Turkey Burgers and Sweet Potato Fries

The other night I decided to use up that 2 lb of ground turkey I purchased. I found a recipe I'd wanted to try for awhile. I don't know how many of you watch Top Chef (one of my favs), Spike who was a contestant but not the winner went on to open a restaurant in Washington DC. His turkey burger has turned out to be President & Michelle Obama's favorite burger. Well, aside from that it is now my absolutely favorite turkey burger. I followed this recipe closely except for adding 3 cloves (finely chopped, of course) garlic. Made the Guac and the combined tastes to make for a very happy mouth. I decided to make healthy sweet potato frys to go with that, I'm including that recipe as well. The curried yogurt dip to go with the frys is so good, a little sweet/tart and truly complements the frys. When making the sweet potato frys the secret is to heat the cookie sheet to very hot, this helps to crisp up the potatoes. COOK ON....

Spike Mendelsohn's White House Turkey Burgers

Ingredients:

2 lbs ground Turkey

1 Cup diced celery

1 Cup diced apples

1 Cup diced red onions

1 Tbsp mango salsa

Handful of chopped Parsley

Juice of 2 lemons, and fine zest from the lemons

1 Tbsp Olive Oil

Neutral Cooking Oil

A dash of Cayenne

Salt & pepper to taste

Slices of Muenster cheese

Method:

Heat olive oil over medium heat, and toss in the red onions, turning them so they don't burn; "sweat" this for about 45 seconds, turning with wooden spoon so it doesn't burn

Add apples and celery and mango salsa, sprinkle in cayenne then salt & pepper, and season to taste. Keep stirring while everything binds; scrape the pan, and toss in chopped parsley at the last minute, then set aside to cool.

When ingredients are cool, combine with turkey meat. Squeeze in the lemon juice while combining, and add the lemon zest. Mash it all together well, so fruit and onions are well distributed throughout the meat. Spike suggests re-seasoning a little at this point, to taste. Make eight balls with the mixture, and refrigerate until ready to cook.

To cook burgers: In a deep skillet, heat a small amount of neutral cooking oil on medium heat, almost to the smoking point. Put in four burger balls to cook at a time, and flatten down with a spatula. Cook for 3 minutes and flip, and cook an additional 3 minutes on the other side. In the last 30 seconds of cooking, pop Muenster cheese slices on burgers, and cover pan so it melts.

5. Serve on toasted Multi-grain buns, with lettuce and tomato slices, and top with Spike's Gucamole (recipe below).

Spike's Guacamole

Ingredients:

3 Avocados

1 Cup ripped cilantro

2 Tblsp chopped red onions

Juice of 2 lemons

Salt

Method:

1. Peel and pit avocados and crush with a whisk

2. Stir in lemon juice, onions, and cilantro

3. Add a couple of finely chopped chilies for heat, if you prefer

4. Salt to taste (lightly)

Serve on Turkey Burgers.

SWEET POTATO OVEN FRIES

Ingredients:

2 large sweet potatoes, washed, peeled, and cut lengthwise into 1/8 wedges (I cut mine thinner, depends on your own taste)

3 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

1/2 tsp kosher salt

1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

1/4 cup cilantro leaves, washed, dried, and chopped fine

Salt

Curried Yogurt Dipping Sauce:

1/4 cup mayonnaise (full-fat is best, low-fat will work fine, non-fat will not!)

1/2 cup plain yogurt (again, full-fat yay! low-fat yes! non-fat NO!)

Juice from 1/2 lemon

1 tbsp honey

1 1/2 tbsp curry powder

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Instructions:

Sweet Potato Oven Fries:

Preheat oven to 475º F. Line a half-sheet pan with foil and place in hot oven for at least 20 minutes to get hot.

Using clean hands, toss sweet potato wedges with extra virgin olive oil, kosher salt, and freshly ground pepper until all surfaces are coated evenly.

Remove hot sheet pan from oven, and arrange coated sweet potato wedges in a single layer. Place sheet pan back in the oven and roast for about 25-30 minutes. About half-way through roasting time, flip the wedges onto the other side so that they brown evenly. Sweet potato wedges are ready when all sides are evenly browned and slightly crispy on the outside.

While oven fries are hot, sprinkle with a few flakes of fleur de sel and the chopped cilantro. Transfer to a serving dish. (NOTE: I used a parchment paper cone for serving, which looked lovely if I do say so myself!)

Curried Yogurt Dipping Sauce:

1. In a work bowl, mix together mayonnaise, yogurt, lemon juice, honey, and curry powder with a fork. Make sure there are no lumps and everything is incorporated evenly. Season to taste with salt and pepper, transfer to a serving bowl, and serve alongside the sweet potato oven fries.

Yield: 2 servings of a healthy, wonderfully flavorful and colorful alternative to ordinary french fries

Salad Rolls and Noodle Salad

I had a wonderful time cooking with "my girls" in California. Our menu was Japanese and it was so delicious a feast really. The Menu:

Shrimp salad rolls w/a peanut sauce and dipping sauce

Pork Dumplings w/dipping sauce

Shrimp Udon Noodle Salad

Teriyaki beef

Sweet chicken skewers w/veggies

Steamed rice

Mochi & Almond cookies

I'm going to include the Noodle Salad, healthy, and satisfying and also the salad rolls. A little labor intensive but easy to do and worth it. COOK ON.........

