DivineShe Cooks

Memphis Style Pulled BBQ and Fire on the Mountain (very loosely related)

   If there was an award for "Worst Blog Mommy of the Month," I believe I might qualify for June. Blogs need regular care and feeding; mine are neglected and all but starving to death.

  There have been extenuating circumstances, though, and matters way beyond my humble control. Well, some matters. 

  Last Saturday, I had just begun to gather my thoughts for posting tamale recipes when I smelled smoke. Pine smoke. Our mountain town, Flagstaff, sits in the middle of a beautiful, lush ponderosa pine forest - a recreational paradise laced with traces and trails, cinder hills and hidden washes. Wild forest lands interface throughout the city, and in many of our parks you'd never know you were still in town...Pine smoke during fire season is usually a bad sign. Stepping outside to investigate, this was on the southern horizon...

...the Hardy fire, burning hot and moving explosively inside the city limits, fed by drought and 35 mph winds, headed in our general direction. We packed a "bug-out" bag and waited by the radio for information. Although several neighborhoods were evacuated, including the Coconino Humane Association compound, we were not among the evacuees, thank goodness. Several fire/air resources already working a fire about 20 miles to the northwest were diverted to stomp on it...

   As the wind subsided overnight, and evening temperatures moved in, the fire began to lie down and be less aggressive. Firefighters worked through the night, and although it's not yet fully contained, huge sigh of relief was felt throughout Flagstaff. Until Sunday afternoon...

...when the Schultz fire exploded on the mountain to the northeast of our home, and the mad scramble began anew. It spread rapidly through the dry forest driven, again, by high winds. Prayers were said for the safety of hikers, campers and cyclists who may have been trapped in one of Flagstaff's most popular outdoor recreation areas (at the end of the day, all were safely accounted for). Little information was available for the next couple of hours, except evacuation orders, including Second Chance Center for Animals, the animal rescue organization where Humane Society animals had been sent by the Hardy fire the previous day.

  With no information about this second fire available yet, Kris and I drove around a bit, trying to get a feel for where it was located, and which way it was headed...this was the view from Buffalo Park, just west of our neighborhood.

  Going to Buffalo Park gave us a feel for the scope of the fire, but not much information about its location, so we drove further, out to Cosnino, toward the east. This was taken about two hours after the start of the fire...

  Somewhat reassured that our home was safe, and that we were well removed from the need to evacuate, we drove home across Rt. 66. Air resources were already deployed, trying to keep the fire out of neighborhoods at the foot of the mountain. A helicopter is visible in this photo, in the area where the mountain meets the trees in the foreground...

  Situated just across the highway from the fire, Second Chance Center for Animals (along with Humane Society animals evacuated from the Hardy fire) was ordered to evacuate to the county fairgrounds. I am SO impressed at how efficiently the move went! Forty-five minutes from the time the order went out, all the animals, their records, the mobile clinic, and staff had been relocated! Incredible job.

  When the call went out for supplies, blankets, and volunteers I couldn't stay put any longer, drove over to see how I might be of help, and wound up spending an intense week. Walking dogs, cleaning cages, doing laundry, feeding animals and humans (who, btw, LOVED the quinoa tabouli!), taking pictures and pitching in wherever until a couple of days ago, when the animals were allowed home.

  This is a view of the fire Monday evening (day 2), taken on the way home from the fairgrounds.

   My home is located at the base of the mountain to the right of the photo, near that first canyon.

  The fairgrounds was a staging area for several of the hotshot crews, and directly on the helicopters' flight path from the lake to the fire...

  The helicopters hover over a lake and suck water up through that dangly hose-thingy, then fly over to the fire. Trapdoors in the bottom open to drop the water on the fire. Way fracking cool!

These are just a few of the new friends I made throughout the week...

  Police officers found a billy-goat wandering loose in one of the evacuated neighborhoods and brought him to the fairgrounds in a patrol car. We aptly named him "Chagall," after the painter...

  It was dirty, smelly, exhausting work, but so completely gratifying. I love how our mountain town pulls together in a crisis.

