Quick post on slow-cooking!

My bro Paul got me a super-sweet slow cooker for my b-day, and I've already used it twice, to make split pea soup and then some luxuriously creamy Irish oatmeal!  I love this thing!  I fill it up, turn it on, and leave it.  It's a workin' lady's dream come true.

I have the Cuisinart 3-1/2 Quart Programmable Slow Cooker

This model is pretty perfect for a 1-2 person household.  Most slow cooker recipes are written for something in the 4 quart range, and it's also very easy to adapt other braise/soup/stew recipes to a slow-cooker.  Just reduce the liquid by 50% and double the cooking time (at least).  You always want to keep the meat browning step, but otherwise you can throw all your ingredients together in the slow-cooker and fuggeddaboudit!

Split Pea Soup (adapted from Cuisinart slow-cooker recipe book)
Makes 8 servings


6 ounces shallot, finely chopped
1 celery rib, trimmed and finely chopped
8 ounces Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled, quartered lengthwise and thinly sliced
8 ounces carrots, peeled, halved lengthwise, and thinly sliced
1 pound green split peas, rinsed and picked over
6 cups water
1 ham-hock, meaty ham bone, or 8 ounces cubed ham
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 tablespoon dried thyme
1/4 cup dry sherry

Put all ingredients except sherry into slow cooker and set on High for 2 hours.  Switch to Low for another 6 to 8 hours (time needed will depend on your slow-cooker).  Remove ham hock or ham bone, discard the bone, shred the meat and return to the soup.  Stir in the sherry and serve.

And this is a cucumber salad I threw together last night, as far from slow-cooking as it gets!  I wanted to share with you because the combination was lovely: peeled and sliced cucumber, pitted kalamata olives, torn mint leaves, black pepper, and a dressing made of Greek yogurt, red wine vinegar, and a bit of olive oil.  Sprinkle with flaky sea salt and savor every Mediterranean bite!

Chicken Tortilla Stew

Before I jump into how to make this delicious stew, I wanted to share a new feature of my blog with you: I'll be including Weight Watchers Points values with each recipe.  Why?  Well, because I'm on Weight Watchers (wasn't that obvious?)  And maybe if I proclaim it to the world, I'll feel accountable to more than just myself for sticking to it.  I tried the diet once before, in high school, and it worked out pretty well, so when my dad decided to give it a shot a few weeks ago, I thought I might revisit the regime and shed some extra pounds I've been carrying around for too long.

Confession concluded, now on with the food!

Chicken Tortilla Stew
makes 8 servings (6 points each)


For steamed chicken:
1.5 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breast (about 4)
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon black peppercorns
2 dried red chilis (optional)
1 star anise (optional)
Salt
2 tablespoons water

For tortilla strips:
8 corn tortillas (preferably whole grain)
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
Sea salt

For stew:
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, sliced thin
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 large carrot, chopped
2 fresh jalapeño peppers, minced
1/4 cup Chili Powder Blend (see recipe or use store-bought brand of choice)
One 26-ounce box Pomi chopped tomatoes (or a 28-ounce of canned tomatoes)
2 cups water
8 ounces frozen corn kernels, thawed
1.5 cups chopped fresh cilantro
juice from 2 limes
Salt to taste

Cook the chicken: Preheat oven to 350F degrees.  Combine the chicken and spices in a medium baking dish.  Sprinkle with salt, pour water around the chicken (not on top of it) and cover tightly.  Steam in preheated oven for 30 minutes, or until the chicken temperature registers 160F degrees with instant-read thermometer.  Remove to a plate, allow to cool, and shred by hand, discarding spices and any gristle.  Strain cooking juices from baking dish into a small bowl and set aside.

