Category Archives: recipes

Jailhouse Jambalaya

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bedraggled and ready to eat

We have been working hard on the farm lately. Our weather is beginning  to turn toward Autumn and soon all outdoor work will come to a halt – so we’re kicking it into high gear.  We have the scintillating task of clearing a large field…of all rocks, all rose hips, all by hand.  In my previous life I was a suburban girl; I don’t remember all this manual labor being in the brochure.  I call Steve ‘The Warden’ now – he works me like a dog.  An upside is my pants fit a little better AND I can eat tasty, meaty dishes without as much guilt –  Such as this streamlined, bastardization, Pacific Northwestern version of a creole classic.

jailhouse jambalaya


serves 4-6


1 tablespoon olive oil

4 links of cooked sausage, such as Hempler’s, cut on the bias

6 bell peppers, seeded and rough chopped

1 large yellow onion, rough chopped

1 tablespoon fresh thyme, minced

1 tablespoon fresh sage, minced

1 tablespoon fresh oregano, minced

1 tablespoon coarse salt

1/2 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder (or fresh minced)

2 tablespoons butter, unsalted

2 cups cooked brown rice


In a large heavy saute pan, heat olive oil over medium-high heat.  When the oil is hot add sausage and brown on all sides.  Remove with a slotted spoon.  Add onion, peppers, spices and herbs to the pan (add additional oil if needed).  Saute vegetables until soft but snappy.   Add the sausage back to the pan and cook until heated through.  Turn off the heat and add butter, stirring until melted.  Serve with brown rice.



Brain Food

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it's alive

For many, a new year has started.  The need to dust off our tranquil state of mind and focus on things far more cerebral than who has more distinguishable tan lines – has arrived.  It’s back to school time!  Time to rev up those synapses and dendrites.  If you’ve never thought of PIZZA as brain food, it’s really a simple adjustment of the toppings.  Slap those ingredients that are heavy on the Omega-3’s and you’ve got pizza brain food (proof!).  Having spent far too many years in school (mostly remedial no doubt) I will top mine with salty, meaty, fatty, anti-brain-enhancing deliciousness.

thin crust hawaiian pizza

The dough is made using a stand mixer so it comes together relatively quickly.

For the Dough:

1/2 cup warm water (between 105° and 115°)

1 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast

1/2 teaspoon of granulated sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 cups ’00’ flour or bread flour

1/4 cup olive oil, plus more for greasing container

With your warm tap water running, place an instant read thermometer under the flow.  When you have dialed in the temperature within the degrees mentioned above, rinse a measuring cup a few times to reach that temperature then fill the measuring cup to 1/2 cup.  Add the yeast, sugar and salt stirring to combine.  Let this rest for about 5 minutes.  The yeast should foam, if not consider buying new yeast.  Place the flour and oil in the bowl of the mixer.  Add the yeast mixture and stir on medium speed for about 7 minutes; wait until all the dough has collected together.  Grease a large, clean container lightly with olive oil.  Pat the dough into a ball and place it in the greased container making sure the dough is coated on all sides with the oil.  Cover the container with plastic wrap or lid.  Let the dough rise for 2 hours in a warm place.

Once the dough has risen, pat it into a ball and place back into the container for another 20 minutes at room temperature.  On a flour dusted cutting board begin dimpling, stretching, and tossing into a thin disc.

work from the center outward

let gravity work for you

try a little toss!

For the Pizza:

1/2 cup marinara or pizza sauce of your choice

1/2 cup mozzarella, shredded

1/2 cup ham, chopped

1/2 cup pineapple pieces, drained

1/2 cup feta, drained and chopped

1/4 cup black olives, sliced

1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped

olive oil for drizzling

Preheat oven with pizza stone to 450°.  Flour a pizza peel lightly.  Place the formed dough on the peel and add sauce and toppings.  Give your peel a little wiggle to make sure the pizza will easily slide onto the pizza stone.  If there’s lack of movement, try to loosen the pizza with a spatula and shake the peel again.  If it’s really stuck gently remove the pizza back onto the floured cutting board and add more flour to the peel.  Transfer the pizza back to the peel and give it a wiggle.  Carefully slide the pizza from the peel onto the preheated pizza stone.  Bake pizza until browned, about 14-16 minutes.  Remove from oven and place on cutting board.  Cut into pieces and drizzle with olive oil and basil.

less sauce = less soggy

easy on the cheesy

any pre-cooked meat will work

hawaiian pineapple

olives for color and flavor

more cheese!



