I once made this soup for my grandmother when she was poorly, devoted grandson that I am. A couple of hours later a fax arrived with a handwritten note from Grannie.

Dear Jammy,

Thank you for the soup. It cheered me up. Just a few criticisms:

The bits of cabbage and bacon are rather large and difficult to eat, and so as a soup it requires a knife, fork, and spoon to eat it. Perhaps next time you could chop the bits up a little smaller.

Your grandfather says it was too salty.

G

Now there’s gratitude. I’m sure Grannie was right, yet part of this soup’s charm is its very ruggedness – it’s big and brutish and slurpy and utterly warming; ideal for this bout of miserable weather. It is also very much a blank canvas of a soup. You could tinker around with it until the cows come home, adding fennel seed and sausage, pasta and Parmesan – even some mushrooms. It’s a t’riffic fridge slut. This is just how I happened to do it today.

(PS here is a ‘music for making soup’ spotify playlist)

Bacon and Cabbage Broth

Serves 6

150g smoked lardons, or 8 rashers of streaky smoked bacon sliced
2 onions, peeled and sliced
1 clove garlic, peeled and sliced
2 large spuds, cut into large dice
150g cherry tomatoes
a savoy cabbage, sliced
1 sprig rosemary
parsley stalks
2 bay leaves
1 1/2 litres chicken stock
Oil, salt, pepper

Heat a little oil in a large saucepan and fry the bacon until crispy. Add the onion, garlic and spuds, along with the herbs. Season with salt and pepper, cover with a lid and cook over a low heat for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add the tomatoes, cabbage, and stock. Bring to a boil and simmer for 15 minutes, until the potatoes are soft.

Serve as you like.

Make this holiday season healthier with these tips.

-Use butter wherever margarine or shortening are called for.

-Use raw cream in place of evaporated canned milk in pumpkin pie.

-Top those pies with homemade whipped cream, skip the Cool Whip.

-Make homemade egg nog.

-Use homemade broth instead of canned.

What tips do you have?

See also:

Thanksgiving Menu - includes recipes for Garlic Mashed Potatoes and Cranberry-Orange Sauce

So, Yuki and I took a few days to visit some of the early temples and castles in the Kansai region of Japan. Most of the structures we saw date back to the 8th century and are truly amazing! Besides the structures there were also tons of great sculptures from the same time period. However, as you all know, this blog isn’t about architecture, it’s about food. This post is to let you know about the incredible Kaiseki we ate our last night in Nara at the Ryokan (traditional Japanese Inn) we stayed at, Yoshino.

Kaiseki is the classic multi-course meal that progresses through various cooking techniques using regional, seasonal ingredients. It’s the highest art form you can find in food anywhere in the world. Focus on the subtleties of each ingredient to draw out natural flavors and not cover then with heavy sauces (sorry Frenchies, but the Japanese have your asses kicked in food culture!).

It started with that dish in the middle of the picture above. From left to right was a little fish grilled in a sweet soy marinade, a roasted chestnut, ama ebi (sweet shrimp), some sort of seafood that had a jellyfish-like texture in a miso sauce (I have absolutely no idea what it was, but it sure tasted good!), then a three-colored fish cake.

After that they brought out this dish. It was obviously a shrimp, but I’m not quite sure what else there was. I think it was a gratin made with the roe of the shrimp. Also on the plate as a macaroni salad and some lettuce with a tomato.

Then we moved on to the sashimi plate. It had some fantastic Chu-Toro (tuna), Tai (snapper), and the star of the plate….Ika (squid). In the States when you order Ika it’s usually very thin and a little rubbery. Not these two slices. They were about a half centimeter thick, squid steaks! Rubbery? Hell no! Each chew and the squid literally melted away in our mouths. Hands down the best squid I’ve ever eaten.

Then they brought us a plate of steamed Ayu (sweet fish). It’s a river fish that eats moss attached to stones giving it a really fresh and clean taste. It was served with a light ginger sauce. The thing that makes Ayu special is that it’s eaten when the belly is full of fish roe. There isn’t much meat, so it’s like dipping chopsticks into a bowl of fresh water caviar.

Being the meatavore that I am, the next plate was what I was most looking forward to….Beef Tataki. Lightly seared beef to give a little texture to the soft raw meat laden with mouth-watering fat. The dipping sauce is a soy-dashi mix. You see the little mound of reddish gew on the side of the dish? That’s a mix of togarahsi (Japanese red pepper) and yuzu (a small citrus fruit). You mix that into the sauce like you would wasabi for sushi, along with thinly sliced chives. With the tataki there was a small dish of sliced cucumber and I think seaweed in a vinegar sauce that cleansed the palette from the fatty beef.

Then we ate the Shabu-shabu. Unfortunately I forgot to get a picture of the individual hotpots we used, but here’s the ingredients. The broth was a light sake base, in it we added cabbage, enoki mushrooms, and shimeji mushrooms. Once they were cooked, we sloshed the thinly sliced beef around to cook it and then dipped it all in a light soy with more of the togarashi yuzu and chives.

After that we got two different preparations of Unagi. To be honest, I have absolutely no clue what the difference was. One was served on top of rice, the other with rice on the side. All I can tell you is that you will never find eel of that quality anywhere in the States. It tasted like they just caught it that morning. Best eel ever! Both came with a little dish of Japanese pickles. They were probably damn good pickles, but I don’t like pickles so I let Yuki eat mine.

