Good food

Lemony spinach soup

2012-02-08T16:30:00.000-08:00

1 large onion
chicken or veggie stock (I used a couple of quarts)
cooked brown rice (I used about two cups)
fresh spinach (I used a whole bag of fresh)
2 cans garbanzo beans
2 eggs
juice from 2 large lemons

Saute the onion in a little olive oil. Add the chicken or veggie stock, brown rice, garbanzos, and spinach. Let simmer til the spinach cooks down (I used fresh. Frozen would work well, too).

While that simmers, whisk the eggs into the lemon juice. Beat til frothy. Slowly pour into the soup, stirring constantly.

Add freshly ground salt and pepper, or lemon pepper if you like, to taste.

I gave you the amounts I used, but you could adjust this depending on whether you wanted it lighter with more broth and heartier, with more rice.

Enjoy!

We ate this with baked sweet potatoes and bread. Tonight we had it again with roasted beets and a big salad with beet stems chopped very small, grapefruit, and artisan lettuce salad. Great meal.

Thanks to Rachel, who told me while we walked on Tuesday, about the lemony chicken soup she makes. This is my approximation without the chicken.

Sorry. No pretty picture.

Scarlet Gingerbread Muffins

2011-11-03T17:58:00.000-07:00

There's something about fall that just cries out for muffins. And spices. And something a little sweet and special.

But (ask anyone) I am a food nazi. I admit I am obsessive about what my daughter eats. I am also obsessive about not wasting anything. Sometimes these tendencies are frustrating. Other times, like today, they result in a fortuitous discovery of a new favorite food.

We had some boiled beets sitting in the fridge that needed to be used.

I wanted something other than your typical beet-chocolate combo.

But the only other recipes I found sounded boring, with nothing special in them but beets!

Oh, and sugar. Let's not forget the sugar. Every recipe had plenty of sugar. That's a no-no in this house. As is regular, all-purpose flour, unless you're a cake or a cookie.

So, we just had to come up with our own recipe.

If you try these, beets might just become your new favorite food. I guarantee, you can't eat just one! These are even sweet enough to call a cupcake, if you so desire. They would be lovely as a first birthday cake, spread with a little honey-cream cheese frosting.

If you are cooking with a little one, remember, beets stain! Vinegar, lemon juice and cold water are your friends. A little pre-wash spray doesn't hurt either.

I'm sorry I don't have exact spice measurements. That's what happens when a two year old shakes in the spices for you.

Enjoy!

Scarlet Gingerbread Muffins

2 cups white whole wheat flour
2 t baking powder
1 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
Approximately:
1 1/2 t ginger
1-2 t cinnamon
1/4 t cloves
1/4 + t nutmeg
1 cup milk
1/3 cup oil (we used a mixture of coconut and olive since I didn't have veggie on hand)
2 large eggs, beaten
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup molasses
1 t vanilla extract
1 cup pureed beets

Preheat oven to 350. Whisk together dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, whisk together wet ingredients. Add dry ingredients to wet and stir to combine. Fill greased or lined muffin tins 3/4 full with batter and bake 12-15 min for mini muffins, about 25 minutes for regular muffins. We got a dozen regular muffins plus a dozen mini muffins from this recipe.

Canning Diced Tomates

2011-09-30T10:45:00.000-07:00

Canned diced tomatoes are a staple of my fall and winter cooking. I use them a lot in chilis, soups and casseroles. I usually buy them from the store. But with 50 lbs of tomatoes sitting on my counter, I decided I had to try at least a few jars myself.

I looked for information online and had a hard time finding good guidelines. There are guidelines for crushed tomatoes, whole tomatoes, halved tomatoes, tomato sauce, tomato juice, but nary a word on diced tomatoes from the "official" websites I visited. I found a few blog posts on diced tomatoes but none of them seemed to follow best practices in regards to acidification.

So, here's what I did, based on my research and reading. Unfortunately, I don't have pictures of the process as I was trying to get it done relatively quickly this morning before Luke had to leave to shoe horses. I will say two things: it is more involved than making sauce but it is not as hard as I thought it would be. I was dreading the blanching and skinning and really, they went super fast and weren't bad at all. Messy, yes but hard or complicated, no. So, here you go.

1) Set a large pot of water to boil over high heat. Prepare another large bowl 2/3 full of ice water (have extra ice on hand to add to this bowl as you go). Make a small X on the bottom of your tomatoes. Once your water is boiling hard, add 3 tomatoes and blanch for about a minute. Move them to the bowl of ice water to cool (large salad tongs work great for this). Peel and discard the skins, which should slide off easily. Continue until all your tomatoes are peeled.

2) Core and dice your tomatoes. You can do a fairly large dice, as they will break down some as they heat up. This is also a good time to get your canner and lids heating and your jars sterilizing.

3) Put roughly 1/6th of your diced tomatoes into a large stock pot and crush them with a potato masher or large spoon to exude juice. Quickly bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Add remaining tomatoes, stirring them in as you go. Bring the whole pot to a boil, stirring frequently. Boil gently for 5 minutes.

4) Acidify your jars. Tomatoes are right on the line for water bath canning so you must add either bottled lemon juice (because it has consistent acidity, unlike fresh lemon juice) or citric acid. Use 1 T lemon juice per pint, 2 T per quart. Ladle hot tomatoes into hot jars. I found it worked well to use a slotted spoon and fill my jars most of the way with the diced tomatoes, then pour in the juice to cover them. Add enough juice to leave 1/2 inch head space.

5) Run a plastic or wooden utensil (I use a chopstick - the end of a wooden spoon works well too) around the sides of your jars to remove air bubbles and then recheck head space; add or remove a little juice as necessary. Wipe rims with a clean, damp cloth and apply heated lids. Screw rings on until they are fingertip tight and return your jars to the canner. Make sure they are covered by a minimum 1 inch of water.

6) Process pints for 35 minutes and quarts for 40 minutes, starting the time when your canner comes up to a full boil. Remove carefully and place on a towel. Allow to rest undisturbed until completely cooled, 12 hours or overnight. Do not re-tighten lids! Once cool, check to make sure that your jars have sealed. When you press down on the lid, it should not pop up again. If any jars did not seal, put them in your refrigerator and use within a week. Label your jars and store in a cool, dark place for up to a year.

Congratulations! You're done! I did 8 wide-mouth pints (one canner load) from start to finish in about 2 hours this morning, so it's not a hugely time consuming project.

*Note: after filling my jars I had quite a bit of extra juice left in my stock pot. This may be strained through a sieve and used in any application you would use regular tomato juice. I added it to my sauce which is cooking down. It would be great for soup. It is also delicious simply to drink!

Stocking the Shelves

2011-09-29T11:00:00.000-07:00

Last year I canned somewhere around 18 quarts of applesauce over the fall and winter and a little apple butter and cranberry sauce for Christmas gifts. This year, I went a little crazy.

I started out with rhubarb marmalade: 6 half pints and 2 4oz jars (not the best picture, sorry!)

Then I moved on to strawberry jam: again, 6 half pints, 2 4 oz jars

Blueberry jam next: (shall we say it in unison?) 6 half pints and 2 4 oz jars

Along with blueberry butter: 4 4 oz jars

and blueberry-rhubarb jam: 4 half pints

Then, there were the savory endeavors.

Sweet relish (on the left) and gingered sweet relish (on the right): 4 pints each

Bread & butter pickles: 7 pints

Garlic dill pickles: 8 pints

Aren't they pretty?

Tomatoes! Sweet...
Spicy Tomato Jam: 2 half pints, 11 4 oz jars

Tomato Marmalade: 6 half pints, 4 4oz jars

...and savory.

Tomato Puree and Salsa (pictures to come)

I have over 40 lbs of tomatoes sitting on my counter right now, waiting to be made into more puree and some ketchup. But I've also moved into apples, my first love. Last weekend produced:
Applesauce (12 quarts - actually 14, but two were given to friends without canning them)

It has been so much fun and I am completely addicted to canning! But now I'm saving up for a new stove, since the weight of my full canner has been wreaking havoc on my poor electric burner and even the stove top itself.

Roasted Tomato and Kale Tart

2011-09-28T18:50:00.000-07:00

Sometimes, I just have a craving for something delicious. Delectable. Something different from the usual fare.

I often have bits and pieces of different things left over in my refrigerator that need to be used up before they go bad.

Occasionally, these two "problems" collide into something special. That was the case tonight.

I had a yummy dinner scheduled for tonight, but it involved lots of chopping of vegetables which, after a long day out and about, I just was not up for. I knew I had a bag of roasted tomatoes that needed using up. What to do with them? Right away I thought of trying a tomato tart, something I've never made before. But I wanted to get some greens into our dinner and I had some kale from the garden and a bit of leftover shredded cheddar cheese to use up as well.

My craving was for something rich, creamy, a little over the top. I didn't have any fancy cheeses to spice things up, but I did have half a block of cream cheese that was starting to get old.

So, this tart was born (okay, so I actually baked it in a pie plate. But "tart" sounds so much better, and next time I will actually bake it as a tart. Because you can be sure there will be a next time.). Let me tell you, it was everything I wanted and more. The humble ingredients combined into something much greater than the sum of its parts. This dish was creamy, crunchy, tangy, sweet, savory - it fit the bill perfectly. Luke thought it would be absolutely irresistible with some spicy italian sausage mixed in, so you may want to try that. But he agreed that it was absolutely delicious as is.

Warning: since I was using things leftover in my kitchen, I have no idea on the amounts. Just use what you have!

Roasted Tomato and Kale Tart

1 tart shell (I made one with white whole wheat flour, an egg, a little water and coconut oil because I was out of butter. I think the whole wheat adds such a nice depth of flavor, but use whatever you prefer.)
roasted tomatoes
half an onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic
a small bunch kale, chopped small
balsamic vinegar
4 oz cream cheese
grated cheddar cheese
grated parmesan cheese

Bake your tart shell until about half-done. While it's baking, set the cream cheese on the oven to soften. Saute the onions and garlic in a little olive oil until soft and golden. Add kale and saute until bright green; drizzle in a little balsamic vinegar, lower the heat and continue cooking until kale is soft.

Take the tart shell out of the oven and spread the cream cheese over the bottom. Spread the kale-onion mixture on top. Sprinkle with grated cheddar. You don't want tons, or the cheddar will overwhelm the other flavors. Just enough to barely cover the kale. Arrange the roasted tomatoes on top in a circular pattern. Sprinkle with grated parmesan.

Cook in a 350 oven for 20-30 minutes, until crust is lightly browned and cheese is bubbly. Let sit for a few minutes before cutting. Take a bite and swoon at the deliciousness!

Tomatoes are a Fruit

2011-09-06T17:59:00.000-07:00

Most people know tomatoes are technically a fruit. Despite this fact, it seems they are rarely treated like one. Most home cooks (and home eaters!) are comfortable using them in savory, not sweet applications. So when I mentioned "tomato jam" to my husband, he was quite skeptical. "It's like ketchup on steroids," I said, reassuringly. I'm not sure he was reassured. But after one taste of this amazing concoction, he was a convert. This tomato jam really is incredibly delicious! Mine is a little thinner than a real jammy consistency, but we don't mind since we plan to use it in more sauce-type ways anyway (though it's still plenty thick enough to spread a little on crackers and cheese, mmmm....). Much thanks to Food in Jars and Mrs. Wheelbarrow's Kitchen, whose recipes I combined and tweaked to make my own:

Spicy Tomato Jam
(makes approximately 4 half-pints, depending on how much you cook it down)

7 cups ripe tomatoes, roughly chopped (I used roma)
1/2 cup sugar
1-1/2 c brown sugar
3/4 c freshly squeezed lime juice
1 Tablespoon freshly grated ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
dash coarsely ground black pepper
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon - 1 tablespoon red pepper flakes

As you chop tomatoes, put them in a large, non-reactive saucepan. When about half the tomatoes are chopped, add the sugars, mush a bit with a potato masher (to get the juices flowing) and start cooking over medium heat. Add remaining tomatoes as you chop them.

Add remaining ingredients and bring to a rolling boil, stirring often. Reduce heat and simmer until your jam is thick and silky, about 2 hours depending on how high you keep the heat. As you simmer, taste for spices and adjust as necessary. I started with no ground ginger and only a dash of red pepper flakes and added more of each, along with a little more cloves.

Place in sterilized quarter or half pint jars (I think quarter are best), leaving 1/4 inch head space. Process in a boiling water bath 10 minutes.

Not only do tomatoes make a lovely jam, they make a delicious marmalade as well! Although the taste of the tomato doesn't jump out in this marmalade, you can still tell they are there. This is not a super-sweet marmalade, but it's not incredibly bitter either. It's slightly to the bitter side, more tangy from the grapefruit. Mmmm....

Triple Citrus and Tomato Marmalade
makes about 8 half pints

5 cups chopped tomatoes (I used Golden Girl, which are very mild. I imagine a stronger-flavored tomato would add a more assertive flavor.)
1 grapefruit
1 orange
1 lemon
2-3 additional tablespoons lemon juice
3 1/2 - 4 cups sugar
1/2 - 1 cup honey
dashes of ginger, cloves, allspice and nutmeg, to taste (I didn't use lots of any and none of them are prominent but they're just there enough to lend a deepness to the flavor)

Cut the grapefruit in half, place in a saucepan with enough water so the halves float freely and simmer until very soft, an hour or more. Remove from pan and let cool.

