Meatballs and Cumin Roasted Carrots

This post is a double whammy from the Clothes Makes the Girl blog. I was intrigued about meatballs after making a meatball version of the Kubideh that I posted a couple of weeks ago. They turned out super good that way, served with fresh parsley, all covered in the lime butter. Yum. I could eat them again, but decided to be adventurous and try some other meatball recipes.

I decided on these Merguez meatballs - though she has several other varieties that are also on my "to make" list - because the spice combo sounded really delicious. And indeed when I put the spice mix together, the aroma was amazing with fennel, cumin, paprika, and cinnamon. According to the blog, Merguez is a North African fresh sausage, typically made with lamb, or lamb and beef. I had 1 lb of lamb defrosted and 1/2 lb of venison, so I used that, along with an egg, fresh parsley, and some onion in lieu of the garlic.

This was my first time baking meatballs in the oven (cleaner and easier than pan searing them for sure) and they turned out great - still moist, and to my surprise, still seared seaming on the outside?! (is it the use of an egg in there that does that?) I think they look pretty good too, and the taste was spicy and mild at the same time. I just made a half batch of the spice mix and used the whole thing in my 1 1/2 lbs of meat, which maybe meant my meatballs were a bit more flavored than intended, but I thought it was great. I ate the meatballs with some lemony ghee drizzled on top, which was delish.

I had my meatballs with Cumin Roasted Carrots (just carrots, coconut oil, cumin, salt and pepper) and made double use of the 400 degree oven. They take just a few minutes longer than the meatballs, so put them in the oven first. I was not very uniform in my slicing, and it turns out I liked the thinner ones best. I had overflow from the baking sheet pictured here, and so put some more in a small cake pan. The cake pan is not insulated like my cookie sheet, and the carrots from the pan were my fave, super crispy and a little charred (some were entirely charred and not so good, so watch things closely). They were extra delicious with a little lemon juice splashed on top.

Thank you Clothes Makes the Girl for some more delicious recipes! (plus I just like her attitude - it's very ease-full)

Kalua McPig

I did not grow up eating corned beef and cabbage, Irish stews, or soda bread - my grandmother appears to have been of the generation that abandoned any cultural food dishes and instead favored the food of Whiteness and convenience: white bread, velveeta, canned vegetables, cream of mushroom soup and potato flakes. Of all the parts of my ancestry, the Irish one is the least evident in my growing up years in terms of some tangible cultural food. There was lefse (Norwegian), kolaches (Czech), and my maternal grandfather calling my sister's and I "kartoffelschnitz" for our love of potatoes (German). But nothing stands out as Irish. There was of course my red hair, my grandmother's maiden name O'Neal, and the large Catholic family of 11 kids, but no special foods. I don't think I even ate cabbage (other than cole slaw, which I didn't like) until college.

My Charming Companion is a medly of ancestry too - including Hawaiian, Chinese, and Swedish. Kalua pig is a popular Hawaiian dish - which traditionally means that the pig cooks slowly under ground, wrapped in leaves in a large pit heated by hot rocks and coals. The pork is flavored only by Hawaiian salt, which is brownish red, just like the soil in Hawaii, and the smokiness of the wood.

So, the ultimate blend of Hawaiian-Irish cuisine? Kalua pig with cabbage! Not cooked in a hole in the ground, but in the next best thing - the crock pot. The ultimate flavor is simple and super tasty. I put a little sauerkraut on top to add some tang, but this was total comfort food of buttery tasting cabbage with tender, melt in your mouth pork.