After the Unagi was a clear broth soup with an ingredient we couldn’t figure out. At first, we thought it was some sort of mushroom. It wasn’t. Then we thought it might be shiroko, fish sperm sack. It wasn’t that either. We finally found out that it was eel liver, probably from the Unagi we just ate. It had kind of a crunchy yet soft texture. Not something you’ll find on any old menu.

Finally, to finish things off was a plate with fresh persimmons and grapes. persimmons are in season right now and are everywhere while Japanese grapes are absolutely huge compared to what we get.

All in all this was my 5th Kaiseki. I wish I could afford to eat like this every night as there is always something unusual and strange to the western palette. If any of you get to Japan I highly recommend splurging at least once to experience the delicate yet sophisticated Japanese cuisine at it’s finest.

Momma’s version:

Rinse, sort and soak a bag of black beans overnight, or according to bag directions. I do this right in the crockpot.
Drain beans add fresh water
Cook on high until tender around 7-8 hours.

One hour before serving:
If there is a bunch if water drain most of it.
Add:
2 Roma tomatoes, chopped
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp garlic powder
Salt to taste
1 celery rib sliced
2 jalopenos, chopped
2-3 cups chicken broth

Serve with rice top with cheese. Enjoy!

To make:
Mix:
4 Tbsp Italian bread crumbs
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 – 1 tsp Pepper

Dip 6 chicken breasts into mixture

In skillet on med-high melt 1/2 Tbsp butter. Cook chicken.

Remove cooked chicken

In same skillet add:
1/3 cup chicken broth
3 Tbsp lemon juice
1/2 Tbsp butter
Scrape bottom cook about 1 minute
Serve over chicken.
Great with rice and salad. Enjoy!

Poor Ryan stayed home from work today with a nasty cough, drippin’ nose and exhausted body. He spent the majority of the day sleeping with faithful Sadie by his side. I’m sure she was thrilled to have a cuddle buddy all day!

Little Sadie Girl

Soup for a Sick Boy

When I got home from work, I grabbed my grocery list and Ryan and I picked up some fresh veggies and goods for the week.

My Grocery List

We bought everything necessary for homemade chicken soup. At the first sign of sickness, I always crave a bowl of the good stuff. Tonight Ryan and I made a bubblin’ pot of soup full of vitamin-rich veggies to soothe his sickness.

The base for the soup was a box of chicken broth mixed with two cups of water and a packet of Knorr vegetable mix for tasty seasoning.

Cookin' Sick Boy Soup

Ryan added in thick pieces of chicken breast meat and let the chicken cook in the broth while I sliced and diced the veggies. Included in this soup was an onion, carrots, celery and portobello mushrooms.

Chopped Fresh Veggies

After adding the veggies to the pot, we let the soup simmer on low while I escaped to Great Clips for a haircut.

Gotta love cheap-o hair cuts! I’m not adventurous with my hairstyling at all. I’ve never dyed my hair and it’s been cut the same way for years. It’s kinda hard to mess up a half-inch trim, so I faithfully trust the Great Clips experts!

With freshly trimmed locks, I headed home to pour Ryan and myself two big bowls of homemade soup.

Big Ol' Bowl of Soup

We slurped and slurped until our bowls were empty and our bellies were warm. Yummy dinn-ah!

Unpacking and Cleaning

Remember that cleaning I said needed to happen last night? Well, I definitely neglected my duties and will be paying for it tonight.

I hate unpacking… even if it’s just from a weekend stay in St. Pete. My blue duffel haunts me until I empty it. The best unpacking experience occurs when all your clothes are dirty and you can just dump everything in the laudry basket. Not so this time since I didn’t wear 75 percent of the clothing I brought along for our weekend visit to my parent’s house. Oh well… unpacking here I come!

Last Chance

Tonight is your last chance to enter my first EVER giveaway. Just leave a comment on this post to be entered in a chance to win eight packs of Brothers-All-Natural fruit crisps!

Thanksgiving Recipe Guide: Choosing the Best Chicken Broth
Chicken broth is a Thanksgiving recipe staple. In fact, chicken broth is one of the most common ingredients in dinner recipes. But chicken broths are not all created equal. Most are yellow dyed and full of junk.
Read More

Another favourite home recipe, lobby is a thick stew which is popular in my home city of Stoke on Trent, in the Midlands. There’s plenty of information on the internet about where it comes from, whether it’s an adaptation of a Liverpudlian recipe, or a basic stew with a couple of changes. Wherever it originates, lobby always reminds me of home, and this, another of mum’s recipes, is a favourite of mine.

Serves 4-6.

Ingredients:
1 large onion, chopped
Handful of pearl barley
800g-1kg stewing beef, cubed 
1 large carrot, diced
2 potatoes, cubed
1/2 a swede, cubed
1 large parsnip, cubed 
1 celery stick, chopped
1 beef stock stock cube
1 tbsp tomoto puree
Handful of fresh seasonal herbs e.g. thyme, rosemary
2-3 bay leaves
Dash of Worcester sauce

Method:
1. In a large cooking pot, heat a little oil and fry onion until softened.
2. Add meat and brown.
3. Add pearl barley and vegetables and top up saucepan with boiling water to fill up pan, stir so it doesn’t stick.
4. Add stock cube, tomoto, puree, salt and pepper, herbs, bay leaves, and worcester sauce. Stir, bring to boil, and simmer at least an hour. If the sauce still needs to thicken you can add any thickening agent such as flour or gravy granules, or simmer for longer.

