Thai summer salad

Thai summer salad

Delicious salad version of a spring roll! 

Ingredients

for dressing:
1/2 - 1 teaspoon light brown sugar
1 1/2 tablespoon fish sauce
1 1/2 tablespoon fresh lime juice (should be about one big juicy lime)

for salad:
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 English cucumber, grated
3 oz rice vermicelli (optional)
1 large carrot, grated
1/4-1 teaspoon fresh ginger, grated (optional)
handful of Thai basil, to taste
handful of cilantro, to taste
1/4 - 1/2 cup cashews or peanuts, or to taste

Directions
1. Combine the ingredients for dressing and set aside
2. Sprinkle the salt on the grated cucumber in a sieve over a bowl. Let it sit for 1/2 hour or so.
3. If using vermicelli, cook in salted water for a few minutes, until tender but not mushy. Drain and rinse under cold water until cool. Transfer to bowl, and toss with 2 tablespoons dressing.
4. Squeeze remaining water out of cucumber, then combine with carrot, ginger (if using), basil, and cilantro.
4. Stir in remaining dressing, to taste.
5. Combine vermicelli and vegetables
6. Sprinkle nuts on top to serve

Avocado toast with cheese & eggs

Avocado toast with cheese and eggs


1 Slice of large bread, toasted (from a bread maker is the perfect size)
2 fried eggs
finely chopped avocado
thinly sliced really sharp cheddar
bacon crumbles (optional)

Layer the avocado on the toast. Bacon can also be added to this layer.
Then add the cheddar.
Slap the just-fried egg on top and let it melt the cheese.

Additional sauces could be added, but I find the flavor with a slightly soft egg yoke plenty saucy.

Kale and chickpea curry with Morels

Kale and Chickpea curry with morel mushrooms

I've adapted this recipe from Sarah Raven's In Season cookbook, in response to catching the morel mushroom hunting bug in Michigan this spring. Make this curry in the spring if you have a handful of mushrooms.

Ingredients

1 large onion, finely chopped (I suspect wild leeks might also work well -- you're likely to find them during morel season in Michigan)
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
vegetable oil (I like sunflower)
1 heaping teaspoon curry powder
2 tablespoons (or more) grated giner
salt and pepper, to taste
4 cups cooked chickpeas
13.6 oz can coconut milk
1/2 pound (or so), coarsely chopped morel mushrooms
juice of 1 lime
2 6-inch (or so) lemongrass stalks
1 bunch kale, stems removed & coarsely chopped
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons Thai fish sauce

Directions

1. Fry onion and garlic gently in the oil until they soften. Add curry, ginger, salt, and pepper.

2. Next, add chickpeas, coconut milk, morels, lime juice and lemongrass. Simmer for 30 minutes.

3. Steam kale for 5 minutes, then add to chickpea mixture. Add soy and fish sauces.

4. Garnish with cilantro and serve warm over basmati rice.

Heavenly!

honey wheat bread

Honey wheat bread

I'm working with a new piece of kitchen equipment -- a Zojirushi bread maker -- and it's making me think a lot about my mom, Margaret Juzwik, who made six loaves of bread each week to feed the six mouths in our family. Indeed, she gave me the bread machine as a Christmas gift. It has occasioned a bread-making exploration in the past few weeks, a great winter past-time.  Here's the most recent effort, which worked well. It's a hit with Maudemarie, Elliot, and Lydia.

1 1/2 cups water
3 cups white bread flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cut nutritional yeast
4 generous tablespoons honey
2 teaspoons powdered milk
2 teaspoons salt
3 tablespoons butter
3 teaspoons bread machine yeast

Pour it all, in order, into the bread machine and voila!

Mom's chicken soup

Mom's chicken soup

Homemade chicken soup bears amazing healing properties. This recipe comes from my mother, Margaret Juzwik. Like her, I often make this soup with leftover turkey, often the day after Thanksgiving, but Mom's original recipe calls for chicken.

