Author: ajeanneinthekitchen

There is a crisp chill in the air and that means it is the perfect weather for soup. I love soups. They are just great comfort foods that “warm the cockles of your heart”, as my dad always used to say. I think soups of all kinds are some of my favorite comfort foods too. Plus, if you have a lot of little bits of this and that, but not enough for a meal by themselves, you can ALWAYS throw them into a big pot of soup. Back in my restaurant management days, that’s exactly what we did too. Everything got tossed into either the soup pot or the chili pot. It was different all the time.

I made a creamy soup with wild rice, chicken and mushrooms that just hit the spot. I served it with the rest of my pumpkin egg bread Pumpkin Egg Bread and some white wine and we had a simple, yet delicious fall dinner.

I love rice, but I have to admit I don’t use a lot of wild rice, so this was a little different version of chicken and rice soup even for me. But I loved every bite.

Wild rice is actually a wild grass, rather than a rice. It is more like oats rather than more traditional rice found around the world. It is lumped into the rice family more because of its appearances rather than its actual genetic make up. Usually wild rice is cooked with wild game or duck, but more and more recipes are using wild rice too now to give a richer, nuttier taste and texture.

Until about 20 years ago, most wild rice grew naturally in the lakes and slow-moving streams of northern Minnesota and bordering Canada. The crop was harvested by Native Americans, who were members of the Ojibway Indian tribe. They processed it using traditional methods passed down from their ancestors. Today, most of it is now cultivated in commercial paddies.

Wild rice tastes like rice, which is why it’s called rice, even though it’s a completely different species. Like brown rice and other whole grains, wild rice has an outer shell (bran) that gives it a chewy texture. Wild rice has a slightly grassy flavor and a smokiness that comes from the way it’s processed.

There is a difference between wild rice and black rice too. Wild rice is grown in the United States and Canada, and as I said, it is actually a wild grass. Black rice hails from China and Asia. Black rice is sweetish to taste and has a nutty feel about its texture. Black rice is also called the “forbidden rice” because it was originally only for the wealthy and royalty due to its expense, though today, it is on the market for everyone to enjoy. It is also one of the oldest types of rice in the world too. Both the black and wild rice are chewy and nutty in texture. However, they are not so firm like the brown rice wherein it takes almost half an hour or so to cook. Other than wild rice is a wild grass and comes from North America and black rice is actually a rice and comes from China, there are not that many differences between the two grains, either nutritionally or in taste. They can also be interchangeable in recipes as well. Today, it is based on both personal preference and availability.

Chicken, Wild Rice and Mushroom Soup

2 lbs cooked chicken, cut into bite-sized pieces

1 cup chopped onion

1 cup chopped carrots

1 cup chopped celery

1 lb mushrooms, sliced thick

1-2 TBSP garlic

salt & pepper to taste

olive oil and butter for cooking

1/2 cup dry white wine

1 cup heavy whipping cream

1/3 cup flour

6 cups chicken broth

1 cup cooked wild or black rice

2 tsp fresh thyme

Get a large Dutch oven or pot hot and add the butter and olive oil. Add the mire poix, or the carrots, onions and celery and cook for about 5 minutes, or until they are softened.

Next, add the chicken, mushrooms and garlic and continue to cook for about 15 minutes.

Add the wine and deglaze the pan, followed by the chicken broth.

Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer and continue to cook for about 10-15 minutes, stirring frequently.

While the soup mixture is cooking, combine the cream and the flour and mix together well. Then add to the soup mixture and cook until the soup is slightly thickened.

Add the wild rice and incorporate into the soup thoroughly. Once again, bring to a full, rapid boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer and continue to cook for an additional 5 minutes. Add the thyme right at the finish and mix in thoroughly.

All that is left to do now is to spoon it up and enjoy. Delicious!

I am going to make a vegan gluten free version of this too for my students. I will omit the chicken and will substitute coconut milk for the heavy whipping cream, leave out the flour and will use vegetable broth in lieu of chicken broth. See simple easy-peasy changes, but the same basic recipe. Cooking vegan isn’t hard at all, like so many people think. It is usually just making simple adjustments.

