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

This is a recipe that may seem very difficult at the beginning but will be as delicious as ever! I chose this recipe because I once had a hard time at making this, but I got used to it and it was a success! Why go to a 5-star french restaurant and pay a ton of cash instead of a homemade affordable meal? This recipe will guide you to making simple poached eggs.

Poached Eggs

4 fresh eggs

vinegar

Pour 2 inches of water into the pan or skillet and add 1 tablespoon of vinegar to each quart of water you add. Bring to a simmer, not a boil (the whites will not form properly if you boil the water). Break one egg and put it on a bowl. Hold it as close as you can to the water and gently drop it in. Leave the eggs until the whites are fully cooked. Use your slotted spoon to scoop the egg on to a bowl of ice water and serve. Maintain the water at the barest simmer and you may finish the rest of the eggs in the same manner.

How to reheat your poached egg: You will need:

a bowl of  hot water with 1 and 1/2 tsp salt per quart of water

clean towel

To reheat the eggs, place your eggs into the hot water for about half a minute to heat them through. Hold the towel below the slotted spoon to drain, it is ready to serve.

It was a nice cold day yesterday and with my wife having graduate classes tonight, I wanted to make dinner that would last two days and better the day after. Minestrone soup is always better the day after. If you allow to simmer and not boil, the flavors will be best.

Minestrone:
Yields: 1 Gallon

2 T Canola oil
1/2 yellow onion
2 Garlic, cloves, smashed
5 Celery stalks, sliced
2 Carrots, peeled, sliced
1 Canned tomatoes, 20 oz.
1 Gallon water or stock
1 Beans, choice, canned, 16 oz.
1/2 lb. Elbow pasta
4 T Oregano, dried

First sweat the onions in a soup pot and when translucent, add the garlic, carrots and celery. Sweat the vegetables for about 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes, with their juice and cook for 5 minutes longer. Then add the water or stock and bring to a boil and then lower to a simmer. This is a good time to season the soup, including the oregano. When the seasoning is right and the vegetables are a stage before al dente, then add the elbow pasta and cook until almost al dente. Add the beans and cook until pasta is done. Soup should be a little thick but not chunky. Keep tasting and seasoning as the pasta will absorb a lot of the flavor.

86

Stephen Varela

It recently dawned on me how under-rated sauteed onions are…Last night, while cooking dinner I decided to saute some onions to top my bison burger.  Well, let me just say that I’m so glad that the thought of onions crossed my mind while waiting for my bison to cook.  I started with a hot pan spritzed with olive oil and a dash of sea salt and freshly ground pepper.  I let the oil heat for about 45 seconds and then added in two large, beautiful sweet onions that I purchased at the Union Square Green Market earlier this week.

I tossed in a dash of balsamic vinegar and let the onions cook for about five minutes.  I lowered the heat to a simmer and continued to stir the onions until they were caramelized and tender.  I like my sauteed onions very well done and cook them until they start to brown.  Then I tossed in a pinch of red pepper flakes and a minced clove of fresh garlic for a spicy kick.  Another few minutes of simmering and these onions were ready to top by burger.

Honestly, ‘wow’ is all I have to say…I was speechless and helped myself to two more servings of the onions.  Why are sauteed onions so under-rated? We just don’t seem to hear about them enough, do we?  Well, I don’t at least.  And to be perfectly honest with you, the idea to saute these onions came from my good friend Jennifer, who was preparing sauteed onions last weekend when I spent the afternoon cooking and baking at her fabulous apartment.  Thanks Jennifer–you’ve got me on a serious sauteed onion kick.

Within minutes, my kitchen smelled wonderful with roasting onion vapors wafting through the apartment.  Anyone who lives on my floor was sure to smell the heady onion aroma that fooled them into thinking I was creating a feast.  I have decided to start keeping a stash of sauteed onions in my fridge for an easy go-to topping and accompaniment to any savory dish.  Now, we all know sauteed onions are usually served with pierogies, which my mother is a huge fan as I recall she created these every week when I was a child, however you can enjoy sauteed onions with just about any dish.