Salad Rolls

Work with one sheet of rice paper at a time. (Keep remaining sheets covered with a barely damp cloth to prevent curling.) Immerse rice paper in warm water, quickly remove and place on dry towel. It will soften within seconds.

Drain the carrots. Lay one piece lettuce on bottom third of softened rice paper. On lettuce place 1 tablespoon noodles, 1 tablespoon each shredded carrot and bean sprouts and a few mint leaves.

Roll paper up halfway, and then fold sides of paper over the filling. Lay 2 shrimp halves, cut side down, along the edge of the cylinder and place several cilantro leaves along the shrimp. Finish rolling into a cylinder. Place rolls on a plate, covered with a lightly dampened cloth, as you assemble the remaining rolls.

Pour dipping sauce into small bowls and sprinkle chopped peanuts over sauce. Dip rolls in sauce.

Nuoc Cham (Vietnamese Dipping Sauce): This sauce may be prepared a day in advance; if so, cover and chill. Remove from refrigerator an hour before serving.

Combine all ingredients in blender or food processor and process 30 seconds. Cover until ready to serve.

Serve at room temperature.

Nuoc Leo (Vietnamese Peanut Sauce): In small saucepan, heat oil over medium heat. Saute garlic, chile paste and tomato paste until garlic is golden, about 30 seconds. Add broth, sugar, peanut butter and hoisin and whisk until smooth. Bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer 3 minutes.

Serve warm or at room temperature. Before serving, garnish with ground peanuts and sliced chiles

JAPANESE NOODLE, SHRIMP, AND CUCUMBER SALAD

2/3 c. rice wine vinegar

1/4 c. soy sauce

1/4 c. vegetable oil

3 tbsp. sugar

1 tsp. dry mustard

Pinch of cayenne pepper

SALAD:

1 lb. fresh bean sprouts

14 oz. dried soba noodles

1/4 c. oriental sesame oil

2 lbs. cooked bay shrimp

3 lg. cucumbers, peeled, halved, and thinly sliced

6 green onions, sliced

Red cabbage leaves

For Dressing: Whisk together vinegar, soy sauce, oil, sugar, and mustard in small bowl. Season with cayenne pepper. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover and leave at room temperature.)

For Salad: Blanch bean sprouts in boiling water 30 seconds. Drain and refresh in cold water. Drain. Bring large pot of salted water to boil. Add noodles and boil until tender, stirring occasionally, about 3 minutes. Drain noodles. Refresh in cold water. Drain and place in large bowl. Add sesame oil and toss to coat. (Can be prepared up to 6 hours ahead. Cover and refrigerate bean sprouts and oriental noodles separately.)

Add bean sprouts, shrimp, cucumbers, and onions to noodles. Drizzle with dressing. Toss gently to combine. Line platter with cabbage leaves and mound salad in center.

California here I come......

I'm off to California tomorrow for a few days. While I'm there I'll be participating in a "Brazin" Women cooking day with my foodie friends. Tentative plans are for a Japanese meal, I will share the best of the best with you when I get back. Have a wonderful week, now is the time to make soup, I've included a nice little soup recipe to keep you warm, it is an easy Asian Dumpling soup. one of my favorite. COOK ON..........

Asian Dumpling Soup

Ingredients MAKES 4 SERVINGS

4 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth

2 teaspoons soy sauce

1 small clove garlic, crushed

1 16-ounce bag frozen Thai shrimp gyoza, or pot stickers

3 cups refrigerated or frozen stir-fry vegetables, any variety

1 egg (optional)

1 teaspoon dark sesame oil

Freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

In a medium pot, heat broth, soy sauce and garlic over medium-high heat. Bring mixture to a boil. Add gyoza and vegetables. When mixture boils again, reduce heat to medium-low and cook for 5 minutes.

If using egg, beat with a fork until frothy. Slowly pour into boiling soup in a thin stream, creating cooked ribbons of egg. If you prefer, you can pan-fry the egg, cut into strips or squares, and use as a garnish.

Remove from heat. Stir in sesame oil. Season to taste with pepper.

Turkey and Spinach Curry

I made this curry last night, it is very, very simple you can use chicken or even left over beef. Such a good recipe to bring back to life a left over. My turkey is finally gone. Make this tonight, before your turkey has to be thrown out, hate to waste food. COOK ON.......

Turkey & Spinach Curry

Ingredients Serves 4

2 tablespoons peanut oil (I used olive oil)

1 small onion, chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon ground coriander

1 tablespoon Curry Powder (or to your taste)

1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon turmeric

1/8 teaspoon cayenne, or to taste (or more if you like a really hot curry)

1 cup tomatoes, chopped (canned are fine; include their juice)

1 cup coconut milk

Salt and freshly ground pepper

1/2 pound fresh spinach, trimmed of thick stems, washed and roughly chopped

2 cups leftover turkey, white or dark meat or a combination, roughly chopped

Freshly chopped cilantro for garnish.

Directions

Heat oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat; add onion, garlic and ginger and cook until they begin to soften, about 2 to 3 minutes. Add cumin, coriander, turmeric and cayenne and cook, stirring, until spices are fragrant, about another minute.

Add tomatoes and their juices and coconut milk and sprinkle with salt and pepper; bring mixture to a boil and reduce heat to medium. Simmer for another 8 to 10 minutes, or until tomatoes break down.

