Slow Roasted Butter Beans w/ Andouille, Kickin' Collard Greens w/ Okra and Molasses-Bourbon Glazed Sweet Potatoes

Slow-Roasted Butter (Lima) Beans w/ Smoky Andouille Sausage

Kickin' Collard Greens w/ Okra

Molasses & Bourbon Glazed Sweet Potatoes

Wow, it's been a long time since posting! We've since moved to the south in beautiful, ol' New Orleans :) We've been dining out a fair bit, soaking up the amazing, Southern foods! Now that we're settled in and have a whole new range of goodies in the grocery stores, we can really get creative with some tasty, Southern dishes - yum!!!

Starting with: a Southern meal for the bf's bday <3

Serves: 6 peeps.

Ingredients

• Slow-Roasted Large Lima (Large Butter) Beans 
• 1 lb Large Lima (Butter) Beans 
• 6 cups water
• 1/2 lb smoked ham hock
• 1/2 lb tasso, chopped 
• 1 large onion, chopped 
• 3 garlic cloves, chopped
• 3 tbsp parsley (dried), chopped 
• 4 stalks celery, chopped 
• 1 large bay leaf 
• 2 tsp Cajun Seasoning (Tony Chachere), or to taste
• 1 tsp smoked paprika, or to taste
• Fresh ground pepper, to taste 
• 1 lb Andouille Sausage (3 large links)

• Molasses & Bourbon Glazed Sweet Potatoes 
• 1 stick butter (unsalted), quartered 
• 3/4 cup molasses 
• 1/2 cup brown sugar 
• 1 cup bourbon 
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper 
• 8 large sweet potatoes, cut into 2-inch cubes 
• 3/4 cup toasted pecans, chopped

• Kickin' Collard Greens w/ Okra
• 1 tbsp olive oil 
• 3 slices bacon 
• 1 large onion, chopped 
• 2 cloves garlic, minced 
• 15-20 okra spears, chopped
• 3 cups chicken broth 
• 1 tsp salt 
• 1 tsp pepper 
• 1 pinch red pepper flakes 
• 1 lb fresh collard greens, cut into 2-inch pieces

Directions

Start with the lima beans and once they're set to simmer for 1.5 hrs, move on to the sweet potatoes recipe. Once those are in the oven, (check the lima beans and then) start the collard greens. Overall, it'll take 2 hours to go from ingredients to a tasty, Southern dish, ready to eat!

1. Slow-Roasted Large Lima (Large Butter) Beans (1 hr, 45 mins)
1. Rinse and sort beans. In a large pan, combine lima beans and water and set to low heat. 
2. Render ham hock and tasso in skillet, remove meat and set aside. 
3. In same skillet, sauté onion, garlic, parsley and celery in meat drippings until browned.
4. Add vegetables, meat, bay leaf, and spices to beans. Boil gently, stirring occasionally for about 1-1/2 hours, or until tender. Add water while cooking if necessary. 
5. In the last 15 minutes of lima beans simmering, add the andouille sausage (whole or cut in to pieces). 
2. Molasses & Bourbon Glazed Sweet Potatoes (45 mins)
1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Roast the cubed sweet potatoes on a raised broiler pan for 20 minutes to "par-cook."
   In a medium saucepan, combine butter, molasses, and brown sugar and cook over medium heat until smooth (about 5 minutes).
   Increase the heat to high, add the bourbon, and cook for 2 minutes to allow alcohol to burn out. Season with salt and pepper.
   Put the par-cooked potatoes in a large baking dish, pour the molasses mixture over and toss to coat. Roast in the oven, stirring a few times, until the potatoes are cooked through and glazed (about 20 minutes). Remove to a platter and top with the pecans. 
3. Kickin' Collard Greens w/ Okra (55 mins)
1. Heat oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add bacon, and cook until crisp. Remove bacon from pan, crumble and return to the pan. 
2. Add onion, and cook until tender (about 5 minutes). 
3. Add garlic and okra, and cook until garlic is fragrant. 
4. Add collard greens, and fry until they start to wilt. 
5. Pour in chicken broth, and season with salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 45 minutes, or until greens are tender.  

Dessert option: mini apple pies, a la mode...oo la la (that's how my New Orleans French sounds)!

Adapted (ever so slightly) from:
http://camelliabrand.com/t-familyrecipes.aspx, http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/bobby-flay/sweet-potatoes-glazed-with-molasses-pecans-and-bourbon-recipe/index.html, http://allrecipes.com/recipe/kickin-collard-greens/detail.aspx.

