Cooking is Like Science

Blog Burned

2010-04-08T06:45:00.000-07:00

Ok, so the can jam burned me....my feburary entry was not accepted, March's topic was alliums, I could have created something, but nothing would have been in season and I would also have a bunch of stuff we likely would not eat, and April? April is herbs-I mean really? So I have decided that this is not for me and have dropped out. It made me so mad however that I just quit blogging all together for a while.

So I'm gonna try to get back on the horse. Also gonna try to unclutter my life and put more time into interesting things instead of well, wherever it's going now....Lastly, I'm following along with my mother and sister's new diet plan. Definitely not as strictly as they are; I just don't have the willpower or support they do. Also, I don't belong to a gym, don't really want to and am working on some avenues for excercise that are actually meaningful instead of stairing at a wall while running on a treadmill.

In happier news Aaron and I turned over half the garden last weekend (getting sunburns in the process) and planted some "cold" weather crops-although nothing about the weather we're currently having is even remotely cold. I think I will get some more compost to line the rows of new plantings and we'll have to turn over the other half, but all in all the garden is in good shape.

The seedlings I planted the 3rd week of Feburary are HUGE!! Like 18in tall already. I began hardening them off last week in preparation for planting next week. They spend the day outside, but on the covered porch and come in at night. I think this weekend they may start spending the days out "in the yard", and maybe by the middle of next week they will be ok to go out all night.

Can Jam Posting #2-Feburary: Carrots

2010-02-15T20:01:00.000-08:00

{Photos coming soon}

The suggestions were pickled carrots and chutneys-neither was really for me. I love pickles, but really could not come to terms with sweet carrots and briny pickles-I'm sure they're tasty, but I dunno...And as for chutney I have never really found a way to incorporate them into our everyday meals. So I (having access to a lovely pH meter and intending to make an enitrely liquid mixture anyway) decided to go for a fruity and lovely roasted carrot soup. I combined flavors I love and thought would mix nicely, adjusting the spices and tweaking the pH took a little time and I wouldn't recommend canning this without checking the pH level, but it's also just a great comforting, but light and healthful soup.

Roasted Carrot and Apple Soup
Note: Despite the fact that I have used bottled lemon juice this is NOT a USDA tested recipe and should not be canned unless you are able to reliably test the pH of your specific mixture.

2lbs carrots, peeled and cut into 2" chunks
2 granny smith apples, peeled and cut into 2" chunks
1 large onion, in eigths
4 medium shallots, peeled and halved
1T salt
1T basil
3T ground coriander
1 large head garlic
4-5T olive oil

6-8c vegetable stock
6T lemon juice

Toss veggies and toss with olive oil and spices. Cut garlic head in half lengthwise and coat exposed cloves with olive oil. Roast all at 400 for 20-30 min or until garlic begins to edge out of papery covers. Transfer roasted veggies to a large dutch oven, squeezing garlic cloves into the pot when cool enough to handle. Add enough vegetable stock to cover solids and bring to a boil. Let boil or hard simmer for approximately 30min more or until veggies are very limp. Use an immersion blender to puree to your deisred consistency (if canning mixture must be fully pureed for an accurate pH reading). Add lemon juice to taste and serve warm with crusty bread or a dollop of sour cream and scallions.

To can, hot pack into hot jars and place lids. Process pints for 20min. Process 6oz jars for 15min. (This may be slightly longer than actually required, but I wanted to make sure they sealed and this is what I used successfully. I based my estimate on a tomato ketchup recipe in the Ball Blue Book, that has about the same consistency and I would estimate a similar pH.)

Asiago Cheese Biscuits Two Ways

2010-02-12T13:26:00.000-08:00

Asiago Cheese Biscuits

Note: These were adapted from Joy the Baker's Cheddar Black Pepper Biscuits
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup white whole wheat flour (use all-purpose if you don’t have whole wheat)
2 Tablespoons sugar
4 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
3/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup butter, cold and cut into cubes
1 egg, beaten
3/4 cup buttermilk, cold
1 cup grate asiago cheese
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

In a mixing bowl, sift together flours, sugar, baking powder, cream of tartar and salt. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse meal (you can do this with a fork if you're like me and recently discovered your lack of a pasty thingy). Add the cheese and black pepper and toss to combine. In another bowl, combine egg and milk and beat lightly with a fork. Add to flour mixture all at once, stirring enough to make a soft dough.

Turn out onto a floured board and knead about 15 times. Roll or pat out into a 1-inch thickness. Cut into 2-inch rounds using a biscuit cutter or cut into 2×2-inch squares with a pizza roller. Reshape and roll dough to create more biscuits with excess scraps. Place on an ungreased baking sheet and bake at 425 degrees F for 12-15 minutes. Serve hot with a fried egg and bacon for a yum my breakfast sandwhich or with the sausage gravy below for yummy bad-for-you-ness.

Sausage Gravy

Note: This is fairly simple recipe, but one I never measure with. I learned by touch from my grandmother, but sometimes you just have to taste it. I used a mix of milk and cream, but if all you've got is milk that's fine too. The mount of fat (butter or oil) you need to add is also dependent on your sausage: if it produces enough grease on its own you may not need to add any at all. The amounts listed below are what I added using Jimmy Dean sausage from a roll.

1/2 pound regular or sage pork sausage

2T butter
3T flour
1c milk
1c cream
2T black pepper

Cook and break up sausage. Add butter if necessary and melt. Add flour and pepper to the top of the sausage and stir in, cook for 2-3min to eliminate any "floury" taste. Stir in milk and cream. Simmer on low for 15-20min or until gravy has thickened. Taste and season to your taste.

Chocolate-Orange Ice Cream Sandwhiches

2010-02-10T08:17:00.000-08:00

So a post on these is long overdue-this was our new year's treat! Lots and lots of appetizers and one fabulous dessert to top it off. At least that was the idea...

These were tasty-but 2 days later. There I was, ready to ring in the new year with ice cream dripping off my hands and all over the stem of my champagne glass. My first bite shot the ice cream out the sides and it ended up everywhere: hair, clothes, floors, you name it. I should have known that hot cookies and softened ice cream would need time to set up, but somehow it totally escaped me. Once they finally did harden, the cookies were kinda tough to bite through-not sure how the comercial ones are so soft....I might care, but honestly right now cookie conquest is not high on my list. Despite all the issues though, they were certainly tasty.

