Mushrooms After the Rain

If you have ever been in the woods after the fall rains begin you may have been lucky enough to see mushrooms growing there. I'm not sure why there seems to be a co-relation, but the few times that I have seen mushrooms growing in the wild it was after rain.

We have been blessed with well over an inch of rain this past week. Considering our years of drought, that is a lot! I do hope that it's the beginning of a rainy winter and not just a tease.

The part that sucks about all that rain is that our older lab dog, Pi, came home just about when the rains were setting in. We still had to get him outside to do his business, so we set up an EZ-UP tent just past the end of the ramp that Sweetie built for the express purpose of getting him outside. The first day and a half we pretty much had to carry him, but then he started being able to walk with some weight on his legs and now can sometimes bear his full weight as he climbs up and down (although we still have to hold on to his harness for helping with balance). Once on solid ground he is able to walk on his own and today walked an area about 20 feet in diameter a couple of the times we took him out. Progress!

But back to mushrooms! For dinner I made a mushroom soup using a recipe I found in the paper. The recipe is by Ellie Krieger from the Washington Post.

 

The interesting things about this recipe are that the mushrooms and shallots are roasted first, and the soup is thickened with cannellini beans. Once the soup is cooked, you use an immersion blender or regular blender to liquify all the soup ingredients and it becomes fairly smooth and truly delicious. Ellie Krieger writes, "Along with all that flavor, this soup also has considerable nutritional bragging rights. Besides the wealth of B vitamins, potassium, and health-protective compounds in mushrooms, the soup gets it's creaminess not from cream, but from being pureed with a can of canellini beans, which - in additions to essential minerals, fiber and more - deliver enough protein to make it a meal in a bowl." We served it with soda crackers and a yummy green salad that Sweetie made. A great dinner for our first day after the rains.

By the way, I use a plastic produce bag to coat the mushrooms and shallots. If it is a clean bag, you can also use the outside of it to spread out the oiled veggies in the pans once you dump them out of the bag...keeping you hands clean...and then toss it. Since Sweetie insists on putting produce in the bags, I keep finding ways to re-use them, including using them to collect our compostable fruit and veggie scraps, tea bags and egg shells, etc.

Creamy Roasted Mushroom Soup

Makes 4 servings (about 6 cups)
by Ellie Krieger, Washington Post newspaper

1 1/2 pounds mixed mushrooms, such as oyster, baby bella, shiitake and/or maitake, sliced
3 large shallots (9 oz. total), cut into 3/4-inch wedges
5 tablespoons olive oil, divided
3/4 teaspoon fine salt, divided, plus more to taste
2 cloves garlic, minced or finely grated
2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme leaves
4 cups n-salt-added or low-sodium beef or vegetable broth, plus more broth or water as needed (I used low-sodium chicken broth)
1 (15-oz.) can no-salt-added cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more as needed
1/4 cup dry sherry (or use 1/4 cup broth and 1 tablespoons sherry or white wine vinegar)
   Chopped fresh flat-leaf (Italian) parsley, for garnish

Position racks in the top and bottom thirds of the oven and preheat to 425 degrees F.

In a large bowl (or plastic produce bag in my case) toss the mushrooms, shallots and 3 tablespoons of the oil and 1/2 teaspoon of the salt. Spread the coated mushroom mixture across 2 large, rimmed baking sheets and roast for 10 minutes in the preheated oven.

After 10 minutes, stir veggie in each pan, then return to the oven, switching the pans top and bottom and back to front. Roast another 10-15 minutes, or until the mushrooms release their water and brown, and the shallots soften. Remove from the oven and set aside.

In a large pot over medium heat, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil until shimmering. Add the garlic and thyme and cook, stirring, until aromatic, 30 seconds. Reserve 1/4 cup of the mushrooms for garnish (I forgot to do this!). Add the remaining mushrooms and the shallots to the pot, along with the broth, beans, pepper and the remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt.

Increase the heat to high and bring to a boil, Reduce the heat to low and simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes. Stir in the sherry and cook until the flavors meld, 3 minutes more.

Using an immersion blender, puree the soup in the pot until smooth. (Alternatively, let cool until not scalding and puree in batches in a regular blender.) Stir additional broth or water if needed to thin to get your desired consistency.

