Sunday Six

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- Going to breakfast shortly with some culinary girlfriends to plan what fun cooking project we'll undertake together next weekend.

- After that, headed to Berkeley Bowl where there's a tremendous variety of fruits and veggies unavailable to me in the groceries in my area.

- Want to give away to a neighbor the rest of my 10 lb. bag of russets. I don't know why I continue to buy those when there are so many other great potato varieties.

- Pick up more espresso coffee beans for morning lattes.

- Find a new treatment to cook a 3 lb. half turkey breast w/bones later on today.

- Choose a soup to try this week from my New England Soup Factory Cookbook.

 
We must've been on the same brainwave - my Sunday Six:

- went to our little local art museum and seeing original paintings by Van Gogh! Monet! and Renoir! No long lines or (huge) crowds this morning because of the bad snowstorm out there. My excitment for the decade.

- made waffles on my waffle make this morning after we came back. They worked a little better, but I can't imagine you have to use that much butter to make them not stick.

- going to try making cheezz's/Traca's orange-walnut-olive tepanade today, although we still have tons of leftovers along those same lines from New Year's - oh well

- chili(?) and loaded baked potatoes for a late lunch this afternoon? Should warm us up as it's 13 degrees F and we've have over a foot of snow since Friday.

- making jalepeno cornbread muffins to go with the chili. DD and I will watch the X-files dvd while DH and buds watch the Buffalo Bills football game this afternoon, and DS is at a friend's sledding.

- will have to sort through my jellies, jams, and relishes to see what I actually have... pantry is full and I need to reorganize. Nasty whether outside makes that sound like a good idea today.

 
Possibly Six?

* Made my best-ever Black Bean Soup. I used smoked Spanish paprika this time.
* Froze up the leftover Christmas cookies so they won't be "in my face"
* STILL cleaning up Christmas Stuff, Tree is next...
* Used one of my three leftover yolks making (and freezing) sweet potato gnocchi
* trying to "up" my walking frequency, esp when the weather is "sunny but not warm...49 deg
* Made Maine Baked Beans (maybe "eat more beans" was one of the resolutions I missed?)

 
Sunday Six

Let's see:

1. Finished up leftover Chinese food.

2. Will finish up pork tenderloin and carmelized apples and onions tonight. (Also the chocolate mousse.)

3. Was responsible and froze the leftover cup of beef broth to use at a future date instead of letting it rot in the fridge.

4. Cooked baked scallops, rice pilaf, steamed broccoli, and black-eyed peas for dinner New Year's Day. I was going for subtle tastes; DH said it was bland. Oh well, can't win them all. Liam loved the black-eyed peas.

5. Finished up two tins of Christmas cookies.

6. DH found my hidden stash of my MIL's fudge. Zounds! (I asked for my own supply for Christmas--yes, I'm greedy and if you could taste her fudge you'd do the same thing. She brought a big batch for everyone else so I didn't feel bad about this.)

7. CanNOT look that ham in the face anymore. Will give it and the bone to my FIL so he can make soup. I'm sick of it. smileys/smile.gif

 
My DH cut off the leftover ham in nice chunks and froze in One Giant Mass

I had to give him a refresher tutorial on Why We Freeze Individually on a Tray First...
When making the Best Black Bean Soup Ever, I was only able to break off a few hunks on the surface of Giant-Mass-O-Ham-Chunks.

 
I am planning on making black bean soup today or tomorrow. Would you share your recipe?

Black beans are my favorite beans and I love my soup, but I am curious as to how you make yours. Thanks!

 
sure, I'll have to type it up first, it's handwritten now and I've been meaning to type it out

CELESTINE’S BLACK BEAN SOUP


3 cups black beans ( I buy bulk since 1 lb pkg = 2.5 cups) (last time 1/2/10 I used about 3.25 cups)
8 cups water (for soaking) plus 2 cups (for cooking)
6-8 cups chicken broth ( I use Swanson’s big 6 cup can) I have used BetterThanBouillon if I’m short
1 c pork scraps, bacon, or a couple of ham hocks (or a big ham bone)
(Some leftover med diced ham, if you have, added last 30 minutes)
2 Tb oil
2 small onions chopped medium dice or one giant one
1 large green bell pepper diced ( I’ve been using red since that’s what I generally have on hand)
3 med cloves minced garlic
½ tsp black pepper
1 heaping Tbs whole oregano (Mexican, if you have it)
¾ tsp ground Hungarian paprika ( this time I used smoked Spanish and it was Killer!)
2 tsp ground cumin
3 bay leaves (NOT California Laurel!)
1 tsp sugar
2 Tbs Worcestershire Sauce
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
Salt to taste (I never need it, but check to your taste anyway. Depends on the saltiness of pork product you use)

Pick over and wash beans & drain. Soak beans overnight (or at least 6 hours) in the 8 cups of water.
Drain and rinse beans. Add 2 cups water, and the 6 cups chicken broth and the smoked pork hocks (what I generally use). Bring to boil, partially cover and simmer 1 ½ hours. You might need to add more water, sometimes I do, sometimes not.
Meanwhile in a large skillet, saute the onions in the oil a few minutes, add garlic and bell pepper. Continue sautéing until soft. Add spices, Worchester, vinegar and sugar. Set aside. When beans are soft (might only be after one hour) Smash some against the side of your soup pot to thicken the soup. Add the vegetable mixture and continue to simmer ½ hour or a bit more, add the ham pieces if you want (have). This makes about 1 ¼ gallon. You may need to add more water if it seems too thick to you. Test to see if you need to add some salt. The soup will thicken as it stands. It does freeze quite well.
Garnish with sour cream, cilantro, avocado slices. I sometimes serve it with cornbread (not the sweet kind) or sourdough bread.

