Christine's Quick and Easy Pasta Sauce With Ground Turkey

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The title actually says it all about this recipe.  It can be prepped, cooked, and ready to spoon over pasta in about 45 minutes.

My boys (now men) know this sauce well; until they had grown up and fledged, I'd made it for them often, always tossed with spaghetti (although today I used gluten-free spirals), and it never failed to satisfy.  Sometimes I think they liked it better than pizza.

The meat is optional and leaving it out will result in a sauce suitable for vegetarians and vegans alike.

A note about the ground turkey: That mushy stuff sold in some stores that looks and feels like it has glue in it? Try not to use that. Instead, find a good source for ground turkey that looks as though it really was extruded through a grinder rather than mashed into paste.

Yes, I'm using canned tomato products but if you have home made sauces, go for it.  The measurements are not set in stone.  What you want to achieve is a thick, tomato-y sauce that will cling to your pasta.

This is dedicated to my boys (now men).  The recipe is a secret no longer so hone up on those knife skills and get chopping.

Christine's Quick and Easy Pasta Sauce with Ground Turkey
(print recipe)
Ingredients:
1 pound ground turkey (not the mushy stuff), or other ground meat, optional
4-6 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped
1 large sweet onion, peeled and finely chopped
1 large red bell pepper, seeds and veins removed, chopped in 1/2-inch pieces
2 small Padrón peppers or 1 small jalapeño pepper, seeds and veins removed, minced
1 tablespoon (or more) organic Italian herbs
1 28-ounce can organic peeled tomatoes (I use Muir Glen Organic tomato products)
1 15-ounce can organic tomato sauce (preferrably sugar free)
1 6-ounce can organic tomato paste (preferrably sugar free)
1/4 to 1/3 cup dry red wine to rinse the cans (more certainly may be used)
small handful fresh basil leaves, torn
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
olive oil for the pan

Preparation:

If using ground meat, heat a heavy skillet over medium-high.

When a bead of water dances on the skillet, add roughly 2 teaspoons olive oil then the ground meat crumbled into pieces.

Allow the meat to sear for about 3 minutes then break apart with a wooden spoon and continue to sauté until no pink shows.  Drain all liquid (save this for the dog or kitties), remove to a plate and set aside.

In the same skillet, add a bit more olive oil then toss in the onions.  Sauté until they soften, about 5 minutes.

Add the garlic and stir, allowing the aromas to come up from the pan, about 2 minutes.

Add the peppers, Italian herbs, and the contents of each can.

Rinse the cans with red wine and pour into the skillet.

Stir and break the tomatoes up with your wooden spoon.
Add the cooked ground meat,

the torn basil leaves, sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste, give it a good stir and simmer it for about 15 minutes.  At this point it's ready for pasta, although you can simmer it longer if you have time.

I said it was simple.

Mangia!

Copyright © 2005-2010, Christine Cooks. All rights reserved

Gluten-Free Plum Galette with Cardamom, Sugar-Free or Not

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I have a new god(dess) and her name is Carol.

A year ago when I went gluten-free, I tried my hand at making GF pancakes, pies, tarts, fruit galettes and more.  Some of them worked fine, others came out so-so and yet others were total disasters.  Mostly I couldn't get away from the "beany" taste and/or gritty texture that the flours I was using imparted, so I just gave it up altogether.

Sometime during the year I realized how much I missed pie crust.  Light, flakey pie crust.  It almost became an obsession.  I grew up on my mother's pies.  She taught me by example how to make flakey, light-as-a-feather crust.  I just had to find a way to make a GF pie or tart that sung to me.

Not too long ago my subscription link to Carol's blog Simply Gluten Free heralded her new GF flour.  A gluten-free flour that Carol guarantees can be used cup for cup like regular flour to make cakes, pies, cookies, breads, pastries, pizza(!), and more.

Was this to be my pie crust salvation?

I ordered some.  As soon as it arrived I made pie dough, rolled it into a large rustic circle and filled it with beautiful fresh plums.  I popped it into the oven.  I waited.  For 50 minutes I waited.  It was agony.

