Monthly Archives: October 2013

Fun with friends at the Bonanza Meet Your Neighbor Stew

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Stew 2

Last Saturday evening, my husband and I attended the Bonanza community’s Meet Your Neighbor Stew. It was the first time that we had ever been in the Bonanza Community Center and it is indeed a treasure. The organizers arranged for several stews, homemade cornbread and wheat bread, pickles and other fixings. And the array of desserts was most impressive.

Our community is made up of individuals who have lived in the Bonanza area all their lives – even attending the school before Rains opened, individuals who had left, yet returned because of their love for the area and the relative newcomers like my husband and me who were seeking the peace of country living. I did not bring stew to the event – maybe next time – but I did make beef stew last week.

I usually look for a nice roast and cut it into 3⁄4- to 1-inch cubes. Dredge the cubed meat in flour seasoned with salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, celery seeds and oregano. Clean and cut onions, carrots and celery into the same sized cubes as the meat. Also, mince 4 garlic cloves. I use two pots while making this stew, one that is wide to brown meat and sauté the vegetables and one that is tall enough to hold all the ingredients as I build the stew.

Heat vegetable oil in the wide pot and add the meat. Sizzle the meat until it is nicely browned on all sides. The flour will stick to the bottom of the pan, but don’t worry, just add about half a cup of good red wine to deglaze it – beef stock will also do the job. When most of the stuck-on bits have released, pour the contents into the tall pot.

Return the wide pot to the burner, add a little more oil and sauté all the vegetables over medium heat. As the vegetables cook, they’ll release liquid and finish deglazing the bottom of the pan. Those brown bits are important since they add a rich flavor to the stew. Pour the finished vegetables into the tall pot.

Cube potatoes and add them to the tall pot. Pour in enough beef stock to cover all the ingredients, along with a jar or can of tomato bits, and turn on the heat. Add seasonings. I always add bay leaves and usually add a small amount of crushed fennel seed, dill seed, thyme and black pepper. When the pot comes to a boil, add salt. Reduce the heat to a simmer, cover the pot and cook 15 minutes to finish the potatoes.

Meanwhile, I cut up okra and dredged it with flour, cornmeal, salt and pepper and pan-fried it in the wide pot. That process keeps the okra crisp and it doesn’t turn to mush after it is added to the stew. When the potatoes in the tall pot are fork tender, add the fried okra and a small bag of frozen peas. Simmering the stew for 10 minutes more warms the peas, and the okra breading additionally thickens the stew.

A few tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce (or red wine vinegar) helps brighten the stew. Taste and add salt and pepper as necessary. The rich stew is now ready to serve and enjoy with family and friends.
Holding a community supper is a great way to build a strong community. The Bonanza gathering was a treat and it was enjoyable to meet and converse with young and old alike. The food was wonderful, but certainly our greatest treasure is the community of neighbors and friends.

Stew 1

Spiced Carrot Soup

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Spiced carrot soup

This weekend I cleaned up my garden, uprooting tired purple-hull pea bushes, cutting back leggy okra and pulling out some old root vegetables. I was able to scrounge up a handful of gnarly carrots. They looked horrendous, but had a surprisingly good taste. I decided that a spiced carrot soup with crusty bread would be a perfect dinner for a cool fall evening.

Carrots provided the inspiration, but they were lacking in quantity. So I peeled and chopped those carrots into 1-inch pieces and did the same with 2 lbs. from the store. I also chopped a large onion, 3 garlic cloves and finely shredded about a tablespoon of ginger root. I added all to a medium-hot pan with olive oil, salt and pepper. Ginger provided some spice, but I didn’t stop there. I added two bay leaves, a dash of ground coriander and 2 teaspoons each of red curry powder and ground turmeric. That kicked up the spice level.

I stirred in 6 cups of chicken stock (vegetable stock would work as well) and let the pot simmer covered for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Then after testing the carrots to make sure they’re done, turn off the heat. Let the soup sit and cool about 20 minutes before processing. It’s also a good time to remove the bay leaves – they don’t blend well and can be bitter if left in the soup.

