Thai-style chicken pumpkin soup

• 1 large white onion, chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 tablespoon minced ginger (I used gourmet garden)
• 1 tablepoon chili pepper blend (gourmet garden again)
• 1.5lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite sized pieces
• 2 carrots, peeled and chopped
• 1 15oz can packed pumpkin
• 1/2 cup mango nectar
• juice of 1 lime
• 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
• 3 cups good quality chicken stock
• 3 tablespoons rice vinegar
• fresh cilantro, chopped
• green onions, chopped
• roasted unsalted peanuts, roughly chopped
• cooked white rice (take out is best)

In a skillet over a medium flame brown onion, garlic and pepper for 3-5 minutes. Turn off heat and stir in ginger. In large crock pot combine onion mixture with chicken, carrots, pumpkin, mango nectar, lime juice, peanut butter, chicken stock and vinegar. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours. Place a mound of cooked rice in center of serving bowl and pour soup around it. Garnish with cilantro, green onions and peanuts.

The dish: I hate our local newspaper, and yet I've been a steady subscriber forever. One of my favorite things to do is to settle back with the Sunday paper and read through all the news and save the colored funnies for a grand finale. Somewhere in there I sort through the mountain of store circulars and coupons. Hiding beneath that yogurt coupon is page after page of useless crap, ranging from Yankee's Christmas ornaments and limited edition trains to elastic waistband comfort pants made from genuine polyester (accept no imitations). One day a few weeks back I saw an ad for a set of three crock pot cookbooks among all the other crap. Feeling a little adventurous I sent in my check and waited 3-4 weeks for my bounty to come in the mail. When they arrived I thumbed through them and was not shocked to see mostly recipes I had seen before. This soup was one of the few new ones that stood out. We decided to be daring and try something new at home. The result was phenomenal; this soup is a winner. It turned out to be not spicy or sweet, but rather very distinctive and comforting. It will most certainly grace the red room again. If you're reading this in the fall of 2009, please be aware that there's a shortage of canned pumpkin and you may have to drive to more than one store before you stumble upon some.

garlic onion refrigerator pickles

• 1lb small cucumbers (I've seen them called kirby and kuke, so I have no idea what is right)
• pickling salt
• fresh garlic, chopped
• 2 onions, sliced into rings
• cider vinegar
• sugar
• fresh dill
• mustard seed

Combine about 1.5 cups of salt with 4 or so cups of water. Make sure that salt is well dissolved and pour over cucumbers in a tight container. Let sit at room temperature, out of the sun, for two days. Drain and rinse the cucumbers well. Combine 3 cups cider vinegar with 1.5 cups of water and 1/2 cup sugar, cook and bring to a boil stirring occasionally. Let cool for 20 minutes. In a tight fitting container, layer the cucumbers with the garlic, onion and dill with a few shakes of mustard seed. When vinegar mixture has cooled slightly, pour over the mixture and refrigerate for 1 week.

The dish: I once remarked to our favorite farmers that making pickles was more of a commitment than marriage was. I was being facetious, but there's an element of truth to that statement. There's no one step in making these pickles that's difficult, but if you skip one or screw it up your finished product will suffer. You can screw up in marriage pretty frequently and it can all end well anyway. Much like marriage, pickles are worth the effort, you'll never want to eat a pickle from a jar after you make your own. We used these on top of some pulled pork sandwiches and the taste was out of this world.

grilled balsamic salmon

• salmon fillet
• balsamic vinegar
• olive oil
• garlic cloves
  

Marinate salmon, vinegar, olive oil and garlic for at least 3 hours. When ready to cook, wrap salmon in tin foil, discarding marinade and garlic. Grill over a low flame for about 10 minutes or until cooked. Don't be fooled, cooking it in foil won't yield the prettiest salmon, but it will taste great.