Cut orange and lemon in chunks, remove seeds and pulse (rind, pith and all) in food processor to desired level of chunkiness. Cut grapefruit in chunks and pulse to chop. If desired, pulse tomatoes into small chunks as well. (I made all my pieces pretty small, as I don't care for large chunks.)

Combine all ingredients in a large saucepan and bring to a rolling boil, stirring frequently. Continue to boil, stirring very frequently, until thick - about an hour. Ladle hot marmalade into sterilized jars, leaving 1/4 inch head space. Process in a boiling water bath for 5 minutes.

Cheesecake!

2011-06-24T10:38:00.000-07:00

June has been the month of cheesecakes for me. Not that I'm complaining! Cheesecake has always been one of my favorite things, so getting to make (and taste!) lots of them without the guilt of eating the whole thing is great! Earlier this month I made four cheesecakes for our dear friend Lauren's graduation party. There were over 150 people in attendance and the cheesecakes were a big hit! Sadly, in all the craziness of the weekend, I didn't get any pictures. But here are some links to the recipes I used:

Biggest seller: Cappuccino Fudge Cheesecake - this one was the most complicated, with a crust and 3 different layers plus decorating. But it was also incredibly decadent and delicious and everyone fell in love with it!

White Chocolate Cheesecake - I was going to make the caramel sauce for the top, but just ran out of time (remember I said the weekend was crazy?). So I drizzled the top with a little melted white chocolate and it looked lovely and was really delicious. Although there's a lot of white chocolate in there, it wasn't overpowering - just a subtle something extra that was really yummy.

Perfect Plain Cheesecake - This was a really nice plain cheesecake with sour cream topping. We called it "classic" and it really is. Yummy. Personally I prefer a really dense plain cheesecake. This one has a little lighter, creamy texture which is lovely, but not quite "perfect" in my opinion. It was definitely a crowd-pleaser though and was the second cheesecake to disappear.

Kahlua Cheesecake - This is the one I was originally asked to make, a favorite of the graduate and I got the recipe from her mother. The recipe I've linked is almost identical - I think the only difference is the use of graham crackers instead of chocolate wafers for the crust. I drizzled this one with both white and dark chocolate and it was a big hit as well.

Right now I have a fifth cheesecake in my fridge for Lauren's sister Karoline's birthday party tonight. This one is Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough! I originally got the idea from this recipe, but I made lots of changes so it will get its own post, hopefully with pictures.

I have two more cheesecakes I really want to make - anyone have an occasion I can bake for? They are this Brownie Mosaic Cheesecake and an idea I have for a dark chocolate cheesecake with peppermint truffles mixed in. If I get around to making them, I'll let y'all know!

Rhubarb Marmalade

2011-06-20T12:10:00.000-07:00

My mother is a marmalade lover. I have a soft spot for it myself. So when I saw this recipe, I knew I would be making it!

Rhubarb Marmalade

6 cups rhubarb
5 cups sugar
2 medium oranges

Chop rhubarb into 1/4" chunks.

Remove any seeds from oranges and then grind in food processor (rinds and all, so wash them well first). I ground them pretty fine.

Combine rhubarb, sugar and oranges in a large pot and bring to a full, rolling boil. (When you first combine them it will not look like a mixture that will ever boil. Resist the urge to add water or other liquid. Have faith and keep stirring a little bit. Before long you'll have a lovely soupy-looking mixture.)

Reduce the heat and simmer until mixture sheets off a spoon. I actually cooked a little longer than this until my mixture was somewhat reduced and thickened. Ladle into hot jars, wipe rims, apply lids and bands and process for 10 minutes in a hot water bath. Remove from canner, place on a towel on the counter and let cool undisturbed overnight. Check seals and store!

I haven't popped open any of the jars yet - I'm waiting until my homemade bread is done later tonight. I did scrape some from the pot, and it was delicious! So simple and unique.

Southern Summer Sandwich

2011-06-02T05:39:00.000-07:00

Pimento Cheese with Hot Pepper Jelly and if you want to go all the way, Bacon.

Warning: This is southern comfort food, NOT health food.

You can purchase ready-made pimento cheese spread in any grocery store in the south, but if you happen to live elsewhere in the country, you may not be so fortunate. So you make your own. I like to make my own anyway. It's better.

Here's how:
Grate a pound of extra sharp cheddar cheese. You can use sharp if you want, but I love extra sharp.

Add a jar of pimentos, drained. In case you don't know, pimentos are those red things that in the middle of olives. The only way I've ever seen them sold is in a tiny little jar. Use two if you like pimentos, but be sure you drain them.

Add a dash of hot sauce. Garlic, too, if you like.

Stir it all together with enough mayonnaise to blend. Not too much. That's why homemade is better. You can cut the mayo.

Now for the sandwich. You will need this ... Hot Pepper Jelly. In the south, you can find this in the grocery store, too. I don't know about other places. But if you can't find it and you really want to make this sandwich, you could, of course, make your own. I haven't done that yet, but I am planning to copy my friend, Amber, and make Jalapeño Strawberry Jam. Anyway, whether you buy it or make, spread some of your hot, sweet, spicy pepper jelly or jam on a piece of good bread. Sourdough is especially nice.

Then spread your pimento cheese. If you are being decadent, fry up some bacon (you could use turkey bacon if you want to feel slightly more virtuous) and add a couple of slices to your sandwich. Spread the pepper jelly on the top slice of bread and enjoy the best sandwich you've had in a while. Sweet tea is optional.

NPR's pimento cheese recipe. I'll have to try this one for Matthew who loves pickles in all forms.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cheesecake with Pretzel Crust

2011-04-25T17:38:00.000-07:00

Yep, it's a long handle. But this cheesecake deserves it. It was one of my contributions to our Easter dinner with friends and everyone loved it, describing it with words like "decadent" and "sinful." Rich yet not cloying, delightfully peanut-buttery without being overpoweringly so, everyone agreed this was a "do again" and pretty close to a perfect cheesecake. Many thanks and gratitude to the friend who posted the link on an online forum! For anyone else who would like to experience peanut butter cheesecake perfection, here it is: Peanut Butter Cheesecake Recipe.

I made two slight changes to the recipe: I only used 4 packages cream cheese (which still makes a very large cheesecake!) and I used 2 full cups of pretzel crumbs instead of 1 1/2. Next time I will make sure my pretzels are very finely ground - I left a few chunks and those seemed a little stale. Other than that, I won't change a thing!

Brown Butter Yeast Waffles

2011-04-23T19:32:00.000-07:00

These were so amazing! I had been wanting to try them for awhile and finally did - so sorry I waited this long! I combined a couple of different recipes into this one and we loved it!

Brown Butter Yeast Waffles

2 cups whole milk
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons yeast
1 1/2 cups white whole wheat flour
1/2 cup all purpose flour

Melt the butter in a light-colored skillet until lightly browned and nutty. (The butter will start to foam, then the foaming will subside and little brown bits will appear - these are bits of milk fat. Once you see these brown bits, take the butter off the heat so that it does not burn.) Set aside and let cool slightly.

Heat the milk in a separate saucepan until warm, mix in the brown sugar and yeast and set aside for 5-10 minutes, until bubbly.

In a large bowl (you will need room for expansion), mix together the flours and salt. Add the butter, vanilla and eggs to the milk mixture and then mix gently into the flour, stirring just til combined. Batter will be slightly lumpy. Cover and let sit at room temperature overnight.

In the morning, stir the batter and cook in a hot waffle iron until just barely golden brown. These waffles will be crisper and lighter than waffles made with baking powder/soda - if you let them get too much color they will be crunchy. If you take them out when they are just slightly golden, they will be perfect! The aroma while cooking is heavenly.

Serve with butter, maple syrup, and fresh strawberries if you have them. Ohhh, my, delicious!

Gnocchi!

2011-04-14T12:18:00.000-07:00

Awhile back I had quite a bit of ricotta cheese left over from my first attempt at ravioli. I was looking up other uses for it and came across ricotta gnocchi, which sounded enchanting. We made them, and they were pretty good, but ever since I've been curious about the "original" gnocchi made from potatoes. Potatoes have been cheap and plentiful lately, so with lots of leftover mashed potatoes from Saturday's dinner, yesterday seemed like a great time to try them.

The only problem was, I couldn't find a recipe that used leftover mashed potatoes. So, like most things in my kitchen, I winged it. Maybe not a great idea for a food that most recipes describe as "tricky," "delicate," and "takes a few tries to really figure them out," but hey, that's never stopped me before. I mean, come on, how hard can they be with four ingredients: potatoes, egg, flour and a little salt.

I measured 1 1/2 cups mashed potatoes, mixed well with 1 egg and a dash of salt, and then added 1 cup flour, less than I thought I'd need (the dough is supposed to be very soft, almost sticky). I was instantly chagrined to discover that my flour was not mixing in, the dough was definitely not sticky and it appeared the whole thing would be an enormous, rubbery flop. But I gathered up the pieces and very gently kneaded them for a few turns. I actually came out with a lovely soft dough on the other side, not sticky but not stiff either.

Making the actual gnocchi is the fun part. You divide the dough in several sections, roll each into a long snake and then cut them to 1-inch lengths. Then, you roll them across the back of a fork or - what I found worked much better - the end of a whisk, where all the separate pieces come together into the handle. It is best if your thumb and the whisk stay well floured, because this part can get a little sticky. You want one side of the gnocchi to have lines from the whisk, and the other to have a small indentation from your thumb, both of which help your sauce to cling to the gnocchi (I didn't shape my ricotta gnocchi because I was short on time, and it really made the difference! I'll never make them un-shaped again!).

Place the finished gnocchi on a floured surface. Heat a pot of water to boiling and cook the gnocchi in batches, being sure not to crowd the pot. After they float to the top, continue cooking for two minutes or so, then remove to a serving bowl and cook the remaining gnocchi.

Serve with whatever sauce you like. I've seen a lot of butter and sage sauces recommended. The sauce we had last night was delicious, though I'm not sure I could duplicate it. I sauteed half an onion and about 5 cloves of garlic in a little olive oil and a smidgen of butter until nice and caramelized. Then, I added about 1/4 cup of leftover collard greens (also from Saturday night) that had been cooked with onion and balsamic vinegar, and maybe 1/3 cup of pasta sauce I had made for pizza last week. These all sat over very low heat while the gnocchi were cooking. When they were done I added about 2/3 cup of the cooking water to the sauce, stirred it well and let it bubble for a minute and then mixed with the gnocchi. It was amazing! I have to see if I can recreate it without all the leftovers at some point.

Here is our finished dish. We really enjoyed it and will be making them again soon!

Simple Meal Plans: Follow the Book #4

2011-02-05T20:52:00.000-08:00

Tonight's offering from Simply in Season was a beautiful fresh raw beet salad. I love beets of all kinds - raw, cooked, pickled - but I didn't come to that realization until I had my first fresh beet sometime in my 20's. I don't remember eating beets as a kid, unless they were pickled, but perhaps if I did, they were the canned ones which are really not very memorable.

This salad, however, is memorable and quite simple, delicious and very good for you! It's going to become a regular like the raw kale salad around here.

What you do...
Peel and grate 3 -4 raw beets (I wore a rubber glove on my grating hand to keep it from turning red - these babies stain!). Toss the grated beets with some lemon juice, a little olive oil, fresh parsley, a teaspoon of sugar, kosher salt, and fresh ground pepper. That's it.

Tonight this salad shared the plate with a heap of roasted broccoli. Both the salad and broccoli had tahini dressing drizzled over them. (1/2 cup tahini, juice of a lemon, 2 tablespoons soy sauce or tamari, 1/4 cup olive oil, water if you want it thinner). What a simple, colorful, delicious, healthy meal.

And now, I think I'll have a Belgian chocolate!

I haven't found the exact SIS recipe online, but here is the link to the beet page of their online Vegetable and Fruit Guide. Also, if you're interested, you can sign up for the recipe of the week from the cookbook. Here is this week's recipe. Scroll to the bottom of the page for the link to sign up for the weekly recipes.

I've done a little searching and found several more raw beet salad recipes I'd like to try:

Raw Beet Salad from the NY Times Diner's Journal
A different NY Times Raw Beet Salad
Two more from Vegetarians in Paradise
and finally, one with red and gold beets!

Alrighty, then. That should keep us supplied with beet salad ideas for awhile.

Enjoy, friends!

Another kale salad

2011-02-04T10:55:00.000-08:00

It's not in the book, but this is a kale salad I must try!

photo from Design*Sponge

Simple meal plans: Follow the Book #3

2011-02-03T19:24:00.000-08:00

Red Taters and Green Grannies
From Simply in Season
(Which is the primary cookbook source for meal plans for a while...)
Here's the low down...

Wash your taters and grannies.
(Granny Smiths, that is)

Julienne the taters and thinly slice the grannies.

Chop an onion and saute in a little oil.
I am experimenting with coconut oil. It sure smells nice and it doesn't smoke.

Add the taters and grannies to the pan. Stir them and saute for a bit.

Salt and pepper to taste.

Add a tiny bit of water to the pan to prevent sticking.

Cover and let cook for about 15 minutes til tender.

Put 1/2 to a cup of sharp cheddar on top.

Place under the broiler til bubbly.

A note about this SIS recipe. It was good. Comfort food. We liked the tartness of the apples with the potatoes. Once again, it needed a tiny bit of oomph. I think if I'd used extra sharp cheddar that would have done the trick. I'm really happy with the recipe but will remember to use a sharper, better cheese next time.

We ate this with pan-fried lemon pepper salmon and homemade bread.

Yum. Yum. Yum.

