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The Biggest State
I’m home and back in the groove after another great trip to Alaska. It was forty years ago that I first set foot in “The Great Land” on Kodiak Island as a seaman apprentice in the US Coast Guard. Little did I know back then that Alaska is habit forming.
Pink Salmon
My sister, brother and wife have all heard the siren call too. They are part of almost every trip up north going back many years. What is the draw you might ask? Alaska is bigger than you can imagine with its over two million lakes, more coastline than the rest of the U.S., more than 100,000 glaciers, 17 of the 20 highest peaks in the U.S. and a whole lot of salmon to catch and eat. Alaska casts a spell on all who come. If it wasn’t for the bugs, cold weather, and hours of darkness in the winter the place would be as crowded as California.
There is something for just about anyone’s interest in a place this big. Fishing is one of the most sought after activities, and cruising. You can take a helicopter ride to a glacier and walk in ice if you like. Renting kayaks is another popular option in many parts of Alaska, or four wheel drive ATV’s. Maybe a day cruise on a nature themed trip in the Kenai Fijords National Park is up your alley where you will probably see humpback whales, puffins, Dall Sheep, Dall Porpoises, more seabirds than you can imagine, Steller Sea Lions, glaciers, and maybe even killer whales. Float planes are a lot of fun and a great way of getting around in this water world. Lake Hood in Anchorage is the world’s largest float plane base just a short walk from the main airport where you can watch the float planes take off and land.
a blue sky day for fishing
What about the food in Alaska? For an Alaskan meal try the famous halibut fish and chips at the Inlet View Restaurant in Ninilchik. If fish isn’t your favorite try reindeer sausage with eggs for breakfast at many Alaskan restaurants. A tourist favorite is Alaskan smoked salmon and Ed’s Kasilof Seafoods in Soldotna is a great place to sample and buy the smoked treats. If you get a chance to try spot shrimp or side stripped shrimp, but don’t miss out on these sweet and tender morsels from the southeast and south central waters. For a meal or happy hour break Lands End in Homer has the best view of any restaurant I know of in Alaska. It looks out on the blue-green waters of Kachemak Bay and three glaciers are visible from the Homer Spit where Lands End sits.
On most of our trips we stay at a cabin and do most of our own cooking. Salmon is on the menu often and one night’s grilled salmon might become salmon salad sandwiches the next day, or salmon and rice. On this latest trip I made up a new dish that was so good I decided to share it with you all. It’s a fast one that is perfect for our busy fishing schedule at the cabin. When the fish are running we would rather be fishing than spending much time in the kitchen. This dish uses leftover rice and what ever fresh salmon you can get, though I’m partial to fresh pink salmon for this dish. It takes just 15-20 start to finish so try it and see if you like it as much as I do.
Cajun Salmon and Rice
8 ounces fresh pink salmon, or what ever is available. See note.
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/3 cup diced red bell pepper, optional
1/3 cup diced green bell pepper
1/3 cup diced yellow onion
3-4 teaspoons blackening seasoning, see note
3 cups cooked brown or white rice
Skin and trim fat off a salmon filet then cut into one inch cubes.
Sauté onion and peppers in a large sauté pan on medium high heat for five minutes stirring often.
Add salmon and cook for three more minutes stirring often.
Add rice and seasoning being sure to bust up any clumps of rice. Cook three more minutes.
Serves two but is easily doubled.
Note:
Fresh pink salmon is best for this dish, but silver salmon or atlantic salmon will do.
Be sure and get the tail half of the filet to insure there are little or no bones.
If you don’t have blackening seasoning on hand here is a simple recipe for it.
1 tablespoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon granulated garlic
1/4 teaspoon ground black or white pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground red pepper, optional
done in eleven minutes!
Visitors
When I was a child my somewhat eccentric parents invited foreign exchange students staying at Buckly Airforce Base east of Denver for Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner. Why they were staying there I don’t know, but I remember going to the base to pick them up. Through this exchange I met someone from the Phillipines, and Nigeria. There were one or two others but I forget where they were from. The guy from the Phillipines showed my mom how to make adobo which we all liked very much, and instilled a love for the dish that has lasted a lifetime. The meat of choice was doves as dove season was the previous month and we had many of the tasty birds in the freezer.
