The Kitchen

Welcome to the 75 Challenge 2015,Kitchen! It is new and empty now. I hope you all will gather here and fill it with food, conversation, recipes. cookbook suggestions, and fun.

I'll put the tea kettle on....

And I'll bring the leftover Christmas pudding.

Good earth original tea... cookies, and friends.

I'm doing the CookingKIT in the 2015 Category Challenge group, and will try to remember to also post here.

Here are some leftover latkes from Chanukah. Just crisp them up in the oven and later top them with cold, sweet applesauce!

Yummy! Thank you.

>6 SqueakyChu: - *drool*

I did make those, but in a previous year. The ones I made this year were all eaten. I had no leftovers. :(

Now does someone here require sour cream to go with their latkes? That's okay. You can 'fess up. :)

Why would there ever be leftovers? Those look delish!

Because I might want to eat some the next day!! Actually, the leftovers were packed up and taken home by others. The nerve!! ;)

Our Christmas dinner? Gumbo!


ETA: hmmm, for some reason, the pic's not showing...

>6 SqueakyChu: *faints*

Ours was BBQ baby back ribs. :)

Our's was leftovers from our Christmas Eve Seven Fishes celebration.

>13 mckait:

*revives Kath with some kosher wine*

oh,the holidays can be so hard on people! We have The New Year's Day to come, too.

Those are the most beautiful latkes I have ever seen. sigh.
Jan. 2, My Fitness Pal I am coming back.

>18 mckait:

Those are the most beautiful latkes I have ever seen. sigh.

...but now they're all gone. *second sigh*

I tried making some potato leek soup yesterday. It came out really good, but the picture of it was "meh" so you'll just have to imagine it. :)

It's time for New Year's treats, folks! What's cooking/baking in our kitchen?

I'll have some of those latkes, thanks. And tea.

*whips up a second (very late) batch of latkes...and tea.

What kind of tea would you prefer?

Rooibos, please.

Coming right up!

I'd like sour cream for my latkes, please. A cheese blintz or two would also be nice, along with a bowl of borscht.

I haven't made cheese blintzes for years. What a great idea!

I've never even tasted borscht. My family's origins were from Germany and the northern part of Yugoslavia.

Since you are the newest vegetarian cook of our group, how about if I make the blintzes, and you make the borsht, Darryl?

Mmm... now I'm starving but I let my kitchen get too messy (ie. SO. MANY. DIRTY. DISHES.) to make real breakfast... *gazes with remorse at cereal bowl*

Oooh, borscht! I love borscht!

blintzes.... ahhh - yes!
pz and ty!!
and tea of course!

brand new to this 75 books and I love it already ;)
~Sharon

Hey, I just tried baking bacon in the oven as suggested by my new Paleo cook book. Yummy. Easy and dripping the bacon fat into a catch pan is sooo cool.

This year my family is doing a 50 states cooking challenge where we cook and rate a signature dish from each state. We started tonight with my home state, North Carolina. I made pulled chicken sandwiches with Eastern NC barbecue sauce and cole slaw. A very good start to the year!

Darryl and I don't always agree on food (witness the Great Scrapple Debate of 2014), but I'm with him on the sour cream with latkes issue. I love applesauce, but in my house, it goes with *winces apologetically* pork chops.

No pork chops in my house! :)

We had a house full of Cypriots this New Year's Eve, so I made koupepia (dolmades) with avgolemono sauce. Happy New Year to all!

>33 AMQS:

They look delicious! I have some in the frig!! No, I didn't make them...but I am now going to eat them. :)

We had pupusas at my husband's family's house yesterday to welcome 2015.

Happy New Year, everyone!

Planning for the pork and sauerkraut later today. I have a new cookbook with interesting ideas for meat, but they are more work. I could just do the traditional Pa.Dutch version with all in one dish, or a nice roast with sauce and kraut as one of several veggies ..

I seem to remember someone, I don't remember who, said she/he was starting a thread in the 75 books group for reading about/for weight loss. Any one else remember this? Or am I dreaming? Who is doing this? Has a group been started?

>32 SqueakyChu: I suspected that, Madeline...and my cardiologist would scold me for eating more than a bite or two of your wonderful latkes with sour cream (or without). *sigh*

>37 laytonwoman3rd:

You get a baked potato with no butter or sour cream. You can have salt and pepper, though! :)

>30 sturlington: What a fantastic challenge. A great way to learn about other foods. I'm going to look into doing this one, at least informally. Maybe others can chime in with signature dishes from their states.

I'll start with Maine : steamed lobster, clam chowder, whoopie pies, wild blueberry anything.

I lost this thread in some previous year - can I join again in 2015 for my second (well, we'll see) meat-free year?

Loved to see the latkes up top which we call Reibekuchen or Kartoffelpuffer in Germany and traditionally have with sweet apple sauce as well.

Washington State: Salmon, Clams on the half shell, Apples, Peaches and Wine grapes.

>39 tututhefirst: Thanks, it's a good way to teach my 6 year old about the different states. Thanks for offering signature dishes, that's sure to help!

I'm really loving the state dishes you're talking about. I'd have to make about three times as much as I do to be able to afford lobster for dinner any other time than New Year's, but it's still very interesting to read about.

>38 SqueakyChu: Thank you. A properly baked potato is a wonderful thing. And I'll take just a sprinkle of dill on it as well, please.

>44 laytonwoman3rd:

Dill's fine. If you wait until spring, I can grow you some in my herb garden. ;)

Hello everyone,
starred this thread as well for this year, as I love experimenting with food and sharing it. I eat mostly vegetarian/vegan with some meat and fish tossed in from time to time. Due to my health issues I am on a low-fat diet, hence lots of experimenting with baking over the past year. I also love canning and preserving.

>6 SqueakyChu: love the latkes Madeline - shame that there aren't any left. We call them Kartoffelpuffer from the region where I come from and >40 Deern: as Nathalie said we traditionally eat them with a sweet apple sauce or apple compote.

My first book for the CookingKIT challenge:

The Breakfast Book Lemon Yogurt Muffins (contains 2 eggs)

I woke up at 7:00 AM and instead of turning over and going back to sleep, I got up to make Lemon Yogurt Muffins since our Meyer Lemon tree is producing fruit right now. Bad idea, as I don't do well early in the morning! First of all, I was out of baking soda! So, a quick internet search indicates that I can use extra baking powder and should substitute whole milk for the yogurt. Don't have any whole milk, so will proceed anyway. Mixed the dry ingredients, only to realize that I was supposed to put the sugar in with the wet ingredients! Too late now. Put them in the oven and prayed!

They actually turned out OK. You make a lemon syrup and drizzle it over the warm muffins.

The Breakfast Book is an old favorite. It has lots of variety - mushroom toast, potato bacon pie, etc. When you realize that I gave about 2/3 of my cookbook collection away when I retired to Florida, you will understand that this book is special to me. Rather than reproduce the recipe, I will list Marion's rules for "Breakfast Table Civility And Deportment":

1. Clean up before you come to the breakfast table, wash your face and comb your hair.
2. You don't have to get dressed.
3. Clean fingernails, please.
4. Reading the newspaper at the table is acceptable, but a pleasant word or salutation must be spoken to all present.
5. Sit up straight and try to be cheerful
6. Talk to one another politely; talk and listen in turn.
7. Because everyone is defenseless at breakfast, there should be no contentiousness or crossness.
8. Don't even mention food dislikes or criticize the food.
9. Don't lick your fingers or stuff your mouth with food.
10. Don't play with your food.
11. Don't talk with your mouth full.
12. Butter your bread one part at a time; don't put your uneaten pieces back in the bread basket.
13. Don't answer questions in a saucy manner.
14. Remember, guests always receive the choicest portions

Ha! I love the breakfast rules! "don't put your uneaten pieces back in the bread basket" - really?! Who does this?! Barbarians!

>48 scaifea: I had a similar thought. Then it occurred to me that perhaps my 16 & 20 year old grandsons might benefit from these rules. But, being a good grandmother, I will withhold my opinions. We actually have banned cellphones and ballcaps at the dinner table.

I wish more people would ban cellphones and ballcaps at the table. Why is it even necessary to MAKE such a rule? Everybody used to know hats came off when you came inside, never mind when you sat down at the table. *cranky old woman leaves the room*

>50 laytonwoman3rd: It was my husband who insisted about the ballcaps, and he's not a stickler about these things.

I like the breakfast rules. I have to agree about the bread rule--who puts uneaten pieces back in the basket? I have never seen this. I love the rule about everyone being defenseless at breakfast--no contentiousness. I am pretty grumpy in the morning, but never if there is breakfast!

I'm with you on the no ballcaps rule. Sometimes a ballcap is covering a bad hair day/no shower, so that may be why some are reluctant to remove them.

Sandy K

I made a pot of lentil soup for dinner tonight. Just the thing to warm you up on a cold winter night.

Sharing a lentil soup recipe...

I actually made this soup for my "latke crowd" this Chanukah! :)

Curried Lentil Soup
Serves: 4

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 large cloves garlic, minced and divided
1 medium carrot, chopped
3 tablespoons (yes!) curry powder
1 cup French green lentils
4 cups water
1 15 oz. can chickpeas, save liquid
Juice of half a lemon
2 tablespoons butter
4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper


Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in Dutch oven over medium heat. Add onion and carrot. Cook for 4 minutes or until onion translucent, stirring occasionally. Add half of the chopped garlic; stir until everything is soft, but not brown. Add curry powder and stir another minute. Add lentils and 4 cups of water. Increase heat to a boil, then reduce and let simmer for 30 minutes or until lentil are cooked. Meanwhile, use an immersion blender to puree chickpeas, lemon juice, 1/4 cup liquid from chick peas, the rest of the garlic, and 2 tablespoons olive oil. Add the chickpea puree and butter to the lentil soup. Add salt and black pepper. Stir until butter is melted. Divide soup among bowls, garnish with a dollop of sour cream and serve with toasted bread.

Adapted from a recipe by nadiachristina on food52.com (2012)

>54 SqueakyChu: That sounds wonderful. I have one recipe for lentil soup that I love, with potatoes and greens in it. This is going on the list too.

>55 laytonwoman3rd:

Let me know if you like it. I thought it was kind of heavy on the curry for others, but my guests said it was perfect. I like things very spicy, but I fear for others when I spice up my food. :)

Would you share your recipe? I love lentils and would love to tryhttp://www.librarything.com/topic/185043# it.

>54 SqueakyChu: I want to make that right away. I have all ingredients at home, sounds like a perfect winter meal. I made lentils with carrots, fresh ginger and chili for New Year, following an Indian/ ayurvedic recipe.

>55 laytonwoman3rd: I will share it, gladly. Probably this evening, as I'm off to work now.

Idea:

You know what might be fun to do here? We could pick a seasonal vegetable monthly, and everyone could share recipes and pictures of that veggie/veggie dish here in the kitchen.

Maybe we need to pick two seasonal veggies? One for the northern hemisphere and one for the southern hemisphere. :)

I'd say that we should stick with lentils for January since I love learning how to prepare them different ways.

Your thoughts?

>59 SqueakyChu: To the best of my knowledge, I've never eaten a lentil, but I'd be agreeable to trying. I think the idea of northern/southern vegetables is a good one. I moved from Massachusetts to Florida and found that the growing seasons are entirely different!

>60 LoisB:

found that the growing seasons are entirely different!

Yeah. You're right. They're really different everywhere. Maybe this isn't a such good idea after all. *sigh*

You can still post lentil recipes here...and I'll try them out! :D

>61 SqueakyChu: I think this is a great idea Madeline. I do believe that this is a way to learn a little more about each other as well.
I absolutely love lentils and I wouldn't mind some more lentil recipe. I also like the idea of actually posting a picture of the dish made.

Maybe each month a different person could suggest a different ingredient/veggie/fruit, and all of us could just jump in with suggestions/recipes/pictures? I think that would be fun.

I choose lentils for January! :D

>63 SqueakyChu: sounds great Madeleine, maybe even two veg and a fruit? A month is quite long.

Lentils are brilliant :)

Does someone else beside me want to figure all of this out? In other words, you make the "rules", tell me/us how to do this, and I'll just go cook! :)

I just love the idea of sharing recipes, no matter how we do it. Organized, or slap-dash--either way I'm sure we'll all discover something new and wonderful.

Here's my lentil soup recipe, which can be vegetarian or not, depending only on what kind of broth you use:

Lentil Soup with Potatoes and Greens (Slow Cooker)

Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time 8 hours

INGREDIENTS:

1 Tbsp olive oil (or a little more)
1 large yellow onion, chopped
1 celery stalk, sliced
1 large carrot, sliced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 large bunch Swiss chard, or kale; stems removed (tender bits can be sliced
into soup, tougher bits discarded) Leaves torn into bite-sized pieces
1 c. dried brown lentils, picked over and rinsed
4 medium Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
6 c. vegetable broth (or part chicken broth, part water, if you aren't concerned
to make it vegetarian)
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp oregano
1 large bay leaf
salt and red pepper flakes to taste

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Heat oil in large skillet over medium heat. Add onion, celery,carrot, garlic and stems from greens. Cover and cook until softened, about 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Don't let anything brown.

