Month: June 2010

Paula’s Cooking from the Pantry

~ regularcooks ~ Leave a comment
Paula's Pantry
Paula’s Pantry

Two lettuce salads with a small amount of dressing, two saltine crackers, two slabs of luncheon meat, two boiled eggs and a tripledecker tart with berry berry berries and whipped to pieces cream.

OR

Fried dill pickles, crisp lettuce leaves filled with fried crumps with fish sauce, cream pots with chocolate shavings topped with nutmeg and cinnamon, PBS pancakes with melted butter. Soooo goooood~

OR

Pop pop popovers…raspberry serum syrup….brown sugar bacon….feta cheese on top of bacon…with some mint and scrambled eggs with basil all chopped on top.

You might find the above menus a bit odd.  They are here to give you an idea of the humor of my next subject:  Paula E.  Paula posts menus like these on her facebook wall.  It took us a while to figure out she just made them up to amuse her friends.  She is quite creative and funny, however, I do believe that all these ingredients are in her pantry.  LOL.

Paula, aka Grandmommy Dearest, and granddaughter, Abby.

Paula is an Elizabeth City native.  I met her through her sister, Sandi, who is my neighbor.  She lives in a lovely home near the river.  Paula’s home is the perfect house for entertaining.  It is open and has plenty of seating and a few large tables for eating.

Her kitchen is warm and inviting, decorated to the hilt with items she has picked up along life’s way.  Many of her decorations are leftovers from an antique store that she and her daughter, Ashley, owned a few years ago downtown.

Paula is extremely creative and puts her touch on everything.  Her husband came home from work and found out that she chalkboarded a few of their cabinets so she could change her theme from season to season or even day to day.  He didn’t like it, but Paula says he’s gotten use to it now.

Growing up, Paula was more into decorating than cooking.  Her mother was a terrific southern cook, however, Sandi was the one in the kitchen, not her.  Paula learned to cook from the PBS chefs of the 80s, like Julia Child and Justin Wilson.  She really liked that they cooked with wine.  This was quite removed from her conservative Christian roots.  Although a believer, Paula will firmly say that her Bible Belt doesn’t fit anymore.

Paula chose to create a meal from her pantry.  She did not purchase anything special.  She only prepared food that she had on hand.  She was hesitant to show me her pantry, and was totally mortified that I would actually take a picture of it, but she was a good sport.

Paula’s kitchen is Julia Child-like.  Her pots and pans are accessible and ingredients she uses everyday are on platters on the counter.

 Today she invited me into her home and created the following REAL menu.  She warned me that the measurements are a pinch of this and a pinch of that.  I didn’t see any measuring tools in the kitchen.

  • Salmon with “Sea Foam”
  • Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Onions
  • Black Bean and Corn Salad
  • Fruit Confit with Greek Yogurt and Honey

Although a bit nervous at first, Paula prepared this luscious meal with three grandchildren running around the house, along with her son, a daughter, a sister and me staring at her.  Needless to say, she was well organized.

The meal was delicious and I enjoyed the different flavors.  All of the dishes were full of flavor and rather easy to put together.  Paula is a wine lover, aka fellow wino, and served a Chardonnay with the meal.  The grandchildren loved the meal too, except for her grandson, who was bummed he couldn’t just unwrap the bacon from the fish and eat it.  So he jumped to dessert, which he had two of, and then decided we all needed backrubs.  It was a wonderful day.

Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Onions     Serves 8     

She started with the sweet potatoes, since they take the longest to cook. Paula never liked sweet potatoes until she figured out you didn’t have to put all those marshmallows on them.

She had sweet potatoes and onions in her pantry.  She washed and cut into cubes, 6 unpeeled sweet potatoes and two onions.

 She seasoned with olive oil and salt and pepper.  Bake for 1 to 1.5 hours in 450 oven.  She likes them crispy.

After an hour she got them out and poured a little more olive on them and put them back in the oven.

 

Black Bean and Corn Salad        Serves 8   

This was a very simple dish to make and very tasty too.  She opened a can of black beans and a can of corn.  She rinsed them in a colander.

She combined the beans and corn into a bowl and added spring onions.