The guy from Nigeria was interesting because of his family. My mom casually asked at dinner, “what does your father do”, and the answer was, “he is the ruler” which shocked my mother. It’s not every day you have someone for dinner who’s father is the king of a country so that gave my parents something to talk about for years to come. For me the guy was fun because he indulged me with some archery in our backyard as I had just received my first bow and arrow set for Christmas that day. Apparently I thought at that young age, I think I was eleven years old at the time, that men from Africa knew how to shoot an arrow. Pretty funny in retrospect as we were both rather bad at it.
Over the last twenty years my wife and I have had only one foreign house guest and he was a chaperone from Japan assigned to a bunch of middle school aged kids visiting Denver. It was fun and I would have liked to do more hosting. In June of this year I saw a home made sign announcing “20 Spanish students need host families” and called after getting approval from my wife. We ended up with a great kid from Burgos, Spain who at the ripe old age of sixteen speaks very good English and is a great addition to our household.
Turns out he is a natural cook. Even though his mother does almost all the cooking in his home I found out that he has significant talent in the kitchen. His first homework involving food was to prepare an American dish for a competition in class on Tuesday. I helped him select the dish to prepare and he made shepherds pie with virtually no help from me. Then that night he cooked us two traditional Spanish dishes for dinner. He made a Spanish tortilla and a gazpacho soup. For those of you who have never had a Spanish tortilla it’s nothing like what we see in Mexican restaurants. A Spanish tortilla has potatoes, onion and eggs in it and looks like an omelet.
Both dishes Manuel made for us were excellent but I really liked the gazpacho, and since I have a lot of tomatoes getting ripe lately I wanted to make another batch the next day. Manuel didn’t use a recipe but I took notes and tried to copy his gazpacho. The results were good but it took some more testing to come up with the recipe I share with you here. It’s fast and simple as well as healthy. If you have an abundance of garden tomatoes like I do it’s a great way to use them up. With these hot summer day upon us give this a try and see if you agree with me that this is one great Spanish cold soup.
Gazpacho Soup with Heirloom Tomatoes
3 pounds heirloom tomatoes, cored and cut into quarters
1/2 yellow onion chopped, about 1/2 cup
1 cup peeled and diced cucumber with seeds removed
1 cup diced green bell pepper
1 medium sized apple peeled and diced
1 clove garlic minced
5 tablespoons olive oil
2-3 tablespoons good quality apple cider vinegar, I like Bragg’s brand best
1 slice of bread cubed, about 1 cup
1 teaspoon salt
Soak bread in water for five or more minutes to soften. Drain water off before adding to the blender.
If using a blender instead of a food processor put tomatoes in first to facilitate faster blending. Then add rest of the ingredients.
If it won’t all fit blend for thirty to sixty seconds and add rest of ingredients.
Blend thoroughly for two to three minutes, depending on the strength of your blender. There should not be anything larger than a sesame seed for best results.
Best if chilled for and hour or two, but can be eaten right away if needed.
Serves eight.
Note:
I tested this with both a blender and a food processor. The food processor I have held all the ingredients but was a bit slower to blend thoroughly. The blender did a good job blending but didn’t hold all the ingredients at once and I had to add the rest after a minute of blending reduced the volume.
Summer Grilling with Mushrooms
Here’s another fast and healthy recipe for your summer grilling. I have been experimenting with mushroom blending and swapping for over a year now since hearing about it from the folks at The Woodlands at Phillip’s Mushrooms. I created a chili recipe using mushrooms and beef,http://www.fastandfuriouscook.com/soup-season/, and now have been focusing on grilling. In case you are not familiar with blending mushrooms it’s where you use half the beef and substitute the other half with mushrooms. In theory you cut out some of the calories and saturated fat by cooking this way.
With swapping you cut out the meat all together using mushrooms in place of meat.
In both swapping and blending my first choice of mushrooms are the mighty portabella. They taste great, are easy to prepare and last long in the fridge compared with most other mushrooms in the grocery store. They are very similar to meat in their ability to fill you up especially if you try the following recipe with it’s burger bun, cheese, avocado, tomato, lettuce and salsa. It provides all the major food groups, and does it in a healthy way.
