It's fall: Time to give thanks and give food

OK, so it is time for my annual fall routine of rotating the provisions. By that, I mean, giving canned goods to the local food bank and re-stocking.

Here's the deal. Ever since I was in Minnesota, which was way before terrorism and swine flu, but in the presence of blizzard-blocked roads and power outages, I knew that in that fall, I needed to have a week or so worth of provisions that didn't need refrigeration, water or cooking. That would mean canned goods.

And every fall about this time, I would stock up.

And every fall about this time, I would realize that I hadn't needed the emergency provisions from the year before. Not that they would go bad in a year, but it would be good to freshen the larder. I mean, you really don't want 5-year-old Spam. Not that anyone could tell the difference, but ...

So every fall, as a special Thanksgiving, I give those provisions from last fall to the food bank. The giving thanks part is, I'm grateful that I didn't need to use my emergency provisions. Usually the Scouts come around. In some places, the grocery stores have a bin. Most churches collect. It isn't hard to donate food. And I'm pretty sure someone would like it.

Then I restock. Even without blizzards, it's recommended that you have several days worth of non-perishable food, etc., in case of emergency. You don't have to be a survivalist with cases of beans in the basement, just a few things to tide you over so you don't need emergency services. If you aren't part of the problem, you are part of the solution. Or, as the Scouts say, "Be prepared." So, a few cans of protein, a few cans of fruit in juice, a couple of boxes of crackers, some water, yeah, I'm good.

And next fall, we do it again. My favorite part is the grateful part. So far, so good.

Oh, and just for fun: People who live off food banks may be grateful for tuna and peanut butter, but if you had to live on that, wouldn't you love some salmon and pineapple? Anything different? I'm still chuckling over the bottle (plastic) of barbecue sauce that I put in one of the Scout bags. I mean, you gotta get tired of stealing packets of ketchup! I just know someone was happy to get something different.

So: Clean out your pantry for a good cause. And be thankful.

Chicken salad

For my friends in the Midwest, because a good chicken salad is better than a bad crab salad! I'm lucky to live where I can get good crab meat, although it's still relatively expensive. But canned crab, I'm not so crazy about. So after crab recipes, I thought it was time for this!

Besides, I had cooked two leg quarters and stuck them in the fridge overnight. Obviously, chicken salad is a great thing to make from leftover chicken, even one of those rotisserie chickens from the store!

Mix together:
Meat from one chicken leg quarter, chopped
1/4 of a red bell pepper, chopped
6-8 slices of dill pickle (the small round slices, not the slabs; would equal 1-2 of the big, long slices)
1-2 Tablespoons Miracle Whip or mayonnaise

I was lucky enough to find some really good heirloom tomatoes, as the squirrels got most of mine. Shaved some Parmesan on the tomatoes and gave them a dose of fresh-ground black pepper. Made toast with some good whole-grain bread. Done.

Possible additions: Chopped chives or shallot; celery; a few grapes, cut in half; chopped almonds or other nuts.

General Tso's Chicken

OK, this is sort of cheating, but it's better than most fast food.

I buy the General Tso's sauce at Trader Joe's, and really, I don't think that's cheating any more than buying American style barbecue sauce, or ketchup or mustard. Then all I have to do is cut up some chicken and whatever vegetable I'm using, stir fry, and voila.

The "cheating" part is that the salad in the background is leftover from Fiery Beef Salad from the local Thai restaurant that delivers! They believe in truth in advertising: The Fiery Beef makes the General Tso's the least spicy thing on the plate! I like that the lettuce is nice and cooling, though.

So here it is:

• Cut the raw chicken into bite-size pieces. I used the meat cut off from one chicken leg quarter. It would be even easier if you started with boneless parts. Skinless if you insist.
• Cut up the veg. I used about 1/4 of a red bell pepper. Broccoli is typical when you get it from a restaurant, but I like the red bell pepper for a change. Both would also work.
• General Tso's sauce
• Red chili oil (optional)
• Canola oil or peanut oil or some other high-smoke-point oil
  

Get your big skillet or wok hot and add one or two tablespoons oil. When it's hot, toss in the chicken, and, well, stir at least occasionally. Keep it moving most of the time, although it is nice to let it get a sear. It will cook in a couple of minutes. Add the cut up pepper and a few dashes of General Tso's sauce and a dash or two of the chili oil and cook for another minute. That's it.

