Stock without MSG....that's a good thing

Making your own stock is not only easy, but makes everything you cook using this golden herbed liquid taste better.  It really does.  For those of you already making your own stock you know what I mean.  For those that want to but just haven't gotten into the stock groove yet...well once you get the routine down...it be easy!

There are so many good reasons to make your own stock starting with how much money you will save.  One reason I began making my own stock years back was that I found everything that tasted really good off the grocery store shelves also was really good because of the MSG in the ingredients...and not just an ingredient, but almost always, nearly the first ingredient!  OH and did I mention that those products are always expensive!  ;-)

The routine I have gotten into makes it easy to make the stock.  I either make a huge batch once a month or smaller batches twice a month.  SO.....next time you make a roast chicken or purchase one of those pre-made rotisserie birds don't throw out the carcass.  Just chop it up a bit and throw the pieces into a freezer ziploc bag and label it "for stock" and put it into your freezer.  Oh and lets say your cutting up a bird for a recipe and your about to throw out the wings or the weird mysterious looking chicken parts you find sometimes in a pre-cut up whole chicken package...toss those into the ziplocs too.  In no time you will have a good collection of chicken pieces.

The beauty of the process is that you don't even need to thaw out the pieces to make stock.  Just toss them all into a big dutch oven or french oven or a deep stock pot, fill with water to just about an inch from the top. Next add two large onions quartered...technically you don't even need to peel the onions...but I do anyhow.  Add about 5 cloves of fresh garlic, three stalks of celery with leaves...and your just about set.
But the magic to making the stock flavor pop lies in the herbs you wrap in cheese cloth (bouquet garni).  I use two sprigs of rosemary - fresh or dried, 3 big bay leaves, a teaspoon of whole black peppercorns, 4 large dried sage leaves, 5 sprigs of thyme - fresh or dried...now roll up the cloth and tie up the ends with cotton twine, leaving one of the twine ends longer so you can easily pull it out of the pot when it's time.

Easy or what?!  Just cook all the ingredients over medium heat for about four hours.  Strain the ingredients thru a metal sieve into a large vessel.  Now here is what I do to make the process even simpler.  You know those large yoghurt containers... Save them and their lids.  Just about to the top yields four cups.  I fill them up, put on the lids and place them into the fridge.  Next day, remove and skim off the fat from each container and freeze them.  All you do when you need one is to thaw it out on the counter top or in the microwave...although I was told that it's not necessarily a good thing to thaw foods in plastic containers using a microwave...either way...that's all there is to it.  Generally I don't add salt to the stock till I am using it for whichever dish I am preparing...then I add salt as needed...otherwise, you might end up with a salty finished project...and who wants that.....just sayin....

Stock it to em!

robert

After a break in the foodie-ism realm...I am back

So many readers kept asking where my daily blog was.  I was touched that so many had become daily followers of Foodolicious.  So for you fellow foodies, I am back. 

Warm weather is upon us finally and finally using the grill not only makes sense but feels right in this sort of weather...like it's a necessity.  I have many recipes up my big sleeves revolving around the grill...but today...I am keeping you in the kitchen...it's not that hot yet...unless you live in Phoenix or Palm Springs or Saudi Arabia....but soon the grilling recipes...I promise.

Last year in my vegetable garden I grew about 20 plants of basil.  The plants thrived and Basil loves to be picked because it motivates and invigorates the plants to keep putting out new branches during their growing season.  I highly recommend fish emulsion to help Basil thrive.  I love to make Cherry Tomato salads with Feta and Fresh Basil and Fresh Cucumbers...such a taste of summertime!  What I do most with my basil though, is to make huge batches of pesto.  I spoon this green heavenly paste into ice cube trays, freeze them and pop them out and using my food saver, seal them in plastic bags and have them readily available all year long in my freezer.  You only need a few cubes too for so many scrumptious dishes.  In place of regular tomato based sauce on pizza, to make Pesto Focaccia Bread, tossed with fresh pasta and on and on.  As I mentioned before, just a small jar is so expensive off the shelves in your local markets, that your money saving endeavor growing your own Basil will thrill you and your wallets! 

