Roasted Brussel Sprouts with fruits (any Veggie actually)

Roasted veggies, fruit and bacon

Everyone raves about this brussel sprouts dish. Though I tend to make all recipes my own with my twists and variations, I rarely tweak this recipe from "The Splendid Table", an NPR weekly radio show. I subscribe to their free weekly recipe email www.splendidtable.publicradio.org/  (I have gotten a lot of great recipes from them!). I crave this dish, so I make it often.

I made it the other night. I had only 1# brussel sprouts and 1 1/2# green beans, which I cut in half. Only one apple, but 4 pears, and my onion was a red one. I also had some fresh rosemary from a Thanksgiving fresh herb pack, so used it along with the sage and thyme. Tasted great!

ROASTED BRUSSELS SPROUTS

2 1/2 lbs brussel sprouts, halved if small or quartered if large (A key when roasting vegetables is to have a lot of the ingredients chunked about the same size) 
1 large onion, cut into 1-inch chunks
2 apples (any kind, I tend to use Granny Smith), cored and cut in 1-inch pieces
2 firm ripe Anjou or Comice pears, cored and cut
2-4 slices bacon, cut in pieces
1/2 tsp each thyme and sage (fresh is always best if you have it, and use more)
5-6 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
1/3 cup good tasting extra-virgin olive oil
1/8 tsp spicy red pepper flakes
1 Tb brown sugar (I use Sucanat - unprocessed sugar cane)
Salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

Toss all together. (Sometimes I'll put the bacon pieces in the pan to start cooking while the oven is preheating and get it started.) Bake in a 450 degree oven in a very large shallow pan. You want the mixture to spread into a single layer. Stir it several times - baking about 40 minutes to an hour till nicely browned.

Cultured Cranberry Relish and Veggie Dippers

Fermenting veggies for serving with a dip, and cranberry relish - for Thanksgiving Day

For several years now I ferment veggies for a platter with dip, and then a cranberry mixture for Thanksgiving. I ferment them for at least 24hours. The process breaks them down a bit for easier digestion, besides being healthy for our gut.

I by organic broccoli, cauliflower, celery, cucumber and carrots (and this year added red pepper). I slice and put them in a large bowl, along with some slivered fresh garlic. I sprinkled on about 3 Tb sea salt and occasionally stir to start the veggies juicing. I also add a couple teaspoons of pickling spices and then about 1/4-1/3 cup of liquid whey (from strained yogurt). Just make sure the veggies are covered with water, which with the salt becomes a brine. There's a glass weight in the jars to keep the veggies submerged. A brine is typically 3 Tb salt per 1 quart of water.

Pulsing cranberry relish ingredients

CRANBERRY ORANGE APPLE RELISH

4 - 7.5oz containers of cranberries (around 32 ounces)
8 tangelo type oranges, skin and all (remove seeds)
3 apples
1/2 cup sucanat (dehydrated sugar cane)
2 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp salt
1/2 cup raisins
1/4-1/3 cup whey
1/2-1 lemon

Pulse all but the whey in a food processor. Don't puree. This mixture filled my 1 1/2 Liter and a 1 Liter Pickle-It containers, with a glass weight, and airlock on top of jar. I squeezed some lemon juice on top of both for extra submerging liquid. You can do this in a regular fido jar or canning jar with a plastic lid. But I have tasted a difference in the foods fermented with the airlocks - better tasting!

I keep on making the cranberry relish thru-out their season in the store - on into February. I store the jars in my cool cellar. I like to eat this with yogurt, walnuts, shredded unsweetened coconut . . .

Any leftover veggies can be jarred up and stored in a fridge or cool cellar as well. I've opened a jar months later and they're still fairly crisp and yummy!

Green Tomato Jam

Green Tomato Jam

This is now my second year to make Green Tomato Jam. If you grow tomatoes, at the end of the season you'll have green tomatoes. I'll leave the tomatoes for awhile, for some to turn red, but eventually you'll either toss them (compost or chickens), or like me, look for uses.

Typical recipes are for a pie - supposedly similar to apple pie. It's ok. But since we don't eat a lot of desserts, I want my desserts to be our favorites. Another is frying slices, which is good. I posted one recipe along with my end of season put-up of Zucchini Potato Soup, which tastes great defrosted for winter eating! This year I tried a green tomato relish (which I need to label in my fridge, cuz I recently pulled it out thinking it a tomatillo green salsa). It's ok too, but I haven't used it much. I'm going to try it as a sandwich spread, which could be good.

I found the recipe from Splendid Table. I used to listen to that NPR radio program every weekend till our station exchanged it with another program. Instead, I now get emailed weekly recipes and can listen to excerpts or podcasts. The recipe was actually in connection with another recipe - A Green Tomato Tart, which has a bottom ricotta and mascarpone (or cream cheese) layer. I did make the tart once, and will try it again, but typically just make the jam.

