Mark Bittman’s Fresh Tomato Rice Soup

LUCY BURDETTE: If it’s too late for the fall tomatoes in your garden or farmer’s market, save this recipe for next year—it’s just that good. These days I’m really enjoying The New York Times Cooking app. You can browse by ingredient or course or author, and save what you like to your recipe box. And they often make interesting suggestions based on what you’ve browsed and saved. 

On this particular day, I was desperate to use some of the tomatoes from our garden. (I admit to being a slug with the garden this year due to deadline haze, so John has carried the load.) And I wanted to make it easy—that is, no peeling, no chopping for days, etc. (I prepared the veggies almost entirely in my food processor.) This recipe from Mark Bittman called to me, and John and I both agreed it was delicious! I will make it again and freeze for a day when the tomatoes are only a sunny memory.

Mr. Bittman suggested using water or vegetable broth as the base for the soup, but I subbed organic chicken broth for a little more flavor. We found it didn’t need salt, but say yes to freshly ground pepper.

Ingredients

1 box good chicken broth

2 onions (I used one yellow, one red)

2 cloves garlic

1/2 cup brown rice

2 cups fresh tomatoes

4 carrots

2 stalks celery

Tbsp tomato paste

1/4 cup red wine

Olive oil

2 handfuls arugula

In your food processor, grind the onions, carrots and garlic, and then saute them until soft in some olive oil. Add the chopped celery. When the vegetables are soft and beginning to brown, make a space in the middle of your pan, add more olive oil and the rice and cook that a few minutes. Add the tomato paste and stir that in. 

Meanwhile, core the tomatoes, cut them into chunks and whirl in the processor until almost smooth.

Add the puree to your pan with the chicken broth and simmer until the rice is almost done. (Maybe half an hour for brown.) Add the red wine and arugula (could use any greens such as spinach or kale) and simmer another fifteen minutes. Taste for seasoning and enjoy, with or without grilled cheese. This is so so so much better than tomato soup from a can!

Did your family serve tomato soup with grilled cheese as a comfort food? Mine never did, but I'd take that meal any day using Bittman's soup!

Lucy Burdette writes the Key West food critic mystery series, featuring fiesty food critic Hayley Snow. THE KEY LIME CRIME is available now!

You can order it at an independent bookstore, Barnes and Noble, Amazon, and anywhere books are sold!

"Hayley and Nathan make an appealing pair, and the food descriptions and Key West atmosphere are equally enticing—a sure bet to draw readers of foodie mysteries."

—Booklist

And super-psyched to see the new book chosen for one of the best new books in Woman's World!

Please follow Lucy on Facebook, Instagram, Bookbub, or Twitter!

Chicken Curry ala Mark Bittman from author @DarylWoodGerber

From Daryl:

So after Libby mentioned that I could add Indian spices to my butternut squash recipe, I had a craving for curry. I haven’t made curry in years and I didn’t have a recipe, so I went through my vast array of cookbooks and landed on a recipe by Mark Bittman,  How To Cook Everything The Basics.

He wrote down the “basics” for lamb curry and then as a side note offered the possibilities of making a chicken curry.

Well, I’ve got to tell you, it was a hit with me! I tweaked, as I always do, and I made my portion for 2 not 4, so it’s not exactly what is in the cookbook itself.

It’s entirely gluten-free, if you can eat curry spice.  I omitted the garlic from the recipe as garlic has not been my friend lately. Sigh. Love garlic; it hates me. But it you can tolerate it, add it.

And I did two versions; one with the yogurt and one without, which means, yes, I had dinner for 2 nights! Yum!

Chicken Curry

Serves 2

1 tablespoon canola oil

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken, cut into 2” inch pieces. I used my kitchen scissors.

Salt and ground black pepper

1/2 sweet onion, chopped fine

1/2 tablespoon minced garlic * if you can tolerate it

1/2 tablespoon minced fresh ginger * more if you like

1 tablespoon curry powder

1 cup chicken broth (more if needed)

2 carrots, peeled and cut in 1” chunks

1/2 cup frozen peas

1/2 cup Greek plain yogurt (* take note of the 2 versions below!)

White rice, cooked according to directions

Put the oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. When it’s hot, add the chicken and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cook, adjusting the heat, and turning the pieces as needed so the meat doesn’t burn, until it’s nicely browned on all sides, about 8-10 minutes.

Meanwhile cut the onion, garlic, ginger, and carrots and measure the peas.

