Chicken and Not Mushy GF Pasta Soup

Spouse 1.0 and I have been sick with this year's nasty flu.  He's been sick since a week ago Friday. I've been sick since Wednesday.  It feels like I've been sick for 15 of the last 10 days.

Sick people require chicken soup.  But, what do you do when there's not a well person in the house to make it?  In the gluteney, chemical-laden, frankenfood days of yore, we simply ate canned.

Now, we do without or get by on frozen pork posole until I feel well enough to make the chicken soup.  Yeah, so by the time we get it, we almost don't need it.

Today's big challenges: The soup had to be done in less than 2 hours, including peeling and chopping. It had to be fairly easy, because I'm fairly dead.  It had to use stuff I had on hand. And, since I was making enough for at least 2 days, I had to find a way to make the pasta not turn to mush. (Stay tuned... I'm kinda proud of how I managed that last challenge!)

There's no way a less-than-2-hour soup is going to have that simmered all day yumminess of my mom's soups.  But, this turned out plenty good enough.

3 pale and slightly limp ribs of celery
2.5 iffy-looking carrots
1 onion, past its prime
Spray olive oil
1/2 TBSP butter
1.5 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breast
A few leaves fresh sage, rosemary, and thyme (and/or dry)
2 quarts of prepared organic vegetable broth*
2 bay leaves
pepper
onion powder
dry parsley
freeze-dried chives and/or onion powder
garlic powder
1 cup frozen organic peas (approx.)
8 oz. Tinkyada brown rice pasta shells**

1. Wash and chop the celery, carrots, and onion. 
2. Spray a soup kettle with olive oil spray and start the vegies to sauté.
3. Rinse and dry the chicken, then cut into approx. 1 inch cubes.  Periodically stir the pot.
4. Add butter to kettle.  Add chicken and start it to sauté with the vegies.
5. Rinse the fresh herbs and chop them.  Add them to the pot.
6. Add the vegie broth, a couple of cups of filtered water, bay leaves, and other seasonings.  Cover and simmer while you clean up a little and check facebook.  Maybe 20 minutes total. Chicken should be cooked through by now.
7. Taste and adjust seasonings. Turn the burner off for now.
8. Scoop out about half the broth into a 3 quart sauce pan and bring to a boil. Add pasta and cook until barely done, stirring periodically.
9. Meanwhile, add the peas to the soup pot.
10. When the pasta is done, scoop it into a separate bowl using a slotted spoon.  Do not rinse or drain.
11. Return the broth from cooking the pasta to the soup pot.  Add a little more water if needed.  Bring to a boil and adjust seasonings (again) if needed.
12. To serve: Spoon a bit of pasta into a bowl or mug, then add hot soup mixture. Stir to combine.

* It's somewhere between hard and impossible to find a chicken broth that doesn't contain yeast extract, autolyzed yeast, or mysterious "spices" -- all potential sources of free glutamic acid.  So, I use vegie broth in soups instead.

** GF pasta in general is a lot less mush-prone than it used to be, but Tinkyada has proven consistently reliable.  Cooking and storing the pasta apart from the soup keeps it from turning to mush.

Sorry. No pictures.  Still too sick to manage that.  But, am feeling a lot better with some chicken soup in my tummy.

Pumpkin Herb Biscuits

I love Roben Ryberg's cookbooks.  I love her single flour philosophy.  I love the way she provides multiple variations on flours for her recipes, and I absolutely love that she does most things by weight. 

Every gluten-free home should own a couple of her cookbooks.

This recipe is heavily adapted from the rice flour biscuits recipe in her book "You Won't Believe It's Gluten-Free!"  Her original recipe is also available online on at RobenRyberg.com.

My variation was motivated by a desire to use up some slightly iffy herbs before heading out to Grebar Farms tomorrow to get fresh ones.

