HerrHaus

[herrhaus-blog]

Quick-fix Mujaddara

Lentils and rice (Mujaddara) is one of my favorite things, a classic Lebanse combination that I have written about at least once and think about...a lot! A homey dish, it was the Friday special at Byblos in Wichita, KS and I actually got to enjoy it there on my last visit. I have fiddled with my own version over the years, but I was thinking the other night about a quick version? One thrown together with those lovely packets of microwaveable rice and canned lentils? Maybe not as good as the real thing, but in a pinch...it'll do.

 Recipe: Quick & Easy Mujaddara 

1 small white onion, finely diced

1 tablespoon olive oil, plus more for garnish

2 16-oz cans lentils, rinsed and drained

2 8.5-oz packages microwaveable rice, I like to use Seeds of Change Brown Basmatic Rice, prepared according to instructions

2 cups vegetable broth

Salt and pepper to taste

1 package fried onions

 In a large skillet, heat the olive oil on medium and then add the onions. Sauté for 8-10 minutes or until the onion is soft and transulcent. Add the lentils and rice and stir to combine. Add about half of the vegetable broth and continue to stir, smashing the lentils against the pan as you do so. And the rest of the broth a little at a time and continue to stir until it is absorbed and the mixture starts to look a little dry. Taste and season with salt and pepper then let cool slightly. Serve warm, topping with a drizzle of olive oil and the fried onions. 

[herrhaus-blog]

Fresh Summer Salad

Summer is a wonderful time to cook and have the Midland Downton Farmer's Market next door makes it even better, especially when the tomatoes are abundant and the melons arrive. Combining those two elements is refreshing and classic, but I upped the ante by adding cotija cheese that I warmed in a nonstick pan, fresh oregano and white balsamic vinegar plus some special olive oil to create a very satisfying dinner salad. The combination is delicious as the saltiness of the fresh cheese highlights the acid of the tomatoes and the sweetness of the melon. I almost scattered pepitas over the top, but with a tendency to add them to everything, I showed a little restraint. 

[herrhaus-blog]

Gnocchi

When you say gnocchi, most people think of the potato-based dumpling that is so delicious when expertly prepared. I once took a class on how to make the little devils and the instructor's rules for preparations were numerous and unwavering. I have to admit, I enjoy the vacuum-sealed variety as well and it's uses are innumerable. But, gnocchi can also refer to one of my other favorite delicacies, gnocchi alla Romana, or these lovely little ricotta gnocchi. I have several similar recipes, but the one I prepared came from The Splendid Table and is a cinch to complete. They can even be done a couple of days in advance, held in the fridge then simmered and placed on top of a sauce--the recipe says lightly tossing them, but they are very delicate. Of course, a fresh tomato sauce is always delicious, but think about these other options: a creamy tomato sauce; a light mushroom broth with fresh spinach or peas; a sauce of olives, capers and basil; a lovely pea pesto; a pan sauce of lemons, spinach and peas; and so on and so on and so on. Paired with a crunch salad and some bread, who wouldn't be happy to be served a lovely bowl of these cheesy Italian pillows?

[herrhaus-blog]

Chickenless Noodle Soup

Winter is coming...and it's time for soup! I don't know why, but I keep thinking about Campbell's. Campbell's chicken noodle soup. I loved it when I was a young person, because it was one of those things I could "make" for myself. Sure, you opened up the can, dumped it into a pan and just heated it up. But, it felt so grown up. Sometimes, you would add milk instead of water to make a creamy soup. Other times, you loaded it so full of crackers that it soaked up all of the broth and you just ended up with this wet, starchy deliciousness. I want that soup.

As a vegetarian, I have eaten a lot of analog meatless products--both purchased and made--but I really like Beyond Meat Beyond Chicken. And they aren't paying me to say this with a year's supply of product or anything. It's simple and easy to use on pizza, in salad, with pasta and in tacos. So I was thinking, why not chicken noodle soup?

For my broth, I used a combination of chicken flavored vegetarian broth and a kombu dashi; added onion, carrots and celery; finally pasta rings, Beyond Meat and herbs. Simple, nourishing...and nostalgic. It was memory in a bowl.

