i’m back.

having gotten so busy, and..face it, lazy, i am now determined to write on my blog space with more regularity.  really

yesterday, we had a fine couple of young women over for sunday lunch and i made what i call MEXICAN CHICKEN SOUP.  they were all quite nice about how good it was and i thought i would share that with whoever reads this blog.

its spicy, but in no way overpoweringly so.  light.  warming to the body, and i feel sure it is good for the soul, too.

here is what i did.

i defrosted 4 chicken thighs and browned them, skin on, in a large pan with a teensy bit of olive oil.  once they were nice and golden, i seasoned them with………….

1 T cumin, 1 t thyme, 1 t chili powder, 1 t chili flakes, and salt……..start with a teaspoon at this point.

add a box of organic chicken broth…..amounts to 4 cups, and add about as much water.  cook the chicken with the spices until the chicken IS JUST DONE!!!  you dont want it to be tough and dry.  better for it to be underdone, than overdone here.

take the chicken out of the pot and let it cool enough to pick all the meat off the bones.  throw out the skin and bones and shred the meat.  add it back into the pot with…………..

1 can of drained yellow hominy, 1 small can of rotelle tomatoes and chilies with lime and cilantro, 1 small can of rotelle tomatillo sauce, 1 can of red beans, drained of course and 1 t cilantro paste (found in the veggie aisle of HT) or 1 cup chopped fresh cilantro.

allow this to come to a nice simmer.

here’s my favorite part!!!  make some yummy yellow rice.  you can use annatto powder, or SAZON which i found in the international food aisle in the mexican food section.  when the rice is done but still hot………….do this 

chop 2 medium tomatoes, 1 ripe avocado, and 1 medium white onion………chop them all into small dice.  place them in a bowl, add a couple shots of good olive oil, some s and p, some more cilantro and the juice of one lime.  toss gently together.

here’s how i served it.   in a large soup bowl, i placed whatever amount of rice i wanted to eat, poured the soup around the rice, leaving the rice sticking up in the middle like a baby volcano, and topped the rice off with the tomato, avocado, onion mix.  it was divine.  and i hope you will try it and let me know what you think.

oh, to give credit to my eldest.  rach gave me the idea and i ran with it!!!

about olive oil…

since my good friend, mbs asked me to write a little something about different kinds of olive oils, i have been thinking about what i know about them.   while what i know isnt all inclusive, i have learned some things about the different oils.

cooking with olive oil requires using a light tasting  extra virgin o oil which allows the taste of the food to shine through.  nothing heavy or ‘olivey’.

when you are using olive oil to dress salads or cold foods, you would want to choose an oil that has more taste, perhaps a first press oil that smells of olives and is a bit ‘heavier’ tasting.  this kind of oil can also be used to sprinkle across finished dishes and soups to give a boost of flavor and color.  typically, such oils are darker in color than extra virgin oil.  these stronger flavored oils are good for dipping bread into as an appetizer or accompaniment to a meal.

and as a bit of general fyi…..all good quality oils should be stored or bought in darker, rather than lighter glass.  such delicate oils can quickly become rancid and the taste be affected if left in the light. never refrigerate……….ever!!

in italy, good olive oil is found on almost every table of restaurants……sort of the italian ketchup!!

i have several bottles of olive oil on hand.  the more robust flavors for colder foods and ‘finishing’ a dish, the more delicate flavored for cooking and a really special bottle of either italian or spanish olive oil that i use strictly for the taste…..i.e. finishing good soup or pouring over a good salad.  the taste is sensational and the whole dish becomes more than the sum of its parts with such a good oil used at the right time and place.

does this help???  hope so!!   BON APPETITO:D

panko………….crispy and delicious.

my pork share was delivered last wednesday and i wanted to use some of the pork straight away.  i defrosted 4 pork chops……..about half an inch thick, each one.

after defrosting, pat them dry.

i made a mixture of panko bread crumbs………japanese style, larger than regular crumbs and very dry and crispy.  dijon mustard, full grain, s and p, and o oil.  make a paste of it.

season the chops with s and p.

pat the mixture onto one side of the chops, lay them on a sheet pan covered with parchment paper (anything to make clean up easier, i am all for!!) and press the mixture onto the other side of the chops.

pop them into a 400 degree oven and bake until the crumbs are quite golden brown, the chops are done and the smell begins to permeate the kitchen!    maybe 20-30 minutes, but YOU be the judge!

i served them with a mustard, mango chutney and some roasted veggies and a ceasar salad.  bill and gabe loved them.  i did too, and i hope you will.

they are easy to do, you can finish the sides while they bake and they taste wonderful.  especially with the crispy, flavorful topping on them.  try them.

as a variation, if you dont have or dont  like pork chops…..you can substitute chicken breasts, of course.  or my new fav fish, talapia fillets.  in fact, i did the talapia last night the very same way with two variations……………into the panko mixture, i added a quarter cup of parmesan cheese……everything else stayed the same!!!   and i put lemon slices UNDER the fillets so that as they baked there was this lovely perfume of lemon and spices in the air and when we bit into the fish, you could taste the lemon all thru the fish.  wonderful.  give either one……….or both!!!!  a try. 

cooking class pix

after giving up in discouragement, i have put the class photos on my fb page.

take a look at them.  they are so good.

and my dear friend, J, is coming soon to help me with a new website that allows pix to be put on easier than this site does.

roast veggie salad with feta

i made this tonight, too, and bill and i loved it.  it is also so beautiful on the plate with brilliant red and orange colors  blazing .

you will need:

about 3 carrots, 2 medium beets, a large potato or two medium ones.

method:

prep the veggies, peel the carrots and beets, but leave the skin on the potato.  chop each veg into same size pieces so all will be finished at the same time.

toss in a baking pan with o oil, and salt and pepper.  put into a 400 degree oven and let roast until veggies are golden brown, or in the case of the beets……..until they are tender.

pull out, taste for seasoning, add about 1tsp of thyme and 2-3tbs of lemon juice.  toss gently together and serve with feta cheese crumbled on top.

