Spicy Sofrito and Black Bean Soup

Thinking back on my childhood, I think I pinpoint my now sister-in-law's entry into our family as the moment where our culinary world expanded. I refer to both an exposure to new foods and flavors and to the culture around sharing food. Growing up, my mother and my sister-in-law's parents made almost every meal from scratch. My guess it was both family tradition and economically driven. It's much cheaper to feed your family home cooked meals than pre-made ones (well, it was. Now I'm not sure if that is still the case). During college my sister-in-law would get a craving for something my Mom would make and tell my brother that they needed to buy celery so that they could make "white people food." It was and still is funny because so many of our meals growing up really did start with a base of onions, celery, ground beef, and salt and pepper. My sister-in-law's family, being Puerto Rican, started most dishes with sofrito, adobo, oregano, cumin, and a smattering of other seasonings. Despite eating a lot of Puerto Rican food over the years and watching both my sister-in-law and her parents cook, I still haven't been able to capture the flavors properly in my own house.

When it came to dinner time, we always sat down as a family to eat, as I believe my sister-in-law's family did as well. In our home, someone would serve up food for each person, giving them the amount they wanted. If we wanted seconds, we served ourselves. In my sister-in-law's family, someone serves the food, but typically gives you more than you ask for. When your plate nears empty, someone offers you more. My sister-in-law told me that one of the first times she ate dinner at our home, she left hungry because while she wanted more food, she was never offered any more and she didn't feel comfortable serving herself more even while the rest of us grabbed seconds. Over the years, we have shared many meals and while our tendencies in how we gather and share food may not have changed much, we have become more accustomed to our differences, small as they may be.

As we all grow and explore the world around us, we have been exposed to more styles of cooking and have incorporated those into our lives. My brother and sister-in-law lived in Japan for a couple years and brought back a passion for the Japanese style of cooking. Growing up, we almost never ate fish because we lived in Wisconsin and nobody in my family went fishing. After they returned from Japan, the family started eating fish with more regularity and occasionally we will make miso soup, ginger chicken, or tonkatsu. I lived in China, where a friend and her mother taught myself and a couple other foreigners how to make baozi. For the last couple years, my family has made baozi for our Christmas Eve dinner. This time intensive meal goes quickly when everyone is chipping in to help roll the dough and form the buns. My other sister-in-law, wife of my younger brother, is a vegetarian which has introduced more non-meat options to our family gatherings. When you grow up with every meal being based on a meat and starch, learning to cook delicious vegetarian meals definitely has a learning curve.

As I drove to the grocery store tonight pondering what to cook for this week, I had a craving for Puerto Rican beans. But, me being me and me not really having mastered Puerto Rican food, I made up my own style of sofrito. Below is the recipe for the sofrito and the black bean soup.

Spicy Sofrito

2 medium tomatoes, cored and quartered
1 bell pepper, cored and quartered
1 head of garlic, peeled
8 small shallots, peeled
1 can chipotle peppers in adobo
2 cherry peppers, stems removed and halved
2 tbsp olive oil
1 bunch cilantro

Place all ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth. Place in jars and either refrigerate or freeze.

Black Bean Soup

1 c spicy sofrito
1 1/2 tbsp tomato sauce
1 small jar pimentos with juice
2 tbsp slices green olives with juice
2-4 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp cumin
adobo to taste
3 28 oz cans of low sodium black beans
2 cans of water
2 tsp chicken better than bullion

Place spicy sofrito, tomato sauce, pimentos with juice, green olives with juice, oregano, cumin, and adobo (sprinkle back and forth across the bottom of the pan twice) in the bottom of a large stock pot. Turn heat to medium-high and cook until fragrant. Add the black beans, water, and chicken bullion. Turn heat to high and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-high and cook at a low boil for 15 minutes. Remove from heat and carefully use an immersion blender to blend smooth. Serve hot.

White Beans with Roasted Pepper and Tomatillos

This summer has been keeping me quite busy. I've spent nights and days at my friend's camp, gone to the beach, seen a play in the park, gone out a lot, and taken my dog for countless off leash walks on the Eastern Prom. The weather has been wonderfully hot, so I've been eating a lot of fresh vegetables and hummus. This weekend was more mild, so I took the time this afternoon to make a couple things that required the oven. The recipe below is loosely based on Puerto Rican stewed beans my sister-in-law makes and includes tomatillos, that I wanted to try cooking with again. I was happy with the results.

White Beans with Roasted Pepper and Tomatillos

4 medium tomatillos, husked and washed
1 red bell pepper, washed
2 tbsp olive oil
2 shallots, peeled and chopped
1 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp oregano
adobo to taste
2 cans white beans, rinsed and drained
1 1/2 cans water
1 tsp chicken bouillon
2 tomatoes, cored and chopped
1/4 c chopped cilantro

Set your oven to broil.
Put tomatillos in a cast iron pan and put under the broiler.
Place the pepper under the broiler, turning as the skin blackens.
Once tomatillos are soft and charred on the top, remove from the oven. Place the tomatillos on a plate and scrape out the very burnt juice, but not all of it. Let the tomatillos cool and then chop.
Once the pepper is blackened on all sides, remove from oven and put in a bath of cold water. Once cool, peel, remove the seeds, and then chop.
With the cast iron pan on a burner set to medium, add the olive oil.
Once the olive oil is hot, add the shallots and cook until soft and starting to brown, scraping the browned bits off the bottom of the pan.
Add the cumin seeds, oregano, and adobo and cook until fragrant.
Add beans, water, chicken bouillon, tomatoes, chopped bell pepper and chopped tomatillos.
Bring to a boil and the reduce to a simmer.
Cook, stirring frequently, for about 30 minutes or until the water boils down and becomes thick.
Remove from heat and stir in the cilantro.
Serve hot.

