So when one has been too busy with other things to post on her blog for, oh, about 4 months, she has a couple ways of proceeding. Never post again and abandon the blog. Start back and try to catch up with all that has happened in the time lapse. Or apologize to the 15 people who read the blog regularly in the past, and go forward, leaving the readers to wonder what happened in the lapse.
Having learned in college that once I fall behind (such as with reading for my religion class freshman year or philosophy class senior year), it is nearly impossible to catch up after a period of time. There simply are not enough hours in the day or days in the week. I apologize, but other than if the topics fit into what I plan on blogging about, you will likely not read about the books I have read, recipes I have tried, or other events of the last 4 months. Sorry. Just can't do it, so the second option above is out.
For people who hate this blog (there probably are some, though I would think that if someone hates it, they wouldn't continue to read it. If they do, then it is their own stupid fault.), I enjoy blogging too much to abandon it. Option one, out.
So, dear readers, my apologies for a long absence. My only excuse has been excessive amounts of work, though there were plenty of other distractions as well, some enjoyable, some tolerable and some that just needed to be completed. I am back now, so let me get started already!
Eating: The fall CSA is upon us. The tomatoes have wrapped up. The cabbage and winter squash are abundant. The root vegetables are coming in. Continuing a theme I started last year in When Life Gives You Kale, Make Kale Chips and then in Part 2 of that post, here are some additional recipes.
When Life Gives You Tomatoes...
Make Tomato Pasta Sauce. My grandma called just to give me recipes to use up the 10+ pounds of tomatoes that I picked after we got home from vacation. This was one of them. I only made 1/3 of the recipe because I had already used a bunch of the tomatoes for Roasted Tomato Soup (already blogged on the first "when life gives you..." post), Chicken Pasta Fresca (posted here) which really has a different name that I can never remember, as well as Salsa (recipe to follow shortly). I also froze some of the cherry tomatoes like I do with strawberries (wash them, freeze in a single layer on a cookie sheet and then pack into freezer bags). And I ate a bunch while picking them and as a snack (or 4 snacks).
Anyway, here is Granny's Tomato Sauce recipe:
4 medium onions, chopped
3 small garlic gloves
3 Tbls oil
4 1/4 pounds tomatoes
4 six-ounce cans tomato paste
1 pound mushrooms, sliced (I did not add the 'shrooms)
1 C. chopped parsley
3 Tbls sugar
3 Tbls salt
4 tsp oregano leaves
2 bay leaves
In a large kettle over medium-high heat, heat oil and cook onions and garlic until limp. Discard garlic (I left mine in but had crushed it and couldn't really find it to get it out). Add remaining ingredients. Simmer covered on low for 2 hours. Refrigerate until chilled and freeze. (Mine is in freezer bags in 1 cup serving sizes - 1/2 C for each of us - and I used the immersion blender to smooth it out. Someone at my house doesn't like chunks in his sauce.) Yummy and not full of preservatives and junk.
Reading: I have read about 15 books since I last blogged, so will only comment here on the most recent couple. As you may know, I have been reading some of the Newbery Medal winners this year, starting with the one that won the medal the year I was born. I figured I would have enough to read if I just stuck to my lifetime for now. The most recent NBM book I finished was Jacob Have I Loved by Katherine Paterson, the winner in 1981. Ms. Paterson also wrote the 1978 winner Bridge to Terabithia. I loved both of these books, enough that I plan to seek out more by the author.
Jacob Have I Loved is the story of Sara Louise (aka "Wheeze" to her sister, and "Louise" to most everyone else) who lives in the shadow of her talented, beautiful, delicate twin Caroline. They live with their family on a small island in Chesapeake Bay in the 1940's, where all struggle to make a living by crabbing. Her cranky grandmother (who has dementia, per my diagnosis) lives with Louise and her family, and taunts Louise with a quote from the Bible: "Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated." which references another set of twins long ago engaged in a bit of sibling rivalry. I learned a lot about crabbing, the Bible and sibling relationships. Easy read and very good.
Bridge to Terabithia I read a couple months ago, and had actually listened to it in my car about 7 years ago (when I used to commute and listen to audio books to try to quell the road rage). It is a story of Jesse, an artistic boy who is all alone even in a group or in his big family, and Leslie, a newcomer who is smart and tomboy. Like Jesse, she also doesn't quite fit in. Together they create an imaginary land where they rule as king and queen. I don't want to spoil the book so will stop there, but overall an amazing story of the type of friendship that transforms a person's life. This book was made into a movie a few years back (I have not seen it), and it is a book that gets challenged and banned frequently, so I believe it is better known than Jacob. Both are worth checking out.