The dish: Here's the deal: I love salmon, but I'm getting sick of saying the same things about it over and over, so today I'll do something different. Instead of touting the virtues of our friend who swims upstream, I'll give some insight into why this blog has been idle most of July. As I've said before, I love to ride my mountain bike but with all the rain we've had this year it's been tough to get on the trail. I've spent a fraction of the amount of time on my bike this years as opposed to years past, which is why I think I recently forgot a valuable lesson in riding; things go best when the rubber side stays down. The stretch of trail I crashed on is so familiar to me that I often will ride through it in my mind on nights that I have trouble sleeping. I have an intimate knowledge of every twist, every hill, and every obstacle, which is why I wasn't shocked when the trail crossed the path of a wet tree root, I had ridden over it countless times before. As is the case with such things, I'm not really sure what went wrong, but my front tire bounced in a way I didn't expect it to and I had an immediate yet brief sensation of soaring through the air, right over the front of my bicycle (impressive since my feet were still clipped to the pedals). I painfully landed face down a pretty good distance from both the trail and my bike. Without getting too graphic (you did come here to read about food after all) it was clear that my shoulder had popped out and just getting up was going to be a challenge. With the help of Kim and our friend Chris I began to roll over and miraculously (and quite audibly) my shoulder righted itself and 90% of the pain instantly went away. I was able to limp back to the car and decided to play it safe and go to the ER and have things checked out. Other than quickly dropping the bikes off, we went straight to the hospital and waited long enough to watch the movie The Minority Report (it sucked) on the TV that each emergency room bed now has (who knew?). As I suspected, nothing was broken and the hospital sent me home with my arm in a sling and a warning of pain to come the next morning. It was about 7 hours after the crash when I was finally standing in the shower and letting the hot water pound onto my traumatized joint. I didn't think much about all the elapsed time until two days later when I had an unbearable itch all over my body and my skin began to look diseased. Turns out it was a big patch of poison oak that broke my fall and I pretty much let it soak into my skin all day long. The subsequent reaction was bad enough to warrant my doctor putting me on heavy duty steroids and me trying every topical remedy I could find, which none really worked, which is good because the mind numbing itching took my focus away from my sore shoulder. Needless to say, I didn't much feel like blogging. If you want to be grossed out, feel free to check out my left leg and just picture the rest of me covered in similar bruises and red splotches. Things seemed to have turned the corner, I'm looking less like a leper with each passing day so expect to see more updates soon.

baked salmon with lemon and parsley

• salmon fillets, boneless and skinless
• 1 lemon
• whole garlic cloves, peeled
• fresh parsley, chopped

Marinate the salmon in the garlic and juice of the lemon. Cover fillet in parsley and bake at 300 degrees for 10 minutes or until cooked to desired doneness.

The dish: This is a pretty simple preparation, so make sure that you use only the freshest ingredients, as they have no sauce or crust to hide under. For the longest time I was never happy with the fish I made at home, but then it dawned on me that I was buying it from a guy named Larry out of the trunk of his Impala. I switched, and now I buy it at a local produce store and it's as fresh as can be. The stuff you buy "fresh" at the supermarket has been previously frozen, which doesn't always matter, but don't expect a simple dish like this to shine using it. If you haven't already you really should start adding some salmon to your diet as it's about the best source for Omega-3s which do everything from slow cancerous growths to boost your mood. Your body needs Omega-3s and can't store them so the only way that you can be sure you have enough is to make a point to eat more fish, fatty ones like salmon in particular. If you're undecided about what to do for dinner, click on the salmon link before and pick out one of the many recipes on here that appeals to you. Your body will thank you.

sauteed kale

• fresh kale, roughly chopped into bite sized pieces
• fresh garlic, chopped fine
• nutmeg
• coarse salt
• red pepper flakes (I use Simply Organic)
• 3/4 cup of vegetable stock
• sherry vinegar (or any red wine vinegar)

In a swirl of olive oil over a medium-high flame, saute the garlic and red pepper for 3-5 minutes. Add the veggie stock and stir for about a minute. Begin adding the kale in batches, letting each one wilt a bit before adding the next. Once all is added, season to taste with salt, vinegar and just a touch of nutmeg (thanks Rachael Ray). Reduce flame to low and continue to cook an additional 5+ minutes, or until kale is tender. Add more stock if needed.

The dish: I know a few posts back I promised you were reading what was the beginning of a long and exciting bbq phase of the red room. Turns out that Mother Nature has made a liar of me and my grill has sat under its cover for pretty much all of June, just as it did in the chilly winter months. If you're reading this from the lovely Empire State, then you're probably wet and not quite sure what the sun looks like anymore. As it happens in life, while I was in the middle of bitching about the impact the rain has had on my biking (or lack of), I bumped into someone far worse off because of this crazy weather. I was at the farmer's market and got to talking to a few of the vendors whose crops were rotting under water with no end to the rain in site. Couple that with low attendance at the markets because people are afraid of getting wet, and you've got a recipe for disaster. Farmer's don't have it easy anywhere, and in our region where land is in pretty high demand for the never ending suburban sprawl, disastrous weather can be the proverbial straw on the camel's back. The easy solution of course, is for all of us to do our best that when possible we eat something that was grown close to home. Check around for a farmer's market in your neck of the woods, if you're around Goshen on Fridays theirs is great (Bialas Farms is my fav, but all the farms are good). Not only will your food taste better and be better for you, but you'll be supporting an important way of life that's quickly vanishing. So with this crazy weather we've been having, go ahead and put on that sweater that you packed away long before June, stop payment on the check to the global warming folks and take that cash to your local farmers market and pick up some kale or any of the other delicious veggies they have.

