Eric’s Garlic Wings

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Ingredients:

Juice of 2 lemons

5 or 6 large garlic cloves

1 T salt

1 T olive oil

About 2 dozen chicken wings (wingettes & drummettes)

Preparation:

Peel and coarsely chop garlic cloves.

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Place in mortar or small bowl and add salt.

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Use pestle or end of knife handle to gently tap cloves, slowly reducing them to a moist mash.

Blend lemon juice and olive oil in flat pan large enough to hold chicken pieces.

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Add mashed garlic mixture and stir.

Slip wingettes and drummettes into marinade.  Spoon marinade over top.

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Marinate half an hour or longer. (Refrigerate if marinating for very long.)

Preheat grill to 350˚ F.  Set wingettes and drummettes on grill, discarding marinade.

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Cook ’til nearly done, about 25 minutes. Turn heat up to 400˚ F and cook about 5 minutes more.  (Test with meat thermometer.)

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Eric’s Tahini Mushroom Udon with Broccoli & Kale

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Ingredients:

Hawaiian black salt

black sesame seeds

1 C tahini

juice of 1 lemon

1 T tamari

1 T rice wine vinegar

½ lb. crimini mushrooms, whole

1/6 lb. shiitake mushrooms, sliced

1 bunch broccolini

1 lb. udon noodles

lime wedges

Preparation:

In a mortar and pestle, crush salt & sesame seeds to make black gomasio.

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We used 1 part salt to 3 parts seeds but might prefer 1 part salt to 5 parts seeds.

In small bowl, make tahini sauce.  Stir together tahini, lemon juice, tamari, and rice wine vinegar.

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When well blended, stir in ¼ C Black Gomasio.

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Thin with water to desired consistency.

Saute crimini mushrooms in butter and oil; add shiitakes after 5 minutes.

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Saute 5 more minutes. Take out and set aside.  Add washed broccolini to same pan, adding more oil if needed.  Saute broccolini ‘til nearly tender.  Add kale and saute a few minutes.

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Boil udon noodles according to package directions. Drain. Add desired amount of tahini sauce to noodles.  (Any extra can be used later on other cooked veggies.)  Stir in broccolini.

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Stir in mushrooms.  Serve in individual bowls, garnishing with lime wedges.

Butternut Squash with Yogurt and Rice

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Butternut squash from a Missouri roadside stand coupled with Exotic Rice Blend from the Dutchman’s Store in Cantril, Iowa, produced a colorful, nutritious casserole.  All the steps in this recipe are easy, but cleanup takes time.   Leftovers reheat well.

Ingredients:

Butternut squash

Cooked rice (wild, basmati, white, brown, or a blend)

Salt (optional)

Water or broth

Cilantro

Plain yogurt

Cheddar cheese, grated

Butter or oil (optional)

Vary quantities according to taste.  A very large squash, 1-1/2 cups raw rice, 3 cups water, 1 cup yogurt, ½ cup cheese, and 1 tablespoon butter filled a 9-x-12 baking pan and proved adequate for a neighborhood potluck picnic.

Preparation:

Seed squash & cut into big pieces

Brush cut sides with butter or oil (optional)

Bake squash on cookie sheet at 350˚F ‘til tender

Cook rice in salted water or broth ‘til tender

Put rice in greased baking dish

Skin & cube squash and lay atop rice

Combine yogurt & cheese

Heat yogurt/cheese mixture ‘til cheese melts

Pour yogurt/cheese over squash/rice

Bake casserole, covered, at 350˚F for 20-30 minutes

Remove from oven, garnish with cilantro, and serve

Eric’s Burgers, Fries, and Arugula Salad

Mixed Fries

Eric pan-fried sweet potatoes, red potatoes, and new potatoes in oil, adding rosemary and coarsely chopped garlic when potatoes were nearly tender.

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Fresh raspberry vinaigrette complemented his Arugula Salad with Sunflower Sprouts, Pear Slices, and Orange Cherry Tomatoes.

As an experiment he mounded grass-fed beef burgers before grilling.

Sliced tomatoes on mixed greens added color to the table.

Parmesan Pepper Bread from Gourmet Creations took the place of buns.

Eric’s Burrito Bowl

In individual serving bowls, have each diner layer the ingredients listed below.  Quantities will vary according to personal preference


Black beans, cooked or canned, drained & rinsed, gently heated

Rice, cooked & salted to taste

Corn, freshly cut from cob & raw is best

Chicken (optional), skinned, boned, cooked & diced

Salsa – see recipe under Huevos Rancheros or purchase

Guacamole – see recipe below or purchase

Monterey Jack cheese, coarsely grated

Plain Yogurt, Greek-style (full or low fat)

Eric’s Guacamole

Ingredients:

2 Avocadoes, chopped (save pits)

Juice of one lime

Salt, pinch or two

Onion, 1 T finely chopped

1 Tomato, small to medium, chopped

Preparation:

Add lime juice to medium bowl

Add salt

Add chopped avocado & mash with fork

Mix in onion & tomato

Bury saved pits in mixture to prevent discoloration

Beaufort Stew

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Hope and Rod’s friends Debbie and Joe visited us on Edisto Island and made us Beaufort Stew, a traditional local dish also called Low Country Boil and Frogmore Stew.  This recipe fed 20 with lots of leftovers.