Images courtesy of Deep South Dish, LYNNINMA at All Recipes, and Food Network.

Hkatenkwan (Ghanaian Groundnut Stew)

I stumbled across this on tastespotting and was curious about this African "peanut butter" stew. I love the individual ingredients...peanut butter, sweet potato, chickpeas, chili flakes...but all together in a peppery, tomato-based stew? I've never had anything like this, so I figured I'd either love or hate this. Challenge: accepted. 

I found a few recommended and traditional recipes, keeping the traditional and most common ingredients. I added a little fennel and Thai fish sauce to add some flavour twists and swapped out the cayenne pepper for chili flakes for a nice heat (we like it spicy)! Well, an hour of simmering chili flakes made for a lingering burn, so I blended up a fruit lassi to take away the sting and it was perfect.

The final result: a spicy, peanut buttery heaven that is going in my all-time favorite recipes.

Groundnut is the common African word for peanut. This chicken groundnut stew is the Western African (Ghanaian) version of the groundnut/tomato stew eaten all over sub-Saharan Africa. The Western African style is usually more elaborate, with more ingredients and garnishes, which is noted in the optional ingredients. Suggested serving sides include ginger beer or green tea w/ mint with or after the meal to drink, followed with a fruit salad. 

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cook time: 1 hour, 45 minutes 

Yield: Serves 6-8 

Ingredients

• 2-3 pounds Chicken legs, thighs and/or wings
• 2 tbsp Vegetable oil
• 1 tbsp Peanut oil
• 1 large Onion (yellow), sliced
• 3-inch piece of Ginger, peeled and minced
• 6-8 garlic cloves, chopped roughly
• 2-3 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
• 1 15-oz can of crushed Tomatoes 
• 1 quart Chicken stock 
• 1 cup Peanut butter 
• 1 cup roasted Peanuts
• 1 can Chickpeas 
• 1 tbsp ground Coriander 
• 1 (heaping) tbsp Fennel, to taste 
• ~1.5 tbsp Thai Fish Sauce 
• 1 tsp dried Chili flakes
• Salt and black pepper, to taste (skip the salt if using salted peanuts; lots of cracked black pepper) 
• 1/4 to 1/2 cup of chopped cilantro (didn't have) 
• Optional additions: green chile peppers/habanero, bell pepper, pumpkin, squash, carrot, okra, eggplant, boiled egg.
• Optional sides: steamed rice and (it's not African, but serve with) a fruit lassi to cool the heat ;)

Directions

1. Heat the vegetable and peanut oil in a large soup pot set over medium-high heat. Salt the chicken pieces well, pat them dry and brown them in the oil. Don't crowd the pot, so do this in batches. Set the chicken pieces aside as they brown. 
2. Sauté the onions in the oil for 3-4 minutes, stirring often and scraping any browned bits off the bottom of the pot. Add the ginger and garlic and sauté another 1-2 minutes, then add the sweet potatoes and stir well to combine. 
3. Add the chicken, chicken broth, crushed tomatoes, peanut butter, peanuts, chickpeas, coriander, fennel, fish sauce, and chili flakes and stir well to combine. Bring to a simmer and taste for salt, adding if needed (depends if you use salted peanuts and salted peanut butter - you may not need to add any salt). Cover the pot and simmer gently for 90 minutes (check after an hour), or until the chicken meat easily falls off the bone and the sweet potatoes are tender. 
4. Remove the chicken pieces and set them in a bowl to cool, until cool enough to touch. Remove and discard the skin if you want, or chop it and put it back into the pot. Shred the meat off the bones and put the meat back in the pot. 
5. Adjust the seasonings if needed, then add as much black pepper as you think you can stand—the stew should be peppery. Stir in the cilantro and serve with a cool drink (ginger beer, green tea w/ mint, or my fav for spicy foods: fruit lassi)!

References:

• Original recipe: http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/african_chicken_peanut_stew/
• Traditional recipe: http://www.congocookbook.com/soup_and_stew_recipes/groundnut_stew.html

Mexican Posole (Shredded Pork & Hominy Soup)

The one bummer to North Australia: Mexican food. However, that gives us a huge plus: we can cook proper Mexican now! Finding the ingredients aren't too hard, if you know where to go (Pennisi)...and the rest is easy and damn worth it! :)

Serves 6-8.

