Arroz Chaufa (Peruvian Fried Rice)

 I prepared an Asian chicken recipe last night and cooked extra chicken to make dinner tonight. I've created a week's menu and I'm determined to stick to it. I'm trying to cut down on grocery costs and I'm also trying to make less work for myself. I'm getting older. I'm getting lazier. I am not even ashamed to admit it.
Anyhow, I read several recipes for a Peruvian version of fried rice. This is right up my alley. I can make a pretty mean fried rice, if I do say so myself.

This is what I came up with and it also uses up some of the random things rattling around in the produce crisper drawer.

As usual, with any recipe that has an Asian inspiration, make sure to prep all of the ingredients and have them ready to go. I cooked the rice this morning and chilled it down in the fridge. Rice cookers, I now feel, are a necessity. The funny thing is that I refused to use one until we bought this fifth wheel. Now, I can't imagine not having one. I just add everything in, set a timer and forget about it.

When I chopped the green onions, I separated the white parts from the green parts. This recipe starts out frying a bit of bell pepper (color doesn't matter, just use what you have) and onion. 

As long as carrots are not boiled into a mush, I don't mind them. I added in a small grated one so that I could get more veggies into Bob.He did get his new dentures, but, after going through those radiation treatments, he's left with an overactive gag reflex. So, they are making him gag. He's going to make an appointment and go in and have them fixed. 

After everything (yes, this fried rice has hot dogs in it) gets added in, hit it with a tablespoon or two of soy sauce. Don't judge for the hot dogs. Once in a while, I just crave one.

Top with a sunny-side up egg. Make sure it is crispy on the bottom. 

See? Perfectly crispy. Perfectly cooked. Perfectly delicious. The perfect thing after getting stung by a yellow jacket today...hence, the hot dogs comfort food addition. It's fried rice. It is a dish that you can put anything in and it will taste delicious.

Arroz Chaufa

2 tablespoons avocado oil
4 green onions, sliced, separate the white parts from the green tops
1/2 bell pepper, diced (use whatever color you like, it doesn't matter)
2 hot dogs, sliced
1 cup cooked chicken, cubed or shredded (whatever you like to do)
2 beaten eggs
3 cloves garlic, minced
1-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and grated
1 small carrot, peeled and grated
3 cups cold cooked rice
2-3 tablespoons soy sauce (or to taste)
1 teaspoon sesame oil
2 sunny-side up fried eggs with crispy edges

Prep all the ingredients and have them ready to go.
In a large wok, or skillet, over high heat, stir fry the white part of the onions with the bell pepper for 2 minutes. Add the carrot. Continue to stir fry for another 1 minute. Add the garlic and ginger. Stir fry for 30 seconds. Add the chicken and hot dogs. Cook for another minute or so. Add the rice. cook until everything has a slight coating of oil and is hot completely through. Add soy sauce. Toss to coat. Drizzle with sesame oil and garnish with the green part of the green onions. Set aside until you've cooked the sunny-side up eggs. Place a sunny-side up egg on top of each serving. There will be leftovers if you're making this for 2 people. Just reheat the leftovers in the microwave and top with a freshly cooked egg.

Enjoy!

Giardiniera

 I love giardiniera mix. I've been wanting to make some for a long time now, so I figured that it was as good of a day as any to do it since I had taken advantage of a local farmers market for some awesome produce.

At first, I thought I was going to make that chunky mix that I like to buy occasionally from the supermarket. I read up about it and found out that there were two different types. There is the original Italian version, which I do love, and there is a Chicago-Style, which is more of a condiment.
If you know me, you know I love condiments. I usually have no less than 15 in my fridge at one time. I have an entire shelf dedicated to my condiments and, all I can say is that it's a good thing that we have a spare fridge in our outdoor kitchen! This is supposed to be spectacular on a hot dog. In a month or so, I'm going to get some really good hot dogs and I'm going to try it.

I found a recipe for a small batch. I didn't want half of a leftover head of cauliflower, because I'd be the only one eating it and, while I do like cauliflower, I don't like cauliflower enough to eat half a head of it by myself. I chopped up the whole thing. It was tedious, but I think it will be worth it in the end.
The beauty of this recipe is that it will utilize most all of your garden produce harvest! Celery, onions, carrots, eggplant, cauliflower, red peppers, hot peppers...it's all in there! Since I decided to use the whole head of cauliflower, I used 1/2 cup of kosher salt and just over 5 cups of water to brine. You want the veggies to be covered by salt water. I left to soak, refrigerated, overnight.

While my jars were getting sterilized in boiling water, I drained and rinsed the veggies off. I split them in half into my two bigger sized pots and I used vinegar, sugar and spice in each pot and boiled for about 15-20 minutes. 

I made exactly 3 quarts. Ideally, this can be canned up in pints, but I'm saving those for other things that need to be consumed quickly after opening. This stuff can last in the jar for months, so this was just the way that was logical for me. 

