New gadgets...are they a "need" or a "want"?

January 6th and I am just getting around to my first post for 2018. I think I have expended most of my energy trying to keep warm. Jeff and I have taken this slow time of year to finish the drywall in the studio and get it painted. I will leave that story for it's own post later in the month. Today I am going to talk about kitchen gadgets, not pottery. Although there will be a photo of one of my favorite bowls at the end.
Everyone on Facebook has been talking about the Instant Pot (IP). Even the NY Times food writer Melissa Clark wrote about it. In case you have somehow missed it, it's an electronic pressure cooker that can also be used as a slow cooker. There is a saute feature that allows you to saute your veggies or brown meats before using the pressure cooker or slow cooker functions.

Last fall I REALLY wanted one.
When Amazon had a one day special on them, I ALMOST bought one.

Jeff and I always discuss purchases, especially if they are close to or over, $100. He asked me if I "needed it" or just "wanted it." He mentioned that I already own a stove top pressure cooker and a slow cooker. It was definitely a "want." I really didn't want to find a place to store it either. Instead I decided that I should try to utilize my stove top cooker more often. For the past 30 years I have really only used it for veggies. Mostly green beans, winter squash, rutabaga & carrots.

Last night I decided to try an IP recipe for a creamy wild rice chicken soup, that was shared on Facebook, in my stove top pressure cooker.

I used the same cooking time and pressure reducing method that the recipe stated and the only thing I would change next time, is to cut my carrots bigger, because we like them a little firmer.

Once the vegetables, rice, chicken and chicken stock, have been cooked under pressure, the pot goes back on the stove and the milk/cream is added.

Served with a crusty bread on very cold night, it was a delicious and quick meal! I am now going to search for other recipes to try. I know that some people are afraid of pressure cookers, but they are have a relief valve now, eliminating the potential for it to blow up like your grandmother's pressure cooker. I have had this one for more than 20 years, and have occasionally replaced the seals and more recently the "rocker" valve on the top. Parts are available online and are relatively inexpensive.

I welcome comments from anyone with an IP or an old style pressure cooker. I would love to hear about your experiences or favorite recipes.

Roasting a perfect chicken

The cold winter inspired me to use the "big" oven, as opposed to my cuisinart mini oven, a lot more. Not only to create some good ol' comfort food, but to take the chill out of the kitchen as well. Nearly every week I have roasted a whole chicken. A good size roasted chicken feeds us for quite a few meals. I always make a stock with the bones, which gives us a nice soup for dinner and a couple of lunches. Instead of a roasting pan I have switched over to my trusty cast iron skillet. I have combined methods from a few different recipes and have settled on this...

Place cast iron skillet in the oven and heat to 425 degrees

Rinse chicken and pat dry, season the cavity with salt and pepper. Place a lemon wedge, half a celery stalk, and a slice of onion inside the cavity. If you have fresh herbs you could throw some in as well.

Chop a couple cloves of garlic and tuck them under the skin. Brush the skin with vegetable oil and season with with salt and pepper.

Take the hot skillet out of the oven and transfer the chicken to it. Place in oven and roast for about 1 1/2 hours. I alway check the temperature at an hour. When done, transfer to a platter and let the juices settle for about 15 minutes.

What I like about using the cast iron skillet is that if you want to make gravy, you can do it right in the pan. Jeff is the gravy pro in this household, so I always leave that to him.

TWICE I have taken photos of my chicken roasting process. The uncooked chicken in the skillet looked a little icky, I didn't want to turn off my vegan friends, so that photo was nixed. The photos I took last night of my perfectly browned bird were way out of focus. I will blame the wine for that!

Instead of chicken pics, I will leave you with a photo of a pig (of course).

New piggy bank combo... green and shino!

cooking for one

Last night I had to head to the big city of Asheboro in search of a couple of 8"x 8" boxes and some fresh mozzarella for a grilled pizza. It was late by the time I got out the door and as I walked past the freezer aisle at the grocery store I thought about how much easier, and quicker, it would be to buy a frozen pizza. After about 2 seconds of thought, I reminded myself about how much better a fresh grilled pizza would taste.
Jeff and I usually grill pizza together. I make the dough and get the toppings together, he does the grilling. Last night I was on my own and managed to time everything just right. I made two small pizzas and will have leftovers for a couple more meals. It's so hard to cook for one. It's too tempting to reach for something easy. I am so glad that I am on my own for just a couple of weeks. It's no wonder that my Dad's biggest struggle since losing my Mum is cooking for himself.

