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Archive for the category “onion”

27 Jul 2012

Refrigerator Pickles

When I was a kid we had a garden in the back yard. We always grew tomatoes, sunflowers, usually included zucchini and often did cucumbers. Needless to say, we ate a lot of fresh vegetables during the summer. Sometimes I looked forward to the gardening – finding fruit and veggies ready to pick or grabbing some of the more elusive weeds while the plants matured. Other times I was not so eager to be a gardener – breaking up all the clods of dirt after they clumped over the winter, or clearing out all the dead plants when autumn came. I remember getting mad at my dad a few times, too. Me, my brother and mom did a lot of the work, but when he talked about the garden it was ‘his’. Ooooh, that got me irked! We would slave away in the heat and he would come out, point to a few things we missed, then head back in to the air conditioned house. I laugh about it now, because we learned so much about plants and self-sufficiency and responsibility, but the perspective was a bit different at the tender age of eight or nine. One thing my mom always did with some of our cucumber crop was make refrigerator pickles. For months there would be at least one jar of pickles in the fridge door – we would come in from playing outside (or gardening) and pinch a few cold, tart slices as a snack. They never lasted very long, which was good, since the simple preparation did not include any heating or effort to sterilize or pasteurize in the process. Since we currently have no garden, or yard for that matter, this batch of pickles was made with store bought cukes. They were big and perfect – the slices were nice and floppy after sitting in the jar for a day or two. Little B enjoyed watching them flop around before pretending to be a tiger and taking a bite. I never knew tigers liked pickles.

Refrigerator Dill Pickles

1 large cucumber, peeled
1 – 2 cups white vinegar (substitute with some water if you want less tang)
½ white onion, julienne sliced
2 tsp sea salt
5 sprigs fresh dill
4 – 6 cloves garlic, chopped
1 Tbsp mustard seeds
clean glass jar with tight fitting lid

Slice cucumbers into thick coins (1/8 to ¼ inch). Set aside. In a glass jar with tight fitting lid combine vinegar and spices. Put lid on jar and shake. Add cucumber to jar, making sure the slices are not sticking together. Secure lid on jar again and shake vigorously, encouraging the spices to spread out among the slices. Chill for at least 24 hours before eating. I make no promises about pickle viability beyond one week.

Posted in cucumber, garlic, onion, Silver Spring Kitchen, snack, vegetables, wheat free | Leave a Comment
12 Jul 2012

Greek Burgers

I must confess. I am a Fed. I work in a tall building in a big complex with uber security at the door and a locked work area with a bunch of cubicles around me. I am a little cog in a huge rolling maze of cogs, but I enjoy the work. Don’t get me wrong, I would prefer cooking all day, but for now I am content with my work, which is challenging and never boring. This time of year is pretty busy for me, reflected by the fact it is longer than usual between posts. I have not cooked for days, but no suffering occurred during the drought. Big D made some wonderful stuff in the evenings and there was enough for me to very much look forward to leftovers at lunch. It will be another couple of months before things slow down, so I make no promises, but I have some yummy ideas – don’t give up on me. I will persevere and post post post! Cooking relaxes me and I cannot stay away from it for long, no matter what. Take these burgers, for example. I had a burger like this at a hole in the wall restaurant somewhere in Alaska. I can’t remember where, but I was surprised how much I enjoyed it – I had expected a hockey puck with sour cream on top, but it was fresh and wonderful. With no lamb in sight my version is a tangy, filling meal that reminds me of my beloved gyros (pronounced ‘yee-rohs’ in my opinion). I had to negotiate with Little B to use the last of our Greek yogurt for tzatziki. She loves it with a little stevia, cinnamon and vanilla for dessert, but I finagled enough from her for the recipe.

