California Vegan Tacos, Sweet Potato Fritters and more

California Vegan Tacos (Cauliflower & Walnut)

My Louisiana chef friend Susanne DuPlantis went to a foodie event out in California recently, where one of the items available for tasting were these strange tacos from the California Walnut Board. She says it only took two martinis (or was it three? Four?) for her to get nerved up to taste these, but she found them delicious!

Well, the concept seemed sound, and I'm always looking for new vegetarian/vegan dishes to try;. but the original recipe called for you to make this complex and time consuming “Mexican” flavored sauce. It also called for 25-30 minutes of roasting the cauliflower.

You know me, I couldn't leave the recipe alone! Here's my version. Pretty darn tasty if I do say so myself. And not nearly as time consuming or finicky as the original recipe.

Filling:

1/2 Head Cauliflower, small, chopped

1/2 cup Walnut pieces, chopped

4 Tbsp Olive oil, divided

1 Packet of Taco Seasoning mix*

1/2 cup diced Onion

*A can of Ro*Teltm or a cup of your favorite salsa could also be used to flavor the filling mix.

Fixings:

6 or 8 Corn or Flour Tortillas, warmed

Shredded Cabbage or Lettuce

Cotija cheese, crumbled (any mild white, meltable cheese will work)

Lime Wedges, for squeezing on tacos

Cilantro, black olives, diced Green Chiles or other things you like on your tacos

Disassemble the cauliflower, slicing into flat-ish pieces. Toss cauliflower with a tablespoon or so of olive oil and dust with Chili Powder. Place on a baking sheet and roast for 25 to 30 minutes or broil for 10 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove to a food processor.

Toss the walnuts with oil and broil them separately for 5 minutes or until lightly browned. Add to the food processor. Pulse a couple times to give it the consistency and texture of cooked/crumbled ground beef.

Heat a couple of Tbsp of olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Sauté the onion for 5 minutes or until lightly browned. Stir in the cauliflower mixture and the Taco Seasoning. Stir to combine, and cook to warm through.

Spoon the mixture into warmed tortillas, top with your favorite ingredients, and enjoy!

Sweet Potato Fritters

Our friend Fiona Barnes, from England, pointed out this Bobby Flay recipe to me. His version made brunch sandwiches with ham and poached eggs. Not being fond of runny eggs in any form, I'm using these “fritters” as a dinner side dish; but I'll bet they would make a great breakfast hash drizzled with a bit of maple or cane syrup.

1 large Sweet Potato, peeled and coarsely grated
2 large Eggs, lightly beaten

1/8 cup finely grated Onion
1 Tbsp AP Flour
2 Green Onions, thinly sliced
Unsalted Butter, for frying
Canola Oil, for frying
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Combine 4 cups cold water and 1 tablespoon kosher salt in a large bowl and stir until the salt dissolves. Stir in the sweet potato and let sit for 15 minutes. Drain, then dump onto a large piece of cheesecloth (or tea towel) and wring out as much water as possible.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Whisk together the eggs, onion and some pepper in a large bowl. Add the sweet potato and flour, and mix until combined. Fold in the green onions.

Heat 2 tablespoons each of butter and oil until shimmering in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Using a scant 1/4 cup per pancake, add the sweet potato mixture to the pan, leaving some space in between. Flatten slightly and cook until golden brown on both sides, about 3 minutes per side. Drain on paper towels.

Transfer the fritters to a baking sheet and place in the oven for 5 minutes to finish cooking.

Fritters as the side dish for Lemon Marmalade Mahi Mahi

I'd rate this recipe as Finicky – it's certainly tasty enough, but forming and frying all those fritters is a time consuming pain, and then there's the five minutes in an oven that takes 10 minutes to heat up! That's OK if you're Bobby Flay, I guess and can afford to heat up your kitchen. 

 Next time I make this dish, I'll treat it like a hash – fry the whole batch up on my big griddle!