Book club just discussed The Romanov Bride by Robert Alexander. This is the author's 3rd book of historical fiction about the Russian Revolution, the first being The Kitchen Boy. I thought Kitchen Boy was the stronger of the 2 I have read (the middle one is Rasputin's Daughter and is on my shelf to read next) but liked this one as well. In all 3, he has taken peripheral characters to tell the story of the Revolution from their viewpoints. In Kitchen Boy, we are with Tsar Nicholas and his family during their last days, through the eyes of a servant. In Bride, we learn the two sides of the Revolution - one through Pavel, a peasant-turned-assassin working for the revolutionists, and one through Ella, a Romanov duchess and the sister of Tsarina Alexandra. The story is told in alternating voices between the two. I found this a perfect way to tell both sides, how it displayed the mistakes made on the part of the royals as well as the way the Communists used propaganda and stirred up mob mentality to get the peasants to revolt and carry out assassinations. The story of Ella herself was quite interesting (after her husband is assassinated, she starts a convent and provides nursing to the poor, soldiers, and whoever else needs it). Since the author had access to her letters and diaries, and since she was a real person, her story was the stronger of the two. Pavel's story is more of a vehicle to tell the revolutionists' point of view and his character is more flat and stereotypical, though definitely serves it purpose.
Weeding: The veggie garden got cleaned out yesterday. The asters are blooming their purple heads off and the mums are in full bloom as well. Some of the plants (notably the Husker Red Penstemon) have beautiful fall color in their leaves. The Husker Red is a deep burgundy color all summer, then turns brilliant red in autumn. So lovely.
Thank you for coming back to read my blog. I hope you enjoyed it. I missed blogging and will try to post more frequently in the coming weeks.
Until we eat again,
Hallie
Monday, October 07, 2013
Sunday, June 09, 2013
A Fiesta of Recipes
Eating: We have been eating this year, I promise. I just have not been a prolific blogger. The predictions for 2013 included trying a new recipe each month. So far, I have averaged a recipe a month. In May, there were 2 new recipes.
I have pinned many recipes on Pintrest, mostly when I was PWH (pinning while hungry), but have been poor at trying many of the things I have pinned. A couple weeks ago, I tried one recipe that I had pinned several months ago: Homemade Enchilada Sauce. This is one of those things that may fall into the category of "why would you even to bother to make that from scratch?" but it was delicious, I know exactly what was in it and it didn't really take all that long. The recipe was pinned from a blog called "Gimme Some Oven". Always love a good pun...
The color and heat of the enchilada sauce is going to depend on the type of chili powder you use. I would recommend using half the amount of chili powder and adding more to your taste. You can always add more, but can never take back what you have already added. Ours was more brown colored, which was fine with me. We use Penzey's Chili Powder (regular, not hot. We are Minnesotans.). I love Penzey's and we are lucky to have a store not too far so we can go in and smell the spices before we buy, but you can order them online or from their catalog too. I didn't mean to do an advertisement for Penzey's here. I just really like their spices - they are fresh and there is a huge variety. We actually made a bigger batch of sauce because our enchilada recipe (taken from the can of Old El Paso enchilada sauce. No comments on using homemade sauce to make a recipe from the side of a can. I get that it is weird.)
Homemade Enchilada Sauce
2 T. vegetable or canola oil
2 T. flour
4 T. chili powder (more or less to taste, as I noted above)
1/2 t. garlic powder
1/2 t. salt
1/4 t. cumin
1/4 t. oregano
2 C. chicken broth
Heat oil over medium heat in a medium saucepan (no need to consult a medium before doing this...). Add flour and stir 1 minute (you may recall this is called a "roux"). Stir in the spices. Gradually stir in broth, whisking continually to remove lumps. Reduce heat and simmer 10-15 minutes until thick. Refrigerate up to 2 weeks. Or use immediately to make your enchiladas.
***
As a bonus, here is the enchilada recipe we use.