Recipe: Chickenless Noodle Soup

Three pieces kombu seaweed

1 small onion, finely diced

4 medium-sized carrots, peeled and thinly sliced

4 stalks of celery, trimmed, halved a thinly sliced

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 32-ounce container No-chicken broth

3-4 twigs of fresh thyme

1/2 pound small pasta Os, noodles, broken spaghetti, ditalini or even orzo

Salt to taste

1 9-oz package Beyond Chicken, thawed enough to slice and shred

To make the dashi:

Rinse the kombu and wipe gently with a cloth, but not too much--the powdery coating is what helps add flavor to the dashi. Place in a saucepan with four cups of cold water; let stand for 15 minutes. Turn the heat to medium and slowly warm the water to just below boiling, about 10 minuts. Do not boil! Turn off the heat, remove the kombu and strain the dashi into a measuring cup. 

To make the soup: 

In a heavy stockpot or Dutch, combine the onion, carrots and celery with the olive oil and cook over medium heat for 10 minutes, until the vegetables begin to soften. Add the thyme, broth and dashi, then simmer for 20 minutes. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Remove the thyme twigs, but keep the leaves. Add the pasta and cook until it is tender, about 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, slice the Beyond Chicken lengthwise, then shred the pieces with your hand or a fork. Add to the soup and simmer until warm. Serve in large bowls with big spoons and saltine crackers.

[herrhaus-blog]

Chickenless Noodle Soup

Winter is coming...and it's time for soup! I don't know why, but I keep thinking about Campbell's. Campbell's chicken noodle soup. I loved it when I was a young person, because it was one of those things I could "make" for myself. Sure, you opened up the can, dumped it into a pan and just heated it up. But, it felt so grown up. Sometimes, you would add milk instead of water to make a creamy soup. Other times, you loaded it so full of crackers that it soaked up all of the broth and you just ended up with this wet, starchy deliciousness. I want that soup.

As a vegetarian, I have eaten a lot of analog meatless products--both purchased and made--but I really like Beyond Meat Beyond Chicken. And they aren't paying me to say this with a year's supply of product or anything. It's simple and easy to use on pizza, in salad, with pasta and in tacos. So I was thinking, why not chicken noodle soup?

For my broth, I used a combination of chicken flavored vegetarian broth and a kombu dashi; added onion, carrots and celery; finally pasta rings, Beyond Meat and herbs. Simple, nourishing...and nostalgic. It was memory in a bowl.

Recipe: Chickenless Noodle Soup

Three pieces kombu seaweed

1 small onion, finely diced

4 medium-sized carrots, peeled and thinly sliced

4 stalks of celery, trimmed, halved a thinly sliced

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 32-ounce container No-chicken broth

3-4 twigs of fresh thyme

1/2 pound small pasta Os, noodles, broken spaghetti, ditalini or even orzo

Salt to taste

1 9-oz package Beyond Chicken, thawed enough to slice and shred

To make the dashi:

Rinse the kombu and wipe gently with a cloth, but not too much--the powdery coating is what helps add flavor to the dashi. Place in a saucepan with four cups of cold water; let stand for 15 minutes. Turn the heat to medium and slowly warm the water to just below boiling, about 10 minuts. Do not boil! Turn off the heat, remove the kombu and strain the dashi into a measuring cup. 

To make the soup: 

In a heavy stockpot or Dutch, combine the onion, carrots and celery with the olive oil and cook over medium heat for 10 minutes, until the vegetables begin to soften. Add the thyme, broth and dashi, then simmer for 20 minutes. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Remove the thyme twigs, but keep the leaves. Add the pasta and cook until it is tender, about 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, slice the Beyond Chicken lengthwise, then shred the pieces with your hand or a fork. Add to the soup and simmer until warm. Serve in large bowls with big spoons and saltine crackers.

[herrhaus-blog]

Front Room

A tour of the front room, from panoramic to details...welcome!

[herrhaus-blog]

Contain Yourself

My usual obsession is small bowls and little dishes, and while that is by no way waning, I have recently become quite enthralled by...containers. Particularly, stainless steal containers. 

Of course, I want every stainless steel tiffin, lunchbot or other small container I see, but I already have a few in the pantry.

I also have my grandmother's stainless steel canisters which still look great after all of these years. Mom used them forever before passing them onto me. The handle on the top unscrews so you can fill them with whatever you are storing inside for easy labeling. My point is that stainless steel products last forever, look great in just about any space and have a timeless beauty. There's my rationalization and now I'm going to buy some more. 

