Restorative Cuisine
Sonia Nikolic Gluten Free - Paleo Serves 8 Thanksgiving is just around the corner and cranberries are popping up everywhere. Growing up we had the traditional cranberry sauce which was delicious but this year I decided to do something a bit different. This sauce is sweet, tart, and tangy… everything you’ve always wanted from a cranberry sauce! It has a few surprising ingredients such as figs and mustard. It has a zesty bite that will warm you up and get you asking for more! Believe me, you’ll want to put this on just about everything. Intrigued yet? It’s full of good for you spices. Let’s take a look.
CAN CRANBERRY SAUCE BE MADE AHEAD OF TIME? One of my favorite things about this sauce is the you can make it AHEAD OF TIME. That’s right, no more scrambling on Thanksgiving day to get everything done. You can even make this a week ahead so why not start the weekend before Thanksgiving so you have one less thing to worry about? WHAT IS CRANBERRY SAUCE GOOD WITH? This sauce is good on so many things. Little secret, I actually made duck for Thanksgiving this year. I’m not a huge turkey fan and my oven is tiny so I figured why not do something else. A bird is a bird, right?? Here are some ideas on how to use your sauce.
Ingredients
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Jessica Rath
I know of three other vegans in the Greater Abiquiu Area. I bet there are many more people who are curious and would like to give it a try, if they had some guidance and inspiration. For example, my baking skills greatly improved after I learned about this fantastic egg substitute: Mix 1 tablespoon ground flax seed with about 3 - 4 tablespoons of water in a small cup (it should be quite liquid) and let sit for 5 minutes or so. It will become quite gelatinous. Use whenever a recipe asks for 1 egg; increase flax/water amount accordingly when more eggs are required. This rich, moist, chocolaty cake may be the perfect addition to your Thanksgiving Dinner; it is delicious! Vegan Chocolate-Cherry Cake Dry ingredients: 2 c flour ½ rolled oats pinch of salt 1 TS baking powder ½ TS baking soda 2/3 c unsweetened cocoa powder 1 c chopped walnuts 1 c vegan chocolate chips (Trader Joe’s) Wet ingredients: 1 TS ground flax seed, mixed with some water ½ c vegetable oil ¾ c brown (organic) sugar 1 c soy milk 1 c juice from cherries 1 tea spoon vanilla 1 glass jar canned cherries (Trader Joe’s) Mix first 8 dry ingredients in a larger bowl. In a smaller bowl, beat oil and sugar with a wire whisk until sugar is dissolved. Add flax-seed mix, vanilla, and soy milk. Empty the cherries into a strainer over a small bowl, saving the juice. Add 1 c of juice (or more) to liquid mix. Prepare baking form: rub a bit of vegan butter onto bottom and sides of a spring form, then dust with flour. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F. Pour liquid mix into dry ingredients, mix well, then add the cherries. It should have the consistency of thick mud; add a bit of juice or milk if too dry. Pour into spring form. Bake about 50 - 60 min., test that it’s done. Let cool a bit, then open the spring on the side of the form so that cake can cool. I always cover everything with a clean white cotton cloth, to absorb any moisture. Sprinkle organic powdered sugar on top, or – use vegan whipping cream! Or – use vegan Cool Whip, available at Sprouts in Frozen section. One of the best things about our traditional American Thanksgiving dinner is the choice of leftovers and the creative uses to which such leftovers can be put. Thanksgiving evening, shortly after we think, “I can’t eat another thing,” we may find ourselves heading to the kitchen and opening the fridge to see what would make a quick snack. For me, that is usually a leftover biscuit split in half, dabbed with mayo, and filled with a small piece of cold turkey and topped with a spoonful of cranberry sauce. My favorite leftover, however, is Turkey Carcass Soup. Making it also clears out the fridge a bit. Though not as rich as a traditional bone broth because the turkey bones have given up most of their goodness during the roasting process, this soup is satisfying because of the addition of fresh vegetables, frozen corn, and wild rice. It became even more filling the year I decided to make croutons from leftover stuffing. The morning after Thanksgiving, while the Turkey Carcass Soup was simmering gently on the stove, perfuming the whole house, and working up appetites for lunch, I was rearranging the fridge. “What can I do with all this leftover stuffing?” I wondered. I transferred it to a large rectangular baking dish and baked it until crisp and cut it into small squares for topping the soup. Ever since, these croutons have been part of this soup recipe, which I hope you will try this Thanksgiving. A New Mexico friend—when she lived on a small farm in Michigan—threw a star-gazing party most every August during the Persied Meteor Showers. Friends from several states would arrive in campers and trucks loaded with food. One year, three turkeys were brought—my smoked turkey, a roasted turkey, and one made on site on a Weber grill. After a long, sumptuous outdoor feast and lots of oohs and aahs as we watched the meteors, several women gathered in the farm-house kitchen and began stripping the turkey carcasses of meat, and all during the night a large stock pot simmered with turkey bones and meat and lots of vegetables. The first person to waken was expected to enter the kitchen and turn on the huge coffee pot already filled with water and coffee. As I crawled out of my pup tent, I realized I was the only person there to see the sun rise. Walking up the steps to the kitchen, I was overwhelmed with the smell of turkey carcass soup. Sometimes I think I can still smell it. Yes, I know I can!
