lovebenton0

My apologies, theabroma. I must have slid right by your post on Elgin Southside, then I couldn't edit mine. I must owe you a hot link after that

Elgin Hot Sausage from Southside Market. Not Meyers. Hasn't anyone been to Southside BBQ in Elgin? They are about 100 years in the business (finally had to give up the location several years ago on the south side of Elgin's downtown over the RR tracks, when it burned again-for the 5th time). Now they are right on 290E as you head into town, on your right. There was a bank that went down in the '90s and Southside moved in there. They make their own, market their own and sell their own. I think what you get from their own market is a bit hotter than what you can buy in the store. Maybe that's a mind to tongue thing. They do sell in the big and not so big groceries around Austin: HEB, Super S, for sure, and Randall's too, I think. Don't know if City Cafe is still going in Elgin, but if it is and you want a restaurant sit down meal they used to to do a great chicken breast stuffed with Elgin hots. And my mouth waters just thinking about those big ribs from Southside. I lived there for years, and still need a hot sausage fix on an irregular basis.

When my dad was still living we always went there for Thanksgiving, usually my three brothers, and their families also. The year he died we decided that we didn't want Mom to spend the Xmas holiday alone so we would all spend it with her. Because of circumstances (we all live in TX, but spread around the state), that evolved to having a full family get together in January, after the rush of the holly season was past and we could enjoy a day together. There are 16 of us now, including children. So for about 20 years we have all traveled to one house (this year it's our place on the 17th) and share Xmas. We draw names at the end of our Xmas each year to each be secret Santa to one person. Of course the kids still get from everyone, and we all give little stocking stuffers to everyone. We just couldn't give that up. Since we have all been feasted on Turkey and ham throughout the season we usually have a different theme every year for dinner, with everyone contributing to the feast. The theme is usually chosen by whoever will be hosting. Last year we did Italian, lasagnas and all the goodies; this year it's seafood. We gather about late brunch time on a chosen Saturday, munch on some goodies, have coffee and visit for a couple of hours, then we really eat about 1:30 or so. After that we all crunch together in the living room around the tree and one plays Santa, wearing the big Santa hat and all. Each present is handed out and opened one at a time, showing to all or passing it around. We all get to ahhh! over what everyone has been gifted with and thank the person. Then we eat desert and visit some more. If we can hold it we do the munch on leftovers for a snack in the evening. The next morning we all get together for brunch, hugs all around, and say goodbye as we leave to travel home. We try to keep the family grievances down to a small nuclear warhead.

It was a foodie holiday season around here, for friends and family Made to give (from our own yard and garden): back fence grape jelly TX cherrry (wild persimmon) jam red jalapeno jelly tabasco sauce tabasco sprinkle vinegar salsas canned eggplant mix w/hotpeppers & garlic hot pickled okra pickled sweet banana peppers w/lemon basil bouquets of fresh and dried herbs also made to give: sourdough bread cinnamon rolls red wine/basalmic vinegar & olive oil dressing mushrooms marinated in basalmic vinegar/olive oil/spices and: gigantic mixed stuffed olives chocolates a blender (for our dear friends who came to our house this holiday, and always need for us to bring ours to their house, hundreds of miles from home) got from Santa: Henckels tableware (wow what a deal and I got to be Santa on that one and mr b was thrilled!) new Pyrex glass measuring cups kitchen shears by OXO knife sharpener (oh what joy ) small set of garden tools with tool belt (perfect size for my close herbs and peppers and potted bayleaf trees, etc.) and we are redoing the kitchen, that's the biggie from friends: a beautiful old hand hammered copper platter our visiting friends gave us nice assortment of cheeses and sausages lucky us more Xmas to come, when the birth family gathers later this month

Hey, Y'all. Wasn't it weird to see the heading of this thread -- "Mystery Tradition" -- and to read that the big unusual "Mystery" so startling and unheard of was black-eyed peas on New Years? Really a lesson there, in how often something as customary to one segment of the population as breathing in and breathing out is a "mystery" to another segment. Makes one realize how marvelous is a forum such as this for getting to know each other better. Long live eGullet! We're eating black-eyed peas with ham this year as in many others. (Although we have done leg of lamb in some years past, there is always some ham in the peas.) But always the black-eyed peas since I've been the one cooking. We did most of our growing up in Texas, but parents were from the Midwest, and they had friends down the block, from New York, I think, that always served pickled herring at midnight. Black-eyed peas are pure heaven after that! I guess you either eat 'em and love 'em or you choke 'em down. We just love those peas with cooked with ham, plenty of onions, tomatoes, and jalapenoes, served with rice, greens on the side and corn bread. Anyone know where the pickled herring . . .thing . . .originates? Pork and sauerkraut is a standard in the Midwest, though maybe not ubiqitous? Happy New year, y'all

