Chinese Hot Pots

Every Asian country has their own version of noodle soup. Actually, EVERY country I can think of has a signature noodle soup! China alone, has hundreds of variations based on regional culture and resources. In China soups are thought to hold healing properties and noodles are a system of longevity. A noodle soup is therefore taken very seriously, as are most dishes!

Moderation

Pepita Crusted Chicken Salad with Sweet Adobo Vinaigrette.

Maybe you've noticed a trend here on ASP...dessert, healthy dish, dessert, healthy dish, dessert, healthy dish.

Well, to offer full disclosure the REAL cycle is:  dessert, SCALE, workout, healthy low-carb meal, dessert, scale, *SIGH*, workout, low-carb meal! I know what you're thinking...silly girl, just stop eating dessert.

Hold the Cream

Mulligatawny Soup.

Friends you can rely on are an essential part of having "the good life." If they happen to be able to cook...bonus!

Our friends that came to stay with us have gone home, but not without leaving their mark. During their visit I was introduced to Mulligatawny Soup. A south Indian dish literally meaning "Pepper Water" in Tamil. My friend, Bethany, made us a lovely rich creamy version, but after researching this soup a bit, I discovered there are MANY varieties. Some are brothy, and some thick. Colors also vary from recipe to recipe. But the key ingredients are veggies, rice, protein, and curry powder...or other Indian spice blends.

International Sign of Friendship

Village Chai and Yakhni Pulao. AND GIVEAWAY WINNERS!!!

Often when a friend wants to show you that you are important to them, they give you a signal. In the states that might include a card, a small personal gift, or helping you in some way. In different countries the signs of true friendship often take different forms. 

It's been 13 years since my last trip to India, but certain friends are still very close to my heart. Friends, that despite differences in culture, language, beliefs and age, were generous with their time and thoughts. I'm always amazed at how simple it is to find common connections when you are looking for them. These individuals extended a hand of friendship in many ways, but most effectively by offering sustenance.

Chai Pani~ A Dream Incarnate

If you had to reinvent yourself...if your family's future, and your personal joy, depended on a new career choice, what would you do?

In the last couple years, many have had to ask themselves this question and resolved that life can be different. No, life can be BETTER than it was before. The brave have pressed a mental reset button and haven't looked back!

The Best Eats Are On The Streets

Vietnamese Banh Mi Sandwich.

Street food is a weakness of mine. When I travel anywhere, it's the first thing I look for. You often get the real sense of a country's (or city's) culinary clout by what you purchase from a rickety cart on a bustling corner. In some way, such workman-meals give away a culture's deeper secrets. What can the average cart-pushing cook whip up on the sidewalk? What does that say about a people group's creativity, ingenuity, and zest for life? You can learn a lot about people by what and how they cook, if you just pay attention.

Cross-Generational Cooking

Hungarian Chicken Paprikas...

My husband's great-grandmother, Grandma Rosie, passed away last year at 96. I remember sitting in her living room eating the pirouette cookies she always served us, and sipping tall glasses of Sprite! She would tell us of her ballroom dancing days, and her career as the executive secretary at Studebaker. We watched Notre Dame football games together, and she'd keep stats in a little notebook. I miss her.

Nowadays, the rest of the family keep her stories alive. Last month my hubby's grandparents came to visit us. Mo and Papa are a lively pair with wonderful memories of family and travel. Mo has truly been my surrogate grandmother--as my last living grandma passed away when I was sixteen. It was wonderful to marry into a family with a certain fire (and the genes) required for longevity!

Time spent with Mo and Papa is filled with colorful tales...laced with laughter and head-shaking. After 59 years of marriage, they seem to truly hold many of life's secrets. We are always thrilled to shower in their overflowing wisdom.

Their strong Hungarian heritage provides cultural traditions and meals that I was previously unfamiliar with. One particular dish seems to be the family favorite, Chicken Paprikas (pup-ri-kash). Melt-in-your-mouth chicken and Hungarian rice smothered in a rich, creamy paprika-spiced sauce. Traditionally it was made with rabbit meat, when families actually caught their dinner instead of picking it up at the market! Mo describes Hungarian cooking as "working man's food".  Simple, inexpensive, utilitarian meals meant to fill empty bellies. Hungarian dishes are not glamorous...but I always find them comforting and flavor-packed!