There is a vast array of onions to choose from, but I always stick to these three:

Yellow Cooking Onions

• Can be found in net bags and are the most common in the kitchen.  They are the strongest in flavor but are sure to have your eyes tearing in no time.

White Onions

• These are known for their slightly sharper, sweeter flavor than yellow onions.  They are most often used with Mexican dishes.

Spanish Onions

• These large, yellow onions appear to be as round as an orange.  They have a high water content, therefore they spoil quickly.  Spanish onions are slightly sweet and not too strong with a slight crisp.

Onions should always be cut using a good, sharp knife.  Interestingly enough, you should never use a food processor to cut onions because this pulls out the liquid and makes the onions acrid and incredibly mushy.

As for the onion breath…well, you surely won’t get the stinky breath with cooked onions–that gift is only given when you bite into a raw, fresh onion.

Sauteed onions can be added to many dishes from omelets and burgers to stir-fries and meats. So, go ahead and whip up some onions for one of your dishes this weekend–let me know what you’re pairing these onions with as I’m curious to know…maybe I’ll even feature your sauteed onion recipe and dish on my website.

Happy onion cooking, everyone…try to keep those precious eyes from tearing up when slicing.

]]> http://boardsandblades.wordpress.com/2009/09/26/the-all-boards-and-blades-team/ Sun, 27 Sep 2009 01:16:18 +0000 boardsandblades http://boardsandblades.wordpress.com/2009/09/26/the-all-boards-and-blades-team/

As Claude Julien and Peter Chiarelli work on trimming their roster down for Opening Night on Thursday, I decided to take some time to pick a Bruins team of my own. I went back over the rosters of every Bruins team from 1981-82 until last year to create the All-Boards and Blades Team.

A few points of order:

1.)    The team consists of players who played for the Bruins from the 1981-82 season through those who were on the 2008-09 team. This covers season in which I have been alive. My research on years 81-84 is spotty since I was focused a bit more on trivial things like learning to talk, walk, eat and go the bathroom. From 1985 on, I am going based on what I saw with my own eyes. Yes, I was scouting when I was 4. Ask my dad.

2.)    In order to be considered, a player had to play a significant portion of his prime for Boston. Thus, players like Paul Coffey, Brian Leetch, Sergei Gonchar and Mark Recchi aren’t included on the list. All are great players, but they either played for the Bs too late or for too short a time period to be included. Kind of made including players like Wayne Cashman and Stan Jonathan a dilemma. At the end of the day, Cash got consideration because he won two Cups. Jonathan was in the mix because I don’t want him finding me and pummeling me.

3.)    This is not an All-Star team. I am looking to construct a team that I would put on the ice if such magical occurrences were possible. So, there will be a checking/energy line. Basically, there is a chance P.J. Axelsson could be on my team. You have been warned.

4.)    I am going with positions as they are listed on BostonBruins.com. They have a real neat feature where they list the rosters of each season. So there is no flipping wings to make room for someone. This showed me that the Bruins have been against having really good left wings on their last 28 teams.

5.)    We are rolling four lines, three sets of defencemen and two goalies. There is a taxi squad of two forwards, one D and a goalie. Always need solid depth in games between hypothetical dream teams.

Over the next few days, I will reveal my team. We begin with the first line (all lines are listed LW-C-RW)

Charlie Simmer (1984-87) – Joe Thornton (1997-2005) – Cam Neely (1986-96)

Off all the forwards that have played for the Bruins since 1981, Cam Neely is flat-out the best. His name was the easiest to slot in among the forwards. The Bruins stole him from Vancouver before the ’86 season and he went on to score 344 goals in a Bruins sweater. He went over 50 goals on three separate occasions, including his amazing 1993-94 season where he scored 50 in 49 games. He revolutionized his position, combining the skill of a sniper with the power of an enforcer, becoming in essence, the game’s first true power forward. He was pretty much a point-a-game player and everyone can only imagine what his numbers and impact would have been if not for that fateful Ulfie hit in 1991. Espo may have won Cups, but ask any hockey fan to name the best forward in Bruins history, and Cam’s name should be the first mentioned.