Green Tomato Jam

3# green tomatoes, cored and chopped (1/2" pieces)
2 2/3 cups sugar
2-3 lemons (2 zested)
1/8 tsp salt and scant 1/4 tsp pepper
4" cinnamon stick, broken

Hmmmm, now that I type this I realize I've never cored the tomatoes! and I've made quite a few batches. I will cut them in half and sometimes make a "V" for cutting out the stem end and that'll take out some of the white core. The other 1/2" piece thing I sometimes do, not an exact measurement, but realizing there's two end results depending on your preferences. Monte and some friends like the chunky jam. I could do with less chunks. This current batch I'm in process of making, I did literally hand cut yesterday (as I was needing to "fold" my sourdough bread dough every 30 minutes four times, and I was listening to an audiobook - so it was a relaxing time).

Chopped Green Tomatoes and Sugar sitting for 24 hours

Sometimes I use the food processor to chop them. Pulse them a bit and not too much, so you DO end up with some chunks.

The tomatoes and sugar need to be mixed together and sit for 24 hours. Lots of juice will be extracted.

Add the lemons. Zest the lemons and then cut off the white pith and chop. Two large lemons are enough - three if small to medium. Add the seasoning.

Bring to a boil, then simmer for about 40 minutes (210 degrees?). I don't take it's temperature. After awhile I'll get some jam juice on my spoon, let it cool a bit and slowly tilt back into the pot. When the drips start coming together slowly into one drop, it means it's thickened up about right. You don't want it runny. Remove cinnamon sticks.

Jar up and freeze. I haven't canned this up. My friend does. I do know, that if you leave it out, even in a cool cellar, it will develop mold. It holds up well in a refrigerator.

Now some of you are going to want the Tart recipe.

Tart Crust

1 cup (5oz) flour
2 oz almond meal
3 Tb sugar
3 oz (6 Tb) butter
1 large egg
1/8 tsp salt
1/4 tsp almond extract
1-3 Tb water
Mix together, cutting the butter and liquids into the dry ingredients. Chill. Roll out to fit a removable bottom tart pan. Bake at 375 with pie weights to keep crust from bubbling (I keep pie weights and a folded piece of foil in a container in my pantry) for 15 minutes; then 5-10 minutes without the weights. Cool. Then spread in -

Vanilla Ricotta Cream Filling

1/3 cup whipped cream or 1/2 cup mascarpone cheese (cream cheese, replacement)
3/4 cup ricotta
3 Tb sugar
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Puree this together and Chill.

1 Hour before serving, spread the Ricotta mixture in the tart shell. Top with 1 3/4 - 2 cups Green Tomato Jam. Chill at least 40 minutes then 20 minutes outside the fridge. Serve.

I never took a picture of the finished tart! It was good. The base tart with ricotta filling (which I used cream cheese for only because I couldn't find mascarpone in the back of my cheese drawer, which I thought I had) would be good with any topping. Monte thought layering on some thin slices of pear, which we had excess of at the time, would be good.

I gave the jam as Christmas presents last year along with home brewed Vanilla Extract.

Blender Impossible Squash Pie

Blender Impossible Squash Pie

I have this recipe in my cookbook. One day we sat down with some of our grown kids, talking thru my cookbook I wrote 20 years ago. They'd make comments like, "I hated that" or "we do this this way now". Travis's comment about this recipe was, "I never liked pumpkin pie, but this recipe helped me like it. I love this pie, and it's even good leftover cold!"

I grow winter squash. It's a great feat at my mountain altitude to get winter squash, and have an abundance of it stored in the garage. So I have to remember to keep pulling it out to bake each week. This is a recipe I often do with the leftovers. And I don't really bother measuring the squash - like I probably have more than the called for 1 cup.

Back in the day, I was using powdered milk a lot. So my book's recipe has 1 cup water and then 1/3 cup milk powder. Now I'm using raw milk and will even add in some extra cream when I've got extra. And use whatever type of flour you want - I tried almond meal this time and it worked fine. The original versions for these impossible pies used Bisquick, and I came up with this version instead. Occasionally I'll use my extra sourdough I need to be using when building up for bread-making. Use any kind of squash (excepting stringy spaghetti squash).

Blender Impossible Squash Pie

1 cup milk
1+ cup of cooked squash
4 eggs
1/2 cup flour
1/3 cup honey (I'll occasionally use maple syrup)
1 tsp allspice
1 tsp cinnamon

Combine all in the blender and blend. Pour into greased and floured pie dish. Bake at 350 degrees for about 1 hour, or till toothpick or knife comes out clean.

Stir-Fry Trout and Veggies

Monte just sent me the recipe he made (actually 'we') for supper. We have lots of fish in the freezer, caught by us, friends, and relatives (I'll occasionally buy something special from I Love Blue Sea). My favorite fish is Monte's pan fried recipe, but with so much fish, he thought he'd try stir-fry. So I looked for what veggies existed in the produce bins and pantry and got the veggies ready. Monte of coarse said "yeah" or "nay" as to the suggested choices.

