A new direction

Dear Friends,

After 9 years of blogging, I have decided to use a different medium to get “the word out” about healthy home cooking and have started a YouTube channel called.....wait for it....."Healthy Home Cooking”!!

I may still write a post from time to time. I have always loved to write, since I was a kid.  I have always done a better job expressing myself in written form. It allows me time to formulate my thoughts and edit as I go. I’ve never been one to think quickly on my feet and be able to get it all out there at the first go. I need time to craft a thoughtfully executed thought. Writing allows me all the time I need.

But people don’t read as much as they used to, and the younger generation is drawn more to the visual, so I may be better able to gain a wider audience by connecting with people through video. Plus, it’s a way for me to expand and grow, since I’ve always been a little fearful of putting myself “out there”  and being the center of attention. Continuing to hide behind the written word doesn’t help me conquer that fear because overcoming this fear is one of my Life Goals.

I will not take this blog down. It is a compendium of recipes that I love and often come back to it myself. It’s an easy way to quickly find the recipes I have enjoyed making over the years. And I might just reference a post now and then on the YouTube channel and send viewers here to get the recipe for something I’m making on video.

So, I hope that you’ll continue to come back here to look up the recipes you’ve made or always wanted to make, or to read the thoughts I’ve had over the years on cooking and health in general, but I also hope that you will join me on YouTube and watch me in action. Click over this text to access the channel here. Please consider subscribing to Healthy Home Cooking to see new videos when they are uploaded.

I thank you so very much for having spent the past 9 years with me here!

Bon Appetit!

In Health,
Christina

A Soup for Spring

It’s Spring and the weather is starting to warm up. Summer is not far behind. (Summer is coming! GOT fans, you know what I’m talking about). But before it comes, now is a great time to take advantage of the (still) cooler nights and make some spring-time soup.

I recently saw split peas at the grocery store and they looked so beautifully green, kind of like the hills around here, what with all the rain we’ve had! I just had to get them.

They were dried, of course, and in the bulk section, so that meant I’d have to soak them to make them more easily digestible, which wouldn’t be difficult considering they’d be made into soup anyhow! So I grabbed 2 cups of them. 

As with all legumes, split peas are not exactly low-carb, coming in at about 27g per cup. So if you’re on a LC diet you may want to avoid them, or save them for when you want/crave/need a few extra carbs. Not the worst thing you can eat, but plan accordingly!

The recipe I made is not vegetarian, but certainly could be with a few substitutions. I find this short list of ingredients really all you need to make great split pea soup. It’s even easier because this version is made in a slow cooker. Easy-peasy!

Ingredients:
2 cups dried split peas
1 ham hock or ham shank, preferably smoked
1 yellow onion, chopped
6 cups chicken stock (or water and/or veggie stock if you prefer)
2 carrots, peeled and finely chopped
2 stalks celery, finely chopped
2-3 cloves garlic
Sea salt
Extra-virgin olive oil for drizzling on top, optional

Place the split peas in a bowl of water and allow anything foreign to float to the surface. Pick through, rinse, drain.

Place everything in the slow cooker with the exception of the salt. You never want to add salt to beans or legumes when they are cooking, as it makes them hard. Add the salt at the end just before eating.

Turn the slow cooker setting on low and let cook for 8-10 hours. Remove and discard the ham bone and break up the chunks of meat with a fork.

Add the salt, drizzle with a little olive oil, and enjoy!

Skillet-Braised Chicken

Braising. What does that mean?

Technically, it’s a cooking method that uses both wet and dry heat. First, you sear or saute the food at high temperature, then finish it in a covered pot at a lower temperature while sitting in some liquid, which adds flavor. Braising relies on heat, time and moisture to break down the connective tissue that binds together the muscle fibers of meat, making it an ideal way to cook tougher, less expensive cuts. Both pressure cooking and slow cooking are forms of braising.

Most braises follow the same basic steps. The food is first pan-seared to brown its surface and enhance its flavor (through the Maillard reaction). If the food will not produce enough liquid on its own, a certain amount of liquid that often includes an acidic element (for example tomatoes, beer, balsamic vinegar, wine) is added to the pot, often with stock. The dish is then covered and cooked at a low simmer until the meat becomes so tender that it can be “cut” with a fork.

Braising is ideal for beef, put you can also do it with chicken. This dish is adapted from “The Food Lab” cookbook. It looked delicious and it was!! It will take you about an hour to make and serves 4-6.

Skillet-Braised Chicken

Ingredients:

4-6 chicken leg quarters
Kosher salt and finely ground black pepper
1 Tbsp oil (avocado is good for high heat)
1 large onion, sliced finely
2 cloves or more of garlic, sliced finely
1 Tbsp paprika
1 Tbsp ground cumin
1 cup dry white wine (I used red)
One 28-oz can whole tomatoes, drained and crushed by hand
1/2 cup homemade chicken stock
1/4 cup capers, drained and rinsed and chopped
1/4 cup chopped green or black olives
1/4 cup fresh parsley, finely chopped
2-3 tsp. lemon juice

Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly season the chicken with salt and pepper.

Heat oil in an ovenproof skillet over high heat and using tongs, carefully add the chicken pieces skin side down. Cover with a splatter screen and cook without moving it, until the chicken is deep golden brown, about 4 minutes. Flip the chicken and cook until the second side is golden brown, about 3 minutes more. Transfer chicken to a large plate and set aside.

Reduce the heat under the pan to medium-high, add the onions, and cook, using a wooden spoon (I like to use the type that’s pictured to the right, with a flat edge) to scrape up the browned bits from the bottom of the skillet and stir frequently, until completely soft and just starting to brown, about 4 minutes.

Add the garlic and cook about 30 seconds. Add the paprika and cumin and stir until fragrant, about 1 minute longer. Add the wine and scrape up the browned bits from the bottom of the skillet. Add tomatoes, stock, capers, and olives and bring to a boil. Nestle the chicken pieces into the stock and vegetables so that only the skin is showing.

Cover with a lid, transfer to the oven and cook for 20 minutes. Remove lid and cook another 20 minutes until meat is fall-off-the-bone tender. Stir in the parsley and lemon juice, season with salt and pepper and serve immediately.*

This would be delicious over egg noodles, creamy polenta or smashed potatoes to soak up the juices. Also serve alongside it any medium-bodied red wine, like a Grenache or Tempranillo.

*I found that the chicken skin does not stay very crispy when the lid is put on and if you don’t care, like me (who doesn’t eat skin) then by all means put the lid on. But if you want the skin crispy then I’d advise against the lid and cook the dish for 40 minutes without it. It will also help thicken the sauce a bit more. But then, it’s not technically braised chicken any longer!