Joe Thornton is an enigma who will always have a special place in Bruins history. He was the No. 1 overall pick in the 1997 draft and was supposed to be the franchise player who carried the Bruins for 15 years. After being weaned into action by Pat Burns in his rookie season, Thornton took an expanded role over the next five seasons, becoming the first-line pivot he was supposed to be. 2000-01 was his breakout year, where he put up 71 points in 72 games.  19 of his career-high 37 goals were on the power play.  Two years later, he broke 100 points and significantly in the plus for the first time.  While in the Black and Gold, Jumbo Joe totaled 169 goals and 285 assists (454 points). He was oft criticized for not shooting more and for spending too much time on the perimeter. However, players like Mike Knuble will gladly tell you that he made them better. His trade in 2005 was a shock to many Bruins fans and caused concern that the team would never recover. Thornton’s teams never won a playoff series in Boston, twice losing when the top seed. Everyone will point to his bagel in 2004 against Montreal, but it is widely known he was injured and played anyways. His hands and ability to draw defenders would create space and opportunity for Cam like no center Sea Bass ever played with.

On the left side, I went with Charlie Simmer (sorry no Bruins picture). His inclusion, despite playing only two and a half season with Boston points to two things. The first is that he was extremely effective in those 198 games. The second is that there haven’t been many standout left wingers in the last 27 seasons in Boston. Simmer, acquired for a first-round pick – which turned into Dan Gratton (7 career NHL games) –  scored 98 goals while in Boston, and went over 60 points each season. Yes, Simmer was on the downside of his career during his stint in Boston, but on this line, he would fit right in collecting rebounds and would be a lock for 25-35 goals like he was playing with Marcel Dionne in L.A.

Okay, there is the top line. Lots of offensive firepower there. Up next, the second line. Here is a hint on the right winger … Big dessert fan.

I had a lot of  help with this recipe. I basically just picked fresh herbs and took notes as Jeremy simmered it all together.

RattleSnake Stew:

Open can of beer. Drink beer. Open second can, poor a few swills of beer into simmering chicken broth, continue to drink the rest of  the beer. (Oh, and before you start, you should have already skinned & cleaned your rattlesnake.) Cut rattle snake into 3 inch long pieces. Roll snake filets in flour (we used brown rice flour, but any flour will do). Fry breaded filets in skillet. Next add onions, corn kernals, diced hot red pepper & chopped garlic to saute with snake. Once it is all nice hot & seasoned, add sauted snake & veggies to simmering stock. Open another beer. Drink. Wait. Drink. Wait. I suggest letting this all simmer together for a couple of hours, as I have learned that rattlesnake is a pretty tough & stringy meat.

Serve up in coffee mugs. Sit on the back deck & watch the stars. And talk about other ways to prepare your next snake!

Have you ever ended up with gritty potato slush when you just wanted to boil them, or spent an hour scrubbing a pot with a caked-on layer of scorched rice?   If so, say it with me now – LOW. HEAT. Adding this humble setting to your repertoire is the key to soothing your stovetop woes.

Some common problems with high heat (don’t pretend it hasn’t happened to you):
Garlic – Scorching into dark brown bits on high heat almost instantly
Roux – Burning and losing its thickening effect and flavor
Butter – Developing brown-black specks from the milk proteins separating and burning
Dairy – Scalding on the bottom of the pot
Sweated Aromatics – Browning onions/shallots in a sauté pan when they should be translucent
Rice – Scorching on the bottom before it’s fully cooked
Boiled Vegetables – Falling apart in the cooking water…

…Which brings me to my next point: With the exception of pasta, anything you would normally boil should actually be SIMMERED.  Boiling is an extremely violent process for food.  In plants, it breaks down the cell walls and causes things to fall apart.  Plus, since water can’t get any hotter than 212*F (depending on your altitude, but no need to get fancy here), if you manage the heat so that the water is just under the boiling point, you hardly sacrifice anything temperature-wise.  The bottom line?  Same cooktime, better results.

Of course, there are times when high heat is appropriate…  four, that I can think of right now:
1) to boil water faster (only to be brought back down to a simmer, of course)
2) to cook things very quickly, as in a stir-fry or quick sauté
3) to cook pasta, and
4) to sear a protein and get a good, brown crust on it

You really gotta crank it up for that last one.  If the pan isn’t hot enough, you will get a soft texture and a boring brown color – not that tasty, slightly crisp, naturally uneven, brownish-black charred effect you want.  There is some more to a good crust than that, but I’ll talk about it in a later post.

