Snap Pea Sheep

Twice a year my grandma would make turkey soup. That’s because my mom would cook the biggest turkeys she could find on Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Grandma would make a broth from the bones then add the bits of turkey from to bones to the soup.
She didn’t strain it either.

Very little white meat turkey went into the soup. I think I was the only one in the family that preferred the dark meat so this soup was heaven.

She would add roughly cut onion and celery, then season it with poultry seasoning, salt and coarse ground pepper. Sometimes she used noodles
But I preferred the rice.

I’ve been making this soup since I was about 8 - about 65 years now. Made chicken soup the same way.

What’s different?
I used poultry seasoning but enchanced the soup with crumbled sage leaves, fresh thyme and rosemary.
I used peppercorns instead of ground pepper because Harry loves that bite.

I didn’t have a turkey carcass so I used chicken broth.

We roasted a turkey breast for sandwiches. I was going to make turkey salad but suddenly thought about this soup.

For me it was nostalgia in a bowl. For Harry, it was pure comfort food.

This is Texas and it’s 96•F outside. Inside it’s 72•F. Fine for a winter soup

I intended to make Chinese chicken salad using turkey instead of chicken.
Instead of orange segments, I used fresh plum and put marmalade in the dressing.

The dressing was made with marmalade, ginger, tamari, garlic, umeboshi plum vinegar, sesame seed oil and a tablespoon of orange juice.

Harry said he could make a cocktail out of that dressing.

The salad had red and green cabbage, green onion, celery, cucumber, plums, peanuts and wonton strips.

It wasn’t until I starting writing that I remembered I had forgotten the turkey.
We go meatless most of the time so we didn’t miss it.

Benihana style onion soup!

I cut out a zillion steps and use Pacific Mushroom broth as my base. I add thinly sliced onion, garlic, a splash of tamari and a few drops of sesame oil.

Some celery stalks are added to impart some aromatics but I removed them before serving.

The soup is topped simply with fresh green onion and crispy fried onion.

Eating soup before a meal, especially broth, whets the appetite and fills the stomach.

I joined a Collin County Foodies group on Facebook.

About twice a month, someone asks for recommendations for Mexican restaurants. Inevitably, someone mentions Domingo’s in Little Elm. Obviously in Denton.

It’s authentic with a few takes on Tex Mex. It’s owned by a Hispanic couple.

So we decided to give it a try tonight.

First, we passed this place twice, even with GPS. It’s in a parking lot across from a school and the back of the shopping center faces the street.

When we found it, we thought it was closed. The windows had black film on them to block the sun. There was only one car parked in front and it was 5:30pm. Actually the entire parking lot was pretty empty.

Walked in. Nothing special. Looked clean though. All dishes and glassware was plastic. Margarita was bottled (Topo Chico). All beers were bottled Mexican beers. The menu
said they had frozen margaritas but none were made.

The menu was somewhat limited. Tortas, eight kinds of tacos, burritos, poblano or tortilla soup, four kinds of enchiladas (no cheese enchiladas- that’s my usual).

We started with the salsa trio. The tortilla chips were thick and slightly charred. They had a picante sauce, queso and bean purée. Harry is a sauce connoisseur- he thought they were ok. We’ve both had better.

Harry got the chicken enchiladas verde. He said they were the best he’s ever had! I tasted the sauce and it was great.

I opted for the relleno.

They had no filling options. It was fajita meat chicken in a grilled poblano with a cheese sauce and cotija cheese. It came with a brown gravy, white rice and corn tortillas.

The tortillas were probably homemade and kept warm in these darling cloth tortilla warmers.

Not my favorite relleno, but it did have a nice char flavor and it wasn’t fried. I prefer the red sauce but that was not an option.

The owner came out and introduced himself. He said the relleno was his own healthier recipe. He was very nice.

I also got a birra taco Ala carte. I loved it. I expected a dipping sauce but I was really happy with it.

Service was good, prices were good, place was clean. Decor was minimal- it was a strip center restaurant and very nondescript.

My husband said he would go back even though it was a 25 minute drive there.
If I went back I would order the tacos and poblano soup.

This place is considered authentic Mexican and has a five star review.

Three families came in while we were there. Several to go orders.