Sammamish Salmon Sandwich

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slammin' sammamish salmon sandwhich

A Tuesday tongue twister or tasty non-trout treat?  Slammin’ Sammamish Salmon Sandwich fits both bills.  I know, I know fish don’t have bills…they have lips!

There is an enormous run of Salmon this year coming past our islands headed toward the Fraser river in Canada to spawn.  The salmon run is exceptionally good with numbers of fish expecting to reach as high as 20 million individuals.  Our local reef netters snagged 15 hundred fish a few  Thursday’s ago (reef netting is an ancient art of fishing developed by the indigenous people of the Pacific Northwest).  Beautiful, healthy, bright Sockeye Salmon!  Our friend Sam gave us about 5 pounds worth of glistening fish.

This easy sandwich is a good way to use up extra Green Goddess Dressing (from post 8/23/10).  The creamy, herb spread does well as a tarter sauce substitute.

serves 2

2 salmon fillets

2 teaspoons grape seed oil

salt, pepper, and dill

crusty bread for two

2 tablespoons green goddess dressing or tarter sauce

2 basil leaves

lettuce

lemon wedge

Heat oil in a cast iron skillet over medium- high heat. Sprinkle fillets with salt, pepper and dill on the flesh side.  When oil is hot place fish skin side down, if the fillets are thick consider using a lid for more even cooking.  After about 4 minutes, flip the fillets and continue cooking until cooked to desired doneness.  Assemble sandwich and drizzle fresh lemon juice over the salmon.


Mom’s Tasty Tacos

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Growing up, we always loved Mom’s tacos.  Part of reason we would request them so often is she used a secret ingredient to make them extra tasty.  Well, maybe it isn’t so secret but it sure adds a lovely flavor to this very Americanized dish!  The secret ingredient…..Parmesan!

serves 4

8 corn tortilla shells

vegetable oil

1/2 yellow onion, diced

1 package taco mix (or your own spices)

1 1/2 pound ground beef

generous amounts of grated Parmesan such as Kraft®

garnishes: chopped tomato, lettuce, cilantro, cheese, sour cream, and left over chimichurri sauce (see post: 8/23/2010 for sauce)

Heat a tablespoon of oil in a saute pan over medium-low heat.  Cook onion until soft.  Add packet of taco seasoning and stir until fragrant.  Add beef and cook until brown, drain fat.  Pour in a cup of water and stir to combine.  Bring to a simmer and reduce heat to low. Stir occasionally.

Meanwhile in a non-stick skillet add enough oil to submerge tortillas, about an inch, over medium heat.  To determine your oil’s temperature, tear a small portion of an extra shell and place it in the heated oil.  The torn tortilla should instantly simmer and begin cooking.  When oil reaches temperature fry one tortilla at a time turning and folding into a taco shape.  Drain each tortilla on a plate lined with paper towels and shake Parmesan all over the outside of the shells.  Fill with beef and desired garnishes. ¡Sabrosos!

onions and spices

secret ingredient - parmesan!

garnishes

Basil Chicken, Basil Corn, & Basil GG Salad Dressing – Go Basil!

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This is the best grilled chicken we’ve enjoyed in a very long time.  The recipe comes from a popular restaurant in Pennsylvania called JohnJJeffries and was recently posted in the Epicurious RSS.   This flavorful dish is brined, marinated and served with a chimichurri sauce. The process is a little lengthy, but worth it.