Chocolate-Orange Ice Cream Sandwhiches

Note: Cookies adapted from Smitten Kitchen's "brownie roll-out cookies". Allow at least 8hrs for your cookies to harden-or your ice cream will be everywhere. If you want them to not stick together-at all, you might consider freezing them on a tray and then transfering an airtight container. If you don't mind a little wiggling to get them out you can just freeze them in that container. The ice cream flavor is up to you completely, as for an appropriate amount-also your call. I used about 1/4c for the biggest ones and less for the smaller, but it also depends on your ideal height .:)

3 1/2c. flour

1/2t salt

1/2t baking powder

1c (2sticks) butter

1 1/2 c sugar

2 eggs

1/2c buttermilk

3t orange extract

2/3 c unsweetened cocoa

1 quart ice cream, your choice or flavor (we used classic vanilla)

Whisk dry ingredients together and set aside. Cream butter and sugar together, add eggs one a time as they incorporate, followed by buttermilk, orange extract, and cocoa. Gradually add dry ingredients and mix until smooth. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill (at least 1 hr).

Preheat oven to 350F. Using a scoop or spoon divide out balls of dough. Flatten balls and place on parment lined baking sheets. (Cookies will not expand much so make them about the final desired size. We ended up with some big, medium, and small which was great and cooking time was similar for all three. Just make sure you make them in pairs!). You can try rolling out and making shapes, but it will likely require quite a bit more flour. Bake about 15 min until puffed and no longer shiny on top. Allow to cool 20 min or so. Place an appropriate amount of ice cream on the underside of one cookie and top with another of equivalent size. Place in freezer and allow to harden (8hrs min I would guess).

Split Pea Soup

2010-02-01T09:26:00.000-08:00

More soup on the menu last week-it was cold. And since I'm writing this while it is snowing, windy and chilly outside, I want more...it's hardy, easy and tasty. One can exclude the bacon and the cheese for healthy and/or veggie only soup. Next time I might take out some of the peas before pureeing or just puree less to provide more texture, although it was fairly thick. You might also top with a citrus infused sour cream or whipped savory cream...mmm....

Split Pea Soup
Note: The peas will need to cook between 20 and 40 min depending on their size and dried-out-ness.

6 slices bacon
1 med onion, chopped
6 c veggie stock
2c split peas, rinsed and picked over
2c loosely packed baby spinach leaves
juice of 1/2 lemon
Cheddar cheese

Cook bacon until crispy and remove to towel to drain. Reserve 1T grease in pan and add onion. Cook until just translucent. Add peas and stock and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer for 30min. Test that the peas are firm, but edible. Add spinach, cooking for another 5min until spinach is wilted. Puree with immersion blender. Stir in lemon juice and more salt if desired. Top with bacon and cheese to serve.

Corn Chowder

2010-01-26T08:16:00.000-08:00

A late holiday recipe- we made this Christmas day, evening. After our huge brunch we decided just to do soups and sandwiches for dinner and it still ended up being a huge meal. Between calico beans, szechuan avocado salad, corned beef, turkey, butternut squash soup and this corn chowder we were well set for dinner. I think this is gluten free (my uncle who has celiac disease didn't have any trouble with it) but no guarantees. It's also good for those picky people as it doesn't have any wacky ingredients.

Corn Chowder
Note: You could use fresh corn if making this in the summer, but as it was the dead of winter (we were literally snowed in), all I had was canned. I used red potatoes, b/c they were on hand, but any kind of potato will do here; you also don't HAVE to peel them, I was trying to please my audience. You can choose to use olive oil instead of reserving bacon grease, but this isn't a low fat recipe anyway and the grease adds more smoky, bacon-y flavor. It takes A LOT of salt to flavor this guy b/c of all the milk and potatoes, but add to your desired saltiness. Last but not least I like to crumble the bacon individually for each bowl to avoid sogginess, but you could do the whole pot (as above) too.

4 cans (12oz) sweet kernel corn
1 pkg (16oz?) bacon
2c. whole milk
1c heavy cream
1 small onion, diced
4-5 stalks celery, diced
2-3 small red potatoes, peeled and diced
4-6T salt
2t coarse black pepper
2T butter

Cook bacon until crispy in a large skillet. Remove to paper towels to drain. Reserve 2T of grease in the skillet and transfer 2T of grease to a large soup pot. In pot, add celery, onions and potatoes. Cook over low heat stirring frequently to avoid sticking to bottom of pot, you want to have them crisp tender by when the corn mix is done. Add 1/2 the corn to skillet. Stir over medium heat for 5-10 min or until heated through. Add milk and cream and puree with an immersion blender. Add remaining (unpureed) corn to soup pot, followed by puree. Stir all together well and bring just to a simmer. Add butter and allow to melt. Season with salt and pepper. Serve topped with crumbled bacon.

Stuffed Chicken with Veggies

2010-01-24T08:20:00.000-08:00

As so many people are in the new year I'm on a quest to eat more healthfully. This is hindered by my frequent desire for sweets, but I'm hoping to temper it with vegetables and portion control. I think I may have finally learned that being drastic doesn't work for me...and that maybe gradually changing things over to fewer sweets, more veggies and adding exercise that has a point (ie: hot yoga, rock climbing, fencing, cycling, gardening) might help me improve my health. So, this meal is a transition-it still contains some bad for you stuff but its also full of tasty veggies to fill you up.

Stuffed Chicken and Sauteed Veggies

2 chicken cutlets

2T olive tapenade

2 slices provolone cheese

1/2 c fresh baby spinach

1/4c shredded parmasean

Lay out cutlets, spread 1T tapenade on each, top with one slice of cheese and 1/4 spinach. Roll and secure with toothpicks. Sprinkle tops with parmasean. Bake at 350 for 25-30min or until chicken is cooked through.

1t olive oil

1 head of broccoli cut into florets

1/2 c sliced red bell pepper

2 artichoke hearts diced

1/4 small onion diced

1t cumin

1t coriander

1T tamari

Sautee veggies in olive oil to your desired doneness (I left mine a litte crunchy in the broccoli department). Add seasonings. Enjoy.

Can Jam Posting #1-January:Citrus

2010-01-20T08:49:00.000-08:00

As I mentioned previously I was thinking of a citrus syrup (perhaps for cocktails), but my mom suggested an orange marinade-and after a small attempt at both I think the marinade wins! In any case it's my "entry", submission, whatever we want to call it for the January segment of the Can Jam. I ended up with a jurry rigged water bath canning system in a large soup pot, b/c the canner I wanted was gone when I finally got around to the hardware store, but it worked out with a layer of screw top lids in the bottom of a stock pot. Just for safety's sake I also checked the pH of my final product with pH paper (it was about 4.2) before canning. The half pint is a wonderful thing my friends-and small batch canning-oh what a joy. The final marinade has many ingredients, but now it's all done and preserved all I have to do is pour it over chicken or pork and *pouf* tasty meal! I had fun doing it and am looking forward to Feburary's project!Here's a photo of my lovely jar.

Orange Marinade (for chicken or pork)

Note: Best on chicken or pork. Yields about 3 half pints. Can be scaled up if desired. Be careful to avoid squeezing the pith into the mix when juicing the oranges, when heated it becomes VERY bitter.