Just last month this simple and extremely savory idea came to me!  Why not spread the pesto on individually sliced eggplant in place of fresh Basil leaves on my Eggplant Parmigiana recipe?  So that is just what I did.  It packed so much more flavor with the pesto enhancement that I knew I had to share it here on Foodolicious.  This recipe is amazingly simple and very healthy too, in my recipe I bake the slices of eggplant which makes for a lighter fare than deep frying the eggplant as many traditional recipes call for. Nor do I do any breading.  Remember not to include any additional salt in this recipe because the pesto is salty enough on its own because of the Parmigiano Reggiano Cheese.   Vegetarians go cwazy for this dish too...it's one dish that doesnt cry out for meat, the eggplant is enough on it's own...(for us meat eaters that is ;-0 )

Pesto Eggplant Parmigiana

Three medium sized Eggplants - peeled and sliced into 1/4 inch thick rounds

 (I favor the round white with lavender hue but any plump type will do)

2 cups Mozzarella Cheese - shredded

1 cup of Parmigiano Reggiano Cheese - shredded

1 cup pesto sauce

Your favorite Marinara Sauce

Extra virgin olive oil

Heat your oven to 350 degrees

Brush both sides of the slices of eggplant liberally with olive oil and bake them on cookie sheets until they begin to turn golden brown

In a medium sized rectangular glass baking dish,

spread out a layer of the marinara sauce

followed by a layer of eggplant, each slice spread with pesto sauce

Place a layer of the cheeses over the eggplant

Repeat the layers twice or if you want extra thick Parmigiana, use more eggplants

and a larger baking dish and make more layers making sure to finish with a layer of the cheeses

Bake at 425 degrees for 25 minutes

Note:  I don't sweat my eggplant slices, as many recipes call for... frankly I don't notice  any difference doing so first.  It is also time consuming...this recipe is very very easy and very very tasty...you'll see...Oh! and serving this with a green salad such as the amazing salad I posted in early January http://foodolicious.blogspot.com/2011/01/wild-mamas-of-tuscany.html and a good expensive bottle of red wine will make this complete...

Buon Appetito!

Robert

Braising with Beer can be so good!

Mention most any meal that includes Sauerkraut and you get my attention.  Some cringe at the thought of all that yummy tangy fermented cabbage but...it's a really healthy "super food" it is believed.  It keeps the flora and fauna in your intestines flourishing because of the fermentation in Sauerkraut, therefore aiding your body in good effective digestion and as a result boosting your immune system...some studies even point to anti-flu properties.  I just know that I love the stuff.  From time to time I make a dish that I created based on "Brauts and Beer"  that I changed a bit.  It's way more alive in spicy flavors and I use Kielbasa Sausage instead.  There are only a few ingredients in this recipe.  If your taste buds crave sauerkraut now and again, try out this dish.  Often I am inspired to make it when I find a Kielbasa in the discounted meat section because it's about to expire.  They freeze well, so I purchase several and throw em in the freezer for future use.  There are other versions of Kielbasa on the store shelves such as chicken and turkey...they all work fine.  I just tried the smoked chicken sausage Kielbasa type and it was fantastic. 

Spicy Kielbasa and Kraut

1 Kielbasa sausage, sliced into 1/4 inch slices

1 bottle of Corona Beer or any other similar ale

1/2 tsp red chili pepper flakes

1/4 tsp dried dill

1/2 tsp caraway seed

1 tsp onion powder

1 tsp granulated garlic

2 cups sauerkraut

In a thick bottomed pot heat 3 tbsp canola oil and add the sausage, the chili flakes, the caraway seed and the dill

Cook over medium heat till the sausage begins to slightly brown stirring a few times

Add the bottle of bear and allow to reduce by 3/4 of the original amount

Add in the sauerkraut and allow to reduce till just a small amount of liquid remains

Serve over mashed potatoes

Guten Appetit!

robert



Making spaghetti with a pizzazy slant...

Sometimes the best "keeper" recipes are from every one's kitchen "aunt".  She has been around for a long time.  Her recipes can be basic and yet be very flavorful.  I have a few of em that I have held onto for decades, referring to them every now and again for either Aaron and I or for a dinner party.  The auntie I am referring to is good old Betty Crocker.  I have two cookbook's by her. One is very old and one is from the eighties.  I remember looking through my newer of the two and thinking that she was so "innovative" with recipes like Avocado Soup.  I even started wondering about who the heck this Ms. Crocker was?  You always see a painted likeness of her...not a real photo...turned out I lost interest in finding out...it just wasn't all that important...I just knew that I never had a flop with one of her recipes...One of my favorites is very simple and yet not so simple in taste.  It's Betty's Tuna Spaghetti.  The marriage of the tuna with the garlic and the herbs and the half-and-half make for an out of the ordinary Spaghetti dish...sometimes a red marinara gets old...and sometimes Tuna Spaghetti hits the spot perfectly.

