Pumpkin, Pork and Apple Stew

This is a really tasty stew! It was going to be served to the Utah family when they came for Thanksgiving, but alas they didn't come, so we ate it ourselves.

This was in Relish Magazine for October.

I actually used half of the squash. A crock pot gets crowded pretty quickly.

With all the ingredients in the pot, you can see that there is not much room. Put the meat in first and then the veggies. Remember that crock pots don't loose water while cooking.
The finished product! In case you are wondering, I didn't have pork on hand like I thought, so I substituted chicken. But I can imagine the pork being really flavorful.

3 Tbsp all purpose flour
2 tsp crushed fennel seeds
1 tsp salt 1/2 tsp pepper
2 - 2 1/2 lbs of pork roast cut in chunks
3 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 onion, sliced
2 1/2 C chicken broth
1 1/2 Apple Cider
1/4 C Apple cider vinegar
3 C peeled fresh pumpkin or butternut squash
2 Carrots cut in chunks (be adventurous, buy parsnips for this recipe)
2-3 red potatoes cut in chunks
2-3 Granny Smith apples cut in chunks

1. Place flour, fennel seeds, salt, pepper and pork in a large zip-top plastic bag. Seal bag and shake to coat meat.
2. Heat 2 Tbsp Olive Oil in Dutch oven (or skillet if you cook the stew in a crock pot). Add half the pork and onions. Cook until browned, remove from pan. Add 1 Tbsp olive oil and cook remaining meat and onions until browned.
3. Put meat and onions, and vegetables in large crock pot. Add broth, cider, and cider vinegar. Set on high setting for 3 hours or so. Then reduce heat to low setting.
4. When ready for dinner, check the broth by moving some vegetables with a large spoon. If thin add cornstarch/water mixture. Pour it into the pot by holding some veggies away and then stir it a little. Do this in several places. Wait a few minutes (or give Cooper the 5 minute Elmo warning) and serve.
This is really, really good!!

Food in Hawaii

One of the restaurants we went to was Korean.


This image is from a newspaper. Every time we went to eat dinner, I didn't think about bringing my camera. Our first night we ate a Red Lobster. It was walking distance from our hotel, and we were very hungry. It was a good dinner, but not unusual or very interesting. The next night
we tried to find a restaurant, and when we couldn't find it, we went back to our hotel and ate there. The next day we tried not to walk too far, due to blisters, so we ate a big lunch, with two Mai Tais for each of us, and decided that was dinner. The following day we went to the Sea Side Bar & Grill. We had our choice of steak or seafood. It was standard fare, and good, but not the most amazing food, except for their Mai Tai. It was served in a huge goblet that held about a quart of liquid! We didn't finish our drink. Again, no camera. The next night, we stuck our necks out for an experience.

Then we went to the Kobe restaurant, and had a wonderful experience. We had our choice of various types of dinner including the kind that is cooked right in front of you. So we were seated at a table/grill with another younger couple. When the waiter asked them for their order, the lady went on about how she won't eat beef, or shrimp. She was putting all kinds of restrictions on what they could offer. When the waiter asked us, I told him that we didn't really know what we were ordering, but wanted an experience with Japanese cuisine. He moved us to another area in the restaurant, and we sat at a bar, and the man behind the counter took our order. We had yellow fin, and some sushi that was like a roll of rice with a piece of fish draped over it. We ate kind of fast, I don't know why. But anyway, we each had four of the rice rolls, plus three or four pieces of the yellow fin, and also 5 sushi rolls. It was soooo good. I was so sad that I didn't have my camera, because the food was arranged like a work of art!

We enjoyed that experience so much, we thought we should try another ethnic restaurant. We had dinner at another sushi restaurant called DoraKu Sushi. An amazing dinner. We had one warm dish and one cold. The vegetables were on the hot dish were usual sliced and fried with a wonderful butter fish. On the plate also was a mound of raw beet that was sliced so thin it was like red hair on the plate. It tasted good, too.

The Korean restaurant was very interesting. There was a lot of meet choices like sausage, pork bone, oxtail, beef rib, even snail soup. We had beef rib soup and it was wonderful.

On Saturday we walked to China Town and had lunch at Golden River Restaurant, Vietnamese and Chinese Cuisine. We had an interesting beverage with dried lemon in one, and the other dried plum. The had been reconstituted, I think like tea, in hot water, and then cooled. Refreshing because they were not too sweet.