Add spinach & turkey to pan and continue to cook until spinach wilts & turkey is warmed through, 3 to 5 minutes. Adjust seasoning, garnish with cilantro and serve.

The Minimalist: The Turkey That Went to India (November 25, 2009)

Mom's Roasted Turkey

Hi Everyone, hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving. We sure did. Best food ever I think, it was a pot luck so you get the best of everyone. I am giving you my Roast Turkey recipe, it's not my mom's recipe but it's someone's mom. I got this out of the newspaper about 5 years ago and have used it ever since. The secret to the recipe is that you cook the turkey breast down, which gets all the juice into the turkey instead of out. This year I made two turkeys on two different days so we had enough turkey meat for everyone. I also brined them and I think it really makes a difference. It's a very simple brine and you just do it the night before, that recipe is also included in this post. I thought if you do turkey again for Christmas or New Year you might like to try this recipe, you will be surprised at how delicious the humble turkey can taste. COOK ON................

Mom's Roasted Turkey

INGREDIENTS

1 turkey, approx. 15 lbs.*

Juice of a lemon

Salt and pepper

Olive oil or melted butter

1/2 yellow onion, peeled and quartered

Tops and bottoms of a bunch of celery

2 carrots

Parsley

Sprigs of fresh rosemary, thyme

Need help figuring out how big a turkey to get?

12-15 lb turkey for 10-12 people
15-18 lb turkey for 14-16 people
18-22 lb turkey for 20-22 people

Directions

1. To start, if the turkey has been refrigerated, bring it to room temperature before cooking. Keep it in its plastic wrapping until you are ready to cook it. While in the refrigerator, and or while you are bringing it to room temp, have the bird resting in a pan, so that if the plastic covering leaks for any reason, you are confining the juices to the pan. If you get a frozen turkey, you will need to defrost it in the refrigerator for several days first. Allow approximately 5 hours of defrosting for every pound. So, if you have a 15 pound turkey, it will take about 75 hours to defrost it in the refrigerator, or around 3 days.

Handle a raw turkey with the same amount of caution as when you handle raw chicken - use a separate cutting board and utensils to avoid contaminating other foods. Wash you hands with soap before touching anything else in the kitchen. Use paper towels to clean up.

Remove the neck and giblets(heart, gizzard, liver). Use the heart and gizzard for making stock for the stuffing. The neck can be cooked along side the turkey or saved for turkey soup.

Note: that if your turkey comes with a plastic piece holding the legs together, check the instructions on the turkey's package. Most likely you do not need to remove those plastic ties for cooking (unless you plan to cook your turkey at a very high temperature). If you remove the plastic ties, you will need to use kitchen string to tie the legs together.

2. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

3. Wash out the turkey with water. Pull out any remaining feather stubs in the turkey skin. Pat the turkey dry with paper towels. Lather the inside of the cavity with the juice of half a lemon. Take a small handful of salt and rub all over the inside of the turkey.

4. In this method of cooking a turkey, we don't make the stuffing in the turkey because doing so adds too much to the cooking time. For flavor, put in inside the turkey a half a yellow onion, peeled and quartered, a bunch of parsley, a couple of carrots, and some tops and bottoms of celery. You may need to cap the body cavity with some aluminum foil so that the stuffing doesn't easily fall out. Close up the turkey cavity with either string (not nylon string!) or metal skewers. Make sure that the turkey's legs are tied together, held close to the body, and tie a string around the turkey body to hold the wings in close. The neck cavity can be stuffed with parsley and tied closed with thin skewers and string.

5. Rub either melted butter or olive oil all over the outside of the turkey. Sprinkle salt generously all over the outside of the turkey (or have had it soaking in salt-water brine before starting this process). Sprinkle pepper over the turkey.

Place turkey BREAST DOWN on the bottom of a rack over a sturdy roasting pan big enough to catch all the drippings. This is the main difference between the way mom makes turkey and everyone else. Cooking the turkey breast down means the skin over the breast will not get so brown. However, all of the juices from the cooking turkey will fall down into the breast while cooking. And the resulting bird will have the most succulent turkey breast imaginable. Add several sprigs of fresh (if possible) thyme and rosemary to the outside of the turkey.

Chop up the turkey giblets (gizzard, heart). Put into a small saucepan, cover with water, add salt. Bring to simmer for an hour or so to help make stock for the stuffing.

8. Put the turkey in the oven. Check the cooking directions on the turkey packaging. Gourmet turkeys often don't take as long to cook. With the turkeys mom gets, she recommends cooking time of about 15 minutes for every pound. For the 15 lb turkey, start the cooking at 400 F for the first 1/2 hour. Then reduce the heat to 350 F for the next 2 hours. Then reduce the heat further to 225 F for the next hour to hour and a half.

If you want the breast to be browned as well, you can turn over the bird for the last 15-20 minutes of cooking, at an oven temp of 300°F. (Oven must be at least 250°F for browning to occur.) Note that if you do this, you will have a higher risk of overcooking the turkey breast. We never worry about browning the breast. Start taking temperature readings with a meat thermometer, inserted deep into the thickest part of the turkey breast and thigh, a half hour before the turkey should be done. The dark meat in the thigh should be about 175°F. The white meat in the breast should be 160°F to 165°F. If you don't have a meat thermometer, spear the breast with a knife. The turkey juices should be clear, not pink.