Betty's Tuna Spaghetti

1 package thin spaghetti or Angel hair pasta

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1/4 cup butter

3/4 cup half-and-half

1 tsp dried basil leaves

1/2 tsp dried oregano leaves

1 can tuna (9 1/4 ounce)*

1/2 cup sliced pimiento stuffed green olives

1/4 cup grated Parmesiano Reggiano (she used regular...Reggiano is sooo way better...sorry Bet)

Cook Spaghetti as directed on package and drain

Cook garlic in butter in 2 qt saucepan over medium low heat...you don't want to burn the garlic...just cook till beginning to get golden brown

Stir in half-and-half, basil and the oregano

Heat just till begins to boil

Add in tuna, olives and cheese...stir together for one minute

Pour over hot spaghetti

*I have altered this at times with canned salmon and using just 2% milk instead of the half and half

Ahhhh the anti-vampire principles of garlic!

robert

Spring is starting to wake up and stretch!

Outside, my tulips are just peeking out thru the pine needles but the outside temperature is still keeping the ground too hard to till. The non stop yet gratifying work of a vegetable garden soon begins.  Many of you know that I do a huge 800 square foot organic vegetable garden every year.  I have learned through trial and error what works best for me here at 7500 feet of elevation.  The gardening rules here are different than in sunny, at sea level Southern California.  So wherever you live be it high or low, arid and dry or humid and moist...a vegetable garden is possible, achievable and it's therapeutic, it's grounding, it's nutritional, it's exciting and sometimes, it's a royal pain in the butt...but all in all I don't think I would ever go a season without one. 

If you have never attempted to grow your own food and want to, I suggest starting small, unless you are going to attempt a community garden with many hands to rely on.  At this time in Southern California you can already be tilling and working in all the plant muscle building nutrients such as mulch, cow/horse manure, dried leaves, egg shells, coffee grounds, etc.  You have the advantage of a long growing season and you have the ability to plant seed directly into the ground.  I don't have that luxury here...our season in Northern New Mexico is quick.  So I pre grow my vegetables in little seed containers in a mini standing greenhouse...this guarantees me a head start and much yield success...I have to transplant into the finally warm enough ground right around Mother's day.  At lower elevations you don't need to do pre seed starting unless your looking for speedier crops I suppose.

First time veg gardeners...I suggest easier crops like beans, corn, onions, garlic, potatoes, tomatoes, squash, pumpkin, herbs such as dill, basil and cilantro...these will guarantee you success...but you still have to give lots of attention in the form of water and feeding.  I only use organic fish emulsion and sea bird guano.  I purchased mine in Oregon from this establishment http://www.3rlighting.com/organic/guano.html  I have had great success with high nitrogen guano. 
You might live somewhere where you only have to walk into a good nursery to purchase some.  I do a mix of the two products, the emulsion and the guano, mixed together in a gallon container.  Just be careful to keep the fish emulsion off your skin or wash it off right away...its non toxic...but the smell will really gross you out if you leave it on your skin for any length of time. 

Mulching around your plants will guarantee healthy happy vegetable plants...which means more plentiful yield too.  I use fresh nitrogen rich grass clippings from the neighbors ...just make sure they are not feeding their grass with any fertilizers other than cow manure or any other organic compound manure.  What I have found works best water-wise is to do some serious soaking in the first few weeks to get the plants root systems established...once this is accomplished...then you can cut back on the H2O.  The three to four inches of mulch around the plants will keep the moisture in.  You never want to have a vegetable plant sitting in dry soil.  It's just common sense...your planning on eating what these plants produces for you...so don't stress em out!  Treat them like your babies and they will in turn reward you. 

If you end up with problems from pests such as flea Beatles or aphids...and you will.  Whether it's an extreme invasion or minimal is partly up to you.  I choose to spray them off with a good jet of water...you can try purchasing lady bugs...they love aphids.  I did deal with an extreme case of Flea Beatles last season and found out that I could treat them organically with Diatomaceous earth http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diatomaceous_earth ...If you end up with a problem you can't identify thru books or internet sources...well there is always your local nursery.  There is always someone there that knows the trick to organically control whatever you have going on.  Here we have Deer, Raccoons, Fox...I do a large enough garden where I simply realize that a portion of the yield is going to feed the local wildlife.  My very first year, 9 years ago I was woken up by Aaron at 6 o'clock in the morning to find out that my Bok Choy was being immensely enjoyed by a huge doe.  Worst...when I approached and tried to scare off the deer...she simply looked up at me and went back to eating...

