Another Season!

We're fast approaching the new season at Salt Creek Farm!

If you are looking for recipes, head on over to my new blog.

There, you will find a recipe index with all of the recipes on this blog and also a whole lot of new recipes. Every Friday I'll be posting a new recipe that features vegetables in that week's farm share! Now, head on over and check it out!

Moving Day

Nope, we're not leaving Port Angeles or anything.
I'm just combining my blogs and making one mega-blog. Like a superband, only with blogs.

I'll still do recipes, especially through the CSA season. You'll still be able to search by categories and find old recipes. All of the posts that are here have been copied and moved, so they are all in one cool little spot.

GO HERE to find me:
www.rhubarbsky.com
bookmark it, love it, comment on it and enjoy.
See you there!
Carrie

Mulligitawny

There just isn't a good way to take a picture of a lentil stew. I can't imagine it would ever look very tasty, but it is. So, here's just a random picture from 2003 in our dining room. I like this meal in the winter because it's hearty and is easy to whip up from what's on hand in the pantry.

Mulligatawny from The Six O'Clock Scramble

2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
2 medium onions, chopped (about 3 cups)
2 tsp. minced garlic (about 4 cloves)
1 Tbsp. minced ginger (or 1 tsp. ginger powder)
1 tsp. curry powder
1 tsp. garam masala
3/4 cup dried yellow or green lentils
1 can (15 oz.) diced tomatoes with liquid
1 box (32 oz.) chicken or vegetable broth (we used chicken broth)
1/2 cup coconut milk

serve over basmati rice or by itself

(If you have soaked the lentils for faster cooking, drain them before proceeding with the recipe.) Heat the oil in a stockpot over medium-high heat. Add the onions, garlic, ginger, curry powder and garam masala and sauté it, stirring occasionally, until the onions are lightly browned, about 6-8 minutes.

Stir in the lentils to coat them and add the tomatoes and chicken broth. Bring the soup to a boil and simmer it, stirring it occasionally, until the lentils are tender, about 25-30 minutes (or 10-15 minutes for presoaked lentils). Meanwhile, cook the rice according to the package directions.

Puree the soup to desired thickness in a blender or using an immersion blender right in the pot—it can be smooth or chunky, depending on your preference. (A WARNING - do NOT ever blend more than a cup of hot soup in a regular blender at one time - the steam escapes rather dramatically, and you could find yourself covered in boiling hot soup!) Stir in the coconut milk until it is heated through, and serve it over the rice.

Rolo Cookies and Chocolate Dipped Pretzels

Rolo Cookies and Chocolate Dipped Pretzel Rods for the Cookie Plates this year.

For those of you interested in some healthy recipes: I promise I'll be back to soups and stews and hearty meals soon. This time of year gets me. Sweets. And, this recipe has ingredients that I don't, as a general rule, eat. The rolos have all manner of high fructose corn syrup-y things that I abhor. This time of year, well, I let it slide a tiny bit. We'll survive!

I've just barely made it happen. 4 kinds of treats this year. All wrapped up and pretty. I wanted to do gingerbread people and sugar cookies with Abby, but we'll just have to do it after Christmas and make it a New Year's tradition!
The rolo cookies should really be classified as a candy since that's what's inside. Our friend Anne makes these by the seeming hundreds. She commented on my last post with this advice to keep me from eating them all: "I have a trick for making rolo cookies less dangerous (tempting). Make them your signature cookie. Bake them all the time. This works especially well if you have a bunch of college kids to bake for."
Unfortunately, I don't have a bunch of college kids to bake for and if I baked them all the time, I'd eat them all the time! HA! Thanks for letting me take over this tradition Anne, we miss you out here.
I baked them in tiny muffin cups because I didn't have parchment paper on hand. It makes them look festive and less like a cookie that you could eat 25 of and more like a candy that you can eat 25 of. . .normal people only eat a couple. I guess I'm not normal. They are so tasty, I can't stop! I made another batch for gifts and wrapped them up in cellophane as soon as they were done cooling to keep myself from eating them. That worked.

So, the recipe:

Rolo Chocolate Cookies

4 packages rolo chocolates (about 8 pieces in each roll)
1 cup all purpose flour
½ cup cocoa powder
½ tsp. baking powder
½ cup butter, softened
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1 egg
¼ cup granulated sugar (optional) I don't think this is optional

Steps:

Place ROLOS in freezer for at least 6 hours. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa and baking powder until combined and no lumps remain. In a large bowl, beat butter until creamy. Beat in brown sugar and vanilla, then egg, until smooth. Stir flour mixture into butter mixture until just combined. Let dough stand for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350°F (180oC). With hands, roll 1 tbsp (15 ml) of dough for each cookie into balls and place on a waxed paper-lined baking sheet. If using, place granulated sugar in a shallow dish. Bake no more than 15 cookies at a time and remove 1 package of ROLOS at a time from the freezer. Press each ball of dough into about a 2-inch (5 cm) circle. Place a ROLO in centre; wrap dough around ROLO so it is evenly covered. Seal well so there are no cracks. Roll into a ball. Roll in sugar, if desired. Place about 2 inches (5 cm) apart on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Bake in centre of oven for about 8 minutes or until dry to the touch. Cool on sheet on rack.

