A RealFamilies RealFun Blog

Jun 8 2009

Potato soup

Category: Come and Get It

Even though we live in suburbia, until about 10 years ago this was prime agricultural (and coal mining) land. There are still several family farms close by including Miller Farms, only a 10 minute drive away. Luckily for us, Miller Farms encourages families and schools to visit to pick vegetables and learn about how food is grown.

Every year we make a trek out to Miller Farms to pick vegetables and pumpkins. This started with Nathan's preschool when he was three. The first year I went, but afterwards I had Paul go with Nathan because he could carry more vegetables than I could. They'd come back with two large bags, including potatoes, onions and turnips bigger than Nathan's head. (No, I'm not exaggerating -- the produce was huge.)

This year, the school took care of our yearly fall visit. Nathan's entire first grade class went for a full day of hayrides and digging in the mud. Lucie tagged along with a preschool friend's family. (They also have a first grader, Cameron, who was in Nathan's homeroom last year.)

Besides getting muddy, exhausted children after a farm trip, I usually get a large bag full of potatoes, onions, turnips, and carrots. Since it was late in the season, they only brought home potatoes, but that gave me the excuse to make a potage.

I do not make the classical French Potage Parmentier which has cream added to it as a thickener. Instead, I wing it with whatever I have on hand. My recipe is super simple to make (though a bit time consuming because of all the peeling and chopping). And my kids love it! The first night Nathan ate two large bowls.

Just remember, the more orange vegetables you use, the more orange-ish the soup. The more green veggies, the greener it will look. Use both and the soup will be brown. So you decide what color your kids will eat. Either way, it's a delicious, healthy dish, and perfect for those cold fall and winter nights. It's also a great way to take advantage of all the seasonal sales on potatoes and chicken broth.

Anne-Marie's Potage

Ingredients:
Vegetables. You want enough vegetables to fill 4/5 of the pot -- potatoes, carrots, leeks, onions, turnips, parsnips, garlic cloves, broccoli, cauliflower, yams, cabbage, etc. No beets or red cabbage. Feel free to add any veggies that have been getting a little old in the refrigerator. Just make sure to trim off any "yucky" bits. The mix should be at least 50% potatoes.

Chicken or veggie broth. You will need enough to cover the vegetables in the pot. 

Salt and pepper.

Herbs de Provence spice mix (I use a liberal amount of this mix, which I've already made up beforehand):

• 3 tbsp. dried marjoram
• 3 tbsp. dried thyme
• 3 tbsp. dried savory
• 1 tsp. dried basil
• 1 tsp. dried rosemary
• 1/2 tsp. dried sage
• 1/2 tsp. fennel seeds

Preparation:
1. Wash, peel, and roughly chop up all the vegetables and place in a very large stock pot.
2. Cover with broth and season to taste.
3. Bring to a boil. Cover and lower burner so the pot simmers for 1 hour or until vegetables are soft. Do not overcook so they turn into mush, however.
4. Let cool enough to puree in a blender or food processor, or use a wand blender.
(I use a wand blender, which was much easier than transferring the cooked vegetables and broth to my Cuisinart. Just remember to unplug the wand before cleaning. I didn't once, and spent time at the emergency room getting my fingers stitched up.)
5. Serve in individual bowls. Salt and pepper to taste. For an extra bit of yumminess, serve with a pat of butter melting on the top.

 

May 22 2009

Caffeinated kiddos

Category: Come and Get It

Paul has come a long way from the trailer park he grew up in. Considering that his parents didn't finish high school, it's impressive that Paul has managed to not only graduate from high school, but leave college with two undergraduate and two graduate degrees.

Yet you can take the boy out of the trailer, but not the trailer out of the boy. There's something about Paul being white trash that comes out in our kitchen -- his love of cabbage fried up in bacon grease or cooking up big bowls of steamed beet leaves covered in vinegar. I've learned to like those dishes, too.

Then there's the white trash habit of letting kids drink coffee. Being true to their roots, Nathan and Lucie have developed an early love for the stuff. For most folks, coffee is an acquired taste. I didn't like it until I was in high school, but only drank coffee at the trendy cafes my friends and I hung out at way before Starbucks conquered the world. Still, I'm a diehard tea drinker. Herbal, chai, English or Asian blends...I love them all.

