Capella Farm Recipes

Spicy Chinese Slaw

2011-11-15T07:49:00.000-05:00

This recipe is from The Joy of Cooking. If you haven't checked out this "old" cookbook lately, you should. The newest version is jam-packed with tips and great recipes.

This is a great way to use napa cabbage. It's so tasty. We followed the recipe using napa. You can sprinkle on the chile pepper at the table so people who aren't spice-lovers will still eat the salad.

Slice into 2-inch matchsticks one of the following:

2 - 3 kohlrabi, peeled (here I'm sure they're talking about Early White kohlrabi which is about 2 - 3" in diameter. If you're using the Gigante that we're harvesting now, you'll probably only need 1/4 kohlrabi), or
5 small cucumbers, peeled and seeded, or
6-inch piece daikon (or 3 cups) radish, or
3 cups shredded cabbage

Place cut up veggie into a glass bowl and toss with 4 T salt (we used kosher)
Let stand to drain, 30 - 45 minutes. Rinse the vegetables under cool running water to wash off the salt. Drain well, place in a bowl and stir in:

2 T minced garlic
1 1/2 t. minced red chile pepper or 2 T crushed red pepper flakes
1 T sugar
1 T red wine vinegar (I think I used rice vinegar here)
1 1/2 T extra virgin olive oil
1 1/2 to 2 T toasted sesame oil
Salt to taste

Marinate for a minimum of 1 hour. Serve at room temperature or chilled. Will stay fresh for 2 - 3 days in the refrigerator.

It's so good, it might make this year's Thanksgiving menu.

Roasted Tomatillo Salsa

2011-10-31T21:24:00.001-04:00

Thanks to year-round member Grant for sharing this recipe. It's similar to the Salsa Verde recipe that I have posted but it sounds much easier to prepare and also I'm sure the veggies have a deeper flavor. And you don't have to sautee peppers on the stove - which is a bonus if you're working with really spicy peppers such as ghost, habanero or mature padron because when you sautee those peppers, the fumes can seriously irritate your eyes, nose and lungs. Take care when working with spicy peppers.

From Grant:

Here is the recipe for Roasted Tomatillo Salsa that I make almost weekly now. Borrowed sort of from epicurious.com once upon a time.

Prep time: 5 min

Cook time: 10 min

1 pint (or so) of tomatillos, peeled and rinsed

3-6 spicy peppers (variety to taste: ghost, pablano, habanero, or even mild/sweet would probably work, depends on your preference. My goal is to make my wife’s eyes water when she eats…with tears of joy as well as tears from spiciness!)

1 medium garlic (separated but not peeled, or 6-8 cloves)

4-5 small or 1 large onion, chopped

1 handful of fresh cilantro

A bit of basil or parsley if available

Place tomatillos, unpeeled garlic, and peppers on baking sheet under the broiler. Leave until browned, turning occasionally (approx. 5 minutes, the peppers are ready sooner)

Peel the roasted garlic (easy to do just by squeezing) and carefully separate seeds out from roasted peppers. Place all ingredients together (including cilantro, onion, and other greens such as basil or parsley) into food processer (it usually works best if the tomatillos are put in first). Process until of a smooth consistency.

Enjoy with chips, nachos, or as a garnish on just about any food item.

Kohl Rabi, Turnips, Radishes, etc.

2011-10-29T22:02:00.001-04:00

Kohl Rabi is a tasty root veggie. Well, it's kind of a root - it actually forms a bulb above ground. Some people describe it as a mix of turnip and cabbage. If harvested during the colder months, it is sweet and juicy. During the days leading up to summer, it can become more bitter, spicy and woody. So, if you try it in late June or July and don't like it, give it another go in October or later. The frost/colder temputure really brings up the sugar content of this veggie.

Turnips or kohlrabi or radishes or daikon radish or rutabaga:

A few ideas on how to use:

We generally eat these raw. The children, for some reason, prefer all members of the cabbage family raw. This includes cabbage, kale, collards, kohl rabi, turnips, etc. We peel the kohlrabi or turnip with a paring knife and then slice it and serve fresh with salt and sometimes a little lime which is squeezed on the slice. We generally don't peel radishes. Depending on your spice preference, you can peel daikon radish. If you don't, it will be spicier. Which is generally OK after a frost but can be really overwhelming before a frost. So taste it to see if you like it.
You can include these in a combination with other root veggies for roasting. Cut up all root veggies and toss in olive oil, salt and any other dry spice that you like and roast at 350 or 400 until they are fork-tender. Turn a few times to brown. Yum.
You can cut up into 1/3" wide strips x 1/2" wide and sautee with your greens. The root veggies add a bit of crisp texture to your greens.
You can add to a pot roast. These white root veggies, including radishes, daikon radish, rutabaga, etc. will absorb the flavor of the meat and impart a bit of their own flavor on the dish. Again, it's a nice texture combined with meat - definitely comfort food.
You can cube any of these veggies, par boil them until tender, drain and toss with a little butter and salt and serve as a side dish.
For spicier root veggies, some people grate and combine with tuna fish or saute some and serve as a bed with fish. It's not always horse-radish hot but can be. Cooking will tone down the spice.
Don't forget that the greens of all of these veggies are high in vitamin C. All greens make a nice pesto - some spicier than others. Radish greens are very tasty sauteed with a little butter and salt. Try it, I think you'll like it.

How to store:
All of these will store for months. Remove the tops immediately and store separately in the fridge. Place root veggies in a sealed plastic bag with a little moisture in the crisper. Should keep for 2 months or more as long as they don't freeze.

Asian Kohl-Slaw

2011-10-29T21:38:00.000-04:00

Thanks to summer member, Janet, for forwarding this idea on another way to use kohl rabi. Sounds tasty.

Asian Kohl-Slaw
http://www.annarbor.com/entertainment/food-drink/im-not-a-big-fan/
Dressing
* 1 cloves garlic, minced
* 1 tablespoons fresh ginger root, minced
* 1/4 cup olive oil
* 1/4 cup sesame oil
* 3 Tablespoons rice vinegar
* 3 Tablespoons tamari
* 2 Tablespoons honey
* 2 Tablespoons vegetable broth or water
* 2 Tablespoons toasted sesame seeds (optional)
In a small bowl add the honey and vegetable broth (or water) and microwave for 30 seconds to dissolve the honey. Blend all of the ingredients together, except for the toasted sesame seeds. If you have an immersion blender it will help blend the garlic and ginger and make the dressing creamy. Add the sesame seeds and chill for several hours.
Slaw
* 3 medium kohlrabi bulbs peeled and grated (cut bottom 1/4 of the root side off and discard)
* 4 carrots, grated
* 6 scallions, white and light-green parts, chopped
* 1/3 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
* 1 cup slivered almonds, dry roasted
* one packet ramen noodles, dry roasted (discard flavor packet)
In a bowl, toss the kohlrabi, carrots, green onions and cilantro and chill. Break up the ramen noodles into small pieces. In a pan over medium heat, dry roast the ramen noodle pieces and slivered almonds until lightly browned. Stir constantly to keep from burning. Put the toasted noodles and almonds in a bowl and set aside to cool.
Right before serving toss slaw mix, toasted almonds and noodles and dressing.

Chard Cheese Pie

2011-10-29T21:28:00.001-04:00

Thanks, Debi, for forwarding this one. It looks like a good one.

Chard Cheese Pie (Community Farm of Ann Arbor Cookbook)

6 c. lightly-cooked chard, well-drained (we also used coarsely chopped kale or a combo)

2 c. low-fat cottage cheese

8 oz. feta cheese

2 eggs, beaten

Juice of 1 lemon

½ tsp salt

1 c. whole grain bread crumbs or croutons (we used only ¾ c. bread crumbs)

Optional: 1 medium onion, chopped and sautéed

Preheat oven to 350. Sauté onion if using.

Beat together cheeses, eggs, lemon juice and salt. Stir a cup of this mixture into the chard (and onion, if using) and press it into a well-greased 9x9 pan or baking dish. Spread the remaining cheese mixture evenly over the top. Sprinkle with bread crumbs.

Bake for about ½ hour until set. Allow to stand for several minutes before cutting into squares. Serves 4-6.

Sorrel

2011-10-27T07:53:00.000-04:00

This is an excerpt from a site I found which is pretty handy. Here's the link:
Harvest To Table
Harvest To Table
Prepare: To keep sorrel fresh, do not wash the leaves until just before eating. Immerse the leaves in water and shake them delicately but do not soak them.
Cook sorrel with the stems removed. To remove the stems, simply fold the leaves in half lengthwise and pull off the stem.
Steam leaves until wilted or cook them in a little butter.
Serve: Sorrel can be served raw or cooked.
Use raw whole French sorrel and shredded garden sorrel in salads. They will have a zesty spinach flavor. Reduce the vinegar or lemon in accompanying dressings to compensate for the acidity of sorrel. Whisk a little honey or sugar into the dressing to counter sorrel’s acidity.
Sorrel is best served in combination with other foods. Add a few shredded leaves to baked and scrambled eggs. Fill an omelet with sorrel cooked in butter with shallots.
Add sorrel to creamy dishes and sauces. To make French sorrel sauce, cook the sorrel in a little butter, add fish or chicken stock and cream and stir until smooth. Stir shredded sorrel into creamy potato or leek soups just before serving. In Eastern Europe, slices of smoked sausage are used in a creamy sorrel soup.
Cook sorrel in the same way as spinach, lightly steamed or boiled. Sorrel stalks can be cooked like rhubarb. Sorrel cooks and reduces in volume quickly. The cooked leaves may turn a drab khaki color.
Sorrel makes a good garnish for fish and veal. Sorrel can be used to tenderize meat: wrap around steaks or add pounded leaves to marinade. Italian salsa verde is made from raw sorrel, watercress, and onion chopped and blended to a creamy emulsion with oil and vinegar; serve with poultry or fish.
Flavor partners: Sorrel has a flavor affinity for butter, soft cheeses, chicken, cucumber, eggs, fish (especially salmon), lamb, leeks, lentils, lettuce, mussels, pork, potato, salmon, scallion, shad, shallots, sour cream, spinach, sweetbreads, tomatoes, and veal.
Sorrel combines well with borage, chervil, chives, dill, lovage, parsley, and tarragon.
Nutrition: Sorrel is rich in potassium and high in vitamins A and C and oxalic acid.

