Dilled Bean, Collard Green & Kielbasa Stew

You wouldn't think that spring has arrived here on the east coast. It feels more like February today more than anything else. I took Daisy for a walk and were my hands freezing, as I forgot my gloves! But it's April, so I didn't think I really needed them anyway. And at one point of our walk, I wish that I had a hat on, also. But this kind of chilly weather is perfect for a stew! This is a nice stew that will use up any leftover ham from Easter and use a quick soak method for the beans, if you want to make this for a late night dinner. While this stew is really hearty, the dill gives it that touch of spring. Enjoy!

• 1 pound Great Northern beans, soaked overnight.
• 5 cups water
• 1 bunch of collard greens, about 8 loosely packed, heaping cups. (Remove the center stem of the leaves, just cut down alongside the center stem and pile the leaves on top of each other cutting them roughly)
• 1 cup chopped kielbasa
• 1 cup chopped ham
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 5 cloves of garlic, smashed and minced
• 1 Campari tomato, minced
• 3 heaping tablespoons minced dill
• 1/2 teaspoon tomato paste
• about 5 juniper berries
• sea salt
• ground black pepper

In a large Dutch oven, combine the olive oil and the garlic and on low heat lightly saute for 5 minutes until the garlic is soft, you don't want to let it brown. Stir in the beans, juniper berries, a pinch of sea salt and the water, cover and bring to a boil on high heat. (You don't want to add too much salt, because it depends on the saltiness of the kielbasa and ham.) Once it boils, lower the heat to the lowest setting and simmer for 1 hour, stirring occasionally. Next, toss in your collard greens, kielbasa, ham, tomato and tomato paste and simmer for half and hour, stirring occasionally. (You can use either kielbasa or ham and it will be equally delicious. And if you have leeks on hand, you can also throw in a cup of finely chopped leeks.) Adjust the seasoning, adding pepper and salt if needed and stir in the dill. Discard the juniper berries and garnish with fresh dill. Serves 6.

Chicken, Arugula & Avocado Soup

Tis the month to be cleansing, clearing and to be taking good care of yourself, to guard yourself from the dreaded cold. It has hit this household and it's not a pretty picture. It wipes you out and leaves you tired and the thought of doing anything more than getting out of bed is exhausting. The thought of eating, as in chewing got me tired and so this soup came about. I love a good chicken soup from scratch but when you're not feeling great, the thought of cooking from scratch can wipe you out, so use a good chicken stock and this soup is on the table in a matter of minutes. You want to take it easy when you're sick and save all your energy for healing. Enjoy and stay well!

• 32 oz. organic chicken or vegetable broth
• 5 oz. container baby arugula, roughly chopped
• 1 ripe avocado
• sea salt
• ground black pepper

In a Dutch oven, heat up the broth until it begins to boil, drop in the arugula, until wilted, about a minute or so. Take your pot off the stove and add in the avocado, roughly chopped and with an immersion hand blender, blend until combined. If you like, you can heat it up so the it's pipping hot. Season with salt and pepper. Serves 4.

Chicken & Tripe Stew

I was lucky enough to live next door to my best friend when I was younger, that had a mom with a golden touch when she cooked. Everything she made was finger-licking good! She even made liver taste good, something that I cringed at. (They told me it was liver afterwards. They called it "steak" and looked at each other suspiciously, lol, I should have known. But they knew me better. I wouldn't have tried it, had I known.) After eating dinner at home, I would go next door to hang out and her mom insisted that I eat dinner with them. I would half-heartedly explain that I wasn't hungry, I already ate at home. But the truth was I was always hungry for her cooking. She would talk me into it by telling me she would only give me  "poquito," meaning a little bit in Spanish. And was I so happy for that little bit. My sin of gluttony felt heavenly, every-single-bite. One of my favorite dishes she made was "Mondongo", a stew of tripe, chicken, yucca, plantain and corn. She served it with a creamy wedge of ripe cool avocado and perfectly made white rice, where the rice didn't stick to each other, every grain retaining its' shape and a gentle flavor of garlic permeating the grains. What she did, I tried to recreate but it will never be like hers. I'm sure I will be perfecting this over time and sharing round two one day but for now, this is a nice first try. Enjoy! Serves about 4-6 generous portions.

