Instant Pot Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

 

I made this on Dec. 6, 2021.  It wasn't very soupy; next time I'll add more broth?  Perhaps the wild rice soaked up more of the liquid.  Plus, I opened the Instant Pot after it had started so I could add the beans.  I think that messed it up, unfortunately.  

Ingredients

• 2 pounds chicken 
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 1 T olive oil
• 3 large celery stalks, sliced 1/4" thick
• 2 large carrots, sliced 1/4" thick
• 1 garlic clove, finely chopped (I used 5 because I LOVE garlic :)
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 tsp finely chopped fresh rosemary  ] Of course, you know I don't have fresh herbs, well, perhaps
• 2 tsp finely chopped fresh sage          ]  I do have fresh rosemary outside, but I didn't use it.  I used
• 2 tsp finely chopped fresh thyme       ]  dried herbs :)
• 1/2 C white wine (or broth)
• 4 C chicken broth
• 1 C uncooked wild rice
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 T butter
• 2 T flour
• 1/2 bunch kale, bite-sized pieces
• 1/2 C half and half
• 1 T fresh lemon juice 

Directions

1. Season the chicken with 1 tsp each salt and pepper.  Add the olive oil to the Instant Pot and set to sauté.  Working in batches, add the chicken to the pot and cook until browned.  Remove the chicken to a plate.
2. Add the celery, carrots, garlic, onion, and herbs, stirring for 1 minute.  Add the wine and stir, scraping up the bottom of the pot.  Cook until the wine is reduced by at least half.  Add the broth, rice and 1/2 C water and stir.  Add the chicken; add the bay leaf.
3. Put on and lock the lid.  Set to pressure-cook on high for 25 minutes.  Vent, unlock and remove the lid.
4. Remove dot chicken from the pot and shred the chicken.
5. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, mash together the butter and flour with a fork to make a paste.
6. Return the chicken to the pot.  Add the butter mixture, stirring to thicken.  Set the Instant Pot to sauté.  Add the kale and cook two minutes.  Stir in the half-and-half and bring to a simmer, then press cancel.  
7. Just before serving, remove the bay leaf, add the lemon juice and stir.  Season with salt and pepper.

Other comments:

• Can use broccoli or some other vegetable.
• Use more liquid to really make it a soup.
• Could add mushrooms or a different kind of bean.
• Some other people used beef instead of chicken, or could make it vegetarian.  

Chinese Scallion Pancakes

I made this on Sunday, Nov. 28 because I had A LOT of green onions to use up.  I had bought a lot for our pre-Thanksgiving feast with all the Scannell family here.  Pretty tasty but a lot of work!  Here's the website:  https://omnivorescookbook.com/chinese-scallion-pancakes/

Ingredients

Dough

• 2 cups (300 g) all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup boiling water
• 1/4 cup cool water

Filling

• 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons (50 g) all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup peanut oil (or your favorite oil like olive oil, melted coconut oil, melted butter, or melted chicken fat etc.)
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 8 to 10 green onions , split down the middle and chopped (yield 1 cup)

Cooking

• Vegetable oil for pan frying

Dipping Sauce (Optional)

• 1 1/2 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon Chinkiang vinegar (or rice vinegar)
• 1/4 teaspoon sugar

Instructions

Make the dough

• OPTION 1 – USING YOUR HANDS: Combine the flour and salt in a big bowl. Stir to mix well. Slowly drizzle in the hot water while mixing it with a pair of chopsticks (or a fork), until the water is fully absorbed. Slowly drizzle in the cool water, continuing to stir until many dough flakes form. Press the dough together, and try to combine the wet dough with the dry flour. Drizzle in a little extra water if there is any dry flour remaining. Knead until a firm ball is formed, about 5 minutes. Cover and let rest for 20 minutes.
• OPTION 2 – USING A MIXER: Combine the flour and salt in the mixer bowl with the dough hook attachment. Turn it to the mix setting and slowly drizzle in the hot water followed by the cool water. After a minute of mixing, drizzling in a little extra water if there is any dry flour remaining. Turn to setting 4 and knead until a ball of dough is formed, about 3 minutes. Cover and let rest for 20 minutes.

Make the filling

• While the dough is resting, combine the flour, oil, and salt in a small bowl. Mix until a smooth paste is formed.
• If making the dipping sauce, combine all the ingredients with 1 tablespoon of water in a small bowl and mix until the sugar is dissolved.