This is also a very fast meal if you are using a gas grill it should take no more than 20 minutes from start to yummy finish. You can use just about any cheese on it like cheddar, provolone, swiss, gruyere, or even gouda. If you are gluten intolerant this is still a great entree without a bun. Try serving corn on the cob, and cole slaw with it for a new summer combo meal to share with family and friends. I think you will agree with me that it’s easy to cut out the meat once in a while when you eat hearty mushroom based meals.
Grilled Portabella Mushrooms with Avocado and Salsa
4 large portabella mushrooms with caps removed
4 teaspoons garlic infused olive oil, or plain olive oil
6 tablespoons salsa
1 avocado, sliced
1 large tomato,sliced
4 hamburger buns
If using a charcoal grill, or gas grill get it fired up first.
Wash the portabella caps if needed and remove stems. Wipe caps to dry.
Brush caps with some of the olive oil, and save the rest for brushing and toasting the buns.
Brush buns with oil and toast buns then set aside.
Cook portabellas cap side down for 5-7 minutes covered. Flip and cook two minutes with gill side down.
Turn caps gill side up and top with 1 1/2 tablespoon of salsa. Cover grill and cook for two minutes.
Top with cheese and cover the grill to melt it.
Top the bottom part of burger bun with lettuce and tomato, add grilled portabella cheese side up then top the portabella with the avocado slices.
Serves four.
Note:
For an Italian version use goat cheese, or provolone and bruschetta topping.
Remove gills with a spoon if you like.
Two Bean Corn n Tomato Salad
As a chef I love the explosion of specialty food shops over the last twenty years. Within that explosion are oil and vinegar shops scattered throughout the US. Back in 1999 my wife and I went to Austria on vacation and visited Vienna for a couple of days. At an open air market we had a good conversation with a local who was working the vinegar shop at the market and educated us on the old world’s vinegars. She related that she had lived in the US for a few years and most Americans don’t have a clue about quality vinegar. She sold me two different types of high quality vinegars that I experimented with for happily over a year.
Now days us foodies are so lucky to be able to find oil and vinegar shops in abundance. My wife and I took a day trip to Bethesda last week and discovered Secolari Atrisan oils and vinegars. The big difference between them and others is they are not a franchise. The owner and his wife take trips to California where all of their olive oils come from. They hand pick anything that goes in their store, but before it goes on the shelf they both have to agree it is worthy. If one of them doesn’t like the selection, out it goes. Tasting is free and encouraged in their shop and I tasted many vinegars and a few oils.
I came home with a Blackberry Vinegar and an Ancho Pepper Vinegar to play with. Since I had just gone to my favorite local farm in Kingsville yesterday and bought five pounds of green beans and six ears of bi-colored corn I knew what I was going to do. I cooked up the corn and ate three for dinner reserving the rest for a salad the next day. I steamed the green beans the next morning and chilled them in ice water. Now the stage was set for a perfect summer salad. I picked basil and jalapeño peppers from my garden and put it all together in the recipe below.
Here’s the important point I want to make. If you plan ahead and cook extra items you are already cooking for dinner then the next day’s food preparation can be a breeze. By cooking the corn and beans the night before you have part of the makings of this salad for the next day and it will take less than ten minutes to make the salad. This is a fast, easy, and healthy salad that just about anyone can make so give it a try and see what you think. Please share with friends and family and leave a comment on this recipe.
time to eat
Two Bean Salad with fresh Corn and Tomato
1 cup green beans, see note
1 1/2 cup cooked corn cut from the cob
1 can kidney beans, see note
3 sliced jalapeños, about 1/3 cup, or use diced green bell peppers
1 medium sized fresh tomato diced
1/2 cup sliced fresh basil, about 1/2 package
2-3 tablespoons olive oil
2-3 tablespoons white wine vinegar, see note
salt to taste, about 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon
To make this easy plan ahead and have steamed green beans the night before and cook extra, but take the beans for your salad out of the pot and chill in ice water then drain and refrigerate over night.
For the corn it’s pretty much the same thing. You cook an extra two ears and chill it in ice water. Cut it off the cob and refrigerate over night.
Rinse and drain kidney beans and put in a medium-large bowl.
Dice tomato and add to mixing bowl.
Slice jalapeños or dice bell peppers and add to bowl.