AUSTIN We don't like it loud. We often choose the outside deck at a restaurant for more pleasurable dining. (In all honesty, I should should preface this by saying, I'm deaf. But I have a cochlear implant, so I can hear, and very loud noise can be excrutiatingly painful.) These comments are based on my pain level as well as other diners' reactions to the noise. On my 0-10 ear-reichter scale . . . PF CHANGS on Jollyville is unbearable. Looks can be deceiving. Unusual exterior, classy interior, the life size reproductions of the emperor's clay burial furniture soldiers and horses is a nice touch. But the dining room is one big open space and the music they played when we were there was techno at such a level that the waiter could not hear us, we could not hear each other, and the diners were all yelling to each other attempting conversation. We had to resort to sign language and pointing at menus to order. It was a wall of sound. We had reservations and still had to wait 30 minutes for our table. The food was OK, our waiter was valiant, but not worth the experience. Dessert was the best thing about it, Wall of Chocolate, which we took home with us. (level 9) (A positive comment here: Just down the way is the TOKYO RESTAURANT, if you are in the mood for Japanese. Quiet, can be a bit bright, but you can see the sushi you're eating. Good food, whether you sit on the floor or in a chair, lovely service. It is in a little strip center; we didn't know what to expect but were pleasantly surprised.) (level 2) TEXAS LAND AND CATTLE on I35 close to 290E. What can I say. . . we moved outside to the deck so the four of us could talk even though we were cold. The steaks were well prepared for eating out, never as good as the ones off the grill at home, but it was a good meal, and out of town friends wanted to go there. We haven't been back. (level 8) HULA HUT. But then it's just more that kind of place in the evenings. (level 8)Afternoons are not too bad for a noisy place; you can talk, and you can get away from the noise with a snack and the sunset, the view is very nice. (level 4-5)

Sure thing, RK. We never did get around to taming the Recipes Wizard other the holidays, did we? Still no luck with that. So, I'll slip it in here. Tomato, Eggplant, and Italian Sausage Soup This is a nice garden soup anytime, great for end of the season harvest. Recipe is posted in the egullet Recipe archive now. Glad the software glitches are smoothed.

Interesting info on the true bagel method, Jennifer, thanks. You would certainly know better than I. My info came from years ago, Litwak's Deli, outside Detroit. I spent many weekend lunches there as a teenager and Mr Litwak told me and showed me his bagel secrets. Looking forward to eating your bagels.

I don't know what happened to the Bagel Factory downtown Austin. Used to be near the old Arts Warehouse (4th & San Antonio); I'd slip out every Saturday at noon and grab a bagful. I don't think the grocery bakeries, or maybe any bakeries here, really do the lye dip. That makes all the difference. It tightens the outside of the dough so you get the crust you deserve. When the bagel is dipped, it can't fluff up too much. And the bigger is better bagel concept is making most quasi bagels taste like kaiser rolls with a hole. I like kaiser rolls, but not when I want a bagel. We'll have to try the Cedar Park Bagel Works.

Tomato, Eggplant and Italian Sausage Soup Serves 6 as Soupor 4 as Main Dish. This recipe is from the Cooking with/for Disabilities course in the eCGI. This is a nice garden soup anytime, great for end of the season harvest. It can be prepared in a crock pot or soup kettle. You can choose to make it a vegeterian meal by using the soy Italian sausage, and vegetable broth or stock. 3 links Italian Sausage (soy or meat) 1 T olive oil 1 large sweet yellow onion, coarsely chopped 4 cloves garlic, minced 3 sweet banana peppers, sliced in rings OR 1 red bell pepper julienne 3 c Ichiban eggplant, halved, sliced 1/4 inch 8 oz sliced mushrooms 2 bay leaves 2 c vegetable OR chicken stock 8 medium tomatoes OR 2 lbs canned, diced 2 T each fresh oregano and basil OR 2 tsp dried 1/4 tsp each salt and crushed red pepper or to taste 4 oz red wine 2 c or more water 1/2 c cooked pasta per serving; pick a nice shape Slice peppers and eggplant with pizza cutter, set aside. Slice onion with pizza cutter then lay out slices and roll cutter through again, across the layers, to dice. Set aside. Heat skillet over medium heat for a few minutes; spray with olive oil cooking spray. Brown the sausages in whole links until nicely deep golden. Remove sausages, add minced garlic, sliced peppers, and chopped onion, with more non-stick olive oil spray, or 1 T of olive oil. Stir to coat, then slice sausage. Using pizza cutter again, slice sausages in 1/4 inch rounds, return to skillet with onion mixture, add sliced eggplant and mushrooms. Stir and cook until onions and eggplant are slightly tender, about five minutes. Place all in your soup pot on medium heat. Add 2 cups chicken broth or vegetable broth and 2 cups water. Add tomatoes and 2 bay leaves. Cook just to a beginning boil, lower heat, add oregano and basil. Simmer, covered, for 30 minutes. Soup can simmer on low for hours, and is a good choice for your crock pot; may need to replace 1 cup or so water. Add crushed red pepper and salt, adjust to your taste. Now add 6-8 ounces red wine. Let soup simmer on low heat, covered, for another 30 minutes or so. Shortly before you want to serve cook some interesting pasta, al dente; pick a shape, the pennes, rotinis, and small "horns" do well with this soup. 1/2 serving pasta per person (1/2 cup, cooked). Ladle the soup generously over pasta in the bowl. (The pasta is prettier, and will not lose its shape and if you keep it separate until serving soup.) Serve with fresh grated parmesan and or romano cheese, and garlic toast. A side salad is always nice. Keywords: Main Dish, Vegetables, Soup, Pasta, Dinner, Healthy Choices, Intermediate, Lunch, eGCI ( RG775 )

