Portuguese Kale Soup

Rachael Ray, I love your recipes. They are so easy to follow, and most of the time I have all the ingredients on hand. I always alter the recipe to my liking though, such as every time a recipe calls for onions, I automatically omit those and use garlic instead. And every time a pork product is called for, I omit that and substitute instead a similar non-pork item. So for bacon or pancetta I always sub turkey bacon. Or for sausage or andouille, I sub chicken sausage (Whole Foods has a huge variety of delicious chicken sausages; I get the ones that are either in a lamb casing or skinless). For ground pork I sub ground beef, lamb, or turkey, depending on what would work best for that recipe. And usually I will add a pinch (or two or three) of red chili flakes to most recipes- everything is better with a little heat!

For Rachael Ray's Portuguese Kale Soup recipe, I followed the recipe pretty closely and added my alterations when necessary. Here is the recipe:

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped garlic
• 1/2 cup diced onions (OMIT- SUB MORE GARLIC!)
• 1/2 diced turnips
• 1/2 cup diced carrots
• 1 bunch kale, stemmed and roughly chopped
• 6 ounces chopped chourico (spicy Portuguese sausage), or chorizo (OMIT- SUB BLUE CHEESE CHICKEN SAUSAGE)
• 3 bay leaves
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme leaves
• 6 cups beef stock
• 1 cup kidney beans
• 6 ounces diced tomatoes
• 10 ounces diced potatoes (OMIT- I WANTED A LESS STARCHY DISH)
• (ADD 1 TSP OF HOT CHILI FLAKES)

Directions

In a large stock pot, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the garlic, onions, turnips and carrots and cook for 5 minutes. Add the kale, chourico, bay leaves, parsley and thyme and mix well. Add the beef stock, beans and tomatoes. Bring the soup to a boil, and then reduce the heat to low and simmer for 30 to 40 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, bring salted water to a boil and add the diced potatoes. Cook until tender, about 10 minutes. Drain the potatoes and add them to the soup.

Remove the bay leaves and serve hot.

This soup turned out DELICIOUS! Here are pictures of it along the way, Pioneer Woman style :-)

If you don't know who the Pioneer Woman is, you are missing out, my friend. She has the most fabulous blog. She is my role model- right up there with Martha Stewart. Martha is fancy schmancy fabulous where as Pioneer Woman is more normal, every day fabulous.

Here are the carrots, turnips, and garlic cut up and in the stock pot with olive oil.

Here is the fresh kale, cut up and de stemmed. Isn't this a beautiful vegetable? And even better because it's in season right now. It is SO fresh, tender, and good!

Here is the blue cheese chicken sausage. Just cut it all up and throw it in the pot.

Here is what it looks like with the bay leaves, thyme, and parsley.

Here is the next step, with the tomatoes, beans, kale, and beef broth. Mmm, mmm!

Lastly, here is the final product, after 30 minutes of simmering.

Talk about comfort food in a bowl! Yum! Go out and make this tonight!

Set It...And Forget It! Again!

Today for lunch I used my wonderful Rotisserie Chicken Cooker again. I used a half chicken and put it in the rotisserie basket. For the spices, I used kosher salt, ginger, all spice, bourbon smoked paprika, garlic powder, and pepper. After I set it and forgot it (ha- the name makes this cooker even better), I used my Mandolin to chop up some veggies. Ok, I actually made Scott chop them up (I'm still a little scared of using it!). He sliced up some green cabbage and carrots, while I chopped bok choy, dried red chilies, and garlic. I sautéed the garlic and chilies in a large skillet with sesame oil. Then I added the bok choy and also some mushrooms. Next came the cabbage, carrots, and water chestnuts. The only other seasoning I used in the stir fry was Tamari (original Japanese soy sauce- has a richer taste than traditional soy sauce). After cooking on high for a couple of minutes, I spooned the stir fry mixture into bowls, and then topped with the chicken. It was really good! My "Lose It" app on my iphone said this meal only had 150 calories- even better!

Tips from me:

Get a rotisserie cooker- you'll thank me later.

Eat veggies- they are healthy and delicious and so easy to make into a meal!

