MY POTATO SPRUNG A LEAKY SOUP

Leona says, "Delicioso"        Melissa says, "Good one Mom!"

Hello to our Foodies out there in Kitchenland, yes, it is that time again....come on you know...AH I see that light bulb just turned on. ......yep you guessed it....LEONA'S FAVORITE THROW IT IN A POT DAY!!!! How many times do I have to say, "I LOVE THIS DAY!" ...LOL I know I know probably to many times that you get tired of hearing (seeing) it, but I do love this day cause I don't have to really measure anything, unless (insert air quotes as you read the next two words) THE MELISSA is watching (this is where Leona turns her head left and right to see if Melissa is watching) .....oh heavens to mer-ga-troid.... she is, dag nab it... that girl has "MY MOM IS ABOUT TO NOT MEASURE SOMETHING" radar!!!! EGADS I am going to start calling it Mdar from this day forward. Love you Miss! (even if you spoil my fun.....hehehehe)

We had this massive amount of potatoes just laying around here just begging me to do something with them...... so I did. Below is my version of a potato soup, please remember I have a BIG family so I tend to cook large amounts to accommodate their appetites. For smaller families just cut down the measurements. We welcome all comments, ideas and suggestions and would love to hear from you.

My Potato Sprung a Leaky Soup

 

Equipment needed:

Soup pot - my favorite is my Paula Dean stock pot

Your favorite knife

Measuring spoons (please take note Melissa..hahaha)

1 cup measuring cup

Food processor (use a potato masher, hand mixer or blender if you don't have one)

 

Ingredients:

5 pounds of potatoes peeled and diced

1 pound of smoky ham or 1 pound of bacon or use both your choice- diced up

3 32 ounce cartons of chicken broth - we used low sodium fat free

1 can of coconut milk

64 ounces of water - fill one of the cartons of chicken broth up 2 times

1 leek - rinsed and sliced up

1 onion cut up

2 avocados - mashed up

1/2 a bag of fresh spinach - chopped up small without the stems - optional

All the celery leaves and the yellow green stalks of celery including the leafy heart of 1 bunch of

      celery-chopped up

2 tablespoons of minced garlic

4 tablespoons of margarine if using just ham as your meat - we use Nucoa (dairy free)

2 tablespoons of dill weed or fresh dill

2 tablespoons of salt

1tablespoon of pepper

2 tablespoons of original Ms. Dash salt free (optional)

 

NOTE:

All of our recipes are dairy free so we use many things to achieve that creamy goodness that milk products give. Avocados and coconut milk are great substitutes plus they add a dimension to the flavor. I snuck the avocados in knowing that Melissa's family doesn't like them. Trust me they couldn't even tell they were in there and of course I didn't tell them either...however, I did tell Melissa and she was shocked cause you couldn't taste them. Our Motto is "What healthy goodness can we sneak in, get away with, the hard part--> remember and use again!" All in the name of LOVE!

 

Cooking instuctions:

Use your soup pot to sauté 1 cup of Ham (if using bacon cook it all), leaks, onion, celery, garlic, spinach (optional) and 4 tablespoons of margarine unless you are using bacon, bacon makes its own grease. Cook until onions celery and leaks are tender and if using bacon make sure it is done. You may have to add a little chicken broth to keep veggies from burning.

 

Add all the liquids, dill, seasonings, potatoes and simmer until potatoes are tender.

Please remember that you need enough liquid to cover the potatoes and a little extra to compensate for liquid evaporation during cooking.

 

Take out 3 cups soup try to get mostly potatoes and veggies drain the juice back into the pot. Make sure that you have 3 cups of potato/veggie mix and set aside.

 

Add in the rest of the Ham (unless you are using all bacon) and the mashed Avocado to the soup pot, stir to combine and continue to simmer soup.

 

Take the 3 cups of potato mixture that you set aside and puree it using whatever equipment that you have- I used a food processor. Add this back into the soup pot stir to combine. Hopefully this will thicken up your soup so it isn't to thin.

 

Taste your soup and add more seasonings if you need to.

This soup has a delicate flavor so if you find the flavor lacking just throw in what you think will make it taste good to you and let us know.

 

If your soup is thinner than you would like, try one of these thickening methods:

Flour and water- should be kind of thick

cornstarch and water- be careful not to get it too thin

potato flakes - I used this and it works great

 

From my stove to your table, eat and enjoy......

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



The Wild Side of Rice

     In our house, we love rice. It goes with just about anything, can be cooked about a billion different ways, and is great plain. In the past, we found Jasmine rice and decided that its taste was superior to other types of rice. Recently, we have been trying other types of rice that weren't so processed and had natural health benefits. While shopping at an Asian market, we stumbled upon Vivo's Rice blend. It is a combination of Red, Black, and Brown rices with wheat and oats. We weren't quite sure what to do with it, so we decided to experiment (we wouldn't be us if we didn't!). After coming up with this recipe, we went to a popular Thai restaurant and found it on the menu as "black and white" rice. It was nice, I just prefer it this way.
     This dish tastes just how I imagine a risotto would (I have never tried risotto since every recipe I have come across has milk of some kind in it). It has a light nutty flavour and a creamy mouth feel (a luxury to those of us who have had to do without milk,products).

3 cups Vivo Rice
5 cups chicken stock (we used water and chicken bouillon granules)
2 cups mushrooms, sliced (we used crimini and baby bellas)
rice cooker

All you have to do is load all ingredients into the rice cooker, putting in the mushrooms last. 25- 30 minutes later its YUM time! Please note, Yes this rice looks purple in the picture. Yes it really does cook up purple. My (Melissa's) kids thought it was pretty cool to eat something purple as they believe there is a grave shortage on purple edibles. Enjoy!

Tangelo Fish A Go-Go

     As you may know, we have fish every Friday, 'cause its Fishy Friday. It has come to our attention that we have yet to post any fish recipes. This is simply not acceptable behaviour. So here is a recipe Melissa made all on her little lonesome. It has a nice flavour and pairs well with rice and asparagus.

