In the Kitchen, Family Style

Rachel here.

No recipe today. Just a moment instead.

We spent Saturday afternoon in the kitchen. John whipped up a gorgeous roast chicken, stuffed to the brim and lying in a bed of sweet potatoes, carrots and onion. It was simple and fresh and, after Maxine was in bed, it made the perfect date night dinner (we have dates on Saturdays, come hell or high water). While he did this, Max and I threw a thousand little bits and pieces into our slow cooker. A handful of corn, pinches of peas, tomato and chicken stock, freshly snapped green beans, carrots and celery and onion freshly sauteed, orzo...and then a little more, and whatever seasonings we could get our hands on from the spice drawer (which is in serious need of a restock). Chicken roasted, soup simmered, and for an hour or so there, all three of us were chitchatting and giggling while our hands worked, sharing tasting spoons and reveling in the warmth and good smells that seeped throughout our house.

I caught myself for a moment, thought "Oh! I'd better start writing this all down. I'd better start snapping pictures." But then I forgot, pulled back into the present by Maxine's request for a spoon to stir with or something like that. And I'm glad.

Because this little pocket in a Saturday afternoon?

It was one of those moments I'd always imagined for my family when I was growing up. Everyone was involved, we were focused on tending to our most basic needs, and none of it felt like work.

It was awesome.

Cooking Through Grief and Worry and Frustration and ...

Last week was not easy. I went to the memorial service of a man who was like a second father to me — my childhood best friend's father. While he lived a wonderful full life, dying only three weeks after he was out dancing with his wife of 63 years and at the age of 87, it's still, as everyone knows who has suffered this kind of loss, gut wrenching.

Last week is also when our granddaughter was diagnosed with MRSA. MRSA, if you don't know, is a fairly — no very — scary antibiotic-resistant form of staph. Of course Rachel and John have pulled out all the stops. (You can read about it in Rachel's blog.) But they're 3,000 miles away and I can't do a damn thing to help other than read things about MRSA online (I would not recommend this as a plan by the way) and try very hard not to freak out.

So in between just feeling sad and hyperventilating, I did one of the things I do when I'm trying to work through emotions. I cooked.

I made mookies (recipe here)


And roasted vegetable soup


And a quiche


and banana chocolate chip oatmeal cookies


(Oh and I also put a coat of paint on a display case I'm redoing and knit. So yea, I was a little manic.)

The cooking made me feel a little better, though. As I diced and mixed and stirred and spiced, I felt as if things were normal. I was making good food for someone I love, food that would nurture him literally and emotionally, and for at least those moments life's uncontrollable moments were held at bay. It may not be for long, but I'll take it.

Banana Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

ingredients
1 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 cup (! 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
1/2 cup mashed ripe banana
1 cup rolled oats
8 ounces semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cups chopped walnuts

method
Heat oven to 375 degrees.
Mix together the butter and sugars in a large bowl and beat until light and creamy. Add the egg and vanilla and mix until combined. Mix in the banana. Add the flour, salt and baking soda and mix until just combined. Add the oats, chocolate chips and walnuts.

Place on a baking sheet. Bake 12-13 minutes until golden brown. Cool on wire racks.

Whatever is in the Fridge Soup

Janet here:

The leaves are beginning to turn and we've had enough touches of cooler weather here in the Northeast that I've started thinking soup. I got into soup in a serious way last winter. Our middle child, G, was living with us at the time and was on a health kick that included lots of fresh fruits and veggies. So he was really interested in soup, too, particularly to pack for lunch at his job.

It was just the excuse I needed to expand my soup repertoire, which before this had mostly been potato leek soup (mighty good I might add) and the obvious vegetable. Then I discovered roasted vegetables and our soup lives changed.

I roasted cauliflower, I roasted broccoli, I roasted sweet potatoes, parsnips and carrots. I roasted just about anything I could get my hands on, added some broth and spices and every single time had a lovely, slurpable soup.

If you've ever been a little reluctant about experimenting with food, ie stepping outside the recipe box and adding a dash of this or a spot of that, soup is a great way to start. I don't know what it is about roasting that makes everything taste better, but it just does. So grab your favorite vegetables and get going. I hear it's going to be cooler and rainy this weekend...just right for some soup.

Whatever...Soup

ingredients
3 leeks, cleaned and sliced in half and in two-inch pieces
3 red peppers, seeded and cored, cut into slices
1 cauliflower, cut into roastable pieces
2-3 tablespoons olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
chili powder to taste
3-4 cups (or so) of chicken or vegetable broth

method
Heat oven to 400 degrees. Cut up the veggies, place them in a roasting pan. Add the olive oil, salt, pepper and chili powder and toss until the vegetables are well coated.

Bake for 20 minutes. Then toss and bake another 20 minutes until the vegetables are well roasted. Let them cool a bit.

