Canary Bean and Mussel Soup

A few days ago I wrote about getting mussels in a 10 lb bag in the post about Spicy Seafood Stew.  After I made that stew I still had 5 lbs of mussels in the refrigerator.  Being a frugal sort, I decided to go ahead and steam the remaining mussels in a pot with more white wine lest any go bad while I was deciding how to use them.  They were steamed using the method discussed here, Mussels in White Wine


After the mussels were steamed, I picked the meat from the shells and stored them in the wine broth for later use.  The wine and mussel liquor came to a little over 2 cups.


As for using the canary beans, I found them at our favorite ethnic grocery store, Grand Mart.  I was on the side of the store that is primarily foods from Hispanic regions and saw a good selection of dried beans.  Since the pressure cooker makes quick work of dried beans, I decided to see if there were some we hadn't tried before.  That's how I came to have canary beans at the house.


Of course with cold weather soup seemed to be a natural choice.  Having the primary ingredients on hand it was just a matter of deciding on additions to help flavor the soup.  This soup is the result.


Canary Bean and Mussel Soup


1 1/2 cup dried canary beans
meat from 5 lbs of mussels, steamed
4 - 6 oz bacon, diced
1 medium onion, finely minced
2 cups white wine broth from steaming mussels
2 cups water
2 - 3 bay leaves


Put dried beans in pressure cooker with the diced bacon and minced onion.  Pour in the white wine broth and water and stir.  Add the bay leaves and stir.  Put the lid on the pressure cooker and set timer to cook 40 minutes under pressure.  Allow pressure to naturally release.  Stir in mussels and let set until the mussels come up to the temperature of the soup.  Taste broth and add salt and pepper if desired.  Serve with hot crusty bread.  Makes 4 servings.




Canary bean and mussel soup

Cooking the canary beans with the pressure cooker for 40 minutes left them with a firm texture.  Next time I may add a few minutes to get the beans a bit softer.  They weren't under done they were just a bit firmer than we usually eat.  They were a nice contrast to the soft texture of the mussels.


If you don't have a pressure cooker then soak the beans over night and make the soup in a slow cooker.


For the bread I used the same recipe referenced in the link above with the same changes.  The changes are after proofing and bake time.  After proofing divide the dough in half and roll into long loaves.  Use the same time for the second proofing.  Bake at the same temp but only for 25 - 30 minutes.


We finished this soup last night.  It reheated well and as usual the flavors melded to make the soup better the second time.  A slow reheat also kept the mussels from getting tough.


Give this soup a try as a way to get more beans into your diet, not to mention an excellent use for mussels.  I think you'll like this soup.  If you fix it, let me know how you liked it.


Uncle T

Mussels in White Wine

One of our favorite ways to eat mussels is to cook them in white wine then serve them with some fresh hot crusty bread.  This is a simple method but the results are outstanding.  I wasn't going to write about this but it was requested.


You need to make sure your mussels are clean and still living.  If you are lucky, you can get your mussels at a fish market where they are loose and the fish monger will cull them for you.  Most places seem to sell them in 2 lb bags.  I recommend getting 1 lb per person.  The culling process is simple, make sure they are closed tight.  If they are gaping, tap them on the counter to see if they close.  If they don't, set them aside.  I'll also say wait till you're ready to cook them before you cull them so you can clean them at the same time.  To clean them, rinse off any loose sand or barnacles and remove the beards.  The beards look like wiry tangles sticking out of the shell.  Just grab it and pull.  Once you have culled and cleaned all your mussels give them a final rinse.

Mussels cleaned and ready to steam

 As for the wine, use one that you would like to drink.  As a matter of fact, a glass of the same wine you cook them with is a nice accompaniment.  Remember, don't think you have to look for a certain price point on a bottle of wine to get a good one.  A really good wine can be had for $10 - $12.  If you are not familiar with white wines, go to a store that has a Sommelier or at least a store that wine is their business.  Let them know what you are wanting the wine for and your price range and they'll be able to point you to some good choices.

