Avocado and Lime Salad

This is a very healthy salad that one might consider. It can feed one as a meal or two as a side. It is quick to make, and delicious! And it is a salad of my own creation! (though the dressing is inspired by a Rachel Ray recipe, I have to admit...).

Tips!

• A few potential additions include grilled shrimp, chopped ham, grilled chicken, shredded roast chicken, or mango!
• The dressing, when blended, will make an emulsion not unlike mayonnaise. This is what gives the dressing its consistent appearance and velvety texture. (To be fair, I'm not entirely sure this is a true emulsion because I'm didn't add an extra emulsifier (e.g., egg yolk, cream, or dijon mustard), which is the key ingredient to an emulsion. That being said, the avocado may have something in it that acts as an emulsifier - I'm not sure).
  
• Judging the ripeness of an avocado is a tricky thing. You want it to be perfectly ripe, but not bruised (i.e., when you open it there are brown spots where there should be lovely yellow-green colors). I've read of a few methods:
• Hold the avocado in your hand and *gently* squeeze it. If it gives not at all, it isn't ripe. If it gives a little, then it's probably close, and will be good in a few days. If it gives a bit more, then it's ready.
  
• The green should be somewhere between dark green and black. Purely green avocados are not yet ripe, but purely black ones are probably too ripe. It should be somewhere in between.
  
• Bigger really is better with avocados - the larger the fruit, the higher the oil content, the better the flavor. Smaller avocados tend to be more watery, and thus less flavorful.
  
• Note this: If the avocado's skin is looks overly wrinkled, like it's shrunk in on itself, then it's too ripe, and old - pass that one up.
  
• If you buy a hard, unripened avocado, it can be "ripened" at home with this method: Put it into a brown paper sack with a banana or a tomato, which will give off ethylene gas. This naturally occurring gas helps ripen food.
  

Enjoy!

3 cups mixed greens or spinach
1 ear’s worth of fresh corn, cut from the cob after having been cooked
8 cherry tomatoes, cut in half
1/4 red onion, chopped into small pieces
1 red bell pepper, roasted, deseeded, and chopped
1/4 cup black beans, thoroughly rinsed if from a can, cooked completely otherwise
1 hard-boiled egg, quartered
3 avocadoes, chopped
4 limes, one of them zested
Handful cilantro
2 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
5 Tbsp water
5 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Dressing: Blend together in a food processor or blender the meat of 2 avocadoes, cilantro, salt, pepper, zest, and water. As the processor is running, stream in the olive oil.

Salad: Put the greens, corn, tomatoes, onion, bell pepper, and 1 of the avocadoes into a serving bowl. Top with 3 tablespoons of the avocado lime dressing. Reserve the rest of the dressing for another use.

Baked Chicken with Tomatoes and White Beans

This recipe is not unlike chicken cacciatore, which is a chicken cooked in tomatoes and onions, and is quite good.

A few tips:

• Before careful around the pan when browning the chicken - the bacon fat has a tendency to pop out of the pan and burn you. It is not fun.
  
• Don't skip the rinsing of the beans step - canned beans, while convenient, are usually in some form of a thick sauce-like thing that doesn't always taste good. Worse, this thick sauce stuff can totally alter the character of the dish. You have been warned.
  
• It is best if the chicken pieces are relatively uniform in shape and size. This promotes even cooking.
  
• In my opinion, salted capers taste waaaaaay better than brined capers. They are a bit harder to find, but I do recommend the extra effort.
• This dish could easily be made with a variety of sausages instead of chicken.
  

The following is an adaptation of a Gourmet magazine recipe available here. Enjoy!

1/4 lb bacon slices, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 1/2 lbs chicken pieces, with skin and bone (e.g., two thighs and two legs)
1/2 teaspoon, plus 1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 cups chopped yellow onion
1 Tbsp salted capers, rinsed and then soaked in two changes of 1 cup of water for 10 minutes each
1 15 oz can diced tomatoes (or 4-5 medium-to-large fresh tomatoes, skin removed and chopped)
1 15 oz can small white beans, rinsed and drained

Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Cook bacon in a 12-inch heavy ovenproof skillet over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until browned and crisp, about 8 minutes. Transfer bacon with a slotted spoon to paper towels to drain. Drain fat into heat-proof dish. Deglaze the plan with 1/4 water, scrapping the bottom, and then drain the deglazing liquid into a heat-safe bowl. Add the reserved fat back into the pan and raise heat to medium-high.

Pat chicken dry and season with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Brown chicken in the 12-inch skillet, turning over once, about 8 minutes total, then transfer chicken with tongs to paper towels to drain. Drain fat again into heat-safe bowl. Deglaze pan again, using the previous deglazing liquid. Again, reserve the deglazing liquid, and add bacon fat once again back into the pan. Lower heat to medium.

Cook onions in skillet with 1/4 teaspoon salt, stirring and scraping up any brown bits, until golden brown, about 10 minutes. Stir tomatoes and capers into onions and boil, uncovered, 3 minutes, to concentrate juices slightly. Stir in bacon and beans and bring to a simmer. Nestle chicken, skin side up, in beans and bake, uncovered, until chicken is cooked through, 20 to 25 minutes.

Serve immediately with crusty bread.

Pumpkin Soup!

Pumpkin soup is wonderful on a cool, rainy fall day. I highly recommend it : - )

The following recipe is a King Arthur Flour recipe that is quite tasty, and a bit fiery. You can find a link to the recipe here.

A few tips:

• This recipe is super easy and quick, so it is good for weekdays.
• This soup is really better as an appetizer in small quantities, or a side dish. But you can add grilled chicken or lil'smokies sausages to make it a more complete meal.
  