Place some of the vegetables in a blender with some of the broth. Puree to your desired consistency. Do this until all the vegetables are pureed. Then add as much broth as you want to create soup of the consistency you like. Taste and add additional seasoning if necessary.

Meatless Monday: Curried Butternut Squash Soup

Janet here: I believe I have discovered the secret to great soup: roast your vegetables first. Seriously, I may never make soup without doing this again. While I'm sure this butternut squash soup would have been lovely without roasting the squash and red onions first, roasting them brought out the flavor so much more fully.

I also love how carefree roasting is. Just cut whatever veggies you're roasting, add a few tablespoons of olive oil, salt and pepper to taste, and toss. Throw it in a 425-degree oven and forget about it for 30 minutes or so. Can it get any easier?

But you don't have to take my word for it. Try this and you won't be disappointed. Add a little bread and a salad and you are good to go. Enjoy!



Curried Butternut Squash Soup
serves 4-6

ingredients
1 medium red onion, cut into large pieces, maybe 1/8ths
2 pounds butternut squash, peeled and cut into large pieces
2 tablespoons olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
4 or so cups of vegetable or chicken stock
1 tablespoon or so curry powder

method
Heat the oven to 425 degrees. Place the onion, squash and olive oil in a large rectangular pan. Add salt and pepper; toss well until the veggies are well oiled. Put in oven. Roast for about 30 minutes or until the veggies are just tender and lightly browned.

Add the veggie mix to a blender in batches along with some of the stock each time. Puree and then place into a large pot. Do this until it's all pureed. Then add stock as needed, depending on how thin you like your soup. I like mine fairly thick but so it goes. Add the curry powder to taste and warm the soup. That's it!

Spicy Chicken Soup

Janet here:

I'm officially done with winter. Yes, I KNOW it's only the beginning of March and that this means the likelihood of more snow and yuck for at least a month here in the Northeast, but I've really kind of had it and am trying not to think about how I am not going to a Caribbean island this month as I have for the last two years, which clearly is what I SHOULD be doing and the gods are just against me.

Anyway, I needed a tasty soup to satisfy my clearly Vitamin-D depressed soul and came up with this one on Sunday. Warning: If you don't like spice, this one isn't for you. On the other hand, you can amend to make it as mild as you want so there it is. I served it with ciabatta with melted cheddar and tomatoes on top, and a nice salad. We ate by the fire and for a minute, I could forget that freezing rain — yes, freezing rain — was in the forecast for later that night.

What do you cook up when you're trying to feel better about the weather?



Spicy Chicken Soup
serves 6

ingredients
olive oil for sauteing
1 medium red onion, diced
2-3 red chili peppers, seeded and diced
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and diced
2-3 chipotle peppers, diced
1 15 ounce can black beans
1/2 bottle of beer (Dos Equis would be in keeping with the Mexican flavor but all we had was Bud so Bud it was)
1 heaping teaspoon paprika
1 heaping teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
salt and pepper to taste
1 rotisserie chicken, skinned and shredded
28-ounce can of fire-roasted tomatoes
2-3 cups of vegetable or chicken stock

method
Saute the onions and peppers in olive oil for a few minutes. Then add spices, beans and beer. Let simmer for about 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes. Simmer some more. At this point, I put about half the mixture into the blender to make the soup a little thicker. Add the stock and chicken and simmer for a while until you're ready to serve.

Soup Anyone?

Lest people think Rachel and I are only obsessed with desserts and sugar, I thought I'd put up this tasty, easy soup that I made the other night for dinner. I served it with a frittata and life was good all the way around.

Roasted Tomato Black Bean Soup
serves about 6

ingredients
7 tomatoes, cut into quarters
1 large onion, cut into about 6 pieces
3 cloves of garlic, whole
about 2 tablespoons of olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
2 15-ounce cans of black beans, drained and rinsed
4-5 cups broth, veggie or chicken (how much depends on how soupy you like your soups)
1-2 teaspoons chili powder
1-2 teaspoons cumin
1 teaspoon garlic powder

method
Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Place the tomatoes, onion and garlic into a large bowl and toss with the olive oil and salt/pepper. Place on a baking pan and roast for about 30 minutes until the tomatoes are soft and the onions are beginning to brown slightly. Garlic should be soft too.

Meanwhile drain and rinse the beans. When the tomatoes are done, place them in a large saucepan with the beans, spices and broth. Let simmer for about 10 minutes. Then place in the blender in batches and puree. Add a little fresh cilantro if you're so inclined and you're ready to go.

What's your favorite go-to soup for supper?

Snow Day? Soup Day!

We're in the middle of a full-on nor'easter here in New England. It's been snowing all night and shows no sign of letting up. Peter, S and G are all snug in their beds upstairs while I, chronic semi-insomniac, am up.