Pour off the fat from the pot (I didn’t have any) and turn the heat down to medium. Add the onion, sprinkle with a little more salt and pepper, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions begin to soften, about 3 to 5 minutes. Add the garlic (if you can tolerate it), ginger, and curry powder. Stir constantly about 1 minute.

Stir in the stock, scraping up any bits from the bottom of the pot.  The liquid should come about halfway up the side of the meat. If it doesn’t, add more liquid. Raise the heat and bring to a boil. Then lower it so that the mixture barely bubbles (simmer). Cover and cook, stirring every 15 minutes and adding liquid if necessary, until the meat slides off of a fork (about 30-45 minutes).

If the curry looks too watery, remove the lid and raise the heat.  If it looks too dry, add a little more stock.  Remove from the heat.

Note: 2 versions -  1) Stir in the yogurt or 2) Don’t add yogurt at all.  Both are tasty!!

Serve over white rice.

This is made without yogurt and I loved it! 

Version 2 with yogurt - a little "creamier" I LIKED BOTH

This is made with yogurt and is slightly creamier. Loved this version, too.

Here's a bit about my latest book:

Mimi Rousseau is throwing the bistro’s first wedding—the nuptials of a famous talk show host. She is sure things will go awry when the bride’s father shows up drunk to the out-of-towners’ dinner. By the end of the evening, things look sweet again…until the next morning, when her benefactor is found dead at the bistro with an éclair stuffed in his mouth. All fingers point at Mimi, whose loan is forgiven if he dies. It’s up to her to éclair—er, clear—her name before the killer turns up the heat.

"Talk about a culinary delight, this book is the pinnacle of deliciousness as I devoured all that was written in this exciting new series featuring Mimi and her friends." ~ Dru's Book Musings

Savor the mystery!

*

Friend Daryl and Avery on Facebook
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Follow Avery on Twitter

Follow both of us on Pinterest

Plus check out my website.

A DEADLY ÉCLAIR, the 1st in the French Bistro Mysteries, is coming November 2017. Can Mimi clear her name before the killer turns up the heat? Click here to order.

GRILLING THE SUBJECT, the 5th Cookbook Nook Mystery, is out!

The Wild West Extravaganza has come to Crystal Cove.

Click here to order.

FOR CHEDDAR OR WORSE, 
the 7th Cheese Shop Mystery is out!

Finally there's going to be a cheese festival in Providence!

Click to order.

GIRL ON THE RUN a stand-alone suspense

When a fairytale fantasy night becomes a nightmare, 

Chessa Paxton must run for her life...but will the truth set her free? 

Click to order




DAY OF SECRET my new stand-alone suspense
A mother he thought was dead. A father he never knew. 
An enemy that wants them dead.
Click here to order.

MLK Welcomes Hank Phillippi Ryan

 LUCY BURDETTE: We're so delighted to be hosting Hank Phillippi Ryan today. She is an investigative reporter with four--soon to be five--books under her belt. And she's won more book prizes and Emmies than you can imagine. And even with all that going on, and a book launching next week, she's here to talk food. With no further ado, I give you our dear friend Hank!

HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN:  I used to cook. I did. My friends and family will attest to it--I cooked Beef Wellington and Potatoes Anna, and lemon soufflés and Julia Child's Vichyssoise and Boeuf Bourguignon. I offer my tattered and splatted cookbook pages as proof.

But these days…ever since my life was kidnapped by the mystery world--my cooking has sacrificed glamour for, well, speed and convenience. We eat a lot of grilled salmon from Whole Foods, photos of which I will spare you.

But there are some meals, we found, that are quick and delicious but feel--luxurious.

Two special favorites are Mark  Bittman’s Chicken Parmesan (a la River Street, our address) and cauliflower faux-tatoes . (Because they taste like mashed potatoes.)  Put these together with a green vegetable--and you’d think you'd created a gourmet masterpiece. And the whole thing takes about twenty minutes.

For the chicken. One or two boneless skinless half per person. (Jonathan and I each have one and a half.)

Preheat the oven to broil.

Preheat the other oven to 350. (If you don’t have two ovens, read through this, and you can work it out.)

But the breasts on a broiler pan--line the top with foil so it’s easier to wash, and easier to turn the chicken.

Liberally sprinkle the chicken with high-quality grated parmesan.

Put the chicken under the broiler for five minutes.

MEANWHILE: Put cauliflower florets (enough for however many people you’re serving) in a microwave dish with a touch of water, and zap for two and a half minutes of so, until just tender. 