Leon- November 2009

Maureen took a step backwards and felt just inside the entrance, feeling her way over the stone wall. Suddenly there was a dim light and the entrance hall was presented to us. Not a large vestibule, more a small room with some doors off to both right and left and some stairs ahead twisting round to the right as the stairway climbed up the tower inside which we were now standing.

Naturally you look inside all of the doors and we did too but there was nothing of any real interest – a coal cellar, and some waste bins.  We headed on upstairs, holding on with one hand to the wide rope that was attached to the central column and the other flat against the outer wall for support as we headed up into the darkness yet again.

The first floor landing offered just one doorway and a light switch. Light on, Maureen turned the large pendant handle and opened the door. To say that we were surprised by what we saw would be something of an understatement, what we saw was unbelievable.

We had been invited to the castle by Campbell, a one time two-bit actor whose family had left him the Castle. We would have  loved to have been left a Castle in someone’s will, but as we were young we saw only the romance, not the bills, not the constant maintenance problems of a Grade 1 Listed Building. Campbell lived for the moment, for the people who surrounded him. He was as camp as a tent but as genuine an actor as you could expect to find. He had planned a party for this weekend and as we weren’t actors, we had arrived first. Campbell had written down the instructions involving Mrs McCracken and the key.

We kept exploring and eventually found the bedrooms. There were 5 altogether. We chose the Gold bedroom. You can perhaps guess why.

All of the furnishings were in “gold” fabric, the carpet a deep yellow; the drapes around the four-poster (no, really!) a heavy embroidered brocade and the quilt –  large and soft and shiny- reassuringly heavy. Afterwards, we called it a magic quilt simply because as soon as you pulled it over you, sleep came almost straightaway.

But I’m getting ahead of myself.

After settling ourselves in – which meant collecting our bags from the car and trailing them upstairs – we set about making supper. It was just for us and Maureen thought the best thing was to make soup. We already had the stuff anyway for the Saturday so doing it a day early made sense: soup is always better second day anyway.  We chopped and diced, boiled and fried, joined it all together and while the soup was happening I went upstairs and laid a fire in the big old hearth in our bedroom.

No TV in a castle, so we took our soup upstairs in a small pot, poured our first helpings into our plates and tucked into the delicious broth. We finished the entire (small) pot and then feeling warm and cosy inside at least, got ready for bed. As I closed the bedroom door there was a faint rumble but I thought nothing of it, and as we drifted off to sleep, the gentle flames from the fire flickered and reflected off the quilt.

We drifted off to sleep still unaware of the terrors that the night was to bring.

Hey There,

We flew from Kansai Airport to Sapporo on September 14th.  The flight was okay and really quick.  It felt like I had just buckled my seat belt and then they were announcing that we were about to land.  The only problem with the flight was when they were serving drinks, I thought I was ordering tea (I said “ocha” but I also pointed at a pitcher) but I was served broth.  It was okay, but imagine my surprise when I took a sip and tasted salty broth instead of plain green tea.

We had the Monday off, so for dinner we went to “Ramen Alley.”  I’m not sure if that is an official name, but there is a long, narrow alley in downtown Sapporo that has a long line of small Ramen shops.  Apparently, there are two such alleys.  We were in “Old Ramen Alley.”  The shop we entered was known for their crab ramen.  It was so small that the six of us almost didn’t fit.  The owner/cook was surprised to see us; apparently Gaijin are not common this far north.  The food was outstanding.

For those of you unfamiliar with ramen, it is a simple noodle soup that usually includes a slice of pork, green onions (negi), bean sprouts and spices.  You can add other things to the noodle soup- I’ve seen noodle shops offer egg, corn, mushrooms, and other things.  The ramen shop we went to served ramen with crab meat (you could get the plain ramen if you wanted).

I’ve had a long history with ramen, dating back to college, where it was a staple for those of us who decided to have dinner at two in the morning (at 25 cents per package, how could you go wrong?).  I never used to like the flavor packets that were included with the dried noodles, but since I’ve returned from Japan, I’ve started to appreciate it better.  I have chicken flavor ramen about once a week now and I boil some frozen vegetables and add minced garlic and cayenne pepper to it.  It’s a filling, tasty meal.

Here are some pictures of downtown Sapporo taken before our dinner:

I hadn’t taken any pictures from my hotel room, mainly because I never really had much of a view.  In Sapporo, I thought I did have a good view from my room, but I’m not sure what I saw out my hotel window that led me to take these pictures:

I don’t want to brag.  Okay, I DO!  My kids are always bright eyed, cough and runny nose free, winter time fiends, balls of bursting, healthful energy 24/7 & 365 days a year.  When we want a rest, we have to give them 2mg of melatonin, cause these kids never crash land!