Greek Burgers

Patties
½ cup parsley, finely chopped
2 Tbsp oregano, roughly chopped
½ cup mint, roughly chopped
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 tsp black pepper
2 tsp sea salt
1 egg
1 Tbsp lime juice (or 2 packets True Lime) http://www.truelemonstore.com/products/true_lime
2 pounds ground beef
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 cup feta, crumbled
2 cups fresh spinach leaves, stems removed
1 English cucumber, sliced in ¼” coins
1 tomato, sliced
½ red onion, thin julienne

Tzatziki
1 cup cucumber, peeled and finely chopped
1 ½ cups Greek yogurt
1 clove garlic, crushed
2 tsp parsley, finely chopped
2 tsp mint, finely chopped
2-3 tsp lime juice
1 Tbsp olive oil
½ tsp sea salt
¼ tsp black pepper, finely ground

First make the tzatziki – doing it right before the meal works, but doing it the day before is better. Combine all ingredients together. Chill until time to serve. For patties whisk together the first eight ingredients. Pour mixture over ground beef in large bowl. Remove your rings, bracelets and watches, then get your hands dirty making sure the egg mixture is well combined with the beef. Squish it and squeeze it until all the herby bits are distributed. Form meat into patties about 4” wide and 1” deep. In large frying pan heat the oil over medium high heat. Add patties and cook until seared, about five minutes. Flip patties and sear the other side. Cover and cook to desired doneness. On a bed of spinach and a layer of cucumber coins (either on a bun or directly on a plate) place a patty. Layer toppings – tomato slices, a glop of tzatziki, feta crumbles and onion. Dig in!

Posted in beef, cheese, cucumber, dip, garlic, lime, onion, parsley, sandwich, Silver Spring Kitchen, tomato, vegetables, wheat free | Leave a Comment
07 Jun 2012

Tuna Salad Sautee

To me summer means eating cool salads. Whether they are cobb, chef, walnut, chicken or tuna, the cool salad always makes me feel happy as the temperatures rise. The word sautee to me sounds like a hot dish, but after the sautee portion of this salad cools off and is chilled, you won’t think of sautee the same again. The sweet of the onion and garlic works really well with the tuna and egg. The bite added by the mustard makes you want to alternate salad bites with those of some chocolate zebra heirloom tomatoes you picked up at the farmers’ market. Oh, that is me. But if you come across some, grab them! They are dark red and purple and green and smell marvelous. The market in Silver Spring was exploding with vegetables, and we could not pass up these tomatoes, which actually taste like a soft red wine to me…kind of a pinot noir or shiraz. They were delish, and went well with my tuna salad sautee creation. Happy summer!!!

Tuna Salad Sautee

4 small cans tuna in water
4 boiled eggs
1 tsp olive oil
½ small sweet onion, finely chopped
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
½ cup mayonnaise
2 Tbsp horseradish mustard
Salt and Pepper to taste

Heat oil in small pan over medium heat. Add onion and garlic. Sautee until browned and beginning to caramelize. Set aside to cool while the rest of the salad is prepared. Drain water from tuna into small bowl. Place tuna in mixing bowl and serve tuna liquid to eager cats. Roughly chop eggs and add them to the tuna. Add mayonnaise, mustard, salt and pepper to tuna. Stir ingredients until mixed. Add onion and garlic and stir some more until all the dark pieces are pretty evenly distributed. Chill for at least an hour before serving.

 

Posted in eggs, fish, food markets, garlic, onion, salad, Silver Spring Kitchen, tomato, vegetables, wheat free | Leave a Comment
05 Jun 2012

Creamy Spinach Chicken

So today I enlisted a canned good that is very comforting to me. I was one of those kids that loved spinach, and most of the time got it out of the can. When my brother and I started pre-school my mom told me that we came home and would not eat our spinach, but looked at it longingly. Apparently we told her we were not supposed to like it, so we did not eat it. Of course she explained to us that the kids who told us such things just had different opinions about spinach and that we could like it if we wanted to. I don’t succumb to peer pressure quite as easily anymore, and am really glad I chose to like it again. Later in life I learned to love raw spinach and the barely blanched but still bright green spinach. They are delicious, but do not replace memories of the canned stuff I ate as a kid. I still sometimes just open a can and eat it all up, at room temperature, with the sharp lid still attached. Thrill seeker, am I! In my quest to always find a new way to prepare chicken I came up with this lovely, rich dish that incorporates my treat in a can.

