Chicken Bouillabaisse and Guayo in the Snow

           You know you’re a dedicated, somewhat anal, cook, when you’ll put on your husband’s shoes (sorry honey, they were right there and I didn’t want to get mine full of snow!), plod through 10” of snow, dig down through the piled snow to find the rosemary bush you know is there as you saw it for a couple of days between the last snow and this one, just to get fresh rosemary leaves for the Chicken Bouillabaisse being made for dinner. 

As you may have guessed by now, it snowed again.  Now I have a love/hate relationship with winter and snow. On one hand I hate being cold and want winter to make way for the warmth of spring and summer and the gardens that I am planning to grow.  On the other hand, I’m not immune to the stunning and glaring beauty of an 8-10” base of white pristine snow covering over trees, roads, and all items not protected, shimmering and glistening in the cold and clear rays of first sun.  A light airy dry powder, that whenever the slightest breeze moves the boughs of the juniper or pinions, giant pods fall, hitting the earth and exploding into the air making it look like a blizzard has befallen all.  Put then it settles down, and the sun shines through the intermittent clouds, with the beauty of the blue sky against the white blanket and it’s truly magical.  Mother Nature at her best--if you like snow.

So while I pray for spring to come and yearn for warmth and sunshine and the smell of fresh soil beneath my hands, I can’t deny the beauty outside my windows.

            Guayo is outside jumping and running and cavorting as he is a snow puppy.  He loves it. I let him out after putting on his coat, so he could run through the piles of snow in the front yard.  He was crying at the window because Roy was out there scraping and brushing the snow off the windows of the truck so we could have clear windows for partaking in a movie later in the day. Guayo loves to put his nose underneath the thick snow,  and then he snuffles around to see if maybe there’s a lizard hiding from him. Then he looks up and there’s a little mountain of snow on the top of his dark brown nose and it makes us laugh.

Guayo is over a year old now, but he’s still a puppy at heart, and we hope he stays that way. Last week’s snow had him on high protection detail.  He found a huge green snake underneath and in line with his duties as a guard dog supreme, he viciously attacked it, disembodying a 3’ section out of its middle.  Minor detail…it was our garden hose and not a snake. But it was an honest mistake…at least that’s what we’re assuming. I can tell already that we are going to have to be diligent and creative to keep him out of the garden beds that are within his domain!

The Chicken Bouillabaisse came from Ina Garten, Back to Basics, with a few changes/additions.  One, I omitted the Pernod (just didn’t have any!), and I amped it up a bit in the spice department by the addition of chili pepper flakes, and a bit in the herb category by using more rosemary than she had originally suggested and adding thyme to the broth too.  Also, I pureed some of the sun dried tomatoes I dehydrated from the garden last year. I dried them with a sprinkling of Italian Herbs, and then I put in some crispy bacon pieces, so that added to the flavor also. I used turkey bacon, or you could use prosciutto…yum!....or just leave it out all together.  I’m serving it with the potatoes in the recipe, along with a mixed green salad and crunchy French bread. I’ll use my GF bread from yesterday’s post and toast it.  You’ve just gotta sop up those juices with some bread….too good to let go to waste!  Bon appétit!

Chicken Bouillabaisse

1, 4-5 pound chicken, cut into 10 pieces               salt & pepper

2 T. fresh rosemary, minced                                  1 t. saffron threads

1 large head garlic, individual cloves separated and peeled

Olive oil (I used Blood Orange olive oil to give it a rich flavor)

1 t. whole fennel seeds                                          1/2 c. sun dried tomatoes w/Italian herbs

1, 14 oz can diced tomatoes                                 1 c. dry white wine

1 1/2 c. chicken stock                                          2 t. chili flakes

1# medium to smallish potatoes cut into quarters   8 oz. sliced mushrooms (crimini are best)   

 Pat the chicken dry and season generously with the salt and the 1 1/2 t. of the chopped rosemary, leaving the rest for the sauce. heat olive oil in a heavy pan and brown the chicken piece sin batches to a crisp goldne brown. Put into the pot you'll be useing to bake in later, and continue cooking chicken until all pieces are browned. They should not be cooked through as that will be done in the oven/crockpot, so just make sure they are beautifully brown.