2. Add cooked vegetable mixture, lentils, potatoes, broth and seasonings to a 4 to 6 cup slow cooker. Stir well, cover and cook on low heat for 8 hours. (I like to start it on high for a half hour or so, to get it going, but if you can't watch over it, skip that part)

3. Just before soup is finished cooking, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Place reserved green leaves in boiling water and cook until tender, about 5 minutes. (Kale takes a little longer.) Drain well and stir into soup. Season with add'l salt & pepper to taste if necessary.

Edit: (With thanks to Amanda4242 for the reminder) REMOVE BAY LEAF BEFORE SERVING

I don't think I've ever seen brown lentils in a shop here. Only green (which I don't like) and red.

Here's the recipe I used for my lentil soup:

3 slices bacon, chopped into small pieces
1 large onion, minced
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 14.5 ounce can diced or crushed tomatoes (drain if using diced)
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon minced thyme
1 cup lentils
1/2 cup dry white wine
4 1/2 cups chicken broth
1 1/2 cups water
salt and pepper to taste

1. Fry the bacon on medium-high in a large pot until crisp and fat is rendered. Add the onions and carrots and cook until they begin to soften. Add the garlic and cook for about 30 seconds. Add the tomatoes, bay leaf, and thyme and cook until fragrant. Stir in the lentils, salt, and pepper, and cook covered over medium-low heat until the vegetables are soft, about 10 minutes.

2. Increase heat to high, add the wine and bring to a simmer. Add the broth and the water; bring to a boil, cover partially, and reduce heat to low. Simmer until the lentils are tender, about 30 to 35 minutes.

3. Discard the bay leaf. Puree 3 cups of the soup in a blender until smooth, then return it to the pot. Serve and enjoy.

Thanks for these! I'll try them, but I'll substitute a kosher meat for the bacon. Come to think of it, I have some "kosher bacon" which is made from smoked turkey. I'm going to try both recipes.

>67 PawsforThought:

Is there really much of a taste difference between green lentils and brown lentils? I've been using them interchangeably. I can get either at my grocery store.

>70 SqueakyChu: Wondered that myself; I've never tried anything other than brown. Green lentils make me think of split peas, which I'm not crazy about.

I use the French green lentils which look more brown to me than they do green. Here's a picture of what mine look like.

>70 SqueakyChu: I have no idea as I've never tried brown ones. Can't stand the taste of green ones, either so if they're similar I'd rather stay away. Red lentils I really like.

>72 SqueakyChu: Those look very much green to me. That's the version of green ones I've seen.

>66 laytonwoman3rd: That lentil recipe sounds great and as I can see it is also low fat. I don't own a slow cooker, but I am sure I should be able to do this the ordinary stew way.

>72 SqueakyChu: I use all types of lentils and I know the green ones, as well as the brown ones. I think they taste quite the same, but the green ones are a little more firm, compared to the brown ones. However, my fave lentil is the black Beluga lentil and here is my contribution.

When I first found this recipe this was meant as a side dish, but I changed it as such that it has become a low-fat main meal. The actual recipe uses whole fat joghurt and more oil, but I found my low fat version as delicious.
This is not my image, but my dish looked pretty much the same.



Serves 4 people

- 125 to 200g black Beluga lentils (or 500g tinned)
- 1000g Sweet Potatoes
- 1 tbsp (15ml) oil
- 1x bunch chives (approx. 30g)
- 1 tbsp whole grain mustard
- 1x pot joghurt (I use 0% fat Greek joghurt)
- seasoning
- salad of your choice (I do love mixed baby leaf salads)

- Steam or boil lentils in 25-30 min according to instructions. Wash and cut Sweet potatoes in wedges, mix with oil, season with salt and pepper. Place on a baking tray and bake in preheated oven at 200 C (Gas 3, Fan 180 C) on the middle bar for approximately 20-30 min.

- Mix joghurt with chopped chives, mustard, Beluga lentils, season with salt and pepper. Just before serving mix with salad under and serve with the hot sweet potatoes.

kcl - 468
fat - 5.8 g
carbs - 79.2
fiber - 14.4
protein - 22.6

My experience with red lentils was completely negative. A friend and I made samosas stuffed with red lentils, the recipe having come from a book containing Egyptian recipes. The result was so terrible that I forced my friend to take home all of the samosas or I would throw them all out. I don't think she ever finished them either. :)

>74 drachenbraut23:

Bianca, I do want to try black lentils!

We often make a version of Indian dhal that has red lentils in it and tastes divine. Basically red lentils, onion, garlic, coconut milk and spices.

Okay. I'll give red lentils a second chance. :)

I watched the video of The Hundred Foot Journey last night. What a great movie - really need to experiment with some more Indian food! Oprah & Spielberg were the producers so a lot of care (and $) were lavished on the details. What beautiful food! Has anyone read the book?

I've been enjoying the BudgetBytes.com recipe blog. I've made her curried chickpeas with spinach; I see her new recipe today is curried lentils. Her Morrocann lentil stew is also quite good - it's found at least one other fan here in the 75'ers.

I love all the smaller types of lentils that cook fast. Sometimes here the label says "red lentils" and they look brown and stay brown. Red lentil dhal is/ can be delicious, but I had to learn that the lentils are really meant to be super-mushy.

>74 drachenbraut23: Thank you Bianca. Now I have already caught two Food Bullets (as Bekka called them) and just for lentils! :)

My recipe for Carrot and Red Lentils Soup, Ayurvedic style (but my dad who despises health food would have eaten the whole pot if we had let him):

- 750g carrots
- 1 cm fresh ginger root
- 1/2 fresh green chili (I use 1 dry red chili instead)
- 1-2 tablespoons Ghee (or cooking oil)
- 6 tablespoons red lentils
- salt
- black pepper
- 1/8 teaspoon asa foetida*
- a pinch of ground cardamom
- 500ml hot water
- 5-7 fresh chopped mint leaves (I use frozen)
- a bit of sugar

Clean and peel the carrots and cut them into cubes. Peel and grate the ginger root. Wash and half the chili, remove the pits and chop it (and don't do what I inevitably do and touch your eye).

Heat ghee, add carrots, lentils and all spices except for the salt and mint leaves and roast a bit.

Add hot water, mint leaves and salt and let everything simmer for app 40 mins until the lentils are ready. Season with more salt/pepper/sugar as you like.

*asa foetida is a powder from some root that in the ayurvedic cooking is used instead of garlic and/or onions. It tastes like garlic, but you don't smell later and it doesn't bloat. I love it in all recipes now instead of garlic, but of course you can as well just throw in some fresh or powdered garlic.

This recipe is very flexible, I never keep the original ratio of carrots/lentils, often using twice as many lentils.
It's surprisingly spicy and the fumes of the chili and the fresh ginger in the hot oil can cause sneezing and coughing fits - another thing that happens to me regularly, because I just don't learn not to inhale over that pot.

The mint leaves are quite essential. The dish doesn't taste of mint in the end, but the combination with ginger, chili and asa foetida/garlic gives it an almost meaty, very hearty taste which to my own surprise made it a favorite not just with my dad but with other males who tried it at a New Years Party last year.

This recipe was posted on the Budget Bytes web site yesterday. I haven't tried it yet, but I will later this month.

Curried Lentils

Ingredients:

1 Tbsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic
1 medium onion
3 medium carrots (1/2 lb.)
1 cup uncooked brown lentils
2 Tbsp curry powder (hot or mild)
1 15oz. can tomato sauce*
Salt to taste
½ bunch fresh cilantro (optional)

Instructions:

Spread the lentils out on a baking sheet to make them easier to see. Pick out any stones or debris. Bring 3 cups of water to a boil in a sauce pot, then add the lentils. Allow the pot to come back up to a boil, then turn the heat to low, place a lid on top, and simmer for 20 minutes, or until the lentils are tender. Drain the cooked lentils in a colander.

Meanwhile, mince the garlic and finely dice the onion and carrots. Sauté the onion, garlic, and carrots in a large skillet with olive oil over medium heat until the onions are transparent (about 5 minutes). Add the curry powder and sauté for one minute more.

Add the cooked and drained lentils to the skillet, along with the tomato sauce. Stir and heat through (about 5 minutes). Turn the heat off, taste the lentils, and add salt if needed (I added about ½ tsp).

Top with fresh cilantro and serve over a bed of rice, with naan, or crusty bread.

Notes:

*If you live outside the U.S. and "tomato sauce" is not available, the closest product would probably be strained or puréed tomatoes.

>79 Deern: >80 kidzdoc: Nathalie and Darryl and another two "Food Bullets" for me as well. Aaargh, I only had a spicy lentil stew over the past couple of days.

>78 streamsong: Yes, I agree with you, Janet budgetbites is great. Thank you soo much for introducing me to the site.

Here's a recipe with lentils that my husband didn't like, but that I liked very much!

--------------------------------------------------------------

LENTIL SALAD WITH GRAPES AND FETA
Serves 4

2 ½ cups water
¾ cup brown lentils
2 Tbsp. red wine vinegar
2 Tbsp. lemon juice
1 ½ tsp. honey
3 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
¾ cups walnuts, coarsely chopped and toasted
1 ½ cups seedless red grapes, halved
1 stalk celery, chopped
2 tsp. fresh thyme leaves
2 ounces feta, crumbled
Coarse salt/black pepper

In a small saucepan, bring water to a boil. Add lentils, reduce to simmer, cover, and cook for 30 minutes. Drain and rinse under cold water. Meanwhile, whisk together red wine vinegar, lemon juice, honey, and olive oil. Stir in lentils, walnuts, grapes, celery, thyme, and feta. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Adapted from recipe in Sept. 2011 Everyday Food

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Don't you wish we could all get together at the end of the month for a lentil cook-off?! :D

I've recently made two recipes that contain lentils that I'm very fond of, which I've previously posted on my thread. I'll include the links here for anyone who didn't see them:

Moroccan Lentil and Vegetable Stew (I made this for my parents, aunt and brother for dinner yesterday, and they loved it.)

Slow-Cooker Curried Lentils With Chicken and Potatoes

>82 SqueakyChu: Now there's an idea; an LT meet up followed by a cook-off!

>84 kidzdoc: Sounds like fun!

Catching up with you all and find that I'm smiling. My housemate put together a slow cooker lentil soup just on Sunday afternoon. It made for a wonderful lunch yesterday and provided me with a good foundation for my Instacart shift from 2-6 pm. I did not get hungry until at the very last and I was able to make it home on some crackers and peanut butter, with a side of cherry tomatoes, on the way home.

My next couple of days are going to be my "weekend" for this week, I need to catch up here and with some reading. I'm looking forward to it!

How about adding some "lentil quotes" here to make this seem more like a book group. ;)

Here's mine from my current read, How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia by Pakistani author Mohsin Hamid:

As your mother prepares dinner that evening, a lentil stew thickened with chunks of onion, not because onions are her favorite ingredient but because they appear to add substance to a meal and today in the market they were cheap, it may not seem that you are a lucky child.

By the way, I went to get some black lentils, but they were very expensive compared the other color of lentils. They were double the cost of the large green lentils. Do they black lentils taste significantly different from the green ones. I also found ivory ones, and one other light color beside the red lentils which I'm tempted not to try again because they turned out too mushy. It also appears that French green lentils and large green lentils are two different kinds of lentils, with the French green lentils being slightly more expensive than the large green lentils.

I don't remember the exact cost, but I was at Whole Foods in the bulk bin. The black lentils were almost $% a pound while the varieties of green lentils were between $2 and $3 per pound.

I believe black LePuy lentils cost more, but I never cooked with them and can't say if they taste better. They cook quickly and stay firm, so are often used for salads. Yet you reminded me that I got a small bag of expensive Sicilian black lentils somewhere which I bought out of curiosity. I should try those soon to see if they taste any different, best with Bianca's recipe because there's also a sweet potato left in the fridge.

Do it soon...while I still have sweet potatoes here at home! :)

I don't remember if Yoder's has black lentils or not, but I got regular ones and red ones recently when I was making soup mixes for Christmas gifts. Their prices always seem to be less than the regular stores.

Love this idea! I wish I liked lentils more (and so does my husband). I saw this recipe in the Denver Post yesterday, and thought I'd try it.

I like my lentil salad with finely chopped shallots, feta cheese, and a good balsamic vinaigrette.

And I had no idea there were so many varieties of lentils!

If I'm thinking of the right ones, and remembering right, black (beluga) lentils taste like a nuttier version of Le Puy lentils. Le Puy (French Green) lentils are indeed different from large green lentils and an upgrade in taste, so worth paying the extra (at least for the green variety), especially for French recipes.

There is also Urad Dal also known as back lentils, and ivory lentils with the skin removed -- they are black on the outside, white inside -- which are good for Indian food (though not worth paying extravagantly for). They can be substituted in any Indian recipe calling for red lentils for improved results. They are widely used in Southern Indian cooking and are used in Idli and Vada. I'm a big fan of Southern Indian cooking, especially as I eat a fish/vegetarian diet.