2T seasame oil

2t red chile pepper flakes

3 shallots

8 garlic cloves

1/2 medium onion

3T diced fresh ginger

1.5 quarts organic, pulp free orange juice (such as Simply Orange)

Juice of 1doz medium navel oranges

1c sugar (depending on the sweetness of the oranges)

1T salt

1/4c tamari

Infuse chile flakes, ginger and garlic into oil, by placing all in a large, deep skillet over low heat. Crank the heat up to medium and add shallots and onions to the mix and carmelize. Add remaining ingredients and simmer until reduced to about 3 cups. Pour into sterilized jars and process 10minutes in a water bath canner.

Just a quick garden note-seeds are ordered!

2010-01-19T14:13:00.000-08:00

Seeds were ordered yesterday and today...3 main companies were: Seed Savers Exchange, Southern Exposure Seed Exchange, and Irish Eyes. SSE is from my home state, about an hour or so from my mom's house, and I love their mission and approach-so I order from them despite the fact that it takes lots of diesel (well at least some) for it to make the trip. Southern Exposure is local-ish being in VA so they know and recommend what will do well in this area and it keeps at least some of my seed mostly local. Irish Eyes is new this year-beacause they are 1) unproven to me and 2) so gosh darn far away in Washington State I only ordered a few things from them, but they have a HUGE selection of potatoes and they are a family run, employee owned company so I like that. I didn't order any from them(yet), but some unusual seeds and varieites are available at Bountiful Gardens, another non-profit seed organization. I did break down and order Burpee zukes-the hertiage varieties are just not what I want-small, not productive, and very disease/bug susceptible. I NEED my zukes, but I thought I'd order with my mom so as to reduce some shipping.

Varieties and suppliers are as follows:

Beets	Detroit Dark Red	SESE
Beans, Green	Provider	SSE
Beans, Lima	Henderson Bush	SSE
Carrots	Early Sugarsnax F-1	Irish Eyes
	Paris Market	SSE
Cucumber	Little Leaf	SESE
Garlic	various	Gourmet Garlics
Onions	Big Daddy	Irish Eyes
Okra	Burmese #69109E	SESE
	Clemson Spineless #69103E	SSE
	Hill Country Red #69111E	SESE
Peas, snap	Oregon Giant	SESE
Potatoes	Yukon Gold	Irish Eyes
Spinach	America	SSE
Tomato, early	Glacier	Irish Eyes
Tomato, grape	Currant, Sweet Pea	SSE
Tomato, heirloom	Crkovic Yugoslavian	SSE
Tomato, paste	Hungarian Italian Paste	SESE
Zucchini	Burpee Hybrid	burpee 62364-A

Black and White Cabbage Soup

2010-01-18T08:00:00.000-08:00

After all the crazy new year eating-lots of binging on not-so-good-for-you stuff I thought it might be time for something a little more healthful-apparently every other food blogger out there thought so too, because recipes are abounding. I started with several recipes for cabbage soups from all around the web, but my base starting point was Heidi's Rustic Cabbage Soup from 101cookbooks. (yes, I know it's like one of the most recognized food blogs, I'm just not sure what the etiquette here is). I wasn't sure about cabbage in soup; in general I hate wilty things in my soups and I despise escarole or the other candidates for greens. Cabbage ended up working out, it gets soft and almost noodle like without being too strong. It may also help that I diced it pretty thin and used a napa style that was very firm to start with. Anyhow, it was pretty and tasty, although I do suggest a bouquet garni for the peppercorns, biting down on them was an unwelcome surprise. The photo also contains far too much cheese for a single bowl which I found out after I took the shot.

Black and White Cabbage Soup

1/4 napa syle white cabbage diced

very thinly

2c black beans, precooked, drained

and rinsed well

4 small gold potatoes, diced

1onion, diced

5 cloves garlic, minced

3T olive oil

4c chicken stock

2t mixed peppercorns

1/2 c grated parmasean cheese
Add olive oil to large soup pot, warm and add potatoes. Cook until just starting to stick. Add onions and garlic and cook until fragrant and starting to carmelize. Add stock, beans, and peppercorns. Simmer until potatoes are completely soft. Add cabbage and simmer for 5min more or until you find the texture of the cabbage pleasant. Ladle into bowls, top with a smattering of cheese and serve.

An Attempt at Duck and Veggie Beef Stoup

2010-01-17T19:05:00.000-08:00

I have come to a very important conclusion-I should not try to cook whole poultry. I'm bad at it, and it's a giant pain to cut it all up. I know that makes me lazy and a shame to my ranching heritage-oh well. And so I will share this photo a a sort-of pretty duck that Aaron and I made after Thanksgiving. He was very helpful with the pulling out of guts and cutting off of extra bits and so on, for which I am very grateful, but I don't think we'll repeat the experience. We used all the spices we had spilled on the counter while filling our Christmas gifts of homegrown herbs to dress the little guy up too!

On a different note the fact that it's been crazy cold out has kicked in the comfort foods-and the soups. Aaron insists this isn't a soup, but I'm not sure it really qualifies as a stew either. So we'll call it stoup. In any case it's tasty, easy and pretty darn good for you.

.

Vegetable Beef Stoup

Note: This can be made entirely veggie by just leaving out the beef. It's also better after a whole day in the crock pot, but can be consumed as soon as it's done cooking as well. I prefer the petite diced tomatoes, but the regular ones are fine too. The batch in the photo is missing its limas, because I forgot I didn't have any

1whole onion, roughly diced

3 cloves garlic, sliced

1 pound beef stew meat, 1/2in cubes

3 cans diced tomatoes

2c broccoli florets

2c cauliflower florets

6 medium potatoes, diced

1c lima beans

1c each frozen corn and peas

1/2c pearly barley

In a medium skillet heat 2T olive oil. Carmelize onions and garlic. Put into slow cooker crock. Add meat to skillet and brown thoroughly on all sides. Add to crock along with tomatoes, potatoes, lima beans, cauliflower and broccoli. Allow to cook on low all day. 1hr before serving add barley, peas, and corn. Mmm!

Fried Rice

2010-01-14T08:14:00.000-08:00

I admit, some nights I'm lazy and don't want to cook. Other times I realize I'm missing a key ingredient (despite careful list making) and don't want to go to the store for a third time that week. So we order out. Chinese takeout has become a favorite, because you can make not super bad choices and it usually gives us about 3 meals. Meal 1: initial attempt, Meal 2: leftovers, Meal 3: fried rice from the automatically included white rice that comes with every meal and we never eat. This is a great way to use leftover rice and (if you watch the sodium content) could be quite healthy. I always used to make it in my stainless pot and it stuck like crazy. With my x-mas gift of a beautiful Le Creuset dutch oven it didn't stick at all-amazing! Also, I apologize that the photo is lacking in eggs-I took it before I remembered to add them.