Finally it was time to remove the galette from the oven.  Then it had to cool ...  more agony.

Finally I cut a piece.  I took a bite...

Heaven!  It was heaven.  It had flake.  It had lightness.  It was delicious.

Carol, I bow to you.  You done good!

Gluten-Free Plum Galette with Cardamom
Christine's original recipe inspired by Carol Kacinski's Amazing All-Purpose Gluten Free Flour
(Print recipe)
Ingredients for pie crust:
1 cup gluten-free flour (see link above)
1 packet Splenda or 1 tablespoon sugar
tiny pinch salt
1/3 cup cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
2 tablespoons each cold heavy cream and cold water
Preparation:
Whisk together flour, sugar, salt.  Place in food processor and add butter pieces. Using quick pulses, process until butter and flour resemble fine sand, about 5-6 pulses.
Through the feed tube, add the cream in several pours while pulsing and stopping, pulsing and stopping, then add just enough water to make the dough come together. Pinch mixture between your thumb and fingers. If it holds together, it's ready.  Take care to not add too much liquid or your dough will be too wet.
Pour dough onto a sheet of plastic wrap, gather the edges of the wrap and make the dough into a ball.  Flatten the ball into a disc and refrigerate for 45 minutes to 1 hour.
Ingredients for plum filling:
10-12 ripe plums (yellow and red is nice), pits removed, cut into 1/4-inch slices. Makes approx. 3 cups* see Cook's Notes
Splenda packets or sugar to taste** see Cook's Notes
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
1 tablespoon tapioca starch
1 tablespoon cold unsalted butter cut into tiny cubes
heavy cream and vanilla sugar to finish the pie crust
Preparation:
While the dough is chilling, combine the plums, sugar, cardamom and tapioca starch in a bowl. Allow to sit at room temperature for 30 minutes for the plum juices to form.

Roll out the pie dough on a pastry cloth sprinkled with gluten free flour to a rough diameter of 14-inches.
Roll the dough up onto your rolling pin and center on a large parchment-lined baking sheet or pizza pan.
Place the plums (juice and all) in the center of the dough, spreading them to within 3-inches of the edges.
Dot the plums with the butter.

Fold the pie dough about 1/2-inch over itself, pleating and pinching if necessary, forming a smooth edge.  Bring the smooth edges of the dough about 3-inches over the plums, pleating as you go around, leaving a good portion of the plums showing in the middle of the galette.
Brush the dough with heavy cream and sprinkle with vanilla sugar. This is optional but makes for a nice crust.
Bake in a 380-degree oven for 45-50 minutes or until the crust is golden and the filling is bubbly.
Cool 30 minutes before cutting.
Eat and enjoy!  Then just think of the possibilities...

* I actually used 20 plums (10 red and 10 yellow) which made a total of 5 cups. I saved 2 cups of the mixture to make ice cream. Which will be coming along soon. ;)

** I have not provided a measurement for the Splenda or sugar because the amount you use will depend on how tart or sweet your plums are.  Add it sparingly and taste until it is to your satisfaction.  The plums I used were fairly tart so I added 7 packets of Splenda, which amounts to approx. 6 tablespoons of sugar, which is just under 1/2 cup. The finished fruit was tart with a sweet finish.

One more thing:  Just to keep the record straight, Carol doesn't know that I'm writing this post.  Well ...  she does now, now that I've published.  But there is no collusion here.  She didn't ask me to write this and I received no freebies for doing so. I'm just terrifically excited by the GF flour.
 

Copyright © 2005-2010, Christine Cooks. All rights reserved

We Will Return You to Your Regularly Scheduled Program . . .

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. . . when I return in a few weeks.

I know.

Just when I start rubbing my hands together, thinking Summer!  I'll have more time to cook, more time to

invent recipes, more time to blog . . .

Then I leave.  Then I come home for

all of one day, 

then I leave again.

I'm a bad blogger.

Sigh.

The recipe that goes with the photos will be revealed when I return. It's a fun way to grill fish.

