Aroostook County Bounty

We were up in northern Maine last weekend and we quickly discovered that the abundance of rain they'd received in June had flooded the riverbanks and allowed the reeds to grow up to forest-like proportions. This meant that even with waders, we just couldn't get past the reeds in order to cast even with just a spinner rod. Walking around these reed forests in the mud in waders is no fun when you're over 18 weeks pregnant with twins!! Alas, this meant that no fishing was to be had unless we had a boat, which we didn't even think to bring.

As sad as Michael, the fishing addict, was - I knew that all the rain also meant that as long as the farmers wore their mudding boots, they'd be able to pull out some mid-summer crops. Specifically I was on the hunt for new white potatoes and string beans. New potatoes just taste so darn good, and since I'm biased coming from a potato-farming family from Aroostook County, I think new MAINE potatoes are the best around.

Simply wash off the dirt from the potatoes and place them in a pot with the trimmed string beans. If some potatoes are a bit larger, just halve them. No need to peel the tender peels off, they are quite edible and rather tasty! Cover the veggies with water, bring to a boil with the lid on (it's faster that way!!), and keep a close watch on them though because once at a boil it'll froth up and over due to the starch in the spuds. Boil for about 20 minutes until fork tender.

I know that the beans will look way overcooked, more so than we usually like, but for this dish, that's what I intend! Serve up with a smidgeon of margarine or butter on the spuds and some salt and pepper and you're good to go. I like my served up with a simple steak with a dollop of A1 sauce on the side, but clearly the stars of the show come from the Crown of Maine.

Catching Up

Catching up with a few things while wondering what could be better than the crispy wing tips off a just-roasted chicken...

The beautifully roasted chicken seen here came out perfectly - VERY juicy white meat, buttery dark meat, and yummy crispy skin. We are on the constant hunt for recipes that turn out the perfect roast chicken - as you can see from all our previous attempts. The latest recipe we tried - with much success - was this one from... Molecular Solutions? The recipe is from 1967 Mastering the Art of French Cooking by Julia Child and it involved cooking the chicken on it's sides - which I still can't figure out. However, as they say on their site, if you follow the recipe "the chicken will, indeed, be perfect."

WE WON! WE WON! We won the Cool Beans contest over at Just Braise! We beat the 1-in-8 odds (a 12.5% chance!) and received our prize of a shipment of Cool Beans Dips at our doorstep this week! As you might expect, these were opened immediately and enjoyed with some chips and crackers. These blended, flavored Northern Beans-and-olive oil dips are delicious, they taste just like something we'd blend up in the food processor ourselves. The Hot and Spicy was just that - with a nice spicy kick. The Roasted Garlic had a great mellow roasted garlic and a little salt and lemon flavor - we had this spread on a ham sandwich with yummy results. The Carmelized Onion is the only one we've yet to crack - I don't think we'll hold out long. THANKS to Stacey at Just Braise and the Cool Beans Guys. We see that you can get them at our old grocery store - Foodie's Urban Market - in the South End of Boston on Washington, in addition to many other locations...

We received an email from old friend Jaye at Butta Buns letting us know that there is a Dessert Tasting Fundraiser being held on Saturday, March 29th at the Vietnamese American Community Center in Fields Corner, Dorchester. How can you go wrong when you're raising funds AND having dessert??? Check out her Attention Boston Area Bakers and Dessert Lovers post for more details - we may have to take the T over for some of those Bacon Peanut Butter Muffins she's making!

Finally, we were away for a while in Sunny Rochester, NY visiting with the Brother and Sister-in-Law of Boston Chef. While there, Brother Chef made a yummy Texas-style (no beans!) chili that had great smokey ancho flavor - which we ate over some cornbread. He ALSO made a very nice shrimp-and-chicken pad thai...

But the REAL reason we went was to hang out with our little nephews! Jack made a visit to Boston back in May of 2006, but - as you can see below - he's grown up a little since then. Here he is enjoying his 3rd Birthday Cake!