Gotta run – I’m in class and I’m starting to draw looks of suspicion from the chef…

In my first ever attempt at making anything other than chicken and fish (which F.Y.I I’m not too amazing at), I shocked not just myself but my husband who was keeping a tense smile on his face before I brought him to taste them. They were so tender and succulent, I couldn’t believe myself. Dammit I’m not as bad a cook as, let’s face it, I don’t cook much but here I was with some of the most tender lamb chops I’ve eaten. I haven’t eaten that many though cuz of my dog reminding me of lamb/sheep (sorry, I just had to add that).

So what did I do that I normally don’t and how did I get it right in the first attempt?

I didn’t grill it, I didn’t broil it and no I didn’t deep fry it.

Here’s what I did:

After marinating the lamb chops (roughly around 10 of them) for 36 hrs I removed them and left them on the table before I got down to cooking them. Like me if you’ve searched Google for the “best lamb chop recipe” or “best method of cooking tender lamb chops” you’ll notice one thing, “GRILL THEM OR BROIL THEM”.

a) I don’t have a indoor grill and I wasn’t in a mood to start the outdoor one.

b) Shame on me but what the fuck is broiling and how do I use it on my oven? (I told you I wasn’t much of a cook).

So there I knew it, I was low on ammunition and yet I was motivated to hit the bullet on the target.I decided to make them in two separate batches cuz that way I’ll know which method works best without doing it two times over.

After I got really restless, I decided to start off with my lamb chops before the required 30m-60m “getting them to room temperature” ritual.

With the help of my trusty(I don’t like using this word but I can’t find a synonym for it now) tongs and one whole white onion, 1 lemon, sea salt), I set forth what would become my best lamb chops to date.

• You’ll need two separate pans. One a shallow sauteing pan and the other a deeper (2-3inch high side) pan. I didn’t have the cast iron one. So I used a non stick pan and the other a stainless steel cuisine art pan.
• I first heated the non stick pan on a medium-high flame, you don’t want to make it too damn hot. Just enough to hear the lamb chop sizzle. I used olive oil and drizzled that on the non stick pan (NSP).
• Once that heated up, which I knew by testing it with an small onion piece. I put in each chop one by one (In my pan 4 fit) and heard them go “szzzzszzzz” (sizzle). Make sure to space them out evenly cuz that really does work. Over crowding the pan will surely affect the outcome and I was going to make that mistake again.
• I left it in there fat side down or which ever was the chunkier side for about 3-5m and turned them around. Keeping checking the pan for any burnt up residue cuz that way you can lower the temperature a bit.
• After this batch was done I put them back along with the rest undone lamb chops sitting in the marinade bowl. And the seared the rest the same way.

Baking:

• While I was searing them I preheated the oven to 350F. I got a brownie dish and lined it with foil and sprayed it with cooking spray (I used the canola oil one) and crushed in some pepper and salt (cuz I felt the marinate lacked some salt).
• Then I placed 4 seared lamb chops on it with the more seared side facing up. I again sprinkled little salt on them and covered them with another foil and put them inside the over for about 15m.
• After 15m I reduced the oven temp to 300F for the next 5m or so. Then I just turned off the oven and let them sit there while I was doing the next method of lamb chops.
• Mind you, I was doing them simultaneously so roughly they sat in the over for maybe 40m.

Stove top- Simmer

• As the last batch was beginning to sear I heated the other stainless steel pan on a medium flame and put in some olive oil followed with the whole onion I cut. Close the lid and let the onions become glossy.
• After about 8m I removed the lid and added the lamb chops I seared  keeping the flame on medium.
• Then I added roughly around a 1/2 cup water or just enough to cover them (but not too much) and let it come to a boil.
• Once it did I reduced the flame to one notch below medium or two depending on your stove top. I let it simmer for as long as I could and yesterday I had a lot of time on hand so it simmered for maybe an 40min.
• But that’s the other way of getting succulent lamb chops and in this case you’ll have gravy left from the simmering. So have it with Italian stone bread or rice. They’re just delicious. I’ll put up the pics soon.