Allow for 1 hour brining and 4 hours marinating.

Serves 4


CHICKEN:

1/4 cup fine sea salt

2 teaspoons pickling spice (buy fresh if it’s been around a long while – this brine is only as good as your pickling spice!)

2 tablespoons honey

4 1/2 pounds of chicken pieces, or whole chicken backbone removed

1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1 large shallot, chopped

1/3 cup fresh basil, rough chopped

1/3 cup flat parsley, rough chopped

2 tablespoons fresh rosemary, chopped

2 tablespoons fresh thyme, chopped

1 garlic clove, chopped


CHIMICHURRI SAUCE:


1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons fresh basil, chopped

2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped

2 tablespoons fresh flat parsley, chopped

1 tablespoon fresh lime juice

1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

1/2 garlic clove, minced

pinch of red pepper flakes


FOR THE CHIMICHURRI SAUCE:

Put all the ingredients in a processor and puree until smooth.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Cover and refrigerate.


FOR THE CHICKEN:

If you are using a whole chicken, removing the backbone as well as spliting it in two makes handling much easier (to ‘flatty’ a chicken see previous post: Roasted Flatty Chicken with Compound Butter 7/17/2010)

Boil 2 cups of water with pickling spices and 1/4 cup of fine sea salt in a large pot.  Stir and heat through until salt has dissolved.  Let cool on stove top.  Add 6 cups water and honey stirring until combined.  Place chicken pieces in pot and let brine for an hour.

Meanwhile mix 1/2 cup olive oil, shallot, basil, parsley, rosemary, thyme and garlic in a processor until finely chopped.  Place herb mixture in a 13x9x2 inch glass dish.  Rinse chicken in cold water, pat dry and place in herb mixture.  Turn all the pieces coating all sides.  Cover and refrigerate for 4 hours or more.

Prepare barbecue for medium heat.    Remove excess marinade from chicken pieces and place on a baking sheet.  Salt and pepper all sides.  Grill the chicken covered until cooked through turning about every 30 minutes.  Watch for flare-ups!  Move the chicken to cooler locals if necessary.

Alternatively, pre-heat oven to 325°.  Bake chicken for an hour and 40 minutes or until a thermometer reads 165F.  

Serve with the chimichurri sauce.


Basil Lemon Corn on the Cob

This  version comes from the September issue of Food Network magazine.  We excluded the flavored oil side, because we think the water the corn cooks in is flavorful enough.


Serves 4

1/2 cup basil, whole leaves

1/2 lemon

3 tablespoons olive oil

salt

4 ears of corn, cleaned

Bring 4 cups water, basil, lemon, oil and a pinch of salt to a boil.  Carefully add corn and cook until just tender, about 5 minutes.  Drain and enjoy!

creamy basil green goddess dressing

This salad is from Ina Garten with only a few tweaks.  The dressing is very creamy and a little goes a long way, however it tastes very herbaceous and light because of the citrus, basil and tarragon.

serves 4

1 cup mayonnaise

4-6  green onions, thinly sliced

1 cup fresh basil, rough chopped

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

2 teaspoons tarragon, rough chopped

2 teaspoons anchovy paste

2 teaspoons kosher salt

1 teaspoons fresh black pepper

1/4 teaspoon garlic, minced

1 cup sour cream

2 heads of bibb or butter lettuce, cleaned and dried and chopped

2 tomatoes, cut into wedges


You will likely have far more dressing than required to dress your salads, but it also works well with baja fish taco, salmon sandwich or fajita, tartar sauce substitute and countless other applications.

Place the first 9 ingredients in a food processor and mix until smooth.  Add sour cream and blend briefly.  Serve with tomatoes and lettuce.  We found that fresh croutons added a much needed grounding for this very rich dressing so you may want to cube some bread up, toss it with some olive oil, salt and pepper and bake approximately 15 minutes at 350°.

