Enchilada Lasagna

This is about as lazy as you can get for a casserole. Opens some cans, mix them together, open a package of corn tortillas, place them all in a pan, bake. Easy to scale up or down depending on need. I forgot to photograph it.

• 2 x 14 oz cans, fire-roasted, diced tomatoes with chile (I used Muir Glen Organics)
• 2 x 14 oz cans, refried black beans
• 1# bag frozen southwestern vegetables mix (mix of corn, peppers, onions)
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• Salt
• 1 small can, mild enchilada sauce
• 18 small corn tortillas
• Queso Fresco
• Fresh cilantro, chopped

1. Preheat oven to 425F. Spray 13x19 baking dish with nonstick spray.
2. Combine tomatoes (with juice), black beans, frozen vegetables and Parmesan in a large bowl. Add salt to taste.
3. Spread about half of enchilada sauce on bottom of dish. Layer six tortillas over the sauce. Spread half the tomatoes and beans mix over the tortillas. Layer another six tortillas, then the rest of the tomatoes and beans. Finish with remaining tortillas. Spread remaining enchilada sauce over top and top evenly with cheddar.
4. Cover and bake for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake another 15 minutes.
5. Remove from oven. Crumble Queso Fresco over top, then sprinkle cilantro over top. Serve.

Tater Tot Nachos or “Totchos”

Apparently tater tots are becoming the next “in” ingredient at some restaurants. Bon Appetit writes, “And while they'll always be second to french fries, chefs are starting to show them some respect on menus.” And in an article on alternative nachos the tots are featured in Mole Tots at Bunk Bar in Portland, Ore.

Inspired by the articles, here’s my take on the Mole Tot “Totchos”. There’s not much of a recipe. It’s mostly eyeballing stuff and intuition to get what you think will be good.

I made it for lunch today, and another to take to the KFSK radio annual member meeting potluck.

For the Totchos

• Bag of frozen tater tots
• Mole sauce
• Sour cream or crema
• Avocado
• Pico de Gallo
• Queso Fresca
• Green onions

For the Pico de Gallo

• Red onion
• Tomatoes
• Jalapenos
• Garlic
• Cilantro
• Lime juice
• Cumin
• Salt and pepper

Bake the tater tots (or you could fry them, but that means more fat). Overbake them a bit because they’ll be at the bottom of a bunch of wet layers.

Pour mole sauce over the tots. (I put the tots into another dish.)

Spread some sour cream next, and then lay down some avocado slices.

Continue layering with pico de gallo, queso fresca, and chopped up green onions.

Thanksgiving 2011

This year’s Thanksgiving was different from previous years in at least one way: Shelley is no longer home. Because it costs so much and the holiday is so short, it didn’t make any sense for her to come home. Thus it was the three of us remaining plus a couple of friends that celebrated Thanksgiving together.

In the days leading up to Thanksgiving, Petersburg found itself under thick blankets of snow. After the first dump I spent quite some time digging the driveway out while Elise shoveled the path to the back of the house and cleared off the deck. It didn’t stay that way for very long as the second large snowfall came not too long afterwards on Thanksgiving morning. I was going to be busy and Elise didn’t want to shovel. She saw our neighbor plowing with his 4-wheeler so she gave him some money to have him clear out our driveway.

This year’s Thanksgiving dinner menu was -

• Cheese (key lime and cranberry) and crackers
• Green beans with white miso and mustard dressing
• Cranberry chutney with apples and ginger (requires subscription)
• Braised turkey breast and gravy (requires subscription – I used the slow cooker version found in Slow Cooker Revolution)
• Black wild rice stuffing
• Fennel and pearl barley stuffed acorn squash (found in Best of America’s Test Kitchen, 2011)
• Mashed potatoes
• Rolls
• Pumpkin squares

The day after Thanksgiving is Black Friday for much of the rest of the country. There wasn’t much black about Petersburg though. We have no malls, no crowds, and no one attacked anyone else with pepper spray.

