Chilé con Elote

This is the recipe for another dish we served at our rent party. It is a meatless chilé with corn. It is a hearty vegan dish.

4 cups cooked kidney beans
1 cup finely chopped onions
3 or 4 cloves garlic, minced
1 green pepper, chopped
2 cups diced, canned tomatoes
1 jar Simply spaghetti sauce
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon cumin
1 cup or more of frozen corn
1-1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Sauté vegetables. Then add tomatoes & spices. Cook awhile. Add beans & sauce. Cook more.

Poftă bună!

Tenderhearted Shepherd’s Pie

Several people asked for Bethann’s recipe for meatless shepherd’s pie. It is from the Foods for Paradise cookbook. It did have milk in it, in the mashed potatoes, since it was cheese week, but it could be made without.

Ingredients:
1 onion, chopped
2 Tablespoons oil
1 pound, cooked, chopped broccoli
1 package chopped spinach, thawed
1 sweet. red pepper, diced
pepper to taste
garlic to taste
4 carrots, shredded
3 cups mashed potatoes (We used instant made with milk and butter.)
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon basil
1 teaspoon salt
15 oz. can of petite diced tomatoes.
Optional:
Shredded Swiss cheese or grated Parmesan or soy cheese for on top.

Sauté onion and garlic in oil. Add vegetables, spices and tomato, and stir. Simmer over low heat until vegetables are tender crisp. Put vegetables into 9″ x 13″ greased baking dish. Spread potatoes over the top. Spread shredded Swiss cheese on top, to taste. Shake paprika over the top. Bake at 350° about 30 minutes, until heated through.
You may use soy cheese as a vegan alternative.

Bon Appetit!

“Guys Night In” Avocado Surprise

Once a month, usually a Tuesday, a bunch of ladies, mostly from St. Philip, go out to dinner somewhere together. This practice started on the occasion of Bethann’s birthday two years ago. I had had a terrible staph infection on my neck and reactions to medications to treat it. Another lady had lost her husband in October. It had been a pretty grim time. A friend decided it would be a good time to have a good time. So a bunch of them took Bethann out to dinner. They had such a good time, they decided to do it again the next month, etc. It is now a regular event: Ladies’ Night Out.

So I got the idea to have a couple of the guys over to our house to make manly meals and watch manly movies while the ladies went out. We have watched “Monty Python’s: The Holy Grail”, “Napoleon Dynamite”, “Hannah”, “The Man Who Would Be King”, The Grammy Awards, a Leonard Cohen concert, a Bob Dylan documentary, etc. We have eaten “turtle burgers” (recipe by Southern Culture on the Skids), hobo hotdogs, veal steaks, stir fry and corn dogs. One night we ignited a tiny bit of bootleg, Greek Raki to prove that it was well over 50% alcohol. I concocted this recipe for one of those nights. It was a hit. I made it for Bethann and Hilary later. They loved it, too. This is especially amazing, because Hilary says she doesn’t like avocados or feta and it contains both. I told her they cancel each other out. She said they must, because she claimed the leftovers for her lunch.

Ingredients:

  • about 1-1/4 pound 80% lean ground beef
  • a  small onion, chopped
  • a handful of chopped green & red peppers
  • a handful of baby bella mushrooms
  • a large handful of frozen corn
  • 2 avocados peeled and cubed
  • salt
  • granulated garlic
  • mixed peppercorn grind
  • Greek oregano
  • cilantro
  • a generous handful of feta cheese

In a large skillet, fry up the hamburger and the chopped onion. If there is a lot of fat; drain some of it. Add the peppers, mushrooms and corn. Add the spices. Be liberal with the cilantro. It’s good for you. Stir and cook them until the peppers start to get a bit juicy, but not mushy. Add the avocados. Cover and let them get warm. Top with the feta and serve.

Enjoy!

Hot Vegetable Ice Cream

Tonight, just about every ingredient for tonight’s meal was found on sale. The main course, fresh leg of lamb, was on drastic markdown, 55% off, or $2.60/pound. I put the lamb in the agate roaster, uncovered, into the oven at about 3pm at 325 degrees. Then I peeled and cubed two medium sized eggplants and two avocados. I cut up one large, green pepper and about two handfuls of white mushrooms. I tossed these with olive oil on a large, sided, cookie sheet. Then I took a head of garlic; peeled the cloves, cut them in half or thirds and distributed them on the sheet. I scattered cilantro and salt over the mixture. Then I twisted the mixed peppercorn grinder over it. At 4pm, I put it into the oven on a shelf over the leg of lamb.

Hilary had made salads for us earlier and put them in the fridge. Bethann got home a little after 5pm. We had a sumptuous, low carb feast!

If you have never used avocados in cooking, you have been missing out. They do not bring a very strong flavor of their own, but they multiply and spread the flavors that they come in contact with and add a rich creamy texture. The pleasure factor of this dish was that it was like eating hot, vegetable ice cream.

Okra Fritters

Since the Produce Junction opened up near us, I have become a produce addict. Maybe that would be better said:  a “Junction junky”?  Two weeks ago, I discovered okra. I had heard of okra, especially in a Bill Smithers song: “I’ve got okra, enough to choke ya, but I’ve got no love today!” But had never experienced it up close and personal before. I purchased some and included it in the soup for the homeless men on the street. The next week, I got more and used a bunch in the turkey vegetable gumbo for the street and used some in a hamburger, noodle, veggie soup for us. They were both terrific! Don’t ask for the recipe. I didn’t follow one and I can’t recall what all I put into them.