 

Then added some olive oil, red wine vinegar, garlic powder and salt and pepper to taste.  Combine.  Serve with sour cream if desired.

Salmon with “Sea Foam”    Serves 8                        

Paula used eight pieces of salmon that were frozen and pre-seasoned, however, she suggested seasoning with olive oil, salt and pepper if that wasn’t an option.

She wrapped each thawed filet with bacon and topped with a lemon slice.

 

She put the filets on an olive oil seasoned pan and baked for 30 minutes in a 400 degree oven.

“Sea Foam”

Paula uses cute names for things and today she calls the fish sauce sea foam.  She uses about 1/4 cup of mayo and 1/2 of sour cream, juice from 1/2 lime, juice from 1/2 a lemon, 3 Tbsp of capers.  Mix together.

She refrigerates this until time to serve.  Serve on the side of the salmon.  Wonderful!

 

Fruit Confit   Serves 8                                                

Paula keeps frozen fruit on hand.  Today’s confit will consist of blueberries, peaches and blackberries.

Put 2 cups of blueberries and a large can of peaches in their natural juices into a saucepan.  Add 1/4 cup of balsamic vinegar and 1/4 of blueberry jam or whatever kind of jam you have on hand.  This just adds to the sweetness.  Add 1/2 cup of Splenda or sugar.  Then add about 1/2 tsp of cardamom and 1/2 tsp of cinnamon.  Add a pinch of salt.  Bring to a boil.  Turn down heat and simmer for at least 1/2 hour.  At this point add some more frozen fruit (frozen blackberries or even some fresh apple).  This is give a few chunks to the confit.  Simmer for another 20-30 minutes.

Paula served this in dessert glasses and topped with Greek yogurt, drizzled honey and a spring of mint from her garden.

 

What a wonderful way to clean out a pantry!

Paula's Cooking from the Pantry

  • Servings: 8
  • Difficulty: moderate
  • Print
Roasted Sweet Potatoes & Onions
Grocery list
  • 6 sweet potatoes
  • 2 onions
  • Olive Oil
  1. Wash and cut into cubes, 6 unpeeled sweet potatoes and two onions.
  2. Season with olive oil and salt and pepper
  3. Roast for 1 – 1.5 hours in 450 degree oven.  After an hour, remove and add olive oil and stir.  Then put back in oven.

Black Bean and Corn Salad

Grocery list
  • 1 can black beans
  • 1 can corn
  • Olive Oil
  • Red wine vinegar
  • Garlic powder
  • Sour Cream (Optional)
  1. Rinse black beans and corn in a colander.
  2. Combine the beans and corn into a bowl and add spring onions.
  3. Add olive oil, red wine vinegar, garlic powder and salt and pepper to taste.  Combine.
  4. Serve with sour cream if desired.

Salmon with “Sea Foam”

Grocery list
  • 8 frozen salmon fillets
  • 8 slices of bacon
  • 2 lemons
  • 1 lime
  • Olive oil
  • 1/4 cup mayo
  • 1/2 cup sour cream
  • 3 Tbsp capers
  1. Thaw 8 pieces of salmon that were frozen and seasoned, or season with salt, pepper and olive oil.
  2. Wrap each thawed filet with bacon and top with a lemon slice.
  3. Put the wrapped fillets on an olive oil seasoned pan and bake for 30 minutes in a 400 degree oven.
  4. Serve with “Sea Foam” sauce

Sea Foam Sauce

  1. Combine mayo and sour cream,  juice from 1/2 a lemon, 1/2 a lime and capers.
  2. Refrigerate  until ready to serve.
  3. Serve on the side of salmon.

Fruit Confit

Grocery list
  • 2 cups frozen or fresh blueberries
  • 2 cups frozen or fresh blackberries, apples, etc.
  • l large can of peaches in natural juices
  • 1/2 cup Jam – any kind
  • 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
  • 1/2 cup of sugar
  • 1/2 tsp cardamom
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • Pinch of salt
  • 8 oz. Greek yogurt
  • Honey
  • Mint for garnish
  1. Place blueberries into a saucepan.
  2. Add balsamic vinegar, jam, sugar, cardamom, cinnamon and a pinch of salt.
  3. Bring to boil
  4. Turn down heat and simmer for at least 30 min.
  5. Add the blackberries or apples (for a chunky feel)
  6. Simmer another 20-30 min.
  7. Serve with Greek yogurt drizzled with honey and garnish with mint leaf.

