Cooking at Home with Judy

Brussels Sprouts

Brussels Sprouts. . . If you hate them -- you really might like my version.

• Wash, remove tough ends, slice thin
  
• Place ceramic skillet over med-low heat
• Sprinkle in a pinch of coarse black pepper 
• 2 T butter
• Add Brussels Sprouts toss, cover until just tender (NOT mushy)
• Add 2 T of Sugar-free Apricot Jam
• 1/3 C chopped pecans and a tiny pinch of salt

That's all -- so simple and so sweet. Left overs freeze well. And, oh so good with a T-Bone Pork Chop browned in a little butter. 

To find out what are the different cuts of pork chops available and which is the best? Download Brussele Sprouts & Pork Chops.pages

From your friend in the kitchen, Judy

 

Over the Top Mushrooms

Over the Top Mushrooms

Don't you just love it when a mistake turns into something oh so GOOD?

You see, on a whim, I decided to pick up a large package of sliced mushrooms to make my Sweet Mushroom Soup, p 14 Volume 5. First of all I never buy sliced mushrooms, because they are always too dry meaning too old. I prefer to hand pick each one; whole and FRESH. Then slice just before making my dish. As soon as I get them home I take them out of the plastic wrap and put them in a brown paper lunch size bag. Then store in the crisper of my fridge to be used as soon as possible.

To find out my second mistake and how it all turned into someting wonderful download the recipe: Download Over the Top Mushrooms.pages

From your friend in the kitchen, Judy

 

Over the Top Mushrooms

Over the Top Mushrooms

Don't you just love it when a mistake turns into something oh so GOOD?

You see, on a whim, I decided to pick up a large package of sliced mushrooms to make my Sweet Mushroom Soup, page 14 Volume 5. First of all I never buy sliced mushrooms, because they are always too dry meaning too old. I prefer to hand pick each one; whole and FRESH. Then slice just before making my dish. I also place them in a brown paper lunch size bag, as soon as I get them home. Then store in the crisper of my fridge to be used as soon as possible. 

Second mistake, I had not checked the freezer to see if I even had any chicken stock on hand. You'll find E-Z homemade chicken stock on page 19 in Cooking with Judy. I did however pickup a sweet onion, fresh carrots and celery. I knew I had fresh garlic on hand and frozen FRESH ginger and turmeric in the freezer. 

All excited when I got home, put the groceries away and got out my soup pot and med size glass skillet. Put both the pot and the skillet on the stove over med low heat. Added a couple of pinches of extra coarse black pepper (page 25 Volume 6) to the bottom of each pan. Set out the onion, garlic and mushrooms. Added a swirl of EVOO to each pan. Diced the onion, added it to the soup pot, sprinkled a big pinch of Kosher salt and mixed well. 

In order to caramelize (page 14 Volume 5) the mushrooms I added two swirls of EVOO to the skillet. Tossed in the box of mushrooms and mixed well. To my cringe I found far too many mushrooms still had their woody stems attached. I quickly (they were starting to get hot) picked those out and pinched off the offending tough stems. 

At this point I went to the freezer for my ginger and turmeric and thought I might as well pull out a couple of bags of chicken stock to thaw while I peeled the carrots and kept an eye on the mushrooms. They needed to be stirred as they begin to brown. 

Oooop's NO chicken broth, not a drop. NOW WHAT????? Well calm down, take a breath, stir the mushrooms, check the onions. Grate the garlic, ginger and turmeric over the onions and still well. Reduce the heat while I try to figure out what to do???

Then I remembered, last month I had caramelized too many mushrooms for my perfect steak (page 22 Volume 2 or page 58 in Cooking with Judy, Sexy Date Night Meal), so I had put the leftovers in a small snack size zip bag and tossed them in the freezer. They were excellent another day weeks later. 

So why not do the same now? Just more bags to enjoy later. What about the onions, garlic, ginger and turmeric? Toss-'em all together! Why not? Of course by now I'm disgusted that I've wasted time and $ and won't have my delicious Sweet Mushroom Soup! 

Too impatient for the mushrooms to completely caramelize, I mixed them all together in the soup pot. They were not cooking fast enough to satisfy my impatiences. I grabbed an old Corning Wear casserole dish, buttered it and dumped the mess in. Turned the oven on to 325º and slide it in. 

Decided checking email would brighten my dark mood. When I smelled it I turned off the oven and put the glass lid on top. Left it in the oven for another 20 minutes or so. Then let it cool. 

Fixed myself a perfect steak and grabbed leftover green salad with Peppercorn Dressing (page 29 in Cooking with Judy) and made Stinky Cheese page 24 in Volume 5) in place of croutons. Darn fine meal, if I say so myself. 

The next day I bagged up 6 individual servings of Over the Top Mushrooms and placed them in the freezer to enjoy for months to come. YEA!!!!!! Another mistake bites the dust and becomes a healthy, delicious and nutritious whole living food to build strong bodies and sharp minds. 