Tomato, Eggplant and Italian Sausage Soup Serves 6 as Soupor 4 as Main Dish. This recipe is from the Cooking with/for Disabilities course in the eCGI. This is a nice garden soup anytime, great for end of the season harvest. It can be prepared in a crock pot or soup kettle. You can choose to make it a vegeterian meal by using the soy Italian sausage, and vegetable broth or stock. 3 links Italian Sausage (soy or meat) 1 T olive oil 1 large sweet yellow onion, coarsely chopped 4 cloves garlic, minced 3 sweet banana peppers, sliced in rings OR 1 red bell pepper julienne 3 c Ichiban eggplant, halved, sliced 1/4 inch 8 oz sliced mushrooms 2 bay leaves 2 c vegetable OR chicken stock 8 medium tomatoes OR 2 lbs canned, diced 2 T each fresh oregano and basil OR 2 tsp dried 1/4 tsp each salt and crushed red pepper or to taste 4 oz red wine 2 c or more water 1/2 c cooked pasta per serving; pick a nice shape Slice peppers and eggplant with pizza cutter, set aside. Slice onion with pizza cutter then lay out slices and roll cutter through again, across the layers, to dice. Set aside. Heat skillet over medium heat for a few minutes; spray with olive oil cooking spray. Brown the sausages in whole links until nicely deep golden. Remove sausages, add minced garlic, sliced peppers, and chopped onion, with more non-stick olive oil spray, or 1 T of olive oil. Stir to coat, then slice sausage. Using pizza cutter again, slice sausages in 1/4 inch rounds, return to skillet with onion mixture, add sliced eggplant and mushrooms. Stir and cook until onions and eggplant are slightly tender, about five minutes. Place all in your soup pot on medium heat. Add 2 cups chicken broth or vegetable broth and 2 cups water. Add tomatoes and 2 bay leaves. Cook just to a beginning boil, lower heat, add oregano and basil. Simmer, covered, for 30 minutes. Soup can simmer on low for hours, and is a good choice for your crock pot; may need to replace 1 cup or so water. Add crushed red pepper and salt, adjust to your taste. Now add 6-8 ounces red wine. Let soup simmer on low heat, covered, for another 30 minutes or so. Shortly before you want to serve cook some interesting pasta, al dente; pick a shape, the pennes, rotinis, and small "horns" do well with this soup. 1/2 serving pasta per person (1/2 cup, cooked). Ladle the soup generously over pasta in the bowl. (The pasta is prettier, and will not lose its shape and if you keep it separate until serving soup.) Serve with fresh grated parmesan and or romano cheese, and garlic toast. A side salad is always nice. Keywords: Main Dish, Vegetables, Soup, Pasta, Dinner, Healthy Choices, Intermediate, Lunch, eGCI ( RG775 )

Sure thing, RK. We never did get around to taming the Recipes Wizard other the holidays, did we? Still no luck with that. So, I'll slip it in here. Tomato, Eggplant, and Italian Sausage Soup This is a nice garden soup anytime, great for end of the season harvest. Serves 4-5 as a main course; 6-8 as a soup course Ingredients 3 links Italian Sausage (I prefer the soy, or use meat) 1 T olive oil 1 large sweet yellow onion, coarsely chopped 4 cloves garlic, minced 3 cups Ichiban eggplant, halved and sliced 1/4 inch, OR Italian eggplant, chopped 8 oz sliced mushrooms 2-4 sweet banana peppers, sliced in 1/4 inch rings, OR sweet red pepper rings, chopped 2 cups vegetable OR chicken stock 8 medium tomatoes, seeded and diced, or 2 lbs canned, diced 1 T each fresh oregano and basil, OR 1 tsp each if crushed dried 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper, or to taste 1/4 tsp salt, or to taste 6-8 ounces red wine 2 cups or more water 1/2 cup cooked pasta per serving; pick a nice shape Method Heat skillet over medium heat for a few minutes; spray with non-stick olive oil. Brown the sausages in whole links until nicely deep golden. Remove sausages, add minced garlic, sliced peppers, and chopped onion, with more non-stick olive oil spray, or 1 T of olive oil. Stir to coat while slicing sausage. Slice sausages in 1/4 inch rounds, return to skillet with onion mixture, add sliced eggplant and mushrooms. Stir and cook until onions and eggplant are slightly tender, about five minutes. Place all in your soup pot on medium heat. Add 2 cups chicken broth or vegetable broth and 2 cups water. Add tomatoes and 2 bay leaves. Cook just to a beginning boil, lower heat, add 2 T each fresh oregano and basil, 2 tsp each if dried and crushed. Simmer, covered, at least 30 minutes. Soup can simmer on low for hours, and is a good choice for your crock pot; may need to replace 1 cup or so water. Add 1/4 tsp each crushed red pepper and salt, adjust to your taste. Now add 6-8 ounces red wine, and have some yourself. Let soup simmer on low heat, covered, for another 30 minutes or so. Shortly before you want to serve cook some interesting pasta al dente; pick a shape, the pennes, rotinis, and small "horns" do well with this soup. 1/2 serving pasta per person (1/2 cup). Ladle the soup generously over pasta in the bowl. (The pasta is prettier, and will not lose its shape and if you keep it separate until serving soup.) Serve with fresh grated parmesan and or romano cheese, and garlic toast. Hope you had the chance to try this. Your Colorado Chile Verde is on my list to try soon. It will be the perfect break once I get past my turkey fix. Turkey soup and t/sour cream enchiladas first.

