Keen-wah!

So a long while back a reader, Brandon B, asked for something flavorful and exciting. He is stuck in a rut eating organic chicken and brown rice which I would consider a very healthy torture technique. First, I would advise Brandon, and any of you others who are interested, to read the book “The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals” by Michael Pollan (primarily because Michael’s narrative is most easily readable and digestible by the general population, however there are many other great reads out there). Most organic poultry isn’t anywhere worth the price you would be paying especially if you are buying it in any supermarket, unless it has the farmer’s name on it. However, there is a number of ‘real’ free range and ‘truly’ organic poultry farms in the US where you can buy direct from the farmer. Those are worth the money you spend.

So Brandon, today, I am going to give you a great recipe for simple, flavorful, pan roasted chicken and teach you how to make a pan sauce with it. I really do not like cooking chicken breasts and never really use them, but I will for you. They are so often boring and dry - an ugly flaccid slab of white meat, only useful for nutritious intake, but certainly not for visual appeal. But not today.

On the subject of brown rice…um, why? I know you probably don’t eat it every day, but this is America! You have options! Quinoa, barley, spelt, farro, couscous, corn…Today I’m choosing for you and it is Quinoa.

My parental advice - lie to your children!

It’s nearly that time again. I’m sure all of you mother’s out there know what I’m talking about. It’s that moment when your kids arrive home from school and eat everything in sight, as if they haven’t eaten a morsel since you packed them off this morning. How then do you keep them from being bored and not always grabbing for the sugary nonsense snacks?

Trick them! It’s the best thing about being a Mom. You can lie without impunity in order to keep them safe and healthy - right?  I have one of the greatest recipe lies out there in the food trickery world. They think they are getting a decadent, sugary snack, when in fact they are getting a single or even double serving of fruit and a serving of dairy and they’ll be begging for more. How’s that for a trick?

Dim Sum good dumplings

I lost my day job last week. I had been hanging on by a thread since right after Thanksgiving and right before Christmas which is why I’ve been MIA since that time.  Granted that job didn’t bring me nearly as much joy as cooking does, it certainly paid for the ingredients. So until future notice, I am on a shoestring budget while trying to keep the same level of flavor and interest in my daily dinners for my family. I welcome the challenge.

So yesterday afternoon I opened the fridge to assess my fixin’s and they were slim! I had some pork chops that I got on clearance, a scant bunch of cilantro, a half a head of cabbage. But what I really wanted was pot stickers. So I headed off to the store and bought ginger, Thai basil, and gyoza wrappers and headed home to play. I really wasn’t sure where I was going when I started (that happened often) so I made enough filling for 12 dozen! Yes, way too many for just a dinner, but they freeze easily and are perfect for a quick, healthy dinner in just 5-10 minutes. An hour and a half later I had 8.5 dozen pot stickers with enough filling for 4 dozen more or in other terms 3 dinners for a family of five at a price of $10.00! Sweet! I’m thinking that is a pretty good deal.

I have paired down my recipe to make about 40 because that is the number of gyoza wrappers in a single pack. There are a few items that make it super easy to make your own dumplings. A food processor to mince your filling, a bamboo steamer to cook them in a healthy way, and a dumpling gadget for about $1.00 (this is crucial since I am a white girl without a surrogate Asian grandma), cooking spray, time and patience.

Oh those lovely buttons!

I love, love, love mushrooms.  They are earthy and meaty and are just so lovely in stews, sauces and soups, without adding a lot of unneeded calories. But some days you want decadent and my ultimate favorite decadent way to enjoy mushrooms is stuffed. Stuffed mushrooms can get really over-dramatized, especially in the restaurant world. The other day I visited an unnamed establishment and the mushrooms came out to the table drowning in a puddle of oil. I was so sad I didn't even want to eat them. And for love's sake, hold the lobster and shrimp and oysters please. I like simple and quick and yummy.

A Spiced Life

I love spices. I have nearly 40 spice jars and numerous other bagged bulk spices that I don’t have matching jars for yet. Back before I started cooking more ethnic foods, my life was without spice beyond that of black pepper and granulated garlic.  It was a boring life. And then I met curry and my life changed forever, and then it changed again when I met masalas. And I could never go back. 

But before all that, every year at Christmas, I would get a small glimpse into what must be paradise for those who love spices. I loved (and still do) the crispy, peppery, little gingersnaps, and the pungent fruit cake laden with nuts dates and candied fruits. I could eat them both the whole holiday season long - for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

But there comes the sensible question each year when it we begin to bake our Christmas cookies - how many types of cookies should we make this year? And since I don’t actually have my own army, the answer should not be in the double digits although my initial list always begins there.  Then I have to whittle down the list to the must haves based on family vote and then I’m left inwardly skulking because the cookies I really want but definitely do not need get struck from the list. I don’t skulk for long because it is very difficult to skulk when your kitchen smells of butter, brown sugar and spices.

So this year I thought to myself, why not cheat?  I don’t cheat very often, but sometimes you have to and so I did. I smooshed two recipes together to make a singular spicy, fruitnutty cookie that is chewy and pairs perfectly with my morning coffee and my evening tea and isn’t bad at snacktime with a glass of milk either.

 

Let it snow Cookies!

Handmade gifts, including home cooked gifts really exemplify the giving nature of the holiday season. When mass produced items eclipsed lovingly created gifts, something of Christmas was lost forever. That’s why I bake. It is my way of putting me into my giving. Christmas is one of the greatest times for people who do not cook to get into the kitchen and try their hand at something. It also is a time for experienced cooks to get in the kitchen and prove their salt worth.

