Broth !!!!

When I was in college and I would get stressed sometimes (because maybe I would have a paper due or maybe a test was coming up), I would make cookies: Wholesome whole wheat cookies, of course, but cookies nonetheless. But somehow, making them and eating them and sharing them with my roommates helped to ease the stress. The diversion of working withmy hands instead of wokring with words on paper plus the extra energy received from consuming the delicious morsels seemed the perfect antidote for stress.

Fastforward 38 years and what do I do now when I subconsioulsy feel stress and need relief and comfort? I make broth: chicken broth but with lots of vegetables used in it too. I have perfected the art! I now use a crockpot to make my broth.

Here is how I do it.
1. Buy a broasted (rotisseried)chicken from Costco. The skin is dark golden brown, and the chicken is done to perfection. You don't have to go home and bake a raw chicken from scratch when this need for comfort strikes you!

2. Put chicken on a big plated and take off the skin, and take the meat off the bones. Place this meat into a 1.5 quart tupperware or other similar item.

3. Put the bones, skin, and drippings from the tray you bought it in, into your crockpot. (or a large cooking pot) Add more water, one veggie boullion cube (or chicken boullion cube-I use Knorr)and 4 large carrots, scrubbed and cut up, 4 stalks celery, washed well and cut up, one onion or 2, chopped up, a half bunch of parsley if you have it, some twists of fresh ground pepper. Set the dial to high. (Or if in a cooking pot on stove, put it over a low flame) Put the lid on. There should be enough water in the crock pot to cover most of the ingredients. It is OK if some veggies poke out of the water.

4. As you go about your business, or even leave the house for a while, this concoction will begin to simmer and emit the most heavenly aromas!!!

5. After 4 hours, you can turn it to low and just let it sit there until you are ready to strain it. I put a colander (stainless steel one) over a stainless steel bowl and dump the contents (cooked veggies, and bones and skin and broth)of the crockpot into it. Then I lift the colander up and shake it until all the broth is drained out.

6. I will pour some into a bowl and drink it right away or cool it a bit and store in fridge and use for soup in the next few days. Also, you can drink some right away and still have some left for other meals. I, of course, share this rich broth with John.

7. For soup, I add cooked rice and cooked chopped cabbage, and some finely chopped carrots, too...maybe a bit of finely chopped onion. Yummy!!

8. I end up with 4-5 cups of good tender chicken meat that I use in sandwiches or chicken curry or burritoes. You can be creative. Or I freeze it in 1 cup packets like I do the chicken breasts I talked about in a previous post.

SO....if you see me making broth, you know I am in need of extra comfort. Be nice to me. And I will be nice back and share some broth with you!

The New Burger

Here it is. Yummy! Buy Stock in Boca Foods Company! All their products are vegetarian. Hey, I just read the box. It is distributed from Madison, Wisconsin. Naturally!
They make other products...including a mean breaded "chicken " patty.

If You Could Pick One Food

Our daughter Kelsy is a "foodie"..I think all my daughters are "foodies", except perhaps Megan, who is too busy to be a "foodie". Anyway, Kelsy asked me the other day over the phone..if you could only pick one food to have (meaning over an extended period of time...that and nothing else...) I told her: LENTILS.
I love the peppery spicy smell you get when you cook them (without adding anything to the pot besides water and lentils, you get a very appealing aroma- at least I think so.)
Last night I made a big batch of lentil soup, but did add some sauteed onions and a can of stewed tomatoes with Italian herbs. Here is a picture of it simmering on the stove. I now have a ready lucnh for the rest of the week. Just scoop some out of the tupperware in the fridge and heat it up. So satisfying and nutritious...I feel my halo glowing brighter. Ha Ha.

Chicken Ready

Did you know that there are about 23 grams of protein in one serving (1/2 cup) of diced cooked chicken? Did you know that 20 - 25 grams of protein is really all your body should have at any one meal?

