Salsa Criolla - Comida Latina

This recipe comes from a paperback cookbook Comida Latina published by Center for Latin American Studies at Stanford University.

A covered glass bowl of this condiment appears on the table of every restaurant in the Sierras. And you find it on the counter in every kitchen. This recipe came from Helene and Fredrick Kruger of the School of Earth Sciences.

Salsa Criolla from Peru

Onions, Pepper, Salt
Marjoram or Oregano
Ground Yellow Chili Pepper
Fresh Chilis
Bitter Oranges or Lemons
Olive Oil

Cut Onions in this slices and soak in heavily salted water for 10 to 15 minutes. Rub the onions lightly through the fingers to loosen the rings, then rinse in cold clear water and dry. Place onion rings in a china or glass dish. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and marjoram to taste. Add a pinch or two of ground yellow chili pepper. Cut fresh chilis, without seeds and fiber, into very thin strips. Add to the onions and mix gently. Pour juice of bitter oranges or lemons to barely cover. Set aside for a couple of hours, then add a little olive oil, mix and serve with boiled potatoes, fried fish, salad, etc.

Please Note: Ingredients may be adjusted in amount to suit taste and number of servings. Some add fresh chopped Cilantro or Marjoram to this condiment.

Reading to Cats

This is the feel-good Pennsylvania story of the month. I love cats.

The Animal Rescue League of Berks County PA has a program called “Book Buddies.” Children volunteer to read to sheltered cats. Via Reddit.

Have patience if you go to their website. Everyone is going there for more information, more pictures and to donate to this great program. The boy in the photo thought he was "too dumb" to learn to read. Nope. His reading and grades have improved tremendously. And the cats are finding forever homes. 

Since You've Been Gone Valentine

since you’ve been gone

since you’ve been gone, I’ve been alone.
like an arm without a bone.
dangling limply like a phone that’s out of charge.
like homer without marge.
like an egg without a spoon.
like a dugong on the moon.
like a clownfish without nemo.
like twilight without emo.
like hardy without laurel.
like high ground without the moral.
like disney without walt.
like battery without assault.
like a pet shop without gerbils.
like hitler without goebbels.
like a dilemma without the di,
just a lemma and a sigh.
like déjà without vu,
I am nothing without you.
till the day that you come back,
I’m like whitney without crack.

- Bill Bailey (via acupofpoetry)

Food and Artists

I have an ongoing interest in Food Art. Food Artists continue to redefine the relationship between Art and Food. It is not just about the plate and the table anymore. Or even the advertising business. It seems like a culture shift. We are looking at food itself in new ways.

I thank Providence for visually oriented folks like Ms. Alice Yoo who created Fine Art of Food.  Go there for more images that will startle and amaze.

Fantastic Food Photo Manipulations by Jean Francois De Witte

Incredible Food Landscapes by Carl Warner

Hyperrealistic Food Paintings by Tjalf Sparnaay

English Cottage Pie

This is another recipe from Sadie Dell. She writes:

 “Proper English Cottage Pie is a delicious, very traditional mince pie topped with mashed Potato. Serve with garden or mushy peas.”

Ingredients

1 pound lean ground Beef

1 Onion, diced

3 Carrots, diced

2 tablespoons all-purpose Flour

½ teaspoon ground Nutmeg 

1 tablespoon Italian Seasoning

2 tablespoons chopped fresh Parsley

1 ½ cups Beef Broth

1 tablespoon Tomato Paste

Salt and Pepper to taste

4 Potatoes, peeled and diced

¼ cup Butter, softened

1 cup Milk

Salt and Pepper to taste

¼ pound shredded Cheddar Cheese

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place a large skillet over medium heat. Crumble in ground Beef and saute one minute. Add Onion and Carrot and continue to saute until Meat is no longer pink and Onion begins to brown, about 5 minutes.

Mix in Flour, Nutmeg, mixed Herbs and Parsley. In a small bowl, combine Beef Broth and Tomato Paste. Mix together and then add to the Beef mixture. Add Salt and Pepper to taste. Lower heat and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until almost all of liquid has been absorbed. Spoon the mixture into a 9 inch pie plate.

Place diced potatoes in a medium saucepan. Cover with water and boil until potatoes are tender. Drain. Mash Potatoes until smooth, and then add Butter and Milk. Whip until fluffy. Add Salt and Pepper to taste. Spread potatoes over Beef filling. Sprinkle with Cheddar Cheese. Bake for 25 minutes until top is browned and Cheese is bubbly.

Beautiful Soup So Rich and Green

BEAUTIFUL Soup, so rich and green,
Waiting in a hot tureen!
Who for such dainties would not stoop?
Soup of the evening, beautiful Soup!
Soup of the evening, beautiful Soup!
- by Lewis Carroll

January is National Soup Month. I love soup both hot and cold. The soup recipe below had its start with a recipe by Poppy Cannon in Eating European at Home and Abroad published by Doubleday in 1961. I altered it to suit our family. Poppy Cannon (August 2, 1905 - April 1975) was at various times the food editor of the Ladies Home Journal and House Beautiful.

Perhaps best known for her books on food, Miss Cannon was also the author of 2,000 magazine articles on a variety of topics, and wrote newspaper columns ranging from fashion and travel to race relations as well as poetry and fiction. Read more...

Emeril LaGasse makes this Portugese soup with linguica sausage added. I have tried that and my children like this Vegan version better.

Ingredients for Caldo Verde Soup:

6 Potatoes
4 tablespoons Olive Oil
¼ teaspoon Black Pepper
1 tablespoon Salt
1 Dried Hot Pepper (optional)
4 cups shredded Greens (Kale or Turnip are especially good)
2-6 cloves fresh Garlic
2 quarts Water

Wakame finely shredded with scissors (optional and to taste)

Peel and slice the potatoes. Cover with water and add olive oil and peeled garlic cloves, and cook until tender. Remove the Hot Pepper. Mash the potatoes and garlic in the broth. Add salt and pepper. Then add 4 cups shredded fresh greens or one large package of frozen greens and the wakame if using it. I almost always use frozen because it’s faster than shredding fresh greens and the results are good. Cook for an hour or until the greens are tender.

Note: If you are cooking for dedicated hot food haters, make Caldo Verde without the hot pepper and serve Louisiana hot sauce or Tabasco as a condiment. Ms. Cannon writes that this soup may be made with a combination of cabbage and spinach. I found that combination insipid. She also does not include garlic. I don’t think she would recognize my version but I must thank her for the fabulous start.

And to those who know and love Lewis Carroll as much as I, please forgive the poetic license and quotation wantonness. I know the soup spoken of was Turtle, Mock Turtle.