I had a “50% off any regularly priced item $50 or less” coupon at TrueValue and searched the store for something close to $50 that I needed or wanted. I found some toys but they were just over $50. There was nothing in the kitchenware section that caught my eye that fit the criteria. I finally found a Black & Decker corded Dustbuster with a hair-removal attachment meant to be used for pet hair. Since all such attachments for our current vacuums no longer seem to function, I figured it fit the “need” category. I also picked up a set of plastic food storage containers that were on sale.

I wandered about the town and stopped in at Lee’s Clothing where I tried on some Nordic sweaters. Now you have to realize that these things run well over $200 at regular prices, thus not making them a casual purchase. However, they were 20% off on Friday and Saturday. I’ve been in Petersburg now for over five years and I still didn’t have a Nordic sweater. It may not seem that important but it is kind of like formal wear here. It can be worn to church, to weddings, to funerals, and to public functions. With the Oxford Caroler performances coming up (in which I’ll be singing for the second year), the sweater moved into the “need” category. As an added incentive I had signed up my American Express card for Small Business Saturday’s $25 credit offer. I found one sweater that I liked but needed to wait until the next day to make the purchase.

Trading Union had coupon offers this week as well. For each $10 spent there was a coupon for a free item: laundry detergent, first pound of ground beef, 1/2 gallon milk, 3# apples. I spent a bit over $30 and got the detergent, beef, and milk.

Friday evening was the traditional festival of lights parade and tree lighting ceremony. The weather cooperated nicely: not too cold and no rain or snow. There was a great turnout of people – much more than on some years when it was wet and soggy.

Late Saturday afternoon after collecting the mail at the Post Office I went back to Lee’s Clothing where I purchased the Nordic sweater I had picked out.

Pink salmon and roe

Today’s catch was two pinks – one male, one female – 21 inches, and 22 inches.

While fishing, after I had caught the first one, a ferry went by at a fairly rapid clip. I know that ferries displace a considerable amount of water, resulting in large swells and surf along the shore. I miscalculated how much surf would come crashing through. I had my tackle high enough, but I thought the fish would be fine where it was. When the waves came in I realized I would have to hold on to the fish to keep it from getting washed away. As a result I was hit with water from head to toe. I was wearing a long jacket so it kept most of my uppers dry, but from about thigh down, my jeans and shoes were completely soaked. (I still have water in one of my ears from getting hit with the water.)

Pink salmon roe is noticeably larger and lighter in color than the silver roe. You can see the huge color difference in the photo below. If you look closely, you can see the size difference as well. I needed a jar for the new roe, so I had to finish off the silver caviar (on rice) from the first silver catch from last Thursday.

I also baked some of the silver from Saturday. This is one of three filets I baked tonight. Cook’s Illustrated had simple oven-baked directions – start in a very hot oven (500F), then immediately lower it (275F) and let the filet bake at the lowering temperature until done (about 9-13 minutes). I must say it turned our quite well – better than my previous attempts using the broiler.

Open House and Dessert Party

We had our party this evening and just finished putting things away and cleaning up. We had a number of friends and some neighbors over.

Here are photos of the results of all the work I've been doing this week. The pies were purchased and the brownies were made from a mix. Elise made the little chocolate mice.

From bottom right going clockwise: plate of cookies from a neighbor; triple ginger cookies; carrots and mini-dill pickles; egg salad, tomato and Swiss, and avocado roast beef sandwiches; mixed... nuts and craisins; double chocolate peppermint crunch cookies; cheeses; crackers; pumpkin pie; cherry pie; strawberry cream sponge cake; dark chocolate brownies; apple upside-down cake; macadamia white chocolate cranberry cookies


Macadamia, white chocolate, and cranberry cookies.


No, I didn't make the crackers and cheese. A few chocolate mice trying to sneak off with some cheese.


Double chocolate peppermint crunch cookies

Thanksgiving Dinner

It's only Tuesday, two days before Thanksgiving, but we had our Thanksgiving dinner this evening. Since Tuesday is normally the day we have people over anyway and because most people had other plans for Thursday, today was more convenient for getting together. We weren't the earliest Thanksgiving dinner - the Presbyterian (to which we went) and the Baptist churches had their Thanksgiving potlucks on Sunday. We will be joining the Lutheran church-hosted dinner on Thursday.