• If your curry powder is already quite hot, you might want to cut back on the cayenne. Also, the cayenne could be taken out entirely and replaced with one or two minced jalapenos.
  
• Enjoy!
  

And on to the recipe!

4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter
3 garlic cloves, minced or chopped
1 large onion, diced
1 1/4 teaspoons curry powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground coriander
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper (or more/less to taste)
3 cups brown chicken broth
16-ounce can solid-pack pumpkin
1 can (12 ounces) evaporated milk

Melt butter in a large saucepan, and sauté garlic and onions till golden brown. Add curry powder, salt, coriander, and cayenne pepper; simmer gently for 2 minutes. Stir in broth and simmer, partially covered, for 20 minutes.

Add pumpkin, stirring till smooth. Add evaporated milk. Heat over medium heat for 5 minutes; don't allow soup to boil (but a simmer is OK).

Using an immersion blender, process till very smooth. Serve hot with crusty bread.

Brown Chicken Stock

This is seriously the greatest chicken stock recipe. Ever. Resistance is futile.

Unfortunately, it is not my recipe. But that's okay. It will still rock your world.

The following is a recipe by Craig Common of "The Common Grill," a fantastic restaurant in Chelsea, Michigan. (In my view, one of the better restaurants in all of the southeast Michigan).

A few pointers:

• This recipe does create a stock with a very strong chicken flavor, so it isn't appropriate in all recipes. Two main types of stocks exist: light and brown. Light stock is very similar to brown, except that the bones aren't browned in the oven and the vegetables aren't caramelized before being thrown into the stock. The taste difference is this: light stock has a milder, less "chickeny" flavor, while dark stock has a robust, rich, and deep chicken flavor. I prefer the brown stock for most things I do, but in some recipes it is overpowering. Use your own good judgment.
• Don't skimp on the time required to brown the vegetables or the bones. This is where the extra flavor comes in, so it is an essential step.
• Consider cooling this recipe in a big cooler filled with ice. This process reduces the chance that the stock will pick up extraneous flavors that may reside in your fridge (e.g., blue cheese has a way finding its way into hot stocks, resulting in an unpleasant off taste).
  
• This recipe can easily be halved. But I think you'll find yourself using it in everything after you've tried it.

Anyways, on to the recipe! Thank you great god Craig Common for this amazing recipe!

5 lb chicken bones
8 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 red onions, sliced thin
2 yellow onions, sliced thin
2 ribs celery, chopped
4 carrots, diced
16 cups water
2 heads garlic, cut in half horizontally
2 sprigs fresh thyme
2 sprigs fresh parsley
2 sprigs fresh basil
4 tsp kosher salt
2 tsp freshly cracked black pepper

Preheat oven to 450.

Roast chicken bones in oven for 1 hour, or until browned. After 30 minutes remove from oven, discard any fat, and flip the bones over. Return to oven for the remaining 30 minutes.

Heat olive oil in 12-quart stockpot over medium heat. Add onions, celery, and carrots and cook until well browned (this process may take anywhere from 30-45 minutes, depending on how hot your pot is). Water may be needed to deglaze the pan occasionally if it gets too brown on the bottom.

Transfer chicken bones to stock pot and add enough water to cover bones by 2 inches. Bring to a boil. Stir in garlic, thyme, parsley, basil, salt, and pepper. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 2 hours. Add water as necessary to keep bones covered.

Strain. Transfer liquid to a clean stockpot. Simmer over low heat for an additional hour. Remove from heat and strain again.

Refrigerate until cool. Use whatever you’d like and then freeze the rest.

Makes 2 quarts approximately.

Bengali Dal (Indian lentils)

Mmmm.... Indian lentils. Delicious! I've read that lentils and rice (i.e., dal and rice) is one of the primary meals in all of India, regardless of region, so it can't be bad : - )

The following is an adaptation of an Emeril Lagasse recipe for Bengali dal. It was quite good, and quite healthy. As it were, neither lentils nor rice by themselves provides a complete protein, but combined they do. As lentils are one of the most protein packed vegetables, this is a good meal for vegetarians.

Tips:

• This recipe is a bit heavy, so I recommend a very light side (e.g., green peas would be good).
  
• Chana dal is like yellow split peas, but it is different in that it doesn't break down into a mush. Rather, it retains it shape like a bean would.
  
• Mustard oil and Chana dal are available at your local Indian grocery store.
  
• Dal is also sometimes spelled "dall" or "dahl"
  

1 cup Channa dal (orange lentils)
3 cups chicken stock or water (I prefer brown chicken stock)
5 cloves
1 to 1 1/2 inch cinnamon stick
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon cardamom powder
3 tablespoons mustard oil
1 1/2 teaspoons freshly ground cumin
1 teaspoon minced green chili
1/2 teaspoon red chili flakes
3 cups cooked basmati or jasmine rice, hot

Rinse the lentils several times to thoroughly remove any dirt or
debris. Put the peas in a deep, heavy-bottomed pot along with the
water, cloves, cinnamon, salt, turmeric, sugar, and cardamom
powder.

Bring to a boil, stirring well to keep the peas from lumping. Reduce
heat to medium-low and simmer, partially covered, until peas are
cooked tender but still separate, about 25-30 minutes total.
Meanwhile, heat the oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. When it
is hot add the cumin, minced green chili and red chili flakes and
heat until aromatic, 20 to 30 seconds. Pour this perfumed oil over
the peas and stir to combine.

Serve the dal hot over rice.

Enjoy!