Makes about 40 cookies. (I only get about 32 cookies. . . no matter how I try to get 40!).

Nutrients per cookie:

About 95 Calories, 1 g Protein, 4 g Fat, 14 g Carbohydrates.

Ginger Brandy Cookies

Day 3 of the one batch a day plan. Day 2 was Rolo Chocolate cookies. We ate them all. ALL of THEM. There were 40! Oh my. I can't even admit to how many people have been through my house to help Tom and I. It was a VERY small number of people. And, add the fact that Tom was gone through most of the time they were here and add too that I didn't let Abby have any. That means that I am about 25 rolo cookies bigger. I'll make another batch and take photos and then post the recipe.

So, Ginger Brandy Cookies from Moosewood Restaurant Book of Desserts.
My only note: don't roll the cookies in the sugar. . . just use a sifter or a small tea ball to sprinkle the sugar on. It's easier and makes for less pasty powdered sugar on the cookies.


Ginger Brandy Cookies
(yields 48)

Dough:
1/2 c. butter, at room temperature
2/3 c. sugar
1/4 c. unsulphured molasses
1 egg
2 c. unbleached white flour
pinch of salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1 Tblsp. ground ginger
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground cloves
2 Tblsp. brandy

Topping:
3 Tblsp. confectioners' sugar

With an electric mixer or food processor, cream the butter and
2/3 c. of the sugar until light and well blended. Add molasses
and egg and beat well. In separate bowl sift flour, salt, baking
soda, ginger, cinnamon and cloves. Alternate adding the dry
ingredients and brandy to the wet ingredients, stirring well after
each addition. Form dough into a ball and chill for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray or oil baking sheets.

Spread the topping sugar on a plate. Shape dough into
1-inch balls, roll each ball in sugar, and place on
baking sheets. Bake for about 12 minutes, until just
firm and a bit crisp around the edges. Remove cookies to
a rack and let cool.

Cranberry Cornmeal Biscotti

I make holiday cookies for a very small handful of people. I don't have a great system down that has me making dough in October, freezing it until November, baking and freezing the cookies before Thanksgiving and then plating them in December. Someone, somewhere on the blogs does something like that. It sounds like a great plan, but I'm just not interested in making shit-tons of cookies, or spending months doing it. Also, I would eat them all. So, the week before Christmas, it is a frenzy of baking around here. I'd like to be one of those people who has plates of cookies for the neighbors, or even my good friends. No. I just make a few kinds and give them to my mom's 4 best friends. All women who have been so good to me throughout my life. I usually do a little something knitted or crafted for them too. You can see that part of the gift over here.
Anywhoo, since I was off gallivanting in the North Cascades last weekend and have been nursing a very sore back from the fender bender last week, well, I've only made one kind and they are slowly being eaten.
I found this recipe in Moosewood Restaurant Celebrates. I like the slightly nutty crunch of the cornmeal and that they are sweet, but not so sweet that I couldn't eat a dozen of them for breakfast. Not that I've done that. . . yet. Don't be put off by having to bake them twice. That effort is easily made up for by how quickly the rest of it comes together. I might dip these in chocolate when I do my chocolate dipped pretzels later in the week.

Cranberry Cornmeal Biscotti
(notes by me in parenthesis)

1/4 cup butter, melted
1 cup sugar
3 large eggs
1 cup fresh cranberries, coarsely chopped (a food processor does this quickly and easily)
2 cups unbleached white flour
1/2 cup cornmeal (I use stone-ground cornmeal not the really gritty stuff in the box)
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly oil a baking sheet.

In a bowl, cream the butter and sugar with an electric mixer or a wire whisk. Add the eggs one at a time, beating between each addition. Fold in the cranberries and set aside.

In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, cornmeal, baking powder and salt. Fold the dry ingredients into the creamed mixture. Dust your hands lightly with flour and shape the dough into a ball. (Don't skip the flour on the hands, the dough is very sticky).

Use a spatula and your floured hands to scoop the dough onto the oiled baking sheet. Form the dough into a 12x3 inch-diameter log shape; then press down on the log, flattening it to a thickness of about an inch. The length and width of the flattened log should be about 14x4 inches. (try and make it rectangular and evenly thick, that way you don't have whimpy edge biscotti or raw middle pieces).

Bake on the top shelf of the oven for 25-30 minutes, until the dough is firm and just slightly brown. Remove from the oven and transfer the log to a cutting board. When cool enough to handle, slice crosswise into 3/4 inch pieces (using a bread knife makes this easier and less messy). Lay each biscotti cut side down on the baking sheet. Bake for about 5 minutes on each side, using tongs to gently flip them. (If you like your biscotti hard, bake a little longer, otherwise, they end up a little chewy and soft, but in a good way. Just make sure they don't burn.) Cool on a rack.

When completely cooled, store in an airtight container. Biscotti will easily keep for a couple of weeks.
Makes 14 biscotti.

