Eating Floyd...

Gardening Floyd: What Were They Thinking?

2012-03-05T12:14:00.000-05:00

Obviously they weren't thinking. Probably they were lazy as well. Because they knew this would be somebody else's problem eventually and now it is. My problem. And I'm pissed.

All around the edges of the lower property we bought last year runs a lively little branch. That's what a tiny streamlet is called. We knew when we bought the property that the previous owners (and the previous owners before them) had been dumping their trash around the edges but until I started trying to clean up a couple of weeks ago I had no idea to what extent they had trashed it.

I thought I'd start with the most obvious problem: the tires that were lying along the southwest edge of the property. I didn't think there were that many and I was going to recycle them into towers for growing potatoes. So far I've pulled approximately 40 tires out of there in varying states of decay. Far, far more than I need for potato towers. What the hell were these people doing?

It's been heavy dirty work. The tires are filled with mud, water, and weeds and I'm always wary of snakes and vermin that might be hibernating in them. So far I've mostly been able to hook them with a rake and drag them out of the weeds. But sometimes I have to lift them loose of the ground and it gives me the shudders thinking what I might reach into. Heavy gloves, long thick sleeves and knee-high wellies are a must.

I've got all the easily reached tires out. What's left now are under a heavily overgrown rose bramble. I have a small sling blade but I don't think that will take it down. I need a machete or something.

In addition to the tires in this area I've pulled out a coiled length of copper tubing, any number of plastic soda bottles, unidentified other plastic bits, cinder block, rusted metal cans from small to large, what use to be a wooden clothes line with the plastic covered metal line still attached and intergrown with weeds, styrofoam, and PVC pipe. A lot of this was hidden under overgrowth and was found by stumbling over it.

Oh yeah, and then there's this baby:

And guess what! It still has heating oil in it! How's that for my own little environmental nightmare. I need to get that safely drained and hauled away as quickly as possible. Standing where I took that photo, directly behind me is where I've been pulling the tires out. That's the first 142 feet of property boundary. Beyond that is another 610 feet of boundary that the branch winds around. And nearly every bit of it has trash of some sort on it, either in plain view or hidden beneath growth.

To add insult to injury all this trash has been tossed just over the property line. Meaning that before we bought this property last year they were illegally dumping their waste on our property.

What I'd like right now is to hire a nun with a good stiff ruler to do some knuckle smackin' for me. I am appalled.

Husbanding Floyd: The Girls are Alright!

2012-03-05T11:15:00.000-05:00

It's our laying hens first birthday!

You might remember these adorable balls of fluff:

Now they're all grown up, responsible, reliable egg layers.

These are Tetra Tint chickens, a hybrid breed that was developed just for Tractor Supply stores. We were originally out to get a heritage breed for our flock but took the easy road when we discovered these at the local store. I've been very pleased with them. They were easy to raise from chicks, we had no mortality, and they have remained healthy with just normal care. I wouldn't say they are an affectionate bird but they aren't aggressive at all, nor are they shy. They allow our renter's 3 and 5 yr old daughters to pick them up and carry them without pecking at the little girls or attempting to escape.

The hens probably weigh in at about 4-5 lbs. We've been told they're a cross between a White Leghorn hen and a California Grey rooster. They are totally white with just a hint of beige-cream around the neck. Since they've started laying they've been very regular with their egg production giving us 8-10 eggs on a daily basis. They didn't slow down through the winter either. The eggs are large and light brown except for one consistent white egg. We don't know which hen is laying the white egg but she's been a worker, only missing 3 days since she commenced laying! Our surplus eggs have been in great demand with the result that the girls are paying for themselves and we are eating free, high quality eggs.

Our girls showed a decided enjoyment of flying and we'd find them outside the run on a regular basis. Which was all well and good when we were there to supervise them. But with a den of fox in the hill behind the coop, neighbors dogs running loose, and a red-shouldered hawk that likes to perch in a nearby tree and watch the buffet, we preferred the hens stay in their yard or tractor when we're not there to protect them. So to that end we clipped their flight feathers. Oh, they still "fly", but only a couple of feet off the ground.

The only problem we've had with them is bare butts. This started during the winter. They're eating well, showing no signs of discomfort or illness. They are bright and alert. We've checked them for mites or other parasites and found none.

We figure that the bare butts may be a result of winter boredom or they may be molting. To stave off the boredom we've been taking them on daily romps, installed a seed block, and hung up tether bells in their coop.

The first of the chickens to have bare butts are now pretty well re-feathered and the others are beginning to grow new feathers. They've shown no signs of losing feathers anywhere else on their bodies so it may have been a boredom thing. Another explanation we've heard is they like skin against eggs when they go broody but we've had no signs of broodiness in the girls. Anyway, they seem healthy and happy and not at all put out about their drafty butts.

We've been so pleased with our laying hens that we are considering adding Cornish Rocks and Bourbon Red turkeys to raise for meat, as well as Khaki Campbell ducks for meat and eggs. The ducks come as a "straight run" meaning they haven't been sexed. So as soon as they are old enough that we can tell them apart we will remove the males and raise them separately to mature weight and then send them to the freezer.

Gardening Floyd: Indoor Seed Starting Continues

2012-03-02T15:05:00.000-05:00

Last week I seeded our cole crops. I also set up the sweet potatoes in jars to start growing slips. You may remember doing this in elementary school. Or maybe not - I don't believe our kids ever did this. But when I was a kid in kindergarten we grew lots of things in paper cups: beans, tomatoes, marigolds, and sweet potatoes in jars on a sunny window ledge.

It takes a good bit of time for the slips to start so you have to be patient. Especially if you start the slips from grocery store sweets because they've likely been treated to discourage sprouting. But sprout they will! Once you have a good sized slip started you clip it from the mother tater and put it in a jar of its own to develop roots. Each potato will develop multiple slips so keep snipping and rooting them until you have as many as you want. Once the slips have good roots and the weather's warmed enough, into the garden they'll go!

Last week's seeds are already sprouted. Now I'm waiting for them to develop their first set of real leaves so I can move each of them up to their own little cell-pak pots. Cell-paks are those flimsy plastic multi-cell containers that hold vegetable transplants you buy from nurseries and garden supply departments. When I do buy transplants I find that I can't throw the cell-paks out. So I try to be gentle with them and I wash and reuse them for my own seeding purposes. Nestled into a solid bottomed tray, they make bottom-watering delicate seedlings easier. Top watering little sprouts gives them a bit of a pummeling no matter how careful you are.


These Packman broc sprouts were just top watered. They'll pop up in a bit but it's hard on them.

Stonehead cabbage and Wawa Tsai Chinese Cabbage. That's "Stonehead" not "Stoner Head".

Amazing cauliflower. That's the name of the variety, Amazing. Who gets to pick the variety names anyway?

Here they are at home on their shelf.

These are tiny Lancelot leeks.

The past two days I seeded our greens. 36 "Fordhook Giant" swiss chard, 54 "Rossa di Verona" radicchio, 108 "Space Saver" spinach, 36 "Sweet Valentine" romaine, 36 "Jericho" romaine, and 72 "Four Seasons" head lettuce. These will be large enough to transplant outside in a few weeks and we'll direct seed more of these along with a leaf lettuce mix at the same time. This is usually enough to stagger the harvest and keep us in greens until the heat gets too strong for the plants and they get bitter and bolt.

Trays of seeded salad greens.

Michael and I were hoping to get the peas and onions planted in the gardens tomorrow but even as I write this it's started to pour rain again. That's the third time this week. Which means the ground will be too wet to work. I had hopes because yesterday was clear and windy and this morning was bright. Everything looked like it was firming up and drying out nicely. Maybe next week.

***Don't forget the Highlands Maple Festival begins next weekend! Time to stock up on real Virginia Maple Syrup! Support Your Local Sugar Bush!***

Cooking Floyd: Dark Days Challenge: March, Week 14

2012-02-27T10:35:00.000-05:00

This week's meal consists of some traditional Southern comfort foods. I'm a transplanted (damn) Yankee but tasty comfort is universal on a cold damp day.

Take two plump sweet potatoes, white or orange, scrub well and set aside.

If you grow your own sweet potatoes you may have noticed that when first harvested and cooked they're actually bland. Your first thoughts are "This variety does not live up to it's description." and/or "Either I did something wrong or it was a poor season." But if you persevere, wrap them up and store them, you'll find that as winter progresses, those sweets will start converting their starches to sugars and a month or so down the road you'll have rich, sweet-tasting sweet potatoes.

Preheat the oven to 400F. Place a rack on a cookie sheet or use a broiler pan and cover with a single layer of thick sliced hog jowl. Put the rack in the oven and allow the slices to render and crisp up, about 45 minutes. Remove and allow to cool.

Don't throw out that rendered fat! Put it in a jar and store it in the fridge. A little bit of it used as a seasoning makes luscious oven browned potatoes or refried beans and it's excellent for making tamales.

When the slices are cool, crumble coarsely and set aside.

Although we had hog jowl where I grew up, I didn't know how to use it until I moved south and was invited to a New Year's Day Dinner where crispy flavorful jowls were served with the greens.

Around here Bent Mountain Cabbage sets the benchmark for flavorful local cabbage. It must have something to do with the composition of Bent Mountain's soil. Just like tasting the terroir in grapes, it's possible to identify Bent Mountain Cabbage.

Quarter a small to medium head of cabbage and remove the core, then coarsely chop and set aside.

Next, take a couple slices of regular bacon, 3-4 garlic cloves, and the leaves from a couple of sprigs of rosemary, pile them and chop together until minced and well combined. This is known as a battuto in Italian cooking. Heat a heavy pan over medium heat and brown this mixture.

Normally I just use the battuto straight but I got the urge to throw a handful of walnuts in there. Some of our dried apples occured to me too but I refrained and stayed with just the walnuts.

When the bacon has browned and the walnuts toasted, throw the chopped cabbage on top and ladle in a very little liquid. I used maybe a scant half cup of chicken stock, but you could use any broth or stock, a splash of white wine, or just plain water.

Put a lid on the pot and turn the heat down to low. When the volume of the cabbage has reduced a little, stir the battuto up from the bottom and distribute through the cabbage.

Simmer for two hours over a low heat, stirring occasionally. When the cabbage is tender, salt and pepper to taste.

After the cabbage has been cooking for an hour, wrap the sweet potatoes in foil and place in the 400F oven. Then prepare the black-eyed peas.

I was decidedly not local with the black-eyed peas. This is something Michael and I are remedying this growing season. We have plans to grow cannellini, garbanzoes, Jacob's Cattle, yellow-eyed peas, and goose beans as dry beans. Our friend Julius is breaking ground for a new 50'x100' bed where the beans will grow. Julius' ancestor held the original land grant that surrounds and includes the 4.5 acres we live on. It gives me a sense of connectedness to be friends with Julius and his wife Eunice and inspiration to be a good caretaker of the land that is, in my eyes, still a part of their heritage. But back to the beans...

I used two 15 oz cans of black eyed peas, rinsed and drained. While the peas are draining, chop half of a medium onion. In a heavy oven-proof pot that will just accommodate the peas, saute the onions in a bit of the hog jowl fat over medium heat until just soft.

Add the peas and stir, then taste and season with salt and pepper. Stir in the crispy, crumbled hog jowl, cover tightly and place in the oven with the sweet potatoes.

In approximately 45 minutes, or when the sweets poke tender, dinner will be ready.

Cooking Floyd: Outside the Jar

2012-02-24T11:45:00.000-05:00

Nearly Instant Cherry Pie

When you've got the main ingredients just waiting to be used, dessert is the time it takes to bake the crust away!

The pastry for this pie is the same as the one I use for Extreme Deep Dish Apple Pie minus the cheddar cheese. When I make pie dough I make several batches and freeze what I'm not using in one crust packages for later. So if I forget to set a package out to thaw, the pie isn't nearly so instant. Or I break down and run to the store for an Already Pie Crust. I admit it, if I need a quick dessert or I've had a senior moment, or that sudden craving demands PIE NOW!, I'm not too proud to fall back on Pillsbury.

The Cherry Vanilla Pie Filling was put up last June in quarts and pints. So far it's been used in cobbler and poured over ice cream and cheesecake. This is it's first winter appearance as an actual pie.

Lastly there's a beaten eggwash in the bowl and non-melting large crystal gourmet sugar from the Bread Basket

All that's required is to line the pan with the crust, pour in the filling, and top with a second crust or a crumb topping. Since all I was doing was assembling, I got fancy and cut strips with a ravioli wheel and wove them into a lattice top. Then I brushed the crust with the egg wash and sprinkled on the sugar.

Since the filling is already cooked, the pie bakes in a 375F oven until the crust is nicely browned, about 35-40 minutes more or less. Just watch the crust and pull it out when it reaches your desired degree of golden.

Allow the pie to cool for awhile so the filling sets back up. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Ta-Daa!

Gardening Floyd: "...The Season's Spinning 'Round Again,...

2012-02-22T15:35:00.001-05:00

...The Years Keep Rollin' By."

Michael planted 70 leek seeds back on February 12th. I planted my first seeds today for transplanting next month into the early spring garden.
I planted:
40 "Packman" broccoli
24 "Stonehead" cabbage
24 "Wawa Tsai" Chinese cabbage
24 "Amazing" cauliflower

The salad tubs are gone from the winter salad shelf and it's been transformed back into seed starting mode. Learn how to set up your own shelf here.

Cooking Floyd: Dark Days Challenge: Feb. Week 13

2012-02-22T10:41:00.000-05:00

Last week Michael planted a tubful of leek seeds and it's time to get the seeds started for our early cole crops. We try to get those crops, along with peas, onions, spinach, and other early spring greens and veg, into the ground between March 15th and 30th. Planting the seeds indoors now signals to me that we're sliding down the backside of winter. We've got a few cellared vegetables left but not much. We're pretty good for frozen and canned stuff. But for fresh green stuff I'm now making more frequent trips to Green's Garage where I can find organic if not strictly local stuff and local greenhouse grown things although that's beginning to look pretty rough as well. So between my stash and theirs, this week's entry (entree) in the DDC is based on the Fall Vegetable Tart from The Roasted Vegetable by Andrea Chesman.

Fall Vegetable Tart
Ingredients
2 medium beets, peeled and cut into 1/3" dice
1 small butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into 1/3" dice
1 medium onion, halved and slivered
1 medium bell pepper, diced
2 cups sliced mushrooms
6 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary
salt and pepper
your favorite savory single crust pastry for one 9-10" pie
8 oz crumbled chevre

I used my canned whole beets that were already cooked and peeled, diced bell pepper from the freezer, our next to last stashed butternut squash, our own garlic and a pretty rough looking onion that actually was small after peeling off a few nasty layers, rosemary from the winter salad shelf, and organic tiny mushrooms from Harvest Moon Food Store here in Floyd. Curtin's Dairy supplied the chevre.

Directions
Preheat the oven to 425F. Lightly oil a shallow pan or baking sheet.

The easiest way to season the veg is to put them all in a bowl along with the garlic, drizzle with the oil, add the rosemary, and salt and pepper to taste. Toss well so everything is coated and then spread in a single layer on the baking sheet. I, on the other hand, prefer to not have the beets turn everything red so I laid each veg out on the baking sheet, sprinkled everything with the garlic and seasonings, and drizzled the oil over all.

Into the oven with the sheet for 35-45 minutes or until the veg poke tender and are just slightly browned. Remove the veg and turn the oven down to 375F.

Roll out your pastry to an approximately 12" circle and place on a foil lined baking sheet. Pile half of the crumbled chevre in the center of the pastry leaving a 2" border. You can actually use your choice of cheese here. Chesman recommends Fontina, I used chevre, but I think most any cheese would be yummy.

Pile the roasted veg on top of the cheese keeping that clear 2" border. Then lift and pleat the pastry snugly against the piled veg.

Sprinkle the other half of the cheese on top.

Bake for about 25 minutes or until the crust is golden and the cheese melted, or in the case of the chevre, lightly browned.

Cut into wedges and serve warm. Since there is no binder don't expect the veg to hold together when you try to serve a slice. It will fall apart a little. But it still tastes good! The next time I make this I'll probably pour a mix of beaten egg and milk over the tart before baking, just to remedy that problem. Not enough to call it a quiche, just enough to bind it.

Cooking Floyd: Dark Days Challenge: Feb. Week 12

2012-02-15T11:10:00.001-05:00

Valentine's Day Dinner Continued

We got to eat Valentine's Day Dinner dessert first with last week's DDC Sweets theme challenge. While this week is an unthemed challenge, it's main DDC meal fell on Valentine's Day for us. We've had several meals featuring venison this winter but I've been saving the backstraps for special occasions and V-Day is special.

A backstrap is the long cylindrical muscle that lies on top of the ribcage and runs along each side of the spinal column of a deer. It is often miscalled the tenderloin which is much smaller and lies in relatively the same place but beneath the spinal column within the deer's body cavity. When the backstrap is cut into rounds it's the equivalent of a beef filet.

These tender boneless pieces of meat are absolutely gorgeous done up with no more than salt and pepper and then quickly seared or grilled over high heat to a medium-rare or at most a medium. For this meal I'm gilding the lily with a nice blue cheese. And that's my weak point too. I tried to find a local blue cheese and I figured with the number of artisanal goat dairies in the area somebody would be producing a blue. But no. The only blue I found was from someone who buys goat milk and makes cheese for her own use. I tried to sweet talk her out of some but to no avail. I chalked it up to one more reason for our own dairy goats and used a standard but good creamy blue from the grocery.

Preheat your oven to 450F and have a heavy oven-proof skillet ready on the stove top.

In the picture above is half a backstrap and as you can see I divided it into four pieces. Next I sliced each piece about halfway through to create a "V". This will accommodate the blue cheese.

I cut two chunks of blue cheese just slightly shorter than the length of the filets.

These fit on an angle into the "V" of the filet.

Place the second filet on top.

And tie up tightly with cotton cord like a present, sealing the blue cheese inside.

Salt and pepper the bundles on all sides.

Heat the skillet over medium-high heat until extremely hot and then reduce the heat to just above medium. Just shine the skillet with an oil with a high smoke point like canola or, even better, peanut oil. Have your hood fan running and be prepared for some smoke. Alternatively, you can heat your outdoor grill to smokin' hot, oil the grate, and do the initial sear there.

Place the filet bundles gently in the pan or on the grill. Allow them to sear and release on their own (about a minute or so) before turning them. Sear on all sides.

When the filets are browned move them, pan and all, into the oven to finish cooking to almost your desired doneness. If doing them on the grill, move them to the side away from any direct heat. Next, place them on a warmed plate and allow to rest for 10 minutes. The residual heat will continue to cook the interior while it's resting. At the end of that time cut and remove the cords. The two pieces of meat holding the now melted blue cheese should remain together.

To go with this meal I heated up a jar of our green beans

and roasted sliced carrots in clementine juice (oops! that's not local!), curry powder, and salt and pepper.

Supper was wonderful!

Gardening Floyd: 4th Annual Floyd County Seed Swap Scheduled

2012-02-09T09:55:00.000-05:00

The fourth annual Floyd County Seed Swap sponsored by Miracle Farm will be held at the Floyd Country Store on Saturday, February 18 from 10 am to 11:30 am. This is a great way to meet local gardeners of all ages and experience levels and swap gardening stories and advice as well as seeds! There will also be handouts on composting, vermiculture, germinating tips, seed age viability, and more.

Acceptable seeds for swapping are both left over commercial packets and home-saved seeds of heirloom or open pollinated varieties. Please label your home-saved seeds with as much info as possible including the name of the variety and the year the seed was saved. Seed saved from hybrid plants is not encouraged since it has a tendency to revert back to the undesirable traits of the hybrid's parent plants.

See ya there!

Check back in April for scheduling details for the follow-up seedling swap event!

Cooking Floyd: Dark Days Challenge: Feb. Week 11

2012-02-08T09:58:00.000-05:00

There are many ways to my guy's heart; garden paths, little twisted alleys, smooth stretches of highway, but one of the most reliable and enduring paths is the one through his stomach. It doesn't take a special feast on a special day although he loves that. A simple meal cooked well on any given day can make him feel cared for.