See ya.

Copyright © 2005-2010, Christine Cooks. All rights reserved

Creamy Potato Tart with Fennel, Leeks and Fresh Garlic

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I know it's not the "seasonal" thing to be posting potatoes.  In the oven no less.  But as I said here, summer has not quite settled in yet.  Besides, freshly dug potatoes, no matter the season, are not something I can easily ignore...

Especially when paired with fresh spring goodies like fennel, leeks, and still-moist, just dug, pristine white garlic.  All you need then is the cream.  Okay, half n half, but no less.  If you're watching fat, consider this a once-in-a-while treat. Which it is. Believe me.

The success of this dish is dependent on slicing the potatoes and aromatics very thinly, which I achieved by using a mandoline, an essential tool in any cook's kitchen.  The cream poured around and through the layers is taken up by the potatoes, rendering a tender, succulent, melt-in-your-mouth finished dish.  And although I wanted the taste of freshly chopped parsley here, feel free to experiment with other fresh herbs.

Christine's Creamy Potato Tart with Fennel, Leeks and Fresh Garlic
(print recipe)
Ingredients:
3 large Yukon Gold potatoes
1 medium fennel bulb
2 leeks, white and light green parts only
4 cloves garlic
3/4 to 1 cup cream or half n half
olive oil, sea salt, black pepper

Preparation:
Using a very sharp knife and your best cutting skills, or a mandoline for ease of the task, slice the peeled potatoes along their length, the cleaned fennel from the bottom of the bulb to where the fronds begin to form, the leeks from the bottom up to the light green parts, and the garlic cloves along their length. Keep everyone in their separate pile.
Pre-heat the oven to 350-degrees.
Heat a 10-inch cast iron or other heavy skillet to medium, add a few teaspoons olive oil, tilting the pan to coat, then add the fennel, leeks and garlic and sauté until they are softened but not browned, about 5 - 7 minutes, stirring often.  Remove to a plate, scraping out the pan.
Off heat, add another teaspoon or so of olive oil to the pan and tilt until the oil covers the surface.  Layer the potatoes in an overlapping circle, spiraling in toward the center, until the bottom of the pan is covered. Make two layers of potatoes this way.
Sprinkle the potatoes with a pinch or more of sea salt and a few grindings of black pepper, then spread the aromatic sauté over the top, covering the potatoes completely.
Make two more layers of potatoes on top of the sauté, sprinkle with a bit more sea salt, a few more grinding of black pepper, then pour the cream over and around the layers.
Bake, covered, for 1 hour or until the potatoes are very soft and the tart is bubbly.
Remove the cover and bake 10 minutes longer to brown the top.
Remove from the oven, allow to cool for about 10 minutes, sprinkle with chopped parsley, slice and serve.

Another potato dish I've made is similar but not quite the same as this.  The addition of cream or half n half (really, use the cream) makes the potatoes and sautéed aromatics practically melt in the pan, melding their tastes together. The result is a thinner, smoother, more homogenized, if you will, creation.  It seems like it should be akin to scalloped potatoes, but it isn't. In my humble opinion.

Oops!  I forgot to say that the potatoes should be peeled, the leeks washed and outer layer removed, the garlic peeled, and the fennel washed, fronds and bottom stem removed and any blemishes removed with a vegetable peeler.

Bon appétit!

Copyright © 2005-2010, Christine Cooks. All rights reserved

Creamy Cauliflower Soup with Chevre (soft goat cheese), Fresh Corn, Thyme and Potato Croutons

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Highs in the low sixties, lows dipping into the low to mid-40s, with a brisk (read cold) north wind off the ocean, no less, led to the creation of this soup last night. (That and what happened to be in fridge, pantry and garden.)  We are, in mid-June - almost the Solstice, experiencing early spring weather which includes cold north winds that can make your bones rattle, and cloudy-sunny-cloudy days with an occasional rain shower thrown in for good measure.  (The wind:  Good for the ocean becauses it causes a phenomenon called upwelling, which brings cold water up from the depths, cooling off the surface and bringing fish food with it; not so good for humans who suffer from allergies, arthritis and/or are prone to anxiety. This wind even makes cats nervous.)

