Rosemary Chicken Comfort Food

This recipe comes from the cookbook, Glorious One-Pot Meals. It is a great cookbook for busy folks- essentially you pile the food (in order) in a dutch oven, stick it in the oven and you're finished. This recipe is a favorite of my youngest. I have amended the recipe a bit, but not significantly.

1/4 onion, cut into 1 inch slices
2 pieces boneless, skinless chicken breasts
salt and pepper to taste
6 - 8 small potatoes, new or boilers- I used Russets, cut into smaller chunks
1/2 small acorn squash, cut into 1 inch cubes - I used a winter squash- not acorn
5 - 10 mushrooms, thickly sliced
15 - 20 green beans, trimmed, cut into thirds - I left out this step with the intention of steaming them
4 - 6 sprigs rosemary or 1/2 teaspoon dried - do NOT use dried- use fresh!

Preheat oven to 450°F. Spray inside of 2-quart Dutch oven and lid with a high heat oil.
Separate onion slices and place in a layer on bottom of pot. Rinse chicken pieces and place over the onions. Lightly salt and pepper. Stab each potato multiple times with a fork and drop into pot above the chicken. Arrange cubes of squash in gently. Add mushrooms and cover with final layer of green beans. Lightly salt and pepper. Tuck sprigs of rosemary into crevices. Cover and bake for 45 minutes, or until 3 minutes after the aroma wafts from the oven.

 Here it is going into the oven- you can see I used dried rosemary. Not a good idea- they end up like little toothpicks in your meal. I salted and peppered it after the photo was taken.

 **Delicious- the chicken was tender and moist. The winter squash was a bit mushy, but acceptable. I have a dollop of my cheeky plum sauce that I canned earlier this summer with it.

Roast Chicken with Herbs

This recipe comes from a cook book I received as a wedding gift, many moons ago. It is published by Sunset, called Easy Basics for Good Cooking. I used to make the roast chicken as a meal for new mothers. I'll try it again and see if the reality of today matches my memory of it. My intention is to put the chicken on a rack in a roasting pan and fill the pan with vegetables for roasting. If you don't want to do that, then save the drippings and use them as a base for your roux for chicken pot pie.

1 frying chicken (3-4 lbs)
3 cloves garlic, halved
2 bay leaves
3 T butter, melted
1/4 t each salt and pepper
1/4 t each ground sage, dry basil, thyme, oregano, and marjoram leaves
2 bay leaves

Remove giblets, etc.

Rub skin of chicken with 1 clove garlic; then put all garlic and bay leaves into the body cavity. In a small bowl, stir together all other spices with the butter. Spoon 1 T of this mixture into the cavity. Truss now (if you want to.)

Brush skin generously with the rest of the butter mixture. Place chicken, breast side up, on a rack in a shallow roasting pan. Bake uncovered, in a 375 oven for 1 to 1/1/2 hours or deep thigh reaches 185.

Baste occasionally with any remaining butter mixture or pan drippings during last half-hour of roasting. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.

 **Delicious and so easy! You can see I added potatoes, sweet potatoes, and carrots to the roasting pan  as well.

Swiss chard and potato soup

This looked like an easy recipe- one I have been carrying with me for several years, but have never tried it. Tonight is the night! I have amended the recipe below as I made it. The original recipe is on the NY Times site.

Ingredients

• 1/4 pound slab bacon, diced (I used country ham, but next time I'd use bacon)
• 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1 large onion, diced
• 4 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 1/2 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and sliced 1/2 inch thick 
• 3 C vegetable stock
• Salt
• 6 eggs, optional
• 1 3/4 cups cooked chickpeas or 1 can, drained
• 5 cups, packed, very finely shredded Swiss chard leaves (about 1 bunch)
• Freshly ground black pepper

Preparation

1. Start chickpeas in the pressure cooker. Presoak for one minute. Change water, then cook for 21 minutes. Quick release using cold water on the lid. Drain and set aside.

