White Bean Soup

After a truly relentless summer here in Texas, we have finally have a bit of a chill in the air!  For the first time in months, I am wearing full-length pants (instead of capris or shorts) and actual shoes (instead of flip-flops).  It has been a long time coming and everyone is just so darn excited to have the windows open, to be outside, to be ALIVE again!  

...and, of course, with fall comes SOUP!  Here's one I made on Friday -

White Bean Soup

Serves 8

4 cups (1 quart) chicken stock

8 cups (2 quarts) water

2 ham hocks

4 carrots, diced

3 stalks celery, diced (leaves included)

2-3 bay leaves

1/2 tsp. dried thyme

3 cans Great Northern beans, drained and rinsed

1 lb. turkey or pork hot Italian sausage, casing removed, cooked, and crumbled

1 sweet potato, diced medium

1 lb. red-skinned potatoes, diced medium

3 leeks, white-part only  (see note below)

1 lb. diced ham

1 bunch kale, stems removed, chopped

garlic or Kosher salt, to taste

fresh-ground black pepper

Note:  Leeks tend to hold a lot of dirt within the stalks.  To prepare them, cut off the white portion of the stalks, then discard the green tops.  Trim off the root end.  Cut each stalk in half length-wise.  Slice the half-stalks, creating half-moons.  Place the sliced leeks in a colander or sieve and rinse thoroughly, making sure to separate the pieces so that all dirt will be removed.

Place the ham hocks, stock, and broth in a stock pot and bring to a boil.  Skim off any foam,  Simmer for fifteen minutes.

Add the carrots, celery, bay leaves, thyme, and half the beans.  Simmer for another fifteen minutes.

Add the remainder of the beans, sausage, sweet potato, potato, and leeks.  Add a few cranks of black pepper.  Simmer for fifteen minutes.

Add the diced ham and kale.  Simmer until the kale has softened (five to ten minutes).  Check to see if the soup needs additional seasoning and add garlic or Kosher salt to taste.  

Yea, fall!

Cheers,

Krista

Super-Easy, Super-Yummy Tarragon Chicken Salad

First, I should apologize for my absence during the last few months.  I dived into the world of knitting and become addicted--but am finally coming up for air and plan on redirecting some of my focus back here!

On Sunday, we spent the day on the lake with Pam, Bob, and Selina on The Big Bobber, Pam and Bob's awesome pontoon boat.  We ate, we drank, we lounged, and for the first time in years and years, we tubed!  It was a great day--the perfect mixture of fun, funny, and relaxing.  It was like having a little mini-vacation!

I threw together a chicken salad to take with us and I really like how it turned out.  It had a nice balance--creamy, crunchy, flavorful--all while being light and summery.  It was just the kind of food to have while cruisin' Lake Austin on a hot summer's day!

Tarragon Chicken Salad

Serves 8

a roasted chicken, deboned, skinned, and shredded or cubed (bite-size pieces)

2 stalks celery, diced small

3 green onions, sliced (both the white and green parts)

1 1/4 cup mayonnaise

2 tbsp. freshly-squeezed lemon juice

2 tbsp. chopped fresh tarragon

salt and pepper to taste

GF crackers, bread, or chips (for serving)

Place the chicken, celery, and green onions in a bowl.  In a separate bowl, stir together the remaining ingredients (except salt and pepper).  Pour the mayo mixture over the chicken and stir to combine.  Salt and pepper to taste.  Refrigerate for at least two hours to allow the flavors to meld.  Enjoy! 

Until next time (which WILL be soon)....

Cheers, 

Krista 

Kick-Ass White Chili and the Maiden Voyage of the BIG Pot

When our friend Selina comes shopping with Kariem and I, we somehow please the shopping gods and find all sorts of good stuff at irresistible prices.  On an excursion several months ago, the three of us wandered into the Le Creuset store in the outlet mall...and Kariem and I somehow managed to walk out with a really, really BIG dutch oven.  This is the mother of all dutch ovens--a beautiful beast of cast iron and porcelain weighing in at almost 23 pounds and holding a whopping 13 1/4 quarts!  It seemed like a crazy purchase at the time, but I DO like to have parties and often serve one-dish, eat-it-whenever foods at these parties.  Since its purchase, the Beast had been waiting patiently in the cabinet for its moment to arrive.

Last Saturday, we hosted in rather impromptu party.  Because of the number of people coming, we decided it best to make a batch-and-a-half of white chili.  As I was getting everything ready to start cooking and reached for my usual pot, it dawned on me:  this would be too much soup for my normal Dutch oven...and it was time to break out the Big Mama! 

Ah, she is a beaute and it was so much fun to finally take her out on her maiden voyage.  It was definitely a good (albeit slightly insane) purchase!