Make the tortilla strips: Slice the tortillas across into thin strips, about 1/4 inch thick.  Slice strips in half lengthwise, so they're about 2 inches long.  Toss with olive oil and salt and spread out on baking sheet lined with parchment paper.  Bake until crispy and slightly golden, about 12 minutes.  Baking time will depend greatly on your oven - a good practice is to check after first 5 minutes, then after every couple of minutes, tossing each time to ensure even cooking.

In a large pot, heat the olive oil and add onions.  Cook over medium-high heat until lightly caramelized, about 15 minutes.  Add garlic, carrot, jalapeños, and chili powder and cook another 5 minutes, until vegetables have softened a bit.  Stir in the tomatoes, the reserved chicken cooking juices, and water.  Bring to a boil and lower to a simmer.  Cook with cover another 20 minutes or so.  Stir in the corn, cilantro, and lime juice and season to taste with salt.  Simmer another 5 minutes and serve with tortilla strips on top.

Adzuki Bean + Winter Squash Stew

Yesterday I visited the Cayuga Organics stand at the Union Square Farmer's Market.  You know, the one that sells beautifully crusted beer bread and has bins and bins of dried heritage beans and grains.  I am always tempted to run my hands through the beans, right up to my elbows.  But I practiced restraint.  It's so hard not to play with your food, isn't it?

I bought a bag of pretty little adzuki beans and cooked up a riff on this recipe, shared on Heidi Swanson's blog 101Cookbooks.com, created by chef Rebecca Stevens - who, it turns out, is a fellow Natural Gourmet Institute grad!  Small world.  It's a great stew, on its own, or served over brown rice.  Pretty economical, too!

Anyway, here's how it goes:

Adzuki Bean + Winter Squash Stew
serves 6 to 8


1 winter squash (i.e. kabocha, acorn, butternut) - about 1-1/2 lbs.
1/2 cup water

1 cup dried adzuki beans, rinsed and picked over for pebbles
5 coins ginger, 1/8-inch thick
1 whole star anise
8 cups cold water

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small yellow onion, chopped
1 shallot, chopped
1 fennel bulb, diced

salt
red pepper (optional)

Preheat oven to 425F.  Cut squash in half, oil and salt it, and place cut side down in a baking dish with the 1/2 cup water.  Roast until tender, about 45 minutes.  When cool enough to handle, scoop out the cooked squash and set aside.

Meanwhile, place the beans, ginger, star anise, and water in a large soup pot.  Cover, bring to a boil, and simmer until tender, about 1 hour.  Add 1 teaspoon salt.

In a small saucepan, heat the 1 tablespoon olive oil and add the onion, shallot, and fennel, and more salt. Cook covered over low heat until softened, about 10 minutes.

Remove the star anise and ginger from the beans once tender, stir in the vegetables and squash flesh, and continue cooking for another 15 minutes.  Taste and adjust seasoning with more salt to taste.   At this point I also added some red Aleppo pepper (red pepper flakes, or even cayenne, would work here - just be careful!)

J'adore Le Creuset

What can't this baby do?

My Le Creuset pot is amazing.  Especially when winter rolls in and I suddenly feel the urge to braise, stew, and make soup.  Those are the definitive modi operandi of good ol' blue here.  So, in the spirit of Le Creuset appreciation, and because delicious autumn weather is now upon us, here's a warm and cozy recipe, introduced to me by my childhood babysitter, Célia, who has returned to her homeland, where she and this soup were born: Portugal.

Caldo Verde 
Makes about 10 cups

3 tablespoons olive oil
1 yellow onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
8 cups water
4 medium potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
salt and black pepper
1 lb. Portuguese linguiça
2 cans kidney beans
4 cups shredded kale, chard, or collard leaves, washed and dried
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil over medium heat.  Add the onion and cook, stirring, until tender but not browned, about 5 minutes.  Add the garlic and cook another minute or so.  Stir in the water, potatoes, and some salt and black pepper.  Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer until the potatoes are soft, about 20 minutes.  Remove the pot from heat and either use an immersion blender to puree the potatoes into the soup, or transfer carefully, working in batches, to a blender to puree.  Return the soup to the pot.

