Fried Okra

wow, so i fried okra tonight and it came out GREAT! first time, I’m amazed. it went about like this

–hey we should fry that okra you got last week..
-ok, ::runs fried okra though recipe zaar to get some ideas:: hmm.. buttermilk.. ahhh… ya…

and there it began. what did i use instead of buttermilk.. powdered milk, with a few large spoonfuls of butter, worth a try.

ok, for 1/2 lb of okra:
crack 2 eggs into a medium mixing bowl.
in another bowl (or a measuring cup) 1c water+1/3 cup powdered milk (or however yours says to mix it up)+2 to 3 tablespoons butter, microwave to melt butter (put into the freezer to help cool so as not to cook the egg)
meanwhile, slice okra to ~1/2 to 3/4 inch slices
combine 2 parts corn meal with 1 part all purpose flour, ~1/2 teaspoon salt, a few dashes of black pepper and cayenne pepper. (i just dumped into my dish…. so measurements are a little fuzzy)
when you feel comfortable mixing the egg and “milk” mix do so, pouring in a little in at first to temper the eggs, slowly whisk the rest in, so as not to make scrambled eggs.
add a few pinches salt and pepper to the egg/”milk” mix

set up your favorite frying setup (for us thats a cast iron dutch oven and peanut or cotton seed oil depending on our whims) if its not a deep fryer, i recommend enough oil to come a little over half way up the side of your okra when its dumped in.

dump the okra into the wet mix, using a slotted spoon. cover in the flour and cornmeal mix. using a fryer proof slotted kitchen utensil (a spider would be great) transfer to the heated oil. it should be hot enough that if you sprinkle a little of the flour mix in, it should crackle. Cook until golden, turning to make sure both sides get well cooked. remove with spider and sprinkle lightly with salt.

wait a few minutes before consuming, it’ll be HOT.

Salsa like stuff and Tortillas

husband came up with a list of things he thought would go together well in a salsa of sorts. it starts with a variety of peppers…

Pepper Salsa
2 lg, 4 sm poblano
2-3 serrano
3 jalapeño
2 anaheim
1 lg bell pepper (plus 4-5 small Japanese variety that are kinda spicy, we couldn’t find the name when we got home, purchased them at the farmer’s market this morning. They looked like large wrinkly serrano, color of an anaheim. Substitute a green bell here)
1 med red onion
2 bunches radishes
1 bunch cilantro
3 cloves garlic
~3 tomatillos
3-4 stalks celery
1-2 limes worth of juice, if desired
maybe a few tomatoes (get rid of the seeds, just use the flesh)

hand chop/dice everything to about the same size, approximately finger nail size, seed and de-vein peppers. Using a food processor will create too fine of a final product.
coat lightly in oil stir constantly, if possible remove from heat before starting to sweat. Drain to remove any excess oil and the water off of the vegetables. The liquid will be tasty in something else somewhere.

Flour Tortillas (yes, the white girl is making tortillas!)
I doubled the recipe from the Joy of Cooking, heres how I did it-
2 cups bread flour
2 cups whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 cup vegetable shortening, yes shortening or you could use LARD
1 1/2 cups hot water

Mix by hand until the dough comes together, then knead for 4-6 minutes. (you can also do this with a mixer and the dough hook)
Split into 16 equal (roughly) size pieces and roll into balls
Cover and let rest for 20 minutes.
Roll out to ~6-8 inch rounds, they should be about 1/8th of an inch thick
Heat a large pan- cast iron or non stick over medium heat. slide the tortillas on to it one by one.
Cook for about 30 seconds on the first side (there should be a some brown spots) then 15 on the other.
Cover what you have cooked while cooking the rest.
Serve warm!

yesterday, we turned around and made cheese and pepper salsa quesadillas we also took the pepper stuff today and mixed it in with pasta and sliced up kielbasa, also very tasty.