Julie Talatinian via Carol Bondy
From “Sunset Less Than 7 Ingredients” via Mary Helen Bondy The first time I remember having this at my mother in law Mary Helen’s and she made it with Spaghetti Squash instead of the Linguine in deference to Brian’s gluten free diet. Since then I’ve had it with Linguine and Rice noodles but my favorite remains the Spaghetti Squash. But really the sauce is so delicious you can put it on anything! 8 oz Linguine or Spaghetti (or 1 Spaghetti Squash) 1/3 lb thinly sliced prosciutto, cut into 1/4 “ strips (or packaged chopped prosciutto) ¼ cup olive oil ½ cup thinly sliced green onions with tops 3 oz jar pimiento stuffed green olives drained and chopped 1 cup chopped tomatoes Cook Pasta al dente, Drain and place in a warmed bowl or Poke holes in spaghetti squash and cook at ….. for one hour Meanwhile, combine prosciutto and oil in a large frying pan. Cook, stirring over a medium high heat until proscuitto is lightly browned (approximately 3 minutes.) Add onions and cook, stirring until limp (the onions, not you) (approximately 2 minutes) Add olives and tomatoes and cook, shaking pan often, until olives are hot (approximately 2 minutes) If using spaghetti squash, bake until soft, remove seeds and with a fork scrape out the “noodles” into a bowl. Pour prosciutto mixture over noodles and toss well. Transfer to warm serving bowl and top with grated parmesan cheese. Makes two to four servings. (Usually I double this recipe) Per serving: 387 calories, 798 mg sodium This cake became popular in the 1930s Depression era, when sugar and other items normally used for baking cakes were a luxury. Assemble all items to make ‘The Glue’ and add ‘The Stuff’ as, once the process starts, one must work quickly (forget about answering the phone or doorbell). To serve, tear cake apart in chunks (it is too difficult to cut with a knife). Keeps well. Ships well. Note from Brian: Hilda made this cake for us, and it was wonderful. It's interesting how our foods change over time, and how what we cook changes, and why, such as in the Depression. This cake was strangely addicting and I kept going over and getting another slice. It was a nice mix of salty, sweet, and crunch.
While visiting family in New Orleans, I checked out local cooking shows and really enjoyed watching a jovial and enthusiastic chef named Kevin Belton. When I returned to New Mexico, I discovered his cooking shows here on PBS. Belton does not bother to give out measurements. He just starts throwing ingredients together, and soon a dish is plated and ready to serve. He likes promoting the many food festivals that occur all year long all over Louisiana and recently taught his viewers that Oktoberfest is celebrated throughout his state, thanks to the influx of Germans in past centuries. They, of course, established beer breweries and started bakeries that to this day continue to supply NOLA’s many stores and restaurants with tasty bread. Virtually every Louisiana community celebrates Oktoberfest. Chef Belton recently presented a menu that started with large soft pretzels for dipping into mustard while drinking beer, pork schnitzels, and sauerkraut. I jotted down the ingredients for this dish but had to guess at measurements based on using one pound of sauerkraut. Here is my result, but please do use your own judgment about measurements when you “throw together” this traditional German October dish, which you may want to serve with bratwurst and potatoes. Prosit!
