Spam, Spam, Spam, Spam, Lovely Spam, Wonderful Spam

Now living in the home state of the famous canned meat (and just an hour or two away from Austin, Minnesota the hometown of its father company of Hormel), it was only a matter of time before I got around to trying some Spam.  Well truth be told, I’ve actually bought and ate it twice now.  Most recently I had it last night, but I made it the first time awhile back (taking the pictures you’ll see below).

Before I keep going any further, I should probably address the few people reading this that are already getting grossed out by just the mere mention of Spam.  There’s an aversion to tinned meat these days (which I definitely understand) and also there’s the labeling of Spam as “mystery meat” (I totally understand that too).  I can’t argue around the weirdness of canned meat (it’s really just salted to death and then pressure canned), but I can address the “mystery meat” label.  In reading the ingredients on the can, it’s a much shorter and benign list of stuff than in many other meats but other food items as well.  Have you ever had a hot dog?  How about bologna?  Heck, how about a can of chicken noodle soup?  Yep, you’ve eaten something with twice as many strange sounding ingredients as Spam.  It’s really not that bad people.

Now that I’ve touched on that topic, let’s move on to how I prepared my Spam.  First though, this point of reference may be helpful – 

While it wasn’t exactly a dish at the diner in Monty Pyton’s sketch*, I was at least inspired to make “Spam, Spam, Spam, Baked Beans, Eggs, and Spam.”  Of course I had a side of toast too (I mean really, any British breakfast comes with a side of toast…)**  Making 1/4 inch slices off the loaf of Spam, I fried them in a pan on medium-high heat, essentially making a nice crust on each side.  When those were finished, I quickly made some scrambled eggs, heated the baked beans*** in the microwave, and made some toast.  Putting it altogether makes quite a nice British fry-up breakfast.  

Yes, yes.  You’re probably asking “But how did the Spam taste?”  To be honest – wonderful.  I haven’t had Spam any other way yet, but frying it up has to be the best preparation for it.  It browns up perfectly, getting a nice light crust on the outside (probably due to the fatty aspic) while the inside almost borders on creamy (probably due to the really fine chop during processing).  I can’t lie – as far as a breakfast meat, fried Spam is right up there with bacon for me.  Depending on the bacon, it might actually beat it.  

 It’s super salted canned meat.  Of course I chose the low sodium variety – and I would too if I were you.

Mmm, processed ham chunk.  Having seen loaves of processed ham at deli counters growing up, this just seems normal to me.  My wife though, not being a huge meat lover, is grossed out by this.  I can’t win with the “it’s no worse than a hot dog” argument either as she eats veggie dogs.

The finished product.  Yeah… that was a lot of food and a lot of Spam the first time.  I only did three slices the second time…

*Spam of course was so ubiquitous in rations during WWII that people got quite tired of it. It wasn’t just in the rations of American GIs but also in American provided rations for peoples in the war touched areas of the Pacific and in England as well.  While some Pacific peoples embraced it (like those in Hawaii), the English grew quite tired of it showing up everywhere – thus the inspiration for Monty Python’s sketch.  The sketch – and the notion of being inundated with an unwanted item – is where the electronic usage of the word Spam originates.  

**Seriously, go anywhere in the UK (and also Ireland) and you ALWAYS get toast for breakfast.  No matter what you’re having, you’ll be brought halved toast served in a little stand.

***To be authentically British, you should have Heinz baked beans or at least some other brand of baked beans that are canned in a tomato sauce.  I have a strong aversion to the “canned tomato soup” taste, so I opt for the more traditional American Boston baked bean style with molasses and pork bits. 

One Last Post for Saint Patrick's Day (Maybe)

Saint Patrick’s Day might have been yesterday, but I found no need to stop doing Irish-inspired posts.  This might be the last for a bit or I’ll have one more this week, we’ll see.  In any case, this post goes off the topic of food and instead has to do with music.  

 As far as Irish music goes, I can be a bit of a traditionalist snob.  I’ll admit that right off the bat.  I’m not one for the Celtic Woman / Celtic Thunder type stage shows and things like that.  (Just because a song is sung with an Irish accent does not an Irish song make it.  Oh, and songs from the movie Titanic are not Irish either.)  Of course music groups have to perform, so they do have to be on stage.  However, I’m a firm believer that the best venues for traditional Irish music are in the pubs.  It’s raw, real performing with feeling – how traditional Irish music (or trad) was meant to be done.

Maybe it’s worth mentioning too that I almost only listen to Irish music anymore.  I began listening to Flogging Molly and then migrated to the more traditional stuff.  That’s where I’ve settled and now many songs cycle through my head throughout the day.  (I’ll also sing them or whistle the melodies as well when no one else is around.)  It also doesn’t help that Joan bought me a bodhran (the traditional Irish drum) for Christmas which I often play along with whatever Irish music is playing through my iTunes.

With that in mind, I’ve made a set of music from tunes I found on YouTube – you know, so you my reader can keep celebrating Ireland beyond St. Patrick’s Day.  While this list in no way hits all of my favorite tunes or is even a list of my top favorites, I think it touches on a variety of song styles as well as hits some of my personal favorite groups and solo artists. 

The Rising of the Moon – The Dubliners

So ok, if I had to pick a favorite group The Dubliners would win easily.  This song as well would be up there as well, as it’s the one that’s in my head most often.  As the notes for this video state, this song is about the 1798 Irish Rebellion.  Wiki has an article on the song as well as the rebellion of course too.