The menu for this evening was as pictured: Grilled turkey; wild rice stuffing with pine nuts; green beans with sundried tomatoes, olives, garlic, and almonds; roasted carrots; cranberry-orange chutney with cumin, fennel, and mustard seeds; mashed sweet potatoes (yams) with cumin and oranges; apple crisp; roasted brussel sprouts (covered container); dinner rolls (in basket); mashed potatoes (not pictured); pumpkin pie (not pictured).



(Oh, it snowed today. Other than a few isolated flakes a few days back, this is the first real snow in Petersburg this fall.)

More salmon

This morning I cooked and consumed the last of the king salmon. I broiled it with some tarragon and then sprinkled some lemon zest and juice after I placed it on the plate.



I caught another pink salmon this afternoon. It was 20.75 inches long and weighed in at just over 3 pounds.



When I opened it up I discovered it was female with quite a bit of roe. I hadn't a clue how to get the roe prepared, or even if it was possible to do so. I saved it just in case. After I had finished with the fish, I searched on the web for instructions on preparing the roe. The simplest method I found is to prepare it in brine and save it in a jar. It is supposed to keep up to two weeks this way.

Kelp Greenling with lime, butter, and cilantro

This is what kelp greenling looks like after it is cooked. It is a white flesh fish. I marinated the fillets in lime juice and salt, and then pan-fried them in butter. After setting them on the plate, I drizzled some of the browned butter over the top and then placed some cilantro leaves on top.

It tasted quite a bit like cod and lingcod, both which are relatives of the kelp greenling.

On a slightly different note, I got to use the fish spatula that I purchased during our vacation a few weeks ago. I cooked these fillets in the All-Clad stainless steel pan and they didn't stick. I really like the way the pan heats evenly and quickly and how I'm able to use fairly low heat settings and still get the food to cook.

Experiments with curried fish

After two weeks of daily consumption of salted and fire grilled fish, not too surprisingly I was starting to get a little tired of it. It was time to move on to some different preparations.

This evening I put together a simple marinade/sauce of vegetable oil, garlic, ginger, cumin, coriander, turmeric, salt, pepper, cayenne pepper, and lime juice. I placed the fish on a large piece of heavy-duty foil, sliced a few vertical incisions into the sides, then brushed the sauce on the inside and outside of the fish. I closed up the foil tightly around the fish and baked it in the oven at 425F for about 30 minutes.

The result was quite good. I finished one side of the fish this evening. As I took the other side off of the bones, placed the pieces in a different container, and poured the remaining sauce on top of them, I realized this was actually a fish curry of sorts. This may not be the usual way to cook curry, but it might be a good way to make curry out of a whole fish. It’s much easier to pull the flesh off the bones after it’s cooked. I still have more fish already in the refrigerator and freezer, and I’m sure I’ll be catching more so I have plenty of supplies with which to experiment.

International Food Fest

The homeschool art class got together this evening to show off their projects they had worked on during the last several months and to sample foods from different cultures and/or eras. There were foods from Germany, the 1920’s USA, the Civil War, Spain, etc. Amy selected Japanese for our family.

I started some of the work yesterday, preparing sweet red bean paste (粒アン) and a salad in sweet vinegar (酢の物). For the salad I went out to the beach and foraged some sea lettuce. Although it comes from a different family of algae, it seemed close enough in texture to wakame (わかめ), a type of kelp.

This morning I started preparing sweet black beans (黒豆) at 5 a.m. I went out to fish at 6 a.m. and caught the two Dollies as reported earlier. After spending some time with the ministers in town, I returned home and resumed work on dinner.