Form the scallion pancakes

• When the dough is done resting, knead for another minute until it is smooth. Cut the dough into 6 even pieces, about 76 grams per piece. Form the dough into balls using your hands.
• Work on one dough ball at a time, covering the rest with plastic wrap to prevent drying out. Roll each dough ball into a thin rectangle with a rolling pin, aiming for around 6×10” (15×25 cm). Lift and turn the dough regularly as you roll it to prevent sticking. Spoon about 1 tablespoon of the filling onto the dough and spread it evenly with the back of a spoon, leaving about 1” (2.5 cm) on top and the left end without the filling. Sprinkle 2 heaping tablespoons of green onions onto the paste, concentrating most of it towards one side of the length and one side of the width, creating a loose L shape (see the blog post above for the step-by-step pictures).
• Begin rolling the dough from the longer side of the dough where the green onions are concentrated, until you have one long tube. Lightly flatten the tube using your hand. Pinch the side with more green onion to seal it. Take the sealed side and gently pull and roll it towards the unsealed side, using your hand to smooth out the dough to push any large air bubbles out. Tuck the loose end under the rolled bun. Gently press down on the round disk with your hand to seal the pancake.
• Set the formed pancake aside and cover it with plastic wrap. Repeat steps 4 and 5 until each pancake is ready.

Roll out the pancake

• Roll each prepared pancake into a circle, about 7-8” (17-20 cm) wide. Flip and move it as you do to prevent sticking. Don’t worry if air bubbles burst through or some green onions fall out.
• If you plan to store the pancakes and cook them later, place each pancake onto a piece of parchment paper and stack them. Transfer the pancakes to a large ziplock bag, squeeze out as much air as possible, and seal the bag. You can freeze the pancakes for up to 3 months.

Cook the pancakes

• Heat a 9” (23 cm) cast iron pan (or a nonstick skillet) over medium-high heat and add enough oil to fully coat the bottom. Once the oil is hot, add a pancake. Use a pair of chopsticks (or a spatula) to swirl the pancake around to spread the oil and prevent sticking, for a few seconds. Cover the pan and turn the heat down to medium. Let the pancake cook, covered, for 1 minute. Remove the lid and flip the pancake, cover, and cook for another minute. Remove the lid. Use a spatula to press the pancake, to ensure even browning. Continue to cook, flipping regularly, until both sides are crisp and browned, about 3 minutes. Turn to medium-low heat if the pan gets too hot. Transfer the pancake to a cooling rack or a cutting board to cool. Repeat to cook all the pancakes you plan to serve.
• Once the pancakes are slightly cooled enough to handle, cut into 6 pieces and transfer to a serving platter. Serve hot with the dipping sauce as an appetizer.

Cook frozen pancakes

• Let the frozen pancakes thaw for 10 minutes then proceed from step 8.

Store and reheat cooked pancakes

• Place the leftover pancakes in a ziplock bag by stacking them together. Store in the fridge up to 3 days. To reheat, add a pancake to a pan and heat over medium heat, cook, flip occasionally until the pancakes turn warm throughout.

Wild Rice Soup and Popovers (from Tastemade Struggle Meals)

Ingredients

Mushroom Wild Rice Soup

• 1 cup wild rice
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 butter packets
• 1 medium yellow onion, diced
• 12 ounces cremini mushrooms, sliced 1/4 inch thick
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 4 cups chicken broth
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 2 large carrots, peeled and diced
• 2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves
• Kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
• 1 dried bay leaf
• 1/3 cup heavy cream
• 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar

Popovers

• 5 tablespoons melted butter
• 3 large eggs, room temperature
• 1 cup milk, warm
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp thyme leaves

Steps

Mushroom Wild Rice Soup

1. Rinse the wild rice with cold water in a strainer. Drain the water and pour the rice into a large saucepan. Cover the rice with 4 cups of water and add 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer and cover with a lid. Simmer for 45-50 minutes. Rice should be chewy but tender when done. Drain the remaining water if needed.
2. Melt the butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic and mushrooms and sauté until tender and beginning to brown, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Add the white wine to deglaze and release flavor from the bottom of the pan. Add the chicken broth, 1 1/2 cups of water, carrots, thyme, and bay leaf and bring to a simmer. Cook on medium heat, stirring occasionally, for 20 minutes. Remove the bay leaf and stir in the heavy cream and cooked wild rice. Finish with the vinegar. Serve with popovers.
3. Cook’s Tip: Wild rice is a tough seed that absorbs water slowly. It can take 45 minutes to an hour for wild rice to fully cook and no longer be crunchy. Since the cooking time can vary it’s easiest to cook the rice like pasta.