A good white wine for mussels

You will also need some fresh herbs for your bouquet garni.  There are specific herbs and amounts to use if you want a traditional French bouquet garni but you can use what you want in your own cooking.  A bouquet garni is nothing more than a bundle of fresh herbs to provide flavor and aroma that is removed prior to serving.  The simplest way to make it is to put your herbs together and tie the bundle with two pieces of cotton kitchen twine.  Make sure you use 100% cotton twine.

Thyme, Sage, Rosemary, Basil

Mussels in White Wine


Mussels, cleaned, 1 - 1.5 lbs per person
4 - 6 cloves garlic, finely minced
2 - 3 Tbs olive oil
bouquet garni
     Sage
     Basil
     Thyme
     Rosemary
White Wine, 1/2 bottle


Put olive oil and garlic in a large skillet and turn on medium heat.  Cook garlic until it starts smelling good.  Add the bouquet garni and heat it, turning it so all sides are in the heat.  Pour in the half bottle of wine and increase heat to med-high.  Once the wine starts to simmer, add the mussels and cover the skillet.  Let the mussels steam for 2 minutes then remove lid and stir the mussels around and replace lid.  Let them steam another 2 minutes or until all the mussels are open.  Spoon the mussels into wide bowls and divide the broth between them.  Serve with hot crusty bread.

Freshly steamed mussels ready to serve

I've also done them adding a minced shallot along with the garlic.  Looking at recipes online a lot of chef types like to add lots of things to the pan.  My method lets the mussels and wine combine so they are the stars.  After all, why add chicken broth or red pepper flakes, as they'll change or over power the flavor of the mussels.  I think chefs sometimes let their training get out of hand and they try to do too much.  Sometimes they need to remember a classic is a classic for a reason and not every dish needs a new flair.

A wonderful supper

The bread I usually make is a variation on this recipe, Skillet Bread.  I alter the final process and make French bread loaves.  The changes are after proofing and bake time.  After proofing divide the dough in half and roll into long loaves.  Use the same time for the second proofing.  Bake at the same temp but only for 25 - 30 minutes.This bread also reheats well if you happen to have any left.


Nothing here is new or innovative when it comes to mussels but I do believe that the simplicity of this recipe is what makes the dish worth it.  Sometimes doing less is more.


If you've not tried mussels before then this is a good dish to start with.  It comes together quickly and it gets you involved with your meal by having to hold the shell while you get the meat out.  Give this a try and let me know what you think.


Uncle T

Bacon and Egg Muffins

Thanks to some bad winter weather leaving us with icy streets, and knowing the quality of bad weather drivers around here, we decided to stay home from church this past Sunday.  Since we've been seeing egg muffins online for a while now the good wife suggested I make them for breakfast.  It seemed like a good idea so that is what I did. 


Even though we'd seen these online, I'd not looked at any recipes because you can figure things out from a picture sometimes.  After I made mine I started looking around and found I did things a bit differently from most.  Oh well, I wouldn't be Uncle T if I didn't. 

Bacon and Egg Muffins with hot toast

Bacon and Egg Muffins


9 slices Bacon
6 Eggs
Milk
Cheese
Salt
Pepper
Garlic Powder


Spray muffin pan with non-stick spray.  Cut bacon in half and lay in muffin cups in a cross.  Add a healthy pinch of shredded cheese on top of the bacon.  Crack eggs into 2 cup measuring cup and stir to scramble.  Add a bit of milk, then salt, pepper, and garlic powder to taste.  Stir the egg mixture then pour into the muffin cups until almost full.  Once the egg mixture settles through the cheese top the cups off with the last of the egg mixture.  Bake in a 350F oven for 20 - 25 minutes until the desired degree of doneness.


I used 9 slices of bacon to make the 9 Bacon and Egg Muffins because that is what I had in the refrigerator.  If I'd been able to make a full dozen muffins it would have taken 8 eggs.  The muffin pan we have makes smaller muffins so the number of eggs is dependent on the size of the muffin cups on your pan.


I do think my version is a bit simpler.  Almost all the recipes I found had you mixing the cheese in with the eggs and trying to scoop the mixture into the cups.  I think pouring the egg in is a much neater way to do it.