Kale Gratin with Pancetta

2011-10-24T21:02:00.003-04:00

This recipe was forwarded by Kristen & Rob. I am also forwarding their comments. I made this last week for a pot luck - using collards - and it was a hit! I didn't have bread crumbs or anything to sub in but it still worked. Thanks, you two, for the new idea on how to use greens!

Notes from Kristen:

Rob asked me to send you the link to the recipe he uses for greens. It is our go-to dish to eat-up large volumes of greens we don't know what to do with.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/rachael-ray/kale-gratin-with-pancetta-recipe/index.html

Caveats:

1. The recipe calls for kale but he's used essentially any non-cabbage, non-lettuce green.

2. He uses 2-3 times the amount of greens specified without increasing the proportion of other ingredients, parboiling really reduces the amount of greens

3. Can substitute milk for cream

4. He usually substitutes 1-2 slices of bacon for amount of pancetta specified

5. Fresh grated nutmeg really makes a difference vs. dried ground, but not essential

The recipe:

Kale Gratin with Pancetta

Recipe courtesy Rachael Ray

Ingredients

1 1/4 to 1 1/3 pounds kale, stems stripped and chopped, about 6 cups
Salt
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 pound pancetta, chopped into 1/2-inch pieces
1 cup cream
2 cloves garlic, smashed and chopped
1/8 teaspoon grated nutmeg, eyeball it
Black pepper
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano or Pecorino Romano

Directions

Preheat the broiler but place the oven rack on the second shelf down from the heat source.

Bring a few inches of water to a boil in a deep skillet or pot, add the kale and salt and cook 5 to 6 minutes; drain and dry the greens.
Return the skillet to the stove over medium-high heat and add 1 tablespoon of extra-virgin olive oil and pancetta. Crisp the pancetta and add the cream and garlic. Season with nutmeg, salt, and pepper then reduce 7 to 8 minutes to about 1/2 to 2/3 cup. Add cooked greens to cream and stir to coat evenly. Transfer to shallow casserole.
Toss with breadcrumbs with the remaining 2 tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil. Season the crumbs with salt and pepper and combine with cheese. Place the casserole on the second shelf under broiler and brown breadcrumbs and cheese for 5 minutes.

Zucchini Fritters with Yogurt-Apricot Sauce

2011-08-18T20:56:00.002-04:00

Zucchini Fritters with Yogurt-Apricot Sauce

Thanks to Janet (fellow member) for sharing this recipe. She says it's very tasty.

Serves 4 | PointsPlusTM value per serving: 4

3/4 cup plain fat-free Greek yogurt

1 tablespoon apricot fruit spread ( I used mango chutney)

1 teaspoon curry powder

2 medium zucchini

3 scallions, finely chopped

1 large egg

1 large egg white

1/3 cup whole wheat flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 teaspoons canola oil

Stir together yogurt, fruit spread, and curry in small bowl; cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Shred zucchini on large holes of box grater into large bowl. Spread zucchini on clean kitchen towel. Roll up and squeeze to remove excess liquid. Return zucchini to bowl. Add scallions, egg, egg white, flour, baking powder, and salt; stire to combine.

Heat 1-1/2 teaspoons of the oil in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Drop batter by heaping teaspoons into skillet to make 6 fritters and cook until browned, 2-2 miutes on each side. Repeat with remaining oil and batter to make a total of 12 fritters, removing skillet from heat and spraying with nonstick spray between batches, if needed.

Serve fritters with yogurt sauce.

PERSERVING((3fritters+3tablespoonssauce):165g,142Cal,5gTotalFat,1gSatFat,0gTransFat,54mgChol, 486mgSod,17gTotalCarb,6gSugar,3g Fib, 9 g Prot, 87 mg Calc

Beet Cake

2011-08-07T14:40:00.000-04:00

An interesting way to use beets.

Recipe printed in the Detroit News last year with credits to "The Vegan Table"

1/2 c. canola oil
1 1/2 c packed dark brown sugar
2 c. pu8reed cooked (boiled or steamed) red beets (about 3 medium -size beets)
1/2 c nondairy semisweet chocolate chips, melted
1 t. vanilla extract
2 c all-purpose flour
2 t. baking powder
1/4 t salt
confectioner's sugar for dusting

Preheat oven to 375 and lightly oil a bundt pan.
In a mixing bowl, cream together oil and brown sugar. Add beets, melted chocolate chips and vanilla and mix well.
In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt. Add to wet beet mixture and stir until just combined.
Pour into prepared bundt pan and bake for 45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted near center comes out clean.
Cool in pan 10 min. before removing to a wire rack. Cool completely. Before serving, dust with confectioners' sugar and top with blueberries, if desired.
Serves 16.

Nettles Soup

2011-06-01T20:00:00.000-04:00

This recipe is from Deborah Madison's book, Local Flavors. If you don't have this book, I recommend it.

A plastic veg. bag filled with nettle leaves
2 T unsalted butter
1 C sliced onion or scallion
1 small potato, thinly sliced
6 C chard leaves, thinly sliced (we subbed spinach and lettuce)
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper
6 C veggie stock, chicken stock or water (we used veggie stock)
1/2 C cream

1. Bring 3 !Q water to a boil. plunge nettles into a bowl of cold water and swish back and forth, then drop into boiling water for 2 mins. Drain. Chop coarsly, discard large stems.
2. Melt butter in wide soup pot and add onion and potato. Cook over med heat, stirring occassionally, until translucent. Add chard, 1 1/2 t salt, and the stock. Bring to boil. Add nettles. Simmer until potato is completely soft, 15 - 20 mins.
3. Puree the soup until smooth, then return to stove. If stems did not chop up, pass through food mill. Add the cream, heat until hot, then taste for salt. Season well with pepper and serve plain or with whole wheat croutons browned in butter.

This is a surprisingly hearty soup!

Pork and Daikon Radish Soup

2010-10-06T07:39:00.001-04:00

This recipe was forwarded by Jeannie - one of our members. She reports that it's tasty and slightly spicy. Thanks, Jeannie.

From http://daikonradish.com/recipes/pork-bone-daikon-radish-soup/

Ingredients

1 lb pork bones or pork ribs
1 lb Daikon radish
Green onions and/or cilantro (I used1.5 large leeks)
Grated fresh ginger (about 2 inches of a regular size ginger)

Directions

Boil pork bones for approximately 5 minutes. Remove and discard water. This gets rid of the scum that floats to the top.
Add ginger and pork bones to 4 cups (or enough to cover all the ingredients) of fresh boiling water for 10 minutes then reduce to a low boil and cook for at least 90 minutes.

Chop Daikon radish. Slice the radish into 1/4 – 1/2 inch thick circles and then chop them into quarters.

Add Daikon to soup and let cook for 20 minutes.

Add chopped green onions or cilantro, salt to taste.

Makes 4 servings.

Garden Casserole

2010-10-06T07:39:00.000-04:00

Here's another roasted veggie recipe option. Thanks, Robin, for forwarding. Although the summer squash is now done, I would think you could substitute another veggie (winter squash or daikon radish or even potatoes).

Garden casserole
Prep: 15 min
Cooking: 45 min
Serves 4
Calories per serving: 205

2 zucchini (~1/2 lb)
1 small eggplant (~ 1/2 lb), unpeeled
1 medium yellow onion, peeled
2 large, very rice tomatoes
1 medium green pepper, cored and seeded
1 t dried basil
1 t dried thyme
2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
2 t salt
1/4 t black pepper
1/4 C chopped parsley
5 T vegetable oil

1. Preheat the oven to 400 F. Slice the zucchini, eggplant, onion, tomatoes, and green pepper as thin as you can. In a dish, combine the basil, thyme, garlic, salt, black pepper, and parsley.
2. Grease the bottom of a 2 quart casserole dish with 2 T of the oil. Layer the zucchini, then the eggplant, onions, tomatoes, and green pepper in the casserole, sprinkling each layer with the herb and garlic mixture. Sprinkle the remaining oil over the top and bake, covered, for 45 min, or until the vegetables are tender. [Note from Lynn: We tend to use extra zucchini and eggplant. The official recipe says 35 minutes of baking, but it's always taken us 45 minutes. We top with shredded white cheddar.]

Briami (Roasted Vegetables)

2010-09-10T07:28:00.002-04:00

BRIAMI

INGREDIENTS

4 medium tomatoes, diced into 1-inch pieces
2 zucchini, peeled and diced into 1-inch pieces
1 medium onion, peeled and diced into 1-inch pieces
3 medium potatoes, peeled and diced into 1-inch pieces
½ head garlic, cloves smashed
2-ounce Parmesan cheese, cut into 1/2-inch chunks
½ cup extra virgin olive oil
¼ cup water
Herbs such as basil, thyme, oregano and lovage, roughly chopped
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS

Preheat the oven to 425º. Line an aluminum half-sheet pan with foil and spread out vegetables and chunks of cheese. Combine olive oil and water and herbs and then pour over all. Season with salt and pepper and toss until thoroughly coated. Place in oven and roast for at least an hour, stirring every so often, just to monitor that all is cooking evenly.

