tomatoes

End Of Summer Celebration – “Creamy Tomato & Bell Pepper Soup”

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Now that summer is almost over in Germany, I took the opportunity to buy some of the last garden-grown tomatoes and bell peppers from my neighbor down the road. (In a normal year, September provides the last locally grown tomatoes, while the season for bell peppers ends during October/November. As much as possible, I like to buy food that has been produced locally. My neighbor produces eggs, chicken, and lamb, as well as potatoes, tomatoes, capsicum, apples, blackberries, mirabelles, and strawberries.
Even the local supermarkets sell a lot of locally grown food-stuff, which makes one feel good about giving a little help to the local farmers. 🙂
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Bon Appétit ! Life is Good
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End Of Summer Celebration – “Creamy Tomato & Bell Pepper Soup”

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4 lbs tomatoes, 1.5 lbs red peppers

add 2 ea medium size onions, cut int chunks

add kosher salt, sriracha, sugar and garlic paste to taste

add 1 gallon chicken- or veggie – broth,, simmer until liquid has reduced to 2 quarts

with a stand-mixer or hand-mixer blend all until very smooth, last minute ad 1/2 cup fresh basil leaves

add 2 cup heavy cream, check/adjust flavor

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Crappy Weather Food – Beef, Beans And Other Stuff

Meanwhile, in Florida…….

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Hurricane season has finally arrived in Florida, and boy, has it ARRIVED 😦
While God has spared us a hurricane so far, we had constant rainstorms for the past two weeks, resulting in extensive flooding, turning many streets into rivers and parking lots into lakes.
Hearty food is the partial answer to that misery, making up for the fact that outside grilling and outside cooking in general, is suspended for the moment.
This beef stew with potatoes, tomatoes, onions, garbanzos, white beans, red beans and black beans is the perfect food to enjoy while looking out the window, watching the world drowning in rain and misery 😦
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Bon Appétit ! Life is Good !
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Crappy Weather Food – Beef, Beans And Other Stuff

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Preparation :
To read instructions, hover over pictures
To enlarge pictures and read instructions, click on pictures
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: 2 lbs beef ribs

: blanche ribs for one minute, drain, rinse

: to 3 qt water add the ribs, 2 med white onions, large dice, 1 tblsp garlic paste, 1 pinch grated nutmeg, kosher salt and grd black pepper to taste, bring to a simmer

: simmer slowly until ribs are very tender but NOT falling apart

: remove ribs from stock, let cool enough to handle

: remove and discard bones, cut meat into bite size pieces

: the stock should be reduce to about 1 qt; if too much, simmer until 1 qt remains, if there is not enough, add some more water to reach 1 qt

: cut 1/2 ea red pepper, 1/2 ea yellow pepper and 1/2 ea green peppers into large dice; drain and rinse 10 oz kernel corn, 10 oz black beans, 10 oz white beans, 10 oz red beans, 10 oz diced tomatoes, 10 oz small cooked potatoes

: add the beef, all the veggies, 1 lb finely sliced beef sausage and 1/2 cup sliced scallions to the stock, simmer for 3 minutes

: check/adjust seasoning

: to serve, sprinkle with fresh grated Asiago cheese and 1/2 cup finely diced raw white onion, red pepper, green pepper, yellow pepper and scallion (optional, but in my opinion the raw veggies add a great “freshness” and texture)

: Crappy Weather Food – Beef, Beans And Other Stuff

: Crappy Weather Food – Beef, Beans And Other Stuff

: Crappy Weather Food – Beef, Beans And Other Stuff

: Crappy Weather Food – Beef, Beans And Other Stuff

: Crappy Weather Food – Beef, Beans And Other Stuff

: Meanwhile, in Florida…….

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Shrimp And Octopus Stewed In Red Wine

Seafood , wine, olive oil, tomatoes, onions, garlic, beans and potatoes give this dish that familiar taste and appearance you’ll find when ordering seafood stew along the coast of Portugal and it’s islands.
Maria and I have had this particular stew (sometimes with, sometimes without the beans) a couple of times in the home of one of our friends in Funchal, Madeira, while living there, ca 17 years ago.
Served with rustic bread and LOTS of red Douro (Portuguese wine from vineyards along the Douro river) and Madeira (fortified wine from the islands of Madeira), seafood cooked in wine has since become one of my favorite meals to share with friends, and it has been one of the foods I remember most of that happy time, that beautiful country and its wonderful people.
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Bon Appétit ! Life is Good !
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Shrimp And Octopus Stewed In Red Wine

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Preparation :
To read instructions, hover over pictures
To enlarge pictures and read instructions, click on pictures
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: I got 10 packs, – made my day 🙂

: saute 2 med size chopped onions in 4 tblsp olive oil until transparent

: add 10 cloves of whole garlic confit, 5 bay leaves and 1 tblsp oregano, saute another minute