Leftover Ragout

That's pronounced “rah-goo”, which is a fancy French word for a highly seasoned dish of finely chopped meats and/or vegetables; a “stew” if you will,  often served with a starchy side dish like bread or rolls.

Last week I had leftover California Taco filling, some Italian 'meat sauce' from making Spaghetti Squash, and some Pinto beans from an Anglo-American breakfast in the Cabana. To that I added some Chili Powder and a pinch of Hot Hungarian Paprika, and served it with crusty French bread.

This is a dish that Susanne “MakeOverMyLeftover” Duplantis would be proud of!

Upside Down Syrup

Quit messing around with canned pineapple and wimpy yellow cake mix and make something that will really WOW your family and friends! Almost any soft fruit and cake combination can be turned into a beautiful and tasty Upside Down Cake.

We particularly like Mango and Starfruit upside down with Gingerbread or Spice cake mix, but the sky's the limit as they say. Think of Chocolate and Strawberries, Peaches and Gingerbread, Blackberries and Lemon cake, etc.  This would even work if you cooked a batch of Cinnamon Apple slices and paired it with Spice cake; or better yet an Apple Cake mix.

All you need is fruit, a cake mix, 1 cup of Brown Sugar and 1/4 cup of Butter.

Spray an appropriate cake pan with non-stick spray I like Baker's Choice tm.

In a microwave safe cup or small bowl, melt together the butter and sugar, stirring well. Make the cake mix to package instructions. Wash and slice enough fruit to cover the bottom of your cake pan.

Pour the sugar syrup into the pan; arrange the fruit on top of the syrup. Gently add the cake batter on top of the fruit and sugar mix. Bake according to package directions, until a probe come out clean. Cool the cake 10 minutes; then run a knife around the edge and invert onto a serving plate to reveal the hidden fruit. Don't wait too long, or the sugar syrup will harden and the cake will be impossible to invert!

Carambola, aka Starfruit pairs nicely with Gingerbread cake mix

Post-holiday Simple

I don't know about y'all, but last week was sort of a post-holiday slump for me in the cooking department. Everything was simple, tried and true, with only a little innovation.  Two dishes stood out from the rest.

Fried Parsnips and Lemon Glazed Salmon

I found a bag of parsnips in the veg drawer of the fridge – uncooked leftovers from Christmas Dinner. So I started looking for something to do with them other than just peeling and roasting That's when I discovered the idea of frying them like French fries! The Chinese might call these Twice-Cooked Parsnips, because first you boil them, then you fry them.

1 lb Parsnips

2-3 Tbsp Masa or AP Flour for dusting

1/2 cup Butter and 1/2 cup Oil for frying

Peel the parsnips and then slice them lengthwise into quarters and then small “sticks”; try to get all the sticks about the same thickness so they cook the same way. Bring a pot of water to a hard boil, and boil the parsnips for 10 minutes on medium-high. Drain and cool and pat dry.

In a bag toss together the parsnips, salt to taste, and the masa or flour, and then the parsnips.  Shake to coat the sticks.   In a large skillet of hot oil (400 F or more), fry the sticks until GB&D (golden, brown and delicious).  Drain, sprinkle with salt again and serve.

Lemon Marmalade Glazed Salmon

Make a batch of lemon marmalade: chop three lemons and put everything in a blender or food processor – meat, juice, skin, seeds, all of it. Take the fruit for a whirrr until it sort looks like marmalade – small bits of skin in the fruit puree.

Measure the fruit into a large microwave safe glass bowl, and add the same measure (cup for cup) of sugar (white, brown turbinado, whatever). Stir to combine; then taste. Too sweet, add another half lemon; too tart, add a quarter cup more sugar; until you get the taste you want. 

Microwave on high for 5 minutes. Stir and taste again, adjusting the flavor if necessary. Microwave another 5 minutes, then spoon into a screw top jar or two. Cool to room temp before refrigerating.