  Finally, I want to talk about this guy. I don't know his name or where he comes from, but he and about 800 of his co-workers have been doing this, day-in and day-out, round the clock, in the woods near my home. Nine days from the start, the fire has consumed 23 square miles and is at 65% containment, but with with no loss of life and no structural losses, largely due to the work these men and women do. Blessings on them all...we can't thank them enough.

(photo linked from MSNBC)

  This has become a pretty long post, with lots of photos. There's more to say, and many more photos to share; if you'd like to see more pictures, I'll be posting them in a folder in the right sidebar in the next couple of days.

  Now, since this is a food blog, I've got to put some sort of food thing in here, albeit at the end...

  My cooking-challenged companion, Kris, back at home, still needed to eat while I was away. Here's one of the ways I kept her fed while I was out feeding the dogs. Made in a crock-pot slow cooker, the original recipe calls for 2 pounds of boneless pork butt. Being out of pork and with no time to shop, I substituted skinless chicken legs and thighs...Vegetarians, I wouldn't try this with tofu, but you might give tvp or tempeh a whirl. If you do, let me know how it comes out, okay?

Memphis Brewed Pulled BBQ Chicken

• 1 bottle of brown beer
• 1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tablespoon ground mustard powder
• 1 tablespoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon smoke flavoring
• sprinkle of dried crushed red chilies
• 3 or so pounds skinless chicken legs and thighs
• 1 medium onion, diced
  

Combine everything but the chicken and onion in a crock pot, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Add the chicken parts and onion and cook on low for 6-8 hours. Remove the chicken to a bowl, extracting the bones and any undissolved gristle, then shred the meat using two forks. Return the meat to the crock pot and cook for another hour. Serve on buns with toppings and sides of your choice. YUM!

 It's been an intense hairy week. Thanks for hanging in here with me, checking to see if I've posted anything. Tamale recipes coming soon, I promise!

  Glad to be back in Spike's Kitchen, and not in Hell's Kitchen up on the mountain! Come again soon.

Cuppa Joe for the Average Joe, or, Buddy can you Spare a Dime?

   In this brutal economic climate, everyone's cutting corners and doing without to make ends meet which, for many, has meant forgoing a daily stop at the local barristo for a steaming cup of gourmet latte to go. And at $4 or so per cup, that noble sacrifice can amount to a substantial chunk of change over the course of a month.

  But it just rots, this doing without thing. And Spike's Kitchen is just not into deprivation or ho-hum food and drink just because the economy's in the tank. No way. Wild horses couldn't drag me there...Fortunately, there's an easy workaround for this particular culinary dilemma.

  Following this simple formula for luscious instant latte mix, you can still enjoy that rich gourmet coffee flavor without sacrificing the family budget.

  Here's what you'll need for the basic mix:

• 1 cup of instant coffee (I particularly like Medaglio D'Oro Instant Expresso, but inexpensive store brands work just fine)
• 1 1/3 cup sugar (more or less, depending on how sweet you like it. I use half this amount, personally)
• 1 cup dry milk powder (or soymilk powder if you're going vegan)
• 1/2 cup of non-dairy powdered creamer
• 1 small package of instant pudding mix (optional - sounds crazy, but this helps everything to dissolve easily)

   This is just the basic formula for the coffee; here's where the fun starts. For gourmet flavor variations:

• cafe vanilla - use vanilla pudding mix
• cafe mocha - substitute up to 1/4 cup of powdered cocoa for an equal amount of coffee, and use chocolate pudding mix; for a Mexican flavor, add 2 teaspoons of cinnamon
  
• caramel - use brown sugar instead of white sugar, and butterscotch pudding mix
• cafe vienna -  use brown sugar and vanilla pudding mix, add 2 teaspoons of ground cinnamon.
• sugar-free - I like to use xylitol in sugar-free mixes, available at most health food markets, OR, you may prefer to use the equivalent measure in your preferred sugar substitute.
  

  Place everything together in your food processor and buzz until powdery and well combined, or mash it all together in a bowl using a fork. Store in a cool, dry place. To use, combine 3 tablespoons of latte mix with 8 ounces of hot water. If you're feeling a bit decadent, top with whipped cream and enjoy guilt-free because, depending on where you shop for the basic ingredients, this delightful and satisfying cuppa joe works out to about 50 cents per 8 ounce serving. What's not to love?

