Monday, April 28, 2014

Is it Caribbean Black Bean Soup day?

As mentioned in my Earth Day blog, since getting my pressure cooker last year, I've been cooking more legumes, and also trying new cookbooks.  By far, the most recipes I've tried - and enjoyed - have been from "The Easy Pressure Cooker Cookbook" by Diane Phillips.  I highly recommend it if you have a pressure cooker and want to learn to use it.

(Thinking about getting a pressure cooker, but don't know which one?  Check out this blog.)

I fell in love with this soup the first time I tried it, and have made it a couple times since (had to send hubby out to buy more dark rum).  I make it on the weekend, then freeze in small containers to take for lunch.  I'm always so excited when I open my lunch and realize it's Caribbean Black Bean Soup day!

Don't have a pressure cooker?  Try this version by Ree Drummond, the Pioneer Woman.  It doesn't use rum, but I'm sure you could add it.  If you're lucky enough to have a Mexican or international market nearby, you can find the beans, cumin and peppers there at a better price.  I've also substituted the small multicolored peppers for the red and yellow in a pinch; just use a few more.

Caribbean Black Bean Soup
 4 tbsp. canola oil, divided
1 large red onion, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 medium red bell pepper, seeded, deribbed and coarsely chopped
1 medium yellow bell pepper, seeded, deribbed and coarsely chopped
1 small jalapeno pepper, carefully seeded, deribbed and finely chopped
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp dried oregano
1/4 cup dark rum
2 cups (approximately 1 lb.) black beans, presoaked and drained
1 15-oz can chopped tomatoes, drained (I use reserved juice for part of the cooking liquid)
8 cups chicken or vegetable stock
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Four hours before cooking time, put the beans in water to soak.  I add 2-3 tsp. baking soda; it seems to cut down on the gas-causing enzymes.  Drain and rinse the beans.

Chop all the vegetables.  Be very careful with the jalapeno pepper.  Do not touch your eyes after chopping, and consider wearing gloves, especially if you have any cuts on your hands; it will burn.  Measure the cooking liquid.  I use the liquid drained from the tomato in place of some of the broth.  And, of course, use vegetable broth if cooking for vegans.

Heat half of the oil (2 tbsp) in the pressure cooker over medium-high heat.  Add the onion, garlic, bell peppers, jalapeno, cumin and oregano.  Saute for four minutes, or until the vegetables begin to soften.

Stir in the rum and bring to a boil.  This deglazes the pan.

Add the black beans, tomatoes and stock; drizzle with the remaining oil.  Lock the lid in place, bring to high pressure and cook for 20 minutes.

Reduce the pressure naturally and remove the lid, tilting the pot away from you to avoid the escaping steam.  Taste the soup for seasoning, add the salt and pepper if necessary, and serve or freeze.

Serves 8, each with 7 Weight Watchers Points Plus. 

(Live outside the U.S.?  Recipe conversion suggestions on this post.) 

Sunday, April 27, 2014

Sheryl vs. the Legume, Curried Lentil Soup



As I mentioned in my Earth Day Blog, I've been using a lot of legumes lately.  They are high in nutrients and fiber, low in calories and costs.  However, I have a problem with my lentil soup.  In short, it tastes like dirt.  Some decades-old recipe cards from my friend Liz took me to the USA's Dry Pea and Lentil Commission's recipe for Curried Lentil Soup.

The recipe was a big improvement over ordinary lentil soup.  As my friend Kandy says, lentils need to be highly seasoned.  The curry certainly does that, and I think I might have used more than the recipe calls for. 

Curried Lentil Soup


2 Tbs. canola oil
2 leeks, white part only, or 1 large onion, chopped
1 celery stalk chopped finely
2 to 4 cloves garlic, minced
1 ½ Tbs. curry powder
1 cup dry lentils, rinsed and picked over
5 cups water
1 bay leaf
1 carrot, chopped
2 cups potatoes, peeled and diced
2 tsp. salt
1 14 ½ -ounce can diced tomatoes in juice
½ cup plain yogurt or sour cream



Prepare vegetables before starting to cook.  

Heat oil in a large saucepan or soup pot. Add leeks or onion and celery; sauté over medium heat until tender, stirring occasionally, about 5-10 minutes.

Stir in garlic and curry powder and sauté, stirring often, for 2 minutes. Add lentils, water, bay leaf, salt, carrots and potatoes.

 
 Bring to a boil; reduce heat, cover and simmer soup for 30 minutes or until lentils are tender. Stir in tomatoes and simmer for 5 minutes.

Remove bay leaf. Stir about 1 tablespoon sour cream into each bowl of soup at serving time.

Serves 8, with 4 Weight Watchers points plus each.

(Live outside the U.S.?  Recipe conversion suggestions on this post.) 

Saturday, April 26, 2014

Gluten-Free Macaroni and Cheese

My favorite brownie recipe in my prime baking years (teens and young adult) was from a Betty Crocker recipe.  When we moved to Bangkok in 1991, I realized I couldn't find a key ingredient, solid shortening.  Baking chocolate also was hard to find, but my dear friend found a way to send me a few boxes.  On those boxes, I found a new recipe which called for butter or margarine instead of solid shortening.  My family loved that recipe, and I learned an important lesson: The best recipes often are on the package, because the manufacturer has incentive to make you love their product.