Everything is easier with two.

Rice, the long and short of it

The last few weeks it's been all about the rice in the Hastings - Brown home. It started on the Korean New Year when Jeff made tteok guk (Korean rice cake soup with brisket). The rice cakes are more like a noodle that you slice and add to the soup just prior to serving. The soup is made with a beef brisket and is very spicy with just the right amount of heat. So tasty that we didn't get any photographs. You can find the recipe here. We didn't have any dashida, so Jeff substituted a little kimchi. Kimchi has become a staple in this house. Our three favorites are the typical cabbage kimchi, scallion kimchi, and cucumber kimchi. If you don't like the hot cabbage type, you should give the cucumber a try. It's an excellent balance of heat with the cool cucumber. 

Next on the "must make" list was onigiri, Japanese rice balls. These are made with a short grain rice and the fillings can vary. Hitomi Shibata provided me with the basic recipe for this version. She had made onigiri for an event at STARworks Ceramics, and they were fabulous. These were filled with age (fried tofu), lotus root, and carrots. They are served at room temperature and you can pick them up and eat them with your hands. Mine were not as pretty as Hitomi's, I need a little more practice! Next time I am going to try filling them with a little salmon.

Last night we moved on to Italian cuisine. Since I had a bag of short grain rice left from the onigiri (we usually only have jasmine) I decided it was time to make risotto. I love it and had never made it before. The box kind doesn't count and doesn't taste like the real deal. For one thing it is usually too salty. I followed a recipe that I found online. I pretty much stuck to it and it was perfect. It went great with the $2.98 bargain steak that I found at Food Lion on Friday. They had a whole bunch of beef marked down. I imagine it was because of the storm. They were cleaned out of dairy products and bread but I guess the meat wasn't purchased and they wanted to get rid of it quickly. It was one of the best steaks we have had in awhile and Jeff grilled it to perfection (hurray for good weather!).

Now you have read all about my rice obsession, along with talk of tofu and beef. I wouldn't want pork to feel left out...

This post is part of Sunday Ceramics  head on over there and check out what's happening this week!

Fresh Basil and Arugula Pesto... and I am sharing the recipe!

Danielle and Jason are foodies... they subscribe to all the good food and wine magazines. Whenever I am visiting them in Connecticut, I go through their recent issues and try to snag some good recipes. Last night I made basil and arugula pesto. Jeff was a little skeptical of the combination, but I knew we would love it because we are big fans of both. Last night we had it mixed pasta, fresh tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, topped with garlic sauteed shrimp. The photo is our lunch today, we slightly warmed the leftover pasta (no shrimp - we ate it all last night) and shared a tuna sandwich, served up on our new Tom White plates that we acquired at the League of NH Craftsmen's show. The rerun was just as tasty!
Here is the recipe:

1/3 cup pine nut, or almonds (I used almonds, the pine nuts were too expensive where I was shopping)
Toast the nuts in dry skillet, until lightly browned, let cool. Pulse in a food processor until finely ground.

Add approximately 1 1/2 cups fresh basil, and 1 1/2 cups fresh arugula to the processor, along with 2-4 cloves of fresh, chopped, garlic. Add about 1/4 tsp. of kosher salt (I use Himalayan, that's just our preference).

Grate 1/2 cup of good parmesan cheese, add to the food processor and pulse to combine.

Slowly pour in 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil, pulsing to incorporate. Transfer the pesto to a bowl.
The recipe said to incorporate a 1/2 cup of ricotta cheese to the pesto. I forgot to buy the ricotta but had fresh mozzarella. I mixed the mozzarella in with pasta and fresh tomatoes before serving.

The recipe makes about a cup of pesto, use about a 1/2 cup for one pound of pasta... but if you are like me... extra pesto is always a good idea!

Bon Appetit!