  Thanks for playing in Spike's Kitchen today; come again soon!

Note: For Fathers' Day, I had fully intended to put up a host of tamale recipes honoring my late father, who loved tamales better than anything in this world except popcorn, sailing, fishing and his children. We went into high alert yesterday, instead, packing a "bug-out bag" in anticipation of evacuating ahead of wildfire inside the Flagstaff city limits. Spent the day listening to radio updates, photographing air tankers and helicopters flying over the house, and volunteering to assist with local relief efforts. Thankfully, we were not required to evacuate, and the fire laid down overnight. You can read the full story here. Tamales and tales of Spike's Dad will be forthcoming soon, I promise. Meanwhile, happy Fathers' Day to all; I hope it's spent among people you love, who love you in return.

 

 

Quinoa Tabouli: Take Two on a Mediterranean Classic

  I'll never forget the first time I had tabouli...it was years ago, in a little Lebanese restaurant on the outskirts of Washington, D.C. One of those grubby looking, walk-down, hole-in-the-wall joints out of "Casablanca," where exotic smells waft temptingly from ground floor kitchen vents to grab your attention, and your nose tells you the food is gonna rock.   I don't remember anything else of the meal, but one bite of tabouli, and my eyes literally rolled back in my head. The crunch of cucumber, the tang of lemon, the bite of garlic, the brightness of parsley; as all these flavors morphed on my palette, I actually moaned, in gustatory heaven. Not a "Harry Met Sally" sort of moaning, but more like the dinner party in "Chocolat," a blissed-out/savoring the moment kind of sound. Tabouli - if they don't serve it in Heaven, wild horses ain't gonna drag me there...assuming I qualify, of course. Which is doubtful.

  Virtually every Mediterranean culture has some version of this spiced vegetable and grain salad. Bulghur wheat (roasted cracked wheat), tomatoes, parsley, cucumbers, onions, lemon juice, garlic and olive oil are the common denominator or foundation of them all, with the add-ons varying from one country to another. Substituting quinoa for the classic bulghur provides both a nutty change of flavor and a whopping protein boost.

  Now, it's time for true confessions... as a chef, I've been described as a cross between Martha Stewart and McGyver (did I spell that right?), meaning that I tend to make food up as I go along, taking a "whatever works" stance on measuring ingredients. I guess the Martha part is that food tends to turn out pretty well. Anyhow, the point I'm stumbling to make, here, is that the recipe I'm about to give you is not sacrosanct. As written, it will come out fabulously, guaranteed - but you can always use a little more this, a little less that, and it will still be divine. Okay?

  During scorching summers in Northern Arizona, this light, lovely salad is served up in Spike's DivineShe Kitchen at least once a week.

  Here's what you'll need:

• 1 cup uncooked quinoa
• 6 scallions, chopped, including green part OR 1 cup chopped red onion
  
• 2 cups cucumber, 1/2" dice
• 2 cups tomato, 1/2" dice
• 1 cup (packed) parsley, chopped
• 1 - 15 oz. can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
  
• juice of 2 lemons
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 tablespoon dried oregano (or 1/4 cup fresh)
  
• 1 tablespoon dried mint (or 1/4 cup fresh)
• salt and pepper to taste

  Start by preparing the quinoa. Place the quinoa in a sieve and rinse it thoroughly under cold water; this will wash off any oils on the surface which may have gone rancid - very important step, skip this at your peril. Combine with 2 cups cold water in a saucepan and bring to a boil; reduce heat to simmer and cook, covered, for 25-30 minutes, until the water is absorbed, then chill. You can prepare the quinoa two to three days ahead of time, if you'd like. When you're ready, pile everything in a 4 quart bowl and toss to combine, adjusting the seasonings as needed. I like to serve this heaped on a bed of greens. Just about any greens work, romaine, spinach, spring mix, buttercrunch, even shredded iceberg. Garnish with kalamata or oil cured olives.

