Navajo Fry Bread with Ground Lamb

For a short time as a kid, I had a foster sister who grew up on the Navajo reservation in Utah. She taught us to make fry bread. When she made it, she grabbed the ingredients with her hands and didn't measure precisely, so I've had to make guesses at the measurements for this blog. The Navajo raise sheep and eat a lot of lamb in their dishes.

2 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 Tblsp powdered milk
2 tsp baking powder
1 cup water

Sift the dry ingredients and combine with the water until they form a sticky dough. You don't need to knead the dough. Dump onto a floured surface and divide into 8 pieces. Roll out each piece and fry in hot canola oil until bubbly and brown.



For the filling (and I apologize that this is even more imprecise than the dough):

1 lb chipped or ground lamb
5 cloves crushed garlic
1 chopped onion
1 cup pre-cooked black beans
2 tsp cumin
1 T chili powder
Salt & Pepper
Chopped fresh cilantro
(All seasonings can be added to taste. Traditional Navajo cooking generally uses just the onion and garlic with salt and pepper.)

Top with lettuce, more fresh cilantro, tomatoes, cheese, etc.


If you are a vegetarian, you can try fry bread with smashed, cooked beans seasoned with your favorite herbs and spices.

Potage Saint-Germain

Potage Saint-Germain is French pea soup made from fresh peas, scallions, sherry, and a tiny bit of cream. I love this soup! It's so refreshing and delicate. It's nothing like the heavy split pea soup with potatoes and the overwhelming flavor of salty ham that many people serve. Why is it that people throw bacon or ham into everything and consume the natural flavor of the dish with salt, fat and nitrates? I've never quite understood why someone would take a perfectly wonderful cut of beef and wrap it in cheaply-flavored bacon, for example. Or why would anyone infuse a delicious seafood chowder with bacon, overwhelming the flavor of the fish?

I'm glad to say that Potage Saint-Germain allows you to taste the natural sweetness of the peas. It really is a wonderful early course in a meal, or as a light meal.

This recipe makes 2 bowl-size portions, or 4 small portions and is taken from a combination of several pea soup recipes I found during some research.

2 shallots, diced
2 Tbsp butter
2 cups vegetable broth
3 cups fresh green peas, shelled (frozen can be used when peas aren't in season)
2 Tbsp dry sherry
1 clove garlic, crushed
Fresh basil & rosemary (to taste)
1/4 bay leaf
1/2 cup half & half
Cream for garnish (optional)
Baked flavored croutons for garnish (optional)

Saute the shallots and garlic in butter until soft. Add vegetable broth, peas and remaining ingredients (except cream) and allow to simmer for 12 minutes.



Add Half & Half and blend until smooth


Reheat and serve hot. Swirl in cream and top with croutons, if desired.

Chipotle Pepper Beans

I'm not really a fan of the type of beans served at a barbecue that for some reason have syrupy sugary stuff poured all over them... or maybe a bit of pork fat mixed in along with some sickly sweet barbecue sauce from a bottle. I like sweets. I like them a lot. I even know of some desserts that combine sugar and beans. But serving beans drenched in sugar as a side dish to artificially flavored weeners should be left for special occasions... like maybe a White Trash costume party.

These beans get their flavor from fresh herbs, garlic, onions and various peppers. You can control the heat. If you like spicy, lay it on. If not, go easy on the spice.

Bring to a boil, then simmer until beans are about half done:
3 cups dried beans (your choice)
2 1/2 quarts water
4-6 fresh sage leaves
3 bay leaves


Saute until done:
3 T olive oil
2 diced onions
6 cloves crushed garlic
2 -3 diced peppers (jalapeño, bell, Anaheim... depends on how spicy you like it)

Chipotle pepper paste (or powder) to taste
1 Tblsp Cumin seeds, crushed



Combine onion mixture with beans and cook for another hour or until beans are done. Right before serving add:
juice of 1 lime
juice of 1 lemon
1/2 bunch of fresh cilantro, chopped

Ever wondered what "chipotle" is exactly? Well... it is a smoked jalapeño pepper. The idea came from Mexico sometime before the Aztecs.

Oven-Fried Parmesan Chicken

Quicker, cleaner, and more healthy than deep fried chicken... this is a recipe that I used frequently when I was a young newly-married girl. By girl, I really mean girl. I was only 19 years old when Dave and I were married. Although I would never recommend marrying so extremely young, so far our marriage has been a 22 year success. Funny thing, I haven't made this chicken for years and I guess I should have because last night my kids all raved about it during dinner.

Fill three pie plates:
1) 3/4 cup flour, salt, pepper
2) 3 eggs and 2 T milk
3) 2 cups of either seasoned crumbs, crushed croutons, or dried bread stuffing (such as Pepperidge Farms) and 3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese.