Brush a couple tablespoons of that lemon marmalade on each salmon filet before you bake them on a non-stick surface at 450 F for 12-15 minutes. Serve with fried parsnips or whatever you choose.

Mongetes and Sausage

Mongetes is a Catalonian-Spanish dish of fried white beans, usually served with the regional sausage called butifara.  Our area has bupkis for real Spanish sausage, so I substituted Bratwurt from my German heritage. Beans and flavorful sausage always go well together.

First you cook the beans al dente from dried, then drain and dry them thoroughly. Secondly, you fry them in a splash of EVOO with a couple tablespoons of Spanish Salsa Verde (which is more like a pesto than what American call 'salsa') for flavoring. 

2 cups cooked White Beans

2 Tbsp Spanish Salsa Verde

4 Bratwurst or similar flavorful and not high-fat sausages

For the Salsa Verde:

3/4 cup flat-leaf Parsley

2-3 Tbsp minced Garlic

1/3 cup EVOO

1/4 cup Panko or powdered croutons

Salt to taste - start with just a pinch

Combine the Salsa Verde ingredients in a blender or food processor, and whirrr until well combined. Reserve. Can be stored in the fridge for a week or more, covered.

Cook the beans according to package directions until just tender. Don't bother with any of that nonsense about soaking beans overnight or even short term. It has been proven any number of times that soaking does not shorten the cooking time or alter the flavor of any bean in any way. Drain and dry thoroughly.

Hint: a tablespoon of ground Thyme in the cooking water does add to the flavor of any bean in a very favorable way.

You'll need to multi-task and cook the beans and sausage at the same time. Start by laying down a little EVOO in each skillet, and get the heat to medium-high.

Cook the sausages, turning regularly until they are as done as you like (some folks like lots of crispy-black, the rest of us don't).

Meanwhile fry the beans in a single layer, turning gently to coat them with oil. When they begin to brown, scatter a couple tablespoons of the salsa verde over the pan and stir it into the mix. 

Continue cooking the beans a few minutes more until they are infused with the flavor of the salsa.

Biryani, Stir Fried Prime Rib, and Scones

Biryani

You could think of this as Indian lasagna. It's a simple dish with a simple mild curry layered between strata of flavored rice.

Biryani is most often served as a side dish, but you can make it a main course by using multiple layers, perhaps a layer of curried meat like a mild Butter Chicken, and another layer of curried vegetables separated by layers of rice. This version makes a vegetarian side dish for a potluck, or dinner for 3-4.

2 cups long grain Rice

1 tsp powdered Cumin

1 tsp ground Cardamon (black or green)

&&&&&

2 cups Broccoli florets

2 cups Cauliflower florets

1 cup sliced Mushrooms

1 Bell Pepper, chopped

1/2 diced White Onion

1/2 cup sliced Carrots

1 cup plain Yogurt

1 lozenge S&B Golden Currytm Mild spice paste

Paprika for dusting

Cook the rice and spices and reserve.

In a large skillet saute the vegetables until they are starting to soften. Add the yogurt and the spice lozenge (cut into small pieces). Stir to combine and make the gravy; add a 1/4 cup of water if necessary. Cook until the gravy is thickened.

Preheat oven to 400 F.

Put a layer of rice in the bottom of an oven safe bowl. Top with the vegetable curry, and then lay the remaining rice on top. Dust the top with paprika – I used a combination of Hot Hungarian and mild Smoked Paprikas. 

Bake for 30 minutes before serving.

Rib Roast Stir Fry

After our Boxing Day feast, I had a pound or so of roast left, so the next day I turned it into stir fry! 

 Yep Stir fried Prime Rib. Assorted Asian vegetables and a stir fry sauce concocted from Soy sauce, toasted Sesame Oil, rice wine, rice wine vinegar, and a dollop of Hoisin sauce. Yum-my!

Strawberry Scones

Holly asked for lesson on making scones, as her friend and roommate Kari is strongly enamored of them, and Holly's tired of buying. This was her first lesson and they came out darn near perfect!

