Accidental Success!

I wasn’t even going to blog about this soup. I was just trying to use up some veggies and avoid going to the grocery store in the pouring rain and light hail. But as I was devouring my second bowl and thinking, “maybe I should write this one down”, I decided there was no better place to write it than here!

For as much as I love soup, I have only made a handful of soup recipes that live up to my apparent high soup standards. This is one of those; nailed this one!

So even though this soup is from scratch, I only spent about 35-40 minutes making it. I’m really loving the fresh tomato and bell pepper mix. The pepper adds a touch of sweet, which compliments the acidic tomatoes so well, and blending the two together ensures that subtle flavor flows through the whole soup. And equally as important, no bites of hot, mushy pepper trailed by a piece of detaching pepper skin.

My next favorite ingredient here is the Swiss chard. Now, this is my first time having chard and I didn’t even read up on it before I concluded it would work in soup. This stuff is gorgeous though. It came in my CSA box and half of the bunch had a vibrant yellow stalk and the other had a burgundy stalk. All of the leaves were such a deep green color with burgundy veins running into them; seriously, they were like food art. Not knowing anything about chard and what kind of texture that stalk would have, I cut the stalk out and ran it through my juicer with some apples, carrots and romaine. Another tasty treat and those stalks gave the juice a fantastic red color. As for the soup, I cut the leaves in to manageable bites and threw them in right before I served. Perfect! They held up better than spinach does but they still wilted nicely and had no bitterness at all!

I’m telling you now, if there is Swiss chard in next week’s box, this soup is on next week’s meal plan!

Tomato Veggie Soup with Andouille Sausage

3 garden tomatoes

1/2 red bell pepper 

2 cloves garlic

1 Tbsp olive oil

1 Andouille sausage, sliced

½ leftover grilled chicken breast, chopped

    (I was just trying to use it up, turned out delicious)

1 clove garlic, minced

3 carrots, chopped

2 stalks celery, chopped

2 leaves Swiss chard, stalk removed

   and cut into 1 inch pieces

2 cups water

1 beef bouillon cube

1 chicken bouillon cube

1 Tbsp dried basil

1 bay leaf

1 tsp kosher salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

Small pasta of choice, cooked per package directions

Blend first 3 ingredients until smooth, set aside

Heat oil in large pot over medium-high heat. Add Andouille and allow to brown, about 3 minutes

Add carrots and celery, allow to sweat about 5 minutes. Add minced garlic and cook 1 minute more

Pour in water and season with bouillon cubes, basil, bay leaf, salt and pepper

Bring to a simmer and add tomato purée. Cook until carrots are tender. Add salt if needed. (If using, add grilled chicken and heat through)

Remove from heat and stir in chard. Serve over prepared pasta

Looks are not Enough

You may recall a post of mine not so very long ago when I discussed making food look appealing in order to help my kids enjoy it. Yeah, that doesn’t always work.

This past weekend, my sweet neighbor and new friend brought over some produce that her family wasn’t going to eat and she thought I could put it to some good use. She had bought red cabbage and rainbow carrots in hopes of the color enticing her little girl to eat some more veggies. Sounds like the purple color wasn’t enough at her house either.

The rainbow carrots were pretty simple to get my kids to eat. Where have these things been all my life? Have you ever cut open a purple carrot? These were yellow on the inside! I sliced one, told my daughter it looked like a flower on the inside and ta-da! It was a cooler way to eat carrots!

Red cabbage was not so easy… I decided to make some braised red cabbage and serve it with bratwurst. Both of my kids love brats so should have been an easy sell. I’m thinking “what little girl doesn’t want to eat something purple?” My little girl is thinking “that is new and I’m not touching it with a stick”.

I rather enjoyed the braised cabbage. The first time I had braised cabbage, my mom had made it and I was hooked right away. It is a really simple recipe but it takes about an hour to cook the cabbage down. During that hour, the cabbage comes to this perfect blend of sweet and tart and it just melts like butter without being mushy. The apples and onions all but disappear, just leaving their delicate sweetness behind. It really is tasty and so colorful! It looks great on a plate!

I think the way I made it is pretty standard for this relatively common dish but here’s what I had just in case:

1/2 head red cabbage, cut in thin strips

1 Braeburn apple, peeled, cored and cut in thin strips

1 yellow onion, cut in thin strips

1 tbsp butter

1/3 cup apple cider vinegar

1/2 tsp ground allspice

Salt and pepper

Melt butter over medium heat. Add onion and cook until translucent, about 5 minutes.

Add apple slices, cook 1 minute more, then add cabbage. Sprinkle cabbage with allspice, salt and pepper then pour in vinegar. Stir to coat cabbage then cover and reduce heat to low.

Simmer 1 hour. Add additional salt if needed. Serve warm.

Pickled Pink

Well, eggplant finally did it! It found a way to make me want more. Pickled Eggplant, who knew?!

