Ragout de Haricots Blancs -- vegan

2 small to medium onions, sliced fine
2 medium carrots, sliced medium
2 cups white beans
2 tomatoes, chunks
2 cups vegetable broth
2 teaspoons curry or turmeric
2 teaspoons herbes de provence
2 table spoons flour, leveled, or 1 heaping table spoon
1 teaspoon pimenton (dark Spanish paprika)
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
4 cloves


If you are using dry white beans, leave them to soak over night (Note: Pepin says you don't need to, but I prefer to have them soaked, those with whom you share enclosed spaces will appreciate it). A couple of hours before we started cooking, we changed the water, leaving this time just enough to cover the beans. Make sure the water is cold.

The cooking begins very much like an onion soup would, by slicing up the onions and frying them under cover over medium heat until you feel they are dark enough. The more cooked they are the sweeter they are. We prefer a light brown, not yet caramelized but thoroughly soft. Once onions are cooked add the flour and fry but do not burn, then add the beans with the water. We used whole wheat flour, and so if you use regular white flour, you might want to use less. If you want to add the beans and water separately, just make sure you barely cover the beans, then add the vegetable broth. Once it boils for about 5 minutes, reduce heat, cover, and simmer for a while. Depending on the type of beans, it could take an hour or more. We usually check to see how the beans are -- there's also a personal preference as to how cooked the beans should be, crunchy vs pasty. I prefer a little crunchy. When the beans are about 3/4 cooked add the carrots, garlic, herbes de provence, pimenton, cloves and curry. In a separate pan fry the tomatoes on high heat. The pan has to be really hot so that the tomato chunks caramelize. When the tomatoes are done, add them to the beans. At this point, the beans should be about 10-15 minutes from being done. If you need to cook them for longer, don't worry, this recipe is very flexible with quantities and time.

The stew is done when both the carrots and beans are cooked to your liking. The carrots have to be added at the end because they take less to cook.  Salt and pepper to taste.

We attempted several variations, but didn't like the addition of vegan sausage, and were split on adding fresh marjoram.   

-Pip

Catsup / Ketchup

4 quarts of tomatoes, cut into pieces
2 onions
2 tablespoons whole spice
2 tablespoons salt
1 teaspoon mustard
1/2 teaspoon red pepper
1 stick of cinnamon
3 cups sugar
2 cups vinegar
2 tablespoons corn starch

Mix all ingredients except for the starch in a large soup pt and and boil for one hour.  Once the mixture has cooled enough to not give you third degree burns, strain the mixture.  Dissolve 3 tablespoons into the mixture and boil again for 15 minutes.  Bottle and seal.

Chicken Paprikash, Cooked by a Romanian

One day in a co-op in Toledo, Pip came across some incredibly pungent and rather hot [Spanish? Hungarian?] paprika in the bulk spice section. And in his excitement from finding such a good-quality spice, became pretty heavy-handed with the scoop when purchasing. So we ended up with enough paprika to fill a 12-ounce jar.

And that's how we decided we needed more recipes with paprika.

We looked at many a Hungarian paprikash recipe out there on the interwebs, but never found "the one".  So we took tips from four or five good candidates and tweaked them to our liking.  Pip also said that this version is close to the one he remembers his mother cooking back in Transylvania.

1 package of chicken legs
2 heaping tablespoons paprika
2 tablespoons olive oil (or butter)
2 small yellow onions, chopped
4 or 5 small Hungarian wax peppers, chopped
1 poblano or 1/2 green bell pepper, chopped
1 tablespoon flour
1 cup sour cream (or plain Greek yogurt)
2-3 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
1 teaspoon parsley flakes
salt and pepper

De-bone and clean your chicken legs.  (If you have the time, you can easily make stock with the bones. We love Pepin's recipe, which you can find at the bottom of this page.) When your chicken is clean, sprinkle paprika and a little salt on the meat.

Warm the oil in a high-walled frying pan or small soup pot.  Add the chicken to the pan and brown a little.  Because you've doused the chicken with paprika, you can't easily see when it's browned on both sides, but that's your end goal.  We remove the chicken from the pot when it is about 75% cooked.  Set the chicken aside.

In the pan that is now full of delicious chicken drippings and paprika, saute the onions and peppers.  Add a dash of oil if needed.  When they're sweaty and the onions are translucent, mix in the flour so it's a little "fried".  Then add the broth and whisk until smooth.  Once the flour lumps are gone, stir in the sour cream, parsley, and garlic.

Finally, add your chicken back to the pan and simmer on low until the chicken is fully cooked.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

Serve with dumplings/spaetzle, egg noodles, or crusty bread.

