Ode to Bacon, or More Proof that Bacon makes everything Better!

 

It starts with something simple. Like arborio rice. Or flowering kale.

Aaah, but then, then you add bacon, and voila! Perfection!

Two recipes this week, tried and true, made better by bacon.

First, a simple risotto. One small onion diced and a clove of crushed garlic, sauteed with 4 pieces of cooked bacon. Add a cup of arborio rice to saute briefly in the pan, add two cups of chicken stock, then cover. Cook for about 20 minutes, until done. Add mounds and mounds of fresh grated Parmesan. Yum!!!

Dinner number two, inspired by some lovely purple skinned potatoes and flowering kale from my CSA. Cut up potatoes in large chunks and salt them. Cover with a paper towel and microwave them for 5 minutes to "pre-cook" them.

Meanwhile, saute thinly sliced red onion and a clove of chopped garlic in some olive oil in a cast iron pan. Add sliced kale to the pan, with a few slices of chopped bacon, and a generous additions of salt and pepper. Add the cooked potatoes, and cook until they just start to brown. Add a couple tablespoons of butter to melt, with some more salt, and a little crushed red pepper.  Mmmmm. Enjoy with a nice glass of red wine.

Halloweeny catch-up and other miscelaneousness

OK, so I feel like it's been forever since my last post, but what can I say. Life has been busy, and for over a week I was nowhere near a computer, except at work, where I actually feel like I need to work vs. update my blog. 

And seeing as how I finally found my cord so I could download the pictures I've been gathering in my camera, I figured I'd just post them with little captions instead of writing very clever narratives about what I've been up to. (That'll give me more time to work on figuring out teleportation, which is something I'm trying to invent in the rest of my valuable and rare spare time.) So without further adieu...

Anoka parade 5 K. Paul Bunyan and babe had actual race numbers...

You can't really see her in the picture, but my friend Ramona is running in the race. She's the one wearing a cowboy hat.

 

Monkeys jumping on a bed. This was my almost favorite set of racers. Until...

Tetris blocks! How clever was that?

Pretty awesome racing costumes!

Toppings for bahn mi sandwiches- pulled pork braised in coconut milk

Seriously... do you really need a caption for this one?

Katie and Ramona at the post parade party

Real live cauldron, at Tammy's party in Whalan

Awesome decorations. They made these ghouls!

Cause doesn't every good party have a mini-horse in a garage?! I thought you knew that.

 

Auntie Sue and Marcus, hanging out during the party..

 

Caldo verde- Portuguese kale soup with sausage. This was my dinner tonight. And now you are caught up. Well kind of. Except for the best parts, which I intentionally leave out.

Good Food from the Dark

I have a hard time adjusting to the changing seasons. Especially waking up in the dark, and coming home in the dark. Its just too... dark. I am a person who likes light. So needless to say, Monday mornings can really be a challenge for me. And yet that's why there's coffee. (One year I gave up alcohol AND coffee for Lent, and trust me on this, giving up the coffee was ten times harder!)

Anyhoo, I made it to work, and it turned out to be a super-productive day. But then by the time I left work, the sun was sinking fast. All of my ambitions to make a nice meal just sorta trickled out of me. So I did what I do when I don't know what to make: I stood in front of the open fridge, and looked for whatever seemed easy, comforting, and fast.

Tonight my eyes landed on the leftover soup, with root vegetables, pork, and bacon that I made this weekend. Perfect! Soup is one of those meals that often tastes better after a day of resting and soaking in the flavors (especially since I tend to rush it the first time around, and not let it simmer long enough...)

Ninety seconds in the microwave, and soup was served! Either I was hungrier, or it really did taste better tonight. My guess is that letting it sit, helped to soak up all the bacony goodness. And yes, bacony is a word.

I also have tons of fruit to use, and was feeling a bit nostalgic for those figs in port I made on Saturday. I'm telling you, that sauce was amazing!! Who needs a chocolate fountain, when you can have a port reduction sauce?! But alas, every fig got eaten at my neighbors bonfire. Don't ask, but when I brought it over people were like, "figs at a fire?!" and looking at me like I was a crazy person, but then as the brave ones started to try it and making yummy noises, soon others wanted to try them too.  So there were no figs left, but there was some sauce left.

So for an after dinner treat, I cut up a Hosui Asian pear, and heated it up in what was left of the sauce, adding an extra pinch of cinnamon. When it was just heated through, I poured a little cream over the top.

Oh my. yes. Now that's what I'm talking about! Easy, simple, and delicious. On a Monday night even. I don't care that my hair is messy, and that it's pitch dark outside.Because, inside, I am warm and comforted and content.

Five favorite fall seasonings

I have more than forty spice blends or seasonings, and have used  them all at one point or another in my cooking. And yet, there are my favorites, that I turn to again and again. I've challenged myself to name my current top five for the autumn season. And here they are, in no particular order:

1. Course ground sea salt. The large granules add texture and enhance the flavor of everything from caramel (sweet)  to kale (bitter), to ice cream (creamy) and meat (savory). And of course, it is a required ingrediant if you want to make the best margaritas!