This was forwarded by CSA member, Kathleen - thanks!

Tomato, Basil and Mozarella Sandwich

2010-08-08T08:25:00.003-04:00

This is a sandwich that I first tasted when traveling in Spain. What a treat!

- Start with some high quality bread - it can be a stale baguette or Zingerman's Farmer's bread is good. It should be crisp - so if it's not stale, toast it. Slice the baguette in half or make pieces for a sandwich from your round loaf.
- Peel a garlic clove. Rub the clove on both sides of the bread. Watch out - a little really permeates the sandwich.
- Drizzle a little high quality olive oil over the garlic.
- Either place a slice of tomato on the bread or take a roma tomato and cut it in half and rub the tomato on the bread which leaves the essence of the tomato but not all of the juice.
- Top the tomato with a thin slice of fresh mozarella
- Top the cheese with a thin layer of Jambon Serrano or other proscioto or even thinly sliced salami or a chorizo (optional). I like Morgan and York for their Jambon Serrano - it's expensive but you don't need to buy much to make this - and they have a great meat slicer which results in the paper thin strips that are best for this. If the meat is too thick, it's difficult to eat.
- Follow with a layer of basil.
- Top with the other piece of bread, cut into manageable pieces and enjoy!

A true summer treat!

Grilled Summer Squash

2010-08-07T08:16:00.003-04:00

One of our favorite ways to enjoy summer squash is by grilling it. Larger squash are excellent for this as they're less likely to fall through the grill.

Take one or more summer squash - any type. I enjoy crook neck squash which has just started to form bumbs on the skin. At this point the skin isn't too tough but it's a bit nutty and the seeds are still relatively small. Also Cozelle is very tasty (this is a zucchini with ribbing and stripes). But any summer squash is good. At any rate, take your squash and cut lengthwise in 1/4 to 1/3" slabs. Lay the slabs into a baking dish and drizzle on a little olive oil. Smear it around to cover the slab and salt with sea salt from your grinder. Flip the slab and repeat. Continue to layer the squash into the pan, oiling and salting each layer. Let it rest for 20 minutes or so. You can also add a little sprinkling of thyme for a change.

Grill the squash on medium heat for 5 - 7 minutes per side. Maybe more, maybe less. It's OK if it's a little brown but you don't want it to fall apart.

Serve & enjoy!

Summer Squash Soup with Salsa Verde

2010-08-07T08:12:00.002-04:00

Summer Squash Soup with Salsa Verde

Serves 4 to 6

Sheryl forwarded this recipe to us - it's from Deborah Maddison's book - Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone. It's one of the best soups I've had in a long time - the Salsa Verde makes it!

2 tbl. olive oil or butter

1 ¼ lbs. Summer Squash

1 large onion, chopped

1 bunch scallions, including half the greens, chopped

2 tbl. raw white rice

½ cup chopped parsley

6 cups vegetable stock, or water

Salt and freshly milled pepper

Lemon juice

1/3 cup Salsa Verde

Heat the oil in a soup pot and add the squash and onion, and sauté over high heat until squash begins to color, then add scallions, rice and parsley. Add stock and 1 ½ tsp salt and bring to boil. Lower heat to simmer, partially covered, for 25 minutes. Let cool briefly, then puree. Taste for salt, season with pepper, and add lemon juice to taste. Finish the soup by swirling in the Salsa Verde or pesto.

Salsa Verde

2 shallots finely chopped

½ cup finely chopped parsley

1/3 cup chopped mixed herbs-- tarragon, chervil, thyme, marjoram, dill

2 to3 tbs capers, rinsed

Grated zest of 1 lemon

1 small clove of garlic, minced

¾ cup extra virgin olive oil

2 to 3 tsp of champagne vinegar or fresh lemon juice

1 hard cooked egg, optional

Salt and freshly milled pepper

Combine all ingredients except salt and pepper. Mash the yolk until smooth, adding a little of the sauce to thin it. Finely chop the white. Stir the yolk and white back into the sauce, season with salt and pepper, and adjust the amount of vinegar if needed.

Vegetable Stock

2010-08-06T11:14:00.005-04:00

A recent posting reminds me that I don't have any vegetable stock in the pantry. In general, I make pints of stock - both poultry and vegetable - and store them in the pantry. They're handy to have when cooking throughout the year but especially in the winter when you're waiting for the ground to thaw.

Presently, I find myself with a surplus of limp root veggies in the fridge. I went through my bin and found soft beets, carrots and a few kohl rabi that I had forgotten about (of course they are about as fresh as when I dug them, a month or so ago - little gems). I also have mini onions that I haven't wanted to throw away but never used, a mountain of drying herbs, etc. So, time to make stock.

Use your largest soup pan. Mine is about 10 quarts. I have filled it 1/2 full with water.

This is what I'm doing - you can modify to use what you have.

- 6 Q water
- 3 - 4 T kosher salt (will taste and add more later)
- 10 peppercorns
- A sprinkling of basil blooms (I let the basil bloom last year and pulled it right before the frost. Dry the plants in the garage and keep the blooms in a jar to use for seasoning.)
- A few sprigs of dried rosemary
- A few sprigs of dried tarragon
- 2 kohl rabi, peeled and sliced in 1" pieces
- About 12 3-4" carrots, cleaned but not peeled
- 3 small onions, cut in half
- 5 cloves of garlic
- 1/2 pound greens, stems and all. Cleaned and cut up a little bit so that it fits in the pan. I used collards but you could use kale or chard too.
- 2 overgrown summer squash, cut in 2" chunks.
- One head of split cabbage, cut in large pieces, core and all
- Three tomatoes, cored and cut in half - one red, one yellow and one green, all mature
- 3 bay leaves from my smaller bay leaf plant that I forgot to water. It's not dead yet but it shed its leaves - they're still full of flavor even though they're dead.

Heat to a boil. Simmer for 2 - 4 hours. Clean jars and lids, fill to within 1/2" of top and screw on lids. Process using pressure cooker. I follow the instructions from the Ball Blue Book when canning. Let your jars cool over night, remove the rims, wipe down the jars with a soapy rag and store.

Eggs In a Nest & Mustard Greens Lasagna

2010-07-14T21:36:00.001-04:00

These recipes were contributed by CSA member Robin Fowler. Thanks Robin!

Steve and I have made a couple of recipes recently / modified from other places. I'll share them here, and if you want, you can add them to your recipe list.

Eggs in a nest (modified from _Animal Vegetable Miracle_ by Barbara Kingsolver and family)
-chop 1/2 onion and some cloves of garlic. Saute that in olive oil over med heat for a few minutes. (Use a BIG frying pan).
-wash, chop a bunch of beautiful rainbow chard. Add it to the saucepan and continue cooking over med heat, covered.
-wash, chop a few mushrooms. Add to the mix, continue cooking, covered, a few more minutes. When chard and mushrooms have cooked down, seem soft, use spoon to create "nests" in the greens mix (1 "nest" per person).
-Crack eggs into the nests (one per person). Poach eggs like that, with pan covered, for 3-5 minutes (until egg reaches desired "doneness").
We put a little sea salt over the whole thing and really enjoyed it...

Mustard Greens and Cheese Lasagna (quite modified, but based loosely on recipe from back of Meijer brand "oven ready" lasagna noodles)
-saute a bunch of chopped mustard greens, sliced garlic (maybe 10 cloves), and chopped onion (maybe 1 medium) in olive oil, then put in bowl/ set aside.
-mix in another bowl, 1 14 oz. container cottage cheese, 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese, 2 eggs, chopped basil pieces (I didn't have fresh, so I used dried/ would probably be better with fresh)
-you'll also need 1 box lasagna noodles (I used the kind that say they are "oven ready"/ don't need to be boiled first), 2 big jars of tomato sauce, 1 more cup of shredded mozzarella cheese, and some freshly grated parmesan.

In two smallish pans (8x11?), put a thin layer of sauce, then a layer of noodles, veggies, cheeses, sauce, noodles, veggies, cheeses, sauce, etc. Top with noodles, sauce, and the extra 1 cup of mozz cheese/ I then added some freshly grated parmesan to the very top.

Use tin foil to cover the pans tightly.

Bake 45 minutes at 375 degrees F. Leave covered for 10 min after removing from oven.

Hope people will enjoy!
Robin

Purslane

2010-07-14T21:22:00.004-04:00

I posted this info. on the "What's Going On" blog site as well.

We tried purslane the other day. I had always heard that it was edible but I felt, as I originally felt about Lambs Quarter - yeah you can eat it, but why would you? Both are surprisingly excellent! Also, I've read quite a bit over the last few years that the plants that grow locally as "weeds" such as dandelion, purslane, lambs quarter, stinging nettles, etc. contain many anti-oxidants, vitamins and minerals which are very beneficial.

Here's how to prepare it:

Remove the purslane from the bag. Cut off the roots. Remove any hay that might be in there. Soak to clean.
Cut up the stalks in 1 - 3" pieces. Use the whole stem - no need to take the leaves off of the stem. The stems are a bit crunchy but they're not woody.
Preheat a skillet with a little oil. Add a bit of garlic or onions or both and saute.
Add the cleaned and cut purslane.
Sprinkle in a generous amount of salt and pepper.
Saute until wilted and slightly darker green (maybe 6 - 10 minutes on med. heat).
Serve.