I am a fan of winter overall, at least in the beginning. Talk to me in March and I'll tell a very different story. But today, with the snow falling and everywhere whisper-quiet, and the house feeling as cozy as a favorite sweater, I feel content. It's a perfect soup day, don't you think? Just the right antidote for those still crazy enough to shovel their driveways (that would be us, thanks to an odd Luddite anti-snowblower/plow streak in my husband) or for young children who come in fresh from playing in the snow or, if you plan to spend your wintry day indoors (sensibly) by the fire, for just the coziness factor. Nothing warms up the stomach and soul like a good homemade soup.

I'm not sure what I will make later today but soup is definitely on the agenda. I made this creamy leek soup a couple of weeks ago inspired by a recipe in Every Day with Rachael Ray, though, and it was delicious and I offer it up to you in case you're on the soup prowl. If you don't have all the ingredients, don't worry — improvise! Happy slurping!


Creamy Chicken and Leek Soup
serves 6

ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 leeks, white and green part split lengthwise and then sliced crosswise
4 ribs celery, thinly sliced
salt and pepper to taste
1 32 ounce container chicken or vegetable stock
2 cups heavy cream
1 pound chicken tenders, cut into small chunks
1 pound fresh gnocchi
1/3 cup chopped parsley
3 tablespoons dry sherry
1 teaspoon paprika

method
In a large pot, heat the olive oil. Add the leeks, celery, and salt and pepper. Cook until the vegetables are softened over medium heat, about 5 minutes.
Add the chicken and cook about 5 minutes until the meat is lightly browned. Add the chicken broth and bring to a boil. Stir in the cream and lower the heat to simmer. Add the gnocchi and cook about 5 minutes. Stir in the parsley, sherry and paprika and serve it up.

A Beery Good Dinner

We have known Mike for years in various capacities, including music (he and I played in an orchestra together while he was in high school and drove to rehearsals each week together, including one snowstorm where neither one of us could see the road) and Rachel playing regularly with his sister and then it all just moved from there for her and Mike and that's all I'm going to say.

We were thrilled to learn Mike is a regular LTIR reader AND that he makes his own beer. When he noted on facebook he was hosting a beer pairing party, I asked him to share ... which he has in wonderful detail and with photos aplenty. So, without further ado, let the beer pairing begin!

Hi Janet and Rachel -

My little beer dinner the other night was a HUGE success. Everything was paired perfectly, and overall, we were very happy with how the food turned out. Big thanks to my sister (who was in town for my graduating recital a few days earlier) and my boyfriend, who is an excellent cook and an even better party planner...

I’ve been making my own beer for a few years now; I started when I was living in Boston and it has progressed and evolved into a crowd pleaser for my friends and family. And of course, if you bring your own homemade alcohol to any party, you INSTANTLY have tons of friends. As my friends and I have been partying together for the last few years, I have consistently been bringing different styles of beers to our gatherings. The problems becomes that as I only bring a single growler (about 4 pints worth), many of my friends don’t get a chance to drink any!!! I just run out!!

So I decided to host a party pairing my favorite styles of beer with food to go along with them! I must admit, though, that I did make a beer that I had never made before. .. BUT it turned out amazing! All of my decisions basically had to be made 3 months in advance, since that’s the amount of time I needed in order to get all the styles done, have them ferment, and age and condition properly.

So here is everything that I have done, including the beer recipes. The food recipes are either things we just put together from epicurious.com, or from family/friends’ recipes. The beer recipes are mostly based on recipes by Jamil Zainasheff (available in publication and free online ... just google it all) and have been changed by me over time. I’m not going to write out all the steps needed to brew the beer. If people are interested in recreating the recipes, there are tons of resources out there if they are novice brewers; try northernbrewer.com, howtobrew.com, or they can email me for my specific process. All of the recipes were designed to please a crowd of people ... I’m sure you could increase or decrease as needed!

Cheers

-MW


Carrot and Squash Soup with Bacon & Rosemary
Paired with a Scottish 60/- (reads “60 shilling”)
Not subtle, just quiet... with notes of toast, honey, and very smooth
ABV 2.5%

Soup ingredients
1 acorn squash
Butter
Brown sugar
3 lbs of carrots, peeled and diced into 1-inch chunks
2 medium onions in 1 inch pieces
Chicken stock to cover
1 rounded teaspoon ginger, peeled and grated
1/2 rounded teaspoons each of Allspice, ground cloves
Red pepper flakes (just a dash)
Salt/Pepper to taste
Garnish with rosemary and bacon

method
Heat oven to 300 degrees. Cut the squash in half and scrape out the seeds; place two pats of butter on a rimmed baking sheet and top with brown sugar; invert the squash halves on the butter, and bake for 45-60 minutes. (We added a bit of water to the bottom of the baking sheet to keep the squash from sticking).