Muff! Muff!

2011-02-02T17:39:00.000-08:00

Clara has turned into a muffin fiend! She loves muffins and asks for them every day. It started a few weeks ago when we had lots of bananas and made banana muffins.

When they were gone she kept asking for them, so we made up some pumpkin/carrot muffins with lots of flax seed. We finished those last Tuesday. Last Thursday, she was asking for muffins (muff!) and pointing to the cabinet where they usually live. So I said, "They are all gone (insert lip quivering, tears forming in the corners of her eyes...), but we can make more! Would you like to help Mama make more?" Instant excitement! This kid loves to cook. "Ape-eee! Ape-eee!" (translates: apron)

Getting the tins ready.

My fridge and cupboards were getting a little bare. I was holding out on grocery shopping until Saturday when I'd be in town anyway so I wouldn't have to drive there twice. So, again, we made up our own recipe. Ohhh, my. I don't know why I've always been wary of doing this with quick breads. I rarely use recipes when cooking anything else. I guess I've never felt sure enough about leavening and the wet to dry ratio to feel confident winging it, but today we did (after I glanced at a couple recipes for ideas) and these new "muffs" are sooo delicious! So if you've ever been afraid of disregarding a recipe and throwing in whatever you feel like, don't! Be creative and enjoy the results!

Inspecting the batter.

Here's what we did, using up bits and pieces of what I had in the house:

Mix in a bowl:
1 c white whole wheat flour
1/2 c ground oats (I grind them in my food processor and keep them on hand for adding to bread, pancakes, making PB balls with etc.)
1/2 c ground flax seeds (these I buy whole and grind in a coffee grinder)
1/4 c rolled oats
1/4 c untoasted wheat germ
1 t baking soda
1 t baking powder
1 t cinnamon
a couple shakes of ginger

Add and stir to coat:
2 large carrots, shredded (about 1 1/2 cups)
3/4 c walnuts - toasted and pulsed in food processor until fine (Clara can't have chunks of nuts yet, too choke-y)
1/4 c raisins, chopped into small pieces

Mix in another bowl (or a liquid measuring cup if, like me, you try to use as few dishes as possible while baking):
1/2 c yogurt
1/4 c each oil, applesauce, honey and brown sugar
2 eggs, beaten

Add to dry ingredients, mix together and spoon into paper lined muffin tins. Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes or until done (I didn't really keep track). Makes 1 dozen regular muffins and 1 dozen mini muffins.

She loved them! They smelled amazing while they were baking (I think a large part of that was due to the walnut meal getting all toasty) and didn't disappoint when they came out. I think creative muffins will definitely be a regular in our house from now on.

Simple meal plans: Follow the Book #2

2011-02-02T12:46:00.000-08:00

Sweet Potato Black Bean burritos were next up from Simply in Season. The hardest thing about this recipe is peeling the sweet potatoes. Not a job I particularly enjoy, but a good peeler makes it go faster, for sure. Or you can ask the company who offers to help to do the job while you chop the onions. That works, too.

I enjoyed these burritos. I love sweet potatoes. I love black beans. I must say, however, that this recipe lacked a certain "umph." The burritos were tasty, but just a little dull. I was thinking that some jalapenos or chipotle peppers in adobo sauce (do chipotle peppers come any other way?) would jazz them up a bit. I am a big fan of jazzy food.

Soooo, I am linking to a recipe adapted from another of my favorite cookbooks, the Moosefood Low Fat Cookbook, because I think it sounds a little more like what I was hoping the SIS recipe would be. Here's their version of Sweet Potato and Black Bean Burritos.

Also, I did use some enchilada sauce on top with a bit of sharp cheddar melted over it. We ate these with our most favorite in the world kale salad, which I think I could happily eat every day.

Next up: Red Taters and Green Grannies

Simple meal plans: Follow the Book

2011-01-27T19:30:00.000-08:00

I used to be sooo good about making meal plans. When you have six little ones around all the time, it's a must. These days, I have only one "little" one around (who is bigger than me), so I have gotten rather lazy about planning. I can get away with it for awhile, but there are drawbacks to not planning.

When I don't plan, I spend more.

When I don't plan, we eat boring left-overs more often.

When I don't plan, our meals are not as balanced, interesting, colorful, or healthy.

Soooo, I'm back to planning, but truth to tell, I don't really want to spend that much time doing it. So, I am simplifying by choosing one cookbook and working my way through it.

That's the cookbook. It was a Christmas gift from Kandyce and Jonathan. Thanks, you two.

I love eating seasonally. I love simple, healthy food. So this book is perfect for now.

Tonight we ate Maple Parsnip Soup. I wondered if the recipe might be a little odd, but since I'm game when it comes to interesting flavor combinations, I was eager to give it a try. The result - a delicious ivory colored soup with flecks of nutmeg. Dijon mustard was a perfect flavor balance to the sweetness of the maple syrup in the soup. We topped it with pecans toasted in rosemary olive oil. You can find the recipe here, but note, I disagree with this blogger who didn't like the texture. I loved it. Smooth and creamy. Perfect.

We served the soup with a raw spinach salad tossed with balsamic vinegar and a bit of sea salt and pepper, topped with roasted butternut squash and craisins. That was the colorful part of the meal.

Next Simply in Season meal up: Black Bean Sweet Potato Burritos

Thomas and Kay's wedding rehearsal dinner

2011-01-07T08:14:00.000-08:00

Here is the menu for the rehearsal dinner with my tweaks:

Crispy herb baked lemon pepper chicken
I left out the garlic salt and added lemon pepper to the parmesan/potato flake coating. I love these recipe websites that allow you to change the quantities. I did that with this recipe and adjusted somewhat. I baked 84 boneless, skinless chicken breasts. We had leftovers.

White wine and rosemary gravy
You'll have to scroll down in this recipe and start with the shallots. Go from there. Again, note that I modified it to make enough gravy for 60 people! Andrew said he could eat it straight up, like soup.

Enchanted forest
This is an old favorite recipe. Little kids like the broccoli trees, but I didn't want to deal with broccoli so I made it minus the broccoli and substituted yellow and red sweet peppers. Delicious and easier to do for a crowd. Again, a bit of math was in order to determine how much rice to cook. I figured on about 3/4 cup (cooked) per person.

Maple Glazed Sweet Potatoes
Make sure you have a really good peeler. Mine came from Pampered Chef. It works like a charm. We peeled, chopped, and roasted right away and poured the maple glaze over warm potatoes. Thanks to Erin who brought a half gallon of Grade B maple syrup with her from rural NY state!

Crumb Topped Mushrooms
This was the surprise recipe of the evening. When I read the recipe, I thought it sounded boring. When I tested it at home, I was pleased. At the dinner, even mushroom haters declared that it was fantastic. I used a mixture of regular button mushrooms and portabellos. I guess anything with this much butter and cream has to be good. Julia Child would be proud.

Raw Kale Salad
Family favorite. I left out the red onion this time and added plenty of mandarin oranges and craisins.

Homemade rolls (My grandmother's recipe)
Whole wheat bread and White Rosemary bread (my usual non-recipe bread, all baked the day before at home)

Store bought cheesecakes - Thank you, Sam's Club. I figured the Cheesecake Factory cheesecake and Biltmore cakes were as good or better than what I could do at home and WAY easier. Buying the desserts minimized my stress and was worth it!

Water and coffee

That's it.

Very easy pumpkin soup

2010-12-02T06:26:00.000-08:00

I was cold last night. I had a hankering for a warm, spicy, comforting soup. I looked to see what I had in the pantry and fridge and then made up this recipe as I went along. It was exactly what I wanted, very, very easy, and enjoyed by all!

2 onions, chopped
1 sweet red pepper, chopped
1 large Granny Smith apple, chopped
2 Tablespoons butter
2 Tablespoons Patak Curry Paste (I use hot)
1 large can pumpkin (29 oz. size)
1 can coconut milk (15.5 oz size)
1 chicken bouillon cube
1 1/2 cups apple juice
water
salt to taste

In a large Dutch oven (or whatever you cook soup in) saute the onions and pepper in the butter til soft. Add the curry paste and the apple. Then add the pumpkin and coconut milk. Dissolve the bouillon cube in boiling water and add. Then add apple juice. Stir it all together over medium heat. If it seems too thick, add a bit more water til it's the consistency you like. (I added another cup and a half or so of water). Add salt to taste. Simmer for 15 minutes or so. Serve hot with a dollop of sour cream and toasted almonds on top, if desired.

We ate this with toasted sourdough bread. This recipe served five generously and we had leftovers for lunch today.

Yum. Delicious. Comfort.

Incredible Hulk Super Soup!

2010-11-15T17:32:00.000-08:00

Tonight for dinner we had Super Soup! I had half a bunch of kale in the fridge that had partially been used for Raw Kale Salad last week and the rest needed to be used up, but wasn't crisp enough for another raw dish. Plus, I wanted Clara to get some kale. She did eat a couple pieces of the raw stuff when combined with dried cranberries on a fork, but didn't exactly scarf it down. This afternoon was rainy so it was a perfect evening for some yummy soup.

I combined a recipe for Potato Kale Soup from my newest cookbook, Simply in Season (thanks K&J!), with a recipe for Creamy Kale Soup that I found through Google. Like my mom, I rarely measure accurately when cooking - "I just" (as she says) throw things together. Here's a rough approximation of what I "threw" in the kitchen this evening:

1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 medium red potatoes, chopped small
Green lentils (maybe 1/3 c or so?)
Quinoa (maybe 1/4 c? remember to rinse well first!)
1 chicken boullion cube

1/2 bunch kale, chopped and stems removed

Water
Milk
Tahini (about 2 T)
Parmesan

I sauteed the onion and garlic in a little oil, then added the potatoes, lentils and quinoa, stirred them around a bit to toast, poured in enough water to just cover, added the boullion and left that pot to simmer. Meanwhile, I chopped the kale and steamed it in a separate pot (a tip from SIS - their recipe said if you cook the kale and potatoes together, the kale flavor will be too strong). Once everything was fairly soft I added the kale to the potato mixture and then pureed the soup in my blender in two batches. (A tip from a demo I saw this weekend - when blending hot soup, crack open the small plastic cap on your blender or else you will have an explosion!) I added some extra water to the first batch and some milk to the second batch to make them smooth enough to puree.

Once it was all blended I heated it briefly in the pot and added some tahini, a little salt, garlic powder and freshly grated parmesan. We ate it topped with a little more parmesan and fresh bread. Delicious and so good for you with the kale, quinoa and lentils! Luke dubbed it, "The Incredible Hulk Super Soup" due to its brilliant green color. If I had looked back at the Creamy Kale Soupe recipe I would have added a dash of curry powder for a little kick, but we liked it the way it was and Clara gobbled it up. She's really into dipping right now and this was great for dipping fresh bread. Mmmm...

Grammie's Applesauce Cake

2010-11-11T17:15:00.000-08:00

In our family, if a recipe is preceded by "Grammie's," you know it's going to be good! My grandmothers are both wonderful cooks who love to feed their families delicious food. So yesterday, when my aunt said, "Grammie has a recipe for applesauce cake that I LOVE!" and "I could eat a whole one of these BY MYSELF!" I knew it had to be good. I was looking for a recipe to use up a bunch of applesauce that had been opened for awhile, and this turned out to be just the thing. It truly was scrumptious and lived up to all the expectations I have of any recipe that comes from Grammie.

Applesauce Cake

2 cups flour
1 tbsp cornstarch
2 tbsp cocoa
2 tsp baking soda
1 cup sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp cloves
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp allspice
1 1/2 cups applesauce
1 1/2 cups raisins
1/2 cup oil

Mix all ingredients and place in a greased and floured angel food cake pan. Bake at 350 for 50 minutes.

I was out of raisins, so I chopped up an apple and used that instead. I was also almost out of sugar (yes, it's time for a grocery run) so I used brown sugar instead of white and only 1/2 cup. Although Grammie said she usually uses sweetened applesauce and I might want to increase the sugar, my cake was plenty sweet for our tastes with the reduced sugar and unsweetened applesauce.

The cocoa powder was unexpected, but it really adds a depth of flavor to the cake that is special. It doesn't taste chocolatey, but deeper, richer, more layered or nuanced. Something like that anyway.

I also used half white whole wheat flour and half all purpose. My aunt says she has baked this in a 9x13 pan, but if you have one, I recommend the angel food pan. There's just something fun and special about a cake that looks like a huge, scrumptious doughnut. :) It filled the whole house with an absolutely tantalizing aroma while it was baking, and we've already eaten half of it! But with only 1/2 cup each of sugar and oil, I don't feel too bad about that at all!

Sorry I don't have a better picture of it. We were so excited to dig in after dinner and then I had to get Clara in bed right after. Speaking of Clara, she loved it! I don't give her many sweets, but this was a healthy, naturally sweet treat that I felt great about feeding her, and she felt great about eating! Win-win all around.

Turkey chili

2010-10-31T12:24:00.000-07:00

This is for my friend, Chandra, who ate this chili at our soccer team end-of-season party and requested the recipe. Well, like much of what I cook, there's really no recipe. This was a throw it in the crockpot and see what comes out effort. What came out was pretty good, so I'll try and tell you what went in! I am guessing at quantities. I really did just start with the turkey, onions and peppers and then added tomatoes as needed.

