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

Brined Brisket -From Scratch- for St Pat's Day

I've had corned beef and cabbage for St Patrick's Day and always say, "I want to make my own corned beef". But you have to plan ahead since the brisket needs to brine for about a week.

I'll look for about a 4 pound beef brisket. From my research so far I'll be bringing to boil -
1C water
1/4C salt (salt is salt when dizzolved, so I'll use regular sea salt instead of 1/2C of Kosher salt.
1/4C apple cider vinegar (I never eat white vinegar)
2 Tb sugar (I'll use sucanat)
1-2 bay leaves
1/2 tsp peppercorns
1/4 tsp mustard seeds
a couple cloves
(I'll partially crush the whole spices to better release their flavor)
Let this cool once it's come to a boil and add 2, cut in thirds, garlic cloves. Then add the meat. Make sure the meat is covered by the brine - maybe cutting meat in pieces if need be. This could be stored in a ziplock bag. Refrigerate, turning occasionally, for 6-7 days.

You could cook this by itself for a meal. But I want to cook it with the traditional cabbage, potatoes and carrots.

The meat will cook first for several hours in large pot along with an onion. Then add a cabbage head cut in wedges, 6 potatoes quartered, and 4 carrots sliced - cook till tender. Then add 1/4 C fresh parsley and a few Tb of butter. The meat should be shreddy.

Enjoy, and tell St Pat's story.

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

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 parmasan
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.

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.

Potato, Onion, Zucchini Soup & Zucchini Flowers & Fried Green Tomatoes

I made this soup last night, and many times over the years. It freezes well, and tastes so good, pulling it out for a quick winter meal. (Another good use of garden zucchini surplus.)

ZUCCHINI, ONION, POTATO SOUP
3/4 virgin olive oil (I don't measure, just let it form a good puddle in the pan)
3 onions, sliced
2 potatoes, diced
3 large zucchini, diced
1/4 cup tomato paste
juice of 4 lemons
2 bunches of cilantro (you don't really taste it, yet it adds SO much)
salt to taste

Saute onions for about 15 minutes over medium-low heat. Add potatoes (when organic, I wash and keep the skins on) and saute a bit more. Add zucchini and tomato paste. Barely cover with water and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer on medium-low till everything is soft. Remove from heat and add cilantro and lemon juice. Puree in pan with an immersion blender, or in batches in blender. This is good hot or cold. I didn't think this would be so great without an added broth, but it doesn't need it! I like to serve it with some dollops of my homemade yogurt.

FRIED ZUCCHINI FLOWERS & FRIED GREEN TOMATOES

I'd mentioned earlier about wanting to fry up some zucchini flowers - the ones with the long stems are male flowers that will not produce 'fruit'. So I finally picked a few and tried them. I'd stored some extra egg mixed with milk in a little bowl in the fridge and a bowl of flour, corn meal and salt from trying fried green tomatoes, so used those same batter ingredients for the zucchini flowers. Just dip in the egg mixture (green tomatoes are 1/4" slices, and zucchini flowers kept whole), then dip in flour mixture and pan fry in a skillet with a bit of heated oil. Both were very good! but then almost anything battered and pan fried are good (believe me ... Dawson used to be a bug enthusiast and had me try battered fried Mormon Crickets! ... another story of "man eating bugs"! [that IS the name of a book]).

The bug man could tell me what this is ... 

I'm guessing it's a moth and not a butterfly, on a purple coneflower

Kale and Banana Smoothie

I'm eating this right now! This is the second large batch I've made so to have in the fridge to eat bits of off and on. I just had Splarah and Dawson taste these latest exotic things I've made lately with the kale. They're here for the evening, sitting side-by-side at Dawson's desk - Splarah working on her computer doing homework (she's in nursing school) and Dawson's editing shots he took for some people's school photos. They love the kale chips and wanted me to leave the bowl. This so-called smoothie ... they could eat their spoonful, but didn't want anymore, so I'm finishing it.

I think I put more kale in it then called for - how do you measure ripped kale leaves, or basil leaves for pesto ... other than weighing it?!

