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Curried Pumpkin Soup

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On the Facebook page for Cooking Traditional Foods, I often post what I’m cooking, along with reminders to do things like thaw your meat and soak your grains.  Today I mentioned that I’m making curried pumpkin soup in preparation for the power outage that is expected.  Several people requested the recipe, so I decided to post it here.

Beginning tonight and through Tuesday, we’re expecting ice and snow.  I’m preparing four day’s worth of food.  I’ve also made potato soup and I’m making chili, cornbread, some brownies and possibly some baked goods for breakfast later today.

This soup is insanely good. The combination of pumpkin, coriander, coconut milk and curry is beyond fabulous. Don’t skimp on the rapadura, it offsets the spiciness and really makes the flavor pop.  If I could only have two soups in my life, this would be one of my choices.

[Read more…] about Curried Pumpkin Soup

Good, Better, Best- Choosing Meats

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As I stated with my first post in this series, I fully recognize that some of you have very tight budgets or only have access to mega-marts due to your locations. Others will have the funds and availability to choose the best of the best. Either way, this post isn’t to condemn someone who can’t pick the best of every option, it is to help you make the best decision you can with what you have, where you are.

This week’s installment is on choosing meats. This post is to help you decide what is the best option for your budget. This posting is my opinion, and after research, you might reach a different conclusion. If you do, please comment and share what you found and your reasoning. I’m always open to changing my opinion and updating this post if new or different information comes along.

The Choices

Best– Locally grown, 100% pastured, organic or ‘not-certified but organic practice’

Better– 100% pastured, organic or ‘not-certified but organic practice’ [Read more…] about Good, Better, Best- Choosing Meats

Happy Blogiversary! Braised Chicken with Pears

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The CTF blog is one year old today.  Let’s celebrate with a recipe!

We’re still buried in snow.  I did four days worth of cooking and we all worked to get the housework and laundry done in advance, so today I am going to spend some family time with the kids.  We’ll do school then spend the rest of the day playing board games.  That was the original plan for if the power went out, so I see no reason why it can’t happen that way anyway.

 

Braised Chicken with Pears

From the Menu Mailer

To braise is to brown then cook in a small amount of liquid until tender. It can be done with meat or vegetables. This is a very tasty dish that we thoroughly enjoyed. You can substitute apples for the pears, if you prefer.

 

4-8 chicken thighs, with bone and skin
1 tsp salt
¼ tsp pepper
3 Tbs coconut oil, butter, ghee or schmaltz
1 onion, diced
½ Tbs rapadura
2 pears, peeled, cored and cut into wedges
2/3 cup chicken stock
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1/8 tsp sage

Sprinkle the chicken with salt and pepper. In a skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the chicken, skin side down, and cook for 4 minutes. Flip and brown for another 4 minutes. Remove the chicken from the pan. Add the onion and sauté for 5 minutes. Add the rapadura, and pear and cook until the pear is browned, about 5 minutes. Whisk in the chicken stock, vinegar and sage and cook for 1 minute, scraping the bottom of the pan to bring up any stuck bits. Return the chicken to the pan and reduce the heat to low. Cover and simmer until the chicken is done, about 20 minutes, adding more stock if needed.

 

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Quick Meals- Forbidden Chicken

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This is one of my go-to meals when I am in a great hurry time-wise when I had planned to cook dinner.  You know those evenings, where you have some meat thawed and a meal planned, but something comes up that needs your attention instead?  I use it when I have time for the oven to do all of the work but I don’t have the time to stand there.

The chicken takes me about 10 minutes to get it in the oven.  If I don’t have any leftover rice in the fridge, have one of the kids scrub some potatoes, poke them with a fork, rub with oil and salt them.  I place them in a baking dish and put them in the oven when I begin pre-heating it, before I put in the chicken.  Check them when the chicken is done, as they might need a few extra minutes.

Then I pull out some leftover veggies or 10 minutes before the chicken comes out of the oven, I saute up some pre-prepared kale and I have a quick meal on the table in less than 20 minutes of hands-on time.  Prepare your greens when you get home from the store.  Wash them, cut them, dry them thoroughly and roll it all up in some paper towels, sealing it in a ziplock bag.  You have a quick side dish whenever you need it.

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Six Ways to Save Time in the Kitchen

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I often get asked how I determine how much time it takes to cook a recipe.  Normally, when someone asks this, they take longer on most recipes and want to know why.  Here are a few tips and tricks I use to streamline my time in the kitchen.

1.  Label Everything

If you don’t have to stand around trying to figure out which package of frozen meat blobs is the right cut, you waste less time.  Ditto for the identical looking white powder line-up:  tapioca flour, baking soda, baking powder, potato starch, arrowroot starch and xanthan gum.  No, you really won’t remember what that mystery blob is six months from now.  Label and date everything.

2.  Group like items together

I have a baking center set up in my kitchen.  [Read more…] about Six Ways to Save Time in the Kitchen

Back to Basics Series

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The Back to Basics series is going quite well.  So far, we have covered nine weeks of basic recipes, including:

Family Favorite main dishes- apple and maple chicken, BBQ sauerkraut meatballs, chicken fajitas, pot pie, burrito beans, fish sticks, chicken fingers, French chicken, sweet and sour chicken and more
Family Favorite breakfasts- sweet sausage, fried oatmeal, puff pancakes, oven bacon and more
Family Favorite desserts- peanut butter cups, blondies, brownies, various puddings and custards, baked goods with hidden vegetables, ice cream, impossible pie
Family Favorite side dishes- mashed potatoes, sauteed greens, french fries from butternut squash and more
How to make spaghetti sauce and chili loaded with veggies
How to broil and grill a steak
How to prepare batches of meat for the freezer that will marinate as they thaw
How to make beef stew, stroganoff and beef roast in the oven and the crock-pot
How to make meatballs
How to make falafel and tahini salad dressing
How to roast a chicken in the oven and the crock-pot and make rubber chicken meals- stretching a roasted chicken into multiple meals
Hiding sauerkraut and liver in ground meat dishes
How to bake the side dish in with the main dish to save time and electricity
How to make meatloaf with hidden veggies and without using breadcrumbs
How to cook soaked beans with non-acidic seasonings to make a meal instead of pre-cooking them
How to make sauerkraut
How to soak grains and flour
How to make latkas and hash
How to cook dry beans in the crock-pot
How to make taco meat and taco seasoning mix
How to make a tamale pie with any filling
How to make pesto
How to make juicy, pan-seared chicken thighs and breasts
How to make cream of ____ soup, also called white sauce

And much, much more!

This series runs until New Years.  If you would like to join us, you can purchase the back issues and subscribe at the Menu Mailer website.

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KerryAnn Foster runs Cooking Traditional Foods, the longest running Traditional Foods Menu Mailer on the internet. KerryAnn has over nine years of traditional foods experience and is a former Weston A. Price Foundation chapter leader. Founded in 2005, CTF helps you feed your family nourishing foods they will love. Each mailer contains one soup, five dinners, one breakfast, on dessert and extras. You can learn more about our Menu Mailers at the CTF website. For a free sample Menu Mailer, join our mailing list. You can also join our forum to chat with other traditional foodists and learn more.