2. Place bacon in a heavy 4-quart saucepan. Sauté until lightly browned. Drain, leaving 2 tablespoons fat in pan.

3.Add onion and garlic to oil in pan and sauté over low heat until soft and barely golden. Add potatoes and 3 cups water and 3 cups of vegetable stock. Bring to a boil, season with salt, and cook until potatoes are soft, about 15 minutes.

4.Remove potatoes with a slotted spoon to a large mixing bowl, and roughly mash them with a fork or a potato masher. Return potatoes to liquid in pot, and stir to dissolve them.

5.Add chickpeas, and chard leaves. Bring to a simmer, and cook about 2-5 minutes, until leaves wilt. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer to warm soup plates. If using the eggs, fry or poach them and add one to each bowl. 

 ** I liked the soup more than my family did. You can see my broth is a bit red due to the type of chard I used.

Old English Fish Pie

My daughter is coming home for Thanksgiving and she loves this dish! I highly recommend the cookbook this recipe comes from, 50 Ways with Fish, by Katherine Blakemore.

1 1/2 lb potatoes, peeled
1 oz butter
1 1/2 C milk
12 oz smoked fish
8 oz fresh fish (haddock, cod, or ling)
1 bay leaf
1 blade mince (I use a pinch of ground mace)
6 black peppercorns
1 T cornstarch
3 T chopped parsley
2 hard boiled eggs, chopped
1/4 C sharp cheese

Cook the potatoes in lightly-salted water for about 20 minutes or until soft. Drain well, then mash with the butter and 3 T milk.

Put fish into a pan with the remaining milk, bay leaf, mace and peppercorns. Bring to a boil, simmer for 2-3 minutes, then remove from heat, cover pan and let stand until fish is cool enough to handle.

Strain the milk into another pan, discarding the bay leaf, mace blade, and peppercorns. Mix the cornstarch with a little cold water, add to the milk, bring to a boil stirring continuously. Simmer for 2-3 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 400F.

Flake the fish, removing any skin and bones, add to the sauce with the parsley and eggs Taste and adjust seasoning. Transfer the mixture to a deep ovenproof dish, top with the mashed potatoes, running the prongs of a fork down the length of the potatoes. Sprinkle with grated cheese.

Cook in a preheated oven (400F) for about 25 minutes until topping is browned.

 **Yum!

Roast Chicken with root vegetables

What a perfect night to have this dish! Cold and dark, wind blowing, snow trying to form. I haven't made a roast chicken for a long time, so I thought I'd give it a go. I have a standby recipe I usually make, so I was pleased to try this one from Jamie Oliver. I like how nonchalant his recipes are and this one is just the same. I got the chicken from Whole Foods. I've amended the recipe below. If you want to know how to carve your chicken and make gravy, go to the link above.

• 1 x approximately 4 lb chicken, preferably free-range, organic or higher welfare
• 2 medium onions
• 2 carrots
• 4 potatoes
• turnips
• olive oil
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 lemon
a small bunch of fresh thyme, rosemary, bay or sage, or a mixture (I used thyme from my garden)

To prepare your chicken
• Take your chicken out of the fridge 30 minutes before it goes into the oven
• Preheat your oven to 475°F
• There’s no need to peel the vegetables – just give them a wash and roughly chop them 

• Pile all the veg and garlic into the middle of a large roasting tray and drizzle with olive oil
• Drizzle the chicken with olive oil and season well with salt and pepper, rubbing it all over the bird
• Carefully prick the lemon all over, using the tip of a sharp knife (if you have a microwave, you could pop the lemon in these for 40 seconds at this point as this will really bring out the flavour)
• Put the lemon inside the chicken’s cavity, with the bunch of herbs

To cook your chicken
• Place the chicken on top of the vegetables in the roasting tray and put it into the preheated oven
• Turn the heat down immediately to 400°F and cook the chicken for 1 hour and 20 minutes
• Baste the chicken halfway through cooking and if the veg look dry, add a splash of water to the tray to stop them burning
• When cooked, take the tray out of the oven and transfer the chicken to a board to rest for 15 minutes or so

**The top photo is the chicken going into the oven. It turned out beautiful, juicy and tender.

Potato Leek Soup with Dill

I have a very simple potato leek soup that I normally make. However, with the dill in the garden still growing and a package of smoked bacon that I picked up in Nashville, I decided to try this recipe from the Nourished Kitchen. I have amended the recipe below.