People constantly ask us why our kids are never sick.  Even when all their playmates are out with the flu, or when there is a bad bug going around, my kids are the only ones left out on the playground.  Here are just SOME of the tips on how we do it, and a few may just surprise you.  I am loaded with great ways to get the little ones into health, so if you have a question, I will do my best to help out.  But for NOW…

1. Vaccinate your kids (but do it my way…):

Now I surely do NOT mean vaccinate your kids with the poison potions that the doctors wield around in gigantic needles.  No, the vaccines we give our kids are free!  During the summer months (when there are no major bugs going around, allow your kids to put their hands in their mouths after being in the shopping cart.  Let them lick the slide if they want to.  Their sneakers can go right on the table.  The can crawl on the floor at your favorite coffee shop without 400 degree water to sterilize them with after.  Any nurse will tell you that all this “sterilizer” we are using is causing super bugs.  Our kids are kept so safe from all these viruses and bacterias, that the moment their little system gets one, it’s off the the sick house, sometimes for a week or more!  If you allow their immune system to encounter small virsues on a daily basis, by the time winter comes around, they’ve already had a much lighter version of what has everyone else in the gutter!  This is advice passed on from my grandmother, who lived to be 92 and was only sick one time that I knew her!  This is a well known bit, but a piece of knowledge we have allowed ourselves to get too fearful (or squeimish) over. The only place we don’t allow this kind of modesty are public restrooms &  foreign countries for reasons that I hope are self-explanatory.

2. Get livestock!  Recent studies show the benefit to raising your own poultry, beef, and goats milk is more than the obvious!  People who are exposed to the pathogens from healthy livestock fight disease better AND have a significantly reduced chance of getting cancer.  Whether this is from the fresh, non-processed foods you get from your own backyard (as opposed to the canned or Made in China variety) or if the germs passed to us from our feathered friends allows our bodies to create super barriers, I don’t know…I can’t bring myself to read a whole damn medical article with all the awful footnotes etc.  But you can read it and then go right out and get a few chickens (legal even in rural neighborhoods)!

3.  Grow Shrooms and let your kids have them!

I mean it.  Kombucha is the coolest science experiment turned MAJOR bonus to your families health.  The healing properties of this mushroom have been reported for nearly a thousand years.  Not to mention, it is any little boys fantasy to have a gigantic, slimy mushroom to play with.  It’s really termed a “zoogleal mat” which is funny enough to make the kids laugh, which is also perfect medicine for the body.  The taste is not so bad, and better when you find the recipe you like best.  And best YET when you realize that it has real, time honored healing capabilities.  Study up on this really good before you take to it, as making the tea in an unsterilized pot, a pot with lead, or overdosing on the tea could be bad.  Next, I will show you how we use it in…

4.  Mom’s Magic Elixer!

When Dublin was a baby he was so healthy no one could believe it.  He was well-breast fed, gaining weight and very alert.  This was until he turned 6 months old and we vaccinated him like a bunch of uneducated idiots.  Then his leg swelled to 3 times its normal size, he suffered from constant fevers, earaches, acid reflux, diarrhea, and much worst.  I began researching all the things I could do, and found that herbs are mostly a safe remedy for adults, but they caution using them on babies.  So, I had to develop two plans.

First, a healthy elixer to use for babies and second, an elixer to use for us adults to stay healthy around the baby that could also be used as he got older.  Since babies are so sensitive, I advise you go to an herbalist if your child is under 3.  So, my first recipe is simple.  Lots of breast milk.  When you make the baby food, like rice or corn, put it in a small saucer of HOMEMADE chicken broth, skimming and saving the fat and oils from the top to pour on babies food.  Also juicing spinach and green apples with a few carrots, and giving baby this mixed with water twice a day, no more than 2 oz juice and 2 oz water at a time is amazing!

Then, once they turn that magic number, here is what I started using.  I fill a large dropper bottle (the kind you get at the healthfood store, about the size of the plastic ones you get children’s tylenol in) with Kombucha tea that I bought (I always BUY the komucha for the elixer, as it has to be very sterile.  Then I take 2 zinc pills and grind them to a powder.  Next, I add 1/2 tsp of goldenseal powder.  Next, 2 tbsp of Echinacea root extract (all this can be purchased at any healthfood store).  I then add a pack of Emergen-C fizzy vitamin C.  In the morning I give the kids 1 dropperful, and one dropperful at night.  The taste is so bad that you have to bribe them, which is the perfect time to give them a licorice lozinge or other healthy sucker that you can ALSO get from the health food store, some even have vitamins in them.

5.  Juice, and not the shelf!

Don;t juice the shelf at your local supermarket.  It is pure sugar and dye!  Why not just let your kid eat rubber?  Instead, make a small investment in a juicer.  Buy carrots, celery, spinach, green aplles and parsly.  You can do like we do and slowly add ginger and garlic cloves little by little.  We juice every morning and every night.  The kids drink 4 oz undiluted, or 6 oz if you add a little unpasterized apple juice to it.  First, give them a cool straw!  It helps.  We put a treat right next to the glass and play a game.  We point a little further down on the glass each time, telling them, drink to here, and making a big deal out of it when they do.  When it is gone and you can hear the “gurlge” at the bottom, they get the treat.  Now we don’t even bribe them anymore!  They drink it down and ask for more, but it is a process, and you cannot let them win.  If they know they will sit at the table all night, they will drink it.  Or if you give them a worst alternative, they will instanlty go for the easier and sweeter of the two.  Just be smarter than the kids!