This it the perfect time for you to involve your children and your families in creating something that says you are important to me. It is a time to bond and for many it can be very educational. Sugar cookies are a wonderful opportunity for parents to tell the Christmas story, selecting nativity cookie cutters that are in the shapes of Mary, Joseph, shepherds, wisemen, Baby Jesus, donkeys and camels. Jewish parents can purchase Hanukkah cookie cutters in the shape of a menorah, torah, chai, dreidle, star and shofar. African American parents can purchase cookie cutters in the shape of a chalice, fruits and vegetables for the Masao, a candle holder, corn, and gifts for their Kwanzaa celebration and serve them a on straw mat. And by now I’m sure you’ve got the point.

My recipe is eggless due to the food allergies in my family, but the benefit is that you little ones can play with and eat as much of the dough they want without worrying about contamination from uncooked eggs. I also use real butter in my sugar cookies.  It’s an obsession of mine.

Aldfre-don't

When I think of alfredo sauce, I start sweating in anticipation of all the work it’s going to take to walk off those calories.  Butter, Parmesan cheese, heavy cream…what could be more indulgent? A flourless chocolate torte with ganache? Yep. But even that has less calories per serving than most purchased alfredo sauce served over pasta. But it’s so good!!!

When you indulge in alfredo at a restaurant, you could easily find yourself consuming all of your daily calories, if not more, in a single sitting. If you eat out at a good Italian place only once a year then there really isn’t a problem.  You need to indulge sometimes, and date night really isn’t the time to think about your diet; have fun! But if you find yourself wanting alfredo more often than that then it’s time to think about how to put this decadent dish on a diet, and I have the solution – mockfredo.

I don’t often suggest using margarine, but in this case, it is needed to reduce the caloric load. Then instead of cream, you have skim milk and a low-fat or fat free cream cheese to keep that creamy texture. I would never take away the cheese, so it’s still there, but not as much as I would use for the real deal.  Made this way, it has only 1/3 the calories and a big punch of flavor that makes you feel like you’re doing something naughtier than you really are. And it’s super simple.  It’s made first in a blender and then warmed in the microwave to prevent the oil in the cheese and sauce from separating and then served over pasta - Gnocchi is my favorite for this dish. It’s delectable, but don’t take my word for it!

Why did the chicken cross the rice paddy?

During the late 17^th century and early 18^th century rice production in the South Carolina Low County was nearing a peak with slave trading and holding as its silent partner.  The slaves of the deep south hailed from exotic heavily spiced West Africa, West Indies and the Spice Islands to name only a few. For all they left behind, they brought with them the memories of their homelands and the knowledge how to cook off the land.

There are many dishes that we owe to the memories of the slaves that were ported to our shores. One that I love is Chicken Bog. This dish consists of just the scraps that the slaves were allowed that were not good enough for the slave holders and their families - the skin and bones of chicken, rice from the rice paddies or bogs, salt and pepper. The bones and skin were set to simmer while the slaves were in the field, when they returned the bones were removed any precious meat reserved, the rice added and in 20 minutes a hot mixture was done that was heavily peppered then served hot.

You will find this on menus all over the low country.  They serve it for fund raisers, at church socials, and sunday dinner. Today we have the luxury of having more than the bones and skin of the chicken. We have a whole chicken, an onion and a few stalks of celery. But I don’t want to travel too far from the classic version so we will stop there - and to tell the truth, in all it’s simplicity, there really is nothing more needed.

Is it a fruit or a vegetable?

What is Thanksgiving without Pumpkin Pie? I honestly can’t remember a single Thanksgiving since I was a child that this traditional favorite hasn’t found it way onto my plate - for breakfast and dessert. Traditional pumpkin pie really doesn’t deserve any tweaking because it is just fine the way it is. But then again, if I didn’t tweak then I just wouldn’t be me. I have included the original that is probably in every mother’s recipe repertoire. And then I have included my spicy version as well. And pumpkin is a fruit! Imagine that! Enjoy!

Hunny! Where did you get those fabulous pearls!?

A good southern girl always had a nice set of pearls, or so I’ve been told. I don’t. But I do have a great Creamed Pearl Onion recipe for you! I never had Creamed Pearl Onions until I was an adult, but I can imagine that my grandfather would have loved them. We didn’t grow a lot of onions in our garden, but grandpa devoted quite a few rows of his meager garden to the lovely ladies.  

When we would visit, he would get so excited showing us his gardening successes that he would grab hold of a bunch or two and rip them out of the ground and then start munching. I always assumed they were quite crunchy (read: gritty) and passed on the snack. His excitement was understandable. He lived on some of the sandiest land in our community, and if you could get anything to grow, it was time for celebration. My grandmother coaxed a few of her rose bushes to produce buds each year and she was about as proud of those roses as my grandfather was of his onions.

Grandpa would send us home with a few of the onions and my mom would simply wash them and serve them raw with our summer lunches.  They were quite sweet, with just a note of pungency. That’s why, when a friend of ours in NY made us Creamed Pearl Onions, I just knew they would be good, and they were.  This year my husband is making them as his addition to our Thanksgiving meal. We use the frozen onions, because peeling that many little fresh onions would make me postal, and who needs that at Thanksgiving? They simmer in butter for a bit to cook and then you make a béchamel sauce, with a little herb added and you are done! What could be easier?