Fear not, those of you living blissfully in hotter climes, for the soup you see before you is quite versatile.  Serve it up hot when it's cold out and cold when it's hot out, the only caveat being that you do have to cook it over a stove, which may not appeal to those living in 90-plus temps.  If that's the case, save the recipe for cooler weather.

Cauliflower is the main ingredient, the potato is added for thickening and making the cute little croutons, the corn kernels add interest and a gentle crunch.

The leek, fresh spring onion,

and early China Rose garlic are from our local and best-beloved farmers market.

Then there's The chevre - ah, the chevre. Made right here, 12 or so miles from my kitchen, it is soft but not gooey. It breaks into snowy-white pieces that leave streaks in the hot soup as it melts, then combines thoroughly, adding a creaminess, tang, and deep note you must taste to appreciate.

Creamy Cauliflower Soup with Chevre, Fresh Corn, Thyme and Potato Croutons
(Print Recipe)

Christine's original take on Potato-Leek Soup and Vichyssoise

Ingredients:

1 leek, white and light green parts only, washed and thinly sliced

1 spring onion, red or white, thinly sliced

6-7 cloves garlic, fresh if you can find it, minced

2 medium heads white cauliflower, cut into small florets

1 large yukon gold potato, peeled, cut into small cubes, about 2 cups

4 cups organic, low-sodium chicken stock, or your own home made version

Juice from 1/2 of a Meyer Lemon (about 1 tablespoon)

4-ounces fresh chevre (I used the herbed kind) broken into small pieces, room temperature

4-6 sprigs fresh thyme, left whole

White corn kernels cut from 1 ear of corn

Sea salt and freshly ground black peppercorns to taste

Olive oil and unsalted butter for the pan

Preparation:

Heat a large stockpot (soup pot) over medium heat. Add several teaspoons olive oil and 1 teaspoon butter and allow to melt.  Sauté the leek, onion and garlic until soft but not browned - you may have to adjust the heat to prevent scorching.

Add the cauliflower florets, chicken stock and 1 1/2 cups of the potato cubes, reserving the remaining cubes for the croutons (see below).  Stir the pot and bring to a low boil.

Add the lemon juice, toss in the thyme sprigs, lower the heat, and simmer, covered, until the cauliflower and potatoes are quite tender, about 20 minutes.

Remove the pot from the heat, remove the thyme sprigs from the soup (the small leaves should have fallen from the stems by now) and, using an immersion blender*, blend the soup until it is creamy-smooth with just a few small chunks of potato lurking about. (Little chunks of potato give the soup character, in my humble opinion, but you can make it as smooth as a baby's bottom if that floats your boat.)

Stir in the fresh corn kernels now, do not heat; the soup will be hot enough to cook them within 2 minutes.

Stir in the chevre, let the pieces sit a minute or two then stir until all the cheese has melted.

Now you can taste and adjust the seasonings with sea salt and good freshly-ground black pepper.

To Serve:

Ladle hot soup into large, flat bowls, top with a few potato croutons and a sprinkling of fresh thyme leaves.

To serve cold, allow the soup to cool at room temperature for 20 or so minutes then chill, uncovered, in the fridge for at least 4 hours or overnight.  Stir before serving, without the potato croutons. Thin soup, if desired, with more chicken stock or water.

To make the potato croutons:

In a heavy skillet, heat about 2 teaspoons olive oil over medium-high.  Add the remaining cubes of potatoes and saute, stirring occasionally, until the potatoes are golden brown on the outside and soft and creamy on the inside. Toss with a sprinkling of sea salt and remove from the heat.

While the potatoes are still hot in the pan, add a teaspoon or so of unsalted butter, a pinch of sweet paprika, and toss until the butter has melted and glazed the potatoes.  Serve as a garnish with the soup. Try not to eat too many beforehand ... 

