SNAP Challenge - Menu and Recipes for Day Two

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...Well, Bob and I made it through the second day of the SNAP Challenge, though I came close to a major rule violation this morning. Without thinking, probably driven by the aroma of coffee that costs more than $4 a pound, I forgot the rules and grabbed a cup at a meeting I had to chair. Fortunately, I caught myself before I took a sip, and can report I'm still with the program that irrationally prohibits free food or drink that comes from sources outside the boundaries of the SNAP allotment. Two of the pillars of my meal plans for the week are milk and potatoes. I took advantage of both of them today to produce a filling, if unusual, main course for our dinner this evening. It was a thick potato soup, made with a quart of milk and extended with lots of vegetables and a small, very small, amount of ham and Parmesan cheese. It's really good and although it was developed for this challenge, I probably will make it again. It takes all of 30 minutes to move from the pot to the table and it is, quite simply said, delicious. For breakfast, I pulled another old-fashioned recipe from my files and made Bob, eggs en cocotte. Between you and me, my mother would have called these shirred eggs, but I thought the Frenchification would make them more appealing to him. It worked. The goal was to bake the eggs until the whites set but the yolks were still runny and could be sopped up with toasted bread strips. I really enjoyed the eggs and will definitely be making them again. Lunch was leftovers that reheated nicely. Bob finished the Island Chicken and I had some of the noodles left from yesterday's lunch. We are both still with the program.

I wanted to let you know a little about the folks for whom  SNAP is a reality rather than a one-week challenge. A lot of people assume that the benefits we stuff into a category collectively called "welfare", go to folks who are not working. That simply is not true. The minimum wage in the United States averages about $7.25 an hour. A minimum wage worker who does not miss a single day of work in the course of a year makes about $15,000 for his efforts. That is enough to keep a family of two above the federally defined poverty level, but when that family size increases to 3 or 4 that income drops well below the poverty line. For 2012, the Federal poverty guideline is an annual income of $23,050 for a family of four. When a person has a full-time job but his income falls below the poverty line, they are what sociologists call the working poor.

It is interesting to know that 76% of SNAP households include a child, an elderly person or an individual who is disabled. They are considered to be vulnerable households and they receive 83% of all SNAP benefits. Most folks who are temporarily unemployed, move out of the system within 3 to 9 months and 40% of SNAP beneficiaries live in households that have earnings which are their primary source of income. Only 10% of participants receive cash welfare.

It is important to know that fraud within the SNAP system is extremely low. With the introduction of the EBT cards, most opportunities for fraud have been removed, and an electronic trail now exists to facilitate tracing abuses in the system. According to a recent USDA analysis, SNAP reached a payment accuracy of 96.19% in 2012. While there will always be room for improvement, the integrity of the SNAP program is currently functioning at the highest level it has ever seen.

I'll wager I've fed you enough numbers for the day and that you want to see the menu and recipes that we actually used to keep hunger at bay on this second day of the challenge. So, without further ado....

                                                 Menu for SNAP Challenge Day Two 

                                                                     Breakfast 

                                                                  Orange Juice
                                                                      Coffee
                                                                       Toast
                                                 *   Eggs en Cocotte (Shirred Eggs)

                                                                        Lunch

                                                               Leftover Noodles
                                                 Leftover Island Chicken and Rice

                                                                        Dinner

                                            Small Chopped Salad with Boiled Dressing
                                 *  Creamy Potato Soup with Mixed Vegetables and Ham
                                                                       Croutons
                                                                   Corn Muffins

                      Creamy Potato Soup with Mixed Vegetables and Ham...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite

Ingredients:
3 tablespoons vegetable oil or margarine
2 cups chopped onions
3 cloves garlic, minced
6 (8-ounce) baking potatoes peeled and cubed
4 cups milk
1 cup chopped celery
2 cups frozen mixed peas and carrots, thawed
1 cup frozen corn, thawed
Optional: 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon dried thyme
Salt and pepper to taste
4 ounces diced ham
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

Directions:
1) Heat oil in a 4 to 5-quart saucepan until it shimmers. Add onions and cook over moderate heat until limp and translucent, about10 minutes. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute longer. Add potatoes and cover with water. Bring mixture to a boil and simmer until potatoes are tender, about 15 minutes. Drain potatoes and onion mixture, reserving liquid. Rinse saucepan.
2) Return potatoes to pan. Pour in 2 cups reserved potato water and 4 cups milk. Bring to a boil over moderate heat. Puree mixture using an immersion blender. Add celery, peas and carrot, corn, red pepper flakes, and thyme. Season to taste with salt and pepper. (I have found that 2 to 3 teaspoons of salt and a teaspoon of pepper are not excessive.) Bring back to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes. Add ham and Parmesan cheese and heat thru. Serve hot in large bowls. Yield 4 to 6 servings.