Creamy Spinach Chicken

8 – 10 bone-in chicken thighs, skin attached
1 Tbsp butter
1 cup heavy cream
1 small can chopped spinach, drained
½ small white onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, diced
¾ cup shredded Parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper to taste

On medium high heat sear chicken thighs on both sides, making sure the skin gets crispy, about 10 minutes. While the chicken cooks melt butter over medium heat in a sauce pan. Add onion and garlic and cook until translucent. Add spinach and stir until heated through. Add cream and turn down heat, but bring sauce to a simmer and let cook for about five minutes. Add cheese and stir until melted and combined. When chicken is done cooking remove from pan and discard juices. Return chicken to pan and pour sauce over chicken. Simmer covered over low heat until chicken is cooked through, about five more minutes. Serve immediately and make sure you drizzle sauce over every piece.

Posted in cheese, chicken, garlic, onion, sauces, Silver Spring Kitchen, vegetables, wheat free | Leave a Comment
26 May 2012

Smoky Meat Pucks

I was originally inspired to make meatballs, but when kids are involved who were asking for hamburgers on buns, I compromised and made pucks – either small burgers or smushed meatballs – however you want to think of them. Since the meatball craving included a desire for smoky flavors I automatically turned to paprika and cheese with a bit of a bite. It felt wonderful to fill our new apartment with the smell of onion and garlic and spices. I also had a blast exploring our local Trader Joe’s to find ingredients. I have not lived near one for years, and cherish the fact there is one on my route home from work. This morning as I write about making the pucks I cannot detect a hint of dinner’s aromas in the apartment, but am glad there are a couple of pucks left to heat up and eat along with the morning eggs. I am eager to further break in our new-to-us kitchen with more smells today! Stay tuned! I’m baaaack!

Smokey Meat Pucks

2 pounds 80/20 ground beef
½ small onion, diced
4 garlic cloves, diced
1 egg
2 Tbsp butter
2 tsp dried paprika flakes
2 tsp dried basil
1 tsp sea salt
1 cup pepper jack cheese

In a medium frying pan melt 1 Tbsp of butter over medium high heat. Add onion and garlic. Cook until it is all a dark caramelized color. Set aside. In a bowl place the ground beef, egg and spices*. Add the onions and garlic. Roll up your sleeves and use your hands to blend together all the ingredients. Form meat into thick, small 2-3” patties. Melt the remaining butter in a frying pan over medium high heat. Cook the patties to desired doneness – about five minutes, including flipping, for medium. Plate and sprinkle with cheese before serving.

*This time I actually used Trader Joe’s South African Smoke Seasoning Blend, which gave it the same flavor as the spice combination I used in the list of ingredients.

Posted in beef, cheese, eggs, garlic, onion, Silver Spring Kitchen, wheat free | Leave a Comment
06 Apr 2012

Tomato Artichoke Soup

What do you make for a last minute dinner party when you are two days away from moving? Not that this would ever happen to me, but if it did I would open my pantry wide and see what I could find that needs to be used. Oooh! Canned tomatoes! And there is a can of artichoke hearts! There is still some garlic cloves left over? Where did those come from? Chicken broth! Yay! Served along with grilled cheese and egg salad sandwiches we had a wonderful spring dinner with very few leftovers. I did not use cream this time to smooth out the soup’s texture, but if you add ½ to ¾ cup during the last half of the cooking process the soup can only get better. Enjoy! I have to get back to sorting toys before Little B returns home. I found it is a really bad task to try and accomplish with her ‘help’.

Tomato Artichoke Soup

2 14.5-ounce cans diced tomatoes
1 29-ounce can tomato sauce
1 14.5 ounce can whole medium artichoke hearts
1 cup chicken broth
½ medium onion, diced
1 Tbsp finely chopped basil
2 cloves garlic
1 pinch red pepper flakes
1 tsp sugar
1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
Salt and Pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients except salt into a medium pot over medium high heat. Bring to a boil. Lower temperature and cover, simmering for about an hour. Break up artichoke hearts (I scooped them out one by one with a ladle and gently pushed on them with a soup spoon – they easily separated). Adjust flavor with salt as desired. Serve immediately or chill and reheat on low before serving.

