Category Archives: food

Time Flies

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There are only nine days left until Christmas. Really! Today I mailed my Christmas cards, along with a package each for my parents and in-laws. Santa has been duly stocked with the presents for under our tree. We’ve watched Elf (more than once), White Christmas, The Santa Clause, The Muppet Christmas Carol, A Charlie Brown Christmas, and A Christmas Story (several times) and more holiday movies are still on deck. My iPod is loaded with a plethora of Christmas tunes (and has been since Thanksgiving) and the crafty projects have been flying to completion.

[ravelry]

All finished since the last time I blogged. A full quota of holiday spirit has been achieved. Also, latkes!

This is the best time of year. I love the short days and the long nights, the cold weather, the hustle-bustle, the gift giving, the believing in Santa, the anticipation, the corny holiday movies, the lavishly religious music. The latkes. I love all of it. This year, I offer as a special gift for the readers of Knitting Interrupted, a compilation of all the recipes I’ve posted here (I’m surprised there weren’t more, actually). So whether you celebrate Christmas or Hanukkah, Kwanzaa or Yule, or any of the other culturally significant (or otherwise) winter festivals, Happy Holidays!

Saturday Stoup

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The other day I was chatting a friend of mine and, on a whim, I asked her what she was making for dinner. She said she had “salsa chicken” going in the crock pot and explained briefly how to make it. Unfortunately it was too late in the afternoon for me to make a crock pot meal, and my kitchen was entirely too messy for cooking right then anyway. But yesterday was one of those extremely rare days when I actually had my shit together before 10 am, so I decided to try my hand at “salsa chicken”. It turns out that I didn’t have any of the same ingredients she used on hand, so I improvised.

Everything was from Trader Joe’s (as usual) except the red salsa which was Full Circle brand from Big Y. You can use whatever YOU have on hand.

1 (16 oz?) jar green salsa
1 (16 oz?)  jar mild red salsa
1 15 oz. can tomato sauce
1 15 oz. can black beans
2 frozen chicken breasts
2 frozen chicken thighs
1/2 bag baby carrots

Dump everything into your crockpot (I used my smallish one) and cook for 8 hours on low (or until the chicken is done). Shred the chicken, serve over rice or in tortillas. As you can see, I chose the rice option. Yum! (I also tossed a couple of steamed broccoli florets into with mine for good measure). You could add a bag of corn, which is what my friend does, but my children detest corn. That’s right. My kids hate America. Whatever. Go over to my friend’s blog and bug her for her recipe if you want to try it her way. Hers might involve cheese.

Our First Gluten Free Thanksgiving

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This is the first Thanksgiving since going gluten-free/dairy free/soy free, so planning the menu required a bit of research and creativity. Here are some post-Thanksgiving thoughts and notes for posterity. Sadly there are no pictures. The entire meal was devoured before the thought of taking out my camera even occurred to me.

  • The Turkey: This year, as last year, featured turkey from Trader Joe’s and gluten-free (at least according to their customer service) and delicious.
  • The Stuffing: Not technically “stuffing” since I didn’t cook it in the bird. I followed this recipe from Crockpot365. I will definitely do this recipe next year, but I think I’ll do all corn bread instead of a mix of corn bread and rice bread. I might also add some pecans and a couple of boiled eggs and possibly an apple.
  • The Potato Mash: Yukon Gold Potatoes + Hemp milk + Earth Balance (soy free) = delectable.
  • The Gravy: I followed these directions on Gluten Free Girl only instead of using the Earth Balance (soy free) like I should have, I used palm shortening. FYI: Do not, ever, use shortening (of any sort) for gravy. The flavor was okay, but the mouth feel was … odd.
  • The Cranberry Sauce: Since we are trying to avoid cane sugar, maple sugar, and molasses (on top of everything else), I tried this recipe, sweetening the berries with honey. Next year I will use more honey. Probably a lot more honey. My sauce was extremely sour.
  • The Pie: This one from eHow, only I used agave nectar in place of the sugar. It was just like a “regular” pumpkin pie, seriously. There was no difference in taste or mouth feel. It was absolutely wonderful. No whipped cream for us though. Luckily we didn’t need it.

All in all, it was a mostly successful dinner. Maybe next year I will remember that, even though the package says “never frozen”, there will still be a huge chunk of ice in the center of the bird which prevents the breast and everything below (and including) the wings from getting up to temperature at the same time. *sigh*

Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours, everyone! Now, I’m off to finish my NaNo. Only 4200 more words to go!

Another Recipe: The Best Dinner Ever Meatloaf

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Since my tendonitis is still convalescing, here’s another recipe. It really is just your basic meat loaf, but my oldest kid is just now getting over all his food aversions, so it was really nice to hear him exclaim, “this is the best dinner ever, mom!”