Honestly the method I preferred was baking in this case but if you want gravy then simmering it will be a good idea. Apply this and tweak it to what you prefer. I don’t know about rear or medium but I like my lamb chops tender and succulent with no lamb odor coming off it.

Magic method: Cooking it on a slow flame is a fool proof method. Let me know of any good recipe cuz even though I have the method I still am looking for a better marinade.

Bon appetit!

If you haven’t guessed by now we eat a lot of pork tenderloin. Why? Around these parts, it’s easily half the price of chicken with the double bonuses of 1) tasting better than chicken and 2) already being boneless and skinless so I’m not paying anyone to do that chore for me and I don’t have to do it.  Both of us being former Coasties, we were served a ton of chicken; it’s not one of our favorite meals. Pork tenderloin is my chicken substitute. Use what works for you and yours. 

1 lb pork tenderloin

1 bag frozen stir-fry veggie blend.

1 package Tasty Bite’s Tikka Masala simmer sauce. Usually found in the World Market/International/Indian or Spice section of the grocery. Here one store has it in Indian, while another lumps it with all sauces – you’ll find English brown sauce, A1, BBQ, soy sauce, and Tikka Masala sauce all in one area. 

1/4 cup to 1/2 cup water or chicken stock.

Method:

Cube the tenderloin, brown and cook throughly. Add simmer sauce, liquid, and salt per package instructions. Mix completely until pork is coated. Then add the frozen veggies. If your veggies are totally frozen, cut the liquid back because the water from the veggies will add to the sauce and make it thinner. Cover and let simmer until veggies are warmed through. Stir often to coat everything. 

The first time I made this I added the veggies then the sauce. Mistake. If you’re using broccoli or other veggies with a lot of texture, the sauce gets trapped in the veggies and makes for a rather interesting meal of super spicy veggies and bland meat. Sauce first, then veggies solves this problem.

This is not a spicy, ie – hot, dish. It has a ton of flavor and no heat. I’m super sensitive, and pretty much allergic to chilies (although that doesn’t stop me from eating chile rellenos even when I’m in a lot of pain) so this is kid safe.  If I thought about it I could play around with the spices and make my own replica, but for $1.50 I’ll pay to be lazy and have it come out perfect. 

Serve with either basmati rice or naan bread. The grocery I normally shop at carries pre-made naan bread in three flavors (white, whole wheat, and garlic) so I skip the making my own part of this meal. One day I’ll make some as it is awesome bread.  The best breakfast treat is steaming hot plain naan, rub a stick of butter over it until it’s well coated, then sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar to your taste. There is no donut or cinnamon roll that will beat it.  I made some for Murray – the man that loves cinnamon rolls like no other  – and said that the naan creation was “so good it’s evil.”

Guess it’s time for my 15 minutes……

I suppose this probably won’t be the last time I type away as a guest of my significant other and personal chef, considering I also dabble in throwing together easy and often surprisingly delicious meals. I say surprisingly because more often than not, I’m chopping and dicing and saute’ing and grilling without the slightest clue as to what I’m doing. Well, except for grilling. That I do. My weapons of choice are primarily a chopping knife and a good skillet. I don’t measure, I rarely mix, and I never bake. Then again, I don’t blog either. Whoops.

That being said, the following recipe is the result of a thrown-together, shot-in-the-dark attempt at stuffed bellpeppers. Call it luck, call it fortune, but everything fell into place perfectly and the dish became one of my favorite culinary creations to date: Roasted Raspberry Chipotle and Pineapple Terriyaki Stuffed Bellpeppers. Or Belkpeppers, if you like, since these green gems came straight from Belk Farms. Only the best in my kitchen. This kitchen adventure begins with X-Large or Jumbo green peppers – look for dark green peppers that are heavy, shiny, and square so they will stand upright. One pepper per person is usually plenty, depending on the size of the pepper.