Lane’s Pork & Bean Sandwiches

~ regularcooks ~ Leave a comment
Lane, the hubs
Lane, the hubs

This blog is about all meals cooked in kitchens.  It doesn’t have to be fancy.  Today’s entry comes from my husband, Lane, who is definitely not fancy.  He grew up on Pork and Bean Sandwiches.  He believes his mother got the idea from Lena Belle, Zena Belle or one of those Belles from Plymouth, NC.  They were either aunts, cousins or someone who raised a family member.  I can’t keep track.

He remembers these open-faced sandwiches with the fondest memories.  Looking back, he believes meals such as these were inexpensive ways to fill up growing boys with very little money….especially when mom was tired.  Lane and I prepared these as well when our children were coming up.

Lane grew up in Portsmouth, VA .  His grandmother owned some land and his dad built a house on it with his own two hands.  It was a small house with heat only in the kitchen.  He had to share a bed with his brother, Neal in the attic.   He remembers that Neal always peed the bed and got in trouble every night.  One time Lane peed the bed by accident and blamed it on Neal.  He snickers when telling this story. Neal or his momma never were the wiser.

Lane learned to cook when he went away to the Peace Corps in the early 70s.  Once he arrived in the African bush and could recognize food, survival created the cook.   He mainly prepared stewed chicken and stewed goat and some vegetables no one’s ever heard of.  He remembers once cutting the head off a chicken and it running into the jungle never to be seen again.  Sadly, he had to go buy another.

He also did a great deal of cooking while a graduate student at the University of Rochester after his Peace Corps stint.  While living in the Chili district, he and three other students took turns cooking and cleaning.  One student couldn’t cook, so Lane traded his cleaning gig for that guy’s cooking spot.  He cooked half the time for these roommates and enjoyed it thoroughly.  He brags about cooking the cheapest meals possible.  He made $2700/year at the time.  They would scrounge up enough money for some decent wine and invite professors over, would sit on the floor and discuss relativity, mathematics and such.  It was a wonderful time.

Lane is not the most hygienic cook I’ve ever seen.  This is why he is not allowed to cook for me on any regular basis.  He tends not to care what he touches after raw meat and will always taste the food with the same fork or spoon over and over again.  Not to mention he licks his fingers while preparing the meal.  I don’t even want to think about what happens if he was to use the bathroom.  I usually feel like I have to disinfect the entire kitchen once he’s been there.   However, the meals are usually tasty, if I can drink enough wine to block out the thought of the preparation.

Lane’s Pork & Bean Sandwiches 

Open a pound of bacon and throw it into a large skillet.  Cook over medium high heat until bacon is almost done.  Separate while cooking.*

Sprinkle some sugar on the bacon during the cooking process.  (Lane says no one should cook bacon without putting sugar on it.  This is a southern thing.  Sugar goes in everything.)

 

Meanwhile lightly toast 8 slices of sandwich bread.  Lane prefers white bread.  You don’t have to toast it, but it’s less soggy.  Once the toast is finished, place them on a baking pan.

Put a 28 oz can of pork and beans in a pot and heat them through.

Cover toast slices with drained pork and  beans.  You can spoon some bacon fat over the beans if your doctor says it’s okay.

Place a slice of cheese, American or Cheddar, over the beans.  

Top with the almost done bacon.  Place under a broiler for about 5 minutes.

Voila!
 Needs no accompaniments.  All food groups are included.

*Note:   When I prepare this, I use the packaged, already cooked bacon.  I put two slices on each sandwich.  This  reduces time, the mess of frying the bacon, and may prolong your life.