Flash forward a couple decades.  I've been eating gluten-free for the past year.  There's a few foods I really miss.  Fish and chips is at the top of the list.  But macaroni and cheese has always been a favorite. And not the stuff in the boxes we starting using in the '70s when everyone was in a hurry, but the real kind baked in the oven.  (Remember the frozen version in aluminum foil that baked up with great crusts?  That's real macaroni and cheese.)

I tried adapting my own recipe for baked macaroni and cheese, substituting GF pasta and using cornstarch instead of flour.  It was OK, but not great.  So I went to the back of the box of my favorite GF pasta.   

We wanted a light lunch for our Easter egg hunt, so I made ham and macaroni and cheese - the big dish for the rest of the family, and this one for me.  I made a few adaptions from the recipe - I used onions instead of green chilies, added paprika and skipped the black olives and pimentos, and used GF bread crumbs instead of corn flakes on the top.

Feel free to adapt at will.

Gluten-free Macaroni and Cheese

1 (8 oz) package Ancient Harvest Quinoa Elbow Pasta
1/2 cup sour cream (I used low-fat)
1 cup milk (I used non fat)
1 tbsp. cornstarch
1/2 cup (or more) chopped onions (original recipe called for 4 oz. green chilies)
9 oz. sharp Cheddar cheese, grated
2 tbsp. butter or margarine
1/4 cup pitted black olives, sliced (optional)
Salt to taste
1 small jars pimentos, crushed (optional)
1/4 cup GF bread crumbs (or corn flakes)
Paprika

Prepare a small baking dish.  Coat with butter and cooking spray.  If desired for crunchy crust, add some bread crumbs and turn dish to line the sides like you're flouring a pan.  Heat oven to 350 degrees.

Cook pasta in lightly salted water for 4-6 minutes, or until done.  Meanwhile, in small bowl, mix cornstarch with milk.  Drain and rinse pasta.  (I used the same pot I used to boil the past for the next step; it is still warm, and you have one less pot to wash.)  Melt butter.  Add the onions and cook until soft.  Add cornstarch mixture to butter and cook until thickened, stirring constantly.  Add Cheddar cheese (reserving 1/4 cup for topping) to sauce and cook slowly until melted, still stirring constantly.  Add a dash of paprika for color, sour cream and, if using, chilies, olives and pimentos.  Salt and pepper to taste.

Combine sauce with pasta and pour into prepared dish.  Mix 1/4 cup bread crumbs, reserved cheese and a dash of paprika and sprinkle on top of dish.  (Original recipe just tops with corn flakes.)  Bake until lightly browned, about 30 minutes.  Serves 4 as a main dish, but many more as a side.

(Live outside the U.S.?  Recipe conversion suggestions on this post.)

Friday, April 25, 2014

A Side-Trip Back to the Future, Building a Family Legacy



One of my bucket list projects is to fill my great-grandmother Dolly's cedar chest with baby afghans for any grandchildren or great-children who are born after I'm gone. I estimate that if my kids average three kids each, and their kids average three, then I'll need to have 60 stowed away (allowing for overlap of genders, and ones I'll give while I'm still kicking, etc.). I've been crocheting a lot as a stress reducer. (Cheaper and healthier than drinking, LOL.) My girls and I keep giving them away to friends, but I've got 10 or so net in the cedar chest.

A couple years ago, I packed up my paternal grandmother's china - which seems too fragile to use - and put it in the cedar chest, so I had to move it to a new storage spot to make room for the afghans. As I was moving the china, I realized that my dad's grandparents probably ate off that china. Between the china and the afghans (assuming any are around still for my grand-grandchildren), we spanned seven generations.

I know cedar chests and china and afghans are only objects, but I love the heritage they represent.

Thursday, April 24, 2014

Pressure Cookers, Part 1: How I chose the one that's right for us



As regular readers of my blog (both of you) know, I made a resolution to try one new recipe a week in 2014.  I've mostly been doing that - missed a few weeks, but often will do two or three new recipes a week, so it all evens out.  But I have not been nearly as faithful about blogging my new recipes.  This is because many of them have been done in my pressure cooker, and I wanted to do  introductory posts on how to select and use one. 

Many of us mid-century kids grew up with our mom's pressure cookers.  They would rattle, hiss and rumor has it, some would blow up.  No mishaps to report at the Johansen homestead, but my mom made the most delicious porcupine meatballs in the pressure cooker.  Stew, too.  But by the '70s, the Crockpot had supplanted the pressure cooker for convenient cooking, and in the '80s, the microwave oven became the go-to appliance for quick meals.  Decades went by before I thought about the pressure cooker again.

A few years ago, I became a great fan of Food Network programs, including "Chopped." In that show, chefs - mostly professional, but some amateur cooks too - compete to make the best dish out of an eclectic mix of ingredients under time pressure.  A few would speed the process by using a pressure cooker.  I remembered my mom's porcupine meatballs, and thought that maybe it was time to add a pressure cooker to my culinary arsenal.  (Perhaps not the best metaphor, given that about the time I was shopping for mine, two terrorists killed and maimed innocent people at the Boston Marathon using a bomb made out of one.)

