Indian Dishes: Aroma Therapy For Your Home, Diversity For Your Palete, And, (It's The Holidays) A Treat For Your Friends!

Here is an audiofile, a talk I gave on Simplifying Indian Cuisine Simplyfing Indian Cuisine

Many people, I'm talking mainly American's, enjoy diversity in their food and have enjoyed the culinary experience of Indian dishes whenever they've had them. Many fewer of those people, though, have tried to make Indian dishes. If they haven't looked at recipes they imagine the requirement of all kinds of odd ingredients and spices they'd have to go hunting for and cooking requirements they could only accomplish by holding the instructions in one hand while attempting an exotic flip of a spatula or some such food transporting methiod done in hot oil. STOP THINKING THAT WAY!

Simplifying Indian dishes or finding interesting Indian recipes already simplified is a very pleasurable pastime for me. I enjoy trying to make and enjoy the taste of the cuisine. So much more interesting and multidimensional than the basic American Fried Chicken/Mashed Potato Food that I grew up with. And, I have a husband who's had in his mind he doesn't care for Indian spices, but who surprises himself and me with his enjoyment of the dishes I make. He goes back for more.

A very basic larder ready for trying Indian cuisine should have several things:
Basmati Rice
Onions
Ginger - fresh chunks kept in the freezer or ready-to-use chopped or crushed in a jar
Garlic, fresh or ready-to-use chopped in a jar
Cilantro

Tomatoes, canned diced, tomato paste, or even  fresh
Garam Masala
Turmeric
Coriander seed
Cumin powder and whole cumin seeds

Lemon juice
Plain Yogurt

If you grew up in meat and potatoes America, like me, many of your friends probably did too and will be intrigued at your offerings.

I spent a 4th of July once (we were alone) making a Tikka Masala that was more complex than the one I offer here. I even concocted a Tandoori Marinade, marinated the chicken pieces over night and then used that chicken in a Tikka Masala sauace.

This is arecipe for Tikka Masala that I discovered in Real Simple online. It only uses one Indian Spice (actually a spice mixture) available at super markets*) You dump the ingredients in a crockpot, how simple is that! Then you dump three ingredients in a bowl that marinates while the crockpot is doing it's thing, easy relish to extend add more gastronomic pleasure to the chicken dish. Sometime before eating, you cook up some rice and VIOLA! New and intriguing aromas in your home and a delicious dinner (or gift).

My 'Indian larder' is well stocked, all I need is the heavy cream and some fresh cilantro.
Come on you reluctant cooks, you can get everything needed at your supermarket, dig out your crockpot and read on. Go for it, it will be such a treat.

And, it's the holiday season. Don't know what to do for a special neighbor or friend? Make a couple of Indian dishes, such as below. Pick up a package of Naan Bread at the local market. (Available at most supermarkets. Trader Joe's in the Seattle area has fresh and a delicious frozen Garlic Naan. Be festive, yet spend less, buy an interesting dish at Goodwill to deliver. Desire to spend more, buy a more expensive dish to include as part of your unusual gift.

(I was actually reading Real Simple magazine and found a Tikka Masala recipe, went online to look for a link to it to save, didn't find it but found an even simpler one for the crockipot. And I am definately trying it for dinner tonight, with the cucumber/cilantro relish)

* My favortie Garam Masala mixture I get from Puget Sound Consumer Coop Markets in the Seattle.

http://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/browse-all-recipes/chicken-tikka-masala-recipe

Chicken Tikka Masala with Cucumber Cilantro relish
Serves 4
 preparation 10 minutes  cooking 490 minutes

Ingredients
Tikka Masala
1 15-ounce can crushed tomatoes
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 teaspoons garam masala (Indian spice blend)
Kosher salt and black pepper
1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs (about 8)
1 cup rice, ideally Basmati, but other long-grain white rice will work
1/2 cup heavy cream

Cucumber Cilantro Relish
1/2 English cucumber, halved and thinly sliced
1/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/4 teas. each salt and pepper

Directions
1. In a 4- to 6-quart slow cooker, combine the tomatoes, onion, garlic, tomato paste, garam masala, ¾ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Place the chicken on top of the vegetables, cover, and cook until the chicken is tender, on low for 7 to 8 hours or on high for 3 to 4 hours (this will shorten total recipe time). When chicken is done, shred it and stir into the sauce.

2. In a small bowl, toss the cucumber and cilantro with the lemon juice and ¼ teaspoon each salt and pepper. Cover and refrigerate for up to 8 hours.

3. Twenty minutes before serving, cook the rice according to the package directions.

4. Just before serving, stir the cream into the chicken tikka masala. Serve over the rice with the cucumber relish.

(Note from my first time cooking it: it is even better the next day (as are a lot of Indian dishes, the spices have time to blend. Put crockpot on high for an hour more or on low for a couple more.)

www.realsimple.com
Charlyne Mattox
December 2011

Amazing Soup from Left Overs - Just Add Some Crusty Bread for Dipping!