Lane's Pork & Bean Sandwiches - Recipe

  • Servings: 4
  • Difficulty: easy
  • Print

Grocery List

1 lb Bacon*

1 Tbsp Sugar

28 oz Canned Pork & Beans

8 Slices of American or Cheddar Cheese

8 Slice of White Bread

  1. Open a pound of bacon and throw it into a large skillet.  Cook over medium high heat until bacon is almost done.  Separate while cooking.*
  2. Sprinkle some sugar on the bacon during the cooking process.
  3. Meanwhile lightly toast 8 slices of white sandwich bread.  Once the toast is finished, place them on a baking pan.
  4. Put a 28 oz can of pork and  beans in a pot and heat them through.
  5. Cover toast slices with drained baked beans.  You can spoon some bacon fat over the beans if your doctor says it’s okay.
  6. Place a slice of cheese, American or Cheddar, over the beans.
  7. Top with the almost done bacon.
  8. Place under a broiler for about 5 minutes.
  9. Serve.

*Note:   Can use the packaged, already cooked bacon.  Put two slices on each sandwich.

Bonnie’s Steak and Gravy

~ regularcooks ~ Leave a comment
My Mother, Bonnie
My Mother, Bonnie, having a cigarette break with her two dogs, Muffin and Monique

Since I have to wait a few weeks for my friend Sandi to show me how to cook the squash blossoms, I thought I would share a recipe my mother made for Sunday dinner:  Steak and Gravy.

My mother, although she on the top of my favorite cooks list, was not that great of a cook.  But you know how it is with your own momma’s cookin’.  It’s good no matter what, and you always crave those special meals from good ‘ole Mom.

Mom was raised during the depression in Bristol, VA and for a short time (while their family dodged the law) in Kannapolis, NC.  She grew up eating everything from scratch.  Meat from their own animals and vegetables that she helped plant and tend.  Her mom made homemade bread, biscuits and desserts.  Although she loved these types of foods, there was NO WAY she was going to all that trouble for a meal.  Forget it.  She got caught up in the 50s, 60s & 70s convenience cooking/canned vegetable and Crisco craze.  I never had a piece of lettuce until I was 12 when salads became popular.

She wasn’t a quality cook, but she WAS a quantity cook.  My father ate in restaurants for seven years while he was single before he met my mom, so we rarely went out to eat.  She cooked breakfast and dinner every day.  At lunch, Daddy would come home and she’d make him a ham sandwich and a cup of coffee.

That being said, my father was a butcher and she did make meat everyday.  No vegetarians in our house. I thought the meat Daddy brought home was so special, because it always had the orange sticker, “Sale Today” stuck to the package.  Well, now I know that it was about to expire, or expired, by the time it reached our house.

On Sundays, we would rotate between Steak and Gravy and Pot Roast w/cream of mushroom soup.  Both are delicious, but my favorite was the Steak and Gravy because it was from scratch, which was rare in my house.

My mother struggled all her life trying to make gravy.  She tried everything from adding a couple of drops of Kitchen Bouquet to color it brown, to just buying it.  She really didn’t know how to make gravy consistently until she was in her 60s, but there was some miracle in the way she made this dish that the gravy miraculously worked.  It was never bad.  I’m sure there was much work behind the scenes that I didn’t know about.

Bonnie’s Steak and GravyServes 4 

Tenderize about 2 lbs  of round steak until thin (Beat the meat, as we say in our house.  I know, crude, but it always gets a good laugh.)  You can use a meat mallet, hammer or edge of a plate.

Cut it into serving-sized pieces, about the size of your palm, then salt and pepper them liberally on both sides and dredge them in flour.

Not your palms, the steak.
floured steak

Heat an iron skillet on medium high.  Add oil enough to cover the bottom of the pan.

(I use a combination of butter and olive oil, but my mother probably used vegetable oil or margarine.  Suit yourself.)

When the oil is hot, fry the steak pieces on both sides to get a crust.  About three minutes or so on each side.  You may have to do this in batches if you are making a lot.  Don’t crowd them.

Put all the steak pieces back into the skillet and just barely cover with water.  Add a little more salt and pepper.

Cover the skillet tightly and turn heat to low.

Simmer for about 2.5 – 3 hours.  (This should get you out of going to church on Sundays.)

Remove steak pieces from the skillet.  Let liquid cool for about 5 minutes while you make a slurry of flour and water. (Put 1/4 cup of flour in a glass with enough water to make a liquidy paste.)