Very yummy - surprisingly. It's a bit like spinach and would probably be good in a stir fry. Enjoy!

Here's what "On Food and Cooking - The Science and Lore of The Kitchen" (Harold McGee) has to say about purslane (by the way - this is an excellent book if you're interested in the technical side of food):
"Purslane is a low-lying weed with fat stems and small thick leaves, which thrives in midsummer heat on neglected ground. It's a European native that has spread throughout the world. One nickname for purslane is pigweed, and the 19th century Englishman William Cobbett said it was suitable only for pigs and the French. But people in many countries enjoy its combination of tartness and soothing, mucilaginous smoothness, both raw in salads and added to meat and vegetable dishes during the last few minutes of cooking. There are now cultivated varieties with larger leaves shaded yellow and pink. Its qualities are similar to those of the cactus pad because both have adapted in similar ways to hot, dry habitats. Purslane is notable for its content of calcium, several vitamins, and an omega-3 fatty acid, linolenic acid."

Here's another interesting excerpt from the same book: "Cactuses, purslane, and other plants that live in hot, dry environments have developed a special form of photosynthesis in which they keep their pores closed during the day to conserve water, then open them at night to take in carbon dioxide, which they then store in the form of malic acid. During the day, they use the energy from sunlight to convert the malic acid to glucose. Pads harvested in the early morning therefore contain as much as 10 times more malic acid than pads harvested in the afternoon. The acid levels in the pads slowly drop after harvest, so the difference is less apparent after a few days."

Potato and Purslane Salad

2010-07-14T21:18:00.004-04:00

Potato and purslane salad

Michelle, one of our newest members, contributed this. Thanks!

Don't use all the salad dressing at first--pour a little on and see how much you'll need. Any that's left over will be good on pasta or tossed salad.

6 small to medium redskin potatoes, scrubbed and unpeeled
2 cups washed purslane leaves
4 scallions, sliced thin

Dressing:

1/2 cup olive oil
2 T. lemon juice (or more, to taste)
2 T. red wine vinegar (or more,to taste)
garlic clove, crushed
1 tsp. dry mustard
1/2 tsp. dry tarragon
1/2 to 1 tsp. salt, or to taste
freshly ground black pepper to taste

Cook the potatoes with their skins on until just tender. Drain and plunge into cold water. Let cool. Peel and cut into slices, chunks, or dice, as you prefer.

Chop purslane coarsely. Add purslane and scallions to potatoes.

Mix dressing ingredients until emulsified (I like to shake them in a jar). Pour over salad until it looks and tastes right. Chill. If the salad sits around in the fridge for a while before serving, you may need to add a little more dressing just at serving time so it's moist enough.

Beet Salad

2010-07-01T08:56:00.001-04:00

This is contributed by Tricia - one of our members. Thanks!

I made a salad with raw grated beets last weekend and took it to a block party. It was quite tasty! (even for someone like me, not a big fan of beets)

Basically: grate the beets (I used my food processor), then toss with a dressing made from lemon juice, dijon mustard, oil, garlic (I might have used a scape - I forget exactly), and tarragon. I used my Capella tarragon and supplemented with some from the plant on my porch.

Mashed-Potato Cakes with Onions and Kale

2010-06-30T09:47:00.003-04:00

A member recommended this last year. Sounds great. This is from Cooking Light.

Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 2 patties)

Ingredients

12 cups water
1 bunch kale, trimmed (about 4 ounces)
2 2/3 cups (1-inch) cubed Yukon gold or red potato (about 1 pound)
3/4 teaspoon salt, divided
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon butter or stick margarine
3 cups diced onion
2 tablespoons chopped fresh sage
1/4 cup sliced green onions
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Cooking spray
Sage sprigs (optional)

Preparation

Bring water to a boil in a Dutch oven; add kale. Cover and cook over medium heat 5 minutes or until tender. Remove kale with a slotted spoon, reserving cooking liquid. Chop kale and set aside.

Add potato to reserved cooking liquid in pan; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 10 minutes or until tender. Drain; partially mash potatoes. Stir in kale and 1/4 teaspoon salt.

Preheat oven to 400°.

Heat oil and butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1/2 teaspoon salt, diced onion, and chopped sage. Cook 13 minutes or until browned. Combine potato mixture, onion mixture, green onions, and pepper. Remove from heat; cool slightly. Divide potato mixture into 8 equal portions, shaping each into a 1/2-inch-thick patty. Place patties on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Bake at 400° for 20 minutes.

Preheat broiler.

Broil patties for 5 minutes or until browned. Garnish with sage sprigs, if desired.

Nutritional Information

Calories:: 246 (26% from fat)
Fat:: 7g (sat 2.4g,mono 3.4g,poly 0.6g)
Protein:: 5.1g
Carbohydrate:: 43.2g
Fiber:: 5.1g
Cholesterol:: 8mg
Iron:: 2.6mg
Sodium:: 495mg
Calcium:: 87mg

Cooking Light, NOVEMBER 1999

Smothered Mushrooms and Kale Rachael Ray Recipe courtesy Rachael Ray

2010-06-30T09:39:00.002-04:00

We made this last year - it's very tasty and a nice change from plain greens/olive oil. You can also fold in a little goat cheese in the end (or other soft cheese) for an extra twist.

Ingredients

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, 2 turns of the pan
2 tablespoons butter, cut into small pieces
4 cloves garlic, chopped
24 small crimini mushrooms, wiped clean, halved
1 bunch kale, trimmed, stems removed and chopped
1/4 cup Marsala or other sherry
Salt and pepper

Directions

Heat a medium skillet with extra-virgin olive oil and butter over medium to medium-high heat. When fat is hot, add garlic and mushrooms and place a lid which is too small for the skillet down into the pan, pressing and smothering the mushrooms. Cook 7 to 8 minutes, stirring once, then wilt the kale into the pan, turning it with tongs to combine with mushrooms. Smother the greens for 1 to 2 minutes, then deglaze the pan with Marsala and season the mixture with salt and pepper, to taste.

What to do with all those Stems

2010-06-09T11:06:00.003-04:00

If you don't want to saute your stems or eat the greens, you have a few options:
1. Make veggie stock or soup stock. Mostly in the fall, when the hens are processed, I make a lot of soup stock. But you can also make a straight veggie stock. Check the recipe blog for recipes. I can it in pint-sized containers and store in the pantry and use when needed. It's cheaper than the box stock you buy from the store and you know what's in it.
2. Feed them to your goat or chicken
3. Compost the waste. Watch warnings from me though - sometimes we'll get a fungus that you might not want to bring over to your garden so you might not want to compost unless you know that you're maintaining a hot pile.

I don't suggest running these through your garbage disposal. We had a member shove a large amount of kale ribs into her disposal last year and she had to call the plumber to snake the drain. No fun.

You can always bring veggie scraps here and feed them to the goats. Just remember - no stringy uncooked things like cucumber peelings for the chickens. They don't have teeth to break up the strings. Also no moldy veggies.

What to Do With Your Greens

2010-06-09T08:06:00.002-04:00

This post is contributed by Marnie Reid - thanks for the easy suggestions, Marnie!

Two ideas….

1. Salad….a must for every dinner this time of year, use all the greens (stronger flavors in smaller bites)

2. Chicken, sautéed in olive oil with salt and pepper and any other seasonings you like, top with mixed greens (arugula, chard, kale, spinach, mustard, onions, garlic---whatever you like), once soft, mix in goat cheese and put on top of cooked chicken

3. At the end of the week when your greens are going south and you are feeling guilty that you haven’t eaten them—sauté them (any, per above) in butter oil or water, add in herbs, in another bowl mix 6 eggs 1 cup milk, cheese of your choice (I like feta or goat, with a little cheddar or mont jack), season, mix all together and cook 35-45 minutes until golden on top

Quiche and salad for lunch or breakfast….

Next week….lasagna recipe with greens.

Marnie

Basic Greens

2010-05-23T20:40:00.003-04:00

We eat greens almost every night. You can add any spice you like. Sometimes we add a little curry powder. Sometimes some thai paste. Sometimes garlic or onions. But generally we only use salt and oil.

1. Prepare your greens. If they have large, woody ribs, devein the leaves by slicing them out. I now skip that and fold the leaf in half holding the soft part of the leaf with my left hand and pulling up on the stalk with my right. This removes the woody part quickly. You can then slice your greens in 1" sections if you'd like. To do this uniformly, pile up a large stack of leaves and roll them and then slice. I also skip this part and just cook them whole.

2. Wash your greens thoroughly. If they're really dirty (after a rain) I'll soak in a sink and drain and soak again and drain and then spin in a salad spinner. Again, if I'm really in a hurry, I just place the greens in a colander and let them drip a little. The water helps them steam and cook anyway.

3. Turn on the heat in a large skillet. Pour in a circle of oil (about 2 or 3 T). If you're using onions or garlic, be careful not to overheat the pan because you'll burn the garlic quickly. Quickly add the garlic and then the greens. Toss. Salt using a salt grinder and sea salt (1 - 3 turns). Toss. Cook until they're deep green and wilted. Add about 1/2 c water, cover and turn off the heat. They're ready to serve.

If you cook your greens too long they're mushy and not very flavorful.

