Greens and Things

Italian Plum Bread

2011-10-08T13:48:00.000-07:00

Mmmmm...having to stop myself from going into the kitchen to eat more of this. My neighbors have an Italian Prune Plum tree...three years ago it put out massive amounts of fruit and I made jam and conserve with it. Every year I wait for these delicious plums. But since then...there haven't been many plums. Luckily this year we got a bunch in our Tonnemaker Farm CSA box. I looove having this fruit box. The plums weren't very good fresh...they were a little too mealy and the flavor wasn't as tart as I like. So I decided to cook them and found this recipe on food.com. My slight adaptation below:

1 cup butter, at room temperature
2 cups granulated sugar
4 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 cup plain yogurt
1 cup walnuts
3 cups diced blue Italian plums

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease two 9 x 5 inch loaf pans.
In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs and beat well. Add vanilla.
In a separate bowl, combine the flour, salt, cinnamon, cream of tartar and baking soda. Add the dry ingredients and yogurt alternately to the creamed mixture, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients.
Stir in the nuts and plums. Divide the batter between the two loaf pans.
Bake for 60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Let the pans cool on a rack for 10 minutes, then turn the loaves out of the pans and cool completely on the rack. Makes 2 loaves.

Peach Pancakes

2011-09-27T19:00:00.000-07:00

We've had more peaches this year than ever before thanks to our fruit CSA box from Tonnemaker Farm.

Found a great recipe for Peach Pancakes courtesy of www.likemotherlikedaughters.com

2 eggs, at room temperature
2 ½ cups buttermilk, at room temperature (I substituted vanilla yogurt)
4 tablespoons oil
2 ½ cups flour
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon kosher salt
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ginger
Pinch nutmeg
Pinch ground cloves
2 cups ripe, peeled, diced peaches

Blend egg, milk and oil. In a separate bowl blend dry ingredients together.

Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and stir until just combined. Gently fold in peaches. Let sit 5 minutes. Batter will be lumpy.

Heat griddle until drops of water sizzle. Grease lightly if needed.

Drop large spoonfuls of batter onto hot grill and smooth out slightly. Flip pancakes once pancakes puff and bubbles have formed, but before bubbles break.

Turn and brown on the other side, pressing down gently to make sure batter cooks evenly around the fruit.

Serve immediately with syrup.

Put Up 2010 Revisited

2011-07-31T20:36:00.000-07:00

Of the list of stuff below that I put up last year, we only have left:
3 pints beets, 2 half-pints sundried tomato chutney, 3/4 pint apple cranberry chutney, half-pint apricot jam, and 3 half-pints apple onion chutney (looks like the latter never even made it on the list. It is a yucky green/brown color so not very appetizing looking. Definitely not something I'll do again.) Chutneys are definitely something we haven't found much of a use for so I won't be doing that anymore. The carrot salsa was awesome and we want more of that for sure, plus pickled carrots & cukes of all kinds. I made a ton more pickled beets than what is listed below. I must've made another 8-10 pints at some point that never got recorded. I think I'll try to make everything on the list again except the chutneys. I made a lot of on-demand salsas out of the crushed tomatoes (based on a Mark Bittman recipe). It was really nice to have the flexibility to use the tomatoes in so many ways instead of having too many pasta sauces or salsas. Speaking of pasta sauces, I made a bunch of bruschetta that also doesn't seem to be on the list below...probably 5 pints-ish. It was too thin to be a bruschetta that we liked but made a good base for pasta sauce, just had to add tomato paste to thicken it up. On the wishlist for this year is also corn relish and dilly beans. And I'd really love to do peaches or pears or some other sliced fruit again. They are sooo delicious in the middle of winter.

7 half-pints apple cranberry chutney
5 half-pints sundried tomato chutney
3 pints bbq sauce
4 quarts + 2 pints applesauce
5 quarts, 6 pints crushed tomatoes (all from my garden!)
4 half-pints tomatillo salsa
7 pints dilled carrots
1 quart bruschetta (freezer)
1 quart green beans (freezer)
1 quart broccoli (freezer)
6 half-pints carrot pepper salsa
5 half-pints + 9 quarter-pints apricot jam
5 half-pints raspberry jam
10 half-pints blackberry jam
6 half-pints blackberry sauce
8 half-pints strawberry jam
5 half-pints plum jam
3 pints spicy pickled carrots
3 pints spicy mixed pickled cucumbers & carrots
5 pints bread & butter pickles
2 pints pickled beets & onions w/ caraway
3 pints mashed strawberries w/ sugar (freezer)
2 quarts whole strawberries (freezer)
2 quarts blackberries (freezer)
3 quarts pickled cabbage slaw (freezer)
4 quarts vegetable broth (freezer)
2.5 quarts corn (freezer)
1 quart raspberries (freezer)
2 quarts blueberries (freezer)

Put Up 2011

2011-06-24T11:45:00.000-07:00

Updated 7/31/11

Below is approximations of fruit we bought to what we did with it. There was lots of berry snacking in there too.

Strawberries (2 full flats) = 9 half-pints strawberry jam + 3 quarts frozen whole strawberries + 7 pints frozen strawberry sauce (7/11)

Raspberries (1.5 full flats) = 10 half-pints raspberry jam + 2 quarts frozen berries (7/11)

Apricots (3 lbs) = 8 half-pints apricot jam (7/11)

Blueberries (1 full flat) = 8 half-pints black & blue jam (includes blackberries) + 3 quarts frozen berries (7/11)

Cucumbers (3 lbs) = 7 pints dill pickles (7/11)

Pickled Radishes

2011-06-15T19:10:00.000-07:00

Pickled Radishes

1 bunch red radishes
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup water
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon yellow or brown mustard seed
1/4 teaspoon whole coriander seed
1/4 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
1 medium dried bay leaf

Rinse radishes and trim off their leafy tops. Slice thinly with a mandolin. Set radishes aside. Combine red wine vinegar, sugar, water, salt, mustard seed, coriander seed, peppercorns, and bay leaf in a small saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Stir occasionally until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat and let pickling brine cool for about 5 minutes. Pour brine over radishes. Let cool at room temperature for 20 minutes; cover and refrigerate. Use to top burgers, sandwiches, add to potato salad, etc.

Note: These will smell horrible but taste delicious!

NW Seattle Farmer's Market Calendar

2011-06-10T09:50:00.000-07:00

There are so many farmer's markets cropping up.
Sundays - Ballard - 10am-3pm
Tuesdays - Swedish Medical Center Ballard Cafe - 11am-2pm (Private?)
Wednesdays - Wallingford - 3:30pm-7pm
Thursdays - Interbay - 3pm-7pm
Fridays - Phinney Ridge - 3pm-7pm
Saturdays - U District - 9am-2pm
Saturdays - Magnolia - 10am-2pm

Baked Onion Rings

2011-05-11T19:25:00.000-07:00

We've gotten heaps of onions from the farm this year. Last year I chopped them in the food processor and stored them in the freezer. But haven't gotten around to that this year. So...we tried these Baked Onion Rings slightly adapted from Allrecipes.com. Quite good and could easily become a late night snack.

2 medium yellow onions (I actually did 3 and have tons of slices leftover that we didn't have enough crumbs for...could be that 1 is plenty)
3 egg whites
1 cup dry bread crumbs
2 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp salt
1/8 tsp dried chipotle spice
1/8 tsp pepper

Slice onions ~1/4 in thick using mandolin (this is the thickest setting on my mandolin), separate rings and place in bowl. Cover with ice water, soak for 30 minutes. Drain.

In a small bowl beat egg whites until foamy (and starting to thicken). In another bowl combine remaining dry ingredients. Divide crumb mixture between 2 bowls. Dip onion into egg whites and then into crumb mixture shaking bowl till onion is coated. Place on a baking sheet coated with nonstick cooking spray. Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes.

Put Up 2010

2010-08-14T20:05:00.000-07:00

My canning obsession continues. Plus I've started freezing more stuff. There was so much summer produce I was missing during the winter. I'm trying to better prepare for that this year. Thinking about a 2nd freezer and a dehydrator. :-)

So far this summer I've put up (updated 10/9/10):
7 half-pints apple cranberry chutney
5 half-pints sundried tomato chutney
3 pints bbq sauce
4 quarts + 2 pints applesauce
5 quarts, 6 pints crushed tomatoes (all from my garden!)
4 half-pints tomatillo salsa
7 pints dilled carrots
1 quart bruschetta (freezer)
1 quart green beans (freezer)
1 quart broccoli (freezer)
6 half-pints carrot pepper salsa
5 half-pints + 9 quarter-pints apricot jam
5 half-pints raspberry jam
10 half-pints blackberry jam
6 half-pints blackberry sauce
8 half-pints strawberry jam
5 half-pints plum jam
3 pints spicy pickled carrots
3 pints spicy mixed pickled cucumbers & carrots
5 pints bread & butter pickles
2 pints pickled beets & onions w/ caraway
3 pints mashed strawberries w/ sugar (freezer)
2 quarts whole strawberries (freezer)
2 quarts blackberries (freezer)
3 quarts pickled cabbage slaw (freezer)
4 quarts vegetable broth (freezer)
2.5 quarts corn (freezer)
1 quart raspberries (freezer)
2 quarts blueberries (freezer)

Butternut Squash Panzanella

2009-12-17T12:21:00.000-08:00

I heart panzanella. But up until last night I'd only ever made it with tomatoes and mozzarella. Welcome to my world butternut squash panzanella. I heart you.

Butternut Squash Panzanella
Adapted from the Whole Foods Recipe

5-6 cups (1-inch) cubes peeled and seeded butternut squash
4 T olive oil, divided
4 T capers, drained (reserve liquid)
1 T chopped garlic
Pepper to taste
6 cups (1-inch) cubed baguette or other crusty bread
1 tsp dried sage
Salt to taste
juice from 1/2 fresh lemon
zest from 1 lemon
5 T red wine vinegar
1 bunch kale, chopped
1/4 cup thinly sliced red onion
4 oz feta cheese, crumbled

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a large bowl, toss together squash, 2 tablespoon of the oil, capers, garlic and pepper. Transfer to a large baking sheet and bake, tossing occasionally, until tender and golden brown, about 20 minutes. Reuse large bowl to toss together bread, 2 tablespoon of the remaining oil, sage, pepper and salt. Transfer to a second large baking sheet and bake, tossing halfway through, until toasted and golden brown, about 10 minutes. Set both squash and bread aside as done to let cool to room temperature. Meanwhile, soak red onion slices in 3T of red wine vinegar. Saute wet kale in 1T olive oil. Add garlic salt & pepper as kale wilts. Add a squeeze of lemon when cooked to desired tenderness.

In a large bowl, whisk together lemon juice, zest, 1T caper liquid, and 2T vinegar. Add onions, squash, bread and cheese tossing gently to coat. Serve bread salad on top of bed of kale.

Homemade Crackers

2009-12-08T19:21:00.000-08:00

Reading too many food blogs now and have all these recipes I want to try. Adding this one to the mix from www.foodinjars.com

Homemade Crackers

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 teaspoon salt (add a bit more if you like a saltier cracker)
3 tablespoons olive oil
3/4 cup water

Pre-heat over to 450 degrees.

Combine the flours and salt in a bowl. Add the olive oil and water and stir until you have a cohesive ball of dough (you’ll need to use your hands to really get it all together). Set aside for 15-20 minutes.

While you wait, mix up a spice/seed blend (skip this if you want plain, salted crackers). Here’s what I’ve been using. Sometimes, I’ll swap out rosemary for the fennel and add some salt to this combo for a slightly different take.

2 tablespoons sesame seeds
2 tablespoons poppyseeds
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon fennel seed

After the dough has rested a bit, divide it into two pieces, flour a board and rolling pin and roll the dough out until it’s as thin as you can get it. Put on a parchment-covered cookie sheet, brush with water and sprinkle with your spice/seed mixture or salt (kosher or a coarse sea salt is best here). Use a pizza cutter to slice the dough into squares or diamonds and bake for 10-12 minutes).

Let the crackers cool completely and then store them in an airtight container. If you don’t eat them all up, they’ll last at least a week on the counter.

They are also delicious sprinkled with parmesan cheese. Each recipe makes between 40-50 crackers, depending on how small you make your cuts.

jerusalem artichokes

2009-12-07T21:34:00.000-08:00

with winter approaching...i'm gearing up for jerusalem artichokes. these always languish in the fridge and rarely get added to dishes. but there's a recipe for pickling them in the ball cookbook and just stumbled across the recipes below at http://macandcheesereview.blogspot.com...so i'll be giving them a try this year!

