Earth to Oven

Things to do with preserves

2010-11-12T17:20:00.000-08:00

See that last post below, over a year and a half ago? I still have some of that strawberry jam. We made Strawberry Lemon, Strawberry Honey, Strawberry Balsamic and, well, Strawberry. I made other kinds of jam last year, too, like obscene amounts of Peach Ginger. And this season we hiked to Shining Rock, NC and picked 4 gallons of blueberries, some of which turned into jam. Otherwise, I don't need to, and probably shouldn't, make any more jam until I make it through the silly amount I have now. I love having 3 kinds of fruit preserves open at once, for toast and biscuits at any moment, but it is clear I will have to work harder. Here are some of my plans for this winter:

1. Yogurt. This is esp. great when a jam doesn't set, but a good dollop of strawberry or blueberry jam with some plain yogurt is delicious.

2. Thumbprint cookies.

3. Stack cake. While traditionally stack cake is made with dried apples turned into apple butter, I have full confidence that my apple or pear butter will work just fine.

4. Emergency pot luck dish. This has already come in handy. Just grab a good cheese and some sort of bread product and you are good. Goat cheese & blueberry rosemary jam. Cream cheese & hot pepper jelly. Anything with cream cheese is pretty right on.

5. Grilled cheese/cheese toast. I fully believe that a grilled cheese with apple butter will be lovely. Maybe even bacon.

6. Jam filled muffins. My mom made these when we were little. Fill a muffin tin about halfway with a plain muffin batter, insert spoonful of jam, cover with batter.

7. Swirl in batters of all sorts. Cakes, coffee cake, brownies. Yes.

8. Doughnuts. I really want to make doughnuts and fill them with jam, but the reality is, I won't. I just won't. Such is life.

9. Use on waffles & pancakes instead of maple syrup.

10. Jam tarts/bars. There are loads of recipes for these kinds of things on the internet and in cookbooks.

I must do some of these things. Hoarding is a problem, and my friends and family would probably like to receive something as a gift that hasn't just been hanging around in my house for 2 years.

We be jammin'

2009-05-19T14:24:00.000-07:00

For the second year, I have led about 20 farm groupies to River Ridge Farms and Strawberry Knob farm for cow petting and strawberry picking through the farmers' market. It is loads of fun, plus I come back with at least a gallon of strawberries, which means jam time. Strawberry jam is by far the easiest of the jams, since there is no peeling or de-seeding involved. Despite the fact that I managed to still have some jam from last year left, I was determined to make more. Four fabulous ladies and I jammed for 4 hours last night, starting with 5 gallons of strawberries and ending with 40 jars of various strawberry jams. After trying a few recipes, I think we have determined that using the Pomona's Universal Pectin available at natural food stores is the simplest way to go to be able to make a less-sweet jam. The normal recipes call for 7 cups of sugar for 5 cups of crushed strawberries, which just seems crazy. So, we used the universal pectin with honey instead of sugar by following the recipe included in the package and love the results. Plus, we can use local honey instead of sugar. Pick some up and try the recipe. It is worth the effort.

Things that are awesome

2009-04-23T18:19:00.000-07:00

1. Opening your door to a neighbor bearing fresh-picked asparagus
2. Canned tomato sauce from the summer canning marathon
3. A boyfriend who hides Locust Grove cheese in your spice cabinet for Easter. (it made sense at the time, mostly)
4. Discovering half a bag of pasta in the cabinet right when you need it

And we have dinner...

2540 Cookies

2009-04-11T12:26:00.000-07:00

These cookies are from a vegan cookbook and are a staple dessert/pot luck contribution at our house. This has lead one friend to call them by our address, 2540 cookies. They are better for you than regular chocolate chip cookies and can actually claim one local ingredient by using NC maple syrup. Here's a somewhat decent picture:

3/4 c flour
1/2 c sugar
2 c rolled oats
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 banana
1/3 c olive oil
1/2 c maple syrup
1 T vanilla
1 1/2 c chocolate chips

In a large bowl, stir together dry ingredients (not choc. chips). In a food processor, blend banana, oil, maple syrup and vanilla. Pour wet ingredients into dry and stir. Add the chocolate chips and stir until well incorporated. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper (I promise, it will make this much easier.) Spoon a heaping tablespoon of dough onto the paper and press together lightly. Bake for 12-15 min on 350 degrees or until browned. Makes 10-15 cookies, depending on size.

