So...whats for dinner?

Welcome to newbies.  Great to have you join us.  I ate bear steaks a long time ago.  DH and I were wintering in Vermont and working at Bolton Valley Ski Lodge near Waterbury.  We lived in a rented mobile home located in a lovely little spot with three other mobile homes.  Our dining room window looked out on a small waterfall, frozen solid in the winter.  One neighbor killed a bear and hung it up in a tree.  Outdoor freezer at that time of year.  When he butchered the bear, he gave us bear steaks.  We cooked them and ate them.  All I remember is that they were a little chewy. 

Tonight was a layered one-pot dish with pork country-style ribs on the bottom.  Next a layer of sliced potatoes.  Top layer was sauerkraut mixed with chopped celery and caraway seeds.  Seasonings were onion powder, garlic powder, s & p.  Cooked in the oven in a dutch oven.  Pork was tender and delicious. 

Laurie- Sorry your little one has pnemonia again, Sounds like the antibiotics they used before didn't help, did they change the antibiotics this time? Just wondering I know when my DD had pnemonia at a young age they changed her antibiotics and it helped. Take care of yourself too!

I found the chocovine at Bi-Mart of all places, went there to buy distilled drinking water and happen to see it while walking by, It taste just like bailey/s put some in my coffee and it was very good. They were out of the raspberry but will buy that next. 

Carol-That pork ribs with saurkraut sounds really good, how long did you cook it for?

Laurie - hope you all slept well and your son is feeling better soon!  Like Hauntie said, you guys have paid your "sickness" dues so I hope you catch a break!

Debbie - that chicken recipe looks quite yummy!  I've never seen a recipe with 8 whole shallots, very interesting.  Is this a bit more like a stew?  It sure seems like it, and would be a nice dish for reheating after we get home from rads.  I think I'm going to make this early next week.

Carrie,



Sending prayers your way today as your mother has her surgery!



Thinking if you....

What about Reinsdyrsteik?

Ingredients   4-pound saddle of reindeer or venison   10 tablespoons butter or margarine   1 tablespoon salt   1 teaspoon pepper   2 cups boiling water   1 tablespoon all-purpose flour   1 cup dairy sour cream   1/3 cup diced Muenster cheese

chicken oriental soup

ginger, sesame oil, soy sauce, garlic, then add sliced oriental cabbage, mushrooms and cilantro.. serve with lime and chilis

and chicken

Michelle- Hope your day was a good day for you and the drive was uneventful. I thought 8 shallots sounds like a lot as well, but since shallots are milder maybe it is about right, or if you didnt have shallots I might use a sweet onion or red onion just not as much.

Apple-I agree I would drink the beer and have to run to the store for more for my recipe.

Carrie- Hope your mom is doing good. 

Laurie- Those tree ornaments are sooooo pretty you did such a great job, makes me want to do them to now.- What kind of spray did you use?

Debbie:  Unfortunately I didn't have any sisters - just two brothers.  The best of those died over 15 years ago & I still miss him all the time.  The brother who's left wouldn't understand that.  I'm with you on those good thoughts of your sister.  I'll raise a glass of wine to her memory.

Laurie, here ya go Tomato Bulgur Soup from the Moosewood Restaurant low-fat favorites.Cookbook.

3 C vegetable stock ( I use the cubes and skip the salt)

1 C chopped onion

 1C chopped carrots

1/2 C chopped celery

2 cloves garlic, chopped or pressed

1 Tsp salt

1 tsp ground dried dill

1/2 tsp ground fennel

2 C undrained canned chopped tomatoes, (16 oz can)

1/4 C bulgur (you can find it at Whole Foods or that type of place or maybe a regular place)

Ground pepper to taste.

Add first 8 ingredients. Bring to a boil then reduce heat and simmer 5 minutes.

Stir in tomatoes and their juice and the bulgur.  Return to a boil and then simmer, covered for 15 minutes or until bulgur is tender.  Add pepper to taste

Enjoy! this is a great cookbook that I got used in perfect condition for $4.00 on Ebay.  Your family might not like it if they are not vegetarian, but everyone that I've served recipes to from it likes it. This is not me favorite soup, but it's an "i have everything on hand" recipe.  The Southwestern Corn Chower is fabulous!

If thicker the next day add more water or broth.

I cooked the layered dish with pork ribs, sliced potatoes and sauerkraut about 2 hrs. in a 350 degree oven.  It was probably done in 1 hr. but there's no worry about overcooking it.  The pork gets more tender and the flavors meld together. 

Tonight we had chili from the freezer, made with beef ground meat and dried pinto beans, plus the other chili ingredients.  It was delicious.  Also a green salad with avocado, greek olives and blue cheese plus tomato, cucumber, and yellow bell pepper, spinach and romaine.  My dressing is a dribble of white balsamic, dribble of EVOO, and a dribble of caesar lite dressing.  Love those kalamata olives.

I watched Mary Ann Esposito make pizzas a few weeks ago on her PBS cooking show.  Now I'm hot to try it.  Bought the unbleached flour and pizza yeast today.  Now I have to buy a pizza peel.  I've had the stones for ages and have never used them  I really like the idea of healthy pizzas that aren't loaded with salt.

