Archive for the ‘gluten-free’ Category

Friday, April 8th, 2011

Mashed Garbanzos, Roasted Beets, Harissa

Although it is completely out of the way, I adore a trip to Melrose Market on Capitol Hill in Seattle. I’ll stop by Rain Shadow Meats for naturally raised, local meat (essential for my Charcutepalooza endeavors) and eggs. Then I’ll visit The Calf and Kid for yummy, hard to find cheeses from very knowledgeable staff. Then I’ll check the vegetable selection at Marigold and Mint (and sometimes buy myself some flowers).

Lastly I’ll stop by Sitka and Spruce for lunch. They have a communal bar table right off of the open kitchen (one of the quietest kitchens I’ve ever seen). Every meal that I’ve eaten there has been just outstanding. The last, a couple of weeks ago, has stuck with me so that I wanted to try a hand at something like it at home.

The dish consisted of three parts, garbanzo beans blended into a thick, textured mash, beets that had been roasted, then dressed with a vinaigrette, all topped off with a generous dollop of harissa.

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For the Harissa, I used this recipe from Saveur (minus the mint).

The recipe is pretty straightforward, so I won’t really go into it here, but I can add, make sure to wear gloves while you seed the peppers or you will really regret it later when you rub your eyes.

The harissa can be made way in advance. and then stored in the refrigerator until meal time.

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Here’s the ingredients for the Beets.

I roasted the beets whole a couple of days prior to dinner. I wanted to keep the flavors simple so I made a really basic vinaigrette, tossed the beets in it and then set it aside. This could easily be stashed in the fridge for a couple of days.

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And for the garbanzos.

I put a little olive oil in a pan and sauteed the onion until it was soft and translucent.

Then I tossed in the garlic and smoked paprika and cooked it for another 30 seconds.

Then I added two can of garbanzos with just enough of the liquid from one of the cans to not quite cover the beans. I let this mixture simmer for ten minutes or so.

Then I took the stick blender to the mix and pureed it a bit. I wanted quite a bit of texture, so I didn’t go to crazy with the blender. This too, could be cooled and then stashed in the fridge.

Finally all of the elements of my meal were ready. I spooned some of the mashed garbanzos into a shallow bowl then layered on some of the beets and a dollop of harissa.

While I’m not sure this was an exact replica of the meal at Sitka and Spruce it was mighty similar and extremely delicious. It takes a bit of time to assemble all the parts of this meal, but the work can be spread out and then the meal can be assembled quickly when it is time to eat. Sitka and Spruce served their version at room temperature. I served mine hot (though the beets were at room temperature) and then enjoyed the leftovers cold, right out of the refrigerator. All three temperatures were good.

 

MASHED GARBANZOS, ROASTED BEETS, HARISSA
serves two generously, with leftovers

I highly recommend a hunk of crusty bread to serve alongside the meal. Everything on the plate is a natural for dipping and scooping. The Harissa recipe from Saveur is great, but commercial Harissa is also available if you are interested in a shortcut.

for the garbanzos:
1 onion, chopped fine
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
2 cans garbanzo beans, drained, juice reserved

In a saucepan, heat a little olive oil and saute the onion until it is soft and translucent. Add the garlic and smoked paprika and saute for another 30 seconds. Add the beans and enough of the reserved juice to almost cover the beans. Simmer for 10 minutes then use an immersion blender to puree the beans slightly. Set aside.

for the beets:
1 Tablespoon white wine vinegar
1-2 Tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon honey
salt and pepper
6-8 beets, roasted, peeled and diced

Whisk together all of the ingredients to create a vinaigrette. Toss the beets in the vinaigrette. Set aside.