Kalua McPig
3-5 lb. pork butt or shoulder
1 1/2-2 lbs cabbage (about 2 small heads of cabbage)
1/2 c. water
1 t. liquid smoke (opt)
Hawaiian salt

1. Chop about 1 lb of cabbage. This will go in right away, and the rest will be added once the first batch has cooked down. Place a layer of cabbage on the bottom of the crock pot.
2. Rub salt over the pork, and set it on the cabbage in the crock pot (fat side up if there is a fat layer). Fill in any remaining space with cabbage, add the water and liquid smoke if using, put on the lid, and turn the crock pot on!
3. Set the crock pot to low and cook at least 8 hours, or ideally 10-12. After several hours, give the cabbage a stir/rotation so that the stuff on top can cook in the liquid at the bottom. You can add the rest of the cabbage at any point when there is room, just make sure to stir every so often so that all the cabbage gets cooked in the liquid.
4. After your 8-12 hours, remove the pork and shred to mix in the fat and meat, or just separate into chunks. Serve in a bowl on top of the cabbage. 

Bacon wrapped Scallops with Swiss Chard

All the snow seems to have inspired a sense of indulgence for me this weekend (though really, I am always on the lookout for an opportunity for indulgence). In this case, it was about some more expensive food items (scallops, pork butt, and bacon), and also some nice outings and overall sense of leisure and expansive snowy weekend time.

I did some reading, snow-shoeing (thanks to some borrowed snow shoes that I am behind in returning), and went to a really lovely, very snowy film, Happy People by Werner Herzog. The film is a documentary about a small town in Siberia that is accessible only by helicopter or boat (only when the water is not iced over). The town's people are fairly cut off from modern invention - they use snow machines and chain saws, but most everything else they make. The craftsmanship is really amazing, and the images throughout the whole film are stunning (you see many of them in the preview linked above.) It is showing at the newly refurbished Uptown Theatre - which now has very spacious, leather seating and even a bar and sofas on the 2nd floor!?

The weekend started out Friday evening with a dinner of Bacon wrapped Scallops and some Swiss Chard. I love scallops, and the slightly tart greens were a nice complement to the sweetness of the scallops and bacon. After some trial and error, My Charming Companion and I determined that 5 large scallops each is a preferred amount. Ten scallops came out to about 8/10 of a pound, so you can figure accordingly how many scallops you might prefer (remember there is a lot of bacon involved too!)

See upper right scallops for how NOT to wrap bacon!

Scallops
10 large wild scallops
10 slices of bacon (you will trim off part of each slice, which makes leftovers for breakfast!)
fresh lemon
10 toothpicks

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Wrap each scallop in the bacon, making sure to overlap the bacon just enough to secure with a toothpick. Trim off excess bacon (optional) and save for tomorrow's breakfast. Place scallops in a cake pan and bake for 20-25 minutes, until bacon is crispy. While scallops are cooking, make chard recipe below.

Swiss Chard
1 large bunch swiss chard
1/2 onion, sliced thin
2 T ghee, butter, coconut oil, or bacon fat
splash vinegar (I used champagne vinegar, but apple cider would be good too)
salt to taste

Heat fat in a large skillet. Add onions and saute for a few minutes. Trim chard leaves chard from the ribs, and chop the ribs in small pieces. Add chopped chard ribs to onion and saute for another 5+ minutes, stirring occasionally until onions are translucent. Add chopped chard greens and saute for another 10 minutes. Season with a splash of vinegar and salt to taste.

Serve scallops over or alongside chard.

AND THEN....don't abandon the really delicious bacon fat and scallop juice from the pan! It is delicious the next morning with scrambled eggs. They taste scallop-y and soft and amazing and I could not wait to make breakfast.

Just stick the juice filled pan in the fridge overnight. In the morning, stick the pan in the oven at 350 degrees for a few minutes to heat up. Stir up some eggs with a bit of salt, and then pour them into the heated cake pan. Bake in the oven for 10 minutes or so, stirring every few minutes. I chopped a bunch of parsley to add in to the eggs, and made a saute of onions and peppers with the leftover bacon ends to go with. Yum!

Kimchi Jjigae take 2

I have made Kimchi Jjigae 3 or 4 times since I posted the original recipe in November. I am almost out of my big kimchi batch from last summer, so it appears that I will never get to year old kimchi (which would be best in this recipe) - at least not until next year when I will have to make a really big batch. Since my original post, I have switched over from using nori seaweed as a garnish and instead just put in a bunch of wakame. The wakame is delicious! I want to try making a salad out of it sometime - maybe when there are more fresh veggies around. It is a pretty mild seaweed with a silky texture. I bought mine from United Noodle in a 5 oz bag that I think will last a year because one handful = a lot of seaweed once you hydrate it in water.

