Pickle My Fancy

Picture from: http://passionateeater.blogspot.com/

Oh... I'm sorry... that's a terrible pun but I just couldn't resist! ^_^

Something you should know about me… I LOVE pickles! I crave them in any shape or form. Last week I was going through my refrigerator looking for items to make for lunch and found some firm tofu that was going to go out of date in a few days. I wasn't in the mood for my usual teriyaki or BBQ'd tofu, so I had a few moments of, "What to do?" I then remembered that I had saved some of the pickling "juice" from pickled green beans. It was all natural, with only white wine vinegar, sugar, dill seeds and garlic… yummo! I was instantly inspired. I would make pickled tofu with a German/European influence rather than Asian or Mediterranean. This was so easy it hardly needs a recipe but here we go:

Pickled Tofu with Dill

1 block firm tofu
6-8 pearl onions
4 cloves of garlic, julienned
4 oz fresh baby portabella mushrooms or white or even fresh shiitake
1 tsp dried dill weed or 1 Tablespoon of fresh
2 Tablespoons of any white wine (optional & more to taste) (I used about 1/4 Cup/60ml)
1 Tablespoon brown sugar or honey (optional)
1/2 C leftover pickling juice (or make your own from 1/4 C white wine vinegar, 1/4 C water, 2 TB sugar, 1/2 tsp dill seed. Warmed & stirred 'til sugar is melted. Let set for a day or two if you have the time)

Cut the tofu block in half, length-wise & parallel to the table. Place the halves between two cutting boards or a cutting board and a plate. Tilt them slightly (put a knife handle or a fork or something underneath to add a moderate slope) and place a light weight on the top one… I used a 6" (15cm) iron fry pan. Let the extra water drain from the tofu while you prep the rest. Slice the pearl onions in half, lengthwise, cutting the roots and the top ends off. Slip off the skins. Heat a small fry pan on medium high heat, drizzle a little sesame oil in (or olive oil, if you prefer, but realize that it will solidify somewhat when cold) and swirl to coat the bottom. Put the onions, sliced sides down and brown them until almost burned, flip them over ( I use cooking chopsticks) and push on them to separate the layers. Toss them for a minute or two until they have softened and browned on the other side. While the onions are browning, wipe off any dirt on the mushrooms and quarter them if they're small and cut them into 1/2 inch cubes (1cm to 1-1/2cm) & slice up your garlic. Remove the onions from the pan and put them into the container you plan to store them in. Quickly rinse the pan out with cold water (be careful! It may sputter a bit) to remove any overly browned bits. Wipe carefully with a paper towel and put back on medium heat. Let pan warm for a moment and then swirl in a little oil as before. Toss the mushrooms and let them sauté' and brown just a bit. Meanwhile, pat the drained tofu lightly on both sides with a clean cloth or paper towel, then slice each half into thirds lengthwise. Cut those slices crosswise forming little cubes. Toss them very gently with the onions in the container. Turn down the heat in your pan to medium low and add the garlic. Let that sauté' a bit until it begins to soften. Sprinkle the brown sugar or honey over the mushrooms & garlic. Toss and immediately increase your heat to medium. Add the white wine to deglaze the pan. Stir for a moment. Pour pickling juice into the pan and stir until hot and it just begins to boil. Remove pan from heat and let cool for a minute so that you don't melt your container and then pour it over the tofu and onions . Make sure all the tofu is below the pickling juice. If not add a little more. Store in the refrigerator for up to three days.

I put a half of a block's worth into my bento lunches and add a little more protein with nuts and/or cheese. Otherwise, enjoy with any meal as you would pickles. Aloha!

Bigos (Polish Hunter's Stew)

Image from : http://www.joker-herby.pl/spezial/bigos.jpg

One of my favourite Fall/Winter foods is Bigos, aka Polish Hunters Stew. Oh how I adore the rich sauce, the sweet and savory combination, & the easily varied ingredients. Whatever is freshest or on hand can go into the pot, tho' there are a few ingredients that form the framework of this lovely dish: paprika, onions, garlic, good rich meat of some sort, sausage (I love to use turkey/pork Polska Kielbasa) or bacon, dried or fresh fruit of choice, apples, cabbage, mushrooms, tomato juice &/or fresh tomatoes (but only if you perchance have perfectly ripe, garden-fresh ones) and a simple full bodied red wine (Egri Bikavér [Bull's Blood] from Hungary is far and above my favourite to use as well as one of my favourite reds for drinking). For the sweet paprika, all I ever use is Szeged Hungarian sweet paprika... it has an incredible richness without having any uncomfortable heat.

