ALL NATIONS REVISITED

Recipes here are my own creation and labeled as such. Those belonging to others are under their copyright, and credited; others not credited are taken directly from:

The holidays already! Fall holidays, Winter holidays, Spring and Summer holidays. Be prepared!

My wish is that everyone finds some family, real or adopted, to celebrate with.

Need ideas??? My very favorite 'cooking' spot is: Leite's Culinaria: Award-Winning Food Writing and Recipe Collections He and his staff have put together some awesome recipes, and send out a great newsletter ... please check out his beautiful website. You will be so glad you did.

After my oldest daughter's passing, and my own recent health scare. I have decided to go very health conscious. My doctor told me I can give you all these scary drugs, or you can try this diet, with 2 weeks to change over, and at least a 2 month evaluation. I said OK. I do want to live, well, at least until I die!

Yes, it is a vegetarian diet, and if you have cancer or are precancerous, it becomes vegan. My first two weeks I have allowed myself small amount of eggs, wild caught fish, and 2 to 3 drinks a week, not a day!

The next step will be hard ... no coffee, no burgundy, no IPA, and no cheese! That is when I will find out what I am made of!

Surprise! The following recipes my whole family loved!!! I have to mention here that the two men I cook for are former heavy meat eaters! Bless their hearts and their health as they have agreed to eat this diet with me; staying with the first stage. Actually I was shocked. as the doctor had told me that I would probably just have to make 2 meals instead of one, as family members often are not ready for change.

Next? Beans become your best friends.

Black beans, or any other beans on hand, dark or light
2 or 3 sweet potatoes, or yams
Large onion
5 cloves minced garlic
1 very large jalapeno or 2 small, or any hot/mild pepper of choice
2 chopped tomatoes or can chunk tomatoes, or tomato/green chili sauce

1 lg. tsp. Garam Masala / E. Indian seasoning or mix of cumin, coriander, chili, cinnamon, cloves, mustard, black pepper, nutmeg, cardamon ... all good to have on hand anyway.
2 TBsp. smoked paprika, or reg. paprika
Fresh thyme if possible, chopped fine & added at end with the salt, or 1/2 tsp. dried. If using dried add to spice mix.
Olive, coconut, or walnut oil

Boil beans to tender as per package directions/ about an hour and a half

When beans almost done, saute onions, garlic, green peppers in oil until starting to caramelize over med. heat; add spices w/ extra black pepper to taste.
Add in chopped tomatoes; fresh, canned and/or in sauce.
Add in peeled & chopped sweet potatoes.
Cover with just enough water to simmer. Cook until soft ... about a half hour.
Add entire pan of spices, peppers, and sweet potatoes to bean pot ... carefully! Season with sea-salt/fresh thyme/hot sauce, as desired.

Serve over fresh cornbread made using olive oil and not butter, and with a side of cooked kale, or collards, beet, or mustard greens. Pour the cooking water from the greens into a glass to chill in the refrigerator, & drink later. You'll like it! I like to finish the greens with virgin olive oil, a fresh grate of black pepper, a dash of sea-salt, and garlic powder. Variation; add to the stew a can of sliced shitaki mushrooms, or saute fresh ones in with the peppers.

My favorite cornbread recipe goes here ... next visit.

Finally I have found it ... a way to cook salmon, with all it's super health benefits ... tasting terrific ... hot out of the oven, or off the grill, or cold and left-over.

Super de-licious and smelling good for the first time without that overpowering fishy intensity! Thanks to the knowledge shared by a marvelous French cook to the Kings ... J. Pepin! ... let me know what you think. I am really proud of this one.

Gather baking pan, at least one inch deep, with a good fitting lid, for the oven, ... or enough foil to make a tight bundle on the grill ... mesquite wood if possible.

Place nice chunks/thick fillets of deboned salmon in the middle of, and on top of lots oflemon grass stalks (most any Asian market) which have been cleaned, bent, and twisted to make flexible and fragrant ... oh, what a marvelous odor ... a nest for the fish to rest on. Depending on what's at hand can use twigs of rosemary or sage.

(Thanks to Jacque Pepin, I now know how to cut the dark middle of salmon near the spine and give to dogs ... just run sharp knife sideways and 'skim off' ... no more too fishy smell or taste ... just clean and sweet. You do lose a little omega 3, as it is concentrated in the oily dark meat, but your dogs or cats get shinier coats and feel real special!)

Season with:

Canned green curry sauce, also from local Asian market, and spread like peanut butter, to taste, over prepared fish slices. When using shellfish ... spread straight onto pan or foil ... add shellfish on top and baste as sauce forms or flip your foil bundle. Don't overcook ... this is a fast recipe!

ATTENTION: The canned green curry paste is quite hot and very flavorful ... add to taste ... average heat is about 1 TBS per serving. I also sprinkle a few hot red pepper flakes for the effect and more heat, but I am a little nutty!

... then if using fish fillets ... take one small onion, cut in half and then into thin half-moon slices, place into an arrangement of 'scales' on top of the green curry paste.

.... then lay one or two bayleaves, per serving size, on top.

With shellfish just throw in with some onion.