Easy Beef Enchiladas
(from Old El Paso Enchilada Sauce can)
1 lb. ground beef
2 10 oz cans enchilada Sauce (or 20 oz of yummy homemade enchilada sauce)
6 oz (1 1/2 C) shredded cheese (we actually only used 1/2 C of cheese - we find the cheese inside the enchiladas to be more than we need or want)
12 count package of flour tortillas for soft tacos (I think they are the 8" size)
Heat oven to 375. Brown ground beef until thoroughly cooked; drain. Stir in 3/4 C enchilada sauce and 1 C cheese (this is the cheese we skip). Spoon enchilada filling onto tortillas; roll up and place seam-side down in lightly greased 13x9x2" baking dish. Pour remaining enchilada sauce over top; sprinkle with 1/2 C cheese. Bake at 375 for 15-20 minutes.
***
We must be on a Mexican food kick. The other recipe we tried was potato and chorizo tacos. This is a recipe I first saw in the Minneapolis Star Tribune about a year ago (or more). It went into the menu database and about once every 3 months, E would say, "What is this recipe?" and I would explain where I got it and that we had not made it because I couldn't find chorizo. We would discuss that it sounded really good and that we would look for chorizo. And then 3 months later, the same conversation would occur.
So finally, in a part of the grocery store I don't usually look at, I found chorizo! And now we have taste-tested the recipe and are adding it to the regular rotation. Easy and tasty. I am not sure what size tortillas they are recommending but it must be super-small ones because it says the recipe makes 12 tacos. We used 10" tortillas, and doubled the recipe and had 8 tacos. Unless you are using the really little tortillas, expect 4 tacos. Chorizo is a cured sausage. Ours was not in casings and just looked like seasoned ground pork. Which I guess is what it is. We did not add the onion but since we like peppers, we chopped and cooked those up in place of the onion. We did not have green salsa (aka salsa verde) so used regular red stuff. E snipped some fresh cilantro from the front step. We skipped the lime, but only because we didn't have any.
Potato and Chorizo Taco
(from "Tacos" by Scott Wilson (Sasquatch Books), as printed in the Minneapolis Star Tribune)
1/2 lb. medium russet or white potatoes, quartered (I used Yukon gold)
1 T. olive oil
1/4 medium white onion, cut in 1/4" wedges (optional) - I did not add this
1/4 lb. Mexican chorizo in bite-size pieces, removed from casing
Corn or flour tortillas
Green salsa, chopped onion and cilantro, lime wedges, for toppings
Put potatoes in a medium-size pot and cover them with water. Bring the water almost to a boil, then lower it to a simmer, cooking potatoes until barely tender, between 10-15 minutes. Be sure not to overcook them. Drain potatoes and put them on a plate to cool, then cut them into 1/2" cubes. Meanwhile, heat a medium-size pan over medium fire and add the olive oil. Tilt the pan to coat the bottom and add the onion, cooking until translucent, about 5-7 minutes.
Add the chorizo and saute, stirring occasionally, for 7-10 minutes more, until cooked through. Add the potatoes and stir in gently. Cook until the potatoes are warmed through, about 5 more minutes.
Serve on warm tortillas, topped with salsa, chopped onion and cilantro, with lime wedges on the side.
***
There you have it. 2 new-to-me recipes, both well-received in our house.
Bon appetit (or however you say "good eating" in Spanish)!
Until we eat again,
Hallie
P.S., Last summer we had began a tradition of Thursday Pizzas and tried out a number of different flavors/toppings. We are working on a chorizo and potato pizza for this year. If you are curious about past pizza posts and recipes, just type "pizza" into the search at the upper left-hand corner and all the blog posts in which I mention pizza will come up. There are a quite a few... It is the perfect food, in my opinion.
I have pinned many recipes on Pintrest, mostly when I was PWH (pinning while hungry), but have been poor at trying many of the things I have pinned. A couple weeks ago, I tried one recipe that I had pinned several months ago: Homemade Enchilada Sauce. This is one of those things that may fall into the category of "why would you even to bother to make that from scratch?" but it was delicious, I know exactly what was in it and it didn't really take all that long. The recipe was pinned from a blog called "Gimme Some Oven". Always love a good pun...
The color and heat of the enchilada sauce is going to depend on the type of chili powder you use. I would recommend using half the amount of chili powder and adding more to your taste. You can always add more, but can never take back what you have already added. Ours was more brown colored, which was fine with me. We use Penzey's Chili Powder (regular, not hot. We are Minnesotans.). I love Penzey's and we are lucky to have a store not too far so we can go in and smell the spices before we buy, but you can order them online or from their catalog too. I didn't mean to do an advertisement for Penzey's here. I just really like their spices - they are fresh and there is a huge variety. We actually made a bigger batch of sauce because our enchilada recipe (taken from the can of Old El Paso enchilada sauce. No comments on using homemade sauce to make a recipe from the side of a can. I get that it is weird.)