Oro Se Do Bheatha Bhaile – the Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem

While the Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem started performing in the 1960s like the Dubliners and also sang traditional Irish music, the two groups couldn’t be more different.  The Clancys and Tommy Makem were clean cut and always decked out in white Aran knit sweaters.  This probably helped them gain popularity in America during the 60s with clean cut manly image being in.  The Dubliners were definitely rougher looking being all bearded, and also had a rougher quality of song style.  It’s natural I suppose then that I like the realness of the Dubliners.  Tommy Makem and the Clancy Brothers I find too oldie music sing-songy (i.e. Peter, Paul and Mary) for my tastes.  However, I couldn’t pass up this clip when I found it.  From 1962, it’s the Clancy Brothers singing in traditional Irish Gaelic, in their trademark sweaters, and apparently in some pub in Chicago.

Rocky Road to Dublin – The High Kings

The High Kings are about as much of a stage / theatrical music group that I can handle.  When they’re more casual I like them, but if they play it up too much (they’re produced by the same folks who do Celtic Woman) I start cringing.  The do some ballad type songs but it’s the fast tunes that I enjoy most.  

Star of the County Down – The High Kings

Again not much of a video here but for both this and the previous High Kings tune, but I thought these both had the best performance quality in the respective songs.  

Peggy Gordon – The Dubliners

Here is a classic ballad of unidirectional love from the Dubliners.  This is one of my favorite ballads and probably the one I sing most often.

Dirty Old Town – The Pogues

The popular Irish rock bands of today – Flogging Molly, Dropkick Murphys, The Young Dubliners (and many more) – all would have The Pogues listed as a musical influence.  Most popular in the 1980s, The Pogues mixed the punk rock of the time with the trad music they grew up with.  This song is much mellower than most of their music, but it is hands down my favorite from them.  Extra bonus is that it’s actually a music video too, the only on this list. 

Oh and if you’re wondering, the band’s name comes from the Irish Gaelic phrase “pog mo thoin” meaning “kiss my arse.”

Eoin Duignan

There were some shots of the Irish uilleann pipes during the instrumental section in the middle of The Pogues "Dirty Old Town," but this video is all uilleann pipes from beginning to end.  While you may see bagpipes sometimes played in Irish/Celtic tunes, those are traditionally Scottish while the uilleann pipes are Irish.  While the air bladder of the bagpipes is filled by blown air from your mouth, the uilleann pipes are filled with the pumping of a bellows with your arm or elbow ("uilleann" being Irish Gaelic for "elbow").  I don’t know the title of this song (or two songs as he switches partially through), but I thought this was a good video since it really showed the pipes in action.

During our Ireland trip, Joan and I spent a few days in the town of Dingle in County Kerry.  We were lucky enough to hear Eoin Duignan play the uilleann pipes both in the pub and at a trad concert in the town’s St. James’ Church (where this YouTube video is also filmed).  Besides laying down the tunes, Mr. Duignan had a few anecdotes about the uilleann pipes.  First he joked about how the uilleann pipes came to be.  He said that a long time ago an Irishman saw a Scotsman playing the bagpipes and thought it would be a lot easier if you could play while sitting down.  The Irishman thought a bit further and also decided that the pipes should be filled with air by a bellows, leaving the mouth free to take a drink of beer while one was holding a long note.  His second bit of comedy was to tell us that if it looks like he’s in pain while he’s playing, he’s actually just fine.  It just takes that much concentration to play the unwieldy instrument.

As a last note, if you are lucky enough to ever find yourself in Dingle and listening to Mr. Duignan’s uilleann piping, make sure you compliment him on his instrument.  You’ll remember it in your dreams fondly.  (That’s a bit of an inside joke.)

The Voice Squad – Banks of the Bann

This group is on my wishlist for music to buy, but I for the meantime I enjoy listening to them via YouTube.  Multiple-part harmonies are not usually sung in Irish trad tunes, as the melody is the driving force.  However, The Voice Squad does three-part so well.  The other great thing is that they sing these lovely ballads where?  Well in a pub of course!  (You have to love the shot overlooking the bar’s pull handles at the 1:10 mark.)

Do You Love an Apple? – Bothy Band

I don’t have a reason for this, but my Irish music library has very few female vocalists.  Maybe I just shy away because a lot of the popular Celtic female sing tends toward the Celtic Woman / Enya, overly ethereal type of singing.  However, I love the voice of Tríona Ní Dhomhnail from the Bothy Band in this piece and this is most definitely one of my favorite ballads.  

The Kesh Jig / etc – Bothy Band

To put it bluntly, if this smattering of songs doesn’t get your toes tapping, then you must be dead.  The first melody is one most likely one of the most popular jigs and is indeed probably my favorite as well.  Secondly, flautist Matt Malloy really plays the heck out of his flute at the 3:08 mark.  It’s impressively fast flute playing.  No wonder that after the Bothy Band Malloy also was a member of Planxty and is also part of The Chieftains.  Plus he’s also the owner of a pub in Westport, County Mayo.

