Pressure cooker chick peas

 

Another fine recipe based on one from Susan Voisin at Fat Free Vegan Kitchen! I cooked the chickpeas in the pressure cooker and have made real progress with learning to use it thanks to The Veggie Queen. This time I got all of the steps right and ended up with perfectly cooked chickpeas in a very short time. 

I  had half of a huge raw sweet potato leftover in the refrigerator and nearly a pound of okra that had to be used really soon. I found this recipe at Fat Free Vegan and changed it some, of course. First, I liked it much better without the peanut butter that the recipe says to add at the end of cooking. I tried it both ways because the broth tasted so good without it. I would not include it or the liquid smoke flavoring. With enough smoked paprika, the liquid smoke, which I do not have, was unnecessary. I had no green peppers either, only half a red pepper, so I made half of the recipe. The next time I would use a green pepper.  I left the celery at 2 ribs, used regular diced tomatoes, and Sriracha Hot Sauce because I like the heat it gives to the food.

Although the recipe recommends cooking all of the ingredients until the sweet potatoes are close to falling apart, I found that after 90 minutes, they still were not near falling apart and finished the cooking at that time. 

So this is what cooking is supposed to be like. Start with an idea, use what you have on hand and like to eat and then make the recipe your own.

Food memories of Schav

Anna’s Schav

For years my husband has talked about his memories of schav, a cold Russian soup his mother made for summer time meals when he was growing up. She also made Borscht, which he liked but not as much as he liked her schav. Neither of those soups were in my cooking repertoire and concerned that no soup I made could make would live up to the soup of his memory, I never tried. Until yesterday when I received a large bunch of Swiss Chard from my CSA.

I researched schav recipes in my cookbook collection and on the web. I interviewed Jerry about what he remembered of the soup. I knew the recipe I ended up with would not include the traditional sour cream or the optional eggs and milk. I thought I could create a close approximation to the remembered soup using the chard instead of the more traditional sorrel. And it worked. I was surprised and pleased that my soup received praise for being so much like Anna’s soup of decades ago.

Anna cooked without recipes, carrying her ideas entirely in her head. The family says that wherever Anna was became the family gathering place. Although I never had the opportunity to meet her, I think it would please her to have others enjoying her schav.

Schav

4 cups water
½ teaspoon dried dill
5 scallions, 2 chopped for cooking, 3 chopped for garnish
1 pound Swiss Chard
salt and ground black pepper to taste
1 small cucumber, chopped for garnish
3 radishes, chopped for garnish

Wash the chard well by partially filling the sink with water, gently swishing the chard around and then lifting the chard from the water. Repeat 2 more times. This method leaves the sand and dirt behind. Remove the tough stems and chop the leaves into pieces about one-inch square.

In a soup pot, bring the water to a boil and add the chard, dill, 2 of the chopped scallions and cook for about 5 minutes. Add the chard and simmer for about 10 minutes or until the greens are very soft, but still holding together well.

Remove from the heat and season with salt and pepper.

Chill and serve in bowls with the chopped cucumber, radishes, and scallions.

Serves 3-4

Okra Gumbo

Before my first taste of any kind of gumbo, I was definitely an adult. In fact, the first time might have been when I was in my late twenties on my first trip to New Orleans. Of course I liked the gumbo as well as the oysters Rockefeller, the bananas Foster, the fish en papillotte, the Sazerac cocktails. What an experience it was for me to have breakfast at Brennans and dinners at both Antoine's and Galatoire's.

It was then that I learned to like gumbo, but okra and I have a limited relationship. I like okra prepared at our favorite Indian restaurant, Woodlands, in Lauderhill. Once my son used a recipe from one of Emeril's cookbooks and created a fabulous gumbo with shrimp when he and I were both omnivores. And I love this okra gumbo recipe.

If you want to know absolutely everything on the subject of gumbo, read the chapter "Gumbo Zeb: history in a bowl and more" in Crescent Dragonwagon's Dairy Hollow House Soup & Bread. It is interesting, but it is important to note that what she says contradicts what Emeril has to say about gumbo. Finally, if you are up to preparing an authentic gumbo, follow Dragonwagon's instructions for preparation of the soup over three days beginning with a base containing over 30 ingredients.

If you are looking for fewer hours in the kitchen and a spicy, delicious and healthy meal, prepare the following recipe and serve it with steamed brown rice and a big chopped salad. The flavor of the gumbo improves on the second day.

Okra Gumbo

1 large onion, diced
3 stalks celery with leaves, chopped
1/4 cup scallions, sliced
32 ounce can whole tomatoes, broken up
1 pound frozen sliced okra
3 bay leaves
1 tablespoon Emeril's rustic rub
16 ounces vegetable broth
2 cups steamed brown rice

In a 5 quart pot, saute the onion and celery in 1/4 cup broth until the onion is transparent. Add the scallions, tomatoes and bay leaves and cook for 10 minutes. Add the okra, seasoning and remaining broth. Simmer for 30-45 minutes.

Serve in soup bowls with a scoop of rice in the center of each bowl.

Substitute for 1 tablespoon of Emeril's rustic rub:
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon cayenne
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme

Optional addition: If you like soy substitutes for meat, add coarsely chopped pieces of a soy based sausage such as Tofurky Italian sausage.

Vegetable Barley Soup

This one is for all of my friends who are buried in six feet of snow with another couple of feet still to fall. Of course, the soup tastes just as good when the temperature is 80. This soup can simmer for longer and makes the whole house smell like a wonderful meal is on the way. It is a good excuse to make another loaf of the rustic bread.

If you are lucky enough to have leftovers, it will taste even better on the second day.



1 quart water
1/2 cup pearled barley
3 garlic cloves, pressed
1 tablespoon dried dill
1 bay leaf
1 14-ounce package frozen Fordhook lima beans
2 14-ounce cans vegetable broth
1 medium onion, diced
2 large stalks celery, diced
1 large potato, peeled and diced
2 medium carrots, peeled and chopped
1 tablespoon paprika
salt and ground black pepper to taste

In a 5-quart saucepan, combine water, barley, garlic, dill and bay leaf. Over medium heat, bring to a boil, cover and lower the heat so it simmers for an hour or so. Add lima beans and cook for another 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, pour 1 can vegetable broth into a skillet along with the diced vegetables and cook for 4 to 5 minutes. Stir in the paprika, salt and pepper.

Stir the cooked vegetables from the skillet into the barley in the saucepan and cook another 30 minutes or so, adding the second can of broth if the soup needs more liquid.