A Cassole For Cassoulet

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It came a few days after my birthday. I'd forgotten that I mentioned it to him several months ago. So when I opened the box and saw the words Not Freres Poterie, I looked up in surprise, my mouth a big O. What a wonderful guy my Mr CC is. He must really, really love me.

No more excuses. I've got the duck legs confit, I've got duck breasts and sausages courtesy of son Josh, I've got real Tarbais beans, I've got lamb shanks waiting in the freezer, and I've got Kate's Camp Cassoulet recipe to put it all together. What a happy, happy birthday present!

Copyright © 2005-2009, Christine Cooks. All rights reserved

WELCOME MR. PRESIDENT ! !

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jd9xU8cw1JE

Copyright © 2005-2009, Christine Cooks. All rights reserved

Frosty Hips For Christmas

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My very best wishes to all of you in the years ahead!

Copyright © 2005-2008, Christine Cooks. All rights reserved

Winter Squash Soup with Ginger, Turmeric, Meyer Lemon, Sage and Crimini Mushrooms

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Okay. That's a long title, I admit. But I wanted to catch your attention because this soup is everything you could possibly want and need in the depths of winter. It is made completely with ingredients from the top 100 of the World's Healthiest Foods list. It's packed with anti-oxidents, vitamins A and C, Omega 3s and B vitamins. Anti-inflammatory and cancer fighting properties abound. It's low in fat and sodium. In short, it's a heart warming, good for what ails you bowl of goodness.

I put this together, from the two whole squashes sitting on my counter waiting to be peeled and cut to this hot steamy bowl, in just under two hours. Quick and easy enough for a weeknight meal.

Healthy ingredient number one: Meyer lemons. Use all the juice, it brightens the soup and adds a healthy dose of vitamin C. And remember to save the zest to sprinkle over hot steamed green beans or to add to your lemon cake. You will be making lemon cake, won't you?

Healthy ingredients numbers two and three: Fresh ginger and fresh turmeric (forgive the photo). They warm you up on a cold day empowering you with their healthy goodness.

Garnish with sautéed crimini mushrooms. Generously. Don't forget the onions and garlic. A winter soup just wouldn't be without them.

And, of course, the star of the evening, winter squash. You can use Red Kuri, Red Kabocha, Cinderella or other bright orange winter squash. They have dense, dry meat and purée to a velvety smoothness. Plus the good-for-you stuff in these babies will boost your immune system and get you through the winter.

There's one more healthy ingredient in this soup that deserves a sentence all its own: sage. An anti-oxident, anti-inflammatory brain booster, there's a reason that sage is most often used in cold weather recipes. After you've visited all the links and read about the health properties of these ingredients, do come back and make some for yourself, and your loved ones.

Winter Squash Soup with Ginger, Turmeric, Meyer Lemon, Sage and Crimini Mushrooms
Christine's original recipe
Print recipe
Ingredients:
2 medium red Kuri squash, peeled, seeded and cut into small chunks
1 medium onion, peeled and roughly chopped
4 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
7 cups water, or just enough to barely cover the squash
1 tablespoon fresh turmeric, peeled and diced
2 tablespoons fresh ginger, peeled and diced
1 tablespoon dried sage, crushed
juice of 1 Meyer lemon (1/4 to 1/3 cup if they're as big as mine)
8-10 crimini or shiitake mushrooms, thickly sliced, sauteed in olive oil
Preparation:

Peel, seed and cut the squash. See this link for instructions. Set aside.
Heat about 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large stockpot over medium-high heat then add the chopped onions and garlic. Saute until softened and slightly golden. Don't allow the garlic to burn.
Add the squash, turmeric, ginger, sage and water, and simmer until the squash is tender, about 30 minutes.
Off heat, using your immersion blender (What? You still don't have one? Well then use a food processor), purée the soup until it's all velvety smooth and no pieces are left. The soup will thicken as you do this.
Still off heat, add the Meyer lemon juice until it all tastes just right.
Ladle into bowls and garnish with slices of sauteed mushrooms. Listen to those YUMS!

Cook's Notes:

I opted to season this soup with the lemon juice, letting the heat of the ginger and turmeric shine and avoiding the addition of salt entirely. If you are going to salt the soup, I suggest passing a good sea salt such as Sel de Guérande or Maldon around the table so folks can add their own if they wish.

Copyright © 2005-2008, Christine Cooks. All rights reserved

Meyer Lemon Mania

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Thank You Bill ! ! !

A box of Meyer lemons arrived a few days ago. I never expect them so it's such a joy that they arrive each year. A lemon meringue pie is in the making. I'm thinking preserved lemons this year for those deep winter braised dishes. I cannot thank you enough, dear friend.

