Split Pea Soup

Now that the weather is cooler, it's time to make soups. 

One of my favorites is this Split Pea Soup. While the recipe calls for a ham hock, I leave it out and make a vegetarian version using vegetable stock. I don't remember where I found this recipe, but I've had it for a long time. 

I like a lot of vegetables in my soups, so I often double the celery, onion, carrot and potato. I never peel the potato. I also don't bother to puree the soup as the split peas get pretty mushy on their own.

1 ½ c. green split peas

1 Tbsp. butter or oil

1 stock celery, small dice

1 onion, small dice

1 carrot, peeled, small dice

1 Tbsp. flour

5 c. chicken or vegetable stock

1 ham hock (optional)

2 bay leaves

½ tsp. dried savory

½ tsp. dried sage

Pinch ground cloves

1 large potato, peeled, medium dice

2 Tbsp. fresh parsley

Rinse peas well with cool water.  Heat butter or oil in a soup pot over medium heat, add onion, celery, and carrot.  Cook stirring occasionally for 2-3 minutes.  Add flour and cook another minute.  Add 1/3 of the stock and stir until there are no lumps of flour.  Add remaining stock and ham hock and stir well.  Add split peas, bay leaves, savory, sage, cloves, salt & pepper.  Bring soup to a full boil over high heat, then reduce the heat until a gentle simmer is established.  Simmer stirring frequently for 30 minutes.  Add the potato and continue to simmer until all of the ingredients are quite tender.  If desired, puree about 1/3 of the soup in a blender, then return puree to the remainder of the soup.  Stir in the parsley and adjust the seasonings with additional salt & pepper.

Swordfish Plaki

Being a pescatarian (that's a vegetarian who also eats fish - though I do admit to sometimes eating chicken), I'm always on the lookout for fish recipes. I especially look for recipes that are fast and simple so that I can make them after work and still eat at a reasonable hour. I hope they will also be delicious, not only for M and me, but in case we have company for dinner. Many of my friends are really good cooks and I don't want to embarrass myself by serving a blah meal.

This is a recipe I found in the local newspaper. It met the criteria for fast and easy and turned out to be quite tasty. I served it with roasted potatoes.

Swordfish Plaki
2 8-ounce pieces of swordfish
lemon juice
salt & pepper
1 large onion, sliced
2-3 large tomatoes
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup chopped parsley
1 small cinnamon stick
2 Tablespoons fresh dill
1 teaspoon honey or sugar

Wash fish and sprinkle with lemon juice, season with salt and pepper. Heat oil in a pan (large enough to hold the fish in one layer) and cook the onion slices for 5-6 minutes. Add tomatoes, parsley, dill and cinnamon stick. Season lightly with salt. Cook gently for 10-15 minutes. Taste and add honey or sugar if it is too tart. Add fish pieces and spoon the sauce over them. Cover and cook gently for 10-15 minutes or until fish is opaque. Serve hot with parsley or dill to garnish.

Bon appétit!

Recipes

I love to cook.

I find it creative and relaxing and, of course, I also need to eat.

Cooking is also a gift I give to my husband and friends.

Because I cook, I'm always looking for interesting recipes. I don't own many cookbooks. I used to, but realized I was only using a few recipes from each and books take up a lot of space. So I copied the recipes I like on 3x5 cards, put them in a file box, and gave the cookbooks to the Friends of the Library book sale.

As I read through the evening newspaper (it's really a morning newspaper, but I end up reading it in the evening when I come home from work), I sometimes see recipes I'd like to try. When the local food co-op sends out a newsletter, it usually has a recipe or two that I'd like to try. Magazines are another source of potential recipes. And I sometimes I'll borrow a cook book from my local public library, especially one on vegetarian meals, and look for recipes I'd like to try.

After I've tried a recipe, if I like it and M. likes it, I'll write it down on a 3x5 card and add it to the file box. Sometimes, I need to make adjustments and try it again before it gets written down.

Since I've liked to cook for a very long time (ever since I came to terms with the fact that a feminist can do something so traditional as cooking), I've been on the lookout for recipes.

After the recipe has been cut (or more likely torn) from the newspaper, or photocopied from the library cookbook, it sits on top of the microwave oven, in plain sight, until I've had a chance to try it. I used to put it in a drawer, but, alas, it would be forgotten and languish until I felt the need to hunt for it. Unfortunately, that pile on the microwave sometimes gets annoying and gets transferred to the recipe drawer to languish.

The recipe drawer is getting full and messy and it's too hard to wade through all of the recipes I've mostly forgotten about.

While trying to find a recipe I was sure was in there, I decided to at least sort through all of these pieces of paper and put them in some kind of order. That way, when I wanted to try a fish recipe, I could go to the fish folder and save myself a lot of time.

And so I began. I made piles: "breads", "breakfasts", "soups/stews", "salads", "pasta", "vegetables", etc. Then I took some file folders, labeled them, and stuffed the appropriate recipes into each. By then I was tired and was less than half way through all those bits of paper.