Before you begin gutting the peppers, start the stuffing so that it has plenty of time to simmer. The ingredients are simple:

Roasted Raspberry Chipotle Stuffing:
- 1 lb Ground Turkey
- 1/2 white or yellow onion
- 1/4 bunch cilantro
- 2-4 chopped green onions
- 1 box stove-top cous-cous (plain or roasted pine nut)
- pinch of minced garlic (optional)
- 1 bottle Bronco Bob’s Roasted Raspberry Chipotle Sauce

Pineapple Teriyaki Stuffing
(same as above PLUS):
- 1/2 small can water chesnuts
- 1 small can crushed pineapple
- 1 bottle Soy Vay Island Teriyaki sauce (instead of Chipotle sauce)

Get 2 frying pans going on medium-high heat. In each pan, brown the turkey along with minced onions. You want all the ingredients minced up pretty small, to give the stuffing a nice uniform consistency. Once the turkey has browned a bit, dump in the rest of the ingredients for each pan, but don’t pour the sauce in yet. For the teriyaki stuffing, dump in the crushed pineapple as well as all the juice.

Once everything is mixed in well and cooking, and the turkey looks fully browned, turn the heat down to a low simmer, and pour in each of the sauces. Don’t pour in all the sauce - leave about 1/4 of the bottle, we’re gonna use this later. For the Teriyaki stuffing, BEFORE you pour in the sauce, you may need to strain out some of the excess pineapple juice if it’s too soupy. Let both pans simmer with in their respective sauces, stirring occasionally, while you prepare the peppers.

Cut the tops off the peppers leaving a slight inward-facing lip – this helps keep the stuffing inside. Wash the inside and outside of the peppers thoroughly with cold water, and trim any interior ribs that are protruding.

At some point during the preparation of the stuffing, preheat the oven to 350. After the stuffing has simmered in the sauces for about 10-15 minutes, prepare the 2 batches of cous-cous (you don’t need me for this – follow the directions on the box), and dump into the skillets with the stuffing. Mix until the cous-cous is well-coated with sauce and the stuffing is a uniform consistency. This gives the stuffing some “backbone”.

Now it’s time to STUFF! (peppers………not your person. Yet) Determine how many Chipotle peppers you want and how many Teriyaki, and proportion accordingly. Arrange in a cakepan so that the peppers fit tightly and won’t fall over. Scoop out the stuffing mixture and put into the peppers – fill to just below the lip. Drizzle some of that leftover sauce over the stuffing, it will keep everything moist. For the Chipotle peppers, you can top off with some parmesean or mozerella cheese if you’d like (as “she” does). Throw the cakepan in the oven on 350 for anywhere from 15-30 minutes. The longer you bake the softer the peppers will become. I like ‘em a little crunchy, so I usually take them out after 15. Use tongs to transfer to serving plates, and let cool for 5 minutes. The insides are HOT! Enjoy with a side of cous-cous, or in this case, “her” garlic parmesean potatoes.

That’s it! Now handing this thing back over to my better half……..

Authors Jonathan Littman and Marc Hershon;s new book, I Hate People is the subject of Bob Sutton’s blog post, “I Hate People: A Book You Will Love”. From Sutton’s blog, “The book is filled with great advice about how to survive and thrive among these creeps and losers.”

Buy I Hate People

The gallant gallstone
Is something
created like pearls
In every way but appearence,
Texture, allure, gloss and structure.
The gallant gallstone screams
Through narrow, pink chasms…
Focusing throbs and forcing
Empathy like all of us
All the time.
Escaping like the babe,
And only like bastards,
Because the stone was not of it’s
Own design and choice:
A sort of rejected variance
Of the human condition.

The effluence dribbles
On pee-tree dishes,
And the sharp breathes through clenched teeth
Simmer in a susurous escape
We know very little about.

– Post From My iPhone

Some people enjoy a TV marathon, some enjoy a movie marathon.  I seem to gravitate towards cooking marathons, and last night was no different.  I was in a soup frenzy, and happily spent a few wee hours abusing my brand spanking new Le Cruset stock pot.  The result was not one, but 2 separate batches of delicious, soup, much to the delight of my hungry cousin and fiance.  Lucky duckys.