[herrhaus-blog]

Bar None

At the last place, there really wasn't room for a bar because of the open kitchen and small dining room.  I suppose with the right piece of furniture, it could have been possible, but I never found something that would really work.  I really missed having a place to display my collection of vintage barware, plus a focus for entertaining when people are over.

At the new place, we were also lacking bookshelves, so I came up with a solution for both: a large bookshelf with plenty of room for books, plus a space for a bar using the Connections System from the Container Store.  I used the regular shelves on the outside pieces, but connected them in the middle with the desk shelf, creating extra space for bottles, bar accessories and glassware.  It has the added benefit of being transformable into different (two etageres, one wide bookshelf, etc.) configurations and easily moved and used in different spaces.   I have to say that I love it!  The shelves have a simple, classic design and the bar ware looks great intermingled with books, tchotch and art.  What do you think?

Tips for creating a great bar space:

Even if you have a nice, large space for a bar on a sideboard or table, use trays to organize and unify different parts of the space, say glassware vs. bottles? 

Decanters are great and classic, but with the wide variety of liquor available in interesting bottles, the can also be decorative in their own way. Use both!

Think seasonally: what drinks will you make in spring or summer that you wouldn't make in the fall?  Rotate glasses, stirrer and other accessories you have displayed to reflect the seasons.

A lot of barware is metallic, but you can bring a little color in with trays, napkins and other details. 

Include items besides glasses and implements, like small bowls or other dishes you can use for nuts, garnishes and tidbits for a convivial feel. 

Looking for great pieces for your bar?  There is a lot of amazing vintage bar glasses and other acessories out there, but if you're looking for things that are especially inspired, well-designed and creative, look for things from Georges Briard, Fred Press and Dorothy Thorpe.

For some great ideas on new cocktail napkins and other bar accessories check out this post on herr haus things. 

What's on my bar?*

A cute little bird-shaped bottle opener and a container for pills--keep in mind, some of your guests may not drink and might prefer some pills. Others may want booze AND pills, so always keep your dolls handy. Kidding!

A couple of different kinds of bitters plus a fish-shaped citrus squeezer.

A variety of spirits, some familiar and others more special.

A generous-sized ice bucket.

A few small bowls or dishes that can hold tidbits or garnishes + a set of four, pink and gold glasses perfect for a slug of bourbon or an aperitif. 

Another bottle opener that is a conversation starter.

An array of glasses in different sizes and patterns which is far more interesting that just having everything match.

More barware (different, yet again!) and some batik-style cloth cocktail napkins. Yes, paper is easier, but actual cloth cocktail napkins will get you respect.

Yet another interesting bottle opener. Wait, three? Isn't that a collection? There are more.

The bluebird of happiness (A family favorite.) and some cocktail pitchers and shakers.

Bar books and party books!

A record player, conveniently located next to the mixing station.

Records!

*Artwork is a mixed media work titled, Kiss by Kari Breitigam.  Buy her work, it is fantastic.

[herrhaus-blog]

Bar None

At the last place, there really wasn't room for a bar because of the open kitchen and small dining room.  I suppose with the right piece of furniture, it could have been possible, but I never found something that would really work.  I really missed having a place to display my collection of vintage barware, plus a focus for entertaining when people are over.

At the new place, we were also lacking bookshelves, so I came up with a solution for both: a large bookshelf with plenty of room for books, plus a space for a bar using the Connections System from the Container Store.  I used the regular shelves on the outside pieces, but connected them in the middle with the desk shelf, creating extra space for bottles, bar accessories and glassware.  It has the added benefit of being transformable into different (two etageres, one wide bookshelf, etc.) configurations and easily moved and used in different spaces.   I have to say that I love it!  The shelves have a simple, classic design and the bar ware looks great intermingled with books, tchotch and art.  What do you think?

Tips for creating a great bar space:

Even if you have a nice, large space for a bar on a sideboard or table, use trays to organize and unify different parts of the space, say glassware vs. bottles? 

Decanters are great and classic, but with the wide variety of liquor available in interesting bottles, the can also be decorative in their own way. Use both!

Think seasonally: what drinks will you make in spring or summer that you wouldn't make in the fall?  Rotate glasses, stirrer and other accessories you have displayed to reflect the seasons.