Veggie Fried Rice

Note: Another sticking issue can happen if you don't have enough liquid and/or oil when you add the rice. You can also use whatever veggies are on hand-it's flexible. Be sure to get your garlic and ginger small-it's tough if you bite into a big piece.

1/4 vegetable oil or enough to coat the bottom of the pan, plus 2Tto be added later

2 eggs

1/2c chopped carrots, onions, squash, mushrooms and/or other veggies

1T finely diced ginger

1T finely diced garlic

3c cooked rice

1/2 c teriyaki sauce

2T soy sauce

1T seasame oil

Coat the pan with vegetable oil and allow to heat until shimmering. Beat eggs together and add to hot oil, making an egg pancake. Allow to cook through and remove from pan. Lower heat to medium-high and add remaining oil and veggies. Allow to cook, stirring often, until crisp tender. Add sauces and seasame oil, followed by the rice. If it has been refridgerated it will need to be crumbled to separate the grains. Chop the egg and stir into rice and veggies. Serve hot.

Date Bon Bons and Haystacks

2010-01-12T08:16:00.000-08:00

So, I don't actually have the recipes for these-mom does-and I could call her and get them, but I'm lazy. So here's the basics and someday I'll add the real quanitities.

Date Bon Bons (on left)
Peanut butter and chopped dates dipped in waxed chocolate. Super yum, makes a huge batch.

Haystacks

A 1:1 combination of butterscotch and chocolate chips, some honey roasted peanuts and chow mein noodles. Mixed and portioned. Yum.

Substitution Pancakes

2010-01-11T08:15:00.000-08:00

One lazy weekend morning we hemmed and hawed over the various breakfast possiblities-waffles? french toast? something lunch like? frittatta? Nope-we wanted pancakes. Only to discover, part way through that we were missing some important ingredients-milk and baking powder. Usually the staples are around-but my baking powder was missing (I found it 2 weeks later in the potato bin of all the places) and the milk I thought we had was sour-way beyond use. So we dug around and looked up substitutions and ended up with these pancakes. They might still need a little tweaking and they take longer to cook than normal pancakes, but we like them better.

Using up leftovers we also topped them with whipped cream-oooh was it decadently good!

Subsitution Pancakes

Note: You can subsitute back in 1.5c milk and 2t baking powder for the cheese, water and cream and the cream of tartar and baking soda respectively to make a standard pancake.

2 eggs

1/4c canola oil

1/2c cream

1/2c ricotta cheese

1/4c water

1/2c sugar

2c flour

1T vanilla

1T cream of tartar

1t salt

Combine all ingredients and adjust for consistency (may need more flour or liquid) and cook about 1/4c at a time on a hot greased griddle. Top with your favorite topping!

1/2T baking soda

Beef Stroganoff-leftover style

2010-01-10T08:12:00.000-08:00

I know it's sacrilege to have left over steak, but inevitably it seems to happen with only two of us. Especially when there are baked potatoes and cottage cheese available. I know that sounds strange too, but trust me and my grandpa-it's tasty. So my mom likes cold meat, so left over steak at her house was no a problem. Occasionaly we'd chop some up and smother it in BBQ microwave and poof pulled beef sandwhich. While a good option, I've made this recipe twice now and it works out well and gets rid of many left over items all in one recipe.

Beef Stroganoff
Note: You could always make this from scratch and just use beef tips in place of the leftover steak. Makes 3 servings.

3c wide egg noodles, cooked

2t olive oil
2t minced garlic
1/4 onion, sliced
1/4-1/2c sliced mushrooms
1/2c beef broth
8oz steak, sliced thinly

1:1 cornstarch:water slurry
1/2c sour cream

Warm oil in deep skillet or sauce pan, add mushrooms, garlic and onion and cook until onions just start to turn translucent. Add beef and broth and warm through. Bring to a gentle simmer and add ~1t cornstarch slurry while stirring to thicken sauce, add more as necessary. Turn off heat and stir in sour cream. Serve over noodles.

Holidays, New Year, busy times

2010-01-08T12:30:00.000-08:00

So, it's been awhile. I was worried it was a fad thing-that I food blogged for 2min and was done. But I'm being drawn back in now that things aren't as busy. We went away for Christmas, stayed home for new year's, and got snowed in twice in 2 weeks, but between work and trying to put my aparment back together (many times) things have been busy here. I do have a TON of photos from all the holiday cooking, well not all of it-have to maintain some family secrets, so recipes there will be forthcoming. I'm also very exicted for my first can jam venture-the recipes will be posted the week of Jan 17-and I was thinking of citrus syrup-for use in tasty mixed drinks, but on my mother's suggestion I might try out an orange marinade. Since I now have 2 recipes in mind I'm gonna start this weekend to have at least one presentable by posting time. I'll also attempt to get some more blogging finished to catch up....

Beer Bread

2009-12-19T18:49:00.000-08:00

It's blizzarding, nope, not snowing, blizzarding-the fire hydrant is barely visible! So I made chili and chicken and rice soup and this AMAZING beer bread, which I adapted from a gorgeous recipe from Peabody's blog.

Most of the adjusting was due to the fact that we were unable to leave the house. We don't love beer, but had a six pack hanging out in the closet from de-slugging the garden. I was in favor of anything that got me bread without yeast or kneading and this was just perfect. It's crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside, although it's likely ridiculously not good for you, but I don't care!

I may bake tomorrow in the interest of yumminess and trying to use the 5lb box of clementines I bought before we leave for the holidays. But we'll see if I can clean and bake and pack all in the same day.

Cheesy Beer Bread

Note: Adapted from Peabody and The Pastry Queen by Rebecca Rather. You can just as easily use the baking powder from the original recipe instead of the soda and tartar, but mine mysteriously vanished last week.

3c. flour

3/4t baking soda

1/2 T cream of tartar

1t salt

3T granulated sugar

1c. chunked cheese (I used leftover german and african gourmet-y ones)

12oz beer

1/2 cup melter butter

Preheat oven to 375F. Sift and stir together dry ingredients. Add beer and mix just until incorporated. Pour half of the melted butter in the bottom of a 9x5 loaf pan and add the batter on top. Top with the rest of the butter. Bake for about 40min or until a toothpick comes out clean. ENJOY!!

Appetizer Trio: Part 3 Newbie

2009-12-18T09:39:00.000-08:00

I have been seeing squash recipes in my sleep. I've just got one left from our huge harvest and wanted to show off the garden bounty at the party. Nothing seemed quite right, until I found a turnover recipe from food and wine. It looked tasty, but was really more for a meal sized guy and included some ingredients that were not party people friendly. So, in the spirit of the kitchen I adapted it, and really ended up with a much different, but still tasty recipe. We got the most comments on these from the party-although pretty much everything was gone.

