The first dish I created on my own—rather than following a recipe—was a soup that Miriam called “Papa’s Fine Soup.” Some powdered lemon grass, chicken, snow peas, green onion, and udon noodles. While this soup has changed over time, it has been a comfort food in our house for almost 30 years.
Tag Archives: recipes
Karl’s Chicken Marsala and Butter Dumplings
Chicken and dumplings is an classic Southern (U.S.) that is basically a chicken stew topped with biscuit dough. At my house it is a weekday comfort food, whenever someone is stressed out. Although I make this dish once or twice a month, I realized that I took it for granted and have never posted about it.

Karl’s Chicken Marsala
and Butter Dumplings
Filed under California Fusion, Chicken, Main Dishes, Poultry, Stews
Karl’s Corn, Poblano and Crab Tamales
23andMe is a powerful, but dangerous tool. Jan has assumed she had one father, when in fact there were two. According to her genes, Jan’s ancestry is ¼ Iberian and ¼ Cora—although they refer to themselves as Naáyarite—an indigenous tribe that lives in the mountainous region of along the Jalisco / Nayarit border of north Pacific coast Mexico—although much of Jan’s extended family has moved to the coast.

Karl’s Corn, Poblano and Crab Tamales
Filed under Main Dishes, Seafood
Karl’s Sopa de Camarón
Jan’s newly discovered Mexican family lives/lived on the boarder of Jalisco and Nayarit. Jan decided on a Mexican Christmas feast of crab tamales, I though a shrimp soup would go nicely as a starter. I found a site on Nayarit cuisine that described a caldo de camarón (shrimp broth). Adding some tomatoes, fresh shrimp, and cilantro makes it soup.

Karl’s Sopa de Camarón
Filed under Shrimp, Side Dishes, Soups
Karl’s Jalisco Pico de Gallo
Jan recently discovered that her birth father’s people live/lived in the mountainous region of along the Jalisco / Nayarit border. She asked for a Mexican Christmas with tamales this year. I decided that I needed a salad to go with them. A site I found describing Jalisco cuisine mentioned a pico de gallo of “pieces of jicama, orange, pineapple with lime juice and ground chili.”

Karl’s Jalisco Pico de Gallo
Filed under Salads, Side Dishes, Vegan, Vegetables, Vegetarian
Karl’s Meatloaf with Orange Marmalade Sauce
Jan requested that I make meatloaf for dinner. Both Jan and Eilene like the outsides of the loaf to have plenty of “crusty bits.” One way to please them is to make mini-meatloaves. A second, easier, way is to not make the loaf too thick—a low thin loaf. Add some fry bread and a salad and you have a really nice meal.

Karl’s Meatloaf with Orange Marmalade Sauce
(on the right)
Filed under Beef, California Fusion, Main Dishes, Pork, Sauces and Spices
Karl’s Fry Bread
Jan had requested meatloaf for dinner and I wanted a bread-like side dish to go with it. Jan has problems with digesting fats and she generally avoids white flour breads. Knowing that Jan would probably eat only a bite or two of this bread—Jan would be happy with just the salad and the meat—freed me to make it how I would really like it to be.

Karl’s Fry Bread (on the left)
Filed under bread, California Fusion, Side Dishes, Vegetarian
Karl’s Asian Pear-apple , Radish and Arugula Salad
I was looking for a vegetable side dish to go with my meatloaf. A few weeks ago, I discovered that letting the root vegetables marinate in a marmalade base worked really well as a salad dressing. This is what I settled on for tonight’s salad.

Karl’s Asian Pear-apple , Radish,
and Arugula Salad
Filed under California Fusion, Green Vegetables, Salads, Side Dishes, Vegan, Vegetarian
Karl’s Couscous Florentine
I wanted a starch dish to go with my fried salmon. I wanted something that was quick and easy. Couscous cooks in just minutes and can be a very versatile starch. A bit of this and a bit of that and viola, dinner is served.

Karl’s Couscous Florentine
Filed under California Fusion, Green Vegetables, Side Dishes, Starches, Vegan, Vegetarian