This year because of the Dark Days Challenge, Michael will get his Valentine's Feast in two parts. And since the challenge within the challenge is Sweets he's getting dessert first!

I made this cheese back in the spring of 1977 for my first dinner party in my very first all-mine-no-roommates apartment. I served it with macerated strawberries I had picked the day before. I was also bucking for a job in the kitchen of the newest hot restaurant in town and I'm pretty sure it was this dessert that got me there. It's been in my repertoire ever since, trotted out on a regular basis to show off fresh fruits in season and sweet preserves through the winter.

Fontainbleu Cheese

Ingredients

2 cups yogurt

1 c sugar, less 2 tablespoons set aside

2 cups heavy cream

3 egg whites

Once you have all the ingredients in the cheese combined you're going to wrap it in cheesecloth and press it with some weight to squeeze out the whey in the yogurt. I like to start out with already strained yogurt (like a Greek yogurt consistency) to make an even firmer dryer version of this cheese. You can purchase Greek yogurt for this recipe or hang your own homemade yogurt (about 3 cups worth) in a cheesecloth bag to drain overnight and proceed from there.

Directions

In large bowl combine yogurt and all but 2 T sugar.

Add 1 tablespoon of sugar to the heavy cream and whip until stiff, then fold into the yogurtmix.

Whip the egg whites until stiff, add1 tablespoon of sugar, and whip untilglossy.

Fold into the yogurt.

Dampen some cheesecloth and line a 6 cup perforated mold or colander. Cut the cheesecloth long enough that there is a generous amount of drape over the sides.

Transfer the yogurt mixture to the lined mold/colander. Cover the mixture completely with the cheesecloth. Place in a bowl to catchthe liquid.

Place a plate and weight on top of the yogurt mixture and refrigerate for at least 24 hours, draining offthe liquid occasionally. I prefer to press it for 2 days and 3 days will make a really firm texture. The finished cheese should be firm and dry.

To serve, open up the cheesecloth and place a platter face down on top of the mold. Grab the mold and platter together and quickly flip so the cheese unmolds on to the platter.

Choose your fruit and either garnish the whole cheese or individual servings for presentation. I chose whole strawberry preserves in vanilla syrup and garnished individually for this post. The recipe makes quite a bit of cheese so we'll be taking advantage of the rest of it to do some damage to our other fruit preserves.

Cooking Floyd: The Accidental Feast

2012-02-02T20:09:00.000-05:00

Every once in awhile when pulling together supper from bits and pieces in the fridge you turn around and there before you lies a meal that appears to have been put together with lots of thought and labor. From sprats and scraps arises the Accidental Feast.

Such a feast ended up on our table Wednesday night. We had a Gudjerati-style bean and lentil stew earlier in the week that we had remarked would be tasty as a sort of spring roll. I pulled that and the spring roll skins out, some spinach that needed to be used, and whipped up a cucumber raita.

In the back of the fridge was 3/4 of a quart of stock. A diagonally sliced carrot and stalk of celery, thin sliced whites of a scallion and a couple of thinly sliced garlic cloves, a dash each of soy and fish sauce, some reconstituted shitake mushrooms and their soaking water, a smidge of red chili paste, a can of bamboo shoots, a little tofu that had been overlooked, all brought to a simmer, then 2 beaten eggs stirred in created a flavorful Asian inspired soup.

Finally, a bag of broccoli slaw tossed with peanuts and a dressing made of rice vinegar, a drizzle of dry sherry, canola and sesame oil, minced ginger and garlic, a sprinkle of sesame seeds, and a generous dollop of hoisin sauce gave us a nutty, sweet and sour, crunchy salad.

Sometimes, it just all comes out right.

Cooking Floyd: Dark Days Challenge: Feb. Week 10

2012-02-01T10:50:00.000-05:00

This Dark Days Challenge was truly a challenge. The whole week was challenging. The day after last week's party I came down with the mother of all sore throats that invaded my ears and nose, and came with chills and fever. The doctor prescribed some sort of antibiotic that indiscriminately killed everything in it's path. I was grateful for leftover chicken soup and that, accompanied by some good yogurt in an attempt to balance out the antibiotic's ravages, was pretty much all I could face this past week. Monday the pain lessened and yesterday it was gone. Last night was catch as catch can to get a DDC meal in this week.

Supper was roasted herbed tomatoes,

roasted sweet red peppers,

chopped and combined with lemon basil pesto

and tossed with angel hair pasta.

As a green accompaniment I did a quick blanch and chill with edamame,

just long enough to thaw them out,

drained them well and then dressed them with finely grated rind
and juice of half a lemon,

fall harvest Sevillano olive oil,

and salt and pepper to taste.

A little grated Parm on the pasta, and supper was done.

Everything but the pasta, cheese, lemon, s & p, and olive oil
came out of last year's garden.

Cooking Floyd: Dark Days Challenge: Jan. Week 9

2012-01-23T14:10:00.001-05:00

Mid-Winter Soup Fest

This is the first themed challenge of the DDC - The Soup and One-Pot Meal Challenge. Coincidentally this weekend was when Michael and I chose to throw our annual Mid-Winter Party and had already decided to do soups! Behind Russ and Mike P. are the 4 soups we served: Tuscan White Bean and Kale, Cassoulet, Curried Butternut Squash, and Chicken Noodle. During the course of the party we were so busy photographing our guests that we forgot to get shots of the food! It's in there but incidental.

Russ and Mike P. in front of the soups and behind Lori's foccacia.

Tuscan White Bean and Kale Soup

Ingredients

2 tablespoons butter

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 shallots, chopped

1/4 cup diced fresh sage leaves or 1/8 cup crumbled dried sage

4 cups cooked cannellini beans, drained and rinsed

4 cups chicken stock (I used ham stock here or you could go with veg stock or water)

6 cloves garlic, cut in 1/2

1/2 cup half and half or cream or milk (whatever you have)

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

salt to taste

Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling

1 bunch kale, leaves torn from stems and into bite sized pieces

Directions

In a soup pot over medium heat, warm the butter and olive oil. Add theshallot and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened. Add the sage and beans. Addthe stock and garlic and simmer untilthe garlic is softened. Carefully blend the soup in the pot with an immersion blender until it is pureed to your desired level of smoothness. I go for nearly smooth with some chunks of beans left while others prefer it not blended at all. If you don't have an immersion or stick blender, remove the soup from the pot into a large bowl and carefully puree it in small portions in a blender or food processor. Hold on to the top of the blender because hot foods expand when blended and could blow the lid off! As you finish each batch, pour the blended soup back into the soup pot. Once all the soup is blended and back in the soup pan, add the kale and simmer until wilted. Add the cream right before serving and taste for salt and pepper. Lightly drizzle the soup with a flavorful olive oil in the individual bowls to finish or pass around the olive oil at the table.

The cannellini beans I used were not local this year but they will be next year. This is our white bean of choice and we're going to devote a part of the garden to these beans. Garbanzo beans too!


Brett doing his best James Dean "Rebel with Cassoulet" thing. Asia and Brynna dancing the night away.

"Brett would you feed my dog and water the plants while I'm away?"

"Is there cassoulet involved?"

"There is now."

"Ok."

This isn't your classic, cook for days cassoulet but made a day or two in advance and reheated it's pretty darn close. When I went to get some at the party there were a couple of forlorn beans and a lone chicken thigh bone in the bottom of the pot. I think they liked it! You can use any meats you have on hand or the ones called for here. Cassoulet is more like a guideline. It's a great way to use up some leftovers

Easy Cassoulet

Ingredients

4 slices thick-cut bacon

6 chicken thighs

8 (about 1 1/4pounds) sausage links

1 lb venison cubes

1 large onion, coarsely chopped

2 tablespoons chopped garlic

1 1/2 cups dry white wine

4 cups diced tomatoes in juice, undrained

6cups small white beans, rinsed, drained

2 large yellow bell peppers, cut into 1 1/2-inch chunks (I used the already diced and frozen peppers from our freezer so it was a mix of colors)

1/2 cup chopped parsley

1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary

1 tablespoon chopped thyme leaves

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon hot red-pepper flakes

Topping:

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 cups coarse fresh breadcrumbs

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme

Directions

Except for the venison cubes that I browned in advance, I put the chicken, bacon, and sausages together on a baking sheet and allowed them to brown in a 400F oven, removing the individual meats as they were done. After the meats cooled enough to handle, I removed the skin from the chicken, thickly sliced the sausage, and roughly crumbled the bacon.

I added a couple tablespoons of the drippings from the baking sheet to the Dutch oven on the stovetop andcooked the onion and garlic on low until they were softened and just beginning to color. Then add the wine, stir in tomatoes, beans, and remaining stewingredients, and bring mixture to a simmer. (I used more of the fines herbs paste here instead of the fresh herbs and flakes from our dried Serrano peppers.) Stir in the venison, sausage, and tuck the whole chicken thighs into the beans until covered with liquid. Sprinkle bacon bits over top. Cover pot and bake 45 minutes. If making in advance, allow the casserole to cool and refrigerate.

Combine the topping ingredients and spread out on a baking sheet. Place in a 400F degree oven and bake, stirring frequently, until the crumbs are just golden. Sprinkle the topping over the casserole 15 minutes before the end of the cook time. If holding the cassoulet until later, sprinkle on the topping just before putting it in the oven to reheat. Reheat in a 350F oven, uncovered, until hot through.

Everything in the cassoulet was local except for the Parmesan in the topping.

Bill, Chris, Karla, and Megan. Little Jolie heading for what's left on the relish plates so she can get her pickle on!

SpicedButternut-Pumpkin Soup

Ingredients

2 tablespoons butter

1 large sweet onion, diced

1 large red bell pepper, chopped (I used red peppers I had roasted and frozen last summer)

3 garlic cloves, minced

2 tablespoons finely grated fresh ginger

1 roughly three pound butternut squash, halved, deseeded, and roasted at 400F until tender

1 large Granny Smith apple, peeled and cubed

1 quart chicken broth

2 bay leaves

1 1/2 teaspoons red curry paste OR 1 teaspoon curry powder

1/2 teaspoon ground pepper

3/4 cup whipping cream

1 tablespoon fresh lime juice

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Roast the butternut squash and allow to cool enough to handle. Scrape the pulp into a bowl.

Melt butter in a large heavy pot over medium-high heat,add onion and bell pepper, and sauté 8 minutes or until onion is golden. Stirin garlic and ginger, and cook 1 minute. Add squash, next 7 ingredients, and 4cups water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer 20 minutesor until vegetables are tender. Remove from heat, and let stand 30 minutes,stirring occasionally. Remove and discard bay leaves.

Process soup, in batches, in a blender until smooth and return to the pot, or puree directly in the pot using a stick blender. Stir in the cream and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Stir in lime juice, and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Garnish with a dollop of creme fraiche, sour cream, or yogurt and a sprinkling of hulless roasted pumpkin seeds or sunflower seeds.

The lime, curry paste, and ginger were not local. I bought a beautifully plump fresh piece of ginger with the intention of burying the rest in a pot to see what happens. I've heard it's possible to grow your own ginger root, treating it like a tropical house plant. We'll see. And at some point I suppose we'll try dwarf citrus in pots. I'm already growing a little bay tree which is in it's third year with us. I know I can make my own curry paste, I've done it before, I just need to establish tropical exotics in pots to make it local. "Honeeee! Can we build a little greenhouse?"

April and Amber

Chicken Noodle Soup
Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
1 large carrot, diced
1 celery rib, diced
1 quart really good chicken stock
2 cups cooked chicken, chopped, cubed, or torn into bite-sized pieces
1 cup noodles of your choice: broken spaghetti or fettucini, tortellini, flat egg, soba, etc. home made or store bought
salt and pepper to taste.

Directions
Heat the olive oil in a deep pot over medium heat. Add the onion and allow to soften, then add the carrots and celery and saute for 10 minutes. Lower the heat if necessary to keep from browning too much. Add the chicken stock and bring to a boil, then turn down to a simmer. Simmer until the carrots and celery are tender. Stir in the chicken and bring the soup to a slow boil, then add the noodles. Keep the soup just at a boil until the noodles are just done then turn back to a slow simmer. If the soup is thickening too much add water or stock. If it seems low on noodles, cook a little in a separate pot, drain and add to chicken soup. Adjust salt and pepper to taste.

This is a soup I usually just wing. You can add more veggies to it, like peas or baby limas, or stir in spinach or sliced bok choy. Spice it up with a little chili powder, cumin, and red pepper, and swap out the noodles for white beans (cannellini) for white bean chicken chili! Whatever you choose, taste as you go and adjust your seasonings accordingly.

Everything in this soup was local except for the noodles. I know, I know, I'm a staunch proponent of home made noodles. Michael bought a bunch of angel hair nests from one of the local high school band mothers to help finance the band's trip to a competition. Gotta use it somewhere!

Teresa and Jack saving the world.

In addition to the soups, Michael made bread and rolls, some of which became croutons. There was a green salad with local hydroponic grape tomatoes and kohlrabi slices from Green's Garage. I broke down and bought beautiful but not local radishes and broccoli from the grocery store. The dressings were all homemade: Buttermilk Ranch (see recipe archive), Mild, Creamy Blue Cheese (1 cup mayo, 1/2 cup sour cream, 2 ounces crumbled mild blue cheese. Whirl in blender, FP, or stick blender until smooth. Stir in milk until it reaches a pourable consistency. Taste and adjust salt and pepper.), and Cranberry Mustard Vinaigrette (1/3 cup cranberry vinegar, 2/3 cup neutral flavored oil, 1/3 cup walnut oil, 1 heaping tablespoon cranberry mustard, salt and pepper to taste. Whirl as above until emulsified. Add a little water for a pourable consistency if necessary. Stir in 1/3 cup dried cranberries). There were relish trays featuring Michael's deviled eggs and some of our many relishes and pickles, our friend Jim's unbelievably tasty smoked deer and cheese summer sausage, and a cheeseboard augmented with home made mustards, jams, and spiced olives.

Janice baked and brought her unbelievable moist and carroty carrot cake for dessert. I'm sorry I don't have a picture of that but it appeared everyone accessed their inner piranha when the cake was put out!

At the end of the evening, amidst the happy groans of full bellies and food buzzes, the Mid-Winter Soup Fest was declared a success and a great antidote to the January blues.

Isaac and Chris gaming the night away

Asia and Brynna dance on.

Cooking Floyd: Dark Days Challenge: Jan. Week 8

2012-01-18T11:01:00.000-05:00

Oh! Julia!

I've had a copy of Mastering the Art of French Cooking in my cookbook library since I moved out of my parents' house in 1975 but I never made Julia Child's classic Boeuf Bourguignon until yesterday. Why did I wait so long?

Truth be told, I still haven't made Julia's classic dish. I used venison instead of beef and instead of fresh mushrooms, which wouldn't have been local anyway, I used the last of the dried chicken of the woods mushrooms that Jagger foraged late last September.

You'll need a dutch oven or other deep oven proof casserole, pot or pan.
First I set the oven to preheat to 450F. I started the recipe out with the dried mushrooms since they were going to need rehydrating. I put them in a bowl and covered them with boiling water, then allowed them to soak until I needed them.

Next I snipped four thick slices of bacon into lardons and sauteed them in olive oil until they were lightly brown. Lardons are little rectangles of bacon about 1/4" wide. Julia's recipe calls for the bacon to be simmered in water, drained and dried before frying. This step removes some of the salt but the bacon I used didn't have nearly the strong cure that the bacon Julia was accustomed to using had. I went straight to the saute. It seems redundant to me to saute bacon in olive oil but this is a technique I've seen elsewhere as well, so I did it.

When the bacon was golden I removed it to a paper towel and sauteed the venison in the bacon fat. Julia had me dry the venison cubes before sauteing and frying a few at a time in order to achieve good caramelization on the meat. It's a pain but she's right. The meat does brown nicely and it may actually be faster working in small batches.

As each batch of venison finished I moved it to a bowl. In the fat that was left I browned a thin sliced carrot and a thin sliced onion.

When these had browned a bit the next step was to remove the veg and pour away any remaining fat from the pan. Then all the veg, venison and bacon was returned to the pan, sprinkled with salt and pepper and 2 tablespoons of flour, and tossed to coat. Into the oven for 8 minutes, tossing the meat and veg once halfway through. This browns a nice crust on everything. I removed the pan and turned the oven down to 325F.

At this point my mushrooms had rehydrated and I removed them to paper towels to drain, reserving the now golden water they had soaked in. There's a lot of flavor in that water and I wanted to add some of it to the recipe. I cut the mushrooms into roughly inch squares. Typical white mushrooms would be quartered.

Back to the casserole. I stirred in 2 cups of a hearty table burgundy, 2 cups of venison stock, and enough of the mushroom water so that the meat was just covered in liquid. To that I added 4 smashed cloves of our own grown garlic, 2 tablespoons of my homemade tomato paste (resisting the urge to break out a slice of bread and spread the remainder on it), and half a bay leaf from our little bay tree. Julia calls for 1/2 teaspoon of thyme. I didn't feel like trudging through the mud to the herb garden for fresh. I thought I had thyme paste in the freezer but I didn't. So I used a chunk of Fines Herbs paste I'd put up in the summer. That's French, right? Good enough. (Go here for herb paste technique)

All these things were stirred together and brought to a simmer on top of the stove. Then I clapped the lid on it and put the pot in the 325F oven for 3 hours. I think if you're a crock pot kinda cook, this is where you'd put it in the slow cooker on low.

After an hour I took a peek and the casserole was bubbling pretty fast so I turned the oven down to 300F. Julia wants the meat to simmer slowly.

While the casserole was in the oven, I cubed a large onion into half inch squares. Julia wants pearl onions used here. Didn't have any and wasn't about to buy them so I subbed in a local onion. I did add baby onions to next year's things to preserve list. I can prep and freeze small early onions for this use. Plus they'd be nice to add to our mixed roasted winter veg.
Anyway, the cubed onion got sauteed in a mix of butter and olive oil and when browned was braised in a half cup of venison stock for a half hour with a sprig of cutting celery and the other half of the bay leaf. When the onions were done and removed, the mushrooms were sauteed in the same pan with butter and olive oil until lightly browned. These were set aside until the casserole was ready.

When the meat is fork tender Julia advises pouring the contents of the casserole into a colander set into a pot to catch the juices, then returning the meat and veg back into the casserole and distributing the mushrooms and braised onions over the top. She says to simmer the sauce for a minute or two, skimming off any fat that rises and adjusting the thickness of the sauce by adding stock if too thick, or reducing by boiling if too thin, then pouring the finished sauce over the meat and the vegetables. I found the sauce in the casserole to be just about perfect without the trouble of this step which I attribute to the natural leanness of the venison. I know when to leave well enough alone. Mostly. So I added the onions and mushrooms and gently turned them into the meat and sauce.

The Bourguignon can be completed in advance to this point, cooled and refrigerated. To reheat, bring to a gentle simmer on the stove for 10-15 minutes, basting occasionally with the sauce.

I pulled the casserole from the oven after 3 hours and set it on the stovetop while I prepared oven roasted North Carolina potatoes for the side. Chunks of potato slathered with olive oil, wild garlic dust, salt and pepper, and roasted at 450F for about 45 minutes or until the cut edges turn brown and the potatoes poke tender. A salad of local greens and we were set.

I can't believe I never made this before! It was dangerously good! Go back for more and waddle away good! Yep, there's a lot of steps to prepare it but Oh! Julia! it's good!

Cooking Floyd: Two Cookbooks to Get Us Through the Winter and a Website

2012-01-12T11:06:00.000-05:00

Being involved in the Dark Days Challenge has me scrambling to come up with inventive ways to use local winter produce, some of which I've never seen or heard of before. Thanks to the greater interest in our area of eating local in season foods, our farmers are learning to extend their growing seasons and exploring more types of cold-hardy produce. I've been doing a lot of "what is that and how is it used?". A few weeks ago while surfing around Amazon.com I came across the Winter Harvest Cookbook by Lane Morgan.