Dice tomato and add to bowl.
Add oil, vinegar and salt and mix gently.
If serving soon add basil otherwise wait until just before serving to add basil. They helps basil retain its green color instead of turning black.
Note:
Fresh or frozen green beans will work.
Chill your can of kidney beans the night before.
I used Secolari’s, (an oil and vinegar shop in Bethesda, MD) Ancho Pepper vinegar, but white wine or champagne vinegar will work also.
Summer Joy
Summer provides us with so many lasting memories, and as a kid I couldn’t wait for school to be over and blissful summer to arrive. I loved many things about summer growing up in Lakewood,Colorado. It was a time for games like “kick-the-can, hide-n-seek, kickball in the street, and baseball at the nearby school yard. We also loved the pool four blocks from home and my brother and I went there often to beat the heat.
today’s harvest
The family camping trips into the majestic Rocky Mountains were a highlight each year. We would usually camp out and eat fresh caught trout cooked in a cast iron skillet over a campfire for dinner with pork and beans. When It got dark my brother and I would lay out on a picnic table or the ground if no picnic table was available and stare at the billions of stars one could see back in the 1960’s way up in the Colorado mountains. It was paradise on earth.
Back in Lakewood in a corner of our yard was a plot about ten feet wide by fifteen feet long for a veggie patch. I was the unofficial veggie gardener of the family taught by my grandfather and my dad on the art of growing one’s own food. I started young, about at tens years of age if memory serves me right, and I loved it! I grew radishes, carrots, green beans, corn, and beets. I would eat it all but not the beets.
eleven ounces of beets
It took another two decades before I would willingly eat the red monsters of the dirt. They were grown for my parents to enjoy, not us kids. Better late than never though as I have learned to not only like them, I love beets. I cook the beets greens in garlic infused olive oil with or without sliced mushrooms. I cook and eat the beets hot or make a variety of summer salads with them all through the season. Plain cooked, chilled and sliced beets are a colorful accompaniment to a green salad, or just by themselves with a drizzle of balsamic vinegar as a side dish.
salad time
Today I share with you a recipe using the first Chioggia Beets of the year from my garden. This heirloom beet named after a fishing village in Italy has a lovely candy striped inside and a soft red outside color pattern. They are more like a golden beet in taste then a typical Detroit Red Beet. This recipe can be used with whatever beets you have available, but best with golden beets if you can find them. So give it a try and have a great summer and a safe Fourth of July!
Golden Beet Salad with Champagne Vinaigrette
12 ounces fresh beets
3 tablespoons thin sliced fresh basil leaves (chiffonade sliced)
1 tablespoon champagne vinegar, or white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon olive oil, or walnut oil
Wash and trim beets and remove green tops.
Put beets in a pot with enough water to cover and bring to a boil. If your beets are global size it will take about 10-12 minutes to cook after they come to a boil. If bigger they will take 15-17 minutes to cook.
Cool beets in cold running water for 3 minutes.
Drain and trim any hair like roots, or peel if you wish.
Cut into bite sized pieces and tops with oil, basil and vinegar .
Chill for a half and hour or more and enjoy.
Serves four.
Note:
I like to start by putting my mixing bowl in the fridge to expedite the chilling process.
Cut up grapefruit sections are a nice addition to this salad.
I usually don’t peel organic beets.
World Cup Soccer Snacks
With World Cup fever running strong the next game the US team plays against Germany is sure to draw a large viewing audience world wide. Even though I’m not a big soccer fan I love watching the skill and drama that goes with a World Cup series. I had the pleasure of watching the US team hold its own against mighty Portugal on Sunday and look forward to the next match against the even higher ranking team in the group, Germany.
With this being a midweek game most of us are too busy to spend much time preparing food for this round. No worries. There are still some healthy home made goodies you can serve during the game. Take for instance this chips and dip recipe I eat occasionally at home. Just a few simple ingredients and you have a great tasting chip and dip appetizer that goes great with beer, wine, mojitos or margaritas. It takes less than five minutes to make too.
This recipe can be tweaked to include crab, shrimp, hot jalapeño slices or whatever your taste buds desire. It can be served with tortilla chips, pita bread, or baguette rounds with equal yumminess. It can be made fresh and served right away or chilled for a couple hours if needed.
