-Gandhi
My Gluten Free Town - Salt Lake City
I'm honored and excited to have been featured (first!) for Gluten Free Traveller's series "My Gluten Free Town."
You can see the post here. I love Gluten Free Traveller as a source of what's gluten-free around town in places I haven't been yet and am considering traveling to.
All month, she'll be featuring different cities, so check back often!
You can see the post here. I love Gluten Free Traveller as a source of what's gluten-free around town in places I haven't been yet and am considering traveling to.
All month, she'll be featuring different cities, so check back often!
You Are What You Eat
I'll go on and on about this to anyone who will listen - you are what you eat.
And what you eat is what it ate. So you are what you eat ate. It gets zany quickly, I know.
But here to back it up - it tastes better and is better for you too.
Which is why I purposely look for milk, cheese, and butter from grass-fed cattle.
Oh, and the fact that if I don't, strange things happen. Like the allergic reaction when I bought a different milk. Some might say that I shouldn't be consuming dairy products at all. Maybe they're right. All I know is that I'm fine when I'm consuming dairy from cows who ate what they were supposed to eat. And I'm okay with that.
And what you eat is what it ate. So you are what you eat ate. It gets zany quickly, I know.
But here to back it up - it tastes better and is better for you too.
Which is why I purposely look for milk, cheese, and butter from grass-fed cattle.
Oh, and the fact that if I don't, strange things happen. Like the allergic reaction when I bought a different milk. Some might say that I shouldn't be consuming dairy products at all. Maybe they're right. All I know is that I'm fine when I'm consuming dairy from cows who ate what they were supposed to eat. And I'm okay with that.
Smitten Salad
The other night at dinner, Mike was quiet as he ate. Then he said, "You make a really good salad." Oh, be still my heart.
It was this salad, but with sausage instead of bacon, lemon juice instead of vinegar, plus some corn, chili flakes, and paprika.
Sometimes I make it according to the actual recipe, which has become a favorite on its own, but just as often I add my own twists to it. That's what cooking is really about. Pouring yourself into dinner for the pure joy of it.
We don't usually do "diet" salads in our house, mostly because if I'm just looking at greens and salad dressing I'm not very interested in eating it. And when we eat salads like this, with the dressing made from pan drippings, we're always satisfied. They're meals unto themselves, and then we fall in love all over again.
It was this salad, but with sausage instead of bacon, lemon juice instead of vinegar, plus some corn, chili flakes, and paprika.
Sometimes I make it according to the actual recipe, which has become a favorite on its own, but just as often I add my own twists to it. That's what cooking is really about. Pouring yourself into dinner for the pure joy of it.
We don't usually do "diet" salads in our house, mostly because if I'm just looking at greens and salad dressing I'm not very interested in eating it. And when we eat salads like this, with the dressing made from pan drippings, we're always satisfied. They're meals unto themselves, and then we fall in love all over again.
Quote
"The first requisite of success is the ability to apply your physical and mental energies to one problem without growing weary."
-Thomas Edison
Leftovers - Lobster Omelet
Leftovers. There are leftovers and then there are leftovers. Some are good, some are bad, and some are downright ugly. There's cold pizza or macaroni and cheese (good), fish that was overcooked in the first place (bad), and that stuff at the back of the fridge that's melted into something really stinky, fuzzy, and totally unrecognizable (ugly, of course).
For most of my life, leftovers usually fell into the last two categories. The bad leftovers were eaten grudgingly, and the ugly leftovers were thrown in the garbage bin. The good leftovers were usually lunch or an afternoon snack, and rarely made it to dinnertime the next day. But the sad reality was that leftovers were a tired memory of a meal that was just o.k.
In the last few years, as I've begun to really cook for myself, I've started to rethink what the word "leftovers" really means. Sometimes it is the same soup, or casserole, or pasta, reheated yet again. And it's always a lot better than the leftovers in my memory. (I had one boss tell me he was always jealous of my leftovers. Another boss always complained that I never brought enough to share with the whole office. Chalk one up for leftovers.)
But other times, leftovers are something much, much more. It's amazing how a totally different focus can create an entirely new meal that no one would ever imagine was leftovers.
Eggs are one of my favorite ways to manage this. Frittatas and omelets are so good that folks will think you cooked the entire thing for that meal only, instead of scraping around the corners of the fridge to use up scraps. I only made my first frittatas and omelets this past year (it's a lack of patience thing), but they sure do make a strong showing in my life now.
