Jerry and the Brussels Sprouts

The kitchen in our family home where I grew up had a space for an eat-in table.  When I was quite young, my father built a table and benches into that space. The table and benches were just large enough for our family of six, and we ate most of our family meals there. If you were the first one in on either side of the table, you were stuck there until everyone else got out. But it was an efficient use of the small space, and I have many fond memories of meals at that table.

When Dad built the table and benches, there was a register for the forced-air heating that had to be covered up by one of the benches.  Dad put a slot beneath the bench above the register, just where the support for the bench and the bench seat came together. The seat above the register was considered the prime seat in the winter, because it was always toasty warm. The slot, however, proved to have an unintended negative side effect.

One day, Mom decided to serve Brussels sprouts. In my brother Jerry's defense (and you will soon see why he needs defending), Mom's Brussels sprouts weren't very good. I believe they were frozen, and boiled, and overcooked at that. Overcooked Brussels sprouts, especially if they are just boiled, can be nasty. The overcooking enhances the sulfur compounds in the sprouts, and they just taste strong and not very nice. I don't think any of us liked them, but Jerry especially disliked them.

Now, Mom and Dad were eat-what's-set-before-you kind of people.  "I don't like it" was no excuse for not eating healthy, nutritious food that was served. (Actually, by the time my youngest brother Jeff came along, Mom sort of gave that attitude up, but that's a story for another blog post.) So Jerry was expected to eat his Brussels sprouts.

And, indeed, the Brussels sprouts disappeared from his plate, so Mom and Dad assumed he had eaten them. This was not the case. Jerry had been sitting on the seat above the heat register that evening, and he had surreptitiously taken his Brussels sprouts, and slipped them into that slot just below his seat, where they fell to the floor, inside the built-in bench.

Jerry's deceit was discovered when, a day or so later, a smell of rotting food began to emanate from beneath the bench, beside the register. As the Brussels sprouts decayed, the rotting was enhanced by the warm air coming out of the heat register. The smell was foul, and there was no way to clean it up, short of completely demolishing the built-in table and bench, which wasn't an option. So we just had to put up with the stench until the Brussels sprouts had completely decayed and stopped stinking.

There are better ways to cook Brussels sprouts. They are delicious just drizzled with olive oil, salt, and pepper, and roasted. Here is another yummy way to serve them. Of course, the bacon and butter probably negate any positive health effect from the sprouts, but what fun is life without bacon and butter?  This recipe also works well with broccoli, so I've included that recipe as well, even though it's nearly identical.


Brussels Sprouts Sauteed with Bacon

1 lb. Brussels sprouts
8 strips bacon
2 T. butter
1/2 tsp. salt

Peel the leaves from the sprouts, and thinly slice the innermost heads, discarding the cores.  Set aside. (You could also just slice the sprouts thinly, or cut the sprouts in quarters.)

Dice the bacon.  Saute in a frying pan until crisp. Remove the bacon bits from the fat, and drain off all but a tablespoon or two of the bacon fat. Add the butter and melt. Stir in the Brussels sprouts leaves and the salt, and saute until tender, about 15-20 minutes. Remove the Brussels sprouts to a serving dish, and sprinkle with the bacon bits and some freshly ground pepper to taste. Serve piping hot as an accompaniment to a roast.


Broccoli Sauteed with Bacon

1 lb. broccoli
8 strips bacon
2 T. butter
1/2 tsp. salt

Cut the florets from the broccoli. Peel and discard the tough skin from the broccoli stems, and slice the stems.  Set aside.

Dice the bacon.  Saute in a frying pan until crisp. Remove the bacon bits from the fat, and drain off all but a tablespoon or two of the bacon fat. Add the butter and melt. Stir in the prepared broccoli and the salt, and saute until tender-crisp, about 15-20 minutes. Remove the broccoli to a serving dish, and sprinkle with the bacon bits and some freshly ground pepper to taste. Serve piping hot as an accompaniment to a roast.

Seafood Chowder

Yesterday for my birthday brunch, my dear friend Patti gave me a big hunk of smoked salmon to make a frittata.  It was delicious. But after slicing all the salmon thinly, I was left with a big piece of salmon skin, which was fully of smoky salmon flavor, but inedible on its own. Patti and I wondered if it might make a decent soup, with some potatoes and leek.