  As written, this serves 4 as a main course, 6 as a salad course, or 8 as a side dish to something like grape leaves and skewered lamb. It's awesome the next day as a wrap, or stuffed in a pita pocket. You can play with the flavors, too. Try substituting cilantro for parsley, or use cannellini beans instead of garbanzos, or thawed frozen peas, garnish with feta cheese, maybe, or heck, dump a whole 4-6 ounces of feta into the mix. Play with the flavors and have fun! Enjoy!

Thanks for playing in Spike's Kitchen; come again soon!

 

 

Asian BBQ Tofu (or Chicken Wings) with Spring Roll and Spinach Saute

  You almost have to feel sorry for the humble bean curd. Much maligned, mainly by people who've never consumed it properly prepared, it has gained such a bad rap that folks who've never even tasted it tend to make the sign against the evil eye while running fast and far away. It's been firmly relegated to the "ick" food group - a sad occurrence for any edible.

  Now don't get me wrong. Poorly prepared tofu has a humungeous ick factor, and once upon a time, in a lifetime many years past, I didn't much care for it either, not until I learned the secrets of working with it. Marinating it, broiling, baking, grilling it, crumbling, creaming it, the lowly bean curd becomes...truly delectable. Think I'm crazy? Well, that's okay, just keep a teeny little bit of an open mind, and you can be crazy, too.

   To get started on the Asian BBQ Tofu, here's what you'll need: 1/4 cup of honey, 1/4 cup of ketchup, 1/4 cup of soy sauce, 2 tablespoons molasses, 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil, 1 clove of garlic smashed and minced, 1/2 cup of sugar, and a 1 pound (more or less...) carton of extra firm tofu (not silken). Combine everything but the tofu in a small saucepan, bring to a boil and then simmer for a few minutes. The smell of this sauce will convince anyone that there's a divine being who loves them...

  While the sauce is cooling, you can start prepping the tofu. Carefully slit the layer of plastic sealing the carton, then flip the carton over onto the palm of your hand to remove the tofu from the packaging and then rinse the block gently under cool water. Oh, you'll want to do this over the sink...

  The next step is most important. It is the step that most people who try to fix bean curd skip - which is why they just can't make it taste good...bean curd is full of this funky
tasting watery stuff, and we'll want to squeeze as much of this out as possible. The easy way to accomplish this is to place the block of tofu in a pie plate, place a second pie plate (cake pan, whatever) on top of it, then set a jar of water or, say, a 28 oz. can of tomatoes on top of it all. You will be amazed at how much liquid squeezes out. Really. Another reason for pressing the tofu like this is that with the liquids out of the way, the tofu can absorb more of the flavor we're going to infuse it with. Set a timer for half an hour and walk away...or now might be a good time to start the spring rolls.

  I don't really have a set recipe for spring roll; sometimes they have specific fillings, but most of the time they're filled with whatever odds and ends I happen to have hanging around in the fridge - scallions,
celery, carrot, lettuce, cucumber, spinach or other greens, leftover tofu, noodles, shrooms, seafood, cilantro, basil, really - whatever. The important thing about spring roll filling is for each component to retain its unique flavor, which means not chopping the filling like you were making a coleslaw. The rule of thumb, quantity-wise, is to have about a half cup of julienned and/or leafy vegetables for each roll, and two rolls per serving. Slivered veggies can be sprinkled with a bit of soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, lemon or lime juice, or any combination. Be creative, have fun, and play with your food!

  Now that your filling is prepared,
it's time to start rolling. Spring roll wrappers can be found in some of the big food chains, but mostly you'll find them at an oriental or international grocery, or online. (The photo on the right is what you're looking for) Soften the spring roll skins one at a time in a large bowl filled with hot water, until they become just pliable. Set the softened wrapper on a flat surface. I tried really hard to make a photographic demo of filling the rolls, but seeing as I needed an extra set of hands to wrap and shoot at the same time, it just wasn't happening...So, I went online to find a good instructional video, which you can see by clicking here.

  Somewhere in all this, the timer for the draining tofu will have gone off...so, slice the tofu into serving portions between 3/8" and 1/2" thick, figuring about a quarter pound per person. Cover the bottom of a flat container with the cooled sauce, lay the tofu flat in the container, then cover with sauce. Set the covered container in the fridge for about half an hour, while you finish making the spring roll.

