At first I assumed that it was just absolutely massive chard leaves. But, as I got a closer look, I noticed that the thick, fibrous stalks were rhubarb! You have to understand, ever since I found out that the leaves of rhubarb are toxic, I have been scared to death (tee hee hee. Pun.) to cook with the stuff. Totally an unsubstantiated fear, I know. But, as I stared at my 5+ pounds of rhubarb, I knew I had to overcome it.

I took a pole on Facebook to see what I should do with the stuff. Over and over I saw Strawberry Rhubarb Pie…and jam. For some reason, while I love the idea of being the little old lady who cans everything from her garden and has full shelves of the stuff lining her basement, again, I have a ridiculous fear about canning. The idea of boiling glass jars just freaks me out. I don’t know. I just imagine having to pick shards of glass out of my jelly. Or, watching the explosion of glass and boiling water consume my kitchen.

So, instead of tackling two of my greatest kitchen fears in one afternoon, I started with something gentle. Something soothing and non-panic inducing. And that something was this pie!

STRAWBERRY RHUBARB PIE
serves eight
recipe adapted from The New Best Recipe by Cook’s Illustrated
I was able to find a local spelt flour that worked great for this pie crust – and it didn’t upset my stomach! I have a theory that European wheat products just don’t invoke the same sort of allergic reactions that American products do. It’s just a theory. It is by no means science, so I don’t recommend testing this unless your reactions to wheat are extremely mild like mine. Adding vodka to the crust inhibits the formation of gluten, so your crust stays nice and tender. It’s my (no longer) secret weapon. To make this vegan, brush the top of the pie with melted EarthBalance instead of egg white before baking.

For the Crust:
2.5 cups spelt flour or your favorite GF baking mix, plus more for dusting the work surface
1 tsp. salt
2 Tbs. Organic sugar
14 Tbs. good quality butter or EarthBalance, super cold, cut into pieces
4-5 Tbs. ice cold vodka
4-5 Tbs. ice water

For the Filling:
2 tsp. lightly flavored oil (I used super light olive oil.)
1.5 pounds rhubarb, cut into 1 inch pieces
1 cup + 1 Tbs. Organic sugar
5 Tbs. cornstarch
pinch salt
1.5 pounds strawberries, hulled and quartered
1/2 Tbs. vanilla extract
1 egg white, lightly beaten

1. In a food processor, combine the flour, salt and sugar for the crust. Pulse once or twice to combine. Add the butter, vodka, and water and run the food pro until it forms a dough ball. If your food pro isn’t massive, you may need to divide the dough recipe in half and make it in two batches. That’s what I had to do.
2. If you make the dough in one batch, split it in half and roll each half into a disc. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for an hour.
3. While the dough is chilling, prepare your rhubarb and strawberries.
4. Place a large skillet over high heat and add the oil. Toss the rhubarb in 1/4 cup of the sugar and add it to the hot pan. Saute the rhubarb until it has sweat out a good portion of its juices, about 5 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the rhubarb to a large plate and refrigerate until cool.
5. Preheat oven to 500 degrees F. Place an oven rack on the lowest position and place a rimmed baking sheet on it.
6. Roll out one piece of the dough and place it in a 9-inch pie pan. You may trim the excess off very carefully, but leave at least an extra inch all the way around. Refrigerate until needed.
7. In a small bowl, combine the remaining 3/4 cup sugar, the cornstarch, and salt. In a large bowl, combine the strawberries, rhubarb, and vanilla. Add the dry ingredients to the fruit, and toss gently.
8. Pour the filling into the pie shell.
9. Roll out the second piece of dough into a 12 inch circle. Place it over the filling. Trim the edges so that they are even with the bottom piece of dough. Tuck the bottom piece over the top piece, folding, pinching, and forming a seal. Flute the edges.
10. Cut 8 slits on the top of the pie and place it in the freezer for 10 minutes.
11. Brush the top of the pie with the egg white and evenly sprinkle 1 Tbs. sugar over the top.
12. Place the pie on the hot baking sheet and lower the temperature to 425 degrees. Cook for 25 minutes.
12. Rotate the pie halfway around and lower the temp again to 375. Continue to cook until the pie is very brown and the juices a bubbling just slightly from the top.
13. Cool on a wire rack for 4 hours before serving.