• 1 pound of honey comb tripe, cut into 1 inch squares
• 10 cups water
• 6 chicken drumsticks
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed and minced
• 1 green plantain, peeled and cut diagonally
• 1 yucca (about a pound in weight) peeled, cut into 1 inch rings, those rings, quartered
• 1 red pepper
• 2 cubanelle peppers
• 1 bag of frozen pre-cut corn on the cob, about 4 pieces
• 1 8oz. can Spanish style tomato sauce
• 1 packet Sazon (with coriander and annatto)
• 2 chicken bouillon cubes
• generous pinch of Vegeta
• fresh ground black pepper
• pinch of sea salt
• nice handful cilantro

First cook your tripe. (A smelly daunting long process. It really is worth making more at once. And freezing it. Once I cooked down the pound of tripe, it amounted to a small heap and after I snuck a few bites, there was even less of it. So, if you are a tripe lover, you can easily cook more of it to add to your stew.) Cover you tripe with enough cold water (enough to cover by 2 inches, so the tripe pieces float), a little sea salt and bring to a boil on high heat, covered. Once it boils, lower the heat and simmer for 2 hours, covered, occasionally stirring the pot, so the tripe doesn't stick. Drain your tripe and set aside. In a heavy Dutch oven,  heat your olive oil, onion and garlic on low heat until transparent, add the Sazon packet and stir well. Add in the tripe, water, plantain, yucca, tomato sauce and bring to a boil. Once it boils, lower the heat and simmer covered, for 1 hour. During that time, you want to blister your peppers. To blister you peppers, put them directly on an open flame, on the stove, until the skins blacken. It doesn't take long. Turn them, so they blacken evenly. Please be careful, use grill tongs, and wear gloves in a well ventillated area. Or you can do this on the grill. Place them in a paper bag to cool. Once cool, peel the skins, remove the seeds and the white membrane. Roughly chop them and blend them in a blender or use a hand immersion blender, until pureed. Once your hour is up, add in your chicken drumsticks, (you can remove the skin if you like) pepper puree, black pepper, sea salt and Vegeta. Simmer this for another hour, on low heat, until the chicken is cooked through. Add in the corn and cilantro for about 10 minutes until the corn is cooked through and the stew is equally hot. Adjust the seasoning as needed. Serve with  rice, a wedge of avocado and fresh cilantro or parsley in this case. Serves about 4-6.

Cranberry Bean, Smoked Pork Chop & Sauerkraut Stew

The season of stews is upon us. The cold weather is settling in, bringing its' wet weather, gloves and frozen cheeks with it. I love those first few minutes walking into a warm house, where you thaw out a bit. And it's even better when there is a chock full of creamy beans, smoky pork and sauekraut bubbling away on a hot stove, filling the house with savory smells. About two weekends ago, I stopped by a supermarket that I don't usually frequent and saw these smoked pork chops that I had to bring home to experiment with. It was a sunny and oddly warm day and I was tempted to throw them on the grill, to see what happened but I had a feeling that low and slow cooking would lend that smoky flavor over to the cranberry beans and sauerkraut and it pleasantly did. This stew is great as leftovers, it's even better warmed up the next day! Enjoy!

• 1 cup cranberry beans, soaked overnight
• 2 smoked pork chops
• 2 cups drained sauerkraut and carrots from a jar, (usually found in the Polish aisle)
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• a few dried champignon mushrooms
• 1 garlic clove, crushed and minced
• 5 cups water
• 2 bay leaves
• 5 juniper berries

Place the cranberry beans in a large heavy bottomed pot, top with the pork chops. Add the bay leaves, juniper berries and water to the pot. Bring to a boil on high heat, covered. Remove any foam that comes to the surface. Once it boils, lower the heat and stir in the the tomato paste and simmer on low heat for 1 hour, covered. Stir occasionally, so nothing sticks to the bottom of the pot. I love my wooden spoons for that! After your hour is up, remove the pork chops and set aside. Add in the sauerkraut (squeezed super dry), mushrooms and the garlic. Remove the meat off of the bone, shredding and cutting the meat into small pieces and add back into the pot. Increase the heat to high, so your stew begins to boil again. Once it does, lower the heat and simmer for 30 minutes. Remove the bay leaves and juniper berries before serving. Makes about 4 servings.

Oxtail & Lentil Stew in a Pumpkin

This could be a potentially cute couples night, (with a couple that doesn't squirm at the thought of eating oxtails, lol) With two sugar pumpkins filled with steamy stew and a bottle of wine, this could be the perfect couples night, at your place. Oxtails are really good once cooked down, till the meat is falling off the bone, combined with sage flavored lentils and creamy potatoes, this is a comforting meal. This stew is time consuming to make but the reward is a not-so-ordinary-dinner and the warmth and coziness it brings to your kitchen, is a definite plus, as the longer it simmers on the stove, the better it gets. Serve each couple with a pumpkin, 2 bowls and spoons and good bread on the side. Present each pumpkin with its' own mini ladle, so each couple can help themselves. Enjoy!

