I enjoyed coming up with these recipes even if they didn't show off all their flavours as they didn't benefit from a days 'sit' for the flavours to blend. I recommend you do this when you try these dishes.
West
Indies, Spanish style stew....lousy name huh? makes 8 servings
Ingredients
2lbs ground pork 1 can
black beans, rinsed
½ lb side pork, cut into chunks*
1 can
of chick peas, rinsed
1 onion, diced 1 can of diced
tomatoes
2 celery stalks, diced
¼ " chunk fresh
ginger, minced
1 red pepper & yellow pepper,
diced
2 tbsp curry powder or
1lb cremini mushrooms, chopped 1 heaping tbsp curry paste
1 butternut squash, chopped 1 tbsp ground allspice
1 can of cream of mushroom soup**
or 1 ½ tbsp. dried thyme
1 can of crushed tomatoes 1 ½ tsp both pepper
and salt
water (fill soup can) 3 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
hot sauce/spice mix such as sriracha, harissa,
or another you like (optional)
Fry side pork on a medium-low heat,
stirring often until fully browned. Drain and save the fat (strained) for
another use. Set aside.
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| topped with my hot pepper salsa |
Fry ground pork with ginger, onion,
celery, peppers and butternut squash until cooked and veg are softened a bit.
Add mushrooms. Cook a further 3 minutes. Season. I am in the camp of those cooks who like to layer flavours as opposed
to those who believe seasoning early is pointless as the flavours dissipate
(their belief, not mine). I usually add staggered layers of seasonings,
except salt, twice or even three time if I am using fresh herbs at the end of
the cooking time. The amounts given in the ingredient list are approximate as I
free pour all my seasonings to taste, so I’m guessing here. Given that, I still
would recommend dividing the seasoning called for in half and add one with the
meat and one with the beans and tomatoes.
Add spices and herbs. Add beans,
tomatoes, soup, water and reserved side pork chunks and stir well. Bring to
boil; reduce to simmer. Stir in hot sauce if using. Cover and let simmer 1
hour.
Taste occasionally to adjust the
seasonings. Add parsley just before serving.
Serve with naan bread or other
flatbread and a wedge of lemon.
*if buying an uncut belly, remove most
of the tough, almost inedible rind. Try to leave most of the fat untouched.
**I have GERD and I find that cooked
tomatoes aggravate it enormously. One day I only had one can of crushed
tomatoes in the pantry when I needed two but I had a can of cream of mushroom
soup in there. I thought, what the hell….we’ll call it a rose’ sauce. It turned
out that it was enough to ease the trigger and not affect my GERD and I have
been doing it ever since, whenever I make a tomato-based dish. If you suffer no
difficulties in that area, then the can of crushed or even another of diced
tomatoes will be fine, just a bit stronger of a tomato flavour in the final
dish.
Fennel
and Apple Slaw
edit: I forgot to add that since this is rather a mild vinaigrette, you may wish to add more lemon juice or white wine vinegar.
Ingredients
2 bulbs fennel, grated or finely
shredded, reserve some fresh-looking fronds
1 red onion, thinly sliced
2 red apples, thinly sliced
8 mid-sized radishes, thinly sliced
Vinaigrette
Juice of 1 lemon, and 1 orange
2X amount of Olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
1 tsp celery seeds
Whisk briskly while drizzling the oil
into the bowl with the citrus juice and seasonings. Keep beating until
ingredients have emulsified and there is a creamy, thin consistency.
Toss veg and dressing in large bowl.
Adjust seasonings. Taste will be mild at first but will get stronger if you let
it sit for at least 12 hours. Some colour will leach out of the onions but that
just gives everything a nice pink shade!
Sprinkle chopped fronds of the fennel
on top just before serving.
Mediterranean
Pasta Salad makes many servings, maybe
12?
This
recipe I know was inspired by one I saw in a Canadian Living magazine but I
couldn’t tell you which one. (I usually only glance through an issue once.) I
may have stuck true to it but probably not as I always tweak. However, I felt
it necessary to clarify and give credit where it was due.
Ingredients
I
made this with a full package of orzo but the ratio was off and it looked and
tasted a bit thin on the veggies. It also made way too many servings. Those
reasons for changing are evident in the photos of the finished dish.
450 g orzo or other small pasta
1 red pepper and 1 orange pepper, diced
1 celery stalk, diced
1 red onion, diced
1 jar of kalamata or black olives,
chopped
250 g feta cheese, rinsed and diced
3 tbsp finely chopped parsley
1 tbsp or so of chopped garlic scapes
or chives
Dressing
1 ½ tsp oregano
¼ tsp rosemary, crushed
zest of 1 lemon, minced
juice of 1 lemon
1 tsp salt and pepper, each
2:1 of Miracle Whip (or mayonnaise)
and Greek yoghurt; make required amount according to your needs/wants. (Some like it wetter than others. I personally make it moderately wet
at first as I know it will dry out by the next day as the noodles absorb the
moisture. I then add more Miracle Whip.)
Cook the pasta; follow directions on
package, if necessary. Rinse under cold water to wash the starch off the
noodles and to stop the cooking process.
Whip dressing ingredients briskly to
blend into creaminess.
