So, Christmas – Done. New Years Day – tomorrow! Another year older and hopefully wiser.

Have you noticed all the food traditions associated with the new year? Of course my Texan Missus has hers, which involves black eyed peas and leafy greens (representing good luck, good health & good fortune), which is now a tradition I’ve adopted.

I’m thinking the feast you just had on Christmas might have yielded some leftover turkey or ham and with a lot of you in the midst of winter right now one of the easiest, healthiest & quickest meals to put together is a great big ol’ pot of soup, which is also a great way to use up the leftovers. (If you don’t have any ham check out this turkey soup recipe.) I bunged this together in about 30 minutes (hassle-free indeed) and man was it good! You’ll love how good this smells cookin’ up in your kitchen and will probably serve you well as a good hangover munchie.

RECIPE:
Serves 6ish

1 cup white onion – small dice
1 cup carrot – small dice
1 cup celery – small dice
3 bay leaves
3 cups cooked ham – fat trimmed, diced
2 cups potatoes – small dice
2 cups dried black eyed peas, soaked overnight & drained*
2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 bunch fresh thyme – wrapped with string like a bouquet garni
7-8 cups low-sodium or homemade chicken broth
NOTE: The beauty about making a soup like this is that the measurements don’t have to be exact. If you have more potatoes or carrots who cares, bung em in. The more the merrier. Just add enough liquid to make it soupy. At the end of the day guys it’s just food. Enjoy cooking.
*Feel free to use canned black eyed peas but rinse them first. Canned beans are already cooked so you should add them in towards the end of the cooking time. But if you do use the dried peas, be sure to check out my trick for making them flavourful!

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat large soup pot on medium heat for 1 minute. Add olive oil and onion and saute for 2 minutes, stirring. Next add carrot, celery, bay leaves and ham and saute for 4-5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Once veg are beginning to soften add broth, potatoes and thyme and soaked black eyed peas, bring to a boil. Once boiling reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 2o-30 minutes until veg are cooked through. Add more liquid if needed.

Taste and season with S&P.

That’s it. How easy was that?

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYBODY AND THANKS FOR THE CONTINUED SUPPORT.

CHEERS TO A HEALTHY AND PROSPEROUS 2010!!

All recipes are made with the finest quality farmers market whole foods, natural and non-processed ingredients as much as possible.

Hope you guys all had a great Thanksgiving and even tried some or all of my recipes. Myself, herself and head da ball headed to Texasland to see the in-laws (or out-laws depending on who you ask). It was defo a wam-bam visit but we managed to eat some good southern chow while there. Apart from the usual Mexican fare with the freshly made tortillas, which is an great site to see, I was fixin’ for some real authentic Texas BBQ. (As you can see I picked up some slang while I was there–when in Rome an’ all.) We were brought to a very famous eatery by my father-in-law called The Salt Lick. Some of you Texas folk might know of this place. We got there around 1pm on Sat and the place was jointed. The restaurant was full with, no shit, at least 150 people waiting outside. They even had some honky tonk musicians to keep us entertained while waiting. The place is located in the middle of nowhere but as soon as you drove in you could smell the smoking. They don’t sell beer but encourage you to bring a cooler of said alcoholic beverage (I really enjoyed that Shiner beer) and being a guest of the state of Texas I didn’t want to offend!

You pay just $18.95 for ALL YOU CAN EAT and boy did I.

Potato salad, baked beans, coleslaw, slow cooked brisket, ribs, sausages & habanero sauce…mmm mmmm (just look at Ross’s face below!)…and don’t forget all topped of nicely with 1 or 2 (dozen) beers.
Now, you don’t always associate bbq food with healthy, especially the sides but I have to say I was pleasantly surprised when neither the potato salad nor the coleslaw were covered in mayo.

This was defo the highlight of my 3 day excursion for sure, well food-wise anyway. As for nightlife, besides the stellar live music, you’d be hard pressed to beat the craic on 6th street in Austin.
The Irishmen likey!

WELCOME TO SPICE MONTH!

I’ve had a great response over the past few weeks to the ‘what the hell do I put that in’ spice month idea. Thanks to all who threw in their choice. The #1 request was ALLSPICE also known as Jamaican Pepper or Pimenta. The smell & taste of ground allspice is really aromatic and flavourful and is almost like a mix of spices like cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger, though it’s not a mix at all. Rather, it is the dried fruit of the Pimenta dioica plant.

You may know allspice from hot spiced cider or pumpkin pie but what about in savory cooking? Allspice is one of the most important ingredients of Caribbean cuisine and Jamaican Jerk has become one of my favourite dishes to date. Jerk seasoning principally relies upon two items: allspice (called “pimento” in Jamaica) and Scotch bonnet peppers or habanero peppers, the hottest peppers on the planet. (Don’t use them and then go to the bathroom, believe me it’s no fun…….I’ve heard.)  I remember the first time the Missus made this for me, very vividly in fact–I was convinced she was trying to blow my head off. Being from Ireland, we’re not exactly renowned for our spicy palates so needless to say this was an experience for me. I looked like I was sunburned with my big red head and the river of sweat running down my face. Not pretty. That’s what I call the curse of the habanero. Since then, we’ve scaled it back and have mastered the recipe so both the savory and sweet sides marry with a gentle little kick of spice.

