Cooking with Dried Peas

While the east coast battles a rough and stormy winter, Denman Island is already showing signs of spring. Even though we are experiencing some daytime highs in the double digits, when the rain is blowing sideways, a hot bowl of homemade soup is winter comfort food. 

A favorite around here is hearty, traditional, 'Golden Split Pea Soup', recipe below. This soup is versatile; made with green or yellow split peas and with or without meat. To achieve the smoky flavor without using smoked meat, use 'liquid smoke'. It is available in supermarkets usually near the BBQ sauce. For the meat version try any of the following; smoked turkey drumsticks, smoked pork ribs, smoked pork hock or the bone and some meat from a whole, baked ham.  


First a few tips and tricks for cooking with dried peas; 

• rinse well to remove any dust residue, then drain
• when boiled, good quality peas naturally collapse into a puree, indicating the soup is ready... cooking times in recipes are only approximate guidelines
• salt added to the water, either on its own or in meats, may prevent the peas from forming a puree... an immersion blender can be used to help the process  
• advantages to soaking is, an additional rinse and shortened cooking time
• soak split peas in cold water for 6 hours to save about 30 minutes cooking time
• never add baking soda when soaking split peas, it will destroy some of the vitamins and produce a watery final puree
• soft water helps peas cook to a puree quicker ... minerals in hard water prevent peas from collapsing into a puree when cooked
• bring to a boil, then simmer gently over low heat with a tight fitting lid to minimize evaporation... if the heat is too high it will stick and scorch to the bottom of the pot
• other vegetables are added to enhance the pea flavor not mask it... for one pound of split peas use; 1 onion or the white of one medium leek, half a cup carrot and one stalk of celery
• traditionally salt pork and ham bone are used... but beef, lamb or veal bones and cuts also work well in split pea soup
• every chef has their own taste on spices and seasoning and again, the pea flavor should not be overpowered... for split pea soup suitable herbs and spices include; nutmeg, mace, marjoram, thyme, rosemary, bay leaf, cloves and black pepper
• finished pea soup can be frozen for use later 

GOLDEN SPLIT PEA SOUP WITH HAM HOCKS       Yield: 8-10 servings
You can substitute dried green peas instead of yellow peas. This recipe can be doubled and freezes well.

1 lb. dried yellow split peas

A bowl for lunch today ...and some for the freezer

1 large smoked pork hock
3/4 tsp. whole black peppercorns
12 whole cloves
2 bay leaves, broken  
3 Tbsp. unsalted butter
1 large onion, finely diced
1 large carrot, finely diced
1-2 stalks celery, finely diced 
3-4 cloves fresh garlic, minced
1/2 to 1 tsp. sea salt
3/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
6 cups water or stock 
*2 cups pork hock stock, or water
2 bay leaves, broken 
1 tsp. dried thyme, rubbed in your palm
1-2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp. liquid smoke, optional 
Crusty, multi-grain bread, optional for serving

Rinse the peas several times then place in a large bowl. Add water to cover peas by 2 inches, soak for 8 hours or overnight. Drain peas and set aside.

Score the pork hock (make shallow cuts in the skin) and place in a pot. Cover with water, add whole peppercorns, whole cloves and 2 bay leaves. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover tightly and simmer for 1 hour, or until the meat easily comes off the bone. Strain the *pork hock stock into a 2 cup measure, discard peppercorns, cloves and bay leaves. To the stock, add water if needed to make 2 cups, set aside. Remove meat from bone; remove and discard skin and fat. Dice meat, keep the clean bone, set aside for the soup pot.  

In a large stock pot, melt the butter over medium high heat. Add onions and cook a few minutes. Add carrots and celery, cook just until soft then add garlic. Cook and stir another minute. Add drained peas, salt, pepper, water, *stock, cleaned pork hock bone, diced meat, bay leaves, thyme, Worcestershire and liquid smoke, if using. 

Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally then reduce heat to a simmer. Cover stock pot with a tight fitting lid, stir occasionally. Cook for 1-2 hours or until the peas are tender and have collapsed into a puree. Add more water if needed, if the soup becomes to thick or dry.

Remove the pork hock bone and bay leaves, discard. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Serve immediately with crusty bread. 

To Freeze: ladle into desired serving size cartons, label with the name and date, refrigerate and cool quickly with the lids off. Once cooled, put on lids and freeze immediately.   
  
Till next week... Bon Appétit!


Recipe and Photos by Sally Rae

Comment about 'LOOK!' Oven Bags

After Christmas I received an interesting comment about the 'LOOK!' oven bags from a self professed 'fan' of my Blog. Elfi wrote...

"I read your blog on cooking the turkey, bought a goose, bought the LOOK bag and cooked it. It was the best goose I had ever prepared!"

I love goose and never thought of trying it in a 'LOOK!' bag!  

I asked her a few questions, including permission to post her information and she willingly allowed me to share her experience...

 
"I didn't do a thing to the goose while cooking remembering your comments that the turkey didn't need basting while it cooked in the LOOK bag.  When I opened the bag (after cooking)  I carefully poured the excess fat into a container for use during the year.  I keep it in the freezer.  There are German recipes, such as red cabbage, that use goose fat.

Thank you dear friend, Elfi"
 

Thank you so much for sharing Elfi! I appreciate comments and topic requests, so don't hesitate to let me know.

It may be helpful to review my previous Blog Post on how to use the 'LOOK! Oven Bags' from December 15, 2015.  

Till next week... Bon Appétit! 
       ...and keep those comments and requests coming in!

Photo by Sally Rae

Cookie 'Dough-to-Go'

My household is spoiled with impromptu, 'fresh baked' cookies. This idea was inspired through my cookie shop years ago. It all began with the request from a customer who wanted to purchase their favorite cookie as raw dough to bake fresh at home. Through that request, 'Dough-to-Go' was born!

Portion with a scoop onto a parchment lined bakesheet

I still use our favorite recipes from the cookie shop, in smaller batches, then portion and freeze individual cookie dough balls. Most cookie dough freezes well, try it with your favorite recipe. 

Here are a few tips to make the process more efficient. Line a bake sheet with parchment paper, the parchment can be reused later for baking your cookies. I use a #30 scoop to portion the dough balls. For a smaller cookie use a #50 scoop for an even larger cookie use a #20 scoop. 

Place the bake sheet of dough balls in the freezer. With a permanent marker, write the following information on a large, zip-type freezer bag; the flavor of cookie dough, the date, baking temperature and baking time. Once the dough balls are frozen solid, quickly transfer to the marked freezer bag. If the balls are stuck or frozen together, separate them. Store in the freezer until ready to bake. Fresh baked cookies are now as fast as preheating the oven and a trip to the freezer!  

To bake fresh cookies from frozen dough balls; remove the amount of cookies you want to bake from the freezer. Place the frozen dough balls on a parchment lined bake sheet, space properly for baking and allow to defrost at room temp. Meanwhile, preheat oven to required temperature. When defrosted, slightly press down the cookies with the heel of your hand or a fork... or prepare as required for your recipe, then bake. Fast, easy and the house will smell great!

Fresh baked Gingersnap Cookies

CHEF'S TIPS: Our constant favorites for the freezer are 'Chocolate Chunk' and 'Fudge Mint Chip' cookies. The secret behind my chocolate chip cookies loaded with chocolate, is to use different sized chocolate chips and almost double the amount of chocolate called for in the recipe. I incorporate 3 different sizes of chocolate pieces; small pure chocolate chips, large pure chocolate chips and hand-chopped Belgian Callebaut chocolate slab. This results in the dough to chocolate pieces at about a 50/50 ratio. Warning, this dough becomes very difficult to mix and scoop, but well worth the effort! 

You can transform most fudge or chocolate based cookie dough into chocolate mint by substituting pure mint flavor instead of vanilla and using half or more of the chocolate called for in the recipe of mint flavored chocolate chips.  

