Hello Kedgeree

So I read on-line that the first meal in the opening scenes of season 1 of Downton Abbey is a breakfast of Kedgeree. Not traditionally a veggie meal, BUT, that doesn’t tend to stop me when it comes to my love of British food.

Trusting my ever faithful Jamie O. I tweaked and twisted his recipe to become a veggie Kedgeree that would make Carson proud.

Serves 4

First, I chopped the veg and tofu:
1 white onion, a handful of cherry tomatoes, and I used garlic infused tofu instead of mackerel. You see there that I sliced the tofu more than chopped it because I wanted it to flake more like fish.

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I cooked my white jasmine rice -4 servings.

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While my tofu and onion got a little brown and crispy in two tablespoons of olive oil.

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I got out the hard boiled 4 eggs I had prepared earlier in the day. John doesn’t care for soft boiled and though those seem to be more traditional, we went with hard boiled because a happy husband is a happy thing.

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I added the rice to the tofu and onion, then the spices to the mix: 2 tsp curry, 1 tsp turmeric, a shake or two of pepper.

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Because my eggs where hard, I chopped them up. I halved the tomatoes and added them to the pan (which was now cooking on low heat).

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Oh, and don’t forget the “scatter” of parsley when you add the eggs next!

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I stirred it all up into one giant, yummy, yellow breakfast for dinner.

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This is a seriously hearty meal in disguise, so be ready! You’ll want to eat a few helpings, but the heartiness will win in the end.

We also had the last of my Yorkshire puddings from the freezer reheated in oil and butter in a skillet. That worked out so much better than the microwave!

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The customary greens…

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And I had a new-to-me British ale that was left at our house by a friend.

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I have never seen so many instructions on a beer can. They were worth it .

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See, when I blog first thing in the morning it just makes me not want to go into work and cook the meal all over again. Alas, someone had to pay the grocery bills.

Good-bye for now, Kedgeree.

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A Love Letter from a Restaurant Regular

John and I are regulars at two restaurants: Dos Reales on 75th Street and Johnny Cascones on 91 St.

Dos Reales was a happy accident as most “regulars” experience. You just eat there a lot and the staff starts to recognize you.

Cascones is a different situation completely. Yes, I’m just going say it, we’ve worked at being regulars. Nine years ago we were dining there and loved the food and the atmosphere so much we decided to “become” regulars.

How you might ask? We ate there 3 times a month. We always put in a reservation by name. We remembered staff names and tipped like friends not customers. We even had our wedding reception there. Extreme I know…

Here’s the thing though, it was all done with genuine love for the restaurant, the food, and the people and over the years the staff and owners have noticed.

Nine years later, I bring the staff baked goods at Christmas, we get friendly “drop-byes” at our table from long time staff, they note when we haven’t been in for a while, and my most favorite thing – a handshake and warm chit-chat when we arrive and leave. I look forward to the day we’re the little old couple who get a hug when they walk in the door– that is my lifetime goal.
We’ve seen it happen.

But now I’m happy with the fact that they not only recognize us, they really like us. And I can’t help but feel
Iike (in a small way) part of the Cascones family — which is what being a regular is really about right?

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Our Cascones dinner from Saturday night:

Emily with her shells, mushrooms, broccoli and cheese sauce .

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Regular, John Young with his standard cheese ravioli.

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And me with marinara, spaghetti and mushrooms.

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Thanks for loving us back Cascones.

meatless monday — black bean soup

oh yes the soups on monday are still happening.  this time i was seriously craving some black bean soup.  i was shocked to find out at the grocery store, quick and easy black bean soup whether in a can or a ready mix, is actually had to find.  my options were amy’s black bean in a can, wolfgang puck also had a canned black bean, panera now is selling premade soups at the grocery store but i felt their black bean was a little over priced, ortega has a black bean soup mix which for some reason i was really nervous about so avoided it and i finally settled on full circle’s premaid black bean soup mix.

trying something new

it’s always a little nerve-racking trying something new because what if it completely stinks.  however this soup was REALLY good, i may have even said that aloud to myself after i took the first bite.  i topped my soup with a little plain yogurt and cheddar cheese and ate some yummy hint-of lime tortilla chips with it.  this is what i call a black bean soup success!

just a little southwestern feel to it