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Of Fireflies and Beans
It was like walking in a dream with fairies and magic all around me the first time I laid eyes on fireflies. I was about ten years old and we were visiting relatives in Missouri for a camping trip in the Ozark Mountains. Since I lived in Colorado I had only heard tales of such magical creatures so it was quite a treat to see and catch them. When I moved to Maryland in 2008 I didn’t know I’d be treated to the same spectacle each spring.
For several nights over the last week when I’m outside walking my dog Tucker we are on alert for the first fireflies. Last night around 10pm we finally spied the first of what will soon be many. They were high up in the trees and it took some patience to spot them. Last spring when Tucker was just a frisky four month old puppy he delighted in trying to catch the fireflies on our last-of-the-night walks. It was pretty funny until he finally caught one and I put an end to that game. I don’t know if eating fireflies is unhealthy for dogs, but I know it’s unhealthy for the fireflies! I can’t wait to see what he thinks of them this year now that he is all grown up and almost fifteen months old. Soon they will come down from up high in the trees and be flying about us on our night time walks.
It’s this sort of thing that instills an awareness of nature and the coming and going of seasons. So many kids these days are removed from this awareness of the natural world and how it is all intertwined. We could lay part of the blame on grocery stores that stock fresh cherries in the Fall and Winter, as well as asparagus. Just forty years ago these foods only came available to most of us “in season”. I applaud the little firefly for being a remnant of times gone by where most people were aware of what seasons meant to our culture especially as it pertains to our eating habits. The firefly does not show up in winter! How preposterous it would be if it did. The firefly can remind us of what the natural world is about, and the important cycles of plants, animals, and insects.
Almost as crazy as buying fresh cherries and asparagus in winter is eating half the crap sold in grocery stores these days. For a healthy food that is always in season I share with you one of the most amazing foods that’s available year round in fresh, frozen or dried form. Yes beans of many types are good tasting and good for us. Beans can be found in just about every grocery store in North America in one form or another. Beans are high in fiber and protein and come in many shapes and sizes. They are great as a side dish or as a main dish and are very affordable. You can flavor them with so many herbs, and spices that the choices are almost endless.
Thanks to Urban Accents gifting me a selection of five of their products I’ve been playing around in the kitchen and want to share this easy crock pot recipe with you. I have known for several years that commercial steak seasonings are usually good for bean cooking. I had used Urban Accents Argentina Steak Rub seasoning on beans before but I have a new favorite. I tested their Chicago Steak and Chop Seasoning in a couple of bean recipes and share one with you that takes under five minutes to prepare before walking away from your crock pot for hours. This great tasting bean dish will go well with grilled chicken, pork or beef as well as stand on its own as an entree when served over rice with a dollop of hot sauce. So give it a try and see if you agree that this is one easy and tasty dish. And by all means give the Chicago Steak and Chop a try on steak if that floats your boat!
Red Beans with Chicago Steak and Chop Seasoning
1 and 1/2 cups red beans, see note
7 cups of water
1 cup chopped yellow or white onion
1 clove fresh garlic minced
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon Urban Accents Chicago Steak and Chop seasoning
Crock pot method:
Put all ingredients in at once and cook on low for 9-10 hours. You can also cook on high for about 7-8 hours. I like to load the crock pot at night before going to bed and have the beans ready to pack in a thermos for lunch.
Stovetop method:
Bring water and onions to a boil.
Add beans, garlic, Chicago Steak and Chop seasoning and simmer covered on low heat until beans are tender(about 3-4 hours). Add more water if needed.
Note: I like Christmas Pole Lima beans for this dish but red beans are good too and easier to find.
Even though Urban Accents gifted me the package of five of their products my opinions are my own and not influenced by them or anyone else. I write about what taste good to me!
What is Fast Enough?
When it comes to putting healthy food on the table what is fast enough? My idea of a fast dinner prepped and plated in twenty five minutes might be too long for some, just right for some, and too fast for others. Not to mention that some days you might have more time and inclination to cook than others. Some folks just can’t live without their microwave oven to facilitate fast cooking. To me, the microwave oven is a food destroyer, myself and other purists won’t use one.
pasta tonight?