  Arrange the finished rolls on a serving tray, cover with plastic wrap and set aside in the refrigerator until time to eat. My favorite dipping sauce is pretty simple: 1/4 cup of soy sauce with the juice of half a lemon or 1 lime, a bit of fresh garlic, dried chilies, and a drizzle of toasted sesame oil. 

  When you're ready to bake the tofu, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Generously oil a cooling rack with non-stick cooking spray, and place over a sheet pan. Gently remove the tofu from the marinade and place on the rack, spooning some of the remaining sauce over the tofu. Bake for 30 minutes in the center of your oven, then place under the broiler for a few minutes to caramelize the sauce. Alternatively, you could cook the tofu entirely under the broiler, turning once, keeping a close eye to prevent the sauce from scorching. I just don't like having to tend broiled food...

  Coming down the home stretch, the last five minutes the tofu's cooking is time to start the spinach. Cover the bottom of a large skillet with oil, set over med-high flame and add 2 cloves minced garlic. Fry the garlic until it turns golden brown, then add 1/2 pound of fresh baby spinach, a handful at a time. Stir and toss until the juices have been released and evaporated. Remove from the heat and drizzle with the juice of half a lemon.

  Pull the tofu from the oven, and start plating! This should serve four people for dinner, generously. For a heartier meal, you could plate the tofu over brown rice or quinoa, with a little heated sauce drizzled over both. Yum! Leftovers make excellent filling for wraps, and are divine in spring rolls the next day...

  Tofu, it's not just for compost anymore!

  Thanks for visiting Spike's Kitchen; now go play with your food!

Note: If you can't be tempted to try the BBQ Tofu, the sauce is equally divine on chicken wings. Toss about 2 lbs of chicken wings with the sauce, pour into a roasting pan and bake at 425 degrees for about 45 minutes. OMG! Suck-the-bones good!

 

 

From the Kitchen Muse: DIY Un-Soda

   So, it's a ghastly hot day, you've been out in the broiling sun forever, and there would be nothing so much like heaven on earth as a tall, cold, carbonated, iced something. Instead of popping the top on a chilled high-sugar ( or worse - artificially sweetened) canned soda, you can easily mix up a brew of your own, following this simple formula. I mean, doesn't that iced glass of blueberry soda to the right make you want to say, "I'll have what she's having?"

  There's just a little bit of prep, and a couple of things to have on hand...

• fruited simple syrup (recipe follows)
• club soda or seltzer water
• ice in a tall glass

  To make a fruited simple syrup, combine 3/4 cup of sugar with 3/4 cup of water in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Let the syrup boil for one minute, then remove from the heat and allow to cool to room temperature. Combine in a blender with 1-2 pounds of fresh or frozen fruit and blend well. If you're using a heavily seeded fruit like kiwi or strawberries, next, you'll want to strain the syrup through a sieve. Decant the mix into a glass jar and stash in the fridge. I'm not sure how long it will keep...it's never around long enough to go bad!

  To mix up a fresh fruit soda that's SO much better for you than that canned stuff, fill your favorite 16 oz. glass with ice, add 1-3 tablespoons of syrup (depending on the fruit...), then fill the glass with seltzer. Wah-lah! Compared to a can of soda, which may contain the equivalent of, like, 1/2 cup to 2 cups of sugar, you're only getting, say, one to one and a half tablespoons (depending) per serving.  And why settle for "natural fruit flavoring" when you can have the real thing? Really? Especially when it's way yummier!

  Some fruity suggestions:

• peaches with lemon juice
• ginger/lemon - combine simple syrup with the juice of 4 lemons and 1 teaspoon  powdered ginger; use only about a tablespoon of syrup - it's potent! use with club soda.
  
• strawberries with lemon juice
• 1 cup fresh squeezed orange juice
• strawberry/kiwi
• mango/lime
  
• pineapple with banana

 The possibilities are mind-boggling!

 Thanks for playing in Spike's kitchen! Come again soon!