KALE AND BANANA SMOOTHIE

1 banana
2 C chopped kale
1/2 C milk
1 tsp maple syrup
1 Tb flax seed

Puree in blender. They pour it over ice cubes and serve. Mine doesn't pour! I think I used 1 Tb maple syrup.

You could use any type of liquid other than the milk, like even water, and more of it. Adding any other fruit you have on hand plus the banana would make it even better.

Splarah and Dawson said it tastes ... nutritious!

Roasted Squash Seeds

I'm baking one of our volunteer winter squashes right now just to see what it's like. All season we've watched them grow, not knowing what they are. This month they turned orange ... so are they pumpkin? They're not large, so could they be the smaller sugar pumpkins for pie? I actually make 'pumpkin' pie from all winter squash. I've got some recipes in my cookbook, including "Impossible Pumpkin Pie" which was the first pumpkin pie my kids liked.

Since winter squash season has just begun I thought I'd tell you about roasting their seeds. I can't throw away the seeds! I think my method of making crispy seasoned winter squash seeds is unusual. Most recipes have you toss the seeds with oil or melted butter and season and bake on a cookie sheet, stirring occasionally. Rather than mess with a lot of loose seasonings, I prefer to simmer the flavor into the seeds. I'll even do the seeds of a squash I bake whole.

ROASTED SQUASH SEEDS

Measure the amount of seed from any winter squash, then in a saucepan, barely cover them with water.
Per cup of seeds use about
1 tsp of a seasoning salt
(like a premixed kind, or mix salt with granulated garlic and onion)
(Add some olive oil or butter to the pan)
Bring to a boil and let simmer, stirring occasionally till almost simmered dry.

Spread on a cookie sheet. Since the oven is/was probably on for baking the squash, put the tray in the oven. If the oven is on, occasionally stir them and check for crispiness. If the oven's been turned off, I'll often just leave the tray of seeds in the oven till the next morning.

Baked Kale Chips

WOW!!! Another recipe from AllRecipes.com. My first words after first tasting, and eating more and more while waiting for my Artisan bread to finish baking and we'd sit down to eat supper - "Addicting"! What a good thing to be addicting: kale!! Kale is probably the most nutritious green you can be eating. All year round we add kale to our salad making. I blanch and freeze my garden kale for adding to stews, soups, lasanga ... or just sauteing.

BAKED KALE CHIPS

1 bunch kale
That's all they say. Most store bunches seem about the same size year round. I should weigh a bunch to see how much kale it actually is. You should wash and spin dry store-bought kale. They cut out the thick stems and rip up; I just ripped the leaves up and away from the stem, putting them in a large bowl for tossing with -
1 Tb olive oil
1 tsp salt
Bake the spread kale on parchment lined baking sheets at 350 for 10-15 minutes, till edges brown but not burn.

I sprinkled them with granulated garlic too. Next time we don't want to use the salt, just the garlic, or our Chef Prudhomme's spunky Italian Seasoning. We froze some and it remained crispy! So guess what? ... I've still got tons of kale in the garden! and I'm going to make tons of these kale chips, bag in sandwich bags, and freeze in a box or one of my freezer baskets - so they don't get squashed.

I'm munching on a bag I test-froze right now as I'm writing this post. Yummmm .....

Harvested Broccoli

Froze the broccoli today. Now that it's just Monte and me ... 1/2 pound bags.

I cut off the floweretes, parboil or steam 5 minutes, run cold water over to stop the cooking and put in cold water to chill a bit, drain and bag and freeze.

I've got the sink full of cold salted water for dropping the broccoli heads in and soaking till I pull them out to cut up. The salt is supposed to drive any worms and bugs out. We don't really have bugs at our altitude. Some years there can be some aphids and I might find one or two worms that match the color of the broccoli! Our water year round is ice cold. For most of you, you'd put your steamed broccoli in ice water.

I marked on the calendar that I froze 21 bags. I'll be doing more over time since broccoli produces side shoots.

We'll pull these bags from the freezer all winter. Usually we'll just saute the broccoli up and add some lemon juice, sometimes toasted pinenuts or almonds, or walnuts, sometimes some parmesan. I love chicken divan (it's in my cookbook, using fresh ground herbs and spices creating a fresh curry mixture). I bagged the broccoli stalks and put them in the fridge - I'll be grating them for a Coldslaw.