If you want to cut down on the fat a little bit, you can cook the bacon on a sheet tray for about 5 minutes then blot off the rendered grease before you cut them.

We decided they look like Bacon and Egg flowers

These muffins are basically a cheese omelet wrapped in bacon.  The good wife and I got to talking about variations and came to the conclusion that the sky is the limit.  If you have several people you are cooking for everyone could individualize their muffins.  You'd just have to keep track of which muffins when to which person.  One idea we really liked was putting a thawed tater tot in the bottom with the cheese and having it turn out like a mini breakfast casserole.  Some of our ideas would obviously work better in a muffin pan with larger cups than our pan.


The good wife ate one of the leftover muffins yesterday for breakfast and made it to late afternoon before she started feeling hungry.  She said it reheated well and tasted just as good on the second day.  That means you could make a bunch on the weekend and have a quick breakfast ready to go for the rest of the week.


Give these a try the next time you get tired of the same old breakfast routine.  Remember, let your imagination run free and you'll enjoy the results.  Let me know what you think.


Uncle T

Indra Kunindra Pork Butt

Last week we were in the wine and craft beer store were we get some great wines, Grape & Gourmet in Virginia Beach, and the owner asked me if I liked curry.  I said of course we do.  Then he said I should taste a beer that was being offered at their growler station since it was curry flavored.  He pulled a sample and the first sniff was definitely curry.  A taste proved that the curry flavors came through as well.  I asked the name of it and it was Indra Kunindra export stout from Ballast Point.

Pull handle from the growler station.

After getting the good wife to try it my immediate thought was that it would be great to add to a slow cooker pork butt to really boost the flavor.  To that end we got a growler of the  Indra Kunindra.


A few nights later, I set things up to have the pulled pork butt for supper the next day.  The butt I had was a bit over 6 lbs.  I cut it into 4 chunks and rolled them in seasoned flour.  I then seared every side of each chunk and put them in the pressure cooker.  Once all 4 chunks of pork butt were in the pot I poured in the Indra Kunindra.  It was a tight fit but all of it made it into the cook pot.  The lid got locked on and the valve to vent pressure got removed so it wouldn't inadvertently get bumped to pressure cook.


Once the preparations were complete all that remained was to set the timer.  Since it was such a large bit of meat I decided to slow cook it for 10 hours.  I figured up the needed start time and using the delay function got that all programmed in and went to bed.


When I got home the next afternoon there was a pleasant aroma of cooked pork throughout the house.  I resisted the urge to take the lid off to check out the pork and let if finish cooking.  Once the lid was removed at the end I was pleased with how it looked.

A pot full of porky goodness

 All that was needed now was to shred the pork butt and complete the other dishes for supper.  The pork but was removed to a 9 x 13 pan and shredded and had the few large pieces of fat removed.  The remaining Indra Kunindra and pork juices in the cook pot were transferred to smaller pot and boiled until it was reduced by half and thickened.  Then that was poured over the pork.


The pulled pork was served with rice and hot Naan.  It was a tasty and filling supper.

This was my first attempt at Naan and it turned out fairly well.  If I had started sooner I could have made a batch using yeast  that would likely have a more complex flavor profile.  Since I'd waited too long, I used a recipe I found using baking soda as the leavening agent.  The recipe also called for yogurt to be the acid to work with the baking soda and naturally, we didn't have any yogurt.  Rather than go to the store, I added lemon juice to milk and made imitation buttermilk and used that.  Here is the link to the recipe I used, Naan.  The only other thing I did different was at the end.  I didn't have ghee and didn't feel like going through the process of clarifying butter so I used olive oil instead.  One of these days I'll get some yogurt and clarify some butter and try the recipe exactly as written to compare.  The end product with my substitutions was pretty good though.

Fresh Naan

There were only two negatives with this meal.  First, the good wife liked it but said she'd rather I'd put less on her plate and had some green beans to accompany the meal.  The second negative was that the curry flavor didn't really come through with the pork like we'd hoped.  The flavor of the stout did come through so I guess in the end the stout flavor overcame the curry flavors.  Other than that though the pork butt was quite tasty.