Ingredients

• 750 grams pork shoulder, cubed
• Canola oil
• 1 large onion, diced
• 3-4 cloves garlic, diced
• 1-2 whole chiles, roasted (Jalapeno is great, so is Ancho or Anaheim - whatever you have handy)
• 2 cans (500g) hominy, drained
• 1 dried guajillo chile (if you can find it)
• 2-3 tsp smoked paprika
• 2 tsp Mexican oregano (Italian will do if you can't find it)
• 1 tsp fresh ground cloves
• 1-2 tsp ground cumin
• 1 (large) bunch of cilantro, stemmed and chopped
• Salt
• Pepper
• Radishes, thinly sliced
• Red cabbage, thinly sliced
• Carrot, shaved
• Avocado, sliced
• Tortilla strips
• Hot sauces
• 2 scallions, finely sliced
• 4 tomatoes, diced
• 1 large onion, diced
• Fresh limes

Directions

1. Begin by browning the cubed pork shoulder over high heat with the canola oil in a large soup pot.
2. Towards the end of the browning, toss in 1 of the diced onions and let them brown just a bit.
3. Once the onions are nearly done, add in the garlic.
4. After 60 seconds add enough water to just cover everything, bring to a boil, and then let it simmer for about 60-90 minutes.
5. While this is simmering, begin the rest of the prep.
6. All ingredients after the pepper are garnishes, and should be prepared now and set aside.
7. Combine half of the tomato with half the onion. Add salt, pepper, some diced chili, lime juice, and 1/3 of the cilantro to finish up the pico de gallo.
8. In another bowl add some avocado, the remaining tomato, most of the remaining onion, another 1/3 of the cilantro, lime juice, salt, pepper, cayenne, and mix to make guacamole.
9. The remainder of the garnishes should be set aside.
10. Once the pork shoulder has cooked well, remove the meat and shred it. Then add it back into the soup.
11. Add in all the remaining ingredients and let it simmer for another hour at least.
12. Serve in a bowl and garnish with everything you have at hand including plenty of your favorite hot sauce.
13. Bon ap!

All the goodies: guacamole, pico de gallo, and posole garnishes!

Shredding the pork.

Simmering posole.

Guacamole.

Hot sauces: check.

Adding the garnishes...

Adding more garnishes...

Topping up with some fresh avo!

The BF, making things look good ;)

Tofu Phở (Vietnamese Soup)

Phở may be one of my favorite soups! It's a flavor bomb of deliciousness and you can crank up the heat with as much Sri Racha as you like :) Once again, adapted from our friends over at The Food Republic, this is a "cheater Phở" - easy and quick to make!

Serves 2-4.

Ingredients

• 4oz of Asian rice noodles
• 4 cups beef broth
• 1 cup mushrooms, sliced
• 1/2 cup chopped scallion
• 1/2 bell pepper, julienne
• 1/2 cucumber, sliced
• Cilantro
• Tofu, fried crispy
• 1 Bay leaf
• 1 tsp Chinese 5 spice powder
• 1-2 tbsp Nước mắm
• 1 lime
• 1 jalapeno, sliced
• Dried shrimp
• Sriracha
• Hoisin Sauce

Directions

1. Prep the rice noodles by placing them in hot (not boiling water) until soft. Then set aside
2. In a medium saucepan, add the broth, Nước mắm, bay leaf, and 5 spice simmer for 5-10 minutes.
3. Remove the bay leaf, and add in the mushrooms, and let simmer for 2 minutes.
4. Ladle into a bowl and add the rice noodles, forming a bed. Then add all the vegetables and tofu on top. Garnish with the cilantro and dried shrimp.
5. Add Sriracha and hoisin to tase.
6. Bon ap!

Finished! :)

Walnut Basil Pesto Pea Soup

This little concoction is what I'd like to refer to as the "Mouthgasm," which the bf invented by combining some of my favorite flavors (adapted from a recipe over at a friend's food blog, The Food Republik.) Who knew these things would blend together so smoothly and create a flavorful soup that would make Chuck Norris cry tears of happiness! This is one of my fav's that's come out of this kitchen and I highly suggest it any time of the year :)

Serves 2-4.