Willie McBride – Mick Lavelle

While undoubtedly many people visit Matt Malloy’s pub because of Malloy’s ownership, just as many people over the years visited the pub to see and hear one of its regulars – Mick Lavelle.  A classic man of Ireland in every right, Lavelle entertained with his jokes, stories, and songs.  We were lucky enough to see him entertain on our Irish vacation and I’ll not ever forget it.  Lavelle just exuded that energy that those special entertainers have.  I guess to sum it up – Lavelle just loved people and loved performing.  Sadly, Mick Lavelle passed away this past January.  I wish I could have seen him more than just that hour or so that I did this past summer.  While Westport will not be the same without Mick Lavelle, I think we can assume that he’s still entertaining the masses in heaven.  (If you want you can read more about Mick Lavelle go here, here, and here.)

The song in this clip was one of Mick’s go-tos.  The original tune is a nice song (which you can listen to here), but I gather that it gets overplayed and over-requested in Ireland (much like EVERYBODY seems to want to hear Danny Boy in the States).  Basically this is a spoof of the original, making fun of the song and the obnoxious drunk that seems to always request it.

Whiskey on a Sunday – The Dubliners

To finish off this list, I go back to that gravelly voice of The Dubliners’ Ronnie Drew croon out this Irish classic.  There isn’t an Irish song that makes me pine for Ireland more.  I can just imagine a pub full of people, pint in hand, swaying to the melody, and all joining in on the chorus.  Scenes like that just cannot be replicated here.  You go to a bar in America to drink, but you go to a pub in Ireland for entertainment.

And there you go.  I really just wrote up this song list for the fun of it, but I hope this introduces some reader out there to a new song, a new artist/group, or even to traditional Irish music.

Recipe: Dingle Pies

Continuing the theme for Saint Patrick’s Day inspired dishes, I bring you a favorite recipe of this household – Dingle Pies.  Whereas the Potato Cakes from my last post are more of a side for dinner or breakfast, these Dingle pies are definitely a main course for a lunch or dinner.  Typically when we have these for dinner, we just have one (or two if we go back for seconds) with a side of veg or a side salad.

…and a nice side of stout as well.

While Joan and I were actually in Dingle for a few days this past summer on our Ireland trip, we didn’t get this recipe while we were there, nor did we even consume a Dingle pie there.  (We think we remember seeing it on a menu though.)  The recipe again comes from our go-to Irish cookbook, Irish Food and Cooking, but I’ve of course made a few tweaks to the recipe for simplicity sake.  The original recipe calls for a boneless piece of mutton or lamb that you then dice into pieces.  While that is more traditionally Irish, we always have local grass fed ground beef on hand so have always used that.  After making this recipe multiple times now, I think any red meat (or even turkey) would work well.  I also tend to think that while the ground beef is sometimes difficult to mix with the diced vegetables, it’s stickier texture as compared to diced meat helps hold the filling together when constructing the pies. 

The biggest change I’ve made to the recipe is that instead of making your own pastry dough, I just use ready-made pie dough.  It’s so easy to just unroll each sheet and cut out the top and bottom crusts for the pies.  Of course you’ll have to gather up the unused scraps, roll out the dough, and cut out crusts again but that’s pretty easy.  Oh, one other thing to make it easier.  The recipe (mine and the original) calls for 6 inch diameter bottom crust pieces and a 4 inch diameter top crust pieces.  Before you start the recipe, search around your kitchen for bowls, plates, and so forth that have 4 and 6 inch diameters.  That way you have templates for cutting the crust pieces out.  In our kitchen, the top of a small ramekin is the 4 inch template, while a teacup saucer is the 6 inch.

Recipe:

1 medium large potato, diced (i.e. a normally sized Russet, or large Yukon Gold)

1 large onion diced (white or yellow onion)

2 carrots, diced (and peeled if preferred)

2 celery sticks, diced

1 pound ground meat

2 packages ready-made pie dough (the rolled-up variety)

1 egg, beaten

1) Dice up the vegetables and place in a large bowl.  Add the ground meat and combine well.  Set aside.

2) Unroll the pie dough and cut out the top and bottom crust pieces.  The bottom crusts should be roughly 6 inches in diameter, with the top crusts being a diameter of 4 inches.  (Hint: Out of the ready-made crusts, I’ve found I can get 1 larger top crust and 2 smaller bottom crusts.) Gather and re-roll the pastry dough as needed.  You should be able to get enough crust pieces for 9 full pies (that’s 9 bottoms and 9 tops of course). 

3) Lay out the bottom crust pieces onto baking sheets.  Divide the meat and vegetable filling amongst the bottom crusts, piling a handful of the filling into the middle of each round.  Do not overfill.  (You almost definitely will have extra filling.)

4) Lay the smaller top crust pieces on top of the filling.  Dampen the edges of each bottom pastry piece with water and stretch it up around the filling, pinching and crimping them onto the edges of the top pastry round.

5) With a paring knife, make a small slit on the top of each pie to let out steam.

6) Brush the top of each pie with the beaten egg.

7) Bake in a preheated 350F oven for 1 hour.  (Note: If you are doing two sheets of pies, rotate and switch the two baking sheets halfway through baking.)

We last made these a few weeks ago, but this is most likely what we’ll be making for St. Paddy’s Day this Sunday (probably with the aforementioned side salad and some sticky toffee pudding for dessert).  If Joan and I made Dingle pies every week though, neither of us would complain.  First they’re a great main course, easily served with a small side salad or vegetables.  The other great thing with Dingle Pies is that you have ready to go meals.  It’s easy to just grab one for lunch or as an easy weeknight dinner.  Just reheat in the microwave or in the oven. 