POTATO LEEK SOUP

INGREDIENTS:

1 TBSP extra-virgin olive oil

2 leeks, white & light green parts washed and sliced into 1/4-inch slices

2 cups yellow onion, chopped

1/2 TSP sea salt

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 large Yukon Gold potatoes (about 1 pound), peeled & cut into 1/2-inch cubes

4 cups veggie stock

1/2 cup white wine

2-3 tsp fresh rosemary leaves

pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS:

1.  Heat a LARGE soup pot over medium heat and add the oil.

2. Add the leeks, onion, and salt and sauté for about 5 min, stirring often, until  onion begins to turn translucent.

3. Add garlic and stir well – and cook for 1 min more.

4. Add potatoes, veggie stock and wine, cover, and bring to a boil – then reduce heat to simmer for about 20 min.

5. Remove soup from heat and using either an immersion stick to blend the soup in the pot OR ladle soup into a blender and blend soup with the fresh rosemary leaves until smooth and free of chunks.

6. Pour smooth soup back into pot (if in blender) and warm over low heat until heated through – serve hot with a sprinkling of fresh pepper and a grating of cheddar cheese on top for garnish.

BROCCOLI CHEDDAR SOUP

INGREDIENTS:

1 TBSP extra-virgin olive oil

1 head of broccoli, washed and sliced into 1/4-inch slices (florets and stems included)

2 cups yellow onion, chopped

1/2 TSP sea salt

1 clove garlic, minced

4 cups veggie stock

1/2 cup white wine

2/3 cup milk

1/2 cup old cheddar, shredded

salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS:

1.  Heat a LARGE soup pot over medium heat and add the oil.

2. Add the onion and salt, and sauté for about 5 min, stirring often, until  onion begins to turn translucent.

3.  Add broccoli and stir well – and cook for 5 min more (until the broccoli is vibrantly green(.

4.  Add veggie stock and wine, cover, and bring to a boil – then reduce heat to simmer for about 10 min.

5. Remove soup from heat and using either an immersion stick to blend the soup in the pot OR ladle soup into a blender and blend soup  until smooth and free of large chunks.

6. Pour smooth soup back into pot (if in blender), add in milk and grated cheese and warm over low heat until cheese is melted and soup is heated through.

7.  Serve hot with an additional grating of cheddar cheese on top for garnish!

1 teaspoon cornstarch

1 cup SPLENDA No Calorie Sweetener, Granular

½ cup water

3 cups fresh or frozen cranberries

1 medium orange, peeled and sectioned

COMBINE cornstarch, SPLENDA Granular, and water in medium saucepan;  stir until dissolved.  Add cranberries and orange sections:  bring to a boil, stirring constantly over medium-high heat.  Reduce heat and simmer, stirring often for 5 minutes or until cranberry skin begins to pop and mixture begins to thicken.  Set aside to cool.  Cover and chill at least 3 hours.

Photo courtesy:  media.photobucket

You open the cookbook and see a recipe title or a photo that tempts your taste buds. Then you start to read the recipe, realize the preparation is more difficult than you first thought, and put the book back on the shelf.

Sound Familiar? Well here’s a simple cooking tip to help get you started:

1. Abbreviations for Measuring

Tsp. = teaspoon
Tbsp. = tablespoon, which equals 3 teaspoons
C = cup.

Cooking Tip:
Get a set of measuring spoons. The set will usually have 1/4 tsp., 1/3 tsp., 1/2 tsp., 1 teaspoon and 1 tablespoon.

Dry measure cups look like little saucepans and can be leveled off with a knife or other straight-edged tool. They come in sets like the measuring spoons. Liquid measuring cups have ounce marking lines so you can measure however many ounces you need.

Cooking Tip: Some recipes require exact measurements to turn out right so learn to measure correctly.

2. Common Ingredients

Make sure you know what you need.

Cooking Tips:
Baking powder and baking soda are not the same.

Ask the produce manager at the market about fruits and vegetables, the meat manager about cuts of meat.

When trying something new, buy ONE. You can always go back for more if it turns out well.

3. Common Terminology

Bake:
Dry heat in the oven. Set oven control to the desired temperature while you’re preparing the dish to be baked. Once the light that says it’s heating turns off, the oven is at the proper temperature. Then put in the food–for best results, center it in the oven.