It's a cold day and I was in the mood for a comfort food, stick to your ribs soup. I somehow bought a 32 oz box of vegetable broth (generally only use chicken or beef broth) and was inspired to use it. A bowl of left over Indian spiced fresh green beans looked interesting in it's thick sauce of tomatoes/onions/garam masala/turmeric. I chopped the beans into 1/2 inch chunks and just used the sauce clinging to them. A couple of nice yams sat in the vegetable basket. Then there was two packages of a sausage/onion/hash brown mixture in the freezer.

Ingredients:
1 cup Indian green beans chopped into 1/2' piece
1/2 sweet onion chopped
2 large stalks celery chopped
1/2 large yam chopped into 1/2 chunks
2 teapoons thyme
 1 1/2 cup sausage/hash brown/onion mixture
1 32 oz. box Vegetable Broth
2 teaspoons Johnny's Seasoning or salt (or to taste)

My great left over Indian Style Green Beans seemed like a great base for a unique soup.  (2 lb. fresh green beans, 1 14 oz. can petite diced tomatoes drained, 1 chopped and sauteed sweet onion, 3 cloves garlic crushed, 1 teaspoon garam masala (more to taste), 1 teas. turmeric, salt to taste.)

I took out two packages of my sausage, onion, hash brown mixture and defrosted.

I chopped a sweet onion, some celery, garlic and the yam chunks. Sauteed them in olive oil with thyme.

Into my smaller crock pot with the vegetable broth went the green beans, sauteed onion/celery/garlic/yam mixture, the sausage mixture and seasoning salt.

Hey, I used left overs, things from the freezer and fresh vegetables...and it's delicious. I'm out to buy some crusty bread to dip into it. My Husband might even eat it if it comes with crusty bread for dipping.

Since I chopped up double the amount of the onion/celery/garlic/yam mixture have a bunch of ready that I'm freezing for future use in another interesting soup.

French Onion Soup For Two In An Electric Frying Pan

French Onion Soup For Two In An Electric Frying Pan

My husband has been wanting broth-based soups lately. He’s always had a love of French Onion Soup so I picked up a hunk of Gruyere cheese. (I told the deli guy I wanted about a two inch hunk. He said he had a precut one that is about 3 inches and he’d give it to me for the 2” price. I said that wasn’t necessary because of his thoughtfulness I’d be happy to pay the 3” price. He charged the 2” price and I’ll go back as they were nice.) 

It was a Friday night after a long day and a trip out in rush hour traffic for an errand. I thought maybe trying the French Onion Soup for the first time might be too much. I glanced over the recipe I had been cobbling together from several recipes I’d been looking at. Pretty easy, I thought. So into the frying pan went ¼ cup butter and 1 Tablespoon cooking oil (I was out of olive oil). While heating it, I cut a large sweet onion in half then from the flat edges made thin slices so the onion fell apart into strips. I added the onion to the melted butter/oil now heated. Just until translucent, the recipe instructed, not browned. As it translucented itself. I took out my thyme (an herb I’m using more lately) a 32 oz. box of lower sodium beef broth. I added the herb to my onions first to bring out its fragrance (salute to Indian cuisine for teaching me that). Then, I added the broth and set it to simmer for 30 minutes.

While simmering I grated my Gruyere and mad ¼ inch slices of the mini baguette that I picked up at Whole Foods last night. I moved the oven rack up for broiling. After the simmering was done I ladled the soup into the thick white soup bowls I’d bought for pot pies, a perfect venue. I laid three slices of baguette on top of the broth and heaped grated Gruyere on top of that. Under the broiler, and I watched until the cheese started to brown. Voila! French Onion Soup. We loved it. 

French Onion Soup

Ingredients

4 Tablespoons Butter

1 Tablespoon olive oil (I used cooking oil)

1 large sweet onion, cut into strips

1 teaspoon dried thyme

Salt to taste

Pepper If you like

1 32 oz. box or or close to equivalent of beef broth ( I used lower sodium and added salt to taste)

Grated Gruyere

1/4' slices of small baguette bread or slices of a larger baguette cut into chunks

Instructions

Heat the butter and oil on med low while slicing the onion. Slice the onion in half and then make thin slices starting from the flat sides of the halves so the onion falls into strips. Add the onion to the butter/oil. Cook the onion until translucent not browned. 

Add the thyme and stir into onions to bring out it's fragrance. Add the broth and bring to a simmer. Taste for salt, add more if desired. Simmer for 30 minutes. 

Top the hot onions and broth with the baguette slices and heap grated Gruyere on top.

Place under the broiler until the cheese startes to brown. 

Bag The Al Dente - Easy Trick for Pasta Salad

We love pasta salad but I hate to boil pasta salad. I've tried every microwave pasta cooker, too mushy, can't do it in a crockpot. I don't like dragging out the big pot waiting for the water to boil, how come the box says boil three minutes or some such and it takes ten and Al DENTE!! how do you know? Maybe it's just a quirk, but hey, I hate cooking pasta.

While perusing my a favorite haunt, the Puget Sound Consumer Coop Deli I was enjoying the varying array of salad with unusual ingredients, beets, quinoa, garbanzos, kale and tofu (not for me), sesame and other interesting vinegars, smoked Gouda and other cheeses. I've asked for the recipes (which they give) for numerous salads, several of which I continue to make - Turkish Garbanzo, and Protein Salad are two favorites.