Oh, right.  I almost forgot – that extra meat & veg pie filling.  As I said, you are bound to have extra.  It always happens to us no matter what we do.  You may be thinking, “What do I do with extra raw Dingle pie filling?”  Easy, make breakfast hash.  It’s not your normal hash mixture but fry it up in a frying pan, add some herbs and spices, and serve it up with fried eggs and toast.  It works.  Trust me.  Don’t like hash?  I’m sure there is a male nearby who does.  (I don’t mean that in a sexist way.  I just don’t know many men who don’t like a good breakfast hash.)

Recipe: Potato Cakes

With Saint Patrick’s Day just a few weeks away now, I thought it time to start posting some Irish recipes.  St. Pat’s falls on a Sunday this year, so you might as well plan ahead now and make a whole day of Irish inspired meals.  I’ll give you some helpful suggestions for that anyway.

A few weeks ago, I took my first crack at making potato cakes.  Although mentioned on a few breakfast menus during our Ireland trip, Joan and I first had potato cakes in Portrush, Northern Ireland.  Essentially, potato cakes are just a fried cake like pancakes but smaller.  They also consist mainly of two things – potato and flour.  Luckily that makes them really make.  Usually they’re served for breakfast, but in this household we often have “breakfast for dinner,” so we had them for a weeknight meal, paired with cheesy scrambled eggs.  Well I guess I had them for breakfast too, having the leftover potato cakes the next morning with a huge helping of my family’s oatmeal sausage, two fried eggs, and toast.  (Yeah, I didn’t eat lunch later that day.)

This recipe is taken directly from Irish Food and Cooking, our go-to Irish cookbook.  However, even after only making this recipe once, I’m just going to wing it next time.  It’s that easy, with precise measuring not really needed.

Recipe:

1 1/2 lbs. boiling potatoes, peeled

2 tbsp unsalted butter

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

Salt

1) Boil the potatoes in a large pan until tender.  Drain well and then mash.  Salt well (or to your personal preference), mix in the butter, and allow to cool (enough that you can handle the mash for kneading into a dough).

2) Turn out the mashed potatoes onto a floured work surface and knead in enough flour to make pliable dough.  More or less flour will be needed depending on the moisture in the potatoes.  Roll out the dough to a thickness of 1/4 - 1/2 inch (your personal preference) and cut into triangles.  

3) Heat a griddle or heavy frying pan over medium-low heat.  Cook the potato cakes for about 3 minutes on each side until golden brown.

Like pancakes are other griddle cakes, you can top potato cakes with maple syrup.  Honey also makes a nice sweet topping.  Like many things potato, my wife liked them with ketchup.  Although I stick my nose up to the ketchup idea, we did agree that next time a topping with some kick would be a good addition, like spicy pepper chutney.  

It’s also worth mentioning that the above recipe is just for a starter recipe for basic potato cakes.  Don’t have that many potatoes or have more potatoes?  Use whatever you have and just add as much flour as needed to make a dough.  Have leftover mashed potatoes from last night’s dinner.  By all means, use those too.  

You can also play around with the recipe and add other ingredients to make the cakes into a more sweet or into a more savory dish.  I very easily could see chives and onion added to the cakes to make a savory side for dinner.  For sweet, maybe add apple or applesauce to the dough?  I dunno, my head is having a hard time pairing a fruit with potato…

In any case, I encourage you to try these potato cakes.  They’re a fun different breakfast/lunch/dinner idea, and especially nice if you have some leftover mashed potatoes to get rid of.  Or the other way around…  Hmm, now there’s an idea for Saint Patrick’s.  Mash up some spuds for potato cakes in the morning, but then save some back for shepherd’s pie for lunch or dinner… 

Mash, mash, mash. You don't want lumpy 'tato cakes now do ya?

Potato cakes awaiting the griddle.

Triangles, squares, and rectangles.

I found that potato cakes are traditionally triangles for a reason. Triangles brown better and quicker!

 A very filling breakfast.

Recipe: Slow Cooker Chicken Enchilada Soup

Last week I mentioned that I made (or at that point was making) some Chicken Enchilada Soup in the slow cooker.  Joan and I were hoping it would be good, like that from the Grumpy Troll.  Well it was darn close.  If the Grumpy Troll’s is a 10, than this would’ve been a 9.  I found the recipe on a website called “365 Days of Slow Cooking.”  As always I tinkered with their recipe a bit and this is what I’ve posted below.  (Ok, I’m now realizing I didn’t tinker that much at all really.  I just changed one ingredient and added another.  So this is basically just a reposting from “365 Days of Slow Cooking,” but whatever…)

The one thing that Joan and I thought this recipe needed was some smoky spiciness.  That would’ve made it a 10 for our personal tastes.  Next time we’ll be adding some chipotle pepper to the soup, or using it in place of the regular chili powder.  