 

Assemble your plate by spooning some of the mashed garbanzos onto a plate or shallow bowl. Spoon on some of the roasted beets and add a dollop of Harrisa.

xxx

Posted by ChefDJen in beans, beets, condiments, dairy-free, dinner, gluten-free, vegetarian | No Comments »

Thursday, March 31st, 2011

Breakfast Potatoes

I like to get potatoes in my CSA box because if you don’t get to them right away, they don’t go bad and turn into a pile of green goo in the bottom of the crisper drawer (not that that ever happens to me). They can sit for weeks and some would say that they even improve with age, growing sweeter as they wait for their chance to shine.

Plus, always having a stash of potatoes in the crisper means that an easy breakfast is right around the corner.

I’ll use just about any kind of fingerling or new potato in this recipe. Russets are okay, but I’d rather eat them baked or mashed. If you have some greens like kale or chard, you can throw them in too. Just add them at the end, a bit before the potatoes are cooked through.

Here’s the ingredients.

To start, put the potatoes in a microwaveable bowl and cover them. Cook them for about 3 minutes, or until they are just starting to get tender. If you don’t like to use the microwave, you could boil them for just a few minutes (but I am lazy and the microwave is easy).

While the potatoes are in the microwave, cook the bacon over medium heat until it is just about crispy.

At this point, you can spoon out a bit of the bacon fat (or not, I’m not your mother), then add the onion, par-cooked potatoes, thyme and sage and sprinkle with a little salt and pepper.

Turn the heat up to high let the whole mix saute, stirring every so often until everything is golden brown and delicious (and the potatoes are cooked through), then sprinkle in the chives.

To really make it a meal. Fry up an egg and slip it down over the top of the potatoes. The runny yolk will combine with the potatoes and make a bit of a sauce.

Good, simple, tasty food. Serve with toast and some juice and you’ve got breakfast perfection.

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BREAKFAST POTATOES
serves 2-3

I used my own home-cured bacon but commercial bacon will work just fine. Just be sure that it is thick cut or the bacon might burn while the potatoes cook through. I used red onion (because that’s what I had laying around) but any type onion will work.

1 pound fingerling or red potatoes
4 oz thick cut bacon, chopped
1/2 onion, chopped
1 teaspoon fresh thyme
1 teaspoon fresh sage, chopped
1 Tablespoon fresh chives, chopped

Place the potatoes in a microwaveable bowl and cover. Cook for about 3 minutes, or until they are just starting to get tender.

While the potatoes are in the microwave, cook the bacon over medium heat until it is just about crispy. If desired, use a spoon to remove some of the bacon fat from the pan.

Add the onion, par-cooked potatoes, thyme and sage and sprinkle with a little salt and pepper.

Turn the heat to high and saute, stirring occasionally, until the potatoes are cooked through and golden brown. Sprinkle with chives and serve.

Posted by ChefDJen in bacon, breakfast, dairy-free, eggs, gluten-free, home cooking, onion, potatoes | No Comments »

Tuesday, March 15th, 2011

Corned Beef

I have a confession to make. Up until last week, I’d never had corned beef.

I just never really understood celebrating St. Patrick’s Day if you are not Irish. The food never looked that appetizing to me, so , seemingly, the only other thing to do is drink way too much cheap green beer. Also not appealing.

When I told my husband that I had never had corned beef, he was shocked. “That can’t be possible, you’ve never even had a reuben?” “Well,” I replied “I’ve never been a fan of sauerkraut, or 1000 Island dressing for that matter, so why would I order a reuben?”

I asked my mom about the lack of corned beef in my life and she said that she could remember serving corned beef hash for breakfast. Thing is, I don’t think this happened until after my brother was adopted. I was 17 when that happened so sitting down for breakfast before school probably didn’t happen. Plus, I seem to remember that the corned beef hash she made was out of a can, and our family dog was, at the time, being fed soft dog food and the two things looked remarkably similar. That kinda put me off the whole corned beef hash thing.

When this month’s Charcutepalooza Challenge was revealed to be brining I knew what I had to do. Since I had already accomplished the Apprentice Challenge of brining either a whole chicken or pork chops, I settled on the Charcutiere Challenge, brining, then corning a piece a beef brisket to create my first corned beef.