First freeze last night. It is 30 degrees out here now as the sun is rising in crisp clear air. Of course the peach tree has lost blooms by this morning. The warm winters are definitely a problem for growing the fruits, and I have no idea what this tree is rated at since it was already here when we bought the property. Our neighbors have one rated higher for freezes so it holds off until the wather is legitimately warm, in April. The get a nice little crop every year. A friend out in Fredericksburg told me to wait until almost the last freeze, near the end of March, even if she has already bloomed, cut some of the branches back then and it will force the tree to bloom again. That is how she tricks hers every year into giving her such a good crop. It's worth a try. I'll let you know how it works out. I had to harvest all the vegetables from the garden yesterday afternoon. It was already blowing hard and very chilly for us with the front on the way. Typical here, we will be in the low 50s for a high for two days, freeze last night and colder tonight, then back to 40s low and 68-74 high for the next few days. Just enough to have to strip the garden of the last vegetables. Almost three dozen green tomatoes; the grocery was selling green tomatoes this week for $1.59/lb. I figure I carried in about five bucks worth. Always a good excuse to have fried green tomatoes and salsa verde with homegrowns, though I wish they could have grown for another week or so. The chilis were still abundant, but not tolerant of this cold at all, so they all had to come in, (Anaheim, jalapeno, cayenne, hot, and sweet banana peppers) along with the Ichiban eggplant. The "spring" greens that surprised me by growing all summer, even in the heat, are now cleaned, washed and in the veg crisper. The garden is too much to cover and hold out for warmer weather in a couple of days. The Tabasco peppers, which are perennials in their own warmer climate, knew the freeze was coming and suddenly dumped nearly all their leaves yesterday, leaving me with a last picking of varied sunset colored peppers for vinegar sprinkle. I looked out this morning, and my terraced garden appears to be old spinach someone left on sticks in my yard. It is always sad. But then we enjoy the last harvest and take a break for a couple months. As usual, I am overflowing with fragrant basil and the last of that is in the big kitchen pantry, drying in its rack, scenting the downstairs whenever I open the door. All my potted plants are inside now. My livingroom looks like a greenhouse. The Bay Laurel trees and Norfolk pines are in for the season; I can't move them on my own, they have grown too much. I want to repot them one more time then transplant the Bays out in the yard next fall. They are about four feet tall now and just starting to branch out. I have been babying them so far; had them for over three years now and love drying my own bay leaves for cooking and sharing. Some of the smaller cactus, succulent, and euphormia (Africa's versions of cacti) can go in and out with warm weather. My only potted herbs this year are a healthy Italian Oregano, new this season, and garlic chives I have been growing for three years now, so they are in with the rest. I left the land, the trees, and gardens I had nourished and encouraged as my children, after 16 years, with tears flowing down my cheeks. I don't think I could stand to lose this one. We have talked about moving, but every time it comes back to the green, the flowers, our grapes, fennel, wild persimmon, the terraced garden we fill with tomatoes and peppers, rock walls of roses, onions and garlic appear every spring as a gift, honeysuckle blooms with wild perfume over the porch, and the live oak that covers the back deck with cool shade even in August. And every time we say, no we can't leave this. Susan, may your new gardens give to you new joy, what ours have given to us.

I fixed it; recipe complete in the archive. This one looks yummy. It is soup season in what is soon to be the land of ice fishing. Thank you, Susan. I'm not sure what what my problem is with that, it takes the Method section with no problem. I'm on AOL and use Explorer 5.0 for this site (and most others) because I can enlarge the font to be readable for for my screwy eyes. Thanks again, for taking the time to enter that for me. Hope you enjoy it. The bay scallops make it easy, no cutting; they grow to just the right size. Quote jat Nov 12 2003, 09:07 PM I think it's the beer and the pork, with the sweet vegetables. That's why I was inspired to try it. It does add a nice balance to the natural sweetness of the sweet onions, fresh corn and carrots in the chowder. The scallops love it as much as the rest of the ingredients. I use the fat free cheddar; it melts well in the chowder without any oily glump. Maybe your tastes will inspire you to try a different garnish. If you try it, let me know what you think.

