If you want a good laugh at another’s embarrassing story, by all means read on. After sleeping in, not running, and blogging yesterday morning, I got around to breakfast. I wasn’t super hungry from pre-sleep turkey but oats are always appealing.

Pumpkin Oatmeal With Smart Balance Peanut Butter And Banana Pineapple Frosting

See? Always appealing. At first I think I oversweetened the greek yogurt for the frosting(who knew this was possible?) so I added a little more plain to dilute it and it was muy perfecto.

Even though I had declared my rest day and the wind was 20 mph, I decided to gear up for a 6-7 mile slow paced run. And then the morning got a little weird(feel free to skip to lunch if you don’t want to hear tmi). After a pre-run trip to the bathroom, something I was fearing happened again–my “stool” had red color running through from it in the toilet water. This had actually happened several times in the past 2 weeks between that and urine, but I, being a stubborn Pollack, would rather ignore anything that looks negative from a medical perspective. Having happened two days in a row, though, I brought it up to others and suggested we go to the hospital. I think just about everything went through my mind as I showered and went from running clothes to day clothes; all of this thinking about diseases really had me anxious and pushed my limits. And then when I came down ready(though not quite mentally) to face my medical fears, Dr. Dad had an explination: beets.

Beets, as described by wikipedia, are a member of the amaranth family. The are a root vegetable with a bright red pigment, and over the past 2 weeks when I’ve been home my mother has been preparing them at a much more common rate than usual since she discovered how easy they are to prepare. And one of the side effects is having red coloration in the toilet. Well, very perplexed, I consulted the blog and looked at all the days I remembered being worried by this and when we ate beets. And it seemed that, always a day or two before an “episode”, I ate beets. Really? I was thrown into all this anxiety, embarrassment, and anger because of beets? Ugh. We nixed the trip to the doctors and now I’ve ressolved not to eat beets for two weeks to make sure they’re the culprit(and then never again because I’m not going to go through this BS). That pretty much wasted my morning and the run, so I moved on to homework and then lunch.

Stuffing Stuffed Pepper

2 Eggs Scrambled With Celery And Shredded Turkey

I made two of the leftover dishes I’ve been wanting to since Thursday. I heated up a pepper in my pan and some stuffing in the microwaved for a delicious stuffed pepper. If it were a little bit more runny of a stuffing, it would have been perfect, but it was still good. I loved the slightly runny eggs with the turkey; it sort of made its own sauce, and was a perfect protein with a little salt. I’m going to miss making proper eggs when I get back to the dorm today. After lunch we decided to pick up our tree. While my dad drove, I walked(it’s not even a mile down the road). They even let me cut it down. Now whose bright idea was it to hand me a saw?

Cutting Down The Tree

It wasn’t a perfect job, but no fingers chopped off. After I walked home and the tree was dropped off, we took a trip to Whole Foods. Don’t you hate missing a sales period or weekender? Well, they didn’t look too too good this week, but I was glad to get a bunch of deals between coupons and sales and then the stuff we needed. We also stopped at Trader Joe’s and Stop & Shop. Has anybody noticed that Trader Joe’s doesn’t sell chocolate covered peanuts, milk or dark? They sell chocolate covered everything. I can sooner get chocolate soy beans than I can peanuts. Ummm, what? Though they do now have chocolate oranges with all natural flavorings which I hope to have one of this season. Oh well, that was pretty much the only thing on the list we couldn’t find.

Groceries

I got a total of $4 off two Green & Black products between coupons and sales–score. Can you tell I like my organic chocolate? The star of the trip was the Tofurkey! It’s for my dad and I for lunch today, and was 3 dollars off at Whole Foods I figured since it’s a frozen product that’s good for 2 more years, it wouldn’t go on sale any more than that so I seized the day. I can’t wait to see what it’s like. I also couldn’t wait on another Whole Foods find:

Pumpkin Oatmeal With Pumpkin Cream Cheese, Peanut Greek Yogurt

A Whole Foods exlusive pumpkin cream cheese was on sale for 4 dollars a tub. It had in it pumpkin, honey, ginger, walnuts, and spices. It probably wasn’t something I couldn’t have made, but it was convenient and sounded good. And it tasted awesome! The spices and walnuts really worked with the creaminess and it was very sweet. And though the oatmeal and yogurt were in two containers, rest assured they were eaten as one Before dinner I caught up on Slapsgiving 2–legen, wait for it… I also tried watching an SNL but it crashed everything and that was the end of that. For dinner I forwent leftovers *gasp*.

Lentils In Trader Joe Curry Simmer Sauce, Broccoli, Roasted Zucchinni, Full Fat Voskos Greek Yogurt

One of the non-sale items we picked up was Trader Joe’s Curry Simmer Sauce; I was looking at getting a prepared Indian meal but the sauce was a better bargain. I cooked some lentils and let them simmer. The flavor was good, but it probably could have used a little more curry. The yogurt I felt was very Indian and a nice touch This meal reminded me, though, why I hardly ever have lentils or beans even though I love ‘em(i.e. buddha belly and discomfort). I suppose it was that or sleepiness from turkey, right?

There was an entire Charlie Brown Movie on ABC Family. I love my specials, but after 90 minutes I was tuckered out and couldn’t finish it. Instead I moved on to fun for the whole family: Knocked Up. What else is better to watch with the fam? I also had a vitalicious snack.

