Found Winter "Stew"

Sunday brought unexpected snow and sub zero temperatures, so leaving the house to go do my regular grocery trip wasn't gonna happen.  When dinner time rolled around I scrounged the fridge for ingredients I could throw together.  I found...

2 chicken sausages
half of a red pepper (already chopped... bonus!)
some red onion (also already chopped... hooray!!)
1/3 bag of baby spinach.

With the snow and temperatures falling, I couldn't think of anything else to do with those chicken sausages but make but comfort food.  Beautiful magazine photos of sausage and white bean stew in rustic bowls popped into my head.  This dish seemed intuitive to me though I've never made it before!  Luckily a quick search of the pantry yielded one can of white beans!  I was in luck.

Next I thought about what I could create to bring a creamy element to the dish without the use of actual cream or cheese (to keep things on the lighter side). I experimented with making a little sauce or gravy (it worked!!).
Here's what I did...

For the sauce:

1 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp flour
1-2 Cups chicken broth

in a medium sauce pan melt the butter over medium heat and slowly whisk in the flour.  it will mix into a crumbly mixture.    
next, slowly add about 1 cup of the broth, whisking continuously until flour lumps dissolve. reduce heat to med-low and whisk/stir.  (when my sauce was thick enough to coat a wooden spoon I called it done.)  scrape sauce from pan, put into measuring cup or bowl and set aside.

For the rest:

2 chicken sausages, sliced into small discs
1/2 red pepper, diced
1/2 red onion, diced
1/3 bag baby spinach, chopped to small pieces
1 can white beans drained and rinsed
olive oil, salt, and pepper

in a medium sauce pan, heat olive oil.  add onions and peppers to the pan on med-high heat.  cook until onions are soft.  add sausage.  cook for about 5 minutes, then add beans and stir.  next, add the previously made sauce and begin to stir it all together.  add more broth if you think the liquid is too thick. lastly add the spinach until it begins to wilt.  season all with salt and pepper. serves 2.

Notes on a recipe

Last week, I made the Indian spiced corn and chicken soup Cara posted at the beginning of winter. 

Here's what I did differently:

Added potatoes.  I love potatoes and they are nearly a requirement for any soup I make that doesn't have beans.   One small potato added a nice texture. Plus, potatoes and leeks seem to be best buddies (in soup, frittatas, on pizza, etc.).

Experimented with spices.  I added 1/2 teaspoon each of cumin seeds and mustard seeds to the oil while it was heating in the pan.  And I added 1 teaspoon cumin. Added a few dried red chiles to turn up the heat a little. 

Used less of some ingredients. Cream (3/4 Cup).  Curry powder (1 teaspoon).

Just a few changes while keeping the main idea of the soup intact.  The results were so delicious!!  So much so that it made it back to the menu this week. I'm glad I took notes.  It's important to take notes while you're experimenting with a recipe, or while you are still eating it.  That way you can be sure your memory is fresh!    I like to use adorable kitchen sticky notes like these....

I use the little page flags for flagging recipes in my food magazines!  With an extra piece of clear tape or two, these make great little labels for my glass containers in the pantry too. 

Weekly Menu February 13-18

It's Winter.  I'm taking 12 credits this semester. And, I work. It's a busier than usual week at my house. So, let's use the crock pot!  This week's menu includes two soups to warm us up... and should be relatively easy to prepare with limited time.  In planning the menu this week I browsed food gawker and came up with recipes from some other food blogs out there.  I also "phoned a friend",  actually we Skyped, for a recipe.  I love hearing about others' go-to recipes..

chunky tortilla soup with black beans

slow cooker squash stew with chickpeas

salmon Patties and steamed broccoli (one of my go-to meals)

Jordan's go-to baked fish with veggies.

    

Goes well with white fish such as sole, tilapia, etc.  Cut up a few medium sized tomatoes, one good sized zuchinni, chopped onion.  throw in about half a can of chickpeas and throw it all in a baking dish, drizzle all over with olive oil, cumin (go heavy on the cumin!), paprika (also consider using turmeric, coriander, garlic, and/or fennel) and a little bit of cayenne pepper, cover and throw in the oven, 450° for about 35 min. 

I mostly blog about dinner here, but thought I'd include a breakfast or snack recipe for a sweet, cinnamon quinoa.  I'll probably try it sometime this week.  

Have a great week everyone.

Thanks Cara and Anu!

Hello! Inspired by Cara's post about her cooking class, I couldn't wait to make Anu's lentil recipe.  It went perfectly with the yogurt marinated chicken I had planned.  On a cold night, it was prefect to crank up the oven to 500 to roast the chicken and make something a little spicy.

 I had all of the ingredients on hand!  Even curry leaves (they can be found at Namaste Indian grocery here in Des Moines.)! They were required for a round of Indian cooking Ryan and I did a few months ago, and upon reading that this recipe called for them, I remembered we stored the extra in the freezer.   I used split red lentils and a 16 oz can of tomato sauce instead of fresh tomatoes. I can't wait to try this when we have some fresh garden tomatoes!