I continued with making daifuku (大福) – mochi (though I used sweet rice flour) wrapped around the sweet red bean paste. I marinated some tofu for frying later in the afternoon. I cooked some carrots, eggs, and shiitake mushrooms to use in sushi. I cooked the rice (or rather, I washed the rice and the rice cooker cooked the rice). I prepared a spicy miso sauce to go over the tofu, and also chopped some green onions to go on top of that. I fried the tofu and set it aside for the assembly to be completed right before dinner.

While starting to take a brief breather, Shelley called and said she needed her costume for a play right now. So I tried to start the car, and it wouldn’t. I called Elise, she came over, picked up Amy and the costume, and left. Elise brought home some daikon and romaine lettuce. I shredded the daikon for use as a bed for a grilled fish, then shredded some carrots to use as accents. I went out and picked some dandelion blossoms, also to be used as decoration.

I got the sushi seasonings mixed into the rice and Elise went to work stuffing inari sushi. I put together futo-maki sushi after she finished her part.

I got the outdoor grill fired up and the fish salted and oiled. Then it went onto the grill and cooked nicely. When done it was placed on a platter with a bed of romaine lettuce and the shredded daikon on top of that. The carrots and dandelion blossoms would be arranged at location.

While this was going on, Amy was getting her kimono on and Shelley trying to get the obi tied properly. In the end, it probably didn’t get done quite right (Shelley wasn’t happy with it) but I don’t think anyone noticed that it wasn’t right.

We went to the Bible Church and set everything up, putting in the finishing touches. There was quite a crowd present. The children (and a few adults) were dressed up in cultural and period clothing. The food and company was good and a pleasant evening was had by all.

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Chicken in Creamy Red Curry Sauce

It’s been quite some time since I posted anything cooking related.

For this evening’s meal I put together chicken cooked in a red curry sauce. I browsed a few recipes to get some ideas and refresh my memory as to the different spice combinations and cooking methods.

I had some bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs in the freezer. I have plenty of potatoes. I also had about a cup of cream left in a container. Finally I had a few carrots in the refrigerator. All of that combined with the usual suspects –onion, garlic, ginger, spices – should do the trick. I wanted red curry, not yellow curry, so I used some bright, red paprika and omitted the turmeric. One of the recipes employed white vinegar, but I had a can of diced tomatoes lying around, so I used that to add the acidity to the curry.

If the chicken was already defrosted and I had enough time, I probably would have marinated the chicken, or at least let it sit in brine, but I didn’t have time for that so the chicken turned out a bit bland all by itself. It was fine though eaten with the sauce.

Ingredients

• 1 lb. potatoes
• 4 cloves garlic
• 2 inches fresh ginger, roughly chopped
• 1 Tbsp. vegetable oil
• 4 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
• 1 large onion, chopped medium
• salt
• 1 Tbsp. ground cumin
• 1 Tbsp. ground coriander
• 1 tsp. cardamom seeds
• 2 tsp. paprika
• 1/4 tsp. ground cayenne
• black pepper
• 4-5 carrots, large dice
• 1 14.5-oz can diced tomatoes (with juice)
• 1 cup whipping or heavy cream
• More salt to taste

Directions

1. “Bake” potatoes in microwave (many microwaves have a “baked potato” setting – that is what I used). Let cool. Peel and dice into 1-inch chunks.
2. Place garlic and ginger pieces in food processor. Add 2-3 Tbsp. water and process until paste is formed. Set aside.
3. Heat oil in a large sauté pan (I use a 13-inch pan with 2.5-inch high sides with a lid) over medium-high heat. When hot, place chicken pieces in pan and brown, about 5-6 minutes per side. (Use a splatter screen.) Remove and set aside.
4. Without removing pan from heat, add onions into the chicken juices and fat, sprinkle with about 1 tsp. salt, and cook until they become slightly softened. Move onions to the sides of pan and in the open space in center, pour in the garlic-ginger paste. Stir and fry until most of the liquid has evaporated. Combine with the onions and continue to fry until onions are translucent.
5. Move the onion mixture to the sides of pan once more. Pour in the spices (cumin through black pepper) in the open area, stir and fry for about half a minute, then combine with the onions. Stir and fry another minute longer.
6. Add the tomatoes, their juice, cream, and carrots. Bring to a boil then reduce heat to medium-low. Add potatoes and stir gently to combine. Taste sauce and add more salt if desired.
7. Return chicken pieces to pan, skin side up, creating holes in the pan contents so that chicken sits well in the sauce, but without covering the skin. Simmer 18-20 minutes until chicken is fully cooked.