Coffee And A Vitabrownie

On a paper plate because, at 9pm, I’m not aiming to impress anyone I still think these taste best in circular form with evident chocolate chips(i.e. the vitatops), but they didn’t have them where these were on sale for 3.99 so I compromised for a bargain. The rest of the night was filled with about 4 cups of decaf coffee, and then this two-faced inspired snack.

Vegan Whole Wheat Cinnamon Raising Roll With Smart Balance Peanut Butter And Pumpkin Cream Cheese

Um, perfection. Since coming home I have not stopped craving smart balance agave sweetened peanut butter. Have you noticed? That’s why I picked some up at Stop & Shop to take back to my dorm. I don’t know why the flavor is better than molasses sweetened, but it is. This pumpkin cream cheese is also to die for; I loooove that it has crunchy walnuts for texture. And the vegan rolls are just always euphoric I went o bed nice and happy with this in my stomach, until I woke up at 4:45 and couldn’t sleep. I decided maybe I was hungry and that this snack would knock it out:

Cinnamon Raisin Gnu Bar With Pumpkin Cream Cheese

I tried this new gnu bar, heating it up in the microwave and then topping it with the cream cheese. Wow, this was all good. The bar was just like a good slice of cinnamon raisin bread with a nice earthiness, and the cream cheese made it perfect. It definitely filled me up, but that must not have been the problem because I was still awake for quite some time.

I woke up at 8:30 this morning–a tad bit of an improvement from 9, right It’s definitely time for me to get a move on it and make breakfast. And, who knows, a run might even happen today(could you imagine that?). I’m going to need to make plenty of room for my Tofurkey for lunch! Haha.

Sodastream Giveaway! I could make some very bubbly seltzer with this bad boy

It’s official: I’m back on the couscous bandwagon.  Thankfully, I’m not quite as obsessed as I once was.  Unlike those college days, I do vary my diet a little; I also eat pumpkin pies, apple crumble cakes and cranberry sauce.  I’ve said this before, but I’ll say it again: couscous salads are so flexible, you can really add whatever you have lurking in your fridge drawers and it’ll probably make a good meal if you spice it up enough.  That said, I’ve been making several grain & veggie salads of late and this one really stood out and, despite the fact that it provided a huge Tupperware of leftovers, there wasn’t a semolina granule to be found two days later.  What made this salad different was the spicing.  I didn’t skimp with salt (3/4  teaspoon for the entire salad), chili powder, coriander, cumin, garam masala and cinnamon.  I took a riff from my previous Moroccan Couscous dish with the sweet-tastes (I even added a splash of orange juice at the end).  But I also wanted a bit of a kick, like a chocolate mole sauce, so I included chile peppers, chile powder and a bit of cumin for some warmth.

The best part of this salad was the fact that the couscous played a minor role.  Instead of eating COUSCOUS flaked with a few specks of parsley and a lentil or two, the couscous was the medium to eat nuts, dried fruit and savory, spiced veggies.  Each spoonfull had chew and crunch.

I ate this salad hot, room-temperature and cold.  My favorite was room-temperature, but see what you like.  My dad’s favorite was piping hot; my mom loved it cold.  As my cousin Emily said, we’re like the Three Bears.

Ingredients:
1/3 cup pine nuts
1/3 cup pecans, chopped

1 cup whole-wheat couscous
1 cup chopped dates and dried apricots

1 large onion, white or yellow
5 sweet chile peppers (or 1 large bell pepper), thinly sliced
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon garam masala
3/4 teaspoon sea salt
generous amount of ground pepper
1/2  cup dried beans (I boiled a 12-bean mix from a market bulk bin)
olive oil
1 tablespoon orange juice, optional

Methods:

1.  If using dried beans, measure 1/2 cup and boil according to cooking time.  Skim off any white foam that rises to the top during cooking duration.

2.  In an ungreased sauce pan, toast pine nuts and pecans on medium-high, approximately 5-7 minutes.  Pinenuts burn easily, so keep close watch.

3.  Boil amount of water according to couscous instructions.  Remove from heat.  Stir in whole-wheat couscous and chopped, dried fruit.  Cover for five minutes, then fluff.  Set aside.

4.  In a skillet, heat 1-2 tablespoons olive oil.  Add chopped onion and cook until wilted and slightly browned, about 5 minutes.   Add peppers, cook another 3-4 minutes.  Add generous pinch of sea salt and spices (don’t skimp here; remember that these ingredients will flavor the entire salad).  When cooked, remove from heat.  Toss with couscous salad.  Add more olive oil to taste, pepper, salt if necessary and smidgen of OJ, if using.

5.  When beans are cooked, drain and add to salad.  Toss.  Serve warm or at room temperature.

Well, I did vegetarian.  Yeah, for barely a week, I know.  But I’ve always wanted to go vegan.  So today I decided to give it another try.  Do I plan to always be vegan?  No.  But I would like to be for 90% of the time.  I’m not sure though, is the only reason I don’t go 100% because I love Shield’s pizza and Ben and Jerry’s ice cream too much?  Does that make me weak?  Well, so be it.  I’m at least purchasing less animal products.  And, I cannot give up honey.  Absolutely cannot.

So, to kick it off, I made vegetarian chili.

slice up two zucchinis, a red pepper, a green pepper, garlic, onions, black beans, vegetable stock, basil, salt, pepper, and tomatos. Cook for 30 minutes.  I served mine Cincinnatti style with over cooked pasta.  It was whole wheat pasta, so I tried to be a little  good with the pasta.  :)

However, I really miss dessert.  I had peanut butter toast, an orange, and some walnuts as well.  Maybe I’m not eating enough protein that I don’t feel full, or, I ate so much before that my body only knows over stuffed and not just right.