Plus, he's got a new little brother who ALSO enjoys cake - perhaps even moreso!!!


Happy Birthday, Jack!

Black Bean Dip

I think this dip definitely qualifies as a SuperBowl winner. Super easy, super healthy, and super yummy...who doesn't love a good bean dip...it's the musical fruit!

Sautee 1 small to medium diced onion and one diced red bell pepper in 1 tbsp olive oil. Reserve 1 tsp of the uncooked red pepper and dice even finer for the garnish. Sweat the veggies for 10 minutes and then add 2-3 cloves of minced garlic and more oil if needed. Sautee for 5 more minutes.

While veggies cook, place the following in a food processor:

2 16oz cans drained black beans
2 diced plum tomatoes
juice from 2 limes and 1 lemon
1 tbsp cumin
1/8 tsp-1/4 of cayenne
a handful of chopped cilantro

Give those items a whirr, then add the cooked veggies and puree until smooth with some S&P. You may have to add a drizzle of olive oil and more citrus and more spices but it depends on your palate. Garnish with the reserved pepper and a sprig of cilantro. Refrigerate for 2 hrs and serve with tortilla or pita chips!



Go Pats!

Spicy Black Bean Soup

The latest addition to our kitchen is a mighty powerful Cuisinart handheld blender. I think it may change my life! It could make me crazy – I can imagine myself trying to puree everything from steak to eggplant parm... but let’s not get ahead of ourselves. I have yet to exhaust all the normal recipes that are floating in my head, in cookbooks, and on the internet.

I knew I had always had black beans in my pantry for a reason – healthy, full of protein and a long shelf-life! Plus this soup kicked butt.

This is a what-do-I-have-in-my-crisper-drawer kind of soup, and you really can’t go wrong. I had half a red onion, half a green bell pepper, 10 baby carrots and 2 ribs of celery, all of which I diced pretty small so they would cook quickly. Into my soup pot went 1 tbs butter, and then the onion, followed by all the other veggies and 3 cloves minced garlic. I would add the onions, chop the next veggie, put that in and repeat. After about 15 minutes of sautéing, I added 2 16 oz cans of rinsed black beans and just enough stock to come up to the top of the beans... less is better because you can always add more after pureeing.

After letting that come up to a boil, I turned down the heat and let the soup simmer for 15 minutes with 1 tbs cumin, 1/8 tsp ground chipotle, 1/2 tsp Mexican oregano and S&P to taste. Then the fun began!! This blender is like a mighty boat motor - it demolished the soup in five seconds flat! I chose to blend the entire pot, but if you like yours chunky, you can always remove maybe a cup of veggies, puree the rest and then add the intact veggies back to the pot.

Finished the soup off with a dollop of sour cream, but you could also do crushed tortillas, cilantro, or cheese!

Three Bean Salad

Unbeknownst to me, M LOVES 3 bean salad! (Ed note: we've been together for 7.5 years) And why wouldn’t he... it’s flavorful, healthy and full of protein. My only problem with it is that recipes for 3 bean salad call for lots of sugar, but I figured I could make my own version of this classic using a little sugar and a little Splenda and still get a delicious salad out of the deal.

1 can of red kidney beans and 1 can of garbanzo beans were rinsed and added to 1 can of green and wax beans. I thinly sliced (super thin!) some red onion – about a quarter of the onion, and also threw in some finely diced celery for some added crunch. I used 1 rib, but next time, I may use 2 and a bit more onion. I also chopped up about a handful of flat-leaf parsley and added that to the salad as well.

On to the dressing. I really just eyeballed everything, but here are some approximates…1 tbs sugar, 3 tbs Splenda, 1 or 1.5 cups cider vinegar, 1 tsp celery seed, 1 tsp dill weed, a few pinches of salt and some cracked peppercorn. Mix this up with a couple splashes EVOO and throw over the salad to marinate. Although it can be eaten right away, much better after a couple hours in the fridge, and even super tastier overnight!