Weeds thrive because your watering on a regular basis, plus your feeding the ground...I try to control the problem...but it's not an easy one.  After a good summer rain shower when the nitrogen level in the atmosphere is so plentiful...you excitedly can just about watch the vegetable plants grow...unfortunately, the weeds do too!  I suggest trying to pull em out on a regular basis instead of waiting till you can barely tell the vegetable plants from the weeds...In some cases, some of the weed pests have real aggressive root systems that will weaken the vegetable plants if you let them.  If nothing else, weed in the immediate vicinity of your plants.  Here I need black plastic, to generate and maintain heat in the soil...our summer nights are chilly this high up...my point is, the plastic helps a little in the control of the weed garden.  Another way to look at it is that a few weeds are very tasty and nutritional. I always harvest Purslane...vegetarians love it mucho! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portulaca_oleracea

So...you put in the all the sweat filled work, your back needs yoga more than usual...then a few months later you take the first bite of a vibrant red, sun and vine ripened tomato that you were responsible for helping thrive...and in that instantaneous moment of realization as you pick the tantalizing fruit...holding it in your hand, you take a bite...and you know...oooh you know, as you wipe the sweet tomato juices from your chin...that you're never going to get this flavor and juiciness from a store bought (not including farmers markets!) tomato...you sigh in the knowledge that it's so worth it...a 100 % guaranteed of no "Monsanto modifications" here!

I hope today's blog entree will inspire some of you that have always wanted to attempt a vegetable garden...but found an excuse not to..."but I will be on summer vacation"..."but I kill everything I try to grow"..."the gophers will eat everything"..."nothing grows in my yard's soil"...etc etc etc etc etc.  Just do it.

Robert

A cole slaw with a cheesy twist...

When I saw this recipe being made by Ina Garten, otherwise known as the Barefoot Contessa on Food TV, I immediately knew I had to try it because I love Blue Cheese so much.  I never would have thought of a cole slaw laden with the chunky moldy stuff.  It's a perfect compliment to barbecue or a good stacked sandwich.  I use Cholesterol free mayonnaise in place of regular (as her recipe calls for) and it's still stupendous in flavor. 

Blue Cheese Cole Slaw

1/2 small head green cabbage
1/2 small head red cabbage
4 large carrots, scrubbed or peeled
2 cups (16 ounces) good mayonnaise
1/4 cup Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons whole grain mustard
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon celery salt
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 cups (6 ounces) crumbled Roquefort blue cheese
1 cup chopped fresh parsley leaves


Cut the cabbages in half and then in quarters and cut out the cores.
Set up the food processor with the slicing blade
(according to manufacturer's instructions) and place the pieces of cabbage, one at a time, lying horizontally in the feed tube. (If they don't fit, cut them to fit lying down.) Place the feed tube pusher on top and turn on the processor. Don't push on the feed tube pusher or the slices will turn out too thick! Continue with the remaining red and green cabbage quarters. Transfer into a large bowl, discarding any very large pieces. Before you pour the dressing on the salad, save a handful of the grated vegetables to decorate for serving.

Change the slicing blade for the large shredding blade and cut the carrots so they also lie down in the feed tube. Since the carrots are hard, replace the feed tube pusher and press firmly with the food processor on. Transfer to bowl with the cabbages.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, both mustards, vinegar, celery salt, kosher salt, and pepper. Pour enough mayonnaise dressing over the grated vegetables and toss to moisten well. Add crumbled blue cheese and parsley and toss together. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for several hours to allow the flavors to meld.

Serve cold or at room temperature.

Hail Blue Cheese Fanatics!

robert

The kind of bread pudding that does a muy pronto vanishing act at your dinner table...

There is nothing like warm, fluffy, cinnamony bread pudding especially in the cold of winter.  Oh my goodness...with a fresh steamy cup of coffee...what else does one need?  Well...for the period of time you're savoring the pudding, it almost feels like you don't need anything else in life except the amazing deliciousness of this bread pudding that I make.  It's a good recipe, best when you use older bread and even better when it's cinnamon raisin bread.  I took a basic recipe and changed it and boy does it vanish quickly.  Not only is this a comfort dessert deluxe that your dinner guests will more than appreciate, but it's very inexpensive to make too.  You can be more healthy by substituting all low fat milk and using egg substitute...but this is bread pudding for gods sake!..enuf said.  ;-)

Robert's Cinnamony Bread Pudding

4 cups dried white or cinnamon raisin bread cubes (6-7 slices)

1/3 cup golden raisins

2 eggs slightly beaten

1 cup whole milk

1 cup evaporated milk

1/4 cup melted butter

1/2 cup sugar

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

1 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 300 degrees and place the cubed bread into oven for 15 minutes to make bread dry

Remove from oven and allow to cool, then add raisins to bread

Increase temperature to 350 degrees

In a large bowl combine eggs, milk, melted butter, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla

Mix bread into egg mixture and pour into a greased 1 1/2 quart casserole

Bake uncovered for 50 minutes...or just until very puffy and knife comes out clean when inserted into center of pudding

Cover immediately with plastic wrap and allow to cool

u r going to luv this!

robert