Butternut Squash Turnovers
Note: You can add cheese to this if desired or use the filling in some other kind of fillable pastry. Leftover filling was also VERY tasty in an egg frittata. The filling can also be made in advance and chilled until ready to use. Onion or scallions can be substitutued for the leek if desired. I ended up with about 2 dozen 2inch-ish triangles and about 1.5c leftover filling, but it depends on how thin your pastry is rolled and how full they are filled.

1lb butternut squash, 1/4in dice

3T olive oil

1T sea salt

1T coarse ground rosemary

1t garlic powder

1 leek, sliced thinly white and tender greens

4cloves garlic, minced

1T olive oil

14oz. puff pastry, rolled thin

1egg beaten with 1t water

Toss squash in olive oil and spices and spread on a single layer on a sheet pan. Bake at 400 for approximately 30min or until just tender and starting to brown-don't cook all the way through yet. Chop leek and garlic and add to warmed olive oil, carmelize or sautee until softened. Combine with cooked squash and stir. Cut pastry into 2-3in squares. Place 1-2T of fill on a diagonal line through square and fold into a triangle. Press with fork to seal. Place on baking sheet and brush with egg wash. Bake at 375 for about 25 min or until pastry is golden and cooked through. Serve room temp or warm, can be rewarmed before serving.

Appetizer Trio: Part 2 Tweaking

2009-12-16T07:08:00.000-08:00

A while back, probably 2 years now, I threw a baby shower for a friend. I set aside a Saturday afternoon and scheduled the event for 3pm. She didn't want games or a baby cake (to my dismay, but secret relief) and left the menu entirely up to me. I hemmed and hawed, but with the party at 3 in the afternoon decided I would serve a selection of heavy appetizers and a plain cake. It turned out that this was a mistake; her husband's family and a lot of his friends are hispanic and quite a few of them have recently immigrated from Honduras. Apparently when this group gets together, for any event and no matter what time of day, they expect a full on carne asada meal. Being blissfully unaware of this I whipped up seven layer dip, teriyaki chicken skewers, artichoke cups, and a goat cheese/puff pastry version of these tartlettes. The party started at 3 with just the mommy-to-be, her 2 year old, and one of my bestest buddies of all time. About 4 everyone else showed up, and by 4:30 almost all the food was gone. It all worked out-thank the saving grace of cake and ice cream, although her in laws still think I'm strange-and she now has a beautiful 1.5 year old boy. These tartlettes were gone first though which, I think, means they were good.

Pepper and Oinion Tartlettes
Note: For a thinner consistency you can divide the cheese equally and add it to the tops of the cups rather than in the custard batter. You can also use puff pastry cups or full size phyllo cups.

3 eggs

1c heavy cream

2t salt

5.2 oz (1pkg) boursin

1/4c red bell pepper

1/4c orange bell pepper

1/4c yellow onion

1/4c red onion

2T olive oil

4 dozen mini phyllo cups

Preheat oven to Dice peppers and onions very small. Heat olive oil in medium skillet over medium heat, add onions and peppers and carmelize. Meanwhile whisk together eggs, cream, cheese, and salt. Remove peppers and onions from heat and add a layer on the bottom of the cups. Cover with custard mix up to rims of cups. Bake at 375F for about 25 min or until puffed up.

Appetizer Trio: Part 1 Tried and True

2009-12-14T09:37:00.000-08:00

So since our meals last week left something to be desired (take out, frozen pizza, hamburger casserole) in the gourmet or original departments I thought I might feature the trio of appetizers I made for a holiday party this weekend. The party was being hosted by one of my co-workers. She had asked everyone to bring something, a side or drinks, and she and her husband provided the main dish and a couple of sides as well as dessert-her signature! She's a great gal-and a fantastic cook. So the bar was high. I decided I would make a small assortment of finger foods taking one tried and true recipe, one I'd tweak from a previous attempt, and a brand new recipe. Part 1 will be tried and true. This was a recipe adapted from, of all things, a pampered chef party recipe. It was designed to show off their chopper and I use it for the recipe, but you could just as easily chop everything with a big knife.

Artichoke Cups
Notes: Won ton skins can sometimes be hard to find-they're usually in the produce section somewhere near the pre-packaged lettuce. Many stores also sell out around New Year's Eve. You can use plain or marinated artichoke hearts, whichever is closer to hand or on sale. Since I only have the one mini tin I often make cupcake size using two skins in opposition and after they are par baked they can finish off on a flat cookie sheet. These can also be made ahead up to 3 days in advance, just store in fridge and bake when ready.

1pkg won ton skins

1 can or jar artichoke cups (14oz)

1/2 red bell pepper

1/3 mayo

1/2 cup grated parmasean, plus extra for topping

Preheat oven to 400F. Set won ton skin over space on mini muffin tin and press into space. Parbake for 7-10min of until bottoms are no longer doughy, your edges will be browner and that's ok, just don't burn them. Finely chop veggies and mix in a bowl with mayo and cheese. Fill each won ton cup with a spoonful of filling and top with a sprinkle of cheese. Place back into oven for about 5min until filling is warm through and cheese is melted.

Putting up and putting (plants) out

2009-12-11T12:13:00.000-08:00

So new at this blog-food thing as I am, I'm discovering there are a TON of people out there who aren't new to it. And who have cool and amazing and great ideas and projects. And lots of participation encouraged. This led me to find Canning Across America and the Can Jam (see below). Some background: Since a couple summers ago, I've gotten interested in our food heritage. Unfortunately if I want to eat like my great-grandmother I would have to work like her and being a scientist isn't all the physically demanding, whereas farming and cooking for all the farmhands was. This also means that I don't get to cook like her or even my grandmother very often, but I am utterly convinced that eating like they did is WAY healthier than eating processed, additive laden food products. I try to eat by the rule, if I couldn't explain it to Grandma Sweat (who finished school in a one room school house in rural Kansas) I shouldn't eat it. It doesn't always work, but I'm trying to be better, in fact I fail at it a lot. Being a locavore wasn't hard for her-it was barely an option-you ate what you or the neighbor grew and/or slaughtered and it was a big treat if someone traveled somewhere tropical and brought you oranges. This doesn't mean that if she didn't eat it I wouldn't, but if she wouldn't understand what it is I try to avoid it. (Try explaining blue gogurt to someone who was born in 1901, whereas I could explain french cheese or homemade pizza which she never had access to.) So, in the interest of preserving some of what she ate and "put up", expanding my horizons and techniques, and maybe finding new favorite foods I'm going to join the Can Jam.