What you will get from me is my original fast and healthy recipes using whole foods, and occasionally some healthy convenience foods to help you eat better while spending less time in the kitchen. I follow food news closely and read many a book on diet and nutrition every year. With all the food news out there it can get downright confusing at times wondering what is healthy to eat. Not to mention all of us are different and don’t respond to the diet of the month the same as everyone else.
I like to write about, and eat healthy foods that are in season. Especially the ones I am growing in my own garden. This year I’m growing arugula for the first time. Arugula contains about 8 times the calcium, 5 times the amount of vitamin A, C, and K, and 4 times the iron of iceberg lettuce according to livestrong.com. I like the intense flavor that goes well in salads as well as hot pasta dishes. If you have never cooked with greens in your pasta try this simple dish in your home soon. Assuming your pasta takes ten minutes to cook, this dish takes less than twenty minutes from start to finish and wow does it taste great! Is that fast enough for you? Please leave your comments on what your idea is on fast food in your kitchen, and please share this with friends and family.
the goods
Fettucine tossed with Arugula
16 ounces fettuccine, or other pasta
about 3 ounces fresh arugula
2 cloves minced fresh garlic
1 cup walnuts, halves and pieces will do
2 tablespoons plus 1/2 teaspoon olive oil
1/4 cup parmigiano reggiano cheese, grated
optional, 1-2 ounces of fresh oregano whole leaves, or sliced
salt and pepper to taste
Start by heating water in a pot per pasta cooking directions.
On medium heat in a sauté pan toast the walnuts in 1/2 teaspoon olive oil for five minutes tossing or stirring often. Season with salt and pepper then set aside.
Cook pasta and when pasta is done cooking rinse and drain.
In a large sauté pan add garlic and oil cooking for three minutes over medium heat stirring once or twice.
Add pasta and cook over medium heat for three minutes stirring often.
toss or stir
Add arugula and continue cooking for two minutes stirring, or tossing.
Add walnuts, cheese, and oregano if using and cook one more minute stirring, or tossing as you go. Serves four.
Note:Makes a great entrée or side dish. Serve as a side with grilled chicken breast.
Fresh parsley may be used instead of oregano.
A bottle of Pinot Blanc would go great with this dish, or a Verdejo.
Chili-Garlic Edamame Appetizer Recipe
The weather is beautiful and it’s time to think Spring. Do you like those simple at home happy hour appetizers? I’ve got a spicy good one for you that is very easy to make and goes well with beer, sake or wine. Edamame is just soy beans in the pod and when cooked right can be great! If you like sushi and have gone to a Japanese restaurant you have probably seen edamame on the menu. Lucky for us it’s easy to find it at most grocery stores in the U.S. and it’s easy to prepare. This little green taste treat is good for you too. Here’s the nutrition breakdown for plain edamame:
one cup serving has 8 grams total fat, 9 mg sodium, 676 mg potassium, 15 grams total carbs, 17 grams protein, vitamins C and B-6, minerals including iron, magnesium and calcium.
For years I have simply boiled edamame, drained it and sprinkled it with kosher salt, but for the love of all things spicy I came up with a bold and hot version that just takes a few minutes to make. Since you will want to be out on the deck in the sun using that nice outdoor furniture you bought why not decorate your table with this lovely duo of beans and beer for your outside happy hour? As always I welcome your comments and suggestions.
Chili-Garlic Edamame
the goods
10 ounces frozen in-the-pod edamame
4 cups water
1 teaspoon salt
1-2 tablespoons chili-garlic sauce
1 tablespoon oyster sauce, or soy sauce see note
1 tablespoon sesame seeds, optional
boil time
sauce in the pan
Cook frozen edamame in water per the directions on the package, and drain but don’t cool.
In a sauté pan add chili-garlic sauce and oyster sauce and cook while stirring for one minute. Add edamame and cook stirring for two to three minutes then transfer to a serving dish. Top with sesame seeds if desired.