With my upcoming trip to London, I have been on the lookout for super cheap, but super yummy meal ideas for the week. Gotta save, gotta save – Mama’s got a ton of shopping and eating to do. When I was at the market, I stumbled upon these ribs which were ridiculously inexpensive, and I knew they would be super versatile. The idea of BBQ ran through my mind the second I saw them, and I thought, “Game On!”

I threw together my favorite all purpose rub, rubbed it on, and cooked these little yummies until they were nearly falling off the bone. Plus, I whipped up a batch of my favorite BBQ sauce and drowned them in it.

’cause that’s how we do it in Texas.

OVEN ROASTED SPARERIBS
serves two to four

3 to 4 pound rack pork spareribs
1 Tbs. each sea salt, black pepper, brown sugar, Pimenton, and garlic powder
1/2 batch of The Best Sugar Free BBQ Sauce Ever

1. Thoroughly mix all of the spices together.
2. Rub the spice mix all over the ribs. Be sure to get the bottom of the rack, too.
3. Line a cookie sheet with foil and place a metal cooling rack on top. Place your rubbed ribs on the rack and broil them until the top is well browned.
4. Lower the temp of the oven to 300 degrees and roast the ribs, uncovered, for about an hour.
5. Loosely cover the ribs with foil, and continue roasting for another hour, or until the meat is super tender and juicy. (Before covering the ribs with foil, you may baste the ribs with BBQ sauce, if you wish.)
6. Remove from the oven and allow to rest for about 20 minutes before slicing into individual ribs.
7. Serve with a boatload of BBQ sauce on the side.

That’s right. My soldier has been deployed for almost 3 weeks now which means, for the first time in over 5 years, I have no one to cook for. No husband, no clients, no roommate. Just lil’ ol’ me. And, to make matters worse, the best restaurant in town offers a choice of:

Deep Fried Pork Schnitzel Covered in Re-hydrated Brown “Gravy”
Nitrite Sausage in a Bun So Crusty You’ll Sever the Roof of Your Mouth
Seven Pounds of Noodles Smothered in Something White

Which means, I have no choice but to cook every single meal for myself, all the time. Sounds great, right? Right…

Pretty soon, even I was running out of inspiration. I’m not surrounded by awesome chefs, food writers, and obsessive foodies like I was in Austin. Options for great food – not only at restaurants, but also at grocery stores – are just limited. I finally reached my lowest state this week: Every other meal consisted of PB&J on a rice cake and some cucumber slices. And, then, bored with that, I just stopped eating.

Bored, bored, bored.

And, that’s when I was, like, WHOA. This has got to stop. I have to find some inspiration. I have to find something worth eating or I’m going to waste away – and, lose my cooking skills.

So, I headed to the library and stumbled upon Jamie Oliver’s very simple, yet just enough of a kick in the pants, book Jamie’s Food Revolution.

I picked this recipe because I knew that I could easily find the ingredients it called for, and I hoped the flavors might just rouse my culinary curiosity. It worked!

That Jamie Oliver. There he goes, even saving me from MY rut. Someone give that man a high five!

SWEET AND SOUR PORK
serves two very hungry people
adapted from Jamie Oliver’s recipe

olive oil or coconut oil
1 pound pork tenderloin, cut into 1 inch pieces
2 tsp. garam masala
salt
1Tbs. sesame oil
2 inch chunk of fresh ginger, peeled and chopped
5 big cloves of garlic, chopped
1 tsp. red pepper flakes
1 small onion, cut into 1 inch pieces
1 red bell pepper, cut into 1 inch pieces
2 tsp. cornstarch
3 Tbs. wheat free tamari
(1) 8 ounce can of pineapple chunks
(1 little can) 6 ounces pineapple juice
3 Tbs. balsamic vinegar
3 Tbs. chopped cilantro