On a related note I got my first seed catalog of the year a few weeks ago-the garden didn't get mulched yet-it snowed-but I am already in gear for next season. In addition to the 2 dozen garlic cloves overwintering under the yellow straw, I think I may order some okra just for pickling and maybe even grow some beans (although I HATE picking them). Normal stuff will continue, but since we've been established for a year now, and the soil isn't as absolutely terrible after 2 ameliorations (3rd to come spring time) I think I will try some more NEW stuff. Stuff I didn't grow as a kid, stuff that might require *gasp* tending and nuturing, although seedlings are definitely out unless I end up buying a sun lamp.

Edamame Salad

2009-12-11T08:14:00.000-08:00

So this bag of frozen edamame has been forlornly kicking around my freezer for a while-a long while. It was taking up space. When I bought it I'm pretty sure I was thinking of after work snacks or something to snack on while typing or some other snack option. This never came to fruition. It's a big bag and honestly I'm not too into sticking the whole fuzzy pod in my mouth. But I was needing something green-I needed veggies and a pseudo healthy filling one at that. So I started adding veggies I had around to make a "salad." There's no lettuce here-I'm not morally opposed to lettuce, it's just hard to eat, hard to keep fresh and serves no real purpose other than basic ruffage. I have come to the conclusion that I just like to eat the salad toppings-so I've started making all my salads this way-no lettuce. I started with a vinegarette type dressing, but that wasn't really cutting it for me, so I made it creamier by adding sour cream and mayo-although the only photo I managed to take was at the vinegar dressed stage. Which is ok with me-the creamy one was tastier, but uglier too!

Edamame Salad

1 bag frozen (Trader Joes) Edamame Pods

8 oz canned or cooked frozen corn

1/2c red pepper diced

1/4c sliced button mushrooms

Dressing:

2t soy sauce 1T honey

2T apple cider vinegar

1t pepper

3T sour cream

1T mayonnaise

Heat and remove edamame from pods. Combine dressing ingredients in bowl. Add veggies and stir. Mmm no cook tastiness!

Sausage and Veggie Risotto

2009-12-09T13:49:00.000-08:00

So in continuation of clearing out the kitchen storage we're gonna have more risotto. It's been cold around here lately, so warm tasties have been foods of choice, happily coinciding with what we have available. I also think it might have something to do with the fact that soups and casserole-esque rice dishes are some of the best vehicles for leftovers or random ingredients.

Sausage and Veggie Risotto

Note: As with the previous risotto the cheese is up to you-although I definitely wouldn't go the cheddar route.

1lb sage sausage

1c diced carrots

1c diced celery

1c diced onion

4-5cloves garlic, diced

1/4c port or other red cooking wine

2c aborio rice

5-8c beef broth

Fully cook the sausage, breaking it up into bits in a large, deep skillet or a soup pot. Add the veggies and sautee 3-4min in sausage grease until slightly caramelized. Add the rice stirring until all pieces are coated in grease; it may be necessary to add a little olive oil or to pour off excess grease depending on how lean your sausage is. Cook, stirring often until the rice begins to turn translucent. Add wine and deglaze the pan. Once the majority of wine has cooked off add broth 1 cup at a time and simmer until rice has absorbed most of the liquid and is cooked through.

Pasta Bake

2009-12-07T11:00:00.000-08:00

You know how sometimes over the course of making a bunch of recipes, grocery store sales, and food gifting you wind up with full cabinets, fridge, and freezer that you have no real intent for. I don't know if this happens to everyone or just the planning listmakers of the world. Anyhow, it's happened to me-again. This is a "use the stuff in the fridge" week; my mother called them pantry recipes-although because she has a much bigger kitchen hers are usually the stuff she keeps on hand all the time. I evaluate what we've got and try and put it together for something edible while buying as few additional ingredients as possible. The first of the week's meals is an Italian Chicken Pasta Bake- a lame, yet very descriptive title. As with a lot of things I make it slightly differently every time depending on what I have to hand. Most of the time this turns out well-sometimes you get a wacky flavor in there that just doesn't go-or you leave out something you didn't have a realize it makes a big difference. For example the one in the photo-no parsley, but I think the parsley adds a lot and is important to the taste of this dish.

Italian Chicken Pasta Bake

Note: You can always change this guy up-omit the chicken or use beef or sausage, change up the herbs or the cheeses, even the veggies are subject to your kitchen content.

2T olive oil

1chicken breast, cut into 1/4 inch cubes

1/2 oinion, diced

1/2 red pepperl, diced

1/4c diced mushrooms

2-3cloves garlic, diced

1T tomato paste (opt)

2 c cooked pasta

1 can petite diced tomatoes

1c mozzarella cheese

1/4 ricotta cheese

1/4 chopped parsley

1/4c parmsean cheese

1/4c bread crumbs

In a medium skillet warm olive oil. Add veggies, garlic, and chicken and cook through, until just slightly browned. Meanwhile, add pasta, tomatoes cheese and parsely to a large bowl. When veggie/chicken mix is cooked add to bowl. Stir to combine evenly and transfer to a greased baking dish (9x13). Mix breadcrumbs and parmasean and sprinkle on top. Spray with cooking spray or drizzle with olive oil for a crunchy topping. Bake at 400 for about 20min or until cheese is melted and topping is crusty.

Stuffed Potato Soup

2009-12-04T09:11:00.000-08:00

Potato soup is one of my absolute favorite winter comfort foods. And the basic version doesn't take much beyond milk and potatoes. But sometimes it's fun to play with the classics. So having been inspired by the baked potatoes I've been craving I set out to make a tasty potato soup with some of those same flavors. It's only the first attempt so there is some tweaking, but it's mostly comsmetic not flavor based so I thought I'd put it up here (also this way I won't forget what I did the first time) and make some of the first tweaks to eliminate unecessary stuff. Also, it's sort of an artsy shot and not super obviously flash based.

Stuffed Potato Soup

Note: Part of the color from the soup above comes from the pureed carrots. To avoid this you could cook the carrots seperately and add with the bacon near the end or omit them entirely.

1/2c diced carrots

4-6 scallions, diced

3cloves garlic, sliced

6-8 strips bacon

5c potato, diced and peeled (this was about 6 smaller russets)

5c veg or chicken broth

1c sour cream, more for dolloping if desired

In large soup pot cook bacon until crispy. Remove and set aside. Also reserve some green scallion tops for garnish. Drain some of the oil if desired and add carrots, scallions, and garlic. Sautee just until tender. Add potatoes and broth and bring to a simmer. Simmer for 20-30 min until potatoes are melt in your mouth cooked. Puree with immersion blender briefly leaving some potato and carrot chunks. Stir in bacon and sour cream. Serve with a dollop of sour cream and scallion greens on top if desired.

The left-over turkey, duh dun dun...