Dilled Kale

I've recently been experimenting with dill, most likely because I love Hungarian Mushroom Soup and dill dip. Actually, the inspiration for the recipe below probably came from the hot Hungarian sausage I was using; you know, word association. I also figured if dill tastes good as a dip for vegetables, then it will probably taste good with cooked kale. And it was good. It added a subtle flavor to the dish and I think rounded it out nicely.

Dilled Kale

1 tbsp olive oil
1 hot Hungarian sausage link (about 1/3 lb)
1 c chopped onion
1 tbsp dill
2 tsp Hungarian paprika

1 large bunch kale, washed and sliced into 1 inch strips

1 tomato, chopped
salt and pepper to taste

Heat the olive oil in a cast iron pan over medium-high heat.
Add the sausage and cook until starting to brown.
Add the onion and cook until starting to brown.
Add the dill and paprika and cook until fragrant.
Add the kale and cook until soft, but not mushy. You may need to cover the pan for a little bit to get the kale to start wilting so that you can turn them. I use a tongs to turn.
Add tomato, salt and pepper and cook until tomato is warm.
Remove from heat and serve hot.

Chicken and Andouille Gumbo

I have been in love with Eula Mae's Cajun Kitchen ever since I received it for Christmas one year (I think it was Christmas). I love the rich, spicy food! I have a secret life fantasy of living in Louisiana which mainly consists of scenes of me in 50s style dresses and big hats sipping a bourbon and listening to live jazz music. Every time I cook from her cookbook, I put on some jazz and pour myself a glass of wine and really enjoy the cooking experience. It was a little early for wine today, but it's a long weekend, so instead I made some Coffee by Design coffee (the blend made for Standard Baking), poured in a little Jamaican Rum Cream, and sipped that while I chopped and stirred.

I've become a little more comfortable with the style of cooking, so today I made a couple deviations from her recipe for Sausage and Shrimp Gumbo. I really wanted a tomato flavor, so I added a can of whole tomatoes (chopping them up, as she does for her Jambalaya). Plus, I had some leftover grilled chicken from a small dinner party I had last night and that always makes a great addition to any stew. Finally, I was itching to cook up the andouille sausage I picked up from Karl's Sausage Kitchen down in Boston last weekend. Also, as I mentioned, I love spicy food, so I upped the seasonings a bit. A little burn never hurt anyone.

Chicken and Andouille Gumbo

1 tbsp oil
1 lb andouille sausage, sliced 1/4 inch thick
3 tbsp oil
3 tbsp flour
2 c chopped onions
1 c chopped green pepper
4 cloves garlic, minced
3 c water
1 28 oz can whole tomatoes, tomatoes chopped and liquid reserved
1 tsp chicken bouillon
3 c okra, sliced 1/2 inch thick
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp salt
heaping 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
2 bay leaves
15 - 20 shakes Tabasco sauce
2 c chopped, cooked chicken
1/4 c sliced green onion
cooked rice

Heat 1 tbsp oil in a large pot over medium high heat.
Add andouille and cook, stirring, for 5 minutes.
Remove andouille from pot and set aside.
Add 3 tbsp oil and flour to pot and stir constantly until smooth and the color of peanut butter.
Add onions, green pepper, and garlic and cook, stirring until soft (about 5 minutes).
Mix reserved liquid from tomatoes and water and slowly stir into the pot, scraping the bottom of the pan to loosen all the brown bits.
Add chicken bouillon and bring to a boil.
Add andouille, chopped tomatoes, okra, black pepper, salt, cayenne, bay leaves and Tabasco sauce.
Bring back to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for 20 minutes.
Add chicken and green onion and cook for another 5 minutes.
Remove from heat and serve over cooked rice.

Open-Faced Vegetable Melt

After eating shepherd's pie for lunch* I wanted something lighter for dinner. I also have been browsing pinterest too often and there is an oddly high number of grilled cheese sandwich photos. Talk about getting a craving! I wanted to make this staple comfort food healthier with lots of vegetables, thus the Open-Faced Vegetable Melt was born. Make and enjoy!

Open-Faced Vegetable Melt

1 english muffin
4 tbsp edamame hummus
2 thick slices tomato
6 slices avocado
1/3 c baby spinach
2 slices English Cheddar with Caramelized Onions (or another sharp cheese that you like)

Turn the oven to broil.
While the oven is warming up, cut the English muffin in half and place on a baking sheet.
Spread on the edamame hummus, then top each half with half of the the tomato, avocado, spinach, and cheese.
Slide pan under the broiler and, leaving the door ajar, broil until the cheese melts and starts to brown just a little bit.
Remove from the oven and serve.