Ingredients:
1 steal head or other fish fillet
2-3 Tangelos (navel oranges work as well) sliced 1/4 in thick
1/2-1 cup orange juice
3 scallions thinly sliced into rings
3 cloves of garlic, minced
salt and pepper
aluminium foil

• Preheat oven to 350. While oven is preheating, place fish on aluminium foil. Salt and pepper to taste (we use freshly ground sea salt and pepper so it is hard to measure). Lay down a layer of scallion rings followed by a layer of minced garlic, and then another layer of scallion rings.
• Next, place a layer of tangelo slices. I like to cut the peel off of the tangelos because citrus peel tends to make the fish bitter and because I like to leave the tangelo on the fish after cooking, so it is easier to eat the slices if they are pre-peeled.
• Fold aluminium foil up around top and sides. Pour orange juice over fish until it is covered a little over half way. Next, close the foil around the fish. I usually meet the sides up and fold down towards fish and then roll up the ends. Bake until center is opaque and fish is flaky.

Kitchen Land's Guide to Storing Fresh Produce

     Since we have started participating in the Bountiful Basket Co-Op, we have ran into the problem of how to store fresh produce to keep it its freshest. Every weekend, we are getting $20- $60 of fresh produce all in one go. in the past, we would only get what was needed for a meal or what could be quickly eaten. This made frequent trips to market and and we would spend $60+ per trip. This made eating a very expensive venture. That is why we started participating in the Bountiful Baskets organization. We try to severely limit our weekly purchases and stick to eating only the produce that is available through them (quite the challenge some weeks). Here is some methods we have found for keeping produce its freshest and most enjoyable. For best results, choose only the freshest produce before trying to store produce. Check in every so often because we plan on updating this as we learn more about fresh produce.

Apples-  There are a couple of different methods. Our favorite is to keep them in the Garage (ours stays pretty cool), making sure that they are all bruise and blemish free. For those of you who do not have a cool, dark place (like a garage or basement) a tightly sealed bag in the fridge is best. Do not wash before storing.
Asparagus- Cut the bottom inch off of stocks and store up right in a container of water in your fridge. Change water if it gets cloudy. Keeps asparagus fresh for about 7 days.
Arugula- If purchased with roots on, Wrap in a damp paper towel and place in a plastic bag. Put this in the most humid part of the fridge (the veggie crisper drawer).
Bananas- The counter top is the best place for this. If your bananas are already yellow, prolong their life a little by separating them from the main stem.
Basil and other fresh herbs- keep upright in a container of water (like you would flowers) OUTSIDE of the fridge. We keep ours in the window. They will grow roots! We have talked about planting the sprouted leaves, but eat them before we get around to it.
Bok Choy- Cut the bottom root section off the stems. Place in a bowl of cold water for about half an hour. Swirl to clean, remove from water and blot dry. Place leaves on clean, a clean, dry paper towel. Roll up leaves in the paper towels and store in a plastic bag.
Broccoli- Cut into florets and keep in a sealed plastic bag. Also, placing florets in a bowel of water in the fridge is nice for snacking.
Cabbage- remove any wilted outer leaves. Rinse and let drain in a colander. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap. Will store well in fridge for up to two weeks. Please note: Once you have cut or scored cabbage leaves, the vitamin C depletes with in 48 hours. So for maximum health benefits, once you cut into your head of cabbage, eat within two days.
Carrots- Using only fresh bright carrots, rinse well in cold water and store in a large bowel with enough water to cover carrots, cover tightly with a lid. Change water every four days. Carrots will stay fresh for two weeks.
Cauliflower- Cut into florets and keep in a sealed plastic bag.
Celery- after trying many different methods, we have found that placing celery in a tightly closed plastic bag keeps it the freshest. This works whether it is cut off the root base or kept intact. The key to storage is keeping moisture out (so no prewashing for best results). Can keep fresh for up to two months.
Cilantro- Place upright in a container (we use a drinking glass) with about an inch of water. Cover tops with a plastic sandwich bag and keep in fridge.
Garlic bulbs- Keep in a cool, dark place that is free of moisture. The refrigerator is not a good place. Think pantry or garage (if yours stays cool). Some people like to keep theirs under a clay pot. This will inhibit sprouting. Once you break into the bulb and start using the individual cloves, the garlic will start to age faster.
Ginger- OK, this sounds weird, but we store our ginger in a pot of organic soil and water it when ever the soil dries out. As we need some ginger, we just dig it up, break off a piece and cover it with soil. If you think about it, ginger is really just a root, so it makes sense.
Green Onion- Place  upright in a container (we use a drinking glass) with about an inch of water. Cover tops with a plastic sandwich bag and keep in fridge. Keeps crisp for 7- 10 days.
Green, yellow, red, or orange peppers- these store well in the crisper section of your fridge. Just be sure that they are free of paper or plastic bags to ensure good air flow. Freezing is supposed to be a good option, we will get back to you on that.
Kale- Wash off all dirt and sand. Shake off excess water and wrap with dry paper towels. Can store well for 3- 5 days.
Radishes- if purchased with greens on: cut greens off, wrap in damp paper towel and place them (the greens) in a plastic bag (great if added to soups or for juicing). Rinse radishes and keep in a plastic bag.
Strawberries- believe it or not, strawberries store best if kept at room temperatures. Just be sure to remove the moldy ones, do not prewash, and place a dry paper towel at the bottom of the container you with to store them in.

Humorus Hummus

Well we, Melissa and I, decided to make hummus from scratch little did we know that it could take all day (hench the humor). We should have known!! We gave each other THAT kind of look that only can say, "since when do we ever do anything that starts simple and ends simpler....NEVER!" Ok maybe...um mm....only once and that was because we had way tooo much sex on the beach (naughty you, hehehe, it is a delicious alcoholic drink) and couldn't remember what we were gonna do nor did we care. That was the day that my hubby became the hunter as opposed to the gatherer went and got KFC to protect his family from us, gee you would have thought we actually planned it so we could have the night off of cooking. We aren't telling either. But here I digress (I seem to do that alot) so I need to press on with this delicious recipe.