Serves four
add the beans and toss around
Note:
If you don’t have or can’t easily find oyster sauce regular soy sauce will work, but it will be a bit thinner sauce that you toss the edamame in. It will also be less sweet since oyster sauce has a little bit of sugar in it.
at home happy hour
Kale Chips
Today I am back in the kitchen after a four day trip to Monterey, California to see my nephew. I really enjoyed the redwoods in the hills above Santa Cruz, and the beach too. where he took us. It was great to bask in 75 degree weather before coming home to a high of 30 degrees with winds up to forty miles an hour. I believe it’s about the coldest day this winter when you figure in the chill factor. Where oh where is Spring?
I have been super busy all day but found time on my trip to the bank and post office to get groceries for a couple of projects I had in mind. I wanted to bake more kale chips even though it’s not a typical fast and furious recipe. The secret is to do kale chips when you are hanging out by the oven to turn the chips halfway. The most work is cleaning and seasoning the chips which took me about 15 minutes. After that it was 30 minutes in the oven and now I have great tasting kale chips for the next few days unless they are munched in one session of mad munchies fever!
As for the recipe it is simple. Wash, dry and cut into chip size pieces. Drizzle about a tablespoon or two of olive oil on the chips that are spread out on a sheet pan. Sprinkle your favorite seasoning salt, or plain salt on them. Grind some fresh pepper on them, or use something fun like red pepper, or jalapeno powder. Toss them around in the pan almost like tossing a salad to distribute the oil, salt and pepper. You can even rub in the oil a bit while tossing. Pop in the oven at 300 degrees.
green and gorgeous kale
Turn the chips and arrange so they are not touching after 15 minutes in the oven. Rotate the pans at this point. Turn heat down to 250 degrees and cook until crisp(about 15-20 minutes) then remove from oven to cool. Now you have great tasting, healthy kale chips for lunches and snacks. They go great with red wine!
Hello Kitty timer says “15 minutes, then turn the chips”
So give slow food a try if it fits your schedule, it’s worth it once in a while.
snack time
Ithaca, New York. Farm to Table Foodie Paradise!
Last year my wife and I went to Ithaca, New York to explore the Finger Lakes region figuring on seeing pretty landscapes and tasting local wines. We did see pretty landscapes, and tasted local wines, but the big surprise was the amazing food scene in the area. We had no idea that Ithaca is home to one of the best farmer’s markets either of us had ever been to. We had no idea there was such a love for heirloom vegetables and fruits there. We also had no idea there were several great eating establishments in the area. With all that, we knew we would return and explore some more this year.
This year it seemed like a good idea to skip Labor Day weekend and go to Ithaca the following weekend for a less crowded vacation. The weather was still quite nice with a couple of clear blue sky days with temperatures around 70 degrees. The farms were still putting out lots of amazing produce. We planned the trip so we could be there for the weekend farmer’s market by Cayuga Lake to get the most out of our trip. This market features several fruit and vegetable growers that show off their heirloom tomatoes that are both huge and beautiful as well as tasty. Most of the produce at the Ithaca farmer’s market is organic or “no-spray” which is a big selling point to me.
A short primer on heirlooms is in order here. Many people are new to the term “heirloom” as it applies to food. If I understand it correctly it is a type of vegetable, fruit or animal that was not mass produced and once planted changed, or adapted to a certain region were it grew year after year. Many years ago there were many varieties of foods than we see in our grocery stores today. If you were buying tomatoes you might have ten to twenty types to choose from.If you were buying apples you might have over one hundred to choose from. Pigs, sheep, cows, chickens and turkeys came in many varieties that were suited to the area and climate that they were raised, and all had their own unique flavor. Many of us foodies are just now realizing how limiting grocery store food is and are seeking out local farmers that are bringing back heirloom varieties on a small scale. The Ithaca farmer’s market opened a door to the heirloom treasure trove of food like I have never witnessed.
There is a fruit grower that had a cute little basket of plums containing four varieties with the smallest being the size of your average grape. They were handing out samples of this small plum that was bursting with sweet juicy plum flavor all its own.
There is the honey guy, the maple syrup guy, the apple cider stand, and more sweet stuff too.