Mo taught me to make Chicken Paprikas this trip. It's always fun writing a recipe from a "grandma inspired" dish, because grandmas cook by feel. You know, "Add enough flour until it looks right." or "Stir it until it's done." I definitely had to remake this one on my own, to record measurements and times. I've made two small adjustments to Mo's recipe to suit my family. First, Mo cooks as if she's feeding the whole neighborhood. (She probably did!) So I've scaled the recipe back to feed 4. Also Mo used sweet paprika, but we like all things SPICY around here, so I added hot smoked paprika! Mo agreed, it really wasn't overpowering, mixed in with the sour cream. Just a little kick!

One more thing, Mo uses boneless, skinless chicken breasts AND some drum sticks or thighs. The breasts end up so tender, you can cut them with your fork, while the bones and skin from the drumsticks create depth of flavor. When I made Paprikas on my own, I had a "griller's pack" of all bone-in chicken--so that's what I used. The flavor was great, but I think I will do just as Mo directs next time!

Sommer


Chicken Paprikas (Pup-ri-kash)

3 lbs. chicken, a combination of boneless breasts and drumsticks/thighs
2 large chopped onions, separated
4 Tb. oil, separated
1 Tb. Hungarian Hot Smoked Paprika
1 lb. sour cream
¼ cup flour
2 cup long-grain rice
4 cups chicken stock
¼ cup chopped parsley
Salt and Pepper

Heat a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add 3 Tb. of oil to the Dutch oven, then add the chicken, 1 chopped onion, paprika, 1 tsp. of salt, and half a tsp. of pepper.

Brown the chicken on all sides, stirring the onions as you turn it—approximately 10 minutes.

Then add enough water to the pot to almost cover the chicken. Cover the pot, turn the heat down, and allow the chicken to slowly simmer for about 45 minutes. The chicken should be falling off the bone.

Meanwhile, add 1 Tb. of oil to a medium-sized pot over high heat. Add the second onion to the pot and sauté for 2 minutes. Then add 2 cups of rice, and stir unto the onions. Allow the rice to sauté another 1-2 minutes, then add the chicken stock. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer, then cover. Allow the rice to cook according to package directions—usually 20 minutes. Once it has absorbed all the stock, stir in the parsley, cover and set aside.

Once the chicken is tender, remove it from the Dutch oven and cover it with foil to keep it warm. Dump the sour cream into a medium-sized glass bowl. Whisk ¼ cup of flour into the sour cream until well combined.

You should have approximately 3 cups of juices left in the Dutch oven—if it looks like much more than that—dump some out until is measures 3 cups. Now take 1 ½ cups of the reserved pan juices and slowly whisk it into the sour cream mixtures. This insures that the sour cream will not curdle when you heat it, so your sauce will be smooth!

Now pour the sour cream mixture back into the pot and whisk well. Keep the sauce over medium heat until it bubbles and thickens to a gravy consistency. Salt and pepper to taste.

Add the chicken back to the pot to coat. Serve the chicken and extra paprikas sauce over the rice. YUM!
Serves 4.

Wanderlust And Breakfast Fried Rice

Wanderlust- a strong desire to wander, to travel and to explore the world.

I've got the bug. Always planning a trip in my mind...sailing down the Yangtze River in China or taking the kids across multiple ecological zones hiking Mount Kilimanjaro. It could happen...

Early on, I felt a strong yearning to learn, and explore. I had a need to be a part of something bigger than myself. I met this desire--this call--by traveling every summer, to some far away place with other like-minded teenagers. We saw ourselves as the few who would lay down our summer flirtations and pool-side tans to take on a mission. Maybe this gave us a false sense of grandeur, but it gave us a lot more than that.