Fast, easy, delicious, and not altogether unhealthy. It could take variations of dried fruit and nuts to make them more like an energy bar. (from The Garden of Vegan)

Lasagna for everyone

2009-02-11T18:51:00.000-08:00

I shouldn't make lasagna. I always make too much. The boyfriend loves it, though, so it gets eaten over the following days. And it is very versatile. Anything works, really, and it ends up tasting great, even if it isn't authentic.

My last foray included spinach, roasted garlic, onions and portabellas. I roast portabellas with whole garlic cloves and slices of onion for lots of things. Just toss them with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt & pepper and possibly some rosemary and put them in a casserole dish in a 450 degree oven for about 10 min or until they are done. Stir a couple of times to make sure everything is done. I took those, layered them with the cooked lasagna noodles, tomatoes I canned in the summer, ricotta cheese, spinach and mozzarella. It is important that there is sauce or tomatoes between the casserole dish and the first noodle layer to make sure it doesn't stick. Also, the top layer of noodles needs to be covered well to make sure it doesn't dry out. Aluminum foil covering is a good idea for the first 30 min. And this goes in a 450 oven for about 45 min.

My other favorite filling combo:
roasted portabellas, garlic & onion, black beans and butternut squash

Date Nights

2009-01-17T12:43:00.000-08:00

Some of Kevin and my favorite weekend nights have been spent in the kitchen. We quickly discovered that for us, going out to eat in Memphis is more about the actual going out part: dressing up and having a different environment than our apartment. Memphis's culinary options, more often than not, lack imagination. There are the spots that we like to visit now and again, but it gets pricey and since we genuinely enjoy cooking together, dinner dates at home have become the norm.

Fish has become a theme for these dinner dates. Neither Kevin or I are vegetarian, but we rarely eat meat. When we do, it's fish. We love fish. Raw, smoked, grilled, seared... it's all good.

This meal started with Mahi Mahi. Kevin grilled it and made an avocado salsa. I sauted some snap peas and mushrooms and made a peanut better slaw. The artistic presentation was thanks to Kevins passion for tempting all the senses with his meals.

Avocado Salsa
Avocado
Tomato
Oil
Cilantro
Salt
Pepper

Peanut Butter Slaw
Package of slaw mix
Peanut butter
Soy
Ginger
Peanuts, halved
Salt
Pepper

Staple Food from Across the State

2009-01-17T12:11:00.000-08:00

Charlotte is right, who doesn't like pizza? Kevin and I create some kind of pizza practically every week. Like my sister, we don't have the patience for making our own crust on week nights, so we have experimented with other options. Tortillas work well in a crunch but we have found an even better alternative: naan. Without a co-op in Memphis, a majority of our grocery's come from Whole Foods and Easy Way. Whole Foods carries a whole-wheat naan that is fabulous. It's good just toasted with garlic or as a personal pan pizza base. The topping options are endless, but one of our favorites is mixed cheeses, marinara, smoked salmon, red onion, and spinach.

Another week night staple in our midtown kitchen is burritos. Simple, fast, nourishing, and delicious: all the requirements for a meal at the end of a busy day. We usually use tempeh as our "meat," but morning star had a sale on their burgers this week.

This particular night we used:

Morning Star black bean burgers (chopped up)
red, yellow, and orange bell pepper
onion
mushrooms
spinach
Heirloom tomatoes
clinatro

I'm cutting down on my dairy but Kevin went for the whole shebang, adding mexican cheese and sour cream.