*I will try to post the recipe for that in the future, I was replacing the Worcestershire sauce with substitutes, which took some "dash of this, pinch of that, drizzle of this" and ended up with me not know how much of anything I ended up putting in it.

Chili

I went to the store freezing from the cold (hello winter, bit of a late arrival there) and knowing I wanted to make a soup or stew. I ended up getting the ingredients for chili (and for what I hope will be an awesome attempt at edamame hummus and ingredients for berry smoothies).

Chili

2 tbsp bacon grease
1/2 lb ground grass fed beef
1 large onion, peeled and chopped
3 large garlic cloves, peeled, smashed and sliced
1 fresno pepper, top removed, quartered lengthwise and sliced
1 1/2 red bell peppers, seeded and chopped
1 5 oz container sliced shiitake mushrooms
1 14.5 oz can fire roasted diced tomatoes
1 28 oz can diced tomatoes
42 oz water
1 tsp beef bouillon
1 yam, peeled and cubed
4 tbsp chili powder
1/2 tsp thyme
2 tsp cumin seeds
2 pinches allspice
6 shakes smoked paprika
salt to taste
diced avocado

In a large stock pot, heat bacon grease over medium heat.
When melted, add beef and stir until browned.
Add onion, garlic, bell pepper, and fresno pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until slightly soft.
Add shiitake mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally, until mushrooms look moist.
Add both cans diced tomatoes, water, bouillon and seasonings.
Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 30 to 45 minutes.
Ladle into bowls and top with diced avocado.

Summer Salad with Oregano

Here's another transfer recipe to enjoy on a hot day.

1 red bell pepper, washed and dried
4 tomatillos, husked, washed and dried
1 can white beans
1 cucumber, washed and dried
2 tomatoes, washed and dried
4 tbsp sliced green onion
4 tbsp minced fresh oregano
3 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp rice vinegar (unseasoned)
sea salt to taste

Put oven rack in the top position and turn oven to broil. Put bell pepper and tomatillos on the top rack and broil, turning as they turn brown. The tomatillos only need to be roasted on the top and bottom, so they will be done before the bell pepper. Once browned, remove and put in a bowl of water with ice before chopping.

While the pepper and tomatillos are in the oven, drain and rinse the white beans. Let drain. Chop the cucumber and tomatoes into 1/4 inch cubes. Place in a large mixing bowl and add beans, green onion, oregano, oil, and vinegar.

When tomatillos are cool, remove the core, chop and add to the mixing bowl. When pepper is cool, peel off the skin, remove the seeds, chop and add to the mixing bowl. Stir, then add salt to taste. Chill 1/2 hour before serving.

All Apologies

Things have been a little crazy in my life lately. Well, not crazy busy, just crazy in a draining sort of way. My pups recently ruptured a disk in his spine. Oh yea, my dog went beyond normal dog problems to major surgery. I was an absolute wreck for a few days. There were all sort of crazy scenarios going through my head, the worst being "what if they can't fix him and I have to put him down." I now know that when he actually does die, I'll need to take at least a week of vacation so that people at work aren't subjected to my persistent sobbing. It will not be fun. Luckily, they were able to fix him. And, while he'll be spending a long two months in his kennel all the time while his disk scars over even though he feels just fine and has no idea why I keep telling him he can't jump on anything or walk up and down the stairs on his own, he should eventually recover the strength and nerve response in his hind legs. I can only imagine what I'll be like at the end of all this. He's already driving me nuts barking at everyone outside and trying to run around. He needs exercise. I think the animal hospital should throw in free dogging swimming sessions so that he can work out his energy.

Anyways, back to the real purpose of this blog. Food! The CSA is ramping up. I didn't write down everything I received the last few shares, but let's just say there have been green beans, carrots galore, napa cabbage, potatoes, eggplant, zucchini, kale, herbs, fresh cut flowers, and so on. It's been delicious. I have also purchased some local, healthy meats (the maple sausage was delicious), eggs, and organic blueberries (with cream, to die for). I recently made a great salad: a giant mound of greens, bacon, boiled egg, and a warm maple-mustard-bacon grease dressing. So delicious. I would provide a recipe, but can't tell you the exact measurements for the dressing. It was more like, okay, I have some warm bacon grease in that pan; whisk in a giant scoop of maple-mustard; whisk in some rice vinegar, pour into a bowl to be spooned over salad.

Also, I've shared the Chilled Ginger-Carrot Soup and the Curried Quinoa with Vegetables. Well, a friend came over for dinner recently and I made both for our meal. It was the perfect combination. We also drank Vin D'Alsace Pinot Blanc 2007 with it. Sometimes meals are a complete bust (like the salt overload meal I made for one friend once, what a disaster), but sometimes they are exquisite. This was the latter. You must try it (but maybe don't add quite as much ginger as I did. Spicy!).

Last night I made up a layered vegetable dish that was absolutely wonderful, though a bit salty. I'm going to try reducing the salt for you guys, but you may want to be careful when salting the vegetables for weeping. I think that's what pushed this one over the top. But, salting the vegetables is essential to reducing the amount of water in your dish.