Rinse and dry full chicken cut up. Take the skin off the chicken (optional). Dip the chicken pieces in the pans in order: 1, 2, 3. Place on an oiled cookie sheet.


Cover with foil and bake in a 400ºF oven for 1 1/4 hours. Remove foil, top with 1/4 cup melted butter (or olive oil) and bake another 15 minutes.

Portobello-Onion Lasagne with Chianti-Gorgonzola Sauce

Portobello mushrooms are in a class all by themselves. They are rich and "meaty" and the texture is fabulous. I'm not much of a "casserole" person, but the Chianti and fresh basil in this dish blend perfectly with the mushrooms, onions, Gorgonzola and crunchy walnuts.

Cook 1 package of dried whole wheat lasagna pasta.


Chop 3 large sweet onions and saute for 25 minutes in 3 T of olive oil. In the meantime, remove the stems from 4 large portobello mushrooms and cut them into small chunks. Add about 3/4 cup of Chianti to the onions along with salt and pepper to taste, then add the mushrooms. Cook a few more minutes until mushrooms are tender.



Chop about 4 cups of fresh spinach and mix with 2 cups of ricotta cheese, salt and 1/3 cup of fresh basil (or to taste).


In a small sauce pan over medium-high heat, make a roux of 2T of flour and 3T of olive oil. Whisk in 2 cups of whole milk (or half & half), 3-4T crumbled gorgonzola, and 1/3 cup chopped walnuts, and fresh chopped basil and salt & pepper to taste.



In a 9 X 13" baking pan, pour 1/2 cup of white sauce into bottom and top with lasagna noodles.


Top with 1/2 spinach mixture and 1/3 mushroom mixture.


Repeat layers, ending with last 1/3 of onion mix, sauce and a sprinkle of walnuts. Bake at 375ºF for about 35 minutes or until bubbly and hot.

Homemade Tortillas With Chili-Lime Chicken, Rice & Black Beans

The problem with making homemade tortillas is that once you've tasted them, you'll never want to go back to the conveniently packaged ones from the store. They are somewhat time-consuming, but the flavor and texture make up for the effort.

Tortillas:
4 cups of flour (I use a mixture of brown flour and white bread flour)
1 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
2 T olive oil (or lard)
1 1/2 cups water

Whisk together dry ingredients, add oil with hands until crumbly, add water and knead until blended. Divide into 20 pieces:


Roll each piece as thin as you can


Fry each tortilla in canola oil until bubbly and brown on both sides


I used brown basmati rice. The nutty flavor and texture are fabulous, but you should use your favorite type of rice. Cook a couple of cups of rice according to directions.

The portions on the following are "to taste":

Cook a small chopped onion in olive oil with two cloves of crushed garlic. Add three chopped tomatoes, one can of drained black beans, chili powder, cumin, chopped fresh cilantro, oregano, and enough cooked rice to create a good texture.


Slice two large chicken breasts and stir-fry them in olive oil with chili powder, crushed garlic, cilantro, and fresh lime juice.


Top each tortilla with rice & bean mixture and chicken.

Gorgonzola, Pear, Onion & Leek Bread

This loaded bread was really popular with my family... or at least I assume it was, because it disappeared when I wasn't looking for a few minutes. The pears look like they might overwhelm it, but actually they add just a touch of sweetness to the beautiful aromatic combination of sage, onions, leeks and gorgonzola. The walnuts add fullness and texture and the whole wheat bread is hearty and nutty.

This topings for this recipe are adapted from one I found online at EatingWell. The flatbread recipe is from a collection of recipes a relative of mine gave me years ago.







Bread:
1 1/2 cups warm water
2 T sugar
1 T dry yeast
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 T olive oil
4 cups flour

Heat oven to 450ºF
In a large bowl combine water, sugar, and yeast. Allow to sit until yeast starts to bubble. Add salt, oil and slowly add flour until dough feels thick, but workable. Kneed for about 5 to 8 minutes. Place in bowl, cover with thin coat of olive oil and allow to rise for an hour. Punch down, and measure about 20 oz of dough to use for this recipe.


Roll out dough and using a peel covered in cornmeal, place dough on baking stone (or baking sheet) and cook for about 8 minutes until it bubbles up as in the photo below.


Topping:
2 tsp olive oil
1 large onion
1 large leek
1/3 cup chopped walnuts
2 tsp balsamic vinegar
1 Tblsp chopped sage
Pepper
2 pears
1/2 cup crumbled gorgonzola

Thinly slice onions and leeks. Toast walnuts in a skillet, remove and set aside. Add olive oil and onions & leeks. Cook until starting to brown, set heat on low, cover and allow to cook 8 minutes more.



Chop and add sage to onions. Add vinegar and pepper.


spread onion mixture over bread. Top with pears, walnuts and gorgonzola.





Bake on stone (or sheet) for 11 - 13 minutes