If I were using "bigger" veggies, such as broccoli florets, I would actually start cooking them first, then take them out to sear the chicken, then add them back.

If I didn't have the Fiery Beef Salad already, I would add garlic to the General Tso's. Didn't feel the need this time.

I like the General Tso's sauce from Trader Joe's best of the ones I've tried. Got a different brand from a supermarket once that was disappointing. Best tip if you are trying ANY new sauce or condiment is to taste it before starting in to cook. If it is disappointing, go in a different direction (or figure out a way to doctor it up).

Crab salad with avocado toast

OK, this is experiment II.
Actually, III, because over the weekend I returned to my roots and realized there is a reason people often put mayonnaise -- or in my case, Miracle Whip -- with crab, in potato salad, in chicken salad, in ham salad. It's good. Just don't overdo it, especially with crab, or you might as well be eating chicken salad.

In fact, I like this so much with Miracle Whip that I felt fine leaving out the bacon. Sort of. I also left out the Old Bay seasoning to go with a fresher approach.

So for this dish, which will also supply enough crab salad for my lunch tomorrow as long as it is in the fridge:

• 4 slices of rustic whole wheat bread, or whatever you have. These would be the equivalent of 2 slices from a big loaf. Don't toast it until the last minute unless you like cold toast. Right.
• 8 ounces of crab meat. I used pasteurized claw meat because it was less expensive and tastes great. Rinse in a sieve and pick through to make sure there are no shell pieces -- or live dangerously.
• 1 large, ripe avocado or 2 little ones.
• juice of 1/2 lemon or lime. Please don't use the stuff from the bottle.
  
• about 1/5th of a red bell pepper, minced. Well, maybe that's just me. I don't want to get a bite that's mostly bell pepper. You could use green bell pepper, but I won't.
  
• 1 shallot, minced
  
• 2 T Miracle Whip, approx.
  
• salt, a few dashes
• freshly ground black pepper, about four grinds, or whatever
  
• dill weed
• Smoked Spanish paprika (to replace the bacon; contributes a nice smoky flavor that isn't overpowering)
• two dashes of cayenne pepper
• a splash of soy sauce, maybe
• lettuce or other greens, tomatoes for garnish
  

Chop the bell pepper and paprika and add salt and pepper. Rinse and check the crab meat and stir in. Add 1 T of the Miracle Whip (or mayo) and the other spices and herbs and TASTE it. Adjust seasonings, including MW, to taste. The crab meat is pasteurized and there's no raw egg in this, so tasting is the way to go. No double dipping, though, at least not if you are sharing.

Refrigerate the crab mixture. You could actually refrigerate it for a few hours, but here it's just while doing other things.

Squeeze the lemon juice into a bowl. Cut the avocado in half. If it isn't completely ripe, the pit might be a little stubborn, but I still say it is safer to pry it out with a tablespoon, or even scoop out all the meat and scrape it off the pit. Dunk the avocado flesh into the lemon juice and smash it up with a fork until it is spreadable. You might want to add a teensy bit of salt.

Toast the bread. Spread the mashed avocado on the toast and top with the crab mixture. To me, the avocado means I don't need to butter the toast or put olive oil on it, but that's your call. The lettuce and tomato on the plate are mostly for garnish, but yeah, edible garnish.

Note: instead of the red bell pepper, you could add a little finely chopped radish, which would punch it up. Just remember to let the crab be the star!

Avocado Crab Salad

• 1 avocado, ripe
• 1/2 lemon to 1 whole lemon, depending on how tart you like things; if you have a lime sitting around, use it instead! You could probably use orange or tangerine juice -- anything acidic.
  
