Faux Pho

Its been a hell of a month, and it doesn't look like our summer is headed in direction that we had hoped. I'm working on a side project, trying to get it up and running before all the summer produce slips away from my fingers, and running myself in two directions. The man, who broke his ankle a few weeks ago and is awaiting a second surgery does a surprisingly large amount of 'the dirty work' keeping the kitchen, and the rest of the house running...and now that he's laid up for at least another month....Well lets just say I'm desperately clinging to the idea that he'll be magically healed in a week...
When he came home from the hospital the first time I had promised him whatever made him feel better would be dinner...cut to Eggs Benedict with hollandaise that was almost clear, takeout Chinese, and a mess of other kitchen horrors that look appetizing... until you bite into them and realize I've been so tired that I forgot salt...on everything.

But tonight, I was on my game...probably has something to do with having yesterday off and doing very little. Tonight I took what remained of the leftover ground beef from burgers we (ahem, my father) grilled on July 4th and made little ginger and beef meatballs, I thinly sliced pea pods from Allandale Farm and cabbage from Two Fields Farm and sauteed it in the wok. I simmered vegetable broth with ginger and garlic and a chile, and after the meatballs got a quick browning, they went into the vegetable studded broth to simmer. Flat Chinese egg noodles sparingly dressed in toasted sesame oil made little nests that cradled the meatballs (more like little meat dumplings, without dough, really) and swam with the broth. I topped it off with some of our very own cilantro and a super finely chopped garlic scape. Rose was poured and we ate before it got dark. I was the winner. The dish reminded me a little of the Pho we used to eat years ago when we lived by the beach. It was pretty easy and more importantly satisfying,(when you aren't eating on a regular schedule, sometimes salad will not cut it for dinner, even if its eighty degrees...besides that's why we have air conditioning)

These are the kind of nights I look forward to, when lunches are packed and the vegetable garden is watered and I live in (feigned) ignorance about the fact that there is not a single clean towel in the house.

I may be tired and not very good company but I'm still cooking.... More...

Soup's On

Its been snowy. Snowy and cold. Part of the 'charm' of living in a cottage built in the 1800s, is the drafts that seep in through every window frame and door jamb. They seem to even seep through the walls. When your warm nest feels not so very warm you drink alot of tea, (alot) and then there's the soup. There has been a new soup each week since Christmas.

Each week we make a big bubbling pot that feeds us through the week, for lunches and for simple suppers. Each one packed into the freezer when there's just a little more than two bowlfuls left. Money in the bank, as they say.

Hot and Sour, Pho, Chicken Tortilla, and Vegetable Noodle; There is something about soup. Its restorative in a way that nothing else really is. Maybe its how a pot of soup can bubble on the stovetop and make everything feel like home. Soups make you warm inside, and out. Since we're in need of keeping warm in our little cottage and we've made and eaten quite a bit of soup in the last month, its felt a little bit like a joke to write about it here.

There's no real science to soup. Vegetables swim in broth and maybe they get accompanied by chicken, or noodles. Maybe you thicken it with bread....if you are feeling especially brave, you may even season it with coconut milk and fish sauce. In the end though, even though its just soup, I figure its worth sharing. 



Chicken Tortilla Soup

This soup differs from most others in that we used finely crushed tortilla chips (the leftover ends of the bag are perfect for this) to thicken the soup. I like to garnish it with some sliced avocado.


2 teaspoons olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 medium jalapeno pepper, chopped
1 medium green pepper
4 small boneless skinless chicken breasts
2 cups roasted corn
2 teaspoons cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon paprika
approx 32 ounces chicken
2 -14 ounce cans diced tomatoes
1 -16 ounce can of kitchen ready tomatoes
1 cup tortilla chips finely crushed
Sauté onion, garlic, jalapeño and green pepper with olive oil in a large dutch oven until soft.
Add all the rest of the ingredients to the large pot and bring to a boil. Poaching the chicken in the liquid for roughly 20 minutes, then remove the chicken breasts and shred. Return shredded chicken to the pot and simmer an additional 30 minutes, add the crushed tortillas to the soup and stir until the soup has thickened. More...