Boil:
Heat a liquid until it bubbles. The faster the bubbles rise and the more bubbles you get, the hotter the liquid. Some recipes call for a gentle boil–barely bubbling–or a rolling boil–just short of boiling over. Watch so it doesn’t boil over.

Braise:
A moist cooking method using a little liquid that barely bubbles on the top of the stove or in the oven. This is a good way to tenderize cheaper cuts of meat. The pan should be heavy and shallow with a tight-fitting lid to keep the liquid from boiling away. There’s a lot that can be done for flavoring in your choice of liquid and of vegetables to cook with the meat.

Broil:
Turn the oven to its highest setting. Put the food on broiler pan–a 2 piece pan that allows the grease to drain away from the food. In an electric oven on the broil setting only the upper element heats, and you can regulate how fast the food cooks by how close to the element you place it. Watch your cooking time–it’s easy to overcook food in the broiler.

Brown:
Cook until the food gets light brown. Usually used for frying or baking. Ground beef should usually be browned (use a frying pan) and have the grease drained before adding it to a casserole or meat sauce.

Fold:
A gentle mixing method that moves the spoon down to the bottom of the bowl and then sweeps up, folding what was on the bottom up over the top. This is used to mix delicate ingredients such as whipped cream or beaten egg whites. These ingredients just had air whipped into them, so you don’t want to reverse that process by mixing too vigorously.

Simmer:
Heat to just the start of a boil and keep it at that point for as long as the recipe requires. The recipe will usually call for either constant stirring or stirring at certain intervals.

Now you are ready to do the shopping and prepare that recipe that you’ve always wanted to try!

Happy cooking…

Ronald Yip
Please visit my website at: http://www.recipeslovers.com
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http://www.alphasoft.cc/links/recipes.php

[tags]all recipes, cooking tips, cooking, healthy food, culinary, broil bake, boil, simmer, braise[/tags]

OK I have to say; I just saw this article about this new food product in Germany. I’m thinking Germany is just trying to jump on the Obama bandwagon and take a page out of the American handbook and use a celebrity to sell the product. Also, last time I checked German’s weren’t “fond” of my peeps. For the first time in my life, our President is pretty much a celebrity in the sense that paparazzi and Oprah didn’t follow Bush around. Ya dig? Ok…back to the product. It is Monday at 12:22 pm and I wonder how long until Jesse Jackson or the disgraceful “Reverend” Sharpton will release a statement. I’m sure racist Michael Basiden will be blowing this WAY out of proportion later on too…

To that I say…if the product was made of beef would people simmer down? I’m just saying…they killed 6 million of my folks but I’d still eat this. 

Calm down...it's on a one week trial run.

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Whisper on My Pillow

The Malbec from Argentina simmers

through my veins.  It heats my flesh to searing.

Each thought of you scorches me to the core;

the passion begins in the center, spreads

to the tips of fingers, curls my toes

and my breasts hang heavy with desire.

It isn’t the wine; it’s the memory

of what your touch did to me – connections

even from this distance – time and some space

will work their magic, fade the sensation

to a whisper on my pillow at dark;

and still I will feel you with me always.

©Siobhan

03-02-09

Ingredients 1
Long beans 120g
French beans 120g
Carrots 160g
Cabbage 100g
Eggplant 100g
Dried bean curd sheet 2pcs
Hard bean curd cake 2 pcs
Tempeh 2pcs (banana leaf wrapped)
** bamboo shoots 300g
** so hoon soaked

Ingredients 2
Coconut milk – medium 1 cup
Salt 1 pinch
Sugar 1 pinch

Rempah
Dried prawns 2 tbs
Small red onion 10
Dried chillies 10
Garlic 6
Tumeric root
Buah keras 2-3

Ingredients 3
Cooking oil 3 tbs
300ml water

Instructions
1. Pound rempah until fine
2. Fry the rempah on medium heat until aromatic
3. Add water and boil for 2 minutes
4. Add Ingredients 1 and boil for 10 minutes stirring occasionally.
5. Add Ingredients 2 and gently stir.
6. Turn off fire.
7. Serve on rice cake and optional topped with satay sauce or sambal.
8. Decorate with egg and/or rendang.