It tastes amazing in the kimchi jjigae - it sort of mellows the sour from the kimchi. I love to slurp this soup up on the weekend - I don't know if it is all the bacon, or what, but it's sort of delectable and weekend-ish. I have modified this recipe a bit from the original to include the wakame, and I also added in some broth to make a slightly thinner soup. I recently discovered that the Wedge carries Red Boat fish sauce, which is GF and is made only from fermented anchovies with no other added stuff. It is REALLY good, and I put that in the soup too.

Kimchi Jjiage with wakame (serves 6)
Large handful dried wakame
2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
1 pound bacon, cut into 1/4" pieces
Freshly ground black pepper
Medium yellow onion, coarsely chopped
3-4 cups coarsely chopped kimchi with its liquid (use the most pungent, sour kimchi you have)
1 T Red Boat fish sauce
5 scallions, thinly sliced (opt)
2 c. chicken broth (opt)

Put large handful of wakame in a bowl and cover with water to soak.

Heat the sesame oil in a large soup pot over medium heat. Add the pork belly/bacon, season with pepper, and cook, stirring now and then, until rendered, browned, and crispy, about 10 minutes.

Add the onion and kimchi and stir to combine. Add enough water to nearly cover the pork mixture (5 or 6 cups), cover, and bring to a boil. Immediately reduce the heat and simmer until the onion and kimchi are softened and the soup is quite thick, about 20 minutes.

Stir in the fish sauce, broth and scallions. Drain the wakame, chop it up and add to the soup. Cover the pot and simmer for 10 minutes to combine the flavors. Serve steaming hot.

Ground Lamb, Venison, or Beef Kebab (Kubideh)

I bought My Charming Companion some birthday kebab skewers - they are Persian style skewers that are 1" thick and VERY long, which assists in better cooking in the wood stove. The wide skewers are really useful to make Kubideh - or ground meat kebabs. I've never had them before, but the recipe in A Taste of Persia was enticing, and the photos are beautiful. It's almost like sausage - because really, it is spiced meat, but the spicing is so different, and the meat is much more lean, so it also isn't like sausage at all. I found that the kubideh mostly reminded me of gyro's - I think because of the texture, but also some similar spicing. *Note: you can also make this as meatballs and just saute them in a skillet. Super easy and delicious, without the fire!

I tried the kubideh with both venison and lamb. They were both delicious, but I found that the venison stuck much better to the skewer. You kind of need the wide skewer so that the meat has something to stick to - and even so, the lamb was falling off! I did a little research, and I think that using a food processor to make the mixture as paste-like as possible will really help (versus twice grinding it, then kneading it by hand for 15 minutes). I cannot wait for summer to have this dish with tomatoes (also roasted on the grill). I also think a mix of beef or venison with lamb would be excellent.

For meat:
1 large onion, peeled
1 clove garlic, peeled
2 pounds lean beef, venison, lamb
2 t salt
1 t freshly ground pepper
1 T fresh lime juice
1/2 t baking soda

For basting:
2 T melted butter
1/2 t fresh lime juice
1/4 t salt

*Before you start preparing the food, get your fire started/charcoal going so that everything is burned down to nice coals to cook on.
1. Puree onion and garlic in a food processor. In a large bowl, mix meat with onion puree. Add other spices, lime juice, and baking soda (this is to help tenderize the meat).
2. Working in 2-3 batches, put the meat mix in the food processor and process until a thick paste. Once all the meat has been processed, cover the paste and set aside for 15 minutes at room temperature.(If you are making meatballs, skip this step and just combine all the ingredients and shape into balls, then brown on medium-high heat on all sides.)
3. With damp hands, divide the meat paste into 12 equal sized lumps. Form each lump into a sausage shape about 5" long and mold it firmly around a flat skewer. (I watched a youtube video with a fancy technique to sort of scallop the meat on the skewer. Watch at 7:20 for that demo - he is using larger pieces of meat and is clearly quite skilled at this.)
4. For basting, combine the butter, lime juice, and salt in a small saucepan. Keep warm over very low heat.
5. When the coals are glowing, arrange the skewers 3" above the coals. You do not want the ground meat to touch the grill (though if you have a grill, this would prevent you from losing any meat should it come off the skewer). Let the kebabs cook a few seconds, just until they change color; then turn the skewers gently to color the other side of the meat. This keeps the meat from falling apart. Then turn gently one more to brown each side.