Baked and Layered Eggplant, Zucchini, and Tomato

2 Asian eggplants, ends trimmed and sliced thin vertically
3 small zucchini, ends trimmed and sliced thin vertically
salt
2 tbsp basil olive oil
1 medium onion chopped
3 garlic cloves, peeled and sliced
1 can diced tomatoes
1/4 c fresh oregano leaves
1/4 lb thinly sliced prosciutto
3 tbsp chopped kalamata olives
2 medium tomatoes, cored and sliced thin
fresh mozzarella slices
2 tbsp grated Parmesan

Preheat over to 375 degrees.
Place eggplant and zucchini slices on a cooling rack over your sink and salt. Allow to sit. Once water has collected on one side, flip and salt again.
While those are weeping, heat olive oil is a heavy skillet over medium heat.
When oil is hot, add onion and garlic and cook until onion is transparent.
Add canned tomatoes and oregano and cook until most of the liquid is cooked off, remove from heat.
Rinse eggplant and zucchini well, then press between sheets of paper towel to remove excess moisture. (Lean down on your hands, but not so hard as to squash the vegetables.)
Pour a little olive oil in the bottom of a 9 by 13 inch cake pan and spread evenly.
Lay eggplant down in pan to create a layer.
Put a layer of prosciutto over the eggplant.
Layer the zucchini slices over the prosciutto.
Sprinkle the olives over the zucchini.
Layer tomato slices over the olives.
Evenly spread cooked tomato sauce over fresh tomatoes.
Layer mozzarella slices over sauce.
Sprinkle with Parmesan.
If there is any leftover prosciutto, chopped and sprinkle over the top.
Put in the oven and bake for 30 minutes. Cover with foil if cheese is browning too much for your taste.
Slice and serve warm.

Mango-Goat Cheese Salad

I'll admit it, I cheated and bought tomatoes from the grocery store. But, they were Maine-grown tomatoes. Unlike the mango I bought, which is most certainly not grown in Maine. I'm pretty sure tropical fruit-producing plants like that wither up and die when they cross the boarder into Maine (sort of like a wicked witch). Luckily, we can still get the fruit. It may not be entirely eco-friendly, but I enjoy the variety that global food distribution provides. But this takes us into territory that makes me uncomfortable, debates over responsible eating habits. Where exactly does one draw the line? I've joined an organic CSA, but I have to drive 25 minutes one way to pick it up; good or bad? I eat very few pre-packaged foods, but purchase things like bananas from South America, oranges from Florida, and apples from Washington; good or bad? I figure as long as I'm making mostly good choices, that's enough. I mean, the conversation could go so far, into the larger, worldwide ramifications of food monoculture and the attack on cultural food diversity. So, back to what I ate for dinner last night and again for lunch today!

Mango-Goat Cheese Salad (recipe for two meals, with lunch packing directions)

1/2 c quinoa
1 c water
1/2 tsp adobo
1/4 tsp sazon
large pinch oregano leaves
pinch cumin seeds
5 cups washed lettuce/salad greens, torn into bite sized pieces
2 green onions, sliced
1 large tomato, chopped
1 mango, peeled and chopped
2 oz goat cheese

In a pan (with lid), mix quinoa, water, adobo, sazon, oregano, and cumin seeds.
Put over high heat and bring to a boil; then reduce heat to low and cover.
Cook for 20 to 25 minutes.
While the quinoa is cooking, prepare the vegetables and fruit.
Put half the tomato, green onion, mango, and goat cheese in a sealable container for the next meal and half in a bowl.
When quinoa is done, put half in a sealable container for the next meal and the other half in the bowl with the vegetables/fruit; mix.
Place 1/2 the lettuce in a sealable container for the next meal and half in a circle on a dinner plate.
Put the quinoa mixture in the center of the plate and serve.
(All prepared containers should go into the refrigerator until you're ready to eat. To prepare the leftovers, heat the quinoa for about a minute in the microwave, then mix with the vegetable/fruit, then combine with remaining lettuce to serve).

Pepperoni, Roasted Red Pepper and Mozzarella Pizza with Tomato-Mushroom Sauce

There are certain dishes that I rarely use a strict recipe for. My pizza sauces fall into this category. I do use a crust recipe, since I've found one that I love. Why mess with perfection? Well, I suppose that's too much of a simplification. It did take me a few tries before I realized that I needed to reduce my oven temperature, since it runs high. I also discovered that 5 minutes of pre-baking the crust means that I can take the pizza out of the oven as soon as the cheese is melted without the crust being undone. Returning to my sauces, though, I use a rough approximation of a recipe, but I almost never make it the same way twice. I suppose this does mean that pizza can be a little hit or miss, but it's usually a hit. This is probably why I don't bother with following recipes, even if I do write them down. This becomes a problem when friends and family request my sauce recipe. Most of them don't like "add a little this" and "just a bit of that." So, I'm going to provide the specific recipe I followed for a pizza I made earlier this week for a couple friends.