Stie-Fry Fish and Veggies in cast-iron wok

January 2013 Stir Fried Trout

One 18-inch trout-
Fillet and remove bones and skin,
Cut into 3/4 inch wide strips along grain of meat.

Prepare vegetables for stir fry:
Slice:
1 onion
1 red pepper
About he same amount of :
Mushrooms
Yellow cauliflower
Kale.

In a cast iron stir fry pan add:
Olive oil and heat
Add fish and touch of salt
Season to taste with:
Ground pepper
Lemon peel
Garlic powder
Onion powder
Lightly fry fish turning carefully and often
Remove and set aside.

Add more olive oil and stir fry vegetables in stages
1st cauliflower
2nd onion, pepper and mushrooms
3rd kale
Season with Kirkland organic no-salt seasoning

Add trout back in and turn several times mixing well.

Serve and top with sprinkles of:

Grated Kerry Gold cheddar cheese
Feta cheese crumbles and
Fresh-squeezed lemon

Serve with glass of homemade ginger ale mixed with kombacha.

Fermented Onions and More

Fermenting Veggies, Red Onions, Cranberry Relish, Beets, and Pear sauce for dehydrating as a 'leather'

Did more ferments. I LOVE the veggie mixture for putting on a platter with some homemade dips. The first time I tried this was for Thanksgiving - only fermenting them a couple days. I thought they'd get soggy over time, but they don't. The ones I jarred up in smaller jars and put in my cold cellar are still crispy nice . . . And such wonderful flavor! So I did it again for the Holiday get-togethers, which always need more wholesome veggies available! as well as that taste variance over all the sweets (which I don't eat much of tho they are around).

I already posted about the Cranberry-Orange-Apple Relish. This is my third batch this season, and will probably do more till no more fresh cranberries are in the store. I mostly use it mornings with my dairy kefir or homemade yogurt, soaked and dried walnuts, shredded coconut, and sometimes adding a bit of my soaked and dried cold cereal (all recipes posted here).

I love beets and decided to keep making this version - sliced beets - over the kvass recipes. I still drink the brine. And I'm really excited about the red onions. I'm going to be adding them to all sorts of things. Like on salads, in egg and chicken salads, sandwiches . . . I do use whey in most of my ferments. I've read of using other starters or none at all. I have access to liquid whey whenever I want it. It's very nutritious, and I've not found any undesirable texture or taste! And I've not made an official brine either. I typically put all the ingredients in a large bowl and sprinkle on the salt I'd use if making a brine and keep stirring and tossing, to start the process before jarring up in my Pickl-It jars, and adding the water amount to cover.

Monte just mixed up some special canned tuna I got from I Love Blue Sea (and will keep getting cases from them - it's THE best!) with my cultured homemade mayo and the fermented zucchini with poblano chilies I kept making at the end of summer - serving it with my homemade sourdough gouda cheese crackers. SO GOOD!

Ferments

Beautiful! Fermenting veggies in Pickl-It jars

Earlier ferments - Bing Cherry Chutney on the left

I'm having a blast learning to ferment foods. I can't take the time to tell you all the reasons why fermented foods are so important in our diet. If you google the subject you'll find tons of articles about it. I will post about the whys eventually. For now, I'm just excited to share pictures of my stuff. It's so pretty ... and tasty. All I'll say for now is that it's a very old traditional process in all cultures around the world. Our modern pickling with vinegar, as well as our modern preservation with canning, is not traditionally old-style - and not as healthy.

From left to right in the top photo is: beet kvass, spicy grated zucchini, dilly green beans, garlic sauerkraut using 1/2 red cabbage (on my second batch), the best fresh salsa (on my second batch), turnips and beets, kimchi (a second batch too and my favorite!). The first's of the above are in the cellar (excepting the salsa which we've consumed) along with a rhubarb chutney. These fruit chutneys are not sweet but savory.

Finished ferments vacuum sealed to go into cold storage

I'll post more details later. We finished off our root/wine cellar better this summer, so that is the "cold storage" where I'm putting these rejarred and vacuum sealed finished ferments. I'll take pictures of the cellar soon and post.

The quart jars to the right in the last picture are cultured dairy I strained for it's whey, then squashed into balls and are covered with virgin olive oil. The balls did not stay intact, but it's preserved and tastes so good added to salads or spread on artisan bread.

Use of all these things is what I also want to post about. It's all fine and fun to dehydrate, freeze, and ferment stuff ... but you've got to use them!

Current Note (10/20/2015): It's 3 years later. What do I still like? Or moreso, what do we find ourselves actually still using and eating?! I find I can only eat so much, and so much variety is overwhelming! Sauerkraut is number 1, and easiest and most liked to eat. I do really like kimchi, but still, not in the habit of eating it. I have very few recipes using the preserved lemons, but they are SO good, and seem to last well, so I don't make much. The fruit ferments we don't really like, excepting the cranberry one I've done other posts on. It keeps really well too. I typically freeze green beans, but as a ferment, the dilly beans are good. And whenever I'm going to do a veggie tray for gatherings, I'll start them with brine and spices, a few days before - I've posted on this too. And last, but not least, I prefer brined cucumber pickles to typical vinegar processed pickles! They keep well too - a little foggy brine as they age hurts nothing and is the norm. A friend has told me I really need to be making my own Apple Cider Vinegar. "So easy," she says. I do use it all the time - especially in my homemade salad dressings, which we eat a lot! We'll see. Our little local natural grocery store we go to regularly is carrying more and more ferments, so I'll occasionally try variety that way. Like I really like a green chile pepper spread on sandwiches . . .