This is what I will strive for mine to look like!

6. Grill the meat for 3-5 minutes on each side, and brush it with basting mixture just before removing it from the grill (or in my case, just after taking it out of the wood stove). The total cooking time should be 6-10 minutes, and the meat should be seared on the outside, but pink on the inside. If it gets overcooked, it will become a bit rubbery, like a sausage. That is not the effect you  are going for!
7. Slide the meat off the skewers onto a plate with a fork. Sprinkle with lime juice to taste. Traditionally this is served with grilled tomatoes, saffron rice and lavash bread, but I ate it with a tahini sauce (tahini, lemon juice, olive oil, water, and salt). Any grilled veggies would be great.

Bacon wrapped Sardines

My longest standing memory of sardines is from the movie/play "Noises Off!" In the film version it is Carol Burnett who keeps getting to talk about the sardines, but really all of the characters do and I remember finding the whole thing hysterical when I was young. I think it was the way Carol Burnett said sardines, or just the way the sardines became like a character in the whole show.

Anyway - I had never actually had sardines until a year or two ago when I ate them copiously with rice, and then on cucumber slices after I stopped eating grains. My co-workers think it is an odd lunch, but sardines make Mark's Daily Apple list of top foods that are chock full of good stuff for you. They fall in the category of "Tiny fish with heads and guts" - though the brand I buy (and that is currently on sale for $2 each at the co-ops) is Wild Planet, and the heads are no longer on the fish. Alas. But you still get the guts and all the Omega 3's and algae and all that.

In the winter I often like to eat lunches that are warm or hot - so I was excited to stumble upon this bacon wrapper idea for the sardines. It's also kind of festive, you could make these as a party appetizer if you were so inclined. I have thought about stuffing a little water chestnut (a la Rumaki - which is liver and water chestnut wrapped in bacon) inside too, but have not tried it yet. This is such a good weekend lunch with a little soup or salad.

I get the Beeler bacon ends because they are cheaper, but each package inevitably includes some strips of bacon that are thin or too fat, and also a bunch of shorter bits. I find the "ends" work well to wrap the sardines in because they tend to be smaller, but regular slices would work too. You probably will need to cut them in half though.

Just wrap a bacon slice around each sardine - you can keep it in place with a toothpick, but I just wrap them up and tuck the bacon end under the sardine. Bake on a cookie sheet for 20-25 minutes at 350 degrees, until bacon is crispy. Dip them in homemade mayo if you want, or eat them as is!

Butternut Squash Khoresh

Khoresh # 2! This is another recipe from A Taste of Persia. I used venison in this one too, and it tasted great. This recipe is a little on the sweet side - something I am less used to in meat dishes, and it is also a bit more broth-y than other stews. The broth was delicious though.

I am posting the original recipe below, however I changed the recipe some: I used way less prunes (maybe 5 of them) and 1/2 c. of apple cider in place of sugar; I used 2 c. chicken broth in lieu of water; and I added an extra 1/2 lb of meat. I found it plenty sweet and will maybe forgo the apple cider all together next time. The prunes break down, and I found that even the handful of them (chopped up) gave a really nice hint of dried plum flavor without the extra fructose. 