Intro — Afternoon Snack While Autumn mornings in northern New Mexico can be quite chilly, Autumn afternoons are pleasantly warm but, blessedly, not hot—a good time for a snack. Why not crunchy chocolate chip cookies washed down with REAL lemonade? The crunch in these cookies comes from 1 cup crushed corn flakes. The refreshing lemonade is made from real lemons. These recipes are provided by Maggie Elliott of Santa Fe, a frequent visitor to Abiquiu with many friends here. Maggie believes that sharing recipes makes the world a better place and a more delicious place, especially on an Autumn afternoon. LEMONADE NECTAR Every refrigerator should always have fresh lemons on hand. A few drops of these golden citrus orbs, loaded with Vitamin C and its myriad health benefits, can give a fresh taste to vegetables, fish, salads, dips, beverages, or even to a glass of plain water. In our always-in-a-hurry society, refreshing good old-fashioned lemonade has been replaced with hard-to-swallow and bitter powdered liquid. The real thing can be prepared just as quickly as the artificial drink--if one keeps a jar of this easy-to-make lemonade nectar in the refrigerator. Try this recipe just once, and you will not be tempted ever again to drink the powdered imitation.
BEST-EVER CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES This recipe was given me by dear friend Maggie Elliott after I tasted her gift of them and declared them the best-ever chocolate chip cookies. Maggie received this recipe from Marge Mann in Michigan, and now it is time to share it. Enjoying these cookies reminded me of other versions of America’s favorite cookie. When I needed a large-quantity recipe for a Girl Scout project, Illinois neighbor Henrietta Hertel generously shared her recipe, which also contained oatmeal, coconut, and nuts. Henrietta baked these cookies for children, teachers, and staff in the Palatine school system. Regrettably, I no longer have this nummy and generously sized recipe. Another fond chocolate chip cookie story that comes to mind is of 1970s co-worker Helen Applebaum, who danced disco every other night and came home so late that—instead of going to bed because she was afraid she might not get up to make it to work on time—she would stay up and bake a batch of chocolate chip cookies which she brought, still warm, to the office for her grateful co-workers.
Brian's all time favorite soup / chowder has always been Ivars from Seattle. On our visits there he would try to get it in as many days as possible, Ivars on the Ferry, Ivar's at the airport, Ivars at Acres of clam and even the fast food Ivars. On our recent trip to Scotland Brian may have found a new favorite - Cullen Skink. I believe he had Cullen Skink everywhere we went. The best part for him is that it's Gluten Free. As you can see he adopted the Scottish culture. Cullen Skink: Scottish Smoked Haddock Chowder recipe adapted from Great British Cookery by Lucy Knox, & Kris Burrin, & Melanie AndrewsIngredients
Place the smoked haddock skin side down in a pan and pour enough of the 20 oz of milk just to cover them. Remove the fish, bring the milk to a boil, then put the smoked haddock back in, reduce the heat, and simmer over low heat for 4 minutes. Remove the smoked haddock from the milk and allow to cool while preparing the rest of the Cullen Skink ingredients. Strain the milk into a jug and set aside. In another pot, add the butter and onions or leeks, and sauté for a few minutes until the onions are transparent, but not brown. Next, add the milk from the smoked haddock along with the rest of the original 20 ounces of milk, the diced potatoes, and about half a teaspoon of salt. Simmer gently until the potatoes are ready. Meanwhile, prepare the smoked haddock. When the fish is cool enough to handle, pull the skin off (it comes off very easily). When the potatoes are cooked, remove about one quarter to one half of the chowder (depending on how thick you like it). Pour into a container to puree (I use an immersion blender), then return to the pot. Add the flaked fish, taste, and adjust the seasoning. Add some pepper, if desired. Cook for about two minutes, then serve with a little drizzle of cream, sprinkle of chopped parsley, and some hearty bread. Next to tomatoes, zucchini must be the garden staple most-often shared with friends and neighbors by zealous gardeners who are over-whelmed by the bounty of zucchini. Resourceful cooks and bakers have developed recipes such as zucchini bread and zucchini cake so as not to let this precious vegetable go to waste. Zucchini is loaded with minerals, vitamins, antioxidants, and fiber. Growing up, the only zucchini with which I was acquainted was more than a foot long, very dark green, and weighing several pounds. It arrived in my parents’ Chicago grocery store late in summer, always early on Friday mornings delivered in a red truck with gold lettering that proudly read Panzarella & Son, our produce vendors. While his son Tony carried in the many boxes, baskets, and hampers of vegetables and fruit, Senor Panzarella, whom my Father always greeted in Italian, would make himself comfortable on a chair in our store’s back room and patiently trim away excess greenery from heads of lettuce and such, and he made sure that only the freshest, unblemished produce would be left with us. One customer always came just as soon as she saw the red truck arrive from Chicago’s Randolph Street Market, founded in 1850. Edna Ferber wrote about this famous market in So Big. As each fruit and vegetable was unpacked and inspected, my Father would display it artistically on oak shelving in front of the store—veggies by the long window and fruits on a perpendicular wall. Our early Friday customer would pluck each produce item she wanted and set it on the counter with her other groceries. I don’t know how she cooked super-sized zucchini, but my Mother made it per this recipe. If zucchini is bolting in your garden or you find a super-sized one in a farmers market, try this recipe. EnJOY The roux-and-sour cream sauce for this version of zucchini also works very well for green beans, wax beans, and white turnips. These vegetables, however, require blanching before being added to the sauce. Can be made ahead. Freezes well. Simply thaw and reheat slowly.
