Constructing a Life

This is adapted from a recipe out of Joy of Cooking, and I first made when Sean and I were in our first year of dating.  He was impressed. 

2 c. cooked rice (I use brown rice)

2 T. olive oil

1 small onion, roughly chopped

2 stalks celery, roughly chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

3 andouille sausages, uncooked.  Can also use any kind of spicy sausage, uncooked.

1/4 c. to 1/2 c. (depending on heat of chilis and taste) green chilis, roasted, peeled, and chopped.  Can use frozen.

1/4 c. cilantro, roughly chopped

juice of one half of a lime

salt and pepper to taste

1 whole chicken

Cook rice according to package instructions. Preheat oven to 400. Meanwhile, heat oil on medium in big pan and sauté onions, celery, and garlic until they are sweat.  Add sausage.  When you add sausage, open up casing and squeeze out the sausage out of the casing.  Cook through.  Add chiles and cilantro. Add rice and stir to incorporate.  Add salt and pepper and lime to taste. Stuff chicken with this stuffing and then truss.  Cook in oven for about a hour or until chicken is done.

Recipe inspired by Rachel Ray...So easy, again, why would anyone buy this in a box when it is this easy? Also allows you to do this with whole wheat pasta and brown rice, which is what I do.  Cuts down on the salt content as well.

15 or so spaghetti or fettucini or angel hair pasta strands, dried

1 c. rice

2 c. water/chicken stock

1-2 T. butter

any type of seasoning you want

Melt butter in sauce pan.  Break pasta strands into 1/2 inch pieces.  Pour rice into pot. Saute until nutty smell and rice and pasta are brown, but not burned.  Pour water or chicken stock into pot and seasoning that you prefer (Italian seasoning works great and pairs well with chicken or pork), bring to boil, then cover and lower heat to a simmer and simmer until done (30-40 minutes for brown rice, 20-30 for white rice)

Cooking is a process for me, much more than a recipe.  I usually cook a recipe the first time as it is written, then I tweak it and it usually just keeps getting tweaked.  This recipe keeps evolving and is one of my favorites.  I have cooked this in big quantities and then put it in aluminum loaf pans and kept in the freezer for after my hip surgery and it is always good to feed a group as well.  This recipe evolved from the Moosewood cookbook that I've had now for 11 years and is where a lot of my inspiration and base recipes come from. (Thanks mom and dad for that present a long time ago)  My friend Amy has also added her notes from this recipe as well.  Moosewood is a vegetarian cookbook (although with fish recipes), but I usually add meat to the dishes. 

1 T. Vegetable oil

Sweet potatoes, 1 for small recipe, 1-2 for large recipe, cut into 1/2 inch pieces

2 Parsnips (Amy leaves these out, but I always put these in because i think it adds a definite flavor that adds to the uniqueness of the dish), sliced into circles, about 1/4 inch thick

2 carrots, sliced into circles 1/4 inch thick

3/4 c. green beans, cut into 1/2 inch pieces

1 onion (2 if large recipe or small onion), coarsely chopped.

3 celery sticks, chopped

Baking Potato (I usually leave out, but can put in if desired) ( from Amy: Waxier potatoes are needed if the filling will be frozen.  Waxy potatoes don't get mushy the way others, e.g. russets, do.  Some waxy potatoes are: new potatoes, red-skinned potatoes, and fingerling potatoes.  I leave the skin on since it's where the vitamins are. cut into 1/2 inch pieces

1/2 c. - 1 c. corn off the cob, can use frozen

1/2 c - 1c. peas, can use frozen

4-5 c. mushrooms (optional)

2-3 garlic cloves, minced

1 t. thyme

1 t. dried marjoram

1 T. Dijon mustard

(in place of the thyme, marjoram, Amy uses 2 t. herbes de Provence...rosemary, thyme, sage, lavender, etc. and I have done this too, I've also used fresh thyme when I have some from my garden in the spring)

Amy and I both add in chicken.  She uses poached chicken, I usually will buy a roasted chicken at the grocery store and shred that in.