1 package frozen ground turkey (from Aldi - not sure the weight, maybe 2 pounds)
2 -3 cans chili seasoned tomatoes
2 - 3 cans diced tomatoes
1 TBSP (or more if you want) chili powder
2 onions, diced
3 peppers (sweet red, yellow, orange or green), chopped
1 hot pepper
salt, if you need it
lemon pepper, if you like it (I do!)

Saute onions and peppers til soft. Add spices to saute. I do this in my 12' cast iron skillet. Put sauteed veggies in crock pot.

In the same skillet, brown ground turkey. Add to crock pot.

Add tomatoes to crock pot. Stir it all together. Taste to test. Adjust seasonings if necessary.

Set crock pot to high.

Go read a book.

Really. It's that easy. This is not a gourmet recipe, but a dump and go. I think I left it in the crock pot for a couple of hours til time to leave for the party! On a crisp fall night, sitting by a bonfire, accompanied by lots of other goodies brought by soccer moms, it was delicious!

Meal Planning and a new Mac 'n Cheese

2010-10-09T18:33:00.000-07:00

I used to be so organized in my meal planning, but in the last few months, I've really slacked off. We still eat well, mostly, but I tend to spend more at the grocery store and am far less creative. I also feel more harried in the late afternoon on days when I don't have anything planned.

Soooo, I'm getting back into the habit of planning my menus and then shopping according to the plan. For the next couple of weeks, I'll be using recipes from the Moosewood Low Fat Cookbook. I've had this book for years and have enjoyed everything I've cooked from it, but as with most of my cookbooks, there are many, many recipes I've never tried. So, I'm branching out in an old favorite!

The first new recipe I've tried is Moosewood's Lowfat Macaroni and Cheese. Every time I ask Joel for meal suggestions, he requests mac and cheese. I don't make it that often because it is such a high fat dish, but the Moosewood version replaces eggs and lots of cheese, with buttermilk, lowfat cottage cheese, and extra sharp cheddar. These three ingredients give it a rich, smooth tang. Grated onion and mustard powder add a lot of flavor. The odd part of this recipe is that you add uncooked noodles to the cheesy mix. I wasn't sure how that was going to work out. I've always cooked the elbows first. But it did work. Quite well, in fact. It was delicious and incredibly quick and easy. Best of all, Joel loved it. This is definitely one I'll add to the regular rotation, at least once a month, for the sake of warm, cheesy comfort and Joel's mealtime happiness!

1 1/2 c 1% cottage cheese
1 1/2 c skim milk or buttermilk (I used buttermilk - that's what I'd recommend)
1 t dried mustard or 1 T prepared mustard (I used dried)
pinch of cayenne (or more)
1/4 t nutmeg
1/2 t salt
1/4 t ground black pepper
1/4 c grated onions
1 c grated sharp cheddar (4 oz.)
1/2 lb. uncooked elbow macaroni (or other tubular pasta)
2 T finely grated Pecorino or Parmesan cheese (Instead of this, I used a little more extra sharp cheddar on the top and no bread crumbs)
1/4 c bread crumbs

Preheat oven to 375. Prepare square baking pan with a light spray of oil.

In a blender, combine cottage cheese, milk, mustard, cayenne, nutmeg, salt and pepper and puree until smooth. In a large bowl (actually, I did this right in the baking dish), combine pureed mixture with the onions, cheddar and uncooked macaroni. Stir well. Pour macaroni and cheese mixture into the baking pan. Combine the grated Pecoino or Parmesan and bread crumbs and sprinkle over top.

Bake about 45 minutes, until topping is browned and the center is firm.

Serves 4.

Sorry, no picture. It disappeared too fast!

H & H: Apples!

2010-10-07T13:08:00.000-07:00

Clara and I go through a LOT of applesauce. It is one of her favorite foods. I like to eat it too, but I really love to bake with it. I substitute it for oil in all sorts of recipes. So, since we you can't drive half an hour in any direction from our house without reaching an apple orchard, it was only natural that we take advantage of apple season to make our own. To get our apples, we visited a favorite place from my childhood: the Apple Barn in Bennington, VT. They have all sorts of yummy things there, but our objective was the back room, where you can get "utility" apples for $7 a half bushel (about $0.29 per pound). These are apples that are not beautiful enough for the front room displays - they may have bruises, be funny shapes, or for some reason just didn't make the cut (half the time I can't tell what's wrong with them). But they are still delicious and perfect for baking or making applesauce.

I won't lie, in my low-tech kitchen this was a bit of a process. It's not difficult or tricky, just time consuming. Since I don't have a food mill, I had to peel, core and chop all the apples by hand (although with my second batch, Luke helped. He's wonderful!).

The apples then went into my biggest stock pot (I think it's 6 qts - not big enough!) with about an inch of water and a teaspoon or so of lemon juice in the bottom. I turned the burner on so the apples could cook as I was chopping the rest, and just kept adding until I couldn't fit any more without making it spill when I stirred!

I cooked them for a good long while, until they were nice and mushy, and then pureed them in my food processor in batches. Because it was late at night, I put them in bowls in the fridge overnight.

The next morning I returned the applesauce to the stock pot and reheated it while the jars and lids were getting sterilized.

See how lovely and smooth it is?

Once the jars were hot I took them out of the canner one by one, drained them, filled with the hot applesauce, added a lid and returned to the canner (sorry, no pictures of this part - you have to move fast and I didn't have anyone around to document). The filled quarts processed for 20 minutes, and then cooled on the counter.

Clara, of course, helped by being irresistibly cute.

With my second batch, I did half in the stock pot and half in the crock pot. The stock pot got refrigerated overnight, the crock pot was on all night. The applesauce from the crock pot was incredibly dark, reduced by half, and had an amazing taste! Almost like caramel apples (it was also mostly Honeycrisps I separated out). The two batches switched pots after quick trips through the food processor. Here you can see the color difference!

Here are some of the finished jars next to a jar from my original batch.


Left to right: Crock pot honeycrisp, mixed, two stock pot jars, one jar from my previous batch.

This applesauce is so, so delicious. Nothing from the store could ever touch it. Even if you don't can it, you really should make some this fall. It can be frozen, or refrigerated and eaten within a week or so (if it lasts that long). Clara was my taste tester and she fully approves! I think she ate 3 1/2 bowls without slowing down. :)

Bread day

2010-09-23T21:00:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was bread day for me. I made two batches, 1)a white rosemary with mostly organic bread flour (King Arthur) and just a bit of whole wheat and 2) a very dark, multi-grain, raisin bread. The rosemary bread was fine, two round loaves baked on the pizza stone and one baked in a loaf pan. One of the round loaves disappeared almost instantly.

The multi-grain bread was a near disaster. Not because the bread was bad, but because sometimes my brain simply does not work. People like me should ALWAYS set a timer on their bread because we all know it is a BAD idea to leave the house and forget to take the bread out of the oven! Do you want to know what happened? I'll tell you about the bread first.

I used organic whole wheat flour, a bit of bread flour, some oil, brown sugar (I would have used molasses, but I was out), polenta, steel cut oats, sunflower seeds, flax seeds, and raisins. The polenta and oats were soaked in boiling water and cooled before adding to the dough. I was going for a moist, dense, sweet, chewy loaf. A hearty breakfast bread.

I do wish I could give you a recipe, but I can't. I didn't measure. I was winging it on this one. Next time I will try and write down the amounts.

Anyway, about that bread left in the oven. I scooted out the door to take Joel to a soccer game. I remembered my knitting. I remembered my book. I remembered my ice cold ginger water. Did I remember that there was bread in the oven? I did not. Not until half time in the game - a good hour and a half past the time the bread should have come out of the oven. As I sat chatting with the soccer moms at half time, all of a sudden I remembered that bread. OH, NO!

I quickly called Thomas, who thank goodness, had stayed home to study. Wonderful, marvelous, diligent, studious son. He knew, of course, why I was calling. He had smelled the still lovely fragrance of slightly burning bread wafting up the stairs. Smart, intelligent, helpful son that he is, he came to the kitchen and discovered my error. The large loaves were only slightly burned on the outside and a little crisper than desired. The insides were fine. The small loaf was an inedible brick.

OK, so those loaves didn't turn out the way I wanted, but they are still good. A little drier than I was planning since they cooked too long, but if I had some of Erin's butter to put on them, no one would ever notice!

Homemade and Homegrown, Part 2

2010-09-22T19:41:00.000-07:00

So tomato sauce wasn't the only thing going on in my kitchen on Saturday. Friday afternoon Clara and I took a little excursion to a dairy that is less than 10 minutes from our house! They are one of only 11 dairies in the state licensed to sell raw milk and, unlike most dairies, their cows are all grass-fed, no grain at all. When I found out there was organic, grass-fed, raw milk so close by, I had to check it out! The farm is very picturesque.
We were greeted by an adorable little beagle who snoozed in the sun but kept one eye on us during our visit. Clara squawked at the 3 chickens hanging out in the garage (where the refrigerator with milk is) and pointed to the larger flock by the coop and the cows grazing across the valley.

The milk is not cheap ($6/gallon), but curiosity got the better of me. We stuck our money in the tupperware container inside the fridge and headed home, one gallon of raw milk and a dozen eggs richer.

If the $6 price tag takes your breath away, join the club. However, this milk is not for drinking (primarily, anyway). When I use it to make yogurt, I make 1/2 gallon at a time. My cost for 1/2 gallon of yogurt: $3 + $0.50 or so for the 1/2 cup of starter (if I buy it, less if I save it from the last batch). Cost for the equivalent amount of Stoneyfield Farm organic cream-top yogurt: $7.18 at my grocery store. Cost for the cheap, non-fat Aldi brand: $3.18. So I'm making organic cream-top yogurt from local, grass-fed cows for the same price as cheap Aldi yogurt. Not bad, in my opinion!

Saturday afternoon, I began divvying up the milk. It had separated overnight - see the gorgeous cream on top?! I couldn't believe how creamy it was. I gave it a couple of good shakes (I want full-fat yogurt for Clara) and poured a half gallon into my crock pot. I've made yogurt a few times now, using this method, and I love it. It's so easy and the yogurt is delicious. A little thinner than store bought, but neither Clara nor I mind that. I turned the crock pot on low and left it for a couple of hours while I was chopping tomatoes for the sauce.

The other half gallon of milk went back in the fridge in a large mixing bowl with a lid and sat until Monday morning. When I took it out, once again it had separated and there was a lovely layer of cream on top. Using a large spoon, I carefully skimmed the cream off and put it in the bowl of my food processor. Use #2 for this milk: homemade butter. Why make butter at home you ask? Because I can. Or at least, I'd heard I could and wanted to try.

The warmed milk.

Back to the crock pot. After 2 hrs. 15 minutes I turned it off. That's all. (We were sitting down to dinner so I didn't leave it the full 2 1/2 hours. It was fine.) Luke gave Clara a bath, I did dishes and then nursed Clara and put her to bed. Since I was out of yogurt, I ran to the store to get starter. 3 hours later, I scooped out 2 cups of the warm milk and mixed them with my 1/2 cup of starter. Then I poured the tempered milk back into the crock pot, whisked it around, and tucked my yogurt in for the night. Like I said before, this yogurt is an easy keeper.

All tucked in!

While the yogurt's sleeping, we'll go back to the butter. I'll let the pictures tell most of the story.

Here's the cream in the food processor, ready to go.

I pulsed it a few times, then let it run for 15 seconds or so. Whipped cream anyone?


It had a lovely soft set to it. Not quite whipped cream yet.

See how much fluffier it got?


Oh.my.word. Now you're talkin. Heavenly creamy goodness.

I have to say, the whipped cream was amazing. Just pure, whipped cream. As in, from a cow. Not from a green box at the store that says, "whipping cream." But at this point I was getting a little impatient. It was definitely taking longer than I thought and I wondered if somehow, I had done something wrong. I turned the food processor back on, walked away and started doing some dishes. Suddenly, I knew. I had butter! Not because I'm psychic or anything, but because the sound from the processor changed. I ran over, and sure enough, beautiful yellow butter was forming in my very own kitchen!

My first glimpse of homemade butter!

After pouring off the buttermilk...

...real buttermilk!

Luke opened the fridge later that day and said, "What's this little jar in here?" I told him, "Buttermilk!" "Well, yes, but what do you do with it?" Anything you do with regular buttermilk, I told him, wondering to myself how many people never stop to think where buttermilk comes from. No, it's not just milk that's a little sour and makes good pancakes or biscuits. It's the milk left over after you make butter. Really and truly. Amazing!

Pouring the buttermilk off was not the last step by any means. This butter still had to be rinsed. Six times, to be exact. I poured ice cold water in the processor, spun it a bit, then drained the (now cloudy) water off until it finally ran (mostly) clear.

Rinsing the butter.

Isn't that a gorgeous shade of yellow?!

And that's it! I packed my beautiful butter into a 4oz canning jar (side note: these things are wonderful. If you don't have any, get some! They are so useful for everything from storing small amounts of leftovers to providing the perfect serving size for a toddler. And they're freezer safe! So I can put 1/3 a sweet potato in a jar, pop it in the freezer, and grab it before we head out somewhere if we'll be gone during mealtime. By the time Clara's ready to eat, the food is thawed but not spoiled because it stayed cold. Seriously, these jars are great.) and popped it in the fridge. We had some on homemade bread that night for dinner. It really is as delicious as it looks. As Luke said, "Wow honey, this is good butter!"

Mmmmmmmmmmmm......

These jars are the best. And doesn't that butter look to die for? I'll be honest, it really was.

