Recreating a favorite restaurant dish

I spent ten wonderful years living in Chicago. I don't get back there now as often as I would like. I have lots of friends still living there that I don't get to see nearly enough (seriously, peeps, I miss you all like crazy). A weekend ritual the last five years I lived there usually meant at least one brunch at M. Henry (and yes, I'm one of those restaurant snobs who prides herself on having discovered this place before you had to wait 90 minutes for a table for 2). I credit this restaurant for showing me the magic of poached eggs, amazing variations on french toast and pancakes, and a lunch item I've been trying to recreate ever since -- the azteca black bean bowl.

I loved this dish. It was satisfying in so many ways and there was always a ton left over, which I'd eat on for a couple of days. My recipe holds similar to the restaurant version, but I added a few embellishes.

1 c. short grain brown rice (uncooked)
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can Ro-tel, diced tomatoes and green chiles, drained
1-2 ears of corn, kernels removed (optional)
1 onion, diced
1 red bell pepper, seeded and diced
1 yellow bell pepper, seeded and diced
olive oil
Chili Lime Rub (purchased at Williams-Sonoma)
Chicken tenders
Shredded sharp cheddar cheese
Sour cream

Prepare rice according to directions -- set aside.

Remove kernels from the corn (if using), dice up the red and yellow peppers and place into a large bowl (I also had a small zucchini I needed to use up, so I chopped that up, too and added it in there).

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat chicken tenders with the chili lime rub and place in a baking dish coated with non-stick spray. Bake the chicken tenders for 25 minutes, or until fully cooked.

While the chicken is cooking, put 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large saute pan. Saute onions for 5-10 minutes until tender. Add the bowl of veggies and saute until the veggies are tender (another 5-7 minutes). When all of that is done, add the drained cans of black beans and ro-tel along with the brown rice and cook everything through until hot.

Slice up the chicken tenders, serve with a big spoonful of the brown rice mixture and garnish with shredded cheddar cheese and sour cream.

M Henry, I still think yours is better, but this is the closest I've ever gotten and it will do until I can get back to Chicago to have the real thing.

In the canner, Blubarb jam

Summertime means enjoying some of the freshest food you can get your hands on, especially if you live in the Midwest. Weekend farmer's markets, CSAs and the stuff from your own backyard gives you new opportunities to appreciate how delicious fresh food really is and you start wondering how you can capture that summer taste when it's mid-February, it's dark at 4:30 p.m., you haven't seen the sun in DAYS and your only cardio workout consists of shoveling the snow from your driveway.

Over July 4th weekend, I was in my hometown of Lewisburg, WV. We went to the local farmer's market on Saturday morning and scored some GORGEOUS blueberries. I've had a recipe I've been sitting on for years, hoping to finally make it and grabbing some of these beauties was just the inspiration I needed to get started.

When I got my CSA this week, it was a sign from the gods. I had more blueberries and some fresh rhubarb. FATE! I had everything I needed to make this blubarb jam. The recipe comes from my current favorite canning book "The Complete Book of Small-Batch Preserving".

Ingredients:
3-1/2 cups chopped fresh or frozen rhubarb
1/2 cup water
2-1/4 cups coarsely chopped fresh or frozen blueberries
1 T lemon juice
1 box dry fruit pectin
5-1/2 cups granulated sugar

Place rhubarb and water in a very large stainless steel or enamel saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat, cover, reduce heat, and simmer for 5 minutes, stirring often.

Add blueberries, lemon juice and pectin; mix well. Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring constantly. Add sugar, return a full boil and boil hard for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Ladle into hot jars and process for 10 minutes.

Makes 6 cups (I may have used a few more blueberries and ended up being able to get 6 8-oz. jelly jars and 2 half-pint jars out of this batch). Darn, one of the jars didn't seal correctly. Guess that's the one I keep :)

Dessert Improvisation #1

To put things mildly, the last couple of months have not been great for me, personally. I won't go into too much detail here, but if you read the preceding post, you'll get the end of what was a really shitty couple of weeks for me. I just haven't been doing a lot of cooking. When I get hungry, I pick through my pantry or the fridge and nothing really goes with anything else.