Mash the cauliflower with a masher thing, then add ground black pepper, and low fat sour cream, and cream cheese, and grated cheddar cheese. However  much you want. You can’t go wrong, and mix til it’s chunky but voluptuous.

Ooops. Five minutes is up. Turn the chicken to the other side, coat the uncooked side with more parmesan, put under the broiler for five more minutes.

Meanwhile! in the glass bowl of cauliflower goop, cover the top with thin slices of cheddar cheese (optional—we didn’t do it in this version), and then a sprinkling of parmesan. (Avery, are you listening? This is a very “cheesy” dinner.)

Put this in the 350 oven. And cook til bubbly. It'll be at least 15 minutes.

Time to do the chicken again. Now, your chicken is broiled on two sides to for a total of ten minutes.  (I like chicken well done, so you might prefer four minutes a side.) Put ANOTHER  layer of parmesan on the chicken, then close the over door and turn the temperature to 350.

Cook for ten-15 more minutes. (It may get smoky, sorry, open a window.)

Your cauliflower is almost done! Turn that over to broil, and place the cauliflower dish under the broiler for 2-3 minutes until the cheese is brown.

Your chicken is done! It will be glistening and crispy and smell fabulous, juicy on the inside, and crispy-cheesy on the outside.

Your cauliflower is done! It will be mashed-potatoe-y on the inside, and gorgeously cheesey on top.

Oh, we should have made peas.  Peas are great with this. Green beans, also wonderful.

Serve, and love. A crisp white wine, and you are set! I’m a red kind of girl, and what author could resist this label?



Agatha, Anthony and Macavity award-winning Hank Phillippi Ryan is the on-the-air investigative reporter for Boston’s NBC affiliate.



Her newest thriller, THE OTHER WOMAN, comes out in hardcover September 4 from Forge. A starred review from Library Journal says “a dizzying labyrinth of twists, turns, and surprises. Readers who crave mystery and political intrigue will be mesmerized by this first installment of her new series.”



You can read more at her website, or friend her on Facebook, or follow her on Twitter.
 
And two more bits of breaking news--Hank's fabulous interview/book trailer can be seen here.

And she will be giving away a copy of THE OTHER WOMAN to one lucky commenter! thanks Hank! 

Welcome Guest Blogger - Karen E. Olson

Please join me in welcoming Karen E. Olson to Mystery Lovers' Kitchen today. I loved getting to know Karen when she, Hank Phillippi Ryan and I were invited by the incomparable Molly Weston to visit North Carolina. Molly set up a book tour extraordinaire! We visited stores, libraries, classrooms, and we even had time to stop for some authentic barbecue! But the best part of the trip was getting to know Karen, Molly, and Hank. These are some fabulous women!

You've all met Hank here on the blog and I'm sure you've picked up some of her books. Now, I hope you check out Karen's tattoo shop mysteries. Does Karen have a tattoo? Nope. And I confess that as a tat-less person myself, I didn't know if I could get into the stories. Don't let that stop you. Her protagonist Brett Kavanaugh is a strong, fearless, and creative woman with a complicated life. You will love meeting her. I recently finished PRETTY IN INK - tattoos and drag queens. Can it be any more fun? And loved every roller coaster moment.

Okay, enough of me talking. Here's Karen:

When Julie asked me to guest blog, I had a little bit of a panic. You see, I don’t cook anymore. I haven’t cooked in years. Because my husband does. Every night.

He’s a great cook. He whips up chicken marsala, steak and broccoli stir fry, Arctic char with a maple syrup and soy sauce glaze, all after his usual nine hour work day. He likes it.

I’m not going to take that away from him.

Because he’s in the kitchen so much, he’s become a lot more aware of what we’re eating, and because of some health issues, about six months ago he decided that he’s going to try to get us off processed food as much as possible.

He’s making me spice muffins with raisins and sunflower seeds for breakfast, so I don’t have to stop for a bagel in the morning. He even started making his own bagels, trying recipe after recipe until he found one that got it right. He makes all our bread, and the one week we had to buy a loaf because he didn’t have time, well, let’s just say we don’t want that happening again. He’s tending a garden this summer, with lettuce, carrots, arugula, tomatoes, basil, green beans, and zucchini. He shops at the farmer’s market for what we call happy eggs from happy chickens, he buys fresh fish at a local store, and he gets all our beef and chicken from a local butcher.

Let’s say we’re eating pretty well and it’s incredibly healthful.

We took it one step further last weekend.

We made our own mayonnaise.

I’d had a boyfriend years ago whose mother used to make her own mayonnaise. By hand. It took what seemed to be hours. Making mayonnaise seemed very intimidating.