Fear no Garlic!
Brian Dean Bondy Ingredients 1 lb large shell on shrimp ½ - 1 head of garlic Olive Oil Seasoned Salt Lemon Red pepper or Chipolte (optional) Something from Spain. Heat a large frying pan and pour in olive oil to cover the bottom of the pan. Swirl it around on the sides. For a pound of shrimp (shell-on), use at least half a head of garlic, and make it a large head. Add a few cloves of the crushed garlic to the oil to flavor it and cook till it’s really brown because that’s Carol’s favorite part. Then dump in the shrimp and shake the pan so the shrimp are all flat on the pan. Sprinkle them with salt (or seasoned salt). Cook till they’re done on that side and then flip them over and add the rest of the crushed garlic. Sometimes I add red pepper or ground chipotle here, for some added heat. Remember, the longer you cook the garlic, the less ‘hot’ it will be, though it’ll still be garlicky. Cook till this side is done; squish at least one whole lemon over them. Stir them and remove & serve. Brian loves chowder. When we visit Seattle if he could, he'd get Ivar's Clam Chowder daily but after our trip to Scotland his favorite may have been replaced with Cullen Skink. As you can see in the picture, he fully embraced Scottish culture as well. Cullen Skink is a hearty soup that is traditionally made with smoked haddock, and for me a great way to use smoked fish. The name of this soup originates from Cullen, a small town in North East of Scotland and also the home of this soup, one of Scotland's most famous dishes. In this version of the famous recipe, mashed potatoes are stirred into the soup creating thickness and flavor. In some recipes, however, instead of mash, scrubbed, new potatoes or potato chunks are added. The best potatoes for this would be waxier rather than the ones used for mash and Jersey Royals work very well. This Cullen Skink recipe is also known as Smoked Haddock Chowder in other parts of Britain as the recipe really is very similar. Ingredients 1 1/4 pints milk Small handful flat leaf parsley (leaves and stalks separated) 1 bay leaf 1 pound smoked haddock fillet (not dyed) 2 ounces butter 1 medium onion (finely chopped) 8 ounces mashed potato (leftover or cooked fresh) Salt (to taste) Black pepper (to taste) Steps to Make It Gather the ingredients.
Bocata Bistro Café, Tucson, Arizona
Early 90s Carol Jean Bondy The Bocata Bistro was a restaurant not far from my dad’s in Tucson. It became a regular dining spot on my visits to my fathers. The second time I ordered the squash soup, I kept the menu and jotted down all the ingredients, hoping to recreate the recipe at home. The waiter seeing my efforts asked if I would like the recipe he would check with the chef. When he came back he had the recipe printed out on the letterhead. I learned that day, that it’s ok to ask for the recipe in a restaurant. Some restaurants will comply. This remains a fall favorite. 1 tsp cumin 1 tbsp thyme 1 ½ tsp coriander 1 tsp cayenne 1 tsp allspice 2 tsp ginger 1 bayleaf Salt and Pepper to taste Toast above in sauté pan, then set aside. Dice and sauté in olive oil 1 ½ onions 1/8 cup minced garlic Add: The toasted herb/spice mix 2/3 cup ground hazelnuts (which have been toasted and peeled and ground fine) 1 ¼ each butternut, banana and acorn spuashes 5 oz canned tomatoes Cover with vegetable stock and add: 6 oz Frangelico 1.5 oz whiskey Bring to a boil, then turn down and simmer covered until squash begins to soften - about 45 minutes. Remove cover, raise heat slightly to med-low and simmer and additional 10-15 minutes. Add peas and spinach to stew at the last minute (right before serving to guests) 1/16 cup peas (handful) 1/16 cup fresh spinach (handful) Place stew in bowls and sprinkle a few candied hazelnuts on top. Garnish with shipped sweet potato rosettes. ( whipped sweet potatoes, salt, pepper, butter) Apple season is fast approaching and this is one of our favorite (if slightly decadent) ways to enjoy the harvest.
