Spicy Coconut Milk & Lime Soup with Jasmine Rice

Those are a couple of homegrown lemongrass stalks there in the bowl of soup, and a cilantro garnish. This soup is creamy and flavorful with a kick of spice and the jasmine rice really completes the dish. The rice is also reminescent the cream of chicken soup of Hi-View in Villa Park, IL. I made a big pot of this soup today and froze 6 small containers for later. Gotta get through the cold winter! This recipe is similar to my tom kha gai soup recipe on the blog, but I changed up a few things.

32 oz chicken broth, no salt added and fat free
3 (13.5 oz) cans coconut milk
2 (13.5 oz) cans light coconut milk

15 2" pieces of homegrown lemongrass, frozen

Juice of 2 limes

1 tablespoon asian fish sauce

1 tablespoon thai chili paste (sambal oelek), add more if you like it really spicy but be careful!

2 teaspoons sugar

Onion powder-couple of shakes

1 teaspoon ground ginger

2 cups jasmine rice

Cilantro & lemongrass stalks for garnish

In a large soup pot, add the chicken broth, coconut milk, and lemongrass, stirring often. Bring to a low boil then turn the heat down to simmer. Add the lime juice, fish sauce, chili paste, sugar, onion powder, and ginger. Stir the soup often. Add about 2 cups of jasmine rice and stir it into the soup. Cook the soup for about an hour.

Remove lemongrass with slotted spoon, bowl, and garnish with cilantro and lemongrass stalks. Serve it up with a cold beer.

Bechamel or White Sauce

Bechamel, or white sauce, is what some people use in their lasagna instead of the ricotta and mozzarella mixture in the middle. You can easily turn this recipe into a cheese sauce too. These ingredients make about 1 cup of bechamel, which is considered one of the 5 "mother" sauces of French cuisine.

2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
1¼ cups milk, heated*
Kosher salt
Freshly ground pepper

Melt the butter in a heavy-bottomed saucepan. Stir in the flour and cook, stirring constantly, until the paste cooks and bubbles a bit, but don't let it brown — about 2 minutes. Add the hot milk, continuing to stir as the sauce thickens. Bring it to a boil. Add salt and pepper to taste, lower the heat, and cook, stirring for 2 to 3 minutes more. Remove from the heat. To cool this sauce for later use, cover it with wax paper or pour a film of milk over it to prevent a skin from forming.

*Warm the milk on low heat just until little bubbles begin to form at the edges. Then remove from heat.

Cheese Sauce
To turn your white sauce into cheese sauce, stir in ½ cup grated Cheddar cheese during the last 2 minutes of cooking, along with a pinch of cayenne pepper.

Dad's Asian Noodle Salad

Here is my dad's take on an Asian noodle salad. It is jam-packed with flavor and very refreshing. Cheaper than the grocery store as well.

6-8 oz soba (buckwheat) noodles

2 carrots, julienned

1 red bell pepper, julienned

1 cucumber, peeled, seeded, and sliced thin

1/3 c cilantro, chopped

1 c chopped greens (e.g., lettuce, Napa cabbage, Swiss chard)

1/3 c roasted peanuts, roughly chopped

2/3 c peanut sauce (recipe follows)

Cook noodles according to package directions.  Drain and set aside.

Mix the next 6 ingredients together in a large bowl.  Add the noodles and toss.

Add the peanut sauce and mix thoroughly.  Chill for at least one hour.

Peanut Sauce:

1/3 c peanut butter

1/3 c rice vinegar

3 TBSP agave syrup

2 TBSP sriracha chili sauce

3 TBSP soy sauce

1 TBSP sesame oil

2 cloves garlic

Combine all ingredients in a blender or food processor and mix until smooth.

Simple Pizza Mediterranean

I was going to order pizza for delivery from a place with Chicago-like pizza but then decided to make my own. It had been a while since I made pizza at home but it came back to me, just like riding a bike. Homemade pizza rocks and the opportunity for toppings is mind blowing. I'm calling this pizza Mediterranean due to the feta cheese, red bell pepper, sweet onion, and fresh garlic. It is very easy and quick to make. You can use your favorite pizza crust or use a boxed Jiffy pizza crust like I did. It tasted good. Be sure to cut the pizza into squares like it's meant to be!