Pesto

2010-05-23T20:34:00.003-04:00

This is a basic recipe that we use for pesto of all types. It's good for mustard greens, basil, very young garlic mustard and nettles:

1. Gather and clean your leaves. Take them off the stems and spin in your salad spinner.
2. Most greens can be used fresh. If you're making nettle pesto, you should blanch and plunge in ice water and drain (this will remove the stinging from the leaves). Place leaves in a food processor along with 1/1 to 1 clove of garlic and about 1/2 T of sea salt. Turn on the processor and pour in olive oil until the leaves are processed according to your preference. If you run the processor too long, it will turn to mush. I keep adding leaves until the batch is pretty full (about 2 - 3 cups).
3. Add a few pine nuts (maybe 1/8 c) and a handful of grated parmesan cheese. If you're using garlic mustard, I recommend walnuts.

Taste and add more salt or garlic if you would like. But be careful - the garlic strengthens with time as the mixture ages.

This can be kept in the fridge for a week or so or you can freeze it. The quality isn't as good when frozen but it sure is nice to have basil pesto pasta in the middle of winter!

Vegan-Raw beet and cashew spread

2010-05-16T20:04:00.001-04:00

Vegan-Raw beet and cashew spread

This is another recipe from Angela Madaras - it is about the best appetizer I've had in a long time. Also good as a side dish with eggs (well, we eat a lot of eggs so anything is paired with eggs around here).

1 chopped beet (all veggies raw)
6 chopped carrots
3 cloves crushed garlic
2 Tbs. grated ginger
2 C. chopped cashews
2Tbs. tahini
1 cup chopped parsley
juice from two lemons
2 Tbs. tamari, brags or soy sauce
2 Tbs. olive or flax oil
water to thin out
Blend it together and adjust to your own taste

Bread

2010-05-16T20:02:00.001-04:00

This is contributed by Angela Madaras, fellow food blogger, CSA farmer, and extraordinary woman.

The Easiest Bread Recipe
This recipe was from New York Times a while back and has been handed down to me from many hands. I can barely read the copy but the recipe works and it can be amended to add a variety of seasonings and other stuff. I have arthritis and gave up baking bread due to lack of ability to knead. This is a non-knead bread. Anything which is un-needy is good for me.
Mix 3 cups all purpose or half wheat and half white organic flour together in a glass bowl with quarter tsp. active dry yeast and one and quarter tsp. sea salt. Add 1 5/8 cups water and mix until it looks well blended and sticky. Cover with plastic warp and let sit in calm-warm spot for 12-18 hours.
When the surface of dough is bubbly it is ready to gently roll into a ball lightly for a few seconds with extra flour for hands and cover again 15 minutes. Then through flour on a kitchen dish towel (non terry) and roll the dough into your floured hands rolling it into itself forming a ball which will sit on the towel folded end facing down for another 2 hours lightly floured on top and covered with floured towel.
Pre-heat oven to 450 degrees a half hour before baking. Place dough in a well greased casserole dish with lid(I use cast iron dutch oven) by gently allowing it to roll off towel into dish. No messing with it will form up when it cooks.
Bake for 30 minutes covered then 20 minutes not covered.
Viola……………Fresh bread. Best left out on wooden cutting board to crust over for a couple hours.

Rhubarb Cake

2010-05-16T19:55:00.001-04:00

Rhubarb Cake

Topping
1 cup chopped nuts 2 tablespoons unsalted butter melted
½ cup granulated sugar 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Cake
1 ½ cups packed light brown sugar 1 teaspoon baking soda
4 tablespoons unsalted butter ½ teaspoon salt
1 large egg 1 pound rhubarb cut into 1 inch pieces
1 cup plain yogurt
2 cups all purpose flour

Preheat oven to 350. Grease a 13 by 9 baking pan. For the topping combine the nuts, granulated sugar, melted butter, and cinnamon in a small bowl. Set aside.

For the cake, beat the brown sugar, softened butter, and egg with a mixer until well blended; beat in yogurt. Add the flour, baking soda, salt to the butter mixture; stir to blend. Fold in the rhubarb and spread the batter into the prepared pan. Sprinkle on the topping.

Bake the cake for 35 to 40 minutes, until center springs back when gently pressed. Let cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes before cutting.

Citrus Collards with Raisins

2010-05-16T19:52:00.002-04:00

Citrus Collards with Raisins

I don't remember which recipe book we found this in but it's a good one. This is a nice dish to take with you to a party - no one will believe it's collards and it doesn't need to be refrigerated. It's also a nice way to serve greens for children as it's a little sweet and salty.

1 large bunch of collard greens

Coarse salt

½ tablespoon olive oil

1 garlic clove minced

1/3 cup raisins

2 medium oranges

Remove stems from greens. Roll and cut leaves into thin strips. Rinse. In large pot bring 3 quarts to boil with salt. Add greens, boil 10 minutes. Drain. In sauté pan sauté garlic for 30 for a minute. Add greens, raisins and a pinch of salt. Sauté for three minutes. Section oranges, add them to greens and heat them up for 30 seconds. Serve immediately or room temp.

Scallops with Beet & Sauce

2010-03-01T07:53:00.001-05:00

Contributed by Robin Fowler:

The recipe-- based on recipe I found online, an entree at a local restaurant, and a recipe from an in-flight magazine (sorry, I don't have more info on the recipe sources).

This made enough for 2 adults with leftover beets.

Peel and cut up 3-4 beets into 2" cubes. Boil them in 2 cups water, 2 T butter, 1/3 cup balsamic vinegar, and 1/2 cup brown sugar. Boil for 1 hour (sauce will cook way down).

Cook 1/2 lb. scallops in 2 T butter (about 3-5 minutes per side). Add beets and beet juice and cook for another 1-2 minutes.

Serve over orzo pasta.

Chicken soup with root veggies

2010-02-25T21:47:00.003-05:00

So, people have been surprised to hear that we still have parsnips, turnips and winter squash in storage. The parsnips are holding up really well (although there are only 2 left in the fridge but more in the ground in the front garden). The turnips are OK - some are good, some are going. The squash is the same as the turnips. I have to cut it up and take out the bad spots but most of it is still good. As long as your squash doesn't freeze and it's not too humid, you can keep it for a long time. It's almost March and I still have at least 10 various squash in the garage. Now, I'll admit, I protect it. I don't open the garage door so it's basically a very large "root cellar". I stuff any air hole I notice with rags or sheets. I have a thermometer in where the squash is kept and if I see the temp. at 38 or so, I plug in a small space heater. This is not what everyone is committed to do. But, if you want a "fresh" squash in late-Feb., it works.

I enjoy cooking but really don't like to slave over the stove. Soups are good. You can put them on and let them go, adding during the last hour the complimentary ingredients. Today was one of those days. We've had a lot of snow lately so I thought soup might be in order and, at about 1:00, I took out a stewing hen from the freezer, put it in an 8 Q. stock pot, covered it with water, added 2 fresh bay leaves (from one of our plants), 4 very small onions from the fall harvest, about 1/8 cup of coarse kosher salt (small handful), and 8 - 10 peppercorns. I turned it on high (because it was frozen) and suited up to go and plow. Allie and I had so much fun plowing that we decided to go into the woods to haul out a log (we heat with wood). Long story short, I drove over a log and got stuck. (I did get out 1 1/2 hours later). So, we walked to the house.

Now, with all of the excitement, I had forgotten about the soup. But, that's the beauty of soup. As long as it doesn't evaporate, it's OK. The chicken was at a full boil and was no longer covered with water but I just added some water, turned it down and continued to simmer it down until 5:00 .

I ladled off the fat (there was about 1/3 inch on the top) and poured the stock through a colander into a large sauce pan. I let the chicken cool and de-boned it. The bones are now in a second pot making more stock (with one onion, some salt, and a bay leaf). I cut up the chicken and threw 1/2 in the pot and will keep the other 1/2 for pizza or sandwiches. Then I peeled and chopped up 3 parsnips, about 1/3 large patty pan squash squash and 3 turnips, added about 1 tsp. each of celery salt, coriander, ground ginger and some rice vinegar and brought to a boil until the veggies were tender.

Yum. I added noodles for the children, Zingerman's bread for the adults.

Pumpkin Puree

2010-01-15T12:29:00.003-05:00

An easy way to keep pumpkin for future use is to cook it and then spoon 1 or 2 cups into freezer bags. I've kept pumpkin in the freezer for 9 - 12 months.

If a recipe calls for canned pumpkin, substitute your pumpkin puree 1 for 1. We also make a pumpkin side dish with this.

Most winter squash and pumpkins are interchangeable so if you have an acorn squash or a howden pumpkin or a pie pumpkin, use whatever you have. The pie pumpkins are a little sweeter but they're all tasty and pretty close in flavor in the end product.

Directions:
Scrub your pumpkin/squash and cut in half. Place cut side down on a cookie sheet with about 1 cup or so of water. Place in a 350 degree oven and bake until you can pierce the skin with a fork. Watch the pan and replace the water if it evaporates - you don't want to boil it but you don't want the pan to dry out either. Remove from the oven, allow to cool and scoop out the flesh with a spoon. Bag it in 1 - 2 cup increments in a freezer bag and pop it in the freezer.

Basic Pizza Dough

2010-01-15T12:17:00.003-05:00

We love this pizza dough - it's easy and fun to make. We chop up veggies and place them on the pizza - oregano, chives, basil, tomatoes, canned tomatoes, summer squash (yellow and green), okra, of course, kale, top it with a little cheese - really anything could go on your pizza. Have fun and let us know about your favorite veggie-containing pizza.