Venison Stroganoff

From 5/3.. i started writing this and well it got saved on the hard drive because the router was missing in a box somewhere (it has sense been found, yay!) ~~~

FINALLY internet at the new house. it just took a week and a half after my initial request to get it all installed (oh and $200).

aside from that new house is good. we have had armadillos and opossums and toad frogs. TASTY toad frogs if you ask Shiner (the dog) ok well not super tasty toad frogs they pee when he gets chomped down on them and he spits them out. but if you get them head first it doesnt happen quite so fast but you end up with a foamy mouth. I cant leave out the cows. we have cows on our sides of us. ever seen a dachshund take off after them. its all ears and tail in the sort of tall grass. funny now, not at the times when husband has climbed the fence and i have snuck under (finding briars in my hand- they are very uncomfortable)

tonight i make a variation of Jamie Oliver’s Mushroom and Venison Stroganoff (with out mushrooms, as i am allergic)

venison, thawed a hind quarter and i diced it. total maybe 2.5-3.5 pounds…

slathered it in paprika ~

diced half an onion and a midsized shallot with 3 cloves of garlic. sauted it until carmalized. with the vent hood and air purifiyer. (cooked onions in close proximity makes the head hurt) It worked quite well, no headache when i finished.

season meat with salt, pepper and paprika, I mixed it all up nicely making sure that every bit is slathered in paprika. divide up into portions to brown in a large pan, too much in the pan, it will steam. when finished, add all the meat back in and add the onions and garlic. Also add parsley and a couple of large table spoons of sour cream. Jamie recommends a few gherkins (little pickles) sliced up and mixed in. We used sweet relish because it was what we had. it was a little strange but good. serve over your favorite grain- rice, a quinoa/amaranth blend etc.

was also tasty for lunch the next day

Be Safe.

this week we lost a coworker in my office. it wasn’t like he had walked in and said i have cancer and died some time later. it was a tragic traffic accident, while he was on the job. he was thrown from the cherry picker he was in, while doing something with the traffic lights. a vehicle stopped suddenly in the vicinity, an 18 wheeler swerved to miss the vehicle and hit the cherry picker truck, he was thrown from the bucket. he sustained massive injuries, I’ve heard internal bleeding, skull fractures, swelling of the brain. eventually he was taken off of life support when there was no sign of brain activity. thats really all i have heard and no promises on the factuality of it aside from that he passed away.

i was working with him on a project among all the other things we both work on. i had just met with him Friday and twice earlier in the week to straighten out details on the project. then Monday morning all of a sudden rumors flying around this mid-sized town “hes dead” “ICU in critical care” at least i was not told first off he was dead. many were told he was. i can’t imagine. it all still isn’t real. i keep expecting to run into him in the copy room. i guess it will sink in for me eventually.

be safe. i don’t know if anything could have been done to lessen or prevent the injuries and probably never will know but be safe. please.

Cheesy Dinner

Last night I decided I would give a souffle a whirl. Alton Brown did a show on them earlier this week some time and well it seemed easy. For the most part it was. I ended up going through like 4 mixing bowls. I will have to rethink that next time… made a huge mess in the already messy kitchen. BUT it was quite tasty, worth the mess. We also had smoked gruyere mashed potatoes and salad (with feta). Told you it was a cheesy dinner. Maybe not all that well rounded but tasty.

Butter, room temperature, for greasing the souffle dish
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 1/3 cups milk, hot
4 large egg yolks
6 ounces sharp Cheddar
5 egg whites plus 1 tablespoon water
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Use room temperature butter to grease an 8 inch souffle mold. (the souffle dish I purchased with birthday money last month was more like 6.5 inch, biggest there was. We did have a large round CorningWare in our set. The fluted sides are important when it comes to heat distribution into the dish. Add the grated Parmesan and roll around the mold to cover the sides. Chill for 5 minutes.

In a small saucepan, heat the butter. Allow the water to cook out.

In a separate small bowl combine the flour, dry mustard, garlic powder, and salt. Whisk into the melted butter. Cook for 2 minutes.

Whisk in the hot milk and turn the heat to high. Once the mixture reaches a boil, remove from the heat.

In a separate, large bowl, beat the egg yolks to a creamy consistency. (eventually every thing will end up in this bowl)

To temper the yolks into the milk mixture I dipped the whisk into the milk mix and then whisked it into the eggs; if you don’t you will end up with scrambled eggs. After doing this several times then slowly add the egg mixture into the milk mix while constantly whisking. Remove from the heat and add the cheese. Whisk until incorporated. (I guess at some point you put it back on the heat… I poured milk mix into the egg mix… oops and not over the heat, it sounds like it should cook slightly while you are whisking together… We’re approaching 24 hours and so far we’re alright.)