1. Heat a good amount of olive oil or coconut oil in a large saute pan over high heat. Toss the pork and garam masala together and throw them in the pan. Brown the meat on all sides. When the meat is browned, transfer it to a plate.
2. Clean the saute pan and return it to the heat. Add some more olive or coconut oil and the sesame oil. When the oil becomes fragrant, add the garlic, ginger, red pepper flakes and salt. Cook for about 30 seconds and add the onion and bell pepper.
3. Cook everything together for about 2 minutes. In a small cup, combine the cornstarch and tamari. Add it to the pan and toss everything together.
4. Quickly add the pineapple chunks (with their juices), the balsamic vinegar and the pineapple juice.
5. Return the pork to the pan, stir to get it nicely coated in sauce, and then, cover.
6. Allow everything to simmer together until the sauce has reduced to a nice consistency and the pork is cooked through.
7. Garnish with cilantro. Serve with steamed rice and heart of romaine leaves on the side.

Along with this geographic accessibility comes the ease of finding new ingredients and foods that aren’t super common across the pond. For instance, besides German food, the easiest cuisine to find in Deutschland is Turkish food. There was an influx of Turkish immigrants to help rebuild after the war, and they brought an uh-may-zing cuisine with them. In addition to the Turkish imports, Germany is just just a hop, skip, and a jump to Morocco across a little, beautiful body of water we call the Mediterranean. Moroccan cuisine also brings incredible warm flavors to the table.

These meatballs, while not specifically from one particular cuisine, reminded me of the flavors used all around the eastern and southern shores of the Mediterranean. Spain, Italy and Greece might get the official Mediterranean Diet seal, but by not including the unbelievable flavors from these other seaside countries we are missing out on some truly delicious experiences.

THE OTHER SIDE OF THE MEDITERRANEAN MEATBALLS
makes about twenty golf ball-sized meatballs

enough olive oil to evenly coat the pan
12 oz. ground beef, bison or lamb
1 small onion, minced
2 Tbs. minced cilantro
2 huge garlic cloves, minced
1 Tbs. ground cumin
1 Tbs. ground coriander
1 Tbs. turmeric
1 Tbs. red pepper flakes
1 tsp. sea salt
1/2 tsp. dried oregano

1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.
2. Combine all ingredients into a bowl and thoroughly mix using your hands.
3. Heat the oil in a cast iron skillet on the stove. Roll the meat mixture into golf ball-sized meatballs and drop into the hot skillet.
4. When the first side of the meatballs are browned, roll them onto the opposite side and transfer them to the oven.
5. Bake until they are cooked through, about 10-15 minutes.
6. Serve with a yummy Tzatziki sauce and a little salad on the side.

Seriously, there is no other explanation for the incredible depth of flavor, my inability to find even a merely adequate substitution, and the sense of joy I feel when that smoky essence hits my tongue.

For those of you who don’t know, Pimenton is a Spanish smoked paprika. It is made by smoke-drying various types of peppers, usually with oak wood. The type of pepper used determines whether the Pimenton is sweet (Pimenton Dulce), kinda hot (Pimenton Agridulce), or a little more than kinda hot (Pimenton Picante). When I was in Barcelona last month, I noticed its unmistakable characteristics in just about every dish I ate. In my opinion, it is absolutely essential in every kitchen. It’s such an easy way to make even the most mundane roast chicken taste like something Ferran Adria threw together.

If you can’t find it in the spice aisle or specialty food aisle of your local store, you can order it (and a bunch of other awesome Spanish stuff) online at La Tienda.

PIMENTON POTATO SALAD
serves four to six as a side dish
For this recipe, I used Pimenton de La Vera which has an especially smoky flavor and a good kick of spice. It works great, but any kind of Pimenton would work really well.

6 red potatoes, cut into 1-inch pieces
3 large eggs, hard boiled and chopped
1 small red onion, diced
1/4 to 1/3 cup mayo, or enough to make it as creamy as you like it
2 Tbs. capers
2 Tbs. minced fresh parsley
2 tsp. Pimenton
salt and pepper, to taste

1. Boil the potatoes, until they are just soft. Drain and transfer them to a large-ish mixing bowl.
2. Add everything else to the potatoes, and stir to evenly mix. Cool to room temp.
3. Transfer the potato salad to a storage container and place in the fridge for at least 1 to 2 hours before serving.