: add 1,5 lb octopus pieces

: add 1 tblsp tomato paste, 1 bottle of dry red wine, kosher salt and black pepper to taste

: simmer until octopus is tender, about two hours; add water if there is not enough liquid – there should be about 2 cups of liquid at this point

: add 1 lb of raw shrimp

: add two 10-oz can of white beans, 1 drained 10 oz can of diced tomato, 16 oz of small cooked potatoes and 2 tblsp chopped parsley

: simmer another 2 minutes or until shrimp are cooked through

: remove from heat, check/adjust seasoning; to serve, sprinkle with more chopped parsley and accompany with rice or rustic bread; serves 4

: Shrimp And Octopus Stewed In Red Wine

: Shrimp And Octopus Stewed In Red Wine

: Shrimp And Octopus Stewed In Red Wine

: Shrimp And Octopus Stewed In Red Wine

: Shrimp And Octopus Stewed In Red Wine

: Shrimp And Octopus Stewed In Red Wine

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Adana Kebab (Kıyma Kebabı) (Turkish Lamb Skewer)

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In the early seventies I was lucky enough to be visiting Turkey many times ( Istanbul, Kusadasi and Izmir among other places). At that time, Turkey still had an oriental mystique to it which was incredibly fascinating and exiting to a young man like me. The sights, smells and noises were so much different from what I was used to – even after all these years, they still linger vividly in my memory
My girlfriend and I almost got stoned by an angry mob one day at the market in Izmir. (They actually threw stones and small rocks at us). We just came from the Caribbean and my girlfriend Edith was wearing the popular outfit of the day – high heels, hot pants and a thin t-shirt without a bra – not a good idea at the time in a mostly Muslim country. Only the quick help and intervention of our taxi driver who came running to rescue us (carefree idiots) prevented great harm or worse.
But beside that particular episode, I only have great memories of Turkey in the seventies. One of the highlights of our stay’s were always the great meals we had in local restaurants. We tried anything we could, from five-star restaurants in five-star hotels in Istanbul to small dives along the beaches and funky eateries in the sea port’s more seedy areas. The food was always great, fresh, spice-laden and exotic (to me at that time, most anything seemed exotic)
I remember Adana Kebab to be widely served and today I finally got around to do my own version which turned out pretty spectacular 🙂
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Bon Appetit ! Afiyet Olsun !
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Turkish Adana Kebab

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Preparation :
To read instructions, hover over pictures
To enlarge pictures and read instructions, click on pictures
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: season ground lamb with sumac, cinnamon, cumin, paprika, grd coriander seeds, oregano, chili flakes, chopped onions, garlic paste, kosher salt, mix well, form into 8 oz balls, thread around skewers, grill until medium

: serve with flatbread, olives, pickled chilies, sun dried tomatoes, yogurt, hummus, onions, tomatoes, avocado, drizzle all with extra virgin olive oil, sprinkle with black pepper and chopped cilantro

: Turkish Adana Kebab

: Turkish Adana Kebab

: Turkish Adana Kebab

: Turkish Adana Kebab

: Turkish Adana Kebab

: Turkish Adana Kebab

: Turkish Adana Kebab

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Stew Of Cornish Hen In Merlot With Beans And Vegetables

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Cornish Hen has very tender meat and does not need to be stewed – it can be grilled, roasted , poached or sautéed.
However, once in a while I like to braise (stew) one because of the delicious sauce this cooking method will produce. So then, this is what I had for lunch today, accompanied by a tall glass of iced tea. (No more booze for me, at least for the moment 🙂

Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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Stew Of Cornish Hen In Merlot With Beans And Vegetables

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Preparation :
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season 8-cut chicken with salt, cayenne pepper and granulated garlic in olive oil until golden brown

add onions, saute until translucent

add chorizo, saute until starting to brown

add diced red peppers, garlic paste and scallions, saute one minute

deglaze with merlot, add small blanched potatoes, chopped tomatoes with their juices, cannelini beans and straw mushrooms

simmer until sauce sliightly thickens and chicken is cooked through, about 15 minutes

simmer until sauce slightly thickens and chicken is cooked through, about 15 minutes

add grated asiago cheese, check / adjust seasoning

to serve, sprinkle with chopped cilantro

Stew Of Cornish Hen In Merlot With Beans And Vegetables

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Sautéed Swai Filet In Brown Caper Butter

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This evening I tried a new type of fish which I never had before: Swai .
When I first saw the fish being sold for $ 4.00 a pound I was naturally very sceptical and went on a bit of research online. Much to my surprise, this seems to be a good choice, healthy and recommended by fish authorities.
So, with my suspicion nullified I went on to prepare the fish this evening and I must say, it was excellent. Sweet, flaky, white flesh, great taste 🙂

Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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Sauted Swai Filet In Brown Caper Butter

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