STUFFED GRILLED POBLANOS!

We did Mexican for company Friday. We always crockpot some chuck and chicken for burritos, having shredded lettuce (we did chinese cabbage this time), chopped tomatoes, sour cream, and grated cheese. I always do a guacomole for chips, and salsa, while everyone's standing around helping get things together for supper, and visiting. I usually do a Flan for dessert, which I'm going to post too. But the specialty is stuffed grilled poblano chilies!

STUFFED GRILLED POBLANOS
6-7 Poblano chilies - these look like pointed bell peppers, though usually a darker green. Every store labels them different: like ancho (which is really dried poblanos) or pasillo ... So that's why I'm telling you what they look like.

Cut a slit down one side and remove the seeds, wash and drain. Spoon the filling in them. I stuff the filling, shoving it well in so it doesn't easily come out when cooking (it does, but it's worse if you don't pack the filling).

Filling:
8 oz grated cheese
1 15oz drained canned beans - I usually use black soy beans since they are higher fiber and protein. My next choice would be black beans; then pinto (which I've not used).
1/3 cup raisins
1/4 cup salsa
2 tsp chili powder

Sarah and her artistic looking plate

I soak mesquite wood chips for at least an hour and have a chip pan I insert under the grill grate on one side. I leave this side on high for the entire cooking time. Before I had a nice grill, I used to put the drained, soaked chips sealed in heavy-duty foil with holes poked in it for smoke escape.

On a preheated grill place the stuffed peppers away from the wood chip side on high. Turn the burners under the chilies to mdium - near the end I often turn these burners off, still leaving the chip side on high, for good smoke flavoring. Cook with the lid closed. I grill them about a half-hour. Turn them over half way through, but be conscious of the slit opening so you don't dump all the filling out. They should get some dark blistering on both sides. Remove to a serving tray and cover with foil till you're ready to eat.

Annie and Dawson taking bites

Cream Sauce
I don't think the recipe called for a sauce, but from my Rick Bayless Mexican cookbooks, I often make a sauce to serve the chilies with. He has you chopping onion, tomato, jalepeno and what-not and add to cooking cream. My simple version is to heat cream and simmer down a bit, to thicken, adding some salsa.

Authentic Mexican cooking for stuffing all sorts of chiles, burritos and enchiladas often adds some chopped dried fruits. Not a lot, but to have an occasional bite of a bit of sweet is good.

Travis took the pictures. Sarah's sister Annie and her husband Aaron were visiting from Oregon. Aaron and Monte in the pic below are looking at the kitchen garden. Travis and Sarah's dog Bea is on the grass.

Cucumber Lime Drink

Several summers ago Dawson and me craved a cucumber lime beverage we'd get when walking around the Farmer's Market, so we tried to make it at home. My guess is the lady making it at the market just used a reconstituted frozen limeade and added pureed and strained cucumbers, and I'm going to have to try that. But here's the recipe I created ...

CUCUMBER LIME DRINK

3 long cucumbers
1 1/2 - 2 C sugar (depending on your sweet tooth)
2 C fresh squeezed limes (8)
enough water to make a gallon

I put the sugar in a large pan with a strainer above, then puree the cucumbers in 2 batches in my blender, each batch with 2C of water. I pour these in the strainer and then stir the pan mixture till the sugar dissolves. Then add the lime juice and add water, pouring through the cucumber in the strainer till it equals a gallon.

I do this process when I make rhubarb-ade (posted earlier). But maybe it would be easier to just mix everything in a large bowl, stirring awhile, both to dissolve the sugar and letting the flavors mingle more, then strain the whole mixture, pouring off into jars to refrigerate.

We had a series of guests this last week, and everyone really liked this. Everyone always does. I don't know if I know of anyone not liking this nor the rhubarb-ade.

Basil Pesto and Uses

Last night I wanted to make something with pesto. I'd just made up a bunch of the pesto recipe below and froze. Tho not typically combined with pesto recipes I've found, I wanted to add chicken, so had a bone-in breast boiling, to create some broth.