Artichoke Relish
Adapted from A Gracious Plenty: Recipes and Recollections from the American South
Makes 17 or 18 pints
5 quarts Jerusalem artichokes, chopped
2 gallons water
2 cups non-iodized salt
3 pounds green cabbage, chopped
1 ½ pounds onions, chopped
6 large green and red bell peppers, chopped
3/4 cup flour
1 (24-ounce) jar prepared mustard
2 quarts apple cider vinegar
3 pounds sugar
3 tablespoons mustard seed
2 tablespoons turmeric
2 tablespoons celery seed
1 tablespoon black pepper
1 tablespoon hot sauce

* Soak artichokes overnight in 1 gallon of water and 1 cup of salt. In another container, soak the cabbage, onion, and bell peppers in the remaining 1 gallon of water and 1 cup of salt.
* The next day, drain the artichokes and vegetables. Spread the artichokes on one towel, and the vegetables on a separate towel.
* Combine the flour and prepared mustard in a bowl, avoiding lumps.
* In a 10-quart or larger pot, add the vinegar, sugar, mustard seed, turmeric, celery seed, and black pepper. Bring to a boil, then add the cabbage, onion, and bell peppers. Bring back to a boil and cook for 10 minutes over medium heat.
* Reduce heat to low. Add and mix about a cup of the cooking liquid to the flour and mustard mixture, then add the thinned mixture to the pot of cooking vegetables, and stir.
* Add the hot sauce and artichokes. Raise the heat and stir until almost boiling (about 5 minutes).
* Remove pot from heat, and ladle hot relish into sterilized jars, wipe rims of jars, apply sterilized lids and bands, and process for 15 minutes in a hot water bath.

Pickled Jerusalem Artichoke
Adapted from The Lee Bros. Southern Cookbook
Makes 2 pints

1 ¾ pounds Jerusalem artichokes, washed
1 quart water
2 tablespoons kosher salt
3 cups cider vinegar
1 cup water
3 tablespoons sugar
½ teaspoon whole black peppercorns
¼ teaspoon coriander seed
3 whole allspice berries
½ teaspoon whole red peppercorns (optional)
¼ teaspoon ground turmeric
2 dried red hot chilies (Thai or chiles de arbol)

* Bring a 3-quart pot, three quarters full of water to a boil. Set jars and their lids, along with a slotted metal spoon in the boiling water to sterilize. Boil for 15 minutes, then remove carefully with tongs, and set aside.
* Trim bad spots from tubers, and cut the tubers into chunks between the size of a grape and a walnut (you should have about 4 cups of artichokes chunks).
* In a bowl, combine artichokes, 1 quart of water, and one tablespoon of salt, stir to dissolve. Soak for 4 hours on the counter top, or overnight in the refrigerator. Drain and rinse the artichokes, then pat them dry.
* Bring vinegar, 1 cup of water, the remaining 1 tablespoon of salt, sugar, and all the spices except the chiles to a boil for 4 minutes.
* Using the slotted spoon, place one pepper in each jar, then carefully pack the jars with the artichokes, and pour the hot vinegar brine over the artichokes up to 1/2 inch below the neck. Place any remaining spices in the pot into the jars. Seal the jars, and process in boiling water if canning (I processed these 15 minutes). If only making a small batch, allow to cool, and store in the refrigerator. Unprocessed pickled artichokes will keep for about 4 weeks in the refrigerator.

pickles

2009-12-02T23:16:00.000-08:00

now that i've tried my pickles...i know that i don't like pickling spice...at least not the kind that is pre-mixed. The dill pickle here is sooo good: http://greensandthings.blogspot.com/search/label/pickles. Super spicy.

But I'd like to have something that's not so spicy...I could just cut back on the hot peppers...but this sounds good too:

Spiced garlic dill pickles

5 lbs (2 1/4 kg) pickling cucumbers, ends cut

4.5 cups white vinegar

4.5 cups water

1/3 cup pickling salt

8 cloves garlic, peeled and halved (more or less, depending on number of jars, use two halves per jar)

1 fistful of dill sprigs per jar (or 1 tsp dill seeds, total)

1 tsp each: celery seeds, coriander seeds, black peppercorns, mustard seeds

First, crisp up your cukes by placing them in a bowl with a bunch of ice cubes and cover them with water (after you’ve scrubbed them clean and trimmed their ends). Let them soak for at least two hours, a few more is fine. When you’re ready, bring the brine (vinegar, water, salt and spices) to a boil, then simmer for five minutes.

Halve garlic cloves, separate dill into bunches (one per jar). Drain the cukes. Put a little dill, half a garlic clove and some tightly-packed cukes into sterilized jars (I boil mine in the canner), then a little more dill and another half clove of garlic. Pour the brine over top, leaving about 1/2 inch (just over 1 cm) of headspace. Process jars in a water bath for 30 minutes, making sure the temp stays between 180 F/82 C and 185 F/85 C.

Tortilla Soup w/ Butternut Squash

2009-11-08T10:07:00.000-08:00

We have so much squash!! So I decided to try adding it to tortilla soup last night. Tasted delicious!

Tortilla Soup w/ Butternut Squash
1 small onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 T tomato paste
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp chipotle spice blend
4 cups vegetable broth (i like no-chicken broth)
2 T chopped fresh cilantro
1 large tomato, chopped
1 c coarsely broken tortilla chips (big chunks are good!)
1 can black beans, rinsed
1 c butternut squash, peeled and cubed

Toss butternut squash with olive oil and roast at 450 degrees for about 10-15 minutes. Meanwhile heat olive oil in large pot, add onion and garlic and cook till almost tender, stirring often. Stir in tomato paste, cumin, and chipotle spices. Add broth, cilantro, and tomato. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer about 15 minutes. Add tortilla chips, beans, and squash. Simmer 2-5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Serve topped with shredded monterey jack cheese.

Honey Whole Wheat Muffins

2009-09-21T16:04:00.000-07:00

I have a new favorite recipe. Seriously yummy.

Honey Whole Wheat Muffins
2 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 sticks butter
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup honey
2 tsp vanilla
3 large eggs
1 cup soymilk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour muffin tins or just use muffin cups.

Mix flour, baking powder and salt together in a small bowl and set aside.
Use electric stand mixer to whip butter, sugar and honey on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes. Add vanilla. Add eggs one at a time, beating for about one minute after each addition. Add the dry mixture and soymilk in three additions, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients. Transfer the batter to prepared pans. Bake for 20-25 minutes.

Canning Cupboard

2009-09-20T21:13:00.001-07:00

From left: Spicy Corn Relish, Zucchini Vegetable Strips, Mixed Pickles, Bread & Butter Pickles, Kosher Dill Slices, Kosher Dill Spears, Fermented Pickles, BBQ Sauce, Pickled Garlic, Plum Jam, Peach Almond Conserve, Plum Conserve, Raw Pack Plums

Canning Recipes

2009-09-20T20:51:00.000-07:00

Peach & Almond Conserve
(Based on a recipe for Plum & Hazelnut Conserve just substituting fruit & nuts)
2 lbs Peaches, peeled, pitted and chopped
2 lbs sugar
.5 lb sliced almonds

Layer peaches and sugar in a nonreactive pot. Let sit for at least 2 hours. Cook over low to medium heat, slowly bringing to a boil. Make sure that all of the sugar is dissolved. Boil for ~15 minutes. (When we made this, we cooked a pot full of it for at least 4 hours.) Check for gelling. Place in sterilized jars and process for 10 minutes.

Bread & Butter Zucchini Pickles
4 lbs zucchini, sliced (can use mix of zucchini & yellow squash)
1 lb onion, sliced
1/4 c pickling salt
2 1/4 c cider vinegar
1 1/4 c sugar
1 T mustard seeds
1 t ground tumeric

Toss vegetables with the salt. Let stand until softened. Drain the vegetables well. Boil vinegar, sugar & spices. Add vegetables and bring slowly to a boil. Simmer for 5-7 minutes. Place vegetables and liquid into pint jars leaving 1/2 inch headroom. Process for 10 minutes. Allow to sit for a couple of weeks before opening.

Spicy Corn Relish
12 ears of corn
3 Ancho or Chipotle chiles, rehydrated, seeded and chopped
1 3/4 c honey
2 T pickling salt
1 T mustard seed
1/4 t turmeric
2 3/4 c cider vinegar
1/2 c water
2 c onion, chopped
1 1/2 c celery, chopped
1 c sweet red peppers, chopped

Par-boil corn until bright yellow. Cut kernels off.
Combine honey, salt, mustard seed, turmeric, vinegar, and water. Bring to a boil. Boil until honey and salt are dissolved. Add corn, onion, celery & sweet peppers. Bring to a boil, stir often until onions and celery are tender. Approximately 30 minutes. Add chiles and stir. Place in pint jars and process for 15 minutes.

Zucchini Vegetable Strips
1 lb zucchini
1 lb carrots
1/2 lb leeks
1 T kosher salt
2 c vinegar
1/2 c water
1/2 c honey
4 T fresh herbs, chopped
1/2 t peppercorns, crushed

Julienne zucchini, carrots & leeks. Toss with salt. Let stand until softened. Drain and rinse. Mix vinegar, honey, herbs & pepper in saucepan. Bring to a boil until honey is completely dissolved. Place vegetables into sterilized jars. Pour herbed liquid over vegetables leaving 1/2 inch headspace. Process half-pints 15 minutes, full pints 20 minutes.

Barbecue Sauce
2 T canola oil
2 onions, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
6 large tomatoes torn into chunks (removing core)
1 c dark beer or red wine
3 T honey
1 T worcestershire sauce
4 T vinegar
1 t mustard
1 t green peppercorns, crushed
1/2 t salt
1 T hot sauce
1 T molasses

Saute onion & garlic until translucent. Add tomatoes, beer/wine, honey, worcestershire, vinegar, mustard, peppercorns & salt. Bring to boil and boil for 30 minutes (or a few hours!) until thickened. Puree until smooth. Add hot sauce and molasses to taste. Return to a boil until sauce reaches desired thickness. Place in sterilized jars and process for 20 minutes. Yield ~3 cups.

Tomato Bruschetta
9 c chopped tomatoes (cored) or cherry tomatoes
6 garlic cloves, minced
6 shallots, minced
1 c fresh basil cut into ribbons
1/4 c fresh oregano
3 T white vinegar
2 T balsamic vinegar
1.5 t pickling salt
1/2 t peppercorns, crushed

Combine all ingredients except balsamic vinegar and let rest for 15 minutes. Heat on high for 5 minutes. Remove solid ingredients and set aside. Reduce juices by half. Add balsamic vinegar and pour over solid ingredients. Place in sterilized pint jars leaving 1/2 inch headspace. Process for 20 minutes.

Canning Recipes

2009-09-20T20:02:00.000-07:00

Spiced Peaches

1.5 cups dry white wine
1.5 cups water
9 T sugar
6 quarter size pieces fresh ginger, crushed
1 pod of cardamom, crushed
6 peaches, peeled, and sliced
1 tabled Vitamin C

Combine wine, water, sugar, ginger, cardamom and vitamin C. Simmer until the sugar is dissolved and syrup reaches desired spiciness. Remove cardamom pod (if you leave it in jars it will create a soapy taste). Place sliced peaches in 1/2 pint jars, pack loosely. Pour syrup over peaches leaving 1/2 inch headroom. Process for 10 minutes. (Can put raw ginger in jars with peaches instead of simmering it in syrup.)

Spicy Pickled Carrots

2 lbs carrots
1 quart white vinegar
1/2 cup water
2 T sugar or honey
2 T mustard seeds
1 T pickling salt
Fresh hot peppers
Garlic (optional)

Slice carrots into quarters. Cut peppers into rings Combine vinegar, sweetener, mustard seeds, and salt. Bring to a simmer until sugar and salt are dissolved. Place carrots, peppers (and garlic) into pint jars. Cover with vinegar mixture and process for 10 minutes.

Dill Pickles
3 lbs pickling cucumbers, cut into spears
2 quarts vinegar (white...can use cider)
1.5 cups pickling salt
Fresh dill (dillweed or dill seedheads)
Garlic cloves
Small fresh hot peppers

Scrub cucumbers and trim the ends off. Slice into quarters. Place 1-3 cloves of garlic, hot peppers, and dill in pint jars. Pack cucumber spears in tightly. Combine vinegar and salt and bring to simmer. Pour vinegar mixture over cucumbers leaving 1/2 inch headroom. Process for 10 minutes.

Mixed Pickles

Mix leftover chopped bits of carrots & cucumbers, with chunks of garlic, dill, hot peppers, and cracked peppercorns. Fill jars. Cover with pickle or spicy carrot brines from above recipes. Process 10 minutes.

Chunky Tomato Sauce
6 lbs tomatoes, chopped
1 c onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 T basil, chopped
1/2 c red wine
1 t sugar
1/2 t peppercorns, crushed
1/2 t pickling salt
2 T vinegar (red wine or balsamic)

Place all ingredients except vinegar in saucepan. Bring slowly to a boil. Lower to a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft (at least 30 minutes but the longer the better...we cooked ours in a full pot for ~4 hours). Stir in vinegar. Place in jars leaving 1/2 inch head room. Process for 35 minutes in pint jars, 40 minutes for quarts (verify this time...we actually only processed for 25 minutes in pint jars).

Fermented Pickles

2009-09-05T20:55:00.000-07:00

My house smells like pickles. My farm delivered an extra 10 lbs of pickling cucumbers on a Wednesday afternoon so I decided my best option was to set up a fermenting spot for them. Bought a huge punchbowl at Goodwill and set them up on the counter. They have to stay between 70-75 degrees and my basement is too cool for that unfortunately.

I'm only a week and a half into the fermenting process. It should take 2-3 weeks. And then I'll can them...though I'm out of jars at this point!