Try Tamari next time you run out of soy sauce. If the delicious taste of Tamari won't make you switch forever, maybe Wikipedia's info on Tamari Soy Sauce and regular soy sauce will:

Many cheaper brands of soy sauces are made from hydrolyzed soy protein instead of brewed from natural bacterial and fungal cultures. These soy sauces do not have the natural color of authentic soy sauces and are typically colored with caramel coloring, and are popular in Southeast Asia and China, and are exported to Asian markets around the globe. They are derogatorily called Chemical Soy Sauce ("化學醬油" in Chinese), but despite this name are the most widely used type because they are cheap. Similar products are also sold as "liquid aminos" in the US and Canada.

Some artificial soy sauces pose potential health risks due to their content of the carcinogenic chloropropanols 3-MCPD (3-chloro-1,2-propanediol) and all artificial soy sauces came under scrutiny for possible health risks due to the unregulated 1,3-DCP (1,3-dichloro-2-propanol) which are minor byproducts of the hydrochloric acid hydrolysis ^[9]

Tamari (たまり^?): Produced mainly in the Chūbu region of Japan, tamari is darker in appearance and richer in flavour. It contains little or no wheat; wheat-free tamari is popular among people eating a wheat free diet. It is the "original" Japanese soy sauce, as its recipe is closest to the soy sauce originally introduced to Japan from China

Um- no brainer! Tamari wins! Get it at Whole Foods.

Winter Decor

Three words come to mind when I think of January: Cold. White. Cold.

Did I mention that it is cold? Brrr.

I figured that as long as we are having a Winter Wonderland outside, I may as well reflect that theme for the inside decor. I do love white- so classic, so clean.

My January tablescape:

Here's the problem with Tablescapes. Yes, they are fun to make, and they look nice when finished, but the whole point of a Tablescape is to look good for when company comes over. But usually when company comes over, I am having them over for dinner. So how do I serve dinner when my table is all made up with fancy dishes? I have to take apart part of the Tablescape so that everyone can have somewhere to sit and eat. It would save a lot of time to have the table set for dinner by the time guests arrive, so I'm not scrambling around trying to do that and get the meal on the table. But I don't want to have the table set with functional eat-on dishes because I want the table to look made up with a Tablescape! See my dilemma?

My China Cabinet is something that I love to change and decorate with different dishes. I never have to change any of that around to serve dinner!

Here is my winter mantle decor:

I like to use crystal and silver along with the white; it reminds me of snow and ice. I also keep the decor minimal to mimic the barren winter landscape I see when I look out the window.

Brrr! I think it's time for a fire in the fireplace and a cup of hot tea!

Stay warm!

Fancy Schmancy Cooking

For Christmas this year, Mom and Dad got all of us kids our very own "Set It....And Forget It!" Chicken Rotisserie Cooker. There are 2 words that best describe the results of cooking a chicken with this fancy schmancy gadget- "FREAKIN' AWESOME!" Check out the video- hear that a sizzlin' and a poppin'? Those are the succulent, delicious juices dripping off the chicken while it slowly cooks to perfection. You're supposed to cook the chicken 15 minutes per pound, so after 45 minutes, this is how it looked when I took it off the rotisserie spits:

Yes, that tasted every bit as good as it looks!

Another handy dandy cooking utensil I got for Christmas was a cutting device called a Mandolin.

You take whatever vegetable or fruit you want to cut, and run it across the blade. Talk about FAST! I cut this half a red cabbage up in about 26 seconds. One downfall about this fantastic tool- it is UNBELIEVABLY SHARP!! As in, I'm half way scared to use this thing because it is so sharp. I watch the cooks use one of these on Iron Chef (my favorite Food Network show) and they go so fast with it- I have to look away because I'm too scared to watch! So while I love and use this wonderful little gadget, I have a very healthy respect for it.

To go along with the chicken (did I mention how moist and juicy and crispy and tender and delicious this was, by the way?), I made a warm cabbage slaw.