This book has been around since 1990 and I can't imagine how I missed it! I sent off right away for the revised and updated 20th anniversary edition. The book starts off with a descriptive alphabetical produce list of winter veg, fruits and grains. You'll find old friends like apples, beets, and cabbage but you'll also find new (or new to me anyway) things like cardoons, gobo, and orach. The second section of the book is dedicated to recipes using all these wondrous things, leading into part three which covers menus, resources and a recipe index. I know the Winter Harvest Cookbook is going to become stained and dog-eared very quickly and I'm considering adding the e-book version to my reader as well.

Michael and I LOVE roasted vegetables. Roasting concentrates and intensifies a vegetable's flavor in a way that requires very little embellishment from other ingredients and spices. But gilding the lily can be a good thing and Andrea Chesman's The Roasted Vegetable will take you there.

Andrea starts off with basic roasting equipment and techniques then leads you into a dazzling array of recipes that will keep you happily satisfied for a long time to come. There's a lot here to provide inspiration to anyone eating local and seasonally through the winter and more good eating for the rest of the year. This book has happy belly written all over it!

Reading ingredient labels will make your head spin. Enriched wheat flour. That sounds healthy, right? Well, maybe not. First they extract all the healthy stuff like the bran and the germ, leaving behind your basic plain white flour and then they put other stuff back into it making it "enriched". It's not the same as reading "whole grain flour". Confusing, huh. Then you get to the multiple-syllabic additives which appear to have more consonants than vowels that you can barely sound out and don't offer a clue to what they are or what their purpose is. TAA-DAA! The Center for Science in the Public Interest to the rescue! Their page titled "Chemical Cuisine: Learn About Food Additives" lists dozens of food additives, defines them, and rates them in categories called Safe, Cut Back, Caution, Certain People Should Avoid, and Avoid. If you always wondered what phytosterols are, you'll find the answer here.

Cooking Floyd: Dark Days Challenge: Jan. Week 7

2012-01-11T10:11:00.000-05:00

I noticed that while everybody was on Week 7 of the DDC, I was on Week 6. That's because I started the challenge the first week of December. So for the sake of continuity and less confusion I've updated to Week 7. I didn't miss a week, just a number.

Asparagus Soup
Yesterday I was off all day at a Master Food Volunteer meeting so I came home to a cold stove and little time to kick up a hot meal. The answer was sitting on my pantry shelf.

We preserve asparagus for the winter in soup form. I always do up a few jars of pickled spears for salads and relish trays, but the rest is soup. Our asparagus bed will be in its second year of growth this spring and really won't be harvestable until it's third year so we've been buying in asparagus to can. Since we turn it into soup we don't need to have perfect spears. The market farmers are very happy to offload their shaggy looking asparagus to us and we're very appreciative of the price break. This asparagus isn't old or tough, it's just not catalog perfect in appearance and customers will pass it by at market. We'll buy 20 pounds or more of it at a time and the farmers are happy to not have to count it a loss. I keep an eye out for pretty spears as I clean it because there are always some and these will be pickled where looks count.

So last night I broke out a jar of soup, warmed it up and added some half and half to it along with a dab of sour cream for garnish. I raided the salad shelf for beet, mixed lettuce, and spinach greens.

Topped the salad with pumpkin seeds, a ripe pear and dressed it with blue cheese. Okay, the blue cheese didn't come from a local source but it goes so well with pears and I couldn't resist.

Some slices of no-knead wheat bread stuffed with homemade ham salad and supper was on the table!

Cooking Floyd: Dark Days Challenge: Jan. Week 5

2012-01-04T12:29:00.000-05:00

Cabbage Rolls and No-Knead Rolls

Most people do their deep housecleaning in the spring when they can open the windows and air out the house or in the fall before they have to close the house up. In the spring we're busy with tilling, seeds, transplants, and chicks and everything that goes along with that. In the fall I'm still in the midst of preservation frenzy, and then the holidays happen. Now that the xmas decorations have been packed away I'm getting a start on that deep house cleaning. Today's project is scrubbing down the kitchen cabinets and appliances inside and out and degreasing the range hood. Who doesn't love doing that? So there will be no cooking going on today. At least not by me. I've got the crock pot loaded!

This was the first year we grew cabbage and while I like sauerkraut, Michael doesn't care for it. So all our cabbage was either eaten fresh or made into stuffed cabbage rolls. These particular rolls were stuffed with Bright's sausage (see local sources tab). They do contain some rice but when I made them I didn't know I'd be participating in the DDC. Go here to learn how to make cabbage rolls.

This morning I poured a little of our tomato sauce in the bottom of the crock pot, added a dozen rolls straight from the freezer, and then covered them with more sauce.

I clapped the lid on and set the crockpot on low. My crock pot is probably considered vintage now (hell, I'm considered vintage now). I got it in the late '70's and it has two settings: low and high. Today's crock pots or slow cookers come with multiple settings and keypads and streamlined space age design. I've also heard people complain that the new slow cookers cook too fast even on the lowest setting. I'm sure that's a food safety issue. The danger zone for foods is between 40F and 140F so I'm sure the current slow cookers don't have a cooking temperature below 140F. That would explain the "How to Hack Your Slow Cooker" videos and articles out there. But anyway, the cabbage rolls are on their journey to becoming tender, tomatoey, goodness.

To go with the cabbage rolls I shaped easy-peasy no-knead bread rolls (see local sources tab for flour) and left them to rise. A few days ago Michael made a batch of dough into which he tossed a handful of salt herbs which made a fragrant, herby loaf. Go here to learn about no-knead bread. Go here to learn about salt herbs.

No-knead dough improves with age so I'm hoping for a bit of tang along with the herb flavor in the rolls. I wet my hands and pulled off lumps of dough a little larger than a golf ball.

The rolls were set in a warm, draft-free spot and allowed to rise uncovered for about 20 minutes. The risen rolls got floured and slashed, then baked in a steamy 450F oven on a stone for about 30 minutes.

There's still chard growing in the garden and beet greens ready for picking on the winter salad shelf, a bit of kohlrabi from River Stone Farm in the fridge. I think that will become a chopped salad sprinkled with some pumpkin seeds and dressed with a vinaigrette made from the sun-dried tomato mustard.

Cooking Floyd: ...mmmMustard!

2012-01-02T14:38:00.002-05:00

Now that the preserving season has slowed down (although it never really stops) there's time for projects on the "I want to try this" list. Mustard is one of these. Armed with lots of flavored vinegars, fruits, herbs and spices, I figure I can turn out all kinds of specialty mustards once I get the technique down. While mustard can be canned for long term preservation, it keeps a mighty long time under refrigeration. Quite frankly, I'm glad to have a break from the water bath!

You'd think I'd know by now that when making something I've never made before, I should stick to that recipe exactly the first time. But no. I had to tweak it and nearly had a fail the first time out.

I started with Garlic Honey Mustard from Everything Canning and Preserving and nearly had a fail right off the bat. Because I had to tweak I suppose. It seemed to be the easiest to start with because all that is involved is combining the ingredients. Right. My notes are in italics.

Garlic Honey Mustard
1/4 cup freshly ground mustard (1/4 cup of mustard seed grinds into a lot more than 1/4 cup of freshly ground. Try grinding 1/8 of a cup of seeds.)
1/2 cup honey (I used a dark honey, it's what I had.)
1/4 cup whole dark mustard seed (I used yellow seeds. Again, what I had.)
1/2 cup malt or white wine vinegar (I used malt.)
1 tablespoon yellow mustard powder
1 tablespoon finely ground garlic (A press would have been useful here. I used a sprinkle of salt and mashed the garlic with the flat of the blade to make a paste.)
salt and pepper to taste (optional)

Directions
Thoroughly mix all ingredients. Taste test and adjust for personal preferences.
The original recipe suggests using orange blossom honey to add an aromatic note. I liked the idea but didn't have any so I added a tablespoon of Clementine dust, the fresh zest from a whole orange and the juice from half a naval orange. When I tasted it there was a very nice orange flavor about it but the mustard was sharp, burny, and bitey in a way I didn't like at all. It was also very runny, probably from my addition of orange juice.

To make the mustard thinner, add more vinegar; to make it thicker add more mustard powder or honey.
I so wasn't going to add more powder, it was already too sharp. No more honey either, it was a nice level of sweet. Not knowing exactly how to fix it, I put it in the fridge overnight in hopes that the seeds would swell and it would thicken on it's own. It didn't.

The next day when I pulled the mustard out of the fridge, it was as runny as when I put it in. By that time I had done two other mustards successfully and I figured I'd try cooking it down like I did those. I warmed the mustard in a small pot to a very slow simmer for about 15 minutes, stirring frequently, reducing it by about 1/4 the volume. Not only did the mustard thicken up nicely, it mellowed the bite right out of it.

This mustard may be frozen, but canning offers a longer shelf life and better textural/taste results. Use a hot pack, hot water method, leaving at least 1/4" space at the top of each jar and immersing the jars for 15 minutes.
So here's where the cook down of the mustard actually occurs although the sealed jars don't allow for reduction of the liquid. Fifteen minutes of cooking in the boiling water bath to process and seal the mustard probably has the equivalent mellowing effect that reducing it on the stovetop did. Whether your mustard needs to be thickened up or not, I recommend that you simmer it for a few minutes when combining the ingredients.

Move to a cooling surface, leaving plenty of space between the jars. Check all the lids when cool, tightening as needed. If any of the jars did not seal, refrigerate or freeze instead.
Since this recipe made only a generous cup of mustard I chose to just refrigerate it. After all this I think this is my favorite of the three mustards I made!

Sun-Dried Tomato Mustard from Small Batch Preserving
1/4 cup mustard seed
1/2 cup chopped sundried tomatoes (not oil-packed)
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons dry mustard
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon granulated sugar

Directions
Cover mustard sees with warm water and refrigerate overnight. (I let them soak covered with warm water for an hour and then proceeded.) Drain and rinse seeds.

I used our dehydrated Principe Borghese tomatoes.

Place mustard seeds, tomatoes, vinegar, dry mustard, oil, salt, and sugar in a food processor.

Process until almost smooth and thickened.

In all the recipes I used the smallest bowl of the food processor to the same effect: things mixed up but the seeds didn't process at all. I came back the next day, put the mustard in the jar I use with my immersion blender, and blended the mustard with that until it was at the smoothness/graininess I wanted.

Store in a tightly sealed container in the refrigerator for up to 1 month or freeze for longer storage.

The Sun-Dried Tomato Mustard has almost a B-B-Q flavor that goes very well with tangy, sharp, and smoked cheeses.

Cranberry Mustard
This Cranberry Mustard recipe comes by way of Cynthia over at Mother's Kitchen. It yields a lot of mustard so if you're making it just for yourself, cut the recipe in half.

1 cup red wine vinegar

2/3 cup yellow mustard seeds

1 cup water

1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce

2-3/4 cups fresh or frozen cranberries

3/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup dry mustard

2 1/2 tsp ground allspice

Directions

Bring vinegar to a boil in a mediumsaucepan. Remove from heat and add mustard seeds. Cover and let stand at roomtemperature until seeds have absorbed most of the moisture, about an hour orso. Combine mustard seeds and liquid,water and Worcestershire sauce in a blender. Process until slightly grainy. Addcranberries and blend until chopped.

Bring cranberry mixture to a boil in amedium saucepan, stirring constantly. Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes,stirring frequently. Stir in sugar, dry mustard and allspice. Continue tosimmer, stirring frequently, until volume is reduced by a third, about 15minutes.

Ladle hot mustard into hot jars leaving1/4 inch headspace. Remove air bubbles. Wipe rim. Center hot lid on jar. Applyband and adjust until fit is fingertip tight. Process in a boiling water cannerfor 10 minutes.

Makes five 4 oz jars.

Michael is not a mustard eater. Or a cranberry eater for that matter. But he did like this mustard. He says the sum of it's parts is definitely greater than either of it's ingredients.

I find I'm really enjoying making my own condiments. Ketchup has always been on my canning list and whipping up mayo is a no-brainer. Add in salad dressings, hot sauce, flavored vinegars, oils and now mustards and I'm discovering how much better condiments taste. Having control over the ingredients is important (no HFCS and things I can't pronounce, nor mysterious "natural flavors" here), I can customize to my heart's content, and I'm saving large amounts of money!

Husbanding Floyd: Franklin Gives a Shout-out!

2011-12-30T17:31:00.000-05:00

Franklin wants me to give a heartfelt Thank You! to Gladys for the wonderful catnip mouse she sent home for his Christmas present!

He said the mouse was very well made and the catnip stuffing of the highest quality...

...and he greatly enjoyed getting his jungle cat on!

After racing up and down the stairs with it, satisfying a HUGE munchie binge, and passing out,

he can't remember where he left it!

And he is very P.O.'d with himself!

Thanks Gladys!

Gardening Floyd: Growing Winter Salad Update

2011-12-30T17:02:00.000-05:00

On December 1st I posted about how we set up our seed starting shelf to grow tender greens for winter salads. Twenty-eight days later I harvested our first batch of salad greens. The little plants are still very baby-like and I had to gently pinch off the larger outer leaves but with each harvest they'll grow sturdier and by the third or fourth harvest I'll be cutting the whole plant off about 2" above the base.

The spinach prior to pinching back...

...and the first spinach harvest.

Mixed lettuces...

...and the first lettuce harvest.

All together I got about 4 cups of tender baby greens out of the first harvest, enough for the two of us to enjoy for our evening salad!

Cooking Floyd: Dark Days Challenge: Dec. Week 4

2011-12-28T12:23:00.002-05:00

Kale Pasta

Recently I've been exploring making our pasta. It took me several tries to be able to produce a consistent nicely textured basic all-purpose flour and egg pasta but once I did I wanted to try making different kinds and flavors of pasta dough. My first variation was a buckwheat dough for Butternut Squash Raviolis. (You'll also find a tutorial for making basic pasta on that post.) This time I wanted to add kale since I had a bagful of kale flakes from kale chips that had turned out too bland for snacking.

Kale is a very cold hardy green. It'll withstand a hard frost and with a little protection, like a plastic covered tunnel, it can be taken right through the winter and continue to produce. So far we're having a mild winter and fresh local winter greens are thriving. If you're growing in containers, kale will grow in large pots that can stay outside in a protected sunny place. Rig up a frame around the pot and cover it with sheet plastic once the weather gets cold and harsh and the kale will continue to produce.

Kale Pasta Dough

3½ cups all purpose flour

1/2 cup (or more) flaked dried kale

1 tsp salt

4 eggs

1 tablespoon olive oil

a little extra water

In a large bowl, combine the flour, flaked kale, and salt. I crunched the dried kale up fine in a plastic bag and then removed any pointy, woody pieces of stems or veins. If you had a large screened sifter or seine you could sift it through that but I found the flakes went to the bottom while the stem pieces stayed on top and I could just lift them off. Use a minimum of a half cup of flakes but feel free to add more if you like, up to a cup.

Make a well in the center of the flour and into this crack the eggs and add the olive oil.

Beat the eggs and olive oil together and then begin incorporating the flour from the side of the well a bit at a time.

Once most of the flour and eggs have been mixed, turn the dough and the remaining flour in the bowl on to a work surface and begin kneading the rest of the flour into the dough.

Continue kneading the dough until all the flour has mixed in and the dough itself is elastic but not sticky. You may have to sprinkle the dough with a bit of cold water in order to reach this stage depending on how much kale you added and how dry or humid your house is. Sprinkle the dough with only a half a teaspoon of water at a time and work it all in before adding more. The dough can go from dry and cracking to elastic in the blink of an eye once the proper moisture has been reached. Don't be discouraged by the kneading at this stage, the more you knead, the better the gluten in the dough develops, and the silkier your pasta will be.

The dough now needs to rest for about 30 minutes. You can let it rest in one big ball or divide it into quarters now. Either way, cover it so it doesn't dry out. Resting allows the gluten fibers to relax, making it easier to work with.

While the dough is resting, set up your pasta machine and flour it.

This is a very basic, inexpensive machine that I got for $25 at a place called Kitchen Collections. They have a store in the NRV Mall if you're local and mail order if you're not. Pasta machines like this one that are the same but made of (supposedly) more durable materials and come with optional electric motors can run well over $100, but I've used this one hard and it's held up well for several years now. The grandkids love to help crank the pasta. That alone justifies the investment!

Take one of your quarters of pasta dough and on a well floured surface, roll it out into a rectangle. Do this with as few rolls of the pin as possible because too much handling of pasta dough that has additions (such as kale) makes it become brittle and it will snap or break. So just approximate that rectangle.

Now run it through the largest setting of the pasta machine,

fold it in thirds like a letter,

and run it through the machine again.

Do this a total of three times only. This conditions the dough.

Now run the dough through the progressively smaller settings on the machine (only once at each setting) until you come to the next or next to last setting, depending on how thin you want your dough to be.

Cut the sheet of dough into the lengths you want your noodles.

Move the handle of the machine from the roller to the cutters and sprinkle flour on the fettucine cutter. My machine has cutters for fettucine width and taglietelle width.

That's the fettucine width in the rear, taglietelle in the front.

Crank the sheet of dough through the cutter, flour the cut pasta generously, and lightly roll into a bird's nest. Or you can hang the pasta to dry (I use to use a foldable wooden laundry rack, set on newspapers and well floured), or lay it on a well floured clean sheet on a flat surface. Lots of flour sprinkled everywhere is key to keeping the pasta from sticking to itself or anything it touches while drying.

If you don't have a machine, use a rolling pin and roll the dough out as thinly as possible on a well floured surface into a very large rectangle as wide as you want your noodles to be long. Roll the rectangle up lightly from the long side and then cut into fettucine-sized widths. Unroll the slices and you have your noodles. Flour and dry them as you prefer.

You may not want to use the entire batch of pasta at once. I lay the bird's nests in an air tight plastic container, laying a sheet of wax paper or foil between any layers, snap on the lid, and freeze it. Thoroughly dried lengths of pasta (not nests) can be gently laid in a sturdy plastic air tight container and stored in the pantry at room temp. The dollar store is a good source for flat plastic containers of pasta size. Home made dried pasta is more delicate than store bought dried pasta and you want to protect it from breaking.

To cook your pasta, bring a large pot filled with amply salted water to a boil. Drop the noodles in, give a stir, and allow to cook at the boil for just a few minutes, 4 or 5, until they are done to the "bite" that you prefer. You may have to turn your heat down to a gentler boil because I've found fresh pasta has more of a tendency to foam up and overflow the pot at a high boil. Drain, reserving a cup of the pasta water, and toss with the sauce of your choice. If the pasta and sauce appear dry, add the reserved water a bit at a time until you reach the consistency you like.

The sauce I'm choosing for tonight's dinner will be made from a packet of our frozen, herbed and slow roasted Principe Borghese tomatoes mixed with a packet of pesto made when the basil was growing at full tilt. I think the kale pasta would be equally good simply dressed with garlic butter and grated cheese. Either way it's comfort food for a wintry evening.

Preserving Floyd: Save Money, Cut Meat Yourself - NY Strip Steaks

2011-12-22T12:19:00.002-05:00

It's possible to save yourself a whole lot of money by learning a bit about cutting your own meat. Whether you buy from the grocery store or from a local farmer, the less the seller has to handle the meat the more money you'll save. I recently bought a whole strip loin, cut it into steaks, and saved approximately $8.99/lb.

NY strip steaks, ready to cook, retail for around $12.99 a pound. As you can see from the label, this 12 pound loin was retailing for $8.99 a pound and was on sale for $4.99 a pound. This loin broke down into twelve 1 1/2" thick steaks a little under a pound each. Michael and I will split one of these for a meal.

