Sausage Lima Stew

This is one of those recipes that just "happened" when I threw things in a pot and hoped for the best. The flavor is great!

Brown together:
1 lb pork sausage
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 large onion, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped

Add:
1 cup black-eyed peas, cooked
1 cup lima beans, cooked
1 cup (or more) spinach, firmly packed
2 carrots, chopped
1 cup chicken stock
2 cups tomato sauce

Simmer until carrots are tender, about 20 minutes. Add more liquid if necessary.

Ingredient amounts are flexible. Try a variety of vegetables.

Greens

Saute:
1 T red palm oil (or olive oil)
1 onion, sliced thin
1 clove garlic, minced

Add:
6-8 packed cups swiss chard, spinach or kale (or comination)
dash salt
1/4 cup water
2 T tomato paste

Cover and cook over medium heat until wilted, stirring occasionally.

African Dhal

Soak overnight (or use short-cut method):
1 cup yellow split peas
3 1/2 cups water

Bring split peas to a boil and then simmer about 45 minutes, until soft.

In separate pan, saute:
2 T red palm oil (or olive oil)
1 onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced

Add:
2 T curry powder
2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp salt

Saute until well mixed.
Add:
handful of cilantro, chopped

Mix well.

Eat over rice and with greens.

Mole

Mole (moe-LAY)

Combine in large crockpot:

1 pork roast (5 or 6 pounds)

2 cups diced tomatoes

some green pepper, chopped

2 T chili powder

cayenne pepper, several dashes

3 T cocoa powder

2 tsp cumin

1 chili pepper, crushed

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 onion, chopped

1 T sugar

1/2 cup water

another pepper of choice, such as chipotle

.

Cook on high until meat is falling apart.

Remove bone (if applicable).

Serve on tortillas.

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A roast this size makes a LOT of mole, so I usually freeze half of it for later. I start with a frozen roast, so I cook it on high the entire day BEFORE we will eat it. Then I reheat the meat in saucepan with a small amount of water.

Handy Beans

A nice alternative to canned beans is cooked, frozen beans.

Short-cut method:
1. Dump 1 or 2 lbs of beans into a large pot.
2. Pour in enough to water to cover beans by two inches.
3. Bring to a boil. Boil for 1 minute.
4. Remove from heat and let sit for 1 hour. (Drain and refill water, if desired.)
5. Bring to a boil again, then reduce heat and simmer until beans are cooked (see chart below). Bring beans just to the point of done--if you overcook they will become mushy in your recipe.
6. Dump the whole pot into a colander to drain.
7. Cool.
8. Scoop 2 cups of beans into 2-qt. freezer bag. 2 cups is roughly equivalent to a can.
9. Flatten bags and stack neatly in freezer.
10. Use in recipes as needed.

Traditional method:
1. Soak beans overnight.
2. Drain water and refill to cover by two inches.
3. Continue with step 5 above.

Cooking times for various soaked beans:
Chickpeas (Garbanzo beans) 3-4 hours
Marrow Beans (white) 2-3 hours
Black beans, Black-eyed peas, White beans, Kidney beans, large Lima beans, Pea beans and Pinto beans 1 1/2 - 2 hours
Small Lima beans 1 hour

Taco Soup

Brown in a large pot:
1 lb. ground pork or beef
1/2 small onion, chopped
1/4 cup green pepper, chopped
jalapeno, chopped (to taste)

Add:
6 cups tomato sauce or juice (or part sauce, part water for desired consistency)
2 cups corn
2 cups kidney beans
2 cups black beans
3 T chili powder

Bring to a boil, then simmer for about 15 minutes.
Garnish with cheese, sour cream and cilantro.
Serve with tortilla chips.

Kale Pesto Pizza

Our garden (in January!) is overrun with kale right now. Since it's ridiculously good for you, I figured it'd be nice to eat it in a recipe that was ridiculously good tasting, too. Adding others greens helps to temper the strong flavor of the kale.

Puree, adding ingredients gradually:

2 cups packed kale or swiss chard

1 cup (or more) other greens, such as spinach or carrot greens

2-3 cloves garlic

1/3 cup pine nuts

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/2 cup olive oil

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Spread pesto over a partly prebaked (about 7 minutes) whole-wheat pizza crust.

Sprinkle with mozzerella cheese.

Top with desired toppings, such as fresh or roasted tomatoes.

Bake at 450 until cheese is melted and starting to brown.

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(I keep previously roasted tomatoes in the freezer. It's pretty convenient to pull them out of the plastic bag. Next summer, I will make sure to roast a lot more tomatoes.)

Krumkake

Krumkake is a traditional Norwegian dessert. We eat it especially at Christmas. It is a nice, light cookie, not too sweet.

In Norwegian, the word "krumkake" means "bent" or "curved" cookie.


Grandma Marie's Traditional Krumkake Recipe

Cream together:
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg

Add and mix until creamy, with no lumps:
1/2 cup cream
3/4 cup flour
dash salt

Add:
1 tsp vanilla or almond extract (or half and half)

Spoon batter into krumkake iron and cook for about 30 seconds.
Remove cookie and quickly roll around wooden cone. Leave until cooled enough to retain its shape.



The batter is somewhat thin.

I scrape off about a tablespoon full onto each side of the iron. Grandma Marie used a stovetop griddle. I'm happy to have an electric version!

Close the top and let bake for about 30-45 seconds.

The cookies are done when they are lightly browned. Remove with a spatula.

Quickly roll the cookie around the wooden cone form. One end should be wider than the other. I roll the first one, let it cool slightly before carefully removing it, and then remove the second cookie from the griddle and roll it. My mother-in-law rolls the first one around the cone and the second one around a wooden spoon handle. Ideally, one should have two wooden cones.

Pile the cookies in a container with a loose-fitting lid, so that they cool and become crispy. If they remain soft, you need to cook them longer or give them more air circulation.

Rice

Rice is one of the simplest things you can make. Here is the basic method I use to make rice several times a week.

1. Pour 2-3 cups of rice into a saucepan. No need to measure.

2. Pour in enough water so that the depth of water above the rice is the same as the distance from your fingertip to your first knuckle. Stick your finger in the water to measure. After you've done this many, many times you'll be able to eyeball it without measuring. (The amount of water necessary is somewhat approximate, so it doesn't matter how big your hands are.)

3. Place pan over high heat until water starts to boil.

4. Turn heat down as low as it will go, stir well with a fork, scraping the bottom.

5. Cover, and simmer: 20 minutes for white rice, 45 for brown rice.

6. Turn off the heat and leave the cover on until serving time. This keeps the rice from sticking to the bottom of the pan.

Butternut Stew

Saute until chicken is cooked:
2 T olive oil
1 - 1 1/2 pounds chicken, cut up
1/2 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced

Add:
3 cups chicken broth
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp dried rosemary, crushed
1/2 tsp rubbed sage
1/2 cup roasted peppers or roasted tomatoes
1 bay leaf
Simmer, covered, for about 20 minutes.

Add:
4 small or 2 medium butternut squash, peeled and cubed
1 small apple, cubed (optional)
Simmer uncovered until squash is tender, about 20 minutes.