Happy New Year Hoppin' John

January 1 isn't really my new year (which we Jews celebrate in early fall) but I like to make this southern standard for the other new year's day. I do have a touch of Southern blood and I love a good tradition. While I don't really expect "Peas for pennies, greens for dollars and cornbread for gold" I figure it can't hurt, especially being a dish that packs in a whole heck of a lot of nutrients in one tasty bowl.

I have a little confession to make: I actually found a genuine secret ingredient which made this year's version extra fantastic. Our local natural foods market had a tray of truly ugly,blackened smoked turkey legs tucked in the corner of the meat cooler and, after a discussion with the butcher lady, I realized these hideous things might work magic in my hoppin' john -- plus it was fun to tell the kids I'd bought a smoked orc leg.

While my kashrut leaves much to be desired, we don't eat pork and I think that smoky, salty taste was missing from my ham hock-less beans all these years. I tossed that leg in my slow cooker yesterday with soaked black-eyed peas, some long simmered chicken broth, and a skillet full of sauteed bell peppers, celery, onion, and garlic and let it simmer all day. When I reheated it today, I shredded the turkey meat off the bone and into the stew, added a thinly sliced bunch of collard greens, and served it over brown rice with a side of gluten free corn bread. It was mild enough for the kids but I had a big bottle of my beloved Crystal hot sauce at hand and everyone was happy.

Give it a try and let me know what you think. The recipe is here.

Our hoppin' john may not bring us wealth, but I don't think I spent more than $5 (smoked turkey leg included) on the whole big pot so I figure we are most definitely starting the new year off right. Here's to 2011--may we all be healthy and happy!

Comfort Food

With the recent acquisition of my 3-in-1 slow cooker, I've been looking at a lot of new cookbooks in an attempt to move beyond the chili and bean soups I can make with my eyes closed. There seem to be two camps in the slow cooker world: those who slow cook for convenience, and those who slow cook for the added depth of flavor imparted by long hours over low heat.

There are a lot of slow cooker books out there, enough that I've had to develop my own simple litmus test to use while scanning for promising recipes. If onion soup mix or anything from Campbell's show up in the ingredient list, that's when I put the book down and move on.

I've had some hits (arroz con pollo) and some misses (Moroccan chicken) and learned a few things, namely that most things taste better if I take the time to brown meat, saute onions, and warm spices in oil. Oh, and that you really can overcook slow cooked dishes.

Tonight's dinner was delicious. I made a slow cooked kitchari from the wonderful Not Your Mother's Slow Cooker Book in which I've found interesting recipes with real ingredients--nary a can of cream of mushroom soup in sight! The recipe called for heating spices in melted butter to release their fragrance for the base flavors and the last hour spice paste addition gives a bright, fresh taste to this protein-rich Indian comfort food.

My modification: the recipe calls for moong dal but I used the split chana dal I had in the cupboard and was happy with the results, but they didn't completely disintegrate into the rice. If that sounds more appealing to you (or picky little ones) by all means use the moong dal or even red lentils. Also, though the recipe directed cooking on low heat, I cut the cooking time nearly in half by cooking on high. If you choose to do this, watch it at the end so it doesn't dry out too much.You'll find the printable recipe here. Enjoy!

Oh--and if, like me, you can't keep your dals straight, this is the guide I refer to.

Unexpectedly Good

There's been lots and lots of dairy action around here, now that I've met Ed, my local goat guy. I've turned 4 gallons of milk into yogurt, chevre, feta, and a my own invention which I'm just calling The Awesome Cheese . If I can duplicate my results, I'll be sharing that here since it's pretty straightforward and doesn't require exotic specialty ingredients--except for goat's milk.

Honestly, I've been just a wee bit obsessed with the cheese, but wasn't sure how many people shared my obsession and thought my next post here at Magpie Eats should be of a non-dairy nature. And so I bring you.....Turnip Soup!

Did I scare you away? I hope not. This turned out so much better than I'd imagined possible. It's rich and creamy and only lightly turnip flavored. It was such a pleasant surprise I thought I'd share this simple and unusual soup.

This is our first season with the Winter Green Farm CSA. I've always worried that my picky family wouldn't be able to handle an ever changing weekly supply of fresh veggies but one of the things that sold me on the CSA was when a friend mentioned the recipes that accompany the weekly box. Which is how I ended up with a plan for my bunch of young turnips.

The recipe is credited to Fresh from the Market which may or may not be this book. My apologies for failing to give credit appropriately--I'm just working with the information I have.

Summer seems to have left us here in Portland so it's soup weather again. Give this one a try and let me know what you think.

Printable recipe here.

A little housekeeping: I'm trying out a different way of of storing recipes and making them easily printable. Please let me know if this is better or worse than my previous setup. Also, I have a question for you. Would you like to see the entire recipe in the blog post as well as having a link to a printable recipe? I've always stayed away from that because I wanted to keep the posts trim and easy to read, but maybe having the recipe is more appealing. Please let me know what you prefer. Thanks!

In Which Melisa Comes Out as an Omnivore

There have been a few changes in my kitchen of late. I've written recently about my changing body and my increasing need for protein. I have been madly craving meat in recent months much as I did through two of my pregnancies. I'm pretty sure it's all about the protein and meat is doing the trick.

Vegetarians, I love you, and I'm glad to have you here. But this might be a good time for you to go elsewhere because this post is going to be flesh-heavy. But come back soon, OK? I promise the meat posts will be few and far between.

Anyone still here?

Good.

There are only two beef dishes I know how to make and I'm rather burned out on one of them (brisket) which leaves me with my second specialty: beef stew. I recently scored a lovely enameled cast iron Dutch oven which goes from stovetop to oven to table and this purchase was responsible for a sudden glut of beef stew.
I first started making beef stew many years ago during my second pregnancy. Julia Child's recipe in The Way to Cook was so very good that I've never really bothered looking for another. The key? Most of a bottle of red wine. That and tomato puree make for tender meat in a very flavorful sauce.

I make this on the stove top and then transfer to the oven for long, slow cooking, though a crock pot would also be an option. Either way, served with a green salad and some crusty bread, it's hard to come up with a simpler, more satisfying meal.

The recipe is here.