Given that it is just the two of us at home, we had plenty of pork left over.  Some went to a couple of folks I know and some went to work for my lunch.  Yesterday evening we were running errands and when supper was mentioned the pork came up.  The choice was more rice and Naan or to make pulled pork sandwiches.  In the end, we bought some good Kaiser rolls and had pulled pork sandwiches with french fries.  I put two piles, each enough for a sandwich, in a skillet and heated them.  After they were hot and browned on the first side, they were flipped and cheese was added.  They made excellent sandwiches.


A terrific pulled pork sandwich

The next time you're in the mood for some pulled pork and the weather or your job won't let you put in the time to smoke it properly, throw it in the slow cooker with a good stout.  Give the Naan a try as well.


Uncle T

Skillet Pizza

This is probably the easiest and quickest pizza you'll ever fix.  I don't remember when or where I first heard of this pizza.  Many times it is called Bar Pizza when you see it online.  This is not original to me but what is original to me is to tell you to experiment to your heart's content with this.  Most recipes I've seen for this are very particular about telling you what to put on the pizza.  The only warning I will give is to not overload your pizza.  You'll see why shortly.


If you have a cast iron skillet you have the best vessel for making this pizza.  Drizzle a little vegetable oil in the skillet and heat it on the stove until the oil just reaches the smoking point.  Using paper towels wipe out the excess oil while making sure the skillet has a good coating all over.


Put a flour tortilla in the skillet.  Tortillas have two sides, one with many small bubbles and one with just a few large bubbles.  Put the tortilla in the skillet with the small bubble side down.  It is up to you whether you take the skillet off the heat at this point or not.  Taking it off the heat gives you more time to build your pizza.  Leaving it on the heat gives you a crisper crust.

Put this side down

Put on the sauce of your choice.  Go light with the sauce but you can go out to the edge if you want.


Top with your ingredients of choice.  Don't go overboard with quantity here.  After all, this is a quick light pizza and a tortilla won't support too much.

The good wife's cheese pizza

Some of this cheese blend upped the flavor profile of the good wife's pizza

After the cheese is on the pizza, sprinkle the whole thing with grated parmesan cheese.  Make sure some of the parmesan ends up on the skillet as this will make a nice crunchy ring.




Uncle T's pepperoni pizza.  Note the ring of parmesan cheese on the edge.

Put the skillet in the oven on broil.  It will only take a few minutes for the cheese to be melty and start browning.  When it is as brown as you want it take it out.

The good wife's cheese pizza with crispy parmesan edge

Uncle T's pepperoni pizza with crispy parmesan edge

Use a small turner to loosen the pizza from the skillet and then slide the pizza out of the skillet.

Cut into 4 - 6 slices and enjoy.

See, quick and easy.  I did two of these in less than 20 minutes.  I guess I could have used two skillets and been done in less than 10 minutes then I'd have had to wipe out two skillets.

So, the next time you want pizza and are limited in time or not hungry enough for a regular pizza give this one a try.  They are so quick and easy it is your chance to try a variety of new toppings without committing to a full pizza.  I think you'll like this one.

Uncle T

Spicy Seafood Stew

One of the benefits of living in coastal Virginia is the availability of a wide array of fresh seafood.  Plus, if a particular seafood isn't available locally we are close enough to get it shipped fresh and still maintain a high quality.  This brings us to mussels.


The good wife and I got introduced to mussels while stationed in Germany.  After all, they weren't very common in Tennessee when we were growing up.  Once we got back to the states we found that we'd have to get fresh mussels and prepare them ourselves if we wanted them since their use is not common in most American restaurants.  That said, when we find mussels for a good price we snatch them up and indulge ourselves.


Normally, we do mussels in a white wine sauce with some good crusty bread.  However, the good price we found was for a 10 lb bag so I get to play around more.  Since it is getting cold soups and stews feature prominently in our menu so it was only natural to use the mussels in a soup or stew.  I looked around at various recipes and thought about what else I had available and came up with this recipe.