In my Hearth & Home cookbook I have this pesto recipe and mention making a meal of it with adding potatoes in the pasta boiling water, drain the potatoes and pasta, and toss with pesto. The actual dish is called Trenette Al Pesto. You boil several quarts of salted water, adding 3 medium potatoes, peeled and sliced not more than 1/4" thick. I always cut the potatoes like french fries and boil them about 5-10 minutes before adding 1# of linguine or fettuccine pasta. And actually, I boil chicken first and then cook the potatoes and pasta in the chicken broth, debone and shred the chicken, and toss it in with the pesto. The recipe doesn't call for broth or chicken, I just do it.

Traditionally, pesto is made with an Italian basil. Non-Italian variations are made with other herbs and greens, and some have olives and sun-dried tomatoes. Differing 'nuts' can be used too: like walnuts or almonds. They could be toasted. Pesto is originally made by pounding the basil and mixing in a mortar and pestle. Cook's Illustrated Complete book of Pasta and Noodles has you first put the basil in a sealable plastic bag and pound with the flat side of a meat-pounder to bruise the leaves before processing in a food processor.

BASIL PESTO

3 C basil leaves
1/4 C pine nuts
1/2 C good tasting olive oil
3 lg garlic cloves
Process this in a food processor till grainy.
Fold in 1/2 C grated parmesan cheese.

When freezing pesto, I don't add the parmesan till I'm using it in a recipe. This time, since I quickly decided to clip off most of my garden basil, I made it without the garlic too, since I didn't have enough on hand. So my large ziplock bags, full of smaller bags of the recipe, are labeled "without garlic and parmesan", so I know to add it later.

There's differing basils, and not all make good pesto. I grow a large leaf Italian basil called "Genovese". Basil needs a lot of pinching off of the tops for branching and not getting leggy. So I cut back the basils pretty close to the ground, leaving some leaves and will get more before they're frosted out.

Another recipe using pesto, Rigatoni alla Fornaia, sautes onion, garlic and tomatoes, cooking down with some white wine, then adding a few tablespoons each of pesto and ricotta, tossing it all together with cooked pasta.

Last night I wanted homemade pasta. And I found another recipe similar to the potato one above with added green beans. I have a hand-cranked pasta machine. Though you can make eggless pasta, I prefer it with eggs. I always feel having some protein helps in better assimilation of carbohydrates - so not as much of a gaining weight producing food. I use my fresh ground (bagged in the freezer) whole wheat flour.

PASTA

3 large eggs, beaten
2 C flour
Have it all at room temp. Pulse in a food processor with the metal blade until dough forms a rough ball. If it seems too dry (flours differ, and too, humidity makes a difference) add water 1/2 tsp at a time; or if too sticky, add some flour 1 Tb at a time. Turn out the dough and knead a few minutes till smooth. Wrap in plastic wrap to relax at least 15 minutes. I divide the dough in 6ths, working with one at a time. Follow directions of the pasta machine, or hand roll it very thin and hand cut. Fresh pasta cooks up in boiling water in just a few minutes. Freeze whatever you don't use.

The recipe I made last night is called  
PENNE WITH GREEN BEANS, POTATOES, AND PESTO
tho I didn't use penne pasta but fettuccine (wider flat pasta than linquine). And I'd been boiling up that chicken breast, I started this post with. They boil the potatoes in separate water and the green beans and pasta together in water. I used the chicken broth, boiling them all in it, starting with the potatoes till almost tender, since the beans and fresh pasta only needed to boil 3-4 minutes. And I tossed in the shredded chicken from the cooled, deboned breasts. Someday I'll post about "umami", the fifth taste. The chicken broth is my umami addition to the recipe.

1# potatoes, slice 1/4" thick
1# green beans, ends cut off and cut in 1/2" lengths
1# pasta
pesto recipe above

Cook as I suggest above, toss together and serve immediately. Should serve 4.

I freeze some pesto in ice cube trays, so the bag has lots of pesto cubes, probably about 2Tb. I LOVE pesto spread on a toasted piece of my homemade bread! I also like to cut tomatoes in half for baking/broiling with pesto on top. I make a pesto pizza, spreading the dough with pesto and adding fresh sliced tomato and mozzarella cheese.