Palm Sunday

          Palm Sunday is the beginning of Holy Week in the Christian calendar.  The week between Palm Sunday and Easter celebrates the last days of Jesus’ life, His death and resurrection.  This is my favorite time of the year.

 

This is a feast day and celebrates Jesus’ triumphal entrance into Jerusalem.  He was welcomed with people throwing palm branches and coats in His path as He entered the city on the back of a donkey colt.  On this day we process into Church with palm branches singing Hosanna!

 

I like to serve a palm theme festive dinner for Palm Sunday.  Traditionally ham or lamb is served for Easter.  I usually serve one for Palm Sunday and the other for Easter.  Lamb is readily available in grocery stores.  It is associated with spring.   So this is what I’m serving this year.

 

            Menu for Palm Sunday

                        Palm Sunday Salad

                        Herb-Panko Encrusted Rack of Lamb

                        Oven Roasted Asparagus

                        Sautéed Mushrooms

                        Boiled new potatoes

                        Homemade bread

                        Palm Sundae

 

This Week’s Challenge - What’s in season?

 

            It is finally spring.  Take a look at produce that is season this month.  Research on online, visit a produce store, like Sprouts of Mother’s, look for what is new in the stores.  Try something you have not tried before.

 

Tip for this Week – Berries are in Season

 

            Strawberries are at their peak.  In California the season runs from February to August.  Of course the best strawberries are locally grown and picked ripe.  Most strawberries found in grocery stores are picked before they are ripe.  Unfortunately, strawberries do not ripen after being picked.  They will continue to turn red, but they stop storing sugar after being picked.  Even if they are beautifully red, they will not be as sweet as a strawberry that is ripe before being picked. 

            Berries should not be rinsed or washed, but gently wiped clean, like mushrooms.  This is so that they do not taste watery. Washing adds to the water content.  At least that is the correct method.  I do wash my berries and my mushrooms.  So I leave it up to you to decide how you will handle cleaning your berries.

 

This Week in Punkin’s Kitchen

 

Palm Sunday Salad

 

Palm Heart Salad

1 pack.           Salad greens of choice

1 C                  Cherry tomatoes

1 can              Hearts of Palm, drained and cut into ½ inch slices

1 inch             Cucumber, sliced thin

2-3                  Radishes, sliced

¼                     Bell pepper, cut in thin slices

                        Red onion or shallot, sliced in rings

2 T                   Sunflower seeds, shelled and roasted

 

1.    Place the vegetables, in a salad bowl.

2.    Top with feta and pine nuts.

3.    Make the dressing.

 

 

Balsamic Vinegraitte

 

2 T                   Balsamic Vinegar

¼ C                 Olive oil, extra virgin

1 t                    Dijon mustard

1 t                    Tarragon, dried and crushed

2 T                   Water

                        Garlic powder, salt and pepper to taste

 

1.    Place all the ingredients in a jar or curette and shake to combine.

2.    Add to the salad just before serving.

 

 

Palm Sundae Dessert

 

                        Ice cream of choice

Package        Palmier cookies

                        Berries of choice

                        Syrup or sauce of choice

 

The ingredients

1.    Place a scoop of ice cream in a small bowl

2.    Add the sauce (optional).

Palmiers are made from puff pastry.

 

3.    Place one or two palmiers in the bowl. It depends on the size of the palmier.

4.    Top with berries.

 

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*I usually use vanilla ice cream, no syrup topped with fresh raspberries.

 

Fish of the Week

 

Fish Curry with Green Peppercorns

 

6-4 oz.            Fish of choice, cubed

½ lb.                New potatoes, quartered

1/2 C               Onion, chopped

1 package      S & B Golden Curry Sauce Mix

1/3 C               Green peppercorns

Water or broth to cover

                        Salt and pepper to taste

 

The ingredient

Green peppercorns and Golden Curry sauce mix

The curry sauce mix I a soft brick that
melts to thicken and season the curry.
All or part od the brick can be used.
It comes in three strengths, mild,
 medium or hot.

 

1.    Place the fish, potatoes and onion in a soup pot and cover with water.

 

2.    Bring to a boil and reduce heat to simmer until the potatoes are tender.

3.    Add The Curry sauce mix.  It comes in a brick.  Break it into smaller pieces and allow it to dissolve.  It will season and thicken the curry.

Peppercorns and sauce mix added.