Recipe:

2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs --- (we used chicken breasts)

2 (14.5 oz) cans diced tomatoes

2 (4 oz) cans diced green chilies --- (easiest to find in the Hispanic section of the grocery store)

2 (8 oz) cans of tomato sauce

2 (14 oz) cans of black beans (drained)

1/3 cup diced white onion

1 cup chicken broth

1 Tbsp minced garlic

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp chili powder

1 cup enchilada sauce (mild, medium, or hot) --- (we used medium but will use hot next time)

1 cup frozen corn (cook according to package and drain)

8 oz reduced fat cream cheese

Grated / shredded cheddar cheese

Tortilla chips / tortilla chip strips

1) Add everything from the chicken through the enchilada sauce to the slow cooker.  Cook on low for 4-6 hours.  

2) After that time, remove the chicken and shred into pieces.  Place shredded chicken back into slow cooker. 

3) Prepare the frozen corn, drain, and add to the soup.

4) Next cut the cream cheese into pieces, add to soup, and stir.  The cream cheese will completely melt into soup after a few minutes and then is ready to serve. 

5) Serve in bowls, top with cheese and tortilla chips, and enjoy.  

Mostly Quiet on the Cooking Front

I’m really wanting to be post more often on this blog this year (and both of my blogs in general), but nothing that exciting has really been super blog worthy.  I guess I always have in mind that there will be this one great meal or food project for the week, deserving the award of being posted on Farm Boy to Foodie.  That isn’t always going to happen in reality, so I need to start enjoying the little things, the little triumphs in the kitchen. 

With that in mind, here are some quick hits of some things food related that have happened since my last post:

--- I briefly mentioned in my last post that I was going to try a different recipe for shepherd’s pie.  Well it was so-so.  Normally when we’ve done shepherd’s pie, it’s the lazy route versus the traditional way.  It’s just a quick version that I devised, kind of based off of tator tot casserole.  The “underneath” layer is the same – browned ground meat, mixed with cooked mixed frozen vegetables, and a can of cream of mushroom soup.  Then instead of topping with tator tots you top it with mashed potatoes (boiled and mashed up potatoes that you’ve added milk, butter, and seasoning). 

 

Well this new recipe was odd in that it was half traditional and half quick.  It used ground turkey instead of beef or lamb, which is completely fine and which we often do anyway.  Of course, the mashed potato topping was also the same.  The weird part was the vegetables.  It used frozen pearl onions and frozen peas, but then used raw carrots.  Especially after re-remembering how much of a pain it is to chop carrots into small chunks, this recipe will be changed to use frozen next time.  The raw carrots didn’t add that much more carrot flavor anyway.  The thing I did like though is that instead of using a can of cream soup to thicken the meat and veggie mixture, it basically had you make a gravy with chicken broth and flour in the pan with the ground meat as you finished browning it. 

 

I think my new go-to recipe for shepherd’s pie will be something between this recipe and what I’ve normally done.  The frozen mixed vegetables will remain, but I think I’ll lose the cream of mushroom soup.  Instead I’ll make the simple gravy because, well, who doesn’t like gravy?

--- When planning dinners for the week, I always like to have at least one salad.  This past week’s salad was just sort of made between Joan and I and it was a huge hit.  We had some leftover bacon from BLTs the night before, so we topped our romaine lettuce with that as well as walnuts, gorgonzola cheese, Granny Smith apple, and a simple vinaigrette dressing.  It was sooo good.  It had a good amount of “stuff” in it, so it was filling and hearty salad, good for a cold winter night. 

--- On one weekday night last week (don’t remember which), we finally made our way to the TeaSource in Saint Paul so I could pick up my January tea as part of my “Tea of the Month” club membership.  We also had some gift cards to use up from Christmas, so it was the normal tea buying extravaganza.  This month however I didn’t try any new teas or any different green teas, so the tea purchased was pretty ordinary.  Well ordinary for us anyway in that it was all black tea.  We go through black tea quite quickly since we make a big strong pot every morning.  The teas we purchased were Breakfast Assam (for making chai and drinking straight), Grand Keemun, Welsh Morning, China Black Special, and Moon over Madagascar.

--- Lastly, I just wanted to share a picture of the copious amount of canned goods that I purchased on the last grocery run. 

The Progresso canned soups are meals in themselves of course and the two cans of Rotel were on sale (we’ll use them for chili eventually).  Everything else though will be going in the slow cooker is currently in the slow cooker with other ingredients for this evening’s dinner – Chicken Enchilada Soup.  It’s been great soup weather today, with this morning’s 8 am temperature of -15 and the balmy daytime high of 5F.  Besides warming us, Joan and I are hoping the soup will be similar to the great chicken enchilada soup at the Grumpy Troll (the Madison area restaurant we probably miss most).  If it’s anything remotely close, this recipe will be a keeper, and I’ll be sure to share the recipe on here.

--- Ok, one last pic.  Do you think we might be making cheesecake soon?

New Year, New Problems

So far this year, I haven’t done anything super grand in the realm of food.  I’ve been cooking yes, but really have just done mostly small things or things I’ve made before.  I haven’t cooked anything new or exciting.  That isn’t to say however that everything has gone exactly to plan.

To start, Joan and I just had a quiet New Years (quite on purpose), staying in just enjoying the evening together.  We made one of our fallback recipes, a mushroom risotto, having it simply with a crusty baguette and sparkling apple cider.  We both thought the risotto was good but agreed that something was off and not as good as usual.  I suspect it was either the cheese or the mushrooms were not the same as we normally use, but we’ll see what happens the next time we make it.