Hummus is made from chick peas/garbanzo beans (same bean just called by a different name in some cultures), tahini (a paste made from sesame seeds and olive oil), garlic, lemon juice, water and salt. Sounds simple enough UNLESS you are us! How did we manage to complicate such an easy peasy recipe you ask? Welllllll we didn't go to the store and buy Hummus....oh and the only thing we didn't make was the tahini (I can't remember why either) we bought this from an international food market but do plan on making it from scratch in the future. I have included a recipe at the end just in case you feel adventurous.

Humorus Hummus

Leona says, "Yummers"   Melissa says, "What she said"

 

Equipment needed:

Food processor or blender- I used a processor

Soup pot-for cooking dried beans in

Measuring spoons

Measuring cup- to hold water

Spoon- for scraping sides of processor bowl 

Container with a lid- to store your Hummus in

 

Ingredients: scratch measurements shown first- can/shortcut equivalent recipe in ( ) 

4 cups home cooked chickpeas/garbanzo beans- (2- 15/16oz cans- drained, reserving liquid)

2 cups reserved liquid or use tap water

The juice of 2 fresh lemons, at least 7 tablespoons of liquid- (3-5 tablespoons lemon juice) both

          measurement are to taste

1 1/2 tablespoons of Tahini or to taste. Tahini adds a very nice nutty flavor I used 3 tablespoons

1 whole head (with lots of garlic cloves on it) of oven roasted garlic- (3 fresh cloves of garlic or 2

           tablespoons minced or garlic powder) both measurements are to taste

1/2 teaspoon of salt or to taste

2 tablespoons of olive oil- used for drizzling over portioned hummus

 

Pre-prep:

Cook dried chickpeas/garbanzo beans according to package- all we used was water (we didn't want any stray flavors mucking up our hummus, besides we are watching our sodium intake). When beans are tender, drain and reserve liquid. Refrigerate until cool-takes about an hour.

 

While beans are cooking you can juice the lemons and oven roast the garlic

 

To juice fresh lemons- I start with room temperature ones, then roll them on the counter before I cut them. This makes them real juicy. Cut into 3rd, squeeze and reserve juice. Melissa used a spoon to help get out any remaining goodness. If some pulp gets in the juice flavor BONUS!

 

We chose big heads of garlic with lots of garlic cloves on it cause we use a lot of garlic plus it stores well in the refrigerator for later uses. Oven roasted garlic taste mild and sweet so it is hard to use to much...or so Melissa says and since we haven't had any complaints, I'm gonna trust her on this one. For those who don't know how, look under the link "oven roasting veggies". Once they are roasted releasing the cloves from the husk is a bit of gooshy fun. Pull a husk from head, be careful not to smash it, then gently squeeze one end and it pops out the other. I used the whole head.

 

To make:

Put 4 cups of garbonzo beans in processor blend until ground up

Add 1/4th cup of reserve liquid, 7 tablespoons of lemon juice, salt, 3 tablespoons Tahini and roasted garlic to processor. Blend until thoroughly mixed and smooth using reserve liquid as needed.  Stop frequently to scrape down sides, taste test and adjust. The consistency should be thin enough to pour but thick enough to scoop.

 

Portion then drizzle with olive oil- can put a wedge of lemon on the side. Melissa likes to put a pepperchini on hers.

 

Use warm peta bread to scoop up the creamy goodness with.

 

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Here is another Hummus that we made that same day and we liked it so much it didn't last long, we WILL be making it again.

 Popeye the Hummus man





 

Ingredients: scratch measurements shown first- can/shortcut equivalent recipe in ( )

4 cups home cooked garbonzo beans- (2 cans (15oz each) drained, reserving liquid)

1 cup chopped fresh spinach leaves

1/4th cup Tahini

1 whole head (with lots of garlic cloves on it) of oven roasted garlic- (3 fresh cloves of garlic or 2

             tablespoons minced or garlic powder) both measurements are to taste

The juice of 2 fresh lemons, at least 7 tablespoons of liquid- (3-5 tablespoons lemon juice) both

             measurement are to taste

2 tablespoons of olive oil

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon Fenugreek- this adds such a yummy flavor but more is not always better, trust us on this

             one... we bought this at an international food market

 

Combine beans, garlic, spinach, tahini, fenugreek and olive oil in processor, blend. Add lemon juice and salt blend again. Start adding small amounts of reserve liquid or water while blending until desired consistency.

 

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Now for all you adventurous viewers here is a recipe for Tahini

 

Tahini

5 cups sesame seeds - toasted or untoasted

1 1/2 cups olive oil

 

To toast untoasted sesame seeds

 

Preheat oven to 350. Spread sesame seeds on a cookie sheet to make a single layer. Don't grease sheet. Put in preheated oven toast 5-10 minutes, turning seeds frequently with a spatula.

 

Pour sesame seeds into a food processor, add olive oil. Blend for 2 minutes. Check for consistency. The goal is a thick, yet pourable texture. Add more oil if needed.

Storing Tahini
Tahini should be stored in the refrigerator in a tightly closed container. It will keep for up to 3 months.

 

We welcome all comments and ideas. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 





A Lovely Bunch of Coconuts

    Have you ever been shopping in the produce section of the store and been enticed by the exotic appeal of a coconut? Have you ever purchased said coconut and the only idea you had for using it is to cut it in half and use it to make horsey clop-clop sounds while singing "I have a lovely bunch of coconuts"? If this is any where close to a real life scenario, you are in luck! Recently, I have had the challenge of figuring out the other uses of a coconut.