 
                                                                Eggs en Cocotte

Ingredients:
2 teaspoons butter or margarine + more for preparing ramekins
4 teaspoons Parmesan cheese, divided use
4 large eggs
Salt and pepper
2 tablespoons milk

Directions:
1) Preheat toaster oven to 375 degrees F. Grease 2 (6-ounce) ramekins with butter or margarine. Place 1 teaspoon margarine and 1 teaspoon Parmesan cheese in bottom of each cup. Carefully crack two eggs into each ramekin. Season with salt and pepper. Top each ramekin with 1 teaspoon Parmesan cheese and 1 tablespoon milk. Place ramekins on toaster oven tray for ease in handling. Bake until whites are set, about 12 to 15 minutes for runny yolks, 15 to18 minutes for soft-cooked yolks or 20 minutes for hard-cooked yolks. Remove ramekins from oven and serve immediately. Yield: 2 servings.

One Year Ago Today: Pork Bourguignonne

Two Years Ago Today: Maple, Walnut and Fig Bread

Three Years Ago Today: Marinated Mushrooms

Vegetable Strata

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...This strata is a wonderful way to use the produce that floods green markets at this time of year. Better still, the dish is relatively easy to make. While there is some chopping involved, the strata comes together quickly and the finished dish makes a wonderful entree for a brunch or light supper. The recipe, which comes from Fine Cooking, is straight forward and easy to follow, and you'll have no problem with this dish, if you follow the recipe instructions. If you want to extract the most flavor from the vegetables, make sure they are browned before they are layered into the casserole. The browning is simple to accomplish if you do not crowd the pan and let the vegetables sit undisturbed for a couple of minutes before you flip them over. Unlike most strata, this one can be baked as soon as it is assembled, and that makes it a great candidate for a weeknight meatless meal. This is a nice recipe, and, if you are partial to egg dishes, I really think you'll like this one. Here's how it is made.

Vegetable Strata...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite courtesy of Fine Cooking Magazine

Ingredients:
About a dozen 1/2-inch-thick slices French or Italian bread (enough to cover the bottom of your pan), day-old or lightly toasted
1 clove garlic, lightly crushed
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 cups milk or a mixture of milk and cream
5 large eggs
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, divided
Pinch dried red pepper flakes
1 loosely packed cup basil leaves, chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 medium summer squash or zucchini, or 1 of each
2 ripe tomatoes

Directions:
1) Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly butter an 8x8-inch baking dish. Rub top of each slice of bread with garlic clove. Lay slices in dish in one layer, cutting them into pieces where necessary. Season with salt and pepper.
2) Measure milk in a 1-quart measure, preferably one with a spout. (Or measure it and transfer it to a bowl.) Add eggs, half of the cheese, red pepper flakes, and a generous amount of salt and pepper. Whisk vigorously to beat eggs and to combine. Add basil and stir gently. Set aside.
3) In a large sauté pan, heat oil over medium high heat. Add onion; cook, stirring occasionally, until it softens and colors lightly, about 5 minutes. Meanwhile, trim the squash, cut them lengthwise into quarters and, holding quarters together, slice them into pieces about 1/3 inch thick. Stir squash into onions, spread in a single layer, and let sit undisturbed for 1 to 2 minutes to encourage browning; check color before you turn them.
4) Meanwhile, halve and seed tomatoes. Coarsely chop them. When squash is lightly browned on both sides and crisp-tender, add tomatoes, stir to toss, and take vegetables off the heat.
5) With a slotted spoon, transfer vegetables to baking dish, spreading them evenly over bread. Give milk and egg mixture a stir and gently pour it all into the dish. Top with the remaining cheese. Bake until milk and egg mixture sets, about 40 to 45 minutes. Let cool at least 5 minutes, slice into squares with the edge of a spatula, and use the spatula to lift out the pieces. Yield: 4 to 6 servings.

One Year Ago Today: Banana Muffins

Two Years Ago Today: Sweet Pickles

Three Years Ago Today: Salmon Chowder

Chipotle Corn Soup

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...I wanted to share this recipe with you while fresh sweet corn is still available. The recipe was developed in the CHOW test kitchen by Christine Gallary and she's created a soup that is truly memorable. Using a handful of inexpensive ingredients and simple techniques, she has produced one of the best corn soups that I have ever tasted. The soup is a bit messy to make because you have to strip kernels from the cob and then strain the finished soup through a fine mesh sieve before serving. Let me assure you, it's worth the effort. I am, however, ever mindful that time is precious, so I also tested this recipe using frozen shoepeg and standard corn. I found the shoepeg corn to be a great substitute for fresh kernels, but the results were less than spectacular when I used other varieties of frozen corn. I, obviously, was trying to find a way to extend the season for this soup. It is that good. I don't want to bore you with minutia, so let's get right to the recipe. Here's how the soup is made.

