October 8-14th 2023

My husband and I woke up to coyotes howling in our neighborhood. Although I know it is not good for the neighborhood cats that they are so close, I appreciate that they have chosen to hang out with us in our little neck of the woods, NE Portland. I would hear them a lot when I lived in New Mexico, but I lived in the mountains there so wildlife was not so elusive. I miss being in a more natural environment on a regular basis, so when the coyotes howl and the crickets chirp and the crows have their evening gathering and gossip session in our sequoia tree it makes me feel grateful to have an animal community around me.

The other thing that keeps me feeling close to the earth is cooking food. This week I went back to the farmers market. I needed some shitake mushrooms and we have a local booth with two buddies who grow mushrooms, wild harvest mushrooms, dry mushrooms and have all things mushrooom-like at the ready for their customers. Rows of 1/4 pound to 1 pound white upright bags of shitakes, portobellos, oyster mushroms, lions mane mushrooms, lobester mushrooms, etc, etc. line the tables and seperate myself and their crew. Today they were cooking mushrooms and Rowan, who opposes anything smacking of mushroom, decided to try it. I was flabbergasted. He said, “mmmm…yum, can we get some of those? “ while nibbling on a bite of fried shrimp mushroom. Well, who am I to stop a bold and curious palette. I’ll be frying those up for breakfast this week with some baked potatoes and scallions and truffle salt.

It is warm this weekend but will cool down by the end of the week. Once again I dove into Amy Theielen’s book for a coupld of recipies. Last weeks receipies were amazing. Every time I heated up and ate the pot roast it tasted even better. Also Nom Nom paleo’s cashew chicken was an excellent substitute for my favorite dish from our favorite Thai place, The Jade Teahouse. I will cook that more than once I am sure.

Booya-Posole Community Stew by Amy Thielen

Ingredients

1 tablespoon minced fresh thyme

1 tablespoon sweet paprika

1 3-inch cinnamon stick

4 cups low-sodium chicken stock

3 bay leaves

1 15.5-ounce can white hominy, drained and rinsed

2 ears fresh sweet corn, kernels cut off

Chopped fresh cilantro, for topping

4 tablespoons salted butter

1/2 large sweet onion, diced

1 large carrot, diced

2 stalks celery, diced

1/2 large red bell pepper, diced

1 jalapeno pepper, minced

Fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 cup crushed fresh or canned plum tomatoes

2 skinless chicken legs (1 1/2 pounds)

1 pound pork butt, sliced 1 inch thick

Directions

1. Heat the butter in a large stockpot over medium heat. When it melts, add the onion, carrot, celery, bell pepper, jalapeno and 1/2 teaspoon each salt and pepper. Cook, stirring, until the vegetables are soft and sweet, about 20 minutes. Add the garlic and tomatoes and cook until thick and jammy, about 10 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, preheat a grill or a stovetop grill pan over medium-high heat. Blot dry the chicken legs and pork and season with salt and pepper.

3. Grill the chicken and pork until wellmarked on both sides and partially cooked through, about 10 minutes. Cut the pork into 1-inch cubes.

4. Add the thyme, paprika, cinnamon stick, 1 teaspoon salt and 1 teaspoon pepper to the stockpot. Add both meats, the stock, 4 cups water and the bay leaves. Bring to a simmer and cook, partially covered, stirring once in a while, until the pork is very tender when poked with a fork, about 1 hour, 30 minutes.

5. Remove the chicken legs, pick the meat from the bones, chop it into large pieces and return it to the stew.

6. Add the hominy and simmer the stew another 30 minutes to 1 hour, or until everything is really tender and the meat is falling apart. Mash the pork against the side of the pot to break it up. (Don't worry if the chicken looks like it's almost dissolving: That's typical of booya.) Add the corn and cook 5 more minutes.

7. Remove the bay leaves and cinnamon stick. Taste to check the seasoning and add more salt, if needed. Serve with the chopped cilantro.

Fancy Meatloaf by Amy Thielen

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons salted butter
1 large sweet onion, cut into small dice (2 cups)
Fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
3½ ounces shiitake mushrooms, stemmed and chopped
5 cloves garlic, minced
3 tablespoons dry sherry or dry white wine
½ cup whole milk
2 cups coarsely ground fresh bread crumbs (from about 4 slices country bread)
1 pound ground beef chuck
1 pound ground pork
½ teaspoon grated nutmeg
¼ teaspoon ground allspice
2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 large eggs
½ cup shelled salted pistachios
10 slices bacon
2 tablespoons (packed) light brown sugar.