After slaughtering, the first cuts of beef, pork, and lamb are called halves and quarters. If you buy directly from a farmer you are usually required to buy a half or a quarter. Next you'll be asked how you want it cut. This means do you want steaks and what kind, roasts and what kind, ribs, burger, shanks, etc. (Be aware that, when buying halves and quarters, the cost of cutting the meat into the final cuts is often a separate charge from the price of the meat itself. This ups the total price per pound that you paid.) If you bought a quarter, what kind of cuts you get depends on whether you bought a front quarter or a hind quarter. The front quarter turns out tougher cuts and the rear quarter more tender ones. In between the purchase of that half or quarter and you receiving the final packaged cuts that you ordered, that meat has been handled many more times by the butcher, each time increasing the final cost to you. The same thing happens in the grocery store.

Back when my father was a grocery store butcher meat used to arrive in halves and quarters. The next step was to break it down (referred to as fabricating) into primals and then into the various cuts you are accustomed to seeing in the cooler.

Primal Cuts (illustration courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)

Today meat arrives at the grocery store already fabricated into primals or sub-primals, and often already into retail cuts. Many grocery store butchers are familiar with only the most popular cuts of meat and only recently has demand for some of the lesser known cuts (such as hanger steaks) brought them back into the display cases.

How many times did the whole strip loin I bought get handled before me? Quite a few actually. (1) Splitting the carcass in half. (2) Splitting the half into quarters. (3) Cutting the quarters into primals. (4) Cutting the short loin primal into the sub-primals from which individual T-bone, Porterhouse, and NY Strip steaks are cut.

Short Loin Primal (illustration courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)

It may not be practical for most of us to handle anything larger than a sub-primal cut (like my whole strip loin) in the home. This cut is great to start out on since it's boneless and generally of a size that most anyone can handle.

A whole strip loin will come vacuum-packed and the loin will be covered on top with a thick cap of fat. Rifle through the loins offered and choose the one that has the thinnest cap of fat. Look at it from both ends and press on it to kind of gauge the thickness of the cap. You'll be trimming away the vast majority of the fat cap so why pay for waste.

While you're looking at the ends of the loin (or as much as you can see through the packaging), look for a nice balance of meat and fat marbling.

Fat on the outside of a piece of meat, usually fat that was located between the muscle and the skin, will be discarded. Fat located within and between the muscles is the fat (marbling) that melts and bathes the meat during cooking to prevent drying and produce succulence and tenderness.

Assemble your tools and wraps. I used a 6" chef knife, a honing steel, a tape measure, a flexible cutting mat, plastic wrap, freezer bags, and paper towels

Place the meat on your work surface and trim off the ragged ends. Save these pieces to cut into strips for a stir-fry or steak sandwiches.

With the ends straightened up, measure off the desired thickness of your steaks, leaving a slash at each point where you want to cut. I prefer an inch and a half thick steak because that allows me to achieve the desired caramelization of the meat on the outside and the rare-medium I prefer on the inside after the steak rests. It's a hefty chunk of meat but provides a generous two portions when split between us.

Go back and begin cutting the loin into individual steaks. Try to cut the entire steak with one long, steady pull of the knife to ensure a clean cut. Sawing back and forth can leave the surface of the steak ragged. If you must use a second cut to get through the steak, open it up and make sure you place the knife in the path of the original cut.

Cutting through fat will quickly dull your blade so keep the honing steel handy and wipe and hone the knife after cutting a steak or two.

Once all the steaks are cut, trim each one of surplus fat. How much you trim off will be up to you but since we aren't fond of beef fat I remove all but a thin layer around the outside edges.

Wipe off any bits of fat or meat adhering to the steak and tightly wrap it in plastic wrap, bag with the other steaks in a freezer bag, removing as much air as possible or vacuum seal it. Label, date, and freeze.

After weighing up the fat trimmed from the steaks, I lost 1 pound and 5 ounces to waste at a cost of $5.27. There will be waste and this is why you should choose the loin with the least amount of discardable fat.

Still, I ended up with 11.04 pounds of beautiful NY strip steaks in my freezer for a very reasonable price.

One last thing. Beef comes graded as prime, choice, select, standard, commercial, utility, cutter, and canner. According to the USDA:

"USDA Prime, Choice, Select and Standard grades come from younger beef. The highest grade, USDA Prime, is used mostly by hotels and restaurants, but a small amount is sold at retail markets. The grade most widely sold is USDA Choice." (I have never seen Prime beef in a grocery store. Update: My son works in the meat department of a Wegmans in PA. and tells me that they do get Prime grade beef during the holidays.)

"Standard and Commercial beef is frequently sold as ungraded or as "brand name" meat." (Makes you think twice about buying those store brand chubs of hamburger.)

"The three lower grades - USDA Utility, Cutter, and Canner - are seldom, if ever, sold in stores but are used to make ground beef and other meat items such as frankfurters." (just eeww)

Any beef that is graded by the USDA is considered edible. Just how edible is up to you.

Cooking Floyd: Dark Days Challenge: Dec. Week 3

2011-12-19T19:36:00.001-05:00

The solution to this week's challenge feels like cheating. It's not, it's exactly the result I was aiming for when I froze them: an effortless meal. Stuffed Marconi Peppers.

When the peppers were coming in hot and heavy I stuffed, individually wrapped, and froze enough peppers for several winter meals. The sausage I used was a product of Bright's Farm (click and scroll down) made from their pastured Tamworth hogs.

I simply put the frozen peppers in a pot with a pint and a half of our tomato sauce, covered the pot, set the oven for 375F, and walked away for a couple of hours.

During the cooking time the sauce thickened up and was flavored with the sausage. A green salad, vinaigrette made with olive oil and home made white wine vinegar flavored with chive blossoms from the herb garden, a couple of leftover (slightly charred) toasts, and supper was ready.

Cooking Floyd: Dark Days Challenge: Dec. Week 2

2011-12-13T12:51:00.001-05:00

A quick glimpse last week at some of the other DDC participating bloggers posts, including mine, reveals that we may winter squash ourselves to death before the challenge is over! It's just that winter squash is so darn versatile and at the same time so comforting and filling, no matter how you use it. Next week I will not use squash! This week I did.

Last night we had a warm butternut squash salad with Boursin-style cheese toasts inspired by Gordon Ramsey's "Warm Pumpkin Salad with Ricotta Toasts" from his cookbook In the Heat of the Kitchen. I really like Gordon Ramsey's food. His recipes are well-tested and reproduce well for the home cook. I really dislike the circus he's built around himself. Same deal with one of my other bad boy chef icons, Marco Pierre White. The day I saw him touting Knorr products all I could think was "say it ain't so, Marco". Hopefully this is a momentary lapse. But I digress. On to the salad.

Ramsey's recipe calls for ciabatta or a baguette thinly sliced and toasted. I had a partial loaf of multi-grain bread that I trimmed of crusts and sliced and quartered into inch thick squares. I went for hearty. These were brushed with olive oil and toasted in a 325F oven until completely dry and golden. It took about 30 minutes and I flipped them halfway through. Set aside.

*An aside about olive oil and a tout for my favorite. A couple of years ago I went on a search for an American grown and pressed olive oil. Mostly because I was appalled by the adulteration that was going on with olive oil but also in an effort to source olive oil closer to home. OK, so it's on the other coast and probably as far away from me as an import is, but it is made in the same country I'm living in. I found Sciabica, a family run orchard in California. I use their Marsala blend for everyday cooking and one of their varietals (currently the Sevillano Fall Harvest) when I want the oil flavor to stand out in finishes, dressings, and dipping. Their oils are very tasty, they live up to their 100% satisfaction guarantee, and their customer service is superb.*

Toasted pumpkin seeds are called for in the original recipe but I was out so I toasted up some chopped walnuts instead. I use the microwave to toast nuts, a little trick I learned from Barbara Kafka. Spread the nuts in a single layer on a microwave-safe plate, toast on high and stir at two and a half minute intervals until the nuts reach your desired degree of toastiness. Set aside.

Cut an approximately 2-2 1/2 pound butternut squash in half, deseed, peel, and cut into 1/2 inch square cubes.

Heat a couple of tablespoons of olive oil in a large frying pan and add the squash cubes. Season with salt and pepper. Saute over medium heat until the cubes begin to soften and take on a little color, about 4-5 minutes. You may have to do this in batches depending on the size of your pan.

Return all of the squash to the pan and add 3 tablespoons of butter. Continue to cook the squash until it's soft and caramelized, about another 5 minutes. Stir frequently to prevent sticking.

Using a slotted spoon, remove the squash to paper towels and allow to drain and cool slightly.

While the squash is cooking, heat up the broiler and prepare the salad greens. Ramsey's recipe calls for sharp-tasting greens like endive and arugula. I have some chard growing and had some leaf lettuce but no sharp greens. I used whole flat leaf parsley and cutting celery leaves (growing on our salad shelf) mixed in with the chard and lettuce to get that bit of piquancy the recommended greens would have supplied.

That's flat leaf parsley on the left and cutting celery on the right. The leaves and stems are remarkably similar but the aroma and taste definitely is not. In fact, cutting celery is much stronger in flavor than celery. If you are unfamiliar with this herb, go light with it until you are accustomed to it's strength of flavor. I've come to love it and recommend that you grow this herb in your garden or in a pot. Its growing habit and culture is very similar to the parsley it resembles.

Once the salad greens are mixed, prepare your toasts for the broiler. Ramsey spreads his with ricotta. I used Boursin-style chevre I made and froze back in July.

Place the toasts under the broiler and toast until the cheese is just bubbly. Don't do what I did and char the edges of the toasts. Watch them carefully. I always char the toasts.

Lightly dress the greens with a basic vinaigrette of 3 parts oil, 1 part vinegar, juice of 1 lemon, and salt and pepper to taste. I made my vinaigrette with walnut oil, partly to save a step and partly because I didn't have the pumpkin oil Ramsey calls for later.

Top the greens with the warm squash cubes. Drizzle a little more vinaigrette (or pumpkin oil if you have it) over the cubes and sprinkle lightly with balsamic vinegar. (Update: What was I thinking? I should have used my home made maple vinegar instead of balsamic!) Garnish with the toasted, chopped walnuts and shavings of Parmesan cheese.

Serve the salad accompanied by the cheese toasts.

Husbanding Floyd: Hunting and Processing a Deer

2011-12-08T09:34:00.001-05:00

I've thought a lot about this post and how to present it. I've talked to other food bloggers who hunt and process their own meat and there seems to be no agreement on how to present the topic without offending somebody or stirring up controversy but total agreement that it will offend someone and stir up controversy. Joel over at Well Preserved says his readership drops off considerably when he just talks about his family's annual moose hunt. I feel that people who eat meat, especially people whose meat arrives in cling-wrapped styro trays, out of respect for the animal they consume and respect for themselves, should at least once witness the cold cruelty of an industrial feedlot and slaughterhouse and contrast that with the personal involvement and concern of someone who carefully hunts and/or raises livestock and processes it at home to feed family and friends. Bacon does not grow from a seed. If you don't want to or can't bring yourself to acknowledge where meat comes from and how it gets to you, you're probably better off not eating it.

Does that mean there are no irresponsible people hunting or raising their own livestock for the table? Unfortunately, no. But so far they are non-existent in the circles I travel. I am fortunate.

Responsible, ethical hunting is a far cry from the anti-hunting propaganda some organizations disseminate. It's all about forestry and wild animal management, husbanding the woods and wildlife, if you will, to maintain a healthy balance that nurtures the sustainability of the wild. There are few things sadder than the sight of malnourished deer because the woods can't support the population or road-killed deer every few miles as they move about trying to find food.

Michael and I took the time to photograph the process of butchering and wrapping a deer for freezing but I realized that what we had to offer wasn't nearly as good as some of the videos on YouTube and the books we have on the subject. I'll concentrate on the wonderful things that can be made with it.

If you are local and would like to learn hands-on when we get our next deer, leave your email and phone number in a comment on this post. Your contact info will not be published. Michael will be hunting tomorrow (Friday, Dec. 9) and most Saturdays until the end of the season. Since we can't predict when he will get a deer be prepared for spur-of-the-moment notification.

So, for a list of deer processing videos on YouTube click here

Books I've found very helpful are:
The Ultimate Guide to Butchering Deer by John Weiss. Everything from field dressing to cutting to cooking venison. Good tips on how to cook different cuts of meat although the recipes themselves are very buck camp run-of-the-mill. Black and white, fairly sterile photos.

The Complete Book of Butchering, Smoking, Curing, and Sausage Making: How to Harvest Your Livestock & Wild Game by Philip Hasheider. Lots of photographs. Clear, color photographs. Graphic. Not for the faint of heart but rooted in the how it is reality photographs. Good recipes, good writing. Covers nearly every kind of domestic livestock, poultry, and fowl, both large and small game, and fish.

For those of you who want to go beyond basic fresh sausage-making I highly recommend Charcuterie: The Craft of Salting, Smoking, and Curing by Michael Ruhlman, Brian Polcyn, and Thomas Keller. This book will take you into ways of preserving meats you never thought were possible to do at home: dry cures, smoke cures, salt cures, BACON!, as well as confits, pates, and terrines, and the condiments to go with them. Excellent recipes that are adaptable to game.

Cooking Floyd: The Dark Days Challenge, Dec. Week 1

2011-12-06T11:29:00.001-05:00

The more I think about the Dark Days Challenge the more I realize what it entails. I thought I was doing pretty well already. What veggies and fruits we don't grow and preserve I buy locally. But wait! This means no citrus, no avocados, artichokes, olives, bananas, etc., as well as what happens when I run out of what I have canned, dried, or frozen. I've been getting flour and cornmeal from a local mill, but I don't know where they get their grains from. Rice is right out. Local butter is exorbitantly expensive and cheese, well, don't get me started. Cheese is expensive anyway, even before going local. But I can do this. It's one meal a week. And I am going to learn so much!

This week's meal is trout from Big Pine Trout Farm dredged in cornmeal from Big Spring Mill (where I also get my flour), tarter sauce, roasted butternut squash bought in bulk from Wade's Orchard (where I also get my apples in bulk), and green beans that we grew and canned. Dessert is apple dumplings.

The squash takes the longest to cook but is simple to prepare so I put that on first. I chose one of the less perfect ones from my stash since those should be used first. They won't store as long as perfect squash.

I washed it, cut off the stem and blossom ends, whacked it in half and deseeded it, and placed it cut side down on an oiled baking sheet. It went into a 400F oven for about 40 minutes or until it poked tender.

When the squash was done I pulled it out of the oven and set it to the side. It stayed plenty hot while I was getting the rest of the meal on. When I plated it, I added a dab of butter and a sprinkle of cinnamon. So easy! Roasted winter squash is incredibly flavorful on it's own.

Next I put the jar of green beans on to simmer. The National Center for Home Food Preservation recommends that home canned veg be reheated at a low boil for 20 minutes to be on the safe side. Most people, including me, think that's horrific because it cooks the bejesus out of already cooked veg, but I don't mind it with green beans. While they are definitely overcooked they don't go to mush and the flavor is still nutty, beany good. I heat them in the liquid they were canned in in hope that some of the nutrients are still left after canning and reheating.

Next up came the trout. The beauty of fish is, on any given weeknight, it's simple and fast to prepare. I dredged the trout first in flour, then dipped it in a beaten egg from one of our hens, and last, ran it through cornmeal seasoned with salt, pepper and smoked paprika.

I heated about a quarter inch of peanut oil until it shimmered in a cast iron pan and then gently laid in the fish to brown. When the first side was done I slipped a spatula under the filet and held the fish on it with a finger so I could gently turn and lay the filet down on the other side. Don't just flip the fish, that's too rough and you risk splashing and burning yourself with hot oil. By the time the filet is a pleasing golden on each side, it's just cooked through and perfect. Total time is probably about 8 minutes.

While the fish was cooking I whipped together a tarter sauce with homemade mayonnaise and minced sweet gherkins.

Earlier in the day I baked up a couple of apple dumplings. The recipe below is for 6 apples but you can cut the recipe down to the number of apples you are using or save the syrup and filling in the fridge for more dumplings another time.

Apple Dumplings

Ingredients :

6 apples (peeled and cored)

1 pastry for 2-crust pie

Syrup Ingredients:

1 cup granulated white sugar (I substituted a cup of honey from a friend's hive)

2 cups water (I cut back to 1 cup of water because of the honey substitution)

3 Tablespoons butter (softened)

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

Filling Ingredients:

1/2 cup granulated brown sugar (I ended up using the sugar here because I was afraid using honey would make the interior of the dumpling too wet. When I next go to buy in my year's supply of maple syrup in the VA highlands I'll add in maple sugar as well.)

1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 1/2 teaspoons nutmeg

2 Tablespoons butter (softened)

Directions:

Peel and core the apples. I used Granny Smiths to balance their tart against the sweet syrup and filling.

Roll pastry slightly less than 1/8" thick. Cut into7" squares. Cut some leaves too in case you have some holes that need repaired or just for decoration. I used a ravioli cutter for the serrated edges and the back of a paring knife blade to add veins to the leaves. Roll up a bit of dough for a stem.

Bring syrup ingredients to boil. Boil 3 minutes.

Mix up the filling ingredients. Put apple on center of each pastry square. Fill the cavity with the mixture. Dot each with a bit of butter. Don't worry if some of the filling falls onto the pastry. Just brush it off around the edges and barely moisten the border with a wet finger.

Bring points of pastry up over apple and overlap. I should have cut bigger squares because these were some hefty apples. But that's why I cut out leaves.

Now moisten the outer edges of the new corners and from the bottom, smooth them up and pat into place.

Dampen the backs of the leaves and place them over any holes or tears. Splay the bottom of the stem piece, dampen and affix to the top of the apple. Ok. All that having been said, they're just as good if you wrap the dough around them and patch the bad spots. Sometimes I'm a little too detail-oriented. But I'm NOT obsessive!

Place a few inches apart in baking pan. Pour enough hotsyrup mixture around dumplings to come about 1/2 inch up the sides.

Bake at 425 degrees F for 45 minutes. Check at the halfway point. You may have to lay foil over the tops of the dumplings to prevent over browning. Just before servingpour rest of warm syrup from the bottom of the pan over dumplings and serve with cream.

Blogging Floyd: 2011: A PC Odyssey plus the Dark Days Challenge

2011-12-05T10:24:00.001-05:00

HAL appears to be dying. A little over a week ago we had some kind of power surge and it took our desk top PC down. We took it in to Ben Kiser and it turned out to be the power supply. Everything else was fine. HAL was back up and running happily. Then, right before this past weekend, the power went out for several hours. HAL came back online but without video input. I keep hearing strains of "Thus Spake Zarathustra" whistling through the eaves of our house and a well-modulated but sad voice saying, "Dave? Dave? D-a-a-a-v-e?" So HAL is going back to Ben for a visit and I'm back on the P-O-S laptop which I've discovered has a very crude photo editing program. All just in time for the beginning of the Dark Days Challenge with my first post due tomorrow. Of course.

I've been following the Dark Days Challenge for the last couple of years. This year, with a reminder from Cynthia at Mother's Kitchen, I got my butt over to (not so) Urban Hennery in the nick of time to sign up. The Dark Days Challenge is to cook a minimum of one meal each week featuring SOLE (sustainable, organic, local, ethical) ingredients and write about it. ..."Traditionally, local food challenges call for a 100 mile radius. Winter time is more difficult in many climates, especially if you’re new to eating locally, so my default winter definition is 150 miles. You can choose to make your radius smaller or slightly larger as you need. Typical exceptions to the local requirement are oils, coffee, chocolate and spices." - (not so) Urban Hennery.

So those are the parameters I'm working within. My first thoughts on accepting this challenge were, "Am I stuck with only trout since Big Jim's trout farm is within the local circle but Indigo Seafood is a local business and brings fish and seafood to me?" and "Where the hell am I gonna find local blue cheese for my Stuffed Venison Backstrap post?" Darius, can you help me out? I can just hear HAL saying....

