Elementary Chef

I’ve had requests before for Thai recipes. Requests that I have largely ignored. Because by and large Thai food is NOT elementary. Is a complicated affair with lots of chopping and LOADS of steps involved to create the special curries and sauces you expect.

Recently, though, I saw a box of Thai Pavilion’s Green Curry with Noodles at the grocery store. I wasn’t sure about this Hamburger Helper version of Thai, but I thought it would be worth a try. Well, we finally tried it tonight, and I’m going to give is a less than enthusiastic thumbs up.

What I liked: It was super easy to prepare. First, you boil water and add the rice noodles. You simply let them simmer while preparing the meat. I already had half of a roasted chicken left over from the other night. So I picked the meat off of it and threw it in the wok with a little oil. Once the chicken had re-heated and fried a little, I turned down the heat and threw in the curry. I tossed the then-done noodles with the curry and chicken, and voila! The meal was ready.

What I didn’t like: The flavor is good, but not as good as our local Thai restaurant. The curry is somewhat oily to my taste.

All in all, we liked it. Not a gourmet meal, but this was a good alternative to eating the chicken as left-overs!

I served Thai tea with the curry, which is a must-have for us when we’re eating Thai food out. To properly prepare Thai tea, you need Thai tea leaves. These are CHEAP — like about $2.00/package. They come as loose tea, and they infuse to a reddish color.

Thai Tea
4-6 t Thai tea leaves
6 c boiling water
1 can (14 oz.) sweetened condensed milk

In an 8-cup teapot, mix all ingredients. (I use a large infuser so I don’t have to strain off the tea leaves.) Serve over ice. The tea is a peach-color and wonderfully sweet!

Thai tea, curry, recipes

This is an incredibly easy soup that is both a family favorite and a Weight Watcher’s choice! For those who aren’t counting calories, you can substitute ground beef, and I highly recommed crumbling tortilla chips into the soup.

Mmmmmmmm……

TACO SOUP

1 lb. ground turkey (or beef!)
1 medium onion, diced
1 can tomato sauce (16 oz.)
1 can Mexican or Italian stewed tomatoes (16 oz.)
1 can corn (16 oz.)
1 can pinto beans (16 oz.)
1 package taco seasoning

Brown hamburger and onion. Pour all ingredients into stock pot and cook for 1/2 hour.

soups, recipes, taco, Mexican

Sweet Potato & Cinnamon Muffins

Yields 12 Muffins

1 Medium Sweet Potato, Peeled & Cut Into 2″ Pieces
1/2 tsp Nutmeg, Ground
1/2 tsp Ginger, Ground
1/2 Cup Butter, Softened
1 tsp Baking Soda
1 1/2 Cups Brown Sugar, Packed Firmly
2 tsp Cinnamon
1/8 tsp Cloves, Ground
1 Egg
1/3 Cup Water
1 3/4 Cup Flour
1/2 tsp Salt

Place the sweet potato in a saucepan with water to cover.
Simmer until tender (about 25 minutes).
Drain.
Puree in a food processor (you’ll need 1 cup of puree for 12 muffins).
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
Butter and flour the muffin tins (or line with muffin papers).
Cream the butter and sugar until fluffy.
Beat in the egg and sweet potato puree.
Sift the flour, salt, nutmeg, ginger, baking soda, cinnamon and cloves
together into a bowl.
Stir half the dry ingredients into the creamed mixture.
Add the water.
Mix well.
Stir in the remaining dry ingredients.
Fill each muffin cup 2/3 full.
Bake until a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean (18-20 minutes).
Serve warm.

recipes, sweet potato

Sweet Potato & Molasses Muffins

Yields 12 Muffins

1 Cup Pureed, Baked Sweet Potato
1 1/2 Cups All Purpose Flour
1/2 Cup Whole Wheat Flour
2 Eggs, Beaten
2 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 Cup Whole Milk
1 tsp Cinnamon, Ground
1/2 Cup Light, Unsulfured Molasses
3/4 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Ginger, Ground
3 Tbls Butter, Melted

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
Line the (large) muffin cups with foil muffin liners.
Combine and mix the sweet potato puree, eggs, milk, molasses and butter (in
that order) together in a large bowl.
Add all the remaining ingredients and stir until just mixed.
Divide the batter among the muffin cups.
Bake until springy to the touch and a tester inserted in the center comes out
with just a few moist crumbs (about 25 minutes).
Transfer to a rack to cool.
Serve warm or at room temperature.

recipes, sweet potato

Peanut Butter Muffins

Yields 14 Cornsticks

1/2 Cup Yellow Cornmeal
2/3 Cup OLD FASHIONED STYLE Peanut Butter
1 1/2 Cups All Purpose Flour
5 Tbls Brown Sugar
1 1/3 Cups Milk
1 tsp Salt
2 oz Sweet Butter, melted
3 tsp Baking Powder
2 Eggs

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
Butter the cornstick molds or muffin tins.
Sift the cornmeal, flour, sugar, salt and baking powder together into a bowl.
Beat the eggs with a whisk in a separate bowl.
Mix the peanut butter with part of the milk until the mixture is smooth.
Add the the eggs along with the rest of the milk and the melted butter.
Beat well.
Quickly but thoroughly stir the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients.
Fill the molds 3/4 full.
Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean
(15-20 minutes).
Remove from the molds immediately.
Serve warm with sweet butter.
May be stored frozen and rewarmed.

peanut butter, muffins, recipes

This is a ridiculously Southern recipe. Sweet cornbread muffins. Serve with sweet tea and butter.