I think Ed had fried pork, and I had fried chicken. There were several sauces on the table from soy to a hot dried pepper sauce. Lots of garlic (not my favorite).

This was our last night we went back to DoraKu Sushi and had another amazing meal. We liked to eat here because we could sit outside.

While we waited for our order I tried to get a photo of someone else's dinner but had a blurry picture because of my shyness, I didn't ask if I could take the picture.

Our dinner was fabulous. The sushi roll had a thin cucumber ribbon on the outer layer. It was crunchy and tasty. The other plate is the butter fish that we had again, note the red beets at the edge of the picture.

Dessert! Ahhh...Brownie tempura with ice cream! YUMM!!

Potato Crust Quiche

This recipe is one that I modified from the traditional pie crust lined Quiche. I like the potatoes for the crust because I think that it adds more substance for a dinner choice.

Ingredients:
Potatoes - two potatoes, .
Vegetable - two carrots, you can use vegetable you prefer, chopped broccoli is also a good choice.
Onion - can be any kind you like. I used scallions.
Roasted red pepper - remember your frozen ones that you made a few months ago? Also Cost Co sells jars of red peppers.
4 eggs (add 2 more eggs for a larger pan)
1 cup milk (2 cups for a larger pan)
2/3 cup grated cheese (increase cheese for larger pan) I used a creamy Asiago, but kids might prefer a more standard cheddar
2 Tbsp flour (increase to 4 Tbsp for larger pan)
1/2 tsp salt


Coat a 9 inch pie plate with oil, and line the pan with sliced potatoes. If you are making quiche for more than 3-4 people, you can use a 9 x 13 inch rectangle pan.

Put a layer of grated vegetables on top of potatoes. Microwave until potatoes are done, about 5 minutes at "vegetable" (medium?) setting.

While veggies are cooking, get eggs, milk and cheese ready. I didn't cook the scallions, but if you use raw onions and red pepper, do it now in a skillet. You can add flour to those ingredients if you like, or just mix flour into the egg-milk mixture. Break up any lumps of flour.

Put red pepper and onions on potatoes. Add the eggs, milk, cheese and salt.

Bake at 375 degrees for 20- 30 minutes or until a knife comes out clean when poked into the center.

Carmelized Upside-down Pear Pie

This tasty recipe came from my cookbook, Cooking with just four ingredients.
I choose it because we have a lot of pears on our Asian pear trees. If you are considering planting a fruit tree, Asian pears have no pests so they don't require spraying like apples and peaches do. We purchased ours from Stark Bros. catalogue. We need two trees to pollinate, and so we have 2 types of Asian Pears (there are three).
5-6 firm, ripe pears
1 cup powdered sugar
1/2 cup butter
8 oz. shortcrust pastry


1. Peel, core, and slice the pears. Toss with some of the sugar.


Melt the butter in a 10 1/2 ovenproof omelette pan. Ed suggested that I use a non-stick pan, which would have making the removal of the pie from the skillet.

Add remaining sugar. When it changes color, arrange the pears in the pan.

Continue cooking, uncovered, for 20 minutes, or until the fruit has completely caramelized.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Roll out pastry on a lightly floured board, slightly larger than the pan. Lay the pastry on top of the pears and then carefully tuck it in around the edge. My not-so-long fingernails cut the pastry, so be careful!


Bake for 15-20 minutes. Let the pie cool in the pan for a few minutes. To unmold, run a knife around the pan's edge, then using oven gloves, invert a plate over the pan and quickly turn the two over together.

If any pears stick to the pan, remove them gently with a spatula and replace them on the pie. The pie is best served warm.

Mexican Corn and Zuchinni

I went to an antique and art show. I saw this book for $3. It has a lot of zuchinni recipes!
I made this one with corn on the cob, tomatoes, zuchinni, and onions from our garden.
Serves 6

3 ears of corn
1 medium onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped
2 tbsp oil
3 medium tomatoes, chopped
3 medium zuchinni, cut into 1/4 inch slices (my zuchinni is round so I cut it in half, then in 3rds, then slices)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/4 pepper

Cut corn from cobs (about 1 1/2 cups).

Cook and stir onion and garlic in oil in 10 inch skillet until onion is tender.

Stir in corn and remaining ingredients. Heat to boiling; reduce heat. Cover and simmer until vegetables are tender, 10-15 minutes.

