodkas.

>113 2wonderY: The flavored vodkas are great as, at least the ones I've tasted, really do taste of their "flavor". I'm sure there are purists who would never touch them, but I'm not one. Since you have such a big crop of blackberries to work with, you might try using some chocolate cake, raspberry, marshmallow or lemon vodka. And the whipped cream one that I used definitely softened the alcohol flavor.

>114 kidzdoc: Thanks!

I tried a new recipe for dinner today Creamy Corn Pasta with Basil which turned out better than expected.



Here's the recipe, courtesy of Melissa Clark and The New York Times:

INGREDIENTS

Fine sea salt
12 ounces dry orecchiette or farfalle (bow tie pasta)
1 tablespoon olive oil, plus more for drizzling
1 bunch scallions (about 8), trimmed and thinly sliced (keep the whites and greens separate)
2 large ears corn, shucked and kernels removed (2 cups kernels)
½ teaspoon ground black pepper, more for serving
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
½ cup grated Parmesan cheese, more to taste
⅓ cup torn basil or mint, more for garnish
¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes, or to taste
Fresh lemon juice, as needed

PREPARATION:

Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil. Cook pasta until 1 minute shy of al dente, according to the package directions. Drain, reserving 1/2 cup of pasta water.

Meanwhile, heat oil in large sauté pan over medium heat; add scallion whites and a pinch of salt and cook until soft, 3 minutes. Add 1/4 cup water and all but 1/4 cup corn; simmer until corn is heated through and almost tender, 3 to 5 minutes. Add 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper, transfer to a blender, and purée mixture until smooth, adding a little extra water if needed to get a thick but pourable texture.

Heat the same skillet over high heat. Add butter and let melt. Add reserved 1/4 cup corn and cook until tender, 1 to 2 minutes. (It’s O.K. if the butter browns; that deepens the flavor.) Add the corn purée and cook for 30 seconds to heat and combine the flavors.

Reduce heat to medium. Add pasta and half the reserved pasta cooking water, tossing to coat. Cook for 1 minute, then add a little more of the pasta cooking water if the mixture seems too thick. Stir in 1/4 cup of the scallion greens, the Parmesan, the herbs, the red pepper flakes, 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Sprinkle with fresh lemon juice to taste. Transfer to warm pasta bowls and garnish with more scallions, herbs, a drizzle of olive oil and black pepper.
__________________________________

I was very surprised at how spicy and tasty it was just after it finished cooking, as I was planning to add more red pepper flakes or black pepper to it, to give it an extra kick. Not only is that not necessary, but those with delicate palates may wish to exclude the red pepper flakes. I realized after I finished a serving of it that I had forgotten to add Parmesan cheese (I was distracted by cutting the tip of my thumb with a knife while chopping the basil), so I tried a small amount with it added. It gave it more complexity, but I'd say that it isn't necessary. This didn't take long to make, and I should get three or four servings from this recipe. Melissa Clark (the source of the eggplant, lamb, tomato & pine nuts recipe and several others) has now become my favorite source of recipes, surpassing Beth of Budget Bytes, and this is another winner from her.

>116 kidzdoc: Oh! That looks delicious!

>116 kidzdoc: I made this recipe a few weeks ago Darryl, and it was a hit. Even my-daughter-who-hates-corn liked it. Who would have thought you could make a cream sauce out of corn? I agree with you about Melissa Clark. Most of my saved NYT recipes are from her, and I look for her name when searching the NYT Cooking site for recipe ideas.

>117 amanda4242: It is, Amanda! I highly recommend it.

>118 lauralkeet: Ah...I remember that you had said that you liked it when I originally posted this recipe on Facebook several weeks ago. I certainly wouldn't have thought that you could make a sauce from puréed corn!

Melissa Clark's taste in food closely parallels with mine, and I love her recipes that I've made so far, including the eggplant, lamb, tomato & pine nuts dish that I made last week. I've been a daily subscriber to the NYT for years, and on Wednesdays the first thing I now do is go to the Food section to see if she has a recipe posted in it. As you probably saw, her recipe this week is Burrata with Romano Beans and Roasted Eggplant, which looks delightful. I'll go to Whole Foods this weekend to buy burrata and Romano beans, and I'll probably give this a try on Sunday or Monday.