Rewarm the soup if needed. Taste, and season with additional salt, if desired.

Ladle soup into bowls and garnish with mushrooms (if you remembered to set some aside) and chopped parsley. Serve at once.

Spanish Style Chicken and Rice

This was one of my favorite meals when I was growing up. This is another braised dish, this time with chicken, onions and garlic, tomatoes, peppers, rice, sherry, saffron, cloves and peas. It is very aromatic and quite delicious. The rice soaks up the flavors of the veggies, sherry, saffron and cloves and the topping of hot peas and some pimento or roasted red peppers is colorful and finishes off this one pot meal. It's perfect for a chilly spring evening. It didn't take long to clean the plate.

My mother used to make this with a whole chicken, usually at least 2 and a half pounds of chicken. Since Sweetie and I are not a large family with eight children, I cut the recipe in half. I also used boneless, skinless chicken thighs, which worked well. The thighs take well to braising and by being boned and skinless, the flavors penetrated the chicken really well. They may cook a little faster, too.

Arroz con Pollo (Spanish Chicken and Rice)

1 frying chicken (about 2½ lbs. ) cut up
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 medium green pepper, chopped (I used yellow bell pepper)
1 can peeled tomatoes (19 oz.)
¼ teaspoon black pepper
½ teaspoon paprika
1 cup water
1-2 bay leaves
1/3 cup dry sherry
1 pinch Spanish saffron
2 whole cloves
1 cup long grain white rice, uncooked
1 cup peas, cooked and hot
1 pimento, cut up

Dry chicken pieces. If desired, season chicken with salt. Brown in hot oil. Add onion, garlic, and green pepper; brown 5 minutes longer. Add remaining ingredients, except for rice, peas, and pimento.

Cover and simmer 15 minutes. 

Add rice. Bring to a boil, stir; cover and simmer for 30 minutes. Garnish with peas and pimento. 

Serves 6 - 8.

Spanish Chicken and Rice for Dinner

Want an easy casserole of chicken, rice, tomatoes, onions and garlic, herbs and spices and a little marsala wine? Check out this one that was a family favorite for many, many years. I made it tonight but had to change a few things. It was supposed to be sherry instead of marsala, and the dish should have saffron, but those were both missing. It still tasted wonderful! The good news was that it went together so quickly. We've spent quite a bit of time today on our next project and suddenly it was almost dinner time. From start to finish was less than an hour. Don't leave out the whole cloves...it is an essential flavor in this dish.

Sweetie and I are in the planning stages for replacing the tub in Grandma's farmhouse with a nice alcove shower with glass doors. We still haven't decided on the size but have narrowed it down to a 5 foot one that is basically the same size as a tub in length, or a 4 foot one that will allow us to move the vanity over to the same wall...a blessing in a bathroom as narrow as this one. I'm going with white shower, vanity and toilet, brushed nickel fixtures and door frame, and cream colored walls with bright white trim. The floor is currently cork colored but it will need replacing, so we may go with something darker for contrast with all that white. It should be fresh feeling once we are done. We are hiring a plumber to do all the plumbing and the electrical that's in there should be OK, so it's really mostly constructing some walls to attach the shower walls to, some tile or sheetrock, and paint. Probably doing demo will be the most complicated because it involves, among other things,  moving a very heavy cast iron clawfoot tub out and across to the outbuilding where it will live until we find a place for it or sell it.

I'll try to remember to post photos of the before and after once the project is finished. The one at the top is courtesy of WayFair. Probably not the vanity we will use, but I like the sleek look.

Speaking of photos, I completely forgot to take any of this delicious dish. Think browned chicken pieces peeking out of a sea of tomato-studded rice with a nice sprinkle of peas on top. Colorful and savory. Don't take my word for it...try it yourself.

