January mishmash

i cook my face off in the winter and tend to crave a lot of soups and stews. here is a collection of some of the recipes i've made over the last couple of weeks.

ghetto sancocho

sancocho is a soup that i grew up with. it takes chicken noodle soup and kicks it in the junk. sancocho can take a while to make, and i just didn't have the time and all of the necessary ingredients (plantain, fail) on this particular day. here is an easier version of the traditional recipe.

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large yellow onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely minced
1 large tomato, cored, peeled, seeded and chopped
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon dried thyme
2 liters chicken broth, homemade or canned low-sodium broth
1 handful diced butternut squash
1 handful diced fresh cilantro
1/2 pound small red or white potatoes, peeled
5 (2-inch) long pieces frozen yucca (go, goya!)
2 ears of corn, husked and quartered (i used frozen loose corn instead)
1 pound of chicken (i used what i had on hand [diced breast meat] boneless, skinless thighs are wayyy better, the meat, sans skin, off of a rotisserie chicken would be easy peasy)

heat the oil in a large stockpot over medium heat for 1 minute. add the onions and garlic and cook until they're soft and transparent, about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. add the tomatoes, bay leaves, and thyme and continue to cook 5 more minutes. pour in the chicken broth. add the potatoes, butternut squash, yucca and corn and simmer, uncovered, until all are tender, about 20 minutes (stir occasionally and skim the foam from the top of the broth when necessary). add the chicken and cook until the chicken has poached. stir in the cilantro and remove the bay leaves.


goya yucca is your friend...

guinness cranberry stew

guinness is one of my favorite beers, so any excuse to pound it while making a stew sounds good to me! weeeeeee

1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
a couple tablespoons of flour
1 1/2 lbs beef stew meat (or lamb...go crazy kids!)
2 tablespoons of olive oil
1 (10-ounce) package frozen pearl onions
1 cup fat-free, less-sodium beef broth
2 bay leaves
1 (12-ounce) guinness stout (plus an extra 3 or 4 for pounding)
1 (8-ounce) package button mushrooms, quartered
3/4 cup whole-berry cranberry sauce

pound half a guinness. combine first 4 ingredients in a gallon sized ziploc. throw in the beef. shake to coat. like shake n' bake, without the creepy ingredients, haha. heat a dutch oven over medium-high heat. coat pan with oil. add beef to pan; cook 6 minutes, turning to brown on all sides. remove from pan (put it in a bowl). deglaze the pan with the guinness. take the guinness liquid and pour it into the bowl with the beef. mmmm...i'm thirsty, more guinness pleeeeease. add more oil to the pan. add in the pearl onions and brown. remove the pearl onions (throw them in the beef bowl) and deglaze the pot with more guinness. add the beef, onions, and guinness deglazing liquid back in, along with the broth, bay leaves, and stout; bring to a boil. cover, reduce heat, and simmer 2 hours or until beef is tender, stirring occasionally. see how much guinness you can drink in this time. make it a game. get the dog involved. stir in mushrooms; cook, covered, 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. add the cranberry sauce to pan. cook 5 minutes. discard bay leaves. Serve with...you guessed it...more guinness. yum.



pumpkin with ginger, coconut milk and lime

i love anything having to do with coconuts, don't you?


yeah, i thought so...

so i decided to make an adaptation of nigel's slater's tasty soup...

1 medium onions
2 tablespoons olive oil
a large lump of ginger, grated
2 small, very hot chillies, seeded and chopped
a squidge of lemon grass in a tube*
2 teaspoons ground turmeric
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 or 2 plum tomatoes
2 liters chicken stock
1 package of diced butternut squash
1 can of lite coconut milk
the juice of a plump lime
a small handful of chopped cilantro
a small handful chopped mint leaves

peel the onions and roughly chop them. cook them slowly with the oil in a deep heavy-based saucepan. they should be super soft, don't mess this up. add the ginger, chillies, and lemon grass to the onions and continue cooking for five minutes. stir in the turmeric, cumin and coriander.

chop the tomatoes roughly and stir them into the onions. let them soften for five or seven minutes or so, stirring the mixture so it does not burn, then pour in the stock. bring to a boil then turn down to a gentle simmer. season the butternut squash with salt and black pepper. lower the squash into the pot and let it simmer for 20-25 minutes, checking now and again for tenderness.
stir in the coconut milk, gently so as not to smash the squash, and continue cooking for a couple of minutes, check the seasoning, then stir in the lime juice, the coriander and mint.