Mary Helen Bondy (Red Star Inn via Ruth Hirsch via Shirley Newman via) Serves… well that all depends…. 2, 3, 4??? Preheat oven to 450° Make batter of ½ cup milk, ½ cup flour, 3 eggs, 1 tsp sugar, Dash of salt Peel and slice 2 or 3 large tart apples (Jonathans preferably). Lightly cook in 4 Tablespoons butter in heavy oven-proof skillet. Swirl butter up sides of pan before pouring batter over apples. Bake in oven until raised and nearly done (8 minutes). Dot with butter and sprinkle with a mixture of cinnamon and sugar. (Maybe 1/3 cup sugar, ½ tsp cinnamon) Bake until brown. (5 minutes) Remove from oven and sprinkle on lemon juice. 2 dinner portions. ~Hilda Joy If you grow some of your vegetables, you may have a wealth of peppers in August. If not, the local farmers markets have them. These crisp green goblets are perfect vessels for holding food. I have eaten this dish in the homes of friends but always like this recipe best. Mostly, this is my Mother’s recipe but with added flavor in the sauce. This generous recipe is a bit time-consuming to make but is worth the effort as it can feed a family or be frozen in batches for one or two people to enjoy at a later date when there is no time to cook but one wants a nourishing hot meal. Simply defrost and reheat. After getting married, I became serious about learning to cook well and had an appreciative audience of one. My husband was not hesitant to praise or to make suggestions. He had a good palate, and his critiques were fair and therefore welcome. The first few times I made stuffed green peppers, I used a lot of pots. Not so anymore. One large stockpot is used for parboiling, making the sauce, and steaming. This is a dish to be made when one is feeling loving and calm and not rushed. It’s like therapy. Some cooks sauté the ground meat for the stuffing, but it is more tender if used raw (also saves time). It steams for an hour or so bathed in a tomato sauce. Some cooks bake rather than steam stuffed green peppers, and this results in a thick goopy sauce, which I find distasteful. The peppers need to be parboiled for a very short time to soften them, but they should not be mushy. Goopy and mushy are each a no-no. The sweet-sour tomato sauce is a variation on the Austrian Paradeis sauce. When I read that a Czech-born opera singer said she added lemon zest and cinnamon to her Paradeis sauce, I did the same, and my brother proclaimed that my stuffed green peppers, especially the sauce, were even better than our Mom’s. High praise indeed. The shrimp variation resulted from seeing a heap of multi-colored peppers at a market. EnJoy This recipe may be a bit of work but is worth it. Steaming—rather than baking—this dish creates a delectable, non-goopy sauce, which often occurs in baked sauce. The addition of lemon zest and cinnamon to the sauce adds a mid-Eastern touch to this satisfying dish.
This week's recipe is from Sonia Nikolic and Sonia's food blog - Restorative Cuisine Summer is here which also means never-ending zucchinis. Don’t get me wrong, I love myself some zoodles or grilled zucchini but sometimes I really just want to do something different with my CSA zucchini.