This day another unusual ingredient caught my attention, Israeli Couscous. It's a round pasta the size of giant tapioca. Considering my dislike of boiling pasta, It occurred that I might be able to get away with cooking this unusual ingredient in my rice cooker, at least I was going to give it a try. If it worked I wouldn't have to wait for boiling water, watch it, drain it, etc.

And...it worked! 1 cup Couscous with 1 1/4 cup water, on with the rice cooker and perfectly done.
Now to try it as a pasta salad. I added 4 chopped scallions, 2 small sweet pickles, a couple tablespoons of chopped pecans, a small handful of dried cranberries, 3 chopped boiled eggs, a stalk of celery chopped, Best Foods Mayonnaise, cider vinegar and salt. I added extra cider vinegar as we like the tanginess and it works it's way into the ingredients to mellow out.

There is a slight taste to the Couscous you can detect if you eat it before it sits for a while. Later in the day and then the next morning this pasta salad was amazing. It may now be my go-to pasta for salad. No  more grumbling about boiling water and al dente etc.

More On A Whole Chicken in a Crockpot

Foster Farms Whole chickens were on sale for under a dollar a pound. My new habit is to buy one whenever I see them on sale and cook it in my crockpot. (see earlier post)

Wash, season and cook it breast down on low for 6 hours. I just did one and have to say we've enjoyed it in several ways.

• I had a dinner of a leg thigh section when it was done. 
• For next morning's breakfast I made white bread and mayonnaise (Best Foods) sandwiches. 
• I then made a chicken salad with scallions, dill pickles, sweet pickles, pineapple (I didn't have my favorite dried cranberries and like a bit of sweetness in chicken salad), walnuts and celery. 
• I took the meaty bones and a 32oz box of chicken broth and cooked overnight on low in the crockpot. Deboning the next morning I added the meat, and 2 cups water. In my electric frying pan I fried until softening: 1 chopped onion, chopped carrots, chopped celery, 1 Russet potato, chopped, a teaspoon of chopped garlic and 2 big pinches of Thyme. I added the vegetables to the broth and added a  handful of pearled barley. Simmering on high for about an hour it was soooooo tasty.

Thoughts On Rice

When and where I was raised, in the 1950's American West, rice was rice. I only remember having it dessert-like, warm with milk, sugar and raisins (which I picked out). I've wondered why the cooks in my family never considered using rice in casseroles or in other savory ways. 

My first foray into thinking of rice diversity was the Basmati rice in Indian food (I can taste the difference now from plain white rice). The second was the Arborio, an ingredient in a now favorite, Rice and Smothered Cabbage Soup, and suggested for the one risotto I ever made. A niece, who cooks a lot of rice, said that medium grain white rice can substitute for Arborio. I made .th soup once with medium grain white rice and it wasn't much different from using the Arborio. On hand, I currently have medium grain white rice, Arbor rice and Basmati rice. I'm going to make my cabbage rice soup today (delighted to find that Fred Meyer carries the required Savoy Cabbage).

Here is a post that offers a short tutorial on rice and its varied types for the rice-interested.
Rice Tutorial

I just subscribed to the site, www.Culinate.com. It looks like it has interesting food-related content and I'm going to look it over.

Fried Chicken And Mashed Potatoes

Ok, if you are from the Western United States reading this, admit it, you were nurtured from a very young age to love fried chicken and mashed potatoes. Sometime you just have to have some. But in these healthy cooking times you may not do much frying  Instead you're more likely to get your fix by surreptitiously snacking on a chicken thigh from behind the deli glass, and you buy those 14 oz, tubs of ready to eat mashed potatoes.

I haven't fried chicken in a while, mostly once or twice a summer and I do it outside with the electric frying pan seated securely on a towel on top of the dock box. Yes, the aroma of tantalizing fried chicken draws sniffs and comments from dock neighbors whose brains are momentarily stimulated back to the simplicity of grade school life and anticipation of noisy and lively family dinners. The kind where you put the black olives from the 'hors d oeuvre' plate on each finger.

Husband had an idea for a yummy side dish and fried chicken seemed the perfect accompaniment. We like dark meat so some Foster Farm legs looked good to me. I brined them for several hours in salted water. Then I dipped them in egg wash, flour/garlic powder, buttermilk and the flour mixture again. then let them set for 1/2 hour.

Fried in hot oil they came out crunchy and delicious. Husband had suggested fresh lemon to squeeze on them, a great idea.

His side dish brought the requisite mashed potatoes up a bit in sophistication.

Parmesan Asparagus and Potatoes

What's cool about it is you can easily keep the required ingredients on hand for a quick fix for two really hungry people or four normal ones. It works well in a 9 1/2 by 7 1/2 pan with sides

Ingredients:
1 14 oz. tub of ready-to-eat mashed potatoes
1  15 oz. can of extra long asparagus (in those tall skinny cans)
Butter
Grated Parmesan Cheese, not the fresh, use the dried that's used on spaghetti.