Posted in artichoke, onion, Seals' Kitchen, soup, tomato, vegetables, wheat free | Leave a Comment
27 Mar 2012

Spicy Honey Chicken

In my family there is always a fight over drumsticks. We like dark chicken meat and negotiate who gets what dark parts. I know they would look funny, but if anyone ever came up with a four or five-legged chicken I would so be in front of the line to buy some fryers, genetic distortions notwithstanding. Legs are good hot or cold, with beans or salad or slaw, and are mobile while being much easier to hold than those clumsy breasts. In recent years I have noticed more and more that packages filled with about ten legs are sold in the stores. They fit great in a crock pot or a baking dish and whenever I make them they are scarfed down. These days the bulk chicken leg packages are cheaper than the ‘buffalo wings’ that are getting more and more expensive. Quite a deal at fifty cents each at restaurants – really? Really? Not.

Chicken drumsticks always make me feel like a kid. I have been at fancy parties and felt obligated to eat them with a fork and knife, but when in more casual company I pick them up with my fingers and dig in, ready with a napkin nearby. Little B really likes them and I hope she ties many a childhood memory to hanging on to a leg while enjoying fun company.

This recipe was inspired by what I already had on hand in the kitchen, so next time I make it the recipe will probably look and taste different. I wanted sticky and sweet and a bit hot. It worked out pretty well, but I am really looking forward to having an even cooking broiler at our next place. I just can’t get this one to work the way I want. Serve them with some tangy coleslaw and dig in!

Spicy Honey Chicken

½ cup honey
2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 tsp red chili flakes
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp salt
2 cloves garlic, chopped
½ small onion, finely diced

Preheat oven to 400. In a bowl mix together all ingredients except chicken. Dip each leg into the sauce, making sure each leg is covered. Place end to end in 9×13 baking dish. Pour no more than ½ cup of remaining sauce over legs, making sure the small ends get covered too (not a worry if you got yourself a little sticky while initially dipping the legs in the sauce). Bake in oven for about 25 minutes. The glaze may smoke a bit, but should not burn. If the glaze does not brown you can turn on the broiler for a bit to finish them off. A little caramelizing is wonderful.

 

Posted in baked, chicken, onion, Seals' Kitchen, wheat free | Leave a Comment
19 Mar 2012

Beef Curry

As promised to Big D weeks and weeks ago, I am trying out a spicy curry dish. He is usually the one that cooks dishes with curry sauces, but I am going to take a stab at it. His favorite is a chicken spinach concoction with curry sauce he first discovered in Anchorage, Alaska, at a little Indian restaurant. I am not going to try and copy it, since he does such a good job doing it himself, so I will aim for beefy. Trying new things is good, right? I also think my concoction went very well over saffron rice, which I was craving lately. My in-laws took a trip to Greece last summer and brought back some wonderfully strong saffron for me. Saffron is a flavor that does not go with just anything, and can actually make some foods almost sour, but I think it will be very complimentary to the beef and curry, while softening the bite of the chili. When Big D took his first bite I was sitting across the table from him – he smiled and his eyes got big as he quickly reached for his beer. I think I got it spicy enough for him!

Beef Curry

10-12 ounces tender cut beef steak, sliced into bite size strips
3 Tbsp vegetable or canola oil
½ yellow onion, cut julienne
1 pound broccoli, chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 Tbsp dried chili flakes
2 Tbsp curry powder
1 tsp ground ginger
1 cup whole milk
2 Tbsp lemon juice
1 cup long grain parboiled rice
2 ¼ cups chicken broth
1 ½ tsp salt
10-15 strands saffron

Combine broth, 1 tsp salt and saffron in a medium pot over high heat on the stove. Bring it to a boil and add rice. Cook for 20 minutes until liquid is absorbed. Let sit for about ten minutes before serving. While rice is cooking you can prepare the meat and vegetables. Add oil to electric or stove top wok on medium high heat. When oil is hot add chili flakes and garlic. As garlic begins to brown add onions and sauté until they are transparent. Add lemon juice, curry, ginger and ½ tsp salt. The spices will soak up all the oil and juice pretty quickly. Cook until the color of the mixture changes to a dark brown. If you are convinced the dish will not be hot enough for you, do what I did and stir in a squirt (about 1 Tbsp) of Sriracha hot chile sauce. Move onions to the outer edges of the wok. Add beef into the well and toss just until it begins to brown. Toss onion mixture with meat. Add milk and stir until combined. Add broccoli and cover, lower the heat and let mixture simmer for about 5 minutes. It is ready when the sauce is hot and the broccoli just tender but still bright green. Serve on top of the saffron rice.

