Deep Dark Gingerbread
January 7, 2011
In case you didn’t notice (or you live in some place with obscenely nice weather), it has been raining A LOT this winter. (My apologies to anyone reading this who is currently snowed in or worse, lots of rain is extreme weather for us here in Northern California.) In fact, it rained nearly every day of our Winter Break from school. At first it was nice. We read books, built forts, danced, and suited up in rain gear for wet adventures through the woods. By the end of the second week though, the mere thought of constructing another LEGO plaything made me ill. Luckily my children love to eat even more than I do and given the opportunity they love to cook as well.
Winter Kale with Lemon and Olives
January 4, 2011
As the winter wears on, it is easy to think fondly of the bounty of summer… sweet juicy tomatoes, crisp peppers, non-stop zucchini. You have to work hard not to eat “seasonally” in the summertime. But what about in January? I try feed my family on as many home-grown veggies as possible. This lofty goal is fairly easy to attain in the warm months and significantly more challenging in the winter. I am very grateful that our life does not depend upon nourishment from our backyard. This month, we would be subsisting on satsumas, garlic, the last stray raspberry, and an occasional egg. Well not quite, there is always the kale.
Wine Braised Short Ribs
January 1, 2011
New Year’s Eve demands attention. It is the last day of the year, and like many big deadlines, it pressures us to make the most of our final minutes. We often feel obliged to stay up late and live large on this cold night. We either celebrate the blessings of the previous year or say good riddance to a year that treated us harshly. For my husband and I however, times have changed.
This year we did not ring in the new year as we once had. There were no loud parties, drunken dances, or boisterous cheers. Perhaps it is as the checkout gal at the butcher shop and I agreed, we have paid our dues by partying wholeheartedly in previous years and we deserve a night off. Perhaps we are lured by the calm and seemingly more desirable option of staying in with a delicious meal and a bottle of bubbly. Perhaps we just don’t have a babysitter. Whatever it is, the food made the night (and the company of course!).
Mexican Pozole Rojo
December 30, 2010
Following the excesses of the holidays, my family and I generally run for the hills. Nestled in the rain drenched Santa Cruz Mountains, we seek the calm and quiet that comes with solitude. We explore, rest, and reconnect as a family. We also nourish ourselves with simple foods.
The last few years, we have spent the first day of our vacation brewing up a rich pot of pozole. This traditional Mexican soup has largely been overlooked by the American mainstream. While burritos, tacos, and enchiladas enjoy widespread name recognition, pozole continues to be a bit of a mystery to many people outside the folds of a Mexican family. It deserves to be discovered! Like most great soups, it is composed of the simplest of ingredients that transform into a richly flavored, satisfying supper.
This is an all day soup, but do not let that discourage you! Just because this soup cooks all day does not mean that you are cooking all day. Plus, a pot simmering on the stove gives us a fabulous excuse to stay in on these cold winter days and spend the day in our slippers. The soup begins with a pork shoulder rubbed in Chile powder, salt, and pepper, then slowly braised until the meat is falling from the bone. The chunks of pork are added to a base of sauteed onion and garlic, dried chiles, and chicken broth. These ingredients are simmered together with tomatoes and hominy for as long as you can spare. Upon serving, the soup is topped with shredded cabbage, cilantro, serrano peppers, and minced onion. The combination of hot soup studded with chunks of pork and hominy, cold raw crunchy veggies, and tangy fresh lime juice squeezed over the top has won over my family. My little man gave it “100 thumbs up!”
Mexican Pozole Rojo
adapted from Michele Anna Jordan
makes 10 servings
the Rub
3-4 pounds pork shoulder or butt
2 tablespoons salt, plus more as needed
2 teaspoons Chile powder
2 teaspoons ground black pepper
Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Pat the pork shoulder dry with paper towels. Mix together the salt, pepper, and Chile powder. Rub all over the meat. Place roast in a covered oven-safe dish, add 1 1/2 cups of water and bake for 4-5 hours until meat is very tender. Remove from oven, set meat aside. Allow liquid in pot to cool, then skim fat from the top. Reserve remaining liquid for the soup.
the Soup
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 large yellow onion, diced
6 garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoons dried oregano
Black pepper, freshly ground
2-3 dried chiles, preferably ancho/ pasilla, soaked in hot water for 10 minutes.
6 cups chicken stock or broth
1 28-ounce can diced tomatoes
2 28-ounce cans hominy, drained
Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large soup pot. Saute onions, stirring frequently, until translucent and fragrant, but not brown. Add garlic and saute 2 more minutes. Add oregano, broth, tomatoes, and hominy. Once the chiles have been soaked and are pliable, tear them open and discard the stem and seeds. Using the back of a knife, scrape the inner flesh of the chile and add to the soup. Season with salt and pepper. Bring the soup to a boil, then simmer partially covered for 45 minutes or so.
When pork is tender, chop into chunks of desired size. Add meat and reserved braising liquid to the soup. Simmer another 30 minutes or more if you have the time. Season again with salt and pepper.
the garnish
2 limes cut in wedges
2 cups green cabbage, thinly shredded
1/4 cup minced fresh cilantro leaves
1/2 cup minced white onion
2 serrano peppers, thinly sliced
Corn tortillas- hot
Serve hot soup in individual bowls. Create a garnish platter for each individual to top their soup to their liking. Hot tortillas can be dipped in the soup or used to roll up the pork and hominy into mini tacos.
Here is a printer-friendly version of the recipe: Mexican Pozole Rojo
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Easy Cranberry Bread
December 23, 2010
How is it that cranberries have become the icon of the holidays? Is it their crimson color or their relative scarcity throughout the rest of the year? Whatever it is, they play a special role during this season. For some reason, I have been craving cranberry bread. When I set out to find a recipe, I was surprised that there are very few out there. The recipe that follows is generously adapted from one posted on Everyday Food (that received mediocre reviews).
I was craving a bread that would celebrate cranberries rich color and tart flavor without distractions from nuts, citrus, etc. To boost the flavor, I swapped out the whole milk for buttermilk. The cranberries are chopped and sprinkled with sugar before folding them into the dough. This sweetens the berries and prevents an overwhelmingly sour pop of cranberry when you bite into a piece. The result is a quick bread that is perfect for breakfast or brunch during the holidays or any time of year. (Now is the best time to buy cranberries. They freeze well!)
My Pantry Shelf 