P.S. Be on the lookout for a new project I’ve got coming up. It’s a blog about my travels through Europe. I’ll also be speaking more about how my life as a new military spouse is affected by my husband’s year long deployment to Afghanistan. Stay tuned…

Sometimes it’s the smallest things that can snap us back into reality, reminding us what the true source of joy is in our lives. For me, it was simply watching My Soldier getting his uniform ready for the following morning.

For the last three weeks, he has been on block leave and we have been gallivanting around fabulous places such as Barcelona – and our living room, in jammies all day. Last night, he pulled his uniform out of the closet, and I was so excited at the thought of seeing him in it again after so long. It struck me as such an odd sensation, but I realized that being a soldier is who he is; It is a huge part of his identity and the man that I love so much. No wonder I missed seeing that uniform everyday…

But, it made me also realize something very troubling – He had never seen me in MY uniform. He had never seen me in the uniform that defines me in so many ways and is how I identify myself. I quickly ran upstairs, strapped on my Chef-R’alls (the now discontinued chef overalls from Chefwear), tied on a neckerchief, buttoned up a freshly starched coat, and slid my feet into the warm comfort of my tired, old SuperBirki clogs. I pulled a skullcap over my messy curls, ran downstairs and, before he could catch a glimpse, I donned the final touches: an Instant Read Thermometer and a Sharpie in my arm pocket.

He saw me. We were both speechless.

Tears started to roll down my face.

I miss it. I miss propping 30 pound Lexans on my shoulder and lugging them to the walk in. I miss sweating bullets behind eight blazing burners and two scorching ovens for 8 hours. I miss the foul-mouthed banter. But, most of all, I miss nourishing dozens of palates a night, and in the process, honing my craft.

Standing in the kitchen with My Soldier, both of us in our uniforms, I realized that I never want to sacrifice my identity and the title that I work so hard to earn:

Chef.

ASIAN MANGO SALSA
makes about three cups

1 huge mango, peeled and diced into 1/4-inch pieces
1 medium red onion, diced
1/2 red bell pepper, diced into 1/4 inch pieces
1/2 cup minced cilantro
3 limes, juiced
1 Tbs. Asian Chili-Garlic Sauce
salt, to taste

1. Combine all of the ingredients in a bowl and toss. You may adjust the spice as you wish.

We’ve had some good times, but our journey ends here -

With you in a steamy, hot bowl of spicy coconut-y goodness.

I know what you are thinking. “Day four? Doesn’t that mean that your chicken is pretty old at this point?” Well, it could have been. However, the behind the scenes action that you didn’t see is that I made the Chicken Quinoa Chicken Salad and the Cabbage Potato Soup on the same day. I ate the salad for lunch, and the soup for dinner, so technically day two and three were actually one day…

So, this lovely curry was made on day 3. I ate it for dinner, and froze the remaining curry in portion sized containers for future meals. (I also did this with the soup since it made 3-4 portions, as well.)

Curry is not a super common food in the restaurants of rural Germany, as one might imagine. I did manage to find Curry Powder at a street market vender, although I later found some in one of the larger grocery stores in town.

With the weather getting colder and the lack of ethnic food running through my veins, this curry was exactly what I needed.

CHICKEN, SWEET POTATO, AND SPINACH CURRY
makes three to four servings

2 Tbs. canola oil
1-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and grated on a Microplane
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 small onion, finely diced
1 tsp. curry powder
1.25 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp. cayenne, or as desired
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
a ton of salt
1 tomato, diced
1.25-1.5 cups coconut milk
1 medium sized sweet potato, peeled and diced into 1-inch pieces
1 boneless skinless chicken breast, diced into 1-inch pieces
4 cups baby spinach
chopped cilantro, for garnishing
Steamed Jasmine Rice, for serving

