Kepelus

Pronounced "keh-peh-LOOSE," it is the Erobian version of sofrito or mirepoix.  It consists of diced red onion, red bell pepper, and carrot, usually in the ratio of 2:1:2 with minced garlic added for the last minute or so of the saute.  .  

The carrot is diced and sauteed in bacon grease or lard until caramalized, then the onion and pepper added.  When the onion softens, the garlic is added and cooked for an additional minute.  It forms the base of many Erobian soups and stews as well as the filling for the Erobian omelette.  

Erobian omelette

Although called an omelette, this is more like a frittata:  Three eggs are scrambled and poured into the pan in which the kepelus has been made, after the addition of an additional tablespoon of oil. When the bottom is set, the omelette/frittata is folded in half and then cut into 3 or 4 wedges.  

Erobian potato and cabbage soup

6-8 servings

2 med carrots, washed, peeled, and diced (reserve scraps for broth)
2 red onions, diced (reserve scraps for broth)
1 red bell pepper, diced
2-3 cloves of garlic minced (reserve scraps for broth)
3 Tbs tomato paste
2 tsp thyme (leaf, not ground), divided
2 tsp fresh ground black pepper, divided
1 bay leaf
vegetable broth (see instructions)
1 Tbs oil (you carnivores can see below for a meat variation)
2 yellow potatoes, washed but not peeled, cubed into 1 inch cubes
1/2 head of green cabbage, sliced into thin ribbons
8-10 oz green beans (fresh or frozen)
1.5 cups of cooked barley (or any other cooked grain on hand.)

Instructions

Prep the carrots, onions, garlic, and bell pepper. Place the carrot, onion, and garlic scraps into a 2 quart saucepan with 1 tsp cracked black pepper, bay leaf, and 1 tsp dried thyme leaf.  Add 1 quart of water, and bring to a boil, then lower to a simmer, and cover till needed. (Strain out the solids before adding to the soup).  

Heat fat in a soup pot, over medium heat until shimmering, then add carrots and reduce heat to low to medium low.  Cover and saute carrots until somewhat soft and caramelized, stirring occasionally to prevent burning. 

 Add in the onion and red pepper, raise heat to medium and continue to cook, uncovered, until onions are soft.  Add tomato paste and stir to coat the vegetables, and continue to cook, stirring frequently, until tomato paste is caramelized.  Add garlic and cook 1 -2 more minutes, taking care not to burn the garlic.  

Add in beans (see note, below),  potatoes, the strained vegetable broth from the saucepan, barley, cabbage, 1 tsp thyme, 1 tsp black pepper, and an additional quart of water.  Turn heat to medium low and simmer till the cabbage is soft.  Season with more cracked black pepper, if desired, 1 tsp vinegar, and up to 1 tsp salt.   Serve as is, or over 1/2 cup cooked elbow, or rotini pasta per serving.

Notes: 
1.  If using fresh green beans, and you like them Appalachian style (very soft, as if they were canned), you will probably want to add them along with a cup or two of the broth, before you add the potatoes, and cook them for 15 minutes or till soft to your taste before proceeding with the recipe.
2.  Feel free to add any other veggies that you wish.  I particularly like to add a 15 oz can fire roasted diced tomatoes.  You'll probably have to add in some extra water or veggie broth as well.  

Variations:

For those who will wither away and die without meat 😉, you are free to modify the recipe by frying 3-4 slices of bacon till crisp, reserving till the end to crumble over each serving, and frying the kepelus in 1 reserved Tbs of the bacon grease left in the pot, along with adding in cooked chicken or pork at the end (I would imagine shredded pork shoulder would be really good), keeping on the heat till the meat is warmed through.  

I like to add a teaspoon of dillweed along with the vinegar. 

For some added protein in the veg version, 8 oz of white beans (drained and rinsed if using canned)  would go very nicely. 

New home for "Dimo's cheap eats"

Hello, all!

I am reposting episodes from my old blog.  Till I get caught up, there will be one post per day.  

The reason I'm doing this is that I have a number of blogs, scattered among 3 different accounts, and I want them all under one roof. Plus, the other space had the blog posts from the original format/purpose which had nothing to do with cheap eating. :)

originally published 5/20/2016

Free (sort of) veggie broth!

Way back in March, I promised some postings about veg*n and cheap eating.  Since then the current events of the year (politics) have dominated my online life but now I'll return to the eating part like I promised!

Anyway, my parents used to trim up carrots, radishes, and celery for a "relish tray" which they kept in a Tupperware.....well, box is the only way to describe it.  Anyhoo, they (I assume) always just tossed the carrot peels and ends and the celery bits (you know the ones I'm talking about:  those dried ends where the celery ribs were cut to fit into the bags at the store, plus the--pardon my French--the white part of the ribs down at the butt end of the whole stalk) and celery leaves in the trash.  A while back, I realized that the veggie broth that I wish I could buy at the store, but didn't because it was so expensive, could easily be done at home with those veggie bits!

So, here we go!

Now, I know we all use carrots and onions in our cooking (right??), so when you trim them up, just save the ends and peels and stray bits in a gallon freezer bag plus any other veggie bits that are used during the week.  (One big caveat, though:  DON'T use anything from the cabbage family!  That's broccoli, cabbage, brussels sprouts, kohl rabi, etc.  They produce a bitterness that just ruins things).  I've used radish ends, daikon bits, turnips (when they aren't waxed, which is rare where I am), and other veggies I happen to have used that week.
There are some prep hints though:
Carrots:  I use organic ones that are a dollar per pound at a local store, scrub 'em.
Onion: don't use the skins from yellow onions; they'll darken the broth and give a rather "dark" flavor.  I usually use white onions anyway.  Red onions in broth don't usually work unless you're making a beef or lamb dish anyway.  I usually peel away the outermost layer of the onion (it's usually a lot tougher than the inner layers) and use that as well.
Celery:  Wash the bottom ends of the ribs!!  And by all means, use the leaves!  That's the best part.
Garlic:  peels, ends, the mush left after you put a clove thru the garlic press, and I usually smash an extra clove or two for each pot of stock.
Lettuce:  Yep, lettuce!  Specifically the bottom of Romaine lettuce heads.  Just chop it off and toss it in the pot.
Fennel:  don't use this.  Licorice soup just doesn't sound appetizing!
Turnips:  I usually only use turnips in beef stew, so don't have much in the way of trimmings for a pot of stock, but it works fine if you only have 1 or 2 turnips' worth of peels and ends in a pot.
That's pretty much it, that I can think of.  By far, my veggie broth is usually just onion/carrot/celery with garlic.

Just toss everything in a pot with a couple bay leaves and some salt and pepper, and cover with filtered water.  Boil/simmer for 30-45 minutes and strain (the strainings are great for compost!)  I have a 4 quart slow cooker and just fill it with water till it reaches the brim.  After you strain the veggies out, run the broth thru a couple layers of cheese cloth or an ultra-fine strainer, and it's ready to use in your recipes.  I usually add enough water to make an even four quarts of broth and store it in pint containers in the freezer.

For chicken broth, it's pretty much the same recipe, except you add in the carcass of a chicken, of course.  I usually get a rotisserie chicken 2-3 times a month, and when I do, I just take the meat off the bones and put the bones, and skin, etc in with the veggies.   Yes, you'll have to skim the fat off if you're doing fat-free (refrigerating the stock works easiest; the fat just lifts off), but that's a small price you pay for some great tasting chicken soup!