Posted in beef, onion, Seals' Kitchen, vegetables, wheat free | Leave a Comment
15 Mar 2012

Salsa Verde with Tomatillos

I have found the point where my intention of exploring Irish food takes a turn. And you are here to share it with me! Okay, so salsa verde is not an authentic Irish dish, but it is green, right? It will be fun! After boiling and sauteing Irish foods lately I felt the need to have something spicy on crunchy tortilla chips. The tomatillos at the store were looking good, so they led to a logical conclusion – green sauce! I did not really get much salsa verde until I started traveling to New Mexico about ten years ago. Each restaurant served the sauce with varying levels of heat, from mild and sweet and almost dessert-like to an addictive spiciness that leads to consuming many a chip and drinking margaritas much too fast. Out there it is usually heavier on the peppers than my version, but I dug into my tex-mex roots for this recipe and used only one jalapeno. The tomatillos were nice and tangy and the onion a bit sweet so this batch needed no sugar or salt at all. Yummy! I could not find my written recipe, so found this one, which most closely matched what I have done in the past…

Salsa Verde with Tomatillos

1 pound fresh tomatillos
1 small yellow onion
1 jalapeno
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 lime, juiced with meat
¼ cup chopped cilantro
Pinches of Sugar and Salt to taste

Remove husks from tomatillos, wash well and cut in half. Remove dry layers from onion and cut it in half. Cut jalapeno in half. Remove seeds and discard if you want a milder salsa, but I leave them in. Set oven to high broil. Place tomatillos, jalapeno and onion on foil covered broiling pan, skin side up. The onion and jalapeno pieces should be on the outer edges, with the tomatillos in the center. Place under broiler and roast until tomatillo skins begin to blacken, at least 5 minutes and possibly up to 10, depending on the power of your broiler. Rotate the pan and broil longer if needed to maximize blackening*. Let vegetables cool. Combine all ingredients in food processor and pulse to desired texture, or use a molcajete and break it up the old fashioned way. Refrigerate for at least an hour, but ideally overnight. Add additional salt to taste if needed before serving.

*Recently my mother in law was making a tomatillo sauce with avocados and I encouraged her to roast the tomatillos and peppers. She did, but…just…could…not let them get really black. The result was delicious, but we will never know how truly blackened tomatillos would have changed the flavor. I know the urge will be strong to take the pan out before the skins are truly black and smoking, but it really expands the flavor of the results if you control yourself and let them go black.

Posted in dip, onion, Seals' Kitchen, vegetables, wheat free | Leave a Comment
16 Feb 2012

pan pork chops

It is really easy to make dry pork. The first pork loin I ever made was a disaster. I loved the flavors on it – a Jamaican jerk combination of cinnamon, thyme, allspice and nutmeg – the flavor was great, but the meat was almost sandy it was so dry. I wanted to make sure it was thoroughly cooked. I did a really good job at that part. Ugh. I have since improved my technique to cook moist pork and will share the jerk recipe with you soon. Today I am doing a simple one-pan pork chop recipe that always comes out moist and delicious.

Pan Pork Chops

4-5 thin pork chops, with or without bone
1 yellow onion, roughly chopped
3 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp lime juice
Salt and pepper (or seasoning salt) to taste

Heat large skillet over medium high flame. Add 1 Tbsp oil. When oil is hot add onions and cook until they begin to brown. Salt and pepper lightly. Make two short cuts on each pork chop – they should run about 1/2 inch from the outer edge towards the center, and be 2-3 inches apart. This will help keep the chops flat in the pan instead of curling up. Season pork chops with salt and pepper. Move onions to the edges and walls of the pan. Add remaining oil to the pan. When it is hot add the chops. Cook on each side about five minutes until browned. Add lime juice by drizzling it over the chops and onions. You may need to move the chops out of the way and stir up the onions to keep them from getting too dark. Cover the pan, turn down the heat and cook slowly to desired doneness, about five more minutes. Remove pork chops to serving plate and increase heat under pan. Cook onions and liquid in pan until liquid is reduced by half, about two minutes. Top pork chops with onions and sauce. Serve immediately, ideally with some parboiled rice cooked with broth and some roasted acorn squash.

Posted in Lake House Kitchen, onion, pork, wheat free | Leave a Comment

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