The Jucy Lucy – Island Style

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Having always lived in west, I have ventured only a handful of times to the east coast  and sadly, to the mid west fewer still.  When I finally get around to making THE road trip:  ‘Around America for an Unspecified Amount of Time and Purpose’ (maybe a new title?) I will be sure to stop in Minnesota for a full throttle Jucy Lucy exploration.  Minneapolis is the undisputed birthplace of this twist on the cheese burger ( it’s creator is not without controversy) and many variations from the original.  Some restaurants have even taken this unpretentious dish to other levels by changing out the American cheese for Gruyere or blue or Swiss, others are using Kobe beef! Thumbs up for experimentation I say.  Mixedsoup’s version is a combo of original Jucy Lucy and a ‘regular’ burger.  The  Jucy Lucy does not come with lettuce or tomato like a regular burger or with any condiments.  I like the flavors and textures of lettuce and tomato and all the ketchup, mustard etc. so I’ve included them.  The cooking method is up to you, however I used a cast iron skillet this time.

serves 4

1 1/2 pounds ground beef, about 80% to 86% lean

1 teaspoon coarse salt, or more to taste

1/4 teaspoon fresh black pepper, or more to taste

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

4 slices American cheese

4 lettuce leaves, washed and dried

4 tomato slices

4 potato hamburger buns, toasted

the works:  pickle slices, ketchup, mustard, mayo …

Make patties about 1/4 inch thick and about 4 1/2 inches in diameter.  Thicker patties are difficult to cook through before the cheese has reached volcanic properties.  Place the patties in the refrigerator for about 1/2 hour.    Take each piece of cheese and divide it into fours, then stack them into a pile four pieces high.  Repeat with the other slices.

Season each side of the patties with salt, pepper and garlic powder. Take the four stacks of cheese and place each in the center of four patties.  Take the other patties without the cheese and place them on top of the patties with the cheese stacks making a seal so that cheese doesn’t escape while cooking.  One reason for using American cheese is it’s melting quality, although other cheeses may work well with a different effect.

Preheat your pan over medium heat.  Place the burgers in the pan and cover with a lid.  After approximately 4 minutes turn the burgers and cover for another 4 minutes.  If the patties begin to puff with moisture, prick with a skewer or toothpick to allow the steam to escape.  Test for temperature using a instant read thermometer.  Continue flipping and cooking until desired doneness.  Let the burger rest for a few minutes before cutting or eating as the cheese may be molten.  Grab lots of napkins!

Island Style Jucy Lucy


Perfumed Sea Scallops

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fresh and delicate

Scallops have such a mild flavor, it often gets lost when paired with heavy accoutrements such as bacon. Goodness knows I love bacon, but I think a lighter hand with this bivalve is the best approach.  When more robust flavors are incorporated the scallop becomes more like tofu or a cracker where it’s just a vehicle for less subtle elements.



serves 4 appetizer portions


12 sea scallops

1 teaspoon basil, chopped

1 teaspoon mint, chopped

1 teaspoon lemon thyme, chopped

1 teaspoon chives, chopped

1 teaspoon tarragon, chopped

1/4 teaspoon culinary lavender, chopped

extra virgin olive oil, about 2-3 tablespoons (the good stuff)

coarse salt

black pepper, fine grind

agave nectar

Squeeze of fresh lemon

8 metal skewers


Dry the scallops with a paper towel.  Place scallops, herbs, oil, salt and pepper in a bowl and mix until combined.  Let marinate in the refrigerator for about 1/2 hour to an hour.  Meanwhile prepare grill for medium heat.  For every three scallops thread two skewers, leaving a bit of space between the scallops for more even cooking.  Lightly drizzle both sides of the skewered scallops with agave nectar.  Rub grill with more oil to prevent sticking.  Cook for about 2 minutes per side.  Try to get a light caramelization without overcooking the scallops.  Give a quick and light squeeze of lemon over the top.


