Tortilla Soup
Tortilla Soup
This is one of the dishes we had in class last night. Great night for soup. It’s an easy soup to make and full of flavor. I like to serve it with hot sauce on the side for those who want a spicier soup.
Tortilla Soup
1 onion, sliced thin
1 T. oil
6 c. chicken stock
1/2 -3/4 c. salsa
2 T. chopped cilantro
1/2 t. cumin
2 c. diced cooked chicken
8 small or 4 large tortillas
Heat oil in soup pot and cook onion until tender. Add stock, salsa and seasonings and simmer, covered 10 minutes. Add chicken and heat through. Meanwhile roll tortillas up tightly one at a time and cut cross wise into 1/2-inch wide strips. Divide strips among 4 bowls and ladle in the soup in the bowls. Serves 4.
Garbanzo and Roasted Pepper Salad
Garbanzo Bean and Roasted Pepper Salad
No matter how cold it is I still enjoy a salad. This one is simple and with the addition of a roasted sweet pepper it has a slightly smoky taste. It can be served as a side salad or even as a vegetarian main dish.
Garbanzo Bean and Roasted Pepper Salad
1 or 2 roasted sweet peppers, drained and chopped- Any color is fine. I used yellow peppers
2 (15 oz.) cans garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 c. sliced green onion
1/2 c. chopped celery
1 clove garlic, minced
1 T. fresh chopped parsley or 1 t. dried
3 T. oil
3 T. lime or lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste
lettuce leaves
Combine peppers, beans, onion and celery in bowl. Combine seasonings with oil and juice in jar with tight fitting lid and shake well. Toss over pepper mixture to coat well. Chill several hours and serve on bed of lettuce. Serves 3-4.
Breakfast Pita Pizza
Breakfast Pita Pizza
I like to use pita bread as a crust for pizza sometimes. I normally go with traditional toppings. This morning I decided to use one of my homemade pita breads for a hearty breakfast style pizza. I started with the pita bread- topped it with a scrambled egg and a drizzle of barbecue sauce. Then I added a cooked sausage patty cubed up. Finished with a little shredded cheddar cheese and then popped it in the toaster oven to heat through. Hearty breakfast for a chilly day.
Food Not Lawns Seed Swap
If you are in need of seeds, or have some to share please stop by at the 4th Annual Food Not Lawns Seed Swap this Saturday. The event runs from 11-3 at Grace Lutheran Church at 13001 Cedar Rd. in Cleveland Heights.
I will be there along with City Rising Farm and other groups. Mari Keating has put together a fun day- with Chris McClellan, of Natural Cottage Project, doing a demo on rocket stoves. Seriously, there are a lot of seeds available- even if you don’t have any seeds to share you can pick up some for your garden. They are non GMO and Mari really out does herself with the selection. Note- nothing is for sale- seeds are free. There is also a potluck you are welcome to participate in and a Freecycle table, too.
I will have my books and herbs for sale and will be answering gardening questions, too. I had a lot of fun at last year’s seed swap. Hope you can stop by to join us. Let’s all start thinking about Spring and gardens!!!!
Baking Pita Bread
Pita dough rising
After tasting fresh homemade pita bread it’s nearly impossible for me to eat the stuff I find in stores here. It is fun to make and pretty easy. Although the recipe calls for placing the rolled out dough directly on the oven rack I place mine on baking sheets in the oven. Just a little easier and neater. I also used about half whole wheat flour in this batch.
Pita Bread
4 ½- 4 ¾ c. flour
1 pkt. Active dry yeast
1 ½ t. sugar
1 ½ t. salt
1 ¾ c. water
2 T. oil
In large bowl combine 2 cups of the flour with other dry ingredients. Heat water and oil to 120-130 degrees (warm) and add to flour mixture in bowl beating until smooth. Beat three minutes then begin stirring in enough flour to make a soft dough. Knead on floured surface until smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes. Cover dough with plastic wrap and then a towel and let rest on board 20 minutes. Punch dough down and divide into 12 pieces. Shape each into a smooth ball and place on board, allowing space in between. Cover and let rise 30 minutes. Pre-heat oven to 500 degrees. Roll dough balls into circles. Place 3 circles at a time directly on oven rack. They will puff up and brown in about three minutes. Remove to rack to cool and repeat with remaining dough. Makes 12.