1. Cook your sweet potatoes until just soft in a pot of boiling water. Strain and set aside.
2. Heat the oil in a large saute pan over medium high heat. Add the garlic and ginger and cook until just beginning to soften. Add the onion and continue cooking until it begins to turn translucent.
3. Combine all of the spices and add them to the pot. Add salt. Start with 1/2 tsp. but you will definitely be adding more. Stir consistently to evenly coat every vegetable in the pan. When the pan becomes dry and the spices fragrant, add the tomatoes and scrape all the goodies from the bottom of the pot. Continue stirring until it becomes almost like a paste.
4. Slowly add your coconut milk while stirring.
5. Add the sweet potato and chicken and bring them up to heat. Taste your sauce. If it seems sort of bland, it’s because you need more salt.
6. When everything is cooked through and tastes good, add your spinach. Cook, stirring consistently, until it just starts to wilt, about 30 seconds.
7. Turn off the burner, cover your curry, and serve up your rice. Spoon the curry over the rice, sprinkle it with chopped cilantro, and serve.

Chicken Experiment Wrap Up:

Rosemary Roasted Chicken = 1 serving
Chickpea Quinoa Chicken Salad with Honey Mustard Dressing = 1 very large serving
Cabbage Potato Soup = 4 servings
Chicken, Sweet Potato, Spinach Curry = 3 servings

So, all in all, I managed to eke out 9 meals with plenty of variety from a single chicken. Luckily, the soup and the curry freeze well so I have more yummy lunches and dinners ahead of me. This was a really great challenge for me. We should all strive to make the most out of the food that we get. Not only will it save money, it will also help lessen our burden on the planet. Less trash = more space to grow veggies and/or more forests we can keep intact!

This recipe couldn’t have come at a better time. Over the last week, my youngest stepson, Julian, and I have had the opportunity to spend quite a bit of time together. A few days ago, I took him to the gym with me. Instead of a daycare center that most gyms have, the gym on post simply has a “Family Room” – a room full of treadmills and elipticals with a chunk of the room cordoned off for the kiddos to play. The floors and walls of this stark white room are padded for the childrens’ safety making it seem much more like an asylum rather than a “Family Room”, but I digress…

Another mommy was there with her daughter whose nasal floodgates were wide open. Wouldn’t you know it, the only child we came into contact with was sick, and consequently, we both woke up the next morning with puffy eyes and sniffles.

At that moment I knew exactly what we were having for dinner.

Little Julian who is only 18 months old couldn’t eat the broth from this soup on his own, but, to my surprise, he ate a ton of the veggies all by himself. I fed him the broth, and it seemed he couldn’t get enough.

The Jewish mommy in me can’t help but believe that this soup is the reason he didn’t get much more than a little cranky and a runny nose.

Yes, this recipe is simple and not super flashy. But, when you don’t feel good and nothing sounds good to eat, this soup tastes like a big, cozy hug from Mom.

CABBAGE POTATO SOUP
makes three to four servings
If you are making this soup from the leftover chicken for the chicken experiment, please remove the meat from one of the breasts as you will be using it for the final chicken recipe.

2 Tbs. mild-flavored oil, such as rapeseed, canola, or grapeseed
1 onion, chopped
5 garlic cloves, smashed and peeled
2 carrots, diced
3 stalks celery, chopped
1 roasted chicken carcass, butterflied and cut into 2 pieces
8-10 cups water
1 tsp. dried thyme, or 1 Tbs. fresh thyme
6 cups chopped green cabbage
2 Yukon Gold potatoes, cut into 1-inch pieces
lots of salt and pepper

1. Heat the oil in a stock pot over high heat. When it is hot, add the onion, garlic, 1 carrot, and the celery.
2. When the veggies are browned, add the chicken pieces in an even-ish layer across the bottom of the pot, and deglaze the pan with the water. Add the thyme and season very, very well with salt and pepper.
3. Bring the soup just to a boil, reduce the heat, and allow to simmer, covered, for 2-3 hours.
4. When the soup has a super yummy, chicken-y flavor, remove the pot from the heat, strain, and return the stock to the pot. Set the chicken and veggies aside. Return the stock to the stove, and bring it back up to a simmer over medium high heat.
5. Add the potatoes and remaining carrot. Cook for about 5 minutes and add the cabbage.
6. While the veggies are cooking, remove the chicken meat from strained chicken and veggies. Shred the meat and add it to the soup when the veggies are just cooked through.
7. Taste for seasoning. It will probably need a lot more salt. If it tastes bland, it just needs more salt.
8. Grab some crackers and serve.