6. Get Yeast.

Brewers yeast.  We sprinkle brewers yeast onto everything they eat.  It is flavorful and yummy.  We add it to their protein drinks, their juice, their backed potatoes, their soup, their toast and their vanilla ice cream.  Brewer’s yeast is often used as a source of B-complex vitamins, chromium, and selenium. The B-complex vitamins in brewer’s yeast include B1 (thiamine), B2 (riboflavin), B3 (niacin), B5 (pantothenic acid), B6 (pyridoxine), B9 (folic acid), and H or B7 (biotin)! These vitamins help break down carbohydrates, fats, and proteins, which provide the body with energy. BY helps you loose weight, builds the immune system, supports the nervous system, help maintain the muscles used for digestion, and keep skin, hair, eyes, mouth, and liver healthy.

7.  Cut it out:

Kids were never meant to consume the kids of food dyes, processed junk and candy that they are forced to eat every day.  I say forced because we are so busy that we never have “time” anymore to cook that fresh from the farm 6 course meal.  Not true!  I wake up 10 minutes early.  The night before I get all my ingredience together.  In the morning, I toss them into this cool, amazing thing called a crock pot.  Just imagine, 7 hours later you have a healthy, complete meal.  I add in dandelion leaves, parsley, fresh herbs, cloves of garlic, onion, fresh veggies, chicken and let it super slow cook all day.  You can make 100’s of recipes in a crock pot.  I would suggest you and your family having broth at least 3 times a week at night, even as a “late night treat.”  The fat in broth cooked without MSG using Celtic Sea salts and with the gizzards of the bird, is the BEST weapon to give your body against infection.  Kids love it with a few noodles tossed in.  I also will use real beets to make it bright pink, and my daughter just loves it!  Instead of letting your kids have all this junk, just invest a few minutes of time each evening, even while listening to the radio or watching TV from the other room.  It is so worth it, and gives the kids a feeling of being nurtured by mom and dad.

8.  Turn them on!

Turn them on to “strangeFruit.”  Make it a competition, who can find and eat the ugliest fruit of vegetable.  Be willing to fix it and eat it with them.  Keep trying!  My son will eat ANYTHING he gets to pick himself, from the garden or the shelf.  My daughter loves Pomegranites!  Be excited about it and don’t get grossed out.  Pretend you love it even if you don’t!

9. Pretend they are sick:

Reverse mantra?  Nope.  If you treat their bodies as though they are sick, you are being premptive.  Put them to bed by 8pm at the latest if they are under 10.  Put cool mist vaporizer in their rooms, adding ecalyptus oil, and clean it out constantly to prevent bacteria.  Air out their rooms in the day, even if it is cold!  Put oil in their noses before school, olive oil is great, vitamin E is best.  I use a Q-tip and put it on thick.  This is PROVEN to block germs from entering.  Have them gargle goldenseal (just a touch) and sea salt after they brush their teeth.  Treat cuts with colloidal silver.  Use colloidal silver for ear infections too!  Their bath each night should have a tsp Tea Tree oil in it to kill staph on the body and heal cuts.  When they get out use sunflower or Sesame oil to put on their skin, all over.  This is an Ayurvedic measure that works.  Follow all these previous suggestions!

If you do 60% of this, I would drop dead if your kid missed more than 10 days of school in a term.  Mine miss about 3 per year.  Good luck, and remember that your child feeling love, safe and nurtured is the MOST important piece of all of this.

Love,

Da Mama Shea

Wow. So, October was really busy. I put in a lot of long hours at work, but I designed, manufactured, and installed an exhibit at work and it is finally done! Well, it went up Sunday. I also purchased and organized the food for the opening reception we had to celebrate. Which was super fun. BUT, I also spent the last few weeks of October getting sick from the boy (luckily for both of us, it was relatively short-lived), doing lots of car maintenance on both our cars, and driving excessively to and from his parents, school, and my job. I also didn’t get to cook much, but now that the exhibit is done with, I’m finding time again! I’m also trying to be frugal, especially since my freezer is full of meat and my cupboards full of dried stuff (beans, peas, pasta, etc.) and my crisper is usually full of fresh veggies, and cooking at home.

Tonight I made smoked turkey and vegetable soup, which was kind of amazing. The boy and I both had the day off, and I thought I could simmer it all day, but we were in and out so much today, doing laundry, hitting our favorite antique store, The Hidden Barn, in search of reasonably priced and small hutches for more storage, viewing a cottage for rent (way too small and with even less storage than our current apt., alas), and shopping at Adam’s and Target, that it simmered off and on several times. Here’s the recipe:

Smoked Turkey and Vegetable Soup:

1 smoked turkey leg
3-4 small red potatoes, diced
2 large carrots, sliced
1/2 medium yellow onion. thinly sliced
6-8 leaves green leaf lettuce (I used butter lettuce), washed & coarsely torn or chopped
double pinch salt (or to taste)
3 or so quarts water

Put water in a 4 quart or larger stock pot. Add turkey leg (if you use a 4 quart stockpot, like I did, the leg will probably stick out, that’s okay, just prop the lid up on it) and simmer until water has turned to a lightly golden broth (complete with delicious fat globules!). Turn off heat. Remove turkey leg from broth and let cool, then remove meat from bone – taking care to remove tendons and the long, thin bones – and tear/shred about half of it and put back into pot (save the other half for another use, like more soup or a pasta dish). Return stockpot to heat and add diced potatoes, carrots, onion, lettuce, and salt. Bring to a boil then let simmer until potatoes are tender. Serve with peasant bread for dipping in the broth.