I got a packaged lentil soup mix (prepared by disadvantaged women for some good cause) in my stocking- Will try to make it in the next few days and note the ingredients before I ruin the arrangement. It is a tube with about 5 kinds of lentils stacked up. looks very pretty.

>90 SqueakyChu: What I thought was a sweet potato was just an ordinary one and my veggie store didn't have any today, I ordered them for Monday evening now. But I'm set with the other ingredients, even the Greek yogurt and will test the recipe on Monday night or Tuesday.

I'll make a mix of yours and Darryl's curried lentil soup instead today. Got carrots, chickpeas and tomatoes here.

Okay, so made basically Madeline's recipe in >54 SqueakyChu: (half the portion) with just one tablespoon of curry, because yes, I was scared, and my Kashmir curry is very hot. I left out onion and garlic and replaced with asa foetida, because I always do that. I used less water and instead, following Darryl's recipe in >80 kidzdoc:, added a small tin of tomatoes. After letting it all simmer for a while it was still very spicy, but the pureed chickpeas nicely levelled it out.

I should habe blended those chickpeas a bit better though, because now the result isn't pretty enough to post a picture, it looks like I had added cream and that curdled. But the taste is very, very yum and I am off now to have another couple of spoonfuls. :)

Inhave now added neither sour cream nor cilantro, will do both when I reheat it tonight.

>97 Deern:

Nathalie, you've created an entirely new recipe! LOL!!

now the result isn't pretty enough to post a picture, it looks like I had added cream and that curdled

I'm glad it tasted good though.

I have an immersion blender which is so easy to use. I highly recommend this kitchen gadget for anyone who likes to make soup.

Do we have anyone out there who wants to nominate a food for February's recipe/picture/quotes?

Right now I have an excess of large green lentils, and I want to look for a fun recipe in which to use them. I'll let you know the results. If they are good, I'll share the recipe. :)

Mmmm, lentils! I love lentils, but whenever I hear lots of talk about lentils I think of Neal in the Young Ones.

Today, Di (alias Bruce_Kraftt's evil twin) are going in search of Viet Namese egg rolls. Yum. And since it's cold in the Northern hemisphere, I'm thinking soup. My fav quick dinner right now is an impromptu miso soup. You take a box of chicken broth, a 1/4 box of miso, some grated ginger root, any veggie you want, rice or noodles if you want, potstickers (you get them frozen at an Asian market) if you want and throw them together. Boil until anything frozen isn't anymore and eat. As you can see, this is a very precise recipe with precise measurements and if you mess them up even the tiniest bit... well, it all works out.

I've been meaning to get an immersion blender...

>101 laytonwoman3rd: Or as Emeril used to call them, a "boat motor."

Last night I made Bianca's recipe from >74 drachenbraut23:. Here's a pic (bad quality as usual) taken with my mobile phone of a small test portion I arranged on a saucer directly after cooking:



I'll reheat the potatoes tonight and then also mix the salad leaves with the lentils. Didn't want to do that yesterday, knowing I wouldn't eat the whole portion. (Actually, dinner was the curried lentil soup)

Only change: I forgot to buy the sweet mustard and used normal mustard instead which I am sure makes quite a difference although it still tasted delicious. Maybe I should have added some sugar to get closer to the original recipe. Actually, I might try that tonight.

Mmmm, lentils. I loves them all, though I only have experience with different varieties of green, brown, and red. I will have to look for the others. Ha! Just checked--I picked up black lentils on my last trip to the coop to play with. Now to get cooking...

In the meantime, here's my favorite red lentil recipe:

Golden Lentil Soup

1 lg onion peeled and chopped
1 T butter/ghee/vegan margarine
0.5 lb dried split red lentils
1 qt light vegetable stock (too dark, and no golden soup)
1-2 t lemon juice
salt and pepper

1. Saute onion until soft but not browned.
2. Add lentils and stir for 1-2 minutes.
3. Add stock, bring to boil, half cover with lid and simmer until lentils are very tender and pale (maybe 20-30 minutes).
4. Beat lentils with spoon to break them up, or puree (immersion blender is your friend). I like a lumpier texture, so I only puree enough to thicken without creating a homogenous soup.
5. Add lemon, salt and pepper (to taste) and serve.

This is from Rose Eliot's The Complete Vegetarian Cuisine. I see that there's a new edition out now.

On Friday night I made chicken and Andouille sausage Creole jambalaya, using an incredibly easy recipe from my group's former administrative assistant. Heather is originally from New Orleans, and in 2013 she had given me a fabulous recipe for slow cooked white chicken chili, which is the dish I made the most times last year. I was expecting the jambalaya to be good, but it surpassed my highest expectations. Here's my photo of it, just after it came out of the oven:



Here is Heather's recipe:

Ingredients:
2 bunches chopped green onion (shallots)
2 celery stalks chopped
1 green bell pepper chopped
1 tablespoon minced garlic
2 cups UNCOOKED rice (I use Uncle Ben's parboiled...I think the brand makes all the difference)
1 can beef broth
1 can French Onion soup
1 can tomato soup or sauce (depending on which flavoring you like better)
3/4 stick butter
2 lbs chopped smoked Andouille sausage
2 lbs chopped cooked chicken
parsley

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Spray Pam or olive oil on a 9x13 glass baking dish.
Combine all ingredients in the dish and cover with foil.
Bake for 1.5 hours at 350 degrees stirring at midpoint (45 minute mark).
Add Tony Chachere's Creole Seasoning and salt and pepper to taste.

Ingredient Notes:
Chicken can be canned, baked, grilled, rotisserie, etc. Can add raw shrimp too or sub shrimp for sausage or chicken (if using shrimp, peel them and don't put them in until the last 45 minutes so they do not overcook). All canned ingredients are regular size (Campbell brand) soup cans. When placing the butter in the dish I cut it into tablespoons and strategically place around the dish so it does not all land in one spot.

This is the easiest one dish wonder you may ever make!
_________________________________

It turned out perfectly, as the jamb was neither too wet nor too dry, the rice was exactly the right consistency, and the flavors were complex without being overwhelming. Her comment about 'green onion (shallots)' was confusing, so I used two shallots to complete the trinity (onions, celery, bell pepper). I used 2 lb of chicken breasts, which I coated with olive oil, salt and pepper, and cooked in the oven at 450 F for 10 minutes on each side. I couldn't find "real" Andouille sausage at Publix, my local supermarket, so I used Johnsonville smoked Andouille sausage instead, which turned out well. And, I used tomato sauce instead of soup. I would assume that you could use Zatarain's Creole Seasoning or Paul Prudhomme's Magic Seasoning Blend if your local store doesn't stock Tony Chachere's. The recipe completely filled a 9" x 13" baking dish, and it makes 8-10 good sized servings.

Perfect. I love Jambalaya. When I was a young teacher someone from the Seattle school district traveled to Louisiana and recruited a bunch of teachers. We had quite the culture mash and I loved some of the cooking I was privileged to have eaten.

>105 kidzdoc: I can vouch for this one; I made it yesterday. It was easy and delicious.

My turn to cook next week. I'm definitely making Jambalaya. Thanks for the recipe!

I love all kinds of ethnic food. My goal this year is to feature a different ethnic cuisine dinner once a month.
Creole for January!

Other months I'm thinking Chinese, Greek, Italian, Mexican, German (October), Irish (March), Spanish (paella!), Indian (curry).
Need at least three more ideas . . . Something more exotic?

>108 nrmay: Great idea! My culinary repertoire is still pretty limited, but I'd love to find out what you decide to cook.

I just made a very yummy spinach and lentil stew for lunch this afternoon. Here's a photo of my batch:



And here's a link to the recipe, which I found last night on TasteofHome.com:

Spinach and Lentil Stew

Ingredients:

1/2 cup chopped onion
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
5 cups water
1 cup lentils, rinsed
4 teaspoons vegetable or chicken bouillon granules
3 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 bay leaf
1 cup chopped carrots
1 can (14-1/2 ounces) diced tomatoes, undrained
1 package (10 ounces) frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

Directions:

In a large saucepan, saute onion in oil until tender. Add garlic; cook 1 minute longer. Add the water, lentils, bouillon, Worcestershire sauce, salt, thyme, pepper and bay leaf; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 20 minutes.

Add the carrots, tomatoes and spinach; return to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer 15-20 minutes longer or until lentils are tender. Stir in vinegar. Discard bay leaf.

Yield: 6 servings.
____________________________

I had an 18 oz bag of frozen spinach, so I doubled up on everything except the water, and I kept a close eye on it to be sure that I didn't need to add any more. As it turned out that was a good move, as the amount of water was perfect. It tasted very good over jasmine Thai rice, and I'll definitely make this again in the near future.

Since I'm a novice cook I didn't know how to thaw and squeeze dry frozen spinach without using the microwave, which I didn't want to do. Fortunately the Internet came to my rescue; here's a link to the method that I used, which worked well:

Thawing & Draining Frozen Spinach

>108 nrmay: You could try Japanese and Thai.

>109 kidzdoc: That looks delicious, Darryl. I'm trying it now!

>105 kidzdoc: I bought the ingredients for this today. I've never made it before, and can't wait to try it. Thank you, Darryl!

>108 nrmay: Let me know if you need ideas for Greek. My husband is a Greek Cypriot, and we make Greek food quite a lot. You might want to try Vietnamese also- delicious food!

>109 kidzdoc: I made the Spinach and Lentil Stew for me and my husband tonight. Neither of us wanted to eat it on rice. My husband said, "It's all right". I think I'd like it to be a bit spicier. It seems kind of bland to me.

Thanks for sharing the recipe, Darryl. I found it fun and easy to make.

>112 AMQS: You're welcome, Anne!

>113 SqueakyChu: I'm sorry that you didn't like the spinach lentil stew as much as I did, Madeline. It doesn't have the zing of the Moroccan lentil and vegetable stew, but to me it had a subtly rich flavor. I read your comment last night, and wondered if adding rosemary and/or cumin would bring out its natural flavors, rather than adding more potent spices to the stew. I may try that the next time I make it.

*mouth watering*

I may have to try the above Lentil stew. Will check the pantry for lentils, and go on from there.

>114 kidzdoc:

and wondered if adding rosemary and/or cumin would bring out its natural flavors, rather than adding more potent spices to the stew.

I was surprised at how bland my stew came out. The main ingredients (lentils, tomatoes, spinach, onions, garlic, carrots) were those I enjoy. I did use green lentils and not brown lentils. I wonder if that made a difference? It is a nice hearty meal, though, and I did eat a big bowlful of it...so I did like it.

I really like the dishes you've been making recently. They all appeal to me!

>116 SqueakyChu: I thought that the spinach lentil stew was subtly but richly flavored, and I didn't find it to be bland. I used brown lentils, and I'm pretty sure that I've never used green lentils to make a meal, certainly not anytime in the recent past. I did like it over rice, which made for a much more complete single serving meal than if I had the stew by itself. I'll have either it or the crispy gnocchi for dinner tonight.

Thanks for the compliment! I've selectively chosen recipes that greatly interest me, rather than more standard ones, so I'm very glad that other people find them appealing as well.

Hello - lots of lovely recipes!

Our cooking's been stuck in a bit of a rut recently, so thank you for the inspiration. I've recently acquired The Kitchen to Garden Expert which has lots of interesting recipes from around the world so I'm hoping to try some of those this year.

We also have a shiny new fridge! The old one was a bit on the small side but was a faithful friend for thirty years (Eek - how did that happen?!)

I received Clarissa's England for Christmas and have also recently acquired Julie and Julia and The Slut's Cook Book so enjoying some good foody reading.

>105 kidzdoc: That recipe sounds and looks delicious right up to the Creole seasoning. I do not like ANY spice heat to my food. I hate the burning feeling in my mouth. I wonder what I could use instead for some seasoning?

ETA: Maybe something more Italian-ish?

>119 Morphidae: Can you handle Paprika? It's more sweet than hot, at least to me. (Of course, I love Creole seasoning.) Maybe that could be substituted. Salt and paprika are some of the key ingredients (besides the red pepper flakes) in Creole seasoning.

>120 thornton37814: I think I can. I've not had much experience with it.

Thanks to my group's former practice manager I have a new recipe to share, African sweet potato soup with peanut butter, black eyed peas and beans, which I made for lunch today.



Ingredients:

1 tablespoon light olive oil or peanut oil
1 tablespoon red or green Thai Kitchen curry paste- hot or mild, to taste (start with less if you prefer it mild)
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 medium red onion, peeled, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium sweet potato or yam, peeled, diced
1 large yellow bell pepper, cored, seeded, diced
1 jalapeño or other hot chile pepper, seeded, diced fine
1 14-oz. can black-eyed peas, rinsed, drained
1 14-oz. can white beans, rinsed, drained
1 14-oz. can black beans, rinsed, drained
1 quart light broth
1/2 cup 100% natural peanut butter melted in a half cup of boiled hot water (for one cup total)
1/2 teaspoon crushed hot red pepper flakes, or more, to taste
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
Juice from 1 big juicy lime
2-3 teaspoons organic brown sugar or raw agave nectar, to taste
Sea salt and black pepper, to taste

For garnish: chopped fresh cilantro or parsley

Instructions:

Heat the light olive oil in large soup pot. Add the curry paste and cinnamon; stir for a minute to infuse the oil with spice. Add the onion, garlic, sweet potato, yellow pepper and jalapeño. Stir and cook the veggies for 5-7 minutes, until softened.