Stay safe and stay well Everyone. ‘Til next time.

The fall colors have just been amazing this year. They have fun the full gamete from green to yellow, yellow to gold, gold to orange, orange to red and now red to rust. It has been a breathtaking season and it’s not done yet. There are still a few more beautiful colors left to be seen.

The term meat & potatoes is a very comforting term in many ways. It means getting back to the basics, whether it be food related or just things in general. For food, meat and potatoes means good, basic comfort foods, and is quite literally meat and potatoes. The world has many different versions of this too. We all need comforting and we all have those go-to foods that take us to those safe places we are looking for.

Larry, being a Kansas boy, is very much a meat & potatoes kind of guy, though he allows me to indulge in just about any culinary experience I choose to explore. Me, being the California girl, I get bored with just meat & potatoes. I need something with more flavor and more pizzazz. So I compromised and made an Italian version of meat & potatoes. It was the best of both worlds. 🙂

I started off with a combination of both my own marinara sauce mixed with a store-bought version and went from there.

Italian Meat & Potatoes

4 lbs brisket or London broil

salt & pepper to taste

olive oil

butter

2 celery ribs, diced small

2 carrots, diced small

1/2 onion, diced small

1 jar marianara sauce

3-4 tomatoes, diced

1 TBSP garlic

1 tsp basil

1 tsp oregano

1 tsp marjoram

1 tsp thyme

1/2 cup dry red wine

Cut the meat into strips and season with salt & pepper to taste. In a hot skillet or a Dutch oven, add the olive oil and a little butter to cook and brown the meat. When the meat is browned, remove it from the heat and set aside.

In the same pan, adding more olive oil and/or butter as needed, add the onions, carrots and celery and cook for about 3 minutes or until the vegetables are tender. Then add the tomatoes, garlic and herbs and continue to cook for an additional 2-3 minutes.

Add the wine and the marinara sauce and mix together well. Then re-add the meat to the mixture cover and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and continue to simmer for about 3 hours or until the meat is tender. Stir frequently.

When the meat is tender and everything is cooked, serve it all over some creamy mashed potatoes. I also added some garlic and herb cheese bread and a smooth red Malbec to complete the meal. !Perfecto!

Who says the basics have to be boring? Liven them up a bit and make life more interesting. 🙂

Stay safe and stay well Everyone. ‘Til next time.

I still have a few shots of the fabulous fall colors remaining. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.

Even one of our “resident” turtles is dressed in his fall finest.

Everything is in the process of change right now. The leaves that are left are changing their colors once again. The temperature is changing, and now it is a little cooler and crisper than it was just a few days ago. The animals are changing too. I have lived and walked around my lakes for almost 15 years now, and I discovered a new friend today, or at least new to me. Today was the first day I have seen one of these. This is a Downey Woodpecker.

I just love making new friends and discovering and learning about new things. That’s what makes life so interesting.

Sometimes I almost like recreating leftovers more than I like preparing the “firstovers”. It’s become a fun game to me to see how I can recreate leftovers into something completely different than how I originally made them. I had some leftover filling from my pumpkin and sausage tortelets Spinach, Pumpkin and Sausage Tortelets but not enough to make more tortes, so I turned them into crepes instead. I also had just a little bit of pumpkin puree left, which became the base for the sauce.

I decided blue corn crepes would go well with the pumpkin and sausage and would make it a bit more rustic.

Blue Corn Crepes

2 eggs

1 cup milk

1/3 cup water

2/3 cup flour

2/3 cup blue cornmeal

salt to taste

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

2 TBSP melted butter

Mix the flour, cornmeal, salt and cayenne pepper together and set aside.

Combine the egg, milk and melted butter and whisk together. Then mix in with the flour mixture and stir just until everything is well combined. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour before using.