I will say, that since I started eating vegetarian / vegan, I’ve felt really good.  And the only times my stomach bothers me is when I eat dairy.  Go figure.  I can also tell my husband is feeling better.  He’s not vegetarian or vegan, but he eats that way at home.  I’m a believer of the health benefits.  It’s nice not to feel like there’s a brick in my stomach after I eat!

Recipe 119: This is so much a classic, that it’s a dish we cook often when we want to eat a good and quick plate of pasta. In fact in my recent trip to Holland, on my last day we ate at home and we cooked spaghetti alla Carbonara.

Of course i first tried all the Dutch specialties , but a nice plate of pasta is very difficult to beat!

However if you pass for Holland you will need to try the fresh made dutch waffles, the Gouda cheese, you need to eat out and try one of their mix-asiatic dishes (their colonies in Asia have created a nice mix food culture), the special queen Wilhelmina’s peppermints (but i can suggest you these very good gums too, also if the name is not really inviting) and finally you need to try one of the FEBO’s specialties and you can’t avoid that considering there are so many FEBO and in the weekend everyone goes around with french fries and junk food.

But let’s comeback to the recipe of the pasta. The ingredients for 2 people are: 250 gr spaghetti – 2 fresh eggs – 1 onion – 75 gr pancetta – Parmesan (better if you can find Pecorino cheese) – salt – pepper. Very easy!!!

Cut the onion in little pieces and put it in a pan with a bit of oil. If you want you can also give more taste to the oil adding a little piece of garlic that you can cook and then remove.

Then add the pancetta and in the meantime put the Spaghetti in hot salty water. Wait a bit for the pancetta to cook and in the meantime you can grate the Parmesan or  Pecorino cheese (depending if you like a stronger flavor). Put the 2 eggs in a little container and mix a bit until you reach a worm yellow color. No comments about his portable colander!

At this point when the pasta is ready (and still just a bit hard) drain it and place it back in the sauce pan with the pancetta and onion, Parmesan or Pecorino, mix all and then add also the 2 eggs, without put anything on the gas. This is the secret of this pasta. You don’t need any cream, but just the eggs will give the necessary creamy consistence to the dish.

When ready just serve with some more Parmesan and black pepper.

Buon appetito!!!

PS. Mamy questa e’ la carbonara che abbiamo fatto con Carlo prima che prendessi il volo. Avevamo una fame e devo dire che lui e’ stato bravissimo. La cottura era perfetta ed immagina che c’aveva anche il pecorino! Che buono!Chi la batte la carbonara? Invece prima ho parlato di alcuni prodotti tipici danesi, che a dire la verita’ non sono moltissimi, ma buoni, specialmente i waffles.

The simplest – and fastest! – way to cook noodles is in bianco [in bi'aṅko] with ‘couple of spoon of native olive oil, a “dressed up” (not peeled) garlic, and a dried chili pepper. So, how can we turn on this old and cheap recipe? Is there any enrichment we can add to this basical pasta? Of course…

You might want to know how to prepare the basic: boil 1hg of spaghetti (better if linguine) in abundant water; two minutes before pasta is ready (al dente means one minute before timing shown on envelop!) start stirring in a frying pan two tablespoon of olive oil, a garlic and a chili pepper. Then finish the noodles’ cooking into the pan.

I decided to use a very particular ingredient this time: Bottarga, from sardinian cured fish roe. You can eather chopped it or pour it like parmesan cheese as a topping for your spaghetti, for a nice and unexpected scent of seafish for such simple a dish.

If you pour one tablespoon of Gomashio [ごま塩] on your dish, be carefull not to add too much salt to the noodles’ boiling water.

A very simple way of revolving a very simple traditional midnight spaghetti recipe.

Stuffing has got to be my favorite Thanksgiving food.  I remember Thanksgivings past where my dad & I would fight over the stuffing bowl like it was filled with gold, diamonds, and (for me) guitars.  The stuff is perfect.  Alone, with turkey, with gravy… the decadent amount of carbs is ridiculously awesome.

Last year was my first ever attempt at making stuffing… and my grandma told me that it tasted just like hers.  Is there a compliment better than that?  I had used as a guide an old recipe that my grandfather & grandmother had both used when making holiday meals.  My mom lent me the old cook book with my grandfather’s notes last year, I collected some others, and I made scans for myself.

I say “guide” because it’s not always an exact science when doubling/tripling recipes… and there really aren’t any cooking directions… it’s just a guide to make the stuff.  Also, I tend to do a lot of “oh, that looks about right” and a little bit of “hey, let’s add a little of this” in the kitchen, as most people comfortable there usually do.

A lot of times I see stuffing recipes online, on TV, or in the little books by the cash register at the grocery store… and they include sausage, apples, raisins, (yuck!) nuts, or even peppers, carrots, or mushrooms (all of the latter of which I’ like to try some time).  The philosophy behind this recipe seems to be a K.I.S.S. one.  I like that.  It’s a very simple accompaniment, and the taste that my mind goes to every time I think “stuffing”.

This year, it was definitely a two person effort.  I don’t know how I would have done it without Bethany and all four of our hands.  We made a lot of stuffing.  Sadly, I didn’t think to chronicle the thing with photos like I sometimes do with new recipes… but I did want to make a guide with my own notes, so when I do this next year, I remember what I did differently this year.  I know I altered things slightly last year, but the details were a little fuzzy.  I figured that if I’m going to do it for myself, I might as well share, right?  Plus, we got compliments from two moms, two grandmas, and an aunt… all excellent in the kitchen themselves!