I got to thinking, with Great Lent coming, about how to make lenten food with fewer carbohydrates for diabetics. I really like falafels, but they are pure carbs. Check out  the nutritional benefits of okra. They are a great source of vitamins A, C and K, as well as antioxidants and fiber. Okra is sticky and very nutritious, so I thought I would experiment. What resulted was not exactly falafel-like, but edible and tasty nonetheless. Here’s the recipe (as near as I can remember it from last night):

Ingredients:

  • about 1 pound of 3 to 4 inch okra
  • 1 15 oz. can of garbanzo beans, drained
  • about 3 inches of celery root at about 1-1/4″ diameter
  • about 1/2  cup flour
  • one head of garlic, cloves peeled
  • 1/4 teaspoon cumin
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
  • 5 twists of freshly ground black pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon of parsley flakes
  • olive oil

Wash the okra. Throw all of the ingredients except the oil into a food processor and run it until they are thoroughly chopped and mixed and you have sticky greenish glop. Heat up 1/4″ to 1/2″ of olive oil in a large skillet. Use a tablespoon or two to scoop and plop the mixture into the hot oil. Fry one side, then turn and flatten them to fry the other. Fry them until you see more brown than green.

Enjoy!

Quinoa, Dates & Almonds

Ingredients:
1/2 cup slivered blanched almonds
8 Medjool dates, pitted and chopped to 1/4″ pieces
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup quinoa
1-1/2 cups hot water
2 cups boiling water
1 cinnamon stick
1 bay leaf

Directions:
Put quinoa in a small pan or a two cup measuring cup. Add the hot water. Let it soak for at least five minutes. While that’s soaking, pit & dice the dates, fill the teapot and start it heating, get your skillet out and start it heating. Pour off the water from the quinoa using a fine screen strainer to catch any that pour out.
Put the olive oil and the slivered almonds in the hot skillet and lightly toast them. Don’t walk away. They turn black and stinky very quickly; and you’ll have to start over. (voice of experience)
Remove the almonds from the skillet, trying to leave as much of the oil in the skillet as you can.
Pour the quinoa into the skillet. Toast it in the oil just long enough for it to turn slightly golden. This brings out a nutty flavor. Add two cups of boiling water, the diced dates, the cinnamon stick, the bay leaf and the toasted almonds to the skillet. Simmer uncovered, stirring often, until most of the water has been absorbed by the quinoa.
Then cover and remove from the heat. Let it stand for about another five minutes until all the remaining liquid has been absorbed by the quinoa.
Makes four generous servings.

Delicious! Bethann told me it was internet ready, so that’s why I published it.

Not Your Grandmother’s Split Pea & Ham Soup

Today, I made a split pea and ham soup to serve 80 men on the street. One of the guys told me that it is so good that the recipe is “internet ready.” That’s the first time I have heard that expression. They used to just tell me that the soup was “bumpin” when it was especially good; a much more graphic descriptor to be sure. In twenty years, even homeless people have become more technologically savvy. So here goes. I will attempt to publish the recipe as well as I can reconstruct it.

Equipment:
1 – 22 quart stainless steel stock pot with a glass lid
1 – much larger aluminum stockpot with no lid
1 – food processor with chopping blade
1 – long handled, heavy duty, industrial kitchen, stainless steel spoon
1 – expendable  dish rag

Ingredients:
1/2 pound dried navy beans
1/2 pound dried pinto beans
1 pound pearled barley
1/2 pound dried kidney beans
3-1/2 pounds green split peas
1 pound yellow split peas
3 ham bones with a fair amount of meat on them
2 yellow onions
raw broccoli, cauliflower and carrots from 1-1/2 party trays
5 cloves garlic
4 Tablespoons salt
10 shakes of black pepper
3 Tablespoons Greek oregano
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
2 Tablespoons ground sage
3 Tablespoons finely chopped dried basil
water

Cut as much meat as possible off of ham bones and set aside. Put ham bones and dried beans, barley and peas in the 22 quart stock pot with the pot about half full with water. Place directly on stove on high heat. While that is heating up, puree the raw vegetables and onions in the food processor and add to the pot. This will take at least three processor batches. Press the garlic cloves into the pot; that is with a garlic press. Add enough water so that the pot is almost full; still allowing room to stir vigorously. Cover and bring it to a boil. Keep it boiling until all the beans, barley and peas are soft; stirring often with your industrial spoon that is long enough to reach the bottom without burning your fingers. Remove the bones and any strips of fat that are floating. Use a plate to scrape the peas, etc., and any remaining meat off the bones to return to the soup. Discard the bones. Cut up the meat that was set aside and add it to the soup. If there is still room, add water to restore it to the level before you removed the bones.

Put the dish rag in the middle of the bottom of the larger stock pot and add hot tap water. Place stainless stock pot into larger stock pot. The water should come about halfway up the sides of the outer pot; any more and it will bubble and perk out of the pot; any less and it will not transfer enough heat to the soup. This forms a giant double boiler, so you can leave the heat on half and simmer for hours, without worrying about scorching the soup (as long as you don’t let it boil dry and burn your rag – Believe me; it’s not a pleasant smell.).

Add the rest of the spices and stir them in. Leave it on the stove to heat for a few hours; stirring occasionally and making sure that the outer pot has enough water.

When you are ready to go to the street or whatever event you are going to; dump the soup (O, I meant to say pour) into a blue Igloo brand cube style cooler. Igloo is the only brand that doesn’t melt. (Melting cooler is not a flavor you want in your soup!) It will keep your soup piping hot for hours.

Bon Appetit!