 

The yogurt marinade on this chicken makes it super tender and juicy.  I usually half the recipe, but use the full amount of yogurt and double the amount of spice (1 tsp. each coriander and cumin).  

So long kitchen table, off to India!

Dear Kitchen Table Friends, I'm off to India this weekend! I won't be bringing my kitchen table with me but perhaps I will find other friends to join at kitchen tables while I am there. I'll be away for a month, studying yoga, drinking from coconuts, and eating Indian foods! I hope to blog for you at least once or twice while I am away. And Allison, I'm going to find us tiffins to bring back for our kitchens!

I thought I'd leave you with a recipe in the spirit of my travels, some homemade chai tea. I'm sipping some right now, and the apartment smells of cinnamon, ginger and cloves. You'll need a well stocked spice rack for this. Whole spices are best, powdered will do in a pinch.

left to right: cinnamon sticks, nutmeg seed, star anise, cardamom pods, whole cloves, ginger root

Homemade Chai Tea

2 cinnamon sticks
4 cloves
2 star anise pods
8 crushed cardamom pods
1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1 tbsp grated fresh ginger
3 1/2 cups water
2 tsp black tea
1 cup milk
honey to taste

Add spices and water to a small pot and bring to a boil. Let simmer for 25 minutes, or longer for a spicier brew. Remove from heat, add black tea and let steep 5 minutes. Meanwhile, bring 1 cup milk just to a boil and remove from heat. Strain tea and spice mixture into a tea pot, add the warm milk, sweeten to taste with honey.

Makes 1 pot of chai tea.

If you would like a peppy chai tea without the caffeine, skip the black tea and instead add a 1/2 tsp of freshly crushed black pepper. That will wake you up!

Recipe inspired by the wonderful Ayurvedic cookbook, Eat, Taste, Heal.

Au revoir!

Cara

The Real Deal Hot Cocoa

Its mid-afternoon, its December, I still have loads of work to do and I need a little pick me up. Sometimes I'll make a cup of tea, but as its nearing holiday time I thought today I would indulge a little. I have this simple, delicious and nearly guilt-free recipe for hot chocolate, courtesy of my yoga & ayurveda teacher. Its my go-to when I still have work to do but would rather be baking cookies. And eating them. And then taking a nap. With my cat.

The Real Deal Hot Cocoa

1 cup milk of choice (cow, rice, soy, almond)
3 heaping tbsp unsweetened baking cocoa powder
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
sweetener to taste (honey, agave, or real maple syrup)

Combine cocoa, milk and vanilla in a saucepan over medium heat. Whisk gently as the milk heats up, and just as it boils remove from heat. Have your mug ready with sweetener already in the bottom (I use 2 to 3 tbsp), pour the hot cocoa milk into the mug and stir. Sip slowly and enjoy! Sometimes I add a dash of cinnamon to make Mexican Hot Chocolate.

The unsweetened cocoa may taste fairly bitter at first, so feel free to add as much sweetener as you like! Overtime as you get used to the taste of the real cocoa, you'll probably find it just as enjoyable with less sweetener.

Post Thanksgiving Butternut Squash Soup

We are all out of Thanksgiving leftovers here! They didn't last long, there wasn't much of it, and after all of the celebrating and indulging I am thankful to get back to a more reasonable dining routine. I love celebrating, but if I do it everyday I start to feel like the stuffed turkey!

Your weekly menu reminded me of this delicious, simple, sweet & savoury butternut squash soup I like to whip up and keep in a big bowl in the fridge for easy winter meals. I roast the squash ahead of time (great on a winter Sunday afternoon, pop it in the oven around 3 or 4 and the kitchen is toasty warm AND its ready for soup making at dinner). I also use ghee instead of oil because of its wide ranging health benefits. Its easy to make (I'll blog on it later!) but if you don't keep a jar handy in your kitchen, you can use oil for this recipe.

Butternut Squash & Apple Soup

1 butternut squash, roasted
2 tbsp ghee or oil
2 large sweet potatoes
2 medium apples
1 inch knob of fresh ginger, chopped
5 cups veg broth
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp turmeric
1 cup coconut milk
salt & pepper to taste

Prepare the squash in advance: Roast whole by piercing the top with a knife in several places, set upright in a baking dish, and keep it in a 375 degree oven for 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Or cut into pieces, place in a dish with 1/4 inch of water, cover with foil and bake at 400 degrees for 45 minutes to an hour.

Peel and cut sweet potatoes and apples into 1 inch pieces. Melt ghee or oil in a soup pot and add sweet potatoes, apples and ginger. Saute until everything starts to turn a bit golden (7-8 minutes). Add the broth, bring to the boil, and simmer for 15 minutes or until sweet potatoes soften.

Meanwhile, cut the roasted squash in half, scoop out the seeds, peel and cut into large pieces. Add squash, spices and salt and pepper to the pot. When heated through, remove from heat. Add 1 cup coconut milk and blend with a handstick blender.

This soup is great out of the pot, but even better a day or two later!

Enjoy your week,

Cara