Finally add about one cup liquid ... water, or water and white wine, cover with foil, and bake 10 min per serving, at 375 ... about 30 minutes for a full pan for 4 ... check fluid levels frequently, if using the oven, to keep steaming active and yet not burn ..... add more water if necessary. Fish will look firm and flake easily ... shellfish will open and prawns will have pinked up and firmed ... I repeat ... don't overcook!

Serve with a baked potato from the coals, or mashed or boiled potatoes, or any kind of rice soaked with a little of the sauce left.

For a real treat:

Serve cold the next day in a bowl, on a bed of lettuce, or sided with a good coleslaw with 2 or 3 Ryecrisp crackers stuck in the sides.

Travel out in the sun on a hot day, find a shady spot to site, and enjoy with a large glass of iced tea or cool wine.

~ Skoal!

MINESTRA DI DUE COLORI
(The soup of two colors)

Ingredients:

A handful of spinach, 3 cups of flour, 2/3 cup of Parmesan type cheese, 2 whole eggs and the yolks of 2 eggs, 1 pint (2 cups!) of milk, 4 tablespoons of butter, a pinch of salt, and nutmeg.

Method:

Put the butter in a saucepan and, when melted, mix in the flour. Pour in the hot milk, season with salt and nutmeg and work with a wooden spoon into a smooth paste, on a slow fire. Remove from the fire and, when cool, mix in the eggs and the cheese. Divide the paste in half, and mix one half with the spinach, previously boiled, well drained, and rubbed through a sieve. Drop small lumps of the alternate green and yellow paste into boiling stock through a piping funnel.

*The Countess

Recently David Leite has combined with Gary Allen.

Some of you may be familiar with Gary Allen's book:

Now that he has joined with Leite ... WOW! Don't miss being inspired!

Give them a look-see.

<<<<<<<<<<<< * >>>>>>>>>>>>>

If you are anything like me, you probably do not care for sweet hams during the holidays ... hams, or lambs, dripping in syrup, swimming in honey, and studded with pineapples, cloves, and marachino cherries! For years I thought that was the only method ... the only 'proper' way! The thought now makes me queesy.

Here is a recipe which has been a family favorite for many years:

Unwrap, clean and process for baking type ham. (use thermometer on hams not precooked) Use rack, with a pan deep enough to handle basting juices as they form.

With a small sharp knife poke inch deep hole and fill with a thick slice of peeled garlic clove, about a whole head used overall ... repeat where ever you can fit one in ... about and inch or so apart. Then, if you have them, use fresh sprigs of rosemary and thyme and plug all the garlic holes where you can fit in a piece. Dry herbs can be used in a pinch.

Pour on olive oil and rub in ... adding some black pepper as you go. I don't salt the hams as usually they are salty enough. ( I also sprinkle on hot pepper flakes, which if you know me goes on everything except ice cream!)

Put in a hot (450+) oven to sear and keep most of the juices inside, but not to burn the herbs, ... about 20 minutes to a half hour.

Next baste with more olive oil, ... add a cup or two of water to the pan drippings, and turn down oven to 325+ and finish ... basting every half hour or so, using juices from bottom, adding more water as necessary to keep drippings loose.

As a finish, I squeeze on whatever citrus I have on hand, and cook a dash more, basting every 10 minutes until shiny coat develops. Remove from oven and let set about a half an hour before slicing. Decorate finished roast with thin slices of whatever citrus used, and fresh sprigs of herbs, with flowers on if possible ... oranges for ham, lemons for lamb!

Here is another one of my favorites from the Countess:

This typically German dish consists of 3 or 4 lbs. of rump of beef, flattened out, rolled, and tied with string. Put of few slices of fat bacon in the bottom of a saucepan, with a few sliced onions, then the meat, which should be covered with equal quantities of brown beer and water, 1/2 cup of vinegar, 1 tablespoon of brown syrup, and seasoned with salt, peppercorns, 2 or 3 cloves of garlic, and 1 bayleaf. Cover the saucepan, and simmer for 3 hours in the oven.

This marvelous and hearty cold fall meal, can also be good on a cool spring evening, using up the last of the pot greens ... and is very easy to prepare on a single pot.

It has been a 50+ year favorite recipe of mine, that my father brought home and cooked for us; learned from his travels on the high seas ... during and between, two world wars!

Brown 2 large linquicia sausages in a big, firm bottomed, pot (can use chorizo, if the real thing is not available (usually can find in any large supermarket, now ... but chorizo in a pinch only, as it does not hang together, and really is not as good with this dish.) Remove extra grease after browning, especially with chorizo! ... and then add lots of onions and garlic, lots! LOL Cook until good and wilted, add 2 large bunches of curly kale, cleaned and chopped into mouth size portions (flat kale, or collard greens are just not as interesting, but still taste great, if that is what you have). Wilt down to make room and then add 4 or 5 scrubbed and cubed potatos. Salt and pepper to taste. Cook until all is tender. To me it always tastes best the second day reheated.

Depending on season I add fresh herbs ... my favorite is thyme. If dry herbs only, I add thyme, or even rosemary, with the browning. (I also add early on with the browning, some 'hot pepper' flakes, as I am a nut on hot pepper flakes! I even carry them in my purse when going out to eat. Now you know I am obsessed! LOL)

Enjoy!