And then today, I remembered that the last time I had eaten lobster, I had cooked the shells and made a stock and put it in the freezer, and forgotten about it.  So I sauteed an onion and a few cloves of garlic in a couple of tablespoons of butter, added the frozen lobster stock, and diced about 5 medium potatoes and chopped one large leek, added the smoked salmon skin, and cooked everything together for an hour or so. 

Then I remembered I had some vacuum-frozen pollack fillets in the freezer, as well.  So I defrosted them, cut them into bite-sized pieces, and added them to the soup, along with about a cup of corn I froze in September.  Then I made a white sauce with some butter, flour, and milk, thickened it, and added it to the soup, along with a teaspoon of sea salt.  Since I'd cooked all the flavor out of the salmon skin, I took it out and fed it to the dog, who gobbled it up gratefully.

So now my home is filled with the glorious smell of seafood chowder.  I can't really give you an exact recipe, because I didn't measure anything, but it is the most delicious soup I've made in ages.

Today's Brunch Menu: Yummy Food!

Those of you who are my friends on Facebook (which is, essentially, everyone who reads this blog) are familiar with my regular Saturday status updates, which always begin "Today's brunch menu: ..." and then proceed to list the yummy things I have made for that Saturday's brunch. What you may not know is how the tradition of Saturday brunches began.

On one Friday evening in May of 2011, my friend Marj Steinman rang my doorbell. I've known Marj ever since I moved to Montreal in October of 1980. She moved to Montreal in the same year as I did. Marj is from a Mennonite family in the Kitchener-Waterloo area of Ontario, and we have attended the same church ever since we both moved here. Marj is a single mother, and since I moved to my current home in May 2007, has also been my neighbor. She has a key to my apartment, comes over and helps me get things done I can't do myself, and takes my dog for walks for me, and takes care of him when I'm away. Since she's a neighbor, it's not really that unusual for her to ring my doorbell.

But this Friday night was different. I opened the door, and there was Marj - but her left eye was black and blue and completely swollen shut.  "What happened to you?" I asked, alarmed.  "James hit me," she said.  Now, James was her roommate at the time (fortunately, not a romantic relationship, just someone who shared the apartment to help with the expenses). I'd had my doubts about him, although he had never been violent with her before. But this day, they had been arguing, and he had clocked her in the cheekbone with an uppercut.

Marj explained that she had spent the day at the hospital, and that her cheekbone was broken. She asked if she could spend the night on my sofa.  "Of course!" I said, "but we're calling the police."  And we did. The police came. One of the officers stayed in my apartment and took Marj's detailed statement. The other one left and went to Marj's apartment and arrested James and took him off to jail. (He eventually plead guilty to assault, and was sentenced to probation, with a restraining order which prohibits him from approaching Marj either directly or indirectly.) It was a stressful evening.

So Marj spent the night on my sofa. In the morning, we got up, and I told Marj that I usually cooked myself a nice breakfast on Saturday, and that she was welcome to stay for brunch. I don't remember what I cooked that day, but Marj did the dishes for me afterwards.

And Saturday brunch was born. The next Saturday, I invited Marj to brunch again. And then it just began happening automatically. Invitations were no longer needed. The deal is that I provide the food and the cooking, and Marj does the dishes. (She even does the dishes that I don't do during the week, bless her heart!)  We have had brunch most Saturdays since that first one - the only exceptions have been when I've been away or sick, and when I was in the hospital.

Since I was cooking brunch on Saturdays anyway, it made it easy to invite other people as well. Eventually my friend Patti from work came for a few times, and then asked, "Is this a standing invitation?" and of course I said yes, so she's usually there, as well.

Most brunches consist of a frittata, home fries, and a baked item, although some days I've skipped the frittata and made pancakes, or sausage gravy with biscuits.  I'll give you my basic frittata recipe, my home fries recipe, and recipes for some of my baked items.


Frittata

A frittata is the Italian version of an omelet. But unlike an omelet, which is cooked very quickly over high heat, and which is cooked individually for each person, a frittata is cooked very slowly over low heat, and only one frittata is made for the group.  The frittata is served in wedges, like a quiche.