I did take a photo today, because really, what’s a food blog post without a photo?  Perhaps I’ll see if my mom got any with her camera and amend the post later.

This year's effort was delicious, if I do say so myself.

This is my first time really writing out a recipe… so pardon me if it’s a little convoluted or long winded.  I don’t want to miss anything, and I hope to get it all in the right order as well as make it an entertaining read.

Here’s what you’ll need to do it the same way I did…

Food:

• 5 loaves of bread (equaled 56 cups once cubed)
• 1 bundle of celery (3 cups, chopped – the rest can cook w/ the turkey or be a snack)
• 2 Spanish or Sweet onions
• The giblets & neck out of your turkey.
• 1 can (14½ oz.) vegetable broth
• 1 tablespoons of salt
• ½ tablesppon Season All Seasoned Salt
• 1 heaping teaspoon coarse ground black pepper
• 1 heaping teaspoon sage
• 1 heaping teaspoon poultry seasoning
• 10 eggs
• 4 sticks (2 cups) butter
• some water
• 1 cup fresh parsley
• 1 bottle of Yuengling

Stuff:

• 2 cookie sheets
• cutting boards
• small pot
• electric skillet
• Magic Bullet^®
• electric roaster
• large crock pot
• knives
• a few large bowls
• whisk
• spatula
• several large spoons
• paper towels

OK, on to the directions…

1. Monday night, get your loaves of bread, open the bags, and put the loaves on cookie sheets before dinner.  Leave ‘em out on a table or counter while you do your thing.
2. Right before your favorite prime time TV shows come on, set up a station on the coffee table in front of the couch with the cookie trays of bread, some cutting boards with knives, and the pans out of your electric roaster.  Cube the bread and fill the roasting pan.  When I say fill it, I mean fill it.  It will be ridiculously full.
3. Cover it with paper towels, and set it on the kitchen table that you only use when company comes over anyway.  Over the next few days, stir it a few times a day, whenever you think of it.  This will get it nicely & slightly stale.  If you’re going to be doing anything that smells, like using cleaning chemicals, put it in the oven… but don’t turn it on.  It’s nice & warm & dry & not stinky in there.  The bread will absorb that stuff and the stuffing will taste like Mr. Clean made it.
4. Wednesday night, get out your turkey… and pull the disgusting papery bag of giblets out of the neck cavity, and the neck out of its butt.  (Why exactly do they put the neck in the butt, anyway?  Who’s idea was that?) Boil the giblets in your can of vegetable broth, or just use plain water… or even turkey or chicken broth.  I thought the vegetable broth would add a nice flavor.  I boiled them for a nice long time, and let it cook down quite a bunch.
5. Finely chop up your celery & onions… or use the Magic Bullet, like I did.  I’m not real big on chunks of slimy or crunchy stuff in bread-like consistency foods.  I probably had half of each chopped finely, the other half rendered to near-paste by the genius little piece of equipment that list the Magic Bullet.  I’m sure any food processor would work.. but this one is easy to pot pout of storage, use, and clean when you’re done.
6. Then I popped out the electric skillet to sauteé the onion & celery mixture… probably in some Country Crock & a bit of extra virgin olive oil… adding some of the spices mentioned above, and maybe even some paprika… although, they don’t come the totals listed above.  These are the aforementioned “oh, that looks about right” and  “hey, let’s add a little of this”.  You’ve sauteed stuff, you know how it works.  I love this step because it turns the onions from gross into awesome… especially the Spanish onions.  The sweet onions are oddly enough not as sweet to me when cooked.
7. Next time, I’m totally getting a pair of swimming goggles or those glasses that I’ve seen at Bed, Bath & Beyond for when I chop & pulverize the onions.  I was crying like a little girl who just watched a car run over a kitten.
8. I popped the onions and celery into separate containers for the ‘fridge to save for Thursday morning.
9. Next, I pulled out the giblets and chopped them into tiny pieces, & put them with the reduced broth from cooking into a 3rd refrigerator bound container to be used on Thursday morning.
10. Go to bed.  You have to get up early.
11. Thursday get up about an hour before your turkey needs to go in the roaster oven, and start to mix all this crap together.
12. Add the dry spice ingredients to the now stale-ish cubed bread.  Good luck not getting any on the floor.
13. Chop the fresh parsley.
14. Nuke your butter in a microwave safe bowl, add it to a large mixing bowl, crack open the 10 eggs, and whisk away.
15. Add the fresh parsley to the buttery gooey egg mixture.
16. Add 2-3 cups of the broth from the giblets, and the finely chopped giblets to the now even gooier butterier egg mixture.
17. This is where I got the bright idea to dump in some Yuengling.  It wasn’t a whole bottle… but I had it out & only needed about ½ cup for my butter/garlic/beer turkey injection/baste,  so I dumped some into the gooey buttery gibletey mixture, and drank the rest… all before 8:00 am.
18. Dump the celery & onion concoction on to the bread, mix around, and then dump on the gooey buttery gibletey Yuenglingey mixture.  This is where it was imperative that there were two of us.  Bethany opted to use her hands to mix while I poured.  The mixing gets easier when it’s wet, as it goes down a little.  You should probably wash your hands before you do this.  Not that I think you’re stupid or anything… but there are signs out there all over the place… so someone somewhere must need reminded.  Use soap, and hot water.
19. Now, this needs to come out of the roaster so the turkey can go into it… and you should be doing this around the same time as turkey prep… so stuff what you can into the turkey carcass’ various cavities, and put the rest in the crock pot.  I had Bethany scoop it into a bowl small amounts at a time as I stuffed it into the bird, so I wasn’t touching raw poultry and the stuffing that wasn’t going into the bird.  She made it clear that she wasn’t touching the raw dead bird, or sticking her hands into it.
20. I sewed up the turkey and popped it into the roaster to cook, and then put the stuffing in the crock pot on low to cook for the same amount of time.
21. Everyone told me last year that stuffing + crock pot = bad idea.  This is where I say that you could not be more wrong.  It was perfectly moist and heated well throughout.  I did break the cardinal cock pot rule by removing the lid every hour or so and stirring a little so it didn’t stick to the sides or burn.  This worked well, except that I didn’t get the bottom well enough.  You could add more liquid throughout if t looked necessary… or not stir if you like the crusty part as much as the other part.  If you use the crock pot enough, you get to know what works for yours.  Pop it on to warm or off a while before you eat.
22. When the turkey’s ready, the stuffing’s ready.  Stuff yourself silly, send people home with leftovers, and eat for breakfast, lunch, & dinner the next day.