I was looking for a model that cost around $100.  I started and ended my research at America's Test Kitchen, and was sold by their recommendation of the Fagor Duo 8 Quart Steel Pressure Cooker. (OK, it came in second, but was more affordable than the winner.)  I found mine at Amazon and managed to catch a sale to get it for slightly less than $100.  Today it's a bit more expensive.  Macy's, Bed, Bath and Beyond, and other stores also have occasional sales, so if you have time, shop around.

About.com also has a helpful guide for selecting and using a pressure cooker.  Alas, they don't have a newsletter devoted to pressure cookers yet, but it appears to be included in its Busy Cooks and Home Cooking forums if you want recipes delivered.

Other reviews for each model can be found on the Amazon site, at Consumer Research, or just by googling "pressure cooker reviews."  And, of course, ask a friend.  We're very happy with our Fagor, and the 8-quart seems the right size for us - though if we do spend part of our retirement years in an RV, we might go for the 4-quart model. (Yes, we love ours so much we can't imagine being without it.)

Once you get yours - and I can't stress this enough - read the instructions, and refer to them each time you cook.  There are minimum and maximum amounts that can be cooked in the pressure cooker - see video above at the top of the blog - which is why it's important to choose the right size for your family.  (The maximum fill line is engraved inside the Fagor, but can be hard to see.)  My husband thought he could use the pressure cooker like a slow cooker and filled it nearly to the top with spaghetti sauce.  It never came to pressure, but burned on the bottom. 

For those who are more visual, Alton Brown demonstrates how to use a pressure cooker to make chicken stock in this handy videoFagor also has its own video, but the best I found specific to my model was this one on Helen's Kitchen Channel.

In my next blog on this subject, I'll recommend some cookbooks and other recipe sources.  If you can't wait to get started, my first stop was at my local library, where I checked out "Pressure Cookers for Dummies."  Not only did it have some good, basic pressure cooker dishes, but it also suggested how to convert traditional recipes.

Happy shopping!

Tuesday, April 22, 2014

Being a little bit vegan on Earth Day

Yes, I know, you can't be a little bit pregnant.  But I'd like to think I'm semi-vegan, and today I honor my Facebook friends and family who posted today the environmental benefits of grains and vegetables over animal protein.

No, I'm not turning vegan.  But three of my children are, and I love spoiling them with food.  So I want to learn some yummy vegan dishes. (My daughter-in-law even has her own blog, chronicling her experiences cooking vegan while living overseas.)  I also love food that's healthy and inexpensive.  Since we got a pressure cooker last year, I've experimented with beans of various types.  On the weekend, I'll try a new recipe for Caribbean Black Bean Soup or Curried Lentils, and then freeze it for lunches at work.  On most days, I'll have oatmeal for breakfast, beans for lunch, and I'm a vegan until dinner.

I'm slowly learning the rules of begin a vegan (who knew Worcestershire sauce has anchovies?), and I'm amused by how our understanding has grown.  Last weekend I was watching an old episode of "Good Eats" with one of my favorite Food Network personalities, Alton Brown.  He was teaching us about the different types of tofu and how to cook each.  I thought, "here's a man ahead of his time," until he coated the tofu in an egg wash.

When I was first married, foods like tofu were more fad than way of life.   Now, we have a much more holistic view at how and what we eat; it's not so much this food or that which can "substitute" for something we're eliminating, but more of looking at our diet as a whole, understanding the rich variety of what we can eat, and celebrating it on the table.

One food which I've found especially challenging is lentils.  With the exception of one pressure-cooker recipe for curried lentils, they always taste like dirt.  My friend Kandy said they need to be well seasoned, and I've gotten several suggestions from Facebook friends, which I'll try, to make a less-earthy dish.

At Easter dinner, I asked my friend Liz for ideas.  She seemed to recall some recipes she'd gotten at a fair that were produced by the Washington-Idaho Pea and Lentil Commission.  She dug through her files and sent them to me (scanned and e-mailed, something we never thought we'd be doing back in the early '80s).

The recipes looked delicious, but I had to smile about the way they were used.  One recipe for Honey Baked Lentils sounded like a great alternative to baked beans.  But the recipe included bacon, and most of the other entrees had meat as well as lentils.

Like Alton, not quite clear on the concept!  (In there defense, the "concept" had not quite evolved.)

I wondered if the commission had caught up with the times. They are now contributors to the US Dry Pea and Lentil Council.  This site had a whole section of recipes (some of which also called for bacon, 'though less of it) but there was an updated recipe for Bar-B-Q Lentils which would qualify as vegan (if a vegan Worcestershire sauce was used).

It seems that the commission, like me, is semi-vegan.

Glad to find a new place to explore for recipes.  I've always believed the food producers come up with the best recipes, because they have a commercial interest in making us love their product.  And I'll continue on my journey as a semi-vegan. 

Meanwhile, happy Earth Day to my vegan and carnivore friends!