1st Christmas, 1st Black Eye – WAHOO, originally uploaded by Kate Chan.
A Wordless Wednesday Photo Post.
GF:Simple Fig Chutney, originally uploaded by Kate Chan.
Sometimes the easiest recipes yield the best results. The other day I found fresh figs in our market. It seemed kind of strange to me that I found them as i had seen figs in the late summer and October… but heck – who was I to argue! It was fig time – and it was perfect timing. Nothing beats the versatility of a great fig chutney in the kitchen.
We use this simple chutney with cheese/crackers, on meats, etc – even adding a few tablespoons to a marinade that we brushed on before making some pork chop the other night. OH – delicious! And simple!
The recipe is also super easy to adapt. You can add ginger or carmelized onions, or cloves, etc to change up the flavors of your fig chutnet. We used just the figs this time around as we have been altering the flavor of the chutney POST creation. We’ve added couple tablespoons with a squirt of dijon mustard and mixed it together to make a sandwich spread…….. we’ve added this basic chutney plus some sherry to make a great au jus for some pork chops (and it’s delicious with chicken too… I might add), etc. The possibilites are limited only by your mind, that’s for sure.
The Chicklet has been delighting in “dipping” her foods (mostly her fingers…LOL) in to everything she eats these days, so we’ve been obliging her developing taste buds with a wide variety of goodies to dip in to. Most kids I know go straight for the sweet stuff… but not my little imp. She definitely prefers the savory. So she’s enjoyed this mixed with dijon mustard more frequently than just eating it plain. I think it’s too sweet for her.
That sweetness comes mainly from the figs themselves. The recipe calls for little sugar, in comparison to how many figs (2 pounds) I used. I tasted the figs prior to cooking, so I knew they were already sweet enough. Be sure to taste your figs too, before cooking. That way you can adjust your sweetness level to your preference.
Next up on the order of business for the Chicklet and I: Making some Christmas Cookies together. I think we will start with these roll out cookies and move on to a recipe that a student of mine just gave me for Molassess Crinkles. (I can’t wait to try them… they sound fabulous!).
My in-laws are coming in town next week too. It will be the first time they have been able to come to see the Chicklet. I can’t wait for them to meet her! I so know they will fall in love with her as we have as well. She’s quite the little dreamboat, I tell ya.
What are you plans before the Holidays?
Are there any recipes you are seeking?
Please leave a comment and let me know!
I’m ready to get back to creating and exploring in the ktichen. And now the Chicklet is DYING to mix, stir, scrunch, smoosh, and help out in any way she can. The sound of the mixer is like music to her ears – she comes running and wants to cook along with me.
I LOVE THAT!
Anyway.. enough of my prattling along…. here’s the basic recipe for Fig Chutney that we use. Adapt it and use it as you will. (It’s great with ginger!)
Simple Fig Chutney – the basic recipe
Makes 4 pint jars + a little for munching
Ingredients:
2 pounds fresh figs, cleaned, stemmed and halved
2 cups red wine vinegar
2/3 cup of sugar
2/3 cup of water
Directions:
- Put liquid into a non-reactive, large pot over medium heat.
- Add sugar and stir until dissolved.
- Add figs (cleaned, stemmed and halved) and bring to a boil.
- Reduce to a simmer and allow to simmer on low – partially covered – for an hour. The figs will reduce to become deep and smooth. The consistency will be thick, but not dense nor dry. (It will thicken up as it cools.)
- Can according to your canning instructions – or store in jars in the refrigerator.
(We’ve always canned these and given the extras away as gifts to neighbors and friends…. so i can’t tell you how long an “uncanned” jar of chutney will last in the fridge. Maybe 3 weeks or so?)
Happy eating!
~Kate
So the photo is just the little bit left from lunch the other day. The babe was still eating her congee as she just can’t get enough somedays.
I’ve written about this simple rice porridge before – how it soothed my stomach after food poisoning overseas; how my husband’s family uses this as a staple (and swears by the powers of the rice “broth” for feeling better when you are ill); etc. It’s so good – that people have begun getting worried that I wasn’t going to post the recipe.
I guess my delay in posting the “recipe” is that there really are so many varieties, ways and ideas for what you can do that there really is NO recipe for this. It varies by family, province, country, etc. But there are some basics for you to know before you toss your rice into a pot and get cooking.
THE BASICS
It’s important to note that rice porridge (congee or jook) is meant to be cooked longer than you would normally cook/steam rice. You want the rice to break down and the rice starch to naturally thicken the broth. In order to achieve this, you want to do the following:
- Use a rice to water ratio that is at least 1:8. For example, toss 1/2 cup of rice (not Minute Rice, not Uncle Ben’s processed rice – just regular old rice) in to 4 cups of water. (Yes, that says 4 cups!)
- Bring it to a boil and then lower the heat to a simmer. Stir frequently to keep the rice from sticking to the bottom of the pan and to help develop a creamier texture.
- Simmer with a lid covering MOST of the top (leave it open about an inch or so to avoid it overflowing!) for 45 minutes or so. At this point, you should be able to stir the rice and see that it has thickened the liquid (which is now more like a stew broth – thick and delicious!) and you will see that the rice has broken down.
- Now add salt to taste. And Wah-lah! You have a basic rice porridge.
- You can now eat your porridge as it (which we often do) or you can top it with the traditional chopped green onions as well.
