Summer supper

Summer food is my favorite. There is just no substitute for fresh veggies. Tonight we took advantage of several of my favorites in one meal.

We started off with sweet corn. Now, that is an appetizer.

The main course came about from the necessity of making a dent in the pile of cherry tomatoes that I picked today, coupled with the fact that I had some beautiful eggplant from the farmers' market.

I sliced the eggplant, salted it, and let it weep for a while to get rid of the bitterness. Then I tossed it with olive oil, (1 cup), wine vinegar (1T.), and salt and pepper. I topped it with a bunch of cherry tomatoes and then drizzled about 1/4 c. of olive oil with three cloves of garlic crushed into it over the top. I topped it with some fresh thyme, oregano, and basil. Into to the oven at 400 degrees for about 45 minutes. When it came out I topped it with some more fresh oregano and feta cheese.

We had fresh sliced cukes on the side. It would have been excellent with some crusty bread, but I was out. It would also be incredible on pasta. Maybe with some toasted pine nuts. And some kalamata olives.

Or maybe throw it on chicken. With some of the aforementioned olives and some capers.

I think I need another eggplant.

Ratafia!

When I got 1/2 bushel of peaches and needed to get them taken care of as quickly as possible, I turned to one of my favorite cookbooks for preserving ideas, The Fancy Pantry by Helen Witty. The second recipe I saw was for peach ratafia. What Georgette Heyer fan could pass up the chance to make ratafia? So in about six weeks, I'll let you know what we think.

Peach Ratafia


1 cup granulated sugar
½ cup packed light-brown sugar
½ cup water
3 cups sliced peeled ripe peaches
Peach kernels (if you are able to get them out of the pits!)
1/8 teaspoon ground mace
1 quart good-quality brandy
1. Combine the granulated sugar, the brown sugar, and the water in a saucepan. Bring the mixture to a boil and boil the syrup briskly, uncovered, for 3 minutes. Cool the syrup.
2. Put peach slices and the kernels into a 2 qt. glass jar or crock with a snug cover.
3. Stir the cooled syrup, the mace, and the brandy together until they are completely mixed. Pour the mixture over the the peaches and stir the whole business. Cover airtight. Set the containers aside for at least a month and preferably 6 weeks. Stir or shake the contents once in a while.
4. Strain the cordial through a fine-meshed sieve bottle it (if corking, use new corks only.) Refrigerate the fruit.

From The  Fancy Pantry by Helen Witty

Grandma's Bread and Butter Pickles

Soak for 3 hours:

2 qts. sliced cucumbers (Thin)

1/3 c. salt (Use pickling salt.)

2 onions (med.)

Add 2 c. celery last soaking hour

Bring to boil:

2 c. vinegar (Heinz is best. Really.)

2 c. sugar

1 t. celery seed

1 t. mustard seed

½ t. turmeric

Add drained pickles & let come to good simmer.

Fill clean jars. Process in water bath for 10 minutes. ( My grandma didn't do this, but, based on recommendations in the Ball Blue Book, I do.)

Curried Sweet Potato Shepherd's Pie

5 med (12 oz) sweet potatoes, baked and slightly cooled
2 T vegetable oil (I used coconut)
2 lbs ground turkey, chicken, or beef (we've only used beef)
2 t salt
1/3 c flour (we used coconut flour to avoid the wheat, and it worked well)
1 T curry powder (we use Madras curry)
1 3/4 c OR 1 14 oz can chicken broth
1 1/2 lbs carrots, peeled and chopped
1 1/2 lbs parsnips, peeled and chopped
1 med onion, chopped
1 T grated fresh ginger
1 package (10 oz) frozen peas
1 c milk, warmed
2 T butter

1) Preheat oven to 375. Heat 1 T oil in 12" skillet over med-high heat. Add meat and 1/2 t salt; cook until no longer pink.
2) Stir curry powder and flour into meat; cook 1 minute, stirring. Add broth and heat to boiling. Cook 1 minute or until mixture thickens slightly. Divide between 2 1/2 or 2 quart baking dishes.
3) In same skillet, heat 1 T oil. Add carrots, parsnips, and onion, and cook about 15 min, until vegetables are browned and tender, stirring occasionally. Stir in ginger, frozen peas, and 1/2 t salt. Divide vegetable mixture between casseroles.
4) Coarsely mash sweet potatoes. Stir in milk, butter, and 1 t salt. Mash until well blended, and spread over vegetables.
5) Bake, uncovered, 35-40 minutes or until top is browned.

Makes 2 casseroles, of approximately 6 servings each.

From the Good Housekeeping Cookbook.