In a skillet heat the remaining tablespoon of oil and brown the sausage.  Once fully cooked, remove to a board, cool, and thinly slice.  Pour 1 cup of the soup into the skillet and scrape up the browned bits, then return the liquid and browned bits to the soup.  Add the sliced sausage to the soup.

Simmer 5 minutes.  Stir in the kale or other greens and cook another 5 minutes.  Stir in the lemon juice and serve.

We're back!

When 2010 hit (Welcome to the food-ture!) and I realized I'd neglected to share my homemade meals with you all for over a month, I decided a resolution was needed: at least one posting a month! I'm sure that between my job cooking at the restaurant, sleeping, spending time with Danimal, cleaning the house, staying connected with friends, getting adequate exercise, reading my book, and trying to relax (ommmm...), there ought to be some time left for "What Color..."!

Today after hitting the gym I threw together a delicious and easy French lentil soup. Lentils are an amazing kind of legume that require no soaking, very little cooking time, and that are so tasty you can cook them in water and the finished liquid will taste like a rich vegetable stock. Plus, these fancy little beans weigh in at about $1.50 a pound, so they're great for living on the cheap.
French Lentil Soup
(makes about 6 cups)

- 2 tbsp. butter or olive oil (or a mix)
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 cup diced onion (about 1/2 medium onion)
- 1 red chile pepper, deseeded and minced
- 1 sweet potato, peeled and diced
- 2 cups French lentils (or brown, green, black, red... pick your poison)
- 6 cups water
- 1 28-oz can organic crushed tomatoes
- 1 bouquet garni: small bunch thyme, 2 bay leaves, 5 peppercorns (bundled together in cheesecloth)
- 1/4 cup picked thyme leaves
- salt and pepper to taste

1. Set a large, thick-bottomed pot over medium-high heat and add the cooking oil/butter. Once hot, add the garlic and onion and a pinch of salt and stir until fragrant and translucent. Add the chile pepper and cook, stirring, a minute longer. Then add the sweet potato, cover the pot, and let cook 3-5 more minutes.
2. Stir in lentils, water, tomatoes, and drop in the bouquet garni. Bring to a boil and lower to simmer. Leave simmering, partially covered, for 30-45 minutes, until the lentils are fully cooked and the soup has thickened to the desired consistency.
3. Remove from heat, stir in the thyme leaves, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately, or allow to cool and store in refrigerator up to a week or freezer up to a month!

Soup's on!

Sometimes my home-kitchen explorations leave me feeling much like the little rat from the Pixar flick "Ratatouille": bedazzled by the perfect pairing of certain foods. Take, for instance, the fragrant marriages of carrots and ginger, and onion and cumin...
And meld that with earthy lentils and sweet dried apricots:
Put it all together in a soup pot with some chicken stock, and you've got yourself some really delicious soup, blended till silky smooth and easy to store and reheat on a cold winter day.
Turkish Apricot & Lentil Soup (adapted from 101cookbooks)
Makes about 6 cups

- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 2 carrots, peeled and chopped
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon grated ginger (or 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger)
- 1-1/2 cups red lentils, rinsed
- 5 cups chicken stock (or water)
- 6 oz. dried Turkish apricots, chopped
- salt to taste

1. Sweat the onion and carrot in oil over medium heat, about 10 minutes. Add the cumin and ginger, lower heat to medium-low, and cover for 10 more minutes.
2. Add the lentils and chicken stock. Simmer for about 20 minutes, until the lentils fall apart and the flavors and come together. Add salt to taste.
3. Remove from heat, stir in the apricots, and adjust seasoning. Also, you can add more liquid here if necessary.
4. Once cooled a bit, puree in a blender until totally smooth. Serve hot with some toasted baguette, or let cool and store in containers, up to 3 months in the freezer.

Happy fall! Welcome back, soup season...