We had ours with some grilled corn and marinated steak tips - a great summer dinner!

Pork & Black Bean Tacos

We made a wonderful braised pork shoulder this past weekend, and we knew this 7lb monster (well, maybe 6lbs after all the skin and fat were trimmed) would create a foundation for many weeknight meals to come!

This is such an easy weeknight meal that involves little preparation, and that’s what I like after commuting an hour on the subway to get home after a long day. I started by bringing 3-4 cups of veggie stock to a boil and adding some Mexican oregano, cumin, chili powder, salt and some ground chipotle to it. I then shredded up maybe just-under a pound of leftover pork and threw that in to simmer with the broth and spices for at least 20 minutes, longer if you want!


When you feel like you’re ready to eat in about 10 minutes, start a sautee pan over medium heat with a couple tbs olive oil, and add half of a smallish onion that has been chopped, along with some green chiles if you want some heat. Let those cook for about 5 minutes and then add a can of rinsed black beans to the pan. Season with some salt and then after a couple minutes, coarsely mash the beans right in the pan, and let that warm through.



We served our tacos up on some multigrain soft tortillas with some lettuce, tomato, sour cream and salsa. These tacos came out great on the plate, as well as all over the front of my shirt, but oh well!

Chicken Chili

Last night we were reminiscing about winters past and how we'd be holed-up in our old apartment on freezing, snowy Sundays, watching football and venturing out to walk to the store for "supplies" and maybe to clear the car of snow. Both of us having been brought up in some very snowy regions of New England, we certainly love the snow - so we'd always enjoy getting bundled up to head out and otherwise being "snow-bound" on those December and January weekends. For example, here is a picture of our old street in the South End of Boston from the evening of December 6th, 2003:



This weekend, January 6th, 2007? We played tennis at the park and sat out on the back deck in the sun wearing shorts and t-shirts. It was nearly 70-degrees on Saturday! We've had a TOTAL of .5" of snow so far this winter, and - on the Boston Common - the trees are sprouting flowers and the tulips are starting to come up. WHERE ARE YOU WINTER? WHERE ARE YOU SNOW? COME BACK TO US!!! (why do I think I'm going to regret asking that...?)

Regardless, it's still technically winter and playoff Patriots football is on, so we decided to do what we've done for years and make Chili. Chicken Chili, to be exact, but something a little different than our old White Bean and Chicken Chili. This Chicken Chili was going to be meatier - with two different "types" of chicken, breast chunks and ground chicken - and more traditionally "chili"...

We started some water boiling and cut up 1.6lbs of boneless/skinless chicken breast into big chunks before dropping them into the boiling water for ~10 minutes - until they were simply poached and cooked through - then just take them out and let them rest. At the same time, we started our dutch oven on medium-ish heat and browned 1lb of ground chicken.

As that was finishing and after drained, we seasoned with our collection of chili spices that we'd use throughout this recipe: Ground Cumin, Mexican Oregano, Chili Powder, (a little bit of) Cayenne Pepper, Smoked Paprika, and salt and black pepper. The Cumin, Mexican Oregano, and Smoked Paprika were all from the recent Christmas Gift of Penzey's Spices that we received from Stacey's Parents - greatest gift ever!

The now-seasoned ground chicken comes out, we gave the dutch oven a wipe and started some fresh oil and in went a couple of medium onions chopped to 1/2" pieces - to sweat it out for almost 10 minutes on low-ish heat. Then a green pepper and a red pepper - all chopped to 1/2" pieces - joined the party for another 10 minutes. Finally, we added a couple cloves minced garlic and let this all come together for 5 more minutes. We then seasoned with the same combination of spices that went on the ground chicken... and turned up the heat.