Add the black-eyed peas, white and black beans, broth, melted peanut butter, red pepper flakes and cilantro.

Bring the soup to a high simmer, cover, and lower the heat; keep the soup on simmer and cook until the vegetables are tender, about 25 to 30 minutes.

Stir in the lime juice and brown sugar or agave. Season with sea salt and ground pepper, to taste. Warm through and taste for seasoning adjustments.

Serves 4 as a hearty meal. Terrific with my gluten-free Skillet Cornbread.
__________________________________

I love this! It has a rich combination of flavors, and it's pretty spicy, too. This would taste good with cornbread, although I had a glass of organic carrot juice and a banana instead. I couldn't find Thai Kitchen curry paste, so I used 1 tbsp of red curry powder instead. I used vegetable broth, and two tbsp of lime juice instead of the juice from a lime. I like my soups and stews to have a kick, and this was perfect for me, although if I make it for my parents I would tone it down a bit. Despite the photo this is much closer to a stew than a soup, and it's very fulfilling and satisfying. The recipe says that it serves 4, but I'm sure that I can get at least 6 meals out of this. Highly recommended!

>122 kidzdoc:

That looks great Darryl. I'll have to wait to make it, however, because I still have so much left over from the lentil stew! :)

Today I had a houseguest and had fun making omelets to order and homemade popovers for brunch. The popovers are such fun to make. I have no pictures of them because we ate them all, but I'll share the easy recipe if anyone wants it.

>122 kidzdoc: Sounds great! Imay have to try it soon.

>123 SqueakyChu: I made Slow-Cooker Curried Lentils With Chicken and Potatoes for dinner. The first time I made it several months ago I used brown lentils, as I couldn't find red lentils at Publix, my local supermarket, and it looked like this:



This time I did find red lentils at Kroger's, and I took a friend's advice and substituted cauliflower florets for potatoes:



It doesn't look as appealing, especially since the red lentils dissolved and the cauliflower only has tiny remnants of florets, but it still tastes very good.

Sundays are my days to cook meals for the week if I'm working a typical Monday-Friday schedule, as I am this coming week, so I usually make something on the stove top for lunch and something else in the slow cooker for dinner, as I did today. I now have eight different meals in my refrigerator and freezer, so I have plenty of options for food to bring to work for lunch and have at home for dinner between now and next weekend.

I'd like to see your popover recipe, Madeline. I like them, but I haven't had any since Zoë and I went to the Popover Café in NYC in 2013 or early 2014. It was one of my favorite Upper West Side restaurants and has been for years, but it fell victim to rising rents and is now closed.

>124 LoisB: It's a great recipe, Lois! I do hope that you try it soon.

Popovers

These are really easy to make and they look impressive. They'd go great with your stews, Darryl!

Yield: 12 popovers

3 large eggs
1 ½ cups milk
1 1/2 cups flour
½ tsp. salt
¼ cup butter, melted
1 tsp. mixed, dried herbs

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Place all ingredients in a blender and blend for 30 seconds, stopping midway to scrape down sides. Allow batter to rest for 15 minutes. Spray a 12-cup muffin tin (the inside of the cups as well as the top) with baking spray. Divide batter evenly into these 12 cups. Bake for 20 minutes, then turn down heat to 350 degrees, and bake for 10 more minutes. Do NOT open oven door during the baking process. Remove the popovers from the oven and pierce the top of each with a skewer or knife. Allow them to cool in the pan for 5 minutes before serving warm.

Adapted from a recipe in King Arthur Flour Baking Companion (c. 2003)

--------------

Heh! The first picture looks more appetizing than the second, but looks can be deceiving with food. It's really the taste that counts.

Popovers and Yorkshire pudding are much the same thing, aren't they? I think I'm going to try these one of these days.

From Wikipedia:
"The popover is an American version of Yorkshire pudding and similar batter puddings made in England since the 17th century, though it has evolved considerably."

(message deleted)

>122 kidzdoc: - Ooooh, that recipe is a keeper! Adding that one to the future menu list. ;-)

I have yet to experiment with red lentils as green are what I usually reach for. If the red lentils dissolve as they cook, do the red lentils at least thicken the broth? I am like you and tend to either cook ahead my lunches for the week or make sure that an evening dinner is large enough to produce leftovers.

>130 lkernagh: They don't dissolve. They get a big sticky/creamy.

>130 lkernagh: - Oh... wasn't expecting that so I am glad I now know this. I will experiment with the red lentils before I use them in a recipe. Thanks!

I'm a bit late, but I finally made borscht:



The recipe is quite different from what I'm used to having in Jewish restaurants in NYC and Pittsburgh, but it still tastes good.

Here's the recipe, from allrecipes.com:

Russian Cabbage Borscht

Ingredients:

1-1/2 cups thinly sliced potatoes
1 cup thinly sliced beets
4 cups vegetable stock or water
2 tablespoons butter
1 1/2 cups chopped onions
1 teaspoon caraway seed (optional)
2 teaspoons salt
1 celery stalk, chopped
1 large carrot, sliced
3 cups coarsely chopped red cabbage
black pepper to taste
1/4 teaspoon fresh dill weed
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
1 tablespoon honey
1 cup tomato puree
sour cream, for topping
chopped tomatoes, for garnish

Directions:

Place sliced potatoes and beets in a medium saucepan over high heat; cover with stock, and boil until vegetables are tender. Remove potatoes and beets with a slotted spoon, and reserve stock.

Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Stir in onions, caraway seeds, and salt; cook until onions become soft and translucent. Then stir in celery, carrots, and cabbage. Mix in reserved stock; cook, covered, until all vegetables are tender, about 10 minutes.

Add potatoes and beets to the skillet. Season with black pepper and dill weed. Stir in cider vinegar, honey, and tomato puree. Cover, reduce heat to medium low, and simmer at least 30 minutes. Serve topped with sour cream, extra dill weed, and chopped fresh tomatoes.
________________________________________________________________

It's an interesting recipe, but I'd love to be able to duplicate the borscht I used to get at Ratner's, a longstanding Jewish dairy restaurant on the Lower East Side of Manhattan that unfortunately closed about a dozen years ago. I still have beets and red cabbage left over, so I may try Ratner's recipe next weekend.

>119 Morphidae: Morphy, I made this and it was delicious (thank you, Darryl!). I found that the Andouille sausage was much spicier than the creole seasoning. You may want to go with a milder sausage if you decide to try this delicious dish.

>134 AMQS: You're welcome, Anne! I'm glad that you liked that Creole jambalaya recipe.

I saw this recipe for Zuppa Toscana on the Budget Bytes web site yesterday, and I decided to try it for lunch today. Here's a photo of the batch that I just made, along with the recipe:



Zuppa Toscana

Ingredients:

½ lb. Italian Sausage (hot or mild) $1.46
1 yellow onion $0.32
2 cloves garlic $0.16
1 (15 oz.) can Great Northern beans $1.00
½ tsp smoked paprika $0.05
3 cups chicken broth* $0.36
1 cup water $0.00
2 cups half and half $1.69
3 medium red potatoes (1.5-1.75 lbs.) $1.67
1 bunch (8 oz.) kale, chopped $1.50
pinch red pepper flakes (optional) $0.02
freshly cracked black pepper (optional) $0.05

Instructions:

Squeeze the sausage out of its casing into a large pot. Sauté over medium heat, breaking it up into small pieces as it cooks. The sausage should contain enough fat to keep it from sticking, if not add a touch of olive oil. It's okay if a small amount browns on the bottom of the pot.

While the sausage is cooking, dice the onion and mince the garlic. Add them to the pot and sauté until the onions are softened. The moisture from the onions should help dissolve any browned bits of sausage off the bottom of the pot.

Drain and rinse the can of beans. Add the beans, smoked paprika, chicken broth, one cup water, and half and half to the pot. Place a lid on the pot and let it come up to a simmer over medium heat.

While the pot is heating, cut each potato into quarters lengthwise, then slice across into thin slices. Add the potatoes to the pot along with the pre-chopped kale. The kale will fill the pot when it's first added, but the heat from the liquid will wilt it within a few minutes. Stir it occasionally to help the wilting process.

Let the pot simmer over medium heat for about 15 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender. Season with red pepper flakes and freshly cracked black pepper if desired.
____________________________________________________________________

I've never had Zuppa Toscana before, but this tastes amazing! The recipe makes a huge pot, which can serve at least eight people.

I'm also making Curried Cauliflower Soup with Chutney & Cashews, using the recipe in my book Fresh from the Vegetarian Slow Cooker, which will be ready in time for dinner.

I love Zuppa Toscana. My son-in-law makes a very similar version, but there aren't any beans in it, as I recall. Maybe he leaves them out because he doesn't like them much.

>136 laytonwoman3rd: This is Beth's version of Zuppa Toscana, which she modified from a more traditional recipe to cut out some of the fat. She used half the amount of Italian sausage, and replaced it with Great Northern beans to make up the other half; substituted smoked paprika for bacon; and used half and half in place of heavy whipping cream. I'd have to try the traditional recipe to be able to see which one I like better, but I am very happy with this recipe and I'll definitely make it again soon (especially since I still have enough kale and Italian sausage to make another batch of it).

Ahh...well, that's a good idea. I love the sausage element, but the soup really is something we ought to avoid in this household in its original form.

I tried four new recipes last weekend, and I loved each of them. The first one is Winter Potato, White Bean, and Kale Soup, courtesy of the website One Green Planet:



Ingredients:

1 sweet potato, diced
a couple purple/blue potatoes, diced (enough to have equal amount potatoes)
1 tablespoon sesame or olive oil
1 onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 can (15 oz) cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
small handful sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
4 cups vegetable broth
2 tablespoon nutritional yeast
2 teaspoons Herbes de Provence or thyme
3 or 4 handfuls kale, chopped
sea salt & fresh cracked pepper to taste

Instructions:

In large pot or dutch oven, heat oil over medium heat, add potatoes and cook for about 5 minutes. Add onion and garlic and cook an addition 5 to 10 minutes, or until everything starts browning a bit.

Add broth, nutritional yeast, beans and sun-dried tomatoes, bring to a boil, cover, turn down heat and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes…just until potatoes are tender.

Remove from heat, add kale and let wilt. Serve with crusty bread and top with cracked pepper and almond parmesan.
_____________________________________________________

This is very tasty! I couldn't find nutritional yeast at Publix, and I had no idea what it was, so I used Fleischmann's Active Dry Yeast instead. Fortunately it didn't make the soup bitter, although now that I know where to buy nutritional yeast I'll use it the next time I make this soup.

Heather, my group's former administrative assistant, who provided me with her excellent white chicken chili recipe and her amazing chicken and Andouille sausage jambalaya recipe, gave me a recipe for crawfish étouffée last week, as I told her that I was sorely in need of a fix for it. I did find peeled and deveined crawfish at Publix last weekend, but it didn't stock cream of shrimp soup. Publix did have some beautiful looking shrimp on sale, so I bought a pound of it and used cream of mushroom soup in place of cream of shrimp to make shrimp étouffée instead:



Here is Heather's original recipe that she sent me:

Crawfish étouffée (makes 6 to 8 servings)

Ingredients:

6 tablespoons butter
2 medium onions, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 medium green bell pepper, chopped
3 rib celery, chopped
1 pound peeled crawfish tails
1 (10 3/4-ounce) can cream of shrimp
1/2 cup water
½ to 3/4 cup dry white wine
Salt, cayenne and hot sauce to taste
Minced green onions for garnish
Add Tony Chachere’s Creole Seasoning to taste

Instructions:

In a heavy pot, melt the butter and sauté the onions, garlic, bell peppers, and celery until wilted.

Add the crawfish tails and cook for 10 minutes.

Add the soup, water, and wine and stir. Simmer for 30 minutes.

Add the seasonings and simmer another 10 minutes, add the green onions and serve over steamed rice.

Note: If you have extra serve it over baked fish.

I like this recipe after one day. Cook it and refrigerate for one day.

_________________________________________________________________

I liked this recipe a lot, but it's different than the étouffée that I'm used to, as it employs a blonde roux instead of a brown one. I'll make crawfish étouffée this coming week.

Last Sunday morning I tried the recipe for Southwest Breakfast Scramble from Budget Bytes, as I had half a dozen eggs and two Andouille sausage links left in my refrigerator:



Ingredients:

6 large eggs $1.35
2 Tbsp butter $0.15
1 (15 oz.) can black beans $1.19
2-3 cups tortilla strips $0.63
1 cup salsa $0.99
1 cup shredded cheese $1.20
handful fresh cilantro $0.17
to taste salt & pepper $0.05

Instructions:

Drain the black beans and rinse them briefly with water. Let them drain while you prepare the rest. Crack six eggs into a large bowl and lightly whisk them. Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a large skillet over medium-low heat.