I’m thinking this might be the most unique appetizer ever served at my house. It seems exotic and a little sophisticated. It is extremely easy to prepare; you just have to wait… All the flavors need time to saturate those little eggplant pieces.

There is also the fact that I cannot resist a fresh French Baguette... I LOVE crusty fresh bread! And the baguette soaks up all the spicy, garlicy oil the eggplant has been bathing in.

The recipe I used, I found on Chowhound.com by Ali LaRaia. It is so worth a try if you are looking for a little appetizer adventure!

Nice Butt, I mean Shoulder… Wait, What?

Where do I begin? Pulled pork. That’s it, nothing more needs to be said…

When it is done right (and there is more than one right way), I love this stuff! Can’t get enough! To the point that I don’t need anything on the side, just pile that tender, savory meat on a bun and away I go!

Pulled pork was not originally on the meal plan this week but when the refrigerator stops cooling and you have to clean out the freezer to defrost the whole thing… well, you can’t throw away 7 and a half pounds of awesome!

Most often, I buy my pork shoulder at my favorite wholesaler in a twin pack, boneless. I always vacuum seal and freeze one and the other one I do in my slow cooker. It’s so simple; I rub it with dry rub, pop it in the slow cooker on a bed of onion slices, clove of garlic and beef bouillon cube, add a cup of water and we are only 10 hours away from succulent pork! I really think the secret is to not open the slow cooker, for any reason, for 10 hours. The one we enjoyed tonight had cooked overnight, worked perfectly. This pork shoulder came from a big sale at our local grocery store and had a bone. It literally slid out of the meat when I picked it up… SO tender!

Once the meat is cooked, I pull it with my fingers. I love what cooking the shoulder with the fat on does for the flavor of the meat but I do not want to bite a chunk of that… So I discard as much fat as I can while I’m shredding the meat. And of course there is all that meat juice! I run the cooking liquid through a fine mesh strainer and put it back in the slow cooker. Keeps the meat nice and juicy for serving. Doing it this way, I was able to pack a small thermos of pork for my husband’s lunch and the kids and I were able to enjoy it for dinner.

After her third plate tonight, my daughter says “Can we have this again the day after this day?” (which means tomorrow in sweet little girl language). And the answer is, ABSOLUTELY! Because we started with 7 ½ pounds of meat! This stuff reheats wonderfully! A couple of my favorite uses for left over pulled pork; Cuban Sandwiches and Pork Tacos. If you’ve never had a Cuban Sandwich – they are delicious! I like to do mine panini style on artisan bread with ham, provolone, pulled pork, sweet pickles and spicy brown mustard. Sweet, tangy, salty, melty, spicy… hold please, have to clean up some drool. My pulled pork tacos are topped with shredded mozzarella and homemade coleslaw. The crunch is awesome! And there is something about the cold, creamy slaw mixing with the warm salty pork… oops, more drool…

Failed Experiment: Eggplant Barbecue Sauce

I know, you read that heading and thought, “well obviously that failed, gross!” But here’s the thing, it was good, it just wasn’t barbecue sauce!
 

A few weeks ago, I had a surplus of zucchini (because who doesn’t in August) and I had already baked four loaves of zucchini bread. So I decided to toss my last zucchini into the blender with my other tomato sauce ingredients. As I simmered my tomato sauce, the zucchini really helped to thicken it and didn’t seem to change the flavor much.

When I had a spare, almost ready to expire, eggplant laying around (go figure…), my logic was; zucchini and eggplant go well together, they cook similarly, maybe it will work to put eggplant in barbecue sauce! I sent my husband a text message at this point; “This will either be genius or disgusting – eggplant barbecue sauce!” He did not respond :)

Experiment: Eggplant Barbecue Sauce

Question:

Can I use eggplant to thicken barbecue sauce?

Background Research:

I read various barbecue recipes because I have never made it completely from scratch. I found that a lot of them call for ketchup, which is what I have used as a base for some Tennessee Whiskey BBQ, but I didn’t want the thickness of ketchup for this – that’s what the eggplant was for! So I also read a handful of ketchup recipes to get some seasoning suggestions.

Hypothesis:

Adding eggplant to homemade barbecue sauce with thicken the sauce without significantly altering the flavor, resulting in a smooth, thick sauce to be used on various grilled foods, wraps and sandwiches.

Experiment:

Ingredients:

1 eggplant, peeled and cut in 1 inch cubes

1 green pepper, cut in 1 inch pieces

2 stalks celery, cut in 1 inch pieces

1 large carrot, cut in 1 inch pieces

1 medium onion, cut in 1 inch pieces

3-4 tomatoes, quartered

2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped

Juice of 1/2 lemon

3 tbsp Worcestershire 

1 cup Tennessee Whiskey

1 cup apple cider vinegar

1 cup brown sugar

2 tbsp paprika

1 tbs garlic powder

1 tbsp onion powder

1 1/2 tbsp kosher salt

1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

I roughly chopped all of the vegetables. I started by heating a tablespoon of oil in a large pot and sweating my vegetables. I actually let them brown slightly, hoping to get a depth of flavor into the sauce. Next, I added the rest of the ingredients and brought it all to a simmer. After 30 minutes or so, I transferred the sauce to a blender and blended until smooth. Then I returned the sauce to the pan and continued simmering for about 90 minutes.