While the squash is baking, prep the carrots and the onions and put them in a big stock pot. When the squash is done, scrape out the flesh and add it to the stock pot. Cover the veggies with chicken stock and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer, add the spices, and cook until all the veggies are tender. To finish, let the soup cool overnight (first on stove top and later in the fridge), and then puree in a blender. Reheat and serve! Garnish with bacon and rosemary chopped up (the rosemary is from my indoor herb garden ... ok ok, I have this plant and a basil plant, but it’s a garden, right?!?!?!).


Scottish 60/ Beer
(all beer recipes are for 6 gals at the end of the boil, 5 ½ gals fermented, 5 gals in keg/bottle)

This is an easy-drinking pub ale. Like many people, I use a beer like this to grow yeast. I’ll pitch 1 commercially bought package of yeast, ferment the beer, and then collect the “offspring” to re-pitch into more beers (usually I can get 3 or 4 beers off of a first generation). This is one of the ways I maintain my house culture. When I feel the yeast has given me all it’s going to (after about 5 or 6 generations), I’ll either buy another commercial package or build up a culture off of a plate (my friend, who is a scientist and works in a lab doing all sorts of experiments, plated the yeast for me!). So I keep this beer on hand, not only for function, but it has a lot of flavor for an easy drinking beer.

ingredients
1.038 SG, 1.010 FG
5 ½ lbs base malt (I use American 2-Row for just about everything. Continental malts will definitely add more flavor, but I don’t always have it on hand.)
½ lb Munich malt
1 lb Crystal 40
½ lb Honey malt
¼ lb Crystal 120
3 oz Pale Chocholate
⅔ oz East Kent Golding hops for 60 min
House Yeast (I have been keeping an active culture of Pacman yeast for a while now, which is what I used... Jamil uses WY1056 or WLP001, available from Wyeast and White Labs)

method
Mash at 158*, sparge and lauter as normal. Add hops as indicated. Cool and pitch a good amount of yeast. Ferment WY1056/WLP001 at 65*, but I went around 62* with Pacman. Cold condition for a few months will round out the flavors and mellow the bitterness. Carbonate on the low end. When I served this at the party, I brought the keg up to cellar temperature (we have an area of the basement level that is just around 52*) and served off of a portable CO2 charger rather than with my big tank. The result was very similar to cask, which would be more authentic. If I were to try this again for a party, I would naturally carbonate in a “cube,” which is available online, and serve with gravity rather than forced CO2.



Moules-Frites
Traditional Belgian dish of Mussels in broth with Potato Pancake “frites”
Paired with a Belgian Saison
Sweet, spicy, sour, funky
ABV 6%
This is a traditional Belgian dish with an AWESOME Belgian/French style beer. Both are some of my favorites (if you’re not familiar with Saisons, it can be sweet or dry, high or low in alcohol, spicy or fruity, sour or clean; it’s a very versatile style. Jamil writes that it should be dry, and I agree to some extent, except that I think some residual sweetness adds to the spicy complexity. But he is an expert, so it’s ok to trust him and not to trust me!!! Regardless, this is probably my favorite style of European beers). We were very lucky to find Cape Cod mussels flown in right on the morning of the party. Instead of fries, we opted for Potato Pancakes, just to make it a little different. The pancakes were made a few days before the party; the mussels were done right before serving!

Pancake ingredients
5 lbs potatoes
3 medium onions
3 eggs
Flour
Salt/Pepper
Lots of oils... to fry with

method
We started (and when I say we, I actually mean my sister) by grating the potatoes and the onion. Poor Sarah did this by hand, since we don’t have a food processor. Add a few eggs to hold everything together; add another if you think it needs it. Same thing with the flour. Please season liberally (there’s nothing worse than bland fried potatoes!) and fry away. We drained the excess oil with paper towels. Since we knew we would keep them in the fridge for a day and then reheat in the oven, we slightly under-cooked the pancakes.

Mussels ingredients
Olive Oil
Shallots
Garlic
White wine
Chicken Stock
Tomatoes, diced
Mussels

The pot that was big enough to cook all of the mussels (we used about 4 lbs for a crowd of 20, with enough to go around for people to have seconds, thirds, even fourths!) had a flimsy bottom, so we had to build the broth in one pan and then transfer it to the big pot.

Heat a pan; add the olive oil and, after it's hot, saute the shallots and garlic. Deglaze with the wine, add stock, and bring to a boil. (From here, we transferred the broth to the bigger pot and added more wine and stock so that we didn’t scorch the bottom of the pan. if you’re using the same pan or pot, just keep everything happy where it is!) Add tomatoes and bring everything back to a boil. Add the mussels (make sure they are all washed first), and steam just until the mussels open, about 6-7 minutes. Because we were making so many, we stirred the mussels every so often so that the ones on the bottom didn’t cook faster than the ones on top.