 
My Sunday six...

I'm over a migraine from yesterday so today I feel great but like a deflated balloon. No energy. But I'm being whisked away to the movies so that should be fun.

Tonight I'm roasting a weird turkey thing - it's labeled as a turkey breast with back. Basically it's the full carcass minus the wings and legs and thighs. My mom got it free from the grocery store (frozen) when she purchased groceries above a certain amount, so it was my Christmas treat from her freezer to mine. But of course it doesn't fit in my freezer so it's been thawing since last Monday and yesterday I managed to get the revs up to dry brine it with some lavender rosemary salt. Tonight's the night! Let us hope that my cooking mojo has returned, or at least with my friend present, her mojo will overpower any lack on my part.

I'm going to butterfly it and roast it off over at my friend's house. She's making "bunny rice", her basmati rice pilaf with bunnies cut out of potatoes and onions that get all golden at the bottom of the pot. Nom nom nom. I plan to take good notes as this is an amazing side dish that I would love to make on my own someday.

I also brined some flajolet beans yesterday and tonight I'm going to cook them with sweet onion and bay leaves and give them a tangy lemon olive oil dressing for lunch tomorrow (with leftover turkey).

Been working on my blog to update the recipe page, making easy to print pages of the recipes I have written about and links back to the original post. Tedious but fun! If you visit please let me know what you think, conceptually, I'm still in the early stages but would love your feedback.

Have a sink full of coffee cups and little dishes and need to attend to them before my pal comes over, hope you have a great weekend!

 
I have a bottle of lemon oil that's been around for a while, unopened, so maybe

I'll try it to make a dressing for turkey leftovers - sounds good.

 
Not sure. REC Sweet Potato Gnocchi. It's simple.

SWEET POTATO GNOCCHI
Best to freeze them and toss them in the boiling water frozen, easier to handle that way.
Microwave one med sized sweet potato until fork comes out easy, maybe 5 minutes? Let cool slightly, peel and rice. Mix with one egg yolk, 1/3 cup of grated parmesan cheese and 1/2 -2/3 cup AP flour. The less the better. Mix up with a fork to make a non-sticky dough. Use the remaining flour to dust the board you will be rolling these out on. Divide dough into about 4 parts. Knead a bit of flour in if necessary. Roll each out with your hands to 1/2 inch or cigar-size in diameter. Using a bench knife or other big knife, chop the snakes into 3/4 inch pieces. If you have a gnocchi board, or grooved butter paddle, roll each piece down the board with the edge of your floured thumb (re-flouring each time works best) If you don't have a board you can use the front or back of a dinner fork held at a shallow angle. You may just have to practice it a bit. Put each formed gnocchi on a Silpat-lined cookie sheet so they don't touch. Freeze until firm, shouldn't take very long. Cook one portion at a time in slightly salted boiling water until they rise to the top. Fish them out with a spider or ravioli scoop or large slotted spoon. Don't over cook or boil too vigorously or they will break up. Our favorite way to eat them is to heat up some spaghetti gravy, place the cooked gnocchi on top and sprinkle with lots of good Parmesan cheese.

 
Weekend 6

Tree is in the pickup bed -- DH packed away all the ornaments and I vacuumed up the last of the pine needles. Headaches abound from the dry, dry, dusty overheated air!

We've dealt with all the leftovers -- a deliriously wonderful week with my kids and grandchild. Everyone requested their favorite dish and we spent the whole week cooking and eating! Today was so quiet -- we had pastrami sandwiches.

Sunday is a good day to make exchanges and returns, so I ran errands in Austin. The town is quiet - awaiting students and January 7th BCS Championship! Hook 'em Horns!!

Planning a week's worth of menus -- have to trim off what damage we did over the holidays and get ready for next summer's beach trip. Which way to go? low carb or just count calories?

At Central Market today I bought some Spanish Chorizo and some Andouille sausage to make a pot of Portuguese soup tomorrow. Also bought some beautiful purple kale for it.

I just brewed a pot of Serendipitea Passion Envy Tea and it smells like heaven! Good night, everyone!

 
Easy and SO good.... REC: Teriyaki Turkey Jerky (think this was an old Sunset Mag. recipe)

Teriyaki Turkey Jerky
Sunset Magazine, March 1988

1 lb. boned, skinned turkey breast
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 tsp. Worcestershire
2 tbl. firmly packed brown sugar
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 small onion, minced (1/4 cup)
1 tsp. pepper
1/2 tsp. liquid smoke

Freeze turkey breast until firm, but not hard - this makes it easier to slice. Slice into 1/8” thick slices. In bowl, stir together the rest of the ingredients. Add turkey strips and mix well until all surfaces are thoroughly coated. Cover and refrigerate up to 24 hours; meat will absorb most of the liquid.

Depending on your drying method, evenly coat dehydrator racks with nonstick spray; you will need three 10x13” dehydrator racks OR metal racks to cover a 10x15” baking pan if doing in the oven.

Lift turkey strips from liquid, shaking off excess, and lay strips close together but NOT overlapping, on racks.

In dehydrator: arrange filled racks as manufacturer directs and dry at 140 deg. for about 4-1/2 to 5 hours, or until a cooled piece of jerky cracks and breaks when bent.
or ----
In oven: Heat at 150-200 deg. Place pan with rack of meat in center of oven; prop door open about 2”. Dry until cooled piece cracks when bent - about 3-5 hours.

Let jerky cool on cooking racks, then remove and store in airtight containers for up to 3 weeks, or in the refrigerator up to 4 months.

Makes about 7 oz. jerky

 
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