I followed the recipe found in the cookbook Charcuterie (the bible of Charcutepalooza) pretty much to a tee. I decided to half the recipe (because 5 pounds of brisket sounded like a lot for two people). I added an onion and a couple of carrots to the water that I was going to simmer the brisket in, then, with about 30 minutes of cooking time left I added some peeled new potatoes then, with 15 minutes left, some cabbage. I also made some traditional Irish Soda bread (read that as no caraway seeds, no raisins, just plain white bread) to complete the meal.

So, just how was my first corned beef experience? Meh. It’s certainly not the worst thing I’ve eaten, but it really didn’t live up to the hype. It smelled promising as it simmered away, but it just didn’t do it for me.

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The thing is, even though I split the recipe in half, I still had leftovers (quite a bit of leftovers) the next day. I decided to try my hand at corned beef hash. I figured at the very least, mine wouldn’t look like dog food. Here are the ingredients.

I chopped some of the corned beef, along with the potatoes and a little bit of the cabbage (the husband was not a fan of the cabbage) plus an onion and set to work.

I melted a knob of butter in a saute pan and added the onion. Cooked it until is was soft and translucent, then threw in some fresh thyme.

I let that cook for just a few seconds and then added the potatoes, corned beef and cabbage to the pan.

Now here’s the hard part. I had to let it sit. Trying hard not to stir the mixture very often, so that every thing would get golden brown and delicious.

Once it was nicely browned (finally). I cooked up an egg to put on top. I had a little problem with my over easy egg flip, so it’s not the prettiest, but it’s still tasty (try not to judge me).

Now we’re talking. Turns out what I needed to like corned beef was tasty bits of crunchiness on every piece of it. This was a meal I could get behind.

xxx

Even after two meals, I still had more leftover corned beef. I also had some cold rice from dinner earlier in the week so I decided to make my standby quick meal, fried rice. This was probably my favorite meal of the bunch. The corned beef almost tasted like Lup Cheong, a Chinese sweet sausage (and one of my favorites). It was so good, in fact, that the husband and I ate it all without taking a picture.

xxx

So, my first corned beef experience has led me to these conclusions:

1. I’m not a fan of corned beef straight out of the pot, Irish style.

2. Corned beef that has been cooked again so that it has crusty edges is delicious.

3. Corned beef may be too much effort to put into my life regularly, but once a year it might be worth it, for the leftovers.

Tags:
Posted by ChefDJen in beef, cabbage, Charcutepalooza, dairy-free, dinner, gluten-free, potatoes | No Comments »

Saturday, March 12th, 2011

Potato Skins

Back in the day (I can say “back in the day” now that I am officially over 40) I bussed tables at Sea Galley. If you don’t know what Sea Galley is, picture Red Lobster with a 40 item salad bar (which sounds great in theory, but actually sucked because it was up to the bus people to fill).

They had a little song on their commercials with the lyrics “we’ve got crab legs” – and they actually had crab legs. I mean, they actually had foam rubber crab legs that the hostess would have to put on and venture out to the street to drum up business when the restaurant was slow (there was also a slightly inappropriate Christmas party that involved half a santa suit and said crab legs.

They were one of those “would you like rice, french fries or baked potato with your entree” kind of places. I noticed they did something kind of ingenious. At the end of the night, any left over baked potatoes (the ones that had been cooked but not served) were split open and prepped to be used for potato skins. The inards that had been scooped out were then used in the clam chowder. Thus, no potato waste.

This story really has nothing to do with my recipe, other than the fact that my love of potato skins was developed, and perfected, during my tenure at Sea Galley. Really, it’s hard to find a bad potato skin, I mean, what’s not to like? You’ve got potato, cheese and bacon, it’s really hard to go wrong. However, there are levels of “good” and I think these potato skins are exceptional. Mine have, of course, bacon (I happen to have used my own home-cured bacon but any good bacon will do), and really sharp cheddar. But they also have a layer of sauteed red onion to amp up the deliciousness.