Directions:
Smoosh the potatoes into the pan until the bottom is covered. Layer drained asparagus spears on top of the potatoes and dot the top with pieces of butter. Microwave them until heated through.

Shake a thick layer of Parmesan over the asparagus with a few more dots of butter and put it under the broiler until the cheese starts to lightly brown.

I know you're saying, "But all that butter" You know you love it and you don't eat like that all the time, go for it.

Our Trip To Uwajimaya

Husband and I are munching on Gyoza (pot stickers). We wandered Uwajimaya, his favorite culinary hangout. They regularly carry high quality, unusual meats. It's where he's always gotten ox tails for his unparalleled Ox Tail Goulash. I checked out beef tongue as I haven't made the old family favorite, pickled tongue, in a long time. My mom and grandma would have gasped at the price and they weren't cheap, especially when it came to good food - $21.00! Well, I'm with you mom and grandma, darn. And, looking for a 'sale' on beef tongue might be a bit of a challenge, possibly even iffy. 

Anyway, passing on the tongue, I headed for the "deli" and bought a yummy shrimp croquette (basically a deep fried breaded shrimp patty). Yum City! I shared some bites with Husband and wished they had them frozen. Husband was gathering items for something he had in mind to make. Shitake mushrooms, fresh cilantro, bok choy, Bull-Dog brand Tonkatsu Sauce. We have some boneless, skinless chicken thighs in the freezer he'll use. I picked up some rice cookies that I like and the aforementioned Gyoza. 

Cooking away in the (new convection) oven is Hanks dish of three large boneless, skinless chicken thighs. He lightly marinated the meat in, and is now cooking it in, a mixture of Garlic Black Bean Sauce and Tonkatsu sauce, fresh cilantro leaves, and slices of Shitake mushrooms. Twenty minutes on one side at 400 degrees, turned with the sauce spooned over the meat, then another twenty minutes (check temp of chicken from your own oven). 

Hank's Tonkatsu/Garlic Black Bean Sauce Chicken 

Ingredients:

Boneless skinless chicken thighs

Bull-Dog Brand Tonkatsu Sauce

Garlic Black Bean Sauce

Fresh Cilantro leaves

Shitake mushrooms

Instructions:

For how many chicken thighs you have, make enough of a 1/2-1/2 mixture of Tonkatsu Sauce and Garlic Black Bean Sauce to fairly well cover the chicken thighs. To that, add fresh cilantro leaves and slices of Shitake mushrooms - enough to your liking. Stir the meat in the marinade until it's well coated and marinate in a bowl or plastic bag for around an hour.

Bake in a 400 degree oven for twenty minutes, turn over spooning sauce over the meat again and bake for another 20 min (adjust for your oven to reach 165 degrees). Slice the chicken in 1/4 inch slices.

You could serve it over rice, but we surrounded it with more of the Gyoza on which we are still munching.  

My Favorite Breakfast With A Twist

I love potatoes, especially fried. I love bacon. The quintessential breakfast involves both. The 14 Carrot Restaurant down the street serves a plate of fried potatoes and onions served with cheddar cheese melted on top and sides of sour cream and a tangy, vinegary pico de gallo (a chop of jalapenos, onions and bell pepper). Add a side of their thick bacon and leisurely read the Sunday paper, what a treat. 

We keep Simply Potatoes Brand potatoes on hand and bacon in the freezer. This morning I fried up some bacon, added a bag of Diced Potatoes with Onion to the pan (yes into the bacon grease). I fried them about two thirds of the way, removed them to a plate. As I like a lot of onion in my fried potatoes, I chopped half of a sweet onion and fried it until soft. Adding the potatoes to the onions, I finished frying them. Hot on the plate I topped with cheddar cheese grated fine. Out of sour cream I used a Cilantro Chive Yogurt Dip (from Trader Joe's if your area has one). Wow, I have to say it was better than the sour cream. Adding a tasty cool creaminess to a bite of potatoes and cheese. If I could figure out how to keep their pico de gallo fresh on hand, it would have been over the top.

My Grandma's Pineapple Ice Box Cake

In my growing up years there were certain dishes that were a part of the landscape of any special family gathering. There was one dessert, Pineapple Ice Box Cake, that was the fanciest delectable fashioned by the cooks around me. It's been around so long in my family, the name Ice Box Cake refers to a time before electric refrigerators when large blocks of ice were delivered weekly for an insulated box that served to keep food cold. My Grandma was once featured in our town's paper as having developed this recipe. Whether that was local lore or true, the dessert was certainly claimed by the family as "ours". It remains a beloved favorite in the memories, if not on the tables, of remaining family members. My Grandma Allen, my mom and my cousin Donna, who was raised like a sister with me, are all gone. They were the one's who made the dessert for so many family gatherings, wedding and baby showers and probably a Tupperware party or two. 

I hadn't made it in years as my husband and I rarely dine in a situation requiring a large dessert, and if I made it we would probably end up eating the whole thing ourselves. The idea sounds yummy but. alas, we may eat a bit higher fat food than many but that's over the top. Joining some friends for the Fourth, this year, for an informal meal, the time seemed right for sharing. And, the time is right for featuring the "famous" Pineapple Ice Box Cake here. 

