I liked that so much, sir itlog. It made my belly shake and shake and my sheep heard me and they were joined in with their baa baas. If you will please find a bigger cup to drink from, pour 'frustration" drink in it, add a half cup of humility and a half cup of laughter, it will be like drinking something so much different, how do you say, like you never had before. Yummy, yummy, yummy. Your belly will shake and shake and many other bellies maybe too you can make shake.
Cooking is an Art, so Pav said I could move this to his Forum.
Cooking in the pasture is not Art, it is escape from reality.
Nice to see you, Shepherdess!
The food is still Art, so says my taste buds!
What gets cooked in the pasture?
[size=200]Tortilla Soup[/size]
[size=125]Equipment needed:[/size]
12in. wide x 8in. deep pot with lid
Large frying pan with lid
Pair of disposable rubber gloves
Sharp clever knife
Cutting board
Large stirring spoon
[size=125]Ingredients in order of appearance:[/size]
1/2 - cup olive oil
1 - Serrano pepper (sliced dime thin with seeds removed) wear rubber gloves
4 - Cloves of garlic minced
1 - Large bell pepper diced
3 - Medium yellow onions diced
4 - Tomatoes cubed
4 - Qts. chicken broth
5 - Tbsps of chili powder
2 - Tbsps of cumin
1 - Small pkg. seasoned fajita chicken breasts
3 - Qts. water
1 - Cup of fresh frozen yellow corn kernels
1 - Lime
1 - Pkg. corn tostadas flat shells
1 - Pkg. monterrey jack cheese
4 - Ripe avocados
1 - Tub of sour cream
[size=125]Directions:[/size]
Wear rubber gloves to split the serrano pepper lengthwise. Remove the seeds and crosscut the halves to 'dime' thickness. Take the four garlic cloves and mince. Dice the 3 onions and one bell pepper then set aside. Pour olive oil into frying pan, heat to medium on burner then add sliced serrano pieces. Fry for a minute, then add the minced garlic. Cook for a minute then add the onion and bell pepper and cover. When the ingredients appear clarified, add the cubed tomatoes and cover again. During this time pour 1 qt. of chicken broth into large pot and boil on high temp. When the tomatoes, onions and bell pepper have reduced quite well, pour the contents of the frying pan into boiling broth. Add the chili powder and cumin. Let cook on high for 30 minutes so the mixture will become more of a soupy mixture. Add the rest of the chicken broth with the water and bring to boil again. Add the chicken fajitas uncooked to the soup, then cover. Cook for 5 hours on simmer stirring occasionally. At the end of the 5 hours add the corn, then cook for 30 minutes. When this is done, add the juice of the lime, stir, turn off heat and let set for a bit.
Derind the avocados and split in half to remove pit. Cut the halves into wedges then set aside. Place the tostadas on a large cookie sheet in the oven at 400 degrees. When the tostadas are slightly toasted, bring out from the oven and sprinkle the cheese on top. Ladle soup into a bowl large enough to hold the tostada, add two avocado wedges with a dollop of sour cream. Itās ready to eat!
Thanks for the recipe, Liteninbolt.
Iām replacing the chicken breast with soy chicken substitute as well as the chicken broth with vegetable broth and trying it Wednesday.
Youāre welcome Pav.
It is possible to reduce to portions for just a a single meal. I listed that amount so the remaining portion can be placed in 1 gallon freezer bags, frozen, then eaten during a cold winterās day with my delicious pinto beans. and beef fajitas.
I take it due to your substitutions in the soup that fajitas wouldnāt be part of your fare for that kind of meal.
I thought the portions you listed were a meal for one, I was writing the recipe down and doubling it so my wife and kid could have some too! J/K
I could always have mashed black bean fajitas, with a little bit of chili powder, tabasco, steak seasoning, basil and oregano, youād hardly know the difference.
Pavās Penne
1 Box of Whole Wheat (or Multi-Grain) Penne-Personally, I recommend Barilla brand.
10oz of cherry tomatoes on the vine
1 Loaf of Italian Bread
1/2 Cup of Olive Oil
6oz. of Minced Garlic
12oz. of Fresh Spinach
12oz of Heavy Whipping Cream
8oz. of Butter or Margarine
2oz. (more) of Butter or Margarine
8oz. of finely shredded mozzarella cheese
6oz. of Grated Parmesan Cheese
6oz. of Grated Romano Cheese
1 Tsp. Basil
In a sauteā pan, pour half cup of olive oil and 2oz. of butter and cook on medium heat until the butter is fully melted in with the Olive Oil. At this point, reduce heat to medium-low and add 10oz. Cherry On-The-Vine Tomatoes (cut in half), 12oz. Fresh Spinach, and 6oz. Minced Garlic. Stir occasionally until spinach begins to curls such that the ends of each leaf are touching one another.
In a large pot, bring 6 quarts of boiling water to a roaring boil and add Penne. Boil Penne for approximately eight minutes and drain.
In a medium saucepan, pour 12oz. of Heavy whipping cream and 8 oz of butter or margarine. Heat this mixture on medium-high until the butter is fully melted into the whipping cream (The result will be a cream-like color slightly closer to white than yellow) and is lightly bubbling. Reduce heat to medium-low and slowly mix in 8oz. of Mozzarella Cheese, 6oz. of Parmesan Cheese and 6oz. of Romano Cheese (which you have already blended). Ensure all of the cheese already added to the mixture is melted in before adding more cheese, the entire process should take about five minutes.
