pepperhead212
Master Chef
I threw together another one of those Creole style dishes today, using a bunch of things from the garden, plus a few other things I had in the fridge, to use up. And I started by browning some bacon in an 8 qt pot, eventually removing it to a PT to drain, then removed most of the fat. Then I added a large chopped onion, cooked until golden, then added about 2 c of diced green bell peppers, 1 c of finely chopped carrots, and 6 cloves minced garlic, and the spices, plus 7 fresh bay leaves, and cooked on medium for about 5 minutes, or until I got all the okra cut up - a little more than 2 c - then while that was cooking, I cut up 2 Ichiban eggplants - a little more than 2 c again - and cooked that, stirring frequently, then added 5 c of tomatoes, puréed coarsely, and rinsed the blender out with at least 2 c water, and added the drained bacon. I brought it to a simmer, and added 1 c whole mung beans, and 3/4 c whole oats, and added salt to taste, and set to simmer on low for 40 min. Checked after 30, but definitely needed more, ending up to about 55 min, and could have used a little more, but I left it slightly al dente, so re-heating won't make it mushy. While that was cooking, I cut up, and cooked the lb of mushrooms I had for a while, and put them in for the last 10 min. This was the only thing that kept this from being one of those one dish meals, though it finished in the one dish. And I would have done this in the Instant Pot, and much quicker, but I have a batch of yogurt in there!
Creole dish started, with all the veggies, except for the tomatoes. by pepperhead212, on Flickr
Finished Creole type dish, using some bacon, onion, garlic, bell peppers, carrots, okra, eggplant, mushrooms, tomatoes, mung beans, and whole oats. by pepperhead212, on Flickr
Finished Creole dish, with a lot of okra. by pepperhead212, on Flickr
Creole dish started, with all the veggies, except for the tomatoes. by pepperhead212, on Flickr
Finished Creole type dish, using some bacon, onion, garlic, bell peppers, carrots, okra, eggplant, mushrooms, tomatoes, mung beans, and whole oats. by pepperhead212, on Flickr
Finished Creole dish, with a lot of okra. by pepperhead212, on Flickr