When the veggies were cooked down and getting very tender, we added about a cup of chicken stock and used our wooden spoon to rub off all of the cooked bits in the bottom of the pan - getting all those spices and flavor into the new liquid. Then we immediately added 2 32-ounce cans of diced tomatoes and 2 small cans of tomato sauce and got all of that up to temperature.

As that was heating up, we shredded that poached chicken breast with our fingers and add it piece-by-piece into the chili. Finally, the cooked-and-seasoned shredded chicken gets added back in. We decided we needed some more liquid, so we had an extra cup of chicken stock on hand, of which we added another 3/4. An initial taste and addition of seasoning and then it was set phasers to simmer and see-how-long-we-can-wait time!



After about 20 minutes, we were ready to add the final ingredient - beans. We knew we had about 20 minutes left total cooking time, so in went a 32 oz can cannelini beans and a 16oz can pinto beans.

After that final 20 minutes, we were back in tasting and re-seasoning... just a little more of that wonderful oregano and a little salt and it was tasting spicy and delicious. Scoop out a nice, chunky spoonful into a bowl with a dollop of sour cream and we were ready to eat.

With great smoky flavor from the paprika and cumin, spice from the cayenne and chili powder, and lots of meat from all the chicken, this Chicken Chili came out wonderfully spicy and really hit the spot on a Warm Winter's Day. The flavor was almost "buttery" from all the spices and the liquid... The leftovers will certainly be even better and a big ziplock bag of this Chicken Chili will end up in our freezer for when the REAL cold weather comes!

Mexican Lasagna

Welcome to another addition of What Do We Have In The House??? We were out later than we thought doing some Christmas shopping and just wanted to get out of the crowds and get home without going to the grocery store. Once home, we scavanged through our fridge and cupboard and found: a package of ground turkey, a can of black beans, a can of corn, 1/2 package of wheat tortillas, a package of "taco" cheese, a small jar of pimento, a can of stewed tomatoes and a can of tomato sauce, and a big ol' zucchini. No problem, let's assemble some sort of Mexican Lasagna!

Browned the ground turkey and seasoned it at the end with cumin, chili powder, oregano, red pepper flake, and kosher salt... removed to a bowl when brown and already smelling good.



Cut up the zucchini twice lengthwise, then into little half-quarters and added it to the saute pan to start them softening. Seasoned the zucchini with the same mixture.



After four minutes, added the pimento which had been sliced up... then the can of black beans... then the corn... then the tomatoes and tomato sauce. Combined and tested the seasoning and started the oven on it's preheat to 400.



Added the turkey back in and made sure everything had a chance to come together and mingle. Got out a big, glass baking dish and started are Lasagna "layers" with a layer of torn wheat tortillas on the bottom, followed by some big scoops of the meat-and-veggie mixture, followed by a layer of the taco cheese. Repeated with a layer of tortillas, layer of good stuff, and a final layer of cheese at the top.





Into the 400-degree oven for about 30 minutes, until everything is bubblin' and the cheese is melted and brown on the top! Enjoy with a seat and a beer - a great, quick meal after a long day shopping... WITH leftovers!

Smoked Turkey, Cabbage and Black-Eyed Pea Soup

Every once in awhile, while watching either Emeril or Paula Dean, we hear them mention that you can use smoked turkey legs instead of ham hocks in soups or greens recipes. Count us in!

We are in full soup-season swing here in New England. As you can probably tell, we like nothing more than sitting in the kitchen on Sundays, watching our beloved Patriots, and constructing a soup all day that is ready for supper, leftovers, AND a freezerbag or two. This past Sunday was no exception (and the Pats won a close one!)...

They have smoked turkey at our local Stop and Shop - it's not fully cooked, but is "smoked"... We grabbed about 3 smoked turkey legs and a couple of smoked turkey wings and threw them in about 12 cups of chicken stock and water and low boiled them for about 15 minutes before adding some veggies that were cut into 1 inch cubes: 1 onion, 2 cups carrots, 2 cups celery and 4 cloves minced garlic.