THE VARIATIONS
There are so many things you can do with this that you will find a never ending list of “gotta-try-that”s in your brain once you taste the deliciousness of this super-simple soup. Here’s a list of some of the things that we have done:
- Heat a little oil in the pan and quickly saute some chopped garlic until aromatic. THEN add your rice, water and salt. MMMMM.
- Use chicken stock instead of water (or veg stock, or… etc).
- Better yet: Remember that GF rotisserie chicken you picked up for dinner but didn’t really finish? Put that into a huge stock pot, cover with water and toss in your rice. Boil this for a couple hours. The carcass will break down and the meat will be tender and fabulous mixed into the congee. (You may/may not need to add seasoning/salt – depends on your chicken.)
- Make the congee with a ham bone instead of that leftover chicken.
- At the end of cooking, add some rinsed black beans and some chopped up tiny pieces of meat. (This is Zoe’s second favorite version. Second only to the basic version above.)
- Add traditional Chinese ingredients, like Thousand Year Old (aka preserved) duck egg or a splash of GF soy sauce instead of the salt.
- Add some chopped up pieces of white fish just at the end of cooking and boost your protein power. You only need to cook for a few minutes longer for the fish to cook through if you chop it up.
- Whisk an egg (or two) in a small bowl, the stir the egg into the cooked congee.
- Sauté some small chopped carrot and onion pieces, add a bit of garlic then add your rice and a bit more water (like 1:9 ratio or 1:10 – depending on how thick you like your congee) and cook away.
Really… the variations are endless.
The structure or basics are not set in stone. The ratio can vary depending on how thick you prefer your congee. I wouldn’t suggest using a ratio of less than 1:6 as then you end up with mushy rice and not a porridge at all. And a ratio of greater than 1:12 makes for some watery rice soup. But hey – it’s personal preference!
I order congee for myself and the Chicklet when my honey has a craving for dim sum. It’s gluten free – but be careful! Some restaurants like to top their congee with shredded wonton skins. Just say no to those as they are not gluten free and avoid the traditional Chinese donut (a long fried not-sweet bread) that is always typically served with congee. I guess that’s the beauty of having a (1) baby along because they always ask if the baby would like those things (LOL!) and (2) a native Cantonese speaker in the mix.
I hope this post finds you all well and enjoying your fall. Life is grand around here – so much so that we are even considering adding another family member in the form of a 11 month old pup. (As though one toddler weren’t enough for me……..)
Happy GF Eating!
And don’t forget to come back and post your favorite congee variation!
I’m up for some new ideas!
~Kate
If you haven’t noticed, I’m struggling for what to post. The reality is that our eating habits have changed for the better and the simpler. In fact, simple is what Zoe loves – so let’s go with it! Her favorite meal is congee (rice porridge) slowly cooked for hours with chicken stock and a few black beans thrown in for fiber or maybe some green onion, ginger and garlic. She could eat that for every meal, I think. And actually, so could I.
As an exchange student (light years ago), I got food poisoning – ironically at an “American Bistro”. (That’ll teach ya…. eat what is culturally appropriate, not the stuff you *think* you miss… LOL). The doctors put me on a rice/garlic soup for a few days. It was so soothing to my stomach and filling – or maybe I should say “fulfilling” – like I never knew rice to be. It wasn’t until I met my Love that I realized that congee (or rice porridge) is nothing new. It was new to me then – and certainly not something on my family menu as a kid growing up in Minnesota.
The other thing I find Zoe and myself craving that is so simple to make are refried beans. We call them cheater beans because I make them with canned beans. What the heck! I’m a working Momma – I don’t have the time (or the memory!!) to soak beans and cook them forever some nights. The protein from the beans nicely compliments whatever other veg is on the menu and fruit fits the bill for dessert.
See? Simple menus.
So simple that my lunch today was celery sticks with peanut butter and a half cup of yogurt. For which I packed a FORK to eat it??!! Oh yea, sleep deprivation is playing a role in our menu planning as well. We *do* think “What can we make on “xx”day because we won’t be home until 5:30 or 6?” This fact alone, has radically changed what we do and when we do it.
And while take out is sometimes an option….. it’s not always the healthiest and it gets old… fast.
So the other night? We had cheater beans, gingered-carrots and veggie-rice a la Mexican rice. Simple and delicious – and Zoe ate every bite. (She’s easy to please, however. The only food she WON’T eat are apples or mushy berries. Texture is her thing, I think.)
What are you eating on crazy nights that you find comfort in?
Here’s our recipe for cheater beans – feel free to adlib the spices. You won’t regret it.
Cheater Beans
Makes as much as each can will make
Ingredients:
1 can beans – white, navy, kidney, black, etc. You’re choice!
2 Tablespoons bacon grease or olive oil with a dash of liquid smoke.
2 teaspoons minced garlic
2/3 can of water (use the same can from the beans to keep your ratio)
spices to taste: black pepper + cumin? chile powder? green onion? minced onion? oregano?
Directions:
- Don’t rinse the beans, but drain the can a bit.
- Melt bacon grease over medium heat.
- Add garlic and stir until fragrant.
- Add the beans and the water to the pot with the garlic.
- Put over a low-medium low flame.
- Add water.
- Begin mashing the beans to your desired consistency with a potato masher (or a fork… if you have the patience! LOL)
- Taste and season.
- Serve warm with your other fabulous comfort food.
Eat this … and you’ll never again pay for refried beans again. You’ll know the YUM-Factor in making your own in hardly any time at all.
Enjoy!
~Kate
