Just a curiosity

I've been experimenting with my own kitchen "garden" for the last two years. My kitchen is pretty large, faces south and the floor to ceiling windows make it a virtual greenhouse in the summer. I'm having some success with my little squash plant, my tomatoes and my beans. They've yielded some fruit, which tells me, at the very least that I don't have a black thumb. While eating some olives, cheese and fatoush for lunch a few months ago, the thought occured to me...why don't we grow olives and romaine lettuce in El Paso? The climate is perfect. The sandy soil is perfect. My mother would often remark on how similar El Paso was to the West Bank (though I don't think she meant it in a sentimental/complimentary way). So why not grow romaine and olives here? I've gotta try it, just for the hell of it. I'll let you know how that goes, though I don't think I'll be able to use brined pits from the my stash of Lebanese olives. Here's an article on local food from NPT.

En lieu of actual healthcare...Matzoh Ball Soup

Here's Jewish penicillin. Because I have a cold, and Justin is sick as a dog. And it's tasty. And yes, I know I'm Palestinian, but if they can eat hummus and falafel, I can eat matzoh. Let good food be the thing that brings us together.

3 chicken thighs or bone-in breasts
1 gallon of water
1 bunch of carrots (chopped)
1 bunch of celery (chopped)
3 bay leaves
1/2 a bulb of garlic (that's right, half a bulb) peeled but left whole
1 tbsp basil
1 tbsp oregano
1 tbsp black pepper
salt to taste

Matzoh balls:
2 packages of Manischewitz matzoh ball mix
4 eggs
4 tbsp oil (or, I know it's treif- but I use melted butter)

Boil chicken in water in a two gallon stock pot with the herbs, spices and garlic. When chicken is ready to fall off the bone, remove from the stock pot and shred. Discard of bones skin and fat. Add shredded chicken back into the pot. Add chopped veggies. While soup is simmering, make matzoh ball mix. Let the mix refrigerate for ten to fifteen minutes. Form the mix into 1 inch balls and add to soup. Allow the soup to simmer for another ten minutes and then serve. Makes about 20 servings.

Cost: About $10-$15 dollars.

When all else fails- there's always beans and rice

There are so many ways to make a good pot of beans, and they just go so far. You can eat frijoles with EVERYTHING to pad your meal. And they are cheap. Dried pinto beans in bulk are usually around a dollar to two dollars a pound. Dried black beans are about 2-3 dollars a pound. Here are a couple of crock pot recipes. Tip: if you soak the beans for an hour and drain them prior to cooking, the flatulence inducing enzyme will be significantly reduced and the beans will cook faster.

Ranch Beans:

4 cups dried pinto beans
fill crock pot to top with water
3 cloves of minced garlic
2 jalepeños chopped
salt to taste
1/4 cup of bacon drippings (or oil if you don't do pork)
chopped cooked bacon or (if you don't do pork) all beef weenies that have been sautéed

Let this mixture cook all day.


Black beans:

4 cups of dried black turtle beans
fill crock pot with water
3 cloves of minced garlic
1 tbsp basil
1 tbsp oregano
3 bay leaves
1/4 cup olive oil
salt to taste
pepper to taste
chile powder to taste

Let this mixture cook all day. The cooked beans can be mashed and sautéed in oil for refritos

Tacos de Atún

A favorite in this house:

2 cans of chunk light tuna
4 tbsp of mayo
2 tbsp yogurt (optional)
1/2 t paprika
1/2 t black pepper
1/2 t dill
1/2 tomato diced
1/2 white onion coarsly chopped
1 jalepeño finely chopped (I do not remove the seeds or the ribs, but different strokes for different folks)
1/2 cup of shredded asadero or munster cheese
1 package of corn tortillas
oil or butter for frying

This mixture should yield enough filling for about 10 tacos.

Mix all ingredients except for cheese, oil and tortillas in a mixing bowl. Coat a frying pan or griddle with a little oil or butter. Place corn tortillas in the bottom of the pan, making sure that the side of the tortilla on the griddle has been completely coated with butter or oil. Once tortilla has softened a little, sprinkle a little cheese on the tortilla and spoon out about a couple of tablespoons of the tuna mixture on top of the cheese. Fold the other half of the tortilla over. Toast both sides of the tortilla and place the finished tacos on a paper towel to blot excess oil.