For seasoning, we threw in some bay leaves, thyme and black pepper. After another 20 minutes, we took out the turkey, removed the skin, chopped it up and put it back in the pot. Our kitchen was smelling smokey-delicious at this point!



We skimmed off the fat, scum, froth, etc and then reseasoned a little - then threw in 2 cans of black-eyed peas and 2 cups of cubed butternut squash. After bringing the soup back up to a boil, we then added 1 head of Savoy cabbage which had been shredded.



Cooked for 30 more minutes, and ta-da a wonderfully smoky bean and cabbage soup!

We'd give this soup about an 8/10. It needed more seasoning to put it over-the-top, not sure what (more pepper!). And I probably would have thrown in rutabega or white potatoes in instead of the squash - which seemed too sweet for the dish. 'Til next time!

Sausage and Bean Soup

Autumn is finally here - as of 12:03 Eastern time this morning, the exact time of the autumn equinox. The two equinoxes every year (autumn and spring) are the times at which the sun is directly over the equator and - theoretically, at least - day and night share equal time of 12 hours in both the northern and southern hemispheres of the Earth.

In the northern hemisphere the nights are longer going forward and, particularily in New England, you'll certainly start feeling a chill in the air. We brought our first pumpkin home yesterday to celebrate our favorite time of year and - after a wet and chilly day walking around to the annual yard sales around Ashmont, Dorchester - we decided we wanted comfort food in the form of soup...

But, what kind of soup? Good old standby chicken and dumpling stew (which we surprisingly haven't blogged on yet, but I assure you we will), a meatball sort of soup or possibly something new. We went with the something new as long as that something new included sausage! Looking around the web, we saw a few recipes that caught our eye... we took aspects from many recipes and came up with our own for sausage and bean soup.

We put our soup pot on and started getting 12 cups of chicken broth boiling with 1 chopped onion and 4 cloves of garlic. In the meantime, we chunked up 1.5 lbs of turkey kielbasa and threw in the sausage along with almost a whole 32oz can of diced tomatoes, 2 cups thawed chopped spinach, 2 bay leaves, ground fennel, salt, black pepper and red pepper flakes.

After returning to a slow boil, add in a 19oz can of garbanzo beans (chickpeas) and a 16oz can of white kidney beans. Slow boil this pot of loving good yumminess for at least 30 minutes more, but, hey, the longer you have time to cook this, the better it will be! Sprinkle with a little parmesean cheese right before serving.

Came out DELICOUSLY - a real nice, spicy kick from the sausage and pepper (perfect for chilly weather!), wonderful, flavorful broth, and lovely green spinach and beans and kielbasa chunks in every bite! Excellent leftovers, too...

Fish Tacos

Can we please take a break from the grill, she said? Just to mix it up a bit, you know? Well, sure, as long as we use our grill pan to cook the fish on...no one can escape the grill. With that being said, we reinvented our famous fish tacos, and now they are a hundred times better. We used to cut up cod/haddock in chunks, dredge them in flour and fry them up in some canola oil. Good, but not overly-flavorful...it relied heavily on the sauce we mix up to give it zing (taco sauce mixed with some tartar sauce and chopped fresh cilantro, chilled well.)

This time M got a nice piece of haddock which he marinated in white wine, lime juice, cilantro, sliced jarred jalapenos - plus a big splash of the jalapeno juice - for 30 minutes. M put the whole filet on a hot grill pan, only flipping once. While M was busy with the fish, S sauteed up some onion and garlic in some EVOO, then added some rinsed and mashed black beans to the pan with some salt. After about 5 minutes, beans done, fish done.

Using WHEAT tortillas (yes, S is still tormenting M with the no white flour dealie), we built our tacos with the fish, black beans, cheese, lettuce, tomato and sauce. The fish alone was an amazing standout....so flavorful and healthier than our fried version. This definitely gets a thumbs up and we would certainly serve it for guests.