Thursdays Are For Cooking!

Well, looks as though we’re in for a full frontal confrontation with Mr. Snowman, and I’d like to suggest that, as a family-friendly sport, ice fishing is something everyone in the family – including the kids – can do and learn something about self-sufficiency. And also, since I started cooking when I was 7, like my sister did, your kids should know how to read a recipe and make a stove work safely, even if they have to stand on a wooden crate to see what’s in the frying pan. They’ll never go hungry. I see boys taking sewing classes so that they can do things like make sails for their surfboards and go ice boating, and that can extend into working with leather, too. So don’t snicker at some kid who knows how to sew on a button. All skills are just that: skills. Self-sufficiency is becoming a lost art.

Teach them to cook, make their own “extras” like pouches and shoulder bags, and fix things that need fixing, and they’ll be less dependent on gubmint do-gooders trying to run them. Oh, did that sound cynical? Yeah, well…

Today’s repast does include cooking trout that maybe you or your kids caught. I think I’ve presented this before, but ice-fishing season won’t end for another 5 weeks up here in the Cold Frozen North and when I see those fishing huts on the lake and entire families out doing ice fishing, it makes me happy. Self-sufficiency is desperately needed these days.

This is the pan-fried trout recipe.

Cooking Trout/Fish Recipe

Ingredients

• 4 tablespoons butter
• 2 skin-on trout fillets (6 to 8 oz. each)

Salt and pepper

• 4 sprigs thyme
• 2 small lemons, 1 thinly sliced and 1 juiced

1 tablespoon finely chopped flat-leaf parsley

Directions

Step 1

In a large (10- to 12-inch) cast-iron skillet, melt the butter over medium-high heat. Season the trout with 1/2 tsp. each salt and pepper. Place the trout, skin side down, in the skillet. Scatter with the thyme and lemon slices.

Step 2

Cook the trout, spooning the butter from the bottom of the skillet over the fish often, until just cooked through (do not flip), about 5 minutes. Transfer the fish and lemon slices to a serving plate.

Step 3

Remove the skillet from the heat and stir in the lemon juice, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Add a bit more butter, if you like. Spoon the pan sauce over the fish. Top with the parsley.

Now, my dad used to buy perch at the grocery store, coat it with cornmeal and oven-fry it, but I have to test the temperature on that. It was really good when it was done that way, too. So if any of you have a recipe for oven-fried perch, please feel free to drop it in!

Also, because the weather is cold and we’re expecting a heavy snow load some time this winter, another hearty and quick fix is soup. In this case, it’s plain old bean soup.

Plain Old Bean Soup

This one is easy. If you want it quickly, use canned beans. If you want to start the night before, use dry beans (much cheaper than canned).

Ingredients:

One pack of mixed beans – soak overnight, starting at 9PM or 10PM, in a large pot, covered with water. Check them in the morning. They should all be inflated and ready to cook. Remove any floaters. Pour off the water, rinse again, and return the pot to the stove.

Or if you prefer the canned beans because it’s quicker, this works, too:

1 can each of black beans, Great Northerns,  dark red kidney beans, light red kidney beans, navy beans, cannellinis, pinto beans – in short, use as many varieties as you can find.

Now here’s what goes with that:

Some ham, diced, chopped or minced in the Cuisinart thingy.

Optional: a small amount of smoked salt pork to go with the ham. If this will overload your salt intake, skip it.

1 large onion of your choice, chopped

Celery – yes, the entire stalk can be used, including the leaves, cut coarse or thin – your choice, and you can use less celery if you want to keep sodium content low.

Carrots – I find that half of a 1-lb bag of baby carrots is just fine for this, but you can certainly use the entire bag.

Oregano – about what will fit in the cupped palm of your hand, or a dessert spoon. Use less if you don’t like oregano.

Chopped garlic or two tablespoons of garlic powder (this is optional)

A very small amount of chili powder or cumin – about 1/4 teaspoon

Mrs. Dash Garlic & Herb – this is if you are trying to keep salt usage low. Contains no salt, but dried lemon bumps up the flavor considerably, and this has a lot of coarse black pepper in it

Put all of that into the pot with the beans, then add equal parts chicken broth and beef broth to fill the pot to about 1.5 inches below the pot rim.

Again, with the broth, if you are trying to control your salt intake, use the low sodium versions.

Cover loosely and cook on low. Keep checking on it, and yes, you are allowed to sample it from time to time.

Cornbread goes well with this, as do fresh, cut-up veggies, and a nice dessert – maybe pumpkin pie with whipped cream? Or vanilla bean ice cream with real chocolate syrup?

Bon appetit, and remember, everything that we’re bitching about is temporary. There comes a time when the Conceited Twits achieve their goal, like the engineer: blown up with his own petard.

Category: Cooking, Economy