Well, I hope you enjoyed the process, and I’m sorry for jumping tenses.  I think I did anyway.  All over the place.  Maybe Dave and Kristin can give me some pointers on that.

I’d love to know what you think of this recipe, and how you do your stuffing.  I’m always up for trying things new ways… and I’m always up for eating stuffing.  In fact, even better — make some, and invite me over for dinner!

]]> http://tonicfoodclub.com/2009/11/27/mushrooms-and-peppers/ Fri, 27 Nov 2009 02:34:55 +0000 tonicfoodclub http://tonicfoodclub.com/2009/11/27/mushrooms-and-peppers/

Menu:

Raw Flax “filo” with mushroom filling
Mushroom Filo Triangles: spinach, garlic
Sauteed Wild Mushrooms
Mache Salad: with mushrooms and candied walnuts
Polenta Lasagna

Tonic:
Kava Colada: Herb Pharm Kava and pineapple coconut juice….relaxing and tasty!
Clase Azul Tequila: this is a deliciously sweet sipping tequila

Nutritional/Medicinal Benefits:
Mushrooms are high in fiber and provide vitamins such as thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, biotin, cobalamis, and ascorbic acid.

Ingredients:

• 1 pound bag of pinto beans
• ½ pound smoked bacon (chopped)
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 large onion chopped (or ½ cup chopped) [Note 1]
• 3 cloves garlic minced
• 1/2 cup chopped green pepper [Note 1]
• 3 tablespoons salt (kosher salt is best)
• 1 teaspoon black pepper (freshly ground for best flavor)
• 1 liter chicken broth or stock (homemade is best but store bought will do)
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 bay leaf

Directions

Start to soak your beans at least 24 hours before you would like to plate. Before you do, however, you need to spread your beans out on a cookie sheet or half sheet pan. Remove all of the rocks that slipped through the sorting process. Also take out all of the beans that look ugly or bad. Cooking will not help their flavor! Place the beans into a container that is at least three quarts deep. Now add the salt and the beans. Add about 2 quarts of water.

Soak for 12 hours, covered.

In a medium skillet over medium heat add the chopped bacon and the Worcestershire sauce. Cook the bacon until some of the fat is rendered out. Now add the onion, green peppers, pepper, chili powder. Cook until bacon is slightly crispy and the aromatics are slightly brown. Using a paper towel, soak up all but about 2 tablespoons of the fat. Transfer all of it to your Crockpot, turned onto high. Deglaze, if needed, with some of the chicken broth or stock.

Drain your beans (reserving the liquid) and add them to your Crockpot. Now add the deglazed liquid and the rest of the chicken broth. Top off with your reserved bean liquid (which still holds significant bean flavor and vitamins). Now stir in the dried oregano and the bay leaf. Set your timer for 4 hours and cover.

At the end of 4 hours, set your slow cooker or Crockpot to the low setting and simmer for AT LEAST two more hours. However another four to eight hours would be MUCH better. Just be sure to top off the Crockpot with water to replace any liquid loss.

Finally, Remove the bay leaf and then add salt and pepper to taste about an hour before serving.

[Note 1: Individually flash frozen, chopped green pepper and onion are both economical and a great time saver. They make adding both aromatics a simple procedure that does not involve tears or breaking out the cutting board. They're normally found in the frozen section of the local mega-mart.]

26th november 2009

pepper mini cabriolet…
turning right towards parliament house…
& i ran after you with only my phone camera…

Santa Plate…Sno-Flok Refill…Pine Cone Figurine…Pickle Ornament…2 Lots Miniature Bells…Kissing Santa Salt & Pepper…1984 Hummel Ornament…Paper Nativity…Gift Tags

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PEPPER-VODKA-SOAKED CHERRY TOMATOES WITH SEASONED SEA SALT

CarbsPerServing:17 total recipe

Effort:Easy

Ingredients:

1 pint cherry tomatoes — vine-ripened

1/2 cup vodka — pepper-flavored

3 tablespoons sea salt — coarse or

fine

1 tablespoon lemon pepper

How to Prepare:

Store-bought seasoned salt can also be used in the following recipe.Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less but requires additional unattended time. Poke 5 or 6 holes with a wooden pick or skewer in each tomato and put in a shallow bowl. Pour vodka over tomatoes and let stand, covered, tossing occasionally, 1 to 2 hours, or until soaked to desired taste.In a small bowl stir together salt and pepper.S erve tomatoes with seasoned salt for dipping using toothpicks. Makes 2 cups. If you cant find the pepper vodka,, to use red pepper flakes mixed into the vodka.