Our favorite Mexican places are not in McKinney. We like Mi Dia scratch kitchen, Mesero’s, Angelina’s in The Colony and sometimes Tupy’s.

In McKinney, Gloria’s and Anamia’s are our go to’s. Ernesto’s because it’s close. Del Sur (in the Shell station on Eldorado) for tacos. Valerie’s for a quick bite or take out.

Always on the hunt.
These pictures are from the website.
Our dishes were recognizable.

I saw a picture of lasagna made with green tomatoes. It inspired me to put eggplant, green tomatoes, red bell pepper and zucchini together.

It was a “clean out the fridge” night and I had some turnip greens to use.so I made a turnip green and basil pesto to use as a sauce layer.

I pan grilled the vegetables to get a nice char on them.

Carbone Marinara (or Rao’s) is a jarred sauce I will buy. I can add garlic, Italian seasoning or Calabrian chili if I want but I like it as is sometimes.

I started with a layer of marinara. That was topped with a layer of spinach ravioli followed by eggplant and peppers. I then spread an even layer of ricotta cheese followed by the pesto.

Next I layered on the tomatoes then the zucchini. One last layer of marina then topped with freshly grated Parmesan cheese.

Once it cooked, I threw on some fresh basil leaves.

Quite delicious. Even with the short cuts, it was laborious. However I made enough to freeze for three more dinners.

What vinegars do you use?

All three balsamics have their place. While when you don’t want the brown color, robust if you want to make a drizzle and zesty when you just want that flavor.

I can mix the zesty balsamic with any kind of jam and get a lovely dressing in a minute.

I use the rose wine a lot to tame down my onions.

The cherry vinegar is great in club soda or tonic water for a refreshing non alcoholic spritzer. Also good on ice cream or sorbet.

I find these at Whole Foods.

Welsh rarebit is a traditional British dish of a savory, melted cheese sauce served over toasted bread, often enhanced with ingredients like ale, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, and cayenne pepper, then broiled until bubbly and golden. It's essentially a sophisticated version of cheese on toast, with the sauce typically made from cheddar cheese, butter, flour, and a liquid like beer or milk, creating a rich, flavorful topping.

I made this using Dubliner white cheddar, shiner bock, Worcestershire and mustard.

I used a rustic rosemary sourdough bread.

I decided to broil some onions to go with.

Some good tomato basil soup finished the meal.

This was really easy and made a great dinner for week nights.

I was peeling tomatoes with my recently sharpened Flint and Flame knife.

I could read Snap Pea Sheep through the peel. This was why I bought these knives. The owner at the trade show was demonstrating on tomatoes.

I’m holding the tomato and knife with one hand and taking the picture with the other so the peel isn’t even taut against the knife.

The original company personalized some of my knives and it’s faded after 6 years of daily use. Flint and Flame personalizes too.

Peeling tomatoes is a necessity with diverticulosis. Another way is to slice the peel into segments (like an orange) and dunk the tomato in boiling water for 10 seconds. The peel will come right off. It’s something I do if I don’t need the tomato fresh and cold.

I expect their next sale will be Labor Day.

Dinner tonight!

I went Moroccan tonight with spicy shrimp, couscous, okra, green beans and cantaloupe.

Ras el Hanot, garlic, black pepper, and salt was the spice blend used on everything.

Ras El Hanot is a blend of anywhere from 8 to 14 spices. Saves a lot of time.

I add onion, tomatoes and Trader Joe’s Hatch chili salsa to the okra, plus Ras el Hanot, garlic, salt and pepper and a little water.

The shrimp was coated in a mixture of Ras el Hanot, garlic, salt and pepper then sautéed in olive oil.

Couscous was cooked in chicken broth and enhanced with raisins and almonds. I wanted it bland to offset the heat. Couscous takes 5 minutes.

This was an easy dinner.

Making salad without lettuce isn’t that hard. I still miss the lettuce though.

I had leftover couscous with raisins and almonds. It was lightly seasoned with Ras el hanout.

I added tomatoes from the garden, cucumber, red onion, preserved lemon, Kalamata olives, parsley and feta.

I made a dressing with lime juice, garlic, oregano, salt and pepper plus a drizzle of olive oil.

It was so good. Light and fresh tasting.