I'm still working on the ability to make a new meal out of any kind of leftovers, but this particular omelet was a revelation. We had too much lobster the other night (if there can be such a thing), and as I stared at the fridge wondering what to eat, this recipe came to me. Even better, it took less than twenty minutes from start to finish.
And it tasted wonderful. A far cry from the leftovers of my memory.
Saute some onions and crushed red pepper.
Lobster Omelet
Serve immediately.
There won't be any leftovers from this one, I promise.
For most of my life, leftovers usually fell into the last two categories. The bad leftovers were eaten grudgingly, and the ugly leftovers were thrown in the garbage bin. The good leftovers were usually lunch or an afternoon snack, and rarely made it to dinnertime the next day. But the sad reality was that leftovers were a tired memory of a meal that was just o.k.
In the last few years, as I've begun to really cook for myself, I've started to rethink what the word "leftovers" really means. Sometimes it is the same soup, or casserole, or pasta, reheated yet again. And it's always a lot better than the leftovers in my memory. (I had one boss tell me he was always jealous of my leftovers. Another boss always complained that I never brought enough to share with the whole office. Chalk one up for leftovers.)
But other times, leftovers are something much, much more. It's amazing how a totally different focus can create an entirely new meal that no one would ever imagine was leftovers.
Eggs are one of my favorite ways to manage this. Frittatas and omelets are so good that folks will think you cooked the entire thing for that meal only, instead of scraping around the corners of the fridge to use up scraps. I only made my first frittatas and omelets this past year (it's a lack of patience thing), but they sure do make a strong showing in my life now.
I'm still working on the ability to make a new meal out of any kind of leftovers, but this particular omelet was a revelation. We had too much lobster the other night (if there can be such a thing), and as I stared at the fridge wondering what to eat, this recipe came to me. Even better, it took less than twenty minutes from start to finish.
And it tasted wonderful. A far cry from the leftovers of my memory.
Saute some onions and crushed red pepper.
Toss in some lobster for 30 seconds or so, just to get it a little bit warm. Remove from pan.
Add some more oil to the pan, pour in eggs whisked with milk or cream. When the eggs are mostly set, scatter lobster and cheese on one side of the omelet.
Say a prayer while you (gently) fold the eggs over the filling. Leave it in the pan for another minute or so, then remove to a plate, and top with more lobster and cheese.
Lobster Omelet
- 2 tablespoons bacon fat or olive oil, divided
- 3 eggs
- 2 tablespoons cream
- 1 or 2 lobster tails, cooked, peeled, and chopped (about 1/2 cup)
- 1 ounce cheese, grated (about 1/2 - 3/4 cup)
- 1/4 small onion or 1 shallot, chopped
- 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
- 1 scallion, chopped
- Salt and pepper to taste
Heat 1 tablespoon fat in an omelet pan or 8-inch skillet over medium heat. Add onions and saute until soft and beginning to turn golden, about 10 minutes. Add the crushed red pepper and saute about a minute more. Add the lobster to the pan for about 30 seconds, then transfer the entire mixture to a bowl and set aside.
Heat the remaining fat in the pan. Meanwhile, whisk together eggs and cream. Pour the eggs into the pan. Lift up at the sides with a spatula every now and then to keep them from sticking to the pan. When the eggs are mostly set, scatter 2/3 of the lobster mixture and half the cheese on one side of the eggs. Starting at the other side of the eggs, use a spatula to fold the eggs over the filling. Keep over the heat for one or two minutes more, then transfer to a plate. Top with the remaining lobster and cheese. Sprinkle scallions over the top, and salt and pepper to taste.
Serve immediately.
There won't be any leftovers from this one, I promise.
Fancypants Lamb, Acts One and Two
Remember that lamb that cost me the contents of my piggy bank? Well here it is, the star of two meals.
First Act: A Dinner's Dinner
The first go-round, I just panfried it all in some bacon fat. That's salt, pepper, and some herbs on plain-ol lambchops.
Definitely worth the price.
Second Act: Salad.
I used to eat this dish made with couscous, spinach, lemon, chicken, and feta cheese. It was one of my favorites. No more couscous for me (at least not wheat couscous), and for some reason I can't really digest chicken anymore either. No worries.