Resolutions

Maybe it was the winter blahs, the lack of an inspiring farmers market, the hectic holidays, or the new job that kept me away from here. Truth be told those same factors have seen me eating way out of my usual mostly-vegetables diet for the entire month…and I cant wait to get back to it

More than ever, this is a time of year to start lists, to visit gyms, to make fresh starts…well lets just say its been a long time since I felt the need to visit a gym just because of the new year but that doesn’t mean I don’t use the calendar as a benchmark. This year I’m recommitting to eating as healthfully, and locally as possible. I’m going to embrace the seasons, and spend time doing what I think is important for me. One of those things is being here…putting my thoughts on…er, virtual paper, and recording the history of our kitchen.

Over my month long hiatus I didn’t do a lot of cooking…I did a lot of heating and assembling…and ate take out far too often. I have started a new job, in a totally different industry, and just the amount of learning left me exhausted by the end of the day. I was eating the handiest thing, which was often crackers and cheese, or leftover lo mein then crawling toward the bed at night. I’m still learning so much, and I’m very happy in my new work, but I miss my kitchen and the creative outlet it provides me. I’m making a concerned effort to get back there, (and if you read this perhaps you will be inspired too?) So far, its been working.

We had a bit of a blizzard last Sunday here in Boston, and the man and I returned home from our holiday visits about 20 minutes after the snow began to fall. No groceries had been purchased for well over a week, and we were stuck in the house with whatever was in the pantry and the freezer. Thankfully we had more than enough to scratch out dinner. Out came the dutch oven (a Christmas gift from my parents) and into it went onions, peppers, cannellini beans and tomatoes. A single boneless breast of chicken-still frozen when I put it in- was poached in the liquid, then shredded. After some liberal seasoning we had a huge pot of chili to eat and after a little internet searching for a biscuit recipe made without milk, we had cheddar biscuits studded with some chopped cilantro I had frozen. They weren’t award winning, but they tender and crumbled almost perfectly. More importantly they were comforting, and it made for a very cozy blizzard to be cuddled on our little couch under a big quilt with a bowl of chili and a biscuit…

The next day as the roads were being cleared and the news people were urging us to stay in doors we put on the dutch oven again and made a tomato and roasted soup thickened with some crushed tortilla chips leftover from a party that were neglected at the back of the pantry. I was stuck inside with nowhere to go and nothing to do, so I went back to the kitchen, which is exactly where I wanted to be. I’m looking forward to many more nights in my favorite room More...

French Fridays: Vietnamese Spicy Chicken Noodle Soup

Who would think a can of coconut milk could bring so much to the table? As part of French Fridays with Dorie, I made her Vietnamese Spicy Noodle Soup on over the long weekend. I've documented how the man loves Asian food before, so you all know how many points I won with this recipe selection. Lots. And Lots. I'm hoping to for some nice earrings for Christmas, and if I keep cooking soup like this, I might just get them...

I started by brewing up a poaching liquid that will later become the base of the soup. Poaching bone-in chicken (Dorie calls for skinless chicken breasts, but I subbed in some thighs and legs, with the skin removed). Chilis, coconut milk, chicken stock and spices go into a soup pot, and simmer away to gently poach the chicken parts. The result is a flavorful broth and chicken that has taken on a subtle coconut flavor.

 Noodles (again, Dorie calls for Chinese egg noodles, but I prefer rice noodles, and we had then on hand, always a bonus) are prepared in boiling water while I shredded that delicious chicken (I did this while the man - a notorious chicken picker - was still at work) chicken returns to the pot, and I chopped cilantro, mint and basil. I spooned rooster sauce into a fancy little dish. Fish sauce and hoisin made an appearance. The man called to tell me he was stuck in traffic, so I make salad...to kill time more than anything else. When I heard the man's obnoxiously loud car in the driveway, I lit some tea lights - can soup be romantic? - yes soup this good can definitely be romantic.

The broth is at the same time rich and aromatic as it is refreshing,  I'm sure the generous squeeze of lime has something to do with it. It was a winner with the man, and with me as well. Definitely easy, and definitely a soup I'll make again, perhaps with Dorie's suggested curry paste next time? I don't buy many cookbooks (ok, thats a blatant lie, sorry) but Around My French Table has proven repeatedly that its full of classy, simple, and delicious fare. Plus, PICTURES! I love to be able to look at the photo in a cookbook and see if it looks 'right'. I cannot reccommend it enough. More...