A few more cookie tips I learned from professional baker Anna Olsen; if you want a 'chewy' cookie, use baking soda. For a 'crunchy' cookie, use baking powder... and for a 'soft center' add 2 Tbsp. cornstarch to your recipe.  

Till next week, Happy Baking and Bon Appétit! 

Photos and 'Dough-to Go' method by Sally Rae 

Tortilla Torte Recipe

The gifts have been opened and put away. Greeting cards from friends and family still decorate the house. The turkey and leftovers are behind us but there are still more celebrations to come this week. This quick and easy torte went over well with rave reviews for our Boxing Day Brunch. There are still a few opportunities through the holidays to give it a try.

I made a few substitutions to the recipe below to accommodate those of us who react to the night shade family. Ancient Grain Tortillas, although not as colorful, are my favorite substitute and I replaced the sun-dried tomatoes with chopped, marinated artichokes and sliced black olives. 

TORTILLA TORTE                                           Yield:  8-10 servings
This simple recipe is great served hot or cold. I like to use sun-dried tomato or spinach tortillas for added color and flavor.  

5 x 12-inch sun-dried tomato, flour tortillas
3 cups sautéed vegetables—cooled and drained of excess liquid

Tortilla Torte served with guacamole and Greek yogurt

 
    (2 onions, 1 zucchini, 2 tsp. granulated
    garlic, 1 tsp. cumin powder, ½ tsp.  
    Chipotle chili pepper)
2 cups grated Jack cheese
2 cups grated Cheddar cheese
2 cups black beans (cooked or canned) -rinsed, drained and chilled
¼ cup basil pesto
¾ cup marinated sun-dried tomatoes, drained and julienne cut
¼ cup fresh basil, chiffonade
Sour cream (or Greek yogurt), salsa and/or guacamole for serving

Spray a 12-inch spring form pan with non-stick cooking spray, or a light coat of olive oil and set aside. Sauté vegetables, place in a colander over a bowl and allow to drain and cool. In a large bowl, mix grated Jack and Cheddar cheese together, set aside. Preheat oven to 350˚F. Place the first tortilla in prepared pan and spread with half of the black beans; then sprinkle evenly with one cup of cheese mix. Place the second tortilla on top and gently press down. Repeat with remaining beans and 1 cup of cheese mix. Place the third tortilla on top, gently press down, and spread with cooled sautéed vegetables. Place the fourth tortilla on top, gently press down then spread evenly with the basil pesto, adding ½ cup of the sun dried tomatoes on top. Cover with the last tortilla and top with sun dried tomatoes, fresh basil and remaining cheese mix. Bake for 15-20 minutes at 350˚F. Cool for 30 minutes, remove side of the spring form pan and cut into wedges. Serve with sour cream, salsa and/or guacamole. 

Till next year... Happy New Year and Bon Appétit!

Recipe from 'For the Love of Food' by Sally Rae 

Photo by Sally Rae

When Good Food Goes Bad

By mid December we already had two power outages due to the heavy winds pummeling our Island and the surrounding Coastal regions. 
I first published this material 3 years ago in the 'Denman Island Flagstone' but I am still getting questions about power outages and what to do with freezers, so thought I would run it again. The Denman Island ‘hurricane’ of December 11th, 2006 sparked the idea for this column. Our household on Denman Island was without hydro for 6 days. 

When your fridge or freezer fails or there is a power outage, don’t panic. 
All frozen foods should be stored at 0F(-18C) or lower, your fridge should be kept at 40F(4C) or lower. A fully stocked freezer will keep foods frozen for two days after losing power. A half-full freezer can maintain freezing power for roughly one day. Of course not opening the freezer during the outage is ideal and I have found placing a quilt over the freezer also helps.

