Salmon a la Yoms

Yoms and Claire were visiting from London. We went to Costco and bought a slab of salmon, which he transformed into this incredible dish.

This is what I call a no-recipe recipe. Take a look at the pics and decide on your proportions. Leftovers are welcome. While I love salmon, my favorite part of this dish is the veggies. If you're anchovy-averse, trust me. You need anchovies in this dish; baking melts them, turning the juices into pure umami.

Salmon a la Yoms
Ingredients

• salmon
• green beans
• fresh basil
• anchovies in olive oil
• grape tomatoes
• black olives
• olive oil

Directions

1. Blanch green beans for one minutes, drain and run cold water over them until they're cool to the touch.
2. Line a baking dish or cookie sheet with foil.
3. Layer your ingredients: first salmon, then anchovies, basil, black olives, green beans and tomatoes.
4. Drizzle with olive oil, cover with foil and and bake at 400 degrees for about half an hour or until the salmon is done.

Easy Peasy Blueberry Waffles

Not much in the house for breakfast this morning, so I improvised and we enjoyed blueberry waffles with frozen blueberries that were hiding in the freezer, topped with jalapeno blueberry jam we got at the Farmer's Market in Haines, Alaska a couple of weeks ago.  Delightful and easy brekkie, noted here so I don't lose the recipe.

Blueberry Waffles

Ingredients

1 T lemon juice

2 c milk plus some

2 eggs

2 T sugar

2 T baking powder

1/2 t baking soda

1/2 t Mexican vanilla

1/2 t salt

1 c blueberries (fresh or frozen or even dried)

3 T melted butter

Directions

1. Add lemon juice to 2 c milk and set aside. (If you have buttermilk, use it instead of the milk and lemon juice.)
2. Melt butter and let cool.
3. Combine dry ingredients.
4. Beat eggs. Combine with milk, vanilla and butter. 
5. The stir the wet ingredients into the dry mixture, and add more milk if necessary to make a pourable batter. Batter should not be as runny as pancake batter. Don't overmix; a few lumps are just perfectly fine.
6. When the waffle iron is hot, pour in enough batter for the first set of pancakes, then sprinkle the berries on top. I used about a handful of frozen berries for each set of waffles. 
7. Serve warm with melted butter and maple syrup. Or jalapeno blueberry jam. 

This photo is meh and the recipe is nothing to write home about. But making waffles from scratch is easy as...pie. And almost as good.

Quick Chicken Veggie One-Dish Bake

Sometimes it's downright discouraging to come home after a workday, craving a healthy scrumptious home-cooked meal, only to realize I have no leftovers and no inclination to undertake anything too involved.

This recipe for Chicken Stir-Fry Sheet Pan Meal on Kalyn's Kitchen looked tempting and quick to put together. Prep took all of 5 minutes. I made a few changes in the recipe and loved the results. So did the Mister, whose commute generally puts him on the doorstep around 8pm with an appetitie.

Quick Chicken Veggie One-Dish Bake
feeds 3-4
Ingredients
2 lbs. skinless boneless chicken thighs, cut into large chunks
2-3 red bell peppers, sliced lengthwise
1/2 lb. asparagus, stalks cut in half
for the sauce:
1/3 c. Bragg's Liquid Aminos (available at our local natural food store)
1 T maple syrup
1/2 t garlic powder
1/4 t onion powder
2 T black sesame seeds (I added some white sesame seeds too)

Directions

1. In a 9" x 13" glass baking dish or something comparable, distribute the chicken thighs.
2. Add the veggies on top.
3. Mix the remainder of the ingredients and pour the sauce over the whole thing. 
4. Bake at  375 degrees, uncovered. Check occasionally to make sure everyting is baking evenly and use your tongs to mix it up so both the meat and the veggies have a chance to simmer in that sauce.
5. Here's the critical part: bake it until the chicken is done and the veggies are al dente. I guesstimate around 30 minutes. I admit, I did not time it. 

I'm still a lousy food photographer, but here's the view of my bowl.

Jambalaya

David and I discussed whether to use filé in the jambalaya. I referred him to this article which clarifies the difference between gumbo and jambalaya, and why some cooks use filé in gumbo. I did not use it in tonight's dish.

