My journey of cooking, gardening, preserving and more
Pork is not only a healthier alternative to beef, it’s also just as versatile. I do pulled pork 2 ways – one braised and simmered in beer or broth and the other oven roasted. Both are incredibly easy and both result in tender, delicious pork. …
If you’re looking for a quick antioxidant boost, a berry smoothie is a great way to go. To make a smoothie, all you need is a blender. Everyone has a blender, right? I feel like smoothies are one of those things that a lot of …
The first time I read a no-mayo coleslaw recipe, I thought it was worth a shot. I mean, I love cabbage and carrots and onions…it was the mayo I wasn’t fond of. Sure enough, I was an instant fan and now, 30+ years since trying that first recipe, I make a number of variations of oil and vinegar coleslaw. There’s the basic one I make, which is just shredded cabbage, onions and carrots tossed with a bit of canola or grapeseed oil and then dressed with white or cider vinegar. Add a little salt and black pepper and that’s all there is to it. There’s also one I make (which I’ve posted here) with fresh ginger, garlic, scallions, sesame oil and sesame seeds – toss it with a little grapeseed oil and seasoned rice vinegar and you’ve got a delicious, healthy side dish. Slivered or sliced almonds are great in this also, or even peanuts, if you’re partial.
This version is just as simple, it just has the added tang of Dijon mustard. The basic gist of any of these is this: you don’t need a lot of oil – start with just a tablespoon or two. Drowning your coleslaw in a lot of oil is not going to look or taste good. I don’t add any oil to this recipe because the Dijon serves as an alternative.
You may need to play around with this a bit, to suit your tastes. My “1/2 head of large cabbage” isn’t exactly a specific amount and can vary, obviously,
I shred my cabbage a number of different ways, depending on the quantity of slaw I’m making and (believe it or not) the mood I’m in at the time. I have a Cuisinart food processor similar to this one
Whisk the mustard, vinegar, salt, pepper, and celery seed together in a large bowl. Add the shredded cabbage, carrots and onions. Toss together until the cabbage mixture is coated. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving, so the flavors have time to marry. Personally, I think this is best if you can let it sit overnight and really let the flavors come together.
At first, it may seem like you don’t have enough dressing but be sure to stir the whole mix together for a few minutes. You may be surprised at how little dressing you really need for this. Also, taste test it as you go – you may find you want to add a bit more Dijon as the flavors develop.
Some other additions that I’ve added, due to what I’ve had on hand, that works beautifully in this: thinly sliced baby bok choy, sliced scallions and/or napa cabbage. Don’t be afraid to play with your food.
Bye, bye mayonnaise!
It is cold, damp and cold here in the Northern Illinois area. Yes, I said cold twice and I mean it. Brrrrrrrr. But March is right around the corner so my braised dishes will be coming to an end soon, making way for brighter and lighter …
steamed pork, cabbage, ginger and garlic with soy dipping sauce recipe
Shitake:
Enoki:
Oyster:
Soup fixings:
Now, I made the stock for this from scratch but you don’t have to; some store-bought vegetable stock will work. If you are using canned or boxed stock, a low-sodium variety is always a good idea with soup because you don’t want the dish too salty as the stock reduces. You can always add salt but you can’t take it away.
Honestly, you’ll cut this recipe time in half, if not more, by using ready-made stock. But be sure to leave the stems on the mushrooms and add them all to your soup – you don’t want to waste all that mushroomy goodness.
Remember – most of my measurements are approximate. Feel free to mix and match the mushrooms; I ended up adding some white button mushrooms that I had on hand.
First, the stock:
In a stock pot, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add mushroom stems, chopped carrot and leek greens. Add 1 teaspoon fresh thyme or 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme. Add 1/2 teaspoon each of salt and pepper. Cook for about 15 minutes, until veggies are softened. Add 8 cups of water, bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer uncovered for about 1 hour. Remove from heat and strain, discarding solids and reserving the stock.
A shot of the leeks for the soup – this is the size I chopped them:
Now, the soup:
In another large stock pot, over medium heat, melt the butter. Add leeks and garlic and cook for about 10-15 minutes, or just until the edges of the leeks start to brown. Add sliced mushroom caps and continue cooking for about 10 more minutes. Add flour and continue cooking for 2-4 minutes, stirring frequently.
Right about now, you have what looks like a big, gloppy mess in your pan, but you want to turn the flour golden just a bit. Trust me on this one and keep going to the next step.
Add white wine and stir well, scraping the bottom of the pan as you go. Continue stirring and scraping until you have a smooth mushroom base for your soup.
Add the strained stock (or prepared stock, if that’s what you’re using) and the rest of the thyme and stir well. Taste and add about 1/2 teaspoon each salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 25-30 minutes.
Add half and half and heat just long enough to heat it back up, but don’t boil it once the half and half has been added.
Remove from heat and serve.
Now, if I had to do it again, I’ll admit the enoki mushrooms didn’t bring a lot to this dish. They don’t really have a strong mushroom flavor and, after cooking them as long as I did with the other mushrooms, they were really over-cooked. Enoki mushrooms don’t need this much cooking time but again, I had them and, pressed for time as I was to use them, I threw them in. This soup was delicious anyway, trust me.
Just a couple of tips here: you want to turn the flour golden to light brown, to toast it a bit. This eliminates a “floury” flavor in your soup and creates a nice roux. Also, don’t overcook the mushrooms in the initial step – they’re going to simmer a bit in the end stage and add that beautiful umami flavor then. Great soups are built on layers of flavor, so don’t rush it.
Creamy, rich, a little decadent with the butter and half and half, but oh, so worth it!
I love kale and, as I mentioned in my previous post on Tuscan Soup, it’s a nutritional powerhouse. It’s great raw, chopped up in a salad, which is how to gain the most benefits from it. The second best way is to just lightly saute’ …