gnocchi in red sauce with spinach and sausage

• 1 lb gnocchi
• 1 can crushed tomatoes
• 1 can tomato paste
• 1 can diced tomatoes, drained
• 1 bag fresh baby spinach
• 1 package good quality sausage
• fresh garlic, chopped fine
• 1 large onion, chopped fine
• shredded parmesan cheese

In a large dutch oven or cast iron pot cook the sausage over a medium flame until just done. Remove from pot and chop into bite sized pieces, set aside. In same pan saute garlic and onion over a medium-high flame for 3-5 minutes. Add tomato paste and cook for an additional 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Add the crushed and diced tomatoes, bring to a simmer, cover and reduce heat, cooking for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, begin to cook gnocchi according to package directions. Add spinach and sausage back to sauce. Spoon sauce over cooked pasta, sprinkle cheese on top.

The dish: Somebody sent me an email message that was titled "the death of common sense" where it went on about how stupid most of us are. While I'd like to think that I haven't grown that cynical (yet), there are certain things that leave me wondering, "what are they thinking". The now defunct no carb diet craze did just that. I can see the virtue of limiting your carbs, especially if you have health concerns that would benefit from doing so, but the diet a few years back just went to a crazy extreme. There were scores of people that were afraid to eat a carrot but poured bacon and beef down their throat with a reckless abandon. Carbs are the basic building blocks of energy for your body and without them you'd feel lethargic. Like anything else there's good carbs and bad carbs and too much of even a good thing can quickly become quite the opposite. I bring this up in defense of gnocchi, a potato based pasta (carbs on carbs, roll over Dr. Atkins). You wouldn't want to eat this every day, but as an every now and again treat it's spectacular. Just go into the meal knowing that you're indulging in something special, unlike those carb counters who inhaled backfat in the name of good health.

salmon cakes over creamy corn in a tarragon sauce

• 1.5 pounds salmon (fresh, frozen, or canned will work)
• 1 egg
• bread crumbs
• fresh parsley, chopped
• 1 bag frozen sweet corn
• garlic, chopped
• heavy cream
• Dijon mustard
• fresh tarragon, chopped fine

To make the sauce, whisk together about equal parts mustard and cream. Add tarragon and refrigerate. Chop salmon into small pieces, mix together with egg, bread crumbs and parsley. Form into cakes slightly smaller than the size of your palm. In a skillet over high heat, fry the cakes in a swirl of oil for about 1+ minute per side. Once all have been browned, transfer to a 275 degree oven in a covered dish. Meanwhile, saute the garlic (to taste) in a little olive oil over a medium high flame for about 3 minutes. Add corn and continue to cook for about 5 minutes until corn is cooked through. Reduce flame to medium and add a touch of heavy cream. Season to taste with coarse salt and pepper and add any of the parsley or tarragon if you have any left over. Assemble by placing corn on plate, placing salmon over it and drizzling it in the sauce.

The dish: Much like the crab cake sandwich I posted, these cakes are pretty forgiving about exact measurements and spices so feel free to experiment and improvise. The corn was a nice touch, but the sauce was the star of the show. I'm not sure I ever used tarragon before, but I got the idea from something I read and the result was great. To create the cool drizzle effect I used one of those plastic condiment bottles people put ketchup in for picnics and just chopped a little off the top for the herbs to flow through. You can find those at the dollar store (Sam's dollar is the best around if you're local to the New Windsor area) and they're great to have on hand for such occasions. This entry is a little out of order as the cakes were actually served as a appetizer to our meal with the rents, but whatever. You could really serve this as a main dish just by increasing the portion sizes a bit.

boccoli with a balsmic orange sauce

• fresh broccoli florets
• 6 garlic cloves
• 2 cups orange juice
• 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

In a large pan cook orange juice and garlic over high heat until it reaches a boil, reduce heat to medium high and simmer for 20 minutes or until reduced to about 1/2 cup. Meanwhile, steam broccoli until just cooked. When OJ is reduced (and if committing petty robbery in Vegas doesn't bring you down then what... never mind) add vinegar and cook for an additional 5 minutes over a medium low flame. Place cooked vinegar in bowl and strain sauce over it, discarding the garlic.

