The old Dutch

Chicken corn chowder. Something I never even heard of until I moved to this particular part of Pennsylvania and even then, not until I was served some through an event at my children's school. I have not seen it elsewhere (not that I would have noticed if the truth be told) and I suspect it must somehow have some dutch/Amish roots perhaps to it as they have some historical influences in our area. I can't say that this is my favorite soup, far from it, but is one that is almost like a stew and well suited for this on going cold snap...if one can call this current period a 'snap' rather than just plain old wintertime. I like snow, I really do...you can readily see that from my other blog. I love it's quiet, sparkling decent from the sky, the way it lays on and decorates our trees and softly sculpts the ground so beautifully with rounded contours. That being said, I really am not that fond of the winter... meaning the bitter cold and the non-snow grays and browns that surround me when the earth is bare. I know those that are... those that are 'invigorated' by it and enjoy the icy blast into their nostrils, but I am definitively more of a summer person myself, preferring to be warm, and although I enjoy wearing a fun sweater, a good scarf and hat when necessary, I would rather be found sporting sandals and a short sleeved shirt.

Given my choice, I would have preferred to prepare what I call my "Savory Venison Stew", but not having the opportunity to hunt this year, I have no supply of deer and thus no stew. So... this soup was born out of what I happened to have on hand, was inexpensive, hearty and pretty tasty once I was done, which completed the mandate for a cold evening. In addition to the potatoes, bits of red pepper, corn, spices and grilled chicken, I added some asparagus for color and vitamins and because I love asparagus and because it was on sale. Sitting down to eat, in honor of our meal's imagined origins, we peppered our conversation with some local old time verbal flavorings, like ending a sentence with "don't ya know" or "as far as that goes". Doing so, I almost felt like changing my name to Amos... well... not really.

In it's pot bound infancy on it's way towards the bowl.

South of the Border

"Pedro says".... If you have ever have driven U.S. Route 95 anywhere near the vicinity of the North/ South Carolina border, you certainly know this saying. What I am refering to is that way-way-way over hyped up rest stop found just 'south of the border' between those two states. The billboards must advertise your approach from either direction for at least 100 miles and as a kid driving over winter break to Florida with my family, my brother and I took delight in seeing them and then pestering our parents to stop at this most classic of American rest stops. Sometimes we did, sometimes not, but once inside, it just never seemed to live up to the hype as promised.

These days, as most weeks find me at some sort of workplace or another pretty much 7 days a weeks and somewhere in the neighborhood of 65 to 75 hours, the available time to think about, plan, purchase groceries and prepare nice meals with intent is small. In doing so, I try to be inventive, variable and fun in finding recipes that can spur conversation, ones that we both would enjoy, ones to open up our world to a larger one with foods and cooking styles we might not be familiar with, or even to take treasured favorites and make them into something new and different and unexpected. It is a 'extra' task with my work schedule, but is just part of the things you sometimes have to do to keep good food on the table, along with a shelter over my family, clothes on our backs, etc...etc... you get the picture. This is a difficult time. Even within what I have asked myself to do (make a nice dinner for Hayden and I to have a personal meal time together) it is all very much worth the effort it takes. It is not just some empty hype as Pedro would extoll. Sometimes though, on some days, it just needs to be easier.

This meal is in that vein, is a much simpler one of Mexican heritage, but one that was good, non the less for the pallet. Simply a burrito, made with some good steak (thanks Charles for your gift), salsa (which I did make), sour cream, refried bean and cilantro. I added in a side dish of some mexican rice, which is not pictured here, but he and I both enjoyed our time together, him sharing his discovery a new phone game, 'Clash of Clans' in the process. It's an interesting game and we had fun, engaging in strategic fashioning of our little 'clan', in sharing this task together....and in being a part of building my tiny online town! Small things to enjoy with him. I miss playing these small games with friends and the little moments of connection during the day. All good things to share in addition to this good food for which we are thankful... all of which is important. 

Comfortable Freeze

Okay...So it is literally ZERO degrees outside right now and I am sure the howling wind swirling around out there is bringing down the 'chill factor' even below that point. Last night was no better and after being out and about in the weather taking care of errands (and literally running into and out of our stops to minimize our exposure), we needed something that was hot, filling, fatty and satiating. A plate full of potato filled perogies was the request I received when I asked "what do you feel like eating", so it was the request I was obliged to fufill. I know what you are thinking... and realize that this is not the healthiest meal on the planet, but is one that I enjoyed in my youth and one that my son does now as well. Having come in from the cold and not wanting to venture out again AND already having a bag of them in the freezer didn't hurt either.