Two things to know up front: 1) I cook the rice separately because I don't like mushy rice. 2) I prefer to cook everything else in the same pot, partly because I'm a lazy dish washer but also because the browned bits on the bottom of the pan add flavor to the broth.

Jambalaya
Ingredients

• 1 lb shrimp, cleaned
• 1 c chopped cooked ham
• 3 hefty Italian sausages (or whatever spicy sausage you prefer), sliced
• 1 c chopped each: red bell pepper, onion, celery
• shishitos or padrons (optional), up to a cup (they were in season!)
• several cloves of garlic, smooshed
• 3 strips thick-cut bacon, chopped
• 6-8 boneless chicken thighs, cubed
• 2 cups chopped tomatoes with juice (I use canned diced tomatoes)
• 1 c chicken broth
• 1 T. each fresh oregano, thyme (or 1 t. each if dried)
• 2 T paprika
• 1/4 - 1 t. cayenne powder
• 1 bay leaf (optional)
• cooked rice for serving

Directions

1. A large high-sided skillet or stock pot is going to be your canvas. Be sure it's large enough to welcome all the ingredients, so you can stir without spilling over the sides of the pan.
2. I start with sauteing the sausage and bacon. Once enough fat is rendered, I add the veggies, including the garlic, and chicken.
3. When the onions soften and the chicken is slightly browned on the outside, turn the heat down to medium-low.
4. Add the tomatoes/their juice, chicken stock** and the seasonings. Simmer for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. When the chicken is completely cooked, turn off the heat.
5. The jambalaya is still steaming hot, so I add the shrimp, cover the pan and let it sit until the shrimp turn pink, so as to avoid overcooking.
6. We served this over a wild rice blend and topped with scallions, with hot sauce on the side, as my son likes it spicier than I do. 
7. Indulge!

** Add enough liquid for a hearty soup. I prefer a brothy jambalaya.

Cassoulet with cannellini, pork, sausage and duck

When I visit with my son, we usually pick something to cook together. It had been years since I'd made cassoulet, but I sent David the link to this recipe in Saveur and he said "Let's do it!" Of course, there are many versions online, but this recipe most closely resembled the one I used the first time I made this casserole. Layers of meat, layers of flavor.

As we often do, we used the recipe as a suggestion. We did not add tomatoes. We did not have duck confit. We did, however, leave the Chico Locker and Sausage Company with a selection of their spicy sausage, a couple of meaty country pork ribs and ham hocks. Then we stopped at S&S Produce where we got two duck legs and a few strips of smoked bacon from the butcher, as well as fresh oregano, thyme and a loaf of whole wheat rosemary bread.

Cassoulet
Ingredients

• 1 lb dried cannellini
• lots of garlic, minced
• 1 fat onion, chopped
• 2 carrots, cut in 1/4 inch-thick slices
• 1 BIG meaty ham hock
• about 1 lb. cubed pork -- cut into small cubes so they cook thoroughly
• 3-4 spicy sausages
• 3 strips of thick-cut bacon, chopped, fried and drained (save the bacon grease!)
• 2 duck legs
• fresh oregano and thyme
• 1 cup chardonnay
• chicken broth
• 2 cups bread crumbs, preferably homemade from a tasty loaf of bread (we used a rustic rosemary bread baked locally)

Directions
Step 1: Cook the beans

1. Start the beans on simmer in 2:1 ratio of water to beans. I don't bother soaking them.
2. Render the bacon and set the meat aside to cool.
3. Brown the carrots, onions and garlic in the bacon fat.
4. Add these veggies and a ham hock to the beans and cook until the beans are just a little al dente.
5. Set the pot on a back burner and take the ham hock out to cool, then remove the meat from the bone and give it a rough chop.

Step 2: Render the duck fat

1. Skin the duck breasts and render the fat. Set this aside to cool. Chop the cracklins. 

Step 3: Prep the sausage

1. Slice and sauté the sausage until it's almost done. Scoop out the meat to drain on paper towels. (I didn't reuse this fat.)