Not so local...

2009-01-16T14:46:00.001-08:00

Everything Asian Soup

Veg broth
Coconut milk
Tofu
Garlic
Onion
Fresh ginger
Box of mixed mushrooms
1 can bamboo shoots
Wakama (dried seaweed)
Brags
Cilantro
Soba noodles

We garnished with Mung Beans which added a nice watery crunch. I don't think the soup would be as good with out it. We found the fresh mung beans at Whole Foods.
We also added miso and hot sauce per serving to taste. (i can't handle the hot stuff)

This soup was created by hungrily staring at the Asian food aisle at Whole Foods. We already had soba noodles and wakama and left the rest up to the selection at Whole Foods. Nothing is local, I'm sad to say, but it was a delectiblly nutritious soup worth making again.

Adventures: Pecan Kumquat Pie

2009-01-13T14:45:00.000-08:00

A fellow food adventurer invited me over for pie-making. She had acquired some kumquats from a co-worker who had brought them back from his parents' tree at their home in Florida. She had discovered a Pecan Kumquat Pie recipe in Tartine and wanted to use the pecans from my tree that we had shelled together. So, pie we made, and it is delicious. It's like a regular pecan pie, in that you basically make a custard, but with the addition of the kumquats that bake into little candied treats. With local-ish kumquats, local pecans and eggs, it satisfied enough requirements to make us proud to make a local winter dessert. Plus, I got to eat a kumquat for the first time. It is eaten whole, skins and all. Taste adventure, indeed.

The recipe is from the Tartine cookbook from what appears to be a lovely little bakery of the same name in San Fransisco. Alice Waters wrote the forward, which is a testiment to their local food support. In the words of Tina Fey: I want to go to there.

This particular recipe addressed their claim that pecan pies are notoriously too sweet. True, but the Tartine pie is pretty darn sweet. However, this is a pecan to make without the traditional Karo syrup, that high-fuctose nastiness we all should be staying away from. Instead, it uses maple syrup and corn syrup, the more natural kind. We substiuted rice syrup for some of the corn syrup, because it made us feel better for some reason.

Staple Food: Pizza

2009-01-11T15:16:00.000-08:00

Big fan of pizza. Who isn't? But I'm too lazy/hungry to deal with making crust. Three Rivers Market carries a whole grain crust that is surprisingly good. I canned pizza sauce during the tomato abundance of August that I have been going through rather rapidly this winter. Store bought sauce will work, of course, but without the same sense of satisfaction. Top with whatever you like, and you have yourself a great meal for two. I have also cut the crust in half to make myself little one-person portions.

Topping wise, I'm a big fan of broccoli and black beans with various other fun things that happen to be about the house. It's a good stay-in date food because we can make it together. The boyfriend made this one with a black bean heart. He does love the pizza.

Staple Food: Harmony Bowl

2009-01-10T17:28:00.001-08:00

At the Laughing Seed in Asheville, NC, they have on the menu The Harmony Bowl, which is:
Layers of organic brown rice, organic pinto beans, grilled organic tofu, seasonal steamed vegetables, and our addictive sesame ginger sauce.

It is such a wonderful, simple dish that it is easy to recreate at home. The key is Annie's Goddess Dressing, which is similar to the Laughing Seed dressing, as seen at left. I usually have a bottle of that dressing on hand along with cans of pinto beans and brown rice. Then you add seasonal vegetables. Onion is the only constant, then I recommend mushrooms and broccoli. In the summer, yellow squash is a wonderful addition. In the fall and spring, any variety of greens will work. I cook a bunch of rice to use leftovers for something else latter. Saute the onions with the vegetables, then layer over the rice and pinto beans. Smother with as much dressing as you like. Tofu or tempeh can be good, but I almost never add them. The beans are plenty for me.