Ingredients:

In a med-size glass skillet over med-low heat add:

  Good pinch Extra Coarse Black Pepper, page 25 Volume 6

•             One big swirl of Extra Virgin Olive Oil in skillet
• 1           Sweet onion, diced
•             Big pinch Kosher salt

Stir often and steam until translucent then add

• 2          Cloves fresh garlic, grated
• 1/2"      Frozen fresh ginger, grated
• 1/4"      Frozen fresh turmeric root, grated

Mix well and add: 

• 3 C Washed, stems removed, sliced button or portabella mushrooms or both*

Stir often and cook until tender or place in a butted glass casserole dish and bake at 325º until tender. 

* I think it perfectly okay to run mushrooms under running water and remove stems before slicing, as you are going to immediately cook them. 

From your friend in the kitchen, Judy

Let me know what you think after you try it. 

Yams vs. Sweet Potatoes

 

We Americans tend to call Yams -- Sweet Potatoes -- but they are not. Sweet potatoes have a white interior and come in a variety of skin colors . . . much like humans do. Since I no longer eat white potatoes because they are so high in sugar and starch I found the Asian Sweet Potato to be very starchy, slightly sweet but rather flat and tasteless. This gave me the urge to research their nutrition values. Want to know how to Freeze cooked yams see page 57 in Volume 3.

Did you know? Sweet potatoes are related to the morning glory, and they originated in South America.

Download Yams.pages

 

 

Broccoli Rabb vs. Asian Broccoli

What's the difference?

See for yourself Download Broccoli Rabb vs. Asian Broccoli.pages

One quick recipe . . .

Brown 1 (per every 2 persons) SWEET Italian Sausage (skin removed) in a med-hot GLASS lined skillet. Separate and crumble for quick and even browning.

Once browned: add a splash of red cooking wine, using a wooden spatula scrap up all the WONDERFUL tasty brown bits on the bottom of the pan and stir well.

Add:

1/8 t    dill seed

pinch red pepper flakes

tiny pinch salt and pepper, remember the sausage has both so a tiny bit goes a long way.

juice of 1/2 FRESH lime, unless it is dry then you and use the other half as well 

Mix well and toss with any kind of broccoli you prefer that has been blanched.

To blanch any vegetable simply bring to a boil in a covered skillet 2-3" of cold water. I like to add a good healthy squeeze of FRESH lemon juice for any green veggie. Keeps them bright and happy!

Add the veggies to the boiling water and turn with thongs. DO NOT cover. Allow to boil 2-3 minutes. Remove and immerse in a bowl of ICE water for another 2-3 minutes. Drain.

YUMMY -- GOOD and GOOD for YOU! 

BABY White Salad Turnips

As I said in my earlier post about my trip to our Local Farmer's Market, I nearly kissed the man who had these (Tokyo Cross Hybrid) White BABY Salad Turnips. I had bought them for the first time last year and LOVED them. They are so SWEET and don't taste like turnips at all. 

But when I returned the next week he did not have any more. I am sure he grew them in a greenhouse over the winter and not sure if he grows them outside in the summer and fall. 

Download Baby White Salad Turnips.pages

Braised Broccoli

This is a quick and delicious tip from my friend Pat, who lives in Maui.

Using my FRESH broc from the Farmer's Market that had been harvested just hours earlier.

I split the stalks lengthwise, braised in a teaspoon each of butter and olive oil, covered with a lid until just almost tender.

They got slightly caramelized on the bottom.

Remove lid, turn each piece over to brown ever so slightly while you add tablespoon of jar garlic and the juice of 1/2 lemon, tiny

pinch of S & P.

Toss well and go OH My GOSH when it hits your taste buds. 

PS this is one of my glass lined skillets I picked up at TJ-Max for less than $15. 

 

15-Minute Italian Eggplant

Now understand I almost always have several snack-size bags of Spaghetti Sauce, page 20 Volume 5, in my freezer, as I did this day. Or you can certainly make 15-min sauce anytime you need to. The reason I generally have All Day Sauce is because I find when I make sauce it is just easier to make a BIG skillet full and let it cook while I'm preparing other dishes. Then I get to savor wonderful full flavored sauce anytime I want it. SO E-Z.

Download 15-min Italian Eggplant.pages

Sunchokes

Or Jerusalem Artichokes as some refer to them. YUMMY good but can be hard to find. Related to the Sunflower that may be why they have a nutty taste. They look a lot like Ginger Root.

 Sunchokes are a HIGH starch root that is high in sugar so portion control is essential, but a good source of potassium.

Simply scrub, steam, allow to cool, slice and quick fry in hot olive oil or peanut oil to a nice crisp. Drain on double paper toweling and sprinkle hot chips with a LITTLE salt and pepper, great snack or side dish with fish. As seen on page 9 in Volume 4.

