Thai Rice with Veggies

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Made this for the first time on Kumy’s birthday last year, with Sriracha-Glazed Salmon.  It was quick and very good.  Yellow curry paste is available in Asian Markets.  I use Mae Ploy Yellow Curry Paste – which is also available online.  You can use coconut milk or coconut cream – both are good, though the coconut cream is of course slightly heavier.  (Avoid using cream of coconut – which is sweetened and used in cocktails.  Ali made that fateful mistake once on what was otherwise a very promising curry!)

2 cups rice
3 7/8 cup water
1 tsp salt

1 Tbsp olive oil
1 package mushrooms, sliced (Add more if you like mushrooms.)
1 or 2 red bell peppers, cut into bit-sized pieces

1 1/2 Tbsp Yellow Curry Paste
1 cup coconut milk/cream

Make rice with salt and water. See recipe here.

In a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat. Saute peppers for a few minutes, then add mushrooms and saute a few minutes more. Add curry paste, and stir in well. Add coconut milk or cream and remove from heat. Gently blend in cooked rice. Season with a little salt if needed.

Camp Chicken Noodle Soup

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Just back from Niobrara and while we were there, I made chicken noodle soup that was so easy and so good – just with what I had on hand. Chicken thighs have  enough fat and flavor to make chicken broth unnecessary, and while we were in a cabin, this would be great for camping, too.  See my notes below to prep this recipe for camping.

1 onion, cut up
2 carrots, cut up
2 stalks celery, cut up
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
2 bay leaves
pinch of ground cloves
2 tsp dried parsley
1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken thighs (mine were frozen in a lump, from Costco)
7-8 cups water
1 package noodles

Saute onion, carrots and celery in olive oil. Add spices and stir in. Add chicken and water. Cook 20 minutes.

If chicken is frozen, just cook it in a lump and after 10 minutes or so, you should be able to start pulling it apart. Fish out the bigger pieces, and cut them into bite-sized pieces. Return to pot. Finish cooking. Add noodles and cook for another 8-10 minutes until noodles are done.

To prep this for camping: cut up veggies and bag them with oil and spices. Bring frozen chicken and noodles in their bag. The frozen chicken helps keep the veggies cool.  A really satisfying supper.

Chicken Fried Rice for a Crowd

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Maya and the gals were all at our house a year or so ago, and so were Sammy and Taylor when I suddenly realized it was supper time! Maya’s friend Madeline loves stir-fried rice and often makes it, so I thought I’d give it a go.

Once you understand the mechanics of it: use cold rice, cook meat, then veggies, then sauce, then add everything back together again, you can use whatever you have on hand. I like it with lots of veggies and meat so I add a lot. It’s pretty easy and it’s delicious – anyway, the gals and our family demolished it!

3 cups rice
5 7/8 cup water
2 tsp salt

Make rice and spread out on a tray or any dish that will fit in your freezer. The rice needs to be cooled down.

olive oil
3 eggs

2 lbs. boneless skinless chicken, cut into bite-sized pieces (thighs and/or breast)
6 Tbsp soy sauce, divided
1/4 tsp Black Pepper
1 1/2 cup chicken broth
2 Tbsp brown sugar
1 Tbsp Sambal Oelek (a great hot sauce – or you could use Sriracha, or Tabasco)
8 cloves of garlic, crushed, or 1 tsp garlic powder

1 cup diced carrots
1 1/2 cup peas
1 1/2 cup diced onion
1 cup bell pepper

Heat a Tbsp of oil in a wok or large, wide skillet. Scramble eggs with a few drops of soy sauce. Remove and cut into chunks.

Mix chicken with 1 Tbsp of the soy sauce, and 1/4 tsp black pepper. Fry the meat, stirring frequently until it looks cooked. Remove from the heat.

Add another Tbsp oil to the pan. Dump in carrots and onions and saute for a few minutes. Add peas and bell peppers and saute for a minute more. Push veggies to the outer edges.

Mix garlic, soy sauce, brown sugar, chicken broth and Sambal Oelek in a bowl and pour into the middle of the veggies. Cook for a few minutes.

Add eggs and chicken back in. Stir veggies, sauce and meat together until everything is nice and saucy.

Add rice back in and cook,stirring to toss the rice with the meat and veggies. Check seasonings, and add red pepper and soy sauce as needed.

Roasted Salmon

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2 Tbsp Dijon mustard
3 Tbsp soy sauce
6 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp garlic, crushed
large Salmon fillet (enough for two big fillet, actually.

Mix mustard, soy sauce, oil and garlic together. Lay salmon skin side down in a baking dish and drizzle glaze over. Let the fish marinate for about 10 minutes. Bake at 425 for 20 minutes.

