#7 - Potato Leek Soup

This is another dinner that came from a request by my wife. She was with me during my grocery shopping and saw some leeks. "Mmmm, potato leek soup!" said she. So into the cart went the leeks and some potatoes.

Later that week, I found myself with half a head of cabbage that needed using, and ended up roasting the potatoes with the cabbage and putting the leeks with some chicken in an Asian-style dish. So this past weekend while shopping, I once again picked up leeks and potatoes, and resolved not to let the soup get missed again.

#6 - Buttermilk Whole Wheat Bread

Part of the point of my "Fifty New Things" is to get out of culinary ruts. I love baking, but for most of the last several years, the only loaf breads I have baked have been my Unbelievable Awesome Overnight Potato Bread(1), and my Amazingly Simple Whole Wheat Molasses Bread.This weekend I pulled out my trusty Beard on Bread and started thumbing through it, looking for something to try. I ran across his recipe for "Buttermilk White Bread"(2) and thought it sounded pretty good.

#5: Lamb and Potato Curry

Last Sunday I decided it was time for something Indian. Going through my current favorite Indian cookbook, cookbynumbers indian, I found something that looked very tasty and a change of pace: Aloo Gosht, described as a "lamb and potato curry". I added a little too much broth and ended up with more of a stew than what was pictured in the book, but it was tasty nonetheless. I couldn't find the garam masala, so I had to do without, but I'm leaving it in my version here for future reference, as I think it would have been helpful to the final flavor.

#4: Roast Cabbage? Really? Yes, really.

As I was waiting for scripts to run so I could debug them, I started catching up on several weeks backlog of The Kitchn. A couple of weeks back, as a "Easy Winter Recipe", they posted Roast Cabbage with Bacon. As it happens, I've been trying to figure out something to do with the other half head of cabbage leftover from my pot stickers. I don't happen to have any bacon on hand, but after reading the whole article and following a few links, I decided to try just roasting it with a little olive oil and salt as part of a larger dinner.

I pondered what that dinner might be as I drove home, and realized that if I have my oven hot and a pan only half filled with cabbage, I should really make use of the other half of that pan. Roasted potatoes! And now that I have my starch covered, what for the protein? Mentally walking through my freezer, I remembered some chicken breasts that have been around for a bit and needed to be cooked before they got freezer burn.

So once I got home, I defrosted the chicken, whipped up an asian-style marinade, and put together a pretty darn tasty dinner.

Asian Style Chicken and Leeks
1 full chicken breast
2 leeks
2 tbsp sesame oil
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup water
1 tsp powdered garlic
1 tsp powdered ginger

Cut the chicken into bite sized pieces. Cut the roots and dark leaves off of the leeks and discard; cut the leeks into thin rings. Mix the remaining ingredients into a marinade and pour over the chicken. Set aside for 30-45 minutes, stirring occasionally. Heat a wok over high heat. Add 1-2 tsp of sesame oil and cook the leeks for 3-4 minutes. Add the chicken and marinade and cook until the chicken is done. Serve over roasted cabbage.

Roasted Cabbage
Quarter a head of cabbage and remove the core. cut the quarters into two or three sections each(1), drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Roast at 450° for 30 minutes, turning once halfway through.

Roasted Potatoes
Cut 2-3 potatoes into pieces 1 to 2 inches across. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with kosher salt and garlic flakes. Roast at 450° for 30 minutes, turning once halfway through.


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(1) The more you cut the cabbage, the more "edge" you create, which will burn slightly, giving the cabbage a smoky flavor. If you like that flavor (as Dorothy does), cut it more; if not, cut it somewhat less.

#3 - Black Bean Soup

No interesting story today. It's just been a long time since I made any soup, and I happen to have some black beans on hand. I wanted to go for a spicy style, like a Cuban, but every recipe I found calls for bell peppers, which Dorothy can't eat, and serving with sour cream, which I don't like. So, as I do so often, I improvised a bit. I made the sofrito with just onions and garlic, and I served it with lebne. The sharp flavor of the lebne went very well with the soup, and I highly recommend it.

Black Bean Soup
1 cup dried black beans
6 cups vegetable stock
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 medium onion, coarsely chopped
2 cloves garlic
2 tsp cumin
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp oregano
1/4 cup water

Put the beans and stock in a soup pot and bring to a simmer for two hours.

Sautee the onion and garlic in the oil until the onions turn clear. Add the cumin, chili powder, and oregano and cook for 2-3 more minutes. Put the mixture in a blender with the water and puree. Stir into the beans and simmer for 5 more minutes.