So pull up a chair and root for the home team that has come a long way to get where they are on the world stage, and give this recipe a try. With any luck I will get to add another world cup post for our US team next week!
Avocado and Salsa Dip
2 ripe avocados, about 2 cups total
1 small red and ripe tomato, enough for 1/2 cup will do
1/2 cup of your favorite salsa, Pace Picante medium hot will do
1/2 lime
sliced fresh jalapeños, optional
Wash avocados then slice long ways into four equal sized pieces. Peel then cut into about half inch sized pieces.
Cut tomato into half inch sized pieces.
Put tomatoes and avocados in a medium sized bowl and pour salsa over it.
Squeeze lime over it and mix.
Stir gently so you don’t break up the avocado slices.
Add salt to taste and serve with sliced jalapeños.
game time!
Note:
A half cup of jumbo lump crab meat is a fine addition to this recipe as is cooked small shrimp.
For those who love fresh cilantro chop up a bit and mix it in leaving some sprigs whole to garnish the dip with.
If you love garlic toss in a small clove that is minced fine.
Don’t worry if your avocados have some bad spots. Just cut them out and use the good parts. Perfect avocados are hard to come by.
Asparagus Bell Pepper Salad
It’s been a hot and humid week here in the Baltimore area and I have been concentrating on summer recipes. Even though my tomato plants seem to like this heat and humidity I don’t! When the weather is like this I don’t want to be in the kitchen for very long.
One of the things most people forget about in summer is the crockpot. In summer I love to use my crockpot so I’m not in the kitchen come dinner time except to serve it up. Think about it. You spend may five to ten minutes in the kitchen in the morning putting together a crockpot dinner and eight hours later there it is ready to serve. The ultimate in easy healthy home cooking.
I have also been grilling three to four times per week to get out of the kitchen. This keep the cooking heat outside instead of inside. I’ve mostly been cooking up Alaskan salmon, and lots of grilled veggies too. Since it is about the end of asparagus season I have eaten it a bit more than usual. I’ve grilled it, stir fried it and eaten it on salads delighting in that special taste unique to the green spear from the garden.
Today I decided to create something different with asparagus using fresh herbs from my garden. I bought asparagus and bell peppers from the grocery store for a new salad recipe. Oregano is not just for pasta and Italian cooking. This year I have a lot of oregano. Fresh oregano is high in vitamin A and also contains calcium, but most importantly it tastes great.
Oregano is a member of the mint family and has that fresh mint taste like spearmint when fresh. I found a new kind of spicy oregano at my favorite farm back in May and decided to mix it with my Greek Oregano for this new salad. I thought that the blended oregano would pair well with asparagus and bell peppers with an oil and apple cider vinegar dressing. It’s a fairly quick and easy recipe that anyone can make. Check it out and stay cool.
As always I welcome your comments and suggestions.
Asparagus and Bell Pepper Salad with Fresh Oregano
1 pound fresh trimmed asparagus , see note
1 red bell pepper
1 yellow bell pepper
1 orange bell pepper
1 1/2 quarts water
1 tablespoon salt
1 cup fresh oregano, or 3 tablespoons of dried oregano
2 tablespoons fresh chopped chives
1/4 cup Bragg’s apple cider vinegar, or Spectrum brand
1/2 cup olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
In a 2 1/2 to 3 quart pot bring water, and salt to a boil. While water is heating up trim asparagus.
After trimming the tough parts of the asparagus rinse and set aside.
When water is boiling add asparagus and cook thin asparagus for thirty seconds, thick asparagus for one minute. Drain and rinse well in cold water. You may need ice water if your tap water is not very cold as you want to stop the cooking process quickly. See note.
Wash and dice bell peppers into 1/2 inch size.
Wash oregano if needed, and dry. Take about 1/4 of the oregano and slice in thin shreds. This will help distribute its flavor better.
Wash, dry and mince fresh chives and set aside.
In a large mixing bowl combine all ingredients. Add salt and fresh ground pepper to taste and serve right away or chill for one or more hours.
Serves 6-10.
Note:
One pound of asparagus will not yield one pound trimmed. It takes about a pound and a half, but asparagus is usually sold by the pound. No worries, just buy two pounds and use the extra for steamed asparagus at dinner or cook in an omelet for breakfast.