Harvest tag indicating where the mussels were harvested

Be sure to clean the mussels before you put them in the stew.  Cleaning mussels is fairly simple, make sure there is no loose sand on the shell and pull off the beards.  Also at this time discard any that are gaping open and won't close when handled.


2 lbs of mussels, cleaned and ready for the pot

1 lb each of cod and shrimp, ready for the pot

Spicy Seafood Stew


1 lb hot Italian sausage
1 lb cod or other firm white fish
1 lb shrimp, peeled and deveined, tails removed optional
2 lbs mussels
1 large onion, finely diced
4 cloves garlic, finely diced
2 Tbs tomato paste
1 15 oz can diced tomatoes, drained
1 cup dry white wine
6 cups fish broth
6 cups chicken broth, optional
3 Tbs fish sauce, optional


Brown sausage in a deep pot and break it up to desired size.  If you get sausage in casings remove the casings.  Remove the browned sausage from the pot.  Put the onion and garlic in the sausage grease and sauté until translucent.  Add the tomato paste and stir together.  Cook until the tomato paste has darkened a bit then add the diced tomatoes.  Cook until the tomatoes start to simmer then add the wine and fish broth.  Bring to a simmer.  If you don't have or can't find fish broth you can use chicken broth and the fish sauce to make a substitute.  Once the liquid is simmering return the sausage to the pot.  Stir to mix and return to a simmer.  Add the cod, cut into 1 inch pieces, and cook for 1 - 2 minutes.  Add the mussels and gently stir and cook for 1 - 2 minutes.  Add the shrimp and gently stir then cook until the shrimp are done.  The shrimp should be done in about 3 minutes.  Ladle into a bowl and serve with crusty bread.  This makes 4 - 6 servings.

A nice bowl of spicy seafood stew

This stew ends up being nicely spiced but not so much that the seafood is over shadowed.  The broth is excellent sopped up with the bread.  I think an excellent substitution would be using Spanish chorizo in place of the hot Italian sausage.  You would just need to add some olive oil to the pot so you'd be able to sauté the onions.


The next time you're wanting a good stew then give this one a try.  Too many stores have decent fish markets now not to try it.  If you do try it let me know how it turns out.


Uncle T

What to do with Arugula

What the heck is arugula?  That was my reaction the first time I heard it mentioned.  Arugula was something  I'd never heard of until I was grown.  Of course, as a food inspector I learned about all sorts of vegetables and leafy greens that were unheard of in my small town Southern upbringing.  Even though I knew what it was, we'd never had it unless it was in a salad mix at a restaurant.


Arugula is a green that has been popular in France and Italy for a long time.  It has a peppery or mustard like flavor that adds a spicy kick when used in a salad.  It is also a good low calorie source of several vitamins, vitamin K in particular.  Most of the recipes I've found for arugula have been for salads but there are a few for cooking them.  I found one for a white bean and arugula soup that I'm anxious to try.


We had our first hard cold snap of the winter earlier this week.  I went out to cover the more susceptible of the Fall garden plants and ran short of coverings.  Three hills of arugula and two of kohlrabi couldn't be covered so they got harvested.  We have lots of arugula because when we found the sets at a nursery they were rather small and spindly so I got 2 of the 4 packs.  Well, with the wet warm Fall we've had they exploded.  Now that I had 3 hills worth of arugula in the refrigerator, what was I going to do with them?  After all, the good wife and I can't eat that much salad.


I decided to use part of them in a pasta dish to take advantage of their sharp peppery flavor.  I also wanted the arugula to just be wilted rather than cooked to maintain some texture and more of the nutrients and flavor.  To that end I decided on fettuccini and arugula with mushrooms and pancetta.


Now, if you've looked around here much, you know I cure my own pancetta and make most of my own pasta.  While I encourage you to try your hand at them both, if you get good quality products from the store they'll work just as well.  Of the 4 primary ingredients, I grew or made 3 of them.  Alas, I still haven't taken to growing my own mushrooms.