Serve with a tablespoon of lebne, yogurt or sour cream.

#2 - Pot Stickers

I got the idea and basic recipe from the wonderful blog The Kitchn. I used regular head cabbage instead of napa (primarily because I wasn't really thinking and picked up the wrong one...), and I couldn't find round dumpling wraps so instead I used square won ton wraps. I also chose to use ground pork as my meat, just because I like it. It's a bit of work, but well worth it. The best part is that each dumpling is only about 50 calories!

Pot stickers
1/2 head cabbage, chopped
1/2 lb ground pork (91% lean)
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp sesame oil
2 tbsp minced ginger
1 tsp ground black pepper
1 egg, beaten
1 package dumpling/won ton wrappers

Dipping sauce
1/4 c soy sauce
2 tbsp vinegar (rice preferred)
1 tbsp sesame oil
1 tsp sugar

Chop the cabbage and mix thoroughly with the rest of the ingredients.(1) Put about a tablespoon of mixture onto each wrapper. Dip your finger in some water and trace the edge of the wrapper to moisten it. Bring the near and far edges of the wrapper together and pinch, then carefully bring the left and right edges up and pinch with the first two. You will now have a nice pouch; pinch the loose edges together to seal it up.

Once the dumplings are all shaped, heat a heavy lidded skillet over high heat. Once the pan is very hot(2), add about 2-3 tsp of sesame oil to the pan and swirl to cover the pan. Arrange dumplings in the pan in a single layer, then carefully(3) pour in 1/2 to 3/4 cups of water. Cover and cook until the water is absorbed. Once you stop seeing steam come out and can hear the dumplings sizzle on the pan, remove the lid and use a spatula to remove the dumplings. They will be stuck to the pan(4), so be careful with the spatula so that you don't leave the bottom of the dumpling behind.

Mix all ingredients for the dipping sauce and set within reach of everyone, or give each person their own small bowl for dipping.
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(1) If you are using a food processor -- and really, you should be, just sayin' -- you can chop it coarsely, as it will get processed down with the rest of the ingredients. If you live a sad life that lacks a food processor, you'll need to chop it more finely.
(2) Seriously. I rarely let the pan get this hot for anything, but if it's not hot enough it doesn't cook right. I figured this out the hard way on the second batch.
(3) It's going to start boiling immediately. Don't pour it in too slowly, or it will just boil off. Be careful as you pour so that the steam doesn't burn you.
(4) That's why they're called "Pot Stickers"!

Not new, but oh so yummy!

Last night I pulled out some pork chops from the freezer to have tonight. I had no idea what I was going to do with them at the time. So tonight I opened the pantry and searched for inspiration.

I found it in the form of two cans: one of green beans and another of diced tomatoes. They whispered to me, reminding me that there were slivered almonds in the cabinet and feta cheese in the fridge ...

You see, back in the day when Dorothy and I were doing Middle Eastern music and dancing, we formed a group with several of our friends. We named ourselves the Aladeen family, and performed as Raqsat Aladeen. During this time, I learned about Middle Eastern and Mediterranean cooking, particularly Lebanese and Greek styles. Green bean dishes are common, mixed with various other ingredients. I experimented, got my family's feedback, and eventually settled on my own dish which we dubbed Green Beans Aladeen.

Having decided that the pork needed to be accompanied by Green Beans Aladeen, I pondered how to cook the meat. Consulting my old mentor(1) Jeff Smith (the Frugal Gourmet), I discovered a simple Greek recipe that looked like it would serve nicely.

Finally, I thought some rice would be a nice finish. I happened to have a lot of rice cooked up from the last batch of spinach wraps, but it's been in the refrigerator long enough to get a bit dry. I plan to use it for fried rice soon, but figured I might be able to revive a bit to go with dinner.

So here's what I ended up with:

Greek Style Pork Chops

3 medium cut pork loin chops

1/2 medium onion, diced

3 stalks celery, chopped, with leaves

2 cloves garlic, diced

1-2 tsp whole cloves

2-3 cups chicken or vegetable stock

Preheat a large pan with a lid on high heat. Put a teaspoon of olive oil in the pan and brown both sides of the meat. Carefully pour in the stock (the pan is hot enough to start the liquid boiling immediately, so watch for steam and splatters!) so that it comes up the sides of the meat without completely submerging it. Reduce the heat to low and cover with the chopped vegetables and cloves. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes.