Now, did you forget about the yogurt? I bet you did. I mean, how could you think about yogurt with all that gorgeous yellow creaminess in front of you, right? Well, the yogurt didn't forget about you. It faithfully and quietly did its job overnight, and in the morning looked like this:

A little soft, but really a lovely texture. So much better than anything you can get from the store. And the next morning it was both lovely and delicious on top of my oatmeal with a drizzle of maple syrup that was made the next town over. Butter may be flashy, but it's pretty hard to beat a simple, hearty, good-for-you breakfast that also happens to be scrumptious!

Homemade and Homegrown, Part 1

2010-09-22T07:34:00.000-07:00

I'm excited to be posting here and sharing some of our family's adventures in food! We live on a tight budget, but I still try to serve up the freshest, most wholesome and delicious food I can. Our dream is to someday be able to produce most of our own food, from beef, chicken, eggs and milk to veggies, fruits and berries. I really want to learn how to make cheese, too! But for now we are taking baby steps towards our goal of all homemade and homegrown food.

Last Saturday consisted of two such baby steps. The first was all about tomatoes. I had four tomato plants this year, each a different variety. Two did well, and the other two did just okay. The harvest is winding down, but I still had some tomatoes I needed to use. Then, Friday night a good friend brought me lots of extra tomatoes from her parents' garden! Score! So Saturday I set to work. Here's what I started out with:

Romas, golden mamas and half the cherries from my garden, the rest from Heather!

I cut the cherry tomatoes in half, quartered the medium-sized red and yellows, and chopped the large tomatoes in roughly equal sized pieces, cutting out the tough stem areas along the way. Then, I tossed them with a drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkle of salt and spread them out on baking sheets. When I ran out of baking sheets (or room for any more in the oven!), I used a glass 9x13. This worked well for the larger tomatoes, as they were pretty juicy - I didn't really want tomato juice all over my oven. I threw a couple cloves of garlic on each baking sheet as well.

I roasted them at 225 for 3 hours, just like Mommy did for these tomatoes when she was here a few weeks ago. They came out of the oven looking and smelling heavenly.

But these weren't just for eating. I had talked with a friend earlier in the week who said she makes tomato paste with roasted tomatoes to use on pizza all winter. So I dumped all these lovely roasted tomatoes (except for a few cherries which somehow leapt into my mouth) into my food processor, along with the cloves of garlic I'd roasted with them, and pureed away.


All 3 pans of tomatoes, combined in the food processor.

After a couple pulses...

Mmmmm, doesn't that look absolutely delicious? I had a small taste, and it is really scrumptious. The rest dutifully went in freezer bags and is waiting for winter, when it will brighten up our homemade pizza (or pasta!) with its lovely summer taste.

Thick, smooth and delicious. Mmmmmmm...

A confession: There was a bag full of tomatoes sitting out on a picnic table at church on Sunday. Church members often bring extra garden produce for anyone to take. Instead of taking one or two, I took the whole bag. After all, they looked a little sad, had some bad spots, and wouldn't have been great for eating fresh. I didn't want anyone to get sick. I chopped them up and roasted them on Monday, and we had them on pizza last night. Yum.

Farmer's Market morning....

2010-09-11T19:02:00.000-07:00

Kitchen afternoon!

From the farmer's market this morning: apples, peaches, Asian pears, butternut squash, kale and baby kale, fresh dill, cantaloupes, and this season's just harvested sweet potatoes.

In the kitchen this afternoon: applesauce in the crock pot, two apple cakes, and baked butternut squash. I also made whole wheat bread and three quiches. It was a rainy afternoon - a perfect time to cook.

Erin's joining me...

2010-09-03T20:22:00.000-07:00

We were out picking tomatoes yesterday - lots and lots of them - from Erin's little garden.

She's had such an abundant harvest that it's been a little hard to keep up with all those tomatoes! She doesn't have a freezer or a pressure canner (yet). She's hoping....

So, today while Clara naps and Erin and Luke go riding and out to eat together alone for the first time in a year, I'm doing these slow roasted tomatoes.

Here they are, all ready to go in the oven...

And three hours and a lovely walk up the hill with Clara later, here they are ready to eat. Notice a few empty spots on the parchment, do you? Well, it is impossible to stand near the baking sheet and not pop them in your mouth. Erin says she could live on them. They are little bit of concentrated summer tomato deliciousness.

And since we're on the subject of my daughter's tomatoes, it's a good time to tell you that Erin is going to join me on the Good Food blog. It was her idea for me to add her as an author, and I'm delighted to do it! We like to cook together, we like to talk about food and gardening and farmer's markets and eating. So, it's only natural to do it together!

Erin is a lifelong vegetarian married to a Montana meat and potatoes man. She has learned to cook things Luke likes, meaning, she's learned to cook meat - not something her mother taught her! She's also doing a great job developing healthy, happy eating habits in little Clara. So, maybe she'll add some posts on feeding babies.

...or babies feeding Mamas.

Welcome, sweetheart. I'm glad you want to share this space with me.

This one's for....

2010-08-03T06:16:00.000-07:00

Colsaladpalooza 2010.

I've mentioned this salad before and even posted a picture. I linked to a recipe and mentioned my modifications. To keep you from having to follow a lot of links, here's the recipe the way I make it. My husband just told me last night that he could eat this salad every day. I could, too. I'll be planting kale soon so that we have a bounteous fall supply (hopefully!)

Raw Kale Salad

1 bunch kale
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1/4 tsp. kosher salt
Juice of 1 lime
1 tsp. balsamic vinegar (I've also used red wine vinegar)
1 orange, peeled and sliced OR a can of mandarin oranges
1/2 cup almonds
1/2 cup dried cranberries

Optional additions. Add any or all:
1/4 cup finely chopped red onion
1 grapefruit, peeled and chopped

Wash the kale and spin in a salad spinner. Slice as thinly as you can (the recipe online says to "chop into thin ribbons" - get the picture!)

Drizzle olive oil over the kale and sprinkle with salt. Massage the oil into the kale with your hands (yes!). Let it rest for 10 minutes.

Add the rest of the ingredients. You can refrigerate this til ready to serve or serve at room temperature. I like it either way.

This salad keeps well so we double or triple the recipe and keep it for daily consumption. So delicious and healthy!

Blackberry cobbler

2010-06-30T07:35:00.000-07:00

It's berry time. I picked a lot of blackberries this morning so I'll be making cobbler later. Here, for my sister-in-law, Laura, who has fresh picked blueberries, are two cobbler options! (Warning Laura - this is not exactly health food!)

Grammie's Cobbler Topping

1 cup flour
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. baking powder

Mix all these ingredients together. The mixture will be rather crumbly. Put on top of fruit. Melt 6 TB butter and pour over fruit and topping. Bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes, til lightly browned.

This recipe is from Grammie, my mother-in-law. It is for apple cobbler and calls for 3 1/2 cups of sliced apples with a quarter cup of sugar and some cinnamon and nutmeg with the topping and butter on top.

I always double this recipe. I put a generous amount of fruit in a 9x13 pan and put the doubled amount of topping over the fruit. Of course, I double the butter, too!

Amber's Cobbler Recipe which she calls "cuppa, cuppa, cuppa" shared with me while picking berries this morning.

1 cup of self rising flour
1 cup of sugar
1 cup of buttermilk

Amber says her grandmother would melt butter in the bottom of the pan and put in the fruit, sometimes adding a bit of sugar to the fruit. Then the topping gets poured on. I'm guessing it bakes for half an hour or so at 350.

So, there you go. A couple of cobbler recipes for your fresh picked berries.

Father's Day Food

2010-06-22T22:50:00.000-07:00

Erin said I should post about the salads I made for Father's Day. Sorry, no food photos, just a run-down of what I made:

Honey Mustard Potato Salad

I steamed a great big bag of gourmet white potatoes. They were smallish, but I cut some of them in half so they'd steam a little faster. After steaming, I sprinkled them with kosher salt and a few twists of fresh pepper. Then I mixed up a dressing with plain old yellow mustard (it's all I had on hand), a generous squirt of honey, a bit of olive oil and a few splashes of balsamic vinegar. Then I poured all the dressing over the warm potatoes and let them marinate overnight. Oh, yea...I also chopped a sweet red pepper and put that in the salad along with a couple of chopped hard boiled eggs and a bit of chopped parsley. This salad just got better with time.

Pasta Salad

I'm sure you all have your own variations on pasta salad. This one had whole wheat rotini, a jar of marinated artichoke hearts, a bunch of sliced black and Spanish olives, a chopped sweet pepper, and some cut up pepperoni. I only added a little oil and vinegar since the artichoke heart marinade was pretty flavorful.

Avocado Salad

Three ripe avocados, two chopped Roma tomatoes, a little lemon juice. That's all.

Broccoli Salad

Here. I left out the bacon.

These salads were served with some lovely sourdough bread, toasted and spread with butter. Everyone was very happy. And that was even before the blackberry tart.

Truly, I could eat like this every day.

Blackberry time

2010-06-21T18:13:00.000-07:00

We have a power cut up the road - a big ugly swath with high tension power lines. It's an eyesore, to be sure. The red clay hillside along the cut is eroding away. Every time it rains, rivers of red ochre mud course down the street.

But this landscape does have a redeeming feature...

Masses of blackberry brambles all over the hill.

Queen Ann's lace, too.

The flowers decorated the table at a bridal shower. I made the blackberry tart for Father's Day, sort of using this recipe. Pretty delicious!

Cooking lull

2010-06-08T06:09:00.000-07:00

It is rather sad that I have not posted anything on this blog since February. That reflects the state of my kitchen endeavors in the last months. A little sad. A bit boring. Humdrum. Repetitive. Uninspired. You get the picture.

I am looking forward to summer cooking and farmer's market meals and cucs and basil from the garden and all that summer food goodness to reinvigorate my culinary pursuits and hopefully, give you a little encouragement and inspiration....

....when I get back. Til then, take a look at these wonderful vegetarian supper posts from my friend, Tonia, and be inspired!

Here's another salad...

2010-02-04T14:02:00.000-08:00

...I can't wait to try. I love portobellos and I love anything roasted. This salad combination sounds amazing.

I keep on eating the kale salad. I vary it with things like grapefruit sections, pecans, and raspberry vinegar. "Massaging" the kale really is an important part of this recipe. Just roll up your sleeves and stick your hands right down into that kaley, olive oily goodness and gently squeeze it around a bit. It doesn't just make the salad better. It's good for your skin, too. And be sure and use good salt. It does make a difference.

Here's the promised salad picture with a side of homemade whole wheat bread...

This salad...

2010-01-23T16:28:00.000-08:00

...is very, very good. Try it. Eat it. Frequently. That's what I'm planning to do.

I made this the other night tweaking the recipe by adding a handful of raw almonds, a handful of dried cranberries, and a can of mandarin oranges. We all loved it.

I have always said that I cook by color. If I have several colors on my plate, I know the meal is healthy. According to that theory, all I need to eat is this salad.

Sorry I don't have a picture to show you. I'll try and get one the next time I make it (tomorrow) before it all disappears!

Sunday dinner

2010-01-17T17:26:00.000-08:00

Family style...

Red beans with corn and tomatoes over rice
Chili lemon chicken over veggies
Collard greens
Garlic mashed potatoes - reheated
Rosemary bread and Whole wheat/polenta/sunflower molasses bread
Apple grape salad with coconut and pecans
The rest of the raspberry cobbler

and for supper...

Popcorn!

New Year's Food

2010-01-02T15:14:00.000-08:00

As per Southern tradition...

Black eyed peas over rice with salsa or relish

Collard greens

Corn bread

Yum!

And today, leftover turkey soup with full of tomatoes and veggies and made quite flavorful with red wine and basil served with chillaquillas - an original Laurel's Kitchen recipe I had long forgotten. Thanks to Laura, my sister-in-law, for calling and asking for the recipe and reminding me of an old, old favorite.

A cookbook I want to check out soon, The New Laurel's Kitchen.

Oh, how I love marmalade!

2009-12-30T09:20:00.000-08:00

I only had one Meyer lemon on my tree this year. The marmalade I made from it was like liquid gold. I was feeling sad that my tree hadn't been more prolific and then....Trader Joe's came to the rescue. They sell Meyer lemons!!!! Oh, thank you, thank you, Trader Joe's. I take back the negative things I've said about you not having bulk goods. You've more than made up for it by having Meyer lemons.

Soooo, once I had my lemons, I wanted to make more of that liquid gold. About that same time, my nephew and niece came through on their way home from Florida and left me with a bag of the best red grapefruits ever. With those grapefruits and the Meyer lemons, my two favorite ~~citruses~~, ~~citri~~, citrus fruits, I made what I do believe to be the best marmalade ever!

Here's how to do it...

Chop the lemons and grapefruits into sort of small pieces. You use the peel, too, so you don't want huge chunks in your finished marmalade. It will look like this...

Measure your fruit and add the same amount of water to it. Bring to a boil and then let simmer on lower heat for 5 minutes. Pour the fruit/water mixture into a bowl you can cover and set in a cool place for 24 hours.

Next day....

Measure out your fruit/water mixture and add an equal amount of sugar to it. Bring to a boil and stir constantly.

Cook for about 15 minutes, stirring, til a candy thermometer reads 220 degrees (F). The mixture will gel a little but will still be pretty liquid. It will thicken a bit as it cools.

Pour into sterilized jars. At this point, I simply put on the lids and refrigerate. I've only made batches big enough to get three pint sized jars so they don't stay around long. I give them away and use them up! Like I said, liquid gold.

*****

Thanks to Carla at recipezaar for this easy, easy recipe. I modified it by changing up the fruit but otherwise followed her recipe.