 

4.    Add the green peppercorns and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Sauce mix melted and incorporated

 

5.    The sauce with thicken as it cools.

6.    Serve over steamed rice.

 

 

*Other vegetables can be used.  I usually keep the Golden Curry sauce on hand for quick curry.  You can use any meat or a variety of vegetable and then add the sauce mix.  I often make it by cubing chicken breast, and boiling it with carrots, celery, potatoes and onions.  Sometimes I add peas, corn or green beans.  It is very versatile and comes in three strengths, mild, medium and hot.  It is a good way to use leftovers, too.

I serve this with Urdu Papad which is a cracker like bread.  It comes raw and needs to be toasted over an open flame. 

The package

uncooked



Place over the open flame for less than a second and turn.

Turn it continual to keep from burning.  As it
cooks, it will turn light and bumpy.

Keep turning it over and over until all of
the papad is light and bumpy

It is almost done.

I like to scorched part.  It with
turn hard and crispy as it cools. 
Papad come in differ flavors,
 plain, pepper, and chile

 

Happy Cooking!

 

 

Soup From Broth

            Soups using broth as the liquid require time to complete.  It is a good practice to always save liquids from meats to use later in soup.  There are all kinds of the broths. I will use broth to refer to broth, stock and consommé in general.

 

Broth is made primarily from the meat.  Cook the meat in water.  Sometime bones are present, but meat is the primary ingredient.  Broth can be made quickly, but it will be less flavorful.  Seasoning becomes more important.

 

Stock is made primarily from the bones.  There may be some meat present, but bones are the primary ingredient.  Cooking the bones long and slow brings out nourishment from the bones.  Stock is higher in gelatin content and often will solidify when chilled.  This is very good and something to strive for with your stocks.  Some meat and poultry will be higher in gelatin content.   

 

Once the boiling is finished.  There are several steps to take before your both is ready to use.  Remove the meat and bones and Strain out the small pieces.  Allow the broth to cool at room temperature.  In the meantime remove the meat from the bones.  Save the meat for another use and discard the bones, gristle, cartilage, skin and fat.

 

Degreasing is the next step.  Strain the broth to remove smaller chunks of meat, fat, etc.  Place the broth in a bowl or pot and refrigerate several hours or overnight.  The next day the fat will have risen to the top of the broth and solidified.  It will be ease to remove and discard.  Some meats and poultry have fat that is good to use a favoring in other dishes, like chicken fat.  The fat can be discarded or saved for another use.  It is fine to leave a little fat in the broth for flavoring.  No need to be meticulous in removing all the fat.

 

Strained, chilled broth ready to defat.



 

With a spoon lift and remove the solidified fat.





 



Be sure to leave a little fat for flavor.

 

 

Reducing is the next step.  Place the skimmed broth in a pot and reheat it to reduce some of the liquid and concentrate the flavor.  This is an optional step, but I recommend it.  Place the pot over low heat and watch it carefully.  Do not allow it to boil.  Stirring will help release steam.  Reduce the broth a little or a lot.

 

 

Vegetable broths are made from vegetable matter.  Usually vegetable broths are made from vegetable peels and the leftover vegetable trimmings.  If you are cooking a large amount of vegetables that require processing like peeling, consider saving them to make vegetable broth.  Simmer your collection of vegetables and strain, reserving the broth and discarding the vegetable matter.  If you are cooking for vegetarians, try substituting vegetable broth for other stocks and broths in recipes.

 

This Week’s Challenge

 

            Make a broth or stock from scratch.  Choose a meat or poultry to make your broth.  Plan how you will use the broth or stock and how you will use the meat.  I recommend using a meat that is not beef or chicken to broaden your horizons. 

 

Tip for this Week – Clear broth

 

            The trick to clear broth is to cook the meat, but don’t allow it to boil.  Keep the temperature just below the boiling point.      Cook the meet for several hours.  I find that cooking the meat in a crockpot can do this very well.  I often put the meat on to cook in the crockpot before I go to bed and allow it to cook all night.  In the morning I check on it, turn the meat over, and add the seasoning and more water if needed.  Allow it to finish cooking during the day.

 

This Week in Punkin’s Kitchen

 

Matzo Ball Soup

 

Matzo balls can be firm or fluffy.  Fluffy are more popular these days, but my family prefers the less eggy firm balls.  This recipe is for firm matzo balls.