        While chicken pieces cook, put the sun dried tomatoes into a blender with 1/2 of the diced tomatoes and puree to chop of the pieces of dehydrated tomato. Do not puree so much you have juice. Pour into a bowl, add the rest of the tomatoes and juice and pulse lightly until pureed. Pour into the smae bowl and mix together.

         Once the chicken is well browned, drain fat out of the pan you fried the chicken in, leaving around 3 T and all the drippings in the bottom. Turn the temperature to medium. Put in the garlic and saute for 1 minute. Add the fennel, saffron, tomatoe puree, chicken stock, wine, 2 t. salt and 1 t. black pepper, and the chili flakes. Stire & simmer, scraping up the browned bits from the bottom of the pan, for approximately 30-40 minutes or until the garlic is very tender. Stir occasinoally during this time. Sauce will reduce by about 1/4 to 1/3. 

        Put the potatoes into the casserole dish with the chicken pieces.  Add the sliced mushrooms. Carefully puree the sauce from the pan in a food processor untilsmooth.  Pour the sauce over the chicken pieces and potatoes and stir gently to mix well. 

        Cover the pot and bake for 45-55 minutes in a 300 degree oven.  Or you can use a large crock pot on low for 2 hours. Taste to check the seasonings and adjust as needed.  Serve with a green salad and crusty French bread.

Gardening Can Wait but Bread Making Can't

It’s 6:08 p.m. and the snow, that the wind and cold temps promised all day, is here. Light and quiet now, the winds have diminished and the snow floats this way and that with barely a hint of rain in its frozen moisture.  If the reports hold up, it should be a significant amount. If my wishes hold up, it will snow  like a banshee from Himalayan hell tomorrow evening and throughout the night, thus making sure YC will be closed due to snow, and I will not have to go in to work!  Horrid thing to say, but it’s true.

I am tired of this winter. It’s been cold and filled with illness.  Both Roy and I are still battling the Influenza B brought home with us 2 weeks ago from Huntington Beach.  The beach and ocean and weather and company were superb…the virus was horrendous. In December we battled influenza (A? B? C?  H1N1? Who knows!) which turned into pneumonia and bronchitis.  These along with chronic back and neck pain, shoulder bursitis, metatarsal arch pain have made us both decide three things.  1) Next year come hell, high water, or damnation we will get the flu shots in October when first released; 2) we are sick and tired of winter and want spring and warm weather to get here; and 3) we are not getting any younger….duh! 

As I sit here watching snow coming down, as the sky turns to night darkness, I see the bin with all of the garden seeds in it that I am so hoping to plant and have grow. I want nothing more than to be out digging in the dirt, smelling the aroma of earth as it is turned and watered, planting seeds into the lovely brown hills and furrows and covering them with love and hope, mulching the beds to retain needed moisture in this arid climate, and awaiting the green shoots that hopefully mean the beginnings of a glut of delicious fresh produce—tomatoes and tarragon, eggplants and endive, dill and daikon, fennel and freesia, delicata squash and dulse, purslane and potatoes, beets and basil,  chard and chicory, celery and cilantro, cucumbers and carrots, pumpkins and peppers, radishes and arugula, spinach and parsnips, turnips and thyme, sugar peas and squash—summer & winter, garlic and green beans, onions and oregano. Any and all that I can get to grow and multiply will bring me great joy and keep me busy canning, dehydrating, freezing and preserving during the abundant months of summer.  I wish to do nothing else during these times, spending entire days outside in the gardens, digging in the dirt feeling the warmth of the sun on my back and arms, staking and fixing, while drinking iced cold lemon & mint water over tinkling ice cubes, even though I know later that day the ache in my back will require warmth from Tiger Balm and heating pads.  Then at dusk, to be sitting outside at the table eating dinner using the bounty of the gardens and looking at their beauty while enjoying the tiredness in by body brought not by stress and tension but by good dirty work.  It brings a sense of deep peace and serenity to me. Gardening quiets my mind and Lord knows I need all the quietening of mind I can get! 