The other day I spent $5.11 on a package of chicken breasts with ribs attached. They were 99 cents/pound. There were 6 breasts in the package. I cooked them in my slow cooker on high for 3 1/2 hours. I had some onion, carrot and celery in the pot also. I sprinkled fresh ground pepper and some Mrs. Dash Herb Onion blend on the chicken before I put the lid on.
After they were cooked to yummy tenderness, I removed them from the pot and cooled them a bit and then chopped them up inot 1/2 inch cubes (removing the meat from the skinny rib bones.) and put them in a big bowl.

Here is what I did to get my chicken ready for future meals:

I got out my measuring cup and measured out one packed cup of chopped meat at a time and placed this one cup of meat into a ziploc freezer bag. That 1 cup will give John and me each our 1/2 cup serving.
I ended up with 8 bags. A cup of meat in each bag I smoothed out all the air and sealed them (labeling each one with a white sticker that said "12-4-07")and then I put all of them in a bigger freezer bag. And into the freezer they went, ready and waiting for me to pull them out and use them, one at a time. Unless we have company.
I just get a kick out of the fact that for $5.11 I got 16 servings of delicious white breast meat. This is about 32 cents a serving. Here is how I plan to use my chicken:


1. chicken curry meals
2. chicken fried rice meals
3. Chicken, cranberry, mayo sandwiches on whole grain bread
4. Hot BBQ chicken in buns
5. Chicken burritos (with beans, rice, cheese, etc.)
6. Chicken soup with rice, onion, and turnip greens. MMMmmm.

Comfort Food

I will only eat one kind of potato chips. I do not touch Pringles, Lays, even Poore Brothers. I have also abandoned the Sweet Maui Onion crunchy potato chips. The only chip to pass my lips is the Kettle Brand Krinkle Cut chips from Oregon. I buy them at Costco..a 2 lb bag (32 ounces!) cost me 3.99. Here is my recipe for dip.

Joan's Dill Dip
1/2 - 3/4 cup finely chopped sweet Mayan onion
1 envelope (.50 oz.) Green Chives Dip Mix (Powdered)
(usually in chip section of store with other flavors of dip mix displayed)
1 16 ounce container light sour cream
1/2 tablespoon dried dill weed (not shown in photo)
(available in herbs and spices section of grocery store)
Combine ingredients. Store in covered container in fridge.

This is my ultimate comfort food...well, besides my own homemade rich chicken or turkey broth.

The Best of the Best

A few blogs ago, I had a picture of my 3 favorite chocolate products. I failed to mention, however, that there was another one I loved even more than the rest: Dark Chocolate Sea Salt caramels from Trader Joe's. It is $4.99 a box, with 12 chocolates. Larissa introduced me to them. They are all I want for Christmas this year.

Posole

Yesterday, I tried this recipe. It was a hit with both John and me! I could eat this every day, in fact, in cold weather.

New Mexico-Style Posole
(this is the original- a "Hometown recipe" from Wanda Taylor in American Profile ( a Sunday supplement in newspaper)June 24-30, 2007...Joan's version in parentheses)

3 Tablespoons vegetable oil
3 pounds boneless pork, cubed (Joan used 3 cups of chopped turkey meat)
2 medium white onions, chopped (Joan used yellow)
3 cloves garlic, minced
4 15 oz. cans white or yellow hominy,drained (Joan got a 29 oz. can white and a 29 oz. can yellow)
4-5 cups water-Joan used 2
2 4 oz. cans diced green chilis
1 10 oz. can red enchilada sauce
1 16 oz. can diced tomatoes with green chilis (Joan just used a can of stewed tomatoes, chopped up)
1 4 oz. can taco sauce. Joan poured 4 oz. from a bottle of La Victoria Taco Sauce.
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon salt (Joan omitted this)
1 teaspon cumin
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon oregano.

These were the original directions:
1. Heat oil in 6 qt. stockpot, add pork, onions, garlic. Cook until pork brown. Drain excess grease.
2. Add hominy and 4 cups water. Add chilis, enchilada sauce, tomatoes, and cook over low to medium heat about 2 hours, stirring occasionally .
After 2 hours, add remaining 1 cup water if needed. Adjust seasonings, if desired and simmer 2 - 3 hours.

