israelisouthern

[israelisouthern]

Squash, Sweet Potato, and Carrot Soup

This soup started out how many of my dinners start out: with an intense need to use what’s in the fridge. (And to do my best to bring about autumn because, good lord, this heat.) This dilemma was coupled with the fact that I’ve been using Noom for a month now, which meant that I needed to be health conscious, which is why everything is actually measured. The results follow.

- 1 cup white onion, small diced (about 1.5 onions) - 2 cups sweet potato, medium diced (almost 1 potato) - 2 cups acorn squash, medium diced - 1 bell pepper, medium diced (I had green, but it doesn’t matter.) - 3 cloves of garlic, minced - 5 cups of chicken stock - 1 cup 2% milk - 1 chipotle in adobo sauce (Add more if you want; I wanted mild heat.) - 1 tsp or so of dried thyme (Use fresh if you can!) - Around 2 or so tsp of ground cinnamon - 1 large sprig of fresh rosemary - lime juice, to taste - salt, to taste - about 2 tbl of grapeseed oil (or some other oil that can take high heat) - 2 tbl cornstarch for slurry**

*Note: I have an unfair advantage here. I have a Vitamix blender, and it has a setting for hot soups. If you do not have one, a regular blender is more than okay. **Slurry: 2 tbl of cornstarch mixed with 2 tbl of COLD water.

1. Heat the oil on high in a large sauce pot or Dutch oven. Add in the onion, cooking it until it’s translucent. Add the bell pepper and cook until softened. 2. Turn the heat to medium high. Add the garlic and cook for a minute or so. 3. Add the carrot, squash, and sweet potato and cook for about five minutes. 4. Add the stock, the chipotle, the thyme, the cinnamon, and the rosemary. Bring to a boil, turn down to a simmer, and let cook for about 15 minutes, or until all of the vegetables are tender. 5. Taste the soup, checking for seasoning. (Add more salt or cinnamon if you’d like.) Remove the sprig of rosemary and discard it. 6. Transfer the soup to the blender, in two batches, and blend until smooth. 7. Return the soup to a pot, bring to a boil, and add the slurry. Boil once more and take off heat. 8. Check seasoning again, and then add the lime juice. Toppings for this could vary! I used goat cheese and was VERY pleased. Croutons would be nice, and some sort of toasted or spiced nuts would be nice, too. (Pecans or walnuts? I think yes.) Happy Autumn, y’all. Even if it doesn’t feel like it.

#israeli southern #autumn #autumn recipe #soup recipes #squash soup #sweet potato soup

[israelisouthern]

Stewed Chickpeas with Pork

I was talking with a dear friend of mine tonight, and I happened to tell her about a dish that I threw together a few nights ago. As I went through the ingredients, it dawned on me that THIS is something that I could share with people. Quarantine has given me the time to be creative, to challenge myself to cook with what I have.

I would say that most of my grocery store trips are planned around specific dishes that I want to cook, but some of them are definitely not. I will go with a list of things that I want, but I usually have no plans for what I buy. This was one of those times.

So, in an effort to not post too much story and not enough recipe, I give you this pork and chickpea dish.

- 1# of pork, cut for stir fry (You could honestly use anything. I’m planning to make this again with ground chicken.) - some sort of neutral oil (Canola/grapeseed/vegetable) - 3 cloves of garlic, minced - 1 onion, small diced - about 1/2 a tablespoon each of turmeric and coriander - about 1 tablespoon of harissa (I’ve been buying from NY Shuck for years now. Link here.) - 1 can of crushed tomatoes - 1 pint of chicken stock (You may want to add more.) - 1 can of chickpeas, drained - 1 bunch of kale, chiffonade (I used Dino kale.) - lime juice to taste - salt and pepper to taste

1. Add around a tablespoon of oil to a Dutch oven or to a large saucepan. Once the oil is hot, sear the pork until it has browned. Remove from pot and put to the side. 2. Add the onions to the pan, salt and pepper to taste, and sweat until translucent or lightly browned. 3. Add the garlic and cook briefly. Toss the onions and the garlic with the spices and toast until aromatic. (Make sure not to burn!) 4. Add the harissa and continue to cook for a minute or so. Then add the tomatoes and the chicken stock. Bring to a boil and then simmer for 15 minutes. 5. Add the chickpeas and cook for 5 more minutes. Add in the kale and cook until wilted. Return the pork to the pot and warm through. 6. Check the seasoning, and then add the lime juice. You could serve this with rice or some other grain. (If I’d thought about it sooner, I would have.) You could also add some fresh herbs as well. I also toyed with making this with potatoes instead of chickpeas. You would just need to simmer the mixture until the potatoes are tender. As I mentioned before, the pork can be exchanged for beef, chicken, lamb, etc. I’m fortunate enough to be surrounded by great local farmers markets, so my protein choices tend to be dictated by what they have in stock.

