So we were recently gifted some ghee from our friends at gheewell.com and were debating what to do with it beside saute, which is what ghee is excellent for. So I'm was debating doing a Dutch baby, or some caramel sauce or something like scampi and I remember I"m sitting on the last ham steak that I was gifted from a friend who raised his pork from a baby and had it cured and smoked at Taylor's Sausage. So I whipped up a hollandaise sauce, which ghee is perfect for, and roasted up that ham steak, toasted up some rye bread, and fried an egg sunny side up to top this off and away we went.
Got some Cro-Mags to go with this because we scored tickets to see the Misfits (with the surviving original line-up, including Glen), Rancid, Cro-Mags, and The Damned. So we've been listening to a lot of the old school punk from our youth.
This recipe is really simple. Separate four egg yolks from their whites. Add those to your blender. Juice one lemon and separate one tbsp juice to add to blender. Add more if you prefer a more tart or sour hollandaise. Add salt, pepper, and cayenne. Blend on medium high. Drizzle in melted ghee slowly until hollandaise is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Drizzle on food and thoroughly enjoy.
Some notes: we frequently alter this recipe to make it exotic or different. This time I added powdered chipotle and some yellow curry. The wife has often substituted lime for lemon and added cilantro for a Mexican twist. Do you.
We love Thai food. Seriously. We have a giant Thai cookbook on our kitchen counter. And we have galagal, kafir lime leaf, and ginger in our freezer along with fish sauce in our fridge and powdered lemongrass and fermented shrimp paste in our pantry. Spring rolls are a staple in our diet. Peanut sauce has morphed into a Thai peanut salad dressing in our house.And while we go out for Thai on occasion it's usually take-out and it's usually because we're lazy.
So, since we also usually have a can of coconut milk in the pantry as well, little green curry paste was all that we needed to do up some Thai style Green Curry Pork with Quinoa. Most of these things can be found at a large grocery store with a good Asian/Ethnic isle. Fresh galangal may not be available to you but fresh ginger root can be substituted. It won't taste quite the same as galangal has that floral aspect that ginger just doesn't posses. Same goes for kafir lime leaf. Lime zest can be subbed but it isn't quite as sweet or perfumed as kafir lime leaf. We're fortunate enough to live in an area with a decent southeast Asian community and a Co-op that carries a lot of Central and Southeast Asian ingredients so I stock up on the good stuff when it's available.
So this curry sauce is classic Thai flavor and you can serve this with any steamed grain you like. We went with quinoa because it's what we had in the cupboard. Same goes for veggies. Onions, carrots, pumpkin, and bell peppers are all traditional Southeast Asian curry ingredients but use what you have or what you like. We tossed in some cauliflower and zucchini because we had it in the veggie drawer. Also, we didn't do much heat in this. This is very mild as curries go so zip it up if you like. Slice up a jalapeño or serrano and toss it in.
So, Guttermouth goes with Thai food, right? And this was blasting in
the car around the time I made this dish. Love me some old, raw,
hardcore Guttermouth. Never got to see em live, though.
Thai Style Green Curry Pork Time: Difficulty: Medium Serves: 4-6
Ingredients:
4 tbsp canola oil
1 tsp salt
2 tsp ground black pepper
1 cup onion, sliced thinly
1 tbsp galangal root, grated (ginger root can be subbed if you can't find galagal)
2 tbsp green curry paste (in the Asian food isle of the grocery store)
1 Kafir lime leaf (1 tbsp of lime zest can be subbed if you can't find Kafir lime leaf)
1 cup red bell pepper, chopped into 1" pieces
1 cup zucchini, chopped into 1" pieces
2 cups cauliflower, chopped into 1" pieces
1 cup carrots, chopped into 1/2" rounds
1 cup acorn squash, chopped into 1/2 pieces
1 lb pork shoulder chopped into 1" cubes
1 tsp brown sugar
1 14 oz can coconut milk
1/4 cup water
2 tbsp fish sauce
1 cup frozen peas
3 tbsp fresh squeezed lime juice
basil and/or cilantro chiffonade for garnish
Preheat oven to 450°F.Toss cauliflower, carrot, and squash in 2
tbsp of the canola oil (set the remaining 2 tbsp aside for later), salt and
pepper.Spread evenly on a foil lined
baking sheet and roast for 25 minutes. Remove and set aside.
Place a large skillet over
medium-high heat.When hot, add the
remaining 2 tbsp of oil and the onion and cook for about 3 minutes, stirring
often.
When onion is translucent and
fragrant, stir in the galangal, the kaffir lime leaf, and the green curry
paste.Cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring often
until the aromas are strong and a paste is formed.
Stir in the red bell pepper,
zucchini, and meat and stir to coat with the onions and spice paste.
Add the water, coconut milk,
brown sugar, fish sauce, and bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer.Simmer for 10-15 minutes, stirring every
couple of minutes, until the meat is cooked through.