   It is not easy harvesting the delicious meat of a coconut, but at the end of the day, you have a feeling of accomplishment and some coconut meat and milk that is 100% additive free. Here are some step by step instructions to get more out of your coconut than some mildly hilarious  entertainment.You will need the following items for the next couple of steps:

•  a large bowl
•  a thick bladed, heavy knife
•  a short, thin bladed knife that is kind of flexible blade
•  a blender or food processor
• cheese cloth or other natural fibre cloth like a nut bag (I use cheese cloth)
• and oh yeah, a coconut )
• a cookie sheet and jar or glass for the coconut milk might also come in handy

1. Picking the right coconut. You want to pick a coconut that is lighter in colour. The darker the coconut, the older it is, the younger the coconut, the better the flavour. Check to make sure there are not any external cracks or wet spots on the coconut, if you see these, your coconut could be compromised, don't buy it! You need to shake the coconut to make sure there is plenty of coconut water inside, this is kind of a must have for making coconut milk (you can make coconut milk without it, but the taste is superior if you can use it).

2. Locate the eyes on your coconut. There should be three indentations on it, one is softer. the softer one is where the stem was once attached. Some people like to take a drill bit and drill into the coconut and drain the water. (You can do this, but I think it is unnecessary). I think of the soft indention as the nose and the two parallel indention as the eyes. Holding Mr.Coconut over the large bowl, use the back, flat end of your heavy knife, whack Mr.Coconut squarely between the eyes. If you get mixed up, or really can't tell what is eyes and what is not, don't worry, just whack anyways. Your coconut will start to crack. and liquid will start to leak out. The liquid is coconut water and is very tasty. Collect as much of this in your bowl as possible. Rotate and give the coconut a good whack along the crack you have created until your coconut is opened enough to pull apart. Did I mention you might not want to try this after putting the kiddos to bed or down for a nap? It is kind of loud.

3. Using the smaller, thinner bladed knife, pry the coconut meat from the shell. The coconut is round and the blade is flat, that is why you want it to be flexible, so it kind of curves with the shell. Be very careful to not a) break your blade or b) stab your hand >cough, cough<. I have found that giving the knife a little wiggle will help release the meat from the shell. You will notice that some of the brown membrane of the coconut sticks to the coconut meat. There are two schools of thought on what to do about this. Some people say that it is good for you and to leave it on and others say to peel it off. I leave it on but peel off the thicker parts that look like they would be hard to bite into.

4. Shred your coconut. you can do this with a grater, or a food processor using the shredding attachment. I do this in my food processor with the grating attachment but it comes out a little rough. If you have your heart set on beautiful coconut flakes that you can buy in the store, I recommend using a hand grater You want to combine the coconut water with the coconut meat, bit by bit. If you didn't collect enough coconut water to maintain a good pulse, you can add regular water. Keep adding water and coconut meat and pulsing until you have a nice, chunky puree

5. Pour the coconut puree mixture into a bowl and, using the cheese cloth, start straining the mixture into a bowl or desired storage container. The way you do this is by placing handfuls of the puree into the cheese cloth and then squeezing out as much of the mixture as possible into the container. You will have a bunch of coconut meat left in the cheese cloth. Put this onto the cookie sheet, and continue to process the the coconut puree through the cheesecloth. Let the coconut meat dry out on the cookie sheet.

6. Now you have fresh coconut milk and some shredded, unsweetened coconut!

I like to use the coconut in just about any curry dish. The coconut meat can be used as you would store bought unsweetened coconut flakes, or if you have bigger chunks, as nuts in most any recipe for a light, nutty flavour.

Drumming to the Beet Chicken Soup

“Throw it in the pot” is one of my favorite ways to cook, that is why I lay claim to this day, you just throw whatever in the pot add tons of spices that you think will make for a tasty treat and whammo you have a masterpiece just waiting to be eaten. No measuring (yahoo) a basic no fuss way to cook….unless you have my daughter Melissa living with you. She is such a stickler for measuring and writing stuff out, “Mom, how do you re-make this if you don’t measure things out or write it down?” In the first place what makes her think I want to make it again the same way and in the second place it rains on my “creativity” OF COURSE I don’t say these things out loud I may be dumb but I ain’t stupid. This does lead to some pretty good in my head conversations and retorts like “didn’t your momma ever teach you that it isn’t polite to correct your momma” or “you can’t imagine what I’ve been doing behind your back” snicker…snicker, just kidding Melissa (Not).

 To be honest, she does have a point about writing down recipes and yes, doing the measuring thing how else would I be able to give you great recipes from the land of Leona.  So here is my latest throw it in the pot soup for an army. To scale down cut everything by half.

Drum to the Beet of Chicken and Veggie Soup

I say, “Start small end BIG!”  Melissa will say, “She isn’t kidding!”

Ingredients:

3 boneless skinless chicken breast (thighs are OK too but use 6 cause they are smaller)-leave whole

1 fresh raw beet-peeled and diced up – we got this from our bountiful basket

4 medium sized potatoes diced up

2 carrots peeled and diced up

1 gallon of water to start but will need more

1 carton chicken broth – I use the low sodium 98% fat free kind

1 large onion diced

1 bunch of celery- I use only the leaves and the little white stalks from the inside (these are the parts that usually get thrown away and I think are the most tastiest in soup) chopped up

2 cups each: frozen corn and peas  

1 large can of diced tomatoes juice and all

Salt to taste- some like more, some like less

Pepper to taste-some like more of a kick, some like less

Now for the seasonings, I use a variety from Mrs Dash, McCormick’s Perfect Pinch, McCormick’s Gourmet Collection and the good old Walmart brand 5^th Season. I like to cover my bases with flavor and believe it or not these are staples in our house. If you don’t have any of these, just use what you have that is close to how you want it to taste.

Mrs Dash Salt Free seasonings: 2 Tablespoons each

Chicken chilling blends

Italian Medley

Tomato basil garlic

McCormick’s Perfect Pinch No MSG: 2 Tablespoons each

Savory All-Purpose

Tuscan

Original Chicken

McCormick’s Gourmet Collection: 1 Tablespoon each

Moroccan Seasoning (not only does it taste good, it smells good too!)