Plums

2009-09-05T20:20:00.000-07:00

It's been a weekend of free stuff. it started with free woodchips. we filled up the back of the car with 4 trash bins and made 3 trips to pick them up a few blocks from our house. take that weeds!

Then my neighbor told me to come take as many plums from his tree as i could handle. i took two big bowls full and planned to make plum jam and conserve. well...two big bowls of plums goes a lot farther than i expected so i ended up with 6 jars of raw pack plums too!

I think they are Italian plums. They're quite delicious.

Plum Conserve Recipe (c/o http://elise.com/recipes/archives/005260plum_conserve.php
Ingredients
* 7 cups seeded, chopped tart plums (about 3 pounds)
* 4 cups sugar
* 1 navel orange, thinly sliced, including rind
* 1 lemon, thinly sliced, including rind, seeds removed
* 3 1/2 cups raisins
* 1 cup chopped walnuts

1 Prepare jars for canning in any of the following ways. You can run them through a short cycle on your dishwasher. You can place them in a large pot (12 quart) of water on top of a steaming rack (so they don't touch the bottom of the pan), and bring the water to a boil for 10 minutes. Or you can rinse out the jars, dry them, and place them, without lids, in a 200°F oven for 10 minutes.

2 Put plums, sugar, orange, lemon, and raisins into a large 6 or 8-quart pan. Heat until boiling. Gently boil for 20 to 25 minutes, stirring frequently, or until the mixture starts to thicken slightly. Stir in walnuts.

3 Carefully ladle the conserve into the jars, one at a time, leaving 1/4 inch head space at the top of the jars for a vacuum seal. Wipe the rim clean with a clean, wet paper towel. Place the lid on the jar, securing with a jar ring. Work quickly. Allow the jars to sit overnight. You will hear them make a popping sound as a vacuum seal is created.

Makes 5-6 pints.

My before:

And after:

Plum Jam
10 cups plums
7 cups sugar
juice of 2 lemons

Combine all in large stockpot. Cook over medium-low heat stirring often. Bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer 30-35 minutes until it thickens. Ladle into sterilized pint jars and process in boiling water bath for 15 minutes.

Tomatoes

2009-08-27T11:02:00.000-07:00

I love tomatoes.
Someday I must try "Upside-down Tomato Basil Bread"
and for more ideas...
27 Recipes

Pickling

2009-08-23T14:07:00.000-07:00

Emily & I made 30 jars of pickles (cucumbers, zucchini & garlic) today. I had a goal to finish by 2pm and at 1:57pm walked Emily out to her car. 5 hours of canning fun! Pickles are sooooo much easier than last year's jam, applesauce, peach extravaganza. Not nearly as much prep, not nearly as much mess, not nearly as much time. We used my mandolin for all the slicing. It was a great help. If only there was something as convenient for making spears. Made kosher dills, sunshine pickles (like bread & butter but not as much sugar), and a vinegar/wine combo for the garlic.

Before:

After:

Cup-CAKES

2009-07-27T14:24:00.000-07:00

holy moley: http://cupcakeblog.com/?page_id=83

Links

2009-07-18T14:00:00.000-07:00

Here are some good links to check out:

This one converts your recipe into smaller or larger servings
http://www.fruitfromwashington.com/Recipes/scale/recipeconversions.php

And this one will help calculate your dietary intake on each recipe
http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-calculator.asp

Simple Slaw Salad

2009-07-16T16:24:00.000-07:00

Got this recipe off "Delish" and because it's full of rice vinegar and it's super easy, it's become one of my favorite summer sides.

1/4 c. rice vinegar
1 TBS. toasted sesame oil
2 tsp. sugar
2 tsp. Dijon mustard
1/4 tsp salt
6 c. thinly sliced bok choy
2 carrots (shredded)
2 scallions (thinly sliced)

Whisk vinegar, oil, sugar, mustard and salt in a large bowl until sugar dissolves. Add bok choy, carrots and scallions; toss to coat with dressing. I used presliced carrots and a little more vinegar. It was even crunchy the next day!

Collard Greens & Hoe Cakes

2009-06-28T18:27:00.000-07:00

This time of year we gets tons of greens in our CSA box. This week we got kale, collard greens, 2 heads of lettuce, mixed salad greens, sorrel, and bok choy. Greens-city. We usually just saute greens with a little soy sauce but I decided to try this southern version and it was quite good. And the hoe cakes tasted like a skillet cornbread. De-licious. I've been using wheat flour in place of all-purpose flour in most recipes because we got some fresh, local wheat flour in our CSA box and it is sooo good.

Southern-style (but Vegetarian) Collard Greens
2 c water
1/4 c shallots
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp allspice
1 T worchestershire sauce
2 tsp tamari
1/4 tsp cumin
1 tsp honey
4 cups collard greens

Simmer everything but the collard greens for 5 mins. Add collard greens, cover, and simmer for 30 minutes stirring occasionally. Remove greens from liquid with slotted spoon into a separate bowl, toss the bay leaf, and add 1 T olive oil + garlic salt, pepper & cayenne to taste.

Hoe Cakes
1 1/2 c coarse corn meal
1 c whole wheat flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1/3 c sugar
1/4 c butter, melted
2 eggs, beaten
1 c milk
1/4 c plain yogurt

Mix dry ingredients. In a separate bowl stir together wet ingredients. Combine all together and stir until blended. Heat 2 T vegetable oil in skillet. Drop in spoonfuls of batter (~1/4 c size)...leave plenty of room because they expand quite a bit! Brown for 2-3 minutes per side and then remove. Keep warm in a 250 degree oven till ready to serve. Top with a pat of butter.

2009-06-28T14:26:00.000-07:00

Mini Blueberry Muffins

2009-06-14T19:02:00.001-07:00

When my mom visited me recently, she talked me into buying a mini muffin pan. I never really thought I needed one. But now that I've made these muffins a few times, I dunno what I'd do without my mini muffin pan. They get slightly crunchy on the sides. So yummy. The kids snacked on them all day (okay, Jeff & I helped) until they were gone so I didn't get a picture.

1 1/4 c all purpose flour
1 c whole wheat flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
2 large eggs
3/4 c milk
2/3 c vegetable oil
1 1/4 c sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 c frozen blueberries (little ones work best)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Oil muffin pan. Mix flour, baking powder, cinnamon & salt. In a separate bowl, whisk eggs, milk, oil, sugar & vanilla. Add to dry ingredients and stir until mixed. Fold in berries. Spoon into muffin tins so that cup is ~3/4 full. Bake 15-20 minutes. Makes ~48 muffins.

Potato-Kohlrabi Cakes with Strawberry & Spinach Salad

2009-06-09T11:20:00.001-07:00

Last night's dinner was one of those times where I had a bunch of random stuff and didn't know what to do with it. But it turned out great.

Potato-Kohlrabi Cakes
10-12 small potatoes
3 kohlrabi
1 large shallot, finely chopped
1 T butter
4 T fresh cilantro (or other herbs), chopped

Quarter potatoes & kohlrabi and boil till soft. Meanwhile saute shallots in olive oil. Drain potatos & kohlrabi. Mash with butter, shallots & cilantro, salt & pepper to taste. Heat a little more olive oil in your shallot pan, and form the potato-kohlrabi mixture into small patties. Brown on either side. Serve right away.

Strawberry-Spinach Salad (from the Smith & Hawken Gardener's Community Cookbook)
1 bunch spinach, roughly chopped
2 cups of strawberries, sliced

"Kentucky" Dressing (slightly adapted)
1/4 c vegetable oil
1/4 c apple cider vinegar
1/4 c sugar
1/2 T finely chopped shallot
1 T poppy seeds
1 T sesame seeds
2 drops worcestershire sauce

Mix all ingredients with whisk. Drizzle over salad.

Potato Lasagna

2009-05-12T18:55:00.000-07:00

I had potatos, kale, leeks and shitake mushrooms to use up tonight. Jeff had mentioned lasagna the other night. I thought there might be a way to turn these ingredients into a lasagna. Google didn't disappoint.

The first link I clicked on was this recipe on Allrecipes: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Potato-Lasagna/Detail.aspx

My adaptation changed it to:
6 medium yukon gold potatoes, thinly sliced (as thin as my mandolin could do)
3 medium carrots, shredded
2 leeks, chopped
1 bunch kale, chopped
8 oz fresh shitake mushrooms, chopped
1/4 cup shredded smoked Gouda cheese
1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
salt and pepper to taste
1 jar marinara sauce

Saute kale for 5 minutes with carrots, leeks, shitakes, garlic salt, pepper, and I tossed in some other pasta seasonings for good measure.
Lightly oil 9x13 casserole, layer two rows of potatos, lightly salt & pepper. Then put a layer of half of the kale mixture, a layer of 3/4 cup of sauce, and a layer of cheese. Then repeat again ending with cheese on top. Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes (I did this on convection bake), and then 10 minutes uncovered. (I browned it under the broiler for a minute too. I think it could've baked another 5 minutes covered but I was getting impatient.)

I can definitely see how this could work with a whole slew of different vegetables in place of the veggies I used. The gouda, cheddar, mozzarella combo made for a really rich lasagna. I just happened to have the smoked gouda on hand so I used it. I am interested in trying it with a more traditional lasagna cheese concoction so it's not so heavy next time.

Jalapeño my Bagels

2009-05-08T16:27:00.000-07:00

Sage came home from school after reading a really cute story about a kid whose mother is Hispanic and father is Jewish. They make jalapeño bagels in their bakery because it represents them as a family and blends both cultures together. At the end of the story, there is the (following) recipe for these bagels. Sage was super excited to try them because he had not only just read about them but also because they are my dads favorite snack (and it's almost his birthday). We thought it would be a great present but I have to admit these bagels are a little so-so but it was our first time. Maybe we'll get better with time, practice or tweaking the recipe. Either way, here goes:

1 3/4 C. lukewarm water
1/2 tsp. dry yeast
2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 TBS. sugar
5-6 C. flour
1/3 C. jalapeño chopped
1/4 C. dried peppers

Mix water, yeast, salt, sugar. Add flour and jalapeños and mix into a ball. Knead for 10-12 minutes, adding more flour if necessary until dough is stiff. Add red peppers and knead for a few minutes more. Let dough rest for 10 minutes then cut into 12 pieces with a knife. Roll each piece on a table to form long tube like shapes. Then for each of the twelve pieces, take the ends and overlap them about 3/4 inch to make a ring like shape. Secure the joints so it won't come loose in the next process. Cover with a damp towel and store in a warm place for 1-1 1/2 hours. In a large pot, boil 1-2 gallons of water. Once at a rolling boil, place bagels in pot til they float (15-30 seconds). Remove from water with a slotted spoon and place on a lightly oiled cookie sheet. Bake at 400 for 10-15 minutes or until brown.

Sum Siam Salad

2009-05-04T15:53:00.000-07:00

We are so fortunate to live close to two different huge and amazing Asian Supermarkets. I was searching our local produce places for this Green Papaya but came up empty til I thought of going to the Assi and of course, found what I was looking for. Anyway, this is easy and makes my mouth water:

1 Large Green Papaya (~4 cups shredded)
3/4 tomato (seeded)

dressing:
3 TBS brown sugar
1.5 TBS lime juice
2 cloves of garlic (mashed to a pulp)
3 TBS fish sauce
4 dried chili peppers (crushed)

crushed peanuts to garnish

I mixed the "dressing" together and threw it in the microwave for 20 seconds and stirred til the sugar dissolved into the rest of the liquid then tossed with the rest. Garnish with crushed peanuts, topple on cabbage, add dried shrimp or green beans. Even better the next day!! Yummy!

Not Yo Gramamma's Au Gratin

2009-04-01T16:50:00.000-07:00

Had to make some sweet potato side tonight and was sick of the same 'ol so I made this one up and it came out super yummy and sticky. I'm not sure on the quantities because I was just flinging this one together but this is what I did:

3 large pealed (thinly sliced) sweet potatoes
salt, cinnamon, 2 tsp. of dried chilies
2 cloves garlic, 1 inch of grated ginger
Olive oil, a few squirts of Agave Nectar
2 Tbs. of whipping cream

Set the oven to 350 then threw everything in a bowl (sans the cream) and tossed it all together. Poured that into a baking dish and poured the cream over everything (just enough to cover the bottom). Baked the potatoes for about 45min stirring everything up every now and then. Waited til it was bubbly and brown on top. Chris said it was like his grandmas sweet potatoes but mixed up in Thailand. I thought it had a great sweet/spice combo going on and was truly comfort food to the max.

Egg Rolls w/ Soba Noodle Salad

2009-03-18T18:53:00.000-07:00

I decided to try making egg rolls tonight. I've always wanted to try it. Got a head of napa cabbage in our veggie box today and had some egg roll wrappers stored in the freezer so I gave it a try. It was much easier than I expected. Emmett loved his dinner and ate two egg rolls. He kept declaring "good dinner, mommy!" I prolly would've mixed up the veggies with some others if I'd had different things on hand but this worked out fine.

And I decided to make some soba noodles to go with it. These were delicious. The kids are always fans of things with beets which still blows my mind.