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Ingredients:

20 small, unskinned red potatoes, halved

5 lbs. Vidalia  onions, quartered

1 dozen ears of corn, shucked, 2 – 3 inch pieces

4 lbs. Polska Kielbasa sausage, 2 – 3 inch pieces

2  3-oz. boxes Zatariah’s Crawfish, Shrimp & Crab Boil

12 lbs. fresh shrimp, remove heads before cooking (about  8 lbs. without heads)

Preparation:

Boil water in 28 – 30 gallon pot

When boiling, add potatoes, cook 7 minutes

Add white onions & sausage, cook 7 minutes

Add corn & cook 7 minutes

Add shrimp & cook 7 minutes

Joe and Rod

Joe and Rod

Hope’s Boiled Peanuts

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Hope purchased raw peanuts in the shell at a roadside stand near Edisto Beach, South Carolina, and refrigerated them.  When we cooked them, the end result was something I’d never tasted.  Growing up in the South, Hope said she consumed lots of boiled peanuts but no peanut butter.

Ingredients:

1-1/2 pounds of raw, unshelled peanuts

¼ cup sea salt

water

Preparation:

Place unshelled peanuts in large stewpot

Cover with water

Bring water to boil, then lower heat to medium

Simmer peanuts 45 minutes, then drain

Cover peanuts with ice, drain water when melted

Refrigerate overnight

Shell when ready to eat

Hope’s Cilantro Bean Salad

DSC_4205Ingredients:

2-16 oz. cans garbanzo beans, rinsed

1-16 oz. can cannelloni beans, rinsed

2-16 oz. black beans, rinsed

1 whole container cherry tomatoes

6-8 sliced green onions

4 minced cloves elephant garlic (or 8 small)

juice of 3-4 lemons

sea salt to taste

¼ cup olive

big handful fresh cilantro, chopped

Preparation:

Mix all ingredients in large bowl

Serve at room temperature, then refrigerate

Great left over!

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Huevos Rancheros

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With the whole family pitching in, this dish was quickly assembled and made a festive Labor Day weekend brunch.  Home-grown tomatoes added extra sparkle.  A small bowl of orange wedges sufficed for dessert.

This recipe yields four large servings with two eggs each.  Use small tortillas or halve large ones to make smaller servings.  One egg/tortilla (or tortilla half) would satisfy many people, especially if half the plate is filled with lightly dressed mixed greens and sunflower sprouts.

Consider making the salsa and guacamole a little in advance or purchasing them already prepared to save time and eliminate steps.

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons canola oil

2 teaspoons butter

4 large multi-grain or 8 small corn tortillas

5 large tomatoes or ½ box Pomi Chopped Tomatoes

1 small purple onion, chopped

¼ chopped fresh cilantro, plus a few leaves for garnishing

1 large garlic clove, coarsely chopped

½ teaspoon salt

juice of 1 lime

8 eggs

2 cans whole black beans

¼ cup shredded Monterey jack cheese

½ cup plain yogurt

1 cup guacamole (See recipe under Eric’s Burrito Bowl.)

Preparation:

Warm 1 tablespoon oil in heavy skillet.  Add a layer of tortillas and cook 1 minute.

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Flip and cook other side.  Remove from skillet, set in pie pan, cover with aluminum foil, and place in warm oven or toaster oven.  Repeat until all tortillas are warmed.

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Puree tomatoes, onion, lime juice, cilantro (reserving stems for garnish), garlic, and salt in blender.

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Pour carefully into the same (now empty) heavy skillet and simmer, stirring until salsa thickens, about 10 minutes.

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Add 1 tablespoon oil to separate pan.  Add drained beans.  Stir very gently only occasionally so beans retain their shape and glossy color.  (Don’t mash!)

In separate skillet, fry 2 eggs in 1/2 teaspoon butter.

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Set aside to keep warm.  Continue until all eggs are fried.

Plate Huevos Rancheros:

Lay 1 large or 2 overlapping small tortillas on plate.  Spoon beans on each tortilla.

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Gently lay eggs atop beans (2 on large tortilla or 1 on each small tortilla).

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Drizzle salsa over everything.

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Sprinkle with cheese.

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Add dollops of yogurt and guacamole.  Garnish with reserved cilantro.