Step 4: Make the bread crumbs

I think you can figure out this step yourself.

Step 5: Layer the casserole

1. In a 5.5-quart cast iron dutch oven like this one my hubby gifted me for my bday, begin layering the beans, fresh herbs and meats: beans, duck cracklins, sausage, pork, ham hock bits, a generous sprinkle of oregano and thyme leaves, then beans, rinse and repeat. 
2. Nest the duck legs in the casserole.
3. Add the wine and enough broth to keep things moist. You may not need much broth since you're also using the luscious liquid from cooking the beans.
4. Top with fresh bread crumbs. Don't be stingy with the bread crumbs. Think of it as a crust.
5. Drizzle the rendered duck fat over the topping.
6. Cover and bake approximately 90 minutes at 325 degrees.
7. Before you turn off the oven, confirm that the meats are cooked and the breadcrumb topping is toasty brown, like this. 

Step 6: Prepare to be impressed with this melt in your mouth goodness.

Mexican Vanilla Ma'mul

I had a variety of jobs when I was a college student, including a stint as an abalone cleaner. The shift leader was a Lebanese woman named Yvette, who taught me to make an entire Lebanese meal including ma'mul, cookies made with clarified butter and shaped in a wooden hand-carved mold called a tabe' (also called taabeh or tamreah) which we bought at a Middle Eastern store.** Here's my collection.

Traditionally, ma'mul are filled with pistachios, walnuts or dates and scented with orange or rose water. Different molds indicate the type of filling. I've included online sources below if you're interested in finding a tabe'. Some folks don't use molds, so don't let this stop you from making ma'mul. Just flatten the filled cookie ball a bit and score with a fork.

Spelling variations include mamool, mamoul, maamoul, ma'amoul, in case you're interested in googling to find other versions. 

• This video shows how the cookies are traditionally shaped, filled, and molded or decorated. 
• This youtube video on making the date filling features two delightful sisters and their cat. 

I modified Yvette's family recipe to reflect my family's preferences, using locally grown walnuts and Mexican vanilla.

Roxanne's Walnut-filled Mexican Vanilla Ma'mul

Ingredients for dough

• 2 c. clarified butter
• 1/2 c. sugar
• 6 c. flour (if possible, use some semolina to help hold the shape)
• 1 c. lukewarm milk

Ingredients for filling

• 3 c. ground nuts 
• 1 c. sugar
• 1 T. Mexican vanilla** (or another pure vanilla extract)

Directions
Make the filling

1. Toss the nuts in your food processor and give then a whirl. You're making finely chopped nuts, not nut flour, so don't go crazy.
2. Mix the ground nuts with sugar and vanilla, cover, and set aside.

Make the dough

1. Clarify the butter.*** As a rule of thumb, five sticks of unsalted butter yield 2 cups of clarified butter.
2. Cream the butter and sugar.
3. Add flour and milk to the butter mixture, and gently knead until smooth.

Prep the molds

If you're using a wooden mold, brush it with lightly with melted butter before you start -- making sure to get into those little crevices. This keeps the first cookies from sticking when you tap them out. The butter in the cookie dough itself will season the mold, so this step is only necessary to do once per baking session.

Make the cookies
I used to have only one mold and as you can imagine, it took quite some time to make 4 dozen cookies. Since then, I've collected few and if I bake alone, I set up an assembly line: chunk out the dough, make the disks, fill the disks, fill the molds, tap tap tap tap, and bake when the cookie sheet is full.

1. Pinch out walnut-sized chunks of dough before starting to fill. Keep this all covered so the dough doesn't dry out.
2. Shape a chunk of dough into a disk about 1/4 inch thick and about 3 inches in diameter.
3. Put about 1 heaping teaspoon of filling in the middle of the disk, fold the edges over and pinch closed. 
4. Put the "package" in the mold, folded side facing out, and press gently so the design imprints on the top of the cookie and the bottom of the cookie is flattish.
5. Tap the ma'mul out and place on an ungreased cookie sheet. These cookies don't spread, so they can be placed fairly close together.
6. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes, until the bottoms are lightly brown. Don't turn your back on the oven! A burned batch will break your heart.
7. When the cookies have cooled, sprinkle with confectioner's sugar if you'd like.
8. Store in an airtight container.