Ingredients

• 2 large bunches of basil
• 3-5 cloves of garlic (depending on how garlicky you like it); 1 minced, the rest whole
• 1 medium onion, half of it diced
• 1 cup walnuts
• 150 grams of grated (fresh!) parmesan
• 1 bag (750g) of frozen peas (you can use fresh if you want, but these work great)
• 3 cups chicken broth
• 2tsp oregano
• Salt
• Pepper
• Juice of half a lemon
• Butter
• Olive oil

Directions

1. First, take almost all of your basil and dump it into a food processor. Add all but the minced garlic, the walnuts, parmesan, the undiced half of the onion, oregano, a couple pinches of salt, some hefty grinds of pepper, and some olive oil. Process until it comes together into a homogenous but still slightly chunky mix. Add some olive oil if you think it needs it and blend until it comes to roughly the consistency of anchovy paste. Don't obliterate it though - leave a few small chunks in there.
2. In a medium saucepan, add the butter (I like to go a bit heavier than most on it, but I'll leave that up to you - at least 2-3tbsp though) and then toss in the onion and minced garlic. Sweat them over medium-low heat until soft.
3. Add the peas and continue to sweat them until they are thoroughly warmed through. Then add the chicken broth and turn up the heat until it is just barely simmering.
4. Then add your pesto mixture (if you have leftovers it is FABULOUS with crackers) and lemon juice, then stick blend it until smooth.
5. Make a chiffonade of the leftover basil leaves and use with some parmesan as a garnish.
6. Bon ap!

Mmmmmmhm!

Southern Black Eyed Peas

Mmmm southern cookin' to warm the soul on these chilly (Australian), winter evenings!

This is a family favorite and is traditionally done with a large ham hock! We weren't up for a grocery store run but had lots of bacon on hand and it worked just fine! Also, collard greens instead of green bell pepper is preferred, but again, we were working with what we had. However, the added jalapeño's (comparing to my dads recipe) were spicy delicious! We also threw in a bit of Vegemite, since we're doing this Southern dish Aussie style!

Ingredients

• 2 cups black eyed peas, dried
• Handful of thick cut bacon, or 'bacon rashers'
• 1 large yellow onion (or 2 small onions)
• 1-2 cloves garlic, diced
• 1 green bell pepper, diced
• 4-6 mushrooms, sliced
• 1 tsp Vegemite
• 1/3 cup pickled jalapeño slices, chopped
• 4-6 cups water
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 tsp Creole Seasoning (Tony Chachere's Original is my fav)
• Salt/Pepper, to taste
• Optional (but highly recommended): fresh, southern corn bread
• w/ sweet whipped butter and honey!

Directions

1. Pre-soak the black eyed peas in a large bowl with enough water to cover the peas with a 3 inch clearance. Let soak for 3-4 hours.
2. Cook slices of bacon in a large pot on medium/low heat until cooked through, but still soft. Take bacon out and set aside.
3. In the bacon greased pot, toss in the onion and garlic and cook on medium/low heat until onion is translucent. Stir in the bell pepper, mushrooms, and vegemite and cook on medium/low heat for 5 mins. Slice up the bacon to whatever size pieces you prefer. Add bacon to pot along with the jalapeño. Add water, depending on how thick/thin you prefer your broth (keep in mind: dipping for corn bread). Add bay leaf, Creole Seasoning, salt/pepper and give a good stir. Bring to a boil and keep a low boil for ~15 mins, or until the black eyed peas are not hard in the center. Turn off heat and allow to cool for an hour or two, while the flavors continue to be absorbed (it will still be hot after 1-2 hours). 
4. While the peas are in the cooling process, cook up some real southern corn bread and serve with sweet butter and honey! Enjoy! 

Our homemade corn bread and from the cast iron
skillet and sweet honey butter, thanks to the bf.

Voilà! Southern comfort :)

BF's Famous 'Roo Chili

'Roo Chili w/ Irish Soda Bread

This is the bf's famous 'roo chili. It was terrible - we ate an entire pot's worth (~8 cups) in 24 hours. Haha! It is awesome. The recipe is never exactly the same, because it's all "to taste," so have fun with it. Of course, use beef if you don't have kangaroo...or substitute the meat for more veggies (and veggie broth), and you've got one healthy chili. Either way, the vegemite is a must. Enjoy!


Ingredients (all to taste):

• Kangaroo steak, cubed
• Mushrooms, sliced
• Onion, chopped
• Carrot, chopped
• Capsicum (bell pepper), chopped
• Garlic, chopped
• Celery (with leaf), chopped
• Bacon, chopped
• Bacon grease
• Butter
• Green Chiles
• Vegemite
• Salt
• Optional: sour cream, chopped raw onion, chives.