When ready to make the crepes, get a small skillet very hot, then add about 1/2-1 TBSP butter. Add about 1/3 cup of the batter into the skillet and immediately swirl around so the batter entirely covers then pan in a very thin layer. Cook for about 1-2 minutes, then carefully flip the crepe and continue to cook for another 1-2 minutes. Continue this until all the batter is cooked and the crepes are made.

Once all the crepes are made, start filling them. For this recipe, I rolled the crepes. Add about 2 TBSP of filling then tightly roll the crepe and place the filled crepes into a baking dish sprayed with cooking spray.

After the crepes were all stuffed, I made the pumpkin cream sauce.

Pumpkin Cream Sauce

1 cup pumpkin puree

1 cup heavy whipping cream

salt & pepper to taste

1/3 cup dry white wine

1-2 TBSP butter

Preheat the oven to 350* F or 180* C.

Mix everything except the butter, together and heat in a small skillet. Bring to a boil and then reduce the heat and continue cooking for about 5-7 minutes, stirring constantly so nothing burns. Add the butter at the very end as a finish.

Once the sauce is done, carefully pour or spoon it over the crepes.

I add a little cheese on top and then finished it with the rest of the sausage and pumpkin filling.

Bake for about 30 minutes, or until the center of the crepes is hot. Serve them up how you like. I served mine over some couscous with a crisp, citrusy chardonnay on the side. C’est manifique! C’es si bonne!

Savor the day and enjoy it all. Stay safe and stay well Everyone. ‘Til next time.

There are still a lot of beautiful fall colors to see. They are changing once again though, and are showing more of the oranges, reds and rusts now, rather than the yellows, golds and greens. All the other colors are fading too, and soon will be dormant for the season. Once the cooler weather and the snows hit, our colors will be gone.

Often when people come over for dinner they think I make big elaborate dinners all the time and ask if that is how we always eat. A simple answer would be NO! In fact, most of the time, it is just the opposite. We eat a lot of quick and easy simple meals when it is just the two of us, although I do make more elaborate meals too. It really just depends on my mood, what I have on hand at the time, and how much time do I have to prepare dinner. Larry is pretty easy to cook for. He eats just about everything, though he prefers a lot of the more simple, basic meals.

I made an easy-peasy chicken and veggie skillet meal the other day that was a big hit. But then anything over pasta will always be a winner for me. I could eat pasta dishes 7 days a week and easily be happy.

Chicken and Veggies in A Skillet

1 1/2 lbs chicken breast, cut into thin strips

salt & pepper to taste

1 cup sliced mushrooms

3-4 sweet peppers, sliced thin

1 onion, sliced thin

1 TBSP garlic

1 lb asparagus, cut into pieces about 1-1 1/2 inches in size

1/2 cup sherry, brandy or chicken broth

2 TBSP butter

olive oil

red pepper flakes to taste

Add the salt & pepper to the chicken pieces and cook in a hot skillet with the olive oil until the chicken is completely cooked.

Once the chicken is cooked, remove it from the heat and add all the vegetables and garlic except for the asparagus. Add more olive oil and butter if needed. Cook for about 3 minutes. Then re-add the chicken to the mix.

Add the asparagus and continue to cook for an additional 2-3 minutes.

Once everything is cooked, removed it all from the pan, then add the sherry or brandy or chicken broth and scrape the bottom of the skillet. I used brandy this time because that what was readily available to me. Bring to a boil and cook for about 1-2 minutes or until the the liquid is reduced to about 1-2 TBSP. Return the chicken and vegetables to the skillet and coat with the remaining liquid. Add the butter and red pepper flakes, if using, and adjust the seasoning if needed, then mix together thoroughly. Serve either by itself or over rice or pasta. Add a fruity, citrusy white wine, some warmed bread, and your meal is complete. Easy-peasy and delicious; just the way I like it.

Stay safe and stay well Everyone. ‘Til next time.

More golden colors of this fabulous fall season we have been enjoying this year.

Enjoy them while you can. They are going, going, and will soon be gone.