See how easy this is? And it’s sooooo good! The turkey leg gives the broth a slightly smoky, almost chicken-broth-like flavor, particularly after the vegetable additions. You could add beans or a grain (like barley or rice) to this soup or serve it over cheesy polenta, but I like it better with a big hunk of fresh bread. You could also substitute stronger-tasting greens (like kale, collards, or spinach), but I really like the lettuce. It adds color without overpowering the flavor at all and cooks up more tender (and less chewy) than the tougher greens. It still tastes green, but the flavor is subtle, unlike even spinach.

I’m finding that soup is remarkably easy for me to make. Alas, I usually make a lot of it, so there are always leftovers that don’t always get eaten with just the two of us.

My guitarist friend Paul is moving to Arizona for the winter and wants to have one last big huzzah/jam session with all his local musician friends. I said a long time ago that I would cook for it if he wanted. Well, he wants. : ) So I’ve been brainstorming easy and cheap things to make in quantity. I’ve come up with: creamy baked potato soup, Vanessa’s rolls, baked pasta, scalloped potatoes with ham, smoked turkey & vegetable soup, roasted root vegetables with pork loin and fruit sauce (a little much, perhaps, but would be delicious), apple sauce, etc. Of course, I’m not going to do all of that, but a few things, perhaps. We’ll see what Paul wants.

I bought some gorgeous, local carrots today at Adam’s. Think I want to roast them with a honey/cider or honey/garlic glaze. They would go nicely with roast chicken or pork.

I’ve also been wanting to use the red wheat bulghur I bought, but can’t seem to use it in any savory recipes. So I think I’m going to cook it in some apple cider and a little maple syrup with dried fruit and apples and make a sweet, porridge-y dessert/breakfast. Not tomorrow, though. Tomorrow will be another long day of work from 8:30-2, then the long haul up north for class from 7-9, not including the long haul back south (I usually get home around 10:45) and the early wake-up call on Thursday. *sigh* I can’t wait until school tours are over with. Just two more weeks after this!

Speaking of, I should probably get to bed so I can get up early and go to work! Just wanted to update, since I’ve been silent for a while.

Got one of those cool hand blenders? You know, the kind of gadget that used to be pitched on
those annoying yet compelling late-night infomercials? It comes in handy for this recipe, which requires the split peas to be smashed into a smooth consistency, just like the original. If you don’t have a hand mixer, a standard blender works just fine. This soup is very tasty and very low in fat. And the barley gives it a special chunky consistency and added flavor that isn’t
found in most pea soups.

2 cups split peas
6 cups water
2 14.5-ounce cans chicken broth (4 cups)
1/3 cup minced onion
1 large clove garlic, minced
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon dried parsley
1/4 teaspoon white pepper
dash dried thyme
1/2 cup barley
6 cups water
2 medium carrots, diced (about 1 cup)
1/2 stalk celery, diced (1/4 cup)

Garnish
chopped green onion

1. Rinse and drain the split peas, then add them to a large pot with 6 cups of water, chicken broth, onion, garlic, lemon juice, salt, sugar, parsley, pepper, and thyme. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 75 minutes or until the peas are soft.
2. While the peas are cooking, combine the barley with 6 cups of water in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 75 minutes or until the barley is soft and most of
the water has been absorbed.
3. When the split pea mixture has become a thick soup, use a handheld blender to puree the peas until the mixture is smooth. You may also use a standard blender or food processor for this step, pureeing the soup in batches. Alternately, if you like, you may skip this step, keeping the soup rather chunky. It’s still good this way, just not as smooth as the real thing.
4. Drain the barley mixture in a sieve or colander and add it to the split pea mixture. Add the carrots and celery and continue to simmer the soup for 15 to 30 minutes or until the carrots are tender. Stir occasionally. Turn off the heat, cover the soup, and let it sit for 10 to 15 minutes before serving. Garnish each serving with a little chopped green onion.
Makes 8 servings.

 Categories: Copycat, Dressings, Vegetables
 
                -Patdwigans fwds07a
     10 oz Can sliced carrots; undrain
      4 oz Can slices mushrooms;undrain
     14 oz Can chicken broth
      2    Ribs celery; cut 4-5 pieces
      1 tb Rubbed sage
     12 ts Poultry seasoning
      1 tb Chicken bouillon powder
      3 tb Bottled liquid margarine or
           -melted butter or margarine
      3    English muffins; cut into
           -1/2″ cubes with crumbs
      8 oz Bag unseasoned croutons
      1 tb Dry parsley; minced
      2 tb Dry minced onion

  When you open the can of carrots, run the blade of a
  paring knife through them right in the can so that
  you’ve reduced them to tiny bits without mashing them.
  Empty it then into a Dutch oven. Add the mushrooms;
  set aside. Empty the cam of broth into the blender and
  add the celery along with the sage, poultry seasoning,
  bouillon powder and margarine. Blend a few seconds on
  high speed, only until celery is finely minced.
  Meanwhile, add the English muffin cubes, (crumbs too),
  croutons, parsley and onion to the Dutch oven. Pour
  blender mixture over and stir to combine with rubber
  bowl scraper until completely moist. Cover with a lid
  and bake at 350~ about 45 minutes to an hour or until
  piping hot. Refrigerate leftovers to use within a
  week. Freeze to use within 4 months.