Here’s the ingredients.

In a small saucepan, melt the butter in a small sauce pan then add the garlic and smoked paprika.

Give it a stir and leave it on the stove so that it stays warm.

I like to cook the onion in a bit of bacon fat, so once the bacon has been cooked crisp, remove it from the pan, reserving a bit of the fat, then toss in the onion. Let it cook at medium heat until is is soft and translucent.

While the butter is melting and the onions are cooking, prep the potatoes. Cut each in half (if they are really thick you may want to cut a little out of the center of each one so that each half is about 3/4 inch thick). Then, using a spoon, scoop out most of the potato from each half.

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Leave enough potato so that each half will keep it’s shape when you pick it up.

Put the potato halves on a baking sheet (I like to line mine with foil) then brush the skin sides with the butter mixture.

Bake at 400 degrees for 8 minutes. Take them out and flip the potatoes over and brush with more butter (don’t get to carried away, if lots of butter pools in the potato half the potato skins will be greasy). Bake for another 8 minutes. This helps to make the potato skin crispy before the toppings are layered on.

Once baked, spoon about a tablespoon of cooked onion into each half.

Then layer on the cheese and the bacon (I seemed to have got excited about the prospect of potato skins at the point because I forgot to take a picture).

Return the baking sheet to the oven and cook for another 5 minutes to melt the cheese, then sprinkle on a few chives.

Um. Yum.

The smoky paprika and garlic add a nice flavor to what might be a rather bland skin. The onions add a lovely sweetness that is a great contrast to the tang of the sharp cheddar. I like to leave the sour cream on the side so it doesn’t get melty on the warm skins.

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Of course, now you’ve got a bunch of potato guts on your hand. You could do what they did at Sea Galley and use them in soup. Or, you could combine the potato, along with any leftover onion, a little of the extra cheese, maybe a teaspoon of the butter mixture and a dollop of sour cream…

…and put it in a little baking dish (and top with a little more cheese).

Then bake it at 350 degrees, covered for 40 minutes, then uncovered for 15 more to make a delicious potato casserole for lunch the next day.

Almost as good as the potato skins themselves.

xxx

POTATO SKINS
 serves 2-4

Russet potatoes work exceptionally well in this recipe, however, if you would like smaller, two bite, potato skins, feel free to substitute small red potatoes. You will need two or three red potatoes for every russet potato called for.

4 russet potatoes, baked
1 Tablespoon butter
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 clove garlic, minced
4 ounces bacon, chopped and cooked crisp, fat reserved
1 red onion, chopped
6-8 ounces sharp cheddar cheese
1 Tablespoon chives

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

In a small saucepan, melt butter and stir in garlic and paprika. Heat for 15 seconds to cook the garlic, then turn off the burner.

In a skillet, heat the reserved bacon fat. Add the onion and saute over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until the onion is soft and translucent. Set aside.

While the onion cooks, prep the potatoes. Cut each potato in half to approximately 3/4 inch thick. Using a spoon, scoop out the cooked potato, leaving about 1/4 inch of potato in the skin.

Place potato halves skin side up on a baking sheet and brush with the butter mixture. Bake for 8 minutes then remove from oven. Using a spatula, turn each of the potato halves over and brush lightly with more of the butter mixture. Return pan to oven and cook for an additional 8 minutes.

Into each potato half, layer about a tablespoon of sauteed onion followed by cheese and bacon. Bake for 5 minutes until the cheese is melted. Sprinkle potato skins with chives and serve with sour cream.

Posted by ChefDJen in bacon, Charcutepalooza, cheese, dinner, gluten-free, onion, pork, potatoes | No Comments »

Thursday, January 6th, 2011

Stepping in to 2011

So far, 2011 can suck it! My year started with a New Year’s Day trip to the Apple store where an obviously hungover “genius” informed me that my computer was down for the count. It has since been shipped off for repair. Three days later I had my first ever root canal. Even though I was introduced to the pleasure of dental care while receiving nitrous gas, the root canal did not go well. I have a huge swollen cheek, a very sore mouth and I haven’t eaten solid food in over 48 hours.