• 2 sugar pumpkins, each weighing about 3-4 pounds each
• 1 pound oxtails
• flour
• vegetable oil
• 4 oz. dried lentils, soaked overnight
• 1 small carrot, sliced and cut into half-moons
• 1 Yukon Gold potato, peeled and diced
• 1/3 cup pumpkin puree, plus 1 tablespoon
• 1 beef bouillon cube
• 2-3 small sage leaves
• pinch marjoram leaves
• pinch freshly grated nutmeg
• 4 cups water, plus more as needed
• fresh ground pepper
• sea salt

Salt and pepper your oxtails and dredge them in flour. Heat up a generous drizzle of oil in a Dutch oven until hot. Sear the oxtails on all sides, on medium-high heat, keeping an eye on them so they don't burn. Remove them from the pot and lower the heat and add your shallots. Quickly saute them and add in the lentils, giving them a good stir. Add in the water, potatoes, carrots, pumpkin puree, sage leaves, marjoram and nutmeg. Stirring up the brown bits on the bottom of the pot. Add in your oxtails and bring to a boil on high heat with the pot covered. Add in the bouillon, and stir until it's dissolved. Lower the heat and simmer covered for a minimum of 3 hours. Adding water, as needed, as it reduces. And you could enjoy this as a soup or as a stew, depending on how much liquid you add or reduce. While your stew is simmering away, you can prepare the pumpkins. Begin by cutting the lids off the pumpkin. (Leave about an inch to the stem, so none of the stew comes spilling out, once it's poured in.) Remove the seeds and the pumpkin threads and don't be shy about carving into your pumpkin with a spoon, to remove all of the threads. You want a pretty smooth surface inside the pumpkin and the lid. (Reserve your pumpkin seeds for roasting, another day.) Place them in a 13x9 baking pan. Pour two cups of water into the pan and place them in a 325 degree pre-heated oven for 1 hour. After the hour is up, cover with aluminum foil, (with the stems sticking through) and bake for another hour. Let them cool a bit before handling. Using good oven gloves, carefully, move the pumpkins to their serving platter and divide the stew into the pumpkins and serve! You can also scoop some of the pumpkin with the soup, it's really good! Serves 2 couples or makes 4 servings.

Corn & Pumpkin Soup with Wild Rice

I am seriously in the Halloween spirit! As I recall, this is the earliest the house is decorated. There are faux spiders and mice all around the house. Dark tattered curtains adorn the windows, that only a true witch would approve off. And creepy faux spiderwebs are everywhere, they blend into the natural spiderwebs, that the house is rarely void off. (I love this time of year, the real spider webs are part of the decorations! ;) lol.) If you are in the spirit also, this is a great soup to make. This soup can be a little creepy looking, but it's so fun and tasty. Late season corn makes this soup pleasantly sweet. If you want to skip the bugs-in-your-soup look, just serve without the wild rice. Either way it's a treat!

• 2 ears of corn or 2 cups of frozen corn
• 1 cup canned pumpkin
• heaping tablespoon minced shallot
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 32 oz. chicken broth
• 1-2 cloves
• 1-2 allspice berries
• 1/4 teaspoon turmeric
• 2 oz. light cream
• 1/4 cup roughly chopped cilantro, plus additional for garnish
• 1/2 teaspoon Vegeta or any all-purpose seasoning that you like
• 2 cups wild rice, cooked

If using fresh corn, run a sharp knife down the cob, to remove the corn kernels. Do it carefully. In a Dutch oven, melt the butter and add the shallot, saute until soft. Add the corn, chicken broth, pumpkin, cloves, allspice and turmeric. Bring to a boil on high heat. Once brought to a boil, bring down to low heat and simmer for 55 minutes, covered. After the time is up, remove the cloves and allspice and discard. Stir in the cilantro and simmer for an additional 5 minutes. Carefully, remove your pot off the stove and either use a blender or a hand immersion blender and puree the soup. It still ends up a little chunky. If you want, you can strain it through a cheesecloth, to get it silky smooth. Once your soup is blended, put it back on the stove, on low heat. Whisk in the cream. Season with Vegeta or all purpose seasoning if needed and simmer for about 5 minutes. To serve this soup, use shallow soup bowls and mound the wild rice in the center. Ladle the soup around the rice. Pass around a small bowl with chopped cilantro, so everyone can help themselves. This serves 4 people.