Roll dough out into circles right before baking
Fresh baked pita bread
Swedish Yellow Split Pea Soup
Swedish Yellow Split Pea Soup
With the extra cold weather back again I can’t stop making soup. Everyone seems to simmering a pot of it. This is a great soup. Made with yellow split peas it in enhanced with the addition of smoky flavor from either smoked pork or turkey. It is not pureed as many other pea soups but rather served with the yellow peas cooked until tender but still intact. It is filling, rich and light at the same time. Great served alone or with a rye bread.
Swedish Yellow Split Pea Soup
1 lb. yellow split peas, rinsed
2 qts. Boiling water
1 bay leaf
1 c. chopped onion
1 tsp. Dried marjoram
1/4 t. ginger
dash nutmeg
1/2 t. pepper
1 T. salt, or to taste
Ham shank bone plus 2 cups diced ham or 1 smoked turkey piece (drumstick, thigh, neck or wing) plus 2 cups diced turkey, optional
Note: you can use 1 teaspoon liquid smoke if omitting meat.
Combine peas, boiling water and bay leaf and simmer, covered, about an hour, stirring occasionally. Remove bay leaf. Add remaining ingredients, except diced meat and salt, and cook, covered, over low heat for about 1-1 1/2 hours. Peas and meat should be tender. Remove meat and cool, cutting any usable meat off the bone and returning to soup along with additional diced meat, if desired. Season to taste. Serve with a pumpernickel bread or Swedish Limpa bread. Freezes well. Serves 6-8.
Feed the Birds
Suet/seed bowl for the birds
With cold weather it’s a great time to fill those bird feeders. Times are hard for them in cold weather. I have been feeding birds my whole life. I have fond memories of building a bird feeder with my dad when I was just a kid. Over the years I’ve fed the birds all sorts of things but I find myself most often going for black oil sunflower seeds. They are a favorite food for many birds. You can also make them a special high-fat treat for extra cold days. I melted together some suet and then combined black oil sunflower seeds with some nuts and raisins. I put the mixture in little bowls to harden. Once firmed up I dipped the bottom of the bowls in hot water for a few seconds to loosen the mixture. I then placed the suet blocks in old onion bags for easy hanging. Here are some other bird-friendly recipes.
Bird Pudding
1 c. melted suet or shortening
1 c. sugar
5 c. water
2 c. cornmeal
1/2 flour
2 c. cold water
1 c. raisins seeds or nutmeats
Bring fat, sugar and water to the boil and remove from the heat. Stir in the cornmeal and flour and stir until smooth. Add cold water and raisins, seeds or nuts, stirring until mixed well. Pour in loaf pan and store in fridge. Place slices of the pudding on feeding trays. Note: this is a cold weather treat.
Songbird Muffins
1 c. each cornmeal, whole wheat flour and bread crumbs
1/2 t. baking soda
3/4 c. dried fruit, like raisins or currants
1/2 c. rendered suet or shortening
1 c. water
Combine dry ingredients in a bowl and stir in fruit. Add fat and water and stir to combine. Spoon into greased muffin tins and bake at 350 for 15 minutes. Place muffins on feeder trays or stick on branches.