Serve hot with corn chips, warm flour tortillas or cornbread. Try a lean cut of pork, like center-cut loin, to reduce the fat.

This is what Joan did: She sauteed the onion in the oil until soft. She added it to all the other ingredients at once into her nice big crockpot (slow cooker). She put the lid on. She cooked it on high for one hour and low for 6 hours. Delicious flavor!!!! Addictive, in fact! Can shorten cooking time..I was just out of the house a long time.

Old Fashioned Sponge Candy

This is also known as "angel candy" or "sea foam". It is a dramatic process and the results are unique. It is better to eat this candy freshly made, dipped in the kind of chocolate you really like. This candy is sold in central Wisconsin in all grocery stores and at all the "Fleet Farms". You may see this out West if you go to specialty candy shops. Maybe.


During Christmases past, when a big box of Christmas presents and goodies would arrive from 509 First Street, Stevens Point, Wisconsin, the first thing our kids would want to do is see if Grandma Cera put in some angel candy.

My sweet daughter-in-law Amber helped me make this and I hope she and David carry on the tradition of having it every year for Christmas. I never really made this when our kids were growing up..except once..when I learned it at Relief Society in Green Bay, Wisconsin. That was when Molly and Megan were 3 and Larissa was one and zTommy was not even born yet!I found out shortly after that, that my mom knows how to make it. The recipe here is my mom's detailed recipe.

All I can add is that when your thermometer reaches 280 degrees, go ahead and turn off the heat...take it off your burner if your stove is electric. The temperature will continue to rise in an instant to 300 degrees....!! Just from the heat of the pot. Then add your baking soda. I did not have the 9 x 9 pan that is called for, so my candy spread a bit too far in my 9 x 13 pan . I also could have stirred it less...After your pour it, you still want to see very active foaming action.

So here are photos from last evening and the recipe!

Old Fashioned Sponge Candy
(I think it is better to make it on a clear day, not foggy or overcast.)
READ CAREFULLY A FEW TIMES BEFORE YOU BEGIN!
1 cup sugar
1 cup dark corn syrup
1 Tablespoon white vinegar
1 Tablespoon Baking Soda.

1. Combine sugar, corn syrup, and vinegar in a large 3 quart (or more)
pot (large to hold all the foaming action).
2. Cook, stirring constantly, until sugar dissolves, then cover pan for one minute
to allow steam to wash down the sugar crystals that cling to the side of the pan.
3. Uncover pan, inset candy thermometer-cook without stirring until it reaches
300 degrees ("hard crack" stage..when syrup dropped into cup of very
cold water separates into hard, brittle threads.)
4. Remove from heat and stir in the baking soda quickly with a
few quick strokes with BIG spoon.
It is OK if some of white powder remains...it can be brushed off the
chunked up hardened candy later.
If you over stir, you lose the bubbles! And hence, the texture of the sponge
.Quickly pour this foaming mass out onto a buttered 9 x 9 x 2 pan
or 8 x 10 x 2 pan.
It is not necessary to spread mixture...it will spread itself as it bubbles
and foams away.
You are pouring this from the bowl while it is still
in the peak of foaming action!!!!
5. Cool in pan on wire rack. DO NOT SHAKE OT TOUCH
OR WIGGLE UNTIL IT IS COOL.6. Break cooled sponge into pieces.
Dip into melted chocolate with tongs..lay on wax paper to cool.




The candy was cooled down and ready to break into chunks in less than an hour.

Reflecting on Thanksgiving

Last Thursday was Thanksgiving. We were invited again to Doug and Sheelah Smith's in Carpinteria, California. They are wonderful hosts. Each year we have grilled lobster (caught by Doug, the deep sea diver), grilled tri-tip, turkey and stuffing (baked by Sheelah's folks), black beans, green salad, and a good number of fancy side dishes and desserts brought by the guests. I chose just 2 pictures for this post: One of Sheelah stirring the black beans, and one of Doug serving up a succulent lobster tail.