I used an immersion blender and the soup didn’t need to cool much. If a food processor is to be used, let the soup cool more. Scary hot liquid flying around in a food processor or blender is not a good thing. The soup can always be reheated if it has cooled too much.

Once the soup is silky smooth, add about 2 tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce. Taste the soup and season with salt and pepper as necessary. The soup is yummy served with a dollop of Greek yogurt or sour cream, crumbled bacon bits and fresh chopped cilantro or parsley. I added a hunk of crusty bread to the meal. The ginger gave the soup a hint of heat and the other spices rounded out with warm autumnal tones. That’s comfort food to me.

White bean and kale soup

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White bean soup

I kept expecting rain on Sunday, but never received any. However, my anticipation spurred me to play in the kitchen rather than outside. I wanted to try a recipe for hot pepper butter. While working through the details of that, I made a terrific white bean soup. That’s what’s for dinner.

Since dinner was decided on the spur of the moment, the “quick-cook method” was used rather than soaking the Great Northern beans overnight. Cooking the full 2 lb-bag makes sense for us because leftovers rarely go to waste at our house. The other really great thing about the dinner is how incredibly inexpensive it is?

Sorting through a bag of beans, cull out the strangely shaped and mottled-colored ones. I didn’t find any clods of dirt, but have in the past and believe that sorting through beans is worth the effort. Rinse the beans off in a colander then pour them into a large pot; cover with 3 quarts of water; put on a lid and bring to a boil. After two minutes or so, turn the burner off and let the beans sit for an hour. During that time I thawed frozen chicken stock.

After an hour, drain the beans in the colander and rinse very well with cool water. Returning the beans to the pot, cover in chicken stock and water to equal 3 quarts and bring back to a boil. At boiling, add seasonings. I added salt, pepper, 3 bay leaves and 1.5 teaspoons each of cumin seeds and celery seeds. Cover the pot and turn down to a simmer for another hour, stirring occasionally.

I decided to add onions, celery and garlic to the soup. In a skillet, spray a small amount of olive oil and sauté a large chopped onion and three ribs of chopped celery. Don’t forget to lightly salt and pepper. Mince a couple garlic cloves, cook the vegetables for another couple of minutes and add all to the pot of beans.

Wanting more color, I picked a large bunch of kale from my garden. After cleaning and cutting away the tough stems, chop the kale into small pieces and add to the pot. Taste the beans and liquid. Add salt if necessary and check the beans to determine if they are done. Mine were still a little tough and that’s good because I wanted the kale to cook.

After another 20 minutes, I checked the beans again and they were perfectly tender yet firm. Dinner was meatless but full of vitamins and protein from the beans, vegetables and chicken stock. A vegetarian could use vegetable stock instead and still have a hearty, healthy meal.

While dinner was a success, I think my hot pepper butter recipe is going to need more work. I’ll keep playing with that and when I’m happy with the results, I’ll share.

Braised beef chuck roast with mashed potatoes, wilted chard and bread

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Braised roast beef

Choosing the right cut of meat is very important when making a roast. I usually make pot roasts for several reasons. The cut of meat is cheaper, more readily found at the grocery store and I like the simplicity of one-pot meals. However I’ve been craving good roast beef. Prime rib is heavenly but expensive and I didn’t even see one at the store. I was looking for a round that could be cooked using dry heat and only saw very thin cuts. Not what I wanted in a roast. I ended up buying a 3-lb. chuck tender roast.

Chuck tender sounds like an oxymoron to me – you know like jumbo shrimp. I was hoping that maybe on the chuck-toughness scale, this one would be at the more-tender end. I decided to braise the roast which uses both dry heat and moist heat to cook.

I took the roast out of the fridge and let it sit while I quartered two onions and slivered garlic cloves. Using a thin knife, I cut slots in the roast and pushed in the garlic slivers. I liberally seasoned the roast with salt and pepper.