Pepperoni, Roasted Red Pepper and Mozzarella Pizza with Tomato-Mushroom Sauce

2 tbsp oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 portabella mushrooms, stems removed and finely chopped
1 15 oz can diced tomatoes
1 tsp basil
1/8 tsp cinnamon
2 whole cloves
5 dried rosemary leaves
1 red bell pepper
1 8 inch link pepperoni, sliced thin
1 3/4 c flour
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 c water
1/4 tsp sugar
1 tbsp yeast
butter or shortening for greasing
1 baseball sized ball of fresh mozzarella, sliced into about 12 pieces

Preheat oven to 500 degrees (or less if your oven runs hot).
Heat oil in a cast iron pan over medium heat.
Add onion and cook until it just starts to brown.
Add mushrooms and cook until mushrooms are glistening and have released juice.
Add tomatoes, basil, cinnamon, cloves, and rosemary leaves.
Simmer, stirring frequently, until reduces to a good spreading consistency. You don't want the sauce to be watery, since that will make your crust soggy. Turn off the sauce once it has reached the consistency you want.
While the sauce is simmering, blacken the skin of the bell pepper. To do this with an electric stove, turn a burner to high. Using an oven mitt to grasp a long pair of metal tongs, hold the bell pepper over the burner (about 1 to 2 inches from the burner). As each side blackens, set the bell pepper down and adjust the tongs grip on the pepper to expose an unblackened side.
Once the entire bell pepper is blackened, set aside to cool.
Once bell pepper is cool, cut off the stem end, slice in half lengthwise; remove seeds and slice into strips.
Heat a skillet over medium heat.
Add pepperoni slices in one layer.
Cook until pepperoni starts to curve, then flip over.
Cook on other side for 30 seconds, then remove pan from heat.
Mix flour and salt in a bowl.
In a microwavable measuring cup, heat the water for 2 1/2 minutes.
Be careful when removing water from the microwave, as it may be at boiling point and can boil over.
Add sugar to hot water and stir.
Add yeast to sugar water and stir.
Allow yeast mixture to sit for 8 minutes.
As yeast mixture is sitting, grease a jellyroll pan with butter or shortening.
Cut a piece of parchment paper to fit the bottom of the pan and press down.
Use more butter or shortening to grease the top of the parchment paper.
Stir yeast mixture, and then pour into flour mixture.
Stir with a fork until just mixed.
Use your hand to finish mixing (you want to remove the dry parts but not over-knead the dough).
Roll dough between your hands to create a log the width of your jellyroll pan.
Place in the center of the jellyroll pan and use your finger tips to slowly and gently press the dough evenly all the way to the ends.
Bake the crust for 5 minutes.
Remove from oven, spread with sauce. Top with pepperoni, bell pepper and cheese.
Put pizza back in the oven and bake for 10 minutes, or until the cheese has melted.
Slice and serve hot.

Lamb Chili

Mary Anne came over tonight for dinner and knitting. ...Do I sound like an old maid yet? We went to the grocery store without any idea what we wanted to eat except that I knew I wanted something warm. I’ve been feeling chilled and tired lately and warm food seems to help. I guess that’s just the normal for winter. She suggested soup, which I’ve been eating a lot of lately. I wanted something else and Mary Anne suggested chili. Okay – so it’s basically soup, but in my defense, it’s thicker, more substantial, and basically hearty and warm – just what I wanted. Knowing that I spent some money this weekend, she hesitantly suggested making it with lamb; since lamb wasn’t that much more than the beef, we did opt for it. And instead of the tomato juice I usually use, she suggested with whole tomatoes. We hit common ground with crushed tomatoes and a can of tomato paste. We both enjoy a lot of beans as well, so we picked up a can each of black and kidney beans. The resulting soup was thicker than my family’s recipe, without being the seasoned meat dish of some people’s preference. And least anyone fear that I am a hermit, we did end up going out afterwards. There is a great beer bar in town with a casual atmosphere and intriguing mix of patrons. It has both great drinks and entertaining people watching. We even ventured into a conversation with complete strangers – look at us make acquaintances!

Lamb Chili

1 lb ground lamb
2 small or 1 large yellow onion, peeled and chopped
1 red pepper, seeded and chopped
1 habanero, stemmed and chopped
1 can tomato paste
1 large can crushed tomatoes
3 tbsp chili powder (or to taste)
½ tsp oregano
pinch of cumin

In a soup pot, brown the lamb meat. If there is a lot of extra moisture in the meat, simmer off the excess liquid.
Add onions, pepper and habanero to pot and cook, stirring, until onions are translucent.
Stir in tomato paste.
Gradually add crushed tomatoes.
Mix in chili powder, oregano and cumin.
Simmer for ½ hour, stirring frequently.
Serve hot with a hearty whole grain bread.

