The Pig and I

This month's " In the Bag " run by Julia of A Slice of Cherry Pie and Scott of Real Epicurean lists the ingredients chicken, red chile and garlic. I'm not going to the grocery store this week, so I used the remainder of my salsa, plus a dried chile in place of the fresh chile. It was a relatively quick meal to make (one that could be shortened by a more attentive cook) and I enjoyed eating it. Hope you enjoy! 1 cup rice 1 3/4 cups water 1 teaspoon salt 2 dried lemons (omani) 1 chile arbol 2 tablespoons each: butter, olive oil 1 small white onion, sliced into half moons salt and pepper to taste 4 cloves minced garlic 1 carrot, diced 1 stalk celery, diced salt and pepper to taste 1 chicken breast, cut into 1"-ish cubes 2 tablespoons lemon juice salt and pepper to taste 1 1/2 - 2 cups black beans (or 1 can) 3/4 cup salsa Combine first group of ingredients and bring to a boil. Boil one minute, then cover and let cook over low heat for 10 min...

I find it odd I never posted this before. In my head, I had shared this recipe. But apparently, once again, what happened in my head and what happened in reality have nothing to do with one another. So I'm posting it now, as my entry for this month's In the Bag . I got this recipe from a Belorussian I used to know, who had changed his family's recipe from pork to beef in order to accommodate the dietary needs of his Muslim roommate. The only thing I've changed is the addition of garlic. Enjoy! 12 ounces beef (I used sirloin, but you use what you have), cut into cubes 2 potatoes, cut into large cubes 1-2 bay leaves pinch salt 2 quarts water a few whole cloves of garlic (optional) 1-2 tablespoons vegetable oil 4 beets, cut into sticks 3 carrots, sliced 2 stalks celery, sliced 1 teaspoon lemon juice 1 large chopped onion 1 large chopped tomato salt and pepper to taste pinch of sugar Boil the first group of ingredients for 30 minutes, skimming off any foa...

I wanted to make pumpkin empanadas for P on our anniversary (the 28th), but I wanted to minimise the amount of calories in each pie. I was basically successful (each pie works out to ~250 calories). Additionally, this is my entry for October's In The Bag . This recipe has a lot of "parts" but is actually quite simple to make. I made one part here, and one part there, between classes, and just tossed them all together and baked them once we were both home from school. Anise tea: 1-2 tablespoons anise seeds 1 cup water Bring to a boil. Boil down to 2/3 cup. Strain. Chill well (it needs to be COLD!) Dough: 1 stick butter (1/2 cup) 1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt 1/3 cup, give or take, anise tea Cut butter into small bits, and freeze. Freeze bowl of food processor (or your mixing bowl and whatever you intend to cut the butter into the flour with). Toss the flour in the freezer too, if you feel like it. I felt like it. Pulse the flour, sa...