Rubs

My basic really good Rub

• 2 tablespoons onion powder
• 2 tablespoons garlic powder
• 2 tablespoons dried oregano leaves
• 2 tablespoons dried sweet basil
• 1 tablespoon dried thyme leaves
• 1 tablespoon black pepper
• 1 tablespoon white pepper
• 1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
• 5 tablespoons sweet paprika

I make a double or triple batch of this and use it on chicken, pork, red beans, gumbo.  You name it.

Cuban Rum Punch

Cuban Rum Punch
Serves eighteen

Ingredients:
4 oz. white rum
4 oz. Captain Morgan spiced rum
1 oz. simple syrup
6 oz. pina colada mix
3 12-oz. cans pineapple juice
40 oz. red wine
20 oz. white grape juice

1. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl.
2. Cover and refrigerate for at least two hours.
3. When ready to serve, stir and pour over ice in a tall tumbler.
4. Garnish with a wedge of pineapple and a straw.

Rum a tum tum.

Turbot with a Piquant Sauce

Turbot with a Piquant Sauce (I used halibut, not turbot)

Serves 4

8 slices of halibut weighing about 3 1/2 oz each

lemon wedges to serve

salt and pepper to taste

Court-bouillon:

3 pints water

1 small onion, halved

1 carrot, thinly sliced

1 celery stalk, with leaves

1 tsp black peppercorns

2-3 bay leaves

Sauce:

3 oz butter

1 tbsp finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

finely grated rind and juice of 1 lemon

1 tbsp capers, finely chopped

1 small fresh red chili, very finely chopped

Bring the court-bouillon ingredients to a boil together. When boiling furiously, turn the heat down, add the slices of turbot and cook very gently for 5-8 minutes, depending on the thickness of the fish.

To make the sauce, melt the butter without burning it. Mix with the remaining sauce ingredients, and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Place the slices of fish on individual hot plates, and pour the sauce over them. Serve with boiled new potatoes, lemon wedges, and a salad of lamb's lettuce simply dressed with olive oil and lemon juice.

African Peanut-Potato Stew

We had some chicken peanut soup in Portland that left me craving more. This version is a thicker vegetarian stew, but Chris thought it was tastier.

While the peanut butter contributes a lot of flavor, it also contributes a good bit of fat. To reduce the fat, you may choose to reduce the amount. If you follow the Eat to Live program, you may want to substitute a raw nut butter.

1 sweet yellow onion, chopped
2 jalapenos, seeded and finely chopped (optional)
2 teaspoons minced fresh ginger
1 teaspoon minced fresh garlic
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1/2 tsp. salt (optional)
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground coriander
2 1/4 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 1/2-inch chunks
2 14.5 ounce cans chopped tomatoes (fire-roasted tomatoes worked nicely in this recipe)
2 14.5 ounce cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 pound green beans, cut in 1 inch pieces (fresh or frozen)
1 ½ cups vegetable broth
¼ cup natural peanut butter

Servings: 6-8

Directions:
Place 1/3 cup water, onion, jalapenos, ginger and garlic in a large pot. Cook, stirring occasionally for 5 minutes. Add cumin, cinnamon, salt, red pepper and coriander. Cook and stir for 1 minute. Add sweet potatoes, tomatoes, chickpeas, green beans, vegetable broth, and peanut butter. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes, or until potatoes are tender.

Per serving: 358 Calories (kcal); 8g Total Fat; (18% calories from fat); 15g Protein; 61g Carbohydrate; 0mg Cholesterol; 203mg Sodium

Adapted from other recipes by Susan Voisin
fatfreevegan.com

Awesome Mexican Rice

This is one of the best recipes I’ve found for Mexican rice.

INGREDIENTS
1 cup of uncooked rice
2 cups water
4 cloves garlic, minced or crushed
1-2 Tbsp. olive oil
½ sweet yellow onion
Coarsely chopped small roma tomato, chopped into 4 pieces
Hot pepper of your choice, sliced lengthwise
¼ cup tomato sauce
1 teaspoon cumin
2 Tbsp. chicken bouillon

DIRECTIONS
Heat olive oil in medium sized pot over medium heat. Add uncooked rice to the pot and make sure all of the rice is lightly coated with the oil. Sauté the rice in the oil and as it gets browner, stir the rice more frequently so that it does not turn black. Toward the end of the browning, add garlic and sauté for about 30 seconds.

Next, carefully add the water to the pot (be mindful that it will steam up). Add all remaining ingredients to the pot; stir and cover. Reduce heat to medium-low to medium and let the rice cook for 20-25 minutes.

Cheesy Green Chile Tailgate Rice

INGREDIENTS
1 large sweet yellow onion, chopped
2 tablespoons butter or margarine
4 cups hot cooked long-grain rice
2 cups sour cream
1 cup small curd cottage cheese
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon garlic powder
Cajun seasoning to taste
2 -3 (4 ounce) cans chopped green or hatch chilies, drained
2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese

DIRECTIONS
In a large skillet, cook onion in butter until tender. Remove from the heat. Stir in rice, sour cream, cottage cheese, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and Cajun seasoning. Spoon half of the mixture into a greased 11-in. x 7-in. x 2-in. baking dish. Top with half of the chilies and cheese. Repeat layers. Bake, covered, at 375 degrees F for 20 minutes. Remove cover and bake 10 additional minutes, or until heated through and bubbly on top.

Recipe adapted from http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Cheesy-Green-Chili-Rice/Detail.aspx

Southern Green Bean Casserole

8 cups of fresh green beans, ends trimmed, cut into 1 inch pieces
6 cups of chicken broth, reduced sodium
6 slices of bacon
2 Tablespoons of unsalted butter
1 large white onion, diced small
1 cup of fresh button mushrooms, sliced thin
1 large can (family size) condensed cream of mushroom soup
Cracked black pepper
Kosher salt
½ teaspoon garlic powder
¼ cup heavy cream

1 small red onion, sliced in thin rings
1 cup of flour
½ cup of canola oil
1 cup of fresh breadcrumbs from day old French bread, toasted

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Cook the bacon in a heavy skillet until crisp. Remove bacon from pan, and crumble bacon. Remove bacon drippings, leaving about 2 tablespoons in the pan. Add the butter to the pan with the bacon oil, and melt. Sauté the onions and mushrooms in the bacon butter until soft. Boil green beans in chicken broth for 8 minutes and drain. Add the green beans, mushroom soup, garlic powder, and cream, half of the crumbled bacon, and salt & pepper (to taste) to the onion mixture. Stir well. Pour into a greased baking dish.

For topping:
Mix 1 cup of flour with salt & pepper. Toss red onion rings in flour mixture. Heat canola oil in a large skillet, fry onion rings in batches, and set aside to cool on paper towels. Combine onion rings, bread crumbs, & remaining half of crumbled bacon in a medium size bowl. Add salt & pepper to taste.

Bake casserole for 20 minutes, then top the casserole with the topping and bake for 10 minutes longer, or until the casserole is hot.

Casserole & topping may be made 1 day ahead and chilled separately in the refrigerator.