Posts filed under 'Book Reviews'
This is another recipe I got from the Texas Cowboy Cookbook. A delicious way to incorporate some squash into your diet.
The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo starts tomorrow, so I’m posting another “cowboy” recipe that I tried recently. Here it is, folks…. I made a couple of minor changes to suit my pantry, but this is basically the same thing from the cookbook:
Calabacitas con Carne
2 T. olive oil
2 lbs. pork loin chops, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1 can Ro-tel tomatoes with chiles
1 can petite diced tomatoes
1 c. diced onion
1 medium green bell pepper, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 t. ground cumin
2 c. frozen corn
2 summer squash, either yellow or green, peeled and cubed
1 t. salt
1 t. pepper
1 t. dried Mexican oregano
This can be done as a skillet supper or in the crock pot. The day I cooked this, I needed to put it in the crock pot so I could have my afternoon free.
Heat the oil in a large skillet, add the pork and cook until brown. Transfer the pork to the crock pot and then put the onions, bell pepper, and garlic in the skillet. When soft, add the all of the remaining ingredients. Cook and stir in the skillet until heated through, then pour it all into the crock pot.
I cooked this for about 6 hours on low. Right before serving, stir hard with a wooden spoon to break up the squash. By this time, it is so soft that it breaks apart easily and serves as a thickener for the stew.
If you are using the skillet method, you would cook the pork, then add the tomatoes, onions, bell pepper, garlic and cumin. Cover, lower the heat, and simmer for 30 minutes, until the pork is tender. Then add the corn, squash, salt, pepper, and oregano. Cover the pan again and cook for 45 minutes on low, until the squash is soft enough to break apart.
Serve this with tortillas, cheese, and sour cream.
March 1st, 2010
Hello Folks!
Apologies — I had an issue with my blog format and got a bit lazy about fixing it, but I am back now and determined to keep my blog more up-to-date than I have in recent months.
News item from the Hochstettler kitchen… After nearly 20 years of marriage and countless pies, my rolling pin was malfunctioning. I had the “regular” kind that most people have - handles on either end of a fairly large wooden rolling pin, the middle spins freely while the cook hangs onto the handles. This always worked just fine for me and, trust me, I’ve never had any complaints about my pies. A couple of months or so ago, when my old faithful rolling pin began sticking so that it wasn’t spinning freely like it should, I checked out rolling pins and decided to give a French Rolling Pin or Tapered Rolling pin a try.
The one I picked is a Vic Firth French Rolling Pin, made of maple:
Vic Firth, by the way, is a famous drummer and maker of drumsticks, who has apparently moved into the chefware arena.
I told myself that for $12.95, I would give this tapered rolling pin a try, but I was largely unconvinced that I would like it. I don’t like learning new things, and since I already knew how to operate my traditional rolling pin, I was pretty sure that I would end up wanting to buy one just like the one I’d had before. At best, I thought it would take me a while to adjust to using the tapered pin.
I was SO wrong. When I opened the package, I immediately fell in love with this thing. Honestly. With no finish, this maple pin was the smoothest piece of wood I’ve ever handled. I was busy that week and didn’t have reason to use it right away, but found myself just slipping it through my hands while I was in the kitchen. When I finally did put it to use, I instinctively knew just how to use it. Having tapered ends means you can turn it and change angles quickly and easily, almost without thinking. You can also easily adjust pressure to get a very even thickness on whatever you are rolling out.
With this French rolling pin, I feel like I can make pie crust, pizza crust, etc. just as thin as I want. It is truly a joy to use.
I know this blog post sounds like an ad; it really isn’t meant to. I just simply haven’t bought anything for my kitchen in a long time that I have liked so much.
June 17th, 2009
Being a home schooling mother of five, I visit our local library regularly. Actually, I visit it once a week, a scheduled visit which several of my kids would sorely miss if I skipped it. One likes to research animals and their behavior, one likes to read old-fashioned children’s stories and mysteries, one likes everything from comics to science books, the littlest one likes to rent movies. I usually pick something for my husband, who is an avid reader of all types of books, and I like to borrow some fiction for myself.
Many people don’t realize that the library also lends cookbooks. Yes, there is an entire section of your library — the shelves are stuffed full of cookbooks! Not sure you want to buy it? Borrow it first and spend a couple of weeks testing some of the recipes. Or, maybe a friend you want to have over for dinner is diabetic - borrow a diabetic cookbook for the occasion. Interested in food from other cultures? My library has an entire series of short cookbooks entitled, “Cooking the _________ Way.” I can pick from South American, German, Italian, Greek, or Japanese cuisine and more. You might decide to do International Food Day (or week) at your house. Want to make your kids some really special cookies on the last day of school? Choose a cookie cookbook from the shelf.
You can learn more about wine, cheese, beer, grains, meats, grilling, pastries, old-fashioned cooking, top picks from favorite magazines…. I could go on and on.
Last week, I had these cookbooks in my kitchen… “The Best of the Best,” a selection of recipes from the 25 best cookbooks of the year. I had “Best-Kept Secrets of Healthy Cooking,” there were some really tasty recipes in that one and I’m considering buying it. One was Pumpkin Gingerbread with very little oil, whole-wheat flour, and no eggs, which surprised me by turning out very well. I also had Better Homes and Gardens’ “The New Dieter’s Cookbook,” which had an abundance of delicious low-fat recipes.
If you are curious about a particular chef, check them out by borrowing one of their books. I spotted Emeril, Rachel Ray, and others on the shelf at my library.
And with electronic catalogs, finding books at your library is easier than ever. Most now have an online catalog, so you can search the topic or author, find the book you want, and copy the decimal code for easy finding at the library. You may even be able to place a hold on the book(s) you want and your librarian will have it ready for you when you arrive.
I know this post sounds like a commercial for your public library and I guess it is. I think that our libraries are a wonderful but sadly underused resource. In our materialistic society, we often buy and then discard. Personally, I almost always preview books at the library before I ever think about buying them.
April 21st, 2008
Previous Posts