Butternut Squash Khoresh
5 T ghee, butter or coconut oil
2 small onions peeled and thinly sliced
1 lb. skinless boneless chicken or meat (lamb, venison, beef) cut into thin strips
1 t salt
1/2 t freshly ground pepper
1 t cinnamon
1 1/2 c pitted prunes
2 lbs butternut squash
4 T sugar
1/4 c fresh lime juice
1/4 t saffron threads dissolved in 1 T hot water (opt)

1. In a medium pot, heat 3 T butter/ghee over medium heat. Add the onions and fry for 5 minutes, until translucent. Add the meat and stir-fry 15 minutes longer, stirring occasionally until browned. Add salt, cinnamon, prunes, pepper, and 2 1/2 cups water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
2. Meanwhile, peel the squash and cut into 2-inch cubes. In a large skillet, heat 2 T butter/ghee over medium heat. Add the squash and stir-fry for 10 minutes, until all sides are golden brown.
3. Add sugar, lime juice, saffron water, and butternut squash cubes to the meat. Cover and simmer for 40 minutes over low heat.
4. Taste the khoresh and adjust the seasoning for salt and lime juice. Serve!

Paleo Tuna Melt (in a pepper)

As I kid I used to love tuna: tuna salad, "tuna on toast" (which seems to be a midwestern concoction of cream of mushroom soup mixed with tuna heated up, poured over toast or shoestring potatoes. Kind of strange sounding now, but I loved it), and I especially loved tuna melts - something about the crunchy toast and warm tuna and salty olives. Yum.

Last summer, when I still had garden green peppers, I tried making tuna stuffed peppers as a version of a tuna melt. It turned out great - somehow the roasted pepper keeps that nice crisp feeling that is slightly toast like, while also being charred. Charred peppers as toast - who knew?!

I had one this week for dinner - it is super easy and fast, without any fussing. You know, one of those dinners I can make in 10 minutes and then eat it while watching Top Chef or whatever...it's one of those bachelor weeknight moments. 

Paleo Tuna Melt (for one)
1 Pepper (any color works)
1 can tuna
homemade mayo
mustard
olives
celery
onion
parsley
salt and pepper
Anything else you like in your tuna salad

1. Cut pepper in half, de-seed it, and put both halves (bottom side up) under the broiler for 5-7 minutes. You want them to blacken just a little.
2. While peppers are roasting, mix up your tuna salad however you like - I like to chop everything up small and use a good amount of mayo.
3. When peppers are starting to blacken, pull them out to stuff. They will be really hot, so I usually need to use oven mitts to hold them while I stuff them with the tuna mix.
4. Put the stuffed peppers back in the broiler, face up this time. Roast them for another 5-7 minutes until the tops brown. Eat!

Cream of Mushroom soup

There are some really beautiful (local) crimini mushrooms at the co-op right now: I was checking out at the Wedge last week, and the check-out person, who was jovial and chatty, joked that they were nearly portobella sized.

Later, as I was packing them up in my bag, I overheard the check-out person greeting the next customer: "Wow. You look just like the person who plays with Bon Iver - do you know Bon Iver?" I did not hear the reply, except that clearly the person behind me WAS indeed that person because then the checker-outer got really excited, saying "Oh wow, I just really love your music. This is really exciting to meet you..." and sort of continued on in a very endearing, fan sort of way. I figured the checker outer must be a pretty big Bon Iver fan, because I would guess that Bon Iver's band members don't usually get recognized in public outside of their home towns.

So. These crimini mushrooms had sighting of fame - not the big lead singer kind, but a behind-the-scenes, less recognized-but-still-so-important fame. So really, that is how I will describe this soup: not flashy, but good and wholesome!

Cream of Mushroom soup (serves 3-4)
1 lb. crimini mushrooms, chopped or sliced
1 medium onion, chopped
4 T butter or ghee
1 t thyme
2 c. chicken bone broth
1/2 c. dry wine
1/2 c. heavy cream (coconut cream/milk would work too)
salt to taste
parsley

1. Heat butter in a large, heavy pot. Add onions and saute 5 minutes, until slightly translucent. Add mushrooms and thyme and continue sauteing another 10 minutes or so, until juices are released from mushrooms. 
2. Add wine and simmer for a few minutes before adding the broth. Bring to a boil, lower heat and simmer for 5 more minutes.
3. Add cream and salt. Taste to check salt amount until it is to your liking. Top with chopped parsley and serve.
*I am thinking that this soup would also be nice blended up - it might get a bit thicker and be a little more Campbell's-soup-like that way (you know, with all the minced up mushroom bits...)