 I’m also trying to make a point (or resolution I guess) to cook something new at least once a week.  It’s really easy to get rutted in a continual cycle of meal favorites.  Last week’s new meal was Slow Cooker Thai Peanut Chicken.  It was easy enough, like most slow cooker recipes are – just dump, mix, and heat – but, like the off risotto, Joan and I thought it was just not quite as good as it could be.  It’s rare that we don’t tinker with new found recipes so maybe it was to be expected.  Again, the chicken and the sauce were really good over rice but we’re thinking it may be better over noodles.  The spicing needs to be tweaked too.  If we can perfect it, then I’ll share the recipe.

 Joan's sensible normal sized portion.

My giant portion.  Really, there is a chicken breast under there somewhere.

Even the easiest of things seem too need tweaking lately.  One night last week we did breakfast for dinner and I set forth making omelets.  Usually I’m very good at this, but each of our omelets just ended up being scrambled eggs with vegetables mixed in.  Whereas I’ve never had a problem before, the egg kept sticking to our nonstick pan.  I’m still perplexed about the issue.  Is the pan wearing out?  Is my technique off and do I need to consult Julia?  Whatever it is, at least the eggs tasted just as good, omelet form or not.

My fighting with sticky nonstick pan continued though later in the week when I wanted to a nice breakfast fry up for myself for dinner (Joan was off at a dinner for work).  The plan was to do fried potatoes in the pan, wipe it clean, and then fry some eggs.  Well the potatoes stuck to the pan – I mean really stuck to the pan – and while I managed to rescue most of the potatoes, there was no way I could use the pan for frying eggs too.  As we only have the one nonstick pan, I then had to get out a normal stainless steel pan and really test my skills to fry an egg in that.  There indeed was some sticking, but the eggs came out fine considering.  Lastly, I made some toast, poured myself a beer, and finally sat down to my hard-fought dinner.

This week is fairing much better so far fortunately.  Quesadillas were made without any fuss and last night’s fish dinner consisting of baked tilapia, couscous, and green beans was whipped up easily.  The rest of the planned dinners this week shouldn’t give any problems either.  Even our new recipe will be easily as it’s just a different take on shepherd’s pie, a dish Joan and I very familiar with. 

 

Looking further forward, I’ve been scouring the cookbooks more interesting food is on the way.  A few of these are things that I’ve wanted to try for awhile.  But I’ll leave it there (leaving things hanging), I don’t want to post until it happens.

'Tis the Season for Tea

Well come on, you didn’t think I couldn’t end the year without one more post about tea could you?  As the title states, it would be quite hard not to.  The cabinet that Joan and I dedicate to tea which is normally on the brink of overflowing has now finally reached its brink.  I got so much tea for Christmas that I don’t know where to store it all.

Some of the problem though actually goes back to my birthday at the end of October.  My in-laws gave me a small 20 oz Bee House teapot that I had been wanting for some time.  I needed a smaller pot for when I make puerhs or green teas.  Second, Joan gave me a membership to TeaSource’s “Tea of the Month Club.”  Basically, I get a free (well free to me) 4 oz package of tea every month.  Whereas they normally send the tea to club members, we live so close that we just go there every month.  So no longer do I just want to go to TeaSource every month, but now I actually need to go there.

 Birthday tea...

That then brings us to Christmas.  I might as well just simply list where we got all the tea from.  First, Joan and I got a $20 gift card for TeaSource from some friends of ours who live in Wisconsin (which we used when I had to go in for my December “tea of the month”).  Second, I got a package of tea from one of my sisters via our sibling Secret Santa gift exchange.  Then we also received more tea in the mail from some other friends from Chicago.  Fourth, I received some tea from an aunt and uncle of Joan’s.  Lastly, my brother-in-law Pete gave me another gift card to TeaSource (which I’ll just have to use in January).  Oh wait, I also got a book on tea as well, The Story of Tea.

 

 and all the tea from Christmas.

I couldn’t begin to describe all the various kinds of tea I received.  They’re all great tea though – which does make a very difficult decision when I want to brew a pot or a cup.  Even with sometimes making multiple large pots of tea a day, I think we’ll be bursting with tea through next summer.

I will mention this though.  Since getting the “Tea of the Month” membership I’ve discovered that I do actually like green tea.  In November I used my membership for a gunpowder green tea which I do enjoy.  However for my December tea I got Houjicha, a green tea that unlike most green tea is actually roasted.  It’s not black like a black tea, but lightly browned.  It gives a hearty roasted quality to the green tea flavor.  While Grand Keemun is still my favorite black tea, Houjicha is now my favorite green.

And lastly (I think this is it anyway) if you’re a chai lover, you haven’t really had a great chai until you’ve had one from TeaSource.  You can get them fresh from their Twin Cities locations, but luckily they also provide the recipe and the ingredients for sale.  From the TeaSource you basically by two things: their chai spice mix and their Breakfast Assam tea.  Mix 1 tablespoon of the spice mix with one can of sweetened condensed milk.  Let this rest in the refrigerator overnight.  Then just brew yourself a cup of the Breakfast Assam tea and add one tablespoon of the chai spice goop (TeaSource even uses that word in their own instructions) to the tea and stir.  Trust me it’s AMAZING.  Blows any other chai out of the water.  In fact you should be buying the chai spice and Breakfast Assam tea right now!  It’s that good people!!!

Mmmm... chai goop...