• 4 ounces pasture-raised bacon, fried and crumbled with fat reserved
• 4 leeks, rinsed well with white and light green parts sliced very thinly
• 1 pound waxy potatoes, scrubbed well and cubed
• 1 quart fresh chicken broth
• 2 bay leaves, preferably fresh though dried will do
• 2 cups fresh whole milk 
• 1 bunch fresh dill, chopped fine
• unrefined sea salt and freshly ground white pepper, to taste
• crème fraîche or sour cream, to serve

Instructions

1. In a heavy-bottomed soup pot, heat reserved bacon fat over a medium flame until melted and sizzling. Add the thinly sliced leeks to the melted bacon fat (depending on how fatty your bacon is- you might need to pour some off) and fry until they begin to soften and release their aroma – about five to six minutes or so. Add one quart fresh chicken broth to the leeks and dump in the cubed potatoes and cover the pot. Cook the potatoes, leeks and broth together over a medium-low flame until the potatoes are softened and tenderly fall apart when pressed with the tines of a fork – about thirty minutes. If you like your soup lumpy, then leave as is. Otherwise you can blend/mash it up now)
2. Remove the soup from the flame and allow it to cool slightly, then pour two cups fresh whole milk into the soup pot, stirring in the fresh dill as you go. Season with unrefined sea salt and white pepper as it suits you, then serve the soup with plenty of good quality pasture-raised bacon and a dollop of crème fraîche or sour cream.

** This was a nice soup. I didn't put the sour cream on top. I also used 2% rather than whole milk. The addition of the dill was not great for me. I think I'll stick to my other recipe next time.

Potato Wedges

These potato wedges are our favorite! The recipe is from a kiwi cook- Alison Holst. It is from her Best Potato Recipes cook booklet. She has a website with some recipes online- but I couldn't find this one. This is a very easy recipe and sure to become one of your favorites, too!

4 large potatoes (2 lbs)
3 T olive oil
1 T tamari (or soy sauce)
1 tsp finely chopped garlic
1 T grated parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp salt (optional)

Preheat the oven to 400F.

In a bowl, mix everything together.
Cut potatoes into wedges lengthwise (including the skin). Pat them dry.
Put your potato wedges into your bowl and coat them thoroughly. Stand the wedges skin side down in a large baking dish or jelly roll pan.

Bake at 400F for 35-40 minutes, or until tender and golden brown.

**So delicious! Your house will smell wonderful and you'll be sad there aren't any leftovers.

Zucchini and potato soup with cilantro

I found this recipe in an old magazine and it is online. It is a good end of summer soup. We'll make it in my seasonal cooking class.

3 tablespoons butter 1 tablespoon (or more) chopped jalapeño chile with seeds 1/4 teaspoon (generous) fennel seeds 1 (7- to 8-ounce) Yukon Gold potato, peeled, cut into 1/2-inch cubes 16 to 18 ounces zucchini (about 4 medium), trimmed, cut into 1/2-inch rounds 1 cup chopped green onions 2 1/2 cups low-salt chicken broth 1/2 cup (packed) fresh cilantro 1 teaspoon (or more) fresh lime juice Melt butter in heavy large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add chile and fennel seeds; stir 30 seconds. Add next 3 ingredients; sauté 2 minutes. Add broth and bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until vegetables are tender, about 15 minutes. Purée soup in batches in blender, adding cilantro and 1 teaspoon lime juice to first batch. Return puree to same pan. Season to taste with salt, pepper, and more lime juice, if desired. Rewarm, if necessary, and serve. One serving contains the following: 163.56 Calories (kcal), 48.7% Calories from Fat, 8.85 (g) Fat, 5.62 (g) Saturated Fat, 25.63 (mg) Cholesterol, 16.74 (g) Carbohydrates, 3.29 (g) Dietary Fiber, 4.10 (g) Total Sugars, 13.45 (g) Net Carbs, 4.89 (g) Protein **Really quite nice! The lime added a little kick. The picture doesn't show it with the cilantro- but I'd recommend it. We made it with green chili instead of a jalepeno. We also used 1/2 the potato.