I processed these quarts for 20 minutes to be on the safe side. I don't think I'll use that particular pot to can quarts in anymore. It's great for pints and half pints but not for quarts. That's why I processed for 20 minutes...better safe than sorry.

Viola! Enough giardiniera to use for the whole year!

Giardiniera
*makes 3 quarts or 6 pints

Ingredients

Day 1-cut all vegetables into small-dice sized pieces, enough to make 3 quarts. There are no measurements because these ingredients are all to an individual's preference.

• Cauliflower
  
• Red bell pepper
  
• Sweet onion
  
• Celery
  
• Carrot
• Hot peppers (optional)
  
• Eggplant

Other veggies can be used, too: zucchini, green olives, banana peppers, etc. 

 

Day 2-cook vegetables in brine. I split between 2 pans and split the brine in half, as well.

• 8 c white vinegar
• 2 Tbsp sugar
  
• 2 bay leaves
• 1/2 tsp black peppercorns
• 1 tsp each celery seed and fennel seed
  
• 
  
  On the first day, chop all vegetables and place in a large bowl. Sprinkle salt over veggies and stir to combine, then add water until veggies are submerged. Let set for 12 hours or overnight.
  
  On day two, rinse the veggies well under cold running water. Combine all the Day 2 ingredients in a large pot with the veggies and bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer for 20 minutes. Place into sterilized, hot jars. Seal. (Please look at the safe canning guidelines. Click here for link.) Process 15 minutes for quarts, 10 minutes for pints. Let cool thoroughly. 
  
  
  

Shakshuka

 If you're ever stuck as to what to fix for dinner and you don't have a lot of time, Shakshuka is right up your alley. This meal comes together in under 30 minutes and you can adapt to use whatever garden vegetables you have on hand. 

I started out by sauteing diced bell peppers (one of our local stores had an amazing deal on bell peppers, so I picked up all colors of them, diced them all up, put a quart up in the freezer and have half a quart to use up in recipes. I also used half of a peeled zucchini and a quarter of a Walla Walla sweet onion. There's also a couple of cloves of minced garlic in there, too. 

Now, why am I mincing everything up so finely and peeling the zucchini? My husband has had all of his teeth removed and will be getting dentures. He's been dealing with the after effects of having radiation treatments for throat cancer over 10 years ago. There's a spot in his throat that the muscle just doesn't work and food hangs up there and it chokes him. Pair that issue with the fact that radiation treatment wiped his teeth out and he didn't have any molars to properly chew food, well...you get the idea. Cooking has been a challenge, to say the least.
I only have a few more months and he'll have dentures and he'll be able to eat proper food again. First on his list, I'm sure, is a steak and a salad.

Here is my spice blend that I used. It contains paprika, chili powder, ground cumin, basil, oregano and some palm sugar (just a pinch). 

I use 2 eggs per person for this recipe. If you only want one per person, that's fine. Eggs are completely subjective in this recipe.

Now, with the tomatoes, you can either use a can of tomatoes or you can use fresh. It's all up to you. I didn't have enough ripe tomatoes, so I opted to use a can of diced. If you used canned tomatoes, you can use pureed, diced, whole, stewed, it doesn't matter. Since I used canned tomatoes, I used a pinch of palm sugar to take the tin taste out of them. This is when all the vegetables get cooked down into a homogeneous pan full of deliciousness.
This is a different type of cooking for me. Usually, I like my vegetables to retain some of their texture. For Bob, they have to be cooked super soft. Last night, I didn't quite achieve that with the bell peppers. Next time, I will.
Let this stew, over low heat, until the vegetables are done to your taste preference.

Once the tomatoes and vegetables have cooked to your liking, make a well with a spatula and crack an egg into. Continue to cook, over low heat, covered, until the whites are set and the yolks are still runny. 

You can serve this dish over rice or with toasted bread. I actually put it over mashed potatoes so that Bob could get some substance in him.

Shakshuka
2 servings

 

1 tablespoon avocado oil
1/2 small zucchini, diced (you can peel, if desired)
1/4 small Walla Walla sweet onion
1/3 cup finely diced bell pepper (whatever colors you like, or a mix of colors)
2 cloves minced garlic
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon dried basil leaves
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano leaves
1/4 teaspoon chili powder
2 teaspoons dried parsley
1/2 teaspoon palm sugar
1 (15-ounce) can diced tomatoes
4 eggs
Salt and pepper, to taste

In large skillet, over low heat, cook all vegetables, except for canned tomatoes, and garlic until very soft, about 15-20 minutes.
Meanwhile, in a small bowl, mix all spices together, with palm sugar, and set aside. Once the veg is cooked, sprinkle the spice mixture over evenly and cook for about 1 minute. Add tomatoes. Let heat until simmering. Add salt and pepper, to taste.
Make a well in the sauce, with a spatula, and crack an egg into it. Repeat for all eggs. Cover, and continue to simmer over very low heat until the egg whites are set but the yolk is still runny. Serve over rice or mashed potatoes or serve with toasted bread.