But today is not a gardening day.  The icy cold of the winter storm brewing and coming closer each hour, took me to my warm and bright kitchen. Today was a day of turning on the oven to help warm the house, and baking deliciousness to help warm our souls.  Today I baked a beautiful dark rye bread that Roy especially enjoys, with cocoa and caraway seeds that astounds him each time he sees me making it.  Also, a gluten-free multigrain bread that has become my savior. Now if any of you have gluten or wheat intolerance problems and have had to purchase the horrid breads that are in the stores, you’ll know of what I speak...they are so dry they suck the saliva from your mouth and require a large glass of liquid to be present when eating them, and it is impossible to make a descent sandwich of any kind from them, for they crumble the minute you try to pick them up and bite them.  But this delicious, firm but moist bread, studded with delicious sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, flax seed, and millet, is a joy to taste and to behold.  It's a beautiful golden color inside, and has a crunchy crust.  I have included both of these delicious bread recipes, as they are a staples in our household, and don’t cost anywhere near the $5.00 per loaf that good breads seem to cost in markets these days.  Plus bread-making is a joyous past time and art that everyone should take the time to do at least a few times a year.

I also baked a gluten free, sugar free, dairy free (except eggs) pound cake that while it was not as rich and moist as regular pound cake, has a delicate texture and light sweetness that's very pleasing. Topped with some sliced strawberries or a mixed berry compote, and a little crème fraiche or whipped cream, it should please even the most picky palate. My advice—under-bake it a bit rather than over baking it and that will keep it a bit more moist.

Add a meatloaf made with the multigrain GF bread, and Supreme Mississippi Mud Bars (a brownie filling with nuts and marshmallows atop a chocolate cookie crumb crust) and the counters are filled with comforting and delicious reminders of the warmth and fun that was had in the kitchen of our little beach cottage (although the nearest ocean is 6 hours away). And that will be shared with friends and neighbors tomorrow in the midst of freezing snow of which we’re all tired.  And even though I haven’t been digging in the earth with the warmth of the sun beating on me today, I still have that feeling of accomplishment and serenity that I seek and need in my life. Ahhhhh….now to watch a movie and kick back in the living room with the fire going and my dog on my lap and my hubby next to me. It’s a good day even though winter is still flaking away outside!

GLUTEN FREE MULTI GRAIN BREAD 

(You need to start by making the baking mix)

MULTI GRAIN GLUTEN FREE FLOUR MIX
10 min.prep time 10 min.total time

Makes 9 1/2 cups

            2 c. potato starch (or potato flour)

           1 3/4 c. brown rice flour

           1 1/2 c. garbanzo bean flour

           1 c. sorghum flour

           1 c. tapioca flour

           1/4 c. teff flour

Stir together all ingredients in large bowl. Store in container with tight-fitting lid. Stir mixture before using in baking recipes.

 

GLUTEN FREE MULTI GRAIN BREAD 

2 ¼ c Multi Grain Gluten Free Flour Blend

¼ c . amaranth flour (or substitute ¼ c. flour blend)

¼ c. teff flour

1 T. active dry yeast

1 T. Xanthan gum

1 t. salt

1 1/4 c milk, warmed

¼ c. butter, melted

2 eggs

2 T honey or 2 T molasses

1 t. cider vinegar

2 T. millet

2 T. pumpkin seeds, raw

2 T. sunflower seeds, raw

2 T. flax seed

Grease 8x4 loaf pan. Line pan with parchment or waxed paper across bottom and extend up over the long sides of pan; set aside.

Combine flour blend, amaranth, teff, yeast, xanthan gum & salt in large bowl; mix well.

Put milk into saucepan to warm, adding butter to melt. Once warm and butter melted (not too hot or will kill yeast), remove from heat. Whisk in honey, beaten eggs, and cider vinegar (mixture may curdle a bit, but whisking will smooth it out—if too hot, eggs will cook instead of stay raw).  Add liquid to flour mixture, mixing well, and making sure to incorporate flour mixture from bottom of bowl throughout to make a uniform consistence. Add millet, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds and flax. Mix well.

Spoon bread dough into prepared pan. Smooth top of dough with greased fingers. Cover lightly with plastic wrap and let rise in warm place about 30 minutes or until bread reaches just over sides of pan.

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Uncover bread; bake fo 35-40 minutes or until a light golden brown. Remove bread from pan by parchment paper, keeping paper intact. Place bread with parchment paper directly onto oven rack and bake for 5 more minutes to crisp bottom.  Remove from oven; cool on wire rack; remove parchment paper. Cool to room temp and wrap in plastic to retain moisture.