2-1/2 cups AP Flour

2 Tbsp Sugar

1 Tbsp Baking Powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup (1 stick) Butter, cut into chunks

1 cup chopped fresh Strawberries

2 Eggs, beaten

1/2 cup Whole Milk (a "scant" half cup, so the dough isn't too moist)

Sugar for dusting

Flour for the bench

Preheat oven to 400F.

A few hours before making the scones, chop the strawberries and put them in a bowl with some sugar and a splash of water to make a syrup. This helps give the dough a bit of flavor, rather than just having bits of berry stuck in.

Stir together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Cut-in the butter (pastry cutter or fingers) until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Gently toss in the strawberries. Make a well in center of the mixture; set aside.

In another bowl beat together eggs and milk until well combined. Add egg mixture to flour mixture a bit at a time, gently stirring with a spatula until the flour mix is just moistened.

Turn dough out onto a generously floured surface. Knead 5 or 6 times by folding and pressing until the dough comes together. Transfer dough to a parchment-lined baking sheet. Pat or lightly roll the dough into a 3/4” thick disk. Slice disk into wedges and pull apart slightly. If dough is too soft, bake for 15 minutes, then cut the disk into 8 wedges.

Brush wedges with milk and sprinkle with sugar if you want to make the scones extra special. Bake about 30 minutes until golden.

Welsh Currant Scones

I also taught Holly how to make these stove-top scones, which can be ready to eat in 20 minutes! Stove top rather than baked recipes are much desired in hot/humid South Florida especially in summer time or this massively hot holiday season!

2 cups AP Flour

½ cup Sugar

1 tsp Baking Powder

½ tsp Salt

½ tsp ground Nutmeg

1 stick Butter

1 cup fresh Blueberries, or Currants or Raisins, etc.

1 large Egg

1/3 cup Milk

If using dried fruit, soak it in water (or wine) for half an hour or more, until the fruits plump up.

Start heating large skillet or griddle to medium low heat or 350 F if you have an electric skillet. NO OIL!

Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and nutmeg. Stir to mix. Cut in the butter until the result looks like fine crumbs. Add the fruit.

Beat together the egg and milk Pour into the flour mixture and stir with a fork until you get a soft dough.

Turn out on a floured surface and knead 10-12 times. Roll or pat dough into 3/4” disk. Cut disk into wedges and place on the hot skillet/griddle. Cook 3-5 minutes per side, turning once, until medium brown. Alternatively you can form the dough and use a 3” or 4” cookie cutter to punch out the scones. Serve hot or not.

Christmas Week -- Carambola Tarte Tatin, Stuffed Peppers and Rib Roast

Carambola Tarte Tatin

We were gifted with a dozen or so medium sized Starfruit – Carambola in Spanish – it being “that time of year”. Starfruit are available from October into March around here. I hadn't made a Tarte Tatin in ages, and never with starfruit, so I thought I'd give it a try.

The recipe I followed, from the NY Times Cooking section, sounded alright, and came out OK, but I'm going to tell you how I would do the same ingredients the next time, to make it better. This will make a nice 8-9” tarte – dessert for 3 or 4 people.

2 or 3 Starfruit, sliced into 1/2” to 3/4” stars, tips trimmed if they are dark/stiff

1/3 cup Brown Sugar

1/3 cup Butter

Mace or Nutmeg and Cinnamon to taste

1 sheet Puff Pastry

Preheat the oven to 375 F. Thaw the sheet of puff pastry and cut a circle of dough the same diameter as the skillet (trace the rim of the pan with a sharp knife.

Put the sugar and butter in a 9” non-stick oven-proof skillet on medium heat, and stir to combine. Cook a few minutes until the mixture starts to thicken. Remove from the heat. Add a layer of stars, interlocking, all the way to the edge of the pan. Follow with another layer of fruit on top. Dust with the spices. 

