I'm moving!

The good news: I'm posting on a regular basis again.

The bad news: I'm doing it somewhere besides here.

After quite some time spent trying to post regularly to several different sites, and failing miserably at it, I've decided to consolidate my blogging and other creative efforts on a single, new site. I've copied over everything from here, and selected highlights from a few other places, to my new digs at http://onfurtherreview.x10.mx

Hopefully, this will give me more focus and allow me to post on a regular basis, even if it's not always a new recipe.

Thanks,


Von

Potato Soup - comfort on a chilly evening

This afternoon, I cooked up a batch of potato soup, with cheddar, bacon and parsley. It really hits the spot on cool evenings! I'm working on a full write-up to post tomorrow, but I thought you guys might like a sneak preview...

Oh, and if you want a batch for yourself, make sure you have the following ingredients and equipment:

8-10 medium red potatoes
2 yellow onions
8 ounces shredded cheddar cheese
3-4 strips of bacon, cooked crisp and crumbled into bits
1 bunch of fresh flat-leaf parsley
1/2 cup of milk
course-ground black pepper

stock pot or dutch oven, 5 quarts or larger
potato masher (optional, but very heplful)
1-gallon plastic container with lid

Tomorrow, we'll have the recipe and several pictures illustrating how to cook potato soup, so stay tuned!

Veggie Beef Soup: Cheater recipe (includes frozen/canned ingredients)

I love cooking with fresh ingredients, and I try to make at least 3-4 meals a week in which all of the major ingredients are fresh. That said, sometimes it's been a hard day, and I just don't feel up to dicing a pound of tomatoes. For other recipes, certain ingredients aren't in season at the same time. For soups, stews and sauces, canned or frozen ingredients can be an acceptable (but not ideal) substitute for the real thing. I wouldn't want to serve that kind of cooking to a guest, but my family and I still enjoy eating it.

one pound ground chuck
two pounds red potatoes
one yellow onion
one can diced tomatoes
one pound frozen mixed vegetables
two cups tomato juice
two cups water
one half-teaspoon salt

I like to cook this in a Lodge 5-quart dutch oven, since you can brown the ground chuck right in the bottom and not dirty up another pan, but if you don't have a dutch oven, use a medium skillet and any stewing pot or saucepan 5 quarts or larger.

Peel and dice the potatoes and dice the onion. Brown and drain the ground chuck, stirring in the diced onion. Place the meat and onions into the pot (unless you're using a dutch oven - yay easy cleanup!) and add the diced potatoes, canned tomatoes, frozen vegetables, tomato juice, water and salt. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low. Let it simmer, uncovered, for an hour or two, stirring every fifteen minutes or so. When the potatoes are soft, it's done.

Yes, we cheated by using canned tomatoes and frozen vegetables, but we still managed to make a large pot of hearty soup that really hits the spot on a chilly day!
All that goes in the big soup pot, on medium-low, for an hour or two (or in the crock pot on low all day), stirring occasionally. Good eats!

Roast Pork Loin and Sweet Potatoes

Photos for this meal coming soon!

Prep time: less than 20 minutes
Cook time: 90 minutes

This is probably the easiest meal I have ever prepared, and one of the tastiest. It's almost impossible to get wrong as long as your ingredients are fresh and you pay attention to the cooking time, and it's a year-round favorite at our house. We'll be serving roast pork loin, sweet potatoes, and toasted, buttered bakery bread.

Since this meal is designed to be a quick, easy dinner for the end of a long day, we're not going to make our own bread. If you have a couple of hours before dinner and very little energy, you should be able to spend less than 20 minutes in the supermarket on your way home and come away with everything you need for this delicious meal.

You will need:

• Whole, boneless pork loin - I use a 3-4 pound loin, figure 1/2 pound each
• Whole sweet potatoes - 1 per person
• Bakery bread - 1 loaf large enough for at least 1-2 one-inch slices each
• Salted butter (if you want the best flavor, accept no substitutes)
• Ground cinnamon
• Brown sugar
• 
  
• Baking dish or cast-iron skillet large enough to hold the pork loin
• Baking sheet (cookie sheet)
• Aluminum foil

Start by preheating the oven to 375 degrees Farenheit. Cover the baking sheets with aluminum foil for easy cleanup. Arrange the sweet potatoes one of the baking sheets, leaving room to add the bread later. Place the pork loin in the baking dish. Set the butter out on the counter to soften.

Once the oven is finished preheating, place the sweet potatoes on the bottom rack and the pork loin on the top rack.

Go about your business for the next 80 minutes or so, then slice the bread to about an inch thick and arrange the slices on the second baking sheet. Spread about 1/2 tablespoon of butter on each slice. At the 85 minute mark, place the bread in the oven to toast. At the 90 minute mark, turn off the oven and pull out the roast and potatoes; leave the bread in the oven for now.

Slice the roast pork loin in 1/2 inch slices, placing two or three on each plate. Slit the sweet potatoes open and press from each end until the centers start to "smush out" the slit, and garnish with a little brown sugar and cinnamon before placing one on each plate. Add a slice of your thick toast, and call the family together for a simple, beautiful, flavorful meal!