by jphilo | Sep 30, 2015 | Recipes
Fall has arrived which means my soup cravings have begun. To be specific, cravings for Thai chicken soup with a coconut milk base. Though the last Thai soup posted on this blog was good, I was feeling adventurous enough to try something new. I found what I was looking for at the Food & Wine website. I tweaked it by using green onions and replacing some of the chicken stock with ham broth, and using Thai noodles instead of fettuccuni. Even with the changes and without the recommended wine, the soup was delicious. Delicious enough to receive the coveted Hiram Seal of Approval. It was also very simple, so it was a win-win-win for everyone.
Thai Chicken Noodle Coconut Soup
Ingredients:
1 1/2 tablespoons cooking oil
1 bunch green onions, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 teaspoons ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon fresh-ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
3 cups homemade chicken stock
1 cup ham broth
2 cups canned unsweetened coconut milk
5 teaspoons Asian fish sauce (nam pla or nuoc mam)
1/2 teaspoons salt
1 package brown rice Thai noodles
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 3), cut into 14-inch slices
2 tablespoons lime juice
3 tablespoons chopped cilantro (optional)
directions:
Heat oil over moderately low heat in a heavy dutch oven. Add onion and saute for about 5 minutes. Add garlic, coriander, ginger, black pepper, and cayenne; cook, stirring, for 30 seconds.
Add both kinds of broth, coconut milk, fish sauce, salt, and lime zest. Bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally. Reduce the heat and simmer, partially covered, for 10 minutes.
While the soup stock simmers. cook the Thai noodles according to the package directions and drain.
At the end of the 10 minutes, add the chicken to the soup and simmer until just done. Remove the pot from the heat and stir in the fettuccine, lime juice, and cilantro. Serve the soup in bowls with a fork and spoon.
by jphilo | Nov 13, 2013 | Recipes
The past week and a half have been chock full of grandma duty and other family fun. So much fun, blogging is on the back burner. Therefore, for the next few days Gravel Road will reprise popular posts from the past. Today’s post first appeared on October 3,, 2012.
Turkey hash is one of the few recipes handed down to our family by Hiram’s mom, Elsie Philo. She was, by her own admission, a reluctant cook. Part of that reluctance may have stemmed from learning to cook in the territory of Alaska in the 1950s–on a wood stove, with limited provisions, while raising three very active little boys, and teaching school.
Fresh milk was hard to come by, even though her husband was a dairy farmer, and she added canned evaporated milk to almost every main dish. Turkey hash was no exception, and for years I made it according to her recipe. Not too long ago, I finally worked up the nerve to try it with almond milk. To my surprise, it tasted delicious. It even received Hiram’s coveted seal of approval. So here’s the non-dairy version (dairy ingredients are in parentheses) of the ultimate Philo comfort food, turkey hash.
Elsie Philo’s Turkey Hash
1/4 cup margarine (1/4 cup butter)
5–6 medium potatoes, peeled, washed, and sliced in thin rounds
1 large onion, coarsely chopped
2 cups cooked turkey, chopped
1 1/2 cups unflavored, unsweetened almond milk (1 large can evaporated milk)
1/4 cup flour (omit for dairy version)
Set a large frying pan over medium heat. Add margarine and melt.
Put sliced potatoes in the pan. Cover and cook for 5–10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in onions and cover again. Cook for 5–10 minutes more, stirring occasionally and adjusting heat to avoid burning, until potatoes are soft. Stir in turkey. Cover and cook for 5 more minutes, until turkey is warmed through.
Sprinkle a few tablespoons of the flour on top of the meat and vegetable mixture. Stir until flour is absorbed. Repeat until all flour is absorbed. Pour 1/3 cup of almond milk and stir well. Repeat until the milk is gone. Continue cooking until the hash begins to bubble and the milk thickens.
Salt and pepper to taste at the table.
by jphilo | Apr 17, 2013 | Recipes
The calendar says mid-April, which means grilling season to me, but the weather outdoors says otherwise. Nothing can be done about the unusually cold temperatures this spring, so I’m trying to grin and bear it with a new soup recipe. Turns out, that was a good move because the recipe turned out to be a winner, winning the coveted Hiram seal of approval.
The recipe was featured by author Deborah Vogts at her website, Country At Heart Recipes. My consumption of Italian food, which I love, has been sorely curtailed by this dairy allergy thing. But the Parmesan cheese is added to this soup after it’s ladled into bowls. So it works for both the man of steel, who things Parmesan cheese should be added to everything he eats, and for me, too.
