Halibut and Sweet Potato Chowder

I saw this recipe on one of my notebooks as I was perusing fish recipes. It sounded like a nice one to try. You can find the exact recipe on my recipes.com.
I have amended the one below to how I made it.

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 chicken andouille sausages, sliced into 1/4" rounds
• 1/2 onion, chopped 
• 1/4 teaspoon saffron threads 
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 2 small sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2" cubes
• 1/4 cup milk (I didn't do this, but next time I will)
• salt
• pepper
• 1 pounds halibut or cod, boned and skinned, cut into 1" chunks
• 1 green onion (OPT)

Preparation

1. Pour olive oil into a 4- to 6-quart pan over medium-high heat; add andouille sausages and stir often until beginning to brown. Add onion and stir often until limp. Add saffron threads, chicken broth, and sweet potato. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer until sweet potato is barely tender when pierced, about 5 minutes. Stir in milk and salt and pepper to taste.
2. Lay fish chunks on top of soup, cover, and cook until it is opaque but still moist-looking in the center (cut a piece to check), about 10 minutes. Gently stir soup. Ladle into bowls and garnish with thinly sliced green onion.

 **Very nice! Easy to make.

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.

Chicken pot pie-1

I ended up bagging the stock from the chicken soup earlier this week and freezing it for later. I cut the chicken up into bits for this dish. I found this recipe on food.com. I have amended the recipe below.

• 1 package pie crust, thawed and rolled for top
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour (spelt)
• 1/2 teaspoon poultry seasoning
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 3/4 cup milk
• 2 3/4 cups cooked chicken (cut up)
• 2 cups mixed vegetables-I used cooked carrots, sweet potatoes, and frozen peas.

Directions:

1. Thaw crust according to package directions-or make your own.
2. Heat butter in large saucepan. Cook onion in butter until tender-crisp.
3. Add flour and seasonings, mixing until smooth.
4. Gradually stir in broth and milk. Cook, stirring constantly, over medium heat until mixture comes to a boil and is smoothly thickened.
5. Stir in chicken and vegetables.
6. Cool slightly. Spoon into baking dish.
7. Place rolled out puff pastry on top and make slits for steam to escape.
8. Bake on lower rack in oven @ 375*F. until filling is bubbling and crust is puffed and golden brown. 30-35 minutes.

**this is a super easy dish to make. However, I didn't think it was flavorful enough. Next time, I'll up the spices and make sure to include a bit of sage and rosemary.

Hearty Vegetable Soup

I couldn't resist picking up some chorizo at World Market this weekend. What a perfect way to use it! This soup looked great online at bbcfood and it uses all the right vegetables for the Los Poblanos box this week. It calls for crusty bread- I almost made some GF rosemary bread sticks...
I used 4 small turnips for this dish and fresh tomatoes. The leeks came from my garden as did the thyme. If you don't have an herb garden at your house- I'd recommend you put some flat leaf parsley, thyme, and rosemary into the ground or a container. Staple herbs!

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 25g/1oz unsalted butter
• 1 leek, cut into small chunks
• 1 large carrot, cut into small chunks
• ½ large turnip, cut into small chunks
• 1 sweet potato, cut into small chunks
• 1 celery stalk, cut into small chunks
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 x 400g/14oz can chopped tomatoes (I used fresh romas)
• 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• small bunch thyme, tied together with string (I tied mine with a leek stalk)
• 570ml/1 pint vegetable stock
• 150g/5oz green beans, trimmed (and cut into more bite manageable pieces)
• 1 raw chorizo sausage (about 110g/4oz), cut into small chunks (Optional)
• crusty bread to serve- Optional

Preparation method

1. Heat the olive oil and butter together in a large pan over a medium heat. Add the leek, carrot, turnip, sweet potato and celery and fry for 10-12 minutes, or until the vegetables start to soften but don't colour.
   
2. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper and add the cumin, tomatoes, balsamic vinegar, thyme, vegetable stock and green beans. Bring to the boil then reduce the heat and simmer for 40-45 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender.
   
3. Meanwhile, heat a frying pan over a medium-high heat and fry the chorizo for 10-12 minutes, or until crisp and golden-brown.
   
4. Remove the thyme from the soup and stir in the chorizo. Season, to taste, with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
   
5. Ladle the soup into warm soup bowls and serve with crusty bread on the side.
   
   
   
    Starting to simmer
   
   
    **The finished product. I'd say the chorizo is definitely optional with the richness of the broth-so I took it out of the title. Wow! This soup was fantastic.
   