9. Once you remove the turkey from the oven, let it rest for 15-20 minutes. Turn the turkey breast side up to carve it.

Making Turkey Gravy

Scrape all the drippings off of the bottom of the roasting pan. Pour drippings into a smaller skillet. Ladle off excess fat with a gravy spoon and save for possible use later. In a separate small bowl take a quarter cup of corn starch and add just enough water to dissolve the corn starch. Beat cornstarch with a spoon to remove lumps. Slowly add the cornstarch mixture to the drippings, stirring constantly. You may not end up using all of the cornstarch mixture. Only add as much as you need to get the desired thickness. Allow time for the cornstarch to thicken the gravy. Add salt, pepper, sage, thyme, or other seasonings to taste.

Save Bones for Stock

When you are finished with your turkey, save the bones from the carcass to make a delicious turkey soup.

Brined Turkey

3 gallon cold water

2 cups salt

1 cup sugar

juniper berry

peppercorn

allspice

Rosemary

Thyme

Bay leaf

whole head of garlic

Stir & dissolve all. Put turkey in water over night. When ready to cook, take out turkey and rinse salt off before you cook it.

Happy Monday! I make traditional cranberry sauce every year. If you are still using the can, STOP IT. I've always just made the recipe on the bag, but this year let's all try a new recipe I found. It just sounds so good. If you're not up for experimenting then just make the recipe on the package, it's very good, and 200 times better than the can, I always add a little more sugar because I don't like it real tart. but you go with what you like. You won't be sorry. Anybody want to try this new recipe and then I'd love to hear comments about it. COOK ON............

Cranberry Sauce with Ginger & Apricots

It wouldn’t be Thanksgiving without cranberry sauce! Acclaimed baker and cookbook author Dorie Greenspan spikes hers with ginger and dried apricots.

2 bags (12 oz. each) fresh cranberries

1 cup orange juice

1 cup apricot jam

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 tsp ginger

1/4 lb. dried apricots, finely diced

Stir all the ingredients together in a large, heavy pot and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium and cook, stirring, until the berries pop and the sauce starts to thicken—it will thicken much more as it cools—about 8 minutes. Cool to room temperature, cover, and chill.

Serves 20. Per 1/4 cup: 100 calories, 27g carbs, 1g protein, no cholesterol, and no fat.

Chestnut Dressing

I posted Susie's chestnut dressing a couple of days ago, but it didn't get posted, so here it is again. A wonderful dressing and perfect for the holidays. COOK ON..........

Nana's Chestnut Stuffing

2 lb chestnuts (I boil them, then cut them in 1/4's to get out the meat)
1 cup bread crumbs (I use Progresso Italian)
1/4 cup melted butter
1 1/2 cups 1/2 and 1/2

Grind the chestnuts and mix in other ingredients. Add more half and half
as needed. Stuffs a 20 lb turkey.

Silver Palate Chili (sort of)

Now that it's fall with football, basketball and windy weather it is definitely time for my chili recipe. Actually, it's from the Silver Palate Cookbook, the original. I worn out my first one and had to buy a second copy. It was the cookbook that I felt excited to cook with. Back then many of the recipes were different and had ingredients I really hadn't used. We have been using this chili recipe for years of course with my modifications, I'll put my changes in italic, if you want to make it as the ladies made it, it's delicious. The changes I've made simply reflect my taste. This chili taste best the next day, perfect to take to a potluck or when you're going to serve a bunch. It is truly the best all around chili I've ever made.

When choosing chopped meat for chili, you'll find that beef chuck adds great flavor. And you never can have too many spices. Look for dark red kidney beans. Lemon juice brightens all the tastes!

Sort of the Silver Palate Chili

Ingredients Servings: 20

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 pound yellow onions, coarsely chopped

1 pound sweet Italian sausage, removed from casings

4 pounds beef chuck, ground (I buy a chuck or round steak & cut it into 1/2 pieces)

1 12 ounce can tomato paste

1 ½ tablespoons minced garlic (I use an entire bulb of garlic, never too much)

1/3 cup ground cumin

½ cup chili powder

¼ cup Dijon mustard

2 tablespoons dried basil

2 tablespoons dried oregano

1 ½ tablespoon salt, or to taste

1 ½ tablespoons freshly ground black pepper

3 28 ounce cans Italian plum tomatoes, drained

¼ cup dry red wine

2 tablespoons lemon juice

¼ cup chopped fresh dill

¼ cup chopped parsley

2 16 ounce cans dark-red kidney beans, drained (sometimes I use Pinto Beans)

2 5/12 ounce cans pitted black olives, drained (Optional, some don't like the olives)

Heat the olive oil in a very large pot. Add the onions and cook over

low heat, stirring occasionally, until wilted, about 15 minutes. Add

the sausage meat and ground chuck and cook over medium-high heat,

stirring, until the meats are well browned. Spoon off any excess fat

and discard.

Stir in the tomato paste, garlic, cumin, chili powder, mustard, basil,

oregano, salt, and pepper. Add the tomatoes, wine, lemon juice, dill,

parsley, and kidney beans. Stir well and simmer uncovered, for another

15 minutes.

Taste and adjust the seasonings. Add olives and simmer for 5 minutes

more the heat through. Serve immediately

A good cold beer and & some crusty bread, oh what a dinner.

reflect

Tortilla Soup

Hi All, well I'd didn't make my applesauce yesterday but I did make some incredible tortilla soup. I got my friend Virginia's recipe and then of course changed it, (sorry V). So this is the Elaine version of tortilla soup. Virginia's is really wonderful, my version is a little differnt but also good. I'm going to post the one I made and if you'd like Virginia's I can also post that recipe as well. Now, this recipe is a little labor intensive but so worth it, please try it.