Use a large bowl to mix noodle and
vegetables with the dressing. Taste and adjust seasoning and desired amount of dressing
as needed.
Let sit for at least 2 hours (ideally
overnight) for flavours to blend. Fold in parsley just before serving and
adjust the wetness at this time, as well.
Top with curls of parmesan cheese or
crumbled feta cheese, preferably of goat’s milk rather than cow’s milk.
While we were in the Valley we stopped at Balderson's Cheese in Balderson, Ontario. We found our favourite Mennonite summer sausage there (pricey!!) and some lovely cheese called(and I'm typing what's on the label) Tree of Life Meddo Belle Australian Smoked. It has a flavour and texture similar to Provolone. We enjoyed some to finish off the meal.
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| Meddo Belle Cheese is the white; old cheddar is yellow |
July 13, 2012
After staring at the contents of my fridge debating on what's for supper, I realized I was staring at a hell of a lot of food that was going to go bad shortly if I didn't do something about it. So, what to do with leftover bits from other meals? Soup? Not in this heat. Casserole? Ditto. Hmmm.
I had four poached chicken breasts I had pulled out of the freezer the day before and had no idea what to do with them. The metaphoric lightning bolt hit and voila, a winner is born! I had some difficulty coming up with the right proportions of the binder for these puppies--they were a bit crumbly so make sure you have a fork handy to gather up the fallen pieces. Trust me, you won't want to waste a bit! I can tweak it so it has more of a solidity about it but I like it just the way it is, messy and all! The one pictured is one of four that didn't crack or crumble and the ones that did, did so only a little. I highly recommend you use two spatulas to turn them and fry them on a griddle to make it easier to get underneath without tearing them apart.
 |
| Chicken burger supreme! |
Leftovers and other ingredients:
4 poached chicken breast with fillets (poached in broth and herbs)
8 small cayenne peppers (I know!) minced with the seeds
or 1 red pepper, minced ya big babies :)
10 nice sized mushrooms, chopped
5 slices bacon, cut small
1 large top onion, diced small
7 garlic scapes, chopped small
2 tbsp chopped fresh basil
1 tsp fresh ground pepper
21/2 to 3 tablespoons chick pea flour--I use this to watch my ole enemy,empty carbs. Use
what you like.
3 lightly beaten eggs
6 PC Red Pepper Thins-a regular bun would be too much; to hold or eat. These are filling.
mayonnaise or Miracle Whip
Saute bacon until starting to brown then add the onions and cook until onions are softened. Add mushrooms. When mushrooms are browned, add the scapes (You don't want to cook these too long). Let cool slightly.
Meanwhile put chicken, red peppers and basil in large bowl. Add cooled mixture with any bacon fat left in pan. You can omit this but I find it adds to the over all flavour of.... well, anything.(I love bacon fat!) Add pepper, eggs and chick pea flour. Mix well. When your griddle is hot, form patties and place on griddle. Do not move them around or flip them before they are completely crusty brown on the bottom. Use two spatulas top and bottom to flip. Let brown on other side.
Separate halves of the Thins and spread on the mayonnaise or my preference, Miracle Whip. I would not recommend adorning the burger with any other topping as it would cover up the fresh tasting ingredients. And there you go!
Makes 6 burgers.
June 25, 2012
Looked in the pantry today, doing my usual last minute brainstorming, when I remembered I hadn't pulled any meat out of the freezer. I am forever doing that. So, out came the chicken drumsticks into a sink of cold water to start the thawing process. I decided that a casserole was in order as these puppies would not be thawed in time so, armed with the pantry items, I threw this together. It was a hit with the boys but I thought it could be spicier.
Chicken and Bean Casserole
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| Only 1 cup of tomato juice is depicted here as my 2 cupper was holding gold in the form of bacon fat. |
3 slices thick smoked bacon, cut into pieces
1 large onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
3 chipotles in adobo, minced
8-10 drumsticks or thighs, skinless or not I do both--leave on to cook; take off to eat
1 cup rice
11/2 cups tomato juice, your choice
1 cup chicken broth, preferably homemade but boxed is okay. Try for reduced sodium.
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can romano beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup frozen corn kernels optional. I forgot to add them. oops.
2 scallions with greens, chopped thought this would be a great topping for next time.
1 tbsp cumin, freshly ground
1 tbsp dried thyme
11/2 tsp coarse, fresh pepper
Preheat oven to 350. 
In large heavy saucepan or 5 quart dutch oven saute bacon until beginning to brown.
Add onions, seasonings and garlic and cook until onion is tender.
Add chipotle peppers and chicken. Toss to coat. Increase heat to medium high.
Add liquids; bring to boil. Stir in beans, rice and corn if using.
Cover and bake 35-40 minutes until rice is tender and chicken is cooked, stirring gently once or twice. To serve: remove chicken with tongs and scoop out rice mixture. Arrange chicken on top of rice. Sprinkle with scallions.
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| Yup, definitely adding the scallions next time! |
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| You'll notice the skin is now off the chicken. Takes a minute but I wouldn't do without the flavour it imparts. |
Makes 4-5 yummy entree servings or 7-8 side servings.
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Please feel welcome to leave comments of all kinds--I would, of course prefer constructive, positive comments but what is life without a bit of spice? And of course, there is that whole moderating comments thing....