Broth:
• Beef Broth (or beef bullion mixed with hot water)
• Soy Sauce
• Worcestershire Sauce
• Mustard Powder
• Smoked Paprika
• Dried Parsley
• Turmeric
• Pepper
• Lentils

Directions

1. In a large pot, sear kangaroo steak on high heat until brown. 
2. Add the mushroom, onion, carrot, capsicum, garlic, celery (and leaves), chopped bacon, bacon grease, butter, green chiles, vegemite, and salt. Cook at high heat until most of the water comes out of the veggies, browning everything until the water is mostly evaporated.
3. In a separate bowl, mix beef broth, soy sauce, worcestershire sauce, mustard powder, smoked paprika, dried parsley, and turmeric. Once the veggies are browned, add this broth mixture to the pot, along with some pepper (to taste), and allow to slow simmer for 2-3 hours. 






4. Add lentils and simmer for an additional 1-1.5 hours.

Serve with sour cream, chopped raw onion, and chives....on top of freshly grated parmesan! Yum!

PS, that's a sweet ginger wine spritzer in the background. Ginger wine is another Australian find that we've been obsessed with.

Tom Kha Gai (Spicy Chicken Soup in Coconut Milk)

This was an impromptu jump in to the kitchen’s spice collection, throwing things in a big soup pot and voilà, I somehow made a Thai spicy coconut soup, aka Tom Kha Gai. It was pretty simple: brown some onion, garlic, fresh ginger with some oil and butter in a large pot. Add chicken stock and coconut milk (to your taste), some secret Thai ingredients (2 tbsp fish sauce, 2-4 dried chili peppers, chopped lemongrass), and then toss in some meat and cooked veggies, saving the fresh veggies for the end. For the meat, I chopped a chicken breast and stir fried in sesame oil and toasted sesame seeds. For the cooked veggies, I chopped 1 eggplant, tossed it in turmeric, and pan fried in a little bit of water, until the water steamed off. I also added some frozen peas to the soup. For the fresh veggies, I chopped up some red bell pepper, jalapeño, sliced mushrooms, and topped it with basil leaf (versus the traditional cilantro). Top it off with a little roasted red chili paste (or “naam prik pao,” if you want to be Thai fancy) and feast your tastebuds! 

Chef: the gf. 

Cioppino

Cioppino - perfect for mixed seafood.

Chef: the gf.

Recipe, but with 2 crushed (dry) chili peppers, fresh basil, and fresh grated parmigiano-reggiano = YUM.

Butternut Squash & Apple Soup w/ Sweet Potato Chips

I saw butternut squash for sale the other day and figured if the Pumpkin Spice Latte’s are back, that I would stop fighting the transition in to fall season and enjoy the fall foods! I found a popular butternut squash soup recipe on SparkRecipes.com and made a few changes. I removed the half & half unknowingly, as the recipe was so smooth and “creamy” that it didn’t occur to me that any dairy needed to be added when I was done cooking.  I was also cooking with my immune system in mind (had a cold), so I substituted the sweetness of 1 apple for 2 tbsp of raw honey, added the sweet n spicy bite of fresh ginger, and added cinnamon at the end for extra fall flavor! Almond Milk makes a healthy and tasty alternative to half & half, if you prefer a creamier soup. I also just had sweet potato chips handy, but they were a perfect sweet and salty crunch to complement this comforting soup! Not too sweet, not too squashy…it’s just perfect.

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp unsalted butter
• 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
• 1 butternut squash, about 3 lbs., peeled, seeded & cut into 1” cubes
• 6 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 3 medium Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored & chopped
• 1 tsp sweet curry (optional)
• 1/4 tsp freshly ground nutmeg
• 1 tsp freshly grated ginger
• 2 tbsp raw honey
• Salt & freshly ground pepper, to taste
• Cinnamon, to taste (optional)
• Almond milk (optional)

Directions

1. In a large soup pot, over medium heat, melt butter and sautee’ onion, stirring occasionally, until tender, 4 to 6 minutes.
2. Add the squash and broth, bring to a boil and reduce heat to medium-low.
   Simmer, stirring occasionally, until the squash is tender when pierced with a fork.
3. Add chopped apples, curry (if desired), nutmeg, ginger, and honey.
   Simmer until the apples are tender, stirring occasionally. Using a food processor or blender, puree the soup in batches until smooth.
   - Be extremely careful not to overfill the processor/blender container which could cause severe burns.
4. Return the soup to the pot and season to taste with salt and pepper.
5. Serve with Sweet Potato Chips and add a dash of cinnamon, if desired. If you prefer the creamier version, stir in Almond Milk :)

Number of Servings: 12

Recipe adapted from SparkPeople user DONNAC1188.