365 Project #365 Pigs' Feet

A couple of weeks ago I finally picked up a jar of Pickled Pigs' Feet, but they were so vinegary they were almost inedible. I soaked the rest of the jar in clear water, drained it and ate them. I had a pretty good idea that I liked them so I decided to make my own.

Some research on recipes led me to three major types, Down-Home Southern American, European and Asian. Asian sounded good to me this time so I tried a variation of THIS RECIPE. Here's my version, using what I thought would taste good.

I eat Chicken Feet for their medicinal properties (you can believe that if you like) and it seems the hardest part about this whole adventure will be to eat just a serving of them each day. For their medicinal properties, you see. I've already had a plate with Chinese Glass Noodles, put the container in the fridge and planning my next meal. Perhaps breakfast...

ASIAN STYLE PIGS' FEET

Almost 3 lb. feet, cut in chunks

Water to cover

1 onion, cut in slices

4 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped 

2 Jalapenos, coarsely chopped 

1/4 C. rice wine vinegar

1/4 C. soy sauce

1/8 C. sugar

1 tsp. ground ginger

Boil feet in large stockpot full of water 15 minutes, discard water.

Transfer to soup pot or put back in stockpot.

Cover feet with water, add all ingredients.

Simmer gently 2 1/2 hours, gently remove feet from liquid.

Reduce liquid to a thick, clingy sauce, add feet back in and stir gently to coat feet in sauce, simmer 20 minutes to 1/2 hour longer at very low heat.

Let rest a bit to let flavors mingle and eat warm. Sauce is wonderful on noodles.

These are from Miiller's Smokehouse in Llano, TX,

frozen, very clean and attractive-looking.

After first boil, drained

Cooking liquid with all ingredients

Sauce reduced and ready

Dinner!

Leftovers are all mine, Don won't eat them.

Bwahahaha!

365 Project #362 Cooking Big

I've been craving Halupki, Stuffed Cabbage Rolls, but I was craving the taste, not the work. First, you blanch a head of cabbage, removing the leaves as they soften and loosen from the head. Then, when you get them all off, you make a filling from ground meat, an equal volume of cooked rice, onions, garlic and spices. Rolling a large tablespoon of filling into every leaf, you set the rolls into a baking dish, cover with tomato sauce and bake slowly until tender and done.

There had to be a better way. I looked up Cabbage Roll Casserole and found the answer. I used 2 heads of cabbage, 3 pounds of meat, several cups of rice and 6 cans of tomato sauce. A layer of tomato sauce on the bottom, a thick layer of cabbage cut up into 1" squares, filling, sauce, cabbage, sauce and into the oven for 2 1/2 hours. It took that long to bake because I filled 2 large aluminum pans and another smaller casserole dish.

One large pan went to the Soup Kitchen on Wednesday, we ate the smaller casserole yesterday and today and are working on a larger one. When we get sick of it, we'll throw single-size servings in the freezer for another day.

I love to cook big.

365 Project #359 I Like To Feed People

Last week I started volunteering at a soup kitchen in Llano and found I like it very much. I was inspired by the deliveries of fresh food to Fuel Coffeehouse by the Bread Basket Food Pantry out of San Antonio. Last week I picked up several pounds of sweet potatoes, apples and oranges and made a big Sweet Potato and Apple Casserole. 

Today I stopped by and picked up broccoli, apples, sweet potatoes and some spicy potato chips. Since the broccoli was definitely 'last week's', I salvaged more than half and made this huge Broccoli Salad with the addition of a few apples, shredded carrot, dried cranberries and a slightly sweet sauce. Looks like about 5-6 quarts. I'll be dropping it off to Fuel for their free Sunday Dinner. All are welcome, come in, eat and visit with some real fine folks!

From Fuel Coffeehouse;

We got another BIG donation from the Bread Basket food pantry! Help us spread the word! Let's get this food distributed! We have lettuce, bananas, apples, oranges, broccoli, sweet potatoes, bread, and much more!

365 Project #343 World Championship BBQ Goat Cook-Off

Y'all, we love well-prepared Cabrito (young goat). The World Championship BBQ Goat Cook-Off in Brady, TX has been on our Calendar for months and today was the day! We weren't able to get in as judges, but perhaps next year. As it was, they served a plate at 11am, featuring barbequed cabrito, masterfully prepared by Fat Boy's Barbeque, 2010 S Bridge St, Brady, TX.

The cook-off is big deal in Brady, with barbeque judging, arts and crafts vendors, food vendors, games, live music, a 5k/10k walk and run. We didn't stay for judging, as it's rather a long day and it was hot. On the way home, we stopped at Fat Boy's to pick up a pound of cooked cabrito and side dishes, which will be another special meal tomorrow.

All in all, another great Lisa and Don Adventure!