This was printed in the Ann Arbor News about 10 years ago - From "The New Basics" by Julee Rosso and Sheila Lukins

1 c warm water
1 package active dry yeast or 1/4 ounce compressed yeast
2 1/2 to 3 c unbleached all purpose flour (for a whole wheat crust, use 1 1/2 c unbleached all-purpose flour and 1 c whole-wheat flour)
2 T olive oil
1/2 t salt

1. Combine the water, yeast and 1 1/2 c of the flour in a large bowl. (For whole wheat crust, mix white flour first then add whole wheat flour.) Mix well. Add the oil, salt and remaining flour. With your hands or a large wooden spoon, work the ingredients together until the dough holds its shape. You may need a bit less flour, so add the half gradually.
2. Place the dough on a lightly floured surface; knead until it is smooth and elastic - about 5 minutes. If the dough becomes sticky while you are kneading it, sprinkle a bit more flour over it.
3. Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled 2 quart bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a kitchen towel; let the dough rest until it has doubled in size - about 1 hour.
4. When the dough has risen, place it on a lightly floured surface. Divide into two or more parts; roll them into balls. Cover them with a towel; let rest for 15 - 20 minutes. The dough is now ready to be shaped, topped and cooked.

Bacon-Scallion Corn Muffins with Cheddar Cheese

2010-01-14T16:27:00.001-05:00

This is another recipe from Cook's Illustrated. It's a salty muffin - very tasty!

Makes 12 muffins. Published September 1, 2002.

Because these muffins contain bacon, store leftovers in the refrigerator wrapped in plastic. Bring them to room temperature or re-warm the muffins before serving.

Ingredients
8 ounces grated cheddar cheese (2 cups)
3 slices bacon (about 3 ounces), cut into 1/2-inch pieces
10 - 12 medium scallions , sliced thin, (about 1 1/4 cups)
3/4 teaspoon table salt
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (10 ounces)
1 cup fine-ground, whole-grain yellow cornmeal (4 1/2 ounces)
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 large eggs
1/2 cup granulated sugar
8 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 stick), melted
3/4 cup sour cream
1/2 cup milk
Instructions

1. Fry bacon in small skillet over medium heat until crisp and golden brown, about 5 minutes. Add scallions, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and ground black pepper; cook to heat through, about 1 minute. Transfer mixture to plate to cool while making muffins.
2. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 400 degrees. Spray standard muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray.
3. Whisk flour, cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda, and remaining salt in medium bowl to combine; set aside. Whisk eggs in second medium bowl until well combined and light-colored, about 20 seconds. Add sugar to eggs; whisk vigorously until thick and homogenous, about 30 seconds; add melted butter in 3 additions, whisking to combine after each addition. Add half the sour cream and half the milk and whisk to combine; whisk in remaining sour cream and milk until combined. Stir 1 1/2 cups grated cheddar cheese and bacon/scallion mixture into wet ingredients. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients; mix gently with rubber spatula until batter is just combined and evenly moistened. Do not over-mix. Using an ice cream scoop or large spoon, divide batter evenly among muffin cups, dropping it to form mound. Sprinkle a portion of additional 1/2 cup cheddar over each mound of batter. Do not level or flatten surface of mounds.
4. Bake until muffins are light golden brown and skewer inserted into center of muffins comes out clean, about 18 minutes, rotating muffin tin from front to back halfway through baking time. Cool muffins in tin 5 minutes; invert muffins onto wire rack, stand muffins upright, cool 5 minutes longer, and serve warm.

Serrano Salsa Verde

2010-01-14T16:16:00.004-05:00

This is very tasty mixed with pork in a stew or used as a condiment. If you mix it 50/50 with tomatillos (which have been blanched and pureed in a blender), it makes a nice green salsa.

1 T peanut oil
1 small white onion, diced, 1 T reserved
10 serrano chiles, stems removed
3 cloves garlic
1/2 c. cilantr
3/4 c. water
1 t. white vinegar
1/4 t. cumin
1/2 t. salt

1. In a skillet, heat the oil on medium and add the onion (except for the 1 T set aside), serranos, and garlic cloves. Cook, stirring frequently, for about 10 minutes or until the skin on the chiles starts to pop and bubble.
2. Transfer chiles, onion, and garlic to a blender; add cilantro, water, vinegar, cumin, and salt. Puree until smooth, add more salt if desired, and top with reserved diced onions.

Cabbage Salad

2010-01-14T16:12:00.002-05:00

Contributed by Marilyn McFarland

3 cups shredded cabbage (I chop with knife). Can use red or green
1/2 c. shredded carrots
3/4 cup finely chopped celery

Set aside in a bowl.

Dressing:
1/2 c. mayonnaise
2 T sugar, or splenda
1 T apple cider vinegar
1/2 t. celery seed
1 - 2 t milk

Mix sugar and vinegar with whisk until sugar dissolves. Add mayonnaise and celery seed; beat until well-mixed. Add a little milk until mixture is thinned and less stiff.

Just before serving, toss cabbage with dressing. If the cabbage sets too long, it will begin to weep and become runny.

Add salt and pepper to taste.

Simple Crusty Bread

2010-01-14T16:05:00.002-05:00

This is an easy bread recipe and is very tasty. It was printed in The New York Times 11/21/07. They adapted it from "Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day" by Jeff Hertzberg and Zoe Francois

Time: About 45 minutes plus about 3 hours' resiting and rising

1 1/2 T yeast
1 1/2 T kosher salt
6 1/2 c. unbleached, all-purpose flour, more for dusting dough
Cornmeal.

1. In a large bowl or plastic container, mix yeast and salt into 3 c. lukewarm water (about 100 degrees). Stir in flour, mising until there are no dry patches. Dough will be quite loose. Cover, but not with an airtight lid. Let dough rise at room temperature 2 hours (or up to 5 hours).
2. Bake at this point or refrigerate, covered, for as long as two weeks. When ready to bake, sprinkle a little flour on dough and cut off a grapefruit-size piece with serrated knife. Turn dough in hands to lightly stretch surface, creating a rounded top and a lumpy bottom. Put dough on pizza peel sprinkled with cornmeal; let rest 40 minutes. Repeat with remaining dough or refrigerate it.
3. Place broiler pan on bottom of oven. Place baking stone on middle rack and turn oven to 450 degrees; heat stone at that temperature for 20 minutes.
4. Dust dough with flour, slash top with serrated or very sharp knife three times. Slide onto stone. Pour one cup hot water into broiler pan and shut oven quickly to trap steam. Bake until well browned, about 30 minutes. Cool completely.

Yield: 4 loaves.

Variation: If not using stone, stretch rounded dough into oval and place in a greased, nonstick loaf pan. Let rest 40 minutes if fresh, an extra hour if refrigerated. Heat oven to 450 degrees for 5 minutes. Place pan on middle rack.

Pumpkin Pie w/ home made crust

2010-01-14T15:44:00.003-05:00

This is the best pumpkin pie I've made. To be honest, I've only made 2. So, maybe I should say it's the best I've tasted. It does take a lot of time so be ready to spend a few hours on this one. You can save a lot of time (and skip steps 1 - 8) by buying a pre-made pie shell from your grocer's refrigerated section.

I found this in a Cooks Illustrated magazine a few years ago.

Serves 8. Published November 1, 1993.

If you do not have a food processor, the pumpkin may be put through a food mill or forced through a fine sieve with the back of a wooden spoon. Alternatively, you can cook the pumpkin, sugar, and spices together before pureeing, then whir the mixture in a blender, adding enough of the cream called for in the recipe to permit the pumpkin to flow easily over the blades. In either case, heat the pumpkin with the (remaining) cream and milk, as indicated, then slowly whisk the mixture into the beaten eggs. The pie may be served slightly warm, chilled, or at room temperature.

Ingredients
Flaky Pastry Shell
1 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour , measured by dip-and-sweep
1/2 teaspoon table salt
1/2 teaspoon granulated sugar
10 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 1/4 sticks), chilled and cut into 1/4-inch pats
3 - 3 1/2 tablespoons ice water
Pumpkin Filling
2 cups plain pumpkin puree (16 ounces), canned or fresh
1 cup packed dark brown sugar
2 teaspoons ground ginger
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon fresh grated nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon table salt
2/3 cup heavy cream
2/3 cup milk
4 large eggs
Brandied Whipped Cream
1 1/3 cups heavy cream (cold)
3 tablespoons confectioners' sugar
1 tablespoon brandy