New Years 2010

Happy New Year!

It’s only been a few hours since Alaska welcomed in the New Year. I got all the cooking done and on time.

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Added a few more photos that include guests and family.

Jar of Pasta Sauce

On the return from our outing yesterday, I stopped to pick up items for supper. Because I was rather tired and still feeling the effects of jetlag, I looked to see what I could find for a pre-made, jar of pasta sauce. I did find some, but they were something like 300 yen for a jar about half the size of, say, a Ragu or Prego.

It was back to my original plan: putting together a marinara sauce mostly from scratch. I looked for cans of crushed tomatoes – no luck. There were cans of whole, peeled tomatoes and diced tomatoes. Just no crushed tomatoes. There were pouches of lightly seasoned tomato sauce. The photo on the package pictured a fairly lumpy kind of sauce, so I decided to take a chance with them. I picked up three of them at 158 yen each. (I ended up using two of them – still rather expensive compared to canned ones in the States.)

I wanted some fresh basil leaves, but was unable to locate any at the grocery I happened to be in, and being so tired I did not want to go to another one.

The sauce turned out just fine with the substitutions. The tomato sauce pouches contained tomatoes that were close enough to crushed tomatoes.

Squash and Pumpkin Season

Fall is definitely here. Not just because of the torrential rains we’ve been having, but because this afternoon I found large boxes of pumpkins and winter squash on sale. Baking sugar pumpkins were on sale for 55¢/lb. and winter squash for 89¢/lb. I loaded up the shopping cart and came home with close to 35 lb.

Why so much all at once? First, because stored in a cool environment they last quite a while. Second, because it’s important here to get them while there’s still a good selection of fresh, undamaged, unspoiled ones.

We’ll be having baked squash, squash soup, squash gratin, squash stew, squash, squash, squash…

Recipe: Cream Stew with Peas and Potatoes

I peered into our refrigerator this afternoon and saw there weren’t any vegetables left in there. I had already been out to run errands, so I didn’t really want to go out again. I looked into the freezer and saw several bags of frozen peas. So… theme for tonight: peas.

In Japan there is a boxed roux for what is called shi-chu – which I’m sure came from stew. The one I had most recently, which would now be several months ago, was a creamy, white type. Anyway, that idea popped into my mind, and thus I was on a mission to recreate something similar.

I did a quick search for recipes already on the web for something similar but didn’t really find anything where I looked. I was primarily interested in seeing what kind of spices and seasonings were used in other variations. There was one that seemed like a distant cousin and it used oregano and cumin. An interesting combination, I thought, but figured it was worth a try.

After pulling out all the ingredients, here’s what I had…

• 1-1/2 cups milk
• 1/2 cup cream
• 3 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
• 2 medium russet potatoes, cooked, peeled, and cut into 1-inch chunks (see note at end)
• 2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
• 1 large onion, diced medium
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 tsp. dried oregano
• 1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1/2 tsp. ground cumin
• 1-1/2 to 2 cups sliced chunks of vegetarian steak (see note at end)
• 2 chicken bouillon cubes
• 1-1/2 to 2 cups frozen peas

1. In a medium bowl whisk milk, cream, and flour. Set aside.
2. In a large sauté pan (I used a 14-inch pan with 2-inch high sides) heat oil over medium heat. When hot, add onions, salt, pepper, oregano, and red pepper and fry until onions start to become translucent. Add garlic and fry another minute. Add cumin and stir to mix. Add vegetarian steak and continue to fry for another minute or two.
3. Whisk mixture from Step 1 once more and carefully pour into pan. Add potatoes and bouillon cubes. Stir to combine, breaking apart the bouillon. Add more salt if needed (I found the 1 tsp. salt and the salt in the bouillon sufficient). Bring heat to low and gently simmer for 20-30 minutes to combine flavors, stirring occasionally.
4. Add frozen peas, increase heat to medium and cook another 7 to 10 minutes until peas are warmed through, stirring frequently to prevent burning on the bottom.