This is a rice couscous, cooked up with some onions and red pepper flakes. And butter, there's always butter. Throw in some shredded cheese (or feta would be amazing with this) and lemon zest when you fluff the couscous, and then top with more cheese.
Slice and reheat the lamb in a skillet over low heat. Be careful not to overcook, you just want it reheated.
Spoon the rice couscous over a bed of lettuce, then top with the lamb. Drizzle everything with a tiny bit of olive oil and some lemon juice.
Again, definitely worth the price.
Gluten-Free Cheddar Garlic Biscuits
Once upon a time in college (oh, college), my friends and I loved to head down the street for dinner at Red Lobster. It didn't break the bank, the seafood was decent, and then there were those biscuits. You know, the free kind that show up on your table and never end. We drove the waiters nuts because we would gorge ourselves on those biscuits, hide them under the table and in our doggy bags in hopes of some to take home with us.
A few years down the road in law school, I came across a copycat recipe for those biscuits, and it ended up being my signature party contribution. Whenever I asked friends what I could bring to a party, it was those biscuits. And I never had leftovers.
Here's my gluten-free version. They're a little darker than what you might be used to, but I'm not bragging when I say these are the best gluten-free biscuits I've ever had. They don't crumble to dust the way my previous gluten-free biscuits attempts have, and between all the cheese and the butter you really can't go wrong.
I got 12 biscuits out of this recipe, but I made them big. You could make them smaller, and adjust the cooking time accordingly.
Gluten-Free Cheddar Garlic Biscuits
Makes 10-12 biscuits
For the biscuits:
- 3/4 cup sorghum flour
- 3/4 cup potato starch
- 1/2 cup quinoa flour
- 1 tablespoon psyllium husks
- 2 tablespoons flaxseed meal
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- Pinch garlic powder
- 5 tablespoons cold butter, cut into pieces
- 2 cups coarsely grated cheddar cheese (about 5 ounces)
- 2/3 cup whipping cream
- 1/4 cup 2% milk
- 1 tablespoon vinegar
- 3 eggs
For brushing on the biscuits:
- Melted butter (about 3 tablespoons)
- 1 teaspoon dried parsley
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
In a medium bowl, combine the cream, milk, and vinegar. Let stand five minutes, then whisk in the eggs.
Whisk together the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Cut in the butter until the pieces of butter are about pea-sized. Mix in the cheese.
Stir in the wet ingredients until well incorporated. Let stand about five minutes. Use an ice cream scoop or large spoon to drop balls of dough onto a lined baking sheet. Bake for 15-17 minutes, brushing on melted butter, parsley, and garlic in the last few minutes of cooking.
Serve hot, or reheat leftovers in the toaster. Pairs pretty darn well with a romantic candlelit lobster dinner.
Save Your Pennies, Folks
But this one feels extravagant. Folks, this splurge took up almost the entire contents of my coin jar. That's right, almost twenty bucks for 1.25 pounds of meat. I know they'll be amazing, and I didn't bat an eye when the guy rang me up. After all, it's local (local farmer and local independent shop), and it's way more natural than the crap at most supermarkets. But while I refused to bat my eye, my heart might just have skipped a beat...
Winter of My Discontent
Then I looked out the window.
After it all stopped, this is what it looked like:
Not a ton of snow, in the grand scheme of things. But it's not the snow. It's the temperatures. Lows ranging in the -3 to 3 degree region, and highs in the low teens. I was not built for this kind of weather.
Just a five minute walk (wearing long underwear, cashmere sweaters, every kind of handknit imaginable - socks, scarf, hat, mittens, plus a coat) has me chilled to the bone.
I don't know how people live like this, but I've taken to knitting furiously against the cold. And soup. Lots of soup.
There's this sweater. (Only my third. Maybe it will work better than the previous two.)
And then there are these socks. I didn't bother to block them once they were off the needles - they got five minutes worth of pictures, and then they went right on my feet.
Let Sleeping Dogs Lie
We have really lucked out with this dog. We make sure he gets plenty of exercise, and we work hard to train him (he's up to 20 tricks. 20!), but he is at his core a very good dog. With the exception of nibbling on Daddy's Rainbows once or twice, he's never eaten our shoes. And he can curl up next to Daddy's shoes, like he did here, without us worrying that he might start to eat them. Good boy.