Minestrone Soup
1 pound ground sausage
1 cup onion, minced
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 cups frozen mixed vegetables
14 oz. diced tomatoes
14 oz. Italian style stewed tomatoes, crushed
15 oz red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
6 cups chicken broth
1 cup elbow macaroni
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Brown sausage in large dutch oven. Add onion and garlic and cook until tender. Add mixed vegetables, tomatoes, beans, oregano, basil, salt, and pepper. Cook for 5-7 minutes. Add chicken broth and bring to a boil. Simmer for 15 minutes. Add macaroni and cook for another 10-12 minutes until pasta is tender. Ladle into bowls and top with Parmesan cheese. Serves 6-8.
by jphilo | Oct 3, 2012 | Recipes
Turkey hash is one of the few recipes handed down to our family by Hiram’s mom, Elsie Philo. She was, by her own admission, a reluctant cook. Part of that reluctance may have stemmed from learning to cook in the territory of Alaska in the 1950s–on a wood stove, with limited provisions, while raising three very active little boys, and teaching school.
Fresh milk was hard to come by, even though her husband was a dairy farmer, and she added canned evaporated milk to almost every main dish. Turkey hash was no exception, and for years I made it according to her recipe. Not too long ago, I finally worked up the nerve to try it with almond milk. To my surprise, it tasted delicious. It even received Hiram’s coveted seal of approval. So here’s the non-dairy version (dairy ingredients are in parentheses) of the ultimate Philo comfort food, turkey hash.
Elsie Philo’s Turkey Hash
1/4 cup margarine (1/4 cup butter)
5–6 medium potatoes, peeled, washed, and sliced in thin rounds
1 large onion, coarsely chopped
2 cups cooked turkey, chopped
1 1/2 cups unflavored, unsweetened almond milk (1 large can evaporated milk)
1/4 cup flour (omit for dairy version)
Set a large frying pan over medium heat. Add margarine and melt.
Put sliced potatoes in the pan. Cover and cook for 5–10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in onions and cover again. Cook for 5–10 minutes more, stirring occasionally and adjusting heat to avoid burning, until potatoes are soft. Stir in turkey. Cover and cook for 5 more minutes, until turkey is warmed through.
Sprinkle a few tablespoons of the flour on top of the meat and vegetable mixture. Stir until flour is absorbed. Repeat until all flour is absorbed. Pour 1/3 cup of almond milk and stir well. Repeat until the milk is gone. Continue cooking until the hash begins to bubble and the milk thickens.
Salt and pepper to taste at the table.
by jphilo | May 2, 2012 | Recipes
My husband quit eating sugary foods a couple months ago for health reasons. His decision meant I needed to come up with a new method of preparing and serving pancakes, another one of our favorite breakfast-for-supper meals. Therefore, I was delighted when a recipe for blueberry buckwheat pancakes was published in the February 3 – 5 edition of USA Weekend Magazine. When I served them, we were both delighted to discover they were delicious and satisfying. You’ll be delighted to know the recipe received the coveted Hiram Seal of Approval. Rock on!
Blueberry Buckwheat Pancakes
3/4 cup buckwheat flour (I ground buckwheat groats in my coffee grinder)
3/4 cup whole grain pastry flour or whole wheat flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup low-fat buttermilk
3/4 cup non-fat milk (I left this out as I prefer a thick batter)
1 tablespoon honey
2 large eggs
2 tablespoons vegetable, corn, or canola oil
3 cups fresh or (thawed) frozen blueberries (I used 1 1/2 cups frozen berries, thawed)
In large bowl, mix the flours, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In a medium bowl beat together the buttermilk, milk, honey, eggs, and oil. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, mixing only enough to combine into a lumpy batter. Fold in one cup of the blueberries.
Use a 1/4 cup measure to ladle batter onto a hot, non-stick griddle or seasoned electric skillet. Flip the pancakes when the top is riddled with bubbles and the bottoms are golden brown (2-3 minutes). Serve with remaining blueberries (our frozen blueberries created a good deal of juice, so we used it too) and maple syrup.
Between the blueberries and their juice, the pancakes were naturally sweet. I used only a tablespoon of maple syrup on my stack and Hiram used none at all. If you give the recipe a try, leave a comment about how it worked for your family.
