Mer's Hoppin' John

Hoppin' John is a Southern dish made for New Year's Day with black-eyed peas or field peas, greens, and a ham hock.

Here was my beginning last year, with (clockwise) paprika, thyme, cumin, celery seed, and bay leaves.

My vegetarian version substitutes the smoked paprika for the flavor of smoked pork. This year I used pintos and kale.

Soak 1 pound dry pinto beans overnight in cold water, rinse and drain.

Add 4-6 tbsp. olive olive to pot in which beans will cook.

Before cooking, wash and chop the remaining ingredients. 

Mince 2 shallots

Dice 4 large celery stalks,

and dice 2 large roasted red peppers (Nestos brand).

Add diced vegetables to the olive oil. Add 3 bay leaves and 4-6 cloves of garlic. 

Add 4 tsp. bittersweet smoked paprika, 1/4 tsp. cinnamon, 1/4 tsp. turmeric.

Saute until shallots and garlic soften to make a sofrito.

Add soaked, rinsed beans to the sofrito above.

Add sufficient water to cover beans by 2 inches.

Add 2 tsp. of salt to the cooking water. Bring to low boil.

Julienne one medium bunch of Italian Black kale (also known as Laciniata kale).

Add kale to the cooking beans after they have boiled at least 1/2 hour. Turn heat down to simmer.

Continue to simmer for 1-1.5 hours, and serve with corn bread or rice, or both.

Mer's Ribollito

This is my modified version of a recipe that appeared in February 2013 The Costco Connection. The differences are that I used Mayocoba Peruvian yellow beans, did not use tomato purée.

1-1.5 pounds dry Mayocoba beans (see dry beans here, soaked beans below, with an orange for scale and color - it's not part of the recipe ... although that wouldn't be bad if I did use the tomato).

Soak beans overnight in cold water, rinse and drain.
Water should be at least two inches above soaked beans, so the water volume depends on the amount of beans soaked.

Add 1 tsp. of salt, about 12 twists of black pepper, 4 bay leaves, 4-6 cloves of garlic, and 1 tsp. of celery seeds, rubbed briskly between both hands, to the cooking water.

Bring to low boil and cook for 1-1.5 hours.

Meanwhile, wash and prepare the remaining ingredients.
The mirepoix vegetables should be roughly the size of a bean or smaller (except shallots and parsley, which are very finely minced:
2 medium red potatoes
2 large carrots (or equivalent volume of small pre-peeled carrots)
Julienne one medium bunch of Italian Black kale (also known as Laciniata kale).

Mince 2 shallots, a medium bunch of parsley, and a bunch of English thyme if you have it, very finely.

Remove half of the beans from cooking pot into mixing bowl of three times their volume. Add all of the bean cooking liquid to the beans in the mixing bowl and purée completely on low speed (avoids splattering). Add the remaining beans from the cooking pot to the mixing bowl with the purée, and set aside until the end of cooking other ingredients.

Rinse cooking pot, then add 4-6 tbsp. olive olive to pot.

Sauté the potatoes until translucent, then add the carrots. Continue sauté until the potatoes are soft and begin to brown. Add the shallots, parsley, and thyme, and continue to sauté until the shallots are translucent. Add the julienned kale and sauté until just softened.

Add the puréed and whole beans back to the cooking pot with the cooked vegetables. Add 2-4 cups of water to thin to desired consistency. Add 4 more cloves of garlic at this point. Adjust salt and pepper to taste. Bring to boil and cook until all vegetables are the desired consistency. Performing this step rapidly results in vegetables with crunchier texture. A longer simmer results in softer textures.

Serve with crunchy sourdough and olive oil with Swanson Merlot.

Mer's Thai Coconut Soup

Steam 2 cups jasmine rice with 4 cups water - reserve.

Prepare: 

1 package firm tofu - chop into tiny cubes

2-4 carrots - sliced or shredded

1/4 head broccoli - cut into small trees, and peel and shred stems

1 yellow bell pepper - chop into 1/2 inch pieces

1-2 cups cilantro - chop 

2 inch piece of ginger - peel, chop

2 stalks lemon grass (Optional) - peel, chop

2 inch piece of galangal (Optional) - peel, chop

2-6 kaffir lime leaves

2 cups dry shiitake mushrooms

3 tsp fish sauce

pinch kosher salt

6 cups water

Heat 1 can coconut milk and 1/2 can coconut cream until liquid in a 2 quart pot.

Add ground cardamom and coriander - up to 1 tsp each.

Add cilantro, ginger, kaffir lime leaves.

Add lemon grass and galangal if you have them.

Add fish sauce and salt if needed - caution - fish sauce has very high sodium content, so salt is only necessary to open up flavors - just a pinch!

Add ~4-6 cups water

Add shiitake mushrooms and simmer for 10 minutes.

Add carrots and broccoli - cook until tender.

Add bell pepper - cook until tender-crisp.

Add tofu and heat through before serving.

Serve with or over jasmine rice.

Chirita 'Aiko', and Saintpaulia 'Orange Pekoe', and 'Heinz'

A curry recipe to make up for lost time ...

Steam brown basmati rice seasoned with dashes of cumin and cardamom.