Bought a new (for me) cookbook from amazon, Cooking Up a Storm.  It has recipes compiled by the Times Picayune newspaper following Hurricane Katrina.  Many New Orleanians lost all their recipe books and favorite clipped recipes when their homes were flooded.  Hundreds of people wrote the newspaper asking them to help find the recipes in their archives or request them from others.  The recipe book is a compilation of many of the requested favorite recipes.  It is lovely.  Has some interesting history with each recipe.  I was tickled to see Oysters Mosca which I tried to track down a couple of years ago.  Foodies who collect recipe books would like this one.

Ooohh...you ladies have been busy while I was off to radiation and dinner!  It was a long drive in to Boston - rain always mucks up a commute, then they had a problem with the setup for the patient before me, so there was a 45 minute wait.  Afterwards, we went to dinner with friends and just got home a few minutes ago.  I actually fell asleep in the car on the way home and will be in bed pretty soon.  Believe it or not, I'm tired.

Debbie (((hugs))) so sorry about your sister.  I have two deceased brothers, one that I was very close to.  It's great that you and your other sister can get together and reminisce. 

Joycek - my sister by choice, I love that!  And I am honored beyond words!

And do you all know what she did - she made me a ceramic coffee mug, a big beautiful ceramic coffee mug!  It is so cool and is now part of my "collection" of meaningful mugs that I fill with my morning coffee.  And the rest of the story...neither of us is particularly into handcrafts.  So she did that out of love.  When we were talking about it, I told her how I had gone with a group of Red Hat ladies to one of those "decorate your ceramics" places and made a garden plaque for a lady (Bev)who worked for me, who had stage 4 BC and was nearing the end.  She loved gardens and I knew it.  Doing any kind of craft-type stuff stresses me out unless I can finish a project in under an hour.  But I had decided that I would paint this plaque and I would finish it for Bev because I knew she would love it.  And I did it, gave it to her, and saw it in her garden when I went to visit her before she died.  Love you, Joyce!  There's not much good about breast cancer, but it has given me a sister!

Carolehalston - your Greek salad sounds yummy, I love those kalamata olives!

DH just asked me if I was ready for bed...and the answer is yes!  Night, night all!

Oh dear, someone is eating reideer......................you better not let Santa find out, or your gonna get nuttin for xmas...................................especially if its Rudolph...........................just kidding..................

Laurie, your Christmas ornaments are beautiful.  I'd buy them if I saw them in a shop.

Here in England, we eat a lot of curry and although we have some great Indian restaurants, I make my own.  Here's my favourite recipe.  It's a dhansak.  You may have to make some substitutions.  You also may want to adjust the amount of chillies you use.  Or, take the seeds out of the chillies before frying them. 

Chicken Cooked with Lentils and Vegetables (serves 6)

Ingredients

3 lbs chicken cut into pieces

10oz toor dal (whole dried)

2 tsp tamarind paste

2 inch piece ginger

6 garlic cloves

2 onions, chopped

7 oz butternut squash

1 eggplant

1 potato, chopped

1/4 cup fresh dill, chopped

1/2 tsp turmeric powder

1 cup plus 1 Tbsp fresh coriander, chopped

20 fresh mint leaves

salt

3 1/2 fl oz oil

1/2 bunch fresh fenugreek or 2 tsp dried fenugreek leaves

3/4 tsp fenugreek powder

1/2 tsp mustard powder

3 tsp red chilli powder

1/2 tsp ground pepper

1 1/2 tsp garam masala

1/2 tsp star anise powder

1/4 tsp nutmeg powder

1 tsp cumin powder

3 tsp coriander powder

3 tomatoes, chopped

6 green chillies, chopped

1 tsp jaggery or palm sugar (or just sugar)

juice of 1 lime

Method

If you are going to make your own chicken stock, then prepare it now.  I use a stock cube.

Wash the toor dal and soak it in water for 30 minutes. 

In a large pot, add the dal with 1 pint (600ml) of water.  Add the onions, squash, eggplant, potato and dill.  Add the turmeric, 1 Tablespoon of the fresh coriander leaves, 8 of the fresh mint leaves, 2 garlic cloves, and 1/2 inch piece of the ginger.  Simmer until the daal is very soft.  Let cool before liquidising in food processor.  Add 1 tsp salt.

While the dal is cooking, heat the oil in a large sauce pan or frying pan, and fry the remaining 4 garlic cloves and the remaining 1 1/2 inch piece of ginger, the cup of coriander leaves, 12 mint leaves, the fresh fenugreek, the 3/4 tsp fenugreek powder, mustard powder, red chilli powder, 1/2 tsp ground pepper, garam masala, star anise powder, nutmeg powder, cumin powder, coriander powder, tomatoes and green chillies.  Fry for 2 minutes and stir continuously.  Add the chicken and saute for 2 minutes or so.  Season with salt.  Stir well.

Add the chicken to the dal mixture along with 600 ml (1 pint) of chicken stock.  Add the jaggery.  Simmer until the chicken is cooked throughout.  Then add the tamarind paste and lime juice.  Taste.  Adjust the salt or other seasonings.  Simmer for 2 minutes.

You're ready to serve!