Chipotle Corn Soup...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite courtesy of Christine Gallary and CHOW

Ingredients:
8 ears white or yellow corn, shucked (about 6 cups)
2 tablespoons unsalted butter (1/4 stick)
1/2 teaspoon minced chipotles in adobo sauce
2 teaspoons kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
6 scallions, thinly sliced (white and light green parts only)
1-1/2 cups whole milk
1-1/2 cups water

Directions:
1) Remove corn kernels from cobs: Place a large container on a damp towel. Fold a paper towel into fourths and place it inside container. Stand one ear of corn on paper towel, using the stem as a handle. Using a paring knife, slice downward, letting kernels fall into container. Rotate cob and continue until all kernels have been removed. Discard the cob. Repeat with remaining corn (you should have about 6 cups of kernels). Discard paper towel. Set aside 1/2 cup of kernels.
2) Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat until foaming. Add chipotles, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, a pinch of black pepper, and two-thirds of scallions. (Set aside remaining scallions to use as a garnish.) Cook, stirring occasionally, until onions have softened, about 3 minutes.
3) Add corn kernels, remaining 1-1/2 teaspoons salt, milk, and water and stir to combine. Increase heat to medium high and bring mixture to a gentle boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer until the flavors have melded and corn kernels are crisp yet tender (not mushy), about 15 minutes.
4) Set a fine-mesh strainer over a large, heatproof bowl. Using a blender, purée soup in batches until smooth, removing small cap from blender lid and covering the hole with a kitchen towel (this allows steam from hot soup to escape and prevents blender lid from popping off). Pour blended soup through strainer, pressing on solids with a rubber spatula. Discard hulls.
5) Just before serving, stir in reserved 1/2 cup corn kernels. Season with salt and pepper as needed. If serving chilled, refrigerate soup until cold, at least 3 hours. Garnish with the remaining scallions and serve. Yield: 4 servings.

One Year Ago Today: Tomato Cobbler

Two Years Ago Today: Firehouse Chili and World Trade Center Building # 6

Three Years Ago Today: Oven-Baked Baby Back Ribs

Cullen Skink - A Smoked Fish Soup

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...I've finally found a market that carries an impressive selection of smoked fish. They don't advertise the fact because most of their stock is promised to ethnic restaurants, but if you are charming enough and the planets are perfectly aligned they might deign to save a pound or two for you. This Saturday I entered the charmed circle and came home with two pounds of Finnan Haddie, the smoked haddock I'd been waiting for. Traditional Finnan Haddie is lightly smoked - so lightly that it's actually not quite fully cooked. My original plan was to make an Irish smoked fish chowder, but then I remembered a similar dish that's a bit more interesting and a lot easier to make. Some will argue that Cullen Skink is the world's greatest fish soup. That's a bit of an over statement, but I can assure you that if you like smoked fish or are looking for something new to try, I think you'll really like this Scottish soup. The aromas coming from the soup pot will stimulate the poorest of appetites and have everyone asking, "Is it soup yet?" The name of the soup conjures unfortunate images, but it's easily explained. Cullen is a fishing town on the Moray Firth, an inlet that attracts and harbors haddock. Skink is a bit harder to explain. In Ireland and Scotland it simply means a broth or weak soup. I must warn you there is nothing weak about this particular skink. It is hearty, full-flavored and delightfully creamy. It is more assertive than an American chowder and heartier than a French bisque. While it can be made with any smoked fish, haddock has much to commend it. I prefer it because, cooked properly, it will not toughen as the soup simmers. The basics of the chowder are quite straightforward. Haddock is simmered in water to form a broth that's used to impart its smoky flavor to vegetables that are added to the soup. The soup is thickened with potatoes and enriched with milk, not cream. It's a fairly substantial, rich tasting soup that is best enjoyed in small portions. There are many recipes for Cullen Skink. The recipe that follows is a slight adaption of one developed by Felicity Cloake. I think you'll enjoy it.

Cullen Skink...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite adapted from an original recipe by Felicity Cloake

Ingredients:
1-1/2 pounds undyed smoked haddock, skin on
A bay leaf
Knob of butter (walnut-sized, about 2 tablespoons)
1 onion, peeled and finely chopped
1 leek, washed and cut into chunks
3 medium potatoes, peeled, cut into chunks
2 cups whole milk
1 to 2 teaspoons lemon juice
Chives, chopped, to serve

Directions:
1) Put fish into a pan large enough to hold it comfortably, and cover with cold water. Add bay leaf, and bring gently to a boil. Fish is usually cooked through when a boil is reached. If it does flake, give it another minute or so. Remove fish from pan and rapidly boil to reduce liquid to two cups. Remove from heat and set aside.
2) Melt butter in another pan set over medium-low heat, and add onion and leek. Cover and allow to sweat, without coloring, for about 10 minutes until softened. Season with black pepper.
3) Add potato and stir to coat with butter. Pour in reserved haddock cooking liquid and bring to a simmer. Cook until potato is tender.
4) Meanwhile, remove skin, and any bones, from haddock, and break into flakes.
5) Lift out a very generous slotted spoonful of potatoes and leeks, and set aside. Discard bay leaf. Add milk, and half of flaked haddock to pan, and either mash roughly or blend until fairly smooth.
6) Add lemon juice and season to taste. Spoon a portion of soup into each of 6 bowls. Add a generous spoonful of reserved potato, leek and haddock mixture to each serving and sprinkle with chives. Serve immediately. Yield: 6 servings.