It involves Vanilla Wafers, butter, powdered sugar, eggs, whip cream and pineapple.

I used my food processor, an kitchen accoutrement not available to the original makers of this dessert. It made construction of the layers very easy. No crushing the wafers with a rolling pin. The first layer is Vanilla Wafer crumbs. I split the crumbs equally, half into a bowl and half into a quart Ziploc bag (for more even spreading over the top at the end. Here is the bottom layer of crumbs in a 9X13 pan.

The trickier step, which I found fun is spreading the next layer, butter, powdered sugar and egg blended, on top of the crumbs. I drizzled the goo artistically all over the crumbs then very carefully "painted it" over any crumbs left showing. Below you see that layer with the beginning of the next layer.

On top of the sweet goo of butter, sugar and egg goes whipped whip cream infused with very well drained crushed pineapple. I whipped the cream in the food processor then folded in the pineapple. Below you see that layer nearly completed.

The final layer is the other half of the crumbs. The Ziploc bag allowed me to carefully shake them evenly over the top of the whip cream pineapple layer. See the partially topped dessert below.

Now, the trick with 'ice box' desserts, which are not cooked, is to leave them in the refrigerator over night to 'blend'. Tough to do as you'll want to take a bite. But I covered with plastic wrap and then aluminum foil and dutifully stored it over night. I'm afraid we did have some for breakfast and it was as good as I remember it tasting all those hundreds of time I had it growing up.

Grandma Allen’s Pineapple Icebox Cake

Ingredients:

1 - 12oz. box vanilla wafers

½ cup butter (one cube)

2 cups powdered sugar

2 eggs (here I have a caveat, I used Egg Beaters as people today are wary of uncooked eggs, though in all of my growing up years no one ever got sick from the uncooked eggs in this dessert. I do have to admit that, at least in the early years, my Grandma had eggs delivered weekly by the local farmer.)

½ pint whipping cream

1 #2 can crushed pineapple very well drained

Instructions

Process the wafers into crumbs. Divide in half. Spread half of the crumbs in a 9X13 pan.

Cream butter, sugar and eggs. Spread the mixture evenly over the crumbs (drizzling and then carefully spreading over any holes).

Whip the cream until stiff. Add well-drained pineapple to the whipped cream and spread over the butter/sugar/egg mixture. Top with the remaining crumbs. Let it stand for at least four hours.

My Ultimate Comfort Food Potato Soup

I have decided that homemade potato soup is my ultimate comfort food. Now, there are rivals, Grandma Allen's Potato Salad with its secret to creaminess, unwhipped whip cream or a BLT with thick, medium cooked bacon, thick slices of on-the-vine or out of the garden tomato and crisp Iceberg lettuce on toasted white bread slathered with butter and  Best Food Mayonnaise (It's gotta be Best Foods called Hellman's back east).

My potato soup has to be the best I've tasted, even in restaurants where I would always order at least a cup if it was on the menu. I'm super fond of potatoes in general. Maybe it was the influence of my father's very good luck with potatoes each year in his garden. My love of vegetables, in general was, I'm sure, formed by my parent's enthusiasm and love of all things vegetable shared in an earlier blog post titled, Raised Green. My goodness, I had a grandfather who planted and harvested a city block-sized garden ripe with every imaginable vegetable from beets with their requisite greens (which Grandma loved with a little vinegar) to rutabagas.

Throughout life I've wavered when asked to be definitive about a favorite or best anything. When we are younger we have so much yet to discover. My lifelong fondness of potato soup, though, just grew stronger over time. Now that I am finding pleasure in cooking, I have the freedom to refine it to my taste. I can make it the way I truly like it and recreate it whenever I'm so inclined.

I was so inclined this afternoon even on this wam sunny day. I had the potatoes, chicken broth, bacon and onion. On the way home from errands I snagged the needed celery and Half and Half. On went the bacon to cook (to medium not crispy) in my favorite pan, a stainless steel Faberware electric frying pan that a friend suggested as the best (I was fed up with the coated light weight ones and she'd used one in Alaska when she cooked on a fishing boat and actually found one for me in a thrift store. When the bacon strips were draining on paper towels, into the bacon grease (with a little bacon grease added) went a large onion, chopped, and two stalks of celery thinly sliced. I browned them slowly and when they were soft I removed them and added a can of chicken broth and 1/2 can of water. After deglazing the pan, I added five medium Russet potatoes that I had peeled and cut into 1" chunks. I slowly simmered the potatoes in the broth until soft but still intact. I added the onion, celery and bacon strips (now chopped into small pieces). To my simmering potatoes and goodies I added two cups of Half and Half and 5 shakes of Johnny's Seasoning Salt. I thickened it with 3 Tablespoons of flour with some of the soup liquid blended in my Magic Bullet blender. It simmered until thickened and heated through.

Without bragging, my Ultimate Comfort Food Potato Soup is so delicious that I can eat the whole batch by myself. That Half and Half might not be the healthiest but hey it's vegetables!