But we pulled out our trusty cookbook by our favorite New York Times columnist Mark Bittman. We had all the ingredients. We had a food processor. And he said he would only take 10 minutes to make.

He was right.

It was the most amazing mayonnaise ever.

Mark Bittman’s mayonnaise recipe:

1 egg

1 tsp dry mustard

2 tbl fresh lemon juice

1 c canola oil (it says you can use olive oil, but we tried that first and the flavor was too strong. Canola was much better, much more neutral)

salt and pepper to taste

Put egg, dry mustard, lemon juice, salt, pepper, and 1/4 c of the oil in a food processor. As you mix, pour the rest of the oil in very very, very slowly. It should start to get thick when you’ve poured about half of it in. If you want it thicker, you can add up to a 1/4 c more oil, but we found the consistency perfect for the potato salad we made with it.

Karen E. Olson is the author of the tattoo shop mystery series, including THE MISSING INK, and PRETTY IN INK.

DRIVEN TO INK, the third in the series, will be out Sept. 7.

Check out her books at www. Kareneolson.com or her blog at kareneolson.blogspot.com.

Spaghetti with Fried Eggs

I was very lucky to be the author at
Authors @ the Teague this past Saturday.
Lesa Holstine, the director of the Velma
Teague Branch and coordinator of the
event, was so wonderful to have me out
to visit. I can't thank her enough. She
even had the most scrumptious little
cupcake bites from Shelley's Specialty
Desserts -- truly, wonderful! Thanks, Lesa!
(She's the one in the cool hat, I'm the one in
the cupcake T-shirt -- shocker, I know).

One of the things that I am frequently asked is:
How do you have a life and write three series at
the same time?
Good question. I'm a spaz, so that helps, but I'm
also always looking for ways to make my life with two
ACTIVE boys -- note the understatement -- and a new puppy
quicker and easier without compromise, as in I've never eaten a
frozen dinner in my life (unless it was my own leftovers)
and I'm not planning to start any time soon. I know there are good ones
out there, but I'm trying not to eat any packaged foods. I sound like a food
snob, don't I? Well, this recipe should fix that. It's a total back to basics!

A lovely librarian that I work with (also the mom of two sons -- so she
knows the drill) gave me this recipe the other day and as soon as I read it,
I knew I had to make it. She got it from the New York Times's
Mark Bittman and his Recipe of the Day and graciously
shared it with me. Thanks, Wendy!

Spaghetti with Fried Eggs

Ingredients

Salt
1/2 pound thin spaghetti
6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 large cloves garlic, slightly smashed
4 eggs
Ground black pepper
Freshly grated Parmesan

Directions:

Bring a pot of salted water to the boil. Start the sauce in the next step, and start cooking the pasta when the water boils. Combine garlic and 4 tablespoons of the oil in a small skillet over medium-low heat. Cook the garlic, pressing it into the oil occasionally to release its flavor; it should barely color on both sides. Remove the garlic, and add the remaining oil. Fry the eggs gently in the oil, until the whites are just about set and the yolks still quite runny. Drain the pasta, and toss with the eggs and oil, breaking up the whites as you do. (The eggs will finish cooking in the heat of the pasta.) Season to taste, and serve immediately, with cheese if you like.

TESTIFY! This was delicious. We put a little diced pepperoni on
ours, but it was not needed. And it only took 20 minutes to prep
and serve.

Jenn McKinlay
www.jennmckinlay.com

SPRINKLE WITH MURDER
Available NOW

aka Lucy Lawrence
CUT TO THE CORPSE
Available NOW


And now what's shaking in contest land???

Here's your chance to enter Julie's May Contest!

Julie’s first book in the Manor of Murder Mystery series,

Grace Under Pressure, debuts June 1st! To help launch t

he book and to celebrate its release, she's running a

very special contest: Pre-order Grace Under Pressure

any time before May 31, 2010, and you're eligible to win a

$25 gift certificate from Mystery Lovers Bookshop! (and

if you've already pre-ordered, you just need to let Julie

know!) No receipts required. Just email Julie at

JulieHyzy@gmail.com with the date that you pre-ordered

and the name of the bookstore you ordered it from, and

your name goes in! (Please put "CONTEST" in the subject

header. Thanks!)

Here are a few helpful links to get you started: Mystery Lovers Bookshop

(free shipping on book orders over $10!) - The Poisoned Pen (my local

mystery bookstore) - Barnes & Noble - Amazon.com