Smoky Paprika- (optional)

Walmart brand 5^th Season: 1 Teaspoon each

Garlic Powder- can use fresh or minced garlic instead, I’ve used all three in the same meal but at different cooking stages

Onion Powder- to help give it more flavor but you can leave it out

UTENSILS THAT YOU WILL NEED:

1 large (huge) soup pot- she ain’t kidding

Can opener- I say this as a reminder to us cause we keep losing ours…no lie

Your favorite cutting knife- I have one doesn’t everybody…lol

Cutting board

And a good spoon for stirring – and for smacking smart alecks with…he he he

NOW FOR THE ASSEMBLY (I know that you are all thinking verbally OK Leona get on with it no wonder you drive Melissa crazy! I say it is a short trip some days….OK, OK I digress)

Put your pot on the burner on MED. Add a small amount of chicken broth to the bottom of pot. You are going to be “frying” the onion and celery in this for two minutes stirring frequently.

Add the chicken a to the pot- “fry” for about 5 minutes turning often (add more liquid to keep from scorching). This kinda gives the chicken a browning bedsides leaving some goodness in the bottom of the pot.

Add all the seasoning to the pot giving it a good stir –it should smell good

Add the carrots and rest of the chicken broth plus some water to fill the pot 2/3rds full- let this simmer until chicken is done. Remove chicken so it can cool down.

Add the can of diced tomatoes (juice and all), the diced beet and potatoes to the pot. The level should be at least 2/3rds full. Let this simmer until potatoes are almost done.

While the potatoes are simmering, cut or tear up the chicken. This also would be a good time to do a taste test to see if you need to add more seasoning to the pot.

Add the chicken and frozen veggies to the pot and let simmer until the frozen veggies are done.

There you have it, a delicious tasting and very visual appealing chunky soup. We paired this with a savory bread and a glass of wine (oops the wine part was on my do to next time list).

Suggestions:

You can add more veggies like leafy green ones, leave out the meat, change the meat choice, use tomato juice instead of water or broth but not both….this is the type of soup that is so easy to modify I say go for it and let us know what you think , changed or to just share ideas…..we’re game.

Mexican Style Rice (Arroz Mexicana)

    OK my pretties, it is time to think outside of that Spanish rice box! This rice recipe is pretty amazing (if we may say so our selves) and is actually simple to make. I prefer to use fresh ingredients for a more honest flavour, but have included the time saving equivalents that a busy cook may need. Serves 6-8 comfortably.

1 oven roasted jalapeno pepper, chopped (or 2Tbsp canned, chopped) *
1 lb oven roasted vine ripened tomatoes (or 15once canned, chopped and undrained) *
1/2 cup chopped white onion
3 cloves garlic, minced
2Tbsp chicken bouillon granules
1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
1Tbsp oil
2 cups long grain white rice
2 cups water
* for instructions on oven roasting, please see Fire Roasted Yumminess tutorial

• There are two approaches you can take to the preparation of this rice. I like to chop the jalapeno, oven roasted tomatoes (be sure to chop in a bowl to catch the yummy juices, we need those for the rice), cilantro, onion and garlic and mix it all in a bowl because it makes a nice, chunky look. If you are in a hurry, you can cut out all of this prep and throw these items in a blender or food processor and puree them. Then mix in the bouillon granules..
• Heat oil in a pan and, over medium high heat, brown rice until light brown in colour and is aromatic.
• Add tomato mixture and 2 cups of water to rice. Bring to a boil, then cover and reduce heat to low.
• Cook for 20 minutes or until rice is done. Let sit two minutes, Stir well before serving. 

Fire Roasted Yumminess Tutorial

      When ever I go to the grocer's, I see cans of fire roasted tomatoes, red peppers, etc. and it always surprises me. I learned how to do this in my oven and, for the longest time, assumed that others knew how to do this, as well. After talking to a bunch of people, I found out that a lot of them do not know how easy it is to do this at home! I like to oven roast my own tomatoes, peppers, and chilies. I love how they taste (it is such an easy flavour booster), is cost effective, and it allows you more control over your ingredients.
     I prefer to roast my goodies with a gas stove because, well everything seems to be cooler on a gas cooker. A regular oven, however, works just as well and tastes just as amazing. I encourage you to try this at least once, you will not be disappointed!

         1.  The first step is on obvious one, wash all your veggies. While doing this, remember to (ahem) remove the produce stickers. They burn. >smile<
         2.  Next, arrange the veggies you want to roast on a cookie sheet. Please be sure that you use a cookie sheet that you don't care about!! It might warp or become discoloured. I have one that oven roasting veggies and such is its only job.

        3.When you go to broil your veggies in the oven, you need to put the oven rack in the top most slot, being as close to the top heating element or flame as possible without touching. I usually use the high setting, but you can use the low one, it just depends on your comfort level and whether or not you are multitasking (if I am cooking a meal on the stove top, I will use the lower setting because I am not always as attentive as  I would like to be).
        4.  The skin on most veggies will start to blister and char a bit as they are under the heat source. Don't panic, this is what we want to happen. Using tongs, flip and turn your veggies as needed to make them evenly roasted. You may need to move them around a bit as some pieces are going to cook faster than others.

        5.  When you are happy with how your veggies look, they are done. This should take 5 to 10 minutes, depending on oven temp and the vegetables you are fire roasting. Super easy, right?

       Tomatoes, chilies, and pepers store well in the fridge (as long as they are covered tightly) for about 5 to 7 days. This is a nice bonus because you can roast enough to last a week and have on hand to throw into what ever you are cooking to add flavour or nutrients. This is also an easy way to peel tomatoes. I like to use vine ripened tomatoes in recipes that call for canned ones. Not only does this lend any dish a more authentic taste, but it also ensures that they are made with quality ingredients.

Throw It In A Pot Thursday

    This Gumbo recipe was a first (and VERY tasty) attempt. As is common in our kitchen, we start small and, well.... it just kind of snowballs. This is not uncommon when feeding 6-8 people every night. Every week night, we have a theme. Thursday's is Throw-It-In-A-Pot Thursdays. This is the day of the week we typically do a soup, chili, or casserole of some kind, you know anything you can just throw in a pot. An easy, no brainer meal is a real must have in our house. When you are cooking for a large amount of people, there are always going to be foods that are going to be avoided, for what ever reason and avoidance= complications.
   Tonight's gumbo started as "Oh hey, we haven't had chicken in a while, let's do something with that!" on top of that, we had some ingredients from our Bountiful Basket (and some that we picked up cause they sounded cool) and Voile! this amaazing gumbo that is big enough to feed a crowd, pot luck group, or a large family. Enjoy!
   This is Leona's recipe, as she is the throw it in the pot cook of the house, the measurements are to the best of our knowledge. Please feel free to comment or post questions!