Charred Corn and Bacon Salad
How have I not shared this salad with you yet? It's easily one of our favorites. Whenever I make this salad for dinner, Mike's eyes light up and he says something like, "Awesome! I really like this salad!"
Even though it is technically a salad, it's a hearty and satisfying meal for two. Even better, I usually have all the ingredients in the fridge or freezer, if you don't count the avocado. Avocado is a little pricey, but this recipe only takes one, and it really has a chance to shine in this salad. It could be easily doubled to feed more people as a meal, or stretched to feed more folks as an appetizer.
Charred Corn and Bacon Salad
Mix together the cilantro and lime juice. Set aside.
Fry the bacon in a medium-large skillet. Remove from pan and dry on paper towels. Reserve several tablespoons of the bacon grease, and pour the rest into a glass jar, storing it in the fridge for later use.
(You could also use several slices of pre-cooked bacon and bacon grease from your grease jar, if you have one. Just make sure to re-heat the bacon in the skillet so it gets nice and crispy. If you don't have a grease jar, just use a tablespoon of butter and tablespoon of olive oil for the next part.)
Add the onions and the reserved bacon grease to the skillet and saute until soft and beginning to turn golden. Next add the peppers, saute about a minute, then add the corn, cumin, paprika, and chili powder. Saute 2-3 minutes, then remove from heat.
Put greens on each plate. Chop the bacon and scatter on top of the greens. Peel and dice the avocado and scatter on the greens. Scatter the corn mixture over the salad. Pour the cilantro-lime dressing over the salad, then sprinkle with salt and freshly ground pepper to taste.
Serve immediately.
Even though it is technically a salad, it's a hearty and satisfying meal for two. Even better, I usually have all the ingredients in the fridge or freezer, if you don't count the avocado. Avocado is a little pricey, but this recipe only takes one, and it really has a chance to shine in this salad. It could be easily doubled to feed more people as a meal, or stretched to feed more folks as an appetizer.
Charred Corn and Bacon Salad
- 4-6 slices bacon
- 1/2 medium or 1 small onion, thinly sliced
- 1/2 cup corn
- 1/2 jarred roasted red bell pepper, cut into strips
- 1/4 teaspoon cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
- Juice of one lime
- 2 tablespoons dried or 1/4 fresh chopped cilantro
- 1 avocado
- 4-6 cups mixed greens
- Salt and pepper to taste
Mix together the cilantro and lime juice. Set aside.
Fry the bacon in a medium-large skillet. Remove from pan and dry on paper towels. Reserve several tablespoons of the bacon grease, and pour the rest into a glass jar, storing it in the fridge for later use.
(You could also use several slices of pre-cooked bacon and bacon grease from your grease jar, if you have one. Just make sure to re-heat the bacon in the skillet so it gets nice and crispy. If you don't have a grease jar, just use a tablespoon of butter and tablespoon of olive oil for the next part.)
Add the onions and the reserved bacon grease to the skillet and saute until soft and beginning to turn golden. Next add the peppers, saute about a minute, then add the corn, cumin, paprika, and chili powder. Saute 2-3 minutes, then remove from heat.
Put greens on each plate. Chop the bacon and scatter on top of the greens. Peel and dice the avocado and scatter on the greens. Scatter the corn mixture over the salad. Pour the cilantro-lime dressing over the salad, then sprinkle with salt and freshly ground pepper to taste.
Serve immediately.
New Favorite
Homemade Pantry: 101 Foods You Can Stop Buying and Start Making
I love a cookbook with a story. And I love a cookbook with good pictures. Even better is a cookbook that has both. What's more, Alana Chernila's sensibilities about food speak to my own. Food doesn't have to be expensive to be delicious, and food made from scratch with love is almost always vastly superior to the store-bought kind.
I stumbled across Homemade Pantry: 101 Foods You Can Stop Buying and Start Making through another blog I read, and instantly put it on my "books to buy" list. (They're almost all cookbooks. The rest I try to check out from the library.) My little brother gave it to me for Christmas, and I immediately read the entire thing from cover to cover.