2-3 cups frittata fillings. Use your imagination here.  Ingredients I commonly use for frittata fillings are: spinach (fresh or frozen), mushrooms, corn, peas, ham, bacon, leeks, lettuce (cooked lettuce is absolutely delicious, and has a flavor completely unlike raw lettuce), onions, garlic, broccoli, Swiss chard, and even radishes. But don't be limited by this list! Mix and match the ingredients, and anything else you think would be good. This is a great way to use leftover veggies, by the way.
3-4 T. butter
5 or 6 large eggs
1 tsp. salt
1-2 cups shredded cheese.  If you want a true Italian frittata, you would use nothing but the best Parmigiano Reggiano. I can't afford that on a regular basis, so I use sharp cheddar. But I've also been known to use
Emmenthal, goat cheese, a combination of leftover cheeses from a pot-luck, and even cream cheese for one particularly memorable frittata that involved smoked salmon, onions, and capers.

First, saute the vegetables and/or meat fillings in the butter in an oven-proof skillet. I do this on medium-high heat, until the vegetables are cooked but not browned. If you are using fresh vegetables, it will take a little longer, but if you are using leftovers, this will be very quick indeed.

Meanwhile, whisk the eggs together with the salt, and add the shredded cheese to the eggs. If the filling has absorbed all the butter, add a tablespoon or two more to the vegetables. Then pour the eggs and cheese into the filling and make sure the eggs are thoroughly distributed. Immediately reduce the heat to the lowest possible setting. Do not stir. Let the frittata cook for about 12 minutes.

Meanwhile, preheat the broiler. After 12 minutes, once the eggs have set (they may still be a bit runny on top), put the skillet under the broiler for about 2 or 3 minutes. You do NOT want to brown the frittata, you just want to make sure the eggs are set on top.

Remove from the broiler. Let the frittata rest for a few minutes, and then tilt and slide it onto a serving plate (this part can be a bit tricky).  The frittata can be cut into wedges at the table. You can also cut the wedges and put them on the plates before serving.


Home Fries (Spicy)

2 1/2 lbs potatoes (about 8 medium), more or less
1/4 cup vegetable oil (I usually use canola)
1 chopped onion
5 cloves garlic, minced
5 hot chilies (chopped) or 1-2 tsp cayenne pepper (more or less, depending on your tolerance for spicy food)
1 T. sea salt (I buy coarse Portuguese sea salt)
2 T. chopped fresh rosemary leaves or 2 tsp. dried rosemary leaves (optional)
A large cast-iron skillet

Put the vegetable oil into the cast-iron skillet, and set heat at medium-high. Dice the potatoes into large dice, and add to the vegetable oil. Add the minced garlic, chopped chilies, sea salt, and rosemary if you're using it. Turn the potatoes in the oil with a spatula until the potatoes, garlic, chilies, and salt are well distributed, and everything has a thin film of oil. Cover and reduce the heat to medium low.

Every 15 minutes or so, remove the cover, and, using a good metal spatula, turn the potatoes, being sure to scrape up any crusty bits.  After the potatoes have cooked through, remove the cover permanently, but continue to turn every so often, so as to ensure the potatoes get crusty on all sides.  Towards the end of the cooking you will need to turn them a bit more frequently.

The potatoes will be ready after about an hour and a half. Some people parboil their potatoes to make them cook faster. While it does indeed make them cook faster, I don't think they have the same satisfying texture of crusty on the outside and creamy on the inside that home fries cooked from raw potatoes have. Besides, when I'm making brunch, the rest of the things I have to make take that long anyway, so I just put the potatoes on at 9:30, and they're ready for brunch at 11:00.


Baked Oatmeal

This recipe is a brunch favorite of mine. The thing I love about baked oatmeal is that it is never gluey, as traditional oatmeal can be. This makes a lot of oatmeal, but it can be refrigerated and reheated (or even eaten cold like apple crisp).