Gardening Floyd: Growing Winter Salads Indoors

2011-12-01T11:02:00.001-05:00

Out in the garden Swiss chard, cilantro, dill, and our perennial herbs are still thriving despite several really hard frosts and many lighter ones. I'm sure that could end any day now but that doesn't mean it's the end of fresh greens. Last February I showed you our seed-starting shelf and how we built it. I talked about how we use it to grow greens in winter and today I want to show you how we set it up for that.

We are currently growing leaf lettuce mix, spinach, cutting celery, flat leaf parsley, rosemary, cilantro, basil, carrots, radishes, and golden beets. Right now everything except the potted herbs is in the seedling stage. The herbs are in regular pots having been transplanted out of the garden. We grow the greens and veggies in 16 qt tubs from the dollar store, drilled on the bottom for drainage.

The tubs are filled 2/3 full with a mix of 1/2 part good quality potting soil, 1/4 part vermiculite, and 1/4 part peat moss. The soil is dampened and allowed to settle before planting.

We suggest, in the case of veggies, searching out varieties that have been bred for container planting or to grow small "baby" veg. Our carrots are regular size carrots which we will be harvesting very small but there are varieties out there such as "Parisian" which grow short and round and are perfect for tub culture.

These are the sprouted carrots ready to be thinned. They'll be thinned down to one carrot per inch and allowed to grow on. We'll begin harvesting them when they are about 2 1/2" long. Radishes, carrots and beets have second tubs seeded and growing while the first tubs are getting large enough for eating.

The greens we grow are "cut and come again" types. We plant them about 2 inches apart. When the greens are big enough to harvest we cut them off at two inches above the soil and only enough as we need for a salad. This usually results in half the tub cut while the other half grows and recovers. A tubful of spinach, one of lettuce, and greens from the beets keeps us pretty well supplied.

When the seeds are planted the tubs are covered with plastic wrap to maintain humidity and secured with string. The lids that come with the tubs are turned upside down and put under the tubs where they act as saucers. We place the tubs on the top of the shelf where it's warmest until the seeds germinate.

Once the seeds have germinated the plastic is removed and the tub is placed directly under the lights (see the carrot pic above). Keeping the lights as close as possible to the plants is important to help ensure stocky growth.

The lights we use are not grow lights. They are standard fluorescent tubes, two to each fixture, one cool spectrum and one warm spectrum. This provides the full spectrum of light the plants need at a much lower price than grow lights. Keeping the lights as close as possible to the potted herbs is important for the same reasons. The lights can be raised and lowered with chains and S-hooks and we use boxes and plywood board remnants to raise the individual pots and tubs as needed.

We water regularly as needed and feed sparingly once a month with a dilute organic fertilizer to keep plants healthy. Once things get growing, this arrangement will keep us in salads until it's time to make way for the garden seedlings.

Cooking Floyd: Turkey Talk Post-Feast

2011-11-30T11:34:00.001-05:00

We had a Thanksgiving Feast First this year. Our first free-range turkey and my first experience brining a turkey. Michael's been trying for a few years to bring home a wild turkey but has been unsuccessful so far. They taunt him. They brazenly show themselves in large numbers, flaunting their feathers at him when he's out hunting deer, presenting and holding still for the perfect shot, knowing full well that they are out of season and perfectly safe because Michael is an ethical hunter and won't shoot them. As soon as turkey season arrives - POOF - they're gone. Not a turkey to be seen. I, pining to cook a wild turkey and being (ahem) maybe a little less ethical than my husband, have been saying, "Ef 'em! Shoot the bastard! I wanna cook it!" Michael smiles tolerantly at me and keeps me honest. So this year he bought me a free-range turkey from our friends at Indigo Seafood. I admit to suffering sticker shock, being used to .57/lb giants from the supermarket, but the point is to get away from factory farmed animals and without government subsidies and with responsible animal husbandry comes a higher reality-based price, as opposed to the artificial low price supported ultimately by the taxes we pay.

Without a doubt and with unanimous agreement of everyone sitting around our holiday table, that was the best damn turkey we've ever eaten! We will be raising a couple-three turkeys for next year's feasts!

Our feast started with nibbles for folks while I was putting the final touches on the main event.

A platter of Michael's deviled eggs surrounding Hot Honeyed Cherry Peppers stuffed with smokey trout and goat cheese.

Chipotle Cherries, Pickled Asparagus and Refrigerator Pickled Baby Yellow Summer Squash, Garlic Dill Pickles, and Spiced Olives.

Carrot and celery sticks with Boursin-style cheese spread.

While folks were noshing, the turkey was resting.

While the turkey rested, gravy was made and apple-cranberry-walnut stuffing appeared. Although in this instance it might actually have been dressing since I was warned to bake it separately from the brined turkey. Seems stuffing cooked inside a brined turkey becomes way too salty. Which inspired the conversation about "stuffing" being a Yankee term and "dressing" being a Southern term and was it just different names for the same thing or is it stuffing when it's cooked inside the bird and dressing when it's cooked outside the bird and does it really matter anyway once gravy is applied? But in any case, I stuffed the bird with Granny Smith Apple halves running on the theory that the apples would perfume the meat and provide extra moisture.

And then there was oven roasted, maple glazed acorn squash, parsnips, and Brussels sprouts with pecans from our son James' tree. So far this recipe has converted a number of Brussels sprouts haters. Maple syrup and butter can make a lot of things better! And two quarts of our canned Romano green beans. With butter.

Next, while everybody was distracted with appetizers, drinks and conversation, I wrestled the turkey into submission and onto the platter. Because I think that only in Norman Rockwell paintings and through the magic of old movies and TV shows does anyone ever expertly carve a turkey at the table with the flair and finesse deserving of an audience. Certainly not me. I flip that bugger this way and that while applying all the appropriate ~~cuss~~ magic words it takes to get the job done.

With all the food plated and ready to go we filled our plates buffet-style. Conversation lulled while the first bites of turkey went down.

It was at this point we all looked at each other, free-range turkey virgins that we were, and declared it The-Best-Turkey-Ever! I can only blame my increasingly intense food buzz for forgetting to take pictures of dessert. All I know is that at some point my dinner plate disappeared and a dessert plate of apple pie and pumpkin mousse was slipped into it's place. I'm not sure how, when, or by whom, but I never question good magic. It was either Glenda, the good witch or my dear husband.

Cider Brine
4 quarts apple cider, divided

1 1/2 cups kosher salt

1/4 cup whole allspice

8 bay leaves

16 whole black peppercorns

8 whole star anise pods

6 garlic cloves, smashed

6 scallions, white parts only, trimmed, split lengthwise

6 1/4”-thick slices unpeeled ginger

5 dried shitake mushrooms

2 3”-4” cinnamon sticks

4 quarts cold water

Directions - start 3 days in advance

Day 1

Simmer 1 quart apple cider, salt, scallions, mushrooms, and spicesin 20-quart pot 5 minutes, stirring often. Cool completely. Add remaining 3quarts cider and 4 quarts water. Chill.

Day 2

Place turkey in brine. You may have to weight it down with a plate and something heavy to keep it submerged. Cover and refrigerateovernight.

Day 3

Drain turkey and rinse. Arrange on several layers of papertowels in roasting pan. Refrigerate uncovered overnight.

Cider Syrup Glaze

2 cups apple cider

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter

1/4 cup minced fresh sage

Directions

Boil cider in saucepan until reduced to 1/4 cup,about 15 minutes. Whisk in butter. Stir in sage. Cool completely. Baste turkey every 45 minutes.

Maple Glazed RoastedVeggies

1 1/2 lbs Brussels sprouts, trimmed and cut in half
1 large red onion, peeled, cut in 1-inch pieces (about 2 1/2 cups)
1 large (about 2 lbs) acorn squash, halved, seeded, cut in 1/2-inch pieces
1 lb parsnips, peeled, cut in 1-inch pieces (about 3 cups)
2 tsp Herbes de Provence or your preferred blend of herbs. I used my salt preserved herbs for this and eliminated the salt to taste further down the recipe.
1/4 cup Olive Oil
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup unsalted Butter
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup pecan halves and pieces, toasted

Directions

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Toss Brussels sprouts, red onion, acornsquash, parsnips, and herbs in olive oil. Arrange onlarge baking sheet. Roast about 35 min untilknife-tender. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Prepare glaze asvegetables roast.

Make glaze: In saucepan on medium-low, melt butter. Stirin maple syrup, brown sugar, and pecans. Remove vegetables from oven;drizzle with glaze. Return to oven. Roast 5-8 min. Garnish with parsley.

Pumpkin Mousse

1 (15-ounce) can pumpkin (I substituted roasted, pureed Butternut squash I already had in the freezer)

3 cups heavy cream

3/4 cup superfine sugar

1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Ginger snaps, for garnish

Directions

Combine pumpkin, 1 cup cream, sugar and spice in a mediumsaucepan. Simmer over medium heat for 5 minutes. Cool fully.

Whip remaining heavy cream and vanilla to soft peaks andfold into cooled pumpkin mixture. Pour into a serving dish and crumble theginger snaps over top before serving.

Preserving Floyd: Apple Craic

2011-11-28T19:52:00.001-05:00

This is my 100th post! Today also marks my first full year of blogging! Thanks Michael, for the encouragement and help, and for pointing your friends and co-workers in this direction. Thank you Joel and Dana, Gloria, and Cynthia for providing such fine examples of preserving and blogging inspiration. And thank you Readers and Followers, for your time, comments, and input. You all help to make it all better!

Apple Craic.

Michael loves tender, deeply spiced baked apple slices. He asked me to come up with a baked apple preserve in half and full pints that he could grab off the shelf and throw into his lunch bag. I worked off a pie filling recipe, modifying the spices and foregoing the thickener. Michael found it so addictive he started calling it "Apple Crack". I was kinda uncomfortable with the implied reference so when writing it down I called it "Apple Craic". "Craic" (pronounced crack) is the Irish word for a good time spent with friends, music, drink, and food. It was a bit disconcerting the first time one of our Irish hosts asked us how the craic was down at the pub the night before but the word soon slipped into our conversation while we were there. Now we'll occasionally say without thinking that there was good craic last night and receive some strange looks. But this craic, Apple Craic, is sweetly satisfying and only slightly addictive.

Apple Craic

Ingredients

Enough peeled, cored, and thickly sliced apples to fill alarge roasting pan

½ cup white sugar

½ cup brown sugar

3-4 tablespoons cinnamon

½ teaspoon nutmeg

generous pinch of kosher salt

generous pinch of cayenne pepper

¼ cup bottled lemon juice

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon maple extract

½ cup maple syrup

Directions

Preheat oven to 275F

Peel, core and thickly slice enough apples to fill a largeroasting pan. If you're using the peel-core-slicer gadget, loosen the piece that cores and slices and lower it to the side. You want thick slices for this.

I use one of these to slice and core the apples after they're peeled.

Fill your roaster full of apples but leave just enough room to toss them with the spices and liquids.

Combine the sugars, spices, salt and cayenne pepper in abowl and set aside.

Combine lemon juice, extracts, and maple syrup in ameasuring cup and set aside.

(Sorry, photo fail)

Sprinkle dry ingredients over apples and toss until wellcoated. Drizzle half of the maple syrup mixture over apples and tosswell. Repeat with remaining mixture.

Cover the roaster with foil and place in the oven.

Sorry January, this step got left out of your directions. My bad.

Test every so often with a knife. Because the apples are being roasted low and slow there's lots of time for the spices and syrup to penetrate the apples. Depending on the variety or combination of apples you use this could take two hours or more. When apples are tender and becomingtranslucent they’re done. There will be a thin spicy syrup in the bottom of the roaster.

Pack hot apples into pint or half pint jars leaving 3/4” head space. Ladle in hot syrup to cover, leaving ½”headspace. If there isn't enough syrup in the roaster, you can top the jars with a light simple syrup (one part sugar to two parts water, bring just to a boil so the sugar dissolves). Remove air bubbles from jars and adjust syrup if necessary. Wipe rims, seal, and process in a boilingwater bath for 20 minutes at sea level. Adjust time for your altitude.

Preserving Floyd: The Pantry to Date

2011-11-20T14:59:00.001-05:00

Michael's off getting a bike ride in and I'm taking a break from processing our second deer of the season. I thought I'd amuse myself by taking a look at the pantry inventory for this year so far. We just finished 19 jars of Apple Craic since the last post, the latest entry in the pantry inventory. I have photos and a post for that but I have no idea when I'm going to get that post up because a couple of days ago we had a power blip that fried the on/off switch on the desk top PC. Where the photo editing software is. Where pretty much everything is. Folks, when your instincts tell you it's time to update your back up, don't put it off til later. Because something is guaranteed to fry something in the next couple of days. And it won't be in your saute pan. So now I'm temporarily blogging from my P-O-S laptop. But enough about that. I really wanted to publish my pantry list to date because when the Apple Craic's made, that signifies the end of my canning season. Mostly. I'd put up a picture of the pantry and freezer but well, we've already been through that. The inventory is after the jump.

Pantry Inventory 2011

Apples

Apple Sauce (qt) 8, (pt) 2

Apple Craic (pt) 19

French Apple Pie Filling (qt) 6

Apple Pie Filling (qt) 6

Spiced Crab Apples (pt) 4, (½ pt) 3

Dried Apples (gal) 3

Asparagus

Asparagus Soup (qt) 7

Pickled Asparagus (pt) 4

Autumn Olive

Autumn Olive Jam (½ pt) 5, (4 oz) 2

Blueberries

Frozen Blueberries (qt) 4

Dried Blueberries (cup) 2

Blueberry Jam w/Coriander & Lime (4 oz) 1

Cabbage

Cabbage Roll, plain (1/2 doz) 4

Cabbage Roll, cranberry walnut (1/2 doz) 3

Cherries

Cherry Vanilla Pie Filling (qt) 3, (pt) 1

Black Forest Cherry Preserve (½ pt)5, (4 oz) 3

Smokey Chipotle Cherries (½ pt) 6

Dried Cherries (cup) 4

Corn

Corn, Frozen Kernels (2 serving bag) 5

Cucumbers

Dill Pickles (pt) 6

Sweet Gherkins (½ pt)1

Cornichons (½ pt) 2

Currants

Seedless Black Currant Jam (½ pt) 2, (4 oz) 3

Red Current Jelly (4 oz) 7

Red Current & Raspberry Jelly (½ pt) 4, (4 oz) 6

Edamame

Edamame, frozen (qt) 4

Fig

Dried Fig Jam w/Port Wine (½ pt)1

Grape

Grape Juice (qt) 7

Green Beans

Romano Beans (qt) 6

Blue Lake Green Beans (qt)34

Dried Green Beans (cups) 16

Sweet Basil Beans (pt) 5

Dilled Baby Green Beans (½ pt) 10

Herbs (frozen)

Wild Garlic Paste (snack bag) 2

Wild Garlic Dust (spice jar) 2

Sage Paste (snack bag) 4

Chive Paste (snack bag) 3

Fines Herb Paste (snack bag) 2

Genovese Pesto (snack bag) 11

Lime Pesto (snack bag) 6

Lemon Pesto (snack bag) 6

Sage Poultry Blend Paste (snack bag) 3

Tuscan Blend Paste (snack bag) 3

Boursin-style Cheese Spread (6 oz) 3

Salted QuebecHerbs (pt) 1

Meat

Venison Strips (qt) 4

Venison Stock (qt) 12
Venison Roasts, frozen (each) 10
Venison Cubes, frozen (lbs) 7

Venison Backstrap, frozen (each) 4
Venison Tenderloin, frozen (each) 4

Oranges

Mandarin Oranges (½ pt) 9

Single Malt Marmalade (½ pt) 3, (4 oz) 1

Orange-Cran Marmalade (½ pt) 5, (4 oz)1

Dried Orange Wheels (cup) 3

Clementine Dust (spice jar) 1

Pears

Pear Sauce (qt) 1

Pear Butter (pt) 1

Poached Pears in Wine (qt)1

Salted Caramel Pear Butter (½ pt) 3, (4 oz) 2

Peaches

Peach Halves in Earl Grey Tea Syrup (qt) 9

Peach Jam with Lime Basil (½ pt) 4, (4 oz) 4

Spicy Peach Maple Jam w/Cherry Peppers (½ pt) 5, (4 oz) 4

Peach Butter (½ pt) 15, (4 oz) 6

Peach Sauce (pt) 6, (qt) 2

Dried Peaches (cup) 5

Peppers, Hot

Hot Honeyed Cherry Peppers (pt) 4

Zavory Pepper Jelly (4 oz) 4

Roasted Poblano Pepper Strips, frozen (snack bag) 5

Cranberry Pepper Jelly ( ½ pt) 5, (4 oz) 7

Hot Pepper & Honey Jelly (4 oz) 8

Chili Rellanos con Quesa (sm each) 16, (lg each) 12

Peppers, Sweet

Dried Marconi Peppers (cups) 5

Dried Zavory Peppers (½ cup) 1

Sweet & Spicy Zavory Mini Bell Peppers (pt) 2

Roasted Red Pepper Spread (½ pt) 2

Roasted Red Pepper Strips, frozen (snack bag) 7

Diced Bell Pepper, frozen (gal) 1

Red Pepper Spread, frozen (4 oz) 2

Stuffed Peppers frozen (each) 22

Stuffed Peppers frozen, side (qt bag)1

Stuffed Peppers frozen, app (qt bag) 1

Plums

Dried Plums (cup) 4

Rhubarb

Rhubarb Lime Jam (½ pt) 3

Rhubarb Rosemary Jam (½ pt) 1, (4 oz) 3

Shallot

Pickled Shallot Scapes (½ pt) 1

Shallot Scape Pesto, frozen (snack bag) 4

Soup

Vegetable Soup (qt) 4

Leek & Potato Soup (qt) 7

Squash (frozen)

Butternut, roasted cubed (qt bag) 2

Butternut, roasted pureed (qt bag) 1

Acorn, roasted cubed ( ½ qt bag) 1

Strawberries

Strawberries, Whole Preserves w/Vanilla Syrup (pt) 6

Strawberry Jam (4 oz) 12

Strawberry Jam, Balsamic & Black Pepper (4 oz) 8

Strawberry Jam with Basil (4 oz) 6, (½ pt) 3

Strawberry Vanilla Syrup (½ pt) 4

Dried Strawberries (cup) 4

Tomatoes

Tomato Lime Salsa (½ pt) 9

Tomato Paste (4 oz) 17

Diced Herbed Tomatoes (pt) 15

Marinara Sauce (pt) 10, (½ pt) 1

Tomato Sauce (pt) 7, (½ pt) 7

Roasted Tomatoes, frozen (snack bag) 16

Ketchup (½ pt) 9, (pt) 9

Plain Dried Tomatoes (cup)2

Maple Syrup Vinegar Marinated Dried Tomatoes (cup) 2

Dried Currant Tomatoes (½ cup) 1

Spicy Currant Tomato Preserves (4 oz) 2

Vinegars

Red Wine

Red Wine with Tuscan Herbs

White Wine with Chive Blossoms

Cranberry

Blueberry

Raspberry

Plum Sherry

Maple

Cellared:

Garlic

Shallots

Acorn, Butternut, Spaghetti Squash

Sweet Potatoes

Preserving Floyd: Canning Venison

2011-11-14T12:33:00.001-05:00

Michael brought home his first deer of the season, a button buck. That's a young male deer just beginning to grow antlers. He shot it in late afternoon so by the time he got home with it we were losing the light. It became imperative to get it skinned, quartered and into the fridge because (a)the nighttime temperature was going to be too warm for me to feel comfortable about hanging it overnight and (b)we have no safe place to hang it where the coyotes, fox, and the neighbor's Labradors won't get at it. Taking you through the steps of processing a deer for the freezer will have to wait until Michael (hopefully) gets the next one in the morning.

We decided to make really good stock and can the meat from this deer. Since this was a yearling buck it's meat is already veal-like. Canning should make it meltingly tender.