A few days later, I continued the task. I actually found pages of newspapers dating back to 1988! When I look at some of these recipes, I can truly say "I'll never make that" and just toss it into the paper recycling bag. That's where many of the fancy dessert recipes have ended. I need fewer desserts, fancy or otherwise.

My recipe pile is looking a little less daunting, though I haven't yet tried any of the recently unearthed recipes.

After I finish sorting through the "to be tried" pile, I'm going to weed out the file box. There are a lot of recipes I added 20 or 30 years ago that I no longer use. This project could take a long time. I wonder if I'll have any time to actually try any of these new recipes?

Acorn Squash

Winter is the time for - winter squash.

While I love just about all winter squashes, M. is not that fond of them. That requires dressing them up to make them more palatable to him.

I love acorn squash baked with just a little butter and brown sugar, but I also like more elaborate dressings. Several years ago, I discovered a recipe for stuffing acorn squash with pineapple, roasted walnuts, dark rum and pumpkin pie spices. That's what I use whenever I make acorn squash.

Recently, I found another recipe which I like even better. Here it is. This makes enough for 4 people, but I halve it.

Cinnamon Apple Stuffed Squash
2 acorn squash, cut in halves, seeds removed
3 Tbsp unsalted butter
3 cups diced yellow onion
2 celery stalks, diced
3 cups diced apple, cored and seeds removed (about 2 large apples)
1/2 cup dried cranberries
2 Tbsp maple syrup
1/3 cup water
1/2 tsp cinnamon
Pinch each salt and black pepper

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Place acorn squash halves face down on a rimmed sheet pan or baking dish and add 1/2 inch of water to the pan. Bake squash for 40 minutes

While the squash is baking, heat the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and celery and saute for 5 to 10 minutes until soft. Add the apples, cranberries, maple syrup, water and cinnamon; stir well and cook another 5 to 10 minutes until the apples begin to soften. Season with salt and pepper. Remove from heat.

After the squash has baked for 40 minutes, remove from the oven, turn them cut side up, and fill each with apple stuffing. Place back into the oven and bake another 15-20 minutes until the squash is tender. Serve warm.

Yum yum.

Asparagus

This is asparagus season. It seems that everybody and his brother has a small asparagus stand in front of the house. As I drive to work, I pass several and I buy a lot of asparagus.

Like many vegetables, asparagus can be eaten raw. It can also be cooked. You can steam it, boil it, or grill it. A few years ago I discovered roasted asparagus which is my favorite way of cooking it. Here's the recipe:

Sesame Roasted Asparagus
36 asparagus spears
1 1/2 tsp. dark sesame oil
1 tsp. low-sodium soy sauce
1/8 tsp. black pepper
Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Snap off the tough ends of the asparagus spears. Combine asparagus and remaining ingredients in a jelly roll pan turning asparagus to coat. Bake at 450 degrees for 5-7 minutes or until asparagus is crisp-tender. Turn once. Makes 4 servings.

Now what do you do with roasted asparagus? Well, you can just eat it with your favorite potatoes or rice and fish or meat. You can also make roasted asparagus quiche. Find a simple quiche recipe and add the asparagus. Sunday, we has roasted asparagus and cheddar cheese omelets for breakfast. I'm sure you can think of lots of other uses.

Eat lots of asparagus. The season will be over too soon.

Cooking

Anyone who knows me knows I love to cook. I love the entire process: selecting a recipe, arranging the ingredients, slicing, dicing, stirring and especially eating. My main complaint about all of this hot and humid weather is that I don't want to turn on my stove and I especially don't want to turn on the oven and make the house even hotter.

While I haven't been doing much cooking, I have been making Gazpacho - the perfect antidote to New England pretending to be New Orleans. (When I was in Mexico, the weather was hotter, but drier.)

While this Gazpacho recipe calls for 1/4 cup of oil, I use less than half that amount. And I never bother to peel or seed tomatoes. As soon as I publish this post I'm going to make some Gazpacho. There is just enough time for it to chill before lunch.


GAZPACHO

3 lb. (6 c.) tomatoes, peeled, seeded & cut up
1 onion, cut in chunks
1/2 c. green pepper chunks
1/2 c. cucumber chunks
2 c. tomato juice
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 tsp ground cumin
salt & pepper to taste
1/4 c. olive oil
1/4 c. red wine vinegar

Combine tomato, onion, green pepper & cucumber in blender or food processor & puree until smooth; transfer to bowl or tureen. Stir in tomato juice, garlic, cumin, and s & p. Cover and chill. Before serving, stir in oil & vinegar. Serve with garnishes.
Garnishes:
1 c. peeled, seeded & finely chopped tomato
1/2 c. finely chopped onion
1/2 c. finely choped green pepper
1/2 c. finely chopped cucumber
garlic croutons