Sauteed Peppers, Onion, and Tomato with Paprika

I make sautéed peppers, onion, and tomato with paprika in my extra large skillet every time I cook beef, fish, chicken, or roast pork.

Sauteed peppers and onions are a must-have for sandwich leftovers, and every ethnic group has its own spice combo to add.  Some also add bacon or sausage, and I have even added a diced slice of bologna with the onions.  Usually, I just use peppers, onion, and tomato with Hungarian paprika--lots of it--and some garlic.

If you like casseroles, perhaps you think a chunk of beef, chicken, pork, or fish is a little boring.  Besides, some casseroles can take an extra hour or more to make.  That's where your sauteed peppers, onion, and tomato come in handy.  Pile them on top of your meat, and all you need is a baked potato to make a 3-course meal.

My chicken breast is no longer boring.

Pictured here is everything you need:

If you don't have Hungarian paprika, use regular, but add some garlic or garlic powder.

Start by slicing a large onion and sauteing the slices in olive oil.  When the onion is a bit transparent, add 2 green peppers sliced julienne style.  Put the lid on the skillet so that the peppers get cooked  through.  Because I don't want to destroy that precious vitamin C, I turn my burner to "2" (of 10).  This slow-cook step takes about 40 minutes.

When the peppers are almost done to my taste test, I add 1 1/2 tsps. paprika and a can of diced tomatoes and continue to cook until the tomatoes are heated.

Add at least 1 1/2 tsps. paprika.

Add a can of diced tomatoes and heat.

This time, I was out of Hungarian paprika, so I used regular, not as good, but a little garlic powder adds heat.

You'll love sauteed peppers, onion, and tomato on all your sandwiches, and if you are trying to cut down on cholesterol, you can use these veggies as a substitute for cheese.  This dish keeps well in the fridge, so you can always have it on hand to brighten all your meats and sandwiches.

Slice London broil or any beef roast thin, pile it on a hoagie bun with cheese and your sauteed veggies, and call it a cheese steak.  Repeat with a pepperoni bun and call it a West Virginia pepperoni bun.  Enjoy these sautéed vegetables on a grilled cheese sandwich, panini, or tortilla with beans or meat.  Add them to pasta, mac n' cheese, or rice.  You can think of more creative ways to use these sauteed peppers, onion, and tomato when you're in a hurry, but still want something tasty.  I'm almost never without them.

Hungarian cuisine deserves attention.  In a later post, I'll steam fish on top of peppers, onion, and tomato, add a few more ingredients, and make "Hungarian fish ragout," so stay tuned.

Improvising Cajun Gumbo with Chicken, Sausage, and Ham

You'll learn that this dish is as easy as your improvised pasta primavera.  Aside from the rice, it's a one skillet meal.

After water is added to the roux

I start with a dark roux, but then I add the spice "gumbo file" at the end.  To me, it isn't really gumbo without the file powder, which consists mostly of ground sassafras leaves--a unique taste you can't get from anything else.  It can be used as a thickener, but the roux does that as well.  I use just a few shakes of the file for the taste.

Find it in most markets, international section.

Every time I make this stew, I remember two experiences.  The first was watching a cooking competition, where one contestant was making gumbo--without file!--and I knew he would lose!  (He did.)  Second, I got a call from a friend I had sent some of my gumbo.  She just had to know what this "new, unfamiliar taste" was.  So you see, you can be a little smug about your gumbo with file.    You can even sing like Hank Williams:  "Jambalaya and a crawfish pie and filé gumbo."

If you don't have the file, you can still spice it up with plenty of coriander and thyme.  I learned this spice combo from a chef from New Orleans with whom I worked at a fine hotel restaurant.  I was woofing down his rice when I asked him, "Why is this rice so good?"

He replied, "Thyme."  When I protested that I used thyme in my rice, but it didn't taste this good, he added, "Lots of thyme."  Aha!  Plenty of thyme and coriander serve as the 2 most essential spices in many New Orleans dishes, in addition to salt and pepper.

To begin, make your roux with 1/4 c. oil and 1/4 c. flour.  Stir it well and cook for at least 15 minutes until it becomes a dark caramel color.

Next, add veggies, first a diced onion and a chopped green pepper.  (I added 2 peppers.)  At this point in summer, you can add some of your garden vegetables.  I wouldn't recommend carrots, but squash and celery work best.  Spinach also works, but I would add it at the end so that it doesn't overcook.  I add 1 clove of garlic to the roux and maybe another toward the end.  The recipe calls for okra, but I don't like it and omit it.  I use no tomatoes in cajun gumbo, only in creole seafood gumbo.

