green things

Dear Hannah,
A very belated Happy St. Pat's! Here are some green things that I found on a walk, that I made in the kitchen, and that were laying around the house. Erin Go Bragh! I apologize in advance is anyone is offended by my taste in bottle openers.






Slainte!
Ellen

Red Lentil Stew

Dear Ellen, what's for dinner?

Tonight we are red lentil stew from epicurious. I stocked up on...stock at Costo; you know those big 32 ounce cardboard containers that you like?
We have been on a lentil kick recently, both because they are budget and waistline friendly! I forgot to turn the lentils down to a simmer at the end, so I was basically boiling the snot out of them. Therefore, I used extra stock.
oxox
h

Three

Dear Ellen,
I might have already told you this story, but when in a fit of mushiness I said to my beloved, "Can you believe our Sam is almost THREE?," He responded in classic analytical and overly honest fashion, "It hasn't gone by THAT fast."

I found the recipe...

Dear Ellen,

The pea soup recipe was sitting right by my desk. Oops. I should add that I don't usually do the thickening part; I count on my not having sufficiently strained the fat of the ham out. In other words, I leave a teeny bit of fat for flavor. The soup still thickens nicely if you let it boil up several times. This is a great recipe to do when you're home all day. I tried it in the crockpot, as I said, and something baaaaad happened.

Buzzy

Dear Ellen, we have a lot of kiddos at the hospital who like Buzzy. He distracts the nerves from feeling pain with his cold (ice pack) wings and the vibrating motion he makes. For 34 bucks, it may be worth owning one of these! Buzzy is also incredibly friendly looking, and his job is to do the opposite of a regular bee's: He "takes the sting out of shots."

Split Pea Soup

Dear Ellen, I recently I have made Nana's Palouse Split Pea Soup three times. The first time it wasn't great, the second time was perfect, and the third time I left it cooking and burned it so badly that the house still smells like a chainsmoker lived here a decade ago.

I have looked everywhere for my second and third copies of this recipe. What do I keep doing with them? Oh, well, I should make sure Nana doesn't mind me sharing, as it is an oldie but goodie! Am I playing it up enough?

I found it! Here it is:

Nana's Polouse Split Pea Soup
1 lb. dry split pease
1 ham bone, skin scraps and juice from a whole baked ham
3 ribs celery-chopped large
2 qts water
6 springs of parsley (or dry parsley)
Few dashes ground pepper or thyme


Thickening:
1/3 C butter
1/3-1/2 C flour depending on amount of liquid and peas you usedSalt to taste
2 C milk

1. The day before: Cook the ham bone scraps etc. in 2 qts water along with the onion, celery and parsley until the meat falls off the bone. Strain and keep the liquid. Chill overnight or longer so the fat settles on top and can be skimmed off. If you wish to, cut up the lean meant and set aside to put back in the soup after it is finished (chill or freeze).
2. Rinse and soak peas overnight in cold water
3. Drain in the morning and put in large kettle with fat free ham broth you have previously made plus water to make 2 1/2 to 3 qts. Add pepper and thyme. Bring to a slow boil and cook until peas are mushy over a low simmer.
4. In a separate pan melt butter and add flour and stir over low heat until lightly browned. Slowly add the milk as with white sauce, stirring constantly until the mixture boils and thickens slightly.
5. Add the thickening to the pea mixture and let boil up several times. The longer it simmers the thicker it gets.
6. Serve with corn bread, biscuits, or English muffins.
* Can serve 12-14 depending on the size of the servings. This freezes well; leave good air space at top of container.

Roasted Italian Sausages with Tomatoes and White Beans

Dear Ellen,
I finally found the recipe you were talking about here. It's funny how many different ways we've made it! This recipe is super-versatile. You can switch out the starch for pasta as you did, or potatoes (I think I've done this). I've thrown in leftover veggies like asparagus and broccoli, too.

Mee Maw's Roasted Italian Sausages with Tomatoes and White Beans

Ingredients:
2.5 lbs sweet Italian Sausage links cut into 2-3 pieces
3 pints cherry tomatoes
4 garlic cloves, sliced
1 medium onion, cut into 1.5 inch chunks
3 T olive oil
1.5 T balsamic vinegar
2 tsp dried thyme leaves
2 whole bay leaves
S+P to taste
3 10 oz. cans white beans, drained, with 1/2 cup liquid reserved

Adjust oven rack to lowest position and prehead to 425.