This photo shows the NYT method which was to smear butter and spread sugar 

over the cold skillet, then heat it up. 

Cover with the pastry and tuck it around the edges of the fruit. Return to the heat and cook another 3-5 minutes until the caramel is bubbling around the edges.

The NYT wanted you to cover the fruit before beginning to cook, 

the result is insufficiently cooked filling in the tarte.

Bake in the pre-heated oven for 30-45 minutes until the pastry is browned and firm.

Place a plate on top of the tarte and flip the whole thing over so the bottom becomes the top. 

Although I followed the NYT recipe the result was certainly tasty.  

Follow my directions instead.

If you're not serving immediately, you can leave the skillet upright, and then re-heat in a 350F oven 10 minutes or so until the caramel softens. Then flip it over. Top with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream if you choose.

Cauliflower & Broccoli Casserole

I had both, and wanted to do something other than just steam or roast them. I found this casserole recipe, and simplified it for all of us.

2+ cups Broccoli florets

2+ cups Cauliflower florets

1/3 cup diced Onion

3 Tbsp Butter

Flour to make a roux

2 cups Milk or Half & Half

1/2 cup shredded cheese

1/3 cup Bread crumbs

2 Tbsp Butter, melted

Saute the onion in the butter, until soft. And some flour (a couple tablespoons) to absorb the butter and cook the roux a minute or two. Slowly add the milk, stirring, and dissolve the roux. Bring to a boil until it starts to thicken. In a casserole dish, pour the roux over the mixed florets, and top with cheese. Lastly, combine the melted butter and breadcrumbs and top the dish. Bake at 375 F for 30-45 minutes until browned and bubbly.

Holly's Stuffed Peppers

My guest chef this week is Sally's daughter, Holly, who is “Home for the Holiday”. Her claim to culinary fame lies in the simple but tasty dish of Stuffed Peppers. 

Her use of Orzo rather than rice for the filler is a great touch. Couscous (especially the large grain 'Israeli' version) would also be a good 'filler' if you don't happen to have Orzo handy.

4-6 Bell Peppers, topped, seeded and veined; keep the tops

4-6 oz Orzo

1 lb Ground Beef

1/2 Onion

2 Tbsp Garlic, minced

3 Tbsp Soy Sauce

1/2+ Jar Marinara Sauce

Salt & Pepper to taste

Assembly is pretty straightforward. Pre-heat the oven to 400 F. Put the cleaned peppers on a tray and place in the oven to soften, but not brown. 

While that's going on, saute the onion and garlic. Then add the hamburger and brown it with the soy sauce and spices before stirring in the marinara and orzo. Cook for an additional 10 minutes or so, to marry the flavors.

Stuff the softened peppers and pack the filling down well. Put the tops on and bake for 45 minutes. The tops help prevent the filling from drying out during the baking process.

Christmas Roast

We had our English Christmas Dinner on Boxing Day (Dec 26) this year. I got a really nice, nearly 6 lb Rib Roast.

Sally wants to do it the way her family traditionally makes Christmas Din, so she's the Guest Chef this time, with Holly as her Sous Chef.   This is one meal a year that I can sit back and watch rather than cook!

Sally marinates the roast overnight (10+ hours) in half a bottle of red wine, after liberally “stabbing” the meat with a dozen cloves of garlic. She then cooks it in a “cooking bag” to the medium side of medium-rare (two hours in this case to 143 F). In this case the medium side of medium-rare.

The traditional accompaniments for this feast are: roasted peeled potatoes, parsnips & carrots, along with a green veg – steamed green beans with a splash of soy sauce. 

 To this Sally adds her family style Yorkshire Puddings, which I covered in detail last year, and her Mum contributes the Christmas Pudding which she made back in January and has been 'aging' in the refrigerator throughout the year.

