quesadillas

One cup of corn flour  makes 8 tortillas, 4 quesadillas, about 5 inch diameter.

Items on hand:

Italian sausage patties

green peppers

tomato

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Stocked items:

garlic, seeds, herbs, smoked hot red pepper flakes, lemon juice, sugar, corn flour, Crisco, sea salt, water, corn meal, American cheese, canned corn . charcoal, wood pellets.

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Equipment:

charcoal grille, fry pan, tortilla press

 

Smoke sausage patties over a charcoal  grille indirect heat with oak and  hickory pellets for about and hour ( the patties were nearly frozen). you will need about 2 patties for 4 quesadillas. If you smoke a batch reserve and refrigerate the rest for later use.

 

Dice two green peppers into about a 1/4 inch dice and diced 1 medium tomato along with several cloves of garlic.  Toast some fennel, dill and cumin seeds, and combine all of the above with  corn. ( a small can or fresh if possible).  Add a bit of lemon juice, a pinch of sugar and salt  and smoked hot red pepper flakes, small amounts of oregano and cilantro  to taste. Set the mixture aside to meld. The amount off seeds and red pepper flakes should result in a strong flavor to compete with the smoked sausage.

 

With 1 cup corn flour and about a teaspoon of Crisco combined in a mixer (paddle) add water till it almost all of it clings together. Remove from mixer bowl press together and divide into 8 equal portions and roll into balls, dust with a bit of cornmeal if the mix is too wet. utilizing a tortilla press, press into tortillas and cook slightly in a ungreased skillet or on a cast iron grille.

 

Slice the smoked sausage patties into strips long enough to fit on the tortillas. Assemble and cook the quesadillas by placing a tortilla on a heated grille or in a frying  pan. Spoon the salsa mixture on the tortilla, enough to cover, and place a slice of American cheese on top and arrange sliced smoked sausage on the top of the cheese. Place another tortilla on top and press with a bacon press or equivalent weight. Let cook till the cheese melts binding the salsa together. Flip and cook till heated through and the tortillas are slightly crispy and spotted brown.  Serve with a dollop of sour cream and more salsa if desired.

LiveJournal Tags: quesadillas,corn flour,green peppers,TOMATO,tortilla press

garden lasagna

        from the Garden Lasagna

       peel, slice, salt and let drain the eggplant,

roast on a baking sheet till some what limp

set aside for assembly

• sauté an amount of  garlic in a saucepan with oil

season with salt & pepper, add flour and more oil if needed and  cook like a roux

add milk, I guess about 1/2 cup

more  stock than milk,

several slices of American cheese

cook slightly to reach a boil,

temper in two eggs,

simmer, should be  pretty thick and rich to compliment the

vegetables and  enough for a 13×9 size lasagna

• add about several tablespoons of tomato paste, heat through, remove from heat, set aside. Since the stock is rich, a slight salt and pepper is all I use, oops, and  a wicked small amount of smoked hot red pepper flakes, no more than a pinch, you want the flavors of the veggies up front.

make wide pasta noodles, I like noodles between each vegetable so I go down to #2 setting.

I don’t fuss, mix about 1 cup flour and 1 egg in the kitchen aid with the beater, add a bit of water till it’s almost together.

no waiting either, right to the pasta machine. I made the pasta on demand, it ended up being 2 batches

  boil, drain, trim as necessary, dry on kitchen towel                                           spread sauce on bottom of the pan

start assembly

•   noodles
• fresh sliced tomato
• noodles
• roasted eggplant
• noodles
• raw sliced green peppers for crunch

repeat

use a small amount of sauce with each layer

top with fresh herbs

last, cover with noodles

and sauce

mmmmmmmmmmmmm…. now were talking lasagna ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !

off to a 325 oven, bring it up slowly till slightly bubbly

I don’t know about 1/2 hour or more

if you made the sauce at the right consistency, it won’t be really bubbly or bubble over

of course give it time to rest before serving

I hit the mark with this one, I could cut a piece from the pan and pick it up with my hand without it falling apart.

the simplicity and freshness of the flavors are apparent.

