Those of us in the know (read: scandinavians) have been powering back the glogg for centuries. The rest of you heathens probably call it something boring like “spiced wine” or “mulled wine” or something blah like that. Say it with me (and try not to chuckle): Glögg. Mmm. Sweet, hot, boozy goodness.

Here’s what you need:

2 cups red wine
2 cups port
4oz. brandy
Mulling spices
2 Cinnamon sticks

Optional:
Aquavit / Grain alcohol
Slivered almonds
White raisins

Combine the wine & port together in a saucepan. Put the cinnamon sticks and about a palmful of mulling spices In a cheesecloth, tea ball or other such spice restraint in the saucepan with the wine mixture. (Mulling spices can be purchased as a mix, and is typically a mix of sweet and aromatic spices like cardamom, clove, allspice, orange peel, maybe some peppercorn, so on.)

Being careful not to get the mixture too hot – above about 175 degrees F will kill the alcohol – heat the wine to a temperature above warm but not yet hot. Let it heat long enough to let the spices open up – you’ll smell them. Shouldn’t be longer than a half hour, but let your nose tell you.

Remove spices & cinnamon sticks and add your brandy, as well as the aquavit if you have it/choose to use it. Serve in an Irish coffee mug with slivered almonds and white raisins at the bottom. After you finish the glögg, the wine-sloshed remains are a nice treat.

Tags: cinnamon, glögg, grain alcohol, spices, wine

In an effort to cook more efficiently, lately I’ve been trying to prepare meals that keep well in the freezer. The plan is to make large portions, eat some and freeze the rest. After a bit of searching around, I ran across a few recipes that seemed interesting and would store well. This is the first in what I hope will be a series of meals designed to keep one person fed for weeks. Here’s what you’ll need to put it together.

2 lbs. of beef cubes
2 T of oil
6 cups water
1 T salt
1 T black pepper
4 Cloves Garlic
2/3 cup pearl barley
2 Cups chopped onions
1/2 lbs. of sliced mushrooms
1 sliced bell pepper

Start by placing the oil in a large pan and bringing it up to temp over medium heat. Place the beef in the pan and cook until browned. Next, add 2 cups of water to the pan, cover with a tight fitting lid, and simmer for 60 minutes. Now add the barley, salt, pepper, garlic and the rest of the water to the pan, cover, and simmer for another 30 minutes. I know all this simmering seems to be eating up a lot of time, but trust me, its necessary to tenderize those tough beef cubes. After the second simmer, add the onions, mushrooms and bell pepper and cook for another 10 minutes. Finally, we are ready to eat. Simply spoon into a bowl and you are ready to show down. To freeze, allow to cool then place in tupperware and make sure the lid snaps tight. This should keep in the freezer for up to 3 months. When eating this for the first time, I immediately thought this would work better as a soup/stew. I think with a bit of hot broth, this could be even better and I plan to try that soon. I’ll let you know how it comes out. For now though, its a good, hearty, filling meal that’s most welcome at the end of a long, cold, winter day.

Enjoy,
-E

Toonz claimed that he made a ” sooooooo freaking good” Lasagna Soup, so of course I had to try it. One problem. Toonz insisted it was supposed to have “bulk Italian sausage” in it. That just isn’t something currently in my diet. (I know, I know. You’re probably thinking that I’m missing out.) I couldn’t go another day without tryin’ the soup, so I thought really hard – nearly bursting a brain vessel, and vegetarianized it. No, I don’t think that’s a word.

Jen’s Lasagna Soup
1 T Jen’s Italian Seasoning
1 T Fennel Seeds
1 T olive oil
1 – 1.5 pounds of veggie crumbles
2 cups onion, chopped
2 cups carrots, sliced
2 Tb minced garlic
4 cups vegetable broth (or 2 / 15 ounce cans)
1 can (14.5 oz) Italian-stewed tomatoes, whole
1 can (15 oz) tomato sauce
2 cups uncooked curly pasta (I used gemelli)
2 cups fresh spinach
shredded mozzarella, opt.
shredded Parmesan, opt.
dried basil & red pepper for garnish

1] Grind fennel seeds and Italian seasoning in a coffee grinder until the fennel seeds are in smaller chunks. Pour olive oil into a large stockpot on low heat and add Italian seasoning and fennel mix. Stir the mixture until the seasoning is completely coated by the olive oil. Add veggie crumbles and stir until olive oil + seasoning covers the crumbles. (At this point I prepped the rest of my ingredients.)

2] Add onions, carrots, and garlic to the pot. Saute for around four minutes.

3] Pour in vegetable broth, tomatoes, and tomato sauce. Stir. Bring to a boil on medium-high heat. Once boiling, add in your curly pasta. I let it boil for about three minutes and then brought the heat down to medium-low and let it cook for an additional 10 – 13 minutes.

4] Add spinach, and stir until it wilts. Put some mozzarella in the bottom of a bowl, add the soup, and top with Parmesan. If in season, top with fresh basil strips and red pepper to taste. If not in season, dried basil works fine.

I grow herbs indoors and outdoors during the gardening season, and would like to move to drying most of my own herbs.  With that in mind, I’ve started looking for ways to compile my own seasoning mixes from my own herbs, instead of buying the bottled seasoning mixes in the store.  Here’s my attempt at an Italian seasoning.

4 T dried oregano
3 T dried basil
3 T dried parsley
2 t dried thyme
2 t dried rosemary
1 t onion powder
1/4 – 1/2 t black pepper (depending on taste)
1/4 – 1/2 t red pepper (depending on taste)

You can store this mix in an air-tight container for quite awhile, depending on how fresh the ingredients are.  If you aren’t sure whether or not the mix is still fresh, take a whiff.  Doesn’t smell potent?  Get rid of it.

Tags: basil, parsley, rosemary, seasoning mix, thyme

This was one of thoe unplanned happy accidents. It was late, I was hungry, so I went digging through the kitchen to see what I could find. Grabbed some spaghetti, a 6 ounce can of tomato paste, and a frozen chicken breast and I set about combining them. I started by putting the tomato paste into a sauce pan along with an equal amount of water. Tossed in some black pepper, minced garlic, and dried basil then let the whole thing reduce to about a third of its original volume. The chicken went from the freezer straight on to the foreman grill. When it was about 3/4 cooked, I took a bit of thyme and some rosemary and added a bit of olive oil to make a loose paste and smeared it on top of the chicken, then placed it back on the foreman grill to finish cooking. The spaghetti was simply boiled then strained. To serve, make a nice bed of noodles in the middle of the plate, pour some of the sauce on top, then place the chicken on top of that. Just like that, you have yourself a simple dinner for one with no pre-planning required.

Enjoy,
-E