Wednesday, January 30, 2019

3 Bean Mexican Crock Pot POLAR VORTEX SOUP heats up the home!

   




















3 Bean Mexican Crock Pot
 POLAR VORTEX SOUP
heats up the home!

You can sub things in this recipe and it will still work
as long as you stick to the same measurements and ethnicity
For instance I used pork breakfast sausage  I just had to roll it into little balls and brown it first. But I could also use ham. 12 ounces  is 12 ounces  unless you want it really meaty. Go for 16 ounces then.


 The Recipe
12 ounces pork sausage
2 fourteen ounce cans reduced sodium chicken or beef broth
1 fifteen ounce can of black beans rinsed and drained
1 fifteen ounce can of garbanzo beans rinsed and drained
1 eight ounce can of lima beans
2 tablespoons of Trader Joes Chipolte Sauce
1 cup of   frozen broccoli or any frozen vegetable
1 cup of diced sweet potatoes 
1/3 cup chopped onion
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon organic oregano 
1/2  teaspoon smoked paprika



Brown spices in a fry pan with some oil / Do not let the spices smoke / put spices to the side
 Brown the sausage in the same pan after removing spices to  cool/ drain  the fat
 Put spices and browned sausage in the crock pot. If you are using ham or other meat make sure it has been partially cooked
Stir in the soup broth black beans, garbanzo beans , lima beans or any other beans you want to use Rinsed and drained .

If you use canned  pork and beans (keep the sauce for pork and beans)

Add the potatoes (you can use frozen hash browns) 
Add the frozen vegetables or you can use stewed tomatoes and one  1/2 cup of  chopped green or red bell pepper . Frozen corn is very Mexican/ whereas frozen okra would be African. In any case KEEP the oregano and if you want less smoky taste use chili powder  which is a little hot. You can sub sriracha for the chili powder still using 1/2 teaspoon.

Finally... Cover your crockpot creation and cook on low setting for 4-5 hours . This is how the flavors blend by simmering at this rate of  209 degrees  and ending around 340 degrees after  4-5 hours. It is not boiling !!!.

If you have no crockpot and are cooking on the stove top you are still following the 209 - 340 degrees. So yes you need a cooking thermometer.And yes the meat needs to  be browned/partially cooked first. 

For this soup  it will eventually bubble at this temperature. It is not a true boil at 340 degrees Farenheit/100 Celcius.  

However you will have to often stir a stove top pot at this temperature so that nothing burns at the bottom of the pan. 

There is one advantage to the stove top- the house will heat up and smell good for about 4 to 5 hours . There is no high setting for stove top cooking  it is meant to simmer -- not boil. 

In a crock pot leave the lid on and let it cool down enough so you can transfer it to a container that will withstand refrigeration . With a stove top method, you are simply putting a cooler pot into the fridge.


Labels: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Wednesday, January 17, 2018

Series: Food Map of Detroit-1970 What replaced the favorites as of 2018

Food Map of Detroit 1970's - what replaced the favorites as of 2018
 is a result of looking at a reddit-type site called Detroit Yes!

Someone started a thread about restaurants they had gone to- mostly ones that were around in the 60s and 70s.  I recall having a senior year lunch with my graduating high school class at Chin Tiki. Some of us were legal and got bombed. I was only 16 at the time,and I had access to a station wagon so I drove down the Lodge , got off near Wayne State University and sang I Am Woman with my classmates.   (By the time we had this event we were all sick of the song) Even though I attended WSU I never could afford to eat away from home. Chin Tiki was definitely out of my price range.  Apparently Muhammad Ali, Joe Dimaggio  and Streisand hung out there.                                             
Here is what Wikipedia states about Chin Tiki

" It was a tiki-themed supper club, nightclub and banquet hall established in 1967 in DetroitMichigan and closed in 1980, later demolished in 2009.The restaurant was famous for being a film location for Eminem's 8 Mile."   


http://www.menstattooideas.net/tiki-tattoos-for-men/


The 2018 equivalent is not trying to do a faux polynesian feast. 


Hawaiian pizza and black ink
does not count...Polynesia is not Asian,really-so there is no equivalent...