Favorite Chocolate Bars

These are my top 3 favorite Chocolate bars! All available at Target stores.

Oh, My Darling Clementines

I bought a box of clementines from Stater Brother's grocery store the other day. Clementines are easily peeled like tangerines, but lack the sourness and the seeds so they are much more pleasurable to eat. I paid 4.99 for this box of clementines which ended up having 22 clementines. I used 5 clementines to make a cup of juice for my husband and 5 clementines to make a cup of juice for me. MMMmmm. I spoon out and eat the pulp from the little plastic hand juicer I use. The peels I dry out and add to my Christmas Potpourri mix.

Cucumbers

Yesterday I went to an all you can eat buffet with a girlfriend. There were lots of raw fish, sushi, seaweeds, Asian type foods, lots of hot steamy meaty entres, exotic appetizers.
The first thing I put on my plate was a pile of thickly sliced cucumbers and a dollop of ranch dressing for dipping. Alongside that, I placed a big spoonful of the biggest roasted Virginia Peanuts (out of the shell) I have ever seen. I thoroughly enjoyed this first course. Today, while at the grocery store for last minute holiday purchases I will look for good cucumbers. Sometimes you get one that is bitter tasting...a twice bitter disappointment since the prices of these are 79-99 cents each now, or more.

I remember once while teaching at Lewis Elementary we had a potluck and I was to bring a salad. Well, I picked up a bagged salad and a cucumber. I peeled and sliced the cucumber down the middle and then in thin crosswise slices so they would really get dispersed well in the salad. Everyone raved that the cucumber addition raised this salad to a higher level of enjoyment. Lucky for me it was a good sweet, juicy, crispy one.

This Thanksgiving Season I am grateful for the incredible variety of foods that we have available to us. Today I celebrate the cucumber.

When the Israelites were
in the desert they would say
..."We remember the fish,
which we did eat in Egypt freely,
the cucumbers, the melons..."
Numbers 11:5

Final Product

Well, I took my stuffed and trussed turkey to George's house. I could not find the rack that is supposed to go into the pan so I place the turkey on four long stalks of celery. I put it in the pan breast side down, a trick Grandma Patty ( my mother-in-law Patty Hulihan) taught me. It makes for juicier, moister breast meat. I also zapped it in the oven at 475 degrees for 15-20 minutes minutes to flash cook it and seal in the juices, another trick she taught me. After 15 or 20 min. minutes, we put the temperature dial down to 325 degrees. The rule of thumb is 20 minutes per pound which would make it a little over 6 hours for this turkey. But we did flash cook it, so that reduced the total cooking time. We put it in the oven at 1pm, with foil over it so it wouldn't brown too fast.

George took the foil off at 4:30 and we took the turkey out of the oven at 5:45pm. That wasn't the 6 hours, but it was done.
It was done! You have to let a cooked turkey stand for 15-20 minutes (cover it again with foil to keep it hot)so the juices get reabsorbed into the flesh. Otherwise if you start cutting it immediately out of the oven, the juices will spill out and your meat won't be as tasty. After we took it out of the oven and let it rest, I flipped it over so it would be breast side up. I used foil for "mitts" since I did not want to get the potholders soiled. George then got out his big cleaver and literally cut the turkey in half down the middle.

He was so thrilled. He thought he was going to have a turkey-less Thanksgiving this year because he was out of money and the family he lives with went out of state for 2 months. I brought over some real mashed potatoes that I had quickly made up while the turkey was resting..and some cranberry sauce. I also brought over some celery, carrots, onion and a few Knorr chicken bullion cubes so he could make broth with them and with the bones and skin. I took the meat off the bones of my half of the turkey. I had 12 cups of chopped cooked turkey! This was after John and I had our supper of a plateful each of turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy and dressing. We had a side tossed salad, too. I simmered my vegetables and turkey bones and skin for 2 hours..what a heavenly smell. MMMMmmmm.After it cooks for several hours like that, strain it and discard the veggies and bones, etc..there is no food value left in them. I double bag it, tie it in a knot, and just put it in the garbage. Refrigerate the broth. I usually use a plastic pitcher or a glass bowl. Next morning, you will see a thin surface of fat on top of the broth. I usually scrape that off with a big spoon and discard it...again, in a plastic bag, tie the not.
Now you can make soup or gravy with this broth. Be creative. I like to just sip hot broth in a mug. I also like to add fresh ground black pepper to the broth along thin sliced green onions and tiny bits of meat.