Prepare:

1 sweet white onion, peeled  - finely diced

2 cloves garlic, peeled   - finely diced

2 1-inch segments of ginger, peeled  - finely diced

1 tsp brown mustard seeds

Sauté spices in 2 tbsp. olive oil on medium-high heat until the mustard seeds start to pop.

Turn heat down to medium and add the following spices to the sizzling oil:

4 green cardamom pods

1 bay leaf

1/2 tsp kala jeera (black cumin)

1/2 tsp ground coriander

1/2 tsp turmeric

1/2 tsp cumin

1/4 tsp charnushka

1/4 tsp grains of paradise 

salt

freshly ground black pepper

Add onion, garlic,  and ginger - sauté until translucent.

Sauté chick peas in the onion/garlic/ginger mixture on medium heat until lightly browned.

Prepare vegetables while chickpeas are browning.

sugar snap peas (remove ends and strings)

broccoli - break into tiny trees (save the rest for the bunnies)

Stir in:

1 can (8 oz.) light coconut milk and

1 cup soy milk mixed with 2 tbsp. yoghurt

This sauce will thicken slightly - if it thickens too much, simply thin gradually with up to 1 cup of water.

Add vegetables to the curry, and sauté until almost tender. Serve over brown basmati rice seasoned with dashes of cumin and cardamom.

Oo-oooo-eeee! Garlic shrimp with ginger and mango

Well - I really wanted shrimp after watching Rocco DiSpirito talk about Italian-style garlic shrimp from Shiller's Liquor Bar in NYC (shrimp sauteed in olive oil with garlic, red pepper flakes, and lemon juice) interspersed with Long John Silver's ads for Panko-breaded Pacific Shrimp (fried, of course). Funny - when I think of Schiller, I think of Mary Stuart or The Maid of Orleans, not booze. ;-) I had limes on my tree, but not a lemon in the house, so what to do? I sauteed very thick slices (1/8") of fresh garlic in ~ 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil until sizzling gently. Then I added a little chopped ginger for the lemony-ness. Then I added the shrimp (12 small with tails on) and cooked until nearly pink. Then I added a pinch of kosher salt and about 1/2 teaspoon of mango powder that I got recently along with a number of other fabulous fresh spices from the Savory Spice Shop online. I hadn't used it before, so I was slightly over-cautious. I continued to cook and just before serving, ground fresh black pepper over all. I served with jasmine rice. Wow. Amaaaaaaaaazing. I could have doubled the mango powder with no harm, but there was just enough tang. I'm having Carr's Ginger Lemon Creme cookies with coffee to celebrate this post!

Mer's Plantains Foster

Mer's Plantains Foster

I had yellow plantains too ripe for patacones. I had learned from Mrs. Silvera that I could make dessert with them. I also had Bananas Foster Häagen-Dazs in the freezer. Guess what?

I went through 'Cooking up a Storm' to find a good Bananas Foster recipe, found one originally published by NOPSI (New Orleans Public Service, Inc.) and modified it, taking into account that yellow plantains have a malic acid tang (I would recommend skipping the lemon juice unless using bananas).


Peel yellow plantains and slice in half, then lengthwise into 4-5 thin slices. sauté the plantain slices in salted butter with 1 tablespoon of brown sugar, plus large dashes of cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves. Deglaze or flame with 2 tablespoons of brown rum (I used Ron Abuelo 12-year-old rum) plus 2 tablespoons of vanilla. The sauce and the plantains should be caramelized.

Serve the plantains and the rum sauce over vanilla ice-cream. (The plantains Foster plus Bananas Foster ice-cream was *too* much, but I think there's still some of that left in the freezer!)

Mer's Mayocoba Beans

Mer's Mayocoba Beans

I think these are the best beans I have ever tried - maybe because they are new to me. They are sweet and tender - delicious served cold.

Rinse, clean, and soak 1 pound of mayocoba (yellow Peruvian) beans in water to cover. These beans do not rehydrate evenly - after 2-4 hours, some will be completely imbibed, while others will still be hard as a rock. So I soak them overnight, rinse, and cook the next day. Patience.

They are beautifully variable in color also - some a pinkish-yellow, some golden-yellow, some pinkish-tan. Once they are ready to cook, they should all be 2-3 times the size they were when dry.

Rinse soaked beans carefully. Add water back to pan to cover by 1-2 inches. Add 1-2 teaspoons of kosher salt. Cook on medium-high heat for 20-30 minutes, then turn heat down to low-medium and continue cooking for another hour.

At this point, mince a shallot and add to cooking beans. Also add a handful of chopped fresh herbs (I like greek oregano and german thyme) plus 2 bay leaves (I use fresh ones). Continue cooking for another 1/2 hour or until liquid is nearly all absorbed/evaporated. Stir in 2 tablespoons of olive oil.

Serve either as a bruschetta topping on toasted bread, or with corn chips, tomatoes, and avocado over a romaine salad.

Cinco de Mayo

Publish Post

My Cinco de Mayo roses are blooming right now - in late June - roses aren't necessarily blooming in early May here. I love them, and this is someone who ordinarily doesn't like red! More soon on fideuá!

The Fideuà from The Cuisines of Spain was *awesome*!

Details coming soon!