1 lb. pork/beef/veal meatloaf mix
1 lb. ground turkey
2 carrots, finely grated
1/4 XL sweet onion, finely grated
2 cloves garlic, finely grated
1 cup cooked brown rice
1 egg, beaten
a heavy pinch of kosher salt
a few grinds of pepper

Mix all ingredients in a bowl until thoroughly combined and place in a 9×13″ pan. Top with a mix of A-1 steak sauce (about a quarter cup?), 1 Tbsp tomato paste and 1 Tbsp agave nectar. Bake at 375° until done.

Yum!

Really Amazing and Really Easy Crock Pot Beef Stew

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Or “RARECPBS” for short. Ready? Here goes:

Into your crock pot place 1 cup of baby carrots, the contents of a 15 oz can of tomato sauce, and 2 cups of kitchen basics stock (I used veg flavor, but use whatever you have on hand). Stir in 1 tsp garlic powder, 1/2 tsp coriander, 1/2 tsp thyme, 1/2 tsp marjoram, and 1/2 tsp salt, and grind some pepper over the top. Give it a little stir. Lastly, add 1 lb of stew beef chunks (mine were partially frozen). Cook for 8 hours on low, or 4 hours on high. Shut off the crock pot, stir in a Tbsp of tomato paste and let it sit while you prepare some rice (we like brown, but use whatever you’ve got). To serve, layer into each bowl a handful of frozen peas, a paddleful of rice, and a ladelful of stew (the residual heat will cook the peas). Bask in rave reviews from your 7-year-old and 4-year-old.

(the peas are there in the bottom)

Heaven on a slice of toast.

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One of my very good friends has her own chickens and yesterday she sent me home from our play date with 3 blue eggs and 2 speckled brown eggs.

There is nothing at all on earth like a poached egg laid by a beloved backyard hen and eaten with a slice of buttered and salted sourdough toast. Seriously, I am still basking in the afterglow of this amazing lunch. See how the yolk is orange rather than yellow? The yolk was literaly like butter. OMG.

I can’t wait until I can have my own chickens.

Ah, yes…

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I’ve just finished putting away the Thanksgiving leftovers and am sitting here, enjoying a cup of coffee and the last couple of bites of Ezra’s pumpkin pie. I must say that I’m quite tickled with myself. The ginormous bird was roasted to juicy perfection. The stuffing, cooked in the crockpot with the turkey’s wingtips and tail, was delightfully deletable. The gravy, made with giblet broth (but no giblets) and turkey drippings, was velvety and flavorful. The green salad was cool and crisp, a perfect complement the savory warmth of the other dishes. All in all, it was probably the best Thanksgiving meal I’ve ever made. Sadly, there are no pictures. The entire meal had been consumed before it occurred to me to document it in photographic posterity. Oh well.

There’s another reason today is a special day. Today is Isaac’s 7th birthday.

How is it even possible? I can’t believe he’s seven already! Isaac had a pretty good year. He learned how to tie his shoes this year, and how to ride a bicycle (skipping over training wheels entirely). He has really started getting a handle on reading and math and we earned that, for Isaac, the number zero is really really red, the color of fire, and that the larger a number is, the greener it is.

Anyhow, happy Thanksgiving to all my bloggy buddies and long distance friends. I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving! (And a happy birthday if today also happens to be your birthday, hah!)

Thinking of Spring Pasta Bake*

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The stars must have been aligned–this dish was a huge hit at our house tonight.

I riffed on this recipe featured on the Rachael Ray show today. All of the ingredients came from Trader Joe’s. Here’s how I did it:

1. Prepare one pound of dried tortellini pasta according to the package directions.

2. While the pasta is cooking, steam one package of frozen asparagus and then puree.

3. Make Rachael’s béchamel sauce (omit garlic by accident and instead use one part vegetable broth and one part fat-free milk). Add pureed asparagus.

4. Toss the now very very green sauce with the pasta to coat.

5. Brown a package of tomato/basil chicken sausages (squeezed from their casings and crumbled) and add to the pasta and sauce, stirring gently.

6. Pour into a baking dish and cover with TJ’s Quattro Formaggio (about 1/2 a package). Bake at 375° for about 15 minutes until the cheese is browned and the sauce is bubbly.

Isaac ate all of what he was served. Ezra had two servings. Karl snarfed up a huge bowl. Angels sang.

*The Thinking of Spring Pasta Bake is not figure friendly. Next time I’ll have to see if I can lighten this up a little.

Now it’s back to NaNoWriMo for me.

The Omnivore’s Hundred

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I found this surfing the web a while back. Behold, the Omnivore’s Hundred from Very Good Taste.