Brad's Kick *ss Chili

A long time ago, before we had kids, my dear friends Kate and Jamie had us join them on an amazing sail boat in the Virgin Islands for almost 2 weeks. We sailed, we ate, we drank, we had no idea how lucky we were. Now that I have a child, I sometimes LONG for those moments with the wind in my hair and the blue-green water. I'd even take the seasickness on some days. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE being a parent, but oh, the sea. The sun. The alone time. The chili.

Now, I might be wrong, but I do believe it was on this trip that I first had this chili. I know it was Kate and Jamie who gave me the recipe because they got the recipe from Kate's brother Brad. Jamie likes it so much he calls it "Brad's Kick Ass Chili". I never found out where the recipe actually came from, so, here, the Kick ass chili.

Brad's "Kick Ass" Chili

1 large red onion chopped
2 cloves garlic minced
1 Red pepper chopped
2 celery ribs chopped
2 large carrots chopped
1 14.5 ounce can Italian stewed tomatoes (I just use diced tomatoes, fresh or canned)
2 Tbl. chili powder (less if you want kids to eat it)
2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp basil
2 med. zucchini chopped
16 oz. frozen corn ( or corn off the cob)
1 can kidney beans, rinsed
1 can black beans, rinsed
1/2 tsp salt
cayenne to taste (omit for kids)
sour cream or plain yogurt and cheddar to garnish

Saute onions and garlic until soft. Add pepper, carrot, celery and cook 5 min.
Add tomatoes, chili powder and cumin. Cook and reduce for about 25 min.
Add the rest and cook covered for 10 minutes more.
Serve over rice pilaf with sour cream and cheddar cheese.

Oh, and the cornbread!
Buttermilk Skillet Corn Bread
from Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone by Deborah Madison

1 tbs. butter
1 cup flour
1 cup stone-ground white or yellow cornmeal
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
2 eggs, beaten
2 Tbls. sugar or honey
2 cups buttermilk

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
Put the butter in a 10 inch cast iron skillet and place in the oven while you get everything else together. Sift the dry ingredients in one bowl and mix the eggs, sugar, and buttermilk in another. Remove the ban from the oven, brush the butter over the sides, then pour the rest into the wet ingredients. Combine the wet and dry ingredients, and stir long enough to make a smooth batter. Pour the batter into the hot pan and bake until lightly browned and springy to the touch. 25-30 min.

Not white flour thanks.

For those of you hoping to avoid the hydrogenated fats, High fructose corn syrup and lard in your pie this holiday season! A pie crust for you!

Whole-Wheat Pie Crust: the new Whole grains cookbook
makes 1 pie crust for 9-inch pan

1 c whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 tbsp. cold unsalted butter
1/2 tsp. rice vinegar
3 Tbsp. ice water

In a medium bowl, mix flour and salt. using large holes on a box grater, grate butter into flour mixture. With your fingertips, work butter into smaller pieces for about one minute.

Mix vinegar with ice water, and sprinkle over flour mixture while tossing it with a fork. Try to press mixture together and if it's too dry, sprinkle in more water, a teaspoon at a time.

When it just comes together, form dough into a ball and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Chill for 20 min. to 1 hour. Don't chill longer than an hour and be careful not to overwork the dough. Recipe can be doubled to make a 2 crust pie.

Smoky Black Bean Enchiladas

I don't have a photo of the enchiladas. We ate them too fast. Instead, a little pic of Abby holding hands with daddy while we sing our pre-dinner gratitude song. I tried doing little readings before dinner, but Abby being the musical sort wanted to sing. So, I dug deep into the recesses of my mind and pulled up the old grace songs we sang at camp. Songs like: "In back of the bread is the flour. . . ", "Johnny Appleseed", "Thank you earth." She really likes doing it and I like pausing before we eat.So, even though this is not a picture of the enchiladas, the scene before we ate them was similar.
I love these enchiladas. I don't bother doing two pans and just throw them all into one pan. Sometimes I'll halve the recipe and put it in a brownie pan if it's just the 3 of us. Yum!

Smoky Black Bean Enchiladas
6 Servings
Beans
Mexican
Vegetarian Meatless Bake Main Dish

-- THE FILLING --
1 Chipotle chile in adobo sauce minced
1 tablespoon Olive oil plus extra for greasing
1 medium Onion minced
3 cans (14.5 oz) Black beans drained and rinsed
3/4 cup Orange juice

-- THE SAUCE --
1 cup Salsa (mild or medium)
1 cup Tomato sauce
1 teaspoon Dried oregano
1 teaspoon Ground cumin
12 Corn tortillas
6 ounces Neufchatel (or other light cream cheese) cut into 12 slices
2 cups Monterey jack cheese grated

1. Heat the oil in a medium-sized saucepan over medium heat. Saute the onion and chipotle pepper until soft, about 10 minutes. Stir in the beans and orange juice, and simmer 10 minutes. Using the back of a large spoon, mash half the beans by pressing them against the sides of the pan. Cook the beans a few more minutes, or until the texture of mashed potatoes. Let the beans cool.

2. To make the sauce, combine the salsa, tomato sauce, oregano, and cumin in a bowl.

3. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

4. Wrap the tortillas in foil and bake 10 minutes. This will soften them and prevent them from splitting when rolled. Let cool slightly. Keep the oven on.