My sympathies. I lived in Houston for years. One of the main reasons I wanted to relocate out near the Austin/Hill Countryregion was to move into a weather base just enough different from Houston. Less rain, and humidity, and the chance for some seasonal changes. Some years are better for that than others. We're not that different from deeper in the Hill Country, like Fredericksburg, though; they get it colder than we do sometimes. As I sit writing, my peach tree, which lost all her leaves last week, is now in full bloom. This is a first; she has never bloomed in November. Of course, there won't be enough time for the fruit before a freeze hits us, unless we are extremely lucky. I like the idea of an apricot tree. I will eat them any way I can, fresh, dried, preserved. I may have just the spot for one. I should move the nectarine tree over there also, while she's still runty enough to go. The previous owners planted her in what I have come to realize is the poorest area of the yard. Fine for the tough, indigenous plants, not good for fruit trees. I have tried to encourage her to grow big, beautiful, and fruitful, but she is not getting the "big" part. Fifi, are you container gardening? Houston either has one very long growing season, or one long one with three or more shorter seasons in a year. Growing in containers I could grow all year long. Although it's not the same as getting out in your garden, it does ease those gardening withdrawals while in an apt.

Quote Richard Kilgore Nov 6, 2003 Seems my computer may too low tech to handle that. I have tried using the Ingredients Wizard, as well as entering ingredients one at a time. It's just not happening here. I will try again later, maybe it was the time of day? Here is the chowder recipe, to start. Hearty Bay Scallop Chowder 4 to 6 servings as a main dish / 8-10 as a soup course Ingredients 2 medium sweet yellow onions/diced to 1/3 inch 1 T unsalted butter 1 large baking potato (3/4 lb) 1/2 cup beer 1 large fresh thyme sprig (or one large dried sprig) 1/4 t white pepper, or more to taste 1 lb bay scallops 3 cups vegetable broth 1 cup chicken broth 2 cups baby carrots cut in 2 or 3 pieces 1 ear kernels from cobbed fresh corn 1 lean pork chop (1/2 lb) diced to 1/2 inch 3/4 cup skim milk 1/4 cup fat free half and half 1/4 t salt, or to taste garnish for 4-6 servings 1/4 cup bacon crumbles 1/3 cup grated sharp cheddar (fat free or regular) Method Dice onions; cook 1 onion in butter in covered 4 quart heavy saucepan over low heat until very soft, stir occasionally; 10 minutes. Reserve the other onion to cook with diced pork chop. Wash and dice potato into 1/3 inch. Reserve all but 1/2 cup in cold water for parboiling with carrots and corn. Add beer, thyme sprig, and white pepper to onions and boil down about a minute or so; most of liquid will be evaporated. Add 1/2 cup diced potato, 1/2 cup scallops, vegetable and chicken broths, then simmer, uncovered, about 20 minutes; potato should be tender. Cook the reserved potato with carrot, and corn in salted boiling water, until tender, 5-10 minutes. While that is parboiling, discard thyme sprig, then carefully purée soup base in a blender until very smooth; do in 2 batches. Transfer puree to a bowl. Wash saucepan, cook diced pork chop with 2nd onion, until pork is cooked through and onion is tender. Return puree to pan, then drain and add vegetable mixture, the remaining scallops, milk, half and half, and salt. Cook chowder over medium heat, until scallops are just cooked through, for about 2-3 minutes, stirring, so that it does not reach a boil. Serve sprinkled with 2 tsp bacon crumbles, and 1 tbsp grated sharp cheddar. I like to serve with small thin sourdough toasts on the side, but you can serve with Oyster crackers or other similar crackers. A green salad completes your meal. Each two cup serving of chowder (not including crackers, or whole fat cheddar) contains about 290 calories and 7 grams fat. Tomato Eggplant with Italian Sausage later. I'm cooking dinner.