When you have fresh eggs...

You make quiche!

We are fortunate that Latham's Pottery, right here in Seagrove, sells the best free range eggs at a very affordable price. Since I picked up a couple dozen yesterday, I decided we should have quiche for dinner.

My favorite recipe for quiche comes from this little cookbook that Danielle's elementary school put together back in the late 80's. The children were invited to submit their favorite family recipe and perhaps a story to go along with it.

Some of the recipes are so cute. There is one for tripe. The ingredients are 1lb of tripe and 1 apple... boil tripe for 2 hours, drain, replace with fresh water and simmer for another hour. Drain water. Feed tripe to your dog and eat the apple.

And then there's Jayma's recipe for Beans and Hot Dogs... Boil hot dogs for 5 min. Heat 1 can of baked beans on medium until boiling. Serve with mustard and ketchup.

Aside from the silly ones, there are quite a few good recipes. When I take the book out to use it, and read the names of the children who submitted recipes, I find it hard to believe that these kids are mostly over 30 now!!

Last night's quiche creation included garlic, onions, broccoli, cheddar cheese, and an assortment of chopped herbs from our first CSA share of the season. Served with a big tossed salad, topped with almonds and craisins... it was a delicious springtime meal.
The best part is that there are leftovers for lunch!

it's the veggies that brought us together

Every time Jeff and I make Asian style stir fry it brings me back to a night in 2009...

Shortly after Jz died, Jeff said he would come over to my place and make me dinner. We decided on his recipe for Asian stir fry. Together we chopped all the vegetables, placing each of them in a different handmade bowl from my cupboards. We had lots of fun arranging the bowls on the counter and taking photos of all the pretty veggies and pots. I think it was the first time in many weeks that I laughed and enjoyed myself. That meal was the first of many that we cooked together. Other times in the following months he came over and did all the cooking... it was such a treat since at the time my commute to work was nearly an hour in each direction and cooking was the last thing I wanted to do at the end of the day. I was in heaven!

... and I think you know the rest of the story.

My new obsession

Fresh Spring Rolls!

I love that they are so easy and inexpensive to make. The 12 oz. package of rice wrappers goes a long way and they keep forever in your cupboard. You can fill them with any raw vegetables that you have on hand. These were filled with shredded cabbage, carrots, zucchini, green onion, basil, and cilantro. I also added a little sauteed and chopped up shrimp that had been marinated in teriyaki sauce with garlic. I often squeeze a lime over the veggies before rolling them up. Jeff is in charge of mixing up a dipping sauce, usually some combination of tamari and Asian hot sauces we have in the fridge. I like to think of them as salad in a package!

Last night's dinner was leftover cashew chicken and fried rice that I had made on Sunday. We had eaten all of the spring rolls so the only work I had to do was to put those together. The dumplings in the (Jeff) bowl came from Super G, the Asian market that we like in Greensboro. Someday I will make those at home too. I am sure they would be much better for us!
Thankfully Jeff and I like to cook because we would have to drive to the next town to get anything other than diner/family style food. It also saves us money, we rarely eat out. Finding some ingredients in the nearby markets can be a challenge and we have learned that no matter what you go to Greensboro for, bring a cooler and ice packs and take the time to go to a good grocery store!

P.S. I am finally getting pretty good at using chop sticks... I didn't touch a fork once last night!

photo credits: Jeff Brown

Cooking up a storm...

Lately we have been on a cooking spree. I think in part it may be because we were away for most of August and didn't have our own kitchen to spend time in.

 Our own version of chili made with chicken... really yummy and invented with things we had on hand.

Sundried tomato and garlic hummus

 I have been on a hummus making kick. So much better and less expensive than store bought. Jeff said he never cared for hummus until he had mine :-). We have been eating it on a variety of toasted breads. I think it's our new lunch favorite.

Apple Brownies

We have soooo many apples that I have needed to do some baking as well.

VEGAN WARNING! If you don't like to look at large hunks of meat, click away now...

Jeff spent labor day, laboring over the smoker. He smoked two pork shoulders and we enjoyed some fabulous pulled pork sandwiches with coleslaw...

What's a holiday in the south without barbecue?