Elaine's Tortilla Soup

Ingredients:

1 1/2 pounds chicken pieces (or one whole chicken)

1 quart chicken broth

1 quart water

1 head of garlic

2 carrots (coarsely chopped)

1 medium onion

1 can diced tomatoes (with it’s juice)

1 stalk of celery

salt

2 guajillos chiles (dried)

6 corn tortillas (or more, when you crisp these up people want to dip them in the red sauce, yum)

oil

1 Tbsp hot sauce (Tapatio, Pick a Peppa or Texas Pete)

1 1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce

1 tsp thyme

pepper

1-2 avocados

1 1/2 cups shredded jack cheese

lime wedges

Directions

Place chicken in large sauce pot, add water, 1/2 of garlic, 1/4 onion, carrots, celery, and the seasonings. Simmer for 45 minutes or until tender. (if using whole chicken, turn chicken over after 20 minutes, when done let sit in broth with heat off for 15 minutes) Note: If you want to defat, after broth is strained, place in refrigerator for a few hours, fat will rise to the top then remove, if you want to do this you may want to cook the chicken the day before you want to serve it.

Soak chiles in warm water until tender. Remove stems and chop. In a blender or food processor add the chilies, diced tomatoes 1/2 garlic, remainder of onion (chopped). S&P to taste. Pulse or blend until smooth. Set aside.

Cut tortilla into strips and fry in oil, drain & set aside.

Remove chicken meat, skin & shred chicken, set aside. Strain broth and return to pot. If you feel you need more both add more chicken broth. Add 1/2 of the red sauce to soup pot, stir and let simmer for 10 minutes. When ready to serve add chicken & reheat gently until broth and chicken are heated through.

To serve: Place soup in bowl. Top with tortilla strips, avocado, sprinkle with cheese. Add more red sauce if desired. Serve with lime wedges on the side, (don’t eliminate the lime, adds so much freshness)

I would like to encourage you to share some recipes with us. I'd like to focus on some family traditional holiday recipies, Come on, post some goodies for us to try!!! COOK ON.............

Healing Remedy

I just read this in Body & Soul Magazine, I thought it was worth sharing. This is good because you can easily find fresh thyme in the grocery store but you can also use dried thyme. Hope everyone is well, but if not consider this recipe.

Herbal Remedy: Thyme

One of the most potent plant treatments isn't in your first-aid kit but on your spice rack. Dried or fresh, common culinary thyme contains high levels of antimicrobial compounds that combat colds and flus as well as expectorant properties that can help tame coughs. Try this unsung fix the next time you're feeling under the weather.

Where to Find It
Pick up dried and fresh thyme at most grocery stores. Dried herbs lose their potency over time; when the herb no longer has its fragrant scent, pick up a new jar.

How to Use It
Pour a cup of boiling water over 2 teaspoons dried (or 3 teaspoons fresh) thyme, and steep for 10 minutes. Drink 3 cups daily for cold, flu, and cough symptoms. Gargling with the tea can also help ease a sore throat.

First Published: January/February 2009

Banana Bread

Hi All, Had a great birthday didn't do much cooking. I'm going into my recipe file to bring you PERFECT BANANA BREAD. I love this recipe for a couple of reasons, first of all it will take 4-5 overripe bananas, love that cause I seem to end up with old nannies all the time. This is a one bowl recipe and only asks you to stir with a wooden spoon. You can have it in the oven in less than 10 minutes. I almost always add a cup or more of frozen blueberries which makes it Blubana bread, then I will occasionally add 1/2 a cup of chopped walnuts, (a little added nutrition). Enjoy this bread warm or cold with a good cup of coffee or tea, couldn't be better. COOK ON.............

Perfect Banana Bread

Ingredients Makes one loaf

3 or 4 ripe bananas, smashed

1/3 cup melted butter

1 cup sugar (can easily reduce to 3/4 cup)

1 egg, beaten

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon baking soda

Pinch of salt

1 1/2 cup of all-purpose flour

Optional

1/2 cup fresh or frozen blueberries

1/2 cup walnuts (chopped)

Directions

No need for a mixer for this recipe. Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). With a wooden spoon, mix butter into the mashed bananas in a large mixing bowl. Mix in the sugar, egg, and vanilla. Sprinkle the baking soda and salt over the mixture and mix in. Add the flour last, mix. Pour mixture into a buttered 4x8 inch loaf pan. Bake for 1 hour. Cool on a rack. Remove from pan and slice to serve

Green Tomatoes

Did you all have a fun Halloween, it was cold but we did get a few cuties knocking on our door. This year I brought a candy I don't like, brilliant huh? So happy with this fall weather all I want to do is cook, cook, cook. I hope you are all trying new recipes for yourself & your family. So much available to provide a delicious, healthy, easy diet for everyone.

Kirstin had great luck with her tomatoes, but it just got a little too cold for them to fully ripen. We probably had 10 lbs of green tomatoes. Never one to let things go back, HATE waste. I made Fried Green Tomatoes, we've had them at Pine State Biscuits (best breakfast place in Portland), but I'd never attempted to make them. They were a giant hit and we ate them all gone.....

