5/19/21 First Recipe!!
Cooking Recipes, by Tom Tillman, for your enjoyment and satisfaction.
Many have told me I should write a cook book; maybe this is the beginning.
I, Tom, do all of our cooking; I enjoy it and seem to have a real 'knack' for understanding how different flavors 'go together,' and how much of each to use.
Whenever I 'invent' a dish, I write down what I did. If it turns out well, I keep it. If it was not good, I throw it away and move on to something else. I have hundreds: some on the computer, and most just scratched out on paper.
I imagine what sounds good for today's dinner, then I think through the various ingredients necessary to make it taste like it does in my imagining.
Usually it turns out good but perhaps needing a little adjustment here or there. However, not as often has something turned out so perfectly, the first time through, as this Mexican Halibut Soup/Stew did.
When I cook, it's always 'by the seat of my pants,' as it were. The only recipes I use are the things I've previously thought up and written down. When I write them down, I don't use 'quantities,' I simply add by intuition.
That said, there are, obviously, some things that do require careful following of a recipe: things like bread that need to be just right.
So, when I add amounts, like 1 tsp or 1/2 tsp, etc, I am guessing at what I've used but they are usually pretty close but always allow yourself the freedom to change things according to your own tastes.
Think of cooking as painting a picture. You decide the colors and where to put them according to what is being imagined within your own mind.
So... here's the first of many to come: Mexican Halibut Soup/Stew. If you enjoy good fish, I think you will like it very much and use it often in the future.
Mexican Halibut Soup/Stew
©Tom Tillman
Serves 2 to 4
Since fresh halibut is so expensive, a very good alternative would be Tilapia... a good, firm, 'unfishey' white fish. Also, Shrimp would go well; Salmon or Cod might work but they are a little 'fishier.' Oysters and clams might work but that would be an altogether different dish but Halibut really went great.
Fry: 1/4 lb bacon cut small with 1/2 sweet onion chopped with little Olive Oil
Add: 1 clove of garlic chopped small, 1 stalk of celery chopped small
Add 1 medium tomato cubed... continue to fry 15 minutes
Add 1 can chicken broth
1/2 jalapeno sliced... remove any seeds
1 tsp each: fresh: oregano, thyme, rosemary and chopped celery heart
1/2 tsp: cumin, chili powder, bullion powder, mushroom powder
Zest of 1 lime
Simmer 1-2 hours
Last 30 min: add 1 medium potato cubed small and 1 ear uncooked corn, kernels cut off the cob
Dissolve 1 Tbs corn starch in another 1/4 cup cold chicken broth & add to 1/4c cream; stir it in to thicken; it will thicken as it reaches boiling.
When above ingredients are tender: add 1 lb fresh Halibut; if skin is on, it's ok, it will come off when fish is done; the fish is done when it begins to flake apart with a fork.
Don't overcook the fish! Only till it begins to flack apart; if you overcook it, it will begin to dissolve... yuck!
Top with chopped green onion tops and cilantro
Serve with blue chips and guacamole and black bean dip:
Guacamole: 2 ripe avocados; not too mushy. add: 1/2 tsp bullion powder, 1/2 tsp chili powder, 1/2 lime zest and a little juice, pepper, 1/2 tomato chopped small, 1 Tbs sweet onion chopped small, 1/2 tsp cumin, 1/4 tsp paprika. For extra 'kick' chop up, very small: half of what's left from that jalapeno, add a little chopped green onion tops. Mix well with a fork.
No garlic; it doesn't go well in guacamole.
Black Bean dip: in food processer: 1 can drained black beans; save the juice. Process till smooth; add as much bean juice as needed to fully process; the rest of the bean juice can be tossed into the soup. Add: 1/2 tsp each: cumin powder, chili powder, bullion powder(takes the place of salt so add more if needed), the other 1/2 of lime zest. 1/4 tsp each: garlic granules, onion granules, black pepper. Add a little chopped green onion tops on top.
GIVE THANKS & ENJOY 🙂