Category Archives: California Fusion

Karl’s Chicken Curry Pasty

I have been seriously into stuffed breads lately. I made bierock last night and they were very popular. Jan asked for something with chicken for tonight.

Karl’s Chicken Curry Pasty

Karl’s Chicken Curry Pasty

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Filed under California Fusion, Chicken, Main Dishes, Poultry

Karl’s Bierock

Bierock are Volga German stuffed breads. The Volga Germans were brought into Russia by Catharine the Great for their “modern” technical skills. However, their cooking was not one of those skills. Many would consider both German and Russian traditional cuisines a wasteland—there is only so much you can do with cabbage, flour, potatoes and a little beef when you do not have access to, or can afford, fancy spices.

Karl’s Bierock

Karl’s Bierock

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Filed under Beef, California Fusion, German, Main Dishes, Vegetables

Karl’s Lamb Stew with Leeks

Jan is off on her yearly stitching retreat with her friends for four days. While she will tolerate barbecued lamb, she will not eat it any other way. Her absence allows me to make dishes that Jan will not eat.

Karl’s Lamb Stew with Leeks

Karl’s Lamb Stew with Leeks

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Filed under California Fusion, Lamb, Main Dishes

Karl’s Lamb Bone Soup with Cabbage and Green Beans

With Jan out of town, I made a lamb stew for Sunday night’s dinner. I also made this lamb soup. Son-in-law, Chris, asked why I did not simply throw everything into one pot. In my mind I had an image of the thick, rich lamb stew and a second vegetable soup with lamb bone broth. While it may all end up in the same place, it would not be the same dining experience to mix the two dishes.

Karl’s Lamb Bone Soup with Cabbage and Green Beans

Karl’s Lamb Bone Soup with Cabbage and Green Beans

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Filed under California Fusion, Lamb, Side Dishes, Soups, Vegetables

Karl’s Chicken Satay with Pineapple Peanut Sauce

While I am still not convinced that the flavor is as good with gas grilling—over charcoal—it is certainly more convenient. Wanting something a bit different for a weeknight dinner, I settled on chicken satay. Satay, in the end, is just marinated meat grilled on a stick. While originating in Indonesia, it spread over Southeast Asia with each culture adding its own distinctions. Usually it is accompanied by a dipping sauce, some kind of peanut sauce being one of the more common.

Karl’s Chicken Satay with Pineapple Peanut Sauce

Karl’s Chicken Satay with Pineapple Peanut Sauce

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Filed under California Fusion, Chicken, Main Dishes, Poultry, Sauces and Spices

Karl’s California Fusion Peanut Sauce

I needed a sauce to go with my chicken satay. While I made a peanut sauce for my Vietnamese Summer Rolls, I wanted this one to be more Indonesian. Out went the hoisin sauce and the fish sauce. Palm sugar is a common Indonesian sweetener—and is lower on the glycemic index than white sugar. I also had that fresh pineapple I was planning to grill, so in it went.

Karl’s California Fusion Peanut Sauce

Karl’s California Fusion Peanut Sauce

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Filed under California Fusion, Sauces and Spices, Vegan, Vegetarian

Karl’s Japanese Style Carrot Soup

Adapted from a Smitten Kitchen recipe and a Just Bento recipe

Once again, Eilene is having friends over. I decided I would make chicken teriyaki and rice. I wanted to make a side dish, but it was too late to make pickles. I have been making blended soups lately, so I thought I would make a carrot soup with an Asian twist.

Karl’s Japanese Style Carrot Soup

Karl’s Japanese Style Carrot Soup

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Filed under California Fusion, Soups, Vegan, Vegetables, Vegetarian

Karl’s South of the Border Salmon Patties

Jan wanted something light for dinner. I went on-line for ideas and was surprised what some people—especially the diet cooking magazines—considered “light.” In my mind, anything with pasta is not “light” by definition, but easily a third of the recipes were some form of pasta and sauce.

Karl’s South of the Border Salmon Patties

Karl’s South of the Border Salmon Patties

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Filed under California Fusion, Fish, Main Dishes, Salads, Seafood

Karl’s Grilled Plum Guacamole

Jan requested a “light” dinner, by which she meant low carbohydrates. I decided to do “South of the Border” salmon patties. This, of course, called for guacamole. Having already mixed Mexican and Northwest cuisines, I decided to take it a step further and mix grilled plums with my avocado.

Karl’s Grilled Plum Guacamole

Karl’s Grilled Plum Guacamole

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Filed under California Fusion, Salads, Vegan, Vegetarian

Karl’s French Onion Soup Crackers

I had some French onion soup left over from the other night. It had turned into an onion jam and—although the flavor was not bad—was a bit too “oniony” for most of Eilene’s friends. I was getting few takers for the leftovers. I decided that one way to buffer the flavors—and use up the leftovers— was to turn some of it into savory crackers. I will freeze the rest, in portions, to use as “soup starters.”

Karl’s French Onion Soup Crackers

Karl’s French Onion Soup Crackers

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Filed under bread, California Fusion, Side Dishes