Preheat the oven to 375°F.

Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add the olive oil, butter, and onion, season with ½ teaspoon each of salt and pepper, and cook until the onion is soft and light brown, about 10 minutes.

Add the mushrooms and garlic to the skillet and sauté until the mushroom juice exudes and then evaporates, about 5 minutes. Add the sherry and simmer for 1 minute to reduce slightly. Pour the mushroom mixture onto a wide plate to cool slightly.

In a bowl, add the milk to the bread crumbs and fluff with a fork.

In a large bowl, combine the beef, pork, nutmeg, allspice, thyme, Worcestershire sauce, eggs, pistachios, mushroom mixture, bread crumbs (including any milk left in the bowl), 1 teaspoon salt, and ½ teaspoon pepper. Mix quickly but thoroughly with your hands.

Transfer the mixture into a 9 × 13-inch baking dish, and form it into a squared-off log, 6 inches wide and 12 inches long, down the center of the length of the pan. Lay the bacon slices across the meat loaf, slightly overlapping. Rub the bacon with the brown sugar.

Bake until an instant-read thermometer inserted in the center reads 160°F, 50 to 55 minutes. Rest for 5 minutes before cutting the loaf into thick slices and serving.”

Plain Old Roasted Brussel Sprouts

• 1 1/2 pounds Brussels sprouts trimmed and halved

• 1 tablespoon, plus 1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil

• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper

• Instructions

  • Place a rack in the upper third of your oven and preheat the oven to 400°F. Place the Brussels sprouts in the center of a large rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle with the olive oil and sprinkle with salt, pepper, and any other desired spice additions. Gently mix until the Brussels sprouts are evenly coated, then spread them into a single layer on the baking sheet. For even better crisping, flip the Brussels sprouts so that they are all cut sides down.

  • Bake for 20 to 30 minutes, until the Brussels sprouts are lightly charred and crisp on the outside and tender in the center. The outer leaves will very dark too. Watch carefully towards the end of the baking time, as the cooking time will vary based on the size of your sprouts. Season with additional salt and/or pepper to taste. Enjoy immediately.

Swiss Chard with Honey-Roasted Garlic by Amy Thielen

Ingredients

2 heads garlic

2 teaspoons honey

1 teaspoon plus 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

3 tablespoons salted butter 

2 tablespoons pine nuts 

2 bunches (almost 2 pounds) Swiss chard, stripped of stems and cut into 1-inch pieces (10 cups)

Fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper 

Fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

2. Cut the top 1/2 inch off each head of garlic, exposing the cloves. Set the garlic in the center of a square of heavy aluminum foil. Pour 1 teaspoon of the honey and 1 teaspoon of the olive oil over the garlic, replace the tops, and fold up the sides of the foil to make a package, crimping the top tight. Bake until very tender and golden, 40 to 45 minutes.

3. Transfer the baked garlic to a bowl, including all the juices in the foil pouch. When cool enough to handle, remove the garlic heads and carefully pop out the garlic cloves by pushing up from the bottom; try to keep the cloves intact. Add the remaining teaspoon honey and tablespoon olive oil and gently stir to combine.

4. Heat a very wide skillet over medium heat, and add the butter and pine nuts. When they begin to sizzle and turn golden brown, add half of the Swiss chard. Cook, stirring, until the greens wilt, a minute or two. Add the remaining chard. Once all of the chard is wilted, season with salt and pepper, and cook until most of the liquid has simmered off, another 2 to 3 minutes.

5. Add the honey-roasted garlic to the chard, mix very gently to combine, and serve.

Classic Wedge Salad

INGREDIENTS  

• 1 head iceberg lettuce

• 4 slices bacon cooked & crumbled

• 1 cup cherry tomatoes diced

• 1 tbsp chives diced

• 1 cup blue cheese dressing

• ¼ cup blue cheese crumbles

• INSTRUCTIONS 

  • Prepare the lettuce by removing the outer leaves, chop the head of lettuce in half and then half again, making 4 wedges. Cut the end to remove the stem.

  • Plate the wedges and top with the blue cheese dressing, bacon crumbles, tomato, chives, and additional blue cheese crumbles.

  • Serve cold and enjoy!