A lot of barware is metallic, but you can bring a little color in with trays, napkins and other details. 

Include items besides glasses and implements, like small bowls or other dishes you can use for nuts, garnishes and tidbits for a convivial feel. 

Looking for great pieces for your bar?  There is a lot of amazing vintage bar glasses and other acessories out there, but if you're looking for things that are especially inspired, well-designed and creative, look for things from Georges Briard, Fred Press and Dorothy Thorpe.

For some great ideas on new cocktail napkins and other bar accessories check out this post on herr haus things. 

What's on my bar?*

A cute little bird-shaped bottle opener and a container for pills--keep in mind, some of your guests may not drink and might prefer some pills. Others may want booze AND pills, so always keep your dolls handy. Kidding!

A couple of different kinds of bitters plus a fish-shaped citrus squeezer.

A variety of spirits, some familiar and other more special.

A generous-sized ice bucket.

A few small bowls or dishes that can hold tidbits or a spare garnish; a set of four, pink and gold glasses perfect for a slug of bourbon or an aperitif. 

Another bottle opener that is a conversation starter.

An array of glasses in different sizes and patterns which is far more interesting that just having everything match.

More barware (different, yet again!) and some batik-style cloth cocktail napkins. Yes, paper is easier, but actual cloth cocktail napkins will get you respect.

Yet another interesting bottle opener. Wait, three? Isn't that a collection? There are more.

The bluebird of happiness and some cocktail pitchers and shakers.

Bar books and party books!

A record player, conveniently located next to the mixing station.

Records!

*Artwork is a mixed media work titled, Kiss by Kari Breitigam.  Buy her work, it is fantastic.

[herrhaus-blog]

Cocktail Table

My cocktail table has a long and storied past: it came to me from my Grandmother when she downsized into an apartment. I had always loved it, so it was one of the things I wanted from her house. Like most of her furniture, it is a solid piece of American Colonial style, it a dark honey stain. It had move with her from West Texas to Oklahoma, and with me to Kansas, Texas, Indiana and Back to West Texas and been repaired and refinished more than once by my dad. As a child, I often sat at it to draw, color and make art. The point is that it is huge--almost 40 inches in diameter--so incomparable to most pieces on the market.

As I looked at other tables, tables that were more my style and would probably fit more neatly in our space filled with a mix of collected and inherited pieces of furniture, everything seemed too small. Perhaps they would be perfect in a small first apartment, but they were all downright diminutive compared to my grandmother's table.

And then one day, I was out perusing the thrift stores and I spied this gigantic monster of a table. At first, I wasn't sure if it was hideous or fabulous as it appeared to be two tables stacked one top of one another. Upon closer inspection, I realized it was indeed trés magnafique and the two pieces (one clear, one smoke) were screwed together to form one, two-tiered table that is over 50 inches across. Not only was huge and amazing, but also unique--the clerk at the store said the woman who donated it had commissioned it from an artist, probably in the early 70s? 

I must say it was a challenge to merchandise, with its expansive top and shelf, but after several trials and a consultation or two, it was all worked out. We used a combination of multiples: small stacks of art books; Georges Briard trays; and numerous vintage tins placed on the lower level for a collage effect. Add to that a small reproduction of th Nike of Samothrace from the Louvre and a convex class paperweight and....c'est fini.

The table strikes just the right note in the room, bringing the blue provencial sofa with its traditional cuves to...Paris, 1977 in my imagination. Soon--a complete reveal of the entire front room.  And also soon, a cocktail party with all manner of delicacies laid out on my unbelievable new table.

[kitchenknife71]

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Fab new coffee table!

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Shots from dinner last night: Hot onion soufflé & cold cucumber peperoncini soup for cocktail hour First course: gnocchi alla romana Second course: green salad with mustard vinaigrette Main course: ten-layer lasagna with lemon roasted asparagus Intermezzo: Basil gelato Dessert: chocolate-peanut butter cupcakes

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Breakfast tacos on the new mixta tortillas from HEB were yummy filled with refried beans, avocado, egg & steak fries!!!

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Time to make some mock meat to be ready to prepare HotNotChicken tomorrow!

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Delicious cherry ice cream--plus a magical story!

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Lovely dinner with friends, old & new

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Love when my fridge is stocked with rosé and Ruby Red Bird