Butternut Squash and Potato Pie with Tomato, Mint and Sheep's Milk Cheese

I got three butternut squash out of my garden this summer- I saw this recipe and thought my squash coupled with my mint, parsley, and tomatoes and LPO's potatoes- this was sure to be a winner! I have amended the recipe below (less mint than originally called for).

Butternut Squash and Potato Pie with Tomato, Mint and Sheep's Milk Cheese
Serves 6 as a side dish or 3 to 4 as a main course

2 sprigs fresh mint leaves, shredded
5 sprigs flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped
1/2 to 3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 1/4 pounds butternut squash, quartered, peeled, seeded and thinly sliced crosswise
1 large ripe tomato, halved, seeded and grated, or a few spoonfuls of drained, diced tomatoes from a can
2/3 cup grated hard sheep's milk cheese, like Greek mizithra or Spanish manchego
1/4 cup fresh ricotta
1 1/2 pounds red or Yukon Gold potatoes, thinly sliced
1 cup milk
1 tablespoon flour
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, combine the mint, parsley, garlic, 1/4 teaspoon salt, or a little bit more to taste, and the pepper. Remove and reserve half the mixture. Add the squash to the bowl and mix well. Add the tomato, and the hard and fresh cheeses and toss to combine.

2. Toss the potatoes with the reserved garlic-herb mixture and add another 1/4 teaspoon salt. Place half the sliced potatoes on the bottom of a generously oiled 2 1/2-quart baking dish. Taste a small bit of the squash-tomato mixture for seasoning, adjust if needed, and spread on top, covering with the remaining potatoes. Pour the milk over all, dust with the flour (preferably through a sieve) and drizzle the oil on top.

3. Bake for 40 minutes. Raise the oven temperature to 400 degrees and continue to bake for 30 minutes, or until the gratin is brown and the liquid is nearly absorbed. Allow to rest for 15 minutes before serving.

**Delicious! I would recommend using your food processor for most of the prep work-otherwise you'll be grating and slicing for a long time...

Carrot Ginger Soup- Indian spices

For those of you who have been reading this blog, you know that I have been looking for a great carrot soup. I think this just might be it! Super easy to make (in my food processor). Here is the recipe online. Below is with my modifications (green chile and vegemite).

Carrot ginger soup:
It makes about 20 ladlefuls.

One giant onion or two medium, chopped
1-3 roasted green chiles, chopped
3″ chunk of ginger, peeled, grated
Three garlic cloves, minced
1 tbsp turmeric
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tbsp curry powder
10 carrots, peeled and cut into medallions.
One huge potato, peeled, chopped
Vegetable stock to cover (about 6 cups)
1 tsp vegemite

Chop everything.
Sauté onion garlic and ginger in vegetable oil until tender. Add spices.
Cook one minute until aromatic. Add carrot and potato. Coat in spices and oil.
Add stock. Bring to a boil. Simmer until veggies are tender. Maybe 20 minutes. Allow to cool a bit then blend to a puree.                                                                                                                                                         Top with sour cream or yogurt.

**Delicious and so easy to make. The yogurt was perfect with it. I made GF cheesy buns to go with it.

Smoked turkey, potato, and andouille hash

This is a recipe from the Harry's Roadhouse Cookbook, a recent birthday gift (!). Harry's was one of our favorite restaurants when we lived in Santa Fe. I have adapted the recipe and what I cooked is below.