First boiled for a bit to thaw them out (no, I did not make them from scratch) and then after frying up some bacon, I browned them crispy in the bacon fat and onions, adding the leftover fat to top them off, further adding sour cream and the bacon on top. I did sprinkle a little chives on top, but that did not make the photo and after sauteeing some brussel sprouts, I felt a little bit better about the total meal content.

Enjoying it thoroughly, sometimes maybe comfort just has to triumph eating the 'right' thing and making something with some umph and substance to fill the bones and body with heat on a super cold night is the 'right' thing in the moment...especially when one has to anticipate a cold bed lying ahead without a warm companion to do so. As they settled in to my body, they filled the bill as a stand in until morning arrived. Thank you Mrs. T, whomever you are, and Mr. Pig... and cow and farmer who grew the sprouts...you are all appreciated. 

M.A.K.

Sometimes... oftentimes anymore, it seems that when I try and move ahead, try and reach out in life, all that I find I can do is to pause and back up again, recede...retreat...hold myself inside and quietly accept what is. So in doing so once again, perhaps a  good place to start a recipe is to reach way back, to the hands of my grandmother, M. Adeline Knott, who I lovingly knew as Granny.

She was a really wise, cheery, quiet, humble person who I greatly admired and very much loved. Always, always offering a warm hug and something to eat, I often sought out her presence and enjoyed spending time with her and did so, even as a single man in my 20's in between breaks from photographic travelling assignments. She loved to hear the stories I brought home formed in the places I was back from and would often find humor and really delight in them and the 'adventurous' career I had in her mind. A true matriarch of our family, she was a pioneering and prosperous businesswoman in her lifelong career, was a kind person beyond compare and of course, a wonderful cook. Many treasured family recipes started with her and from those that she learned from. This dish is a take off of one of them...Sour Veal and Noodles.

For my version, I substituted chicken for the veal, making her traditional sauce of sour cream and paprika along with some other ingredients and sauteed cabbage (something she also served) for the noddles, completing it with a refreshing cold kale/goat cheese side salad. The flavors took me right back to her basic, but inviting kitchen from my youth and into some fond memories of what a nice place it was to be. After sitting down to eat, my thoughts were that I would only wish to be able to sit with her again. I would like my children to be able to do so... to have some continuity in our lives. Upon this reflection, I sadly reminded myself that there are always moments in life that we wish we could go back to, times we wished we could have a little more of. I have many such 'moments' myself and today, time with her is certainly one of them. 

Order's up!

Last night was a little different... After having broken two bones in his arm snowboarding this past weekend, Hayden was in less of a dine with me mood, it being replaced with a painful, I am just hungry now one. Perhaps less ambitious fare would have been more appropriate, but I deal with that enough when on my own and after having recently nearly choking on a piece of cellophane in a premade meal, with the ingredients already in hand and with my handwritten recipe slip, I pushed on, ignoring my own downcast mood and in the end was able to prepare a delicious meal. So...as neither of us were in the frame of mind to sit down at the table, we decided to have 'dinner theater' and to eat while watching a movie instead. Philomena...I would recommend it. A interesting and quiet film about loss at the hand of another and lifes sorrow and the yearning found from it all. In trying to introduce more thoughtful, but also appropriate movies beyond his prefered 'action' genre to him, it was a good choice to spur some honest conversation before bed.

Back to dinner: Finding this recipe combination also on the web (what a resource!), I modified it between two different ideas, both that sounded awesome. Taking chicken breasts, I cut a slit in the center and stuffed them with seasoned ricotta, wrapping them with applewood smoked bacon and coating them with a course mustard, honey and lemon glaze. I simply baked them, adding the drippings on top to serve. For sides, I sauteed shallots, thinly sliced brussell sprouts (it called for 'shaved' whatever that means...but I only have a knife), garlic and spices in bacon fat, adding chopped walnuts towards the end for texture. In addition, I sliced up some sweet potatos, steaming them with a little coconut oil, nutmeg and cinnamon. Timing of all of this in my tiny space to arrive on the plate, hot and excellently done together was a challenge as my prep surfaces are minimal. I see I will need to correct that somehow. Hayden was perfectly patient, but as he sat there, one handedly trying to play a game on his phone, I felt like a short order cook and could see he was ready to eat as soon as it came from the oven. So as I got it onto the plate (he had moved to the living room to set up the movie), I said "order's up" for some fun to try and break the mood.

