aromatic chicken paprikash

I finally caved and bought the dried limes (lol at url) I've been lusting after at NPpro.  Is it dumb that I only bought them cause they look cool?

After a few googles I learned that crushing them and putting them in stews and slow-cooked type things (MY FAVE) adds a citrusy and sunny yet complex flavor that I was dying to try.  Since I'm super weak, crushing them ended up just being poking a hole.... but it probably doesn't matter, right?  Nah, I don't think it did- in this dish they added a citrus undertone that was great.  Pls try, even though they look kinda unappetizing.  They're not gonna horror movie you and come alive and infest your house. Heh...

bewaaaaaaaare the liiiiiiiiime

If you want it more like a classic paprikash just throw in some sour cream after you let it cool a bit. and mix it up.  It would also thicken up the sauce nicely.  Sounds yum.  Remove the limes before serving.

needs

1 tbsp sweet Hungarian paprika (gnamgnam)
4 cloves of garlic, halved
1 tbsp olive oil
1 bay leaf
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup sherry
2 crushed (kinda) dried limes
6 cherry tomatoes or 2 halved big tomatoes
2 small fennel bulbs with a few inches of green top, whole, or if they're big halve them
2 red bell peppers, sliced
4 bone-in chicken breasts

does

1.  Combine all ingredients until the sherry. 
2.  Layer all other ingredients in a 5.5 quart dutch oven.  Pour sherry and oil mix over it.  Cook at 250 for 3 hours or until chicken is cooked through and deliciously yummified.

FROM HELL (aka hot oven)

Serve with ricey nicey or pasta or potatoes or something.  You get it.  Serves 4.

onion and mushroom soup with bulgur

This soup is another fridgey stone soup, devised while taking inventory one cold (haha San Diego) day.  I am always making soups like this, but I'm posting this because 1) it is my personal favorite and I ate all the leftovers; 2) my friend Tsvetok said it was "the best homemade soup she's ever had" (a dubious but flattering claim); and 3) I FOUND ANOTHER THING AT NO PA PRO!  Let me introduce you.

Those little white things are bulgur, a durum wheat product made from a whole wheat kernel that has been parboiled, dried, and ground into various sizes (depending on the grade).  That parboiling thing is awesome, because it makes bulgur a whole grain that cooks quickly- no presoaking, no draining, just throw it in soup or broth or something and it softens in about 20 minutes.  This aspect of bulgur has made it my new, delicious fave; more nutritious than cous cous but just as easy peasy.  I also love it cause it's a Mediterranean product, which is the main criterion for automatic favoritism from me.  Also there's a (short) Wikipedia page in Latin for it, teehee.

yumyumyumyum warmwarmwarm

ya need

1 tbsp olive oil
1 bunch Purplette or green onions, sliced
1 yellow onion, diced
4 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 stick celery, chopped
1" ginger, minced

1/2 lb white mushrooms, sliced
1/2 lb cremini mushrooms, sliced

1/2 cup sherry
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp chili powder
2 large yams, sliced into 1/4" uniform thickness
3 cups beef broth (this is the best) (for vegetarians, use veggie broth)(use more broth if needed)
1 tsp savory
1 5-6" stick fresh rosemary
1 lb cherry tomatoes blended, strained through mesh (or 1/2 can tomato paste with 2 cups water; I had tomatoes only)

in tea ball-
1 bay leaf
1 tsp fennel seed

1 cup bulgur wheat
salt/pepper
egg or shredded cheese of some type (optional)

gooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

1. In a large stock pot, saute onions, garlic, ginger, and celery in oil until cooking and fragrant, 10 minutes.  
2.  Add mushrooms until cooking, 5 minutes.  Add sherry and saute until reduced, about 10 minutes.
3.  Add cumin and chili powder and stir until well integrated and toasting, 5 minutes.  
4.  Add yams and all liquid ingredients (add more broth to cover everything).  Add rosemary and savory.  Hang tea ball with fennel and bay leaf on the side of the pot.  Bring to a boil and simmer, 10 minutes.
5.  Add bulgur.  Simmer for 20 more minutes or until bulgur and yam are soft and cooked.
6.  Season with salt and pepper.  Serve with an egg cracked in and cheese on top if you like that stuff.