Herbed Tomato and Cucumber Salad

So, my farmer's market has these wonderful yellow cucumbers, I can't remember if they're called lemon cucumbers or if the description just mentioned lemon, but they are absolutely delicious. Way better than your average cucumber and smaller, about half the length. I made this salad with them (nothing too original, but tasty):

Herbed Tomato and Cucumber Salad

1 yellow cucumber, halved lengthwise and sliced thin
1 tomato, cored and chopped
1 tbsp minced fresh basil
1 tsp fresh thyme leaves
juice from 1/2 a lime
1 tsp olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Toss all ingredients together and let sit, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes before serving. (single serving in my book)

Pan Cooked Pork Chops with Cilantro Rice and Fresh Salsa

I had some unused ingredients from my Mango Jicama Salsa and some tomatoes in my kitchen, so this dinner started with the salsa. Then I decided to finally cook a couple pork chops I had in the freezer for a while and added the rice to round out the meal. I ate the salsa more like a side salad than a condiment.

Fresh Salsa

4 tomatoes, seeded, stemmed and chopped
2 thin slices of red onion, chopped fine
1 jalapeno, seeded, stemmed and minced
1/4 c chopped cilantro leaves
1 to 2 tsp tabasco sauce
juice from 1 lime
1 tsp salt, or to taste
1 tsp sugar

Place all ingredients in a medium bowl and mix.
Set aside while preparing the rest of the meal.

Cilantro Rice

1 c rice
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp butter
3 tbsp cilantro, chopped

Fill a medium stock pot with water and bring to a boil over high heat.
Add salt, mix.
Add rice, stirring until water returns to a boil.
Boil rice until tender, about 10 to 12 minutes.
When rice is done, drain in a sieve.
Melt butter in empty, warm pan.
Add rice back to the pan and stir in the butter.
Sprinkle in cilantro and stir.

Pan Cooked Pork Chops

1 tbsp oil
2 boneless pork chops
adobo, to taste

Heat a cast iron pan over medium to medium high heat.
Sprinkle pork chops with adobo on both sides.
Add oil to hot pan.
Add pork chops and cook until browned well on one side.
Turn pork chops over and cook until done.

Lentil Chili

Still craving beans/legumes, so I decided to use some lentils I had in the cupboard. I searched through my cookbooks and found a vegetarian recipe for chili made with lentils and mushrooms. Not being one for a purely spicy dish, but something spicy and flavorful, I took the idea and ran with it, adding ingredients I had in the house. The result was good, but I think I might add some seasonings to make it more flavorful. Perhaps add a little oregano and more chili powder and maybe some corn.

Lentil Chili

1 1/2 c dried lentils
5 c water
1 1/2 tsp chicken bullion
grease from 1/4 bacon or 3 tbsp other oil
1/4 c onion, chopped
1/2 a large red bell pepper, chopped
5 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced
2 tomatillos, chopped fine
1 Roma tomato, seeded, cored and chopped fine
1 large portabello mushroom, chopped
2 tbsp chili powder
salt to taste

In a stock pot, placed lentils, water and chicken bullion and bring to a boil.
Reduce heat and simmer until tender.
In a skillet, heat bacon grease (or other oil) over medium-high heat.
When oil is hot, add onion and cook until it starts to brown.
Add red bell pepper and garlic and cook until garlic softens.
Add tomatillos, tomato, and mushroom and cook until mushrooms shrink.
Add chili powder and cook until fragrant.
Stir vegetable and spice mixture into the lentils and cook until fragrant.
Add salt to taste.
You may want to let this sit a day in the refrigerator before serving.

Alternate Doctored Up Tomato Soup

Still feeling ill and still needing to go grocery shopping, I had tomato soup again tonight. I remembered a good recipe for homemade tomato soup in my Cooking From Quilt Country cookbook, so I found it again and used it to make my canned tomato soup a little more tasty. While the garlic powder was good, this version makes a more complexly flavored soup. I simply added 1/4 tsp black pepper, 1 whole clove, a couple dashes of cinnamon, a pinch of allspice, and a couple dashes of Tabasco sauce. It's amazing how well the spices blend with the tomato. Of course, I also make this with milk. No watery tomato soup for me. I'll settle on something like that when I'm a starving and struggling actress in New York City; at which point I will enter my local, shabby diner and order a mug of hot water into which I will pour a healthy amount of ketchup. But until that day, milk in my condensed tomato soup from a can.

Feeling Sick Doctored Up Tomato Soup

I don't get colds easily, so when I started feeling a cold coming on yesterday surprised me, since I just got rid of some lingering nasal congestion over the weekend. Tonight I'm totally wiped out and have very little in the house (must grocery shop tomorrow...). For a quick dinner, I made Tomato Soup, which I just recently discovered other people don't necessarily make with milk. Who knew?! We (as in my family) have always made it with milk. It's creamy, warm, and delicious. Tonight, besides my typical healthy dose of ground black pepper, I added a small dash of garlic powder. Yummy and soothing. I'll have to do that one again.

Rockin' Homemade Pizza

I have come to learn that you can learn good recipes from even the most unexpected sources. Recently I discovered that my younger brother has become quite a good cook. I don’t think he gets into quite as much experimentation as I do, but he cooks everyday. (I think it’s cool that both of my brothers have become the main cooks of their relationships, rather than falling into the gender roles that would put the “burden” of cooking on their significant others). He shared a recipe for Thai Chicken Pizza with the family, and I must say it’s pretty tasty. Our only disappointment in making it was our inability to find a decent crust.