I know that sounds kind of weird, but it was different and delicious. I quartered a red and a green cabbage and shredded them with my mandolin. Then I sautéed 2 cloves of minced garlic in some olive oil. After that cooked for a few minutes, I added some apple vinegar, honey, soy sauce, and a splash of Tabasco. I then added the cabbages and let them soak up all that tangy goodness. While that was cooking, I again used my mandolin to cut up half an apple. I also added that to the cabbage, and let it cook another minute. It turned out to be very complex and interesting- the sweet and sour sauce, combined with the crunchiness of the apple and the tenderness of the cabbage- it was very good! I'm glad I made enough to have left overs tomorrow!

My tip of the day: Go out and buy a "Set It and Forget It" Rotisserie Cooker. Trust me. You need one.

And some cabbage. It's cheap, healthy, and it tastes delicious :-)

Thanks Mom and Dad! What a great Christmas gift!

Comfort food for a cold weekend

Orecchiette with Veal, Capers, and White Wine

Scott and I made this recipe a few weeks ago. We substituted lamb for the veal. It was DELICIOUS! I highly recommend making this immediately! We got the recipe out of Food and Wine magazine.

INGREDIENTS

1. 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2. 1 medium onion, finely chopped
3. 1 garlic clove, minced
4. 1 pound ground veal
5. Salt and freshly ground pepper
6. 1/2 cup dry white wine
7. 1 1/2 cups chicken stock
8. 1 teaspoon chopped thyme
9. 1/2 teaspoon chopped rosemary
10. 2 tablespoons small capers, rinsed
11. 3/4 pound orecchiette
12. 1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
13. 1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
14. 2 tablespoons unsalted butter

DIRECTIONS

1. In a large, deep skillet, heat the olive oil. Add the chopped onion and minced garlic and cook over moderately high heat, stirring frequently, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the veal, season with salt and pepper and raise the heat to high. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the veal is no longer pink and any liquid has evaporated, about 8 minutes.
2. Add the white wine to the skillet and boil over high heat until nearly evaporated, about 5 minutes. Add the chicken stock, thyme, rosemary and capers and simmer over moderate heat until the liquid is reduced by half, about 10 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, cook the orecchiette in a large pot of boiling salted water until al dente. Drain the pasta well and add it to the skillet along with the Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, chopped parsley and butter. Cook over moderate heat, stirring frequently, until the sauce is thick and creamy, 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer to bowls and serve right away.

Catch Up Time...

First, I would like to apologize to my followers for my total slacking on updating this blog. I'm sure you have all been losing sleep wondering what decorations I had up for Christmas and what I cooked and did all month :-)

Well, wait no more- here are some highlights of Christmas. Posted on January 6th. Oops.

Scott and I went to our friends Heather and Mike's house to visit them and their sweet baby Georgia. Just look at that face! Isn't she just too precious?

I'll have to admit, whenever I'm around Georgia I do get that slight "twinge" of wanting a baby. But in the amount of time it takes me to walk from their house to get into my car, that twinge has instantly vanished. Sorry mom and mom-in-law :-)

This year for Christmas, the whole house was decked out Christmas. I put up 3 Christmas trees (actually 4, if you count the miniature one in our bedroom), 2 Christmas villages, and displayed all of my Christmas dishes and serving pieces in various rooms.

Here's my Kitchen Christmas tree. Of course I forgot to take pictures of it at the end of the month when I had tons of cute little ornaments on it. I decorated it with a cooking theme- chef's hat for the "star", a Christmas apron for the skirt, and ornaments of mini cooking utensils, gingerbread men, cookie cutters, candy canes, and a cranberry garland. Here is a picture with a few some ornaments on it:

Next year I'll remember to take better pictures!

Here's the tree in the front living room, and also in the basement:

The theme is Red and Gold on this tree

This one's theme is White, with Crystal and Glass-Blown ornaments

My China Cabinet

Christmas Tablescape

Christmas Serving Pieces

My Christmas Village. Sorry about the techno music in the background- pretend it's Jingle Bells.

For more Christmas pictures, check out the link under my Picture Gallery that says "Christmas 2009". Merry Christmas!

One of my New Years Resolutions is to be more diligent on this blog. So, a real January post should be coming soon!

New Blog Post*** Stay Tuned!