serves 6-8; And as with all soups and slow cooked items, better the next day :)  I next-dayed it with some delicious chopped mustard greens. Gnam!

better tomorrow

persimmon pulled pork

My new obsession lately is PERSIMMON!!!!!!!!!11 OMG THEY ARE SO YUMMY THEY ARE LIKE APPLE PIEEEEEEEEE

 /crazyoutburst

MY NEW BFF

 No, but seriously, they are really good. They taste like they are pre-spiced, kinda peppery, very sweet. I have not yet had the other (hachiya) kind- only fuyu, which is about all I can take right now. I want to put them in EVERYTHING, but I don't know how, so I tried this. Of course, slow cooked, sweet, and spicy- ma faves. I don't think of it as a rut...

 It came out really good except for how the persimmons turned black (something to do with enzymes? acidity?? More experimentation is needed) but it did not detract from the wonderful flavor of the god-fruit that is the persimmon-- Just slice them very thinly and it looks fine.  Taste the sweet deliciousness yourself in this exceedingly easy and rewarding porker.

nomination nation

 YOUR NEEDS 

1 tbs vegetable oil
2 tsps cumin
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp habanero paste or 1 habanero
Salt to taste
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup sherry
1 shot lil tequila (gold)
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tbsp barley malt syrup 
 2 sweet peppers, sliced lengthwise into 1" sticks
1 yellow onion, sliced
2 fuyu persimmons, chopped into small pieces
4 lbs pork loin, cut into chunks

 YOUR DOINGS 

1. Combine oil, spices, habanero, vinegar, sherry, tequila, Worcy, barley malt, some salt.
2. Put all ingredients in a 5.5 qt dutch oven (layer solids, pour liquids on top). Cover and cook at 250 until pork is tender, at least 4 hours.
3. Pull the pork by, well, pulling it apart until it's shredded sufficiently. I just did this in my dutch oven cause it's cast iron.
4.  Salt as needed.

i made the bread too... but it was just ok.

 Excellent with bread or as a sand. MMMM. serves 4-6

right before I chopped my new bff :(

smoked sausage salad with dijon vinaigrette

Another CSA inspired dish- I swear, the CSA box has really made my creativity explode and get everywhere (kitchen mess constantly proves it).

not reductionist

 I came up with this one because I had Germany on my mind, as my friend lives there and talks about fun stuff there a lot.  He doesn't really talk about sausage though...  Or food... that's just what I think about all the time.

Based on my time there (weeks here and there) Germany is kuchen, beer, sausage, cool castles, and being cold all day.  This salad is awesome if you don't feel like cooking much but don't want an all-cold salad (i.e., a cold day salad?) and want some Germanish things like smokey sausage and mustard and pertaters in your life.  The dressing would be awesome on a plain potato salad or anything else that strikes you.

hey cutie.  (rothenburg)

Red frill is a funny, pretty green that you don't have to use if you can't find, but it has a unique taste and texture I recommend.  It's available at Japanese markets and sometimes Whole Foods.

you neeeeeed

1lb length of smoked sausage, sliced into rounds
3 boiled red potatoes, sliced

salad:
1 bunch red frill, broken with hands, cleaned
1 head red leaf lettuce, chopped into 1" sections, cleaned
1 head radicchio, chopped into 1" sections, cleaned
2 bunches arugula, chopped into 1" sections, cleaned

dressing: 
3 tbsp dijon mustard (the kind with seeds!)
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp pistachio oil (REALLY yummy and now commercially available!)
pinch of sea salt
pinch of freshly grated black pepper
3 tbsp red wine vinegar
1 tsp savory, crumbled

1/2 cup (approx) sour cream
1 bunch of chives, chopped

vai

1.  In a skillet, brown sausage until delicious and appetizing.  While browning, mix together all dressing ingredients.  

2.  Divide lettuce among plates.  Top each plate with 1/3 of sausage, 1 slightly mashed potato, a dollop of sour cream, and some dressing to taste.  Top with chives and nom like you've never nommed before.

moar pix

i lub castles

super denjang chigae

So I had all kinds of CSA squash (like seriously 5 pounds) and a tofu pack that was on sale, and it was raining, and I wanted Korean food.  What's a girl to do?  This girl formulated a Koreanish stew, AND THEN FOUND BASICALLY THE SAME THINGS ON MAANGCHI, the writer of which taught me almost everything I know about Korean food (not personally).   It's really no surprise that this came out based on what I have available, and I'm kinda happy about it considering my low level of confidence with Korean food.

