Spicy New Year

I've been reading other people's posts about New Year's traditions, including black-eyed peas, greens, pork, sauerkraut, and others.  In my family, we have no particular tradition, though New Year's Eve usually calls for another round of Taco Soup or for a generic collection of party food.

New Year's has been pretty quiet for us this year.  We got together with friends for an early supper of Papa Murphy's pizza last night before the toddlers forced us all apart at bedtime.  We managed to make it to about 10:30 and then rolled over at midnight when the fireworks went off in the street.  Thankfully, the toddler didn't seem to be disturbed.

This morning we spent in the offices, preparing for the rush of January term that begins tomorrow (!), and this afternoon we came home for naps and for me to nurse a cold that I hope is at its worst and will be shortly improving (see aforementioned rush of January term).

But I still wanted to mark the holiday somehow with food, even if not traditional.  Compiling a few of the traditions mentioned above, we had egg scramble with ham, mushrooms, and kale for lunch (pork and greens) and will have Green Chile Stew for dinner tonight (also because I saw a picture of snowy Santa Fe in this morning's newspaper, and it made me a little wistful for the two years I spent there).

And now that everyone else is napping, I decided I needed something to go with my afternoon tea, so spice cookies are in the oven.  We'll see if any of them make it over to the neighbor who shoveled our driveway while we were away.

It's not traditional, perhaps, but on a cold and grey January day, a little spice is called for.

Happy New Year!

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Green Chile Stew

1 onion, sliced
2 cloves garlic
pork roast (I use pork tenderloin, about 2 lbs.)
      (I cook mine whole and shred or cube later, since loin can dry out so easily; if you use pork   
      butt/shoulder, you could cube it before cooking)
6-8 whole green chiles, roasted and peeled (mine are frozen from summer) or 2-3 small cans of green chile
1 1/2 lbs. potatoes (I had baby yukon golds)

Salt and pepper the pork to taste.  Combine everything in the slow cooker on high for 4 hours.  Cube or shred pork prior to serving.

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Spice Cookies

1/2 C. Butter
1 1/3 C. Brown Sugar
2 C. flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. ginger
1/2 tsp. cardamom
1/4 tsp. cloves
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/4-1/3 C. water

Cream butter and sugar; add dry ingredients (through pepper) and combine as thoroughly as you can (mixture will be quite dry).  Add vanilla and water (1-2 Tb. at a time) until mixture comes together.  Form into balls and press lightly onto baking sheet.  Bake at 375 for 10-12 minutes.  Cool slightly on sheets and then remove to racks.  Don't overbake.

Fall Food (I)

Indeed, the weather turned here this week, and this morning we all left the house wearing sweaters and jackets, the car spent the night in the garage, and the furnace-guy is coming for the annual cleaning and inspection this morning.

Perhaps this shift is one of the loveliest to me (though the first day of wearing no coat is also a remarkable thing in this part of the world), since it also ushers in the season of fall and winter food--known at our house as "soup season."

We have had one batch of chili already this fall, but so far no other soups.  I've been planning a sausage-potato-kale soup, since we've had kale both from the church produce table and our CSA share, but most of the kale has been roasted and/or included with other dishes, so we haven't gotten around to it yet.

Yesterday we had a batch of Garam Masala stew, which is new to our repertoire of soups and stews just last year, but it quickly became a favorite.  (It also is one of my myriad recipes that are variations on rice and beans.) 

Cool mornings, bright days, and warm food.  Happy fall!

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(Made-up and probably inauthentic) Garam Masala Stew

(all amounts are approximate)

1 C. boneless chicken (or cooked chicken) (or optional, for vegan option)
2 C. tomato sauce (or crushed tomatoes or diced tomatoes--whatever you prefer)
1 sm. onion, sliced
2 sweet potatoes, in large chunks
1 can (rinsed and drained) garbanzo beans/chick peas
1/2 c. raisins
2 C. cauliflower, in large chunks
1-2 Tb. (to taste) Penzey's Garam Masala seasoning or 1/4-1/2 tsp. each of black pepper, cumin, cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, and cloves
1-2 tsp. salt (to taste)

Put all ingredients together in the crock pot for 4-8 hours depending on your crock pot and level.  (If you use cooked chicken, reserve it until the end of the cooking.)  Serve with basmati rice.