Soba Noodle Salad
1 pkg soba noodles (10 ounces)
1 large beet peeled & grated (i used my cuisinart)
1/2 c tamari
6 T rice vinegar
1/4 c sesame oil
2 T mirin
2 T sugar
2 tsp ground ginger (i wish i would've had fresh on hand)
4 drops chili oil
black pepper

Boil the noodles per package directions. Meanwhile prepare dressing by mixing together everything but the beets in a small bowl. Drain noodles and pour dressing over the top. Set aside. When cooled down add beets and toss to coat. I had a little chopped shallot sitting around too so I tossed that in as well. Top with toasted sesame seeds. Serve at room temperature.

I just used the beet raw this time. I think the salad would be good with other grated veggies as well like carrot and prolly could've had green onion in it. But I was using carrot in our egg rolls so I decided just to go with the beet and it was satisfying that way.

Veggie Egg Rolls
1 pkg tofu drained
3 carrots
1 shallot
3 burdock roots (gobo)
2 cups napa cabbage finely shredded
Sesame oil
2 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp ginger
~14 egg roll wrappers
salt & pepper
1 egg, beaten
vegetable oil

Shred carrots, shallot & burdock root using Cuisinart attachment. Crumble tofu and brown in skillet w/ a little sesame oil. Add veggies and stir-fry ~3 minutes, add soy sauce, ginger and salt & pepper. Let cool. Place ~2 Tablespoons of veggie mix in the center of egg roll wrapper and follow package directions on folding. Use a little beaten egg to close the wrapper. Heat vegetable oil to about 350 degrees. It'll need to be about 2 inches high in your pan. Fry in small batches for about 4 minutes turning frequently. Remove rolls from pan and sit on paper towels.

Dipping sauce
1/2 c tamari
1/4 c mirin
1/4 c rice vinegar
1 T ginger
1/2 tsp ground mustard

Mix all together and set aside till ready to serve.

Soy Stash

2009-03-17T14:32:00.001-07:00

This has become a family favorite. I love the spice but you can tone it down. It's easy to keep these things on hand so we make this one alot.

1 bag of Trader Joes Organic SoyCutAsh (frozen edamame/corn/red pepper)
(cook as directed)
1 c. dried cranberries

dressing:
2 Tbs. Thai sweet red chili sauce
1/4 tsp. thai red curry paste
2 Tbs mirin
1 1/2 Tbs toasted sesame oil

Make the frozen bag of edamame/corn/red pepper. Rinse with cold water or let cool down and set aside. Mix the dressing ingredients, then add the cranberries and edamame mix. Mix well. Tastes even better the following day.

Orange Spring Salmon

2009-03-11T16:33:00.000-07:00

This picture doesn't do this recipe justice. I thought this fish was good last night but it was amazing today at lunch. My mouth is watering for more. It was super simple, delicious and even complex tasting. I can't wait to make it again.

1 lb salmon fillet
2 oranges
1/2 lemon
1/2 onion
2 green onions
dill
salt
pepper
olive oil

Thinly slice the 1/2 onion and 1 orange (unpeeled), put into a baking dish and sprinkle olive oil, salt and pepper on top of it. Bake at 400 for 20-30 min. Fry the salmon skin side down in a little olive oil for 5 min. or until the skin is crispy. Lay the fillet in the baking dish skin side down and sprinkle dill, salt and pepper on top. Put the baked orange slices and onions on top of the salmon and put the dish back in the oven at 450 for 10-15min. or when the fish is fully cooked. While that is cooking squeeze into a bowl the other orange and 1/2 lemon, slice the green onions and add some dill, stir. Once the salmon is cooked and cooled (or chilled even) remove the orange peels, pour the juices over the salmon and serve.

Acorn's Agave

2009-03-11T16:31:00.003-07:00

I know this is a ridiculously easy recipe and shouldn't even be on here but it's such a fast easy yummy winter side. I usually make it with brown sugar and wasn't sure how it would taste with the agave nectar instead but I gave it a try. It was so good that no one could tell the difference. All you need are these four ingredients and and an oven.

acorn squash, pat of butter, squirt of agave, pinch of salt

Turn oven on at 400, cut the squash in half, scoop out the seeds, add the butter and agave, sprinkle with salt, put in a shallow baking dish with water on the bottom and bake for an hour.

Diabetics Delight

2009-03-11T16:27:00.000-07:00

Trying to find a chocolate dessert type recipe that's sugar free but still tastes good is so hard. Although the Trader Joe's No Carb Dark Chocolate fits the bill most of the time, I wanted to find an alternative. I first googled apple, pb, no sugar, oat balls and somehow found this recipe. It called for 1.5 cups of fructose so I used the Trader Joes Blue Agave instead.

1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 cup Agave
1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup milk
~*~
1/2 cup peanut butter
tsp vanilla
3 cups oats - not instant

Stir first 4 ingredients into a saucepan and bring to a boil for a minute. Add PB and vanilla, mix well. Stir in oatmeal. Take off the heat and when cool enough to handle (but still warm) shape into small balls, place on waxed-paper lined cookie sheet, and chill in refrigerator. Makes a couple dozen. Throw in the freezer for a "cooler" dessert. Chris liked these a lot so it's not just for those who are looking to lower their blood sugar.

Feel Better Noodle Soup

2009-03-11T13:26:00.001-07:00

I'm home with a sick kid today which has me thinking of my comfort foods. This is another one I've eaten since childhood but adapted to fit into my veggie life. I remember my dad making this whenever we were sick but I suppose my mom did as well. They'd boil chicken till it fell off the bone with some carrots, celery & onions then add egg noodles to the broth and cook till done. Then they'd serve it over mashed potatoes. So whenever we get sick or it's just a rainy yucky day and we want some comfort food I make my version of it...which varies depending on the veggies I have on hand...but goes something like this:

Feel Better Noodle Soup
~2 cups chopped veggies (I usually pick 3 items from the following list: carrots, celery, celeriac, parsnips, leeks or onions, shitake mushrooms, kale)
~ 6 cups broth (I like the Imagine No-chicken Broth best)
1 T Soy sauce (optional, to taste)
1-2 tsp herbs (marjoram and/or thyme)
Salt & pepper
~2 c egg noodles

Saute veggies in olive oil till they're starting to get tender. Add broth and seasonings and bring to a boil. Add noodles and simmer 8-10 minutes (or as package directs).

Meanwhile boil potatoes till soft enough for mashing. Drain and add a pat of butter and a little milk, salt & pepper. I mash by hand to keep them a little chunky.

To serve, add a spoonful of mashed potatoes to each bowl and ladle soup over the top.

Apple-Peanut Butter Cookies

2009-03-09T19:49:00.000-07:00

I don't bake much. But I do love peanut butter. And this cookie brings together peanut butter and apples two things I almost always have on hand. What's not to love. It's from a cookbook I had when I was a kid. I can still picture the cover in my head. I think my mom still has it in her cupboard. I should see what else is in there since I still love these after all this time. Hmm, I wonder if they are considered a whole grain cookie?

Apple-Peanut Butter Cookies
3/4 c peanut butter
1/4 c butter
2 c brown sugar
---
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
---
1 c flour
1 c wheat flour
2 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
2 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
---
1 c oatmeal
1 med apple, peeled, chopped (~1 cup)

Mix all ingredients together (using the lines above as mixing points before adding the next set of ingredients). You'll probably have to stir by hand when you get to the point of adding oatmeal & apple. It's really thick & heavy at that point but the apples add a lot of moisture during the baking. Form into 1 inch balls and slightly pat down. Bake 12-14 minutes on ungreased cookie sheet in 350 degree oven.

These are best the day you bake them. Don't seal up leftovers too tight because the apple will continue to soften the cookie.

Catchup w/ Betty's Salad Dressing

2009-03-09T18:54:00.000-07:00

Did I really not post anything in the month of February. Sheesh. Yay for Emily (E4Mle) starting to post here. It's good to get some new recipes!

Tonight we had my favorite salad for dinner. We do lots of variations on it. The dressing rocks with a tangy bite to it. I think the recipe comes from a woman who ran a hotel/restaurant we used to go to in Ohio...yep, thank you Wikipedia: "Betty's Salad is a regional, Midwest salad created by Betty Timko and featured as a menu item at her restaurant, Timko's Soup and Such, in Toledo, Ohio. The restaurant was located in a brick building at the Northwest corner of Sylvania and Douglas Roads of the Devaux Village strip mall in West Toledo. After Betty died, the restaurant closed, and her signature salad dressing is still produced and distributed at regional grocery stores."

Anyway, we ate this a lot growing up and I still love it. I've just tweaked it to use veggie bacon in place of the real thing.

Salad:
lettuce (mixed, iceberg, romaine, whatever you have on hand)
fresh spinach
fresh bean sprouts
chopped boiled egg
crumbled bacon

Dressing (combine in blender or food processor):
1/2 c ketchup
3/4 c veg. oil
3/4 c sugar
1/4 c apple cider vinegar
2 tsp worcestershire sauce
1 small onion, chopped (optional...I sometimes replace this with onion powder or just drop it all together)
salt & pepper to taste

Additions we've tried: roasted potatoes, blanched green beans, fresh tomatos.

Tonight we used mixed greens, skipped the spinach, and added a medley of roasted beets, potatos, and parsnips. Yum.

Classy Quinoa

2009-03-04T19:43:00.000-08:00

So in this new quest for foods that are high in protein, low in carbs and sugar but still taste good, I came up with this. Thought I'd revamp this Quinoa since I'll be doing a lot of it. I wasn't sure how this combo would stack up but it was pretty tasty so I thought I'd share it.

1 c. Quinoa

Add:

bunch of Cilantro, 1 Tomato, 1 can of Black Beans and some Salt

Dressing:

2 Tbs. Lime juice, some Lime zest, 1 Tbs. Agave nectar, White wine vingr, 1 ts. butter, 1 ts. olive oil

I cooked the Quinoa in my rice cooker. 1c. - 2c. water. Fluffed it and added the beans, cilantro and tomato. Then I mixed the dressing and thru it in the microwave for a minute and then mixed it over the salad. We didn't eat it until it was cooled down but I'd imagine it was good hot too.

Friday's Fish

2009-02-27T17:09:00.000-08:00

So I don't know anything about making fish besides fish sticks, tuna (out of a can) and the occasional Salmon so I dug up an old recipe book and made my own variation on this Cod:

1 Tbs. white wine vingr.
Sea salt
2 8oz. (or 1 1lb) Fillets of Cod, Sole or Red Snapper (~cleared of skin/bones)

Aioli:
2 egg yolks, 3 cloves garlic, sea salt, 1/3 c. olive oil, 3/4 c. veg. or canola oil, 1 1/2 Tbs. lemon juice, 1/2 tsp saffron threads ~steeped in 2 Tbs. of water (for 15 min.)

Garnish:
Shredded raw beets, capers, pepper, lettuce

Pour 4c. water, the salt and vinegar into a sauce pan and bring to a boil. Once boiling, bring the temp. down and cook for about 5-8 min. or until the fish is cooked. Drain and set aside. To make the Aioli crush the garlic and salt to a paste. Mix the egg yolks and then drizzle in the mix of both oils just a few drips at a time until the mixture looks like cake batter. Whisk in the lemon juice and the saffron threads and the water that the threads were steeping in.

Throw the fish on some lettuce, add the Aioli, some beets, capers, salt and pepper...

We had left over Dolmas and I made some simple steamed carrots and squash to go with. The beets turned my hands red but every bite was worth it!

Under pressure Indian soup

2009-02-24T16:35:00.000-08:00

I was trying to make a savory spicy Indian dip with my pressure cooker but ended up with this yummy soup instead. Sometimes the best recipes are the accidental ones :) or so I hope.

Ingredients:
3/4 c. Moong Dal
1/4 c. Massor Dal
1/2 onion
2 clove garlic
1/2 inch ginger grated
1/2 mushrooms chopped
1/3 c. peas
1/3 c. carrots
1-2 dried red chili peppers
4.5 c. water
1/4 c. cilantro
1 tomato

spice mixture:
turmeric
cumin
coriander
cardamon
dill
salt
pepper

I sauted the onions, mushrooms, garlic and ginger w. a little veg. oil and 2 tablespoons of the spice mixture above in the pressure cooker. Then rinsed the two different Dals until the water ran clear. Put the Dals into the pressure cooker, added the chili peppers, peas, carrots and water. Heated up the pressure cooker with the lid on til the pressure was obtained (the first whistle) and cooked at full pressure for 8 min. After I quick released the pressure, I threw the chopped tomato and cilantro and kept the heat on low for another 10 min. Add some Naan and you've got dinner in under 20 min.

Sesame Snaps

2009-02-18T15:23:00.000-08:00

**This is from Jenny...apparently she forgot to hit publish post!**

Here's a tasty little treat I found on allrecipes.com! I used old fashioned oats because that's what I had and it's a bit crumbly. I'm wondering if the quick oats would hold together better. Also, baking it in the jelly roll pan, it's really thin.

3/4 cup butter
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
2 1/4 cups quick cooking oats (i used old fashioned oats)
3/4 cup sesame seeds (i used 1/2 c)
3/4 teaspoon baking powder

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Butter a 10x15 inch jellyroll pan.

Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Stir in brown sugar and vanilla. Remove from heat, and stir in oats, sesame seeds and baking powder until well blended. Press evenly into the prepared pan.