Stir in the roasted veggies, lime juice, and
taste for any final salt and pepper that may be needed.
Serve with rice, quinoa, or your
preferred steamed grain and garnish with basil and/or cilantro.
Stuffed pumpkinsrock! I'm definitely one of those annoying people that look forward to everything-pumpkin in the fall. I'd never stuffed a pumpkin until a few years ago and it's become one of my most favourite autumn dishes.
We have a recipe for a sweet Apple and Oats Stuffed Pumpkin, but we also enjoy doing savoury stuffed pumpkins, so I thought it was time to get a recipe up! This stuffed pumpkin was so delicious. While I chose wild rice and sausage, you can really put anything you like in one! Change up the meat and use chicken or shredded beef. Change up the grain and use barley or white rice. Add nuts - try dried apricots instead of cranberries. Try a theme - Mexican, Italian, Moroccan, Chinese...
How about The Hollowpoints - The Sickness. -jen
WILD RICE AND SAUSAGE STUFFED PUMPKIN Prep Time: 30 minutes Bake Time: 60 minutes Difficulty: Easy to Medium Serves: about 6
1 pie pumpkin (like a Sugar Pumpkin or a Winter Luxury)
5 links maple sausage
1 tablespoon coconut oil + 2 teaspoons, melted
1 small carrot, diced (about 1/2 cup)
1/2 medium onion, diced (about 3/4 cups)
1 large stalks of celery, diced (about 1/4 cup)
1 small green pepper or poblano, diced (about 1/2 cup)
1 apple, diced (like a Gala or Fuji) (about 1 cup)
1 tablespoon ginger, minced (1 tbsp)
2 large cloves of garlic, minced (1 tbsp)
2 tablespoons maple syrup (brown sugar would be a suitable substitute) + 1 teaspoon
1/4 cup dried cranberries
1/2 teaspoon salt + 1/4 teaspoon
1/4 teaspoon pepper + a pinch
1/2 teaspoon curry powder + 1/4 teaspoon
1/2 teaspoon rubbed sage + 1/4 teaspoon
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon marjoram
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1-2 cups cooked wild rice (recipe below)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Like carving a jack-o-lantern, cut the top of your pumpkin off and scoop the inside and the base of the lid clean. (Save your seeds and make Seasoned Pumpkin Seeds!) Discard the insides, keep your lid! Make sure you get all those stringy pieces out... it's worth the extra effort to make it totally scraped clean. Set aside.
In a large skillet over medium heat, cook sausages through. Set aside. In same skillet with the remaining sausage fat, add 1 tablespoon of coconut oil and the carrots, cook for 3-4 minutes, stirring occasionally. Then add the onion, celery, and green pepper. Saute about 5 minutes, until vegetables become tender. Add the apples, garlic, ginger, maple syrup, cranberries, salt, pepper, curry powder, sage, cinnamon, marjoram, and red pepper flake. Cook another 2-3 minutes, then remove from heat and let cool.
Once cool, dice the sausages and add the sausage and the rice to the vegetable mixture. Add 2 teaspoons of melted coconut oil, 1 tsp maple syrup, 1/4 tsp salt, pinch of pepper, 1/4 tsp curry powder and 1/4 tsp of sage to the inside of the pumpkin, . Using your hands, massage oil and seasonings all over the inside of the pumpkin, as well as on the bottom of the lid.
Stuff the pumpkin completely full with the stuffing. Place the lid back on the pumpkin and place on a sheet
pan. Cook at 350 degrees F for about 1 hour. A sharp knife should slide easily through the skin and the flesh if the pumpkin is cooked thoroughly. Remove and let rest for 5 minutes.
Place on a serving tray. Remove lid. Slice wedges and serve. Don't forget to slice the pumpkin meat off of the lid, too!
If you have leftover stuffing you can serve it on the table with your stuffed pumpkin for folks who want extra. You can make an egg scramble out of it (which we did!) or use it as a side dish for your dinner the next evening.
In a large sauce pan, combine rice, broth and sage. Bring to a boil. Cover and reduce heat to a simmer. Simmer for 45 minutes and check. You'll want about half of the kernels to split open (they'll look lighter in colour)... could take up to 60 minutes. If there's any remaining liquid, drain it off. Fluff with a fork.
Note: Wild rice will triple or quadruple once cooked. 1 cup may yield 3.5 - 4 cups.
So we were recently gifted some ghee from our friends at gheewell.com and were debating what to do with it beside saute, which is what ghee is excellent for. So I'm was debating doing a Dutch baby, or some caramel sauce or something like scampi and I remember I"m sitting on the last ham steak that I was gifted from a friend who raised his pork from a baby and had it cured and smoked at Taylor's Sausage. So I whipped up a hollandaise sauce, which ghee is perfect for, and roasted up that ham steak, toasted up some rye bread, and fried an egg sunny side up to top this off and away we went.