>119 kidzdoc: I meant to post >116 kidzdoc: on your personal thread Darryl, so I deleted and moved it. But since you read and replied, I've put it back so it doesn't look weird!

I just made Zucchini Fritters, using the recipe that Claire (@Sakerfalcon) gave me last year:



Here's the recipe:

Ingredients:

4 1/2 cups shredded zucchini (from about 4 medium)
Salt
3/4 cup self-rising flour
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup thinly sliced scallions, light and dark green parts only (about 4 scallions)
1/4 cup vegetable oil

Preparation:

1. Place a rimmed baking sheet in oven; preheat to 200°F. Place zucchini in a sieve over a bowl and sprinkle with 1/2 tsp. salt. Let stand 10 minutes. Using a clean kitchen towel, squeeze out as much liquid as possible from zucchini. Discard liquid from bowl and wipe out with a paper towel. Add flour and eggs to bowl. Whisk until combined. Gently but thoroughly stir in zucchini and scallions.

2. Warm oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Working in batches, add heaping 1-Tbsp. mounds of batter to skillet, spacing fritters so they don't touch. Cook until golden brown and crisp, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Sprinkle with salt and remove to baking sheet in oven.

3. Repeat with remaining batter, adding more oil to skillet if necessary between batches. Serve.
_______________________________________

I put a line through the first sentence of the instructions, as Claire said that this step wasn't necessary; I agree with her. My fritters were nearly twice as large than the size indicated in the recipe, so I only had 15 fritters instead of the 22 that is supposed to result (I had closer to 5 cups of shredded zucchini than 4-1/2 cups). I cooked mine in two batches, and my only suggestion would be to up 1 tbsp of vegetable oil for each batch, as the first batch of fritters absorbed most of the oil. The fritters have a richer taste than I expected, and they taste great. I'll definitely make this on a regular basis from now on!

#121
It seems that there is no limit to recipes for zucchini fritters and similar dishes! Have a look at this (the Brits call them courgettes):

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/wordofmouth/2016/aug/25/how-to-cook-per...

>122 dajashby: Thanks, Derrick! Who knew there were so many ways to make zucchini (courgette) fritters? I may try the "perfect courgette fritters" tomorrow, and compare it with the recipe that Claire gave me.

>121 kidzdoc: The fritters look really good. I use a recipe I got from Gourmet magazine years ago, that includes feta cheese. I'm glad to see that they can be made without it too.

I'm gingerly joining this thread because I'm on the hunt for low-fat recipes. Five month ago I started a quest to have a healthier body. With the help of a friend who's a trainer, and another dear friend who has been known to cook some fantastic meals, I've been learning to cook, and cook healthily.

Previous to this, I wasn't much of a cook at all. I didn't cotton to the idea of chopping, weighing, measuring, etc. It seemed like too much work. But I've lost 40 pounds and find that I quite enjoy the outcome of my cooking. I even cooked for a very picky Italian who loved my food.

Mostly, I cook a lot of chicken (sauteed) and roasted (Fresh) vegetables. And a LOT of fresh fruit. I also make delicious peanut butter energy bars (this is where I get most of my fat for the day).

Now I want to be a little more adventurous. I hit a plateau this month, and that tells me it's time to shake things up a bit. Since we're moving into fall/winter in California now, it's an opportunity to try ingredients I might have dismissed before.

I'd love to have your recommendations (I've already put the Indian Slow Cooker mentioned above on my Amazon wish list). I'm open to just about anything.

Because, yes, apparently , I'm now a person who doesn't mind spending almost two days chopping, cooking, and prepping for the week ahead. I really enjoy knowing I can reach into the refrigerator and get something knowing it's healthy and the right portion size.

Go me. :-)

>125 AuntieClio: I love hearing your success story....a perfect example of how a little concentrated effort really can pay off.