Once the butter is melted, pour the eggs into the skillet. Let them cook slowly over medium-low heat. As the bottom layer begins to set, use a spatula to drag the outside edges in towards the center, allowing the uncooked egg to run back into the empty space. Continue to gently move the eggs around in the skillet in this manner until they are about 75% set. The eggs will continue to cook as you add other ingredients, so you do not want to over cook them at this step. Season the eggs with salt and pepper if desired.

Add the drained beans and 2-3 cups of tortilla strips to the skillet. Gently fold them into the eggs, breaking the tortilla strips into smaller pieces as you go. Spoon one cup of salsa over top of the egg mixture and then sprinkle one cup of shredded cheese over top.

Place a lid on the skillet and turn the heat up to medium. Allow the skillet to heat for five minutes, or until mostly heated through. While the skillet is heating, pull the cilantro leaves from the stems and give them a rough chop. Remove the lid and gently fold the ingredients in the skillet, so that the cheese gets a little mixed in and melts slightly. Sprinkle the cilantro over top and serve hot.
__________________________________________________________

Mmm!!! Beth used Mission Tortilla Strips, which Publix stocks on its shelves. This recipe makes four full sized portions, and I had it for breakfast several days this week.

My last new recipe from last weekend was Red Cabbage and Sausage Soup. I found it online after I searched for recipes that used red cabbage and sausage, as I wanted to use up the ingredients I had left over from my previous cooking experiments from the past two weeks.



Ingredients:

1 cup black eyed peas, dry (or 2 cups cooked)
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 garlic cloves, chopped
2 leeks, chopped
2 tablespoons corn starch
6 cups vegetable stock
1 lb red potatoes, washed and cut into ½ inch pieces
½ lb pork sausages, cooked and then sliced into ½ inch pieces
½ lb red cabbage, shredded
½ cup heavy cream
salt and pepper to taste
smoked paprika as garnish

Instructions:

Heat olive oil in a large dutch oven. Add garlic and leeks and cook for 3-4 minutes, stirring often.

In a small bowl, combine corn starch and ¼ cup stock. Whisk until corn starch dissolves. Pour corn starch mixture into dutch oven and cook for 1-2 minutes. Add remaining broth, potatoes, and sausage. Season with salt and pepper, bring to a boil, then lower heat and simmer for 20 minutes.

Add red cabbage and black eyed peas to pot and cook for an additional 10 minutes. Lastly stir in cream and cook for 4-5 minutes more. Remove from heat, ladle into bowls, and top with smoked paprika.
______________________________________________________________

This was another hit. I used black beans instead of black-eyed peas, and half and half to replace heavy cream, so my version is much darker than the one in the original recipe. I also used green onions in place of leeks. This made a huge pot of soup, and I'll add this to my list of favorite recipes, along with the other recipes.

Today's new recipe will be Carrot Ginger Soup, using a recipe that I found on the GoNOLA web site. It is a Caribbean styled recipe, which includes shrimp and coconut milk. I'll start making it now, and I'll post the recipe here once it's finished.

The carrot ginger soup is ready!



Here's the recipe, from the website GoNOLA.com:

Carrot Ginger Soup

Ingredients:

2 pounds carrots
1 thumb-size piece of ginger root
About 7 oz. of coconut milk
2 -2.5 pounds shrimp, peeled and deveined
Lemon zest to taste
Salt to taste
Black sesame seeds or freshly cracked pepper for garnish

Recipe:

In a saucepan, boil the carrots and ginger in water for about 20 minutes. Drain, reserving the water, then puree the carrots and ginger. Combine with the reserved cooking water and coconut milk in a saucepan. Bring to a boil. Add the shrimp and fennel. Cook for about 6 minutes, or until the shrimp are cooked through. Turn off the heat, and add the lemon zest and salt. To serve, garnish with sesame seeds or black pepper.
________________________________________

This turned out very well, and the addition of the shrimp made for a very filling one course meal. I couldn't find the zester that I bought recently, so I added lemon juice to the mix. This soup was a perfect choice for a cold and damp day, and I'll add this recipe to my list of favorites.

When do you start your show on the Food Channel, Darryl? Kidzdoc Cooks! It would be a winner. MMmmmmmm.....MMmmmm.

>144 laytonwoman3rd: It would certainly be better than the endless supply of reality programming they seem to keep sending us. I wish they would go back to more single chef shows.

>145 thornton37814: I'm totally with you on this point, Lori. I love to watch someone prep and cook and explain what they're doing. The competition shows are horrid. There are quite a lot of the single chef shows on the Create channel. Do you get that one?

>144 laytonwoman3rd: I think it would be a short lived show, Linda. It would be constantly interrupted by calls from the ER or nurses' stations, and I'd be sued for plagiarizing the recipes I got from other people.

>146 laytonwoman3rd: I do get PBS Create. I do watch some of those shows.

>147 kidzdoc: You just bring those other people on as "guests." That's what they do on TV.

Yesterday I made Emeril's Slow Cooked Chili, a recipe by noted New Orleans chef Emeril Lagasse, which I found on the GoNOLA.com web site.





The first photo shows how the chili looks fresh from the slow cooker, and the second includes chopped green onions, shredded Cheddar cheese and sour cream, per the recipe. I also added tortilla strips to the chili. It's rich, with a dark brown color that doesn't show up in these photos, complex, tangy and very tasty, and this recipe easily makes eight servings.

Ingredients:

1/4 cup chili powder
2 tablespoons whole cumin seeds
1 teaspoon cayenne
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons dried Mexican or regular oregano, crumbled between your fingers
3 bay leaves
2 teaspoons light or dark brown sugar
4 pounds boneless beef chuck, trimmed and cut into 1 1/2- to 2-inch cubes
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 1/2 tablespoons kosher salt
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
3 medium onions, coarsely chopped (about 4 cups)
1 1/2 cups chopped celery, including leaves
6 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
2 jalapeño chiles, roughly chopped
One 12-ounce bottle dark Mexican beer, such as Negra Modelo
2 tablespoons tomato paste
One 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes
1 ounce semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
3 tablespoons masa harina (corn flour, not cornstarch)
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley leaves
Grated cheddar cheese, for garnish
Chopped green onion, for garnish
Sour cream, for garnish

Recipe:

Combine the chili powder, cumin seeds, cayenne, cinnamon, oregano, bay leaves and brown sugar in a small bowl; set the spice mixture aside.

Add the beef to a medium bowl and season with the pepper and 1 tablespoon of the kosher salt. Heat 2 tablespoons of the vegetable oil in a 12-inch or larger skillet over high heat. Add enough beef to fill the pan and cook until nicely browned on one side, about 2 minutes. Turn the pieces over and cook for another 2 minutes. Transfer the browned beef to the crock of a 6-quart slow cooker. Repeat with the remaining beef, adding the remaining vegetable oil between batches as necessary.

Add the onions, celery, and 1 tablespoon of the remaining salt to the skillet and cook, stirring, until the vegetables begin to soften, about 2 minutes. Add the garlic, jalapeños and spice mixture and cook for 1 minute longer. Pour in the beer, tomato paste and crushed tomatoes and simmer for 3 minutes. Stir in the chocolate, masa harina and remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons salt and cook for 1 minute longer. Transfer this mixture to the slow cooker.

Cover and cook the chili on high, undisturbed or stirring only once during cooking, for 6 hours, or until the beef is very tender. Remove the bay leaves and stir in the cilantro and parsley. Serve the chili hot in bowls, topped with grated cheddar, chopped green onion and sour cream.
__________________________________

This is an authentic chili, as it doesn't contain any beans, and it isn't as hot as it would seem to be. Highly recommended!

Madeline, what is the seasonal vegetable for February? Did I miss it somewhere?

ETA: BTW, I had meant to mention that I now agree with you that the spinach lentil stew is a bit bland. I liked it when I first made it, but the subsequent times I had it the stew was quite tasteless. If anyone has any ideas to jazz up that recipe I'd love to hear them.

I wonder if a dash of red pepper flakes might be just what that spinach lentil stew needs. And, of course, it never hurts to spoon on a little grated cheese before serving.

>151 laytonwoman3rd: Good ideas, Linda. I do love red pepper flakes, and grated cheese would be a nice addition as well.

>150 kidzdoc:

Darryl, February is almost over. You pick the March vegetable, then nominate someone else to pick the April vegetable.

I love seeing what you cook. Here's what I made this month. I'm still stuck on the lentils. Haha!



Recipe to follow...

Lentils with Apples and Franks (as pictured in message #153)
Serves 8

•1 cup dried green lentils
•1/4 cup olive oil, divided
•1/2 cup finely diced onion
•Kosher salt
•1 large sweet, crisp apple, peeled if not organic, cored and cut into generous 1/4-inch dice
•4 ounces hot and spicy kosher frankfurters, cut into 1/4-inch cubes
•3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
•2 teaspoons Dijon-style mustard
•1 tablespoon honey
•Freshly ground black pepper
•3 tablespoons finely chopped parsley

Place lentils in med. saucepan. Add water to cover them by 3”. Partially cover and bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then reduce the heat to medium-low or so the water is barely bubbling.. Cook for 25 minutes, until the lentils are just tender. Drain lentils; transfer to a large bowl. *** Meanwhile, heat half the oil in a med. skillet over med.-high heat. Add onion and a pinch of salt, stirring to coat; reduce heat to medium; cook for about 4 minutes, until the onion has softened. Stir in the apple(s); cook for 3 to 4 minutes, until just softened. *** Add the franks; stir to incorporate. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes, until the frankfurters have heated through. Add the onion-frank mixture to the drained lentils. *** Whisk together the remaining 2 Tbsp. of oil, vinegar, mustard & honey in a liquid measuring cup. Season with salt & pepper; pour over lentil mixture, add the parsley. Toss gently. Taste, and adjust the seasoning as needed. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Adapted from a recipe by Stacy Zarin Goldberg in The Washington Post

>150 kidzdoc: I had a friend who swore that any soup/ stew could be saved with more bouillon powder, onion powder and garlic powder. I like the idea of adding the chili flakes and cheese or yoghurt on top . And since you've liked the seasoning at Budge Bytes, you might try adjusting using spices from one of these recipes:

http://www.budgetbytes.com/2014/01/chunky-lentil-vegetable-soup/
or
http://www.budgetbytes.com/2014/11/moroccan-lentil-vegetable-stew/
or even
http://www.budgetbytes.com/2013/12/curried-chickpeas-spinach/ (this one is very good - I've made it with chickpeas, can't see why it wouldn't work with lentils.

>145 thornton37814:, >146 laytonwoman3rd: Yes! I love watching people demonstrate their cooking. A favorite local healthy/responsible food store gives cooking classes like that with the added benefit of getting to eat the results. I hope to go to their Vegan Indian class and a Brazilian fish stew class in March, since I'm hopeful that the winter weather is ending and I'll be more confident about being able to drive any given evening without dodging storms.

I'm really grateful for the cajun/creole type recipes that have been posted here. I haven't eaten a lot of cajun cuisine but what I have eaten I really liked so I'm hoping to cook up a few things on my own. With some adjustments to account for availability of certain products and my dietary restrictions, but still. Almost authentic cajun food.

>153 SqueakyChu: I choose the parnsip as the vegetable for March. It's a vegetable that I'm unfamiliar with cooking or eating, but it's one that I'm eager to include in recipes such as the one for Risotto with Parnsips and Greens that I found earlier this week (I'll give a try either tomorrow or Friday). And, I nominate streamsong to choose the vegetable for April!

>154 SqueakyChu: Mmm, that recipe sounds good! If I substitute Johnsonville New Orleans sausage for kosher franks I have everything I need to make this recipe, so I might give it a try this week.

That reminds me...one recipe I want to make is one that my mother used to make, a Persian dish with lentils, basmati rice, onions and raisins that she picked up from one of my father's Iranian coworkers. She couldn't find it when I visited them last month, and if she can't locate it I'll look for a recipe online or in one of my cookbooks.

>155 streamsong: Good ideas, streamsong. I had thought to try Tony Chachere's Creole seasoning in addition to red pepper flakes, which I think has onion and garlic powders in it. And, I love Beth's recipes and her ingredients in her Budget Bytes blog, so I'll look at the ones you posted for ideas.

Brazilian fish stew sounds potentially divine. A former co-worker of mine was born in Vietnam, and her husband made an absolutely divine Vietnamese fish stew when she had us over for dinner years ago. I'll have to look her up on Facebook, and see if she would be willing to share that recipe with me.

>156 PawsforThought: I'm glad that you've liked the Louisiana recipes I've posted, Paws! I plan to make crawfish étouffée either Friday or Saturday, based on the recipe I posted in >140 kidzdoc:. I'll let y'all know how it turns out.

>157 kidzdoc: Looking forward to that!