Actually, a decent homemade pizza crust has been the holy grail of my family’s cooking adventures; it was always out of reach and sought for. As it turns out, my younger brother had found a great pizza crust recipe and I have it in my possession now. I will now add the disclaimer that my family likes thin, cracker-like crusts. That way, the toppings take the front seat in the flavor-mobile and the crust doesn’t sit in your stomach like a lump of clay.

With the new crust recipe in hand, I embarked on the adventure of making a great pizza. I winged the sauce recipe, knowing that too much of a good thing (oregano) can make for a bitter sauce, that I like sauce that is just a touch sweet and with a slight sting, and that onions and whole tomatoes were a must. We also decided to slightly cook the pepperoni in a skillet before placing on the pizza. This allowed the pepperoni to release some of its oil and increased the likelihood that it would crisp on the pizza, despite the short baking time. I venture to say that the resulting pizza was practically perfect in every way.

Rockin’ Homemade Pizza

1 pizza crust for a 9x13 inch jellyroll pan
pizza sauce (below)
½ c sliced black olives
1 ½ c shredded mozzarella cheese
enough pepperoni to cover pizza to taste

Sauce:
¼ c olive oil
½ medium onion, finely chopped
1 large clove of garlic, finely chopped
1 rounded teaspoon crushed red pepper
1 rounded tablespoon oregano
1 c portabella mushrooms, finely diced
16 oz canned whole tomatoes, with juice
¼ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar

Heat a large cast iron skillet over medium heat until hot.
Add olive oil.
When oil is hot, add onion and sauté until soft and slightly golden.
Add garlic, red pepper, and oregano and cook until fragrant.
Add portabella mushrooms and cook, stirring, until they have shrunk to half their original size.
Add tomatoes, salt, and sugar and cook, stirring, until reduced to a good sauce consistency.
*You don’t want the sauce to watery, or it will make your crust soggy.

Crust:
1 ¾ c flour
½ tsp salt
¾ c water
¼ tsp sugar
1 tbsp yeast

Mix the flour and salt in a bowl and set aside.
Heat the water in a microwaveable dish for 2 to 3 minutes, until hot but not boiling.
Add sugar to the water and stir until dissolved.
Add yeast to the water mixture, stir, and let sit for 8 minutes.
Pour ½ of the water mixture into the flour and stir.
Add remaining water mixture and stir until just combined (you can use your hands to finish the mixing).

To prepare the pepperoni:
Starting with a cold cast iron pan, add pepperoni in a single layer to the pan.
Turn burner to medium heat.
Once the pepperoni has bubbled up, remove from pan.
If you still have more pepperoni to prep, add another single layer and cook until bubbled up.
Repeat until all pepperoni has been precooked.
Drain pepperoni on paper towel until ready to use.

Pizza assembly:
Preheat the oven to 500 degrees.
Oil a 9x13 inch jellyroll pan and place pizza dough in the center.
Using your fingertips or a small rolling pin, gently press or roll the dough to fit the pan.
Pre-bake the crust for 4 to 5 minutes.
Remove crust from the oven and spread with pizza sauce.
Add olives, cheese, and top with pepperoni slices.
Place bake in the oven and bake for another 10 minutes.
Remove from oven and slide the pizza out of the pan onto a cutting board.
Cut into pieces and serve.

Random Topics and Some Vegetable Goodness

Yesterday I went to the farmer's market with a coworker. They finally have vegetables. I say finally because I'm sure in Wisconsin the stands have been up and running for some time now, but here in Maine it's cool, rainy, and just not sunny enough for the things to grow quite as quickly. Truth be told, I want some hot weather, but I don't think that's going to happen. Back to the subject at hand, though: vegetables! I bought some fresh basil (expensive! holy lord, don't people know basil grows and grows and paying that much money for it is just insane? Alas, my apartment doesn't get enough direct sun to grow my own.) I also bought some tiny potatoes (they had a name, I can't remember it - not finger potatoes), lettuce, and pattypan squash. I got home eager to use some of my new purchases. I also had a tomato that needed eating (see how it's kind of wrinkly?):



This was the resulting dinner.


I put the potatoes whole in a pan of water, brought it to a boil, added some kosher salt, and cooked until tender.
For the squash and tomato, I combined it with hot capicola, garlic, and fresh basil. It was quite good. Here are the "recipes:"

Pattypan Squash Saute

4 thin slices hot capicola (a type of ham), sliced into strips
1 tbsp olive oil
4 small garlic cloves, crushed
3 pattypan squash, trimmed and cut into thin wedges
1 roma tomato, seeded, halved and sliced thin
1/4 c basil, shredded
freshly ground black pepper and salt to taste

Heat skillet over medium to medium-high heat.
Add capicola and cook until browned.
Add olive oil.
Once oil is hot, add garlic and cook until fragrant.
Scrape the capicola and garlic to the side and spread the pattypan wedges over the bottom of the pan.
Allow to brown on one side, then turn and brown on the other side.
At the last minute, add tomato, basil, black pepper and salt.
Stir to combine and serve.