Turn heat to medium high.  Whisk the slurry mixture into the warm liquid until dissolved.  Bring to a boil.  If the gravy is too thin, add more flour.  If too thick add more water.  If it’s lumpy, strain it before serving if you’re prissy about it.

Taste the gravy.  Add salt and pepper if necessary.

Add steak pieces back into gravy and turn heat to low, cover and simmer for at least 20 minutes.  Steak should be so tender you can cut it with a fork.

Serve with mashed potatoes, canned green beans cooked to death with bacon and refrigerator biscuits aka “butter bites”.

You can serve a with a lovely Cotes du Rhone wine or simply a cup of coffee, like Bonnie did.

Have a cigarette.

Bonnie's Steak & Gravy Recipe

  • Servings: 4
  • Difficulty: moderate
  • Print

Grocery List

  • 2 lbs of round steak
  • Approx. 3/4 cup of flour (1/2 cup for dredging and 1/4 for thickening the gravy)
  • Salt & Pepper
  • Oil and/or Butter
  1. Tenderize about 2 lbs of round steak until thin. You can use a meat mallet, hammer or edge of a plate.
  2. Cut it into serving-sized pieces, about the size of your palm, then salt and pepper them liberally on both sides and dredge them in flour.
  3. Heat a skillet on medium high.  Add oil enough to cover the bottom of the pan. (I use a combination of butter and olive oil, but my mother probably used vegetable oil or margarine.)
  4. When the oil is hot, fry the steak pieces on both sides to get a crust.  About three minutes or so on each side.  You may have to do this in batches if you are making a lot.  Don’t crowd them.
  5. Put all the steak pieces back into the skillet and just barely cover with water.  Add a little more salt and pepper.
  6. Cover the skillet tightly and turn heat to low.
  7. Simmer for about 2.5 – 3 hours.
  8. Remove steak pieces from the skillet.  Let liquid cool for about 5 minutes while you make a slurry of flour and water. (Put 1/4 cup of flour in a glass with enough water to make a liquidy paste.)
  9. Turn heat to medium high.  Whisk the slurry mixture into the warm liquid until dissolved.  Bring to a boil.  If the gravy is too thin, add more flour.  If too thick add more water.  Taste the gravy.  Add salt and pepper if necessary.
  10. Add steak pieces back into gravy and turn heat to low, cover and simmer for at least 20 minutes.  Steak should be so tender you can cut it with a fork.

Ahhh….The Farmer’s Market

~ regularcooks ~ Leave a comment

squashblossomsWritten June 5, 2010

Today I visited our neighborhood farmer’s market.  They hold it on Saturdays down on Water Street at Waterfront Park in Elizabeth City.  My neighbor, Sandi, and I talk on facebook most mornings (we have no lives) and she asked me if I was going today.  She said there was a woman saving squash blossoms for her and she had to go early to make sure she got them.  So I met her there.  Squash blossoms? Frankly, I’d never heard of cooking squash blossoms.  I’m not a flower eater.  I leave them for the deer.  Sandi said she stuffs them with goat cheese and herbs and breads and fries them.  Hummm. I love anything breaded and fried.  She also uses sausage and cheese.  Hummmm even better….  I might even eat a flower if it’s simply used as an apparatus to hold in luscious fillings while being fried.

We go to the farmer’s market and they had the yellow blossoms sitting in plastic cups of water, four to a cup.  They had Sandi’s waiting for her.  (Don’t you just love a small town?)  I was going to buy some, but really needed a tutorial first.  Sandi said she would call me when they were ready and I could come over to taste them.  The blossoms barely last a day, so if you buy them, you’d better be ready to cook them pronto.

That evening, she sent her hubby over to fetch me, I tried one and they were magnificent!  She told me in two weeks, she’ll get more and invite me to come and watch her make them.

 

Hi, I’m a Stranger. Cook for Me.

~ regularcooks ~ Leave a comment

 turkey

Now I have to decide how to get people to let a perfect stranger, moi, into their homes and then cook for me.  At first, I’d thought about putting an ad in the local rag and on Craigslist.  Should I say I’m writing a book instead of a blog?  Some people might not even know what a blog is.  I know my Aunt Toe has probably never heard of a blog.  She can barely use a cell phone or an ATM machine.  I could tell people I’m writing an article, but I wouldn’t be able to produce it anytime soon, so then what?  Also, people might be freaked out being featured on the Internet. 