Leek & Fennel Bake

    Baked with cheese, eggs and cream with a hint of "oh what's that?" Great for the freezer and the lunch box. Plus we give you the nutrition values for both.   

Download Leeks & Fennel and Nutrition.pages

 

Plus you'll find E-Z Leek soup in Volume 2 on page 48 and quick Fennel Soup on page 20 in Volume 3. 

 

Fairy Tale Fingers

This is a terrific appetizer for a cooking-as-you-go party. Or if you're like me you love them so much you can make a quick meal of it or a mid-afternoon snack on the weekend. 

Download Finger Eggplant.pages

From your friend in the kitchen, Judy

 

Blue Hubbard Squash

 

Isn't that a pretty and inviting item to find in your garden?

 

Find out more about it and other squashes. 

Download Hubbard Squash.pages

From your Friend in the Kitchen, Judy

Yellow 8 Ball Zucchini

  Double cute -- and oh so good  

Easy - quick side dish, FREEZES well for leftovers. Great in the lunch box or on the go to a covered dish. I like these much better than regular zucchini. They have a buttery flavor and nice texture. 

Download Yellow 8 Ball.pages

Compliments of your friend in the kitchen, Judy

Beets and Dwarf Blue Kale

   Amazing combination of tender sweet leaves and stems from the beets and the leaves of the dwarf blue kale.

YUMMMMMY oh so sweet and a powerful antioxidant.

Good for your blood, your brain and circulatory system. 

Save the beets for Goat Cheese Salad. You'll find both recipes on page 56 in Volume 5. 

 

Italian Squash

Is it a duck?   A snake? 

No it is just a sweet Italian squash from my garden. Yes it really grew in my garden and YES it is really sweet and buttery. Make this fabulous dish for your family. You'll find the recipe on page 57 in Volume 5. 

And you'll find the seeds at Renee's Garden

 

Spaghetti Sauces

Never - ever buy it in a jar. It is so E-Z to make your own FRESH sauce with FRESH ingredients + you control the sodium and NO sugars. 

Page 20 in Volume 5

 

White Eggplant

 Have you tried it yet? I did and the results are below.

According to the grower I bought them from at the Farmer's Market there is no difference in taste, only in skin color. I decided to put them to the test.

I purchased one of each and prepared each 3 different ways in an identical fashion. Read for yourself and decide.

Download White Eggplant.pages

Compliments of your friend in the kitchen, Judy

 

New Twist on Kale, Fennel & Cranberry Salad

         

You will find the salad recipe on page 35 in Cooking with Judy

I discovered quite by accident how to make it into a luscious warm side dish.

I purchased all the ingredients to take this amazingly delicious salad to a covered dish dinner. Something came up and I was not able to attend the pot-luck.

The kale and fennel were left forgotten in the fridge far too long. When I discovered the error of my ways, I was not in the mood for a cold salad that would last me a week or more.

I wondered what would happen if I made it into a hot side dish . . . YUMMMY 

Just follow the directions, except make it all in a bowl shaped pan instead of a salad bowl . . . and wall-a -- so good. Not sorry my delicious produce stayed too long in the fridge. Don't ya just love it when the OH NO's turn into the OH MY's? 

From your friend in the kitchen, Judy

Cauliflower & Celery

Cauliflower is a cruciferous vegetable that is SO GOOD FOR YOU. It is rich in folate and Vitamin C, NO cholesterol, NO starch, low in sugar, heart healthy, good for diabetics and persons with high blood pressure.

SO sweet and yummy!

Good comfort food!!!

Can be served as a side with anything you like.

E-Z to freeze and use as LEFTOVERS another day.

Sauté over med-low heat in a glass lined skillet*

• 1 T Olive Oil
  
• 2 C Cauliflower, tough stems removed and sliced thinly While the cauliflower simmers - thinly slice
  
• 1 C Celery
  Add the celery to the cauliflower and toss well.

That's it -- you don't even need salt -- nothing just these two great veggies. So good and soooooooooo good for you! Send us your favorite cauliflower recipe.

Compliments from your friend in the kitchen, Judy

Buttery Sage Spinach

Yummy good and good for you!

Great paring with sage.  

This reminds me of creamed spinach, but without the cream and a whole lot more flavor. Serves 4 as a side dish or 2 as a One-Bowl Wonder. E-Z -- 20 minutes to sit down. Recipe on page 9 in Volume 4. 

New "to me" Chou Vert Frise Kale

I am going to call it French Kale.

Check this out, it is softer more pliable and only curly around the outside edge. I LOVE it.

Here is a quick (20 min) E-Z side dish. Or make it a one-bowl wonder by adding leftover cold grilled chicken. Download Chou Vert Frise Kale.pages

Compliments or your friend in the kitchen, Judy