However, I realize that these are truly first-world problems. My computer will be returned, good as new (thank the Lord for Time Machine), and my tooth will heal. In fact, I should consider myself lucky for having access to good dental care and insurance to help pay for it. And can I just say, I have the best husband in the world. He has not only been waiting on me (bringing me soup and ice cream) since my root canal, but he also let me completely wipe his computer clean so that I could install my Time Machine back-up on his computer while mine is in the shop. That’s love people.

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I started this blog two years ago, in January of 2009. As it is now starting it’s third year, I have decided on a few changes. My original goal was to build recipes around my CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) box, and I’m still going to do that in the winter (as I am lucky enough to have access to a year-round CSA). However, in the summer my produce will be coming from Farmer’s Markets. I love going to the market, picking out the very best looking produce I can find and then feasting on it for the week. It’s fun to be able to talk the farmers that are actually growing the food. It feels very different then picking up a sealed box from behind a house in my neighborhood. Plus I can buy eggs, meat, poultry, bread, pasta and so much more while I am there. I like the idea of supporting smaller farms and purveyors so that is what I am going to do.

The second change is that I have joined a group of bloggers in a year-long Charcuterie challenge called Charcutepalooza (pronounced shar-coo-ta-pa-loo-za). Each month challenge co-creators Mrs. Wheelbarrow and The Yummy Mummy will present a new meat-curing challenge using a recipe from Charcuterie: The Craft of Salting, Smoking, and Curing by Michal Ruhlman. I have been interested in meat curing for a while, so this seems like the perfect excuse to jump in with both feet. I won’t be posting any of Ruhlman’s recipes here. But I will show method and also how I use my finished product.

The last change, which I think everyone will like, is a concerted effort at more frequent blogging. My goal is one new recipe a week, though at times a recipe post may be replaced with a photography post and I’m counting charcutepalooza posts towards my goal. They always say goals don’t mean anything if you don’t write them down, so, here I am, putting it out there for the world to see.

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So, even though I can’t eat solid food right now, that doesn’t mean I can’t get some started to eat in a couple of weeks. The first charcutepalooza challenge is Duck Proscuitto (page 54-55 of Ruhlman’s book). I actually tried this recipe a few years ago but I hung it to dry in the back of the fridge which is colder than recommended. It ended up a bit like duck jerky so I am hoping for better results this time.

Ruhlman’s recipe is for a plain duck prosciutto, cured in salt then sprinkled with pepper and hung to dry. After a bit of reading about the recipe, it seems that there is quite a bit of room for some creativity with the seasonings. I decided to make two versions, one cured in salt with five-spice seasoning and a second using Herbes de Provence. I probably should have done a plain version as a “control” group, but that is just not how I roll.

Five-Spice mix (peppercorn, cinnamon, star anise,
fennel seed and cloves) getting toasty

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My version of Herbes De Provence: Dried thyme, sage,
fennel, rosemary, marjoram and lavender.

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Each mix was combined with kosher salt. and then I used each to cover two pekin duck breasts completely.

After 24 hours, I removed each breast from the salt, rinsed them, dried them, then tied each in cheesecloth and hung them to dry. I wish that I had saved a little of each spice mix to rub on to the duck breasts after their overnight stay in the fridge, but I didn’t (I blame the vicodin).

For now, I am using my pantry/laundry room as my “curing chamber”. It is the only room in our house that doesn’t have any insulation and it is cold in there in the winter. At times, it may be a little colder then the optimum temperature of 50-60 degrees (during last weeks cold snap it was only 44 degrees in there) but I am hoping it will work.

Ruhlman says that drying should take eight days but Mrs. Wheelbarrow has had good luck with shooting for a 30% loss in moisture (which could take more or less time), so that is my plan as well. My duck breasts are fairly small so it will be interesting to see just how long they will take.