Homemade Pantry contains a lot of recipes I have down pat, or similar to those in other cookbooks I own. And I will have to tweak many of the recipes because they call for wheat flour. But that's not the point. The point is the approach to cooking, how food relates to everyday life in so many ways, how it can nourish our bodies and relationships with each other. As an added bonus, there are plenty of recipes I have tabbed that don't require any modification, like the oven baked potato chips that have my mouth watering just thinking about them. Plus, Chernila walks you through difficult spots (she calls them "tense moments") that might come up in cooking the recipes, and gives tips on what to do with scraps you might otherwise send to the landfill. She knows nobody really lives that perfect at-home life so many bloggers portray, so she also tells you how long each dish keeps in the fridge and freezer for those nights when you wish dinner would make itself.
The entire book is infused with Chernila's family memories as they relate to food and life in general. Not only do I see myself cooking from this cookbook for years to come, I see myself re-reading the stories too.
Gluten-Free Flour Tortillas
I stumbled across Homemade Pantry: 101 Foods You Can Stop Buying and Start Making through another blog I read, and instantly put it on my "books to buy" list. (They're almost all cookbooks. The rest I try to check out from the library.) My little brother gave it to me for Christmas, and I immediately read the entire thing from cover to cover.
Homemade Pantry contains a lot of recipes I have down pat, or similar to those in other cookbooks I own. And I will have to tweak many of the recipes because they call for wheat flour. But that's not the point. The point is the approach to cooking, how food relates to everyday life in so many ways, how it can nourish our bodies and relationships with each other. As an added bonus, there are plenty of recipes I have tabbed that don't require any modification, like the oven baked potato chips that have my mouth watering just thinking about them. Plus, Chernila walks you through difficult spots (she calls them "tense moments") that might come up in cooking the recipes, and gives tips on what to do with scraps you might otherwise send to the landfill. She knows nobody really lives that perfect at-home life so many bloggers portray, so she also tells you how long each dish keeps in the fridge and freezer for those nights when you wish dinner would make itself.
The entire book is infused with Chernila's family memories as they relate to food and life in general. Not only do I see myself cooking from this cookbook for years to come, I see myself re-reading the stories too.
Gluten-Free Flour Tortillas
I'm sick and tired of the gluten-free "flour tortillas" I buy at the supermarket. They're strange, pasty things that don't brown. They taste awful, and worst of all, they're so brittle I can't bend them at all without breaking them. What's the point of a tortilla you can't bend?
These tortillas, on the other hand, taste pretty darn good. When they're warm, you can actually roll them all the way up for burritos, enchiladas, whatever you like. And they even get those little brown spots the way tortillas are supposed to. A word of warning, though - they don't keep. Make right beforehand if you want them to be flexible. Otherwise they dry out and get almost as brittle as the grocery store ones.
This recipe is for 8 tortillas, but you could easily double it.
- 1/2 cup quinoa flour
- 3/4 cup sorghum flour
- 3/4 cup potato starch
- 1 tablespoon psyllium husks
- 2 tablespoons flaxseed meal
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 tablespoons vegetable shortening
- 3/4 cups warm water, plus an extra 1/4 cup
- Rice flour or other gluten-free flour, for dusting
Combine the dry ingredients. Cut in the butter and shortening using a pastry cutter until the fat is broken down into pea-sized lumps and is well incorporated into the flours. Slowly add 3/4 cups water, mixing as you go. Add the remaining 1/4 cup a tablespoon at a time if you need it. The dough should look wet and sticky but not slimy. Cover and let sit about ten minutes.
Using the rice flour, flour a large flat surface. (You can use your counter but I use an old tea towel.) Shape the dough into 8 balls, then cover and let stand about five minutes.
Working on your floured surface, shape the balls into flat discs, using your fingers or a rolling pin. work from the center outward, and stop when the disc is about eight inches in diameter and no thinner than 1/16".
Heat an ungreased skillet over medium heat, then fry the tortillas about a minute on each side, or until they begin to puff up a little and get little golden spots on them.
Quote
"There is no passion to be found playing small - in settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living."
-Nelson Mandela
What Does Shame Look Like?
At first, they made me walk really funny, but now I've got the hang of it you'd think I'm a pro at this. Don't tell Mommy, but they kindof make my feet feel better because I don't have to step on the salt anymore. But still, please, come rescue me. Or at least make it warmer.
Bacon All Around
Mike came across a poem the other day, and we've been quoting it ever since. It goes something like this:
Roses are red
Bacon is red
Poetry is hard
Bacon.
Bacon.
There's just something utterly primal and satisfying about bacon. The pop and sizzle of the grease, the smell, the way it crumples up in the pan, and the taste. Oh, that taste.