Ma'mul taste better the second day and are wonderful dunked in morning coffee. They also ship well and make the perfect holiday cookie gift.

Notes:
** Mexican vanilla: Mexican vanilla has gotten a bad rap, so be careful to buy from a reputable vendor. There are many online sources for Mexican vanilla without coumarin. Check Amazon.  Yeah, yeah, you can always substitute another high quality vanilla, but imho, nothing compares with pure Mexican vanilla extract. In the words of David Liebovitz, "Real Mexican vanilla is perhaps the best in the world." Oh, and avoid vanilla blends. You want pure extract which is coumarin free & FDA registered.

***A special word about Ma'mul molds: Mine have been procured from various sources, including the now defunct Dayna's Market.

1. If you'd like a traditional shape, try Hashems, Indigo Traders, or search eBay for "maamoul mold."
2. Or use a Chinese mooncake mold like these. You can also find mooncake molds on Amazon and Ali Express. 

*** Clarified butter is also known as drawn butter or ghee. Some Indian and specialty markets sell ghee. If you clarify the butter yourself, use only unsalted butter. What to do with the milk fats you skim off? I spread it on toast.

Breakfast is served: Popeye Scramble

Another recipe inspired by Cory's in Chico.

Popeye Scramble
Ingredients
1/2 c chopped onion
1  bag (5 oz) baby spinach
1/2 c chopped mushrooms
1 lb ground beef
1 can black olives, sliced
1/2 c cooked crumbled bacon
4 eggs
grated parmesan cheese

Directions 

1. Brown the ground beef.
2. When the meat is no longer red, add the onions and mushrooms to brown.
3. When the veggies are nearly tender, add the spinach and cover the skillet.
   
4. Peek and stir periodically until the spinach is wilted. Then add the olives and bacon. Cook a couple more minutes uncovered to let some of the liquid evaporate.
5. Scramble the eggs and add to the skillet. Stir in and cover for a couple of minutes.
6. Again, peek and stir until the eggs are firm.
7. Top with a sprinkle of grated parmesan. Mangia!

Sunday Soup: Making Minestrone

Welcome to Sunday Soup. This week's special is minestrone.

Minestrone is simply an Italian vegetable soup which often includes pasta. My minestrone is never exactly the same each time; that’s a good thing.  What I’ve posted below are guidelines, recommendations. Use seasonal ingredients and leftovers. Be creative and have fun.

When we camp at TTITD, I make a version we call Playastrone, with canned veggies and beans instead of fresh veggies and pasta. When the smell wafts and unexpected guests drop by, I may ask if they have anything to contribute to the soup to stretch it. Canned corn, black beans...all gifts go in the pot. No one leaves hungry.

Both recipes serve 8 - 10 people.

Basic Minestrone 
Ingredients

• Greens: 1-2 bunches. I like kale and beet greens. Chard works, too. Spinach, meh – something about the metallic aftertaste I don’t care for in my soup.
• Mirepoix: about 1 1/2 c. chopped. equal amounts of red onion, carrots, celery. Red bell pepper too, if it’s available.
• Other veggies: roughly 4 cups chopped: wild or cremini mushrooms, green beans, a generous amount of fresh tomatoes (Roma or grape are my faves for this -- don't skip the tomatoes!), garlic, zucchini. If they're in season: fava beans, fresh garbanzo beans, green garlic, green tomatoes (they are mild and sweet, try it and see).
• Meat is optional, but we like it: leftover chicken or beef, or Italian sausage (precooked before adding to the pot)
• Fresh Italian herbs (or dried herbs if you don't have fresh): parsley, basil, rosemary, lemon thyme. about 1/4 - 1/3 chopped/fresh, about 2-3 T/dried. Use a light hand and taste as the soup brews. You can add but you can't take away.
• A starch component: tortellini or beans (garbanzo, cannellini, kidney are good; lima beans or black-eyed peas are not). or leftover potatoes. or diced winter squash. or all of the above.
• Broth: 8 cups for a big stock pot of soup.
• My secret ingredient: lemon or orange zest. Don't get crazy with this. Only use enough to "freshen" the broth.