Maybe, just maybe, 2011 is going to turn out okay.

Posted by ChefDJen in charcuterie, duck, gluten-free, random musings | No Comments »

Wednesday, November 17th, 2010

Honey Glazed Brussels Sprouts

Brussels sprouts are a highly decisive food. People seem to either love them or hate them. There is no in between. Me, I’m in the love them camp. Roasted or suuteed these tiny cabbages are wonderful.

When my box arrived last week, I was especially excited to see this.

Brussels sprouts still on the stalk. I decided to create a Brussels sprout dish that could be fit for the Thanksgiving table.

What makes this fit for your table?
1) It has bacon in it
2) It only requires four ingredients
3) It’s delicious combination of sweet, bitter, salty and nutty flavors
4) It is cooked on the stove top (in one pan) so it doesn’t steal take any precious oven space.
5) Did I mention it has bacon in it

Here’s the ingredients.

Start with a saute pan over high heat. Add the pecans and heat them until they are toasted. You’ll want to stir them every thirty seconds or so until you can start to smell them (about a minute), then start stirring them constantly until they brown a bit. Like this.

Remove them from the pan and wipe the pan out with a paper towel (careful, it’s hot) to get rid of any remaining nut remnants.

Reduce the heat a little and add the bacon to the pan. Saute the bacon until it is crispy and brown…

…then remove it from the pan. Leave at least a Tablespoon of oil in the pan.

Turn the heat back up to high and carefully add the Brussels sprouts to the pan. Toss them a little to cover them all over with the bacon fat and sprinkle on a little salt and pepper. Add a Tablespoon of water and cover the pan to steam the sprouts for two minutes.

Uncover the pan and saute the sprouts for about five minutes more (the water in the pan should be just about gone). Drizzle the honey over the sprouts and stir to coat. After about a minute the honey will thicken a bit to create a glaze.

Lastly, stir in the bacon and the toasted pecans and give it another stir to make sure everything gets covered in the glaze.

Encourage the non-Brussels sprout lovers at your table to try this too. There is enough good stuff going on here that converts could be created. For that, I would be thankful.

xxx

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HONEY-GLAZED BRUSSELS SPROUTS
serves 4

If you can’t find Brussels sprouts on the stalk replace them with 3/4 pound of fresh Brussels sprouts. I used chestnut honey which has an smoky, slightly bitter flavor but clover honey will work as well although the finished dish will be a bit sweeter.

1 stalk Brussels sprouts, about 3/4 pound once trimmed
3 strips or about 2 ounces bacon, diced
1/2 cup pecans, roughly chopped
1 Tablespoon chestnut honey

Using a paring knife, trim each of the Brussels sprouts from the stalk. Peel off any wilted outer leaves. Cut very large sprouts in half.

In a saute pan over high heat, toast the pecans. Remove them from the pan and wipe it out with a paper towel.

Reduce heat to medium high. Cook the bacon until it is crispy and browned. Remove it from the pan, leaving at least one Tablespoon of bacon fat in the pan.

Turn the heat back up to high and carefully add the brussels sprouts. Stir to coat then season with salt and pepper. Add a tablespoon of water to the pan and cook, covered for two minutes.

Remove the lid and continue to cook until the sprouts are tender and the water has evaporated, about 5 minutes. Drizzle the honey over the sprouts and cook for another minute. Stir in the bacon and pecans and stir to coat.

Posted by ChefDJen in Brussels sprouts, dairy-free, fall, gluten-free, pork, side dish | No Comments »

Friday, November 12th, 2010

Red Curry Fried Rice

There are times during the year when it is hard for me to get in the kitchen and cook. Often this happens for me in the weeks just preceding Thanksgiving. This year is no exception.