Belgian Beer
This beer is very difficult to ferment. I actually made 2 batches for the party, since I didn’t like the way the first came out (it’s the same recipe for both batches; I just monitored the fermentation better). In the past and in the batches I made for the party, I used WLP565, but in the future I will try a blend of yeasts that White Labs has available. Supposedly, you get all the flavors of the straight-up Saison yeast, but without the crazy fermentation problems!

ingredients
1.066 SG, 1.012 FG
7 ¾ lbs Light LME
1 ½ lb Cane Sugar
½ lb Munich LME
½ lb Wheat LME
2 oz CaraMunich (steeped)
1 ½ oz East Kent Golding hops for 60 min, ½ oz EKG hops at end of boil
WLP565 Saison Yeast

method
Do your normal extract with steeping-grains process: steep, add your extract, boil with hop additions, cool, ferment, etc. I began fermentation around 70* and raised to about 80 or 85 over the course of a week. Carbonate on the high end, but not too high, since that will mask many of the subtle yeast flavors!




Korean Style Braised Beef
Served with Mushrooms, Carrots, Kimchi, and Pickles
Paired with a Dark Belgian Saison
Dark as Midnight, earthy, musky, and funky
Partially fermented with Brettanomyces
ABV about 5.5%
Many of my friends in Boston are of Korean decent. One friend in particular, who is also an amazing violinist, had a few of us over to her family’s home one night for Kalbi-chim, which is Korean Braised Short-ribs (I guess “kalbi” is the word for beef and “chim” is the word for braised). My boyfriend and I ended up making this for our Thanksgiving dinner, and it was so good I decided to use it for my party instead of what I had originally planned; this probably worked sooo much better! To make our Thanksgiving meal, I contacted my friend’s mother for her recipe, which is what I’ll give you below. It is a little confusing (seriously, I’ll give you exactly what I was given), but if you make it like a Korean mom with lots of time and love, it will be excellent. I wanted similar flavors for this dish, but didn’t want to spend a ton of money on beef ribs, so I opted for 1 ½ inch thick steaks of chuck roast. And I didn’t use chestnuts but substituted carrots instead. The pickles are homemade as well. This is the only beer I had not made before figuring out what I wanted for the party... definitely Belgian inspired (Belgian brewers are notorious for coloring outside the lines!) and certainly experimental!

Pickles:
ingredients
10:2:1 ratio of Water, Cider Vinegar, and Salt (I did 5 cups, 1 cup, ½ cup)
Kirby Cucumbers
Onion
Jalapeno Pepper
Garlic

method
Bring the water, vinegar and salt to a boil and keep it going for 20 min or so (I don’t know if that is what you’re “supposed” to do, but it made me feel better than if I didn’t do it). Meanwhile, quarter the onion and slice the peppers into ½ inch rounds; put all the veggies in a container (I used a big plastic thing with a sealing lid. I’m sure most people would use canning jars.) Once the boiling is done, let the liquids cool slightly and then pour it over your veggies. I let my pickles cool on the counter before putting them in the fridge. I had then heard from some source (which of course I can’t remember) that you should boil your brine again, just to ensure that it is sanitary. Being a beer brewer, this seemed reasonable to me. So 24 hours later, I drained my brine into a pot, boiled it again for about 10 minutes, and put it back over my veggies. I prepared the pickles about a week and half before the party, and they were amazing. As I write this a few days later, I tasted the pickles and I can feel the intensity strengthen from just sitting a few extra days!

Kimchi
I bought this from a local Asian market. I don’t think my roommates would like it if I fermented cabbage in our basement!
Beef
ingredients AND method
(I’ll list the ingredients I changed and my comments in parenthesis. Otherwise this is exactly what my friend’s mother, Yoo-kyung Kim, gave me.)
1.) Soak Kalbi in cold water for about an hour to get rid of the blood. (Again, I used mostly chuck, although I did add some thinly sliced short ribs and bones for flavor.)
2.) Boil Kalbi in water with an onion, quartered, until the meat becomes tender.
3.) Add sauce: 5 tablespoons soy sauce, 3 tablespoons sugar, 1 tablespoon farlic, 1/2 tablespoon ginger, 1/2 teaspoon pepper. She also writes, for one pack: you might have to put 3-4 times the amount, I never know (I just kept the ratios close when I made this for the party)
4.) Simmer until the meat becomes somewhat dark. Add Asian turnip, chestnuts, Shitake mushrooms, and simmer a bit longer (I didn’t use any turnips or chestnuts; I let my mushrooms soak for a few hours in water and added that juice along with my sauce in step 3, and, again, I used carrots.)
5.) Add green onions, sesame oil, and sesame seeds (I didn’t use green onions. I think I just forgot! And, I had looked up some other Kalbi-chim recipes online just to compare; some used honey or corn syrup to glaze the beef just before serving, so I did that too for the party)
For No. 2 you should have enough water to cover the Kalbi, since there will be less later as you simmer, and after No. 2, you should leave the Kalbi in a cool place overnight to get rid of the solidified fat. It is basically simmered Kalbi with sauce