1/2 c. oil
1/2 - 3/4 c. brown sugar
2 eggs
1 c. milk
3 c. oatmeal
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup raisins or dried cranberries (optional)
1/4 cup nuts (optional)
4 sliced apples

Grease a 7 x 11 x 2 inch baking dish, and line with the sliced apples.
Mix oil, brown sugar, eggs and milk together.  Mix into remaining dry
ingredients until moistened.  Pour on top of apples into baking dish.
Bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Serve with milk. Serves 8-9.

You can also add other ingredients, if so desired - a cup or two of fresh cranberries, some sliced peaches, some fresh blueberries, or some sliced bananas.


Blueberry Crumb Muffins

Dry ingredients:
2 cups flour 
1/2 tsp salt 
1 T. baking powder
1/2 cup sugar

Wet ingredients:
1 egg 
3/4 cup milk
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 cup blueberries

Crumb topping:
4 T. softened butter 
4 T. flour 
3 T. brown sugar

Combine the dry ingredients in one bowl, and beat the egg and add the milk, oil, and blueberries to another. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry, and stir just until moistened.

Spray cooking spray in muffin tins (or grease them) and fill with batter. Combine softened butter with the flour and sugar to make crumbs, and sprinkle the crumbs on top.

Bake at 425º for 20 minutes. Makes 12 regular or 6 large muffins.

Rubik's Cube Cake

My brother Jeff and his wife Ann host a fabulous Super Bowl party at their house every year. Lots of people come, and a grand time is had by all. It's a pot-luck party, and everybody brings great food. Usually, the actual Super Bowl ends up being anti-climactic, compared to all the fun and food!

Our cousin Steve's son Ryan loves Rubik's cubes. So this year, for the Super Bowl party, Jeff made a cake in the form of a Rubik's Cube. Here's a picture of the finished product. Isn't it amazing?

Here's how he made it.

Ingredients:
3 boxes of Betty Crocker cake mix.  Jeff used 2 boxes of Super Moist Milk Chocolate and 1 of French Vanilla, but said he got the best results from the French Vanilla
1 container Betty Crocker Milk Chocolate Icing
2 containers Betty Crocker Whipped Vanilla Icing
2 tubes black Cake Mate icing
1 tube each red, blue, green, yellow, orange, and white Cake Mate icing

First, Jeff baked the cakes.  He followed the instructions on the box, but to each mix added one extra egg, and used 1/2 cup less water than called for.  He baked each cake into two 8 x 8 layers.

He let the cakes cool, and, using a long serrated bread knife, cut the rounded tops off each layer where it had risen so that each layer was perfectly flat.  He also measured all the layers, to be sure that, when stacked on top of one another, it would form a cake that was roughly as high as it was square, so that it formed a cube. 

Now he stacked the layers together, adding a coating of frosting between the layers (milk chocolate frosting between the chocolate layers, whipped vanilla frosting between the vanilla layers).  At that point, he had a cake that was roughly in the shape of a cube.

Next he covered the entire outside of the cake with the whipped vanilla frosting.  Now, since the pans had sides that were slightly sloped, and since Jeff did not trim the edges (doing so would have made the cake too high), there were some pretty large gaps on the sides between the layers.  These gaps were filled in with frosting, so that the cake was a perfect cube.  (Jeff says that people who get end pieces will get as much icing as they will cake!)


Jeff refrigerated the cake overnight so that the frosting would solidify on the outside.  The next day, he used the two tubes of black Cake Mate icing to draw squares on each face of the cube.  Then, using a well-twisted Rubik's cube as a model, he filled in each square with one of the six tubes of colored frosting.

The colored frosting tubes came with plastic nozzles that made the application of the colored frosting easier.

Congratulations on a fabulous-looking cake, Jeff!  I just wish I could be there to see Ryan's face when he sees it.

Misnamed Pie

Here's a little secret that most good cooks already know: pumpkin pie is misnamed. The best pumpkin pies aren't made with pumpkin at all; they are generally made with a well-flavored squash like butternut, buttercup, or acorn, or they are made with sweet potatoes. But the iconic pumpkin, the great big orange orb that everyone uses for jack-o'lanterns, is the worst to use for pumpkin pie. It's watery and decidedly lacking in flavor. (Small versions of the big orange pumpkins are actually a different variety, and are very flavorful, so they are good to use.)