Fall Comfort Food

2008-12-10T12:06:00.000-08:00

Fall is my favorite time of year. Not only do I love the colors and brisk weather, but most of all I love the produce. Sweet potatoes, greens, kale... so declicious, comforting, and nourishing.
Recently I have messed around with a classic southern staple, cornbread, in order to incorporate some local, seasonal produce: greens from my dad's garden. I added my dad's cooked greens, some fresh corn, onion, and cheddar cheese to my family's cornbread recipe. Although some (cough... Kevin) may say it is no longer cornbread, it is tasty. Maybe it should be called a Cornbread Casserole... whatever it's called, it's flavorful and comforting.

Suggestions: Mashing a piece with pinto beans or black-eyed peas basically makes a meal and Kevin likes melting blue cheese on top of a piece for a snack.

Greens "Cornbread" Recipe

2 c cornmeal
2 spoonfuls of flour
2 t baking powder
1 t salt
1 t baking soda
1 t honey
2 c buttermilk (sometimes I use less buttermilk and use some of the greens liquid)
2 egg
1 c greens
1 c fresh corn

1/2 onion, chopped
1/2 c sharp cheddar cheese, grated

I have a big skillet so half this if you have a smaller one.

Preheat oven to 475 degrees. Heat oil in a cast iron skillet. Stir first four ingredients together. Beat next 3 together. Add the buttermilk mixture, greens, corn and cheese to dry ingrediets and mix. Poor into heated, oiled cast iron skillet. I think it takes about 30-40 min. but I usually just pull it out when I can smell and it's browned on top. Sometimes I add shredded cheddar cheese on top and let it melt and brown about 10 min before I pull it out.

Another fall favorite of mine is a soup that was born between the marrying of my Kale, Sweet Potato Soup and Kevin's White Bean Soup. The white bean puree adds a creaminess without adding dairy. This soup is easily made vegetarian/vegan without lacking any flavor, however the last time we made it we started with ground local organic sausage, bought from a farmer in midtown. Honestly, I didn't think it added much to the soup (except more calories and fat) but it did change it up a bit.

Kale, Sweet Potato, White Bean Soup

2 T oil

2 large onion, chopped

1/2 t red pepper

6 garlic cloves, chopped

8 c sweet potato, chopped

4 c vegetable broth

5 c water

1 bunch kale, chopped

2 cans white beans (cannellini beans) - sometimes i use it's liquid in place of some of the water

1 T sage

salt and pepper to taste

Heat oil in large Dutch oven. Saute onion. Add garlic salt and pepper, saute. Add potato, broth and water. Bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer until the potatos are soft. Gradually add kale, allowing it to wilt. Cook until tender, about 10 min. Stir in beans and sage. Cook about another 5 min. until thoroughly heated. If you have an immersion blender, blend directly in dutch oven. I like it chunky, so I only blend it until it's no longer brothy and a little creamy. If you don't have an immersion blender, take out about 2 cups of soup and blend in blender, than return it back to dutch oven.

Martha Stewart, thank you

2008-12-03T15:27:00.001-08:00

Make fun of Martha all you want, but I love getting her magazine. She (or her staff. I mean, really, woman, you can't do everything) focuses on seasonality, especially in food. Every month when I get Martha Stewart Living, I look for a seasonal recipe to use up some excess of something I have, which is often the situation. So, when the August 2008 issue arrived while I still had too many peaches from the Fruit & Berry Patch, I immediately tried this recipe. It made a wonderful local food dessert.

Peach & Cornmeal Upside-Down Cake

1 stick plus 3 T unsalted butter
1 cup sugar
3 medium ripe peaches, skins on, pitted, and cut into 3/4" wedges
1 cup cornmeal (I used Jerry Baird's from the Market Square Farmers' Market)
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. chopped fresh lavender (thank you, kind neighbors, for sharing from your garden), or 1 1/2" tsp dried
1 1/4" tsp coarse salt
3 large eggs (easy to find locally)
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 heavy cream