365 Project #281 Cincos!

Cincos were a dish Don found at a restaurant in Fort Clark Springs, near Bracketville, TX. They're called Cincos because they have 5 ingredients; refried beans, jalapeños, onions, tomatoes and cheese on tortilla chips. They were very popular and Don has never found them anywhere else, so he makes them.

With our food sensitivities, he had to amend the recipe using;

• Crispy rice crackers
• Refried Beans
• Chopped onions
• Chopped tomatoes
• Grated soy cheese

Spread the crackers with refried beans, layer jalapeños, onions, tomatoes and cheese. Pop them in a 350-degree oven for about 10 minutes or until you're happy with the melted cheese. The onions and tomatoes should be done just right. 

We've been using foil to cook on, but next time will try parchment paper to see if it sticks a bit less.

Grab lots of napkins and dig in!

 

365 Project #261 Huevos Rancheros

When we decide we'd like a special treat we go to our current favorite Mexican restaurant, El Bracero in Kingsland, TX and order Huevos Rancheros. We've ordered it in many restaurants, but, being cooks we had some definite ideas as to what we consider perfect.

We had a 'day of rest' after a 2-gig day yesterday and Don had shopped for the ingredients for what we consider the best version we've cooked yet. I made Perfect Bacon and then he fried parboiled potatoes with no seasoning and set them aside as a side-dish. 

He rough-chopped a large sweet onion, red bell pepper, 3 jalapeños, garlic and 3 Roma tomatoes. I stir-fried the red pepper, jalapeños, onion,  and garlic just until they were cooked but still sweet and crunchy and then added the tomatoes and cooked until they started to release their juices but still maintained their shape. He fried the eggs in bacon grease to our desired doneness. 

Fried eggs were laid on the plate first with veggies on top, potatoes and bacon on the side. We are happy campers.

365 Project #258 Deviled Eggs

One of the things you should know about me is that I really, really like deviled eggs. When I go to a party, I really would like to eat the whole plate, but I take two and walk away like a civilized person. Tomorrow I'll be going to a Christmas Open-House-type thing and I decided I'm taking enough deviled eggs so that everyone gets as many as they want.

I ate a few of the ugliest ones. I can tell you right now that a person can get enough deviled eggs. And it's a sure thing I won't be peeling 4 1/2 dozen eggs any time soon.

365 Project #244 Golden Milk

While considering what no calorie snacks we might have in the pantry this evening (there aren't any), Don was surfing the web and wondered if we should take Curcumin as a supplement. I remembered how much I like Golden Milk, a warm beverage made from a milk of your choice, turmeric, an oil of your choice (I used coconut). I don't use black pepper because it disagrees with both of us, but I added a teaspoon of ginger for flavor and health benefits.

Here's the recipe

There are all kinds of health claims made for turmeric and curcumin, I just drink it because it's filling, keeps me from snacking at night and tastes fabulous.

365 Project #241 Greens And Eggs

One of our favorite foods is a dish called Greens and Eggs. For those of you who haven't had this Southern delicacy, you MUST try it.

Take any cooked greens such as spinach, mustard, collards, kale, even dandelion and drain most of the water off. Cook up a nice big batch of scrambled eggs and add as much of the greens as you like and warm through. Sausage or bacon are part of the Culinary Experience, be sure and have at least one of them.

The dish below was made with kale from our neighbor's garden. Thank you Opal and Gerald! Now you know why I smile a lot. 

335 Project #236 Ham Sandwiches

Every year during the holiday season our local grocery chain, HEB, has a special offer. You buy a honey-cut ham and you get a free 12 lb. turkey. It's a great way for them to sell a lot of hams and get rid of last year's frozen turkeys. We bake the turkey slowly in a covered roaster, bone it out and put it in 8oz. packages in the freezer, toss the bones in a stock pot and simmer for at least 24 hours.

Then we take the sliced ham and package it into 6oz. packages, which is enough for two very generous ham sandwiches. The meat that isn't sliced is chopped finely and put in packages to use later for making ham salad and the bone and fat are simmered for about 48 hours to make ham stock.  After chilling and skimming off the fat, all our stock gets put up in 1- or 2-cup containers and frozen. We store the frozen chunks in gallon freezer bags to use all year for soups and sauces.

We take advantage of this special twice during the holidays and have cooked turkey and ham ready to be made into meals pretty much until next season. A little planning saves a lot of time and money down the road.

365 Project #232 Our Friend Sasha

We have a wonderful friend Sasha that we've known for several years. She's become quite an accomplished baker and has had an opportunity to learn to bake for special dietary needs.

On Facebook last week she asked, "Who needs a cake?". Don contacted her and told her about my dietary restrictions and she said she could handle it. What we got was a wonderful, amazing real dark-chocolate cake. It's wheat-, corn- and dairy-free and tastes heavenly.

Thanks so much, my sweet friend. I've had two big pieces, right before bed. Yes, I'm living the High Life.