>157 kidzdoc: I choose the parsnip as the vegetable for March.

I'm excited you chose the parsnip, Darryl. I always get them in my CSA box and never know what to do with them. I still have two left over in my refrigerator even as we speak. :)

a Persian dish with lentils, basmati rice, onions and
raisins

Oh, yeah! I want to try that recipe.

If I substitute Johnsonville New Orleans sausage for kosher franks I have everything I need to make this recipe, so I might give it a try this week.

If I substitute Johnsonville New Orleans sausage for kosher franks I have everything I need to make this recipe, so I might give it a try this week.

Let me know what you think of it. I give it 4 stars--based on LT's book rating system. :D

Here's a recipe which incorporates parsnips...

HONEY ROASTED VEGETABLES
Serves 4

Although this recipe uses honey, it’s not that sweet. Don’t skimp on the walnuts.

1 lb. sweet potatoes, quartered lengthwise and cut into ½ inch slices
4 medium carrots, peeled and cut into ½’ slices
2 parsnips, peeled and cut into ½” slices
1/2 cup walnut halves
1/4 cup honey
2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
A few sprigs of fresh thyme

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a large bowl, mix together the sweet potatoes, carrots, parsnips, walnuts, honey, and olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place vegetables in a foil-lined baking pan and spread them out evenly. Place the sprigs of fresh thyme on top of the vegetables. Roast vegetables for one hour or until the vegetables are fork tender and slightly brown at the edge. Remove the sprigs of thyme. Serve hot, scraping the foil to include any glazing into the vegetable mix.

This recipe was adapted from one I found in Food magazine.

oh, my goodness, that reads yummy! I may have to try it.

>161 maggie1944:

I liked it because it wasn't too heavy on the parsnips! Tee hee!!

>159 SqueakyChu: I'm glad that you liked my choice, Madeline. Claire (Sakerfalcon) made the risotto with parsley and greens recipe on Tuesday, and she said that it tasted good. I'll make it tomorrow.

I'll call my mother shortly, and I'll ask her if she found that Persian recipe yet. I did find recipes for it online, so I'll choose one of them if she doesn't have it.

I'll definitely let you know how your lentils, apples and franks recie turns out!

>160 SqueakyChu: The honey roasted vegetables recipe sounds good, too! I'll have two parsnips left over after I make the risotto, so I'll probably give this a try.

Two seems to be the magic number for parsnips!

>164 SqueakyChu: Ha! I bought a pound of parsnips on Monday, which contained five parsnips. I'll use three for the risotto, and the other two in your lentil recipe.

I just got off the phone with my mother, and I was only partly right in my recollection of that recipe. It came from a young Persian mother at the Head Start day care center that she worked at in the late 1980s or early 1990s, not the Iranian engineer who worked under my father, and it contained lentils, potatoes (not basmati rice), onions and raisins, which was served with baked chicken in a light sauce. She hasn't made it in at least 20 years, but she does remember seeing the recipe in her recipe box, so she's going to look for it now, and make it the next time that I visit them. I know that it was one of my favorite recipes (I requested it for my birthday one year), and I'll share it with y'all once she sends it to me.

>165 kidzdoc:

Looking forward to that recipe, Darryl!

Oh, yay, parsnips! I love parsnips. Can't get enough of them. There's no such things as being too heavy on the parsnips.

I've just finished making Risotto with Roasted Parsnips and Kale, using a recipe that I found on The New York Times' web site. I thought I would like it, but I was pleasantly surprised at how well this turned out:



Ingredients:

½ pound parsnips, not too large
Salt and black pepper
Olive oil
½ pound kale, broccoli rabe or mustard greens
1 large onion, finely diced
1 ½ cups arborio rice
¼ cup dry white wine or vermouth
4 cups unsalted chicken or vegetable broth, or more if necessary
2 tablespoons butter
3 garlic cloves, minced
8 sage leaves, roughly chopped
Pecorino Romano or Parmesan cheese, for grating

Preparation:

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Peel the parsnips, quarter them lengthwise, and remove the tough core with a paring knife. Cut into 1/2-inch random shapes, put in a roasting pan, season with salt and coat with 2 teaspoons of olive oil. Roast until tender and lightly browned, about 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from the oven.

Remove the stems from the greens and cut them into 1/2-inch-wide ribbons. Bring a pot of water to a boil over high heat, add salt and cook very briefly. Drain, cool and squeeze dry. Set aside.

Add 2 tablespoons olive oil to a heavy bottomed soup pot or large saucepan over medium-high heat, then add the onion, season with salt and pepper, and cook till softened, about 5 minutes. Add the rice and stir together with the onions until the onions are barely brown, about 2 minutes. Add the white wine or vermouth and cook until it evaporates. Add 2 cups broth and adjust the heat to a brisk simmer. Cook for 5 to 6 minutes, stirring well with a wooden spoon every minute or so. When the broth is absorbed, add 1 cup more and continue to cook for another 5 minutes. Stir in the last cup of broth and cook for another 5 minutes, until the rice is cooked, but the grains are still firm. Taste and adjust the seasoning, adding another splash of broth if necessary. Turn off the heat.

Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil and the butter in a wide, deep skillet over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and sage and let sizzle without browning, about 1 minute. Add the roasted parsnips and chopped greens, season lightly with salt and pepper, and stir to coat and heat through, about 2 minutes more.

Transfer the risotto to a warm serving dish. Spoon the vegetables over and fold them gently into the rice. Serve with grated pecorino or Parmesan cheese.
_________________________________________________________

This is the first time I've made risotto, and the first time I've cooked parsnips; it may also be the first time I've had parsnips! I ended up using the entire one pound bag of parsnips that I bought on Monday, and I probably cut them up too finely. I'd probably roast them for a little longer than 15 minutes as well. However, I'm thoroughly pleased with this recipe, and I'll definitely make this again.

I just finished making crawfish étouffée, using a recipe that my group's former administrative assistant gave me. As I mentioned previously, Heather is from New Orleans, and she gave me the recipes for chicken and Andouille sausage and white chicken chili that I posted earlier in this thread.



This turned out very well, although it makes a blonde roux instead of the brown one that I'm used to having in New Orleans; Heather confirmed that it's supposed to be that way. Here's her recipe:

Crawfish étouffée (makes 6 to 8 servings)

Ingredients:

6 tablespoons butter
2 medium onions, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 medium green bell pepper, chopped
3 rib celery, chopped
1 pound peeled crawfish tails
1 (10 3/4-ounce) can cream of shrimp
1/2 cup water
½ to 3/4 cup dry white wine
Salt, cayenne and hot sauce to taste
Minced green onions for garnish
Add Tony Chachere’s Creole Seasoning to taste

Instructions:

In a heavy pot, melt the butter and sauté the onions, garlic, bell peppers, and celery until wilted.

Add the crawfish tails and cook for 10 minutes.

Add the soup, water, and wine and stir. Simmer for 30 minutes.

Add the seasonings and simmer another 10 minutes, add the green onions and serve over steamed rice.

Note: If you have extra serve it over baked fish.

I like this recipe after one day. Cook it and refrigerate for one day.
____________________________________________

I used Uncle Ben's Original parboiled rice, which is the standard one used in Louisiana cooking.

I love risotto and will give the one above a try soon! Hope I can still find kale or "cavolo nero", as here it is available only in winter which is a bit frustrating.

I'd forgotten about this delicious thread until Darryl reminded me of it after I'd just shared 2 recipes on my own thread. So here I am, to make up for my long absence. Someone had asked me for a recipe I use for Hot and Sour Soup. This is one that I make:

Chinese Hot & Sour Soup

5 cups chicken stock
1 peeled garlic clove
1 inch thick slice of ginger, slightly smashed
2 tbs cloud ears, soaked in hot water for about 3 mins until soft, washed, hard ends broken off, and broken into pieces
30 dried tiger lily buds, soaked in hot water for 30mins until soft, hard ends discarded
3 tbs julienned Sichuan mustard pickle
1 1/2 tsp hot pepper flakes
6 slices firm tofu, julienned
1/4 lb lean boneless pork, julienned
1/4 cup Chinese red wine vinegar
1/4 cornstarch mixed with a little cold water
3 large eggs, beaten
1 tbsp dark soy sauce or mushroom soy sauce
2 tsp sesame oil
1 scallion, trimmed and finely sliced

Place stock, garlic and ginger in a pot, cover and bring to a boil over high heat.
Add the cloud ears, tiger lily buds, mustard pickle, and hot pepper flakes. Add the tofu and simmer for 15 mins.

Raise to high heat, add the pork, vinegar and mix well. Bring to a boil, add the cornstarch mixture and stir until soup thickens. Add the eggs in the same manner and return to a boil. Turn off heat, add soy sauce and sesame oil.

Taste and adjust for hotness and sourness to taste. Sprinkle with scallion and serve.

Another recipe I recently shared on my thread is Bœuf Bourguignon. It takes a bit of time to make, but it's well worth the effort. This was a recipe from a French boyfriend's grandmother. I used to love invitations to her table. It was the one thing I missed after I broke up with my boyfriend :-)

Bœuf Bourguignon

Marinade:
2 garlic cloves, crushed
2 onions, sliced
2 carrots, sliced
10 parsley stems
Bouquet Garni
handful of peppercorns, crushed
4 tbsp cognac
1 bottle dry red wine, preferably Burgundy
2 tbsp olive oil

3 lbs lean stewing beef (chuck), trimmed of excess fat and cut into 1 1/2" cubes
Salt & freshly ground pepper
6 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp all-purpose flour
1 tbsp tomato paste
3 tomatoes, quartered

Garnish
1/2 lb slb bacon, sliced about 1/4" thick
4 tbsp olive oil
30 pearl onions
3 tbsp butter
1 tbsp sugar
3/4 lb button mushrooms, trimmed, rinsed and dried

Croutons
6 slices firm white bread, crusts removed, cubed
3 tbsp butter
2 tbsp chopped parsley

Prepare marinade : combine all ingredients except the oil. Add the meat (it must be completely submerged n the liquid) and then sprinkle the surface with the oil. Cover and marinate for 12 hours.

Remove beef from the marinade and drain well. Remove the garlic and bouquet garni; set aside. Strain and reserve the marinating liquid. Drain the marinated vegetables, set aside.

Heat 1/4 cup of the oil in a large pan over high heat until very hot. Season the beef with salt & pepper and ad to the pan, a few pieces at a time. Sauté until evenly browned. Remove beef from the pan and discard the oil. Add the remaining 2 tbsp of oil and reduce heat to medium. Add the marinated vegetables and cook until lightly colored. Add the beef, sprinkle with flour and stir well. Stir in the tomato paste and cook for about 1 min.
Add the reserved marinating liquid along with the garlic, bouquet garni and quartered tomatoes. Add water as needed to just about cover the vegetables and bring to a boil. Place in slow cooker on low for 8 hours.

*alternatively, you can put it all in a dutch oven with a buttered round of parchment paper and then the lid, and place it in a 375F oven for about 3 hours or until beef is tender.

Prepare the garnish: Cut the bacon into lardons, blanch and drain. Heat the oil in a frying pan, add the lardons and sauté until golden brown. Drain and set aside.

Melt 1 tbsp butter, add the sugar and pearl onions and caramelize them.

Add 2 tbsp oil and 2 tbsp butter in a large frying pan over high heat. Add the mushrooms and cook until moisture has evaporated. Season to taste. Set aside.

Melt 3 tbsp butter, and add the bread cubes to the pan. When well coated, remove and transfer to a baking sheet. Bake in a 425F oven until golden. Set aside.

When the beef is tender, remove the beef and strain the cooking liquid. Discard the solids. Add beef to a large pot, add the strained cooking liquid to the beef, add the lardons, onions and mushrooms and cook over a medium heat for about 10 mins.

To serve, top the stew with the croutons and sprinkle with chopped parsley.

Both recipes are mouth-watering, Caroline. I love hot and sour soup---I wonder if I can find all the necessary ingredients here. I don't think we have any Asian markets, but Wegmans may carry everything. On Friday a woman I work with promised to give me a beef bourguinon recipe for the slow cooker. I'll be curious to see if it resembles this one.

I'm making my tried and true split pea soup today.

I'm not too familiar with parsnips but since people are describing them as 'similar in flavor to carrots', I decided to google to see whether they were ever added to split pea soup, and sure enough, lots of recipes for split pea and parsnip soup, mostly from vegetarian sites. So I think I'll add them to my t & t recipe and, if it turns out, I'll report back.

>173 laytonwoman3rd: Linda, HMart (http://hmart.com/ ) and BuyAsian (http://www.buyasianfoods.com/ ) have online stores that will deliver to your house. By the way, Cloud Ear fungus is also more commonly known here as Black Fungus. Tiger lily buds are also known as lily flowers and golden needles.

>175 cameling: Thanks, Caroline. I know you can get almost anything on-line, but I haven't done much experimenting with Asian cooking (I do make a pretty good fried rice, but that hardly counts). It's one of those things I'm promising myself for when I retire and have more time to spend exploring new recipes.

