"Chorizo," beans, and greens stew

I made this for the first time tonight, expecting my meat loving husband to tolerate it but no more than that.  He loved it!  And so did I.  It was warm, hearty, and spicy and it was filling without being too heavy.  This one will definitely go into the monthly rotation for fall and winter months.

1 large onion, chopped

4 cloves of garlic, minced

4 cups of hearty greens, chopped (kale, collard greens, mustard greens, chard, or rapini/broccoli rabe would all be great)

2 cups of cannellini beans (if you use canned beans, rinse them well)

2 links (about 1 pound) of soy chorizo or any other sausage (meat or plant based) that you like

1 tablespoon "Better Than Boullion," or whatever flavor enhancer you like.

2 tablespoons olive oil

A splash or two of red wine vinegar

Salt and Pepper to taste

1.    Saute the onion and garlic in olive oil, with a pinch or two of salt, and some fresh-cracked black pepper, until translucent.

2.    Remove the sausage from its casings and add to the onion and garlic.  Saute until fully cooked and slightly browned.   If you're using port sausage and there's a lot of fat, you can drain some off before continuing if you'd like.

3.      Add the greens and toss them in the mixture, adding another pinch or two of salt.  Cover and let them cook for a few minutes.

4.    Add the 2 cups of cannellini beans, stir everything together, and cover with water.  Water should be about an inch above all the ingredients.  

5.    Add some more pepper and the boullion or flavor enhancer, but not too much -- there's a already a lot of flavor from the veggies and sausage.

6.  Bring to a low boil, turn the heat to low, cover the lid and lit it simmer for at least a half hour.

7.  Uncover and taste, adding salt and pepper as needed.  At this point, you could turn up the heat a bit and let it cook uncovered to reduce the liquid a bit and make it more like a stew than a soup.  Or, you could serve it still soupy.

8.  Right before serving, add a splash or two of red wine vinegar for just a little tang.

Be sure to have some fresh, crusty bread to soak up all the juices when you're done!

Rice Pudding

My Grandpa and a few of my great uncles used to make the most delicious rice pudding.  It was a favorite treat growing up and whenever I eat it, I always think of them.   As I think of good and comforting food these days, rice pudding was at the top of the list so I got their recipe from my Aunt Sandra and made a big batch this weekend.  You know how some of the foods of your childhood don't stand up to your memories?  Well, this one did -- it is amazing!  And so easy to make. 

In a large pot, bring to a boil:

1/2 gallon of whole milk (DO NOT use reduced fat milk, it just won't work)
1 1/2 cups of water
1 cup of rice
1 pinch of salt

When it starts to boil, turn it to low heat and partially cover th.e pot  Let it simmer for 45 minutes, stirring every few minutes to make sure nothing sticks to the bottom or clumps together, until the rice gets really tender.  It will still be extremely liquid when it's finished cooking.

While the rice is cooking, in a separate bowl, whisk together:

3 eggs
1 cup of sugar
3 tsp. of vanilla extract

Once the rice is done, drizzle the egg/sugar mixture into the rice and milk, whisking vigorously while you pour.   You want pour slowly enough and whisk fast enough to make sure the eggs mix in quickly, before they have time to cook and scramble.  Rather, you want them to integrate into the milk and cooked rice, forming the pudding.

Once it's fully mixed, pour into a large bowl or a pyrex dish.   Stir it a few times as it cools down for about the next 20 minutes to prevent a film from forming on top.  Then sprinkle with cinnamon and refrigerate.

This is great for dessert, but also a fabulous choice for breakfast if you really want to start your day with a nice bowl of comfort.   Enjoy!

Shepherd's Pie

There are few dishes that scream "COMFORT FOOD" more than a good Shepherd's Pie.  What's not to love about seasoned ground meat and veggies, covered in mashed potatoes?  If this meal doesn't soothe your woes, then no food ever will.  

1 pound ground meat or tofu -- beef is most traditional, but I think a ground beef and lamb blend is best.  But you could also use turkey, chicken, tofu or any other meat substitute you like, including chick peas.

4 large cloves of garlic, minced

1 large onion, diced

3 carrots, diced

3 ribs of celery, diced

3/4 cup frozen or fresh peas

Beef, veggie or chicken stock or broth

1 tsp. smoked paprika (if you don't like the smoky flavor, just use sweet paprika)

2 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce

1 tsp. thyme

salt and pepper to taste

 1/4 cup olive oil

2 tbsp. flour

In a large skillet, brown your meat or tofu, using some of the olive oil so that it doesn't stick to the pan.  When it's done, put it into a bowl and add the Worcestershire sauce so that it soaks in as the protein sits.

Add more olive oil to your pan and saute all your veggies, except for the peas.  Start with the carrots for about 3-4 minutes so they soften up.  Then add all the other veggies and add a couple pinches of salt.  Stir well and cover, keeping the veggies on low heat.  The salt will draw out moisture and the veggies will get really tender.   Stir occasionally, cooking for about 10 minutes.

Then add back in the meat, and also add the peas, paprika and thyme.  Taste the mixture and add some pepper to taste.  

Once you're happy with the flavor, add the flour and stir thoroughly through the mixture and cook it for about 2 minutes.   Then add enough stock or broth to just about cover the mixture, but not quite.