1/2 c. roasted green chilies, can use frozen, amount depends on the heat of the chili (optional)

3 c. water or stock

3 T. cornstarch dissolved in 1/2 c. cold water. (i have also used a mixture of flour and butter to thicken it as well if you are following Omnivore's Dilemma and don't want to use cornstarch.)

Original recipe calls for biscuit topping, but Amy and I both prefer to use puff pastry or pie crust respectively.  Amy uses store bought puff pastry and I use the pie crust recipe below.

salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Warm oil in a soup pot.  Add onions and garlic and cook until sweat.  Add salt, thyme, marjoram, mushrooms, and mustard.  Cook until the mushrooms start to release their juices, about 5 minutes. 

Add sweet potatoes, potatoes, parsnips, green chilies, black pepper, and the water or stock and bring to boil.  Then reduce heat, cover and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes, until the vegetables are tender.  Stir the dissolved cornstarch mizture into the simmering vegetables, stirring constantly.  When the liquid starts to thicken, add the peas, corn, chicken, and more salt. Pour the vegetables into the prepared casserole dish, and set aside.

Roll out pie crust to cover casserole dish or use puff pastry to cover casserole dish.  Cut nice vent holes in pie crust.

Bake for 30-40 minutes, or until pie crust or puff pastry is done. (egg wash on the pie crust is optional, but makes for pretty topping before baking)

This recipe idea comes from my aunt Karen, who made this during Christmas time.

I roasted a sweet potato (it was just for Stephen and I) in the toaster oven for about 1 hour at 375 degrees. Then I took off the peel and put the whole thing in the mini food processor with a little bit of butter  and about a teaspoon of candied ginger and pulsed until it was smooth.  

It was so good Stephen ate about half of it and asked for more.  

I was reading the New York Times magazine this morning and came across this recipe, and boy am I glad that I tried it.  Homemade pretzels fresh out of the oven were WONDERFUL.  Recipe by Pete Wells, published today, February 7, 2010: 

1 package active dry yeast

1 T honey

1 c. whole-grain or dark rye flour

3 c. all-purpose flour

1 T. kosher salt

2 T. unsalted butter, melted, plus more for serving

1/2 cup baking soda

kosher salt or coarse sea salt for sprinkling

1. Combine 1 1/2 lukewarm water, yeast and honey in large bowl, stir to combine.  Add the whole-grain flour, 2 3/4 c. of the all purpose flour and kosher salt.  stir again

2. Knead dough for 12-15 minutes by hand or 7-10 minutes in standing mixer, adding up to 1/4 c. all-purpose flour until, the dough is soft and smooth but not sticky.

3.  Let dough rise in large bowl that has some of the melted butter in it.  Lightly coat the dough in the butter and cover with damp dish towel. Let rise in warm spot for up to 90 minutes or until doubled in size

4.  Lightly brush 2 parchment-lined baking sheets with butter.  PUnch down the dough and place on a lightly floured surface.  Cut into 12 pieces.  With your hands, roll one pice into a snake with thinly tapered ends, about 16 inches long.  Transfer to prepared baking sheet, looping one end, then the other, over the midpoint of hte roll, making a pretzel shape.  Repeat with remaining dough.  Let the pretzels rest 15 to 20 minutes

5.  Preheat oven to 450 degrees.  Bring 10 c. water to a boil in a large pot.  When the pretzels are ready, stir the baking soda into the boiling water.  Gently lift 2 or 3 pretzels, depending on the surface area of the pot, and slide them into the bath knot side down.  Poach for 30 seconds, turn them over and poach 30 seconds more on the other side. Using a long-handled mes strainer, transfer the pretzels to a kitchen-towel-lined sheet tray to drain, then return them to the prepared baking sheets.  Repeat with remaining pretzels

6.  Bake for 14 to 18 minutes, turning the trays halfway through, until dark brown. Brush tops with melted butter and then sprinkle with salt.  Serve with mustard.  Adapted from "Good to the Grain" by Kim Boyce Amy Scattergood.