      Yield: 6 servings

    1/4 c  Raw Rice-shaped pasta
    3/4 c  Minute rice
      1 tb Pimiento; chop fine
    1/2 ts Dry minced celery leaf
      1 ts Dry minced parsley
    1/4 ts Dry mustard
     14 oz Can chicken broth
    1/4 c  Olive oil
    1/2 ts Salt

  In a 2-qt saucepan combine all ingredients. Stir often
  and bring to a bol. Cover and remove from heat. Let
  stand 15 minutes. Fluff rice with a fork occasionally.
  Salt and pepper to taste if desired. Keep warm in top
  of double boiler, over simmering water, to serve
  within an hour. Refrigerate leftovers covered. Rewarm
  Gently i 3 to 4 days. Do not freeze.

Here are a few of my favorite ramen shops* in Osaka. It is very hard to make recommendations for this sort of food in Osaka, as the city seems to be overflowing with mind-blowingly delicious options, but here’s what I’ve come up with. Some of them are chain stores, and some are small family businesses, but all are delicious in that, greasy, meaty, rameny sort of way.

Shitenno (四天王)

You can find Shitenno in many spots throughout Osaka, and it’s one of the better chain restaurants in the area. While some may criticize Shitenno (and other chains) for not using fresh noodles or providing good-quality chashu (pork), the shio (salt) broth chashumen is quite tasty and makes up for other shortcomings. Broth is the vital factor, after all.

Sodaisho (総大将)

Sodaisho is a famous little place with lines that stretch out the door. Its has an incredibly rich, flavorful shoyu (soy sauce) broth as its specialty. Television stars and celebrities come here to eat often, and for good reason. The chashu-don, which is a donburi-style dish with rice, mayonnaise, nori and chashu that looks strange but tastes wonderful.

Hokkaido Nagurikomi Ramen Betsubara (北海道なぐりこみラーメン　米通腹)

This is a small, family-run shop in a quiet residential neighborhood near Nishinagahori Subway Station. It serves Hokkaido-style ramen with thick, filling noodles, using konbu and tonkotsu as the broth base. The amount of bowls served is limited to a mere 100 per day.

Men’ya Eguchi (麺屋えぐち)

Another small (and this time, I mean SMALL) shop that is a favorite among locals working and living near Esaka in Suita City, you will be waiting around the corner in line to get a bowl but be glad you did. The basic tsukemen at Men’ya Eguchi makes your taste buds dance and comes with enough noodles to make your belly burst.

Kio (亀王)

Kio (lit. turtle king)  is a chain store that you can find almost as easily as Shitenno. It’s main attraction is the chashumen, which features absolutely huge, savory pieces of pork. I also recommend the reimen (cold ramen) during Osaka’s hot summers.

Hakata Ippudo (博多一風堂)

Ippudo ramen, originally from Hakata, is popular nationwide, and I have personally been in love with it since my days as a student in Tokyo. It has two unique tonkotsu broths–”red” and “white”–both of which are just amazing (although I prefer “white” just a little more). The lunch set during the afternoon is a great deal and comes with ramen, gyoza, and rice (piss-poor students take note: this is cheap and will fill you up for an entire day).

Kinryu Ramen (金龍ラーメン)

What kind of Osakan would I be if I didn’t mention Kinryu? This is the iconic ramen shop of Dotombori, and you can find shops running all throughout the district. If you have been in Osaka for any length of time but haven’t visited Kinryu, don’t worry, I won’t tell…just get there before somebody finds out! This simple ramen costs almost nothing and is available at any time of the day or night in order to meet the lifestyle of  the denizens of Namba. You can recognize this shop by the freaking-giant dragon on top.

Kinryu Ramen

*I have included the Japanese-language names as well as roman-letter transcriptions–Japanese fonts may not display properly in all browsers. The links provided are to Japanese pages.

Grand Prize Winner Receives $25,000 Prize Package

I was just at Kosherfest 2009 last week in Secaucus, NJ, and I have to start my diet all over again. That should be the worst news, but there really were so many new and healthy kosher food and beverage products; MimicCreme, a non-dairy and non-soy gluten-free blend of cashews and almonds cream substitute, Brain Toniq, which touts itself as the only non-caffeinated “think drink” designed to increase mental focus, function and clarity, Kosher Valley offers kosher turkeys and chickens raised without the use of antibiotics or animal by-products, and are free to roam in a humanely-raised, stress free environment. Then there were the classics that we grew up with, like Manischewitz which now has an -natural Ready-To-Serve Broth with no MSG. That’s progress. You can also test out your cooking creativity at the 4th Annual Man-O-Manischewitz Cook-Off. I’ve included more information about the all-natural Broth and cooking contest below. By the time I finished this article, I already had an idea, hopefully you will too!