In a separate bowl, using a hand mixer, whip the egg whites and cream of tartar until glossy and firm. Add 1/4 of the mixture to the base. Continue to add the whites by thirds, folding very gently.
Pour the mixture into the souffle dish. Fill to 1/2-inch from the top.

Place on a cookie sheet or aluminum pie pan, in case of over flow. Bake for 35 minutes. Would not recommend opening the oven door until done but other than that it was not terribly finicky. Our oven runs hot, ~75 degrees so far we can tell. We compensate for it but its not exact. Turned out tasty. Even this afternoon for lunch it was pretty good.

This afternoon I put together a recipe and a half of Cooking Light’s revamped Zucchini Pineapple Quick Bread from this month’s issue. Its Wonderful! We had a zucchini from husband’s boss…. larger than my fore arm. Even after 3 cups of shredded zucchini for the bread, there is a little less than half the thing left. Made 3 loaves- one of us, one for Husband’s office and one for our neighbor who shredded our “pasture” (the slightly larger half of our 3.5 acres) the grass in the back was up over 4 feet tall- no way we could get it down.

Since we were shredded this last week I finally got to walk around and see what there was to see. The highlight was finding what looks like Irises out in the field– they were shredded down to about 4 inches tall. Hopefully we can get them dug up and plant them around the house- free plants!

oh, I’ve got pictures of the souffle  :)  camera cable still is missing.

Sweet Flour

Mesquite Flour. Yes like those pesky sometimes thorny trees, I don’t think their terribly pesky, I’m also not a rancher or farmer. I think they are pretty.

So aside from wood used to smoke foods there many uses for the tree, bet you didn’t know you could eat the seed pods. The bean pods of mesquite trees can be ground up and used as flour. Its very tasty. As far as I can tell the flour is gluten free and low on the glycemic index. You can make your own, if you are brave or like me- you can buy it. Mail order is a must! I found an 8oz bag at a natural foods store in the Denton area but the little orange sticker said $18.99. You have got to be kidding. Well they were not but the online retailers beat that with shipping included. Casa de Fruta has some good information as well as 3 different size bags of flour. There is also Native Seeds, they are a little bit more expensive but still cheaper than retail.

When I bake and the result is going to be sweet, I like to substitute 1/2 to 1 cup of the total flour. I would not recommend much more.

There is also some good information at Desert Harvesters.

Things to make with Mesquite:  Mesquite Chocolate Chip Cookies...  the recipe is now gone but its in her cookbook and if you have any natural foods tenancies I would recommend her book, Super Natural Cooking.  It is a little hippie for me but has some good stuff.  I PROMISE you these cookies will win over even the toughest offices.  2 federal and one municipal offices so far.  I’ve been told thats all I’m ever allowed bring for office functions.  I kindly explained that its only ‘my super special cookies’ and that I make some spectacular other things too.

oh and happy birthday to me! We had Lemon Chess and Apple Pie made by E this weekend, who came in from San Antonio; parents also came down- it was good to see them.

In Space

I promise I am still alive and cooking  husband and i made some tasty venison something or another a few weeks ago, Jamie Oliver recipe, will post it eventually.  We now own and operate 3.5 acres of mostly grass, some of it rather tall and ~1600 sq ft of indoor space.

in the last month and just over a half, we have moved, painted over half the house, upgraded my truck after sinking $300 into it, chased after the dog twice when he ran after cows in the pasture behind us and once after taking off across the front “yard” to the cows across the street, prevented the dog from eating frogs on a morning and night basis and sort of unpacked.  oh, ive also began driving ~40 minutes both to work and back. no not 20 there and 20 back, although the cruse control makes it easier than previously.

the frogs are of the pee in your (if you are a dog trying to taste them) mouth and make your mouth foamy variety.  well properly more so they are toads.  we think either Woodhouse’s Toads or The Gulf Coast Toads  certainly have a stripe down their back.  husband mowed behind the house and did significantly reduce the population but there are still blasted toads everywhere in the early morning and evening, cooler times of the day.    will post a picture, actually lots of pictures when i locate the cable that hooks the camera to the computer, its MIB…. Missing In a Box.

we also upgraded the kitchen faucet, water now readily flows through it.  took 2 hours to get the old one off and probably a little less than an hour to install the new one.  we almost had enough limestone to reface the house. (calcium and other stuff build up for the less geologically inclined)…