This recipe is a fast one to make. I served it with corn bread
and extra tomatoes, since the tomatoes disappear in the other vegetables.

Spaghetti Carbonara

This recipe is one that you need to prepare all the ingredients first. Then you add and stir, add and stir.
8 oz dried spaghetti (I used the thin pasta)
3 oz pancetta or bacon, divided ( I had Canadian Bacon on hand)
1/4 cup finely chopped shallots ( I used home grown scallions)
3 large eggs
1 medium zuchinni, cut into ribbons ( cut mine in the food processor, but a vegetable peeler would probably make the zuchinni more ribbon-like)
1/2 cup grated parmesan
1/4 cup half and half (not for me, I used Greek yogart (zoi or fago)
2 Tbsp milk to thin the yogart
1 tsp salt
coarse ground pepper

1 Cook spaghetti according to package directions. Drain, reserving 1 cup of cooking water.

2 Use a non-stick skillet if you have one. Heat a large, deep skillet over medium-high heat. Add pancetta; saute until almost crisp. Add onions, saute until onions are golden and pancetta is crisp but not burned.

Add onions, saute until onions are golden and pancetta is crisp but not burned.

3 Add pasta to skillet; toss, cooking over medium heat. Add eggs; stir vigorously, scraping pan to loosen cooked egg.



Add zuchinni; toss well. Add cheese; toss. Stir in half and half, salt, pepper.

Cook over medium heat until thoroughly heated, adding some reserved pasta cooking water if the mixture seems too dry. Serves 6

We had this nasty patch right outside the kitchen door. It was muddy when it rained, became the station for the pre-compost container, and had weeds growing amongst the vinca.
After Ed took out the tree that had died in this spot right outside the kitchen door, he decided to make a station for his barbeque grill. I am impressed that he made these posts straight.

Ed put some bamboo fencing material on the wall and a cover over head for shade.

The area needs a surface to stand on that will not get muddy. SO we opted for some pavers and some stone. I made patterns of the pavers and placed them on the ground to see how many we need. We bought 13 pavers.

Most of the pavers are in front of the grill for the cook to stand on

this is the final product, including the happy cook!
Finally we are making good use out of this crazy area outside the kitchen door!

Zucchini - Chocolate Chip solution

The addition of zucchini to cakes and breads is a great way to use this mild tasting vegetable. It makes the recipe more moist. Notice, in this recipe that there is no added water or milk. This particular type of zucchini seems to grow quickly but not to the point of becoming the size of a weapon!



Zucchini Chocolate Chip Cake

Makes one 3 quart Bundt Cake

2.5 C flour plus additional for dusting
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 sticks butter (not me, I used 1/2 smart balance margarine spread and 1 6oz container plain greek yogurt)
1 C Brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla
3 eggs
2 C grated zucchini
1 C chocolate chips
1/2 C walnuts

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease bundt pan and dust with some flour, tapping out the excess.

Mix together flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt unto a bowl. Then add butter, brown sugar and eggs. Mix at high speed about 2 minutes. Will be creamy.

Add zucchini, chocolate chips and walnuts. Batter will be thick.

Spoon batter into bundt pan, smoothing top. Bake in middle of oven. Bake until side begins to pull away from pan and a tester comes out clean, 45-50 minutes.

Cool cake in pan on a rack 30 minutes, then invert rack over serving plate. Cool completely.

Italian Bread Salad

I found this recipe in a magazine in our paper. As always, the rule is there are no rules. This recipe called for meat, but I think the real Italian recipe has no meat. The vegetables, as well, can be varied for interest or availability. I will give you the recipe verbatem. Also, the recipe is large, you can make half the amount and still have some left for tomorrow.

1 lb flank steak (I see this as an option)
1/2 tsp salt, divided
1/2 red onion (or scallion or shallot)
1 garlic clove
2 tsp grated lemon rind
1/3 c balsamic vinegar
1/2 c extra virgin olive oil
5 ripe tomatoes, seeded and chopped
1-2 green, yellow or red bell pepper, seeded and chopped,
1 cuke (!) peeled, seeded and chopped
1/2 Nicoise or Kalamata Pitted Olives, halved
12 basil leaves, shredded
1 large round loaf peasant bread, cut into 1-inch cubes (about 4 cups, see what I mean, 1/2 that will be good!)
1. Prepare grill
2. Sprinkle steak with 1/4 tsp salt and pepper. Grill 10 minutes on each side, or until desired doneness.
3. Combine onion , garlic, lemon rind, vinegar, remaining salt and pepper in a large bowl.
Add oil in a stream, whisking constantly until well combined. Add tomatoes, bell peppers, cucumber, olives and basil.
4. Cut steak into thin slices. Add to tomato mixture.
5. Add bread cubes 30-45 minutes before serving, tossing to coat. Let stand at room temperature. (Really? If you put meat in it you need to serve it sooner than room temperature) Serves 8