1 lb diced smoked turkey (I got it from Rudy's)
3 C diced potatoes
1/2 C diced yellow onion
2 roasted green chiles (hot), diced
5 oz Andouille sausage, diced or into small balls
1 1/2 T butter
1/2 t salt
1/4 t pepper
1/8 t oregano
2 T chicken stock
2 T heavy cream
poached eggs

Chop turkey, potatoes, onion, chiles and sausage into 1/4 " dice. Parboil potatoes in a pot of boiling salted water for 3 minutes or so. They want to be parboiled- not cooked through (or they'll end up mushy in the dish). Drain and cool.
In a cast iron skillet, saute the onion and chiles until they start to soften. Add the sausage and cook for about 5 minutes, until it starts to brown; then add the turkey and seasonings. Cook another 5 minutes, then add the potatoes, stock, and cream. Stir and scrape the bottom of the skillet. When the liquids are absorbed, the hash is ready. Spoon into bowls and top with poached eggs.

**Here it is before the eggs. This dish was delicious! I served it with a mixture of watermelon and honeydew. The melon's sweetness was a nice balance to the spicy of the hash.

Potato encrusted salmon

Found this recipe today and thought I'd give it a go. It indicated that the recipe is courtesy of Chef Bryan Woolley. It calls for spinach, but I didn't do that part of the recipe.


4 (6 ounce) salmon fillets
2 tbsp whole grain mustard
1 tbsp brown sugar
4 cups grated potatoes, rinsed
2 eggs
2 tbsp Italian style bread crumbs
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper to taste
4 cups raw spinach

1. Rinse salmon and pat dry. Divide the brown sugar and the whole grain mustard between the salmon fillets.  Cover each fillet evenly. Set aside until ready to use.
2. In a medium size bowl, whisk the eggs together.  Add the bread crumbs, and grated potatoes. Mix together.
3. Divide the potatoes evenly into 4 parts.
4. Using your hands, press the potatoes onto the flesh side of the salmon.
5. Heat a non stick skillet to medium high and add about a teaspoon of extra virgin olive oil.  Sear the potato side of the salmon in the hot pan until golden.  Turn salmon over and place on a parchment lined baking sheet and place in a 350 degree oven for about 15 minutes to finish cooking.
6. While salmon is baking off in the oven, add the spinach to the sauté pan you were using for the salmon.
7. Lightly wilt the spinach.  Add salt and pepper to taste.
8. Divide the spinach between four plates and serve the potato encrusted salmon over the spinach.  Salt and pepper to taste.  Serve and enjoy!

**I plopped the potato mixture without the salmon directly into the frying pan to sear it. I left the salmon on the baking sheet and then put the seared potato patty on top of it. This method kept the salmon from drying out. If I cook this again, I'll put some herbs into the potato mixture. I used very little brown sugar and it was still a bit sweet for me.

Mashed Potatoes with Garlic- Pressure Cooker

This recipe comes from a great cookbook called Cooking Under Pressure by Lorna Sass. I couldn't find the recipe on-line, but I did find her site for some of the recipes. This one is adapted from the recipe for Mashed Rutabagas and Potatoes.

2-4 T butter
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 3/4 C vege stock
2 1/2 lbs potatoes cut into 2 inch chunks (I cut red potatoes in half)

Saute garlic in butter, add potatoes and stir. Pour in stock and lock lid in place over high heat. For russets, cook 6 minutes under high pressure, for reds-cook 4 minutes. Quick release the steam. Mash and serve.