Arroz con Pollo (Spanish Chicken and Rice)
From Family Food by Patricia Lachman
Serves 6-8

2 1/2 lbs. chicken...I used boneless, skinless chicken thighs, but a cut up frying chicken is traditional
salt (optional)
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 medium pepper, chopped (traditionally green, but I used red)
1 can peeled, chopped tomatoes in their own juice
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1 bay leaf
a pinch saffron
2 whole cloves
1 cup water
1/3 cup sherry (or marsala)
1 cup long grain uncooked rice
1 cup cooked green peas
1 pimento, cut up (optional)

Use a large skillet or Dutch oven with a tight-fitting lid. Season chicken with salt, if desired (I always skip the salt...it's not needed). Brown the chicken in 2 tablespoons of the olive oil. Remove the chicken and cover with foil. Add remaining olive oil, heat, then add the onion, garlic and pepper. Brown 5 minutes. Add remaining ingredients, except for rice, peas and pimento. Return the chicken to the pot. Cover and simmer 15 minutes. Add the rice. Bring to a boil, stir, being sure that the rice is submerged in the liquid in the pot, cover and simmer for 30 minutes.
Garnish with the hot peas and with the pimento, if using.

This dish makes great leftovers since the rice tastes even better the next day.

Spanish Chicken With Memories

One of my favorite casserole dishes from when I was growing up is Arroz con Pollo, or Spanish Chicken with Rice. It includes things my mom didn't use very often together, like saffron and sherry. This is a mellow dish with browned chicken (I used boneless, skinless thighs even though the original recipe calls for whole cut up chicken, with bones and skin), garlic and onion, peppers, tomatoes and rice, bay leaf and cloves and paprika, and the saffron and sherry, too. The finished dish is garnished with green peas, so it is a whole meal in one dish and once the chicken is browned, the rest goes pretty quickly. I made mine a day early so that the flavors would mingle. Because I was unexpectedly out of yellow onions, I used a red onion...worked beautifully. I was also out of sherry and used Port instead. That seemed to be emblematic of this cooking spree.

So if you need a blast from the past, or just a delicious, filling, fairly healthy but still slightly exotic flavorings, give this a try. The leftover are even better than the fresh dish, too, so be sure to make the whole recipe. I left off the pimento because I forgot to buy some, but if you have it, it adds greatly to the dish, both in flavor and color. Since I used red bell pepper instead of green bell pepper, that brought a bit of the flavor and color to mine, but not as much as the pimento. Give this one a try. It is well worth your time. We had the leftovers tonight and they were so good that I neglected to take a nice photo. What you have above is what was on the plate when I remembered. *Grin*

Arroz con Pollo (Spanish Chicken and Rice)

1 frying chicken (about 2½ lbs. ) cut up
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 medium green pepper, chopped
1 can peeled tomatoes (19 oz.)
¼ teaspoon black pepper
½ teaspoon paprika
1 cup water
1-2 bay leaves
1/3 cup dry sherry (I used dry Port...out of sherry)
1 pinch Spanish saffron
2 whole cloves
1 cup long grain white rice, uncooked
1 cup peas, cooked and hot
1 pimento, cut up

Dry chicken pieces. If desired, season chicken with salt. Brown in hot oil. Add onion, garlic, and green pepper; brown 5 minutes longer. Add remaining ingredients, except for rice, peas, and pimento. Cover and simmer 15 minutes. Add rice. Bring to a boil, stir; cover and

simmer for 30 minutes. Garnish with peas and pimento. Serves 6 - 8.

An Invitation and A Weekend Cat Blog Post

The Bread Baking Babes (and I still am confounded that I'm one of them) invite you to help us celebrate our 3rd anniversary.

In the words of awesome Babe Tanna of My Kitchen in Half Cups' ,

" We’d like you, everyone of you, to put your thinking caps on pull out all your bread books and recipes and no not pick our next bread ... we want you to pick our Anniversary Bread for February 2011. That’s right, come about November, we’re going to ask you to mail us the recipe that you love the most or the recipe that scares you the most

What's your favorite bread?
What bread haven't you ever been able to get to turn out the way you want?
What bread scares you the most?
What's the bread recipe you've baked the most?
What bread do you dream about baking?
etc.

Then in December, we'll ask you, our readers, to vote on one. We'll bake and post the bread for our anniversary in February. "

So think about what you would like to see a group of pretty experience bread bakers create and check back in a few months to see how to give us the details...I know you must have some excellent ideas!