When the veggies are tender, add 1-2 quarts of water, depending on how much you want to make.  Now add meat:  chicken, ham, and sausage.  I used only one quart of water, one large chicken breast (3/4 pound), 1/2 pound of ham, and 1/4 pound of sausage, just the right amount for 4-5 servings over rice.  I always use meat I have already baked, fried, or roasted and then frozen, so all I have to do is to thaw each meat in the microwave and then add it.  I'm not sure a Cajun chef would use "summer sausage," but I find it the tastiest.  Plus, it's already cooked and can always be kept onhand.  You can cook your meat separately, following safe-handling and cooking instructions for each one.  Use leftover chicken and ham or tune in later for my post on baking and then freezing chicken breast.

Now the question is "How long to cook?"  Your answer depends on how many vitamins you want to destroy!  This dish is older than the Louisiana Purchase and was traditionally cooked at least 3 hours.  I simmer it on low for 1/2 hour, since every item is already done.

To season, add a little red pepper flakes, thyme, coriander, file powder, and salt and pepper to taste, and maybe another clove of garlic if you are making at least 8 servings.  Count the servings at 1/4 pound of meat for each one, and you can design your own and become a master of cajun gumbo.
Serve over rice.

Serve over rice.

You should have a stew, not a soup, but if you have enough water, you may want some French bread or corn muffins with apples to dip.  Yum!  This is a great dish for informal buffets.  You'll "have great fun on the bayou"!

Creole Sweet Potatoes and Apples (and Raisins and Pecans)

If you don't have a sweet potato recipe that uses no sugar, you want to try this one.

Creole sweet potatoes and apples doesn't have to be just for the winter holidays, like your grandma's syrupy concoction.  You can get plenty of vitamin A year-round with this dish of pure healthy goodness.

Looks good.  Tastes great  Good for you!

Ingredients:

3 average-size sweet potatoes or 2 large ones, washed, peeled, cut into 1" thick slices, and boiled
2 apples, washed and ready to peel
2 large handfuls of raisins
1/2 cup of crushed or ground pecans--I used walnuts
2-3 tablespoons butter
Cinnamon

Method:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Butter or grease 2-quart deep baking dish.
Cover bottom of dish with about half of the sweet potato slices.
At this point, after the first layer of sweet potatoes are in the dish, add just enough water to barely cover the bottom of the dish--without the water, the apples won't cook.  Don't forget this step.
Cut first apple into quarters; then slice each quarter and drop slices over the first layer of sweet potatoes.
Add half the raisins and nuts, and dot with small pieces of butter cut from 1 tablespoon of it.
Repeat with the rest of the potatoes, apple, raisins, and nuts, and top with cinnamon and more small pieces of butter (about 2 tablespoons).

Dotted with butter and ready for the oven

Cover dish and bake 30-40 minutes.

Notes:  You can replace the butter with slices of ham on top to make a full meal deal, also good.  If you have orange rind in your freezer, as I always have, you can add 1/2 tsp. of that.  I'm thinking of adding chopped dates, but then the dish probably couldn't be called "creole scalloped sweet potatoes."

I conducted an experiment and made different scalloped sweet potato dishes, one after another, according to three recipes--one with oranges, one with pineapples, and this one.  I recommend just this creole scalloped sweet potatoes and apples casserole, but if you have fresh pineapple, you might try this recipe with pineapple--call it "Hawaiian sweet potatoes"--instead of apples.  (Canned pineapple has sugar, of course, and that ruins the feeling of well-being I get with veggie dishes.)  I've chosen creole baked sweet potatoes and apples as the only way I'll ever make baked sweet potatoes again.

Easy Creamed Lima Beans: Feves au Jambon

This is the easiest side dish I've ever made.

Surprisingly, I found this recipe in a French cookbook I usually go to only when I feel like laboring for an afternoon over a masterpiece, but these "French limas" are for lazy days.  They are so delicious that I make them all the time and will never make limas any other way.  Here's all you do:

Rinse in hot water and then soak in cold water for 8 hrs. one pound of large limas.  Rinse again and cook 1 1/2-2 hrs. or according to package directions until done.

Now all you have to do is to dice 4 oz. of ham and a clove of garlic, add those and salt and pepper to 1/2 cup of heavy cream, and boil rapidly for 5 minutes to thicken the cream.  Pour the cream over your drained beans and sprinkle them with parsley or chervil.

It's a French dish, so you can julienne the ham, but I dice it to get meat in every spoonful.

That's it!  You're done.  Let the fridge do the rest--they are better after they've soaked up that yummy cream for a day or two.  I have to admit that I double the cream and add a whole cup, because they do soak up a bit and may not be as creamy on day 2--but they are even better on day 2!  I don't always have heavy cream, so I use half-and-half or even canned evaporated milk, which I always have on hand.

Like most of my favorite dishes, "feves au jambon" has an ethnic identity.  When I make it, I remember that France has the largest agricultural economy in Europe.
 

Canola flowers southwest of Paris

In April, fields of canola flowers stretch for what seemed to me 100 miles southwest and east of Paris,  I took this pic from the train between Paris and Tours and then found more endless fields between Paris and Strasbourg.  This is the source of our canola oil.

When I think of garden veggie recipes, I think of France, Italy, and Germany, because I have collected hundreds from those countries, so stayed tuned.