FRIED GREEN TOMATOES

Approximates since I'd didn't know what I was going to need.

Rice flour (any flour will work, but rice flour is light w/a mellow taste)

Spices (what you like, I used a Spice mix with lots of savory herbs in it, thyme, basil etc )

salt & Pepper

Milk

Sliced green tomatoes about 1/2 inch thick

Make the seasoned flour, add salt & pepper. Pour milk into a container that will fit the tomatoes. Use a heavy skillet, place enough oil to fry (not deep fry), get it hot. Place tomatoes in milk then dredge in flour, shake off excess. Place in hot pan with oil, watch them, cook until underside is crispy then turn. (The ones I made real crispy were the best and held the crisp) When the other side is crispy they are done. Drain & lightly salt again. Serve hot with different toppings. Last night we used a marinara sauce, ranch dressing & sweet garlic sauce. But you could also use blue cheese dressing, mayonnaise, sweet & sour, ketchup, any topping you like will taste good on these luscious little slices. If you have some green tomatoes hanging around, make these you'll be surprised at how delicious and easy they are to make.

The next recipe is a green tomato salsa. It's a cooked salsa but would be well used in a chicken dish to make maybe a chicken tortilla casserole, green enchiladas, or just plain served on your food.

Green Tomato Salsa

4 c. chopped green tomatoes

2 c. chopped and seeded sweet peppers (banana, red bell)

1 c. chopped and seeded jalapenos, approximately 1/2 pound = 1 cup chopped

1 c. chopped onion

2 tsp. salt

1 1/2 c. cider vinegar

3 cloves crushed garlic

Chop all ingredients and place in saucepan. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Pour salsa in hot jars (pints). Seal and water bath for 30 minutes.

Makes about 5 pints

Don’t have to water bath. Just put them in some big jars and refrigerator, they’ll last a couple of weeks.

Enjoy these green tomatoes recipes and remember to COOK ON....................

Applesauce

I had this basket of apples, decided to make applesauce. It is so delicious and so different than store brought, it's a must try. Especially right now, the apples are so beautiful & just off the trees. I added a little vanilla & some all spice. Serve with ice cream or yogurt, warm or chilled. Too good. COOK ON.............

Preparation time: 45 minutes. The sugar amounts are just guidelines, depending your taste, and on the sweetness of your apples, use less or more. If you use less sugar, you'll likely want to use less lemon juice. The lemon juice brightens the flavor of the apples and balances t he sweetness.

INGREDIENTS

3 to 4 lbs of peeled, cored, and quartered apples. (Make sure you use good cooking like Golden Delicious, Granny Smith, Fuji, Jonathan, Mcintosh, or Gravenstein.)

4 strips of lemon peel - use a vegetable peeler to strip 4 lengths

Juice of one lemon, about 3-4 Tbsp

3 inches of cinnamon stick

1/4 cup of dark brown sugar

up to 1/4 cup of white sugar

1 cup of water

1/2 teaspoon of salt

METHOD

1 Put all ingredients into a large pot. Cover. Bring to boil. Lower heat and simmer for 20-30 minutes.

2 Remove from heat. Remove cinnamon sticks and lemon peels. Mash with potato masher.

Ready to serve, either hot or refrigerated. Delicious with vanilla ice cream or vanilla yogurt.

Freezes easily, lasts up to one year in a cold freezer.

Simply Recipes http://simplyrecipes.com

Healthy Mexican Beans

My dear friend in Alabama, Susie requested the Healthy Mexican Beans. I'm gonna try and put it together. It's one of those, put this in and then that. These are all approximates go with what you need.

Let's see.....

1 lb. FRESH pinto beans, put in a big bowl with water at least 3 inches above the beans, soak overnight
1 onion chopped
8 cloves garlic, chopped
Epazote - mexican spice flavors the beans and removes some of the "noise" after you eat them. Available at Mexican markets.
1 tsp ground cumin (optional) but I like the flavor it adds to the beans
Salt & Pepper to taste DO NOT ADD SALT UNTIL THE BEANS ARE SOFT, toughens the beans if you add salt when they are still raw.

Drain the beans, put fresh cold water about 2 inches above the beans. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, add onion, garlic & Epazote. Simmer for at least two hours, I simmer them for hours because I like a soft bean. Add water as needed, DO NOT ADD COLD WATER, it makes the beans turn dark, ugly. Boil water and add that to the beans as they begin to dry out. You want a soupy bean so you can refry with liquid.

When the beans are very tender and soupy add cumin and the salt and pepper to taste. Beans require a lot of salt so add & taste, add and taste to desired saltiness.

Ok, so now you are ready to refry if that's what you want. Get out a skillet add about 1-3 TBS olive oil, when it's hot add the beans along with juice. Keep cooking and stirring, they will slowly begin to thicken as the juice evaporates. When they are at the consistency that you like, you have refried beans. There is very little fat but lots of flavor.

Use these beans for:
Bean & cheese burritos
Saute some chicken tenders for chicken burritos
Bean Tostada - Toast a corn tortilla, spread w/beans, cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, salsa, & avocados you can also had a meat if you like.

If you choose not to refry these are great "de olla", (from the pot). Just add cheese, salsa, onions, you have a little bean soup.

