Red Beans and Rice
Red Beans and Rice
Red beans and rice does not get the respect I think it deserves. I know the ingredients are pretty humble, but the flavor is so good. It can be a main dish, a side dish or even a decent breakfast when reheated the next day. I speak from personal experience on the breakfast thing. You can change it up by using different beans- I used dark red kidney beans this time. You can use different rice – I used brown jasmine rice. You can also add any number of different seasonings to change it up. It is one of those dishes loved by carnivore and vegetarian alike. To add more interest to the batch I made this time, I cooked the jasmine rice in a vegetable broth with turmeric in it. That added a pretty yellow color to the rice. We had it in a class I taught the other night on cooking with grains and everyone commented on how pretty it looked. So if you are looking for a quick and really easy dish maybe make some red beans and rice.
Red Beans and Rice
1 c. brown or white rice
2 c. water or broth
1 can kidney beans, drained and rinsed – or use whatever beans you like
1 T. oil
½ c. chopped onion
¼ c. chopped parsley or cilantro
Salt and pepper to taste*
Simmer rice, covered until tender (40 minutes for brown, 15 minutes for white rice). Meanwhile heat oil in skillet and cook onions until tender. Add beans, cooked rice, and seasonings. Stir until heated through. Serves 4.
* In addition to salt and pepper, I like to play around with adding other seasonings. I sometimes add cumin, oregano, garlic, basil, cinnamon, mace and coriander to name a few.
Blackberry Scones
Blackberry Scones
I got a call from a friend and we decided to get together for coffee. I wanted something to serve with the coffee and looked at what I had around. I had a nice supply of frozen blackberries so I decided to make scones with them. I also had a jar of blackberry jelly so I thought it would be fun to serve them together. While scones are normally served with coffee or tea for breakfast or brunch I also like to use them as a dessert. Scones make a great base for shortcake. Since we didn’t eat them all and I have another friend coming over for dinner tomorrow, I think that is what I will do with them. The dessert plan is to split them, fill with some slightly sweetened canned cherries and top with a drizzle of melted chocolate and a dollop of whipped cream.
Blackberry Scones
2 c. flour
1/3 c. sugar
1 T. baking powder
¾ t. salt
6 T. chilled butter
2 c. blackberries -do not defrost if using frozen
1 t. orange zest
2 large eggs
1/3 c. heavy cream or half and half
Mix dry ingredients together in bowl and cut in butter to resemble coarse crumbs. Toss in berries and zest. Beat together eggs and cream and stir into flour mixture. Mix very gently to avoid bruising berries. Use 1/2 cup ice cream scoop to scoop batter onto a baking sheet. Sprinkle with a little extra sugar, if you like. Bake in a preheated 375-degree oven for 22-24 minutes. Makes 10-12.
Mom’s Chili
Mom’s Chili
I love chili and make all sorts of variations, but I crave this simple version my Mother used to make. It was one of my favorite dishes when I was a kid. She’d often make cornbread to have with it. I admit to spicing it up more now, often adding a good shot of hot sauce, but it is still the same dish I remember so fondly. I always think about the book Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier when I think about Mom’s chili. It was a really cold rainy day and I was stuck inside. I’d lost myself in the book and was totally engrossed when she called me to dinner. I think chili was about the only thing that would have pulled me away from that book.
Mom’s Chili
1 large onion, chopped
Oil
1 ½ lbs. coarsely ground beef
1 (28 oz.) can crushed tomatoes
2 cans (about 15 oz.) kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 T. minced garlic
¼- ½ c. chili powder
Salt and pepper to taste
Hot pepper sauce to taste
In Dutch oven or soup pot sauté onion in oil until tender. Add meat and cook until no pink is visible. Drain off excess fat and add tomatoes, beans, garlic and chili powder to taste. Cover and simmer over low heat until flavors blend, about 30 minutes. Adjust seasonings and serve. Serves 4-6.
Can be eaten as is- or top with shredded cheese or a dollop of sour cream.
White Chili
White Chili
There are so many variations of chili I am thinking you could make a different version every day for months. Some are pretty traditional and some, like this White Chili, are not the norm. It is very good, though. The base for this dish is white beans with veggies, chicken and seasonings to evoke that comfort food feeling that chili brings to the table. I like to add enough cayenne pepper to also bring a little heat to this dish. I serve it topped with a little salsa, some shredded cheese and green onions.
White Chili
1 lb. dry navy or great northern beans
1 large onion, chopped
1 (4 oz.) can mild green chilies, drained and chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 T. oil
5-6 c. chicken broth
1 t. cumin
1 t. oregano
Cayenne pepper to taste
Salt to taste
½ lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts, diced fine
Toppings
Fresh salsa
Sour cream
Shredded Monterey Jack cheese
Shredded Colby cheese
Chopped green onions or fresh chives
Soak beans in 8 cups water overnight. Drain and rinse. In large kettle cook onions, chilies and garlic in hot oil until onions are tender. Add beans, broth, cumin, oregano and pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, simmer, covered, for 1 ½ – 2 hours or until beans are tender. Mash beans slightly to thicken soup. Add chicken and salt and cook 10-15 minutes more. Serve with toppings of your choice. Serves 6-8.