Now, to food bloggers who post REAL pictures of their food and kitchen my salute !!!!

windows live writer

As with everything else, downloading apps is the standard practice these days, which is about the same as installing software instead it’s function may be associated with a particular program. Puttering around wordpress.com and checking out recommended apps, windows live writer was on the list. At first look it appeared to be a fancy HTML editor/composer but what the heck I could always uninstall it if I found it to be unnecessary. One of the points of the live windows live writer (why does the word “live” seems to be a favorite buzzword now for titles ) is that you can write up and post directly to your blog, simple if it’s on the list, otherwise If you post to an off beat blog you have to supply a URL address so it seems. Down loading BTW prompts you to download other windows (live) items which I unchecked.

I’ve always at one time or another used a HTML composer editor  that being, I could whip up a quick page using the email composer of Netscape 7.1 or it’s html composer and cut and paste into a blog or website.windows live writer  has most of the bells and whistles you need without being too heavy. Some of it’s strong points are the ability to save drafts locally, off line composing, and the direct line connection with your blog that imports certain elements of your blog editing capabilities and feel. When I switch from wordpress to live journal in windows live writer, it even uses some elements of the theme, background colors etc. Another point is that you have a dedicated window for all the composing/editing chores that I find sometimes is difficult to do in your blogs cloud because of the limited size of the editing window, all the ancillary menus and dashboard controls take up screen space. Also editing and/or correcting or reposting within your blog, say a large post with graphics, is cumbersome  because of the large amount of info you have to navigate through within a limited size editing window.  If you have a slow connection, at times the text/graphics may stutter or drag while your typing away, the effect of going back and forth between the cloud of your blog. If you want to update or edit a previous blog posting in windows live writer, pull up the published blog, edit,  and simply re publish and the blog is updated, something that is not readily noted. (if the draft is used it may publish a duplicate posting though).

 

Getting back to installation, it was flawless and gives you  the standard desktop icon to launch windows live writer as needed. One thing is that you are prompted to supply your blogs user name and log in info so it can integrate with the blog. Once  live writer downloads the editing elements of your blog is done, you only need to log in to your blog through live writer when you hit the publishing button.

I haven’t used  windows live writer long enough to test all of it’s features, if indeed i need them, but overall it’s a plus for  me by being able to compose off line in a large scalable window , have all the necessary editing elements (including easy graphics editing property features) and the ability to save and/or auto save drafts offline (local) and save\auto save drafts to your blog site, for  “when i get around to it” finishing of your postings.

Surprised, no buttons for facebook/twitter posting though I have that feature through my blogs.

LiveJournal Tags: windows,test

Chicken Leg Vegetable bouillabaisse

 

At least two servings depending how it’s served.

Items on hand:

2 chicken legs (drum sticks only, no thighs)

stock

green pepper

onion

garlic

celery

diced tomatoes

mushrooms

frozen assorted fish (paella) mix *

herbs, as desired

proportions : you want to highlight the vegetables (garden fresh if possible) and mushrooms in this dish.

*this is a warehouse club item, frozen assorted pieces of fish, shrimp, crab etc.

 

With a sharp knife cut the thick lower portion of the chicken leg parallel to the bone and flatten somewhat (leave attached to the bone for flavor).

In a medium stock pot with oil, butter,etc, brown the chicken legs, season with salt and pepper if desired.

Now remove the legs from pan and sweat onions, celery, for several minutes. Season and add oil if needed.

Add tomatoes and cook for several minutes, then add green pepper, garlic and hot stock with about an inch to cover.

Simmer, covered, about ten minutes, taste and adjust per your taste.

Add fish and simmer a couple of minutes and add a good amount of sliced mushrooms to bulk out the mix.

Add additional stock if needed to immerse all the ingredients. Again, season to taste and simmer till all is completely heated through and melded.

Remove from heat and let stand 10 minutes.

Now how you eat it is up to you, alone it’s similar to a bouillabaisse, you can slice the chicken and remove the bones or leave them as is and serve in a bowl and eat the meat from the bones a la caveman.

Other suggestions:

Additions:

• cooked pasta,rice,diced potatoes,dumplings

Garnishes:

• small diced green onion tops
• cheese,grated
• smoked,dried hot pepper flakes
• dill seed, sesame seeds, etc.
• fresh herbs

sides:

• bread, biscuits, fries, clam cakes, flat bread

beverage pairing : your suggestion?

Adapted from an Avec Eric recipe