   
   
   

Roasted Sweet Potato Pizza

I used Bob's Red Mill gluten- free pizza crust mix for this pizza.

Roasted sweet potatoes
Roasted garlic
Swiss chard, chopped into small pieces
Feta cheese
Garlic olive oil (for spreading on the dough)

Thai eggplant and sweet potato curry

What an interesting idea of pairing eggplant and sweet potatoes. I found this recipe online. I have modified it below (after cooking it).


1 1/2 C pearl or hulled barley OR brown rice
2 tsp oil
1 onion (chopped)
2 tbsp green curry paste (depending on your paste- you may need to add more chili)
2 eggplants (cut into small chunks)
1 1/2 C light coconut milk
2 C vegetable stock
6 kaffir lime (leaves)
2 sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into cubes
1 tsp brown sugar (soft)
2 tbsp lime juice
2 tsp lime zest (grated)


Rinse & drain the barley. Fill a large saucepan with 5 cups water and add barley. Bring to the boil then
reduce heat. Simmer for 25-30 minutes, or until tender. Drain.OR cook in pressure cooker for 13 minutes.

While barley is cooking, heat oil in large wok (or frying pan) then add curry paste and onion. Cook, stirring,
over medium heat for 3 minutes.

Pour in stock. Add sweet potatoes and cook for a further 10 minutes, or until starting to get soft.

Add coconut milk and eggplant. Simmer for 10-15 minutes. Add the lime leaves and simmer for 5 more minutes or until the eggplant and sweet potatoes have reached the consistency you like.

Finally, mix in the sugar, lime juice and lime zest. Combine well. Season with salt & pepper, to taste, then serve over barley or rice.

**Such an interesting melding of flavors! I thought this dish was very tasty! I forgot to take the picture until we were almost finished! Sorry. This photo comes from http://www.juliegoodwin.com.au and looks pretty similar to this recipe.

Salmon and Sweet Potato Cakes

My family isn't wild about sweet potatoes, so when I came across this recipe (with many rave reviews) I thought I'd try it. It comes from the food network and Rachel Ray. To be fair, it calls for making an agrodolce relish, which I didn't make. I had run out of steam at that point.

Salmon and Sweet Potato Cakes with Agrodolce Relish and Arugula

Recipe courtesy Rachael Ray

Ingredients

• 1 large sweet potato, peeled and cut into small chunks
• Salt
• 3 (6-ounce) pieces salmon fillet
• 1 cup white wine
• 1 bay leaf
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon seafood seasoning, a palmful (recommended: Old Bay)
• 1 1/2 cups cracker crumbs (recommended: Saltines)
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped thyme leaves
• 1 tablespoon hot sauce
• 2 scallions, finely chopped
• 3 to 4 tablespoons finely chopped fresh dill
• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 small red onion, thinly sliced
• 2 small ribs celery, finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 pint grape or cherry tomatoes, halved or quartered
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 1 rounded teaspoon sugar
• 4 cups arugula or baby arugula leaves

Directions

Put the potatoes in a small pot, cover with water, and bring to a boil over high heat. Salt the water and cook until tender, 10 to 12 minutes. Drain, then return the potatoes to the pot and mash.

Meanwhile, put the salmon fillets in a skillet with the wine, bay leaf, and enough water to come up to the top of the fillets, but do not cover. Bring to a boil over medium heat, then reduce heat to a simmer and poach until opaque about 8 to 10 minutes. Remove the skin and transfer the salmon to a bowl. Flake the fish with a fork and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Add the mashed sweet potatoes to the bowl along with the seafood seasoning, half of the cracker crumbs, the egg, thyme, hot sauce, scallions, and dill. Mix to combine. The fishcake mixture needs to be just firm enough to mold into cakes. If its too wet, add a few more crumbs.

Heat 2 skillets, side by side, 1 with 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil (2 turns of the pan) over medium heat, the other with 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil (a turn of the pan) over medium-high heat. Form the salmonmixture into 4 (4-inch) patties, coat in the remaining crumbs, and then add them to the first pan. Cook the fishcakes until light golden, about 2 to 3 minutes on each side. Add the red onions, celery, and garlic to the second pan and cook 3 to 4 minutes. Add the tomatoes, season with salt and pepper, to taste, and cook 2 minutes more. Stir the vinegar into the sauce, then sprinkle the sugar over top and toss to coat the tomatoes. Andarugula.