Prickly Pete's Gumbo

60 Quarts non fat, low sodium Chicken Broth
1 whole onion, chopped
ribs celery and center leaves, chopped
*6 tomatoes (we used Roma), oven roasted, chopped
*4 Jalapeno Peppers, oven roasted and chopped
*3 Anaheim Peppers, oven roasted and chopped
1.5 lbs smoked sausage or andoille sausage, cut into small pieces
2 Cactus leaves, spined, blanched and cut into bite size pieces
16 oz frozen (or 3 cups fresh) chopped Okra
2 cups tomato juice, or to taste
1tsp Cajun spice
3 boneless, skinless large chicken breasts
1 lb raw shrimp (fresh is best, but  frozen thawed shrimp is fine, just make sure it is deveined and peeled)

• Empty all containers of chicken stock into a very large pot. Throw in chopped celery, celery leaves, chopped onion, Jalapeno peppers, Anaheim peppers, and chicken breasts. bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer.
• Once the chicken breasts are done, pull those out and place to the side to allow to cool, continue simmering broth. Do not add extra water if you find the broth levels decreasing!
• Cut your sausage to the desired size, we cut ours into tiny cubes. The sausage is the least healthy ingredient, but the most appreciated so we decided the smaller, the more appreciation, right? Also, start steaming your rice.
• add cactus leaves, Cajun spice, Okra, and shrimp. Cook until shrimp starts to become transparent, then add sausage, chicken, oven roasted tomatoes, and tomato juice. Once the shrimp and rice are done, you can serve this puppy up and enjoy! Green onion is a delicious garnish and some fresh squeezed lemon add some nice freshness. Try it, you might just love it.

A few notes here: 1) The spice in this dish is pretty mild; to kick it up a notch, add more Cajun spice and use all jalapeno peppers. 2) to enhance the tomato try adding 1 Tbsp (or more) tomato paste or even some sun dried tomatoes! 3) we make the rice separate and add to individual bowls instead of throwing it into the soup so that the left overs are just as good (if not better) as the firsts. Rice breaks down, absorbs liquid and gets a funny texture when left in liquid.4) Made too much?Perfect! Freeze it! 5) This can be made without the cactus leaves, but I would encourage you to use them. They are chocked full of nutrition and hide well amongst the oven roasted peppers. My kids LOVED the idea that we could eat something that looks so mean!

NapaCabbage Stir-Fry

1 Tbsp oil
1 onion, sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 inched fresh ginger, minced
1 head napa cabbage, sliced (be sure to clean well)
2 Tbsp low sodium soy sauce (we prefer Tamari)
1 Tbsp rice vinegar (or rice wine)
2 tsp sesame oil
sprinkle of toasted sesame seeds, optional

• Saute onion, garlic, and ginger in 1 Tbsp oil in a large pan over medium high heat. Stir frequently for about a minute.
• Toss in cabbage and cook until it starts to wilt (no more than two minutes).
• Add soy sauce and rice vinegar (or rice wine) and toss until desired level of done (we don't recommend more than about Three minutes).
• Remove from heat, drizzle with sesame oil and sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds.

This is a good side dish, not our favorite for a stand alone. We served with Teriyaki Chicken and Jasmine rice. As you may see, this is great as a basic recipe and would be an awesome main dish with the addition of carrots, mushrooms, etc. Melissa likes to add some Siracha Red Chili sauce and eat large bowls as is!

Whatever Asian Wednesday

   OK, as you recall, we started calling Wednesday "West Indian Wednesday" but agree that the name wasn't quite fitting. We in Kitchen Land are trying on the new title of "Whatever Asian" for Wednesday, just to see if that fits a little better.
    In our delightful Bountiful Basket last weekend, we received a beautiful head of Napa Cabbage. Unfortunately, we are not familiar with this more delicate form of cabbage. Leona's suggestion was to steam it. We have steamed this cabbage in the past and the result was, well steamed cabbage. Melissa gets bored with steamed veggies (as we knew she would!) and decided to use this as an opportunity to explore the World Wide Web for inspiration. She happened upon this simple recipe at Food.com that is very quick and is a good basic Cabbage Stir-Fry. The possibilities are endless. You can add any mixture of veggies and precooked meat to this and come out with a winner (this recipe is perfect for a Must Go Monday when you have lots of odds and ends that need to be eaten).

Homemade Taco Seasoning

2 Tbsp chili powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp mexican oregano (double if using regular oregano)
1 tsp smoked paprika (regular paprika works as well)
1 Tbsp cumin
2 tsp salt (or to taste)
2 tsp pepper (I like fresh ground)
chipotle chili pepper powder, to taste (1 tsp for a little spice, increase for more spice), optional

Mix ingrediants together and store in as you would your other spices. If you want to use this as you would a prepackaged taco seasoning, add 1 tsp flour or starch. Use 2 Tbsp (or more for added zip!) of blend per pound of browned meat and 3/4 a cup of water, let simmer until nice and saucey.
Let us know what you think!

Spirit of Tacos Tuesday

     I have decided that you can't have a Spirit of Tacos Tuesday and NOT have your own taco seasoning. I know most people simplify their lives with the little packet of taco seasoning and are perfectly happy. These little envelopes just don't quite do it for me. Most have lactose or whey (two products that I do not consume, or high sodium (we like to pick and choose where and when we consume our salts). Plus they have thickening agents, anti caking agents, etc. I'd like to give those agents the day off in our kitchen. To do that, I have started working on my own taco seasoning. I have learned that it is more cost effective, just as flavourful (I actually prefer mine), and well, it's just fun to make!
     Another bonus to making your own taco seasoning is that you start viewing it differently. No longer is it just something you add to browned ground beef to throw in a tortilla or taco shell. You can use it as a dry rub, sprinkle it on some fries before cooking, Quartered potatoes before baking, veggies to add some zip, you get the idea! This week, I added the a generous amount to my sliders meat and made some super yummy Taco Sliders. MMMMmm mmm MMM.