My all time favorite cookie

2009-12-18T21:26:00.001-08:00

These are my favorite cookies to make, give away as gifts, and eat! They are a bit like a ginger snap but the espresso adds a special kick and the brown sugar frosting is perfect. One cookie with a cup of tea or coffee is a real treat. I have some dough chilling in the fridge tonight and maybe after I bake and assemble them tomorrow, I'll add a picture or two, but for those of you who have been asking here's the recipe:

Espresso Brown Sugar Sandwich Cookies

2 ¼ cups all purpose flour

3 TBSP. instant espresso powder

2 tsp. ground ginger

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. cinnamon

½ tsp. cloves

¾ cup butter, softened

½ cup granulated sugar

½ cup packed brown sugar

1 egg

¼ cup molasses

In a medium bowl, combine flour, espresso powder, ginger, baking soda, cinnamon, and cloves. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, beat butter with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Gradually add the granulated sugar and brown sugar, beating on low speed until combined. Beat in the egg and molasses until combined. Beat in as much of the flour mixture as you can with the mixer. Stir in any remaining flour mixture. Cover and chill dough for 2 hours or until easy to handle.

Shape dough into 1 ½ inch balls. Roll ball in turbinado sugar (optional). Place about 2 ½ inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets. Flatten balls slightly. Bake in a 350 oven for 12 -15 minutes or til edges are set. (My note: I do them the shorter time because I like them chewy and soft, be sure not to overcook them!). Transfer to wire rack and let cool. Frost bottoms of half the cookies with a generous 1 tablespoon of brown sugar frosting. Place remaining cookies atop the iced sides of cookies to create sandwich cookies

Brown Sugar Frosting

1 cup packed light brown sugar

¼ cup butter

¼ cup half and half

1 1/3 cups powdered sugar

In a heavy saucepan, combine brown sugar, butter, and half and jalf. Cook and stire over medium heat to a full boil; boil 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Whisk in powdered sugar until smooth. Let cool until of spreading consistency; which occasionally. Use to frost cookies.

(I believe this recipe was from Real Simple magazine, but I don't know what issue - I cut the recipe out and slipped it into a plastic sleeve in my recipe notebook)

Cheap and Wholesome

2009-10-29T18:37:00.000-07:00

Interesting post from Simple, Green, and Frugal on eating healthy with cheap, wholesome foods. Check it out.

Extra healthy enchiladas

2009-10-16T16:50:00.000-07:00

I gave the boys a choice tonight - pizza or enchiladas. M chose enchiladas. I decided to make them extra healthy. Here's how:

Saute:

2 chopped onions

2 tablespoons chopped garlic

1 tsp. cumin seeds

1 tablespoon chili powder

a bit of lemon pepper

3-4 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped

Add to the saute and cook on medium heat stirring often til warm through:

1 can kidney beans

1 can corn

1 package tempeh, chopped in 1/2 inch chunks

Put a generous serving spoonful of this filling in the middle of a whole wheat tortilla. Fold over and place in 9x13 lightly greased baking dish (I use a light spray of cooking spray). 8-10 enchiladas will fit in the pan.

I used about a cup of salsa to spread over the top of the enchiladas and for the boys, sprinkled shredded Mexican cheese. (I'm cutting way back on dairy so left some without cheese on top for me).

Bake at 350 til the cheese is melted - about 15 minutes so they are good and hot all the way through.

We ate these with roasted green and sweet banana peppers from the garden and a cabbage salad.

Really, really good!

Soup for a Crowd

2009-10-04T15:30:00.002-07:00

It was a busy weekend, food-wise. With company arriving Saturday afternoon, a nice dinner for them that evening, more guests coming over for dessert that night, and a large crowd anticipated for lunch Sunday, I wanted to serve something on Sunday that I could prepare ahead of time and then get on the table right after church without much fuss. It needed to appeal to young and old and be delicious and filling.

Soup and sandwiches.

I know. Not terribly exciting, but that menu fit the bill and turned out to be a very good choice.

Kids happily reached for PB and J. A few non-Southerners wondered what the pimento cheese sandwiches were, tried them, and liked them. The chicken salad with grapes sandwiches disappeared. Tuna salad sandwiches were the least favorite. I will remember that next time and not make as many.

So many people commented on the soup. Three or four people said something like, "I wish I knew how to make soup."

Well, folks, it really, really, really is not that hard. This really, really is one of those "I just" recipes. Really.

So, if you need to prepare soup for a crowd, here's my standby. But I must warn you, none of the measurements are precise and the soup is never the same. It always seems to be good, though, and it does feed a crowd. Even with almost 30 people here for lunch yesterday, I have some left in my fridge and put two zip-loc bags full in the freezer. I love the fact that I have several meals worth of soup in the freezer!

Here goes...

Saute three or four large onions in a bit of olive oil the biggest pot you have. Add a couple of tablespoons or several cloves (5-6) of chopped garlic. Watch it carefully so the garlic doesn't burn.

Now the fun starts. Add an institutional size can of crushed tomatoes. Yes, the very large one. Mine said it was 6 lbs. 6 oz of crushed tomatoes. Dump that in and then refill the can with water and add to the pot. Now add whatever combination of veggies you want. You will need to add a bit more water at this point. Sorry, I can't tell you how much. Just make sure the veggies are covered. You don't want it thick like stew, but you don't want it too watery, either. As it cooks, of course, it will thicken a bit. You can always add more water if it seems too thick.

Anyway, about the veggies...remember, this is supposed to be easy so use frozen veggies. I used four bags of veggies - one of broccoli, two of mixed veggies (cauliflower, broccoli, carrots), one of corn, and one of peas.

I have a very huge soup pot and I do mean huge, folks. It has been called "the soup pot big enough to bathe a baby in." If you don't have soup pot this large, you will probably have to divide the soup and cook in a couple of pots. Or you could just make less.

Anyway, let this simmer along for an hour or so. I added a generous amount of 2-3 tablespoons of dried basil, a couple of teaspoons of dried thyme, and several tablespoons, maybe 4, of lemon pepper. Funny thing about this combination. One of our friends who is himself quite a gourmet cook, upon tasting the soup, asked me what gave it the floral aroma. I wasn't really sure but when I told him the spice combination, he said it must the be thyme and lemon pepper together. Serendipitous, that.

So, I guess I would say that this soup has a hearty vegetable flavor with light floral hints and a bit of a kick (from the pepper).

I did want to have some vegetarian soup and some with meat. So, I took about a pound and a half of stew beef, boiled it in about a quart of water and then added it to some of the soup.

To give you an idea of just how much soup this is, I ended up dividing it into three pots. One holds about 6 quarts, the other 8. The third pot was my large crock pot.

You may have to add more water, if you think the soup is too thick. Salt to taste.

This really is a bare bones outline of a recipe with few measurements, but take courage. You can do this.

I made it the day before and and, as I said, divided it into three pots. I had no space in my fridge so I put all three pots in the freezer. Sunday morning before church, I took them out of the freezer, broke up the icy parts around the edges and left them to thaw all the way during church. When I came home, I heated them, employing a gracious helper to stand and stir to make sure they didn't scorch. The crock pot of soup I set on low before I went to church.

We served up bowls of soup and set them on the counter. The table, pushed up next to the windows to make more room for people, was spread with plates of sandwiches. Everyone introduced themselves and then lined up for food. According to the tradition in our home, those who have never eaten with us and the eldest among us go first.

Generous folks brought cake, pies, and cookies for dessert which we ate later, and the coffee pot did double duty.

I do think it was a meal enjoyed by all. I loved serving it. I loved it that 30 people were eating, talking, laughing, enjoying old friends, meeting new ones in every room downstairs and spilling out to the porch and deck. I loved it that the food wasn't the point, but that in it's simplicity it said Welcome. Eat. Enjoy.

Jim Lahey's No Knead Bread

2009-09-29T15:28:00.000-07:00

I used the cooking method in this recipe the other day but not the souring or no-knead features. I'm trying the recipe "as is" starting tonight.

No-Knead Bread
Yields one 1 1/2 pound loaf

3 cups all-purpose or bread flour, more for dusting
¼ teaspoon instant yeast
1¼ teaspoons salt
Cornmeal or wheat bran as needed.

1. In a large bowl combine flour, yeast and salt. Add 1 5/8 cups water, and stir until blended; dough will be shaggy and sticky. Cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let dough rest at least 12 hours, preferably about 18, at warm room temperature, about 70 degrees.

2. Dough is ready when its surface is dotted with bubbles. Lightly flour a work surface and place dough on it; sprinkle it with a little more flour and fold it over on itself once or twice. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rest about 15 minutes.

3. Using just enough flour to keep dough from sticking to work surface or to your fingers, gently and quickly shape dough into a ball. Generously coat a cotton towel (not terry cloth) with flour, wheat bran or cornmeal; put dough seam side down on towel and dust with more flour, bran or cornmeal. Cover with another cotton towel and let rise for about 2 hours. When it is ready, dough will be more than double in size and will not readily spring back when poked with a finger.

4. At least a half-hour before dough is ready, heat oven to 450 degrees. Put a 6- to 8-quart heavy covered pot (cast iron, enamel, Pyrex or ceramic) in oven as it heats. When dough is ready, carefully remove pot from oven. Slide your hand under towel and turn dough over into pot, seam side up; it may look like a mess, but that is O.K. Shake pan once or twice if dough is unevenly distributed; it will straighten out as it bakes. Cover with lid and bake 30 minutes, then remove lid and bake another 15 to 30 minutes, until loaf is beautifully browned. Cool on a rack.

Recipe not my own. It came from here.

New sweet potato recipe

2009-09-28T17:41:00.000-07:00

We ate this for dinner. Very, very good! It will become a regular part of the sweet potato repertoire around here.

No curry, cobbler instead

2009-09-26T19:35:00.001-07:00

Sorry, the curry didn't happen today. I sat at my desk editing a paper all afternoon and then just had time to make some raspberry bars (from a box - it works in a pinch) and a berry cobbler (from scratch) before heading out the door to a church gathering tonight. I've made the cobbler recipe so many times it I have it memorized.

Easy, easy fruit cobbler

Fill a pie pan with fruit. My favorite is berries - a mix of blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries. I buy them frozen in a bag. They work just fine. Sliced apples sprinkled with cinnamon are also good. Sometimes I even mix apples and berries.

Mix 1 cup flour, 1 cup sugar, 1 egg, and a pinch of salt. This will be crumbly. That's ok. Spread it over the fruit in the pie pan.

Then melt 1 stick of butter. Pour that over the top of everything. Bake it all at 350 for about 30 minutes or til the topping is golden brown.

This is perfect with vanilla ice cream. I like left-overs for breakfast. Yes, breakfast. I always remember that Almanzo in Farmer Boy (Laura Ingalls Wilder) ate apple pie for breakfast, so I figure I can eat berry cobbler. Yes? Yes!

Next up...

2009-09-25T19:40:00.000-07:00

My curry recipe. But not just yet. For now, I will share the secrets...

Patak's curry paste
coconut milk
lime juice
cilantro

You could do just about anything with these ingredients and a few vegetables and it would taste good. Details tomorrow after I make some to remind myself what I do!

Success!

2009-09-25T19:19:00.000-07:00

For this bread, I will maintain my friendship bread sourdough starter!

Dense, chewy, and moist on the inside, crusty on the outside, with a hint of sour flavor. I think if I used half unbleached flour instead of all whole wheat, the sour flavor would be more prominent. But, I love the whole wheat goodness. This bread is going to be a standby! Baking it in the Dutch oven is easy as can be and I ended up with a huge loaf that looked, tasted and felt like an artisan loaf from the bakery.

This is definitely one to experiment with. How about whole wheat/unbleached with a bit of garlic and jalapenos; all unbleached with rosemary; all whole wheat with cinnamon and raisins....oooooh, lots of possibilities.

I also want to try the original recipe from which I got the idea for baking in the Dutch oven. It's here.

Trying new things

2009-09-25T05:05:00.000-07:00

You know that friendship bread starter that 47 of your friends have tried to give you and when you give in and accept it, it sits in your fridge til it gets strange things growing on it. Yeah. That stuff. You know what I'm talking about.

Well, I got some from Kay the other day. I am determined this time not to let it turn colors in my fridge. The problem is, I am cutting way down on sugar and don't really want to feel obligated to make a sugary quick loaf every ten days. So, this morning I am trying an experiment.

This is a sourdough starter, right. And most of the sourdough bread I have eaten and enjoyed is not sweet, but sour and chewy and crusty and delicious. So, I'm trying an experiment. I have mixed my usual bread dough in the Magic Mill using the organic stone ground flour I got yesterday. I did add a little yeast (not depending on the sourdough to do all the rising). I'm going to let it rise a bit longer to give the sourdough time to infiltrate the loaf and give it flavor. Plus, I think a completely whole wheat bread needs a little longer rise time.

Then I will bake a nice round loaf in my cast iron pot a la the method I just found online when I went searching for how to make a crusty loaf. I am, obviously, not using the recipe in the link, but I want to try that another day. It sounds good.

I'll let you know how this experiment turns out. If it's no good, Coty will still take this bread, toast it, and eat it for breakfast. I can always count on him to say, of failed bread, "Well, it makes good toast." One of the reasons I love him.

The second new thing this morning is roasting peppers. After our walk, Amber and I were talking peppers and she told me what she did with her bumper crop of peppers. I took her advice, plus that of several online helpers, and now have two aluminum foil lined pans with banana and long green peppers roasting and filling my kitchen with the most wonderful roasty, peppery aroma.