Pumpkin Herb Biscuits

3.9 ounces Spectrum organic shortening
155 grams brown rice flour
1 Tbsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 1/4 tsp xanthan gum
1/2 tsp sea salt
About 1 Tbsp chopped mixed herbs: Sage, rosemary, thyme
1/3 to 1/2 cup canned organic pumpking, plus enough water to make 3/4 cup total
1 1/2 Tbsp maple syrup
1 tsp apple cider vinegar

1. Preheat oven to 375 (f) and liberally grease a big iron skillet or a cookie sheet.
2. Mix shortening and flour together with until crumbly and lovely.
3. Sprinkle baking powder, baking soda, xanthan gum, and sea salt more or less evenly over the crumbly flour mixture.  Stir & fold to distribute evenly.
4. Sprinkle herbs over flour mixture and stir again to distribute evenly.
5. Mix pumpkin and water in a liquid measuring cup.  Add maple syrup and vinegar, stirring to combine.
6. Sprinkle liquid stuff over the flour stuff, then stir gently to combine.
7. Drop biscuits onto prepared skillet or cookie sheet, then gently shape a little with your fingers.
8. Bake at 375 (f) for about 12-18 minutes.
9. Makes 10-12 biscuits.

Chile Mole(ish)

Tomorrow is the neighborhood chili cookoff.  We usually don't participate in neighborhood events. Largely because there usually aren't any.

So... I've been planning.

Black beans, because all other beans are farty.

Ground pork, just because it's something I never use.

Roasted chilis, because Grebar Farms was selling chilis today.

Fresh lime basil and fresh oregano, because what is a pilgrimage to Grebar Farms without fresh herbs?

Epazote, because Mr. Grebar says it will make chili even less farty.  Not much of it because Mrs. Grebar says it's not really yummy stuff.

Chocolate, because I had some old organic baking chocolate that really needed to get used.

Purple onions, garlic, cumin, salt, pepper, & ancho chili powder because, after all, this is chili.

Cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, allspice because that goes with the chocolate.

Tough decision: Tomatoes? Pumpkin? Both? 

So, inasmuch as chili is ever a recipe, and insofar as you can ever guesstimate measurements when you're making chili, here it is:

Chili Mole(ish)

1.5 lbs black beans
6-8 epazote leaves, optional
2-3 Tbsp chopped fresh lime basil
3-4 Tbsp lightly chopped fresh oregano
6-8 Mild to medium New Mexico chilis, roasted
1 large purple onion
6 cloves garlic
1.25 lbs ground pork
2 oz dark baking chocolate
1 16 oz can organic pumpkin puree
2 16-oz cans organic tomatoes
2 tsp cumin
1/5 tsp ancho chili powder
1 tsp cinnamon
dashes of clove, nutmeg, and allspice
Additional garlic powder, to taste
Salt & black pepper, to taste
Cilantro, optional

1. Soak black beans in plenty of water for about 12 to 18 hours.
2. Rinse, add water to cover (and then some), and put in a large stock pot to boil.
3. Cook for about a couple of hours, until beans are starting to soften but not yet mushy.
4. Add herbs, onion, chilis, and garlic. 
5. Crumble the raw pork into the mix.
6. When pork and onions are done, add the chocolate, pumpkin, tomatoes, and the spices.
7. Taste and adjust seasonings.
8. Cook a little longer, until the beans are as mushy as you like.
9. Garnish with cilantro leaves.

Black Bean, Bacon Drippins, and Avocado Muffins, Take One

My mom was the Queen of Nothing Wasted. This was most evident when it came to bacon drippins.  And, yes. Drippins.  No final "g", no final apostrophe to show you believe in final "g".  Mom was an educated and articulate enough lady that she knew about final "g" and could pronounce it just fine when needed.

But, bacon drippins were... drippins.  And drippins they shall always be.

Bacon drippins were stored in coffee cans, back in the days when people drank coffee that came pre-ground in cans. You just added to them every time you made bacon or sausage, and subtracted from them every time you fried something or greased a pan.

Once mom made zucchini bread, and she greased the pans with bacon drippins.  Unbeknownst to her, the drippins had gone rancid (something that rarely happens in hillbilly households).  Worst zucchini bread ever, at least around the edges.  It was still pretty good in the middle.

Anyway, true child of Mom that I am, when I fry bacon, I save the drippins.  In little ramekins, because I don't fry bacon that often.  Unlike Mom, I let it sit in the fridge until I'm pretty sure it's rancid, then I throw it out.