Mix everything but beans and their reserved liquid in a roasting pan. Set pan in oven. Roast until sausages are brown and tomatoes have reduced to a thick sauce, about 45 minutes.

Remove from oven, stir in beans and reserved liquid. Continue cooking until heated through, about 10 minutes longer. Remove bay leaves and serve. Serves about 6-8.

You're gonna like this...

Dear Ellen,
Have you visited Purl Bee?
You have actually visited the shop Purl Soho, am I right? Although I think it takes a spatial, mathematical, as well as creative brain to sew and knit, I definitely appreciate the final products, so so much. I think handmade textiles are magical.

Visit the blog
Visit the online shop

If you'd been here around lunchtime....

...you might have heard this:

My Prayer: We love you, Lord. We lift up our hearts and our hands...
Sam: And our peanut butter and jelly sandwiches!

I don't think there was much praying after that. Just chuckling and eating! But I have to say, after our SNAFU yesterday (Sam ingested an unknown amount of children's Iboprofen and spilled the rest on the stairs and wall), I am so grateful for my funny witto guy. And I will double check the childproof tops! and put Mr. Ick stickers on everything!

Check it out!

Hannah's new blog - it is a beautiful thing!

http://artisallaroundus.wordpress.com/

sausage stew and friends too

Dear Hannah,

Remember that sausage stew goo we made all the time last winter? Where did you get the original recipe? I modify mine each time I make it, mostly to accommodate the picky eaters in my life. Here's the basic recipe I use - what is yours?

Ingredients
1 lb sweet Italian chicken sausage, sliced thick
1 small red onion, chopped roughly
2 garlic cloves, smashed
1 container grape, cherry, or mini heirloom tomatoes, whole
Any left over veg you have in the fridge (broccoli or zucchini works well)
Olive oil
balsamic vinegar
fresh basil
Salt and Pepper
1 can white Northern beans (optional)
1 bag pasta (tubes or twirls)
Parmesan cheese to taste (we use a lot) Directions
Preheat oven to 425. In a jelly roll pan, combine sausage, tomatoes, garlic and vegetables. Cover liberally with olive oil. Season with salt and pepper and a swig or three of balsamic vinegar, to taste. Bake until tomatoes bulge (about 10-15 minutes). At this point, you can add beans with can juice to mixture and bake 10 minutes more and if not only cook until most of the tomatoes have popped). While this is going on, boil your pasta, drain, and set aside. Remove goo from oven and top with roughly chopped basil. Combine goo with pasta and sprinkle generously with Parmesan cheese. A good crusty bread to sop up the goo is scrumptious. This makes great left overs and goes well with cabernet sauvignon or malbec.


The last time I made it was in Knoxville with a lovely little family of three. Here are some highlights from that trip and their most recent trip to Nashville as well as some other fond memories from the hood.

Happy eggplant hat from our friend Sally


Babies AND cookies - yum.



Cooperative cooking is more fun



Baby crate... oh, wait. I mean doggy crate.


Ladder Stitch Cardigan made with Jo Sharp Soho Summer DK weight knit by me and given to Laura before she moved to Knoxville.


Closest cocktail I've found to an Avenue A, the most amazing drink I've ever had! Thank you Shannon at Burger Up!


Babies on board



Future babysitters and Jo Jo.


love,
Ellen

Pink!!

Dear Ellen, How did your pink yink ink come out?
I know Valentine's Day was SO last month, but I can't
get pink off the brain. After all these years, it is still
one of my absolute favorite colors. Even laundry can
be pretty if it is in good light, and it happens to be pink.
Or a pencil sharpener! By the way, here is a brain-bender.
I think I might have shared this with you before. A friend
of mine once wondered aloud, "How come pink is the only
color that is another color (red) plus white that gets its own name?"
It's true. Blue plus white is...light blue. Yellow plus white is...light yellow.
It's too bad I don't speak very many languages, but I know there are at
least a few languages that have pink in its own category. "Rosa" is pink in
Spanish, and again, there are no brand new names for the other pastel colors.