Tuesday, October 19, 2010

More soup, date night and an eBook promotion!

Hi again!

Just wanted to share some more recipes that I made this week that we really enjoyed. I also just read about a new eBook that looks exciting for those of us looking for "Real Food" recipes for some of our favorite "bad" foods! Like chocolate chip cookies! I'll be trying THOSE tomorrow!

Why not tonight? Well, tonight is date night with my hubby! Yay! We will be having dinner at an as-of-yet undisclosed restaurant (it's a toss up between sushi, one of our favorite Italian restaurants or the wood fire grill place) and then heading over to a bistro for drinks. The bistro is a place where I have been told would be a good place for my husband and I to book ourselves at (we're musicians). So, we're going to go check it out. It sounds a bit more "jazzy" than what our music style is. We tend to perform more country music than anything else so we'll see. And I won't tell you ahead of time because I don't want to feel bad if I don't like it as I'd have come back and give a negative review. If I really like it, I'll spread the word afterward. Most of all, tonight is about spending kid-free time with my beloved husband! And being grown-ups and not crawling on the floor (well, maybe there will be some of that too but I won't go there...) and playing with toys and changing diapers, etc. I'm wearing my new black heels and I'm going to enjoy our date night where ever it takes us. As long as we're together!

So for the recipes!

First, I made POTATO LEEK SOUP. But not just any potato leek soup. This was made with leeks from the farmers market and uncured bacon and lots of love. The recipe? Here it is:

I used 4 leeks, sliced.
6 slices of uncured bacon (trying to avoid added nitrites/nitrates)
a bit of dry sherry
scrubbed cubed potatoes, about 3 medium sized ones
quart of chicken stock
2 cups whole milk
sour cream

First I cooked half the bacon in my cast iron pan and the other half in the pot which I was cooking the soup in. The idea being that I was going to use the bacon fat in the pot for the soup and save the other bacon fat. In the end I used all of it in my soup, so it was more like the rendered fat from a whole 12 ounce package of bacon.
Then I cooked the leeks in the bacon fat and a bit of dry sherry until wilted and looking cooked. Add the chicken stock and potatoes. Cook for a half hour or so until the potatoes are cooked. At this point I would puree half of this in the blender and then add back in. Let the soup cool a bit. Then add the milk. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Serve with sour cream and bacon crumbled on top.
Yum!

This recipe is adapted from a recipe I found on Nourished Kitchen's website. She uses fresh dill which I did not have. And I added the sherry myself because I like the hint of flavor it gives. In fact, I tend to use a lot of sherry in my cooking. It is a must have ingredient when you make chicken or turkey gravy-to die for! Just don't drink it-it's kind of yucky to drink! Especially the cheap kind that I cook with! But somehow it just adds that something yummy to my recipes. Who knew? I discovered it when I watched my friend's daughter make turkey gravy at Thanksgiving one year and I have been hooked ever since.

My next recipe does not have any sherry in it but it probably would be a good addition if you so desire! This one is BRAISED LEEKS. Yep. Another leek recipe. They just looked so good at the farmer's market this past Saturday so I had to get some.

Braised leeks:
4 leeks, cut lengthwise and rinsed well.
beef stock or broth (I used broth)
grated cheese (the original recipe called for Gruyere but I didn't have that so I used Asiago, another new love of mine!)

Put the leeks in a pyrex or casserole dish/pan. Boil the beef stock/broth and pour over the leeks. Put in a 350 oven for about 30 minutes or until the leeks look cooked. Sprinkle cheese on top and broil.

The taste reminded us of French onion soup. Yummy! The original recipe is from Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon. Enjoy!

As you may be able to tell from this and other posts, we are making the journey to embracing more traditional and "real" foods while I also purge our clutter and organize our home (with a squirmy baby on my lap...). The eBook I mentioned earlier can be found at Modern Alternative Mama. She has recipes for french fries and fried chicken and, of course, the chocolate chip cookies! If you're looking for a good list of transitional foods, check this out. Until the 25th, there is a 25% off offer as well. There is also a giveaway in progress for a copy of this at Kitchen Stewardship. And please, come back and tell me what you think?

As for me and my house, it's baby feeding time! Have a blessed day!

Lizabeth

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