Bake for 7 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or golden brown. Cool in the pan over a wire rack. Cut into bars.

Chocolate Dipped Macaroons

2009-01-17T12:22:00.000-08:00

I got this recipe from Kathleen's friend Malinka in the recipe exchange. I don't have many dessert recipes so it's cool to get some new ones. And it sounds like something EmilyW would like too. Let me know if you try it before I do!:

Chocolate dipped macaroons

ingredients;
2 bags of MOUNDS sweetened coconut flakes (396g per bag I think)
7 eggs
1/4 cup sugar
2 sticks of butter
dark chocolate for melting and dipping

procedure;
Melt butter and let cool to room temp.
Beat all the eggs with the sugar until they become foamy. (Kitchen aid rocks-takes 5 minutes)
In a big bowl combine coconut flakes (make sure that there are no clumps of coconut), eggs and butter and stir well.
Use two table spoons to scoop out spoon sized, ball-shaped cookies onto a greased ( may not be necessary to grease) parchment paper on a cookie sheet. Bake until the top of cookies turn golden brown ~20 minutes. This recipe makes about 50 cookies- you will need at least two baking sheets. When cookies are cooled, dip in melted chocolate and plate back onto the parchment paper. Place cookies in the fridge to allow the chocolate to solidify. Yum-this is one of my favorite cookie recipes.

Baked Oatmeal

2009-01-17T12:16:00.000-08:00

Jenny introduced me to this one a few years ago and it's become a breakfast/brunch favorite. And it travels well if you're going to a brunch potluck. We usually make it with soymilk and whatever dried fruits and nuts we have on hand. Sometimes we even use assorted dried fruits (apricots, cherries, berries) to get to 1/2 cup. It's always been delicious! Jenny says not to make it with whole milk.

Ingredients
2 c. old fashioned oats
4 cups milk
1/4 tsp almond flavoring
1/4 c. brown sugar (I use 1/4 c. loose vs. packed)
1/4 c. sliced almonds (or walnuts, or other chopped nuts)
1/2 c. dried cherries (or cranberries, or other dried fruit)
1 large apple, unpeeled, grated

Procedure
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Spray 7" x 10" baking dish with cooking spray. In mixing bowl, combine all ingredients. Transfer to baking dish. Bake uncovered 30 minutes or until bubbly. Let sit 5-10 minutes. It will thicken more as at cools.

Oatmeal Cookie Apple Pie

2009-01-17T12:14:00.000-08:00

This is a recipe Jenny sent for the recipe exchange. I'm looking forward to trying it!

Oatmeal Cookie Apple Pie

Ingredients
DOUGH
2 sticks butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 cups flour
1 pinch salt
1 1/2 cups oatmeal

FILLING
4 apples, peeled and sliced
1/4 cup raisins

SYRUP
1 cup water
2/3 cup white sugar
1 teaspoons cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon clove
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions
Cream butter and sugar.
Mix in flour and salt completely, then the oatmeal.
Press 1/2 the dough into a greased pie pan or Pyrex dish.
Place the apples over dough and sprinkle with raisins.
Boil the syrup ingredients together for 5 minutes.
Pour syrup over apples.
Cover apple mixture with remaining dough.
Bake at 350F for 50-55 minutes.
Serve warm with vanilla ice cream!

Spiced Vanilla Granola

2009-01-12T21:29:00.001-08:00

This is based on a recipe from The Big Book of Vegetarian. I've been playing around with it to make it "chunkier" and more like a snack and less like a cereal. And I use whatever nuts, seeds or dried fruit I've got in the house.

4 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
1 1/2 cups chopped nuts (pecans, walnuts, pepitas, sunflower seeds)
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup honey
1/2 cup dried fruit (currants, cranberries, apricots, cherries)
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 300F. Grease a large baking pan.

In a large bowl, mix the oats, nuts, brown sugar, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. In a small saucepan, combine the oil, maple syrup, and honey. Bring to a simmer over medium heat. Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla and dried fruit. Pour over the hot oat mixture; stir well. Toss the mixture until thoroughly combined.

Spread in the prepared baking pan. Bake, stirring occasionally, for about 30 minutes, or until golden brown. Transfer the pan to a rack and let cool completely.

Makes about 9 cups.

Chilaquiles

2009-01-12T21:14:00.000-08:00

Oof, I've been bad about posting. Emily sent me a recipe-chain mail today and it got me thinking of the stuff I've been meaning to post but haven't gotten around to.

My off-the-top-of-my-head recipe for chainmail was for Chilaquiles. I first had them at Luisa's and fell in love. Then I started making them at home for breakfast or dinner. And now even Amy's Kitchen has a frozen lunch version (I haven't tried it).

Here's how I make them (for a single serving):
Whisk together 2 eggs and 1 T milk. Add 1/4 c of your favorite cheese (cheddar, monterey jack, cotija, etc.). Add 1/4 c crumbled (about the size of a quarter) tortilla chips. Stir all together. Heat skillet with 1 T oil over medium heat. Add egg mixture to pan. As eggs begin to set add 2 T of your favorite salsa (green or red), salt & pepper. Serve with fresh avocado chunks.

Mexican or "Hot" Chocolate Cake

2009-01-09T22:36:00.000-08:00

This has become our family favorite and is easy to cut down to make a perfect serving for two. I just use 1/3 of the recipe and pour it in to two mini 3" cake rounds. A full recipe makes one 9" round.

It's a moist and delicious chocolate cake that gets an extra kick from the cinnamon and cayenne.

1 1/2 cups flour, sifted
1 cup sugar (try Florida Crystals brand)
4 Tbsp. cocoa powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2-3/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 Tbsp. distilled white vinegar
5 Tbsp. vegetable oil
1 cup cold water
Confectioners’ sugar for garnish

• Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a 9-inch cake pan.
• In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, and baking soda. Stir in the cinnamon, cayenne, vanilla, vinegar, oil, and water. Mix until just combined.
• Pour into the prepared cake pan and cook for 30 to 35 minutes, or until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean. Let cool.
• Dust with the confectioners’ sugar before serving.

Makes 8 to 10 servings

Note: This recipe goes great with a spicy dark-chocolate sauce. To make the sauce, melt 2 squares of dark chocolate with 1/4 cup water or soy milk. Stir constantly until the chocolate is melted. Stir in 1/2 cup sugar and cook, stirring constantly, for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in 3 Tbsp. vegan margarine, 1/2 tsp. vanilla, and cayenne pepper, to taste.

Skillet Cornbread

2008-11-20T21:41:00.000-08:00

I made this tonight to go with some roasted vegetables. It was simple to make and cooked in about 28 minutes with my convection oven turned to 400 degrees. I can't remember where I got the recipe.

2 cups cornmeal
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup unbleached white flour
3 tablespoons baking powder
2 cups soymilk
1/2 cup canola oil
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/3 cup maple syrup
3 T olive oil

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Mix cornmeal, flours & baking powder.
In separate bowl whisk together soymilk, canola oil, salt & maple syrup. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry, stirring just until the dry ingredients are moistened.
Oil an 11-inch round cast-iron skillet with the olive oil. Over high heat, heat the oil until it starts to smoke. Pour the batter into the heating skillet. Bake approximately 40 minutes (unless you're using convection!).

fresh produce recipes

2008-11-14T19:56:00.000-08:00

my mom sent me these links to recipes from MSU a while ago. they open up PDFs in your browser. i haven't tried any of them but they seem easy and are organized by ingredients, so let me know if you try any of them. my mom would love to know.

http://tinyurl.com/66rxnk
http://tinyurl.com/6jdqoq

Root cellaring

2008-11-12T11:12:00.000-08:00

NY Times recently wrote about the renewed interest in preserving including root cellaring. I remember the rows of stuff my grandma used to keep in her root cellar (though I really just remember preseved goods not fresh vegetable storage). It seems like it would be interesting I'm just scared of rodents.

Read the NYT article.

Treats

2008-11-12T08:15:00.000-08:00

Sweet Ginger Broccoli with Tofu

2008-11-11T18:12:00.000-08:00

Looking for something to make with broccoli & ginger for dinner tonight, I stumbled on this recipe (and used tofu in place of chicken). It was delicious!

My version of the recipe is below...

marinade:
* a generous splash of rice vinegar
* 1 teaspoon grated ginger
* 1/2 teaspoon lemon zest (i didn't have an orange)
* 1 tsp of Thai chili sauce
* 1 package extra-firm tofu
* mirin up to the level of the tofu

sweet ginger orange sauce:
* 3 Tablespoons mirin (i didn't have any left after making the marinade and it was just fine without it. but i'd try it with next time!)
* 3/4 cup orange juice
* 2 teaspoons rice vinegar
* 2 teaspoons soy sauce
* 3 Tablespoons hoisin sauce
* 1 teaspoon sesame oil
* 2 Tablespoons minced fresh ginger root
* 1 teaspoon Thai chili sauce

stir-fry:
* 4 cups broccoli florets
* 1 small onion, chopped
* 2 carrots diced
* 2 small sweet red peppers
* 2 Tablespoons sesame oil

serve over:
* steamed rice

Preparation Instructions:
1). Cut tofu into 1/2 inch thick rectangles. Gently press in towel to remove excess moisture. Dry-fry in a nonstick pan over medium heat with NO OIL, pressing with a spatula frequently. It is done when firm and golden on both sides.

2). Stir together the marinade ingredients, adding the tofu.

3). Wash and chop all of your vegetables. For the broccoli, use only the flowerets.

4). Marinate the tofu at least twenty minutes (I did for over an hour cause I started dinner while Emmett was napping).

5). Prepare the sauce by mixing all of the ingredients together well.

6). Heat pan over medium-high to high heat. Add about oil, then add onions. Cook until soft. Add the drained tofu and the rest of the vegetables. Stir-fry over high heat just until the broccoli is tender but still slightly crunchy (5-10 minutes). Cut the heat and toss the stir-fry with the sauce.

7). Serve over rice. Enjoy!

Summer Greens and Potato Fry-Up

2008-11-11T18:05:00.000-08:00

This is from the "From Asparagus to Zucchini" Cookbook.

1 T butter
1 tsp chili oil
4 small potatoes thinly sliced
1 small onion, finely chopped
1/2 pound fresh spinach, chard, or other mild-flavored greens, washed & stemmed (I used chard)
1/2 tsp dried ground thyme
3/4 cup cooked sweet corn (i didn't cook it first)
3 sprigs fresh oregano (i subbed dried oregano)
1/2 tsp paprika (i didn't have this)
grated parmesan cheese (optional)

Heat butter and chili oil in large nonstick skillet over medium flame. Add potatoes and onions, and season well with salt & pepper. Let the potatoes brown slightly in the pan on one side for several minutes. Toss potatoes, season with more salt & pepper, and let them brown lightly again. When potatoes are almost tender, toss in greens and thyme, then add a little less than 1/4 cup water (I used veggie broth), cover the pan, and raise heat to high. Let steam until greens are nearly done, 1-2 minutes. Uncover, add corn, oregano, and paprika, and allow potatoes to finish cooking & browning. Season to taste and top with parmesan. Serve with fried eggs if you like (we did!).

Light Wheat Bread

2008-10-19T21:55:00.001-07:00

Tried the Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes Light Wheat Bread today. And we really liked it! I think it's our new favorite.

Rising...

Didn't get much bigger than that. Then I forgot to flour the top and score it. Oops.

After baking...

Ready to eat...

Main-Dish Lentil-Vegetable Soup

2008-10-19T17:05:00.000-07:00

Tonight's dinner was based on Vegetarian Times' recipe for Main-Dish Lentil-Vegetable Soup. I've made it in the crockpot in the past and this time did the stovetop method. Both work great!

Check the link above for the original recipe. Here's what I used:

Main-Dish Lentil-Vegetable Soup
Serves 4
* 1 Tbs. olive oil
* 1/4 c chopped yellow onion
* 1 leek chopped
* 1/4 tsp roasted garlic (dried)
* 3 carrots cut into 1/4-inch dice
* 2 small potatos cut into small cubes
* 3 stalks celery cut into 1/4-inch dice
* 2 mild peppers chopped
* 1 1/4 cups dried brown lentils
* 6 cups vegetable stock (I used 4 cups veg broth, 2 cups no-chicken broth)
* 1 1/2 Tbs. tamari soy sauce
* Salt and lots of freshly ground black pepper
* 1 tsp italian herbs

STOVETOP METHOD: Heat oil in stockpot over medium heat. Add onion and cook 5 minutes to soften. Add remaining vegetables and saute about 5 minutes till beginning to soften. Add lentils, stock, tamari, and seasonings. Reduce heat to low. Cover, and cook, stirring from time to time, until lentils and vegetables are tender, ~45 minutes to 1 hour. Taste and adjust seasonings, if necessary.

Here's the CROCKPOT Method for reference:
1. Heat oil in skillet over medium heat. Add onion, cover and cook until softened, about 5 minutes; transfer to slow cooker.
2. Add vegetables, lentils, stock, tamari, and seasonings. Cover, and cook on low until lentils and vegetables are tender, 6 to 8 hours.