Shared this post at: Monday Mania, Homestead Barn Hop, Delicious Obsessions, Pickle Me Too, Cooking Traditional Foods,

Basil Pesto and Potato Chicken Recipes

I've made pesto for years and frozen it. All these years I've made it with pine nuts, and then freeze without the parmesan cheese - adding it as I use the pesto. Now I'm going to be making it with my soaked and dried walnuts instead of the pine nuts. And I'm not going to add the nuts when freezing, adding them as well as the parmesan when using. I'll occasionally still use pine nuts, but I'm liking the walnut variety better.

First put the basil leaves, 2 oz is about 2 cups, in a food processor. I've not tried making pesto in a blender, but it probably would work too.

Basil in food processor

Add 1/4 cup walnuts or pine nuts
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
3 large cloves of garlic
pinch of salt

Process, then add 1/2 cup of shredded parmesan.

Walnuts, garlic, olive oil added to basil in food processor

Processed Basil Walnut Pesto

PESTO POTATO CHICKEN

- I cook up a chicken breast or two in plenty of salted water to cover till tender. Remove the chicken to cool enough to shred.
- Cut a potato or two in match-stick pieces and add to the water you cooked the chicken in.
- About 10 minutes before you think the potatoes will be tender add about 1/4-1/2 pound of broken up fettucini pasta to the pot to cook till tender.

Match-stick cut potatoes cooking in chicken broth and added fettucini

My goal is to not have much liquid left by the time everything is done cooking. If you do have lots of liquid left, pour or ladle it off, or thicken it with arrowroot or cornstarch. Add the shredded chicken and toss with the pesto sauce and serve. I've made this with home-made pasta ... My favorite homemade pasta is sourdough pasta. I'll be posting that recipe in the future.

Potato, Pasta and shredded chicken, all cooked in chicken broth, tossed with basil walnut pesto

I made this pesto with my soaked and dried walnuts to test the flavor. Now that I know it's great, I'll be making a lot of the beginning process of the basil without the walnuts and parmesan for freezing - both in either freezer bags, containers, or ice cube tray portions.

For example - the ice cube portion of pesto is excellent on a baked halved tomato, adding the crushed nuts and grated parmesan on top, then broil a bit at the end. I use my frozen pesto on homemade pizza too. It's good tossed with cooked spaghetti squash and chopped tomatoes.  

Tomato Aspic ... Grandma's?

I'm researching ways to use gelatin. When first married I made some jellos using gelatin and fruit juices. I even did a coffee one. But now I'm looking for veggie ideas ... and others ... Anyone got ideas?

Tomato Aspic

I had a quart of V-8 style tomato juice from the health food store and wanted to use that. I'm using a quality gelatin. Many recipe I found used lemon jello. I don't want to use jello - totally unnatural and full of sugar. Here's what I settled on ... a good thing!

TOMATO ASPIC

2 envelopes unflavored gelatin (my container says 1 Tb to gel 1 C liquid, so I used 4 Tb, I'm wondering if I can use a bit less)
4 C V-8 Juice
1/2 C lemon juice
1 Tb parsley (fresh or dried)
1 tsp sugar (I used sucanat)
pinch of dill weed
1/2 tsp celery seed
dash of cayenne pepper
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp worcestershire sauce (Annie's from health food store since I've not made my own yet. And since hers does not have anchovies in it, which is a must for worcestershire sauce, I added 1/2 tsp fish sauce.)

Dissolve the gelatine in 1 cup of the juice. Heat the rest and simmer about 10 minutes. Add the gelatin mixture and stir well. You can pour this into a greased mold, and chill about 8 hours. But you can also add veggies to the mold too.

This time I cut up fine -
about 1 C celery
1 poblano chili
a bunch of chives from my garden (1/4-1/2 C)
1 mashed avocado

Other options could be adding in olives, or artichoke hearts, or shrimp ...

We had dinner guests and they liked it. One man said (for two dishes I served - the other being roasted brussel sprouts) that he's not had this since his Grandma made it!



This post has been linked to Simple Lives Thursday, Food Renegade, The Healthy Home Economist, The Prairie Homestead, Real Food Wednesday, Little Farm in the Big City, Friday Food Flicks, Beyond the Peel.

Egg Dish / Casserole / Crustless Quiche

I've been a MOPS Mentor Mom for eleven years now. I occasionally bring an egg dish. So I have paper-clipped several 3x5 cards together filed under "E" for Eggs. This dish is a combination of several recipes I like. I'll give you the basic recipe that you can add anything to really.