Pizza Dough

This recipe is what I used in the previous recipe. It is actually a Focaccia Bread. I made it in my bread machine, but heck, it's just flour and water, you can use the mixer.

1 Cup water
1/3 cup Olive Oil
2 tsp Sugar
1 tsp Salt
3 cups flour (I used half whole wheat, half white flour)
1.5 tsp yeast

Measure all ingredients into mixing bowl.
Beat until the bread has a smooth, elastic texture.
Let rise, covered, 20-30 minutes.
Punch down and roll into a circle (or shape of your pan)
Continue with previous recipe for topping.

Garden Pizza

This is inspired to use veggies from your garden.
Ingredients: 1/3 Olive Oil
Summer Squash/Zuchinni
1 small Onion or scallions
garlic (optional)
8 oz. tomato sauce
Black Olives
Turkey Pepperoni
4oz + grated cheeses for Pizza: Mozzarella, Provalone, and Parmesan
Pizza dough for one pizza

You can use any veggies you have. I also added Black Olives and turkey pepperoni
Make pizza dough. While it is rising, slice veggies thin. Heat Oil in hot skillet and cook onions, garlic and add other veggies when onion is soft and translucent.
Roll out dough and spread 4 oz of tomato sauce over the dough. Sprinkle on fresh herbs, like basil or oregano, then spread veggies over the sauce. Add olives and pepperoni, then cheeses to cover pizza.
Bake at 425 degrees for 20 minutes.

You can make this easier by using boli bread or some kind of prepared flat bread. You might need to shorten cooking time if a prepared bread is used.

Talapia and Black Bean Salad

The idea for this recipe is that I had cooked a couple extra fillets the last time I cooked fish. So this is a cold salad that uses precooked fish.

Cooked fish
3/4 c Artichoke hearts
1/2 c Roasted Red peppers
1/2 c Black Olives
2-3 Green onions
1 15oz can Black Beans (I wish they made smaller cans of beans, I would prefer about half a can)
1 Avocado, halved

1. Rinse black beans. Put in large bowl.
2. Cut artichoke hearts, peppers, olives, green onions, and add to black beans.
3. Break fish into small pieces.
4. Mix ingredients well.
5. Add Oil and Vinegar Dressing.

Italian Rice and Artichoke Salad

This recipe caught my eye because I have a very large jar of artichoke hearts, and try to use them every chance I can!

2/3 cup cooked long grain rice
Marinated Artichoke hearts
1 cup Tomatoes, cut into bite size pieces
1/2 cup Roasted red peppers, cut in strips
1 cup Black Olives
2 TBSP lemon juice
1 garlic clove, crushed
Grated Parmesan Cheese
1 TBSP snipped fresh basil or 1/2 tsp dried basil
1 avocado

This recipe is fast, the longest thin is to cook the rice. While it cooks, I cut up the vegetables. The artichokes have a dressing on them already, so that adds flavor to the rice. It was good to add a little Oil and Vinegar dressing on your serving, and there will be more flavor if you can let the salad cool in the fridge for a couple hours.

Sprinkle with Parmesan. I also added avocado on the side. Wow! That is what the recipe was missing!

This is a side dish, but you could add some pre-cooked fish or chicken to make it more complete.

Roasted Red Peppers

How to Roast peppers:
1. Line a cookie sheet or flat pan with foil. Spray with olive oil, and place washed peppers on tray.
2. Put into preheated oven set on broil setting. Let peppers get blackened, turn them every few minutes until every side is black.

3. When peppers are blackened and hot, wrap the foil around them. Let them cool completely.

4. Open the foil, and remove the skin from each pepper.


5. Cut the peppers, removing all the stems and seeds. Cut the peppers into strips, if desired.

6. Store the peppers in small ziplock baggies in the freezer. Cook more than one so you have them on hand. You can also buy a large bottle of Roasted red peppers at Costco!