I hope this recipe finds you well!

#israeli southern #cooking #middle eastern cuisine #cooking blog #professional cook #harissa

[israelisouthern]

Cooks: What We’ve Been Up To

It’s Friday, and you’ve already worked forty hours this week. You get a call for yet another scallop dish. You quickly pull a saute pan down and throw it on the stove. As you walk yourself through the mental checklist of items fired, you have a momentary lapse of your surroundings. As you click back to reality, you grab for the saute pan of scallops and burn yourself on a saucepan handle as you move it out of the flames. You put it there earlier to remember to poach more eggs. These motions carry you through the rest of the night, and soon you’re finally getting your station checked by your sous chef so you can finally go home. Imagine going through the weekend, plus or minus a few more burns, making it to Sunday night, and going out with your co-workers for drinks. You laugh, talk shop, and call it a night.

That’s the type of weekend that cooks expect to have. Hell, that’s the type of week cooks expect to have. Now, imagine spending two weeks without a single bit of that adrenaline, camaraderie, stimulation, and achievement.

If you were to ask any chef or cook in this industry right now what they want, I guarantee that they will tell you that they want to go to work. Yes, it’s because they want to get paid, but it’s also because they miss working. My friend Alex in New York City has been teaching her roommate how to cook, tackling projects that they have left undone. Sam, my co-worker, has been making loaves of sandwich bread at his house to stay busy and to make money. Daniella, a friend of mine that’s a sous chef in San Francisco, has been cooking daily and posting videos to her Instagram Stories. What all of this says is that we cannot turn our passion off. Bobby Flay has even publicly stated that he has been cooking three meals a day to stay sane. Cooking is how we connect with the world.

For me, all of this has thrown me off balance. At the beginning, I felt like I had no purpose. I still have those feelings from time to time, but I have been doing my best to keep them at bay. Since I have been self isolating, I have cooked various things (red beans and rice, tuna salad, vegetable soup, the list goes on), I have worked out in my room, I went on a bike ride in my neighborhood (that was a bit disastrous, but good), I spent hours video chatting with my friends back in Texas, and, of course, I have watched TV and cleaned. I feel we are all looking for something to make our lives seem more normal. Whether that means labeling all of the leftovers in my fridge with green tape, or pretending like I still have a sleep schedule, maintaining normalcy has played a big part in my days.

As this continues, I have messages for everyone about many things. To my service industry peers: We will get through this by continuing to band together. Call your co-workers, make sure they are okay, share information about getting help during these times. We are always stronger as one. To all of the medical professionals that are working tirelessly to conquer COVID-19 head on: All of you are the world’s heroes. You make miracles happen every day, and we are indebted to you. The bravery that is being exhibited by each one of you is deeply inspiring. To my friends and family: We may be physically distant, but we will never be distant from each other’s hearts. Stay strong, stay well, stay kind. To all of the grocery store employees, truck drivers, supply manufacturers, postal workers, and everyone in between: Thank you for doing your jobs in this world of uncertainty. We owe you, and I hope that you feel self-worth. You matter.

Keep your heads up, everyone. As my favorite singer, Elton John, sings, “I have to say, my friends, this road goes a long, long way, and if we’re going to find the end, we’re going to need a helping hand.” Love to you all.

#cooking #line cooks #service industry #maintaining normalcy

[israelisouthern]

Hi, everyone!

Since graduating from CIA almost four years ago (?!), I have been searching for a way to write again. My time as copy editor/contributor at La Papillote is still some of my most treasured. I was given the platform to interview remarkable people within this industry.

More recently, I have been brainstorming ideas for articles, articles of stories that I want to tell. I have been locked into thinking that I could only write if I had someone to write FOR. I was wrong. When I was listening to a podcast the other night, I realized that I can be writing for me NOW.

So, I will begin this journey soon. I am looking forward to telling tales and learning things.

Cheers,

Sarah

#food writing #service industry #interviews #israeli southern