However, it's only the cooks who know this. People who are just consumers of pumpkin pie think that they're made of Hallowe'en pumpkins. What's more, these are people who often claim not to like squash. And that's where today's story begins.

Back in the late 80's and early 90's, there was a couple who went to our church named Don and Naomi, while Don was working on his doctorate in theology at McGill University. Don's a very nice guy, and he has strong opinions, which he doesn't hesitate to voice. One day, someone told me that Don had told Naomi in no uncertain terms that he loved pumpkin pie, and that no one would ever be able to pass squash pie off to HIM as pumpkin pie.

Well, for anyone who knows me, them's fightin' words. The challenge was on.

At our next church potluck, I made a squash pie, but of course I advertised it as pumpkin pie. I cleverly maneuvered things to make sure Don got a piece of my pie. I watched him eat every morsel. And then I went for the kill.

"Did you taste my pumpkin pie?" I asked Don innocently. "Yes, I did!" said Don, "It was delicious!"

"So Don," I said, "I believe you owe your wife an apology."

Don looked at me quizzically, and I could see in his expression an indication that it was beginning to dawn on him that he'd been had in some way or another. "Why?" he asked suspiciously.

"Because I heard that you told Naomi that if anyone ever tried to feed you squash pie, you'd KNOW!" I told him.

"No!" said Don, and then he laughed, as he realized just how wrong he'd been.

I don't know if Don ever apologized to Naomi, but I've chuckled about it many times in the years since.

By the way, I thought I'd let you know that Don has recently published a book, called Glimpses of Grace: Reflections of a Prison Chaplain.

So here's my Mom's recipe for "Pumpkin" pie. You can used canned pumpkin if you want, but I recommend just preparing your own. It isn't difficult. I usually put a small squash in the oven whole on a baking sheet, and bake it at 350° for 45 minutes to an hour (longer for a larger squash), until the whole squash feels limp and the skin can be easily pierced with a fork. Cut it open, let it cool a bit, scoop out the seeds, remove the skin (it comes off really easily), and mash the pulp. If you have more than you need, simply put the rest in a freezer bag for the next pie you want to make.

Another note about pumpkin pie - what gives it the iconic taste is really mostly the spices. In the U.S. you can buy a jar of "pumpkin pie spice", although I've never seen that in Canada. I always just use my own blend of spices - roughly equal amounts of cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and allspice, with a tiny pinch of cloves.



Pumpkin Pie

1 cup squash puree (see above) or mashed sweet potatoes
4 T. flour
1 T. melted butter
1 egg (for watery pumpkin, 2 eggs)
3/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups milk
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 tsp. pumpkin pie spices (1/2 tsp. each cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and allspice, with a tiny pinch of cloves)

Prepare a single shell for a 9-inch pie (half of this recipe).

Combine all ingredients, stir until smooth, pour into pie shell, and bake at 400° for 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 350° and bake an additional 30-40 minutes, until the custard has set.

Cool and serve as is, or with whipped cream or ice cream.

Warm up the New Year with Soup!

I didn't fully appreciate soup when I was growing up.  I think that was partly due to Mom's attitude toward it - she figured that making soup was as much work as making a regular meal, so if she was going to serve soup, it was going to be a soup that could be eaten as a meal.  If we had soup for supper, that was it.  So her homemade soups were very hearty, more like stews, really; but I always felt unsatisfied after a meal of nothing but soup.  That, and the fact that her version of the soup she served most often as a meal, bean soup, was not my favorite.  (However, she also always served piping hot cornbread with bean soup, which was delicious, so I always had this love-hate relationship with her bean soup.)

Mom would also give us canned soup for lunch sometimes - usually either chicken noodle or cream of tomato.  They were all right, but of course canned soup can never quite measure up to good homemade soup.

As I've gotten older, I've grown to love soup.  There is nothing like a steaming bowl of soup to take the chill off a winter's day.  So since New Year's Day has the unfortunate habit of coming in the middle of winter, I thought I'd post some soup recipes that'll warm your innards.

