A bierock is not now, nor has it ever been haute cuisine, it is essentially a workingman’s lunch. When you are working, traveling, or having some kind of festival event, you do not always have time to sit down for meal. Having a meal in a neat, sealed package that you can slip into a pocket or pouch is a solution that many cultures have discovered.
Category Archives: Vegetables
Karl’s Steamed Bok Choy with Mushroom Sauce
With the kid’s on the Atkins diet I have to make more vegetable dishes and less dishes that use starch. To go with my char siu pork, I decided that steamed bok choy would be a good Chinese addition. This dish has minimal prep work and a quick sauce.
Filed under Chinese, Green Vegetables, Sauces and Spices, Side Dishes, Steaming, Vegan, Vegetables, Vegetarian
Karl’s “Southern” Chinese Green Beans
In this cast the Southern is Southern US. This recipe is from last Sunday’s dinner and I am just now getting around to posting it. I am doing a California Fusion Char Siu Flavored Pork Loin and I wanted a non-traditional vegetable dish to go with it. I decided to adapt a Cook’s Illustrated recipe to my purposes.
Filed under California Fusion, Chinese-American, Green Vegetables, Side Dishes, Vegan, Vegetables, Vegetarian
Karl’s Harcourt Vert with Dark Soy Sauce
I needed a vegetable to go with my barbecued tri-tip and mushrooms. I wanted the dish to be Asian, but I did not want to have just a third dish covered in Sichuan pepper sauce. I decided on French green beans, Harcourt vert, that are thinner and more tender than regular American green beans.
Filed under Chinese, Side Dishes, Steaming, Vegan, Vegetables, Vegetarian
Karl’s Sichuan Pepper Sauce
I did a barbecued chicken with a wet Sichuan sauce a few weeks ago and I thought it would go well as a Marinade/basting sauce with Sunday’s tri-tip and mushrooms. Continue reading
Filed under Beef, Chicken, Chinese, Fish, Pork, Sauces and Spices, Vegan, Vegetables, Vegetarian
Karl’s Kale Saag Paneer
Most Americans know the Indian restaurant staple palak paneer, spinach with cheese. If you make the same dish and add other green vegetables to the spinach, or replace the spinach entirely, the dish becomes a saag (greens). A saag may be made from almost any green vegetable, today, I am using Lacianto kale.
Filed under Green Vegetables, Side Dishes, Vegetables, Vegetarian
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.
Filed under Beef, California Fusion, German, Main Dishes, Vegetables
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.
Filed under California Fusion, Lamb, Side Dishes, Soups, Vegetables
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.
Filed under California Fusion, Soups, Vegan, Vegetables, Vegetarian
Karl’s French Onion Soup
Adapted from Simply Recipes
I went to Panera Bread and had their French onion soup the other day. It reminded me of my mother’s soup, but it is not one of the recipes I copied down when I left home. I thought I could do better than Panera, so I decided to gave it a try.
Filed under Main Dishes, Soups, Vegetables, Vegetarian