Mold-baked Yorkshire Puddings

My only job for this meal is to simmer the Christmas Pud for several hours so it's nice and warm and will un-mold properly. For that I'm using our Saladmastertm MP-5 – a very deep electric pot with controlled temperatures from 150-500F. I put a stand-off block in the pot, then added water, and lastly added the plastic sealed Christmas Pud in its steel bowl. I ran the temperature up to 225 F, and put on the lid.  When I got a light boil I reduced the heat to 210.  It takes a good 2-3 hours to bring a Christmas Pud up to serving temperature.  When it's ready to serve, warmed brandy is poured on the pudding and ceremonially lit:

Flaming Christmas Pudding.

Classics x 3

Twas the week before Christmas and all through the house... but we're not buying into all that saccharine sweet baking stuff. Why spend time making those goodies when we're all trying to watch our diets? Besides we've gotten a few tasty goodies as gifts. I've given a few tasty treats too – marmalades to boat folks, arepas to a Venezuelan friend, savory dishes for potlucks, etc.

Quiche Lorraine

Gosh, I haven't made a quiche in at least 5 or 6 years. Looking for something light for a Sunday dinner and lunch additions, I rediscovered the classic Quiche Lorraine – bacon, Swiss cheese, and leeks. Here's what I did:

1 pkg rolled up Pie Crusts

8-10 strips Bacon, cooked crisp & crumbled (½ cup)

1 cup shredded Swiss Cheese

1/3 cup diced Onion, or 1 Leek

4 Eggs, beaten with spices below

2 cups Half & Half

1 pinch each Salt & Pepper

1 pinch Cayenne

Preheat oven to 425F

Thaw and roll out pie crust to 2” larger than diameter of pie pan. Carefully lay the crust in the pan and up the sides. Dock the crust and pre-bake until the crust starts to brown. Remove from oven. Reduce oven to 325F.

Sprinkle bacon, leek and cheese in crust. Combine beaten eggs and half & half. Pour over fillings. Bake 45-50 minutes.

Oh this is good!  We had it for Sunday supper, and Sally took some to work this morning in her lunch.

Bisquicktm Meatballs

A holiday party dish we shared with Sally's work folks. These are good all year round with marinara, or white sauce over pasta, or just served plain on toothpicks, with a couple dipping sauces.

1 lb Mild Italian Sausage – bulk if you can get it.

1 lb Hot Italian Sausage – bulk if you can get it

3+ cups Bisquick

8 oz shredded Sharp Cheddar Cheese

Other spices, or additions like diced bell pepper or onion, if desired

Remove the meat from the casings if necessary and place meat in a bowl along with the Bisquick and cheese. Work the ingredients into a well distributed mass. Pinch off pieces and roll between your hand to form balls the size of a quarter. Place the balls on a non-stick baking tray or tray with parchment.

Bake at 375F for 30-35 minutes until done in the center. Stick each meatball with a toothpick and arrange on a platter or in a large bowl for serving.   

Makes about 60 meatballs.

Eggplant Parmesan

Here's another timeless classic I haven't made in a loooonnnnggggg time. My version isn't as time consuming and fiddly as many you'll find.

2-3 Eggplant, sliced into 3/4” rounds

1 jar Pasta Sauce – your favorite brand and flavor

1 8oz bag shredded Parmesan Cheese

1 container grated Parmesan Cheese

EVOO

Italian Spices

Bread Crumbs or Panko

Turn on your broiler. Lay the eggplant slices out on a broiler pan, drizzle the rounds with EVOO and dust with Italian spices. You'll probably have to work in two batches. Broil for 5-6 minutes, flip over and apply more oil and spice. You don't want the rounds totally mushy; just cooked through.   Broil the second side as well. Spoon-sprinkle the tops with panko or breadcrumbs, and broil for another few seconds until they brown.

Put down a splash of sauce in an 8x10 or larger pan, and fit slices of eggplant to fill the bottom. Dust with grated Parmesan and add a layer of shredded Parmesan too. Now add a thick layer of sauce.