• 2 Tablespoons of olive or other happy oil
• 3 strips bacon, cooked (optional -- to you, maybe)
  
• 1-2 handfuls of greens -- I had green leaf lettuce and spinach
• one shallot or a couple of tablespoons of chopped red onion
• Old Bay seasoning or a collection of spices of your choice, probably including salt, pepper, paprika, cayenne, garlic powder. I could also imagine going in a completely different direction with this and using various Asian spices. Or really simple with a little salt, pepper and dill.

Cook the bacon any way you like. Easiest is on two sheets of paper towel on a microwave-safe plate for 1 minute per slice. So, 3 minutes. Take it out right away and remove the bacon or it will stick to the paper towel. Trust me.

Rinse the crab and pick out any shell pieces, unless you really like your dentist.

Wash the lemon and roll it on the counter. Grate some of the rind (zest) or take some with a parer, or both, in either case making sure not to get the white pith, just the yellow part. Set aside.

Cut the lemon in half. If seeds are visible, poke them out with the tip of your knife, just because it saves trouble later. Squeeze at least half the lemon into a bowl. For this recipe, a cereal bowl will be the right size.

Cut the avocado in half and pull it open. You can probably just pull the pit out. If not, take an ordinary flatware tablespoon and pry it out. I've seen chefs on TV whack into the pit with a chef's knife to pull it out. Unnecessary, potentially dangerous, and probably does the knife no favors. Use the spoon to scoop all the flesh out of the avocado onto a cutting board and use any old knife to cut into one-inch cubes. Immediately dunk into the lemon juice to prevent browning.

Arrange greens on a plate. Place the avocado chunks on the greens, reserving the lemon juice.

Chop the shallot/onion if you haven't already. Add the Old Bay or whatever seasonings you've chosen. Add those, some grated lemon peel and some olive oil to the lemon juice and stir. Taste. If it is too acidic for you, add more oil or add some honey. I won't tell.

You can either crumble the bacon and add to this dressing, or just mix it with the crab, which is what I did. Or wait until last and use it as a garnish.

Drizzle some of the dressing over the avocado and mix the rest into the crab mixture and add to plate. Garnish with a little more lemon zest.

That's it. Especially with a piece or two of whole-wheat toast, this is a meal.

Braised Chicken with green beans and cous-cous

I love starting with whatever protein is on sale and whatever veggies look good, then coming up with something that tastes good.

This week, chicken legs (thighs and drumsticks, still attached) were on sale at my store for 49 cents a pound. That's a 1978 price. Had to buy the "family pack," so most are in the freezer. Here's what I did with one leg. The green beans looked good, and I could buy only as many as I wanted. Yay!

More philosophy. I love all those "30-minute" cooks, especially Rachel Ray, but when I come home from work, the last thing I want to do is spend another 30 minutes multitasking and rushing around the kitchen like a mad woman. So this is a recipe that takes 3 minutes upfront, rests for an hour, takes 5 more minutes, then goes in the oven for 45 minutes, then takes 5 minutes at the end. In between, I can do whatever I want, which is my kind of end-of-day multitasking. I'm really only working for 13 minutes.

Marinade:
Put the chicken in a zip-top bag. I only use them for cooking; otherwise I use re-usable containers. And you could. But a zip-top bag is good for this. One leg/thigh combo fits in a quart-size bag.
In a 2-cup measuring cup (because it has a pour spout), put 1 cup of apple juice, a couple of splashes (Tablespoons) of soy sauce, a couple of splashes of balsamic vinegar, a couple of splashes of sesame oil, a splash of canola or other oil, 2 tablespoons of garlic jam and a few drops of chili oil. (Or whatever marinade you come up with that has salt, sweet and flavor.)

Pour it into the bag. If you need more liquid, add water to which you have added salt, or add chicken stock. Mostly, just make sure there is liquid surrounding all the chicken.

Let sit in the fridge for an hour. Wisely, you will put the bag in a bowl or other container in case there is a spill. Watch your favorite TV show.

Hour's up.

Get out your cast-iron skillet or any oven-proof skillet, put in 2 Tablespoons of canola oil or other high-temp-tolerating oil and get it hot. Turn the oven on to 350.