This is sort of rambling but I don't know how else to tell you, it's just stuff I've been doing for years and it's how my mom cooked her beans, except she used LARD. Taste w/lard is incredible but really not healthy. That is what you get at the Mexican restaurants, you know where the beans are very light in color? LARD. But yummy for sure. Hope you try these and let me know how you liked them, can we improve them in any way? Want to hear from you. COOK ON..........

Sweet Potato Pie

Good Morning. The other day I noticed I still had those 5 sweet potatoes in the basket, have to make something. Remembered I also had some crust in the refrigerator!!! OH BOY, Sweet Potato Pie. I found this recipe, You only use one bowl, hate to clean kitchens. It was so delicious, creamy, light, yet dense with sweet potato flavor. Make sure you get fresh potatoes, makes a difference. This would be a good alternative to Pumpkin pie.

Note: Never one to leave a recipe alone, I added a little extra cinnamon, about 1/2 tsp. allspice & 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice. To keep it one bowl, beat your eggs with a fork in the measuring cup. I roasted the potatoes in the oven which gives even more sweetness because they caramelizes in the oven. Either wrap in aluminum foil or place on a cookie sheets, they will leak all over your oven, bake at 400 deg for approx 1 hour, check them, when they're soft they're done..


Sweet Potato Pie


Ingredients: Makes 2 pies.

4 ounces butter, softened
2 cups cooked and mashed sweet potatoes
2 cups granulated sugar
1 small can (5 ounces, about 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons) evaporated milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 eggs, beaten
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
2 prepared pie shells, unbaked

Preparation:

Mix butter, potatoes, sugar and evaporated milk until well blended. Add vanilla, eggs, and cinnamon; mix well. Pour into the prepared pie shells. Bake in a 350° oven for about 1 hour, until set.

Quick Enchiladas

This is a quick Enchilada dinner recipe, well not really a recipe. I brought the Enchilada Sauce at Trader Joe, $2.99 for a 12 oz bottle, a little pricy but worth it, a small can of sliced black olives. I quick poached two chicken breasts and shredded them, used 10 tortillas and using a 8x11 oblong baking pan. Put a little oil or spray in a skillet, just get the tortilla soft & pliable. Pour some sauce in a small bowl. Grate cheese probably about 1/2 lb. or use the Mexican Blend grated bag from TJ's, I did. Now place a tortilla in the sauce just to wet it, lay it on a cutting board or plate, put some shredded chicken, a few sliced olives and cheese, (as cheesy as you want them) Roll them tight place in pan, keep going until the pan is full, 8-10. Pour sauce over top of all, a few more olives and more cheese, (again as cheesy as you want it). Bake in 350 oven for 25 minutes, done. I can't eat red sauce enchiladas any more, but it's Michael's favorite. If you don't have a Trader Joe's, so sorry for you (Vic & Sue). LOVE THAT STORE! Add some beans, (TJ's Organic pintos are really good too.) a little salad with some avocado and you have a Delicioso Mexican meal!!!! COOK ON...........

Note: Quick poach- put enough water in a pan to cover breasts, add some spices, salt, pepper, thyme, whatever, or none. Bring water to simmer, add chicken, cover. Let simmer for 8 minutes, turn off heat and let stand in water for 20 minutes. Take out and shred.

Curried Red Lentil Soup

Hi All, Yesterday was SOUP DAY at my house. I made two different soups. A vegan split pea and curried red lentil. Both were very good, I really enjoyed the lentil soup. It is so chalked full of veggies, not only is it delicious and satisfying it is also very healthy. I did use lite coconut milk for the soup and it didn't seem to hurt the creaminess at all. There are two things you could do with this soup, eat it with the texture, lentils, brown rice and the veggie or puree it, which produces a thick creamy soup, I always prefer my soups blended, I'm a little weird about too much texture. I used my INVERTED BLENDER and it was easy. The amount of curry depends on how much you like curry, I probably used almost a tablespoon, I also threw in some fresh herbs if you have any. I might suggest thyme, tarragon, even sage or basil, if you don't have any fresh you could add some of the mentioned dried herbs. Remember, savory recipes almost always allows for creativity, know what the herbs taste like and you can play around with them. Don't leave out the squish of lime juice and the cilantro, it made the soup pop with flavor and freshness!!! Make this soup, it is definitely a winner! COOK ON.........


Curried Red Lentil Soup


3 chopped garlic cloves,
1 onion chopped
1 carrot chopped
1/2 tablespoon chopped ginger and a
pinch of cayenne in oil.
11/2 tsp to 1 TBS curry powder (depends on your taste)
1 can coconut milk (I used lite for this soup)
1 cup red lentils
1/2 cup rice
6 cups of water, (I supplemented with a 4 cups of Veggie broth and 2 cups of water, optional)


Cook garlic, onion, carrot, ginger and cayenne in oil until onion soft. Add curry & herbs, sir.

Add 6 cups water, 1 can coconut milk, 1 cup red lentils and 1/2 cup rice;

Simmer 20 minutes. Garnish with lime, cilantro and scallions.

Coconut Tapioca Pudding

Happy Saturday. Today I'd like to share a recipe I've been preparing for years. We went to visit friends in the San Francisco area about 10 years ago. Some one recommended a restaurant called Betel nut. My brother Jim, his wife Virginia, Michael and I enjoyed an incredible Asian meal, we had a shy, beautiful waitress, as the meal progressed and we loved everything so much, (we'd had two martinis before lunch so everything tasted "amazing). She became more confident, she insisted that we try the tapioca pudding, it was her favorite and we just had to have some.