November 2009 Exercise – Robert Wilson, Sous Chef, Wingate University, Wingate, NC

Mini crab cakes w/ a strawberry and habanero pepper puree and beef tenderloin w/ roasted red pepper and chocolate demi-glaze

To participate in the next exercise, please send an e mail to: jeffrey@bauscherinc.com

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So, whilst making some yummy seitan this weekend, my beloved pink polka dotted ceramic salt shaker slipped out of my hand and crashed to the ground. Sadly, the poor thing burst open sending salt and pieces of ceramic flying everywhere so now I am hunting for a cool new shaker set. I came across these treasures below on Etsy. They are a mix of vintage and new and are all fun and unique!

Enjoy!

After an annual trip to Costco, my fridge looked like it was going to explode at any second.  You had to precariously open the door, for fear of anything from oversized sauce jars to heads of broccoli falling on your unsuspecting foot.  Without even realizing what I’d done, a ginormous tray of sliced mushrooms kept pleading with me everytime I snuck in for a quick snack.  I do love a mushroom and I happened to be in the ball and realized I was overdue in my soup of the week, so I thought: let’s kill two birds with one stone (figuratively of course!!).  This resulted in a creamy, earthy soup that tasted even better as my warming lunch the next day.

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INGREDIENTS:

1 TBSP butter

1 medium onion, finely chopped

1 TBSP olive oil

2 dozen crmini mushrooms, chopped

2 cloves of garlic, minced

3 cups stock (your choice – as long as it’s rich and good!)

1 cup boiling water (you may use more or less, depending on the thickness you desire)

1 tsp sea or kosher salt (if your stock is super salty, use less)

1/3 cup 10% table cream

Pepper to taste

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DIRECTIONS:

1)      Bring a large pot to medium heat and sauté the onion in the butter and olive oil until just browned.

2)      Add into pot the garlic and mushrooms, and sauté until browned and softened (about 5-10 min).

3)      Pour stock, water and salt into pot, bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 30 min (or until veg are very tender).

4)      Turn off heat and allow soup to cool slightly, then add in cream.

5)      Pour 3/4 of the contents into a blender, and blend until smooth (you can add in extra liquid if it’s too thick).

6)      Place puréed soup back in pot, add in pepper to taste and re-heat slightly (you do not want to burn the soup, so keep a close eye).

7)      Serve hot with crackers or bread!

When I was a wee young tot, I was petrified of zucchini, spinach and Brussel sprouts. Yes, I thought the green monsters were going to jump off the plate and eat me. Naturally, I did everything in my power to avoid eating the greens. The spit-them-out-in-the-old-napkin trick was a safe standby. A hysterical temper tantrum, without fail, got me excused from the dinner table without dessert. (Wink, wink) I totally wasn’t fooling my mom. She was just sick of putting up with my B.S. After a few minutes of sulking in my room, I would cry, apologize profusely, and somehow convince my mom and dad that I needed dessert for my psychological well-being. Yes, flip charts and PowerPoints were involved.

The potted topiary centerpiece served as a cozy hiding spot. But, when it started sprouting mold in lieu of flowers, I had to camp out in my closet for a few days. Too bad the dumb dog wouldn’t eat them either. I guess she was smarter than I thought (R.I.P. Chloe). Throwing the greens at my younger sister was an alternative method for releasing angst and otherwise wasting food. And, good God, it felt good to fork-catapult the sprouts at my older brother. Then, he totally stuck them up his nose. It was impressive how much stuff he could get up there. But, that quickly resulted in a “He’s looking at me” argument which transgressed into “She’s pointing at me.”

“Mooo-aahhh-OMMMmm! He’s looking at me. Tell him to STTO-aahh-OOPP-aaahhh!” I loved making one syllable words into syllab-i.

When all else failed, I finally held my nose and sucked them down as if someone were pouring molten lava down my throat … kicking, screaming, crying. Repeat.

Well, those days are over. I have conquered vegetables, and they have been defeated with zucchini ribbon pasta. The rich green color and texture brightens up a bowl of bland noodles, and they’re good for you, too. Why? Because my mom said so.

Zucchini Ribbon Linguine with (You Guessed) Vegetables

• 2 cups of linguine
• 1 zucchini
• 2 teaspoons of minced garlic 
• ¼ cup sliced red onion
• ¼ cup of cherry tomatoes
• ½ cup of mushrooms
• A few slices of yellow pepper
• 2 teaspoons of basil
• 2 teaspoons of thyme
• 2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar
• Goat cheese for topping

Boil a large pot of water. Once it starts to boil, add linguine. Using a vegetable peeler, create ribbons out of the zucchini. Once you have reached the seeds, you can stop peeling.

In a skillet, heat 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil. Add the garlic and next four vegetables. Sauté for about 5-6 minutes. Add basil, thyme, and balsamic vinegar. Toss.

About two minutes before the linguine is fully cooked, add the zucchini and boil for two minutes. Strain the zucchini and pasta. Serve the vegetables atop of the linguine. Top with goat cheese.

ribbons of zucchini

Toss the vegs on a skillet

Adding zucchini as a portion of the pasta helps cut the carbs

Edible walls are a new idea alongside green roofs and green walls: maximizing urban space for plants and food. A New York Times article discuss how a collaborations between garden designers and a metal fabricator to create relatively simple soil and drip water systems that support lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, bell peppers, spinach, leeks, and even baby watermelon. The article mentions an antecedent in espaliered fruit trees in European cities during the Middle Ages. Recently, edible walls are being used in a Los Angeles homeless shelter to feed the residents and generate a small income.