With cooler weather coming, soup is one of my favorite meals. I try to have two or three varieties of homemade soup in the freezer, in pint or quart containers, all winter. It's so easy, so versatile, and sometimes the best concoctions come from cleaning out the vegetable drawer. But here's one I'm not sure I've shared here before:

Beef vegetable soup with eggplant

1 pound ground beef (or ground lamb)
1 chopped onion
3 small cans low sodium beef broth
1 small can tomatoes
1 cup water
1 medium eggplant, peeled and cubed (Remove seeds if desired)
1 carrot, diced
3 cloves garlic, crushed and minced
1 stalk celery, diced
1 turnip, peeled and finely diced
2 teaspoons sugar
1-1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 bay leaf
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
1/2 cup elbow macaroni or ditalini

Brown meat and onion in a large pot. Drain off fat. Add all ingredients except macaroni. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes. Add macaroni and cook uncovered until tender.

I find very little difference in taste between ground beef and ground lamb in this recipe; the price of lamb being what it is here, I almost always use beef.

Oh, good on you! The manufacturers of frozen meals and "cook in" sauces unsurprisingly promote the idea that cooking is too difficult, but really it isn't. Once you start to enjoy cooking you never look back. It's time well spent so relax and enjoy!

I suggest you don't obsess about "low fat" cooking - everything in moderation is the way to go. Personally I think that it's too much sugar that causes weight gain (too much fresh fruit gives you the runs as well as a lot of fructose). Whatever, the way to go is to utilise herbs and spices to make your food interesting, as you do with curries.

It's a little difficult for me to suggest specific cookbooks because I'm Australian and you'll be wanting US editions. However, you can't really go wrong with Nigel Slater, Jamie Oliver or Nigella Lawson who I know are published in the US. I do know that Ina Garten - "The Barefoot Contessa" - is very well regarded by Americans for her uncomplicated and delicious recipes.

Bon appetit!

>127 dajashby: Thank you! I track everything I eat so I know what's going in. There's a master spreadsheet of every ingredient I've ever used since I started this. It's been interesting going from "easy" (chicken already chopped and marinated at the store) to "oh hell I'll just make it myself." I've learned how to make spinach pesto and have tried hummus once (and I'll make it again because I want to get it right.)

Noticing that I don't mind standing in my less than postage stamp sized kitchen and slicing is a new adventure for me.

Your recipe will go in the file for me to make soon. I'll use ground turkey instead of beef though.

ETA:
>126 laytonwoman3rd:, thank you for the recipe. I'll be making it sometime this "winter" I'm sure. Instead of beef, I'll use ground turkey.

Hi Stephanie: You are really an inspiration!

Here are some of my favorite websites for healthy recipes:

www.SparkPeople.com This one gives the NI for recipes plus has a calculator for your own recipes. It has lots of other tracking stuff you can do, and I think it's all free.

www.HungryGirl.com

One of my favorite quick lunch or breakfast recipes is modified from one of her breakfast in a mug recipes:

Spray a cereal bowl with nonstick spray. Add one cup fresh spinach and 1/2 c mushrooms. Microwave on high one minute. Add 1 egg or 2 egg whites and mix together with veggies. Cut up one wedge of Laughing Cow cheese over the top (could also use a small amount of feta or other cheese instead). Microwave 1 - 1 1/2 minutes until eggs are set.

If you substitute a juicier vegetable (fresh cherry tomato halves with the spinach is yummy!), give a quick blot with a paper towel to the veggies after the first microwave or the eggs will not set up as well.

I recently purchased Hungry Girl Clean & Hungry: Easy All-Natural Recipes for Healthy Eating and like it a lot. The portion sizes are huge due to the amount of vegetables in the recipes. My only gripe is that most of the recipes make only one or two servings.

www.budgetbytes.com The emphasis is on inexpensive and not all her recipes will fit the low fat diet, but I really like the fact that her ingredients are usually things I have in my pantry. I made this pumpkin soup last night:

http://www.budgetbytes.com/2013/08/chicken-pumpkin-soup/

>129 streamsong: That chicken and pumpkin soup looks tasty. I just pinned the recipe. It's too hot here in Tennessee for soup yet, but soon it will be soup season.