Hearty Bay Scallops Chowder Serves 8 as Soupor 4 as Main Dish. This recipe is from the Cooking with/for Disabilities course in the eCGI. Hungry for some chowder? I was, and cooked up something a little bit different. Near the Gulf Coast, we almost always have a pound or two of bay scallops on hand. Perfect for chowder, they are already bite-size. 2 medium sweet yellow onions/diced to 1/3 inch 1 T unsalted butter 1 large baking potato (3/4 lb) 1/2 c beer 1 large fresh thyme sprig (or one large dried sprig) 1/4 tsp white pepper, or more to taste 1 lb bay scallops 3 c vegetable broth 1 c chicken broth 2 c baby carrots cut in 2 or 3 pieces 1 ear kernels from cobbed fresh corn 1 lean pork chop (1/2 lb) diced to 1/2 inch 3/4 c skim milk 1/4 c fat free half and half 1/4 tsp salt, or to taste garnish for 4-6 servings 1/4 c bacon crumbles 1/3 c grated sharp cheddar (fat free or regular) As posted in EGCI Cooking as a Person with Disabilities Gather and prep all ingredients first; dice onions, wash and dice potato into 1/3 inch, cut carrots, dice pork chop. (If necessary, you may parboil the potato and carrots whole first, before dicing.) Reserve all but 1/2 cup diced potato in cold water for parboiling with carrots and corn. Cook 1 onion in butter in covered 4 quart heavy saucepan over low heat until very soft, stir occasionally; 10 minutes. Reserve the other onion to cook with diced pork chop. Add beer, thyme sprig, and white pepper to onion and boil down about a minute or so; most of liquid will be evaporated. Add 1/2 cup diced potato, 1/2 cup scallops, vegetable and chicken broths, then simmer, uncovered, about 20 minutes; potato should be tender. Cook the reserved potato with carrot, and corn in boiling water, until tender, 5 to 10 minutes. While that is parboiling, discard thyme sprig. Carefully purée soup base in several small batches in a blender until very smooth. Transfer puree to a bowl. Cook diced pork chop with 2nd onion, until pork is cooked through and onion is tender. Return puree to pan with pork and onion, then drain and add vegetable mixture, milk, half-and-half, and salt. Cook chowder for several minutes, stirring over medium heat so that it does not reach a boil. Add the remaining scallops and continue stirring until scallops are just cooked through, for about 2 to 3 minutes. Serve sprinkled with 2 tsp bacon crumbles, and 1 tbsp grated sharp cheddar. I like to serve with small thin sourdough toasts on the side, but you can serve with Oyster crackers or other similar crackers. A green salad completes your meal. Each two cup serving of chowder (not including crackers, or whole fat cheddar) contains about 290 calories and *7 grams fat. **The sodium will depend on your stock and salt additions. You can minimize that greatly by using your own low sodium stock, as I do. Keywords: Main Dish, Blender, Seafood, Intermediate, American, eGCI, Healthy Choices ( RG754 )

Hearty Bay Scallops Chowder Serves 8 as Soupor 4 as Main Dish. This recipe is from the Cooking with/for Disabilities course in the eCGI. Hungry for some chowder? I was, and cooked up something a little bit different. Near the Gulf Coast, we almost always have a pound or two of bay scallops on hand. Perfect for chowder, they are already bite-size. 2 medium sweet yellow onions/diced to 1/3 inch 1 T unsalted butter 1 large baking potato (3/4 lb) 1/2 c beer 1 large fresh thyme sprig (or one large dried sprig) 1/4 tsp white pepper, or more to taste 1 lb bay scallops 3 c vegetable broth 1 c chicken broth 2 c baby carrots cut in 2 or 3 pieces 1 ear kernels from cobbed fresh corn 1 lean pork chop (1/2 lb) diced to 1/2 inch 3/4 c skim milk 1/4 c fat free half and half 1/4 tsp salt, or to taste garnish for 4-6 servings 1/4 c bacon crumbles 1/3 c grated sharp cheddar (fat free or regular) As posted in EGCI Cooking as a Person with Disabilities Gather and prep all ingredients first; dice onions, wash and dice potato into 1/3 inch, cut carrots, dice pork chop. (If necessary, you may parboil the potato and carrots whole first, before dicing.) Reserve all but 1/2 cup diced potato in cold water for parboiling with carrots and corn. Cook 1 onion in butter in covered 4 quart heavy saucepan over low heat until very soft, stir occasionally; 10 minutes. Reserve the other onion to cook with diced pork chop. Add beer, thyme sprig, and white pepper to onion and boil down about a minute or so; most of liquid will be evaporated. Add 1/2 cup diced potato, 1/2 cup scallops, vegetable and chicken broths, then simmer, uncovered, about 20 minutes; potato should be tender. Cook the reserved potato with carrot, and corn in boiling water, until tender, 5 to 10 minutes. While that is parboiling, discard thyme sprig. Carefully purée soup base in several small batches in a blender until very smooth. Transfer puree to a bowl. Cook diced pork chop with 2nd onion, until pork is cooked through and onion is tender. Return puree to pan with pork and onion, then drain and add vegetable mixture, milk, half-and-half, and salt. Cook chowder for several minutes, stirring over medium heat so that it does not reach a boil. Add the remaining scallops and continue stirring until scallops are just cooked through, for about 2 to 3 minutes. Serve sprinkled with 2 tsp bacon crumbles, and 1 tbsp grated sharp cheddar. I like to serve with small thin sourdough toasts on the side, but you can serve with Oyster crackers or other similar crackers. A green salad completes your meal. Each two cup serving of chowder (not including crackers, or whole fat cheddar) contains about 290 calories and *7 grams fat. **The sodium will depend on your stock and salt additions. You can minimize that greatly by using your own low sodium stock, as I do. Keywords: Main Dish, Blender, Seafood, Intermediate, American, eGCI, Healthy Choices ( RG754 )