2. Adobo seasoning. It is the cumin and pepper-based spice that I use as a base for my own taco seasoning, spicy black bean dishes, and chili. It is also amazing on all types of squash.

3. One can of chiptole peppers in adobo sauce, pureed, with a healthy dose of cream. Be warned-this is VERY spicy- a little goes along way. I learned this lesson the hard way last fall, when I served sweet poatoes in this chiptole cream sauce, and the heat level was too much, even for me. I make a batch and keep it frozen to use as needed.

4. Vindaloo seasoning. I use this slightly hot Indian spice blend to make curries.  Its super easy to make- just add vindaloo seasoning libererally with salt to sauteed veggies- caluiflower, carrots, potatoes, sweet bell peppers, onions, squash, or any combination thereof. Add cooked chicken or pork or other meat if you like, along with enough coconut milk to make it saucy. Simmer on low heat, while you make basmati rice or rice noodles to serve it over. Other good things to add: thai basil and crushed red or other peppers (if you like your curry to be hot).

5. Penzey's cinnamon. It is the best I've had, hands down, and it goes well in many desserts (especially pear, pumpkin or apple!) and can't be beat in hot chocolate, hot apple cider, and in my spiced red sangria. Plus it makes your house smell amazing!

Homemade soup, figs in port, and other warm autumn experiments

 

I love autumn days like this, that start with foggy skies and clear to a full crisp sun. There are still some deeply colored leaves on the trees, but so many more are on the ground, that it crunches when you walk. I especially enjoy cooking in the fall- warm rich flavors but still bountiful fresh produce. It is the season for foods and feelings of comfort.  




This morning, I started a soup on the stovetop based on my CSA veggies (and some ham!): onion, celery (including the leaves) peeled purple potatoes, carrots, garlic, and purple cabbage. I had frozen some homemade broth earlier, and added that to the pot to simmer on the stove, while I soaked in the tub and read a magazine upstairs. By the time I got ready to start my day in earnest, the whole house smelled amazing. You will just have to use your imagination.

 

 

I turned off the stove, and ran to the store to pick up some things for a dessert I wanted to make: fresh figs poached in port. And even though it was just after noon- the town was buzzing already, getting ready for the Light the Night parade that will happen tonight on Main Street. in Anoka. The parade doesn’t start until 7 PM, but already the street was lined with lawn chairs and blankets.

Back at home, I was hungry for lunch, so I got myself a bowl of soup, which I topped with plenty of finely shredded parmesan cheese. Yum!

 

For a little treat, I sliced a green apple,  sprinkled it with coarse ground salt, and dipped the slices in a bit of warm caramel sauce. It was a really simple tasty meal!

 

Meanwhile, I found the recipe on Food Network for my figs which need to be used today. So here I go again, taking risks, trying something new. As I type this, the poaching sauce is reducing on the stove: Tawny port, sugar, vanilla, fresh orange peel, cinnamon, and 4 whole peppercorns.

 

I’m supposed to cook it to a syrup consistency, and it seems to be taking way longer than it should, but I’m trying to be patient. (Remembering a meal from less than a week ago, when it really paid off to be patient, and the results were better than I’d hoped for.)

Life is kind of funny, how it hands us lessons when we aren’t looking. It reminds me to try to pay attention, to proceed carefully- but still move forward, and to appreciate everything I have while fully in the moment.

And guess what? The figs turned out beautifully! Seriously- that sauce is amazing- I would bathe in it if I could!

 

A meal to help pull you up by your bootstraps

It's CSA day today! And those of you who know me, know it is one of my favorite days of the week. I get very excited to see what will be in the box, and to think about what I might make. Today was my last fruit share of the season, and frankly, I'm a bit relieved. In the summer it was great, because my daughter loves fruit, and she is home to help me eat it, but there is just so much. I can't keep up by myself.

To get some idea of how much food I pick up every other Thursday, take a gander...

Isn't it beautiful?

Are you thinking of things you could make?

Well, I just want you to know, on my way to pick up my share from work, and then even after I picked it up today; I was feeling a bit melancholy. For the first time in a long time. Maybe because the sky was the color of deep gray steel. Maybe for other reasons unmentioned. But it doesn't really matter, because when I got home I still had to unload it all. So I just did.

I understand it's insensitive to tell people to just pull themselves up by their bootstraps or just power through things, so I try not to tell that to other people. But for me, if I know the way I'm feeling is temporary, it helps to tell myself that. So I just got to work right away and unpacked everything to take those pictures for you.

And then I decided what to make. Let me spoil the happy ending by telling you it turned out amazing! So I'm actually going to try to remember for you how I made it.

First- the squash. I sliced a half of a delicata squash in half again, and put a half tablespoon of butter or so in each half of the half. Still with me? That was a lot of halves.

Then I lightly salted the squash and microwaved it for 4 minutes to pre-cook it a bit, and added one slice of pre-cooked bacon to each half (I make a pound of bacon at a time in the oven and save it for other meals later). Then I sprinkled the whole deal with Penzey's Chipotole peppper, put a little bit of water in the bottom of a shallow pan and covered it with foil, and put it in the oven to cook until the rest of the meal was done. And poured myself a glass of red wine, using my aerator. Which of course makes my happy!