Hot and Sour Soup

Wholly inauthentic, but remarkable tasty.  Excellent when you have a cold. (translation: if you add enough seasonings, it's quite a kick in the pants)

Ingredients:
1/2 pound of shitake mushrooms, cleaned and thinly sliced
Can of bean sprouts
Small can of stem mushrooms (2 would have been better)
1/2 package of firm tofu, sliced into thin-ish strips
Small bunch green onions - chop and separate whites from greens
2 cloves garlic, diced
6 cups water, at least

We probably started with 2-3 tablespoons for all the following seasonings, but at the end we added more to taste:
Ginger (we used powder because I'm not a fan of fresh, but if you like fresh, I'd estimate 3-4 thin slices)
Soy sauce
Sesame oil
Red pepper flakes
Rice vinegar

Optional: (we put it in because it was in the fridge and we figured, why not?)
1 cup of fresh, shredded cabbage
2 tbsp fish sauce (the kind you get in the international food aisle by the Thai curries)
Pepper to taste

Directions:
Saute the whites of the onions with the garlic and optional cabbage with sesame oil.  When it gets dry and needs extra liquid, add the ginger, soy sauce, red pepper flakes, vinegar and some optional fish sauce with a little water.  After a few minutes, add the rest of the water and the bean sprouts.  Once it's at a good simmer/ low boil, add the tofu and mushrooms.  As soon as it comes back up to a low boil, turn off the heat and let it cool, adding extra seasonings to taste.  Once it's cool enough to eat, garnish each serving with a few extra drops of sesame oil and the greens of the onions.

Icebox Cookies

Long before raw cookie dough became a thing, Gram made icebox cookies.

Ingredients:
1 cup butter
4 cups brown sugar
4 eggs
1 tsp cream of tartar
1 tsp baking soda
6 1/2 cups flour
pinch of salt
dash of vanilla

Directions: (from memory)
Mix all ingredients until smooth and of standard cookie dough thickness.  Roll into a ball onto a sheet of wax paper, and use the paper to massage it into a tube shape. Refrigerate up to a week or freeze for a month.  You can slice off the end and eat the dough, or bake accordingly. 10 minutes at 350?

Curry Lentil Potato Soup

 When Pip and I cook, we don't measure spices much.  It's a great soup, but you'll have to wing it a bit.  As always, we'll post pictures next time we make it. 

Ingredients:
1 ½ onions, chopped
¾ cup lentils
cloves of garlic, a handful, chopped
3 celery sticks. chopped
4 small carrots (or 8-12 babies), shredded
6 small potatoes, chopped in small chunks
½ head cauliflower, chopped – same size at potatoes
Curry powder, several teaspoons?
Dried parsley, probably just one teaspoon
Cumin, 1-2 teaspoons
2 bay leaves

Directions:
Saute onions and garlic until fragrant
Add rinsed lentils, celery, carrots, bay leaves, and six cups of water; simmer for 10 minutes
Then add potatoes, cumin, and curry; simmer for 10 minutes
Finally, add cauliflower and parsley; simmer for 10 minutes
Salt and pepper to taste

Mrs. Jones's Fruit Cake

Over the holidays, I raided my gram's recipe card boxes and took pictures of all sorts of family recipes from my great-grandmother, grandmother and mother.  We haven't made any yet, but when we do, we'll publish observations and final product pictures accordingly.

 

Ingredients:

1 lb raisins

1 lb currants

1/2 lb citron

1/2 lb almonds

1/2 lb pecans

1/2 lb cherries

1/2 lb pineapple

1 lb butter

1 lb sugar

rind and juice of 2 lemons

2 tsp vinegar

10 eggs beaten seperately

Directions:

Cream the sugar and butter until creamy.  Add egg yolks, next lemons and vinegar.  Then egg whites and flour alternately.  Lastly fruit and buts, which have been floured thoroughly.  Bake in slow oven 2.5 to 3 hours.  After cake is cold, soak with good whiskey or brandy.

Cabbage Soup, Eastern Euro Style

Pip and I first had a version of this soup at one of the best restaurants in the Cleveland area, Corky & Lenny's. And of course, we were inspired to try to make one ourselves.  (However, they make their soup with a beef bone, and our version is vegan or lacto-ovo, depending on how you make it.)  It was quite the labor of love, because the first several batches were... disappointing to say the least.  But now it's pretty damn good.

Ingredients:
2 or so medium-sized chopped onions
chopped garlic cloves – a generous number
4-5 grated carrots (about 4 or 5 medium-sized ones)
1/2 of a large head of cabbage, finely chopped
1 quart of tomato or vegetable juice
1 can of diced tomatoes, or fresh equivalent
     (but extra tomatoes never hurt anyone- sometimes we double them)
1-2 cups vegetable broth
2-3 teaspoons Thyme
1-2 teaspoons Dill (substitute with Savory, if need be)
1-2 teaspoons Paprika
Salt and pepper
3 bay leaves

Directions:
Chop the cabbage first, and stir in the dill, thyme, salt, and pepper.  Let sit while you prepare the rest of the ingredients. 

Saute onions in oil (or butter) for a few minutes, then add the garlic.  After another bit, add the carrots.  Then after a bit more, add the cabbage.  If you didn't add it to the cabbage first, now is the time to add the dry seasoning, minus the paprika.

Looks like hot coleslaw before you add all the liquid, no?

Once everything has cooked a little and is fragrant, pour in the tomatoes, juice, and top it off with the veggie broth.  Then add the bay leaves.  (Sometimes we get a little fancy and will add a few spoonfuls of wine, beer, or even balsalmic vinegar.  Depends on our mood, and what's in the fridge. and if we've been drinking.)

Let the soup bubble and the veggies soften.  Then add the paprika and let sit for a few minutes.  It's now ready to serve and oh, so good.

If you're cool with the dairy, garnish with sour cream or plain Greek yogurt.