Quote MGLloyd A Nov 2 2003 11:09AM œI have Mirro 6 qt PC, and love it. 10lb pressure is the only setting, but that is good for most meals you want to cook, anyway. I'm not big on fried foods, but, occassionally do want to indulge in fried chicken, or most especially, fried chicken livers. The recommended process is to brown the coated chicken pieces (2 1/2 -3 lbs per chicken, 2 chickens for the 6 qt, or 1 chicken for the 4 qt) in 1/4 cup oil in your PC. It takes about 1/4 cup oil per chicken to brown nicely. Remove chicken, then place rack on the bottom. Add 2 small onions (1 if 4 qt size); I like to quarter the onions and saute them for a minute before adding the water and rack. Use 1 1/4 cups water (1 cup if 4 qt size). Return chicken to PC and lock it down. Cook 12 to 15 minutes minutes after jiggle. (If I have 5 to 6 lbs of chicken in there I cook it for the total 15 minutes.) Cool off the heat for 5 minutes, (this also allows the meat to finish cooking "slowly") then put PC under water until pressure is reduced. Place the chicken under oven broiler for a few minutes, depending on how crispy you want it, while you deglaze and make your gravy with the wonderful chicken/onion broth in pan. It sounds odd, but the chicken is tender and delicious, and with very little grease from the frying stage. If you do chicken livers, brown quickly, then they only need to cook for the 4 to 5 minutes it takes for the quartered onions to be done, and you can do a mess of them so quickly! If you're doing the whole fried chicken and mashed taters bit, you can cook your potatoes in the PC on the rack, cut in half, in about 8 minutes, before you start the chicken. Just transfer them to a sauce pan, keep on low, then while your chicken is locked in the PC you can do the mashing. Or I like to do garlic new potatoes sometimes and those take even less time, about 6 minutes and the garlic is cooked into the potatoes with butter and whatever other herbs/spices you like. Then they can stay warm in a pot or casserole until the chicken is done. You can put your other vegs in there at the same time; corn on the cob will do in about 6 minutes, but the 8 won't hurt it. I hope you newbies enjoy your PCs; they are time and labor saving friends. And lots of fun once you get a feel for all the things you can do in them. Chicken, roasts, soups, sauces, chili, beans and more beans, about any veg you can think of, two and three things at once, together, or in their own individual containers. You can stop the PC to add more ingredients to the pot, if some would take much less time than others, just be sure to do the right procedure to reduce pressure before you open it. Never attempt to rush it; your PC will open easily once the pressure has been reduced. For all meats or combo meals let it cool for 5 minutes off the heat before putting under faucet or in sink of cold water. For all vegs you can go straight for the cold water. It only takes a couple minutes to reduce pressure once the PC is in the cold water. Don't worry-your food will still be plenty hot! Just words of advice here: you can use almost any liquid in them instead of water, such as broths, or juices, but DO NOT USE MILK IN THE THE PRESSURE STAGE. If you have a cream based sauce/gravy or broth, add the milk product after the initial cooking. If you want to cook with a bit of wine or other alcohol in the sauce, be sure you still add the amount of water/broth/juice you would without the addition of the alcohol. I'll post some of my own tried and loved recipes shortly. Pork chops with sauerkraut coming soon.

Homemade soups as favorites are mentioned too often to quote any one post on this. They are my favorites. Perhaps part of that comes from the joy of making them, for me, and sharing the goodiness We tend to make soup a meal, so we can eat as much of it as we want. My favorites have to be: (not in any order) Split pea soup w/home smoked bird (garnish:caramelized onions) Leek and potato (garnish:bacon) Navy Bean Soup (garnish: salsa) Chicken and Dumplings (garnish: just a sprinkle of carroway seed) Tomato/eggplant w/Italian sausage (onions, mushrooms, fresh oregano, garlic, crushed red chilis, red wine and twisted macaronis in vegetable broth served with garlic toasted Italian bread (garnish:parmesan/romano cheese) Mushroom Soup (garnish:avocado slice and thin sliced fresh mushroom w/a drizzle of sour cream) newest inspiration we love: Hearty Bay Scallop Chowder (garnish:crumbled bacon and sharp Tillamook cheddar) served with thin sliced crispy toasted sourdough bread (I'll post the recipe if anyone is interested) I was hungry for some chowder, no clams, no way to get out, but I did have some other stuff Holiday soups: Rich broth Turkey Soup made after the holiday, w/plenty of fresh vegetables; carrots, onions, squash, mushrooms, dried peppers, fresh rosemary and lemon basil; ladled over wide egg noodles (garnish:croutons) w/sourdough rolls Lamb Soup We have made it our tradition to roast a leg of lamb for New Year's, to eat with blackeyed peas, (yes we really do like them), and sourdough cornbread. (garnish: roasted green chilis or green onions) serve w/more cornbread Schnitz and Knepp (Pennsylvania Dutch ham and dried apple soup) no garnish but serve with a hearty german rye bread and butter But I won't discount the soups I crave when someone else is doing the cooking and clean up for me: Pho Hot and Sour Cauliflower Cheese soup œThe first time I had this soup, with a slight variation, was, in all places, Tuscaloosa Alabama, in a little cafe across from UA. They called it Reuben Soup. It had slivers of real corned beef, sauerkraut, onions, sourcream, and no barley, in a very thin but rich broth. If you didn't get there by 11:30AM on Reuben soup days you just had to have something else. Thanks for reminding me of this! I lived on this soup on Mondays and Wednesdays in the winter through two years of grad school.