Last Saturday's shin-dig reinforced the truth of my friend Pammy's belief that the most fun events are often the most spontaneous.  I was shocked that we were able to get so many of our favorite people together on such short notice and it turned out to be one of the greatest parties we've had.  It was a group of people that melded together really well, so the whole evening consisted of people coming in and out of morphing groups of conversation.  It is nights like that that I really love entertaining and getting to bring people together.  I love my peeps.  :)

Kick-Ass White Chili

Serves 8-10

1 lb. dried Great Northern beans, picked through and rinsed

3 tbsp. salt (table salt, not Kosher)

3 Poblano chiles, chopped

3 Anaheim chiles, chopped (use a forth Poblano if you can get Anaheims)

4 stalks celery (including leaves), chopped

4 slices bacon

1 tbsp. butter

32. oz. low-sodium chicken stock

2 (4 oz.) cans diced green chiles (mild or hot)

2 1/2 tbsp. ground cumin

1 tbsp. garlic powder

1 tsp.+ garlic salt (to taste)

1 tsp. basil (dried)

1 tsp. oregano (dried)

1 tsp. ground coriander

1 tsp. (red) chili powder

3 lb. boneless, skinless chicken thighs

3 serranos, sliced

4-5 tbsp. masa harina

Shredded cheese (for serving)

Place the beans in a large bowl.  Add 3 tbsp. table salt and 2 quarts (8 cups) boiling water.  Stir to mix the salt in and allow to soak for one hour.  Drain and rinse.

I cook my beans in a Crockpot, but you can also cook them on the stove.  Either way, place them in the vessel and add water to cover by an inch or so.  Cook at a very low temperature (sub-boil or very gentle simmer) until soft with no trace of starchiness.  Depending on the age of you beans and the temperature at which they are cooked, this could take 1 1/2 to 3 hours.  Add water as needed to keep the beans covered.

In a large Dutch oven (7 quarts or so), cook the bacon over low heat until all the fat has rendered and the bacon is crispy.  Remove the bacon from the pan and add 1 tbsp. butter to the pan.  (You can then just eat the bacon if you'd like; it will not be used in the chili.)  Add the chiles and celery to the pan, increase the heat to medium, and saute until softened.  Add the chicken stock and all of the seasonings (just add 1 tsp. garlic salt at this time; you will add more later to taste).  Bring to a simmer and slide the whole chicken thighs into the simmering stock.  Toss in the serranos.  Simmer until the chicken thighs are done (20 minutes or so).  Remove the chicken from the pot, allow to cool slightly, and chop into bite-size pieces.  Return the chicken to the pot.

At this point, you have two options.  If your beans aren't done yet, allow the stock mixture to simmer on very low until the beans are done.  If you are beans are done, you can move on!

Add the beans and their cooking liquid to the pot.  (You should have about 3 cups of cooking liquid.  If it looks like you have a lot of liquid, you should scoop up the beans using a slotted spoon and add to the soup pot, then measure your cooking liquid.)  Bring to a simmer and allow to simmer for 20-30 minutes.  You will see the starch from the beans start to make the chili creamy.  Adjust seasoning using the garlic salt.

Make a slurry using the masa and 3/4 cup water.  (A slurry is a thin mixture of a starch and liquid--usually water--that is mixed together before being added to the liquid it is thickening.  Whether your slurry is shaken in a jar or whisked in a container, be sure that the masa is totally moistened.  There should be no dry masa.)  Slowly stir the slurry into the simmering chili.  Allow to simmer until thickened, five minutes or so. 

Serve with shredded cheese.  (Green onions would be nice, too.)

Cheers,

Krista

Green Chile Egg Casserole

Welcome to the new year!

I have high hopes for 2011.  One of my biggest goals this year is to really buckle down and work on my cookbook, as well as focusing on making this blog YOUR resource for great recipes.  I will continue to provide information on gluten-free products and substitutions, but I hope to make this a site visited frequently by those with and without food intolerances!

For those few of you that don't know me (is there anyone reading this who doesn't know me?!?), I do have a day job--and therefore feel compelled to subject my coworkers to some of my cooking experiments.  I hope that my coworkers won't mind being guinea pigs more frequently as I ramp up this (delicious) little project.  (It's a tough job, but somebody's gotta do it!)

It is in that vein that I post this recipe, which I made for the birthdays of two lovely ladies with which I have the privilege to work.  Happy Birthday, Gayle and Ida!

Green Chile Egg Casserole

Preheat oven to 350F.

12 eggs, beaten

1 pint/pound cottage cheese  ("A pint's a pound the world around!")

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled

1/2 cup sweet rice flour (I presume wheat flour would work for you gluten-eating people out there!)

2 (4-oz.) cans green chiles, drained

1-2 serranos, minced

1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper

1 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. garlic salt

16 oz. shredded cheese of your choice (I used half sharp cheddar, half Monterey Jack.  Be sure that whatever starch the cheese is tossed in is gluten-free.  Always read your ingredients!!!)

Mix all ingredients and pour into a buttered 13"x9" casserole pan.  Bake in a 350F oven for 35-40 minutes (or until a knife inserted in the middle comes out clean).

Serve warm or at room temperature.