Calabacitas

2008-10-15T19:33:00.000-07:00

Got some delicata squash and corn on the cob in our veggie box today. They sounded like a good combination so I googled it and found this: New Mexican Calabacitas (Squash and Corn saute)
Served it with steamed rice and corn tortillas with butter (cause I had both of them needing to be used up in the fridge).

Here's my version of the recipe:
Ingredients (6 servings)
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 leeks, chopped
2 small delicata squash, chopped into small cubes
2 ears of corn, kernels cut off
1 green chile pepper, chopped (I don't know what kind of pepper it was. We get a variety in our veggie box)
1 cup tomatoes, diced
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
4 cubes Trader Joe's frozen chopped cilantro
Garlic salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
Mixed herbs, to taste (marjoram and lots of cumin)

Preparation
Heat oil in a large skillet and sauté the leeks and squash until softened (5-10 minutes). I added, garlic salt, pepper and about 1/4 c of water halfway through the cooking as the squash was starting to brown and stick to the pan. Add corn, green chile, and mixed herbs and sauté 5 minutes longer. Stir in the tomatoes, cilantro, and beans and heat through, about 3 minutes. Serve immediately.

Favorite Cookbooks

2008-10-06T20:36:00.000-07:00

I used to be a huge fan of the Moosewood Cookbooks when I lived in California...but I rarely use them anymore.

These are my favorites these days:
From Asparagus to Zucchini: A Guide to Cooking Farm-Fresh Seasonal Produce - This came recommended by our farm and it has been a huge help with some great ideas, storage tips, etc. I use this the most.

Smith & Hawken: The Gardeners' Community Cookbook - I picked this up at Smith & Hawken several years ago. It has nice, simple, good recipes.

The Big Book of Vegetarian - I had a gift certificate to spend one day, and this book caught my eye. I came home and read it cover to cover. It's full of paper slips of all the recipes I (still) want to try.

and I don't know what I'd do without google. I love how you can get an idea in your head "fennel tomatoes" or "cauliflower brussel sprouts" and find a bunch of recipes that combine the ingredients you want to eat that night.

I've also really liked The Busy Person's Guide to Preserving Food. I have read it cover to cover too.

On my wishlist:
Local Flavors: Cooking and Eating from America's Farmers' Markets
Farmer John's Cookbook: The Real Dirt on Vegetables (this was also a great documentary!)
The Garden-Fresh Vegetable Cookbook
BALL Complete Book of Home Preserving
and I'd like a good dessert cookbook. Better Homes & Gardens is my old standby.

Beet Pesto

2008-10-06T20:17:00.000-07:00

Our kids like beets! We get a LOT of beets in our veggie box. I give them to GG a lot of the time and she makes herself pickled beets. She has more time than us. They take so long to cook! But Jeff got home from work early today so he tackled a beet dinner.

We made this beet pesto about 10 years ago when we lived in Oakland and put it in homemade pasta for beet raviolis. We had more time back then. I still remember how good it was though.

Anyway, tonight Jeff made the pesto and stirred it into pasta. The kids and I got home just as he was pureeing it in the cuisinart. They looooved the color and wanted tastes. Emmett ate a ton of it and Clara really liked it too. I was so surprised. I knew they'd like the color and it does taste good...but it was beets! Kids aren't supposed to like beets are they? :-)

Beet Pesto
4 Fresh beets with greens
1/2 ts Salt + garlic salt
1 onion chopped
1 tsp dried roasted garlic (we've also used a stalk of green garlic
1 c Walnuts, toasted
3/4 of a lime
Pinch of red pepper flakes
Black pepper

Trim & wash beets. Leave 1″ stem, steam till tender (this took about 55 minutes...we had some biiiig beets). When beets are cooked, slip skins off under cool water & set aside. Remove leaves from stems & discard stems. Wash & dry leaves, chop coarsely. In a skillet, cook onions, pinch red pepper flakes & garlic in olive oil till softened. Add beet greens & cook 5 to 7 minutes. Transfer to a processor & puree with the cooked beets, cut into quarters. Add rest of ingredients & puree again, adding beet water if necessary (ours is pretty thick and pastey but "melts" over pasta). The pesto keeps refrigerated for 2 weeks or freezes. Stir into hot pasta and top with grated parmesan cheese.

Artisan Bread + Vegetable Chowder

2008-09-28T20:54:00.000-07:00

It was rainy and cold. Emmett was sick. I had bread dough in the fridge and a bunch of veggies to eat. Soup!

I adapted the Moosewood Vegetable Chowder recipe to use veggies & amounts I had on hand (potatos, carrots, onion, broccoli, humongous pattypan squash, i also increased the basil and added thyme)
Here's the original recipe...

Vegetable Chowder

* 1 tablespoon butter
* 2 cups chopped onion
* 6 (yes) cloves garlic, minced
* 2 teaspoons salt
* 1/2 teaspoon basil
* 1 medium potato, diced
* 2 medium stalks celery, diced
* 2 medium carrots, diced
* 2 cups chopped broccoli
* 2 cups chopped cauliflower
* 1/2 lb mushrooms, chopped
* 2 cups corn (frozen is fine)
* lots of fresh black pepper
* 1 1/2 cups water
* 1 quart milk, heated

Melt the butter in a kettle or Dutch oven. Add onion, half the garlic, salt, thyme, and basil. Saute' over medium heat for 5 minutes. Add potato, celery, carrots, broccoli, and cauliflower. Saute' another 5 minutes. Add mushrooms and corn, plus lots of black pepper. Saute' another 8-10 minutes.

Add water, cover, and simmer about 15 minutes, or until everything is tender.

Stir in hot milk and remaining garlic. Remove from heat until about 10 minutes before serving time, then heat gently.

And here's my pretty bread:

Potato, Tomato Burritos

2008-09-28T20:46:00.001-07:00

Needed dinner in a hurry the other night so no pictures of this. But it was good.

Thinly sliced potatoes with mandolin
Chopped onion
Chopped Sweet peppers (not bell)
Vegetable broth or water
Diced tomatoes
Grated Cheddar Cheese
Cumin
Chili powder
Cayenne pepper
Corn tortillas

Sauteed onion over high heat letting it brown, added peppers and potatos. Added veggie broth, and spices (at least 1 T cumin, 1/2 T chili powder, and a pinch of cayenne + garlic salt & pepper). Cover to steam potatos. Stir occasionally and add more veggie broth if needed.

Meanwhile chopped tomatoes and added salt & pepper. Set aside.

Placed one corn tortilla in a skillet, covered it with the potato mixture, grated cheese & tomatoes and placed another tortilla on top. Heated for about 2 minutes and then flipped to heat other side. Sliced in quarters to serve.

Tomatoes

2008-09-28T20:36:00.000-07:00

I've had a great crop of tomatoes this year. I got my plants at the Ballard Farmer's Market and planted them at the beginning of June. There are three different heirloom varieties. One has large pink tomatoes, one with clusters of small orange tomatoes, and one with clusters of small red tomatoes. Mid-late September I had a lot of well-developed fruit but had only one ripe tomato. So I did some reading and decided to start stressing out my plants. On one of them I tried cutting around 3 sides of the root and the other ones I plucked off a bunch of leaves and new growth. The leaf removal seems to work best to me. I've been removing more and more as time has gone on and the tomatoes are ripening at a pretty steady rate. And they taste delicious!

Orzo with Green Beans, Tomatoes & Feta

2008-09-28T20:27:00.000-07:00

I was so excited on Wednesday to get some green & yellow wax beans in our veggie box. It had been feeling so fall-like so it was nice to get a bit of summer produce back.

I had a bunch of tomatoes (from my garden!) & feta cheese too so I adapted a recipe and came up with this yummy dish. Which made a gigantic bowl (this is actually a picture of round two after we'd eaten the first round for dinner!).

Orzo with Green Beans, Tomatoes & Feta
3 cups of orzo pasta
1 lb of green/wax beans
dozen small tomatoes
8 oz of crumbled feta
2-3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 small onion

Cut the beans in 1 inch pieces and blanch for ~3-5 minutes. Remove from boiling water and put in ice water bath. Cook orzo in green bean water. While orzo is cooking, cut tomatoes in small wedges. Saute chopped onions. Add cooked orzo & green beans to cooked onions, add balsamic vinegar, garlic salt & pepper to taste. Remove from heat and add tomatoes and feta cheese.

Canning Apples & Peaches

2008-09-28T19:43:00.000-07:00

Finally downloaded some pictures from our camera and realized there's a bunch of stuff I never wrote about!

Eva, Emily & I had another canning day a few weeks ago. Emily wrote a little about it on her blog here. We ended up with about 80 jars of applesauce, apple slices, peach slices, baked peach butter, and my personal favorite: apple pie jam. All of the fruit came from Emily's apple tree and her neighbor's peach trees.

Linda Lou's Apple Pie Jam
4 cups tart apples, peeled and finely chopped
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
4 cups sugar
1 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
1 box pectin
1/2 teaspoon butter

Add water to chopped apples to measure 4 cups. Place apples and water into large, heavy saucepan. Stir in lemon juice, cinnamon and allspice.

Measure sugars. Stir pectin into fruit. Add butter. Bring mixture to full rolling boil on high heat, stirring constantly. Quickly stir in both sugars. Return to full rolling boil and boil exactly 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Skim off any foam with metal spoon.

Ladle quickly into hot, clean jars, leaving 1/4" headspace. Wipe jar rims and threads. Cover with two-piece lids. Screw bands on finger tight. Process in boiling water bath for 10 minutes.

Focaccia w/ Tomato, Feta & Caramelized Onions

2008-09-21T09:35:00.000-07:00

I finally got around to trying "Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day" yesterday. As everyone else has said, holy cow, easy! I just did the basic recipe and then tore a hunk out to make focaccia. Added sliced tomatoes, caramelized onions, feta, kosher salt, pepper, and a drizzle of olive oil. Yum! I think next time I'd try the olive oil dough recipe instead because this turned out a little breadier than I like my focaccia. But...it was all gone in one sitting!

i heart vegas food

2008-09-07T19:10:00.000-07:00

i'm pretty sure i just had the best meal of my life. it cost over $100 so i guess it better be. i'm in las vegas at the mgm grand. i wanted asian food for dinner tonight and started out walking toward a casual dining place that would have it. but along the way, i walked by shibuya which serves japanese food. i'd walked (and worked) enough for the day so i decided to treat myself (on work's dime) to something nice. they had a vegetarian tappenyaki dinner that sounded good so i went in. since i was eating alone and early in the evening i was seated all by myself at the big japanese grill. there were other people at the sushi bar and at tables but i was the only one up for tappenyaki apparently. i tried to order a cocktail that had a japanese version of vodka in it but my server steered me toward the americanized cocktails saying that the other stuff is generally too strong for people (like me) to like. i ended up just ordering a glass of plum wine (okay two) in the end. mmm plum wine. then out came a heavenly seaweed salad. then out came a mixed green salad dressed in an apple yuzu vinaigrette. it was so so good i had to ask again what the vinaigrette was made of. then miso soup with enoki & shitake mushrooms. during the miso, my chef came out; i'd been visited by about three different servers prior to that and they'd all been super attentive calling me by name each time. my chef was awesome and funny and young enough that we could actually talk about life and relate to each other. the vegetable platter he prepared was so great. typically at every other japanese grilling restaurant i've ever been to, dinner for a vegetarian is lots of zucchini, onions and bean sprouts and maybe some tofu. in vegas, they take it to a whole new level.
1. kabocha squash, 2. japanese eggplant, 3. two kinds of mushrooms (hiratake and maitake, i think) 4. red onion & green onions, 5. carrots, 6. baby zucchini, 7. baby green pattypan squash, 8. shishito peppers (supposed to be mild but the one i ate burnt my mouth so bad i had tears running down my face. one of my trio of waiters said that was considered "lucky" since they are usually sweet. needless to say i never ate any more.), and 9. tofu. they were grilled in butter, garlic butter, salt & pepper and some had soy sauce/tamari added. they were arranged beautifully (and whole) on a platter and sprinkled with deep fried garlic for a nice crunch. it was all served with a trio of dipping sauces but i didn't even touch them since the veggies were cooked so wonderfully. my chef said the amount of veggies they were providing was enough for two, and i'm hurting from packing away as much as i did. he also made me veggie fried rice but i couldn't touch it cause of my burning mouth and stuffed stomach. luckily i've got a fridge in my room so i was able to bring my leftovers with me! (i can't wait till tomorrow.) as if all that wasn't enough, i was also brought a trio of desserts. first was a little shot glass of a strawberry & something (yogurt?) parfait, tofu cheesecake (i so wish i had saved room for this it was so delicious!), and a chocolate covered mochi ice cream (i couldn't even try this. sooo stuffed). the two glasses of wine, burning tongue, and heaps of food about had me under the table in a food coma. but i managed to walk out of there, check my cellphone, meet up with a guy at my tradeshow booth, and make it back to my room. feeling better now. still sooo happy about that dinner. mmmm. wish i had my tofu cheesecake.

one other vegas note...i've been here three times now. it's my second time at the mgm grand. the other time i've been, i stayed at the venetian. just as last time, i think the the food at the mgm rocks. the venetian was a disappointment food-wise. though my room there was great. but here at the mgm, i'm staying in the signature towers and i've got a mini-kitchenette which is awesome.