Pizza crust

1-2 tablespoons olive oil

1 large red bell pepper, chopped

1/2 sweet onion, chopped

1-2 tablespoons olive oil

1 lb mozzarella cheese

1/2 cup feta cheese

2 large cloves garlic, minced

Crushed red pepper

Penzey's pizza seasoning

Kosher salt

Prepare the pizza crust and put it on a 12" round greased pan. Make sure the oven is preheated to 425. Add olive oil to a heated nonstick skillet and saute the onions and red pepper until soft. Remove from heat. Pour olive oil over the bare crust then add slices of mozzarella to mostly cover the pizza. Crumble feta cheese over the top and sprinkle with fresh garlic, crushed red pepper, Penzey's pizza seasoning, and kosher salt. Bake for 18-20 minutes until the edges of the crust start to brown. Slice and eat!

Sweet But Not Too Spicy Candied Pecans

A friend gave me this idea for a homemade gift so I thought I'd cook up a batch and put some in Mason jars with a ribbon. The recipe is easy. The egg white helps the sugar and spices stick to the pecans while the sugars caramelize and harden. You get all of the salty, sweet, and spicy tastes when munching on these delicious pecans.

3 cups pecan halves
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon Kosher salt
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 egg white

Preheat oven to 300. Whisk together the sugars, cinnamon, salt, and cayenne pepper in a small bowl. 

In a larger bowl, whisk the egg white gently then add the pecans. Stir to coat the pecans well with the egg white. Add the sugar mixture to the pecans and stir well. 

Add the pecans to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and flatten them out. Bake for 20 minutes and then remove the pan from the oven and stir them up a bit, and continue to cook for 20 more minutes. Remove from the oven and place on a cooking rack until pecans are cooled down.

Roasted Bell Pepper & Feta Salad

This cold salad is full of flavor and goes well with grilled food. Whether you roast the peppers on the grill or in your broiler, the lovely, smoky, roasted flavor really comes through. Roasting peppers is fun, too. They caramelize, turn soft, and are yummy. It takes about 15 minutes to roast peppers on all sides depending on your broiler and size of the peppers. Use a decent feta cheese and fresh herbs for this one.

2 bell peppers, roasted, peeled, seeded, & chopped
1/4 cup feta cheese, cubed

To taste:

Fresh thyme

Extra virgin olive oil

Apple cider vinegar
Kosher salt
Ground black pepper

Mix all ingredients and chill before serving.

    

                                                         

Fresh Mushroom Risotto

Risotto is comforting on a cold day and it warms the soul. Today was the second time I've made risotto. It's a shorter grain rice known for its creaminess. I found this recipe in a food group on social media and saw it was easily made in the crockpot, so thought I'd give it a try. It was easy, quick, and made a crockpot full of creamy, savory, risotto. The cheese really makes the dish. Italy!

1/2 cup vegetable oil

24 oz fresh mushrooms, sliced

2 1/2 cups arborio rice

48 oz chicken broth
3/4 cup dry white wine
6 oz Parmesano-reggiano cheese, grated, for top

Dried sage leaves

Salt/pepper

Spray oil in a large pot. Pour oil into the pot and saute the mushrooms for about 10 minutes. Pour rice, chicken broth, wine, and mushrooms into the crockpot, stir well, and cook on high for 3 hours and 15 minutes. I checked on the risotto and stirred it a couple of times during the cooking time. But isn't there something about not opening the lid to the crockpot during cooking? 70s flashback. 

Roasted Veggies with Balsamic Glaze

I love to make this recipe. Get ready to chop. When you roast vegetables their natural sugars come out, so if you don't want to eat your veggies like your mother told you, try this recipe. It's delicious, easy, and healthy. This recipe makes enough for 4-6 people.

3 small red potatoes

1 1/2 cups broccoli 
2 carrots
1 sweet onion

3 large cloves garlic
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black tellicherry pepper
Italian balsamic glaze

Preheat the oven to 425. Chop the potatoes, broccoli, carrots, and onion into bite-size pieces. Chop the garlic into small pieces. In a large bowl, toss the veggies well with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Spread the vegetables evenly on the baking sheet. Place in the oven and bake for 35 minutes. Plate the veggies and drizzle with balsamic syrup. This could be a main dish or a side dish.

Blood Orange Screwdriver

It's a fall cocktail. Until yesterday, I'd never purchased a blood orange. I bought three and squeezed the fresh juice from all of them to make this cocktail. The juice seemed a bit sweeter than a regular orange. Then I added a bit of citrus vodka, as well as a cinnamon stick, star anise, a slice of blood orange, and you can't see them but there are little chunks of sugared ginger on the bottom. Cheers!

Coyote Cashews

This recipe is from a holiday appetizers cooking class I took in the early 90s. These cashews are so good with the sweet and salty and spicy thing going on.