Homemade Enchilada Sauce
2 T. vegetable or canola oil
2 T. flour
4 T. chili powder (more or less to taste, as I noted above)
1/2 t. garlic powder
1/2 t. salt
1/4 t. cumin
1/4 t. oregano
2 C. chicken broth
Heat oil over medium heat in a medium saucepan (no need to consult a medium before doing this...). Add flour and stir 1 minute (you may recall this is called a "roux"). Stir in the spices. Gradually stir in broth, whisking continually to remove lumps. Reduce heat and simmer 10-15 minutes until thick. Refrigerate up to 2 weeks. Or use immediately to make your enchiladas.
***
As a bonus, here is the enchilada recipe we use.
Easy Beef Enchiladas
(from Old El Paso Enchilada Sauce can)
1 lb. ground beef
2 10 oz cans enchilada Sauce (or 20 oz of yummy homemade enchilada sauce)
6 oz (1 1/2 C) shredded cheese (we actually only used 1/2 C of cheese - we find the cheese inside the enchiladas to be more than we need or want)
12 count package of flour tortillas for soft tacos (I think they are the 8" size)
Heat oven to 375. Brown ground beef until thoroughly cooked; drain. Stir in 3/4 C enchilada sauce and 1 C cheese (this is the cheese we skip). Spoon enchilada filling onto tortillas; roll up and place seam-side down in lightly greased 13x9x2" baking dish. Pour remaining enchilada sauce over top; sprinkle with 1/2 C cheese. Bake at 375 for 15-20 minutes.
***
We must be on a Mexican food kick. The other recipe we tried was potato and chorizo tacos. This is a recipe I first saw in the Minneapolis Star Tribune about a year ago (or more). It went into the menu database and about once every 3 months, E would say, "What is this recipe?" and I would explain where I got it and that we had not made it because I couldn't find chorizo. We would discuss that it sounded really good and that we would look for chorizo. And then 3 months later, the same conversation would occur.
So finally, in a part of the grocery store I don't usually look at, I found chorizo! And now we have taste-tested the recipe and are adding it to the regular rotation. Easy and tasty. I am not sure what size tortillas they are recommending but it must be super-small ones because it says the recipe makes 12 tacos. We used 10" tortillas, and doubled the recipe and had 8 tacos. Unless you are using the really little tortillas, expect 4 tacos. Chorizo is a cured sausage. Ours was not in casings and just looked like seasoned ground pork. Which I guess is what it is. We did not add the onion but since we like peppers, we chopped and cooked those up in place of the onion. We did not have green salsa (aka salsa verde) so used regular red stuff. E snipped some fresh cilantro from the front step. We skipped the lime, but only because we didn't have any.
Potato and Chorizo Taco
(from "Tacos" by Scott Wilson (Sasquatch Books), as printed in the Minneapolis Star Tribune)
1/2 lb. medium russet or white potatoes, quartered (I used Yukon gold)
1 T. olive oil
1/4 medium white onion, cut in 1/4" wedges (optional) - I did not add this
1/4 lb. Mexican chorizo in bite-size pieces, removed from casing
Corn or flour tortillas
Green salsa, chopped onion and cilantro, lime wedges, for toppings
Put potatoes in a medium-size pot and cover them with water. Bring the water almost to a boil, then lower it to a simmer, cooking potatoes until barely tender, between 10-15 minutes. Be sure not to overcook them. Drain potatoes and put them on a plate to cool, then cut them into 1/2" cubes. Meanwhile, heat a medium-size pan over medium fire and add the olive oil. Tilt the pan to coat the bottom and add the onion, cooking until translucent, about 5-7 minutes.
Add the chorizo and saute, stirring occasionally, for 7-10 minutes more, until cooked through. Add the potatoes and stir in gently. Cook until the potatoes are warmed through, about 5 more minutes.
Serve on warm tortillas, topped with salsa, chopped onion and cilantro, with lime wedges on the side.
***
There you have it. 2 new-to-me recipes, both well-received in our house.
Bon appetit (or however you say "good eating" in Spanish)!
Until we eat again,
Hallie
P.S., Last summer we had began a tradition of Thursday Pizzas and tried out a number of different flavors/toppings. We are working on a chorizo and potato pizza for this year. If you are curious about past pizza posts and recipes, just type "pizza" into the search at the upper left-hand corner and all the blog posts in which I mention pizza will come up. There are a quite a few... It is the perfect food, in my opinion.
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