Bring this to a simmer and let it cook uncovered for about 10 minutes so the broth can thicken a bit.   Taste it one more time, adding salt or pepper if needed.

Then ladle it into some sort of oven safe dish or individual ramekins.   Cover it with a generous helping of mashed potatoes, and run a fork through the top of the mashed potatoes so there are lots of ridges.  (Optional -- sprinkle with some of your favorite cheese).

Place it in a 450 degree oven for about 20 minutes, until the mashed potatoes brown a bit on the top.

When you take this out, it will be hotter than the surface of the sun, so best to let it sit for about 5 minutes before serving.  Even then warn your

Stuffed Zucchini

You know how they say that necessity is the mother of invention?  Well, the necessity to use some ingredients before they went bad was how I came up with this dish.  I had two huge zucchinis from my weekly Hungry Harvest delivery and about 16 ounces of left-over ricotta that I didn't want to go bad, so I put them together with a few other ingredients and viola, stuffed zucchini was born!

2 large zucchini
16 ounces ricotta cheese
1/4 cup of grated parmigiano reggiano or romano cheese
1/4 cup of bread crumbs
3 large cloves of garlic, grated or minced
6-7 sundried tomatoes, cut into slivers
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 egg

Cut the zucchini in half length-wise and scoop out the seeds and the interior so you form a "canoe" out of each half of zucchini.

Combine all the other ingredients in a bowl and mix well.

Stuff the zucchini with the mixture, and it's great if it heaps up over the top of the zucchini.  If you'd like, you can sprinkle with a little more grated cheese so it forms a bit of a crust when cooked.

Put in a 400 degree oven for 45 minutes.  Let them sit covered tightly with foil for 5-10 minutes before serving so the cheese can set.

Enjoy!

Corn and Coconut Bisque

I can't really take credit for this recipe.  Two of my best friends and I recently dined at a lovely restaurant in Rehoboth Beach, DE and we had the most delicious soup.  And of course, I went home and tried to recreate it and found it very easy to do!  All you need is a few ingredients to make this yourself.  This will be best with fresh corn, bought in season.   But if you can find a good quality frozen corn, you could use that too. 

32 ounces of chicken or vegetable broth (homemade is best, but if you use store bought, go for a low sodium broth)
1 can of coconut milk (the low-fat variety is fine)
4 large ears of corn or 3-4 cups of good quality frozen corn
Salt and pepper to taste
Crab meat, green onion, and/or bacon for garnish (all optional)

Add the broth, coconut milk and corn to a pot and bring to a low boil.   Cook for about 10 minutes.

Strain out about 2/3 cup of corn and then using either a blender or immersion blender, puree the rest of the corn and liquid. 

Taste the pureed soup and add salt and pepper to taste.  Go easy on the pepper -- this is a pretty delicate soup and you don't want to overwhelm it.

When it's ready to serve, you can garnish with crumbled crab meat, crumbled bacon, minced green onion, or whatever else may strike your fancy!

Mojito Marinade

When I'm on vacation, I like nothing more than a cool, refreshing mojito.  For those not familiar with this drink, it's a delicious concoction of mint, lime, rum, a bit of sugar, and seltzer.  As I was thinking about one yesterday, it occurred to me that I could make good use of all the mint leaves growing in my backyard and feed my craving with dinner.  So I put together a marinade using the ingredients in a mojito (plus a few other things), soaked my chicken thighs in it before grilling, and voila, another new recipe was born!

Though I put this on chicken, I could see it being just as delicious on pork, shrimp or scallops, or even a cut of beef like tri-tip or skirt steak.  I also sliced up some zucchini, soaked it in this for about 30 minutes, and grilled it -- the veggies were just as delicious as the meat!  And I'd bet that tofu would soak up this marinade beautifully.

It's as easy as can be -- put the following ingredients into a blender or food processor of some sort, puree the whole mixture, and you're ready to go!

1/3 cup fresh mint leaves
1/4 cup fresh basil leaves
4 cloves of garlic
Juice and zest of 2 limes
1 tablespoon of honey
1/4 cup olive oil
1 teaspoon of salt
1/2 teaspoon of pepper

Enjoy!

Oatmeal Scotchies

Those who know me know my love of oatmeal cookies and my deep hatred of ruining a good cookie with raisins!  So imagine my delight when I was folded into the Dunn family for my first Christmas season and discovered Oatmeal Scotchies -- a simple oatmeal cookie with butterscotch chips in it.  So simple and so perfect!

1 1/2 sticks softened butter
1 cup loosely packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 large eggs
1 3/4 cup flour
2 cups of oatmeal
1 11 ounce bag of butterscotch chips

First, cream together the sugars and butter.   Once that's done, add the baking powder and soda, salt and vanilla extract.  Once that's incorporated, add the eggs, one at a time. 

Then slowly mix in the flour and the oatmeal.  And finally, fold in the butterscotch chips.

Refrigerate the dough for an hour or two so it becomes firm.   Roll a heaping teaspoon into a ball and place it on a cookie sheet with room in between to spread out.

Bake at 375 degrees for 12-15 minutes.  The bottom should be lightly brown, but the top and middle still a little soft.   After taking them out of the oven, let them sit on the baking sheet for 1 to 2 minutes and then transfer to a wire cooling rack.  When they're cool, they should be nice and crisp on the outside and still soft in the middle.