I use a bowl of ice water to submerge the hot asparagus in. First I drain off the hot water then dump the asparagus in the big bowl of ice water, but remove any unmelted ice cubes before submerging the asparagus. Otherwise they tend to melt and dilute the dressing later.
The Best Salmon in the World?
What is the best Salmon in the world? The first Alaskan wild salmon to hit the market in significant amounts is the famed Copper River Salmon. Both Copper River king salmon and sockeye salmon show up in restaurants, grocery stores, and various other outlets to the delight of those who know. Even if you don’t know much about salmon quality I believe if you were served Cook Inlet sockeye salmon alongside Copper River sockeye you would be able to tell the difference. The Copper River variety is more flavorful and the texture is very soft and tender without being mushy.
nice fish caught on a typical rainy day from the Kenai River
Don’t get me wrong. I do love all Alaskan sockeye whether it comes from Ketchikan, Dillingham, Kenai, or Cordova, but this first salmon of the year is worth a celebration. Other than its superior flavor profile Copper River salmon hits the market first adding to its popularity. It is so popular some of it is airlifted by helicopter to speed up its travel from fishing boat to high end restaurant serving it in Seattle, Chicago and other US cities.
red salmon in their spawning grounds
I was so fortunate to live in Cordova, Alaska and Kenai, Alaska to see the difference from the perspective of a local. Both areas rejoice when the salmon return and the economies as well as spirits are lifted with the arrival of this gift from nature. Much has been said about the sustainability of the salmon in Alaska, but I’ll add my two cents worth. I have seen lean and fat years in my four plus decades of living in and visiting the Great Land, and even though my favorite salmon, the Kenai King salmon is in danger, most of Alaska’s salmon are doing just fine.
So don’t fret about the wild salmon in the stores and restaurants being in danger. Instead choose wild salmon over farmed whenever you can as farmed salmon endanger wild salmon when they escape and interbreed with wild stocks. They are also more susceptible to disease than the wild ones. How do I know so much about salmon you might ask? I cooked for the salmon processing family and crew of Keener Packing in Kenai, Alaska before it went bankrupt. And in my first marriage I married into a fishing family in Cordova, Alaska where most of the Copper River commercial fishermen and women live. I also return to Alaska almost every summer to visit friends and catch enough salmon to last the year.
ready for the grill
My first purchase of fresh Copper River sockeye this season was yesterday at Costco. The price was a reasonable $14.99 per pound. The taste was incredible. I grilled it two ways on my Smokey Joe Weber. I seasoned half with just salt, pepper, and a bit of olive oil. The other half I seasoned with Urban Accents Kodiak Salmon Rub seasoning. Both came out great but my favorite was the Kodiak rub seasoned salmon. It has several ingredients that match the salmon well, especially cumin. Never in all my years did I use cumin in salmon cookery unless I was using a blackening spice that had a bit of it in the mix. It was in the Galapagos Islands last year where I had tuna grilled with cumin, olive oil and lemon that knocked my socks off and got me started using cumin with grilled and baked fish.
Beautiful Kachemak Bay Alaska
So get some of this awesome tasting salmon and cook it up however you like. As long as you don’t overcook it it’s hard to goof it up. If you need a recipe I’ve included my simple preparation from last night. Please leave comments and share this with friends and family.
I have a giveaway box of OXO kitchen tools and other goodies for one lucky winner that will be drawn next week. Just leave a comment on my Facebook page mentioning salmon, or here on my blog to be entered.
Red salmon with red quinoa, steamed peas, pickled green bean salad, and salmon skin chip
Grilled Copper River Sockeye Salmon
1 filet of salmon, (about 2 pounds)
2 teaspoons Urban Accents Kodiak Rub and seasoning blend
2 teaspoon olive oil
Rinse salmon and pat dry with paper towels.
Cut into two or three pieces leaving skin on.
Season flesh side of salmon with rub and oil, and let sit for ten minutes. Save a little of the oil to rub the skin with.
Grill skin side down for about five minutes with grill lid closed.
Flip salmon and cook on other side for three or four minutes. Sprinkle a bit of salt if desired, or do it at the table after tasting it first.