CRUSTLESS QUICHE

Put 1/2C butter in a 9x13 dish and put in your preheating to 350 oven.
Mix together-
1C milk
6 lg eggs
2 1/2C ricotta cheese (1 pt container is fine)
1/2C flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
Pour over the melted butter and 1# grated cheese 

This is what I do now. I pull out one of my frozen 1/4# bag of greens (typical 10oz would work fine too) I froze from my garden - so either chard, kale, or spinach. Slightly thaw it and chop. I'll add this to the butter that's melting in the preheating oven. Grate any cheese I want to use up for adding to the dish when ready to pour the mixture over.  Mix all of the above replacing the flour with Masa (a corn flour made from corn soaked in lime water before drying and grinding - I use for corn tortillas and tamales). I sometimes use buttermilk in place of the milk. And add a 7oz can of a green salsa (salsa verde). Add the grated cheese to the dish and pour this mixture over. Bake about 45 minutes till set.

You could add chopped green chilies or layer whole green chilies for a relleno. Use broth in place of the milk. Chopped or stewed tomatoes. Use cottage cheese in place of the ricotta...

Cream of Roasted Mushroom Soup

Cream of Mushroom Soup, Salad, and Water Kefir Beverage

I got this fresh raw dairy cream and I started craving cream of mushroom soup. It is exceptional because of roasting the mushrooms and garlic cloves!

Roasted portabellas and garlic with butter and lemon juice ready to blend with broth

Cream of Roasted Mushroom Soup

1# of mushrooms - I use portabellas
1-2 Tb fresh lemon juice
4 garlic cloves - I usually use more, like double!
3 Tb butter
Salt and Pepper to taste
2 1/2 C chicken broth
1/2 C heavy cream

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. In a baking dish layer the sliced mushrooms (I usually cut their stem to a fresh layer and wipe tops across a damp dishcloth or paper towel). Add the lemon juice, garlic, butter and light seasoning. Bake for about an hour till juice is thick and dark. Blend with some chicken broth till smooth. Heat with the rest of the chicken broth and add the cream, cooking only 5 more minutes without boiling.

Simmering chicken broth

I had roasted some chicken breasts the day before so to debone the meat for a chicken salad. And then cooked up the chicken bones for broth. I always cover them with plenty of water and add celery, carrot, and onion chunks, then a few whole cloves, some peppercorns, a Tb of apple cider vinegar (for getting more nutrients like calcium from the bones) and some salt. Bring to a boil and cook simmering all day. Then strain the broth. I always have some handy in the fridge and freeze whatever's left.



Posted at: Monday Mania, Homestead Barn Hop, Simple Lives Thursday

Sauerkraut Stew

Sauerkraut, cauliflower, kale and kielbasa

Sauerkraut, potatoes, and kielbasa sausage has always been a family favorite food combination. Sometimes I'll saute up kielbasa cut in 1/2" slices to brown a bit and then add thin sliced onions and cabbage from our garden, kinda creating a fresh sauerkraut. This alone is great. I'll often add some chicken broth and thicken a bit. This is great over mashed potatoes. Sometimes instead of onions I'll use leeks - love leeks! Lately I'm adding kale and cauliflower. So that's what's pictured here.



Proportions?

1# sliced kielbasa, saute till golden.

Add:

1 thin sliced onion or chopped leak (make sure you cut the leek in half vertically and wash out all the dirt before chopping, and I like to use most of the green part too) - cook till they color.

Chopped kale, about 2 C - 4 large leaves (mine is frozen from last year's garden)

1/2 # cauliflower (mine is frozen from my garden)

Then add:

2 C sauerkraut, rinsed (I look for lowest sodium - usually fresh in refrigerator section)

2-4 C chicken broth, depending on how soupy you like it. I'll use the 4 cups broth if I add some potatoes.

Salt and pepper to taste - with the sauerkraut I never salt, unless adding potatoes needs extra flavoring.

We like to serve it with a dollop of homemade yogurt or sour cream.

Baked Cod Parmesan

Alaskan cod was on sale yesterday ... so what to make ... I was thinking of a homemade pasta dish. I made lasanga last week when Travis and Sarah came along with another young couple to stay a couple days and dye Ukrainian/Pyasanky eggs (check it out at my overflow blog). We made homemade lasanga pasta and it was THE BEST lasanga I have ever tasted - and they agreed. We were all rather silent savoring our first bites! UmmUmmGood!!!! I am going to make another homemade pasta lasanga this weekend, so I'll take pics and post.



I could have googled cod recipes, but looked at the few fish cookbooks I have instead. Several Fall's ago Monte and me visited Boston before heading up to New Hampshire. We walked all over Boston for several days and loved it. We were told, besides the historic trail, to visit the Legal Sea Food restaurant - we bought their cookbook. This cod recipe sounded good. I'm eating leftovers now as I'm posting this ... still good.