Copyright © 2005-2008, Christine Cooks. All rights reserved

Tapioca Pudding With Blueberries And Chocolate Shavings

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Did your mom make you tapioca pudding as a child? Expecially when you were not feeling well? Mine did. The "quick" tapioca from the red and white box. I would watch her work her alchemic magic at the stove, stirring and stirring those small white granules into sweet warm comforting goodness. And when I grew up and had children of my own, I carried on the tradition (nod your heads here, boys) never giving a thought as to what those little white granules were. Not that they were bad, but...

Enter Let's Do... Organic small pearls tapioca. Lovely round white pearls that cook up in minutes and make a pudding that can be as fat, dairy and sugar-free as you desire. Compared with the recipe on that venerable red and white box, no eggs, no butter, no cornstarch, minimal sugar. Make this just once and I can almost guarantee that it will inspire you to experiment further, it's that simple and inspirational.

Small pearls tapioca are available at most well-stocked grocery and health food stores. I recommend that you find an organic, preferrably non-GMO product.

Combined with anti-oxident rich blueberries and shavings of dark chocolate, this pudding will warm your soul on a cold winter's night.

Tapioca Pudding with Blueberries and Shaved Chocolate
Inspired by the recipe on the box
Ingredients:
2 cups water
3 tablespoons (heaping) small tapioca pearls
2 tablespoons Splenda-Sugar blend (or 2 tablespoons sugar)
pinch salt
3/4 cup low-fat milk (you can use half n half or canned milk, or coconut milk for a vegan dish)
Preparation:

Bring water to a boil over high heat. Slowly whisk in the tapioca pearls, stirring so they don't stick together.

Reduce the heat to medium high and continue to cook for about 15 minutes until the pearls begin to lose their opacity and the water gets cloudy.

Meanwhile, combine the milk, sugar and salt in a measuring cup and stir well.

Whisk the milk mixture into the tapioca pearls and cook over medium low heat for an additional 5 minutes or until the pearls are soft and translucent.

Remove from the heat and allow to cool for a few minutes.

Pour the pudding into a glass bowl, stir well, cover with plastic wrap if desired, and refrigerate until it has come to room temperature. The pudding will thicken as it cools, becoming thicker still if allowed to get refrigerator cold.

To serve:

Give the pudding a quick stir to fully incorporate the liquid with the pearls. Spoon some blueberries (I used our frozen stash from this post) into a dish then spoon a layer of tapioca pudding over them. Repeat layering one more time, topping the whole thing with a few more blueberries and a generous shaving of dark, organic chocolate. Prepare to be comforted.

Copyright © 2005-2008, Christine Cooks. All rights reserved

Sautéed Chard Stalks With Sweet Peppers And Yacón

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Ever heard of Yacón? Neither had I until a few weeks ago. Farmers market supplier, Jacques Neukom had a display of what looked like potatoes, or maybe a new strain of Jerusalem artichoke, it was hard to tell. As it turns out, they were tubers that grow high in the Andes Mountains of Peru and are distantly related to sunflowers.

Botanically named Smallanthus sonchifolius, Yacón has a taste that's a bit like a crunchy sunchoke or a water chestnut, with a wonderfully juicy sweetness. It can be eaten raw, sautéed in stir fries, or roasted with other root vegetables. Because this Yacón is grown organically and locally, we're going to use it as a substitute for water chestnuts in this year's Thanksgiving stuffing. A colorful dish like the one offered here wouldn't be a bad idea either.

The sugars in Yacón seem to have a low impact on diabetics and studies are currently underway to determine just what the long term health benefits may be and how the food industry might capitalize on these low glycemic sugars.

For now, I'm happy to put them into stir fries, such as this offering of rainbow chard stalks, a mix of homegrown peppers, farmers market onion and garlic. A little kosher salt, a small amount of freshly ground black pepper, and a sprinkle or two of golden balsamic vinegar finishes this dish. No further embellishments needed.

Remember when I admonished you to not toss out your chard stalks? With good reason. First, what a great waste! Second, chard is listed as one of the world's healthiest foods and its stalks are very, very good for you as well, and they are in season right now. So, c'mon, put a little green, yellow, pink, red and orange in your life and on your plate.

Christine's Stir Fried Chard Stalks with Peppers and Yacón
Christine's original recipe
Ingredients:
22 rainbow chard stalks, ends trimmed, cut crosswise into 1-inch pieces
4-5 garden peppers of any sweet kind, chopped (You can throw in a jalapeno if that suits you)
2 medium Yacón tubers, peeled and diced
1 medium onion, medium dice
2-3 garlic cloves, minced
Olive oil for the pan
Preparation:
Heat the oil in a heavy skillet over medium high. Add the minced garlic and onions and saute until softened.

Add the peppers and chard stalks and saute for about 3 minutes more.

Add the Yacón, stirring it into the rest of the vegetables, reduce the heat to medium low and allow to cook until everything is nicely tender, about 10 minutes more.

Don't overcook or you will loose the beautiful colors.

Season to taste with kosher salt and a few grindings of black pepper and serve.

Fast, simple, local, organic, healthy. What more could you ask for?

Copyright © 2005-2008, Christine Cooks. All rights reserved