I'm not much of a cook* - but I do bake. And very much yes on the "it's easier to do it myself than go buy a mix"! Cake/cookie/brownie/muffin mix really doesn't make sense to me - it's actually quicker to make most of my favorites from scratch, and they taste better as well. And are better for me, if only by lacking preservatives. Premade stuff is quicker, admittedly - but more expensive, less tasty, and less good for me. Only OK in an emergency.

*I cook, because I'm the only one living here and I need to eat something. But 90% of my meals are very simple and made by throwing together stuff - but stuff I made (brown rice keeps well in the fridge. Homemade pesto is easy, tasty, and keeps well in the freezer, with one small jar in the fridge for use - I make 5-6 jars at a time, about every 3 months. Etc). I admire the recipes here, and note some of them down - but I don't think I've actually made any yet. Oh, no, I did make carrot soup once, from a recipe I got on LT.

Ok, I've made this roast pumpkin soup twice now and both times have really enjoyed it. I usually make a pumpkin soup from one of the Moosewood books but this one is much easier & tastier, I didn't bother with the garnish. I found it by googling 'pumpkin soup masterchef', the recipe is from Australian judge Matt Preston, who comes across as a bit of a dandy, but with impeccable taste.
Recipe link follows -
http://www.taste.com.au/recipes/33549/australian+roast+pumpkin+soup

2kg kent pumpkin, cut into wedges and deseeded - I just used a pumpkin
2 brown onions, peeled and chopped into 6 wedges
3 granny smith apples, peeled, cored and roughly chopped
5 garlic cloves in their skin
100ml extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon cinnamon powder
Salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 nutmeg
2 litres Chicken stock
Oil

Add pumpkin, onions, apple and garlic to a large baking tray. Toss the veg in the olive oil. Sprinkle over the cinnamon, salt and pepper and grate over nutmeg. Toss again.

Bake your vegetables in the oven at 180C (350F) for 30-40 minutes until cooked and nicely softened. Remove your baking tray from the oven and leave the veg to cool a little.
When they are still hot but safe to handle, take the skin off the pumpkin and squeeze garlic from its papery skin. Transfer all baked ingredients to a large pot – garlic, pumpkin, onions and apples. Add your stock and bring to the boil. Reduce heat to a mild simmer and allow the soup to reduce for a further 15 minutes. Turn off the heat and blitz until smooth. Season to taste.
If you want a silky smooth soup, pass it through a fine sieve using a wooden spoon but to be honest, I usually cannot be bothered.

Garnish:
250g creme fraiche, sour cream or cream
1 granny smith apple, sliced into fine batons
50g roughly chopped hazelnuts
30 sage leaves
Heat oil over high heat until hot. Flash fry the fresh sage leaves for 30 seconds. Carefully drain on paper towels. Set aside.

To serve, dollop a generous amount of creme fraiche on soup followed by apple batons, sage and hazelnuts so you have a little pile in the middle of the soup.

Oh, and don't forget to season with a little flake salt and a grind of black pepper.

A kent pumpkin is a green mottled looking thing, also known as a Jap pumpkin, I just used ordinary everyday pumpkin.

Just wanted to let everyone know that the Halloween thread is up. Instead of selecting specific titles this year, I've selected ten categories to choose from and have posted examples of books that could fit in them. The categories are broad and books may easily fit into multiple categories. As always, feel free to share with us what you are reading and to make suggestions for others.

I was sick all of last week with a bad gastrointestinal infection that left me unable to eat anything more than clear liquids for five days. The first solid meal I was able to handle was freshly made matzo balls in chicken broth, which my mother made for my brother and I when we were sick as kids and couldn't eat anything. It hit the spot, and after I mentioned it on my 75 Books thread Jim (@drneutron) told me about a recipe for a Mexican inspired version of matzo ball soup, based on a story on National Public Radio that he heard that week. I liked the way it looked and gave it a try last weekend.