Finally, my breakfast this morning is a new twist on an old goodie, again, thanks to Amber. My organic steel cut oats that also arrived yesterday will be in my breakfast bowl this morning. I am following Amber's method. I toasted a cup full in a small amount of butter in my cast iron Dutch oven. They are, at the moment, soaking in a mix of yogurt and water. In a little bit, I'll add more water and cook them. Amber says the toasting before cooking adds a nice flavor and keeps the oats more fluffy. Sounds good to me. I will eat these lovely oats with blackberries and a little maple syrup while I smell roasting peppers and wait for the bread to rise.

Not a bad way to start the day.

On the stove...

2009-09-23T11:39:00.000-07:00

bubbling away and filling the house with earthy, healthy aromas are a big pot of pinto beans and a bigger pot of collard greens. I'm cooking the greens Teresa's way with an onion, a bit of chicken stock, some lemon juice, and a little salt. Homemade salsa with fresh tomatoes, cilantro, lime juice, and peppers from the garden will grace the beans and brown rice. Brown rice will get cooked in the rice cooker later. Love that appliance. It's a nice big one and can cook brown rice for a crowd.

In the oven...a carrot cake.

Heading back to the kitchen to mix up cream cheese frosting while it bakes.

Currently reading...

2009-07-29T04:28:00.000-07:00

Looks very interesting. As I think about our "Eating like the rest of the world" food experiment (stay tuned for more on that), this will be an informative read.

Curious to see what is recommended here and looking to make some dietary changes.

I also want to read Nourishing Traditions and a good cookbook. Any suggestions?

I love...

2009-07-29T04:26:00.001-07:00

a good summer meal like last night's....Sorry, no food glamour shots.

From the Harrisburg farmer's market - okra cooked in coconut milk and curry paste, fresh corn on the cob, and the sweetest watermelon of the season.

From the garden - fried green tomatoes. Yes! Love 'em. Not particularly healthy, I know. But so good, dipped in a little corn meal and fried in olive oil with just a little salt.

From the freezer - collard greens.

And leftover from lunch - brown rice.

Here it is...Best ever cinnamon rolls

2009-06-03T20:06:00.001-07:00

Several of you, seeing pictures of celebratory cinnamon rolls or reading about such rolls on the blog, have asked for this recipe. The page that the recipe is on fell out of the cookbook years ago. It is now taped to the inside of my kitchen cabinet for easy reference. It is one of those recipes that has oil and cinnamon stains from frequent use. I wish I could give credit to the author of the long lost cookbook. Alas, all I can tell you is that it was a bread, roll and muffin cookbook I bought long ago. I don't even have the rest of the cookbook anymore, but this recipe has survived. For good reason.

Best-Ever Cinnamon Rolls
4 1/2 to 5 cups all purpose flour
1 package (or 1 tablespoon) active dry yeast
1 cup milk
1/3 cup butter
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
3 eggs

For filling:
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup all purpose flour
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup raisins (optional)
1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts (optional)
1 tablespoon light cream or half and half

In a mixing bowl stir together 2 1/4 cups of the flour and the yeast. In a saucepan, heat and stir milk, 1/3 cup butter, 1/3 cup granulated sugar and salt til just warm. Add to flour mixture. Add eggs. Beat with an electric mixer on low speed for 30 seconds, scraping the sides of the bowl. Beat on high speed for 3 minutes. Stir in as much of the remaining flour as you can.

On a lightly floured board or counter, knead in enough of the remaining dough to make a moderately soft dough that is smooth and elastic. Shape the dough into a ball. Place dough in a lightly greased bowl, turning once to grease surface of the dough. Cover and let rise in a warm place til double, about an hour. Meanwhile, for filling combine brown sugar, the 1/4 cup flour, and cinnamon. Cut in 1/2 cup butter till crumbly and set aside.

Punch dough down on a lightly floured surface. Cover and let rest for 10 minutes (I don't do this). Roll the dough into a 12 inch square. Sprinkle filling over dough, top with raisins and nuts if you wish. Roll up jelly roll style. Slice roll into eight one inch pieces. (Sometimes I roll it into a bigger rectangle and cut each roll a bit smaller). Arrange dough rolls cut side up in a greased 12 inch deep dish pizza pan. (I usually make the thinner bigger rectangle and cut out more rolls and place them right next to each other in a greased 9 x 13 glass baking pan). Cover with oiled waxed paper, then plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 to 24 hours.

When ready to bake, take out of fridge and let stand at room temperature for about 30 minutes. Brush dough with half and half or light cream (I don't usually do this). Bake in a preheated 375 degree oven for 25 to 30 minutes or till golden brown (if the rolls are thinner, it could be a little less time). Remove rolls from oven. Brush again with half and half (I don't do this either).

Drizzle with vanilla icing made from a little milk and some powdered sugar and a little vanilla flavoring. Eat warm. Mind you, these cinnamon rolls are not health food but they are very, very delicious and will bring a smile to your face when you smell them baking. My sons will attest to this fact!

Tilapia two - no three - ways

2009-06-03T15:10:00.000-07:00

Here, for Kathie, are my tilapia ideas. Enjoy!

Pesto Tilapia
My favorite way to prepare tilapia is with pesto. This is sooo very easy if you have plenty of fresh basil around - which I always do in the summer. Not sure I could go through the summer without plenty in my garden.

First you have to make pesto. I don't have my recipe written down anywhere. I've made it so many times, I just do it by feel. Basil, garlic, olive oil, parmesan cheese in the food processor. You can jazz it up with pine nuts or walnuts but I usually do it without nuts. Whiz it around and you've got the most wonderful, green, delicious substance the summer has to offer. Anyway, if you need a recipe, here's one you can use. It's close to what I do. Just remember, the pine nuts are not absolutely necessary.

Once you've made your pesto, simply spray a 9 x 13 inch glass baking dish with cooking spray or coat with a little olive oil, lay the tilapia filets in it and spread pesto generously over the fish. Bake at 350 for 20-30 minutes. That's it.

Tilapia in Coconut Milk
This second way of preparing tilapia is equally as easy and just about as delicious. I got this recipe idea from my friend, Lori, and I claim no credit for coming up with this delicious way to prepare tilapia.

Once again, spread your tilapia filets in a 9 x 13 inch pan (no greasing the pan necessary on this one). Pour a whole can of coconut milk over the tilapia. Add a few thinly sliced pieces of fresh ginger, a sprinkling of fresh cilantro, and salt and pepper to taste. Bake at 350 for 20-30 minutes. And then enjoy!

We like both of these tilapia dishes served over rice with the pan juices drizzled over the rice. Oh, so good.

Both are good with a simple green salad or an Asian style slaw with thinly sliced napa cabbage and red, yellow and green sweet pepper strips with a dressing of a little vinegar, a tad of sugar, and a few dashes of hot chili sesame oil (if you don't like it so spicy, use regular sesame oil). Toss it all together, sprinkle a few cashews on top and refrigerate til ready to serve.

One more tilapia idea
I have written before about how much I love Lynne Rosetto Casper and her radio cooking show. I now receive her email newsletter and every time I read it, I want to try her recipes. The last newsletter included an idea for a very simple way to prepare fish. I think I'll try it next time I do tilapia. Here's a link to her current newsletter with Sicilian Sweet-Sour Seafood Saute.

OK, it's time for dinner. Nothing nearly as exciting at our house as the tilapia dishes above tonight. Just good old mac and cheese made my mom's way which is the best. With three bean salad and fruit salad and fresh bread. Joel's been asking for mac and cheese for awhile. Happy to oblige, sweet boy.

More on homemade pasta

2009-04-19T20:17:00.000-07:00

Well, what d'ya know! Someone else is talking about homemade pasta. I just came across this post at Simple, Green, Frugal Co-op. I don't have a pasta machine so I usually cut my noodles in long strips with a pizza cutter. I'm planning to make lasagna sometime this week with homemade noodles. That'll be a first.

Really, making noodles is so very easy. I don't know why I didn't do it before now. Especially since YEARS ago the wife of one of Coty's economics collegues told me that she always made her noodles and that it was easy as could be and the noodles very delicious and nothing like store-bought. But back then I had lots of little people - you know, toddlers and babies - around all the time and I guess the thought of making homemade noodles was overwhelming. But now, it's very relaxing and we do love them. Frances B., you were right. I'm a late comer to the noodle party, but I'm here to stay.

I can't wait to try freezing them as the post above suggests. It would be so easy to double or triple the recipe and freeze a portion. Love that idea.

My new favorite meal

2009-04-19T14:30:00.001-07:00

I love this meal. I make it once a week. It is always different and always good. It is simple, delicious, nutritious, and just a bit special so it's also good for company. The meal includes homemade noodles tossed with a mix of sauteed onions, peppers, tomatoes, herbs, and some kind of bean and topped with freshly grated parmesan cheese. Add a salad on the side and some of that good homemade bread and it's a very satisfying meal.

I thank my favorite radio cooking show host, Lynne Rosetto Kasper, once again, for a wonderful meal idea, which I, of course, tweaked. My noodle recipe comes from recipezaar. I usually double it.

Last night's noodles were half whole wheat, half white. Next time I'm going for more whole wheat.

Last night's saute included red, yellow, and green peppers, onion, fresh parsley, basil, diced tomatos and fava beans. Very delicious. I make this saute while the noodles cook, drain the noodles and then toss it all together and serve in my big white pasta bowl.

I've done it with chick peas, kidney beans, white beans and variations on the colored pepper theme. I've added garlic, oregano, basil, and parsley. I've used fresh and canned tomatoes. I've added olives, both green and black. It is always delicious. The freshly grated parmesan is so good on top - as Lynne says, it's not the same thing as that dry stuff that comes in the green plastic bottle. Sure isn't. So, if you make this meal, go for the fresh parmesan.

By the way, sherbert, grapes and other fresh fruits, or a plate of assorted dried fruits make a nice dessert to this simple meal.

Enjoy!

How I make bread...a little photo tutorial

2009-04-19T12:08:00.000-07:00

The other day, Kandyce asked me for my bread recipe. I have this problem when it comes to recipes. I don't use them too much anymore. When I've done something over and over again, like baking bread, I've modified the technique, adjusted the ingredients, and just done it so many times that the recipe becomes second nature. On top of that, the "recipe" is different almost every time, depending on what I'm feeling like eating, what I have on hand, and what the occasion calls for.

But I would like to help those who want to make some of the things they've enjoyed at my house. So here, dear K, is a little bread tutorial with an approximation of a recipe to get you started. I did measure while I was mixing this time so these amounts are pretty accurate.

Into the bowl of my favorite machine in the whole world, the trusty Magic Mill Mixer, I put:

2 tablespoons yeast (I buy it in bulk at BJ's)
5 cups warm water (not too hot or it'll kill the yeast - just warm to touch)
1 tablespoon salt (I usually measure it in the palm of my hand. For this recipe I poured the salt into the palm of my hand and then measured what was there. It was very close to a tablespoon. Nice to know)
1/2 cup oil (usually canola, sometimes olive)
1/4 cup honey 1/4 cup brown sugar (a note on sweeteners, the yeast needs a little something. Sometimes I use molasses, sometimes honey, sometimes more, sometimes less, depending on what I want - a sweet bread like cinnamon raisin bread or something less sweet like rosemary bread)

Into this liquid mix, I add the flour and the Magic Mill does the kneading. The amount of flour depends on whether you are using white, whole wheat or a mix. For the bread above, I used 5 cups of white flour and 5 cups of whole wheat.

After the kneading is done, pour a little oil in the bowl of the mixer and turn the dough to oil it. You can see the oily shine on the dough here. This just keeps it moist and keeps it from sticking to the bowl as it rises. And, see, I really was writing things down while I did it.

Cover and let rise in a warmish place...

Here's the risen dough - it takes close to an hour to double in size.

And here it is, punched down and ready to be turned out onto the floured counter, kneaded a tiny bit more, divided and shaped into loaves. This batch made 5 medium sized loaves. Just the perfect size for slicing with dinner. I often make my loaves a little larger, but I wanted extra to give away so I had more, but smaller, loaves.

Lovely, elastic dough, full of yeasty air bubbles, ready to be kneaded and shaped.

Set the loaves to rise - this usually takes about a half hour for mine - and then bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for about 30 minutes.

Sorry, I didn't take pictures of the finished loaves, but they were lovely, golden brown, and delicious....and at least one loaf was quickly devoured.

Now it's your turn. If you want more info on the Magic Mill, take a look here. This is the company that I ordered my mixer from years ago and I have never regretted the large initial expense. The machine has probably paid for itself several times over in what I have saved on really good bread. I've seen Kitchen Aid mixers and I'm sure they are fine, but I think the Magic Mill is a better, simpler, more elegant design, easier to use, easier to clean, larger, etc., etc., etc. No, I don't get a commission. I just love this machine.

My next bread making venture is to learn how to make sprouted grain breads. Any tips?

Back yard salad

2009-03-30T19:39:00.000-07:00

We've been eating salads from the garden. Lettuce and spinach that sat in the ground just holding on all winter have grown big and lush with a bit of warmth and spring rain. There is nothing like picking your dinner salad from the back yard.