5. To assemble the enchiladas, lightly oil 2 shallow 2-quart baking dishes, such as 12x2x7-inch Pyrex dishes (you don't want to crowd the enchiladas). Pour a thin film of sauce on the bottom of each dish. Divide the filling in half. Lay six tortillas on a work surface and place 6 spoonfuls of the filling on half of each tortilla. Top with a slice of cream cheese. Roll the enchiladas and place seam side down in the baking dish. Repeat with the remaining 6 tortillas and remaining half of the filling. Pour the sauce all over the enchiladas and sprinkle on the grated cheese. Cover the dishes with foil (the enchiladas can be prepared to this point and refrigerated up to 4 hours in advance; bring to room temperature before baking).

6. Bake, covered, for 25 minutes, or just until hot throughout. Let sit 5 minutes before serving.

Tip: Because the tortillas will absorb a lot of the sauce and become very soft, it's best not to assemble the enchiladas more than 4 hours in advance. If you want to do more advance preparation, prepare all the components separately (up to 2 days in advance) and put the enchiladas together a few hours before cooking.

From Vegetarian Classics by Jeanne Lemlin

It's winter. . . I'm allowed to eat take-out and not take pictures of it

A few items:
1. The newest Barbara Kingsolver book is phenomenal. It will make you want to go out and make cheese. I do. There is a website with all of the recipes from the book and other inspirational bits of info. Check it out here.

2. Comments were left many weeks ago and I wanted to get back to them.
Jess B. said:

Yum, we will try the filling but not the crust -- any ideas about substitutes for all the butter? We haven't made pie crusts or pastry for a long time because of the white flour-butter issue. But we do have two tips for helping kids embrace "grow" food (our version of strong food): #1) we grow kale and peas in the yard and tell the kids the dinosaurs ate similar food. It worked on them as toddlers, and it works now. They eat it like animals. #2) once our kids found out that beets turn your pee pink, they started eating grated beets and/or steamed beets in quantity. #3) "harvest muffins" made with carrots, zucchini, raisins, etc. Love, Jess B.

Jess is referring to the Pot Pie recipe in the post that she commented on. I have to say that I've heard that Whole Wheat Pastry Flour is a great substitute for white flour. My friend Shannon, over at Pietown has had really great luck just substituting it in cookies and other pastries. I just got some and will experiment with it too. And, well, butter. I suppose it depends on why you want to keep it out of your food and what you are using it for. If it's a dairy thing: you could use a vegan margarine or vegetable shortening. . .the good, non-hydrogenated kind. You might get away with using olive oil in some things. If it's a fat issue, you could try using applesauce to substitute for the fat in cookies and brownies. In the case of the pot pie, I'd offer up the idea of topping it with mashed potatoes and turn it into a shepard's pie of sorts.

And, as soon as Abby heard that kale is "dinosaur food", she ate it all up! Great tips Jess, thanks!

Last minute Thanksgiving ideas!

Here are some great links for good recipes.
Vegetarian Thanksgiving ideas.
More Thanksgiving Ideas
And, the root/squash recipe I'll be making for our family.
Harvest Vegetable Medley

Serving Size : 8

1 pound small brussels sprouts, trimmed
1 butternut squash -- halved, cut into chunks
1 head cauliflower -- separated into 2-inch florets
1 pound fingerling potatoes -- halved
4 medium leeks -- whites only, trimmed and quartered lengthwise
1/2 pound baby carrots -- trimmed
1/2 pound baby parsnips -- peeled and trimmed
24 cloves garlic -- peeled and halved
3 cloves garlic -- minced and divided
4 Tablespoons olive oil -- divided
1 tablespoon fresh sage -- chopped
24 whole sage leaves
1 Tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
2 small red bell peppers -- quartered

Adjust oven rack to lowest position. Preheat oven to 450ºF. Bring saucepan of water to a boil. Add Brusseles sprouts and cook 3 minutes, or until bright green. Drain, rinse under cold water, then pat dry.

Toss squash, cauliflower, potatoes, leeks, carrots, parsnips, garlic cloves, 3 TBS olive oil, chopped sage, sage leaves, and rosemary in a large roasting pan. Season with salt and pepper, and spread into a single layer. Roast 25 minutes, tossing vegetables twice.

Add bell peppers, Brussels sprouts, minced garlic, and remaining 1 TBS oil. Roast 15 minutes more, or until vegetables are browned on edges and tender. Season with salt and pepper and serve over Chestnut-and-Apple Stuffing. Vegetarian Times Nov./Dec. 2007

Next year when I host, I'll most likely make this:

Chestnut and Apple Stuffing

Serving Size : 12

10 slices whole wheat bread -- cubed
10 slices hearty white bread -- cubed
1 14 oz tube soy "sausage" -- crumbled
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 large white onion -- chopped
5 ribs celery -- sliced (1 1/2 cups)
4 cloves garlic -- minced
2 tart apples -- peeled and diced
1 cup peeled and ready to eat roasted shestnuts -- halved
1/4 cup chopped fresh sage
1 1/2 cups no-chicken broth

Preheat oven to 325ºF. Spread bread cubes in roasting pan, and bake 10 to 15 minutes, or until toasted.