  

Here's the original recipe for Matzo Balls with Mushrooms and Jalapeños in Broth (Bolas de Matza con hongos y chiles):

Ingredients:

1 cup matzo ball mix (or two 2-ounce packages)
2 tablespoons finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
Kosher or sea salt
4 large eggs
8 tablespoons canola or safflower oil
2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
2 tablespoons sparkling water
1/2 cup finely chopped white onion
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
2 jalapeño chiles, finely chopped (seeded if desired) or to taste
8 ounces white and/or baby bella (cremini) mushrooms, trimmed, cleaned and thin­ly sliced
8 cups chicken broth, homemade or store-bought

Directions:

In a large bowl, combine the matzo ball mix, parsley, nutmeg, and 3/4 teaspoon salt. In another small bowl, lightly beat the eggs with 6 tablespoons of the canola oil and the sesame oil. Fold the beaten eggs into the matzo ball mixture with a rubber spatula. Add the sparkling water and mix until well combined. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic and chiles and cook, stirring, for 4 to 5 minutes, until they have softened a bit. Stir in the mushrooms and 3/4 teaspoon salt, cover, and steam the mushrooms for 6 to 8 minutes. Remove the lid and cook uncovered until the liquid in the pot evaporates. Add the chicken broth and bring to a simmer. Taste and adjust the seasonings.

Meanwhile, when ready to cook the matzo balls, bring about 3 quarts salted water to a rolling boil in a large pot over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium and keep at a steady simmer. With wet hands, shape the matzo ball mix into 1- to 1 1/2-inch balls and gently drop them into the water. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer for 25 to 30 minutes, until the matzo balls are completely cooked and have puffed up. Remove with a slotted spoon and transfer to the soup. Serve.
____________________________________

I prefer to have chunks of chicken in my matzo ball soup, so I bought two pounds of chicken thighs, removed the bone and most of the fat, chopped it into small pieces, added it to the broth and let it simmer for 25 minutes while the matzo balls were cooking. I used cremini mushrooms; I left out the sparkling water, as I forgot to buy some when I went to the supermarket that afternoon; I used ground nutmeg, as I didn't see any whole nutmeg in the supermarket, and half of a Vidalia sweet onion instead of a white onion; and I cooked the matzo balls, using Manischewitz matzo ball mix, for 25 minutes (the small box I had contained two 2 oz packets, which was perfect for this recipe). The photos didn't turn out great, but the soup tastes fabulous, The recipe, especially with the added chicken pieces, should provide eight servings, and from what I read online matzo ball soup can be frozen for two or three months, so I'll add this to my rotation of favorite soups and stews.

I saw an interesting recipe for Greek chicken stew from The New York Times on my Facebook timeline this week, and I made it for the first time yesterday:



Greek Chicken Stew With Cauliflower and Olives

INGREDIENTS:
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 large red onion, chopped
2 to 4 garlic cloves (to taste), minced
6 to 8 chicken legs and/or thighs, skinned
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 28-ounce can chopped tomatoes, with juice, pulsed in a food processor
½ teaspoon cinnamon
Salt and freshly ground pepper
½ teaspoon dried thyme, or 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
1 small or 1/2 large cauliflower, cored, broken into florets, and sliced about 1/2 inch thick
12 kalamata olives (about 45 grams), rinsed, pitted and cut in half (optional)
1 to 2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley
1 to 2 ounces feta cheese, crumbled (optional)

PREPARATION:
Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil over medium-high heat in a large, deep, heavy lidded skillet or casserole and brown the chicken, in batches if necessary, about 5 minutes on each side. Remove the pieces to a plate or bowl as they’re browned. Pour off the fat from the pan. Add the vinegar to the pan and scrape up all the bits from the bottom of the pan.

Add the remaining tablespoon of the olive oil to the pan, and turn the heat down to medium. Add the onion and a generous pinch of salt and cook, stirring often and scraping the bottom of the pan, until it begins to soften, about 5 minutes. Turn the heat to low, cover and let the onion cook for 10 minutes, stirring from time to time, until it is lightly browned and very soft.

Add the garlic and stir together for a minute or two more, until the garlic is fragrant, then add the tomatoes and their juice, the cinnamon, thyme, and salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a simmer and simmer 10 minutes, stirring from time to time, until the mixture is reduced slightly and fragrant.