Directions

1. Chop everything into bite-sized pieces. Lightly sauté the mirepoix in olive oil until they start to soften. Then add the garlic & tomatoes and stir a minute more. Burned garlic = bad.
2. Now add the other raw veggies, herbs, meat, and broth. Simmer for 15-20 minutes. Veggies should be cooked enough, not to death.
3. Pile the leafy greens on top and simmer with the lid on the pot. Check periodically. Soup should be ready to serve in 5-10 more minutes.
4. What you do next depends on your starch component.
• If I have tortellini on hand (I do today), I’ll cook the pasta separately. I hate over-cooked pasta and it tends to absorb the broth if you store leftovers in the fridge overnight. Just ladle the soup over the pasta before serving. 
• If I don’t have or want pasta in the soup, I’ll add a can of beans to the pot. Or I’ll dice up a leftover baked potato or kabocha or butternut squash.  Or all of the above. Just don’t use yams or sweet potatoes please.
5. Season to taste with a little salt and pepper, and top with parmesan and fresh chopped Italian parsley.

Playastrone
Ingredients

• 2-3 diced red onions
• 2 diced green peppers
• 4 diced carrots
• 4 diced celery sticks
• 6 c. broth
• 28 oz. can stewed or diced tomatoes
• 15 oz. can each kidney, garbanzos, green beans
• 2-3 cans chicken
• 2 T. dried parsley
• 2 t. Italian seasoning
• 1 t. lemon pepper
• 1 t. garlic powder

Directions

1. Saute onion, peppers, carrots and celery over med-low heat until soft. 
2. Add broth, beans, chicken and seasoning. Simmer for 15 minutes.

Hint: Dice veggies at home, ziplock and store in the cooler.

Fougasse

We adore Roasted Red Pepper Fougasse, but alas, no peppers on hand, so today we’ll bake two versions of fougasse -- onion rosemary flat bread and another topped with za'tar.

First the dough.  You can use any yeast or pizza dough you prefer. I’m a fan of the Master Dough recipe in Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day and made a version of their olive oil dough, subbing whole wheat for some of the AP flour and using a tad more olive oil.

Onion and Rosemary Fougasse

Ingredients for basic dough

2 ½ c lukewarm water

1 ½ T yeast (or two packets)

1 T sugar

1 ½ T salt

4 T olive oil

4 c AP flour

2 ½ c whole wheat flour

Directions

1. Stir the yeast and sugar in the water and let it bloom for about 10 minutes.
2. Add the olive oil to the wet mix.
3. Combine salt and flours, then mix with wet ingredients.
4.  Mix until well combined. Some folks prefer no-knead method. I love my standup mixer. Using the dough hook, the ingredients combine to make a non-sticky dough after about 5 minutes. Works for me.
5. Cover and set aside for about 2 hours for the first rise.
6. Now you’re ready to form the fougasse. Don’t forget to pre-heat the oven to 425.
7.  Quick aside: Because you’ll have enough dough to make several fougasse, I suggest holding off adding the secondary components until you are ready to bake.
8. For the onion rosemary bread, I lightly browned ½ medium red onion in a tad of olive oil and drained it well on paper towels. Then I chopped about 2 T of rosemary fresh from the garden.
9. Divide the dough into 5. Take one of those and knead the half of the onion and rosemary into the dough, roll out to about ½" thin, then cut slits in the traditional design. Fougasse looks like a leaf. Like this or this or this. This short video demystifies the process. 
10. I topped the second batch with za’tar.. Brush the top of the dough lightly with olive oil, then sprinkle the herbs and maldon salt.
11. If you’re famished, you can actually throw this in the oven now. But letting the dough sit for 20-30 minutes yields a slightly lightly bread. Remember to brush the top with olive oil before popping it in the oven.
12. If you use a baking stone, you know the drill. Sprinkle it lightly with cornmeal, then slide on the bread. Otherwise, a baking sheet with parchment paper works well.
13. Bake until golden, about 20-25 minutes.
14. Then mangia. Fougasse is best eaten fresh from the oven!