I'm listening to bacon pop and sizzle as I write this, and the only think that's keeping me from gobbling it all up is that I had some leftover bacon before I started cooking the new bacon.
It took me a long time to figure out how to fry decent bacon. Like so many others, I turned the heat up too high and burned the crap out of it. What a waste. Bacon needs long, slow heat to get just right.
My dad, who cooks the best bacon I've ever had, fries it at the absolute lowest setting on his gas stove and just waits. I've never been that patient, but I like to think I'm coming along.
There is an easier way: Lay the bacon in an ungreased jelly roll pan in a single layer. Put it in a cold oven, then turn the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Cook it until it's done, which will depend on the thickness of the bacon and your own personal preferences. (I use a thicker-cut style, which takes 15-20 minutes, but thinner cuts can be done in 8-10 minutes.) Remove from oven, let the pan cool for a couple of minutes, then transfer to a paper-towel lined plate. Strain the grease left in the pan through a fine mesh strainer into a glass jar, and store in the refrigerator for later use. Enjoy the bacon right now, or save in the fridge or freezer for later.
You might be totally grossed out by saving the grease to use it later. I know, I used to be weirded out by it too. But it turns out that the grease (a.k.a. lard) is actually quite useful for cooking. It has a much higher smoke point than butter or olive oil, meaning you can get it a lot hotter. Plus it makes for wonderfully browned veggies. Eggs fried in lard are a-maz-ing. Seriously - give it a go!
Bacon!
Guilt in the Kitchen
I've said it before and I'll say it again. There's nothing quite like the guilt of leftovers. Maybe it wasn't my favorite dish, or it didn't turn out right. Maybe I'm just plain tired of it, or maybe I can't think of a way to make it new again. Whatever the excuse, those leftovers stare up at me from the fridge, warning me that their days are numbered.
That's what happened with the blackeyed peas. They were never a favorite of mine when I was a child. I always (grudgingly) ate one for good luck on New Year's at my mother's insistence. It wasn't until I grew them in my own garden and discovered Hoppin' John that I could really appreciate them.
This year was my first New Year living in Utah, and I was amazed to find fresh blackeyed peas at my grocery store. Of course, they only came in one size: prepackaged, about two cups worth, I I felt obligated to make a full recipe of Hoppin' John for New Year's. In retrospect, I should have cut the rice in half and used the same amount of blackeyed peas, because even though we both had generous servings, there were enough leftovers to feed me lunch for a week...except I never quite got around to eating them as leftovers.
Enter eggs and cheese, my favorite ingredients for making old food taste new again. I made a frittata, adding in some spicy local sausage and plenty of cheese for an entirely different dish.
I wasn't expecting much, but it ended up being pretty darn good. The rice melted into the eggs, making them almost silky, and the peas brought an unexpected texture. But the sausage really carried the day.
Hoppin' John Frittata
Hoppin' John is a traditional southern dish served on New Year's day for good luck. It's basically a pilaf of rice, blackeyed peas (also called cowpeas), and ham. Seasonings include onion, garlic, celery, and bell pepper. Here's a basic recipe for it, and another one here. I use the Hoppin' John recipe in Joy of Cooking, but there are plenty of ways to prepare it. It doesn't really matter which one you use, as it's simply a base for the frittata.
This recipe serves four with no leftovers. It can easily be doubled or scaled down depending on your needs. Just be sure to use an appropriate size pan.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
In a small mixing bowl, combine eggs, cream, and about half of the cheese. Set aside.
Heat butter and olive oil in a medium ovenproof skillet. Add Hoppin' John and sausage, and saute over medium heat, stirring frequently, until warmed through.
Pour egg mixture over the contents of the skillet and lower heat to medium low. Cook until the eggs are beginning to set around the edges, about ten minutes.
Top with remaining cheese and transfer to preheated oven. Cook 30-40 minutes more, or until the eggs are completely set and the top is beginning to brown.
To get the top all brown and bubbly, if you're into that sort of thing, place under a hot broiler for 2-3 minutes. If you're doing this, be sure to keep an eye on the frittata, since it can burn quickly.
Serve warm. If you happen to have leftovers, they make a good breakfast or lunch. Just reheat in the microwave 30 seconds to a minute. Trust me, you won't be avoiding the leftovers from this one.