The dish: Steamed veggies are one of the greatest things you can eat, but almost nobody does without a small army of salt and butter to "dress" them up. We've been experimenting with different ways we can add flavor without adding too much bad stuff at the same time. This is a nice preparation that leaves the broccoli with a sweet and tangy taste that will make sure that you don't miss the salt and butter.

unstuffed cabbage

• 1 head of cabbage, chopped
• 2 yellow onions, chopped fine
• 8 cloves of garlic, chopped fine
• 1 yellow pepper, chopped
• 1 orange pepper, chopped
• fresh parsley, chopped fine
• fresh oregano, chopped fine
• red pepper flakes
• 1 large can diced tomatoes
• 1 large can crushed tomatoes
• 1lb ground turkey
• cooked brown rice (take out or instant works fine)

In a swirl of olive oil, saute the garlic and onions over a medium flame for about 5 minutes, or until just browned, then add to crock pot. In same skillet, brown turkey over a medium flame until done. Add all ingredients except rice to your crock pot (remember, we just don't give a damn about generecizing trademarks), cover and cook on low for 6+ hours. Serve over rice.

The dish: Stuffed cabbage is one of those dishes that I'll order out because it's both delicious and a pain in the ass to prepare. Cabbage leaves are more delicate than you'd think and getting the whole mix cooked evenly without burning parts of it is a true art. I'm not sure how I came up with the idea of doing it like this, but you get about 95% of the flavor with about 10% of the work of the original. That and like every other slow cooker recipe you can prepare it in the morning, or even the night before if you're using a crock pot that was made after leg warmers went out of fashion. You can add cheese if you wish, but I think it works well without it. As always, feel free to subsitute dried herbs for fresh ones.

rosemary roasted rack of lamb with mint pesto

• rack of lamb
• fresh rosemary sprigs
• fresh mint, chopped fine
• fresh basil, chopped fine
• whole garlic cloves
• 1/2 lemon

Combine mint, basil, juice of half the lemon and a swirl of good quality olive oil in a large bowl, set aside. In large skillet over a high flame heat a couple of swirls of olive oil, brown each side of lamb for 2 minutes, transfer to oven safe dish. Cover lamb with fresh rosemary and garlic cloves and bake in oven at 325 degrees for 15 minutes or until cooked to desired doneness. Once cooked, discard rosemary and garlic, spoon pesto over lamb immediately as it comes out of the oven.

The dish: Okay, I lied. Not even a month ago I told you that I only eat lamb once a year, and here we have yet another preparation of it coming out of the red room. I promise that if it had not been Easter, this never would have happened. True to form, mint was in this recipe as well and it played quite nicely off the basil. This was the first time I ever tried cooking a rack of lamb and everyone thought it was great, so that was a relief. One glaring thing wrong with the dish is the absence of those little paper chef hat looking things they put on the lamb at fancy restaurants. If anyone has any idea of where to buy those things (or what they're called for that matter) please let me know. Just do me a favor and wait a while before telling me, because if I had them in my hands the temptation to do another rack of lamb would be too great and I can't bring it upon myself to lie so frequently.

broccoli rabe with garlic

• broccoli rabe (I use about a bunch per person figuring on having leftovers)
• fresh garlic, chopped roughly
• olive oil

In a large skillet over a medium flame cook the garlic for 3-5 minutes or until just done. Add chopped broccoli rabe and a little more olive oil, continue cooking for about 5 minutes. Season to taste with Kosher salt (or any coarse salt- I just like Kosher the best because it's the cheapest) and fresh ground pepper.

The dish: If you've been reading this blog, then you've seen this dish before. This is an easy side dish that shows well and tastes great. If you happen to have some fresh lemons lying around, feel free to give this dish a squeeze, but don't sweat it if you don't. Sauteing with garlic is a pretty easy method that works for pretty much any vegetable you can think of, feel free to get funky and experiment, I'm sure you'll love the results.

rigatoni with roasted cauliflower and asiago cheese

• 1 pound rigatoni
• 1 head of cauliflower, cut into bite sized pieces
• 6 cloves of garlic, peeled and diced
• asiago cheese
• bread crumbs
• fresh curly parsley, chopped fine

Combine cauliflower and garlic with a generous amount of olive oil, roast for 20 minutes in a 400 degree oven, stirring occasionally. Boil rigatoni in salted water until just done. Add breadcrumbs and parsley to cauliflower, season with kosher salt and fresh pepper, stirring in more olive oil as needed. Continue cooking until pasta is done. Place pasta on plate, sprinkle asiago cheese on top, drizzle with good quality olive oil and top with cauliflower mixture.

The dish: If you're a faithful red room reader (which I think you might be because I'm pretty sure it's only Kim and I reading this) you know my feelings on olive oil: cook with really cheap stuff and drizzle with great stuff. Cauliflower is one of those super veggies that has all kinds of good things going on and this was an easy way to enjoy it. If you want to make it a little healthier you can omit the breadcrumbs, but they really added a nice touch.