Coat nonstick skillet with cooking spray and heat over medium-high heat. Add soy sausage, and cook 5 minutes, or until browned. Toss sausage with bread cubes in bowl.

Heat oil in same skillet over medium heat. Add onion, celery, and garlic, and saute 1 minute. Reduce heat to low, cover, and cook 7 minutes more. Stir in apples, chestnuts, and sage. Cover, and cook 5 minutes, or until apples are crisp-tender. Add to bread mixture. Stuffing can be prepared up to this point , sealed in a food storage bag, and refrigerated up to 2 days.

Increase oven heat to 350ºF. Coat 13 x 9 inch baking dish with cooking spray. Toss stuffing mixture with broth, and season with salt and pepper. Spoon into prepared baking dish. Cover with foil and bake 20 minutes. Remove foil and bake 15 minutes more, or until top is browned and crisp.

Pumpkin inspiration and a cranberry crumble

Edit: I'm adding a picture and putting in my 2 cents worth about a stuffed winter squash. I didn't have the stuff to make Shannon's stuffed pumpkin. Instead, I cut off the top of the squash, smooshed some butter and salt and pepper around in the cavity and chucked a little bit of broth inside, covered it and baked it at 400degrees until it started to get soft-ish. I threw in a mixture of cooked brown rice, raisins and chopped cashews and baked it until the squash was done and the stuffing warm. . ooo my tasty! And it looks so pretty to serve!
No pictures from me today. Shannon over at Pietown made this amazing stuffed pumpkin. I can't wait to try it out, as we have some winter squash sitting around that I can't bring myself to chop and peel to make soup out of. I'm excited.

And, last night, I took a kick butt apple cranberry crumble to our local soup night. A quick word about soup night. Here in a small town, us hippie eater have got to stick together. We're a tight knit, yet very welcoming group. My dear friend Suzanne makes huge vats of soup once a month and everyone gathers there with bread or salad or wine in hand to make a great feast. Last night, I was inspired by another blogger and took over a tree of gratitude. We all made leaves and wrote what we're thankful for on them and decorated the tree until it was full and bright and made me feel good.

So, the cranberry crumble. Abby ate cranberries raw, puckered up her lips and ate another, and another and another until her whole face was red and her fingers stained!
I didn't bother to peel the apples, put it in a pretty pie plate, omitted the nuts and lowered the sugar significantly in both the fruit and the crumble. It was beautiful and I'm sad I didn't get a picture.

Apple Cranberry Crumble Recipe

This recipe is from the Taste of Home Holidays & Celebrations Cookbook.

6

servings

1¼ hours 15 min prep

3	cups chopped peeled apples
2	cups cranberries (fresh or frozen)
3/4	cup sugar
1	cup oats (old-fashioned or quick-cooking)
3/4	cup packed brown sugar
1/3	cup all-purpose flour
1/2	cup butter, melted
1/2	cup chopped pecans (optional)

1. In a greased 8-in. square baking dish, combine apples and cranberries; sprinkle with sugar.
2. In another bowl, combine the oats, brown sugar, flour and butter; sprinkle over cranberry mixture. (Top with pecans if desired.).
3. Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 55-60 minutes or until browned and bubbly.
4. Best served warm.

Oh the humanity!

I took the last of the apples from our tree and made one glorious quart of apple sauce. I took it outside to photograph it and :
Oh no! Luckily, the farmer's market has apples, so I can buy them up and make more.
This meal doesn't look nearly as good as it was. I'm putting it here so I remember later.
Put some chicken thighs in a cast iron skillet, cook them with some oil for a while.
Add a whole mess (like 1/3 cup) of grated ginger, a few cloves of sliced garlic, a bunch of soy sauce and water and poach until the chicken is mostly done. Add carrot slices, cooked brown rice and chopped greens. Keep cooking until everything comes together nicely, the carrots are tender and the greens have shrunk down to size. Serve with soy sauce at the table. Even Abby ate it.
And, this is a winter cobbler. All manner of roots and tomatoes and lentils in the bottom and biscuits on top. I cut them out with a star cookie cutter hoping that Abby would be excited to eat it with the stars. This picture makes it look like some sort of sea star mass murder. . . it was tasty. I put two recipes together-ish, substituted 1 cup whole wheat flour in the biscuits and used all of the roots I had on hand: potatoes, turnips, carrots, parsnips, onion, garlic. You could put celery root or rutabaga in here. . .yum.
Martha Stewart's recipe is here.

Winter Vegetable Cobbler

From: Classic Vegetarian Recipes

Serves 4

1 T. olive oil

1 garlic clove, crushed

8 small onions, halved

2 celery stalks, sliced

9 ounces rutabaga, chopped

2 carrots, sliced

½ small cauliflower, broken into florets

9 ounces mushrooms, sliced

14 ounce can chopped tomatoes

¼ cup red lentils

2 T cornstarch

3-4 T water

1 ¼ cups vegetable stock

2 t Tabasco

2 t chopped fresh oregano or parsley

Sprigs of oregano to garnish

Cobbler Topping:

2 cups self-rising flour

¼ cup butter

1 cup grated cheddar

2 t chopped fresh oregano or parsley

1 egg, beaten

2/3 cup skimmed milk

Salt

1. fry onions and garlic for 5 minutes. Add celery, rutabaga, carrots and cauliflower and fry 2-3 more min.
2. Remove pan from heat and add, mushrooms, tomatoes and lentils. Mix the cornstarch with water and add to the pan with stock, Tabasco, oregano. Bring to a boil stirring until thickened. Transfer to a casserole pan and bake at 350 F. for 20 minutes.
3. To make topping, sift the flour and a pinch of salt into a bowl. Rub in the butter, then stir in most of the cheese and herbs. Beat the egg and mix and add enough to the dry ingredients to make a dough. Knead and roll to ½ inch thick. Cut into 2 inch rounds. Remove casserole from oven and increase the temp to 400 degrees. Arrange the rounds around the edge of the dish, brush with the egg and milk and sprinkle with cheese. Cook 10-12 min. Garnish and serve.

Turn, Turn, Turn

"To every thing there is a season, and a time for every purpose. . . "
And so, another season is over. Daylight savings ends this weekend. It's time to warm up some of those soups that you all froze earlier in the season and enjoy our last share from our wonderful community sponsored agriculture farm! A big thanks to Farmers Doug, Lee and Hannah and all of the great farm members, interns and volunteers for our wonderful food.
There were some great comments on the blog on last week's entry. Thanks to all who spent the time to share your thoughts. I did a very random drawing and pulled Jess B's name out of the hat. So, Jess. . .you won the big fat vegetarian cookbook. I'll leave it at the drop site for you!

And now, how will we fare over the winter without our beloved farm shares? Remember to go to the farmer's market on Saturdays, clean out your freezers and check back here to find yummy recipes.
Winter Squash ideas: If you're like me, you have a stash of winter squash and roots around. Winter squash are great for roasting with your roots. There's a great roasted root soup recipe here. You can make soups by following this recipe and substituting other winter squashes for the butternut or maybe pear for the apple. This is a favorite soup in our house that marks autumn for us. I cut it out of a neighborhood newspaper in Seattle years ago, so I don't have the author to credit.
Have a wonderful winter!

Butternut Squash and Curried Apple Soup

4 Tbl. Butter
2 cups chopped sweet onion
1 Tbl. curry
1 butternut squash (~ 1.5 lbs or more for a thicker soup) peeled, seeded and chopped
2 tart green apples, peeled, seeded and chopped
3 cups vegetable broth
1.5 tsp. hot pepper sauce (tabasco)
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. each marjoram, rosemary
1 cup apple juice (or to taste)
salt and pepper

sour cream and apple slices for garnish

1 Melt butter in stockpot, add onions and curry. Cover and cook over low until onions are tender, about 20 min.

2 Add squash, apples, broth, hot pepper sauce, salt, marjoram, and rosemary. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, partially covered, until squash and apple are tender, about 25 min.

3 Using a potato masher, mash soup to the consistency that you’d like. Alternatively, blend soup in batches in a food processor or blender and return soup to stock pot.

4 Add apple juice and heat through. Season to taste with salt and pepper, and garnish with a dollop of sour cream and apple slices if desired.

Makes about 6 servings

All American Pot Pie

I have to admit that I just plain cut and pasted this recipe, including the pictures, from a different blog. I wanted to use this recipe for this week's post, but didn't want to type it all out. A wee google search led me to this fabulous entry. However, the other blog didn't credit the author of the recipe. I will. I will also include my notes in italics. It's a mighty tasty way to use a ton 'o veggies and have a really filling meal. There's no reason why this has to stay vegetarian, cooked chicken chunks would be a wonderful addition. I like to make the dough ahead of time so it can chill while I'm making the filling.

All American Pot Pie from Vegetarian Planet by Didi Emmons.

Filling:
1/2 T butter
4 C total of any of the following veggies: corn, carrot, red bell pepper, zucchini, spinach leaves (firmly packed), sliced onions, potato...(left over roasted winter squash chunks, mushrooms, summer squash, parsnips from last week's share, even beets would be tasty).
1 small garlic clove, minced
3 T flour
1 C warm milk
1 pinch fresh or dried thyme
3/4 t salt
black pepper to taste

Melt the butter in a skillet. Saute the vegetables for five minutes, stirring often. Add the garlic, saute for five minutes more. Sprinkle three tablespoons flour over the veggies and stir over the heat for two more minutes. Add the warm milk slowly, stirring all the while to avoid lumps. Stir in the thyme. Bring the sauce to a simmer and cook it until the it thickens. Continue to cook until the vegetables are tender. Add one-fourth teaspoon of salt and plenty of pepper. Put into a 9 or 10 inch casserole or deep pie dish. (At this point you can cover the dish and chill it for up to 2 days, if you'd like to bake it later).

The Dough:

(the recipe originally calls for twice as much dough as is written here. I have to agree that it was too much, so I'll leave the modified amounts here).
1/4 Cup (1/2 stick) cold butter
3/4 cups flour
1/4 t salt

Cut a half-stick of cold butter into three-fourths cups of flour and one-fourth teaspoon of salt (cut the butter until the pieces are no larger than a pea). Add two tablespoons of ice water and stir to incorporate all the flour. Add more water or flour as necessary to make a soft moist dough. Work it in the palm of your hand on a hard surface. Form it into a flattened ball. Chill the dough for thirty minutes.