Turkey Time

Since we are going to Carpinteria for Thanksgiving and having grilled lobster and tri-tip with our relatives and friends, I decided I wanted some turkey. Lots of turkey . For sandwiches and turkey curry, etc. So I went and got a 20 pound turkey for 5 bucks at Food4Less, a special deal for buying 25 dollars worth of groceries. Since our oven is broke, I called our neighbor George on the phone and asked if I could please use his oven and in return, he would get half of the turkey. Here is the turkey (just a plain young california turkey, unwrapped of its plastic cover and after having thawed out in the refirigeartor for 4 days. In the past, I have successfully thawed out a turkey in half a day by putting it in a plastic bag completely submerging it in a sink of water.
The hardest thing about doing a turkey is getting that metal clamp out !!!!! Get your sink super clean and put that turkey in there and wrestle with it in there! I took out the giblet bag and opened it and cooked them for the dogs. The bony neck and fatty tail piece I threw away.

Then I rinsed the inside of the turkey really good, and the outside, too. I blotted the inside with paper towel. I decided to stuff the turkey and went the easy route: Stove Top brand! To make it more delicious, I sauted 2 medium onions, chopped, in a tablespoon of buuter. After 15 minutes, I added a cup and a half of diced celery and sauteed that for just a minute. Then I added the Stove Top stuffing (I used 2 boxes) as prepared by package directions. One exception was that I did not put butter in the cooking water because I knew the stuffing would absorb lots of fat and juices from the turkey itself.
Stuffing the turkey and trussing it was a bit difficult. After stuffing and trussing (sticking those pins in and wrapping the string---er, dental floss ...around them, I had to flip it over to stuff truss the neck opening. I also spread some softened butter under the skin of the breast portion of the turkey. Oh, and I salted and peppered and "Mrs. Dash"ed the outside and the cavity before I put the stuffing in.

My Frittata

Last Thursday morning (my busiest day of the week!) I got a call reminding me of the Relief Society potluck tonight. "Bring a dish and bring the recipe", I was told. Yikes! I forgot. I didn't plan this. And every minute was scheduled today: Family History shift..tutoring at 2 different locations..etc. There was no time to shop.
While driving I thought of a plan: I have all the ingredients for frittata! And while I was home for 20 minutes in mid afternoon, gathering my tutoring materials, I put some rice on to cook. After it was simmering for 12 minutes, I turned off the heat, knowing the residual heat will continue to cook the rice to perfect while i am gone. The event was at 6:30pm. I had to leave extra early to pick up a friend. I was due to be home from tutoring by quarter to 6.

I am happy to report we arrived in time (I left the lid on the frittata and wrapped it all in a thick bath towel for transporting to church, where I served it straight out of the skilliet) and the frittata was delicious.
There are many many different ways to make frittata. This is my way. You can add anything you want to it. I like how it cooks itself while you go about other business at hand. I do not do the traditional "flipping' that the authentic Italian recipes call for.

Here is the recipe:

Joan's Frittata

2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 Tablespoon butter
1/2 cup sweet vidalia onion, diced fine.
8 eggs
2 cups cooked rice
2 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese
(reserving 1 cup of this for sprinkling on top)
1 small can diced green chilis.

Pico de Gallo brand chili powder blend.

In large bowl, beat the eggs unitl frothy. Add the rice,
green chilis, and 1 cup of the grated cheese.
Mix well.
Heat the oil and butter in 10" skillet (I use cast iron.)
Saute diced onion unitl cooked. Remove onion with slotted
spoon and mix into the eggs mixture.