But lately, the idea of using the bacon fat to make something flavorful has been calling to me.

And, using black beans in muffins has been calling to me.

And using GF beer in muffins has been calling to me.

And, I had some avocados left over from the salad I'd made on the 4th.

So, what if I made blue cornmeal muffins, with black beans and bacon fat and avocados?  And, what if I topped them with the cracklins leftover from last week's posole?

Sounds like something you'd serve for Halloween, doesn't it? 

Black Bean, Bacon Drippins, and Avocado Muffins

Vegetable Ingredients:
3/4 to 1/2 C leftover black beans, chilled
1/2 C finely chopped onion
1 TBSP minced jalapeño
1 garlic clove or cube, or equivalent powder
1 TBSP minced cilantro (opt.)
Chunks of avocado, splashed with lime juice

Dry Ingredients:
1 1/4 C GF flour blend
1/4 C tapioca starch
1/2 C blue cornmeal (yellow or white would be prettier)
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 tsp xanthan gum
1/2 tsp salt
Ground pepper to taste

Wet ingredients:
1 egg
1/3 cup melted and partially cooled bacon drippins
About 3/4 cup GF beer, room temperature

Topping (Opt.)
Small bits of cracklins or bacon.

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 (f).
2. Place liners in 12 to 15 muffin cups, then spray with canola oil.
3. Saute onion, jalapeño, and garlic in about 1 tsp bacon drippings in a non-stick skillet. Remove from heat.
4. Add black beans and cilantro.
5. Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl.
6. Mix wet ingredients in a medium bowl.
7. Mix wet ingredients into dry ingredients.
8. Gently fold in all vegie ingredients, except the avocado chunks.
9. Divide batter among the muffin cups, then smooth tops a bit with dampened fingers.
10. Push one avocado chunk deep into the center of each muffin, then smooth batter over with dampened fingers.
11. Sprinkle tops with cracklins or bacon bits, if desired.
12. Bake about 13 to 15 minutes, until toothpick inserted off-center comes out clean.

Results: Well, indeed, they weren't pretty. Spouse 1.0 thinks they had too much avocado, not enough jalapeno, and maybe didn't need the cilantro. Other than that, he liked them.



Blue Corn Posole

In my quest for a decent blue corn posole, I'm trying something a little different this time. Well, a couple of things.

Blue corn posole, dry

First, I'm crocking it.  When I've made the posole on top of the stove, I've not been happy with how the blue corn hominy cooks up.  Some pieces are solid and very chewy.  Others split apart and are... very chewy. 

I think the chewiness is just part of blue corn, but am hoping that crocking will at least help it cook more evenly.

The second thing I'm doing is roasting the pork, onions, garlic, and chilis before adding them to the stew.  The hope is for a little more depth of flavor.

Blue corn posole is a two-day process.

Day one is easy. Take the dried hominy, and soak in water to cover.  This time around, I started the soaking mid afternoon. 

Day 2 is a little more involved.

First, trim the pork of extra fat, and render it in an iron skillet.

Rendered pork fat

This provides something like unfiltered lard to use in the skillet when roasting everything. 

It also provides cracklins, which can later be used in corn bread. 

Cracklins are like unflavored bacon.  They're a hillbilly delicacy.

Cracklins

After rendering the fat, drain some of it off, and use the rest to sear the pork. 

Rub some of the fat on the seared pork, 1 quartered onion, 2 halved and seeded jalapenos, and 4 cloves of garlic.


Put everything in the oven to roast.  I'm roasting at 350 (f). 

Pork and vegs, ready for the oven

Next, wash and quarter 6-8 tomatillos.  Drain the soaking water from the posole.  Add tomatillos and posole to the crock pot, and add a couple of quarts of water.  Add salt to taste and about 1/2 tsp or so dried oregano.  Set the crock pot on low, and let the hominy and tomatillos cook while the pork and vegs roast.

Tomatillos and posole in the crock pot

Cool the pork and vegs. Cube or shred the pork and chop the vegs.  Add to the crock pot and cook about 4 hours, until the hominy is tender and the broth is tasty.  Add additional seasoning to taste.