5 quarts turkey or chicken broth
4 C (or more) chopped chicken (cooked or uncooked)
1 C celery
1/2 C celery leaves
1/4 C onion, finely chopped
2 t salt (or more,
pepper to taste
bay leaf

1/2 C parsley
1 C peas
1 C carrots
2 C green beans
2 C egg noodles (I never put 'em in, but sometimes I use 3/4 C wild rice)

1/4 C butter
1/4 C flour (I usually use oat flour)


1. Add liquid and everything up to bay leaf. Also add rice, if using.

2. Simmer for an hour. Then add parsley and veggies. Simmer until tender. Add noodles, if using.

3. Melt butter in small frying pan. Slowly stir in flour, whisking constantly. Add small amounts of broth from pot and keep adding and stirring until smooth. When you have 1-1 1/2 C, then add to pot and stir.  Simmer for another 15 minutes.

Note: If I want a lighter soup, I leave out the butter and flour.

Mediterranean Chicken Soup

Mediterranean Chicken Soup

On a cold snowy January afternoon, a pot of broth had simmered away on the stove for nearly 24 hours.  I craved chicken soup, but something different from the usual fare. Some recently thawed roma tomatoes and 2 partially eaten rotisserie chickens -- the bones were used for broth -- also needed to be used. So here is what I developed. It passed the kitty sniff test, and Maudemarie said it tasted like chicken tacos...perhaps because of the oregano?  

4 quarts chicken broth (approximately) - homemade broth is ideal
4-5 cups chopped cooked chicken meat
2 cups roma tomatoes, pureed in blender (or a 32 oz can tomato puree would probably be equivalent)
1 large fennel bulb, finely chopped
3 celery stalks, chopped
1 small onion, finely chopped
3 small garlic clove, minced
1 teaspoon (or more) oregano
2 bay leaves
2 teaspoon salt
pepper, to taste
3 medium russet potatoes (I used baked potatoes, but fresh potatoes would also work)
3 cups green beans (frozen work just fine)
parmesan (sprinkled on top)

Bring broth to boil. Combine all ingredients except green beans (unless the potatoes are already cooked, in which case wait on them also). Simmer for an hour or so. Add the green beans and simmer for another 15+ minutes, until cooked. Other vegetables can also be added, as desired, although I enjoyed the simplicity of this combination, sprinkled with parmesan and freshly ground pepper, served with a crusty slice of bread.

Recipe Links

Recipe links

This page tracks some favorites from the web...

Butternut macaroni and cheese (Martha Stewart): https://www.marthastewart.com/337716/macaroni-and-cheese-with-butternut-squas
(notes: I bake 20-30 minutes, uncovered, at 400 degrees, load it up with parmesan on top (skipping the olive oil), and sub cottage cheese for ricotta. I also use 3 C previously prepared squash or pumpkin puree.)

Feta-brined chicken (Melissa Clark): https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1017152-feta-brined-roast-chicken

Red lentil, chicken, and fennel slow cooker soup (Katie Workman): https://themom100.com/recipe/red-lentil-fennel-and-chicken-slow-cooker-soup-2/#comment-24962 (notes: I like this with turkey meat and broth, and with cilantro rather than parsley).

Grandma's Anything Goes Strata
(Food Network)

My sister-in-law Jodi just shared a new blog with me -- can't wait to try these recipes!
https://www.skinnytaste.com/zucchini-lasagna/
https://www.skinnytaste.com/cauliflower-fried-rice/

Frozen desserts to try
https://thebusybaker.ca/blackberry-mint-frozen-yogurt/ -- try this!! looks amazing!!
https://cookieandkate.com/2015/mango-lassi-frozen-yogurt/
https://www.highheelsandgrills.com/skinny-blueberry-frozen-yogurt/
https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/chocolate-gelato-101903
https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/11954-lemon-gelato

Grilled Chicken Tenders
https://www.dinneratthezoo.com/grilled-chicken-tenders/
(This recipe is so simple: for 1 lb chicken tenders, 1/4 C olive oil, 2 T lemon juice, 2 t Italian seasoning, 1 clove minced garlic, 3/4 t salt, 1/4 t pepper). Mix and marinate for up to 8 hours.