365 Project #153 Pickled Quail Eggs Update

We 'decanted' the Pickled Quail Eggs and here is the beautiful result. They taste lovely too. We have about this much again left, we may have tried a few yesterday. Then we have ten chicken eggs we pickled with the same liquid, they should be ready in a few days. Here's to successful experiments!

365 Project #152 Coconut Sugar

I haven't tried Coconut Sugar before but now I'm glad I did! HEB had a sale, buy a jar of Coconut Oil, get a package of sugar free. I tried it right away with a spoon and it's delicious! We like to have a bowl of cereal in the evenings as a snack so guess what!

365 Project #151 Spaghetti Squash

Have you tried Spaghetti Squash yet? You shoooouuuuld, it's wonderful and we now prefer it to pasta. Here's a great tutorial on how to do it. We like the oven-steamed way and find that when the top of the skin is browned, it's perfect.

365 Project #146 Israel Melons!

Don introduced me to the best melon on this planet, the Israel melon. His dad grew them one year and he has been a huge fan ever since. It's simply the sweetest, best melon you've ever tasted. Unfortunately, you won't find it in grocery stores because it's prone to disease in commercial growing conditions and has absolutely no keeping quality. It's drought-resistant and easy to grow in home gardens.

Here are all the details by a Texas Gardener and take note of his other article which discusses growing melons in basins rather than mounds. The purpose in planting melons in mounds is to keep their roots from sitting in water, not a problem in Texas soils. I'm hoping to talk my gardening friends into trying Israel melons. Get in touch and I'll even purchase the seeds!

365 Project #144 Pickled Quail Eggs

Don loves pickled quail eggs, so occasionally we buy a jar. They're pretty expensive, so it's a rare treat. We have friends who got more quail eggs than they needed, so they gave the remainder to us!  I decided to pickle them with beets, for added flavor and that beautiful pink color.

This recipe seemed to be closest to what I wanted and resulted in almost 2 dozen pickled quail eggs. I love pickled beets and decided to include them instead of straining them out. With lots of leftover liquid and beets, I hardboiled and pickled 10 chicken eggs, too.

The quail eggs should be ready in about 3-4 days and chicken eggs in about a week. We can hardly wait!

365 Project #135 Fresh Chicken

We get fresh eggs from our friend Rick, who called today and said he had too many roosters.  Would we like some?  Oh, yes we would and a few hours later we had 4 slow-roasted roosters for dinner and freezer.

This is the first time I have eaten fresh chicken and believe me I wish I had had the opportunity earlier.  The taste is much closer to turkey than chicken and there's nearly no fat in it.  Don didn't feel like plucking chickens so he just gutted and skinned them.  I'm fairly sure I've had enough protein for the day...um, week.

I'm not sure of the variety, but Don said they looked like this (I was at work, fortunately).  I'll find out the variety and update later.

365 Project #114 Life is Sauce

This is the beginning of our Venison Gravy we made the other day, a simple sauce I made from Portobello Mushrooms, Sweet Onions, Garlic, Soy Sauce and our 48-hour Venison Stock.  While I was making the sauce, Don was grilling Ground Chuck patties on a Mesquite fire and as soon as they were done we plopped them in the sauce and simmered for 20 minutes.  Our guest for lunch was very happy and so were we.

Yes, it was really special, but any dish that starts this way is going to be magic.

365 Project #61 Our Happy Place

OK, for us grocery shopping is like a vacation.  You don't even have to take us to Six Flags, we're easy.  This is one of the favorite things we do together.  Checking out the fridge and pantry, making a list (remembering to take the list), talking in the car on the way there, shopping, making decisions, checking out, Don assuring me that no, we're not in the poorhouse yet, we love it!

I have to know every ingredient in everything I eat, so we cook.  Every year we eat more healthfully and feel better and better.

Where's your Happy Place?

365 Project #53 Mixed Fruit

Well, this is a 365 project, and I promised to blog every day for a year.  Since I 'slacked off' I have to catch up so here we go.

Several years ago Don decided mixed dried fruit would be so much better than raisins in oatmeal and trail mix.  As most of you know, packaged trail mixes are always a disappointment because they rarely contain exactly what you like and they almost always taste stale.  Since then he's been doing a dried fruit mix and we keep the container in the fridge.  It has all the fruits you like and none you don't and because you did it yourself, it's very economical.

He mixes raisins, bags of dried pineapple, dates, cranberries, 'berry blend and apricots.  You can pick and choose what you like from the dried fruit section of the store.  Pineapple chunks and apricots need some chopping to get a uniform size and you can prevent sticking by sprinkling a little sugar on them.

You can make a great trail mix from this using your choice of nuts, the dried fruit mix and candies or chocolate chips (we use dark chocolate, yum).  For a flavor boost, salt the mix lightly and the salt will stick to the fruit.