Place the drained Penne back into the large pot and add the cheese sauce as well as the tomatoes and spinach from the sauteā pan, blend thoroughly.
Pour the remaining contents of the sauteā pan into a bowl, and spoon across tops of sliced Italian Bread. Distribute approximately 1 tsp. of Basil over the slices of bread. Bake on 400 for eight minutes and serve with pasta.
For all of those vegetarians out there, compliments of SPARK and me. Enjoy!
SHEPHERDESS PIE
35 Minutes to Prepare and Cook
Ingredients
1-2 tbsp cornstarch
2 tsp olive oil
1 garlic clove peeled and crushed
2 celery sticks washed and diced
1 small butternut squash cut into tiny pieces
1 cup veg stock or water
1 cup of kidney beans or adzuki beans
1 can diced tomatoes
2 red peppers deseeded and sliced
parsley or italian seasoning
3 carrots chopped
broccoli frozen, chopped
4 sweet potatoes , steamed or boiled then mashed with or without skins
Directions
To make the vegetable stew:
Heat water and olive oil in a large saucepan. Add garlic, onion, celery, and then simmer for three minutes. Add squash and heat for three minutes stirring. Add the carrots and broccoli. Simmer gently 10 mins. Add beans, peppers, tomatoes. Simmer until squash is just tender. Stir in parsley or italian seasoning. Add a little cornstarch to thicken ( you may not need to do this if this veggie stew is thickened.
Transfer the stew into a baking pan /dish. Add mashed sweet potatoes spread to cover the stew.
Bake/Broil 15 minutes at 400 degrees or broil a couple of minutes until the top gets a lovely golden brown. Remove from oven and enjoy!
Serving size: 6 1-cup servings
SPARK RECIPES submitted by SparkPeople user 2B14EVER.
This threadās mysterious revival happened to be at an amazingly timely time because Iām cooking for a vegetarian tonight and canāt seem to get the ingredients for the lasagne I was going to cook and āSheperdess Pieā actually sounds pretty good.
I think Iāll cook this lovely sounding pie! However, I think Iāll add the sweet potatoes to the stew and use normal potatoes on the top. Iāll also probably cut out the kidney beans and add some other veg including onions, swede and mushrooms and aim for a thick veggie stew in the bottom. And Iāll probably use rosemary and thyme as seasoning (I hate parsley) - so Iāll altogether be heading for something a bit more English! But it sounds great!
Serendipity with a side of evolution.
Donāt forget the Sangria.
Thanks for that recipe, Shepherdess, Iām going to try it tomorrow. Iām going to go with Basil instead of Parsley, but with that one exception, Iāll try it exactly as the recipe says.
If you want to bring some to my pasture, I can have the wine ready. We can drink wine and look up at the stars and Iāll introduce you to my sheep. I may even send you home with a nice warm sweater for winter. I know just how cold those winters can get where you are.
I appreciate the offer, my wife and I will schedule something with you. I must respectfully decline the sweater, we donāt wear any clothing derived from animals.
So, essentially you do not knowingly own, consume, use or exploit anything from the body of an animal?
Yes, it was always implied that if you wanted, you could bring your wife. I do know that you are married. 
And your son too. 
I just bet that he would get such a kick out of seeing the sheep, especially the little lambs. And if a little lamb followed him around, omg, can you even imagine the look of bliss that would be on his face. He would be giggling and radiant!! No wine for him though.
Insofar as not wearing ANY clothing derived from animals, I do share your sentiment when it comes to destroying an animalās life simply to satisfy a personās vanity, or pleasure, as in the wearing of real fur, for example. BUT, a sheep does not lose his life by being sheered. Wouldnāt you in affect, in a sense, at least, be adding to the raison de 'etre of the sheep or sheeps in question? Iām not actually kidding here. And you, your wife and child, as you were out walking in the chilly night air, could think of those wonderful sheep and feel such a sense of gratitude for having a part of them, in essence, wrapped around yourselves.
But again, I do wholeheartedly and unequivocally, share your sentiment when it comes to destroying animals.
I look forward to your and your familyās visit. I will have my humble abode swept out and fresh clean straw laid down for your bedding. Your family will also be sleeping close to the fireplace as it is quite warm there. I will sleep outside under the stars curled up to my favorite rock. It is quite rejuvenating.
apparently flirting in the modern age requires a devastating proportion of āsmileysāā¦ 
:-" 
[size=150]Hash Brownies[/size]
Ingredients
110gr pure chocolate
110gr butter
110gr sugar
2 little eggs
40gr flour
pinch of baking powder
50gr walnuts
little lump of hash (2gr is recommended, add more to increase the after-eating-joy)
oil to apply to baking form
Baking form
Instructions
- Make dough out of flower, eggs, baking powder, sugar and walnuts.
- Cut the hash up into the smallest pieces possible.
- Melt the chocolate in a pan with the butter and add the already cut up hash so that it may melt and mix with the chocolate.
- Apply oil to baking form.
- Mix the chocolate-hash-butter with the dough.
- Insert mixture into baking form.
- Place in hot air oven for 30 minutes at 180c.
Cool down for at least 20 minutes.
Have Fun!
Oh. These sound good. But I canāt make them because hash is illegal here.
If we lived in ancient Greece and had smilies and the internet, weād utilize them too. Remember the orgies? The spirit of Dionysus sometimes just takes me overā¦up to a point and only as far as I want to go.
And I donāt flirt - Iām just friendly. And pav is married.