BAKED COD PARMESAN

2 lbs cod fillets

1 C fresh chopped tomato or Marinara Sauce

2 Tb chopped fresh basil

3 Tb freshly grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese

1 Tb olive oil



Preheat oven to 425. Place fillets in baking dish and cover with the sauce and basil and bake about 8 minutes. Add the grated cheese and dots of olive oil and bake another 5 minutes, or till the cheese melts.



The fish smelled rather fishy when I opened the wrapping. Unless I have fresh fish I always soak most store bought fish in some salt/ sugar/ and milk water. I'd read those will rid the fishiness of fish. After about an hour Monte thought it still smelled fishy so rinsed it well and soaked it longer in ice water with lots of lemon slices. I cooked it a bit longer - 10 and 10 minutes and never added the olive oil. This winter I've had fresh herbs in my greenhouse - so I had fresh basil. I'm guessing I added more marinara sauce and cheese, but don't know, I didn't measure - just put enough to cover all the fish.



The cookbook suggested serving it with rice and broccoli. I usually like a rice mixture with wild rice and needed to pressure cook it since it takes longer to cook. Broccoli grows very well here and I usually freeze at least 20 pounds every year - in 1/2 pound bags, now that it's just Monte and me. The cookbook also suggested that mushrooms and chopped peppers could be added to the fish topping. That sounds good too. I usually always stock lemons/limes, mushrooms, peppers, and marinara sauce.



I like recipes that have menu suggestions.

"Cocolate Pudding"

OK . . . This may sound totally weird . . .

But it's actually pretty good! I need to credit Mitra Ray from her Juice Plus email for the recipe. I'm making the recipe smaller for just one or two servings.

"CHOCOLATE PUDDING"

1 avacado

1/8 C unsweet cocoa

1/4 C agave nectar or maple syrup

1/4 tsp vanilla extract

pinch of salt

(water, coconut milk, rice milk ... to thin it if needed)

Blend this till creamy.

Garnish with fresh fruit.

Veggies and Dips

Tea Party veggies and dips and tiered foods

I'm always wanting veggies in a format that will encourage the eating of them. Tea parties consist moreso of sandwiches and scones and desserts, so I wanted the nutritional addition of veggies. Having dips is the main way I find I'll eat more veggies.

We were crafting all day at my Valentine Tea Party, so I wanted everything to be finger food. Probably every time I passed by, I'd grab some veggies to eat, so that accomplished what I was hoping for.

First off, my dip recipe book, suggests par-boiling some veggies, for ease in digestion, then chilling them. Monte asked me to do this years ago, recognizing his body's needs (Monte is a great "body listener"!) Baby potatoes (or small sized potatoes cut later in wedges) boiled and then chilled are EVERYONE'S favorite veggie to dip! So I put the potatoes in a large pot to boil and put my steamer basket on top. Once the water comes to a boil I'll dump in the baby carrots (I know, I know, baby carrots are not truly baby carrots - did you know that?!). Steam veggies  3 minutes, dump them in a strainer basket and run cold water over them, drain, and bag up and chill. I do this with broccoli and sometimes the cauliflower too. So I had these, and green onions, celery sticks, red pepper slices, and radishes all ready the day before my party to keep refilling my large serving platter.

Since I have a three bowl serving dish, I made three dips the day before.

FRESH HERB RANCH DIP

2 C sour cream (sometimes I'll do this with 1/2 Hellmanns Mayo)
1/2 C buttermilk (sometimes I'll just use buttermilk powder - 3Tb)
3 Tb fresh parsley
2 Tb fresh chopped chives
1 Tb fresh oregano
1 1/2 tsp fresh tarragon
2 minced cloves garlic
2 Tb grated lemon zest
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

Mix this all up well. Most of the herbs I have fresh in my greenhouse. If you're using dry, you use a lot less - like 1/2 - 1 tsp. Sometimes when I make this dip I like to slow cook thin sliced/chopped onions till caramelized and add.

ROASTED GARLIC, ARTICHOKE, AND PEPPER RICOTTA DIP

This was SO GOOD I'm going to be making it a lot!

The recipe calls for 4 artichokes to peel and roast their hearts. Since it's not artichoke season yet, I just opened a 15 oz can of plain artichoke hearts (not marinated), drained, and dumped on the foil-lined baking sheet to roast.

2 whole garlic heads - cut off tops, pour on some olive oil, salt and pepper, and put the tops back on to roast.

1 red pepper - cut off both ends, slit down side and open out flat on the foil with the skin side up, along with both ends.

Roast in a 400 degree oven about 40 minutes. Don't let anything burn, but 'yes' to darkening. Remove the hearts and garlic to cool, and close up the foil around the pepper to sit and cool, so you can peel in a bit.