Hopleaf Nov 3 That is certainly a consideration. The tree was already a few years old when we bought the house out here, 5 years ago. It responded so well to its environment, growing and producing more each year for the first 2 years we were here that I was just hopeful. She has always been bushy peacy, more more like a bush than a tree. I keep thinking I really should cut back some of her legs but then she puts out those glorious blooms, which used to be followed by peaches and I have not been able to make myself take a trim saw to her.

As tough as it can be to do Halloween at 85 or 90 degrees, I do appreciate our long growing season in Central Texas. The ichiban eggplant has found a second wind after the severe heat of August, producing more every day; the peppers (Anaheim, cayenne, some jalapenos, especially the Tabascos, are pumping out for us still; the okra is eight feet tall and prolific. It will soon be time to perform a final harvest here, cut the basils from the bed, and bring in the chives and oregano I have potted. Will be time to till it all under, the first time, before Christmas. I love the fall, too! Then, in the Spring I have an unstable peach tree; she wants to bloom earlier every year! Thought this might be the right time to modify her behavior. Does anyone know what to do about a peach tree that blooms too early, in fact, earlier every year? We invariably get a final kick in the pants hard frost here the last week in March. My peach tree used to start working on blooming in mid-March, not bothered by the last cold front. Now, she blooms in mid-February and the new baby peaches, several dozen of them this Spring, were frozen out. Lost a big crop from that one tree. Last year (2002) was not as bad, we lost all but there were only one third as many blooms. The year before, same weather, peaches were fine, delicious and juicy, ready to eat in May. What happened? Anyone have any suggestions? Wild guesses? Desparate measures? Bold and bizarre instructions? My peach tree, as well as our taste buds are suffering from this early termination.

Hearty Bay Scallop Chowder Dice onions; cook 1 onion in butter in covered 4 quart heavy saucepan over low heat until very soft, stir occasionally; 10 minutes. Reserve the other onion to cook with diced pork chop. Wash and dice potato into 1/3 inch. Reserve all but 1/2 cup in cold water for parboiling with carrots and corn. Add beer, thyme sprig, and white pepper to onions and boil down about a minute or so; most of liquid will be evaporated. Add 1/2 cup diced potato, 1/2 cup scallops, vegetable and chicken broths, then simmer, uncovered, about 15 minutes; potato should be tender. Cook the reserved potato with carrot, and corn in salted boiling water, until tender, about 5 minutes. While that is parboiling, discard thyme sprig, then carefully purée soup base in a blender or food processor until very smooth. Do in 2 batches. Transfer puree to a bowl. It will be very hot. Wash saucepan, cook diced pork chop with 2nd onion, until pork is cooked through and onion is tender. Return puree to pan, then drain and add vegetable mixture, the remaining scallops, milk, half and half, and salt. Cook chowder over medium heat, until scallops are just cooked through, for about 2-3 minutes, stirring, so that it does not reach a boil. Serve sprinkled with 2 t bacon crumbles, and 1 T grated sharp cheddar. I like to serve with small thin sourdough toasts on the side, but you can serve with Oyster crackers or other similar crackers. A green salad completes your meal. Each two cup serving of chowder (not including crackers, or whole fat cheddar) contains about 290 calories and 7 grams fat. ( RG752 )

Hearty Bay Scallop Chowder Dice onions; cook 1 onion in butter in covered 4 quart heavy saucepan over low heat until very soft, stir occasionally; 10 minutes. Reserve the other onion to cook with diced pork chop. Wash and dice potato into 1/3 inch. Reserve all but 1/2 cup in cold water for parboiling with carrots and corn. Add beer, thyme sprig, and white pepper to onions and boil down about a minute or so; most of liquid will be evaporated. Add 1/2 cup diced potato, 1/2 cup scallops, vegetable and chicken broths, then simmer, uncovered, about 15 minutes; potato should be tender. Cook the reserved potato with carrot, and corn in salted boiling water, until tender, about 5 minutes. While that is parboiling, discard thyme sprig, then carefully purée soup base in a blender or food processor until very smooth. Do in 2 batches. Transfer puree to a bowl. It will be very hot. Wash saucepan, cook diced pork chop with 2nd onion, until pork is cooked through and onion is tender. Return puree to pan, then drain and add vegetable mixture, the remaining scallops, milk, half and half, and salt. Cook chowder over medium heat, until scallops are just cooked through, for about 2-3 minutes, stirring, so that it does not reach a boil. Serve sprinkled with 2 t bacon crumbles, and 1 T grated sharp cheddar. I like to serve with small thin sourdough toasts on the side, but you can serve with Oyster crackers or other similar crackers. A green salad completes your meal. Each two cup serving of chowder (not including crackers, or whole fat cheddar) contains about 290 calories and 7 grams fat. ( RG752 )