The best coconut ice cream ever

2008-08-25T22:06:00.001-07:00

14 oz can light coconut milk
1/2 cup non fat milk
1/2 cup non fat half and half (or full fat if you dare)
finely grated lemon rind from 1 medium lemon
1 oz light rum or malibu rum
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup flaked coconut

Combine all ingredients except coconut and bring to 175 degrees on stovetop.

While mixture is heating, place 3/4 cup of coconut on a cookie sheet and place on the 2nd rack in the oven on broil. Watch carefully, stirring when coconut begins to brown. When coconut is toasted to a light to medium brown remove from oven.

When hot mixture reaches 175 degrees, remove from heat and let cool. Stir toasted coconut in to ice cream mixture.

Place ice cream mixture in refrigerator overnight, or fully chill, before placing in ice cream maker. If you don't have an ice cream maker, place the chilled mixture in freezer in a shallow pan, mixing every hour or so until it ice cream hardens.

Serve immediately or place in freezer until you are ready to eat!

I served it with fresh blueberries but I can imagine it with toasted almonds, chocolate or blackberries.

Enjoy!

Oh my Artisan Bread!

2008-08-25T21:52:00.000-07:00

The Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day is such an incredible book! I mixed two batches, a basic dough and an olive oil dough last Friday night. From those two batches I've made three loaves of sundried tomato, fresh basil, garlic and parmesan bread, two baguettes and a batch of apple pie-raisin cinnamon rolls.

It's so easy to make interesting breads! I just tear off a grapefruit size piece of dough, roll it out and spread over the dough whatever I want in the bread. Roll the dough up jelly roll style then form in to a loaf. Let it rest for 20-40 minutes and then bake on a hot stone for about 25 minutes. I have yet to have one turn out badly.

I just mixed up two more batches tonight. Takes no more than 15 minutes to mix then a couple of hours to rise before going in the fridge.

Thanks for the great tip! This is my new favorite thing to make!

Monroe eatin'

2008-08-19T20:26:00.000-07:00

We just got back from 10 days in Monroe. Some food highlights:

1. Trip to Calder Dairy. It was much bigger and neater than I remembered. So many cows. The strawberry milk was amazing. (Sumei, they even make their own Blue Moon & Superman ice creams!)

2. Veggies from Julie's garden.
2a. Squash casserole (Julie, what's the recipe?)
2b. Grilled vegetable burrito dinner w/ sangria.

3. Zingerman's.
3a. I love Ann Arbor.
3b. I love Zingerman's bread.
3c. I love Zingerman's magic brownies.

4. Sushi. in Monroe!

Honorable mentions:
1. Artisan bread in 5 minutes a day
2. Mexicali dip

Pasta with summer vegetables

2008-08-19T19:56:00.000-07:00

Dinner tonight was these adorable, tiny farfalle pasta with vegetables. I sauteed onion, with a bunch of green & yellow summer squash, added red pepper flakes, garlic salt, and black pepper. At the end added some leftover corn on the cob (minus the cob). Tossed it with the cute pasta, butter, lemon juice, and nutritional yeast. Topped with grated asiago cheese. It really hit the spot. We also had sides of steamed green beans (from my garden!) and some chopped nectarines and blueberries. Aaahhh summer.

Here's a picture of what it looked like after I packed up leftovers for lunch tomorrow. (I'm never going to get pictures before we eat.)

italian sushi

2008-08-19T14:29:00.001-07:00

In Monroe, MI, there aren't a lot of good places to eat out. And veggie friendly places are even harder to come by. But on our last night there we went out to what used to be called Dolce Vita (they'd just two days before changed their name to something else). When I'd been there before it was a rather upscale Italian restaurant...now it's not only an upscale Italian restaurant (complete with violin player) but it also serves sushi! That had me laughing for quite awhile...but now I am thinking the owners are brilliant. There are so many people out there that want to go out to sushi but their partner doesn't like it. Problem solved at the place formerly called Dolce Vita!

The sushi was actually pretty good too! I ordered:
Miso soup - not so good.
Avocado roll - good.
Veggie tempura roll - not so good. (i don't like lettuce or bell pepper in rolls)
Spicy tofu roll - good! (i can't tell you how excited and amused i was that they had tofu on the menu. the chinese restaurant we'd ordered from earlier in the week didn't even have tofu!)

2008-08-03T10:23:00.000-07:00

Here's a few photos from the jam making extravaganza. While making 122 jars we came up with the name "Sista Jams," however 24 hours later decided it should be changed to "Sista Jams and Sauces." Some of the berries did really well without pectin, others like the blackberry and raspberry make great ice cream and waffle sauces.

With about 40 jars to myself, I have gotten creative with how to use them, and ice cream or ice milk is my latest favorite.

I made a vanilla ice milk and marbled in a spiced blueberry sauce that was incredible. I made the ice milk a little sweet for my taste, but it would be easy to tone that down.

Last night I made a coconut blackberry ice milk that I think is worth sharing.

COCONUT BLACKBERRY ICE MILK

14oz can of light coconut milk (I used Trader Joes)
1 cup skim milk
3/4 cup blackberry sauce (the original recipe called for 1 cup wild blackberries and 3/4 cup splenda)
1/4 cup sugar
3 packets of Real Lemon or 1 Tbl finely grated lemon rind
The original recipe called for a 1/2tsp rum extract, I left that out.

I ran it through the ice cream maker and in 30 minutes had a perfect thick ice milk. It's sweet but not syrupy and had a smooth coconut flavor. I'll try the recipe using blueberries next.

artisan bread in five minutes a day--first try

2008-07-24T14:23:00.001-07:00

i tried making this bread! i made just a half batch (two loaves worth) to try it out. the first loaf turned out nice looking and with a great crust, but it didn't rise very much. i found out that while the book says to let it rise for 40 minutes, the "errata" section of the author's website says really it should be 40 minutes to an hour and a half, or longer if you have a cool kitchen. so i definitely did not rise it enough.

so the second loaf i let rise a lot longer, but after an hour and a half it still hadn't risen very much. it did rise more when i put it in the oven, but at 450 the crust hardens up pretty quick, so it didn't get much bigger than a sandwich bun (though it would be perfect for that) and didn't have much of a crumb to speak of. the loaves are really small, which actually is okay since that means it would be fresher more often. i didn't do the scoring on top deep enough, and i need to work on my sliding the dough off the "peel" (i don't have a peel so i used a cutting board with lots of cornmeal on it) onto the pizza stone. but i did that okay on the second one, and the steam method was really successful i think. so i'm going to try it again. maybe i'll make a double loaf for a bigger size. it looked pretty nice though!

122 jars of jam on the wall...

2008-07-21T16:15:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago, I suggested to my sisters-in-law that we try canning strawberry jam. I didn’t want to make freezer jam cause I don’t have the space for it. And canning sounded like a fun project. Eva & Emily were up for the challenge too so we set a date. On Saturday, Emily showed up with two huge bowls of blueberries and then we, along with Jeff and the kids, piled into the car and headed to Fall City to go pick up our vegetable box at Jubilee and then hit up the other local farms for some strawberries and maybe raspberries. Turns out there are no strawberries left in Fall City. I hadn’t even had one strawberry this season! We couldn’t find a flat of strawberries either and the half-pints we saw were $4 each! Uh oh. So, we headed back to Seattle a little worried. But we stopped at a couple of markets near my house and found loads of local (Washington) berries at Ballard Market, we got more supplies at Cash & Carry and Fred Meyer. On Sunday, Eva & Emily came over and we spent the next 8 hours canning our guts out.

We ended up using:
4 half-flats of strawberries
3 half-flats of raspberries
3 half-flats of blackberries
And at least 3 half-flats worth of blueberries from Emily’s house
4 small (5 lb?) bags of sugar
Food Mill – Emily got a Foley and Eva got an Oxo. The Oxo has interchangeable screens that worked best for catching all the berry seeds.
2 Funnels – wide mouth ones
2 Tongs – for jar removal
Jars – we way underestimated what we needed and had to go back later for more. We had a mix of 4oz and 8oz. sizes
4 pots – 2 for water-bath canning and 2 for cooking the berries
3 wooden spoons
Ice – for keeping the fruit cool overnight. (kept some fruit in the dishwasher and the rest in a big rubbermaid tub)
Candy thermometer – I don’t think we really needed this but it was there for moral support
Lemon juice & vinegar – we opted to try no-pectin recipes
Tea kettle – for extra hot water to keep the water baths full
Lots of bowls, paper towels, washcloths, & dishtowels
The Busy Person’s Guide to Food Preserving

We made a variety of jams, syrups, or sauces depending on how well things jelled:
Blueberry spice (nutmeg, cloves & blackpepper)
Strawberry (w/ Lemon juice)
Strawberry (w/ vinegar & salt)
Raspberry
Blackberry
Mixed berry
Strawberry-blueberry
Strawberry, balsamic & cracked black pepper (except we forgot to add the black pepper!)

122 jars in all and we also made a jug of blueberry vinegar.

Recipes & pictures to come from Emily!

Bread...glorious bread!

2008-07-08T06:39:00.000-07:00

So back in January, Julie introduced me to the brilliance of "no-knead bread" and I've been hooked ever since. She shared the Cooks Illustrated "Almost No-Knead Bread" version that was a supposed improvement of the one Mark Bittman published a couple years ago. This method is just a quick stir, a long rest (8-18 hr), a quick knead, a short rest (1 hr) and then you bake it inside a dutch oven. I loved the simplicity and the result was fabulous. I came up with some of my own variations which include Oat and Raisin bread and Multigrain (our favorite). I thought it couldn't get easier or better...but I was wrong...so wrong!

Hello, "Artisan Bread in 5 minutes a day!" I decided to check out this book from the library last week before buying, since foolishly I thought nothing could beat "no-knead". Oh...my....goodness! Believe it or not, I think this is easier than the no-knead recipe. And...I can have fresh bread on whim. And...I have a better baked result (no-knead has a tendency to get too dark on the bottom). And...the first bite took me back to the fresh warm homemade bread that our lovely Italian neighbor baked when I was a kid.

.

This recipe allows you to quickly stir (by hand, by food processor, or by stand mixer) a large batch of dough, let it rest just 2 hrs, then store it in the fridge for up to 14 days until ready to use. When you're ready, cut off a hunk of dough, let rest 40 mins and bake on a stone (or cookie sheet, or loaf pan, or...they give tons of options). There are tons of options and recipes in the book. I mixed the full batch (makes @ 4 loaves) by hand with no problem. They recommend the use of a pizza peel to transfer your dough to the preheated stone, but I've just been using parchment paper (from the almost no-knead method) to let the bread rise and bake on.

So far, I've just made the basic loaf. I intend to try my no-knead multigrain with this method...and the book is full of pastries, pizzas and tons of good stuff.

Raw Veggie Wraps/Pinwheels

2008-07-03T20:12:00.001-07:00

(Shown as wrap rather than sliced into pinwheels)

Chopped veggies (really small pieces):
Broccoli
Sugar Snap Peas
Heirloom Cherry Tomatoes (various colors)
Radishes

Just barely coated the veggies with Trader Joe's Tuscan Italian Dressing with Balsamic Vinegar.

Spread whipped cream cheese in a really thin layer on a flour tortilla.

Sprinkled the veggie confetti on the tortilla and rolled it all up tightly.

Then sliced it in pinwheels for the kids.

Easy. Pretty. Yummy.

Tofu stir-fried with basil (Tao Hoo Pad Bai Kaprao)

2008-07-02T09:35:00.001-07:00

i made thai basil tofu last night, from this recipe will gave me. can you believe it? i actually used a shallot (it was such a small amount i figured i'd try it. it made my eyes water when i cut it, but i couldn't even taste it in the dish.) and a chili (i could only find dried so i used just a half without seeds, and it was still hot! but edible for me--matt added more and burned his mouth up!). i left out the salt, doubled the tofu, and used tons of basil from the garden (more than a "handful"). it was delicious! the consistency of the sauce was just perfect. and it was super quick!

2008-06-30T10:53:00.000-07:00

i made cheesecake ice cream from the perfect scoop. it was basically just cream cheese, sour cream, half-and-half, and sugar. i add a few graham cracker bunnies (for the "crust") and a couple little homegrown strawberries and it tasted just like cheesecake, but cold.

"Chorizo" Burrito

2008-06-29T20:16:00.000-07:00

There is a yummy little place out here called El Chupacabra. It's a bar and not very kid friendly so we've only been there twice. But we have very fond memories of their veggie (fake meat) tacos. We decided to try our own rendition this weekend.

We picked up some Mexican Chipotle Field Roast Sausages (the closest thing we could find to veggie chorizo. It was the first time we'd tried that particular field roast "flavor" and oh my. It will become a staple for us, I think!). Sliced it in rounds and tossed it in a skillet to "brown up" as Jeff put it.

We already had flour tortillas so we used those but I think corn tortillas would be great in the future.

For assembly:
Flour tortilla
"Chorizo"
Shredded monterey jack cheese
Cubed avocado
Mixed lettuce greens
Fresh salsa

I went heavy on the avocado and it went sooo well with the spiciness of the chorizo.

Pasta Frittata

2008-06-29T20:02:00.000-07:00

We had a bunch of leftover pasta from dinner the other night so I looked around a bit to get some ideas of what to do with it and decided to try a pasta frittata.