Right now I am being pulled in so many directions. Business is busy with clients and scheduling Thanksgiving prep (but there is always room for another client or two). Training for this years Lavaman Triathlon has just started, and with that, my Leukemia and Lymphoma Society fundrasing has started as well. I had the bright idea to sell pies for Thanksgiving (donating the proceeds to LLS) and the response has been overwhelming (for which I am grateful). Last weekend I made 19 pies, This weekend I will be making at least 26 (orders are still coming in today). To top all that off, our dog Jones had to have surgery last week so quite a bit of time has been dedicated to his recovery.

I have so much to do, I can’t decide where to start. Right now, if it doesn’t have a deadline, it just isn’t going to get done.

With so much time spent in the kitchen for my clients and with the making of many pies, cooking for pleasure has, sadly, gone out the window. Right now, I am cooking just to eat. However, I am not without cravings. Spicy food is my comfort food right now (well that, and cookies). Fried rice is a quick to cook meal and the addition of the curry sauce made it spicy enough to fit the bill. Plus, it used leftovers from two other meals as well as a baby bok choy that was starting to wilt.

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Here’s the ingredients.

Oil should really be in this picture too, because it is essential to the process. The leftovers I speak of are the rice (leftover from a simple beans and rice meal) and half a can of coconut milk (left from a lovely curried squash soup, which I will be blogging soon). I almost always make extra rice when I cook it at home. It is such an easy go to for the start of a great meal. It’s important to use cold rice to make fried rice, it helps to separate the individual grains of rice.

It’s also important to have everything ready to go, veggies chopped, sauce mixed, before you start cooking. The cooking process goes faster than you think.

I used a wok to make this meal. However, it can certainly be made in a large skillet or frying pan. The only reason I even own a wok is because my dad bought it, never used it, so then it was passed to me.

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Start by heating a little oil in the wok. While it heats, beat an egg or two (I used a duck egg because I love them, but any old egg would do) then add it to the oil.

Keep it moving to scramble it. It will cook pretty quick so keep your eye on it.

Once it is cooked take it out of the wok.

Add a little more oil to the wok. Once it is hot, add the chopped bok choy stems and fry them for about a minute.

Next, add the chinese pork and fry that for a minute. Keep it moving.

Finally add the peas and the bok choy leaves. Fry the whole shebang until everything is just warmed through.

Then take that out of the pan.

Add a little more oil to the pan and once it’s hot, add the rice.

Once the rice is hot, add the vegetables back to the mix,

And then the sauce (which I had stirred together before I started cooking).

Warm it through and then stir in the egg and chives. Done and done.

This is not your traditional fried rice since it has a sauce but I love the creamy texture it gives to the dish. It’s also a lovely one dish meal, protein, starch and vegetable all in one. For me, this could have been a little spicier (though the husband said it was just fine) but it was nothing a little Sriracha couldn’t fix.

xxx

RED CURRY FRIED RICE
Serves 2 generously with leftovers

If you don’t have (or don’t like) the vegetables that I’ve used, use whatever you happen to have around. Just start with the vegetables that require the longest cooking time, and add the vegetables that require less cooking as you progress.

1 cup coconut milk
2-3 Tablespoons red curry paste
2-3 Tablespoons soy sauce
1/2 cup corn or vegetable oil
1 duck egg or 2 chicken eggs, beaten
1 baby bok choy, stems and leaves chopped separately
6 ounces Chinese barbecued pork, chopped
3/4 cup frozen peas
3 cups cooked white or brown rice
1/2 cup chives, chopped

Stir together coconut milk, red curry paste and soy sauce. Taste for spiciness and saltiness and add more curry paste or soy sauce if desired. Set aside.

Heat a wok or frying pan and add 1 Tablespoon oil. When it is very hot, add the egg and scramble until they are cooked through. Remove from pan and set aside

Return the wok to the heat and add 1 Tablespoon oil to the pan. Fry the meat and vegetables starting with the bok choy stems, followed by the barbecued pork, peas and bok choy leaves, cooking for about a minute between each addition. Once the vegetable are soft and the meat is heated through, remove from pan and set aside.