Recipe: Five Can Chili

Yet again, it’s been far too long between posts.  It was a busy November for Joan and I, but still.  I have some things that I wanted to post floating in the back of my mind and some things half written, but just haven’t gotten them finished and posted.

But anyway… 

 

Since my last post, winter has finally settled into the Twin Cities.  The second weekend of December brought the first major snowfall, 10 – 12 inches of the stuff, and temperatures have been lower because of that cold snowy blanket ever since.  Thus we did plan on making this chili, as well as taking it to the home of some friends who recently had twins.  Unfortunately though, Joan and I both came down with nasty colds and had to cancel those dinner plans because we didn’t want to get their family sick – especially the little ones.  So we sadly enjoyed this chili by ourselves, although it was a nice comfort for runny noses, stuffy sinuses, and scratchy throats.

The recipe:

1 pound ground beef, browned and drained

2 x green peppers, diced

1 cup white onion, diced

2 x 10 oz cans Rotel diced tomatoes and green chilies

1 x 15 oz can black beans and the containing liquid

1 x 15 oz can white beans and the liquid (find in the Hispanic section of the grocery store)

1 x 8 oz can Hunt’s tomato sauce (we’ve found Hunt’s tastes the best for the recipe)

3 tsp chili powder

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp salt (can be left out depending on your tastes)

½ tsp pepper (again, can be left out depending on your tastes)

Suggested toppings:  shredded cheddar cheese, Fritos, sour cream, green onion

As this is a slow cooker recipe, basically just dump all of those listed ingredients into your slow cooker and stir.  (Most of the work of this recipe is just ingredient prep.)  Once all of the ingredients are mixed, the chili will seem quite thick, but it will cook down and become more watery.  Set your slow cooker on low and cook for 6-8 hours.  Dress with your choice of toppings.

I guess I should also mention that Joan and I have often assembled the chili the night ahead,  put it in the refrigerator overnight, and then started it the next morning.  I swear this makes the chili even better as it lets the ingredients marinate together in the fridge overnight.  We also have probably let this chili cook on low for 10-12 hours before with no loss of quality.

As you have probably gathered, I call it “Five Can Chili” because of the five cans of ingredients that used. There is however the option of making this into six can chili.  While prepping the ingredients, open a can of your favorite canned microbrew (I would suggest an offering by Oskar Blues or Surly) and enjoy.  I would not go much further though and make this seven or eight can chili – that would be dangerous with the knife work needed to dice the onion and peppers.

Ireland by Food

As promised here’s (finally) a quick tour of some of the food highlights from me and my wife Joan’s trip to Ireland.  Ok, this maybe isn’t so “quick” as it’s kind of lengthy with the pictures and my descriptions.  So I guess don’t try to read this if you’re in a rush.  I guess why not sit a spell for a read, and maybe make yourself a cup of tea or pour yourself a brew?  Everyone needs an excuse for that anyhow…

To start, I have to say the food on the trip was just fantastic.  Irish food traditionally has gotten a bad rap, the stereotype that all meals contain heaps of potatoes and that everything is boiled to death.  However, the Irish people are now waking up to the fact that their island produces some of the richest ingredients, ingredients that until now they have been exporting to the rest of the world and not eating themselves.  Joan and I were treated very well with this food renaissance of sorts, especially as we were on a guided tour with the Rick Steves company.  We had great breakfasts in quaint B&Bs and dinners in smaller restaurants that prided themselves on good local ingredients.  Of course when we went off on our own, Joan and I also hunted out the most unique places we could find.

Going by the order of the day, every morning started with a good strong pot of tea.  Joan and I were always asked whether we wanted tea or coffee – and of course we always wholeheartedly answered back “tea please!”  I was a bit disappointed to find that it was always bag tea instead of loose leaf but I realized that it’s a lot easier for food service that way.  It was still nice and strong though.  My favorite cup of tea came on a very foggy day in Kinsale when we touring the embattlements of Fort Charles.  As any good Irish (or British) tourist spot should, they had a small tea room where you could get a small pastry, hot chocolate, and of course tea.  It was just a simple cup of tea, but it really hit the spot on that cold foggy day.  Below is the informational sign at the fort, pointing directions in both Irish-Gaelic and in English.

 

Moving on from breakfast to lunch, I don’t have any great pictures of anything we had for a midday meal, but I know right away a meal where I wish I would have taken a picture.  In Dingle we had a day completely free to explore on our own.  After traipsing to the opposite end of town to explore a cemetery for my wife’s Irish roots, we sat down at a chip shop for some (what else) fish and chips.  Joan and I knew it was a good place because there were many locals and even the local Garda (police) eating there.  The second good sign was that they served it the traditional way with the fried fish and chips wrapped up in the newsprint-type paper.  Well those two good signs were correct as it was the best fish and chips either of us has ever had.  The fish was done so perfectly that while the batter was nice and crisp on the outside, the fish was moist and flaky – so much so that when Joan just touched her piece with her fork it fanned out delicately.

Next are the dinners.  The tour’s itinerary took us to some pretty great restaurants.  I have a few pictures below, but alas, again I regret not taking pictures of some of my favorite things.  My favorite dessert was banoffee pie.  I guess it’s a traditional British Isles dessert, but I never heard of it until the trip.  It’s what I would consider a cream pie, mixing bananas and caramel (or in British English “toffee”).  Banana + toffee = banoffee.  Toffee was also part of my other favorite dessert, sticky toffee pudding.  On almost every dessert menu, it’s similar to bread pudding but I would say more custard like and usually sweeter… but that could be due to the fact that it was always covered with caramel sauce.

