Crockpot Oxtail Soup

Oxtail soup is delicious. End of story. If you've never had it, you're missing out. the meat is very tender and delicious, with broth that makes your lips sticky. In this recipe, the meat'll come right off the bones. But don't forget those bones- there's delicious marrow in there.

This is a basic recipe; all you need to add is the additions that you like- vegetables and some sort of grain or bean.  Enjoy!

Crockpot Oxtail Soup
Serves 2 (x2 for 4)

2 lbs cut oxtail (I had to go to a butcher shop to find this, sometimes if you're lucky you'll see it in a standard grocery store).

1 tbsp olive oil

garlic salt

fresh ground black pepper

1 cube of beef bouillon

1 packet of onion soup mix

1 tsp of Worcestershire sauce

2 cloves of garlic

vegetables of choice

bean or grain of choice

Rinse and pat the cuts of oxtail dry. Season all sides with the garlic salt and black pepper. Heat a medium to large pan with the olive oil until a sprinkle of water in the pan sizzles. Add the oxtail, and brown all sides of each piece. No need to cook through, just medium to high heat for a good caramelizing.

When they're browned on all sides, add them one by one to the crockpot. Depending on how cold your crockpot is, you can turn it to low or warm during this. Deglaze the pan and add the water and all the goodies to the crockpot. Add water to the crockpot, a little or a lot depending on how thick you want your soup. I like mine more soupy, and remember there will be loss of water throughout the day due to cooking. Add the beef cube, the onion soup mix, the Worcestershire sauce, and a pressed clove of garlic. At this time, add any grains or beans that'll take longer than 45 minutes regularly to cook. I've added barley in the past, and it was delicious. 

Set on low for 6-8 hours. 6 hours if you want to add anything, 8 hours if you're not going to add anything. Anything examples include: Lentils, presoaked kidney/lima/garbanzo/pinto beans, cracked wheat, quinoa, Cauliflower, carrots, parsley root, etc. I usually put whatever's in the fridge. Last time I made it there was cauliflower, carrots, and lentils added. When you put in your additions (including another pressed clove of garlic) let it cook for an hour or two, or until the veggies are cooked. (the oxtail will be fully cooked at 6 hours). Let me know what additions you came up with!

Also, if there is any broth left after dinner, save it! It makes great soup additions in the future. Freeze it into little ice cubes and add to soups and gravies, or anytime you want that rich beef flavor.

Homemade Sauerkraut

So I found another food that my husband will not allow me to make in the kitchen ever again; sauerkraut. He doesn't like it at all- its smell, taste, look. He won't even sit near me when I eat it, even the storebought stuff. Well, his loss. I've always been a fan of sauerkraut. Maybe its the crispness, that sour taste, the brine. Whatever it is, when I made it myself I just might never buy it from the store ever again. It just has that something extra. Not only does it taste great, but its good for you too. I found this recipe in Sandor Ellix Katz's book Wild Fermentation, and tweeked it to my liking. Enjoy! 

What you'll need:

A crock to ferment in

a small plate that fits inside the crock

a large cup or vessel that will fit on top of the plate inside the crock and can be filled with water

a clean towel or cheesecloth

Ingredients:
1/2 head of green cabbage
1/2 head of red cabbage
2 shallots
2 cloves of garlic
2 carrots
pinch of caraway seeds
pinch of celery seeds
container of sea salt

Finely chop up the cabbage, and as you're putting the cabbage into a big bowl, every now and then sprinkle salt on it (overall you want about 1 tsp to 1 tbsp of salt for 1 head of cabbage). I used 2 halves of cabbage, but if you have a big enough crock you can use the whole ones. Chop up the shallots, and mince the garlic. Add those to the bowl, adding salt. Grate the carrots, add to the bowl, add salt. Add the caraway and celery seeds to the bowl. The salt will draw the moisture out of the vegetables, so make sure to mix well.
Start packing the mixture into the crock. Pack it in well, you should have no pockets of air, and possibly have liquid rising from the mixture. After you've packed in all of the vegetables, you should have enough liquid to cover. I didn't, so I added brine. Make brine from 1 tbsp of salt added to 1 cup of water. I added enough brine to cover the mixture.
Put the plate on the mixture, and a full cup of water on top of that (the cup adds weight so the vegetables don't touch the air). On top of this put a clean kitchen towel (so that dust can't get in). Let this sit on your kitchen counter (Or the next time I make it the garage or well ventilated (but not hot) place) to ferment. Try a little every day, until it has reached your favorite flavor and crunch. It took mine a week in the winter, but this is Vegas. If it is cooler it can take longer. Once it has fermented to your liking, store in the fridge (I put mine in a reused pickle jar).
There's all kinds of different ways to make sauerkraut, next time I might add more garlic and different seeds. Please let me know your favorite way to make it!