Hang suet mixture in a mesh bag
Favorite Cooking Gadget / Tool
Mouli Julienne
I will confess to having a lot of cooking tools and gadgets. I’m not talking about the basics all kitchens need like good knives and pots and pans. I am talking about an assortment of tools for very specific tasks. While I have not succumbed to buying the banana slicer yet I do have a few of the “as seen on TV” items. Some were worth the money but most end up in a cabinet somewhere almost never used or slated for donation or garage sale status. Still, there are some gadgets I could not be without. Pictured is one of them. It’s a clever device called a Mouli Julienne. Originally from France they are no longer made. My mother had one – hers was metal. By the time I was in the market for one they were made of plastic. Before food processors were around this simple device, with an assortment of different blades, made it easy to shred and grate all sorts of foods. I love it when I have a lot of hard cheeses to grate. Great for shredding veggies, too.
Why do I still use it? I have several food processors. Certainly easier to use one of them. Maybe it’s out of habit or a certain sentiment because I remember using one as a kid. But I think because, as with any good tool, it is a pleasure to use. It may have gone by the wayside and fallen victim to newer and better devices but for me it is a good tool. Simple and easy to use and I am saddened that they aren’t made anymore. Maybe I am a dinosaur- I still prefer a non-electric can opener, too.
So what tools are your favorites? What gadget could you not be without?
Chicken with Lemon Sauce
Chicken with Lemon Sauce
I did a cooking class yesterday and made lamb with lemon sauce. I loved it and wanted to make some when I got home- but alas I didn’t have any lamb defrosted. I also didn’t have the romaine lettuce the recipe called for. Part of the trouble with not going to the grocery store is having to swap our ingredients sometimes. I decided to swap out a few things and the end result was quite nice. I used boneless chicken thighs in place of the lamb and a combination of shredded cabbage and baby bok choy for the romaine lettuce. Frankly, I love the lemon sauce so much pretty much anything I served it with was going to taste pretty good.
Here is the lamb recipe with my substitutions noted. Since I had boneless thighs I didn’t have to cook the dish as long, probably simmered it for 30 minutes in total.
Fricassee of Lamb with Lettuce
2 1/2-3 lbs. lamb shoulder, or use pork- I used boneless chicken thighs
3 medium onions, chopped
2-3 heads romaine lettuce, washed and sliced thin- I used 2 c. shredded cabbage and 2 heads of baby bok choy, sliced
1/2 c. olive oil
Egg and Lemon Sauce -recipe follows
Cut the meat into serving pieces. Heat the oil in a pot and sauté the meat. Add salt, pepper, the onions, lettuce and a small amount of water. Cover the pot and let the fricassee simmer for about an hour. Prepare the egg and lemon sauce, pour it over the fricassee and serve.
Egg and Lemon Sauce
1-2 c. stock
2 eggs
juice of 1 lemon
flour, about 1-2 tablespoons, depending on how thick you want the sauce
Bring stock to the simmer. Beat eggs well. Mix the flour with the lemon juice.
Add to the eggs and keep beating. Add the hot broth slowly while you keep beating. Pour the egg and lemon sauce in the pot and bring to a simmer, stirring constantly. Makes 1-2 cups. For a thinner sauce eliminate the flour.
Roasting Peppers
Roasting Peppers
I love the flavor of roasted peppers. They add a nice smoky flavor to many dishes from salads to soups. I made this one to use in a Greek salad. If you haven’t roasted peppers before I encourage you to try it. Since I have a gas stove I just place the pepper right on a burner and turn the burner on medium. Turn the pepper, using tongs, until the pepper it charred on all sides. I know- it doesn’t look appetizing, but trust me the flavor will be terrific. After the pepper is all blackened take it off the heat and roll in up in paper towels or place in a paper bag to steam. The steam will help to loosen the skin. Once the pepper is cool enough to handle just rub off the charred skin and discard. Seed and chop up the pepper and toss in whatever dish you are making. You can also take the seeded pepper and toss it in a blender with some herbs, salt and a little oil. Puree for a tasty salad dressing.
If you have an electric stove you can roast peppers under the broiler until charred, turning often or you can even roast peppers on the grill.
Cook until completely charred
Wrap charred pepper in paper towels
Once cooled, rub off the charred skin.
Cleaned and ready to use.