spicy mexican meatballs

i made these meatballs so they would slow cook all day and be ready after snowshoeing. *genius*

1 lb of 80% ground beef (fatties rejoice! sorry, the lean beef makes fehking terrible meatballs)
1/4 cup of bread crumbs
1 minced jalapeno
1 small onion, diced
1 egg
1 small handful of chopped parsley
large pinch of:
salt
pepper
chili powder
cumin
coriander
all spice
paprika
1 can of crushed tomatoes
1 cup of two of beef stock
a couple of plum tomatoes
a handful of chopped cilantro

combine the beef, bread crumbs, jalapeno, onion, egg, parsley, and seasonings in a bowl. do not over combine. shape into meatballs. add the crushed tomatoes, plum tomatoes, and beef stock into the crockpot. stir to combine. gently add in the meatballs. they should be covered by the liquid. if not add more beef stock or crushed tomatoes. slow cook on low. snowshoe all dayyy and then come back and chow down. nom nom nom

sweet 'n' sour turkey meatballs

yep, these pretty much rule. so effing tasty. so easy to make.



1 pound ground turkey breast
1/4 cup dry bread crumbs
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
2 tablespoons minced onion
1 egg
1 1/6-ounce can jellied cranberrysauce
1/3 cup ketchup (not the creepy heinz kind with high fructose corn syrup!)
1/4 cup chili sauce

in a large bowl, combine turkey, bread crumbs, parsley, onion and egg. no need to add salt. i promise. mix well and shape the mixture into 24 meatballs. set aside.

in a slow cooker combine cranberry sauce, ketchup and chili sauce. mix well. gently stir in meatballs. it will look like you don't have enough liquid for the meatballs, but you do. don't fehking add anything. i mean it. cover and cook on low for 6 hours.

lemongrass chicken with cashew nuts

i've been reading a lot about unami (the fifth taste) and know that anchovies will provide that savoriness to any dish without tasting fishy. yeah, yeah, anchovies are *gross*. idiotsssss


1lb chicken breasts, diced
a generous squidge of lemongrass in a tube*
2 green onions, finely chopped
1/4 tsp ground turmeric
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp ground cumin
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 anchovy fillets, minced
1 tbsp ginger, grated
1 tbsp dark soy sauce
2 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp lime juice
2 tbsp vegetable oil (one tbsp for the marinade, one to cook with)
1 cup of cashew nuts, chopped (i like using raw, unsalted cashews)

mix all of the ingredients (except for the cashew nuts) in a plastic bag. leave to marinate in the fridge for at least 2 hours or overnight. preheat a wok over medium-high heat. add in the oil. remove the chicken from the marinade bag, but don't toss the marinade liquid. add in the chicken. don't touch it/turn it/poke at it. i find that by doing that it gets a beautiful golden brown color. wait a couple of minutes then stir. add in the cashew nuts and saute for a while. add in the marinade liquid and cook for about 5 minutes. ate this with brown rice and steamed broccoli. delicious!

*lemongrass in a tube can be found over by the fresh herbs in the produce section. it rules. buy it.


sour cream chocolate chocolate chip banana bread

ate half a loaf of this last night, david ate the other half...dangerous stuff!

1 stick of salted butter, softened to room temp.
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
2 large ripened bananas mashed
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup flour
1 tsp. baking soda
2 Tbl. cocoa powder
1/2 cup of sour cream
1 cup of bittersweet chocolate chips (i had not quite a cup of chocolate chips in the house, so i had to improvise...diced up bittersweet chocolate squares and then added in some marie belle hot chocolate shavings to get to a cup of chocolate...oops haha)

preheat over to 350 degrees. lightly grease a loaf pan with non-stick spray. in a large bowl, cream butter and sugar together. stir in egg, mashed bananas, sour cream, and vanilla until well blended. add baking soda, cocoa, and flour. mix everything until well incorporated add chocolate chips.
pour batter into loaf pan and bake for 40-50 minutes. insert a tooth pick into the center of the loaf and check to see if it comes out clean when you pull it out. so yummy with a big glass of milk and a freshly washed frenchie snoozing on your lap. awwww