Ingredients:

1 12 oz. package dry blue corn posole
2.25 lbs thick cut pork loin steaks
1 onion, peeled and quartered
2 jalapeño chili peppers, cut in half and seeded
4 small cloves garlic
6-8 tomatillos, quartered
About5 1/2 tsp oregano
1 frozen garlic cube, or 1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 to 1/2 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp ancho chili powder
Freshly ground salt and pepper
Cilantro

Directions:

1. Day one: Soak the posole in a covered glass bowl for at 12-18 hours.
2. Day two: Rinse pork, pat dry, and trim fat.
3. Cut fat into small pieces, then render in an iron skillet.
4. Remove cracklins from the skillet and drain and reserve most of the fat. Leave about 1 Tbsp fat in the skillet.
5. Sear the pork on all sides.
6. Rub onions, garlic, and jalapeños with some of the reserved fat, then place in skillet with the pork.
7. Roast pork and vegs in 350 (f) oven for about an hour or so, until pork is done. Let cool.
8. While pork is roasting, drain and rinse the posole, then put in crock pot with about 2-3 quarts water.
9. Add tomatillos and oregano, and start cooking on low.
10. Remove vegs, cut onions, remove skins from jalapeños, and add to crock pot.
11. Shred or cube pork and rub it around in the skillet to get some of the skillet liquor mixed into the meat.  Add to crock pot.
12. Cook on low for about 6 hours, adding remaining seasonings to taste after a couple of hours.
13. Serve garnished with cilantro.

The finished product

Squash Chili

As my adventure in mushy food continues, my biggest question is, "Do variations in Vegetable Slop count as new recipes?"

OK, my real biggest questions are, "Will this ever end?" and "Am I going to be alright?"

But, those questions make for boring blog posts.  Even more boring than blenderized vegetables.

So... today's gustatory delight (said with tongue in cheek, aforementioned tongue partially poking through the hole where the tooth used to be because I'm typing this as I eat, and I'm supposed to eat with my flipper out, and isn't that way more than you wanted to know?) is Yellow Crookneck Squash Chili.  And, yes, it could be made with Zucchini.

Sorry, no pics -- partly because I just didn't have time, and partly because this stuff looks almost exactly like any other Vegetable Slop.  Maybe a little more red-orange than  the greenish brown slop made with tomatoes and green beans. But, except for color, it's all be the same.

Yellow Crookneck Squash Chili

Ingredients:

• 2 small yellow crookneck squash
• 2 small heirloom tomatoes
• About 3/4 cup water
• Big pinches and dashes of Chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, oregano, salt, pepper.
• 1 TBSP guacamole

Directions:

1. Put everything except the guac in a pan and cook.
2. Blenderize with your handy stick blender.
3. Taste and add more seasonings if needed.
4. Pour into a bowl and top with the guac.

Yumm. Sort of.

Vegetable Slop - er, I mean, Soup

I'm not sure how humans survived oral surgery before the advent of the stick blender.  I'm sure I'll wear mine out before this is all over.

One of my biggest challenges has been vegies.  I eat LOTS of vegies.  A day without broccoli is like a day without sunshine. Only worse.

But, pureed broccoli? Not so much.

And, even though I can now chew well-done vegies, it can be very tedious trying to eat a whole bowl full.

Right now I'm kind of craving the vegie soup from Marie Callendar's.  But, without all the salt and who-knows-what one gets in restaurant soups.

So, here it is: Vegetable Slop - er, Soup.  I'm not saying it's all that pretty.  But it is tasty, and it requires no chewing.

The recipe makes 2 small servings or 1 large.

Ingredients:

About 6 ounces organic frozen green beans
About 1/2 cup organic canned tomatoes
About 1/4 cup frozen peas
A slice or two of onion, or a generous sprinkling of onion powder
Dash of garlic powder
Pinch of oregano
3/4 cup or so of organic vegie broth or water
Salt & pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Throw everything in a pan and cook til done.
2. Blenderize with your stick blender.
3. Serve in a pretty mug.

Variations:
Add a pinch of capers, a couple of olives, or some fresh savory.  Throw in a little spinach or any other vegies you have on hand.