Sausage with Cauliflower and Orecchiette

This is one of those hybrid recipes out of a book. You see a recipe, are all excited to make it, buy all the ingredients, and then by the end of the week one or two things are missing. Or you read the recipe again, and realize how in depth it is. Well, never fear, this takes approx 30-45 minutes to make. Orecchiette pasta is kinda hard to find in the supermarket, and if you can't get it use farfalle (butterfly) or small shells. What type of sausage doesn't really matter, I personally used basil because it was in the freezer, but an good Italian sausage would do.

Sausage with Cauliflower and Orecchiette
(serves about 4)

• 2 Links or 1/2 lb of Sausage, Italian, basil, or any variant will do.Remove from casing (if applicable) and crumble the sausage into small bite-sized pieces. 
• 1 chopped yellow onion
• 2 tbsp of olive oil
• 1 head of cauliflower
• 1 can or bottle of traditional tomato based pasta sauce (whatever you've got in the cupboard will do).
• 1/2 pound of Orecchiette Pasta (Or amount to your liking, this is one of those pastas where less is more, its very filling).
• 1/4 cup of slivered almonds
• 2 tbsp of bread crumbs
• chopped herbs to taste- I added about 2 tbsp of fresh oregano, thyme, basil and parsley.
• Salt and Pepper to taste
• Grated Parmesan 

Cut up Cauliflower into small pieces, and place in a medium sized pot, filling with water until the cauliflower is covered. Add a pinch of salt to the water. Boil until the vegetable is the desired softness; about 5-10 minutes. Drain, and set aside, putting the cauliflower water right back into the pot.
In a large saute pan, cook the onion in the olive oil on medium low heat. When the onions are starting to soften, bring the cauliflower water in the other pot to a boil , then add the orecchiette pasta. When the onions are starting to brown, add the sausage to the pan and turn the heat up a little, no more than medium. When the sausage is cooked through, add the cauliflower to the pan and mix well, letting it cook for a couple of minutes for the flavors to mix. Add the pasta sauce.
Meanwhile, check the pasta, making sure to drain it when it is al dente and again, saving the water used. When the sauce is bubbling, add the pasta to the pan. Add the slivered almonds, bread crumbs, chopped herbs, and salt and pepper. Stir in small amounts of pasta/cauliflower water until it is a desired consistency (don't want it too thick).
It is finished cooking when the sauce is bubbling. Serve with grated parmesan on top with a couple of turns of the peppermill.

Sardines with Herbs and Preserved Lemon on Crackers

Try as I might to fancy the name up, people are still going to shy away from Sardines. Even though they're tasty and good for you. I guess its their look, or the fact that not many people grew up eating them. I remember my dad and I eating them on Saltine Crackers as a snack when I was younger, and I am always trying different additions to that combination. This is my latest experiment, and boy is it delicious.

Sardines with Herbs and Preserved Lemon on Crackers
Makes lunch for 1, or a snack for 2

• A can of Sardines in olive oil
• Saltine Crackers
• Fresh herbs to sprinkle on the snack, chopped (I used dill, parsley, and chives)
• 1/4 of a preserved lemon, rind only, diced into little pieces
• garlic salt
• pepper
• hot sauce

Lay out as many crackers as you want, and put a fish on each (If you're making lunch, you might want less crackers and split up the rest of the sardines between the others). I use a fork to get the fish out of the tin, and be careful because they crumble easy. Sprinkle the herbs evenly over the crackers. Follow with garlic salt and pepper to taste. Lastly, dash a couple of squirts of hot sauce on each to taste. Enjoy!

Fish with Preserved Lemons and Olives

A couple of weeks ago I posted a recipe for Preserved Lemons. Well, they're finally finished 'fermenting' and are ready to enjoy. Besides enjoying them cut up in salads and Bloody Marys', I tried them in the following recipe, which is adapted from "Tunisian Fish with Preserved Lemons and Olives" from the book The New Mediterranean Diet Cookbook by Nancy Harmon Jenkins. They add a slightly tangy, salty taste that is unlike anything else I've ever eaten. Enjoy!