2009-11-27T07:43:00.000-08:00

So, in preparation for the Thanksgiving feast I started brushing up on my leftover turkey recipes. And there are a few in the arsenal. My grandmother always insists on a full turkey (even the year there were only 5 of us) and sometimes a ham too! Needless to say we usually have more leftovers than can be disposed of with cold turkey sandwhiches. I think this is the favorite, it even gets made without leftovers.

Turkey and Wild Rice Soup

Note: You can use poached or really any leftover turkey or chicken for this soup. The 90sec wild rice pkgs are nice, but it takes 2!

2c. Mirepoix (equal parts oinion, celery, and carrot)

2T butter

2T flour

12oz can evaporated milk

3.5 cups chicken broth

3 c wild rice, cooked

1-2c chopped cooked turkey (any piece)

Sautee the mirepoix in the butter until crisp tender. Add the flour and stir in, cooking for 2 min (get rid of that "flour-y" taste). Add broth and milk and bring the a soft simmer. Add rice and turkey and warm through. Serve warm!

Garlic Varieties

2009-11-26T18:23:00.000-08:00

Georgia Crystal: (porcelain) Mellow rich garlic flavor-warm pungency when raw. Harests in mid summer. Stores through winter into spring.

Shilla: (turban) A garlicky dijon flavor-warm pungency when raw. Earliest harvester, late spring. Stores through fall.

Red Janice: (turban) Very rich garlic flavor-very hot pungency when raw. One of the earliest harvesting garlics. Stores into mid-fall.

Music: (porcelain)Very rich garlic flavor-medium hot pungency when raw. Harvests mid to late summer. Stores through winter into spring.

German Extra Hardy: (porcelain) Very rich garlic flavor-rather hot pungency when raw. Harvests mid to late season. Stores 8-10 months.

Persian Star: (purple stripe) Rather rich garlic flavor-moderately warm pungency when raw. Harvests mid-season. Stores 7-9 months.

Georgia Fire: (porcelain) Very rich garlic flavor-hot pungency when raw. Harvests mid to late season. Stores 8-10 months.

Chesnok Red: (purple stripe) Very rich garlic flavor-medium warm pungency when raw. Harvests in July. Stores into mid-winter.

Garlic planting and Grandma's Rolls

2009-11-26T11:43:00.000-08:00

So last Sunday-11/22- we finally planted the garlic. With all the rain we just kept putting it off, but oh was it worth it. We had a great day Sunday and planted about 180 cloves of garlic-boy will we stink come spring. A group of gardners (Thanks Liz, Tom and Susan) came to our apt Saturday and separated all the cloves for an overnight soak in 1T baking soda, 1 T liquid seaweed, and 1 gallon water.

Sunday morning Aaron and I trucked it all out to the garden and got it set up for planting. After the soak and immediately before being planted each clove got a quick 3min bath in 70% Isopropyl alcohol to kill any nasties on the outsides and went into the ground 3inches. Then everything was covered with a thick layer of straw. Eight varieties were planted and we ordered it here. I've listed the varieties in the next post.

After finishing our garlic day, we went home and started on the Thanksgiving prep. This meant rolls-my grandmother's infamous rolls. They are coveted, carried home to college on planes, and fought over by every member of the family. Since I was headed to my inlaws I thought it might be nice to share (although I won't share the family secret recipe, sorry gang). So I got out my copy of the recipe and discovered I had written "1/2 sugar" in the ingredients list. The call went out to grandma and as I read her mine I discovered that the reason I haven't been able to duplicate her rolls in 5 years of trying was that I had the wrong recipe! After a long conversation and much discussion of the keys to perfection (beat them with a rolling pin! and that's your only clue) I got the correct recipe and after a few hours of baking- I did it- I made them!

Butternut Pasta

2009-11-26T11:08:00.000-08:00

So having still been on a quest for soft foods I was inspired by this yummy sounding dish over on Simply Recipes to come up with one of my own. We've had a plentiful harvest of Waltham butternuts. And they're sideways-but that's ok. They're pretty yummy, but I've been saving them up while they're shorter lived garden brethren make their way on and off the table. This is soft and doesn't have any chunks-althought it could if you wanted.

Also, as I explore the huge world of food blogging I have discovered that my photography is not so good. I used to be a pretty good photographer-even had the fully manual camera. Then I went digital, bought a cheap one and haven't done much since. So I think it's time to get back on the wagon of good photos-I promise not too weird, but I'll try and change up the compositions and work with my lighting. As a preview-here's one of this dish.

Butternut Pasta

Note: You can sautee some oinions and garlic or shallots (or really any other veggies you like) and combine with the squash to give the topping some more body. I used parmasean cheese, but really any salty cheese would do-I think this might be a great place to add some boursin.

1 lb past (any type), cooked in salted water

2 T rosemary

1t olive oil

1 med butternut squash

2T heavy cream

1/2 c grated salty cheese

1 T lemon juice

salt and pepper to taste

Cut the squash in half lengthwise and remove seeds. Place cut side down in a 9x13 baking dish and fill 1/4 inch up the side of the squash with water. Bake in the oven at 350 for about 45min or until the squash is soft on the inside. Scoop squash out of skin and process in the food processor until smooth (or not so smooth for your taste).

In a deep skillet sautee the rosemary in the olive oil (this is the place to add more veggies if you want 'em). Then add 2c of the squash puree. Continue heating and stirring until the squash is warmed. Add cream and cheese heating until melted. Stir lemon juice and season to taste.

Combine pasta with sauce above and serve with rosemary garnish-or place in a baking dish top with cheese and bake for about 20 min.

Risotto (Basic)

2009-11-16T16:12:00.000-08:00

Basic Risotto

So while my poor hubby had his wisdom teeth out Friday (he's reocvering well!) I get to eat all kinds of things he doesn't like! Yay! Unfortunately in this case, but fortunately for most others, there isn't much he doesn't like. It's pretty limiting because I feel bad eating things he loves while he is stuck with jello, pudding, and yogurt. We bought all kinds of soft squishy slurpy stuff for him to eat during last week's grocery trip, but without my normal meal planning, list-making routine I kinda forgot that I had to feed myself. There are some things he just turns his nose up at-goat cheese, cream-chipped beef, and veggie risotto. I started with the risotto (b/c I had the ingriedients all on hand). My college roommate and good friend Elizabeth taught me the basics of this one, although she is much more patient with it than I! This isn't probably exactly how she'd make it, but I hope it's close. I can gussy it up for the husband and he loves it, but the plain stuff that we started with in Cleveland he hates! It's a nice comfort dish and good for an upset stomach or picky eaters (my sister loves it-and she usually avoids vegetables).

I happened to have asparagus, carrots, onion and some german cheese sitting in my fridge so that's what I ate, along with a little garlic. -The possibilites to expand here are really endless add whatever you like to the sauteing or steaming steps and have a new one everytime. It's also a nice one pot deal-as a lot of our dinners tend to be.