In a food processor squeeze out all the garlic cloves, add the hearts, and skinned pepper and puree along with

2 C ricotta
1/2 C grated parmesan
2 Tb fresh basil
Salt and pepper to taste

BLUE CHEESE DIP

2 C sour cream
1/2 C Hellmanns Mayo
2 scallions, including greens
1 1/2 C blue cheese
1/2 tsp pepper
4 shakes of Tabasco
1 Tb Worcestershire Sauce

I didn't have any Worcestershire. I need to look for a recipe substitute since I'm no longer keeping it stocked, as it's got high fructose corn syrup in it. I know it's main ingredients are vinegar and fish sauce (which is made from anchovies - an umami [the fifth taste] you want - it's what makes most salad dressings, etc, yummy). So I put a dollop each of vinegar and fish sauce. You want to puree this mixture as well.

At the end of the day I pulled some turkey broth I froze after Thanksgiving from the freezer, put it in a soup pot with the leftover dip veggies, chopped. Added the rest of the sliced chicken not used in the tea sandwiches. And added a chopped chipotle chili in adobo. Serve with some cut up avacado and a dollop of homemade yogurt. An easy end of the day supper.

Roasted Brussels Sprouts with fruits

Everyone raves about this brussels sprouts dish. Though I tend to make all recipes my own with my twists and variations, I rarely tweak this recipe from The Splendid Table, an NPR weekly radio show - I subscribe to their free weekly recipe email from www.splendidtable.publicradio.org/ (have gotten a lot of great recipes from them!).

 

I so crave this dish, that I make it often. We especially like it with grilled, smoked salmon. Monte dumps it on top of his salmon.

ROASTED BRUSSELS SPROUTS

2 1/2 lbs brussels sprouts, halved if small or quartered if large

(A key when roasting vegetables is to have a lot of the ingredients chunked about the same size)

1 large onion, cut into 1-inch chunks

2 apples (any kind, I tend to use Granny Smith), cored and cut in 1-inch pieces

2 firm ripe Anjou or Comice pears, cored and cut

2-3 slices bacon, cut in pieces

1/2 tsp each thyme and sage (fresh is always best if you have it, and use more)

5-6 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped

1/3 cup good tasting extra-virgin olive oil

1/8 tsp spicy red pepper flakes

1 Tb brown sugar (I use Sucanat - unprocessed sugar cane)

Salt and fresh ground pepper to taste



Toss all together. Bake in a 450 degree oven on a very large shallow pan (I line it with foil). You want the mixture to spread into a single layer. Stir it a couple times - baking about 40 minutes to an hour till nicely browned.



It, like the smoked salmon, is great leftover cold on lettuce as a salad.

Onion, Garlic, Buttermilk Dip, and Another Dip too

I was asked to write out this recipe -

1/2 C mayo
1/2 C sour cream
3 Tb buttermilk powder
2 Tbs fresh parsley, chopped
1/2 tsp dried thyme (more tsps if you use fresh)
1/2 tsp celery seed, ground
1/2 tsp fresh ground pepper
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 Tb chopped onion (if I've the time, I prefer to chop a whole onion and caramelize it by slow sauteing until golden brown - maybe about 1/2 hour. Let cool.)

Mix all these at least a couple hours ahead or up to a couple days. It could be thinned with some yogurt. Chives could be added or even blue cheese...

I like making things from scratch. I almost never buy herbs and spices ground, because they taste so much better ground at the moment of use. I have a wood mortar and pestle, and if a lot of spices, I have an extra coffee grinder.

Since so many young people are around our house, I've found they don't eat many fruits or vegetables. People will always eat more of them if they are prepared for nibbling before meals. And they'll eat more veggies if there's a dip (me too). There's always the typical carrots, celery, peppers, cucumber slices, broccoli, cauliflower, green onions, peas, and cherry tomatoes (always think 'wide variety of color' for a wide variety of phyto-nutrients). I like to parboil green beans too. And then the veggie that is everyone's favorite is to have chilled, but boiled till soft, baby potatoes (or just slice boiled small potatoes).
________________________________

We had a houseful Saturday and I'd gotten some baby fingerling potatoes, so made up a dip again. But I didn't follow the above dip, I created a new one -

Cottage Cheese - was probably around 2 Cups
Chives from the garden, cut up into blender
1 tsp each garlic powder and onion powder
1/2 tsp ceyenne
1/2 tsp lemon peel
1 tsp pepper
Juice from one lime or lemon
maybe some parsley

I pureed this in the blender and needed to add a few Tb cream to help it puree.

Everyone loves the boiled, cooled potatoes the best!

COUSCOUS

Monte wanted me to share his creation. We had some couscous leftover from a supper, so the following morning he simply added some egg till it held together and then dropped spoonfuls onto a heated oiled griddle or skillet, flattening them out. Cook on both sides till golden brown.



We've tried it a few times more. He's added a no-salt seasoning full of herbs. I've added some cinnamon and vanilla, and of course topping them with maple syrup.



Love the simplicity, since couscous with added hot water is done in a minute. And love the bit of crunch!

________________________



A salad we really like is with couscous. My taste buds were having quite a craving for it for awhile.



In a bowl put

1 cup couscous and 1 tsp salt.