Those summer adventures gave us the ability to see and feel the needs of others...and to help meet those needs in a small way. To restore dignity, in some cases. I learned that life wasn't about my momentary whims; that my worth wasn't wrapped up in my appearance or wardrobe, my GPA, or even the hope of a future job-description or title. Real personal worth is summed up in a person's character. And of course, the best gauge for true character is how we treat others. How far are we willing to go to better someone's life? Do we see those around us as an inconvenience?  How do we treat our family on a really tough day?

What a valuable life lesson to learn as an adolescent! Although I still have to regularly remind myself of these profound truths--I think those summer excursions made my transition from youth to adulthood much easier than some! Thanks mom and dad for letting your baby go to seemingly scary places in order to grow up!

One of my favorite trips was to Thailand. I was fifteen years old, and spent that sweaty summer meeting new people and exploring cultural differences in a land of extreme contrast. A dirty, smog-filled urban jungle surrounded by lush, miles of rain forests and wildlife.

I vividly remember the small hotel we lived in most of the summer. Down a bustling side-street in Bangkok, this little inn had all the charms (and roaches) a developing nation can offer!  The breakfast they served us most mornings...Thai Fried Rice...is forever etched in my mind. They varied the ingredients often, but mostly it involved chicken, peas, onion and sometimes pineapple. There was an underlying essence of coconut and something else I couldn't put my finger on at the time. They served it to us in a perfectly-shaped dense mound that was created by packing it into a bowl and flipping it onto the dish with cucumbers, tomatoes and lime wedges on the side. Although others found this tiresome, I was always delighted to eat fried rice for breakfast!

I have spent a substantial amount of time trying to recreate the dish from memory. That unknown flavor I couldn't distinguish as a teen was curry powder! Just a touch of curry separates Thai fried rice from other Asian varieties. This is a very quick and easy dish to prepare--once you chop and prep all the ingredients--it just takes minutes!

Although I never make this for breakfast, I always secretly hope there will be leftovers in the morning!

Sommer

Thai Fried Rice

4 cups cooked jasmine rice (about 1 ½ cups dry)
1 coconut sweetened coconut milk
Peanut oil
1 lb. chicken (could use shrimp or pork)
1 tsp. curry powder
1 bunch green onion, chopped and separated into greens and whites/light greens
1 ½ Tb. fresh minced ginger
2-3 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup frozen peas
1 cup fresh chopped pineapple (or canned pineapple tidbits)
1/3 cup chopped cilantro or basil
½ lime, juiced
1-3 Tb. soy sauce
4 eggs
*Tomato wedges, sliced cucumber and lime wedges for garnish

If your ginger has a thick bumpy skin, peel it with a veggie peeler or spoon. If the skin is soft and smooth--don't bother! 

Precook the jasmine rice according to package instructions—substituting 1 can of coconut milk as part of the water. (I pour the coconut milk into the measuring pitcher, then fill it to 3 cups, for 1 ½ cups dried rice.) Cut the chicken into bite-size pieces. Add 2 Tb. of oil to a large skillet or wok. Heat the skillet to high heat. When the oil begins to smoke, add the chicken and curry powder and cook 2 minutes—moving it around the pan.

Add the white onions into the pan and cook another minute. Add the ginger and garlic along with a couple pinches of salt —and cook 1 more minute.

Add another tablespoon of oil to the pan if needed, followed by the cooked rice. Stir well.

Add the peas, pineapple, green onions and cilantro and stir again. Squeeze the lime juice over the rice and add the soy sauce to taste. Stir and cook another minute or two, until the peas have warmed through.

Meanwhile, whisk the eggs in a small bowl with a pinch of salt. Preheat a nonstick skillet over medium-high. Spray the skillet with cooking spray and add the eggs. Swirl them around the skillet, gently pushing them toward the middle. We want the eggs to cook through, but to stay in a large circle—about 3-5 minutes. Slide them out of the pan onto a cutting board.

Roll the egg into a long cylinder and cut ¼ inch slices.

To plate: Use a small bowl (1 cup) and fill it with fried rice. Place a plate up-side-down over the bowl and carefully flip it over. Remove the bowl to create a perfectly-shaped mound. Top the mound with several egg spirals and place tomatoes, cucumbers and a lime wedge around the mound. Serve warm.