Finding a large oven-safe pot, I heated a couple of tablespoons of olive oil on the stovetop and seared the onion quarters at a high heat. Removing the onions, I then seared all the sides of the roast. Getting a nice caramelized surface on the meat is important to both the look and flavor of the finished roast.

When all sides have been seared, I removed the roast and added 3⁄4 cups of a good red wine to deglaze the pot. I added the onion quarters back to the pot and place the roast on top and I included three bay leaves. I covered the pot with a tight lid and placed it in a 300-degree oven for about an hour.

Earlier I had made French bread dough in my bread machine to save my having to do all the kneading. So, I shaped it into two loaves and let them rise while the roast cooked. I also made basil pesto to serve with the bread or to garnish the roast. Then I prepared the smashed potatoes I’d be serving with the roast and cleaned Swiss chard for a side.

After an hour the roast’s internal temperature was at 135 degrees. I put it back in the oven for another 15-20 minutes until it came to 155 degrees. I let the roast rest for a full 30 minutes to make it easier to slice very thin. I baked the French bread and wilted the chard in olive oil with onions, garlic and red pepper flakes.

The roast was very tasty. It was not as tender as a better cut of meat would have been, but it wasn’t like eating shoe leather either. Slicing it very thin against the grain and serving it with its own pan sauce made for a rather tender chuck roast.

Chicken and rice

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Chicken and rice

Chicken and rice is a classic dish. Most versions use some kind of creamy soup. Since I’m trying to avoid processed foods that may contain chemicals and preservatives, I’m using my own canned pasta sauce. If you haven’t started canning yet (just kidding, I’m a novice), you could substitute store-bought cans of fire-roasted tomatoes or the pasta sauce of your choice. I’m also trying to make lighter dinners that are quick and easy to clean up. This recipe is lower in fat and only gets two pots dirty.

I set out 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts to thaw while cooking enough rice in low-fat, low-sodium chicken broth to make 8 cups. Choose any kind of rice you like. Then thinly slice two large onions and 3-4 bell peppers. In an oven-safe pan, sauté the onions and bell peppers in 2 tablespoons of olive oil on the stove-top. Always lightly salt and pepper to bring out the flavors. Add 2-3 cloves of minced garlic and cook for another minute. Scoop the vegetable mixture into the pot of rice and stir together.

Return the empty pot to the stove and add olive oil to the pot if needed. Slice each chicken breast horizontally – there will be 8 thin pieces. Season both sides with Creole seasoning or just salt and pepper if you prefer. Sear the chicken breasts on both sides in the hot oil. Since the chicken is thin, it cooks very quickly. Remove the chicken to a plate.

The oven-safe pot may have some stuck-on pieces of chicken or vegetable, so deglaze with 1⁄2 cup of white wine or chicken broth. Scoop the rice mixture into the pot and then nestle the 8 pieces of chicken on top of the rice. Pour a quart jar or 30-32 oz. of pasta sauce on top of all. When I made my jarred sauce, I seasoned it. If you are using store-bought sauce, taste and make sure it is properly seasoned. Add salt or pepper now if necessary.
Slice or shred 6-8 oz. of low-fat mozzarella or Monterey jack cheese. Evenly top the sauce with cheese. Cover the pot and bake in a 350 degree oven for 15 minutes. Remove the lid and bake for 10 minutes more or until the cheese is melted and the sides are bubbling. (While dinner baked, I cleaned up the kitchen.) Let the pot sit while preparing a simple side salad and serve with low-fat dressing or your own homemade vinaigrette.

Since I’m trying to be more aware of my intake, I considered a serving to be 3/4 cup rice and 1 thin piece of chicken. The sauce and cheese make the dish taste hearty and the salad helps to fill the plate. This dish allows my husband and me to eat lighter while my son Ben, who certainly is not on a diet, will have plenty for seconds. After dinner, I put away leftovers, loaded the dishwasher and hand-washed the remaining pot – light, quick and easy.