November 2009 Exercise – Kristy Schertzer, Executive Chef, Morrison Senior Dinning – Friends Homes West, Greensboro, NC

Meatloaf stuffed dates wrapped in bacon with chipolte pepper dipping sauce

To participate in the next exercise, please send an e mail to: jeffrey@bauscherinc.com

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beef chuck roast slow cooked with onions, peppers, beer, red wine vinegar, thyme, rosemary, tamari, worcestershire sauce; roasted sweet potatoes and apples with herbs; mixed field green salad with lemon tahini dressing.  chef toni

Jamie says:  I was set on making chicken with black beans and rice, but sometimes things do not go exactly as planned.  When I looked at the directions on the container of rice, I realized I didn’t have an hour to wait for the rice to cook- and good thing because that’s when I decided to spice up the black beans and throw in some parsnips. 

To make this Latin-inspired meal, I first washed and chopped up a bag of parsnips.  Parsnips are new to me, but I really enjoy them.  They have a texture and shape like a carrot and taste somewhat like a potato.  I coated the parsnips with extra virgin olive oil, seasoned sea salt, and ground pepper.  To make the chicken, I poured some of my Uncle Rick’s herb seasonings on top and baked it.  I then sautéed slices of onion in extra virgin olive oil.  After they turned a nice caramel color, I added black beans and some dried cilantro.  I topped the beans with chunks of fresh tomato.

I was very pleased with dinner.  It was delicious and the presentation was beautiful with a nice array of colors.  Kathryn couldn’t stop raving over the meal, which is like music to a chef’s ears.

Nutrition note: 1/2 cup of black beans contains about 25% of the daily value of fiber.

I love this meal – it takes along time to cook and tastes incredible.  It actually improves with time so that on day 3, the flavor is better.  I’ll make it on a Sunday, put it in the fridge, then eat it on Wednesday. This is my first shot at reducing the serving size.  Generally it was pretty damn good except too salty.  I left notes about future changes as I perfect the recipe for 1-2 servings.

TIME
I started about 11am and had the casserole in the oven by noon.  That includes prep and the initial cooking.  The casserole then cooked in the oven for 3 hours.  Prepping and preparing the final veggies was 15 minutes.

INGREDIENTS (shopping for the ingredients)

• 2 oz bacon (I did 2 slices but it should be 3)
• 1/2 lb beef stew meat (*don’t* use lean meat)
• 1/2 small yellow onion, diced
• 2 tsp flour (I used all purpose)
• 1/4 tsp pepper (I use tellicherry)
• 1 tsp salt (way too much, 1/4 next time) – I use Baleine fine sea salt.
• 1 cup young red wine (should have been 1.5 cups) – I used a pinot noir
• 1 cup beef stock (should have been 1.5 cups)
• 1.5 tsp tomato paste
• 1 clove garlic, mashed
• 1/2 tsp fresh rosemary, chopped (try upping to 1 tsp)
• 1 carrot, julienned
• 4 oz pearl onions
• 2 oz chanterelles mushrooms (I used crimini but a wild chanterelle is better)
• 3/4 tsp butter (up to 1 tsp next time)
• parsley sprig for garnish

PREP (about 15 minutes)
I chopped the bacon into ½” wide slices down the length of the bacon.   Next I chopped the onions pretty casually because I know they’re going to get dissolved in the cooking, so why be pretty?  Then I dice half the carrot –it’ll bake in the stew.  I’ll add the other half of the carrot toward the end of the recipe so it’ll have a crispiness.  Finally, I chop the beef stew meat into 1” cubes – nothing perfect because these suckers are going to melt away.  Just want to have a size that is edible in a bite.  I rinse off any blood and then dry the meat with paper towels so that they don’t have a watery sheen.  That helps the meat to brown better.  I mash the garlic clove.  Finally, I finely chop the rosemary.
I’m going to wait to do the mushrooms and pearl onions until later because it’ll be hours before I add them.

COOKING (about 45 minutes)
I’m going to try browning the beef by putting it in the oven.  Usually, I brown it on the stovetop.  So, I preheat the oven to 450 degrees.  I cook the bacon in the casserole pan on medium until it starts to brown – about 10-12 minutes.  I occasionally stir to make sure the bacon doesn’t crisp on one side.  I’m getting the oil fat out of the bacon without crisp frying it.  Oh, that smells good.
I remove the bacon with a slotted spoon, shaking off the bacon fat so it stays in the pan and not on the bacon.  I turn up the heat to medium high and when the bacon fat is just smoking, I brown the beef on all sides, a few pieces at a time.  Don’t put them all in at once – leaving space allows for better browning.  I remove the pieces to a plate as they are cooked.
Turns out I don’t have enough fat left over to cook the vegetables, so I add 1 tbsp of olive oil to the now empty pot, reduce heat to medium and sauté the veggies until wilted – 3-5 minutes – stirring occasionally to keep them from burning.
Then comes the ‘oops’.  I return the beef and bacon to the pan without taking out the veggies.  I meant to take out the veggies and put them aside while I bake the floured meats.  Anyhow, let’s see how it goes with the ‘oops’.
I add the salt, pepper and flour to the whole shebang, toss to coat it and then stick it in the oven, uncovered, on the middle rack, for 4 minutes.   I stir the veggies and meats around a bit and then return the casserole to the oven for another 4 minutes.
I take out the casserole and turn the oven down to 325 degrees.  The meat looks shiny, likes there’s a glaze on it.
Next: the wet part.  I add the tomato paste, rosemary, wine and beef broth.  The point is to cover the meat in wet, so if your meat is not covered (probably your pan is wider than mine), then add more broth.  Bring to a boil, cover and then put in the bottom third of the oven.    Ouch!  I burned myself moving the oven racks around…I think its time to drink the rest of the wine.