This is also a day for memories and memorials. We carry Max with us all the time, but especially today...11 years. We love you, Max!

A lovely blogger who was also a great bread baker and is the Angel Babe, Sher, was a force behind Weekend Cat Blogging. In her honor I'm posting a photo of supercat Merlin, better know as Buggie for Love Bug, which is my daughter's name for him.

He is one happy cat!

To see more Weekend Cat Blogging entries, go over to Astrid's blog, Paulchen's Foodblog. The link is with the Bread Baking Babes at the right. Since Sher was also a great cook, you might want to make a dish she enjoyed. I blogged one, with a slight variation in fruit, here. They are awesome meatballs and the plums are right in season, too.

I think Sher would have liked them!

Hope you have a happy day and think for a few moments to remember someone special to you who is no longer with us and that the memories bring you happiness, even if bittersweet at times.

XO Elle

Loves Meatballs

It is always tragic when the world loses a vibrant, creative, caring, talented person when they are still young. If you are younger than 30, then Sherry Cermak might have seemed old, not young, but from where I'm sitting she was a spring chicken and should still be with us blogging at What Did You Eat and saving cats and rescuing wildlife and being an inspiration to many. She was such a good writer and often made one smile. Unfortunately, a sudden heart attack took her a week ago. As a tribute, some bloggers are cooking things from her blog in her honor and posting today.

In going through her blog, there were lots of good recipes to choose from, but she mentioned that she loves meatballs. Indeed, there were quite a few good meatball recipes, too. I chose a recent post of meatballs that evoke some of the flavors and fragrance of Thanksgiving. They are easy to make, cook quickly, and are fairly healthy, too.

Anyone who knows me well knows I love turkey. I could probably eat it every night for a month and not be tired of it. Since Sweetie doesn't share my super enthusiasm for anything turkey, we have it in one form or another about once a week. These meatballs let turkey shine by staying simple. The original recipe on Sherry's blog called for a sauce using fresh or frozen cranberries and she said her sauce looked like nail polish :) Seems that the frozen cranberries I though I had are not in the freezer, so I substituted some ripe plums, keeping the skins on to approximate the tart sweetness of cranberries. I also left all of the sugar out of the sauce, which helped keep it tart.

The onions and celery, fresh oregano and salt and pepper add just enough flavor since turkey can be bland. The egg and bread crumbs hold it all together. The savory goodness of the meatballs made a great counterpoint to the sweet-tart sauce which uses fresh orange juice along with the plums. I also cooked extra onions and kept a tablespoon of them to put in the sauce...sort of tied it all together.

Here's to you Sherry! You are missed.

Herbed Turkey Meatballs With Plum Sauce
A variation of a recipe from What Did You Eat

Williams-Sonoma

Ingredients:
2 Tbs. unsalted butter, divided
1 yellow onion, finely chopped, divided
1 small celery stalk, finely chopped
1 lb. ground turkey
1 cup fine fresh bread crumbs
1 egg
2 Tbs. chopped fresh oregano
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. freshly ground pepper
2/3 cup fresh orange juice
1 cup fresh diced plums, peels left on

Directions:
Make the meatballs

Preheat an oven to 425°F. Lightly oil a rimmed baking sheet.
In a large fry pan over medium-high heat, melt 1 tablespoon of the butter. Add the onion and sauté two minutes. Set aside 1-2 tablespoons of the onions. Add the celery to the pan and continue to sauté’ until softened, 2 to 3 minutes. Spoon into a bowl and let cool. Set the pan aside.
Add the turkey, bread crumbs, egg, oregano, salt and pepper to the cooled onion mixture, and mix gently but thoroughly with your hands. Shape the mixture into 12 meatballs and arrange on the prepared baking sheet.

Cook the meatballs and make the sauce.

Bake the meatballs until opaque throughout, about 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, melt the remaining 1 tablespoon butter in the fry pan and combine the orange juice, and plums in the fry pan and place over medium-high heat. Cook, stirring often, until the juice comes to a boil and the fruit is warmed through, 2 to 3 minutes.

Divide the meatballs among dinner plates, spoon the plum sauce over them and serve immediately. Serves 3- 4.