Ginger Shrimp & Pork Wonton Rolls

This is a non-traditional, very fast recipe for when we crave shrimp wontons. With ginger. Lots of ginger. Serve them with a sweet chili sauce; my go-to brand is Mae Ploy (I've never made it from scratch as we don't eat it very often), which you can find at most Asian food stores but can also purchase online. This recipe serves 4-6.


Ginger Shrimp & Pork Wonton Rolls
Ingredients
2 lb shrimp
1 lb lean ground pork
1/2 head small cabbage
1/2 small red onion
1-3 inches of fresh ginger
2 T mirin or sherry
1 T soy sauce
2 T hoisin sauce (optional)
1 T sesame oil
2 t cornstarch
1 lb egg roll wraps
vegetable oil for frying

Directions

1. Briefly pulse the shrimp in the food processor or chop by hand.
2. In a large mixing bowl, add the shrimp to the pork.
3. Shred the onion and cabbage in the food processor or chop by hand.
4. Mince or grate ginger on a microplane -- to taste. We like a lot.
5. Add all the other ingredients to the bowl and mix by hand until well combined.
6. Put a heaping tablespoon of the shrimp mix in the middle of a wonton wrapper and fold it. There should be directions on the back of the egg roll package if you don't know how and of course, there are plenty of suggestions on the internets.
7. Heat your skillet to medium. When the oil sizzles, add the rolls, folded side down, and brown them slowly, so the meats cook thoroughly and the wrappers are golden brown on all sides.
8. Drain on paper towels. Eat while warm.

You can use the smaller wrappers if  you prefer smaller portions or wish for these to be an appetizer rather than a main course.

Lemon Gluten-free Madeleines

With friends and family members going gluten-free, I'm determined to learn to bake gluten-free goodies. I went a little crazy when Costco had an aisle of GF flours and got one of everything. Then I googled gluten-free recipes and felt like I'd just opened Pandora's box.  I had no xanthum gum, no sweet rice flour, way too much garbanzo flour and a boatload of coconut flour -- but no plan.

So I'm starting with madeleines. This recipe is simple and makes a small batch (about a dozen) -- perfect for a trial recipe.

First I made a gluten-free flour mix with the flours I had on hand, based on Jeanne’s Gluten-Free All-Purpose Flour Mix. (You can use All Purpose GF flour if you prefer.) You'll only need about 3/4 c. for the madeleines; store the extra flour in an airtight container.

• 170g brown rice flour
• 205g white rice flour
• 120g tapioca flour
• 120g sweet sorghum flour
• 25g cornstarch
• 2 t. xanthum gum

Then I (mostly) followed the directions that I found here, which was inspired by this recipe.

Gluten-free Madeleines
Ingredients
105g gluten-free flour mix
1/2 t. baking powder
70g unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
2 large eggs
1/2 t. lemon juice
100g granulated sugar
2 t. vanilla
Zest of 1 lemon

Directions

1. Beat eggs and sugar for a few minutes. [Love my standing mixer.]
2. While that's happening, nuke the butter on low until it's melted.
3. Add vanilla & lemon juice to the butter, and dump the liquid into the mixer.
4. In a separate bowl, mix the baking powder with the flour and lemon zest.
5. Fold in the liquid until well blended and chill the dough for 30 minutes.
6. Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees.
7. Prepare the madeleine tray, fill, and bake until the cakes are golden, about 12 minutes.
8. Let the madeleines cool a few minutes before popping them out of the molds.

Fried Artichoke Hearts

A couple of months ago, we took a Sunday drive down the coast and ended up in Castroville, the artichoke capital of the world, where we stopped to get fried artichoke hearts.  I found myself jonesing for some today so I thought I'd try making a batch. Ends up, it's easy and tastier -- like most recipes -- when you make these yourself. I only cooked up half the batch for lunch and will finish off the remainder as a side with tonight's dinner.

This recipe makes enough for a party.