The idea of zucchini bread was calling my name but I didn’t want anything sweet. The goal here was to find something to replace my morning paleo bagels. Insert savory pumpkin seed zucchini bread here. It’s moist yet crunchy and tastes even better when toasted. I love to top it with a soft boiled egg or some dairy-free cream cheese and lox. An easy way to use up your summer zucchini! This savory bread is great at any time of the day. Prep Time5 mins Cook Time35 mins Servings: 10 Ingredients Dry Ingredients
Wet Ingredients
Tomato Pie
Recipe sent in by Debra Hart Prep 15 minutes ∙ Cook 55 minutes ∙ Makes Serves 6 ∙ Source Simplyrecipes.com INGREDIENTS • 1 9-inch pie shell (see pie crust recipe for homemade version) • 1/2 cup chopped yellow or red onion (about 1/3 onion, diced) • 3-4 tomatoes, cut in half horizontally, squeezed to remove excess juice, roughly chopped, to yield approximately 3 cups (700 ml) chopped tomatoes • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt • 1/4 cup sliced basil (about 8 large leaves)* • 2 cups (8 oz, 225 g) grated cheese (combination of sharp cheddar and Monterey Jack, or Gruyere or Mozzarella) • 1/2 cup (120 ml) mayonnaise • 1 teaspoon (or more to taste) of Frank's Hot Sauce (or Tabasco) • Freshly ground black pepper DIRECTIONS 1. Pre-bake the crust: Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). If you are using a store-bought pie shell, follow the directions on the package for pre-baking, or pre-bake it in the oven for about 8 to 10 minutes (a little longer for a frozen pie shell), until lightly browned. If you are using a homemade crust, freeze the crust first, then press a sheet of aluminum foil into the crust to keep the sides of the pie crust from falling down as it cooks. Fill the pie with pie weights such as dry beans or rice to help hold the foil in place. Pre-bake the homemade crust for 15 minutes, then remove the foil, use the tines of a fork to poke a few small holes in the bottom of the crust (for venting), and bake for 10 more minutes. 2. Salt and drain the tomatoes: Lightly salt the chopped tomatoes and set them in a colander over a bowl to drain while you are pre-baking the crust. Squeeze as much moisture as you can out of the chopped tomatoes, using either paper towels, a clean dish towel, or a potato ricer. Spread the drained chopped tomatoes over the onions. Sprinkle the sliced basil over the tomatoes. 3. Make cheese mixture, spread over tomatoes: In a medium bowl, mix together the grated cheese, mayonnaise, Tabasco, a sprinkling of freshly ground black pepper. The mixture should be the consistency of a gooey snowball. Spread the cheese mixture over the tomatoes. 4. Bake: Place in oven and bake at 350°F (175°C) until browned and bubbly, anywhere from 25 to 45 minutes. Sent from Paprika Recipe Manager I do standard home-canning with my apricots whole, and cook them as lightly as I dare (pits still in) ... Pop them into wide mouth jars and substitute brandy for the liquid!
Leave them for several months, and by holiday time they are wonderful gifts. Nice served over ice-cream or cake. Jonathan Siegel 4 cups halved apricots
Sugar 1/2 to 1 cup Tbsp Lemon Juice tsp Almond Extract Boil one cup water with, from ½ to 1 cup sugar, depending on the sweetness of fruit and personal taste, it tends to be more sour when its frozen, add 4 cups halved apricots and one tablespoon lemon juice, bring back to a boil, cover lower heat simmer until tender, between 8-12 minutes, blend till consistency of baby food, add 1 tsp almond extract, cool (I did overnight) and then process in your ice cream maker. Amber Archer Helen Vaughan via Mary Helen Bondy
1 ½ c dried apricots 1 c water 2 ½ c flour 5 tsp baking powder ½ tsp soda ½ tsp salt ½ c sugar ½ c nuts 1 c sour cream 2 tbsp melted shortening Soak apricots ½ hour in warm water, drain and chop. Sift flour, measure & sift w/baking powder, soda, salt and sugar. Add nuts to flour. Beat egg well, add milk, stir into flour mixture. Add melted shortening, mix thoroughly. Fold in chopped apricots. Pour into greased loaf pan. Let stand 20 minutes. Bake 60 to 70 minutes 350 degree oven. Pan 8 X 3 X4 or 4 large orange juice cans. Note: This recipe came from a period when Orange Juice came in metal cans. Call it by any name—Chicken Soup, Jewish Penicillin, Sopa de Lima, Pho, etc.