Instant Pot Chicken and Black Bean Soup is a simply prepared soup with Mexican sensibilities suitable for a cool weeknight. The recipe is one of many lovely soups in a 2006 cookbook from the Mother Teresa Maternity Home in Placerville, California. The home serves as a women’s shelter with a special emphasis on housing women……
Ingredient: ground cumin
Mexican Chicken with Prunes and Bananas (adapted from Buen Provecho, 1995)
Mexican Chicken with Prunes and Bananas is adapted from Buen Provecho, a 1995 recipe collection compiled by the AT&T Hispanic Employee Group HISPA. I’ll admit that my first reaction was “hard pass” but was encouraged by the author’s note to take a second look: People may at first be a little startled by the combination……
Frijoles Negros con Sofrito (Cuba, adapted from Buen Provecho, New Jersey, 1995)
Years and years ago my local congregation held a Mexican-themed potluck. I’m not talking about one of those discomfiting frat parties where everyone comes dressed like Speedy Gonzalez; this was more like large scale taco night. Potluck dishes were supposed to be Mexican or at least Mexican-adjacent, and we had a members of the congregation……
Instant Pot Bombay Chicken (adapted from The Tastes of Home, 2004)
We have a good friend from Idaho who use to joke about a dish she grew up with that her mother called “Hong Kong Chicken”. In spite of the decidedly ‘ethnic’ name it was, in essence, the archetypal casserole: chicken pieces bathed in cream of mushroom soup and baked until tender. So why is it……
Lamb Shank Vindaloo (inspired by Hotpoint Storybook Kitchen Cookbook, 1964)
Vindaloo is one of my favorite Indian dishes, in part because it’s one of the heartier dishes served at Indian restaurants but mostly because the sour and spicy sauce is addictive and delicious. It’s now an Indian restaurant staple, but has its origins in a vinegary Portuguese stew. As such you’ll often find it prepared……
Braised Greens with Paneer
Braised Greens with Paneer is a recipe born of necessity. If I’m up early on a weekend morning I’ll take a trip out to the specialty butcher for inspiration for Sunday dinner, and then get the rest of the meal at the farm stand up the road. On this particular weekend I had picked up……
Cumin-spiced Pork Roast
Cumin-spiced Pork Roast is a simple and inexpensive way to round out your dinner plate with a ‘juicy hunk of meat’. I’ll prepare this or something like it when the meal includes a time-consuming side dish (such as Curry Spiced Carrot Croquettes) – there’s very little active time beyond the dry rub and a quick……
Tuna Creole, Hold The Tuna (adapted from Tomato Ketchup Recipe Collection)
If I had to distill Tomato Ketchup Recipe Collection into a single recipe it would be Tuna Creole. It straddles the line between ketchup-as-tomato-sauce recipes and unholy monstrosity, and also stands as a testament to the 1980s weeknight meal. I suppose someone must still be buying Tuna Helper, but the whole “Tuna with Sauce over……