 

The ingredients

2          Eggs

2 T       Chicken broth

2 T       Chicken fat, melted

1 t        Salt, Kosher

½ C     Matzo meal

4-6 C  Chicken broth

 

1.    Beat the eggs

2.    Add 2 T chicken broth, the fat and salt and beat again.

 

 

 

3.    Fold on the matzo meal.

 

Incorporate the broth, fat, and salt into eggs.

Add the matzo mealAdd caption

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

4.    Refrigerate for at least 3 hours.

Using a pot with a lid, bring the salted water to a good boil,

 

 

 

 

5.    Fill a pot ¾ full of water and bring to a boil.

6.    Add salt to the water.

7.    Divide the matzo dough into six even pieces and roll in to balls.

 

Divide the dough evenly and roll in to balls.

 

8.    Drop the matzo balls into the boiling, cover and boil 20 minutes.

 

Drop the balls into the boiling water.

Cover and boil 20 minutes.

 

9.    Heat the broth in another pot.

10.  Remove one or two matzo balls from the boiling water and place in a soup plate.

 

 

Remove the matzo balls from the boiling water.

Place one or two balls in the soup plate,

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

11. Ladle the hot broth over the matzo ball and serve.

           

Cover with clear chicken broth and serve.

 

Barley Beef Soup

 

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           As with most of my soup recipes, use what you have on hand.  This recipe will require beef cuts for soup (like soup shanks, oxtails, short ribs) and barley.  The vegetable can vary.

 

Beef soup shanks

The rest of the ingredients

 


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1-2 lb.             Beef for soup

3 qt.                 Water

                        Salt, pepper and garlic powder to taste.

1 C                  Barley

1 C                  Cabbage chopped

½ C                 Onion, chopped

½ C                 Carrots, chopped

½ C                 Celery, chopped

½ C                 Mushrooms, chopped

¼ C                 Fresh herbs, like parsley, cilantro, etc.

 

1.    Place the beef in a crockpot or soup pot and cover with the water. 

I use one can beef broth and water.

 

2.    Add the seasonings.

3.    Cook for several hours, when the beef begins to fall off the bone.

I place the pot in the refrigerator.

 

Fat removed and the broth reheated




 

Bones and fat removed from the beef.

4.    Remove the meat and set aside.

5.    Strain the broth and return to a soup pot.

6.    Add the barley and cook 40 minutes.

Barley cook and the vegetables added.

Chopped parsley

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7.    Chopped the vegetables. 

8.    Remove the meat from the bones and break it up into bite sized pieces

9.    Add the vegetables and beef and continue cooking until the vegetables are tender.

Beef added and seasoning adjusted.

 

10. Taste and adjust the seasoning and add the fresh herbs.

11. Cook another 5 minutes and serve.

 

Other vegetable can be added and different seasoning can be used,

 

Vegetable of the Week

Carrots and Parsnips

Palm Sunday dinner lamb chopped, steamed
 potatoes, and carrot and parsnips

 

 

 

 

3-4      Carrots

3-4      Parsnips

4 T       Butter, unsalted

1/2 t      Ginger, ground

1 T       Brown sugar

            Salt to taste

 

The ingredients

 

1.    Wash scrub and peel the carrots and parsnips.

2.    Cut the carrots and parsnips in 2 inch sticks or they may be cut in rounds.  Try to cut them as evenly as you can so that the will cook evenly.

Carrots and Parsnips cut into matchsticks

 

3.    In a large skillet, melt the butter.

4.    Add the carrots and parsnips and cook until tender stirring often.    

Stir gently and often to cook evenly.

 

5.    When they are just about tender, add the ginger, brown sugar and salt.

Ginger, brown sugar, salt and pepper added.

 

6.    Stir gently until the sugar is melted and the vegetable are tender.

Carrots and parsnips tender and the sugar caramelized.

 

 

Also this week

 

Palm Sunday

 

            I usually serve salad with hearts of palm and palmiers and ice cream for dessert.  First course was a salad of greens with hearts of palm and blue cheese dressing.  Second course was lamb shop, steamed potatoes, and carrots and parsnips.  Dessert was palmiers with Bailey's Irish Cream filling leftover from the Irish Coffee Cupcakes.  I usually serve the palmiers with ice cream.  They are great with coffee, too.

Hearts of Palm Salad

Lamb with potatoes and carrots & parsnips



 



Palmiers are cookies made of puff paste.

Palmiers with Whipped cream flavored
with Bailey's Irish Cream



 

Happy Cooking!