Repeat with the remaining eggplant to form a second layer. Use leftover bits of eggplant to fill the gaps  After the sauce, add more cheese.

Bake in a 400F oven until the top is browned and bubbly – 35-45 minutes. Rest for 10 minutes or more before serving. Serve with crusty bread to mop up the goodies.

Short & Sweet & Spicy

Well, it's been a busy week here in Paradise, even though it's the nominal calm before the storm of Christmas and New Years. Just four simple, but tasty recipes for you to try this week.

Murgh Makhani & Chana Dal

Sally asked me to make “curried lentils” to take to a going-way party at work. When I discovered I needed both lentils and my favorite Chana Dal Masala spice mix, it was time for a trip to my local Indian Market. When I told the lady behind the counter what I was looking for, she pointed me to Chana Dal, not the common orange or green lentils. Chana Dal, it turns out, are split chickpeas. These are not the larger garbanzos that we see regularly, chana dal are smaller and more yellow. So I grabbed a 5 pound bag (as cheap as 2 pounds of green lentils at the megamart), and a package of Chana Dal Masala, and headed back to Sally's.

I cooked up an extra large batch of Chana Dal, so we could have some for dinner, and there would be plenty for Sally to take to the office.

1 cup Chana Dal or lentils

4 cups Water

3-4 Tbsp Chana Dal Masala

Bring to a boil and then simmer for 30-40 minutes until tender. Add a tablespoon or so of the masala to the lentils as they cook.

While the lentils cooked, I diced the “usual” additives – diced tomato, red bell pepper, and onion. These are folded into the cooked and seasoned lentils just before serving.

For dinner I made two orders of Murgh Makhani, also known as Butter Chicken, one of the classic dishes of northern India. Well, you know me – I made my version of the dish.

2 Chicken Breasts

3-4 Tbsp Butter Chicken spice blend

3/4c cup Half & Half

1 cup Almond Milk

Saute the chicken on the 'beauty' side for six minutes @ 350F. Remove from the skillet and cut into bite size pieces. Return to the skillet and add 2-3 Tbsp of the butter chicken spice blend. At the same time, add the half & half and the almond milk. Stir to combine. Put a lid on and bring to a foaming boil. The liquid will sort of curdle. Knock down the foam and stir vigorously to re-incorporate the curdled bits into the gravy. Taste, and add more spice if desired. Continue cooking until the gravy is nicely thickened. Serve with rice or lentils.

Butternut Squash Soup

For a couple days last week, we had a “taste of Winter” Temperatures into the 40s at night and daytime highs in the 60s and 70s. What a delightful change! Made us think of all sorts of things, including soups. Sally requested her favorite butternut squash soup for her lunches next week. This simple and Oh So Tasty!!

1 Butternut Squash – 2-3 lbs

1 large Sweet Onion (Valdosta, Walla Walla, etc.) diced

1 large sweet Apple (Honeycrisp, Ambrosia, etc.) chopped

10 whole Cloves

10 Allspice berries

1 whole Star Anise

1 Tbsp Cinnamon

1 Tbsp Nutmeg or Mace

1 Tbsp ground Ginger

Cut the squash into 1” thick rings. Discard the seeds and ends. Peel the rings with a sharp knife. Cut the squash into finger sized pieces and microwave on high for 10 minutes.

Put the whole spices in a linen garni bag or tied square of cheesecloth.

Put everything in a large pot. Add 6-8 cups of water. Bring to a boil and simmer until the squash is soft. Remove the soup, in batches, to a blender or food processor, and whirrrrr until you get a nice consistency. Leave some chunks if you like Add some half & half or cream if you please. Cook for about 45 minutes total Then serve with a dollop of sour cream and some crusty bread.