 Fried Artichoke Hearts
Ingredients
19 oz. jar of artichoke hearts in water
2 eggs
splash dairy
AP flour, Italian breadcrumbs, Panko
vegetable oil
splash olive oil

Directions

1. drain and half the artichoke hearts
2. beat two eggs with 2-3 T of cream or milk
3. fill one bowl with flour (I used AP flour)
4. fill another bowl with equal parts flour, Italian breadcrumbs and Panko
5. combine oils in frying pan until oil is about 3/4 " deep and heat on medium high
6. when the oil is ready, dip the artichoke hearts first in flour, then egg wash, then the panko crumb mix and fry.
7. remove when golden brown on both sides and serve warm with ranch dressing or a splash of lemon

Cooking Therapy

We've been relying far too much on take out, so I decided to make my way through the many recipes I've saved. Planning is the key to healthier and more interesting meals.

A couple of our dinner choices this week have already been featured here but most are new, simple recipes I hope to add to my repertoire.

Sunday dinner

• Tyler Florence's Ultimate Paella

Monday dinner

• Mediterranean Chicken on basmati rice
  Note: I added shreds of fresh basil and oil-cured anchovies on top and baked it for 40 minutes covered with foil, then 10 minutes uncovered. 
• White bean salad (for tomorrow's lunch): cannellini, celery, red onions, roasted garlic, pepperoncini, parsley, olive oil, splash of balsamic vinegar, splash of rice vinegar

Tuesday dinner

• Chocolate chipotle black bean chili
• Stacked tomato salad (for tomorrow's lunch)

Wednesday dinner

• Baked chicken wings
• Veggie Nicoise Salad (leftovers for tomorrow's lunch will include albacore, thank you Cheryl and Mike)

Thursday

• Leftovers
• English muffin bread

Friday

• Zucchini artichoke heart frittata
• Roasted red pepper fougasse

The Sultan's Soup

I call this the Sultan’s Soup because it is incredibly luscious, fit for a sultan so to speak. It’s my favorite kitchen sink soup, i.e. made with ingredients I have on hand with no recipe in mind.  

While this recipe makes a big stock pot of soup, I don’t recommend cutting this recipe in half. This soup tastes better the second or third day, and freezes well.

Omit linguica if you don’t have it handy or you’re vegetarian.  Omnivores can certainly sub another lean spicy sausage. Elsewise, you may want to add sriracha to counterbalance the natural sweetness of the kabocha.

Don’t have kabocha? I’m sorry. Yes, you can use any winter squash, but it won’t be the same, imho.

P.S. sorry for yet another cruddy pic. not a food stylist or photog. but I am a damn good cook.

Sultan's Soup
Ingredients

1 kabocha squash, thinly sliced and cut into 2-3” bits

Optional: 2 slices smoked applewood bacon, cooked and chopped.

1 red onion,  minced

2 T. olive oil

5 cups broth (chicken or veggie)

1-2 fresh (not pickled) jalapenos, minced

1 cup potato (I used garlic-braised fingerling potatoes leftover from the previous night’s dinner)

Fresh chopped herbs: Italian flat leaf parsley, cilantro (1/3 c. each)
Optional: 1/2 t. za'atar *

1/2 c uncooked red quinoa

1 can coconut milk

½ cup heavy cream

1 c. sliced linguica

Optional: dash of sriracha

Garnish with sliced scallions and cilantro

Directions

1. Slice the veggies. 
2. Saute the red onion in olive oil until it glistens.
3. Cook the smoked bacon separately and drain.
4. Add the veggies, linguica, quinoa, and broth to a stock pot and let the soup simmer until the squash and taters are tender.
5. At this stage, use a pastry blender to break up the squash. You could use a hand blender, but I prefer to preserve the texture of the quinoa and veggies as much as possible.
6. Add bacon, fresh herbs, coconut milk and cream. Let simmer on your lowest heat for 5-10 more minutes and then taste the broth. If it’s too sweet (totally depends on the kabocha), spice it up with a dash or more of sriracha.
7. Before serving, top with more chopped cilantro and scallions.
8. Mangia!

 It’s divine, right?  

* Za'atar is a middle eastern spice blend made with thyme, sesame seeds and sumac. I order online.