Roll the dough into a circle slightly larger than the diameter of the casserole dish. Place it on top and pinch the rim so it clings to the dish. Cut four one-inch long slits in the dough.

Bake at 400 degrees for about twenty minutes, or until the filling is bubbling and the crust golden. (I like to bake it on top of a cookie sheet to catch any spills. ..and there will be spills). Serve and enjoy!

For those of you who are members of the Salt Creek Farm CSA: Don't forget to comment to this entry so I can do a drawing for an end of the season gift. Sorry to all of you who aren't here in Port Angeles, the prize is a huge book and I can't mail it. . . so just locals this time!

Food ingredients to avoid

I've wanted a little pocket guide for food ingredients to avoid for a long time. I finally made one and decided to put it here for you to enjoy too. Print it out and fold it in half long ways (hot dog way . . . you'll know what I mean if you have kids) and put it in your wallet, purse or pocket. Most of these are "no-brainers", but the list of other things MSG is listed as is handy. Of course, the best way to avoid all of this crap is to buy whole foods (no, not the grocery store, I mean actual foods that are whole) and make your own snacks etc. But, I know that it's a busy world and we can't always avoid EVERY processed food out there. It's also a great list to use as a starting point when working with the schools to change their lunch program.
You can either copy and print the picture file above or click on the PDF file below to download it. This method will make a more clear image for you.

Enjoy!

Delicata

Delicata squash is an unsung hero. People think that all winter squashes are the same: stringy, messy, hard to peel. I had no idea what to do with delicata when I first saw it, but it's easy: cut off the ends, cut in half long ways, scoop out the seeds, cut half moons with the skin on, fry in olive oil and dip in some yogurt sauce. . . sweet goodness.

Deceptively Delicious

(Photo by Scott Robinson via Flickr)

This fabulous recipe is a go to favorite for crazy week nights. I use flat breads or whole wheat pita bread to make these. You can substitute beet greens or kale or steamed chard for the spinach. It is from the book Vegetarian Planet by Didi Emmons. I found the recipe all typed up and pretty on-line at this great CSA website that has lots of other things to check out too.

Spinach and Mozzarella Grilled Cheese Sandwiches with Chile Dipping Sauce

Sandwiches:

6 ounces fresh spinach (large stems removed)
2 fresh pieces of lavash bread, or 1 large split pita pocket
2 plum tomatoes, cut in half lengthwse, then sliced crosswise
2 ounces mozzarella cheese, grated (or sliced, if it's fresh mozzarella)

Chili Dipping Sauce:

1 teaspoon hot chili sauce
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
2 tablespoons plain whole, low-fat, or nonfat yogurt, or nonfat sour cream
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar

Make the dipping sauce: in small bowl, combine the chili sauce with the mayonnaise, yogurt, mustard, cider vinegar and garlic. Stir well.

Steam the spinach over high heat for 2 minutes. Let the spinach cool.

Lay one of the pieces of lavash or pita on your work surface, with a short side of the bread directly in front of you if you are using lavash. Lay half the tomatoes across the bread, about 3 inches from the side closest to you. Squeeze any excess water from the spinach, then lay half of it on the tomatoes. Sprinkle or lay half the mozzarella on top of the tomatoes and spinach. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. Then roll the bread, starting with the side closest to you, as tightly as possible. Follow the same procedure for the second sandwich. (For pita pocket, fill in same order.)

Heat the olive oil in a large (preferably non-stick) skillet over medium heat. Place the two rolled sandwiches (or pita pocket) in the skillet, and place another skillet on top to weigh the sandwiches down. Cook the sandwiches for about 4 minutes or until they are golden brown, then turn them and cook the other side for 4 more minutes, checking the undersides frequently. Cut in half and serve with a small bowl of the dipping sauce.

(edited to add Lee's Kohlrabi recipe from the paper crop sheet!).

Soy Sauce Vegetables

(This resembles the little pickled side dishes served at Japanese cafes)

2 cups any firm vegetables-turnip, daikon, kohlrabi, carrots, beets and so on

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons sugar

mild soy sauce

Cut vegetables along the grain into julienne strips. Put them in a large jar with a lid. Add salt and sugar and shake well so that vegetables are coated. Let stand at room temperature for at least an hour or up to overnight.

Pour in enough soy sauce to cover vegetables. Press down to get rid of air pockets and let stand at room temperature for a day. Drain off soy sauce. (it can be reused for pickling or cooking). The vegetables will keep indefinitely in the refrigerator.