Jungle’s Edge

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on the 'edge' of going native

The refreshments are so good at Jungle’s Edge some clamber the counter to get their favorite as quickly as possible.  We’ve been to many coffee houses where the interior seems to be used to mask their mostly average beverages, but this establishment is small and sparse, letting it’s coffee and other libations speak for themselves.  This little place is located in the King’s Shops along the Kohala coast.

With normally one barista/cashier/hostess on duty, your aloha needs to be tapped if there is any line.

Squirt a little honey from a hula girl honey bottle or add a dash of Hawaiian pure cane sugar.  We give the dense foam on top two ‘shakas’.  Enjoy!

Hawaiian Ono Poke’

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nephew Grant holding our dinner

Ono, also known as wahoo or peto is a delicious saltwater sporting fish found in warm waters.  The flesh of the fish is mild and is easily adapted to various cooking (or non cooking) methods such as grilling, braising, sashimi,  and Hawaiian poke’.  There are as many poke’s as there are Texas chili’s, but this particular mixture went over very well in our group.

serves 4-6


I pound sashimi grade Ono, cut into 1 inch pieces

2 tablespoons Maui onion, minced

1-2 tablespoons quality mayonnaise

1 tablespoon flying fish roe (tobiko)

Sriracha sauce to taste


Combine cut fish and mayonnaise.  Add onion and Sriracha tasting for heat.  Gently stir in roe until combined.  Chill for 1 hour.

Ono Poke'



Ruby’s Herb Laced Lamb Chops

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Sulking in the Horshoe Pit

Our little Ruby has been down in the dumps the past few days.  Very uncharacteristic of our happy go lucky Brit.  Most days she tends to go on lengthy adventures throughout our farm and neighboring fields, mostly sniffing, sometimes hunting and eating who knows what.  She doesn’t have a very discriminating palate.  I could relate some pretty disgusting stories…but being a G rated food type blog, we’ll keep it more chipper.  One thing that does get Ruby back in the saddle are chops!  When we barbecue lamb chops, she knows there is likely a little treat in it for her.  So here’s to you Ruby girl.

parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme

Although it may be sweltering in some parts of our world, here on the island in the Pacific Northwest it’s barely breaking 70° during the day, and in the evening we’re dropping down to the 40’s.   Sometimes it’s difficult to whip together a light, summery meal for dinner when we are in our flannel PJ’s and putting wood in the stove.

serves 4

8 lamb loin chops about 1″ thick, trimmed of excess fat

1/4 cup each of chopped parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme

1/4 cup of canola oil (or other high temp oil)

Salt and pepper

Prepare or preheat barbecue for a medium-high heat, about 350°.  In a small bowl blend oil and herbs.  Salt and pepper chops and rub the herb mixture on all sides.  When the grill is to temp, sear both sides of the chops about 2-3 minutes.  Continue cooking until desired doneness.

Alternatively, preheat oven to 400°.   In a heavy bottom – oven proof pan, sear chops on both sides until browned, about 3 minutes a side.  Place in oven for an additional 5-8 minutes or until internal temperature reaches 145° for medium rare.


Ruby Tuesday

Songwriters: Jagger, Mick;Richards, Keith

She would never say where she came from
Yesterday don't matter if it's gone
While the sun is bright or in the darkest night
No one knows, she comes and goes

Goodbye, Ruby Tuesday
Who could hang a name on you
When you change with ev'ry new day
Still I'm gonna miss you

Don't question why she needs to be so free
She'll tell you it's the only way to be
She just can't be chained to a life where nothing's gained
And nothing's lost, at such a cost

Goodbye, Ruby Tuesday
Who could hang a name on you
When you change with ev'ry new day
Still I'm gonna miss you

"There's no time to lose", I hear her say
Cash your dreams before they slip away
Dying all the time lose your dreams and you
Will lose your mind, ain't life unkind?

Goodbye, Ruby Tuesday
Who could hang a name on you
When you change with ev'ry new day
Still I'm gonna miss you

Goodbye, Ruby Tuesday
Who could hang a name on you
When you change with ev'ry new day
Still I'm gonna miss you