Roadkill + My last kabocha squash

Well, I've been sort of hoarding my supply of kabocha squash over the past couple of months, but I finally ate the last one this weekend, with lots of steak. Yum.

These steaks are backstrap, from the roadkill deer My Charming Companion named "Nice Guy" after the really nice guy who pulled over when he saw My Charming Companion by the side of the road. (All of the deer get named so as to know what one is eating, and to help remember the circumstances of that specific deer.) Their conversation then went like this:

Nice Guy: (very casual-like) "What are you going to do with that, use the hide?"
MCC: "Oh, no. I am going to eat it."
NG: (smiling now) "Oh, Yeah. I eat them too."
And then Nice Guy helped get the deer into the truck.

I have been along for some deer acquisition, and it seems common for roadkill eaters to sort of wait to reveal that yes, they do indeed eat it. One state trooper who was issuing us a permit asked "Are you bringing that home for your dogs or something?" and when we said, no - it is for us, he said "I eat them too! Sometimes I bring a cooler in my car so if I am working I can at least get the backstrap." And then all kinds of cameraderie ensues. It is quite fun, and definitely a contrast to the response of non-roadkill eaters, who tend to get a sort of confused, avert the gaze look.

Anyway, the backstrap was delicious cooked in a cast iron skillet until medium rare, then eaten with with butter and fleur de sel. I also made my 2012 fave fall winter recipe: Roasted squash with date relish and pumpkin seeds. Though in this case I used a few dried cherries in place of the dates, and just cut up the squash in small bite sized pieces to roast it for ease of prep.

Chicory "coffee"

A couple of weeks ago I discovered chicory root "coffee" - really, it is a root and more of a tea, but this is the most coffee like substance that is not coffee that I have ever had. (I will note that I have only been drinking decaf for the past two years, and not everyday, so maybe that affects things?)

I have been getting roasted chicory root in bulk at either the Seward ($18/lb - it's organic) or the Wedge ($13.30/lb - conventional), and I mix it with another tea of some kind. Straight up chicory is a little strong for me - it's bitter and rich and feels high octane - but I love it as a blend. I've become a bit obsessed lately, and I have a cup with almost every meal.

Apparently chicory is found wild throughout the United States, including Minnesota. The purple flowers and tall height seem easy to spot, so I will keep my eye out. There is a nice post from Hunter Angler Gardner Cook about his experience growing chicory and roasting it to make the coffee/tea. I am intrigued to try to find some root 9or look into growing it?) and roast it because the roasting smell sounds amazing, in addition to the tastiness.

So, in the meanwhile, if you procure yourself some chicory, my method of preparation is similar to cowboy coffee.

Chicory in St Paul

For one 8oz mug:
1 tsp roasted chicory
1 tsp or 1/2 tea bag of tea of choice

Put the water, chicory and tea in a small pot on the stove. Heat it just until it starts to simmer, then turn the heat to low to have a low simmer for a minute or so. Remove from heat and strain out the tea/chicory through a tea strainer.

This is the dairy free cream - it is like whipped cream!

The tea will be very dark - the chicory is almost inky black, more so than coffee. I like it with lots of cream. I also tried it with this dairy free cream that is really thick - it was really good in this beverage - it made it taste almost chocolatey. 

My favorite teas to use in combo with chicory are:
Twig (very slightly caffeinated, sold in bulk at the Wedge or in boxes at the Seward)
Yogi Tahitian Vanilla Hazelnut
Rooibus or Vanilla Rooibus
Decaf Green Tea

I have not liked a combo with anything fruity - it doesn't go with the bitterness of the chicory to me. You could also go with a coffee/chicory blend, which seems to be the most common way to have chicory. If you try that, use 1 T coffee with the 1 tsp chicory. Enjoy!