That's what happened with the blackeyed peas. They were never a favorite of mine when I was a child. I always (grudgingly) ate one for good luck on New Year's at my mother's insistence. It wasn't until I grew them in my own garden and discovered Hoppin' John that I could really appreciate them.
This year was my first New Year living in Utah, and I was amazed to find fresh blackeyed peas at my grocery store. Of course, they only came in one size: prepackaged, about two cups worth, I I felt obligated to make a full recipe of Hoppin' John for New Year's. In retrospect, I should have cut the rice in half and used the same amount of blackeyed peas, because even though we both had generous servings, there were enough leftovers to feed me lunch for a week...except I never quite got around to eating them as leftovers.
Enter eggs and cheese, my favorite ingredients for making old food taste new again. I made a frittata, adding in some spicy local sausage and plenty of cheese for an entirely different dish.
I wasn't expecting much, but it ended up being pretty darn good. The rice melted into the eggs, making them almost silky, and the peas brought an unexpected texture. But the sausage really carried the day.
Hoppin' John Frittata
 |
| Hoppin' John, the first time around, served on a bed of boiled collard greens |
Hoppin' John is a traditional southern dish served on New Year's day for good luck. It's basically a pilaf of rice, blackeyed peas (also called cowpeas), and ham. Seasonings include onion, garlic, celery, and bell pepper. Here's a basic recipe for it, and another one here. I use the Hoppin' John recipe in Joy of Cooking, but there are plenty of ways to prepare it. It doesn't really matter which one you use, as it's simply a base for the frittata.
 |
| Hoppin' John Frittata |
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 - 1 1/2 cups prepared Hoppin' John
- 1 link sausage (about 4 ounces), broken up and cooked
- 1 - 1 1/2 cups grated cheese
- 2 tablespoons heavy whipping cream
- 3 - 4 eggs
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
In a small mixing bowl, combine eggs, cream, and about half of the cheese. Set aside.
Heat butter and olive oil in a medium ovenproof skillet. Add Hoppin' John and sausage, and saute over medium heat, stirring frequently, until warmed through.
Pour egg mixture over the contents of the skillet and lower heat to medium low. Cook until the eggs are beginning to set around the edges, about ten minutes.
Top with remaining cheese and transfer to preheated oven. Cook 30-40 minutes more, or until the eggs are completely set and the top is beginning to brown.
To get the top all brown and bubbly, if you're into that sort of thing, place under a hot broiler for 2-3 minutes. If you're doing this, be sure to keep an eye on the frittata, since it can burn quickly.
Serve warm. If you happen to have leftovers, they make a good breakfast or lunch. Just reheat in the microwave 30 seconds to a minute. Trust me, you won't be avoiding the leftovers from this one.
Looking Back, Looking Ahead
What a year 2012 was. I graduated from law school, moved across the country, and passed the bar exam. I had a contract job for a while, but that project is long gone and I'm looking for something new. I lost thirty pounds. I started this blog.
I guess you could say I managed to achieve a lot in 2012, but when I look back that's not what I think about. I remember the food I ate. I remember Arches, Zion, the Grand Canyon, and even Breaks (nicknamed the Grand Canyon of the South...it's nowhere near close to the Grand Canyon, but has a beauty of its own). I remember seeing the Golden Spike, Timpanogos, the Great Salt Lake. I remember getting our first puppy of our very own, a cuddly little guy who has quickly grown up into a brilliant and wonderful dog. I remember getting engaged to the love of my life. I remember discovering - and taking control of - my own health.
This year, I'm in transition. For the first time in my life, I'm not in school. I guess you could say I'm an adult, but I'm not really sure how to be an adult. In a year's time, I want to look back at 2013 and remember that it was the year I achieved financial independence, the year I started to learn how to be a grown up.
But more importantly, I want it to be a year of friends. Of creativity, confidence, and learning. I want it to be a year of health, of not just discovering health, but of having it, enjoying it, thriving with it all year long. And I want to enjoy the little things, to relax, to smile, to laugh.
Here's to 2013.
I guess you could say I managed to achieve a lot in 2012, but when I look back that's not what I think about. I remember the food I ate. I remember Arches, Zion, the Grand Canyon, and even Breaks (nicknamed the Grand Canyon of the South...it's nowhere near close to the Grand Canyon, but has a beauty of its own). I remember seeing the Golden Spike, Timpanogos, the Great Salt Lake. I remember getting our first puppy of our very own, a cuddly little guy who has quickly grown up into a brilliant and wonderful dog. I remember getting engaged to the love of my life. I remember discovering - and taking control of - my own health.
