Last Sunday we visited out friends in Fresno, Pat and Jim, who own a farm. With a large kitchen garden, it is risky to stop by their house or have them visit you. Last year, Pat showed up on our doorstep with a twenty pound bag of tomatoes. This year we got pepper bombed and a butternut squash literally the size of a baby. What am I going to do with a big bag of mixed peppers?
Karl’s Sweet Pepper and Fennel Soup
with Italian Sausage Meatballs
Filed under Main Dishes, Pork, Soups
I was wandering the farmer’s market this weekend and I decided that one day this week I would make a vegetarian meal for Jan and Eilene. I had made some pesto to preserve some of the basil that was burgeoning in our garden. I decided that pesto-something would be the main dish.
Karl’s Pesto Cauliflower
Filed under Main Dishes, Vegan, Vegetarian MD
I made Jamaican Jerk Chicken on Sunday and I have half a breast leftover. Checking out the Jamaican cook book, that Jan brought me back from England, I saw that it had a recipe for Caribbean coleslaw. If I put the chicken together with the coleslaw I could come up with the Jamaican equivalent of a Chinese Chicken salad. Of course, I view a cookbook recipe as a source of ideas and insparation, not a list of ingredients, so my salad is only a nod at the original recipe.
Karl’s Jamaican Chicken Salad
Filed under Main Dishes, Poultry, Salads
I am making Jamaican Chicken salad tonight. For a Chinese chicken salad I would have crunch noodles as the starch. That doesn’t sound very Caribbean, so I decided on broiled plantains instead.
Karl’s Broiled Plantains
Filed under Side Dishes, Starches, Vegan, Vegetables
Jan went to England this summer, so of course she brought me back a Jamaican cookbook. I did a Jamaican Jerk Chicken earlier this year, but it turned out much greener and soggier than I really had in mind. The book Jan bought me gave me some ideas for making something closer to what I had originally thought was Jamaican Jerk Chicken.
Karl’s Jamaican Jerk Chicken II
Filed under Main Dishes, Poultry
I am making barbequed Jamaican chicken this weekend and, with fewer restrictions to my cooking than normal, I can pack my dishes with fruit. Parboiling is a way to speed up the cooking process. Warm half-cooked potatoes absorb more of the marinade and roast in less time. Potatoes burnt on the outside and raw on the inside is not the dining experience that you are looking for.
Note: Unless that is how your mother made them. I had a friend in college and his mother cooked just that way. Of course, he also thought that a frozen submarine sandwich was haute cuisine.
Karl’s Jamaican Lime Potatoes with Green Mango
Filed under Side Dishes, Starches
When I go to all of the effort to make molé, it is such a production that I always make enough for more than one meal. When the meal is done, I package up 3 or 4 quart bags of the sauce ready to add to a quick weekday meal. Jan asked for chicken molé for dinner one day this week.
Karl’s Chicken Molé Chili
Filed under Main Dishes, Poultry
When I make chicken and dumplings I usually have to use Bisquick. I have tied to make dumplings from scratch, but Jan has never liked my attempts which usually come out as tasteless, dense sinkers. She only likes the fluffy ones produced from Bisquick, which I find way too salty.
Karl’s Chicken and Butter Dumplings
Filed under Main Dishes, Poultry, Stews
I did a shepherd’s pie last week and I had this brain storm about an Indian shepherd’s pie, curry topped with cauliflower and potatoes. My guests last week were not into spices, so I put it off. This weekend my family definitely was and here is what I produced.
Karl’s Indian Shepherd’s Pie
Filed under Casseroles, Main Dishes, Poultry
From my research on the web I understand that the difference between Palak and Saag Paneer is that if you only use only spinach it is a Palak and if you use a mixture of greens it is a Saag. When people come to Silicon Valley, they bring their food with them. As Californians we often feel it necessary to mash these recipes up with other cuisines. Today, I am doing an Indian shepherd’s pie, a mash up of Indian and English cuisines. I am thinking of making my palak a bit more French by adding wine.
Karl’s Palak Paneer
Filed under Side Dishes, Vegetables
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Miriam
Jabberwocky Stew 