The evening Michael brought the deer home we skinned it and then I carefully removed the tenderloins and the backstraps and cleaned and trimmed them. These were wrapped tightly in plastic wrap and placed in freezer bags. As much air was expelled from the bags as possible, they were labeled and then placed in the freezer. Backstraps and tenderloins are the prime cuts of the deer similar to beef filets. I love them sliced into 1 1/2-2" inch thick filets, stuffed with blue cheese, wrapped with bacon, and then quickly pan-seared. There will definitely be a post on that! We then quartered the beast, wrapped it in plastic and refrigerated it.

Canning venison is a two-three day project for me. I want a really tasty broth to can with and that takes a full 24 hours to simmer. Then I fit the other steps around my other daily activities. If you already have stock, use canned stock or can with water you can cut the time considerably.

Day 1
Now that the carcass was in more manageable quarters, the next day I was able to bring it into the kitchen, a quarter at a time, to begin processing it. I placed my big stockpot half filled with water to come to a boil. I tossed in a pound of carrots in chunks, about as much celery in chunks, four large onions with the tight skins still on cut in half, a quarter of a cup of whole peppercorns, and a large bunch of flat leaf parsley, roughly cut. I covered my kitchen island with a sheet of heavy plastic held in place with a bungee cord. At this point, cutting the meat is not a messy, bloody process but protecting my work surface with plastic makes clean-up much easier and and lessens the possibility of cross contamination if I miss a spot.

No matter how careful you are while skinning a deer there's always going to be hair on the meat. I rinsed the whole quarter under cold water, wiping off as much hair as possible with paper towels. I dried it and placed it on my work surface for closer inspection. Using a clean dishcloth moistened with distilled white vinegar I wiped off any remaining hair. I use bundles of cheap dishcloths from the dollar store when processing deer because I find that, dampened with the vinegar, they are almost magical at removing stubborn hairs from the meat. When done with them I just throw them out.

Next I began feeling along the quarter for the individual muscles and cutting them out whole. This isn't difficult on the rear quarters, or hams. The divisions are readily apparent and the muscles will separate easily. The forequarters, or shoulders, are a little harder. With these I removed the large muscles that came off easily and some larger pieces of meat irregardless of muscle definition. In both cases, once the meat was removed I disjointed the bones and added them to the stock pot. Then I trimmed up the pieces of meat. Any small bits of meat went into the pot. On many of the muscles you'll see a silvery membrane that's called silverskin. I slipped a filet knife under this and removed as much as possible with as little meat as possible attached. This is thrown out. Any fat bits were trimmed off and thrown out. Since there is very little meat on the ribs and shanks these were put into the stock pot as is. The trimmed meat was bagged and returned to the fridge. I turned the heat under the stock pot down to a bare simmer, put on the lid, and left the stock to cook overnight.

Day 2
The next day I strained the meat, bones and veggies out of the stock. All the flavor is now in the stock and I'm left with this big bowl of useless-to-me stuff.

I get rid of all the small bones, save all the big bones, mush the meat and veggies together and give it to my neighbor for his dogs. They get tasty chew toys, a flavorful (to them), nutritional addition to their kibble, and I feel good about not wasting it. Or, you can throw it out.

I brought the strained stock back up to an active simmer and reduced the liquid by half, intensifying the flavor. Once reduced, I ladled it through a strainer into gallon jars.

The stock is allowed to cool slightly, then moved to the fridge overnight. The sediment will fall to the bottom and the fat will float to the top and harden. The next day I'll remove the cap of fat and carefully pour the stock off the sediment.

While the stock was cooling, I returned to the meat. The meat is cut in strips 1-2" thick and of a length to fit the jar. 1" of head space is required when canning meat so I cut my strips to fit to the shoulder of the jar. This allows the meat to be well covered by the stock and still leave a generous 1" of headspace.

This last trim is the final opportunity to inspect the meat and make sure it's clean and free of any tiny hairs.

After cutting the meat I had a pile of thick strips of venison ready for canning and a nice pile of trimmings that I cubed for other uses. These cubes will be frozen and added to if we are able to harvest another deer. Some will be kept for stew and the rest will be ground into burger.

Day 3
The first thing I did was to give the meat strips a quick pan sear. I do this for cosmetic reasons. The canned meat will be an appetizing rosy brown instead of gray. I sear over high heat with a bare minimum of oil and only as long as it takes for the meat to release from the pan. The inside is completely rare.

When the meat was all seared I put it in the oven to keep warm while I set up the pressure canner and placed another large pot for the stock on the stove. I removed the cap of fat and ladled the jellied stock into its pot to be brought to a boil.

When everything was heated up I packed the strips of meat into quart jars and ladled in the hot stock, tapping the jars on a padded surface to remove air bubbles. I covered the meat completely with the stock leaving a generous 1" of head space. Then I wiped the rim with a paper towel moistened with distilled white vinegar and adjusted the lid. As each jar was finished I put it immediately into the canner to stay as hot as possible while the other jars were being filled.

When the pressure canner was loaded I put on the lid, allowed it to vent for 10 minutes, then dropped on the weight and brought it up to pressure. The Ball Blue Book recommends 10 lbs of pressure at sea level. Here in Floyd I adjust my pressure to 13 lbs to accomodate my altitude of 2200 feet and the fact that my gauge tests a pound light. (Test your gauges regularly at your local co-op extension!). Once I reached 13 lbs of pressure the quarts processed for 90 minutes. Keep an eye on your canner and don't let the pressure fall below your poundage or you'll have to start timing all over from the beginning once you bring the pressure back up! After 90 minutes I turned off the heat and removed the canner from the heated burner. Now the pressure must be allowed to zero out on its own. Once all the pressure was gone, I carefully removed the jars to a padded surface to cool. Be sure to allow the jars to cool undisturbed for 24 hours. They will continue to boil inside for quite awhile and you'll be able to see the bubbles moving.

I had 3 quarts of good stock left after canning so when the meat was done I brought the stock to a boil, poured it into jars with 1" of head space and processed those in the canner at the same pressure but for 25 minutes. I did quarts but pints process for the same amount of time and pressure as well. If you have the space, freezing extra stock is a good alternative.

Tomorrow I'll wash the jars, check the seals, label and date them.

Preserving Floyd: Apple Pie Filling Spiced 2 Ways

2011-11-12T11:01:00.001-05:00

I really love having pie fillings on my shelf because they get used in so much more than just traditional pies. I'm only a few minutes away from cobblers, turnovers, fruit dumplings, cake fillings, and ice cream toppings to name a few. This year I did 2 six quart batches of apple pie filling and spiced each batch differently giving me two distinctly different flavors. This is a great example of safely customizing a tested recipe to your tastes by simply switching up the spicing/seasoning.

I follow the NCHFP recipe for apple pie filling. The ingredients are charted out for a 1 quart batch and a 7 quart batch of pie filling making it easy to adapt ingredients to the quantity of apples you have to work with. I followed the 7 quart batch instructions. For single quart batches or multiples of quarts less than seven, click on the NCHFP link. The tips I provide can be applied to any size batch.

I like using a combination of different varieties of apples for a more complex apple flavor. Overall I try for a 50-50 mix of tart and sweet. This year I used Granny Smith (tart), Golden Delicious (sweet), and Maggie Bowen (an eating apple with floral overtones that falls between the two). The recipe calls for apple juice and you can use commercial juice that's 100% apple without added sugar or a local apple cider. I prefer a locally pressed fresh cider because a good cider is itself a blend of different apples and lends even more complexity to the overall apple flavor.

You'll also see that the recipe calls for an ingredient called "Clear Jel". Clear Jel is modified cornstarch that is recommended for use in home canning. It doesn't break down in acid food mixtures nor thicken enough to interfere with thorough heating of the pie filling during boiling water bath processing. It used to be a little difficult to find but many grocery stores now carry it during canning season and I've been able to find it year round at the Bread Basket.

Ingredients for 7 quart batch

Blanched, sliced fresh apples 6 quarts

Granulated sugar 5-1/2cups

Clear Jel® 1-1/2cup

Cinnamon OR Quatre Epices 1 tbsp

Generous pinch of cayenne if using cinnamon (optional)

Cold Water 2-1/2cups

Apple juice 5cups

Bottled lemon juice 3/4 cup

Nutmeg (optional) 1 tsp none if using Quatre Epices

1 teaspoon vanilla extract if using Quatre Epices (optional)

1/2 teaspoon maple extract if using cinnamon (optional)

Notes:

* * I used my peeler-corer-slicer gadget to prepare the apples. Because it slices them thinly I found I had to prepare 8 quarts of apples which wound up yielding 6 full quarts of finished filling and about 3/4 of another quart left over, not enough to process the additional quart jar. If you're using one of these gadgets you may want to prepare 9 quarts of apples to ensure 7 quarts of finished filling.

* * Safe high acid foods preservation relies on acid and temperature alone. Sugar is not a preservative in this method. I always prefer more of the fruit flavor as opposed to sweet so I cut back the sugar to 4 cups.

* * Apples are a very high acid food but, like tomatoes, they vary in their acidity not only between varieties but between individual apples of the same variety. Since I increased the amount of apples I used I increased the bottled lemon juice to a cup.

On to the process...

Start the water heating in your canner. Set up another large pot half full of water and bring it to a boil for blanching the apples. When I filled my 2 quart measuring bowl with prepared apples I blanched them for a minute in the boiling water, drained them, and then dumped them in another large bowl covered with a towel to keep warm. Blanching the apples stops enzymatic activity that makes them turn brown.

When all the apples have been blanched clean the pot out and return it to the stove. In a medium bowl combine the sugar, Clear Jel, and spice of your choosing and whisk well. When I did the more traditional cinnamon batch I added a generous pinch of cayenne in addition to the cinnamon. I find the cayenne warms and enhances the cinnamon without being assertive itself. Since spices (and extracts) do not interfere with the acidic balance, the blends you choose to use will turn the pie filling into one of your signature products!

Clear Jel is grainier, less poofy/powdery than cornstarch

Clear Jel by itself has an alarming tendency to form large lumps when it first hits liquid. These will disappear during heating and whisking. I find that combining the Clear Jel with the sugar first cuts down on this tendency. It doesn't eliminate it entirely but the lumps are much finer and easier to stir out.

Combine the water and the apple juice/cider in the pot and add the sugar mixture. Stir well and then turn the heat on to medium-high.

The white specks are Clear Jel. These will stir out.

Cook and stir until the mixture just begins to bubble. Use a long-handled spoon or whisk and be careful because the thick mixture bloops and spits more than bubbles. Add the lemon juice and boil 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and stir in extract if using. If you like, at this point you could add a little apple brandy, cognac, or Calvados.

Lumps gone.

Immediately fold in the apples a quarter bowl at a time to make sure they are thoroughly incorporated into the jel.

Quickly fill the jars with the hot mixture. Tap the jars on a padded surface and push the apples down with a spoon while filling to remove air bubbles.

Leave 1" of head space.

As each jar is capped move it immediately into the boiling water bath. Keeping the contents as hot as possible while filling the jars helps to be sure of thorough heating in the center of the filled jars during processing.

Process the jars for 25 minutes at sea level. Adjust the processing time for your altitude.

Cooking Floyd: Pumpkin Stuffed with Everything Good!

2011-11-11T07:19:00.001-05:00

I was following a thread awhile back on Chowhound about Dorie Greenspan's book Around My French Table. One of the recipes everyone was raving about was "Pumpkin Stuffed with Everything Good". Bacon was involved, and cheese and heavy cream. Of course everyone knows that bacon and cheese, separately or together, make everything better. And Julia Child said if you can't use butter use cream. I rarely argue with Julia. So, armed with my trusty knife I set about disemboweling a Kuri squash.

This is a recipe that lends itself to customization to your own tastes. Dorie started playing with the recipe back in 2008 as "Pumpkin Packed with Bread and Cheese, a Recipe in Progress" and evolved it into "Pumpkin Stuffed with Everything Good" which is the recipe I used as a guideline. Here's Dorie's recipe (Which I couldn't find on her website for some reason. I know it's there.).

Ingredients

1 (3-pound) pumpkin

Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper

1/4 pound stale bread, thinly sliced and cut into 1/2-inchcubes

1/4 pound Gruyere, Emmenthal, or cheddar cheese (or a mix ofall three), cut into 1/2-inch cubes

2 to 3 cloves garlic, split, germ removed, and coarselychopped

4 slices bacon, cooked until crisp, drained, and chopped

1/4 cup chopped fresh chives or sliced scallions

1 tablespoon minced fresh thyme

1/2 cup heavy cream

Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees with a rack set in the center ofthe oven. Line a baking sheet with a nonstick baking mat or use a Dutch oventhat is slightly larger in diameter than your pumpkin (in which case, you willneed to serve your pumpkin from the Dutch oven, as it may stick, but it willkeep its shape better this way).

Using a sharp, sturdy knife, cut off top of pumpkin, workingaround the top with the knife inserted at a 45-degree angle to cut off enoughto make it easy to work inside the pumpkin; reserve top. Remove seeds andstrings from cap and pumpkin. Season inside of pumpkin generously with salt andpepper. Place on prepared baking sheet or in Dutch oven; set aside.

In a large bowl, toss together bread, cheese, garlic, bacon,chives, and thyme until well combined. Pack into pumpkin; it should be wellfilled but not overstuffed. You may need to add some bread and cheese or someof the filling may not be necessary to use. In a small bowl, stir cream andnutmeg to combine. Pour over filling; filling should be moist but not swimmingin cream -- you may need to use more or less accordingly.

Place top on pumpkin and transfer to oven; cook untilfilling is bubbling and pumpkin flesh is tender, about 1 hour and 30 minutes.Remove top and continue baking until liquid is slightly evaporated and top offilling is browned, 20 to 30 minutes more.

Carefully transfer pumpkin to a serving platter (or serve inDutch oven, if using) and serve.

In addition to the above recipe Dorie includes this note in her book which she calls a "Bonne Idée":

"There are many ways to vary this arts-and-crafts project.Instead of bread, I've filled the pumpkin with cooked rice—when it's baked, it's almost risotto-like. And, witheither bread or rice, on different occasions I've added cooked spinach, kale, chard, or peas (the peas came straightfrom the freezer). I’ve made it without bacon (a wonderful vegetarian dish), and I’ve also made it and loved,loved, loved it with cooked sausage meat; cubes of ham are also a good idea. Nuts are a great addition, as arechunks of apple or pear or pieces of chestnut."

Having never made this recipe before, right off the bat I started changing things out using what I had on hand. I used the Kuri squash instead of the pumpkin. To keep the squash (or pumpkin) from rolling all over while you're working with it and standing upright while cooking cut a very thin slice off the bottom.

Cut a lid into the top of the squash like you would a jack-o-lantern and remove the seeds and strings.

This made the chickies oh so happy

Line a baking sheet with a silpat, or oiled parchment or foil. You'll be glad you did.
Salt and pepper the inside of the squash

I continued my substitutions using Salsa Jack cheese,

cooked arborio rice,

chiffonaded sage,

a minced shallot as well as the garlic,

flaked smoked trout instead of bacon,

I used a little less than half of this filet.

mushrooms, half and half instead of heavy cream, and quatre epices instead of nutmeg. Because I really liked the spice blend in butternut squash.

All the ingredients except the half and half were tossed together in a bowl, mixed well, tasted for seasoning and then stuffed firmly into the pumpkin. Then I poked my finger into the center of the stuffing to make a well and dribbled in the half and half. (Sorry, I don't have a pic. One was seriously overexposed and the other was way too dark.) Then I put the lid back on and the squash was ready for the oven. I had some stuffing left over so I put that in a foil packet and stuck it in with the squash.

Since my squash was smaller than 3 lbs it took less time in the oven. It tested done in about an hour and a quarter. I took the lid off and opened the packet a bit and put it back in the oven for another 15 minutes to brown the top of the stuffing. Next time I'll test earlier and open the top for longer to get a better brown. The stuffing was very liquidy and needed a little more time to reduce to my preference.

As you can see liquid cooked over and on to the baking sheet. Lining it made clean-up so much easier!

We were eating this as an entree for dinner so I split it between the two of us. I was very happy that it held its shape when I cut it and it transferred easily to the plate with tongs and a spatula.

As Dorie said, using the rice made the stuffing very risotto-like and the flavors I chose blended together nicely. Accompanied by a green salad with sweet balsamic vinaigrette, this meal definitely fell into the comfort food category and will be repeated again. Soon. I think it would be fun to serve guests each with their own individual sized pumpkin.

What I would do different:
Next time I'll use bacon instead of the smoked trout. The trout was good but I want a more assertive smokey flavor. I'll add steamed greens of some sort and maybe pecans or walnuts. I definitely want to try it with bread instead of rice because I love bread stuffing. Another time I'm going to go with Dorie's suggestion of sausage and mix it up with a tart apple, some cranberries, and a handful of pepitas.

I think this recipe is going to become a favorite of mine because there's just so much room to play!

Preserving Floyd: The Last of the Red Hot Peppers. I Promise!

2011-11-02T10:19:00.000-04:00

One morning last week on my way into the diner for coffee Julius passed me on the way out. "Frost on the pumpkin tonight!", he said. I took his warning to heart. If anyone around here knows when the first frost is going to hit it's Julius. His family's been working the land here going back to the original grant given to one of his ancestors. In fact, once upon a time our 4.5 acres were part of that land grant. Later that afternoon I picked the last of the hot and sweet peppers and pulled up the plants. I diced and froze a lot of the sweets but the small ones that would hold a tablespoon of stuffing I filled and froze for appetizers for a dinner party or potluck. That left me with a small pile of hots to put up somehow.

My original plan was to come up with a flavorful sweet-tart brine and pickle the bittiest peppers into something called "Baby Bursts". I figured they'd be good to drop in certain cocktails, or as a garnish or something, but there just weren't enough tiny ones to make that project worthwhile. I still think it's a good idea but I'll have to pick specifically for it next year. I decided to make hot sauce instead.

Michael and I don't like screamingly hot rip-the-cells-off-your-tongue food. We're both of the opinion that if you can't taste the flavor of the food, if the only sensation you have is all the imps of hell are dancing in your mouth, then the food is a fail. However, if the food is hot enough to give your mouth a good glow, that's our spicy heat level. On a scale of 1-10, none of the peppers we grew went higher than a 5 so I figured I would make a nicely spicy hot sauce with the last of them. In the above photo you can see I was working with mostly cayennes and cherries, with a couple of poblanos and a hot wax thrown in. Most of them were still green.

You should probably wear gloves while working with hot peppers. I have a reaction to latex so I try to handle the peppers only by the stems, use tongs and a bench knife to move them around, and wash my hands with soap a lot throughout the process.

Homemade Hot Sauce

Ingredients

12 chilies,

1 clove garlic, peeled

1/2 cup apple cider vinegar

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp sugar

Directions

Count the number of chilies you're using, then adjust the ingredients for multiples of 12. Trim the caps and stems off the chilies. You can deseed them and remove the membranes if you want a possibly milder product.

In a non-reactive saucepan, boil the chilies andgarlic in the vinegar until tender. This will take only a few minutes. If you have an effective range hood fan you're going to want to run it. In any case you should crack the windows. I didn't think the quantity of peppers was large enough or would be cooking long enough to fill the house with fumes. I was wrong. I was a lot wrong.

When the peppers are tender, remove them from the vinegar with a slotted spoon and place in a blender or processor with the salt and sugar,and puree. Reserve the vinegar.

Now you saw I used green and red peppers. How they got to yellow during the puree is a mystery to me. But it's a nice color.

Next, I sieved the puree. This isn't necessary and you can see that the red-flecked paste is attractive, but I wanted a smooth sauce.

Whether you've sieved it or not, dilute this paste with the reserved vinegar until it is the consistency of cream.

Pour the hot sauce into small sterilized bottles, cap tightly, label, date, and store in the refrigerator. I bottled the sauce in 4 glass spice jars. When I tasted it, I realized that one jar was potent enough to see Michael and I through the year. That leaves 3 jars to gift pepperhead friends with!

If you have hot pepper flavored vinegar left over be sure to strain and bottle that as well. It comes in handy to add a little zip to all kinds of things. Deviled eggs love it!