There are a couple of bakery stands, crepes, breakfast foods, Cuban food, and Cambodian food to buy a great hot meal and eat on the nearby lakefront. The Cuban stand had some of the best black beans and rice I have ever tasted! They also serve a delicious baked chicken that goes great with the beans and rice. I ordered the chicken with beans and rice and let my wife and in-laws taste it. They all liked it so much they bought it for lunch also.
One of the smaller farm stands had two types of fresh corn on the cob that we bought and tasted last night. I just tossed it in boiling water for three minutes and wow was it good and sweet!
A short trip up either side of Cayuga Lake brought us to small farm stands selling pears, squash, green beans, Asian pears, onions garlic, and pumpkins. I bought Asian pears, Bartlett pears, and four kinds of apples from “One of a kind orchards” in Lansing, New York. This amazing farm advertises that they have over 200 varieties of heirloom apples, but the owner explained to me that she thought there were probably over 300!
It was there I bought four types of apples I have never had. I bought Freedom, Mother, Paula Red, and Padukah apples to make applesauce with. I’ve tried two of the varieties so far and it will be hard to put them in applesauce they taste so good. I now wish I had bought thirty pounds instead of fifteen.
We also stopped at Bellwether Hard Cider to taste several types of alcoholic cider made from local apples. Once upon a time cider was way more popular than it is now, but Bellwether and others are changing that by bringing cider back to compete with beer as the summer cool beverage of choice. You can find more info about Bellwether Cider at www.cidery.com as they can ship it to you in most states.
The restaurant scene is worthy of a whole post of its own, but I will mention Moosewood restaurant in Ithaca since they are celebrating their 40th year in business. They have won several James Beard awards for their cookbooks over the years, and are quite well known. This creative restaurant has taken vegetarian and vegan food to a whole new level and they have been doing it for years. They have a cookbook celebrating this important anniversary with 250 of their favorite recipes. I bought a copy of it and will start trying out some of the recipes and post the results for you all soon.
We had dinner there and even though it didn’t earn a score of 10 out of 10, I’d still give it an 8. The most amazing dish was the vegan chocolate cake. All of us agreed we couldn’t tell the difference between it and a cake made with butter and eggs from this vegan masterpiece. If you get a chance to go to Ithaca give Moosewood a try even if you are not vegan or vegetarian. They also serve fish on the menu daily for the meat eaters.
There might be a better place for a farm to table food scene, and if there is I want to go there. Next month I’m flying to Portland, Oregon to write a post on the food scene there, and also Dry Creek Valley in Sonoma County, California. I expect both will be full of great food and fun to report to you dear readers that like to travel as much as I do. Until then here is a recipe using ingredients purchased on the Ithaca area for you to try at home.
Oven Roasted Delicata Squash with Carrots and Golden Beets
This is a versatile dish that can be served as an appetizer, side dish or vegan main dish.
1 medium sized delicata squash
2 to 3 carrots
4-6 golden beets
1/4 cup sliced shallots
4 teaspoons olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
Cut delicata squash length wise to expose seeds. Remove seeds and set aside. Cut squash length wise again so you have four wedges, then cut into about one inch pieces, and place on baking sheet pan.
Wash and cut carrots into one inch pieces, and place in pan with squash. If using organic carrots don’t peel them.
Wash and scrub beets. Trim top and bottom and cut off any other root like bits. Cut beets into almost one inch pieces by first cutting them in half length wise with the first cut and then into quarters with a second cut. Now cut beets into pieces a bit smaller than the carrots and squash(due to cooking time), and add to pan.
Peel and slice shallots and add to the pan. Mix all vegies then drizzle oil over them. Add salt and pepper then bake for 25-35 minutes at 350 degrees or until tender.
Serves six to eight as an appetizer, four as a side dish or two as a main dish.
Note: The trick to this dish is to get the vegies cut to the size that allows them to cook in the same amount of time at the same temperature. Don’t be too worried though as these vegies taste good a bit under or overcooked.
Cook squash seeds in same oven for about 15 minutes with a bit of salt and pepper. Remove sponge like substance from around seed first, and then bake. These are great on soups or salads, or by themselves.