Cold Cantaloupe & Yogurt Soup

What's great about summertime, besides sunny beach days and rainy weekends that are just made for reading good books is the natural loss of appetite that happens! (It's the opposite in winter for me, lol) A nice soup or salad and on a hot day like today, is all I need for dinner, besides maybe an iced coffee to end the meal. (I love them, a little too much.) This soup combines ripe cantaloupe, cucumber and creamy tangy Greek yogurt into a quick, refreshing yet filling treat. Enjoy!

• 1/2 a ripe cantaloupe, scooped out and roughly chopped, include all of the juice!
• 1/4 peeled seedless cucumber, roughly chopped
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1 cup Greek yogurt
• fresh course ground pepper
• a pinch of sea salt
• lemon thyme for garnish

Blend the cantaloupe, cucumber, honey, Greek yogurt, ground pepper and sea salt with an immersion blender or regular blender. This makes 4 servings. Garnish each bowl with lemon thyme leaves or pass a small bowl around. A great substitute for the lemon thyme would be chopped mint leaves. Great served ice cold!

Ditalini & Dandelion Greens Soup

Cooler, rainy weather has arrived! And that calls for soup! For anyone that isn't familiar with dandelion greens, they are a super bitter green that you can toss into salads combined with a milder one like bibb lettuce. Or you could saute them with a little olive oil and butter for a simple way to dress them and really enjoy the green for what it is. If you aren't a fan of bitter greens you can still make this soup using spinach. And for a leaner version instead of the pork sausage, you can use chicken or turkey sausage. For a veggie version, you can use veggie broth and throw in some cooked beans and wild rice. Great way to use the leftover pesto from Monday's recipe (July 16th post). This serves 4. Soup tastes great warm! Enjoy!

• 1 bunch of dandelion greens, about 4 cups tightly packed
• 1 1/2 cups ditalini pasta, cooked
• 1 pound bulk Italian pork sausage
• 32 oz. chicken broth, low-sodium
• 3 garlic cloves, smashed and minced
• 1 teaspoon dried mushrooms. I used champignon but any kind will do, if large just chop them up a little bit.
• 1 heaping teaspoon sun dried tomatoes packed in olive oil, minced
• 4 eggs, cooked over easy
• 4 teaspoons unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup basil pesto
• sea salt
• fresh ground pepper

Trim the tougher stems of the greens and roughly chop them, into small pieces. In a dutch oven, saute the sausage, stirring it and breaking it up often. Once the sausage is cooked through, stir in the garlic and the mushrooms. Saute for about five minutes. Stir in the chicken broth and bring to a boil. This soup is low in broth so you can always add more. Once it boils toss in the dandelion greens and the sun dried tomatoes. Cook on low heat for ten minutes. Toss in the pasta and give your soup a good stir. Adjust the seasonings if needed. If I'm not using my own chicken broth and using store-bought I like to get low sodium because you can always add more salt but you can't take it away. Once your soup is done, you can make your eggs in the butter. Ladle your soup into bowls, top each bowl with an egg and you can top with pesto or leave your pesto in a bowl to pass around. The soup is so good once your break the yolk, it thickens the soup beautifully and adds such great flavor.

Cream of Pickle Soup

Happy first day of summer! I know! I know! Soup? First day of summer? "Shouldn't you be posting about ice cream or something?" I know what you're thinking. But I promise you, this soup is so refreshing on a hot summer day. My mom usually made this on Fridays in the summer, I loved it! Did I love coming home to a pickle jar in the fridge and potatoes in the sink, ready to be peeled! I knew we were having pickle soup for dinner. It was such a treat. I changed the recipe a little, she keeps pieces of pickle and potato and used sour cream to thicken the soup. And we ate it hot! But I always managed to have some the next day, straight from the fridge, nice and cold. It always tasted better the next day! To cool thoughts and a happy summer! :)

• 32 oz. organic chicken broth
• 1 pat of unsalted butter
• 1/4 cup minced shallot
• 1 cup tightly packed grated baby dill pickles
• 1/4 cup pickle juice from the jar
• 1 cup peeled and chopped creamy type of potato like Yukon Gold
• 1 bay leaf
• 4 oz  heavy cream
• 1 tablespoon chopped dill plus more for the garnish

In a Dutch oven, on low heat, melt your butter and add your shallot. You want to stir often so it doesn't brown. You want your shallot translucent. Add your chicken stock, pickles, pickle juice, potato and bay leaf to your pot. Cover and bring to a boil. Once you have a rolling boil, lower the heat to low and simmer for 1 hour or until your potatoes are soft. Once your potatoes are soft, remove the bay leaf. Carefully move your pot off the stove and blend your soup with a hand blender. Once your soup is smooth, heat on low heat and whisk in your heavy cream. Add in your chopped dill and heat for about five minutes, until warmed through. Garnish with chopped dill and pickles slices. You can enjoy your soup hot, but room temperature is best, either way it's delicious! Enjoy!