Popovers

1. Heat oven to 400 degrees F. Place the empty muffin tin in the oven to heat for 5 minutes.
2. Mix the eggs, milk, 1 tablespoon melted butter, salt and thyme in a medium bowl. Add the flour in 1/4 cup increments, whisking well after each addition. The batter should be smooth without lumps.
3. Carefully remove the hot muffin tin from the oven and drizzle 1/2 tablespoon melted butter into each cup of a 12 cup muffin tin. Fill each cup with 1/4 cup of batter, about half full. Bake for 20 minutes, then lower the temperature to 350 degrees F and bake until popovers are puffy and golden brown, about 10 more minutes. Remove from the pan and serve hot.

Old-fashioned pancakes

 Ingredients

• 1 1/2 C flour
• 3 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 T white sugar
• 1 1/4 C milk
• 1 egg
• 3 T butter, melted

Directions

1. In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar.
2. Make a well in the center and pour in the milk, egg, and melted butter; mix until smooth.
3. Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan and Cook the Pancakes!!!

I made this on Friday, Nov. 5, 2021 for Luca and Alex.  After I mixed the batter, I split it in half, then added yellow food coloring to one, green food coloring to the other.  I also added some chocolate chips.

Delicious!   I'll make it again!

Apple Cake Recipes

This one is from Aunt Mary Slattery

Ingredients

• 4 C chopped apples
• 1 C chopped nuts
• 2 C sugar
• 3 C flour
• 1 tsp nutmeg
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 1 C vegetable oil
• 2 eggs (well beaten)
• 1 tsp vanilla

Directions

1. Mix apples, nuts, and sugar.
2. Let stand one hour, stirring often so mixture makes its own juice.
3. Add all the dry ingredients to apple mixture.
4. Mix oil, vanilla, and eggs together and add to apple mixture.  Mix by hand.
5. Pour into greased and floured tube pan.  
6. Bake at 325 deg. for 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 hours.

This one is from the Smitten Kitchen Website.   https://smittenkitchen.com/2008/09/moms-apple-cake/

Ingredients

For the apples

• 6 apples
• 1 T cinnamon
• 5 T sugar

For the cake

• 2 3/4 C flour
• 1 T baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 C oil, melted butter also works
• 2 C sugar
• 1/4 C orange juice
• 2 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 4 eggs
• 1 C walnuts

Directions

1. Heat oven to 350 deg.  Grease a tube pan.  Peel, core and chop apples into 1" chunks.  Toss with cinnamon and 5 tablespoons sugar and set aside.
2. Stir together flour, baking powder, and salt in a large mixing bowl.  In a separate bowl, whisk together oil, orange juice, sugar, vanilla and eggs.  
3. Mix wet ingredients into dry ones.
4. Pour half of batter into prepared pan.  Spread half of apples (and their juices) over it.  Pour the remaining batter over the apples and arrange the remaining apples on top.  
5. Bake at 350 deg. for 1 1/2 hours or until a tester comes out clean.

Cool completely before running knife between cake and pan, and unfolding onto a platter.

The cake is great the first day, but absolutely glorious and pudding-like on the days that follow.  Keep it room temperature covered with foil.

**Tip:  the apples love to hide uncooked pockets of batter, especially near the top.  Make sure your testing skewer or toothpick goes not just all the way down to the bottom, but does a shallow dip below the top layer of apples to make sure it comes out batter-free.  Should your cake be browning too fast, before the center is baked through, cover it with foil for all the last few minutes in the oven.  

Berkeley and Seattle, Summer 2016

Toured Google but only on the outside with Nick's friend, Mike D'Andrea.

Ate at Vik's Chaat, Indian street food.  My cousin, Yosh (Alan) Sakasegawa, picked us up.

Then went shopping at the Berkeley Bowl - very fresh produce and such a variety!

 Nick's way cool clothes spinner.

 Bored out of our gourd while waiting for flight to depart to Seattle :)

 Puget Sound.

 Toulouse Petit Kitchen and Lounge.  Cajun and Creole in Queen Anne, Seattle.

Asian Broccoli Salad

 

BROCCOLI SALAD INGREDIENTS:

• 1 large head broccoli, cut into small florets
• 1 cup shelled cooked edamame
• 1/2 cup thinly-sliced green onions
• 1/2 cup peanuts
• 1 batch peanut sauce (recipe below)
• sesame seeds, for garnish

PEANUT SAUCE INGREDIENTS:

• 1/4 cup natural peanut butter
• 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce (if you are gluten-free, use GF soy sauce or tamari)
• 1 tablespoon honey or agave nectar
• 1/8 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
• 1–2 tablespoons hot water, as needed to thin the sauce

---

INSTRUCTIONS

TO MAKE THE BROCCOLI SALAD:

1. Heat a large pot of water until it is boiling.  Add in the broccoli florets and boil for 30 seconds.  Use a mesh strainer to transfer them into a bowl of ice water, which will immediately halt the cooking process.  Drain.  Then add the remaining ingredients and toss until combined.  Serve immediately, garnished with sesame seeds if desired.