I've already posted recipes for Vegetarian Chili and Roasted Squash Soup.  So here are recipes for Garlic Potato Soup (adapted from Garlic Mashed Potatoes), Roasted Red Pepper Soup, Spicy Sausage-Lentil Stew, Cream of Root Vegetable Soup, Mushroom-Barley Soup, and Easy Tomato Soup.  Make some soup today, and chase winter away!

One of the best things about soups is that they are very forgiving of substitutions, and can be easily adapted to whatever you have on hand, and to how many people you have to feed.  Most soups are also really good - quite frankly, better - left over.


Garlic Potato Soup

2 heads garlic
2 1/2 lbs potatoes
4 T butter
4 T flour
2 cups milk
2 tsp. salt
10 or 12 small (about 1-inch diameter) new potatoes (optional)
chives for decoration

Peel and dice the potatoes.  Just cover with water, and add 2 tsp. salt.  Bring to the boil, and simmer gently until the potatoes are very soft.  Do not drain.

While the potatoes are cooking, separate the garlic into cloves, but do not peel.  Drop the garlic cloves into a small saucepan of boiling water, and boil for 2 minutes.  Drain, and run cool water over the garlic until it is cool enough to handle.  Peel the garlic cloves.

In a medium saucepan, cook the garlic cloves in the butter over very low heat for about 20 minutes, until they are very soft but not browned.  Add the flour, and let the flour bubble in the butter for two minutes, stirring constantly.  Bring the milk to a boil in a small saucepan, and add the boiling milk all at once to the garlic, butter and flour.  Stir and cook until the sauce thickens.  Put the sauce through a sieve or puree it in a blender.

Mash the potatoes with a potato masher or a hand-held blender in the water in which they have cooked until they are roughly pureed.  Add the garlic sauce to the potatoes.

If you can find small new potatoes, boil about a dozen of them just until they are tender.  Cut them in half, and drop them into the soup for texture.

Decorate with chopped chives, and serve piping hot.


Roasted Red Pepper Soup

Here in Quebec, red bell peppers are ridiculously expensive for eleven months out of the year.  Then, in September, when the local crop ripens, overflowing baskets of them appear in the markets, and they become dirt cheap for a few weeks.  That's when I make my roasted red pepper soup.  Here's the recipe:

8 large red bell peppers
3 jalapeno or other hot peppers (fresh)
3 or 4 ears corn
2 heads garlic
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp chili powder

The first step is to roast the peppers (you can roast the bell peppers and the jalapeno at the same time).  If you've never done it before, there are two ways you can do it: either in the oven under the broiler, or on a barbecue grill.  Arrange the peppers on a broiling pan or on the grill, and roast at a high temperature until the skin blisters and begins to blacken.  Turn the peppers 1/4 turn, and repeat until the peppers are blistered and blackened on all sides.  Remove the peppers from the heat, and let cool.

When the peppers have cooled enough to handle, remove the skins, stems, and seeds, and put the roasted peppers into a bowl.  Be sure to save any liquid that the peppers have thrown off.  (Be careful to wash your hands after handling the jalapenos - you don't want to touch your eyes with those peppers on your fingers!)

Meanwhile, cut the tops off the heads of garlic, and roast them at 350 until they are soft.  Squeeze the roasted garlic into the pepper mixture.

Put the roasted peppers and garlic into a food processor or blender and puree.  (I like a food processor better.  The blender makes it too smooth; the food processor leaves it slightly chunky.)

While the peppers are roasting, shuck the corn, and steam it in a Dutch oven in about 1/2 inch of water for 7 minutes.  Remove the corn to a colander to cool, but reserve the cooking liquid.

Add the pepper puree to the corn liquid.  Cut the corn from the cob, and add it to the soup.  Add salt and chili powder (more or less to taste), and return to the boil.  If the soup is too thick, you can add a bit more water.

You can use more jalapenos or fewer, depending on how spicy you like your soup.  A word of caution:  I once decided I wanted it to be really spicy, and used six jalapenos.  This was a mistake.  Also, you should be aware that jalapenos vary in their degree of hotness.  It's better to try adding one or two, and testing the soup, before adding more.

Serve as is, or with a dollop of sour cream.  (If you've used too many jalopenos, the sour cream will help cool your mouth down.)


