yes you read that right, slop. i don’t know what i created but it was a slop of some sort. this comes from throwing things on hand together. what made it into this slop……vegetarian meat crumbles cooked with onions, jalapeno, and stewed tomatoes all mixed with a box of classic mac & cheese. i was attempting a sort of homemade vegetarian hamburger helper and i got something i am lovingly calling vegetarian slop.
its slop but its good slop
quick chilli and cornbread
listening to the splendid table podcast may not be the best thing to listen to when hiking. all i catch myself doing, as i work up an appetite, is what i would cook to impress lynn. after my hike the other day, in 18 degree weather, all i wanted was something that would warm me up. the solution my quick chilli. i also made some from scratch honey-whole wheat corn muffins and instead of just eating the muffins as a muffin, i cut it up and put it in the bottom of the bowl with the chilli on top. all i got to say is yummmmy!
RECIPE
1 lb ground turkey
1 large jar of salsa (i like mango or lime flavored personally)
1 can of chilli beans
1 can of diced tomatoes
plain low-fat yogurt or sour cream
* cook the turkey in a large saucepan. add the jar of salsa, can of chilli beans, and can of stewed tomatoes, mix well. bring chilli to a simmer and let simmer 15-20 minutes. top with a scoop of low-fat plain yogurt or sour cream, which ever you fancy!
miss maggie smith
“yummmy, yummmy, yummy” is a maggie smith quote that we use quite often at meal time, even though it comes from gordsford park, it still seems appropriate for downtown abbey. in the theme of fabulously everything british on sundays dad busted out beef wellington. honestly i think if you put anything in a puff pastry it just makes it a thousand time betters.
beef wellington
RECIPE (a la jamie oliver and art farris)
1 lb beef fillet
peppers, onions and dried apricots –diced to make 1 cup of mixture
8 slices of parma ham
dijon mustard for brushing beef fillet
puff pastry — one frozen sheet rolled out
egg wash
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 glass white wine
sea salt & freshly ground black pepper
extra virgin olive oil
1. preheat oven to 390, season beef with sea salt and black pepper. heat a pan with olive oil and fry beef on high heat until it is browned. let cool.
2. mix peppers, onions, garlic, and dried apricots to form a puree. add puree with a glass of white wine to pan and cook till wine evaporates.
3. on a piece of plastic wrap layer parma ham, puree and beef (brushing beef with mustard) cover with plastic and keep in fridge 30 minutes.
4. unwrap meat. roll out pastry dough and put meat in center. egg wash the edge of the pastry and roll up pastry. turnover and egg wash over the top. mark the pastry using the back of a small knife to make a cross hatch.
5. bake at 390 for about 30-35 minutes. allow to rest before cutting and serving.
why do i have so much kitchen stuff?!?!
i moved yet again, and roughly 90% of the boxes were labeled “kitchen” and one particular labeled “whiskey jugs”. (just so you know my new year’s resolution is to resign my lease). so once the kitchen was all unpacked and a pic of paul mccartney framed and hung up to supervise the happenings, i busted out a very fine dish indeed. crispy tofu in a veggie curry sauce with rice. so yummy it is fast becoming one of my favorites. welcome home!
in honor of the premiere of season 2 of downton abbey dad whipped up a pompous worthy roasted chicken.
the bird
while the rest of the meal was being made (which included mashed potatoes, peas, cole slaw, and some left over eggplant parmesan) dad and i speculated what was going to happen on this WWI epic. definitly mathew at some point will become wounded and missing making mary realize that she does love him. i saw he’s going to wind up with a bum leg dad says temporarily blind. we all hope the youngest cybil ends up with the political rebel chauffeur and the family concluded whatever maggie smith does is perfect because well she is maggie smith.
dad cooking and coming up with plots
we all huddled around the table and waited to see what would happen. i advocated that for the rest of the season we create british themed meals to go with our british miniseries, mom however declares there is no good british food, the debate continues.
ready to dig in
when did dressing for dinner go out of fashion? perhaps the family as whole has been watching too many british historical miniseries (aka downtown abbey, you got to freakin watch this show) where ladies of wealth and means change their clothes 8 times a day and always ending in some fabulous beaded gown for dinner and then mean look dashing in a tuxedo.
i don't know about you but wearing a mink at dinner makes everything taste better
dad on new years eve decided to bust out some sunday best for his feast he was creating. which then triggered mom to put on some sparkle and break-out the good china. perhaps just perhaps the farrises will bring back “dressing for dinner” in 2012.
lookin his best
mama's bling
and of course the meal: beef tenderloin, mashed potatos, grilled aspargus, trees & raisins
i’m moving and that means empty out the fridge of all its contents so there is less to move. the freezer needed to be completely empty. it was a task at some points, i was on the verge of giving up at times, but now i sit here and all that is in my freezer is a jug of whiskey, that my friends is success!
sweet potato hash
pasta fagioli
spanish rice with veggie buffalo wings
pumpkin ale short ribs
chicken and stuffing
pie crust (in the form of chocolate candy cane mini pies)
sssllllluuussshhh
chicken noodle soup
pork dumplings
it takes me 8 hours to make a one way journey from the smoky mountains to the ozark mountains. i know i’ve been in the car to long when i start applauding to podcasts. and i feel serious pity for the people who encounter my right when i arrive. lets just say 8 hours in the car and listening to 6 hours of npr can make you suddenly want to have endless conversations. my reward when i hit springfield…..springfield cashew chicken, my reward when i get to knoxville….cheeseburger.
i started contemplating this cheeseburger at about the bootheel of missouri and listening to splendid table podcasts around nashville didn’t help the situation. hearing about ice cream topped with olive oil and sea salt while in my mind debating waffle fries or seasoned fries really puts a damper on the granola bar you are eating.
le royal with cheese
kiss the cook
dinner and movie is the best combination. a farris family classic is “i love you to death” the debate with the food pairing is always spaghetti or pizza. see kevin kline in the movie owns a pizza shop but his wife tries to kill him with spaghetti. we went for pizza but not normal pizza, loose pizza.
loose pizza is a specialty of steph’s. it is kind of more like a bruschetta than pizza. the ingredients of tomatos, garlic, oil and mint are all baked together. the pizza dough is baked separate and then you top it all on your plate.
i won’t lie i might have eaten so much of it i had to unbutton my pants!
yummy in my tummy
Hearty Eaters 