My Ultimate Comfort Food Potato Soup

Ingredients:
5 medium Russet potatoes
1 large onion white or yellow (I used a sweet onion)
2 stalks of celery
4 strips of thick bacon
1 14 1/2 oz, can chicken broth
1/2 broth can water
1 pint Half and Half
5 shakes of Johnny's Seasoning Salt (or your favorite)

Instructions:
Peel and chop the potatoes into 1" chunks and place in a bowl of water to cover. Chop the onion and celery and set aside. Fry the bacon and drain on paper towels, when cool chop in small pieces. Add the onions and celery to the bacon grease, adding more bacon grease if needed (I keep some in the freezer). When onion and celery are soft, remove, add the chopped bacon to them and set aside. Deglaze the pan with the chicken broth and water and add the potatoes, simmering until the potatoes are soft yet intact. Add the onions, celery, bacon, Half and Half and Seasoning Salt. Turn onto a low simmer. Blend well 3 Tablespoons flour with some of the broth to make a thickener. Add to simmering soup. When soup is thickened, enjoy.

A Quick And Easy Meaty Breakfast

I love Seattle's Voula's Offshore Café’s Hobo Omelet’s. It's so large and substantial you can eat it for a couple meals. And, with sour cream on the side and toast with blackberry jam, yum city! Maybe it's how I grew up, but a substantial, meaty breakfast is so comforting and enjoyable.

Recently, because of need to be away for a week with the power off, I had to complete clean out my top- of-the-refrigerator freezer. I took some to my sis-in-laws, but got rid of a lot that hadn't been used in the time it should have been. I've been carefully and slowly restocking the freezer trying to use things quickly. I can now see what's there and am cooking a lot more from the freezer. I'm thinking about the things that are in there rather than the old "out of sight out of mind" relationship I had with my stuffed freezer. I've come up with a great way to make a quick substantial breakfast or "breakfast for dinner" without tearing up the kitchen and taking a lot of time.

Quick and Easy Plan-Ahead Meaty Breakfast
Ingredients:
1 lb. of sausage (I use Safeway brand Country Style Pork Sausage)
1 med sweet onion, chopped1 package Simply Potatoes Shredded Hash Browns (I like Southwest Style)4 mushrooms, sliced(6 1/2" flour tortillas, eggs, cheddar or other cheese, sour cream for varying dishes.)
Instructions:
Chop onion and fry in oil until soft and translucent. Add the mushrooms about 1/2 way through. Remove to a plate
Fry the package of potatoes as instructed. Remove to the plate with the onions and mushrooms.
Fry the sausage until done. Drain on paper towels. Return all sausage, onion, mushrooms and potatoes to the pan. Stir together and fry a little bit while mixing.
Cool the mixture and pack snack sized Ziploc or other zipping bags. Place all the bags in a large freezer Ziploc bag and freeze.


Here are some dishes I make from the mixture (I also added a bag to a ‘Leftovers Soup I threw together in the crockpot the other day).

Burritos
Place some in a flour tortilla, top with a some cheddar cheese, Enchilada sauce (we like Trader Joe's) and some ranch dressing. Roll up and place in hot oven until toasted. I use the toaster setting on my toaster/convection oven.

Breakfast Burritos
Scramble a couple eggs with salt and pepper. Fill flour tortilla with some of the mixture, scrambled egg, and cheese. Roll tight and heat for around 10 min in oven or toaster over (watching).

Hobo Omelets
Whisk two eggs together with 1 Tablespoon milk. Place the mixture from the bag into a heated frying pan with some butter. Pour eggs on top and mix egg into mixture. Fry until egg done and heated. Turn off heat and top with cheese. When cheese is melted, remove and serve with sour cream.

Regular Omelets
At a rummage sale I bought an unopened Nordicware microwave omelet pan  (available on Ebay for under $2.) Living in a smaller space I’ve experimented with numerous unusual microwave cooking accoutrements, some with success, some not. I decided to give a microwave omelet a try. Instructions were to whip together 2 eggs with 1 Tablespoon of milk. Pour half into one side of the omelet pan and half into the other then, microwave on high for two minutes. (I topped one side with part of a bag of the sausage mixture defrosted plus some grated cheese). Flip the unadorned omelet side on top close the pan and microwave for one more minute. Viola! A perfect omelet with no frying mess. I love the omelet pan and use it regularly serving with sour cream on the side or ketchup for my husband.

Light Yet Substantial Vegetable and Ham Soup

It’s a rainy Saturday in Seattle (almost a cliché, though inaccurate as both New York City and Chicago both have more rain than we do). After being away for 3 weeks, emptying and turning off the refrigerator, we’ve been rebuilding its contents from scratch. I can’t believe how efficient I’ve become with cooking. The freezer is so organized and because I can clearly see what’s there, I’m actually using the items.

Cooking is now a creative activity for me for me.  I could never have believed it earlier in my adult life. Today I knew I had a chunk of Trader Joe’s carnitas, there were a couple stalks of celery, some mushrooms, some bacon, most of a sweet onion, some baby carrots, fresh garlic and a partial carton of beef broth let over from last nights pot pies. I’ve been learning to use and enjoy the herb thyme lately due to its use in a pot pie recipe I’m fond of.

