Still cooking! (Kind of)

Back in the early days of this blog I wrote a lot about food. That's because I had the time to read books about it, pontificate on it, and--yes--even cook it from time to time. It was a very enjoyable time of my life when my greatest concerns were changing Celia's diaper on a semi-routine basis and getting to Russo's before the lunchtime crowds packed the parking lot.

Things are obviously different now that I am back at work. I have not been able to spend as much time in the kitchen as I want to, and it is the rare occasion that I make anything nearly as interesting as what I was making when I was on leave. But no matter--I knew this would happen, and my original plan was to try to schedule out meals for the week, hit Russo's on the weekend, and then have everything ready to go for when I got home at 5:30 on weekdays. Those of you who know me (all of you, likely) probably have a pretty good sense of how this plan worked out.

The past couple weeks have been a bit of an exception to the rule, though, and I've actually managed to make a few "real" meals (albeit with mixed results).

Last weekend I dusted off my slow cooker (my new one, remember--my old one having suffered an untimely and annoying death) and made the same potato soup recipe I've been using for a couple years. In my old slow cooker all the potatoes reduced pretty easily, and because the machine ran so hot, it was more of a stew than a soup. It was pretty good this way, though--always hot, always hearty, never more than a few spoonfuls left for the next day.

Unfortunately, my beautiful new Hamilton Beach treated this recipe much more delicately, and it proved to be a bit of a bust. It runs at a much lower temperature, so essential ingredients like celery and carrots were actually preserved in something resembling their original state (unlike in my old Rival). The potatoes, though, hardly seemed affected by sitting in a tepid soup for over 8 hours. The result was definitely a soup, but one with much less character, taste, and potato goodness than I was accustomed to. Oh--and it took 2 hours longer to cook.

I approached this disappointment with a bit of clinical detachment, figuring out what I would have to change next time in order to make it better. Natalia, on the other hand, seemed a bit sad. She loved how this recipe tasted when super-heated in the old Rival, and I think she was worried that it would never be that good again. (Full disclosure: I share that same worry.) The good news is that it was actually better the second day after I had reheated it--so this provides a glint of hope in what was otherwise a disappointing affair.

A few days later I let bygones be bygones with my still-beloved Hamilton Beach and made up a spicy black bean and red bean soup. I actually stayed up late on Friday night to cut all the carrots, onions, and tomatoes (I used fresh tomatoes rather than canned ones) and then threw everything in the slow cooker before we headed out to swimming on Saturday morning. Yes, I was proud of myself for thinking ahead--thanks for asking.

This meal turned out decidedly better than the potato soup. That said, I think it could have been still better--I made some cooking decisions that I wish I could have taken back. For one, I used 1 cup of water as a replacement for a cup of vegetable broth (I still had a lot of broth in the fridge after the potato soup, so I used the remainder of that and then supplemented with water). I also opted for a lot of fresh tomatoes as opposed to a can of the Mexican-style stewed variety. While both decisions were practical, I think they rendered the soup more bland than was intended. Overall, though, it was still a success, and I enjoyed the soup that night and for lunch a few days this week.

I was back in the kitchen tonight. Again, it was a one-pot meal (the easiest kind when you are responsible for two kids under 4 years of age), and it was a somewhat random recipe for Turkey-chipotle chili that Natalia forwarded to me last night. In its full glory:

Ingredients

1 green bell pepper, cored, seeded and chopped
1 small onion, chopped
2 teaspoons canola oil
1 pound ground turkey breast
1 can (15 oz) tomato sauce
1 can (15 oz) kidney beans, undrained
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon canned or 1/4 tsp dried chipotle pepper, minced
1/2 cup shredded reduced-fat cheddar

Preparation

In a 2-quart saucepan, sauté bell pepper and onion in oil over medium heat 5 minutes. Add turkey and cook, stirring, about 5 minutes. Add tomato sauce, beans, seasonings, and chipotle. Stir well. Increase heat, stirring, until mixture comes to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, for 15 minutes. Ladle into bowls; top with cheese.

This made for a bona fide good meal, and my efforts were applauded not only by Natalia (always nice!) but also by her father who is visiting for a couple days. High praise, indeed. The flavors all popped the appropriate amount...the chipotle was hot enough, but not too hot. The peppers and onions let you know they were there without getting in the way. And the turkey made it feel like a hearty meal. (I left out the cheddar cheese; I don't think it needed it.)

So there you have it--the past few months have not been a total cooking disaster; more like a mild one. But the past few weeks have actually been ok and are somewhat encouraging for the future.

On a related note, Natalia and I have been going to the Waltham farmer's market (Saturdays, Moody and Main) every other week for the past month or so. It is a good selection of local fruits and vegetables if you get there early...wait too long and everything has been picked over. Caledonia Farm, whose blog is included in my blogroll at right, also attends and sells local meat. (I haven't purchased any yet but I probably will tomorrow.)