I used purple heirloom carrots, but regular carrots will work well too.
Farmer’s Market Italian Green Beans
Farmer’s Market Italian Green Beans
Baltimore’s farmer’s markets are in full swing now that summer is here. I took full advantage of this on Sunday by buying all we could carry. We started out with fresh garlic and pole green beans then moved on to yellow squash and zucchini. Next stop I spied Italian Green Beans and had to have them. The mushroom folks had fresh chanterelle mushrooms so in the bag they went. We also bought two kinds of bread from the Breadery which grinds the wheat for their bread. The buying frenzy continued when I bought more garlic, this time heirloom garlic from my favorite organic farmer Rudy. The bags were getting heavy but I couldn’t pass up a ghost pepper plant for $2 and a couple of jalapeno plants too. Last but not least was fresh sweet corn on the cob to make a grilled corn salad with.
Now it is one thing to buy and carry all that good stuff, but the real work begins when you get it home! There is the cleaning, cutting, canning and cursing to be done. It does take a lot of work but once you taste the freshness of real food fresh from a farm it’s hard to pass it up.
My favorite buy of the day so far was the Italian Green Beans. I used to love the frozen version and would cook them in about a total of two ways. Today I made the version with tomato that is fast and furious and will have you eating these yummy beans in no time at all. Give this simple recipe a try with either Itaian or regular green beans soon.
Farmer’s Market Italian Green Beans Recipe
1 pound fresh Italian Green Beans, or regular green beans
1 can of diced tomatoes
1 teaspoon garlic infused olive oil, or olive oil and 1 clove minced garlic
1/2 cup diced yellow onion
salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoon fresh oregano minced, optional
Wash and trim the beans then cut in half. Saute onions in a saute pan with oil for 5-7 minutes on medium low heat. Add the green beans, tomatoes, and cook on medium low for 15 minutes covered stirring once, or twice. Continue cooking uncovered until desired doneness is achieved(about 5-8 minutes)and add fresh oregano if using 1-2 before serving .
Serves four.
Note:
You can use 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano in place of fresh by adding it in the beginning.
Chopped fresh parsley is a nice addition too. Add 1-2 minutes before the beans are done cooking.
For an extra healthy version omit the oil and saute onions in 1/4 inch of water.
Beet Greens Anyone?
If you are like me and most others, you hated beets when you were a child. Even if you didn’t hate them you probably didn’t ask mom or dad to have beets with lunch or dinner. You would have been thought of as just plain weird if you liked beets in my school. They were tops on most kids list as the vegie to hate. There was no cartoon hero like Popeye for spinach to pump up the image of beets so they languished for years. I didn’t start liking beets until I was in my 30’s working at restaurants that knew how to prepare them differently than pickled beets, or Harvard Beets. Why this beautiful vegie received so much scorn from children all over the US is beyond me! They have a great flavor with a nice touch of sweetness and are good for you too. I think there was a conspiracy from some other vegie group to discredit beets. How else can you explain beets reputation amongst children,and some adults? While beets are not as power packed as some other vegies they are low in calories and the greens are high in vitamin A. The greens have four grams of protein and fiber in one serving. The most important aspect of beets to me is the taste and color they bring to a salad, or side dish. They brighten up any plate in a big way. I love to have beets that have simply been boiled, peeled and sliced as part of a salad. They go great with goat cheese or toasted walnuts as a salad dish.
Fresh from my garden
Since moving to Baltimore over four years ago we ended up with home in the burbs that has room for a vegie garden. This is my third year of vegie gardening here, and what a difference it is from the garden I had in Sterling, Alaska. Why I don’t even have to chase moose from the garden here. I do however get an occasional bunny or deer that wants to sample my garden. Lots of things grow well here that didn’t in Alaska. I grow tomatoes, carrots, peppers, eggplant, onions, okra, gobs of herbs, and beets. I get different results each year as to what grows well and what does not. Beets are the exception to that as they have done well each of the three years. Yesterday I picked my first batch of beets and brought them into the kitchen to test the goods.