Cornmeal Muffins

Yields 18 Muffins

1 Cup Yellow Cornmeal
3/4 tsp Salt
1 Cup All Purpose Flour
1 Egg, Beaten
1/3 Cup Sugar
1 1/4 Cups Sour Cream
2 tsp Baking Powder
1/4 Cup Melted Shortening
1 tsp Baking Soda

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
Combine the first 6 ingredients.
Stir the eggs, sour cream and shortening together.
Add the liquid ingredients to the dry ingredients.
Mix thoroughly.
Lightly grease the muffin tins.
Fill each muffin tin 2/3 full.
Bake until golden brown (about 15 minutes).

muffins, recipes, cornmeal

Blueberry muffins are one of my favorite things to wake up to. They are the essence of a long weekend at a bed and breakfast, destined to be eaten in an elegant bedroom with a cup of tea, a flower on my pillow, and a copy of The New York Times. No, I don’t read The New York Times, but it’s my fantasy, and The Huntsville Times just didn’t sound right. Oh, and did I mention that the walls are a perfect shade of coral with lime-ish green trim?

But back to blueberry muffins… I’m not sure what makes them so sumptuous. Probably the very nature of blueberries, fruit that virtually bursts from its skin, even more so when baked into a bread….

This recipe, as with all blueberry recipes, works equally well with frozen blueberries as with fresh. Blueberries do an amazing job of retaining their freshness and juiciness when frozen, so don’t be afraid to save a few dollars and buy them frozen!

Blueberry Muffins
Yields 6 Servings

Butter for tins
2 cups flour
1/3 cup sugar
1 tbls baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
4 tbls butter, melted
1 cup milk
1 egg
Flour
1 cup blueberries

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Lightly butter muffin tins.
Sift dry ingredients into a large bowl.
Break egg into a small bowl. Add melted butter to milk and stir both into
egg. Pour over dry ingredients and beat briefly to blend. Shake a little
flour over the berries to coat them and fold gently into the batter.
Fill muffin cups 2/3 full and bake 20 minutes.

And in case you’ve forgotten my love affair with blueberries, I am still in mourning I can’t buy this at home.

muffins, blueberries, recipes

I rarely devote a week to an idea, but this week we’re going to celebrate muffins. In all their various goodnesses. Let’s kick the week off with bananas AND blueberries. Yum.

Banana Blueberry Muffins

Yields 6 Muffins

1 Cup Pureed Overripe Bananas
6 Tbls Sweet Butter
6 Tbls Brown Sugar
1 Egg
1 1/2 Cups All-Purpose Flour
1/2 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Baking Soda
1/2 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Lemon Peel, Grated
1 Cup Frozen Blueberries, Rinsed & Drained

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
Cream the butter and brown sugar (using electric mixer) until light and fluffy. Mix in the banana and egg.
Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and lemon peel. Blend into the banana mixture by hand until just moistened. Gently fold in (this means to add by gently turning over the batter — stir very lightly) the blueberries.

Line LARGE muffin cups with paper liners. Coat the liners lightly with vegetable spray. Fill each cup a little more than half full.
Bake until muffins test done with a wooden toothpick (20-25 minutes).

muffins, recipes

While we still have summer vegetables available, now is a great time to make some fresh veggie soup. We’ll make more soups with frozen vegetables later, but I tried this one the other day, and it’s wonderful!

While we don’t always think of soups during warm weather, the truth is, they’re a quick and easy meal unto themselves. All you need is a loaf of bread – a GOOD loaf of bread that is! – and you have a ready meal. My favorite bread lately has been the artisan bread at my local Costco! (My friends would tell you I love EVERYTHING at my local Costco!)

And while we’re on the subject of tomatoes, if you have been blessed with an abundance in your backyard garden, may I re-recommend the tomato quiche recipe here? This is a somewhat “wet�? quiche – not because the eggs haven’t cooked, but because the tomatoes are juicy! Make sure you de-juice the tomatoes as much as possible before adding them to the quiche!

Fresh Tomato Soup

6-9 Garden fresh tomatoes
2 stalks of celery, chopped coarsely
1 med-large onion, chopped coarsely
1/2 cup red wine
2 cups water
1/8 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground pepper
1 1/2 tsp sugar
1/8 cup bell or jalapeno pepper (if desired – I liked the jalapenos to add a little heat!)