Instructions

1. For pastry shell: Mix flour, salt, and sugar in a food processor fitted with steel blade. Scatter butter over dry ingredients; process until mixture resembles cornmeal, 7 to 12 seconds. Turn mixture into a medium-sized bowl.
2. Drizzle 3 tablespoons of water over flour mixture. With blade side of a rubber spatula, cut mixture into little balls. Then press down on mixture with broad side of spatula so balls stick together in large clumps. If dough resists gathering, sprinkle remaining water over dry, crumbly patches and press a few more times. Form dough into a ball with your hands; wrap in plastic, then flatten into a 4-inch disk. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. (Can be refrigerated for 2 days or, if sealed airtight in a plastic bag, or frozen for up to 6 months.)
3. Generously sprinkle a 2-foot square work area with flour. Remove dough from wrapping and place disk in center; dust top with flour. (If it has been chilled for more than 1 hour, let dough stand until it gives slightly when pressed, 5 to 10 minutes.) Roll dough in all directions, from center to edges, rotating a quarter turn and strewing flour underneath as necessary after each stroke. Flip disk over when it is 9 inches in diameter and continue to roll (but don’t rotate) in all directions, until it is 13 to 14 inches in diameter and just under 1/8 inch thick.
4. Fold dough in quarters and place the corner in the center of a Pyrex pie plate measuring 9- to 9 1/2-inches across top. Carefully unfold dough to cover pan completely, with excess dough draped over pan lip. With one hand, pick up edges of dough; use index finger of other hand to press dough around pan bottom. Use your fingertips to press dough against pan walls. Trim dough overhanging the pan to an even 1/2 inch all around.
5. Tuck overhanging dough back under itself so folded edge is flush with edge of pan lip. Press double layer of dough with your fingers to seal, then bend up at a 90-degree angle and flute by pressing thumb and index finger about 1/2-inch apart against outside edge of dough, then using index finger (or knuckle) of other hand to poke a dent through the space. Repeat procedure all the way around.
6. Refrigerate for 20 minutes (or freeze for 5 minutes) to firm dough shell. Using table fork, prick bottom and sides — including where they meet — at 1/2-inch intervals. Flatten a 12-inch square of aluminum foil inside shell, pressing it flush against corners, sides, and over rim. Prick foil bottom in about a dozen places with a fork. Chill shell for at least 30 minutes (preferably an hour or more), to allow dough to relax.
7. Adjust oven rack to lowest position and heat oven to 400 degrees. (Start preparing filling when you put shell into oven.) Bake 15 minutes, pressing down on foil with mitt-protected hands to flatten any puffs. Remove foil and bake shell for 8 to 10 minutes longer, or until interior just begins to color.

8. For filling: Process pumpkin, brown sugar, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and salt in a food processor fitted with steel blade for 1 minute. Transfer pumpkin mixture to a 3-quart heavy-bottomed saucepan; bring it to a sputtering simmer over medium-high heat. Cook pumpkin, stirring constantly, until thick and shiny, about 5 minutes. As soon as pie shell comes out of oven, whisk heavy cream and milk into pumpkin and bring to a bare simmer. Process eggs in food processor until whites and yolks are mixed, about 5 seconds. With motor running, slowly pour about half of hot pumpkin mixture through feed tube. Stop machine and scrape in remaining pumpkin. Process 30 seconds longer.
9. Immediately pour warm filling into hot pie shell. (Ladle any excess filling into pie after it has baked for 5 minutes or so — by this time filling will have settled.) Bake until filling is puffed, dry-looking, and lightly cracked around edges, and center wiggles like gelatin when pie is gently shaken, about 25 minutes. Cool on a wire rack for at least 1 hour.

10. For whipped cream: Beat cream at medium speed to soft peaks; gradually add confectioners’ sugar then brandy. Beat to stiff peaks. Accompany each wedge of pie with a dollop of whipped cream.

Green Tomato Chutney

2010-01-14T15:31:00.004-05:00

Thanks to the tomato blight, we had a lot of green tomatoes last year. What to do? Follow the lead from England. Apparently they deal with tomato blight every year.

I found this recipe on cooks.com and, of course, changed it a bit to fit my ingredients:

8 lbs. + tomatoes
2 c. cider vinegar
2 c. white vinegar
8 t. ground ginger
8 cloves garlic
2 t. mustard seed
4 pieces whole allspice
4 t. ground cumin
2 t. red (or yellow) curry
8 t. salt
1 1/2 c. honey
1 c. brown sugar
1 1/2 c. raisins
4 dry cayenne peppers
4 dry jalapeno peppers

Wash the tomatoes and cut off any bad spots. No need to skin them or chop them up - they'll break down in the pot. Combine all ingredients. Bring to a boil and then simmer for about an hour, stirring now and then. It should be pretty thick when done. Cool before packing. Makes about 1 quart.

Again, use a diffuser under your pot so that the mixture doesn't burn. I processed this in a hot water bath following instructions in the Blue Ball Book for tomatoes.

Fresh-tasting Salsa

2010-01-14T14:17:00.006-05:00

This recipe requires a lot of chopping, dicing, peeling, and general time. I recommend inviting a friend over, popping a cork, and enjoying an afternoon with this one. That said, I started this one night around 6 or 7 and finished around 11 or 12.

I found the basics for this recipe on allrecipes.com. I've adapted it a bit. I didn't process in a canner - just hot packed it. The end result is a very fresh-tasting, crisp salsa. It's not very spicy so if you like spice, increase the proportion of hot peppers.

7 quarts peeled, chopped tomatoes (San Marzanos, if you have them)
4 c. seeded, chopped long green chiles
5 c. chopped onion
1/2 c. seeded, finely chopped jalapeno peppers
6 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 cups vinegar
2 T salt
1 T black pepper
2 T ground cumin
2 T fresh cilantro
5 green peppers, chopped
juice of 3 limes

Combine all ingredients except cumin and cilantro in a large saucepot and heat, stirring frequently, until mixture boils. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add spices and simmer for another 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Ladle hot into clean, hot jars, leaving 1/2" headspace. Remove air bubbles and adjust headspace if needed. Wipe rims of jars with a dampened, clean paper towel; apply twopiece metal canning lids.

Process in a boiling water canner according to the mannufacturer's directions (I didn't do this but you should).

Grandma Trausch's Ketchup

2010-01-14T13:55:00.003-05:00

This is a very easy ketchup recipe. I have listed the recipe as I prepared it but next year I'll reduce the sweetness a little. The children love it but the grown-ups find it a bit sweet but still very tasty. No high fructose corn syrup here!

This is from my grandmother. She had 8 children so, as my Dad says, she was in the kitchen non-stop from August until October, canning. She got the recipe from Dorothy Volmer, Ohio.

When I can, I make a lot because it takes so much time to get set up and cleaned up. This is a good recipe for very ripe tomatoes that might include blemishes - they are sweet and don't generally hold up well for canning whole or salsa. So, I've included both my Grandma's recipe and what I did. You choose.

Grandma's recipe:
1 gallon tomatoes, cook with 1 diced onion and 1 T mixed pickling spice in a spice bag.

When well cooked, put in a bag, drain 1 hour and put through a sieve.

Add 1 c. vinegar, 1 c. sugar, 2 t. salt. Cook 10 minutes and can it up.

Here's what I did:
1 soup pot (18 Q) + more tomatoes (as the tomatoes cooked down, I kept adding more until my boxes were empty)
6 or 7 small onions, diced
2 c. brown sugar
1 big pour (1/4 cup?) honey
A small bag of pickling spice (in a spice bag)
1 c. or more white vinegar
6 - 10 t. sea salt

Cook the tomatoes, onions and pickling spice until it is well-cooked (maybe an hour). Then, place some cheese cloth in a large colander and pour the goop into the colander. It might take 2 colanders so be ready with more cheese cloth. Let it drain for 2 - 3 hours. Put it through a foley food mill - this will remove the skins and most of the seeds. Then return to a large cast iron skillet, add the remaining ingredients, to taste, and cook for about an hour, until the mixture coats a spoon. You don't want to cook it for too long because it will darken. If you don't cook it long enough, it will be runny. Use a wire whisk and stir it consistently. I jarred it in 1/2 pint jars - too small. I hot packed it (jarred it, flipped it upside down, and let it seal without further processing) but I know this isn't recommended.

Notes:
I use San Marzano paste tomatoes. They don't have as much liquid as the slicing tomatoes have and are very good in sauces.

Wash the tomatoes and cut out any brown spots. If there's a black spot in the tomato, cut it out and smell the tomato to make sure it's still OK. Feed all scraps to the chickens or throw them on the compost pile. Cut the tomato in half and throw in the pot.

Bring the tomatoes to a low boil. For this, I place the pot on a diffuser on the gas stove. I use a cast iron tortilla skillet as a diffuser - anything to spread out the heat so that it's not concentrated in one part of the pot. If I had a cast iron huge soup pot, I'd use that. Mine is aluminum.

As you're heating the tomatoes, stir them pretty constantly (every 30 seconds to minute). They will break down with time

Chicken Liver Pate

2010-01-14T13:49:00.003-05:00

This is a great pate recipe contributed by Lenny.

Ingredients
1 can consomme (if I don't have this, I make a little beef stock and reduce it)
1 envelope gelatin
port
1/2 lb. chicken livers (I batch the livers each time we process the birds)
1 1/2 cups chopped onions
1/4 lb. butter, melted
3 ounces cream cheese
1 hard boiled egg

Boil consomme with gelatin and dash of port for 1 1/2 minutes. Pour half of it into well-greased form. Let cool in refridgerator.

Fry chicken livers with onions. Put in blender in following order:
butter
cream cheese
egg
liver & onions
salt and pepper
port

Blend well, cool, pour onto jelled consomme. Pour remaining consomme on top.

Make 24 hours in advance.

May double recipe - double all but consomme and gelatin.

Schterum - #2

2010-01-14T13:44:00.003-05:00

Here's a recipe from Marilyn McFarland's mother:

Ingredients
2 cups flour
4 or 5 eggs
1 t salt
1 1/2 cups milk

Beat eggs; add milk. Beat in flour and salt. (Be sure the batter isn't too thin. If so, the schterum will be sticky.) Fry in hot greased skillet, using lard or any oil. When batter is partially set, lift batter with fork, and let liquid flow under to continue browining. When solid, turn it over, cut into bit-size pieces while frying. Makes 4 servings.

Schterum

2010-01-14T13:40:00.002-05:00

Marilyn McFarland shared this recipe which was originally from Dale Gensley. Dale served would bring this for Sunday dinner - which was generally around 2:00.