They looked great, even if they had a couple of holes eaten out of them by some sort of bug. After washing the beets I was ready to have them all to my self, and cut off the greens for instant gratification.
In the fridge the beets went while their tops hit the saute pan with a bit of my garlic infused olive oil,http://www.fastandfuriouscook.com/garlic-infused-olive-oil-roasted-garlic. This side dish cooks quick!
After I added a bit of fresh grated parmesan cheese on top I was sitting at the table wolfing down the plate of greens all to myself in near bliss after just 5 minutes in the pan. With a bowl of Pinto Bean Soup it was a great lunch combo. Where ever you live in the US you should be seeing fresh beets, grown locally, now or in the near future. Give this greens recipe a try and let me know if you love beets and beet greens too. Beets are good food!
Sauteed Beet Greens
5 ounces or so of beet greens
1-1 1/2 teaspoons garlic infused olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
grated parmesan, optional
Wash the greens well, and trim most of the stem within about a half inch from the green part. Dry well and saute on medium heat for about five minutes. Sometimes I add a teaspoon of water halfway to speed up the cooking process. Add salt and pepper during the last minute of cooking. These merely need to be wilted, not cooked to a shriveled state where you don’t know what kind of green your eating. Grate fresh parmesan cheese over them and serve.
Serves two
Yummy beautiful beet greens
Ten Weeks and Counting
It’s hard to believe that the ball of fluff sleeping 5 feet from me is almost 10 weeks old already. Tucker the German Sheperd pup is fully acclimated to the kitchen, family room,and back yard after coming home from Denver with me on May 6th. It was quite a journey flying with the little guy who just barely fit under the seat in front of me in his crate.
7 1/2 week old Tucker
I had never flown with a dog, or cat in the cabin of a commercial aircraft before and had visions of a crying pup bothering the passengers around us, but the little guy hardly let out a peep. It was only when we were climbing up to cruise altitude he got a bit noisy for 2 minutes and that was it. Five whole hours in a soft sided crate that would not hold him now, and he did great. Not that I’m in a hurry to do it again, but I can tell you it was a breeze looking back on the adventure. This three weeks with Tucker has been a blur of 11pm, 1 am and 4 am walks outside in the yard to do what puppies do often, pee and poo. Last night he broke his record and went from 10:30 to 6am without any problems. It won’t be long until he can go 8 hours or more overnight, and sleep outside of his crate. That will be great! However there is nothing like raising a large breed puppy. Especially when you get them as young as I got Tucker. Not that 7 weeks old is too young. My first German Sheperd went home with me at just over 5 weeks, but my room mates took his sister so that made it quite doable. I had forgotten what it’s like to be around a 7 week old pup. They bite and mouth just about anything they can get iahold of. When he’s in the kitchen with me it’s fun to see what scraps of vegies he likes that I toss on the floor. So far I think carrots and parsley are his favorite.
Which is bigger? Dog or toy.
All in all he is a joy, and I am so grateful to have him. Even if my blogging has suffered a bit it’s worth it in the end. With any luck we will get 12 or more awesome years out of the little guy, and plenty of stories. He’s got big paws to fill though. My first GS was legendary for his favorite toy, a 16 pound bowling ball. My next GS was know for big sticks and being exceptionally trained. The last one was remembered for her ability to work with kids that were scared of dogs, and befriend the boys I mentored at a residential rehab facility in Timonium, Maryland. At some point they might all blend together into one dog when I’m sitting in the rocking chair at the old folks home, but for now they are all remembered clearly.
One of Tucker’s best days so far was yesterday while I filmed 5 recipes for my Youtube channel. The little guy hung out in the same area we were filming from and hardly let out a peep until the filming was done. I took him out back for 2 minutes to pee, and came back in to finish up the Youtube portion of the session, and that was that. I expect he will be the best trained dog I have ever had as with each one I become a better dog owner and trainer. They have all been great, but this is the first one to be on a youtube video at the end of my recipe shoot. Who knows? Maybe he will show up in other sessions with a chef hat and T-Bone in his mouth. As long as he doesn’t steal the show it’s ok with me for him to have a few seconds on youtube.