Preserving Floyd: mmm....Applesauce

2011-10-31T10:49:00.000-04:00

Making applesauce creates a scent that smells like all the ripe apple trees of Floyd condensed into one and spilled into our house. I swear it has the ability to attract the neighbors who arrive at the door with spoons in hand!

Applesauce straight from the jar, applesauce dressed up with spice and cream, applesauce topping pancakes and waffles, applesauce baked into cakes and pastries, applesauce glazing ham or pork, applesauce cooked down into butter or leather. So many uses for applesauce!

A half bushel box of Stayman processing apples from Wades Orchard weighed in at around 22 pounds and cost $8. It yielded 10 quarts of canned sauce plus a pint for immediate eating. A quart of commercial store-bought applesauce runs around $3. Our quart cost 80 cents and I know exactly what's in it and where it came from.

Unlike many applesauce recipes that are cooked on top of the stove and require watching and stirring to prevent scorching, mine is roasted in the oven, carefree.

Wash, stem and core your apples. Peeling or not is up to you. Leaving the peels on will impart a rosy color to the sauce. The peels can be left in the sauce or milled or sieved out after the apples are cooked and mashed. I prefer to peel the apples before cooking. If you're not using a peeler-corer-slicer gadget, hand slice your apples about 1/4" thick. As you slice your apples, drop them into a large roasting pan. When the pan is full add 4 tablespoons of bottled lemon or lime juice and toss the slices. Apples are an acidic fruit but, like tomatoes, they vary between varieties and individual apples. So to be on the safe side add a little bottled citrus juice. It'll also brighten the flavor of the apples but not be noticeable itself.

I fill my big turkey roaster to the top with apples, add the lemon juice and then pour in about a cup of apple juice. You can use water in place of the apple juice. The roaster is covered with foil and placed in a 400F oven.

The apples are ready to sauce when they are very tender and have collapsed to the point where the roaster is about half full.

Pull them out and hand mash them for a chunky applesauce...

...or run them through a foodmill, processor, or use an immersion blender for a smooth sauce.

The applesauce is ready to can. The other advantage to roasting the apples instead of simmering them on top of the stove is the natural sugar condenses and the sauce requires no or very little additional sugar depending on your personal preferences. Taste the sauce before canning. If you like, stir in your choice of sweetener and spices to taste now. I add just enough sugar to balance the tartness. To the entire batch of 10 quarts of sauce I added a little less than a cup of sugar.

Ladle the hot sauce into clean warm pint or quart jars leaving 1/2" head space. Remove air pockets as you fill the jars by tapping the bottom of the jars lightly on a well padded surface. Wipe rims and adjust lids. Process both pints and quarts in a boiling water bath for 20 minutes at sea level. Adjust the time for your altitude.

Cooking Floyd: Kale Chips

2011-10-31T09:38:00.000-04:00

People are always looking for something to feed kids in place of potato chips. Heck, I'm always looking for something to satisfy our urge for crispy, crunchy, salty-good snacks. I think I've found it with Kale Chips.

Kale is the green most often recommended for making chips but I've been trying out other greens as well. In this post I used Swiss Chard. The chard takes a little longer to dry completely than the kale does but other than that works just fine. However, Michael and I lean toward kale as our favorite for chips.

The standard sized bunch of kale from the grocery store currently costs around $1.49 and makes a gallon jar full of chips. Add another few cents for seasoning, oil and vinegar and you not only have a healthier crunchy snack but a decidedly cheaper one. If you grow your own greens the cost of the chips becomes negligible.

No matter what green you use the method is the same. I start out by tearing the leaf from the stem and dropping it into a sink of cold water to remove any residual debris. If your greens come from your garden as mine do you may have to rinse them several times. After the final rinse, drain them well and take them for a whirl in the salad spinner or spread them out on paper towels to dry for a bit.

Next gather your ingredients for seasoning the chips. These can be as simple as vinegar, oil, salt, and pepper or as complex as your imagination can create. For these chips I'm using maple vinegar, canola oil, cranberry pepper jelly, ground cranberries, ground walnuts, ground crystalized ginger, and salt. So far, our all time favorite seasoning blend is the crispy shallot, coconut, basil sprinkle from the July Spice Rack Challenge post. You could probably use your favorite oil and vinegar based salad dressing as the flavoring component. Or pre-made dip or seasoning blends rubbed onto the greens after moistening the greens with oil and vinegar.

I combined the ground cranberries, ginger, and nuts.

Then I sprinkled the leaves with first the vinegar and tossed, and then the oil and tossed. Use a light hand and just moisten the leaves.

Then I added a teaspoonful of the cranberry pepper jelly and tossed that well.

Next I added the ground cranberry nut mixture and sprinkled the leaves with kosher salt.

Now this mixture is massaged. That's right, all resemblance to a salad ends here because you actually rub this mixture gently into the leaves instead of tossing. The volume of the leaves will reduce by about a third during this part. When everything appears to be well distributed, taste a leaf for seasoning and adjust if needed.

Spread the leaves out in a thin layer on dehydrator racks.

If you don't have a dehydrator you can follow these very good instructions for drying the chips in the oven.

Set the dehydrator for 125F and 4 hours. Depending on the type of leaf you use the time can vary. When the chips are ready they will be light and brittle. Check them at two hours and again at four. If necessary add more time until the chips are fully dry and brittle.

Store the chips in an air-tight container. We use a gallon jar but any container will do. I don't recommend bagging them because the chips are delicate and they crush easily.

Which brings me to what to do with a less than tasty batch. If you play with your seasonings they won't all be winners. But even a batch that's too bland or spicy has a use. Crumble the chips coarsely over soups, salads, or sandwich fillings, or as a garnish or finish for an entree. Finely powder the chips and use them as an ingredient in soups, sauces, meat or veggie loaf, breads, etc. They really do add flavor used this way as well as boosting fiber and nutrients.

The other problem is how fast a batch of kale chips disappears, especially when a bowlful is set in front of the grandkids. Just as fast as a bag of potato chips! But totally without the guilt factor. In fact, we often feel somewhat righteous knowing we've just snacked away an entire bunch of healthy greens. So I never mind making another batch of these!

Preserving Floyd: Drying Apples

2011-10-21T16:49:00.000-04:00

Some of you may remember this very helpful gadget from last fall's Extreme Deep Dish Apple Pie post.

Well, it's time to break it out again!

Michael and I ran down the road to Wade's Orchard to pick up our first bushel of apples to process. I had previously called our acquaintance Tom with the abandoned orchard for permission to pick there again but received the bad news that his trees bore very little fruit this year. He's not really sure what happened. Maybe a frost nipped the blossoms or maybe it was the summer-long drought we had or a combination of both. Tom got enough apples off nearly 100 trees for a single large batch of applesauce. So it was off to Wade's for us where we learned that they are harvesting only about 50% of their orchard's usual output. We got a half bushel of Golden Delicious for drying and a half bushel of Staymens for saucing. For future reference a half bushel box of apples weighs in at approximately 22 pounds. I also want to make quarts of apple pie filling and pints of Apple Craic and some apple leather for the kids. If there's a shortage of apples this year I need to get crackin'!

Any apple will make tasty dried apples but Golden Delicious apples seem to have the right balance of sweet and tart along with a resistance to browning that makes them perfect for drying into a sweet chewy snack as well as a superior ingredient for salads, stuffings, roasting with pork or ham or root veggies, and baking into pastries.

Peel, core, and thinly slice the apples. As you finish each apple toss it into a bowl with water and a splash of lemon juice. This helps prevent browning. If slicing by hand try to slice them as uniformly as possible so they all dry at the same speed. Slicing on a mandoline will work. I highly recommend the apple peeler, corer, slicer gadget above if you're doing apples by the bushel. They run around $25 and are well worth the investment.

Next remove the apples and allow them to drain.

The apples we bought are "processing" apples. They're not perfectly shaped, blemish free specimens. You can see they have some spots and the occasional bruise. These are perfect for canning purposes where they're going to be turned into something else. At this stage I nip those spots out with a paring knife and then cut the spirals in half for slices.

The slices are then spread in a single layer on the dryer rack. They can touch because they won't stick together as they dry.

Once all the racks are loaded the dehydrator is set for 135F and 10 hours. If you don't have a dehydrator you can lay the apples on cooling racks for cookies and cakes or directly (and carefully) on your oven racks and dry them in the oven at the lowest temperature with the door ajar. If you can arrange to have a fan blow into the oven for circulation, even better. Keep a close eye on the slices since they'll dry faster than in a dehydrator.

The slices are done when they are no longer damp or sticky but are still flexible. Allow them to cool completely in order to check them because it's easier to feel moisture content and stickiness than when they are warm. If they're not quite ready reset the dehydrator or return them to the oven for a little longer.

A full load of apples in our dehydrator yields about 1 1/4 gallon jars (more or less) when dried. A half bushel (approx. 22 lbs) fills the dehydrator three times. So a half bushel of apples will yield approximately 3 3/4 - 4 gallon jars of apples.

Cooking Floyd: Butternut Ravioli...

2011-10-20T10:39:00.001-04:00

...and the Basics of Making Pasta and Storing Winter Squash

Red Kuri, Butternut, Acorn, and Spaghetti squashes

This is the time to stock up on winter squashes. Right now they are cheap, plentiful and there's lots of varieties. Winter squash are versatile and delicious from their simplest preparation roasted in the oven to soups, risottos, stuffed, and stuffings. They are also the simplest of vegetables to store.
Storage
If you grow your own winter squash harvest them before the first frost when the skin is so hard your thumb nail can't puncture it. Leave a couple of inches of stem on the squash because a soft scar invites bugs and early spoilage. If a squash happens to slip its stem, slate it for early usage. Choose unblemished squash for storage. If you buy in your squash look for these same qualities. Squash that's bruised, bug damaged, or has a damaged rind can be cooked and frozen as chunks or puree for later use.

Whether you grow your own or buy in the next step is to cure the squash. This applies to all squash except acorns which should stay green and be stored at 45-50F. If they start to turn orange it usually means they've been stored too warm. The change in color indicates a loss of quality. They are still fine to eat, they just won't be as flavorful or nutritious. Spread the squash in a sunny spot for 10-14 days. Cover them at night if a frost threatens or bring them inside if there's a threat of heavy frost. If it's rainy you can cure them indoors in a spot that's around 70-80F. If you have a woodstove park them near that. Stashing them around a water heater is another good spot. Once the squash are cured the ideal storage temperature is 55-60F but I've stored them both a little warmer and a little cooler with no problem. Root cellars are generally too damp and cold. I've successfully stored them individually wrapped in newspaper for a little protection in my garage next to the wall it shares with the house. I've stored them in the house in the coolest room. This time I'm going to store them in the unheated sunroom we built this past year. If your bedroom is the coolest room in the house, under the bed is a time-honored place to stash squash! Don't pile squash during storage. Lay them in a single layer with a tiny bit of space between them for air circulation. Properly cured and stored winter squash will last up to six months.

Butternut Squash Ravioli with Brown Butter Sauce
Squash-filled ravioli has been the darling of winter menus for the past few years and having made these I understand why. Making the ravs is not difficult but it is time consuming the first go-round so plan on spending an afternoon roasting squash, making pasta and shaping raviolis. I ended up both cooking more squash than I needed and making more ravs then it was good for us to eat at one sitting so I now have some pureed butternut in the freezer along with ravs for a future dinner!

This recipe uses Butternut squash but any of the winter squashes or pie pumpkins can be used. Except spaghetti squash. That's just texturally wrong.

Ingredients

Butternut SquashFilling

2 medium (about 2 lbs each) butternut squashes, cut in half lengthwise and seeded

olive oil

For each 1 cup roastedbutternut squash puree:

3 tablespoons minced shallots

Salt

Freshly ground white pepper

3 tablespoons heavy cream

3 tablespoons grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

Pinch Quatre Epices (see recipe below or substitute a pinch of nutmeg)

Pasta Dough

4 eggs

3½ cups all purpose flour

1 tsp salt

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 tablespoons water

Butter Sage Sauce

6 tablespoons butter

1/2 cup fresh sage leaves, thinly sliced

UPDATE: I had decided to make the ravs for the Master Food Volunteer potluck when I had a sudden imagined taste of the filling wrapped in buckwheat pasta. Nothing ventured, nothing gained, I subbed in 2 cups of buckwheat flour for 2 cups of all purpose flour. In addition to that I took a small handful of dried whole sage leaves, crumbled them finely and stirred them into the flour. I wasn't sure if I was going to have problems with the dough but it worked up nicely following the rest of the pasta dough recipe as is. The end result was amazing! From here out my go-to fall ravioli will be Buckwheat Ravs Stuffed with Butternut Squash!

Directions

Preparing the Filling

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Generously oil a baking sheet with the olive oil and place the prepared squash on it cut side down. Bake for 40-45 minutes and poke with a knife. They should be very tender and poke easily. If they arestill hard give them some more time.

Pull the squash out of the oven and flip cut side up to cool. The color will have darkened a little and the edges caramelized. A little butter and a sprinkle of cinnamon and you have a great side dish. But don't do that 'cuz we're making raviolis here!

When cool, scoop out the flesh. Puree the flesh in a food processor, run it through a food mill, or puree it right in a bowl with an immersion blender. Whatever method you use, be thorough. You want a nice smooth puree. Two medium squash gave me 4 cups of roasted pureed flesh. I reserved 2 cups to use and froze the other two cups for future use.

In a large saute pan, over medium heat, melt1 tablespoon of butter (more if needed depending on quantity of shallots). Addthe shallots and saute for 1 minute. Add the squash puree and cook until themixture is slightly dry, about 2 to 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.Stir in the cream and continue to cook for 2 minutes. Remove from the heat andstir in 3 tablespoons cheese and the pinch of Quatre Epices, to taste. Season with salt and pepper.Cool completely.

Making the pasta

While the squashes are roasting make the pasta dough. Measure out the flour into a bowl and whisk the salt into it. Heap it onto your clean work surface and make a well in the center. Crack the eggs into the well and add the olive oil.

With a fork or a small whisk, gently beat the eggs and oil and then begin incorporating the flour from around the edges of the well.

When a soft dough has formed in the center of the flour pile begin working the rest of the flour in with your hands. It will be very sticky at first but as you work the rest of the flour in and continue kneading it will become smooth and elastic.

Depending on the humidity of your house and the day you may have to add a little water. If the dough is dry, grainy, and cracking add a little cold water, a half a teaspoon at a time, working in well after each addition until the dough feels supple but is not sticky in any way. Knead the dough a lot. This is key to developing the gluten fibers and it's surprising how pasta dough can quickly go from dry and nasty to beautiful when that balance of moisture and kneading has been reached. So easy on the water additions!

Shape the dough into a disk and then cut into quarters. Wrap each quarter in plastic wrap or place in a baggie and allow to rest for 30 minutes. Keep the dough covered so it doesn't dry out.

Remove one of the quarters from plastic and roughly shape into a rectangle.

If you don't have a pasta roller, roll the rectangle out to roughly 5 inches by 2 feet long. The dough will be very thin. Cut the rectangle in half leaving you with two 1 foot long pieces. If you have a pasta roller set the rollers on the thickest setting and run the dough through it several times, folding the dough in thirds each time.

This makes the dough silkier and more flexible. Next, run the dough through all the progressively thinner settings without folding the dough into thirds. You'll end up with a beautifully translucent thin sheet of pasta. Cut this in half and place the halves side by side.

On one sheet, place a teaspoon of thefilling 1/2 inch from the edge and 1 inch from each other.

With a damp pastry brush, paint a little water down the center and between the mounds of filling but not the outer sides of the dough.

Cover with the other sheet. Carefully press the dough around the filling,removing any air pockets. I work from the center between the mounds out to the outer edge of the dough where I didn't dampen the pasta expelling the air there and then sealing the dough shut. I then cut out the pasta with a small round biscuit cutter but you can use the rim of a glass or small can, or cut the ravs into rectangles with a knife or pizza cutter.

oops! blow out!

Transfer your raviolis to a floured or corn mealed surface and sprinkle the top of them with more flour or corn meal. Then cover them with a piece of plastic wrap or wax paper. I didn't flour mine and had a bit of a hassle peeling them free of the plastic wrap.

Repeat with the rest of the dough until you run out of dough or filling. I had a quarter of dough left so I rolled it out, cut it into tagliatelle, and froze it. From 2 cups of filling I got three dozen 2 1/2" wide ravs. I cooked up 20 for supper and froze the other 16. I laid as many as would fit in a layer side by side in a freezer container. These I covered with a piece of wax paper and then laid another layer on top of them and repeated until the container was full.

Making the sauce and cooking the pasta

Bring a large pot of heavily salted water to a boil. Drop the ravs in, one at a time, and cook at a boil for 4 minutes. Pull one out and bite, checking for doneness. The dough should be firm but tender.

Meanwhile, melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. When melted, add the sage. Cook for a few minutes until sage is slightlycrispy. Be sure not to burn thesage. Hold the sauce on the lowest heat until the raviolis are ready.

When the ravs are ready remove them from the pot with a slotted spoon and place directly into the pan with the butter sage sauce, turning gently to coat. If the pan appears to be getting dry add a little pasta water to it.

Plate the raviolis, pour the sage and butter sauce over top, and sprinkle with toasted pepitas (hulless pumpkin seeds) and grated parmigiana. If you can't get pepitas, toasted chopped walnuts would be a great substitute.

Quatre Epices

This translates as 4 spice powder. The recipe below has 6 spices. Go figure. Still tasty!

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon white peppercorns

1 small whole nutmeg or 2 tsp ground

10 cloves

1 cinnamon stick, about 2-inch or 1 tbsp ground

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1 tablespoon allspice berry

Directions:

Put all of the whole ingredients in a spice mill or blender andprocess until evenly ground. Mix with the already ground ingredients. Store in acool, dark, dry place. Lasts for about 4to 6 weeks without any loss of intensity of flavor and makes your typical spice jar sized quantity..

Eating Floyd: Between Road Trips

2011-10-07T12:25:00.000-04:00

Cooking, preserving, gardening, foraging, husbanding posts have slowed down the past couple of weeks because we've been on the road. When we've been at home I've been trying to catch up on all the things that have continued on their merry ways in our absence.

Preserving Floyd:
The peppers keep coming! I've made cranberry pepper jelly, hot pepper and honey jelly, and chilies rellano con queso. The poblanos for the rellanos were roasted, skinned, seeded, and stuffed with cheese then wrapped individually and frozen, ready for breading and frying later. I've diced more peppers and frozen them. There's still green peppers, both hot and sweet, on the plants and those need to be harvested but I'm playing chicken with the first frost in an attempt to get them as big as possible before picking. Depending on quantities and types those will probably be stuffed and frozen or dried and powdered.

Did yet another dehydrator full of green beans. Amber is threatening me with another load from her garden as well. She adores green beans and will eat them at every meal but even she has had her fill of growing and preserving them.

Did a few quart bags of roasted butternut and acorn squashes for the freezer. Again, thanks to Amber. The squash had some bug damage and would not have cellared so roasting, chunking, and freezing it gives me ready to go squash for pies, risottos and soups this winter.

Cooking Floyd:
And speaking of risotto, we had seared scallops and butternut risotto, crispy fried tilapia and sweet potato, and a killer chicken pot pie. This was a central PA Pennsylvania Dutch pot pie which is NOT what anybody living anywhere else calls pot pie. It most closely resembles what folks around here call chicken and dumplings which is NOT what we central PA expats call chicken and dumplings. What is called chicken pot pie around here is what we called plain old chicken pie back home. And ya'll have nothing in your cooking traditions here, by any other name, that is the central PA Pennsylvania Dutch traditional dish of a rich chicken stew topped with light fluffy steamed dumplings. I continue to be amused by regional dishes that are the same but different and this all got started when I was cooking at Belmont Abbey Monastery north of Charlotte NC and my boss wanted me to make creamed potatoes. Creamed potatoes? I made scalloped, she wanted mashed. The brothers didn't care, it was all good.