Yam Chips

I had two crummy yams and was trying to think of what to do with them. There are yam fries, why not yam chips? So I sliced them 1/8” or thinner. Then I laid them out on a baking sheet, drizzled a tiny bit of cane syrup (honey would do too). Then dusted them with a bit of cinnamon. After 5 minutes under the broiler, I flipped the pieces, then dusted this side with chili powder. Again with the broiler; and serve. Sweet and tangy and not quite crispy – Sally has ordered more for future meals.

Mexican Luncheon, Spinach

After all the rich foods of Thanksgiving, Sally wanted "something else" for this week's brunch with Mum.

We had a partial bottle of sangria leftover from T-Day, and I decided to start there.  Before long I came upon a Mexican recipe for 

Sangria Chicken

Sangria is a Caribbean/Spanish punch made from wine, fruits and fruit juices. Sangrias are traditionally red wine based (fruit and sugar was used to cover up the bitterness of cheap red wine with too many tannins) but in modern times Sangrias are also made with a white wine base.

For Thanksgiving, I made my friend Sara Peterson's Ham-gria, but the crockpot couldn't hold all the vino. This is what I found to do with the leftover wine (rather than just drinking it straight up over sliced fruit).

4 Chicken Breasts

1/2 Onion, diced

2 Tbsp Green Chilies, diced

1/2 tsp ground Red Pepper flakes

1 small Papaya, diced

1/2 cup Sangria

1 cup shredded Mexican style cheese

Preheat oven to 375F.

Saute the onion until soft. Remove the onion to a bowl. Brown the chicken in same skillet. Sprinkle with red pepper flakes while browning.

To the sauteed onion, add the green chilies, sangria, and diced papaya. Toss to mix.

Place chicken in an ovenproof baking dish. A 9x9 will easily hold 4 breasts.  Pour the onion mixture on top. Bake for 30 minutes at 375 degrees F.

 

Top with shredded cheese and return the dish to the cooling oven to melt the cheese a bit.

Serve with an antohito of no-salt tortilla chips and guacamole, and a glass of the wine.  I love this presentation of the guacamole:

I find it easier to find large ripe smooth-skinned Florida Hall avocados rather than the smaller pebbly-skinned California Haas (which always show up hard as the proverbial...).

California Haas

Florida Hall

Mexican Style Fried Potatoes

You can leave the dish as-is Or, you can add other things to make this a Mexican style hash. Bell peppers, carrot, green onion, zucchini, and bacon or chorizo all would be welcome to the party. I particularly like red bell pepper and green chiles.

3 med-large Russet potatoes, cut into 1/2-inch cubes, or quartered New Potatoes
1/2 medium Onion, chopped
5 cloves Garlic, minced
1/4 cup shelled raw Sunflower seeds
2 tsp ground Cumin
2 tsp Chili powder
1 tsp ground Oregano
1/2-1 tsp Cayenne
Grated cheese

Either boil the potatoes for 1-2 minutes, or nuke them in the microwave for 4-5 minutes to “par cook” them.

Saute the onions until translucent. Add the garlic and sunflower seeds and cook another minute or so. Transfer to a large bowl.

Fry the par cooked potatoes in a bit of oil until they are nice and brown outside and soft inside – 10-12 minutes. Toss with the onion/garlic/seed mixture and serve, topping with cheese.

Sally's Spinach

This recipe appeared in my e-mail box a week or so back. Sally loves spinach (I can take it or leave it) so I made this for her one night last week as a side dish to our favorite Panko Cod.

3 10-oz boxes Frozen Chopped Spinach

8 oz Sour Cream

1 packet Onion Soup Mix (I used Lipton'stm)

Thaw the spinach, squeeze every bit of water out of it.  Place in a microwave container and cook for 5-6 minutes to drive out moisture.  Shred the spinach and mix it together with the sour cream and onion soup mix.  Spread the mix out in a bowl, and bake for 15 minutes @ 350F.

What's not to like?  You've got onion flavored sour cream and spinach.  The brown around the edges in the photo below is onion sup mix that somehow ended up on the side of the dish during baking.   Serve as a side dish, or as a hot dip for fancy crackers.