So strictly speaking, a chigae (stew) is thicker than this, and denjang just refers to the soybean paste that forms the flavor base, but whatever man.  Nobody's gonna complain.  

nope no complaintz

Also, and again, don't be intimidated by Korean ingredients.  Like all cuisines, once you have the nonperishable basics (arguably, soy sauce, dried shiitakes, dried kelp, dried anchovies, kimchi, gochujang, denjang, gochugaru, dark sesame oil) you can make most Korean stuff.   If you eat it out a lot, it's definitely worth the investment since Korean food can get pricey.

YOU'RE GONNA NEED IT

2 Acorn squashes (they're so cute, how can you resist?), halved and seeded
olive oil
1 yellow onion, chopped
1" ginger, minced
gochugaru to taste (I add a tbsp which is fairly spicy)
2 cups chicken broth
2 cups water
4 dried baby anchovies (I put them in a tea ball so they are easy to get out)
1 small (about 2"x2") piece dried kelp (dashima)
2 shiitake mushrooms
2 tsps soy sauce
1 tbsp denjang
dash of mirin
1 yam, cut into 1" long chunks
3 zucchini, cut into 1" long chunks
1 lb firm tofu, cut into 1" long chunks
Eggs (optional)

GOOOO

1.  Place the halved acorn squashes in a small baking dish with about 1" water.  Rub the squash with a little olive oil, leaving a small amount in the cavity.  Bake at 350 for 20 minutes or until soft.  When they're done, remove the skin and chop the acorn squash into 1/2-1" chunks.
2.  While squash is cooking, saute the ginger and onion in oil.  Add gochugaru.  Once onions are very fragrant and beginning to cook, add broth and water (adjust water to cover squashes as you go).
3.  Add anchovies in tea ball, kelp, soy sauce, denjang, and mushrooms.  Bring to a boil and reduce heat.  Simmer for about 10 minutes.
4.  Add mirin and squashes/yam.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer until yams are tender, about 20 minutes.  About 10 minutes in, add zucchini.
5.  Add tofu after yammies are soft.  Remove anchovies, mushrooms, and kelp.  Add salt to taste.  Serve with white rice and a cracked egg if you want!

Serves 4-6

 i just took a million pictures.

pizza world

Hey guys!  Check out my new recipe on Honestcooking.com!  It's delicious, I promise.

Here are more peebas we have concocted! :D I've been peeb-sperimenting a lot lately, and it's fun because they can all be different but all be deluxe.

arugula pesto, caramelized onion, boiled potato

pesto, smoked sausage, caramelized onions and pears, and rosemary

fresh  mozzarella, boiled potato, pancetta, and rosemary (personal fave)!

basic tomato sauce

For your use on pasta or as an ingredient in another food (meatballs etc).  You'll nom it like whoa.

Of course, from my Mom.  Instead of sugar she puts a carrot to counter the acidity of the tomatoes, and she is better than I am at this...  so... anyway...

go

olive oil
1 tbsp red pepper flakes
1 clove of garlic, chopped
1/2 an onion, chopped
1 28-oz can whole tomatoes, quartered, and their juices
1 can tomato paste
1 tbsp sugar
pinch of marjoram, salt, pepper

1. Heat oil in smallish saucepan with red pepper flakes.
2. Saute garlic and onions in olive oil until they are cooked and fragrant, 10 mins.
3. Add tomato paste, taking care to coat the sides for caramelization- about 10 minutes.
4.  Add tomatoes, spices and sugar.
4. Simmer awhile- the longer the better.

Add meat at at the simmering stage to slow cook it. YUM.  Adjust oil accordingly.  Leaner, cheaper cuts are better for slow cooking.