At this point the skin comes off very easy by sliding a spatula between the skin and flesh. You can discard it or do what I do and cook it for a minute or two longer and serve alongside the salmon. It’s a tad fishy but crunchy and yummy with a bit of salt and pepper added.
Note:
Your grill might be hotter or cooler than mine so the cooking time is just an estimate.
Enjoy with a crisp Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand or a good Pinot Gris from Oregon.
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!
Shitake Mushroom and Asparagus Scramble Recipe
Shitake mushrooms, and most others are a powerhouse of health! Shitake mushrooms are a great source of vitamins B2, B3, B6 and vitamin D. With more and more studies being done on the health effects of mushrooms it seems clear that we should eat them often. Some studies have shown that just one white button mushroom per day can reduce a women’s risk of getting breast cancer by 50%. Check out this video I found on the Phillip’s Mushrooms website explaining this and more of the many health attributes of mushrooms: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nkf0AGxblAA That’s great that mushrooms are good for us since they are not expensive and are widely available. You can incorporate them into your meal plan easily as they blend with many recipes for breakfast lunch or dinner.
assemble the goods
I used to only eat mushrooms when they were sautéed with onions meant for topping a steak, or in cream of mushroom soup. After I became a professional chef I was more open to eating mushrooms in other ways, but still I was mostly in the dark. It wasn’t until I moved to Baltimore and discovered Kennett Square, Pennsylvania the World’s Mushroom Capital that I really started to understand mushrooms. In the five years that I have been making the one hour and twenty minute drive to the holy grail of all things mushroom I’ve learned many more ways to cook mushrooms. I’ve also learned to cook with several types of mushrooms that I had not used before like: Maitake(my favorite), Shitake, Royal Trumpet, Pompom, and Portabella mushrooms. All these new types of mushrooms opened up a whole new world of shroomy good cooking possibilities. I developed a chowder recipe from the Maitake that rocks the soup world, and with portabella’s I made up a grilled portabella recipe that needs no marinating to produce a flavorful burger substitute.
sauté the shitake
It’s hard to beat the flavor of a grilled or baked Royal Trumpet Mushroom basted in garlic infused olive oil then seasoned with fresh ground five pepper blend and a bit of salt. For a quick and easy cold appetizer I wrote up a recipe for roasted corn, guacamole stuffed mushrooms using white button mushrooms as the vehicle for the green goodness I love so much. Just another excuse to eat avocados and mushrooms often! I have been working on some new breakfast recipes to fill the need for more morning mushroom munchies. Mushrooms are mainly thought of as lunch and dinner provender, but sautéed kale and white mushrooms go great in an omelet with a bit of cheddar cheese for breakfast. Last week I came home from Kennett Square with the usual suspects. A one pound bag of Maitake, Shitake, and Portabella mushrooms and set to work in the Fast and Furious Test Kitchen madly making mushroom meals. The first item was to try baking small sprigs of Maitake in garlic infused olive oil on high heat until crispy. The result was an addictive snack of earthy garlicky fragrance that had just the right amount of crispiness. I pronounce it the next best thing to potato chips it’s that good! Next up was a breakfast experiment to see what would happen when fresh asparagus meets fresh Shitake and eggs? The result was sure to be a Fast and Furious classic, and I share with you this week the oh-so-yummy Shitake, Asparagus Scramble. Please give it a try and let me know what you think of it in the comments section.
add asparagus
Shitake Mushroom and Asparagus Scramble
6-8 shitake mushrooms with stems removed
4-6 asparagus spears
1 tablespoon garlic infused olive oil
3 large or 4 medium sized eggs beaten
1/4 cup shredded cheese(cheddar, swiss, or cotija)
1 tablespoon minced jalapeño pepper, optional
salt and pepper to taste
Clean and slice shitake about 1/4 inch.
Clean, trim, and cut asparagus into one inch lengths.
In a sauté pan on medium heat cook slice shitake mushrooms in the oil for 5 minutes stirring every minute.
Add asparagus and jalapeño if using, and continue cooking for 3-4 minutes stirring occasionally.
Add eggs and and turn up heat a bit stirring often for two minutes.
Add cheese and cook for just one more minute while stirring in the cheese.
Serves two, but is easily doubled.
yum!