Cost: About $5-$7

More fun with Lentils: Mujudarrah

This is my mother's recipe. My mother, Arda, who was born and raised in Palestine, made this frequently. Very frequently- two times a month at least. It's the traditional food for the olive harvest.

1 bag of brown lentils
2 cups of brown rice
2 quarts of water
1 yellow onion (very coarsly chopped into crescent moon slivers)
1/2 cup of olive oil
2 extra tablespoons of olive oil
1 clove crushed garlic
1 tbsp cumin
1 tbsp paprika
salt to taste
black pepper to taste
1 pot of plain yogurt

Salad:
2 tomatoes
1 cucumber
3 green onions
1 bunch of parsley
olive oil for drizzling

Begin by boiling rice in 1 quart of salted water, as this takes a very long time for brown rice. While the rice is cooking, de-stone and wash lentils. In a separate pot, cook lentils in the other quart of water. Add 1/4 cup of olive oil, spices, salt and pepper. When the lentils and rice are finished, mix together in a large bowl.

Using the reserved olive oil, sautée the onions until carmelized.

For the salad, dice tomatoes, green onions and cucumber. Finely chop the parsley and mix with the other vegetables. Drizzle with olive oil and mix.

Spoon out the lentil and rice mixture, top with carmelized onions, and serve with salad and a dollop of yogurt.

Cost: Approximately $10-$15

Lentil and Squash Soup

Onto something a little healthier:

1 bag brown lentils, rinsed and de-stoned
1 quart of water
3 tbsp olive oil
2 squash, cut quartered and diced (locally available- here in EPT, I use Mexican Gray squash)
1/2 of a white onion, finely diced
2 cloves of minced garlic
1 tsp turmeric
2 tsp cumin (Comino)
2 tsp salt
2 tsp black pepper
1 tsp chile powder
1 tsp powdered mustard seed
juice of 1/2 a lime
1 tbsp minced cilantro

Boil water. Add lentils and olive oil. Gradually add spices, onions, garlic, and lime. Reserve cilantro for the very end. As the lentils cook, gradually add a little more water. Simmer for about an hour and serve. Serves 6.

Approximate cost: $6-$7

Chicken and Ramen Casserole

Speaking of ramen, this was a recipe I came up with out of necessity when I was 17. I would, and still do, save for a monthy trip to my local warehouse club where I would purchase a case of tomato soup, a case of cream of mushroom soup, a case of ramen, a bag of frozen chicken, a gigantic bag of brown rice that would last two months or more, two bags of frozen Normandy mixed veggies, and enough tinned vegetables to last me the month.

Ingredients:

3 packages Maruchen chicken flavored ramen
4 chicken thighs
2 cans condensed tomato soup
2 cups shredded munster, jack, or asadero cheese, or if necessary "government" cheese
4 bay leaves
1 tbsp basil
1 tbsp oregano
2 cloves garlic, minced

In a large stock pot, boil the chicken thighs in water with bay leaves, garlic, basil and oregano for an hour to an hour and a half until the meat is ready to fall off the bone and the broth has reduced. While the chicken is boiling, remember to skim the frothy shmaltz from the top of the water. When the chicken is done remove it from the pot and let it cool to the touch, and reserve the broth.

Preheat oven to 400F.

Remove the skin and bones from the thighs and shred the thigh meat. Be careful to remove the cartilage as well. Discard of skin and bones, and put shredded chicken in a bowl.

Using the reserved broth, add two of the ramen "spice packets" and all three cubes of dry ramen. Cook the ramen fully. Strain the ramen and set it aside in a large mixing bowl. When straining the ramen, reserve 1 cup of the broth and as much of the garlic and spices as possible. In the large mixing bowl, add two cans of condensed soup, one cup of reserved broth, and mix.

Add shredded chicken and mix again. Pour mixture into a corning or pyrex casserole dish and top with shredded cheese. Bake for 15-20 minutes until cheese has melted through and the casserole is bubbly.

Cost: about $12-$15