Vegetable Irish Stew..or Soup?

Today I made a nice delicious dish of Irish Stew. Well, somewhat. That is the inspiration I had for it, along with the chilly weather we are getting here this weekend. I could just call it a Vegetable Stew but I like giving credit to the Irish for my inspiration. Cheers.


Ingredients:
1 Red Onion
1.5 lb Potatoes
1 lb Carrots
1 cup Scallions
1.5 cup Pearl Barley
Flax Seed
Rosemary
Sage
Parsley
Fennel Powder
Fenugreek Powder
Sweet Paprika
Italian Herb Mix
Ground Black Pepper
Sea Salt
Butter
2 qt Beef Stock

I began by gathering some of my ingredients. This really was a throw together as I found things in the fridge.

I then diced up the Red Onion and put that in the slow cooker along with about a half stick of Butter.

On top of that I put in the Sage Leaves, Parsley, and Rosemary. I also turned the heat on HIGH at this point.

On top of this, I added in the Pearl Barley and a half handful of Flax seeds.

Now, I chopped the Potatoes, Carrots, and Scallions up beforehand and only now get to putting them in. I like order, so I went with sliced Carrots first.

Then the Potatoes and Scallions.

Now I put on the spices. A dusting of each and a larger dusting of Italian Herb Mix.

Finally, I poured in my 2 qt container of Beef Stock.

Cover and let cook on High for about 3 hours or so. Then mix it up together.

Check on it about an hour after that. Taste test to see how the Carrots are doing. Carrots take longer to cook than the Potatoes, so you'll know all is done by tasting the Carrots.

If it's not done, then let it cook some more. Otherwise, just serve!

Center Cut Pork Chops

Last night I made myself a delicious meaty treat of a dinner. I had seen this cut of pork in several cookbooks and cooking tv shows, however I have never cooked using it. Well, I did this last night and it turned out amazing!










Ingredients:
2 Center Cut Pork Chops
4 Shallots
5 Garlic Cloves
Oregano
Thyme
Rosemary
Sage
Ground Black Pepper
Sea Salt
Fennel Powder
Sweet Paprika
1/2 stick Butter

I began likes usual by gathering my ingredients.

I then diced up the Shallots and Garlic Cloves. I put the saucepan on the stovetop with the heat medium. In goes your 1/2 stick of Butter.

Once that begins to melt, in goes your Shallots and Garlic Cloves.

Now, shred all your spices and herbs. I did not list an amount because I only used about a spoonful or so of each. Probably less of the Sea Salt and Ground Black Pepper.

Put the herbs in first.

Then add spices.

Mix together thoroughly.

Add in your 2 Center Cut Pork Chops.

Flip after a few minutes.

Do so again about 8 minutes later.

They should be done about 5 minutes after that. All that is left is to dish out and serve. I served mine with a garnish of Rosemary and a cold delicious beer. Enjoy.

Appetizer: Mushroom Mania

Today after a long week at work, I decided to try some fun cooking. That thought process ended with a decision upon the Mushrooms I had in the fridge. Well, if you have not noticed I cook them a lot. A whole lot. This time I varied it up a little bit by cooking them in 3 different ways for one plate. Boom.








Ingredients:
1 lb Button Mushrooms

Asian Spiced:
1/3 cup Port
1/3 cup Sherry
1/4 cup Soy Sauce
1/4 cup Lime Juice
Sweet Paprika
Fennel Powder
Fenugreek Powder
Ancho Chili Powder
Garlic Salt

Local Herbed:
2 sprig Rosemary
1/4 cup Oregano
3 sprig Thyme
1/3 cup Olive Oil

Decadent Dessert
1/4 stick Butter
1/3 cup Lime Juice
1/4 cup Orange Liquor
1/2 cup Cilantro Leaves

PART 1:
Alright, so I will take you through this recipe one part at a time to avoid confusion. Note, the Mushrooms I sliced up into one big bowl and took out about 1/3 for each recipe.

I'll start with the Asian Spiced Mushrooms. I began by gathering the materials.

Turn the heat to medium. Then use a small sauce pot and poured in the Port, Sherry, Soy Sauce, and Lime Juice. I added in the spices mixed together. I used like a spoonful of each, maybe 2 of the Garlic Salt. Stir together.

Once the liquid starts to steam a little bit, add the Mushrooms and make sure they get coated by the mixture.

Now, they should take about 7 minutes to get properly cooked/spongey feeling.

I chose to take them out and place them in a ramekin but a small bowl should also suffice. I then put in the microwave so it stayed warm until all 3 were done.

PART 2:
The second one is the Local Herbed Mushrooms. I call it this because the herbs I used were from my personal garden. I began like usual, gathering my ingredients.

Now I stripped the leaved off the Rosemary and Oregano, while the Thyme I just cut up into smaller pieces. I then put a small saucepan on the stove, turned the heat to medium, and poured in the Olive Oil.

I then added the herbs.

Once that began to simmer, I added in the Mushrooms.

This recipe should take about 7 minutes as well, make sure to stir.

Do the same as Part 1 in keeping them warm once you take them off the stovetop.

Part 3:
This last part is the Decadent Dessert Mushroom portion. I call it this because when it was sampled, a comment about how it tastes like a dessert stuck with me. Sounds fitting.

I began by gathering the ingredients.

Now, using a small saucepan I added the Butter and turned the heat to medium.

Quickly after the Butter began to melt, I added the Lime Juice, Orange Liquor, and Cilantro Leaves. It looks amazing to me, maybe I should make a drink with all but the Butter?

This should take about 8 or 9 minutes since it took me a little longer than the other 2 parts. Make sure to mix it around.

Now, once this is done just turn the heat off and move to an unused burner.

The end part here is where you plate all 3 Mushroom Recipes. I went in the order listed above, however I overlapped their cooking times using different burners as well. Enjoy.