   But if you are serious about Asian Food -head out to Madison Heights 
https://www.metrotimes.com/detroit/offal-ly-good-chinese-barbecue/Content?oid=7629330 

thanks to  Detroit Metrotimes December 6 2017 -this excerpted profile by Tom Perkins
"At Liang's Oriental Barbeque — located in one of Madison Heights' many strip malls that contain a variety of Asian eateries — that tradition is on display in the glossy whole hogs, ducks, and chickens hanging from hooks above the counter, and the chewy beef belly, intestines, and other offal simmering in gravy steam pans.
One of the great bummers of eating in Detroit is that we lack much in the way of diversity and — debatably — authenticity when it comes to Chinese food and the cuisine of most other Asian countries. There's a lot more to Chinese cuisine than Sichuan or Cantonese, and Liang's is a rare departure from the Midwestern American-Chinese to which we're accustomed."  
Well! I can not wait to go here!  It reminds me of my old neighborhood on 8th avenue in Sunset Park Brooklyn I am so missing crispy ducks hacked and put with some dumplings for breakfast for under $5. Tea was free... Cuisine tended to be Northern Chinese - Congee, Dumplings stuffed with turnips and bits of pork, spicy omelettes...
picture courtesy of Vice Magazine contributor
Barclay Bram amazing article on crispy here 
                                                                                                                                                      near Old Redford Theatre

  

Back in the 60's  and 70's Cantonese ruled  The equivalent in 2018 is other parts of China.Like Sichuan 

Again quoting Detroit Metro Times food writer Tom Perkins  there is Sichuan - that other province on the coast

"The term "Chinese food" covers a lot of turf, but perhaps the most familiar wing of the country's cuisine is that from the Sichuan province. An Americanized take on Sichuan (then called "Szechuan") spread around the country in the 1970s before restaurants on the coasts started serving more authentic and traditional dishes in the 1990s. Unfortunately for Detroiters, little of our Sichuan cuisine evolved. So when we eat the province's food here, it's often only a hint of the real thing."  

I admit I am spoiled having spent  time in China (real chinese food is not like American chinese food )
 I am so tempted to catch the flight at DTW direct to Beijing. In the meantime I am heading to the suburbs of Detroit to get my fix. Hope  Mongolian Dumplings (Borts)


.Sichuan is  near Hong Kong (purple)

Trizest -Sichuan    

33170 Dequindre Rd   


In  2017, Jeff Li, Zhanying Hu, along with Paul Gaines founded Detroit Chinatown LLC. The company is working with Detroit government, Chinese government and investors to construct a new Chinatown in the city limit of Detroit. The cost estimation of the project is 350 million USD. The new Chinatown is planned to complete by 2022.



Labels: , , , , , ,

Tuesday, January 16, 2018

Series: Food Map of Detroit –the non gentrified version part 1 of a series


Food Map of Detroit –the non gentrified version ???What does that mean  the non- gentrified version? Well lets explore all the food venues that hung in there after the factory closed, a la Detropia  Like that bar that still makes soul food and has Live  Jazz 
 next to the Jefferson plant, (The Raven Lounge and Bar  ) this is a salute to food you can take home because its economical and tastes even better the next day.
take-your-favorite-church-lady
SOme of these places are using locally sourced gardens now. Some of this is organic, but all of it requires that you walk some / ride the Dequindre cut – to burn some calories. What is so bad about that?

Motor City Soul Food is in the hood where I grew up.  NorthWest Side, not far from the old Jewish Community Center.  This place reminds me of New Years Day at my Aunts- Hopping John ,(Beans and Rice) ,  Chitterlings , mac and cheese, Collard Greens, fried chicken, potato salad, cornbread, pies, yams … like a church picnic
Motor City Soul Food16832310_1481589655184931_5949270916876107809_n(1)
66528_502071246470115_1118675196_n
(313) 863-7685
I grew up near here  from 1965 -1985  but this
joint was not here…It was fun coming back  to the hood  –  I knew the old Karps Drugstore was gone and Tom’s Tavern was still serving suds … if you like dives do stop by  …7 mile near Wyoming

Home Depot  is on the main corner across from Motor City Soul Food MAP
Do not be  surprised by the plexiglass, you get your food and take it home of course. Why ?   It is enough to spend $$$ on the rent/mortgage and the supplies and the food – which is why the place has not changed to satisfy those who need furniture … You should be cool, be hip and buy the product, then take your butt home.

Labels: , , , , , , , , ,

Wednesday, January 3, 2018

Art - The Breakfast Club meets at 5 pm !

 Art -The Breakfast Club meets at 5 pm  - this is the spot to support and connect with other artists !!!
5 pm Mondays 
details here :



Child  Artist With
 Maurice Johnson  Recent Show
 in Dec 2017  

Photo -  FBook


Labels: , , , , , , , ,