Fettuccini with Arugula


1 lb fettuccine
4 oz thick cut pancetta, diced
8 oz mushrooms, sliced
4 cups arugula, cut/torn to bite size pieces
2-4 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbs butter
salt
pepper


Fry pancetta in a skillet.  Remove the pancetta and add the mushrooms to the skillet with the pancetta grease.  Cook until lightly browned and add the garlic.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Remove from heat.  Cook fettuccini in a pot of boiling well salted water.  Once the fettuccini is nearly done, add the pancetta back to the skillet and bring up the heat.  When fettuccini is almost al dente, pull it from the water and place in the skillet with the pancetta and mushrooms.  Turn to combine the components.  Melt the butter in the skillet and add a couple of ladles of the pasta water, about 1 cup.  Stir the skillet contents until the butter and pasta water form a sauce that covers everything.  Add the arugula to the skillet and turn the contents with tongs to evenly distribute the arugula and wilt the leaves.  Remove from heat and serve.




Fettuccini with Arugula

We topped the dish with a bit of grated parmesan cheese.  I didn't make any, but this would be good with some hot crusty bread with butter or olive oil


The only real new thing I did with this dish is add the arugula.  Part of the reason I made this is so we could more accurately judge the affect of the arugula.  We were quite pleased with it.  The good wife did say she would have liked a bit more arugula in hers.  Next time I'll use 5 - 6 cups of arugula and just add it to the pasta in batches.


If you've not tried arugula or have only had it in salads, give this dish a try.  It's simple and quick and an easy way to feed 4 people.  Give this a try and let me know what you think.


Uncle T

Pressure Cooker Chili and Johnny Cakes

What's a good way to drive away the chill of a dreary drizzly winter day?  A good hot bowl of chili.  Well the other day was just such a day so we just had to have some chili.  We'd been planning on chili at some point to be able to try out some of the chipotles in adobo sauce the good wife had canned this summer.  I smoked and dried some of the jalapenos that came from our garden and she did the rest.  We're quite pleased with how they turned out.


I know some won't consider this chili since it has beans but that doesn't really bother me.  Chili is one of those dishes that has many regional variations and people will argue over them in a manner similar to barbecue.  Heck, I even know some that put spaghetti noodles in their chili.  I'll definitely not get on my soapbox about barbecue other than to say that barbecue is a product not an action.


So, without further ado, let's get into Uncle T's chili.  The instructions are for an electric pressure cooker.


Pressure Cooker Chili


2 lb beef chuck roast
1 1/2 cup dried light red kidney beans
1 cup dried small red beans
4 oz jar chipotles in adobo sauce
1 medium onion, diced
1/2 bottle red wine
2 Tbs oil
seasoned flour
salt


Put oil in pressure cooker and turn on sear function.  Cut the chuck roast into 4 pieces and dredge in seasoned flour.  Brown the pieces of chuck roast on all sides.  Once they are browned turn off the sear feature.  Pour in the red wine and enough additional water to just cover the meat.  Pressure cook for 40 minutes.  After the timer goes off release the pressure.  Mince the chipotles. Add the red beans, kidney beans, diced onion, and the chipotles with the adobo sauce to the pressure cooker.  Add a couple of pinches of salt and stir to combine everything.  Pressure cook for 40 minutes.  Let the pressure naturally reduce for 10 minutes then manually release the remaining pressure.  Pull out the chunks of chuck roast and finely dice then stir back into the pot.  Fill a bowl and enjoy.

A bowl of chili and fresh hot Johnny cakes

I used wine for this recipe since it adds a nice flavor profile to the broth.  A good stout beer would also work if you are more inclined.  You could also use beef broth in place of the water but I didn't think it would need it.


Johnny cakes are an excellent accompaniment to chili.  Johnny cakes also vary greatly by location.  They range from something that looks like Southern cornbread to a fluffy pancake to a crispy fried flat bread.  What I'm talking about is the crispy fried flat bread.  Some in the South will use self rising flour and even eggs and milk but I go back to the more basic version.  Of course, a point that will drive some a bit crazy is that these are best fried in a cast iron skillet in bacon grease.  Yes, in old school Southern homes, bacon grease is kept and used for seasoning and frying. 