Analysis:

The sauce tasted good. It had a nice mix of sweet and tang to it. The consistency was thick, but pureed soup thick, not as smooth as a bottled barbecue sauce. I did not notice an eggplant flavor, however, my husband said he could taste it. My husband and I agreed that it tasted exactly like sloppy joes. And that is exactly what I made with it!

Conclusions:

When you make homemade barbecue sauce, don’t you want it to be like the most amazing sauce you have ever tried because you just spent like 2 hours and a piece of your soul trying to get it just right? Yeah, this sauce failed to become the barbecue sauce dreams are made of. Turned out to be a good way to get my kids to eat eggplant though! They were some good sloppy joes!

Teaching Kids to Play with Their Food 

Ever heard the saying, “you eat with your eyes first”? I think that saying rings most true for small children. The simplest things like which direction the sandwich is cut or the color of the plate the food is on, can make or break meal time.

The saying is true for adults too. We want things that taste good to look good and we are drawn to fun presentations of food. Football parties with football-shaped cheese spread, fruit salad in a watermelon basket, cupcake towers, I mean seriously, Pinterest is exploding with food presentation ideas!

My husband and I have received numerous compliments on how well our kids eat. Sometimes they say we are lucky, and we are lucky, but that’s not why our kids eat well. It has taken a lot of effort, time and playing on our part to help them learn to try and enjoy their food. On many occasions, we had to convince them to try the same food like 6 times, despite the fact they liked it the first time. And there are still battles from time to time (see “Rat Patootie” – colored zucchini). Overall, both of our kids are good eaters and we continue to work with them keep them eating well.

That’s where “flower plates” come in. The first time I made my daughter a flower plate, we had battled over nap time. I knew she needed a nap and I was tired from being up with her baby brother all night. The process of going to sleep was not relaxing. So once she finally did go to sleep, I got to work designing her a flower plate. She adored it and asked for a flower plate every day for lunch for about a week after that.

Flower plates are fun for me to put together. I really enjoy picking out foods for their color to arrange on the plate. It is easy enough to put together a balanced meal and it doesn’t really take a lot of time – nothing needs to be cooked. And honestly, there is nothing better than watching my daughter get excited about something I made for her!

The Bounteous Box

I know I have been a little rough on my CSA box for giving me so much eggplant. I still have unused eggplant with no particular destination in mind… But there is far more in the CSA box than eggplant!

My family’s journey to joining a CSA started with our chiropractor. My husband and I started seeing her for back pain and at that time, I thought that was all chiropractic helped with, back pain. I was quite under informed on that front. I learned a great deal about how regular chiropractic care helps your entire body function better and I also learned a ton about in nutrition the process.

Now, I’m not an expert and I do not only eat foods for their nutritional value. I still have a thing for butter. And bacon. And chocolate. And… well, you get the idea. However, I try to take nutrition into consideration ultimately because I want to teach my children to do the same. To be healthy is such an amazing gift and it is one I want to teach my children to take care of.

Joining a CSA was the next step in eating a little bit better. Not to mention, the adventures it was going to inspire in the kitchen! We are 4 weeks into the CSA (we joined half way through the season due to us relocating this summer) and it has been fabulous! The tomatoes alone have been something to write home about (or blog about…)

There have been pickled green beans, braised collard greens, roasted beets and eggplant dishes galore coming out of my kitchen. The best part is, there are still 6 weeks to go! My whole family has been trying dishes we have never had before and I have done more online research on preparing and storing fresh vegetables that ever before. I love it!

If you’re not familiar with the CSA process, each week I pick up a box of freshly picked produce right at the farm. The box is filled with whatever is ready now so contents vary week to week. Here’s the list for this week; an overflowing pint of cherry tomatoes, 8 tomatoes of various types, 1 large zucchini, 4 Thai eggplants, 1 Japanese eggplant, 1 bunch broccoli, roughly ½ pound green beans, 5 golden beets, 1 bunch collard greens, 2 heads garlic and roughly 3 pounds of red potatoes. All organically grown as well.

Remember how I said I still have a thing for bacon? This list is begging me to go buy pound! Blanched green beans thrown into a pan of hot bacon grease and fresh minced garlic, topped with crispy bacon bits! Braised collards with smoky bacon, not traditional southern style as I understand it but still delicious! Broccoli salad with cauliflower, red onion, cheddar cheese and bacon bits, covered in creamy, sweet-tangy dressing! Oooooo, I bet those red potatoes would play nice with bacon too!!! A box of bacon friends, this one is.

Despite my grumbling about the eggplant surplus, the possibilities that come from the CSA each week are endless. Who knows, the next thing I try might make me beg for more eggplant! And those golden beets; I’ve never had golden beets. I am about to learn and taste something new!