When the power goes off in the fridge, you can normally expect your food to last at least four to six hours, depending on how often it is opened and how warm it is in your kitchen. You can add block ice to the fridge if available or if it is cold enough outside, move the perishables into a cooler with ice packs and place outside on the porch. If we have snow on the ground, although not common around these parts, I place the perishables in plastic bins and bury it in the snow on the deck.

If you have access to it, 25 pounds of dry ice should hold a 10-cubic foot freezer below freezing for 3-4 days. Dry ice must be handled carefully as it freezes everything it touches. Wear heavy gloves and have the merchant place it in your cooler or a cardboard box.

The key to salvaging food when the power fails is to react quickly. Perishable foods are not considered safe after they have been at room temperature for more than two hours. The following is a guideline for some common foods kept in our refrigerators and freezers. Commercially prepared mayonnaise, ketchup, salad dressings and steak sauces are generally high in acid and are probably safe to keep; however use these products up as soon as possible. Fresh or cooked eggs, meat, poultry or seafood should NOT be used if they have been at temperature higher that 40F(4C) for more than two hours. Cheese, pecans and other nuts should be safe unless they have mold on them. Frozen fresh fruits are relatively safe due to their acid content. When starting to spoil, they usually ferment. A little fermentation will not make the fruits dangerous to eat, but it will spoil their flavor. You can refreeze thawed fruits if they smell and taste good or you can use them in baking and cooking.

Here is a guideline for what foods can be refrozen. Please note; foods will not be fit for refreezing if they have reached temperatures of 40-45F after having passed through the slow temperature changes that occur in a freezer when not operating. Meats, fruits and vegetables that still contain ice crystals should be safe to refreeze. However, be aware that even partial thawing then refreezing will reduce the quality of the foods. Meats lose juices and flavor and become darker in color, fruit becomes soft and satisfactory only for use in cooking (e.g.; jams and jellies) and vegetables may toughen. The quality of red meat is probably reduced less than that of most other foods. Use refrozen foods as soon as possible.

Frozen foods that should not be refrozen are; ice cream, cream pies and poultry. Vegetables and prepared foods that were completely thawed should not be refrozen.

When the hydro is restored, it is very important to make a thorough examination of the freezer contents. Without knowing the condition of the food before refreezing it is impossible to determine its safety. You should look at the various foods for ice crystals. Some parts of the freezer may be warmer than other parts, so check food throughout the freezer. I have a client who is away for the winters, she places zip lock bags of ice cubes in various locations of the freezer. When home in the spring, if the bags contain cubes of ice, the freezer kept its temperature. If they contain melted and refrozen water, she throws out the food in that area. The upper baskets are a good location to place a bowl of ice cubes for a test of how well your freezer kept cold. 

During a power failure, cooking and eating habits must change. On Denman, most of us have a wood stove or outdoor BBQ, but cooking times must be considered and cook only the quantity that can be used in one meal. Many foods can be skewered, grilled or wrapped in foil to cook in a fireplace. Candle warmers and fondue pots may be used if no other heat sources are available. Never use fuel-burning camp stoves, charcoal burners or propane barbecues inside your home; the fumes can be deadly. 
Canned, powdered or processed milk may be substituted for fresh milk, although treat them as fresh after opening. 

Meeting Santa for the first time

If you have uncooked meat in your fridge when the power goes out, you can extend the shelf life by cooking it immediately to the proper temperature and keeping it on ice until ready to reheat and serve. 
Be sure to sanitize hands and surfaces (including taps, sinks, counter tops, fridge door handles) thoroughly before, during and after food preparation. Change cloth towels often, or use disposable paper towels. I keep a labelled spray bottle of bleach solution (1tsp/5ml household bleach to 3c/750ml water) and a container of hand sanitizer, or wipes beside the sinks during a power outage. 

And last but not least, avoid cross contamination; clean all knives, cutting boards and utensils used with raw foods before using them again. 
You cannot tell if food is safe by smelling or looking at it. IF IN DOUBT THROW IT OUT! 

Till  next week, from my home to yours... Merry Christmas and Bon Appétit!

Photo by Sally Rae