Sauerkraut Soup

This was really, really good. Fortunately, I had enough requests for a recipe that I can't procrastinate getting this written, or I might never get it down. This recipe is an approximation. I read about six recipes and took elements from each, but didn't actually use any of them. I measured nothing when I made it. This makes a really large amount of soup, but this is the only way I can do this for right now. And remember, this is the kind of soup that is good for using what you have.

Melt 2 TBS of butter in a large stock pot. Add 1/2 chopped sweet onion and saute until just softening. Add stock. (I kept adding more stock and broth as I went, but altogether I used about 3 cups of homemade chicken stock and 4-14oz. cans of Swanson Chicken broth. So about 10 cups of chicken broth total.) Add four big carrots, in bite sized chunks, two parsnips, also in chunks, two ribs of celery, sliced, and about 3 pounds of redskin potatoes, cut in chunks with the skin on. I also added about six cups of water at this point. Add sauerkraut. I am guessing that I had 8-10 cups of sauerkraut. (This was leftover kraut that had been cooked with pork and caraway seeds, so it was really good. If I was starting with fresh kraut I would probably add some supplemental pork to the soup.) I had five brats that had some nice carmelization that I cut up and added, but kielbasa or smoked sausage would be awesome. Add about 1 t. black pepper and 1 t. white pepper.
Cover and simmer for a couple of hours, until the potatoes are getting soft.

In another pan, melt 3 TBS butter. Add about 1/4 c. chopped mushrooms and 1 t. salt. (I will probably use more mushrooms next time, but I wasn't sure that I wanted them.)  Use your flour of choice to make a roux. I used 3 TBS rice flour because I had a bag that had a little left in it that I wanted to finish. Add about 1/2 c. white wine or beer. (Again, more would be good, I had about 1/2 cup left from a box of chardonnay.) Add 1 qt. 1/2 and 1/2, and then, because it doesn't look like enough, add a cup or two of whole milk. Stir until slightly thickened. Add (don't hate me foodie friends!) about 8 oz. of Velveeta. (Because that's how much I had.) Add all of this to the pot and simmer for another 15 minutes, at least. Throw in about 1 TBS of dried parsley.

Makes a lot of soup. :)

Enjoy with crusty bread.

Five Cheese Egg Casserole

I've had several requests for this recipe. I first had this at a B&B I went to this fall for a scrapbooking retreat. I loved it and was glad to be able to purchase the recipe. I have made it twice this month, once for a ladies brunch at church and once for our family Christmas morning.

7 eggs

1 cup milk

4 ounces monterey jack cheese, shredded*

4 ounces colby cheese, shredded *

8 ounces cheddar cheese, shredded

4 ounces cream cheese, cubed

16 ounces small curd cottage cheese  (Michigan brand is perfect, if you can get it.)

4 tablespoons butter, melted

1/2 cup flour

1 teaspoon baking powder 

1/2 t. salt

Fresh herbs to taste

Preheat oven to 350. Whisk eggs and milk together. Stir in the cheeses and melted butter. Stir in the flour, salt, and baking powder. Immediately pour into a buttered 13x9 pan. Bake 45-50 minutes.

*When I made it the first time I gave up my colby to another cook and used double the monterey jack. I liked it a bit better that way, so my suggestion is to leave out the colby and use twice the mj. It seems to let the flavor of the cheddar really stand out.

Beef & Black Bean Burritos

For my curious friends on Facebook. This is one of my easy, relatively cheap things to make for dinner, especially when I have a freezer full of beef:

In the crockpot or dutch oven:

Approx 2 lb. beef roast (tonight it's a rump, because that's what Jonathan found on the top in the freezer)
Big can black beans, juice and all (I may add more after I see how it looks)
Chopped onions (I'm out of fresh, so today they're dehydrated, to equal one medium onion)
1 can green chiles
Salt
Pepper
1t. cumin
1/4 t. coriander
couple of squeezes of lime juice
clove of garlic, garlic pressed

This will cook on low all day. When I get home around 3:00, I'll taste test and may add some more spices. I'll let you know. Shred the beef and smoosh the beans a little. This is good on flour or corn tortillas, with or without cheese, lettuce, tomato, onions, etc. I like avocado with it. You can always stretch the beef with more beans. The boys will add some sort of hot sauce to theirs. I'll probably make some rice to go with it.

Blue Buffalo Chicken Dip

* 3 cups Chicken, Cooked And Shredded
* 1 cup Frank's Red Hot Sauce
* 1 Tablespoon Butter, Melted
* 2 blocks Light Cream Cheese
* 1 jar Marie's Or Lighthouse Blue Cheese Dressing
* 2 cups Shredded Cheddar

Preparation Instructions

Mix melted butter and Red Hot Sauce in a medium-sized bowl. Add chicken and toss to coat well with sauce. Set aside.