Take the chicken out of the bag and dry it off. This is one of the few things I will use paper towels for. SAVE the marinade. (Good thing it is in a bowl, huh?)

Sear/brown the chicken on both sides. It will only take a couple of minutes on each side if the pan and oil are hot.

Once the chicken is nice and brown on both sides, pour the marinade into the skillet and add one chopped shallot, or some minced garlic. When it comes to a boil, cover and stick it all in the oven at 350 for 45 minutes.

After 45 minutes, take it out. Take the chicken out of the liquid. Put the skillet on a burner to return the liquid to a boil

Put water on to boil for the couscous, following the recipe on the box; it's usually about 1 cup of water to 3/4 cup of couscous.

While things are coming to a boil, wash and de-stem the green beans. Put them in the boiling broth from the chicken for 1 to 2 minutes.

When the water boils, add the couscous, put the lid on, turn the burner off and wait a minute. Fluff it with a fork and put some on a plate.

Add the chicken, cutting it off the bone if you wish.

Fish out the green beans using a slotted spoon.

Spoon some of the sauce over top.

Done.

Pork tenderloin stir-fry

This time, with cabbage, onion, carrot, mushrooms and black sesame seeds (optional, but I happened to have them!)

Pork tenderloin is really great to stir fry. It comes out tasty and moist and, well, tender. Stir-fry can use just about any vegetables you have. I happened to have these. I posted a pork tenderloin stir fry with bok choy a while back, so check that out, too.

Ingredients -- approximate amounts, don't be too fussy -- to serve two really hungry people or even four people if you make rice, noodles or couscous. I skipped the extra carbs. What's on the plate is about one-third of the batch:

• 1/2 pound pork tenderloin, cut into large bite size pieces (1-inch to 1-1/2 inch)

1/2 cup or so each:

• shredded cabbage (I just took narrow slices with my chef's knife)
• onion, cut in half, peeled and sliced
• sliced mushrooms (I used creminis, aka baby portobellos)
• carrot, "shaved" into ribbons using vegetable peeler
• fresh ginger, peeled and chopped very fine, about 2 teaspoons. More if you really like the zing. (You might be able to use candied ginger, although that would add a sweetness that you might need to counter with something sour, like vinegar, but do not try to use the ground ginger in your spice cupboard. Different taste.) Be sure to mince this very fine, because fresh ginger is very potent, and you probably don't want to get a bite of food that has a whole slab of the stuff.
  
• canola or other high-temp oil (peanut would work)
• soy sauce
• a couple of dashes of hot chili oil, if you have it. If you don't, pepper or cayenne pepper or pepper flakes. Of course, if you happen to have fresh hot peppers around and like them, sure
• garlic, two cloves or as much or as little as you want, peeled and minced
• sesame seeds, optional
• any other Asian type seasonings you might like, from five-spice to curry. Probably not both!
  

Heat about 2T oil in your wok or large skillet, on high heat. Carefully add the pork and allow to brown a couple of minutes, stir/turn, let brown, repeat, until all sides are nice and brown and the pork has cooked for about 6-8 minutes. Remove from pan. The pork will keep cooking itself as you cook the veggies, never fear.

If needed, add a little more oil to the pan and put in the onions and mushrooms. Stir occasionally. In a few minutes, when they've softened a little bit and gotten some "golden" brown spots, either remove from the pan or scoot them to the side to make room for the cabbage, garlic, ginger and carrots. Let those soften/fry a couple of minute, stirring frequently. Add the sesame seeds, soy sauce and other flavorings. Stir the pork back in.

Dish it up. Grab a fork or a pair of sticks.

If I had been making rice, at this point I also would have added a little chicken or vegetable stock and some cornstarch to make a little sauce, so there would be something to give the rice some flavor and a reason to exist. But in this case, I didn't want extra sauce, just the little bit of naturally occurring sauce from the ingredients themselves.

You know, if I chopped up a bunch of different veggies on the weekend and had them ready to go in bags or bowls in the fridge, I could do a different stir-fry for dinner every night with no prep and little cleanup. Hmmm.