Return the chicken pieces to the pot, along with any juices that have accumulated in the bowl. If necessary, add enough water to barely cover the chicken. Bring to a simmer, reduce the heat, cover and simmer 20 minutes.

Add the cauliflower and kalamata olives and simmer for another 20 minutes, or until the cauliflower is tender and the chicken is just about falling off the bone. Stir in the parsley, taste and adjust seasonings. Serve with grains, with the feta sprinkled on top if desired.
_____________________________________

I bought two packages of boneless, skinless chicken thighs from Publix, which had a total of 11 thighs, so I added a 14 oz can of diced tomatoes to the stew. I read the comments section for this recipe before I made it, and decided to roast the cauliflower, using this basic recipe from The New York Times. I didn't add feta cheese to my stew; otherwise I followed the recipe as written. I loved the richness and complexity of this stew, and with the added chicken I should get 6-8 servings out of it. I enjoyed this stew as much as I thought I would, and I'll also add this to my rotation of favorite soups and stews.

>134 kidzdoc: I made it last weekend too and can vouch for the recipe. It was delish!

Hmmm...looks a bit dusty in here.

I spent about seven hours cooking today, but at the end of it I had a perfectly done prime rib, creamy mashed potatoes, lump-free gravy, crisp green beans, roasted carrots, and a glorious chocolate chess pie (with made-from-scratch crust).

>137 amanda4242: That all sounds wonderful. I did a slightly simpler version, with standing rib roast, roasted red potatoes, broccoli casserole and apple pie. (And cookies, cookies, cookies).

Earlier in the weekend I made Darryl's chicken mafé for the son since he came home from Notre Dame. Then for Christmas Day, our traditional chicken and andouille gumbo!

This year, as for the last several, I did the pies for the family gathering (and Mom cooked the dinner - rib roast, yum). Blueberry, mincemeat, and pumpkin - all on scratch crusts (Cook's Illustrated Fool-Proof Pie Crust, with vodka). The mincemeat is a package of dried stuff that I reconstitute in water, and add an apple to. The blueberry is also a Cook's Illustrated recipe, with half the blueberries cooked down to make a good solid gel (and fine-ground tapioca added along with the uncooked blueberries) - I cook down normal blueberries, and use a pound of wild boreal blueberries (tiny little things, large BB size) for the uncooked. And the pumpkin is from my own puree - I buy pie pumpkins around Halloween, roast and puree them and freeze the puree, then mix it up into filling - it's not hard, and tastes good. Not wonderful - I'm still figuring out the spices, the Libby's standard doesn't work with the fresh ones - but good. Every year a little bit better.

I also made split pea soup for Christmas Eve - a combo of two recipes, minus the meat. The flavor was fantastic, though it needed some thinning - I cooked it in a slow cooker, pureed it, and poured it into a half-gallon mason jar for transport. It sat in the fridge overnight, then went to my parents' house; Mom opened the jar, turned it upside down over the Pyrex cup she meant to warm it in...and nothing happened. Absolutely nothing, the soup just sat there. She had to stab it with a spatula to loosen it up enough to get it out of the jar. We added milk while it was warming, and it came out lovely. I did write down what I used, that's a recipe I'll make again.

And I made a poppyseed braid, of which more than half got eaten (which is impressive - it covered about 2/3rds of a half-sheet pan!). The poppyseed filling is a recipe my grandmother used, but the bread was new - much richer than the usual, and much tastier with the poppyseeds. But it's a very soft dough, and between rolling the poppyseeds up in it, moving it to the baking sheet, and then braiding it, it got a bit stretched - then rose, and baked, huge! I'll have to fool with that a bit. Maybe two braids next year, and bake them in loaf pans?

And for New Years Day, we'll have bubalki - poppyseed sauce (sweet) poured over bread balls (the same, rich bread. We'll see if it works well). The balls, largish marble-sized, are baked in advance and allowed to stale, then dunked in boiling water to produce a weirdly chewy texture, that picks up the poppyseed sauce beautifully. I still need to bake the balls - better get to that soon or they won't be stale enough in time.

>140 jjmcgaffey: I love that pie crust recipe!