In another bowl mix light cream cheese and blue cheese dressing until well blended. Spread into 9×13 pan. (Not metal.) Top evenly with chicken. Sprinkle cheese over chicken.

Bake at 350 for 25 minutes. Serve with tortilla chips and/or celery sticks for dipping. Especially good with blue corn tortilla chips.

Yum

I've been feeling a bit stuck in a rut with my cooking for the past few weeks. I've been really busy and I spent a couple of weeks not feeling the best. I just seem to have gotten out of the groove.

Tonight I decided to do something about it. I spent some time with The Pioneer Woman. I browsed through issues of Saveur, Bon Appetit, and Cook's. I'm hoping to manage some time to cook tomorrow, but, realistically, I probably won't have much time for several days. But when I do, I'm ready to go.

I have a couple of recipes that I am dying to try now: French Onion Soup, which Pioneer Woman makes look so easy, and chicken breasts stuffed with artichoke hearts, roasted red pepper and fontina. I also saw a chicken tikka masala that looks doable, and--because it's an America's Test Kitchens recipe--should be good. And then there's the Banoffee Pie recipe that I saw tonight. Yum.

Recipe: Sweet Potato Lentil Soup

Tonight's dinner, thanks to a fellow homeschool mom who posted it earlier this week on Facebook:

Sweet Potato and Lentil Soup

2 medium sweet potatoes, about 12 oz each, peeled & cut into 1/2" chunks
2 large stalks celery, chopped
1 cup onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 T curry powder
1 T grated, peeled, fresh ginger
2 t ground cumin
1 t ground coriander
1 t ground white pepper
1/8 t ground red pepper
1 (16 oz) pkg brown lentils
2 (14.5) oz vegetable or non-fat chicken broth
6 c water
1# ground sausage (optional)
nonfat plain yogurt and lime wedges (optional)


In stock pot or non-reactive dutch oven wiped or sprayed with olive oil, over medium heat until hot, add sweet potatoes, celery, and onion. Cook until tender, about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add garlic, curry powder, ginger, cumin, coriander, and ground peppers. Stirring, cook one minute. While vegetables are cooking, rinse lentils with cold water and discard any stones or shriveled lentils. To vegetables in stock pot, add lentils, broth, and water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer. Simmer 25 minutes or until lentils are tender. Serve with yogurt and lime wedge. Yield: approx. 14 (1 1/3 c servings) ~ 1 gm fat per 1 1/3 c

Note: I didn't use sausage. I also didn't use non-fat broth or yogurt.

Easy recipe, lazy blog post

I've spent the last couple of days dealing with a son who has had a tough time with having his wisdom teeth out. I also had food to make for a baby shower, so I've been a bit lax in my blogging.

I've had a couple of requests for this recipe, so I figured that I would just post it here.


Marinated Parmesan

1/3 lb. Parmesan
1/3 lb. Asiago
3 cloves garlic, crushed
2 t. dried oregano
1t. freshly ground black pepper
1/2 t. red pepper flakes
3/4 c. extra virgin olive oil
1/4 c. balsamic vinegar

Chop the cheese into chunks and place in food processor. Pulse until they are the size of peas.

Put cheeses in a medium-size bowl and add all of the ingredients except the vinegar. Stir to blend.
Cover and let stand at room temp for four hours or in the refrigerator for up to a week. Bring to room temp before serving.

When ready to serve add balsamic vinegar and stir with a fork so that it blends with the oil. Serve with slices of baguette.

I suggest a glass of wine.

Zucchini Cookies

I should have thought of this when I was posting about them!

1 c. butter
2 c. sugar
2 eggs
2 c grated zucchini
4 c. flour
2 t. baking soda
2 t. cinnamon
2 t. cloves
1 t. salt
1 c. nuts (I used pecans, but have also had these with walnuts)
1 c. raisins (you can cook them in a small amount of water to plump them. Grandma did. I don't usually.) We substituted choc chips last time and it was delicious. Or, do 1/2 raisins & 1/2 chips.

Cream together the butter, sugar, & eggs. Mix in the zucchini. Mix dry ingredients in a separate bowl and then mix them into the butter mixture gradually. Mix in nuts, raisins or choc. chips.

If you chill the dough the cookies will be a little more "moundy." If not, they will spread a little more. Scoop onto cookie sheet and bake at 375. (Sorry I don't have a time, but they should be slightly browned.)

If you want to frost them--and they are good either way--

2 T. milk
confectioners sugar
3 T. butter, slghtly browned