OK, my mouth is watering.

I had a bean soup over rice for dinner, with some hints of mexican flavors. Yummy. I need to pick up some cheddar cheese tomorrow. Or some sour cream. Or both!

Happy March all you wonderful book loving cooks!

Such enticing recipes here! Darryl, I made your Zuppa Toscana tonight, and it was delicious.

Parsnips! I recently made a recipe I loved, and would definitely make again. I found this recipe searching for a good recipe that used hard cider, as I had a few bottles. Chicken breasts braised with hard cider, bacon, and parsnips was just wonderful:

http://www.afarmgirlsdabbles.com/2013/11/08/chicken-breasts-braised-with-hard-ci...

>178 AMQS: Thanks, Anne! I have some bone-in skin-on chicken breasts in my freezer that I've been wondering what to do with, and this recipe fits the bill perfectly. I'll probably make this next weekend.

I made another batch of Moroccan Lentil and Vegetable Stew for lunch, and I'm making Caroline's Irish lamb stew in my slow cooker for dinner.

Yesterday I made spiced parsnip soup, using a recipe in The Soup Bible by Debra Mayhew, a superb cookbook which Caroline kindly sent to me last week:



INGREDIENTS (Serves 6)

3 tablespoons butter
1 onion,chopped
5-1/2 cups diced parsnips
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
5 cups chicken stock
2/3 cup of light half-and-half
1 tablespoon of olive oil
2 garlic cloves, cut into julienne strips
3 teaspoons yellow mustard seeds
salt and freshly ground black pepper

DIRECTIONS:

1. Melt the butter in a large pan. Add the onion and parsnips and fry slowly for about 3 minutes.

2. Stir in the spices and cook for 1 minute longer. Add the stock, season with salt and pepper, and bring to a boil.

3. Lower the heat, cover, and simmer for about 45 minutes until the parsnips are tender. Cool slightly, then puree with a hand blender until smooth. Add the half-and half and heat through slowly over low heat.

4. Heat the olive oil in a small pan. Add the julienne strips of garlic and the yellow mustard seeds and fry quickly until the garlic is beginning to brown and the mustard seeds start to pop and splutter. Be careful not to over cook the garlic. Remove from the heat.

5. Ladle the soup into warm soup bowls and pour a little of the hot spice mixture over each. Serve at once.
______________________________

I experienced a mild accident while making the soup, as the plastic cover of my container of black pepper fell off, causing most of the contents of the container to spill into the soup! Fortunattely I was able to scoop out 80-90% of the pepper, but it's still far more peppery than it should be. I used two pounds of parsnips, which made six cups' worth, and the soup is quite thick, even more so than a typical bisque. It tastes very good, even with the pepper overload.

This weblog lists the recipe and contains additional photos:

http://saucysoups.blogspot.com/2010/01/spiced-parsnip-soup.html

On Saturday I prepared carrot salad with tahini and crisped chickpeas, courtesy of the web site smitten kitchen, which turned out well:



Here's the recipe:

Chickpeas:
1 3/4 cups cooked chickpeas, or 1 15-ounce can, drained and patted dry on paper towels
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon coarse sea salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin

Salad:
1 pound carrots, peeled and coarsely grated
1/4 cup coarsely chopped parsley
1/4 cup shelled, salted pistachios, coarsely chopped

Dressing:
1 medium garlic clove, minced
1/4 cup lemon juice
3 tablespoons well-stirred tahini
2 tablespoons water, plus more if needed
2 tablespoons olive oil
Salt and red pepper flakes to taste

Roast chickpeas: Heat oven to 425 degrees F. Toss chickpeas with one tablespoon olive oil, salt and cumin until they’re all coated. Spread them on a baking sheet or pan and roast them in the oven until they’re browned and crisp. This can take anywhere from 15 to 20 minutes, depending on the size and firmness of your chickpeas. Toss them occasionally to make sure they’re toasting evenly. Set aside until needed.

Make dressing: Whisk all ingredients together until smooth, adding more water if needed to thin the dressing slightly. Taste and adjust seasoning; don’t worry if it tastes a little sharp on the lemon, it will marry perfectly with the sweet grated carrots.

Assemble salad: Place grated carrots in large bowl and toss with parsley. Mix in 2/3 of the dressing, adding more if desired. Add more salt and pepper if needed. Sprinkle with a large handful of chickpeas (you’ll have extra and if you’re like us, won’t regret it) and pistachios and dig in.

Do ahead: Salad keeps well in the fridge for two days, however, I’d add the chickpeas and pistachios right before serving, so they don’t get soft.
_________________________________

I used precut matchstick carrots instead of grating whole ones; otherwise I followed these instructions to the letter. This salad has a tangy Mediterranean taste, and I enjoyed it very much.

>180 kidzdoc: >181 kidzdoc:

Both of those dishes look great. So sorry about the pepper mishap, Darryl. At least you were able to salvage the soup. Phew!

In the past two weekends I made four new recipes that I'm fond of. The first, and the best, of the four was Pollo Ciudad with Pickled Tomato Salsa (pollo ciudad = city chicken in Spanish):



Here's the recipe, courtesy of the Food Network (and Erin, the psychiatry nurse practitioner at Children's who shared it with me):

Ingredients:

4 large, boneless chicken thighs or leg and thighs, with skin
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 shallots, diced
3 large mushrooms, thinly sliced
1 to 2 jalapeños, chopped with seeds
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 cup chicken stock
3/4 cup half-and-half or heavy cream
1/2 bunch cilantro, stems and leaves separated
2 egg yolks
1 1/2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
3 cups cooked rice, for serving
4 grilled scallions, for serving
Pickled Tomato Salsa, recipe follows, for serving

Pickled Tomato Salsa:

1 pound tomatoes, diced
1/2 bunch scallions, white and green parts, thinly sliced
2 to 3 serrano chiles, with seeds, thinly sliced in rounds
1/2 cup white vinegar
2 1/2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 teaspoons salt
4 teaspoons freshly grated ginger
1 tablespoon minced garlic
2 teaspoons yellow mustard seeds
2 teaspoons cracked black peppercorns
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon cayenne
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Directions:

Season chicken liberally with salt and pepper. Heat a large saute pan over medium-high heat, add oil, and place chicken in pan skin side down. Sear for 4 minutes, then reduce heat to medium and continue cooking for another 8 minutes. Turn chicken and cook another 4 minutes, or until just cooked all the way through.

Meanwhile, make sauce by melting butter in a medium saute pan over moderate heat. Cook shallots and mushrooms until soft and golden, about 10 minutes. Add jalapenos and cumin, lower heat, and cook for 5 minutes. Add chicken stock. Turn heat to high and cook until liquid is reduced by half. Add cream or half-and-half and cilantro stems and return to a boil. Remove from heat. Puree in a blender, pass through a wire mesh strainer, and return to heat.

Whisk egg yolks, sugar, and vinegar together in a small bowl. While continuing to whisk, pour one cup pureed cilantro sauce into egg mixture to temper. Then combine egg mixture with puree and cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until sauce is thick and smooth.

Arrange grilled chicken over a bed of your favorite rice and spoon sauce over all. Garnish with cilantro leaves, grilled scallions, and Pickled Tomato Salsa. Serve immediately.
Pickled Tomato Salsa:

In a large bowl, toss tomatoes with scallions and serrano chiles.

In a medium saucepan, bring vinegar to a boil. Add sugar and salt, and cook until dissolved, about 1 minute. Remove from heat and reserve.

Measure ginger, garlic, mustard seeds, cracked peppercorns, cumin, cayenne, and turmeric onto a plate and place near stove. In another medium saucepan, heat oil over moderate heat until just smoking. Add spices and cook, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until aromas are released, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in vinegar mixture. Immediately pour over reserved tomato mixture. Stir to combine, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate 3 to 4 hours or several days. Makes 2 cups.
__________________________________________________________________

Wow. I used two jalapeños and three serrano chiles, and it was right at the edge of the amount of spiciness that I can comfortably handle, so I'd advise using less peppers. It tasted amazing, with a rich mixture of spices, and the chicken thighs were juicy and tender (I'll keep that method for cooking them in mind). I didn't use a wire strainer after I puréed the cilantro sauce, as it was already thick and homogeneous. The one major disagreement that I have about this recipe, which is actually a good thing, is the comment that the recipe for pickled tomato salsa makes two cups. Wrong; it makes far more than that!



That salsa tastes great, and it would be great for other uses as well. I cooked four more chicken thighs the weekend before last, just finished the last of them, and I still have enough salsa and cilantro sauce for at least two more thighs. This was a labor intensive recipe, but it was well worth it, especially since you can get at least 10 one thigh meals out of it. As I mentioned on my thread, this is the best chicken and rice recipe I've ever tasted.

I also made huevos rancheros two Sundays ago.



Ingredients:

1 lg. tomato $1.15
½ med. Vidalia onion $0.25
1 bunch cilantro $0.69
1 small lime $0.32
½ Tbsp olive oil $0.06
1 tsp (1 clove) minced garlic $0.12
1 med. jalapeno $0.09
2 cups (or a 15 oz. can) cooked black beans $0.40
½ tsp cumin $0.03
to taste salt $0.05
6 small corn tortillas $0.39
6 lg. eggs $1.40
1½ cups shredded cheddar $1.49

Instructions:

Prepare the pico de gallo by dicing the tomato and ¼ of the onion. Rinse about ⅓ bunch of cilantro under cool water and shake to remove as much water as possible. Remove the leaves from the stems and then coarsely chop. Combine the tomato, onion, and cilantro in a bowl. Squeeze the juice from half the lime over top. Stir to combine and then season with salt to your liking.

Finely dice the other ¼ onion and the jalapeno (remove seeds if you don’t want it very spicy). Add the onion, jalapeno and minced garlic to a small pot with ½ tbsp of olive oil. Cook over medium heat until softened (2 minutes). Add the beans, season with cumin and salt and let simmer while you prepare the rest of the meal.

Heat a skillet over medium heat. Once the skillet is hot, add a corn tortilla and let it toast (about 2 minutes). Flip it over and toast on the other side. Remove the tortilla to a plate after it has toasted on both sides. Cook your egg in the already hot skillet.

Top the hot tortilla with ¼ cup shredded cheese. Top the tortilla and cheese with seasoned beans, the cooked egg and then some pico de gallo.

__________________________________________________________

This was a moderately labor intensive recipe, especially compared to the Southwest breakfast scramble but it's well worth it. It makes six huevos (eggs), so you can have one huevo (or two huevos, as I did), and save the leftover pico de gallo (salsa) and spiced black beans for future meals. All you would have to do is heat a corn tortilla, fry an egg, then combine the ingredients per the recipe. I would think that you could use store bought salsa in place of pico de gallo, to save time, but I seriously doubt that it would taste as good as this does.

The weekend before last I made carrot salad with tahini and crisped chickpeas, courtesy of the web site smitten kitchen, which turned out well:



Here's the recipe:

Chickpeas:
1 3/4 cups cooked chickpeas, or 1 15-ounce can, drained and patted dry on paper towels
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon coarse sea salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin

Salad:
1 pound carrots, peeled and coarsely grated
1/4 cup coarsely chopped parsley
1/4 cup shelled, salted pistachios, coarsely chopped

Dressing:
1 medium garlic clove, minced
1/4 cup lemon juice
3 tablespoons well-stirred tahini
2 tablespoons water, plus more if needed
2 tablespoons olive oil
Salt and red pepper flakes to taste

Roast chickpeas: Heat oven to 425 degrees F. Toss chickpeas with one tablespoon olive oil, salt and cumin until they’re all coated. Spread them on a baking sheet or pan and roast them in the oven until they’re browned and crisp. This can take anywhere from 15 to 20 minutes, depending on the size and firmness of your chickpeas. Toss them occasionally to make sure they’re toasting evenly. Set aside until needed.

Make dressing: Whisk all ingredients together until smooth, adding more water if needed to thin the dressing slightly. Taste and adjust seasoning; don’t worry if it tastes a little sharp on the lemon, it will marry perfectly with the sweet grated carrots.

Assemble salad: Place grated carrots in large bowl and toss with parsley. Mix in 2/3 of the dressing, adding more if desired. Add more salt and pepper if needed. Sprinkle with a large handful of chickpeas (you’ll have extra and if you’re like us, won’t regret it) and pistachios and dig in.

Do ahead: Salad keeps well in the fridge for two days, however, I’d add the chickpeas and pistachios right before serving, so they don’t get soft.
_________________________________

I used precut matchstick carrots instead of grating whole ones; otherwise I followed these instructions to the letter. This salad has a tangy Mediterranean taste, and I enjoyed it very much.