Return the wok to the heat and add 1 Tablespoon oil to the pan. Add the rice and heat it until it is warmed through, about a minute, stirring to make sure thatit doesn’t stick and to break up any clumps.

Add the sauce and continue to cook until it is warmed through. Stir in the egg and chives. Enjoy.

Posted by ChefDJen in Asian, bok choy, dairy-free, dinner, eggs, gluten-free, peas, pork, rice | No Comments »

Sunday, October 17th, 2010

Beans and Greens Soup

Lately I’ve been in the mood for soup. Maybe it’s because of the change of seasons (fall is, after all, the season of soup) but I think it’s more likely because I’ve been a little under the weather for a coupe of weeks. A bowl of soup can be a big bowl of comfort, warming you up and making you feel better from the inside out.

This soup could really not have been much easier. Throw some stuff in a pot. Cook for a couple hours. Throw some more stuff in the same pot. Cook for another hour or so. Eat.

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I used purple and white carrots but that’s just because that is what I had in my crisper, orange carrots will work just fine. Same goes for the leeks, I could have used plain-ole onions but I was completely out of those, so leeks instead. Here’s the lineup.

To start, I threw the beans and a ham hock in a stock pot with a bunch of water. It’s a myth that beans need to be soaked overnight (they just take a little longer to cook if you don’t soak them).

I added a generous dose of salt to the pot after about an hour and let it continue to simmer for another hour or so (I kind of lost track of time after being sucked in to a movie). Once the beans were soft I dumped in everything else and let this simmer for another hour.

Once the collard greens were tender I took the ham hock out of the pot, let it cool for a while (until It was cool enough to handle) and then set to picking all the tasty goodness from the bones. I pulled all the meat from the hock, shredded it and then discarded the fat, gristle, bones and what not.

That shredded meat went back in the pot just to heat through and then It was time to eat. I decided to top the soup with a bit of pesto from the freezer (I had mixed herb pesto, but any pesto would work) and a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese. The pesto adds a nice bit of brightness to the flavor of the soup so I highly recommend this addition.

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Served with a nice bit of crusty bread, this was a wonderful fall dinner. Warm, delicious and exactly what my beat-down body was craving.

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BEANS AND GREENS SOUP
serves 6-8 as a main dish

This makes a ton of soup but it freezes well. Ham hocks and dried beans are very inexpensive ingredients so this soup is easy on the pocketbook.

1 pound dried white beans
1 smocked ham hock (may be sold as a ham shank)
10 cups water
4 leeks or 2 onions, chopped
4 carrots, peeled and chopped
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
1 bunch collard greens, washed and cut into 1-inch pieces
2 cans diced tomatoes with juice
pesto (optional, but highly recommended)
Parmesan cheese (optional)

In a large pot combine the beans, ham hock and water. Bring to a boil then reduce heat and simmer for two hours, or until the beans are tender adding a generous amount (a tablespoon or so) of salt about one hour into the cooking time.

Add the remaining ingredients to the pot and continue to simmer for another hour.

Remove the ham hock from the pot and let cool. Once it is cool enough to handle separate the meat from the bones and any large pieces of fat, then shred the meat. Return the shredded meat to the pot and heat through.

Ladle soup into bowls and top with Parmesan and pesto (if using).

Posted by ChefDJen in beans, dinner, fall, gluten-free, greens, pork, soup, tomatoes | No Comments »

About Me

I'm a personal chef living happily with her picky-eater (but willing to try anything) husband and neurotic black lab.

I watch way too much TV and enjoy hip-hop more than any reasonable grown-up should.

I'm an avid swimmer and sometime triathlete (whenever I'm not nursing an injury).

Find out more about me here.

About This Blog

This blog details what I make with the contents of my box of fruits and veggies from my local CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) box and the occasional trip to the farmers market.

I am also a charcuterie enthusiast so the occasional project will show up here..

Every once in awhile I blog a random thought or two.

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