 

Next, I added a couple tablespoons of olive oil and one sliced onion to a hot cast iron pan on the stovetop and let it sautee for a bit.

To that, I added sliced leafy kale, three chopped pieces of bacon, two large cut-up pieces of leftover pork roast, more chiptole seasoning, a splash of red wine,  some salt, and about a tablespoon of chiptole peppers in adobo cream sauce (which is a Bobby Flay thing you can google, that I make in batches and freeze). Then I cooked it 'till it was heated through, and the kale is wilted. It was not beautiful, but it is tasted amazing- a bit sweet and smoky, with a nice level of heat! It warmed up my whole kitchen, and my insides too!

 

A good meal won't make your life perfect, but it can improve your quality of life. So here's hoping that when you have a melancholy moment that maybe something like making a meal will be just the ticket you needed to power through your day.

Things I learned (or just remembered) this weekend

My friend John, who I have known since I was a freshman in college, was down for a visit. Anyway, we hung out with some mutual friends and had a super fun weekend. Sometimes I think when you hang out with someone who knows you well, you can learn a lot about life. Such as:

Apparently, under the right conditions, I enjoy shopping. I had suspected this when I went boot shopping in Boston with my friend Tiana, but now I have proof. Pay attention now. I’m going to share the secret to enjoying shopping:

a.       Go on a nice day and shop where you can walk outside. We went to the Albertville mall. It’s easy to enjoy. You just walk until you see something you like, go in the store, check it out, and then walk outside again until you run across something else you like.

b.      Help others shop. That way, you get to see things you may not otherwise look for, and you feel brilliant and helpful when you help them find what they were looking for.

c.       Go with good company.

d.      Spot the cutest winter coat ever, while you are waiting in the check-out line, then try it on, and jump up and down with excitement when you realize it looks super cute on you.

Do not see the movie Loopers. Just don’t. While the actors do a fine job and the story line is interesting, it is very difficult to watch and it hurts your insides. Trust me. Go see a Bourne movie or something instead- even if it’s the sixth one.

When you goof up a recipe, patience is the key to making it work. I know that you are already well aware that trying to follow a recipe, for me, is challenging and requires patience and attention to begin with. So you won’t be surprised that when I went to double a batch of pancakes, I put twice again as much water as called for. I realized`this almost immediately, when the batter looked far too runny, but I didn’t want to quadruple the recipe, so I just added some more rice flour until it appeared to be the consistency of crepe batter, and hoped for the best. When I first poured it in the pan, it did not look promising. And then I was impatient to boot, and tried to get it out of the pan before it was cooked enough. It came out easily- in many pieces. But one thing about me is that I am stubborn, so I kept trying. And I discovered, completely on accident, that when I walked away from the pan and just let it cook, they started turning out WAY better. And I was much happier, just letting it be. (Plus it helps if you make an amazing sauce to serve over them NOT using a recipe. I melted some white sugar and  butter together in a pan to make a caramel base, then added 4 chopped fresh pears, a good dose of cinnamon, vanilla, and some red wine, and let it simmer on low while I made the pancakes.)

It pays to admit when you don’t know much, and you seek help. In my case, since I don’t cook a lot of meat, I had to rely on the butcher to give me advice. And guess what else I learned? Dry aged steak is amazing. I have no idea what dry aging does, but trust me on this one, it makes it good! So good, in fact, it requires only salt and pepper, and well-applied heat.  To be fair, it also makes a difference when someone who knows how to grill meat can take over the helm, while you make risotto with mushrooms and tons of finely grated parmigiano reggiano.

 

 

Now that's what I'm talking about. Yum! Turns out bacon is not the only thing keeping me from  ever wanting to be a vegetarian...

 

 

Margarita sunrises made with Cabo and Cointreau, with  fresh squeezed OJ, and lime salted rims, shaken in my new shaker, improve my quality of life. Just saying.

How to two step. One, one-two, is all it takes. Not that I’m prepared to teach anyone, but I could now scrape by in case of a two-stepping emergency.

Simple plans are the best. When the company is good, that’s all you need.

 

Case in point: taco bar + Apples to Apples+ fun interesting friends = good times. Lunch is super easy to make and keep warm in a crockpot (especially with a little help) and a game that’s easy to learn and makes everyone laugh is always a good thing. If you’re nice like me, you may have thought ahead to make an apple cake with cream cheese frosting. And you made beer and red wine available, just in case.

 

 

I am just as happy with my wine aerator today, as the day I received it as a gift. It was way too generous of a gift, but if the goal of the giver was to make me squeal with delight, it continues to work. Every time a friend comes over who hasn’t seen it (or who has, and wants red wine), I do a demo for them, and it makes this fun noise when you pour it, and it absolutely delights me.

 

Like my aerator, and my friends, always remember to appreciate what you have. I know you know this, and so do I , but we all can use a helpful reminder of this every now and again.