Fish with Preserved Lemons and Olives
Makes 2 servings

• 1 lb of thick white firm-textured fish fillets; I used cod.
• sea salt and pepper
• approx. 1/2 tsp. of saffron threads
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1/2 onion, minced
• 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
•  1 medium tomato, finely chopped
• a couple of dashes of hot sauce
• 2 tbsp drained and coarsely chopped capers
• 1/4 of a preserved lemon (rind only), rinsed, and cut into small pieces
• 1/4 cup of pitted Kalamata olives, sliced
• 1 tbsp. white wine vinegar
• chopped parsley to top.

Rinse the fish fillets, pat dry with a paper towel, and dust salt, pepper, and crushed saffron onto both sides. leave on a plate while starting on the rest of the dish. In a skillet, combine olive oil, onion, and garlic. saute on medium low until just before it starts to brown. Add tomato, 1/4 cup of water, and hot sauce to pan; simmer until the sauce reduces by half. Add the pieces of fish to the pan, and cook about 5-7 minutes, or until cooked through. When fish is finished, remove from the pan to a warmed plate. To the pan, add the lemons, olives, and white wine vinegar. Simmer for about 5 minutes. Pour sauce over the fish, and sprinkle parsley on top to serve.

Corn on the Cob with Dill and Chives

I now have an herb garden at the new house. No longer do I miss my indoor herbs of ND; I now have healthy bountiful plants that I can leave outside. And because of the bountiful-ness of it, I have a need to come up with different ways of using the herbs. I have the following: Parsley, Chives, Dill, Cilantro, Mint, Thyme, Oregano, Basil, and a poor Rosemary plant that got sick (possibly mold when I had it inside) and is barely clinging to life. I also have a lemon tree and a lime tree, but those results won't be realized for quite a while.
Dill is a new flavor in my herb garden, and as such I don't really know what to do with it. I know it goes well with fish, and have had that meal come out beautifully. But the other day when I made corn on the cob, I thought, why not? It has a delicate enough flavor so that it won't overpower the sweetness of the corn, and it would pair well with chives. And so this recipe was made.

Corn on the Cob with Dill and Chives

• A head of corn for each person to be served. 
• 1 teaspoon of chopped dill per head of corn. (more or less depending on personal tastes)
• 1 teaspoon of chopped chives per head of corn. (same as above)
• butter or spread
• garlic salt
• pepper

Boil the corn until it is done, based on your preference. I like mine still crunchy. Remove it from the water onto a plate. Put sticks into both ends if you prefer. Butter them up, all the way around. Add salt and pepper to taste. Lastly mix the dill and chives together, and dust them all the way around the corn. Make sure to do all of the above when the corn is still hot, that way the herbs will wilt a little. Enjoy the corn!

Another way of doing it would be to butter, salt and pepper, and put the herbs on the corn before you cook it, wrap it in tin foil, and put it on the barbecue on low. I haven't tried it this way with herbs, but I'm sure it'll be good.

Preserved Lemons

I found this in a Mediterranean Cookbook that I have, and the first time I made it, I wasn't sure it would taste very good. I was expecting something super sour. Until, after a few weeks, I tried it. It was amazing! And had such an unusual taste. The weird thing is, you eat the rinds of the lemons. Moroccan dishes sometimes call for these, but once you've had them in a dish, I'm sure you'll find other recipes to include them in. They're really good as a compliment to Bloody Mary or Caesars.

Preserved Lemons

• A Canning or Preserving jar with a tight lid (big or small- your choice, you can even use an old pickle jar)

• Fresh Whole (Preferably Organic) Lemons. There isn't a hard fast number for them, because the number depends on how big your jar is. But I would get more than you think you need- you have to have enough for juice too.
• 1 or 2 cups of Pickling, Kosher, or Sea Salt. 

Clean the lemons well. Fill your jar with boiling water, and let sit.Put the lid into a bowl, and put hot water over that as well. While that's sitting, cut up the lemons long-wise into quarters. Dump out the hot water from the Jar, and put salt into the bottom. Start packing in the lemons, adding plenty of salt as you go. Don't be afraid to squish them- that helps get the juice. When you can't put any more lemons into the jar, add a couple of tablespoons of salt. Squeeze some of the lemons that are left, and add the juice to the jar, until it is full to the top. Put on the lid. Put the jar aside (no refrigeration required while its pickling). Every couple of days, turn the jar upside down and leave it for a couple of days to distribute the salt juice. After about 3 weeks of pickling, you can try them. You can eat the whole Lemon (seeds excluded). The lemons will last for several months at least. This batch I'm also going to try to make lemon salt; let the left over salt sit in the sun to dry. This is the basic recipe; you can also add different spices to the lemons for the next batch.