Paul's the family coffee drinker, having developed a strong habit in graduate school. (He's convinced that without it and beer, he wouldn't have survived college.) Weekend mornings, Paul will make himself a big mug of the stuff. But if he leaves it on the coffee table unguarded, it's a guarantee that the kids will sneak sips from it until it's gone.

There's nothing funnier than Paul picking up his mug, peering into it, and declaring, "Darn it, you kids! Who drank all my coffee?" Nathan and Lucie will then flee the scene of the crime, giggling all the way.

Just so Paul doesn't go into the coffee DTs, we've developed a recipe for kid's coffee so they can have their own mugs. You can probably find a version of this in your better white trash cookbooks.

Kid's Coffee
Take one kid sized mug and fill 1/2 to 3/4 of the way with milk. Add lots of granulated sugar, and then fill the rest of the way with coffee. Zap it in the microwave until warm but not hot. Stir and serve.

(You can also fill up a sippy cup 3/4 of the way with milk. Add some sugar and a little coffee. Then put on the lid and shake. Do not heat in microwave. Serve.)

Note:  After drinking, take the kids to school and let the teachers deal with your over-caffeinated, hyper offspring. If it's summer break, call grandma to come over and play toss in the yard so you can go back to bed.

 

May 7 2009

Five way chili

Category: Come and Get It

I love my slow cooker almost as much as I love my family. Maybe I exaggerate a little, but my slow cooker has made life much easier. I frequently make chili in several of its variations like picadillo (with raisins and apples), white (with chicken, corn and white beans) or chili con carne. One of our favorites is Cincinnati style chili because it combines foods Nathan and Lucie love -- chili, spaghetti, beans, and grated cheese.

John Kiradjieff, the founder of the Empress Chili Palor, created it in 1922. The dish is called "Five Way" because of its five layers. The first layer is a serving of spaghetti covered by a layer of chili. Next is a layer of kidney beans followed by chopped onions. The entire dish is then covered with grated cheddar cheese.

I use the recipe in Heartland Cooking Crockery Favorites by Frances Towner Giedt. While this seems like a weird combination of spices, Nathan and Lucie -- who love salsa and spicy foods -- really like it.

Cincinnati Chili Five Ways*

Servings: 6

Prep Time: 25 minutes

Cook Time: 7-9 hours on low or 3 1/2 to 4 1/2 hours on high

Ingredients:
1 1/2 pounds ground beef round
2 medium yellow onions, chopped (2 cups)
1 medium celery rib, chopped (1/2 cup)
4 large garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 tablespoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
salt, optional, and black pepper to taste
1 28-ounce can peeled tomatoes in puree undrained
1 8-ounce can tomato sauce
1/2 cup water
1 pound dried spaghetti, broken in half

Toppings:
3/4 cup grated Cheddar cheese (3 cups)
1 medium yellow onion, chopped (1 cup)
1 15 1/2-ounce can dark red kidney beans, heated and drained
Oyster crackers (optional)

Preparation:
1. In a large skillet, brown ground beef, onions, celery, and garlic over medium-high heat until the beef is browned and the onions are limp, about 5 minutes. Drain off all the fat.

2. Transfer meat mixture to a 31/2-quart or larger crockery slow-cooker and combine with remaining ingredients except spaghetti and Toppings. Stir to mix well. Cover and cook on low for 7 to 9 hours or on high for 3 1/2 to 4 1/2 hours.

3. About 30 minutes before serving, cook spaghetti according to package directions. Drain and keep warm.

4. Stir the chili. Serve in wide, shallow soup bowls, ladled over a serving of hot spaghetti. Garnish with cheese, onions, and beans. Serve with oyster crackers on the side.

Kid friendly tips:
1. If you have very young little ones, you may want to break the spaghetti in thirds. If you forget to break up the spaghetti before cooking, you can always use clean scissors or kitchen shears to cut up the noodles.

2. Place the toppings in separate bowls and let the kids serve themselves buffet style. Your kids may want to skip some of the toppings and have "three way chili" (spaghetti, chili and cheese) instead.

3. If you have one of those kids (or are one of those adults) who don't like different kinds of food touching each other, have the chili by itself with a bowl of buttered spaghetti on the side.

4. This is great heated up in the microwave the next day. You can also take the chili and use it in burritos or tacos with a little salsa, shredded jack/cheddar cheese, sour cream, and avocado slices.

*From Heartland Cooking Crockery Favorites by Frances Towner Giedt