Ginger syrup

Take the ginger, peel it (or just trim away the dried out parts). Using a sharp knife (the cook's favorite implement), slice the ginger thinly (1/8 inch is good, 1/4 inch is okay but a little thicker than ideal, and even less than 1/8 inch is best yet). Layer the slices in a clean container with one of the following between the layers:

- plain sugar (brown or white, either is okay)
- honey
- agave syrup

(Artificial sweeteners are not recommended)

Add some extra on top of the slices, too.

Let it sit for a day or so (you can put it in the fridge if you want, but you don't have to).

It's easiest to see with the sugar, because the ginger juice will liquify the sugar and turn it to ginger syrup! What can you use the syrup for?

- add a spoonful to hot water with some lemon juice for an instant hot beverage! Also good iced.
- add it to pie filling -- especially good with cherries!
- add a spoonful to a smoothy.

It may be strong, depending on the quality and freshness of your ginger, and the exact ratio of sugar to ginger root. PLUS! you can fish out the ginger slices for use in baking, or to add to tea or even just nibble on straight. Again, it may be more spicy that what you are used to, so you may want to taste it first before use to estimate how much to use.

Two new things

1. I was talking to a woman yesterday as we were oohing and aaahing over the price of organic broccoli in the store (99 cents a pound), and she said she likes to roast it. My sister also says that roasting is her "go-to" prep method for veggies, so I thought, what the heck. I cut up the broccoli into florets, tossed them with a small spoonful of olive oil, and put them on a pan in the oven at 350. I shook/turned them a couple of times, but they were done in less than 15 minutes. Took them out and tossed them with a pinch of salt. YUMMY!

2. I saved the broccoli stems and put them through my juicer, along with some celery, carrots, and part of a cuke. I had been feeling kinda punk, and this juice perked me right up, and also ... YUMMY! or am I just a wierdo? whatever, I thought it was yummy!

TTFN!

This works as a vegetarian main course

Don't know what you'd call this .... polenta-dilla? It's polenta, refried beans, salsa, and cheese layered in a pie pan. You could use a 9x9 square dish if you prefer.

First, the polenta layer -- Bring 3 cups water to a boil, add 1 teaspoon each salt and olive oil. Slowly add, while stirring, 1 cup dry polenta. Turn down heat to a simmer, and stir continuously for 10-15 minutes. It's a surprisingly long time. Better have some music on to keep you company. stir stir stir. don't stop! I use a wire whisk, but you could use a spoon.

The polenta will be fairly thick -- pour it into an oiled pan (pie or square), spread it out evenly and smooth the top. Pop it into a 350 oven for 15 minutes.

Next is the refried beans. Now, I prefer the low fat, or fat-free, but you could use the fully loaded ones. I put a full 15 or 16 oz can into a cuisinart and add about 2 to 4 tablespoons of water -- just enough to allow me to make it into a slightly thinner puree in the cuisinart. This helps me to spread it on top of the polenta. At the end of 15 minutes, pull out the polenta, and carefully pour the beans on top, and spread them out as evenly as possible without terrifically disturbing the polenta. Put this back in the oven for another 15 minutes.

Finally, take it out, and pour about 1/2 cup of salsa over the top, spread it around so it's more or less even, and top with grated cheese more-or-less evenly over the top. Put this all back in the oven for another 5-10 minutes, till the cheese melts.

Take it out, and do your best to cut it up -- it's still pretty mushy, but it's very tasty! You can top with any of the following: sour cream (or plain yogurt), cut up scallions, cilantro, parsley, minced onion, or whatever you want.

Serve with steamed veggies - I did broccoli last night. Yum!

Different cooking styles

Just so you know, most recipes for stews can be made either in a crock pot, cassarole dish, or large pot. You can even use a large frying pan. The effects will vary, and each method has pros and cons.

Crock pots are easy to use -- you need to have plenty of time (3-6 hours) to let things simmer, but once it's set up to go, you can pretty much leave it alone all day (although occasional stirring will help prevent stuff from sticking, but it's not strictly necessary). You can get an inexpensive crock pot if you just want to experiment with it, but the more expensive models have all kinds of bells and whistles - timers, several different temperatures, etc. To my experience, crock pots start at around 40 or 50 dollars.

A large cassarole dish should probably be lightly coated w/ oil before adding ingredients, and you'll want to make sure things are spread around evenly (more or less). A large cassarole dish with a lid might start at around 10 bucks, although those fancy ones can easily run a lot more (think 80-90 dollars). Things cook a lot faster in a large cassarole dish, and you can just leave it in the oven. If you wanted to go to an event of some sort and needed to just leave it to bake for a couple of hours, you can bake on a lower heat (around 300), but normally, I bake cassaroles at 350 and it takes about an hour.

A large cooking pot that stands about 9 inches tall and 9 to 10 inches in diameter, cooks on the stovetop, and comparatively fast (typically about 30-40 minutes). You should definitely start with some oil (or butter, yum!) in the bottom to prevent sticking and scorching. And you should pay closer attention with a stew made in a pot, than in the crock pot or cassarole - stirring to keep the bottom from scorching, unless there is a fair amount of fluid in there. You add ingredients according to how fast they cook, and you can sautee ingredients first (this is nice to help open up the flavor of spices, or to take the sharp flavor out of onions or garlic). Then add the rest of the ingredients: Meats generally need longest, then root veggies, then any other softer ingredients. A large cooking pot with a lid, like this will probably start at around 10 dollars, too.