The soup will be very, very hot when removed from the heat so take great care when using an immersion blender to not splatter yourself.  If you do not own an immersion blender (and how can that be?), you can blend the soup in a food processor in small batches. Take care not to overfill the processor bowl as the hot soup will expand when being processed and could overflow the bowl.

I appeal to you lovely cooks to seek out fresh, local and organic food products whenever possible.

When you're trying to read a blog post, do you find those pop-up links that block out text annoying?  I do. That's why you won't find them on this blog.  What you will find are links to the very items I use when preparing the recipe I've made and posted.  These items are for sale in my Amazon Store and may be accessed by clicking on the icon in the sidebar.

Bon Appétit!

Copyright © 2005-2010, Christine Cooks. All rights reserved

Pausing to Remember my Brother

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Dear Readers,

I've been struggling with how to let you know the reason for my silence without seeming to be soliciting condolences, but eloquent words are not forthcoming so I'll just blurt it out:  My brother passed away on Tuesday, June 8th. For almost a month prior to that, my head just wasn't into creating new recipes and all the stuff that food bloggers do.  I'm not sure it is yet.  You can see a small tribute to him, if you would like, on my garden blog. The flowers are from my garden. My brother would have liked them.

I suppose I could write and write and write about how I'm feeling right now, and believe me I've got a lot of feelings. But the words won't come and it seems that the process must be silent. So I'll just take the time I need and get back here when I am able.  I know you will understand.

The farmers market is in full swing and produce abounds. I'm sure I'll be cooking soon.

Copyright © 2005-2010, Christine Cooks. All rights reserved

Retirement Can Be Messy

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Putting order into chaos is messy business. What initially prevails is more chaos. And that can be very disconcerting when what you are trying to accomplish is order. Many of you will know of what I speak - conceptually.

I actually have no excuse for succumbing to chaos other than that I am often easily overwhelmed when faced with too many decisions and, evidently, too much time in which to make them.  If I look back on my life's history, it's easy to see that I accomplished the most when I had the least amount of time in which to do the accomplishing. (There's a Murphy's Law in there somewhere, I'm sure of it.)

This week marks a rather distinctive milestone: I have just gained more personal time by dropping down to a three-day work week (I retired, then immediately began a curtailed work schedule) which will, I am sure, after the order sets in, result in more free time for me to pursue the things that retired, or semi-retired, people do. For me that would be recipe development, cooking, photography and the constant learning thereof, gardening, blogging, travel ...  I have a long list.

So you'd think, with the onset of my first four consecutive days off, that I would just get to the business of doing all those things that I love while catching up on some of those not so pleasant chores that can get shoved into corners waiting for when I have the "time" to do them.

Hmpf.

Laziness set in almost immediately. What I put on the list of things to do for the first day quickly got moved to the list of things I would do on the second day, which then got moved to the list of the things I would do on the third day.  And now it's the fourth day.  I haven't even answered comments; something I find as abhorrent as telling your best friend he/she should go suck eggs.

The laundry piled up while I was outside sitting with my face lifted to the (finally!) warm sun. Spiders made cobwebs in corners while I took leisurely walks. Dust settled on tabletops and house plants while I pulled a weed here, mowed a strip of grass there, talked to my horse, my chickens, my dog; anything but catch up with chores, cook something exciting, research a recipe, take a spectacular photo.

Waiting to be planted tomato seedlings wilted in the greenhouse while I read a cooking magazine. Dinner didn't get started until 9 PM while I spent hours in that zone you can get lost in while looking up something on the Internet, then forgetting what it was you were looking for in the first place.

It's the fourth day and here I sit with a list a mile long, facing my three-day work week then a long weekend out of town from which I will return to go straight to my three-day work week, then another long weekend out of town.  See what I mean?  Chaos.  For this I (semi) retired?

Recipes are waiting in the wings. Maybe with the looming time scrunch I'll get some posted. But first I have to go put order into that chaotic pile of laundry. Then maybe brush away a cob web or two.

One baby step at a time ...

Have a great week!

Copyright © 2005-2010, Christine Cooks. All rights reserved