Gardening Floyd:
The garden is being put to bed. Plants are coming out, weeds removed, soil tilled and seeded with cover crop. Next year's crops of garlic and shallots were planted yesterday. New beds are being laid out and the ground broken. We did plant some winter crops in the beds here at the house but we didn't protect them and the groundhog got them. He is so out of here! Again, I'm playing chicken with the first frost and the herbs trying to get as much growth as possible before the last cutting. It's time to transfer the rosemary to pots prior to wintering it over in the garage. I haven't figured it out - up north I never protected the rosemary and it grew great, here I have to bring it in or it dies.

Husbanding Floyd:
This will be our first winter with the chickens. This week I fluffed their bedding and added another bale of shavings on top. I'll probably add another half bale or so when really cold weather sets in. I need to find a battery operated water warmer for their fountain. I can run multiple cords to the coop but I really hate to. I also need to put plastic up over the back window of the coop. That's where the prevailing winds blow. The chickies will have plenty of ventilation without having that icy draft blowing in there. And I need to stash a jar of vaseline down there for comb and wattle protection should it get truly frigid. BTW, the gender mystery got solved. The girls are really all girls.

Next spring-summer we'll be raising broilers and processing them. There will be photos.

It looks like we're going to go with goats for our milk animals. Which means I need to inspect and repair the little shed on the lower 40 in order to have it livestock ready in the spring. And fencing. I need to figure out fencing. I can tether the goats to begin with but my goal is movable solar-powered electric fencing.

Foraging Floyd (and other places):
Hunting season. Soon it'll be time to put deer in the freezer. I'm going to cover processing a deer, with photos, and I'll give you plenty of heads up before those posts because I know that some of you either are squeamish or have moral objections to meat. And that's ok, I respect that. I also think it's important, if you do eat meat, that you acknowledge what putting a roast chicken or a bowl of chili con carne on the table entails. It doesn't grow on styrofoam trays. There is no such thing as a bacon seed.

While we were on the NY-PA border last week I "foraged" things I can't get here.

Real NY white XXXX-sharp cheese. Sorry, Harvest Moon and GFGP, but that nasty, bitter, slimey stuff from Leraysville that you peddle simply will not do! I'd be more than happy to turn you on to my source!

Sausage casings. Who would have thought that here in the land of country ham and all things piggy that I would be unable to buy sausage casings anywhere? Same goes for scrapple. Liver mush is not scrapple. It doesn't even resemble it. I can make (and have made) my own scrapple but I NEEDED scrapple from either the Lewisburg Farmers Market or Ard's Farm Market.

Ricotta salata. I blame the Italian-American population of Horseheads, NY for this addiction. I managed to get some at the Harvest Moon once. It is a luxury item I admit, but it's a necessary luxury when the tomatoes are in, along with fresh basil, really good olive oil, homemade mozzarella, homemade mayo, and white bread.

Dr. Frank's wine. In particular the Cabernet Sauvignon and Gewurztraminer. And then the Rkatsiteli. And then the Pinot Noir. I do love Dr. Frank's! I need someone familiar with our local wineries here to turn me on to wines comparable to these. My "cellar" is close to empty and winter is when I really have the time and desire to enjoy a glass of wine with dinner.

This afternoon we're off to Stanfield, NC for the weekend to celebrate our grandson Vince's 1st birthday. When we come back we'll begin picking and processing the winter supply of apples and winter squashes. The canning season is nearly over. There's a little root cellaring to come. Soon the holiday cooking and baking will begin!

Husbanding Floyd: NIMBY

2011-09-29T12:02:00.000-04:00

Michael and I just got back from 7 days spent on the Pennsylvania-upstate New York border. The area is about an hour and a half north of where I was raised and where Michael and I lived for two years while he worked in Corning, NY. It's very pretty country often referred to as the "Gateway to the Finger Lakes". It's also an area that abounds in natural gas and when we bought a house there it was my introduction to mineral rights. If there's something valuable under the ground, like natural gas, your ownership of what's under the ground may or may not convey to you when you buy that property. For example, it may already have been bought by a gas company from a previous owner. Or the owner you're negotiating with may want to keep the mineral rights but sell the property. Or some other sort of configuration. Anyway, there's a lot of natural gas in that area. And that means a technique of mining it called fracking. And laying pipeline to move it. Miles and miles of pipeline being laid in wide swathes of clear cut forest and across farmland and your backyard.

Now I don't know a lot about this fracking procedure. Both pro- and anti- fracking groups are very good at putting out propaganda supporting their views and we normal people have the daunting job of sifting out the facts and educating ourselves in order to have an informed opinion and do the right thing. It is hugely overwhelming and confusing. While we lived in NY we didn't see any fracking operations but in the three years we've been back in Floyd the gas companies in NY seem to have gone wild. Our first hint was being unable to book a room anywhere for our stay. We thought maybe there was some NASCAR thing at Watkins Glen but nope, it was because every single hotel, motel, B&B, camp, shack, tent, and lean-to was booked and occupied by gas workers. From Williamsport, PA to Ithaca, NY. Unbelievable. We found a room in a B&B southwest of Elmira, NY in the sticks for 2 nights. From there I drove Michael up to Corning for a business meeting and we got our first look at the devastation in the area. Miles of felled timber and troughed pasture land in the process of being filled with pipeline. I know that once the pipe line is buried eventually stuff will grow over it but it will never be the same. It'll look like those places where the power lines run through the mountains. I know that people need energy sources but I gotta tell ya, that squicked me out.

It got worse when we stayed at our friends cottage on Pine Creek.

There we could actually see a fracking operation. A clear cut area the size of two football fields on top of a mountain, the trees left to rot instead of being hauled out and used. A giant cement pad with a tower that is lit at night and visible for miles. Below the mountain are four gigantic silos that hold the sand for the operation. On a railroad siding are hundreds of train cars holding more sand. Maybe they'll get 25 years worth of gas out of there. Maybe they won't. Maybe they'll get 5 years worth. Maybe 2. Seems there's no real way to confirm how much actual gas is there. And when all the gas is extracted and the operation shut down the cement pad, the skeleton of the tower, the sand and gravel will remain making it impossible to replant and reforest that area.

And what's happening under the ground? I don't know. I'm still wading through the propaganda. But I have the uncomfortable feeling that it can't be good. While we were returning from dinner one evening after dark we could see the lit tower and one of our friends remarked, "Yeah baby, keep drilling and send out those checks!" It was a bite-your-tongue moment as I thought about how the cottage had been in that family for at least 3 generations of stories and traditions. It's beautiful situation in a hardwood forest above a pristine creek. But what about the fracking operation on the mountain above it and the unknown effects it was going to have on the environment. Would there be anything left to pass on when the time came or would the land be blighted and the creek a mess? Is a hefty short term payout a fair exchange for what might be long term destruction of beautiful forest and a child's and grandchild's memories and heritage?

Mining for natural gas is something that we in Floyd are facing and fracking is the operation they will be using here. We really do need to educate ourselves on this issue now, before we are faced with a last minute decision. Yeah buddy, there's some mighty fine looking hefty checks involved for a few people and employment for a lot of people. But that's temporary. When the gas is gone, the companies are gone, the jobs are gone, and the money's gone. The mess will be left behind.

I don't want fracking in my back yard. I definitely don't want uranium mining in my back yard. I don't want coal mining in my back yard. But people must have their energy so if I have to have something in my back yard, well, wind farming and those wind turbines are starting to look pretty good.

Preserving Floyd: Concord Grape Juice - Drink Your Flavinoids!

2011-09-20T11:40:00.000-04:00

When it comes to antioxidant activity, Concord grape juice rates right up there as one of the most healthful juices you can drink. It is one of the easiest grapes to grow and the grape used in classic jelly and juice products found on store shelves since your grandparents were kids.

The smell and taste of Concord grape juice is one of Michael's nostalgia triggers fostered by a childhood friend's mother who made her own and had a frosty glass waiting for him every school morning.
We haven't planted grape vines yet. We're still deciding what varieties to grow, but one of them will have to be a Concord in order to keep the juice supply coming! Luckily, our friend Janice has an arbor that's turned out bumper crops the past two years. Last year conditions were perfect and she had tons of picture perfect clusters. This year we had an extremely dry summer and the clusters weren't so perfect but I think the grapes themselves were sweeter. Janice said she was still well stocked with grape products from last year and invited me to pick her vines please! I did. Twice. I barely dented them.
We aren't big fans of grape jelly so my goal is quarts of juice. If you like the jelly, both jelly and juice start out the same way and you can set some of the juice aside for jelly making.

The first step is to spread the grape clusters outside where you can rinse them thoroughly with a hose. I have a large wood frame stretched with hardware cloth that sits on blocks. This allows me to gently mist and drain produce before it comes in the house. Before that I used a plastic flat that cases of soda come on. The plastic flats that nurseries use for plants work well too although they don't hold a lot of weight. If you've gathered your own grapes you've probably discovered that little spiders and other bugs like to hide within the clusters. Always good to get rid of them before the grapes come in the house.

Remove the grapes from the stems. I do this while listening to an audio book or watching a movie. I was stemming 3/4 of a bushel so it took awhile and entertainment was a must. Once you have a large amount stemmed, drop them into a sinkful of clean water, gently agitate and then lift them out of the water and drop them into a large deep pot. You can crush them with a potato masher or something like, but I just squeeze them with my hands as I drop them in the pot. Continue with this until the pot is 3/4 full of crushed grapes or all your grapes are gone. I had enough grapes that I had to clean, crush, and simmer them in batches. There should be enough juice that the grapes are covered. If not, add a little water.

Bring the grapes and juice to a simmer over medium heat, stirring frequently. Turn the heat down to a slow simmer, cover the pot and cook for 30 minutes.

Once the grapes are cooked, I go back in with an immersion blender and break up the grapes even more. You can do this with a masher as well but be careful, the grapes and juice are hot!

Next, I line a large bowl with a damp flour sacking towel. A clean cotton pillow case you can sacrifice works well for this too. If you have a jelly bag set-up that will work depending on the quantity of juice you're working with. In the towel, in the bowl, I ladle a large quantity of grapes and juice.

I gather up all the sides and corners of the towel to form a bag and tie it shut with cotton cord, leaving long tails of cord to hang the bag by. I then position the bag and bowl under my cabinet door knobs and hang the bag from those.

Once the bag is hung, I tie it off again with a second cord to help support and distribute the weight. It's amazing where you'll find splashed juice and how long you'll be finding it if that bag drops!

Immediately, you'll have a good bit of juice in the bowl.

If you want to make grape jelly, remove the amount you need for a batch. Do not squeeze the bag for juice intended for jelly or you'll end up with cloudy jelly. If there isn't enough right away, just wait a bit. I leave the bag hang and drip for 24 hours. At the end of that time I squeeze the bag to express as much juice as possible. Then it goes into gallon containers in the fridge to sit for 24-48 hours. During this time the sediment will settle out and tartaric acid crystals will form.

Those sparkles on the top are tartaric acid crystals

After the juice has settled, line a sieve with cheesecloth and pour the grape juice off the sediment, through the cheesecloth and into a large pot. Stop pouring the juice when you see the first bit of sediment reach the lip of the jar. The cheesecloth will catch the acid crystals.

Sweeten the juice to taste. With these grapes I used a half cup of white sugar per gallon of juice. You can sweeten with honey if you prefer but the honey will settle out of the juice and you'll need to shake the jar before drinking. Bring the sweetened juice to 190F and hold at that temperature for 5 minutes. Don't allow the juice to boil!

Ladle the hot juice into quart jars leaving 1/4" head space. Wipe rims, adjust lids and process in a boiling water bath for 15 minutes at sea level (adjust time for your altitude).

After processing, the juice will continue to settle out on the shelf and when you open a jar you'll find a thin layer of sediment on the bottom. This is nothing to worry about. Just pour the juice off this if it squicks you out, or shake the juice up and drink it like Michael does. We find this Concord grape juice to be a bit on the "stout" side and prefer to cut it with a cup or two of water when we open a quart.

For a further treat, sieve the pulp left in the bags to get rid of seeds and skins. Stir in sweetener and spices to taste and then spread 1/4" thick on the fruit leather sheets or racks covered with plastic wrap and stick in the dehydrator at 135F to make grape leather. Or line a cookie sheet with very lightly oiled foil and dry in the oven on the lowest temperature with the door open. When done the layer of pulp will be dry and flexible, "leathery", with no tackiness. Remove from the plastic, foil or dehydrator sheets and place on parchment or wax paper. Roll up tightly and seal with a piece of tape running the length of the roll. Cut the roll into 1" - 1 1/2" wide pieces. Store in an air tight container. Our grandkids love these!

Foraging Floyd: Chicken of the Woods

2011-09-19T10:09:00.000-04:00

Last Thursday there came a knocking on my door. When I opened it, there stood a dark, curly-haired hobbit, a twinkle in his eye and hands full of mushrooms. Ok, it wasn't a hobbit, it was Jagger. But all the rest is true. He had found a treasure trove of Chicken of the Woods mushrooms and was looking for a scale to weigh them out.

Chicken of the Woods or Sulpher Shelf mushroom ( Laetiporus sulphureus) is considered one of the "Foolproof Four" of wild mushrooms, nothing else looks like it.

Photo courtesy of crazyaboutmushrooms.com

Its prime growing season is August through September and flushes of the mushrooms are easily spotted because of their large size and bright color. They grow on dead or mature trees, both hardwoods and conifers, but the mushrooms growing on conifers should be avoided. Occasionally a person may have a sensitivity to Chicken of the Woods and those growing on conifers seem to accentuate that. If this is your first time eating these mushrooms, try a small amount first.

The mushrooms Jagger found were in pristine condition; young, firm, beautifully colored, with no sign of bugs or deterioration. A quick rinse and a blot dry was all that was required.

This is the pound chunk that I turned into dinner.

I envisioned a Pasta Carbonara-type dish, sauteeing strips of the mushroom in bacon fat, enhancing the meaty chew with smokey flavor. But then I went to pick up fish for the week from Indigo Seafood and they had mussels. Beautiful, fat mussels. Mussels that demanded to be eaten NOW. Faced with that and a large mushroom that needed to be eaten NOW the plan changed. Oh, I still sauteed the mushroom in bacon fat but now there was a garlic wine sauce involved.

And while we're on the subject, don't throw out that bacon fat after breakfast. Instead run it through a cheesecloth lined sieve into a bowl and allow to cool. Then put it in an air-tight container in your fridge where it will keep indefinitely just waiting to be used in applications where it brings its smokey flavor to other ingredients in small amounts. It, along with duck and goose fat, is one of those often wasted ingredients that we should make room for. Not for everyday use and not for use in large amounts, but valuable for what they add to the occasional dish.

This was my ingredient line-up for dinner:

2 lbs of mussels, scrubbed and debearded (discard any that are open and do not close when tapped)
1/2 lb of chicken of the woods, torn into strips (I dehydrated the other 1/2 lb )
2 tablespoons of bacon fat (or olive oil or butter)
several cloves of garlic, thinly sliced
1/4 cup flat leaf parsley, coarsely chopped
pinch each of salt and pepper
2 cups dry white wine
3 tablespoons butter

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook fettucine until it is just al dente. Do this at the same time you start cooking the mushrooms and mussels. Drain the pasta.

Melt the bacon fat over medium heat in a deep wide pot like a dutch oven . Add the sliced garlic and gently saute it until translucent and just beginning to turn golden. You may have to lower the heat because you want the garlic to give up it's flavor slowly and gently. Add a bit of the parsley, the chicken of the woods strips, and the salt and pepper. Saute the mushrooms for about 5 minutes. The mushrooms will suck up the fat in the pan so if necessary, add a little olive oil just to keep things from sticking or scorching.

Next, drop the mussels on top of the mushrooms along with the white wine. Give a stir and pop on the lid. Simmer undisturbed for 5 minutes.

Remove the lid after 5 minutes. The mussels should all have opened. If they're not open yet, cover again and give them a minute or two more.

Stir the butter into the mussels and mushrooms.

Using wide flat pasta plates (or in my case, pie plates), divide up the pasta. Ring the edges of the plates with the steamed mussels (discard any that haven't opened) and place the chicken of the woods in the center. Pour the flavorful broth over top and sprinkle with the remaining chopped parsley. Have plenty of good crusty bread on hand and/or spoons to sop up the broth.

Preserving Floyd: Leather Britches or The Green Beans Keep Coming In

2011-09-14T10:26:00.000-04:00

I've put up quarts of pressure canned green beans, pints of pickled green beans, and the beans just keep rolling in! Michael would eat green beans at every meal if I made them and I feel compelled to preserve everything we grow or are offered so I had to find another way to preserve the beans. Not wanting to lose freezer real estate with hunting season coming up, I turned to drying them. Drying green beans is a traditional Appalachian method of preserving them, turning the beans into "Leather Britches".

Top: freshly strung beans Bottom: dried beans Photo courtesy of jamielaval.com

There are two ways to make leather britches. The traditional method (as shown in the photo above) and the updated method I used both start out with topping and tailing the beans. In addition to that I snapped the beans into 2" lengths. For the traditional beans there is no need to snap. Using a large-eyed needle and heavy string like kite string, thread the beans onto the string, piercing them through their circumference. String enough beans for one meal on each length.

The next step is the same for both methods. Fill a pot with a steamer insert with a few inches of water and bring to a boil. If you don't have a steamer pot you can rig one up using a pot, a colander or sieve, and foil to cover the pot. Fill the sink with ice water. Steam (don't submerge) the snapped beans and the strung beans, string and all if you're doing the traditional method, in batches for 2 minutes. Start timing when the water has returned to a boil.

Immediately plunge the beans into cold water to stop the cooking.

As soon as the beans are cool, drain them thoroughly and spread them out on paper towels to blot as dry as possible.

Here's where the methods diverge again. Using the dehydrator (or your oven set on it's lowest temp) spread the green beans out on the racks and dehydrate at 135F for 8-12 hours.

This is what they'll look like when done.

Store the beans in air tight jars.

For the traditional method, hang the strings of beans in a shaded airy place to shrivel and dry. Once the initial moisture from the blanching process is completely gone, cover the strings with cheesecloth to keep insects off and protect from dust. If you hang your beans outside remember to bring them in at dusk to prevent dew formation. When the beans are completely shriveled and dry you can store them as is or store them on their strings in air tight jars. In either case, rinse these well before using to remove any accumulated dust.

Leather Britches
Ingredients
2 cups dried green beans
A ham bone or ham hocks, a slice of fat back orsalt pork, or bacon drippings
1 chopped onion
small, new, or fingerling potatoes (optional)
1 tablespoon fresh, chopped or 3 teaspoons dried winter savory (optional)
salt and pepper to taste

Directions
Place the dried beans in a large pot and add water until the beans are just covered. Soak for 2 hours.

Place the pot with the beans and their liquid on the stove and add the meat, fat back, or drippings, onion, and winter savory if using. Bring to a rolling boil and then reduce the heat to a simmer that barely bubbles for 3 hours. Taste for salt and pepper at this point and season as desired. (You can prepare the beans up to this point the night before serving and then put them in a crock pot on low before you leave for work in the morning.) Stir occasionally and add a little water if necessary during the cook time. If using potatoes add them about 30 to 45 minutes before the end of cooking. Taste for tenderness towards the end. The beans are ready when they, the potatoes, and any meat you used are tender. Sometimes instead of potatoes I like to finish the dish with light fluffy steamed dumplings that sit on top of the beans and meat to cook.

Leather britches have an intensely beany, nutty flavor that's enhanced by bits of smokey ham and onion. Be sure to serve it with plenty of the pot liquor and a hearty slice of warm cornbread.

Preserving Floyd: 2011 Harvest Festival Entries

2011-09-09T12:57:00.000-04:00

Entries selected and labeled? Check.
Recipes printed? Check.
Form filled out? Check.
Everything safely and securely boxed? Check.
Registration time? 3 p.m.

Man, I LOVE county fairs! Just goes to show computer nerds don't have a corner on geeky.