Spicy Sausage-Lentil Stew

1 lb. sausage
1 large or 2 medium onions, diced
3 or 4 fresh chili peppers, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 or 4 carrots, diced
2 or 3 potatoes, diced
2 cups green lentils
1 tsp salt
3 cups tomato juice
1 T (or more) fresh herbs as desired (rosemary, marjoram, or thyme)

Break the sausage up into chunks, and brown in a large soup pot.  When some of the fat from the sausage has rendered, add the onions and chili peppers to the sausage.  (If using a low-fat sausage, you may need to add a bit of vegetable oil.)  Cook until the onions are translucent, and then add the garlic and carrots.  Cook until the garlic is soft, but do not let it burn.

Add the lentils and the salt, and stir to coat the lentils with the cooking fat.  Add the tomato juice along with an equal amount of water, and the fresh herbs.

Cook for about 20 minutes, until the lentils are beginning to soften.  Add the diced potatoes, and cook another 15 or 20 minutes, until the potatoes and lentils are tender.

Delicious on a cold winter's day!


Cream of Root Vegetable Soup

In Mastering the Art of French Cooking,  in talking about Potage Parmentier (French leek and potato soup), Julia Child says:

"..you can use your imagination to the full.  Many of the delicious soups you eat in French homes and little restaurants are made just this way, with a leek-and-potato base to which leftover vegetables and a few fresh items are added.  You can also experiment on your own combinations....You may find you have invented a marvelous concoction, which you can keep as a secret of the house."

Well, this is my marvelous concoction, but it's a secret no longer.

1 lb. each of potatoes, white onions, parsnips, and white turnips
1 T. salt
1/2 tsp. white pepper (optional)
2 cups table cream

Peel and dice the potatoes, onions, parsnips, and turnips.  Cover with water, add salt and white pepper, bring to a boil, and simmer until all the vegetables are uniformly soft, about 40 minutes.

Puree the soup in a blender or a food processor.  Return to the soup pot, and add the cream.

This soup can be served hot in the winter, or icy cold in the summer.  Your guests will never guess what's in it.  I have had people who are avowed haters of turnips who absolutely loved this soup.


Mushroom-Barley Soup

1/2 cup pearl barley
6 1/2 cups water
1/2 tsp. salt
3 T soy sauce
3 T dry sherry (optional)
3 T butter
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup chopped onions
1 lb. fresh mushrooms, sliced
freshly ground black pepper

Cook the barley and 1 1/2 cups water in the soup pot until tender.  Add the remaining water, soy sauce, and optional sherry.

Saute the onions and garlic in the butter until the onions are translucent.  Add the sliced mushrooms and the salt.  When the mushrooms are tender, add them to the barley.  Be sure to include any juices that the vegetables have expressed.

Give the soup a generous grinding of black pepper, and simmer very gently for about 20 minutes, covered.  Taste and correct for seasoning.

Delicious served with a good loaf of whole grain bread and some Swiss cheese.


Easy Tomato Soup

I have adapted this recipe from More with Less.  I'm almost embarrassed to include it, but there's a good story that goes along with it.  When my friend Anne-Marie was living, I was at her place one day, and she said she had nothing in the house to eat.  Well, I scrounged around the cupboards, and found a can of tomato juice, an onion, and a bit of flour.  Anne-Marie was so astonished that I was able to turn those simple ingredients into a delicious soup, in just a few minutes, that she was convinced I was a culinary genius, and sang my praises as a cook from that day forth.  Here's the recipe:

2 cups tomato juice
1 medium onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
2 T. vegetable oil or butter
3 T. flour
1/2 tsp salt
fresh black pepper
1 T fresh herbs (basil, oregano, or thyme)

Saute the onion and garlic in the vegetable oil or butter until they are soft.  Blend in the flour, salt, pepper, and herbs, and let the flour bubble in the oil for about 2 minutes.

Gradually whisk in the tomato juice, while stirring constantly.  Bring to the boil, continuing to whisk, until soup thickens.  Boil 1 min.

Delicious as is, or if you'd like, you can add a cup or two of milk or cream to make cream of tomato soup.