Add guacamole, sour cream, salsa, cilantro, and any other delightful yummy you would to a taco to this tasty treat and you have a family pleaser for sure!

Mango Chicken

   Here is Must Go Monday's Mango Chicken Recipe that my son, Anre' and I came up with:

4  Cups Shredded Chicken (or you can use 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts)
3/4 Cup chopped red onion
2  cloves garlic, minced
1  mango, peeled, seeded, and chopped
3  Cups orange juice
3  Red Chilies, soaked and chopped
1  red bell pepper, seeded and thinly sliced
2  tsp Red Curry Paste (or to taste)
3  Tablespoons corstartch
1/4 Cup Hot water
1  Tablespoons oil
Salt And Pepper to taste

1. In a large skillet, brown the chicken breasts in oil till crispy and juices run clear. Be sure to salt and peper chicken.
2. Add the red onion, red chilies and garlic to chicken. Saute for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring often. Add the orange juice, and bring to a boil. When the juice boils, add the mango slices and Red Curry Paste. Turn down heat and simmer for 2 minutes. Dissolve cornstartch in hot water, stir into sauce. Add thn sliced red pepper. Stir until sauce thickens slightly.

We served this over Jasmine rice. Pretty tastey! This pairs nicely with some steamed brocoli or spinach.Cook's note: if you find the orange balance in this dish a little off, just add more onion (or onion powder) to make the orange less aparent.
    What we would to different: This dish is potentially very spicey. You control the spicewith the red chilies and curry paste. While Leona enjoyed the flavours in this dish, she found it too spicey (she drank quite a bit of milk to cool her tongue from this dish!) she would reduce the spicey elements to half. Melissa loves spicey food and found it to be enjoyable (even a little more curry paste would have been nice). Fresh pineapple chunks or pomiganite would have been a nice little zip, these will be added next time (Leona added pomigranite to hers and highly recomends it!). Please let us know what you think! Our thanks to Melissa's 17 year old son for such a delightful recipe.

Must Go Mondays

    During the week, we try to have s theme for the week days; we do this for a few reasons. The first is to offer structure. 8 people (and all those pets!) in one house can get chaotic, a little implied structure is helpful. Second, it helps ensure that we don't have the same tired thing everyday, but also helps us narrow our choices. Third, it helps us focus on how to use all of our yummy ingredients from our bountiful basket. And finally, well, its just fun!
   We took a family vote (which consisted of my mom and I discussing it and then telling everyone what we decided who needs a democracy when we have the perfect monarchy? buwahahaha). This is what we decided on:
   MONDAY= Must Go Mondays. This is the day of the week we serve up any left overs, use ingredients that are starting to look not so fresh, or have been hanging about long enough.
  TUESDAY= Spirit of Taco Tuesdays. While the appeal to just make some easy to throw together tacos comes to mind, this is actually the day that we set aside to try Latin American type dishes (or even dishes from Spain, or Portugal, or... I'm sure you get the idea)
   WEDNESDAY= West Indian Wednesdays. We actually need to find a better name for this day lol. Our intention, really is ANY kind of curry dish. This can included Thai or any other nation. We kinda have a secret obsession with all things curry and need to limit ourselves (for the sake of others) to only using it one day a week.
   THURSDAY= Throw It In A Pot Thursday. This day is just for Leona. She is the master of throwing random stuff in a pot and calling it good (which is usually not accurate because it usually comes out FABULOUS). She gets a little annoyed with my additive of wanting to make repeatable dishes, so this is also a day that she is aloud to let her freaky flab fly in the kitchen (while I secretly take notes). Add bonus: these are usually one dish meals, and the day of the week we hide the most secret healthful ingredients for those in the house that are not so adventurous or not so interested in eating as healthy as we have decided they should. Don't frown, we love our family and want them to be around as long as possible! As the cookers of the food it is our moral obligation to not cram it down their throats, but to let them eat it themselves with a smile (all be it a wicked smile, from us ha ha).
   FRIDAY= Fishy Friday (<3). This has nothing to do with religion and everything to do with our love for seafood. When I was a child, we lived close to the coast so we had tons of fresh seafood. What we didn't catch, it was cost effective to buy. Living more Inland, seafood is pretty pricey, especially if you have a preference for fresh, not frozen, like us. As you might imagine, we also tend to talk about the good ol' days when we would go crabbing, take family fishing/camping trips.
        So this Monday, we had some ingredients that had to go! The list included: red bell peppers, shredded chicken, and some mangoes. My Son Anre' found a recipe for mango chicken and we gave it a shot. I am not going to reference the source because the end result was so tweaked that it didn't represent the original in any form except that both used chicken and mangoes. enjoy!

A Tisket A Tasket, My Bountiful Basket

     We are involved in an awesome program that has been around for a couple of years. Some of you may of heard of it. It is called Bountiful Baskets. I mention this for two reasons: 1) We love this program, and 2) We talk about it frequently, since it is such an inspiration for what we cook.
     How it works: the Bountiful Baskets program is actually a co-op. On a specified day of the week, for a specified time period, participants log onto the BB's web site and order what baskets they would like. The pick up time and sites are city specific and I believe on a Saturday. The baskets are half fruit and half vegetable. They are at least 50% organic (there is an upgrade available to make it 100%), and are as locally sourced and farmer friendly as possible. We love this program because they really deliver on their promises of affordability, product freshness, and the simplicity. Another added bonus? You never quite know what you are going to get! This may seem like a bit of a hassle, but it is like a mystery box every week! We are learning how to better identify fruit and vegetables, store them, and prepare them. This small act has allowed us to break away from the standard "fresh from a can" approach to vegetables and has made it easy to have vegetable diversity on the table. The web site has a ton of information on how to keep the veggies fresh (we are new to this need since we would buy most of ours canned, frozen, or use right away) and other resources.
     On top of the fabulous Conventional Basket, there are other options, 100% organic bread, granola, tortillas, bulk produce, themed add-ons (last week's was Mexican, this week's was Thai, a juice pack,and more than I can probably remember :) )
    If anyone is interested in participating the website is : bountifulbaskets.org. I don't think you'll regret it!