This year, I'm in transition. For the first time in my life, I'm not in school. I guess you could say I'm an adult, but I'm not really sure how to be an adult. In a year's time, I want to look back at 2013 and remember that it was the year I achieved financial independence, the year I started to learn how to be a grown up.
But more importantly, I want it to be a year of friends. Of creativity, confidence, and learning. I want it to be a year of health, of not just discovering health, but of having it, enjoying it, thriving with it all year long. And I want to enjoy the little things, to relax, to smile, to laugh.
Here's to 2013.
These Mittens Are Killing Me
Every now and then, I launch into a creative frenzy. I heard it best described once by a lady who taught a class I took. She had compiled thousands of stories to use in her classes. One student wondered at how she could possibly have done so much and kept up with it. She shrugged, and said, "That was a kick I was on a few years back. I'm onto a new kick now."
That's me.
Right now, I'm on a knitting design kick. I'm trying to do this, I'm trying to do that, yada, yada, yada.
The first design is in limbo. I don't even want to talk about it.
The second design is for cashmere I bought on a recent visit home. I needed a sharper set of needles for the project I brought with me, and I found some lovely cream cashmere on sale for a song.
Hopefully, it will be a mitten and hat set, but at the very least it will be a pair of mittens and a matching headband.
If it doesn't kill me first, that is.
I poured over stitch dictionaries. Five or six of them. I sketched. I swatched. I started.
And then I ripped it out. I had the pattern slightly off the first time, and my stitches were anything but even. I sketched again. And swatched again.
And then I ripped it out. Again. The pattern was right, but I couldn't follow it to save my life. So I ripped back to a spot where I knew I had it right. But then I wasn't sure. So I ripped back to the cuff, where it had to be right. Right?
Nope. I hadn't even cast on the right number of stitches for the cuff. Argh. I ripped it all out.
So finally, I knit a full swatch of what the pattern ought to look like. I marked off every single row as I did it, and I might just have finally figured out this darn pattern. (Yeah, I know, the one I designed.)
The only silver lining to all this is it's a pretty sturdy yarn that has taken to ripping out without getting all nasty. I'm just not sure how much it can take before it starts to look crappy. And I'm not really interested in finding out.
Time to cast on again.
Maybe soon I'll have something to show for it. Or maybe it'll be time to move on to a different kick...
That's me.
Right now, I'm on a knitting design kick. I'm trying to do this, I'm trying to do that, yada, yada, yada.
The first design is in limbo. I don't even want to talk about it.
The second design is for cashmere I bought on a recent visit home. I needed a sharper set of needles for the project I brought with me, and I found some lovely cream cashmere on sale for a song.
Hopefully, it will be a mitten and hat set, but at the very least it will be a pair of mittens and a matching headband.
If it doesn't kill me first, that is.
I poured over stitch dictionaries. Five or six of them. I sketched. I swatched. I started.
And then I ripped it out. I had the pattern slightly off the first time, and my stitches were anything but even. I sketched again. And swatched again.
And then I ripped it out. Again. The pattern was right, but I couldn't follow it to save my life. So I ripped back to a spot where I knew I had it right. But then I wasn't sure. So I ripped back to the cuff, where it had to be right. Right?
Nope. I hadn't even cast on the right number of stitches for the cuff. Argh. I ripped it all out.
So finally, I knit a full swatch of what the pattern ought to look like. I marked off every single row as I did it, and I might just have finally figured out this darn pattern. (Yeah, I know, the one I designed.)
The only silver lining to all this is it's a pretty sturdy yarn that has taken to ripping out without getting all nasty. I'm just not sure how much it can take before it starts to look crappy. And I'm not really interested in finding out.
Time to cast on again.
Maybe soon I'll have something to show for it. Or maybe it'll be time to move on to a different kick...
Happy New Year!
It's been one heck of a year. I finished law school, moved in with my love, and got this bundle of joy.
I usually resist Mike's invitations to take Odie out in the snow, mostly because I get really cold really fast. But watching him bound through the snow after his frisbee is fun, I have to admit.
Hoping we all have a wonderful year in 2013.
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