As you can see, this recipe has several spices involved which makes it a champion on the health brigade. Allspice is an effective digestive aid so the consumption of allspice with meals can result in stronger digestion, can reduce gas and bloating, and can ease nausea. Thyme is rich in germ-killing compounds. Cinnamon is a metabolism booster that also helps ease diarrhea and drys up the sniffles. Cayenne contains capsaicin, which interferes with pain transmission and can increase metabolism and fat-burning ability by up to 25%. Can’t beat that for health in a meal!

My favourite Jerk dish to eat uses Seitan, though traditionally in the Caribbean, Jerk was meant for pork or goat. Since I haven’t come across too many goats here in Venice, I’ve made the seitan and pork for you along with chicken.

RECIPE:
Serves 6-8

2 lbs Organic grass-fed Chicken (portioned, ie. breasts, thighs, drumsticks)/Pork Loin
or 2 lbs Seitan

JERK SAUCE RECIPE:

1 tbsp + 1 tsp allspice
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tbsp + 1 tsp dried thyme
2 tsp dried sage
1 tsp cayenne (or more if you can handle the heat)
1 1/2  tsp white pepper
1 tbsp + 1 tsp agave
1/2 jalapeno, seeded and chopped (or use a whole one or even a habanero if you’re feeling daring)
1 cup white vinegar
3/4 cup fresh squeezed orange juice
1 large lime – juiced
1 large white or yellow onion – chopped
1/3 cup soy sauce (I like San-J’s organic wheat free tamari)
1/3 cup olive oil

Before you get nervous of all the ingredients, trust me when I say it’s worth it. Besides, the rest of the prep & cooking is easy peasy.
TIP: Whether you’re using a jalapeno or a habanero, make sure you wash your hands thoroughly after handling or wear gloves. Also, if you’re nervous about the heat, start by using 1/2 of my recommendation. You can always add in more along the way but you can never go back.

SEITAN DIRECTIONS:

I use pre-packaged Seitan I get from Wholefoods market though I’m going to give it a go myself one of these days. I like both kinds so I used both (2 boxes of each). Take the seitan out of the package and cut it into chunks/slices and place in a large mixing bowl.
Add all remaining ingredients in a blender and blitz until well combined. Taste and adjust heat to your desired taste. NOTE: Can be made a day ahead but keep in mind that the heat graduates over time.
Pour jerk sauce over seitan and marinate for at least an hour. Refrigerate ’till needed.

When ready to cook add sauce and Seitan in large saucepan and simmer over medium low heat for 30-40 minutes, until sauce thickens. The Seitan is already ‘cooked’ so you’re really only cooking the sauce and letting the seitan absorb the jerk seasonings. If you’ve never tried seitan, don’t judge it on it’s looks, it’s damn tasty and this is an excellent way to introduce yourself to the ‘wheat meat.’

CHICKEN DIRECTIONS:

Follow the Jerk sauce directions as above. Place all chicken pieces in large casserole dish and pour jerk sauce over to marinate. Refrigerate from between 2 and 4 hours.

Remove from fridge 30 minutes before cooking to let return to room temp. Save some of the Jerk sauce for basting while grilling,

You have two options here to cook the dish.

1. Put chicken and sauce in large deep skillet and cook on medium heat covered until meat falls off the bone. Basically the same method as the Seitan for approx 1 1/4 hours.

2. Grill ‘em up (as I did). Fire up the barbecue and sear each side ’til golden and cooked through. Keep basting chicken pieces with marinade while grilling. If you feel the outside of the chicken is getting too charred, move the chicken directly away from the heat to where the flame isn’t as high. Cook for between 20 – 25 minutes. The dark meat will take longer to cook.

PORK DIRECTIONS:

Marinate refrigerated from 4-6 hours. Because of the lime juice, don’t marinate it overnight. The citrus will start to cook the meat and you don’t want that.

Remove pork from fridge 1 hour before cooking to let the meat return to room temp.

Preheat oven to 420F.

Preheat grill or large grill pan if cooking indoors. Season pork on all sides with S&P and sear on high heat for 3 minutes each side or until nicely browned. Save some of the marinade for basting.

Place on a foiled oven tray and add 1 cup low-sodium chicken broth. Baste the seared pork with more of the jerk sauce before putting in the oven. Roast in oven for 20 minutes, approx or until internal temp 160F. Baste again after 10 minutes. I add the broth to help keep the pork moist by creating steam in the oven. I use this method on lean proteins like pork, chicken and turkey as they are lower in fat so tend to dry out easier while cooking.
Remove and let rest for 5 minutes before carving. This enables the juices to redistribute back into the meat.

Spice Week recipe 1…….Done.  Make sure you let me know how whatever recipe you try works out.

All recipes are made with the finest quality farmers market whole foods, natural and non-processed ingredients as much as possible.

I will start off by saying this is one of the best soups The Missus has ever made for me. I really enjoy the taste of this soup and it’s so easy to change up and add in new flavors so it’s brilliant every time.

Black-eyed peas are huge in the South, most notably eaten on New Years Day. Year before last, we spent New Years in Kerry (Ireland) with the fam-bam and the Missus lugged black-eyed peas with her so we wouldn’t break Southern tradition. I don’t think anyone had ever seen them before as the curiosity surrounding the dish ran wild. Turns out they were such a hit my dad couldn’t stop eating them. Of course in true Murphy fashion, the bag we left behind is still sitting in the cupboard over a year later, the poor craters.
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