Whew...New Cooking Lounge Posts on the way

Wow! New York City had a beautiful summer. Yes, sweltering, skin melting, cook an egg on the sidewalk, heat for a few days here and there in July, with August coasting into fall as if scripted. 

Now, in the days of indian summer, late harvest are in farmers' markets like tomatoes; and, fall favorites - local apples, pears and pumpkins - are in abundance almost everywhere, often at a great price. Pick-up that seasonal bargain then thumb through a cookbook or google recipes on an iPad, and of course search Cooking Lounge.

And fast becoming a near national holiday, of sorts, Halloween is just around the corner. Halloween is that riotous mark in the sand for the Holidays - Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, New Years - 
...food... parties...cocktails...more food.

Cooking Lounge has fresh new posts on the way after a little downtime to recharge, write and cook.

Now, while you are here, click around; check-out Good Food for original recipe ideas.

Visit soon for all new posts from Cooking Lounge.

Enjoy,
Cooking Lounge

photo: wbj

Hearty, 1 Hour, Ancho Chile Chicken and Chickpea Soup

FOOD:

Ancho Chile Chicken and Chickpea Soup
photo: wbj

For cold winter days, warming comfort food, especially soups and stews, is an easy choice. Soups and stews rank high because they tend to be one pot cooking that is seasonal, healthy, filling, easy and economical. The enveloping aroma of a simmering pot is a bonus.
After seeing racks of dried chiles in the back of NYC supermarkets and bodegas, and stumbling upon Mexican specialty stores, I started playing around with chiles - dried, fresh, smoked, pickled -  to see how the simple addition changed up familiar recipes. A dried Pablano pepper is an ancho chile. The Ancho Chile Chicken and Chickpea Soup was a by chance combination that I found subtle and smokey with a hint of heat. Best part, this Ancho Chile Chicken and Chickpea Soup can be in a bowl, ready to eat in nearly 1 hour, from start to finish. Freeze some soup for a fast meal later.

Here's the general details on making Ancho Chile Chicken and Chickpea Soup.
Base for the soup is a quick, rich, homemade chicken stock.  
Carrot, celery, onion, garlic sauteed. Add 1.5 quart of water (adjust amount if you want). Salt. Black Pepper. Bring to boil. Add 2lbs chicken breast, but thighs, legs work too. Can go skinless, boneless. Lower burner. Cook chicken for 25 minutes. When you remove the chicken, homemade chicken stock complete.
While chicken cooks, add 1 large Ancho chile. Few ways to to do this. Me: Remove stem and seeds, discard; throw chile in pot. 
Options: Remove stem;your choice on seeds; throw in food process; make coarse powder. Steam and soften in small pot;remove skin; dice, or puree chile in processor. Add to stock. Season to your taste. Add dash of cumin; dried herbs, fresh parsley, fresh herbs, do your thing. Try curry in place of cumin.
Keep an eye on the clock. Remove cooked chicken from pot; set aside to cool.
To chicken stock add, chick peas (1 can- drained and rinsed), 1/2 cup diced tomato, more fresh parsley and/or other herbs. I added some fresh chives because they were in the fridge. Optional: 1/2 cup rice (I used black rice); diced potatoes, corn...get creative;have some fun.
Remove the skin first if not skinless. Shred, cube, slice or chop the cooked chicken. Return chicken to pot. Cook on low heat for about 25 minutes. All done. Clocking approximately 1hr 10 minutes total time for an one pot meal with 6 servings. Remember to freeze a portion or two. This is a favorite after workout meal.
Enjoy,
Cooking Lounge

THE MINIMALIST - 101 Simple Salads for the Season - New York Times

FOOD:

photo: Francesco Tonelli for The New York Times 

FRESH AND FRESHER Clockwise, from top left: tuna, egg, green beans (No. 56); carrots, blueberries, sunflower seeds (7); croutons, tomatoes, mozzarella (42); walnuts, blue cheese, raspberries (49); couscous, oranges, honey (95); strawberries, tomatoes, Parmesan (13).

Post by Mark Bittman in The Minimalist takes a simple approach to food. Bittman gets to the essence of eating well and guides you through making the dish without being too fussy.With additions of meat, seafood, grain or even another salad, a filling summer meal can be made in well under an hour.  Here's a bit of the post and a link below. It's 101 Simple Salads so the post is lengthy. 

By MARK BITTMAN Published: July 21, 2009.  SUMMER may not be the best time to cook, but it’s certainly among the best times to eat. Toss watermelon and peaches with some ingredients you have lying around already, and you can produce a salad that’s delicious, unusual, fast and perfectly seasonal.  That’s the idea behind the 101 ideas found in this section. In theory, each salad takes 20 minutes or less. Honestly, some may take you a little longer. But most minimize work at the stove and capitalize on the season, when tomatoes, eggplant, herbs, fruit, greens and more are plentiful and excellent. This last point is important. Not everything needs to be farmers’ market quality, but it’s not too much to expect ripe fruit, fragrant herbs and juicy greens.  Salt, to taste, is a given in all of these recipes. Pepper, too (if I want you to use a lot of pepper, I say so).  Herein, then, are enough salad ideas to tide you over until the weather cools down. 
Read More. Get the recipes.


Enjoy!
Cooking Lounge.