Barley and Corn Salad
Barley and Corn Salad
This barley and corn salad is a great side dish but it’s hearty enough to be a main dish, too. If you only think of using barley as an ingredient in soups and other hot dishes, think again. Barley is a great grain to use in salads. This salad combines barley with corn, peas and radishes in a very simple mustard dressing. I taught a class on cooking with grains last night. This is one of the dishes we had. It was a big hit.
Barley and Corn Salad
½ c. pearl barley
salt
3 T. cider or white wine vinegar
1 t. Dijon mustard
fresh ground pepper
3 T. olive oil
½ t. dried oregano
3 c. cooked corn, from six ears
1 c. cooked fresh or frozen peas
1 c. sliced radishes
¼ c. sliced green onions
Combine barley, 2 cups water and ½ t. salt in saucepan and simmer, covered until barley is tender, about 50 minutes. Drain and rinse under cold water. Combine remaining ingredients and toss with barley in large bowl. Makes 6 servings.
Three Fruit Crumble
Three Fruit Crumble
This time of year I am always looking to empty my freezer out a little. I find it also helps me to be more creative. For a recent dinner with friends I needed a dessert. I decided to make some sort of fruit crumble/ cobbler thing. I thought it would go well with the meal we were having. Plus, when it’s cold outside fruit desserts always make me think about summer. I decided the first three fruits I found were the ones I would use. Turned out to be blackberries, blueberries and red grapes. Pretty nice mix. I thawed out the fruit and tossed them with some sugar and a little cornstarch and a squeeze of lemon juice. I had about 7 or 8 cups of fruit, but I knew they would cook down. I put them in a 9-inch glass baking dish and made the topping next. Baked it until the top was golden and the fruit was all bubbly. It was a big hit and if I hadn’t admitted that it was just a matter of what I found first I think my guests would have though I’d planned it from the beginning.
Three Fruit Crumble
The filling
7-8 cups mixed fruit- I used blueberries, blackberries and red grapes, too
1/2 c. brown sugar
3 T. cornstarch
2 T. lemon juice
The topping
2 c. rolled oats
1 c. flour
1/3 c. brown sugar
2 t. cinnamon
1 t. nutmeg
1 stick butter
Combine the fruit with the other filling ingredients and place in a baking dish. I used a 9×9 inch glass baking dish but use whatever casserole you like. Place all the topping ingredients, except the butter, in a mixing bowl and stir to combine. Cut in butter to resemble coarse crumbs. Mixture will be crumbly. Sprinkle over the fruit mixture and bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 35-40 minutes, or until topping is golden and fruit is bubbly. Serves 6.
Duck Won Tons
Duck Won Tons
I had made duck a couple of days ago and had a small amount of the meat left over. Not a lot, so I wanted to make the most of it. I decided to use the meat in wontons. I cubed up the meat I had and ended up with a little over half a cup. I added some finely chopped cabbage- about the same amount as the meat. I also added a spoonful of oyster sauce- for saltiness and moisture and a couple of tablespoons of minced green onion. I had an open package of wonton wrappers in the freezer. About 12 were left in the package. I spooned about a tablespoonful into each one and folded them in half diagonally to form a little triangle. I moistened the edge of the wrapper with a little water and pressed the edges to seal. In a medium skillet I heated up a half inch of oil to about 350 degrees and fried the wontons for a little under a minute per side. I had leftover orange glaze from the duck so used that as a dipping sauce. It was a nice and easy appetizer for dinner with a friend.
Very Pink Soup
Very Pink Soup
I had planned on just calling this recipe beet soup or maybe pureed beet soup. Then a friend came over and I offered her a bowl. When I set it down in front of her she said, “Wow, this is really pink soup.” After that I couldn’t name it anything else. People seem to have strong opinions about beets. They either love them or hate them. I love them and I enjoy them in soups, salads, relishes, casseroles and more. The earthy flavor really appeals to me and the color is a delightful bonus. I made this soup using a large bunch of beets I picked up at a produce market. I used the beets in the soup and I used the greens in the little dumplings. The result is a very tasty dish that is also sort of striking to look at.
Very Pink Soup
1 bunch beets- mine had 3 large beets
2 T. olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
1 rib celery, chopped
3 medium potatoes, peeled and chopped
6 cups stock- I used chicken but vegetable stock or beef stock would also work
2 t. dill weed
salt and pepper to taste
1 c. sour cream- or a little more if you like
Cut beets off of their stems- leaving about 2 inches attached- this will reduce bleeding and retain more color in the beets. Reserve greens for the dumplings. Place beets in a pot of water deep enough to cover them and cook until the beets are just getting tender, about 30 minutes. Remove and place in cold water. Once the beets are cool enough to handle trim off the stems and slip off the skins. Cut the beets into chunks and set aside. In soup pot heat the oil and cook the onion until tender. Add the carrots and beets and cook a few minutes longer. Add the rest of the vegetables, stock, dill and simmer, covered, until vegetables are very tender. This will take at least 30 minutes- but cooking longer is better- around an hour. Puree the soup. To add the sour cream place sour cream in a bowl and add a ladle full of the hot soup to the sour cream, whisking until smooth. Add another ladle or two of the soup and whisk again. Return sour cream mixture to the soup. By warming the sour cream gently you prevent it curdling. Adjust seasonings and serve as is or with the beet green dumplings. Serves 6-8. Freezes well.