Boil tomatoes until skin cracks. Peel and place back in pot. Chop onions and celery and add to tomatoes. Add water, wine, and seasonings. Bring mixture to boil. Cover and reduce to simmer for 2 hours.

soup, recipes, tomatoes

Here’s an amazing recipe from our friends at the Canned Food Alliance and www.mealtime.org. Artichoke Bruschetta. Love it!

Artichoke Bruschetta

1 large sourdough baguette, cut in 20 small slices
2 cans (13 3/4 ounces each) artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1 can (4 ounces) chopped chiles, drained
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1/2 cup fat-free mayonnaise

Heat oven to 400°F.

Arrange baguette slices in a single layer on a baking sheet, and bake until lightly toasted, about 5 minutes.

Combine artichokes, cheese, chiles, garlic and mayonnaise. Mound the artichoke mixture on the toast and bake for
10 to 15 minutes until bubbly.

artichokes, bruschetta, appetizers, recipes

Southerners joke about Yankees who come South and order “a grit.” I’m assuming y’all know that we serve these in bowls. Like oatmeal. Or cream of wheat. Some folks even serve shrimp with these.

Oh, come on, now. It’s not all that different than rissotto, right?

Southern Style Cheese Grits

6 cup water
2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 cup grits (regular not quick cook)
1/2 cup butter
3 eggs, well beaten
1 Lb Cheddar Cheese, grated (about 4 cups)
1-3 cloves garlic, minced
Cayenne pepper to taste

Bring water and salt to a rapid boil; gradually stir in grits with a fork. Cook until all water is absorbed. (25-30 minutes) Stir in butter bit by bit; carefully add eggs, cheese, garlic, and cayenne pepper. Put into a greased 2 1/2 qt. casserole; bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour.

grits, breakfast, recipes, cheese

This is my daughter’s favorite dessert, and it’s a Southern staple. Now that pecans are coming in season (we pick them up around our neighborhood), it’s time for some pies!

A special note from my daughter: She claims that you MUST measure the vanilla. The last pie she made, she “guessed” at the vanilla, and didn’t like the result.

Classic Pecan Pie

3 eggs slightly beaten
1 cup sugar
1 cup KARO light or dark corn syrup
2 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla
1-1/4 cups pecans
1 unbaked (9-inch) pie crust

Preheat oven to 350′F. In medium bowl with fork, beat eggs slightly. Add sugar, corn syrup, butter and vanilla; stir until well blended. Stir in pecans. Pour into pie crust. Bake 50 to 55 minutes or until knife inserted halfway between center and edge comes out clean. Cool on wire rack. Makes 8 servings.

pecan pie

Here’s an easy recipe that everyone will love!

Quesadillas

12 Flour tortillas
1/4 lb Butter
1 T Salt
1 c Monterey Jack; grated
1 c Mozzarella; grated
15 oz Sweet cherry peppers;-seeded & chopped

Spread the tortillas with the softened butter and salt on both sides.
Let the tortillas set for one hour. Spread with remaining butter and cover each tortilla with an equal amount of both cheeses and sweet cherry peppers.

Place the tortillas on an ungreased cookie sheet and broil for five to six minutes. The broiler should be four or five inches from the tortillas. Remove from the oven, cut into wedges, and serve at once.

quesadillas

Picking the perfect avocado is always a challenge. But when you do, they are oh-so-good. Here’s a fantastically simple grill recipe.

Chicken and Red Onion Kebabs with Spicy Hass Avocado from Mexico Mayo
3 to 4 large chicken breasts, cut into large cubes
3 large red onions, peeled
Salt and pepper
3 Hass avocados from Mexico, peeled and seeds removed
1/4 cup mayonnaise
3 tablespoons chopped chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon lemon juice
Salt and pepper

Preheat grill.
Cut the onions into quarters, slide half of one quarter onto a wooden skewer. Next, slide on a cube of chicken. Repeat until the skewer is full. Season with salt and pepper, and place on preheated grill. Cover and let cook approximately 3 to 5 minutes. Flip skewers and leave on grill for 3 to 5 minutes until chicken is cooked.
For mayo, combine the remaining ingredients in a blender and pulse until smooth.

chicken, avocado, kabobs

I love cheese. Just in general. I love it. Our friends at Cabot (whom I adore for making tasty low-fat cheese in addition to their full-fat offerings) have a slew of new recipes on their website. Cheese. Bread. Spread. Doesn’t get any better.

5-Point Spread (Makes about 1 1/2 cups)

8 ounces Cabot Sharp or Extra Sharp Cheddar Cheese*, grated (about 3 cups)
4 ounces cream cheese
1/3 cup dark beer
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
Large pinch cayenne pepper (ElementaryChef’s note: I used 1/8 teaspoon)
Thin-sliced rye or multi-grain bread or crackers

1. Combine first five ingredients in food processor or blender; process until smooth and creamy.
2. Serve with bread or crackers.

*Or flavored Cabot Cheddar, such as Pepper Jack or Horseradish

Cheese, spread, snacks, Cabot