Below is a list of 100 things that I think every good omnivore should have tried at least once in their life. The list includes fine food, strange food, everyday food and even some pretty bad food – but a good omnivore should really try it all. Don’t worry if you haven’t, mind you; neither have I, though I’ll be sure to work on it. Don’t worry if you don’t recognise everything in the hundred, either; Wikipedia has the answers.

Here’s what I want you to do:

1) Copy this list into your blog or journal, including these instructions.
2) Bold all the items you’ve eaten.
3) Cross out any items that you would never consider eating.
4) Optional extra: Post a comment at www.verygoodtaste.co.uk linking to your results.

The VGT Omnivore’s Hundred:

1. Venison
2. Nettle tea
3. Huevos rancheros
4. Steak tartare
5. Crocodile
6. Black pudding
7. Cheese fondue
8. Carp
9. Borscht
10. Baba ghanoush
11. Calamari
12. Pho
13. PB&J sandwich
14. Aloo gobi
15. Hot dog from a street cart
16. Epoisses
17. Black truffle
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes
19. Steamed pork buns
20. Pistachio ice cream
21. Heirloom tomatoes
22. Fresh wild berries
23. Foie gras
24. Rice and beans
25. Brawn, or head cheese
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper
27. Dulce de leche
28. Oysters
29. Baklava
30. Bagna cauda
31. Wasabi peas
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl
33. Salted lassi
34. Sauerkraut
35. Root beer float
36. Cognac with a fat cigar
37. Clotted cream tea
38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O
39. Gumbo
40. Oxtail
41. Curried goat
42. Whole insects
43. Phaal
44. Goat’s milk
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more
46. Fugu
47. Chicken tikka masala
48. Eel
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut
50. Sea urchin
51. Prickly pear
52. Umeboshi
53. Abalone
54. Paneer
55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal
56. Spaetzle
57. Dirty gin martini
58. Beer above 8% ABV
59. Poutine
60. Carob chips
61. S’mores
62. Sweetbreads
63. Kaolin
64. Currywurst
65. Durian
66. Frogs’ legs
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake
68. Haggis
69. Fried plantain
70. Chitterlings, or andouillette
71. Gazpacho
72. Caviar and blini
73. Louche absinthe
74. Gjetost, or brunost
75. Roadkill
76. Baijiu
77. Hostess Fruit Pie
78. Snail
79. Lapsang souchong
80. Bellini
81. Tom yum
82. Eggs Benedict
83. Pocky
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant.
85. Kobe beef
86. Hare
87. Goulash
88. Flowers
89. Horse
90. Criollo chocolate
91. Spam
92. Soft shell crab
93. Rose harissa
94. Catfish
95. Mole poblano
96. Bagel and lox
97. Lobster Thermidor
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee
100. Snake

Bizarre foods? Not for me, apparently.

Saturday Stew

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I don’t know about you guys, but we had some crap weather here today. It was a typical New England spring day: misty, cloudy, gloomy–perfect weather for making a nice lamb stew! I’ve cross-posted the recipe on my other blog (didn’t know I had two, eh?)

Core Plan Beef (or Lamb) Stew

1-1/2 lbs lean beef (or lamb), cut into chunks for stewing
1 Tbsp canola or olive oil
1 medium onion, frenched
3 carrots, cut into large chunks
2 ribs celery, prepared similarly
4 parsnips, ditto
4 or 5 medium-ish red potatoes, again, cut into chunks
2 cups beef stock
2 cups canned, diced tomato
2 Tbsp tomato paste
Garnier Bouquet (I used bay leaf, thyme, and sage, but any old seasoning combination that plays well with beef’ll work. Dry herbs are OK, too.)
Salt & Pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 250 degrees. Meanwhile, in an oven-safe dutch oven, heat oil over med-high heat on the stove. Add the meat (seasoned with some salt and pepper) and sear it. When it’s got some good color, remove it from the pan and set aside. Toss in the onions along with a good sized pinch of salt and saute them until translucent. Add the remaining vegs (and a little more salt) and saute them for 5 minutes or so–just to give them a little jump start. Then, add the broth and the tomatoes and tomato paste, along with the herbs. Bring it up to a boil and throw in the meat. Cover and move the whole operation into the oven for 2 or 3 hours. Yummy! And enough for eight 1 cup servings!

If you’re following the Flex plan, there’s 4 points* in each 1 cup serving, leaving enough points left over to enjoy with a hunk of soft and chewy bread brushed with a little olive oil (and still be a relatively low point and hearty meal).

Next time I’ll add a tablespoon or so of mashed potatoes to help thicken it up a bit. Otherwise–delish!

*points calculated with the WeightWatchers.com eTools  recipe builder.