Preheat oven to 350. Melt 3 T butter in a 10" cast iron skillet over medium heat, using a pastry brush to coat sides. Sprinkle 1/4 cup sugar evenly over bottom of skillet, and cook until sugar starts to bubble and turn golden brown, about 3 min. Arrange peaches in a circle at edge of skillet, on top of sugar. Arrange the remaining slices to fill. Reduce heat to low and cook until juices are bubbling and peaches begin to soften, about 10-12 min. Remove from heat.
Whisk cornmeal, flour, baking powder, lavender, and salt in a medium bowl. Beat remaining stick of butter and 3/4 sugar with a mixer on high speed, until pale and fluffy, about 3 min. Reduce speed to medium. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping down sides of bowl. Mix in vanilla and cream. Reduce speed to low, and beat in cornmeal mixture in two additions.
Drop large spoonfuls of batter over peaches and spread evenly. Bake until golden brown and a tester comes out clean, 20-22 min. Transfer to a wire rack and let stand for 10 min. Quickly invert cake onto cutting board or platter. Tap bottom of skillet to release peaches and remove skillet.

It's easier than it sounds, and it is delicious. I want to try with honey instead of some of the sugar to make it more local, but I'll have to wait until peach season.

Family Thanksgiving 2008

2008-11-30T12:50:00.001-08:00

Our little family of four has a pretty laid back Thanksgiving. We cook until we're done, then we eat. There are few dishes that we are attached to, those being squash dressing and cranberries. I guess the others wouldn't think it Thanksgiving without the turkey and ham smoked by our father. There are usually some sort of sweet potatoes, something to do with broccoli, greens the father grew and hash brown casserole. The spread this year was great, as usual. The sweet potatoes are under the towel, which is at least somewhat sweet potato-colored.

In an effort to cut down on the refined sugar, we made the cranberries with honey and a little orange zest, although they didn't turn out quite sweet enough. I think for Christmas (at which we will have basically the same exact meal, only probably with canned peas for the grandfather) I will suggest orange juice as well. There will be research in the meantime.

The sweet potatoes turned out fabulously. I had bought the sweet potatoes from a farmer at the last Market Square Farmers' Market, and had some Honey Cinnamon Dressing from Haze & Co., another MSFM vendor. Little sister chopped them, tossed them in canola oil, then tossed them with a bit of the dressing. Roasted on 450 until soft, they turned out perfectly. Definitely worth doing again.

Thanksgiving is also the one time of year I use cream of mushroom soup, that essential ingredient in most church cookbooks. Our squash dressing comes, in fact, from a church cookbook, but has been changed just about every year.

This is the basic recipe:
3 large yellow squash, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
3 stalks celery, chopped
2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. pepper
1 tsp. sage
1 stick butter
1 can cream of mushroom soup
2c. vegetable broth
1/2 cup sour cream
1 pone cornbread (usually with one little slice that was eaten right after taking out of the oven)

Saute squash, onion and celery until tender. Smash some with the spoon. Place in a large casserole dish with remaining ingredients and mix. Bake at 350 for 20-30 min.

It didn't turn out as well as last year, but I didn't actually measure anything and used a new brand of cream of mushroom. It might be better with cream of celery. I have also made this recipe vegan by using margarine and tofu sour cream with a portabello mushroom soup. We could barely tell the difference.

At right, the matriarch's plate. I always put my dressing next to the cranberries for flavor mixing, but she doesn't, which just doesn't seem right. In the middle is an okra pickle and dilly beans I canned from fresh produce over the summer. I'm exited about having a proper pickle tray with deviled eggs for holiday parties. Some people like cookies, I like pickled things. Canning is really quite easy, and I'll include recipes in the future. Pickled okra has become a staple in my house.

The blob of green is collard greens grown, stemed and cooked by our father. He forgot to bring the meatless version for me, which is sad, but hopefully I'll get some at Christmas.

Add some pecan pie and cookies, and we had ourselves a Thanksgiving. I'm looking forward to doing it all again at Christmas, but with grandparents.