MAKES 2 CUPS

Recipe Maven Musings

Well, you all had great responses to my ravings, I mean musings last time. Thanks so much for your comments. Barbara Blackie sent me this link to a really great New York Times article that addresses almost the exact issue I was talking about last time: picky kid eaters. The highlight of the article, to me, was the point that little kids between ages 2-5 are prone to picky eating and that it's okay. From the article: "It’s an evolutionary response, researchers believe. Toddlers’ taste buds shut down at about the time they start walking, giving them more control over what they eat. “If we just went running out of the cave as little cave babies and stuck anything in our mouths, that would have been potentially very dangerous,” Dr. Cooke said." This makes a whole lot of sense to me and gives me hope that Abby will someday take a bite of chard and dig it. The article also does a mini-review of Deceptively Delicious written by Jerry Seinfeld's wife. This is another book that has mom's grinding up the good stuff to hide it from their kids. This method gets the "strong food" into the kids, but it doesn't teach them to like it or understand it.
Interestingly, the day after sending out the last cropsheet, I caught wind of the 2 Angry Moms movement. This is a documentary that follows two mothers as they attempt to change what's in their children's school lunches. The movie is wonderful and the idea of trying to change things here is even more wonderful. Even if you don't have children, your tax dollars pay for the crud that gets served to the children of our community. And, eventually, we'll all have to pay for the health care costs of the next generation from eating High Fructose Corn Syrup, Hydrogenated Fats and MSG (among other nasties). The sound bite that struck me the most from this movie is that the current generation of children are the first ever to have a shorter life expectancy than their parents. Shocking. Now, if that isn't reason enough to start fighting for change locally, I don't know what is. To get involved and see the film, go to the Port Angeles Public Library Saturday October 27th at 3pm or Monday Oct. 29th at 6:30pm.

Whirled Peas Cookies

Okay, my propensity to making food that looks a little like piles of pooh is getting out of hand. But these World Peace Cookies are so tasty it hurts a little bit. I found them by way of pietown (Hi Shannon!) and enjoyed them oh so much. I couldn't find "fleur de sel" here in this little town, so "flower of bali salt" did just fine as a replacement. As long as you don't use a smoky or spicy salt, I imagine it would be alright. This recipe made about 2 dozen and, as you can see, two days later, there's only 4 left.

World Peace Cookies, or Korovas, from Baking From My Home to Yours, by Dorie Greenspan

- 1 1/4 cups flour
- 1/3 cup cocoa powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 11 Tbsp butter at room temperature
- 2/3 cup light brown sugar
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/2 tsp fleur de sel
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 5 ounces chopped bittersweet chocolate (I used really dark chocolate)

Mix together flour, cocoa and baking soda.

Beat butter until soft, then add sugars, salt and vanilla. Beat for 2 minutes. Add dry ingredients and mix slowly until just combined; mix in chocolate. Do not overmix this dough. Divide dough into two portions, and form into logs of 1 1/2 inch diameter. Chill in refrigerator for at least 3 hours.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees and line baking sheet with parchment. Slice dough into 1/2" thick cookies, squishing back on any bits of dough that fall off (the dough is crumbly). Bake for exactly 12 minutes even though cookies will look underdone, and cool on baking sheet on wire rack.

No Knead Bread

I've been making the infamous no knead bread for a long while, but haven't posted the recipe. I LOVE this bread. It is infinitely satisfying. It is tasty and chewy and crunchy on the outside. It is better than most breads I've ever eaten and I made it. It's that good, and that easy.
Over the year that I've been making this bread, I've made a few tweaks:
I like replacing a cup of the flour with whole wheat.
I add dried or fresh rosemary at the beginning.
I like to use wheat bran.
I bake it in the ceramic insert from my big crock pot. Other people have gone crazy buying up fancy $100 le creuset pots, but I think it's just not necessary.
I've heard of great success adding cheeses and olives and other stuff after the first, long rising.
This bakes up great even after rising in our cold drafty old house. I thought it wouldn't be warm enough here, and it does just fine.
Here then, the recipe:

Recipe: No-Knead Bread

Adapted from Jim Lahey, Sullivan Street Bakery
Time: About 1½ hours plus 14 to 20 hours’ rising

3 cups all-purpose or bread flour, more for dusting
¼ teaspoon instant yeast
1¼ teaspoons salt
Cornmeal or wheat bran as needed.

1. In a large bowl combine flour, yeast and salt. Add 1 5/8 cups water, and stir until blended; dough will be shaggy and sticky. Cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let dough rest at least 12 hours, preferably about 18, at warm room temperature, about 70 degrees.

2. Dough is ready when its surface is dotted with bubbles. Lightly flour a work surface and place dough on it; sprinkle it with a little more flour and fold it over on itself once or twice. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rest about 15 minutes.

3. Using just enough flour to keep dough from sticking to work surface or to your fingers, gently and quickly shape dough into a ball. Generously coat a cotton towel (not terry cloth) with flour, wheat bran or cornmeal; put dough seam side down on towel and dust with more flour, bran or cornmeal. Cover with another cotton towel and let rise for about 2 hours. When it is ready, dough will be more than double in size and will not readily spring back when poked with a finger.

4. At least a half-hour before dough is ready, heat oven to 450 degrees. Put a 6- to 8-quart heavy covered pot (cast iron, enamel, Pyrex or ceramic) in oven as it heats. When dough is ready, carefully remove pot from oven. Slide your hand under towel and turn dough over into pot, seam side up; it may look like a mess, but that is O.K. Shake pan once or twice if dough is unevenly distributed; it will straighten out as it bakes. Cover with lid and bake 30 minutes, then remove lid and bake another 15 to 30 minutes, until loaf is beautifully browned. Cool on a rack.

Yield: One 1½-pound loaf.