Flaming Black Bean Chili

(no real flames by the way. )

Mom in Law brought this with her when she and dad in law came down a couple weekends ago… pretty tasty. I’ve now made it twice. first time around i forgot the garlic, oops! also got to use an actual jalapeño pepper. only made half. the cans of tomatoes i’ve used are like 14.5 oz or something like that. so today when i made it for dinner i used 2 cans. last time i just used one. this evening it ended up SUPER spicy. oops. didn’t use a jalapeño but substituted chipotle powder. be careful if you do this. it came out superbly hot. first taste after mixing everything in i deemed it tooo hot. evidently you can add sugar/honey/etc to help cut the heat. i did add a few squeezes of honey, it did cut some of the heat, could have added more but didn’t want the extra sugar. oh, also like to add onions in with the hamburger when put on to brown.

Seasoning:
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp red pepper
1 tbsp oregano
1 tsp cumin

1lb lean ground beef
1 28oz can (no salt added) crushed tomatoes
1 28oz can (no salt added) tomato sauce
2 medium onions, chopped
1 jalapeño pepper, cored, seeded and finely minced
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 16oz cans corn, drained
2 16oz cans black beans, drained and rinsed

mix seasonings together in a small bowl, set aside.
in a nonstick pot cook beef until browned.
the recipe next instructs to rinse the beef, in a colander with hot water (then return to pot), to help remove excess fat. i did this the first time. if you use super lean beef i wouldn’t bother, which is what i did the second time around.add seasoning mix and all other ingredients except for corn and beans. simmer for 2 hours. (haven’t gone this long yet)
add beans and corn during last 20 minutes of cooking.

tasty stuff. also discovered this evening i only put half the corn and beans in this evening… oops again. husband was wondering how i ate the chili… evidently it was still really hot and he liked it but determined it was beyond what i will normally eat. heres how i made it: 1. I’m gonna need some heart burn meds in the morning. 2. corn bread. 3. lots of butter on corn bread, then chili on corn bread. 4. last but not least, cheese lots of cheese

Cooking is always an adventure…

Chopped Brisket

husband’s parents came to visit this weekend. made brisket for dinner. nothing fancy, here is what i did…

2 bottles of Stubb’s BBQ sauce, one regular, one mesquite.
put ~2/3 of the regular and ~1/2 of the mesquite in crock pot.
add ~1 teaspoon liquid smoke, light dash of chipotle powder. (careful with this stuff)
put brisket in, (it was only 1/2 a trimmed standard brisket and the smaller thinner end)
turn a few times to coat well.
start crock pot on low.
let go for several hours. (we left and went south to see the house and criss crossed the country on the way back.)

after done, carefully remove from crock pot, chop carefully, it will be hot and likely will be falling apart.

like i said nothing fancy. just simply tasty. if you have not had Stubb’s it is very good stuff. there is the BBQ sauces, rubs, marinades. all quite tasty so far.

tomorrow morning we are going to check out a ham and artichoke strata, its made up and in the fridge per the instructions. also possibly will make black bean chili for lunch. ::take this digestive system:: in laws brought stuff to make it and the recipe.

Meat sticks

Husband brought home a recipe for Hemann Deer Salami. No idea where it comes from aside from one of the guys where husband works. Note there is no extra fat in with the meat, its just deer. Husband made 2 batches, substituting wine for the water, one with white wine one with red. We had a bottle of chenin blanc we put in the freezer to chill and forgot about for an hour or so too long, it ended up frozen. i’ve been using it to cook (it ended up frozen), and we picked up a bottle of zinfandel. here goes:

Hemann Deer Salami

2lbs finely ground deer meat
1/4t salt
1/4t garlic powder
1/2t coarse ground pepper +additional for exterior coverage
2T tender quick
1T liquid smoke
1T mustard seeds
3/4c cold water or red or white wine

mix all ingredients well. roll into 2 rolls. sprinkle outside with coarse ground pepper. place each roll in foil and refrigerate for 24 hours. remove from foil and bake at 300°F for an hour and 15 minutes on a broiler pan to catch drippings. cool and wrap in foil. FYI it can be frozen.

after making and tasting both we prefer the white wine and would exclude the pepper that goes in the mix with the meat. the pepper used to cover the salami is enough for seasoning the loaf. slice thinly and consume. tasty stuff.