NOTE:

dont toss the vegetables with the feta…….the beets will turn it a weird dark pink.  still tastes good but isnt so attractive on the plate.

of course, you can choose whatever veggies you and your family like, but do try the beets.  they are so earthy and sweet and really good for us.

i added walnuts to the top as garnish.  i admit, i AM on a walnut kick just now.  they are so full of omega 3 oils and fiber.  and they taste great!

try serving this on a bright white platter…………gorgeous!!

zucchini and italian parsley soup

this is a wonderful, light and yet rich tasting soup.  full of flavor and with the littlest amount of fat.

you will need:

a lb of zucchini, a small onion, about 10 strands of saffron (dont worry if you dont have it, but if you do, its good to use here.) and one bunch of italian flat leaf parsley.

about 3 cups of chix broth, homemade or low sodium.

method:

chop the onion into small dice, add to a pot in which you have poured about 1tbs of o oil.  add the saffron threads here.

cook over med heat until the onion softens and the saffron colors it a bright yellow.  add the zucchini which you will have cut into small cubes, add the chix broth and let cook until the zucchini begins to soften.  chop the parsley up medium fine and add to the pot.

when all the veggies are softened, pull out the trusty immersion blender and puree away until all is smooth and silky.

THEN ADD only a quarter cup of heavy cream, a mere 4tbs of rich, creamy goodness to the pot.  taste for seasoning.  at this point, i added the zest of half a lemon and some fresh nutmeg that i rubbed over my microplane.  you could add either cayenne or chili flakes too, if you want a little underlying heat.

honestly, it is so good and light and full of good flavor.  and good for us too.  try it!

OTHER CHOICES:

instead of italian parsley, you could add some baby arugula

or watercress……they would all taste a tiny bit different, but be perfectly fine and very good in the soup.

olive oil………..different types, different uses. not now, but soon!!!

my kitchen garden…………..not yet, but soon!

of course, it is too cold and way too early to begin PLANTING.  but it is never too early to begin to PLAN.

in march, i will go out and begin to turn over the soil in all of my raised garden beds.  it is at that time that i add good organic mushroom compost and new soil if i need to bulk up the soil.  i dig up all the dirt, pulling out ALL the weeds, carrying for the perennials i have………..orange mint, lemon balm, cat balm, etc.  i trim away all the dead or unhealthy bits and turn the soil over and over so it is literally turned upside down.  that soil way at the bottom of the beds is now at the top.

if i need to fertilize, i do it then, too.

and in my winter garden……….this year full of kale and lettuces…………i work around the plants and use them until the hot sun of summer kills them.

i am thinking about the herbs and plants i hope to put in, but that is what cold winter days are good for.  planning our spring garden. 

i will keep you posted on  when i buy, what i buy and how i plant my garden.

butternut curry soup

my dear friend, jessica, has given me her recipe for butternut soup, which i love.  but i was in the mood for something more potent this past sunday.

we had several people over for sunday lunch and at the last minute i decided i wanted to serve a small cup of soup as a starter to the meal.  an amuse bouchee sort of thing.

i cooked the butternut squash in a pan with enough chicken stock to cover.  when it was soft enough to puree, i pulled out my favorite kitchen tool…..MY IMMERSION BLENDER….and pureed the squash until it was silky and smooth.

to that, i added some cayenne pepper to give it a mild, soft heat.

some salt and about 1 TBS of curry powder.

i poured in a can of coconut milk, tested for seasoning, gently heated the soup and served it in tiny cups for just a sip or two.

the next time i make it, i intend to brown some cashew nuts and chop them fine and add as a garnish.

it is blissfully easy, fast and really beautiful.  it tastes mighty fine, too.

its been a while, but here i am! with a pizza idea :D

i went to a baby shower a few weeks ago and brought a pizza i made.  several happy comments later, and some suggestions that i put it in my blog lead me to this point.

i make my own crust, but you can buy pizza dough usually from pizza hut, or dominoes, or papa johns, if you dont want to make it.

heat your oven to 500 degrees.  YES! spread out the dough onto a sheet pan or round pan and make it as thin as you like.  i do like ours to be thin.  here are the things i put on, but of course, you can do whatever your family prefers.

i cooked some organic pork sausage and let it cool.  before i put any toppings on, i spread some TRUFFLE OIL ( a wonderful investment for your cooking!) and o oil on the dough.  then i added the sausage, roasted red peppers caramelized onions, and topped it with fresh parm cheese and mozzerella.

put in the oven and let bake until the edges are crispy and the toppings are a lovely shade of golden brown.

it is so delicious with the truffle oil, which gives an earthy aroma and taste………….oh, and i forgot, i also added some sauteed shiitake mushrooms to the pizza.  the oil blends with  and magnifies the mushroom flavor.   the truffle oil is wonderful with potatoes and eggs as well.

enjoy!