Ingredients:
4 eggs, beaten
1/4 txp. salt
1 T sugar
3/4 c. milk
2 - 3 c. flout

Beat eggs, add sugar, salt and milk. Add enough flour to make a thick batter. Pour into greased skillet and stir as batter is frying. Serve with syrup or crushed strawberries. Makes 2 - 3 servings

Twice-Cooked Potatoes

2010-01-14T13:13:00.004-05:00

This recipe contains a little less oil than the Easy Skillet Potatoes and is also tasty.

Use 1 - 3 potatoes per person, depending on size.

Scrub the potatoes and cut them into pieces of equal size. I generally cube them.
Place cut potatoes potatoes into a pan and bring to a boil and cook until just tender.
Drain and toss potatoes in a mixing bowl with olive oil, some salt, a little paprika and maybe a little garlic powder or dried pepper flakes, any spice that sounds good at the time.
Place the seasoned potatoes on a cookie sheet in the oven at 450.
Bake for about 20 minutes, until they're nicely browned. Turn over a few times during the cooking process. If you're in a hurry, you can use the broiler but watch it - they can go quickly!

These are always a hit - you might want to make a few more than you think you'll need because people will chow down on these little morsels.

The children will like this served with home-made ketchup.

Chicken Stock

2010-01-14T12:50:00.003-05:00

Winter time is the time to make stock. It has a comforting aroma, adds moisture to the dry air, and gives you something to do with all of those laying hens that are no longer producing. To save the stock, place it in pint-sized jars and process in a hot water bath or pressure cooker, according to the directions for your canner.

Ingredients:
1 or 2 stewing hens. The best chicken to use is one that is about 2 years old and has stopped laying.
4 - 5 carrot tops or carrots, if you don't have tops.
2 - 3 onions, washed and cut in half
3 - 4 cloves of garlic - no need to skin these, just toss them in.
2 - 3 T of kosher salt
Some black pepper or 1 - 2 dried spicy peppers if you like spice
1 - 2 bay leaves (I pick these off of my bay leaf plant. I use the ones that are starting to dry up or look weak)
Some celery (if you have it but I usually don't)

Rinse the chickens and place all ingredients in a large pot. I use a 24 Q stock pot and fill it until the chickens are covered. Bring the mixture to a boil and then turn down to low. Allow the stock to cook for 3 - 4 hours, uncovered.

Place a colander over another large pot and strain the stock. The chicken should fall apart at this point. Put the broth back on the stove, along with the bay leaves & garlic (squeeze the meat out of the skin and toss it in and it will dissolve.

Let the chicken cool and then remove the meat that you want to remove. The meat should be really tender now and can be served for dinner, saved to make chicken sandwiches, made into chicken pot pie, anything.

At this point, you can can your stock or freeze it. I don't have room in the freezer, so I can it. I also don't have a lot of room on my shelves so I continue to cook the stock for 2 - 3 more days! After I separate the meat from the bones, I toss the bones back into the pot and continue to simmer the stock. At night I put it in the cold garage or fridge and in the morning I put it on the top of the wood stove. By the end, the stock is very concentrated. Strain the broth again and then pour into your clean jars. When I use a pint to cook with, I'll add water if I'm making soup or gravy.

The last time I made stock, I ended up with about 7 pint-sized jars. I did add a little water as the chicken simmered, to make sure the meat was always covered during the cooking process.

A tasty, organic, inexpensive alternative to store-bought stock!

Easy Skillet Potatoes

2010-01-14T12:39:00.002-05:00

We made these last night with some Fingerling potatoes from the root cellar.

I typically prepare 2 - 3 potatoes per person. These potatoes are generally 2 - 3" long and about 1 1/2" in diameter so if they're smaller, I'll use more. Choose the potatoes that are getting a little soft first.

1. Scrub your potatoes and slice them into equally-sized pieces - approx. 1/3" wide.
2. Bring the potatoes to a boil and then simmer until slightly tender. Don't overcook or they'll fall apart. Drain.
3. Pour some canola oil into your cast iron skillet and heat on medium heat. Add potatoes to the skillet and let cook for about 3 - 5 minutes, until one side is brown. Turn over all potatoes and cook on the other side. You'll probably need to add oil during the cooking process so that they don't burn.
4. Turn down the heat to simmer until you're ready to serve.
5. Salt occasionally during the cooking process (I use sea salt and a grinder). You could also add paprika or Old Bay Seasoning or, if you like spice, a little cayenne pepper.

Another option is to place the skillet in the oven on broil - but watch it, they burn quickly!

Sausage, pumpkin & veggie quiche

2010-01-14T12:17:00.002-05:00

What to do with all of the eggs, frozen squash and frozen veggies during the winter? Here's a pretty quick recipe which is very tasty. Serve with Easy Skillet Potatoes:

1 lb. ground pork (you could use any meat here but the pork was tasty)
3 - 4 cloves of garlic, diced
2 cups pre-cooked pumpkin (I cook my pumpkins in the fall and scoop out the flesh and divide in 2 cup bags and throw in the freezer for future use)
1/2 lb. frozen chard (could use frozen collards, spinach, kale or broccoli)
3 - 5 Danver's half-long carrots, cut in 1/2" chunks (we dug these from the garden in January)
4 eggs
1 cup shredded cheese
About 1/8 cup cream
1 pie pastry

1. Pre-heat the oven to 350.
2. Place your pie pastry in a large pie plate and pre-cook until it's lightly brown. Remove from oven.
3. While the pastry is cooking, saute the garlic in a few T of canola oil. Add the ground pork and saute. When the pork is no longer pink, add in the pumpkin and saute for maybe 5 minutes - until most of the water has evaporated and the pumpkin is evenly distributed. Add a couple of grinds of sea salt from your grinder.
4. Set pork/pumpkin mixture aside.
5. Saute the carrots in a little oil until lightly brown.
6. Add carrots to the pork mixture and stir.
7. Cut the chard into 1/4 " strips and saute with a couple of drops of sesame oil. If this is chard from the freezer, you just need to warm this up as it was blanched prior to freezing. If this is fresh, I'd saute for 5 minutes or so.
8. Add the chard to the bowl.
9. Spoon all of the ingredients into the pastry crust.
10. In a separate bowl, beat the eggs and cream. Stir in the cheese.
11. Add the egg mixture to the pie pan and mix in a little.
12. Bake at 375 for 10 minutes and reduce heat to 350 for about 30 minutes - until the quiche sets up and is lightly brown on top.

Canned Tomatoes

2009-12-27T15:18:00.003-05:00

Canned tomatoes are a staple in our home. We use them to make tomato sauce with meat and pasta. I drain them (drink the juice) and toss them into salads in the winter. We eat them on hamburgers and as a side dish right out of the jar. Compared to the "fresh" tomatoes which are available in the market, there is no comparison for flavor.

The only tomatoes we can (as long as we have a choice) are San Marzanos. They are a roma tomato and are very meaty with less water than other varieties. They hold up well, are not very acidic, and taste great!

To can tomatoes whole, I do the following:

1. Wash the tomatoes in the sink. Cut off really bad spots (black spots) and smell the tomato to make sure it's OK. A lot of times if there's a big black spot in the tomato, the whole thing should be tossed out. Feed the scraps to the chickens or pig, or compost them.
2. Prepare 7 quart-sized jars for canning (wash) and fill each with 1/2 t. salt.
2. Drop 10 - 20 tomatoes into boiling water. As soon as you see the skin on one tomato crack, remove them all. I place them immediately into cold water.
3. Remove the skins. Put the whole tomato into the jar. It takes about 14 tomatoes to fill a jar.
4. Fill the jar until it's about 1/4" from the top. Take a knife and run it along the outer edge (down to the bottom) of the jar to release any trapped air in the jar.
5. Wipe the rim. Place a seal on and the ring.
6. When you have enough jars filled to fill your canner, place in either a hot water canner or a pressure cooker and process according to their instructions.

Important: Make sure you replace at least half of the water in the canner with cold water before you do a second batch or you might crack a jar. Also, do not open the lid on a pressure cooker until the pressure is down to 0 or do not open up the steam vent to let the pressure go down more quickly - the liquid in the jars will evacuate and you'll be left with a 1/2 full jar.

Remove the jars from the pot, let cool, rinse the next day and remove the rings (only after about 24 hours) and store in a dark, cool place. I store ours in a pantry and it's not super-cool or super-dark but it works.

Enjoy!

2009-06-02T22:33:00.002-04:00

Kale, White Bean, and Prosciutto Crostini - Martha Stewart Living

Ingredients

Serves 4

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
2 tablespoons red-wine vinegar
Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
1 can (14 1/2 ounces) cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
2 ounces thinly sliced prosciutto, cut into 2-inch pieces
2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1/4 teaspoon red-pepper flakes
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/2 bunch kale (about 8 ounces), stems removed, leaves torn into 1-inch pieces
1/2 baguette, cut into 1/2-inch slices

Directions

Whisk together 2 tablespoons oil, the vinegar, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and pepper to taste. Add beans, and toss to coat.
Arrange prosciutto in a single layer in a large saute pan. Cook over medium-high heat, turning occasionally, until golden and crisp, about 5 minutes. Drain on paper towels.
Add remaining tablespoon oil, the garlic, and red-pepper flakes to pan, and cook over medium heat for 1 minute. Add wine and kale. Cover and cook, stirring once, until wilted. Stir in bean mixture and prosciutto, and season with salt and pepper. Spoon onto baguette slices, and drizzle with oil.

Spinach

2009-06-02T22:28:00.005-04:00

Soinach