Japanese Fruitcake Cookies, So Delightful

These jewels look  festive, taste delicious, but are a bit expensive to make.

They would be even more colorful with both red and green cherries.  To use 8 oz. of each, double the recipe.

I've made a few substitutions that cut the cost by $4 or $5, but you can spend $20 or more to make five dozen of these yummy treats.  Right now, just after Christmas, you may be able to find candied pineapple and cherries at a closeout price and save them for next year.  I got my pineapple last year, as well as some citron, which I added, even though it isn't in the recipe.  You can be creative with this recipe as long as you have at least 16 oz. of candied fruit.

You're going to be a while cutting and dredging fruit, so sit down with a knife, all your fruit, and your biggest bowl with 1/2 c. flour in it.  I cut each piece of pineapple into four pieces.  With my knife, I stirred and folded it into the flour after every few pieces so that it wouldn't stick together.  Then I continued dredging cut cherries, raisins, and walnuts while I wondered, "Are these cookies worth all this tedium?"

Yep!  There's nothing that will delight your friends, family, and neighbors more!

You'll be proud to offer them to guests.

Ingredients:

1 8-oz. package of candied pineapple, chopped

1 8-oz. package of red or green candied cherries--or a package of both and double the recipe.  (I didn't have candied cherries, so I cut up a jar of maraschinos--worked fine.)

1 c. golden raisins (I used regular raisins)

2 c. chopped walnuts or pecans--I like less and used barely 1 c. walnuts.

1 3/4 c. all-purpose flour, divided

1/4 c. butter or margarine, softened

1/2 c. firmly packed brown sugar

2 eggs, separated

1/2 tablespoon baking soda

1 1/2 tablespoon milk

2 tablespoons brandy

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. nutmeg

I added some candied citron, which I had on hand.  As I said, you can be creative as long as you have the right amount (5 c.) of fruit and nuts--for my substitutions, less nuts, add citron.  I would always rather taste fruit more, nuts less.

Method:

After you've sliced, chopped, and dredged fruit and nuts, you're ready to set up the mixer.  I whipped my egg whites stiff first, so that I wouldn't have to wash beaters after making the batter.  For the batter, cream butter and slowly add sugar, beating at medium speed.  Add yolks and beat after each one.

Dissolve soda in milk and add it to the creamed mixture.  Then add brandy--or orange liquor.  I had Triple Sec on hand, so I used it, but Grand Marnier would be better.  (A pony bottle would do).  Add spices and your last 1 1/4 c. flour, and beat well.

Gently fold in beaten egg whites and your huge bowl of fruit.

Drop by rounded tsps. onto greased baking sheets, and bake @ 325 F. for 12-15 minutes.

With your first bite, you'll want to thank the Japanese for fruitcake cookies, cherry trees, and Yo-Yo Ma!

Yes, You Can Microwave Oatmeal!

The only fruit I add before microwaving is dates.

Before microwaving.

After cooking and adding fruits.

Fresh pineapple is the best fruit to add, but I was out.

Let's start our gastrological trip around the world with a healthy, no-mess breakfast at home. I am talking about how I make my oatmeal 365 days a year--and have for many years. The American Heart Association would approve, and my doctor says I'm good to go.

I tell all my friends to make oatmeal in the microwave, but they won't listen! They still either dirty pans or use the sugary istant stuff. So listen here, especially all you single men! The first time, you may have water spew out in your microwave if you don't use a large or deep bowl. That's a mixing bowl, not a cereal bowl. Note the size of mine in the picture. Any vessel that holds at least 4 cups will do.

I measure in only 1/3 cup of minute oats and 2/3 cup of water. "Minute" oats cook in my microwave in 66 seconds. If you have a less powerful oven, try 77 seconds and so on, but the longer-cooking oats will need too long--long enough to boil out all the water and not get done.

I usually add raisins, at least one other fruit, and walnuts, a handful of each, after the oats are cooked. A word about walnuts. Dr. Sanjay Gupta, my hero, was asked if he would name one food everyone should have everyday, and he said, "Walnuts." Sanjay's words are golden to me.

Today, my extra fruit was dates. I sliced 5 of them and cooked them with the oats, but I can peel an apple in 66 seconds and chop it into my oats when I take them out of the microwave or wash some berries in that time. I add no sugar, but several shakes of cinnamon. If you must have it sweeter, some honey is nice with the cinnamon. So, there you have a healthy breakfast with orange juice and a hard-boiled egg!

Note: Think of all the pairings of fruit you can add. Pineapple and coconut is another favorite of mine when I have fresh pineapple. The raisins and walnuts are must-use 365 days. Add all those servings of fruit--raisins, walnuts, pineapple, coconut, o. j.-- and you've almost got your daily requirement of the fruits and veggies group. But you won't stop there. There are 2 more meals. You'll be way ahead!  There is serendipity:  you don't have to scrub 365 pans every year!