—but just call it Delicious and Healthy. I was lucky to grow up eating Chicken Soup on a regular basis. In fact, in our household, every dinner, whether in cold or hot weather, started with hot soup served in large, deep, rimmed bowls. Dad explained that the hot soup warmed the bowl for the entrée that followed and that was eaten from the same dish. Mom espoused her theory that imbibing hot liquids on a hot day helped match body temperature with the ambient temperature and thus was cooling. We drank lots of hot coffee, both at breakfast and after dinner. I remember Mom packing up freshly fried chicken and hot potato salad and two thermos bottles filled with hot, not iced, coffee for a picnic my brother and I attended with a large group at the Indiana Sand Dunes along Lake Michigan just South of Chicago. It was a very hot day, and we were the only ones who brought hot food. Everyone else munched on cold sandwiches and drank many cold drinks but complained of being hot. My brother and I were perfectly comfortable. Maybe Mom was on to something, far-fetched as it seemed to me at the time. Back to Chicken Soup. . .there are countless recipes depending on the regions of origin. The Old World gave us Chicken Soup as made there and in this country by Jewish people. When I was first married, we rented an apartment in a predominately Jewish community North of Chicago. One day as I briskly walked to the local supermarket, I overtook three Jewish Bubbes heading there also. I walked around and in front of them but slowed my pace when I overheard them talking about their plans for Shabat dinner. Since childhood, I loved eavesdropping; this time I justified doing so by thinking I might learn something. That something was reverence for food made with care and with love for the people who were going to eat it. With a smile on my face and gratitude in my heart, I held open the store’s door for these three loving women. In this hemisphere, Mesoamericans cooked Chicken Soup for centuries. The current version is Sopa de Lima, thanks to the recipe’s lime juice. The Far East gives us many Chicken Soup recipes, from ancient China to the delicious Vietnamese specialty, Pho. Thank goodness for Vietnamese restaurants in Santa Fe. If I begin to wilt after a day’s shopping and errand-running, I often revitalize with a bowl of Pho, which can also be made with meat other than chicken. One of these days, I shall simply make it at home. My most-requested Chicken Soup recipe is for Chicken Broth by the Rule of Three, but today’s Chicken Soup recipe is The Whole Enchilada Chicken Soup, a fairly recent addition to my recipe file, and it is much easier and quicker to make than Bone Broth. For a complete meal, serve this soup with corn muffins or corn bread. Recommended: James Beard’s recipe for Helen Evans Brown’s Corn Chile Bread with green chile. EnJOY This recipe for thick, satisfying chicken soup—from superb California cook Mary Porter—takes very little time to make but is very big on flavor. Served with corn bread or corn muffins, it is a filling meal. Recipe can easily be doubled or tripled to feed a crowd. ~Hilda Joy
Recipe is from ‘Beard on Bread’ by James Beard, who attributed recipe to Helen Evans Brown. When fresh corn is not available, a comparable quantity of frozen corn can be substituted. This best-ever cornbread should be served hot out of the oven. Recipe can easily be doubled.
Brian Bondy
This recipe has its roots in Spain. Frito is similar to Ratatouille but many times more flavorful. Ingredients Tomato sauce, we make our own but use Organic Crushed tomatoes if none is available 2 Summer Squash (Zucchini, yellow squash) 1 large Eggplant 2 Bell Peppers 1 large Onion 1 head Garlic (to taste) ¾ cup Olive Oil, (I prefer Extra Virgin first cold pressing because it’s got a strong flavor) 1 T Balsamic vinegar (optional) While I have listed quantities, it is entirely according to taste and what is available. Peel and slice eggplant into medium slices, about a ¼” Slice Zucchini or other summer squash, again about ¼” Cut peppers into strips Slice Onions, Chop Garlic In a large pan heated on high, add olive oil, enough to just cover the bottom. Add about a tsp. of garlic. Enjoy the aroma. Place the eggplant on the pan without overlapping. You want them to absorb some oil and thoroughly cook so you can drizzle some on top if you want. Salt them. Flip them to cook on the other side and when they are done, remove them to a bowl. Finish all the eggplant this way. Then cook the rest of the vegetables one at a time. First add some oil (not as much as with the eggplant), then garlic, cook the vegetable adding salt, and when it’s done (soft), add it to the bowl. When all the veggies are done add some oil and garlic to the pan, then add tomato sauce or crushed tomatoes. Let it cook a bit. I add about a tablespoon of balsamic vinegar here (not required). It’s not much for taste but the sugars should be good with the acid in the tomato sauce. When it’s cooked a bit, add the vegetables and let it simmer for a few minutes, stirring it all together. That’s it. You can eat it hot, room temperature or cold. Some