Beer:
This is the only beer that I had not brewed before. It turned out AMAZING! The recipe is based from a kit Northern Brewer used to sell with a limited edition Saison yeast. I just used the same WLP565 yeast and added the Brett. when the Saison yeast stopped.
1.061 SG, 1.015? FG (the Brett. fermented out some of the residual sugars)

ingredients
10 lbs Base Malt
1 lb Cane Sugar
1 lb Munich Malt
½ lb Carafa III Special
2 oz East Kent Golding Hops for 60 min
WLP565 Saison Yeast
Brettanomyces Culture (I had a small culture stored in my fridge, so I made a starter and pitched that)

method
Mash low around 149* for 1 ½ hours. Ferment low and raise over the course of a week to 80 or so. Cool down to room temp as soon as the first yeast finishes, and pitch the Brett.; you can transfer the beer and then pitch the Brett., but I just used one carboy. Carbonate moderately (or less or more... it’s a Belgian Specialty Ale, after all)


Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies with Orange-infused Cranberries
Paired with a Light Belgian Ale
Hoppy, spritzy, earthy, and complex
Partially fermented with Brettanomyces
ABV about 6%

Cookie ingredients
1 cup flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon salt
10 tablespoons butter
½ cup sugar
½ cup packed brown sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla Extract
1 cup old-fashioned oats
½ cup each semisweet, milk, & white chocolate chips
½ cup dried Cranberries (I used the orange infused from Trader Joe’s)

method
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Mix together dry ingredients together in a medium bowl. Beat together butter and sugars in a separate bowl (with an electric mixer, if you’re not strong enough!); beat in the vanilla and the egg into the butter bowl. Add the flour mixture and the oats nto the butter mixture, and then mix in the chocolate chips and the cranberries. Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls onto the baking sheets about 2 inches apart. Bake for 16 minutes until the edges are slightly brown. Cool on wire racks. You can also make an “icing” of melted chocolate if you want (or your favorite recipe)!

Beer ingredients
I’m not really sure what I would call this. My original intention was a clone of a Belgian Trappist beer, Orval, but something along the way made me change my recipe slightly. I used a different yeast strain than I should have, and I think I intended to use more hops, but didn’t. Regardless if it is a clone or not, the beer turned out wonderfully, and I am very happy with the result!
1.064 SG, 1.008? FG (again the Brett. took care of some of the residual sugars)
10 lbs Base Malt
1 ½ lbs CaraMunich
1 lb Cane Sugar
2 oz Hallertauer hops for 60 min, 1 oz Styrian Golding hops for 15 min, 1 oz Styrian Golding hops at flameout, 2 oz Styrian Golding hops for dry hops
WY1368 Belgian Strong Ale
Brettanomyces Culture

method
Mash low around 149* for 1 ½ hours. Ferment low and raise over the course of a week to 70 or so. After fermentation has finished (about a week) pitch Brett. culture and hold at cellar temperatures for 4 week. Dry hop when you have 1 week left. (I think I kept the beer fermenting with the Brett. for about 6 weeks total). Carbonate high (nice and spritzy!)


Assorted Cheeses, Crackers, Olives, & Fruits
Paired with an American-style Barley Wine
Smooth, aged, hoppy, and complex
ABV 11%
Cheese Plate:
Barley Wines are very strong in alcohol and flavor, and require some age to meld all the flavors; they are perfect as an aperitif with a cheese place. I am fortunate to have an expert cheese shop in my area. I told the nice lady thre EXACTLY what I was serving, and she gave me some very tasty options for cheeses. We ended up with a Welsh Cheddar (very creamy), an Iowa Cheddar (very sharp and pungent), and a Dutch Gouda (very complex). I also served Mediterranean olives, crackers and dried papaya for some sweetness.

Beer:
This beer was about a year old. I only have a few bottles left and I am clinging on to them with every day that passes. The bottles showed no signs of contamination, oxidation, and hopefully will last for a few more years! Because my mash tun doesn’t fit 25 lbs of grain, I mashed about ¾ of the grain, and made up for the remaining gravity with DME. Rather than make a big yeast starter (I think I calculated I needed a starter of 2 gallons), I made a small gravity batch of a generic wheat beer, and pitched right on top of the trub... I may have over-pitched, but the result still worked out.
15 lbs Base Malt
3 lbs DME
1 lb Crystal 80
1 lb Crystal 10
¼ lb Special B
¼ lb Pale Chocolate
3 oz Warrior hops for 60 min, 1 oz each Centennial and Cascade hops at flameout
House Yeast

method
Mash at 149* for 1 ½ hours. Even though Pacman yeast can ferment as low as 60* and create be very VERY clean, I fermented at 65* for a little spice. Again, the beer is amazing and it has worked for me. Carbonate low to medium-low. Serve small quantities as you would a fine scotch!