Great with Gnocchi and fresh peas.

Ginger Honey Syrup

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We are crazy about Celestial Seasoning’s Jammin’ Lemon Ginger tea, and I created a honey syrup that goes with it. Caitlin suggested adding lemon juice after straining it – which would also be amazing.

1/2 cup fresh grated ginger
1 cup honey
1 cup water

Bring everything to the boil. Reduce heat and cook 10 minutes until slightly thickened. Strain into a mason jar, discarding ginger. (If you’d like you can add 3/4 cup lemon juice, too.)

Good with tea. Someone also mentioned a drink called a Panacea, which is:

2 oz. syrup
2 oz. Scotch

Blend these in a glass, and fill glass half full of ice. Stir well. Not sure how this would taste, but it’s interesting!

Zuppa Italiano with Sausage, Potato & Kale

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4 slices, turkey bacon or real bacon, chopped
1 lb. hot Italian sausage
1 onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, crushed
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
6 cups of chicken broth
2 big potatoes, cut into thin, bite-sized pieces
1 tsp salt
1 cup half n half
2 cups kale, chopped

Saute turkey bacon in a little olive oil. (Real bacon won’t need oil.)

Add sausage, garlic and red pepper. Brown well. Remove sausage from pan, and cut into bite-sized pieces.

Add back to pan, and add broth potatoes and salt. Cook 20 minutes. Add Kale and cook 2 more minutes. Add half & half and check seasoning.

Brown Butter Roasted Potatoes

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Another recipe from the Wall Street Journal – I have made this dish so many times and it’s always amazing. It’s great for supper or brunch.

2 lbs. small potatoes, scrubbed well, but not peeled
3 Tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper
4 eggs, rinsed well before adding to pot
6 Tbsp butter
3 Tbsp lemon juice
4 green onions, thinly sliced

Heat oven to 450.

Boil potatoes and eggs in salted water for 15 minutes. Remove and halve potatoes. Lay on a roasting pan, drizzle with olive oil, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast for 15 minutes, flip the potatoes and bake another 10 minutes.

Peel eggs and quarter them.

Heat butter for 5 minutes over medium heat in a pan large enough to hold everything, until it just starts to brown. Add lemon juice and stir. Then add potatoes, eggs and green onions and toss everything together.

Check seasoning and serve.

Roasted Eggplant with Tahini Sauce

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From the Wall Street Journal – though simplified. Eggplant and tahini are so good together! The original recipe called for fresh herbs on top, but we like it just like this.

6 small eggplants, halved, skin and stem intact
olive oil
kosher salt

Put eggplants on a baking pan, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Roast at 425 for 20 minutes.

1/4 cup tahini paste
2 Tbsp lemon juice
sprinkle of garlic powder
1/2 to 1 tsp salt
1/4 cup water

Mix all together and drizzle over eggplant just before serving. Trader Joe’s also sells a Tahini sauce which you can substitute for the tahini paste and water. Just use 1/2 cup of the sauce instead.

You can use larger eggplants – just cut them in slices about 1″ thick.

Emergency Niobrara Salad Dressing

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When you’re staying in a cabin and miles from any grocery store, sometimes you have to get creative! Since we often stay a week or more, I bring a pretty good selection of things from home. One time though, I had everything for salad but no dressing. So I grabbed the buttermilk and mayo from the fridge and the garlic bread seasoning mix from Costco and voila – a terrific, creamy salad dressing! You could probably use any seasoning mix you have on hand – steak seasoning mix would probably be great, too.

1/4 cup buttermilk
1/8 cup mayonnaise
1 1/2 tsp Johnny’s garlic-bread seasoning mix

Blend and enjoy.

Great Warm Caprese Salad

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This may have come from the Wall Street Journal, or maybe Ina Garten – can’t really remember. It’s perfect for when tomatoes are abundant, but even winter grocery store tomatoes taste great.

12 plum tomatoes, halved
1/4 cup olive oil
1 1/2 Tbsp cider vinegar
sprinkling of garlic powder
2 tsp sugar
salt and pepper
8 oz. sliced mozzarella cheese
12 basil leaves, julienned (Stack all the leaves on top of one another, roll them up and cut little thin slices. They’ll form little strips of basil. Thanks, Ina!)

Set oven to 425.

Lay tomatoes cut side up in a baking dish. Blend olive oil, vinegar, garlic powder and sugar and drizzle over the tomatoes. Sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper.

Bake for 25 – 30 minutes. Remove from oven, and put Mozarella cheese on top. Put back in the oven for 2 minutes to soften the cheese. Remove again, then sprinkle basil over everything. Drizzle one more time with olive oil and give it one last go with the salt and pepper. Serve warm.

So good.