A light soup sounded just right for the day. I put a couple pieces of thick sliced bacon on to fry in my trusty, can’t-live-without, Faberware stainless steel electric frying pan.  I then did what Madher Jeffery, the noted Indian cookbook writer, implores - I focused completely on each task I was moving through.  I carefully sliced the onion and celery into almost perfect ¼ inch chop. Then I very thinly sliced each baby carrot piece and mushroom.  For the two large garlic cloves, I sliced them thin then chopped them by cutting the other way across the slices. Then I turned to the carnita chunks dispatching them into ¼” chop.  Each item had its own pile on the cutting board. The thyme nearby with the opened cans of diced tomatoes and lima beans, I was ready. The soup came out light and delicious. I've had two bowls.

I used to be afraid of or at least intimidated  by concocting dishes, it certainly would not have been relaxing. Now it feels like indulging in art or crafting. Learning how to cook Indian cuisine and practicing often has helped me to gain confidence with herbs and spices and how to prepare the ingredients so they come together nicely.  The steps below might be second nature for good cooks but for me they are things I wouldn't have done before.  I often felt frustrated, even overwhelmed  by cooking and certainly never tried anything without a recipe.

• Frying a small amount of bacon and using it's grease for flavor in frying the vegetables softening them for the soup.
• Unleashing the fragrance of the herb used by frying it for a bit in the vegetables.
• Preparing all the ingredients ahead so they are smoothly and easily added when their time comes.

Light and Tasty Vegetable Soup with Ham
A substantial but light soup heavy on the vegetables but meaty enough for dedicated meat eaters.


Ingredients:
2 pieces of bacon, fried and crumbled
A good sized handful (about 1 cup) of ¼’ chopped carnitias ((or other left-over meat)
1 medium sweet onion, chopped
1 celery stalk, chopped
5 baby carrots, sliced thin
½ can lima beans (just beans)
½ can diced tomatoes (just tomatoes)
3 cups beef broth. (Could use more)
Two good pinches dried thyme


Instructions:
Put the bacon on to fry. Chop up meat, onion, celery and thinly slice the carrots and the mushrooms. When the bacon is done, remove it and, when cool enough, crumble it. Leave the bacon grease in the pan. Add more cooking oil if needed. Fry onion , celery and carrots until they begin to soften. Add mushrooms, garlic, and carnitas and crumbled up bacon. Sprinkle with the thyme and fry to open the fragrance of the thyme. Spoon in the tomatoes and lima beans and pour in the beef broth.  Let simmer on very low heat for ½ hour.

Memory of Mexican Food And A Delicious Twist on Enchiladas

I once lived in Rawlins, Wyoming. The town had a large population of folks of Hispanic heritage and, to my dismay, the town was rather split into two areas one populated more by Caucasians, the other by Hispanics. Coming from the Northwest, I had never encountered such an obvious cultural split. I ended up living in the more Hispanic part of town. While there, I made a friend, Gloria Mendoza. Gloria had grown up in Mexico and began sharing some of her traditional recipes with me. Some Sunday's she would drop by with warm, freshly made corn tortillas. I was insecure about cooking then. Though I did attempt refried beans from scratch made with lard, and learned to make pans of tasty enchiladas. I wish I had taken the opportunity more seriously and learned more about traditional Mexican cuisine from Gloria. I did carry with me some of her recipes and treasure them as mementos of an interesting moment and person in my life. I hope Gloria's life has gone well.

Today, we enjoy Mexican food. Mostly when we go out for it, it's the more Americanized Mexican dishes of restaurants like Azteca. We do, though, enjoy the more traditional tacos and beans from the food trucks around town. I especially like the lengua tacos (made with tongue) I have a lingering appreciation of the meat from my family's unique treat of pickled tongue. Once in a while my husband would order a dozen fresh tamales from Lupe's Tienda, a Mexican grocery in Seattle. He fell in love with Trader Joe's Enchilada sauce and would munch on his tamales even for breakfast.

I haven't made enchiladas too often since living in Rawlins, and I've never made them without using a tomato based enchilada sauce. And, I don't believe I've ever made them without using hamburger for the filling. Those I've made have been tasty and, as of late, Trader Joe's Enchilada sauce has worked well and has become the new sauce basis of enchiladas made. Looking over enchilada recipes online, though, got me thinking differently about the dish.

Recently, while going through my pantry , I realized that I had several 4 oz. cans of diced green chiles. I also had an unopened package of flour tortillas. I made a trip to Trader Joe's, not for their enchilada sauce but for their Carnitas, delicious precooked and seasoned chunks of pork. The following recipe is an amalgam of several recipes I looked over with my own twist added. Delicious enchiladas, no tomatoes involved.

Enchiladas With A Sour Cream and Green Chile Sauce

Ingredients:
A couple handfuls of Carnitas  chopped into 1/2" chunks and lightly heated in some butter chopping up a bit more (you could use chicken meat, beef or hamburger or just cheese and onion
Butter for frying
1/2 small onion chopped small
1 cup sharp cheddar cheese
2 Tbsp. butter
2 Tbsp. flour
1-4 oz. can diced green chiles (If you haven't used these before they are not spicy.)
1 14 oz. can chicken broth
1/2 cup sour cream
5 flour tortillas

Instructions:
Chop the meat and in a frying pan, heat the chunks a bit in butter chopping them up a bit more. Place in a large bowl. Add chopped onion and cheese. Mix together for the filling.