The Long And Short Of It

I love to leisurely putz around my kitchen on the weekends. We make huge breakfasts that we don't serve until almost lunch time, we bake cookies, and we eat dinners that take 1 1/2 to 2 hours to prepare. It's fun to do that sometimes.

On weeknights however, I often find myself rushing around trying to throw together a healthful and appealing meal, before kiddie bath time, stories, and bed. In the last few years many of my glacial recipes have mutated into what I call "mommy recipes." These are meals that I've found short cuts to reduce the prep and cooking time. Often these are the recipes I teach in cooking class because I realize not all the ladies like to spend all day in the kitchen as I do.

Here are a few ideas to save time:

Have your butcher prep your meat while your shopping--that IS their job, you know. They will do just about whatever you ask...take the bone out of chicken breasts, but leave the skin on, remove fat, butterfly your fish, slice meat to your desired thickness, even chop a roast into stew chunks for you!

Make sauces in large batches and freeze for later, OR buy good quality jarred sauces.

Prep your veggies on grocery day before you put them a way, OR buy pre-cut veggies.

I know time-saving items can effect the grocery bill a little. But I find myself feeling that 40 more minutes of cooking time is worth the extra $1.50 difference between a jar of good organic marinara and the ingredients it would take for me to make it. Sometimes...

Here is a recipe I occasionally make into a "mommy recipe." It is inspired by our favorite Italian restaurant in Tulsa, OK--Mary's Trattoria. It's a cozy little restaurant. With old family portraits on the walls and doilies covered with oil cloth on the tables; it reminds me of a mom and pop shop you'd find it Little Italy. The food has a very homey quality. I LOVE their version of Chicken Cacciatore...simple and hearty. When we moved, I weaseled the ingredient list out of the owner. I have played with the proportion enough now that think I've got it!

I'll try to explain both methods, long and short.


Chicken Cacciatore

Ingredients:
12 oz. thinly sliced mushrooms
4 boneless chicken breasts
¼ cup flour
3 Tb. butter
3 Tb. olive oil
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 cup dry white wine
3 cups marinara (homemade or jarred)
1 lb. spaghetti
Fresh basil or parsley for garnish

*If you are going to make your tomato sauce from scratch, make it first. You can prep everything else while it's simmering. The recipe is below!

Heat a large pot of salted water over high heat for the pasta. Heat your largest skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1 Tb. of oil and 1 Tb. of butter to the skillet. Saute the mushrooms until they are soft and brown--10 minutes, then remove them from the skillet.

Sauteing the mushrooms first gives them a more concentrated earthy flavor and better color. But, if you are in a hurry, skip this step and throw the raw mushrooms into the sauce later!




Butterfly and separate chicken breasts.

To skip this step you can buy chicken "cutlets" at the store, which are thinner slices of chicken breast.



Salt and pepper both sides of each piece of chicken; then rub with flour.




Add 2 Tb. of butter and 2 Tb. of oil to the skillet and wait until butter is melted before adding chicken to the skillet. Saute’ chicken 1-1 ½ minutes per side; then add wine and garlic. Cook chicken in wine for another 3 minutes.




Remove chicken from skillet and tightly cover with foil to keep warm. Add the mushrooms and 3 cups of marinara to the skillet and simmer for 10 minutes—stirring regularly.



Meanwhile, add pasta to the boiling pot of water for 6-8 minutes—then strain.



Serve with the sauce over the pasta and chicken. Serves 4.




*If using jarred sauce, choose something thick, herby, and slightly sweet. Taste the sauce before adding it to determine if you need to throw in a tablespoon of sugar and 1-2 tsp. of herbs.

Basic Marinara

2 Tb. olive oil
1 medium onion, finely diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp. dried thyme (or Italian seasoning)
½ carrot, finely grated
1 28 oz. can crushed or diced tomatoes
Salt and Pepper

In a medium sauce pan; heat olive oil over medium heat. Add onion and cook for 8-10 minutes. Add garlic, thyme and carrots and cook another 5 minutes. Add tomatoes and bring to a boil. Lower heat and cook another 20 minutes to thicken. Salt and pepper to taste. Makes 3 cups.