And if you want to get even fancier, you can cook some ingredients separately, in a second pot, and add them to the stew just before serving. If you would like things to have more individual flavors, anyway. It's up to you! I'm just the messenger, here. Enjoy!

By popular demand!

It's come to my attention that some readers need easy recipes; here you go!

Vicki's Wicked Chicken
Easy, filling - best teamed up with a salad or steamed broccoli to punch up the nutrition, but still - it's easy and filling! Inspired by a night when I wanted a home-cooked meal, but I was too tired to do anything fancy.

You will need a large cassarole dish with a lid, and a knife and cutting board.

Grease or oil the cassarole dish - smear it around so that the bottom is covered and the sides are oiled/greased about half-way up the sides. You could use one of those oil sprays if you want to cut calories.

Add:

• About one pound of frozen potatos -the type that you bake and eat. I like Alexia Foods' ones, but you could use any brand. You could even buy potatoes in the produce section and just slice them up. About one pound. No need to thaw them first - just dump them into the pan and arrange them in a more-or-less even layer in the bottom.
• About 1-2 cups of cleaned, sliced carrots and onion. Spread over the top of the potatos more or less evenly. You could use any veggies you might want - mushrooms, turnips, etc -- root veggies are best. I would avoid using strong tasting veggies like broccoli in this dish.
• About 1 pound of skinless, boneless chicken, cut up into chunks about 1" squarish in size, and added evenly over the top of the veggies.
• Sprinkle over the top -- about 1/2 teaspoon of seasoning salt, or any mix of herbs and salt you want. I like steak seasoning salt, but there are blends out there specific to poultry.

Put the lid on the cassarole, and put it in a 350 oven to bake until it smells right and the chicken is done - about an hour.

An hour is about right for a salad, no? Take a large bowl, add 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil, about half that amount of vinegar (less if it's balsamic vinegar), a couple of pinches of salt. Add seasoning, about 1/2 to 1 teaspoon. If you like garlic, you can add some finely finely minced garlic, but dill, thyme, basil, sage, oregano -- all these are good, too. You can even mix them up! I like minced garlic and oregano, but whoever you hang out with over the evening is gonna have to like garlic, too, if that's what you use.

Anyway, next you can add the denser veggies - grated carrot, halved cherry tomatos, whatever you want. Toss in the olive oil mix and let them sit. Next, if you are lazy, add a package of that pre-washed spinach or lettuce (baby romaine is nice) -- if you are less lazy, you can start with a head of lettuce and wash it yourself first with a salad spinner, then cut it up into pieces. Add to the large bowl. Toss to mix the whole thing just before serving, then divide up into serving bowls. You can sprinkle the top with some cheese before serving if you want (I like a few chunks of feta on mine). This salad doesn't keep well - make only what you plan to eat right away, as the lettuce turns dark and wilts from the dressing.

Have fun! You can serve up the chicken with ketchup, salsa, or whatever you want. Next up: Salsa chicken -- also super-easy and tasty.

Spiced Baked Palestinian Chicken

This stuff is really tasty! Great with tabbouli, flatbread, and hummus. Good in the winter, but a great picnic sort of meal, too.

From my Arabic Cook Book, published by Najda, 1982.

Rub 3 lb of chicken with the juice of one lemon; this could be skinless/boneless, or a whole fryer with skin and bones, your choice. Season with:

3 tablespoons sumac** (a specialty spice in middle eastern shops)
1 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
1/8 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg

Lay it all out in a flat baking pan that has been lightly oiled with olive oil, no more than one piece deep. Cover. Let rest for one hour (I do this in the fridge, since I'm paranoid about chicken breeding bacteria).

Mix one large onion, sliced thin, 3 tblsp olive oil, and 2 tblsp pine nuts, and spread over chicken.

Bake uncovered for one hour at 400 F, until golden brown. If it starts to look too dark, you can cover it before it's done. Serve hot. The recipe says this serves 4 - I'd say it serves 6 to 8, but it depends on the hunger factor. You decide!

** Sumac is a specialty spice that I get at a local middle eastern shop - the kind of place that sells Halal meats is a good place to try, when looking for it. When I worked downtown, there was a great place at the Pike Place market that sold it. Now, I go to a Halal place on Lake City Way. It is reddish, and has a tart, lemony sort of flavor. I would not dream of substituting something like paprika as the flavor is entirely different.

Crock pot magic!

As my mom discovered back in the 70's, crock pots are made for busy working women. Here's my latest favorite -- add the following to your crock pot:

2 pounds skinless/boneless chicken, cut up into bite-sized chunks
1- 16-oz can black beans (rinsed)
1 medium-sized onion, cut up into pieces (bite-sized or smaller)
1 green pepper, seeded and cut up into pieces (bite-sized or smaller)
2 large carrots, peeled and cup into bite-sized or smaller chunks
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 teaspoon cumin
a shake of red pepper flakes, or 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Pour 1 16-oz can crushed tomatos on top, and 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar. Rinse out the tomato can with about 1/4 cup water and pour that on top, too.

Brew the crock pot on low all day, covered (although 3-4 hours is usually sufficient if you have less time). Taste it -- does it need some salt? Add salt to taste if it does (1/2 to 1 teaspoon generally does it for me).

This is terrific served up in a bowl with grated cheese, ketchup, or salsa. Yum! Hot n tasty! Perfect for fall.

*** Please note: you can add a can of corn, more beans (or different beans) and any other veggies you might want. You could also substitute beef cut up into 1/2" chunks instead of chicken, too. ****