Cheers,

Krista

This Year's Black-Eyes

This year's black-eyes were the best I have ever made!  This batch didn't have the murkiness that black-eyes often have and I don't know if that was luck (i.e. a good batch of peas) or if the fact that I was so all-the-ball with skimming off any foam helped. 

When cooking the peas, I added a pork shoulder bone that I had in the freezer (saved when we de-boned  and cubed a Boston butt).  I am sure this added to the flavor--but certainly not enough that I would suggest seeking out such a thing.  That being said, I want to encourage you wonderful people to remember to save your bones instead of throwing them away because it does come in very handy to have meat bones in your chill-chest.  Waste not, want not, eh?

We served these peas with the most awesomest cornbread ever.  YUMMY!

Black-Eyed Peas

2 (12 oz.) packages fresh black-eyed peas

5 strips bacon

1 poblano pepper, chopped

1 serrano pepper, minced

2 stalks celery, chopped

1 head garlic, minced  (yep, you read that right--a whole head!)

3 links sausage, cut into medium cubes

Tony Charere's seasoning

hot sauces (for serving)

Place the black-eyes in a colander and rinse them.  Place the rinsed peas in a Dutch oven and add enough water to cover my a couple of inches.

Bring the black-eyes to a boil and then reduce a solid simmer.  Skim any foam that comes to the surface.  Simmer for one hour.  Monitor the liquid level and add water as necessary to keep 1-2 inches of water above the surface of the peas.

Season the cooking liquid with Tony Charere's seasoning.

In a large skillet, cook the bacon strips over low heat until crunchy.  Remove the bacon from the pan and use for another purpose (or eat while drinking beer, Selina!).  Add the poblano pepper, serrano pepper, and celery to the pan and cook until softened.  Add the garlic and cook until fragrant (about one minute).  Dump the whole skillet (bacon fat and all) into the simmering peas.  Cook the peas for another half an hour or so.

Wipe out the skillet and add the sausage to the skillet.  Cook over medium heat until the sausage has browned.  Remove the sausage from the pan and place on a paper-towel-lined plate.  Pat the sausage with additional paper towels until any visible grease has been removed.  Add the sausage to the peas, adjust seasoning if necessary, and cook an additional half an hour (or until the peas are tender and have no starchiness left).

Serve with hot sauce.  (My favorite is the green Cajun Chef sauce.)

Cheers (and Happy New Year!),

Krista

365 Days Later + 3 Months

I started this blog on August 31, 2010, but got interupted and never went back to it.  It is a little late, but here it is!

<<<<>>>>

One year ago today, I sat on the couch, chowing down on a ridiculous quantity of kettle corn and trying to shake off the effects of the amnesia-producing drug given to me by my gastroentrologist.  (The drug had, by the way, given me a serious case of the munchies.)  One year ago today, I had an endoscopy and was diagnosed with Celiac Disease.

It has been quite the journey.  I have been deeply humbled by the effort those I love have put into accomodating my food needs.  My hubby has very graciously made our house a (mainly) gluten-free home-- a bunker in the minefield that is the gluten-laden food of American society.  My friends (especially two) have gotten creative, trying and inventing new recipes.  My brother and my co-workers have all amazed me with the effort they will go to make things that I can eat.

More than anything, though, my diagnosis has gotten me back into the kitchen.  I never stopped cooking--nor did I ever stop loving to cook--but my growth as a creative cook stalled out for a few years.  I let life get the in way and then laziness set in.  My Celiac diagnosis helped to rekindle my desire to create, to craft new dishes, to cook for those I love.  It has pushed me to learn, to grow, and to try things I never knew I wanted to do.  (Who knew I would ever be interested in canning?!?)  It was the push that I needed to become the version of me that I was meant to be.

Do you know what I miss most about gluten, though?  Nope, not beer (although I DO miss that...a lot).  Nope, not really good chewy pizza (mmmmmmm).  Nope, not baguettes (a good baguette and a nice Brie...oh, how I loved that combination...).  What I miss most is the ease of it all.  I loved being a person that would try anything.  I loved traveling knowing that nothing was off-limits.  I loved just being able to eat without dissecting and analyzing everything placed before me.

You know what, though?  In the year since my diagnosis, I have never knowingly cheated.  When it comes down to it, it is not worth feeling bad--especially when there are so many wonderful gluten-free foods out there.  Plus, how could I cheat when those who love me have done so much to make foods gluten-free for me?  To cheat would be...I don't know...disrespectful to them.  After all that they have done for me, that I cannot do.  Those are the people that make this life a delicious one.

Now, what's for dinner?

Cheers,

Krista

Gluten-Free-Friendly Restaurants

I am happy to report that I am FINALLY starting to compile a list of gluten-free-friendly restaurants.  Stay tuned for updates to the ever-growing list, which is now conveniently located at the top right-hand side of the blog.

If you have any that you would like added to the list (or removed, for that matter!), please email me at krista-ali@austin.rr.com.

Cheers,

Krista