Happy Brewing!

Sleet? Soup!

Hey Rachel

Oh, I feel your pain. That whole everyone-is-sick deal is absolutely awful, because of course as the parent — wait, I am going to amend that to as the mother — you don't actually get to be sick. Ever. Even when you are the only person in the house who aches and is throwing up, you still have to perform, especially when your children are the size of Miss M.

Remember that time when at least two of you and I had a stomach bug at the same time? I don't want to go into too many details or no one will want to read the rest of this food blog (and I have a delicious recipe coming), but it was grim. We'll just leave it at that and let everyone imagine their own nightmare. I do remember looking at the clock and wondering why the minute hand was not moving. Peter, I was sure, was never actually going to come home from work and I would be lying on that floor with you and G until we passed on. I was obviously delirious.

But soup is perfect for colds. It's also perfect for cold weather, which is what prompted me to create this wonderful soup I really recommend. I was inspired by some soup I had in our company cafeteria last week. They called it Baja Soup and it was definitely Mexican in its influences. My version isn't exactly the same, but it is damn tasty. I encourage you to make it when you are all feeling better.

Mexican Soup
serves at least 6

ingredients
2 skinless chicken breasts, chopped into bite size pieces
1 onion, chopped
2 cans petite cut diced tomatoes with jalapenos
1 15 ounce can black beans, rinsed
about 1 cup of frozen corn
1-2 teaspoons chili powder
salt and pepper to taste
red pepper flakes to taste
16 ounces or so of vegetable or chicken broth


method
Saute the onion in a couple tablespoons of oil. After a couple of minutes, when they are just beginning to get translucent, add the chicken and spices. Cook until the chicken is just done, stirring frequently.

In a large stock pot, add the tomatoes, broth, black beans and corn. When the chicken and onion mix is done, add to the pot and adjust the amount of liquid to suit your soup tastes. I like my soups thicker, but you might like yours brothier. Adjust seasoning as well. Serve with some good bread and cheese, and you're good to go.

Simple Soup Supper

Hey Rachel

You're crazy busy with school, new momhood, etc. so here's an easy recipe you can make ahead on the weekend and then just slurp up for at least two dinners later in the week. Just add some bread and cheese and/or salad, and you're good to go. Microwave here you come!

Shrimp Corn Chowder
serves 4 or so

ingredients
1 pound shrimp, tails off and deveined
about 1 1/2 cups corn, I used frozen but canned or fresh obviously works
about 32 ounces vegetable broth (or chicken obviously)
1 medium zucchini, cut in half and then cut into 1/4 inch pieces
1 red bell pepper, diced
1-2 cloves garlic, minced
salt and pepper to taste
hot sauce to taste
chili powder to taste

method
After you've taken care of the shrimp, put a little olive oil in a frying pan with the garlic, shrimp, zucchini, peppers and seasonings. Saute until the shrimp is just done, ie. don't overcook.

Place all of this in a large pot, add the broth (might be more or less than the amount above; it depends on how soupy or stewy you want this to be). Heat and serve.

Guest Blogger: John Dezort

Rachel here: For a while now, we've been meaning to get some other people cooking on our blog. We love the guest posts we've been able to feature on Food for Thought Thursdays but we've also been wanting to do more. Today we are excited to kick off another outlet for voices and recipes other than our own by turning over the post to a guest blogger we're pretty sure you all already know and love: John Dezort. Though you've been looking at his illustrations for months now, and were recently made privy to a Food for Thought post by him, we're excited to show you what he can do when left entirely to his own devices. Without further ado, ladies and gentlemen, John Dezort.

John here: So it's spring, and even though in California it feels like spring for most of the year and locally grown produce can be bought throughout the year, spring in California brings forth an abundance of new veggies and fruits. I AM bragging, in case you weren't sure. So due to the recent availability of these vegetables, a wonderful woman I work with brought in a case of fresh asparagus she had found on the cheap and divided it among the employees. I ended up with a LOT of asparagus, which is a good problem to have. So I made soup!