Thankfully, the chicken was crispy on the outside, but wonderfully creamy inside with the ricotte and although the sprouts were a little over done waiting for the chicken (and not bright green as I had envisioned they would be for the photograph), they were super flavorful and a great compliment to the sweet potatos. It was a very good meal that certainly satisfied the pallet, even if it did not pull us up in spirits as was hoped. Bedtime was not too soon for us.

The ingredients prepped and ready to go taking up the entirety of my counter space. The sprouts in the pan and the color I was hoping for on the plate. Sorry for the cheap wooden flea market spatula...in spite of the name of this very blog...it is what I have.   

Orec-what?

It's Orecceheitti...(aw-rehk KYET-tay) or (or-sh-e-ta) depending on who you are listening to... well, actually it's not in this case...as my woefully supplied local market did not have that particular shape of pasta in stock called for in this recipe. So after a big anticipatory buildup, I arrived back to the kitchen with some other more ordinary semi shell shaped pasta instead. No worries though. We pretended it was.

The other ingredients more than made up for this ruse as the al dente' pasta base was carefully topped with chicken which I sauteed in garlic and onions, a homemade pesto sauce (the basil being another home grown ingredient along with the gift of a blender), red peppers, organic turkey bacon and fresh romano cheese.

Even though we both struggled with the name of something we didn't even have, it was... in the end...very well received by the taste buds. Enough so, that this was requested to be cycled back into the menu again soon... A nice meal prepared, served and eaten and enjoyed together...that is what this is all about. 

Pucker up...

Lemon Artichoke Chicken... Another awesome idea from an 'eating' post I check out, this uber delicious dinner was a real treat for the buds tonight. Hayden said the food here was like a "restaurant"... a compliment if I ever had one given my zero budget, but it was quickly followed up with "it could use a tad more heat" (ie: hotter spice) in a food network critic kind of tone. When he was scraping the pan for seconds...I was  happy...heat or not.

I coated the chicken in flour, bread crumbs and basil, to then sautee it in olive oil and a little garlic until it reached a nice crispy brown, followed by adding the artichokes with some juice, lemons on top and a small amount of white wine. Served with a Wild brown long grain rice and ginger/honey glazed carrots, it was a big hit (minus the heat comment...I will put hot sauce on the table) as the chicken was moist, tender but crispy and very full of amazingly deep flavor. This recipe is one Hayden said to put into the "stable", which in fact really is just some notes on lined papers clipped to a big clothes pin on the side of my fridge. Afterwards, I gave him a break from the dishwashing duties, taking them on myself within a fond memory and allowing him to delight me with the descriptions of his Minecraft building accomplishments from the kitchen table. Just to have him nearby and to enjoy a meal with was reward enough.

.Simmering it all in the pan

My tiny preparitory space to work with and the shiny copper bottom pots hanging ready to go. Well, shiny until the second I actually have to cook with them of course. A coffee plant and 4 Avocado seeds soon to be rooting in the Pellegrino bottles along with the pretty Sanatoga Creek flowing in the background. I have learned that step by step clean up is a constantly required part of the cooking process here, to allow space to continue moving ahead. I am learning. 

Viva La France!

Ratatouille! A interesting name for a humble French country dish and the one for my next creation as inspired by the children's movie bearing the same name. If you have not seen it, you should. It is a cute, inventive and fun film and as are most animated movies today, clearly made for far more than just children. I love it...especially the 2CV driven by the villan...a favorite car of mine. After watching it the other day at a friend's house with their little child snuggled in close and giving me viewing advice...ie: "Mr. Knott, this is a sad part coming up, so it's o.k. to cry", I had to give it a go. A tear was shed... for the record.

Anyway... seeking to extend an invitation for more vegetables into my body and having been blessed with a couple of small eggplants and peppers to use from my tiny balcony planterbox garden (that has been transfered inside for the winter), I thought this was the the perfect combination to do both... use this small bounty up and try out something new to me.

It was super easy to make, as preparation consisted of simply cutting up the fresh mix of my eggplant, red and yellow peppers (and my tiny green ones), cherry tomatos, zucchini and minced garlic and coating with olive oil, adding them in layers in a pan with spices, to then roast them in my oven. I know it is not layered in the attractive, traditional carefully stacked way, but I was o.k. with it. I enjoyed it as a main dish and would make it again, perhaps stepping outside of the recipe and topping it lightly with a French cheese of some sort. I will have to consult Hayden, my cheese expert about this. While at my table, I imagined a long dreamed of trip to Paris while dining in some excellent company...thinking of this traditional French country dish as something I might be seved in a small left bank bistro along with a warm soup. I think I have too much of an imagination sometimes... Either way, it was quite tasty and satisfying. Viva la France!

My meager supplies.