After Sid died, I spent some time cleaning out the pantry. One, I needed to get rid of an ant problem (I hadn't had ants in years, but this year, those little brats were everywhere, including my pantry). Two, there was stuff in there that I know had gone bad and it was just time to throw things out. I decided if I couldn't remember when or why I bought something, it was time to throw it out. I've reorganized my pantry and the exterminator had to come and take care of the ants, but now I'm left with a much more organized pantry. I've also organized my spices (and am not allowed by buy anymore, but that's another post) and thanks to a bad switch on the compressor of my big freezer, have a nicely cleaned and organized freezer (which has been replenished after losing everything in it).

Over July 4 weekend, I went to WV to spend time with my family. Weather was gorgeous and we spent most of our time on the new deck that my mother and her husband had put on the back of the house. My cousins were coming to visit and we were looking forward to a houseful of people and just enjoying some premium family time.

After the holiday, my cousins were going to spend a few days at my house, visiting family (including me). What a great motivator to get back in the kitchen and make a few things! My cousins have two children who are impressively good eaters, so I didn't have to restrict myself too much in my menu planning. First night they were there, I planned a nice roast chicken, mashed potatoes, and steamed asparagus.

Hmmm. I needed something for dessert. It's summer. Fruit. Fruit would be good here. What did I have? I had some black plums in the fridge that had been there a few weeks, but still seemed ok. OK, I can work with that. I love fruit crisps and had some vanilla ice cream in the freezer, but needed more than just plums to make the crisp.

Digging through my newly organized freezer, I found a bag of frozen blueberries from last year's farm share along with a bag of frozen blackberries from the same farm share. A ha! Time to improvise.

Dessert Improvisation #1 -- Plum, blueberry, and blackberry fruit crisp

For the filling:
6 black plums, peeled, pitted and cut into chunks
1 quart sized bag of frozen blueberries (maybe 1 cup or so)
1 quart sized bag of frozen blackberries (again, maybe a cup or more)
1 lemon -- zested and juiced
1 tsp vanilla paste
2-3 T flour
3 T sugar (I used a raw sugar, but granulated sugar is fine)

For the crisp:
1 stick of butter, cold, cut into small chunks
1/3 c light brown sugar
1/3 c white sugar
1/2 c rolled oats
3/4 c flour
pinch of kosher salt

Preheat oven to 375.

In a large bowl, place cut up plums, blueberries and blackberries. Add zest and juice of one lemon, the vanilla paste, the sugar and flour and toss to coat. Place in large baking dish.

For the topping, mix flour, oats, sugars and salt into a bowl. Put in the butter pieces and with clean hands, mush everything together until you have a nice crumble topping.  Place the topping over the fruit filling and bake for 45 minutes.

Serve warm with some vanilla ice cream, if desired.

Five Lessons From a 20-Year-Old Cat

Anyone who has pets knows that there will come a time when that adorable pet of yours will break your heart. As an adult, I have had a total of three pets. The first two, I adopted in 1993 -- kittens that I named Sid and Nancy. Nancy broke my heart in 2000, having been diagnosed with cutaneous hemangiosarcoma. She developed a big tumor; it was taken out; it grew back; it started spreading; she stopped eating. I made the very difficult decision to let her go in April of that year (she had just turned 7). I don't remember driving home from the vet's office. Sid wouldn't come near me for a couple of days and then spent a week, wandering around my 600 square foot apartment in Chicago, looking for her. I cried for days.

In 2009, a sweet little cat appeared on my porch and stayed there. It took six months to gain her trust and I finally got her to come inside. Porch Kitty became Pique and she was a lovely maine coon, with lynx tip ears and tons of personality. She was very skittish with everyone but me. I didn't know anything about her, but less than 2 years later, she stopped eating and started hiding. She turned out to be significantly older than the vet and I had first thought and was about 15 years old. She was now riddled with cancer, so Pique broke my heart in March, 2011 (the day after my birthday). Ironically, when Pique appeared to me, I thought she was there to cushion the blow over what would be my biggest pet heartbreak to date, which happened today.

Sid, the other half of the Sid and Nancy pair I adopted in 1993, has been with me through a lot. He's been with me for 20 years -- half of my life (give or take). Sid has been slowing down in recent months and I have been worried about him for at least a year. Regular vet visits and daily medication and on paper he was in really good shape for an old man. I had been out of town for a few days and my neighbors were taking care of Sid for me, giving him his daily tuna and dose of meds. I'd checked on him while I was gone, and they'd told me he was being Sid, doing fine.