Melt 2 Tbsp. butter in the pan used to heat the meat. Stir in the flour and mix well as a roux. Add the green chiles and chicken broth. Let this simmer until it cooks down a bit and begins to thicken like a gravy. Turn it off and incorporate the sour cream.

Fill 5 flour tortillas with the meat/onion/cheese filling rolling them in an 8x8" baking pan. Top with the sauce. Place in a 350 degree oven for 30 minutes. (I used a toaster oven). 

Crockpot Ham & Chicken Soup

I love the idea of cooking a whole chicken in a crock pot. Whenever I see whole Foster Farms chickens on sale for a dollar a pound or lower I buy one and cook it up. We usually enjoy some cold chicken with butter and Best Foods Mayo on white bread sandwiches. I often freeze some of the meat for future tacos, soup or other dishes. This time we had a couple sandwiches, I made a great soup and have a little chicken left to freeze for later.

If like chicken and you've never cooked a whole chicken in a crock pot, DO IT, do it soon.

Remove the giblets, wash the chicken and season as desired. (I used Johnny’s Seasoning Salt) Place in the pot breast up with no liquid. Cook on low for 6 hours. It even browns. (Poultry is done at 165 degrees) It will be plenty done.

Remove the meat and bones

Degrease the broth (I use a tray of ice cubes, the grease solidifies against the cubes which can be lifted out)

This time I left all the chicken broth in the pot and made a delicious soup with the help of ideas from my husband.

Crock pot Ham and Chicken Soup
Ingredients:
Chicken broth from Crockpot Chicken or 1-14.5oz can chicken broth
1 cup of Bloody Mary Mix
1 14.5 oz. can of beef broth
1 14.5 oz. can of Great Northern Beans with liquid
1 meaty ham hock
Chicken meat


Instructions:
Turn Crock pot on high and let this simmer until the ham hock starts to break down.
Add some chicken meat (I added a large handful.)
Add a second can of Great Northern beans, drained.
Add salt and pepper as desired (I added none)

My Ravioli Dinner

When my neighbor moved to Hawaii, I became the owner of some sundries remaining in her pantry. I've been waiting for a time to celebrate a partial box of La Piana Ravioli with squash filling. They were 1/2-inch square dried raviolis which I figured at $10 for a 1 lb. box (the tag was still on) had to be special.

Husband arrived home last night with two very large meatballs from a deli and some crusty French rolls. Ah ha, we had some fresh mushrooms in the fridge. I work to stay stocked with sweet onions, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce and tomato paste. I often have fresh garlic but always have a jar of chopped on hand in the fridge. Due to a meeting I attended that ended with 1/2 bottle of red wine unfinished, I was ready to go.

I know this post may only be exciting for me and pretty mundane for any accomplished cooks but the dish I concocted turned out delicious. My discriminating husband is even eating more for breakfast.
Except for boiling the pasta, I threw it together in my handy dandy Faberware stainless steel electric frying pan. Any pasta would have been fine but the ravioli created a gourmet treat. And, if you use fresh ready-made pasta now commonly available, the dish is really fast and easy.


Ravioli and Meatballs 

Ingredients: 

1/2 sweet onion, chopped

1 large teaspoon chopped garlic

5 mushrooms sliced

1+ tablespoon for frying onion, garlic and mushrooms

Big pinch basil

Big pinch oregano

Several shakes Johnny's Seasoning Salt

Several shakes of black pepper

1 - 14.5 oz. can diced tomatoes

1 - 8oz can tomato sauce

About 1/2+ cup red wine

3/4 cup dried ravioli (I used La Piana brand squash-filled dried ravioli). You could use fresh ravioli. And, Northwest dwellers, if you haven't tried Puget Sound Consumer Coop's fresh mushroom ravioli, it's delicious.

2 large deli meatballs cut into quarters (or meatballs of choice)

Instructions:

Boil the ravioli in salted water if using dry pasta.

Sautee onion, garlic and mushrooms. Stir in basil, oregano, seasoning salt and pepper. Add wine and cook down a bit.

Add diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, ravioli and meatballs. Let it simmer on lower heat. Server with green salad and French bread slathered with butter.

Beyond T Bone

My husband cooked dinner tonight. He pulled off another of his brilliant meals, so many of which I've enjoyed over the years.

He began with a beautiful T Bone steak which would have been delicious with no addition. He took it to another level, though, lightly marinating it in a mixture of Sesame Ginger Dressing and Siracha hot sauce for a little tang. He broiled it to a perfect medium rare, cut it into chunks, then, as an interesting garnish, sprinkled it with small chunks of fresh mango. The side of Balsamic Vinaigrette Dressing served with it for dipping was amazing.

His side dish - Baby Yukon Gold potatoes, Brussels sprouts, white mushrooms all cut in half and mixed with Mango Ginger Chutney then broiled to perfection.

Mmmmmmmm