SECAUCUS, NJ (October 2009)—Just in time for the holiday season, The Manischewitz Company announces the launch of the 4th Annual Man-O-Manischewitz Cook-Off, a cooking contest designed to encourage home cooks to challenge themselves in preparing a kosher meal using the new Manischewitz all-natural Broth, made with real chicken and beef. The contest encourages home chefs to experiment with different ethnic foods and to think of preparing a Kosher inspired meal as part of that experience, in the same way people enjoy preparing Japanese, Italian, Mexican, Chinese and other popular ethnic cuisine. Entrants will compete for a chance to be crowned the “King or Queen of Kosher” and win the $25,000 grand prize package including GE Profile kitchen appliances, cash and more. Five finalists will win an all-expense paid trip to NYC to compete live on March 18th at the Jewish Community Center of Manhattan. The contestants will be judged by an on-site cooking panel consisting of food media and other culinary experts. This year the cook-off will be bigger and better than ever with legendary acclaimed chef, Jacques Pépin as the celebrity guest of honor who will act as MC, head judge and award prizes. Pépin is one of America’s best-known chefs, widely recognized as the host of eleven acclaimed public television cooking series and the author and publisher of twenty-six cookbooks. He is also a founder of The American Institute of Wine and Food (WIWF) and has been the Dean of Special Programs at the French Culinary Institute (New York) since 1988. “I am thrilled to be a part of the 4th Annual Manischewitz Cook-Off!” said Chef Pépin. “I always encourage people to experiment with new types of ethnic cuisine and products.” Chef Jacques Pepin has created some exciting recipes using the new Manischewitz Broth which will be available in the recipe section of www.manischewitz.com.

“Over the past three years over 10,000 people across the country, spanning all ethnic backgrounds, have shared some amazing recipes.” says David Yale, President and CEO, of The Manischewitz Company. “As the leader in the kosher market, we pride ourselves on our wide range of specialty products that inspire cooks of all types to create exciting kosher inspired recipes.” Just-in-time for the Cook-Off, The Manischewitz Company has added a new line of ready-to-serve broths to its extensive portfolio of kosher products, giving you additional items to add to your creative recipe! New Manischewitz Broth starts with a recipe, not a formula, and is slow cooked in small batches. Filtered water is added to all natural ingredients and real kosher chicken and beef stock to deliver that homemade taste. Manischewitz Broth is packaged in a 14 ounce, easy open, pop-top can or a 32 ounce easy to pour reusable carton and is available in three flavors: Chicken, Reduced Sodium Chicken and Beef. Look for these wholesome broths in the kosher and soup section of supermarkets nationwide. Suggested retail price for the can is $1.69 and $2.99 for the carton.

As an added bonus, this year’s event will benefit Jewish American Heritage Month (JAHM), a national month of recognition of the more than 350-year history of Jewish contributions to American culture. Updates on JAHM will be available on www.Manischewitz.com shortly and will continue through the end of JAHM on May 31, 2010. The Manischewitz Company is the official corporate sponsor of JAHM, and will work with the JAHM steering committee to drive awareness of events and programs. How it works The Manischewitz Cook-Off invites U.S. residents 18 or older to submit an original, easy-to-prepare entrée. All recipes must be original, kosher, include a new Manischewitz Broth product, have no more than a total of eight ingredients and be prepared and cooked in one hour or less.

 For official contest details log onto www.manischewitz.com and complete the official entry form and submit your recipe online. You can also enter by mail by sending your recipe entry to: Manischewitz Cook-Off, c/o BHGPR, 546 Valley Road Upper Montclair, NJ 07043. All entries must be received by January 31, 2010 For more information, prize details, rules and regulations, log onto www.manischewitz.com.

To inspire you for Cook-Off try this delicious chicken dish: POT OF OLIVE OIL BROTH POACHED CHICKEN WITH ARTICHOKES AND TOMATOES Ingredients: 1 whole chicken, cut up 3 tablespoons olive oil 1 1/2 cups onions, diced 1 1/2 cups celery, diced 2 tablespoons garlic, chopped 42 oz Manischewitz® Chicken Broth (3 cans) 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves, chopped 2 bay leaves 2 cans artichoke hearts, drained and halved 2 whole tomatoes, chopped 1/4 cup fresh basil, cut into thin strips Preparation: PREPARATION: 1. In a large stock pot sear chicken skin side down in olive oil; remove. 2. In same pot, sauté onions, celery and garlic. 3. Add Manischewitz® Chicken Broth, thyme and bay leaves; bring to a boil, then reduce heat 4. And chicken. 5. Simmer 30 to 45 minutes or until chicken is fully cooked and tender, skimming off any fat or broth that comes to the surface; add water if necessary to keep chicken covered. 6. Remove chicken and set aside on serving platter. 7. Skim off any remaining fat or froth; add artichokes, tomatoes and basil; simmer briefly. 8. Serve with chicken. Serving Suggestion: Strain 1 1/2 cups of stock and add to 1 1/2 cups of couscous for a quick side dish. NUTRITION INFORMATION • Servings per Recipe: 6 • AMOUNT PER SERVING: • Calories (kcal): 709 • Total Fat: 47g • Cholesterol: 226mg • Total Carbs: 24g • Dietary Fiber: 9g • Protein: 50g