When I got home yesterday, I noticed something was wrong. His back legs weren't working very well. As always, when I would come home, he'd want to get up from his chair and come and talk to me. He struggled to get out of the chaise. I sat with him and snuggled him and he eventually got down and wobbled his way to follow me to the kitchen. I noticed a significant change in his gait and noticed his back legs were splaying outwards and he was dragging his feet. I called the vet, made an appointment for the next day, to see what was going on. I had dinner plans with a friend, so I got Sid a drink of water and headed out to meet up with my friend. When I came home later, Sid had changed again. In addition to his back legs splaying outward, his right front foot looked broken. It was flopping around and no longer able to bear any kind of weight. He could barely walk. I carried him to the kitchen for a drink of water and got him settled back on his chair. I realized what was happening. Sid was breaking my heart. His chirps and purrs to me were telling me that it was time to go. He tried to get up again and got down off his chair. He kept falling. Meowing. Looking at me. I couldn't just sit there and watch that, so I scooped him up and off we went to the emergency vet. To make a long story short, Sid's health had been significantly compromised. Suspected blood clots, a known heart murmur, loss of mobility with 3 out of 4 limbs and blindness (in addition to the fact that he'd been deaf for 2 years and that he was 20 years old) and the vet said I had some decisions to make.

This is the part of a pet owner's life that everyone dreads. I cried a lot, realized what I had to do and started the process of saying goodbye to my sweet baby, the cat that had been with me for 20 years. He stayed in my arms and went very quickly and peacefully. I managed to get the car home without hitting anything and then allowed myself the freedom to cry. In many ways, Sid's passing is more than just the loss of a pet. He represents the first part of my adult life. I adopted him going into my senior year of college. To help in my grieving process, I wanted to look at the lessons that Sid has taught me, beyond the years of unconditional love and trust that he gave me.

• Take a risk -- Sid was with me when I got my first "real" job out of college. A job that would take me to three different offices and two different states. When I was promoted and asked to move to Chicago, Sid fearlessly sat in the carrier as I loaded up my 24-year-old life into my 1990 Honda Accord and drove to Chicago for the first time. He slipped out the window of my new apartment the first night and I completely freaked (a stunt he also pulled as a kitten, falling out a third story window and not getting hurt). I found him wandering around our new backyard and he came trotting up the stairs as soon as I called him.
• Share -- Sid was all about sharing. He loved to share my spot on the couch. He loved to share the bed (and slept against my foot until about a year or so ago, when he was no longer able to jump onto the bed). He loved to share my food and felt completely entitled to sample whatever it was I was eating or drinking. I learned to never leave my coffee cup unattended or a glass of water. One paw in the cup or glass to get a closer look and I'd hear a "thunk" and have to go get the paper towels. 
• Try new things -- As part of Sid's sharing campaign, I learned that he liked chicken, steak, fish, any kind of bread, but especially pizza crust, most any kind of cheese, balsamic vinegar, tomatoes, potatoes, and most any kind of dairy (including, but not limited to yogurt, milk, sour cream and whipped cream). 
• Love without agenda -- Sid had no great agenda for me. All he cared about was that I came home each day and gave him his tuna every morning, turn on the tub for a big drink of water and provide ample cuddles and snuggles whenever he wanted. In return, I had a little presence in my life that never judged my waistline, or what kind of day I had. Sid was just happy to see me and tell me about his day. 
• Decisions are hard -- When it comes to decisions, ultimately, it is YOUR decision. No one can make choices for you. And in the end, you need to be at peace with the decisions you make. This was Sid's hardest lesson for me. He told me in his own way that he was ready to move on. He waited until I got home from my trip and then showed me how hard it was getting for him. But, it was up to me to make the decision I had to make in his best interest. I have a feeling I will be crying for quite a while over my rumply little cat, that sweet soul that wanted nothing more from me than unconditional love. In time, my heart will open to another sweet soul, but there's a spot that Sid will always occupy and I know he'll never be far away.

Is it Spring yet?