Part of my goal with this experiment is to do very different preparations of chicken. I figure if I have to eat chicken everyday for a couple of days, I want some variety, ya know?

In all honesty, this preparation came about out of necessity to use up some things in the fridge. European fridges are notoriously teeny tiny and mine is no exception. Gone are the days of shopping for a whole weeks groceries – I can’t even fit a whole head of romaine lettuce in my veggie bin. Small amounts of leftovers are doable, but for the most part, I can only store about 2 or 3 days worth of food in the fridge.

It just so happened that I had the quinoa, chickpeas, herbs, half an avocado and bits and pieces of other veggies in the fridge. Plus, I had some honey mustard sauce already prepared from a chicken nugget dinner with the kiddos two nights previous. If you already have about 1/4 cup prepared honey mustard on hand, just add some olive oil and lemon juice to it to make the dressing for this salad.

I threw it all together with some chicken and had a pretty fantastic little lunch.

CHICKPEA QUINOA CHICKEN SALAD WITH HONEY MUSTARD DRESSING
serves one as a main course, or two as a side dish

Salad:
1/2 cup cooked quinoa, cooled
1/2 cup cooked chickpeas, cooled
meat from 1 chicken leg quarter, skinned and shredded
2 inch piece cucumber, diced
1/2 yellow bell pepper, diced
1/2 avocado, diced
1 small tomato, seeded and diced
2 Tbs. minced fresh parsley
2 Tbs. minced fresh cilantro

Dressing:
1/2 lemon, juiced
2 Tbs. dijon mustard
2 Tbs. honey
1 Tbs. extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper

1. For the salad: Combine all of the salad ingredients together in a bowl.
2. For the dressing: In a small jar, combine all of the dressing ingredients and shake it up until it is emulsified.
3. Assemble: Pour the dressing over the salad and toss to combine.

So, I reverted back to my days as a single woman and started cooking for one again. What is great about it this time is that in the past, I’ve sort of neglected feeding myself properly because I was just cooking for me. Somehow I came up with excuses as to why I didn’t need to cook and how, of course, an almond butter and jelly sandwich is a sufficient dinner for an adult. But, since I had already fallen into the routine of making a proper dinner every night, I stuck with it – even after My Soldier left.

Oddly enough, while chicken is the main component of a butcher’s case in the states, it is not such a common find here in small town Germany. Pork in various forms of schnitzel, sausage, bottled forcemeat, and processed deli slices is definitely the primary find. I never thought I would say it, but living here really makes me appreciate chicken more. So, as an ode to my American standby meat, I decided to give myself a challenge:

How many meals can a single person get out of one chicken?

Here are my results from Day One:

ROSEMARY ROASTED CHICKEN

1 (3.5 pound) chicken, patted dry with paper towels
1 small onion, cut into chunks
6 garlic cloves
4 springs fresh rosemary
3 Tbs. olive oil
lots of salt and pepper
2 small yukon gold potatoes, diced into 1 inch pieces, optional

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
2. Loosen the skin at the bottom and each breast and each thigh, and place a sprig of rosemary under the skin. Try to stretch the rosemary over the entire length of each breast. Also, try to loosen the skin enough on the leg that the sprig reaches to both the thigh and the drumstick.
3. Place the onion and garlic inside the cavity of the chicken.
4. Rub the entire chicken down with the olive oil and lots and lots of salt and pepper. If you think you have way over salted the chicken you probably need to salt it some more.
5. Place the chicken in a 10-inch cast iron pan, scatter the potatoes around the chicken, and drizzle them with a little extra oil.
6. Roast the chicken until the skin is browned and crispy and until the breast is 160 degrees internally.
7. Allow the chicken to rest for about 10 minutes before serving. Waiting allows the juices to remain inside the chicken and keeps it super moist.

After eating one serving, put the remaining cooled chicken and any leftover bones into a large container or ziploc bag to use for tomorrows’ lunch…