**Delicious and so easy to make. You can also substitute onions for the garlic.

Potato Salad with Herring

I have some leftover red potatoes after making the Manhatten Tuna Chowder and I have been reading that we need to eat more herring. I opened some herring from the Talin Market the other day and now I need to use it up. Here is the online version of the recipe. Although this calls for bottled beets, you could use fresh. I will use the pickles that I canned last summer. I will also cut the herring into very small pieces so they don't compete with the meatballs that I'm serving with this dish.

serves 4

salt and freshly milled white pepper
675 g (1 1/2 lb) new potatoes
4 pickled herring fillets
1 large onion
1 large, fairly sour apple
225 g (8 oz) bottled beetroot
100 g (4 oz) cocktail gherkins
3 tablespoons mayonnaise
5 tablespoons low fat natural yogurt
1 tablespoon wine vinegar

method

1. Half fill a medium-sized saucepan with water and add a generous pinch of salt. Scrub the potatoes under running water, add them to the saucepan, bring the water to the boil and boil the potatoes in their skins for 25 - 30 minutes.

2. Rinse the herring in cold water, pat dry and cut it into squares. Cut the onion into rings. Peel, quarter, core and dice the apple. Drain the beetroot in a sieve and cut it into cubes, reserving 2 tablespoons of the juice. Slice the gherkins.

3. Beat the mayonnaise with the beetroot juice, yogurt, vinegar and pepper. Drain the potatoes, leave them to cool, remove the skins and slice. Gently mix the potatoes with the herring, onion rings, apple, gherkins and beetroot in a large bowl.

4. Fold the dressing into the salad, cover the bowl and leave to stand for a few minutes before serving. Season to taste with salt. 

Manhattan Tuna Chowder- Crockpot

No time to cook on Tuesday- so I thought we could try this chowder recipe. I've got everything but the red potatoes on hand... and most of the recipes from the Better Homes and Gardens Ultimate Slow Cooker cookbook have been good.

Serves 6

2 14-oz cans chicken broth (I'll use my own)
2 C chopped round red potatoes (2 medium)
1 14.5-oz can diced tomatoes
1 C chopped celery (2 stalks)
1/2 C chopped onion (1 medium)
1/2 C coarsely shredded carrot (1 medium)
1 t dried thyme, crushed
1/8 t cayenne pepper
1/8 t ground black pepper
1 12-oz can chunk white tuna (water pack), drained and broken into chunks

Combine broth, potatoes, undrained tomatoes, celery, onion, carrot, thyme, cayenne pepper, and black pepper.
Cover and cook on low for 6-7 hours or high for 3-31/2 hours. Gently stir in tuna. Let stand, covered for 5 minutes.

per serve: 40 calories, 2 G fat, 25 mg chol.,900 mg sodium, 1 g carbo, 3 g fiber, 16 g protein.

 **I don't think this dish could have been any easier. I wasn't crazy about it, but the 2 out of the other 3 eaters besides me thought it was great. I paired it with buttermilk biscuits.
##I might make this again.

Mung Bean Biriani

I made this several times on our farm. This is a good vegetarian entree for hungry workers and/or growing boys. My notes say "Big Pot- Hearty". I can't remember where I copied the recipe from- it has both metric/imperial and American measurements.

1/2 lb mung beans
2 med onions
4 cloves garlic
1 large potato
4 tomatoes
4 T oil
1 t turmeric
1/2 t cayenne pepper
1 t cumin
1 t coriander
1 1/4 C brown rice
sea salt
juice of 1 lemon

Put the mung beans into a saucepan with 2 1/2 C water. Cover them, bring to a boil and simmer them for 2 minutes. Turn off the heat and soak the beans for 1 hour.
Finely chop the onion and garlic Scrub the potato and cut it into 1/2 dice. Scald, skin, and roughly chop the tomatoes.
Heat the oil in a saucepan on a low heat. Stir in the onions and garlic and cook them until they look transparent. Stir in the spices and cook them until the onions are soft. Drain the beans and stir them into the pan with the rice, potatoes, and tomatoes. Stir them over the heat for 5 minutes. Make the cooking liquid up with stock (total of 3 1/2 C), pour it into the pan and bring it to the boil. Cover and simmer gently for 40 minutes.