The recipe I was using as a reference called for 4 oz of cooked capellini and 4 eggs. I had no idea how much capellini I had (maybe 2 cups?) but I used 6 eggs and it still seemed like it could've been eggier. But it was good.

Here's what I did:
Sauteed chopped green onions and garlic scapes in olive oil, added capellini till it created a thick layer that covered the bottom of the pan. Stirred it around in the skillet a bit. Added some chopped spinach and salt & pepper. Stirred a bit more till all combined. Then pressed it all down in the skillet with the back of the spatula. Let it cook over medium high heat (without stirring) for about 7 minutes till it got golden brown around the edges. Meanwhile, beat 6 eggs, added about 4 T shredded parmesan, ~2 T of dijon mustard, and salt & pepper. Stirred it up and poured over the pasta (when it was golden brown on the bottom). Lifted up the pasta at the edges to let the egg mixture get down underneath. Turned heat down to medium low and let the egg set for about 5 minutes. Could've popped it under the broiler at this point but instead...we flipped it. That worked better than expected. I had some leftover slices of veggie chorizo-style field roast so put those on the top and ate.

Notes for future: could use more egg and maybe some red pepper flakes.

SOBO in Tofino, BC ... Inspiring food!

2008-06-24T14:47:00.000-07:00

I live in the tiny town of Tofino on the west coast of Vancouver Island where world-class food is a way of life. Our favorite restaurant is SOBO (short for Sophisticated Bohemian.) Award winning chef, Lisa Ahier, infuses all her recipes with a touch of Texas zing and the freshest ingredients she can get her hands on. While not strictly vegetarian or vegan, SOBO is a "no mammal" restaurant. The recipe for Lisa's "Killer Fish Tacos" can be found here:
www.tofinotime.com/articles/A-T608-16frm.htm

And you can meet the awesome Lisa via her "Vegan Summer Sorbet" how-to video here:
www.hippygourmet.com/blog/2008/06/re-summer-sorbet-organic-vegan.html

Enjoy and come visit!

Fried Rice

2008-06-23T15:41:00.000-07:00

I make fried rice a lot. It's such a great way to get the kids to eat veggies and mix up all the random stuff we have laying around.

This week's fried rice had:
Carrots
Radishes (I'm not a fan of raw radishes but we get them in our box & sautee them)
Peas
Spinach
Green Onions
Green Garlic (have you noticed, I never put garlic in my recipes? I do tolerate green garlic sometimes)
Quorn tenders (aka veggie chicken)

Plus some soy sauce, tamari, sesame oil, chili oil, salt, rice vinegar, and lots of black pepper.

Arugula Pesto

2008-06-23T15:31:00.001-07:00

I usually think of pesto as being basil based and thought I was going to use some of the basil growing in my windowsill. But I'm saving that for another rainy day.

No pictures but this is yummy and fast. Adapted from the Smith & Hawken: Gardener's Community Cookbook (one of my personal favorites).

Cook Spaghetti
For Pesto:
In food processor combine (all measurements approximate) and pulverize:
1/2 c walnuts
1 jalapeno (seeded!)
1 bunch arugula
1/2 c parmesan
1/2 c parsley
garlic salt & pepper
1/4 c olive oil
juice of 1 lemon

I made enough pasta for about 5 big portions and still had a little pesto left over which I'm freezing for later.

101 simple summer vegan 10-minute meals

2008-06-19T17:04:00.000-07:00

this is from mark bittman (NYT's minimalist)--a whole bunch of super simple recipes. a little too much seitan for me, but some of the ideas sound good. hopefully i'll try some of these when i'm too tired to really cook.

organic vs biodynamic vs veganic

2008-06-18T09:00:00.001-07:00

I hadn't heard about Veganic Farming till I read about it in the news today. Our farm is biodynamic and I love it there. We've visited and have talked to the owners a number of times. I really believe in what they're doing and am really happy to support them. But anyway, veganic sounded interesting so I poked around and read a little more about it. Looks like there is one farm nearby, Whistling Winds, that is Veganic. Might be fun to visit them sometime. It's interesting how many classifications our food can have, conventional, organic, kosher, biodynamic, veganic, local, ...

Okay, I never really thought about kosher farming before, but I guess there really is such a thing, "...making sure produce was free of insects!"

blue moon ice cream

2008-06-17T15:10:00.000-07:00

my favorite ice cream ever is blue moon. i used to get it at the purple cow in meijer's. little did i know that when i moved to the west coast i would not be able to get blue moon anywhere! apparently it's a midwest thing. so i have been working to try to make my own. i ordered a bottle of blue moon flavoring from a company in michigan, and i have been experimenting with different recipes for a base ice cream flavor (usually vanilla ice cream recipes, without the vanilla beans). this weekend i made a custard based one, and it's pretty good, but i think last week's philadelphia style (no eggs) was even better. i'm still not satisfied that it's "authentic"--it's been so long since i've had real blue moon that i can hardly remember what it tastes like! but it does taste GOOD and i'm enjoying it for what it is--close enough!

Spring garden fare

2008-06-13T13:07:00.000-07:00

My first attempt...

I planted these strawberries last year and began enjoying the first harvest this week. Mostly sliced over cereal or just plain while standing in the garden. They are not the sweetest or the largest I have ever eaten, but they are homegrown, organic and basically free!

Last night I made this fruit salad (which I pretended was fruit salsa--the kids would never eat anything with red onion and jalapeno) with some lime juice.

Grilled salmon with fruit "salsa" and lime basil.

Coming soon.....

Sugar Snap Peas

Curried Lentil Wraps

2008-06-12T19:16:00.000-07:00

We had bought a package of refrigerated, precooked lentils at Trader Joe's so I decided to try some sort of lentil wrap. I used this curried lentil burrito recipe as inspiration but since I didn't have everything it called for, I ended up doing this:

Par-boiled some cubed potatos.
Sauteed onion, and added lots of curry, cumin, & red pepper flakes. When it started to brown and stick to the pan, I added a little water, the potatos and lentils. It was starting to stick again so I added a little vegetable broth, garlic salt and pepper and popped the lid on to finish cooking the potatos. Added chopped spinach and stirred that up. Adjusted curry/cumin/salt and added lemon juice.

Shredded monterey jack cheese and chopped fresh cilantro.

I think this all would've been great in a standard tortilla.

But the inspiration recipe dipped the tortilla in an egg, milk, & chopped parsley mixture then plopped that in a skillet. So I tried it. It was good...but I think I'd just do standard tortillas next time.

But I would like to try that spiced yogurt and just use it instead of the cheese.

first tomatoes of the year

2008-06-12T10:12:00.000-07:00

this is so exciting:

also the first corn of the year, but it's really the tomatoes that are special. i immediately made:

pablito from terra firma has a few things to say about the salmonella tomato thing.

Jerk Tofu

2008-06-11T19:07:00.000-07:00

I had a bottle of Jamaican Jerk Seasoning Blend that we've put straight onto fish before grilling and on that bottle there was a recipe for Jamaican Jerk Pork. You had to marinade the pork overnight and then bake it for 2 hours. Hah. I have about 30 minutes to get dinner made and on the table before the kids go into utter meltdown. I thought I'd see what the recipe could do for tofu in 30 minutes.

Drained/pressed tofu and cut into ~8 slices.
In pyrex baking dish put a little olive oil, 1/4 cup tamari, 1/4 cup honey, 2 T lemon juice, 2 T mirin, and 2 T of the jerk seasoning. (the real recipe called for lime juice and sherry but i didn't have those. my measurements are totally approximations. i just dumped till it felt right.) Stirred it up and plopped in the tofu. Baked it at 400 degrees (flipping once) while I finished up the rest of dinner.

Oh. my. yum. I've made other baked tofu things before that i've liked but this is my new favorite one.

I served it with some trader joe's veggie egg rolls, and some stir-fried collard greens & swiss chard with sesame oil, garlic salt, pepper, tamari & a splash of rice vinegar.

Good stuff. The kids are never going to be patient enough for us to take a picture before we eat.

Food, it's what's for dinner

2008-06-10T19:36:00.001-07:00

So I'm talking about food here. Vegetables and very occasionally fish. Meals. Snacks. Yum. It would be fun to hear what you have to say about food too. So if you want to start writing stuff down too, let me know and I'll give you write-ability.

Drinks are always welcome.

peanut sesame noodles

2008-06-10T15:49:00.000-07:00

i am going to try to make this tonight: cold peanut sesame noodles. of course i am going to have to leave out the scallions and substitute something else for the chicken. i have been wanting to try something with a peanut sauce so this looked good right now. plus, it's really hot so i don't want to spend too long at the stove!

the problem is i can't remember if i have sesame oil at home. (or peanut or canola, for that matter.) i usually do but during my "kitchen cure" i know i got rid of a lot of old stuff. i stop at the grocery store on my walk home, recipe in hand. i do not want to walk up that hill to check and then walk back, and i do not want to buy a bottle of the stuff if i already have it! what a drag. too bad matt is not home to check for me.

UPDATE: it was really good! i used precooked buckwheat soba so it was really quick. it took more time to mince the ginger and garlic. next time i would leave out the sugar, and instead of using morningstar chik strips, i would use tofu. i didn't use an english cucumber but carrots and a little yellow squash i already had instead. matt wasn't around so i just cooked for one!

last night i also made carrot muffins, from Joy. i had a lot of extra carrots from the CSA box, and i also used fresh squeezed orange juice! i brought most of them to share at work today since they won't last long in this heat.

Pasta with Sugar snap peas, Spinach, & Cauliflower

2008-06-09T22:11:00.000-07:00

Tonight I made angel hair pasta and added lemon juice, fresh basil & parsley.
Sauteed a little onion and cauliflower with a bunch of sugar snap peas & spinach with garlic salt, pepper & nutritional yeast. Stirred it all together and ate.

I think it would've been great with the pesto Jeff just mastered the other day...but he's already forgetting what he did.

Clara's becoming a big fan of spinach. We flex our muscles after every bite.

Jeff says he's going to take pictures of our dinners. But they're not pretty. I am not about the presentation.

Kale & Shitake Mushrooms with Creamy Polenta

2008-06-09T13:15:00.000-07:00

We're members of Jubilee Farm and subscribe to the Locovore box (which means our produce comes within 150 miles of the farm in Carnation). In the summer, all the produce is grown on the farm.

This week's box had:
Lettuce & Spring Greens Mix, Spinach, Pinata Apples, Basil, Raab, Red Oak Leaf Lettuce, Italian Parsley, Shitake Mushrooms, Rainbow Chard, Red Russian Kale, Bok Choi, Cauliflower and Collard Greens.

For dinner the other day, I found a recipe for creamy polenta. I'm not typically a polenta fan but it sounded good for some reason.

The polenta had 4 cups of milk, 3.5 cups of water, 2 cups of polenta, salt & pepper. I kept whisking that until it came to a boil. The recipe said to cook it for another 20 minutes until it got thick. But it was pretty thick by the time I got to a boil so I only cooked it for another 5-10 minutes. Let it sit while I made the kale & mushrooms. After sitting for awhile, I added a couple tablespoons of butter and some shredded parmigiano-reggiano. I'm thinking using veg broth instead of water might not be a bad idea in the future. But it was good nonetheless.

I chopped up kale, shitakes, and some baby leeks and sauteed them in olive oil, garlic salt & pepper. Added some white wine once they'd softened up a bit and cooked that down.

We've got tooons of leftover polenta. I spread it in a 9x13 pan and refrigerated it overnight. For breakfast the next day I cut it in triangles and fried it in a little olive oil with some marjoram. Then fried up some eggs to go with it. This is definitely how I like polenta.

Still have tons of polenta. I'm thinking about making some croutons or polenta fries if I get a chance.

Cauliflower & Brussel Sprouts w/ Lemon Caper Butter

2008-06-09T12:34:00.000-07:00

Went to the farmer's market yesterday and picked up potatos, brussel sprouts, sugar snap peas (oh yum!), baby walla walla onions and a yellow onion along with a few varieties of heirloom tomato plants. Jeff said brussel sprouts?! This time of year? But he's since singing their praises. This week's Jubilee box had cauliflower and a bunch of greens I've been working my way through. So...I decided to roast cauliflower and brussel sprouts. Googled a few recipes and ended up with a yummy treat.

Steamed rice
Tossed cauliflower, brussel sprouts (huge ones cut in quarters), walla walla onions (halved), and one big yukon gold potato (cubed) with olive oil, salt & pepper and roasted at 425 for about 30 minutes. They tasted good already.
But lemon caper butter sounded too good to pass up.
I used 4 T butter (at room temp), ~ 2 tsp dijon mustard, 1 lemon peel grated, couple teaspoons of marjoram, and a bunch of capers and slightly mashed it with a fork.
Tossed about half of the LC butter on the veggies when they came out of the oven. And put the rest in with the rice.

The recipe i was basing it on had called for 6 T butter and 1/4 cup of capers but I decreased amounts of both. But I don't think you can go wrong adding all the capers...we just had a tiny jar that only had 1/4 cup in it so I felt bad using them all. But we added more into the leftovers cause they're so yummy.

Jeff just reported "this lunch kicked ass."

Yay.