OVEN TIME
After 1 hour, I take a look at the casserole and it looks like its cooking down too quickly so I turn the temperature down to 275.
After 2 ½ hours, I look at the casserole again and the liquid has all but reduced to a goo.  I’m hungry (the smell is amazing) so I take a bite.  The flavor is intense – almost too intense.  Also, the beef is not quite done enough for my tastes.  So, I deglaze the pan:  I put the casserole back on the stove, add one cup of broth and scrape the bottom for all the goodies, bring the liquid to a boil without the cover (meanwhile scraping some more), then return the covered casserole to the oven again.
The casserole is in the oven for 3-4 hours until the meat falls apart.  You can tell when a fork can easily pierce the beef.  The slow cooking is what makes the connective tissue in the meat fall apart, so be patient.

STRAINING
To strain or not to strain – that is the question.  So, I’m doing an experiment where I split the casserole in half once its out of the oven.  One part I will strain and the other I won’t.  I hear the taste of the unstrained casserole will have a greasy taste.
To Strain: I separate the liquid from the solids by pouring the ingredients through a strainer and into a sauté pan.  I carefully scrape off the fat.  There wasn’t much fat so I let the liquid cool in order to separate the fat from the liquid.  That didn’t produce much.  So, I simmered the liquid to see if the fat rose to the top.  Not much.
My opinion – it wasn’t worth the time and energy.   There was a little less visible fat but not enough to change the taste.  I’ll skip the straining in the future.

PREPARING THE VEGGIES (15 minutes)
Next I cook the final veggies.  I boil the julienned carrots and pearl onions together for about 6 minutes.  Meanwhile I sauté the mushrooms in butter over medium heat, stirring occasionally.  I like to cook them enough so that the water in them evaporates – you get a more intense mushroom flavor.  I put the onions and carrots into a strainer and run cold water over them for a minute or so to cool them down.  Then I add them to the casserole, stirring them in over medium heat for about 5 minutes to warm them up.

DINING
The casserole is a beautiful velvety stew with meat that falls apart and a really intense flavor.  A little too salty but I’ll fix that next time.  I sat down at the table with a glass of the same pinot noir with which I cooked.   A baguette soaked up the sauce so nothing was left.  I add a little parsley to complete the visuals.  Perfect.

ALTERNATIVES

• Carrots sauteed in butter as a side dish instead of adding them at the end.
• Rice or mashed potatoes instead of a baguette

LEARNINGS

• Reduce salt to 1/4 tsp
• Add a 3rd slice of bacon to recipe
• Add about a cup more liquid from the beginning?
• Cook at 275 instead of 325 the whole time
• Deglaze at some point, probably around 1 ½ – 2 hours
• Only needs to cook 2-3 hours
• Don’t need to strain

Thoughts for format/layout:

I think I may need a different format going forward a la Cooks magazine – here’s what I did, here’s the outcome and here’s the best ‘Dine for One’ approach.  Need to figure out how to add this ingredients list as a side column as well as something that can be printed.

Here are the menus for Week 4 of the James Beard Project. (Of course, we will be closed Thursday. Happy Thanksgiving — Gobble Gobble!):

Monday, Nov. 23 — Basil Lasagna (Beard on Pasta, p. 157)

Tuesday, Nov. 24 — Halibut with Crab (James Beard’s Fish Cookery, p. 107)

Wednesday, Nov. 25 — Sole with Shrimp Sauce (James Beard’s Fish Cookery, p. 192)

Friday, Nov. 27 — Chicken Sauté with Figs and Cognac (James Beard’s Theory and Practice of Good Cooking, p. 166)

Saturday, Nov. 28 — Steak Au Poivre (James Beard’s Theory and Practice of Good Cooking, p. 159)

This weeks offering comes via the free Tesco magazine but is not quite as thrifty as such humble origins suggest, as peppers aren’t the cheapest of vegetables.  It is very yummy though, and also pretty healthy, so I would highly recommend it!

Roasted red pepper and chilli soup (serves 4-6)

1.  Half, core and deseed 6 red peppers and 2 red chillies and place in a roasting tin with a halved but not peeled garlic bulb.  Roast for 15 minutes at 200°c.

2.  Half 6 tomatoes, add to the roasting tin and cook for a further 10-15 minutes until the peppers are charred on the outside.

3.  Once the vegetables have cooled enough for you to handle them, skin the peppers and chillies and put the flesh in a blender.  Skin and deseed the tomatoes, putting the flesh in the blender and the seeds in a sieve.  Collect the tomatoes juice from the seeds and add to the blender.

4.  Squeeze the flesh out of the garlic cloves and put in the blender along with 1 tbsp olive oil and 450ml vegetable stock.  Blend until smooth and reheat to serve, if required.

I served mine with a drizzle of olive oil on the top, although the recipe does suggest topping with pesto or a few seeds.  It is quite sweet but is very delicate and delicious!

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