*To save time, I will soak the beans for 4 hours, then cook the beans in a pressure cooker for 9 minutes. While the beans are cooking, I'll be working on the rest of the dish and will add the beans when they are finished. This should save me at least 1 hour and 20 minutes. I'll be using canned tomatoes.

 ** I forgot to soak the beans, so I brought them up to pressure for one minute and then turned them off and let the pressure drop naturally (they were cooked through- so I think 9 minutes as I'd originally researched and said above would be way too much for these little beans). I added them into the rest of the dish at that point. I served this with plain yogurt. It was delicious. Great leftovers, too!

Curry Chickpea Potpie

This looked like a great recipe to try. Perfect for this week's harvest basket plus the leftover veges I still have in my fridge! You can find the recipe on Martha Stewart's website.

Serves 6

• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 cup millet
• 2 large eggs
• 3/4 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
• 8 ounces broccoli, cut into bite-size pieces
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 cups shredded green cabbage
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
• 1 tablespoon curry powder
• 2 large carrots, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch dice
• 8 ounces small white potatoes, quartered
• 1/3 cup red lentils
• 1/2 cup canned chickpeas, drained
• Freshly ground black pepper
• Raita

Directions

1. Boil 2 cups of water. Melt 1 tablespoon of butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add millet, and sauté until golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes, stirring frequently. Add another tablespoon butter and the boiling water to millet; return to a boil. Reduce heat to low; simmer, covered, 25 minutes. Transfer millet to a bowl to cool slightly; tent with foil to prevent from drying out. When cooled, stir in eggs, 3/4 teaspoon salt, and parsley.
2. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Prepare an ice-water bath. Add broccoli to boiling water, and blanch for 20 seconds, until bright green. Transfer to ice-water bath to cool. Drain, and set aside.
3. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Melt 1 tablespoon butter in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion; cook, stirring occasionally, 5 minutes. Add cabbage; cook, stirring occasionally, 3 minutes. Add garlic, ginger, and curry; cook 2 minutes. Pour in 2 cups water, and using a wooden spoon, scrape up any brown bits on bottom of pan. Add carrots, potatoes, lentils, and chickpeas, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low; simmer, covered, for 20 minutes. Stir in broccoli; season to taste with salt and pepper.
4. Place the stew in a 1 1/2-quart ovenproof casserole; cover with millet mixture. Dot millet with remaining tablespoon butter; place on a baking sheet. Bake for 30 minutes, until golden brown and crisp. Serve with raita. 

**I didn't end up making this. I was near the Alpine Sausage Kitchen and got tempted by the Viennese  hot dogs and german mustard. I steamed the rest of the broccoli and cauliflower.
 

Potato and Feta Salad

I got this recipe from a cookbook in New Zealand. This was in the Spring chapter. I have not tried it. It suggests that this can make a perfect lunch or dinner for a busy day. It also suggests that it can be served on its own.

500g, 1 1/4lb small new potatoes
5 spring onions, green and white parts finely chopped
1 T rinsed bottled capers
8-10 black olives
115g, 4oz feta cheese
3 T finely chopped fresh flat leaf parsley
2 T finely chopped fresh mint
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Vinaigrette
6-8 T extra virgin olive oil
juice of 1 lemon, or to taste
2 salted or preserved anchovies, rinsed and finely chopped
3 T fresh dill, finely chopped
3 T Greek yogurt
1 t french mustard

Preparation

Leaving the potatoes whole, in their skins, cook in boiling salted water for 25-30 minutes or until tender. Don't cook them too long to become mushy and start to disintegrate.
Drain the potatoes and leave to cool.
When cool enough to handle, pull the skins off with your fingers.
Cut the peeled potatoes into quarters or cubes if the potatoes are large.
Place in a large mixing bowl.
Crumble the feta cheese over the potatoes.
Add the spring onions, capers, olives, fresh herbs, freshly ground salt and black pepper.
Toss gently, just enough to mix, being careful not to break the potatoes.

