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About The nugget. (Sisters, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 31, 2018)
Wednesday, October 31, 2018 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon Food & Home Sisters hometown recipes — inspired by locals By Jodi Schneider Correspondent Trails made by Native Americans as they gathered huckleberries, fished, and hunted were followed by fur trappers and explorers before becoming settlers’ wagon roads through forests surrounding the Three Sisters peaks. When the first post office was established in 1888, the folks settled on the name Sisters, maybe for the beauty of the mountains sur- rounding the scenic area. From the spirit of its Western history to today, Sisters has a diverse food culture from simple old-fashioned comfort foods to elegant gourmet cui- sine. Locals enjoy meals from home-grown grass-fed beef burgers to the best vegetarian dishes around. And when temperatures drop, it’s time to head to the kitchen to make a hearty, warm- ing meal. From meaty stews and chilis to healthy hearty soups, The Nugget is sharing a diversity of comfort foods for fall from a few of the locals that made Sisters their hometown where they enjoy preparing a warm meal on a cold day. Here’s a comfort food that Sisters resident Spurge Cochran recently fell in love with: “I was looking for a dish that would use ingredients that I have an abundance of, and this one caught my eye and, eventually, my taste buds.” Enjoy the rich flavors of the simple meal of shakshuka. Sisters resident Sana Hayes loves a hearty soup that she named “Hobo Soup.” HEALTHIER: Comfort food can be good for you Shakshuka Continued from page 19 2 large or 4 small tomatoes 1 large or 2 small sweet onion, diced 6 to 8 cloves garlic, diced 4 to 6 eggs Pink salt Paprika Olive oil Optional: Additional spices such as black pepper, cumin, coriander, basil. Toppings such as feta cheese, cilantro, olives. Use a stainless-steel fry pan on low heat. Drizzle in the olive oil and let heat. Heat onions in fry pan until translucent; add garlic and cook for a couple of minutes. Add salt and paprika and stir so all the oils in the paprika blend in (about a minute and a half). Add halved and quartered tomatoes to fry pan and stir. Let the tomatoes cook and reduce down to make a sauce/paste. Add whatever spices you fancy (black pepper, cumin, coriander, basil). When the tomatoes have reduced down, with a spoon, push away a small hole to the bottom of the pan and drop in an egg, do that for the 4-6 eggs. Cover. When the eggs look like poached eggs, serve on a plate. Add feta cheese and cilantro on top if desired (olives are good, too). “It’s called Hobo Soup because you put whatever you can find (in your fridge, freezer, or cupboard) into it,” she said. “It is comfort food to me because it’s hot food on a cold day and warms me on the inside, and the potatoes remind me of my ancestors in Ireland.” “The fun of this soup is adding whatever you have in the refrigerator or cupboard that you need to use up!” Sisters resident Sheila Jones says fall is one of her favorite seasons for comfort foods. “Every time I make this rec- ipe [curried pumpkin soup] it reminds me of fall, warm days, cool crisp nights.” Hobo Soup On medium-high heat, sauté 10 to 30 garlic cloves and 1 large onion, chopped into penny-size pieces, in a large stock pot with 1/4 cup of butter or olive oil until soft and translucent. Add 8 cups water to boil 6 celery stalks chopped into 1-inch pieces. While celery is boiling, chop 6 large carrots into bite-size pieces and add to boiling water. Then add 6 cups of potatoes (peeled and diced) and continue to boil until potatoes soften. Pour in 20 oz. of V-8 vegetable juice. Add 3 cups of cabbage, chopped, 1 can of corn or 1 cup of fresh corn, 1 cup of peas, frozen or fresh. Add chopped tomatoes, bell peppers, green beans, cauliflower, and/or chopped mushrooms if you like. You may also add some noodles, but you will need to add another cup or two of water or V-8 until the soup is the consistency you prefer. Add some sea salt, 1 Tbls of garlic salt, 1 tsp of no-salt seasoning, 1/2 tsp of pepper, and a pinch of dried chili peppers. Curried Pumpkin Soup 1/2 lb. fresh mushrooms, sliced 1/2 cup chopped onion 2 Tbls vegan butter 2 Tbls all-purpose flour 1/2 to 1 tsp curry powder 3 cups vegetable broth 1 can (15 oz.) solid-pack pumpkin 1 can (12 oz.) coconut milk 1 Tbls honey 1/2 tsp salt 1/2 tsp pepper 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg In a large saucepan, sauté the mushrooms and onion in butter until tender. Stir in flour and curry powder until blended. Gradually add the broth. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 min- utes or until thickened. Add the pumpkin, milk, honey, salt, pep- per and nutmeg; heat through. minutes or until onion is tender and bacon is cooked through, stirring occasionally. Remove bacon from pan; drain on paper towels. Chop bacon and set aside. Stir potatoes, cauli- flower, thyme, pepper, and reserved clam liq- uid into onion mixture. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, covered, for 10 to 12 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Remove from heat; cool slightly. Transfer half of the potato mixture (about 2 cups) to a blender or food processor. Cover and blend or process until smooth. Return to the remaining potato mixture in saucepan. In a medium bowl, whisk together milk, half- and-half, and flour until smooth. Add all at once to potato mixture. Cook and stir just until boil- ing. Stir in chopped and whole clams and carrots. Return to boiling; reduce heat. Cook for one minute more. Sprinkle each serv- ing with chopped bacon. Story idea for The Nugget? Send an email to editor@nuggetnews.com SHOP LOCAL Hopping freights in Sisters The Nugget is brought to you weekly because of our advertisers’ support. . PHOTO BY GARY MILLER Local author Rick Steber will read from and sign his lat- est novel, “Fall Down Angel,” on Friday, November 2, at 6:30 p.m. at Paulina Springs Books in Sisters. The story is based on the true-life adventures of two runaways who work their way west hopping freight trains. The genius of the story is in the strange twist of events when the two main characters meet again decades later and discover they share a common past. Woven into this rich tap- estry of a story is a particular time — the era surrounding the Great Depression — and the coming of age of the American West. Paulina Springs Books is located at 252 W. Hood Ave. 21 So we ask you to support the local businesses which help make your community, hometown newspaper possible. ble