Turkey Soup With a Side of Wings

A summer cold has found me. And this means one thing, it's soup making time. As odd as it sounds, I loved the days when my mom made soup especially late in a summer day. Walking into the kitchen, my bare feet hitting the cool linoleum floor while the apartment was sweltering from the hot stove. Asking if it's done yet, lol. I actually made this last weekend because I wanted to try making grilled turkey wings and it came out great! So with this recipe you get two for the price of one, a delicious soup and grilled turkey wings which I'm sure once you try, will become a favorite at your barbecue.

• 2 turkey wings, cut at the joints
• 3 celery stalks, cut diagonally into 1 inch pieces
• 3 carrots, cut diagonally into 1 inch pieces and then cut in half again
• 6 scallions, cut diagonally into 1 inch pieces
• 3 garlic cloves, crushed, peeled and left whole
• 1 bay leaf
• large handful of parsley, roughly chopped
• 1 1/2 teaspoons Vegeta or any all-purpose seasoning that you like

In a large Dutch oven, place your wings, bay leaf and cover with water, leaving about an inch and a half to the top of the lid. Separating the wings at the joints becomes easier with practice, usually I feel where the joints meet and wedge my knife, a sharp knife is key and carefully cut in between the joints, feeling as I go along. If you are apprehensive ask the butcher and I'm pretty sure they will do it for you with no problem. Cover and bring to a boil occasionally skimming the surface of the stock. Reduce the heat and cook for an hour. Remove the bay leaf and discard. Remove the turkey wings and set aside to grill. To your stock add the celery, carrots, scallions, garlic and Vegeta. Let this simmer for 20 minutes. Add your chopped parsley, stir and you are ready to enjoy your soup. If you want to skim the extra fat from your soup just let it come to room temperature and then put it in the fridge. The next morning you can see all of the fat come to the surface and remove it. On the side you can make any kind of starch to add to your soup, macaroni, rice or potatoes. Last weekend we added couscous. My mom would usually make macaroni the first night and the second night would make rice or potatoes. But this veggie filled broth is great on it's own.

 To make your grilled wings, brush them with your favorite barbecue sauce or  sprinkle with an all-purpose seasoning. Heat up your grill up to 400 degrees and place your wings on the grill and leave them on for a few minutes per each side so they get some nice grill marks on them. These are really fun and messy to eat so save it for a crowd that isn't afraid to get dirty, lol.

Split-Pea Soup with Celery Leaves

Mmm...my favorite recipe to make the days following Easter is a nice split pea soup. I hope that everyone saved their ham drippings! It's a cold evening on the east coast and I can't wait to have a hot steamy bowl! Gather all your ingredients, so you can join me...

 

• a ham bone, with about 3 cups of ham chopped or shredded
• pan drippings from ham
• 1 pound dried split peas
• 2 celery stalks and a few smaller inner stalks with leaves diced, save some celery leaves for garnish
• 2 carrots, diced
• 1 onion, diced
• 4 or more cloves of garlic, finely chopped
• 1 bay leaf
• 12 cups water
• half a leek, the lighter part, diced
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 4 tablespoons flour  

Bring the ham bone, split-peas, bay leaf and water to a boil, then simmer on low heat for half an hour. Skim off the foam as it cooks. Carefully remove the ham bone and let it cool. Add the chopped vegetables and ham and bring to a boil then simmer on low for an hour. Make the roux, which is super easy, it just sounds complicated. On low heat, melt the butter, you don't want the butter browning, then add the flour. Stir until there are no lumps and it browns lightly. Add the roux to your soup, bring to a boil, then drop the heat to low. At this point you can season your soup with the reserved pan drippings, adding a little at a time. You can add any meat that you can get off your ham bone and remove the bay leaf. Really take this last half an hour of cooking time to adjust the seasonings. In my opinion, the best pan drippings come from spiral cut hams with sweet glazes. I used, I almost hate to admit it, 8 tablespoons of pan drippings. It's worth all of the calorie overload! I only make this once a year, really. In my dreams more, lol. Then top with (my latest food obsession) celery leaves and enjoy!