I made Bigos recently with fresh blackberries that I had on hand. They had looked so lovely when I bought them, but they were far too sour to eat plain. I didn't want the extra carbs that it would have taken to make them edible, so I thought, "Why not put them in a small batch of Bigos?" With the berries as a sort of limiting factor, the batch of stew that I made was only about 3 to 4 servings. Here's the rough recp:

• 1/2 to 3/4 lb of diced pork (beef would be fine but I prefer lamb, venison or elk, if I can get it!!!)
  
• 1/2 lb of Polska Kielbasa, halved length-wise and cut into 1" lengths (Polish Sausage - Butterball or Eckridge make some of the tastiest, low fat sausage)
  
• 1 med. sized onion roughly chopped into 1" cubes
  
• 2 diced cloves of garlic
  
• 1/2 lb mushrooms, sliced (shiitake are the best, of course, but white mushrooms would be
  just fine. Play with this... try some Portobellos, chanterelles, cremini or morels.)
  
• 2 apples, quartered, cored and cut into 1" cubes
  
• 1/4 head of cubed cabbage broken apart (or more, if you love it as much as I do)
  
• 2 TB sweet paprika (yes 2 tablespoons & make sure it is the sweet kind... the hot would be
  overwhelming at this strength... if you are going to double this recipe, I'd use only about 3 TB... you'll get a feel for the right amount after a while)
  
• 1/2 pint of fresh black berries (the recipe I have calls for six quartered prunes... yes prunes
  and they are wonderful!)
  
• 4 to 6 dried apricots, cut into quarters (I've also used used dried cranberries or cherries or
  even mixed dried fruit)
  
• 1/2 to 1 C tasty red wine (if you must use Burgundy, add a tablespoon of brown sugar to cut some of the dryness. I like a very slightly sweet wine. It cuts some of the acid of the tomatoes and still adds an earthy depth of character. I once even used 3 TB of REALLY GOOD balsamic vinegar.)
  
• 2 large fresh tomatoes, skinned, seeded and quartered or small can of diced tomatoes, drained (I prefer the "no salt added" variety) Tomatoes are optional. It just depends on my mood if I add them or not.
  
• 6 to 12 oz. of V-8 juice (I use the low salt kind)
  3 oz of organic strained babyfood carrots or 2 sliced carrots (I hate slices of cooked carrots, so I add the babyfood at the last second for it's slight sweetness and fabulous nutrition... it's also good in spaghetti sauce)

If you're going to have fresh tomatoes in the stew, plunge them into boiling water for a minute. Peel off the loosened skins, cut them in half crosswise, and over the sink or trash, give them a good squeeze and a firm downward shake. Bingo you have just seeded them and easily removed most of the extra moister from them in one motion. Dice them up and set them aside for now. Brown your meat on medium high heat with a tablespoon of sesame, peanut or olive oil. When browned on all sides, remove to a bowl with a slotted spoon. Brown the sausage the same way and remove it to the bowl. Turn down to medium. Add a little more oil, if necessary, and sauté onions until well browned. Then add garlic & mushrooms and apples. Sauté them until the mushrooms & apples have given up much of their moisture, taking care not to brown the garlic as it will get bitter. Add the cabbage and sauté it until it begins to soften a bit. Add sliced carrots with cabbage if you're using them. Put the reserved meats back in the pan, along with any juices and add the paprika. Toss it around for a minute or two until it smells fragrant but not burned. It will also thicken the pan juices. Turn up the heat to medium high again and quickly add the wine, making sure to scrape loose any tasty browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Let it bubble a minute and reduce and thicken a bit. Add the tomatoes, if you are using them, the V-8 along with the dried and fresh fruit. Let the fruit & tomatoes heat thru' and soften. Just before you pull the pan off the heat, add the puréed carrots and give a stir to incorporate. Serve hot immediately. This stew, like most, reaches it's peak of flavour when it's left overnight in the fridge and reheated. Nummies!!!!

Play with the ingredients of this wonderful stew. The flavours are so rich. I would serve it with a light salad and some Pumpernickel with sweet butter... and of course, sop up those juices... don't you dare waste a drop! ^_^ Aloha!