To make the vinaigrette
Place the extra virgin olive oil, lemon juice, and anchovies in a small bowl and whisk together thoroughly for a couple of minutes until the dressing thickens and emulsifies.
It if doesn't thicken, you may need to add more olive oil.
Whisk in the mustard, yogurt, dill and mustard and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Pour the dressing over the potato salad and toss gently until the salad is mixed and coated with the dressing.

If you have time, the flavours will be enhanced if you leave the salad at room temperature for 1 hour before serving.

**We had the potato salad with grilled chicken and steamed broccoli. I ended up not using feta. The salad was delicious! Everyone loved it.

Bahamas Chicken

This recipe comes from a book called, Glorious One-Pot Meals by Elizabeth Yarnell. I used to cook from it a lot. She has a method of infusion cooking by layering the food into a dutch oven and then simply cooking it for 45 minutes (no peeking). I used to layer the ingredients frozen, then set the oven timer so it was ready when we walked in the door. You can buy the book from Amazon or on her site. She has a section on recipes, but it isn't interactive. This is a new recipe for me to try.

Serves 2*

1/2 t cumin seeds
2-4 pieces chicken
salt and pepper, to taste
2-3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 med potato, cut into 1" cubes
1/2 red or orange bell pepper, 1" wedges
1/2 small yellow summer squash, 1" chunks
1/2 C broccoli florets
3 T vinegar, rice or wine
3 T orange juice
1/2 t oregano, dried
1/2 t paprika
1/4 t ground allspice
1/4 t black pepper
1/4 t red pepper flakes

Preheat oven to 450. Spray inside of a 2 quart Dutch oven and lid with oil.
Sprinkle cumin seeds in base of pot. Rinse chicken and place in pot. Lightly salt and pepper. Sprinkle with garlic. Add potatoes on top of chicken. Layer in bell peppers, squash and broccoli.
In a bowl, mix vinegar, orange juice, oregano, paprika, allspice black pepper and red pepper. Pour over top.
Cover and bake in oven for 45 minutes, or until aroma wafts from the oven.

*This will serve us all according to the amount of chicken I put in. I will increase the amount of potatoes. I will substitute carrots for the bell pepper and squash. I might add the rest of the chard I have left and put it in before the marinade. I won't add the broccoli since I am steaming more of it on the side.

 **Delicious and easy to prepare. The carrots and potatoes were cooked to perfection and the chicken was tender. I didn't put the chard on top after all.

Aloo Gobi

There are many recipes for aloo gobi. I think I must have gotten this one from one of Roz Denny's vegetarian cookbooks. I am still on the search for the best one...

Serves 4

1 lb potatoes, cut into 1 in chunks
2 T oil
1 t cumin seeds*
1 green chili, finely chopped*
1 lb cauliflower, broken into small florets
1 t coriander
1 t cumin
1/4 t chili powder
1/4 t turmeric
1/2 t salt
chopped fresh coriander, to garnish

Parboil the potatoes in a large saucepan of boiling water for 10 minutes. Drain well and set aside.
Heat the oil in a large frying pan and fry the cumin seeds for 2 minutes until they begin to sputter. Add the chili and fry for a further minute.
Add the cauliflower florets and fry, stirring, for 5 minutes.
Add the potatoes and the ground spices and salt and cook for a further 7-10 minutes or until both the vegetables are tender. Garnish with fresh coriander.

* Get cumin seeds from the Talin Market. I'll probably use NM green chiles instead of Thai chilis. I imagine that I will add some additional liquid in the bottom of the wok and try to steam the cauliflower rather than dry fry it.

**You can see I used the purple potatoes that I had left. The cauliflower didn't get the same charred effect since I didn't dry fry it. I thought this recipe was OK, but not flavorful enough to make a second time. The rice was great, though. We all ended up putting a variety of sauces on the top- Linzano Salsa from Costa Rica, A1 steak sauce, Sriracha hot sauce, and (gasp) ketchup.