Green Beens Aladeen

1 15oz can green beans

1 15oz can diced tomatoes

2-3 oz feta cheese, crumbled

1/3 cup slivered almonds

Drain the cans of beans and tomatoes(2) and combine in a sauce pan. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Just before serving, stir in the feta and almonds.

Reinvigorated Rice

1/2 cup chicken or vegetable stock

2 cups cold cooked rice

Bring the stock to a simmer in a small saucepan. Reduce heat to low and stir the rice into the stock. Cover and let sit for 10 minutes or until the rice is heated through and rehydrated.

There you go. 1 hour from start to finish, one awesome meal. I even remembered to take a picture!

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(1) Not that I've actually met the man, of course, but I credit "the Fruge" as my first cooking teacher. For about six months when I was working part time, I watched his show on PBS over lunch and learned quite a bit.
(2) I'm serious here. Drain them well. When the tomatoes heat up they are going to release more liquid, and if you leave too much of the canning liquid, you're going to have soup once you add the cheese. It'll still taste fine, but you'll need to use a slotted spoon to serve it, and you'll lose some cheese to the soup.

#1 - Ragu alla Antonio

ragu [ra-GOO, rah-GOO]
A staple of northern Italy's Bologna, ragu is a meat sauce that is typically served with pasta. Though different than the French RAGOUT, both are derived from the verb ragoûter , which means "to stimulate the appetite." Ragu usually contains ground beef, tomatoes, onions, celery, carrots, white wine and seasonings. (1)

Many of the food blogs and recipe books I read have variations on beef with mixed vegetables, sometimes with cheese, sometimes without, usually with tomatoes. Most of them have at least one ingredient that either I or Dorothy won't (or can't) eat(2), so I decided to make my first of Fifty New Things be an exercise in creativity. I went for cheese but no tomatoes to get a less saucy, more gooey texture.

Ragu alla Antonio
1 cup (4 oz) dry elbow macaroni
1 cup diced onion
1-2 cloves diced garlic
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/2 pound ground beef
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon Cumin
8 oz can whole kernel corn
4 oz can green chilies
10oz shredded cheddar and jack cheeses
salt and pepper to taste

Cook pasta to al dente. Preheat oven to 300°. While pasta is cooking, cook the sofritto of onions, garlic and celery in a tablespoon of olive oil until the onions are soft, translucent, and beginning to brown (about 5 minutes).  Add ground beef and cook with chili, cayenne, salt, and pepper until the meat is fully browned. Add corn and mix completely.

Turn off heat and stir in pasta. Once everything is thoroughly mixed, add all but 2oz of the cheese and stir to combine. Top with the remaining cheese and place in the oven for 12-15 minutes to melt the cheese.

Makes four servings of approximately 520 calories each.

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(1) © Copyright Barron's Educational Services, Inc. 1995 based on THE FOOD LOVER'S COMPANION, 2nd edition, by Sharon Tyler Herbs, as found on Epicurious.com

(2) Like mushrooms. Blech!

Happy New Year!

Had a lovely neighborhood New Year's gathering last night. I have awesome neighbors and we enjoy doing stuff together, but as our kids get older and have activities of their own, it gets harder and harder to get together, so these parties are always great. I made a batch of pumpkin bread, then decided that everyone needed a chance to try the new pretzel recipe. But while the large pretzels make great meals, they aren't so great for party snacks. So I made a double batch, then portioned each batch into a full dozen pieces (instead of just six) and made great mini-pretzels. Since they rolled out to the same diameter, they cooked in the same time, but made perfect little finger foods. Everyone loved them, and they went great with the queso dip!

So here we are in the new year, and resolutions are the big thing at this time of year. I don't usually bother, but this year I have two: The first is pretty standard for people my age: to resume my food logging and exercise as I can to maintain my weight and maybe even lose a bit more. My back trouble makes the exercise part difficult, but I'll do what I'm able.

The other is more personal. I am a creature of habit, and tend to find things I like and stick with them. I read a number of cooking and foodie blogs, and have amassed a collection of bookmarks of things I want to try. So my resolution this year is to try them. My theme for this year is going to be "Fifty New Things". This year I plan to make fifty new recipes. Breads, entrees, soups, sauces ... some big, some small, but all new. I picked the number fifty because that comes out to one new recipe a week, with two weeks off.

Today there's a New Year's Day party, then I'll be going through my bookmarks to pick my first new thing. It's going to be a good year!