TO MAKE THE PEANUT SAUCE:

1. Whisk all ingredients together until combined. If the dressing is too thick, whisk in hot water a tablespoon at a time until it reaches the consistency you desire.

Layered Pan Sushi

 3 cups rice, cooked

1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup plain yogurt or sour cream
1/2 tub of tobiko (orange sushi roe)
About 12 sticks of imitation crabmeat, shredded (could use tuna)
1/2 cucumber, diced or thinly sliced into matchsticks
Furikake for garnish
Green onions for garnish (optional)
Unagi sauce (optional)

In a medium bowl, mix mayonnaise, yogurt or cream cheese, tobiko, crab meat, and cucumber. Press rice in an even layer in a 9×13-inch pan. Spread crab mixture into an even layer on top of rice. Sprinkle green onions and furikake on top. Drizzle with unagi sauce. Broil for a few minutes until top is bubbly. Serve with seasoned nori.

Layered "Make Your Own" Spicy Ahi Poke Sushi (from Julie Doi)

Ingredients

• 2 cups cooked rice, cooled to room temperature
• 1 1/2 pounds spicy ahi poke, chopped into smaller pieces
• 3 to 5 T French's fried onions, crushed into smaller pieces
• 2 to 3 T mayonnaise
• 1/2 to 1 tsp chili garlic sauce or Sriracha sauce
• 2 T Kabayaki sauce
• 2 to 3 T thin sliced shredded nori
• 2 T black sesame seeds
• 2 T tobiko
• 1 to 2 stalks green onions, chopped
• 2 to 4 packs roasted seasoned Korean nori 

Instructions

1. Lightly coat a 9 x 13" pan with sesame seed oil.  Spread cooked rice into pan.
2. Spread poke on top of rice.
3. Mix mayonnaise and chili garlic sauce or Sriracha in a small ziplock bag and seal the bag.  OR just buy Sriracha mayo!  Cut off corner tip of bag and pipe in a zigzag motion over poke.
4. Drizzle Kabayaki sauce in the opposite zigzag motion.
5. Sprinkle crushed fried onions, shredded noti, tobiko, green onions and black sesame seeds on top.

Scoop a small spoonful of the mixture and place onto one Korean nori sheet and pop into your mouth! 

Tobiko!  

Banana Cream Squares (from Dana Kobashigawa)

Crust

•  2 blocks butter
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 2 cups flour
• Nuts, optional Remember, I LOVE nuts.  It's not optional!

Middle Section

• 2 boxes Vanilla instant pudding
• 3 cups milk
• 1 8oz cream cheese
• 1 8oz Cool Whip
• Sliced bananas

 

1.    Blend together butter, sugar and flour well.  Press into 9x13 pan. 

Bake at 325 degrees until golden brown. Cool.  

Put a layer of sliced bananas over crust.

 

2.    Mix cream cheese with milk until smooth in consistency.  Add vanilla pudding.  Blend until thicken.  Pour filling over bananas.  Spread Cool Whip over filling.

 

3.    Refrigerate. Cut into squares to serve.

 

 

 

 

Okinawan Sweet Potato Pie with Haupia Topping (from Dana Kobashigawa)

 Crust:

¾ cup margarine or butter ( 1 ½ blocks)

4  tablespoons sugar

1 ½ cups flour

½ cup nuts, chopped (optional).  In my opinion, nuts are never optional :)

 

Combine sugar, flour and nuts. Cut butter into flour mixture until texture is sandy. Press lightly into 9 x 13 inch pan.  Bake at 325 for 20 to 25 minutes.

 

Filling:

8 tablespoons butter or margarine, softened

1 cup sugar

2 eggs, beaten

2 cups Okinawan sweet potato, cooked and mashed

½ cup evaporated milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

¼ teaspoon salt

 

Beat butter and sugar.  Add eggs and mix. Gradually mix in mashed sweet potatoes.  Add evaporated milk, vanilla and salt; mix well.  

Pour onto crust.  Bake at 350 degrees for 30 to 35 minutes. Cool.

 

Haupia topping:

½ cup sugar

½ cup cornstarch

1 ½ cups water

2 cans frozen coconut milk (12 oz each) thawed

 

Combine sugar and cornstarch; stir in water and blend well.  Stir sugar mixture into coconut milk; cook and stir over low heat until thicken. 

Cool slightly.  Pour coconut milk mixture (haupia) over pie filling and refrigerate.