With yesterday’s shoot fresh in my mind here’s a good vegie recipe that can be used with spinach or Kale. Kale seems to be all the rage and I think it’s worthy of the attention. It’s healthy, tasty, and versatile. I bake it into Kale chips in the oven, stir fry it, put it into green salads, and I’m quite sure it would be good in vegie lasagne too. So give this one a try with some fresh Kale or spinach soon.
Sauteed Mushrooms and Spinach
2 cup fresh baby spinach
6 ounces, 2 cups sliced white button mushrooms
1/4 cup sliced green onions
1 teaspoon garlic infused olive oil, or plain olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
Saute mushrooms in oil for 5 minutes on medium heat. Add Green onions and cook for for two minutes stirring. Add spinach and cook until spinach is wilted, about 3-5 minutes. Add salt and pepper and serve.
Serves 2
Note:
If using plain olive oil you can add a minced garlic clove with the green onions.
Lawrey’s Seasoning salt is a good seasoning for this dish.
Kale can be substituted for spinach.
Spiked Parsley Buttered Potatoes
My favorite red potato dish, is spiked parsley buttered potatoes. It wasn’t that way back when I had to serve it to the crew while I was cooking in the Coast Guard. The problem was it needed fresh parsley, not the dried crap I was using and it needed better seasoning. Spike, a multi-ingredient seasoning salt fits it perfectly. It’s sold in many grocery stores but you might need to look around a bit as all of them don’t carry it. Mrs. Dash would be an acceptable substitute.
4 cups organic red potatoes
3-4 cups of water
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon Spike Seasoning Salt
2 tablespoons Smart Balance butter substitute
1 1/2 Tablespoons fresh chopped parsley
Scrub and clean potatoes, and cut out any bad spots.Cut into 1 inch chunks. In a 1 1/2 quart pot add potatoes, salt and enough water to cover one inch above potatoes. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to a simmer. Cook until potatoes are tender(about 20 minutes) but not over cooked. Drain and add Smart Balance then sprinkle Spike evenly over potatoes in two applications to keep from it being too concentrated in one spot. Stir gently, then add parsley and stir again.You want the potatoes to be soft enough that when you stir them a little bit comes off and makes almost a butter sauce with the Smart Balance Spike and Parsley. Add fresh ground pepper or ground white pepper if you like. Serves four.
Stewed Okra and Tomatoes
One of the things I remember most about eating at my grand parents home in St Louis, Mo is the stewed okra and tomatoes. They always served a profusion of garden fresh vegetables at lunch and dinner. There were green beans, summer squash, corn-on-the-cob and what ever else was in season. One of my favorite dishes was grandma’s fresh cut okra cooked with onions and tomatoes. She used fresh tomatoes that tasted nothing like today’s grocery store impostors.
These were deep red, large and juicy ones that whenever grandpa took me to the garden for picking veggies we would stop for a break at the tomato vines. He would take out his knife and cut us each one of the most beautiful tomatoes on the vine and produce form his pocket a salt shaker. He would cut our tomatoes in half and hand me the salt, and we would eat them with juice running down our chins splattering the ground. It was heavenly! Okra and tomatoes come into season at the same time making them a perfect match.
If you can’t get good fresh tomatoes don’t worry. Canned tomatoes will do the job and are usually better than the grocery store fresh tomatoes. Be sure and serve fresh corn-on-the-cob with this at dinner and maybe grilled chicken for a meal that can’t be beat.
2 cups okra cut in 1/2 inch pieces
1/2 cup diced onions
1 cup diced tomatoes
1 1/4 cup water
salt and pepper to taste
optional, add 1/2 cup Sun Gold, or Sweet Million cherry tomatoes cut in half for a bit of sweetness.
Heat a 3-4 quart pot with 1/4 cup water until simmering and add onions.
Cook for 5 minutes stirring often.
Add tomatoes and cook for 3 minutes.
Add rest of water and cook on medium low heat for 20-30 minutes covered or until okra is tender. Stir every 4-5 minutes.
Add salt and pepper to taste.
serves four
Note: add more water if needed, as it should be saucy not dry