Cooking in Metro

I know that I'm slowly letting this blog die, but I have been cooking, and this is the best place to save recipes!

I went back to Metro last week for some minor surgery (biopsy). The surgery was on Monday, my husband took that day off, as well as Tuesday. He was back at work the rest of the week, and I took the next few days to cook.

Wednesday: Turnip greens, no-egg cornbread, leftover Easter ham
Thursday: Red beans and rice
Friday: Zucchini, mushroom, garlic butter pasta

Wednesday recipes: 
I had originally planned on making red beans and rice on Wednesday, with a side of turnip greens. I got busy grading however, and wasn't able to get to cooking until early afternoon. Since the red beans needed to cook all day, this meant I couldn't make the red beans and rice. So I decided to make the best of things. There was still time to make the turnip greens.  And I realized that there was still Easter ham, to focus on the carb element. Cornbread was the natural choice, but I soon discovered that we had no eggs. I did a web search, and on the bottom of page 3 of the search results, I found the recipe below.  Indeed, it is good enough to save for future reference.  
 
       No Egg Cornbread.  I found this recipe on Food.com. I used regular milk instead of soymilk.


Servings:8

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups soymilk
1 1/2 tablespoons vinegar
1 cup cornmeal
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour or 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
2 tablespoons raw sugar or 2 tablespoons other artificial sweetener
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 tablespoons oil

Directions:
Prep Time: 15 mins
Total Time: 45 mins

1) Preheat oven to 425°F.

2) Combine soymilk and vinegar and let stand.

3) Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl.

4) Add the soymilk mixture and the oil, and stir until just blended.

5) Spread the batter into a nonstick or lightly oil-sprayed 9-inch square baking dish, and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. (I used a 9" glass pie dish, and reduced the temperature to 400°F)

6) Serve hot.
Read more: http://www.food.com/recipe/cornbread-101926

       Leon O'Neal's Turnip Greens  Recipe found on epicurious.com  I left out the turnip, the lemon pepper, and the hot sauce.  Basically I sauteed half an onion in bacon and its grease, then added the boiled greens.

Ingredients:


1 large bunch turnip greens
1 small turnip, peeled and diced
Dash of sugar
6 slices bacon, diced
1 onion, diced
1 tablespoon lemon pepper
Salt to taste
Louisiana hot-pepper sauce

Directions

Wash the greens in several changes of water in the sink until no more grit is seen. Chop the greens coarsely. Bring a large pot of water to boil and add the greens, the turnip, and the sugar. Cook for 12 to 15 minutes, or until tender. Drain.
In a large skillet, sauté the bacon until it gives up its grease. Add the onion and cook 7 minutes until the onion is soft. Toss the greens with the bacon and onion. Add the lemon pepper and salt. Serve with Louisiana hot-pepper sauce.

Variation:
Green beans. Substitute 1 pound fresh green beans, cleaned and snapped. Omit the sugar.
Read More http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Leon-ONeals-Turnip-Greens-108862


Thursday recipe: 
       Red Beans and Rice
This was another "throw things together" recipe, using what I had.


I soaked half a pound of red beans overnight, but found out after I assembled the ingredients that I needed some more beans. I "quick soaked" another quarter pound of beans: I boiled the beans for 2 minutes, then let them soak in the water for another hour.  I then added them to the crock-pot

In Crockpot:
3/4 lb of dried red beans, then presoaked
3/4 lb of leftover Easter ham (HoneyBaked Ham)
1 ham bone
1 onion diced, and sauteed, using about 1/4 lb of chopped bacon and its grease
2 garlic cloves (also sauteed with the onions)
1 bay leaf
1 tsp thyme

I put the Crockpot on high, and left it for about 6 hrs. Any ham that was on the bone going in, had fallen off by the time it had finished cooking.

The recipe was inspired by this http://thepioneerwoman.com/tasty-kitchen/recipes/main-courses/crockpot-red-beans-and-rice/ though my actual dish has little in common with the linked recipe, besides the name.  Also used as inspiration, Emeril's RB&R recipe: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/emeril-lagasse/red-beans-and-rice-recipe2/index.html

Friday Recipe:
       Zucchini, Garlic, and Mushroom Pasta.  Found on the blog A Southern Fairy Tale. I used a green bell pepper, and a whole pound of mushrooms. I used the 4 medium zucchini suggested by the recipe, but if I were to do this again, I would use 6 zucchini. Also, I found that the sauce wasn't enough, and so I made a garlic butter sauce by melting 1/2 stick of butter and then sauteeing 3 cloves of chopped garlic in it.  It was my first time using my husband's food processor--I used it for the zucchini and the bell pepper.


ZUCCHINI, GARLIC AND MUSHROOM PASTA
inspired by and adapted from Lori’s Mom’s Recipe

4 Smallish to Medium zucchini, shredded
1 Head Garlic, minced
10 oz mushrooms, sliced
1 red bell pepper, sliced or chopped
14.5 oz box Barilla Pasta Plus Thin Spaghetti
Parmesan Cheese
1 Tbsp Crushed Red Pepper ( start with 1/2 and go up)

Let’s Get Started
1. Chop or slice your red bell pepper

2.  Grate your zucchini

3.  Mince your garlic and slice your mushrooms

4.  Start your pasta water

5.  In a medium skillet over medium heat saute your garlic and mushrooms and peppers in olive oil for about 2 minutes, add in the zucchini and crushed red peppers.  Cook, stirring frequently for about 12 to 15 minutes.

6.  While the veggies are cooking, add your pasta to your pasta water and cook according to box directions.

7.  Drain the pasta, Drain the veggies and toss them all together.

8.  Top with fresh grated parmesan and serve to the delight of your friends and family.

From: http://asouthernfairytale.com/2010/03/01/zucchini-garlic-and-mushroom-pasta/


A side note: on Monday, I asked for tomato soup as I recovered from my surgery.  My husband made it for me with fresh tomatoes. The recipe for La Madeleine's tomato soup from Food.com.

Servings:8

Ingredients:
4 cups fresh tomatoes, cored, peeled, and chopped (8-10) or 4 cups canned whole tomatoes, crushed
4 cups tomato juice (or part vegetable or part chicken stock)
12 -14 basil leaves, washed fresh
1 cup heavy cream
1/4 lb sweet unsalted butter
salt
1/4 teaspoon cracked black pepper
lemon juice (optional)

Directions:
Prep Time: 15 mins
Total Time: 1 hr

1) Combine tomatoes, juice/and or stock in saucepan.

2) Simmer 30 minutes.

3) Puree, along with the basil leaves, in small batches, in blender, food processor (or better yet, one of those handy hand-held food blenders, right in the cooking pan). Return to saucepan and add cream and butter, while stirring, over low heat. Garnish with basil leaves and serve with your favorite bread.

4) Excerpted from an article by Beverly Bundy of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram around May 20. 1994.
She wrote, "Once a year, in January I run a column of our most requested recipes -- This year, that column included the recipe for La Madeleine's popular tomato basil soup. I continue to get at least 10 calls a week asking for the recipe. So here it is, once again -- ".
Read more: http://www.food.com/recipe/la-madeleines-tomato-basil-soup-5368