Thursdays Are For Cooking

And this weekend in my area is already giving us light snow, plus cold, wet rain, and a strong desire to move to another planet. The geese are already back home and setting up housekeeping. The fishing lakes are open, and very, very cold, and full of fish, which will have additions starting tomorrow when the park district people shut the gates and dump new fish into the waters.  I’m guessing they’ll drop lake trout, perch, bass and bluegills, and other finny fellows into the waters of our landlocked lakes, but while there are lots of species, e.g., bluegill, bowfin, carp, channel catfish, crappie, largemouth bass, muskellunge (muskie), northern pike, smallmouth bass, walleye and yellow perch, the free food people that were crowding the shores of these spots two years ago seem to have disappeared. When I went to one of those lakes last week, there were 12 pairs of geese, 6 pairs of various duck species and a rather large congregation of mergansers (diving ducks that dive to catch fish).

There were people out on the ice-covered lakes over the winter and some of them brought their families along. I did see a few kids out playing ice hockey between the fishing tents on one occasion. I hope those folks took lots of pictures so that their grandkids can point at them and say “Pop did that? Wow!”

As it is, since some of you probably do go fishing and have your own special recipes, feel free to share them. I’m going to offer an equally nourishing and tasty dish, too.

Red Beans and Rice with Chorizo and Smoked Sausage

This is something I came up with when I was quite hungry and wanted something warm and filling on a cold winter night.  It is easy to fix, requires little of you other than your take on seasonings, and – well, winter is not over yet where I live and on a cold night, this is good, filling and tasty. It’s still cold outside at night where I live, and we had a dry Winter, appeared to be having a rather dry Spring (not a good sign) but now we’re getting late snow mixed with rain, and – well, the lakes where people were ice fishing about six weeks ago are thawed and full of feather flockers, so coming home from an adventurous hike to a warm kitchen that carries the scent of food waiting for you is always a good thing.

For starters, put a stockpot on the stove.  Make sure it has a lid, because that keeps the flavor and moisture in the mix.

Note that I start with 4 cans of beans in chili sauce: Figure 1.5 servings per can, and adjust the volume according to how many people you’ll be providing sustenance for the evening.

Ingredients:

Olive oil or corn oil to cook the chorizo sausage

Four 12-ounce cans of red beans in chili sauce (Please note: I use 2 cans of beans, since it’s just me. I can get four meals out of this, so adjust your volume accordingly.)

1/2  (or more) chopped onion

One chorizo sausage (mild or hot, your choice, but the mild seems to provide the best flavor)

One smoked sausage, cut into 2-inch pieces (N.B: if you need more of this, add it)

1/2  cup of uncooked rice

Directions:

I start cooking the chorizo by squeezing it out of the tube into the cooking pot, smooshing it up and giving it a good stir until it is cooked. Keep an eye on it, because this is where your flavor is. It is raw pork, so cook it enough to release the flavor, and it will finish cooking as you add ingredients to the mix.

Once the chorizo is cooked, add the rice, the cut up smoked sausage, and beans in chili sauce.

Stir it thoroughly and put the lid on it. Keep checking on it. If it seems to be too dry, then add some beef broth, 1/2 cup at a time, to the mix, to keep it simmering.

IF you think it would cook better in the slow cooker, give that a try on low, because the lid will keep the moisture in and the rice will cook evenly.

Whatever you do, check on it frequently so that if the moisture/liquid in the mix becomes too reduced, you can add some beef or chicken broth to it. On the stovetop, I gave it 45 minutes because of the direct heat from the gas flame, which was turned down low.  I also checked it frequently, stirred it, and stayed in the kitchen, reading a good book.

In the Crockpot, cook it on “LOW” and keep checking it.

Serve it with veggies like celery sticks and green onions, baby carrots, radishes, pickles, olives, and whatever else suits your fancy. Cornbread and/or corn muffins go well with this, as do those home-made soda biscuits and corn chips. And remember, if your kids and/or grandkids don’t like this kind of food, they are Space Aliens.

Have a good weekend, and let’s be grateful for what we do have.

 

Category: Cooking, Economy