Pour egg mixture into hot skillet.
Sprinkle the other 1 cup cheese on top. Reduce heat to low.
Sprinkle with chili powder blend. Put lid on. Cook this way, undisturbed,
for 20 minutes...or until set.
Serve at the table in the skillet. Cut in pie shaped wedges.
Good with a side salad.

Favorite Sandwich!

OK...still reporting on last Sunday's meals...after church, we had sandwiches. Since it is dark now at supper time (5:00pm), I like to put a lit candle on the table.
These sandwiches are made with whole wheat bread that has 5 grams of fiber per slice.
I used light Miracle Whip, Clausen Dills, extra sharp cheddar cheese (sliced thin on my grater)and of course, fresh ground pepper. A few small tomatoes fresh from the garden add bright color& taste to this meal.

Soup for Lunch

For lunch we each had a huge bowl of homemade chicken soup. I love making my own savory broth for the soup. I get or make a cooked chicken at least twice a month, to take the meat off and slice for sandwiches or cube for my chicken curry dish.)To make up the broth,I cook up the bones, skin (and whatever meat is still clinging to them) from that fully cooked chicken (that I have baked myself or that is from the deli.) Into the cooking water, I put several cut up carrots, celery stalks, 1-2 onions, black pepper and one chicken bullion cube for added salt and flavor. I simmer this for a few hours and I get over a quart of the best broth! I refrigerate the broth to use the next day. After it chills, the fat goes to the surface and I skim most of it off. You want to have some fat in the broth; that is what gives it such good flavor. To make this soup pictured here, I put the broth in a pot and add 1/2 cup each of finely chopped carrot, celery, cabbage (if I have it), and 1/4 cup finely chopped onion and 1 and 1/2 cups chopped chicken and 1 and 1/2 cups raw rice. Simmer 20 minutes. Freshly ground black pepper on top completes this dish. Serve in huge bowls!

Second Breakfast

Continuing on with my report on our day's food, here is what we had for our "second breakfast"....we each had a big steaming mug of hot cocoa. We have big mugs that hold almost 2 cups. Here is the recipe:

Simple Hot Cocoa

Per serving:
1 1/2 cups soy milk
2 level tablespoons Hershey's cocoa
1 dash cinnamon

Combine all ingredients into pot on stove over medium heat
and whisk until hot and frothy. The whisking gives it more than a half cup
of foam. Notice there is no added sugar. We have acquired a taste for this unsweetened drink...it is very chocolaty and there is some sweetness in the soy milk itself (as there is in regular cow's milk.) You may want to add a touch of honey to this drink. This drink gives one energy, warmth and good cheer! With this drink you get much chocolate satisfaction along with 37 percent of the calcium you need for the day. And as Montezuma said: Drink chocolate and you can walk all day without getting tired or hungry

Mid Morning Tonic

Carrot juice! When you drink a glass of carrot juice, you must remember to hold each "swig" in your mouth a while, swishing it around to enjoy the rich taste and to get it started in the digestion process. This drink is so satisfying! Believe it or not, you feel quite full after you drink this. And it is full...full of the vitamins and minerals of the raw carrot! The bright color so appealing to the eye, gladdens the heart! MMMMmmm...I am thankful for carrots, always!

Introduction

My second post on this blog will be my introduction. I tried to do one at the very first but messed up and it did not post..so here goes:
Hello! Since I have been getting such a kick out of other people's food blogs, I decided to do one on my own. This one will be mostly sugar free, though. I hope to include photos, recipes, excerpts from great articles I discover...and personal musings about FOOD! What an appropriate time to start a food blog: the month of Thanksgiving.
My goal is to have a blog that is educational as well as inspirational. Enjoy! Now..onward...

Breakfast

Today, for our "first breakfast', I made a gorgeous fruit salad for John (my husband) and me. Since he has CLL (Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia, cancer of the bone marrow), I am trying to serve super nutritious foods. I read that kiwi repairs damaged DNA. So this fruit bowl (I made 2) has 3 sliced kiwis in it as well as chopped pear, apple, orange sections, and raw pecans. Pecans have the highest level of anti-oxidants of all nuts!