Finally, my last recipe was spiced parsnip soup, which came from the The Soup Bible by Debra Mayhew, a superb cookbook which Caroline kindly sent to me earlier this month:



INGREDIENTS (Serves 6)

3 tablespoons butter
1 onion,chopped
5-1/2 cups diced parsnips
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
5 cups chicken stock
2/3 cup of light half-and-half
1 tablespoon of olive oil
2 garlic cloves, cut into julienne strips
3 teaspoons yellow mustard seeds
salt and freshly ground black pepper

DIRECTIONS:

1. Melt the butter in a large pan. Add the onion and parsnips and fry slowly for about 3 minutes.

2. Stir in the spices and cook for 1 minute longer. Add the stock, season with salt and pepper, and bring to a boil.

3. Lower the heat, cover, and simmer for about 45 minutes until the parsnips are tender. Cool slightly, then puree with a hand blender until smooth. Add the half-and half and heat through slowly over low heat.

4. Heat the olive oil in a small pan. Add the julienne strips of garlic and the yellow mustard seeds and fry quickly until the garlic is beginning to brown and the mustard seeds start to pop and splutter. Be careful not to over cook the garlic. Remove from the heat.

5. Ladle the soup into warm soup bowls and pour a little of the hot spice mixture over each. Serve at once.
______________________________

I experienced a mild accident while making the soup, as the plastic cover of my container of black pepper fell off, causing most of the contents of the container to spill into the soup! Fortunattely I was able to scoop out 80-90% of the pepper, but it's still far more peppery than it should be. I used two pounds of parsnips, which made six cups' worth, and the soup is quite thick, even more so than a typical bisque. It tastes very good, even with the pepper overload.

This weblog lists the recipe and contains additional photos:

http://saucysoups.blogspot.com/2010/01/spiced-parsnip-soup.html

>184 kidzdoc: That looks fantastic! I think pico de gallo has a much fresher, lighter flavor than salsa, and is such a nice complement to a dish like this, as opposed to smothering it.

No pictures, but I promised Darryl to post my recipe for Matzo Ball Soup as Passover is quickly approaching. It will be in two parts. You must make the chicken soup first; then make the matzo balls.

CHICKEN SOUP

I usually double this recipe for our seder.

1/2 large chicken (mine, of course, is kosher)
2 large carrots, peeled
1 stalk celery
1 large onion
1 bunch fresh parsley, leaves only
3 stalks fresh dill
2 cloves garlic
1 Tbsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
water

Put all the ingredients into a 4-quart pot, and fill the pot with water. You do not have to chop the vegetables. Just leave them whole. Bring liquid to a boil. Then lower the heat and simmer, covered, for 90 minutes.

Afterward, I usually remove the vegetables before I make the matzo balls. I make the matzo balls in the clear soup starting at a full rolling boil. You can add any of the vegetables back later. I usually cut the carrots and serve at least part of a carrot in each soup bowl.

Recipe adapted from one in The Spice and Spirit of Kosher Jewish Cooking - copyright 1997.

MATZO BALLS
Yield: 8 balls

I usually triple this recipe for our seder.

2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup matzo meal
1 tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. water

Blend oil and eggs. Add matzo meal & salt. Blend well. Add water & mix. Cover and refrigerate for 15 minutes. With hands moistened in water (to keep the batter from sticking to your hands), form one-inch balls and drop into simmering stock. Cover pot. Cook for 30 to 40 minutes.

Adapted from a recipe found in 1996 from the Manischewitz Company (Jersey City, New Jersey)

What can I do to convince Darryl to move to the great Pacific Northwest corner of the US of A. I understand the U. of Washington has one of the best medical schools in the country....maybe you could snag a professorship? And the Childrens Hospital in Seattle also has a wonderful reputation, I think. Any thing else I could use to advertise what a wonderful place this is, so that I could stop by your place and sample your good cooking all the time?

Please?

I think Darryl should quit medicine and open his own restaurant! ;)

How about if all of us together open up a restaurant/book store?

Darryl suggested that I pop over here and post my lemon tart recipe, so here it is. I tend to crave all things citrus when spring is in the air, and today was a good day to make lemon tarts. I used this lemon tart recipe for inspiration for the filling. For the tart shell, I used a package of frozen tart shells I have had in the freezer since Christmas time. When I have the time - and don't need to use up things in my freezer - I like to make a shortbread crust for the lemon filling. Here is the recipe - and picture - for today's lemon tarts:



Lori's Lemon Tart Recipe

NOTE: I tend to like my tarts to be on the tart side, so if you like lemon tarts to be sweeter, you might be better off following the recipe in the provide link above.

Ingredients:
12 frozen tart shells, in tins
1/2 cup of freshly squeezed lemon juice - roughly 2 large lemons
zest of 2 large lemons
1/4 cup flour
1/4 cup icing sugar, sifted
3 eggs
pinch of salt

Process:
Take 12 frozen tart shells (in tins) out of freezer and thaw at room temperature for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 400'F.

Zest lemons - I grate the exterior of the lemon with a nutmeg/cinnamon grater - and put aside.

Juice lemons with hand juicer. Put aside.

Bake thawed - and fork pricked - tart shells on a baking pan in 400'F for ~8 minutes, just enough time for the pastry to lightly brown the crust. Remove from oven.

Turn oven down to 300'F.

In a medium bowl, blend together 1/4 cup flour with 1/4 cup of shifted icing sugar and a pinch of salt.

Whisk 3 eggs in a small bowl until frothy, then add lemon juice until blended. Add to flour/sugar mixture and whisk until well combined.

Pour filling into slightly baked pastry shells to rim (start of crimping of pastry) and place in 300'F oven.

Bake for 20 minutes or until centers are just set. Remove from oven and place on rack to cool.

Optional - Once cooled, dust with icing sugar.

Thanks, Madeline! I love that the recipe comes from one of my favorite home town establishments, Manischewitz (I think that Sabrett Hot Dogs, sold on pushcarts in NYC, also originated in Jersey City, but I'm not completely sure). Fortunately my local Publix supermarket stocks Manischewitz matzo meal, along with matzo bread (which I love), so I'll probably give this recipe a try next week.

Hmm...I could be tempted to move to Seattle, Karen. I'd love the scenery, the ready availability of fresh seafood, and the culture there. Could I still support the Philadelphia Eagles?

Hmm, again. There is a local actress here named Jenny Levison, who decided to open a restaurant in the city's Buckhead neighborhood called Souper Jenny about 10-12 years ago, which was only open for lunch six days a week and offered 3-4 homemade soups, sandwiches, salads and desserts. It was a massive success, as it soon became nearly impossible to get a table there, and since then she has opened up at least two other restaurants in and just outside of town. If Jenny can do it, so can I? :-)

How about if all of us together open up a restaurant/book store?

That reminds me of one of my favorite places that isn't there any more, Printers Inc. in downtown Palo Alto. It was a combination bookstore and restaurant that were connected to each other, and I went there with my best friend and his new wife several times when I visited them while he was a pediatric neurology fellow at Stanford. We would often have breakfast there on Sundays, read The New York Times, then walk over to the bookstore portion, buy books, bring them back to the café, and read while we had coffee. I miss those days, and that place.

ETA: Thanks for posting the lemon tart recipe, Lori!

Hmm (yet again)...maybe we could put our recipes together and create The LibraryThing Cookbook!

I think the matzo ball recipe was one I copied from a box of Maneschevitz matzo meal in 1996. Check the current box. See if the same recipe is on the box. Be sure you get the "matzo meal" and NOT the "matzo meal mix".

The best matzo is manufactured by Horowitz Margareten. It always sells out first so I buy it early! I don't know why it tastes better than other matzot (plural of matzo) because they all have the same ingredients, but it does!

maybe we could put our recipes together and create The LibraryThing Cookbook!

That's a fun idea!

Ah, bookstore + restaurant! Elliott Bay Books started in Pioneer Square in Seattle with a restaurant in the basement; it had a separate entrance but also a staircase up into the massive, maze like bookstore. It was the site of many a long conversation, good eating, and good reading. They decorated the walls with old books which no one really wanted to take a way, but could be pulled off the shelf and sampled.

The new site for the bookstore is a much more commercial looking bookstore, with a small "cafe" which does not have the intimacy of the former space.

I think "The Library Thing Cookbook" could surely be a winner. We need someone who has massive amounts of time not yet occupied by reading.... who could that be?

Posting this here at kidzdoc's request...

BTW, I needed to make soup last week (for my church's Lenten Soup Supper), and three different carrot/parsnip soups popped up (here (on kidzdoc's thread) first) to tell me what I was making. And then the one I picked turned out to be so badly written as to be unusable (items in the ingredients that weren't in the recipe, and vice versa) so I rolled my own. Pretty good, I think, but I can't be certain because I didn't get to _eat_ any of it! I should have saved a couple cups and not brought them to the Soup Supper.

So my roll-your-own went like this:
~1 lb parsnips
~1.5 lb carrots
1 yellow onion
Olive oil
Spices to taste
Water

Heat oven to 400F.
Slice carrots and parsnips (I did thick coins from the thick ends down to lengths at the thin end - try to get them about the same volume in all pieces)
Cut onion in eighths.
Spread veg on cookie sheets (WITH liners, please! Parchment, tinfoil, teflon, something). Drizzle with olive oil - I think I used about a quarter cup. Stir around. When you finish, make sure none of the veg is on top of another piece (I used two half-sheet jellyroll pans to achieve this). Put it in the oven.
Stir every 15 minutes. Test at 45 minutes to see if the carrots and parsnips have gone soft enough to cut with a wooden spoon or spatula. If not, roast some more (mine were ready). They may or may not have visibly brown edges, some of mine did.
Dump veg into a pot over medium heat, add water and spices, puree with a stick blender while heating. Or pour _some_ of the veg into a blender, add water, puree (with spices, or add afterward), repeat (and heat and mix together after pureeing). I started with 4 cups of water, it took 10 before it was liquid enough to spoon properly; adjust to taste.
The spices I used were ginger powder, dried basil, salt, cumin, and...maybe oregano? I forget what the last was. Tasted while pureeing and added a lot more ginger and some more salt. This is very much to taste - I might try it with a load of curry powder, some time.

I just finished making Creole Andouille sausage pastalaya, a variation on traditional jambalaya, which uses penne pasta instead of parboiled rice:



Here's the recipe, from Budget Bytes (http://www.budgetbytes.com/2015/02/pastalaya/):

Ingredients:

1 Tbsp vegetable oil $0.02
½ lb. smoked sausage (preferably Andouille) $3.67
2 cloves garlic $0.16
1 10oz. bag frozen "seasoning mix"* $1.39
1 15oz. can diced tomatoes $0.79
½ Tbsp Creole seasoning** 0.15
½ tsp oregano $0.05
½ tsp smoked paprika $0.05
¼ tsp thyme $0.02
Freshly cracked pepper $0.05
2 cups chicken broth $0.24
1 cup water $0.00
1 lb. penne pasta $1.49
2 Tbsp half & half or cream $0.19
½ bunch fresh parsley $0.45
½ bunch green onions $0.38

Instructions:

Slice the smoked sausage into thin rounds, then cut any larger pieces in half. Add the sausage and vegetable oil to a large pot and cook over medium heat until the sausage is well browned (about 5 minutes).

Mince two cloves of garlic and add them to the pot. Sauté for one to two minutes, or until the garlic is soft and fragrant. Add the bag of frozen seasoning mix and sauté until heated through (3-5 minutes). Finally, add the can of diced tomatoes (with juices), Creole seasoning, oregano, smoked paprika, thyme, freshly cracked pepper (about 20 cranks of a pepper mill), chicken broth, 1 cup of water, and pasta to the pot. Stir until everything is evenly combined.

Place a lid on the pot and turn the heat up to medium-high. Let the pot come to a boil. As soon as it reaches a boil, remove the lid briefly to stir, then replace the lid, turn the heat down to low, and let the pot simmer for 12-15 minutes, or until the pasta is tender. Stir the pot once every few minutes as it simmers to prevent the pasta from sticking. Replace the lid as quickly as possible after stirring to avoid heat loss.

While the pasta is simmering, pull the parsley leaves from the stems and give them a good chop, and slice the green onions. Once the pasta is tender, most of the liquid in the pot should be absorbed. If it's still a bit soupy, let the pot simmer for one to two minutes without the lid to allow some moisture to evaporate.
Turn off the heat and stir in the half & half or cream. Stir in most of the chopped parsley and green onions, reserving some to sprinkle over top. Serve hot with a pinch of fresh parsley and green onions on top of each bowl.

Notes:

*The "seasoning mix" used is a pre-chopped and frozen blend of onion, bell pepper, and celery, also known as "trinity". If you prefer to use fresh, chop one yellow onion, one green bell pepper, and two stalks of celery.

**Creole seasoning can be found in most major grocery stores, but you can make your own using this blend of spices. Store bought Creole seasoning blends usually contain a lot of salt, so you may need to add extra salt to the final product to compensate.
_______________________________

This turned out very well, and it makes for a nice alternative to traditional Creole jambalaya. The green bell pepper I had intended to use for the holy trinity (bell pepper, onion, celery and garlic) had gone bad, but fortunately I had three jalapeño peppers, so I used those instead. I only had a small amount of green onions, so I used two shallots in addition.

Well, that looks great!

I agree!

This thread has gone silent for the past month. I hope y'all don't mind if I create a new one, and post a new vegan recipe in it.