"The return of comfort"

2009-03-13T20:57:00.001-07:00

How to announce the return of comfort and well-being except by cooking something fragrant. This is what her mother always did. After every calamity of any signficance she would fill the atmosphere of the house with the smell of cinnamon rolls or brownies, or with chicken and dumplings, and it would mean, This house has a soul that loves us all, no matter what. It would mean peace if they had fought and amnesty if they had been in trouble. It had meant, You can come down to dinner now, and no one will say a thing to bother you, unless you have forgotten to wash your hands. And her father would offer the grace, inevitable with minor variations, thanking the Lord for all the wonderful faces he saw around his table.
-from Home by Marilynne Robinson

No calamity has befallen us, but I've been in a funk for a couple of days. Today though, the soul of this house said, I love you all and I am very glad you are here.

It said it with fresh, hot, homemade cinnamon rolls in the morning. It said it in the evening with black beans and rice, okra gumbo, corn salsa, roasted butternut squash with rosemary, homemade bread, and berry cobbler. Such fragrances. There is also a chicken simmering in the pot for soup for tomorrow. Noodles will be rolled out and cut for the soup and the house will say, More love to you.

When I spend a day in the kitchen...

feeling pliant dough resist and spread under the rolling pin,
cutting pinwheels of brown sugar and cinnamon filled dough,
chopping onions and peppers to saute and add to,
boiling bright purple-black beans,
measuring spices in the palm of my hand,
brushing olive oil on thick orange squash slices,
snipping cilantro, bay leaves, and rosemary from the garden...

When I spend a day doing these things, I think my family knows that I am "back", so to speak. Earlier this morning, the boys were recalling some other bad mood episodes of mine. They affirmed the truth of the saying, "When Mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy."

Ouch!

Oh dear, I don't want them to remember that. I want them to remember cinnamon rolls and rosemary, bubbling beans and hot bread and think, "My mother loves me so much."

I often say, when complimented on my food, "Well, I can cook."

It's what I do to establish equilibrium, to bless, to bring a measure of comfort, to give tangible expression to the soul of this house, the love of this family, my love. There are many things I can't do. Many things I don't do. But I can cook.

And I will always thank the Lord for the wonderful faces that assemble around my table. Even when we argue or get on each other's nerves, say unkind things or act rudely, when we disagree or misunderstand, when we are grouchy or sarcastic. Because no matter what, we love each other. I don't think any of my children would ever stay away from the table. They know "you can [always] come down to dinner now."

And then, we say grace because we experience grace. In our brokenness. In our funks. At our table. Every day.

______________________
also posted at Ebenezer Stories

Soccer food

2009-02-08T18:18:00.001-08:00

Homemade noodles with sauce made as described by Lynne Rosetto Kasper in this recipe.

Here's the noodle recipe from recipezaar. Very easy. I rolled the dough out before church and left it to dry a bit. When I got home, I cut the noodles into long strips with a pizza cutter.

And here's the sauce. First, I sauteed two large onions. When they caramelized, I added four chopped Roma tomatoes, a TBSP each of basil and garlic oil, some dried basil, and two large handfuls of fresh spinach. I did what Lynne suggested and added some of the pasta water to make sauce out of the saute. This simmered for a little while the noodles finished cooking.

Then I drained and poured the noodlesinto a big pasta bowl. I tossed it all with the sauce and a bit of parmesan. Oh boy, it was good! And very easy.

We'll be eating variations of this dish often. I didn't use the beans as in Lynne's recipe but will try that sometime before long.

Tools of the trade

2009-01-31T17:56:00.000-08:00

I make biscuits,
light and moist,
just brown on the bottom
with golden tops

Here are my
tools of the trade.

Pastry cutter with
worn wooden handle
and steel tines casting
curving shadows.

Measuring spoons that
dangle from a hook
by the stove
til needed
for baking powder.
My palm suffices for salt.

Rolling pin old friend
with dusting of flour
and squeak, squeak
as it rolls,
even pressure on dough.

And biscuit cutter,
thin handle broken,
so I press carefully,
and shake to release
biscuit discs,
placing each
on the pan,
sides touching.

How many times have
I held tools in hand to
cut in, measure,
roll and cut out.
And baked.

And opened hot biscuit
steam rising,
waiting for butter
and blueberry jam.

National soup month

2009-01-31T15:49:00.000-08:00

Oh my goodness! I missed it. January, now a few hours from over, is National Soup Month! I did make and eat plenty of soup this month. I made chicken noodle twice, bean soup, that lovely butternut squash soup, potato soup, cauliflower cheese soup and more. We even ate soup from a can, something we rarely do - clam chowder and good old Campbell's tomato soup, which you must eat together with grilled cheese sandwiches. But somehow, I missed that I should be celebrating soup this month.

Not to worry....I finished this celebratory soup month with a bang. I made two soups today. Chicken noodle with home made noodles by request for a friend and a HUGE pot of corn chowder for tomorrow.

Wonder what food we're celebrating in February?

Golden butternut soup and sweet potato biscuits

2009-01-29T14:26:00.000-08:00

As I said over there, I concocted this soup. I looked in the fridge and saw a plastic container with leftover roasted butternut squash, a ziploc with three cooked sweet potatos, and a pot with homemade chicken stock. Seemed the the makings of a good soup to me...which I have decided to call:

Golden butternut soup
Saute in 2 TBSP olive oil:
1 medium onion, diced
1 yellow sweet pepper, chopped

When the veggies are soft, add 2 TBSP. fresh rosemary leaves, let this all simmer gently while you...

Puree:
the *cooked butternut squash and the sweet potatoes together with enough stock to make it all whiz around in the blender. (I just add enough liquid til it blends easily without making my blender seem like it's laboring too hard).

Add the puree to the saute. And then add more stock (I probably used about a quart total).
Stir over medium heat and add a can of evaporated milk (this makes it really creamy and lovely) and about a cup of sharp cheddar cheese.

Now here's the fun part. I thought this soup needed just a little more kick and I had a jar of pickled jalapeno's in the fridge. So, I poured about a quarter cup of the jalapeno juice from the far in the soup. Nice addition.

We ate with a dollop of sour cream. It would also be good with a little feta sprinkled on top and perhaps some toasted almonds....next time.

Sweet potato biscuits
I have used the same biscuit recipe for years. It is based on the basic biscuit recipe in Joy of Cooking. This is my sweet potato adaptation:

Sift together with a fork:
3 1/2 cups flour
6 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
2 TBSP sugar

Cut in with a pastry cutter:
6 TBSP butter
When the butter pieces are about pea sized, I added a whole baked sweet potato and cut it in just like I did the butter. When this is all well blended together...

Add:
1 cup milk

Mix lightly til moistened all through. Flour the counter and roll out the dough. A light touch means lighter biscuits. Cut with a biscuit cutter and place right next to each other (no spaces between) on and ungreased baking sheet. Bake at 400 for 12-15 minutes.

We ate these with apple cranberry butter and/or pear preserves. Very tasty!

Sorry I have no pictures of this golden meal. It disappeared too fast.

_______________________
* to cook butternut squash, just cut in half lengthwise and scoop out seeds. Bake at 350, cut side down with a little water in an oven proof dish, for 30-45 minutes til soft. Cook time will depend on size of squash. You can also cut in 1/2 inch slices and roast on a cooking sheet sprayed with a little cooking spray. Roast at 40 for about 15 minutes (maybe a bit more) til soft.

Oh, gooooood cookies

2009-01-24T19:04:00.001-08:00

Here's the recipe I used for the cookies from my favorite recipe source online, recipezaar. I use it frequently and particularly like that there are comments that describe ways people tweak the recipes. I am definitely a recipe tweaker so I like to see how others do it.

These cookies were delicious. Just what I wanted. I tweaked them by using a bit of cinnamon and cardomam instead of nutmeg since I was out of the latter. Yum, yum, yum!

Oatmeal raisin cookies

2009-01-24T07:04:00.000-08:00

I've been hankering for a big chewy oatmeal raisin cookie for several days. I like them way better than chocolate chip cookies. Matthew is taking the SAT as I write so I'm going to greet him when he's done with a warm cookie and a berry/banana smoothie.

Off to the kitchen....

Hungry boys no more

2009-01-13T16:50:00.000-08:00

Poor Joel. As we headed from co-op to our afternoon of lab classes he asked if I had anything else to eat. He'd made himself a PB and J for lunch and nothing else and we had a long afternoon ahead of us. (He and Matthew are each in one lab and I teach two so we're there all afternoon). I had the remains of the leftover soup I'd heated up back at co-op. It was cold by then, but he ate it. On the way home, four hours later, he was famished. I was, too.

So, dinner needed to be delicious and filling and wonderful. I had a whole cooked chicken in the fridge that I'd boiled yesterday in anticipation of making soup later in the week. Just the ticket for the start of a very good, simple meal.

Chicken salsa saute:
1) Saute an onion, a cup or so of chopped celery, and a red sweet pepper in a little olive oil
2)Add 2-3 cups of the cooked chicken, pulled off the bones (I didn't really measure, just pulled it off til I had a skillet full)
3)Add some salsa, whatever you have. I had a green salsa made with jalapenos and tomatillas (from Trader Joes) and a little bit of very garlicky salsa (also from TJ's)

While this was simmering in the cast iron skillet, I cook brown rice in the rice cooker. And then I made this sauce:

Cheesy Salsa Sauce
1) To about a cup of stock, add a couple of TBSP flour, stir til smooth over medium heat
2) Add a cup more stock and a cup or more of sharp cheddar
3) Then stir in a 1/2 to a cup of the same salsa that's in the chicken. Stir over low heat til smooth and creamy.

So, now picture the chicken saute over brown rice with this lovely flavorful sauce on top. On the side we had roasted broccoli, roasted butternut squash (leftover) and roasted orange ginger glazed baby carrots. (Very simple - just put baby carrots in an oven dish, I used a pie plate, pour a little juice of some sort, orange is good, a TBSP of brown sugar or honey, and dash or two of ginger and roast at 450 til carrots are a little soft.) A meal full of vitamin A and other vitamins that are good for you. I always figure if there is a lot of color, there is a lot of nutrition.

chicken saute over brown rice with lot of sweet red pepper, glazed carrots, roasted broccoli, roasted butternut squash

Joel's face lit up as the food was brought to the table. I love it when I concoct a meal with surprises (like the salsa sauce) that everyone really enjoys. This was one of them.

We sat around the table and Coty read to us while we drank tea for awhile afterwards. Hungry bellies were filled and minds fed, too.

Thomas's last evening dinner

2009-01-11T19:19:00.000-08:00

Before heading back to college Thomas requested:

Enchiladas
Tortilla chips and cheese dip (to which he added Chinese siracha hot sauce which jazzed it up!)
Banana pudding

OK, not the healthiest dinner, but hey, the boy's leaving home and I won't see him for quite awhile. He gets what he asks for. His mama was aiming to make him happy.

For the enchiladas, I sauteed onions and yellow and red peppers, added a little mango chipotle sauce, refried beans, a can of chili beans, and some corn. All of that got rolled in flour tortillas and layered with sharp cheddar and enchilada sauce. Very, very colorful, filling, and comfortingly yummy.

And banana pudding...well, it's a southern comfort dessert, I think. Vanilla wafers, vanilla pudding, bananas. Layered. Simple. Also yummy.

Oh, yea, we had organic mixed greens for salad. A little healthy redeeming feature of a meal heavy in cheese and dairy. Oh well, we got lots of calcium....

And Thomas was happy. That was the goal.

Indian, African

2009-01-08T19:20:00.001-08:00

Tonight's dinner had both Indian and West African influences.

The menu:

Fish tikka
Gumbo
Roasted sweet potato sticks
Basmati rice

The fish:
I used a package of frozen tilapia, coated a 9x13 pan with cooking spray and laid the tilapia in it.

Then I made a sauce:
Saute a yellow pepper and a red pepper in about a TBSP of butter
Add a couple of TBSP Patak's Tikka Masala Curry Paste
1 1/2 cups of plain yogurt
a 1x3 chunk of tamarind, softened and mushed around in a cup of boiling water, then strained and added to the sauce

I poured this over the fish and baked at 350 for about 30 minutes.

Really delicious.

The Gumbo:
1 chopped onion, sauteed in a little olive oil
2 cans diced tomatoes
2 large bags frozen okra
a little salt and about a TBSP of sugar

Bring to a boil and then simmer for awhile.

The sweet potatoes:
Scrub sweet potatoes
Cut in half lengthwise, then cut each half into four sections lengthwise
Drizzle with olive oil or spray with cooking spray
Bake at 450 til done - 10-15 minutes

While all this is happening, I cook the Basmati rice in the rice cooker.

This was a colorful and very flavorful meal. The boys devoured it. The only thing left over is a bit of rice....

Chick pea soup

2009-01-08T15:16:00.000-08:00

I had about 7 cups of cooked chick peas in the fridge yesterday that needed to be eaten before they went bad. I hate it when I do that...cook extra and then forget about them til I smell that horrible stench in the fridge - such a waste. Anyway, yesterday, I remembered, so we had a wonderful chick pea soup for dinner.

Here's the "recipe:"

Saute together:
1 large onion
a red sweet pepper
a green pepper

Add the chick peas (I used all 7 cups)

Add two cans of tomatoes, the juice of two lemons, and water to cover plus a bit more

And now for the good part - herbs from the garden:
leaves from three four inch springs of fresh rosemary
a few stems of fresh cilantro (still a little in the garden)
a few snippings of fresh bronze fennel

a little salt and pepper to taste

This was a colorful and delicious soup. The boys tried adding salsa which was tasty, but the soup was just fine without the salsa. We ate it with carrot raisin salad and leftover biscuits. Very satisfying.