Whereas I didn’t take pictures of my favorite desserts, I at least did have the thought to take pictures of the first two courses of my favorite dinner.  (I guess the crème brulee I had for dessert wasn’t picture worthy.)  To some, the dish in the first picture below may look vile, but to me it was fan-freaking-tastic.  From An Port Mor in Westport, Ireland, it’s a grilled pear, black pudding, and pig’s cheeks salad.  The pig’s cheeks may already be turning some away, but I feel I should also mention that black pudding is basically just blood sausage.  I happen to love the stuff and since it was paired with pig’s cheeks – something I had always wanted to try – I had to order it.  For those wondering, the pig’s cheeks were just like eating very tender pork. I then followed that first course of meaty decadence with more meaty decadence, shown in the second picture below – a main course of roast lamb with vegetable and mashed potato. 

 

Next, although I don’t have any pictures of my favorites, I did take some pictures along the way of some very good desserts.  In the two pictures below, we have a chocolate brownie from The Farm in Dublin and a fruit crumble from Fenton’s in Dingle. 

A day in Ireland of course wouldn’t be complete without an evening capped off in the pub.  The good pubs aren’t just about drinking, but also about music as well.  At one of our first pub visits, I was mistakenly concerned about some rowdy guys who seemed to like their drink.  Turned out, they enjoyed the traditional music as well, with even one of the singing a tune later on.  

As much as I went to the pubs for music, I of course also went for the beer.  I made it a point of trying as many different beers as I could on the trip.  I kept a running list of those that I imbibed and they included:

Smithwick’s – Instead of being pronounced “Smith-icks” like the Brits, the Irish say “Smit-icks” as there traditionally isn’t a “-th” sound in Irish Gaelic and thus not in Irish English either

Guinness – Available everywhere…

Murphy’s – Another Irish stout traditionally from County Cork. I found I actually enjoyed this better than Guinness

Crean’s Lager – Produced by the Dingle Brewing Company, a microbrewery in Dingle

Galway Hooker – An IPA (which is a rare thing in Ireland) from Galway

Caledonian Smooth – This was almost like a Guinness and Smithwicks hybrid, but even more carbonated than a Guinness draught as it took twice as long to settle.

Bass Ale – Just like the Bass Ale that one can find here in the States

Tennants – A seemingly decent pale Lager and nothing much more

Kilkenny – Irish red cream ale

Hop Head – An IPA, just one of the many offerings from the Porterhouse Brewing Company, a brewpub and microbrewery in Dublin

I should also mention that besides just touring the pubs, Joan and I also toured a few producers of alcohol as well.  First in Dingle, we toured and took in a pint of lager at the Dingle Brewing Company.  Even though we did this on a free day where we did everything on our own, we saw nearly everyone in our tour group at the brewery anyway.  The picture below is from just outside the main doors of the brewery.  Under the advertisement is a pile of peat, the traditional sod/turf heating fuel of Ireland, which the brewery uses to fuel fires in its tasting room.

 

Later on in Northern Ireland we toured the Old Bushmills Distillery with our tour group.  The tour was as I expected of a larger distillery – a large bottling plant with techy conveyer belt lines and so forth.  Of course they were just keeping up with the times, but I could helping thinking of how much simpler it must have first been when they started distilling at Bushmills – way back in 1608!  (For some perspective, that’s over one hundred years before Arthur Guinness was even born!  Goes to show you that Bushmills truly has the history; Guinness just has and has had the marketing.)  There were definitely two main highlights to the Bushmills tour.  The first was experiencing the wonderful smell of the whisky aging in the barrels when our tour guide took us into one of the aging buildings.  If they somehow could have bottled that smell and sold it, I would have bought it.  The second great thing was the very hearty sample of whisky at the end of the tour.  I of course sampled the single malt that’s exclusively available just at the distillery.  For Joan, not much of a whisky drinker, they luckily offered a hot toddy which she said was the best she has ever had. 

After our official Rick Steves tour was over, we spent a few extra days in Dublin and did indeed do as any first time visitor to Ireland and Dublin does – the almost mandatory tour of Guinness.  Joan had gone through the brewery before during a college trip and warned me that the tour was a bit put-on and touristy.  Well it definitely was.  You don’t actually go through any part of the brewery at all – well anywhere they do any part of the brewing process anyway.  The tour is self guided, leading you through fancy multi-media displays showing the brewing process and the history of Guinness.  However at the end, you do get to enjoy a complimentary pint (I’m sure it’s paid for by the tour ticket) in their Gravity Bar.  It’s essentially a fully windowed room high atop the brewery, giving a 360-degree view of Dublin’s skyline.  This was hands down the highlight of the tour as it was the only part that wasn’t contrived.   It was simply me, my pint of Guinness, and the views of Dublin.  Oh and my wife too… hi honey!  They say too that the Guinness tastes different at the brewery, from right at the source.  I could be wrong, but I swear it indeed was.

And with that, there is the end of my food highlights of Ireland.  For the readers who made it to the end of this long post – and especially those who did with a brew at hand – I bid goodbye with the Irish-Gaelic for cheers: “Slainte!”