people put it on bread and eat it like a sandwich. I love to have bread with it for dipping and mopping it up. It’s good over pasta as well. In 2006 I created a cook book for my children and extended family. It included recipes and stories as well as family pictures. This recipe was from my brother, David Carol This is my favorite recipe for Lamb. The recipe comes from my brother David but in Abiquiu, it has become my favorite company dish, Ingredients 6-7 lb leg of lamb (boned and butterflied) 1 cup olive oil 3 tbsp lemon juice 1 tsp salt ½ tsp pepper 2 tbsp chopped parsley 1 tsp oregano 3 bay leaves 1 cup thinly sliced onions 3 cloves thinly sliced garlic Combine olive oil, lemon juice and spices in a shallow baking dish. Mix thoroughly and add onions and garlic. Lay meat on top and spoon some marinade over top of lamb. Marinade for 24 hours turning several times. Broil 30-40 minutes. Watch the time! The lamb cooks very rapidly over open coals if you are grilling (the way I make it). The lamb will be lumpy after it is boned, so some sections will be well done while the thicker sections will be rare. Egg LemonSauce Ingredients 3 egg yolks 2 tbsp lemon juice 1 tsp or more of arrowroot 1 tsp salt Pinch cayenne 1 cup chicken stock 1 tsp finely chopped parsley Over a very low heat combine egg yolks, arrowroot, salt and cayenne. Blend until smooth. Beat in lemon juice until smooth. Add stock slowly and work until thickened, stirring constantly. Stir in chopped parsley and serve. Note: I almost always double this sauce. Use on the Lamb or Dolmades or veggies. It's a perfect substitute for Hollandaise. Hilda Joy Many years ago, I read a magazine article entitled In Defense of Stinginess, clipped it, and pasted it into an album I had started of words I wanted to reread. The premise of the article is that we benefit from making things ourselves and primarily we benefit by foraging for food. When we moved from an apartment to two acres Northwest of Chicago, I finally had the opportunity to start foraging. Our property abutted an abandoned railroad right of way that had been built to assist dairy farmers in two counties to move milk to market. Though rails and ties had been removed, occasionally a spike would appear. This narrow wooded area was home to a host of wild foods. This was about the time that Euell Gibbons published Stalking the Wild Asparagus and other books about looking for wild foods. Spying a few stalks of wild asparagus growing under a river birch in our front yard, I immediately bought this book, which became a food bible of sorts. Other teachers were neighbors, friends who grew up in rural environments, and the landscape architect who was charged with laying out the path of a paved bike path through the right of way. Soon, I was finding and utilizing chokecherry, elderberry, red sumac, raspberries, both red and black, chicory, dandelion, day lilies, ground cherries, wild onion, wild grapes, and, most flavorful of all, wild strawberries. In retrospect, I realize I bypassed plants. One of my daughters once said, “If I have children, I shall send them to you so they can eat things like day lily buds, which you say taste much like green beans when steamed, buttered, and salt-and-peppered.” The local forest preserve provided us with black walnuts and hickory nuts and, when springs freshened, watercress for a short time. Our property was planted with many fruit trees: apple, apricot, peach, pear, plum, crabapple; there were also five long rows of Concord grapes. We were blessed. In New Mexico, I am finally learning to forage for wild foods, having in Spring been taken on a hunt for chimija and just recently being given a large haul of wild spinach—aka, lamb’s quarters and pigweed—so I could cook delicious quelites. A friend promises me he will soon help me find sorrel along the Abiquiu roadsides. This summer, I shall dig up chicory root and roast it to add to coffee. Right now, I am expecting a windfall of verdolaga, most of which shall be cooked in the local style with bacon and onions. Some of it will definitely go into the Bode family recipe for verdolaga salad. I hope our readers will try this salad. If so, please let me know. Verdolaga Salad This unusual salad is a favorite of the family of Martin Bode, prominent Abiquiu merchant. Verdolaga (purslane in English) is a succulent that appears in Northern New Mexico gardens starting in June. Now usually considered a weed, this nutritious plant was once cultivated in American gardens for culinary and medicinal use. Verdolaga is a rich source of Vitamins A and C and also of riboflavin and especially of iron. This is Tillie (Mrs. Martin) Bode’s recipe.
EnJOY
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