We ordered the tapioca pudding, it was the most incredible pudding we'd all ever tasted. When I got back home to Boston, I tried to find a recipe that would be close, tried a few and none of them had that same rich, unique flavor. I finally wrote the chef at Betel nut and asked him to please, oh please share the recipe. A couple of weeks later I received a response with the very simple recipe.

Jell-o Brand Fat Free Tapioca pudding
Coconut Milk (not lite)

Cook according to directions but substitute coconut milk for regular milk.

Note: You can use the lite coconut milk, (I have) it is still delicious but just not incredible.

That's it. I was amazed, couldn't be that easy. It is actually what he used to make the pudding for the restaurant. Well, I tried it and yes, in fact it was the wonderful pudding. I don't make it very often it is high in fat, but according to my natural path doctor Coconut oil and coconut milk is the best fat for your diet and it is non-dairy (YEA!).

I hope you'll all give this a try you won't be disappointed. I made some last week but had only prepared one small box, Kirstin said "OMG you have to make more of this". COOK ON..........

Pumpkin Soup

Good Morning, Now that Portland is knee deep in Fall, I'm making soups almost daily. I love the warmth and healing effects that soup brings to the body. Last week I had a Kabocha squash which I made into the pumpkin soup. Just a hint though, I would probably not use it again, it is delicious but it took my husband Michael 20 minutes to peel it and then I had my way with it for another 20 minutes to get more of the skin off and dice it. I would suggest a butternut squash or even a pumpkin, one of those little sweet ones, not a Halloween pumpkin.

The lemongrass and corn are a perfect addition to the pumpkin flavor. My daughter tasted it and asked if I put sugar in it. Add a hearty, rustic bread and maybe a little cheese plate, a complete meal.

I might suggest that if you enjoy making soup you consider purchasing an inverted blender. You can stick it in the hot soup and blend, no mess and it the job just as well as a regular blender. I'm very pleased with my Cuisinart, about $40.00.

I will be adding photos, restaurant reviews and cooking information. I would also love it if you would add comments especially if you try a recipe. Let's all share recipes as well, if you have a favorite one that you love to make and enjoy eating, SHARE IT.

Lynn Murphy: How about your Frijoles de olla recipe? Share?

See you all next time, remember COOK ON..........

PUMPKIN, CORN, AND LEMONGRASS SOUP

Ingredients SERVES 8

1 fresh lemongrass stalk, root end trimmed and 1 or 2 outer layers discarded

1 large onion, chopped

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 3/4 lb. kabocha or butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into 1-inch pieces (4 cups)

2 1/2 cups fresh or frozen corn kernels (10 oz; from 2 to 3 ears)

5 cups water

GARNISH: cilantro leaves

Directions

Cut off and discard top of lemongrass, leaving a 6-inch stalk, then smash stalk with side of a large heavy knife.

Cook lemongrass, onion, and 1 teaspoon salt in butter and oil in a heavy medium pot over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until onion is softened, about 10 minutes. Add squash, corn, water, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper and bring to a boil over high heat.

Reduce heat and simmer, covered, stirring occasionally, until squash is tender, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and discard lemongrass.

Purée soup in 3 or 4 batches in a blender until very smooth (use caution when blending hot liquids), straining each batch as blended through a fine-mesh sieve into a large heatproof bowl, pressing hard on and then discarding solids. Season with salt and pepper and reheat if necessary.

COOKS’ NOTE: Soup can be made 2 days ahead and chilled, uncovered, until cool, then covered. Reheat over medium heat, stirring occasionally.

Home Again

Hi All,

Home again, so good. I wanted to tell you about my last night in Alabama. my friend Vic is from New York and Italian, he often makes his Italian feast for special guests, we were lucky to enjoy it on Suday night. He makes a very rich, tomato gravy (sauce), adds some Italian sausage and simmers it all together. Excellent, it's rich and spicy. He also makes a bread/pasta sauce. Which is the first recipe I'd like to share with you. Because I can no longer eat acidic foods, including tomatoes, Vic provided this amazing sauce for my pasta. It was also a perfect compliment to the toasted french bread.

Olive Oil & Anchovy sauce

1 can anchovies (optional, if you can't stand anchovies, too bad though)
1/4 cup olive oil
2 Tbs. minced garlic
1 Tbs. basil flakes

Mix olive oil, garlic, basil and oregano in a small fry pan. Simmer for 5 minutes on low heat.

Cut anchovies into small pieces and add to fry pan. Simmer for 2 minutes on medium heat.

Use your favorite pasta. Remove from heat and serve.

I'm still packing and getting back on schedule. I will be posting many recipes in the future. I cook for my family every night and feel it's important for families to come back to the dinner table, enjoy the meal and your loved ones. I also know how busy everyone is today and every day, I hope I can provide some easy and delicious meals to share. Another recipe tomorrow. COOK ON......

Elaine is the Portland Foodie

Hi,

Just learning how to blog. I'm visiting friends in Alabama, they helped me start this blog. I'll be posting my first recipe on Tuesday for you to try. COOK ON.....

Welcome To The Portland Foodie

Hello Everyone,
This is my first post ever, I'm so thrilled to be able to chat with everyone about my passion for food and feeding people. In the future I will share recipes, food stories and lots of information for you to feed yourself and the people you love. Come visit me often and we'll cook together. COOK ON....