Basil Dressing for Potatoes

1 large leaf basil, chopped
2 tbsp sour cream
2 tsp white wine vinegar
1/2 tsp honey
freshly ground black pepper

Put ingredients in a sealable container, seal and shake until combined. Pour over warm potatoes.

WARNING: AN UGLY SIGHT AHEAD

This is the truth of how my kitchen looks after cooking.


I've been doing a lot of sewing lately. I made two wrap skirts without a pattern. It's very simple really. Buy a length of fabric that will fit around you once and then some. Mine fit around one and a half times. After washing the fabric, wrap the length of fabric around yourself and find the length you want the skirt to be. Mark that (my fabric had stripes so it was easy to cut a straight line across), and cut off the excess. Make sure the vertical edges are straight (almost never are when you bring it home from the fabric store), and hem three sides. The unhemmed side will be the top. I used the cut off portion to make ties for this green one:

To make the ties, I cut the extra bit in half. Then I folded that over on itself, sewed it up mostly (except about 1 or 2 inches), turned it inside out, closed the hole and did some detail stitching at the end to match the detail stitching it did at the ends of the skirt. I sewed one tie to each end of the top of the skirt. I also made an orange one, but I still need to add ties to that one. Also, I didn't hem it, but did a zigzag stitch on the three sides and washed it so that the edges would fray a bit. I'll probably replicate that with the ties when I get around to making them.

And now... some random pictures:

Inside of a boat.


Street musicians in Portland.


Clouds over the ocean.


Magellen's new throne, my books. (Sad, really. All those books and I don't own a single bookshelf).


(I know I still owe you the Jamaican chicken (or beef) recipe...)

The Other Half

The same night I put the roast in the crock pot, I decided to cook the rest of it on top of the stove. The results were forgettable. So much so, I had to sit here and attempt to remember what I had done with the rest of it.

I believe I started the dish by cubing the beef. I heated some oil in a cast iron pan on the stove and added the beef and some chopped onion. I think I added thyme and, when the meat was nearly done, some chopped mushrooms. I deglazed with red wine and at the last second threw in a chopped tomato (so that it would warm but not disappear). The meat was tough and the flavor was lacking. I ate it all, over the next few days as lunch, but this definitely needs some work before I would actually serve it to other people. Although, the chances of my serving other people food in my house any time soon are very slim. Moving from an efficiency to a one-bedroom makes one realize how sparse their belongings are.

Internet can be an annoying thing

I've tried posting quite a few times between my last post and this one. Everytime I get it all typed up, my internet connection disappears. I wrote this a while ago, but here it is for you pleasure:

I am in heaven, or what I might imagine it to be like, if I believed in it. My kitchen is once again functioning. I am once again cooking for myself (not just having raisins and popcorn for dinner - yes, there are times when I consider that dinner). I went grocery shopping this weekend and bought a lot of staples and a few things to try.

A few weekends ago I went to my brother and sister-in-law's for the weekend and she made this awesome marinara sauce. I asked her for the "recipe" and sucessfully made that Sunday night, but I embellished the meal a bit.

Marinara Sauce

a good amoung of olive oil
1/2 head of garlic, cloves peeled and crushed
1 large can whole, peeled tomatoes
freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Heat oil in a sauce pan over medium heat.
Once oil is hot, add the garlic and stir until starting to brown.
Add the whole can of tomatoes (juice and all) and stir.
Turn to medium-low heat and let simmer, stirring occasionally, for a half hour.
Add black pepper and stir.

To serve:
Bring a pot of salted water to a boil and cook enough fresh pasta to feed the number of people eating (obviously assuming you made enough marinara to cover said servings of pasta).
Drain pasta, divide into serving dishes.
Spoon marinara sauce over the pasta.
Serve with fresh basil, allowing each person to tear off as much basil as they would like.

I added a good scoop of ricotta cheese to mine as well (who can pass up a chance to add cheese?)\

[ETA: I used this base and made a spicy version the other night, cooking real pepperoni, sliced, in the oil for a bit with some ground black pepper and crushed red pepper before adding the garlic. It was good!)

Last night I made Indian food. Dal and curried eggplant. It was perfect. I'll also admit here that when I make ghee (very simple to do), I use salted butter. I'm a bit of a salt addict and I prefer the taste of this to the unsalted ghee. I will probably face further shame when I admit that I also spread the browned bits at the bottom of the pan on bread. It very salty and very tasty and I don't really care how bad it is for me; it's fabulous.

Tonight I made cajun salmon. (First time ever that I successfully cooked fish without overcooking it. I'm very proud of myself.) I also attempted to make cornbread (sweet version), but discovered that I must not have cleaned all of the oven cleaner off the heating elements in the oven. The fumes were horrible. I gave up (must fix that problem; first my oven was filthy - honestly why do people live like pigs and leave the next tenants to clean up after them? - now it's a cess pool of chemicals). Instead, I cooked the batter like pancakes. It worked very well for a last minute fix. I also made fiddlehead ferns for the first time ever. I'm in Maine now, and it's the season. I followed my lovely guide to produce's advice and cleaned the ferns, boiled them in salted water for five minutes, drained and seasoned with lemon juice, butter, salt and pepper. I must say, I like ferns. They're yummy.

I love having my kitchen back.