Note 1: While I prepped everything else, I cooked the potatoes in the microwave oven, using its baked potato settings. By the time I was ready to peel and cut the potatoes, they were cool enough to the touch.

Note 2: I had a can of Worthington vegetarian steaks. I used about six chunks and sliced them into about 1” x 1/8” sizes. I plan to use chicken breasts and mushrooms in a couple of days. For that I plan to brown the sliced chicken breasts first (and then remove and set aside, added back in with the potatoes) before frying the onions. The mushrooms will go in when the vegetarian steaks went in.

I’m not sure how close I came to the pre-made roux that I mentioned earlier, but the result was definitely satisfying and good enough to do again.

Recipe: Red – Potato, Radish, Tomato

I had some red potatoes sitting around, also some radishes, and a bit of fresh sage from a few days ago. What could I do with them…?

I didn’t know how it would turn out, but I crafted a dish that combined all of them. It turned out surprisingly well. It’s similar to several other dishes I’ve made, but today’s combination is brand new.

• 1 lb. red potatoes (about 3 large), washed, optionally peeled, and sliced thin (about 1/8”)
• 1 bunch (about 12) radishes, washed and sliced thin
• 1 large section of a shallot, sliced thin
• 2 tsp. minced fresh sage leaves
• 4 tbsp. + 2 tbsp. olive oil
• 1 tsp. salt + a little more
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 tsp. ketchup
• 1 tsp. soy sauce
• 1 tomato, seeded and sliced
• 1/4 to 1/3 cup finely grated or shredded cheese (e.g., mozarella and parmesan mix)
• 1/4 cup pine nuts
• Juice from 1/2 fresh lemon

1. Prepare potatoes, radish, shallot, and sage as directed above. Set aside. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. Over medium-high heat, heat 4 tbps. oil in a 12” frying pan. When hot, drop in half each of the shallots and minced sage. Fry until shallots become tender, about 2 minutes. Add radishes, sprinkle with salt (about 1/4 tsp.) and pepper, and continue to fry until they become tender. Remove from heat and using slotted spoon remove radishes, shallots, and sage and set aside in a bowl.
3. Return pan to heat, add 2 tbsp. oil. Add remaining shallots and sage and fry until shallots are tender, about 2 minutes. Add potatoes, sprinkle 1 tsp. of salt and pepper, then stir to combine. Fry, stirring occasionally until surface of potatoes are browned, about 8-10 minutes. While potatoes are frying, combine ketchup, soy sauce, and about 3 tbsp. of water in a small bowl. When potatoes are nearly done frying, pour mixture into pan, stir to mix and combine. Fry another 30 seconds or so. Remove from heat.
4. Place radishes from step 2 on top of the potatoes. Arrange tomato slices on top of the radishes. Sprinkle cheese on top. Cover (if you don’t have a lid, cover with seal with foil) and bake for about 15 minutes. Uncover and continue to bake another 5 minutes.
5. Meanwhile toast pine nuts in a frying pan over medium heat until lightly tanned. Place into a bowl and set aside. When potatoes are done baking, remove pan from oven and sprinkle pine nuts on top. Drizzle lemon juice over the potatoes and serve. (Additional sage sprig or parsley can be used for garnish.)

Ketchup as a flavor enhancer

While in Japan I saw a television show on the merits of using ketchup as a replacement for ‘dashi.’ Why this fascinated me in particular is that I had been on the search for a replacement. Dashi typically uses seaweed and fish, which is problematic for strict vegetarians and vegans. Even seaweed may be too “fishy” for some people.