One Year Ago Today: Dublin Coddle















Two Years Ago Today: Tortilla Soup








Links to other fish soup recipes:
Vietnamese Fish Soup: Canh Ngot - Pham Fatale
Italian Fish Soup: Zuppa di Pesce - What's Cookin' Italian-Style Cuisine
Simple Fish Soup - Jaana's Kitchen
Provencal Seafood Bisque - Simply Recipes
Oyster Stew - Seriously Soupy

Adult Hot Chocolate Made with Nutella and Fortified Spirits

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...Sometimes this is a tough job. I had to test this recipe over and over again to get the proportions just right for you. Obviously, I couldn't recommend the spirits used to spike the hot chocolate without first verifying they were compatible with its Nutella base. They are! If you are looking for a special bedtime or fireside drink, I think you might enjoy this one. It's special. Here's the recipe.

Adult Hot Chocolate with Nutella and Fortified Spirits...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite

Ingredients:
1/3 cup Nutella
1-1/3 cups milk, divided use
2 jiggers spirits (i.e. Jamesons, Baileys, Frangelico Kahlua)
Garnish: Whipped cream and cocoa powder

Directions:
1) Place Nutella and 1/3 cup milk in small saucepan over medium heat. Whisk until blended.
2) Add reserved 1 cup milk, increase heat to medium-high, and whisk until hot and frothy. Pour into two 8-oz. coffee mugs. Pour 1 jigger (shot glass) of desired spirit into each glass and stir well. Top with heavy cream and sprinkle lightly with cocoa powder. Serve immediately. Yield: 2 servings.

You might also enjoy these recipes:
Healthy Hot Cocoa for Kids and Grown-Ups, Too - Skinny Kitchen
Hot Chocolate Truffles - Real Mom Kitchen
Iced Mocha Drinking Chocolate - Cook with Nikki
What's Cooking? Nutella Hot Chocolate - You've Got Supper
Peanut Butter Nutella Hot Chocolate - The Chocolate Peanut Butter Gallery
Nutella Hot Chocolate - Rachel's Cottage House
Nutella Hot Chocolate - The Hungry Housewife

Masala Chai

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...Bob and I don't normally drink tea. It's simply not our beverage of choice. That, however, changed, at least temporarily, while we were in India. Brewed coffee was extremely difficult to find and, rather than have a cup made from instant granules, we switched to tea. Our tour guide introduced us to Masala Chai at a rest stop en route from Delhi to Agra. It wasn't bad. Better still, he shared his family recipe for the tea with us. While it's a bit more work that your standard cuppa, the recipe is really simple and nearly foolproof. Use a teaspoon of tea leaves for each cup of tea you want to brew and don't forget to add another for the pot. Spice and sugar up or down as personal taste dictates. Indian Chai tends to be very sweet, but you can cut back if you like. The tea is good enough that the recipe should not be kept a secret. I hope you'll give it a try. It's a great alternative to English tea.

Masala Chai...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite

Ingredients:
1 cup water
4 teaspoons Darjeeling or other loose black tea
2 to 3 crushed cardamom pods
1-inch piece peeled fresh ginger, smashed
2 cups milk
3 to 6 teaspoons sugar

Directions:
1) Place water in a 2-quart saucepan and bring to a simmer.
2) Add loose tea leaves to water. Stir in crushed cardamom pods and smashed ginger.
3) Add milk and bring mixture to a rolling boil. Simmer, stirring regularly, for 5 minutes.
4) Add sugar to taste. Simmer for 1 minute longer, or until sugar is fully dissolved.
5) Strain mixture through a strainer into cups or tempered glasses. Yield: 3 servings.

You might also enjoy these recipes:
How Do I Love Tea? Let Me Count the Ways - Home Cooking Rocks
How to Make A Perfect Cup of Tea - Noble Pig
Homemade Mystic Chai Mix Powder - My Favorite Recipes
Chocolate Chai Pie - The Sensitive Pantry
Mugi-Chai: A Japanese Twist on Masala Chai - La Fuji Mama
Chai Shortbread - Don't Forget Delicious
Chai - Simply Recipes
Chai Tea Cupcakes - Sunny-Side Up Recipes