Week 10: Last One There Is a Rotten Egg!
Being the youngest daughter of five has its advantages. You almost always have playmates, loyal defenders, and dedicated caregivers. You are smothered with love and affection. In the case of my mom, I actually got a lot of cuddles and affection because, being so young, I could give endless unconditional love and comfort through very painful times. Having older sisters provided me with wise counselors, whether it was about boys, money, school or social issues. I could also witness their missteps and where they lead, so I could avoid pitfalls (I created plenty of my own however). After all the older sisters moved out and I was an only child, I learned to be independent and self-reliant. Then there was the fact that my mom was so wiped out by the time I became a teenager, I got away with murder! Sneaking in and out at all hours via my bedroom window, forging notes to teachers, dating guys that were too old for me and clubbing with my best friend before I was of legal age…Oh, and smoking in my bedroom, which was basically an upstairs studio apartment complete with a mini fridge that I snuck in to store cocktail fixins (see aforementioned pitfalls). Yes, there are many advantages to being a “youngest” but apparently… getting a recipe named after you is not one of them.
My sisters and I with my dad (post divorce). I actually don’t have a photo of all of us with my mom.
This week’s recipe was named after both my sister Kristin and Kyle, creating “Kryle’s dinner” I searched and searched and there is not one recipe named after me!
Not my favorite casserole, lemon bars or candy…not even a hint of “Kit’s Cake”.
Would that have so hard mom? 😉
I’m a mother of many now myself and understand how it goes. You are so in love with that first baby you can sit in stillness and just watch them breathe. You take hundreds of photos, act as a short order cook, set clear boundaries and read all of the parenting books, because you are going to be the BEST mom ever! After that, there are more kids, less time, loosening of the rules, laundry piling up, enormous amounts of homework and then, discipline issues. You are still equally in love with all of the kids, but you’re just spread too thin. My personal parenting journey has given me a greater appreciation for my mother’s experience of being a single mom to five fiery, strong-willed Irish-Italian girls. So mom, I forgive you for not naming a recipe after me. Adding my name to a favorite meal is not the only expression of your maternal love. I KNOW beyond a shadow of doubt that you loved me for many reasons.
Naming a recipe? No big deal…I can do that myself, and I did!
Original Recipe
Once again this recipe was purely a 70’s comfort food.
I’m actually kind of surprised at how many recipes I’m finding like this. I remember my mother being a much more adventurous cook, but maybe my childhood memory is clouded. She definitely had more fun creating menus for dinner parties and special occasions than with family meal prep. I suspect she simply couldn’t afford to get creative in the kitchen when making dinner for five girls.
Money was tight… really,really tight.
The Process:
I completely changed this recipe up because everything was canned … Ewww!
“Bowl meals” are super popular now, so I decided to go in that direction and serve it in a bowl.
An easy change was to replace cream of mushroom soup with an organic mushroom broth and organic dairy. I chose yogurt, but cream or milk would do well also.
Then it was a no-brainer to use fresh mushrooms and frozen organic peas to replace the canned products.
A whole grain brown rice replaced the traditional white rice, adding about 2g of fiber per serving.
Sautéed kale and garlic served as the additional base layer in the bowl to add good-for-you greens.
The next challenge was to create the flavor of Kitchen Bouquet, a kitchen staple since 1873. It actually doesn’t contain a tremendous amount of junk but it’s certainly not “clean food”. The basic ingredients are carrot, onion, celery, parsley and salt. A flavorful Mirepoix would do the trick here.
Have you ever noticed how salty many comfort foods are? This recipe, with all of the canned product, had a more than necessary portion of salt. I often use miso, soy or tamari to add saltiness. In this case, I chose miso for the probiotic health benefits and unique flavor.
The Results:
Rick and our friend Laurie approved and had seconds!
- Comfort food? Yes!
- Healthier? Yes! And if you want less carbs like me, you can lighten up on the rice and peas.
- Easy? Kind of…easy to cook, but it made quite a few dishes
- Flavor profile was deep and earthy. The grass-fed beef adds such a nice flavor.
Kit’s Beef Bowl (even though I RARELY eat beef)
Ingredients:
1 lb grass-fed lean ground beef
1 cup un-cooked short grain brown rice
32 oz. Container of Organic Mushroom Broth
1-2 cups frozen peas (really up to you)
1/4 cup plain yogurt
Miso to taste (I used 3 TBLS)
2 cups mushrooms chopped or sliced
2 medium carrots
1 medium turnip
1/4 cup parsley
1 onion chopped
2 stalks celery
3 cloves garlic
3 Cups Chopped Kale or Collard Greens
Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper
Directions:
I strongly recommend a food processor for this recipe or you’ll be chopping FOREVER!
- Cook rice with mushroom broth instead of water
- Make the “kitchen bouquet” substitute Mirepoix (for Mirepoix explanation click HERE)
- Using a food processor, chop carrots, onion, turnip, celery, parsley and one clove of the garlic until VERY finely chopped.
- Saute the Mireproix for about 15 minutes until it’s soft and you can really smell the flavors combining.
- Brown the beef and mushrooms in a large pan.
- Add Mirepoix, one cup of mushroom broth and miso for a unique saltiness.
- Add Peas
- You may need more broth
- In a separate pan, cook the chopped kale with olive oil, garlic and a little broth or water until lit’s tender.
To Serve:
The original recipe had everything all stirred together, which is an option, but I served it as a layered bowl dish topped with yogurt and a side salad.
Enjoy!
Week 10 Recipe Picks
Yay for St. Patricks Day (one of my mother’s favorites) with three recipes to celebrate!!!
Surprisingly, I couldn’t’ find Corned Beef and Cabbage, or her special Irish Coffee recipe cards. Maybe she simply had them memorized. What I love about these recipes cards:
- how used-up the soda bread recipe card looks….it must be really good
- the notes she wrote on the cabbage recipe and the Colcannon…she was always adding gems of knowledge.
It’s no wonder I am insanely curious 😉
Heads-up…I may choose to cook these “as-is” because I’ve never made them and it’s a special occassion.
One thing I forgot to mention after reading your comments about remembering Mom being a fancier cook than is appearing in the recipe cards, yes, you are correct, money was tight and she was feeding a crew of kids, all with their different tastes. She reserved her fancier cooking for parties and guests. She also started a routine of once a month, usually after her monthly paycheck, trying a new recipe. It was usually one of Graham Kerr’s.
Ooooh I didn’t know that. I need to hunt through for more notes.