From past food articles and podcasts I had already known tomatoes are high in umami. Because of the way ketchup is produced, it concentrates the umami into a very small volume. What the television show provided was actual data that showed how much umami and kokumi is present in ketchup. There is so much in there and it is present in a manner that diluting ketchup by ten or even fifty times does not reduce the amount of umami and kokumi that is experienced by the tongue.

Over the past few days, now that I’m back in the kitchen again, I’ve been using diluted ketchup to enhance the flavors of various dishes. The results so far have been positive. The miso soup made using ketchup instead of traditional dashi seemed to be okay. This evening’s stir-fry vegetables and tofu also included a bit of ketchup in the sauce. Shelley noted how good this particular stir-fry was. When asked, I couldn’t recall anything I did differently from past versions, but later this evening I realized that I did add one key ingredient that was different – ketchup.

The key is to use ketchup sparingly. One teaspoon (or even half) into a single family dish should be more than sufficient. You don’t want to taste the ketchup… unless of course that’s what you want. Dilute, dilute, dilute…

With this knowledge I might even be able to put together Asian dishes for church dinners without scratching my head as to where to obtain the necessary umami and kokumi.

Recipe: Black Beans and Corn flavored with Chipotle

Our annual Southeast campmeeting is coming up in just over a week. Once again our church is responsible for Sabbath lunch. I want dishes that are interesting yet not too complicated. I have in mind three dishes: Pasta with a tomato pesto; roasted vegetables; and now the black beans and corn.

The inspiration for this dish came from searching about for something to do with black beans. I saw a photo for a pizza with black beans and corn topping. I didn’t look at the recipe, however. It looked like an interesting combination so I pondered it in the back of my mind. I wanted something that wasn’t soupy but rather, dry. I didn’t want something that tasted like ordinary black beans or a chili.

The key would be what I used as the primary flavorings. I thought about chipotle chiles in adobo sauce. The problem is that these chiles are HOT when directly used in a dish. I’m okay with it, but not too many others that I know would be. So how could I get the chipotle flavor minus the heat…? I also thought that lime juice would perk up the taste. In addition to these two, the usual suspects of salt, pepper, garlic, and cilantro would go in.

This afternoon as I began to work on the beans after I had soaked them all day, the thought came to me: boil the beans with the chipotle chile, smashed cloves of garlic, and salt. Now normally when salt is added to beans while cooking, they don’t soften up as much. In this case this would be a desirable feature. I wanted firm beans with the corn.

I threw in two chipotle chiles, whole, into the pot of beans and water. I crushed two cloves of garlic with the flat of the knife and threw that in as well. I poured in some salt and cooked it for about 35 minutes until the beans were tender but firm. When I drained it I removed the chiles. I went to remove the garlic also but discovered they were very, very soft. I thought, why not just mash them and include it in the beans? And so I did.

Next question was how to cook the corn… I was going to fry it, but should I use vegetable oil or butter? I opted for the latter. I fried about the same volume of frozen corn as the cooked beans until the corn was thawed, then added the beans, pepper, and a bit more salt. I also took a tiny bit of the adobo sauce and added it to the pan and fried them all together.

After a few minutes I took the pan off the heat, combined chopped, fresh cilantro, and the juice squeezed from one lime. Voila! It was done, and it was very good. The beans retain the smoky flavor from the chiles without their heat. The corn provides a sweetness to the dish and the lime juice gives it a needed tartness and lift.

Serves about 4 as a side dish

Ingredients

• 1 cup dry black beans, soaked according to package directions
• 2 whole, chipotle chiles in adobo sauce
• 2 cloves, garlic, crushed with flat of knife blade
• Salt, divided (1-1/2 tsp. and to taste)
• 2 tbsp. unsalted butter
• 2 cups frozen corn
• (optional) Adobo sauce from chiles, to taste
• Freshly ground pepper, to taste
• 1/4 cup chopped, fresh cilantro
• Juice from 1 lime

1. Place soaked beans into a 3-qt. pot and cover with enough liquid so that it is about 2-inches above the beans. Add the chiles, garlic, and 1-1/2 tsp. of salt. Bring to boil then reduce heat, cover and simmer for 35-40 minutes until beans are tender but still firm to the bite. Drain beans and discard chiles. Lightly mash chunks of garlic. Set aside.
2. In a large frying pan, melt butter. Add corn and fry until thawed. Add adobo sauce, if using. Add beans and garlic. Add salt and pepper to taste. Continue to fry for a few more minutes until any liquid is absorbed or evaporated. Remove from heat and stir in cilantro and lime juice.