Arrange the fish cakes on individual serving plates alongside the arugula. Top with the agrodolce relish and serve.

**I had to make quite a few changes- red onion and chives for the scallions, lemon pepper for the Old Bay, spelt bread crumbs for the saltines, canned salmon for the fresh, and dried dill for the fresh. I'll have to make them again using her recipe with the relish next time!

Grilled sweet potato and scallion salad

I wanted to find a light recipe for the sweet potatoes. Here is one from Bobby Flay on the Food Network. I'll be following the reviewers suggestions of less vinegar and less dressing.

Ingredients

nocoupons

• 4 large sweet potatoes, par-cooked and cut into 1/2-inch slices
• 8 scallions
• 3/4 cup olive oil, divided
• 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 1/2 cup cider vinegar
• 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
• 2 teaspoons honey
• Salt and freshly ground pepper
• 1/4 cup coarsely chopped flat-leaf parsley

Directions

Preheat grill to high. Brush potatoes and scallions with oil and arrange on grill. Grill potatoes for 3 to 4 minutes on each side, or until just tender. Grill scallions until softened and marked. Remove scallions from the grill and cut into thin slices.

In a large bowl, whisk together 1/2 cup olive oil, the mustard, vinegars, and honey. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Add potatoes, scallions, and parsley and toss until potatoes are well coated. Transfer to a platter and serve.

 **Good salad. I didn't think grilling (I have a gas grill) made much of a difference to the sweet potatoes- however, if you use a charcoal grill, I'm sure it would. Nice salad. Can't wait to try it on day two.
##It was not all that much better on day two. I won't make it again.

Baked Millet and Sweet Potato Patties

I'm not sure where this recipe came from. It is from the Grain Dishes chapter... I haven't tried it before.

4 servings

The millet:
1 C uncooked millet
2 C vege stock
1/4 t salt

The patties:
1 large sweet potato (about 1 pound)
1/4 C minced fresh parsley leaves
2 T flour
2 T lime juice
1 T dried oregano
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 t chili powder
1/2 t salt
2 t olive oil

Toast the millet in a heavy-bottomed pan over high heat, stirring constantly, for about 4 minutes, or until the millet starts to pop. Immediately transfer the millet to a deep bowl and fill the bowl with cold water. Scrub the grains lightly between your palms for a few seconds, then pour into a fine-mesh strainer and rinse under running water for about 1 minute. Set aside to drain.

Bring the stock to a boil in a medium-size saucepan. Add the millet and 1/4 t of the salt and bring back to a simmer. Lower the heat, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes. Turn off the heat and let stand, covered, for 5 minutes. Transfer to a bowl to cool, fluffing with a fork.

Peel the sweet potato and dice it. Place the pieces on a steamer rack in a saucepan that has a tight-fitting lid. Add about 2 inches of water, cover the pan, and steam over medium-high heat for about 20 minutes or  until the sweet potato is very soft.

Preheat the oven to 375. Place the sweet potato in a food processor, along with the cooled millet, parsley, flour, lime juice, oregano, garlic, chili powder and 1/2 t salt. Process to a thick, homogenous consistency. Lightly oil a baking sheet and our hands Form the millet mixture into 12 patties and place them on the baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes, turn the patties over, and bake for an additional 10 minutes.

 Toasting the millet...

** I used 1/2 of the chile powder. I only had 11 oz of sweet potato, so I added one new potato. Served with sauteed spinach with garlic. Patties were soft since they were baked, not fried. There were nice bits of crunch from the millet and a lovely sweet from the potatoes with a bit of a spicy background from the chile powder. The patties also had a nice tang from the lime. Keeper.

Carrot Ginger Soup

I got this recipe from a blog, Elishia's Kitchen. I can't wait to try it! I chose it partly because of the sweet potatoes and oranges- both in the harvest box this week.

Serves 4-6

2 Tablespoons coconut oil (ghee or grape seed oil are fine too)

1 yellow onion, sliced

3 garlic cloves, chopped

1/2 teaspoon cumin

1/2 teaspoon ground coriander or 1 teaspoon coriander seeds

1 Tablespoon finely chopped fresh ginger

1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)

4 large carrots, sliced

2 large sweet potatoes, sliced

2 oranges, zest and juice

7 cups water

1 teaspoon sea salt

2 teaspoons ume plum vinegar, divided

garnish:

5 sprigs cilantro, thick stems dicarded and roughly chopped

toasted pumpkin seeds – recipe is below

1. Heat oil in heavy soup pot. Add onion and a pinch of salt. Cook over medium heat for about 5 minutes, until softening. Add the carrots and sweet potato and stir them all together. Cook over medium heat for a few minutes, until slightly browned on the bottom.
2. Add garlic, cumin, coriander, ginger and cayenne. Cook for a couple of minutes, stirring, until the spices are very fragrant. Add a little water if it begins to stick.
3. Add one teaspoon of umeboshi vinegar, 1/2 teaspoon salt and enough water to cover the vegetables by one inch.
4. Bring to a boil then reduce the heat to low and cook until the carrots are very tender, about 25 minutes. Add the orange juice and zest.
5. Puree the soup, in batches, in a blender, until smooth. You may need to add extra water to achieve the desired consistency.
6. Return to pot and taste. Add the other teaspoon of umeboshi vinegar. You may want to add a bit more salt, umeboshi or cayenne at this point. Season to your taste. I like to sprinkle a tiny bit of cayenne on top. Serve hot with cilantro and toasted pumpkin seeds(optional).
7. Also freezes well, should you wish.

Toasted Pumpkin Seeds

1 cup pumpkin seeds

2 Tablespoons lemon or lime juice

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1/8 teaspoon cayenne or chipotle chile powder

Preheat oven to 375

1. Toss all ingredients together in a bowl until seeds are coated. Taste them and adjust seasonings. The flavor will be more mild when they are cooked.
2. Transfer seeds to a baking sheet and shake to thin them out a bit.
3. Bake for 8 minutes.
4. They will begin to pop when they are nearly done. The ones around the edge will look brown, but not burned. You may need to stir them once if they aren’t cooking evenly. Remove from the pan immediately and let them cool and crisp up on a plate for 15 minutes before eating.
5. Once cool store in a covered airtight container for a week or more. I often double this recipe and add these yummy seeds to salads or grain dishes.

Picture from Elishia's Kitchen

**Good soup. Nice and thick. I made it all in the pressure cooker. I brought it to high pressure for 5 minutes and then did a quick release of the steam. I served the soup with some basic baking powder biscuits. Let me know if you need the recipe for the biscuits.

Roasted Poblano Pepper, Sweet Potato and Monterey Jack Spoonbread

I'm excited to try this recipe. I've never made spoonbread. I'll be making mine with green chiles. I probably cut this out of The New Mexican.

Serves 8

1 C mashed sweet potato (about 3/4 lb whole potato)
1/4 t cumin
1 1/2 t salt
1/4 t pepper
4 fresh poblano peppers (or green chiles)
2 T olive oil
1/2 large onion, medium diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 C milk
1 1/2 C cornmeal
4 T butter, softened
4 eggs, separated + 2 extra egg whites*
1 1/2 t baking powder
3/4 C grated Monterey Jack cheese

Preheat oven to 375. Generously butter a 13 x 9 baking dish or large souffle dish.

In a small bowl, mix the sweet potato with the cumin, 1/2 t of the salt and the black pepper. Set aside.

Roast the chiles. Then cut them into 1/2" by 1" strips.

Heat oil over medium heat and saute onions and garlic till onions are softened and translucent, about 5 minutes. Sitr the onion mixutre and the peppers together and set aside. This part can be done up to a day in advance.

Combine milk and broth in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Heat the mixture until it is just about to boil. Whisk in the cormeal in a steady stream, and continue to whisk constantly until mixture is smooth and thickened, about 2 minutes.

Remove from heat and transfer to a large bowl. Mix in softened butter and sweet potato mixture while the cornmeal is still hot. Set aside and cool to room temperature.

Beat the egg yolks lightly then whisk into the cornmeal mixture along with the baking powder and remaining 1 t salt. Fold in the onion and pepper mixture, and 1/2 of the shredded cheese.

In a clean bowl, whip egg whites until stiff peaks form. Fold in a quarter of the egg whites to  lighten the batter, then fold in the remainder. Spoon batter into the prepared dish, and sprinkle remaining cheese evenly over the top. Bake until golden and puffy, about 45 minutes.

Per serving: 360 calories, 13 g protein, 37g carbohydrate, 18 g fat (8g saturated), 138mg cholesterol, 601 mg sodium, 4 g fiber.

*If you made the chelo kebabs, you'll have 2 egg whites left over

** Delicious! It was great with the Acorn Squash dish. Beware- it was a bit involved with all the steps. Not hard to do, but time consuming. Also- I used course grind cornmeal- made for more texture.