Johnny Cakes


3/4 cup corn meal
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1tsp salt
water


 Put the corn meal, flour, and salt in a bowl and whisk together.  Add water and mix together until you have a fairly thin batter.  Put enough bacon grease in a cast iron skillet to cover the bottom to a depth of 1/8 to 1/4 inch on medium heat.  Using a large spoon, spoon the batter into the hot bacon grease making sure the cakes don't touch.  As they cook, holes will appear in the batter.  When the edges start to get brown, check the doneness on the bottom.  If it is brown enough to suit you then flip the cakes and fry on the other side.  These don't take very long to cook.  Put on paper towels to drain while you cook the next batch. 


The water amount and consistency of the batter are up to you.  I vary them depending on how I want the cakes to turn out.  To go with the chili I wanted a thicker more substantial cake so I didn't use as much water.  At times, I want a thinner crispier cake so I'll use more water to make a runny batter.


You should add these to your winter meal rotation.  If you give them a try, let me know what you think.


Uncle T

Red Beans with Kohlrabi Greens and Roasted Kohlrabi

Kohlrabi is not normally on a Southern boy's menu.  We tried some in our early Fall garden and liked it so I put out 8 plants for the late Fall garden.  Two of them were ready to harvest the other day and since there is nothing quite as good as eating something straight from the garden we had them for supper.


Kohlrabi is related to cabbage and as such the leaves can be eaten as well as the bulb.  I wanted to use the greens as well as the bulb for supper.  I also wanted to try something different with the kohlrabi than I did earlier in the year.  Previously I'd made fritters and a slaw with the kohlrabi so I figured roasted was the next thing to try. 


The greens I wanted to cook and I was wanting to cook some more dried beans in the pressure cooker so the red beans and kohlrabi greens came to mind.  I will have to say that this dish turned out to be very good.


Red Beans with Kohlrabi Greens


1 cup dried small red beans
Greens from two kohlrabi, stems removed
4 oz bacon, slab is best
1 medium onion, diced
1 cup chicken broth
3 cups water
1 tsp roasted ground cumin
2 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper


Dice bacon in 1/4 inch cuts.  If using sliced bacon cut in 1/2 inch pieces.  Put in pressure cooker and start to brown.  Add diced onion and cook until it starts to turn translucent.  Turn off heat.  Add everything else except the kohlrabi greens.  Set pressure cooker to 20 minutes.  Once the timer goes off release the steam.  Taste the broth and adjust seasoning if needed.  Stir in the kohlrabi greens and set the pressure cooker to 10 minutes.  Release the pressure once the timer goes off.  Serve in a bowl to get the good broth.


I used some ends and pieces of bacon from the last batch of bacon I smoked and sliced.  I only used 1 cup of chicken broth because that is what I had in the refrigerator.  I think using the broth gave a greater depth of flavor over using just water for the beans.


Roasted Kohlrabi


1  kohlrabi per person
olive oil
salt
pepper


Peel the kohlrabi and cut into 1/2 inch cubes.  Put the cubes in a bowl and drizzle with olive oil, salt, and pepper.  Toss to coat.  Dump kohlrabi onto baking sheet and put in a 400F oven for 20 minutes.  Remove from oven and toss then return to oven for 10 more minutes.

A most excellent supper

We had butter fried pork chops with a pan sauce since I'd processed a pork loin the day before.  The pork chops are super easy.  Let the pork chops come to room temperature.  Season with salt and pepper while they warm.   Melt 2 - 3 Tbs butter in a skillet.  Once the butter starts to bubble add the pork chops.  Fry for about 4 minutes until browned on the bottom.  Turn the chops and fry for another 3 - 4 minutes.  Move pork chops to the plates.  To the pan drippings add 1 - 2 oz whiskey or brandy and allow alcohol to cook off.  Simmer until the sauce is reduced by half and spoon over the pork chops.


As you can see, we're really liking the pressure cooker.  I think it is a great investment for our kitchen.  I'll be posting more recipes from the pressure cooker for sure. 


Give these recipes a try sometime and I believe you'll enjoy them.  After you make them let me know what you think. 


Uncle T