Sunny days are here again

If the weather forecasts hold true, we could be in for some record breaking high temperatures during one or more days this coming week.

Today was sunny but still relatively cool. I went out on another 30 mile bike ride. My legs felt better than they have ever felt so far this year. My only question is: why is it that on an out-and-back bicycle ride, the headwind is always on the “back” portion? I saw some new wildflowers along the road, though I did not stop to take a look at them so I’m not entirely sure what they are. One was red with a yellow center.

Tomorrow is 4th of July, aka Independence Day. We will have a very short worship at church and then join the community for the celebration. We are planning to have lunch with the long-term care residents at the Medical Center. They are having an indoor 4th of July picnic and the community is invited. Elise made some deviled eggs. I put together a key lime icebox pie.

For supper this evening, I tested a test recipe that Cook’s Illustrated sent out. I signed up to be on their recipe test panel and this was the first recipe I got. It was broccoli sautéed with bacon and red onions. I substituted some turkey bacon for regular bacon. The problem with turkey bacon is that it doesn’t have any fat… Thus I added some canola oil as I was frying the bacon. The result is meaty flavored vegetable dish that I think can appeal to even die-hard carnivores. I have some thoughts about using Worthington Stripples® or Morningstar Farms® Veggie Bacon Strips to see how close it gets to the meat version.

Slow Cooker Vegetarian Black Bean Chili

This is, I suppose, similar to another one I posted some time ago. This one uses fewer ingredients and is done in a large slow cooker (i.e., Crockpot®). The quantities are large because I prepared this to be served at our weekly supper at our church.

Roasting the red peppers gives the dish a slight smoky flavor. The smokiness is very subtle. Another method for obtaining this flavor and make it more overt is to use chipotle chilies in adobo sauce, but then you have to be committed to a rather hot and spicy result. If you’d rather not go to the trouble of roasting and peeling, you could just add the diced peppers with the tomatoes. Depending on how long it cooks, it could be crunchy or tender.

Serves: 10-12 as a main dish, double that as a side dish

• 1 pkg (1 lb.) dry black beans, washed
• Salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 3 red bell peppers
• 1 - 28 oz can crushed tomatoes
• 1 - 28 oz can diced tomatoes, drained
• 2 Tbsp. brown sugar
• 1 pkg (1 lb.) frozen corn
• 2 Tbsp. canola oil
• 6 cloves garlic, crushed
• 3 medium onions, diced
• 2 jalapenos (optional), seeded (or left in, if you prefer) and diced

For adding as it is served:

• Cilantro, chopped
• Cheese, grated
• Sour cream (optional)

1. Cook beans with 6 cups of water, and 1 Tbsp. salt in Crockpot until tender (was about 3 hrs. on high).
2. Oven roast red peppers as follows. Slice off tops and bottoms. Remove stem and seeds. Slice the middle section so that it lays flat onto a baking sheet. Also lay tops and bottoms on baking sheet. Set oven rack to top rack, turn broiler on high. Broil peppers for about 4 minutes, turn baking sheet around and continue to broil another 4-5 minutes until skin is black. When cool, peel skin and dice peppers. Set aside. (See note above.)
3. Add tomatoes, brown sugar, and corn; continue to cook (I lowered to Lo setting at this point).
4. In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add garlic and fry until fragrant. Add onions and another tsp salt, black pepper, and cook until lightly browned. Add jalapenos and cook another minute or so. Add mixture and diced red peppers to beans, stir to mix well and continue to cook to blend flavors.
5. Adjust seasonings to taste and serve with cilantro, cheese, sour cream.