Fleisch's Axiom

My friend Fleisch (who had a supporting role in another blog post) is not much of a cook.  Unlike me, she does not enjoy cooking (a character trait which she inherited from her mother), unless one considers making a sandwich to be cooking.  However, she is very enthusiastic about food prepared by others, and does not hesitate to make pronouncements about food.  I have dubbed one of these pronouncements "Fleisch's Axiom," and it states:

All foods can be divided into two categories:  Foods which are improved by adding garlic, and foods which are improved by adding whipped cream.

It is difficult to find exceptions to Fleisch's Axiom.

So today's blog post is a tribute to Fleisch's axiom, with three recipes.  There is one recipe, Garlic Mashed Potatoes (adapted from Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Vol. 1) which uses massive amounts of garlic.  The next, Chocolate Mousse with Rum (adapted from The 1997 Joy of Cooking) uses a lot of whipped cream.  And the third, Raw Vegetable Dip with Horseradish and Garlic, uses both.  (Of course, one thinks of raw vegetables as a healthy snack.  This dip completely negates the health aspect of the veggies, but it is very tasty!)

If you should happen to have any garlic mashed potatoes left over, they are delicious the next morning for breakfast.  Simply drop a serving of them into hot butter in a skillet, and cook over medium heat until they develop a golden crust.  Flip, and do the same thing on the other side.  Serve with scrambled eggs for a delightful breakfast.


Garlic Mashed Potatoes

5 lbs. potatoes (Idaho-type potatoes work best for this recipe)
4 heads of garlic (Yes, you read that correctly.  Do not attempt this recipe with any less than that.)
1/2 cup (1/4 lb.) butter
4 T flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
2 cups milk
A few tablespoons cream (optional)

Peel and dice the potatoes.  Cover with salted water, and boil until tender.

Separate the garlic into cloves (depending on the garlic, there will probably be 50 to 60 cloves).  Bring a small saucepan of water to the boil, and drop the cloves of garlic into the boiling water.  Boil for 2 minutes, and drain.  Rinse the garlic with cold water so they are easier to handle, and peel.

In a medium saucepan, melt 1/4 lb. butter.  Cook the garlic in the melted butter on very low heat for about 20 minutes, or until the garlic is very tender but not browned.

When the garlic is very soft, increase the heat slightly, and add the flour.  Let the flour froth in the butter for 2 minutes, but do not let it brown.

While the butter and flour are frothing, heat the 2 cups of milk to nearly boiling.  Off the heat, pour all the boiling milk into the butter, flour, and garlic at once, add the salt and pepper, and beat vigorously.  Return to the heat, and boil for 1 minute, stirring constantly.

Drain the potatoes, and return to the pot.  Add the garlic sauce, and whip with a hand mixer until the potatoes are smooth.  If necessary for a smooth consistency, you may add a few tablespoons of cream or milk to the potatoes.

Serve piping hot.  This recipe makes a lot of mashed potatoes, at least enough for 10-12 servings.  But people also tend to eat more of these than they do normal mashed potatoes.


Chocolate Mousse with Rum

1/4 cup sugar
4 T rum
1/4 lb. semisweet chocolate
500 ml (1 pint) whipping cream
2 egg whites

Cook the sugar and rum together over very low heat until dissolved, but do not let it brown.

In a double boiler, melt the chocolate.  When the chocolate has melted, beat in 3 T. of the whipping cream.  Add the syrup to the melted chocolate, and stir until smooth.  Set the chocolate mixture aside to cool.

Whip the egg whites until they form stiff peaks.  When the chocolate mixture has cooled (but not chilled), fold the egg whites into it.

Whip the rest of the cream until stiff.  Fold the chocolate and egg white mixture gently into the whipped cream.

Spoon the mousse into champagne flutes or sherbet glasses, and chill.  Makes 8-10 servings.




Raw Vegetable Dip with Horseradish and Garlic

1 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup ketchup
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 or 2 cloves garlic
2 T prepared horseradish
500 ml (1 pint) whipping cream

Mince the garlic very finely, or put it through a garlic press.  Combine the mayonnaise, ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, garlic, and horseradish.  Whip the cream (unsweetened, of course), and fold it into the mayonnaise and ketchup mixture.

Let chill until firm.  Serve with plates of raw vegetables.