Basic Vegetable Risotto
Notes: Makes 2 servings. If you wish you can substitute orzo for the rice-it's less expensive and takes less time and broth to cook. The orzo doesn't turn as translucent as the rice though so be careful not to burn it. DO NOT use nasty tasting broth-it is the base of the recipe-if you wouldn't warm it and eat it when you're sick don't use it here. Any kind of cheese can be used, although I like something with a sharp flavor here. I wouldn't suggest cheddar unless you're feeding it to picky eaters as it will overpower the sublter vegetable flavors. The final consistency should be pretty creamy, with out any extra liquid-it's not soup!

1/4 c roughly diced carrot

1/4 c roughly diced celery

1/2c roughly diced oinion

3T butter

splash of sherry or white wine

1/2c. aborio rice

2c chicken or vegetable broth

1/2c grated cheese

Melt the butter in a large saucepan with lid (even a deep saute pan will work here). Add vegetables. Sautee about 10min or until just tender. Add rice and stir constantly until the grains start to turn translucent. If they start to brown you've gone too far-add1c of the broth ASAP. If not add the sherry or wine deglaze the pan briefly, and then add 1c broth. Put the lid on the dish stirring every 5-10min until the broth is incorporated. Taste to see if the rice is cooked-if so dish up, add cheese and serve. If not add more broth and continue stirring until finished.

Herbs herbs herbs and slow cooker roast beef

2009-11-08T06:44:00.000-08:00

Lots has been happening in my food life recently!

My husband and I ripped out all the dead stuff in our community garden plot-and even some of the still alive stuff-to get it ready for winter. We also put in 6 cubic feet of compost and stirred it in. I've now got newspaper covering half of the plot and will soon have some on the other side-I just need to be sure to buy one of those fat Sunday papers. The only plants to escape were the marigolds-which are just still too pretty to pull. Next weekend-if it doesn't rain-the garlic will go in-and we'll cover that section with straw. The moral of this story-don't harvest all your herbs at once when you live in a tiny apt with no storage space.

A few weeks ago I started the herbs: taking up about half the basil and hanging it to dry in small bundles. I also did the rosemary and some of the oregano. It took longer than I thought it would-even with a fan constantly blowing on it-to dry.

However with the tearing out of the garden all the rest of the herbs had to go somewhere. So the mostly dry basil came down along with everything else and was replaced with the (divided) hill of flat leaf parsley. Then came the oregano. At the beginning of the season I had planted some heirloom seeds-which both my husaband and I thought weren't growing although we were getting a bunch of weeds in that spot. So, I went out and got a seedling and planted it in another section of the garden. Then we discovered all those weeds we had pulled were really baby oregano. So we had 2 plants-2 great varities although I preferred the heirloom greek-bigger tastier leaves. Turns out oregano is not easy to take apart. And 2 plants is TOO much-we have enough oregano for a decade drying in our living room. So, everyone in the family-you're getting herbs for the holidays-hope you like 'em.

So, now that we're past the herbs on to some heartier fare. We had a meeting Wed night and I knew we would need a dinner that would be easy and fast. So Tues night I started a pot roast (coated with spices, seared in a skillet, deglazed and marinated with about 1c. of red wine) and then Wed morning I stuck it in and let it cook for about 9hours on low. When I got home from work I quarted some small red potatoes, peeled and cut some carrots and cut some celery and added to the pot, and cranked it up to high for about 1.5hrs. By the time the meeting was over I had yummy pot roast, veggies, and lots of juice. I attempted to thicken the juices into gravy with corn starch slurry, but didn't have a lot of luck. In hindsight I should have taken out the juice and put it in a saucepan to thicken on the stove. I also cooked a huge (for 2 people) roast of about 4.5lbs b/c I thought I'd used the extra meat for shredded beef sandwhiches or tacos, but when we went to put it away the husband was appalled-this meat is too good to be used in that way-let's just have left overs!

Slow Cooker Pot Roast

Notes: The spice rub can be tweaked to your desire-the one here has kind of a Morocan/eastern flavor-if you're looking for something simpler it can be as easy as salt, pepper, and maybe a little garlic powder. Your meat is going to sit in the marinating wine for upwards of 12 hours DO NOT use something you wouldn't drink-if you don't like the flavor from the bottle, you won't like what it does to you meat. If you don't want to use the alcohol (oh how I remember the days of being underage and having to discard half the recipes I wanted to make) you can use broth (3.5c beef) and a little citrus juice for acid content (.5c orange). Clean and trim the roast removing any hunks of fat. Some remaining is good though-it will help to keep the meat moist. Usually if you buy it in a supermarket this will already be done.

Spice Rub

1.5tsp each

Cinnamon

Coarse Ground Black Pepper

Cumin

Ginger

Coriander (ground)

4.5lb rump roast (beef, smaller can be used too!)

2T olive oil

6T 1:1 cornstarch/water blend

Marinade

4c red wine (I used an old red blend of primarily zinfandel grapes)

1c teriyaki sauce

2c diced tomatoes and juice (you can just use a whole can if it's after tomato season like it is here)

3 cloves garlic roughly chopped

Veggies

4 stalks celery, divided to 2.5inch pieces

3 large carrots, divided to 2.5inch pieces

5 small red potatoes, quartered

1/2 onion, quartered

Apply your spice rub to your roast rubbing it in and coating generously. About half this spice goes into the meat and the other into your broth/gravy. Heat olive oil in large skillet. Transfer spiced roast to skillet and brown deeply on all sides. Transfer roast to crock pot vessel. Deglaze skillet with 1c wine, pouring result over the roast scraping any last bits in to the vessel. Refrigerate overnight if desired.

Warm vessel slightly if it has been in the fridge (to prevent cracking) 30 min at room temp will do. Combine marinade ingredients and pour over beef. Set crock pot to lowest setting and cook for approximately 9 hours.

Remove meat from vessel, strain solids out of juices. You can shred the beef here if you like, but its really starting to fall apart on its own anyway. Return meat and strained juices to vessel. Add veggies and cook on high for about 1.5hours or until potatoes are to your desired consistency.

Remove the beef and veggies, divide for serving. If desired transfer juices to large saucepan. Bring to a simmer and add the cornstach slurry to thicken into gravy. Top beef and veggies with juice or gravy and serve.

New Blog Thing

2009-11-06T08:30:00.000-08:00

Ok, so I had done this WAAAY back, like in high school when EVERYONE had a blog. Before Facebook and MySpace made those obsolete. But recently I've been reading (a few) food blogs and kept wanting to say-me too! or -that's not what I did-do this! So instead of commenting on other peoples stuff I thought I'd put mine out here. And try my hand at the pretty-making of photos of the food and all the other stuff a food blog may (or may not) involve.