Mix in 1 1/3 cups of the hottest tap water and come back and stir it occasionally while mixing up the rest of the ingredients.



Anything can be mixed in, but for starters, try this:

Chop 2 cups loose parsley

Mix with

1 Tb fresh lemon juice

1 Tb olive oil

6 green onions chopped (green tops included)

4 cups spinach cut in ribbons



Make dressing and add as much as you like:

2 Tb fresh lemon juice

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup half&half



I like to add cherry tomatoes

&/or roasted red pepper chopped

or mint, making the dressing of orange juice, zest and vinegar

. . . . . . .



I only use olive oil in all my cooking. I buy three kinds. The cheapest kind in a large container is virtually flavorless. A virgin kind I use for sauteing. Then I have a more expensive extra virgin kind for salads, and other times it's not cooked, and for dipping bread in - yum!!!! Good flavored olive oil with a seasoning and great whole grain bread--I crave! but can't eat a lot of or I'd be a fattened cow.



I always have a pretty wooden bowl or basket of lemons and limes. We use these ALL the time--whether just in water or squeezed onto salad alone with the good olive oil...



I also love green onions.



I love lots of things...

Coleslaw

I was asked to write out a coleslaw recipe. But as I said in the last post, use grated broccoli and/or cauliflower stems with or in place of the cabbage.

Coleslaw Recipe

1 lb shredded cabbage (about 6 cups)
1-2 carrots shredded
4 scallions or some red onion, finely chopped
2 Tb fresh parsley
1 tsp fresh thyme
2 Tb lemon juice (or whole lemon)
1/2 c yogurt
2 Tb each mayo & sour cream
1/4 tsp dijon style mustard
1/4 tsp fresh ground pepper
(finely sliced celery)
(finely chopped green pepper)
(1/2 tsp sugar or 1 Tb maple syrup)
(cilantro and lime juice can replace the thyme and lemon)
(vinegar can replace the lemon juice)
(I like options--depending on the 'mood' of my taste buds)
(other veggies too--like radishes, turnips, cucumbers)

Mix these all together well and serve.

Chicken Divan & Broccoli Stalk Coleslaw

Chicken Divan, Artisan Bread, Broccoli Stalk Coleslaw

We have had SO MUCH COMPANY!!!!!!! A friend emailed today asking how my hermit soul was doing?! This Velveteen House is turning into a retreat center. We've had investors and geologists overlapping with  visiting friends. Currently a couple who used to live here but are now in Florida are here. Tomorrow a family is coming to cut firewood and are bringing pizza for lunch.

I made chicken divan for supper tonight along with an artisan bread and a coleslaw made from the broccoli stocks I refrigerated when I harvested and froze all that broccoli. Did you know you can grate broccoli stalks for a coleslaw? When I don't want to slice stuff real fine for a slaw, I put chunks in the blender, cover to floating with water, pulse, so to keep it somewhat chunky and not pureed, then pour in strainer to drain off water. So I chunked the broccoli in batches, then some garden carrots and radishes, and then a batch of red onion. Mixed them all together in a large bowl and made up a sauce with homemade yogurt, mayo, a bit of sour cream we had left over with chives from baked potatoes the other night with guests when I baked meatloaf. Then just added some mustard, vinegar, sugar, salt and pepper, and parsley.

Draining blended red onion - the EASY way!!

CHICKEN DIVAN

2 - 10oz packages of frozen broccoli or use fresh

2 C cooked chicken or turkey pieces

4 Tb oil

4 Tb flour

2 C chicken broth

1 egg

1 Tb lemon juice

1/4 tsp cinnamon

2 seeds cardamom

3 cloves

3/8 tsp whole cummin

12 peppercorns

18 coriander seeds

1/8 tsp turmeric

1/4 tsp ground fenugreek

(Probably not in your typical grocery store. This is the spice that makes the curry flavor in curry spice. In fact, all the the ingredients from cinnamon down make up typical curry spice. I don't buy it, making up my own from scratch, grinding whole spices in a mortar & pestle or coffee grinder I have for spices. You could use a couple teaspoons of curry spice.)

1-2 C shredded cheese

a few slices old bread, blended to make crumbs



Arrange broccoli in a casserole dish and cook a few minutes in the microwave. Place chicken on top of the broccoli. Make a white sauce with the oil, flour, and broth - heating in microwave, stirring till thickening. Wisk egg in a little bowl and add some of the warm broth in with it, which prevents the egg from cooking, wisk, then wisk this mixture back into the heated white sauce (Most recipes just use a cream of chicken or mushroom soup can and add mayo. The white sauce and egg are creating this combo.) Add the spices and lemon juice - pour this over the chicken. Mix the bread crumbs with the grated cheese and sprinkle over all. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-30 minutes. We like the top to get browned.



Last night's was made in a larger casserole and I had 1 1/2# of broccoli and more chicken, so did a larger batch of everything. And I hardly measure anymore!



I love chicken divan. It took a long while for my kids to acquire a taste for it.