I also have to consider safety for myself.  Going into a stranger’s home could have its issues.  For instance, what if the dish is terrible?  What if I can’t stomach it?  What if they murder me?!  If the food is bad, do I publish it anyway?  Remember, I’m not going to be a food critic here. Maybe they’ll murder me if I don’t publish it.  Who knows.

One plus side of a blog would be that people could recommend a cook or even volunteer themselves.  That could take me all over the country, or even the world!  Wait, should I add a DONATE NOW button to this blog?

Unfortunately, I don’t know too many people in my new town, a handful actually.  So, I’ll start with myself and then work out from there.  I’ll start with some recipes that my mother made or make a few of my own favorites and ask my neighbors to volunteer.  Maybe they’ll tell two friends, and they’ll tell two friends and so on…..

 

About this Regular Cook

~ regularcooks ~ Leave a comment

I grew up in the Alexandria, VA and lived there for 48 years. I loved it there.  My husband and I had four daughters in their early 20s.  Hubs wanted to retire from the government at the earliest possible moment.  So we decided to empty the nest ourselves.  We had three daughters at home at the time, but we figured they’d be pretty well launched by moving day.  (Well, one out of three ain’t bad.)  We decided to move to a small walkable town, Elizabeth City, NC.  We like the proximity to the Outer Banks and to our daughters, all of who live within four hours of us.   We love walking to restaurants and bars and the waterfront.  We love that it’s an artsy fartsy town and like the fact it is racially diverse and colorful in many other ways.   The people here are friendly and speak and wave to you.  Not used to that, but it is refreshing.

We found an old house that was totally renovated smack dab in the city.  It’s a little big, but I love it so much.  I’ve always wanted a house similar to what I grew up in.  Every house we owned in Alexandria, I tried to turn into my childhood home.  I grew up in an American Four-Square, and coincidentally, this one is too.  Built over 100 years ago.  My dream house, finally.


I started my own payroll business here and work out of my home.  In my spare time, I cook and decided to start this blog.  Hopefully it will help me meet people in my new neighborhood.

So about the cooking articles/blog…..

I LOVE to cook.  I’ve taken a load of cooking classes and even have a certificate buried somewhere.  But more importantly, I love to eat.  I love to talk to people about their food and how it’s prepared. What better way to combine my passion for food and my love of people?  A blog!  I will interview regular people and watch them cook.  I’ll take some photographs and then write here about the cooks themselves, their food and their kitchens and post their recipes. The best thing will be meeting interesting people and getting a few free meals…. the best part.  Yum.

Where Have all the Cooks Gone?

~ regularcooks ~ Leave a comment
salvowoman
A regular cook in San Jeronimo, El Salvador

No one cooks anymore.  People are too busy.  Prepared food is too easy and convenient these days.  Why bother with cooking?  People are cooking less and less and the skill of cooking is being lost to grocery store hot bars, freezer sections and restaurant fare.  

For instance, I have a friend, Becca, who is age 30.  Her mother never turned on their stove or oven.  Not even once.  She didn’t like the way food made the house smell, plus she was a working mom and her dad owned his own business.  Her family went out to eat every day to a restaurant.  Both lunch and dinner.  Becca said she loved to go to her grandmother’s for a home-cooked meal.  That was special to her.  

Becca decided to learn to cook.  I tried to think up some simple recipes for her to try.  I mentioned steaming vegetables.  She didn’t know what “steamed” meant.  I mentioned broiling salmon.  She had no clue.  This girl is not dumb.  She passed the CPA on the first try and has an MBA.  She simply wasn’t exposed to cooking, period.  She is not alone.  Becca is now enrolled in cooking classes and loves it.  She was always a foodie but just didn’t know how to put a meal together.  She has since learned the techniques of broiling and steaming and now supplies me with recipes that she has tried.  I hope this blog will help her and others just like her.  I hope to feature her as a cook sometime in the future.

I’m here to find out where all the cooks have gone.  Come along.