Ingredients
6 to 7 cups chicken stock
1 large bunch of locally grown California spring asparagus (joking, any will do)
5 small yukon gold potatoes cut into small cubes
3 small ears of corn
1 large onion
3 stalks celery
1 large lemon--rind and juice
2 T parsley
2 tspn. thyme
2 T. dried mustard
pinch nutmeg
worcestershire sauce, just a little will do
Tapatio, Tabasco, cayenne, or anything spicy
1 pint or so of cream

Method
Dice onion, celery, and the bottom half of the asparagus spears (reserve the tops for later), season with salt and pepper and saute in butter until the onion is translucent and browned slightly. Do this in the pot you will use for the soup. Add the stock and bring to a simmer. Add minced parsley, thyme and the other spices omitting the nutmeg, but including the lemon rind. Add hot (spicy) ingredients now as well but only to taste with a splash or two of worcestershire. Let simmer for roughly twenty minutes and then add the potatoes. Cook until the potatoes are done. While the soup is simmering, cut the asparagus tops into bite size pieces and blanch in boiling water that is very salty, like ocean-salty (really, it makes a difference). Shock in an ice bath when almost tender and set aside. Add the fresh corn from the cob to the soup (the corn will cook in a matter of minutes). Add a pinch of nutmeg and the juice from the lemon and finish with cream. Do not add the cream to a boiling soup as it will curdle, and don't reheat soup to a boil or it will separate. Adjust seasoning and add asparagus tops just before serving.

Soup du Jour ... Or Not

Rachel here: Ok, so obviously soup was the name of the game for this post. My mom and I seem to both really enjoy soup (which is sort of funny since I don't recall eating it much when I was growing up, but anyway) and when we were caucusing last week about this week's posts and I was stressing out about my looming midterms, soup seemed like the perfect meal to make. It would have been, too...

So, the other afternoon I decided that I would make soup with the various vegetables in our fridge that were about to turn or of which we just had awkward bits left. Things started out spectacularly as I sauteed celery, carrots, shallot and a bit of onion in olive oil (with a little butter for good measure). I felt so pleased with myself for retaining some of the information I've been made privy to living with John, with this as a really great way to start soups as an example. I was thoroughly enjoying my break from studying, too, and so when I looked in the fridge and discovered a mere half-cup of chicken stock I didn't bat an eye. If I could tackle 3 midterms and a paper in addition to a million pages of reading this week, I could certainly overcome a serious stock shortage. I looked in the door of the fridge and saw a bit of tomato juice and thought, "Eureka! All will be well."

HA!

I added my chicken stock and whopping cup of tomato juice to the soup and things were smelling pretty good, though I was acutely aware of needing to come up with way more liquid if this had any hope of not just being a pot of mushed vegetables. Out of the corner of my eye, on top of the refrigerator I eyed an opened bottle of red wine. "Jackpot," I thought.

Now, in case you were at all curious, you can't make soup with wine. You just can't. I poured almost half a bottle of wine into my soup pot and the next morning my house still smelled like a sorority. Sure, a little wine can be a lovely thing in a soup, but using it as the bulk of your stock (ok, obviously there is no such thing as wine stock and this should have been a major clue to me prior to my generous pour) is just nasty. Like, really, truly, awfully nasty. All I can say is, should you find yourself in a similar situation, I suggest pouring yourself a glass of wine and ordering take-out instead.

And so, I abandoned the soup. In a moment of total type-A-ness, I planned on making soup the next night so I could save face for this post. I told my mother (much to her cackling delight) about my faux pas, though, and she and I agreed that we're not here to blow your mind, we're here to tell you about our lives through recipes. Let's just say this is a recipe that, if all goes according to plan, won't be making a reappearance in my life. My ma's recipe below, however, looks absolutely scrumptious.



Janet here: Soup is my go-to supper when I want to make sure there is something tasty for dinner sometime later in the week. It's easy to make ahead, uses up all kinds of ingredients (if that's part of your intent), and it's cheap. One of my favorite soup cookbooks is Soup Suppers by Arthur Schwartz. This is a man who fully understands the heft a good soup can have as a meal. Just add a little salad, maybe some bread and cheese, and you are good to go. Now that's my kind of weekday meal.


Tuscan Bean Soup
serves 6-8

Ingredients
1 pound dried cannellini
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped (about one cup)
1 medium carrot, finely chopped (about 1/2 cup)
1 medium potato, cut into 1/4 inch cubes (about 1 cup)
1 3/4 chicken or beef or vegetable stock
2-3 fresh sage leaves, 2 teaspoons dried leaf sage or 1/4-1/2 teaspoon marjoram
3 large cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
6 cups water
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 of a 10-ounce package frozen chopped spinach or kale, defrosted or 2 cups finely shredded kale or 2 cups finely shredded Savoy cabbage


Method
Soak beans overnight in cold water to cover (or at least several hours)
In a 4-6 quart saucepan, warm the olive oil and saute the onions and carrots until tender, about 10 minutes. Add the potato, broth, sage and garlic.

Drain the beans and add them, along with enough water to cover, about 6 cups. Cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, partially cover and simmer steadily for 40 minutes to one hour until the beans are very tender

Ladle out half the beans and pass them through a blender or food processor. Add them back to the soup. Continue to simmer. Season to taste. Add the spinach or kale or cabbage and simmer about 15 minutes more.

Serve in bowls topped with thin croutons and a drizzle of olive oil.