While the soup is cooking prepare dumplings.
Beet Green Dumplings
1 bunch of beet greens
2 eggs
1/4 c. milk, cream or half and half
2 t. baking powder
1 t. salt
1 t. hot sauce
1/2 t. nutmeg
1 1/2 c. flour- may need a little more or less depending on how many greens you start with.
Rinse greens and chop off the stems. Place stems in a pot of boiling water for 3-4 minutes. add the greens and cook 3 minutes longer.. Drain greens and stems let them cool down. I didn’t squeeze all the liquid out of them, I just let them drain well. Place greens and stems in a food processor and process until very fine. Add the eggs and the rest of the ingredients, except the flour and process until pretty smooth. Add the flour and pulse until blended. Mixture should be a thick batter. It will be a pretty pink color with flecks of green in it- but it cooks to a paler lilac sort of color.
To cook the dumplings- bring a large pot of water to a boil. I wanted small dumplings so I placed the batter in a sturdy plastic bag and cut the tip off one corner. The hole was the diameter of a pencil. Holding the bag over the pot of boiling water I squeezed the batter into the boiling water. I did it in batches- only cooking about a third of the batter at a time. They will come to the surface and need about 3 minutes to cook in all. Remove with a slotted spoon and continue to cook the rest of the batter. So they wouldn’t get sticky I put them in a colander and rinsed them in cool water. If I were going to use them right away I would just have drizzled a little olive oil over them.
Sweet Potato Fritters
Sweet Potato Fritters
I found myself with a cup of leftover mashed sweet potatoes. I decided to play around and see if I could turn them into a dessert. I added eggs, flour, baking powder and a few other things, fried them up in oil, and ended up with a pretty decent fritter. I drained them on paper towels and then rolled them in cinnamon sugar while still warm. If you ever find yourself with some leftover sweet potatoes – now you have a fun way to use them.
Sweet Potato Fritters
1 c. cooked, mashed sweet potatoes
2 eggs
2 T. brown sugar
2 t. baking powder
1 t. cinnamon
1/2 t. baking soda
1/2 t. nutmeg
1/2 t. salt
1 1/2 c. flour
oil for frying
cinnamon sugar for rolling- powdered sugar would work, too
In mixing bowl combine all ingredients, except the flour and beat until smooth. Stir in flour. Batter will be thick. Heat oil to 350 degrees.* There should be enough oil in the pan top be at least 1 inch deep- or deeper. To save oil I used a smallish pan and cooked 3-4 fritters at a time. Drop dough by rounded teaspoonfuls into hot oil and cook, turning once until golden brown on both sides. This will take about 3 minutes. Drain on paper towels then roll in cinnamon sugar while warm. Makes 24-30. Best served warm.
* Fun way to know when your oil has hit 350 degrees. Place an un-popped popcorn kernel in the oil. Popcorn pops at 350 degrees.
Orange Glazed Duck
Orange Glazed Duck
Duck has traditionally been paired with oranges forever. I remember getting a frozen duck at the grocery store years ago and it came with a packet of orange sauce.You were supposed to boil it up and serve it over the duck. I wasn’t real happy with the resulting sauce and wondered what the fuss was about duck with orange sauce. Since I was roasting a duck the other day I decided to try to make an orange sauce that I did like and see if it helped. The end result was a wonderful. I started by splitting the duck in half and sprinkling it generously with salt and fresh ground pepper. It was a local duck so not as fatty as other ducks I had gotten at the store before. If your duck is fatty- trim off some of the extra fat ( you can render it later) and score the skin. I put it on a rack, roasting it at 425 degrees for just under an hour. Then I brushed the orange glaze (recipe follows) all over the duck and placed it under the broiler for a few minutes to brown up. The result was a duck with crispy skin, sticky from the glaze. I get it now. Orange and duck, done right, is a great combination.
Orange Glaze
1 T. oil
1 shallot, minced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 c. orange juice
1/4 c. vinegar- I used cider vinegar
2 T. honey
2 T. brown sugar
2 T. sherry
1 T. soy sauce
2 t. hot sauce
2 t. orange zest
2 T. cornstarch
2 T. cold water
In small pan heat oil and saute the shallot until tender. Add garlic and cook a minute or two longer. Add the remaining ingredients, except the cornstarch and water, and simmer for about 10 minutes, so mixtures reduces a little. Combine the cornstarch and water and pour into the sauce, stirring, until mixture in thickened and bubbly. Makes a little over a cup. Great on duck or as a dipping sauce for other meats or egg rolls. Keeps in fridge a couple of weeks.