March 27. It's March 27. Wednesday. Snow on Monday. Snow on Tuesday. Today, the sun is out and I'm staring at the forsythia bush out my living room window and trying to see if new buds are starting to break. Once those break, that's when I'll know it's actually spring. I've been woefully remiss in updating this blog. Not that I haven't been experimenting in my kitchen. Recent culinary triumphs include Nutella Pie (yes, it is proof that God loves us) and Ginger Apple Pear Marmalade. It's one of the many projects on my list -- sharing with you all of the goodies I've been creating in my kitchen. Soon, my friends. Soon.

Spice, Spice Baby

One of the darling things I loved about my 99 year old house was the herb garden the previous owners had planted underneath the windows in the kitchen. Now, to be fair, I do not have the greenest thumb out there. Whatever is in my yard is survival of the fittest. I do well with containers, but actual yard? I'm still learning. The herb garden has sage, oregano, chives, and thyme. I added a lavender plant the first year, which started blooming a couple of years ago. This makes me deliriously happy. There's also a nice corner spot where I can stick a tomato plant every year that seems to do well.

Well, it seems that my general neglect of this herb garden is exactly what it likes. The sage bush that was so sweet and tame had grown to hip height and was covering the sidewalk. The oregano is choking out almost everything else. One year, I could barely even FIND the chives. The thyme was starting to spread into the driveway. So, of course, now I'm on a harvesting kick.

Last summer, we harvested a nice sized jar of thyme and two big jars of oregano. This year, we decided to tackle the sage. It was completely out of control. Someone suggested I make smudge sticks, but then I learned that this is the WRONG type of sage for that purpose. So, I started looking up how to make my own dry rubbed sage. Seemed simple enough, so my mother and I last weekend started hacking at this plant.

When we were done, we had rediscovered the sidewalk and I had a huge basket of sage leaves to pick through and get to drying. My sister came up and brought her food dehydrator to go along with the one that I bought. We cleaned and cleaned the sage, got it really dry and added it to the racks. Two days later, we had dried sage leaves. To turn that into rubbed sage, all you really have to do is push them against a sieve. It's taken me the better part of a week to get through it all (about 13-14 total trays of the dehydrator) and get it pushed through the sieve to store. But, I ended up with a beautiful jar of fresh rubbed sage to use. Since I have a plethora of oregano and thyme, I'm thinking it might be time to play around with my own type of blend -- I think it would be great to use to season a roast chicken. Pictures to follow..

A little nosh

I got a call that my sister was planning to visit me for the weekend. The weather in Cleveland has been BEASTLY hot. I started to plan what we could have for a little nosh. She was arriving a little late, so I didn't really want to do a lot of cooking (two reasons, didn't want to have a big meal very late and, mostly, it was too frippin' hot in my house to cook). I started digging through my fridge and freezer and looked for a few things to prepare.

1 -- Ol' Faithful -- Stinky Cheese. Can't go wrong with a nice, stinky blue cheese. Procured a wedge of a nice buttermilk blue.

2 -- Carb element -- Stinky cheese needs a carb delivery element. Procured some sea salt pita chips from Trader Joe's and got a loaf of french bread out of my freezer (which I bought during a church bake sale -- fundraiser for the parlor renovation). I grilled the bread on my grill pan, using a little olive oil for some extra flavor.

3 -- Salt element -- Olives. My particular favorite is picholine. I'm not a big black olive fan, but I adore these little picholines.

4 -- Veggie options -- Took a few minutes to consider my options. I had some pretty radishes, which I dolled up with butter and sea salt. I'd actually never had that before until about a month ago and my world has been changed. Cherry tomatoes, yellow ones, from my farm share, would look nice on my cheeseboard. I wanted a dippy thing of some sort, so I made a pea dip using english peas (one bag of peas I'd frozen, supplemented with a bag of frozen petit pois from the grocery store), ricotta, lemon and mint. (recipe courtesy of Michael Symon). I liked this dip, although next time, I would try making my own ricotta (which doesn't sound difficult) and I would prefer fresher peas. There was a real difference between the batch I froze on my own and the ones from the megamart.

By the time my sister arrived, I had assembled a nice little nosh for us to have with a glass of wine and start our sisterly weekend.