Conventional Basket

 



    This is a pic of the take home for the Conventional Basket taken with my cell phone. You may notice Asparagus, Bananas 5 green peppers, 4 mango's, radishes,3 lemons, a head of Romain, garlic, and more. All for $15! NICE. We got more than this but we can't spoil all the surprises, now, can we?

Us, in a Nut Shell

     WE are a mother daughter team that live together. After we tally up spouses, other children, etc. our family count comes out to eight (15 if you count the dogs, cat, turtle, and fish). As  a large family living together, we get along rather well. We all enjoy each other's company, and seem to balance each other out in a surprising way. This is not to insinuate that we never have disagreements, we do, but we always have a way of muddling through.

Melissa's Point of View:
    I moved into my mom's (Leona) house, through an extended family necessity, about four months ago. Since then, I have recognised a kind of synergy in the kitchen. This was surprising to me! I have always wanted to have someone in the kitchen hanging out with me, or even helping with some of the meal preparation. I am still learning how to delegate and ask for help (I don't always recognise the opportunity) but am learning to get there.
    Before moving back in with my mom, I had tended to stay away from most traditional American food. I grew up with these things and and know them well. I am always wanting to try new things, and am propelled to do so since I am allergic to milk and most traditional American fair has butter, milk, cheese, etc that I can no longer eat. My struggle to find flavourful food (you know the kind that doesn't make me feel like I am missing out on an entire food group) has made me quite adventurous in the kitchen. I try just about any recipe that is non dairy, can be tweaked to be non dairy, or just sounds cool. I have had a lot of flops, but found some pretty amazing dishes, flavour enhancing techniques, and people along the way.
    My mom is a lover of anything gravy, add bread to the mix and you got the starter for any favorite dish. I tend to stay away from gravies (they just aren't the same with out some kind of milk) but have been known to answer those pleading puppy-dog eyes with an occasional gravy attempt. I think I tend to frustrate her because I like to have a recipe that I can replicate. I am always on the look out for a new favorite dish, and when I find that dish I want to be able to make if perfect every time! She has been teaching me the joys of just throwing stuff in a pot and knowing that it will most likely seem like it is on purpose.
     She may not realise it, but my Mom is the one who inspired me to be more exacting when making a dish. If I had a dime for every time she said, "Oh my gosh! I made the best (insert anything here). It was soooooo good. I'll never be able to make it that good again!", I'd have a lot of dimes. I have come to believe this is a missed opportunity. I believe that the flavors a cook creates in the kitchen is a way that a person passes on a piece of themselves for future generations to enjoy and remember. Recipes like grandma's Chocolate Gravy (yes this secret family recipe exists) or aunt Alma's Sweet Potatoes are how generations from the past communicate with ones in the future. I want to pass on some of my family's recipes to my children and maybe even sneak in a few of my own.
      So I guess you can say my mom inspires me to be more spontaneous in the kitchen and that it is sometimes ok to just throw in a bunch of unknowns into a pot, hope for the best, and enjoy a meal that may only shine for one night, but oh! so bright!! Oh yeah, she's also the funny one. :)
                                     

Leona's Point of View:
   My daughter and her family moved into my house about 4 months ago, it has been the most awesome 4 months EVER!!! My older son and his wife had just moved out and I was sad. You see, I am not fond of being an empty nester....I can just hear the big DUH from those who actually know me...plus I have the room and a big heart. Not to mention I now have a 23/6 live-in conscience uh...companion. A girl does have to have some time to herself or so she told me.
   I consider her dairy allergy as a bonus for me, I am let's just say "the overs", over weight, over eater with the eyes and mouth, over caring what food group I put in said mouth, over kill, over ....I think you get the big picture...so how do I find this as a bonus for me you ask? Well, we have to figure out how to  dairy-free recipes which means less calories for me. I have been using the weigh watchers points plus system which works and pairing the two together is...just...an added bonus for me. Actually it hasn't been that hard I still find ways to get my gravy fix, just not as often. Yes, I am a gravy girl I love gravy on everything except juice...oh wait a minute, silly me they call that soup.
   My daughter is a joy to share a kitchen with she brings a different outlook on the day to day food. She will search the Internet for days for that perfect recipe for us to try. I will say that our cooking methods are different ME I'm the let's try this spice and that spice and gee this might be good in that and SHE is the I want to try the recipe as it stands then next time do the tweeking let's rein in my mom kinda girl. Ya she does rein my creativity in a bit, but I'm thinking sometimes I probably need it. Then there are those days where I just sit back and think to myself ....yep I should have put this and that in there when she wasn't looking cause this is tasting kinda like dish water.This, I would say, is a LIH (laugh in head) moment.
  Some days we are so on it that it is scary how nutritious and yummy tasting our dinner taste, at least to us anyway. Then there are those days that even the dogs won't eat it, you know I am talking about the neighbors' dogs cause ours will eat even the most vile of experiments. I must say for the record that we do have other members in our household who seem to think they have an opinion as to what they eat ...silly them if they won't eat it out right we'll find a way to sneak it in their food anyway. Of course this is strictly under the premise of  "it is for their own good". What can I say, I love my family.
Well enough of being serious now let the fun begin.
What will each of us bring to the table besides our plate?
Melissa will bring a refined palette, innovative ideas, dairy free, balance and other stuff I just can't think of right now.
Leona will bring years of successful home cooking experienceand know how, an awsome sence of humor and enthusiasm, a love of good food, a willingness to laugh, and the honesty to share an opinion that you can trust.